Midnight

daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,352
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Whereas the previous two stories had been the first in amazing set of episodes, I think the last four of Series 4 took the show to an even higher level which has been unmatched before or since imo.

If there was ever a Masterclass in how to do a Psychological Drama on one set this would be it. It is simply amazing. What I love about it is how light-hearted it starts off, with everyone getting on with everyone else as you would do on a trip of this nature. The incidental music is quite chirpy and for the first ten minutes you're not really sure where the episode is going. There is even time for a bit of Series Arc info as The Doctor learns about the lost moon of Poosh.

It's when the capsule breaks down that the relationships between the passengers start to as well. It's gradually done and it's in so many different stages. I like how it turns into an unseen force attacking the ship from outside, then the threat moves inside as Sky is possessed. I like the fact we never saw the threat at all, it was very much left to the viewer's imagination.

The next part of the episode is my favourite part, where Sky starts of talking behind, then at the same time, as everyone else. The passengers at this point are bordering on hysterical and what is interesting is that The Doctor's status as a higher authority which he usually has is no good to him whatsoever. In fact, on this occasion it actually works against him to make the rest of the passengers more suspicious. And this also is picked up by Sky, who then starts repeating The Doctor only.

It is the synchronised dialogue between David Tennant and Leslie Sharpe that makes this episode so special for me. I don't know how much if any editing/effects was done to achieve this but if there wasn't, then it was incredibly good acting on both sides to stay in sync, especially with some if the lines both had to say.

The episode then gets even more tense as Sky starts talking ahead of The Doctor and he nearly gets thrown out. It was a neat touch to have The Doctor say his catchphrases early in the episode so the hostess would know it wasn't him who was possessed, thus saving the day. It was also a neat touch to have no-one know the hostess name. I also like the bit at the end where Donna repeats The Doctor, who seriously for once, tells her not to do that.

The incidental music was just amazing, moving from the aforementioned chirpy music to the more dramatic style as the tension increases.

What also makes this episode is the guest cast. i've mentioned Lesley Sharpe who is brilliant as Sky but you also had David Troughton, who sounds eerily like his father, and Lindsey Coulson, who I think is just playing another Carol Jackson from EastEnders in disguise. There is also Colin 'Merlin' Morgan who plays the typical teenager to great effect. I don't know the other actors as well but they all played their part in making it a great episode. Also loved Billie Piper's cameo on the screens, at least you had time to see it this time!

I have also thought for some time that director Alice Troughton was related to Pat Troughton as well, but this is not the case apparently. It's easy to think that when you see David Troughton cast!(She also directed last night's Merlin as well, small world!)

Anyway, I just think this an all round fantastic episode. My sister, who never usually watches the show, was visiting the day this was shown and even she was amazed by it. I have been accused in the past for not liking episodes that don't have big action sequences and fast pace, but the fact I like this episode proves that is incorrect. I can like any story if it well written and acted with good dramatic emphasis, unfortunately this type of episode has not really happened since for me.

:)
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Comments

  • krikkiter68krikkiter68 Posts: 272
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    I think this is a fantastic episode and quite possibly the most frightening episode of DW ever made. I like to watch the previous two episodes and this one all at once, because the contrast between the dreamy surrealism of 'Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead' and the icy realism of 'Midnight' is so wonderful.

    Keeping the menace out of sight is hugely effective, and seeing the Doctor, for once, completely losing control of the situation is terrifying. Excellent cast - David Troughton and Colin Morgan stand out particularly, and Tennant and Lesley Sharpe are absolutely brilliant. I'm glad Donna's there to give the Doctor a hug at the end of this one.
  • bbll22bbll22 Posts: 527
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    This to me was RTD's finest hour on the show. Anything he wrote after never betters it for me. (I do love the Waters of Mars, but it's co-written, so I don't count it in this respect) The fact it was a reasonably late replacement for a Tom MacRae script also impressed me too as it felt like an episode that had always been in the plan for S4.

    The cast are all great and its tense from the moment the vehicle comes to a halt. Perfect psychological thriller if my mind as it plays with everyone and even the viewer. The music was suitably eerie too and I agree Alice Troughton was superb at directing this considering it is pretty much just a one-set episode. It doesn't feel boring or stiff and is constantly alive on screen.

    The fact we never see what possesses Sky makes it all the better in my mind and it is something that should never be revisited to me. I know some on here have said we must find out what it was, but to me there's no need whatsoever. Leave it as brilliant as it is! :D

    Tennant and Sharp were obviously the stars of the show but everyone was great. I do think Rakie Ayola as the Hostess was very good in how she slowly begins to realise everything as she peices together what Sky's doing to the Doctor. I remember I was disappointed she was never named at first but on rewatches it makes sense not to have her named. Its more poignant that way.

    Overall, it is RTD's best ep ever to me. :D

    (Oh, but I hated the Rose cameo. :mad: Even if it was as brief as it was, it just annoyed me and became far too much of a distraction. I'd sooner have subtle hints in dialogue - not as obvious as the line in the Fires of Pompeii though - than have on-screen cameos like that. It felt as if we were being forced into being reminded she was coming back. And I didn't want that! :mad:)
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    There are certain episodes which, in my op, are just perfect. Lilterally. They could never be improved or bettered. This is one of them. Simply in terms of writing an performance, this has to be both the BEST RTD script and the best 10th Doctor story. I love it and it's here where RTD is at his cleverest.

    I hardly ever get scared by something on TV. EVER. Oh, there's lots of horror stuff that will make me jump, but there just a few scenes that might shock you a bit. The Weeping Angels are a prime example from Dr Who. Everyone goes on about how their so scary etc, but really I find their only good for making you jump a bit. Their not actually terrifying, they dont really scare me at all. However there are a couple of episodes, where we see the possessed Toby, or where Amy sees the photograph of herself and her baby in the orphanage in Day of the Moon, which genuinely disturb me and which are really just chilling. Midnight is another episode which properly scares me and not just on 1 scene, but virtually the whole episode. It's because it's not just fear on the level of the weeping angels, which will make you jump, because they move fast, but real fear on a deep psychological level. What is it, the thing which takes over Sjy and the Doctor, which turns the people on board into lunatics? We dont know, we have no idea. Even in the very end, the Doctor doesent know what it is. And we know it hasnt been killed. This is a fear of the unknown, we know NOTHING whatsoever except that it's definately not nice at all. Real praise towards the actress who plays Sky, not only is she able to repeat everyone else, but theres something about the expression on her face, her unblinking eyes, where you know that there is nothing good in those eyes (which vividly contrast with the scenes where the Doctor is possessed, in which he just looks terrified, great acting from David). I actually find it hard to look at her in those scenes where everyones at the back and she's just ast there, among the broken chairs, staring at them.


    But of course, the scariest thing about it is what it does. And I dont mean the repeating, which could have quickly got boring, but how it turns each and every one of the passengers against each other, maniplulating them, playing with our deepest fears and prejudices such as fear of the unknown. In the end, when they want to push the Doctor out, I'm just as scared of the pther people as I am of Sky. It's so clever, how RTD is able to explore human nature and show the worst of humanity e.g. in scene where Sky accuses the Doctor of being like an "immigrant". The scenes where the thing `passes' from Sky to the Doctor and where the other passengers talk with releif about her being saved and released, and of the Doctor being infected, are so reminiscent of the fearfulness that comes with disesase, or with ideas about the Devil, exorcism and Demonic possession. How they first accuse the Doctor of being with Sky, then accuse Diddi and the Hostess of being in league with the Doctor, it's all so reminiscent of the witch hunts throught christian Europe or, to a lesser extent, the Stalinist purges of 30's USSR where anyone would be accused of anything. Everyone in this are just such good actors, all of them really showing hysteria, paranioa and panic. It's interseting that it's the parents of Jethro who are the most aggressive, possibly cos their more vulnerable as they have a child. The woman is a real bitch though, I lose any sympathy when, after Sky is killed, she says "I knew it was her" after violently encouraging the men on board to throw the Doctor out.

    It's made quite clear this "monster" feeds on/relies on/needs fear, and thats exactly what it creates. The creature IS fear really, it seems to somehow embody everyones hatreds and prejudices and turn them against us. I also like all the stuff about the light being x-tonic, making it certain that this is not life as we know it. And the whole thing with the engineer and the driver, and one of them seeing something running towards them over a planet where life is impossible, sheer brilliance. Best of all, I like how all the Doctors usual strengths are taken away from him, his abliity to reason, his intelligence (you really know the shit has hit the fan when the Doctor's all "cos I'm clever!"), and most of all, his talkativeness as his own words are used against him. And of course there's the fact we've never even known the Doctor's name, which, obviously, creates distrust.

    This is just such a good episode. I wonder, has anyone on here seen any of Rod Serlings The Twlight Zone from the 1950's-60's? There's one TZ episode this really reminds me of, it's called "The Monsters are due on Maple Street" which was basically making a statement about the paniced Red Scares and fear of communism throughout America at the time. It's divide and conquer. Aliens use peoples fear of aliens etc to turn a street against each other. The stuff they do is really quite simple, depriving the street of power, stopping anyone from getting in and out, giving a few particular peoples houses power etc, and the streets inahabitants basically all turn on each other, they riot, kill each other.

    Of course, this brilliant script would be nothing without actors who could play these roles convincingly. Everyone in this is brilliant. I've already mentioned the Doctor, sky, and the 2 parents. Colin Morgans also good as Jeffro and, after Diddi, the one most reluctant to commit murder. Diddi's also good, being educated, but less stuck in her ways than David Troughtons character seems to be.

    Finally, one of the best things about this episode is the Doctor. He's so rarely scared, he's always really cocky and confident, we'd grown to know him as someone capable of handling anything. Yet here he really is totally hepless, he's going to be killed by the people he's trying to save, and he's completely, utterly terrified. Just look at his face when he's possessed. And you know, at the end, when he's talking with Donna, that this will stay with him for a while.

    All in all, a 100% perfect episode. Others may disagree btu I find this one very hard to match. Everything's done just right, the music, the pace, the atmosphere. An absolutley superb episode. 10/10. Brilliat, just brilliant.

    Some of the best scenes:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BP5JqYEvqJY&feature=related

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNbSjPuDddI

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOeoCtdOfGY&feature=related

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5s9ja_doctor-who-season-4-episode-10-midn_fun
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,352
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    bbll22 wrote: »

    The fact we never see what possesses Sky makes it all the better in my mind and it is something that should never be revisited to me. I know some on here have said we must find out what it was, but to me there's no need whatsoever. Leave it as brilliant as it is! :D

    (Oh, but I hated the Rose cameo. :mad: Even if it was as brief as it was, it just annoyed me and became far too much of a distraction. I'd sooner have subtle hints in dialogue - not as obvious as the line in the Fires of Pompeii though - than have on-screen cameos like that. It felt as if we were being forced into being reminded she was coming back. And I didn't want that! :mad:)

    I agree about not seeing the creature, whatever it was. As soviet has said, we never really learn that much about it and I think that was right. Sometimes what you can't see is a damn sight more threatening than what you can. I often think this with Ghost Stories as well. The implication that a Ghost is there is far more terrifying than if it appears and starts talking.

    As for Rose, I think everyone has their view on how her return should have been handled this Series. I think it was done right with a mixture of spoken and visual references, one of those you just blink and miss it. I wasn't expecting her to return in full until the finale so it was surprise to see her in the trailer for the next episode

    This is just such a good episode. I wonder, has anyone on here seen any of Rod Serlings The Twlight Zone from the 1950's-60's? There's one TZ episode this really reminds me of, it's called "The Monsters are due on Maple Street" which was basically making a statement about the paniced Red Scares and fear of communism throughout America at the time. It's divide and conquer. Aliens use peoples fear of aliens etc to turn a street against each other. The stuff they do is really quite simple, depriving the street of power, stopping anyone from getting in and out, giving a few particular peoples houses power etc, and the streets inahabitants basically all turn on each other, they riot, kill each other.

    I have seen that episode and the remake as well in the 80's/90's series, whichever it was.

    There was also another TZ Episode similar to this where a group of friendly neighbours learn an Atomic or Nuclear bomb has exploded and everyone is going to die. One man has built a shelter for his family and his family only and he won't let anyone else in as he has only enough food to feed his family. All his neighbours turn against him and leads to some really aggressive actions from them towards him. It turns out the bomb didn't explode after all, I think and it leads to a few minutes of apologies before they return to being neighbours again, and back to their usual selves. Not sure of the title, maybe you could tell me Soviet?

    Anyway, the moral of the story was how we would all react if we if were put in a similar situation and how a plight like these people had affects on all their relationships with each other, in a similar way to the episode you describe.

    I think what is fascinating about Midnight is that most of us would react the same if we were put in a similar situation. social niceties just collapse and it's everyone for themselves, which was the other moral of the episode I've just described.

    In some ways, where Colin Baker is at the moment is a scaled down version of this. Trapped in a jungle situation where everyone is living on top of each other 24/7, arguments ensue and are magnified because of the situation. (Though Colin hasn't really argued with anyone)Big Brother is like it also.

    :)
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    I agree about not seeing the creature, whatever it was. As soviet has said, we never really learn that much about it and I think that was right. Sometimes what you can't see is a damn sight more threatening than what you can. I often think this with Ghost Stories as well. The implication that a Ghost is there is far more terrifying than if it appears and starts talking.

    As for Rose, I think everyone has their view on how her return should have been handled this Series. I think it was done right with a mixture of spoken and visual references, one of those you just blink and miss it. I wasn't expecting her to return in full until the finale so it was surprise to see her in the trailer for the next episode



    I have seen that episode and the remake as well in the 80's/90's series, whichever it was.

    There was also another TZ Episode similar to this where a group of friendly neighbours learn an Atomic or Nuclear bomb has exploded and everyone is going to die. One man has built a shelter for his family and his family only and he won't let anyone else in as he has only enough to feed his family. All his neighbours turn against him and leads to some really aggressive actions from them towards him. It turns out the bomb didn't explode after all, I think and it leads to a few minutes of apologies before they return to being neighbours again, and back to their usual selves. Not sure of the title, maybe you could tell me Soviet?

    Anyway, the moral of the story was how we would all react if we if were put in a similar situation and how a plight like these people had affects on all their relationships with each other, in a similar way to the episode you describe.

    I think what is fascinating about Midnight is that most of us would react the same if we were put in a similar situation. social niceties just collapse and it's everyone for themselves, which was the other moral of the episode I've just described.

    In some ways, where Colin Baker is at the moment is a scaled won version of this. Trapped in a jungle situation where everyone is living on top of each other 24/7, arguments ensue and are magnified because of the situation. (Though Colin hasn't really argued with anyone)Big Brother is like it also.

    :)

    I have seen that TZ episode though I cant remember what is was called either. Of course both were made in a time when there was division and fighting everywhere so they were much more relevant. And your right, I think most would react that way, though obviously those reality shows are very scaled down versions. :D RTD said how he wanted to show the worst of humanity in this, and how he was inspired by that old game where your in a balloon and it's sinking, someone has to be thrown out, and you decide who. If stuff like thw Cold War and Witch Hunts prove anything, it's that we can all be bastards if we want to be. I love how everyone gets so irrational in this, it's only the Doctor whose actually able to keep a level head and whose actually curious about the thing (for a bit anyway) rather than scared.

    As for the whole Rose thing, I was never a fan of them bringing her back and after the intial shock of her return in Partners of Crime, I did get a bit tired of her constant sightings etc. But that another discussion for another thread, namely, Turn Left, TOMMOROW!
  • kendogukkendoguk Posts: 13,800
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    The doctor was never possessed in the episode only sky was ever possessed.
  • Granny McSmithGranny McSmith Posts: 19,622
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    This was a very good story, it just wasn't a very good Doctor Who story.

    Especially when the Doctor was the 10th Doctor - he could talk his way out of anything; how come he couldn't talk his way out of trouble with a bunch of dim humans?

    Why couldn't he give his speech about being a 900 year old Gallifreyan who was going to get them out of it? Or merely flash his psychic paper to provide any credentials he liked?

    (I'm talking about before Sky/alien took away his power of speech, of course - when the passengers were questioning why they should take any notice of him).

    Anyway, it didn't ring true for me.
  • DavetheScotDavetheScot Posts: 16,623
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    Excellent story; best of the series.

    As everyone has said, what made this so effective was that the threat was so totally unknown. We never saw it in its own form, nor did we ever know what its intentions were, though there was little doubt they were not benign.
  • rumpleteazerrumpleteazer Posts: 5,746
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    I know I'm in the minority here but I really don't like this episode. I've watched it a few times to give it a chance but it's no good. When I have a Doctor Who Marathon this is the only episode I skip.
  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    D o you want to explain why without just saying bland things like "it's not good" Rumpleteaser? Not trying to be rude, but I find it interesting to hear other people's opinions but I cant fathom yours without a reason you don't like it.
  • allen_whoallen_who Posts: 2,819
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    interesting that Neil Gaiman refers to this story now and again when talking about his writing style... he obviously see's it as the perfect Dr Who story
  • rumpleteazerrumpleteazer Posts: 5,746
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    D o you want to explain why without just saying bland things like "it's not good" Rumpleteaser? Not trying to be rude, but I find it interesting to hear other people's opinions but I cant fathom yours without a reason you don't like it.

    Sorry I was on my phone and it was being a pain so I gave up typing.

    I just didn't enjoy it, it didn't grip me and I didn't want to watch it again. I like the idea of an unseen/unknown creature being the villain but personally I don't feel it was pulled off very well. Like I said I did watch it again to give it a chance (I have warmed to other episodes on repeat viewing) but I still didn't enjoy it. There was no one thing that made me dislike it, as a whole for me it didn't click. I know I'm in the minority here and I'm not going to try and convince anyone I'm right because we all have different opinions, and that's mine.
  • davrosdodebirddavrosdodebird Posts: 8,692
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    That's fine, there are plenty of episodes that didn't grip me. I can't remember a single second of 42 for instance, despite having watched it when it first aired.
  • Chihiro94Chihiro94 Posts: 2,667
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    Great story, Colin Morgan, aired on ma birthday (:D) but...
    This was a very good story, it just wasn't a very good Doctor Who story.

    Especially when the Doctor was the 10th Doctor - he could talk his way out of anything; how come he couldn't talk his way out of trouble with a bunch of dim humans?

    Why couldn't he give his speech about being a 900 year old Gallifreyan who was going to get them out of it? Or merely flash his psychic paper to provide any credentials he liked?

    (I'm talking about before Sky/alien took away his power of speech, of course - when the passengers were questioning why they should take any notice of him).

    Anyway, it didn't ring true for me.

    This. It was a good human nature story so the Doctor as an alien in the midst of it all kind of jarred.
  • chuffnobblerchuffnobbler Posts: 10,771
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    The best story of C21 DW for me. Totally gripping, and Tennant reducing the annoyance factor very effectively. Lesley Sharp's performance is the best by any DW guest actor this century.

    The sequence with the "creature" entering the ship, Lesley Sharp crouched facing the wall ... turns to the camera ... FANTASTIC. Really, Mrs Chuff and I sat there in silence, our dinner going cold in front of us, gobsmacked. Great stuff. Totalyl absorbing and powerful.

    The rest of the cast do a good job showing how mob rule can take over (yes, Lindsay Coulson is just Carol Jackson once again, but I have always loved Carol Jackson). This story does so much with so little, and just goes to underline my point that slathering a load of CGI over a story doesn't make up for a crap script. The script here is everything, and strong performances deliver something that grips the attention.

    It's nice to see that most people here seem to think the same.
  • TRT1968TRT1968 Posts: 2,164
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    This, for me, is the third best DW ever made. The acting is superb, the Doctor is isolated and cut off, trapped. We see him as we never usually do, weak, scared and not in control. The alien is unseen and truly an unknown quantity. The supporting cast are diverse and realistic. The only time the sonic saves the day is when it's used to turn off that bl**** in-flight entertainment.

    And the paranoia... that builds and builds... the Doctor loses his "jedi mind powers" and is for the first time seriously threatened - and what by? His favourite pet humans. It reveals just how nasty and dangerous we are as a species, and also how incredibly brave and altruistic we can be. Poor, brave and amazing hostess.

    The bit at the end where Donna starts taking the p*** uncovers the greatest piece of acting from DT ever. Short, simple but packing a punch like Tyson. "No, don't do that. Don't. Don't."

    An amazing episode.
  • VerenceVerence Posts: 104,577
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    There was also another TZ Episode similar to this where a group of friendly neighbours learn an Atomic or Nuclear bomb has exploded and everyone is going to die. One man has built a shelter for his family and his family only and he won't let anyone else in as he has only enough food to feed his family. All his neighbours turn against him and leads to some really aggressive actions from them towards him. It turns out the bomb didn't explode after all, I think and it leads to a few minutes of apologies before they return to being neighbours again, and back to their usual selves. Not sure of the title, maybe you could tell me Soviet?

    The Shelter

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shelter_(The_Twilight_Zone)

    As for The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, in the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone there was a remake, The Monsters Are On Maple Street but that time it's the US government doing the testing, not aliens

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_Are_On_Maple_Street
  • SHAFTSHAFT Posts: 4,369
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    I know I'm in the minority here but I really don't like this episode. I've watched it a few times to give it a chance but it's no good. When I have a Doctor Who Marathon this is the only episode I skip.

    I hated it. The story is far too derivative and Tennant's acting in it is terrible.
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    This was a very good story, it just wasn't a very good Doctor Who story.

    Especially when the Doctor was the 10th Doctor - he could talk his way out of anything; how come he couldn't talk his way out of trouble with a bunch of dim humans?

    Why couldn't he give his speech about being a 900 year old Gallifreyan who was going to get them out of it? Or merely flash his psychic paper to provide any credentials he liked?

    (I'm talking about before Sky/alien took away his power of speech, of course - when the passengers were questioning why they should take any notice of him).

    Anyway, it didn't ring true for me.

    I doubt the revelation that the Doctor wasnt human would have comforted the people in the bus, especially as they thought the Doctor might be behind it all
  • sovietusernamesovietusername Posts: 1,169
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    Verence wrote: »

    As for The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, in the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone there was a remake, The Monsters Are On Maple Street but that time it's the US government doing the testing, not aliens

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_Are_On_Maple_Street

    Aye, but I much prefer the 60's one. The modern one loses something with the aliens missing etc, the whole point is that all people could be like this, so it loses something when you discover it's people behind it I think
  • VerenceVerence Posts: 104,577
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    Aye, but I much prefer the 60's one. The modern one loses something with the aliens missing etc, the whole point is that all people could be like this, so it loses something when you discover it's people behind it I think

    True enough
  • daveyboy7472daveyboy7472 Posts: 16,352
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    Verence wrote: »
    The Shelter

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shelter_(The_Twilight_Zone)

    As for The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street, in the 2002 version of The Twilight Zone there was a remake, The Monsters Are On Maple Street but that time it's the US government doing the testing, not aliens

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monsters_Are_On_Maple_Street

    Thanks for that. Agree with Soviet, the original worked better. I see it like The Sontaran Experiment, discovering the weakness of the planet's habitants so they can use it to their advantage. Putting humans as behind the scheme didn't seem to have the same kind of motivation.
    I doubt the revelation that the Doctor wasnt human would have comforted the people in the bus, especially as they thought the Doctor might be behind it all

    I agree.

    Many years ago in the original Dallas, J.R(R.I.P Larry Hagman:() was imprisoned in this jail facility in the back end of nowhere and all his power and money were of no use to him whatsoever. It was the only time in 13 years J.R was ever to seen to be in that position, everything that made him as a character was no good to him.

    The same thing happened to The Doctor here. I think it's great when you can take away from a main character everything that usually gives him an advantage and make it a disadvantage. I've seen other instances where this works in other shows as well and it really creates good drama.

    As it happens so rarely it's more jeopardy for the character concerned and I think RTD did this just right in this episode so we could actually see how The Doctor would cope in this sort of situation.

    :)
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 247
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    Back in the sixties and seventies there was a programme called "Play for Today" were top television and theatre writers would put on a one hour, one off stories and millions would watch them. They would vary in quality, but the best would leave you with a feeling of utter exhaustion after an hour of intense drama. Some of them are considered absolute classics of television. It is with this episode that Dr Who steps into these realms.

    Utterly brilliant, and at times difficult to watch - for all the right reasons. Here RTD not only delivers a masterclass of TV writing, but also challenges us with a Doctor who is ultimately powerless. Without a companion, his attempts to unite and connect with the passengers is utterly undermined by fear and mistrust. He cannot save the day - only witness a sacrifice.

    Stunning.
  • gboygboy Posts: 4,989
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    Upon first viewing, I hated this story, finding it dull and plodding with nothing much happening.

    On subsequent viewings, however, I loved it!

    Scary, claustrophobic, menacing and with a pervasive sense of horror from an unseen 'monster' that manifests itself in a psychologically terrifying manner. As classic Who taught us - less is always more: and that's where a story like 'Midnight' excels.

    Fear and panic turn perfectly normal people into monsters and the Doctor is powerless to stop them...

    'Midnight' is up there with 'Blink' as one of the scariest Nu-Who stories ever.
  • CAMERA OBSCURACAMERA OBSCURA Posts: 8,002
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    A flawless episode from one of, if not the, most diverse writers in the shows history. A masterclass in a single set, and in sound, direction and acting.

    Stunning.



    I remember Moffat saying when Blink was first voted fan favouite in a poll (paraphrasing) 'What ..it beat Midnight:eek:'
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