I love Blink to pieces, I really do. But really, it hasn't got a thing on Midnight in terms of spook factor. Whenever I refer to Doctor Who as 'scary' or 'distressing', it is always in context with the show as I don't ever walk away feeling genuinely scared. Midnight was one of just two examples of a Doctor Who story - the other was three years old by this point - that I think upped the scare level to a point where I could actually consider an element of fright if I were in that situation (the claustrophobia probably did it).
Midnight isn't an episode of Doctor Who I'd show to a newbie of the show. It might not be boggled down with continuity and complex timey-wimey tingling sensations, but it simply isn't what Doctor Who usually is. As such, I do rather consider this story to be the pre-finale treat for fans that RTD chucked in on his home stretch with Series 4 - I think the decision to write all four final episodes of the series really worked to establish The Tenth Doctor and Donna with a consistent level of writing... RTD goes all out here, and rains hellfire down on Doctor Who...for a whole month! Midnight kicked things off by being that little gem (a diamond, perhaps? ) that nobody saw coming.
I don't see how it could have failed... put Lesley Sharp and Colin Morgan into one room for 45 minutes and you have a winner. This episode did exactly that and apart from some bookend scenes in an exotically-realised spa, it didn't do much else. The whole cast here works well, and I think RTD is THE writer to pull it off - I'd never sing his praises more for any other episode. The man is brilliant with his character writing... he can actually make people out of his characters, rather than cannon fodder for the next alien threat. And he does so without usually stepping over into soap-opera levels. Midnight illustrates that perfectly, and we end up with 45 minutes of raw character development. It's absolutely splendid and terrifying at the same time - how the innocent passengers at the beginning turn into the horrifying force by the end, all within relative real time and so realistically. It's a shame they couldn't get an alien on board as well to re-emphasise the show a bit - maybe a travelling Malmooth, or a tourist Vinvocci couple... I don't know, maybe it would have played down the scares a bit were it not all humans in the room? Even the TARDIS is lacking in this episode, adding to the lack of normality.
There's not a grand deal to say about the episode... it lacks effects, but the ones it has are quite pretty. The cast deliver a phenomenal piece of television, particularly Lesley Sharp. The scares... the score... everything was pitch perfect. It shows what can be achieved by the show when it strips away all of it's heart-stomping action thrills, which I think is something that is played up to a little too much in Moffat's era. This was a one-of-a-kind hit, that would be impossible to replicate, and disrespectful to continue.
As a piece of irony, OTT-RTD's biggest success was probably his most understated story of them all
Comments
Midnight isn't an episode of Doctor Who I'd show to a newbie of the show. It might not be boggled down with continuity and complex timey-wimey tingling sensations, but it simply isn't what Doctor Who usually is. As such, I do rather consider this story to be the pre-finale treat for fans that RTD chucked in on his home stretch with Series 4 - I think the decision to write all four final episodes of the series really worked to establish The Tenth Doctor and Donna with a consistent level of writing... RTD goes all out here, and rains hellfire down on Doctor Who...for a whole month! Midnight kicked things off by being that little gem (a diamond, perhaps?
I don't see how it could have failed... put Lesley Sharp and Colin Morgan into one room for 45 minutes and you have a winner. This episode did exactly that and apart from some bookend scenes in an exotically-realised spa, it didn't do much else. The whole cast here works well, and I think RTD is THE writer to pull it off - I'd never sing his praises more for any other episode. The man is brilliant with his character writing... he can actually make people out of his characters, rather than cannon fodder for the next alien threat. And he does so without usually stepping over into soap-opera levels. Midnight illustrates that perfectly, and we end up with 45 minutes of raw character development. It's absolutely splendid and terrifying at the same time - how the innocent passengers at the beginning turn into the horrifying force by the end, all within relative real time and so realistically. It's a shame they couldn't get an alien on board as well to re-emphasise the show a bit - maybe a travelling Malmooth, or a tourist Vinvocci couple... I don't know, maybe it would have played down the scares a bit were it not all humans in the room? Even the TARDIS is lacking in this episode, adding to the lack of normality.
There's not a grand deal to say about the episode... it lacks effects, but the ones it has are quite pretty. The cast deliver a phenomenal piece of television, particularly Lesley Sharp. The scares... the score... everything was pitch perfect. It shows what can be achieved by the show when it strips away all of it's heart-stomping action thrills, which I think is something that is played up to a little too much in Moffat's era. This was a one-of-a-kind hit, that would be impossible to replicate, and disrespectful to continue.
As a piece of irony, OTT-RTD's biggest success was probably his most understated story of them all