In the tenth episode of the fourth series of Doctor Who, the Doctor attempts to take a brief vacation from his hectic life, only to discover a sinister being after it takes hold of a passenger on his train. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Doctor Who.
If you’ll allow me to be a bit meta today, I’d like to talk about fandom.
What’s been really, really fun and fascinating about my experience so far with Doctor Who is becoming aware of what the fandom feels, in general, about specific episodes or story arcs, or about specific Doctors and their companions. Aside from when people like myself have felt a thematic distaste for the material or when something is problematic or offensive, I think it all essentially boils down to taste. Which tropes can you tolerate? Which ones excite you? Which ones bore you to tears? What types of characters send you into a tizzy? What storytelling mediums do you enjoy most?
I still read nearly every single comment these days (thank you iPhone!), but it’s rare (if nonexistent) that I’ll actually strike up a discussion and try to convince someone something I liked is actually great or it was horrible. If anything, it’s been a blast to see why you felt this particular episode was spectacular or lackluster or boring or trite.
This is all relevant to something I wanted to bring up and spark a discussion on. There are shows I will to defend to the death. Among those are The X-Files (ARE ANY OF YOU SURPRISED), The Wire, Six Feet Under, The Prisoner (UK version only, FUCK YOU AMERICA), Arrested Development, and Rubicon. There are a few more, but I’m getting pedantic. I’d like to thank the Internet for this, but over the last few years, I’ve learned that there are simply things I enjoy that I have no desire to defend. Because of the whole concept of Mark Watches, this style of blogging easily lends itself to fandom. I mean…to use a word I just wrote, it’s pedantic. It’s very specific, it’s detailed, it’s methodical, and it’s all encompassing. Because of that, I tend to attract people who have very polarizing opinions about specific moments of the show. “The Girl in the Fireplace†is awful. “Blink†is perfection. “Rose†is a subpar series opener. I could spend months recapping such things. That’s not the point. The point is that most especially with a show as erratic as Doctor Who, opinions fall all over the spectrum. But that goes to say with most things. What fandom ascribes as canon or acceptable stories or brilliant characterization constantly changes.
I’d like to think that by now, after over a year and a half of this style of “reviewing,†I’ve made myself clear about what I do enjoy, about what tropes I love and hate and what characterization twists I despise and what plotting devices I want to fellate on the astral plane. I’m certainly not leading to a point where I say HAY I AM ABSOLVED FROM DEFENDING MY IDEAS YAY!, I do want to open this review with this:
I am not going to defend “Midnight†to people who don’t like it.
There are a lot of things here to hate and to be irritated by. I am aware of this. Not only that, but I’ve found that things that exist in film and television that are off-putting or alienating, in terms of focus, structure, or pacing, tend to be things that I love so dearly. Maybe I think I’m some hipster, I DON’T KNOW. But I like movies like Funny Games or La Moustache (HEAD ASPLOSION!!!) or Dogville or Mulholland Drive or The Fountain or shows like Rubicon and LOST and Twin Peaks. All of those things I have listed are things PEOPLE HATE A WHOLE LOT. Like, murderous rage style hate.
When I watched “Midnight,†I immediately told a friend to watch it because I basically went HHHHHHHHNNNNNNNGGGGGGG for 45 minutes straight and I figured he’d like it. He found the dialogue grating and the concept unbelievably absurd. True story: He texted me about 20 minutes through and said WHY WON’T THEY SHUT THE FUCK UP. I couldn’t fight that.
And that’s the point. I am not interested in telling you that you should like “Midnight.†All I’m saying is that I liked it.
I expected, from the opening ten minutes, that we’d finally get an episode of Doctor Who where I could laugh most of the time, especially since shit has been unbearably bleak lately. BUT LOL, NO, AIN’T NEVER PREPARED FOR THIS SHIT.
“Midnight†terrified me. There are a lot of reasons why, but, for me, it all hinged on the way that this script, penned by Russell T Davies, managed to pull off what is, admittedly, an absurd concept. It’s the dialogue. I get why someone would hate it, but I’m a huge fan of dialogue being used to advance a plot. (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, anyone?) But Davies creates something twisted and horrifying here: What if dialogue was used as a weapon? What if something mildly irritating and childish could be the sign of something far more sinister? In fact, by focusing so much of the story on talking, Davies distracts us from the fact that we’re dealing with one of the most common tropes in science fiction: the Enclosed Space trope. Well…it’s also a hefty dose of Locked in a Room, as well, but you get it. We’ve seen movies and TV episodes before deal with this. (Obligatory The X-Files reference: “Ice.†Which is still one of the scariest episodes of anything ever.)
But, as far as I know, not one of these uses dialogue as the villain. Even scarier? WE NEVER EVEN FIND OUT WHAT IT IS THAT CAUSED THIS.
To make it all the more believable, the cast of actors who played the side characters are all believable actors and actresses who fully commit to the terror of the situation. Oh, and Merlin is there. Sorry, I couldn’t help it, that WAS kind of distracting. At any rate, the episode predictably sets up a lot of character archetypes we know well (the know-it-all professor, his assistant, the rebellious mother, the privileged/douchebaggy couple, the neutral employee) and then ALL OF THEM TURN EVIL. Well, at least at one point during the episode. It’s not until the end that we get a true voice of reason. And that was a TERRIFYING thing to realize, especially when there was a point where literally every character was turned against the Doctor.
But the two people who deserve the most praise are David Tennant and Lesley Sharp, who carry the dramatic weight of “Midnight†with a conviction that is rare for television. I can’t imagine being given a role on Doctor Who as one of the main villains facing the Doctor and finding out you’re first repeating everything all the characters say, and then controlling what the Doctor says. And yet Sharp does this with a horrifying determination in her eyes. God, every time that slimy smile was plastered on her face, I shuttered. For me, though, this was one of David Tennant’s best performances. There are any number of moments that stuck out to me, such as the second he realized the entire group had turned on him, and he begged them to recognize that he was scared. But before they all drag him off at the end, there’s a look in his eyes as he is frozen, tears brimming and about to fall down his face, where he knows he is losing. It is one of the most frightening things to me because the Doctor is never scared like that.
The real heartbreak comes during the moment after the entity and the Host have been sucked out of the train and the Doctor sits, dejected, knowing that, given the chance, he would have been murdered by these people. It’s especially hard to watch because of his speech earlier, wherein he told these folks that they had a choice: would they show themselves to be a species of murderers?
Yes. Yes, they would. And though we don’t find out what that thing was, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that the humans aboard that train are far more terrifying than that thing will ever be.
THOUGHTS
- “Well, thanks, Dee Dee. That’s just what we needed.â€
- “I can’t imagine you without a voice.†Right? How scary is that?
- I at least got the chance to laugh at the Doctor making Sky compliment him via repeating dialogue. Because I would totally do the same thing.
- JETHRO WAS MY FAVORITE. “666!†Again, would do the same thing. I AM AN ADULT, I MAKE ADULT DECISIONS.
- And finally: HOLY SHIT ROSE WAS ON THE TV YELLING AT THE DOCTOR OH MY FUCKING GOD
I love this episode. I feel like the experience of watching it is much like the experience of "living" it for the characters: claustrophobic, confusing, stressful. And the idea of an unknown entity slowly taking over control of your entire being is absolutely terrifying for me. Ugh, so good.
Also, on the lighthearted side, I would love to hang out at the glass-domed resort with Donna. Dream vacation.
Actually, I did find it kind of funny (I mean, in a good way) that the Doctor goes through this awful experience, but Donna just a has a nice relaxing holiday in this episode. 😀
There are like a million comments already, omg.
What I love most about this episode is David Tennant's acting–because you're right, you can absolutely see the creeping despair on his face as these people are arguing about his fate and he can't even move. The brief look of hope when the assistant speaks up for him– and then immediate despair when she's shot down.
The other part I love is the fact that this is an episode where we finally see a situation in which the Doctor's usual schpeal just doesn't work. He does the same thing he always does in dangerous situations, tells people the same things– don't worry, trust me, I'll sort this out, it's okay– and it not only doesn't work, it actually works against him. (Also, how much did we miss Donna in this episode? Donna would have straightened these people out.)
It's probably my second-favorite episode after Blink. It's a horrifying concept and it's well-executed, even if the background is a little silly ("extonic" sunlight? Really?) But even that works out pretty well. ONLY HUMANS would make a luxury resort on a planet where the sunlight is fatal.
Speaking as someone who works in customer service? I don't care if my customers know my name. I don't care about their names. They're not my friends, or even people I'm likely to speak to more than once or twice. We have no relationship beyond the few minutes it takes to finish a transaction. And that's okay.
There is something sad about the Hostess dying while no one who knows her who cares about her as an individual is present…but that's not a condemnation of the strangers who happen to be there. The passengers on the shuttle had no shortage of ethical and personal failings. I just didn't really see a failure to learn the name of their Hostess as one of them. Maybe that makes me a heartless grinch or something; I don't even know. 😛
Haha, grinch away!
Mm.. making a fuss over not knowing your server's name feels (to me) like demanding people form relationships whenever they meet. Like it's judging people for not forming relationships on a dime.
I can understand the Tenth Doctor, the great sad looooonelyyyyy wanderer, being all up in that..
but I so do not ENJOY it.
"We are not who we are…we are not….who we are…"
Sorry Mark, but you mentioning Ice just made me remember how much scarier I found that. 😀
I'm not a hater for this episode, but I did find it kind of meh. It's like I see what they were trying to do, but I'd seen it done better before, and somehow I never really connected with it. It's like you said really, in the end it's all personal opinion – sometimes you just don't 'click' with a certain episode. And then sometimes you just fall in love with an episode without really being able to explain why.
Ugh, I KNOW. I had already been warned and spoiled about all the major twists in CoE, and even so I found myself just watching in utter horror at the end, thinking no no no, there has to be a way to fix this! I think the brilliance of it is that the real evil is not any alien threat but the evil of desperate men doing awful things.
The only way I could make it better was to imagine an alternate scenario where they were able to either 1) call the Doctor in or 2) not be on the run for the first few days so they had time to fix things without the drastic measures they had to take in the actual canon. D:
Seriously, when you have aliens attacking, the last thing you should do is try to prevent the alien hunters from doing their job. :/
I love this episode because of the amazing performances by Sharp and Tennant. Saying dialogue in perfect fucking unison, at Tennant's speed no less, is INCREDIBLY hard to do. I'm sure it took a lot of takes. Their intensity and the amount of focus they both have in this scene is stunning.
omg now that i'm home and not on my phone, i have to say, whoever thought up replicating the comments? evil and genius. congrats, i thought my heart was in my throat earlier, but oh man it's still there after seeing all the comments that were repeating.
Colin Morgan and his cheekbones *sigh*……………………………………………………………………… wait, what was i doing?…………..erm……………………………….oh yeah.
This episode is absolute genius! Taking something so ridiculous as the game children play to annoy each other and turning it into something that is OMFG-peed-my-pants-scarred-for-life-creeptastic: Genius!
I had such a strange reaction to this episode: It was summer and i had my windows open and i could hear the guys next door shouting and screaming at their TV, i can only assume they were watching the football *yawn*, they were being very noisy and very annoying! Boys! *rolls eyes* Then when the episode got to the point where SHIT GETS REAL i was so transfixed by what was happening it felt like the only things in existence were me, the chair i was sitting on and my TV. I said to my mum after the episode had finished (well, after i'd finished screaming OH MY FUCKING GOD), that if a naked David Tennant had come bursting into my house and done a sexy dance on my bed i wouldn't have even noticed! (If it wasn't for Midnight, believe me i would have noticed, i would have noticed that gooooooooood!)
By the time the episode had finished i looked down and noticed that my hands were sweaty and i'd spent the last 45 minutes gripping the edge of my chair! I wouldn't say i was scared…………….i don't even know what i was, but that indescribable feeling it gave me was so damn powerful! I can still remember everything Midnight made me feel, how close i was to the TV, how warm it was that night, it's like it's been ingrained in my memory. It's an incredible piece of TV and one of RTD's masterpieces!
The thing i find the most freaky, isn't Sky, isn't the repetition, isn't the not knowing, it's the Doctor being completely and utterly incapable of doing anything. He can talk his way out of anything, flash his smile, wip out his psychic paper and calm any situation, any group of scared people. But in this episode all those things are taken away from him, he's completely alone, exposed, naked almost. All his words that usually impress are meaningless because they're being repeated by someone else. They lose their power and their affect and so does the Doctor. His absolute fear of the situation, his fear of "this little bunch of humans", his helplessness and lack of control is horrifying to see.
The most incredible thing about it is that, if you were completely honest with yourself, you could put yourself in one of the characters shoes if you were ever in a situation like that.
Dee Dee: The one who tries to work things out and think logically, but ultimatley becomes so scared she puts her hands over her ears, closes her eyes and pretends it isn't happening.
Val, Biff, Jethro, the Professor: The ones who look for someone to blame. Desperate to get out of that situation, no matter the consequences.
The hostess, the Doctor: The ones trying to calm the situation but completely fails to be heard, so they quietly decide to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the others.
I love to say i'd be the hostess, or even the Doctor, but i honestly don't know who i'd be in that situation.
The acting from everyone is incredible, particularly David and Lesley.
I love that they filmed (almost) everything in that tiny set, it really makes it feel cramped and claustrophbic.
I love the fact that the Doctor, and the audience, has no idea what the hell that thing was. The Doctor may be over 900 years old but that doesn't mean he's seen eveything the universe has to offer.
I find the end, with the Doctor and Donna by the pool, a bit blunt and odd. But that's the only bad point of the episode for me, the rest of it is pure and brilliant genius!
Oh god, the next episode. Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh, God. *rocks backwards and forwards* Oh god.
You are not prepared is an understatement.
OMG I'M FINALLY sort of EARLY FOR A DOCTOR WHO REVIEW. YESSSSSSSS *party*
Too bad it was for the best/worst episode ever. Because even though I love this episode to bits (the acting and dialogue were amazing) it really terrified me. Mostly because I love the Doctor as a character (every single one, really I'm a Doctor Fangirl(well the new Doctors, need to get Old Who NOW!) and even if he has (many, many) flaws he's still an awesome character, and seeing him so defenceless, well freaked me out. The Doctor is one of those character that's most of the time so sure of himself, like he knows he can't fail, and seeing him almost do so, scared me. Also: for it to happen with humans, brilliant as he (most of the times) sees us, GAVE ME CHILLS.
So yeah, this chapter and I have a love/hate relationship and I'm perfectly fine with that. Props to you for mentioning the different opinions around here, Mark. That's one of the things I love about this site, we're free to discuss even if we don't think the same and still be friendly about it, I think we might break the internet LOL.
I happen to be taking a class on collective behavior this semester, so this was fascinating for me. Relevant episode is relevant!
Here's the thing. I do think this a good episode and has some good things going for it (why hello there, Colin). But it just didn't thrill me personally. I just didn't get what the point was it just seemed random to me and I like for episodes to at least have some point to it if only to show something about a particular character or reveal plot points. This one did none of that really (unless you count the random Rose cameo) and so I'm just so so about it. But that's me and because I've never been a big fan of horror films in general. I bet if I was I'd probably love this ep to death. So to recap: good episode, just doesn't thrill me.
side note, first time posting here. but i've been stalking- i mean reading your postings for a while now. ANYWAY.
there are several reasons i loved this episode. first off, the preview made it look like a happy funny breather episode. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS. AT ALL. it was very scary and disturbing, and the worst(read best) part was the concept wasn't scary at all, the presentation was the horrifying part.
it was heartbreaking to see the doctor so scared and alone. this is why he needs a companion, to back him up!
i watched this one right after watching the previous two-parter, and it was around midnight. this is NOT recommended.
"But before they all drag him off at the end, there’s a look in his eyes as he is frozen, tears brimming and about to fall down his face, where he knows he is losing. "
THIS. OH GOD, THIS. Such a heartbreaking moment. And the whole time he's repeating "throw him out" and "allons-y" and UGGGHH SO UNHAPPY.
I absolutely love Midnight; it scared the crap out of me. Everyone told me that Blink would be terrifying, and I thought it was an absolutely brilliant episode and I had a lot of "OH MY GOD" moments, but it didn't frighten me. Midnight did!
Testing. Please ignore.
I REFUSE TO IGNORE THIS.
JAY KAY. I love you forever, INTENSE DEBATE!!
<33333
Fantastic reply! I usually delete my test comments, but you beat me to it.
Glad to see that everything is working properly now. Give us a shout if anything else comes up.
Testing… don't ignore this.
Was anyone else REALLY tempted to repeat this comment?
yes.
Very much so.
Unbelievably so.
I LOVE YOU, MARK WATCHES COMMENTERS. I REALLY DO.
PFFFFT. "This is what happens to your universe when you do heroin."
Dude, me too. Hah.
I do on and off classroom assistance and am otherwise pretty much unemployed, but I just don't think I CAN do it full-time, especially long term. It's just too much people-time, and kids like to get personal. It's like shouting in my brain.
Sombrero!Giles!!!
I found the anonymous posting entertaining and got it right away! Sky's eyes are one of the things that terrified me when I watched this episode. I have only seen something like that happen once before and that was when my friend just shut down once, anything we said or did would not get her back to normal, it was really freaky.
I don't blame these people for their fear, but the fact that they were being so ridiculous to the Doctor when he was trying to help them pissed me off. When you see things like this, it makes you question, why does the Doctor save us… we humans, all we do is destroy the things around us, kill our planet, we even got so good at killing large groups of people that we even came up with a name for it. We are destructive beings. If I was the Doctor I wouldn't want to save us…
And yet, there are some of us who make the rest of us worth saving, you have the people who spend their lives helping others, some that help our planet… and you think maybe, just maybe they all aren't that bad, maybe they can change. They might learn from their mistakes are start living in peace… but the problem is that we can't make those steps, we rely so much on things to protect us, but the fact is that if we all threw down our weapons and decided to be at peace with each other, we wouldn't need those weapons. We wouldn't need bombs or AK-47s, mustard gas or tanks.
Going to a lighter mood, I'm happy that nobody put any spoilers up again! Keep up the good work!
P.S. Why haven't there been any Merlin gifs up?!
lol. I've been loling way too hard over the fact that we are having issues with comments being duplicated and then posted as comments by an anonymous user as a reply to the original comment.
THE CREATURE FROM MIDNIGHT IS HERE. IT IS IN OUR COMMENTING SYSTEM.
xDDDDD I thought it was someone being hilariously creepy. But now… wasn't it?
Oh my God, please just be someone creepy, please just be someone creepy…
As far as I know it was a few people being hilariously creepy. I think timing just didn't work out since everyone attributed it to the new layout and the initial problems commenting.
IT CAUSED CHAOS AND CONFUSION AND PANIC.
It was super-effective.
JUST LIKE THE CREATURE!
OH GOD WHICH ONE OF YOU IS IT
It is all of us, Mark. All of us.
It was anonymous. Anonymous is many.
…and that's all I can sort of remember without actually looking it up.
Totally irrelevant, but "bring me my brown pants" is possibly my new favourite phrase.
It's such a handy little phrase. A really good friend of mine says it all the time. And it's on TV Tropes.
I remember hearing a joke in the fourth grade (so like, heard it as a ten year old maybe? Somewhere around that age) with that being the punchline, and I totally didn't get it then. So that phrase makes me laugh solely because it reminds me of how entirely lost I was at that joke the first time.
Allons y
I AM SO LATE TO THE PARTY. 🙁
I can't believe people exist who don't love this episode. It is one of my favorite bottle episodes of anything ever. Also, possession is possibly the creepiest idea ever. Being locked in your own mind while somebody controls you, even to the point of stealing your voice and words. D: D: D: D: I LOVE that the mystery isn't solved, and the Doctor is left wondering and disturbed.
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HAMSTER= POSSESSED SKY SYLVESTRY
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BUSTER=ME (and there's a phrase I don't want to say too often)
The acting was brilliant across the board. I honestly have never seen someone sell so much menace with so little movement as what Lesley Sharpe pulled off in this episode. I just feel so terrible for Sky. Her wife left her and she was just trying to get away and start fresh. Also, seeing such naked fear on the face of the Doctor was a terrible thing to watch. Sadly the responses seemed authentic and true to life. The Doctor puts so much faith in and feels such love for humanity and is now faced with this ugly side of humans (all sentient beings?). You have to wonder how this will affect his psyche.
Most of all, I feel like this episode is truly a testament to just how essential the companion is to the Doctor, beyond just the emotional support they provide. As horrible as the response of the passengers is to us, they don't know the Doctor for Adam. He can't tell them his name, he has unexplained expertise, he behaves very unusually- manic and with a sort of glee at this new, if terrifying thing-and as much as he keeps telling them it's going to get better, it doesn't. Why should they trust him? Clearly, it's terrible they were so eager to murder people, but honestly, how would they know that he's THE man to have around in an alien crisis? I would probably be getting annoyed right along with them when he says he's special because he's "clever". In my mind this is almost long due payment for the sort of behavior that was really prominent in "Tooth and Claw"-circumstance inappropriate glee and pride while people are being slaughtered in horrifying ways. Here it is clear that the companion is there to not only provide a link between the Doctor and the audience, but also between the Doctor and everyone he meets. They see someone else who trusts him with their life, and it smooths that transition to trust for everyone. Without them, he's kind of a mad man who clearly sees himself as above other species, even as he interacts in a friendly manner with them.
This sounds totally harsh on my part, but I love, love, love that RTD addresses these issues in a way. I will forever wish that he had written more episodes like this in the past few seasons. His episodes tend toward the epic and bombastic, but it is truly amazing what he can do when he keeps it quiet and intense. BRAVO RTD!
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I love that even though you're late, you still churn out a fantastic review.
<3
Aww TY! I started out just responding to someone and next thing I knew it was a freaking page. I didn't even know I had this much to say about it!
<3 back at you!
This was one of my all time favorite episodes, and this was the episode that got me watching "nuWho." I'd watched the Tom Baker years when I was a teen. When my own kids started watching nuWho, I scoffed, as I expected a modernized remake to be crap. But as my son was often frightened by the show, I figured I better sit down and watch with him, to make sure this was appropriate.
I was stuck to the TV for the hour. This was absolutely incredible. We saw the darker side of human nature, not in guns and sick experiments and super villains, but in people just like us we could recognize. This was *real* darkness, not a monster from Zog. This is what happens when people get scared and start assuming the worst and passing on whispers.
That was the scariest thing to me. It was that REAL.
And IA, Leslie Sharpe and David Tennant were spectacular in this. Everyone was wonderful, as usual with Russell's characters, everyone felt like a real person. But those two… wow. just… wow.
Definitely one of the best Who eps ever, imo.
I LOVE THIS EPISODE. I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
I LOVE THAT YOU LOVE IT.
My favorite Doctor Who episode.
I am SO GLAD that everyone else agrees with me. I have other not-as-good-but-still-favorites that have been decryed as rubbish, but THIS ONE. OH THIS ONE IS SO GOOD.
I am absolutely in love with psychological thriller because it is the only thing that truly truly scares me. Like, Blink? Is beautiful and artfully crafted, but does not in fact actually SCARE me. Except maybe the cheap *surprise* elements. But this one. Scares me to absolute and utter death.
People have posted screencaps of the Doctor's face when he is completely and utterly terrified and yet helpless. The only other time I have seen this helplessness is in 42, and that scared me THEN. This is so horrifying. AND OH AND. The evil in this is the HUMANITY of the people. I love it, I love it. They go into mob mentality and while I would never ever ever want to be in this situation I think it is utterly fascinating that it still exists and we are still so swayed by our fear and instincts from ages past. So often we think we are superior to so many other animals, but this is still there, this capability, and it is a BASIC ANIMAL BEHAVIOR. IT IS A HERD BEHAVIOR. It is the behavior of pretty much any social animal. Do what everyone else is doing because if they are doing it and they are still alive, it is the right thing to do.
LOVE. OH LOVE. LOVE X10. I have never seen this episode as a bunch of people just talking. Or even had a problem with the talking. It makes it so much more real and terrifying and suspenseful.
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Teenage Giles is the best Giles.
On a meta level, I love the idea of this episode. In practice, though, I can't stand to watch it. I hate how much humanity sucks, and this episode is all about humanity's enormous suckitude and their fundamental lack of respect for each other (or for the Doctor). I JUST WANT PEOPLE TO RESPECT EACH OTHER, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK. (Answer: Yes.) 🙁
I figure it's only right to warn you about the next episode:
YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN LESS PREPARED IN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
BUT WHAT IF I THINK I AM
WILL I BE PREPARED.
Yeah, Mark. You just go ahead and think you're prepared…
NO AMOUNT OF PREPARING WILL PREPARE YOU.
lol lol, you are so not.
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The answer is no.
You will never be prepared.
Get used to it. 😀
I watched it tonight for the first time and THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY YOU ARE PREPARED.
Pfft, Mark. Every attempt at your preparation will fail. Basically, I think you're going to need 'Mockingjay' levels of preparation for the forthcoming episodes.
It's alright, nothing special. Kind of meh. Not my favorite episode. Acting's nice, but the script falls flat.
(LOL KIDDING, I actually haven't watched it in a while but YOU'RE STILL NOT PREPARED.)
Hello!
So, I'm a long time reader, first time commenter.
I just want to say I really appreciate the first part of this post. There's a lot more to say on that subject, so I'm just gonna stop at, "bravo!"
"Midnight" is easily my in my top five favorite Doctor Who episodes. As soon as I finished it, I immediately watched it again from the beginning. My first reaction was that it reminded me SO SO MUCH of the Twilight Zone episode, "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street," mostly in the way that they blame shifted throughout the episode.
My experience was very similar to yours in that I talked up this episode to my friend who had just started watching Doctor Who. When he got to this episode, his opinion was (and I quote), "Meh." That REALLY bummed me out, which is why I like your discussion in the first part of the blog so much.
Also this ep has COMPLETELY ruined bus tours for me. Add that to the long list of everyday items and occurrences that Who has made terrifying (Bluetooth devices, television sets, freeways, pocket watches, mirrors, statues, diet pills, shadows, etc.)
Omg, WELCOME TO THE COMMENTS.
haha thanks 🙂
Also, I'm not sure where I stand on this episode. I love the idea of the episode, and there are certain scenes that are undeniably fantastic… but I always have trouble liking any episode in which the Doctor doesn't have a companion. I'm not really sure what it is, but there you have it. And the pacing just doesn't do it for me. There are moments of brilliance, but I'm honestly bored in between. D:
So I suppose you could say that I like the episode, I just don't like watching it much. If that makes sense. Or maybe it's just in hindsight that I don't like it so much, since it's bookended by such brilliant, brilliant episodes. It sort of gets lost in between for me.
And, to be honest, it upsets me that there's so little Donna in one of her last episodes.
I think this episode is absolutely brilliantly written. It is, however, the only episode of Series Four I tend to skip, simply because I find it absolutely terrifying, far more so than Blink. The loss of identity and self-control is by far my greatest fear, and seeing the personalities of Skye and the Doctor destroyed by some unknown force is almost impossible for me to watch. I never even allow myself to get more than slightly tipsy when I drink, for fear of a loss of self-control, and the idea of being totally taken over is entirely horrifying and I can't watch without cringing.
Midnight, like Children of Earth, is RTD at his cynical best. I personally can't stand it when Davies tries to do happy, or when he celebrates his love for The Doctor a little too much in the writing. But, everything just comes together when he explores humanity at their worst(Midnight) or most naive(Gridlock) or hopeless, and the best thing that he brought to the entire Doctor Who franchise is his focus on The Doctor's flaws(IMHO it grew the character and explored him in a way that was long overdue) as a person.
Also I can't think of a time up to this point where The Doctor had expressed his frustration and anger in such a self centered way as when he flew off the handle. The Doctor has dealt with skeptics in the past, and he's certainly been angry at people for not trusting him before, but there was something very intentional in this episode. He was apprehensive, frustrated, maybe even scared but worst of all he wasn't on top, he wasn't saving the day, he was trapped with these humans and he had no idea what was going on. The destroyer of whole species, savior of so many worlds was having a difficult time saving a small ship full of these panicky tourists.
I love, love, LOVE this episode. I love it so much and probably consider it one of my favorite episodes of Tennant's run as the Doctor. However, I have to say, that I feel absolutely panicky every time the passengers start yelling over each other. LOUD NOISES MAKE ME NERVOUS OKAY! I just feel an anxiety attack coming on every time I watch this episode. But, all in all, I thought this one was brilliant!!!
ALSO ROSE! OMG YOU ARE NOT PREPARED. LIKE … NOT PREPARED AT ALL, YO!
OHMYGOD NESSA HELLO
OH. MAH. GAWD MAARK! HELLO!
this is buried on the 5th page, but probably all the better.
i'll be straight up: love this episode. i really do. it's deliciously creepy. but it's also a really good example of something that really bothers me about RTD's tenure.
as soon as we got introduced to all the characters, my first thought was, "i bet you a million bucks the lesbian and one of the black women die." and you know what? i was fucking right.
when i watched this for the first time, i thought long and hard about the people who die or are evil in doctor who in all of the previous seasons. overwhelmingly, it was people of color (this is a pretty informal comment so i don't want to go and do a bunch of research, but like, think about the christmas special with kylie minogue in it, freema in doomsday… actually, a lot of the episodes that RTD writes himself) . and it wasn't just the one off characters that weren't treated as well by the narrative. think about martha jones, or mickey smith. they worked hard, not just to save the world, but for the doctor's approval. they are never recognized by the narrative for their work. ever. the doctor doesn't apologize to mickey for basically acting like he was an idiot, and martha doesn't get a moment of sympathy for the year she went through.
i'm not saying this intentional. in fact, this is one of the dangers of color blind casting, of which RTD is a proponent. If you're gonna cast black people like it's not a big deal, they're gonna die sometimes. and i also think it's great that there is a lesbian in this episode that isn't fanservice or trying to seduce someone, because that straight up doesn't happen, ever. But on this show, I feel like more often than not, the people of color are cannon fodder. did no one, not one person, raise their hand and say, "this is a little fucked up?" especially, ESPECIALLY, when we're treating the return of a blond, blue eyed, white girl as the second coming of christ? yes, it is narratively exciting that she's coming back – but the comparison is really fucking uncomfortable.
i want to reiterate that i'm not accusing anyone of being racist. but these things do have unfortunate implications that NEED to be addressed. especially in the discussion of "disposable" media like, the kind that we absorb without thinking too hard about it, the kind that unconsciously teach us about our world and that we accept unthinkingly (have i mentioned that i'm a cinema studies major?), we have to hold people accountable when they fuck up. and the way that this show deals with race is, straight up, fucked up.
just something to think about.
As a person of color myself, you're right. Well, somewhat.
I think most side characters, white or not, are cannon fodder for the show, and that's also a really interesting thing I believe we have discussed in the past. (It's also why I SUPER HAPPY JOY JOY freak out when side characters are developed well, too.)
I'm interested in why you think Martha doesn't get "a moment of sympathy for the year she went through" because I don't read that character that way at all.
JUST WANTED SOME CLARIFICATION.
i'm on the way to the bar – i'll respond tomorrow when i'm sober.
okay, i got to you last because i wanted to spend more time thinking about what i meant.
admittedly, it's been years since i've seen that episode – mostly out of knowing how angry that ending makes me. i already disliked the unrequited love plotline and it's resolution annoys me (she left because of her unrequited love, and not because her entire family has PTSD? okay).
but in thinking about the year martha spent walking the globe, i get really upset. this was something that was never asked of her. actually martha does this sort of thing a lot – in the family of blood, hell, even in blink she got a job. but she does those things because they must be done. and when it's over, the doctor's surprise at her unwillingness to just keep adventuring really frustrated me. i know he's an alien, but he'd already been remarkably insensitive to her and i was hoping at her departure he'd show her how much he must actually appreciate her. but it never really happened, at least not to my satisfaction.
martha isn't my favorite companion, but i think she's the most skilled, the most capable. and as tacky as it sounds, i just wanted a lampshade to get hung on that fact. and well, who knows the next time we'll see a black companion.
sorry i wrote you another essay.
No, it bothers me too. I'll let other people talk about the racial aspect, but as someone who's bi, the usage of the dead lesbian trope doesn't sit well with me. A lot of people praise RTD's "gay agenda", and I can see the argument that it at least puts queer people out there as a part of normal life. But on the other hand, all too often it feels like tokenism to me, and killing Sky here makes it worse. To boot, the only non-heterosexual main character, Jack, is fun, but sometimes veers too much into "promiscuous bisexual" territory for me (a stereotype that actually hurts me IRL).
A lot of thumbs up to this comment. Happens on Buffy, too. Black character? Either evil or marked for death. Or both. Not to mention the complete lack of Latin@ characters in a show set in southern California.
i actually teach a course on buffy, and i always bring that up. i mean, it's southern california. where are all the latin@s?
Awesome, a course on Buffy! I would take that if I were still in school.
it's really fun! at my college, there's a program where students can teach courses, so it's a little informal (example: we meet in the on campus deli, i cancelled class today because i drank so much i was throwing up everywhere). but i and my co-teacher try to frame it as a critical analysis of the show, both it's successes and failures. and an examination of the times the show comes off as racist (or even, occasionally, anti-feminist) is important in that regard.
The casting, as you said, is colour blind… but on top of that, RTD actually draws a picture of how he imagines the characters in The Writer's Tale. Professor Hobbes is black. Dee Dee is white. Biff and Val Cane are black. The hostess is white. This was all drawn before casting. I don't think the race or the sexuality of the people who die particularly matter. They're just casting good actors.
If they'd refused Rakie Ayola the role because she was black, that would be an absolutely abominable choice, but I think it's fantastic that they don't discriminate negatively OR positively. The thought, I'm sure, has never occurred to the casting directors nor to Russell T Davies – and if they started to make their decisions based on creed or colour or anything along those lines, I would be kind of disgusted. "Oop, can't get a black actor for that role, 'cause we've already killed 35 this series, and only 10 asians." Something about that doesn't sit right to me. Treading on eggshells to ensure that an ethnicity isn't badly representing still means you're categorising people based on their appearances. They've killed 45 humans. They're about to cast a 46th casualty. All that should really matter is that they are a human that can convincingly portray the character.
So, yeah. Sorry captain, I absolutely disagree with what you're saying. They are casting people based on their acting talent rather than ticking off a checklist. That's a Good Thing – with capital letters and everything – and I'm not sure that the balance is off-kilter in the first place for there to be unfortunate implications. It's something I never noticed, for sure. I've not been counting. I don't think many people at home have, either.
Besides – if any demographic doesn't come out of Doctor Who well, it's aliens. :p
…*badly represented. Ooooh I should proof read more often.
(Would like to point out that I am totally aware that there are more ethnicities than "black" and "asian," but I wasn't going to make up fake numbers for every single category for the sake of what was a fairly silly example in the first place. :p Plenty of people from aaaall the other races were killed as well, so don't worry. It was a wonderful cultural rainbow of made-up fictional deaths.)
… What, there are people who DON'T like Midnight?!
Fucking love this one. Definitely in my top 5.
I know! One of my closest friends (one of the guys who got me into Doctor Who originally) was just like "eh, it was okay. I didn't really like it." He felt the concept great but it failed in execution which I simply do not understand.
That is a new one on me! The people I know who didn't like it simply didn't get the concept. I can understand that, even though I completely disagree with it. But `failed in execution` I can't even begin to comprehend.
For some reason, the first time I saw this episode I was annoyed by the people. I definitely did the whole OMFG WHY WON'T THEY JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND THINK. But on rewatching, I fell more and more in love with it. The creep factor, the unnerving look in Sky!Monster's eyes, the people in the bus slowly going all Lord of the Flies… brrrr. The realization that this group of people, hours ago laughing with each other, were willing to go from decency to murder in a second flat was SO disturbing. And the Doctor couldn't control the situation. Couldn't make them listen. He's defeated hordes of monsters, but couldn't make a group of scared humans see reason.
And afterward when he's saying, "It's gone, it's gone" and you can see them all breaking down with the horror of what they almost did – what they would have done – and then the mother says, "I said it was her." And the Doctor just GLARES at her. NO. NO, I HAVE SEEN WHAT'S INSIDE YOU AND IT'S TERRIBLE.
D:
ALSDS;LDKF;LFKG I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH, I am so happy you enjoyed it as much as I do! The next one is my second favorite though (Blink is my first), I am so excited for you to watch it. :'D
I think this is probably my least favorite Reboot Doctor Who episode. It's not the acting I dislike, because everybody acted their pants off – in particular the lovely actress who played Skye, and David Tennant. It's not the premise I dislike, which is quite freaky (trapped in a shuttle with strangers and an unknown menace and HELLO CLAUSTROPHOBIA – no thanks). I can't pinpoint exactly what makes me dislike it, because frankly, I've seen it three times, and I'm not really interested in giving it a fourth chance any time soon. It gets under my skin, and not in a good way. It's like spinach.
Two things, though:
1 – "What could go wrong?" GAH! Doctor, why would you say that? That practically INVITES disaster.
2 – The Doctor is usually the one offering comfort, but this time, when he goes to Donna, it's obvious (not only to the audience, but to Donna as well) that he's the one in need. It's a compelling moment.
Maybe it's the optimist in me (I feel like such an outcast on the internet sometimes saying I'm an optimist or a Christian or I like muffins better than cupcakes.) that is frustrated by this episode. I don't know, and the not being able to pick out what I don't like about the episode is frustrating me even more and I might have to give it one more chance. Because that's how I roll, giving things and people one more chance. Shut up, Angie, this is not all about you. And stop being wishy-washy.
Even though it's my least favorite Revival Who episode, I don't completely dislike it. And that's a little frustrating, too.
Muffins ARE better than cupcakes. No icky frosting to deal with.
Woooooooooooooow. Thought I was the only person who didn't care for frosting. I like my cake warm, and plain! (And I also prefer muffins.)
I'm way into muffins as well. Booyah!
I like muffins better than cupcakes. I can't take too much sugar, it makes me feel weird and ill.
I feel like I should give this episode another shot sometime. When I watched it, I was tired, and I thought it was very meh, and then everyone I knew was like WOW THAT WAS SUCH A SCARY AMAZING EPISODE and I was confused because I usually like things, even when other people do not, so it was odd to be on the other side.
"Oh, and Merlin is there. Sorry, I couldn’t help it, that WAS kind of distracting."
ILU Mark. 😀 I'm so glad you recognize characters from silly Renaissance Faire-esque BBC shows. I FEEL AT HOME HERE.
I really like this episode precisely because it departs from the usual Who formula: 1. Eerie shit happens, 2. We find out what's causing the eerie shit, 3. The Doctor saves the day. IT STOPS AT STEP ONE. EERIE SHIT HAPPENS AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S CAUSING IT AND THE DOCTOR IS POWERLESS TO STOP IT. WHICH JUST MAKES IT FUCKING TERRIFYING.
I feel like it would have been really easy to push this episode into cheesy, but it always stays just on this side of the line. The whole "villain that gets inside your head and makes you fight" has been done before (see also: One Ring, Locket Horcrux, etc) but it's never felt so… sinister to me. The fact that we never find out what the villain IS is just brilliant. We don't know what it wants. We don't know why it chose Sky in particular. We just know that it's something we DO NOT WANT.
(P.S. I just watched the end of season 4 tonight and may I just say: AJK;ALNFKAONGIPPOJISDFPOJIASFDKLPMAFSJKAFSKJSFAD. That is all.)
Oh man, I love this one so much. It's like a Twilight Zone episode! ONLY WITH THE DOCTOR!
Best thing that RTD ever wrote for the show.
That was my thought exactly. Very reminiscent of "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street".
This episode was the first to properly scare me, my God, I was so shaken by the end of it! I thought the writing and acting in this was very skillfull, as was its amazing soundscape. I believe this episode won BAFTAs for best soundtrack and audio editing. The Confidential for this one was fascinating as well, I loved learning about the sound editing side of things.
I love the anon commenter who's repeating what everyone's saying.
500 COMMENTS, MARK.
I don't think people cared for this episode at all, really.
CLEARLY WE ALL HATED IT
mmm
I cannot tell you how much DW fanfiction this episode inspired… some of it also terrifying.
Personally, this is one of my favorite episodes, right up there with Blink.
SO MUCH KEYSMASH EFHHFNIOURFOUIBFRUUYRF.
YOUR NAME MAKES ME HAPPY.
I love this episode ridiculous amounts. It was one of the first I ever saw (my memory tells me I saw it just before the Library episodes, but logic of the order they aired in tells me otherwise) and I adore it. Jethro is also my favourite side character (and I saw this before I saw Merlin, so my love was uninfluenced). I agree, this is some of DT's best acting as the Doctor, if not his BEST acting as the Doctor, period. He just looks so terrified. I don't know how any of the other passengers could look at his face, could hear him speak, and not realize he is still in there and terrified. That's another point on his acting! The delivery of his lines once he is the one repeating is amazing. He actually sounds like he is trying, so hard, to not speak, to not repeat. It's amazing. He's brilliant. And the actress playing Sky! Lesley Sharp! I don't even know what to say about her but *jawdrop*. She was also brilliant.
In conclusion: Emo Colin Morgan. 8D
(His "Midnight" video diary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebOLkjsLB_4 )
OH MY ROWLING there are people who hate this episode?? I mean, clearly not everyone will love every episode, but I generally assumed this to be one of the most-loved episodes. I think it's amazing – definitely one of my favourite episodes of all time… just… guhhh. The Doctor, the side-characters, the fact that he is rendered utterly useless…. gah times a thousand, I want to go and watch it now… better whip out my dvd boxsets…
Midnight was the first Dr Who episode I had ever seen. I had a lot of internet friends who loved the show, so I was curious. Of course I was confused, although my years of being a Star Trek fan helped a lot. 🙂
I rea;;y didn't like Midnight, but my friends said, keep watching. Turn Left was even more confusing. Can you image watching Turn Left without knowing what the heck was going on?
I watched it when it was first shown in the U.S. which was several weeks after it was shown in the UK. I'm glad they are showing the new episodes at the same time, now. Someone finally realized that there is a huge market here for this show.
I love this episode. I thought it was probably the most brilliant one of series 4, mostly because it was so unbearably horrible. You see the Doctor defend humanity again and again, cheering them on, talking about all that they can accomplish and how much he loves them, and yet in this episode, humanity betrays him 🙁 It's really sad and fucked up to know that given the chance, almost all of those people would have murdered him. It reminds me a bit of the first half of The Mist, and the kind of extremes rational human beings will go to when they're in a corner, and you're there screaming NO YOU ASSHOLES WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? and yet you know that yeah, people would totally act like that. It's scary and terrible and I hope I'm never in a situation like that, but if I am, I hope I won't be one of those people.
TL;DR this episode is great, fuck the haters.
Full agreement here!
I loved the episode Midnight. For once it showed humans at (what i feel) their very worst, and the only people on that tour i liked were The Doctor, the son, and the stewardess at the end kinda. She made me flip-flop from what i remember. This episode terrified me, because i actually thought the Doctor was going to die. The hug at the end made me so relieved too.
"the rebellious mother"
Do you mean the rebellious son?
HAHAHAHAHH ROSE~. I ONLY RECENTLY WATCHED THIS EPISODE 'CAUSE I USUALLY MISSED IT WHEN IT WAS ON TV, BUT I FLIPPED MY LID WHEN I SAW HER. I DID NOT EXPECT THAT FOR SOME REASON. So happy.
I hate that I'm only getting to comment now 2 days late… stupid life taking up time away from important things like reading and comming on Mark Watches!!!
I loved the sensory overload at the beginning of the bus trip– the highlights of 20th century classical music, if I recall correctly… the stupid cartoon and the trippy lights flashing and everyone plugged into their own headsets and disconnected from each other other and the world they were in…. it was so jarring and disturbing and unwanted yet foisted upon them all. The anonymous side eye conversation between The Doctor and Sky about the horror of the "entertainment" without a word spoken. The exposition skill in showing, not telling, in 60 seconds is astounding. With a wave of the sonic screwdriver the people on the bus are actually interacting and enjoying being in each others company. Until it all goes to shit. Amazing mastery of writing, directing, and story telling. Even without the real acting that kicks in later!!!
This, by far, one of the best episodes of New Who, imo. It was tropetastic but done well. Also, Colin Morgan is a bamf.
So, I know this is way after you posted this, but I was catching up on your blog and could not stop myself.
This episode was ridiculously brilliant. I watched it late at night, alone, which was not the right thing to do but was deliciously terrifying. I love how it showed the Doctor getting to know everyone, and goofing off, and reaching out, and how subtly things shifted to the sinister. You keep thinking some great revelation will come out and enable him to save the day, but it doesn't. And, if there had been an explanation, it would have ruined the episode.
I love how this one makes all of us think about what we would do in such a situation, and of people we know who are like the characters. I think that's when tropes like that are useful. I just- I loved this episode. And David Tennant does rock. Have you seen the modernized Macbeth with him in it? It has all the Shakespearean dialogue PLUS Patrick Stewart and Tennant is brilliant in it.
So, I've been watching Doctor Who and then reading your reviews, not commenting, but I just watched this episode and it left me *speechless*, and there's no one around to tell, not even online, so here's this comment.
Seriously. I love television, but rarely does an episode of something make me put down my crocheting. (I generally feel the need to do something with my hands while watching TV.) The last ten minutes of this episode? I just forgot I had hands at all. And then after it ended, I just sort of sat for a few minutes. I haven't had such a strong reaction to something that isn't one of my personal buttons (abuse of power, parents losing their children) in ages and ages. I don't even want to unpack it, yet, and figure out what made it so incredibly affecting. I just want to be affected, for a little while.
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Honestly, one of the most terrifying things I can ever imagine seeing on television.
The Doctor all scared and on the edge of tears, no thank you. No thank you.
NO
THANK
YOU.