Midnight (3010/410)

[Dusk]

Enjoyed it.
Enjoyed it.

Creepy.
Creepy.

Humans are the most evil of them all.
Humans are the most evil of them all.

RTD has issues with episodes set in our future.
RTD has issues with episodes set in our future.

All the characters looked like they just stepped off the Tube this morning.
All the characters looked like they just stepped off the Tube this morning.

That's not what the people would be like.
That's not what the people would be like.

Oh well.
Oh well.

Loved the hostess.
Loved the hostess.

Would you stop that now?
Would you stop that now?

[sigh]
[sigh]

[tombombadil]

did you all see rose on the screen?

[Pitry]

That's not what the people would be like.

You're quite the optimist then.
(You're quite the optimist then.)

[Dusk]

Actually, looking back at that statement, I realize I didn't elaborate properly. I meant to say that yes, the characters would most definitely turn into a pack of wolves like a scene straight out of 'The Crucible', but that we wouldn't have an emo teen with John and Jane Doe as parents straight out of Neighbours, or a brown-cardigan professor who looks like he just stepped out of a 1960s physics lecture. The characters are anachronistic for a future period. As are most of RTD's future characters in Doctor Who. Sure we might be able to relate to them better, but their presence tends to push the setting into the realm of silly and ill-conceived. Planet of the Ood had similar, out of place characters in the form of rowdy business men and women. Fires of Pompeii also attempted to modernize the Roman family unit into something it wasn't. Is it too much to ask to use people that better suit the time period? Sorry, but it just annoys me to no end.

[Darren]

I love the new Doctor Who and give RTD all the credit in the world for reinventing it as one of the best SF shows on television right now.

This episode, however, stunk.

The characters were all horribly annoying, and the attempt to portray "human nature" was transparent and caught somewhere between depressing and cliche. I understand these were extraordinary circumstances, but the entity hadn't really done anything to threaten anybody in the cabin ... so their haste at tossing people out was simply unbelievable.

The entity's repetition was an interesting choice at first, but got painful to listen to after the 80th line of dialogue after the 80th line of dialogue.

Please, don't make me watch this again. Maybe my least favorite of the last four years.

[ShadowMaat]

You know, I think part of the problem is that most of the characters were unlikable to start with, so their lynch mob mentality wasn't very surprising. Or interesting.

Now, if they'd all been nice, reasonably intelligent people (with maybe a token stinker) that might have been a different story, but a stuffy professor who ignores/verbally abuses his assistant and obnoxious parents who ignore/verbally abuse their son? Please. They'd threaten to stuff someone out the airlock if they ran out of complimentary peanuts* never mind any freaky alien crap.

Dusk and Darren are right: they're clichè. And they were acting like jerks before things went wrong. Even the Stewardess was a bit robotic for the most part. At least until it mattered.

The freaky thing about situations like this (at least from what I've seen on TV) is when the NICE people turn vicious. It's like being savaged by ducks. This ep needed more ducks.







*warning: may contain nuts

[Gabriel_Lecter]

I-LOVED-THIS-EPISODE!

Favourite so far this season.
I've said that about others, but this one definately beats the rest.

Truely a credit to both Lesley Sharp and David Tennant!

[nx01a]

Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereof...

I refuse to watch trailers for Who or read spoilers, so I go into episodes largely cold. That said, I was prepared to hate this episode from the minute I heard the muzak and saw Donna lounging in a spa, then I got really ready to hate it when the Doctor basically screamed out the plot: diamond planet, strangers, long trip, what could go wrong? Then I was REALLY ready to hate it when I saw RTD had written it.

Then, of course, the episode really started. Sure, there were the pop culture references RTD is known for, and the usual different characters/victims, but then things started taking a turn far darker than I was expecting. The possession and the mimicing were well done and wonderfully acted and synched in post. The terror and nastiness of humanity was, no doubt, accelerated by the creature inside Sky... Sky? Midnight Sky? River Song? Geez. Sky One. I was wondering if the creature was actually her evil ex-gf out for revenge, but nah.

I admit, this was one of the few episodes where I genuinely had my heart in my throat. I knew they couldn't kill the Doctor, but the whole futile battle he was fighting to appeal to their common sense / 'humanity' really had me involved. As for their reactions, why is it that only the very clever [Agatha] or the alien-influenced seem to take serious notice of all of the Doctor's peculiarities [only a title, the glee in the face of terror, his patronizing attitude towards 'lesser' beings, etc.] I'm always glad to see people call him on those traits. I seriously doubt the passengers were acting full of their own volition. Sky herself said that 'he gets inside your head', referencing the thnig inside her. I mean, from 0 to murder in 30 minutes is a bit much, even for humans. It was also nice to see the Doctor confronted by the worst of humanity in a situation he had no control over. I was so hoping he'd start using Time Lord kung fu on them.

The 'people in a confined space affected by alien influence' scenario has been done, but RTD does it quite well here, especially with the dynamics involved: a dysfunctional family, a professor and his companion in a relationship that may/may not mirror the Doctor and his companions, and a woman forced to be in charge but really not until the end. The Doctor also had a nice switch, from being the one always in charge and able to effect change to the one completely passive and helpless. As usual, the creature he wants to help has no such humanitarian compunctions; he'll never learn. He HAS to talk to them while they stab him in the front.

Speaking of the Doctor... His frozen repetition scenes were SO well acted. You could see the helplessness and terror in his eyes, not to mention the tear and the drool. The lack of Donna in this episode was a definite plus. With back up, the Doctor would still have some reference point to the 'better angels' of human nature, not to mention back up. I almost laughed when Donna repeated the Doctor and he did the usual 'Don't do that. Don't,' he does with Donna but with a far more serious tone. The last episode was so traumatic for the Doctor and now this happens right after it, I'd love to see this emotional rollercoaster continue for the rest of the season. Put him under this pressure constantly, let's see how long it takes for him to have post traumatic flashbacks of the time war.

During the final confrontation, I was reminded of a poem, and it seemed like the best lacked all conviction, while the worst were filled with passionate intensity. It was fitting that the Doctor's interaction with someone, recognising his personality, should be what instigated the hostess to take action, sacrifice herself and save everyone.

I was very impressed with this episode, it felt more Moffat than RTD. Points to RTD for referencing how little we get complimentary these days when travelling.

Medusa Cascade! Missing moon! The Doctor's name! "It's a date." ROSE!!!

I greatly enjoyed this episode and actually got emotionally invested, perhaps because it was, for the most part, real time and didn't let up for an instant.

Definitely more of the same!!!

[nx01a]

Mmm.

Huh. I wasn't as blown away by the ep as some obviously were. The copying thing was kinda interesting, but the mob mentality thing has been done many times before and I didn't really feel that this ep brought anything new to the table in that regard. Plus it underscores a theme that I feel is becoming more and more obvious: humans are monsters. It kinda makes me wonder why the Doctor bothers with us at all. For every "good" person out there it seems like there are whole groups who are awful. Or maybe the Planet of the Ood thing bothered me even more than I realized.

I agree. I've always found the Doctor's attitude towards humans quite... schizophrenic. One minute, he's praising us for our abilities, the next he's treating us like kids who can't help themselves and need him, the next he's toppling governments because we [IMO] rightly defended ourselves against alien aggression.

I'd also like to know more about the entity. Yes, I get that it's supposed to be mysterious, but it had to have some kind of physical body in order to be pounding on the hull- and quite a powerful one if it could dent the side of the ship and smash open the cockpit. And yet it winds up being more like a thought virus, taking over the mind of Skye and then leaching the Doctor's energy. Or are we meant to believe that a big, malevolent thought smashed up the ship? What was the shadow the mechanic saw, then? And how come, in all this time, no one has ever encountered the creature(s) before? Because it's the sole entity on the entire planet and never ranges beyond that particular diamond field? The masses of hot-blood life in the resort were never enough to draw it closer? It never drew closer to the tour craft's normal route? What about that field was so extraordinary that it not only spawned this lifeform but kept it trapped within such a small range? How did it manage to affect the engines? And cut the wires? Heck, how did it even know to do these things? And why strip the covering off the chairs? I suppose it could be a side effect, but why? And how did it leave Skye undamaged? I should think her clothes, at least, would be a bit torn even if the entity needed Skye herself to be whole.

What was Skye's problem, anyway? Why was she so convinced that "it" was coming after her? I didn't quite follow all the dialogue in that scene, I think she was screaming something about her ex, but why would she (or anyone) want her dead?

And if anyone tells me I'm "overthinking" things I'll punch them in the nose. If I see something I don't understand, it raises questions. Those questions lead to MORE questions and soon I've taken the whole whatever apart and am surrounded by random bits and question marks.

[ShadowMaat]

It's probably been suggested before, but having now rewatched the ep I'm gonna go with the entity ramping up everyone's fears and paranoia- like someone said, it WANTS them to fight. Doesn't make the ep any more enjoyable for me, but it does alleviate some of my irritation at how fast and completely everyone turned vicious.

[RDAfan61]

That was my take on it as well. She kept urging them on to throw him out and do it fast. Tried to make it like she had been innocently overtaken and was "cold" and it was "dark". I too would have loved an explanation of exactly what the creature was ultimately trying to do and how but it still worked.

The repeating did get fairly annoying but was well done, wonder how long it took them to practice that or was it all done in post and I mean the scenes where you actually saw them speaking together.

The mother annoued me to no end and I too wanted to smack her and the husband too. I was so glad the Doctor did not dignify her last statement with an answer.

Not the best ep for me either but was definately a very interesting one and quite well done, especially by DT. He really gets into it with the drooling and all.

[Myn McGeek, Third Sentinel]

The characters were all horribly annoying, and the attempt to portray "human nature" was transparent and caught somewhere between depressing and cliche. I understand these were extraordinary circumstances, but the entity hadn't really done anything to threaten anybody in the cabin ... so their haste at tossing people out was simply unbelievable.

It's probably been suggested before, but having now rewatched the ep I'm gonna go with the entity ramping up everyone's fears and paranoia- like someone said, it WANTS them to fight. Doesn't make the ep any more enjoyable for me, but it does alleviate some of my irritation at how fast and completely everyone turned vicious.

In the episode itself, the alien inside Sky actually says, "That's what he does... devides you and turns you against each other" OK, I know that's not an exact quote... my memory is worthless... XP But I know the alien (in Sky) says something along those lines when trying to convince them that it (the alien) is now in the Doctor.
I think that the alien was slightly telepathic. That's how it gets into peoples' heads and is able to say what they're saying at the exact same time, then it goes to the next step -- which is getting in their head so much that the alien is basically using the speach center of their brain to be able to speak itself. And obviously it also saps a bit of motor-control while it's at it -- which would be why the Doctor not only can't talk for himself, but can't even move. So, it may not be telepathic in the sense that we usually think, but just enough to take a few of the person's mental abilities from them.

I also think that the reason why it was trying to get them to kill the Doctor is because while he's still alive, he still has some power over his own mind and that may be keeping the alien from taking what it needs completely...

Just my guess....

[tombombadil]

In the episode itself, the alien inside Sky actually says, "That's what he does... devides you and turns you against each other" OK, I know that's not an exact quote... my memory is worthless... XP But I know the alien (in Sky) says something along those lines when trying to convince them that it (the alien) is now in the Doctor.
I think that the alien was slightly telepathic. That's how it gets into peoples' heads and is able to say what they're saying at the exact same time, then it goes to the next step -- which is getting in their head so much that the alien is basically using the speach center of their brain to be able to speak itself. And obviously it also saps a bit of motor-control while it's at it -- which would be why the Doctor not only can't talk for himself, but can't even move. So, it may not be telepathic in the sense that we usually think, but just enough to take a few of the person's mental abilities from them.

I also think that the reason why it was trying to get them to kill the Doctor is because while he's still alive, he still has some power over his own mind and that may be keeping the alien from taking what it needs completely...

Just my guess....

In the episode itself, the alien inside Sky actually says, "That's what he does... devides you and turns you against each other" OK, I know that's not an exact quote... my memory is worthless... XP But I know the alien (in Sky) says something along those lines when trying to convince them that it (the alien) is now in the Doctor.
I think that the alien was slightly telepathic. That's how it gets into peoples' heads and is able to say what they're saying at the exact same time, then it goes to the next step -- which is getting in their head so much that the alien is basically using the speach center of their brain to be able to speak itself. And obviously it also saps a bit of motor-control while it's at it -- which would be why the Doctor not only can't talk for himself, but can't even move. So, it may not be telepathic in the sense that we usually think, but just enough to take a few of the person's mental abilities from them.

I also think that the reason why it was trying to get them to kill the Doctor is because while he's still alive, he still has some power over his own mind and that may be keeping the alien from taking what it needs completely...

Just my guess....

[Alipeeps]

^Heh. I wondered what had happened there and it took me longer that I'd like to admit to work it out. Nice one!

The repeating did get fairly annoying but was well done, wonder how long it took them to practice that or was it all done in post and I mean the scenes where you actually saw them speaking together.

Don't know if you get to see the Doctor Who Confidential about this episode? Really interesting stuff - it was actually very complex to get all of that stuff right. For the scenes with the Doctor and Sky face to face they were actually speaking together (although they also recorded them saying their lines alone, so as to have a clear track of each voice) saying the lines at the same time and they'd actually given all the actors some rehearsal time before they started filming so that they could (DT and the woman playing Sky in particular) practice and get their timing right etc. But the most interesting thing, I think, is that in the scenes where everyone is talking/shouting at once, they had to film them multiple times over, each time with just one person actually speaking aloud and all the others just miming their lines without speaking. This is so they could have a separate track of each voice - mostly for the purposes of dubbing into foreign languages when the show is aired abroad! So that each voice could be dubbed and the entity/Sky's parroting matched to it. Really complex stuff!

[Myn McGeek, Third Sentinel]

Well, you've done better than me, Alipeeps.... I have no clue why Tom just copied my post word for word.