Oh boy those River Song foreshadowing’s drive me nuts now. I will admit though it was still a genius move from Moffat to get fans hyped for his takeover of the show by introducing a companion the Doctor’s yet to meet (which is laughable now thanks to Big Finish), and flat out tell the fans that they’re in for exciting times ahead. Even though yes, the fact that everything Moffat promised us with River Song ended up completely underwhelming which does damage this story slightly, but not enough to make me think less of it. This to me was the start of the strongest back-to-back run of episodes in Modern Who, you had this two-part classic, the very beloved Midnight, followed by Turn Left and while the Series 4 finale is somewhat divisive you can’t argue how massive and epic it was. This run of stories was Modern Who at its peak and it all kicks off with yet another homerun from Steven Moffat.

The Doctor takes Donna to the biggest library in the universe with every written book throughout recorded history, but they quickly find that they’re the only ones on the planet. Something has caused the disappearance of every visitor and staff member on the planet leaving the library in complete silence. Except the Doctor and Donna are not quite the only lifeforms left as something is lurking in the shadows.

My god, I really miss this kind of Moffat story, the ones where he just had so many great ideas but knew how to keep them balanced and not get carried away. You have the library, the mystery about it being a dream inside a little girl’s head, the information statues with real faces on them, the monster literally being the shadows themselves, the introduction of River Song, the data ghost, the virtual reality Donna ends up trapped in and the climax that ties everything all together beautifully. It’s just brilliant idea after brilliant idea and they all get the exact amount of time needed dedicated to them, some are very brief but leave such an impact, others are gradually developed throughout the story to a satisfying payoff.

While it’s not as terrifying as some other noticeable episodes in the show, this one does creep under your skin and give you this unsettling feeling right from the beginning, playing on basic fears of a large seemingly empty library, some unseen force turning out the lights, and then you have the darkness itself being a monster that strips the flesh from its victims.

Really my only issues with this story are as I mentioned earlier the whole River Song deal is a bit awkward to look back on now that we’ve had the full context of everything Moffat teased us with in this story, also River’s ending in this story is somewhat questionable. I get going for a fairy tale ending to keep the kids happy, this was at the point where it hadn’t been done to death in the show but having River Song spend all of eternity in a computer with the virtual avatars of some people she never really got along with in the first place. Am I the only one who thinks that’s a fate worse than death???

But apart from that, I absolutely adore this story, it’s kind of that story I look back on fondly and go “wow, remember when Moffat used to write this on a regular basis?”

The best audition Moffat could have had to be showrunner, perfect proof of concept

peak.

Great conclusion, but I don’t know- relegating River Song to domestic bliss? It just doesn’t feel right, especially with everything we know about her now. She should be in some orgy simulation with all the doctors.

Forest of the Dead is a great conclusion to this two-parter, in my opinion better than the part proceeding it. The plot with Donna is really good in my opinion. It felt genuinely creepy and sad. The main plot also continues to be very solid from the previous episode, and the threads were wrapped up neatly.

I WOULD HAVE CREATED SO MANY TIME PARADOXES WITH YOU, AND KEPT YOU ALIVE FOREVER

This one is better than I remembered!

Silence in the Library is stuffed with enough sci-fi concepts to nourish several other stories: a planet sized library; invisible monsters in the shadows; data ghosts; Donna's fictional children; Donna tragically not crossing paths with her real husband. But the two best concepts of all are The Doctor having a wife from the future who he hasn't crossed paths with, but knows him better than anyone in the world; and a there being child who is a computer in her own world watching the real world unfold on her TV.

Catherine Tate plays her part incredibly well here, from the two hander with David up top, to caring for the bullied member of the crew to her disorientating journey through the dream world. Alex Kingston also smashes her introduction as the infamous River Song - the concept of her story is so deep and broad that it feels impossible at this point that they would even manage to bring her back. Props should also go to Steve Pemberton who (as also seen in Happy Valley) can twist from malicious to sympathetic in an instance, giving his character an enjoyably multi-layered performance.

This is Moffat at the height of his powers, not serving up needlessly complicated plot in order to wow the audience, but instead carefully introducing thread after thread of different concepts, gently crafting them into a satisfying whole that totally adds up.