Midnight

Series 4; Episode 10:
--- "Midnight" by Russell T. Davies

There are a few stories that compete for the spot of my number one Doctor Who episode. Human Nature checks every box on what a Doctor Who story should be, Heaven Sent is a beautiful and immaculately crafted character study and Vincent and the Doctor is a heart breaking portrayal of a severely damaged man. However, Midnight is something special and something utterly spectacular.

Trapped in a tourist bus with a group of strangers on a planet where no life can exist outside, the Doctor, alone and afraid, must try and calm his fellow passengers as something from outside tries to get in.

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

I don't scare easily but Midnight manages to viscerally unnerve from the first knock to the final confrontation. We do not know what the entity is, or what it wants or how it works and I feel Doctor Who can lack in tension when the Doctor knows precisely what the danger is. We know how to fight a dalek and we know how to combat a Weeping Angel but a creature with no reason, an inconceivable system of logic and a nebulous form is impossible to work out. What I love the most about Midnight is its subversion of expectations, just a year prior in the Voyage of the Damned, the Doctor took control of a tough situation in one speech but faced with a problem he can't solve, he quickly loses his grip. It's the performances that carry Midnight, every single passenger and member of the cast is on top form, Tennant truly conveys the Doctor's fear, the Kane family are believably panicked and unreasonable citizens and the possessed Ms. Silvestry gives us one of the most chilling one off performances of the show. Every second counts, every line is a new problem that must be solved, every solution has consequences, the danger in this isn't easily solvable, people are going to die. This episode could've so easily been a boring and misused time slot filler to carry us over until Turn Left but instead Russell decided to serve us the best horror episode of the show and perhaps the greatest bottle episodes ever aired.

For negatives, I can barely find any. I think that sometimes, the lines can be a delivered a little unrealistically. I feel this random group of people, even in this situation, wouldn't immediately be inclined to throw a woman onto the surface of an inhospitable planet.

10/10

Pros:
+ The Midnight Entity is easily my favourite villain of the week from the revival, it commands a presence with only stolen words and knocks on a wall
+ This could be Tennant's best performance on the show, his rising panic and stress is so well crafted, the only competition I can think of is when he played John Smith in Human Nature
+ Every single cast member is brilliant, every single one manages to play their part perfectly and they all feel so realistic and believable
+ The ending stings, this situation couldn't have concluded well and the Hostess' self sacrifice was a bitter moment
+ The montage near the beginning, when Ten is just hanging out with the other passengers is so fun and really cements why this incarnation is so popular
+ Perfect setting, a planet made of diamonds where nothing can survive is a chillingly alien world and the perfect place to tell this story
+ That moment when one of the drivers sees something on the planet where nothing can supposedly live always gives me chills
+ Flips every Doctor Who norm and trope on its head
+ Genuinely terrifying, I don't know why Weeping Angels get the love this creature deserves
+ The tightest RTD script, no other episode of his compares to the sheer brilliance on display here

Cons:
- Some moments and lines feel a little forced
- No Wilf

In one of Russell finest ever efforts we see him wring every ounce of potential out of a simple yet brilliant idea. Copycat teasing turned evil - something kids can copy in the playground. Donna takes a break in the spa whilst The Doctor is left to convince a group of increasingly disgruntled strangers not to kill him. Russell is brilliant at writing conflict, so it’s great to see him let loose and develop a bottle episode which focuses on people and negative social dynamics in high a pressure, claustrophobic environment.

Louise Sharp is magnificent in this as the possessed woman who turns the group against each other. I loved her alongside Alan Davies in RTD’s magnificent Bob & Rose. When she turns on the possession it is spine tingling! David Troughton is spookily like his father in tone and mannerisms in his well acted but small role - a special treat for fans.

A special shout out needs to go to Alice Troughton’s direction for managing to make what is in the most part a single set and a series of very long takes look so interesting over the course of a whole episode. She made magic out of a very small budget.

This story makes me wish RTD had more of a chance to focus on writing one off, disconnected stories rather than focusing on the beginning, ending and connective tissue of each series.