Midnight (2008)
Review
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Review
This episode was first broadcast on June 14, 2008. A brief and somewhat spoiler-ish summary of the plot: as Donna is sunbathing, the Doctor goes on a day-trip.
When I first watched this episode, it just blew me away. Watching it again is a very different experience. On second viewing it becomes obvious how the story might just not work for some people - though without the element of surprise it also becomes easier to see what a very well-made piece of television this is.
Some second-viewing highlights (beware, spoilers ahead):
- the first nine minutes (and that includes the opening credits) when everything in this story is still hunky-dory, are a fantastically efficient piece of storytelling. In these nine minutes we get a sense of what kind of place Midnight is and why the Doctor and Donna are there, we see the Doctor get away from Donna and onto the coach, we get a real sense of who the other passengers are, and as the Doctor bonds with them we begin to care about them as well. The groundwork for the story's emotional impact is laid here
- the next 2.5 minutes establish that - yes, Houston - we have a problem, and we see the Doctor take charge. We also get a chance to develop some sympathy for the driver and the mechanic, two characters who we won't be seeing again after this brief first encounter. Again, this is an elegant bit of storytelling that gets where it's going with great efficiency
- another striking moment occurs near the end of the episode. Everything is over and the coach passengers are silently awaiting rescue, obviously struggling with the implications of what happened. And then the Doctor asks whether anyone knows the hostess' name, and everyone realises that they don't. Something's obviously happening here, though it's hard to pinpoint what it is - it's as if the Doctor's question somehow marks the end of shock and the start of recovery. Once again, this is a fantastic bit of storytelling
And, also, the story raises some interesting questions (more spoilers ahead):
- what's going on with Sky Silvester, the passenger who seems to be at the heart of everything that goes wrong in this story? Why is she "on a schedule" going on a day-trip? Why does she believe that her former girlfriend is coming back to get her, when something starts banging against the coach's hull? Did the girlfriend really leave her, or did their relationship end in violence?
- is the entity - or whatever it is - malevolent, or is it just a tabula rasa that imitates, emulates and learns with astonishing speed and efficiency? It is one of the strengths of this story that it doesn't answer all the questions, allowing more than one reading to be possible
My verdict:
Brilliant, indeed.
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