Episode Ten – Midnight by RTD OBE
Tricky one, this. Maybe it wouldn’t have seemed as bad if it had followed the episode starring a certain offspring of the Doctor. But it was following a Moffat two-parter. The same Moffat two-parter that I orgasmed over in my blog last week. But follow Forest Of The Dead it did. And it was all the worse for it. How could anything compare to the Moffat episodes? Especially something that was clearly just RTD OBE pissing around; experimenting; going off-piste; making something that doesn’t really fit with Doctor Who just because he wants to ‘try it’ as a writer. The last time that happened, we got Peter Kay in a green fat suit, being a twat and ruining 45 minute of my life.
This was better. Midnight WAS better. It just didn’t… I don’t know. It just left me kind of questioning exactly what the point was.
There were a lot of things to recommend it.
The cast were uniformly brilliant. In any episode, there are normally one or two performances that let the whole side down. Steve Pemberton being a prime example. But everyone was perfect here. Notably the gorgeous Colin Morgan and Lindsey Coulson, with the latter already starting at a distinct disadvantage as her appearance in Bill-spin-off MIT made me sick. But here, she was outstanding as the cunt of the piece.
Lesley Sharp – she of the pretty nose – was an absolute genius for managing to cope with “the hardest thing I’ve ever asked an actor to do” (according to RTD OBE) and her general air of creepiness (coupled with ‘the nose’) was one of the best things about this episode. She just oozed menace. David Tennant – who I rarely single out for praise in these blogs, purely because he’s not Christopher Eccleston – was great. Overly cocky, then totally helpless as he becomes a victim of his own bragging. His face as the others tried to drag him out showed absolute, unequivocal terror. (Reminded me of when Eccleston first came face to face with a Dalek in… erm… Dalek. Maybe that’s why I’m praising Tennant today? Because he came close to aping Eccleston?)
The idea was a good one. I particularly enjoyed the fact that you never discover exactly WHAT had taken over the lovely Ms Sharp (and her nose). It’s spookier that way. Leaves plenty to the imagination.
The distinct lack of Catherine Tate ruined the episode a little bit for me. It was a worrying glimpse into what the future of Doctor Who – after Donna is no longer around – will be like. She is the BEST thing about this new series, and taking her out of the equation was a total disaster. I missed her. I missed her banter with the Doctor, her one-liners, her all-round brilliance… I’m fully aware the story wouldn’t have worked with her there. The whole point was the Doctor being powerless, with no one on his side. But still, RTD… You could have given her a sub-plot.
The ending, however, was the thing that annoyed me the most. This selfish, rule-abiding, trolley-dolly non-character – despite displaying nothing but obnoxiousness through the whole episode – sacrifices herself to save the others. What?! There was NO reason for her to suddenly play the hero. She’d been in the background of the whole episode, doing nothing but being dull and pointless. And then she volunteers for death?! Where did THAT come from?!
It takes an awful lot of bravery and guts and conviction and an absolute, unfaltering belief in what you’re doing is for the greater good to sacrifice yourself like that… She had displayed none of those characteristics in the whole pissing episode! It just seemed like a convenience; an easy way to wrap up an episode, instead of the RIGHT way. A great set-up and a great let down. Not vile enough for me to lump it in with Love & Monsters and The Doctor’s Shit Whore Daughter under the ‘FUCKING AWFUL’ banner. It was extremely watchable. But nothing more, nothing less.
Total Score: SIX out of TEN
Tricky one, this. Maybe it wouldn’t have seemed as bad if it had followed the episode starring a certain offspring of the Doctor. But it was following a Moffat two-parter. The same Moffat two-parter that I orgasmed over in my blog last week. But follow Forest Of The Dead it did. And it was all the worse for it. How could anything compare to the Moffat episodes? Especially something that was clearly just RTD OBE pissing around; experimenting; going off-piste; making something that doesn’t really fit with Doctor Who just because he wants to ‘try it’ as a writer. The last time that happened, we got Peter Kay in a green fat suit, being a twat and ruining 45 minute of my life.
This was better. Midnight WAS better. It just didn’t… I don’t know. It just left me kind of questioning exactly what the point was.
There were a lot of things to recommend it.
The cast were uniformly brilliant. In any episode, there are normally one or two performances that let the whole side down. Steve Pemberton being a prime example. But everyone was perfect here. Notably the gorgeous Colin Morgan and Lindsey Coulson, with the latter already starting at a distinct disadvantage as her appearance in Bill-spin-off MIT made me sick. But here, she was outstanding as the cunt of the piece.
Lesley Sharp – she of the pretty nose – was an absolute genius for managing to cope with “the hardest thing I’ve ever asked an actor to do” (according to RTD OBE) and her general air of creepiness (coupled with ‘the nose’) was one of the best things about this episode. She just oozed menace. David Tennant – who I rarely single out for praise in these blogs, purely because he’s not Christopher Eccleston – was great. Overly cocky, then totally helpless as he becomes a victim of his own bragging. His face as the others tried to drag him out showed absolute, unequivocal terror. (Reminded me of when Eccleston first came face to face with a Dalek in… erm… Dalek. Maybe that’s why I’m praising Tennant today? Because he came close to aping Eccleston?)
The idea was a good one. I particularly enjoyed the fact that you never discover exactly WHAT had taken over the lovely Ms Sharp (and her nose). It’s spookier that way. Leaves plenty to the imagination.
The distinct lack of Catherine Tate ruined the episode a little bit for me. It was a worrying glimpse into what the future of Doctor Who – after Donna is no longer around – will be like. She is the BEST thing about this new series, and taking her out of the equation was a total disaster. I missed her. I missed her banter with the Doctor, her one-liners, her all-round brilliance… I’m fully aware the story wouldn’t have worked with her there. The whole point was the Doctor being powerless, with no one on his side. But still, RTD… You could have given her a sub-plot.
The ending, however, was the thing that annoyed me the most. This selfish, rule-abiding, trolley-dolly non-character – despite displaying nothing but obnoxiousness through the whole episode – sacrifices herself to save the others. What?! There was NO reason for her to suddenly play the hero. She’d been in the background of the whole episode, doing nothing but being dull and pointless. And then she volunteers for death?! Where did THAT come from?!
It takes an awful lot of bravery and guts and conviction and an absolute, unfaltering belief in what you’re doing is for the greater good to sacrifice yourself like that… She had displayed none of those characteristics in the whole pissing episode! It just seemed like a convenience; an easy way to wrap up an episode, instead of the RIGHT way. A great set-up and a great let down. Not vile enough for me to lump it in with Love & Monsters and The Doctor’s Shit Whore Daughter under the ‘FUCKING AWFUL’ banner. It was extremely watchable. But nothing more, nothing less.
Total Score: SIX out of TEN
