Doctor Who "Midnight" (2008)

Wow, I was a little unsure about this episode at first as it got off to a bit of a slow start. No Donna, the Doctor "stuck in a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight. What could possibly go wrong?", and what seemed like very uninteresting guest characters. I could not have been more wrong as the episode continues the great momentum the second half of the season has been showing. The episode was essentially a one set play which is all dialogue and very little action. It goes to show how well something like this can be done when it's in the right hands and because it's so hard people tend to shy away from such formats. I can safely say I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the episode and starting to wish we saw these episodes as they are aired in Great Britain, with no commercial interruptions. Unlike TV shows made in the good old US of A, their shows are made to be watch without breaks for commercials, so when they are transplanted, those breaks need to be shoehorned in. The problem with an episode like this, with rapid dialogue and a slow sense of paranoia and dread building up over the course of the episode, the commercials only serve to work against the writer's intent.

Speaking of writers, I'll admit I was a little shocked that this episode came from Russell T. Davies. Now I am thankful for him re energizing the franchise and ensuring its future for some years to come. He obviously is well suited to plan the season arcs and the direction with which the show should take. He's careful to always pay deference to the original series without making this new one a carbon copy. The Doctor-lite episodes are interesting additions to the series, and "Blink" (written, of course, by Steven Moffat) was one of the best episodes of season three. All that being said, I find his individual writing style leaves a little to be desired. He tends to overdo the humor, instead of more subtle applications, and his perception of the Doctor comes off as a pompous, self-indulged savior who issues ultimatums which should be feared as he is the highest power in the universe.

I was glad to see with the episode, he is either aware of those foibles or just thought it would help this story to do something different. By taking Donna out of the equation, he limits the Doctor/companion humor that is usually present and also puts the Doctor on his own with no one to rely on for assistance. To see the Doctor's pomposity actually work against him was also a nice touch as cabin fever slowly starts to overtake the passengers. In almost every episode, complete strangers will defer to the Doctor to take the lead because of his charm and intelligence. Here, the other passengers only found reasons to dislike his personality, because of his obnoxious behavior and joyful glee at such dangerous circumstances.

The idea of a villain who has no known intent and if fact no real form makes for an effective antagonist, much like the Vashta Nerada of the previous episodes. To simply have the possessed woman repeat the words of the people on the voyage and then replicate them as they are speaking without any delay is an unnerving characteristic and makes the villain all the more memorable. Of course it settles on the Doctor and tries to get the other passengers to throw him onto the lethal surface. With the loss of Donna, it isn't clear who will step in to save the Doctor in the end and makes for a more thrilling conclusion. At the end the Doctor seems quite unsettled regarding what has happened and even Donna can find little to do to comfort him. This episode was a brilliantly conceived and executed idea and gives renewed hope for the final three episodes of this somewhat lackluster fourth season.

Favorite moment: I always love when the writers can give a enjoyable running gag an ironic twist which gives a glimpse into the true state of mind of the characters. At the end of the episode when Donna mimics the Doctor's "Molto bene" and he replies "Don't do that" as he had to humorous effect to Rose, Martha and even Donna already, it shows how agitated the whole affair has made him and that the Doctor is not always so friendly, even with his companions.