Midnight Series 4

Mycroft H

Just re-watching some random doctor who episodes and I remembered this gem of an episode. And I know R T Davis gets a lot of guff from the fans but to be perfectly honest, this is one of the best episodes he ever wrote.

The tension was subtly built up bit by bit, and you knew you were up the creek when even the doctor didn't know what it was.


Anyone else like it? :pac:


For those that have forgot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPnEEFTXKVA

Daemos

Yeah a great episode. Even that trailer doesn't do it justice. It isn't just about the situation, it's about how people would react if they were in that situation, which is rarely explored in Doctor Who.

RTD said that in a way it was a follow-up to Voyage of the Damned, because in that episode we never really saw the fear of the situation from the other passengers and he wanted to address that. I think it's fair to say, he succeeded.

A modern classic, followed by another great RTD story in Turn Left. It's been said a lot on this forum, but it's true that he's at his best when the stories are small-scale, not "save every universe from the Ultimodestructoid bomb"

blastman

DaPoolRulz wrote: »

... the Ultimodestructoid bomb"

Anyone know where I can get one of these?

Fysh

Agreed - this episode in particular was a very good demonstration of what RTD could bring to the table. I get the impression he's a writer who performs best when working with a limited budget (or perhaps just an editor who knows when to reign in his more OTT ideas).

Doctor DooM

Midnight is one of if not my favourite episode of new who.

Whenever I moan about RTD I alwyas put in a caveat that I think he's done some great things for Who too, the creation of this episode is one.

iguana

Daemos wrote: »

It's been said a lot on this forum, but it's true that he's at his best when the stories are small-scale, not "save every universe from the Ultimodestructoid bomb"

Except that Torchwood: Children of Earth was a huge scale story and was superb.

Daemos

True actually. Maybe I should say at his best when he has limited special effects so his stories rely more on characters

iguana

Daemos wrote: »

True actually. Maybe I should say at his best when he has limited special effects so his stories rely more on characters

He's so weirdly hit and miss. CoE was amazing and then 6 months later we had the painful Xmas/NY debacle that ended Tennants run.

Outside of Doctor Who I really loved his Queer as Folk but his Casanova bored the hell out of me. He should definitely concentrate on characters and forget about trying to be "stylish."

ixoy

I think I need to give "Midnight" a re-watch.

I think RTD suffers when he tries to throw too many elements into the pot - such as his season finales, which kept going on a bigger and bigger scale. "Children of Earth" worked because it made it all very personal - it wasn't aliens, it was children and we could see how it affected people personally.

He can do characters very well when he's trying to keep them human and also fragile - he's not at his best when he's going OTT. His best scene in the Season 30 finale, by a looooonnngggg way, was the Doctor and Wilf in the café. That was excellent on all levels... and yet then he seems to think we need something to explode shorty afterwards. It makes him the most frustrating writer I've ever come across!

Mahatma coat

Midnight was Good, and yeah MAybe RTD did write some decent Stuf, butthenhe subjected us to some truly Awful rubish too, I wont mentiona anything specific as people may have en trying toblock some of the memories.

and then I think Hey Moffats in charge now, I like what he's doing with Matt Smiths Doctor,and Moffat wrote Some of what I would consider the BEST Who episodes ever, I rewatched 'The Girl in the Fireplace' a few nights ago, Sublime, a couple of scenes gives more insight into the doctors character than RTD could ever imagine let alone acomplish.