Doctor Who, 4x10 - "Midnight"
Jun. 15th, 2008 11:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
demeter918Whew, the last episode before the return of you-know-who. And, dude, TOTAL FANTASTICNESS.
Wow.
This was definitely one of my favorite episodes this season! For something that essentially took place in one room the entire episode? Truly kickass.
Lets get this out of the way first – ROSE! OMG! ROSE! OMG! ROSE! THREE WHOLE SECONDS! AND THE DOCTOR WAS RIGHT THERE. The moment he turned away (TURN LEFT), the screen went to Rose's face. She's getting closer, closer. The first time, they'd missed each other by streets. The second time, by transmission, and the third? She was right behind him and calling for him, and oh dear, look at that, I just went around my apartment shrieking in happiness. (not that I'm happy that they missed each other, but you gotta admit... the epicness of this season's clues make me a happy fan.)
Donna: Hee, fanon-turned-canon. Donna indulging herself on a leisure planet? Fantastic. Oh, Donna, even with only a few minutes at the beginning and a few minutes at the end, you put more onto the screen than anyone else. I love you, I love you, iloveyou. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE. *wobble* The ending where the Doctor needed a hug and she could give it to him? NOOOOO, don't leave Donna! (this does not bode well for me on episode 13)
Ensemble Cast: Ha, I liked them; not because they were cool, but rather because they were interesting. In terms of personality, each one really projected themselves and one especially intriguing aspect is that they showed us what they're like when everything is nice and dandy, calm and peaceful. Then they showed us what each character is like under pressure, fear, horror, and the group mentality.
I especially liked how they showed that it takes a lot (or sometimes, very little) to push us to acting in a way that we might not think we would. For one thing, Dee doesn't seem like the one who would have spoken up, but she was only one besides the Hostess who spoke up against tossing the Doctor out the airlock. Jethro? In the beginning, he was the clever one, the one who figured out some of the things that the Doctor might have, but he switched so quickly. It bothered me to see people turn so quickly, but I suppose that was the point of the episode. The Professor? At first, he seemed reasonable, but that quickly turned to prey for fury. And he let his own arrogance take a hold of him; he couldn't imagine an assistant smarter than him or a man who called himself 'the Doctor' to be better. As for the parents... it seemed like they fed off each others fear. They cared for each other and their son, but it coalesced into this frightening thing.
The Unknown Fear: This was bloody fantastic. We never saw the form of this alien. It was always outside the ship or inside someone else. So, so creepy, so, so wonderful. I know RTD's specialty isn't horror-themed episodes, but his specialty is character development, and we got a ton of character development. Everyone from the Doctor to the supporting cast itself. Rather brilliant, actually.
I hesitate to say this, because it seems like I'm biased against Moffat, but I was way more freaked out by the unknown rather than the shadows. One aspect is that in Silence in the Library, we got the name of the shadows almost straightaway. For me, that really took away part of the fear. Once I knew what it was, I wasn't very frightened by it. Which is weird, since I was totally freaked out by the weeping angels, even after I found out they were quantum-locked assassins.
The Doctor and Humans: I'm not sure, but for me, this really seemed to point back at Nine and all his comments about humans and apehood. I kept thinking about him, but I don't know.
The Doctor and his 'Glee': The Doctor's 'glee' about 'things' has caught up in this episode. We've been shown times when he's been scolded for being so 'gleeful' when terrible and tragic things happen, but this is the first time that it's been pointed out and with consequences. That was a truly bizarre thing to watch. And terrifying. Watching the other passengers fight about what to do, with the Doctor unable to speak or move or do anything; the horror in his eyes? The utter terror? The hopelessness? I generally favor Eccleston over Tennant, but in this particular episode, Tennant really won me. I was really impressed by the way he controlled it. He never actually cried, but he came close without actually letting it go. Yeah, Tennant shined.
I wonder whether this is will be a turning point for the Doctor and the whole God-complex that he has going on? One thing I miss about Rose is that around her, he seemed so... I'd hate to use this word, but gosh darn it, he seemed so normal. He was excited by hundreds of small things, he made silly and inappropriate bets, he clowned around. In ways, while people tend to say that Nine was way more serious than Ten, I find it to be the opposite. I can't see Nine ever taking on the 'God' mantle. Sure, he'd call himself clever and mean it; that's just the way the Doctor is. But being someone 'whole armies' turn and run from?
No, I don't think so.
I don't think Rose is the only person he's ever been 'normal' with, far from it, but I guess post-Gallifrey, she's been the only one we've seen him act like that with. In this case, I kind of miss Classic!Who.
Which brings me to...
Rose: Am I excited that Rose is back? HELLS YEAH. Am I looking forward to the next three episodes? HELLS YEAH.
But am I hoping for some sort of romantic reunion?
Not sure. I'm actually feeling a bit ambivalent on that point. Rationally, I know this probably won't happen, what, with Moffat taking over and RTD retiring out. Also, it's unlikely because there's little chance that Billie Piper would come back for anything more than a few guest episodes.
On one part, I like the thought of them together; it's cute, it's sweet, it makes me heart fill with happiness. I smile just at the idea. And what's wrong with more love in the world, anyhow?
On the other, I don't like the idea of the Only Love. I've loved more than once and I'd like to think that there was something unique about each person I loved and that it wasn't some sort of shadow of the first person I loved.
But... yeah, dude. Rose and the Doctor. It's like peanut butter and chocolate.
Blargh, I keep thinking about the next three weeks and it's either going to fillet me open into vaguely-human-like shapes or I'm going to spend most of it in bouts of weeping, hysterical laughter, and doomdoomdoomdoomdoom.
... this does not help with me moving. In six weeks, I've got to be packed up and moving from ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER.
Oh life, I'm glad you're such a non-rule-following-thing, but I've got an apartment to clean and stuff to send and planes to plan and I've got three weeks of nail-biting.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A TRIP. Yay.
Wow.
This was definitely one of my favorite episodes this season! For something that essentially took place in one room the entire episode? Truly kickass.
Lets get this out of the way first – ROSE! OMG! ROSE! OMG! ROSE! THREE WHOLE SECONDS! AND THE DOCTOR WAS RIGHT THERE. The moment he turned away (TURN LEFT), the screen went to Rose's face. She's getting closer, closer. The first time, they'd missed each other by streets. The second time, by transmission, and the third? She was right behind him and calling for him, and oh dear, look at that, I just went around my apartment shrieking in happiness. (not that I'm happy that they missed each other, but you gotta admit... the epicness of this season's clues make me a happy fan.)
Donna: Hee, fanon-turned-canon. Donna indulging herself on a leisure planet? Fantastic. Oh, Donna, even with only a few minutes at the beginning and a few minutes at the end, you put more onto the screen than anyone else. I love you, I love you, iloveyou. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE. *wobble* The ending where the Doctor needed a hug and she could give it to him? NOOOOO, don't leave Donna! (this does not bode well for me on episode 13)
Ensemble Cast: Ha, I liked them; not because they were cool, but rather because they were interesting. In terms of personality, each one really projected themselves and one especially intriguing aspect is that they showed us what they're like when everything is nice and dandy, calm and peaceful. Then they showed us what each character is like under pressure, fear, horror, and the group mentality.
I especially liked how they showed that it takes a lot (or sometimes, very little) to push us to acting in a way that we might not think we would. For one thing, Dee doesn't seem like the one who would have spoken up, but she was only one besides the Hostess who spoke up against tossing the Doctor out the airlock. Jethro? In the beginning, he was the clever one, the one who figured out some of the things that the Doctor might have, but he switched so quickly. It bothered me to see people turn so quickly, but I suppose that was the point of the episode. The Professor? At first, he seemed reasonable, but that quickly turned to prey for fury. And he let his own arrogance take a hold of him; he couldn't imagine an assistant smarter than him or a man who called himself 'the Doctor' to be better. As for the parents... it seemed like they fed off each others fear. They cared for each other and their son, but it coalesced into this frightening thing.
The Unknown Fear: This was bloody fantastic. We never saw the form of this alien. It was always outside the ship or inside someone else. So, so creepy, so, so wonderful. I know RTD's specialty isn't horror-themed episodes, but his specialty is character development, and we got a ton of character development. Everyone from the Doctor to the supporting cast itself. Rather brilliant, actually.
I hesitate to say this, because it seems like I'm biased against Moffat, but I was way more freaked out by the unknown rather than the shadows. One aspect is that in Silence in the Library, we got the name of the shadows almost straightaway. For me, that really took away part of the fear. Once I knew what it was, I wasn't very frightened by it. Which is weird, since I was totally freaked out by the weeping angels, even after I found out they were quantum-locked assassins.
The Doctor and Humans: I'm not sure, but for me, this really seemed to point back at Nine and all his comments about humans and apehood. I kept thinking about him, but I don't know.
The Doctor and his 'Glee': The Doctor's 'glee' about 'things' has caught up in this episode. We've been shown times when he's been scolded for being so 'gleeful' when terrible and tragic things happen, but this is the first time that it's been pointed out and with consequences. That was a truly bizarre thing to watch. And terrifying. Watching the other passengers fight about what to do, with the Doctor unable to speak or move or do anything; the horror in his eyes? The utter terror? The hopelessness? I generally favor Eccleston over Tennant, but in this particular episode, Tennant really won me. I was really impressed by the way he controlled it. He never actually cried, but he came close without actually letting it go. Yeah, Tennant shined.
I wonder whether this is will be a turning point for the Doctor and the whole God-complex that he has going on? One thing I miss about Rose is that around her, he seemed so... I'd hate to use this word, but gosh darn it, he seemed so normal. He was excited by hundreds of small things, he made silly and inappropriate bets, he clowned around. In ways, while people tend to say that Nine was way more serious than Ten, I find it to be the opposite. I can't see Nine ever taking on the 'God' mantle. Sure, he'd call himself clever and mean it; that's just the way the Doctor is. But being someone 'whole armies' turn and run from?
No, I don't think so.
I don't think Rose is the only person he's ever been 'normal' with, far from it, but I guess post-Gallifrey, she's been the only one we've seen him act like that with. In this case, I kind of miss Classic!Who.
Which brings me to...
Rose: Am I excited that Rose is back? HELLS YEAH. Am I looking forward to the next three episodes? HELLS YEAH.
But am I hoping for some sort of romantic reunion?
Not sure. I'm actually feeling a bit ambivalent on that point. Rationally, I know this probably won't happen, what, with Moffat taking over and RTD retiring out. Also, it's unlikely because there's little chance that Billie Piper would come back for anything more than a few guest episodes.
On one part, I like the thought of them together; it's cute, it's sweet, it makes me heart fill with happiness. I smile just at the idea. And what's wrong with more love in the world, anyhow?
On the other, I don't like the idea of the Only Love. I've loved more than once and I'd like to think that there was something unique about each person I loved and that it wasn't some sort of shadow of the first person I loved.
But... yeah, dude. Rose and the Doctor. It's like peanut butter and chocolate.
Blargh, I keep thinking about the next three weeks and it's either going to fillet me open into vaguely-human-like shapes or I'm going to spend most of it in bouts of weeping, hysterical laughter, and doomdoomdoomdoomdoom.
... this does not help with me moving. In six weeks, I've got to be packed up and moving from ONE COUNTRY TO ANOTHER.
Oh life, I'm glad you're such a non-rule-following-thing, but I've got an apartment to clean and stuff to send and planes to plan and I've got three weeks of nail-biting.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A TRIP. Yay.
