# Doctor Who: Midnight **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945 "2008-06-14T19:19:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/1 "2008-06-14T19:19:46Z")
A really simple premise, done with enough skill to render the whole thing rather creepy. I suspect that this is an episode with a whole load of foreshadowing. I also think that is one of the best scripts that Russell T. Davies has delivered, and I’m hopeful that this bodes well for the finale.In addition, I’m pleased that the Doctor/Donna relationship has come to the point that they are just very good friends. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/2 "2008-06-14T19:20:47Z")
A really simple premise, done with enough skill to render the whole thing rather creepy. I suspect that this is an episode with a whole load of foreshadowing. I also think that is one of the best scripts that Russell T. Davies has delivered, and I’m hopeful that this bodes well for the finale.In addition, I’m pleased that the Doctor/Donna relationship has come to the point that they are just very good friends ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/3 "2008-06-14T20:42:16Z")
I missed a lot of it, but I got enough of the creepiness to be surprised it was an RTD script. I’ll check it out again on catch up TV (or youtube, whichever gets it first 😉 ) I could have done without bloody Rose again though :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/4 "2008-06-15T00:11:08Z")
That was all very Twilight Zone, don’t you think? Who are the monsters…? WE ARE!! Pretty intense for a Saturday night kid’s TV show. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/5 "2008-06-15T01:26:35Z")
The Doctor’s faith in humanity was somewhat shaken, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/6 "2008-06-15T01:38:38Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] That was all very Twilight Zone, don’t you think? Who are the monsters…? WE ARE!! Pretty intense for a Saturday night kid’s TV show. [/QUOTE] The person I was watching with (who isn’t a fan of Dr. Who but really liked the episode) said the same thing. That one goes into the top five episodes for the new series… ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/7 "2008-06-15T03:08:47Z")
I really liked this episode. In fact, I think it’s the best one this season. > [@](#): > > In addition, I’m pleased that the Doctor/Donna relationship has come to the point that they are just very good friends. 😕 What were they before? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/8 "2008-06-15T03:46:38Z")
Interesting (and perhaps obvious) trivia: The Professor is played by David Troughton, who is Patrick Troughton’s son. Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor. This episode is directed by Alice Troughton, who is _not_ related to the aforementioned Troughton family. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/9 "2008-06-15T10:54:38Z")
I caught a glimpse of the name Troughton in the credits somewhere and considered if it was a relative of the older Doctor. Sort of a mini-theme to the current series. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/10 "2008-06-15T11:30:42Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Interesting (and perhaps obvious) trivia: The Professor is played by David Troughton, who is Patrick Troughton’s son. Patrick Troughton played the Second Doctor. This episode is directed by Alice Troughton, who is _not_ related to the aforementioned Troughton family. [/QUOTE] Troughton was a last minute replacement for the part. The actor who originally was down to play the professor (Sam Kelly from _Porridge_ and _'Ello, 'Ello_) broke a leg in a car accident and Troughton had only two days to learn the script. Next week’s episode has no Doctor, but Rose makes an appearance instead. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/11 "2008-06-15T11:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] 😕 What were they before? [/QUOTE] If I’d been half-way sober, I may well have written something that made sense. Alas, that was not to be… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/12 "2008-06-15T20:22:18Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] 😕 What were they before? [/QUOTE] Started as strangers, but unlike her two youthful predecessors, she didn’t fall for his charms and fancy ride. I got to see the full episode, bravo RTD for channelling a bit of Rod Serling. As for next week’s Doctorless episode, didn’t that fellow in the red beret die in the Sontaran double parter? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/13 "2008-06-15T23:48:18Z")
A great premise, a great build up, leading to an awful anticlimax. Having set up a great creepy situation the writer RTD didn’t know where to go with it. So much left unanswered. What was going on? Why did the entity repeat everything? Was it actually hostile, or just trying to communicate? Having set up the mystery, he then dodged having to actually answer any of these questions with a lame cop out. And The Doctor was pretty useless in this one. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/14 "2008-06-16T00:37:28Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Having set up the mystery, he then dodged having to actually answer any of these questions with a lame cop out. [/QUOTE] Clearly you missed the point of the story. The alien was not important, what mattered was how the people were reacting to it. Some stories don’t need an explanation, and in the real world we often never will get an explanation. I think it was well handled, and a nice approach. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/15 "2008-06-16T01:20:55Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Clearly you missed the point of the story. The alien was not important, what mattered was how the people were reacting to it. Some stories don’t need an explanation, and in the real world we often never will get an explanation. I think it was well handled, and a nice approach. [/QUOTE] Well, that and all the questions DID get answered. By the Doctor. In the episode. What was going on? Answered. Why did it repeat? Answered multiple times in dialogue. Was it hostile or trying to communicate? Answered by the creature’s actions (It wanted The Doctor tossed out so that it could keep his voice and Skye’s body). This is actually one of those episodes where The Doctor lost some faith in humanity (throw her out! yes, do it!) and some faith in himself, as well. If they’d just thrown her out and ignored the Doctor they would have had one fatality instead of two. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/16 "2008-06-16T09:20:49Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] What was going on? Why did the entity repeat everything? Was it actually hostile, or just trying to communicate? Having set up the mystery, he then dodged having to actually answer any of these questions with a lame cop out. And The Doctor was pretty useless in this one. [/QUOTE] An alien, on a desolate world, takes over the body of a tourist. Having done so, it learns how to communicate with her body. Once it learns how to communicate, it disables the Doctor, whom it identifies as the biggest threat. It then tries to have the other passengers get rid of him for it. Most of which was discussed out loud by the Doctor. The point of the episode was that the alien presence was unseen and the biggest threat was the ignorance and panic of the passengers. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/17 "2008-06-16T10:25:29Z")
I know the references to ‘The dark and the cold’ were this season’s running theme, but, um, it really didn’t look that _dark_ out there to me. More like very bright. I liked this episode. A lot creepier and better acted than I was expecting. The actress who played Sky had very freaky eyes. I thought it was going to be another boring ‘monster’ one. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/18 "2008-06-16T11:17:48Z")
[QUOTE=Lissla Lissar] …but, um, it really didn’t look that _dark_ out there to me. More like very bright. [/QUOTE] Well, it was extopic sunlight. You know how that can be. Sometimes even when it’s dark, it’s dazzlingly bright. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/19 "2008-06-16T11:19:04Z")
[QUOTE=Pushkin] An alien, on a desolate world, takes over the body of a tourist. Having done so, it learns how to communicate with her body. Once it learns how to communicate, it disables the Doctor, whom it identifies as the biggest threat. It then tries to have the other passengers get rid of him for it. Most of which was discussed out loud by the Doctor. [/quote] But that doesn’t make sense, though. The Doctor is not the biggest threat, he’s the biggest ally. The other passengers wanted to throw her out, The Doctor persuaded them not to. By disabling The Doctor it allowed the other passengers to throw it out. > [@](#): > > The point of the episode was that the alien presence was unseen and the biggest threat was the ignorance and panic of the passengers. I did get that, but it didn’t really work. The situation was not internally consistent, and showing reactions to that situation didn’t quite work. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2008, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945/20 "2008-06-16T11:49:56Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] But that doesn’t make sense, though. The Doctor is not the biggest threat, he’s the biggest ally. The other passengers wanted to throw her out, The Doctor persuaded them not to. By disabling The Doctor it allowed the other passengers to throw it out [/QUOTE] By disabling the Doctor it almost did get him thrown out by the others, if it wasn’t for the plucky stewardess he would have been dust. The Doctor has offered help to many aliens on the show before and ended up on the receiving end for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-midnight/452945.md?page=2)