Midnight (Doctor Who)

Last updated

196 –"Midnight"
Doctor Who episode
Midnight (Doctor Who).jpg
The Doctor converses with a "possessed" Sky.
Cast
Others
Production
Directed by Alice Troughton
Written by Russell T Davies
Script editor Helen Raynor
Produced by Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s)Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner
Music by Murray Gold
Production code4.8
Series Series 4
Running time45 minutes
First broadcast14 June 2008 (2008-06-14)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"Forest of the Dead"		Followed by →
"Turn Left"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

"Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008.

Contents

The episode is principally set on board a small touring vehicle, which stops in the middle of a tour on the hostile surface of the planet Midnight and has its cockpit destroyed with its driver and mechanic. The unseen assailant is depicted only through sound effects and its possession of one of the vehicle's passengers, Sky Silvestry (Lesley Sharp), who repeats the words of the other passengers on board.

The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the Doctor's companion, Donna Noble (played by Catherine Tate) playing only a minimal role. For this reason Stephen James Walker has described this episode in his book Monsters Within as being "companion-lite". [1]

Plot

The Tenth Doctor and Donna visit the resort planet Midnight, the surface of which is bathed in lethal radiation from its star. The Doctor takes a shuttle tour to visit a waterfall made of sapphires. He goes alone as he is unable to convince Donna to leave the comfort of the local spa.

Mid-route, the shuttle unexpectedly stops; the Doctor joins Driver Joe and Mechanic Claude in the cockpit and they see all systems appear operational but they are simply not moving. The Doctor asks Joe to briefly open the cockpit radiation shielding to see what may be causing the problem, and before they are forced to close them again, Claude claims to have seen something moving outside. Joe calls in for a rescue shuttle, but it will take some time to arrive.

The Doctor returns to the cabin, as he, the hostess, and other passengers hear knocking on the sides of the shuttle. The knocking seems to follow their movements, but soon comes from the same side of the shuttle where one passenger, Sky, is cowering. When the shuttle is rocked violently, the hostess goes to check in with Joe and Claude, only to find the cockpit has been ripped from the shuttle. The Doctor and other passengers see Sky behaving oddly, repeating what they are saying, frightening the passengers who think she has become possessed by whatever was outside. Sky begins talking simultaneously with the passengers, increasing the paranoia among the group. They begin to debate throwing Sky out onto the surface of the planet which after the Doctor's objection leads to them threatening to throw him out as well. Sky then begins only repeating what the Doctor says.

As the Doctor converses with Sky, she starts saying things before the Doctor repeats them, making the other passengers believe the entity has moved on to possess the Doctor. Sky attempts to convince the passengers she is back to normal, and that they must throw the Doctor off the shuttle. While most of the other passengers start to pull the Doctor towards the shuttle door, the hostess, hearing Sky use some of the Doctor's unusual phrases, realises Sky is still possessed. The hostess pulls herself and Sky out of the cabin and into the radiation. The shuttle passengers are rescued and returned to the resort.

Continuity

Dee Dee tells the Doctor that she has written a paper on the lost moon of Poosh. The Doctor also mentions the Medusa Cascade, and Rose Tyler appears briefly on a television screen, failing to get the Doctor's attention. These are all references to the series 4 story arc. Rose appears along with the missing planets, including the lost moon of Poosh, in the two-part season finale "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End," which takes place in the aforementioned Medusa Cascade.

Outside references

Dee Dee Blasco quotes, and the Doctor references, Christina Rossetti's poem "Goblin Market," excerpting the famous lines:

"We must not look at goblin men,
We must not buy their fruits:
Who knows upon what soil they fed

Their hungry thirsty roots?" [2]

The song that plays on the shuttle's entertainment system is "Do It, Do It Again", by Raffaella Carrà. [3]

Production

"Midnight" is the fiftieth episode filmed for the revived series, and was filmed at the same time as "Turn Left". Donna has a minor role in the episode (appearing in only the pre-credits sequence and the final scene), while the Doctor has a minor role in "Turn Left". [4] [5] [6]

Russell T Davies has stated that "Midnight" was inspired by the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok". [7]

Cast notes

David Troughton, cast here as Professor Hobbes, was a late replacement for Sam Kelly, who broke his leg and had to withdraw from the production. [8] Troughton joined the rest of the cast in Cardiff with just two days notice. [8] Now known for his stage work with the RSC as well as television, he is the son of Patrick Troughton, who portrayed the Second Doctor. He has had a long association with the series since the 1960s, appearing as an uncredited extra in the Second Doctor serial The Enemy of the World , [9] as Private Moor in the Second Doctor serial The War Games , [10] and as King Peladon in the Third Doctor serial The Curse of Peladon . [11] [12] He has appeared in the Doctor Who audio dramas Cuddlesome , The Judgement of Isskar , The Destroyer of Delights , and The Chaos Pool . He is unrelated to the director of the episode, Alice Troughton. [13]

Daniel Ryan (Biff Kane) had announced in a 2006 interview that he was going to ask Russell T Davies for a role in Doctor Who, as he wanted his children to see him acting on television in a programme that was not inaccessible. Ryan had a supporting role in the Davies created series Bob & Rose (starring Lesley Sharp), and Davies had previously written an episode of Linda Green which Ryan starred in. [14]

Broadcast and reception

"Midnight" was watched by 8.05 million viewers, a 38% share of the total television audience, making it the fifth most-watched programme of the week. [15] The episode received an Appreciation Index score of 86 (considered Excellent). [16]

The episode received a number of reviews in British national newspapers. The Guardian 's TV reviewer Sam Wollaston described the episode as "great... it's tense and claustrophobic, and gnaws away at you." He praised the fact that all the action happened in one confined space with an unseen enemy, saying "this is psychological drama rather than full-blown horror; creepy-unknown scary, not special-effect-monster scary." [17] William Gallagher of Radio Times was generally positive about the episode, but he said he would have "liked just a beat more, just a tiny further step before the resolution; can't even tell you what was missing but I needed one more stage in the journey". [18] The Times 's reviewer Andrew Billen noted that Davies had chosen to forgo special effects and chases in favour of dialogue, but that it "felt too much of a writing exercise to be really scary" and was an example of how the 2008 series "fails as often as it succeeds". Billen praised the episode for its claustrophobic atmosphere and for showing the series was not "afraid of variety," but instead "dead scared of repetition". [19]

IGN's Travis Fickett rated the episode 8.6 out of 10, commenting that it was "a nice change of pace" from the more complex and emotional two-parter that preceded it. He thought the most successful aspect of the episode was the creature and praised the fact that it was "tightly written" and allowed the viewer to get to know the different passengers. [20] In 2010, Matt Wales listed "Midnight" as the second-best Tennant episode of the series in an IGN article. [21] Sam McPherson of Zap2it listed it as the third-best Tenth Doctor episode. [22]

Legacy

The episode has been adapted three times for the stage: by students from Salford University's BA Performing Arts and Media Performance courses in March 2011, at the Lass O'Gowrie pub theatre in Manchester in January 2012, and by Sporadic Productions as part of the Adelaide Fringe in 2016. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallifrey</span> Fictional planet in the British television series "Doctor Who"

Gallifrey, is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the original home world of the Time Lords, the civilisation to which the protagonist, the Doctor belongs. It is located in a binary star system 250 million light years from Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Time Lord</span> Fictional alien species in the Doctor Who universe

The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' main protagonist, the Doctor, is a member. Time Lords are so named for their command of time travel technology and their non-linear perception of time. Originally, they were described as a powerful and wise race from the planet Gallifrey, from which the Doctor was a renegade; details beyond this were very limited for the first decade of the series. They later became integral to many episodes and stories as their role in the universe developed. For the first eight years after the series resumed in 2005, the Time Lords were said to have been destroyed during the Last Great Time War at some point in the show's continuity between the television movie in 1996 and the show's revival. In 2013, the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" concerned this supposed destruction and their eventual survival.

The Curse of Peladon is the second serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1972.

David Troughton is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in A Very Peculiar Practice and Ricky Hanson in New Tricks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose Tyler</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Rose was introduced as a new travelling companion of the series protagonist, the Doctor, in his ninth and tenth incarnations. The companion character, intended to act as an audience surrogate, was key in the first series to introduce new viewers to the mythos of Doctor Who, which had not aired regularly since 1989. Rose became the viewers' eyes into the new world of the series, from the companion's perspective. Piper received top billing alongside Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant for the duration of her time as a regular cast member. The character was a series regular for all of Series 1 (2005) and 2 (2006). Piper later reprised the role in a supporting capacity in Series 4 (2008) and the New Year's special "The End of Time" (2010). Piper further played a sentient weapon called the Moment, which utilises Rose's image, in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013).

"The Runaway Bride" is a special episode of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. It was produced as the Doctor Who Christmas special for 2006, broadcast on 25 December, and aired between the second and third series of the relaunched show.

"Human Nature" is the eighth episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast on BBC One on 26 May 2007. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by Paul Cornell adapted from his 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature. Its second part, "The Family of Blood", aired on 2 June. Along with "The Family of Blood", it was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form in 2008.

"Planet of the Ood" is the third episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 19 April 2008.

Alice Troughton is a British film and television director known for her work on Merlin, Doctor Who and its spin-offs Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. In 2023, she made her feature film debut with The Lesson.

Partners in Crime (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 2008 Doctor Who episode

"Partners in Crime" is the first episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 5 April 2008. The episode reintroduced actor and comedian Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, who had previously appeared in the 2006 Christmas Special "The Runaway Bride". In the episode, Donna and the alien time traveller the Tenth Doctor meet while separately investigating Adipose Industries, a company that has created a revolutionary diet pill. Together, they attempt to stop the death of thousands of people in London after the head of the company, the alien Miss Foster, creates short white aliens made from human body fat. The episode's alien creatures, the Adipose, were created using the software MASSIVE, commonly used for crowd sequences in fantasy and science fiction films.

"The Sontaran Stratagem" is the fourth episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as The Doctor. The episode was broadcast on BBC One on 26 April 2008. The episode and its sequel, "The Poison Sky", were written by Helen Raynor, who previously wrote the linked episodes "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks" in the third series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilfred Mott</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

Wilfred "Wilf" Mott is a recurring fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Bernard Cribbins. He is the grandfather of the Tenth Doctor's companion Donna Noble, and father of her mother, Sylvia Noble. As companion to the Doctor, an alien Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, Donna travelled through space and time in the show's 2008 series, having numerous adventures. A believer in extraterrestrial life himself, Wilfred was proud of his granddaughter's adventures and helped to keep them a secret from her overbearing mother. He later became the Tenth Doctor's final companion in "The End of Time".

"Silence in the Library" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 May 2008. It is the first of a two-part story; the second part, "Forest of the Dead", aired on 7 June. The two episodes make up the second two-parter Steven Moffat contributed to the series after "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" from the first series. It is also the final story that Moffat wrote before replacing Russell T Davies as head writer and showrunner starting from the fifth series in 2010.

"The Doctor's Daughter" is the sixth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 10 May 2008.

Journeys End (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 2008 Doctor Who episode

"Journey's End" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, preceded by "The Stolen Earth", which aired on 28 June. At 65 minutes in length, it was approximately 20 minutes longer than a standard fourth-series episode. It marked the final regular appearances of every companion introduced in the Russell T Davies era, including Catherine Tate as Donna Noble.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turn Left</span> 2008 Doctor Who episode

"Turn Left" is the eleventh episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by showrunner Russell T Davies and broadcast on BBC One on 21 June 2008.

<i>Doctor Who</i> (series 4) 2008 series of Doctor Who

The fourth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who was preceded by the 2007 Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End" three months later on 5 July 2008. The series incorporates a loose story arc consisting of recurring mentions of the disappearance of various planets and moons.

Jenny (<i>Doctor Who</i>) Fictional character of Doctor Who

Jenny, portrayed by Georgia Tennant, is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. She appeared in the episode "The Doctor's Daughter", originally broadcast 10 May 2008. Jenny is the daughter of the series protagonist the Doctor, a product of altered DNA extracted from a tissue sample of his tenth incarnation's hand. The character was created by writer Stephen Greenhorn.

Music of the Spheres (<i>Doctor Who</i>) 2008 Doctor Who BBC Proms special

"Music of the Spheres" is an interactive mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that premiered at the Royal Albert Hall in London before the Intermission of the Doctor Who Prom on 27 July 2008, for which it was especially made. The Doctor Who Prom, including the audio for "Music of the Spheres", was broadcast simultaneously on BBC Radio 3. "Music of the Spheres" was shown on the official BBC Doctor Who website during the interval and the concert itself was filmed for later broadcast on BBC One on 1 January 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Noble</span> Fictional character in the TV series Doctor Who

Donna Noble is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a companion of the Tenth and Fourteenth Doctors. Originally appearing in the closing scene of the show's 2006 series and as a special guest star in its following Christmas special, "The Runaway Bride", Tate was not expected to reprise her role as Donna; for series 3 (2007), the Doctor travelled alongside medical student Martha Jones. However, Tate expressed interest in returning to the role, and returned as a series regular in series 4 (2008), the subsequent 2009–2010 Christmas and New Year's special, and in the 60th anniversary specials in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Walker, Stephen James (17 December 2008). "Chapter 4.11 – Turn Left". Monsters Within: the Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Doctor Who 2008. Tolworth, London, England: Telos Publishing. pp. 182–194. ISBN   978-1-84583-027-4.
  2. ↑ Ravitch, Diane; Michael Ravitch (2006). The English reader: what every literate person needs to know. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p.  309. ISBN   0-19-507729-6.
  3. ↑ "Midnight Fact File". BBC . Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  4. ↑ "Doctor Who Magazine". Doctor Who Magazine . No. 396. 29 May 2008.
  5. ↑ "Doctor Who – Midnight Ep 10/13". BBC Press Office. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 29 May 2008.
  6. ↑ "The Stars are Coming Out". Radio Times . No. 5–11 April 2008. BBC. April 2008. pp. 14–24.
  7. ↑ SFX (200): 140.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: untitled periodical (link)
  8. 1 2 "David Troughton guest-stars". Radio Times. June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  9. ↑ David Whitaker (writer), Barry Letts (director), Innes Lloyd (producer) (23 December 1967 – 27 January 1968). The Enemy of the World . Doctor Who . BBC. BBC1.
  10. ↑ Malcolm Hulke, Terrance Dicks (writers), David Maloney (director), Derrick Sherwin (producer) (19 April – 21 June 1969). The War Games . Doctor Who . BBC. BBC1.
  11. ↑ Brian Hayles (writer), Lennie Mayne (director), Barry Letts (producer) (29 January – 19 February 1972). The Curse of Peladon . Doctor Who . BBC. BBC1.
  12. ↑ "Filmography by TV series for David Troughton". IMDb. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  13. ↑ Lewinski, John Scott (3 June 2008). "The Doctor Dates His Daughter From 'The Doctor's Daughter'". WIRED . Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Green, Kris (23 October 2006). "Daniel Ryan". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "Weekly Viewing Summary w/e 15 June 2008". BARB. 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 November 2008. Retrieved 25 June 2008.
  16. ↑ Marcus (16 June 2008). "Midnight - AI and Digital Ratings". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  17. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (16 June 2008). "Doctor Who was absolutely terrifying - and we didn't even get to see the monster". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  18. ↑ Gallagher, William (14 June 2010). "Doctor Who: Midnight". Radio Times . Archived from the original on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Billen, Andrew (16 June 2008). "How the West was Lost; Doctor Who". The Times . Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  20. ↑ Fickett, Travis (7 July 2008). "Doctor Who: "Midnight" Review". IGN . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  21. ↑ Wales, Matt (5 January 2010). "Top 10 Tennant Doctor Who Stories". IGN . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  22. ↑ McPherson, Sam (2 January 2010). "The Tenth Doctor's Top 5 Doctor Who Episodes". Zap2it . Retrieved 29 March 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ Purser-Hallard, Philip (2024). The Black Archive #69: Midnight. Obverse Books. pp. 115, 119, 123.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.