Midnight

MIDNIGHT is quite a change of pace for the fourth series of the new DOCTOR WHO, and, once again, Russell T. Davies and company are unafraid to step into new territory. One of the hallmarks of the new series is its willingness to be inspired by specific films and television: a good first example is VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED, the WHO version of a Seventies disaster film, in particular, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Using POSEIDON as a jumping off point, it became an outstanding adventure on its own terms. And now we have the WHO version of Alfred Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT: a story which takes place on one set, and places a small group of characters in an intense pressure-cooker. All the usual WHO trappings are stripped from David Tennant's Doctor, and he is reduced to being the lone voice of sanity which is roundly ignored by the rest of the cast. Even his Sonic Screwdriver is used sparingly. No spoilers, just one of the best-written and intense character pieces ever. If you haven't seen it, watch MIDNIGHT after the sun has gone down, when shadows and sounds become dangerous. It's that good.

It would be hard to top the Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead duology with anything remotely similar, so it's probably a good thing that this episode went in an entirely different direction.

As opposed to vast, unearthly (CGI-generated) settings, almost the entire episode takes place in one small confined place, a tourist shuttle craft. This gives it almost the feeling of a stage play, and also a sense of claustrophobia that's very effective in enhancing the feeling of being trapped.

And as with a stage play, when you don't have elaborate sets and props to depend on for effect, it all comes down to acting, and the human factor - both of which are truly excellent in this episode. It's a very strongly character-driven story, and while the basic premise of small group of people trapped in a dangerous situation gradually turning against each other may have been done before (from Lord of the Flies on down through the movie Cube and many others), that doesn't lessen its impact, or change the fact that this is an extremely well-done rendition of that theme.

No, it's not standard Doctor Who fare - technology and aliens are decidedly second to human psychology here, and the Doctor for a change does not come across as all-knowing and able to handle anything. But that just makes it all the more effective.

All in all, a strong if atypical episode, and a nice break between Silence/Forest and the concluding three-episode story arc of the season.

To put it short, this episode is astounding. It's a classic tense horror story with a Doctor Who spin squeezed into 45 minutes. As far as scariness goes, Midnight ranks right up there with Blink and The Impossible Planet, but at the same time it's stunningly well written, brilliantly acted, and flawlessly produced.

The best thing about it is that it plays on everyone's fear of the unknown - there's SOMETHING knocking on the wall, but no-one's got any idea what, not even the Doctor. The tension starts about 10 minutes in and doesn't let up until 2 or 3 minutes from the end. While it might not have the flawless intricate detail of a Steven Moffat story, Midnight is so simple and so effective that it doesn't really matter, because it's so superb as it is that you're just transported to a world of fear where details don't matter.

A special mention must go, of course, to Lesley Sharp, for a truly unbelievable performance. This episode wouldn't have been half as scary without her acting the way that she does - you'll understand why once you've seen it. It's by far the best and the scariest "human villain" perfformance since Harry Lloyd in The Family of Blood last year.

It's episodes like this that make you a little sad that Russell T Davies is standing down, because this, along with Doomsday, is probably the best episode he's written. But at least he's being taken over by Steven Moffat. If the Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead double header hadn't been as good as it was, this would easily be the best episode of the series.

Leaving Donna behind to relax, The Doctor takes off on a trip across the mysterious planet Midnight, he's joined by fellow travellers including Professor Hobbs and his assistant Dee Dee, sultry Mrs Sylvestry, Mr and Mrs Kane, and their son Jethro. The staff are made of 2 drivers and a hostess. All is going calmly and humorously, until the craft stops dead, and something starts tapping outside, and it wants to get in.....

The concept of the planet Midnight is such a good one, a planet nobody can step on, brilliant, the visions of it too are stunning.

This episode is all about fear, terror and tension. It works on so many levels, everyone is scared, and that's when human nature is at its worst, it's never really been done before, or since on Doctor Who, it's a very unique episode. There is no let up, literally after 12 minutes until the end, it will have you on edge of your seat. What people do when they're scared.

It's insane how well written this is, this episode rivals Blink for brilliance. Is this possibly Russell T Davies's best piece of writing? I can see arguments for (it's the next episode which is my personal favourite.)

Tennant is utterly magical, he's such an incredible actor, had Lesley Sharp not been cast i'm not so sure it would have been so special, she is utterly spellbinding, when she turns around after the break in, she is so bleak (and the music is terrifying, like a 70s Hammer horror film,) her timing is astounding.

I applaud Davies for leaving the episode unanswered, who knows, maybe one day we could take another trip around Midnight, and have answers to some of the unanswered questions.

Do I hear Nicola Redmond's voice at the end? 'prepare for boarding.'

Finally how good does Colin Morgan look!! 10/10

Seriously, ignore carrotjuicer3000's review. This is one of the best episodes of season 4, maybe of the whole series. It's suspenseful, its well written, its just....eerie. Just because its a standalone episode doesn't mean its not just as good as others. And not every episode needs comic relief, specially not one like this. So Tate is not missed. She gets the next few episodes focused on her anyways.

Lesley Sharp is fantastic in her role, marvellously creepy... Tennant is brilliant as always. The supporting cast is fantastic too, which includes Colin Morgan(Merlin).

Once you start watching this episode, you literally can't stop. Every time I've seen it repeated on BBC3, and skipped over the channel, at any point during the episode, I'd have to continue watching. Who'd a thunk an episode set in one room would be so brilliant? It's simply....molto bene.