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ladyofleithianAmazing episode, but oh my God. Oh my Goddity God God God God. (Ahem, sorry) Anyway, wonderful episode, but goddamn was it terrifying.
So, the opening is pretty cute, what with the phone conversation between the Doctor and Donna. And the initial getting-to-know-you stuff with the passengers was pretty lovely and everything; I also know the bit with the Doctor switching off the entertainment system was pretty funny. XD I remember my brother had a funny comment about, basically, "No wonder they needed the earplugs." (Because the entertainment system was just that irritating. XD) And Jethro -- he was pretty cool, prior to him succumbing to the Asshole Side of the Force and agreeing to have the Doctor thrown out into the goddamn sunlight that's apparently so strong it can kill you. (I'm sorry about that phrasing. The "Asshole Side of the Force". Let's say one, SF Debris originally used it, two, I'm kind of shaken) And even some bits with the Midnight creature were funny, like the "Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome yes I am thank you" and the...shibble-bobble thing (basically). And there were some sweet moments, like Dee-Dee and the Doctor toasting to her finding the Lost Moon of Poosh, the Doctor befriending Skye (before it went to shit), and Donna hugging the Doctor after he gets off the bus. I guess it says volumes about, in DOCTOR WHO, the difference between heroes and villains: the heroes are loyal, compassionate, full of integrity, and genuinely heroic, while the bad guys are cowardly, nihilistic, willing to turn on one another any chance they got...things like that. I guess it says that while Davies is willing to take risks and such with certain archetypes, he has a very...sort of traditional sort of view of what heroes and villains are. The execution is very Black and Gray/Gray and Gray/White and Gray (depending on the circumstances), but one could argue that the concepts are very black and white. * Not really a bad thing -- God knows I kind of do it -- but...just an observation.
(That and...you know how DS9 had the "O'Brien Must Suffer" episode? I think this qualifies as a "The Doctor must suffer" episode. Boy does it fucking ever...)
I think it's once the bus broke down and the creature started banging on the door that things got scary. My mom actually yelled at the passengers not to open the door -- if only that had been it. And the revelation that the creature had ripped away the place where the drivers were, and killed them both (it really sucked. They were both very likable), and it possessing Skye...yeah, that was frightening. Especially it completely taking over Skye as she begged for the others to help her -- she was just so scared. ;.; It really isn't her fault at all that the Doctor nearly got killed; the thing just took her over. I also know Skye sort of...creaking her head while possessed -- that was terrifying also. And when she started mimicking the Doctor, and the other passengers on the bus. And when that one guy (which, I swear to God looks like Phelous from That Guy With The Glasses. Maybe it's the shirt. And the beard) starts dragging the Doctor out, and that...thing is just *gloating* about throwing him out into the sun and the midnight and such and the Doctor, who has had his voice controlled at the moment (basically) is just repeating her words, and some of the other passengers try to help the guy drag the Doctor to where they'll throw him out where the sunlight will *kill* him -- fucking hell, move over "Hey, who turned out the lights?"; there's a new brand of soundtrack for my nightmares.
*Sighs*
All right, this is getting too much. Here's Han Solo thinking of an alternate way to distract the stormtroopers in A NEW HOPE: http://cheezburger.com/7093989120.
*Sighs*
Speaking of Nightmare Fuel, while the Midnight demon was freakish enough, what was really terrifying was the behavior of the passengers. For example, when the Doctor was trying to not have Skye thrown out (and I know this sounds redundant, but bless you, Doctor), he asks the passengers if they would really be able to murder someone, and how this creature could be, for all they know, a creature trying to learn more about humanity (although, Doctor? I think it's more likely that it's a planetary Pazuzu if he decided to take up trolling for a hobby -- and that's being generous -- I really doubt it wants to learn more about humanity as much as it just wants to watch them tear each other apart like wild animals and repeat what they're saying just for its own amusement. Seriously, I love you a bunch, but you can be so naive **) and is this what they want, the matter of the people in this bus tearing one another apart? And the Hostess just says, "I'd do it." Just...Jesus. 0.0.
*Sighs*
Christ, this is getting too much again. Here's Captain Kirk: http://cheezburger.com/7088570368.
Not to mention some of the things they said. For example, Dee Dee trying to speak up for the Doctor (and I know this may sound bizarre, but I liked Dee Dee. She sort of reminded me of a younger, geekier, shyer Martha, and she was sweet, and she at least tried to save the Doctor -- can't say that she succeeded, but at least she tried) by talking about how the creature could stop repeating and the Doctor could, and the Professor saying that he's smarter than her and she's average at best and she should shut up (I'll admit, that kind of gave me reminders of things I'd seen and experienced. It's probably inappropriate to project my own experiences on all this, but that's what I saw). So it's wrong for the Doctor to say that he's clever and can help but okay for an older man to put down a young girl actually trying to be (uh-oh!) rational in this situation and tell her to shut up? And it's also okay to threaten to kill her next for being "in league" with the Doctor when she wasn't? And the reason that the Doctor was involved in this little witch-hunt was mostly via jumps to conclusion and general paranoia, such as mistaking a phone call to a friend for a plot to infiltrate the bus, and talking with Skye prior to her being possessed for being in league with her somehow? Yeah...isn't that incredibly hypocritical of you? And stupid? That and maybe if someone says he's clever and can help he may actually genuinely want to help? I mean, Ten may have a bit of an arrogant streak (it doesn't diminish his lovability, but he can be a tad arrogant. I think Ten is the sort of guy where...he may have a big ego, but he also has two big hearts ***), but I think it's possible to have a big ego and genuinely want to help. (Maybe?)
I guess it's also the matter of Ten being brilliant and knowing it. He is clever, and he is resourceful and intelligent and brilliant. So he...kind of lets it get to his head. But he's also very compassionate, has a lot of affection for his companions and humanity in general (which probably crushes him all the more when they let him down), and is capable of genuine selflessness. I think that's why I love Ten; because he feels like someone you'd meet in real life. And I think it's one of many reasons he's become so beloved.
(Sorry if I got off-topic; I'll get back *on* it soon)
I think another thing that really struck me was when they went all, "That can't be your real name! No one's named John Smith!" (Um...guys? Did you fall asleep in history class?) And when they started assuming (basically) that the Midnight creature went for Skye because she was...different -- yeah, that was another thing that earned them my hatred. Blame the victim of the attack, why don't you? /sarcasm. And when they proposed Skye be thrown out into the sunlight. Redundant, I know, but... *Sighs* Where's the Ghostbusters when you need them?
And on top of that, every one of the Doctor's strengths and weaknesses being turned against him. The passengers assuming he sabotaged the wiring after he tried to inspect it, for example. And talking with it, trying to understand it? Yeah... And his trying to assure the others that he's clever and can help? They think he's patronizing them. His fascination with the being possessing Skye? The passengers get even more terrified of him. And his *face* when he's being dragged towards his death, forced to repeat what the Midnight creature is saying (David Tennant, why are you so good?), and his repeated "It's gone" after it leaves his body? (Fucking hell...) Dee Dee's poem? (Although also kind of cool. Sort of reminds me of a creepy nursery rhyme or something) The Midnight creature's fucking *eyes*? It faking leaving Skye's body? *Rose* showing up on the monitor (she also did it in "The Poison Sky"; it's sort of Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It) at one point before shit goes down? Yeah...fucking horrifying.
On another note, I liked the Hostess' Heroic Sacrifice to destroy the creature. Because...yeah, that Oh Crap from the creature when the Hostess figures out what's going on? Hell. Yeah. Although it was also horrifying, just watching the Hostess throw herself out the airlock with the creature. Made worse that...well, no one on the bus even knew her name. To them, she was just a Hostess. It's...well, kind of depressing, really. And one of the passengers on the bus, the mother to Jethro...well, when she says, "I knew it was her." Just the look on the Doctor's face...
(And I say after everything he went through, the Doctor was probably being generous. If I were in that position...I don't know if I would have been so kind)
And the talk with Donna shortly afterward was...goddamn. I liked Donna just giving him a hug, and the Doctor's talk with her. Although it's kind of unsettling -- not only is the Midnight creature still out there, but he's still very scared by the experience. And I don't blame him. I mean, what he went through...to quote the wonderful John Frobisher from CHILDREN OF EARTH, "This is unacceptable."
So overall? It was an amazingly made episode, but I will be honest, it genuinely frightened me. Moffat's horror was more atmospheric, taking seemingly ordinary objects and sort of stirring your distrust of them (shadows, telephones, angel statues, etc.), but Davies' horror feels more like a punch to the gut. Body horror, nihilism, villains who believe in the righteousness of their cause, mob mentality...it's the stuff of what human beings can stoop to that really drives the horror of stuff like the Futurekind, the Toclafane, and this episode. Moffat's horror -- while still wonderful, make no mistake -- I can at least console myself with "No, there are no Weeping Angels that can come and get me." **** But stuff like "Midnight" seems all too real. People being attacked for being different, mob mentality, stuff like that. And the worst part is that the people on that bus genuinely think that they're doing the right thing. True, it's mostly self-preservation, but that's a very powerful factor (my mom and I had a talk about it before she went to bed -- she's still very tired and all -- about how powerful self-preservation is. I guess some things we learned as cavemen never really go away) still, and they believe that they're genuinely protecting themselves. Fear can drive people to do awful things. As Kira Nerys once said (different context, I know, but I think it's still applicable), "Everyone has their reasons. That's what's so frightening." (Yes, I am beginning to get into DS9)
Speaking of Star Trek, apparently, Davies got the idea from, of all things, the billing for the TNG episode "Darmok" (thank you, Memory Alpha, for the quote):
I've seen lots of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I think it's a lovely show – but there's one episode, the billing for which is so fascinating I've actively avoided ever seeing it," Davies explained. "I love the idea so much, I'd rather think about it. Forever. The episode is called 'Darmok', and the synopsis simply says that Captain Picard is trapped on a planet with an alien who can only talk in metaphors. Wow. That sounds brilliant. How does that work? What happens? How does it end? I've got no idea – not seen it! But it keeps resonating with me. I've just looked up its TX date, and it's almost 20 years old. I've been thinking about that story and its potential for almost 20 years! Would it have sustained itself for that long in my head if I'd seen it on BBC2, long ago in 1991? I think the mystery keeps the concept alive. Here I am, still wondering, right now! And I can see the idea bleeding into my own work. In 2008, I wrote a Doctor Who episode called 'Midnight'. Is it like 'Darmok'? I don't know. But stripped down to its essentials, it's a story about a hero, an alien, and words. That's practically the same billing. Maybe the two shows are profoundly different, but I know for a fact that all those years of wondering about 'Darmok' led me to that script." (SFX, issue #200, p. 140)
(http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Doctor_Who#Darmok)
From what I can gather from "Darmok" (I haven't seen the episode yet, but I heard it's very good. :), it's pretty different from "Midnight". "Darmok" was about overcoming the language barrier. "Midnight" is what happens when trying to overcome the language barrier goes horribly wrong. Still, I've got to say -- they don't just have a degree of similarity in premise (well, save for making me scared to get on a damn bus. I don't think "Darmok" had that), but the fact that they're both considered really awesome episodes in their own shows. I think "Midnight" is kind of the...well, darker counterpart of "Darmok". And I think a pretty good cautionary tale against paranoia and the mob mentality. It's...it's not a comfortable episode, but it's really one of many reasons I love DOCTOR WHO. Because it takes risks, it plays with tropes, it's not afraid to come up with new ideas. This episode is a pretty good example of that, and I think that's one of many reasons it's awesome. Genuinely a punch to the gut, but awesome.
* Unless I got my definitions scrambled?
** Seriously, Doctor, I hate to say it, but not everyone in the world wants to be your friend (even though I wish it could be different. Because you've suffered so much; you deserve a break for once). God knows I'm still learning it in some places.
*** Is there a trope for that? Because there should be.
**** Although maybe I just don't have Weeping Angel statues?
So yeah, overall? Frightening episode, but amazing. Definitely recommended. (Also, sorry for the word vomit. I...kind of had a lot of emotions there)
So, the opening is pretty cute, what with the phone conversation between the Doctor and Donna. And the initial getting-to-know-you stuff with the passengers was pretty lovely and everything; I also know the bit with the Doctor switching off the entertainment system was pretty funny. XD I remember my brother had a funny comment about, basically, "No wonder they needed the earplugs." (Because the entertainment system was just that irritating. XD) And Jethro -- he was pretty cool, prior to him succumbing to the Asshole Side of the Force and agreeing to have the Doctor thrown out into the goddamn sunlight that's apparently so strong it can kill you. (I'm sorry about that phrasing. The "Asshole Side of the Force". Let's say one, SF Debris originally used it, two, I'm kind of shaken) And even some bits with the Midnight creature were funny, like the "Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome yes I am thank you" and the...shibble-bobble thing (basically). And there were some sweet moments, like Dee-Dee and the Doctor toasting to her finding the Lost Moon of Poosh, the Doctor befriending Skye (before it went to shit), and Donna hugging the Doctor after he gets off the bus. I guess it says volumes about, in DOCTOR WHO, the difference between heroes and villains: the heroes are loyal, compassionate, full of integrity, and genuinely heroic, while the bad guys are cowardly, nihilistic, willing to turn on one another any chance they got...things like that. I guess it says that while Davies is willing to take risks and such with certain archetypes, he has a very...sort of traditional sort of view of what heroes and villains are. The execution is very Black and Gray/Gray and Gray/White and Gray (depending on the circumstances), but one could argue that the concepts are very black and white. * Not really a bad thing -- God knows I kind of do it -- but...just an observation.
(That and...you know how DS9 had the "O'Brien Must Suffer" episode? I think this qualifies as a "The Doctor must suffer" episode. Boy does it fucking ever...)
I think it's once the bus broke down and the creature started banging on the door that things got scary. My mom actually yelled at the passengers not to open the door -- if only that had been it. And the revelation that the creature had ripped away the place where the drivers were, and killed them both (it really sucked. They were both very likable), and it possessing Skye...yeah, that was frightening. Especially it completely taking over Skye as she begged for the others to help her -- she was just so scared. ;.; It really isn't her fault at all that the Doctor nearly got killed; the thing just took her over. I also know Skye sort of...creaking her head while possessed -- that was terrifying also. And when she started mimicking the Doctor, and the other passengers on the bus. And when that one guy (which, I swear to God looks like Phelous from That Guy With The Glasses. Maybe it's the shirt. And the beard) starts dragging the Doctor out, and that...thing is just *gloating* about throwing him out into the sun and the midnight and such and the Doctor, who has had his voice controlled at the moment (basically) is just repeating her words, and some of the other passengers try to help the guy drag the Doctor to where they'll throw him out where the sunlight will *kill* him -- fucking hell, move over "Hey, who turned out the lights?"; there's a new brand of soundtrack for my nightmares.
*Sighs*
All right, this is getting too much. Here's Han Solo thinking of an alternate way to distract the stormtroopers in A NEW HOPE: http://cheezburger.com/7093989120.
*Sighs*
Speaking of Nightmare Fuel, while the Midnight demon was freakish enough, what was really terrifying was the behavior of the passengers. For example, when the Doctor was trying to not have Skye thrown out (and I know this sounds redundant, but bless you, Doctor), he asks the passengers if they would really be able to murder someone, and how this creature could be, for all they know, a creature trying to learn more about humanity (although, Doctor? I think it's more likely that it's a planetary Pazuzu if he decided to take up trolling for a hobby -- and that's being generous -- I really doubt it wants to learn more about humanity as much as it just wants to watch them tear each other apart like wild animals and repeat what they're saying just for its own amusement. Seriously, I love you a bunch, but you can be so naive **) and is this what they want, the matter of the people in this bus tearing one another apart? And the Hostess just says, "I'd do it." Just...Jesus. 0.0.
*Sighs*
Christ, this is getting too much again. Here's Captain Kirk: http://cheezburger.com/7088570368.
Not to mention some of the things they said. For example, Dee Dee trying to speak up for the Doctor (and I know this may sound bizarre, but I liked Dee Dee. She sort of reminded me of a younger, geekier, shyer Martha, and she was sweet, and she at least tried to save the Doctor -- can't say that she succeeded, but at least she tried) by talking about how the creature could stop repeating and the Doctor could, and the Professor saying that he's smarter than her and she's average at best and she should shut up (I'll admit, that kind of gave me reminders of things I'd seen and experienced. It's probably inappropriate to project my own experiences on all this, but that's what I saw). So it's wrong for the Doctor to say that he's clever and can help but okay for an older man to put down a young girl actually trying to be (uh-oh!) rational in this situation and tell her to shut up? And it's also okay to threaten to kill her next for being "in league" with the Doctor when she wasn't? And the reason that the Doctor was involved in this little witch-hunt was mostly via jumps to conclusion and general paranoia, such as mistaking a phone call to a friend for a plot to infiltrate the bus, and talking with Skye prior to her being possessed for being in league with her somehow? Yeah...isn't that incredibly hypocritical of you? And stupid? That and maybe if someone says he's clever and can help he may actually genuinely want to help? I mean, Ten may have a bit of an arrogant streak (it doesn't diminish his lovability, but he can be a tad arrogant. I think Ten is the sort of guy where...he may have a big ego, but he also has two big hearts ***), but I think it's possible to have a big ego and genuinely want to help. (Maybe?)
I guess it's also the matter of Ten being brilliant and knowing it. He is clever, and he is resourceful and intelligent and brilliant. So he...kind of lets it get to his head. But he's also very compassionate, has a lot of affection for his companions and humanity in general (which probably crushes him all the more when they let him down), and is capable of genuine selflessness. I think that's why I love Ten; because he feels like someone you'd meet in real life. And I think it's one of many reasons he's become so beloved.
(Sorry if I got off-topic; I'll get back *on* it soon)
I think another thing that really struck me was when they went all, "That can't be your real name! No one's named John Smith!" (Um...guys? Did you fall asleep in history class?) And when they started assuming (basically) that the Midnight creature went for Skye because she was...different -- yeah, that was another thing that earned them my hatred. Blame the victim of the attack, why don't you? /sarcasm. And when they proposed Skye be thrown out into the sunlight. Redundant, I know, but... *Sighs* Where's the Ghostbusters when you need them?
And on top of that, every one of the Doctor's strengths and weaknesses being turned against him. The passengers assuming he sabotaged the wiring after he tried to inspect it, for example. And talking with it, trying to understand it? Yeah... And his trying to assure the others that he's clever and can help? They think he's patronizing them. His fascination with the being possessing Skye? The passengers get even more terrified of him. And his *face* when he's being dragged towards his death, forced to repeat what the Midnight creature is saying (David Tennant, why are you so good?), and his repeated "It's gone" after it leaves his body? (Fucking hell...) Dee Dee's poem? (Although also kind of cool. Sort of reminds me of a creepy nursery rhyme or something) The Midnight creature's fucking *eyes*? It faking leaving Skye's body? *Rose* showing up on the monitor (she also did it in "The Poison Sky"; it's sort of Blink-And-You'll-Miss-It) at one point before shit goes down? Yeah...fucking horrifying.
On another note, I liked the Hostess' Heroic Sacrifice to destroy the creature. Because...yeah, that Oh Crap from the creature when the Hostess figures out what's going on? Hell. Yeah. Although it was also horrifying, just watching the Hostess throw herself out the airlock with the creature. Made worse that...well, no one on the bus even knew her name. To them, she was just a Hostess. It's...well, kind of depressing, really. And one of the passengers on the bus, the mother to Jethro...well, when she says, "I knew it was her." Just the look on the Doctor's face...
(And I say after everything he went through, the Doctor was probably being generous. If I were in that position...I don't know if I would have been so kind)
And the talk with Donna shortly afterward was...goddamn. I liked Donna just giving him a hug, and the Doctor's talk with her. Although it's kind of unsettling -- not only is the Midnight creature still out there, but he's still very scared by the experience. And I don't blame him. I mean, what he went through...to quote the wonderful John Frobisher from CHILDREN OF EARTH, "This is unacceptable."
So overall? It was an amazingly made episode, but I will be honest, it genuinely frightened me. Moffat's horror was more atmospheric, taking seemingly ordinary objects and sort of stirring your distrust of them (shadows, telephones, angel statues, etc.), but Davies' horror feels more like a punch to the gut. Body horror, nihilism, villains who believe in the righteousness of their cause, mob mentality...it's the stuff of what human beings can stoop to that really drives the horror of stuff like the Futurekind, the Toclafane, and this episode. Moffat's horror -- while still wonderful, make no mistake -- I can at least console myself with "No, there are no Weeping Angels that can come and get me." **** But stuff like "Midnight" seems all too real. People being attacked for being different, mob mentality, stuff like that. And the worst part is that the people on that bus genuinely think that they're doing the right thing. True, it's mostly self-preservation, but that's a very powerful factor (my mom and I had a talk about it before she went to bed -- she's still very tired and all -- about how powerful self-preservation is. I guess some things we learned as cavemen never really go away) still, and they believe that they're genuinely protecting themselves. Fear can drive people to do awful things. As Kira Nerys once said (different context, I know, but I think it's still applicable), "Everyone has their reasons. That's what's so frightening." (Yes, I am beginning to get into DS9)
Speaking of Star Trek, apparently, Davies got the idea from, of all things, the billing for the TNG episode "Darmok" (thank you, Memory Alpha, for the quote):
I've seen lots of Star Trek: The Next Generation, I think it's a lovely show – but there's one episode, the billing for which is so fascinating I've actively avoided ever seeing it," Davies explained. "I love the idea so much, I'd rather think about it. Forever. The episode is called 'Darmok', and the synopsis simply says that Captain Picard is trapped on a planet with an alien who can only talk in metaphors. Wow. That sounds brilliant. How does that work? What happens? How does it end? I've got no idea – not seen it! But it keeps resonating with me. I've just looked up its TX date, and it's almost 20 years old. I've been thinking about that story and its potential for almost 20 years! Would it have sustained itself for that long in my head if I'd seen it on BBC2, long ago in 1991? I think the mystery keeps the concept alive. Here I am, still wondering, right now! And I can see the idea bleeding into my own work. In 2008, I wrote a Doctor Who episode called 'Midnight'. Is it like 'Darmok'? I don't know. But stripped down to its essentials, it's a story about a hero, an alien, and words. That's practically the same billing. Maybe the two shows are profoundly different, but I know for a fact that all those years of wondering about 'Darmok' led me to that script." (SFX, issue #200, p. 140)
(http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Doctor_Who#Darmok)
From what I can gather from "Darmok" (I haven't seen the episode yet, but I heard it's very good. :), it's pretty different from "Midnight". "Darmok" was about overcoming the language barrier. "Midnight" is what happens when trying to overcome the language barrier goes horribly wrong. Still, I've got to say -- they don't just have a degree of similarity in premise (well, save for making me scared to get on a damn bus. I don't think "Darmok" had that), but the fact that they're both considered really awesome episodes in their own shows. I think "Midnight" is kind of the...well, darker counterpart of "Darmok". And I think a pretty good cautionary tale against paranoia and the mob mentality. It's...it's not a comfortable episode, but it's really one of many reasons I love DOCTOR WHO. Because it takes risks, it plays with tropes, it's not afraid to come up with new ideas. This episode is a pretty good example of that, and I think that's one of many reasons it's awesome. Genuinely a punch to the gut, but awesome.
* Unless I got my definitions scrambled?
** Seriously, Doctor, I hate to say it, but not everyone in the world wants to be your friend (even though I wish it could be different. Because you've suffered so much; you deserve a break for once). God knows I'm still learning it in some places.
*** Is there a trope for that? Because there should be.
**** Although maybe I just don't have Weeping Angel statues?
So yeah, overall? Frightening episode, but amazing. Definitely recommended. (Also, sorry for the word vomit. I...kind of had a lot of emotions there)
