Midnight

[owl]

I felt a little sad for the Doctor getting on the bus all by himself like a little boy with no-one to sit with on the school trip, but he got so excited, it was sweet.

I loved him killing the entertainment (all three on at once!) and making everyone talk to each other.

OH HAI THAR INVISIBLE ALIEN. All done with acting and a few bangs on the outside of the set. THERE'S SOMETHING ALIVE OUT THERE! Oh how very old-school DW.

A diamond planet with evil sunlight that kills everything. Oh Doctor Who how I love your SKIENCE. Pretty CGI, though.

The Doctor was very Doctor-y in this one. All interested and curious and scared at the same time, and compassionate towards the alien and wanting to encourage the development of its consciousness. When DT brings it, he brings it.

Also arrogant. "Because I'm very clever".

I liked him invading the cockpit and persuading the driver to take a look outside.

The echoing, progressing to simultaneous speech and then to preceding, was creeeepy. So was the Doctor note being able to speak. His poor scared face with the tears in his eyes when he wasn't able to move!

Why did the alien become hostile towards the Doctor? It was all a little confused at that point, but possessed!Sky was egging them on.

It was pretty depressing how fast they turned to murder. Not one of those episodes where the Doctor declares his undying love for the human race, then. And the hostess sacrificed herself and they didn't even know her name. Dead unnamed black woman, did DW really need more dodgy subtext on that topic?

This episode needed some Donna. She'd have slapped sense into a few people.

Another Medusa Cascade reference. And more Rose appearing on screens.

The Doctor said 'allons-y' again. And added 'molto bene' to his repertoire.



In other news, I am now the owner of a Dalek-shaped shower gel. *heh*

Also? Your homemade TARDIS will not win the Red Bull Soapbox competition. But, hey, who can fault them for it?

Comments

[icudoc.livejournal.com]

Possessed!Sky was scary with the evil smile egging them on!
And Dalek-shaped shower gel - pretty damn cool!

[owl]

Even cooler--my mam bought it for me :)

[icudoc.livejournal.com]

In Belfast?
If so, where from?
*will buy some when home next*

[owl]

Tesco's, but that was at Christmas. Amazon has them here, though.

[lvjen.livejournal.com]

can you buy them online? My birthday is next month, and I want to add it to my wish list! If you know a website where I can order one, let me know! (I live in the US)
Thanks!!!

[owl]

You can get them from amazon.co.uk here. I think they deliver to the US as well.

[white_hart]

I thought that this time "dead unnamed black woman" was foregrounded sufficiently that it was probably making a point rather than just Rusty Not Thinking.

As for the alien, I thought that it probably wanted them all dead really, and started with the Doctor because he was the one trying to keep calm. Or maybe it just wanted his voice because he was the most articulate?

[owl]

I've seen people theorising that the alien was originally not hostile and paranoid; it was learned behaviour from copying the passengers. If that was what was intended it makes the storyline even more bleak (and better quality), but it isn't made explicit in the script IMO.

[white_hart]

The Doctor did say something to that effect, didn't he? And it would also parallel 'The Unicorn and the Wasp' quite nicely.

[bulky-monster.livejournal.com]

I noticed hardly anyone commented on the inappropriate, mob-mentality behavior of the other passengers, but chose to focus on the Doctor's supposed social problems... honestly though, I think he's got excellent social skills, better than most people and this is part of his problem. Of course when things get too personal and intimate he freaks out, but he was doing a great job of it in this episode. Getting people to talk, creating a friendly atmosphere, even bringing Sky out of her shell of irritable solitude and getting her to smile even in her state of recent bitter heartbreak.

The Doctor was very good in this episode, absolutely the character I've grown to love. It was the humans whose behavior was abhorrent. I'm glad that someone else on my f-list saw that, rather than blaming the Doctor for essentially being betrayed by a group of terrified strangers.

[owl]

Yes, it was definitely a we-have-seen-the-monsters-and-they-are-us storyline. I've seen quite a few people pick up on that, I'm surprised that you haven't, because it seems to me to be a fundamental strand of the storytelling.

[bulky-monster.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just my f-list... my two real-life friends who watch the show were right there with me. I honestly scratch my head at anyone who manages to blame the Doctor for what went wrong in this episode.