On a recent podcast commentary for “Silence in the Library,” director Eros Lynn asked producer Phil Collinson an interesting question–“What do you see as the difference between the writing style of Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat?”
If you’ve heard the podcast in question, you know that Collinson is stunned into silence as you can almost hear the gears grinding in his head. He then goes on to give an answer praising both writers for their own unique strengths and what each one brings to the new series of Doctor Who.
I bring this up because as I watched “Midnight” this week, I was struck by how vastly different each script was, not only in terms of the ideas but also the story telling and execution. I’ve been critical of Davies writing in the past and I still fimrly believe he’s a man with some great ideas. The problem is that he tends to focus on getting from one idea to the next at a breakneck clip instead of slowing down and exploring these great ideas and their implications. He’s all about going for the next big event, the next dramatic moment, the next startling revelation and less about the impact of it on the characters or the implications of what he’s written or developed.
SPOILERS after the jump…
No where was that more evident than in “Midnight.”
It’s not that “Midnight” was a bad story. If anything, I’d say it’s Davies’ strongest story since last year’s “Gridlock.” It’s just that there were a whole lot of ideas in here that I really wished we’d explored a bit more. Or maybe if we’d had some better world building. Because I was fascinated by the concept of Xtonic radiation and sunlight and why anyone would choose to build a leisure planet and tourist attraction here. I found myself thinking back to the late Tom Baker story “The Leisure Hive” where the tourist attraction was built on a world that is a wasteland and uninhabitable as a reminder of the horrors of war and that something positive must come from such devistation.
And part of me wondered if we wouldn’t discover the whole tour was some type of scan. With the windows sealed and no one allowed up into the flight deck, I had to wonder if the ship had actually left the port or this was all some elaborate scheme designed to separate travellers from their money. And then I was left curious to know just how much the creators of the tours and the leisure dome knew about whatever was lurking on the surface.
Again, there are some really interesting questions here, but not a lot of answers. They’re just kind of thrown out there and quickly forgotten by the script.
And that’s what tends to frustrate me most about a story by Davies. It’s the feeling that you’ve pushed away from what should have been a delicious and satisfying meal with a growling still in your stomach.
“Midnight” could have been a satisfying meal of an episode. There were a lot of really great elements to it. The first is that it really makes good use of the single set-piece for the story. The interior of the shuttle and the passengers gathered there. I was a bit hesistant about the opening scenes in which the Doctor builds a community by getting to know everyone on board. But based on what happens in the story with an alien possession and seeing how fear and paranoia can tear apart a community in seconds, I can see what Davies is trying to do and go along with it.
It’s once the main alien threat comes into the scene that things begin to move along. The interesting thing is that we never fully discover if the alien possession was a threat or not–even when it’s taking over the Doctor. We do have the dramatic tension of wanting to be rid of it by any means necessary and the debate over which person apparently possessed by the alien to throw outside the shuttle. But since we are only seeing the alien slowly learn how to communicate and evolve over the course of the story we’re not sure if it’s malevolent or not. In this, we can see Davies offering a bit of commentary on the current climate where those who are different or appear different are mistrusted. Or if we don’t understand someone or something’s background, we’re quick to judge and condemn their actions.
For a character standpoint, this week’s episode works in spades. Davies uses the standard traveller cliches to draw the audience into the characters and allow us to make a few assumptions about them before turning them on their head in the early scenes. By doing this, Davies also allows us to see that we, the audience, are doing nothing better than what the principle inhabitants of the shuttle are doing–jumping to conclusions whether they’re right or wrong. It’s the old adage of “don’t judge a book by its cover” and it works well here.
Stylistically, the show is as good as it’s ever been. On the surface, an alien creature that speaks, at times, in sync with other characters must have been a challenge for the actors and production staff involved. But it works and it never comes across as a “oh, look at how brilliant we are” moment that it could easily have become. It becomes creepy and scary in a disconcerting way and achieves the effect the episode was going for. It also goes to show how in the day and age where we can see more with the advent of CGI that sometimes less is a whole lot more.
In the end, I’m of two minds about “Midnight.” Stylistically and dramatically, I really enjoyed it. It was an example of telliing an old fashioned Doctor Who story within the stylistic elements and production values of the new series. But, as seems to be the case with Davies’ stories, I was left feeling a bit unsatisfied in the end by some of the dangling questions that could and maybe even should have been given better answers.
Certainly “Midnight” isn’t a terrible story. But it’s not quite the instant classic that it could have been.
I don’t like Davies writing style much, and I’m surprised his episode followed Moffat’s. Davies really isn’t in the same league as Moffat.
If I were Davies, I’d want a few episodes between the Silence in the Library 2 parter and my steaming pile of crap, err…I mean episode.
I tend to disagree.
This has been the one and only Davies story that has been full-fleshed, fully formed, and fully thought out. The questions that are left behind actually add to the story instead of detract.
Instead of Davies leading us by the hand and answering all our ponderings, we are as lost as the travelers and the Doctor. Just as we were partner to their paranoia and grasping attempts to come to grips with their situation, we are also as hopelessly lost as they attempt to reconcile what happened, and what could of.
If at the end Davies decided to suspend the mystery by giving us all the answers, the story would have been done a great disservice. I believe that’s why the movie “No country for Old Men” is so powerful, because of the questions it leaves.
I’ve never appreciated Davies, but I believe this season is the best season ever. No more contrived romances and longing glances…just solid character development. A+.
I would say that in this episode my favorite part is when the Doctor is interrogated…In the last couple of episodes we see the Doctor taken to task for his inordinate excitement despite the fact that people have just died violently….this is much more of a substantive interrogation than earlier episodes (remember the scene when Rose challenges the Doctor when he pulls a gun on a Dalek? Blech.) The Doctor being subject to the morality of those around him is refreshing.
Someone said in a review, somewhere, that Russell T. Davies best episodes are the ones where he isn’t wearing the “showrunner” hat. Ones where he doesn’t have to keep in mind how the events of this episode are influenced by the previous and will have great significance on the next, such as this one. Normally in an RTD episode he’s juggling all these different elements and ideas, and 99% of them are really good, but he just gets overwhelmed and the episode turns out pretty “meh”.
I think RTD should stay on as a staff writer in the next few seasons. Give him an episode or two a year. Not big arc-based ones, but ones where he can experiment and stretch his legs.
There were very few episodes that I have liked from Davies, but this was the definite exception. It was the only episode from Davies that I did not look at the time wondering how much more of this I have to sit through.
The supporting actors were a little poor but I was enthralled from start to finish. Well done Davies!
I really enjoyed this episode. It reminded me of the old ‘Twilight Zone’ episode “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.†I agree with John, this season has been the best overall. The only episode that didn’t work for me was the premiere episode (even though I enjoyed the funny bits when The Doctor and Donna first see each other.)
Looking forward to the penultimate episodes.
OMG! One of the best Doctor Who ever and I have been a fan of the series since it began in the 1960’s. They don’t get any better than this one and hats off to Davies and the entire cast and crew for delivering a great frakin episodes.
this was almost as creepy as the weeping angels!
its a pity u don’t see the ‘monster’,
but its still pretty creepy
I really enjoyed this episode. It’s tough to make a “bottle show” interesting, but this one was a compelling mystery and showed a side of the Doctor that we don’t often get to see — true vulnerability. Over the past four seasons we’ve seen the character run through the gambit of emotions, from glee to rage to fear, but we almost never see him absolutely helpless. At the end of the episode, he’s clearly shaken by the experience.
As mentioned above, ‘Midnight’ raises the subject of fearing the unknown/unfamiliar in a way that isn’t too on-the-nose. It’s a deft handling of an issue all too relevant in our current political climate.
I was entranced by this episode – moral depth, wonderful humour, character development, it had it all. Real creepiness, cliffhanger moments, the lot.
Now I had come to this one completely ‘blind’ – pressure of work – hadn’t looked up the listings, or anything. Imagine my amazement that this was an RTD episode. One of the very best this season, I thought.
i love david tennant best doctor ever hes got really good sence for drama i love doctor who xoxoxoxo
“Gamut” of emotions, not “gambit.”
MOB MENTALITY. That was the scary part of this episode. The unreasoning fear and lack of control. And the performance by the actress playing Silvestry Sky was just willies-inducing.
I really do think that it is BECAUSE we get no answers in this story that makes it so brilliant.
One of my favorite episodes. It doesn’t matter who wrote it; it’s funny, it’s terrifying, and I watch it every time it’s on.