Doctor Who – Midnight
The subject for this piece is Midnight, a Doctor Who episode which experiments with and deconstructs the show’s format. Midnight is a bottle episode, taking place almost entirely on a single closed set and using very little in the way of special effects. The episode is set on the planet of Midnight, a world made entirely of diamonds, but which is so aggressively bombarded with radiation that no one can ever live on its surface. In spite of this, a spa resort was constructed on it, concealed in feet of protective glass. One of the amenities provided is a bus that tours a portion of the planet. The Doctor takes the eight hour round journey, while then-companion Donna declines and decides to stay behind.
Ultimately, the premise of the episode goes as follows; the tour bus breaks down halfway through the journey, leaving a selection of concerned tourists stranded on a planet where nothing should ever live. And then something knocks on the door.
The thing that makes Midnight interesting compared to other episodes is that its tone and message is practically the exact opposite of all that came before. While the show generally holds an optimistic view of humanity, here humans are shown as scared and petty, turning on one another when they’re unable to cope with the present circumstances. The Doctor tries everything he’s tried before and finds it no longer works. He tries to learn more about the creature outside (and later inside) the cabin, all to no avail. He tries to establish himself as a figure of authority and only finds himself trusted less as all aboard demand to know his name and where he comes from. By the climax of the episode the Doctor is rendered completely powerless to the whims of a scared, angry mob who have become convinced that he’s the problem aboard the coach. Running completely counterpoint to every episode thus far, the problem is resolved by random chance and human sacrifice, left in the hands of a group of people with no idea what they’re doing.
COL70309 