TV-Reviewed

Midnight began as a welcomed departure from the previous two episodes, which were both super-packed with drama and intensity. However, Donna was right to be concerned about The Doctor’s latest adventure; heading off on a space-truck across the vast poisoned landscape of the planet Midnight to see some waterfalls made of sapphires turned out to be much more dangerous than anyone could have imagined, including The Doctor.

The plot line of Midnight, though, besides turning much darker than expected, had one intriguing flaw; the lack of Donna wasn’t necessarily a travesty, but it would have been interesting to know what was going on (what she was up to) at the Leisure Palace while The Doctor was onboard a doomed space-truck. In fact, it’s almost as if the writers and producers of the show have been purposefully making the role of The Doctor’s companion less and less important in each episode. Here, it’s apparent: Donna had nothing to offer the story.

The story itself focuses, instead, entirely on the passengers and crew of the space-truck as it journeys out toward the wondrous sapphire waterfalls. The trip is fairly uneventful until…the computer malfunctions and the space-truck suddenly comes to an abrupt halt. Naturally, The Doctor is on top of things right away. He forces his way into the cockpit to find out what’s going on.

Sky and the Doctor

However, neither the mechanic nor the pilot are sure what’s happened. They just know there’s been a malfunction. So, they put out the distress signal. All seems as if it is in order, and that none of them are in any real danger. Right? As always on Doctor Who, it’s obvious something very bad is about to happen. What fun would it be if everything did go right, anyway?

With the reassurance that everything is in hand, The Doctor returns to the passenger cabin to calm them down. But…something comes a knocking. All over the hull bangs are heard as if something is trying to figure out a way in. Of course, panic sets in amongst the passengers immediately, except for the blonde woman The Doctor was talking to earlier. Miss Silvestry, Sky, goes completely crazed with fear–not just panic. She screams, “It’s come for me!”

Earlier she had mentioned she was recently separated from a relationship. And that “she”–her companion–”had wanted to be in a completely different galaxy from her”. Wow. Doctor Who really has stepped into the 21st century, right? Well, could it be that the alien which soon possesses Sky is the one she’s referring to? Could be, but it’s never thoroughly explained.

Right. Alien takes over Sky. Here’s where things get extremely tense and, dare it be said, creative. Everybody hates it when some wise-ass repeats every word they say, right? Well, Sky begins to do just that. She starts out with her own voice, then it modulates, then…oh crap! She’s repeating not only word-for-word what’s being said, but she now has learned to mimic the exact sound of everyone’s voice. Hmm…this doesn’t seem good.

The Doctor realizes alien life when he sees it. Naturally, he decides to coax the alien’s intentions out, but he’s rather unsuccessful. In fact, it seems he may have met his match. The alien initiates a propaganda campaign against The Doctor. Through various psychological methods the alien begins to convince the passengers that they need to rid themselves of The Doctor.

It nearly works, too, but, at the end, The Hostess of the space-truck wakes up and sacrifices herself as she grabs hold of the alien-possessed Sky, pulling the both of them out of the airlock to their dooms. Needless to say that The Doctor is visibly shaken. He had been completely powerless. The alien had been able to draw energy from him the entire time, keeping him utterly incapacitated the entire while. What could be so powerful?

The dramatic bits of Midnight truly are creative. The alien repeating every bit of what people say was quite clever in the fact that it was learning as it went, growing more powerful by the second. However, the lack of Donna throughout this episode is something to note. She does show up at the end to give The Doctor a thank-God-your-alive hug, but–If it had been Rose or Martha, they sure as heck would have been jumping to join The Doctor on that space-truck. Donna should have been, too. Surely, the writers could have worked her in there a lot better than they did? Here, well, she was like the figurative third wheel.

Rating: 7.5