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ShepherdofShark
Space Pope
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Was tonight's episode really written by RTD? Very creepy. And I really hope there's some series story arc development here, cause we don't find out about what it is for once. Well not yet anyway... And we've mentioned that cascade again I see
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Xanfor
Moderator
DOOP Secretary
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This was Alfred Hitchcock meets the Twilight Zone; the only New Who episode in which I was actually, truly frightened. It's scary to be alone.
Congratulations, RTD, on making the bus too small for corridor running scenes. In heaven, I'll pay your hospital bill and buy you a drink.
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boasel
Professor
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@ Xanfor, in heaven you wont need to pay for hospital bills :P
Very good episode, strange how we dont find out what it is quite scary as well. I personally found the two episodes before more scary but maybe im just a big scaredy cat haha. Next weeks looks to be a good one.
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Cube_166
Professor
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People seriously enjoyed Midnight? What is the world coming to?
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Xanfor
Moderator
DOOP Secretary
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It had a lesbian in it, what are you complaining about?
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boasel
Professor
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I do not recall this lesbian, where was this? For constructive purposes of corse. haha
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Juliet
DOOP Secretary
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Midnight was a brilliant episode. One of my best I think
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Cube_166
Professor
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She was the worst lesbian ever. I was neither turned on nor frightened by her repeating things that people say. I was instead bored and annoyed by it. If I was in charge of some kind of lesbian council I would have her disbanded.
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Xanfor
Moderator
DOOP Secretary
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She was the worst lesbian ever. I was neither turned on nor frightened by her repeating things that people say. I was instead bored and annoyed by it. If I was in charge of some kind of lesbian council I would have her disbanded.
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Juliet
DOOP Secretary
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LOL Xanfor!!!!
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Xanfor
Moderator
DOOP Secretary
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LOL Xanfor!!!!(Make it stop!) Originally posted by Cube_166:
Oh my god! I never realised how terrifying repeating things could be before. Now you've said that, I see that it's a completely valid premise for an episode of Doctor Who.
(plus she wasn't an attractive lesbian (or even an attractive fake-lesbian) so who cares?) To understand what made this episode scary, we need to understand the usual format of a 'scary' episode of Doctor Who. Take Blink, The Empty Child, or even the most recent Silence in the Library. I didn't find these particularly frightening in the traditional sense. I loved them to pieces, certainly, but the one crucial factor in my criteria for how I feel while watching an episode is the fact that I'm sitting right here, while on the other side of a piece of glass, phosphors are glowing representing the shapes of whatever it is I'm supposed to be afraid of. The gas-mask child repeating "Mummy, Mummy" is chilling, but not get-a-knot-in-your-stomach-because-their's-no-way-out direful. Being crept up upon by growing infected shadows is suspenseful and thrilling to watch, but all the while we know that the Doctor has his means, methods, and tools at his disposal, and while our adrenaline is rushing along with his, we are aware that at the last second he's gonna whip off his hat to cover the Dalek's eyestalk or do some other of that brilliantly inspired intellectual legerdemain for which we love him so much. This episode is different. The Doctor is deprived of every single one of his means, methods, and tools. The TARDIS is several hours away across the surface of the planet, the sonic screwdriver is worthless because there's nothing to use it on. He has no companion, no one to lend credibility to his words. Even his words, his gob that he's certainly got is useless, because not only can he not communicate with this creature (what ever it is), but once it singles him out as the most clever individual on board, the one most likely to be a threat, it selectively singles him out to repeat thus robbing his credibility from the rest of the crew. His backup strategy won't even work; there's nowhere to run. He is completely helpless, completely and utterly vulnerable with absolutely no recourse. And his fate, his only hope at all, is with a bunch of irrational individuals who are polarised against him and remain utterly convinced that they are doing the right thing. It's not the unnamed creature itself or its actions that makes this episode frightening, just as it wasn't the Vashta Nerada that our hearts went out for in Forest of the Dead. It was the desperation of being helpless and alone. And that can be more horrifying than any monster.
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ShepherdofShark
Space Pope
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« Reply #665 on: 06-20-2008 15:08 »
« Last Edit on: 06-20-2008 15:08 »
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To understand what made this episode scary, we need to understand the usual format of a 'scary' episode of Doctor Who. Take Blink, The Empty Child, or even the most recent Silence in the Library. I didn't find these particularly frightening in the traditional sense. I loved them to pieces, certainly, but the one crucial factor in my criteria for how I feel while watching an episode is the fact that I'm sitting right here, while on the other side of a piece of glass, phosphors are glowing representing the shapes of whatever it is I'm supposed to be afraid of. The gas-mask child repeating "Mummy, Mummy" is chilling, but not get-a-knot-in-your-stomach-because-their's-no-way-out direful. Being crept up upon by growing infected shadows is suspenseful and thrilling to watch, but all the while we know that the Doctor has his means, methods, and tools at his disposal, and while our adrenaline is rushing along with his, we are aware that at the last second he's gonna whip off his hat to cover the Dalek's eyestalk or do some other of that brilliantly inspired intellectual legerdemain for which we love him so much.
This episode is different. The Doctor is deprived of every single one of his means, methods, and tools. The TARDIS is several hours away across the surface of the planet, the sonic screwdriver is worthless because there's nothing to use it on. He has no companion, no one to lend credibility to his words. Even his words, his gob that he's certainly got is useless, because not only can he not communicate with this creature (what ever it is), but once it singles him out as the most clever individual on board, the one most likely to be a threat, it selectively singles him out to repeat thus robbing his credibility from the rest of the crew. His backup strategy won't even work; there's nowhere to run. He is completely helpless, completely and utterly vulnerable with absolutely no recourse. And his fate, his only hope at all, is with a bunch of irrational individuals who are polarised against him and remain utterly convinced that they are doing the right thing.
It's not the unnamed creature itself or its actions that makes this episode frightening, just as it wasn't the Vashta Nerada that our hearts went out for in Forest of the Dead. It was the desperation of being helpless and alone. And that can be more horrifying than any monster.(But I said "monster" just a split second before you did) Spooky
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Cube_166
Professor
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You do have a point and I think the episode might have been properly scary if the whole desperation angle wasn't undermined by a ridiculous woman childishly repeating things.
Anyway nevermind all that now. More Doctor Who today. This week I've heard it's going to be a woman who makes childish gestures behind the Doctor's back but stops when he turns to look at her. Chilling or what?
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Smitty
Professor
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That's the third time tonight I've read/heard someone describe it as "pointless". It seems that after last week's wonderful fluke, RTD has slipped back into his old ways. It's a shame DW has to conform to the sci-fi cliché of making a "what if that thing I said?" episode so relatively early into it's new run. Hopefully it's just a good setup for next week. I liked Donna's "Is this a film?" line when she and her family were watching the Titanic falling. Very 9/11-ish.
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Juliet
DOOP Secretary
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wow it was a very pretty good episode. I love Rose she is all grown up and I guess she learnt a lot from The Doctor. Watching the preview to next week's epsidoe almost give me a Seizure ------------------- POTM June 2007
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