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Doctor Who: Midnight (2008)
Midnight; Technically,The Most Perfect Episode Of Doctor Who?
The Doctor's 200th story is brilliant. Absoltely brilliant.
Midnight, whilst not in my top 5 episodes of the show, is still, for me, the most perfect singular episode of the series, of NuWho at least.
First off,
The Writing:
Russell T. Davis wrote this episode in a weekend, after deciding Stephen Greenhorn's episode was too similar to a previous ep. And so began an awesome adventure.
Humanity was the real monster in this story. An enemy that rocks The Doctor to the core. For (possibly) the first time, The Doctor's main weapon, his own defence is stolen from and used against him; his speech. It's the most powerless I've seen the character. Here, all of the character's true nature is revealed through an impossible situation, and the Doctor's own arrogance is displayed and deployed against him, almost killing himself in the process. His natural dominance over "thick humans" has been evident throughout the show, and this is one of the best examples of the dangers of this. Once the Doctor is pitted against true humanity, those he self-proposed to always protect, he's powerless and in serious danger. It examines various themes of humanity, arrogance, nature, fear, paranoia and power.
Midnight was also an episode that worked on a limited budget. The fear that leads to paranoia, writhes in the atmosphere and ploughs it's way into the minds of the "thick humans". This is evident, that even those that stood with him, ultimately could not fight their nature and the extreme paranoia that infested them, as seen with Jethro and DeeDee, until ultimately he was on his own.
As best of an example of the paranoia, is the Hostess. "Throw her out" she whispers at Skye, as The Doctor cries "insanity!" This invades the minds of the paranoid humans, seen mostly with the mother who is at the most vulnerable and fearful. And soon, before they know it, they've decided to kill. As the Doctor takes leadership and screams "no-one is getting thrown out" his own presence becomes an enemy as the humans act against him too. As the entity infects the Doctor, it's apparent to the humans that he was the enemy all too well, and the act of murder had never seemed easier. Notice how neither Jethro or DeeDee attempt to stop them, other than cry to themselves.
This whole exploration of our own species, told in a meagre 42 minutes, was quite restrained in it's execution. Never in th script did it feel out of place or random, just a story well told.
At the conclusion, the Doctor's voice saves him once more, as the Hostess regains clarity and sacrifices herself and Skye Silvestri in a brief moment of redemption.
And no-one knew her name.
The Acting:
The cast in this episode were phenomenal.
Standouts;
Lesley Sharp as Skye, after invasion, was as creepy and as subtle as the writing. Her transition from a stuffy, hostile human, into an animalistic, hostile entity was terrific. Creepy and alien throughout.
David Troughton as the Sceptic, was equally brilliant, never admitting truth and always practising humanity. When you don't understand something, you kill it.
Lindsey Coulson as Val Cane; one of the most frightening performances on the show - to channel real human darkness. Her antagonistic personification of humanity was handled expertly and never felt comical or OTT, just perfect.
And of course, David Tennant. I have never seen a more beautiful performance, other then the Rage Against The Dying Of The Light moment from End Of Time P2. His enthusiastic and lovable Doctor at the beginning, off on another exploration of the Universe, exactly what the Doctor always set out to do all those years ago, was lovely. His turn into the most vulnerable The Doctor has ever been was chilling, and every time I see that episode, I'm on the edge of my seat. His struggle against humanity within the middle portion of the ep was also brilliant. His frustration at the his favourite species in the Universe really hit it home to the Doctor that actually, these species are still in their infancy, prone to superior acts of violence and fear.
His face when he becomes infected, that unbelievability, that surprise, that shock, that fear....was perfection. He knew he was at the mercy of frightened humans and boy was the Doctor scared. He hadn't been that scared since he was dying in 42 I think.
The Direction:
Alice Troughton excelled herself in this installment.
The staging, the lighting, the editing, the acting, the delivery etc it worked completely. The tension with the knocks was so menacing and chilling that it could not have played any better.
Brilliant.
The Visual Effects:
For me, I have no issue with the Vis FX and think they were beautiful.
The Overall Tone:
Fear, paranoia, vulnerability, shock, menace, claustrophobia, surprise, tension etc. It just all works and is expertly employed from Alice Troughton.
Bravo!
The Success:
Overall, David Tennant and RTD's best episode together.
I cannot find a fault in this episode, it works on every level. For me, a complete success. Whilst it's only 7th in my favourite episodes list, technically I think it's THE most perfect episode (and it was written in a weekend!)
Thus, I don't understand the dislike of this episode at all.
It's all Greek to me.
Doctor Who: The End of Time: Part Two (2010)
Hauntingly Beautiful
If you hadn't guessed it was the end of an era beforehand, Russell T Davies and his team left you in no doubt by the time the credits rolled this time. There had been promises that there wouldn't be a dry eye in the house by the episode's end, and after an epic, breathtaking hour, they'd pretty much delivered on that promise.
What I loved about the episode is, it had everything that makes Dr Who great. We've never had this: 20 minutes for a Doctor to deal with his impending demise, here though we got him visiting his former assistants, essentially saying goodbye to the Davis's era, before Moffat revamps the entire show with the new production.
He called all this his reward, but really, it was our's. This was the first outright emotional regeneration, and it deepened the process immensely. Usually, the emotions are dealt with afterwards, as the new Doctor gets used to his new body. Here, an outgoing Doctor got to face the ramifications of what was about to happen, and it was explored exceptionally well. The fiery regeneration really hammered home the violence and terrifying nature of the process. As the Doctor said in part One, it is essentially a death and rebirth. Tennant really conveyed the character's vulnerability when undergoing this transformation. He's usually had people around him for his change, but this time he was alone, which only contributed to his fear.
I loved the fact the four knocks was something as simple as Wilf trapped in a chamber all along. But it was all so wonderfully small and poignant. And what a moment: just at the moment the Doctor thought he'd survived, Wilf knocks, and The Doctor knows he is doomed. It was goosebump good.
I'd argue Wilf is the best assistant that Tennant got to travel with, as when Cribbins' tears start to roll, it takes some resolve not to well up yourself (admission: I failed). When Wilf realised his part in the Doctor's demise, it was haunting, simply because it was so brilliantly underplayed. "You're the best man I've ever met and I don't want you to die!" Kudos.
But this was David Tennant's show, and a near-80 minute exercise in just how much he's going to be missed. Tennant was always at his best in these more sombre episodes and he was magnetically brilliant here. This was a character being slowly torn apart over the course of the episode, and Tennant's eyes alone told the story. It was an amazing performance. The Doctor was torn apart long before the regeneration started, and the broken Time Lord that we first got to see properly in The Waters Of Mars was fully exposed here. Credit too for the reappearance of the Ood to sing the Doctor out. "The universe will sing you to your sleep", they said. That's just great writing.
As brilliant as the back end of it was, the hour that preceded it was far from shabby itself. Here, The Master was a little bit more measured, and it helped enormously. "What would I be without you?", the Doctor asked him, and it really felt like a proper and welcome battle of minds.
Then there was Timothy Dalton's Lord President also thrown into the mix. It wasn't an episode for villains, but Dalton was doing perfectly well – even getting over how quickly he reversed a plan that had taken The Master an episode to put together - until he was rushed to his demise.
And this does hint at the flaws in the episode. It seems churlish to criticise a piece of television I enjoyed so much, but there were a couple of niggles. The Time War has been the unexplored part of the narrative that Davies has introduced and this is the closest we've got to it being addressed. Yet it was ultimately, a side attraction and for those of us who had wondering how the Time Lords got to this point, there's an element of opportunity lost there.
While the villains did ultimately take the back seat, we got the interesting shoot out sequence with the Doctor. It was a great scene - with the tension was brilliantly amplified from the director Euros Lyn but the torture on The Doctor's face as he battled his conundrum over which way to point, was once more a testament to Tennant's acting.
Part Two was a jam-packed testament to everything Davies has done with Who. It was pure blockbuster entertainment with a hell of an emotional wallop, and some inspired plotting that dug deeply into the stories of the past four years. The bar has been left high here, and Davies is damn sure going to be missed.
I did feel a bit for Matt Smith who had to pop up in the last few minutes and open up the story of a new Doctor, a minute after we've seen such a terrific closing of another Doctor's chapter. But I'm not going to judge him based on a minute of frantic footage - He's got 13 episodes coming up, when the whole process starts again.
Instead, I'm content to sit back and applaud what I thought was a terrific episode of Doctor Who, and the end of a major era in the show's history. It's a major achievement to build up expectation levels for an episode over the course of pretty much an entire year, and then exceed them with the end result. That's precisely what's happened here and both Tennant and Davies have left some very big shoes to fill.
Over to you then, Mr Moffat and Mr Smith. We'll see you in the Spring. In the interim, I suspect The End Of Time is going to be watched a few more times yet...
"This song is ending, but the story never ends".
Angel: Inside Out (2003)
One Of Season Four's Greatest!
I LOVE Steve Dekinght! He has worked on my favourite shows including: Buffy, Angel, Smallville, Spartacus and they're usually my favourite episodes! He is awesome and has a brilliant creative mind! (Not to mention he has the same first name as me!)
But this episode basically tries to explain away the previous four seasons of the show and explain how every decision that the gang have made has led them to this moment. I love those kind of plot devices - something that has a big scope to it, and dares to explain major plot details even as much as the entire show! Just like season Three's, "Birthday" did, with the crossing of their paths. I enjoy that kind of concept immensely.
The Skip Interrogation scenes made this episode for me - but I really wish Skip had explained Wesley's part better. Instead of "Sleeping With The Enemy" I feel it should've been "Stealing His Kid" or something like that. I mean how does sleeping with Lilah affect things? I guess it brings Lilah to the hotel for "Cordevlia" to kill, but taking Connor would've been far clearer as then Connor grew up quickly in a Hell dimension and thus could be the father of Jasmine etc.
Doesn't that make much more sense?
Anyways...I was quite moved actually by the performance of both Vince Kartheiser and the young innocent victim that was sacrificed by Connor and "Cordevlia". It was very well executed. (Excuse the pun).
Now, I have this crazy idea, (I love tying Buffy and Angel shows together) but what if Darla was really The First?! Trying to self-preserve itself as if Jasmine was born, there would be an end to The First's power source (Evil, Hatred etc). I dunno, just seemed like a great way of tying the shows together. (Especially since season 4 of Angel and 7 of Buffy occur at the same time, so The First was active in that period).
This got me to thinking, was it actually Jasmine that released Angel from Hell over on Buffy in Season 3? Many things have claimed credit for it, such as the PTB and The First, but if Jasmine had so much power, as she has affected and coerced so many other events in the character's lives, that it most likely was Jasmine that returned Angel to Earth....But even though I like to find ways of tying things together, I don't particularly like to believe that theory and I'll stick with "it was the PTB", idea. Sort of like it was his destiny to return and thats that. Not Jasmine, not The First just simply, Fate. I think that's better.
Overall, this is one of my favourite episodes of the season AND of the series as a whole and why I felt compelled to review it. (For some reason, Season One's "I've Got You Under My Skin" is another of my all time favourites). Some people may feel it was a cop-out by weakly explaining the series and away ruined the show yadda yadda yadda. But I actually enjoyed this concept and is part of why I loved this episode so much.
P.S. Love your reviews KatieRose295!
Doctor Who: The Fires of Pompeii (2008)
Best Episode - Second To "Blink"
I have got to say, this episode is absolutely brilliant. Whether it is the acting, visual effects, or the wonderful script, I have never enjoyed a Who episode as much as this. (Well, maybe I did - "Blink")
I love any episode that mentions the Time Lord's past - especially Gallifrey references and so what a treat this episode was! Tennant's acting ability is superb and I love his reactions to the Romans who seem to know many hidden details about his past...
Speaking of acting, I think this episode was made stronger by the Stella guest cast - the best cast of the series I feel. Every actor/actress was great - especially the young prophet girl. Bravo.
Also, I must confess/apologise for the prejudice I had of Mrs Tate. I honestly thought she could not act after the premiere, but after seeing this one, she definitely has the chops necessary for a Who companion. Her teary plead to save the family definitely wet my eyes.
The CGI was outstanding too. I'm no budgeter, but this must've cost loads to produce. It's especially surprising, seeing as it's only the second episode. The Pyrovyle creatures were spectacular and never once looked fake to me, which is very hard to accomplish. The Vesuvius eruption was nothing more than a visual treat! Kudos to the Spec.Effects teams, I don't know how they do it but blimey, they deserve an award for those effects!
Overall, a (running out of adjectives) solid and sensational episode that no-one (in their right mind) can say a negative comment about!
cough-TAPTEE-cough
Superman Returns (2006)
THE BEST MOVIE EVER MADE!!!.... Seriously.....
I was absolutely blown away with this film, I'm the BEST hardcore SUPERMAN fan in the whole ("28 of the known galaxies..." quote from original movie!).
The score was amazing,I bought the CD, visual guide and poster!-I'm not sad.....But I am waiting for the 2-disc DVD and xbox 360 game (Guess I am kinda sad after all!) It was like you was actually soaring at super illuminal speeds, along with Superman, breaking the sound barrier, when watching!
The acting was top-notch and Brandon Routh did an excellent job- I was worried coz he was a newbie, but he was fantastic. Although Kate Bosworth's acting was good, i feel she was just too young- her appearance-too make me believe her role, but I can turn a blind eye to that.The effects were unbelievable and was the first film to use state- of-the-art Genesis Lens cameras, and they work- trust me.
Overall, A quality film that has set the bar even higher for comic book movies and Superman Returns was the best film, in my opinion, ever made!The best place too see this is at the cinema- IMAX if you can, but cinema has the sound thing going for it so watching on TV or DVD just wont have the same,... "oomph". If you haven't seen this in the theatre, you wont have the same experience like I did and probably never will...
P.S.- Anyone else feel that this film had the best trailers for an upcoming movie ever??!!