Midnight

Season 4, Episode 10, Aired

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8.7
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Location: Planet Midnight
Date: unknown
Enemies: unknown - possessive creature
While visiting the planet Midnight, a beautiful luxury planet, full of lavish and hightech cities, a terrifying problem arises that leaves the Doctor powerless.
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Fan Episode Reviews (42)

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  • I love Doctor who, but . . this was a really bad episode. The bit where the character repeated everyone quickly got VERY annoying. The plot line was thin and left many questions about it unanswered. . . .moreless

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By McTrooperNow, May 13, 2011
    I love Doctor who, but . . this was a really bad episode.

    The bit where the character repeated everyone quickly got VERY annoying. The plot line was thin and left many questions about it unanswered. And they managed to stick another gay character in just to be unoriginal. What was nice about the episode . . well some of the visuals were nice. The pool aria looked beautiful and what looked like a diamond city was impressive. It was also interesting that the most mean character on there was right about what to do and she sacrificed herself to save everyone.moreless

  • The Doctor stuck on a plane with annoying people,

    3.2
    "Bad"
    By stoneydog101, May 13, 2011
    I did not like this episode much at all. I would almost say the worst. Nothing really happened. You didnt find out about who/what it was. Was it a race in trouble or out to cause trouble. The Dr. didn't seem to have his wits about him. Like he was new on the job or something. Most annoying people too, I didn't seem to care what happened to them one way or another. They might as well been the extra officer on Star Trek that gets killed off. And I think they have done enough with the Rose spottings, lets run into her already!moreless

  • The Doctor goes solo, while Donna relaxes on the vacation planet of Midnight, an inhospitable world whose surface is covered in massive gemstone monoliths. While traveling overland, outside the pleasure domes, a busload of passengers has an encountermoreless

    1.1
    "Abysmal"
    By Aikousha, Mar 14, 2011
    This is the absolute worst episode, so far, of the new Doctor Who series. It is significantly worse than "Love & Monsters" since at least that had a unique and interesting method of presentation. This episode had the Doctor making constant errors, not using his charisma at all, and getting himself screwed over by avoidable issues. It was so out of character and so poorly done, it would have been much better if the doctor had just popped open the airlock and let everyone die (and at least we would have had an interesting regeneration sequence ^_^).
    This was so excruciatingly bad, that for the first time, I missed all the subtle hints that are dropped in almost every episode. I had to find out about them when I watched the Confidentials for the shows that followed this one. This was such a poor show, I don't even think they had ANY in-jokes, which are great to find... How many people know that there have been more than 150 Douglas Adams indirect references throughout the series (not just the direct ones)?
    The worst part is, that with the way this story progressed, there has to be an amazing amount of follow-up... no matter what, the vacation spot is doomed, and that would make a much better story, than what the viewers had to sit through (no matter how close to true the bad side of humity was).
    I'd say that a follow-up story to this would be wonderful, except that it would bring up memories of this episode, and that would ruin enjoyment of the new episode.
    On top of that, it follows one of the best story arcs in the entire history of Doctor Who, what a horrific let-down.

    I congratulate Mr. Davies in getting Doctor Who back on the air, but he is one of the sloppiest writers for the show, and has little originality (or at least the kind of originality that is required for a show like Doctor Who). I can't wait for Mr. Moffat to take up the reigns, who is a better director and writer by far, than Davies.moreless

  • A classic archetype storyline that is a study of human nature.

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By Minarvia, Dec 19, 2010
    A classic archetype storyline that is use over and over again, that is a classic study of human nature that when one is put under stress with no way out, how would you react to it, but this doesn't bring down the episode. Which is that you put bunch of strangers in a close box situation and introduce an unknown, but deadly variable, like a killer in a series that is set in modern times, or in this case a possessing murdering alien life form and see how they will react toward it. Will they be scare of it? Or will they be curious about it?


    Each character in this episode are an archetype of that various different emotions that every human being have, you have Professor Hobbes, the old intellectual with a huge amount of intelligent and expertise under his belt that loves to flaunt it to rest of the passengers, Dee Dee Blasco, the young and joyful student that hasn't the expertise of Professor Hobbes, but the enthusiasm to do well in the eyes of her mentor, Jethro Cane, the typical rebellious teenager, Val Cane and Biff Cane a typical married couple, Sky Silvestry a woman that is looking for a new start in life, and the host, who is remains nameless, and maybe the writer's attempt to personification of the company that ran the tour. Also you have the Doctor, who is the hero of the episode and his the calming influence in the episode is seen whenever a stress for the rest of the passengers is triggered, when there is noise on the vessel, when there was the rumor that the air is running out, when the alien has token control over Sky and starts repeating everybody.

    But, over the course of the episode, as the stress increases and the danger grows closer, the true faces of the passengers starts to show up that a good majority of them are willing to kill an innocent man, in the name of the Doctor, who is a stranger who put himself in danger, just because a fellow human being tells to do so in the same fashion that was mention in a CSI episode, "That if you bring a human being to the point of death, and offer them, even the small amount of hope, no matter how small it is, they will take it. That's when you can control a human being," just like in that episode it happen in this episode of Dr. Who. But, there are still some people that won't go for it and figure it out in the end, like Dee Dee Blasco, who figure it out, but dose nothing and the unnamed host that actually dose something, by opening up the door to the hostile environment, a move that maybe kills the alien life form, but in doing some kills herself in an act of self-sacrifice a move that only self-aware beings are able to do so. In doing so restores her honor, for she was the one that first suggested that through Sky and the Doctor off the liner, and in the big picture restores the reputation of the company that runs the tours.


    In the end of the episode one is left wondering can you kill fellow human if you are is in danger? Can you make the ultimate sacrifice to save strangers if is needed? If you face with the unknown, will you be scare of it or will be curious about it? This episode raise these impoundable questions.moreless

  • An unusual episode

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By OscarTorrado, Dec 19, 2010
    Probably we all know the development of a Doctor Who episode: The Doctor and his companion searching for a planet, the arrival, the danger and the solution of the problem, but with Midnight writer Russell T. Davies dares to make something different with the Doctor, crating one of my favorites episdodes of the whoile serie.

    Let me start by saying that this is the typical episode that shows the real human natures and how we are when we see danger and fear, Davies moves away from the typical development of a classic episode of the serie to bringing us something new, this time the Doctor travels alone while Donna Noble is taking some vacations, but what he doesnt know is that is going to be in a big problems with a lot of a stranger who he have to trust.

    "Midnight" is a thrilling weel writing and directing episode full of emotions.moreless
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • TRIVIA (6)

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    • Dee mentions having done research on the "lost moon of Poosh". This planet is one of those stolen in The Stolen Earth.

    • When the Hostess approaches the front of the cabin to apologise for the breakdown of the entertainment system, the boom operator can be seen reflected in the window behind her.

    • 'Extonic' is a made up word with no meaning in English, either casual or scientific. In the episode, Professor Hoops descibes it as "raw galvanic radiation". A term which is also effectively made up, as galvanism is the induction of an electric current from a chemical reaction, thus something which produces electrical current (electrons), not radiation.

    • Midnight is the first of the new series episodes not to show the TARDIS in anything other than the title sequence. The last time this happened was in Genesis of the Daleks in 1975.

    • When the Doctor asks if everyone is okay, Rose's face can briefly be seen on the monitor behind him, mouthing his name.

    • David Troughton is the son of Second Doctor Patrick Troughton. David has also previously appeared in classic Doctor Who, appearing as Private Moor in the 1969 Patrick Troughton story The War Games and as King Peladon in the 1972 Jon Pertwee story The Curse Of Peladon. He also appeared as an uncredited extra in the Patrick Troughton story The Enemy Of The World.

  • QUOTES (19)

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    • Hostess: Ladies and Gentlemen and variations thereupon...

    • The Doctor: (as he speaks, Sky copies him exactly; the two speak at the same time) Mrs Silvestry, I'm trying to understand. You've captured my speech. What for? What do you need? You need my voice in particular. The cleverest voice in the room. Why? 'Cause I'm the only one who can help? Oh, I'd love that to be true. But your eyes… are saying something else. Listen to me. Whatever you want, if it's life or form or consciousness or voice, you don't have to steal it. You can find it without hurting anyone, and I'll help you. That's a promise. So, what do you think? (Sky finishes speaking before the Doctor) Do we have a deal?

    • (As each character speaks, Sky copies them exactly, speaking at the same time) The Doctor: If you try to throw her out that door, you'll have to get past me first. Hostess: (after a pause) OK. Biff Cane: Fine by me. The Doctor: Oh, now you're being stupid! Just think about it. Could you actually take hold of someone and throw them out of that door? Biff Cane: Calling me a coward? Val Cane: Who put you in charge anyway? Professor Hobbes: I'm sorry, but you're a Doctor of what… exactly? Hostess: Wasn't even booked in. The rest of you, tickets in advance. He just turned up out of the blue. Val Cane: Where from? The Doctor: I'm just travelling. I'm a traveler, that's all. Val Cane: Like an immigrant? Hostess: Who were you talking to? Before you got on board, you were talking to someone. Who was that? The Doctor: Just Donna. Just my friend. Biff Cane: And what were you saying to her? Val Cane: He hasn't even told us his name. Jethro: Thing is though, Doctor… you've been loving this. The Doctor: Oh, Jethro, not you. Jethro: But ever since the trouble started, you've been loving it. Professor Hobbes: It has to be said you do seem to have a certain… glee. The Doctor: Alright, I'm interested. Yes. I can't help it. 'Cause whatever's inside her is brand new and it's fascinating.

    • (As each character speaks, Sky copies them exactly, speaking at the same time) Hostess: We should throw her out. Professor Hobbes: I beg your pardon? Val Cane: Can we do that? The Doctor: Don't be ridiculous. Hostess: That thing, whatever it is, killed the driver and the mechanic and I don't think she's finished yet. The Doctor: She can't even move. Hostess: Look at her! Look at her eyes! She killed Joe and she killed Claude and we're next.

    • (As each character speaks, Sky copies them exactly, speaking at the same time) Dee Dee: 'We must not look at goblin men.' Biff Cane: What's that supposed to mean? The Doctor: It's a poem. Christina Rossetti. Dee Dee: 'We must not look at goblin men. We must not buy their fruits. Who knows upon what soil they fed, their hungry thirsty roots?' The Doctor: Actually, I don't think that's helping. Professor Hobbes: She's not a goblin or a monster. She's just a very sick woman. Jethro: Maybe that's why it went for her. Professor Hobbes: There is no it! Jethro: Think about it though, that knocking went all the way around the bus until it found her and she was the most scared out of all of us. Maybe… that's what it needed. That's how it got in. Professor Hobbes: For the last time, nothing can live on the surface of Midnight! The Doctor: Professor, I'm glad you've got an absolute definition of life in the universe but perhaps the universe has ideas of its own.

    • The Doctor: (as he speaks, Sky copies him exactly; the two speak simultaneously) Now then, Sky. Are you Sky? Is Sky still in there? Mrs Silvestry? You know exactly what I'm going to say. How are you doing that? Roast beef. Bananas. The Medusa Cascade. (The Doctor leans forward, as does Sky) Bang! Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, TARDIS. (The Doctor leans back, as does Sky) Shamble bobble dibble dooble. Oh, Doctor, you're so handsome. Yes, I am, thank you. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O. (The Doctor stands) First she repeats, then she catches up. What's the next stage?

    • Jethro: That noise from outside. It's stopped. Val Cane: Thank God for that. Jethro: But what if it's not outside any more? What if it's inside?

    • Driver Joe: That is beautiful. Mechanic Claude: Look at all those diamonds. Poisoned by the sun. Nobody can ever touch them. The Doctor: Driver Joe, you said we took a detour. Driver Joe: About forty clicks to the west. The Doctor: A recognised path? Driver Joe: No, a new one. The computer worked it out on automatic. The Doctor: So, we're the first. This piece of ground. No one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history. Mechanic Claude: Did you just… No, sorry. It was nothing. The Doctor: What did you see? Mechanic Claude: Just there. That ridge. Like, like a shadow. Just for a second.

    • Professor Hobbes: (about the planet Midnight) I'm the first person to research this because you see... the history is fascinating… because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system. There couldn't be. Before the leisure palace company moved in, no one had come here in all eternity. No living thing. Jethro: But how do you know? I mean, if no one can go outside… Val Cane: Oh, his imagination. Here we go. The Doctor: He's got a point though. Professor Hobbes: Exactly! We look upon this world through glass, safe inside our metal box. Even the leisure palace was lowered down from orbit. Here we are now, crossing Midnight but never touching it.

    • The Doctor: I'm with this friend of mine. Donna. She stayed behind in the leisure palace. You? Sky: No, it's just me. The Doctor: Oh, I've done plenty of that, travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want, go anywhere. Sky: I'm still getting used to it. I found myself single rather recently not by choice. The Doctor: What happened? Sky: Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you? The Doctor: Yeah. I had a friend went to a different universe.

    • Hostess: Complimentary earphones. Complimentary slippers. Complimentary juice pack and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you, some products may contain nuts. The Doctor: That'll be the peanuts.

    • (after the Crusader 50 gets back to the Leisure Palace) Donna: Can't imagine you without a voice. The Doctor: Molto bene! Donna: Molto bene! (Donna's repetition reminds The Doctor of the creature's power) The Doctor: (clearly haunted) No, don't do that. Don't... don't.

    • The Doctor: Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y! Hostess: I'm sorry? The Doctor: It's French for 'let's go'! Hostess: (insincerely)Fascinating.

    • The Doctor: Should we take a look outside, just lift the screens a bit? Joe: It's 100% extonic out there. We'd be vapourised. The Doctor: Nah! Those windows are finito glass, they'll give us a couple of minutes. Go on, live a little...

    • Donna: Oi and you be careful, all right. The Doctor: Nah, stuck in a big space truck with a bunch of strangers across a diamond planet called Midnight. What could possibly go wrong?

    • The Doctor: (to everyone on killing Sky): This little bunch of humans. What do you amount to? Murder? Because this is where you you decide who you are. Could you actually murder her, really or are you better than that?

    • (Donna is enjoying herself at a luxury spa when The Doctor calls her to take another adventure). Donna: I said no. The Doctor: Sapphire waterfall. It's a sapphire waterfall made of sapphires. There's an enormous jewel the size of a glacier. Reaches the cliffs of Oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge and falls a hundred thousand feet to a crystal ravine. Donna: I bet you say that to all the girls. The Doctor: Oh come on, they're boarding now. It's no fun if I see it in on my own.

    • Hostess: Two people are dead! The Doctor: Don't make it three.

    • Sky: (about the food) Well, what's this? Chicken or beef? The Doctor: I think it's both.

  • NOTES (5)

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    • Overnight UK viewing figures for this episode were 7.3 million, with the final viewing figure at 8.05 million.

    • This episode was originally intended to be episode eight, before Steven Moffat's two-parter, but was pushed back to episode ten. The name of the shuttle bus, Crusader 50, was a reference to it originally being the 50th episode of the new series to be screened.

    • Although she appears in this episode, Billie Piper has no dialogue and doesn't directly interact with David Tennant.

    • International Airdates:
      United States: 11 July 2008
      Australia: 7 September 2008
      Turkey: 10 April 2011

    • This episode features very little of Donna, as Catherine Tate was busy filming the next episode, Turn Left.

  • ALLUSIONS (3)

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    • The art installation by "Ludwig Klein" is likely a reference to Yves Klein, a French artist known for his use of monochromes.

    • Dee Dee: 'We must not look at goblin men.' This is a quote from Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). Originally written in 1859 and published in 1862, Rossetti claimed it was a children's poem, despite some heavy sexual imagery. It tells of the temptation of two sisters to try the Goblin merchants' fruit.

    • The music video that is shown as part of the entertainment aboard the Crusader 50 is the 1978 one-hit wonder 'Do it, Do it again', by Raffaella Carra.

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