Typical. I spend half an whole essay talking about why Series 4 isn’t the series for me, and then what happens? The last story written by RTD on my list comes from Series 4. What are the chances of that happening, eh?
And yes, you read that right. This is the last story written by Russell T. Davies in my list of Top 60. I’m sorry all you fans of the big man, but while there are more stories to come from his time as show runner, they are all written by other people.
That’s not to say I don’t appreciate the genius of RTD. I mean, how much do we owe him? In terms of people who have had the biggest impact on the show, he’s right up there with Verity Lambert, Dennis Spooner & Terrance Dicks. Without him we have no 21st Century Doctor Who1. No Christopher Eccleston or David Tennant. No Matt Smith or Peter Capaldi. No Jodie Whitaker. No new generation of fans growing up to be fans of this silly little show. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
If Rusty’s writing chimes less with me than others, then that’s because I’m a plot driven viewer. Of the three elements that make up a good story – plot, characters & scripting – then it’s plot that’s most central to my enjoyment. I can forgive shallow characters & clunky dialogue2 if the plot is good, but no matter how much your script sings or characters come alive, without a decent plot to engage me then I’m lost. And this is where Rusty falls down for me: he’s a BRILLIANT writer of characters, but too often he plots his characters into a place where he can’t get them out of without a deus ex machina – a literal deus quite often, as more than one person has turned into Jesus to wrap up a story.
But I’m burying people again when I should be praising them. Russell writes excellent drama, and he has written no greater drama (in Doctor Who at least3) than Midnight. It’s a stunning piece of work that plays to each and every one of his strengths as a writer, and – thankfully for me – has very few of his flaws.
One of the episodes great strengths is its setting. This is a perfect example of a “Bottle Episode” – that is, an episode that takes place pretty much within a single set, with very few other characters other than your regulars4. Think Waiting for Godot; Hitchcock’s Lifeboat; the episode “Fly” from Breaking bad; or that episode of One Foot in the Grave where Victor & Margaret are stuck in a traffic jam. Making a bottle episode has obvious impacts on your budget (less set means less cost – especially if it’s a standing one like on Star Trek or Red Dwarf – as does less cast) but it also lets you do more interesting things with your characters – in fact it demands them. So the setting here works beautifully; trapping our cast of characters in a broken down bus adds tension & claustrophobia, the perfect setting to explore how people react in certain situations. You can imagine this story been produced as a play – you’d literally just need half a dozen chairs or so and some good lighting, and you’d be sorted. You wouldn’t lose a thing.
Because all the drama in this story exists between its characters – and what drama! Much like The Doctor’s Wife, this is a story that finds its genius in words, as we have The Doctor & Sky repeating and then pre-empting each other. I love RTD the most when he pushes his characters in new directions & puts them in situations that test them; the “bottle” setting here really lets him go to town in that respect. We’re used to seeing The Doctor commanding the situation, using either the psychic paper or his own force of personality to get people to do what he wants. Here we have him on the back foot, as the rest of the coach turn against him; the desperation he feels as he realises he can’t talk his way out of this one is palpable. As the enemy without becomes the enemy within, it’s not the alien presence that’s the monster, it’s the monster within us all that is the treat – the “mob mentality” that comes so easy to the passengers. It’s chilling because deep down we all know that’s how we’d react in the same situation. Lindsay Coulson excels as the leader of the mob but also look out for Colon Morgan who plays the conflicted Jethro to a tee; all these characters know what they are doing is wrong, but their fear & desperation drives them to it. Rusty has a very good handle on the human condition, and he plays his hand to great effect here.
Words are one thing though; you need someone to bring them to life. While the supporting cast steps up to the plate (especially Lesley Sharp, who is just divine as the possessed Sky), it’s the main man that we need to talk about here. It’s easy to forget how good an actor David Tennant is, and how much he brought to the role. It’s for good reason the success of the show grew with him as The Doctor, or that he is widely considered the favourite of the Casual Viewer. It’s between him & Tom Baker who Joe Public will think of when they think of Doctor Who – usually down to age. Stories like this are the perfect material for him to show how good he is. Just like Peter Capaldi was gifted some epic moments to dazzle us with, here Tennant is given gold – and he makes it sparkle. As mentioned above, his desperation as the situation slips away from him, his fear as he heads towards being thrown out – all just played out on his face – and his quiet despair as he comes to terms with what’s happened & the fact that no one knows the Hostess’ name (more amazing drama) is utterly brilliant. RTD sets it up; Tennant knocks it down. That he’s surrounded by such a good supporting cast but still manages to stand out really is testament to him.
Sadly, I don’t think that RTD will get to make an episode like this again. Turning Doctor Who into Play for Today is the sort of thing only the BBC would do; I can’t imagine Disney signing off on it. Hopefully I’m proved wrong, hopefully there’s room for quiet drama in among the bangs & whistles the big bucks brings. Because we’re all the better for having episodes like this in our library.
COMING TOMORROW: “That’s the trouble with regeneration. You never quite know what you’re going to get…”
- On TV that is. I have no doubt that the show would have continued in it’s Wilderness Years incarnation, with audios & books a plenty – albeit in a reduced format. ↩︎
- And any amount of shoddy special effects ↩︎
- And as far as I am aware at time of writing! ↩︎
- Or special effects when you’re doing sci-fi. ↩︎
Skies Full of Diamonds 