It is hard to say that any Doctor Who episode with a seemingly one-off villain or mystery stands out as worthy of revisiting, yet I suspect that if fans had been polled, the episode “Midnight” would have been chosen by many. Even if that is not the case, it was certainly a memorable episode, and so the episode “The Well” was particularly engaging to fans who have been watching for at least since the David Tennant era. Those who started watching more recently, on the other hand, would likely have been baffled by many details.
Philip Purser-Hallard described the episode “Midnight” as a “near-perfect episode.” Would you agree? Apparently I never blogged about “Midnight” back when it first aired, which surprises me given what a huge fan I am of the show and how memorable an episode it was.
Deaf Survivor
In “The Well,” a deaf individual is made the focus of attention. The doctor’s ability to communicate in British Sign Language is a highlight of the episode. I suspect that I was not the only viewer who was unable to simply allow myself to become immersed in the story. There is a long history of TV shows bungling disability, even in attempts to be inclusive. I thus found myself concerned whether this character will be the villain, the victim, the hero, or none of the above. When you are thinking about such questions, you are pulled out of the story. Yet ultimately I think that the scriptwriter(s) and producers harnessed this additional level of apprehension to good effect. The part of my mind that was just trying to watch the story was on the edge of my seat, and simultaneously the part of my mind that was thinking metacritically about the episode was also on the edge of my seat. When both can happen simultaneously, it must be a strong episode.
It isn’t a significant spoiler to say that later in the season, characters with disabilities will feature again and will take center stage even more than in “The Well.”
Quotes and Mysteries
The episode has a lot of great phrases, such as “Hope is irrelevant” and “Humanity always exists.” I also loved the statement that a nurse not being able to sign is against the law. The episode doesn’t reveal that we are revisiting a place the Doctor has been before until quite late in the episode. Before that, we just have mysteries. All mirrors have been broken. A deaf woman is the only person who did not go mad and as a result she is the only person left alive. Also, fitting with the ongoing theme of the season, and despite the claim that “humanity always exists,” none of the crew have heard of humans or Earth.
Eventually we learn that this desolate world, a planet that was made of diamonds, was formerly called Midnight. We also find towards the end of the episode that Mrs. Flood is in command.
Did It Work?
There is always a risk in revisiting a favorite episode among fans, much less doing so after many years. Do you think it worked? Why or why not?
I hadn’t realized it, but the character of Professor Hobbes in the episode “Midnight” was played by the son of Patrick Troughton, who of course was the second actor to play the Doctor. Once you know this, the resemblance is obvious and striking.
Please use the comments to reminisce about Midnight and to share your thoughts on this recent episode that saw the Doctor return to that planet!
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