Examining 5 of Doctor Who’s Most Experimental Episodes
Guest contributor Paddy Brennan looks back on episodes that shook up the revival format.
When Doctor Who returned to TV in 2005 it entered a world of television far removed from that which it had left in 1989. With far more diverse and experimental means of storytelling now available Doctor Who could one week show an episode on a vast cinematic scale, previously unachievable within the medium of TV, before downsizing the following week to a more intimate character piece akin to theatre. As excitement builds for the coming episode ‘Heaven Sent’, a ‘One-Hander ‘featuring Peter Capaldi as its only cast member, I decided to take a look back at the most experimental stories of Doctor Who’s revived series so far.
Love and Monsters
This rather unusual Series Two episode may be regarded by many as the very worst that Doctor Who has to offer, yet it is one which I enjoy immensely for several reasons: it’s deft character work, its triumphing of humanity, its exploration of the social impact that the show itself wields and of course, the episode’s most obvious selling-point, its humour.
Notably, this is the first Doctor Who story to adopt a non-linear narrative, although not in the sense of Steven Moffat’s trademark ‘timey-wimey’ storytelling, but rather as a (slightly clumsy) compilation of camcorder footage. What some viewers fail to realise, and something which may help redeem the episode in the eyes of its critics is that the bulk of the action which takes place is merely a visual representation of Elton’s narration and therefore some of the story’s more cartoonish moments, not least the infamous Absorbaloff, can be interpreted as exaggeration on Elton’s part. Furthermore, the use of the unreliable narrator as a plot device aids the characterisation of Elton as a man with only a basic understanding of how Doctor Who works, with the Doctor turning up in the nick of time so rescue the good-guys from the nefarious schemes of the big green ugly aliens. This brings the episode’s darker aspects such as the fate of LINDA into stark relief.
The members of LINDA demonstrate Russell T Davies skill for crafting several surprisingly nuanced characters in a brief amount of time. Indeed, we care for these characters to such an extent as to feel genuine sorrow when their lives (as well as the blossoming romance between Bridget and Mr Skinner) are cut short prematurely because, like Elton, they held a naïve view of the Doctor’s life, failing to acknowledge the dangers which accompany it. Moreover, the absence of the Doctor and Rose allows the character of Jackie to be afforded much greater depth than previously. Here we come to realise Jackie’s selflessness in allowing Rose to travel with the Doctor, robbing her of both her daughter and best-friend. I for one felt genuine guilt in the scene where Jackie reprimands Elton, since I was getting so caught-up in the happiness of the latter as to forget his callous manipulation of the former.
Blink
It is perhaps surprising that one of the most acclaimed episodes in the history of Doctor Who is actually highly atypical of the show. Blink is credited for making time travel an active part of the plot rather than simply a means to transport the Doctor to where the action is, something which would become customary in the show under Moffat’s reign.
Structurally, ‘Blink’ is akin to a jigsaw puzzle, its pieces tipped out all over the living-room carpet at the beginning before gradually being assembled over the course of the episode until it all slots together into a whole of near-mathematical perfection at the episode’s climax, with Sally handing the Doctor a transcript of everything he’s going to say on the DVD easter eggs, and everything she is going to say in response to him. Arguably this makes for a more satisfying conclusion here, in a self-contained episode, than when a similar form of narrative is stretched out to encompass an entire series arc as in The Eleventh Doctor’s era.
Where ‘Love and Monsters’ used the ‘Doctor-Lite’ format to show the impact that the title character has on the individuals with whom he crosses paths, ‘Blink’ instead portrays the Doctor as an omniscient figure, influencing events from afar via cryptic messages in unlikely locations. The reason for the Doctor being stranded in the past is woven neatly into the plot by the use of The Weeping Angels, and despite their début appearance having now lost some of its initial impact after several returns and cameos, it’s hard to deny that they are highly original and truly terrifying antagonists.
Midnight
In contrast to the large-scale invasion episodes of Series Four, ‘Midnight’ stands out due to its pared down approach. Almost entirely confined to one small set and with minimal reliance on special effects, this story is comparable to theatre, and its tense and claustrophobic tone has much in common with Alfred Hitchcock’s psychological thriller ‘Rope’.
As with ‘Love and Monsters’, Davies makes use of his adept characterisation skills during a brisk montage of the Doctor sharing jokes and anecdotes with the other passengers. However, unlike Love and Monsters, these characters don’t remain endearing for long. Once Sky becomes possessed by a mysterious entity they soon succumb to their rampant machismo (Biff), or resort to making unfounded accusations (Val), or pompous jibes (Hobbes). The episode also gives viewers a rare glimpse of the Doctor in a truly frightened and vulnerable state, allowing David Tennant to give a superb performance as the petrified Doctor, his wide unblinking eyes, brimming with tears, his spasmodic shivering and the flecks of saliva gathering in the corners of his mouth as he forces out words with a tangible strain in his voice together creating something more chilling than any CGI monster could be.
Much of Midnight’s appeal lies in its ambiguity. We never see the creature in its true form, nor do we know anything about its nature or whether it has actually been destroyed at the episode’s climax. It is also left unclear if the vicious transformation of the passengers is a result of the creature’s malign influence, or if it is simply their true, animalistic selves let loose.
Listen
While outwardly a contemplative character study, this story isn’t afraid to dabble in the core mythology of Doctor Who in a shocking final scene which proved controversial for some fans, but which I personally found to heighten the episode’s appeal.
‘Listen’ is essentially mad up of four individual set-pieces straddled by the Doctor and Clara: Danny and Clara’s romantically awkward dinner, Rupert’s foster home, Orson’s spaceship at the end of the universe and the Doctor’s childhood barn. The events which occur in one location may reap consequences in another, much like the similarly fragmented novels of David Mitchell, but this being a Moffat script, naturally actions and consequences don’t always occur in that order.
What would appear to link these otherwise disparate proceedings is the presence of the elusive ‘Listener’ creatures and the Doctor’s obsessive determination to prove their existence- an obsession which almost comes to be his undoing. However, the episode’s denouement forces the viewer to reassess what they’ve seen- perhaps the creatures weren’t real in the first place, or even if they were real, perhaps they were inconsequential to the true moral of the story. What truly binds the episode together is its thematic exploration of irrational fear and paranoia.
Sleep No More
Despite the plot of this episode being a relatively straightforward ‘Base Under Siege’ affair, it is the found footage medium through which the story is told that brings it into more experimental territory.
Such a narrative device increases the immediacy of events taking place on screen- when the characters run, the viewers run too, when the Doctor makes an angry, Macbeth-quoting speech he does so directly to camera, and therefore to everyone watching at home. The dynamic changes midway through the episode however, when it is revealed that we are not watching head-cam footage, but literally seeing through the character’s eyes, their perspectives transmitted wirelessly by the sentient sleep dust (did I say the plot was straightforward?), in other words, less like ‘Cloverfield’ and more like ‘Peep Show’! Of course, this twist is merely an appetiser for the episodes game-changing final scene in which Gatiss pulls off a more literal version of Blink’s ominous concluding montage. The found footage format didn’t merely heighten the immediacy of the action, as I stated earlier, but actually made viewers a part oft the story as Rassmussen brings to light his real plan and the nation’s children are sent to bed too scared even to rub their eyes.
Conclusion
Of the episodes I’ve discussed in this article, it’s no secret that some are more highly regarded than others, however, I personally can say that I enjoyed all those listed based on their individual strengths. In any case, Doctor Who is a show about a dimensionally transcendental Police Box which travels in time and space- it is inherently strange and unusual and therefore it should never fall into a groove of telling ‘traditional’ stories all of the time. For Doctor Who to maintain its individuality it must embrace a vast selection of ideas week by week, for better, or occasionally for worse. Having said that, with next week’s episode being a fifty minute monologue from the Doctor while he’s pursued through a puzzle-box of a castle by a hooded monster, in a story inspired by sources ranging from Samuel Beckett to the altogether more mainstream EastEnders, I think it’s safe to say that Doctor Who won’t be telling dull, pedestrian stories any time soon!