In the Forest of the Night Advance Review
Note: Doctor Who TV’s pre-air reviews aim to be as detail-free as we reasonably can while still offering a critique, but as everyone’s spoiler sensibilities are different, we advise you read on at your own discretion.
As Steven Moffat promised pre-launch, Series 8 has seen a shift away from the fairytale themes that were so prevalent in Matt Smith’s era, to something darker and less whimsical. This weekend’s episode, “In The Forest of the Night”, does somewhat of a u-turn on that with mixed results.
The premise sees the Doctor, Clara, Danny and a gang of Coal Hill pupils discovering that the whole of Earth has been somehow enveloped by trees overnight. Meanwhile a young girl in a red hood finds herself lost in this new forest and she might just hold the key to it all.
Frank Cottrell Boyce makes his Doctor Who writing debut here and his literary roots as a children’s author are clear to see. Indeed this episode was titled and influenced by William Blake’s poem, ‘The Tyger’. It’s also fair to say there’s a not-so-subtle environmental message at the heart of this one.
As you might expect from the trailers this is quite a radical departure from the past few episodes. It’s a lighter (but not comically so), strange and unconventional story with no big monster to speak of or overt horror elements. Rather nature itself is the threat, but with a usual Doctor Who spin on things. There’s some nice ideas and concepts but it doesn’t quite come together.
If there’s one thing that is hard to fault it’s the look and feel of the episode. Director Sheree Folkson, also making her Doctor Who debut, has really contributed a visually beautiful episode to fit the fairytale aesthetic. Top marks also go to Murray Gold for his accompanying score.
A handful of child actors make up the guest characters this week. However centre stage of them all is Maebh a vulnerable young girl with a haunted past, played by Abigail Eames. Now child actors can be something of a gamble and the performances range from ‘decent’ at best, and ‘passable’ at worst. While some of the kids are a little grating at times, Maebh is at least is able to draw some sympathy which is vitally important to her role.
Cottrell Boyce said he wanted the Doctor to be removed of his superpowers and it’s true there’s not a lot for him to actually do. He is rather powerless in fact, which is quite an interesting angle, if not exactly always making for the most exciting viewing. As the Doctor exclaims, “I can fight monsters, I can’t fight physics.” Still, the Doctor does get to share a couple of great scenes with Clara as they ponder the apparent end of Earth.
After a few episodes of being relegated to phone calls, Danny gets a much bigger role as he takes on the leadership of the Coal Hill kids. Clara’s walk down a questionable path continues. Her lying to Danny isn’t really followed up upon in a satisfying way, although it seems much is being held back for the big finale.
On that note the “Promised Land” story arc has been so drip fed this year, and with this being the penultimate story before the finale you may think they’d be something of a turning point or revelation. Sadly, one scene aside, this episode is very much self contained. Therefore all the work now comes down to the two-part finale itself.
Ultimately, “In the Forest of the Night” is an undemanding standalone with a lot of heart, even if it doesn’t always hit the mark and the plot gets a bit lost in the woods.
Doctor Who TV Verdict: 7/10