C+Q - Night Terrors (2011)
Now that we're into the Chibnall era, I really miss the
once-traditional Mark Gatiss episode. He writes with such a
distinct voice, full of detail and period accuracy and nods to
classic horror. Night Terrors is a present day Earth adventure
but it still has that old school vibe from the world inside the
dollhouse. It's not the biggest story in the world - as the
Doctor says at the start, it's essentially a house call. But
placed right here, as the first regular adventure since arguably
The Doctor's Wife, before the Flesh two-parter that led directly
into A Good Man Goes to War and Let's Kill Hitler's huge
revelations, 'not the biggest story in the world' is exactly
what's needed.
It's nice to have a 'standard' Amy and
Rory and Eleven adventure, and it's been a surprisingly long
time since the show has been in such a British location, with
the last modern adventure being Series 6's opening two-parter
which was as American as you can get. Standard Doctor Who is
still exceptional though, and there is something satisfying
about Dr Who and friends investigating weird goings on in
everyday life, like people getting dragged into piles of rubbish
by some unseen monster, like a scene from Rose.
The big
memorable things from this episode, that featured in the
trailers and other promo stuff for Series 6, are the Dolls, with
their big heads and stiff creepy movements. Like the Cybermen,
what makes them even more sinister is the knowledge they were
once ordinary people. The most horrific sequences involving the
Dolls (which I'm choosing to capitalise because Doctor Who
monsters are just like that I guess) are obviously the bits
where people turn into them, and it does look appropriately
freaky, especially the hair growing quickly out the head. The
basic idea of being trapped in a dollhouse works really well,
and it's fun watching Amy and Rory piece it together with the
huge glass eye and the frying pan made of wood. The line from
Rory about being dead "Again!" is great too.
George, the
kid the plot revolves around, is played by quite a capable young
actor who's able to play the part convincingly and never got on
my nerves. The idea of a kid assimilating himself into a human
family is great; I love all the stuff Series 6 is doing with
memories being altered (although I'm sure the kid and the
Silence having memory powers is a coincidence). Daniel Mays is
good as the dad, and his scepticism of the Doctor is well
pitched throughout.
Night Terrors is a low stakes story
but exactly what Series 6 needed at this point. Sandwiched
between Let's Kill Hitler's fast-paced continuity-heavy farce
and The Girl Who Waited's alien and emotional character piece,
this episode provides a nice standard Doctor Who story to remind
you what those are before things get REALLY wild.
Next: The Girl Who Waited