Last weekend's episode of Doctor Who is about an adorable little British ginger kid in the cutest little striped pajamas who's afraid of everything. In fact he's so afraid that not only are his beleaguered parents participating in some of his borderline OCD rituals, but his call for help is heard across space and time to reach the Doctor via the psychic paper (which is my favorite Doctor Who invention). The last time someone called out to him this way it was River before she was kind of annoying, and David Tennant was gracing us with his toothy grin and Converse sneakers.
"Haven't done this in a while," the Doctor says as he runs around the TARDIS console, moving levers and making noise. "Done what? What are you doing?" Amy asks. "Making a house call." Queue the title sequence! Which, incidentally, sounds very "X-Files" since season five began. I'm used to it now but I like the original better--just like a lot of things since Moffat took the reigns.
Rory, Amy, and the Doctor search a humongous, boxy, interesting-looking apartment building that makes me think of Oldboy. The whole episode has a very clean, slightly surreal look to it that I really enjoy. Almost everything takes place inside of the apartment complex but the set designers or location scouts did a great job. Ever since season five began they've had high production values but something about this episode in particular stands out.
The Doctor accidentally passes himself off as being from Social Services and sits down for a cuppa with the dad, who explains the problem:
"Now it's got completely out ov hand. I mean he's scared to deaf of everyfing," he says.
"Pantophobia," the Doctor replies from his nonchalant position on the couch.
"Wot?"
"That's what it's called: pantophobia. Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking, it's a fear of everything. ...Including pants I suppose, in that case. Sorry, go on."
The kid's dad has probably my most favorite accent, the lower-class English accent; I could listen to it all day. Besides the accent the dad is very likable and thankfully spends a lot of time in front of the camera. As the parent of a two year old I identify with this character, who's just a worn out guy trying to help his kid and get his life under control. Rory and Amy become separated from the Doctor in a "It's a Good Life" kinda way and find themselves in what appears to be an abandoned mansion, so this guy gets to be the Doctor's sidekick throughout the episode.
Which is completely fine by me. These stand-alone (sometimes arguably throw-away) episodes give us a much needed rest from the loud barrage of "epic" events Moffat has been assaulting us with. It's become tiring and tedious, and I'm very nearly sick of them. These more classic episodes place the focus back on the Doctor where it should be, which is another thing I miss from the previous seasons.
And seriously, how can you move focus away from the Doctor? Especially when he's being played as energetically and charismatically as he is by Matt Smith. He's not as pretty as David Tennant (who will always be my Doctor) and he doesn't pull out glasses whenever he reads a computer screen (which I dearly miss), but I think he's blowing all expectations away, even with the mistakes Moffat is making in the show. Every rapid syllable, every joke that goes by almost too fast to catch, every flurried movement and hurried explanation is just a joy to watch. Much more enjoyable than Rory's (hopefully ended) waffling or Amy's cliche hot-/thick-headedness.
Moffat stated in an interview that the "real story" is all about Amy and her journey after coming into contact with the Doctor. At the time I heard it (sometime back near the middle of season five) I was mostly in agreement, however he has since taken it to extremes. The Doctor has been relegated almost to a plot device for Amy and Rory's Story, which is, excuse my language, fucking sacrilegious. In the days of Russell T. Davies due attention was paid to the companions and their developments after meeting the Doctor, however the overall focus was much more on how the companions, the current monster-of-the-week, and his haunted past were affecting him. The Doctor was always the center of our attentions.
In the same interview Moffat said the Doctor is basically a fixed character, meaning he's set in his ways, he's not changing, no story there. Which would explain the direction (or lack thereof) Moffat is taking with him. It's a grievous mistake to consider any character--especially what should be the main one--as stagnant, and blasphemous at the very least.
Luckily this episode is mostly free from the multiple seasons-wide story arcs Moffat has setup (and has less than five episodes to resolve or I'm going to coordinate a revolt) and can just be spooky fun. There's some great speeches from the Doctor and in the character of the kid's dad we get a temporary companion that isn't a pain in the ass. All of the wonder and stupefied looks with none of the bossiness and short skirts. The villains of the episode are creepy and the special affects associated with them are great. As I've mentioned the little boy and his dad are very likable and at the end of the episode they totally get me misty-eyed. Just an all around well put-together, light-hearted, fun episode.
Sort of like the Lodger episode from Smith's early days: you could show it to your friends or Doctor Who fans who haven't caught up to the Twelfth Doctor yet and very little would need explaining or be spoiled. A fellow fan and coworker told me this episode was originally slated for a different air date and I can totally see it. Of course they have to tie it in with at least one of the major story arcs, so at the end they spliced in a short clip of the view screen back on the TARDIS with the same date-of-death fact sheet we saw three times in the previous episode, which is my one and only complaint about Night Terrors.
I realize Steven Moffat is known for his writing skills and complex plots, but Night Terrors really made me miss the days of Russell T. Davies and episodes that stood on their own and weren't overly preoccupied with the companions--companions with an inherent shelf-life that won't outlast the Doctor or his fans.
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