Doctor Who
Episode: “In the Forest of the
Night”
Channel: BBC
Director: Sheree
Folkson
Writer: Frank
Cottrell Boyce
Genre: Adventure,
Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Runtime: 45 min
Rated: TV-PG
Original Air Date: October 25,
2014
All right, with various holiday parties
and what not out of the way, time to get back into Doctor Who.
This
was not a good episode. There were too many child actors to maintain
a high quality episode. One or two kids with questionable acting
abilities can be overcome by experienced actors and decent direction,
but when you pile eight of them up in one place the results are too
often predictably weak. This was only one of a few problems with “In
the Forest of the Night” however. The ludicrous set up, bad
writing, ham-fisted emotional notes, terrible conclusion, and useless
appearance of Missy made this one of my least favorite episodes of
Doctor Who.
The
trees grew overnight? Okay, but somehow it was a surprise to
everyone. With 24 hour news and the internet this was somehow a
surprise to everyone. I know it seems like a small quibble, but it's
just the beginning of more frustration concerning everything else
going forward. The entire episode is laced with an environmentalist
message, but it's so heavy handed that it quickly grated on me.
Combine that with the idea that a planet covered by trees would
somehow be immune to a solar flare and the whole thing was
exceptionally groan worthy. The five seconds of Missy being
surprised by the outcome didn't cause any more interest in her part
in this season, and should have been left out entirely.
The
one bright spot was the direction of the camera work. Folkson's
camera usage felt new and fresh for Doctor Who.
Most striking was a very fun tracking shot of the Doctor speaking
with Maebh, while walking around a catwalk in the TARDIS. She might
have overused the POV shots a little bit, but overall it felt like
she was doing something we haven't seen from the show before. It
won't work for every episode, but at least she was willing to try
something new.
Conclusion:
There's just not a lot to say. “In the Forest of the Night” is
one of my least favorite episodes, not of the season but of the
series as a whole. This close to the end of the season it doesn't
seem to build any momentum for the finale, and at this point that's
what this season desparately needed, momentum.
Rating:
5/10
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