Night Terrors

"Please save me from the monsters."

Writer: Mark Gatiss

Format: TV

Broadcast: 03 September 2011

Series: 6.09

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis

The Doctor receives a distress call, bringing him, Amy and Rory to 21st century Earth. George is a young boy terrorised by the monsters in his cupboard... and those monsters may just be real.

Verdict

Night Terrors was a decent episode to continue our way through the modern era rewatch as we get close to the end of Series 6 now! I do feel like following on from the epic mid-season finale of A Good Man Goes to War and the hints at what's to come in the future with Let's Kill Hitler that things feel a little standalone at the moment, but that's not a bad thing and definitely leaves us ready for an emphatic finale. This is probably the episode I rank as my least favourite of the Eleventh Doctor era which is saying something because it's far from bad as my rating reflects, but it just feels a little insignificant compared to much of what is otherwise an excellent era. There's so much quality here and one has to be bottom of my list, and I think this is it. There's a strong fear factor in the episode and there is absolutely no denying how scary the Peg Soldiers can be. Especially when we see Amy transform into one temporarily! But for me I think the focus on a child's fears is a little extreme and even though he turns out to not be human, I'm still not sure how much I buy that his message I have taken for my quote could reach the psychic paper in the Doctor's pocket mid flight in the TARDIS. That seems a little far fetched, but I did like how the Doctor tried to come down to George's level. He understood that the scariest place in the universe would be a child's bedroom and any fear of monsters is going to be a relevant one there. I thought it was good that anything George considered scary was locked away in his wardrobe, but realistically how safe are those wooden doors? The Doctor's reaction when he read the readings from the sonic screwdriver were tremendous as he suddenly realised that the wardrobe was beyond frightening. Amy and Rory were fun in this episode with he former looking spectacular whilst the latter wasn't exactly believable as being from social services. The landlord was a horrible character which is the sole intention and having last watched this episode before the joys of renting as a tenant, I have a new appreciation for Alex in communicating their financial problems. The moment where he screams to the Doctor that Claire can't have kids is something I've been waiting to hear for months because it's the moment my partner Gemma remembers most about this episode. She doesn't think it's the worst of the era by any stretch and enjoys this twist very much. It's here or there for me. What gives this episode a high rating for me is the chemistry and humour between the Doctor and Alex. The sequence that leads to them remembering that Claire can't have children was so good and they just couldn't decide on whether to open the wardrobe or not. The Doctor refusing to leave and being intent on making his cuppa when Alex wants him to leave is also tremendous. He's going nowhere. I thought Rory's reaction both before and afterwards to seeing his wife become a real life sized doll was amusing and definitely his highlight of the episode! The way things finish is pretty emotional as George just wants to be loved and all the talk of being taken to a therapist or doctor for treatment of his heightened phobias meant he was feeling abandoned. He just wanted to be loved and confirmation of that from Alex at the end reverted the dollhouse to normality. Overall, a more than decent episode! 

Rating: 7/10