Midnight Entity

Doctor Who is a long-running British science-fiction television series that began in 1963. It stars its protagonist, The Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in a ship known as the TARDIS, as well as their travelling companions. When the Doctor dies, they are able to undergo a process known as "regeneration", completely changing the Doctor's appearance and personality. Throughout their travels, the Doctor often comes into conflict with various aliens and antagonist. The Midnight Entity has little known about it in-universe. The 2008-2010 web series ''Captain Jack's Monster Files'' refers to it having a physical form, and that it "can eat its way into the brain and take over the speech of its host." The Entity in "Midnight" is capable of mimicking the speech of others, though its subsequent appearance in "The Well" has it perform entirely different actions, instead whispering into the ears of others to drive them mad as it hides just behind them, out of sight of other people. The Midnight Entity first appears in 2008's "Midnight". In the episode, the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) embarks on a tour of the planet Midnight alongside other passengers. Midnight is covered in diamonds, but the intense radiation means nothing can survive on the planet's surface. The Entity is able to enter the tour bus and possesses a woman named Sky Silvestry (Lesley Sharp) who begins to mimic the words of the other passengers. Eventually, she is able to speak in unison with them. While attempting to calm the situation, the Doctor seems to come under the Entity's control, and the panicked passengers want him thrown out of the bus and into the radiation, which would kill him. The tour's hostess (Rakie Ayola) realises that the Entity is still controlling Sky, and she throws herself and Sky out onto the planet's surface, which kills both of them, and the Entity does not re-enter the bus. == Development ==

Davies had the idea of the Entity in his head for quite a while prior to its usage in "Midnight". The idea for the entity's usage of mimicry hailed from a conversation between showrunner Russell T Davies and producer Phil Collinson, in which the two accidentally kept repeating each other's words. Davies realized it could be used in a mocking manner, inspiring the usage in the final episode. The concept of communication as a major theme with the Entity was also inspired by the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Darmok", with Davies being inspired by the concept of communicating with a creature who spoke an incomprehensible language to such an extent that he avoided watching the episode to allow himself to develop the idea independently of it. In the final episode, Lesley Sharp portrays Sky Silvestry, including when Sky is possessed by the Entity. Scenes where Sharp had to speak in unison with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor while mimicking him were done via extensive practice between the two actors, and Sharp's scenes were done in such a way that she only needed to learn particular scenes, with a lot of work additionally done in post-production, making the task of Sharp mimicking the others characters' dialogue substantially easier. In a brief on-screen appearance, Paul Kasey portrayed the Midnight Entity. The Midnight Entity's name is a colloquial name given to the Entity; its true name is never stated in the show itself. The Entity has also been referred to as "It Has No Name" in the end credits of "The Well" == Reception and analysis ==

The Midnight Entity's appearance in "Midnight" was met with a highly positive response. Several publications have regarded it as being among the most frightening antagonists in the show, in particular due to its lack of a visible appearance, as well for its role within "Midnight", which has been referred to as one of the most well-regarded episodes in the show's history. The New York Timess Isobel Lewis stated that the Entity's lack of a physical appearance, as well as its unsolved mystery following the end of the story, helped to make it a memorable antagonist among fans of the series, who in the years after the episode would frequently speculate on the true identity of the Entity. /Films Michael Boyle regarded that this lack of closure on what the creature was is what made it appeal to viewers, and the initial loose thread of its existence without resolution allowed it to "haunt viewers just as it haunts the Doctor". Its ability to sow paranoia among the other human characters in the story has been regarded as another strong point of the Entity's execution. Katherine Sas in More Doctor Who and Philosophy analysed the Entity's role in the story, regarding that unlike other extraterrestrial monsters, the creature's unexplained origins and ties to folkloric elements (Such as the idea of midnight being a period of vulnerability) make it behave "like a devil out of a folk tale." Its subsequent action of taking away the Doctor's speech, a defining trait of the character used to get them out of tough situations, makes him vulnerable, ramping up the level of fear for viewers. The Midnight Entity's return in "The Well" received mixed responses from critics. Several critics highlighted the choice to keep it unseen, allowing its core mystery to remain intact. Newsweek's Ryan Woodrow praised its return, highlighting the story for showing the impact the Entity made on the Doctor in "Midnight" as well as for keeping its mystique intact. Vicky Jessop, writing for the London Evening Standard, opined that while the twist of the creature's return was exciting, the episode did not follow up well on the reveal. IGNs Robert Anderson felt that while the story was able to expand upon the Entity without rehashing "Midnight", the Entity felt less "unknowable", and due to the change in how the creature functioned, the return felt to Anderson as "unnecessary at best, and actively disappointing at worst." == References ==