{"id":96,"date":"2008-06-25T07:00:18","date_gmt":"2008-06-25T11:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=96"},"modified":"2010-08-02T01:22:11","modified_gmt":"2010-08-02T05:22:11","slug":"midnight-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2008\/06\/25\/midnight-review\/","title":{"rendered":"“Midnight” Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Midnight\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A recent episode of Doctor Who entitled “Midnight<\/a>” struck me as\u00a0very reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode named “The Shelter<\/a>“.\u00a0 Both stories took place in a very confined place with a small cast in a dire situation.\u00a0 As\u00a0emotions ran high,\u00a0the concept of\u00a0human decency\u00a0came into question.\u00a0 I love high-energy, high-stress stories like these that tackle the human condition.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>In “The Shelter”, a group of neighborhood friends\u00a0argue over the right to be in a bomb shelter (truthfully the right to survive) as they believe nuclear missiles are soaring their way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The family with the bomb shelter\u00a0is locked inside while the other neighbors demand to be let in.\u00a0\u00a0Arguments ensue and emotions become extraordinarily tense.\u00a0 In desperation to survive, these neighbors are willing to sacrifice the feelings of others, the right to private property, friendship itself, and ultimately they submit to violence.\u00a0 As the neighbors smash through the bomb shelter door, the air raid is called off as a false alarm.\u00a0 Thus the former friends are forced to live with what they said,\u00a0their actions, and somehow return to their normal lives.<\/p>\n

In “Midnight”, a group of tourists trapped on a tour bus argue what to do when an unexplainable presence possesses one of their own.\u00a0 The danger they face by being trapped is very real (immediate death by solar exposure if they\u00a0open the door to the broken-down tour bus).\u00a0 The question becomes: what do they do with their fellow tourist who is now\u00a0possessed by the very creature that trapped them.\u00a0 At least two people have already died, and the tourists believe they may be next.\u00a0 As in “The Shelter”, the instinct to\u00a0survive drives everyone to terrible choices.\u00a0 While panic ensues, emotions boil over and the tourists decide to murder their fellow tourist who has become possessed.\u00a0 Part of the drama in this scene comes from the fact that the tourists\u00a0are about to\u00a0kill the wrong person.\u00a0 In the end, the tour hostess sacrifices herself to destroy the possessing entity.\u00a0 Since its science fiction, the high tension level is blamed on the alien presence. However, the emotional impact of the story works just as well without the sci-fi excuse.\u00a0 Again, the band of characters are forced to live with what they said, their actions, and somehow return to their normal lives.<\/p>\n

Really great claustrophobic and frantic storytelling in both.\u00a0 I’ve always believed that science fiction is at its best when it uses outlandish settings in\u00a0contrast\u00a0with very real, down-to-earth dramatic situations.\u00a0 Check out both stories, definitely worth your time.<\/p>\n

Tell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>