Doctor Who - Hide (2013)

Wow. In old Who terms, this episode wouldn't just send your kids crawling behind the sofa, I think you'd be looking at a prolonged period of nightmares afterwards. It centres around something I've always found particularly creepy, ghostly images that only appear in photographs.

It started off reasonably light hearted though, with Clara's opening gambit of 'we're the Ghostbusters' perhaps not really matching the tone of the episode. There was also one line that took me out of the experience slightly, that the opposite of bliss was 'Carlisle'. I could see that it was just a joke but it wasn't that funny and at the same time just didn't seem like something a real person would say. I feel bad saying it but it felt like the one Moffat-like touch in an episode that Neil Cross seemed to have stamped his own identity on quite well. In a way I'm glad it was at least early on in the episode so you could take it as just a bit of fun before things started to get serious.

Compared to the bigger but largely forgettable cast of the last episode, this one really shone by focusing on only two extra characters. There was Professor Alec Palmer, played by Dougray Scott, who I almost mistook for Dominic West to begin with. A world weary ex-spy, he was clearly meant to parallel the Doctor, as he attempted to do some good in the world after all of the people he had lost or killed. His companion/assistant Emma Grayling, played by Jessica Raine, was an empathetic psychic who was essential to communicate with the ghostly presence in the pictures. Again like many of the Doctor's companions, she was unsure of whether there were feelings between her and the Professor, with the added complication of her empathetic powers making her unsure of what she reads from him.

The two of them are investigating a presence know as the 'Caliburn Ghast' or 'the Witch of the Well'. They have photographic evidence going back years, with the manifestation existing even before the construction of the mansion currently on the location. After Clara notices that the ghost was always in the exact same pose (whatever, I was trying not to look at it directly), the Doctor decides to take a quick jaunt through the Earth's history to take more pictures. While he clearly enjoys this distraction, Clara finds how easily he can do this rather cold, unsure of how anyone mortal can mean anything to him.

But that trek through time reveals that this 'ghost' is actually a rudimentary time traveller whose test flight has gone awry, trapping her in a pocket universe where time does not flow the same way we experience it. There is a slightly wibbly-wobbly reason why he can't just use the TARDIS to rescue them, so he constructs a makeshift device to allow Emma to help him create a link to get there and back. This ties together all of the characters as Professor Palmer can finally admit that he cares about Emma but also convince her that she's strong enough to use her powers this way.

While we now know what the ghostly presence is, there is still plenty to be afraid of once the Doctor makes the jump into the pocket universe. A strange twisted creature is stalking the stranded time traveller, which you only see in brief glimpses as it shifts in and out of view. The time traveller manages to escape just as Emma becomes overwhelmed by her efforts, breaking the link and leaving the Doctor unexpectedly stranded. Those who have seen the trailers for this series will have been expecting this scene, as the Doctor deduces that the creature is trying to scare him, begrudgingly admitting that it's been successful.

Once again Clara manages to save the day by insisting that Emma opens the bridge again, which she just about manages with the support of those around her. Meanwhile Clara manages to strike a temporary alliance with the TARDIS (who still doesn't seem to like her) and manages to pluck the Doctor out of the universe without landing, with Emma's psychic powers to guide them home.

I liked the Doctor's post rescue chat with Emma, who is revealed to have been the reason for his visit in the first place. On asking whether she can sense just who or what Clara is, the answer that she's just a normal ordinary girl is clearly not what the Doctor was looking for. I thought this was quite an apt reflection of what I've seen other people say about Clara, that she doesn't seem to be living up to the Dalek enhanced genius of her first incarnation - it felt like the question of 'isn't that enough?' could be directed at both the Doctor and the audience.

So far I'm really enjoying Clara's character and I think it was perhaps a wise move to reign in her more quirky characteristics. I feel that just like the Doctor, we shouldn't just treat her as a puzzle to be solved and I wonder if the Doctor's attitude may lead to his or her downfall as if he continues to undervalue her human side. Despite the fact it was played as cheering her up, I especially found the line about her being "the only mystery worth solving" particularly heartless, suggesting that he would have no interest if it were not for her two previous incarnations - something she's already tried to tell him she's not.

I often find myself complaining about the final resolution of Doctor Who episodes but even though the last twist in this tale managed to turn the episode on its head completely, I couldn't begrudge it having such a sweet ending. In a sense I think it made me laugh at myself for finding the whole thing so scary but at the same time knowing that was absolutely their intention. It'd be interesting to watch again with that last reveal in mind but I don't know if it'd make it any more of a comfortable experience.