Doctor Who and the Almost Halloween Episode
By David Hill
Tonight, the third episode of Series Nine of Doctor Who, Under the Lake, will air. As it is an episode where the dead walk and begin killing everyone in an underwater base, this certainly promises to take that darker feel already prevalent in this season and further expand upon it.
Now that we are in October, and gearing up towards Halloween, there are plenty of specials and episodes of various shows designed towards having that frightening theme that is so integral to the holiday. While it is seemingly coincidence, that darker theme may well be expanding during a time that celebrates the macabre.
It is also interesting to note that Doctor Who will be televised during Halloween this year. While it is not a Halloween special, the second half of The Girl Who Died/The Woman that Lived will be televised that night. The episode, which will feature a highwayman known as the Nightmare who has a fire breathing accomplice, and is set to make the Doctor come face to face with the consequences of his own actions, would seem to be a nice fit for the day.
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Yet, one has to wonder if these episodes would have been better served by being aired in a different order. Yes, Doctor Who has quite a few overarching themes, and the season long storyline may be a bit jumbled if the episodes were switched, but a two parter featuring ghosts and the dead coming back to life would fit better with the holiday. Besides, it is not as though the timeline for the Doctor to face his past could not have been adjusted.
While Doctor Who has produced a Christmas Special virtually every year, they have yet to create episodes for other holidays. Perhaps this is because Halloween is not such a big deal in England as it is in the States, but the Under the Lake and Before the Flood two parter would seemingly be perfect for that type of episode.
Of course, the darker theme for Series Nine could make any episode truly fit on Halloween. However, this two parter, beginning tonight, may have been the perfect way for Doctor Who to have a Halloween episode, without making it a Freak of the Week episode.
Too bad the timing may not have worked. Otherwise, this could have been the perfect way for Doctor Who to truly terrify one before going out to celebrate.