Our verdict on the spook-tacular fourth episode of this 50th Anniversary run...An issue which is inevitably always going to arise with new episodes of a show that's stayed on our screens for half a century is that of innovation. Indeed, when Doctor Who brings us a new tale that's undoubtedly played for scares and set in a haunted house, no less, it's of course natural to feel a sense of deja vu at first. Once again, though, Neil Cross has presented us with a fantastic blockbuster episode that revels in its subtleties and fear factor to harken back to the classic days of the programme like never before.
It's testament to Who's popularity and inspiration for British actors that the show can still acquire talented stars such as Jessica Raine and Dougray Scott on a weekly basis. This week's guest stars boasted a fantastic chemistry with Matt and Jenna, broadening our perspective on both of the regular time travellers in ways that we might not have expected. For Clara, more than any companion before her, it seems that the Doctor is destined to become a figure of slight distrust as he pries behind the scenes to try and decipher the true meaning of her identity. That the TARDIS has taken up the habit of locking her outside can't help, either. For the Time Lord, though, it's difficult to imagine that the increased number of references to his battles as a soldier here and in Cold War won't reach some kind of climax come the end of this season, especially now that we know his greatest secret will be dealt with in four weeks' time.
Credit must go too to director Jamie Payne, who perfectly realises the visual potential of Doctor Who doing a ghost horror story this time around. The brief yet jumpy shots of creatures lurking in the darkness, phantoms bursting into psychic-channelled rooms and indeed the forest pocket universe sequences all did a fantastic job of blending the typical science-fiction nature of some of the storyline with a creepy antagonist who was often just absent from the peripheral vision. This is Jamie's first contribution to Who, but judging by the beautiful and often creepy results, fans would be more than happy to see him return to direct at least another episode come Series Eight in 2014.
Overall, Hide's greatest success is much the same as that of the other fantastic fear-focused episodes of Doctor Who in the past, or indeed of any Who which hits the mark. That is, although we could quibble about the inclusion of a tried-and-tested love plot arc in the background, or the ever-so-slightly noticeable location CGI present in the Doctor's time travelling to the beginning and the end of the planet Earth, the adventure's finest moments- Clara's realisation about the Doctor's perception of humanity, Palmer's melancholic conversing with the Time Lord about the memories of war and the beautifully shot forest chase sequences- that resonate most and remain in our minds long after an episode's broadcast. A sure sign that Doctor Who is well and truly back on form in the midst of its 50th Anniversary along with last week's Cold War, Hide is a spectacularly creepy adventure that strikes the quintessential balance of blockbuster action and the fear of the unknown better than any other meaningful science-fiction show can fifty years on.
5/5
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