The Tenth Doctor takes Donna Noble to a planet-sized library in the 51st century. They find it empty of human life, with countless other living beings. An information kiosk warns them to “count the shadows”. An archaeological expedition arrives, lead by the mysterious Professor River Song, who brings the cryptic last message sent from the library: “4022 saved, No survivors”.
Donna is gone, the Vashta Nerada are out for fresh meat and the Tenth Doctor is running out of options. Can he trust the mysterious Professor River Song, a woman who claims to be from his future? Why would his future self have given her his sonic screwdriver, or tell her his real name? Even if they do work together, can anyone stop the shadows from claiming them all as their next meal?
This is a masterpiece. The mystery of River Song (the best time-travelling archaeologist) is so perfectly set up in these, and the Vashta Nerada is a great villain. All guest characters are also really great. Rating: 5/5, no notes!
I personally don’t get the hype for this one, although where that gets weird is that I also really, really like this story. I love the setting, the characters are fun (River Song took me a bit to properly get into, but she gets a damn good introduction here), and the Vashta Nerada have ensured I never look at dust in sunbeams the same ever again which might be the highest compliment I can give a DW monster: It changed how I look at the actual real world.
I do think this two-parter is a bit top-heavy though. Like, I love Silence In The Library, but Forest Of The Dead just isn’t as strong to me. The dream logic stuff inside the Library database, while fun, is something I don’t look on with as much fondness after seeing Last Christmas, which I just think does it better. “Look me up” is also a line that I can’t take seriously; even if it wasn’t Tenth specifically saying it, I still don’t think I could get into it as much as the show clearly wanted me to.
It also absolutely feels like a prologue, which dampens it a bit for me. A dry-run to lead up into Moffat’s tenure as showrunner. Now, that era is still my favourite of the entire show, but in that same vein, a lot of what this two-parter does well is just done better in that era proper. The atmosphere, the story density, the character banter, the mundane turned nightmarish; it’s all very good, but still done better later on (and in some cases, I’d argue they were done better by Moffat earlier in the RTD1 era).
Personally, I’d mark this as the weakest of Moffat’s RTD1 scripts, but only because its competition is so bloody strong. They are ‘amazing’ whereas this is just ‘excellent’, if that makes sense.
This is a really good one. Specifically I love Donnas side plot. I think the second half is undeniably stronger, but it’s just so well done. And river! She’s admittedly a little stripped back but that’s cause I think she knows what’s coming, and well it’s her first appearance you can’t fault her.
18 years ago, a small 5-year old child would be sitting in her grandparents living room with her mum about to watch the next episode of Doctor Who. She has had about ~3 intact memories from before this point and can barely be described as sapient. The episode starts, and it’s a panning shot of a vast city with a little girl in purple hovering over it. The next 45 minutes (and the 45 minutes the next week) will forever shape this 5-year old’s perception of what television - and indeed, even media - can be.
Yes, the child is me. Yes, this is my first (and all-time favourite) episode and watching it was quite literally one of my earliest memories. This story is everything Doctor Who should be for me. A TARDIS team with spectacular chemistry, an absolutely pants-crapping scary antagonist, a genuinely intruiging and suspenseful mystery, and River mfing Song.
I dog on Steven Moffat more often than a lot of people but this was him at his absolute best (y’know, before you-know-what). If I could give this story 10 stars, I would. And the most nuts part? Series 4 somehow manages to maintain this level of quality afterwards. I don’t know what Russell and co were smoking in 2007-8 but I need some of it.
This is obviously a great 2-parter. Although I have to admit, it is my least favourite out of all the RTD1 era Moffat stories.
To be clear that’s not a complaint, I think the Moffat scripts in this era are all fantastic and this is no exception. It’s brimming with ideas and invention. We get a properly scary monster in the Vashta Nerada and of course the introduction of River Song (a character I adore, even when her story starts getting messy).
My only real quibble is that I’m never as invested in the Dr. Moon/computer world stuff as I am in what’s happening in the library. I do like this stuff, it’s creepy and mysterious. It’s just that it seems to want to keep the viewer a little at arms length, and we spend a lot of time there. I’d argue a little too much time, because once it sets up it’s mysteries I think it spins it’s wheels a bit waiting for it’s reveals and payoffs. The payoffs are all good, but we spend a little too much time in this world and that’s time I’d rather spend in the library with the Doctor, River and the scary, scary monsters.
The start of the best run of episodes the 2005 series has ever had.
I mean it. This two-parter is good. It’s really, really good. The major setting, an abandoned library, is creepy as hell and the source of a fun pun; the Vashta Nerada, the latest of Moffat’s “mundane made scary” monsters, provide the tension—“Are they dead? Tell me they’re not dead! ‘Hey, who turned out the lights?’ Shit, they’re dead…”—which keeps a Base Under Siege from flagging; the guests—especially River, which is obvious in hindsight—affect me when they die,[1] and tease out new layers of the Doctor and Donna’s characters; and the cliffhanger is iconic. My favourite parts besides that are the scenes involving CAL, fourth wall weirdness and all, the crushing end to Donna and Lee’s relationship, and the Doctor’s mad rush to preserve River’s consciousness. I can ignore the invocation of That Moffatism, and focus on the preview of “The Waters of Mars”.
I might like it even less than you. “I’m the Doctor, and I’m a badass” is another hated Moffatism. When used well, like in “The Eleventh Hour”, it caps off an episode. Other times, like here… Why are you bragging to shadowy piranhas?
This is absolutely one of my favorite two-parters and one of my favorite stories. Not only just because this is the introduction of River Song but also because the writing is so strong. The Vashta Nerada are an excellent monster, adding to the threatening ambience of the empty library. There is so much I love about these episodes, they take the best qualities of an episode and use them to the best of their ability.
This story was a formative moment for little me when I first got into Doctor Who, and I’ll remember it forever. It’s really strong, and it takes you on a great emotional journey, especially if you like Donna as much as I do. 9/10; no notes really.
This was an amazing introduction to the enigma that is river song in my opinion the best time traveling archaeologist who slept with the Doctor[1] in all seriousness though these are two amazing episodes and such an amazing setting cast and villain. Vashta Nerada some of the best creepiest and best villains ever and one of the few who arguably beat the Doctor as well. Ten is amazing and I love how it came full circle in husbands of river song
This cliffhanger nearly broke me! This series was when I first got into DW, and I made the decision to keep pace with the new episodes as they aired in Canada while I got caught up on the rest. It took all my willpower to not immediately watch the next episode (especially because as the CBC website was supremely janky at that point, I was streaming from elsewhere, which obviously had all the episodes right there.)
I love Ten, I love Donna, I love River, I love libraries
I gave this one 5/10. I don’t mind the episodes but they’re not a favourite, and I don’t get the hype around them. I didn’t care much for River when this aired back in 2008, and I never got the love for her character either. But, please be nice – some of the stuff here is good, especially Donna’s subplot, and on a good day I might be inclined to bump it to 6/10.
