An episode with crap jumpers, a big spooky house, tech of the 70s, and “I am speaking to the lost soul…” Yep, it is one of those horror-ish episodes with supernatural elements, and it just happens to have one of my least favorite characters. This is the mystery turn that I’ve been warning about since the inception of these reviews back in early January 2020. Partially wrapped up in the episode itself and in another sense trapped in Moffat’s larger arc for Clara to get her child-killing taste going later on, Neil Cross’ second episode was never going to be my thing. It is a bit sci-fi later on but concentrates too much on the supernatural to hook me straight away.

“Hide” is one of those Doctor Who episodes that fits somewhere in the realm of “not bad per se” in terms of quality, also doesn’t feel all that interesting in the first place. The type of thing that after the elevator pitch was started, I’d be hoping the breaks and cables snapped, plummeting me to my fiery death. I know, I am considered by some to be overly fussy with what I do and don’t appreciate. Ghosts and the like don’t sit high on the list of those enjoyments. I think it is always a bit trite and overly acted as a supernatural character. The only time I think it sort of worked was Lenora Crichlow’s Annie in the Toby Whithouse created/written show, Being Human.

Here, at least in the first half anyway, it is more of a typical ghostly story. A human of higher empathic power is able to communicate with “the other side,” they have a wealthy/mad person supporting them on the whacko science end, and they find something that goes bump in a big spooky house. There is a bit of a twist though, it is not a ghost but someone caught in a pocket universe. Jessica Raine’s Emma is the only one able to pull Hila out of this universe of slowed time. That soft sci-fi twist is a wonderful idea, I just wish it was a little more of the episode. Again I am not one for the supernatural or the spook-in-the-night horror twinge that is going on, and I don’t think I ever will be.

I’ve focused more on it recently as it became more and more apparent, but actors and their roles have been a theme of the last few reviews. Dougray Scott wonderfully played the scarred war professor, Alex Palmer, with a bit of good-strong conviction in clear pain as a result of all the horrors he’s done or seen. I think there are moments of faltering though, falling a bit too camp (if you can believe that) when touching on the supernatural. Sometimes too much confidence in the moment can be the downfall of these roles and episodes. I wish that was the only criticism of Raine’s performance.

Sadly, it is a bit too breathy, a little too hammed up, and has writing that is not supporting her overall. As a result, I’m left not enjoying any moment with Emma. Maybe it is because she’s basically telling Clara, “your destiny is to be the most special flower in all of Doctor Who.” Conversely, it could just be the floaty and breathy acting/direction matched with the writing and Moffat’s guiding hand on later actions. Raine as an actor doesn’t rub me up the wrong way, it is simply the character, the performance that is giving too much, and writing that falls flat with me. Even Smith is a little too camp in his moments of telling Clara she’s the special flower of mystery he’s trying to unwrap.

Generally, I think there wasn’t enough about Hila Tacorien for my liking. She’s described or assumed as a ghost aside from one significant hint dropped, until about 25-minutes in. Even then, with the time remaining she is hardly given any presence in the episode. Hila pops up for a few moments here and there until the end, where her origins are revealed briefly. I think the problem may just be the fact that the episode as a whole is too busy and hyperactive to let those moments work. As soon as we know Hila’s backstory, we’re off to the second monster/creature.

It is an ugly-looking tree-monster type of thing: Something that works well in the background of blurry photos as the thing that keeps kids awake at night. Though, like most Who monsters, once you get a good, proper look at the thing in decent lighting there winds up being a problem. Not only do you see the prosthetics or CGI, but your head might have been projecting things that were a lot worse. Of course, the eventual point of the episode is that not all things that go bump in the night are out to harm you, sometimes it is just your older brother sneaking back in at 2 AM. “This isn’t a ghost story, it’s a love story,” the Doctor tells Clara.

Once again, the overall quality of the episode is good, with a few Doctor Who-y lines in there with some fun moments. Ok, you can keep Clara’s “Ghostbusters” and slapping her umbrella in her hand at the front of Caliburn House, that’s a bit too much even for me. As I said, Palmer’s deep and contemplative thoughts on his war career is Doctor Who in a nutshell. He didn’t like what he did, but he knew he needed to do it at the time. However, I can’t say I particularly like the episode either, as I’ve never been too receptive to the general themes prior to the sci-fi twinge we get later on.

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Doctor Who "Hide"

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Dougray Scott's wonderful performance.
• The 70s aesthetic.

Cons

• "You are special Clara!" No, she's not.
• Any sustained look at the "monster" removes any suspense.
• The supernatural aspect staying a little too long.