First off … Caps for In the Forest of the Night are now online. Hideously late, but online. Of course given the lateness of getting caps up on the site, at least this week, most of the thoughts about In the Forest of the Night have already been expressed, and here at the Tour we’re hard pressed to disagree with the negative slant/reaction to the episode.
In golf there’s an aphorism for someone trying to negotiate around a particularly troublesome tree that sits between them and their next shot that go something like “trees are 90% air.” And by volume that’s largely correct but try telling that to someone who’s had their shot blocked, yet again, by that stubborn cellulose.
In the Forest of the Night was it’s own tree. Gorgeous to look at (surely a saving grace for those who liked the episode a lot) but the story doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny upon reflection.
Straddling the very conscious line between fairy (read that children’s) tale and Doctor Who’s own adventure ethos, the real revelation is that the Doctor, Clara, et.al. were absolutely incidental to events, and hence there was no real tension to the proceedings.
In the Forest of the Night was probably the most experimental episode in years. For us it was a swing and a miss, or should we say ‘mulligan.’
