Monday 16 June 2008

4x10 - Midnight

This transcript is now ready and available HERE.

Teaser:

They hear two loud knocks on the wall of the shuttle.

VAL
What was that?

PROFESSOR HOBBES
It must be the metal. We're cooling down, it's just settling...

DEE DEE
Rocks. Could be rocks falling.

BIFF
What I want to know is, how long do we have to sit here.

The double knocking is repeated on a different part of the shuttle.

SKY
What is that?

VAL
Is someone out there?

PROFESSOR HOBBES
Now, don't be ridiculous!

DEE DEE
Like I said, it could be rocks.

HOSTESS
We're out in the open. Nothing could fall against the sides.

Again, two knocks on the wall.

DOCTOR
Knock knock.

JETHRO
Who is there?

SKY
Is there something out there? Well? Anyone?

Knocking again.

SKY
What the hell is making that noise?

PROFESSOR HOBBES
I'm sorry, but the light out there is Xtonic, that means it would destroy any living thing, in a split-second. It is impossible for someone to be outside.

The knocking is repeated again - always two knocks.

SKY
Well, what the hell is that, then?!

The Doctor goes to the wall where they heard the last knocks from, and uses a stethoscope to hear what's outside.

HOSTESS
Sir! You really should get back to your seat.

DOCTOR
Hello?

Now, the knocking comes from the fire exit at the rear.

JETHRO
It's moving...

There's a rattling from the door, like something is trying to get it open.

VAL
It's trying the door!

PROFESSOR HOBBES
There is no 'it', there's nothing out there. Can't be.

The thing tries again with the door, then it goes around - always double knocks, from the roof then from the side door.

VAL
That's the entrance. Can it get in?

DEE DEE
No, that door's on two hundred weight of hydraulics.

PROFESSOR HOBBES
Stop it. Don't encourage them.

DEE DEE
What do you think it is?

Biff goes to the door.

VAL
Biff, don't...

DOCTOR
Mr Cane, better not...

BIFF
Nah, it's cast iron, that door...

Biff knocks on the door three times - and the thing outside repeats with three knocks.

VAL
Three times! Did you hear that, it did it three times?!

JETHRO
It answered!

VAL
It did it three times!

DOCTOR
All right, all right, all right, everyone, calm down.

SKY
No, but it answered, it... answered, don't tell me that thing's not alive, it answered him!

Three knocks again.

HOSTESS
I really must insist, you get back to your seats!

SKY
No! Don't just stand there telling us the rules! You're the hostess, you're supposed to do something!

The Doctor goes to the door and knocks four times - and in repeat, the thing knocks four times too.

SKY (yelling in total panic)
What is it, what the hell's making that noise? She said she'd get me. Stop it, make it stop, somebody make it stop! Don't just stand there looking at me, it's not my fault, he started it with his stories...

DEE DEE
Calm down!

SKY
... and he made it worse...

VAL
You're not helping!

SKY
...why couldn't you leave it alone? Stop staring at me! Just tell me what the hell it is!

DEE DEE
Calm down!

The knocking becomes continous. In panic, Sky backs towards the cockpit door.

SKY
It's coming for me, ohh it's coming for me, it's coming for me... It's coming for me! It's coming for me!

She screams. The Doctor moves towards her, warning.

DOCTOR
Get out of there!

The whole shuttle rocks, lights go out and sparkles fly. The people fall over screaming, then gasp and groan in the darkness as the stuttle stops moving.

10 comments:

JackOLantern said...

[Gentle music plays, as there is an exterior view of the glistening, luxurious planet Midnight. Zooms into a sunbathing lounge with a pool, Donna lying lazily on the chair. A butler brings the ringing phone over to Donna, who answers it angrily as the butler walks away].

DONNA
I said NO!
[Cuts to the Doctor on the other end of a public phone]

DOCTOR
Sapphire waterfall – it’s a waterfall made of sapphires.
[Cuts back to Donna who is smiling cheekily]
It’s a XXX reaches the cliff of oblivion and then shatters into sapphires at the edge – Therefore a hundred, thousand feet into a crystal XXX.

DONNA
I bet you say that to all the girls.

DOCTOR
Oh, come on! They’re boarding now! It’s not full I still have a seat on my own. Only 4 hours, that’s all it takes.

DONNA
You know that’s four hours there and four hours back, it’s like a school trip. I’d rather be sunbathing.
DOCTOR
You be careful, that’s exotic sunlight.
DONNA
Oh, I’m safe. It says in the brochure that the glass is fifteen feet thick.
DOCTOR
Oh, I give up. I’ll be back for dinner, we’ll try that anti-gravity restaurant. With bibs.

DONNA
It’s a date. Well not a date. Well you know what I mean. Oh get off.
DOCTOR
See you later.
DONNA
Oi! You be careful, alright?
DOCTOR
Ah, I’m on a space truck with a million strangers across the diamond planet Midnight – what could possibly go wrong? [He hangs the phone up].

***
OPENING CREDITS
DAVID TENNANT
CATHERINE TATE

DOCTOR WHO
Midnight
by Russell T. Davies.

***
I will post some more later. :)

Anonymous said...

you know... sometimes i think its crueller transcribing bits and pieces cause im in australia and cant watch them so this is it for me... not enough but all i got

Luna said...

Thanks, donna noble of the chiswick nobles (god you have a long name :) ). I'll do it until the knocking begins.

Anonymous, glad to be of your service! Though, I think you might find some interesting things on youtube... ;)

Anonymous said...

yeah youtube... should use it but prefer to watch with decent quality :< although... while im in an airport not my download limit :)

JackOLantern said...

Hi. I'll do from your last line Luna 'I can assure you, everything's fine' for another 5 minutes or so. Oh, I'm going to try and change my username soon to something like 'Moonstruck' or 'Hocus Pocus...'

:)

Luna said...

The Doctor is on the shuttle, watching the last passangers board. The hostess is talking to a woman who sits near the Doctor.
HOSTESS
Complimentary juicepack and complimentary...
SKY
Just the headphones, please.
HOSTESS
There you go.
She moves to the Doctor and starts to hand him things.
HOSTESS
That's the headphones for Channels 1 to 36, modem link for 3D vidgames, complimentary earplugs, complimentary slippers, complimentary juicepack, and complimentary peanuts. I must warn you some products may contain nuts.
DOCTOR
That'll be the peanuts.
HOSTESS
Enjoy your trip.
DOCTOR
Oh, I can't wait! Allons-y!
HOSTESS
I'm sorry?
DOCTOR
It's French, for let's go!
HOSTESS
Fascinating.
She moves to the people sitting in the row behind the Doctor.
HOSTESS
Headphones for channels 1-36...
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Oh no, thank you, not for us!
DEE DEE
Earplugs, please.
HOSTESS
There you go.
PROFESSOR HOBBES (expalinging to Dee Dee)
They call it a sapphire waterfall, but it's no such thing, sapphire's an aluminium oxide, but the glacier is just a compound silica with iron pigmentation!
HOSTESS (talking to a couple, Val and Biff)
...compliomentary juicepack and complimentary peanuts.
VAL
Thank you.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Have you got that pillow for my neck?
DEE DEE
Yes, sir.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
And the pills?
DEE DEE
Yes, all measured out for you, there you go.
The Doctor looks at Professor Hobbes and Dee Dee over the back of his seat.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Hobbes! Professor Winfold Hobbes!
DOCTOR
I'm the Doctor, hello!
They shake hands.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
It's my 14th time!
DOCTOR
Oh! My first.
DEE DEE
And I'm Dee Dee, Dee Dee Blasco.
She shakes the Doctor's hand too.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Now don't bother the man! Where's my water bottle?
The hostess is talking to Jethro, a young man who sits away from his parents Biff and Val.
HOSTESS
... complimentary slippers, complimentary juicepack, and complimentary peanuts, I must warn you some products may contain nuts.
VAL
Don't be silly, come and sit with us. Look! We get slippers!
BIFF
Jethro! Do what your mother says.
JETHRO
I'm sitting here.
BIFF
Oh, he's ashamed of us. But he doesn't mind us paying, does he?
VAL
Oh, don't you two start. Should I save the juicepack or have it now? Look, peach and clementine!
The Hostess walks to the front of the cabin and adresses every passanger.
HOSTESS
Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, welcome on board the Crusader 50, if you would fasten your seatbelts, we'll be leaving any moment. Doors!
Doors seal automatically.
HOSTESS
Shields down!
Shields descend in front of the windows.
HOSTESS
I'm afraid the view is shielded until we reach the Waterfall Palace. Also, a reminder, Midnight has no air, so please don't touch the exterior door seals. Fire exit at the rear, and should we need to use it... you first.
She laughs at the absurd idea.
HOSTESS
Now I will hand you over to Driver Joe.
DRIVER JOE (over intercom)
Driver Joe at the wheel! There's been a diamondfall at the Winter Witch Canyon, so we'll be taking a slight detour, as you'll see on the map. (a map is shown on a screen) The journey covers 500 kliks to the Multifaceted Coast, duration is estimated at four hours. Thank you for travelling with us, and as they used to say in the olden days, wagons roll!
Engines accelerate and the shuttle starts to move.
HOSTESS
For your entertainment, we have the Music Channel playing retrovids of Earth Classics.
She pushes a key on her remote, screens appear in front of each passanger, showing Raffaella Cara singing "Do It Do It Again".
HOSTESS
Also, the latest artistic installation from Ludovic Klein.
She pushes another key to start a hologram show.
HOSTESS
Plus, for the youngsters, a rare treat - the Animation Archives.
She switches on a projector that shows old cartoons.
HOSTESS
Four hours of funtime! Enjoy!
Everything going simultaneously, it all ends up as a terrible cacophony that nobody but Val and Biff enjoy. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to stop it.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Well, that's a mercy!
HOSTESS
I do apologise, ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon. We seem to had a failure of the Entertainment System...
DOCTOR
Ooh..
VAL
But what do we do?!
BIFF
We've got four hours of this! Four hours of just... sitting here?
DOCTOR
Tell you what! We'll have to talk to each other instead!
He grins at the passangers who seem to find this a weird idea.
***
98 KLIKS LATER...
People are laughing, having a great time telling stories, except Sky who sits apart from the rest reading a book, and Jethro who seems rather embarrassed by his parents.
VAL
So Biff said, "I'm going swimming".
BIFF
Oh, I was all ready, trunks and everything! Nose plug!
VAL
He had this little nose plug, you should've seen him.
BIFF
And I went marching up to the lifeguard, and he was a Shamboni, you know, those big foreheads?
VAL
Great big forehead!
BIFF
And I said, where's the pool? And he said...
BIFF and VAL
"The pool is abstract!"
VAL
It wasn't a real pool!
BIFF
It was a concept!
DOCTOR
And you wore a nose plug!
BIFF
I was like this!(pinching his nose) Mmm...where's the pool?
Everyone burst out laughing again.
***
150 KLIKS LATER...
The Doctor and Dee Dee are in the galley.
DEE DEE
I'm just a second-year student, but I wrote a paper on the Lost Moon of Poosh, Professor Hobbes read it, liked it, took me on as a researcher. Just for the holidays. Well, I say researcher, most of the time he's got me fetching and carrying. But it's all good experience!
DOCTOR
And did they ever find it?
DEE DEE
Find what?
DOCTOR
The Lost Moon of Poosh!
DEE DEE (laughing)
No! Not yet!
DOCTOR
Well, maybe that'll be your great discovery, one day. Here's to Poosh!
He lifts his coffee cup.
DEE DEE
Poosh!
***
209 KLIKS LATER
The Doctor sits beside Sky, just having had their meal served.
DOCTOR
No, no, I'm with this friend of mine, Donna, she stayed behind in the Leisure Palace. You?
SKY
No, it's just me.
DOCTOR
Oh, I've done plenty of that. Travelling on my own. I love it. Do what you want! Go anywhere!
SKY
No, I'm still getting used to it. I've...found myself single rather recently, not by choice.
DOCTOR
What happened?
SKY
Oh, the usual. She needed her own space, as they say. A different galaxy, in fact. I reckon that's enough space, don't you?
DOCTOR
Yeah. I had a friend who went to a different universe.
SKY
Oh, what's this, chicken or beef?
DOCTOR (examining the piece on his fork)
I think it's both.
***
251 KLIKS LATER...
Professor Hobbes is showing his slides to the other passangers.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
So, this is Midnight, d'you see? Bombarded by the sun! X-tonic rays, raw Galvanic Radiation. Dee Dee, next slide! (she swiches to the next slide) It's my pet project. Actually, I'm the first person to research this. Because you see... the history is fascinating, because there is no history. There's no life in this entire system, there couldn't be. Before the Leisure Palace Company moved in, no-one had come here in all eternity. No living thing.
JETHRO
But how d'you know? I mean, if no-one can go outside...
VAL
Oh, his imagination! Here we go!
DOCTOR
He's got a point, though.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Exactly! We look upon this world through glass. Safe inside our metal box. Even the Leisure Palace was lowered down from orbit. And here we are now, crossing Midnight, but never touching it.
There's a rattling then the engines go silent.
vAL
We've stopped. Have we stopped?
BIFF
Are we there?
DEE DEE
We can't be, it's too soon.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
They don't stop, Crusader vehicles never stop.
HOSTESS
If you could just return to your seats, it's... just a small delay.
Just as confused as her passangers, she goes to the intercom to talk with the driver.
BIFF
Maybe just a pit stop.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
There's no pit to stop in, I've been on this expedition 14 times, they never stop.
SKY
Well evidently, we have stopped, so there's no point in denying it.
JETHRO (laughing)
We've broken down!
VAL
Thanks, Jethro.
JETHRO
In the middle of nowhere!
BIFF
That's enough, now stop it!
HOSTESS
Ladies and gentlemen and variations thereupon, we're just experiencing a short... delay, the driver needs to stabilise the engine feeds. It's perfectly routine, so if you could just stay in your seats.
The Doctor walks to the cockpit.
HOSTESS
No, I'm sorry sir, I... could you please...
DOCTOR
There you go, engine expert! Two ticks!
He opens the door and enters the cockpit.
HOSTESS
Sorry sir, if you could just sit down! You're not supposed to be in there...
The doos closes behind the Doctor.
DRIVER JOE
Sorry, if you could return to your seat sir...
DOCTOR
Company insurance, let's see if we can get an early assessment... So, what's the problem, Driver Joe?
DRIVER JOE
We're stabilising the engine feeds, won't take long.
DOCTOR
Um, no, cos that's the engine feed, that light there, and it's fine, and it's a micropetrol engine, so stabilising doesn't really make sense, does it? Sorry! I'm the Doctor, I'm very clever. So, what's wrong?
MECHANIC CLAUDE
We just stopped, look, all systems fine and everything's working, but we're not moving.
DOCTOR (he checks with the sonic)
Yeah you're right. No faults. And who are you?
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Claude, I'm the mechanic. Trainee.
DOCTOR
Nice to meet you.
DRIVER JOE
I've sent a distress signal. They should dispatch a rescue truck, top speed.
DOCTOR
How long till they get here?
DRIVER JOE
About an hour.
DOCTOR
Well, since we're waiting... shall we take a look outside? Just... lift the screens a bit?
DRIVER JOE
It's 100% X-tonic out there, we'd be vaporised.
DOCTOR
No, those windows are Finitoglass, they'd give you a couple of minutes. Go on! Live a little!
Driver Joe gives in and raises the shields. The three of them look the landscape in awe.
DOCTOR
Ohhh, that is beautiful...
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Look at all those diamonds! Poisoned by the sun. No-one can ever touch them.
DOCTOR
Joe, you said we took a detour?
DRIVER JOE
Just about 40 kliks to the west.
DOCTOR
Is that a recognised path?
DRIVER JOE
No, it's a new one, the computer worked it out, on automatic.
DOCTOR
So we're the first? This piece of ground. No-one's ever been here before. Not in the whole of recorded history.
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Did you just...? No, sorry, it's... nothing.
DOCTOR
What did you see?
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Just there. That ridge. Like... like a shadow. Just, just for a second.
DOCTOR
What sort of shadow?
An alarm sounds.
DRIVER JOE
X-tonic rising! Shields down.
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Look, look, there it is, there it is, look, there!
DOCTOR
Where?! What was it?
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Like, just, something... shifting, something sort of... dark. Like it was...running.
DOCTOR
Running which way?
MECHANIC CLAUDE
Towards us.
DRIVER JOE
Right, Doctor, back to your seat and not a word, rescue's on its way. If you could close the door, thank you.
The Doctor returns to the cabin.
sky
What did they say? Did they tell you? What is it, what's wrong?
DOCTOR
Oh, just stabilising, happens all the time.
SKY
I don't need this. I'm on a schedule. This is completely unnecessary!
HOSTESS
Back to your seats, thank you.
She goes to the cockpit while the Doctor and Sky return to their seats.
DEE DEE (low voice)
Excuse me, Doctor, but they're micropetrol engines, aren't they?
PROFESSOR HOBBES
Now, don't bother the man.
DEE DEE
My father was a mechanic. Micropetrol doesn't stabilise, what does 'stabilise' mean?
DOCTOR
Well. Bit of flim-flam. Don't worry, they're sorting it out.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
So it's not the engines?
DOCTOR
it's just a little pause, that's all.
PROFESSOR HOBBES
How much air have we got?
DEE DEE
Professor, it's fine.
VAL
What did he say?
DOCTOR
Nothing!
VAL
Are we running out of air?
PROFESSOR HOBBES
I was just speculating...
The Hostess returns from the cockpit.
BIFF
Is that right, miss? Are we running out of air?
VAL
Is that what the Captain said?
HOSTESS
If you could all just remain calm...
VAL
How much air have we got?
JETHRO
Mum, stop it.
HOSTESS
I assure you, everything is under control.
BIFF
Well, doesn't look like it to me!
VAL
Well, he said it.
DEE DEE
... it's fine, the air is on a circular filter...
VAL
... he started it...
All talk at once, panicked.
DOCTOR
Everyone...
They keep shouting.
DOCTOR
Shhh shhh shhh... QUIET!
Silence falls.
DOCTOR
Thank you. Now, if you'd care to listen to my good friend Dee Dee...
DEE DEE
Oh! Um... it's just that... Well, the air's on a circular filter so... we could stay breathing for ten years.
DOCTOR
There you go! And I've spoken to the Captain, I can guarantee you, everything's fine.

Anonymous said...

@ Helvix, look up Brivinex's channel (at Youtube, where else?)
The videos on there have a quite remarkable quality, actually they are great, I think one of the best you can get, she use to upload them on Sunday (GMT), well, or for her it's 2'oklock in the morning (in Southern - California)that should be something around midnight in Australia (I hope I'm right!)

Great site by the way, thanks

Luna said...

Just a question donna noble of the chiswisk nobles - if you are doing the next bit, could you tell me the last line. I need that so I can carry on with the next piece. Thanks! :)

JackOLantern said...

Hi,
Sorry I haven't been in touch lately - please continue on transcribing with the episode without me because my computer is having 'iPlayer delays'.
I am SO SORRY - I will try and get it fixed in time for Turn Left and the Stolen Earth and Journeys end.
:]

Luna said...

It's all right, thanks for your help so far! .)