Doctor Who is a show full of misunderstood stories that are generally loved, hated, or forgotten. With the future of the show uncertain (to say the least) it is still a pleasure to return to those past stories and disappear in time and space with the Doctor once again.
15 years ago, towards the end of one of Doctor Who’s most wibbly-wobbly series arcs, the Being Human creator, Toby Whithouse wrote a smaller scale, haunted-house-type episode to pad out the weeks.
That episode just happened to be one of the best Doctor Who episodes of Matt Smith’s era!
Episode 11 of series 6 landed on 17th December, 2011: The God Complex. When you watch it the story feels like a standard gap-filler story, but it soon becomes everything fantastic about this wonderful show.
The Doctor materialises in the TARDIS inside a hotel, but no ordinary hotel. Inside every room is someone’s worst fear, and once you find yours, you become trapped there forever.
The God Complex balances horror with levity in a way that Night Terrors from episode 9 of series 6 (written by Mark Gatiss) did not. Night Terrors was unrelenting in its ominous tone – purposefully inciting dread at every moment.
But in The God Complex, Toby Whithouse managed to craft a story that was scary and intense, but also had enough light relief from the dread to make it feel like Doctor Who.
I don’t think I thought much of this episode when it first aired. It was a filler and it was getting in the way of learning about the impossible astronaut.
But 15 years later it is episodes like The God Complex I return to, rather than The Wedding of River Song. There is so much more to enjoy from these episodes of Doctor Who – the Doctor lands, discovers a mystery, investigates, almost dies, and saves the day.
The big over-arching plots are all well and good, and can be enjoyable during the initial release, but they can also completely fail to live up to the hype, and leave a sour note on the series (see both finales for the 15th Doctor’s era…).
Go back and watch this underrated gem of a Doctor Who episode!
