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10 Brilliant TV Bottle Episodes

The term "bottle episode" is a strange one. Those expecting TV shows about alcoholism or a pub fight a lĂ  Kingsman: Secret Service may be somewhat disappointed, but basically, the name refers to episodes that are filmed almost exclusively in one location with the central cast. Bottle episodes are designed to be as cheap as possible, which means that there should be no guest stars and no new sets used at all if possible.

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3) Doctor Who – Midnight

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Asking a Doctor Who fan to select their favourite actor from the long running show is like asking someone to choose their favourite child, but David Tennant would certainly be high on the majority of lists. His recent run on the program had a number of highlights, but one of the most memorable episodes was Russell T. Davies take on the bottle format, simply titled “Midnight.”

The episode begins with the Doctor finding himself trapped onboard a shuttle. One of the passengers has been possessed by an evil spirit that repeats everything it hears, forcing them all to turn on one another as they try to figure out how to save themselves.

For all of its inter-dimensional space and time travel, Doctor Who often works best when tightening the focus to the main characters and just like fan favourite “Blink,” this bottle episode is extremely effective at building suspense from a relatively simple premise.