THE DOCTOR WHO REFERENCE GUIDE- Doctors 9 and 10 (TV stories)
THE DOCTOR WHO REFERENCE GUIDE- Doctors 9 and 10 (TV stories)
Rose
Rose
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Keith Boak
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Autons created by Robert Holmes
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith),
Mark
Benton (Clive), Elli Garnett (Caroline), Adam McCoy
(Clive's Son); Alan Ruscoe, Paul Kasey, David Sant, Elizabeth
Fost, Helen Otway (Autons); Nicholas Briggs (Nestene Voice).
When
Rose Tyler meets a mysterious stranger called the Doctor,
her
life will never be the same again. Soon, she realises that
her
mum, her boyfriend, and the whole of Planet Earth are in
danger. The only hope for salvation lies inside a strange blue
box...
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Rose
26th March, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #354.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 1
U.K. Release: May 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1755
Includes the episodes: Rose, The End of the World
and The Unquiet Dead.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
Rose
(drn:44'11")
Rose Tyler
s alarm clock goes off at 7:30 am. After bidding goodbye
to her
mother, Jackie, Rose catches a bus to her workplace, a
department
store named Henrik s. Apart from lunch with her
boyfriend,
Mickey, her workday consists mainly of waiting for her
shift to
end. Finally, closing time rolls around, but before she can
leave, she
s tagged to take the employees lottery
money down to
Wilson,
the electrical engineer who works in the store s basement.
Wilson
doesn t answer the door to his office, and Rose, hearing
movement
elsewhere in the basement, investigates only to find the
shuffling
sounds coming from a room full of display mannequins. As
Rose
enters the room, searching for Wilson, the door slams shut
behind her
-- and the mannequins begin to move in, surrounding her.
Just as
they re about to strike her down, however, a stranger grabs
her by the
hand and pulls her to safety.
Pursued by
the mannequins, Rose and the stranger make their way to a
lift. One
of the mannequins reaches in after them, blocking the
doors, but
the stranger yanks its arm off and tosses it to Rose as
the doors
slam shut. Realising that the arm she s holding is indeed
solid
plastic, Rose tries to convince herself that the mannequins
were
students pulling a prank, reasoning that only students would
have the
time and inclination to set up such a stunt. The stranger
compliments her on her reasoning skills, but tells her that they
weren t
students -- and when she mentions Wilson, the stranger
informs
her that he s dead. The lift then arrives back in the store,
and the
stranger uses a small humming tube to fuse its controls,
telling
Rose that the mannequins are in fact living plastic entities
controlled
from a relay on the roof, which he now intends to blow
up. He
ushers Rose firmly outside, warning her not to tell anyone
about what
she s seen; if she does, they ll probably end up dead.
Finally,
he introduces himself as the
Doctor, and slams the door
shut.
Shaken, Rose stumbles away from the store -- and just as she
gets
clear, a colossal explosion takes out the roof and top storey.
Chaos
erupts in the street as Rose turns and runs, right past a
squat blue
1950s police box sitting in a nearby alley.
The
explosion makes the nightly television news; all of central
London has
been closed off while police investigate. As Rose
recovers
from the shock at home, Jackie insists that she seek
compensation for her traumatic experience, and advises her to sell
her story
to the papers. Mickey arrives, showing concern for his
girlfriend
and insisting that she join him at the pub for a stiff
drink;
however, Rose sees through him and realises that he actually
wants to
catch the last few minutes of the match on the pub s TV.
She
assures Mickey that she ll be all right, and urges him to go to
the pub
himself while she rests at home -- and, while he s at it, to
get rid of
the mannequin arm, which she carried home with her while
in a state
of shock. Mickey picks up the disembodied arm and
pretends
that it s choking him; Rose laughs politely. Mickey then
heads off,
tossing the arm into a nearby trash bin -- which
continues
to rattle long after he s gone, as if something is moving
inside...
The next
day, Rose wakes at 7:30 again, but doesn t need to rush off
to work,
since it doesn t exist any more. As her mother again
presses
her to file a claim for compensation, Rose hears a rattling
at the cat
flap; at first she assumes that her mother has failed to
nail it
shut, but when she takes a closer look she sees that the
nails have
been pried loose. The flap then rattles again, and when
Rose pokes
it open, she sees the Doctor looking in at her. He s just
as
surprised to see her, but when he raps on her head and confirms
that she s
not made of plastic, he concludes that his tracker led
him to the
wrong place. Before he can leave, Rose drags him into her
flat to
answer a few questions, telling her mother that he s part of
the
inquiry into the explosion. Jackie makes a not very subtle pass
at him,
and is irritated when he shows absolutely no interest in
her.
While Rose
prepares coffee, the Doctor explores her sitting room,
flips
through a teen magazine and speed-reads a copy of The Lovely
Bones, and
examines his own ears doubtfully in a mirror. He then
hears a
scuttling sound behind the sofa, and when he investigates,
the
mannequin arm leaps up and catches him by the throat. Rose
enters
with the coffee, asking what they re going to tell the
police,
and although she sees the Doctor struggling to remove the
arm from
his throat, she assumes he s pulling the same gag that
Mickey
did. She learns that this isn t the case when the Doctor
manages to
pry it free and fling it away -- and it changes direction
in
mid-air, latching onto Rose s face. Jackie, blow-drying her hair
in the
other room, doesn t hear the sounds of the struggle as the
Doctor
tries to pull the plastic arm away from Rose; he eventually
succeeds,
using the same tube with which he fused the lift to
deactivate
the wriggling arm.
The Doctor
then leaves, taking the arm with him, but Rose follows
him,
demanding answers and threatening to go to the police. He calls
her bluff,
and she changes her tack, asking his name; however, he
insists
that he s just the Doctor. The plastic creatures aren t
after her;
they re after him, and she just got in the way. He s the
only one
fighting them, while the rest of the human race goes about
their
daily routine, unaware that a war is being fought under their
noses.
Surprised that Rose is actually taking an interest in what
he s
saying, he explains that he cut off the signal that was
controlling the plastic arm -- not a radio signal, but thought
control.
But the force that brought the mannequins is still out
there, and
it intends to destroy the human race. Unsure whether to
believe
him or not, Rose asks him who he really is, and this time,
he tells
her: he s the one who can feel the world turning beneath
their feet
and rushing through space, and he knows just how fragile
it all is.
And it s time that Rose went back to her ordinary life
and forgot
all about him. Rose reluctantly sets off back to her flat
while the
Doctor heads towards a blue box standing on the corner.
Moments
later, Rose hears a strange wheezing, groaning sound, and
turns back
to see that the blue box has vanished.
Unwilling
to let this go, Rose visits Mickey and uses his computer
to conduct
an online search for information. After a few fruitless
inquiries,
she locates a website with a blurry photograph of the
Doctor.
Rose sets up a meeting with the webmaster, Clive, and Mickey
reluctantly drives her to Clive s home; however, he stays alert in
the car
outside, ready to rush to the rescue if Clive turns out to
be a
dangerous online lunatic. As it happens, Clive seems to be a
friendly
enough family man with a wife and young son who tolerate
his
bizarre hobby. However, as Mickey waits for Rose to return, one
of the
plastic garbage bins on the sidewalk unexpectedly begins
shuffling
towards his car. Puzzled, Mickey examines the bin, but
finds it
empty -- and when he tries to close the lid, he finds that
the
plastic has warped around his hands, trapping him. As Mickey
tries to
pull himself free, the bin begins to growl, and it flips
its lid
up, yanking Mickey inside. The lid snaps shut, and a moment
later, the
bin belches loudly.
Meanwhile,
Rose has accompanied Clive out to his garden shed, where
he keeps a
collection of clippings documenting the Doctor s
appearances throughout history. The man Rose recognised as the
Doctor
shows up in the crowd at the Kennedy assassination, in a
photograph
with a family who mysteriously cancelled their cruise on
the
Titanic at the last moment, and even in a drawing that washed up
on the
shores of Sumatra following the eruption of Krakatoa. There
are
legends of the Doctor woven throughout history, and his arrival
always
spells disaster and death for those unfortunate enough to
encounter
him. Unnerved, Rose asks Clive what he believes, and Clive
tells her
that he believes the Doctor is an immortal alien from
outer
space. Rose s suspension of disbelief snaps, and she returns
to the
car, telling Mickey that Clive was a complete nut after all.
In her
disappointment, however, she fails to notice the fixed smile
on Mickey
s face or the strange plastic sheen to his skin and
hair...
Later,
Rose and Mickey have settled down in a quiet restaurant,
where Rose
is trying to decide what to do for a job now that
Henrik s
has blown up. However, Mickey seems more interested in
discussing
the Doctor, where Rose met him, and what he s really up
to. As
Rose tries to change the subject, the Doctor himself shows up
with a
bottle of champagne and fires its cork directly into Mickey s
forehead
-- revealing that Mickey is in fact a plastic replica. The
replica s
hands transform into bludgeons and it attacks the Doctor,
who grabs
it in a choke hold and pulls its head off. This only slows
it down a
little. Rose triggers a nearby fire alarm, and as the
restaurant
s terrified patrons flee, she and the Doctor run out the
back,
pursued by the now-headless replica. The Doctor fuses the back
door shut
with his all-purpose humming tube, the sonic screwdriver,
and pops
into his blue box, which is now located in the back alley.
Since the
gate to the street has been locked up, Rose has little
choice but
to follow the Doctor into the box. She promptly bolts
straight
back out again in disbelief, but as the replica begins to
hammer
down the restaurant door, she has little choice but to step
back
inside. This time, she stays inside, staring, while the Doctor
closes the
doors and the sight of the interior sinks in. The inside
of the box
is a gigantic control room with a glowing central
console,
and it s much, much larger than the outside...
The Doctor
wires the replica s head to the console, explaining that,
as it s
much more complex than the arm he took earlier, this time he
should be
able to trace the alien control signal to its source. He
then turns
to face Rose and calmly answers her questions about his
ship; it s
called the TARDIS, short for Time And Relative Dimension
In Space,
and yes, the Doctor is an alien. As the shock sinks in,
Rose
realises that the real Mickey must be dead -- and from the
Doctor s
nonplussed reaction, she realises that this genuinely
hadn t
occurred to him. However, he does react badly when Rose
notices
that the replica s head is melting; the control signal has
been cut
off, and the Doctor loses track of it before he can trace
it to its
source. Frustrated, he emerges from the TARDIS, and when
Rose
follows him, she finds that they are no longer in the back
alley of
the restaurant; the box has dematerialised from there and
rematerialised on the bank of the Thames.
The Doctor
tells Rose that the rest of the replica will have melted
along with
the head, but as she tries to deal with what s happening,
she
realises that the Doctor has forgotten about Mickey s death
again. He
insists that he s got bigger things to worry about; the
alien
Nestene Consciousness is preparing to invade the Earth. Its
protein
planets were destroyed in the war, but the Earth s
atmosphere
is rich in the toxins it needs to survive. The Doctor has
a tube
of anti-plastic with which to destroy it, but first he
needs to
find it. All he knows is that it must be using a
transmitter of some kind, something like a gigantic dish or wheel --
something
exactly like the London Eye, in fact, although it takes
Rose
several tries to point out to the Doctor that the thing he s
describing
is located straight across the river. She and the Doctor
rush
across the bridge to the Eye, and Rose -- who s actually
beginning
to enjoy herself -- locates an entrance to the service
tunnels
beneath the tourist attraction.
The Doctor
and Rose descend into the pit beneath the Eye, where they
see a
gigantic vat of seething, glowing plastic -- the corporeal
mass of
the Nestene Consciousness. The Doctor requests permission to
parlay as
per Convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamations, and as he
approaches
the hostile alien entity, Rose finds the real Mickey
huddled on
a catwalk, terrified. She s irritated to learn that the
Doctor
always knew that Mickey had probably been kept alive to
maintain
his replica, and that it never occurred to him to mention
it;
however, the Doctor brushes her off and addresses the Nestene on
behalf of
humanity, a young race with the potential to become
something
great. As he speaks, however, two mannequins walk up and
grab him
before Rose can shout out a warning. One of the mannequins
searches
the Doctor and finds the tube of anti-plastic, and the
Nestene
then reveals the TARDIS, which it has brought down from the
surface --
and which it recognises as the product of a higher
technology. The Doctor desperately tries to convince it that it s
misinterpreting the situation; he only brought the anti-plastic as
an
insurance policy, and he insists that he did his best to save the
Nestene s
planets during the war. However, the Nestene has
identified
the Doctor as a Time Lord, and, believing itself to be
under
attack, it brings forward the invasion schedule, transmitting
the
activation pulse through the London Eye.
Rose
desperately calls her mother on her cell phone, but the signal
is
breaking up, and Jackie doesn t get her daughter s full message.
She s gone
into town to pick up a document on workers
compensation
from the
police, and this done, she pops into the Queens Arcade
shopping
centre before going home. Clive and his family are also at
the
shopping centre, and they re amongst the first to see the window
dummies
throughout the centre twisting and jerking to life. Clive
watches in
astonishment as the dummies smash their way out of their
display
cabinet, amazed to learn that everything he d heard and
written
about was true. Unfortunately, he s learned it the hard way,
as one of
the dummies hands hinges away to reveal
a built-in gun
that
shoots Clive in the head. All hell breaks loose in the shopping
centre as
the mannequins open fire, and Clive s screaming wife and
son flee
for the exits, as does the terrified Jackie. However,
outside is
no safer; dummies are walking the streets, gunning down
fleeing
pedestrians and vehicles. As Jackie huddles behind a crashed
car, three
dummies in bridal outfits smash their way out of a window
behind her
and bear down on her...
The force
of the activation signal has brought down the ceiling in
the pit,
cutting off Rose and Mickey s escape route -- and the
Doctor,
now being manhandled towards the seething vat by a
mannequin,
has the only key to the TARDIS. As Mickey clings
desperately to the TARDIS doors, Rose realises that she s the only
one who
can save the day; she s got no job, no future, and no
A-levels,
but she does have her school s bronze award for under-7
gymnastics. The Nestene, concentrating on the Doctor, fails to
notice
Rose using a fire axe to hack a hanging chain free from the
wall until
it s too late. Rose swings out over the pit, kicking out
at the
mannequin holding the tube of anti-plastic and knocking it
into the
vat. The tube shatters, and as the Doctor overpowers his
captor and
flips it into the vat, the Nestene shrieks in agony,
cracks of
light appearing on its surface. The Doctor and Rose bolt
for the
TARDIS, and they and Mickey dart inside and dematerialise as
the
Nestene s lair explodes. With the death of the Nestene
Consciousness, the attacking window dummies revert to lifeless
plastic,
moments before the bridal dummies can kill Jackie.
The TARDIS
materialises in a back alley nearby, and as Mickey rushes
out and
huddles gibbering behind a pile of rubbish, Rose calls her
mother
once again but hangs up once she s determined that her mother
is still
alive. The Doctor smugly confirms that the Nestene
Consciousness has been defeated, but admits that it s all due to
Rose. It s
time for the Doctor to be on his way, but before he goes,
he offers
Rose the opportunity to travel with him and see the
Universe.
She is tempted, but as the whimpering Mickey clings to
her, she
reluctantly decides that she d better stay behind to take
care of
him and her mother. Disappointed, the Doctor closes the door
of the
TARDIS, and Rose watches sadly as it dematerialises before
her eyes.
But as she helps Mickey to his feet and starts to walk
back to
her ordinary, unfulfilling life, the TARDIS reappears behind
her and
the Doctor pops his head back out. Did I
mention it also
travels in
Time? Rose turns to Mickey, kisses him
on the cheek, and
thanks
him, genuinely, for doing absolutely nothing to help her.
She s made
her decision, and as Mickey stands, stunned, in the
alleyway,
Rose rushes to join the Doctor in the TARDIS for the trip
of a
lifetime.
Source:
Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
It
should be noted that the new TV series was designed for
newcomers to understand without having to know the past 41
years of continuity; therefore, the following notes are, more
than
ever, just intended as fun, speculative connections.
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend leading up to
the finale, each episode of the series contains references
to
the "Bad Wolf". In this episode, Rose is wearing a red
hood and the Nestene Consciousness is purported to scream
the words "bad wolf" when it sees the TARDIS.
The Nestene Consciousness first appeared in Spearhead from
Space and Terror of the Autons, in which the living dummies
were referred to as Autons. It has since appeared in BBV s
Auton trilogy and the novels Business Unusual and
Synthespians ; in the latter, it was revealed that the
Doctor s own people, the Time Lords, were destroying the
Nestene Consciousness homeworld,
Polymos.
We
learn more details about the war that destroyed the
Nestene's protein planets in The End of the World, Dalek,
and Bad Wolf.
The Doctor claims that the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan
have tried and failed to get into the TARDIS. Though he s
probably referring to an unseen adventure, he has been seen
to
encounter Kublai Khan in Marco Polo and Batu and Mongke
Khan in Bunker Soldiers; in the latter, a couple of Mongol
footsoldiers did in fact make it into the TARDIS when the
Doctor forgot to close the door behind him.
Rose returns home for a visit in Aliens of London.
[Back to Main
Page]
The End of the World
The End of the
World
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Simon Day (Steward), Yasmin Bannerman (Jabe), Jimmy Vee (Moxx
of
Balhoon), Zoë Wanamaker (Cassandra), Camille Coduri (Jackie
Tyler), Beccy Armory (Raffalo), Sara Stewart (Computer Voice),
Silas Carson (Alien Voices).
The
Doctor takes Rose on her first voyage through time, to the
year
Five Billion. The Sun is about to expand, and swallow the
Earth. But amongst the alien races gathering to watch on
Platform One, a murderer is at work. Who is controlling the
mysterious and deadly Spiders?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The End of the World
April 2nd, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #355.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 1
U.K. Release: May 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1755
Includes the episodes: Rose, The End of the World
and The Unquiet Dead.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father’s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper’s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies’
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker’s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying Ghosts
– The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss’ scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC’s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series’
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
The Doctor
offers to let Rose choose where she wants to go for her
first trip
in the TARDIS, and she chooses to go forward, 100 years
into the
future. The Doctor hops ahead to the 22nd century, but
dismisses
the destination as dull. Rose challenges him to do better,
and he
thus leaps ahead to the New Roman Empire of the year 12,005.
When Rose
laughs at his smugness, the Doctor accepts the unspoken
challenge
and takes her somewhere really exciting. Rose emerges from
the TARDIS
to find herself in an opulent viewing gallery with a
window
built into an entire wall. The Doctor uses his sonic
screwdriver to open the shades, revealing that they’re in a space
station
orbiting the Earth -- and with a flash of intense light, the
sun begins
to expand. The Doctor has brought Rose five billion years
into the
future, to the year 5.5/Apple/26, to witness the end of the
world...
The End of
the World
(drn:44'45")
As the
Doctor and Rose head for the station’s main reception area, a
computer
voice announces the arrival of further shuttles and reminds
guests
that weapons, teleportation, and religion are forbidden
aboard
Platform One. The rich and the elite of the galaxy are on
their way
to witness the death of the Earth; until now, the planet
had been
protected by the National Trust, which used gravity
satellites
to hold back the sun’s expansion and put the continents
back in
their classic positions, but now the Trust’s money has run
out and
nature is taking its course. The human race has evacuated,
and within
half an hour, the Earth will be destroyed.
As it
begins to sink in for Rose that she’s about to witness the
death of
her home planet, a steward with bright blue skin arrives
and is
startled to see intruders in the hospitality zone. However,
the Doctor
presents the Steward with a psychically imprinted blank
sheet of
paper and manages to convince him that it’s an invitation.
Rose,
somewhat thrown by the Steward’s alien appearance, is taken
even
further aback as more alien guests arrive in the hospitality
chamber:
Jabe, Lute, and Coffa, walking humanoid trees from the
forests of
Cheem; the squat blue Moxx of Balhoon; the dark-hooded
Adherents
of the Repeated Meme; the brothers Hop Pyleen; Cal
Sparkplug;
the birdlike Mr and Mrs Pacoon; the sponsor of this
event, a
giant head in a jar known as the Face of Boe; and the
Ambassadors from the City-State of Binding Light. The visitors
exchange
gifts to symbolise peace; Jabe presents the Doctor with a
cutting
from her grandfather, and the Moxx of Balhoon spits at Rose,
offering
the gift of bodily saliva. The Adherents hand out small
metal
spheres to the other guests, including the Steward, who tries
to explain
that he’s not actually a guest but finally takes the
sphere to
be diplomatic. The Doctor offers the gift of air from his
lungs by
breathing on the other visitors, and Rose notes uneasily
that he
and Jabe seem to be flirting.
The final
guest is the Lady Cassandra O’Brien, the Last Human, who
has just
completed another round of plastic surgery to make her
appear
young and thin. In fact, she’s had so much plastic surgery
that she’s
now just a translucent sheet of skin with eyes and a
mouth,
stretched out tightly over a frame above a brain in a jar and
constantly
attended by masked surgeons who moisturise her skin to
keep her
from drying out. Cassandra offers gifts from Earth: the egg
of an
ostrich, an extinct animal believed to be a fire-breather with
a 50-foot
wingspan; and a 1950s jukebox which she mis-identifies as
an iPod.
The alien guests begin to mingle as the jukebox plays Soft
Cell’s
Tainted Love, and Rose, overwhelmed, finally succumbs to
culture
shock and rushes out of the hospitality zone. Jabe takes a
quick scan
of the Doctor as he follows Rose out, but it takes the
scanner
quite a while to identify his species -- and when it finally
does, Jabe
is astounded. Nobody notices when one of the silver
spheres
handed out by the Adherents opens up and a small robot
spider
scampers out...
Rose finds
her way to a small side room, but as she watches the
expanding
sun through the window, a small blue woman in a
maintenance worker’s uniform arrives. The woman remains
uncomfortably silent when Rose addresses her, and eventually
explains
that Rose must give her permission to speak. She is
surprised
and delighted when Rose does so, and sets to work on a
nearby
maintenance hatch, explaining that she’s just popped in to
repair a
minor glitch in the plumbing of the Face of Boe’s suite.
Rose asks
the woman, Raffalo, where she’s from, and Raffalo explains
that she’s
from Crespallion -- which isn’t a planet, but part of the
Jaggit
Brocade, affiliated to the Scarlet Junction, Convex 56. Rose
has no
idea what this means, and it finally sinks in with her that
she’s left
behind everything familiar in her life to travel with a
complete
stranger through worlds she knows nothing about. Rose bids
goodbye to
Raffalo and retreats to a private viewing gallery to
think
about what she’s done. Once alone, Raffalo removes the hatch
and crawls
into the service ducts, where she’s surprised to
encounter
the small robot spider. At first she thinks it’s an
upgraded
maintenance robot, at least until it’s joined by several
others.
Raffalo realises too late that she might be in trouble, and
the
spiders drag her, screaming, into the ductwork...
Back in
his office, the Steward receives a call from the computer
Control
informing him of the unidentified blue box in gallery 15;
irritated,
he makes a public announcement requesting that its owner
report in
and reminding guests that teleportation aboard the station
is
forbidden under peace treaty 5.4/Cup/16. The attendants remove
the TARDIS
from the viewing gallery and give the Doctor a ticket so
he can
reclaim it once the event is over. Meanwhile, more robot
spiders
are emerging from the silver spheres and scuttling through
the
station’s service ducts...
Rose sits
alone in a viewing gallery and catches herself actually
trying to
strike up a conversation with the cutting from Jabe’s
grandfather. She fails to notice the robot spider crawling out of
the silver
sphere behind her; for some reason, it seems to take an
interest
in Rose, but it darts off without being noticed when the
Doctor
enters to check up on his companion. Rose admits that she’s
having
trouble dealing with so many aliens, but when she asks the
Doctor
where he’s from, he evades the question. When she asks why
the aliens
are all speaking English, he explains that the TARDIS is
generating
a telepathic field within her brain, and is surprised by
her
reaction when she realises that her perceptions have been
altered
without her knowledge or permission. Frustrated, she presses
him for an
answer to her first question, demanding to know who he is
and where
he’s from, but he loses his temper and refuses to speak to
her.
Realising
that she won’t get any more out of the Doctor, Rose tries
to make
the best of it; after all, he’s her only ride home, as she
demonstrates by pulling out her cell phone and noting the lack of
signal.
The Doctor, now calmer, takes her cell phone and sticks a
technical
doohickey in the back slot -- and, to Rose’s surprise, she
finds that
she can now use the cell phone to call up her mother. She
seems to
have reached Jackie before the Nestene attack, as Jackie
asks Rose
to put some money in the store’s lottery syndicate for
her.
Jackie is somewhat surprised that Rose is calling in the middle
of the
day, but Rose assures her mother that she’s just fine. This
small
slice of normality has helped Rose cope a little, but as she
hangs up,
it occurs to her that her mother has been dead for five
billion
years. As this starts to sink in, however, the entire
station
shudders -- and the Doctor realises that something’s gone
wrong...
The
Steward publicly announces that the mild turbulence was caused
by a
gravity pocket -- but privately, he’s scrambling to find out
what just
happened. When he scans the infrastructure of the station,
he’s
startled to detect the robot spiders crawling through the ducts
-- but
he’s even more startled when one of the spiders scuttles into
his office
and operates the controls, lowering the sun filter over
the
window. The Steward is unable to raise the filter again, and the
room fills
with the blazing, unfiltered light and 4,000-degree heat
of the
sun...
The Doctor
isn’t fooled by the Steward’s attempt to keep his guests
calm, and
he shares his concerns with Jabe. She offers to show the
Doctor to
the maintenance hatch behind her suite so he can
investigate, but isn’t sure whether to address Rose as the Doctor’s
wife,
partner, concubine, or prostitute. Irritated, Rose sends the
Doctor and
Jabe on their way while she stays to chat with Cassandra,
the only
other human in the room; however, it turns out that they
have
little in common. Rose listens politely as Cassandra reminisces
over her
youth as a little boy growing up in the Los Angeles
Crevasse,
but when Rose asks about the rest of humanity, Cassandra
dismisses
them as mere mongrels; she’s the last pure human left.
When
Cassandra advises Rose to consider some plastic surgery of her
own, the
disgusted Rose announces that she’s got more right to call
herself
“the last human” than Cassandra, who’s had everything human
about her
nipped and tucked away until all that’s left is skin and
lipstick.
Rose storms out, leaving the rather ticked-off Cassandra
behind --
but the Adherents of the Repeated Meme follow Rose into
the
corridor, knock her unconscious and drag her away...
On their
way to the main computer complex, Jabe explains that she’s
here
partly to be seen and to make connections with the other
visitors,
but mainly to show respect for the Earth, her ancestral
home; Jabe
herself is a direct descendant of the Earth’s tropical
rainforest. She also explains that Platform One is controlled by a
top-of-the-line computer mainframe, and that the guests have been
assured
that nothing can go wrong -- but the Doctor has had
experience
with “unsinkable” ships before. And if they really are in
trouble,
there’s nobody around to help them. Jabe notes that the
Doctor
seems a little too excited by this, and as he tries to break
into the
computer complex with his sonic screwdriver, she wonders
what kind
of person enjoys seeking out trouble; perhaps someone who
has
nothing else left... Jabe admits that she knows who and what the
Doctor is
-- and that she understands just how much he’s lost. The
Doctor,
struggling to hold back his emotions, opens up the door to
the
computer complex, where gigantic fan blades sweep across a
maintenance catwalk, cooling down the computer’s central processor.
When the
Doctor opens up an access panel, one of the spiders
scuttles
out. Jabe catches it with her liana, and when she and the
Doctor
examine it, they conclude that it’s been committing sabotage.
And with
the Earth due to explode in ten minutes, the people aboard
Platform
One might be in a great deal of trouble...
Back in
the hospitality suite, the guests continue to mingle as the
jukebox
ushers in Earth’s last minute with a traditional human
ballad:
Toxic by Britney Spears. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Jabe
visit the
Steward’s office, only to find that he’s been killed --
and when
the Doctor tries to repair the damage, he learns that
another
sun filter has been programmed to descend elsewhere on the
station.
The Doctor investigates, and finds that Rose has been
locked
inside the gallery in question. As the filter begins to
descend,
the Doctor struggles to reprogram the computer while Rose
keeps as
close to the floor as she can. Fortunately, the Doctor is
able to
reverse the damage and raise the filter again, but the top
half of
the room has been scorched by the searing heat, and the door
lock has
melted. Rose has no choice but to stay where she is while
the Doctor
sets off to confront the villain responsible.
Jabe
reports to the other visitors that the spiders have somehow
infiltrated the entire station and killed the Steward. Cassandra
accuses
the Face of Boe of setting them all up, but the Doctor
reveals
that he’s reprogrammed the spider he and Jabe caught to
return to
its controller. The spider scuttles towards Cassandra, and
then veers
away towards the Adherents of the Repeated Meme; the
guests had
all accepted the Adherents’ silver spheres as gifts, and
thus
carried them past the code locks, spreading them throughout
Platform
One. But the Doctor reveals that the Adherents are
remote-controlled androids, and after some prompting, the spider
returns to
Cassandra, the last human (which may be why the spiders
seemed
attuned to the human Rose earlier). Cassandra’s surgeons hold
off the
others with moisturisers filled with acid, and Cassandra
admits
that she intended to manufacture a hostage situation in order
to sue the
owners of Platform One for compensation; however, as she
has now
been exposed, she intends to fall back on her secondary
plan. She
has shares in the other visitors’ rival companies, and
when they
are killed, those shares will triple in value -- and
Cassandra
will spend her fortune on more plastic surgery, ensuring
that she,
and not Rose, remains the last pure human in the Universe.
Cassandra
now remote-detonates all of her spider drones. The
explosions
rip through the mainframe, taking out computer control
and
shutting down the station’s force fields. Cassandra and her
surgeons
then teleport out, leaving the others, who had complied
with the
restrictions against teleportation, stuck on Platform One.
Convinced
that there must be a manual reset switch, the Doctor takes
Jabe back
to the computer complex. Unfortunately, the reset switch
is on the
other side of the catwalk, and as the heat rises, the fans
speed up.
The lever controlling the fans refuses to stay down on its
own, and
despite the Doctor’s protests, Jabe remains to hold it
down,
telling the Doctor to stop wasting time -- after all, he is a
Time Lord.
The Doctor makes a hazardous dash forward through the
rotating
fan blades, but the heat is quickly rising. The exo-glass
in the
station’s viewing panels begins to crack and shatter, and
spears of
intense light cut through the reception hall and the
viewing
gallery where Rose is trapped. The Doctor has only made it
past two
of the three fans when Jabe bursts into flame and lets go
of the
lever; however, with only ten seconds to go before the end of
the world,
the Doctor calms himself down, closes his eyes, and steps
forward --
passing safely between the blades. He then pulls the
reset
switch and orders the computer to reactivate the shields, and
it does so
just as the Earth is struck by the outer atmosphere of
the sun
and explodes. As the station’s internal temperature returns
to normal,
the fans slow down, and the Doctor walks back down the
catwalk to
stare grimly at what remains of Jabe.
Rose makes
her way to the reception hall, where she finds that the
Moxx of
Balhoon, amongst others, has been reduced to ashes. The
Doctor
returns alone, and after telling the stricken Lute and Coffa
what’s
happened to Jabe, he angrily picks up Cassandra’s “ostrich
egg” and
smashes it open, revealing the teleportation feed she used
to beam
herself through the 5,000-degree heat outside Platform One.
When the
Doctor reverses the feed, Cassandra materialises back in
the
reception hall. Initially shaken, she recovers her poise and
challenges
the Doctor to try charging her with murder; determining
whether
aliens legally count as “people” will keep the courts tied
up for
years. But the Doctor then points out that he’s transported
her back
without her surgeons, and her skin is drying out rapidly in
the hot,
dry air. Even Rose takes pity as Cassandra begs the Doctor
to save
her, but he refuses; everything dies eventually, and the
last human
has had her time. With a last agonised cry (“I’m too
young!!”),
Cassandra’s skin dries out, stretches, and splits,
splattering the last human across the reception hall.
Later, as
the survivors depart and the computer shuts down for
maintenance, the Doctor finds Rose watching the Earth’s remains
float past
the viewing window. In the final moments, everyone was
too busy
trying to save themselves to look outside, and when the
Earth’s
long history came to an end, nobody was watching. The Doctor
leads Rose
back to the TARDIS and takes her back to 21st-century
London,
where she sees people walking down the street, living their
ordinary
lives and taking it all for granted -- something Rose will
never do
again. The Doctor finally admits that his home planet was
destroyed
in a war; he is the last of his people, the Time Lords,
and he
travels alone because he has no one else to share his travels
with. Now
he’s shown Rose just how dangerous those travels can be.
After a
moment, Rose makes her choice: she’ll keep travelling with
the
Doctor, but first she wants some chips. She’s still got the
opportunity, as the shops won’t close for another five billion
years.
Source:
Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the "Bad Wolf". In this
episode, The Moxx of Balhoon, when speaking to the Face of
Boe, twice mentions, "Indubitably, this is the Bad Wolf
scenario." The Doctor also gives Jabe the gift of "air from
his lungs" (like huffing and puffing a house of sticks).
The Earth has had close brushes with solar flares in the
past, in The Ark in Space and The Trial of a Time Lord. Its
destruction was seen from a different perspective in The
Ark, and the Doctor met some of the last human survivors in
Frontios.
The Doctor implies that he’s been aboard the Titanic, and
indeed, in Rose we saw a photograph of him standing with a
family who cancelled their trip aboard the doomed ship. His
fourth incarnation denied responsibility for the disaster in
The Invasion of Time, but his seventh incarnation was aboard
the ship in The Left-Handed Hummingbird.
The Doctor meets Cassandra and the Face of Boe again in New
Earth.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Unquiet Dead
The Unquiet Dead
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Alan
David (Gabriel Sneed), Huw Rhys (Redpath), Jennifer Hill
(Mrs
Peace), Eve Myles (Gwyneth), Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens), Wayne Cater (Stage Manager), Meic Povey (Driver),
Zoe
Thorne (The Gelth).
The
Doctor takes Rose back through time to 1869. But in
Victorian Cardiff, the dead are walking, and creatures made of
gas
are on the loose. The time-travellers team up with Charles
Dickens to investigate Mr Sneed, the local Undertaker. Can
they
halt the plans of the ethereal Gelth?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Unquiet Dead
April 9th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #355.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 1
U.K. Release: May 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1755
Includes the episodes: Rose, The End of the World
and The Unquiet Dead.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
Cardiff,
1869: Mr Redpath s late grandmother, Mrs Peace, has just
been laid
to rest at Sneed & Company s funeral home. Sneed gives the
young man
a moment alone to mourn her passing, but as Redpath
grieves, a
blue miasma seeps into his grandmother s body -- and the
dead woman
opens her eyes, reaches out and grabs her grandson by the
throat.
Sneed rushes into the room just in time to see the late Mrs
Peace snap
Redpath s neck, and he tries to force the old lady back
into her
coffin, both distressed and exasperated that this is
happening
again. Mrs Peace smashes her way out of the coffin,
knocking
Sneed senseless, and staggers, wailing, out into the
street,
wreathed in an ethereal blue vapour...
The
Unquiet Dead
(drn:44'49")
Having
shown Rose the future, the Doctor intends to show her the
past, and
he thus sets course for Naples, 24 December 1860. The
TARDIS
makes the journey and materialises with some effort on both
the Doctor
s and Rose s parts. Rose is awestruck to think that she s
about to
step out into a Christmas Eve that was over and gone long
before she
was ever born, but before she can do so, the Doctor sends
her to the
wardrobe; he considers his own clothing appropriate
enough,
but Rose s modern attire would cause a riot in the 19th
century.
He s surprised by her appearance when she returns; she s
quite
beautiful, for a human. The Doctor opens the TARDIS doors, but
Rose is
the first to step out and make a footprint in the snow. Arm
in arm,
she and the Doctor walk off to see history for themselves.
Sneed s
young maid, Gwyneth, returns from her duties in the stables
to find
Sneed recovering from the cadaver s attack. This isn t the
first time
the dead have walked in Sneed s funeral home -- but when
Sneed
admits that Redpath was killed, the horrified Gwyneth realises
that
things have gone too far. Though she doesn t wish to speak out
of turn,
she begs Sneed to get some proper help. Sneed promises to
do so, but
first they must find Mrs Peace and get her back under
lock and
key. There s no sign of her in the streets, and Sneed thus
turns to
Gwyneth, ordering her to use her Sight to track down the
dead
woman. Gwyneth feels her gift to be unnatural, but when Sneed
threatens
to dismiss her from his service unless she does as
instructed, she reluctantly looks deep within herself... and senses
that,
before her death, the old woman was excited about seeing a
great man
who has recently come from London.
The man in
question is Charles Dickens, who s about to go on stage
at the
Taliesin Lodge. When the stage manager arrives at Dickens
dressing
room, however, he finds the great writer in a depressed,
bleak
mood. Christmas Eve is a bad time to be alone, and Dickens is
brooding
over his bad relationship with his family and the mistakes
he s made
in his life. The thought of the show does little to cheer
him up, as
he s been telling the same stories over and over again
for so
long that he fears his imagination has run dry. But his
audience
awaits, and Dickens thus pulls himself together and steps
out on
stage, to thunderous applause from most -- apart from the
late Mrs
Peace, who is sitting in the middle of the audience and
staring
blankly ahead. The crowd listens, enraptured, as Dickens
begins to
recite A Christmas Carol, but just as he gets to the point
at which
Marley s face appears in Scrooge s door-knocker, the dead
Mrs Peace
begins to glow. The crowd begins to panic as Mrs Peace
lets out
an unearthly shriek and a gaseous blue phantom emerges from
her
body...
Outside
the theatre, Sneed and Gwyneth have arrived on the trail of
Mrs Peace,
and the Doctor and Rose have just flagged down a
newspaper
vendor and discovered that they re actually in Cardiff,
1869,
rather than Naples, 1860. The Doctor then hears the screams
from the
theatre and rushes to investigate, with Rose hot on his
heels.
Inside, Dickens is trying to convince the panicking crowd
that the
shrieking spectre is just some sort of theatrical trick,
and when
the Doctor rushes up, asking when it appeared, Dickens
accuses
him of somehow engineering this farce. The spectre separates
from Mrs
Peace s body, which collapses into the seat -- and Sneed
and
Gwyneth promptly pick up her body and bundle it out of the
theatre.
In all the commotion, Rose is the only one to notice them
go, and
she chases them out of the theatre, demanding answers.
Gwyneth
tries to convince her that nothing s wrong, but when Rose
pushes
past her to examine the old woman s body, Sneed panics,
chloroforms Rose, and orders the appalled Gwyneth to stick her in
the hearse
as well.
The
spectre is drawn into one of the theatre s lamps and vanishes,
and the
Doctor realises that it was made of gas. He then follows
Rose out
of the theatre, pursued by the furious Dickens, and emerges
just in
time to see Sneed and Gwyneth bundle the unconscious Rose
into the
back of their hearse and set off. The Doctor promptly
boards
another coach and orders the driver to follow the hearse, and
when
Dickens protests that this is his coach, the Doctor hauls him
aboard as
well. Surprised, Dickens driver sets the
carriage in
motion,
and as Dickens tries to protest, the Doctor learns who he s
riding
with and immediately begins gushing over Dickens genius and
boundless
imagination. Flattered, Dickens finally calms down, and
when he
learns that the Doctor s 19-year-old friend is in danger, he
orders the
bewildered driver to keep going.
Sneed and
Gwyneth lay out Rose in the viewing room, unsure what
they re
going to do about her or the bizarre occurrences in the
funeral
home. The Doctor and Dickens then arrive at the front door,
and though
Gwyneth tries to turn them away, the Doctor notices the
gas lamps
flickering oddly and pushes past her to listen at the
walls. He
can hear whispers, as though there s something living in
the gas
pipes. He and Dickens then hear Rose crying out for help;
she s
woken just in time to see the late Mr Redpath and Mrs Peace
sit up and
climb out of their coffins. The Doctor kicks open the
locked
door and rescues Rose, but the corpses then speak in eerie,
hissing
voices, claiming that the rift is failing and begging for
help.
Dickens watches in shock as the gaseous spectres hiss out of
the
bodies, which fall to the floor as the spectres are drawn back
into the
gas lamps.
Later,
Gwyneth pours tea for Sneed s visitors -- and serves the
Doctor his
tea exactly as he likes it, without his having to ask.
Meanwhile,
Rose lashes out at Sneed for drugging and kidnapping her
and then
locking her in a room with zombies. The stricken Sneed
admits
that the dead have been walking for the past three months,
and that
they retain some scraps of memory from their former lives.
Dickens
tries to insist that this is an illusion of some sort, but
the
irritated Doctor tells him to shut up and questions Sneed
further.
When Sneed admits that he s never had trouble with the gas
lines
before, but that the house has long had a reputation for being
haunted,
the Doctor theorises that there s a rift in time and space
located in
the building -- and that it s getting stronger, allowing
something
to slip through from the other side.
Frustrated, Dickens returns to the mortuary, examining the gas lamps
and
Redpath s corpse for some sign of fraud. The Doctor follows him
and
apologises for his harsh words, but insists that Dickens apply
his
boundless imagination to what he s seen. Decomposing bodies
produce
gas, so what better habitation for a creature that is itself
made of
gas? Dickens, suddenly weary, tells the Doctor that, while
he
appreciates an illusion for its own sake, he s never mistaken
them for
more than that. Instead, he s spent his life fighting
injustice
and struggling to improve the lot of people living in the
real
world. But now, it seems that the real
world is a realm of
spectres
and ghosts. Has he been wrong about the world all these
years, and
if so, does this mean he s wasted his life?
Gwyneth is
shocked when Rose offers to help her out in the scullery,
and Rose,
for her part, is appalled to learn that Gwyneth only earns
eight
pounds a year -- and would have been happy with six. Rose
tries to
strike up a conversation with Gwyneth, who is fascinated by
Rose s
strange ways and mortified when Rose asks her if there are
any boys
she fancies. Rose learns that Sneed took Gwyneth in when
she was
12, after her parents died of the flu; she sympathises, and
Gwyneth
understands that it s because Rose lost her own father.
However,
Gwyneth is content that her parents are in paradise, and
that she
ll be reunited with them one day. It occurs to Rose to
wonder how
Gwyneth knew about her father, and Gwyneth, suddenly
flustered,
suggests that the Doctor must have told her. She can
tell,
however, that Rose has been thinking about her father a lot
lately...
and she can tell that Rose has travelled a long way, from
a strange
sort of London where the people walk around in immodest
clothing
and where the streets are filled with racing metal boxes
and the
sky with flying metal birds. She can also tell that Rose has
seen the
strangest of things -- the darkness, the
big bad wolf...
Shaken,
Gwyneth backs away, apologising profusely -- but the Doctor,
standing
in the doorway, has heard everything. Gwyneth is forced to
admit that
she s had this talent since she was a child, but lately
it s been
growing stronger. The Doctor explains that Gwyneth has
grown up
on top of the time rift, and has thus become a part of it.
And that
means she can help them perform a s ance.
Dickens is
reluctant to participate in anything so ridiculous, but
the Doctor
persuades him to join in. With some prompting from the
Doctor,
Gwyneth opens herself up to her Sight, and to Dickens
shock,
blue gas drifts down about the table -- and takes the form of
three
angelic, humanoid figures who are now able to communicate
through
Gwyneth. The spectres identify themselves as the Gelth, and
claim that
they lost their corporeal forms in the time war that tore
the
Universe apart; the few that remain are dying, and they need to
occupy the
bodies of the human dead in order to survive. However,
the rift
is unstable, and after passing through, they are too weak
to control
the bodies for very long; in order to inhabit them
permanently, they need Gwyneth to stabilise the rift. The Gelth then
vanish
back into the gas lamps, and Gwyneth collapses as the stunned
Dickens
struggles to accept these fantastic events.
Later,
Rose tends to the exhausted Gwyneth while the Doctor
clarifies
matters for the bewildered Sneed. Rose is appalled by the
Gelth s
request for bodies, but the Doctor respects the living more
than the
dead, and he refuses to let the Gelth die just because Rose
doesn t
like the thought of dead bodies being recycled for other
living
beings. Gwyneth then points out that it s her choice to make,
and
although she can tell Rose doesn t think she s very bright,
she s made
her decision; she thinks of the Gelth as angels, and will
do what
she can to help them. Rose still thinks it s pointless, as
the dead
didn t start to walk in 1869 -- but the Doctor informs her
that Time
is in flux now, and the history Rose knows can be
overwritten as easily as snapping one s fingers.
Sneed
tells the Doctor that he s seen more apparitions and walking
dead in
the morgue than anywhere else, and the Doctor takes the
others
there in search of the rift. A Gelth appears to them,
thanking
the Doctor effusively for his help, but the Doctor insists
that this
is a temporary solution only; once the transfer is
complete,
he will take the Gelth to another world where they can
build
proper bodies for themselves. The Gelth then guides Gwyneth to
the source
of the rift, beneath an archway in the morgue, and
despite
Rose s concerns, Gwyneth opens herself up to the powers of
the rift.
The bridgehead is established, and Gelth begin to pour out
of Gwyneth
s open mouth... far more than anyone was expecting. The
Gelth
above Gwyneth transforms from a cherubic blue to a fiery,
demonic
red, and reveals that there are in fact billions of Gelth in
need of
corporeal forms. Sneed orders Gwyneth to stop this, but an
animated
corpse grabs him and snaps his neck, killing him -- and
providing
the Gelth with another corpse to inhabit. The Gelth in
fact
intend to wipe out the entire human race and take this world
for
themselves...
The
terrified Dickens flees for his life, and one of the gaseous
Gelth
pursues him out into the streets -- where it is drawn into the
flame of a
flickering street lamp before it recognises the danger.
Realising
what s happened, Dickens musters his courage and rushes
back into
the funeral home, where he begins snuffing out the lamps
flames,
filling the house with gas. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rose
are
trapped behind a barred archway in the mortuary, and as the
Gelth-possessed corpses try to claw through to get them, they
realise
that they re doomed. Rose will die a century before she was
born, and
the Doctor -- who has seen the fall of Troy, World War
Five, and
the Boston Tea Party -- is going to be killed by walking
corpses in
a cellar in Cardiff. They vow to go down fighting
together,
but before it comes to that, Dickens bursts into the room
and begins
snuffing the flames and turning up the lamps. The Doctor
soon
realises what he s doing: as the Gelth consist of gas in their
natural
forms, filling the room with gas will draw them out of their
dead
hosts. The possessed corpses turn on Dickens, but before they
can attack
him, the Gelth are drawn out of the bodies, which
collapse
dead to the floor.
As the
morgue fills with gas, the Doctor urges Gwyneth to send the
Gelth back
through the rift, but she seems stunned, as if devastated
by her
angels betrayal. She tells the Doctor
that she isn t strong
enough to
send them back -- but she can hold them here, and deal
with them.
Rose protests as Gwyneth pulls a box of matches from her
pocket,
but the Doctor sends her and Dickens to safety, promising
that he
won t let Gwyneth die. But when he tries to take the matches
from her,
he realises that it s already too late -- and after
double-checking her pulse, he has little choice but to bid Gwyneth a
sorrowful
farewell. Gwyneth gives her friends time to get clear
before she
lights a match, sending the entire funeral home up in
flames.
Rose is horrified when the Doctor emerges without Gwyneth,
but he
sadly informs Rose that Gwyneth had already been dead for
five
minutes when she spoke to them; she was probably killed as soon
as she
opened the rift. He, Rose and Dickens sadly watch the burning
funeral
home, knowing that Gwyneth saved the world -- and that her
sacrifice
will never be known.
Dickens
accompanies the Doctor and Rose back to the TARDIS to say
goodbye;
he intends to return to London immediately to spend
Christmas
with his family and make amends. Now that he knows how
much more
there is to learn about the world, his imagination has
been
inspired, and he intends to change the ending of his latest
novel so
that Edwin Drood is killed, not by his uncle, but by
something
not of this earth. The Doctor and Rose wish him good luck
and step
into the TARDIS, where the Doctor informs Rose that Dickens
will die
in 1870, leaving The Mystery of Edwin Drood unfinished --
but at
least he ll be happy for the last few months of his life. The
TARDIS
dematerialises, and Dickens, giddy with excitement, walks
back out
into the streets of Cardiff, filled with hope for the
future.
Source: Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who's Afraid of the
Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the "Bad Wolf". In this
episode, while reading Rose's mind, Gwyneth remarks
cryptically that Rose has seen "the big bad wolf."
The time war mentioned by the Gelth is presumably the same
war in which the Nestene Consciousness
protein planets were
destroyed (as revealed in Rose) and in which the Doctor s
home planet was destroyed (revealed in The End of the
World).
It
was revealed in Image of the Fendahl that growing up over
a
time rift (or Time Fissure) could enhance one s psychic
potential. The Doctor saw the fall of Troy in The Myth
Makers.
[Back to Main
Page]
Aliens of London / World War Three
Aliens of London
/ World War Three
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Keith Boak
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Corey Doabe (Spray Painter),
Ceris Jones (Policeman) [1]; Jack Tarlton, Lachele Carl
(Reporters); Fiesta Mei Ling (Ru) [1], Basil Chung (Bau) [1],
Matt
Baker (Himself) [1], Andrew Marr (Himself), Rupert
Vansittart (General Asquith), David Verrey (Joseph Green),
Navin Chowdhry (Indra Ganesh) [1], Penelope Wilton (Harriet
Jones), Annette Badland (Margaret Blaine), Naoko Mori (Doctor
Sato) [1], Eric Potts (Oliver Charles) [1], Noel Clarke
(Mickey Smith), Jimmy Vee (Alien [1], Steven Speirs
(Strickland); Elizabeth Fost, Paul Kasey, Alan Ruscoe
(Slitheen); Morgan Hopkins (Sergeant Price) [2].
The
Doctor takes Rose home. But when a spaceship crash-lands
in
the Thames, London is closed off, and the whole world goes
on
Red Alert. While the Doctor investigates the alien
survivor, Rose discovers that her home is no longer a safe
haven. Who are the Slitheen?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Aliens of London
16th April, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
World War Three
23rd April, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #355.
Episodes released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 2
U.K. Release: June 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1756
Includes the episodes: Aliens of London / World War
Three and Dalek.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
The Doctor
takes Rose back home to visit her mother, materialising
outside
her flats twelve hours after she left. Or so he believes.
However,
while waiting for Rose to return, a flyer on a nearby
telephone
pole catches his eye -- a missing-persons flyer with
Rose s
picture on it. When Rose enters her flat and casually greets
her
mother, claiming to have spent the night with a friend, the
stunned
Jackie sweeps her daughter up in a desperate, unbelieving
hug --
and, over her shoulder, Rose sees a table covered with
missing-persons flyers and posters, all with her name and picture on
them. The
Doctor bursts into the flat, takes in the situation, and
apologetically tells Rose that she hasn t been gone for twelve
hours, but
for twelve months...
Aliens of
London
(drn:45'02")
Some time
later, outside Jackie s flat, a young boy spray-paints the
words BAD WOLF
on the TARDIS and cycles off. Meanwhile, a
policeman
sits and listens patiently as Jackie lashes out at Rose
for her
thoughtlessness in vanishing for over a year without so much
as a phone
call. Rose claims that she s been travelling, but Jackie
angrily
points out that she left her passport behind. The Doctor
explains
that he employed Rose as his companion -- in a non-sexual
sense --
but Jackie turns her anger on him, slapping him and
accusing
him of luring away her daughter for immoral purposes. Rose
is
embarrassed and remorseful, but despite Jackie s pleas, Rose
can t even
begin to explain where she s been for the past year.
Later, the
Doctor sits with Rose on the roof as she ponders how to
deal with
having unwittingly traumatised her mother. The Doctor
firmly
states that Jackie s not coming with them if Rose decides to
keep
travelling. In passing, he reveals that he s 900 years old, and
Rose
realises that this is just another of the many things she can t
discuss
with anyone. As she muses what it s like to be the only
person who
knows that aliens really are out there, however, an alien
spacecraft
sputters overhead and careens wildly across the London
skyline,
belching smoke. As they watch, the ship demolishes Big Ben
and
crashes into the River Thames. Delighted, the Doctor rushes off
to
investigate, but the army has cordoned off the crash site and the
streets
are gridlocked. The Doctor wants to find out what s
happening,
but he can t get close to the crash site, and he doesn t
want to
attract the wrong sort of attention by materialising the
TARDIS
nearby. Rose thus suggests that he watch the news on TV like
everyone
else.
The Doctor
returns to Rose s flat, where Jackie reluctantly lets him
in for
fear of alienating her daughter further. Jackie s friends and
neighbours
have joined her to discuss the UFO crash and Rose s
return,
and the Doctor is having difficulty hearing the television;
at one
point, he even finds himself fighting for the TV remote with
a young
boy who wants to watch Blue Peter. Meanwhile, reporter Tom
Hitchingson and political commentator Andrew Marr are amongst those
reporting
the news and its developments. The world is on red alert,
flights
have been cancelled over North American airspace, and the
Secretary-General of the UN has advised people to watch the skies.
Divers
remove a body from the wreck and take it to Albion Hospital
for
examination by Dr Sato; there, she reveals her findings to
General
Asquith, who is startled by the alien pilot s appearance and
orders
Sato to keep it out of sight until the experts arrive.
There has
been no sign of the PM since the state of emergency was
declared,
and due to the gridlock and the grounding of flights, most
of the
Cabinet has been stranded outside central London. Thus,
Joseph
Green -- the rotund MP for Hartley Dale, and Chairman of the
Parliamentary Commission on the Monitoring of Sugar Standards in
Exported
Confectionary -- has unexpectedly become the acting Prime
Minister.
He seems to be having difficulty handling the pressure,
and while
junior secretary Indra Ganesh tries to brief him, Green
breaks
wind, complaining that the nerves are giving him an upset
stomach.
The equally rotund Margaret Blaine of MI5 and Oliver
Charles,
Transport Liaison, report that the PM boarded his car that
morning,
before the emergency, and has since disappeared. Ganesh
gives
Green a booklet detailing the emergency protocols to be
followed
in case of alien incursion, and Green takes Margaret and
Oliver
into the Cabinet office to discuss the situation... but once
there, he
drops the booklet on the table, and all three begin to
giggle
like naughty schoolchildren. In all of the confusion, nobody
pays any
attention to backbencher Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale
North,
whose afternoon appointment with the PM has been trumped by
the
ongoing emergency.
Night
falls over London, and the Doctor, frustrated by the mundane
conversation between Jackie and her neighbours, tells Rose that he s
going out
for a walk. He assures her that first contact with alien
life is
something the human race can and must be left to handle on
its own,
and when she shows concern that the Doctor will leave her
behind, he
hands her a key to the TARDIS. Mollified, she returns to
the flat
-- but despite his assurances, the Doctor heads straight to
the
TARDIS. Upstairs, Mickey Smith emerges from his flat, catches
sight of
the Doctor, and bolts downstairs to confront him, but
arrives
just as the TARDIS fades away. Inside, the Doctor struggles
to control
the TARDIS flight, even whacking the
controls with a
small
sledgehammer in order to make his ship do what he wants.
Meanwhile,
at 10 Downing Street, Harriet tries to convince Ganesh to
let her
speak with Green, but he refuses to interrupt Green s
important
meeting for her minor concerns. When Green, Margaret and
Oliver
emerge from the Cabinet office, Harriet tries to speak with
Green,
explaining that she s come up with a scheme by which cottage
hospitals
don t have to be excluded from centres of excellence.
Green
laughs in her face and walks off with the others. Nettled,
Harriet
slips into the deserted Cabinet office and drops the report
she s
prepared in Green s briefcase... but she then notices that
he s left
the emergency protocols booklet behind, and, curious, she
begins to
leaf through it.
The TARDIS
materialises in a storeroom in Albion Hospital, and the
Doctor
emerges cautiously -- only to walk straight into a group of
soldiers
on tea break. The moment of mutual surprise is broken when
they hear
Dr Sato screaming, and the Doctor instantly takes charge
of the
situation, leading the soldiers to the morgue to investigate.
There, the
terrified Sato reveals that the alien came back to life
and burst
out of its drawer, and the Doctor orders the soldiers to
lock down
the perimeter and search for the missing alien. However,
he then
hears movement in the morgue, and investigates to find the
alien
hiding behind a counter. It looks for all the world like a
pig, in a
spacesuit, walking on its hind legs. The Doctor tries to
approach
it, but it bolts, squealing in terror -- and runs straight
into a
bewildered soldier, who shoots it in the head before the
Doctor can
stop him. The enraged Doctor insists that the creature
was just
scared, and watches, mourning, as it dies in front of him.
He returns
the body to the morgue, where he studies Sato s findings
and
reveals that the creature is in fact just a pig -- albeit a pig
augmented
with technology in order to make it look and act more
alien.
However, Sato points out that the technology used to augment
the pig is
itself alien, which means that real aliens are
responsible for faking a false UFO scare. The Doctor returns to his
TARDIS and
dematerialises, leaving the confused Dr Sato behind.
Back in 10
Downing Street, Harriet hears voices approaching the
Cabinet
office and is forced to hide in a nearby closet. General
Asquith
enters with Green, Margaret and Oliver, berating Green for
his
appalling lack of leadership; Green isn t returning the White
House s
calls, he s cancelled the airlift that would have brought
senior
Cabinet ministers into London, and he hasn t started any of
the
emergency procedures outlined in the booklet. To Asquith s fury,
Green,
Margaret and Oliver begin giggling and farting like naughty
schoolchildren, and finally Asquith declares that he s using his
emergency
powers to remove Green from power and place London under
martial
law. This is a threat that Green takes rather more seriously
-- and as
Harriet watches in horror from hiding, Green, Margaret and
Oliver
unzip their foreheads to reveal their true alien forms, and
advance on
the startled General Asquith.
Mickey
enters the Tylers flat, and is furious
to see Rose sitting
with the
rest of his neighbours. Rose apologises for not visiting
him, but
that s not nearly good enough; when she disappeared with no
explanation, Mickey was nearly charged with her murder. He s been
questioned
five times in the past year, and even when Jackie blamed
him,
Mickey couldn t tell her the truth, as he knew she d never
believe
him. He now demands that Rose admit the truth; she might as
well,
because the Doctor s gone without her. Rose refuses to believe
this, but
when she goes out to see for herself, there is indeed no
sign of
the TARDIS. She insists that the Doctor wouldn t have left
her behind
-- and as she speaks, the TARDIS key begins to glow in
her hand.
Jackie has followed Mickey and her daughter, and although
Rose tries
to bundle her back to the flat, it s too late. To
Jackie s
shock, the TARDIS materialises before her eyes.
The Doctor
is irritated when Jackie and Mickey walk into the TARDIS
behind
Rose, and as Mickey angrily accuses the Doctor of ruining his
life,
Jackie stares about in shock and bolts out of the ship in
terror.
Rose follows, trying to assure her mother that everything s
all right,
but Jackie runs back to the flat, and the frustrated Rose
returns to
the TARDIS to find out what the Doctor has to say. Jackie
huddles up
in her flat, trying to cope with what she s seen -- and
when the
emergency alien hotline number reappears on the TV, she
calls it
up and blurts out her story, claiming that her daughter is
in danger
because of an alien called the Doctor who travels in a
blue box
called the TARDIS. These key words trigger an automated
alert
which Ganesh receives at 10 Downing Street.
Back in
the TARDIS, the Doctor -- who insists on calling Mickey
Ricky rather than admitting he
can t remember his name -- explains
that the
crash landing was faked, but by other aliens. Mickey points
out that
putting the world on red alert is an odd way to start an
invasion... so what are the aliens really up to? The Doctor starts
fiddling
about with the circuitry beneath the console, but refuses
to explain
what he s doing, pointing out rather rudely that Mickey
doesn t
have a hope of understanding it anyway. Rose apologises for
the Doctor
s behaviour, and assures Mickey that she did miss him,
even
though she s only been gone for a few days from her
perspective. He tells her that he spent the whole year looking for
her, and
that he never dated anyone else (though, admittedly, most
people
think he murdered Rose and hid her body somewhere). Now that
she s
back, she realises that Mickey wants to pick up where they
left off
-- but before she can decide, the Doctor announces that
he s
finished his work. He s looped back the TARDIS radar 12 hours
to follow
the ship s flight path -- and he, Rose and Mickey thus
discover
that the ship was launched from Earth before crashing back
down. The
aliens have obviously been here for a while... and what
have they
been doing for all that time?
Oliver
Charles has now shed his skin and
clothed himself in
General
Asquith s; however, like the other aliens, he must break
wind
frequently in order to squeeze himself into the tight disguise.
Harriet
cowers in the closet as Asquith tosses his former skin
inside,
complaining that he ll now have to give up Oliver s wife,
his
mistress, and the young farmer he was seeing on the side. As
Green,
Asquith and Margaret leave, Ganesh rushes up to inform them
that their
automated surveillance software has detected someone
speaking
about the Doctor, who is apparently the ultimate expert
in
extra-terrestrial affairs. Harriet listens from hiding as Ganesh
tells the
others that they ll have to enlist the Doctor s help.
The
Doctor, Rose and Mickey watch more news footage from inside the
TARDIS,
and see a group of experts from UNIT, the United Nations
Intelligence Taskforce, being escorted into 10 Downing Street.
Mickey,
who s spent the last year researching the Doctor s past
appearances, reveals that the Doctor once worked for UNIT; however,
the Doctor
decides not to offer his help, as he s changed a lot
since the
old days and his arrival would just confuse matters. He
decides to
check out the wreck of the ship instead. However, as soon
as he,
Rose and Mickey step out of the TARDIS, they find themselves
surrounded
by police, soldiers and helicopters. Mickey bolts in
panic and
hides behind the dustbins as the army close in on them,
and Jackie
protests in vain when her daughter is apparently taken
into
custody alongside the Doctor. However, they re not being
arrested;
they re being escorted to 10 Downing Street.
The Doctor
admits to Rose that he s visited this planet a lot, and
these
days, his arrival tends to be noticed. He and Rose arrive at
10 Downing
Street, where they wave to the paparazzi and enter the
seat of
government. Inside, Harriet Jones is trying to mingle with
the
visiting experts, but before she can speak to any of them,
Ganesh
arrives and ushers them all out to the briefing room. He
gives the
Doctor an ID card, but refuses to give one to Rose, who
doesn t
have sufficient security clearance. Harriet offers to take
care of
Rose while the Doctor is busy, and escorts Rose out into the
hall --
where she breaks down in tears and tells Rose everything
that she s
seen. Rose accompanies Harriet to the Cabinet office,
where they
study the abandoned skin suit and try to decide what to
do about
it. Hoping to find some evidence of alien technology, Rose
opens up a
nearby closet -- and a body tumbles out. When Ganesh
storms in
to take Harriet to task for continually getting in the
way, he
finds Rose and Harriet staring, appalled, at the body of the
Prime
Minister. Margaret Blaine then strolls into the office behind
them and
admits to the bewildered Ganesh that she lied about
escorting
the PM to his car that morning. She then closes the door,
unzips her
forehead and removes her skin-suit...
Back in
her flat, Jackie is being questioned by police commissioner
Strickland... a rather rotund and gassy man who seems uncomfortable
inside his
own skin. Strickland sends the other police away so he
can
question Jackie alone about the Doctor, and although Jackie
insists
that she knows nothing about the man, that isn t good enough
for
Strickland. This Doctor means trouble, and that means anyone
associated
with him is trouble. And Strickland s job is to deal with
trouble.
He unzips his forehead and removes his skin-suit...
The Doctor
walks into the briefing room, flips through the agenda
within
seconds and immediately picks out the most important point.
Before
Asquith can begin the briefing properly, the Doctor speaks
up,
pointing out that a satellite detected an anomalous blip of
radiation
beneath the North Sea three days ago, but that the faked
crash-landing has distracted attention from it. Worse, it suddenly
occurs to
the Doctor that everyone who could have investigated the
radiation
blip is currently in this room. The crash wasn t just a
distraction; it was a trap. As he speaks, Green passes wind loudly,
and when
the Doctor turns on him for the interruption, Asquith
unzips his
forehead and removes his skin-suit...
The
aliens true forms are now revealed; they
are the Slitheen,
gigantic,
corpulent, baby-faced aliens with extended necks, claws,
and
elongated arms. In the council estate, the alien that was
Strickland
advances on the terrified Jackie. In the Cabinet office,
the alien
that was Margaret Blaine grabs Ganesh by the throat and
lifts him
up to the ceiling as the horrified Harriet and Rose watch.
And in the
briefing room, Green activates the charges in the
delegates ID cards, electrocuting
every one of the gathered alien
experts.
The Doctor drops to the ground in agony as the Slitheen
burst out
laughing...
World War
Three
(drn:42'56")
Every
human in the briefing room is electrocuted -- but the Doctor
isn t
human, and he manages to remove his card and slap it onto the
exposed
Slitheen s electronic collar. The feedback incapacitates not
only this
Slitheen, but all others. Upstairs, Harriet and Rose bolt
for the
door as the Slitheen that was Margaret Blaine goes into
spasm;
elsewhere, Mickey bursts into Jackie s flat and pulls her to
safety,
pausing only to snap a picture of the writhing Slitheen with
his
cellphone.
The Doctor
bolts out of the briefing room to fetch help, but Green
manages to
pull the ID card away from his fellow Slitheen s collar,
and by the
time the soldiers burst into the room, it has disguised
itself as
General Asquith again. Sergeant Price examines the
experts bodies and confirms that
they re dead, and Green accuses
the Doctor
of killing them. The Doctor in turn accuses Green of
being an
alien in disguise, but the soldiers don t buy it. The
Doctor
tries to flee, but soldiers surround him in the corridor
outside,
and Asquith orders them to execute him on the spot;
fortunately, they ve backed him up against a lift, and he pops
inside and
closes the doors before they can shoot. Asquith places
the upper
levels of 10 Downing Street under strict quarantine and
orders
Price to secure the ground floor and shoot the Doctor on
sight. In
the meantime, Asquith and Green head upstairs -- and on
the way,
they dispose of their flatulent human disguises to revel in
their
glorious nudity.
Upstairs,
Harriet realises that they ve left the emergency protocols
in the
Cabinet office, but the Slitheen-Margaret has recovered and
they are
unable to return for them. The Doctor s lift stops briefly
on the
floor, distracting the Slitheen for a moment and enabling
Harriet
and Rose to hide in a nearby office. The Doctor takes the
lift up
one more floor and then descends via the staircase. Green
and
Asquith join Margaret, eager to purify their blood with a hunt;
Margaret
can scent the fear of her targets, and has been prolonging
the hunt
deliberately to make the smell more intoxicating. Margaret
pulls
aside the curtains to reveal Rose hiding behind them, but
Harriet
emerges from hiding, offering herself up in the young
woman s
place. Fortunately, the Doctor bursts in and drives the
Slitheen
back with a fire extinguisher, enabling them all to escape.
Harriet
leads the Doctor back to the Cabinet office to fetch the
emergency
protocol booklet, but the Slitheen are only a few steps
behind
them. The Doctor holds them off with a bottle of port,
threatening to use his sonic screwdriver to increase its
flammability. When the Slitheen hesitate, he takes the opportunity
to
question them, and learns that they are not an invasion force,
but a
family business. Slitheen is not their race name, but their
surname; Joseph Green is in fact Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer-Day
Slitheen.
Before the Doctor can learn their intentions for the
Earth,
however, Asquith calls his bluff regarding the port. As the
Slitheen
advance on him, the Doctor delivers a brief lecture on the
history of
the Cabinet offices... up to the installation of
three-inch-thick steel security bulkheads, which he now activates,
sealing
the Slitheen out of the room. And, unfortunately, sealing
himself
and his friends inside.
Satisfied
that the Doctor no longer poses a threat, the Slitheen
summon the
rest of the family to Downing Street, and Asquith orders
Price to
keep the ground floor secure and await an emergency address
from the
Acting PM to the people of the world. Outside, Andrew Marr
tries to
make sense of the variety of people who are showing up:
Group
Captain Tennant James of the RAF; Ewan McAllister, Deputy
Secretary
for the Scottish Parliament; even Sylvia Dillaine,
Chairman
of the North Sea Boating Club. All they seem to have in
common is
their remarkable girth and the fact that they ve been
invited to
the upper levels of 10 Downing Street. Upstairs, the
Slitheen
strip off their skin-suits, and soon, the entire family has
gathered
-- except for Sip Fel Fotch,
Commissioner Strickland , who
has yet to
finish with Jackie Tyler...
Mickey
helps Jackie to slip back to his flat, unnoticed. There, he
warns her
that nobody can be trusted (casting a suspicious glance at
his trash
bin as he does so), and accuses the Doctor of dragging
Rose into
this dangerous lifestyle. Jackie begins to cry as the
shock
settles in, realising that the man she accused of killing her
daughter
has now saved her life -- and that the monster that tried
to kill
her is still out there somewhere. Outside,
Strickland
sniffs the
air and dismisses the other police, telling them that
he ll
finish with Jackie on his own...
In the
Cabinet office, the Doctor places the PM s and Ganesh s
bodies in
the cupboard, and Harriet sadly realises that she never
knew the
young secretary s name. The Doctor explains that the
Slitheen s
collars generate compression fields that enable them to
shrink
their bodies down to fit inside human skins; the gas is a
side
effect, and the PM s body was too slim for them to use as a
disguise.
It occurs to him that he knows Harriet Jones
name from
somewhere,
but he can t recall exactly where. Harriet reads the
emergency
protocol booklet but finds nothing of any help; Rose
suggests
that they launch a missile at the Slitheen, but due to an
unfortunate incident in the UK s past, the United Nations holds the
release
codes for Britain s nuclear arsenal, and they can t launch a
strike
without UN approval. Mickey then calls Rose, and is able to
reach her
through the steel shielding thanks to the modifications
the Doctor
made to her cellphone. The Doctor swallows his pride and
asks
Mickey for help, giving him the secret password ( buffalo )
that will
enable him to log onto UNIT s secure website. As Mickey
works,
however, Jackie demands to know whether her daughter will be
safe with
the Doctor -- and the Doctor is unable to answer her
question.
The UNIT
website is monitoring an alien signal that the Doctor
realises
is being transmitted by the Slitheen. As the Doctor listens
to the
signal and tries to work out what it s saying, Strickland
tracks
Jackie down to Mickey s flat, strips off his skin-suit and
begins to
break down the door. Mickey offers to hold off the alien
with a
baseball bat while Jackie flees, but there s no other way out
of the
flat. For a moment, the Doctor is paralysed by indecision,
but when
Rose begs him to help her mother, he springs into action
and starts
looking for the aliens weakness. He and
his allies list
all they
know about the aliens, from the colour of their skin to the
nature of
their technology and, finally, the smell of their farts.
This
enables the Doctor to narrow down their planet of origin to
Raxacoricofallapatorius, which means that the aliens bodies are
composed
of organic calcium, weakened by the gas compression field
-- which
leaves them vulnerable to acetic acid. Mickey and Jackie
retreat to
the kitchen, where Jackie pours all of Mickey s pickled
onions,
gherkins, and eggs into a container and flings it at the
approaching Slitheen. The Slitheen blinks in surprise for a moment
and then
explodes, coating Mickey s kitchen with a wet sludge. In
the
Cabinet rooms, Harriet recalls how Hannibal used vinegar to
dissolve
boulders while crossing the Alps, and she, Rose and the
Doctor
share a victory toast.
The death
of Sip Fel Fotch hits the other Slitheen hard, and Green
storms out
of Downing Street to speak to the press. Mickey and
Jackie
watch the live broadcast on TV while the Doctor, Harriet and
Rose
listen over Mickey s cellphone. Outside, Green addresses the
nations of
the world, claiming that Earth is under attack by hostile
alien
forces capable of unleashing massive weapons of destruction
within 45
seconds; Britain lies directly beneath the mothership, and
their only
hope of survival is an immediate nuclear strike. Green
thus begs
the UN to pass an emergency resolution and release
Britain s
missile codes so they can strike first and save the
planet.
The
Doctor, finally understanding the truth, opens the bulkheads to
speak to
Margaret and confirm his suspicions. The Slitheen
deliberately engineered a spectacular UFO crash in order to drive
the world
into a panic and convince the UN to release the nuclear
codes.
Once the Slitheen have those codes, they ll fire Britain s
nuclear
arsenal at every other country on Earth, triggering World
War Three.
Despite the showy splash-landing, the Slitheen s ship
didn t
actually crash; it s still intact, and the Slitheen intend to
sit out
the nuclear holocaust inside. Once the planet has been
reduced to
a radioactive cinder, the Slitheen will sell off bits of
it as fuel
to every cut-price, bargain spaceship out there. The
signal
they re sending out is an advertisement for the sale of the
century;
they ll make a mint, at the cost of five billion lives. The
Doctor
orders the Slitheen to leave the planet immediately, or he ll
stop them.
Margaret and the Slitheen burst out laughing -- but the
Doctor isn
t laughing, and as he closes the bulkheads, Margaret
begins to
get a little worried.
It s
midnight in New York, and the UN Security Council have convened
to vote on
their emergency resolution. Dawn is breaking over London,
and as far
as anybody knows, it could be the day humanity fights its
first
interplanetary war. Green and Asquith leave Price in charge of
keeping
the ground floor secure, while they retreat to the Prime
Minister s
office to wait for the phone to ring. Giggling with
anticipation, the Slitheen remove their skin-suits to greet victory
in their
glorious nudity.
Time is
running out, and the Doctor reluctantly reveals that he can
stop the
Slitheen -- but he can t guarantee Rose s safety. Rose is
willing to
let him do whatever he has to, but Jackie refuses to let
him risk
her daughter s life. The Doctor finally tells Jackie that
this is
what his life is about, standing up and making terrible
decisions
-- and he doesn t want to lose Rose because of it. But
Harriet
then points out that she s the only duly elected
representative in this room, and she s thus the only one with the
authority
to make this decision. On behalf of the people of Britain,
she orders
the Doctor to carry out his plan. The Doctor thus directs
Mickey
over the phone, giving him the passwords he needs to hack
into the
Royal Navy and launch a conventional, non-nuclear missile
from the
nearest offshore submarine, the HMS Taurean. Jackie can t
bring
herself to stop Mickey, as much as he himself might want her
to... and
Mickey, albeit reluctantly, presses the button and fires
the
missile at 10 Downing Street. The Doctor, Rose and Harriet
remain
trapped in the Cabinet offices, and the bulkheads may not be
strong
enough to protect them from a direct missile strike;
nevertheless, the Doctor keeps in touch with Mickey, guiding him as
he blocks
the counter-defences on the coast, enabling the missile to
slip
through. Rose and Harriet clear all of the loose objects out of
the
cupboard, and they and the Doctor huddle inside and wait...
Downstairs, Price receives a report of the incoming missile, and
triggers
the fire alarm, evacuating the building. He rushes upstairs
to warn
the Prime Minister of the danger -- and bursts into the
office to
find it filled with naked Slitheen, waiting for the red
phone to
ring. After an appalled pause, Price flees. Outside, the
press and
police scatter as the missile hurtles towards Downing
Street;
inside, the panic-stricken Slitheen begin fighting over
their
skin-suits, but they re trying to work out which disguise
belongs to
whom when the missile strikes, blowing 10 Downing Street
to
smithereens. The steel box that was the Cabinet offices tumbles
end over
end into the street, and the Doctor, Rose and Harriet
emerge,
alive and intact. When Price rushes up to investigate,
Harriet
immediately takes charge, ordering him to contact the UN and
inform
them that the crisis is over. The Doctor and Rose watch
happily as
Harriet addresses the press, telling them that the human
race has
survived the crisis undefeated. She s come a long way from
the
flustered backbencher she was yesterday -- and the Doctor now
knows
where he recognised her name. Harriet Jones is going to be a
future
three-term Prime Minister, the architect of Britain s
forthcoming golden age.
Rose
returns home for a tearful reunion with her mother, while the
Doctor
returns to the TARDIS and disperses the Slitheen s signal
before any
interested parties can pick it up. Jackie still doesn t
trust the
Doctor, but she s now willing to listen and learn more
about Rose
s new life. When the Doctor calls Rose on her cellphone
and learns
that Jackie has invited him to dinner, he turns the
invitation
down without hesitating and instead offers Rose a choice:
stay home
with her mother, or come with him to see things she s
never seen
before. When Jackie finishes making tea in the kitchen,
she finds
Rose packing up her belongings -- and, though she
tearfully
begs her daughter to stay, Rose continues packing.
Night
falls over London, and the Doctor forces the young boy who
spray-painted BAD WOLF onto the TARDIS to scrub it clean again.
Mickey has
bought a newspaper, and is upset to find that the alien
attack is
already being dismissed as a hoax; it s almost enough to
make him
agree with the Doctor that humans are all idiots. The
Doctor
concedes that Mickey s not as bad as he thought, and gives
him a
CD-ROM containing a virus that will erase all mention of the
Doctor
from the Internet, thus ensuring that nobody can get into
trouble by
following him. He also invites Mickey to accompany him
and Rose,
but Mickey admits that he can t handle the pace of the
Doctor s
life. He asks the Doctor not to tell Rose, however, and
when Rose
shows up and invites Mickey to join them, the Doctor
speaks up,
stating that Mickey isn t invited. Jackie, upset, pleads
with Rose
to stay, but Rose assures Jackie that she s just going off
travelling
for a while -- and, since she s travelling in a time
machine,
she can be back in ten seconds no matter how long she
spends out
there. She and the Doctor step into the TARDIS, which
dematerialises as Jackie and Mickey watch. Ten seconds pass, and the
TARDIS
does not return. Upset, Jackie returns to her flat... while
Mickey
settles down with the newspaper to wait a while longer.
Source: Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who's Afraid of the
Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the "Bad Wolf".
In
Aliens of London, The phrase "BAD WOLF" is painted on the
side of the TARDIS by a young man. A sign held by an
individual in the crowd desiring to see the alien read "BAD
WOLF IS COMING." The false alien is a little pig. A clearer
image of the pig can be found on the secure section of the
Unit Website, under Operations Board: Operation London
26/03/05.
In
World War Three, the AMNN news reporter is named "Mal
Loup," French for "bad wolf." This name can clearly be
seen
on
the "Who is Doctor Who" website on the link for US News
Report. The true aliens wear human flesh, like a wolf in
sheep's clothing, or the big bad wolf dressing as
Grandmother.
During this episode, the "Who is Doctor Who" website issue
Hoax This had an editorial from Mickey. In it he stated the
Doctor was off making decisions for us all "I'm the big bad
wolf and it's way past your bedtime."
The Slitheen s plan to convert an inhabited planet into
radioactive fuel is similar to the intentions to the evil
aliens in The Dominators.
The TARDIS was previously graffitied in Paradise Towers.
[Back to Main
Page]
Dalek
Dalek
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Robert Shearman
Directed by Joe Ahearne
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Daleks created by Terry Nation
Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Steven Beckingham (Polkowski), Corey Johnson (Henry van
Statten), Anna-Louise Plowman (Diana), Bruno Langley (Adam),
Nigel Whitmey (Simmons), John Schwab (Bywater), Jana Carpenter
(Di
Maggio), Joe Montana (Commander), Barnaby Edwards (Dalek
Operator), Nicolas Briggs (Dalek Voice).
Beneath the Salt Plains of Utah, the billionaire collector
Henry Van Statten holds the last relic of an alien race. When
the
Doctor and Rose investigate, they discover that the
Doctor s oldest and most deadly enemy is about to break free.
It s
a fight to the death, with Rose caught in the middle.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Dalek
April 30th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #356.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 2
U.K. Release: June 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1756
Includes the episodes: Aliens of London / World War
Three and Dalek.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
A distress
signal draws the TARDIS to an underground bunker in Utah
in the
year 2012. The Doctor and Rose emerge into a chamber full of
display
cabinets containing alien artefacts, everything from
moondust
and meteorites through the mileometer of the Roswell
spaceship
to the stuffed arm of a Slitheen and the head of a
Cyberman.
Somewhere, something in this collection is alive and
calling
for help, but before the Doctor can investigate, he triggers
an alarm
and he and Rose are surrounded by armed guards. It occurs
to Rose
that if someone is collecting aliens, the Doctor is the
prime
exhibit...
Dalek
(drn:45'20")
Henry van
Statten arrives at the bunker to view his collection for
his
birthday. In passing, he also orders that the US President be
replaced;
when his personal assistant, Polkowski, politely questions
this
order, van Statten fires him on the spot, and his guards drag
Polkowski
away to erase his memory and dump him on the side of the
road
somewhere. Van Statten s new PA, Diana Goddard, reports that
intruders
have been captured in the vault, and van Statten orders
that they
be brought to him for questioning. Afterwards, he intends
to visit
his pet,
and Goddard thus contacts Simmons, who is in
charge of
torturing the alien captive. He s been unable to get it to
speak, but
he s certainly got it screaming...
The Doctor
and Rose are brought before van Statten, who is examining
the new
alien artefacts bought at auction by another of his
employees,
a young Englishman named Adam. The Doctor shows van
Statten
how to use one of the artefacts, a musical instrument, but
van
Statten then tosses it aside and demands to know how the Doctor
managed to
get into his vault, right next to the cage containing van
Statten s
one living specimen. The Doctor is unimpressed by the rich
man s
arrogance, but van Statten, confident that he s in charge
here,
orders Adam to keep an eye on Rose while he takes the Doctor
to the
cage to see what will happen. Van Statten and the Doctor
descend to
the cage, a sealed vault within the vault, and Simmons
offers the
Doctor a pair of rubber gloves, claiming that the last
person to
touch the Metaltron burst into flames. The Doctor steps
into the
cage, and van Statten seals the door behind him, ordering
the guards
-- Bywater and Di Maggio -- not to open it until they get
a result.
Inside the
darkened vault, the Doctor sees the abandoned instruments
of
torture, and he approaches the alien, introducing himself and
offering
his help. But to his horror, the lights go on to reveal
that he s
facing a Dalek, chained up and immobile. The Dalek tries
to
exterminate its enemy, but after a moment of blind panic, the
Doctor
realises that its gun isn t working. Simultaneously relieved
and
enraged, the Doctor viciously lashes out at the powerless Dalek,
revealing
that it s the last of its kind; he, the Doctor, destroyed
all other
Daleks in existence. He then falls silent, as if he s only
just
realising what he s done. When the Dalek questions him about
the Time
Lords, the Doctor is forced to admit that they too are
dead,
victims of the Time War; he and the Dalek are the last of
their
kinds in the Universe. When the Dalek points out that this
gives them
something in common, the infuriated Doctor boosts power
through
the Dalek s restraints, electrocuting it. Van Statten sends
guards in
to cut the power, and as they drag the Doctor out, he
demands
that they destroy the Dalek before it s too late. Van
Statten
ignores him and addresses the Dalek, pointing out that he s
saved its
life and demanding that it speak to him. It does not, and
he thus
puts Simmons back to work.
Adam shows
Rose his workshop, a cluttered room full of unclassified
alien
artefacts. Adam was a child prodigy who nearly started a world
war by
hacking the US defence system when he was eight years old;
van
Statten s agents found him and put him to work here, identifying
and
cataloguing the artefacts in van Statten s collection. Adam
tells Rose
that his dream is to get out and see the Universe for
himself,
though he doesn t believe this will happen in his lifetime.
Something
about his boyish enthusiasm reminds Rose of the Doctor.
She asks
Adam about the alien in the cage, and he admits that,
although
van Statten likes to keep it private, Adam has hacked into
the base s
communications system so he can see it for himself. He
does so
now, partly to impress Rose, but he and Rose see that
Simmons is
torturing the creature, and the appalled Rose demands
that Adam
take her down there at once.
The Doctor
tries to convince van Statten that the Dalek poses a
terrible
threat; it is the only survivor of the time war between the
Daleks and
the Doctor s own people, and, like all Daleks, it has
been
genetically engineered to have no emotions but hatred.
According
to Goddard, it has been dormant for 50 years, passing from
collector
to collector after crashing to Earth in the Ascension
Islands,
and as far as van Statten is concerned, there s no reason
to believe
it will ever escape from its cage. In any case, he s now
more
interested in learning about his new alien captive. The Doctor
is
stripped down and placed in a device that scans his body, putting
him
through some pain as it determines that he has two hearts. The
Doctor
realises that van Statten has made his money by scavenging
alien
technology and patenting the reverse-engineered results.
Despite
his disgust for van Statten, the Doctor makes another
heartfelt
attempt to convince him that the Dalek must be destroyed;
now that
it knows the Doctor is here, it has a reason to break free,
and if it
does, nobody on the planet will be safe. van Statten
ignores
him, and continues the scan.
Adam uses
his emergency pass to get Rose into the cage, but warns
her not to
get too close to the Dalek. Knowing only that it s been
tortured,
Rose tells it that her friend, the Doctor, can help it.
The Dalek,
reacting to the Doctor s name, tells Rose that it is in
terrible
pain, and claims to welcome death now that it s met one
human who
does not secretly fear it. Before Adam can stop her, Rose
rests her
hand on the Dalek s casing out of pity... and the Dalek
absorbs
DNA from her handprint, extrapolates her genetic material,
and begins
a cellular regeneration process, healing itself. Rose
backs away
as the Dalek pulls itself free, snapping the chains that
held it
down. Simmons storms into the cage, and scoffs when the
Dalek
raises its sucker arm towards him... until the sucker snaps
forward,
clamps onto his face, and crushes his skull.
Rose and
Adam flee from the cage, and Bywater seals the door behind
them and
announces a red alert. Upstairs, van Statten and the Doctor
hear the
alarms blaring, and the Doctor orders the stunned van
Statten to
free him if he wants to live. They return to van
Statten s
office, where Bywater contacts them and assures them that
the cage
has been secured. However, it takes the Dalek mere seconds
to break
the code and open the door. Bywater orders Di Maggio to get
Rose and
Adam to safety while he holds off the Dalek; however,
bullets
have little effect on it, and it trundles over to the
computer
and smashes its sucker arm through the screen, drawing
energy and
data directly into its body. As the Dalek s armour
repairs
itself, power goes down throughout the complex; soon the
base is
down to emergency power, the west coast of America is
experiencing a blackout, and the Dalek has absorbed knowledge from
the entire
Internet, learning everything it needs to about the
planet
Earth. Its gun-stick is fully powered up, and the last of the
Daleks is
ready to take action.
Di Maggio
leads Rose and Adam away as guards rush forward to
surround
the cage. Bywater rushes down the corridor to join them,
but the
Dalek emerges from the cage and guns him down before he can
reach
safety. The guards open fire on the Dalek, but van Statten
orders
them to stop, insisting that the prize of his collection must
not be
harmed. In any case, the Dalek is generating a force field
that melts
the bullets before they so much as scratch its armour,
and it
swivels about in place, its top and torso moving
independently from its base, until it has slaughtered every single
guard in
the corridor. As it begins moving forward, van Statten
suggests
sealing the vault, but the Doctor refuses to do so while
Rose is
trapped inside. The Dalek is now between them and the alien
weapons in
the collection, but it s heading for the weapons testing
facility;
the Doctor thus advises Goddard to distribute weapons to
everyone
in the facility. Van Statten wants to try negotiating, but
the Doctor
flatly informs him that the Dalek s only desire is to
kill
everything that isn t a Dalek.
Rose, Adam
and Di Maggio reach the stairwell and climb a flight of
steps. The
Dalek seems stymied by the stairs, and Di Maggio offers
it the
chance to surrender and discuss terms. But instead, it
reveals
that it has the ability to hover. As it begins to float up
the
stairs, Di Maggio sends Adam and Rose to safety while she stays
behind to
delay the Dalek; as they flee, they hear it exterminate
her. Rose
and Adam rush through a vast storage chamber in the
weapons
testing facility, where guards, technicians and scientists
are
gathering to hold back the Dalek; however, as the Dalek enters
the
chamber behind them, it seems to focus in on Rose. Adam
dismisses
Rose s uneasy feeling, but she s convinced that the Dalek
was
looking directly at her, as if acknowledging her existence in
some
way...
The Doctor
orders the guard commander to concentrate his fire on the
Dalek s
eyepiece, but sadly the commander is over-confident. When
the
cameras go on in van Statten s office, the Doctor realises that
the Dalek
wants them to see what s going to happen. As the guards
open fire
on the Dalek, it rises up into the air and shoots the fire
alarm,
triggering the chamber s sprinkler systems -- and once the
bay is
soaked, the Dalek opens fire. The water on the floor conducts
the charge
of the blast, and the Dalek need only fire twice to
exterminate every single human in the room. The Dalek then addresses
the
Doctor, explaining that it was able to regenerate itself by
extrapolating the DNA of a time-traveller. However, it has now
confirmed
that there is no sign of Dalek life anywhere in range, and
without
orders, it is at a loss. The Doctor thus orders it to kill
itself and
erase the Dalek scourge from the Universe; however, the
Dalek is
committed to the survival of its species, even if it is the
only one
of its kind. It signs off as the Doctor raves furiously at
it,
telling him that he would make a good Dalek himself.
The Doctor
now has no choice but to seal the vault. Van Statten,
finally
comprehending how much danger he s in, agrees to help the
Doctor to
bypass the security codes and re-route emergency power to
the
bulkheads. The Doctor calls Rose on her cellphone and warns her
that he s
about to seal off the vault at level 46, and she and Adam
run for
it. Van Statten finishes his work, but the power is failing,
and the
Doctor is forced to lower the bulkheads for fear that he
won t be
able to. Adam manages to slide under the bulkhead as it
descends,
but Rose is trapped on the other side. As the Dalek closes
in on her,
Rose tearfully tells the Doctor not to blame himself --
and the
horrified Doctor hears the Dalek open fire. He turns on van
Statten,
enraged, pointing out that he could have killed the Dalek
back in
the cell if van Statten hadn t stopped him; now Rose is
dead, all
because van Statten didn t want anything to break up his
precious
collection.
But Rose
is in fact still alive, and the Dalek is as surprised as
she is. It
fires to either side of her, but for some reason it can t
bring
itself to kill her, for it finds that it comprehends her fear.
When it
took her DNA, it took much more than just the ability to
regenerate
itself...
When Adam
arrives in van Statten s office, the Doctor lashes out at
him for
abandoning Rose, but Adam in turn points out that the
Doctor s
the one who sealed her in the vault. Before the argument
can get
ugly, however, the Dalek contacts them and reveals that Rose
is still
alive -- but she won t be for long unless the Doctor opens
the vault
and lets the Dalek out. Rose tells him not to give in, but
he can t
bear to lose her a second time, and he thus opens the
bulkhead.
They are now defenceless against the approaching Dalek --
at least
until Adam reveals that his workshop contains a number of
alien
weapons that have yet to be catalogued. Aware that van Statten
tends to
dispose of his staff and wipe their memories, Adam held
onto a few
choice gadgets in case he ever needed to fight his way
out of the
bunker. The Doctor sorts through them, and soon finds a
weapon
capable of destroying even a Dalek.
As the
Dalek approaches van Statten s office, Rose begs it not to
kill him,
but it doesn t understand why it shouldn t; its function
is to
kill, and it has no idea why it s allowing Rose to live. The
Dalek
confronts van Statten and demands to know why he tortured it,
and
although he claims at first that he was just trying to get
through to
it, to communicate so he could help it, he finally breaks
down and
admits that he just wanted it to talk to him. Rose stops
the Dalek
from exterminating van Statten, insisting that there must
be
something else that it wants, and after a moment, the Dalek
admits
that it wants its freedom. Rose accompanies it to the upper
level of
the bunker, where it blows a hole in the roof to reveal a
shaft of
sunlight. It does not understand Rose s joyful reaction to
the
sunlight, as she had all but given up hope of ever seeing the
sun again,
and as it tries to understand, it opens up its battle
armour to
reveal the mutant inside, a pathetic, tentacled, one-eyed
blob that
paws feebly at the sunlight falling on its body.
The Doctor
arrives and raises his gun, ordering Rose to step aside
-- but she
refuses, pointing out that the Dalek has held back from
killing
and is now basking in the sunlight. The Doctor realises that
the Dalek
is changing, and it finally sinks in that he s changing
too, into
something terrible. The Doctor drops his gun in shock as
he
realises just how the destruction of his home and people has
affected
him. However, the Dalek can t cope with the changes it s
experiencing; the Daleks believe themselves to be the supreme beings
in the
Universe, and since this Dalek is changing, that means it s
becoming
something other than a Dalek. As it s no longer a pure
Dalek and
it will never be human, the Dalek begs Rose to order its
destruction, and she eventually does so, out of pity. Admitting that
it is
afraid at last, the Dalek closes up its battle armour and
rises into
the air. The Doctor and Rose watch from a safe distance
as the
bumps on the Dalek s base separate from its armour, encircle
it in a
sphere of energy, detonate and shrink away to nothing. The
last of
the Daleks is dead.
In the
aftermath, van Statten s guards turn on him, blaming his
selfishness for the death of over 200 personnel. Goddard orders them
to erase
his memory and dump him by the side of the road, just as
he s done
to his own former employees. The Doctor and Rose return to
the
TARDIS, where the Doctor sadly ponders his status as the last
survivor
of the Time War; now he s truly alone, apart from Rose.
Adam
follows to warn them that Goddard intends to close the base and
fill it
with cement, but as he prepares to return home, Rose tells
the Doctor
that Adam has always dreamed of seeing the Universe. The
Doctor
eventually gives in to Rose s pleas and invites Adam aboard.
Adam has
no idea what he s talking about, but when the Doctor and
Rose enter
the TARDIS, he follows them inside...
Source: Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who's Afraid of the
Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the "Bad Wolf". In this
episode, Henry van Statten s helicopter bears the callsign
Bad Wolf One.
During this episode, the Geocomtex website lists under its
PRODUCTS section Node Stabilized (in Lupus and Nocens
variants). "Lupus" is Latin for "wolf";
"nocens" Latin for
"harmful" or "bad." Interestingly, they also offer
Argentum
Ordnance, otherwise known as silver bullets.
The Daleks first appeared in the episode The Daleks, and
have since reappeared on occasions too numerous to list
here. The most significant would be Genesis of the Daleks,
in
which the Time Lords send the Doctor back to destroy the
Daleks before they were created; Remembrance of the Daleks,
in
which the Doctor tricks the Daleks into destroying their
own homeworld; and the audio The Apocalypse Element, in
which the Daleks invade the Doctor s homeworld, Gallifrey.
The destruction of the Time Lords at the hands of the Daleks
appears to contradict their destruction as told in The
Ancestor Cell, but given that the Doctor erased the people
responsible for that event from history before Gallifrey
itself was annihalated, it's always possible that history
was somehow altered and the Daleks were inserted into the
gap.
Given that the Time Lords deliberately sent the Doctor back
to
alter Dalek history in Genesis of the Daleks, that story
could be seen, in retrospect, as an early volley in, or an
attempt to head off, the Time War.
The back of the museum seems to house a Jagaroth spaceship
as
seen in City of Death.
The Doctor may have recognized the Roswell part from the
Third Doctor story Devil Goblins of Neptune.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Long Game
The Long Game
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Brian Grant
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Bruno Langley (Adam), Colin Prockter (Head Chef), Christine
Adams (Cathica), Anna Maxwell-Martin (Suki), Simon Pegg (The
Editor), Tamsin Greig (Nurse), Judy Holt (Adam’s Mum).
Adam
discovers the wonders of travelling in the Tardis. In the
far
future, Satellite 5 broadcasts to the entire Earth Empire.
But
anyone promoted to Floor 500 is never seen again, and the
Doctor suspects mankind is being manipulated. Does Adam have
what
it takes to become the Time Lord’s companion?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Long Game
May 7th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #356.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 3
U.K. Release: August 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1757
Includes the episodes: The Long Game, Father's Day
and The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father’s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper’s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies’
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker’s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying Ghosts
– The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss’ scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC’s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series’
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
The TARDIS
materialises in a deserted arcade aboard a space station
in the
year 200,000, and the Doctor preps Rose so she can impress
their new
companion, Adam Mitchell, by telling him where and when
they are.
The atmosphere is too hot for Rose’s tastes, but she, the
Doctor and
Adam set off to explore, and find an observation deck
overlooking the Earth. The planet now has five moons and a
population
of 96 billion, and is the hub of the Fourth Great and
Bountiful
Human Empire. The Doctor and Rose are unimpressed when
Adam takes
one look at the vista and faints dead away.
The Long
Game
(drn:44'25")
Once Adam
has recovered, the Doctor leads him and Rose back to the
arcade,
telling them that this era represents human culture at its
finest.
But as he speaks, the kiosk in the centre of the arcade
opens up
to reveal a fast-food booth, and men and women pour into
what is
now revealed to be a canteen to buy kronkburgers and other
greasy,
quick-fix foods. There’s no sign of the high culture or
multitude
of alien life forms that the Doctor was expecting.
Puzzled,
the Doctor fiddles a cashpoint machine with his sonic
screwdriver to provide Adam and Rose with a credit bar, and sends
them off
to experience the culture for themselves while he
investigates. He does so by stopping two passing women, Suki MacRae
Cantrell
and Cathica Santini Khadeni, and asking them where he is
and what
happens there. They are bewildered at first, but then it
occurs to
Suki that this must be a management training exercise,
which the
Doctor “confirms” with his psychic paper. Cathica, who’s
eager for
a promotion to Floor 500, explains that this is Floor 139
of
Satellite 5, where the news is packaged and broadcast to the
human
empire on 600 channels (including Bad Wolf TV, on which the
Face of
Boe has just announced his pregnancy).
Elsewhere
on the station, the Editor has sensed something amiss. He
is a pale
man who works in a room with frost on the walls and floor;
the men
and women stationed at the room’s computer terminals are
stiff and
unresponsive, as if frozen solid. The Editor orders them
to track
down the disturbance he’s detected, and they soon narrow it
down to
the Doctor, Suki and Cathica. The Editor orders his minions
to keep a
close eye on these three and to triple-check their
background
and security clearances.
Rose picks
up a drink called zaffic, which is like a beef-flavoured
Slush
Puppie, but Adam is too overwhelmed to try eating or drinking
anything.
Rose sympathetically loans Adam her cellphone, which the
Doctor
modified to help her overcome her first experience of culture
shock.
Adam is astonished to find that he can leave a message on his
parents’
answering machine, over 198,000 years in the past. The
Doctor
then calls Rose and Adam over to see Suki and Cathica at work
-- and
Rose fails to notice the thoughtful expression on Adam’s face
as he
pockets her cellphone.
The Doctor
and his companions accompany Suki and Cathica to a media
suite,
where Suki joins a group of men and women around a circular
dais of
computer terminals with hand-pads, while Cathica lies on a
couch
beneath a glowing sphere set into the ceiling. Trying to
impress
the Doctor, whom she still believes to be management,
Cathica
makes a point of reminding her fellow journalists that they
must
gather the news honestly and without bias; she is irritated
when Suki
points out that this is not just company policy, but the
law. Once
everyone is in position, Cathica snaps her fingers, a
circular
port opens in her forehead, and a spike of energy surges
out of the
sphere into her brain. The other journalists press their
hands
against the panels, concentrating deeply. The Doctor explains
to Adam
and Rose that the journalists all have chips implanted in
their
heads; Suki and the others are collecting information, and
Cathica’s
brain is processing, collating and packaging the news
before
transmitting it to the Empire. If knowledge is power, then
these
could be the most powerful people in the entire Empire. But
while Adam
is impressed with the technology, the Doctor knows that
there’s
something wrong with it...
The Editor
has finally traced the security breach -- to Suki, who is
not what
she seems. The Editor orders his workers to intercept her
scan, and
soon determines that her official biography has been
tampered
with. An alien voice roars its displeasure at the Editor,
who
apologises desperately for their failure to detect her earlier
and orders
his minions to summon her to Floor 500 immediately. Down
on Floor
139, Suki has been cut out of the network, interrupting
Cathica’s
information flow -- and to Cathica’s shock, they are then
informed
that Suki has been promoted to Floor 500, even though she’s
relatively
new here and Cathica has been applying for a promotion
for three
years.
Later, as
Suki prepares to leave Floor 139 behind, Rose chats with
Adam, who
seems a bit overwhelmed by everything. Claiming that he
needs to
be alone for a while to let this all sink in, Adam tells
her that
he’s going to go sit on the observation deck for a while;
she offers
to come with him, but he tells her that he knows she’d
really
rather be with the Doctor. Rose gives him the TARDIS key in
case he
needs to get away from it all, and Adam leaves, a private
little
smile crossing his face. Meanwhile, the lift arrives to take
Suki to
Floor 500, and she bids Cathica a tearful goodbye before
departing.
Cathica, still bitter, is glad to see the back of her --
and the
Doctor is surprised when Cathica reveals that they’ll never
see Suki
again. Only those who are promoted get an access key to
Floor 500,
and nobody who’s gone up there has ever returned...
The lift
arrives at Floor 500, which is superficially similar to
Floor 139
-- except that unlike the overheated lower levels, it’s
actually
snowing, and frost has formed on the walls and floor. Suki
cautiously
explores her surroundings, and finds a media suite like
the one on
Floor 139 -- with shrivelled, skeletal corpses in the
seats. A
door opens up to reveal the Editor’s suite, and when Suki
enters,
the Editor reveals that he knows her true identity. She is
not really
Suki MacRae Cantrell, born in the year 199’89 in the
Independent Republic of Morocco; she is Eva Saint Julienne, a
self-proclaimed anarchist and the only surviving member of the
Freedom
Fifteen. “Suki” pulls a gun on the Editor, revealing that
the
Freedom Foundation has positive proof that Satellite 5 has been
manipulating the facts and distorting the news to control the
population
of the Empire. But the Editor reveals that he’s not the
man in
charge; there is someone above him, quite literally. The true
boss of
Satellite 5 descends on Suki as the terrified woman fires
her gun
repeatedly at it, to no effect...
On the
observation deck, Adam accesses a computer terminal and asks
it for a
history of the microprocessor from the 21st century to the
present
day. He then uses Rose’s cellphone to leave a message on his
parents’
answering machine, but he barely gets started before his
terminal
crashes with an error message directing him to Floor 16.
Floor 16
turns out to be the non-emergency medical centre, where
Adam
learns that in order to access the satellite’s computers, he’ll
need to
get a chip implanted in his head. He is hesitant at first,
but gives
in to temptation when he realises that the operation will
enable him
to connect to any terminal on Satellite 5. The nurse
assumes
him to be a hick student from the University of Mars, but
when she
discovers that he has unlimited credit through the bar the
Doctor
gave him, she upsells him on an infospike, like Cathica’s
head
portal. The ordinary headchip costs 100 credits and enables him
to
interface with the station’s terminals, but the full infospike
effectively turns his brain itself into a computer terminal,
allowing
him to download and transmit any information about the
history of
mankind from Satellite 5’s archives. According to the
nurse, the
surgery is quick and painless -- and Adam is unable to
resist
temptation.
Cathica’s
media centre has been shut down for maintenance, and the
Doctor
takes the opportunity to question her further about Satellite
5 and its
operations. She finally realises that he’s not from
management
at all, and, worried, she tells him to leave her out of
whatever
he’s doing; however, she doesn’t actually ask him what that
is, which
the Doctor points out is the exact opposite of the way a
journalist
should behave. He questions her about the absence of
aliens on
Satellite 5, and learns that the price of spacewarp has
increased,
immigration laws have been tightened up due to
unspecified threats, and the government on Chavic Five has collapsed
-- a
number of little, plausible reasons that Cathica has never
questioned, but which add up to mean that there are no aliens at the
hub of
Empire. Cathica doesn’t believe that this is a conspiracy,
but the
Doctor claims that the headchip and infospike technology
he’s seen
is about 90 years behind the times -- which means that
something
started to hold back humanity’s progress, and it happened
just after
Satellite 5 began broadcasting.
The Doctor
leads Rose back out into the canteen, where he finds a
quiet
corner and pulls open a wall panel, accessing the computer
mainframe.
Cathica protests, but doesn’t actually do anything to
stop them,
which is no more than the Doctor has come to expect; by
now, he’s
clearly given up on her. When Rose comments on the
stifling
heat, Cathica claims that she and the others have
complained
about it to no avail -- and again, the Doctor points out
that
nobody has ever bothered to investigate for themselves. Once he
gets into
the computer, he calls up a schematic of the satellite’s
plumbing
-- and Cathica is surprised to see that the air
conditioning systems are working at full power, and are channelling
massive
amounts of heat away from Floor 500, down into the rest of
the
satellite.
By now,
the Doctor’s meddling has been noticed on Floor 500 -- much
to the
Editor’s surprise, as the computer had spotted nothing amiss
about the
Doctor while monitoring his conversation with Suki and
Cathica.
The thundering alien voice orders the Editor to
investigate, and he sets his minions to work -- including Suki, who
is now
sitting before a terminal, as frozen and dead-eyed as all the
others.
The computer finally reports that the Doctor and Rose
apparently
don’t exist; there is no record of them anywhere in the
Empire.
Fascinated, the Editor orders his minions to summon them to
Floor 500.
Down on
Floor 139, the Doctor tries to get an access code for Floor
500 out of
the computer, and succeeds more quickly than he’d
expected.
He and Rose board the lift, but Cathica has had enough and
stays
behind; however, while she just wants to avoid trouble, she’s
clearly a
little upset by the Doctor’s lack of interest in what
happens to
her. The Doctor and Rose also assume that Adam has had
enough,
but they’re both happy not to have a third wheel along. The
lift
delivers them to Floor 500, where they find their way to the
Editor’s
suite; there, Rose sees Suki and tries to draw her
attention,
but to no avail. The Doctor realises that the workers
here are
dead, their headchips keeping their bodies just animated
enough to
do the Editors’ bidding. The Editor demands to know who
the Doctor
and Rose are and how they’ve managed to keep themselves
hidden
from the Empire, and when the Doctor refuses to tell them,
the
Editor’s frozen minions grab him and Rose, holding them in place
while the
Editor introduces them to his superior. Hanging from the
ceiling is
a monstrous, slug-like creature with a single, snapping
mouth full
of razor-sharp teeth; this is the Mighty Jagrafess of the
Holy
Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe (“Max”, for short) -- and it is the
true ruler
of the Fourth Great and Bountiful “Human” Empire.
Adam has
had a port installed in his forehead; it’s set on default
mode,
which means it opens with a snap of the fingers. Overwhelmed,
he tries
to throw up, and learns that he’s also had a vomit-o-matic
installed
as a special bonus offer; when he vomits, nanotermites in
his throat
lining freeze the waste into a neat and tidy frozen
chunk. Now
prepared to access the station computers, Adam returns to
Floor 139,
where Cathica, despite herself, has been thinking about
what the
Doctor told and showed her. Unable to let it go, she
returns to
the wall panel, gets the access code to Floor 500, and
takes the
lift up to see the truth for herself. This means that the
media
centre is unoccupied when Adam returns, and he takes his place
on the
central couch, calls home on Rose’s cellphone, and uses his
infospike
to beam information directly out of the Satellite 5
archives
and onto his parents’ answering machine.
Up on
Floor 500, the Doctor and Rose have been fitted with
electronic
manacles, and the Editor is explaining that the “news”
from
Satellite 5 has been carefully engineered to create a climate
of fear
within the Empire and manipulate the population without
their ever
being aware of it. The Editor works for a consortium of
banks who
are happy to let the Jagrafess secretly rule the Empire as
long as it
ensures long-term stability for their investments.
Whenever
somebody notices that something is wrong, the Editor senses
it through
their headchips, and brings them up to Floor 500 to
dispose of
them. As the Editor speaks, the Doctor notices Cathica
lurking in
the doorway, listening to everything he’s saying. The
Doctor
thus turns the topic to the air conditioning system, which he
now
realises is in fact a life support system for the Jagrafess; it
has a life
expectancy of 3,000 years, but a very fast metabolism
that
produces a great deal of heat, which is pumped out of its body
and down
into the lower floors.
The Editor
begins to torture the Doctor and Rose, sending bolts of
energy
through their manacles and demanding to know who they are,
where
they’re from and what they’re doing. Suddenly, however, he
knows
everything he needs to know about the Doctor, apparently
without
needing to be told. The Doctor is stunned and furious when
the Editor
reveals that Adam has connected himself to Satellite 5’s
archives
-- and in the Floor 139 media centre, Adam is convulsing as
information starts flowing out of his brain instead of into it. The
Editor now
knows the Doctor to be the last of the Time Lords -- and
through
Adam, he now has the key to the TARDIS. With access to
time-travel technology, the Jagrafess will have the ability to
rewrite
history and prevent the human race from ever having
developed
in the first place.
Cathica
realises that everything the Doctor told her was true; like
the rest
of humanity, she’s been bred to be a docile, stupid slave
who
doesn’t bother asking questions about the world around her. She
heads
straight to the Floor 500 media centre, pushes the corpses out
of the
way, sits on the central couch and activates her infospike.
Before the
Editor realises what’s happening, Cathica cuts Adam out
of the
network and sets the air conditioning system into reverse,
pumping
heat into Floor 500 instead of out. The entire station
starts to
quake; down on Floor 139, the dazed Adam stumbles out of
the media
centre to find himself in the midst of a panic-stricken
stampede
as the station shudders around its employees. The Editor is
completely
unprepared to deal with an employee capable of thinking
for
herself; he orders his minions to burn out their minds, but
Cathica
cuts them out of the network, and their bodies drop to the
floor, no
longer animated. Rose’s manacles snap open, and she uses
the sonic
screwdriver to free the Doctor as well. The Doctor and
Rose flee
as the Jagrafess’ body begins to overheat and swell up,
and the
Editor quickly tenders his resignation and tries to flee.
However,
Suki’s body suddenly reaches out and grabs him by the
ankle,
tripping him up and pinning him in the room as the Jagrafess
swells up
and explodes.
With the
death of the Jagrafess, the human race is free to progress
without
their knowledge and ambitions being curtailed. As Cathica
prepares
to deal with the aftermath, the Doctor prepares to deal
with Adam.
Adam desperately tries to defend his actions, but the
Doctor
forces him into the TARDIS and takes him straight back home.
There, he
gives Adam one chance to admit the truth, and when Adam
claims to
have no idea what he’s talking about, the Doctor destroys
his
parents’ answering machine with the sonic screwdriver,
destroying
the tape with the data from Satellite 5’s archive. Adam
could have
changed all of history for his own selfish gain, and the
Doctor
thus refuses to let him back into the TARDIS. What’s more,
he’s going
to leave the port in Adam’s head, even though it will
open every
time someone snaps their fingers in his vicinity; if Adam
wants to
avoid having his head cut open by curious scientists, he’ll
have to
lay low from now on, and he’ll never be able to do anything
important
with his life. Adam begs Rose to speak up for him, but
Rose
returns to the TARDIS without a word and departs with the
Doctor.
Adam’s mum arrives to find her disconsolate son standing in
the living
room, and is delighted to see him back after six months’
absence.
To her, it seems the time has gone by like a snap of the
fingers.
Unfortunately, she demonstrates...
Source:
Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the "Bad Wolf". In this
episode, one of the news channels Cathica shows the Doctor
is
"Bad Wolf TV." It is purported that the white noise
information sent by Adam to a phone in the twenty first
century is Morse code for "bad wolf, bad wolf." The
Geocomtex website has the same code on the SUPPORT section
of
their website .
During this episode, the official Doctor Who website had an
icon in the lower right-hand corner that (when hovered over)
showed the image of a wolf and (when clicked) the phrase
"badwolf, badwolf, badwolf…" appeared.
The Face of Boe appeared previously in The End of the World,
which was set five billion years in the future; he appears
again here, in a story set a mere 200,000 years in the
future. We have yet to learn whether he is a time-traveller,
a
different member of the same species, or extraordinarily
long-lived. The answer may or may not have something to do
with the fact that he is seen here on the “Bad Wolf”
channel, named for a phrase that has turned up in almost
every episode of the season to date. It reappears in < ahref
="who_tv12.htm">New Earth, set once again at the far end of
human history, where it's made fairly plain that he is, in
fact, incredibly long-lived.
The fast-food joint on Floor 139 is serving kronkburgers, a
“delicacy” from the DWM comic strip The Iron Legion.
The title has no explanation within the story. It's full
meaning does not become apparent until Bad Wolf, when the
Doctor realises that somebody (the Daleks, as it turns out)
has been playing a long game with human history, using
Satellite 5 as a front.
A
"Station 5" is mentioned in The Wheel in Space as the
intended destination of the Silver Carrier. Given that the
two stories are millenia apart, however, this may be
coincidence.
[Back to Main
Page]
Father’s Day
Father’s Day
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Paul Cornell
Directed by Joe Ahearne
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
Robert Barton (Registrar), Julia Joyce (Young Rose),
Christopher Llewellyn (Stuart), Frank Rozelaar-Green (Sonny),
Natalie Jones (Sarah), Eirlys Bellin
(Bev), Rhian James
(Suzie), Casey Dyer
(Young Mickey).
Rose
travels back to 1987, to witness the day her father died.
But
when she interferes in the course of events, the monstrous
Reapers are unleashed upon the world, and a wedding day turns
into
a massacre. Even the Doctor is powerless, as the human
race
is devoured.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Father’s Day
14th May, 2005 6h30pm
- 7h15pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #356.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 3
U.K. Release: August 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1757
Includes the episodes: The Long Game, Father's Day
and The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father’s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper’s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies’
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker’s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying Ghosts
– The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss’ scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC’s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series’
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
Rose’s
father, Peter Alan Tyler, was born on 15 September 1954 and
died on 7
November 1987, the day that Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clark
were
married. When Rose was a child, her mother used to tell her
stories
about her wonderful dad and how much he would have loved to
see her
grow up. And now that she’s travelling with the Doctor, she
has the
opportunity to see her father while he was still alive. The
Doctor
agrees to take her back in Time -- but warns her to be
careful
what she wishes for...
Father’s
Day
(drn:42'43")
Peter Alan
Tyler and Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Prentice are married
in a civil
ceremony, and, to Jackie’s irritation, Pete stumbles over
her full
name while speaking the vows. The Doctor and Rose sit
quietly in
the back through it all, but while Rose has now seen her
father
alive, this isn’t quite enough. Pete was struck down in the
street by
a hit-and-run driver who was never caught, and he was dead
by the
time the ambulance arrived; he died alone, and Rose wants to
change
that and be there for him. The Doctor thus takes her to
Jordan
Road, just outside the council flats, on 7 November 1987. To
Rose’s
distress, it’s a perfectly ordinary day, not grim and stormy
as she had
somehow expected. She and the Doctor stand on the street
and watch
Pete drive up and parks by the curb, but as he emerges
with the
vase he bought as a wedding present, a beige car takes the
corner far
too fast and strikes him down. The vase falls to the road
and
shatters, and the driver speeds off, leaving Pete dying on the
street --
but Rose freezes, unable to go to him. She rushes off in
the
opposite direction, and by the time she’s recovered, they can
hear the
ambulance sirens, which means that Pete is now dead and
Rose has
missed her chance.
Rose begs
the Doctor to let her try again, and despite himself, the
Doctor
agrees. However, he warns her that it’s very dangerous to
have two
sets of themselves in the same place and time, and that she
must wait
for her earlier self to run off before she goes to Pete.
Rose and
the Doctor wait around the corner, watching as their
earlier
selves watch Pete drive up to the curb -- but before the
Doctor
realises what she’s doing, Rose bolts forward and drags Pete
out of the
way just as the beige car turns the corner. The vase
falls to
the road, intact -- and the earlier Doctor and Rose vanish
in a puff
of light. As the grateful Pete recovers from the
near-miss,
Rose introduces herself, and Pete assumes that it’s a
coincidence that she shares his daughter’s name. Rose tells him that
she’s also
going to Stuart and Sarah’s wedding, and Pete offers her
and her
“boyfriend” a lift. As the Doctor glowers from the corner,
furious
beyond measure, alien eyes are watching from high above...
Pete
returns to his flat to change, and invites the Doctor and Rose
to wait
inside and help themselves to a drink from the fridge; in
passing,
he wonders whether there’s money to be made from creating a
cold
storage facility for students that they can store on the
windowsill. As he changes in the bedroom, Rose explores her familiar
flat,
seeing all of her father’s belongings out in the open instead
of stored
in the back of a cupboard: bowling trophies, the tonic
drinks he
sells for a living, the solar-power blueprints he’s been
working on
in his spare time. The Doctor challenges her, pointing
out that
she didn’t accept his offer to let her travel with him
until he
revealed that his ship was a time machine. Rose assures him
that
saving her father was an impulsive act, not a grand master plan
-- but the
Doctor isn’t assured. Once again, he’s trusted a stupid
ape who
tried to twist the Universe for their own benefit. He points
out that
he would have saved his own planet and family from
destruction if he could have. The fact that he and Rose had
overlapped
their earlier existence made that point of time and space
vulnerable, and Rose has no idea of the damage she’s caused by
saving the
life of a perfectly ordinary man.
Rose
refuses to accept this, and accuses the Doctor of being jealous
that she
now has a new man in her life. Furious, the Doctor demands
that she
return the TARDIS key, and storms out of the flat. She
knows, or
hopes, that he’s bluffing -- but as she calms down, she
starts to
realise that he may truly abandon her here. Pete has
overheard
some of the conversation, enough to know that they were
arguing,
and he tries to reassure Rose that this was just a tiff
that’ll
blow over. Rose insists that the Doctor isn’t her boyfriend,
and is
appalled when Pete tries to tell her that a beautiful girl
like her
shouldn’t have trouble finding another boyfriend. The
conversation is straying into deeply disturbing territory for her.
Pete is
taken aback by her reaction, but nevertheless takes her arm
as they
walk out of the flat; somehow, he feels as if he knows her
from
somewhere.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor storms back to the TARDIS, unaware that he’s
being
observed by alien eyes. Nearby, a woman is hanging washing on
the line,
a man is trimming the hedges in his garden, and a tramp is
drinking
in a nearby alley -- and the aliens descend upon them all.
At the
church, Stuart is waiting nervously for the ceremony to begin
and
wondering why half of the guests haven’t arrived. His father,
Sonny,
tries to convince him that he’s making a terrible mistake
that he’ll
regret for the rest of his life, but as he speaks, he and
Stuart
notice that it’s suddenly gotten cold. The Doctor also
notices
the temperature drop as he approaches the TARDIS, and starts
to sense
things moving about, just out of sight. When he opens the
TARDIS
doors, he discovers that the interior has gone; what was once
the TARDIS
is now the empty shell of a police box. Appalled, the
Doctor
rushes off to find Rose before it’s too late...
As Pete
drives Rose to the church, she learns a bit more about him
-- and is
disturbed to learn that he’s not a businessman as her
mother
always claimed, but just scrapes out a living at a series of
menial
jobs. It also occurs to her that her mother’s going to be at
the
wedding. Suddenly, the car radio begins to play a hip-hop song
Rose knows
hasn’t been released yet, and when she checks the
messages
on her cellphone (surprising Pete with its incredibly
compact
size) all she hears is a voice that says, “Watson, come
here. I
need you.” Pete then takes the turning for the church, and
neither he
nor Rose notice when the beige car that had been closing
in on them
from behind vanishes in a puff of light.
At the
church, Sonny is talking on a mobile phone, complaining about
the absent
guests and the fact that his son is marrying some girl he
knocked
up, when he too starts to receive the “Watson” message. The
bride then
arrives, accompanied by her friends Bev, Suzie -- and
Jackie
Tyler, who has brought her baby daughter Rose with her. Pete
and the
grown-up Rose also arrive, but the beige car suddenly
appears
out of nowhere, heading straight for them. Rose calls out a
warning to
her dad, who swerves out of the way just in time. By the
time he
and Rose get out of the car, the beige car has vanished, but
Pete
recognised it -- and he heard Rose calling him “Dad.” Before he
can
question her, however, Jackie storms up to him, demanding to
know why
he’s so late and why he’s brought a young girl with him.
She
accuses him of fooling around on her, and when he insists that
the last
time was just a misunderstanding, she lashes out, calling
him a
failure. Rose, practically in tears, begs them to stop
fighting,
and Jackie storms off, baby Rose wailing in her bassinet.
Pete hands
Rose his keys, telling her to straighten out the car, and
follows
Jackie to make amends, as the forlorn Rose realises that her
parents
did not have the loving, happy marriage she’d come to
expect.
A young
boy in a nearby playground finds his playmates disappearing
when his
back is turned -- and when the woman pushing him on the
swings
vanishes, the boy bolts for the church, screaming that
monsters
are coming to eat everybody. Rose then hears the Doctor
calling
out her name, and turns with a smug smile on her face...
until she
realises that he’s rushing down the street in a panic,
calling
out a warning, and looking not at her, but behind her. She
turns just
in time to see the demonic, dragon-like figure of a
Reaper
appear from thin air in a puff of light. The Reaper swoops
down on
Rose, but the Doctor pushes her out of the way just in time.
Suddenly
Reapers are coalescing from the air all around the church.
The Doctor
warns the others to get inside, but Sonny panics and
flees --
and a Reaper swoops down and devours him. Another Reaper
devours
the vicar, but the Doctor manages to get everyone else
inside the
church to safety and slams the doors, keeping the Reapers
out.
The Doctor
explains to the terrified guests that they’re safe for
the
moment; the church is an old building, and the older something
is, the
longer it will hold out against the attackers. Jackie
demands to
know what’s going on, but the Doctor fulfils a long-held
ambition
by ordering her to shut up and do as she’s told. Stuart
managed to
grab his dad’s mobile phone, but he can’t contact anyone
with it;
all he can hear is the “Watson” message, which the Doctor
identifies
as the very first phone call ever made, by Alexander
Graham
Bell. Time has been damaged, and these creatures are here to
sterilise
the wound by devouring the Earth. Rose, shaken, asks the
Doctor if
this is her fault, and the Doctor doesn’t answer her -- at
least, not
out loud. But Pete has overheard the question.
Outside,
Reapers claw at the walls of the church and devour
screaming
passers-by. Soon the streets are empty -- except for the
beige car
and its driver, who flash into existence near the church,
circle the
corner, and then vanish again. The Doctor has seen this
happening,
and Pete catches a glimpse of the car himself -- but the
Doctor
tells him not to worry about it. In any case, Pete has
something
else to think about, and he finds Rose sitting alone and
confronts
her. She said this situation was her fault, and the Doctor
called it
a wound in Time; Pete gave her his car keys without even
thinking
about it, even though they’d only just met; Rose called him
her dad,
and she’s got his eyes and Jackie’s attitude. Rose can’t
deny it
any longer, and Pete realises to his astonishment and
delight
that she’s his daughter, Rose, all grown up.
Stuart and
Sarah approach the Doctor, terrified, and ask if he can
save them.
The Doctor asks them about themselves, and they tell him
how they
met; Stuart gave Sarah a lift when she was stuck outside a
club with
no money for a taxi, and he asked her for a date and wrote
his phone
number on the back of her hand. Now they’re about to get
married,
and she’s having his child -- a boy or a girl, she doesn’t
know yet.
And now Stuart’s father has been killed by monsters and
they don’t
know if they’re going to survive. The Doctor assures them
that
they’re very important; he’s travelled to places and done
things
they can’t imagine, but he’s never had an ordinary life like
them, and
he’ll do everything in his power to save them all.
Pete is
astounded by what he’s learned, and he eagerly plies Rose
with
questions about the future. She tells him that not everyone in
the future
has time machines, only the Doctor -- but when Pete asks
her what
he’s like in the future, he realises she’s having trouble
answering
and changes the subject. Just as he asks her if she has a
boyfriend,
the young boy from the playground rushes in and hugs Rose
tightly --
and Rose realises that the boy is Mickey Smith, her
future
boyfriend. Jackie arrives to fetch Mickey, and before
leaving,
she has another go at Pete for gravitating to the nearest
young
blonde even as the world comes to an end. Rose stops Pete from
telling
Jackie the truth, pointing out that she’d never understand.
Jackie
has, rather ironically, asked the Doctor to look after baby
Rose. Rose
approaches him, but when she starts to touch the baby,
the
Reapers begin to shriek loudly outside, and the Doctor stops
her. If
two versions of the same person come into contact, it will
cause a
paradox, damaging Time further and giving the Reapers a way
to get
inside. The Doctor lashes out at Rose for her foolishness,
but calms
down and realises that she does understand just how big a
mistake
she’s made. He apologises and tells her that he wasn’t
really
going to abandon her -- but admits that he has no idea how
he’s going
to put things right. His people used to prevent things
like this
from happening, but they’re gone. By now, the entire Earth
will have
been sterilised, but for a few boltholes like this church,
and even
they will fall eventually.
Rose
offers a heartfelt apology, and the Doctor brushes her face --
in exactly
the same manner that her father did earlier -- and allows
her to hug
him. But as they hug, they realise that the TARDIS key in
the
Doctor’s pocket is burning hot, and the Doctor realises that
it’s still
in contact with the rest of his ship. Galvanised, he
addresses
the wedding guests, explaining that the interior of his
ship fell
through the wound in Time -- but with a power source, he
can use
the key to draw it back and use it to put everything right.
Stuart
offers the Doctor the battery from his dad’s mobile phone,
and the
Doctor recharges it with his sonic screwdriver. But as he
works, the
Reapers redouble their attempts to break into the church.
While
waiting for the Doctor to finish his work, Pete asks Rose why
she chose
to visit 1987 in the first place. She claims that she and
the Doctor
just happened to end up here, and that it was pure good
luck that
she spotted him in time to save his life. But Pete has
obviously
been thinking, and he now asks Rose what he was like as a
father.
Rose assures him that he was always there for her, reading
her
bedtime stories and taking her on picnics on the weekend, and
that he
never, ever once let her down. And now he knows she’s lying,
because
that’s not what he’s like at all.
The Doctor
holds the TARDIS key in mid-air, and his ship begins to
coalesce
into being around it. He warns the guests not to touch the
key until
the process is complete, and assures them that once he has
his ship
back, he can save them all. Privately, he tells Rose that
everyone
will forget what happened once Time has been sorted out,
but that
the changes she made will remain. However, Pete has been
listening,
and he understands what the Doctor means; he’s supposed
to be
dead, and everything that’s happened here is because he’s
alive when
he shouldn’t be. Rose tries to take the blame, but Pete
won’t let
her; he’s her father, and that means taking the blame is
his job.
Unfortunately, Jackie overhears him saying this and is
appalled,
especially when she realises that the girl he called his
daughter
is also named Rose. This can only mean that Pete became a
father
when he was 12 or 13, and that he gave Jackie’s daughter the
same name.
Frustrated, Pete tries to explain to his wife that the
baby and
Rose are the same person -- and before the Doctor can stop
him, he
takes the baby and hands it to Rose so Jackie can see for
herself.
The two
Roses come into contact, and a Reaper materialises in the
middle of
the church. The Doctor herds the screaming wedding guests
behind him
and steps forward, drawing the Reaper’s attention and
telling it
that he’s the oldest thing there. As Rose screams in
protest,
the Reaper swoops down and devours the Doctor. It then
circles
the church and hits the TARDIS, which vanishes, along with
the
Reaper, in a puff of light. Rose rushes forward and finds the
TARDIS key
lying on the floor, stone cold. Pete tries to comfort
her, but
there’s no doing so now, as she realises that the Doctor is
dead, the
world is about to end, and it’s all her fault. The light
from the
windows goes dim, as if the sun is fading away. It’s the
end, and
there’s nothing anyone can do -- or so it seems to most of
the
terrified guests. But as the church walls begin to crumble, Pete
returns to
the window where he and the Doctor saw the car, and this
time he
sees it materialise from thin air, circle the corner, and
vanish --
over and over again. And when he takes a closer look, he
sees the
driver raise his arm just before the car vanishes, as if
trying to
avoid something. Shaken, Pete realises what this means...
and what
he has to do.
Pete
returns to the nave of the church, where he tells Rose that the
Doctor was
trying to protect her -- but now the Doctor’s gone, and
it’s up
Pete to save the day. He calls Jackie forward and tells her
the truth
about Rose, and this time, Jackie really looks at Rose
properly
and sees her for who she is. Pete kisses Jackie goodbye,
telling
her to survive and be there for their daughter, as he now
knows he
never was. Tear-stricken, Rose tries to talk Pete out of
this, but
he assures her that she’s given him a gift -- extra hours
of life,
and a chance to see his daughter, all grown up and
beautiful.
Rose has no choice but to hand him the vase, his wedding
present,
and he thanks her, holds her tight... and then leaves the
church.
Outside, the Reapers are poised to descend on him -- but the
beige car
flashes into existence, and Pete runs straight out in
front of
it. The driver has no time to react. The vase falls to the
ground and
shatters, and the Reapers vanish in puffs of light.
Suddenly
it’s a bright, sunny day once again -- and the Doctor
emerges
from the church and tells Rose to go to her father. This
time, she
does. The confused wedding guests emerge from the church,
including
Sonny, and watch as Rose rushes to her father, kneels
beside him
and holds his hand as he dies.
Time is
back on course; only the story Jackie told her daughter has
changed.
The driver stayed by the scene of the accident; he was just
a kid, and
the accident wasn’t his fault, as Pete ran right out in
front of
the car for some reason. People say that a girl sat with
Pete as he
died, holding his hand, but nobody ever found out who
that girl
was. Back in 1987, the Doctor takes Rose’s hand, and they
return to
the TARDIS. Rose has finally met her father, the most
wonderful
man in the world.
Source:
Cameron Dixon (with continuity notes by Jeremy Remy)
Continuity Notes:
Since the BBC’s charter prohibits them from basing public
television episodes around merchandise such as books, it’s
important to remember that some of the following notes are
entirely fan speculation and by no means represent the intent
of
the production team.
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the “Bad Wolf”. In this
episode, the graffiti phrase “Bad Wolf” is visible on a rave
poster near the Doctor and Rose as they watch themselves at
the start of the episode.
The Doctor’s attitude towards changing history seems to
change frequently itself. In The Aztecs, the Doctor famously
tells Barbara that it’s impossible to change history, not
even one line; however, as soon as The Time Meddler, he
seems to regard this as not only a possibility, but a
danger. In the short story One Small Step, the Doctor
re-lives a moment in time to prevent himself from making a
mistake and ruining a young boy’s life, which is almost
exactly what he told Rose not to do here. The Doctor says in
this story that the Time Lords used to prevent disasters
such as this one from happening; however, since they were
wiped out in the Time War, as revealed in The End of the
World, meddling with History is presumably much, much more
dangerous now.
The Blinovitch Limitation Effect, mentioned in Day of the
Daleks and further developed in Mawdryn Undead, states that
crossing one’s own time stream can cause the temporal
differential to short out, with unfortunate consequences.
That doesn’t seem to happen when the two Roses touch, but
the Reaper that appeared inside the church presumably fed on
the energy release.
The Reapers, which are never named on screen, seem to play a
role similar to the Chronovores introduced in The Time
Monster; it was revealed in the novel The Quantum Archangel
that the Chronovores consumed alternative timelines,
effectively “tidying up” the Universe. The Reapers may be
Chronovores by another name, as the Chronovores have
multiple aspects; alternatively, the Chronovores may have
been wiped out, either by the Council of Eight from Sometime
Never or, more likely, by the Time War described in Dalek,
and the Reapers subsequently evolved into the empty
ecological niche.
Rose mentions this adventure to Jackie in The Parting of the
Ways, although she doesn't mention the Reapers and her
changing history; whether because she doesn't want the
explanation to be too complex, or because she simply doesn't
remember the Reapers after history has been reset, is
unknown at this time.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances
The Empty Child
/ The Doctor Dances
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by James Hawes
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Kate
Harvey (Nightclub Singer), Albert Valentine (The Child)
Florence Hoath (Nancy), Cheryl Fergison (Mrs Lloyd) Damian
Samuels (Mr Lloyd), John Barrowman (Jack Harkness), Robert
Hands (Algy), Joseph Tremain (Jim), Jordan Murphy (Ernie),
Brandon Miller (Alf), Richard Wilson (Dr Constantine) Noah
Johnson (Voice of the Empty Child), Dian Perry (Computer
Voice).
London, 1941, at the height of the Blitz. A mysterious
cylinder is being guarded by the army, while homeless
children, living on the bombsites, are being terrorised by an
unearthly child.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Empty Child
21st May, 2005 6h30pm
- 7h15pm
The Doctor Dances
28th May, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #356.
Episodes released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 3
U.K. Release: August 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1757
Includes the episodes: The Long Game, Father's Day
and The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
A mauve
cylinder hurtles through space and Time with the TARDIS in
hot
pursuit (literally -- the Doctor burns his hand on the
overheating console). According to the Doctor, mauve is the
universally recognised code for danger; humans use red, but the rest
of the
Universe thinks that s camp. The Doctor has hacked into the
cylinder s
flight computer and is following it, but the cylinder is
jumping
time tracks, making it difficult to lock onto. Whatever it
is, it s
dangerous and it s 30 seconds away from crashing down in
the centre
of London...
The Empty
Child
(drn:41'45")
The TARDIS
materialises in an alleyway, and the Doctor and Rose
emerge,
unaware that they re being observed. The Doctor warns Rose
that since
the cylinder was jumping time tracks so erratically, it
probably
arrived three or four weeks earlier. Rose assumes that the
Doctor is
going to scan the city for signs of alien technology, and
is
disappointed when he points out that all he needs to do is find
someone,
use his psychic paper to pose as a representative of the
Ministry
of Asteroids, and ask whether anything fell out of the sky
in the
middle of London. Hearing music and the sounds of a crowd
behind a
nearby door, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to break
in;
however, as he enters, Rose hears the sound of a child calling
out for
its mummy, and turns to see a young boy in a gas mask
standing
on a nearby rooftop.
The Doctor
finds himself in a smoky jazz lounge, where a singer is
crooning
It Had to be You. Following the song, the Doctor joins in
the
applause, and then takes the stage and asks the audience if
anything
has fallen from the sky recently. The audience bursts out
laughing,
and as the Doctor tries to understand their reaction,
air-raid
sirens begin to wail and the audience promptly evacuates to
the
shelters. The Doctor finally notices a war poster on the wall,
and
realises why his question caused such hilarity -- he s landed in
the middle
of the Blitz. Outside, Rose climbs a fire escape to the
roof, but
is unable to get up to the child until a rope drops down
to her.
Unsure where the rope came from, Rose nevertheless starts to
climb --
and discovers, too late, that it s attached to a barrage
balloon
that has come free of its moorings. The balloon drifts away
from the
building, leaving Rose dangling precariously in mid-air,
desperately clutching onto the rope as German planes hurtle through
the air
around her. Suddenly, wearing a great big Union Jack like a
bull s-eye
on her T-shirt doesn t seem like such a good idea.
The Doctor
rushes out of the club only to find that Rose has
vanished.
As he complains to a nearby cat that his companions are
always
wandering off against orders, the phone in the TARDIS
exterior
cubby-hole starts to ring. This should be impossible, since
it s not a
real phone. A teenage girl arrives in the alley and warns
the Doctor
not to answer the phone, but she vanishes while his back
is turned,
before he can find out what she knows. He answers the
phone
anyway, and hears a child s voice, calling for its mummy. The
signal
then cuts off. Puzzled, the Doctor follows the sound of
clattering
to a nearby home, where he sees the Lloyd family
evacuating
to the air-raid shelter in their garden -- much to the
irritation
of Arthur Lloyd, who s frustrated that the Germans always
interrupt
his dinner. As soon as the family is inside the shelter,
the girl
from the alley pops out of hiding and enters their house,
where she
begins stealing all the food she can fit into a small
sack.
Elsewhere,
Rose s plight is being observed from a nearby officers
club by
Captain Jack Harkness, who is apparently an American flight
officer --
but who s using a pair of binoculars far too advanced to
be from
the 1940s. As the other officers prepare to evacuate the
club and
Jack s fellow officer, Algy, departs for a rather odd stint
of guard
duty, Jack sets off to rescue Rose. Not too long
afterwards, Rose finally loses her grip on the rope and falls,
screaming
-- but one of the searchlights sweeping across London
transforms
into a tractor beam and catches her. The computer aboard
Jack s
ship detects Rose s cellphone, which indicates that she is
not native
to this era, and Jack contacts the shaken Rose, telling
her to
switch off the cellphone so it won t interfere with his
instrumentation. Once she does so, he uses the tractor beam to lower
her into
his ship. The descent has made her giddy, and her close
proximity
to the attractive Jack doesn t help; in any case, she
faints.
The Lloyd
family has abandoned their dinner on the dining room
table, and
the teenage girl calls in a crowd of homeless children to
take
advantage of the windfall. She carves the turkey for them,
presiding
over the gathering like a mother and chastising young
Ernie when
he comments that the family must have purchased this food
on the
black market. The Doctor then arrives and causes a brief
panic when
he takes a seat with the children, but the girl calms
them down,
realising that the Doctor isn t supposed to be here
either.
The Doctor learns that these children had been evacuated
from
London but returned because they couldn t live with the people
they d
been billeted with; the teenage girl, Nancy, has been keeping
an eye out
for them, and whenever a family abandons their dinner
during an
air raid, she calls in the children to feast. It s
dangerous
to be out under these circumstances, but the Doctor is
impressed
with her audacity.
Nancy
demands to know why the Doctor has followed her here, and the
Doctor in
turn questions her about the mysterious telephone call. He
also draws
a sketch of the mauve cylinder and asks the children if
they ve
seen it. Nancy seems to react oddly to the drawing, but
before the
Doctor notices this, a young child begins knocking at the
window,
calling out for its mummy. The Doctor draws the curtain
aside to
reveal the same boy that Rose saw earlier, still wearing
his gas
mask. For some reason, Nancy seems terrified of the child,
and she
bolts the front door and orders the other children to flee
out
through the house s back exit. The Doctor tries to understand
what s got
Nancy so frightened, but all she will tell him is that he
mustn t
let the child touch him. This isn t an ordinary child; he s
empty .
The telephone rings, and the Doctor answers it and hears
the boy on
the other line. Nancy slams the receiver back down, but
then the
boy s voice starts to come out of the radio and a nearby
clapping-monkey toy. Nancy flees, but the Doctor remains to speak to
the boy,
who is reaching through the mail slot, revealing a deep
scar on
the back of his hand. The Doctor tells the boy that his
mummy isn
t here, and when he opens up the door to let the boy in,
he finds
that the street is empty.
Rose
awakens aboard Jack s ship, and the dashing young man hands her
a paper
that apparently identifies him as an American volunteer in
the Royal
Air Force s 133 Squadron. However, she recognises it as
the same
kind of psychic paper that the Doctor uses -- and when she
returns it
to Jack, he finds out that she considers herself
available
even though she s got a sort-of boyfriend. Seeing that
Rose is
injured, Jack heals the rope burns on her hands with a cloud
of
nanogenes, tiny medical devices that swarm over her skin and
instantly
fix the damage. He then lowers a ramp and invites her up
onto
the balcony to discuss business over champagne. Rose
follows
him out
onto the hull of his ship to discover that it s invisible --
and is
tethered to Big Ben. Jack flirts confidently with Rose as
they drink
champagne, and though she points out that these aren t
the best
circumstances to be hitting on her, she seems disappointed
when he
stops. He thus puts on Glenn Miller s Moonlight Serenade and
dances
with her while explaining that a fully armed Chula warship,
the last
of its kind, has crashed somewhere in London. He knows
where it
is, and is willing to sell that information to Rose, whom
he
believes to be a Time Agent like he was before he went freelance.
However,
there s a deadline, because the ship will be destroyed by a
German
bomb within two hours. Rose, quite captivated by the charming
young man,
nevertheless tells him that he should be discussing terms
with her
companion. She is pleased when Jack decides to track down
the Doctor
by scanning the city for alien tech.
The Doctor
follows Nancy to her shelter in an abandoned railway
engine,
and demands to know why she s frightened by the child in the
gas mask.
He suspects that this mystery is related to the crash of
the mauve
cylinder, and Nancy finally admits that the cylinder fell
on the
other side of Limehouse Green station and is now being
guarded by
the military. To his surprise, she also tells him that if
he wants
to find out what s going on, he ll have to speak to the
doctor. The Doctor sets off to
check out the crash site, but as
Nancy had
told him, the cylinder is under a tarpaulin, behind a
fence,
guarded by soldiers. Nancy again advises him to speak to the
doctor in
the nearby hospital. As she sets off to collect more food
from the
Lloyds house, the Doctor asks her one
last question.
Perhaps
from personal experience, he s deduced that she s mothering
the other
children because she s lost someone close to her and is
trying to
make up for it. She admits that her little brother Jamie
was caught
in an air raid, the night the cylinder fell, when he
followed
her out looking for food. The Doctor sympathises for
Nancy s
loss, but admits that he s impressed by her strength, the
same
stalwart spirit that enabled the British to make a stand
against
Hitler and stop the German advance in its tracks. He and
Nancy go
their separate ways... unaware that the empty child is here
and is
following Nancy.
The front
gates of the hospital are padlocked, but the Doctor breaks
in with
his sonic screwdriver. This is Albion Hospital, which the
Doctor has
visited before, and as the Doctor explores, he finds each
ward full
of lifeless bodies, one to a bed, all wearing gas masks.
He then
meets the one living inhabitant of the hospital, the elderly
Dr
Constantine; this is the doctor to whom Nancy was referring.
Constantine claims that the hospital is full of bodies, and that the
bomb is
responsible for all of this -- yet none of the patients were
caught in
the blast, and according to Constantine, they aren t
really
wearing gas masks. He invites the Doctor to examine the
bodies,
but warns him not to touch the patients
flesh. The Doctor
scans the
bodies with his sonic screwdriver, and discovers that each
one has
identical injuries: head trauma, partial collapse of the
chest
cavity and a scar on the back of the hand. Also, the gas masks
appear to
be fused to the flesh, yet with no sign of burning.
Constantine -- who also has a scar on the back of his hand --
reveals
that the bomb only took one life, but every doctor and nurse
who
touched the patient acquired the same injuries. Within a week,
the
symptoms had spread throughout the entire hospital, as if the
physical
damage to the bodies was some sort of plague.
The bodies
have no heartbeat, and show no signs of life -- but when
Constantine kicks aside a trash can with his cane, his patients
react to
the noise, sitting up as if in alarm. Constantine, who lost
his entire
family in the war, remained to care for his patients, but
he has no
idea what to do for them, and he suspects that the British
intend to
blow up the building and blame it on the Germans. It s too
late,
however, as he s heard that isolated cases of the same
plague are breaking out all over
London. He tells the Doctor to
visit room
802, where they took the first patient, and to try to
convince
Nancy to tell him what else she knows; what s happening
here is
somehow related to her brother. But before he can tell the
Doctor
anything more, he begins to choke, and calls out for his
mummy --
and as the Doctor watches, appalled, a gas mask seems to
grow right
out of Constantine s face.
As
Constantine slumps lifeless in his chair, the Doctor hears Jack
and Rose
calling out to him. Rose introduces Jack to the Doctor, who
is rather
put out to learn that Rose, embarrassed not to know his
name,
introduced him to Jack as Mister
Spock. Rose also explains
that Jack
wants to sell them a Chula warship, and that they ve got
less than
two hours before a German bomb destroys it. However,
Jack s
confident facade crumbles when the Doctor shows him the
bizarre
bodies in the ward. Jack insists that he has nothing to do
with this,
but when the Doctor reveals that this all started around
the crash
site and demands to know about the warship, Jack caves in
and admits
that it s just the empty shell of an ambulance. When Jack
spotted
the TARDIS, he assumed that its occupants were Time Agents,
and he
threw a random piece of space flotsam towards them, intending
to trick
them into thinking it was valuable, fleece them and be on
his way
before they realised they d bought a piece of junk. But if
the
cylinder really was empty, then what s rewriting the DNA of the
gas-masked
patients? And why?
Nancy
returns to the Lloyds house, but moments
after she enters the
dining
room, the radio switches itself on and the empty child speaks
through
it, begging his mummy to let him in. Terrified, Nancy hides
under the
table as the child enters the house, looking for his
mummy.
Nancy tries to flee when the child s back is turned, but the
child
simply points his finger at the door, which slams shut and
locks
itself. The child then advances on the terrified Nancy, who
knows
exactly who this child is: it s her brother, Jamie, and he s
supposed
to be dead. As Jamie advances on her, the patients in the
ward at
Albion Hospital all sit bolt upright and get out of bed,
calling
for mummy. The Doctor warns Rose and Jack not to let the
patients
touch them, but the zombies surround them, backing them up
against a
wall...
The Doctor
Dances
(drn:42'45")
The Doctor
steps forward and addresses the gas-masked zombies like a
cross
parent speaking to a disobedient child. To his relief, when he
orders
them to return to their room at once, they bow their heads
sadly and
return to their beds. Once the immediate crisis passes,
Jack
regains some of his swagger, and insists again that whatever is
happening
here isn t his fault. He s played this type of confidence
trick
before: throw a piece of harmless space junk past a Time
Agent,
claim that it s an important artefact and get a down payment
on it, and
then let a German bomb destroy the vessel before the mark
realises
that it s actually worthless. The London Blitz is perfect
for that
sort of con, as is the destruction of Pompeii. He insists
that the
vessel was an empty medical transporter and that he even
programmed
the flight computer to make sure it didn t harm anyone
when it
landed. But the Doctor remains convinced that there s a
connection
between the ambulance and whatever s happening in this
hospital.
Jamie, the
empty child, has also been affected by the Doctor s
demand,
and has sadly retreated from the Lloyds
house, leaving the
shaken
Nancy behind. Overcome with emotion, she remains huddled on
the floor
of the dining room until the all-clear sounds, and by the
time she
pulls herself together, the Lloyds are on their way back
into their
house. They soon realise that Nancy has been looting
their
house, and Arthur holds her in the living room while waiting
for the
police to arrive. But Nancy has been scouting out this house
for some
time, and she knows Arthur s secret. His neighbours think
he has
more food than them because his wife s been carrying on with
Mr
Haverstock, the butcher... but actually, it s Arthur who s been
doing so.
Nancy demands a torch, a pair of wire cutters, and more
food from
the pantry, and Arthur caves.
The Doctor
takes Rose and Jack to room 802 and asks Jack to blast
open the
door; he could use his sonic screwdriver, but he wants a
closer
look at Jack s gun. He recognises it as a sonic blaster with
a digital
blast pattern, originating from the 51st-century weapons
factories
of Villengard. Jack is surprised to learn that the Doctor
is
responsible for blowing up the weapons factories; now they ve
been
replaced with banana groves. The Doctor, Rose and Jack enter
room 802
to find that it s an isolated ward; the window has been
smashed
open, as if something very powerful and angry escaped, and
yet the
room contains a child s toys and drawings. The Doctor plays
a tape of
Dr Constantine s interview with his patient; all the boy
can speak
of is his mummy, and he doesn t seem to understand where
she s
gone. The Doctor tells Rose and Jack about the children he met
earlier;
one of them must have been affected by whatever was in the
empty medical ship. The boy is
frightened, angry, and more
powerful
than he realises -- and they can still hear his voice, even
though the
tape ran out 30 seconds ago. Too late, the Doctor
realises
that the child has done exactly what he told it to do; he s
gone back
to his room, this room, and he s standing between them and
the exit.
Jack
points his gun at the child, only to discover that he s now
holding a
banana and that the Doctor has the gun. The Doctor
disintegrates a hole in the wall, and as soon as he, Rose and Jack
have leapt
through, Jack grabs back his gun and reintegrates the
wall. The
child impossibly punches his way through, and the
gas-masked
zombies then pour into the corridor from all directions,
blocking
the others escape. Effectively, every
living being in this
hospital
is now the same entity, and they re holding the Doctor,
Rose and
Jack here until the child can get to them. Rose uses Jack s
gun to
disintegrate a hole in the floor, which Jack then
reintegrates once they ve fallen through -- but they ve fallen into
a ward
full of gas-masked patients, and now the battery in Jack s
sonic
disruptor has run out of power. The Doctor, Rose and Jack flee
from the
ward and take shelter in an empty office; it will take some
time for
the child to find them again, but there s no way out
without
being caught. Or so it seems until the Doctor and Rose
notice
that Jack has vanished into thin air.
Nancy
finds the other children hiding in an abandoned house, and is
upset with
them for returning to the same place when she s told them
to keep
moving. Ernie apologises, but explains that they needed to
hide where
Nancy could find them. However, Nancy tells him that it s
time for
him to start thinking about what might happen if she fails
to return.
Ernie notices that she s carrying wire cutters, and she
admits
that she s going back to the bomb site where the empty child
was
killed. The other children are terrified that he ll kill her and
then come
for them, but she tells them that there are things they
don t
know, and insists that the child is only after her, not them.
Even as
she speaks, the typewriter that young Jim was using to write
a letter
to his dad starts to type by itself, in block capitals:
ARE YOU
MY MUMMY? Nancy leaves, telling the
children to take care
of
themselves, eat their greens and chew their food.
Jack has
used his emergency teleport to return to his ship, but it s
going to
take some time for him to bypass its security codes and
rescue
Rose and the Doctor as well. He contacts them by using his
om-com,
which allows him to speak through anything with a speaker
grille --
just like the child, who speaks to them through the same
radio,
telling them that he s coming to find them. Jack blocks the
signal
with Moonlight Serenade and gets back to work. The Doctor
tries
using his sonic screwdriver on the concrete walls to shake the
bars free
of the window, but Rose is confident that Jack will come
to their
rescue. She claims that Jack is a lot like the Doctor,
except
that he knows how to dance. The Doctor is put out by Rose s
assumption
that he never dances, and Rose, amused, turns up the
volume on
the radio and invites him to show her his moves. He takes
her hand,
but is distracted when he sees that her hands show no sign
of injury
even though she was hanging from a barrage balloon
thousands
of feet above London. Rose explains that Captain Jack
healed her
wounds, and notes that the Doctor actually seems a little
jealous.
The Doctor
and Rose begin to dance awkwardly, only to find that
they re
aboard Jack s ship. Jack is amused to see that they re so
wrapped up
in what they were doing that they failed to notice when
he
teleported them aboard. The Doctor notes that it took Jack a long
time to
bypass what are supposedly his own security protocols, and
Jack
admits that this ship wasn t originally his. The Doctor
identifies
it as a Chula ship, just like the medical transport that
Jack was
trying to sell to him, and when he snaps his fingers, the
cloud of
nanogenes that healed Rose s hands now fixes the burn he
got from
the overheating TARDIS console. The nanogenes only activate
when the
ship s bulkheads are closed, automatically checking out the
passengers
and fixing any damage to their bodies. Disturbed, the
Doctor
orders Jack to get the ship s nav-com back online and take
them to
the crash site. Jack realises that the Doctor doesn t trust
him, but
admits to Rose that the Doctor might have good reason; the
Time
Agency took two years of Jack s memories away from him while he
was still
an Agent himself, and he has no idea what he did in that
missing
time.
Nancy
easily breaks into the bomb site, but is caught by soldiers as
she tries
to examine the bomb under the tarpaulin. Algy, Jack s
friend
from the officers club, takes Nancy into
a nearby shed,
handcuffs
her to the bench, and assigns a soldier named Jenkins to
keep an
eye on her while the other soldiers scout out the perimeter
to
determine whether she was alone. Nancy sees that Jenkins is ill
and has a
scar on the back of his hand, but despite her terrified
pleas,
Algy leaves her locked up in the shed with Jenkins. Nancy
begs
Jenkins to release her before it s too late, but it already is;
Jenkins
forgets even his own name, and begins to choke as something
forces its
way up through his throat...
The
Doctor, Rose and Jack arrive at the crash site, and Rose offers
to
distract the guard on duty; however, Jack recognises him as Algy,
and tells
Rose that she isn t exactly his type. Rose is a little
shocked
when Jack sets off to distract Algy himself, and the
Doctor
explains that the people of the 51st century are a bit more
flexible
when it comes to... dancing. However, when Jack greets
Algy, the
disoriented Algy asks if Jack is his mummy, and then falls
to his
knees as his face transforms into a gas mask. The Doctor and
Rose rush
forward to stop the stunned Jack and the other soldiers
from
touching Algy, but the Doctor now knows that it would make
little
difference; the infection has gone airborne, and it could
strike at
any time. There could be only hours before the entire
human race
is affected.
Sirens
begin sounding, marking the start of another bombing run --
the one
during which the warship is due to be destroyed. However,
the Doctor
hears singing from the nearby shed, and investigates to
find the
terrified Nancy singing a lullaby to the gas-masked
Jenkins.
The Doctor frees her and takes her to the cylinder, which
Rose
explains to the astonished Nancy is an ambulance from another
planet.
The soldiers have been trying to open it up, assuming it to
be a Nazi
secret weapon, but only Jack knows the entry code.
However,
when he punches it in, an alarm begins to sound; since the
cylinder
crashed, its emergency protocols have been activated. And
in Albion
Hospital, the gas-masked zombies rise from their beds and
march
towards the crash site...
The Doctor
orders Jack to secure the gates and gives Rose his sonic
screwdriver, telling her to use setting 2428-D to reattach the
barbed
wire that Nancy cut through. Nancy, still trying to
understand
what s happening, scoffs when Rose claims to be a time
traveller
from London s future -- not because of the time-travel
claim, but
because she can t believe her city has a future. Rose
assures
Nancy that, impossible as it may seem in the middle of the
Blitz, the
British will in fact win this war. She and Nancy then
return to
the cylinder just as Jack manages to get it open,
revealing
that it s empty, just like he claimed. Except that the
Doctor
points out that Chula medical technology involves nanogenes,
just like
the ones in Jack s stolen ship. The horrified Jack finally
realises
that the cylinder wasn t empty after all; its contents were
just too
small for him to see. When the cylinder crashed, the
nanogenes
got out, and tried to fulfil their programming by healing
the
injured. But they d never encountered human beings before, and
the first
human being they found was the dead Jamie. It was easy
enough for
them to restore him to life, but they didn t know what a
human
being was supposed to look like; thus, they assumed that his
internal
injuries were normal physiognomy and that the gas mask was
a natural
part of his face. Now they re trying to fix everyone who
doesn t
match their template of what a human being is supposed to
look like
-- and nothing will stop them until they ve transformed
the entire
human race into gas-masked zombies looking for the
child s
mother.
Nancy is
the first to see the zombies advancing on the crash site,
and the
Doctor explains that the cylinder is calling them here to
protect
itself, believing that it s under attack. This is a military
ambulance,
and the nanogenes don t just heal people, they get them
ready to
fight on the front lines again. This is why Jamie now has
superhuman
strength and can speak through radios and telephone
lines; he
may just be a frightened little boy, but he s a fully
equipped
Chula warrior, ready -- and able -- to tear apart the world
in order
to find his mother. The others are trapped in the crash
site by
Jamie s army of zombies, and any second now, a bomb is due
to drop
and obliterate the cylinder. And since Jack reactivated his
ship s
nav-com to get here, the security protocols are active again,
and he won
t have time to bypass them -- which means he can only
transport
himself to safety. The Doctor tells him to do what he has
to, and
despite Rose s protests, Jack teleports away, leaving the
others
behind.
Nancy has
broken out in tears, insisting that this is all her fault,
but as the
Doctor tries to console her, he realises what she means.
Nancy is
older than she looks, old enough to have given birth four
years ago.
And since the 1940s aren t a very welcoming era for a
teenage
single mother, she lied to everyone, including Jamie, about
their
relationship. Jamie now pushes open the gates, snapping the
padlock
without effort, and calling out for his mummy. The Doctor
warns
Nancy that he ll never stop looking, and tells her to go to
her son
and tell him the truth. Tear-stricken, Nancy does so,
telling
Jamie that she s his mummy and always will be. As she holds
him in a
sorrowful hug, a cloud of glowing nanogenes surrounds them
both, but
the Doctor stops Rose from interfering; the nanogenes are
analysing
Nancy s DNA and learning from their mistakes. The cloud
vanishes,
and the Doctor rushes forward... and removes Jamie s
gas-mask,
revealing that he s now perfectly healthy. Nancy is
Jamie s
mother, and thus she shares the same DNA -- and the
nanogenes
recognised the superior information. Nancy effectively
reprogrammed them to understand what healthy human beings are
supposed
to be like.
The German
bomb then drops on the crash site, but at the last
moment,
Jack s ship swoops in and catches the bomb in its tractor
beam, just
as the Doctor had predicted. The bomb is about to
detonate,
but Jack is holding the bomb in stasis; however, the
Doctor
tells him that it s not necessary any more and asks him to
dispose of
it safely. Jack departs, complimenting Rose on her
T-shirt
and bidding her goodbye. The Doctor then draws the nanogenes
towards
himself, ensures that they ve all got the
software
upgrade, and flings them towards
the crowd of zombies -- and within
seconds,
they re all perfectly healthy, if somewhat confused, human
beings.
The Doctor is ecstatic; just this once, everyone lives. He
helps the
confused Dr Constantine to his feet and advises him to
take
credit for helping his patients; however, Constantine is rather
taken
aback when he s confronted by the elderly Mrs Harcourt, whose
missing
leg has grown back.
The Doctor
sends the confused soldiers and patients to safety and
programmes
the cylinder to self-destruct, ensuring that there is an
explosion
at the crash site just as history dictates. The nanogenes
will clean
up the mess they made and then switch themselves off, and
Dr
Constantine will help Nancy and Jamie. All is resolved... except
for the
fact that Captain Jack is hurtling through space with an
active
bomb in his ship. The stasis field is decaying, any attempt
to
jettison the bomb will cause it to explode, and there are no
escape
pods on board; in short, Jack is doomed to die in two
minutes.
Jack, resigned, orders his ship s computer to initiate
emergency
protocol 417 -- his last drink, a martini with, as it
turns out,
too much vermouth. As he drinks his martini and
reminisces
about the last time he was sentenced to death, the sounds
of Glenn
Miller drift through his ship... from the open door of the
TARDIS,
which has materialised on board. The Doctor and Rose invite
Jack
inside and advise him to close the door before his ship
explodes.
Jack does so, and watches, amused, as the Doctor sets the
TARDIS in
flight and dances with Rose in front of the TARDIS
console.
Source:
Cameron Dixon (with continuity notes by Jeremy Remy)
Continuity Notes:
Who s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the
Bad Wolf .
In
The Empty Child, Nancy comments on the size of the
Doctor s ears and nose (a la the
what a big nose you
have... and what big ears you have...
of Little Red Riding
Hood). When the Doctor is asked by one of the empty children
if
he is its mommy he replies stating its mommy isn't there,
that there isn't anyone there but "us chickens well one
chicken anyway." This is a reference to the Alex Kramer and
Joan Whitney song "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens" that
tells a tale of Farmer Brown being fooled by some wolves in
his henhouse. Captain Jack says the Doctor looks like a
U-boat captain. Fleets of U-boats
during this time period
were commonly nick-named wolf
packs.
In
The Doctor Dances, the bomb ridden by Captain Jack, in
the style of Doctor Strangelove, is labeled Schlechter
Wolf. Schlechter is German for
bad. While obscured in
the episode itself, this was verified during the episode on
the Who is Doctor Who website, which contained a clear image
of
the Schlecter Wolf bomb in the Hitler's Last Secret
issue, as did the UNIT website under the Press Briefing WWII
Bomb Warning, and on the official Doctor Who website under
the The Doctor Dances gallery, listed as Rocket Man. During
this episode, Doctor Who Magazine #357, promoting the final
episodes of the series, had the cover title Who s Afraid...
of
the BAD WOLF?
Other adventures set in or around World War Two include
Players, The Shadow in the Glass, Special Weapons, The Curse
of
Fenric, Illegal Alien, Colditz, Timewyrm: Exodus, Just
War, Autumn Mist, and The Turing Test. Readers may also wish
to
check out the Faction Paradox novel Warlords of Utopia.
When talking with Constantine, the Doctor seems to
sympathise with him when he says that 'before the war, I was
a
father and a grandfather. Now I'm neither, but I am still
a
doctor'. The Eighth Doctor witnessed his adopted daughter
Miranda die in Sometime Never, but the grandfather comment
does seem to suggest that Susan, who the Doctor last saw in
Legacy of the Daleks, didn't survive the Time War (See
Dalek).
The Doctor says that he knows how it feels to be the only
child left out in the cold. As revealed in flashbacks in
Divided Loyalties and Lungbarrow, the Doctor was always a
bit of an odd character out at school, and never really took
his work seriously.
When Jack mentions the destruction of Pompeii, the Doctor is
appalled at his frivilousness about such a horrific event in
history; this is probably linked to The Fires of Vulcan,
where the Seventh Doctor was convinced that he would lose
his TARDIS in the volcanic eruption and be trapped on Earth
forever.
The 51st century Time Agents mentioned here are most likely
the same 51st century Time Agents mentioned in The Talons of
Weng-Chiang.
[Back to Main
Page]
Boom Town
Boom Town
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Joe Ahearne
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
William Thomas (Mr Cleaver), Annette Badland (Margaret), John
Barrowman (Captain Jack), Noel Clarke (Mickey), Mali Harries
(Cathy), Aled Pedrick (Idris Hopper), Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen).
The
TARDIS crew take a holiday, but the Doctor encounters an
enemy he thought long since dead. A plan to build a nuclear
power station in Cardiff City disguises an alien plot to rip
the
world apart. And when the Doctor dines with monsters, he
discovers traps within traps.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Boom Town
June 4th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #357.
Episode released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 4
U.K. Release: September 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1758
Includes the episodes: Boom Town and Bad Wolf / The
Parting of the Ways.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
Some time
ago, the alien Slitheen family infiltrated the British
government
and tried to trick humanity into destroying the Earth,
but the
Doctor defeated them by giving Mickey Smith the codes to
hack into
the Royal Navy s computers, launch a missile and destroy
10 Downing
Street. The Slitheen were all killed in the explosion --
or so it
seemed at the time. But the Slitheen who had disguised
herself as
Margaret Blaine of MI5 survived, and, six months later,
she is
Cardiff s new Lord Mayor. In this capacity, she is meeting
with a man
named Cleaver who claims that the new project she s
authorised
could cause millions of deaths. Margaret assures him that
she ll
take his concerns into account and put an end to the project.
Deeply
relieved, Mr Cleaver turns his back on Margaret for a moment
-- but he
has unwisely admitted that he didn t show his findings to
anyone
else, and the Slitheen emerges from her skin-suit disguise
and
strikes him down in her true alien form...
Boom Town
(drn:43'10")
Mickey
Smith arrives in Cardiff, where the TARDIS has materialised
in front
of the water sculpture in Cardiff Bay s Oval Basin. Rose
has asked
him to fetch her passport; she won t need it in places
such as
Platform One, Justicia or the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon,
but now
she s prepared to travel to other countries on Earth. Mickey
notes to
his disappointment that Rose isn t back for good; the
TARDIS has
just touched down in Cardiff to refuel from the energies
emanating
from the scar created when a dimensional rift was sealed
up in
1869. By now, the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack are a
well-rehearsed team, and it s clear that Mickey isn t really a part
of it.
Nevertheless, he accompanies them back outside, where the
Doctor
explains to the curious Captain Jack that a police box was
used in
1950s London not only as a phone booth, but also to restrain
offenders
until reinforcements arrived. He assures the worried
Mickey
that nobody will notice the TARDIS here, even though a police
box isn t
exactly a perfect disguise for 21st-century Cardiff; he s
just grown
to like its shape and never bothered to fix the broken
chameleon
circuit. It will take 24 hours for the TARDIS to refuel,
and the
Doctor and his friends -- and Mickey -- set off for a day on
the town.
Elsewhere
in the city, Margaret Blaine is holding a press conference
to
announce that the Blaidd Dwrg project is ready to begin, but is
irritated
when one of the photographers snaps a picture of her. Soon
Cardiff
Castle will be demolished and replaced by a nuclear power
station in
the heart of Cardiff, providing jobs for all. Margaret
assures
the press that the station is perfectly safe, and raises a
toast to
Cardiff s bright, glowing future. She has already asked the
press to
concentrate on the project rather than on her, but Cathy
Salt of
the Cardiff Gazette nevertheless asks for her impressions
about the
so-called curse that has struck down so many people
associated
with the project. A series of freak accidents have taken
out the
entire European safety inspection team, the Cardiff Heritage
Society,
the architect of the project, and now Mr Cleaver, the
government
s nuclear advisor. Before Cleaver died, however, he
posted
some of his findings online -- and Cathy has located them and
found that
he was concerned that the Blaidd Dwrg project could go
into
meltdown and kill millions.
Margaret
agrees to have a word with Cathy, but first they pop into
the
ladies loo, as Margaret s stomach is
rumbling. The Slitheen
have
always had this problem, caused by the gas compression field
they use
to squeeze into their human skin-suit disguises. Margaret
enters a
stall and strips out of her skin-suit, telling the
concerned
Cathy that the flashing, flickering lights caused by the
compression field are due to a fault in the room s wiring. Cathy
explains
that Cleaver feared the nuclear complex could go up in a
disaster
worse than Chernobyl, and tells Margaret that she has no
choice but
to go to print with her findings. But just as the
Slitheen
is about to emerge from the stall and strike Cathy down,
Cathy
mentions in passing that her fianc , Jeffrey, thinks she s mad
to be
causing a fuss. Margaret stays her hand, especially when Cathy
also
announces that she s three months pregnant. Noting the sad tone
in
Margaret s voice, Cathy inquires after her family, and Margaret
admits
that she used to have quite a large family -- but they re all
gone now.
Claiming that she s going to be some time in the loo,
Margaret
tells Cathy to set up an appointment with her for later,
and as
Cathy leaves, the despondent Margaret remains in the stall,
suddenly
feeling weary and alone.
The Doctor
and his friends are dining out at a restaurant on the
pier, and
even Mickey is enjoying himself as Captain Jack shares
wild
stories from his past. But the happy day out is interrupted
when the
Doctor spots a nearby newspaper with a front-page
photograph
of Margaret Blaine, which was snapped at the earlier
press
conference. He and his allies head straight for City Hall,
where
Rose, Jack, and the increasingly nervous Mickey split up to
cover the
exits while the Doctor confronts the Mayor in person.
Outside
her office, he asks her secretary, Idris, to tell the Mayor
that the
Doctor has arrived -- and once Margaret hears this, she
flees out
the window onto the balcony, removing items of jewellery
from her
person and snapping them together into a personal teleport.
Idris
tries to hold the Doctor back, but the Doctor pushes past him,
calling
his allies on his cell phone. Rose and Jack rush into
position,
but Mickey hesitates for a moment and then runs straight
into a
cleaning woman s cart, tripping himself up. Margaret thus
gets past
him and activates her teleport, vanishing into thin air.
However,
the Doctor activates his sonic screwdriver, bringing her
straight
back again, and after another few futile attempts to
activate
her teleport, Margaret surrenders.
The Doctor
marches Margaret back to the Lord Mayor s office, where
he demands
to know why the last Slitheen on the planet has arranged
to build a
nuclear power station in the heart of Cardiff, right atop
a
dimensional rift. He takes one look at the model and realises that
the
station is designed to explode the moment it reaches capacity.
Rose
wonders why nobody has noticed, and Margaret scoffs, pointing
out that
nobody in London cares what happens to Cardiff. The Doctor
removes
the central building in the model to reveal that it s been
built atop
a tribophysical waveform macrokinetic extrapolator, a
sort of
pan-dimensional surfboard. Jack is awed and excited by the
technology, which he assumes, probably correctly, that Margaret has
stolen.
Margaret needs only to programme the correct co-ordinates
into the
board; when the station explodes, opening the rift and
destroying
the Earth, the board will generate an energy bubble
around
her, and she will be able to surf the energy wave away from
this
backwater planet back out into the heart of civilisation. As
she
reveals her true plans, however, the Doctor s attention is
caught by
the project s name. Margaret claims to have picked it at
random
because she liked the way it sounded, but the Doctor reveals
that
Blaidd Dwrg is Welsh for bad wolf, a phrase that seems to
have been
following him and Rose around on their travels...
After a
moment s thought, the Doctor dismisses this as a
coincidence, and prepares to put an end to Margaret s scheming by
taking her
back to Raxacoricofallapatorius. But Margaret reveals
that her
people have the death penalty, and her family has been
tried and
found guilty of their crimes in absentia. If the Doctor
takes her
back home, he s taking her to her death. However, the
Doctor
tells her that this isn t his problem. He and his allies take
her back
to the TARDIS, where Margaret seems awed by the godlike
technology
on display; however, the Doctor doesn t succumb to
flattery.
Jack wires the extrapolator into the console; its power is
incompatible with the TARDIS systems, but with some adjustment, it
will boost
the TARDIS engines and they ll be ready to go by morning.
However,
that means that they ll have to spend the night guarding
Margaret.
Rose jokes that the police box really is acting like a
police
box, but Margaret deflates her by pointing out that they re
not acting
as her captors, but her executioners. Mickey is quick to
say she
deserves it, but when she challenges them to look her in the
eye, none
of them can do so -- not even the Doctor.
Mickey
eventually leaves, unable to cope with the tense atmosphere
inside and
finding it easier to convince himself that Margaret
deserves
her fate when he doesn t have to look at her. Rose follows
him and
admits that she didn t really need her passport, and Mickey,
pleased,
suggests that they go get a drink and a pizza... and maybe,
if Rose is
willing, they could book a hotel room for the night.
Inside the
TARDIS, as the Doctor glumly watches Mickey and Rose walk
off hand
in hand, Margaret challenges him again, having realised
that he
always leaves before he has to face the consequences of his
actions.
The Doctor insists that he didn t butcher her family, as
she puts
it, but when Jack asks her why she didn t save them as
well, she
explains that her teleport can only transport one at a
time;
without any time to set co-ordinates, she ended up in a skip
on the
Isle of Dogs. The Doctor and Jack laugh at this despite
themselves, and Margaret takes the opportunity to ask for a last
request;
she claims to have grown attached to her human life, and
before
leaving, she wants a final meal at her favourite Cardiff
restaurant. The Doctor is reluctant to let her out in public again,
but Jack
provides them with limiting bracelets; if Margaret gets
more than
10 feet away from the Doctor, she ll be zapped with 10,000
volts of
electricity.
The Doctor
thus agrees to escort Margaret to the nearby bistro 10.
There, she
introduces herself properly to him as Blon Fel Fotch
Pasameer-Day Slitheen, reasoning that he should know the real name
of the
person he s condemned to die. She tries to kill him by
slipping
poison into his wine; when this fails, she fires a poison
dart out
of her finger at him, but he plucks it out of mid-air and
sprays
mouthwash at her when she tries to exhale the excess poison
into his
face. He then orders steak and chips. Margaret tries
pleading,
telling the Doctor that she will be executed by being
dissolved
in a vat of acetic acid while still alive. There are other
members of
the Slitheen family making a life for themselves off
Raxacoricofallapatorius, but the Doctor refuses to take her to them
instead,
convinced that she ll return to her old ways. She may beg
for her
life, but the Doctor reminds her that she s doing so while
dressed in
the skin of the real Margaret Blaine, one of her victims.
Margaret
insists that she can change, and tells him that she allowed
Cathy Salt
to live even though the journalist was a threat to her
plans.
However, the Doctor knows that this was just a whim;
occasionally Margaret allows one of her victims to live, just so she
can live
with herself while going on to commit greater atrocities.
Margaret,
however, realises that the Doctor s insight comes from
personal
experience. He s just as much a killer as she is, which is
why he
keeps moving on, so he won t have to stay and live with the
consequences of what he s done. So if she can allow someone to live
on a whim,
then why can t he?
Out on the
docks, Rose is telling Mickey about her visit to the
planet
Woman Wept, named after a major landmass in the shape of a
crying
woman, where she and the Doctor walked on a frozen sea under
hundred-foot-high waves of ice. Mickey has nothing to tell her that
compares
to this, and, out of the blue, he reveals that he s started
dating
Tricia Delaney. There is an uncomfortable silence, and when
Mickey
asks Rose if she still wants to get a hotel room, she lashes
out at
him, more upset than she d expected to be by the news.
However,
Mickey angrily reminds Rose that they had a good
relationship, at least until she left him without a second thought
to travel
with the Doctor. She made him feel like he meant nothing
to her,
and yet when she called him here, he still came running. He
begs Rose
to give him a promise that she ll return to him when she s
finished
travelling, but before Rose can respond, she hears
something
like a sound of thunder -- and the streetlights on the
pier begin
to explode. Pedestrians flee in panic as the street
shakes and
the buildings begin to crumble, and Rose rushes off to
investigate without pausing to think -- and without hearing the
bitter
Mickey shouting after her, now knowing that the Doctor will
always
mean more to her than he does.
At bistro
10, as Margaret is now trying to convince the Doctor that
her family
made her this way; her father forced her to kill when she
was 13,
under threat of being fed to the venom grubs. But their
conversation is also interrupted by the sound of thunder, and then
by the
shattering of the bistro window. The Doctor rushes out to
investigate, and since Margaret can t keep up with him, he removes
her
limiting bracelet when she assures him that she s not going to
let him
out of her sight until they know what s happening. It soon
becomes
clear when they get back to the TARDIS to see energy
blasting
up out of the ship and into a growing hole in the night
sky. The
dimensional rift is opening again. Margaret and the Doctor
rush up to
the TARDIS as the Oval Basin cracks beneath their feet,
and enter
to find Jack struggling to get the waveform extrapolator
back under
control. He s disconnected it, but it s still feeding off
the TARDIS
systems somehow -- and if they can t shut it down, the
rift will
open and the entire planet will be torn apart.
Rose
rushes into the TARDIS, right on cue for Margaret to rip off
her human
arm disguise and grab Rose by the throat. She now orders
Jack to
place the extrapolator at her feet or see Rose s neck snap.
Margaret
always knew there was a possibility that she d be tracked
down here,
but reasoned that whoever did so would probably be
advanced
enough to recognise the waveform extrapolator for what it
was and
take it from her; thus, she programmed it to lock onto any
nearby
alien energy source and use it to open the rift. Margaret
steps onto
the extrapolator, intending to ride the destruction of
Earth to
freedom -- but the TARDIS console opens up to reveal the
blinding
light inside. The Doctor warns Jack and Rose to look away,
and
informs Margaret that the ship is alive and knows that Margaret
is trying
to destroy it. Margaret lets Rose drop to the floor,
captivated
by what the Doctor claims is the heart and soul of the
TARDIS.
For a moment she smiles at the Doctor, a genuine smile of
thanks,
and then the light flares and her empty skin-suit drops to
the
ground.
The Doctor
leaps back into action and closes up the console, and he,
Jack and
Rose work together to shut down the TARDIS engines. The
TARDIS
stops pouring energy into the rift, which snaps shut again.
Jack
assumes that Margaret has been incinerated, but the Doctor
admits
that the TARDIS is stronger than even he can imagine -- and,
as he once
told Rose, it s telepathic as well. It can translate
alien
languages at a distance; perhaps the power at its source can
also
translate thoughts and desires. The Doctor opens up the
skin-suit
to reveal a Raxacoricofallapatorian egg inside; Blon has
been
regressed to childhood and beyond, and if they take her back
home to
the nurseries, she can be raised by another family and have
a second
chance at life.
Rose
suddenly remembers that she abandoned Mickey on the docks, and
rushes out
to look for him. Mickey is lurking in the shadows,
watching
as the emergency services move in to deal with the
aftermath
of the unexpected quake -- and when he sees Rose searching
for him,
he turns his back and walks away without a word. Rose
eventually
returns to the TARDIS alone, where the Doctor tells her
that the
TARDIS is now full of energy from the open rift and is
ready to
go. He offers to stay while she looks for Mickey, but she
tells him
that there s no point. The Doctor shrugs, and he and Jack
set the
TARDIS on course for Raxacoricofallapatorius while Rose
stares
sadly at the egg, wishing for a second chance of her own.
Source:
Cameron Dixon (with continuity notes by Jeremy Remy)
Continuity Notes:
Who s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: In a trend begun in the
first episode and continuing up to the series finale, each
episode contains references to the
Bad Wolf . In this
episode, the Doctor and Rose finally begin to notice this,
as
the Doctor points out that the name of the Mayor's
nuclear power station scheme is the Blaidd Drwg Project,
which is Welsh for Bad Wolf. A clear image of the power
station name can be seen on a poster in the official Doctor
Who website under the Boom Town Gallery, listed as More
Posters, and the front and back pages of Western Mail.
During this episode, the official Doctor Who website had an
image of the TARDIS in a wasteland Cardiff. When hovered
over, the phrase "BAD WOLF" appeared painted on the front of
the TARDIS. When clicked, you
were taken to the newly
updated Bad Wolf Website. The most interesting clues from
this website can be found in the Disclaimer section, where
(if one highlights the bottom of the page) the message "Rose
Are you there? Are you getting
this? You've got the
point, haven't you? Rose ?"
appears, and the Revelations
section, where the "Big Bad Wolf" (as sung by the French
Chansons), is unexpectedly interrupted halfway through
playing with a difficult to understand reading. The reading
is
of William Blake's "The Sick Rose." O Rose, thou art
sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the
howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy, And his
dark secret love Does thy life destroy. William Blake was
previously met by the Seventh Doctor in the New Adventure
Novel The Pit
All is explained in The Parting of the Ways.
This is the last time Rose sees Mickey before The Parting of
the Ways. The Doctor claims to have visited
Raxacoricofallapatorius and then 14th-century Kyoto, Japan,
before ending up on the Game Station in Bad Wolf; however,
it
s possible that he s referring to a different visit to
Raxacoricofallapatorius or that it took longer than expected
to
reach the planet, in which case there s still room to fit
in
further adventures for the Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Jack
between Boom Town and Bad Wolf.
The idea of needing a time rift to recharge the TARDIS is
new. The Original Series was generally vague about what
powered the TARDIS, although The Edge of Destruction
suggested the energy source, whatever it was, essentially
lived directly under the console. The 1996 movie asserted
that the TARDIS was somehow linked to the Eye of Harmony --
the captive nucleus of a black hole from which all the power
of
the Time Lords devolved (introduced in The Deadly
Assassin), which in turn would suggest an almost limitless
energy source. With the Time Lords gone, however, it's
highly likely that the Eye has been destroyed or otherwise
rendered inaccessible.
[Back to Main
Page]
Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways
Bad Wolf / The
Parting of the Ways
Executive
Producers
Mal Young
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editors
Helen
Raynor
Elwen
Rowlands Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Joe Ahearne
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Dalek created by Terry Nation
Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
John
Barrowman (Captain Jack), Jo Joyner (Lynda), Jamie
Bradley (Strood), Abi Eniola (Crosbie), Davina McCall (Voice
of
Davinadroid), Paterson Joseph (Rodrick), Jenna Russell
(Floor Manager), Anne Robinson (Voice of Anne Droid), Trinny
Woodall (Voice of Trin-e), Susannah Constantine (Voice of
Zu-Zana), Jo Stone-Fewings (Male Programmer), Nisha Nayar
(Female Programmer), Dominic Burgess (Agorax), Karren
Winchester (Fitch), Kate Loustau (Colleen), Sebastian Armesto
(Broff), Martha Cope (Controller), Sam Callis (Security
Guard); Alan Ruscoe, Paul Kasey (Androids); Barnaby Edwards,
Nicholas Pegg, David Hankinson (Dalek Operators); Nicholas
Briggs (Dalek Voice).
The
Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack have to fight for their
lives on board the Game Station. But a far more dangerous
threat is lurking, just out of sight. The Doctor realises that
the
entire human race has been blinded to the threat on its
doorstep, and Armageddon is fast approaching.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Bad Wolf
June 11th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
The Parting of the Ways
June 18th, 2005 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #357.
Episodes released on DVD. [+/-]
SERIES 1, VOLUME 4
U.K. Release: September 2005
PAL Region 2 - BBCVDVD1758
Includes the episodes: Boom Town and Bad Wolf / The
Parting of the Ways.
THE COMPLETE FIRST SERIES BOXSET
U.K. Release: November 2005 / Canada Release:
February 2006
PAL Region 2 - BBCDVD1770 (5 DVD)
NTSC Region 1 - Warner DVD E2501
(5 DVD)
This boxset includes all 13 episodes of the first
series.
DVD FEATURES:
Commentaries on all 13 episodes as follows:
Rose: Russell
T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The End of the
World: Phil Collinson (producer)
and Will Cohen
(visual effects producer).
The Unquiet
Dead: Mark Gatiss (writer), Euros
Lyn (director),
and Simon Callow (Charles
Dickens).
Aliens of
London: Julie Gardner (executive
producer), Will
Cohen (visual effects producer),
and David
Verrey (Joseph Green/Chief Slitheen).
World War
Three: Phil Collinson (producer),
Helen Raynor
(script editor), Annette Badland
(Margaret
Blaine the Slitheen).
Dalek: Robert
Shearman (writer), Dave Houghton
(visual effects
producer), Nicholas Briggs
(Dalek Voices),
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell).
The Long Game:
Bruno Langley (Adam Mitchell),
Brian Grant
(director), and Christine Adams
(Cathica).
Father s Day:
Paul Cornell (writer), Billie
Piper (Rose
Tyler), Shaun Dingwall (Pete Tyler),
and Phil
Collinson (producer).
The Empty
Child: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
The Doctor
Dances: Steven Moffat (writer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Dave
Houghton
(visual effects producer).
Boom Town: Phil
Collinson (producer), John
Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), and Annette
Badland
(Margaret Blaine the Slitheen).
Bad Wolf:
Russell T. Davies (writer/executive
producer),
Julie Gardner (executive producer),
Phil Collinson
(producer).
The Parting of
the Ways: John Barrowman (Captain
Jack Harkness),
Julie Gardner (executive
producer), and
Billie Piper (Rose).
Cut-down versions of all 13 episodes of the
documentary series Doctor Who Confidential, plus
an all-new bonus 14th episode that goes
behind-the-scenes on The Christmas Invasion, the
2005 Christmas special episode starring David
Tennant as the Doctor.
Three Video Diaries:
'On Set With
Billie' - Billie Piper s own
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Making Doctor
Who' - Russell T. Davies
camcorder
footage of the shooting.
'Waking the
Dead' - Mark Gatiss' camcorder
footage from
the shooting of The Unquiet Dead.
6 other featurettes:
'Destroying the
Lair' - Visual effects
featurette
about the destruction of the Nestene
lair in the
first episode.
'Mike Tucker s
Mocks of Balloons' - Visual
effects
featurette about the making of the
aliens.
'Designing
Doctor Who' - About set design.
'Laying
Ghosts The Origins of the Unquiet
Dead' - About
Mark Gatiss scripting of this
episode.
'Deconstructing
Big Ben' - Visual effects
featurette
about the sequence of the alien
spaceship
crashing into Big Ben during Aliens of
London.
'The Adventures
of Captain Jack' - About the
character of
Capt. Jack Harkness and the actor
who plays him,
John Barrowman.
An interview with Christopher Eccleston from the
BBC s Breakfast.
Trailers from BBC1 from throughout the series
run.
Doctor Who Magazine Archive: The Doctor Who Companion -
Series 1.
Some time
ago, the Doctor and Rose visited Satellite 5, a news
station
orbiting Earth in the year 200,000, and learned that the
Fourth
Great and Bountiful Human Empire was being manipulated
through
its news media by the alien Jagrafess. The Jagrafess was
destroyed,
and the Doctor and Rose departed, confident that history
was back
on track...
Now, 100
years later, the Doctor materialises with a flash of light
in a small
closet. Disorientated, he stumbles out into a larger
common
room decorated with primary colours and pop art. A young
woman
named Lynda Moss helps him to his feet, explaining that he s
been
chosen as a housemate -- much to the distress of the other
housemates, Strood and Crosbie, who protest that they ve obeyed all
of the
rules and weren t given warning of a newcomer s arrival. The
electronic
voice of the Davinadroid orders the Doctor into the Diary
Room, and
as he starts to recover from the effect of the transmat,
he
realises that he s somehow become a contestant on Big Brother.
Bad Wolf
(drn:42'46")
Rose
awakens in a dark room, where a man named Rodrick helps her to
her feet,
warning her to do as the android says. As Rose struggles
to work
out what s happened to her, Rodrick guides her to a central
dais where
four other contestants -- Agorax, Fitch, Colleen and
Broff --
are standing behind podiums. Rodrick guides Rose to her
podium and
then takes his own place, and as Rose recovers from the
transmat
process, she begins to recognise her surroundings. The
floor
manager, technicians and director finish their preparations
and
activate the android -- or rather, the Anne Droid. Rose has
just
become a contestant on The Weakest Link.
Jack also
awakens to find himself participating in a reality
programme:
What Not To Wear, hosted by the robots Trin-E and
Zu-Zana.
He starts to ask where the Doctor is, but becomes
distracted
and intrigued when he learns that he s about to be given
a full
makeover. The robots zap him with a defabricator gun, which
removes
every stitch of clothing from his body, leaving him naked in
front of
millions of viewers. Jack has no problem with that
whatsoever. The robots then have Jack try out a number of different
outfits,
offering suggestions and criticism, and Jack participates
happily,
unaware that when this phase is over, his makeover is to
continue
with cutting-edge cosmetic surgery involving chainsaws.
As the
Doctor tries and fails to break out of the House, Lynda
introduces
herself, and is careful to remind him that she s not
Linda with
an I, who was evicted for damaging a camera. She
diffidently asks him whether the viewers really like her or are just
overlooking her, and the Doctor, realising that she s genuinely
concerned
to know what people think about her, kindly claims that
everyone
thinks she s sweet. But while distracted, he mentions the
TARDIS,
and suddenly his memories come flooding back. After their
journey to
Raxacoricofallapatorius and a narrow escape from Kyoto,
Japan, in
the year 1336, the Doctor, Rose and Jack were plucked
right out
of the TARDIS console room by a bright white light. This
was
presumably the transmat beam that selects contestants for the
games, but
in order to penetrate the TARDIS, it must have been 15
million
times more powerful than any ordinary transmat. The Doctor
thus
addresses the camera directly, warning whoever s in charge that
he s going
to get out of the House, find his friends, and find out
what s
really going on here.
Up in the
broadcast control suite, a male programmer named Davitch
Pavale
approaches a female co-worker to discuss the strange
developments on Big Brother, but she s too busy working on The
Weakest
Link to listen. Down in the studio, Rose tries to ask
Rodrick
what s going on, but when he angrily refuses to answer her
questions,
she becomes irritated and vows to play the game to win.
The first
round begins, and the Anne Droid begins to bombard Rose
and her
fellow contestants with trivia questions on a variety of pop
cultural
topics. Rose can answer very few of the questions, but she
enjoys
herself in any case -- and fails to notice just how seriously
her fellow
contestants are taking the game. The female programmer in
the
broadcast suite realises that Rose has no idea what stakes she s
playing
for, and she now listens when Davitch tells her that a new
housemate
has appeared from nowhere on his show, as if the games
have
started running themselves. There have been rumours for decades
about
other signals hidden beneath the transmissions; the female
programmer
dismisses them as myths, but the worried Davitch may be
forced to
turn matters over to the Controller, a pale woman who has
been wired
directly into the transmitters to monitor everything that
takes
place on the Game Station...
The first
round of The Weakest Link comes to an end, and Rose votes
Fitch out
for getting several questions wrong. Actually it was Broff
who got
the most questions wrong, but Fitch is the one who has lost
the vote.
Rose becomes uneasy when the terrified Fitch breaks down
in tears
and begs the Anne Droid for a second chance -- but a gun
nozzle
emerges from the Anne Droid s mouth and shoots Fitch,
disintegrating her. Appalled, Rose lashes out at her fellow
contestants for accepting this, but before she can declare that
she s not
playing any longer, the panic-stricken Broff snaps and
bolts from
the dais in terror. The Anne Droid swivels around and
disintegrates him before he gets to the exit, and Rose realises that
she has no
choice but to play the game to the end.
In the Big
Brother House, the Doctor is forced to join his fellow
housemates
on the sofa to wait for the next eviction notice; if he
refuses to
obey the rules, the others will be punished as well.
Bored, he
leans back and listens as the Davinadroid informs the
housemates
that Crosbie has been chosen for eviction. Strood sags
with
relief before giving Crosbie a comfort hug, but Lynda s sorrow
appears
quite genuine. The Doctor rolls his eyes as Strood and Lynda
escort the
stricken Crosbie to the exit chamber, certain that
Crosbie
will step out of the House to a lucrative recording contract
and/or
fitness video -- but instead of the outer door opening to let
Crosbie
out, a disintegrator beam descends from the ceiling of the
exit
chamber and blasts Crosbie to atoms. The Doctor is appalled,
particularly when he learns that the housemates didn t choose to
come here;
they have been selected at random from the population of
Earth,
there are 60 Houses running at once, and all the winners get
to do is
live for a little while longer. Livid, the Doctor realises
that Rose
is in equal danger somewhere out there -- and, recalling
what Lynda
told him about the contestant who was forcibly evicted
for
damaging property, he blows up one of the cameras with his sonic
screwdriver.
Rodrick
votes off Colleen, who is disintegrated by the Anne Droid;
Colleen
was doing too well, and Rodrick wants to keep Rose in until
the final
round, as he s sure that he will win in direct competition
against
her. Worse, he casually mentions that the games are run by
the
Badwolf Corporation. Ever since Rose began travelling with the
Doctor,
she s been encountering the phrase Bad
Wolf in all
different
times and places, as if it s been written across the
fabric of
the Universe itself. And if the Bad Wolf is in charge of
these
games, then Rose must not have been brought here by
accident...
The voice
of the Davinadroid announces that the Doctor is to be
evicted,
and Strood and Lynda are stunned when the Doctor rushes
into the
exit chamber as if eager to face extermination. But at the
very last
second, the disintegrator beam shuts down instead of
shooting
the Doctor. As he d suspected, he was brought to this
station
for a reason, and whoever is responsible doesn t want him
dead. He
uses his sonic screwdriver to open the outer door, and
offers the
others the chance to get out with him; Strood refuses to
break the
rules of the game, but Lynda realises that the Doctor is
offering a
genuine alternative to playing the game and waiting to
die. She
thus accompanies him out into the corridor, where he
realises
that this is Satellite 5. It s the year 200,100, a century
after his
last visit, and the satellite is now called the Game
Station.
The Doctor scans his surroundings with the sonic
screwdriver and determines that the satellite is outputting far more
energy
than should be necessary for ordinary TV transmissions. Lynda
reveals
that there are different games taking place on every one of
the
satellite s 500 floors, each one deadly -- and people on Earth
have
little choice but to watch, since they can be executed for
failing to
pay their license fee. Realising that the Doctor
genuinely
isn t from around here, Lynda asks if she can go with him
when he
leaves, and he agrees; however, first he must find his
friends
and learn what s really going on here. Lynda helpfully pulls
a nearby
light switch, and the Doctor is shocked when it illuminates
the logo
of the Badwolf Corporation...
The Doctor
has already noted the surprising lack of security guards
outside,
and although Lynda has put it down to the fact that they re
probably
the first contestants ever to escape from their game,
something
else is going on. The programmers have seen them escape,
but have
been unable to raise any alarms. Davitch sends the other
programmer
to Archive 6 to check out the transmat logs while he
addresses
the Controller, but the Controller, fully engaged with the
Game
Station s transmissions, orders him back to work -- and seals
the female
programmer out of Archive 6, stating that it is out of
bounds.
The programmers realise that something very odd is going on,
but have
no idea what to do about it. Meanwhile, the Controller
continues
working, warning the programmers to expect solar flares
shortly.
Down in
What Not To Wear, Jack is still trying on different outfits,
but Trin-E
and Zu-Zana are now ready to move on to the next phase of
the
makeover. Jack is defabricated again -- and the robots advance
on him
with surgical equipment, planning to make a radical fashion
statement
by taking his head off and stitching his legs to the
centre of
his chest. Jack pulls out a compact laser gun (and since
he s
naked, you really don t want to know from where) and shoots the
surprised
robots, blowing their heads off. He then dresses, patches
his gun
into the defabricator, and sets off with his new weapon to
find the
Doctor, using his wrist computer to trace the Doctor s
characteristic double-heartbeat.
Lynda and
the Doctor step out onto an observation deck, where the
Doctor is
appalled to see that the Earth is covered with a thick
blanket of
smog. According to Lynda, it s been this way ever since
Satellite
5 stopped broadcasting the news; the transmissions weren t
replaced
with anything else, and without any information at their
disposal,
the economy and governments of Earth collapsed. Now the
people of
Earth are stuck indoors, wasting away their lives watching
deadly and
brainless reality TV and game shows. This is supposed to
be the
Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, but history has been
changed
out of all recognition -- and the Doctor, sickened, realises
that he s
responsible. Jack then arrives; he was unable to locate
Rose, as
the game rooms must be shielded in some way. He thus gives
his
wrist-computer to the Doctor so he can hook it into the
station s
computers and trace Rose through them, but it proves more
difficult
than he d expected; the systems are far too complicated
for an
ordinary television broadcaster, which seems to confirm the
Doctor s
fears that the station is some sort of trap set up by
whatever
is responsible for scattering the Bad
Wolf phrase
throughout
the Universe. He finally locates Rose on Floor 407 -- and
Lynda
realises what game she s playing.
Agorax has
just been eliminated from The Weakest Link, which leaves
Rodrick
and Rose going head-to-head. They must each answer five
questions.
Rose gets one lucky break when she s able to identify the
oldest
inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy as the Face of Boe, but that s
her only
correct answer... and Rodrick gets two of his five
questions
correct. He s won the game, and Rose is the weakest link.
As Rose
protests and the Anne Droid begins her final speech, the
Doctor,
Jack, and Lynda burst into the studio -- but as Rose rushes
to warn
the Doctor of the danger, the Anne Droid swivels and blasts
her down
mere steps away from the Doctor. The Doctor drops to his
knees,
stunned, staring at the small pile of dust on the floor where
Rose was
standing. The enraged Jack turns his gun on Rodrick and the
terrified
floor manager, who overrides the Controller s commands and
summons
security to the room. The security chief puts a gun to the
Doctor s
head, forcing Jack to drop his own gun, and all the Doctor
can do is
stare numbly ahead as he, Jack and Lynda are placed under
arrest.
The
security guards confiscate their captives
belongings and take
them to a
small cell, where they are photographed and interrogated.
The Doctor
stares dully ahead without responding to their questions,
and
finally the security chief gives up and sentences them to
imprisonment in the lunar penal colonies. But as he turns and opens
the door
to leave, the Doctor and Jack spring into action, overpower
their
guards, reclaim their weapons and head for the lift with Lynda
at their
heels. Up on Floor 500, Davitch warns the others to
evacuate
while he and the female programmer try to convince the
Controller
to shut down the lift; however, she does not respond to
them,
instead focussing on the transmissions and reminding them of
the
imminent solar flares.
The
Doctor, Jack and Lynda arrive on Floor 500, and as Jack covers
the
terrified programmers with the guns he took from the security
guards,
the Doctor threatens the Controller with the adapted
defabricator laser, demanding answers. She does not respond,
however,
and the nervous Davitch explains that she s unable to
acknowledge the Doctor s existence because he is neither a staff
member nor
part of the transmissions. The Doctor, disgusted, tosses
the gun to
Davitch and demands to know what s happening here.
Startled,
Davitch nervously sets the gun aside and admits that the
Doctor may
be right about something odd happening on the Game
Station;
he has been keeping a log of unauthorised transmats and
encrypted
signals, and he offers to show it to the Doctor. Jack
seals off
the lift to prevent security from getting in, scans the
area, and
finds something very interesting inside Archive 6. He is
able to
open its door without difficulty, and inside, he finds the
TARDIS.
Inside the TARDIS, he pauses upon catching sight of Rose s
denim
jacket draped over a nearby railing, but puts his feelings
aside and
uses the TARDIS console to scan the Game Station. What he
finds
surprises him.
The female
programmer insists that the Doctor release the terrified
programmers, but he has no sympathy for the men and women who have
been
sending hundreds of people a day to their deaths, particularly
when she
claims that they were just doing their jobs. The station
powers
down momentarily as the energy from the solar flares reaches
Earth,
causing signal interference. For just a few moments, the
station is
not broadcasting -- and the Controller can speak freely
to the
Doctor. The beings who wired her up to the Game Station have
been
monitoring the transmissions, but they don t watch all of the
games, and
the Controller thus brought the Doctor here and hid him
in the
games so he could break out and find her. She now warns him
that her
masters have been hiding nearby, watching and waiting,
guiding
humanity from behind the scenes for centuries. They are now
numerous
and strong, and their plan is nearly complete -- but they
still
speak of the Doctor with fear.
The solar
flares end, and as the station begins transmitting again,
Jack
bursts out of Archive 6 with wonderful news. He asks Lynda to
stand to
one side for a moment, and to the Doctor s horror, Jack
triggers
one of the station s disintegration beams, apparently
blasting
Lynda to atoms. Or so it seems until Jack operates the
controls
and re-integrates her on the other side of the room. The
disintegrator beams are really
transmats, and their victims aren t
killed,
but transported away from the station -- which means that
Rose is
still alive somewhere out there. The Controller then snaps
back into
focus and shouts out a series of co-ordinates to the
Doctor,
defying her masters commands. They
transmat her away from
the
station before she has finished, but she faces her masters
triumphantly, proud to have struck a fatal blow against them. She
has a
smile on her face as she is exterminated.
Davitch
gives Jack his log of unscheduled transmissions, and Jack is
able to
piece together the final digits of the co-ordinate sequence.
It appears
to indicate a sector of empty space, but the Doctor
realises
that the Game Station is broadcasting a signal to shield
this
sector from all possible scanners and sensors. When the Doctor
cancels
out the signal, a fleet of 200 flying saucers is revealed on
the edge
of the solar system... and the horrified Doctor and Jack
recognise
them as Dalek saucers. The Daleks were thought to have
been wiped
out, but there s at least a half a million of them on
Earth s
doorstep. The Daleks, realising that they ve been detected,
contact
the Doctor and show him that they are holding the terrified
Rose
hostage; their stratagem is nearly complete, and unless the
Doctor
promises not to interfere, they will exterminate his
companion.
However, the Doctor stands up to them, and vows to rescue
Rose, save
the Earth, and finish off by destroying every Dalek in
existence.
He switches off, promising Rose that he s coming to save
her -- and
the Daleks, realising that hostilities have been
declared,
prepare to enter the endgame. Rose stares in horror as
hundreds
of Daleks surround her, preparing for the invasion of
Earth...
The
Parting of the Ways
(drn:45'29")
The Daleks
detect the TARDIS hurtling through space towards them and
fire
missiles at it, but the TARDIS is protected by a force field
generated
by the tribophysical waveform extrapolator. The Doctor
then lands
on the Dalek saucer, materialising around Rose -- and the
nearest
Dalek, which Jack destroys with his adapted defabricator.
Unfortunately, the blast drains the laser s power reserves,
rendering
it useless. Rose and her friends share a joyous reunion,
but it s
tempered by the knowledge that the Daleks, unlike the
Doctor s
people, have survived the legendary Time War after all.
Determined
to find out how, the Doctor steps out of his ship to
confront
the Daleks. Safe behind his force field, he reminds the
Daleks
that he s the one thing they fear most in the Universe, and
demands to
know how they survived. To his surprise, the response
comes from
the Dalek Emperor, a giant Dalek perched in the heart of
the ship
like a gigantic metal spider, the mutant clearly visible
within the
metal caging of its armour.
The
Emperor reveals that his ship, though crippled by the holocaust
caused by
the Doctor, survived and fell through Time to the edges of
Earth s
solar system. The few surviving Daleks have been lurking
here for
centuries, building up their numbers by harvesting the
dispossessed of Earth and nurturing the purest cells into Dalek
bio-mass.
Rose realises that the new Dalek army must be half-human,
but the
Daleks and their Emperor declare that this is blasphemy and
that their
flesh is pure and blessed Dalek. To the Doctor s
horror,
the deranged Emperor now regards himself as the god of the
Daleks,
and the Daleks worship him as such. The Daleks have been
driven mad
by centuries of isolation and the fact that they know,
deep down,
that their DNA is no longer purely Dalek. They hate
themselves, and that makes them more dangerous than ever.
Shaken,
the Doctor, Rose and Jack retreat inside the TARDIS and
return to
the Game Station. Most of the staff and
contestants have
evacuated,
but they ve run out of escape shuttles, and Lynda,
Davitch
and the female programmer are now stuck on board; so is
Rodrick,
Rose s fellow player in The Weakest Link, along with about
100 other
people down on Floor 000. On the Doctor s instructions,
Davitch
turns up all of the power to the transmitters to prevent the
Daleks
from transmatting on board, but the people of Earth didn t
listen to
Davitch s warnings and are unprepared for the coming
attack.
The Dalek fleet begins to move towards Earth, intending to
cleanse
humanity from its surface and make Earth the new Dalek
homeworld,
but the Doctor has a plan; this station is a gigantic
transmitter, and with a bit of work, the Doctor can use it to
generate a
delta wave, a wave of pure energy that will fry any
living
brain in its wake. The only problem is that it will take
about
three days to finish, and the Dalek fleet will arrive in 22
minutes.
Jack wires
the extrapolator into the Game Station s controls,
ensuring
that the Daleks can t just blow the station out of the sky;
however,
there s nothing to stop them from physically boarding the
station,
which means that the others will have to set up defences
and fight
off the Daleks until the Doctor has finished his work. The
Doctor
asks Rose to stay with him on Floor 500 and help rewire the
computers,
while the others set off to defend the station. Jack bids
the Doctor
and Rose a fond farewell and kisses them both before
leaving,
aware that this may be the last time he sees them. He and
the others
then descend to Floor 000 to ask for volunteers, but only
a handful
of staff -- some guards, and the floor manager from The
Weakest
Link -- believe their claim that the Station is about to be
attacked
by Daleks. Rodrick is particularly vocal in his disbelief,
and the
vast majority decide to stay where they are on Floor 000.
Jack and
the volunteers return to the upper floors, and before
leaving,
Jack somewhat contemptuously orders the others to keep
their
heads down and remain quiet if they hope to survive.
Up on
Floor 500, Rose asks the Doctor why he can t just travel back
in time to
warn the human race of the threat, and he explains that
he became
locked into the events of this timeline once the TARDIS
materialised. However, he s pleased to note that it didn t even
occur to
Rose that they could escape in the TARDIS themselves and
leave the
others to their fate. The Doctor finishes his preliminary
work, but
doesn t like what he sees on the station s readouts.
Suddenly
galvanised, he drags Rose into the TARDIS and tells her to
hold down
a certain lever that will cancel out the buffers and
enable the
TARDIS to cross its own timeline, just as she had
suggested.
He then rushes out of the TARDIS, claiming that he has to
start
powering up the Game Station... but once he s clear, he uses
his sonic
screwdriver to activate the TARDIS console by remote
control.
Inside,
Rose realises too late that the Doctor has set the TARDIS in
motion,
sending her away from the Game Station to safety. A hologram
of the
Doctor materialises before the console, delivering a message
that the
Doctor recorded in case of extreme emergency. In such
circumstances he s likely to die facing an enemy that cannot be
allowed to
get its hands on the TARDIS -- and he s sending Rose
home, with
instructions to let the TARDIS sit on the street corner
and die
unnoticed. The hologram turns and looks directly into Rose s
eyes, and
the Doctor tells her to have a fantastic life. The TARDIS
then
materialises on the street corner where Rose first saw her
father
killed, and despite Rose s desperate attempts to reactivate
the
console, it does not take off again. Mickey Smith hears the
sound of
the TARDIS engines and comes running, only to find Rose
standing
outside the TARDIS alone, in tears.
On the
Game Station, Jack tries to contact Rose, only to learn that
the Doctor
has sent her home. He believes it s because the delta
wave won t
be ready in time, but the Dalek Emperor is now close
enough to
monitor communications on the station and it demands that
the Doctor
tell Jack the truth. The Doctor could very well finish
his work
in time, but he has no way to refine the delta wave. If
activated,
it will kill every living thing in its path, humans
included
-- and that means every living being on Earth will die. If
the Dalek
Emperor is God for creating life, what does that make the
Doctor?
The Doctor insists that pockets of humanity will survive in
the outer
colonies, but that this act will wipe out every Dalek in
existence
-- and to the Emperor s surprise, Jack accepts this and
tells the
Doctor to do what he must. Galvanised by Jack s show of
faith, the
Doctor confronts the Emperor and demands to know how it
spread the
words Bad Wolf across the Universe to lure him here. To
his
surprise, however, the Emperor has no idea what he s talking
about.
Whatever the Bad Wolf is, it s got nothing to do with the
Daleks...
Mickey and
Jackie Tyler take Rose to a nearby fast-food restaurant
to
celebrate her return, but all she can think about is the Doctor,
trapped
and fighting for his life thousands of years in the future.
She can t
live an ordinary life any more, not now that the Doctor
has shown
her a better way to live -- a way that means standing up
against
evil, rather than running away or giving up and just letting
bad things
happen. Mickey and Jackie may not want to admit it, but
she knows
they understand what she s talking about. Upset, Rose
storms out
of the restaurant, failing to notice the words
Bad Wolf
scribbled
across a poster in the window behind her -- but as Mickey
follows
her and tries to convince her to accept an ordinary life
with him,
she realises that the phrase has been graffito-tagged
across the
entire neighbourhood, on the asphalt and on the walls.
The same
phrase has been following her around since she first
started
travelling with the Doctor, and for the first time, it
occurs to
her that it might be a message, telling her that it s not
too late
to get back to the Doctor. She already knows that the
TARDIS is
telepathic, and she has seen the console open up to expose
its heart;
perhaps if she can open up the console again, she can
communicate directly with the TARDIS and persuade it to return for
the
Doctor. She s willing to risk her life for that, and although
Mickey is
hurt when she tells him that there s nothing for her back
home, he
agrees to help her do what she feels she must.
On the
Game Station, Jack assigns Lynda to lookout duty on an
observation deck; this side of the station is reinforced against
meteor
strikes, and even if the Daleks detect her in here, they
should be
unable to break through the door. The Dalek fleet then
arrives in
orbit next to the Station, and uncountable numbers of
Daleks
pour out of hundreds of saucers, streaming towards the Game
Station.
Davitch and the female programmer join the other guards
behind the
barricades on Floor 499 and wait as the Daleks force open
the
airlock on Floor 494 and board the station. The floor manager
and a
number of guards are waiting for them, but when the floor
manager
tries to activate the internal laser defences, she finds
that the
Daleks have already jammed them. The guards
weapons prove
useless,
as the Daleks force fields simply melt
away the bastic
bullets
before the Daleks casings are so much as
scratched. The
Daleks
exterminate the floor manager and the other defenders on
Floor 494
and ascend to Floor 495, where the Anne Droid is waiting.
It
disintegrates the first wave of Daleks, declaring them to be the
weakest
link; however, it then pauses to repeat its catchphrase, and
the second
wave of Daleks destroy it before it can open fire. Most
of the
Daleks continue upwards towards Floor 500 -- but to Lynda s
horror, a
number of Daleks descend to Floor 000 and exterminate all
of the
terrified civilians who d refused to participate in the
station s
defence, including Rodrick.
Mickey
chains his car to the TARDIS console and tries to pull it
open, but
even at maximum revs, his car s engine isn t powerful
enough.
Jackie tries to convince her daughter once more that there s
nothing
she can do, but Rose insists that her dad would never give
up -- and
she knows that, because she s met him. Rose tells her
mother
that the Doctor took her back to be with her father on the
day he
died, and Jackie, overwhelmed, rushes out of the TARDIS. Rose
can t
think of any other way to open the TARDIS console, and despite
his
concerns, Mickey is upset to see her on the verge of giving up;
however,
just as she s about to lose all hope, Jackie comes driving
up in a
heavy-duty rescue vehicle she s borrowed from a friend named
Rodrigo.
Jackie has accepted that her daughter is right, and she
tosses the
keys to Mickey, telling him to get on with it before she
changes
her mind.
As the
Daleks ascend through the Game Station, their ships descend
upon the
Earth and bomb whole continents out of existence. The
Emperor
looks on what he has done and calls it good. The Daleks
locate
Lynda on the observation deck, and try to cut through the
bulkhead
doors to get to her; progress is slow, but as Lynda
nervously
watches the door, another squad rises up outside the
window and
blasts it open, exposing the entire observation deck to
space. The
Doctor hears Lynda s last scream, but can do nothing to
save her.
On Floor 499, Davitch finally confesses to the female
programmer
that he joined the games to get close to her, and despite
her tough
facade, she s rather touched. However, when the Daleks
arrive and
battle is joined, the female programmer is the first to
be killed,
and Davitch soon follows. Soon, Jack is the last
survivor,
and he fights a desperate rearguard action, trying to buy
the Doctor
enough time to finish his work. But the Emperor is
watching,
and he won t let the Doctor forget that finishing his work
will mean
the end of humanity.
Once
again, Mickey is trying to pull open the TARDIS console with a
chain, but
this time it s connected to the recovery vehicle, which
is far
more powerful than his car -- and this time, he succeeds. The
console
snaps open, and a bright light shines out, straight into
Rose s
eyes. The TARDIS door slams shut in Mickey s and Jackie s
faces, and
the TARDIS hurtles forward through Time as the power in
the heart
of the console streams out into Rose s body...
Jack
finally runs out of bullets, and, knowing his fate, he faces
the Daleks
without blinking as they open fire and kill him. The
Daleks
then ascend to Floor 500, but the Doctor has finished his
work, and
he threatens to activate the delta wave unless they
surrender.
The Emperor, however, is convinced of its own
immortality, and it wants to see the Doctor pull the switch and
become
just as great a killer as the Daleks. Faced with the choice,
the Doctor
decides not to pull the switch; he d far rather be a
coward
than a mass killer. The Emperor, triumphant, orders the
Daleks to
exterminate him -- but then the TARDIS materialises, and
Rose steps
out, her entire body glowing with light. To the Doctor s
horror,
she reveals that she looked into the heart of the TARDIS,
and it
looked back into her. Her body now contains the entire Time
Vortex,
and she can see every atom in every moment of Time. With a
wave of
her hand, she uses her newfound power to scatter the name of
the
Badwolf Corporation across time and space like a trail of
breadcrumbs; she is the Bad Wolf, reaching back through Time to
leave a
message for her past self.
The
Doctor, desperate, warns Rose to let go of the power before it
destroys
her, but she refuses to stop until he is safe. The Doctor
once told
her that everything dies eventually -- and with a gesture,
Rose uses
the power within her to unmake the Daleks and finally put
an end to
the legacy of the Time War. As the Emperor desperately
protests
that it is immortal, the entire fleet comes apart and
vanishes,
becoming less than dust. As the Doctor begs her to stop,
Rose waves
her hand, and Jack is restored to life down on Floor 499.
But the
power is becoming too much for her to handle, and the Doctor
realises
that it s going to kill her if he doesn t do something. He
thus takes
Rose in her arms and kisses her, drawing the power out of
her body
and into his. Rose collapses, and the Doctor exhales,
breathing
the power of the Time Vortex back into the TARDIS where it
belongs.
He then staggers back, weakened, but still strong enough to
carry Rose
into the TARDIS. The bewildered Jack hears the TARDIS
dematerialising, and rushes up to Floor 500; however, he s too late,
as the
TARDIS has gone, leaving Jack the only one alive on the Game
Station.
Inside the
TARDIS, Rose recovers, confused and unable to recall what
happened
after the console opened up. The Doctor assures her that
all is
well, but privately, he s noticed that his hand has started
to glow. A
little sad, but very proud, he tells Rose that he was
planning
to take her to the planet Barcelona, but they won t be able
to do that
now -- at least, not like this. The Doctor convulses, his
entire
body glowing with light for a moment, and he tells the
horrified
Rose that the effort of holding the entire Time Vortex
inside his
body has caused terminal damage; every cell in his body
is dying.
Like all Time Lords, he has a way to cheat death, but he s
going to
be very different afterwards -- and before he goes away
forever,
he wants to tell Rose that she was fantastic.
And d you
know what?
So was I! The Doctor s body then seems
to explode with
light, as
if it s being burned away and replaced with something else
-- and
when the light dies down, to Rose s shock, a young man is
standing
in the Doctor s place...
Hello!
Okay-- ngh. New teeth. That s weird. So where was I? Oh,
that s
right -- Barcelona!
Source:
Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
Who s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf: There are far too many
Bad Wolf references in the
previous stories to enumerate
here; suffice it to say that there s one to be seen in every
story to date with the Ninth Doctor and Rose, and that they
noticed this explicitly in the previous episode, Boom Town.
Perhaps the easiest example to find of such references, the
first of these two episodes is entitled Bad Wolf. To keep
this ongoing theme a secret, this title was the last of the
first series episodes to be revealed. In this episode, Rose
is
again wearing a red hood and "the Bad Wolf Corporation"
is
the name of the organization running the GameStation.
In
The Parting of the Ways the Doctor asks the Emperor Dalek
to
explain "Bad Wolf," but he cannot.
The phrase is later
found in graffiti surrounding Rose.
After absorbing time
vortex energy from the TARDIS, Rose reveals herself to be
responsible for leaving the phrase "Bad Wolf" through time
and space to tell herself to return to the TARDIS.
During Bad Wolf the official Doctor Who website was themed
to
look like the Big Brother website, and sponsored by Bad
Wolf TV.
At
the end of the previous episode, Boom Town, the Doctor
sets course for the planet Raxacoricofallapatorius. Here, he
claims to have travelled from Raxacoricofallapatorius to
14th-century Kyoto, Japan, and thence to the Game Station.
However, it is possible that he s referring to an entirely
different visit to Raxacoricofallapatorius, or that it took
him longer than expected to reach the planet, in which case
there is still room to fit in further adventures for the
Ninth Doctor, Rose, and Jack between Boom Town and Bad Wolf.
(However, Rose does explicitly state in The Parting of the
Ways that Boom Town was the last time she d seen Mickey.)
When Lynda asks how the Doctor could possibly have been
alive a century ago, he jokes that he moisturises, probably
as
a reference to Cassandra from The End of the World.
The Face of Boe is identified as the oldest inhabitant of
the Isop Galaxy, which the First Doctor visited way back in
The Web Planet.
When the contestants are
disintegrated on the Game
Station, a small pile of dust remains on the floor; however,
as
it s later revealed that they are being transmatted away,
obviously it can t be their remains. The dust may be zanium,
mentioned in The Twin Dilemma as evidence of
extra-terrestrial kidnapping; the novelisation expanded on
this by revealing that it s a powdery residue that
crystalises out of the space formerly occupied by a mass
that has just been transmatted away.
The name Torchwood made it first appearance in the episode
Bad Wolf. When Rose is playing the Weakest Link, one of the
contestants is asked the question "The Kobolt pyramid is
built on the ruins of what ancient Earth institute?" the
player guesses wrong and the Anne-droid replies
"No...Torchwood".
Dalek continuity, which was already very messy, is made a
little messier here. An Emperor Dalek is first seen in the
Second Doctor story, The Evil of the Daleks. From Genesis of
the Daleks onward, Davros, the creator of the Daleks, is
often seen in charge of one faction of Daleks, and in
Rememberance of the Daleks is even addressed as their
emperor. It's extremely murky, however, whether the Emperor
from The Evil of the Daleks, the Emperor here, and Davros,
are all supposed to be the same person, or three entirely
different megalomaniacs in bonded polycarbite armour.
[Back to Main
Page]
Children in Need Special
Children in Need
Special
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler).
The
Doctor has just regenerated...
Original
Broadcast (UK)
[Untitled] November 18th, 2005 7h00pm - 7h30pm
Notes:
Billie Piper and David Tennant are starring in a special
Doctor Who scene written exclusively for BBC Children in
Need.
[Untitled]
(drn:
6'54")
Rose
stares, stunned, as the young man who has replaced the Doctor
sets the
TARDIS in flight towards the planet Barcelona on Tuesday,
October
5006. He then begins to poke and prod his face and torso,
checking
out his new body s attributes: a slight weakness in the
right
wrist, sideburns, bad skin, and a mole between his shoulder
blades.
When he turns to Rose for her opinion, she demands that he
send the
Doctor back, convinced that he s an impostor -- but he
claims
that he is the Doctor, even though he just changed every cell
in his
body to save his life. To prove it, he takes her hand and
reminds
her of the first word he spoke to her, in a cellar,
surrounded
by malevolent shop-window dummies:
Run.
Rose,
shaken, asks if the Doctor can change back. He tells her that
he can t,
and, realising she s deeply upset, asks if she d prefer to
go home
now. He resets the co-ordinates for the Powell Estate on 24
December,
but when he cracks a joke about her mum s holiday cooking,
she
smiles, despite herself. But just as it seems that he s starting
to win her
over, he convulses and coughs out a cloud of glowing
yellow
light. Worried, Rose asks the Doctor to go back and fetch
Captain
Jack to help, but the Doctor insists that Jack is busy
enough
rebuilding the Earth. His is then distracted by a shiny
switch
switch on the console, and when he flips it, the TARDIS
begins to
accelerate. With a burst of manic energy, the Doctor
begins to
push his ship to go even faster, and in a moment of
lucidity,
he tells Rose that the regeneration is going wrong. The
TARDIS
cloister bell begins to toll, and the Doctor gleefully tells
Rose that
they re about to crash-land. Next stop, Christmas Eve --
but
possibly not in one piece...
Source: Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
While trying to
figure out who or what has replaced the
Doctor she knows, Rose refers to the nanogenes from The
Empty Child, the Gelth from The Unquiet Dead, and the
Slitheen (Aliens of London, Boom Town, and The Monsters
Inside).
The ringing cloister bell was also used in Logopolis,
although there it heralded universal catastrophe rather than
the TARDIS heading for a crash-landing.
The Christmas
Invasion
The Christmas
Invasion
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by James Hawes
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler),
Penelope Wilton (Prime Minister Harriet Jones), Camille Coduri
(Jackie), Noel Clarke (Mickey), Adam Garcia (Alex Klein),
Daniel Evans (Danny Llewellyn), Sean Gilder (Sycorax Leader),
Anita Breim (Sally), Chu Ornambala (Major Blake), Sian
McDowall (Sandra), Paul Anderson (Jason).
The
TARDIS falls to Earth on Christmas Eve, bringing the new
Doctor home to Rose’s family. But while his regeneration goes
wrong, Santa-shaped assassins and deadly Christmas trees
herald the approach of a terrible danger from the stars. The
Sycorax are coming, and without the Doctor, the human race is
helpless.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Christmas Invasion December 25th, 2005 7h00pm - 8h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Phil Collinson, Russell T. Davies and
Julie Gardner is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
Previewed in Doctor Who Magazine #364.
24
December on the Powell estate: Jackie Tyler is decorating a
small,
white Christmas tree and pining over her missing daughter,
while
Mickey Smith works at a garage just around the corner.
Suddenly,
both hear the familiar sound of the TARDIS materialising,
and they
rush out into the courtyard just as the TARDIS pops into
existence
in mid-air, careens wildly off the buildings, and skids to
a halt on
the corner. A strange young man staggers out of the ship,
giddily
wishes Jackie and Mickey a merry Christmas, and faints. A
moment
later, Rose emerges from the TARDIS and tells the startled
Jackie and
Mickey that the strange young man is the Doctor...
The
Christmas Invasion
(drn:
59'30")
Rose
refuses to send the Doctor to a hospital, as she fears what the
authorities will do if they realise that he isn’t human. Jackie puts
him up in
the guest room, dressing him in a pair of men’s pyjamas
and a
robe; Rose wonders where they came from, and her mother
explains
that Howard from the market has been dropping by. The
Doctor’s
two hearts are beating steadily, but Rose is still shaken
by his
transformation and isn’t sure whether he’s just changed his
appearance
or his whole personality. Neither she nor Jackie notice
when the
Doctor quietly exhales a cloud of glowing yellow energy,
which
drifts out of the flat and up into space...
Rose
notices Harriet Jones on TV, and learns that the MP for Flydale
North has
been elected Prime Minister; already, under her guidance,
this is
being called Britain’s Golden Age. British scientists led by
the
enthusiastic Daniel Llewellyn have constructed an unmanned space
probe,
Guinevere One, which is even now descending towards Mars to
take
pictures of the planet’s surface. At least, that’s the plan --
but on its
way down, the probe encounters an alien spacecraft like a
giant
asteroid, and is sucked inside...
As night
falls, Mickey and Rose go shopping for food. Rose realises
that she’s
irritating Mickey by talking about the TARDIS and the
Doctor all
the time, and promises to give Mickey one night without
weirdness.
However, as they pass a brass band of Santa Clauses
playing
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, the Santas turn to follow them,
and just
as Rose realises that they’re wearing metal masks to hide
their
faces, the Santas lower their instruments and use them to
shoot at
Rose and Mickey. As the crowd scatters, a blast from a
bazooka/tuba hits the tree in the middle of the street, which
topples
and crushes one of the Santas beneath it. Rose and Mickey
rush to
safety and catch a taxi back to Jackie’s flat, realising
that the
Santas were after them because they’re housing the Doctor.
Unfortunately, Jackie’s on the phone with her friend Beth, and Rose
is unable
to get through to warn her of the danger.
Rose and
Mickey rush back to the flat, and as they try to warn the
bewildered
Jackie to get out, Rose notices that her tatty white
artificial
tree has been replaced by a lush green one. Jackie claims
that it
was just delivered, and that she thought Rose and Mickey had
bought it;
however, the tree now lights up and begins to spin
towards
them, its artificial needles chewing the room’s furniture to
splinters.
Rose, Mickey and Jackie retreat into the guest bedroom
and
barricade the door, but the tree chews its way through
regardless. Desperate, Rose places the sonic screwdriver in the
Doctor’s
hand and begs him to help her -- and he snaps awake, points
the sonic
screwdriver at the tree, and blows it apart in a cloud of
flame.
The Doctor
rises from the bed and steps out onto the balcony, where
the three
Santas are watching from the courtyard. When the Doctor
points the
sonic screwdriver at them, they teleport away in blurs of
blue
light. The Doctor refers to them as “pilot fish,” but before he
can
explain, he begins to convulse; Rose has woken him too early,
with his
regeneration cycle still incomplete, and he’s suffering
from a
neural implosion. He coughs out another cloud of yellow light
and
explains that his body is bursting with regenerative energy; the
pilot fish
sensed this and came here to destroy his defenders and
kidnap him
so they could run their batteries off his body. The
Doctor is
momentarily distracted when he finds an apple in his
dressing
gown, and Rose is startled when Jackie explains that Howard
gets
hungry in his sleep. Nevertheless, before fainting again, the
Doctor
warns the others that the arrival of the pilot fish means
that
something else, something worse, is on its way.
Rose and
Jackie get the Doctor settled down again in the guest room,
but his
condition has deteriorated and one of his hearts has stopped
beating.
While Mickey looks up “pilot fish” on his laptop, Jackie
turns on
the news, and sees a somewhat worried Daniel Llewellyn
assuring
the press that, despite a temporary loss of contact with
Guinevere
One, they should be receiving the first live transmissions
from the
surface of Mars at any moment. Meanwhile, Mickey learns
that pilot
fish are small scavengers that swim alongside bigger fish
like
sharks -- and at that moment, the transmission from Guinevere
One
appears live on television, revealing the snarling, bone-like
face of an
alien.
While the
media go into a frenzy of speculation, Daniel Llewellyn is
transported to a secret UNIT HQ bunker beneath the Tower of London.
In the ops
room, Major Blake introduces Llewellyn to Harriet Jones
and her
aide, Alex; they have released a cover story claiming that
students
have hijacked the transmission and staged a prank, but the
story
won’t hold for long. A technician named Sally Jacobs reports
that the
probe was in fact broadcasting from 5,000 miles above the
Martian
surface, which presumably means that it’s aboard an alien
ship; the
aliens weren’t Martians, but another species that happened
across the
probe. UNIT satellites then pick up the ship itself,
moving
towards Earth -- very fast. The aliens send another
transmission via the probe, and Blake orders Alex to run the
translation software.
In
Jackie’s flat, Mickey hacks into the military computers, as he’s
done once
before, and finds them tracking the approaching ship. He
also picks
up the alien transmission, but Rose is disturbed to find
that she
can’t understand the alien language. Normally, the TARDIS
automatically translates for her, and if it isn’t doing so now, that
must mean
that part of it is broken... and that part may be the
Doctor.
The
American President contacts UNIT, demanding to be put in charge,
but Jones
flatly refuses to let him turn this incident into a war.
As the
alien ship approaches Earth, Jones asks Major Blake if
there’s
been any sign of the Doctor; there hasn’t, and she thus
orders
Blake to get in touch with the top-secret organisation known
as
Torchwood. Blake is reluctant to involve them, but Jones promises
to take
full responsibility. Alex then reports that the aliens’
message
has been translated; they apparently call themselves the
Sycorax,
and are claiming that “they” will die unless humanity
surrenders, though it’s not clear whom the Sycorax mean by “they”.
Jones
tells Alex to reply that today is a day of peace, and that
humanity
greets them on those terms... and that the planet is
prepared
to defend itself by force if necessary.
As dawn
breaks, the Sycorax respond to Jones’ reply. On the main
screen at
UNIT ops, the Sycorax leader raises his hand, which glows
blue, as
if he’s casting a spell. The same blue light shimmers
around the
heads of a number of people in the ops room, including
Sally
Jacobs, and all those affected fall into a trance and walk out
of the
room. Blake and Llewellyn follow them upstairs to the roof,
where the
entranced victims line up on the edge, as if about to
jump. The
same is happening all across the country; on the Powell
Estate,
Rose and Mickey emerge from the flat to find their
neighbour,
Sandra, trying to get a man named Alex to stop walking.
Out on the
streets, a frantic mother tries to stop her husband and
children
from walking away with the crowd, and a stunned policeman
watches as
hundreds of people line up on the roofs of every
high-rise
building in the city. Soon word reaches UNIT HQ that the
same thing
has happened all across the world; a full third of the
planet’s
population, about two billion people, is standing on the
edge of
roofs, preparing to jump. The meaning of the Sycorax’s
ultimatum
is now clear.
Alex
reports that the entranced people are often direct relations,
but not
husbands and wives. This gives Llewellyn an idea, and when
he checks
the medical records of the affected UNIT staff, he
discovers
that they all have A-positive blood. Llewellyn reveals
that he
placed a plaque on Guinevere One, a message of hope to the
Universe,
containing maps, music -- and a vial of A-positive blood,
which it
seems that the Sycorax are using to control their victims.
Torchwood
is not yet ready to act, and Jones thus goes on TV to
address
the nation. She informs them that the Queen’s holiday speech
has been
cancelled, since the royal family is up on the roof, and
urges her
constituents to remain calm... and she then makes a
personal
plea for the Doctor, if he’s watching this, to come and
help them.
Rose
bursts into tears upon hearing Jones’ plea, as the Doctor is
still
lying unconscious in the guest bedroom -- and unlike the
Doctor she
knew, this new man isn’t going to pop up and save them
all. As
she cries, there is a thundering crash, and windows shatter
all across
the city of London as the Sycorax ship enters the
atmosphere. Soon the ship is hovering above the city like a gigantic
floating
mountain. Rose orders Mickey and Jackie to help her carry
the Doctor
into the TARDIS; she doesn’t know how to stop the aliens,
and all
she can think to do is hide. Jackie collects bags of food,
but is
forced to make two trips to carry it all while Rose and
Mickey
carry the unconscious Doctor into the console room.
The
Sycorax contact UNIT again, demanding that the planet’s tribal
leader
step forward. Jones addresses them on behalf of humanity, and
she, Alex,
Blake and Llewellyn are teleported aboard the Sycorax
ship into
a vast, cavernous space filled with snarling Sycorax. The
Sycorax
leader steps forward and removes his helmet -- to reveal an
even more
hideous face beneath, like bone wrapped around raw muscle.
Llewellyn
takes responsibility for supplying the Sycorax with the
blood
they’re using to control the Earth’s population, and he steps
forward
and begs the Sycorax leader to show mercy and compassion to
the human
race as it takes its first steps to the stars. Instead,
the leader
strikes Llewellyn down with an electric lash, frying him
to a
skeleton in seconds -- and does the same to Blake when the
appalled
Major protests at this treatment of a prisoner. The leader
then
repeats its ultimatum to the shaken Jones, and Alex translates
via his
palm-pad, telling her that the Sycorax are demanding half
the
world’s population as slaves. If Jones refuses to surrender, the
Sycorax
will unleash the final curse and force one-third of the
world’s
population to jump to their deaths.
As Jackie
returns to the flat for more food, Mickey and Rose study
the TARDIS
console. Rose believes that the memory of how to fly the
TARDIS has
been erased from her mind as a safeguard; however, Mickey
recalls
that one of the console screens can pick up TV signals. He
and Rose
try to activate it, but instead trigger a signal -- which
is
detected aboard the Sycorax ship. The Sycorax leader accuses
Jones of
hiding alien technology on her planet and orders his people
to bring
it on board; down below, the TARDIS is teleported away
seconds
before Jackie can step back inside. Inside, Mickey pours
himself a
cup of tea from Jackie’s thermos, and Rose steps outside
to find
out what’s keeping her mother -- and is captured by the
Sycorax.
Hearing her scream, Mickey drops the thermos and rushes to
investigate; when he finds himself surrounded by Sycorax, he doesn’t
have time
to get back inside, but he does manage to shut the door,
keeping
the Sycorax out. Meanwhile, tea spills out of the thermos,
through
the floor of the console room and over the controls beneath,
which
begin to spark and fizz. Sweet-smelling steam wreathes the
Doctor’s
head, and he begins to stir...
Harriet
Jones is delighted to see Rose again, but Rose must then
break the
bad news that the Doctor won’t be there to help them this
time. The
Sycorax leader, assuming that Rose is in charge of the
blue box,
demands that she speak, and despite Mickey’s and Harriet’s
protests,
Rose steps up to try to fill the Doctor’s shoes. She
demands
that the Sycorax leave the Earth in peace, citing the
authority
of every alien race she can think of -- but it’s clear
that she’s
bluffing, and the Sycorax leader bursts out laughing and
threatens
to kill her and take this planet by force. But as Alex
translates
the leader’s threats, the humans slowly realise that they
can hear
the Sycorax leader speaking English, even though he hasn’t
actually
stopped speaking Sycoraxic. The TARDIS has begun to
translate
for them again, and as Rose turns to look, the doors open
and the
Doctor steps out, his synapses healed by the effect of
inhaling
the free radicals and tannin in Jackie’s tea.
The
Sycorax leader lashes his electric whip at the Doctor, but the
Doctor
grabs it out of mid-air, tosses it aside and tells the leader
to wait.
He’s got more important considerations; he wants Rose to
tell him
what colour his hair is. Disappointed to learn that he’s
not
ginger, he snaps at Rose for giving up on him, but then realises
that this
was rather rude of him and worries that his new
personality may be an unpleasant one. Jones is bewildered, wondering
what
happened to the man she knew as the Doctor, but the new Doctor
reminds
her of the time they spent trapped in 10 Downing Street, and
how her
greatest fear was that her mother would be left alone. He’s
still the
same man, in a way -- but when the furious Sycorax leader
demands to
know who he is, the Doctor admits that he doesn’t know
yet. He
does, however, notice the big threatening button on the
blood-control matrix, and when he works out what it’s for, he
decides
that he’s the kind of man who likes to press big threatening
buttons.
Before the others can stop him, this is just what he’s
done.
Appalled,
Alex tells the Doctor that he’s just killed two billion
people --
but the Sycorax leader, caught out, claims that they have
magnanimously decided to let their victims live. The Doctor scoffs
and
reveals that blood control is just a cheap form of hypnotic
conditioning; there are limits to what it can do, and just as it’s
impossible
to hypnotise somebody to death, it was impossible for the
Sycorax to
make their victims leap to their deaths. Down on Earth,
two
billion confused people have just woken up and stumbled back out
of danger.
Furious, the Sycorax leader threatens to call in the rest
of the
armada and invade the Earth by force. The Doctor tries to
reason
with him by citing the wonderful things that humanity can
accomplish, but then realises that he’s quoting a line from The Lion
King, and
instead doffs his borrowed bathrobe and offers to
challenge
the Sycorax leader to a duel. Whatever kind of person he
is, he
still stands as Earth’s champion, and he and the Sycorax
leader
will do battle to determine who wins the Earth.
The Doctor
seizes a sword from a nearby Sycorax, and he and the
leader
begin to fight; however, the Doctor is still finding his
feet, and
doesn’t do terribly well at first. Deciding to take the
fight out
into the open, he punches a control on the wall and takes
the fight
out onto the surface of the ship’s hull, hovering miles
above the
city. Rose is unable to interfere for fear of voiding the
contest,
and must watch helplessly as the Sycorax leader knocks the
Doctor
down -- and chops off his right hand, sword and all. But as
the
Sycorax leader steps back, apparently triumphant, the Doctor
reveals
that he’s still within the first 15 hours of his
regeneration cycle -- and that he still has enough residual cellular
energy to
grow a new right hand. Rose tosses the Doctor a sword, and
this time,
the Doctor defeats the Sycorax leader. With his sword to
the
leader’s throat, the Doctor orders him to swear on the blood of
his
species that he will leave this planet in peace. The Sycorax
leader
reluctantly does so.
Satisfied,
the Doctor turns back to his friends, and the delighted
Rose hands
him his bathrobe, the Doctor finds a satsuma in the
robe’s
pocket -- another of Howard’s snacks. As he muses on the
appropriateness of finding a satsuma at the end of Christmas, the
enraged
Sycorax leader picks up his sword and charges the Doctor
from
behind -- and, without looking back, the Doctor flings the
satsuma at
a control on the hull, causing the hull to swivel open
beneath
the leader’s feet and drop him, screaming, down to the city
miles
below. The new Doctor is the kind of person who doesn’t give
second
chances. The Doctor and his friends return to the cavern
inside the
Sycorax ship, where the Doctor addresses the assembled
hordes,
telling them to go back out into space with a warning: the
Earth is
defended.
The
Sycorax teleport the Doctor and his friends back to Bloxham
Road, just
around the corner from the Powell Estate, and then turn
and
retreat, leaving the Earth in peace. Jones is delighted, and
accepts
that this Doctor is indeed the same man she once knew.
However,
she’s concerned that there might be more aliens like the
Sycorax
out there, and the Doctor confirms that this is the case;
there are
thousands of alien species out in the galaxy, and as the
people of
Earth venture out into space, they’re beginning to draw
attention
to themselves. Jackie then arrives, and as the Doctor
crosses to
greet her and thank her for the tea, Alex receives a call
from
Torchwood and informs Jones that they’re ready to go. As the
Doctor and
his friends celebrate their victory, the Prime Minister
hesitates
for a moment -- and then gives the order to fire. Moments
later,
violent green bursts of energy spear up from London and blow
the
retreating Sycorax ship to bits.
Jones
informs the appalled Doctor that this was a defence system
reverse-engineered from an alien craft that crashed on Earth 10
years ago.
The Doctor isn’t always there to save them, and today,
Jones saw
two men die before her eyes while the Doctor was sleeping;
humanity
has to be ready to defend itself. The Doctor is sickened to
learn that
the architect of Britain’s Golden Age is willing to shoot
a
retreating enemy in the back, and realises that the real monsters
here are
the human race. He tells Jones that he would have stopped
her if
he’d known what she intended, and when she points out that
this makes
him another alien threat, he angrily tells her that he
can bring
down her government with just six words. She tries not to
show that
this rattles her, but the Doctor simply walks over to Alex
and
whispers in his ear: “Don’t you think she looks tired?” That
done, he
walks off without a look back, as the increasingly frantic
Harriet
demands to know what he said and Alex looks at her, slightly
worried.
While
Rose, Mickey and Jackie prepare turkey dinner in Jackie’s
flat, the
Doctor returns to the TARDIS and selects new clothing for
his new
incarnation: an understated brown suit, tie and coat, and
casual
sneakers. He then joins his friends for Christmas dinner, and
as they
eat, the news comes on television; rumours of Harriet Jones’
ill health
are spreading, and despite her attempts to assure the
media that
she’s feeling just fine, it appears that the Opposition
may call
for a vote of no confidence in her government. Jackie’s
friend
Beth then calls them outside, where they see thick, fluffy
snow
falling from a sky full of shooting stars -- or so it appears
until the
Doctor reveals that it’s actually ash from the Sycorax
ship
burning up in the atmosphere. After today, the people of Earth
will have
to accept the existence of alien life. As for the Doctor,
he’s ready
to set off on his travels again, and despite her earlier
concerns,
Rose is ready to go with him. The disappointed Mickey
realises
that she’s still not ready to settle down, but as always,
he and
Jackie must accept her decision. Together, the new Doctor and
Rose will
set off into space to see what wonders are out there...
Source: Cameron Dixon
Continuity Notes:
The organisation
Torchwood makes its first appearance here,
but not its last...
The organisation UNIT, previously mentioned in Aliens of
London, was introduced in the original series episode The
Invasion and appeared on numerous occasions afterwards. The
Martians to whom Major Blake refers may be the Ice Warriors,
a
recurring species introduced in The Ice Warriors; UNIT
encountered them in the novel The Dying Days. He may, on the
other hand, be referring to the radioactive aliens
encountered by UNIT in The Ambassadors of Death.
The British Rocket Group was introduced in the classic
Quatermass TV series.
Prior to the broadcast of this episode, the Who is Doctor
Who? website has a feature on Mars and links to the
Guinevere Project website.
While trying to bluff the Sycorax into leaving the Earth,
Rose quotes Article 15 of the Shadow Proclamations, and
cites the authority of the Slitheen Parliament of
Raxacoricofallapatorius and The Gelth Confederacy as
sanctioned by the Mighty Jagrafess and the Daleks.
The Doctor implies that he’s personally met Arthur Dent --
or
at least somebody very much like the character Arthur
Dent -- the protagonist of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the
Galaxy.
[Back to Main
[Back to Main
Page]
New Earth
New Earth
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by James Hawes
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille
Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Zoë
Wanamaker (Cassandra), Sean Gallagher (Chip), Doña Croll
(Matron Casp), Michael Fitzgerald (Duke of Manhattan), Lucy
Robinson (Frau Clovis), Adjoa Andoh (Sister Jatt), Anna Hope
(Novice Harne), Simon Ludders (Patient), Struan Rodger (Face
of
Boe).
The
Doctor takes Rose to visit mankind's new home, in the far
future, but the Lady Cassandra is out for revenge.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
New Earth April
15th, 2006 7h05pm
- 7h50pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Russell T. Davies and
Phil Collinson is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
TARDISODE
Novice
Haime, one of the cat nurses of the hospital on New Earth,
presents a
promotional video for the hospital, claiming the staff
can cure
any disease. She welcomes the audience to come to the
hospital
before pointing out one of the hospital’s current patients,
who has a
terminal disease known as Autras Disease.
Moment
later the patient is cured, sitting in bed holding a bunch of
flowers.
Novice Haime explains the nurses never loose a patient,
they are
here to help. “Come to New Earth and be cured”.
Suddenly
there is a cry of a woman screaming for help, followed by
the
screeching whine of a cat, all is not as it seems in the
hospital…
The Doctor
enters the TARDIS, and begins to activate the controls.
Power
surges all around him as the ship prepares to leave. Outside
the ship,
Rose is saying goodbye to Jackie and Mickey. She bids them
farewell
and as she walks inside, complete with traveller’s
rucksack,
Mickey watches her walk out of her life once more as Jack
makes her
way back to the estate. Rose enters the TARDIS and
discards
her rucksack. The Doctor smiles and activates the ship. It
takes off
with Mickey still outside. Rose turns to the Doctor and
asks where
they are going. He replies. “Further than we’ve ever gone
before…”
New Earth
(drn:44'01")
Rose and
the Doctor exit the TARDIS on a windy hillside. The Doctor
explains
it is the year 5 billion and 23, in the galaxy M87. This is
New Earth.
As spaceships fly overhead Rose giggles in excitement,
bouncing
up and down on the alien landscape. She admits to how much
she loves
travelling with the Doctor and together they run off hand
in hand,
unaware they are being watched.
In a place
unknown, a man with patterned skin is watching through
some kind
of surveillance device. He gasps as he realises the girl
he sees is
a pure blood human. He glares at the orb before him and
activates
some controls, muttering “closer, closer”. On the grass
outside
the Doctor and rose are sunbathing, again unaware a small
mechanical
spider crawling towards them.
The Doctor
and Rose lament about their “first date” back on Platform
One. The
Doctor explains that once the sun expanded and the original
Earth was
destroyed there was a big revival movement and the remains
of the
human race looked for a new home, finding a planet of the
same size,
atmosphere and orbit on which to start again. Rose
enquires
as to the grand city that stands before him and the doctor
explains
it is New New York. She is sceptical but he explains it is
actually
the fifteenth New York since the original and is thus
called New
New New New New New New New New New New New New New New
York. Rose
giggles and exclaims how different the Doctor. He smiles
and quips
“New New Doctor”
In the
surveillance area, another unseen figure, a female this time,
is
watching the image displayed on the orb, and recognises the
girl’s
face. She calls for the spider to show her the face and the
man does
likewise. On the grass the spider advances, watching Rose
get up
from the ground. She asks the Doctor is they can visit New
New York
but he has other ideas. Someone is contacting him via the
psychic
paper, asking him to come to Ward 26. He points out a nearby
hospital
and he and Rose, ho presumed they were just sightseeing,
walk off
arm in arm.
The female
figure watching them is Cassandra, and after hearing that
Rose as on
her way to the hospital claims that this must surely be
destiny.
Soon she shall have her revenge.
The two
travellers have entered the hospital foyer, a grand room
with
masked nurses walking about greeting visitors and making their
way to see
their patients. The Doctor ponders that there isn’t a
little
shop nearby as Rose looks around, saying that she would have
thought
all diseases would have been cured in the future. The Doctor
explains
that even as the human race advances disease advances with
them, an
ongoing battle. Rose by now has been drawn to an unmasked
nurse
walking past, who takes on the appearance of a cat. The Doctor
warns her
not to stare and then points out where he’d put the little
hospital
shop. He walks into a lift and announces “Ward 26 thanks”.
In the
surveillance area the man addresses the orb and states
“Override
controls”. Back in the foyer Rose rushes to get in the
lift but
the doors shut on her. The Doctor calls out to her as she
gets in
another lift, telling her to go to Ward 26 and to watch out
for the
disinfectants. Although she known where to go she doesn’t
here his
warning despite him still trying to tell her. He gives up
and
mutters that she’ll soon find out. By now she has got into the
lift and
gingerly asked or ward 26. However, her lift does not
ascend
like the Doctor’s has and instead she descends into the
depths of
the hospital, the man still watching her on the orb.
The lift
computer announces in both lift capsules that stage one of
the
disinfection is about to begin. As they await their arrival the
travellers
are showered in water. As the Doctor enjoys showering
himself
Rose is taken by surprise. Next they are blasted with steam
and then
finally dried off. The Doctor taking it all in his stride
and Rose
clawing to get her hair in place.
Arriving
at their separate destinations they step out of the lift
capsules
bone dry. The Doctor proceeds to Ward 26 as Rose emerges to
find
herself in the basement. The patterned man is waiting for her
and calls
for her to follow before jauntily running off. Slightly
taken
aback Rose picks up a disguarded metal bar, should it come in
useful
against the strange man who seems to know her name. She
slowly
walks after him.
In Ward 26
the Doctor is being escorted by a cat nurse, one of the
Sisters of
Plenitude, Sister Jatt. He is still trying to sell the
idea of
building a little shop in the hospital, claiming it could do
some
people the world of good. As he walks through the ward he
observes
the different patients, particularly the Duke of Manhattan.
The Duke’s
advisor Frau Clovis tells the Time Lord he may not gaze
upon her
master but the Doctor is more interested in the Duke’s
disease,
Pentrifold Regression. The Duke himself admits he is dying
and
squirms in pain, his skin a stone-like grey.
As they
walk off the nurse, Sister Jatt explains to the Doctor that
he will be
up and about in a few days but the Doctor explains a cure
won’t be
around for another thousand years. She tells him to have
faith in
the sisterhood and asks if he can see the person he is
supposed
to be meeting. Sure enough he has and looks on at the Face
of Boe.
His carer, Novice Hame is left to accompany the Doctor as
Nurse Jett
leaves, having promised to check if Rose has been found
anywhere.
Hame explains that the Face of Boe is dying of old age,
having
lived for thousands, possibly millions of years. The Doctor
kneels
down and tries to awaken him, but the creature merely sighs.
Down in
the basement Rose emerges in the surveillance chamber, which
houses a
film projector displaying scenes from a dinner party, the
human
woman in which sounds vaguely familiar. Rose realises who it
is and
turns to see Cassandra before her, still in her frame. She
warns her
not to come any closer but Cassandra reasons that there is
very
little she can do to harm her. Rose enquires as to her servant
but
Cassandra explains he is Chip, her cloned servant whom she
modelled
herself.
Rose asks
as to how Cassandra still survives, and Chip explains her
brain
remained alive after her apparent death and her eyes were
salvaged
from the bin. The skin she occupies is again from her
original
body but this time from her back, not her front. Rose
laughs and
quips that Cassandra is thus “talking out of your ar…”
but she
cuts in, telling her not to ask. Chip has been stealing
medicine
to heal her, but despite this she is still alone, the last
human.
Rose warns her not to start lamenting about her status again
as she did
once before, this is New Earth, the human race has
evolved
but Cassandra can’t let go.
Fed up of
being talked at Cassandra turns to the movie projector and
sighs,
that dinner party was the last time anyone ever called her
beautiful.
She breaks off and explains to Rose that all these years
in the
hospital she has found things out. The cat nurses are hiding
secrets
and asks Rose to come closer. Instead she backs away but
falls into
Cassandra’s trap. Chip pulls a lever and Rose is held by
two chains
of light engulfing her wrists. Cassandra orders Chip to
activate
the Psychograph and as he does so Rose is caught in a cage
of light.
Cassandra’s body is disintegrated into a vapour trails which winds
it’s way
into Rose. She falls down as the light surrounding her
fades and
Chip rushes over to awaken her. In her new body Cassandra
slowly
awakens and gets up, marvelling at once again having arms,
fingers
and hair. She walks over to the mirror and gasps in dismay.
“I’m a
Chav.”
In Ward 26
the doctor has brought Hame a glass of Water. She
explains
that the Face of Boe does so little these days,
occasionally singing in his brain telepathically transmitting his
words to
her. She talks of the stories surrounding him, in
particular
the prophecy that just before he dies he will impart his
great
secret to one like himself, to the wanderer, to the man
without a
home, a lonely god. The Doctor looks on in silence.
In the
basement Cassandra continues to examine her body and rejoices
in the
curves, claiming it to be “like living inside a bouncy
castle”.
She turns form the mirror to find that her old brain has
decayed,
yet her mind remains inside Rose, whose own mind is locked
away deep
inside. She looks inside Roses’ thoughts and realises the
man she is
with is the Doctor, only with a new face. The hypocrite.
She
ponders finding out the name of his surgeon, this new body needs
some work,
despite the nice rear bumper. Suddenly Roses’ mobile
phone
starts to ring and after consulting Chip as to what accent
Rose uses
she answers, in a rather bad cockney accent.
The Doctor
is on the other side and tells her to make her way to
Ward 26,
where he’s found the Face of the Boe. She agrees to make
her way
there and hangs up. The Time Lord meanwhile returns to the
Duke of
Manhattan, who has now been cured. The Doctor is puzzled as
to how he
has been cured when the cure should not have been found
yet.
Matron Cass remains silent and is called away by Sister Jatt.
One of the
patients is conscious, and they can’t have that.
In the
basement Cassandra decides she must find out what the
Sisterhood
are up to. She takes a bottle of perfume from Chip and
conceals
it in her bosom.
In a long
corridor lined with pods the Casp and Jatt approach. They
are
inspecting the contents of one of the pods, apparently a man of
some sort.
He seems to have developed speech and free will, not as
expected.
They close him back in and walk away, casually
incinerating him as they go.
In Ward 26
the Doctor is examining the drip feeds of multicoloured
liquids.
Cassandra, alias Rose enters and the Doctor shows her a
variety of
patient with diseases he presumes should take a long time
to cure
but have been brought back to full health in no time at all.
They two
of them try to find an information terminal to find out how
this is
achieved and if it is a huge medical advancement why it
needs to
be kept such a secret. He then enquires as to Roses’
cockney
accent but she fobs him off with it being New Earth so she
is a new
person. The Doctor quips that it’s a new him to and she
agrees,
before embracing him and kissing him. She walks off leaving
the Doctor
dumbstruck. He mutters that he’s still got it and
proceeds
to a terminal where he finds to useful information.
Cassandra
tells him to search the subframe via the instillation
protocol
and sure enough when he attempts to access it the section
of wall
slides away revealing a darkened corridor. They walk inside;
unaware
Novice Name is following them.
They
descend to the same corridor that Casp and Jatt had just
visited
and look out over the balcony. As fast as the eye can see,
millions
of glowing green pods line the walls. The Doctor opens one
to find a
deformed human inside. He apologises to it sympathetically
and closes
the door before moving onto the next one. He opens it and
explains
to Rose that the subjects have been infected with every
disease
known to man. Again he closes the door, warning not to let
them make
contact or the disease will spread. Rose asks how many
patients
there are but the Doctor explains they are not patients.
Grimly he
says that they were born like this, as experiments for the
Sisterhood
to find a cure for the deadliest diseases.
Novice
Hame finds them and replies it is for the greater good. They
were born
like this, they are not real people they have no proper
existence.
The research is needed to save mankind and this plague
farm is
the last hope at finding cures. The Doctor protests these
experiments are alive but Hame explains they are saving millions in
the wider
world. Again the Doctor defends the bodies held I the
capsules,
they are being mistreated. The nurse asks on what
authority
he accuses them and he simply states that he is the
Doctor;
there is no higher authority. Cassandra cuts in to confirm
that none
of the humans in the city know of this research centre
before
returning to slowly feeling her brand new body. The Doctor
turns back
to Hame and states he understands why the bodies must be
held this
way, but not why somebody has been tampering with Roses’
head.
She sheds
responsibility but the Doctor warns her he will not
tolerate
it and if he is not filled in on what is going on he will
loose his
temper. She maintains her innocence and Cassandra finally
gives in,
explaining what has happened. She takes out the perfume
bottle and
sprays the Doctor, knocking him out. Hame rushes to find
Matron as
Cassandra raises the alarm and conceals the Doctor in one
of the
pods; about to be infected with the thousand diseases the
patients
are victims to. He tells her to free Roses’ body and she
explains
she will when she finds another, before leaving him to his
fate. She
turns to Hame and Jatt, who are waiting for her. She tries
to
blackmail them into giving her money in return for her silence
over the
matter of the plague farm. The sisters refuse and turn on
her. She
switches to plan B and orders Chip to activate. He pulls a
lever and
all of the pods spring open, including the Doctor’s.
Slowly the
zombie-like patients emerge, begging to be saved. The
Doctor,
Chip and Cassandra flee, leaving the Sisters.
The
patients know what is going on and open the rest of the pods in
the
complex. They advance of the sisters, touching Jatt, passing on
their
disease. They then turn on the Doctor, Cassandra and Chip, who
flee down
to the basement. Matron Casp orders the building to be
quarantined and sure enough a complete lock down follows. The
infected
patients begin to run riot, infecting those in the wards.
As the
Doctor, Cassandra and Chip reach the lower levers they are
separated,
Chip flees down a waste shoot as Cassandra and the Doctor
are
trapped in the basement. There, the Time Lord orders Cassandra
to free
Rose and she does, entering him instead. She adjusts to this
new body,
complete with its two hearts before being cut off by the
mutants,
who have broken down the door. The two of them flee up a
lift
shaft.
Chip
meanwhile has returned to the plague farm, where he is trapped
between
two crowds of mutants. He locks himself in one of the pods,
hoping to
stay safe.
In the
lift shaft Rose and Cassandra are climbing up a ladder but
Matron
Casp has followed them, and grabs on to Rose believing her to
be the
cause of the breakdown of all the Sisterhood’s work. The
Doctor
tells her to go and play with a ball of string but she is
instead
infected by the patients, who are also crawling up the lift
shaft. She
screams in pain and falls down the shaft. Reaching the
top
Cassandra enters back into Rose so the Doctor can open the
hatchway
with the sonic screwdriver. The Doctor protests and tells
her to
leave Rose alone and so she returns to him. After more
protests
from Rose she gives up and begrudgingly enters one of the
patients.
The Doctor open the door and he and Rose crawl through,
followed
by Cassandra’s vapour trail, which re-enters Rose. Now safe
behind the
re-locked door Cassandra admits that she could read the
patient’s
mind. Inside all they want is to be held, to be touched.
The Doctor
offers her his hand and together they leave, returning to
Ward 26.
After convincing the Frau Clovis that they are clean they
try t
think of a solution to the problem, and she admits she’s been
trying to
break the quarantine and contact the city. The Doctor
explains
they cannot do that encase the infected patients get out.
Instead he
orders Cassandra and Novice Hame to get the drip feeds
for all of
the known diseases and straps them to his jacket. He
jumps onto
the lift cable and attaches a botched handrail to make
the cable
act as a zip line. He calls for Cassandra to follow but
she
protests, until the Frau Clovis locks her out of the ward and a
hoard of
patients chases her into joining the Time Lord.
He flicks
the handrail and they descend to the top of a lift
capsule.
As the Doctor fills the disinfectant system with the
contents
of the drip feeds Cassandra holds back the automatic
system.
The Doctor descends into the capsule and opens the door,
beckoning
the patients outside to follow him. Some of them step
inside and
Cassandra releases the disinfectant lever, allowing the
solution
to empty over the patients. They are cured and on the
Doctor’s
command pass the cure on to all of the others, wiping out
all traces
of the disease. As the patients begin to come to their
senses the
Doctor explains a new human race has been created and
having
helped to cure them Cassandra can no longer deny them.
Soon
after, the Sisterhood are being led away by the NNYPD. The
hospital
is now under control of the city officials and as the
Doctor and
Cassandra watch the nurses being led away the Time Lord
realises
he is yet to hear the Face of Boe’s message. He dashes back
to Ward 26
to find the face has awoken, with a revitalised lust for
life. He
telepathically addresses the Doctor and Cassandra and tells
them that
the secret he has to tell can wait until another day. They
shall meet
again, for the last time and then the truth can be told.
He
teleports way leaving the Doctor to exclaim how enigmatic the
scenario
is, before turning the Cassandra. He tells her that she has
lived long
enough and must leave Roses’ body and end it all.
Suddenly,
Chip enters, safe from the patient attack and addressing
his
mistress. Cassandra looks at him, a willing body, and body swaps
into his
mind, leaving Rose free at last. As she recovers Cassandra,
in her new
body greets them, much to the Doctor’s protest. But
Cassandra
realises that Chip’s cloned body will not last long. Sure
enough he
collapses and Cassandra finally realises the universe has
evolved,
there is no place for either her or Chip anymore. It is
time to
die.
The Doctor
realises that there is one thing he can do for her and
returns
her, still in Chip’s body to the dinner party Cassandra was
watching
on the movie projector in the basement. She approaches her
past self
and tells her how beautiful she is before collapsing once
more in
her arms. Her original humanoid form tends to Chip’s
lifeless
body as he slips away, ignored by the other partygoers.
As events
unfold Rose returns to the TARDIS as the Doctor watches,
his face
emotionless.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
What's left of the words "BAD WOLF" can still be seen on the
ground at the beginning.
Cassandra and her robotic spiders were first seen in the
season one episode The End of the World.
Despite speculation that this would occur throughout the
series as with ‘Bad Wolf’ is series one, there appears to be
no
reference to Torchwood in this episode.
The TARDIS is in a different location at the beginning of
this episode compared to the final scene in The Christmas
Invasion, implying there may well have been other adventures
between these two stories (i.e. Attack of the Graske) but
some references to the Doctor being a ‘new’ Doctor do imply
very little time has passed since Christmas.
The Doctor has met cat people before in Invasion of the Cat
People and Survival.
[Back to Main
Page]
Tooth and Claw
Tooth and Claw
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Pauline
Collins (Queen Victoria), Ian Hanmore (Father Angelo),
Michelle Duncan (Lady Isobel), Jamie Sives
(Reynolds), Ron
Donachie (The
Steward), Tom Smith (The Host), Ruth Milne
(Flora), Derek Riddell (Sir Robert).
The
Doctor and Rose have to protect Queen Victoria, but can
anything stop the Empire of the Wolf?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Tooth and Claw April
22nd, 2006 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Simon Winstone and
Derek Riddell is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
TARDISODE
A howling
space pod hurtles through space, heading for Earth. It
crashes in
a ball of flame into the hills of the Scottish Highlands
with
seemingly nobody around.
Three
hundred years later the landscape has not changed and amidst
the long
lowing grass a man walks alone followed by the snarling
growl of a
beast. He looks around but sees nothing around yet as he
continues
to walk he looks over his shoulder and begins to run.
Suddenly
he is fleeing for his life but it is too late to escape.
From
behind him pounces a giant beast that brings him tumbling to
the ground
it is a wolf
On a windy
hillside a procession of monks advances towards a stately
house,
pulling with them a carriage. They arrive in the courtyard
where the
father, Father Angelo is met with a frosty reception from
the
steward. He demands to be given the house but the steward laughs
him off.
Angelo deals with him before signalling to his brothers and
they take
off their cloaks revealing blood red robes. A kung-fu
fight
ensures and the men in the courtyard are soon overcome. The
rest of
the household is soon invaded and the staff are rounded up
and held
in the cellar. Before them the brethren wheel in the
contents
of their carriage, covered in a cloth. Father Angelo looks
on and
prays for God to have mercy on his soul. He removes the cloth
and the
servants scream in terror
Tooth and
Claw
(drn:44'30")
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor is busy at work as Rose enters, having
changed
ready for another adventure. The Doctor activates a stereo
system and
plays Ian Dury and the Blockheads, a number one in 1979.
Rose looks
on in wonder as the Doctor prepares to take her to see
the band
live in Sheffield. They land with a thud and as they lament
about 1979
they walk outside, only to be held at gunpoint.
The
lavishly dressed soldiers surround them and the Doctor realises
they are
in 1879, a hundred years too early. He then realises that
they have
landed in Scotland and adopts a Scottish accent to try and
fit in.
Rose also attempts this but fails miserably and reverts to
her
natural tongue. The head soldier demands to know who they are
and the
Doctor presents himself as James McCrimmon, a medical
student.
A voice
from the carriage the soldiers are guarding orders the two
travellers
to move forward and as they do so, the door to the
carriage
opens to reveal Queen Victoria. The Doctor introduces
himself
and Rose and then passes the monarch his psychic paper,
which she
reads as describing him as her protector. The Doctor
enquires
as to why her majesty is travelling by coach when there is
a train
that would run faster but she explains there is a tree on
the line,
and not entirely by accident. Rose is shocked to realise
it may
well have been an assassination attempt but Victoria fobs the
problem
off, she is no stranger to staring down the barrel of a gun.
A guard on
horseback announces that the house of Sir Robert McLeash
is only
ten miles away and Victoria tells him that the Doctor and
Rose are
to join them on their way. They shall arrive soon, for
there are
legends of wolves upon these Scottish landscapes. As the
entourage
continues across open ground the Doctor and Rose talk
excitedly
of meeting Queen Victoria and Rose bets the Time Lord ten
pounds
that she can make her say we are not
amused . The deal done
they walk
on.
Soon they
arrive at the house, with Sir Robert watching from a
window.
Father Angelo of the brethren stands beside him dressed as a
butler,
warning if he does not cooperate his wife Lady Isobel will
be
devoured. Robert makes his way downstairs and greets his guests
where
Victoria enquires as to the welfare of his wife and he
explains
she is away from home. He subtly tries to warn her against
staying,
claiming the larder to be empty but she is insistent, her
late
husband spoke so fondly of his house, the Torchwood estate.
After
apologising for Roses nakedness the two travellers follow
the others
inside, Rose attempting to win her bet by claiming she is
not amused
by the Doctor s japery. The Queen however does not fall
into her
little trap. The guards prepare to surround the house to
protect
their monarch, one of them taking a box from the carriage
and
carrying it inside the house.
In the
cellar the scared servants look on at the cage. Inside sits a
cloaked
man, his head bowed. He raises a finger to his lips to
silence
them, as they look on in terror.
In the
house the box is placed in a safe as the Doctor, Rose and
Victoria
are taken by Sir Robert to the observatory, to see a grand
telescope
built by his father. The Doctor observes it with gusto but
comments
upon how it has too many prisms; the magnification is far
too much.
Rose meanwhile continues to win her bet but again to no
avail.
Victoria reminisces about her late husband Albert, explaining
how he was
so encapsulated by the legend of the wolf that stalks the
area. Sir
Robert tries to explain but his butler, alias Father
Angelo,
who explains the guests rooms are ready,
cuts him off.
Victoria
explains it is time Rose got some proper clothes; she is
tired of
her nakedness. Rose touts it is not amusing but again the
monarch
does not follow suit. Instead she declares they are to dine
at seven,
to hear more about this wolf.
As the sun
begins to set Rose searches through the wardrobes in her
rooms for
some clothes as the cooks in the kitchen (other members of
the
brotherhood) prepare supper. Rose continues her search but is
startled
to find a young servant girl hiding in one of the closets.
In the
corridors of the house the already fed soldiers begin to fall
unconscious as Father Angelo rushes around in preparation.
The
servant girl, known as Flora, explains to Rose how the brothers
took over
the house and imprisoned the staff, as well as Sir
Robert s
wife in the cellar. Rose comforts her and tells her the
Doctor
will help. They leave the room only to find one of the
unconscious guards. Rose kneels down to examine him and finds he has
been
drugged but she and Flora are then abducted by members of the
staff.
The
Doctor, Sir Robert, Victoria and her guardian Captain Reynolds
are
preparing to dine as the father enters and explains Rose has
been
delayed. Victoria briefly mourns for her lost Albert, wishing
she could
hear a message from beyond his grave, the hope of the
human
race, before ushering Sir Robert to continue with his story.
Down in
the cellar Rose and Flora have been tied up in chains with
the rest
of the staff before the cloaked man. Rose wonders exactly
what the
threat is but Lady Isobel, Sir Robert s wife explains he is
not like
any human and sure enough when he raises his head his eyes
are not
those of any man.
Back in
the dining room Sir Robert explains that the legend of the
wolf dates
back three hundred years, and states how every full moon
a howling
rings through the valleys and livestock goes missing. The
Captain
dismisses it as a work of fiction to cover for thieves but
Sir Robert
explains that once every generation, a boy goes missing
as well.
In the
cellar Rose looks on at the cage, slowly creeping forward.
She asks
the creature where it came from, realising it is not from
Earth. She
asks where it was born and it replies, the body it
resides in
was born ten miles away, and was stolen away by the
brethren
for cultivation. His soul was removed and the creature sat
in his
heart.
In the
dining room the Doctor enquires as to what the monster looks
like and
sir Robert explains that although it may appear to be a
wolf, it
is really a man who transforms into a wolf; a werewolf.
In the
cellar the creature continues to talk, explaining its
ambitions
to migrate into the body of Queen Victoria and to take
over her
great empire. Suddenly it roars and within Rose it sees a
wolf, but
she disregards his comments. It talks of her burning like
the sun
but all it needs is the moon
Back
upstairs Sir Robert explains his father s fascination with the
beast, how
he claimed to have communed with the beast and to have
learned it
s purpose, and how the local brotherhood opposed his
investigations. Although initially thinking the opposition to be
because of
godly matters he now suspects it is because of something
else and
as he continues the Doctor is drawn to the head butler, who
is
standing by the window, looking out into the night and chanting
quietly in
Latin. Sir Robert continues, stating how he believes the
brethren
to have turned from God, and to have begun worshipping the
wolf.
In the
cellar the outer doors are opened exposing the creature to
the full
moon. It basks in the moonlight and begins to remove his
cloak. His
face slowly morphs into that of a wolf and Rose realises
what it
happening. She calls to the rest of the staff and together
they pull
at their chains, trying to dislodge them from the wall.
Upstairs
Father Angelo continues to chant and the Doctor realises
there is
dirty work afoot. Victoria demands to know what is
happening
as Sir Robert apologises to her, explaining how they have
captured
his wife. The Doctor calls for them to run.
Down in
the cellar the creature is slowly transforming, howling at
the moon
as it goes. Rose and the others continue to pull at the
chains as
upstairs the Captain threatens the father, demanding to
know what
he wants. He turns to look at him and answers: the throne.
Queen
Victoria looks on as the father knocks out the Captain, the
Doctor and
Sir Robert meanwhile break out into the corridor and run
as below
stairs the wolf begins to take shape. Rose and her fellow
captors
shatter their chains as the Doctor and Sir Robert arrive.
The Doctor
stares amazed at the wolf as it breaks out of its cage.
He quickly
runs out, following the others, locking the door with the
sonic
screwdriver behind him. The wolf howls at the moon.
Victoria
confronts Father Angelo, realising he halted her train. He
explains
they have waited so long for one of her trips to coincide
with the
full moon but she does not fear him. As she explains she is
used to
being threatened she takes a revolver from her handbag and
aims it at
him. He fobs her off as her woman but she concurs, the
correct
term of phrase is your majesty . She
corrects him and pulls
the
trigger.
In the
corridors the male servants are arming themselves as the
woman
leave with Lady Isobel to the kitchen. Rose tells the Doctor
what the
werewolf is after and he turns to find it has broken free
again. It
pursues him and he and Rose flee, leaving the servants to
open fire.
The women meanwhile arrive at the kitchen to find the
outside
door locked, the brethren guarding the lawn outside.
The Doctor
calls for the servants to run upstairs but he is ignored.
The beast
strikes, killing them all. The remaining few run off as
the beast
approaches the kitchen. It stops, sniffs and then runs
back the
way it came.
Victoria
has found the safe and removed the contents of the precious
box. Sir
Robert enters and asks where Father Angelo has gone. She
explains
Captain Reynolds has disposed of him. The Doctor enters and
explains
the doors are blocked. They will have to exit out of a
window.
Sir Robert leads the way but the brethren outside open fire
and they
are forced back inside. Rose asks what is to be done and
the Doctor
explains they must run.
Sure
enough a chase begins up the many staircases of the house.
Captain
Reynolds decides it is time to stand and fight and despite
the Doctor
s warnings awaits the wolf as the others flee. The
treasure
is safe, that s all that matters. He opens fire as the
beast
approaches but it is no use. He is dead within seconds. The
Doctor,
Rose, Victoria and Sir Robert take refuge in the Library,
and
barricade the door. The Doctor presses up against the wall, and
outside
the wolf does the same. He waits as the wolf sniffs around,
before
retreating.
The four
captives trace the grunts of the wolf around the outside of
the room
to another door, which the Doctor and Sir Robert quickly
barricade.
They listen as it scrapes about outside, but not daring
to try and
force entry. The Doctor ponders what it is that is
holding it
back. Sir Robert meanwhile apologises to the Queen for
allowing
her to enter such jeopardy and Rose takes the opportunity
to ask if
the monarch is amused. She turns on her and blasts that it
is not to
be found funny and then asks what the beast really is. The
Doctor
explains it is a werewolf, but technically an alien. The
monarch
however turns on him as well and asks what has happened to
his
accent, and if he is to be trusted. She is to have none of it.
This is
not her world.
Meanwhile,
in the kitchens Lady Isobel notices the guards outside
are
wearing necklaces of mistletoe and are not being attacked by the
beast, and
realises she has found a way to defend herself and the
servants.
The young girls admit the brethren must have brought it to
the plant
into the house and begin to gather every last scrap up.
In the
library the Doctor notices a carved emblem of mistletoe
mounted on
the door and then finds out it is also in the varnish on
the walls.
He realises that Sir Robert s father must have discovered
a
repellent to the werewolf and used it to protect the room. He
turns to
the bookshelves and tells his friends to arm themselves,
they need
to do some research.
In the
kitchens the servants are brewing the mistletoe in boiling
water as
Lady Isobel tells them she must try to save her husband.
In the
library the captives trawl through the pages of the books and
discover a
spaceship fell to Earth in 1540 by the brethren s
monastery
and began to keep itself alive by inhabiting the body of a
young boy
and seeing it through till old age before beginning again.
It is now
bent on taking the throne to create his own empire and
accelerate
technology, bringing Victorian England into the space
age,
devastating history.
Victoria
speaks up and claims that if she is to die in the house she
would
rather destroy herself than let the wolf infect her. She then
asks Sir
Robert to find a safe place for a very valuable item and
produces
from her bag the treasure her guards were protecting, the
Koh-i-Noor
diamond. She quips that the diamond s legend is perhaps
coming
true; whoever owns it must surely die.
The Doctor
takes the jewel and examines it. He asks why Victoria was
carrying
it with her and she explains it was to be re-cut, her late
husband
never being happy with its shape. The Doctor explains how
Albert
always wanted it cut down and Victoria adds that he claimed
the shine
was not quite right.
The Doctor
suddenly begins to piece things together in his brain.
The house
may be a trap for the Queen but Albert and Sir Robert s
father,
having heard of the wolf and it s motives realised what
would
happen and set a trap within a trap to stop the wolf. He is
cut off
when dust from the ceiling is disturbed and the captives
look up to
find the wolf crawling over the glass window in the
ceiling.
The glass gives way and the beast descends as the Doctor
and Sir
Robert unblock the door and flee with the Queen and Rose.
The beast
pursues but is repelled when Lady Isobel and the female
servants
arrives and throw the mistletoe water over it. Safe for the
moment the
husband and wife kiss each other before the servants and
their
mistress once again go downstairs.
The Doctor
then cuts in and explains they must get to the
observatory. They arrive and the Doctor explains they must barricade
the doors
but Sir Robert says he will defend them. He returns to the
corridor
and arms himself with a sword as the beast runs up the
stairs.
The Doctor
and Rose begin to manoeuvre the telescope into the
correct
position, aiming it at the moon whilst outside Sir Robert
addresses
the wolf, claiming it has forced him to commit treason and
now his
wife shall remember him in honour. He draws his sword and
swipes at
the beast but to no avail, he is dead within seconds.
The
telescope is really a light chamber, used to magnify the
moonlight.
They slowly lever it into place and it powers up,
amplifying
the light of the moon, focusing it on the doorway. The
beast
bursts in and the Doctor quickly slides the Koh-i-Noor diamond
into the
path of the light, amplifying it even more so as it falls
upon the
wolf. The beast is engulfed and pulled into the air. Slowly
it changes
shape into the human host, who asks the Doctor to make
the light
brighter so as to let him go. He does so and the light
intensifies, dispelling the wolf and the host into dust.
Victoria
looks on before turning to her wrist, caressing a wound.
The Doctor
asks if she has been bitten but she maintains it is a
mere
scratch when the door gave way. The Doctor tries to examine her
but she
resists. She claims it is nothing.
The next
day the Doctor and Rose kneel before Queen Victoria, who
dubs them
Sir Doctor of TARDIS and Dame Rose of the Powell Estate.
They stand
and thank her. The Doctor then states that he believes
Albert s
trap to save his wife was a message from beyond the grave,
the
message she was looking for. The Queen then states there is
something
else for the Doctor to think about. She is not amused. The
Doctor
moans as Rose rejoices she has won her bet but the Queen is
being
serious.
She
announces the two travellers are to be banished from her empire,
never to
return. She doesn t know where they come from but does know
that they
rejoice in sorcery from the stars and whose escapades are
steeped in
death and danger. It must not be allowed. They must think
about how
they came to stray so far from the path of good and how
much
longer they may hope to survive such a lifestyle. She tells
them to
leave her world and never return.
Later,
back on the open valley the Doctor and Rose are on their way
back to
the TARDIS, the Time Lord explaining how Queen Victoria was
a
haemophiliac, which could be a Victorian euphemism for werewolf.
Her royal
descendants also had the disease, which could mean they
are all
infected and the werewolf virus would take one hundred years
to mature,
perhaps ready by the early 21st Century. They enter the
ship
amazed by what might be, howling as they go.
That
night, back at the house Queen Victoria is saying farewell to
Lady
Isobel, asking what she will do now her husband is gone. She
replies
that the house is to be sold or pulled down but the queen
has other
ideas.
Sir Robert
s sacrifice and his father s ingenuity will not be
forgotten.
She has seen now that Great Britain has enemies beyond
imagination and must defend its borders on all sides. There shall be
an
institute, who shall investigate these occurrences and to fight
them. It
shall be christened after the house, the Torchwood
Institute
and should the Doctor ever return then he should beware,
because
Torchwood will be waiting
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor passes himself off as James McCrimmon, the full
name of his old companion Jamie.
The Host sees a wolf inside Rose, a reference back to The
Parting of the Ways.
This episode explains the origins of the Torchwood
Institute, which shall be seen more later on in the series
as
well as in it s own spin-off show.
Queen Victoria has certainly changed since her last
encounters with the Fifth Doctor; in Empire of Death, she
was actually grateful for his presence. However, on that
occasion, she herself was interested in the 'spirits' that
the Doctor was investigating. It is possible that, following
the catastrophic events of Imperial Moon, Victoria wishes to
forget all about such otherworldly creatures as aliens (A
fact that, ironically, may have been supported by the
Doctor's 'encouragement' on the part of his companion
Kamelion).
The Doctor takes credit for crashing Skylab in 1979. This
was probably in his seventh incarnation, as he's seen
dealing with the aftermath in Brief Encounter: Three Steps
to
the Left.
[Back to Main
Page]
School Reunion
School Reunion
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Toby Whithouse
Directed by James Hawes
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Noel
Clarke (Mickey Smith), Anthoney Head (Mr Finch), Elisabeth
Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith), Rod Arthur (Mr Parsons), Eugene
Washington (Mr Wagner), Heather Cameron (Nina), Joe Pickley
(Kenny), Benjamin Smith (Luke), Clem Tibber (Milo), Lucinda
Dryzek (Melissa), Caroline Berry (Dinner Lady), John Leeson
(Voice of K-9).
The
Doctor meets an old friend, Sarah Jane Smith, and Rose
discovers the legacy of being a Time Lord s companion.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
School Reunion April
29th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Phil Collinson, Helen Raynor and
Eugene Washington is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
TARDISODE
Mickey
sits alone in a caf , clicking frantically on his laptop
computer.
He flicks through dozens of pictures showing mysterious
UFOs but
these mean nothing to him, he needs something bigger.
He finally
arrives at a page where he cannot enter due to an access
denial by
an organisation known as Torchwood . He
realises this is
what he
has been looking for and takes out his mobile phone.
He calls
Rose and tells her there are strange goings on back on
Earth;
there has been increased activity at a nearby school,
including
a lot of strange lights in the sky. He tells her that he
needs her
and the Doctor; there is something out there.
Sure
enough, miles away in the corridors of the school a giant
bat-like
creature stands and unfolds it s wings, revealing itself
and
screeching out into the night
Headmaster
Finch walks the staircases and corridors of his school,
before
approaching his office only to find a young girl sitting
outside.
She explains that she is ill with a headache and Matron has
sent her
to see him. He asks why she cannot just go home and she
explains
she lives in Ambrose Hall, the local orphanage. He
sympathises and ushers her inside his office. It s nearly time for
lunch. As
he closes the door he takes a peek back outside before
closing it
completely. The shadows through the frosted glass window
shift and
change, as the girl lets out a scream.
Elsewhere
in the schoolchildren are rushing to lessons at the sound
of the
bell. Some of them pile into a science lab, followed by their
teacher.
He walks to his desk and sets down his bag before greeting
his
students. It s the Doctor.
School
Reunion
(drn:44'12")
The Doctor
writes up the word physics on the whiteboard and
ponders it
many times out loud, adding that the students should be
taking
notes. He decides to evaluate their knowledge and asks them a
simple
question about inverse magnetism and it s outcomes. A young
lad called
Milo raises his hand and answers the question whilst the
rest of
the class remain silent. The Doctor congratulates him,
spouting
the word correctomundo , and then quips
how he s never
used the
word before and hopes never to again, before moving onto
the next
question, this time about measuring electrical power in a
coil of
wire submerged in water.
Again Milo
is the only one to raise his hand and the Doctor invites
him to
answer which he goes so, again with precision and accuracy.
The Doctor
decides to test the boy further and with quick pace asks
him
increasingly testing questions about energy loss in damming
systems,
the definition of non-coding DNA and then the mathematical
problem
65,983 times 5, all of which he answers correctly before the
Doctor
asks him how to travel faster than the speed of light, which
again he
answers correctly.
In the
school canteen the children, and the Doctor, are being served
they lunch
in the queue, each dinner lady piling their plates full
of food.
As the Doctor is served his dinner in a rather vicious
manner he
looks up to see Rose dressed in full kitchen garb. She
stares at
him plainly and he smiles back, before walking off to find
a table.
Later on
the room is clearing and Rose walks over to the Doctor s
table to
clean it. He teases her as she mops up spilt gravy before
she moans
about having been in the school as a dinner lady for two
days but
the Doctor tells her to complain to Mickey, he is the one
who asked
them to come. He then explains that he was right to do so
and tells
her about Milo, stating he has knowledge way in advance of
human
understanding.
Rose
finishes moping up and takes one of the Doctor s chips from his
plate. He
says there s something not right about them but she
ignores
him, she thinks they re wonderful and reminisces, wishing
she had
had such good school dinners when she was a student. The
Doctor
ignores her and note how well behaved the school is. He had
expected
them all to be happy slapping hoodies. Happy slapping
hoodies
with ASBO s. Happy slapping hoodies with ASBO s and
ringtones.
He is interrupted by another dinner lady, who walks up to
their
table and warns Rose that she is not permitted to leave her
station
during a sitting. Rose tries to shift attention onto the
Doctor,
claiming he doesn t like the chips and the dinner lady
retorts,
explaining the menu has been specifically designed by the
Headmaster
to improve concentration and performance. She then turns
to Rose
and tells her to return to work and she does so, the Doctor
calling
after her that he ll have the crumble for desert.
Behind him
another teacher, Mr Wagner enters and approaches one of
the female
students known as Melissa. He explains she is to join his
class for
the next lesson, Milo having failed him. He then turns to
her friend
Kenny, commenting on how he is not eating the canteen
chips but
the young boy explains he is not allowed. Wagner exits
with
Melissa in tow, the Doctor watching them as the walk out. All
the while,
Mr Finch the Headmaster is watching from the balcony
above.
In the
kitchens, Rose is doing the washing up and washes as the
other
dinner ladies wheel in a barrel of oil, being careful not to
spill any.
They are all wearing protective goggles, masks and gloves
and as
they manoeuvre it into place before going to fetch a second,
Rose
receives a call on her mobile phone. It is Mickey. He is in a
Cyber
caf looking up reels of information and
tells her that a few
months ago
there was a lot of UFO activity around the school but as
soon as he
tries to get pictures he is locked out, by a Torchwood
Access
Barrier, although he fails to mention this to his girlfriend.
Rose
meanwhile explains that three months ago all of the kitchen
staff were
replaced and the new workers are acting very strangely.
Mickey
gloats, explaining he was right to call her and the Doctor
her but as
Rose tries to hint he might have ulterior motives for
wanting to
see them again, the dinner ladies accidentally tip over
the barrel
of oil, spilling some on one of their fellow workers. She
screams in
agony as it burns her skin and is hurriedly taken away to
a little
office where the others deal with her. Rose hangs up on
Mickey and
attempts to phone an ambulance but the head dinner lady
explains
there is nothing to worry about. The injured woman screams
from
within but her co-worker fobs of the noise, it s alright, she
does that.
She steps back into the tiny office and closes the door
leaving
Rose to look at the bright yellow oil dripping from the
barrel.
In a
computer lab Mr Wagner paces into the room, which is full of
students
sitting at their workstations. He asks them to put on their
headphones
and they do so. He marvels at the things they will see
and clicks
a button on his computer. The students instantly snap to
work a and
begin to type away as strange green symbols dart about on
screen,
their teacher looking on menacingly.
Meanwhile,
Mr Finch is escorting a visitor down one of the school
staircases, talking about the changes he has made to the school
since he
arrived, including the now free school menu, taking the
opportunity to advise his guest to try the chips. She replies she d
love to
but continues to marvel at the changes the school has
undergone,
but fears he may be working the pupils too hard, and that
good
results are more important than anything. He agrees and they
continue
to walk around the corridors of the school.
In the
staff room the Doctor is consulting another teacher called Mr
Parsons as
to the cases of extreme intellect developing in students
around the
school. He relates the case of a girl who managed to tell
him the
precise measurements of the walls of Troy and then goes on
to explain
that all of these goings on started occurring when Mr
Finch
arrived three months ago, and half the staff catching flu
almost
immediately afterwards, apart from the teacher the Doctor
replaced
who, despite never playing the game managed to win the
lottery
when a winning ticket was posted through her door at
midnight.
The door
of the room opens and Mr Finch enters with his guest. The
Doctor
turns and looks on in amazement as he introduces her to the
staff,
Miss Sarah Jane Smith, who is writing an article on him for
the Sunday
Times and he wishes her to see the school from the
trenches
. He tells his staff not to spare their blushes and then
walks out,
leaving Sarah to introduce herself to the Doctor. He
tells her
his name is John Smith and she reminisces that she used to
have a
friend who went by that name. The Doctor explains it is a
very
common name but Sarah explains he was a very uncommon man.
The Doctor
then explains he has only been in the school two days and
Sarah
takes the opportunity to ask him about the new curriculum and
the
illnesses the students keep catching. He continues to smile
uncontrollably and remarks that she doesn t sound like someone just
doing a
profile. She retorts that there s no harm in doing a bit of
investigating and the Doctor agrees. She walks off to greet other
members of
the staff and he remarks how good it is for her to be
investigating.
The school
bell rings and the students mill around the corridors as
the Doctor
walks around in wonder at who he has just met. Meanwhile
young
student Kenny, who is walking the now empty corridors on his
own hears
a strange noise and follows it into one of the computer
labs. He
bends down to look under one of the desks and is confronted
by a bat
like creature, which stands up and immediately takes the
form of Mr
Wagner. He warns him this is not his classroom and the
boy leaves
as the teacher looks on.
As the
school day draws to a close the students continue to flood
the school
corridors before leaving for the night, leaving the
school
empty and dark. In one of the rooms Sarah Jane is breaking in
through a
window, shining a flashlight to find her way.
Elsewhere
the Doctor, Rose and Mickey are also creeping around, Rose
marvelling
at the thought of an empty school at night and admits
that when
she was at school she used to think the teachers slept
there
overnight. The Doctor chimes up and addresses his two friends.
First as
his team, then gang, then comrades before giving up. He
tells Rose
to go and get a sample of the toxic oil she found in the
kitchen
and Mickey to investigate the maths department whilst he
checks out
Finch s office. They ll regroup in ten minutes.
With the
Doctor gone Rose and Mickey are left alone, and she asks
him if he
is up to the job. He scoffs and says that he is an expert
at
infiltration and investigation, before walking off. Rose waits
and soon
Mickey rejoins her, asking where the maths department is.
She tells
him to follow the opposite corridor, turn left and take
the
corridors on the right. He thanks her and walks off, this time
in the
right direction.
The Doctor
is walking along a corridor and hears a chilling screech.
At the
door to Finch s office Sarah Jane, who is trying to break in,
also hears
the voice and slowly walks off.
In the
canteen Rose is collecting a sample of the oil and she too
hears the
noise, she looks up.
Sarah has
retreated into a small corridor and looks through the
doors as
she pushes them shut. She turns to look at her surroundings
and reels
back in shock as she finds the TARDIS standing before her.
She backs
away, back through the doors and into the gym. There she
turns
again, to find the Doctor, alias John Smith, waiting for her.
He greets
her and she finally realises who he is. She marvels,
almost
speechless. She comments that he has regenerated and he
replies
that he has done so half a dozen times since they last met.
Still
astounded, she comments on how incredible she looks and he
returns
the compliment, but she simply sighs, saying she got old.
She asks
what he is doing her and he explains about the UFO
sightings.
He asks of her and she explains she has come for the same
reasons.
He smiles but she suddenly begins to sob, her voice
cracking
under the emotion of seeing her old friend again. She
mutters
how she thought he was dead, she waited for him to come back
for her
but he never did. He remains calm and explains he survived.
Everyone
else died but he survived. Sarah pulls herself together and
admits she
still can t believe he really is the Doctor but suddenly
a scream
echoes out from the distance. She looks past his shoulder
and then
at him. Now she can.
They run
from the gym and out into the corridors, where they are met
by Rose
who has also heard the scream. She asks who the Doctor is
standing
with and he introduces Sarah and Rose. Sarah greets the
young girl
then turns to the Doctor, quipping that it s obvious he s
getting
older, his assistants are getting younger. Rose replies,
claiming
not to be his assistant but the Doctor interrupts, running
to the
source of the scream. Sarah and Rose follow behind.
They
emerge in a maths classroom where Mickey is surrounded by
hundreds
of vacuum-packed rats. The Doctor teases him, calling him a
girl for
screaming and goes onto describe the nine year old he sees
in his
mind when hi thinks about him. Rose cuts in and asks exactly
what rats
are doing in a school. Sarah explains they must be used in
biology
and assumes Rose must not be at that level of education yet.
She asks
her age but Rose retorts that rats are no longer dissected
in schools
anymore and quips as to when Sarah comes from, presumably
the dark
ages.
The Doctor
cuts in and explains they must find Finch s office, all
of the
strange goings on first happened when he arrived at the
school. As
the four of them walk the corridors Rose inquires as to
who
exactly Sarah is and she replies by explaining she once
travelled
with the Doctor for a while. Rose tells her that the
Doctor has
never mentioned her but the Doctor insists he must have
done. She
pretends to think it over and confirms he never has. Sarah
is shocked
by what she hears and walks after Rose as the Doctor and
Mickey lag
behind, the young man welcoming the Doctor to world of
the missus
and the ex.
Opening
the door to Finch s office the Doctor ponders that the rat
might have
been food. Rose enquires as to what would at them and as
the Doctor
steps inside he reminds her how she said earlier that she
always
thought the teachers slept in school. She asks what he s on
about and
follows him inside, only to find a series of bat creatures
hanging
from the ceiling. The Doctor grimly confirms that Rose s
suspicions
about teachers were correct; they do sleep inside the
school at
nighttime. Mickey, who has followed them inside with
Sarah,
looks up at the bat creatures and runs off, followed by Rose
and Sarah
and finally the Doctor, who closes the door behind him. As
he does
so, one of the creatures wakes up and lets out a screech.
Outside
the school they rush outside and the Doctor explains the
creatures
must be the replacements for the staff Finch had replaced.
He ushers
for the others to come back inside but Mickey protests. He
explains
he must return to the TARDIS to analyse the oil sample but
Sarah has
another idea. She has something to show the Doctor.
Opening
her car boot Sarah lets the Doctor uncover a large object
shrouded
in a blanket. He pulls of the cover and underneath sits a
rather
battered looking K-9. Joyfully he greets his old friend and
despite
Rose and Mickey s unimpressed comments he fusses the
lifeless
robotic dog. Sarah explains that one day he just stopped
working
and the Doctor is shocked to hear she never tried to fix
him. She
responds, explaining she d never be able to get new parts
for him
and the science that brings him to life would rewrite human
science if
uncovered. The Doctor continues to fuss him as Rose looks
on
unimpressed.
High up on
the school roof something is watching them. It observes
them as
they close the boot of the car and prepare to leave. It
takes off
and flies past the moon, screeching. It s one of the bat
creatures.
In a
caf somewhere near the school Mickey
taunts Rose about knowing
more of
the Doctor s past than she presumed correct and gloats with
his upper
hand. She simply fobs him off but he continues, warning
her to lay
of the chips.
Back on
the roof Mr Finch is standing proud. He calls for the
airborne
creature to return to him and sure enough it does, perching
beside
him. They watch as the Doctor and Sarah talk in the caf .
The two
old friends sit at one of the tables, the Doctor tending to
K-9. Sarah
explains how she was thinking of him on Christmas day
during the
Sycorax invasion. He confirms that he was on the
spaceship,
and to her discomfort so was Rose. She changes the
conversation and asks if she had done something wrong whilst
travelling
with him, because he never came back for her. The Doctor
explains
that he was called home and had to leave her behind because
humans
weren t allowed to set foot on his planet. She still insists
that she
waited but her chuckles that she didn t need him, she was
getting on
with her life. She remains persistent. He was her life.
She
continues, talking of the worst thing about being left; what
happens,
or rather what doesn t happen next. He took her to the
furthest
reaches of the galaxy, to see supernovas and intergalactic
battles
before just dropping her back on Earth, how could anything
compare to
that?
Confused
the Doctor asks if she s implying she wants him to
apologise
for taking her but she simply tries to emphasise that all
his
companions ever get is a taster of life beyond Earth and then
have to go
back to an ordinary life. The Doctor explains that she s
doing
fine, investigating as they always used to do when they were
travelling
together. She remains focused, he could have come back.
He insists
he couldn t but when she asks why, he merely looks away.
After a
long silence she explains it wasn t Croydon where he dropped
her off it
was Aberdeen. He makes a joke of his error, but is cut
off when
K-9 whirs into life. He recognises the Doctor immediately
and the
ecstatic Time Lord asks Rose for the oil extract so it can
be
analysed, the bat creature and Mr Finch still watching from the
school
roof.
Despite
the Doctor s warnings to not touch the oil, the Doctor dips
in hi
finger and applies some to K-9 s sensor, suffering no ill
effects
whatsoever. Slowly K-9 begins to analyse the sample, much to
Mickey s
hilarity. Sarah tries to defend her pet but K-9 has
finished
analysing, it is Krillitane Oil. The Doctor begins to look
worried
and explains things are much worse than he feared. He
explains
that the Krillitanes are a composite race, just as the
English
are an amalgamation of those who have invaded Britain or
been
invaded by it, the Krillitanes are an amalgam of the races the
conquer,
adopting the physical properties they admire from each race
before
destroying them. Rose asks what they are doing on Earth and
the Doctor
explains it must be something to do with the school;
they re
doing something to the children.
Mr Finch
and the Krillitane look on as Sarah and Mickey load K-9
into the
car, Sarah explaining how the Doctor not only travels with
humans,
but with aliens and tin dogs a well. She asks Mickey what
role he
plays in the TARDIS crew and he explains he is their man in
nirvana ,
their technical support but before he can continue it
dawns on
him, he s just the tin dog.
The
Krillitane gets uneasy and flaps it s wings but Finch holds it
back,
telling it to wait his command.
Outside
the caf Rose is having a heated
discussion with the Doctor.
She asks
exactly how many people have travelled with the Doctor and
demands to
know whether she is just the latest in a long line. The
Doctor
asks as opposed to what and Rose admits that she though that
she and
the Doctor were something special but she now sees she s
not.
Despite seeing the year five billion this is really seeing the
future,
the Doctor just leaves his companions behind and asks if
that s
what he s going to do to her but he insists it isn t. Rose,
on the
verge of tears, asks of Sarah Jane, explaining how he used to
be closed
to her once but never even mentions her, and she wants to
know why
not. The Doctor explains.
He never
ages. He regenerates. But humans decay, they wither and die
and he can
t stand to see that happen to someone he loves. Rose can
spend the
rest of her life with him, but he can t spend the rest of
his life
with her. He has to live on. Alone. That s the curse of the
Time Lord.
Finch has
his cue; the Doctor is a Time Lord. The Krillitane swoops
down on
the Doctor, Rose, Sarah and Mickey. It does not attack but
instead
swoops away towards the moon, leaving the group unsettled.
It is the
next day at the school and the children are milling around
outside.
The Doctor and his friend are walking outside. He tells
Sarah and
Rose to open up one of the school computers so he can see
the
hardware inside and gives them to sonic screwdriver to help
them. He
tells Mickey to stay outside and keep watch as surveillance
and Sarah
hands him the keys to her car so he can keep K-9 company.
The Doctor
reminds him to keep the window open a crack but Mickey
doesn t
understand, K-9 doesn t need air he s metal but the Doctor
insists it
isn t for K-9. He meanwhile is going to have a word with
Mr Finch.
In the
corridors of the school Mr Finch looks up at one of the
stairwells, the Doctor is there staring back. Sometime later the
Doctor
enters the school swimming pool, where Mr Finch is waiting
for him.
The headmaster introduces him as Brother Lasser, and the
Doctor
questions him, asking how long the Krillitanes have had
wings.
Lasser explains that his ancestors, ten generations ago,
invaded
Bethsaal, and the inhabitants had wings they took a liking
to. The
Doctor observes how they are now in human form but Lasser
explains
it is a personal preference. The others remain in bat form,
hidden
beneath a morphic illusion.
He turns
conversation to the Time Lords, explaining how he always
thought of
them as such a pompous race, frightened of change and
chaos. He
talks of how they are all but extinct, all except the
Doctor.
The Time Lord changes conversation to the Krillitane s plan
but Finch
asks him to work it out for himself, to show how clever he
is. The
Doctor warns him that if he doesn t like it he ll stop them.
Finch
stands amazed, the Time Lords were always peaceful to the
point of
indolence but the Doctor is something new. He asks if the
Doctor
would go so far as to declare war on the Krillitanes but he
merely
continues to warn him. He is so old now. He used to have so
much mercy
and he will give only one warning, and that was it. Finch
maintains
that the Krillitanes are not the Doctor s enemies and soon
he shall
embrace them. The Doctor will join with him.
Mickey is
sitting alone in the car, comparing being sent to sit in
the car to
being back at school and being told to sit at the back of
the class
with the safety scissors and glitter. He breaks off,
realising
he is talking to a robot dog.
In the
computer room Sarah is trying to dismantle one of the
computers
but is having difficulty operating the sonic screwdriver.
Rose takes
charge as Sarah explains it always worked first time in
her day.
Rose mutters how everything was much simpler in her day.
Sarah
offers rose some device, despite her not seeming that
interested. She explains she realises how intense a relationship
with the
Doctor can be and she doesn t want her to feel that she s
intruding.
Rose admits she doesn t feel threatened by her and Sarah
relaxes a
little and explains she is not interested in picking up
where she
and the Doctor left off. Rose is not convinced and asks
why Sarah
seemed so wide eyed last night when she was with the
Doctor and
why she seemed so eager to introduce K-9. Sarah explains
she was
trying to talk to the doctor about how hard it was trying to
readjust
to life back on Earth after travelling with him and Rose
picks up
on this. She mocks her, saying how when Sarah joined the
Doctor
rationing had only just been stopped, no wonder all the space
exploration seemed a bit much for her.
Sarah
begins to take offence as challenges Rose, claiming to have
seen
things Rose could never dream of. Rose tells her to try and
impress
her and a battle to out-do one another ensures. Sarah and
Rose take
it in turns to name past foes they have encountered. Rose
talks of
ghosts, Slitheen in Downing Street and a real living
werewolf
whilst Sarah talks of mummies, robots, Daleks (to which
Rose
replies she has met the Emperor), anti-matter monsters, real
living
dinosaurs and finally the Loch Ness Monster, which finally
knocks
Rose out and she sounds impressed.
The two
girls finally realise how stupid they sound and soon they
are
talking like old friends, both relating how the Doctor would
explain
things at ninety miles an hour, only to look at his
companion
like he d just dribbled on their shirt on them what they
didn t
understand and how he strips parts of the TARDIS. They laugh
together
and continue when the Doctor actually enters to find how
they are
getting on.
Finch
meanwhile enters the staff room. He talks to his disguised
brothers
and tells them that they must initiate the final phase. The
time has
come. Today they shall become gods.
Outside in
the playground the tannoy sounds and all of the pupils
are told
to return to classes, and all staff are to convene in the
staff
room. Surprisingly the students are happy that break time has
finished
early, apart from Kenny and soon they are on their way back
to class,
leaving Kenny alone in the courtyard.
The pupils
try to enter the main computer room but Rose redirects
them. In
the staff room the humanoid Krillitanes turn on those who
remain
from the original teaching team and devour them. Back in the
computer
room the Doctor realises the computers are sealed with a
deadlock
seal, the only thing the sonic screwdriver can t open.
Elsewhere
the pupils begin to file into classrooms under the
watchful
eyes of teachers, but Kenny remains alone, watching his
peers as
they are led away. Finch returns to his office where he
uses his
computer to override the security codes and lock the school
completely.
In the
classrooms teachers are initiating the same programme with
the
mysterious green symbols and soon every pupil is typing away
without
question.
In the
empty computer room the programme is being displayed on the
disused
monitors as well as the display screen at the front of the
room. The
Doctor realises it is some sort of code.
Meanwhile,
Kenny looks in at the many classrooms and sees his
friends
all wired up to the computer. He flees down a staircase and
down to
the front door but it is locked.
The Doctor
stares transfixed at the code and suddenly it dawns on
him what
the Krillitanes are doing, but he can t believe it.
Mickey
finds Kenny banging on the locked door and runs to him, where
the young
boy explains to him that the teachers have taken all of
the
children. Mickey ruses back to the car and manages to restart
K-9 and
asks him how to get in the school. The dog repeatedly states
that they
are in a car and soon Mickey realises what he is trying t
say. He
calls for Kenny to stand back and climbs inside.
The Doctor
realises the Krillitanes are trying to crack the Skasis
Paradigm,
the universal god-maker, which will allow them to possess
the
building blocks of life and all of matter itself. The children
are
working as part of the computer, their intelligence having been
accelerated by the oil in the kitchens. Rose realises she too has
been
consuming the oil, which the chips were cooked in and sure
enough
when the Doctor asks her what 59 multiplied by 35 is, she
immediately knows the answer, 2065.
Sarah asks
why children must be used and the Doctor explains that
imagination is needed in order to crack the god-maker and explains
the
Krillitanes are using the children s souls.
Finch
enters and begins to defend the motives of his race, claiming
that with
the power of the god-maker they can change the universe
for the
better. The Doctor mocks him but he turns on him, claiming
he acts
like a rebel but all he wants to do is preserve the old
order.
With the god-maker the Doctor could become a god at his side.
He could
save civilisations, save his own people to rise again,
reborn.
Sarah tells him not to listen but Finch then turns to her,
explaining
she could be by his side for eternity, never to wither or
to age. He
begs the Doctor to join him and the Doctor begins to see
that the
power of the god-maker could stop the Time War from ever
happening.
Sarah cuts
in and explains the universe must be allowed to move
forward.
Pain and loss define us as much as happiness and love,
whether it
s a world or a relationship. Everything has its time and
everything
ends. The Doctor listens and comes to his senses. He
picks up a
chair and hurls it at the front screen, smashing it to
pieces. He
then flees with Sarah and Rose.
Outside
Mickey has started up the car and is accelerating towards
the
school. Kenny takes cover as the car crashes through the front
doors and
into the foyer. He gets out and runs with Kenny off to try
and help.
In the
corridors of the school Finch stands alone, screeching. All
over the
building his brother Krillitanes are changing, abandoning
their
disguises and reverting to their true form. As they fly about
the school
Mickey and Kenny manage to find the Doctor, Rose and
Sarah and
together they flee to the canteen, where Finch is waiting.
The
Krillitanes swoop around, with orders to save the Doctor but eat
the
others. The groups try and fend of the beasts but not for long.
They hide
under tables until a small ray of light blasts down one of
their
predators. K-9 has found his way to the canteen and with his
laser
activated, is firing at the Krillitanes. Finch screeches and
the Doctor
and his friends manage to get away, leaving K-9 to fend
for
himself, but his power supply is failing. Finch tells his
brothers
to ignore the shooty dog thing and the creatures take
flight
after the Doctor.
In the
corridor the Doctor realises the oil is poisonous to the
Krillitanes, having changed their physiology so much it is now toxic
to them.
The creatures begin to break through the door. The Doctor
realises
they must get to the kitchen but doesn t know how to get
past
bat-like creatures. Kenny has the answer and smashes a fire
alarm,
setting off the high-pitched bell. The Krillitanes squeal in
agony and
they manage to escape. As the Doctor, Rose, Sarah and
Kenny flee
to the Kitchens, Mickey runs off to help the children
break free
of the computers.
Finch puts
his fist through the wall and breaks the cables connected
to the
fire bell, stopping it, whilst K-9 returns from the canteen
to rejoin
the Doctor fleeing down a corridor.
Mickey
finds his way to the computer room where the children are
plugged in
and tries to rouse them from their transfixed state, but
it s no
use.
In the
kitchens the Doctor and the others arrive only to find the
vats of
oil are dead lock sealed and can t be opened. K-9 admits a
blast from
his laser will break the seal but he hasn t much energy
left.
In the
computer room Mickey traces a bundle of wires connecting the
computers
to a plug socket. Slightly bemused he unplugs the computer
systems
and they begin to overload. The pupils regain consciousness
and begin
to run as Mickey tells them.
The
Krillitanes resume human form and begin pacing the school
corridors,
whilst in the kitchen K-9 explains to break the vat he ll
have to be
positioned directly next to it. The Doctor realises his
friend
will never be able to get out in time but he knows that. He
says
goodbye and reluctantly runs outside to join the others as K-9
takes his
position.
Outside
the Doctor locks the door to the kitchen as Sarah asks what
has
happened to K-9. The Doctor remains silent and simply continues
to run,
with his old friend in tow.
In the
kitchen the humanoid Krillitanes enter, led by Finch. He
looks down
to see K-9 sitting beside the vat. He fires his laser and
the vat
bursts, spraying the Krillitanes with the oil whilst outside
Mickey and
the school children are running for their lives. Finch
looks over
to K-9 and calls him a bad dog. The metal mutt replies
affirmative before the school
blows up.
Outside
the children cheer as papers rain down from the sky. Kenny
looks on
and soon Melissa realises he has something to do with it.
She yells
it out to the other children and soon Kenny is a hero, as
the Doctor
and Sarah look on and Rose and Mickey join in the
celebrations.
The Doctor
tries to apologise to Sarah for K-9 but she insists it s
okay. The
two old friends look on as the burning school smoulders.
Some time
later, the TARDIS is parked in a park somewhere near a
school.
Sarah approaches, only to be met by the Doctor. He offers
her a cup
of tea and she steps inside, amazed at the new console
room. She
says she prefers the one she used to know but it ll do.
She turns
to Rose and asks her what is 47 multiplied by 369, but she
doesn t
know; the oil has worn off. Sarah maintains she is still
clever,
more than a match for the Doctor. Rose smiles and replies
you and
me both .
The Doctor
explains they are about to leave and offers Sarah a place
onboard,
but she explains she can t do that anymore, it s time for
her to
stop waiting for the Doctor and get a life of her own.
Mickey
chimes in ad asks if he can come instead, to prove he isn t
just the
tin dog. Rose doesn t look too pleased but Sarah insists,
what with
Sarah Jane Smith and Mickey Smith the Doctor needs a Smith
onboard.
He agrees, he could do with a laugh. Mickey asks Rose if
it s okay
that he comes with them and unenthusiastically she agrees
to let him
come.
Sarah
decides it is time to go. She walks up to Rose who asks what
to do,
whether or not she should stay with the Doctor. She tells her
she
should; some things are worthy getting your heart broken for.
They hug
each other goodbye and before she leaves the ship Sarah
tells Rose
to find her one day if she ever needs her.
Outside
the ship the Doctor and Sarah stand alone. She finally gets
a chance
to say thank-you for the time she spent with him and the
Doctor
laments that it s something to tell her grandchildren. Sarah
is
doubtful; it ll probably be someone else s grandchildren. The
Doctor,
slightly embarrassed asks Sarah how her personal life has
been since
he left her but she insists there was only one man for
her. She
travelled with him for a while but he was a tough act to
follow.
Sarah says
goodbye but the Doctor tries to insist it s not goodbye
for good.
Sarah stops him in his tracks and asks him to say it, just
this time.
He looks at her and finally bids her farewell.
Goodbye
my Sarah Jane
They
embrace for one last time and the Doctor returns to the TARDIS,
leaving
Sarah to watch him go, but he has one last gift for her. As
the police
box disappears Sarah finds a rejuvenated K-9 waiting for
her. He
trundles forward and greets his mistress and together, they
walk off
towards a new life
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Sarah Jane Smith was the Doctor's companion from The Time
Warrior through The Hand of Fear, and witnessed his
regeneration from his third body (Jon Pertwee) to his fourth
(Tom Baker) -- which was the first such transition to
actually use the word "regeneration". She's also nominally
met his first, second and fifth selves (The Five Doctors),
but this story makes no reference to that, and some of the
dialogue suggests that Sarah may not remember those events.
The Doctor left Sarah behind in Croydon, or rather Aberdeen,
in
The Hand of Fear when a message from the Time Lords
called him home to Gallifrey and Sarah had to be left
behind. Strangely enough although this incident is referred
to
in the episode the name Gallifrey is not mentioned, and
hasn t been at all on screen in either series one or two so
far.
This story appears to a clear and possibly deliberate break
with the continuity of the BBC novel range. Sarah Jane Smith
has two encounters with the Doctor as part of that range, in
Bullet Time (7th) and Interference (8th). There is
absolutely no suggestion in this story that those events
occurred. Indeed, Sarah's behaviour strongly suggests that,
with the possible exception of The Five Doctors, she has not
seen the Doctor in any way, shape or form since being dumped
in
Aberdeen. Since both of the BBC Books stories take place
in
the mid-1990s, it can't even be fudged that maybe the
adventures lie in Sarah's future. However, both of these
might be explained; in Interference the action was mainly
motivated by Faction Paradox, and since the Doctor erased
them from history in The Ancestor Cell, this timeline may
simply no longer exist. A similar reasoning could cover
Bullet Time, since that adventure apparently culminated in
Sarah's death, a fact that was explained by the presence of
the Council of Eight in Sometime Never..., who tried to kill
some of the Doctor's past companions.
Sarah and K9 were never actually companions of the Doctor's
at
the same time. K9 Mark I was the Doctor's companion from
The Invisible Enemy through The Invasion of Time. K9 Mark II
was the Doctor's companion from The Ribos Operation through
Warrior's Gate. K9 Mark III was never seen as an actual
companion, but was left for Sarah Jane as a kind of apology
for her having been dumped, first seen in the short-lived
spin-off series K9 and Company. He was seen briefly in Sarah
Jane's company in The Five Doctors, and thus K9 and Company
is
treated as canonical.
Sarah refers to the events in The Christmas Invasion when
explaining how much she thinks about the Doctor.
When confronting each other, Sarah and Rose mention mummies
(Pyramids of Mars), ghosts (The Unquiet Dead), lots of
robots (Robot, The Android Invasion), Slitheen in Downing
Street (Aliens in London / World War Three), Daleks (Death
to
the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks), the Emperor Dalek
(The Parting of the Ways), anti-matter monsters (Planet of
Evil), gas-masked zombies (The Empty Child / The Doctor
Dances), dinosaurs (Invasion of the Dinosaurs), a werewolf
(Tooth and Claw), and the Loch Ness Monster (Terror of the
Zygons, and the one that makes Rose stop.)
At
the open, the Doctor is seen posing as a science teacher,
in
a classroom very like the one in which his early
companion, Ian Chesterton, taught the Doctor's granddaugter,
Susan. Like Milo, but obviously for different reasons, she
also had a rather puzzlingly advanced knowledge of science.
The Doctor has used the pseudonym "John Smith" on and off
ever since his second incarnation. He used it consistently
throughout his years with UNIT, starting with Spearhead from
Space where he needed something like an ordinary name, if
only for documentation purposes.
The Doctor does not mention to Rose the limitation of 12
regenerations, established in The Deadly Assassin and
central to the plot of "Mawdryn Undead" and the 1996 film.
It's possible that the new series plans to ignore or work
around the limitation.
In
accordance with an apparent trend with the series, this
episode features a reference to the Torchwood Institution.
In
this episode Torchwood is the name of the data access
block on Mickey s computer.
Sarah Jane Smith is almost, but not quite, unique amongst
the Doctor's long-term companions in that most leave the
TARDIS voluntarily, and in some cases may not care so much
if
they ever see the Doctor again. Only his granddaughter
Susan was left behind quite so unceremoniously as Sarah, and
despite his promise in The Dalek Invasion of Earth to come
back some day, he's never visited Susan again, either, at
least, not in a televised adventure.
The use of the children resembles the Daleks' use of a child
in
Remembrance of the Daleks, although there the Daleks
simply wanted strategy advice from a child's imagination,
rather than information on how to tap into godlike power.
The Doctor was introduced to Sarah Jane as "John Smith" the
very first time they met in The Time Warrior.
During this episode, The Deffry Vale School Website
biography of "Mr. Smith" states that he previously taught in
Shoreditch. Which means the Doctor probably claimed to have
been a teacher at Coal Hill School, where his granddaughter
Susan used to attend.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Girl in the Fireplace
The Girl in the
Fireplace
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Steven Moffatt
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Noel
Clarke (Mickey Smith), Sophia Myles (Reinette), Ben Turner
(King Louis), Jessica Atkins (Young Reinette), Angel Coulby
(Katherine), Gareth Wyn Griffiths (Manservant), Paul Casey
(Clockwork Man), Ellen Thomas (Clockwork Woman); Jonathan
Hart, Emily Joyce (Alien Voices).
Madame de Pompadour is being haunted by a stranger called the
Doctor – can he save her from the clockwork killers?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Girl in the Fireplace May
5th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Noel Clarke and Steven Moffat is
available on the official Doctor Who website.
TARDISODE
On a
spaceship deep in space one of the observation crew is taken by
surprise
when an ion storm erupts nearby. She calls out a warning to
the rest
of the crew but it is too late; the impact rocks the ship
and the
computer panels begin to overload in a shower of sparks. She
calls out
a mayday signal but there is nobody left to hear it.
Some time
later the crew all lie dead. A loud ticking echoes around
the
command deck as a shadowed figure approaches the last survivor
who sighs
with relief at its presence. Suddenly she realises it is
not there
to help her and she screams out to no avail, she is
doomed…
Elsewhere,
on an ornate mantelpiece above a fireplace a clock is
ticking
away, until suddenly its face cracks and time stops…
In the
court of Versailles the dignitary of France are running for
their
lives. Chased by an unseen pursuer the masked entourage tear
down the
corridors of the palace. In one of the rooms of the court
King Louis
XV is warning his mistress Madame de Pompadour that they
are under
attack by inhuman creatures that can’t be stopped.
Madame de
Pompadour however is more concerned with the clock on the
mantle,
which stands with its face cracked. She states that the
clock is
broken, he is coming. Louis rants in disbelief but she
turns to
him, and tells him that a man is coming to Versailles, a
man who
has watched over her her entire life and he will not let her
down now.
Louis asks exactly who this man is and she explains that
he is the
only other man apart from him she has ever loved. He
glares at
her but she stops him before he can speak. She tells him
to go to
his queen and then turns to the fireplace below the mantle,
staring
into the flames.
She calls
out, asking if the man is there and if he is listening.
She
explains the clock is broken; it is time. He promised. She calls
out to him
again. She calls out to the Doctor…
The Girl
in the Fireplace
(drn:44'40")
It is
three thousand years later and on a giant spaceship floating
amongst
the stars the TARDIS fades into view. The Doctor, Mickey and
Rose step
outside and look at the decaying computer banks around
them,
wires pouring out onto the floor. Mickey realises where he is
and
marvels at getting to land on a spaceship on his first trip.
Rose
observes that the ship must have been abandoned and asks if
there is
anyone onboard. The Doctor explains there is nothing too
dangerous
around but then decides to go off to check.
Rose asks
when about in time they are and the Time Lord explains
they are
three thousand years into her future, in the 51st Century.
He
activates an observation hatch and above them the ceiling parts
to reveal
a host of stars. He identifies it as the Dagmar Cluster
and tells
Mickey he is a long way from home, two and a half galaxies
to be
precise. He turns to one of the computer banks and searches
through
the tangle of wires and components as Mickey and Rose look
out of
another observation hatch, the new companion marvelling at
how
realistic everything looks.
The Doctor
continues to search through the computer banks and sighs
at the
state of the cowboy-botched patchwork that holds them
together.
He then realises that all of the warp engines are running
at full
capacity, generating enough energy to punch a hole in the
universe,
yet the ship remains stationary. He ponders where all the
power is
going and Rose joins him, asking where all the crew have
gone. He
checks the computers and finds no traces of life onboard.
He sniffs
the air and asks if his companions can smell anything.
They can,
Rose exclaims that something is cooking and Mickey
identifies
it as Sunday roast.
Before
they can continue a door slides open before them, revealing a
mantle
with a fire beneath. The Doctor inspects it and realises it
is a
genuine 18th Century fireplace, with another room beyond it.
Rose
explains there can’t be another room as from the observation
hatch; all
that can be seen is the outer hull of the ship.
Suddenly a
small girl’s voice rings out from the room beyond. The
Doctor
talks to her and she introduces herself as Reinette. He asks
where she
is and she replies, somewhat confused, that she is in her
bedroom in
Paris. She asks what the Doctor is doing in her fireplace
and he
bluffs that he is conducting a regulation fire check. He asks
her what
year it is and she explains that it is 1727. The Doctor
comments
on how 1727 is one of his favourite years, but warns her to
stay
indoors during August. He bids her goodnight and turns back to
Rose and
Mickey, explaining that the fireplace is the hole in the
universe
that the ship is generating.
Rose, in
slight disbelief, again marvels that on the other side of
the fire
is 18th Century France and the Doctor confirms that
Reinette
was speaking French. Mickey marvels as Rose explains that
the TARDIS
translation circuits are allowing him to here her.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor has returned to the fireplace and as Rose and
Mickey
watch him, he activates a hidden mechanism and the mantle
swings
round, only to reveal an identical one on the other side.
In
Reinette’s room the Doctor looks out at the night sky, covering
the
landscape of Paris. As Reinette stirs from her sleep he
introduces
himself as the fireplace man but she maintains that the
last time
they spoke was months ago. He taps on the mantle and
realises
there must be a loose connection. Reinette asks who he is
and why he
is in her room but he is more interested in the broken
clock that
sits on the mantle. Slightly confused Reinette asks what
is the
matter and he explains that even though the clock is broken,
there is
still a loud ticking noise ringing around the room.
He
realises it is not a clock; it’s far to big. It must be at least
six foot
tall. He realises that it must be hiding somewhere in the
room,
having broken the clock itself to stop anyone hearing it. He
slowly
walks to the bed and tells Reinette not to get out. He kneels
down and
stares at the dark space beneath.
Suddenly
he is attacked by a metal arm and he reels back. He stares
again
underneath the bed to find a pair of legs standing on the
other
side. He warns Reinette not to look around whilst he stands
up, to see
a masked figure, in full authentic dress, awaiting him.
He leans
forward and clutches Reinette’s head, realising the
creature
has scanned her brain, but doesn’t realise what for.
Reinette
explains she doesn’t understand why it wants her and asks
it. It
merely states that she is not ready it wants her and asks it.
It merely
states that it does but not yet. She is incomplete.
The Doctor
asks what ‘incomplete’ means but it does not reply. He
asks
again, raising the sonic screwdriver but instead of answering
the
creature raises its bladed arm and advances on him. Reinette
warns him
to be careful but he shrugs off the situation as a
nightmare.
Everyone has nightmares, even the monster under her bed.
The
creature brings down his arm as it backs the Doctor over to the
fireplace
but misses the Time Lord and gets stuck on the mantle.
Reinette
asks what monsters have nightmares about and as he
activates
the fireplace, causing it to turn around again, he calls
out “me”.
Back on
the ship, Rose and Mickey are waiting. They realise the
Doctor is
in trouble but he has a plan. He runs over to the wall and
dislodges
what appears to be a weapon. He fires it and a cloud of
smoke
issues out, engulfing and freezing the masked monster. He
passes the
gun to Rose and explains it is a fire extinguisher and
then turns
to the frozen creature.
He leans
forward and takes off its mask and wig, revealing a glass
globe full
of clockwork mechanisms ticking away. He marvels at the
intricate
workings and claims it would be a crime to deface it; but
that won’t
stop him. However, as he takes out his sonic screwdriver
the robot
activates an inbuilt teleport and beams away.
The Doctor
realises it could still be onboard and warns Rose and
Mickey not
to go looking for it, before returning to the fireplace
and
activating the mechanism, disappearing from sight. Once he has
gone Rose
inspects the fire extinguisher. Mickey realises what she
is
implying and reminds her what the Doctor said, before coming
round to
her way of thinking and running to the opposite wall,
picking up
his own fire extinguisher. She explains he is getting the
hang of
being on the TARDIS crew and together they run off
excitedly.
In
Reinette’s room it is now daytime as the Doctor walks around
calling
her name. He plucks at her harp in the corner before turning
to see a
young woman looking at him. He asks if the room still
belongs to
Reinette but before she can reply her mother calls out to
her to
join her outside, calling her by the name Reinette. She calls
back that
she will be there soon before turning to the Doctor who
has
realised whose presence he is in.
She
congratulates him for his persistence; she had assumed imaginary
friends
only existed during childhood. He marvels at how much she
has grown
but she is not amused, he has not aged at all since they
last met,
which is incredibly rude. He apologises and makes notice
to leave,
but she instead touches the side of his face, pondering
that
although he is made of flesh and blood, reason tells her he
cannot be
real.
Another
voice calls for her to leave but she protests. She turns
back to
the Doctor and kisses him passionately. The voice rings out
again,
calling for Mademoiselle Poisson and she is forced to let the
Time Lord
go, before running off to join her mother. As the Doctor
stands
somewhat confused, the body of the second voice enters the
room. He
looks at the Doctor, who has realised that Reinette Poisson
is in fact
Madame de Pompadour and begins to get excited, praising
her as the
uncrowned queen of France. He returns to the fireplace
and the
man who has just entered asks who he is. The Doctor replies.
He is the
Doctor and he’s just snogged Madame de Pompadour. He
activates
the mechanism on the mantle and swings away, back into the
spaceship.
There he
realises that his friends have wondered off and angrily
comments
that there could be anything on the ship, before turning
down a
corridor to find a large white horse waiting for him.
In another
corridor somewhere on the ship Mickey is creeping around
rolling on
the floor like a commando and putting on a posh accent.
He is seen
by a security camera, which he and the recently arrived
Rose
realise is actually a human eye mounted on a metal stalk. Rose
hears a
rhythmic beating coming from inside one of the walls and
slowly
removes one of the service hatches. Inside the two travellers
look on,
realising that wired into the computer is a human heart.
Elsewhere
the Doctor is looking for his friends, whilst being
pursued by
the horse. He finds an ornate door way and realises this
is where
the horse came aboard. He opens them up and finds himself
in the
grounds of the Court of Versailles. On the lawn Reinette and
her friend
Catherine are walking together, talking of the illness of
the King’s
mistress and joking about how concerned they are.
Catherine
talks of the next mistress and hints at Reinette’s
ambitions
in life involving the queen, but the young women is more
concerned
she is being watched and sure enough the Doctor is hiding
behind a
stone urn, watching her walk off into the distance.
Back on
the ship Mickey and Rose are still talking about the heart
in the
wall and stumble across a window displaying another room in
the court
of Versailles. Rose realises they are standing behind a
mirror and
observes as a man walks in with his aides. Mickey asks
who he
thinks he is and the Doctor appears behind him, explaining he
is the
king of France.
Rose asks
what he has been up to and he explains he has become the
imaginary
friend of a future French aristocrat, picked a fight with
a
clockwork man and met a horse, which clops into place behind him.
Mickey
asks what the creature is doing on the ship but the Doctor
retorts,
asking what pre-revolutionary France is doing on the ship,
telling
him to get s little perspective. He explains the gateways
are all
over the ship, and are all centred around Reinette. The ship
is
stalking her.
They look
on as Reinette enters and begins to talk to Louis, who
exits the
room leaving Reinette alone to check her reflection in the
two-way
mirror. The Doctor looks on at the room’s broken clock and
listens to
the continuing ticking. Across the room Reinette sees
another
woman standing with her back to her. She asks how long she
has been
standing there and tells her to show herself. She does so
and turns,
revealing herself to be another of the clockwork robots.
The Doctor
takes Mickey’s fire extinguisher and pushes the mirror
aside,
greeting Reinette before attacking the clockwork figure. He
passes the
gun back but the robot has turned itself back on again,
melting
the ice. It raises its weapon and stares at the group. The
Doctor
asks who it is, to identify itself but it does not respond.
He asks
Reinette to ask the same question, the other robot responded
to her as
a child so this one could be the same. She orders the
robot to
answer any question asked to it. It lowers its gun and
explains
it is Repair Droid 7. The Doctor asks what has happened to
the ship.
The robot replies that there was an 82% systems failure
and that
they did not the parts to repair the damage.
The Doctor
then asks what has happened to the crew but the robot
continues
to state that they did not have the parts to every
question
he asks until he realises that the droids did not have the
mechanical
parts they required so they used the crew instead. Rose
explains
the eyestalk and the heart they saw earlier and the Doctor
explains
that the droids were programmed to repair the ship with
whatever
they could find. The cooking they could smell earlier was a
human
barbeque. He asks why the droids broke into 18th Century
France and
not simply return to their repair yard and the robot
replies by
stating that one more part is required to repair the ship
and
Reinette is that part. The Doctor asks why they have not taken
her yet
but the droid maintains she is not yet complete. He realises
they will
continue to open up time windows and keep scanning her
brain
until she is complete.
Rose
chirps in and asks why Reinette in particular was chosen and
the droid
replies that she and the other droids are the same.
Reinette
asks why but the robot merely repeats itself. She orders it
to leave
and sure enough it teleports away. Worried, the Doctor
tells Rose
to take Mickey and Arthur and follow the droid but not to
approach
it, just watch what it does. She asks who Arthur is and he
explains
it is a good name for a horse. She moans, explaining he
can’t keep
it and he protests, claiming he lets her keep Mickey,
before
ushering them back into the ship and closing the mirror up
again.
He asks
Reinette to trust him. He has to find out what the droids
are after
and links his mind to hers. He realises he is not the
first; the
cowboy repair droids have already been inside.
In one of
the ship’s corridors Mickey taunts Rose about the Doctor’s
relationship with Reinette and recalls his past loves including
Sarah Jane
and Cleopatra. Although Rose dismisses the last women,
claiming
the Time Lord only mentioned her once, Mickey explains that
when he
did he called her ‘Cleo’.
Suddenly
they are ambushed by two of the clockwork droids, who grab
hold of
them and extend their weapon arms. They draw needle-like
extensions
and plunge them into their prisoner’s necks.
Back in
Versailles the Doctor warns Reinette to imagine a door in
the way of
thoughts she doesn’t wish him to look at so he will know
not to
look. She marvels at his telepathic abilities as he tries to
search for
what the droids are looking for and why Reinette is not
yet old
enough to serve their purpose.
However,
things begin to backfire and Reinette begins to read his
thoughts,
and sees his memories of a lonely childhood. She learns
his name,
the Doctor and begins to realise how lonely he is now,
even more
so than in his childhood. The Doctor reels back, severing
the link
and asks how she managed to read his mind. She explains
that a
door once opened can be stepped through either way. She asks
the Doctor
to dance with her but he maintains that this is the night
she dances
with the King, yet she persists; she shall first make the
monarch
jealous. Again she ponders his name, Doctor who? She
realises
it is more than just a secret. He asks what she saw in his
mind and
she replies that she saw that there is a time when every
lonely
little boy must learn how to dance. They look into each
other’s
eyes and she leads him away, out of the room.
Back on
the ship Rose and Mickey have been strapped to operating
tables.
Rose awakens and calls out for the Doctor. Mickey also
awakens
and realises that the droids are about to chop them up. He
asks where
her precious Doctor is now as one of the droids states
that the
two of them are compatible. She begins to disagree,
claiming
they did not come alone and the robots will not want to
mess with
their designated driver. The droid extends his cutting arm
and Rose
continues to talk, asking if he has ever heard of the
Daleks.
She explains that their had a name for their friend. They
called him
the…
Before she
can continue a screeching song comes riding into the
room,
followed by the Doctor, who is now wearing some dark glasses,
has his
tie fastened around his head and is carrying a glass of
wine. He
sings out loud before dizzily asking if his friends have
ever met
the French, claiming that they know how to party. Rose
sighs and
snipes to look what the cat dragged in; the oncoming
storm. The
Doctor claims she sounds just like her mother but she
continues
to ask where he has been and what he has been doing.
He
explains that he thinks he has invented the banana dakery a few
hundred
years early and explains to her that you should always take
a banana
to a party, bananas are good. He turns to one of the droids
and slurs
that he’s his favourite, because he’s so thick. He
explains
that the droids were scanning Reinette’s mind to check her
age. The
ship is thirty-seven years old and the robots believe that
when
Reinette is thirty-seven years old her brain will be compatible
with the
ship’s command circuit. Why only Madame de Pompadour’s
brain will
do he still has no idea.
One of the
droids states that her brain is compatible. The Doctor
mocks him
and says he needs a glass of wine. He removes his mask,
tips the
contents of his glass into the clockwork skull and then
replaces
the robot’s face. He explains the liquid was actually
multi-grain anti oil and then moves to release Mickey and Rose,
flicking a
switch, which deactivates the other droids in the
process.
Snapping
out of his dizzy state he realises all of the time windows
are
controlled from this room. He searches for his Zeus plugs, which
he was
using a moment ago as castanets as Rose asks why the droids
can’t
simply open a window when Reinette was the right age but the
Doctor
explains that the ship’s damaged systems couldn’t handle it,
pinpointing the 18th Century was hard enough, after that is was
trial and
error.
He
realises that the windows won’t close and realises from a ringing
sound that
one of the droids is still through one of the windows
with
Reinette, creating an override. Suddenly the robot he covered
in
anti-oil expels the liquid from its system via its hand, allowing
it to
reactivate and then do likewise to its fellow droids. A
message
from the droid with Reinette is received, telling the others
that the
she is ready. They activate their teleports and leave; “it
begins”
Back in
Versailles Reinette is observing the clock in one of the
rooms,
finding it unbroken. She is startled as Rose enters, and
claims
that she does not have much time. Some time after Rose is
explaining
that the droids will be arriving to finally take her in
five years
time, at some point after her thirty-seventh birthday. In
a way for
her, Mickey and the Doctor it is already happening.
Reinette
asks that she be more exact but Rose explains there is not
time.
Although Reinette has five years to wait, the traveller has
less than
five minutes. She then asks that Rose be concise and she
begins to
explain that there is a spaceship filled with moments of
her life.
Reinette is unsettled by the idea of parts of her life
lain out
like chapters in a book, allowing the Doctor to walk among
them
without aging whilst she must age as she takes the slow path in
life. She
asks what can be done when the droid arrive and Rose
explains
they are programmed to listen to her. If she can keep them
talking
she can delay them, but not stop them. The Doctor has
promised
he will find his way there to help. Reinette takes note
that the
Doctor cannot deliver his promises in person, and that all
her life
whenever he appears the monsters appear as well. It seems
you cannot
have one without the other.
Rose
explains that none of this was ever supposed to happen, she was
never
meant to meet the Doctor or the droids, they are messing in
history.
Reinette is confused by her terminology and explains she
would not
have it any other way, it is worth risking a life of
demons so
that one might meet an angel.
Mickey
arrives calling out for Rose, explaining they have found the
correct
time window, right under their noses. He leads the way back
but
Reinette follows, making her way into the ships, despite Roses’
warnings.
She hears the screams of distant beings and Mickey
explains
that the Doctor has fixed and audio link with the time
window.
Realising these screams are from her own future Reinette
realises
she must take the slow path to these events. She hears her
own voice
calling out for the Doctor to come and help, the clock on
the mantle
is broken. Mickey warns that he and Rose must go now but
Rose turns
to Reinette. She asks if she is all right but she
explains
she is afraid. Despite this she knows just as well as rose
that the
Doctor is worth the monsters. Rose watches as she makes her
way back
to the court and then she to leaves to find her friends.
In the
court the masked entourage are being chased down corridors by
the
droids. They scream as they draw their weapons ready to attack.
Madame de
Pompadour and King Louis XV are in a chamber, Reinette
calling
out to the Doctor. Louis explains that they must leave and
she rises
from the fireplace, as three of the droids enter. She is
complete.
She will come.
Back on
the ship Rose arrives near to where the TARDIS landed to
find the
Doctor and Mickey looking through the time window, down
onto the
main hall. The droids have already anticipated the Doctor’s
arrival
and sealed the window shut.
The droids
are leading Reinette and Louis away to the main hall. The
teleport
has limited range; they must be near to the window in order
to return
to the ship. She comments that their words mean nothing.
They are
nothing.
On the
ship Rose asks why they cannot use the TARDIS to get into the
ballroom
but the Doctor explains they cannot, they are already part
of events
and they cannot leave the timeline. Mickey asks why they
cannot
simply smash through and the Doctor explains it is too
strong,
they would need a truck. Rose says they must try something
but the
Doctor explains that if the window were smashed they would
never be
able to get back. If one smashes they all smash.
In the
ballroom Reinette is calling for calm, reminding them they
are in
Versailles and they are French. She has made a decision. She
will not
be going with the droids. She has seen their world and she
has no
desire to set foot there again. Yet the droids have other
ideas.
They do not need her feet. They throw her to the floor and
one of
them approaches her with its arm drawn. She sees through
them. She
is not afraid of them; they are merely the nightmare of
her
childhood and if her nightmare can return to find her, then so
can
theirs.
A rhythmic
beating begins to ring out and suddenly, the Doctor
smashes
through the giant mirror at the top of the hall riding
Arthur. He
has managed to break through the time window. Reinette
introduces
him to Louis her lover and he shrugs him off, introducing
himself as
the lord of time. He’s come to fit the clock. He steps up
to one of
the droids and takes off their mask, unveiling the
clockwork
mechanisms beneath. He tells it it’s over, for the both of
them. He
looks up at the broken mirror and comments on the phrase
‘seven
years bad luck’, only this time it’s more like three
thousand.
On the
ship Mickey asks what has happened to the time window, which
has now
disappeared and how the Doctor will get back. Rose does not
answer,
she simply stands staring at the space before her where the
time
window once stood, weeping.
In
Versailles the droids are attempting to teleport back to the ship
but to no
avail. The Doctor explains there is no point. The link is
severed.
They haven’t got the parts. He stares at the unmasked robot
as it taps
at its teleport and ponders how many ticks it has left. A
day? And
hour? It’s over and he’s not winding them up. Slowly the
droid
realises and it deactivates, it’s fellows following suit. The
Doctor
looks on and explains to Reinette that they have no purpose.
They’ve
stopped.
On the
ship Mickey simply state the obvious. The Doctor is the only
one who
can fly the TARDIS; they have no way of getting back. Rose
looks up
at the stars through the observation window, and three
thousand
years ago; the Doctor is doing the same in Versailles.
Reinette
joins him and admits that while she was in his mind she
found that
he knew the names of every star in the sky. He ponders
exactly
what meaning there is in a title, and Reinette relates his
name ‘the
Doctor’, before he relates hers ‘Madame de Pompadour.’
They look
up again at the sky and Reinette admits she would love to
look at
the stars a little closer, as he has. She asks him to
confirm
what she suspects, that he knew that saving her would mean
he could
not return to his own life. He explains that he did know,
but he
came anyway.
She asks
if there is another time window he can return by but he
explains
the shockwave of severing one link would sever all of them.
He offers
to pay for any more broken mirrors and tapestry where the
windows
were but she laughs it off, whilst he ponders where he will
find money
to live on.
She
ponders that her lonely angel is also on the slow path of life
now and he
toasts to it, before drinking deeply from his wine glass.
On the
verge of tears she explains she would have enjoyed the slow
path with
him and when he replies, stating he isn’t going anywhere,
she
challenges his view and leads him away,
They
arrive in her chamber, where she shows him her old fireplace,
which she
haad moved from Paris to Versailles many years ago with
the hope
that one day he would return. She asks if it will work and
the Doctor
admits that when she had it moved it she broke the bond
with the
ship and do it was offline when the link was severed, which
would have
saved it. However the link is basically physical and
since it
is still physically here and if he is very lucky…
He begins
to tap away at the mantle, searching for the mechanism. He
zaps it
with the sonic screwdriver and thumps it with his fist. He
asks her
to wish him luck but she refuses, watching him leave,
returning
to the ship. He talks to her through the flames, asking
her if she
still wants to see the stars. She says she does and he
tells her
to pack a bag and then pick a star, any star.
She rushes
away to the window as the Doctor runs back to the TARDIS
where he
rejoins Rose and Mickey. He returns to the fireplace and
walks back
into Versailles, where he meets Louis, who explains he
has missed
her, she will be in Paris by six o’clock. He realises
that the
man he is talking to is the Doctor and explains Reinette
was right,
it has been so many years since they last met yet he has
not aged
at all.
He walks
to a dresser and takes out a letter. Reinette had hoped he
would
visit again and wrote him a letter. He hands it over before
watching
his loved one ride away from Versailles forever, this time
laid out
in a coffin.
She was
only forty-three when she died, after being attacked by
disease.
He turns from the window and asks the Doctor what is
written in
the letter. He says nothing and instead places the letter
inside his
jacket. The King agrees, “quite right”. The Doctor walks
away and
soon he is back inside the TARDIS.
Rose asks
again why the droids in particular wanted Madame de
Pompadour’s head to repair the ship but the Doctor explains that
perhaps
they’ll never know, perhaps the computer got confused. He
uses the
TARDIS to close the time windows once and for all. Rose
asks if he
is all right and he claims that he is, but she sees
differently. Mickey too sees that the Time Lord needs to be alone
and asks
Rose to show him the rest of the TARDIS. They walk away,
leaving
the Doctor alone.
He takes
the letter from his jacket and reads it. Inside Reinette
claims
that she realises her time on Earth is coming to an end.
Reason
tells her that they shall never meet again. Yet she has seen
inside his
head and knows anything is possible. She shall not listen
to reason.
She calls for him to hurry, her days grow shorter and she
is weak.
She finally wishes god speed to her lonely angel, and thus
bids him
farewell forever. He folds up the letter and places it
inside his
jacket, looking at her fireplace once more on the scanner
screen
before taking off.
Outside
the TARDIS departs, revealing a portrait of Reinette hidden
behind it
and outside, on the side of the ship its name is written.
SS Madame
De Pompadour.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Clockwork robots were also seen in the BBC Ninth Doctor
novel The Clockwise Man.
The Doctor talks about bananas being ‘good’ a hark back to
the series one episode The Doctor Dances.
There is no Torchwood reference in this episode, which is
understandable since the part of the story taking part in
the past predates the creation of Torchwood during the reign
of
Queen Victoria. The official reason is hovewer that the
author, Steve Moffatt, has not been informed he should
include one.
The scene where the Doctor plays Reinette's harp is a
reference back to The Five Doctors, when the Fifth Doctor
experimentally played the 'Harp of Rassilon' (Really a
fake).
The Doctor's comment about monsters having nightmares about
him was mentioned again in Love and War.
[Back to Main
Pag
Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel
Rise of the
Cybermen / The Age of Steel
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Tom MacRae
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille
Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Shaun
Dingwall (Pete Tyler), Roger Lloyd Pack (John Lumic), Andrew
Hayden-Smith (Jake Simmonds), Don Warrington (The President)
[1],
Mona Hammond (Rita-Anne), Helen Griffin (Mrs Moore),
Colin Spaull (Mr Crane), Paul Antony-Barber (Dr Kendrick) [1],
Adam
Shaw (Morris) [1], Andrew Ufondo (Soldier) [1], Duncan
Duff
(Newsreader) [1], Paul Kasey (Cyber-Leader) [1], Nicholas
Briggs (Cyber-Voice).
On a
parallel Earth, a deadly new version of the Doctor's old
enemy is about to be reborn.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Rise of the Cybermen
May 12th, 2006 7h20pm
- 8h05pm
The Age of Steel May 19th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Graeme Harper, Neill Gorton and Rob
Mayor for Rise of the Cybermen is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Noel Clarke, Camile Coduri and Shaun
Dingwall for The Age of Steel is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
TARDISODES
Rise of
the Cybermen
On a
computer screen; a message has been received by a group known
as The Preachers
from another figure known as
Gemini . It details
that the
subject of the report is John Lumic, founder of Cybus
Industries
(est. 1982).
It reports
the main information on Cybus Industries; such as the
profit
margin of $78 billion in 2001, and a report from South
America
that in 2004 259,996 people went missing from within its
borders.
Finally it reports the Lumic is working on his
ultimate
upgrade and then goes on to say
that he must be stopped.
Across the
globe metal men are preparing to disembark as part of the
upgrade
and as the report concludes a figure resembling Mickey sits
in a large
blue van, watching the screen before him. He watches as
the report
calls for all Preachers to mobilise and as the message
ends with
an advertisement from Cybus Industries promoting the
upcoming ultimate upgrade , he
drives away
The Age of
Steel
A report
issued from John Lumic to every continent on the planet
orders all
cyber factories across the Earth to begin production, the
ultimate
upgrade is about to reach maximum
velocity.
As the
report continues it details the objectives of the upgrade;
the
removal of the human brain from its body and its replacement
into a
brand new metal body.
Across the
globe hoards of Cybermen are being manufactured and are
starting
to awaken. They line the streets in preparation to take
over the
world; their orders stand to delete all incompatible
material
In a
laboratory in a place unknown, a blinding light silhouettes a
robotic
figure amongst the pieces of machinery. A scientist working
in the lab
informs his superior that it is working. The other man,
seated in
the shadows, explains that that is not the correct
terminology. He moves forward on a large motorised wheel chair and
tells him:
this is not a machine. The scientist corrects himself.
It s
alive.
The man in
the chair asks if the creature can hear him. The
scientist
explains that it may be in a state of shock; the brain has
been
welded to the exoskeleton. The seated man marvels at his new
creation:
skin of metal, and a body that will never age. He envies
it. He
turns to face it and asks if it knows him. He orders it to
answer and
asks again. Slowly the creature answers, he is John
Lumic.
Lumic marvels at what stands before him, his child. It is
ready, he
tells his friend Dr Kendrick to mark this day, that are
blessed.
Yet
Kendrick explains this is a new form of life and they must
inform
Geneva of it s existence, it contravenes the Bio-Convention.
They must
ratify it. However Lumic knows they will never allow this
creature
life, and decides he shall not apply to ratification.
Kendrick
apologises but it is his duty to inform them. Lumic stares
at him and
asks how he shall do that from beyond the grave. Kendrick
does not
understand, but it is too late to escapes. The hazy shape
of the
creature has crept up behind him and on Lumic s orders it
reaches
for Kendrick s neck, electrocuting him. He writhes in agony
and falls
to the ground.
Lumic
turns away and activates a communication link. He calls for
his
captain to contact all staff and explain they have a new
destination. Set sail for Great
Britain.
Rise of
the Cybermen
(drn:46'03")
In the
TARDIS console room the Doctor and Rose reminisce over past
adventures, in particular a weird munchkin lady with a big eye that
nearly
killed Rose by breathing fire at her. They laugh, and are
joined by
Mickey, who is standing at the console. He asks to hear
more about
this encounter but the Doctor trails off, fobbing it off
as a long
story that happened on a planet asteroid thing.
He then
notes that Mickey is holding down a switch on the console
and asks
how long he has been doing that. He replies, explaining the
Time Lord
asked him to about half an hour ago. The Doctor slowly
explains
he can let go now, as Rose laughs into her hand. Mickey
asks how
long it has been since he could have stopped and the Doctor
again
slowly explains: about ten minutes ago or twenty twenty-nine.
Mickey,
somewhat angered, accuses the Doctor of forgetting him but
he
maintains he was calibrating. He knows exactly what he was doing.
Suddenly
the console explodes in a blinding light and a pool of
sparks.
Outside in space a volcanic eruption blows the TARDIS
off-course
as inside the Doctor, Rose and Mickey are thrown to the
floor. The
Doctor wrestles for control and Rose asks what is
happening.
He replies, telling her that the time vortex has gone.
The ship
thunders downwards through clouds of smoke and raw energy
and the
Doctor warns his companions to brace themselves, they re
about to
crash. The ship thunders to a halt and again they are
thrown to
the floor, as oxygen masks descend from the ceiling. The
lights go
out and all that is left are blackened walls, a burnt out
console
and the three occupants, dazed and confused.
The Doctor
asks if everyone is all right and once they have replied
he turns
to the console. The TARDIS is dead. Rose asks if he can fix
it but he
tells her there is nothing left to fix, she s perished. He
slowly
paces the around the console, pressing random switches, but
it is no
use. The last TARDIS in the universe is extinct.
Rose
maintains that they can get help, they must have landed
somewhere.
The Doctor however explains that they fell out of the
vortex
through the void and into nothingness. They are in some sort
of no
place, a silent realm, a lost dimension
Otherwise
known as London. Mickey has opened the TARDIS door and
has taken
a look outside. He steps out onto the Thames embankment
and
marvels as London, England, Earth as the Doctor and Rose follow
him from
inside the ship. He walks to a nearby bin and pulls out a
newspaper,
reading out the date as the first of February; in the
same year
he left. Rose joins him to take a look as the Doctor
wanders
over; getting Mickey to confirm that this is London, his
home, just
as he left it. Each time the young earthling replies
positively
whilst looking at the paper. The Doctor concludes, asking
if his
London included Zeppelins.
They all
look up at the sky to see it crowded with the floating bags
of air.
Rose marvels at their beauty as Mickey cobbles together the
excuse
that there must be some kind of festival, it must be London,
the date
is the same.
Realising
the truth he asks the Doctor if this is a parallel one and
the Doctor
concludes that it must be. Rose remains distant, staring
at
something before her as Mickey continues, explaining it is
exactly
the same as their world but a little bit different, just
like in
films. In this universe traffic lights might be blue, Tony
Blair
might never have been elected And he s
still alive.
Rose
continues to stare at the object before her and the Doctor and
Mickey do
the same, meeting with the sight of Rose s dad Pete on a
large
advertisement poster, with a Vitex
Lite cherry-flavour
health
drink. In this reality, Peter Allan Tyler is still alive.
The Doctor
is quick to warn her not to look at it or even to think
about it,
but she doesn t listen, she reaches out to the advert and
it
instantly springs to life, like a television ad. In a jerky
motion
Pete coins the phrase trust me on
this and gives a cheesy
thumbs up.
Rose is joyful, in life in her own dimension he always
had daft
schemes like selling health food drinks and in this
dimension
he s done it, he s become a success.
The Doctor
again warns her. He tells her to stop looking at her and
if she
ever trusted him to listen to his warning. Her own father is
dead. That
is not her Pete. It is a Pete. He probably has his own
Jackie and
his own Rose, his own daughter who is not her. She cannot
se him.
Not ever. She looks forlorn as Pete s advert continues to
talk and
move. Trust me on this.
At a
stately home surrounded by fields and woodland, a posh car with
the
registration plate PETE 1 pulls up outside. Sure enough the
driver is
Rose s dad Pete, who steps outside holding a bunch of
flowers.
He straightens his shirt cuffs and surveys the area around
him,
before making his way inside.
Once there
he calls out to his sweetheart, hiding the flowers behind
his back.
Jackie appears at the top of a grand staircase, dressed in
an elegant
gown. She descends amongst a crowd of busied servants,
and begins
to nag at him, sniping that he told her he could trust
me on
this and all he s gone is cocked it up.
Slightly confused he
enquires
as to what it is he s done wrong and she walks off to show
him. They
arrive in another grand room where Jackie stares up at a
large
banner, which is inscribed: Happy 40th
Birthday .
Pete asks
what is wrong and Jackie protests the fact it says forty.
He concurs
that she is forty but she whines that she doesn t want
everyone
to know. Pete, still somewhat confused simply confirms that
she has a
birthday party tonight, but Jackie is set that it is only
her
thirty-ninth. Her official biography states that she was born on
the same
day as Cube Gooding Junior, which makes her thirty-nine.
She turns
away from him, thanking him mockingly, before calling out
to Rose.
Pete follows her out to the stairwell and presents her with
the
flowers, explaining they are from the girls in her office. She
looks at
them bluntly and quips that she has hand-sculpted
arrangements by Veronica of Reykjavik and all his secretary did was
stop off
at the garage. She declines to take them and he places them
on a
table, whilst she asks why he hasn t brought her a Zeppelin as
a present,
everyone else has one.
Again she
calls out to Rose, in a non too flattering manner, before
turning
back to Pete and showing off her present from Mr Lumic, a
set of
metallic ear pieces, brand new encrusted with real diamonds,
the latest
model. They can pick up signals from Venezuela, and
although
Pete or she can work out why she would need to utilise this
function,
at least now she can find out. Pete too has a set of
earpieces
attached to the sides of his head, as do the servants
milling
around them, although they seem not to react to wearing them
as
anything out of the ordinary. She turns away and again calls out
to Rose,
commenting to Pete that she will need a bath before
tonight.
Rose appears at the foot of the stairs, she is a small dog.
Pete looks
on as Jackie welcomes her pet but turns away at the sound
of a phone
ringing. He puts his hand up to one of his earpieces to
answer the
call, it is Mr Lumic. He thanks him for the gift he has
given
Jackie, and from within his Zeppelin hovering above the Thames
Lumic
comments that they are hand made, she must take care of them.
Pete asks
if he will be attending the party tonight, explaining it
would be
an honour. He declines, he has work to do. His plans have
advanced,
and the President has promised a decision. He explains he
will be
flying in tonight and arriving at the airstrip by five
o clock.
Pete worries that escorting his boss will upset Jackie and
her party
but Lumic will not take no for an answer, if the President
of Great
Britain can attend the meeting, so can he. He expects him
at five o
clock; today is a famous day.
Lumic
signs off leaving Pete to his thoughts, as Lumic takes in
oxygen
from a mask on his life support wheel chair. He then turns to
a computer
and signs in. He activates the ear-pod access for
Jacqueline
Tyler.
In her
room, Jackie is putting on her makeup when suddenly her
ear-pods
begin to glow and two metallic rods extend from within
them. They
bend to join above her head, forming a small glowing bulb
where they
meet. Jackie freezes as this process unfolds, as if in a
state of
hypnotism. He demands to know the security codes and
encryptions for the house tonight and the information pours from her
brain,
into the screen before him. Once the information is fully
downloaded
he calls for the computer to restore her. The glowing
bulb
disappears and the two rods disappear back into her ear-pods,
allowing
her free movement once more.
With the
information his, Lumic thanks her and then opens a video
link with
one of his associates, Mr Crane. He explains that events
are moving
on faster than he had expected. He needs extra staff.
Crane
accepts the unspoken order and begins a recruitment drive. He
calls for
the driver of the lorry he is sitting in to back up and it
reverses
out onto a London street.
Back in
the burnt out TARDIS console room the Doctor sits alone. The
door
behind him opens and Mickey enters, with Rose nowhere to be
seen. The
Time Lord scolds him for letting her run off in a parallel
world, the
equivalent of a gingerbread house out to tempt her.
Mickey is
taken aback by the fact that the Doctor is not concerned
by what he
gets up to but the agitated Time Lord claims he cannot
worry
about everything. He kicks the TARDIS console, wishing he
could get
it to work. Mickey asks if that will help the ship and the
Doctor
claims it will. The young human then asks if it hurt his foot
and sure
enough it did. He sits down and rubs his sore toes.
On the
Thames embankment Rose walks alone. She looks around her and
come to a
stop by a bench. She sits down and watches the Zeppelins
loom
overhead. Suddenly, her mobile phone begins to beep and when
she takes
it from her pocket to look at it, she finds that she has
been given
a free trial access to the Cybus Network. She opens up a
news
report detailing the return of John Lumic, the inventor of
high-contact metal, to his home country. Lumic, who does not wear
his own
set of ear-pods, appears in an interview from his ship,
denying
reports of ill health. He explains that they are all flesh
and blood,
the brain is what keeps a man human and his mind is more
creative
than ever. The screen returns to the reporter, who explains
that the
price of shares in Cybus Industry are doubling, and as his
voice
drones on Rose looks up once again at the Zeppelins. She looks
again at
the screen and turns it off, as the reporter talks about a
new report
published by the Torchwood Institute.
Back in
the TARDIS the Doctor laments that they are not meant to be
in a
parallel dimension. The ship draws its power from the universe
but they
are in the wrong universe. Mickey comments that he s seen
dimension
hopping in comics, it looks so easy. The Doctor simply
explains,
it s not like that in the real world. When the Time Lords
were in
power inter-dimensional travel was a lot easier but now they
are dead
that access has gone, the walls of reality have closed, the
world has
been sealed. Everything became a bit less kind.
Mickey
asks how, despite this they have managed to arrive in a
different
dimension but the tired Doctor does not know. It should
have been
impossible but now they re trapped. They both sigh and as
the Time
Lord looks around at the darkened ship he spots a speck of
green
light beneath the floor grating. He looks around to check it
isn t a
reflection but realises it is very much real. This is all
they need;
they have power. He and Mickey lift up the floor panel
and marvel
at the light below.
On an
abandoned sight, filled with rubbish several men are huddles
around a
fire. The lorry belonging to Mr Crane arrives and the man
greets
them. He puts on his best showman voice and calls for them to
enter the
lorry, which now stands with its loading doors open. As
smoke
wafts out his colleagues lower a ladder for the men to step
onto and
Crane explains the lorry is full of free warm food and
drink. He
calls for them to help themselves and they follow, all
except for
one young man who warns the others not to go. He claims
they are
lying, reminding them of the people have been disappearing
off of the
streets for the past few months. They are taking the men
away, for
experimentation.
As the
last man enters the lorry the younger lad hides behind a pile
of junk,
recording all he sees on a camcorder. He watches as the men
inside
realise it is a trap and Crane orders his men to take them
away. The
lorry doors are closed as the men inside scream to be let
out.
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor has lowered himself into the open
service
hatch and is tearing out pieces of machinery to get hold of
the
glowing object. Mickey inquires as to what it is and the Time
Lord
explains that it is a lone power cell that nobody ever bothers
about, the
last ounce of reality clinging onto power. Mickey then
asks if it
is enough to get them home and he replies that it isn t
yet, it
needs charging up. The Doctor manages to pluck the cell from
it s
resting place and cradles it in his hands as Mickey ponders if
they could
wire it up to the national grid. However, the energy must
come from
their own universe and the Doctor knows where to get it.
He blows
gently over the cell and it glows brighter. He excitedly
marvels
that by doing so he has given up ten years of his life in
doing
that, and it was worth every second.
Back on
the embankment Rose is still staring at her phone and it s
new
connection. She brings up a search box and types in her father s
name.
The Doctor
and Mickey continue to marvel at the cell and Mickey asks
if it is
ok that the glow is fading. The Doctor explains it is on a
recharging
cycle and sure enough the glow begins to grow brighter
again,
before fading and continuing on its cycle. He continues,
explaining
it will continue to gain power and be ready to take them
back home
in twenty-four hours. He kisses it affectionately as
Mickey
ponders the prospect of spending a day on a parallel world.
The Doctor
declares it as shore leave, so long as they keep their
heads
down. He clutches at the cell and then calls for Mickey to
come and
help him find Rose to tell her the news.
Soon
enough they are strolling around the embankment towards her,
explaining
the situation. She remains silent and sullen and he asks
her what
is going on. She tells him about the Cybus network and he
warns her
not to pay attention, this is the wrong world. She ignores
him and
explains that in this world she was never born. Pete and
Jackie
still got married but never had kids. The Doctor makes a
swipe for
the phone but she takes it from his reach. She goes on,
laughing
back tears to explain that they re rich, they have cars and
everything
they want, except her.
She
explains that she has to see her father and once again the
Doctor
protests. She continues, she just wants to see him and when
the Doctor
claims he cannot let her she begins to loose her
patience,
she has twenty-four hours. The Doctor claims that she
cannot
just become their daughter and asks Mickey for back up, but
he to is
preparing to walk away. With twenty-four hours to go he can
do what he
wants. Rose continues, saying she has the address of he
father.
The Doctor, now frantic, watches as they depart in opposite
directions.
He tells
them both to come back but they continue to walk. Rose
again says
she just wants to see her parents and Mickey too claims
he has
things he wants to see, but when the Doctor asks what he
simply
explains that the Doctor doesn t know him, that s just it.
Rose
apologises and claims that she has to go. The Doctor looks back
at Mickey
and he simply reaffirms what he already knows. He can only
chase
after one of them it it ll never be him. The Doctor begins to
run after
Rose, calling back to return to the embankment in
twenty-four hours time. Mickey agrees, but only if he hasn t found
something
better.
At the
airstrip, Lumic s Zeppelin is coming into land. Pete has
already
arrived and is met by the President, who asks him what the
problem is
that it can t wait until tonight. He explains that he is
on the
fast track now; with Cybus Industries having brought out his
business
he s part of the company now. The President quips that some
say Cybus
has brought his government but Pete laughs, saying he has
never head
anyone say that. He can trust him on this. The President
explains
he has tried Pete s Vitex drink; it tastes like pop. Pete
admits it
is pop and the President marvels that Pete has sold a
health
food drink to a sick world, he s not quite the average joe he
seems to
be. He looks up at the airship; Lumic does like to keep
them
waiting.
They
approach a walkway leading down from the ship and the President
ponders
that Pete has been involved with Lumic more than most, and
asks him
what he thinks of him. Pete comments that he is a clever
man
brilliant in fact. The President asks if he would call him
insane,
but Pete admits that isn t the word he d use. The President
explains
that he sees, before making his way up the walkway.
Mickey is
making his way along a run down street when he comes
across an
army blockade. He asks if he is allowed through and the
soldiers
oblige, reminding him of the curfew that is in place during
the night.
Mickey marvels at the difference between this reality and
his own,
much to the confusion of the soldier who thinks he has been
living up
on the Zeppelins with the toffs. He watches Mickey go, as
the air
ships lumber overhead.
The Doctor
and Rose are walking the streets as she informs him of
Mickey s
past. His mother could never cope alone; his father hung
around for
a while but left them eventually. Mickey was brought up
by his
gran, and she goes on to marvel at what a wonderful women she
was, and
how she died five years ago after tripping down the stairs.
The Doctor
admits he never knew and Rose explains he never asked,
they just
take him for granted. She wonders if his gran is still
alive in
this dimension and the Doctor continues his allegory of a
gingerbread house.
There is a
sudden beeping ringing out in the street and the people
walking
about their everyday lives stop in their tracks. Their
ear-pods
all bleep in rhythm as he Doctor and Rose walk among them.
The Doctor
realises the earpieces are like bluetooth attachments but
everyone
is connected together. Roses phone
bleeps and when she
examines
it she realises it is an automatic process for all
compatible
software, all news and current affairs are downloaded
into
peoples heads. The Doctor looks at the header on the page,
daily
download published by Cybus Industries. He clicks down see a
joke menu and as he does so the men and women
receive the pun and
laugh,
snapping out of the download state, going about their
errands.
The
Doctor, amused, marvels at the human need for the latest
download,
as Rose reminds him things are different here, a parallel
world. The
Doctor explains that not everything is that parallel and
flicks
through the information, realising that Cybus Industries also
own Vitex,
Pete s company. Rose smiles and he finally gives in. He
hands in
and agrees to go and see him.
Mickey
meanwhile has arrived at his destination, a house in a
rundown
street. He knocks on the door and an elderly blind woman
answers,
thinking he is a burglar. He says hello and she realises
who it is.
He confirms he suspicions and she greets her grandson
Rickey.
Mickey tries to correct her but she is adamant. She knows
her own
grandson s name; it s Rickey. Mickey gives in and lets her
call him
by that name. He hugs her and she hits him, scolding him
for
disappearing her. She talks of stories of people disappearing
off of the
streets and how worried she was.
Over her
shoulder he sees the carpet on the stairs is torn, sticking
out at an
odd angle. Unsettled he comments that he has told her so
many times
to get that fixed; she could fall and break her neck. She
tells him
he should get it fixed and he agrees that he should have,
a long
time ago. Perhaps he s just a bit useless. She fobs him off
and
invites him in for a cup of tea, so long as he has time. He
explains
he has all the time in the world for her but she simply
explains
he is lying; it s his new friends. He asks what friends
they are
but she simply takes him as a liar. She explains her
neighbour
has seen them tearing around in a van but he denies
knowing
about it. As she steps inside a blue van comes tearing round
the
corner. Mickey begins to follow her in but the van doors open.
The young
man from the dumpsite climbs out and pulls him inside;
they have
been looking for him everywhere. They drive off, leaving
Mickey s
grandmother calling out for him.
Inside the
young man scolds him, he once told them that they should
never
contact their own family, it puts them in danger. Mickey,
confused,
goes along with what he is saying, taking the place of the
absent
Rickey. The young man tells him what he saw at the dump, and
the driver
of the van, an older women explains it was rented out but
the
company it was rented to, International Electronics, was a dud
set up by
Cybus Industries. She then explains that Thin Jimmy has
been
arrested, leaving him London s Most Wanted.
On Lumic s
airship the President and Pete are watching a
presentation that details how the human brain can be made immortal
by
submersion in a series of chemicals, bonding the flesh with a
metal
exoskeleton. Lumic looks on, breathing via the mask on his
chair. The
President stops the presentation as it talks of the
ultimate
upgrade and turns to Lumic. He explains
that he realises
what the
upgrade entails and apologises, his government will not
give
permission, nor would any government in the world. Lumic
abandons
his breathing mask and explains he has prepared a paper for
the
ethical committee. The President cuts him off, calling his plans
obscene.
Lumic makes a personal plea, explaining that he is dying.
The
President knows, and he is sorry. Lumic continues, by stopping
his
project he has condemned him to die. He states that his
inventions
have advanced the entire planet, and asks if he would
have all
that perish.
The
President, now on his feet brings him down to Earth. He is a
fine
businessman, but he is not God. Lumic looks on as the President
makes his
apologies and leaves, telling Pete he shall see him later
on tonight
for a drink.
With him
gone Pete tries to sympathise with Lumic, explaining there
are other
countries to apply to. However Lumic is adamant. This is
the
homeland, his birthplace. He bids Pete leave and once he has
gone turns
to his computer. A picture of Mr Crane appears and asks
if the
override is working. He explains that it is, despite some
teething
troubles. He approaches a line of men, those he abducted
from the
dumpsite. He checks the ear-pods he has grafted onto their
heads and
then stands back. Using a handheld device he asks the men
to turn to
the right, then back to the left. They do so on command
and Lumic
cuts in, asking Crane if he is enjoying himself. He
hurriedly
explains he is not, only the control is irresistible.
Lumic
tells him to resist then orders him to start the upgrade.
Crane asks
if he has gained permission but he explains he is
governed
by greater laws, the right of a man to survive. He orders
him to
begin then signs off, leaving him to order the men to exit
the room,
into a corridor beyond where their screams ring out for
all to
hear. Crane quickly hurries over to a control panel and tells
one of the
operators to drown out the noise, turn on track nineteen.
He does so
and the lion sleeps tonight rings out across the
processing
factory, as knifes and spinning blades cut and slash the
human
bodies, giving them the ultimate upgrade
It is
nighttime and outside an abandoned building the blue van pulls
up. The
young man calls to the driver Mrs Moor that there is a light
on
insides, they ve got visitors. They arm themselves and sneak
round to
the back entrance. They enter, to find a young man standing
by a
fireplace. Bemused, the young man asks what he is doing there.
The figure
replies, asking what he is doing there. He points to
Mickey,
his exact double
As a
limousine pulls into the Tyler house drive, the Doctor and Rose
sit
perched on a thicket watching. Rose realises it is February 1st,
Jackie s
birthday and even in this universe she still loves a party.
The Doctor
admits there is one guaranteed way to get inside and
pulls out
his psychic paper. Rose smiles as he asks her who she d
like to
be.
A while
later, inside the Tyler household the two travellers,
dressed as
a waiter and waitress, are serving people food and drink.
Rose, not
amused, moans to the Doctor that they could have been
anyone.
The Doctor defends himself, explaining that they got in, as
they
wished. She continues, he s in charge of the psychic paper; he
could have
made them out as celebrities. He explains that if you
want to
know what s going on, you should always work in a kitchen.
He points
out a man over the other side of the room and explains
that
according to Lucy, another waitress, he is the President of
United
Kingdom. In this world there is no Prime Minister.
Pete calls
for attention and Roses rushes to see him, as he thanks
the guests
for coming. He introduces Jackie who descends from the
stairs.
Rose looks on and the Doctor keeps an eye on her, as he
would-be
mother welcomes her guests. He warns her she cannot stay
with them,
even if she told them she was really their daughter. She
agrees and
explains she has her own mum, Jackie back in her own
universe.
They watch
as Jackie calls out to her rose, the dog and the Doctor
bursts out
laughing. His companion gives him a sharp look and he
composes
himself, as Jackie fusses over her pet.
Elsewhere,
the International Electronics lorry is being loaded with
the
robotic creatures Lumic has created. They storm in line onto the
lorry as
Crane confronts one of his co-workers; he explains to him
that what
they are holding is the future. He tells him to go to the
lorry and
start it up. Lumic calls him and asks if they are mobile.
He
explains that they are about to go and Lumic himself is on his
way, his
Zeppelin is looming overhead. He tells his old friend to
prepare
the factory and to send the creatures forward, let the good
work
begin.
In the
hideout, Mickey is strapped to a chair. The young man is
examining
him with a complicated medical instrument as Mrs Moor
checks the
readings on a computer. Rickey ponders how something like
this could
happen and Mrs Moore ponders that perhaps Cybus
Industries
could have perfected cloning, that or his father had a
bike.
He
questions Mickey, who explains that his father was Jackson Smith,
who used
to work in the key cutters on Clifton s Parade. He went to
Spain and
never came back. Rickey explains that his father did the
same,
perhaps they are brothers. He looks at him and observes how
they are
both exactly the same in terms of appearance. He tells his
friend,
whom he finally addresses as Jake that something else must
be going
on.
Mickey
asks exactly who his three captors are. Rickey explains that
they are
known as the Preachers, as in gospel truth. He shows him
that none
of the wear ear-pods, whilst the rest of the world
downloads
from Cybus Industries, they remain free. He is talking to
London s
Most Wanted. Lumic however is their number one target and
they are
bent on bringing him down.
Mickey
asks how they will do this whilst hiding in a kitchen. Jake
smiles but
Rickey asks if he has a problem with the way they
operate.
He hurriedly denies it but before Rickey can turn on him
again a
bleep issues from the computer. Mrs Moor explains it is an
upload
from someone or something known as
Gemini . The report
states
that the lorries are back, moving out from Battersea. Lumic
is making
his move. Rickey addresses his companions and turns to
Mickey.
They are about to leave.
The
lorries continues on their journey, followed by the blue van
belonging
to Rickey and his gang, who are now arming themselves with
machine
guns.
At the
party the Doctor I making his way down the corridors,
casually
looking around him. A glowing light from a behind an ajar
door draws
him to look, and inside he finds a computer displaying
the Cybus
Industries system.
Rose
meanwhile is still serving, watching Jackie as she mixes with
the
clientele. Pete joins her and explains how he remembers her
twenty-first birthday, a pint of cider at the George pub. She offers
him a
drink and he takes it. She compliments him on the party, using
his own
catchphrase. He laughs and she asks him how long they have
been
married. He replies, explaining it has been twenty years. She
asks if
they have ever had children and he explains that they kept
putting it
off, Jackie never wanted to ruin her figure. She tries to
persuade
him that it is not too late but he reveals he moved out
last month
although he hasn t told anybody because it would be bad
for
business. He wonders why he is revealing all of this to her and
asks if
they have met before, she just seems right to talk to. He
cuts off
and addresses his friend Stevie, asking how things are
going at
Torchwood.
Outside,
Rickey and Jake are watching the clientele arrive at the
party and
realise they must get inside. In the van Mrs Moor has
found out
that the house belongs to Pete Tyler, one of Lumic s
henchmen.
Mickey realises what this means and states they must get
inside,
which Rickey tells him he has just said.
The
lorries have arrived and are being unloaded. Rickey and Jake
watch as
the contents of the lorry march out, making their way
towards
the house.
The Doctor
meanwhile, is watching the presentation Lumic was showing
the
President earlier, his expression grave.
Jackie is
sitting on a bench outside. Rose joins her and asks if she
can get
her anything. She asks if she could get the last twenty
years of
her life back then sighs with a laugh. Rose offers to get
her a
drink, champagne of maybe a cup of tea. She joyfully opts for
the latter
and Rose remembers how her mum would always stay up
before
going to bed, just to have one last cup. Jackie admits that
she is the
same; even down to the number of sugars she takes.
She begins
to talk about Pete but cuts herself off. Rose admits what
a good man
he is, a bit of a jack the lad but nevertheless, worth a
second
chance. Jackie turns on her, asking her is she is commenting
on her
marriage. Rose tries to explain but she simply dismisses her
a servant
girl. She tells her she will not get paid then goes back
inside,
leaving Rose alone. Before her, on the lawn, floodlights
suddenly
turn on and she sees a line of figures noisily marching
towards
her.
Back in
the study the Doctor realises what is going on, what Lumic s
creatures
really are
Rose
watches the line of creatures advance before rushing inside.
There she
finds the Doctor and together they peer out of a window as
the
marching task force. The Doctor explains it is happening again,
he has
seen them before. Rose asks what he means, what exactly they
are. He
tells her, they are Cybermen.
Suddenly
the creatures begin to smash through the windows, storming
inside and
encircling the frightened guests. The President s ear-pod
rings and
he answers, it is Lumic. Now inside the factory, he
comments
that a comment about crashing the party would be
appropriate, laughing as he does so. The President tells him he
forbade
this, but Lumic tells him these are his children, would he
deny his
own family?
Rose
whispers to the Doctor, asking if they are robots. He answers
her, they
are worse than that.
The
President asks who the people who now occupy the cyber suits
were, and
Lumic states that it does not matter.
Rose jumps
to the conclusion that they are people but the Doctor
tells her
that they were people, until they had all of their
humanity
taken away. They are a living brain jammed inside a
cybernetic
body with a heart of steel, with all emotions remove.
Rose asks
why and he replies simply: because it
hurts
By now the
President is losing his patients and demands to know who
these
people were. Lumic tells him they were homeless, wretched and
useless
until he saved them and elevated them giving them eternal
life. He
leaves him in their capable hands and bids him goodnight.
One of the
Cybermen approaches him and states that they have been
upgraded.
The Doctor inquires into what and it replies, the next
level of
mankind, human.2. Every citizen will receive a free
upgrade. You will be like us .
The
President apologises for what has been done to them and declares
that the
experiment will end tonight. The Cyberman declares that
upgrading
is essential. The President asks what will happen if he
refuses.
The Doctor warns him not to ask but he continues, despite
the Time
Lords warnings. The Cyberman answers, he will not be
compatible. He must be deleted.
The
Cyberman reaches out and grabs the President s neck, a bolt of
electricity cackles through his body and slowly he sinks to the
floor,
dead.
The guests
panic and run for their lives. Pete calls out to Jackie
as the
Cybermen begin to electrocute more of the clientele. Jackie
however
flees on her own, without Pete whilst the Doctor tells Rose
there is
nothing they can do. He grabs her arm and they run outside.
She
protests that her mum is still inside but he once again states
that she
is not her mother. They continue to run out onto the lawn
but a line
of Cybermen block their path. They run round the side of
the house,
just in time to be joined by Pete, and together they flee
from the
row of merciless Cybermen advancing on the house.
Inside the
house more and more guests are being strangled and
electrocuted. Jackie accidentally runs into one and flees down into
the
cellar, where the metal monster begins to follow.
The Doctor
asks Pete for a way out and he indicates the side gates,
asking him
who he is and how he knows so much. The Doctor retorts
that he d
never believe him in a million years, as they find their
way
blocked by more Cybermen. They run back to other way, where Rose
sees two
men running towards them. One of them, Rickey yells for
them to
get behind him as he and Jake open fire with their guns. The
bullets
are useless and the Cybermen come to halt before them.
Believing
him to be Mickey Rose comforts Rickey, admitting she
thought
she d never see him again. He pulls free of her grasp and
asks who
she is, just as Mickey arrives, explaining who he is. The
Doctor
quips that things couldn t get any worse: two Mickey s.
Rickey
corrects him as to his name as Mickey explains there are more
Cybermen
are on the way. Sure enough another troop advance from
behind,
encircling them. They are surrounded.
The Doctor
warns Rickey and Jake to drop their guns, bullets won t
stop them.
Jake however continues to fire and only stops when the
Doctor
pushes his gun away. He tells the others to put their hands
up and
addresses the Cybermen, telling them there is no need to
damage
them, they will make god stock. They are volunteering for the
upgrade
programme, they can take them to be processed.
One of the
Cybermen replies, calling them rouge elements. The Doctor
protests,
they are surrendering. The creature continues, they are
inconvertible, they will be deleted. The Doctor continues to
protest,
they are surrendering to them, but the Cyberman is not
listening.
They are inferior. Men will be reborn as Cybermen but
they will
all perish under maximum deletion.
As the
Cybermen march to close in on them, ready to fire, the Doctor
and the
others can only look on, as the Cyberman lets out it s
battle
cry.
Delete.
Delete. Delete. Delete
The Age of
Steel
(drn:45'52")
As the
Cybermen prepare to attack the Doctor pulls a glowing orb
from his
pocket. He aims it at the steel warriors and immediately a
beam of
energy flies out at them. They are each hit by the beam and
begin to
disintegrate. The group of hostages begin to run and are
saved by
Mrs Moore, in the blue van belonging to the Preachers.
They begin
to climb inside but Pete makes a break for the house. The
Doctor
stops him but he protests that he must save Jackie. He
reasons
that anyone inside the house will be dead, and all he can do
is to not
let her die in vein. He runs back to the van and the
Doctor
joins him, stopping only to pull Rose away from the house,
reminding
her that the Jackie in this universe is not her mother.
They join
the others inside the van and they pull away, Mrs Moore
screeching
that she s never seen such a slow getaway in her life.
The
Cybermen are still stalking the grounds as well as the interior
of the
house, where Jackie is in hiding. She peeks around a
doorframe
and sees the metal monsters on patrol. She returns to
behind the
doorway, closing it as they go, but a Cyberman turns to
see her
leave.
In the van
the Doctor explains that the object he used to ward off
the
Cybermen was the crystal he and Mickey found in the TARDIS.
Mickey
observes that the light has gone out but the Doctor assures
him that
it will recharge in four hours time.
Rickey
merely points out that now they have no weapons. Jake
corrects
him; they do have weapons but they won t work on the
Cybermen,
although they will work on a man like Pete.
Rose
defends him, asking what he has done wrong. Jake mockingly
explains
he has helped spring a trap wiping out the government and
left John
Lumic in charge. Pete rationalises that if he had
organised
the attack he would not have left his wife inside but
Rickey
counteracts, theorising that the plan might have gone wrong,
but it
still gives the Preachers the right to execute him.
The Doctor
cuts in, warning them that if they begin to talk about
executions
they will make him their enemy, and he advises them that
they do
not want to do that. Rickey continues, claiming that they
have
evidence that Pete has been working for Lumic since 20.5. They
others in
the van look towards Pete and Rose asks if it is true, he
does not
reply.
Rickey
calls for Mrs Moore to explain and from the drivers seat she
tells them
that the Preachers have a government mole, who leaks them
al of
Lumic s private files in secret broadcasts twice a week.
Pete cuts
in and asks if these broadcasts were made by Gemini.
Rickey
asks how he knew and Pete admits that he is Gemini. He goes
on to give
the exact details of the broadcasts and explains the only
reason he
was working for Lumic was to get information. He had
thought he
was sending the information to the Security service but
all he got
was the Scooby Doo gang, complete with the van.
Mickey
chimes in, saying the Preachers must know what they are
doing;
Rickey is London s most wanted. Rickey sheepishly admits that
that isn t
strictly true; he s London s most wanted for parking
tickets.
The others grin and he defends himself, saying that he was
fighting
the state by parking wherever he wanted.
The Doctor
admits that he is very much the same and then introduces
himself,
just in case anyone is interested. Rose does the same and
Pete
mockingly spouts that things are getting better, Rose is the
name of
his dog. He looks at Rose, still in her waitress outfit and
quips that
at least he has the caterers on his side.
Rose tells
him she knew he was not a question and when he asks why
the Doctor
gives her a warning look and she simply claims she just
knew it.
Pete continues to explain how his wife was still back in
the attack
and Rose comforts him, saying she might still be alive.
This is no
condolence for Pete, if she is alive she will be under
Lumic s
control, and all he does with living humans is turn them
into those
metal monsters.
The Doctor
corrects him, explaining they are called Cybermen. He
then
advises him to remove his ear-pods, and he does so. The Time
Lord
deactivates them with the sonic screwdriver and warns that
Lumic
might be listening. He is not just a businessman, he is an
assassin.
He calls to Rickey, Jake and Mrs Moore in the cab,
explaining
they must get to the city and warn the authorities. These
experiments end. Tonight.
In the
conversion factory Lumic marvels at his metallic children. He
asks them
what it feels like to have been converted. One of the
creatures
replies; they do not feel. Lumic then asks what they think
in their
minds and again the creature replies to him; they think the
same, they
are uniformed. Lumic asks again what these thoughts are
and the
creature replies, explaining that they think of the humans
and their
difference and their pain. They suffer in their skin, they
must be
upgraded. Lumic agrees, it is time they begun. He logs into
the main
computer and orders the activation of the primary sequence
for all
ear-pods in London, he has claimed independence. Begin
transmission
On one of
the London streets it is nighttime and people are walking
about
their business. Suddenly a loud ringing pierces the air and
they all
come to a halt. Their ear-pods begin to flash and they all
walk off
in the same direction. In the Tyler household Jackie is
discovered. Like the people on the streets her ear-pods flash and
she walks
forward, expressionless. Lumic s voice echoes out. They
will come
to him. His new children, the immortal ones.
A news
report is being broadcast. The panicking newsreader hurriedly
explains
that the whole of London has been cut off. An army of metal
men are
taking over. All citizens are being advised to remove their
ear-pods
and stay in their homes.
Outside of
the factory Mr Crane tugs his ear-pods from his ears,
defying
his master Lumic to take control of him.
On the
streets the Doctor, Rose and the others watch as the people
march off
together. The Doctor realises that Lumic has taken control
via the
ear-pods. Rose makes to remove them from a nearby man but
the Doctor
holds her back, severing the link could cause a brain
storm. He
marvels almost mockingly at the human race, and their
trait to
always allow someone to take control of them.
Jake calls
them over to a street corner where he and Rickey are
keeping
watch. Peering round they find more people leaving their
houses and
joining the throngs of people marching along, escorted by
troops of
Cybermen. The Doctor realises they are making their way to
the base
of operation and Pete confirms him that it is in Battersea.
Rose asks
why Lumic is doing this and Pete explains that he is
dying,
this started out as a way of sustaining the brain, at any
cost.
Rose then
claims she has seen a Cyberman before, the helmet from
VanStatten
s museum where they found the lone Dalek. The Doctor
confirms
that there are Cybermen in their own universe as well. They
started on
an ordinary world just like the one they are on now and
then
spread out across the galaxy, but the ones they face now are
starting
from scratch, here on Earth. Pete asks what he is talking
about but
Rickey interrupts. They must get out of the city.
He tells
Mrs Moore to look after the Doctor, Rose, Pete and Mickey
whilst he
and Jake split up to try and distract the Cybermen, before
meeting
back up at Bridge Street. As they move off Mickey kisses
Rose
goodbye, and decides to go with Rickey instead.
As the
others flee, pursued by Cybermen, Mickey and Rickey find
themselves
at a fork in the road. They both babble on to themselves
but each
come to the same conclusion, the Cybermen will know where
they are.
Rickey again points out how exactly alike they are but
Mickey
admits his counterpart is probably braver. Rickey agrees. He
comments
that Mickey s friends aren t that bad but he explains he
just tags
along behind. Rickey touts that he is not that bad, and
Mickey
asks if he means it. He explains that he supposes he does and
they stand
in silence, until a patrol of Cybermen begin to approach
them from
behind. Simultaneously they decide to split up and each
run off in
a different direction.
Elsewhere
the Doctor, Rose, Pete and Mrs Moore are hiding behind a
crowd of
bins as more Cybermen walk past. They approach their hiding
place but
the Doctor wards them off with the sonic screwdriver. As
they leave
the four in hiding get up and depart, looking at the
sight
behind them.
In the
conversion factory lines of people are walking along, as a
Cyber
voice rings out that all unconvertible material must be
incinerated.
In the
back streets of London, Rickey is running from hoards of
Cybermen
waiting to kill him. He finds himself stuck down an
alleyway,
cut off by a fence. He begins to climb over as Mickey
appears on
the other side, willing him on as the Cybermen approach
from
behind.
Suddenly,
one of the Cybermen reaches forward and grabs his leg. A
bolt of
electrical energy shoots through his body and as Mickey
cries out
in protest Rickey s body falls to the floor. Mickey looks
up at the
emotionless killers in disgust then turns and runs.
In the
conversion factory Mr Crane is being escorted into the main
control
room by a crowd of Cybermen. Lumic addresses him, stating he
believed
him to be a faithful person. Crane states that he is, and
lies that
his ear-pods must have malfunctioned. He apologises then
walks up
to address his old friend, requesting an upgrade. He has
seen the
future and it is copyright Cybus Industries. Lumic wonders
at the
willing volunteer as Crane states that he knows exactly what
to do.
He leaps
forward and claws at Lumic s life support chair. As he
disconnects wires and tubes Lumic cries for help. One of the
Cybermen
walks forward and grabs hold of Crane. As he falls to the
floor,
electrocuted, he curses Lumic and his creations. Lumic
himself
calls out for help and the Cybermen approach him. They state
he is to
be upgraded. He protests, gasping that he is not ready. As
the
Cybermen continue to prepare him he admits he will upgrade, but
only with
his last breath. The Cyberman thumps at the Cybus logo on
its chest
and Lumic s chair moves forward, escorted by his own
creations.
In a side
street the Doctor, Rose, Pete and Mrs Moore are joined by
Jake, who
tells them that hundreds of humans, waiting to be
converted
are all lining up around the Thames. In the distance
Mickey
runs towards them. Believing him to be Rickey, Jake welcomes
him but
upon asking him, he realises Rickey is gone. Mickey
apologises
as Rose runs forward to hug him. Mickey tries to approach
Jake but
he is inconsolable. He sneers at Mickey, telling him he is
nothing.
The Doctor cuts in, explaining they can mourn later, when
London is
safe. For now they move on.
Some time
later they are approaching the banks of the Thames,
opposite
the conversion factory. The Doctor reels off that London
has been
cut off and the whole population has been taken inside.
Rose
realises they must get inside and shut it down and it falls on
Mickey to
ask how. The Doctor calmly tells them he will think of
something
and Mickey realises that he is making this up as he goes
along. The
Doctor admits it, claiming that he does so brilliantly.
Mickey
nods in agreement.
Later on
Mrs Moore has accessed a map of the factory on her laptop,
and shows
the others that underneath the building are cooling ducts
big enough
to walk through. Pete chips in that it is possible they
could walk
in through the front door, where Jackie will have gone.
Jake is
sceptical but Mrs Moore explains it is possible, and
presents
the others with two sets of fake ear-pods, whilst wearing
them they
can walk straight in.
Pete
decides that this is how he shall get inside and the Doctor
warns him
that he must show no emotion in order to not get caught.
Rose takes
the other set, and prepares to go with Pete in order to
find
Jackie. Pete asks why finding her should matter to her but she
merely
explains they have no time. She tells the Doctor she is going
with him
and he realises that there is no stopping her.
He
realises that as well as shutting down the factory and saving
Jackie the
groups can stop the ear-pod signal at the same time,
freeing
the unconverted prisoners. He turns hi attentions to Jake
and tells
him that Lumic is transmitting the signal from somewhere
in the
factory and a quick scan with the sonic screwdriver
identifies
Lumic s parked Zeppelin as the source. He asks the young
lad if he
can knock it out and he replies, telling him to consider
it done.
He turns
to Mrs Moore and asks her to accompany him into the cooling
tunnels.
They now have three modes of attack, above, between and
below.
They can get inside and knock out the conversion machines.
Mickey
then chirps up from behind them asking what he is to do and
the Doctor
realises he has left him out. He stumbles to find
something
for him to do but Mickey cuts in, realising he will tell
him to
stay behind and be the tin dog .
He then
explains that those days are over and then decides to go
with Jake.
Initially reluctant he begrudgingly accepts to take him
along. As
they walk off the Doctor calls to him, wishing good luck.
He stops
and wishes him the same, before calling back to Rose saying
he will
see he later. The Doctor tells him that if they succeed in
what they
wish to do they are to meet up back at the TARDIS. Mickey
promises
him that he will and then walks off to join Jake.
He turns
back only once, to see the Doctor and Rose embracing,
wishing
each other good luck. He looks on and looks forlorn. They
belong
together. He pulls himself together and walks off into the
night to
catch up with Jake.
Some time
later the Doctor and Mrs Moore descend into the darkened
cooling
ducts of the factory. Mrs Moore, who has a tool for every
occasion,
provides torch helmets and hand held lights to find there
way. The
Doctor muses, asking if she has a hot dog inside, the
Cyberman
of food.
They start
on their way and discover a line of Cybermen, standing
against
the wall waiting. The Doctor explains they are dormant,
already
converted but silent, awaiting orders. Slowly he edges
forward,
tapping one on the helmet to not response. He tells his
accomplice
to move forward with caution and to watch for traps that
might
activate the Cybermen. They make their way along, the
Cybermen s
dead faces escorting them.
In the
grounds of the factory lorries of people come and go as
troops of
Cybermen escort new humans off to be converted. Rose and
Pete run
into the compound and take cover. They put in their fake
ear-pods
and Pete reminds Rose not to show any emotion. Rose
reassures
him that they can accomplish their task and he asks why
she would
risk her life for Jackie. She remains cryptic, telling him
she s
doing it for her mum and dad. They make their way out into the
open and
join a line of mesmerised people, following them into the
factory as
the Cybermen look on.
On the
roof of the complex Jake and Mickey take cover from two
guards
covering the entrance to the Cybermen. Jake prepares to kill
them but
Mickey notes that if he kills them he is no better than the
Cybermen.
He agrees and instead pulls out another of Mrs Moore s
inventions, very strong smelling salts. They approach the guard and
place them
to their noses, causing them to pass out. With the way
clear they
board the Cybermen, prepared to meet any more guards who
stand in
their way.
Back in
the cooling ducts, still lined with Cybermen, the Doctor and
Mrs Moore
are making progress along the darkened shaft. The Time
Lord asks
how she came to help the Preachers and she admits she used
to be normal
once, working for Cybus Industries. However, one day
she found
a file she wasn t supposed to on the computer mainframe
and took a
look. Soon she was on the run as soon as the armed guards
of Cybus
came knocking. She heard of the Preachers and told them
about
herself and became their technical support.
The Doctor
then asks of her family and she tells him that her
husband,
who is not called Mr Moore as she is using a fake name,
thinks she
is dead, which would keep him safe. She then asks the
Doctor if
he has any family but her simply quips that he does not
need
family, he has the whole world on his shoulders. He asks what
Mrs Moore
s real name is and she tells him it is Angela Price. She
asks him
not to tell anyone about it and he promises, not a word.
They move
on, unaware that one of the Cybermen behind them has
activated,
and is watching them leave.
In the
main control room the Cybermen are aware of the two friends
presence.
They consult with each other and decide to awaken the
army.
In the
tunnel Mrs Moore feels something moving near her. The Doctor
fobs her
off but before them, another of the Cybermen begins to
move. He
realises they are waking up and as the metal warriors begin
to spring
to life he and Mrs Moore run for their lives. The Cybermen
watch them
go and begin to spring forward and follow them.
They reach
the end of the tunnel and climb up an escape hatch. The
Doctor
undoes it with his sonic screwdriver and with not a second to
spare they
scramble onto the floor above, and the Doctor seals the
hatch shut
again, trapping the Cybermen below.
In the
factory, a booming voice escorts the Cybermen as they work,
claiming
six thousand five hundred units have now been converted.
Rose and
Pete are lead down corridors lined with pipes as the
Cybermen
lead humans into giant tanks, where they step inside and
are
bombarded by spinning knives and other blades, scratching away
the flesh
before the Cyberman helmet is lowered into the tank, and
the
creature is complete. Throughout the factory dozens of tanks
buzz about
their work, all converting new Cybermen.
Pete asks
Rose if there is any sign of Jackie but she doesn t reply.
Ahead of
them one of the Cybermen spots them and begins to approach.
It
identifies Pete and he confirms his identity. It explains that it
used to be
Jacqueline Tyler and it recognises Pete and Rose as
fugitives.
It calls for them to be restrained and other Cybermen
grab them
as they protest about its identity. It explains that
Jackie s
brain now resides in its steel body. It then orders that
Pete, a
traitor to Cybus Industries be taken with Rose to Cyber
Control.
They are lead away as Pete clings onto the hope that since
she
remembers him, perhaps Jackie can be reversed back to human
form. He
and Rose look back behind them but fail to identify which
of a crowd
of Cybermen Jackie is.
Inside the
Zeppelin control room Jake and Mickey dispose of other
unconscious guards before setting out to look for the transmitter
controls.
Arriving at the very controls of the airship they turn to
find a
Cybermen backed up against the wall. Jake draws his gun and
approaches. He finds a light switch and illuminates it. Mickey
approaches
and taps the helmet, realising it is dead, a mere display
model.
They return to looking for the transmitter controls, as the
still
features of the Cyberman stand illuminated in the gloom.
In the
factory the Doctor and Mrs Moore are ambushed by a Cyberman,
which Mrs
Moore disposes of using an electromagnetic bomb. The
creature
falls down and the Doctor rips open the chest plate, which
is stamped
with a Cybus logo. He removes the plate, which contains a
steel
heart. Inside is a glowing blue mix of circuitry and other
entrails.
He removes some of the pieces of flesh and identifies it
is the
central nervous system. It has been used to control the
creature
as a living thing, which it technically is. He turns his
attention
to one of the circuits. He realises it is an emotion
inhibiter,
it stops them feeling.
Mrs Moore
asks why this is done and the Doctor explains that if the
humans
inside could see themselves as a Cyberman it would drive them
insane;
they are removed because it is the one thing, which makes
them
human.
Suddenly
the fallen Cyberman asks why it is so cold. The Doctor
realises
the inhibiter has been broken and apologises for how it
must feel.
Again the Cyberman asks why it feels so cold. The Doctor
asks if it
can remember its name and it identifies itself as Sally
Freeman.
She asks where Gareth is, and claims he must not see her,
it is
unlucky the night before Mrs Moore
realises she was to be
married
but the Cyberman continues to say how cold it feels so cold.
The Doctor
comforts her and tells her she must sleep. He slowly
lowers the
sonic screwdriver into her chest unit and activates it.
The lights
inside go out and finally she is at piece.
The Doctor
states that Sally Freeman did not die in vein. He has
realised
that if they can find the code that will beak the inhibitor
and feed
it through the central system into the head of every
Cyberman
they will all realise what they are and go insane. It might
just kill
them. He begins to question if he could do such a thing
but Mrs
Moore reassures him that he must, the Cybermen must be
stopped
and this is the only way to do it.
She gets
up from where they are crouching but fails to see the
Cyberman
behind her. It reaches for her neck and electrocutes her,
loosening
it s grip only to let her dead body fall to the floor. The
Doctor
yells in disgust that it was unnecessary to kill her but the
steel
monster simply comments that they have detected the Doctor s
binary
vascular system. He is to be taken for analysis. He is lead
away,
still looking upon the body of Mrs Moore.
In the
Zeppelin Jake and Mickey have found the transmitter controls
but it is
sealed shut. Jake suggests setting the ship to automatic
drive,
abandoning it and letting it crash. He makes a move to the
ships
controls but the computer is locked. The computer minded
Mickey
sets to work hacking for the codes but unknowingly sets of a
signal
device, which is matched in the cubicle belonging to the
empty Cyberman.
The Doctor
is lead into the main control room, chirping that he had
hoped that
when he was captured he would have Pete and Rose to save
him, but
they are waiting for him there as prisoners. He snaps back
to normal
and asks if they are okay and they explain they were too
late,
Jackie has been killed by Lumic.
The Doctor
asks loudly exactly where Lumic is, wanting to meet him.
A Cyberman
answers, explaining he has been upgraded. The Doctor
comments
that he is just like them but it replies that the Lumic
unit is
superior, he has been designated the role of Cyber
Controller.
Before
them, a wall bearing the Cybus logo splits apart revealing a
Cyberman,
Lumic sitting plugged into a throne of metal. Its build is
larger
than any Cyberman, it is more robust and its brain can bee
seen
through the top of its head. Its eyes glow when it speaks,
announcing
in a metallic version of Lumic s voice that this is the
age of
steel and he is its creator.
The
Zeppelin motors are beginning to roar to life as Mickey hacks
into the
computer system. From behind the Cyberman on display
springs to
life and pursues them. They run to the other side of the
control
room where Mickey tricks it into smashing the transmitter
controls,
electrocuting itself.
All across
the factory floor peoples ear-pods begin to stop
transmitting and they begin to realise trouble is afoot. Seeing the
spinning
blades culling hundreds of people they scream and run in
terror.
Some are electrocuted by the Cybermen but many escape out
into the
open.
From the
Zeppelin Mickey and Jake realise they have completed their
mission
and cheer with glee. In the control room the Doctor hears
the
commotion outside ad realises his friends have done their job.
He looks
over to Lumic and calls it a vote for free will. He replies
in his
metallic voice, explaining he has factories waiting on seven
continents. If the ear-pods have failed then the Cybermen will take
humanity
by force. London has fallen. So shall the world.
In the
Zeppelin Mickey has logged into Cyber Control and finds that
the
Doctor, Pete and Rose are alive. Whilst Jake looks in terror at
the Cyber
Controller Mickey activates a sound link, and they can
hear Lumic
as he rants that he will bring peace to the world,
everlasting peace and unity and uniformity.
The Doctor
asks what role imagination, the thing that lead him to
where he
is, will play in this new world. He s killing it stone
dead.
Lumic asks what his name is and the Doctor replies. The
Controller
tells him that Doctor is a redundant title, Cybermen do
not sicken
but the Doctor cuts in explaining that that is his entire
point. He
pities Lumic, claiming if he weren t in the room he would
call him a
genius. Everything Lumic did was to battle his sickness
and that
is brilliant, so human. Yet if sickness is eliminated then
mankind
has nothing to strive for. The Cybermen will not advance;
they will
remain on a metal world full of metal men and metal
thoughts.
It will lack what makes Earth so alive: stupid yet
brilliant
people.
Lumic asks
if the Doctor is proud of his emotions and he replies
that he
is. He then asks if he has known grief and rage and pain.
The Doctor
solemnly answers yes again and then again, more proudly
when Lumic
asks if they hurt. The Controller then claims he can set
the Time
Lord free from his emotions; he can live a life without
pain. The
Doctor simply says that he might as well kill him and
Lumic
decide he shall take the latter option.
The Doctor
again claims that that is not his decision to make. He is
a Cyber
Controller and he does not control him or anything with
blood in
its heart. Lumic continues, threatening that he cannot be
stopped;
he has an army, a species of his own. The Doctor moans,
whining
that Lumic does not understand what he is trying to say. He
tells him
that an army means nothing; it is the everyday people that
make a
difference, who could change the world. Any man, any women,
any idiot.
In the
Zeppelin Mickey realises the Doctor has seen the camera
through
which he is watching them and is trying to address him. The
Time Lord
continues, saying how all that idiot would need to do is
find the
right numbers, the right codes; such as the code to break
the
emotion inhibiter. Any idiot with a computer can find that
information in the Lumic family files, using the right wavelength
that Pete
confirms as Binary nine.
Mickey,
now with a starting point sets out to find out the correct
code, as
the Doctor rattles on about an idiot who could save the
world by
typing at a computer. Lumic cuts in, calling the Doctor s
words
irrelevant. The Time Lord admits his problem in life is that
he talks
too much. He turns to Rose and says how it s lucky he got
her such a
cheap tariff for the long conversations the have on her
phone.
Mickey realises that he is trying to tell him to send the
correct
code to Roses phone. Lumic taunts the
Doctor, telling him
he will be
deleted and the Doctor takes the opportunity to talk
about all
of the buttons on a phone keypad, including his favourite
send and sure enough as he talks Mickey sends the
completed code
to
Roses mobile.
The Doctor
then turns of Lumic and comments on how he seduced
everyone
into wearing ear-pods in the first place; by making every
piece of
technology compatible with everything else. Roses phone
beeps as
she receives Mickey s message. She throws the phone to the
Doctor,
who proves his point of total technical compatibility by
plugging
the phone into one of the control banks.
Immediately the signal is sent to every Cyberman. They clutch their
heads as
they realises what has happened to themselves. Mickey and
Jake cheer
in joy and the Doctor stands to apologise to one of the
steel
monsters, who stares at itself in a mirror. The Time Lord
tells
Lumic he has given them back their souls, and it s killing
them. As
more of the Cybermen overload, keeling over or blowing to
smithereens the Doctor, Rose and Pete flee leaving Lumic to screams
out to
delete the prisoners. Yet none of his servants answer him,
they all
stagger around in agony and emotional torture as the
factory
begins to overload and blow up.
The
Doctor, Rose and Pete look for a way out but the fiery factory
holds no
safe exits. On the roof above them Jake is attempting to
fly the
Zeppelin away to safety but Mickey protests. They must save
the Doctor
and Rose. He takes control of the wheel that pilots the
ship and
lowers it back to the roof. Jake holds Mickey s phone to
his ear as
he steers the ship. On the other end Rose replies and he
tells her
to head for the roof.
Rose
relays this to the Doctor and Pete and they clamber up a
staircase,
in-between bursts of flames. Elsewhere, Lumic the Cyber
Controller
roars in anger. He pulls himself free from the throne he
is wired
to and raises to his feet, screeching in protest.
Rose, the
Doctor and Pete make it onto the roof. Running amongst
jets of
fire Rose asks Mickey over the phone how he learned to fly a
Zeppelin.
He replies that he learned from a Playstation game and
then tells
her he is coming to get her.
He sends a
rope ladder down from the cabin and the three of them on
the roof
hold on, as the airship flies away from the burning
factory.
They begin to climb up to safety but something causes it to
shake
violently. They look down to find the Cyber Controller
climbing
after them, slowly catching up. The Doctor throws the sonic
screwdriver down to Pete and tells him to press it against the rope
below him.
He does so, yelling out that his actions are for Jackie
Tyler. As
the screwdriver whirs and the Controller climbs, the rope
heat sand
breaks. The Controller falls down into the fiery abyss
below and
the Doctor, Rose and Pete cling to the rest of the ladder,
as the
Zeppelin fades away into the night.
Some time
later, the Doctor enters the burnt out TARDIS console room
and takes
out the power cell from his pocket. Now fully charged he
plugs it
into one of the panels, and slowly but surely light returns
to the
ship, illuminating the golden walls and the glowing console
before
him.
Outside on
the embankment Pete asks Rose what happens inside the
blue box
before them. She asks if he wants to see but he declines
her offer.
He asks who exactly they are and she tells him that there
are other
parallel worlds with other Pete Tyler s and very much
alive
Jackie Tyler s and their daughters. Pete looks on astounded
and again
Rose asks him to come inside the TARDIS but he is adamant
he must
stay. There are other Lumic factories out in the world with
other
Cybermen still in storage. He has to tell the authorities what
has
happened, he must carry on the fight.
The Doctor
joins them, stepping outside of the ship. He tells her
that they
have only five minutes of power, they have to go. Rose
tells Pete
the Doctor could show him where the other factories are
but he
simply thanks her for all her help and he bids her farewell.
She too
says goodbye, addressing him as dad. He protests and tells
her not
to, too confused by the idea of other parallel worlds. He
leaves her
and the Doctor alone, as he runs off to start his
mission.
No sooner
has Pete left Mickey and Jake join them. Mickey is
brandishing the Doctor s suit and hands it back to its joyful owner.
The Time
Lord then turns to Jake and explains they have to go, but
tells him
that Mrs Moore s real name was Angela Price. He tells him
to find
her family and tell them she died saving the world. He
agrees and
the Doctor prepares to leave but Mickey has other ideas.
He wants
to stay.
The Doctor
and Rose look at him shocked. Rose simply says through
her tears
that he can t. He explains that it will balance things
out. This
world has lost its Rickey but he is still here and there
are more
Cybermen out there to be fought. Again she protests but he
tells her
that his grandmother is still alive in this world and she
needs him.
Rose asks what happens if she needs him but he knows,
just as
she does that she and the Doctor belong together without
him. They
had something a long time ago but not any more.
She
explains that she can come back to see him but the Doctor
explains
they cannot. They arrived by accident, through a hole in
time and
when they go back through, into their own world he will
have to
close it again. They can t ever return.
Mickey
shakes the Doctor by the hand and bids hi farewell. He
replies by
telling him to take Roses phone with the
emotion
inhibiter
code on it and take it to the other Cybermen factories and
stop them.
He wishes him good luck Mickey the idiot. He makes his
way back
to the TARDIS, leaving rose and Mickey alone.
He thanks
her for everything, they ve had a laugh and together they
have seen
it all, been there and back. He muses asking rhetorically
who would
have ever foreseen the two of them, from the old estate
flying
through the stars. Rose, now fighting back tears continues,
saying how
they had been sitting there all those years, imagining
what they
d do one day. They never foresaw this.
She hugs
him, and he tells her she must go or she ll miss her
flight.
She walks solemnly back to the TARDIS and looks back one
more time
before stepping inside and closing the door.
Mickey
calls over to Jake to watch the ship depart and as it fades
away
amidst a roar of engines, he tells him that that is the Doctor,
in the
TARDIS, with Rose Tyler.
In her
kitchen back on the Powell estate Roses
true mum Jackie is
filling
the kettle. Slowly the noise of the TARDIS coming into lad
fills the
air and she rushes into the sitting room to see the ship
arrive.
Rose, now changed from her waitress outfit rushes to her
mother,
assuring herself that she is still alive. Jackie, slightly
confused,
asks what is wrong and where they have been. The Doctor
explains
they have been far away and ponders t the real meaning of
his words,
realising it really was far way. Jackie then asks where
Mickey is
and he tells her; he has gone home.
Back on
the parallel Earth Mickey and Jake climb into the Preacher s
van,
preparing to drive away. Mickey tells Jake that he knows he is
not a true
replacement for Rickey but they can honour him by
fighting
in his name. He then ponders if; out of all the Cybus
factories
out in the world if one will be in Paris. Jake supposes
there is
and Mickey decides they can go and limbo in Paris. Jake,
slightly
bemused, simply questions he and Mickey going to Paris in a
van.
Mickey smiles and tells him that he once saved the world in a
big yellow
truck.
They both
laugh and Mickey starts the van. They roll away into the
distance,
under a blanket of stars beneath what for Mickey, is a new
world.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
This story is somewhat similar to the Big Finish audio Spare
Parts, indeed writer Marc Platt is credited at the end of
the episode.
Mickey s parallel self is called Rickey, the Ninth Doctor s
name for him during the first series. This may imply the
ninth Doctor has already visited this universe before, it is
possible these issues will be resolved in The Age of Steel.
This story retcons Mickey's family history. In Rose, when
Rose thinks Mickey is dead, she talks about needing to tell
his mother. Here, we find that Mickey is actually an orphan
--
his father left, his mother died young, and his blind
grandmother, who raised him, died tripping over a tear in
the carpet. In the parallel timeline, Ricky's grandmother is
still alive.
Three previous Original Series stories dealt directly with
the consequences of a universe with divergent timelines:
Inferno, Day of the Daleks, and Battlefield. In addition,
the existence of such alternative timelines allows various
continuity issues with, say, Earth future history, to be
swept under the rug, although it's never been explicitly
done.
The TARDIS (or its console, at least) has only crossed into
an
alternate timestream once on-screen, in Inferno. The
issues the TARDIS has with its power source here were not
relevant to that story, because the Doctor had removed the
console from the rest of the TARDIS and was feeding the time
column with energy from a nuclear power facility (in both
timelines). The TARDIS did have severe issues operating in
E-Space (Full Circle, State of Decay, Warrior's Gate), but
never completely conked out.
This story represents a break with Big Finish Audio
continuity, but not the one you might think. Big Finish's
Eight Doctor adventures included an arc in which the Time
Lords were strongly phobic of divergent timelines and
Rassilon himself had led a crusade to eliminate them during
the Old Time (itself a break with established continuity
stories like Inferno). This story instead establishes that
the Time Lords acted as gatekeepers between divergent
timelines and had safe ways to travel between them, which
are gone now that the Time Lords themselves are gone.
Ironically, Don Warrington, who plays the President of Great
Britain in this story, played Rassilon in those audio plays.
While taking place in an alternate timeline, the events seen
so
far regarding the (re)birth of the Cybermen do not yet
directly contradict events that have occurred in the
"mainstream" timeline regarding Cybermen, either on-screen
or
in the Big Finish audio Spare Parts. We do not yet know
whether John Lumic is meant to have invented these Cybermen
out of whole cloth, or whether one or more of the Cyberman
incursions of the 1980s (Tenth Planet, Invasion, Silver
Nemesis) occurred in this alternate timeline and resulted in
Cyber technology being left behind to inspire Lumic (cf.
Henry van Statten in Dalek").
There are some significant differences between the Lumic
Cybermen and the Mondasian Cybermen of the main timeline:
Mondasian Cybermen, in all their variations, have had a
chest unit that contained, among other things, a part of
their respiratory apparatus, the implications having
always been that the remaining biological components still
need oxygen. This apparatus was a frequently-exploited
weakness, particularly after it was introduced in Revenge
of the Cybermen that the mechanism can be jammed up with
gold dust. Lumic Cybermen lack any similar encumberance or
weakness.
It's often implied that Mondasian Cybermen started out as
piecemeal replacements that eventually got out of hand,
and in several stories we see partially-converted people.
Lumic Cybermen are, from the start, complete robotic suits
with a human brain grafted in and some kind of
biotechnology for a nervous system.
The removal of emotions in Mondasian Cybermen and human
converts has always been implied to involve surgery and/or
drugs to alter the nervous system, with "Attack of the
Cybermen" providing the strongest evidence for this. Lumic
Cybermen have their emotions suppressed by a chip that's
part of the artificial nervous system. In both cases,
however, the key reasons are similar: that, aside from
philosophical questions of whether emotions are or are not
a boon, a Cyber-convert would probably go insane if they
could react emotionally to what's been done to them.
John Lumic is superficially reminiscent of Davros (Genesis
of
the Daleks, et seq.), the creator of the Daleks, in that
he
is crippled and wheelchair-bound. There are significant
differences, however, the key one being that Davros had no
desire to become a Dalek, but rather made the Daleks in the
image of what he himself had become. Lumic, on the other
hand, sees the Ultimate Upgrade as his own personal
salvation as well as the salvation of mankind. Similarly,
Davros was deceiving his people when he said the Dalek
project was about their salvation as a race, while Lumic
appears to sincerely believe it.
Lumic's front company, International Electromatics was the
name of Tobias Vaughn's company in Invasion, which was
itself a front for the Cybermen, with whom Vaughn was
working. Lumic has some simliarities to Vaughn, as well,
including an attachment to a particular henchman, and a
willingness to kill his scientific help when they disagree
with his ideas. In addition, International Electromatics was
infiltrating Cyber technology into human consumer culture in
the form of radios and other similar gadgets that were
common when Invasion aired in 1968. Cybus Corporation is
doing something very similar with mobile phone technology
and the Internet.
Despite taking place in a divergent timeline, there are not
one but two references to Torchwood in Rise of teh Cybermen:
once during a news telecast Rose watches on her mobile, and
once at Jackie Tyler's birthday party. There are no
Torchwood references in The Age of Steel.
In
this universe, Pete Tyler was a wild success "selling
health drinks to a sick world", who never had his automobile
accident (Father s Day), but he and Jackie never had
children, although Jackie has a small dog named Rose.
The Doctor uses the phrase Mickey
the Idiot , which his
ninth self used in Aliens of London / World War Three.
The concept of a Cyber Controller dates back to Tomb of the
Cybermen, where he appeared with an enlarged cranial section
suggesting a larger brain. That was the first time we'd seen
any distinction amongst the otherwise uniform Cybermen,
although there was always clearly a spokeman or someone in
charge. The same Cyber Controller (even the same actor
inside the suit) appeared again in Attack of the Cybermen. A
different Controller appears in the audio drama Real Time.
The concept of a Cyber Leader distinct from other troops
dates to Revenge of the Cybermen and became a staple from
that point forward. This story credits a Cyber Leader, but
no
Cyberman seen on screen appears to have the
characteristic black "handlebars" on his helmet.
The argument between the Doctor and the Cyber Controller
regarding the value of emotions is reminiscent of the
Doctor's argument with the Cyber Leader in Earthshock.
Rose realises she's seen a Cyberman, or at least its head,
before, in Van Statten's museum in Dalek. The Doctor makes a
high-speed reference to the Cybermen in Rose's universe,
thus establishing that Cyber-continuity as we knew it is not
erased by this story. In particular, the story that is
credited as having inspired this one, the Big Finish audio
Spare Parts, has not been superceded.
Two scenes in this story are reminiscent (without being
duplications) of scenes in Spare Parts: Jackie Tyler
remembers who she was after she's been converted -- just as
Sisterman Constant and Thomas Dodd do. Sally Phelan's brief
moment of full awareness after the Doctor and Mrs Moore
damage her emotion-suppressing chip hearkens back to the
plight of Yvonne Hartley.
The use of cold storage to preserve Cybermen dates to Tomb
of
the Cybermen, where they were actually in full-blown
hibernation.
Mickey's cheeky line about saving the universe with a big
yellow truck is probably a reference to Parting of the Ways.
Blooper: at the beginning of Rise of the Cybermen, the
alternate universe's Big Ben has a square face. At the end
of
The Age of Steel, it's normal.
[Back to Main
Page
The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's
Lantern
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Maureen
Lipman (The Wire), Ron Cook (Mr. Magpie), Jamie Foreman (Eddie
Connolly), Debra Gillett (Rita Connolly), Rory Jennings (Tommy
Connolly), Margaret Jphn (Grandma Connolly), Sam Cox
(Detective Inspector Bishop), Ieuan Rhys (Crabtree), Jean
Challis (Aunty Betty), Christopher Driscoll (Security Guard),
Marie Lewis (Mrs Gallagher).
1953, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II – but there are
rumours of monsters on the streets of London.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Idiot's Lantern
May 26th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Ron Cook, Louise Page and Sheelagh
Wells is available on the official Doctor Who website.
TARDISODE
In an
ordinary 1950’s household a deliveryman uncovers a brand new
state of
the art television set to an excited old woman.
That night
she sits down in preparation to watch the set as tendrils
of red
electricity buzz around the device. She concludes that it is
not
working and gets out of her chair to hit the set in order to try
and make
it work.
However as
she does so the red tendrils of electricity flare up to
and begin
to break free of the television screen. They pursue her as
she
retreats back to her chair in terror and make a move towards her
face.
Some time
later the old woman is gone; leaving only the television
set to
broadcast a report on the upcoming coverage of the following
day’s
coronation of Queen Elizabeth II…
It is late
at night and a storm is brewing outside Mr Magpie’s
electronics shop. He is sitting in the dark writing, whilst a
television
set stands in the corner, displaying a female newsreader
addressing
the camera. As she signs off, announcing that programming
is over
for the day, her image is replaced by the broadcaster logo.
Magpie
leans away from his work, solemnly announcing he is two
hundred
pounds overdrawn, he needs a miracle. He tears the page from
his book
and throws it away, as the national anthem rings out from
the
television set.
Elsewhere,
in another house in the street a family are sitting
around the
radio. As the grandmother sits and listens, the mother
sews and
the young son reads a magazine. The father of the family
enters,
announced as the ‘lord and master’ by the grandmother. He
announces
to his wife Rita that he is going out and his son turns to
show him
the magazine. He whines that he has already told him they
are not
getting a television but when the young man protests that
everyone
in the street is getting one, he comments that they might
get one
for the coronation. He turns and leaves, as the grandmother
tells her
grandson that she has heard that television rots your
brains,
turns it to soup and makes it pour out of your ears.
The father
walks through the rain outside, past Magpie’s shop, which
is struck
by the aerial with red lightening. Inside Magpie is
slumped
asleep on the table, as the television sounds bleeping in
the
background. With a shock of light the screen comes to life and
the female
announcer appears again, calling to him. He awakens and
turns to
see her, commenting that he must be dreaming. She tells him
he isn’t
and so he deduces that he must be going mad. She comforts
him,
telling him he is fine, and asks him if he is sitting
comfortably. “Then we’ll begin”. Rope like tendrils of red light
snap
forward from the screen and grab his face, as his features
begum
blurred, sucked away from his head the announcer laughs…
The
Idiot's Lantern
(drn:45'07")
Rose steps
out from the open TARDIS door, dressed in a large
full-length bright pink skirt, commenting that she had presumed that
they would
be landing in the seventies. The Doctor pops his head
around the
door, his hair slicked back. He tells her that if they
wanted to
see Elvis then the time to visit is the late fifties, when
he was
known as the pelvis and still had a waist. He adds that they
should
also see him in style and after disappearing inside the ship
he emerges
riding a small blue moped, wearing a crash helmet. He
rides
around the courtyard before coming to a halt and asking Rose
in an
American accent if he is going her way. Mimicking him she asks
if there
is any other way to go and as the Doctor marvels that she
speaks the
lingo, she talks of how she used to sit with Jackie and
watch
Cliff Richard movies every bank holiday. As the Doctor hands
her a
helmet he sighs that he could have predicted her mother would
be a Cliff
fan.
They ride
away and Rose asks where they are going. The Doctor tells
her they
are on their way to Ed Sullivan TV Studios to see Elvis
perform
live. Rose asks if that would be in New York and as the
Doctor
confirms it, a large red Double Decker crosses their path,
rolling
past a large red post box. Rose laughs at the Doctor’s
mistake
and the Doctor defends himself, saying that the area still
feels like
New York, a London-y New York. As he watches the bus roll
on, Rose
asks what all of the flags are for and as he follows her
gaze they
both find the street they are in is decked with red white
and blue
bunting.
Back in
the house, the mother, father and their son sit watching a
television
set. The father gets up and turns the volume down,
marvelling
that you would have believed the figures on the
television
were in the room with you. He tells his son Tommy that he
had a
point in buying one and then comments that the set should
cheer his
wife up. She merely comments that nothing is the same, not
after what
happened to her mother, and what happened to her face.
From
upstairs a thumping sound is heard. Rita knows she is awake and
ponders if
she is hungry.
Outside in
the street Mr Magpie is over seeing the delivery of one
of his
television sets, commenting that it is all ready for the
great
occasion. The Doctor and Rose appear by his side and the
Doctor
asks what the great occasion is. Magpie, slightly bemused
asks if he
has been living in the colonies, and tells him it is the
coronation. The Doctor again asks what coronation and Magpie again
seems
bemused. Rose cuts it, telling him sarcastically that it the
coronation
of Queen Elizabeth II. The Doctor jumps to life, asking
if it is
1953 and Magpie tells him that it is. Rose looks up at the
roof tops
and comments how many aerials there are, she had been led
to believe
that TV sets ere so scarce in the fifties that people had
to cram
into each others houses. Magpie cuts in, explaining that
they wont
have to do that with him around, he is selling the sets at
only five
ponds each.
The Doctor
continues his enthusiasm for 1953, rambling on about
Technicolor, Everest being climbed and everything off the ration,
adopting a
posh accent he talks about Britain throwing off the
shackles
of war and looking forward to a happier brighter future. As
Rose
laughs a door in the street bursts open and two men step
outside,
escorting another who has a sack over his head. A women
follows
them screaming for help, her husband is being taken. The
Doctor
rushes forward and asks what is going on. One of the men
replies,
calling it police business.
Tommy and
his parents arrive outside to see what is going on and he
tells Rose
that the abductions have been going on for some time. All
over the
place people are turning into monsters. The car drives away
as Tommy’s
father arrives and tells him to get inside the house. He
does as he
is told, commenting that he must as the Doctor and Rose
get back
on their moped and drive away, following the car.
Inside the
car one of the men talks into a walkie-talkie, ordering
operation
market stall to begin. As the car drives through a pair of
gates a
groups of men walk into the rode, going about their business
as market
traders, as the gates close behind them. The Doctor and
Rose
arrive to find the road blocked and the car gone. The Doctor
asks how
it is that the car got away and Rose takes the opportunity
to scold
his reckless driving, asking if he has passed his test. He
ignores
her and wonders at the spectacles they have seen; men in
back,
vanishing police cars. “This is Churchill’s Britain not
Stalin’s
Russia.”
Rose
remembers what the young boy said about monsters and inquires
if they
should set about asking the neighbours for information. The
Doctor
tells her that that is what he likes about travelling with
her; she
helps bring the domestic approach. She thanks him but then
asks if he
was actually insulting her. However before she can get an
answer the
Doctor sets the bike in motion and they speed away.
In Magpies
shop Magpie approaches the collection of television sets
and
announces he has done as he was told, it is finished. He places
before the
sets a small box, with a screen on the front. The woman
announcer
appears and tells him he has done well. He asks to know if
she will
leave him soon, if she will leave him. She cheerfully tells
him they
will see, if he’s a good boy. He winces, telling her that
she is
hurting him, burning inside him behind his eyes. Even his
memories
hurt and all he wants is for things to return to normal.
She tells
him that Earth is busy, forging ahead to a brand new age.
He can
never go back and that is his tragedy. She tells him that the
time is
almost upon them; cometh the hour, cometh the man…or lady.
Tommy is
ascending the stairs of his house, as his grandmother
continues
to thump on the floor above him. He approaches her door
with a key
ready to unlock it, and begins to talk to her from the
hallway,
telling her he is going to come out and to stand back. From
the
stairway his father appears and advances on his son as he
prepares
to open the door as he apologises to his grandmother,
telling
her he has to come in. He asks him what he is doing and
Tommy
turns to face him, telling him that they have to try and help
her. He
orders him to give him the key and slowly Tommy does as he
is told.
He tells him he has not finished with him yet.
Downstairs, with his mother present, Tommy stands as his father
rants on
that he has warned him many times about going upstairs and
every time
he has disobeyed him. The young man replies, telling him
that they
cannot just lock the old woman away. His father cuts in,
telling
him that he is talking. He sternly tells him that he can
forget
going to college, he will work alongside his father and get
his hands
dirty for once. From upstairs the thumping starts again
and Rita
worriedly asks if she will ever stop. Her husband calms
her,
telling her it is business as usual. He tells her they must
decorate
the house with special bunting for the coronation, in
honour of
her majesty. She replies, asking if she could be talking
and he
explodes, telling her that e is talking. She falls silent and
he quips
that that is better, a little bit of hush.
The
doorbell rings and Eddie answers it, finding the Doctor and Rose
on the
other side. He asks who they are and the Doctor evaluates the
man’s
appearance and stature, noting he has been in the war, before
bringing
out his psychic paper and tells him he represents Queen and
Country,
checking up on her loyal subjects before the big day. He
and Rose
nudge their way inside and the Doctor comments on the nice
house,
before asking Rita’s name, she introduces herself as Mrs
Connelly
but hr husband cuts in, introducing their visitor.
The Doctor
defends Rita before asking why the flag bunting is not
flying. Mr
Connelly tells Rita it needs to be done he told her to
but as she
apologises the Doctor cuts in, telling Mr Connolly that
he has
hands and he can do the job himself. The stubborn man retorts
that it is
housework, work for a woman. The Doctor asks him what
gender the
Queen is and he proudly answers ‘female’. The Doctor asks
if he
would suggest the Queen do housework and he immediately
replies
she would not. The Time Lord hand shim the flags and tells
him to get
busy. He begins his work, telling his visitor that he
will be
proud of him and his family; there will be Union Jacks left,
right and
centre.
Rose cuts
in and tells him that he is not to call the display a
Union
Jack; it is only addressed as that when flown at sea. What he
is holding
is a Union Flag. He apologises and she excuses him before
telling
him to get to it, before turning and smiling to the others
in the
room.
The Doctor
cheerfully tells the others to sit down before asking
through
gritted smiling teeth how Rose knows about the Union Jack
terminology and she replies that Jackie once went out with a sailor,
to which
the Doctor replies “I bet she did”. He turns to Tommy and
introduces
himself and Rose before asking his name. He replies and
the Time
Lord beckons for him to sit down. He does so and they watch
television, both commenting how good it is. He calls back to Mr
Connolly
to keep working, before leaning towards Tommy and Rita and
asking
what is wrong. Rita asks if he is a Doctor and he confirms
it, before
she asks if he can help. Mr Connolly cuts in, telling her
that there
is no need to tell him but the Doctor insists that she
does. Rose
asks Rita, who is now crying, to explain what is going on
so that
they can help, but Mr Connolly cuts in, realising he is
doing
housework. He turns on the Doctor, telling him that he may
have fancy
qualifications but what goes on under his roof is his own
business.
The Doctor
cuts in but Mr Connolly shouts at him, telling him that
he is
talking. The Doctor stands up and yells back, telling him that
he is not
listening and that he is staring into a whole pit of
trouble
unless he lets him help. He orders him to tell him what is
going on
and as he does so the thumping again rings out from
upstairs.
Mr Connolly tells him that she won’t stop.
Tommy
tells him that stories have been ringing around for some time,
about
people changing and their families hiding them away. Somehow
the police
began to find out and took those who had changed. The
Doctor
tells him to show him and soon they are upstairs opening the
locked
door. Tommy enters into the darkness telling his grandmother
that he
has brought help. The Doctor and Rose follow and switch on
the light,
revealing before them the body of the old woman, with her
face
completely missing.
As a black
car pulls up outside the Doctor examines the body with
the sonic
screwdriver, muttering that there are no electrical
impulses
left, he face has gone into a complete neural shut down,
like her
brain has been wiped clean. Tommy asks what they can do,
she can’t
even be fed. Before the Doctor can answer a thumping noise
echoes
from downstairs, they have company. The Time Lord quickly
asks where
the old woman was before she changed and Rite tells him
that she
never leaves the house. The door flies open and two burly
men enter.
The Doctor turns to one of them and explains there are
three very
good, complicated and brilliant reasons why they should
listen to
him. He tries to begin but he is cut off when one of them
punches
him, knocking him out. The two men cover the old woman with
a blanket
and drag her away, as Rita and Tommy protest.
They make
their way outside and as the woman is loaded Mr Connolly
tells his
family to get back inside. Upstairs Rose tries to rouse
the Doctor
and he springs to life, commenting on the superb
right-hook
the man who punched him has. He quips that he’ll have to
watch out
for it as he gets u and makes his way downstairs.
Mr
Connolly continues to keep Tommy inside and the Doctor pushes
past,
telling Rose to follow. She however glances into the living
room and
finds tendril-like strips of electricity clawing around the
television
set. She walks in, ignoring the Doctor’s calls as he
drives off
on the moped and examines the back of the set, finding a
sticker
with the details of Magpie’s Electronics on it. As Tommy
asks his
father how the police knew his grandmother had changed, Mr
Connolly
sees Rose and tells her to get out. She bids farewell to
Tommy and
Mrs Connolly before turning on the man before him, telling
him that
only an idiot hangs a Union Flag upside down; shame on him.
She smiles
and runs out the door.
In the
street, the black car once again make sits way through the
gates,
which are covered by people pretending to sweep the ground.
The Doctor
arrives and cheerfully comments that they are very good.
Some time
later he is walking the streets, looking for another way
in. He
breaks through a hatch in a wall and creeps inside, finding
himself in
a warehouse. He creeps around, watching as one of the men
from the
house pushes the abducted old woman inside a cage. As the
man walks
off the Doctor approaches he looks inside the cage, which
is full of
people.
He opens
it using the sonic screwdriver and steps inside. He slowly
looks
around and realises all of the people inside have all lost
their
faces. They begin to move, walking towards him but before he
can do
anything a light fills the room. He turns to see another man
waiting
for him.
In
Magpie’s shop, Rose opens the door and enters. Magpie is at the
counter
and when he sees her apologises and explains he is about to
close the
shop. She tells him she wants to by a telly, but he
explains
she will have to come back tomorrow. She ponders that she
would’ve
thought the shop would be closed for the coronation and he
tells her
that he will be, but she’ll be able to find somewhere else
to watch
the big event, before asking her to leave.
She
comments that it appears half of the people in London have got a
television, and he seems to be practically giving the sets away. He
comments
that he has his reasons and she asks what they are but
before he
can answer one of the televisions buzzes to life and the
woman
presenter appears, claiming to be hungry. Rose asks what it is
and he
explains it is just a programme. He tells her she must leave
and goes
to open the door but she tells him she will not go until he
has
answered her questions.
She asks
why his televisions are so cheap and he calls it his duty,
to allow
as many people as possible to watch the coronation. Britain
may be
loosing its empire but it can still be proud. He marvels that
twenty
million people will be watching, and cheerfully quips that
twenty
million people can’t be wrong. He then tells her she should
go home to
sleep so she can get up bright and early for the big day.
Again she
refuses; she will not leave until she’s seen everything.
He tells
her that she needs to close but she ignores him. She tells
him that
ordinary people are being struck down and changed and the
only thing
that is different is the new television set he has sold
them. He
tells her he knew he would be found out. He locks the door
again and
turns to her. She uneasily comments that it is just the
two of
them before asking if he is going to come clean, asking what
is in it
for him. He ponders that it might be some peace, from her.
He motions
to the woman displayed on the television set and rose
looks
round, commenting that it’s just a picture on the screen. The
woman
begins to talk, commenting on what a pretty little girl Rose
is. Rose
turns to see her, asking if she is talking to her and she
explains
she is, commenting on how unseasonably cold it is for this
time of
year. Rose asks who the woman is and she replies, telling
her that
she is The Wire, and she is hungry. Suddenly the ropes of
electricity extend from the screen and cling to her face, pulling it
from her
body. She calls for Magpie to help her but he remains
still,
telling her to imagine the twenty million people sitting
before
their television sets tomorrow, things will never be the same
again. He
apologises as she again calls for help, whilst the Wire
bids
children everywhere goodnight.
The Doctor
is sitting in a run down office accompanied by the men
who
abducted the old woman and another man who appears to be their
superior.
The man asks him to start at the beginning and tell him
what he
knows. The Doctor thinks for a second and tells him that he
knows that
you cannot wrap your hand round your elbow and get your
fingers to
meet. The man tells him not to get clever as the man
behind him
tests the Doctor’s theory. He explains that the Doctor
was seen
in Florizel Street and now in the establishment they are
currently
inside. He must be connected with the strange goings on
and here
is no denying it. The Doctor begins to talk, using his name
Detective
Inspector Bishop, which he read from the mans collar, and
comments
that they police are not doing much to help other than
hiding the
faceless people away, probably from a higher power who
want
everything to go well on coronation day.
Inspector
Bishop explains that he must help maintain the police
forces’
image and the Doctor asks if he does not yearn to do
something
to help. He admits that he does but they do not have the
manpower.
This is beyond anything they have ever seen and he doesn’t
know what
to do, even after twenty years on the force. The Doctor
explains
that it will not be like that any more and asks him to tell
him
everything he knows.
Outside
the black car arrives, and the men unload another victim
covered in
a blanket, whilst upstairs the Inspector is talking to
the
Doctor. He tells him that the bodies began to be found a month
ago, with
cases spreading out across North London and the only lead
being that
a lot of cases occurring in Florizel Street. One of the
men from
the car enters and brings with him the blanket-covered
body. The
Doctor approaches with silent worry, and as the body is
uncovered
finds it is Rose. As the two policemen talk the Doctor
overhears
and asks where she was found. They reply, telling him that
she was
left on the street. Slowly the Doctor begins to reverberate
what went
on; her face was stolen and she was thrown out onto the
street. As
a result this makes things very simple and when he asks
if
Inspector Bishop knows why he answers that because of this, there
is no
power on the Earth that can stop him now. He calls for him and
the two
men leave, as the faceless Rose stands alone. Soon they are
leaving
the yard as a new day, the big day, dawns.
In the
Connolly’s house all of the family are arriving to watch the
big
occasion on the television. As the guests gather in the living
room Mr
Connolly turn on Rite in the hallway and tells her that now
the Doctor
has gone she is left with him. He orders her to smile and
she does
so, before her husband enters the living room and tells
everyone
to settle down, the coronation is starting. They all take
their
seats as one of the aunts comments on how clear the picture
is. Mr
Connolly leans over and tells her that he had said to Rita
that there
was no need to specially display her hair; the people
inside the
television can’t see her.
The others
laugh at his joke as the aunt asks Rite where her mother
is. She
replies, telling her that she’s too ill to make it
downstairs. The women then proposes they go up and see her later and
Tommy cuts
in, telling her that’s a good idea and asks his father
bitterly
if his aunt can go upstairs to see his grandmother later.
His father
comments that he’s a proper mother’s boy and after his
aunt
comments that many things are said about mother’s boys, Mr
Connolly
agrees that it needs to be beaten out of him.
The
doorbell rings and Tommy gets up to answer it. When he opens the
door he
finds the Doctor waiting. The Time Lord asks to know exactly
what was
happening in his house when his grandmother changed, but
before he
can answer Mr Connolly steps outside and demands to know
what is
going on. Tommy tells him the Doctor is hear to help and the
Time Lord
begins to address him but he cuts him off, telling him to
shut up,
the family can deal with the problem themselves.
He turns
to Tommy, calling him a little twerp, commenting that he is
barely out
of the cradle and he would not understand, his father has
a position
to maintain. People respect him, it matters what people
think.
Tommy looks into his eyes coldly and asks if that is why he
ratted on
his grandmother, how else would the police know where to
look. It
took a coward to tell them where she was. Mr Connolly
explodes
with anger, telling his son that he did not fight a war so
that
mouthy scum could call him a coward. Tommy tells him that he
was
fighting against fascism, fighting so nobody could dictate the
lives of
others; telling them what to do, who to be friends with,
who you
could fall in love with, who could live and who had to die.
He was
fighting so that little twerps like him could do and say what
they
liked. Yet now he has become like the ones he fought against.
He has
been informing on others in the street just to protect his
precious
reputation.
Rita steps
out of the house, asking her husband if everything she
has heard
is true. He tells her that he had to; she was a filthy
disgusting
thing. Rita retorts that she was her mother. She ponders
that he
informed on all of their friends. He claims he did the right
thing but
Rita asks if it was the right thing for everyone or just
himself.
She turns to Tommy and tells him to go with the Doctor to
try and do
some good, to get away from the house. She explains there
was a
monster under their roof but it wasn’t her mother. She walks
back
inside and slams the door shut in her husband’s face. He turns
to see his
son leave with the Doctor and Inspector Bishop as inside
the house
Rita tells the others that the commotion outside was the
sound of
something ending, and about time to. Nothing will spoil the
big day.
In the
street preparations are taking place for the street party and
the Doctor
asks Tommy to explain what happened the night his
grandmother changed. He explains that she was sitting watching the
television, nothing else and as the Doctor looks around he realises
Rose was
right when they first landed, it’s odd how this street in
particular
had so many television sets and he twigs that they must
find Mr
Magpie.
The Doctor
breaks into the shop and rings the bell, ordering Magpie
to come
and talk to him. There is no reply so he searches the desk,
finding
the box Magpie presented to the Wire sometime earlier. He
examines
it and realises it is a portable television, and then finds
that the
sonic screwdriver has located another power source in the
room. He
looks over to the series of television sets, which beam to
life
displaying the stolen faces of the people attacked by their
T.V. sets,
all calling out for help. Tommy finds the face of his
grandmother and as the Doctor looks around he finds the face of
Rose,
silently calling out to him. He looks at the screen and tells
her he is
on his way.
Magpie
appears from the back of the shop and the Doctor tells him he
wants his
friend back but that is beyond a back-street electrician
and
demands to know who is really in charge. Behind him the pictures
on the
T.V. screens change and the Wire appears before them. As the
Doctor
approaches her she looks into his brain and notes his
intelligence. Magpie mutters that they have brought this on
themselves
and introduces his new friend. Inspector Bishop marvels
at the
picture of the woman from the television programmes but the
Doctor
explains it is something else, using her form. Tommy asks the
creature
what she is and she again introduces herself as the Wire,
and
explains she is going to consume him and when she has feasted
she will
regain the corporeal that her on kind denied her. As she
talks her
image fades to colour, and Inspector Bishop again marvels
at the
thought and sight of colour television.
The Doctor
comments that the Wire’s own people tried to stop her
crimes and
she admits that they executed her, but she escaped and
fled
across the stars. The Doctor points out that she is stuck in
television
but she fades back to black and white and explains that
she will
not be stuck for much longer. Tommy asks if the Wire is
what took
his grandmother and the Time Lord confirms it, explaining
the
creature feeds off of the electrical activity of the brain but
it gorges
itself like an overfed pig, taking peoples faces.
Inspector
Bishop turns to Magpie, pointing out that he let the
creature
do it. The man admits he did so he could keep his face, and
explains
that she will free him at the time of manifestation. Tommy
asks what
that means and the Wire explains it is the appointed time,
her
crowning glory. The Inspector realises this means the coronation
and the
Doctor notes that it will be the first time that millions of
people
will be gathered around a television set.
He turns t
the wire and notes that she is not strong enough yet, she
cannot
conduct her plans from the shop and that is why she needs the
portable
television, a more powerful object that will turn a
transmitter into a receiver. The Wire compliments his cleverness and
asks why
he cannot just sit back and relax and let the event happen
rather
than worry and just enjoy the coronation. She than quips they
will be
glued to the screen. Suddenly, the tendrils of energy fly
from the
screen and clasp onto the Doctor, Tommy and Inspector
Bishop.
She joyfully feeds on the three minds, until the Doctor
reaches
for the sonic screwdriver and she realises he is armed. She
withdraws
and her victims fall to the floor, only Inspector Bishop
is without
his face. The Wire calls for Magpie to take the portable
television
and he does so, before she transfers herself from the
large set
into the one in his hands. He looks at the screen and
tells him
to conduct her to her victory. He hurries from the shop
and gets
into his delivery van. He places the box on the dashboard
and rives
off as the Wire begs to be fed.
In the
Connolly’s house the family sit around like many others will
be,
commenting on how beautiful the queen looks as she rides in her
carriage.
Rita comments on how the event helps her to forget all pf
her
troubles, before asking everyone if they are all right for
refreshments.
In the
shop the Doctor awakens and rouses Tommy, who asks what has
happened.
The Doctor claims they must find Magpie and as he walks
back onto
the street Tommy tells him they don’t know where to start
looking,
it is too late. The Doctor tells him it is never too late,
as a wise
man once said…possibly Kylie Minogue. He looks around and
comments
on how the Wire will be hoping to harvest millions of
minds,
half the population. He asks Tommy where they are and he
replies,
telling him they are on Maswell Hill. The Doctor suddenly
realises
what this means and points t the horizon, on which lies
Alexandra
Palace, the biggest transmitter in north London. He rushes
back into
the shop, telling the enquiring Tommy that he is going
shopping.
Meanwhile,
Magpie is driving his lorry through the streets, the Wire
laughing
cruelly from within the tiny box. In the shop the Doctor
and Tommy
are scouring though piles of equipment until Tommy finds
what the
Doctor is looking for. The Doctor places it on top of a
pile of
other components and hands them to Tommy, commenting that
they need
one more thing. He runs out of the shop followed by Tommy
whilst
outside, Magpie is still speeding his way towards the palace.
Moments
later the Doctor exits form the TARDIS with a large wire
wrapped
around his neck. He takes a component form the pile Tommy is
carrying
and tells him it is time to go.
In the
grounds of Alexandra Palace Magpie arrives in his van,
carrying
the box whilst millions of people across the nation watch
the
coronation unfold on television. He makes his way up a flight of
stair,
towards the transmitter. Tommy and the Doctor are still
running
through the streets, the Doctor connecting wires and boxes
together
as they go.
On the
television mast Magpie begins to climb but yells to his
mistress
that he cannot go in. She screeches that the time is at
hand, she
must be fed. Magpie winces and continues his climb.
The Doctor
and Tommy arrive at the palace and as a security guard
makes to
stop them the Doctor flashes him is psychic paper and the
man
apologises, asking if the man should be at the coronation, to
which he
replies they are saving him a seat. As they run through the
yard Tommy
asks who the man thinks the Doctor is and when the Time
Lord looks
at the paper he tells him “the king of Belgium
apparently”.
As the
coronation continues towards Westminster Abbey, the Doctor
rushes
around a control room within the palace. He device he has
made sits
on control panel and as he picks up a coil of wire with
which to
connect it to the mast he tells Tommy to keep it switched
on,
everything depends on it.
As the
coronation continues, the Doctor runs through the grounds of
the Palace
and makes his way after Magpie, towards the mast, the
coil of
wire unravelling as he goes. The security guard calls after
him to be
careful but he does not reply. He makes his way onto the
mast and
is soon making ground on Magpie, who has reached the top
and is now
connecting the box to the mast. As energy begins to
crackle
around the box the Wire laughs victoriously. Below them the
Doctor is
on his way up, but as Magpie makes the last connection
beams of
energy shoot out to the television aerials surrounding the
palace and
the people watching the televisions are grabbed by the
ropes of
energy that fly from the screen as the Wire begin to feast.
The Doctor
continues his climb as Magpie calls out from the mast
that it is
too late for everyone and the Wire threatens to consume
her enemy.
The Time Lord looses his footing but manages to grip the
mast again
and continue, calling out that he will not let Magpie get
away with
what he is doing. The old man calls out to the Doctor for
help, the
Wire has taken his soul. The Doctor reaches the top of the
mast and
the Wire warns that he cannot stop her; soon she will be
manifest.
Magpie calls to be left in peace and she grants him it. A
blast of
energy grabs him and vaporises him to nothing as his former
mistress
laughs.
The Doctor
comments that the Wire has over extended herself and
between
vicious blasts of energy she aims at him grabs the box in
which she
sits. He begins making connections but as he does so the
device in
the control room overloads. The Wire mocks him, asking if
his plan
has gone wrong. The Doctor looks down at the cable trailing
below him,
as in the control room Tommy replaces the burnt out
component
with one on a nearby shelf. He once again plugs in the
device and
immediately the transmitter begins to stop feeding from
the
television sets. The bolts of energy release the people watching
the
televisions and retreat back to the Palace, as the Wire yells in
disbelief,
before her image cuts out from the screen.
In the
cage of people captured by the police all is well, their
faces have
been returned and they are ready to go home. Meanwhile,
Tommy sits
in the control room waiting. The Doctor enters and
explains
that he turned the receiver back into a transmitter and
trapped
the Wire in the device he rigged up. He presses a button o
it and it
springs apart, revealing a videotape labelled in an alien
language.
The Doctor has created the video recorder a few decades
early. He
looks at the tape and sheepishly announces to Tommy that
it’s a
Betamax tape. Looking up at one of the monitors on the
control
panel the Doctor watches as the newly crowned Queen
Elizabeth
II stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, waving to
her
subjects, the national anthem playing in the background.
Some time
later the one-faceless people are wandering around in a
courtyard.
The Doctor arrives with Tommy, who rushes to meet his
grandmother and as the Doctor looks around, he finds Rose waiting
for him.
He strides over to her and they embrace.
In the
Connolly house Rita stands holding a suitcase, facing her
husband.
She tells him the house was never his, it’s in her mother’s
name and
on her behalf she tells him to get out. She places the
suitcase
before him and he looks down at it. He picks it up and
walks out,
closing the front door behind him.
Outside
the street party is under way. The Doctor and Rose are
walking
along, the Doctor eating a slice of cake and Rose pondering
that they
could join the others in the Mall by Buckingham Palace.
The Doctor
dismisses it a pompom circumstance, the real history is
happening
where they are now.
Rose asks
if the Wire is trapped for good and the Doctor tells her
he hopes
so, but just to be on the safe side he plans to use his
unrivalled
knowledge of transtemporal extopation methods to
neutralise
the residual electronic pattern. Rose asks what that
means and
he tells her in layman’s terms: he’ll tape over it. She
laughs and
tells him to leave it to her, she’s always doing that.
They join
Tommy, who is serving drink to others at the party and the
Doctor
tells him he can keep his scooter, although warns him to keep
it in the
garage for a few years before he starts using it. Tommy
however is
paying attention to something else; his father is leaving
their
house with his suitcase and is making his way down the street.
He tells
himself ‘rood riddance’ and the Doctor asks him if this is
it; a
monarch, a new age, a new world; no room for a man like Eddie
Connolly.
Tommy agrees and states that he deserves it. Rose tells
him to go
after him, he is his dad but Tommy simply tells her he is
an idiot,
She admits he must be, after all he is a father. She tells
him that
he is clever enough to save the world and he shouldn’t stop
there. He
runs off to join him walking, and takes his case as they
make their
way along the street.
The Doctor
and Rose watch them go, before toasting with glasses of
orange
juice and drinking from them as the celebrations continue
around
them.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
While the Doctor examines the blank-faced Rose, Bishop says
in
the background that this will get Torchwood on their
backs.
The Doctor climbing the transmitter is reminiscent of the
fourth Doctor’s last actions in Logopolis.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit
The Impossible
Planet / The Satan Pit
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Matt Jones
Directed by James Strong
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Danny
Web
(Mr. Jefferson), Shaun Parkes (Zachary Cross Flane),
Claire Rushbrook (Ida Scott), Will Thorp (Toby Zed), Ronny
Jhutti (Danny Bartock), MyAnna Buring (Scooti Manista) [1],
Paul
Kasey (The Ood), Gabriel Woolf (Voice of the Beast),
Silas Carson (Voice of the Ood).
Rose
finds herself further away from home than ever before in
the
orbit of a Black Hole. Something ancient begins to awake.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Impossible Planet
June 3rd, 2006 7h20pm
- 8h05pm
The Satan Pit June 10th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Myanna Buring, James Strong and Mike
Valentine for The Impossible Planet is available on the
official Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Russell T Davies, Peter McKinstry, and
Gareth Skelding for The Satan Pit is available on the
official Doctor Who website.
TARDISODES
The
Impossible Planet
In a
shining white office an official-looking woman consults a man
called
Captain Walker, explaining a planet has been located holding
a powerful
power-source capable of preventing the world from being
sucked
into a black hole. If he has go and retrieve it he will have
saved the
empire.
She shows
him a series of artefacts that led them to find the
planet,
including an ancient book of strange symbols apparently
detailing
the planet s myths. Walker asks to know more about them
but the
woman dismisses them, telling him he can overcome them as he
is a big
strong man with a top ship and a top crew.
She bids
him goodbye and good luck and as he goes he passes a slave
creature
holding a translation orb. It watches him go before
claiming the beast shall rise
from the pit
The Satan
Pit
One of the
Ood passes a member of the sanctuary base a box of
possessions belonging to the late Captain Walker. He takes them and
seals the
box but reopens it when the lights dim and the computers
begin to
claim that he shall awake .
He takes
out a book containing a series of ancient symbols and as he
looks the
computers around him go mad, spouting that
the beast is
awake and
he shall rise from the pit . Doors begin to lock
themselves
and the book bursts into flames, reducing itself into
dust.
The young
man tries to open a nearby door but it is locked tight,
and all it
can do is tell him the he is coming
Some time
later the young man sits in a swivel chair in the
returned-to-normal room. A young woman enters and tries to talk to
him but
gets no reply. She turns his chair around to find him
lifeless;
a series of the ancient symbols etched to his skin
The TARDIS
uneasily lands in a small metallic room. As the lights
inside
flicker the door opens and the Doctor and Rose emerge, the
Time Lord
commenting that the ship seems a bit queasy, as if it
didn t
want to land. Rose suggests that if there is a sign of
trouble
they could get back in the TARDIS and leave. They both think
for a
second then laugh, mocking the idea. They calm down and the
Doctor
looks around, theorising that they have landed inside a
cupboard.
He opens a
large heavy door before him and steps out into a
corridor.
He notes that they are in some kind of base. He reels off
a list of
bases; moon base, sea base, space base; before commenting
that these
were all built out of kits. As he goes to open another
door Rose
looks around her and listens to the howling wind outside.
She tells
her friend that she s glad they landed indoors; it sounds
like a
storm outside.
As they
emerge in a long corridor they walk along, the Doctor
explaining
how humans tend to have a lust for kits; telling her that
the base
was put up like a flat-pack wardrobe only bigger. And
easier.
After
passing through another door into a large room full of tables
and
chairs, the Doctor realises that they are in a sanctuary base,
used for
deep space exploration. After realising they have flown
right to
the edge of the universe the Doctor notes there is a faint
sound
below them; someone is drilling.
Rose
replies by saying, welcome to hell . The
Doctor muses that it
isn t that
bad but Rose laughs, explaining that it is written on the
wall
opposite. The Doctor turns to see the message scrawled across
the wall,
with lots of symbols scrawled underneath. He walks forward
and
crouches by the wall, claiming it odd that it won t translate.
Rose
comments that she thought the TARDIS could translate writing as
well as
speech and that they should be seeing English. The Doctor
concludes
that if the writing will not be translated it must mean
the text
is old, very old, impossibly old.
He springs
to his feet and tells Rose they must find out who is in
charge. He
begins to open another of the doors by turning a large
wheel
lock, like one from a submarine, to let them through. He
explains
that they have travelled beyond the TARDIS
knowledge and
that is
not a good idea. He opens the door and he and Rose turn to
the area
behind it, where a group of aliens are waiting for them.
They stand
looking at the travellers through slit-like eyes inside a
domed head
fronted by tentacles for mouths. They are dressed in dark
drapes and
hold large glowing globes in their hands.
The Doctor
greets them and comments on what a nice place the base
is. The
creature closest to them clicks on his globe, which glows
and as he
does so he tells them we must feed .
Rose realises the
creatures
are talking about them and as the creatures begin to
repeat the
phrase the travellers run back to the door they came
through,
but more of the creatures are already walking through it,
as well as
the other doors leading into the room.
The Doctor
takes out his sonic screwdriver and aims it at their
attackers
as Rose picks up a chair to fend the creatures off as they
advance,
chiming we must feed
The
Impossible Planet
(drn:45'18")
The
creature closest to them repeats itself, only this time taps his
globe and
finishes it s sentence: we must feed you
if you are
hungry .
The Doctor asks them to repeat and the creature apologises,
explaining
that their speech systems have been interfered with by
electromagnetic impulses. It then offers the speechless Doctor and
Rose
refreshment. The Time Lord lowers his sonic screwdriver and
Rose puts
down the chair as one of the doors hisses open.
A
middle-aged man enters flanked by two guards. Astounded by the
Doctor and
Rose s existence. He approaches them and talks into a
radio in
his watch, contacting the captain. He tells him that he may
not
believe him but there are real humans with him, out of nowhere.
The
captain replies, telling him that that is impossible but the man
tells him
to tell the two people that.
Rose
reasons that the space base must have visitors once in a while
but the
man simply ponders that the two really don t know where they
are. The
Doctor confirms his suspicions, they don t have a clue
where they
are, but it s more fun that way. Another voice over an
intercom
tells them all to prepare for impact, they have an
incoming.
As the ground begins to shake the man opens another of the
doors and
tells the Doctor and Rose to get through, quickly.
He ushers
them along another corridor, forcing them to move on as
jets of
smoke and pools of sparks engulf them. They emerge in
another
large room, lined with computer banks and tables surrounded
by people.
They all look up at the Doctor and Rose and one of the
men, by
the sound of his voice the same man on the intercom, states
that the
man who found them was not lying. Another young woman
marvels at
the sight of real people and the Doctor claims that they
really are
real, followed by Rose who introduces the two of them to
the people
around them.
A young
man sitting at a desk gets up and approaches them, rationing
that the
base s oxygen must be offline and they are hallucinating.
He looks
at them but realises he is wrong; they are real.
The
captain, now seated at one of the computer banks, tells the
others to
pull themselves together. He addresses the young man as
Danny and
tells him to strap in, there will be an impact in thirty
seconds.
He turns to the two new arrivals and tells them to hold on
to
something, he doesn t care what but just hold on. He addresses
the aliens
who found the Doctor and Rose, calling them Ood, and asks
if they
are fixed for impact. The creature thanks him for his
kindness
in the situation as the Doctor asks what the planet they
are on is
called.
Another
woman, older than the first, tells them that it doesn t have
a name, it
couldn t have a name. As she realises the two of them
really
have no idea where they are the captain yells out as the
impact
occurs. There is a large jolt as the room shakes and everyone
is thrown
back into their chairs or against walls. The disturbance
dies down
and the Doctor gets up, claiming it wasn t that bad.
However
before he can finish a much larger field of disturbance hits
the base
and again everyone clings for life as the Doctor is thrown
to the
ground. Jets of flames and smoke coupled with more bursts of
sparks
continues around the room until the vibrations die down and
the guards
run about with fire extinguishers.
The
captain asks if everyone is all right, asking each of his
colleagues
in turn. The Doctor almost mockingly tells him that he
and Rose
are OK as they get to their feet. The captain explains that
the
surface of the planet has caved in, but he has deflected the
blast onto
storage units five to eight, which have been lost
completely. He tells another man, called Toby, to check the rocket
link and
when he protests that it is not his job tells him to do it
anyway.
As the man
leaves the crew check that everything is working Rose
asks what
is going on outside, guessing it is a hurricane. The young
woman
tells her that an atmosphere is needed for a hurricane and
there is
no air outside. Rose asks what is going on outside and the
older
woman ponders that she really doesn t know.
She calls
for introductions, telling the Doctor and Rose that she is
Ida Scott
the science officer. Then she introduces the acting
captain
Zachary Cross Flaine, Mr Jefferson, head of security and the
man who
first found them surrounded by the creatures, then Danny
Bartock of
the ethics committee and the man who claimed the two of
them were
illusions. Before Ida moves on Danny points out his job is
not as
boring as it seems, then allowing the introductions
continues.
She tells them the man who just left was Toby Zed, head
of
archaeology and the young woman who explained about the planet s
lack of
atmosphere is Scooti Mallister of trainee maintenance.
Ida then
moves over to one of the walls and tells the travellers
that this
is home. She reaches for a lever and pulls it down.
Zachary
tells them to brace themselves; the sight that they are
about to
see can drive some people mad. Above their heads the metal
ceiling
splits and slides away leaving an observation port. Outside
stand the
depths of space, blocked out by a large glowing ring of
light
surrounding a plot of nothingness. Around it rocks and debris
are being
sucked inside, and Rose realises immediately that they are
facing a
black hole. The Doctor, stunned, tells her that it is
impossible.
Zachary
mutters that he warned them but the Doctor continues,
explaining
they are standing over a black hole before Ida corrects
him,
explaining they are in orbit around it. Again the Doctor claims
that it is
not possible and repeats himself when Ida again tells him
that
nevertheless they are in orbit. She goes on to state that the
planet, a
lump of rock, is held in perfect geo-stationary orbit
around
that hole without being sucked in. She opens the topic for
discussion
and Rose asks the Doctor if the situation is bad. He
tells her
that it is and explains to her that a black hole is a star
that
collapses in on itself before the matter inside becomes so
dense it
pulls in everything around it. Nothing can escape, not
light,
gravity nor time itself. Everything gets pulled in a crushed.
Rose
points out that they must not be able to be in orbit, they
should be
being pulled inside. The Doctor confirms that they should
be dead
and Ida cuts in, telling him that they are here, beyond the
laws of
physics. She welcomes them onboard and Rose asks what is the
debris
around the black hole and Ida explains it is lumps of rock,
dust
clouds. The crew witness the collapse of complete galaxies
above
their heads, being pulled in. Rose mockingly comments that it
is just a
bit worse than the storm she envisaged, and Ida mockingly
agrees;
just a bit before Rose copies her. As more pockets of
turbulence
rock the room the winds howl outside between the
mountains
and valleys of rock, dwarfing the tiny base below.
In one of
the corridors Toby, holding rolls of paper stumbles as the
base is
shaken about by the disturbance. As he continues to walk a
ghostly
voice echoes, calling his name. The lights dim and then
power up
again and Toby looks round, asking who is there. He looks
around a
corner and calls out to Danny, suspecting him. He looks
around
again then continues on his way.
In the
control room the crew including Toby, along with the Doctor
and Rose
are gathered around one of the control panels. Zachary
punches up
a holographic image of the black hole, giving it s
designated
name of K37Gen5. Ida explains that in the scriptures of
the
Valtino the planet is known as Kroptor, the bitter pill. The
black hole
was supposed to be a mighty demon that was tricked into
devouring
the planet but spat it out because it was poison.
As Rose
claims her approval of the planet s name and meaning, the
Doctor
marvels how far out they are in the drifts of the universe.
He asks
how the crew arrived and Zachary explains that they flew in.
He punches
up a new image, this time a net of the planet with a
large red
cone issuing from the middle. He explains that the planet
is
generating an unexplainable gravity field that is keeping it is
constant
balance against the black hole. He points of the funnel of
gravity,
reaching out in space from deep beneath the planet s
surface.
Rose joyfully marvels that they flew down the cone like a
roller
coaster and Zachary explains that by rights the ship should
have been
pulled apart. He tells them that during the landing they
lost their
captain, which left him in charge. Ida assures him that
he is
doing a good job.
Danny
explains that if the funnel closes there is no way out. Scooti
mockingly
points out that they have a lot of fun speculating about
that and
Danny playfully taps her on the head with a roll of paper
also
mockingly saying how he d not thought of calling it fun. The
Doctor
meanwhile ponders that the amount of energy needed to
generate
the field would be enormous, off the scale. He asks Ida if
he can use
her calculator-like device and she welcomes him to it, as
one of the
creatures that first found the travellers hands Rose a
cup of
drink. Rose thanks it and asks it it s name but it replies
that none
of its species have names.
The
creature walks off and Rose asks Danny what species the creature
is called.
He simply asks where she has been; everyone has got one.
Rose
tartly tells him that she does not then asks again and this
time he
tells her that they are called the Ood. Rose ponders over
the
name. That s Ood . Danny plays along not
very enthusiastically.
He tells
her that the creatures are very useful as they help run the
mineshaft
and drilling, supervising the maintenance. As he tells her
that the
creatures were born for work Rose sips her drink but after
tasting it
stops, pulling a sour face.
Danny
comments that the Ood are a basic slave race. Rose reaffirms
in
distaste what he has said and Scooti tells her not to start, she
sounds
like one of the protesters who fight for the Ood s rights.
Rose tells
her that maybe she is, and asks since when humans needed
slaves.
Danny tells her that they actually offer themselves as
slaves; if
they are not given orders then they just crawl away and
die.
Another of the creatures joins them and Rose asks if they
really
like being ordered about. It replies, explaining it is all
they
crave; they have nothing else in life. Rose explains that she
used to
think that too, a long time ago.
The Doctor
has finished his calculations and explains that to
generate
the gravity field and the funnel it would take a power
source
with an inverted self-extrapolating reflex of six to the
power of
six every six seconds. Rose joins him and points out that
that is
all of the sixes and he continues, telling her it is
impossible. Zachary tells them that it took the crew two years to
work that
out and the Doctor tells him that he is very good.
Ida cuts
in and tells him that that is the reason they are on the
planet.
The power source is ten miles below the surface under the
solid rock
and they are drilling down to try and find it. Zachary
explains
it is giving off enormous amounts of energy and Ida tells
the
travellers that they could use that power to revolutionise
modern
science. Jefferson claims it could be used to fuel the empire
and the
Doctor cuts in saying it could be used to start a war.
Toby
explains it is buried beneath them, in the darkness waiting.
Rose looks
over at him and asks if his job is chief dramatist. The
Doctor
flashes her a smile and Toby continues, telling them that
whatever
is down there it is not a natural phenomenon. Eons ago,
before the
human race had learned to walk the planet supported life.
The Doctor
realises that the marking on the wall belonged to those
creatures
and asks if Toby is behind them. He explains that he is
and tells
him that he got them from fragments unearthed by the
drilling
but he has been unable to translate them. The Doctor
explains
that he has not been able to either, and that is saying
something.
Toby
reveals his theory that the civilisation once buried something,
and now it
is calling out, drawing others in. The Doctor happily
comments
that the crew answered the call and as Zachary turns off
the
hologram, Ida comments that there was no way they couldn t have.
The Doctor
continues, telling them that they came, despite the
danger and
the odds, they still came just because it was there. He
marvels at
the human race then turns to Zack, and asks if he can hug
him. He
tells him that he can and the Doctor embraces him,
commenting
how amazing the human race is. He thanks Zack and then
tells the
crew that beyond that they are mad, they should pack their
bags and
leave. Ida asks how the Doctor and Rose arrived and the
Doctor
cobbles together an explanation about the TARDIS and how it
just sort
of appears. Rose remembers that they landed in
Inhabitation Area 3 and Zack worriedly points out that that is
storage
area six.
The Doctor
admits it was a bit like a cupboard and then realises
what
Zachary said about the disturbance earlier being diverted to
storage
areas five to eight. He rushes out of the control room,
followed
by Rose. They retrace their steps through the corridors and
back to
the room with the graffiti. Rose calls to her friend to tell
her what
is going on and soon they arrive at the door leading to the
room where
they landed. The Doctor tries to open it but it is
locked. He
opens the portal above the lock and looks out, stunned.
Again Rose
asks what is going on and the Doctor explains that the
TARDIS is
gone. As the base computer informs them that the door is
out of
commission, the Doctor explains the earthquake destroyed the
section
with the ship inside. Rose ponders that the ship must be
outside
somewhere but when she looks out and down to the surface she
finds that
there is nothing there, only a cavern leading deep below
the
surface.
Some time
later, back in the control room the Doctor is telling the
crew that
the TARDIS must have fallen into the heart of the planet
but they
can use the drilling facilities to go down and find it.
Zack cuts
in and tells him they cannot divert the drilling and when
the Time
Lord protests, explaining that the ship is the only thing
he has, he
tells him that they only have the facilities to dig one
hole.
There must be no diversions and no exceptions. He reasons that
the
machine is lost and all he can offer the Doctor is a lift
somewhere
if they ever get off the planet s surface and that is the
end of the
matter. He walks off and Ida turns to the Doctor, telling
him that
she will put him on the duty roster; they need someone in
the
laundry. She too leaves and the Doctor is left alone with Rose
and an Ood
going about its business.
He tells
her that he s trapped her on the planet but she tells him
not t
worry about her. As more disturbances gently rock the base
Rose
summarises that they are on a planet which shouldn t exist
standing
above a black hole with no way out. She pauses then tells
him she s
changed her mind and he can start to worry about her. She
laughs
nervously and the two of them embrace.
The base
computer announces that it is now the night shift and the
chosen
music track for transition is the Bolero. As the music fades
in the Ood
busy themselves all around the base, mainly in the
mineshaft
as Jefferson goes about his business. He looks down onto
the
surface of the planet as Scooti, decked in a spacesuit, tends to
machinery
out in the open. She contacts the others via radio and
tells them
she is on her way back, whilst Danny stands inside,
counting
the Ood as they walk along the corridors and in his room,
Toby
examines some of the artefacts found on the planet s surface.
In the
silence the ghostly voice from the corridor calls his name.
He turns
slightly then returns to his work as the voice tells him
that it
can see him. He turns again and, thinking it is Danny, tells
him to
stop it, as it s not funny. He gets up and opens the door of
the room
to check the corridor, explaining he is trying to work but
finding no
one there. Again he calls out to Danny and tells him to
stop it as
the lights dim again. He prepares to go inside as a jet
of smoke
issues from the floor. He takes one last look outside
before
going back to his room and closing the door.
The Doctor
and Rose are in the living quarters with the symbols
written on
the wall. Whilst the Time Lord examines the writing Rose
looks
around and Zack announces over the intercom that the
temperature in Ood habitation is rising and someone needs to check
it out.
Rose walks over to the far side of the room where the Ood
are
serving food. She picks up a tray and Scooti tells her to help
herself,
just not to try the green food, or the blue. She smiles and
walks off
as Rose chooses her meal. The Ood fills her tray and
offers her
sauce. She accepts then remembers the time she used to
work as a
dinner lady. She quickly breaks off and apologises to the
Ood,
explaining she wasn t claiming the creature was a lady. She
changes
the subject and asks the Ood if it gets paid for its work.
In reply
the creature tells her that the beast and its armies shall
rise from
the pit to make war against God.
Rose is
taken aback and the Ood taps its communicator globe. It
apologises
and explains it meant to say, enjoy your
meal . Rose
looks on
slightly confused then takes her tray to go and sit down.
In the
control room Zack sits at his computer bank, watching the
holographic display, which details the progress of the drill head.
He orders
it to maintain pressure then stands up and walks off to
make
himself a drink. As he does so the picture changes from the net
diagram of
the planet to a picture of an imposing beast with a
horned
head, which roars. As Zack turns the picture reverts back to
normal. He
looks around then returns to his business.
In one of
the corridors Danny begins to try and lock one of the
doors. The
base computer begins to talk, saying, he
is awake .
Danny asks
the computer what it said and when it continues to talk
it is its
normal constructive tone, telling him to close the door.
In his
room, Toby is examining more of the artefacts. Once again the
ghostly
voice calls out to him but before he can react it tells them
not to
turn around. Speechless, Toby mumbles that the voice isn t
Danny s
then asks whom the voice belongs to. It replies, telling him
he has so
many names. Again Toby makes to turn around but the voice
tells him
that if he looks at him he will die. Again he asks who he
is and the
voice tells hi that he is behind him. Again he orders him
not to
turn around; one look and he will die. He tells him that he
is
reaching out, he is so close and he must not look round. He
lavishly
tells him that he can almost touch him but before any more
can be
said Toby turns round. He looks behind him but there is
noting
there bar the glowing wall of his room.
He turns
back to the desk and looks at the fragments of pottery he
has been
examining but realises there are no markings on them. He
puts them
down and slowly removes his gloves, and when he turns his
hands to
see his palms he finds the symbols etched onto his skin. He
scrambles
around and reaches for a mirror. He picks it up and looks
at his
reflection; all across his face are the ancient markings,
lining his
glowing red eyes. He writhes in agony and falls to the
ground,
unconscious.
In the
inhabitation quarters the lights flicker and Ida contacts
Zack,
asking if there is a problem. He explains there is no more
than usual
and tells her that the Scarlet System is burning up
outside
and it might be worth a look. He signs off and Ida addresses
the
others, telling them this is something worth looking at, a
moment in
history. She walks over to a wall and pulls a lever
opening
the observation dome above them.
Around the
black hole swirls a red cloud, which Ida explains used to
be the
Scarlet System, home to the Polushi; a mighty civilisation
spanning a
billion years disappearing, their planets and suns
consumed.
She addresses the others and tells hem that they have
witnessed
it s passing. She makes to close the observation dome but
the Doctor
asks that she leave it open. She agrees then tells Scooti
to check
the lock down and Jefferson to check the air lock seals.
Rose talks
to the Doctor, and comments how in films she has seen it
was said
that black holes were gateways to other universes. He tells
her that
the one before them is not, it just eats, swallowing things
up. Rose
ponders that they are a long way from home, and the Doctor
points out
to her the journey they would take to get back to Earth,
which is
over five hundred years away. Rose checks her mobile phone
and notes
that it has no signal; it s the first time they ve gone
out of
range. She realises that even if she were to phone Jackie she
wouldn t
know what to tell her now they are stuck.
She asks
the Doctor if he can build another TARDIS but her tells her
that the
ships were grown, not built and with his home planet gone
they re
stuck. Rose comments that it is not that bad as the crew
offered
them a lift. The Doctor asks what they will do after that
but she
claims she does not know; they could find a planet and get a
job, live
a life like everyone else. The Doctor comments worriedly
that he
would have to settle down, live in a house with doors and
carpets.
He jokily tells his friend that that is genuinely
terrifying
and she replies, teasing him by chanting and telling him
that he d
have to get a mortgage. The Time Lord denies it and claims
it is all
over. Rose sympathises by telling him that she d have to
get one
too, then points out that they could get one together.
She
sheepishly ends the conversation saying they d have to see what
happens
and the Doctor merely mumbles something similar. He then
tells Rose
that he promised Jackie he would always return her
daughter
home but Rose points out that everyone leaves home in the
end, and
being stuck with the Doctor isn t that bad. Her phone rings
and she
answers it, on the other end is the ghostly voice that
confronted
Toby. It merely tells her he is
awake and Rose
immediately throws the phone to the floor.
Some time
later the Doctor and Rose arrive in Ood habitation where
Danny
greets them and asks how they are settling in. The Doctor asks
how the
Ood communicate with each other, and Danny explains that
they are
empaths, they are surrounded by a low level telepathic
field, but
it doesn t do them any good because it leaves them as a
herd race.
The Doctor asks if they can pick up messages, and Rose
tells him
that when she was having her dinner in the canteen the Ood
said
something odd. Danny scoffs at the idea of an odd Ood before
Rose tells
him about the message on her phone.
He tells
them that above them there are entire star systems breaking
up, with
many stray transmittions and if there were anything wrong
then they
would know, because they monitor the telepathic field,
it s the
only way to look after them because they never tell their
masters
anything, not even when they are ill. The Doctor looks at
the
machine, which monitors the telepathic field whilst Danny
explains
that the Ood operate at a low level of basic five. As he
speaks the
level begins to rise and the Ood begin to look up from
their
laps. The doctor warns Danny as Rose tells them of what is
happening
below the gantry they are standing on.
As the
level reaches thirty Danny claims that the change is
impossible, and Rose looks on as the Ood turn to face them. She asks
what basic
thirty means and Danny explains that it means they are
shouting
inside their heads. The Doctor notes that it could be
something
shouting at them and Danny asks what Rose heard in the
canteen.
She explains something about the beast and the pit and when
he asks
her about the message on her phone she tells him what she
heard; he is awake .
And you
will worship him . The Ood, holding their communicators
address
the people above them. The Doctor repeats what Rose said and
the Ood
reply in the same manner. The Doctor asks whom the Ood are
talking
about but they do not arrive.
Elsewhere,
Scooti arrives in Toby s room with his accounts but he is
nowhere to
e seen. She hears the opening and closing of door
forty-one
in the distance and she realises there is something wrong.
She rushes
back to the door and asks the base computer if the door
has been
opened and it confirms her suspicions. Scooti explains that
that is
the airlock and no one is allowed out during the night
shift. She
asks if anyone has gone outside and again the computer
confirms
it.
Scooti
then asks whose space suit has been signed out but the
computer
tells her no suit has been taken. She contacts Zack and
tells him
the door may be broken, and explains about the apparent
expedition
onto the surface. The communicator however does not work
and Scooti
is forced to ask the computer to trace the fault, but it
maintains
there is nothing wrong. It then goes on to tell her that
he is
awake and when Scooti asks what that
means the computer
tells
her he bathes in the black sun .
Scooti
backs away then walks to an observation window looking out
onto the
planet s surface. There, amongst the flowing dust clouds
stands
Toby, embracing the rocky landscape before him. He turns to
see Scooti
through the window, his face alive with a manic grin with
his eyes
glowing and his skin covered in the ancient symbols. She
comments
that there is no air out there on the surface and he can t
survive
out there. He beckons to her to join him outside and slowly
she begins
to raise her arm towards him. As he continues to beckon
she
realises what she is doing and brings her arm to rest by her
side.
She yells
in protest and his grin falls. He clenches his fist and
the glass
between them begins to crack. Scooti realises what is
going to
happen and runs back to one of the doors, screeching for it
to open to
no avail. The door remains closed as Toby throws open his
clenched
fist and the glass shatters.
In the Ood
habitation room the ground begins to shake. The Ood
remain
still as the computer reports the breech. From the control
room Zack
warns the others via the communicators that the base is
open and
they must reconvene near the living quarters. Across the
base the
crew rush for safety, all arriving in the corridor outside
the living
quarters, including the now unmarked Toby. The Doctor
asks what
has happened and Jefferson tells him of the hull breach.
The Doctor
asks what caused it but Zack cuts in over the
communicator explaining they have lost sections eleven to thirteen.
He asks if
everyone is all right and Jefferson explains everyone has
arrived
apart from Scooti. He calls over the communicator for her to
report but
he gets no reply.
Zack tells
him to check inhabitation unit three, the one Rose and
the Doctor
arrived near. As Toby checks his now clean hands,
Jefferson
tells the others to come with him, they could all do with
a drink.
The others move on but the Doctor remains behind to help
Toby, who
has sunk to the floor. He asks him what happen and he
replies
that he was working when the room began to fall apart and
there was
no air. Rose helps him get to his feet and tells him to
come and
get some protein one. The Doctor remarks that she has
settled in
and Rose tells him that it s quite nice; protein one with
just a
dash of three.
They
arrive in the living quarters to find the other crew members
looking
for Scooti and reporting on their communicators. As they
look
around Jefferson calls Zack and tells him that Scooti cannot be
found.
Zack insists the computer is telling him she is in
inhabitation three but Jefferson tells him she is not there. The
Doctor
speaks up, telling the others he has found her and when they
follow his
gaze they reel back in shock. Above them, beyond the
observation dome is Scooti, or rather her body. Her dead lifeless
form
floats in the heights of space, drifting towards the black
hole. The
Doctor apologises to her as Jefferson reports to Zack,
telling
him that Scooti Mallister is dead. As Ida simply states that
Scooti was
only twenty years old she closes the observation hatch
leaving
Scootie s body to drift ever closer to the black hole,
whilst
Jefferson laments with a poem:
For how
should man die better
Than
facing fearful odds
For the
ashes of his father
And the
temples of his gods.
Around
them a noticeable whirring noise, which echoes around the
entire
base, comes to a halt and Ida notes it has stopped; the
drilling
is completed, they have reached the power source of the
gravity
field.
Whilst
Zack announces over the intercom that all Oods are to be
confined,
Ida is in the main mining facility standing in a
spacesuit,
telling the others that a capsule has been established to
take her
down to below the surface. As she orders for all of the
systems to
be put online the Doctor arrives, also decked out in a
space suit
reporting as a volunteer to go down in the capsule. Zack
tells him
that he cannot allow him, as it breaks every protocol and
nobody
really knows who he is. The Time lord smiles at him and tells
him that
he trusts him and he cannot allow Ida to go down alone. He
admits he
sees a glimmer of trust in the captains eyes and when Zack
tells him
that he should be going down himself the Doctor tells him
that a
captain should stay in the base, not go down in the mission.
Zack
realises that he is not going to be able to change the Doctor s
mind and
says nothing, merely turning and making sure everything is
ready for
descent. The Doctor checks the settings on his spacesuit
as Rose
approaches him, explaining it has been a long time since he
wore one.
She jokily orders that he bring it back in one piece but
in her
voice there is a trace of worry in her voice.
As the
Doctor dons his helmet Rose admits that people back on Earth
don t
realise how tough space travel is, they think it s all
teleports
and anti-gravity. The Doctor tells her he will see her
later and
she smiles, claiming not if she sees him first. She leans
forwards
and kisses his helmet.
Meanwhile,
in the Ood habitation unit Danny and an armed guard are
standing
on the gantry facing the seated creatures. Danny uses the
telepathy
device to order the Ood not to move and that no command
can
override his instructions.
In the
control room Zack activates the capsule and counts down as
the pod
prepares to depart. Jefferson saluted the Doctor and Ida and
as the
countdown reaches zero Rose stands and watches as the pod
slides
below the surface. Toby looks on, crouched in a corner
examining
his hands and as the machinery whirs, the pod disappears
from
sight.
Zack
monitors their progress from the control room and warns them
when they
reach the limit of the oxygen field, they are own their
own.
Inside the pod the Doctor activates his oxygen pump and on the
surface
Rose advises them to keep breathing. From the control room
Zack warns
her to stay of the intercom but she tells him there is no
chance.
Inside the
capsule the ride begins to get bumpy and in the Ood
habitation
centre the creatures stand up in unison, facing Danny and
the guard.
The base soon shudders as the pod touches down and Rose
and Zack
asks if everything is OK. The Doctor reports back claiming
everything
is fine. Rose asks what they can see but the Doctor
admits it
is too dark to see. Ida launches a gravity ball which
illuminates them, revealing that they are standing in a large
cavern,
surrounded by grand arches and statues. Ida marvels at the
beauty of
the sights around them as the Doctor tells Rose to tell
Toby that
they have found his lost civilisation.
On the
surface, Rose tells Toby he s going to have a lot of work to
do and he
unenthusiastically agrees, still examining his hands. Zack
warns them
to stay focused and asks Ida to find out where the power
source is.
She is using a locator to find it, and asks if their
video
links are being reported to the surface but Zack admits they
are not,
there is too much interference. Ida explains that there is
no turning
back now, and the Doctor protests, saying phrases like
that are
usually not helpful, as are others such as
nothing could
possibly
go wrong or this is the best Christmas Walford s ever
had . Ida
asks if he has finished rambling. He apologises and they
continue
their journey, as on the surface Danny reports to Zack.
He
explains the Ood are staring at him and wont stop when he tells
them to.
Zack explains he is a big boy now and can take being stared
at. Danny
goes on to explain that the telepathic field is now at
basic one
hundred and there isn t a fault. Rose asks Jefferson asks
what that
means and he explains that at basic one hundred they
should be
brain dead.
Zack
orders Danny to keep watching them and orders Jefferson to keep
an eye on
the other Ood. He arms his gun and despite Rose s protests
explains
the ammunition he is using seeks organic life only. The
Doctor
calls from below ground asking if everything is all right and
they all
reply, lying that it is fine.
He
explains that he and Ida have found something, a giant round
metallic
hatch engraved with the ancient symbols. The Doctor has a
nasty
feeling it is a trap door and when Zack asks if it will open
he admits
that s what trap doors usually do. Ida claims trap door
does not
do the object justice, it s too big, around thirty feet in
diameter.
Zack asks if there is any way of opening it but Ida admits
there
appears to be no way of doing so, only the un-decipherable
symbols
surrounding it can do that.
On the
surface Rose asks Toby what the lettering means and he
explains
that he does. Despite Jefferson asking when he managed to
do that
Rose asks him to tell them in the ghostly voice that once
stalked
him he tells them that these are the words of the beast, and
he has
risen. He gets up from the floor to reveal that he is now
once again
covered in the symbols and his eyes glow red once more.
He
continues, explaining he is the heart that beats in the darkness
and he
will rise. Jefferson aims his gun at him and tells him to
stab at
him as the Doctor and Zack demand to know what is going on.
The
communicators begin to fail but Rose manages to tell the Doctor
about Toby
s transformation.
Toby turns
on Jefferson and asks if his wife ever forgave him. The
guard
claims he has no idea what he is talking about but Toby knows
he does.
He decides to share a secret with him, she never did.
Jefferson
orders him to stand down and allow himself to be confined,
and tells
them that if he doesn t he will be forced to shoot him.
Toby looks
at him and asks how many he can kill. He stands tall and
yells,
letting the symbols on his face dispel into the air and take
over the
Ood standing around them, which then spread around the rest
of the
creatures via the telepathic field.
As the now
clean Toby faints the Ood chant that they are the legion
of the
beast. The Doctor tries to ask Rose what is going on but to
no reply.
Zack does the same but again to no avail. In the mineshaft
launch
station the Ood talk in the voice of the beast, claiming the
legion
shall be many and the legion shall be few. Rose reaches for
her
communicator and admits they are possessed whilst Jefferson
reports
they are not listening to them any more. In the holding area
the Ood
prepare to move, claiming the beast has woven himself in the
lives of
man since the dawn of time. Some call him Abbadah, some may
call him
Satan
As one of
the Ood advances towards him Danny reports that things are
going
awry. As the creature approaches them it stands before the
guard and
launches it s communication globe at him. It attaches to
his
forehead and electrocutes him, until he falls to the floor dead.
Danny runs
for his life, whilst the Ood advance on Rose, Jefferson
and
another of the guards. Jefferson keeps his gun raised whilst
Rose
continues to hold her communicator. They try to get through the
door at
the end of the corridor whilst the Ood chant that the legion
of the
beast shall spread across the universe.
Down below
the surface the cavern trembles. The trap door begins to
open, the
middle sections falling away one by one. As the whole
planet
starts to shake Zack begins to look at the holographic
computer,
and from the net plots he sees he realises what is
happening,
he opens the observation hatch and it confirms what he
feared,
the planet is moving. Meanwhile in the cavern the rest of
the trap
door is sliding away to reveal the pit beyond.
Above
ground Rose, Jefferson and the guard struggle to open the door
whilst the
Ood channel the voice of the beast, which calls itself
the sin,
temptation and desire; the pain and loss.
As Ida and
the Doctor struggle to see into the pit, Zack realises
the
gravity field is gone, the planet is moving and is about to be
sucked
into the black hole. As he struggles to keep control the Ood
continue
to advance on Jefferson and Rose, still channelling the
voice of
the beast which tells them it has been trapped for
eternity,
but no more.
In the
cavern the ghostly voice echoes throughout the ancient
underground world. The pit is open, and the beast is free
The Satan
Pit
(drn:47'11")
As the Ood
advance on Jefferson, Rose and the guard, the militant
man opens
fire with his machine gun, blasting the creatures before
them
whilst in the control room Zack realises the planet is
stabilizing and closes the observation hatch above his head.
Now free
to move Rose, Jefferson and the guard make their way back
to a
communication station where the young traveller tries to
contact
the Doctor and Ida, but the others cannot pay attention,
something
is trying to open the door behind them. It bursts open and
a startled
looking Danny enters, hastily locking the door behind
him.
He tells
the others that the Ood have gone mad and when Jefferson
asks how
many he tells him that all fifty are now out of control.
Jefferson
pushes him aside to open the door whilst the young man
tells him
that the creatures are using their communicators as
weapons.
The door
opens and sure enough a crowd of Ood are standing waiting.
They move
forward and one of then throws it s communication orb at
the guard,
electrocuting her to death. As she screams in agony
before
falling to the floor Danny cowers behind Jefferson as once
again he
opens fire with his machine gun.
In one of
the many corridors of the base Zack exits from the control
room only
to find a line of Ood marching towards him. He frantically
retraces
his steps and opens the door to the control room before
locking
himself inside. Once there he activates a lockdown, sealing
every door
in the base.
He then
opens a communications link with Jefferson who explains he
has very
little ammunition left. Zack turns to a special container
mounted on
the wall and takes out a bolt gun, loaded with one bolt.
He
explains he has the capability to kill all of one Ood, which
helps them
very little. Jefferson recommends they commence strategy
nine and
with a sigh Zack realises he is right. He tells him they
need to
gather everyone together and asks Rose what has happened to
Ida. She
explains there is no reply but as she speaks the
communicator cackles to life and the Doctor s voice tells her not to
worry, he
is still there. With a sigh of relief and anger Rose tells
him he
should have said earlier and calls him a stupid b
In the pit
the communicator inside the Doctor s helmet cackles with
interference and tells his companion to take it easy. He explains
that both
he and Ida are safe and tells her that the seal on the
floor of
the cavern has opened up; all that is left is a chasm,
which
appears to go deep down forever.
Rose
reminds him what the ghostly voice told them when the planet
lost
stability; the pit is open and from within the control room
Zack asks
if there is anything coming out. The Doctor mockingly
tells him
there is no sign of the beast and rose cuts in, telling
him that
it called itself Satan . She asks the
Doctor to reassure
her there
is no such thing but the Time Lord does not reply.
Zack cuts
in, calling for Ida to return to the surface. Ida protests
but he
rephrases himself, explaining that what he said was an order,
when the
pit opened the whole planet shook and if it moves one more
inch they
will be lost in the black hole. Ida asks what they will be
able to do
up on the surface with the Ood on the rampage and Zack
tells her
that he is initiating strategy nine, he needs everyone up
on the
surface. As he speaks Ida switches off her communicator and
turns to
the Doctor. Zack calls to her over the severed link and
sure
enough gets no reply.
Ida asks
the Doctor what they should do and as he approaches the pit
he tells
her that she was given an order. Again she asks him what he
thinks
they should do and he remembers how the beast claimed it was
the
temptation and as he looks over the
surface of the exposed
chasm Ida
asks why, if there is something down in the depths of the
planet, it
is still hiding. The Doctor theorises that perhaps they
opened the
prison but not the cell.
Ida tells
him that they should go down the pit and before asking the
Doctor
again for his opinion, tells him she is prepared to go down.
He tells
her he has no reservation but cuts off and explains how
Ida s
philosophy is so human, going where angels fear to tread. He
talks to
her about the feeling in the back of your head that wills
you to go
on, to take the risk. He ponders that perhaps whatever is
in the pit
is feeding on that little voice willing them to take the
plunge and
for once in his life the Doctor hesitates to make a
decision
and says they should retreat.
He recoils
and breathes in sharply, realising he really is getting
old. He
opens a communication line to Rose and tells her they are
coming
back to the surface. She admits that that is the best news
she has
heard all day but is cut off when she hears Jefferson
cocking
his gun behind her, before aiming it at Toby who is cowering
on the
floor.
She asks
what he is doing and he explains that the man is infected,
he helping
being the creature onboard. She then asks if he is really
prepared
to shoot his own people and when he replies that he is she
explains
he will have to shoot her as well. She crouches down next
to Toby
and tells Jefferson to look at his face; the markings are
gone,
passed on to the Ood, he is clean. As Toby continues to cower
Jefferson
lowers his gun, explaining that if there is the smallest
hint of
trouble he will shoot him.
As the
soldier moves away Rose asks Toby if he is all right and he
tells her
that he is, but he remembers the anger, the fear and rage
of the
creature inside his head. He could see death and then
realises
what it is he saw the devil. Rose comforts him, embracing
him whilst
deep beneath the surface Ida and the Doctor are preparing
to leave.
As they
make their way back to the transport capsule they arrived in
the Doctor
asks what strategy nine is and Ida explains that it is a
security
measure; the crew will be kept inside the lockdown and the
air locks
will be opened, flushing the Ood out into the vacuum. The
Doctor
comments that they are making their way back to a slaughter
and as Ida
admits it is the devil s work, the Time Lord looks back
at the pit
they have left behind.
Up on the
surface Jefferson and the others receive a message from
Ida, they
are in the pod. Jefferson counts down and activates the
ascension
process but as he does so the lights dim and the power
cuts out.
On every computer screen around the base the Ood click
into view,
speaking in the voice of the beast. It tells them that
this is
the darkness, this is its domain. He muses at the humans of
the base,
calling them feeble creatures of the light who cling onto
their
feeble suns, which die.
Zack
realises what is going, something is using the Ood to
communicate and immediately asks what it is. The creature continues,
telling
them that only the darkness remains. Zack raises his bolt
gun to the
screen before him and tells the creature that he is
Captain
Zachary Cross Flane of Sentry Base 6, representing the
Torchwood
archive, before asking the beast to identify itself.
It tells
him that he knows its name and so Zack instead asks what it
wants and
it replies that the entire crew will die here on the
planet and
in the corridor, Toby whispers that this is the voice
that
resided in his head, this is it
Underneath
the surface the Doctor asks that if the voice really is
the beast
then which one is it. He explains that while the creature
has been
gone, the universe has been busy; there are more religions
than there
are planets in the sky; the Arkevits, Portholity,
Christianity, Pash Pash, New Judaism, Sanclar, Church of the Tim
Vagabond,
to which religion does he belong?
The beast
claims that he belongs to all of them, and the Doctor asks
if the
creature is supposedly the reality behind the myth. The beast
does not
answer, it spouts that he knows the man talking to him, as
he
understands him, the killer of his own kind. The Doctor stays
silent for
a moment then asks how the creature came to be trapped on
this
planet, and it explains that the disciples of the light rose up
against
him and chained him in the pit for all eternity.
The Time
Lord then asks when this was and the creature replies that
it was
before time. The Doctor asks what that means but he gets the
same
answer so asks again, and through the army of Ood the creature
tells him
that it was before time and light and space and matter,
before the
big bang that created the universe. The Doctor claims
that that
is impossible, nothing could have existed then and the
creature
then asks if that is his religion. The Time Lord states it
is a
belief and the creature tells the entire crew that they know
nothing,
they are so small. It addresses each of them in turn to
demean
them yet not by name; first it talks of the captain, so
scared of
command, the soldier (Jefferson) haunted by the eyes of
his wife,
the scientist (Ida) who is still running from her daddy,
the little
boy (Danny) who lied, the virgin (Toby), and the lost
girl
(Rose) so far away from home; the valiant child who will die in
battle so
very soon.
Rose asks
the Doctor what the creature means and he tells her not to
listen.
However she is persistent and asks again, only this time the
creature,
still talking through the Ood replies; she will die and he
will live.
Suddenly the image on every screen switches from that of
the Ood to
that of a giant horned beast, screeching out to eternity.
Everyone
watching coils back slightly in alarm and as the image
disappears
and the screens close, a frightened Danny asks what it
was. Toby
tells him that that was the creature inside his head, and
suddenly
everyone begins to talk at once, Rose asking the Doctor
what the
beast meant about her, Danny asking Jefferson what they are
to do
whilst the soldier attempts to contact Zack. The Doctor cuts
in,
overriding all of the communicators in order to tell everyone to
listen to
him. He explains that the beast is playing on very basic
fears, the
use of darkness and childhood fears. Danny explains that
that is
how the devil works and the Doctor tells him that a good
psychologist works that way as well.
Ida asks
how the creature knew about her father but the Doctor
practically ignores her, asking how his version of the truth is any
different
from the version the beast gives. He begins a pep talk
about the
marvels of humans, how the crew arrived on the planet on a
tiny
little ship, passing near the orbit of a black hole just for
the sake
of discovering something, and that is brilliant. The
Captain
has his officers, his crew and that is their advantage over
the beast;
it is alone but they are not.
Suddenly
there is a snapping noise and the cable connecting the
transportation pod to the surface of the planet begins to snap. Ida
realises
what is going on and he and the Doctor, who have not moved
because of
the beast s override of the base s power, hurriedly exit
and make
their way back to the cavern outside. They hit the deck as
the cable
falls, and above the surface Rose tries to contact them,
as
Jefferson examines a computer bank. In the control room Zack
explains
the computer is still showing there life signs but the
capsule is
gone, there is no way out, they are trapped beneath the
surface.
Down below
the Doctor and Ida get to their feet to look at the pod,
covered in
the fallen cable and toppled onto its side. The Time Lord
asks how
much oxygen they have left and Ida examines her suit,
before
telling him they have enough to last sixty minutes. She looks
again and
corrects herself, they have fifty-five minutes.
On the
surface Rose tells Jefferson that they must get the Doctor
and Ida
back but he explains to her that they are ten miles down
into the
planet, and they don t have another ten miles of cable. As
speaks
there is a loud bang as the door next to then lets of a
series of
sparks. Over his communicator Jefferson begins to give a
situation
report but on the other end Zack has troubles of his own.
Looking
through the portal on his door he finds a crowd of Ood
waiting on
the other side, and using a pair of large wire cutters
they begin
to cut through the bolts of the heavy metal door.
Zack
contacts Jefferson and tells him what is happening and the
soldier
explains that the same is happening to them. Rose asks him
how long
it will take and he explains that it could be as little as
ten
minutes. Behind them the Ood break through another of the
bolts
eight minutes. From the control room Zack tells them that he
has a
security frame on his door that might delay the creatures for
some time
but that does not help the others.
Rose
begins to take charge, telling the others they need to either
stop the
Ood, get our or both. Stressfully Danny tells her he d
settle for
both and the young traveller turns to him that the beast
prevented
the Doctor from reaching the surface because he was
speaking
the truth, the crew need t think their way out of this. She
opens a
communication link with Zack and tells him that they need
lights,
and asks if there is another source of power. He explains
that there
is not before explaining that he is not much of a
captain,
sitting locked in a room pressing buttons.
Rose tells
him that he just needs to press the right buttons but he
admits
that the Ood have gutted the generators, there is no power.
He thinks
for a moment then realises that the rocket has an
independent supply which he can reroute. He tells Jefferson to open
the bypass
conduits and overwrite the safety frame. He does so and
as Zack
taps at the keyboards around him and as he counts down the
power of
the rocket is rerouted and son light returns to the base.
Rose asks
if strategy nine will still work but Jefferson tells her
that there
is not enough power, one hundred percent is needed to
achieve
it. Rose tells him and Zack to find a way out before turning
to Toby to
give him a job to do, but he claims that he can do
nothing,
he is not a soldier. Rose simply states that he is an
archaeologist, and asks him if he knows anything about the pit below
the planet
s surface. He tells her he knows nothing, the ancient
language
cannot be translated. Rose turns away, as if to ignore him
but he
stops her and admits that since the creature took over his
mind the
letters have been making more sense to him.
Rose tells
him to get to work, to translate anything he can. She
then turns
to Danny and asks if there is any way of dealing with the
Ood, she
sets him to work on a computer station to find a way of
stopping
them, the sooner they regain control of the base the sooner
they can
retrieve the Doctor.
Down in
the pit Ida goes about collecting the fallen cable,
explaining
that now they have it they might as well use it. She
begins to
talk about adapting the pod for another use and when the
Doctor
asks what, she tells him they can lower themselves into the
pit, at
least they can try and do something, even if it is the last
thing they
ever do.
The Doctor
tells her that he will return to the surface, Rose is
still up
there. Ida tells him that the key to returning could be
below in
the pit and the Doctor admits she has half of a good plan.
She asks
what the other half is and he tells her, he will go down
instead of
her.
On the
surface the Ood are still trying to cut through the door as
Jefferson
works at the computer. Danny looks for a solution to the
Ood and
realises that if he broadcasts a flare in the computer the
Ood are
connected to he can interrupt their telepathy, rendering
then
useless. He excitedly sets to work but realises they will need
to be in
Ood habitation in order to set it off and so Rose asks
Jefferson
if there is a way for them to get there.
He
explains there are a series of maintenance shafts running
underneath
the base they can crawl along to get there. Rose cheekily
begins to
think about old action movies where the hero crawls along
ventilation shafts but Jefferson explains there is no ventilation
down
there, they were meant for maintenance robots only. As the Ood
continue
to break the door bolts Zack cuts in and explains that he
can vent
the oxygen into the shafts as they crawl along. Rose
nervously
reaffirms what he is suggesting, noting he will have their
lives in
their hands and Zack merely tells her that she wanted him
pressing
buttons and now she has it. Rose agrees and tells him to
set about
planning a route to Ood habitation.
Beneath
the surface Ida and the Doctor have wound the cable around a
cylinder
of metal fixed to the ground and the Doctor has attached
one end to
his suit, before walking towards the edge of the pit. He
climbs up
on the raised surface where the seal once stood,
commenting
how the itch to go on is bugging him again. Ida explains
it is the
urge to jump, it is part of the genetic heritage left over
from human
evolution, like monkeys they are always calculating if
their can
make their way down to the next branch.
The Doctor
explains that it is crueller than that, something
different.
It is not the urge to jump but the urge to fall. As he
speaks he
leaps backwards and disappears into the darkness of the
pit. Ida
realises what is going on and stops the cable from
unravelling, leaving the Doctor dangling below. She uses her
communicator to ask if he is al right and he replies that he is, and
explains
that the pit is like the cavern, a crust of rock for about
twenty
metres and then darkness, the reality of the pit. He tells he
to lower
him down and as she activates the custom built mechanism
the cable
slowly unravels and the Doctor begins to descend, deeper
and deeper
into the pit.
On the
surface; Rose, Jefferson and Toby open up a hatch on the
floor as
Danny types away at the computer. They call for him to come
with them
but he tells them he must finish his work and as the last
of the
door bolts is cut he completes his task. A small data disc is
ejected
from the computer and he takes it, joining the others. He
tells them
that all they have to do is feed the disk into the
habitation
computer and it ll be a bad time to be an Ood. Rose tells
them they
must deal with the Ood then get the Doctor back and as
Jefferson
agrees he orders them to get into the shaft, Danny first,
then Rose,
Toby and him covering the rear.
As the
door is finally broken down Jefferson lowers himself below
the floor
and replaces the hatch as the Ood advance. As Rose
comments
how much it smells Danny asks which way to go. Zack informs
him and
they set off, crawling along one after the other. As they go
Rose
glances at Danny s rear and comments that it is not his best
angle. He
playfully tells her to stop it as Toby, who is crawling
behind
Rose, chips in that it could be worse. Rose scolds him as
they
continue to shuffle along, Zack monitoring their progress on
the
holographic screen on his control panel and commenting that he
is still
feeding them air.
Some time
later they come to rest, stopped by a locked hatch. Danny
explains
they are at the correct junction and Zack explains he is
aerating
the next section. Danny asks if he could hurry up,
commenting
on how cramped it is. He replies by explaining he is
working on
half power, and as Danny prepares to argue Jefferson
tells him
to stop complaining. Rose sniff the air again and wrinkles
her nose,
asking if Danny is the source of the problem. He defends
himself by
explaining he is not exactly happy as Zack explains he is
oxygenating the next section for them to move in. He tells them to
keep calm
or it ll feel worse.
From
behind them there is a large crash. Jefferson aims his gun at
the shaft
behind them as Zack explains another floor hatch has been
broken, it
must be the Ood. Danny tells him to let them through but
he
explains he still needs to aerate it. As the Ood begin to crawl
along the
maintenance shafts Zack admits he is unable to see them on
his map,
the computer does not have the Ood registered as proper
life
forms. In the ducts Rose asks whose idea that was and Danny
screeches
for the next hatch to be opened and sure enough it slides
upwards,
allowing them through. They once again begin crawling as
Zack
directs them, and Jefferson asks if it possible to shut of the
Ood s air
supply but Zack tells him he cannot do so without cutting
off
theirs.
Zack tells
Danny to speed up as Jefferson comes to a halt, preparing
to face
the Ood. Rose tells him he can t just stop but he tells her
that that
is his job. She has her task and she must continue. She
does so
and as she and Toby disappear from sight, the Ood appear
before
Jefferson, and he opens fire.
As the
gunshots ring out the others frantically continue. Jefferson
begins to
follow them, still covering himself with gunfire.
Meanwhile,
Danny and the others arrive at the next hatch and he
tells Zack
to open it, despite his claims it need to be aerated.
Danny
begins to hit the hatch with anger but Rose stops him,
reasoning
that it will not help. Toby cuts in, also telling Zack to
open the
hatch but the captain explains he must close the hatch they
have just
passed in order to open the next, and Jefferson is yet to
make it
pas the previous hatch.
He tells
him he must make an advance as Jefferson abandons his empty
machine
gun for a handgun to deal with the still advancing Ood. He
continues
to go but Zack pleads with him to hurry, he cannot stop
the now
automatic process and sure enough as the hatch next to
Danny,
Rose and Toby opens the one before begins to close. Zack
tells
Danny to move on to the next and last hatch, before telling
Jefferson
to move. Rose calls out to him as the hatch between them
closes,
and Jefferson is trapped on the other side.
Out of
breath, he sits down leaning against the closed hatch,
apologising to his captain for being so slow. Zack tearfully tells
him he
cannot open the hatch without loosing air for the others. The
soldier
takes refuge in the fact he may have brought them some time
and sure
enough as he speaks they arrive at the last junction hatch.
Jefferson
tells Zack he has been a good captain, before asking that
the air in
his section be cut off in order to speed up his removal.
He
explains that he would rather die of more natural appearing
causes
than death-by-Ood and as he speaks, the creatures approach
his
section of the shafts. He asks Zack to hurry up and he does so,
cutting
off the oxygen before recording an entry on the computer,
reporting
Jefferson s death, with honours.
Danny
explains they are at the final junction and adds his respects
to
Jefferson s reports, explaining that he saved their lives. Zack
adds the
respects then opens the final hatch, revealing a group of
Ood on the
other side. Toby calls for the hatch to be shut and it is
done, and
as Rose realises they are now trapped by the Ood on both
sides she
opens a service duct above them and she and Danny crawl
onto the
surface, as the Ood break open the hatch.
They
advance on Toby who turns to them and looks at them, his eyes
glowing
red, just as they did when he was possessed. He motions for
them to be
quiet and they stop, before he snaps back to normal and
calls for
Rose and Danny to help him out. They do so, just as a door
behind the
opens and more Ood approach, holding their deadly
communication globes, ready to kill. They three humans run for cover
as in the
control room, the door begins to give way, and Zack is
left
calling for them to hurry up, his only consolation in holding
the bolt
gun ready for battle.
The three
arrive in Ood habitation and Danny begins to set up the
transmitter, as the control room door gives way and the Ood flood
into the
room. Suddenly a screeching whine rings throughout the base
and the
creatures stumble around, confused and in pain. As they
begins to
fall to the ground Danny and Rose embrace, followed by
Toby as
they realise it is over, they have done it.
They
contact Zack and Rose tells him that they must now find the
Doctor,
and as the slightly unnerved captain looks around at the
bodies of
the Ood he tells them he is on his way.
In the
pitch-black pit the Doctor is still descending, suspended by
the cable.
As he watches his descent he ponders how representations
of a
horned beast exist on so many millions of planets, woven in
myth and
legend; Earth, Draconia, Valconsidene, Daemos, even the
Kaled god
of war. He muses that perhaps that idea came from
somewhere,
bleeding through to every sentient mind.
On the
surface Ida is talking to him via the communicator and asks
if he
means that the idea is what lies in the pit. He explains that
it could
be and she replies by asking that if this creature really
is the
beginning of it all, does it make it the real devil. He tells
her it
remains whatever someone believes and then quips that perhaps
the devil
really is just an idea.
Suddenly
his descent stops as the cable reaches its end on the coil.
The Doctor
checks his wrist computer but finds no sign of life and
tells Ida
that there could be miles still to go; or it could be only
thirty
feet, and he could survive a thirty feet fall. As Ida
realises
what the Doctor is proposing she scolds him and begins to
wind the
cable back up but as she does so the Doctor activates a
control on
his harness that jams the mechanism.
Ida asks
what he is doing and the Doctor explains that if he returns
to the
surface all he can do is sit there and run out of air, he has
to go
down. Again Ida tells him that he can t the Doctor decides to
call it an
act of faith and begins to undo his harness. Ida tells
him that
she doesn t want to die alone and he softly comforts her,
he
understands.
Back on
the surface Rose, Danny and Toby have been joined by Zack as
they
arrive back to the corridor the Doctor and Ida s pod departed
from. Rose
reaches for the communicator and calls the Doctor but
receives
no reply. Zack explains that the communication lines are
down and
begins to re-boost the signal so as to repair them.
In the pit
the Doctor continues to undo his harness and asks Ida if
she has
any sort of faith. She mutters that she doesn t really, and
begins to
talk about her neo-classic congregational upbringing,
mainly due
to her mother and as she begins to realise how much she
misses her
old mother the Doctor asks if the neo-classic
congregation has a devil. Ida tells him that they do not, only the
fears of
what man can do. The Doctor quips that the two are not that
different
and Ida asks him about his beliefs.
He stops
to think, and tells her that he believes he has not seen
everything
yet. He believes in the rules and comments that if the
beast had
told him it existed outside the universe he would believe
it, but
never before it. It doesn t fit his rules. He explains that
that is
why he keeps travelling, to be proved wrong.
He reaches
the end of his unclipping and thanks Ida for all she has
done but
she simply calls to him, asking him not to go. He asks her
that if
she gets back in touch with Rose to tell her he thinks and
repeats
himself but then tells her that his friend will know how he
feels and
with a sullen face he undoes the last clasp and lets go,
allowing
himself to fall deep down into the darkness, out of sight.
As he does
the communicator cackles to life and Rose s worried voice
calls out
for her friend. Ida explains that he has fallen into the
pit and
she does not know how deep it is, possible many miles. Rose
asks to
know what she means by fell but Ida merely says that she
could not
stop him, and that he did mention her name.
On the
surface Rose stands stunned, as in the background Zack offers
his
apologies. He takes the communicator and explains to Ida that
there is
no way of reaching her, she is ten miles down and there is
no back-up
capsule or cable. Ida walks around and tells him how
beautiful
the cavern is, as the tinted light from the gravity globe
she threw
up into the air for guidance earlier pours down from the
distance,
illuminating the ancient civilisation that once populated
the
planet.
She says
how she always wanted to discover things and between sobs
comments
how she has now. Zack mournfully tells her that they are
abandoning
the base and he is declaring the mission unsafe, so as to
make sure
nobody ever comes to the planet again. Ida notes how they
never
found out the true identity of the creature in the pit and
Zack
explains that that could be for the best.
Zack
begins to formally say goodbye but she tells him to go, before
the two
officers wish each other luck. Zack switches off the
communicator and tells Toby and Danny to begin closing down the
power feed
in the base before making their way to the rocket and
strapping
themselves in. They set about programming the computer as
Zack turns
to leave and Rose tells him that she is not coming with
them. He
explains that there is room in the rocket for her but she
tells him
that she is going to wait for the Doctor, as she would
wait for
him.
The
captain apologises, telling her that he is dead. She tearfully
explains
that he can t be, he does not know the Time Lord as she
does. She
goes on to say that even if he is dead she cannot leave
him down
there in the pit; she must stay. Zack apologises to her for
what he is
about to do and then tells Toby and Danny to make her
secure.
They walk forward and take her arms as their captain takes a
needle
from his jacket ad injects it into her struggling arm,
causing
her to fall unconscious. As he hauls her over his soldier he
explains
he has lost too many people on this mission to leave her
behind. He
walks off, followed by his two crewmembers, off towards
the
rocket.
As they
make their way into the labyrinth of corridors, lined with
the bodies
of the Ood, Toby spots one moving and Danny explains that
the
telepathic field is repairing itself. They continue at a
quickened
pace as the creatures begin to awaken.
The Doctor
stirs. Lying on a stone floor, the smashed pieces of
glass that
once sealed his helmet now glistening before him. As he
gets up
and removes his helmet he realises there must be an air
pocket
protecting his fall. He tries to contact Ida to tell her it
is easy to
breathe down in the pit but the communicator is blocked
by whining
interference.
In the
rocket Zack begins to initiate the launch procedure,
instructing Danny and Toby on what to do from their seats behind
him. As
Rose, seated next to Toby, begins to stir, Danny comments
that they
are going to have a problem passenger. Zack tells him to
keep her
under control and as she realises where she is the
traveller
immediately begins to demand to be let off. She struggles
with her
safety belt but as the rocket launches her cries are
drowned
out by the whoops of excitement from Zack and Danny.
In the
cavern and down in the pit, both Ida and the Doctor realise
that the
rocket has taken off.
In the
ship Rose reaches for Zack s bolt gun and aims it at him,
ordering
him to take her back to the planet. He asks what the
alternative is and she threatens to shoot him but he asks if the
Doctor
would want it that way. She thinks about his words then
lowers the
gun and sits back in her seat, as Zack tells her that it
is already
too late. There is no turning back now, and this is what
the Doctor
would have wanted. Rose looks out of a portal next to her
and in the
distance sees the black hole, and the planet cowering
before it.
In the pit
the Doctor examines some drawings on the walls around
him. He
notes that it is the history of some battle, one of man
against
beast. He talks into his communicator quipping that he
doesn t
know if Ida can hear him but hopes that she can. He again
examines
the drawings, which show that the beast was defeated and
trapped.
He then turns to see an ornate urn standing on a high
plinth,
and sure enough the wall drawings show a pair of urns
standing
by the trapped beast. He shines his torch onto the other
and
realises that they might be the key. He reaches forward and
touches
one of the urns, and as he does so they both begin to glow.
The Time
Lord walks to step between them and as he does so looks to
what
stands before him. The darkness before him fades to blood red
light and
he realises what is there. He steps forward onto a ledge
as in the
deep cavern beyond is illuminated, revealing a giant
horned
beast, chained with hefty bonds. It screeches as the Time
Lord
approaches, and looks him in the face with flaming eyes, whilst
in the
rocket Toby begins to chuckle.
As Rose
fastens her seatbelt Danny asks what the joke is. He bluff
that he is
happy they have made it, that they have escaped. Rose
reminds
him that not everyone lived to tell the tale and Zack tells
them that
they have not made it yet, they are still the only humans
ever to
fly away from a black hole. He asks Toby to read out the
statistics
and he explains the gravity funnel emanating from the
planet is
holding.
In the pit
the Doctor continues to stare at the beast before him and
tells it
that he accepts that it exists, not what it stands for but
it s
physical appearance is granted. He notes that he was expected
down in
the depths of the planet; his fall was broken and he was
supplied
with safe air to breathe. He asks what it is he is needed
for,
asking if he has to beg an audience, perform some sort of
ritual,
recite some sort of incantation or summons or spell, and
then notes
that none of those are not things he believes in.
He asks if
they are real but gets no reply, the creature merely
sways too
and fro. He raises his voice and tells it to speak to him
but it
gives no reply and the Time Lord realises that perhaps the
creature
is not being ignorant of talking, but does not have the
ability to
talk. He begins to realise what is going on as pieces of
information begin to piece together in his brain. He remembers how
the crew
heard the creatures voice beforehand, but now all that is
before him
is the body of the beast, its mind has gone. He ponders
to himself
where it has gone then looks to the sky, and realises.
Toby
continues to read out the statistics as the ship makes its
getaway.
He tells Zack to take it steady and reads out that the
coordinates are set; they are destined for planet Earth.
The Doctor
again reads the cave drawings and recites how the
creature
was imprisoned (taking the time to comment how it may well
have been
before, after, in-between or sideways from the universe;
it does
not matter) and that the prison it was held in was perfect,
eternal.
If the prison is broken then the gravity field will
collapse
and the planet will fall into the black hole, therefore
meaning
that if the creature escapes the prison it will die anyway.
The Time
Lord then comments that how only the body is trapped, and
goes on to
state how in however many civilisations it is known it,
the devil
is still an idea; yet like an idea the mind can escape.
Then
suddenly he realises that it was not the beast that led him
down to
the pit, the jailors did because now the beast s mind is
escaping,
then someone is needed to stop it. He reaches for a rock
and makes
to smash one of the urns, so that if the prison is
destroyed
the creature s body will die and thus will its mind.
However as
he thinks deeper he drops the rock, realising that the
beast can
use the system against him, because if the gravity field
is cut off
the escaping ship has no protection and will not be safe
from being
sucked into the black hole and Rose will die. The Time
Lord looks
sullen and watches as the beast begins to jerk its body
in muted
laughter.
In the
ship Rose has had time to think and has realised not
everything
makes sense, they were able to escape when the creature
had a
thousand ways to kill them; it could have taken away their air
or burnt
them but yet it let them escape, unless that was it s
intention.
Toby leans over and asks her to do him a favour and shut
up, before
beginning a countdown from forty as to when they will be
out of
reach of the black hole.
In the pit
the Doctor ponders over the trap left for him; if he
kills the
beast he kills Rose. He then begins to confront the beast
more
confidently and explains that that implies in the big grand
scheme of
gods and devils that Rose is just a victim. Yet he has
seen a lot
of the universe, he has seen fake gods, bad gods,
demy-gods
and would-be gods and out of all of them if there is one
single
thing he believes in, it is Rose.
He picks
up the rock and smashes one of the urns. In the spaceship
the
control room begins to shake. Toby screeches; demanding to know
what he has
done as Zack explains the funnel has gone; the gravity
around
them is collapsing. Rose asks what that means and he
explains;
they are heading straight for the black hole and sure
enough
outside in space the rocket begins to tumble out of control,
being
pulled away from safety.
In the pit
the Doctor smashes the other urn and drops the rock. He
quips that
the creature has its freedom; freedom to die. As the
creature
struggles and roars to break free the Doctor imitates it,
after
explaining that it is going into the black hole and he is
riding
there with it. He stands defiantly, as the creature s joints
begin to
riddle with flame, and fire rides forth from his lungs.
In the
ship Rose stares out of the portal and realises that the
planet is
on the move, into the black hole. She leans back into her
seat but
as she does discovers Toby s face has changed. The ancient
symbols
once again mark his skin and his eyes glow red; he is the
carrier of
the beast s mind. In the voice of the beast he declares
that he is
the rage and the fire and the velocity, he is the prince
and the
fall and the damming, he is the sin and the fear and the
darkness.
As he talks, only stopping to breath great balls of fire,
Rose calls
over to Zack for help but nobody ca do anything. As Danny
cowers in
fear Zack screeches, asking what Toby really is.
In the pit
the ground is beginning to shake and as the creature
starts to
break up in a great ball of flame, the Doctor stumbles but
with a
smile on his face.
Toby
continues to squirm in his seat, roaring that he will never
die; he
will live forever in the bleeding hearts of man; in their
vanity an
obsession and lust. Nothing can destroy him. Rose leans
forward
and grabs the bolt gun again. She unbuckles Toby s safety
belt then
tells him to go to hell, before firing the gun and
blasting
the safety screen before them. She, Danny and Zack hold on
as Toby is
sucked out into the airlessness of space. As he roars,
being
sucked towards the black hole, Zack activates the emergency
screens
and the room is sealed shut again.
Zack
yells, saying they still have no gravity and are being sucked
into the
black hole as well. Rose simply comments that they have
stopped
the beast, and that is what the Doctor would have wanted.
The
captain fobs it off as some victory as they continue to hurtle
out of
control.
In the
depths of the doomed planet the beast bursts into flames,
whilst the
Ood awaken and realise their predicament and the
breathless
Ida fall unconscious. Watching from the rocket computer
screen,
Danny realises that the planet has little time left and down
below
beneath the miles of rock the Doctor begins to walk away,
stumbling
and falling before a large object before him. He looks up
and with a
sigh of relief realises that he has finally found what he
was really
looking for; the TARDIS.
On the
rocket s scanner screen the crew watch as the planet
disappears
into the black hole. Danny apologises to Rose as Zack
hits the
ship s accelerators. He tells them he did his best then
awkward
tells them they are making history; they are the fist humans
to fall
into a black hole. As the three humans prepare to meet their
doom they
are taken by surprise when the ship stops shaking and
everything
returns to normal. Rose asks what is happening and Zack
explains
they are turning around, away from the black hole.
Suddenly
the communicator activates and the Doctor s cheerful voice
welcomes
them, apologising for the hijack and welcoming them to the
good ship
TARDIS. He asks if Rose is onboard and she excitedly tells
them she
is, before asking what he is doing. He explains that he is
towing
them home and sure enough out in space as the TARDIS flies
away from
the beckoning dead star the rocket follows.
The Time
Lord mocks gravity, writing it off as a problem by telling
him that
his people practically invented black holes in fact they
did. He
tells them that in a few minutes they ll be perfectly safe
and then
asks Zack if he may conduct a swap; if he gives him Rose
Tyler, he
will return Ida Smith to him and as he speaks he gazes at
Ida s
unconscious body sitting next to the console. Zack and Danny
rejoice
that their colleague is alive and the Doctor explains she is
suffering
from oxygen starvation but should recover soon.
The Time
Lord then sorrowfully tells them that he only has time for
one
journey; the Ood could not be saved. He breaks into happiness
again as
he tells them they have reached clear space again; they are
safe, the
mission is closed.
Some time
later Rose opens the door of the TARDIS and runs forward,
embracing
the Doctor. They both smile and chuckle whilst onboard the
rocket Ida
has returned, and together with Danny and Zack begin
talking
about the TARDIS and what it looked like, when it landed
down in
the hold of the ship.
The Doctor
opens a communication link with the ship and tells Zack
that he
and Rose are about to leave. He tells them to have a good
trip home
and begins to warn them that if they ever get curious
again but
then cuts off, realising that the human race will heed no
warning,
they will always go bumbling in. Ida cuts in, asking what
the
creature down in the pit was. The Time Lord explains he does not
know, he
never did decipher the ancient writing. He laments how he s
glad he
did not know; the day he knows everything is the day he
should
give up travelling.
Rose asks
what her friend personally thought it was but he replies
by saying
that he thinks they defeated it, and that is good enough
for him.
Rose then points out that the creature said she would soon
die in
battle and the Doctor tells him that it lied. He calls out to
Ida,
telling her he might meet her again some time and as both the
travellers
say their goodbyes Ida asks the Doctor who he and Rose
really
are. In the TARDIS they both look at each other and the
Doctor
tells her: the stuff of legends .
As the
Doctor activates the TARDIS console the ship begins to
activate
and the ship roars to life, whilst in the rocket Zack
delivers
his final report; reporting the death of Tobias Zed,
deceased
with honours. He then moves on to begin reporting the
deaths of
the Ood, one by one.
As his
voice reels off the list of deaths the ship continues its
flight,
out into the universe towards the crew s home, planet Earth.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Gabriel Woolf, who voices The Beast in this story, also
voiced Sutekh in Pyramids of Mars. Sutekh was explicitly
linked in that story not only to his more common Egyptian
name Set, but also to Satan. The Impossible Planet also
explicitly links The Beast to Satan, but not yet to Sutekh.
The Doctor has, three times before, come up against evil,
god-like creatures from Earth mythology -- Azal the D mon in
The D mons, Sutekh the Destroyer in Pyramids of Mars, and
Fenric in The Curse of Fenric. In the first two cases, they
turned out to be aliens whose impact on human history had
generated the legends of evil gods, or creatures with powers
rivaling gods. Azal's role in generating these legends is
portrayed as being almost accidental, while Sutekh is
implied to have been a little closer to his myth. Fenric's
true nature and relationship to his Norse mythology is
vaguer.
The Doctor explicitly refers to other cultures who equate a
horned beast with ultimate evil, including three from the
Original Series: Draconia (Frontier in Space), D mos (The
D
mons) and the Kaleds (Genesis of the Daleks). D mos is a
particularly interesting case since the D mons themselves
resemble and inspired Earth's legends of the horned beast,
both as a pagan god and as the Devil (The Daemons). This
layered reference is apparently deliberate.
There is no Torchwood reference in The Impossible Planet,
but the expedition is said to represent the Torchwood
Archive in The Satan Pit.
The Doctor claims that the Time Lords invented black holes.
Original Series continuity established that the Time Lords
engineered both supernovae (The Three Doctors) and black
holes (The Deadly Assassin) as part of their search for an
energy source for time travel, but this is the first time
it's been suggested that black holes are not also natural
phenonmena.
The Doctor's profession of faith in Rose is similar to
statements he made about Ace (The Curse of Fenric).
The Doctor remembers promising Jackie he would always bring
Rose home, which occurred in World War Three.
Rose remembers being a dinner lady in School Reunion.
The creature in the pit taunts the Doctor by reminding him
of
the death of the Time Lords at his hands, as revealed in
The End of the World and The Parting of the Ways.
Abaddon, a creature similar to The Beast appears in the
Torchwood episode End of Days.
[Back to Main
Page]
Love & Monsters
Love &
Monsters
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T Davies
Directed by Dan Zeff
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille
Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Peter Kay (Victor Kennedy), Marc Warren
(Elton Pope), Shirley Anderson (Ursula Blake), Simon Grendall
(Mr
Skinner), Moya Brady (Bridget), Kathryb Drysdale (Bliss),
Paul
Kasey (The Hoix), Bella Emberg (Mrs Croot).
An
ordinary man becomes obsessed with the Doctor and Rose, and
uncovers a world of living nightmares.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Idiot's Lantern
June 16th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Russell T Davies, Phil Collinson, and
Susie Liggat is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
TARDISODE
A
heavy-breathing man holding a cane sits in a high-backed chair
staring at
a laptop before him. As he drums his fingers on the
smooth
surface of the device he stares at the website it displays;
an appeal
from an organisation called L.I.N.D.A asking for
information on a man called the Doctor.
He clicks
on a link regarding becoming a member of L.I.N.D.A but it
proves
fruitless, L.I.N.D.A is a secret organisation. He instead
takes out
an alien looking device and aims it at the screen which
changes,
instead tracking down the location the website is run from.
He is
given an address but before he can continue there is a knock
at the
door.
A cheerful
tea lady walks in and prepares to give him a cup of tea,
but as she
turns to see the figure sitting before her she screams in
terror
A young
man runs across a barren industrial field, and emerges near
a large
warehouse to see a tall blue police box standing alone. As
if he
recognises it he reaches out to touch the door but as he does
he hears a
scream from inside the warehouse, a young girl calling
out to a
man called the Doctor; telling him to look out.
He runs
inside to hear the voices of both the Doctor and the young
girl
calling out to each other in order to find something. The young
man runs
to try and find them and emerges in a long corridor with a
door at
one end. Slowly he approaches as he hears a clanging sound
coming
from inside. He reaches for the handle and pulls it open,
revealing
a huge snarling beast behind.
Sometime
later, present day: the young man is sitting before a
camcorder,
imitating what happened when he opened the door some time
before. He
looks straight into the camera and tells his would be
audience
that if they thought that was the most exciting day of his
life, then
wait to hear the rest. Oh boy.
Love &
Monsters
(drn:45'05")
Some While
Ago: As the beast continues to snarl the young man looks
in terror
as the Doctor emerges from behind the creature brandishing
a pork
chop. He tells the young man to run as he tempts the creature
with the
meat and as the man retreats Rose appears from behind him
brandishing a blue bucket of liquid. She throws it at the creature
but the
Doctor tells her she s made it worse, she s picked up the
wrong
bucket.
As the
beast snarls it begins to chase Rose down one of the three
other
corridors crossing the one the young man is still standing in.
The Doctor
disappears behind the door and soon a chase is in
progress;
like something out of a cartoon as the Doctor, Rose and
the beast
chase each other down each of the three parallel
corridors,
Rose eventually picking up the correct colour bucket and
pursuing
the beast.
Suddenly
the Doctor stops running and looks at the young man, as if
recognising him. The young man runs, finding himself outside the
warehouse
leaning on a wall to catch his breath. He listens as the
sound of
the TARDIS whirs around him, and he looks to see where it
comes from
but to no avail.
Present
day: The young man talks about the alien sound, describing
it as the
most beautiful sound in the universe. He continues to talk
into his
camera, telling it that it was not the first time he had
met the
Doctor, and certainly not the last. He explains that he is
making a
video to tell the story of his encounters with alien life
forms and
then leans forward, saying that it will be scary.
He
sheepishly explains he does not have a remote zoom for his camera
so has to
lean forward to achieve the effect; then goes on to
explain
that the video will not just be him sitting in front of a
camera.
A while
earlier: The young man is standing in front of a house,
introducing his camera operator Ursula Blake. She waves then he
continues
his story, explaining that the house used to be his family
home,
where he first met the Doctor
Flashing
back to the mans earliest memory he narrates; explaining
that he
was only very young and in the middle of the night he had
gone
downstairs, and sure enough standing in his living room, a dark
look on
his face, is the Doctor. He turns to look at the young boy
and the
memory fades.
Back in
the street, the young man looks at the house as from behind
the
camera; Ursula asked what happened that night, why the Doctor
was there.
He admits that he doesn t know, for all those years he
still does
not know. He turns from looking at the house to looking
at the
camera and motions for his friend to stop filming.
Present
day: The young man introduces himself as Elton, not to be
confused
with Elton John, and explains that he works as a transport
manager
for a small haulage firm, life was normal until two years
ago.
Two years
ago: As Elton narrates the goings on he walks down a high
street in
London, past an outdoor shop. As he passes, the shop
window
dummies spring to life and smash through the glass before
them.
Panic ensures as the dummies begin attacking the pedestrians
on the
street, leaving Elton to flee.
Present
day: Elton notes that obviously he survived the attack and
then moves
on to narrate an event twelve months after when he had
gone to
West London to buy a new suit.
One year
ago: Again Elton is walking along a street and as he goes
her hears
a soaring noise above him. Like many others around him he
looks up
and watches as a giant space ship hurtles over them, flying
over
towards the Houses of Parliament where it crashes into Big Ben.
Present
day: Elton, still staring deep into the camera explains that
his
encounters with extra-terrestrial life was not over yet, because
another
incident occurred on Christmas Day.
Christmas,
the year before: As Elton lays asleep in bed the window
of his
bedroom smashes into pieces. He opens his eyes and looks
around. As
the present day Elton explains he had to invent a
rudimentary pulley system to reach his boots to cross the floor in,
the Elton
from Christmas reaches the window and stares outside;
where a
giant space ship, like a floating lump of rock, looms
overhead
in the sky.
Present
day: Elton explains that that day was the start of it all;
it was how
he met Ursula, a man named Victor Kennedy, a woman named
Jackie
Tyler and how he finally met the Doctor.
The next
day Elton addresses the camera again and tries to explain
that space
ships and aliens aren t his whole life. He admits he
likes
football, having a drink, Spain and most of all the Electric
Light
Orchestra. Moments later the young man is dancing around to
the songs
of his favourite band.
Another
while later: Elton continues his story of the alien ship
that
appeared on Christmas day, and how the Internet went into
meltdown
with all of the websites about it. He then explains that he
found a
Blog by Ursula Blake, which contained a picture of the
Doctor,
the same man he had seen so many years ago but taken only a
few weeks
ago, and he hadn t aged a bit.
Some time
ago: Ursula and Elton sit on a park bench where the young
woman
tells her new friend that the man is called the Doctor, and
that is
all anyone knows. She remembers the celebrations on
Christmas
day after the laser beam destroyed the spaceship.
She goes
on to talk about a man called Mr Skinner and when Elton
asks who
he is she explains that there are a few people studying the
Doctor.
Elton tells her of his encounter with the man during his own
childhood
and Ursula predicts the end of his story, being that the
Doctor has
not changed since that time.
Present
day: Elton explains that there was a select little group of
people who
met once a week to share their stories of the Doctor;
namely Mr
Skinner, who in a flashback talks of what the Doctor means
as a
person; Bridget, who talks of how there are many Doctors who
come and
go but throughout time the one lasting symbol of him is a
mysterious
blue box; and Bliss, who reveals an obscure sculpture of
what the
Doctor spiritually means.
Months
earlier: The group are sitting in their meeting place, a
basement
of an old library, and begin to talk of needing a name.
Elton
suggests London Investigation n
Detective Agency , or
L.I.N.D.A
for short the group chatter in approval and Ursula asks
Elton if
he came up with it on the spot but he admits he has wanted
to use it
for years.
As Elton
narrates he remembers how the group began to evolve, as
Bridget
began to start cooking for the group, Mr Skinner started
reading
extracts from his own novel and they all began sharing
secrets;
Bridget revealing the story of her lost daughter, who
turned to
drugs and disappeared in London.
In another
old meeting Bliss plays the guitar, singing a solemn
song. Some
time after she sits and sings with Ursula and eventually
the groups
have started their own band, a tribute to E.L.O. As they
sing the
lights blacken out and as Mr Skinner warns them not to
touch the
cables, the lift leading down to the basement arrives and
a portly
man, wearing a wide brimmed hat walks out. He calls for
lights and
they flick back on as Elton narrates that this was the
turning
point, the end of the golden age. This was Victor Kennedy.
The man,
carrying an ornate cane tells the bewildered group he has
longed to
meet them, but when Mr Skinner moves to shake his hand the
visitor
ushers him away, explaining he has
egg-zeema . Elton asks
if he
means eczema and he tells him that his condition is much
worse, he
blisters to the touch. He ushers them all back and Elton
asks who
the man is. He introduces himself as their salvation.
Moments
later Kennedy sits with a laptop on his knees, the others
looking
over his shoulders as they look at a video of the Doctor.
The
enigmatic Victor tells the group that it has forgotten its
purpose of
finding the Doctor; he is still out there. He tells the
others to
stand back encase they touch him and they shuffle
backwards
as they continues to watch the video. The video cuts out
but
Kennedy turns up the sound and the whir of the TARDIS groans
into life,
and Elton s memory jogs. Ursula asks what is wrong but
Kennedy
realises Elton has heard it before. He asks where and the
young man
explains that he had once forgotten but now he remembers,
it was
that sound that made him get up and go downstairs all those
years ago,
the night he first saw the Doctor. He asks what the sound
means and
Kennedy tells him; it is the sound of the Doctor s space
ship.
Kennedy
snaps into action and tells the group that using the
Torchwood
files it is possible to build up a fuller profile of the
Doctor. He
hands out files to each of the group members and explains
he has set
them all a series of tasks to achieve by the meeting next
week;
making them one-step closer to catching the Doctor.
The group
all get up to leave but Victor asks Bliss to stay behind
for a word
in private. Outside the building the others depart,
lamenting
that although it is work, at least their tasks will help
them
achieve their dream of finding the Doctor. As they go they are
unaware of
a piercing scream form inside their meeting place.
Present
day Elton continues to narrate, explaining how the group was
suddenly
working for Victor Kennedy, and in a flashback he remembers
a meeting
where each of the members sits at their own desk, working
as if at
school. Kennedy sits at a grand desk before them,
surrounded
by grand bookcases and his laptop before him. Elton
gingerly
raises his hand and asks where Bliss has gone. Kennedy
tells them
she is getting married, and will not be returning before
telling
him to get back to work.
In another
meeting Mr Skinner announces his findings, a police box
has been
located in Woolwich, and as Kennedy orders them to go and
find it
the present Day Elton explains that this is where he began
his story,
with the alien creature and the Doctor and Rose in the
warehouse.
Some time
after this encounter Elton sits at his desk in a meeting
and
Kennedy yells at him for letting the Doctor get away. He
prepares
to hit the young man but as Elton points out he cannot
because of
his skin condition. He instead reaches for his ornate
cane and
prepares to strike but Ursula stands up, and tells him that
if he
strikes her friend she will strike back at him.
Kennedy
notes that Ursula is the most likely to fight back before
announcing
the group will change tack in their search for the
Doctor.
And will focus on finding the travellers companion first.
Using a
slide projection of photos of Rose the man explains that the
Torchwood
files of the girl are strangely lacking in information,
due to
something known as the Bad Wolf virus.
He calls
on Elton to tell them more from his first hand experience
with the
girl and he confirms that her accent originates from
London. He
tells the group to take to the streets with photographs
of the
girl to find out more. Bridget points out that London is a
big place
to search, as she knows from looking for her lost
daughter.
Kennedy stops her, explaining he does not like to be
touched
literally or metaphorically. He hands the groups photos and
soon Elton
is on the streets of London, looking for one girl in a
million
faces of one of the most substantial capital cities of the
world.
Almost
immediately after starting his search Elton finds an old
woman who
confirms that the girl s name is Rose Tyler. She goes onto
tell him
that she lives with her mother Jackie and then tells him
their
address. She comments that they are a nice family, if not a
bit odd.
Elton
rushes to find the address given to him but stops in his
tracks
when he sees an older woman called Jackie talking to a friend
of hers
about a pub quiz before walking into a launderette. He
realises
this is his opportunity to find out more, and takes off one
of his
shirts, before making his way inside.
As the
present day Elton narrates; explaining that Victor Kennedy s
classes
covered the basics of surveillance and espionage. Step one
is to
engage the target and find a way of starting a conversation.
In the
flashback Elton places his shirt in a washing machine and as
he thinks
of what to do Jackie approaches him, asking for him to
change
some money for her to use in her machine. He obliges and she
returns to
her work as Elton considers the nest step; finding out
the target
s name without arousing suspicion.
Jackie, on
her own accord introduces herself and Elton does the
same,
leaving her to ponder that you don t see many people called
Elton,
except perhaps Elton John. Elton return to his machine and
thinks of
step three; ingratiate yourself with some joke or humorous
device.
Again before he can conduct the act himself Jackie pipes up,
cheerily
noting that despite the fact they have just met she is
technically flashing him her knickers, which she loads into the
washing
machine before her.
Elton
thinks of step four; find some way to integrate yourself into
the target
s household. Once again Jackie pipes up, explaining that
the only
reason she is in the launderette is because her washing
machine at
home is broken. She asks if he is any good at fixing
things and
no sooner has she asked, he is in her flat fixing the
machine,
finding the problem is a burst fuse.
She thanks
him and explains she used to have a friend called Mickey,
who used
to help her out with problems like this but he s no longer
around.
Elton offers his services whenever needed and as Jackie
makes them
both a cup of tea Elton makes his way to the living room,
where he
looks at pictures of Rose on the mantelpiece. From the
kitchen
Jackie explains that she is on her own these days, her
daughter
has gone travelling.
Elton
takes the chance to ask of her daughter s name and Jackie
confirms
that it is Rose. He comments that it is a nice name before
asking
where she has gone travelling. Jackie explains that she is
all over
the place, and although she does have a mobile phone she
doesn t
get a phone call as much as she d like. She confirms that
she s just
travelling with her mates before Elton tells her that if
he were
Jackie s child, and she had made him a nice cup of tea as
the one he
is drinking now he would never want to stray too far from
home.
Some time
later, in the meeting place Kennedy congratulates Elton on
his work
in finding and getting to know Jackie. He bluffs that he
had to
work hard to get the information because she keeps everything
very close
to her chest and as Ursula comments that she has one hell
of a
chest, Victor tells them that their homework this week is to
each think
of a plan of attack to fulfil the next step of
infiltration, step five.
As the
group prepares to leave Victor asks Bridget to stay behind
for a
quiet word but she tells him that Mr Skinner is giving her a
lift to
the station. Kennedy tells her that he can drop her off and
after
being kissed by Mr Skinner on the cheek she bids him goodbye
as he
joins Ursula and Elton in the departing lift.
Outside
Ursula and Elton talk to Mr Skinner about his loving
relationship with Bridget and as he explains they will have to see
what
happens, the three friends walk away unaware of the piercing
scream
emanating from the building they have just left.
Over the
next days and weeks Elton continues to complete dozens of
odd jobs
for Jackie, as his present day narrator comments how it was
odd such a
small flat needed so many jobs doing to it as if it were
jinxed.
One night
he is fixing another fuse and comments how odd it is all
the fuses
in the flat keep blowing and he theorises it might be
receiving
power surges from a nearby substation. He turns from his
completed
work to see Jackie, dressed in a rather short skirt,
waiting
for him, holding a glass of wine. He explains he shouldn t
really
drink as his car is outside but Jackie tells him he could
call a
taxi or find somewhere else to stay
They toast
their glasses and drink deeply. Elton asks if the wine is
French and
Jackie tells him it might be. Elton asks if Rose has sent
it from
her travels but Jackie practically ignores the question,
telling
him that Rose will not be returning to the flat tonight
Struggling
for something to say Elton comments the music playing in
the
background is nice and Jackie tells him it is
Il Divo . She
walks
towards him and he is backed against the wall. She asks him
what he
meant about the substation and as he blunders his way
through an
explanation she tells him to take his jacket off due to
the heat.
He declines and she spills some wine of his shirt. She
hollowly
apologises and offers to put it in the wash if he takes it
off. He
maintains that it is fine until she spills even more wine on
the
garment.
She
insists that it is ruined and soon Elton is in the bathroom,
contemplating the ultimate step five in getting to know Jackie more.
He washes
and prepares himself and soon, his shirt removed he
returns to
the living room explaining it is about to get hotter.
However
when he arrives he finds a solemn Jackie talking on the
phone. She
tells the person on the other end she will see them soon
then
explains it was Rose. She sees Elton with his shirt off and
apologises, explaining she was just being stupid. Elton asks if Rose
is all
right and his she explains that she is just so far away; she
doesn t
know where she is or what she might be doing and now she is
left to go
mad. She tells Elton to put his shirt back on and he asks
where Rose
is. She tells him it doesn t matter then apologises and
explains
that he had better go.
He
prepares to but then thinks. In his present day narration Elton
explains
that he realised that Rose was the not important at the
moment,
something else was. In his flashback he tells Jackie he will
get his
shirt back on but then he will go and fetch them a pizza,
because it
looks like she needs cheering up. He tells her they will
enjoy
themselves for the night as mates, not lovers. He asks her to
say yea
sand she does so.
Some time
later he is walking alone brandishing the pizza and in his
narration
explain that many things were beginning to make sense. He
did like
Jackie but there was someone else he liked a whole lot
more;
Ursula.
As Elton
continues his walk back through the car park he is
confronted
by Jackie who, brandishing his coat, looks at him almost
coldly. He
tells her they must get inside before the food gets cold,
but she
maintains her deep stare, and reveals that she looked
through
his coat, thinking that for once in her life she would pay
for the
meal and put some money in his wallet to stop him refusing
but when
she did she found something. She removes one arm from
within the
coat and takes out the picture of Rose he was given by
Kennedy.
He tells
her that he was not looking for Rose; he was looking for
the
Doctor. Jackie bitterly tells him that she figured that out; it
was never
about her. Elton protests but she does not let him
continue,
instead telling him about those who get left behind. She
admits
that it is hard to be left alone and that is what you become
because of
it; hard. She tells him, almost aggressively, that she
will never
let Rose down and she will protect both of them until the
end of her
life.
She tells
him that no matter what he wants, he should back off and
after he
claims that he just wanted to meet the Doctor, she simply
states
that she thought he liked her. He claims that he does but she
does not
back down and throws him his coat, telling him to get out
and leave
her alone. She walks off, almost in tears and Elton is
left alone
with his thoughts.
Some time
later, during another L.I.N.D.A meeting Elton angrily
tells the
others, in particular Victor Kennedy, that Jackie was
right;
they were just using her. Kennedy violently tells him that he
knew he
couldn t be trusted, he blew his own cover. He insults him
but Elton
is not listening. Raising his voice he tells him that it
has all
gone wrong from the group, ever since he came along.
He
remembers how the group members always used to meet up to have a
laugh,
they were friends and he comments that it is no wonder Bliss
and
Bridget left the group. Mr Skinner chips in, explaining he has
bee
phoning and re-phoning Bridget but he is getting no reply. Elton
takes over
again and tells Victor he is on his own. He is leaving
and tells
Mr Skinner that he will do the same. He turns to Ursula
and tells
her that she will come with him and together they will
have a
Chinese meal, together. She tells him that she would love to,
as Kennedy
stands up and tells them that they can t leave, they will
never find
the Doctor or discover what he was doing in Elton s house
all those
years ago.
Elton
admits he will never know then tells Ursula to get her stuff
and asks
Mr Skinner if he will join them; not in coming to the
Chinese
meal, just in walking out. He tells him that he is prepared
to come
and as he and Ursula prepare to leave Elton bids Mr Kennedy
good luck
and goodbye. Desperately Kennedy asks Mr Skinner to stay
behind,
explaining he has phone numbers for Bridget, which together
they can
use to track her down.
Mr Skinner
tells the departing Ursula and Elton that the proposition
is more
like the old team spirit and decides to stay. Ursula wishes
him luck
in his search and Elton promises to email him as the two of
them get
in the lift and leave, as Mr Skinner moves towards Victor.
Outside
the two friends walk away talking of their favourite food as
another
piercing scream rings out from the building behind them.
Ursula
realises that she has left her mobile phone behinds and is
forced to
turn back. Elton notes that it is a bit diminutive of his
idea of a
big walkout but nevertheless, together they walk back
towards
the basement.
They
arrive and push aside the grate covering the lift door as
Ursula
explains why they have returned. From behind a newspaper
Victor s
now queasy voice tells them to find the mobile phone and
go. The
two friends advance towards him as Ursula asks where Mr
Skinner
has gone and Victor tells them that he has gone to the
toilet.
Elton points out that there is no toilet in the basement,
the group
has to use the one in the pub on the street corner.
Kennedy
splutters that that is where Mr Skinner has gone but as he
speaks Mr
Skinner s muffled voice calls out for help. Elton asks
what the
noise was but Kennedy, whose usual posh accent is cracking
into a
more northern lilt, tells them it was nothing. Again the
voice
calls out and Victor tells it to shut up and as Elton realises
it is
their old friend calling out Ursula notes Victor s hands; long
yellow
extremities with large claw-like fingers.
Kennedy
tells them to look at the rest of him and as he puts down
his
newspaper he reveals himself; a squat portly alien with a shock
of black
hair on the top of his head reaching down his back. He
tells them
they have grappled with aliens but now they must meet the
real
article. Elton addresses him as a thing but Kennedy defiantly
tells him
it is his true form, better than the human disguise he has
been
forced to adopt.
Again Mr
Skinner speaks and the two human friends see the source of
the noise;
the remains of Mr Skinner s face lies in the stomach of
the alien
before them, calling out for help. Elton asks what he has
done to
him and he explains that he has absorbed him.
Suddenly,
Bridget s voice rings out, her face also stuck to the
creature s
body only this time on his back. As the two lovers call
out to
each other Elton asks where Bliss has gone. Kennedy lifts up
his rear
from the chair he is seated on and amidst the rumble of
flatulence
Bliss s face tells them they don t want to know, before
being
squashed back onto the chair as the creature takes it s seat
again.
Elton
notes the creature is some sort of Abzobathon, and
Abzorbaling an Abzorbaloff. The creature warms to the last name and
tells them
he likes it. Ursula cuts in and orders him to le the
others go
but her tries to reason with her, explaining they taste so
sweet. He
goes on to marvel at the prospect of absorbing the Doctor
and
wonders what he will taste like; all of his experience and
knowledge,
and if he has to absorb Jackie Tyler to get to him then
so be it.
Elton
warns him not to dare trying as Ursula grabs Kennedy s cane
and tells
him to give the others back, or he will beat them out of
him. The
creature childishly asks her not to hit him, telling her he
is such a
slow and clumsy beast. She begins to pity him and releases
her tight
grip on the cane, asking more solemnly that he give them
back.
Suddenly
he throws his arm forward and grabs her arm, telling her
that it
only takes one touch. As Ursula whimpers her hand and arm
begin to
merge with the Abzorbaloff. Mr Skinner and Bridget call out
in protest
as Elton rushes forward, telling him to leave her alone.
Ursula
tells him not to touch her or he too will be absorbed. He
looks on
tearfully as the creature scoffs at the idea he thought
once that
Ursula was the most likely to fight back.
Suddenly
Ursula is sucked into the Abzorbaloff s hand and as it
shivers,
her face begins to mould into the middle of its chest he
notes how
she tastes of chicken. Elton protests that it is not fair
and then
begs his once boss to let her go. He tells him he can t,
once she
has been absorbed the process cannot be reversed. Ursula,
whose face
sits fully-formed in the creature s chest, explains to
her friend
that now she has been absorbed she can read the
Abzorbaloff s thoughts; Elton is next to be absorbed. She tells him
to get
out, now he has seen the creature in its true form it cannot
let him
go.
She
explains it is to late for her and that her friend must run for
safety.
Bridget and the others join in Ursula s plea as suddenly,
the
Abzorbaloff jumps from behind its desk and, clutching its cane,
runs for
Elton. The young human flees out of the building and into
the
streets, but his predator is not far away.
As he
makes his way blindly through the network of streets the
Abzorbaloff pursues him, gargling and laughing to itself. Suddenly
the young
man turns into an alleyway and finds himself trapped. As
the alien
creature approaches him he falls to his knees and explains
there is
no point, even if he survived there would be nowhere for
him t go.
Everything he ever wanted has been absorbed.
Ursula
tells him not to say such things but he tells her it is all
true. The
Abzorbaloff tells him that he should join him and the
others;
have everlasting peace and become at one with them.
As Elton
prepares to be absorbed a screeching whir rings out around
them and
as a gust of wind appears as if from nowhere the TARDIS
fades into
view behind them. The Doctor, stone face, steps outside
and walks
forward. He looks at Elton and tells him that someone
wants a
word with him. The ship door opens again and an un-phased
looking
Rose storms out and approaches the kneeling man, telling him
he upset
her mother.
Elton
points out that there is a great big absorbing creature from
outer-space standing next to them, and Rose is having a go at him.
Rose tells
him that no-one is allowed to upset her mum but before
she can
continue the Abzorbaloff marvels at the presence of the
Doctor,
the greatest feast of all.
The Time
Lord, as Elton did before, stabs at naming the creature
before
him, calling him an Abzorbatrix an Abzorbaclob an
Abzorbaloff. The creature points out that he prefers the latter
title, as
Rose mutters in the Doctor s ear that the being looks
slightly
like a Slitheen. The Time Lord asks the creature if it
comes from
the Slitheen home-world of Raxicoricofalapatorius. The
creature
condemns all those from the planet and tells them he is
not; he
was born on their twin planet.
The Doctor
asks what the twin planet of Raxicricofalapatorius could
be and the
creature tells him: Klom. As the Doctor takes this in the
creature
continues; explaining that he shall now return there
victorious
now that he can possess the Doctor s travelling machine.
The Doctor
asks what makes him so sure he will hand the TARDIS over
and the
Abzorbaloff explains that he will surrender himself or Elton
dies.
He
explains that he has read up on the Time Lord; noting how he is
always so
passionate and so sweet; he would never let an innocent
man die.
He tells him once more that he will be absorbed unless the
Doctor
hands himself over and the Time Lord ponders the description
has been
given of him. He agrees with the sentiments of passionate
or sweet
but tells the creature to never mistake those traits for
niceness.
He begins to turn away after explaining the alien can do
what he
likes.
Again the
creature threatens to absorb Elton and again the Doctor
tells him
to continue but as the creature reaches out to trigger the
process
the Time Lord explains that the others might have something
to say
about the matter. Ursula realises that they must not let
their
captor continue to take Elton and calls to Mr Skinner and
Bridget,
telling them to pull. They each struggle to pull themselves
outwards
from the flabby skin engulfing them and as the Doctor and
Rose look
on the creature squirms and drops its cane.
Ursula
calls for Elton to break the stick and he does so, snapping
it in half
over his knee. The ornate handle at the top opens and a
glowing
light emanates from the opening. The Abzorbaloff curses the
human for
breaking the stick and as he screeches in agony he begins
to
liquidise, and collapses in a pool of slime into the pavement.
Elton asks
what has happened and the Doctor explains that the cane
created a
limitation field and now it is broken the creature cannot
stop; the
absorber is being absorbed by the Earth. As he talks one
of the
paving slabs begins to morph as if something is pushing to
escape.
Elton leans forward and realises it is Ursula. Her
half-formed face says goodbye to him, before fading back into the
ground.
As Elton
looks on sadly Rose asks who the girl was and he tells her
her name.
The young time traveller walks forward and crouches on the
ground
next to him; comforting him now that he is alone. The Doctor
looks on
as Elton begins to sob.
Sometime
later, as the present day Elton explains that the story was
not yet
over, the Doctor, Rose and Elton sit on the steps of a
building
as the Time Lord remembers the night Elton first met him.
He
explains that a living shadow creature had found its way into his
house;
having escaped from the howling walls. He managed to stop it
but he
wasn t in time to save her .
In Elton s
memory of the night in his childhood his recollections
extend and
after looking at the Doctor standing in his living room,
he looks
to the floor to see a woman lying dead. It was the night
his mother
died.
As the
Elton from the present day sobs he remembers his mother and
the happy
times they had together. He sits alone in his room as his
final
memory strikes him; walking in the park with his mum as a
little
child, before stopping in his steps. His mother bends down
and says
goodbye, before walking off into the distance
Back in
the present day Elton explains that we forget such things
because he
must. Some days later he brings his story to a close,
explaining
how he has had the most terrible and most brilliant
things
happen in his life; even if they are all the same thing and
he cannot
tell the difference. He remembers how Stephen King one
said salvation and damnation are the same thing .
He explains he
never knew
what it meant until now, and although the Doctor was
wonderful
he had such a special time being in L.I.N.D.A. with his
friends,
and yet it is not the Doctor s fault it all came to an end;
maybe that
s what happens when you touch the Doctor, even for a
second. He
admits that he often thinks of Rose and Jackie, wondering
how long
it will be before they have to pay the price.
From
behind the camera Ursula tells him to stop being so miserable,
he still
has her. He explains to the camera that before he left him
the Doctor
told him he could do one last thing with his magic wand.
Back in
the street, many weeks ago the Doctor kneels over the paving
slab where
Ursula said her goodbyes and as he talks to himself,
explaining
he is trying to key into the absorption matrix and
separate
the last victim, despite it being too late for total
reconstruction he can still help. As a gurgling sound issues from
the ground
the Time Lord stands up and calls out;
Elton fetch a
spade .
Back in
the present day Elton explains the Doctor had saved him one
last time.
He reaches forward, behind the camera and picks up the
paving
slab on which is Ursula s face. She explains that it could be
worse, at
least she will never age and it is a very peaceful life.
Elton
explains that it is a relationship of sorts, they manage to
get by; he
even gets a bit of a love life. Ursula tells him not to
go into
that and he instead explains that he doesn t care what
anyone
thinks about his girlfriend, he will always love her.
As Elton
prepares to close his video diary he activates the remote
zoom he
has now brought and the camera zooms in to focus on his
face. He
laments that when you are a child everyone tells you to
grow up,
get a job, get married, buy a house and have your own
child. He
explains that the truth is the world is so much stranger
than that;
so much darker, so much madder, and so much better
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Elton s encounters with alien life include the Auton
invasion in Rose, the Slitheen trip to Earth in Aliens of
London / World War Three and the Sycorax invasion in The
Christmas Invasion.
The Abzorbaloff comes from the planet Klom, which is the
twin of Raxicricofalapatorius, which is mentioned in Aliens
of
London / World War Three and also in Boom Town.
The alien Elton finds in the warehouse in the beginning of
the story was never named onscreen but in the end credits
was credited as the Hoix .
In
a way Ursula s and indeed L.I.N.D.A s search for the
Doctor is reminiscent to that of Clive in Rose and indeed
Mickey, who took over the website about the Doctor which can
still be found at www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk
[Back to Main
Page]
Fear Her
Fear Her
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Matthew Graham
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Nina
Sosanya (Trish), Abisola Agbaje (Chloe),
Edna Dore (Maeve),
Tim Faraday (Tom's
Dad), Abdul Salis (Kel), Richard Nichols
(Driver), Erica Eirian (Neighbour), Stephen Marzella (Police
Officer), Huw Edwards (Commentator).
London 2012, and the Doctor and Rose set off to see the
Olympics, only to find terror in the most ordinary place.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Idiot's Lantern
June 24th, 2006 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Euros Lyn, Abisola Agbaje and Steffan
Morris is available on the official Doctor Who website.
TARDISODE
In an ordinary
London street a reporter for a television called
Crime
Crackers tells his viewers that things
are amiss in
suburbia.
Two children have gone missing from their own homes and
the police
do not know where they have gone or why they were taken.
He calls
upon the crime crackers of the nation to help find the
missing
youths and gives a phone number to contact the programme
with if
they should have any information on the matter.
As the
reporter signs off he is unaware that somewhere in the street
there
stands a wardrobe, its doors shaking. They fly open to reveal
a pair of
blood-red glowing eyes, calling out for Chloe
It is 2012
and in a bust London suburb people go about their
everyday
business; the postman delivers his letters, mothers push
their
prams and small boys kick a football about in the front garden
of their
house. Yet amidst this peaceful suburban life is an
underlying
threat, a young girl has gone missing and a poster asking
for news
of her whereabouts is tied to every lamppost.
From an
upstairs window a young girl watches all that is going on
and in the
street and old woman pulling her shopping trolley stops
in her
tracks and looks all around her. A young woman asks the
woman,
called Maeve, if she is all right. She explains that she is
not and
after the young woman offers to phone a Doctor she explains
that he
will not be able to help. Again she looks around at the
houses in
the street and asks the young woman if she can feel it
too.
She tells
her that she cannot as the old woman tells the boys
playing
football to get inside. As their father asks what is going
on the old
woman tells him it is happening again and the young woman
she has
just spoken to rushes inside her house, where upstairs her
daughter
sits silhouetted at the window. She goes inside as upstairs
the young
girls stands at the window singing the Kookaburra song.
She
watches one of the boys playing football and then goes to her
desk and
begins to draw.
Outside
Maeve talks again to the boys father and
tells him to get
the boys
inside, it likes it when the children are outside, it s
what it
wants, the boys are not safe. As she warns him the girl
continues
to draw at a frenzied pace, hr picture of the boy she saw
outside.
The father
begins to lead Maeve away but as he does so he turns to
see the
boy the girl was drawing has gone. Maeve calls out in horror
as the
father runs to the place the boy once stood on. Maeve calls
out to
some unknown entity and asks what it wants with the street s
children
as the mother of the girl stands alone in her hallway and
upstairs
the girl completes her drawing of the now missing boy,
which
proceeds to begin to move, as if screaming out for help
Fear Her
(drn:43'50")
Somewhere
just beyond the street the TARDIS comes into land,
slotting
perfectly between two large bins. The Doctor opens the door
but
realises he has materialised the wrong way round when he finds
himself
staring at the side of one of the bins. He steps back inside
and the
ship takes off again, reappearing moments later only this
time
facing the right way round.
The Doctor
confidently steps outside and surveys the yard around
him. As
Rose looks at a series of posters displaying the greatest
hits of artists only recently discovered in her
own time the Doctor
confirms
that they are in the near future. As they make their way
into the
street the Doctor points out the banner advertising the
London
2012 Olympics. Rose chuckles and ponders why she didn t think
of
visiting this time as the Doctor remembers the very first
Olympics,
the naked men throwing a discus before a giant crowd. He
thinks for
a moment then jokily points out that that was Club Med.
He laughs
and Rose looks slightly unnerved as they continue their
walk.
The Doctor
they are just in time for the opening ceremony and as he
remembers
the last one he visited in London, in 1948, Rose looks on
as a
father puts up missing posters for a lost boy. She goes to
look at it
whilst the Doctor remembers being in 1948, including the
cakes
topped with edible ball bearings he had to eat. Rose
interrupts
him and points out the poster which he strolls up to and
turns
solemn, wondering why someone would snatch children from an
ordinary
street.
He wonders
why it is so cold and then ponders if someone might be
lowering
the temperature. Rose meanwhile reads the poster and finds
the
missing boy disappeared in the current week, then asks why
someone
would do such a thing. The Doctor asks what makes her think
it was a
person before Rose notes it has the entire street scared to
death, and
indeed as she talks a young woman putting out the rubbish
looks up
then scurries away inside her home.
The young
time traveller turns back to the Doctor but finds he has
gone,
dashing away down the street. He arrives in the garden where
the boy
disappeared and he out-stretches his hand, feeling a strange
sensation
surrounding it. As he glances from his hand to the lawn
before him
he crouches down and almost smiles.
Elsewhere
in the street a moving car breaks down and a nearby
council
worker named Kel notes it is the fifth this week, an
unnatural
occurrence. He helps the driver push the dead vehicle and
as Rose
looks on she offers her help, before joining the young man
in pushing
the car, which suddenly springs to life and drives away.
Kel
explains the strange goings on all week and Rose notes it is the
same time
since the children have gone missing.
Still in
the street the Doctor stares at his hand in delight as the
owner of
the house appears behind him and asks what his game is. The
Doctor
ponders that he is good at snakes and ladders as well as
squash,
before admitting he is being facetious.
Down the
other end of the street Kel and Rose are walking together,
the young
man explaining the constant break-downs are maddening the
council,
as they have re-named it and re-tarmaced it. He explains
the
measures are because the Olympic torch is to be carried down at
the end of
the street so it must be made to look at its best, only
things are
amiss. Maeve joins them and explains that
it takes the
children
when they are playing but as she talks she is interrupted
by the
approaching Doctor.
Backing
away from the man he has just met, the Time Lord stutters
that he is
a police officer. The man simply tells him he does not
believe
him and as the Doctor reaches for his psychic paper he tells
them Rose
is his colleague. He produces his fake identity card and
the mother
of the girl at the window, who has just joined them, asks
what he is
going to do. Maeve explains that the police have already
been to
the street and have found no leads or lines of investigation
to follow.
The father who followed the Doctor tells her that it must
have been
a kidnapper but Maeve argues that the last boy to be taken
disappeared right in front of her.
The Doctor
begins to talk but another mother and father begin
accusing
Kel, telling him he is taking far too long in the
preparations for the Olympics. He begins to defend himself amidst
the Doctor
s attempts to restore calm. Soon enough all of the
residents
around them are arguing with each other, accusing and
defending
each other whilst Maeve warns of the evil around them.
The Doctor
yells out to them as if they were children, telling them
all to put
their fingers on their lips in order to be quiet. They
all do so
and the Doctor explains that the missing children have
been
snatched out of thin air. He allows Maeve to air her view and
she tells
them that it isn t human, it can t be. As she talks the
young girl
sitting at her window looks down on the gathering as the
old woman
begs for the Doctor and Rose to help. The mother of the
young girl
looks up to see her daughter watching them then goes back
inside,
leaving the others to continue.
Some time
later the Doctor paces the street sniffing for clues. Rose
jokily
asks if he wants a handkerchief before admitting there is a
scent of
metal in the air. She follows her friend as he walks down
an
alleyway as he explains one of the missing boys cycled down one
end of the
back-street but never came down from the other. He shows
her the
hairs on the back of his hand standing on end and she
detects
the smell of metal again. The Doctor tells her it is
residual
energy, left in the spots the children vanished from. He
explains a
lot of energy was needed to do such a thing then walks
off.
Back in
the street the young girl sits and watches a cat walking in
her
garden. She takes out the picture of the missing boy who
disappeared in the garden playing football then continues to draw
the animal
standing next to him. Her mother enters and tells her she
must come
down some time. The young girl tells her she is bust as
the mother
points out from the dozens of pictures stuck to her wall
that she
must have used up half of a rainforest in paper. She leans
forward
and takes the picture of the boy and the half-drawn cat and
asks why
she drew the boy so sad. She admits she did not draw the
boy
looking that way, he mad himself sad so she will draw him a
friend.
The mother
leans forward and clicks a button on the girl s laptop,
bringing
on a television report of the torchbearer making his way to
the grand
stadium. She points out it will pass down the end of their
street.
She asks her daughter if it makes her feel part of something
big when
there is the idea that the whole world will be watching
London but
she gets no reply. The girl continues her drawing and
explains
she is busy. Her mother points out she is tired and tells
her she
heard her calling out in the night. She tries to reason that
the things
she sees in her sleep are only nightmares but the girl
tells her
she is busy, unless she wants to be drawn by her. The
mother
decides to leave her to it as the young girl continues her
drawing.
Outside
Rose sees the cat and fusses it as the Doctor misplaces her
baby talk
as being aimed at him. He looks on in distaste at his
friend s
rapport with the creature, before admitting he is not a cat
person,
particularly after being threatened by one wearing a nun s
wimple. He
watches as the cat walks away into a discarded cardboard
box. Rose
follows it but when she looks into the box she finds the
cat has
gone. The Doctor whoops at the high levels of iron residue
inside the
box before he admits he is impressed by the vast amounts
of energy
the creature abducting things needs to carry out the deed.
He points
out they need to find the source of the energy then walks
off,
leaving Rose to it.
In her
room the girl looks at her picture and talks to it,
explaining
she has given it friends but still it moans. She looks at
the other
pictures on the wall and tells them they are lucky, they
have each
other and do not know what it is like to be alone. She
takes out
another piece of paper then starts to draw again, but she
makes a
mistake and scribbles it out.
Rose makes
her way to the far end of the street near a row of
garages
and flats. She hears a banging noise coming from one of the
garages
then moves to open the door. Amidst more bangs and crashes
she slowly
lifts open the sliding door and is attacked by a ball of
wiry
energy. She falls to the floor as the ball buzzes around her.
The Doctor
approaches and zaps it with the sonic screwdriver,
shrinking
it and letting it fall into Rose s hands. As the Time Lord
runs to
help her they embrace and admits he has no idea what the
object is
but notes it is activated by energy.
Sometime
later the two travellers stand in the TARDIS console room,
where the
scanner delivers a report on the structure of the object.
The Doctor
realises it is made of graphite and happily rubs part of
it away
with the sonic screwdriver. Rose ponders that she was
attacked
by a pencil scribble and the Doctor notes the object is
stooped in
residual energy, like the patches where the children and
the cat
disappeared. Whatever is taking things can create them as
well.
Rose notes
it is similar to the end result of a scribble on a
child s
drawing when it goes wrong and comes to realise something.
She
remembers the girl sitting at her window earlier in the street
and notes
that even the girl s mother looked scared of her.
A while
later the travellers arrive at the girl s house. Reluctantly
the mother
opens the door and tells them they cannot see her
daughter.
The Doctor welcomes her response and he and Rose prepare
to walk
away but the mother stops them and asks why they want to see
her
daughter, who is called Chloe. The Doctor explains that she
might be
able to help them understand the strange goings on in the
street but
then turns to leave again. The mother stops them again
and
uncomfortably asks if she can help her and the Doctor happily
tells her
that he can.
Inside the
house, as the television shows the journey of the Olympic
torchbearer the mother admits that Chloe spends a lot of time in her
room and
does not speak, only asks to be left alone. Rose asks about
the girl s
father but the woman explains he is dead and after Rose
apologises
she tells him she wouldn t be so sorry if she had met
him.
The Doctor
tries to lighten the tone by suggesting they go and meet
Chloe but
the mother tells her she might be asleep. The Doctor sees
through
her disguise and asks why she is afraid of her own daughter.
She
replies by telling him that before they meet him they must
understand
that she is really a very good child. Rose cuts in and
asks if
she may use the bathroom and as she leave to ascend the
stairs the
mother, called Trish, tells the Doctor again what a good
girl Chloe
is, admitting that at the moment she is not herself.
Rose
arrives upstairs and sees Chloe about to leave her room. She
hides in
the airing cupboard as the girl goes downstairs and them
makes her
way into her room. She looks at the dozens of drawings
lining the
walls then jumps at the rattling of the wardrobe doors.
Upturning
a pot of pencils she bends to pick them up but when she
returns
them to the desk she finds the expressions on one of the
drawn
people has changed.
Downstairs
the Doctor finds Chloe in the kitchen. He introduces
himself
but she explains she is busy, she is making something. Trish
cuts in
and tells him she has not been sleeping. The Doctor turns to
Chloe and
notes she has been drawing, and goes onto say how he
cannot
draw very well but he can do the Mr Spock salute. He does so
and asks
Chloe if she can but all she tells him is that
they don t
stop
moaning, no matter what she does. Her mother turns to hug her
but she
tells her not to touch her. The Doctor looks on whilst
upstairs
the wardrobe continues to rattle. Rose slowly opens the
doors and
inside, amidst the hanging clothes is a giant drawing of
an angry
man with his fists clenched.
Downstairs
the Doctor begs to know Chloe is making upstairs but is
cut off
when Rose calls for help. He runs past Chloe and dashes
upstairs
where Rose stands transfixed at the massive drawing before
her. The
Time Lord dashes in and slams the door closed then inspects
the
drawings on Chloe s desk. Rose stops Trish from reopening the
door again
and Chloe admits it is a drawing of her father. Trish
frantically asks why she still remembers the man they had left
behind and
after telling her she has nightmare s about him Chloe
explains
they must stick together.
Trish
agrees that they do but Chloe tells her that she is not
included.
The Doctor looks over as she explains they must stick
together
then everything will be all right. Rose asks Trish if she
knows what
Chloe s drawings can do but she tells her they are only
drawings
and should get out of the house. Rose continues and
explains
the drawing in the wardrobe actually spoke to her and
theorises
that Chloe has a power, capable of taking the missing
children.
Again
Trish tells her to get out and Rose asks if she has even seen
the
drawings move. She denies that she has but the Doctor knows she
is lying;
she has but only out of the corner of her eye but
dismisses
it and gets angry when someone talks of it. He explains
that he is
the only one who will believe her and when she asks who
he is he
tells her that he is help.
Some time
later the Doctor, Rose and Trish stand downstairs. The
Doctor
plucks a jar of jam and proceeds to stick his finger in it
and lick
it clean but stops at a disparaging look from Rose. He puts
down the
jar and Rose asks him to explain how it is that the
pictures
are alive. The Doctor explains that Chloe is harnessing
ionic
energy to take the children and put them in a holding pen made
of ionic
power. Rose then asks about the picture of Chloe s father
in the
wardrobe and despite Trish s affirmation that he is dead the
Doctor
tells them that if living things can become drawings then
maybe
drawings can become living things.
He pauses
and shivers then explains that although Chloe s real dad
is dead
the drawing is a short step away from breaking into the real
world.
Rose asks how a twelve year-old girl is able to do this and
he decides
to go and find out. Arriving in her room they find her
sitting on
her bed alone amidst her pictures. She raises her hand
and
completes the Spock salute and after the Doctor congratulates
her he
reaches forward and touches the lobes of her head. Her eyes
roll back
in their sockets and as he closes his own eyes he pushes
her back
to lie on her bed.
He
re-opens his eyes and announces that now they can talk. Chloe
speaks to
him but with a harsh whispered voice, announcing she wants
Chloe
Webber. The Doctor asks who she is and as she persists to ask
for Chloe,
Trish looks on in shock and Rose asks what is going on.
The Doctor
continues and tells them he is addressing the entity
residing
in Chloe s body. He requests parlay in conjunction with the
Shadow
Proclamation but the ghostly voice tells him it does not car
about
shadows or paralysis s. He asks what it does care about and it
tells him
it wants its friends.
The Doctor
asks the voice to identify itself and it explains that it
is one of
many; it travels with its brothers and sisters on an
endless
journey that takes a thousand human lifetimes but now it is
alone ad
it hates it. The Doctor demands the creature names itself
and it
replies: Isolus. The Doctor realises what this means, almost
dismissing
it as elementary as Chloe begins to frantically draw
again as
the voice tells him its journey began so long ago in the
deep
realms when they were a family.
Trish asks
what her daughter is drawing and the Doctor explains it
is the
Isolus Mother, drifting in deep space. She jettisons millions
of
children in the form of spores and when the intensely-emotional
empathic
beings are cast off by their mother their need for each
other
keeps them going, they should never be alone.
As Chloe
draws a detailed picture of a flower-like creature the
voice
tells the others their journey is long and the Doctor explains
each
Isolus child travels in a small pod, on the waves of solar
tides; it
takes thousands of years for them to grow up. Rose asks
how they
manage to stay sane in that time and the voice tells them
that they
play. The Doctor explains that whilst they travel the
Isolus use
their ionic energy to create entire world in which to
play in
order to keep themselves happy and feed off of each other s
love.
He asks
the voice why it came to Earth and after finishing the
drawing of
the Isolus mother Chloe begins to make a rough likeness
of the
sun. The Doctor realises a wave of solar energy must have
scattered
the Isolus pods and sure enough the voice tells him that
its
brothers and sisters are still in space where it cannot reach
them, it
is so alone. The Doctor asks where the creature s pod is
and the
voice explains it was drawn to a source of heat and itself
was drawn
to Chloe Webber, who like the Isolus was alone. The
creature
tells him it wants its family as the Doctor explains he
understands but it cannot stay inside Chloe s body, it is wrong to
do so.
Suddenly
the wardrobe doors rattle and the voice of the drawing
within
begins to grumble. Chloe s body begins to twitch in spasm and
the Doctor
calls for Trish to calm her as she does when her daughter
has a
nightmare. She does so and starts singing the Kookaburra song.
Immediately Chloe stops twitching and the voice fades, leaving the
wardrobe
doors to settle. Trish comforts her daughter as she remarks
how the
creature only came to Chloe because she was alone.
Later on
Trish walks about the house confiscating all of the drawing
pencils
Chloe might get her hands on whilst she explains that her
daughter
always got the brunt of her father s anger when he had had
a drink.
She had hoped they were free of him when he crashed his car
and died.
Rose asks if she ever talked to her daughter about it but
the woman
admits she never did because she didn t want to. The young
traveller
points out that maybe that is why Chloe feels alone,
because
she wants to tell her mother about having nightmares
concerning
her father but doesn t feel she can. As Trish continues
to collect
up all of the pencils the Doctor explains the Isolus is
desperate
t be loved, it is used to being in a family of around four
billion,
and as Rose notes it will not stop pulling children in in
order to
find new friends.
Upstairs
Chloe watches the report on the Olympics via her laptop and
observes
the stadium full of people then gets up to watch the Doctor
and Rose
walk outside determined to find the pod. The Time Lord
explains
the reason for the low temperatures in the street is that
the pod is
drawing in all of the heat and as such should be in a fit
state to
launch.
Inside the
house Trish phones a Doctor and asks him to come and see
Chloe who
she says is running a temperature whilst behind her Chloe
sneaks
outside. Elsewhere the Doctor and Rose return to the TARDIS
and the
Time Lord tells his friend they can scan for the same trace
as picked
up by the scribble creature but will need to widen the
field. He
takes out his key and they walk inside the ship as Chloe
appears
behind them, watching them go.
Inside the
ship the Doctor sets about constructing something whilst
Rose
points out how, back at the house, he knew the Isolus was
lonely
before it said so and he responds to her by explaining he
knows what
it is like to travel a long way on your own. As he
instructs
her to pass him different components she notes he seems to
be on the
creature s side, despite the pain it has caused people.
The Doctor
explains he sympathises with it and that it is only a
confused,
mixed-up child.
Rose tells
him it seemed to her more like a temper tantrum and after
the Doctor
reasons that she was a child once she tells him that she
knows that
children can be right little terrors.
In her
room Chloe runs to lay on her bed. She reaches for a Barbie
doll and
rips off the head, revealed a series of colouring pencils
stuffed in
the hollow neck. She removes them and begins to draw
another
picture.
The Doctor
takes Rose s chewing gum and uses it as part of his new
contraption as his companion explains that as part of a family it is
right that
children should learn they cannot always have their own
way. The
Doctor enquires as to what to do in order to understand
them and
Rose replies that that is easy for him to say, as he hasn t
had
children. He points out that he was a dad once but fails to say
anymore
despite his friend s requests.
Having
finished his new device he stands up and explains that they
are
dealing with a lonely child, and points out some of the most
heinous
crimes committed have been by people lonely as a child. He
tells her
that deep space travel not only requires the technical
ability
and know-how but foremost a hand to hold. Rose points out
that the
scanner has located the lost pod, it is indeed in the
street.
The two travellers prepare to leave as in her room, Chloe s
picture
begins to take shape it is the TARDIS.
As they
leave the ship the Doctor describes the pod to Rose in order
for her to
help find it and as they walk Chloe continues to draw
frantically and begins to depict the Doctor
In the
yard beside the street Rose walks on; asking if all the pod
needs is
heat. From behind her comes a smashing sound and she turns
to see the
Doctor s special device broken on the floor, but the Time
Lord and
the TARDIS are gone. She calls out for him and almost
immediately she is back at Chloe s house, storming upstairs despite
Trish s
claims she has taken all of the colouring pencils away.
Rose
arrives in Chloe s room and picks up the picture of the Doctor
and the
TARDIS. The Isolus speaks through Chloe telling the
traveller
to leave it alone because it wants to be with the young
girl. Rose
almost explodes in anger, telling Chloe that she doesn t
realise
what she has done, she has taken away the one person who
could help
her. Again the creature tells her to leave it alone with
Chloe and
Rose turns to the picture of the Doctor, promising to get
him out
once she has found the pod. She walks out leaving Trish and
Chloe
alone whilst the news report details the journey of the
approaching Olympic torch.
Rose
arrives in the street reminding herself of how the pod travels
using heat
whilst Kel marvels at the smoothness of the tarmac he has
just laid.
She asks him if there has been anything in the street
over the
past few days that has been giving off a lot of heat but
the young
man continues to admire his handiwork, pondering why the
other
patch he has put down still has a lump in it.
Rose asks
him to think back six days and he remembers filling in the
pothole
before them for the first time. As he natters on about the
secret
council recipe for tar as Rose realises the heat of the fresh
substance
could have attracted the lost pod. Despite the protests of
the young
Kel she runs to his van and takes out a pickaxe. She runs
to the
tarred patch and begins digging up the ground until she finds
the small
pod.
Inside her
room Chloe rushes around, taking a chair and placing it
under the
door handle thus locking herself inside. She looks on at
the news
report about the Olympics stadium and frantically begins
drawing
all of the people there. Rose arrives downstairs and finds
Trish in
the living room despite her warnings not to leave Chloe
alone. As
she protests and Kel arrives to scold her for her
behaviour
outside she glances at the news report, where the stadium
has been
emptied of people. The commentator struggles to find
something
to say but is speckles. Rose realises even the entire
stadium is
not enough, the Isolus has four billion brothers and
sisters.
Upstairs
Chloe looks at her picture of the stadium crowd and claims
it is not
enough. She runs to the bookcase and plucks out an atlas
before
setting it down on her table with a picture of the Earth
staring up
at her. The voice of the Isolus tells its host that she
will no
longer be alone and as Rose arrives outside claiming she has
found the
ship Chloe strips one of the room walls of posters then
prepares
to draw.
Outside
Rose tells Trish to watch out and raises her pickaxe. As
Chloe
begins to hurriedly draw a massive picture of the globe the
young time
traveller swings the axe at the door and starts to break
it down.
She reaches inside and pulls the chair from the handle as
the
wardrobe doors begin to rattle. Chloe tells her that if she
attempts
to stop her she will let the picture of her father, which
is slowly
becoming a reality, out of the cupboard. She continues her
drawing as
Rose shows her the pod. She explains it is dead; it needs
more than
the heat it has absorbed. Kel points out one of the
drawings
has just moved and when Rose turns to look at the picture
of the
Doctor she finds he himself has drawn a picture of the
Olympic
torch.
She points
out that the pod needs more than the heat of the torch
but as she
speaks the news report detailing the journey of the flame
explains
that it is not only a beacon of light but of love. She
realises
how to charge up the pod and as Chloe continues to draw the
picture of
the Earth she runs outside to where the torch is about to
pass by.
She
arrives and fights her way through the crowd of people but a
police
officer prevents her from getting closer. In Chloe s room
Trish
descends into despair as the wardrobe doors rattle and her
dead
husband prepares to rise again.
Outside
the torch passes and the pod glows. Rose throws the
stone-like
object into the air and it flies towards the flame,
landing in
the midst of the fire. In Chloe s room the possessed girl
stops
drawing the nearly completed picture and the voice of the
Isolus
announces it can go home. It says goodbye to Chloe and tells
her it
loves her before flying from her mouth and out through the
window,
leaving the restored Chloe to embrace her mother.
Rose
cheers at her victory and hugs Kel as all across the street the
work of
the Isolus is undone; children appear as if from nowhere but
Rose is
left alone, the Doctor unable to be seen. Maeve approaches
and thanks
Rose before walking off to join in the celebrations
leaving
the traveller to ponder why the Doctor has not returned.
Her
attention is turned however when a glowing red light emits from
Chloe s
bedroom; the picture of her father has fully formed. She
runs back
to the house where Chloe and her mother are descending the
stairs but
finds the creature has locked the family inside. They
struggle
to open it as Rose arrives and warns Chloe the creature
upstairs
is not real and she can get rid of him.
Chloe
protests that she can t and falls to the floor in panic. Trish
joins her
and tells her she is not alone, she will never be alone
again.
Rose calls for them to sing and together they nervously sing
the
Kookaburra song. As they do the red light atop the stairs fades
and the
voice calling for the young girl fades as the picture of her
father
fades.
Outside
Rose falls to the floor and as Kel approaches she asks who
will hold
the Doctor s hand now he is gone. She goes inside to see
the news
report explaining the people in the stadium have returned.
She
wonders why, out of eighty thousand people, the Doctor has not
returned
but her question is answered when the torchbearer, who is
nearly at
the stadium, begins to stumble. He falls to the floor and
amidst the
hubbub a strange man takes the fallen torch and runs for
the
stadium; it is the Doctor.
He enters
the stadium and continues up the grand staircase to the
giant
torch. He woops with joy then lights the Olympic flame, before
telling
the Isolus to go and join its siblings, they will be
waiting.
Sure enough the pod ascends from the fire and speeds
towards
the sky, leaving the planet Earth behind.
The Doctor
returns to the street some time later where Rose presents
him with a
small fairy cake, topped with the small edible
ball-bearings he was talking about when they arrived. He joyously
takes it
and eats it, savouring its taste and the gimmick of edible
ball-bearings. He embraces Rose and she admits she though she had
lost him
but he tells her that it could never happen on a night like
this, it
is a night for lost things being found.
As they
begin to walk away Rose tries to get the Doctor to tell her
more about
the upcoming Olympic games, and he tells her that Papua
New Guinea
surprise everyone in the shot-put. Rose asks if he is
serious
and he tells her to wait and see, as the fireworks of
celebration explode in the sky.
Rose
laments that things keep separating the two travellers but they
never ever
will succeed. The Doctor tells her to never say never
ever but
she insists they will always be all right together. The
Doctor
remains silent, simply looking to the sky and the display
above
them. She asks him if he feels the same but he simply replies
that there
is something in the air, something is coming. She asks
what it is
and he tells her that a storm is approaching
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor makes a reference back to the cat nurses in the
hospital of New Earth.
The Doctor initially tries to talk to the Isolus under the
Shadow Proclamation, which he also used to talk to the
Nestene Consciousness in Rose and which Rose used in her
elaborate bluff to save the Earth from the Sycorax in The
Christmas Invasion.
The Doctor s comment about being a father is similar to
other comments his ninth self made in Father s Day and The
Empty Child concerning how he once had a family but they
were killed in the Time War. This family presumably contains
Susan, his granddaughter whom he left on Earth in The Dalek
Invasion of Earth.
The final conversation between the Doctor and Rose
concerning events to come is an allusion to the next
episodes; Army of Ghosts and Doomsday.
[Back to Main
Page]
Army of Ghosts / Doomsday
Army of Ghosts /
Doomsday
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Russell T. Davis
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Camille
Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Shaun
Dingwall (Pete Tyler) [2], Andrew Hayden-Smith (Jake Simmonds)
[2],
Tracy-Ann Oberman (Yvonne Hartman), Raji James (Dr Rajesh
Singh), Freema Agyeman (Adeola) [1], Hadley Fraser (Gareth)
[1],
Oliver Mellor (Matt) [1], Barbara Windsor (Peggy
Mitchell) [1], Hajaz Akram (Indian Newsreader) [1], Anthony
Debaeck (French Newsreader) [1], Takako Akashi (Japanese
Newsreader) [1], Paul Fields (Weatherman) [1], David Warwick
(Police Commissioner) [1], Rachel Webster (Eileen) [1], Kyoko
Morita (Japanese Girl) [1], Maddi Cryer (Housewife) [1], Derek
Acorah (Himself) [1], Alistair Appleton (Himself) [1], Trisha
Goddard (Herself) [1], Paul Kasey (Cyber Leader), Nicholas
Briggs (Dalek / Cyberman Voices); Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas
Pegg, Stuart Crossman, Anthony Spargo, Dan Barratt, David
Hankinson (Dalek Operators); Catherine Tate (The Bride) [2].
The
Doctor and Rose are drawn to the Torchwood Tower, but a
mighty invasion force is ready to march.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Army of Ghosts July 1st, 2006 7h00pm - 7h45pm
Doomsday July 8th, 2006 7h00pm - 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Russell T Davies and Matt Savage for
Army of Ghosts is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
A
commentary track by Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and
Phil Collinson for Doomsday is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
TARDISODES
Army of
Ghosts
In a
newspaper office a young male reporter tells his editor he can
get her
the biggest story of the century, the story of Torchwood.
She tells
him to find it for her and soon he is on the streets
communicating with secret contacts who provide him with evidence to
back up
his suspicions of an organisation stretching back to the
time of
Queen Victoria.
He begins
to see what all of this has in common with the ghosts that
have been
appearing across the globe and no sooner has he finished
he is
handing in his story. He tells his editor to publish it
quickly or
he will be found out but t is too late.
His editor
has double crossed him and handed him over to Torchwood,
who
provide hew with a new nondescript front page and take the young
reported
away, who screams out that he knows the truth about the
ghosts
Doomsday
A
newsreader sitting at her desk in a TV studio delivers an
emergency
broadcast. The country is under attack and the government
have
declared it a state of emergency.
As she
talks clips of the Cybermen attacking army strongholds are
shown on
screen, the metal giants wiping out anyone and anything
that
stands in their way.
The
reporter hears from her earpiece that there is no new word from
the
government; the country is on its own. She unnervingly explains
that the
Cybermen are everywhere, before urging people to run if
they see
the metal monsters.
Suddenly
the building is under attack and as the desperate
newsreader
falls to the floor explosions rock the room, destroying
the set.
The reporter then tearfully calls out to her mum and dad
before
attempting to sign off, but it is too late.
WE ARE
THE MASTERS OF EARTH. CONQUER AND DESTROY. EXTERMINATE.
Planet
Earth. This is where I was born. And this is where I died.
For the
first nineteen years of my life nothing happened. Nothing at
all, not
ever. And then I met a man called the Doctor, a man who
could
change his face. And he took me away from home in his magical
machine.
He showed me the whole of time and space. I thought it
would
never end
How long
are you going to stay with me?
Forever
That s
what I thought. But then came the army of ghosts; then came
Torchwood
and the war. And that s when it all ended. This is the
story of
how I died
Army of
Ghosts
(drn:43'18")
The Doctor
and Rose arrive back on Earth and go to see Jackie,
bearing
gifts from their travels across the galaxy. Despite a warm
welcome
the travellers find their visit is sidelined when Jackie
reveals
another visitor is on his was; Rose s granddad Prentis.
The young
traveller finds this odd, as Prentis has been dead for
years. She
and the Doctor join Jackie in the kitchen where they are
shocked to
find a strange apparition forming, a jet-black humanoid
figure
surrounded by light. Jackie introduces it as Prentis but the
Doctor is
suspicious.
Soon they
are on the streets outside the estate where they find
dozens
of ghosts interacting silently with other human beings.
Jackie
explains the ghosts arrive in shifts and the Doctor is
concerned
that the apparitions worry nobody. Jackie then explains
the shift
is about to end and sure enough the figures begin to fade,
but not on
their own accord.
In an
unknown location two scientists pull at heavy levers, reducing
some kind
of power output and sure enough as they do so across the
city the
ghosts fade away. The Doctor, Rose and Jackie all return to
the flat
where a flick through the television channels shows that
the ghosts
are appearing all over the world, not just London.
Jackie
reveals that the ghost started appearing two months ago and
after the
initial panic it sank in that it was luck the dead were
returning.
Rose asks why she thinks the ghost in the kitchen was
Prentis
and she tells her it smells like he used to. Rose reveals
she cannot
smell it and her mother explains you have to want to see
the person
in order for the ghost before it becomes a reality.
The Doctor
realises that the whole incident is faked; it is a trick
of the
mind, a psychic link. The ghosts are using this will power to
pull
themselves into existence. Jackie asks what the ghosts really
are and
Rose agrees that they do at least look human. The Doctor
theorises
that the ghosts are pressing themselves into the surface
of the
planet, and a footprint doesn t look like a boot
Back in
the office with the levers the head of the operation, a
woman
called Yvonne Hartman is checking information with her various
staff,
before using her earpiece to contact a scientist called
Rajesh,
asking for information on his project. He reveals there have
been no
advancements, despite new machinery all possible readouts
have
shown the sphere does not exist. After he has finished
speaking
he approaches a giant spherical object hanging in mid air.
He reaches
out to touch it but recoils and steps away.
In the
office Yvonne orders that something be taken down to Rajesh
to keep
him occupied whist two of her employees; Gareth and Adeola
communicate with each other over their computers. They arrange to
meet and
after making their excuses they each make their way out of
the
office. They arrive in a part of the building under
construction; reduced to a maze of semi-transparent sheeting. Gareth
goes ahead
and steps inside but Adeola is more sceptical. After he
gives no
answer to her questions she follows him inside. She finds
no sign of
him but is confronted by a tall well-built figure
standing
on the other side of a piece of sheeting. She asks if it
has seen
her friend but it gives no reply. It pulls the sheeting
separating
them away and reveals itself; it is a Cyberman. Adeola
screams as
the metal monster approaches.
Back in
the TARDIS the Doctor has mounted a strange rucksack to his
back and
outside a triangle of beacons sits on a strip of grass,
which will
help him to trace the ghosts. Jackie asks if he does not
find the
dead returning to their loved ones beautiful but he claims
it is
horrific. He returns inside the ship and gives Rose
instructions of what to do when the next ghost shift starts. He
returns
outside to power up the machinery and Jackie joins them.
In the
office Gareth and Adeola return to their desk and apologise
to Yvonne
for their lateness. She tells them the next ghost shift is
about to
start and as the scientists pull the levers to increase the
power
levels, Adeola and Gareth, now wearing two beeping ear pods
instead of
the usual one, pluck the data surrounding the levers onto
their
computer screens.
As the
Doctor continues to power up the beacons Jackie observes Rose
leaning
over the TARDIS console. She comments how similar to the
Doctor she
has become and then asks what she will do when she is
dead and
gone. Rose tries to avoid the question but Jackie notes
that when
she is gone Rose will have no reason to go home, she will
keep on
changing and in forty or fifty years time she will be on
some alien
planet a million miles away. But she s
not Rose Tyler.
Not
anymore. She s not even human.
Soon the
ghost shift is starting and as the Doctor waits outside a
ghost
forms between the beacons, trapped by a ring of electricity.
Rose and
Jackie watch on the scanner as the Time Lord puts on a pair
of 3-D
glasses to watch the apparition and back in the office, an
alarm goes
off. Yvonne rushes to see what it is and another worker
called
Matt begins to trace the interference of the ghost shift. She
orders the
shift to be closed and the levers are set down, meaning
the ghost
the Doctor has trapped fades.
In the
office Yvonne and Matt trace the source of disturbance closer
and closer
to an exact reference and when they patch into a local
CCTV
network they find a solitary item standing near a playground; a
large blue
Police Box. Yvonne watches it with misty eye and realises
it is him.
Back in
the TARDIS the Doctor tells Rose that the ghosts have been
brought
into existence from one specific point and he can trace it.
He flicks
at the controls and soon they have taken off. In the
office
Yvonne realises what this means; he is coming. She contacts
Rajesh to
tell him and he in turn looks at the sphere, telling it
that now
they will have it under control.
The Doctor
rushes around the console room activating controls and
talking
excitedly to himself. He realises Rose is being more
reserved
and when he asks her why she reveals he has forgotten
something;
Jackie is still onboard. Sure enough when he looks around
he sees
her sitting on the service balcony mounted to the wall;
telling
him sternly that if they end up on Mars she is going to kill
him.
Deep
beneath the office building, down in the basement a patrol of
soldiers
ready themselves, guns aimed as the TARDIS hones into view.
Inside the
ship the Doctor, Rose and Jackie observe their actions on
the
scanner and the Time Lord realises that they have lost the
element of
surprise. Nevertheless her prepares to leave, warning the
others to
stay inside. Rose warns him that the soldiers have guns
but he
simply tells her that although they can shoot him dead the
moral high
ground is his.
He steps
outside alone and the soldiers cock their rifles. Yvonne
approaches
and they all applaud him. He looks on stunned and
introduces
himself. They applaud again and after he realises they
known him
she tells him none of them would be here without him. They
applaud
again and Yvonne asks where his companion is, their record
show he
always travels with a companion. He reaches into the TARDIS
and
without looking accidentally drags Jackie outside instead of
Rose.
Nevertheless he introduces her as Rose and tells them that only the
other week
she looked into the heart of the time vortex and aged
fifty-seven years. She protests but amidst other light-hearted put
downs she
remains silent and soon she and the Doctor are following
Yvonne and
the soldiers out of the basement. Rose watches them leave
once more
on the scanner and is left to her own thoughts.
As they
make their way around the building Yvonne tells the Doctor
that it
was only a matter of time before he found them. She welcomes
them to
the institution they are walking through; Torchwood. As she
pushes
aside doors the sight before them becomes massive, giant
machines
moving alien pieces of technology across a grand basement.
The Doctor
identifies various pieces of alien technology and Yvonne
reveals
that the institute utilise alien technology they either find
or take by
force; one such incident being the ray that killed the
Sycorax
spaceship on Christmas Day. The motto of torchwood is If
it s
alien, it s ours.
Yvonne
tells them that the technology is used for the good of the
British
Empire. Jackie tells her there is no Empire but she merely
tells her
there isn t one yet. She continues to show them different
alien
artefacts such as particle guns and magna clamps, devices
capable of
lifting tonnes of material with one hand.
The Doctor
asks what the ghosts have to do with Torchwood but Yvonne
tells him
that is to come. Suddenly, Jackie realises the TARDIS is
being
driven away on a lorry and as Yvonne reminds them of the
Torchwood
motto, the Doctor tells her they will never get inside.
The doors
of the ship open a crack and Rose peers out. The Doctor
nods at
her and she disappears back inside, where she retrieves the
psychic
paper from the Time Lord s jacket pocket.
Back in
the main office Adeola is now computer messaging Matt,
asking him
to come with her. She gets up and leaves, and after
glancing
at his screen he follows. Elsewhere, the Doctor asks why
after all
of the times he has visited Earth he has not heard of
Torchwood.
Yvonne tells him it is because he is the enemy and tells
him he is
listed in the Torchwood foundation charter as an enemy of
the crown.
The Time Lord remembers his encounter with Queen Victoria
and the
werewolf in Torchwood House and Yvonne confirms that it was
Victoria
who started the institute to protect England from alien
life, and
as the Doctor is the enemy he is also the prisoner.
Soon they
arrive at a new room, the room containing the sphere.
Yvonne
asks him to analyse it and after Jackie explains it gives her
a very bad
vibe the Doctor approaches it, again putting on his 3-D
glasses in
order to inspect it. Rajesh explains the sphere gives off
no form of
existence, no weight or mass. The Doctor explains that
the sphere
is a void ship, a vessel that exists outside of time and
space in
the void between dimensions. Some call it the void, the
Eternals
call it the howling but others call it hell. He explains
something
could live for an eternity inside and confirms something
is inside.
He
declares that it must be sent back to hell then asks how it came
to Earth.
Yvonne tells him it came into this world and the ghosts
followed.
The Doctor asks her to show him and they depart, on their
way to the
main office.
Adeola
leads Matt to the network of sheeting and tells him to go
inside.
Reluctantly he does so, into a pool of red light and as he
disappears
from sight the sound of whirring drills and his screams
ring out.
In the
basement Rose emerges from the TARDIS and takes a lab coat.
Putting it
on she begins to scout around, finally seeing one of the
other
lab-coated scientists and with slight confusion, deciding to
follow
him.
Adeola
returns to the main office where Yvonne shows the Doctor a
large
blank wall at one end, a hole in the world. Torchwood Tower
was built
to house the breech and Jackie realises the tower is
actually
Canary Warf. The Doctor starts cockily stating how they
have been
making the hole in the universe bigger but Yvonne claims
that the
energy it emits could power the entire country. She begins
to make
preparations for the next ghost shift but the Doctor warns
her to
stop it.
She
declines so he shows her using a pane of glass and the sonic
screwdriver how creating a hole in the fabric of space and time
creates
fracturing fault lines, which the ghosts are using to walk
through
via the void. As the glass splinters he explains that in the
end, with
too many ghosts, it will smash and sure enough the glass,
the
universe, collapses into pieces. Yvonne ignores him and makes
preparations, claiming the levers can close the breech as well as
open it.
The Doctor again protests then mockingly gives up. He pulls
up a chair
and sits and watches as the countdown to the shift starts
He stares
at Yvonne and she realises he is right. She stops the
shift and
orders the glass be cleaned up. All the while, Adeola,
Matt and
Gareth are at their work, programming the levers
Rose is
still following the scientist through the basement levels of
the tower
and eventually comes to the door of the sphere room. She
goes
inside and shows her psychic paper to Rajesh, not knowing that
all
Torchwood employees have a low level of psychic ability, he can
see that
the paper is blank. As she looks on the other scientist
turns and
shows his face, it is Mickey. Rajesh orders the room be
sealed and
orders Samuel, alias Mickey to check the door seals.
In the
office the Doctor theorises that the ghosts must have built
the sphere
as Yvonne is told that Rose has been captured. He is
forced to
tell her who Jackie really is then asks her not to add the
incident
to his records. Yvonne however has bigger problems; the
ghost
shift has been activated and as Adeola, Gareth and Matt type
blindly at
their computers the shift is activated. The levers slowly
rise and
the Doctor realises Adeola is in control, overriding the
system. He
looks up and sees that the blank wall is beginning to
glow.
In the
sphere room Rajesh s communicator has gone down but as he
speaks the
room is rocked, pivoted around the sphere, it is active.
In the
office the Doctor recognises the earpieces controlling
Adeola,
Gareth and Matt then unwontedly zaps Adeola with the sonic
screwdriver. She screams and collapses and the others do the same.
Jackie
accuses him of killing them but he claims they were dead
already.
Yvonne tries to remove one of Adeola s earpieces and with
it comes
an entrail of tissue; it is latched onto her brain.
The Doctor
monitors the increasing power behind the ghost shift and
tries to
trace the source of the hijack. In the sphere room the
sphere
starts to vibrate and begins to register signs of mass and
true
existence. As a result the doors are automatically locked, they
cannot get
out. Mickey meanwhile tells Rose they have beaten them
before and
will again.
Down below
the Doctor and Yvonne, along with some soldiers arrive at
the maze
of sheeting and as in the office Jackie is left to watch
the wall
glow and the levers move on their own free will the Time
Lord
realises the ear pod technology signals the collision of two
worlds,
one he has seen before. Suddenly they are surrounded by
giant
metallic forms, which cut through the sheeting and step
forward;
the advance guard, the Cybermen.
In the
sphere room Mickey explains that in the parallel world he was
left to
fight in, they had been fighting the Cybermen until they
disappeared into this world. They followed and he is here to destroy
what is
inside the sphere, something he believes might be some form
of leader
of the Cybermen.
In the
office the Cybermen bring the Doctor and Jackie back inside
and
destroy the other scientists trying to cancel the ghost shift.
They
maximise the power input and across the world, including in the
Torchwood
tower, hundreds of ghosts march through the void.
In the
sphere room the sphere begins to separate into sections and
separate,
opening to reveal what is inside.
In the
office Jackie asks what the Cybermen has to do with the
ghosts and
the Doctor reminds her of what he said about a footprint
not
looking like a boot; the ghosts are not spirits, they are an
army of
Cybermen. Sure enough the jet-black humanoid figures morph
into
Cybermen, in every location across the world and soon panic is
sweeping
the nation. The metal monsters stamp into peoples homes and
places of
work. Yvonne realises it is an invasion but the Doctor
tells her
it is too late for that, it is a victory.
In the
sphere room, Mickey pulls a gun from under the table and
prepares
to kill what is inside, as the sphere opens further and
further.
Back in
the office the Doctor realises the sphere is not of Cyberman
design,
and sure enough the Cyber Leader tells him it was not
theirs.
The sphere broke through between dimensions, but the
Cybermen
merely followed it.
In the
sphere the inhabitants of the void ship, the sphere begin to
glide up
out of the empty shell. Mickey realises they are not
Cybermen,
but Rose has seen them before; they are the creatures she
has feared
ever since she first set eyes on one lowly creature deep
beneath
the Arizona Desert. The creatures within the sphere are her
and the
Doctor s worst nightmare; they are Daleks
Doomsday
(drn:46'24")
My name
is Rose Tyler, and this is the story of Torchwood, the last
story I ll
ever tell. This is the story of how I died.
As the
Daleks, led by the Black Dalek, advance to kill Rose, Mickey
and Rajesh
the young time traveller confuses them by showing that
she, a
mere human is aware of the Daleks and the Time War. She tells
them they
must keep them alive to find out why but the creatures are
more
concerned with awakening a device called the Genesis Ark, a
domed
object that has followed them out of the sphere.
Back in
the office the Doctor admits he has no idea what has
happened
to Rose as the Cyber Leader makes a speech to the entire
world,
telling them that the Cybermen have taken over and that they
will
upgrade the planet. As Cybermen stand over families in their
homes the
Cyber Leader tells them they will delete race and sex, all
indifferences will be taken away as the entire population is
converted.
As
Cybermen march across the city, unperturbed by army gunfire only
defeated
by heavy artillery, the Doctor and the others look on from
the
Torchwood tower, explaining to the Cyber Leader that the humans
will never
surrender, they are in every home, standing over their
own
children, of course they will fight.
In the
sphere room the Daleks demand to know the least important of
the three
humans before them and reluctantly Rajesh offers himself.
They tell
him they need to find out more about recent Earth history
and will
extract his brainwaves. They glide forward and with their
sensor
sticks crush his head.
The
Cybermen detect the alien machinery active in the sphere room
and send
two guards to investigate. The Daleks themselves release
the
burnt-out Rajesh and realise another race has attempted to
invade
Earth. One Dalek is sent to investigate and as both sides
open
visual links via the scouts they have sent out and the two
metallic
creatures approach each other they each discover their
adversaries
Both sides
demand the other identify themselves but both refuse. The
Daleks
eventually give away their name and soon realise the other
creatures
are Cybermen. The Doctor meanwhile uses Jackie s phone to
call Rose,
realising she is still alive.
He listens
to the Daleks conversation as they identify the Genesis
Ark and
after putting on his 3-D glasses watches as the Cybermen
propose an
alliance. The Daleks refuse and open fire, blasting the
two
Cybermen scouts to the floor.
The Cyber
Leader consults the Black Dalek and states that war has
been
declared. The Dalek insists that it is pest control and after
the two
sides compare army numbers (five million Cybermen to four
Daleks)
the communication barriers are put up. The Daleks rewind the
video and
see a figure standing behind the Cyber Leader they
recognise.
They identify him as an enemy and when Rose tells them he
is the
Doctor she notes that they are starting to get scared.
In the
office Yvonne and Jackie are dragged away for upgrading and
in the
sphere room the Daleks concentrate on opening the Genesis
Ark.
Mickey ponders why he and Rose have been kept alive but Rose
has a
theory, the Daleks might need her.
Down in
the basement Jackie and Yvonne await upgrading. Yvonne
explains
the process of upgrading and as she finishes is led away,
sobbing
that she has done her duty for queen and country, before her
screams
pierce the air.
Back in
the office, after the Cyber Leader lectures the Doctor on
the
weakness of emotions, in the middle of the room a group of
soldiers
appear and destroy the Cybermen in the surrounding area.
The leader
says hello to the Doctor and reveals himself to be Jake,
from the
other dimension.
Elsewhere,
Jackie runs away from being upgraded when the Cybermen
neglect
her after realising the Cyber Leader has been destroyed. She
runs for
her life and starts to flee towards a staircase.
The Doctor
splutters that travel between dimensions is impossible
but Jake
reveals he and his soldiers wear special necklaces they
liberated
from their own version of Torchwood. He places one round
the Doctor
s neck and against his wishes activates the devices,
landing
them in the other dimension s torchwood, a dilapidated room
covered in
debris. The Time Lord tries to explain he must get back
but he is
interrupted by Pete Tyler, who enters and tells him that
he will
have to listen for once.
In the
sphere room the Daleks surround the Genesis ark and Rose
remembers
the first time she met a Dalek, when her DNA rejuvenated
it due to
the background radiation gained by travelling in time
which the
Daleks can feed off of. She and Mickey have travelled in
time,
their DNA will do. The Daleks then reveal to them that the Ark
is of Time
Lord design, the last surviving relic of their world. It
contains
the future.
In the
parallel dimension Pete explains that after the Doctor left
them the
Cybermen, having been sealed in their factories, managed to
infiltrate
Torchwood and disappear into the other dimension. He goes
on to tell
him that Mickey is already there, as an excuse to find
Rose.
After the Doctor explains about what a good father and husband
Pete could
be to Rose and Jackie in his dimension he explains that
the freak
weather conditions in the parallel dimension are caused
because of
the inter-dimensional travel, it is punching holes in the
universe.
Soon both worlds will fall into the void.
Pete tells
the Doctor that the breech must be sealed; despite the
fact the
Cybermen will be left in the other dimension. The Doctor
remembers
the Pete Tyler form his own world and what a good match
this one
would make with Jackie before deciding that Pete s
confidence
in him to destroy the Daleks and the Cybermen as well as
seal the
breech is the spur he needs. Soon they arrive back in the
Doctor s
dimension and the Doctor phones Jackie. She tells him where
she is and
he tells her to stay low before hanging up and then sets
about
modifying Jake s gun to work on the Dalek armour. Some time
later he
is in a corridor waving a white piece of paper at two
patrolling
Cybermen, surrendering to them.
In the
sphere room the Genesis Ark is at the final stage of
awakening.
Only the handprint is needed to open it. After the Daleks
threaten
to kill Mickey, Rose is forced to step forward but then
decides to
confront them. She tells them of the Emperor, how he
survived
the Time War but died at her hands, when she poured the
Time
Vortex into his head.
The Black
Dalek prepares to exterminate her but the Doctor, wearing
his 3-D
glasses, arrives and stops him. He greets Mickey and his
companion
before realising that the four Daleks are the Cult of
Skaro, who
were left during the war to devise new ways of killing.
Mickey
explains that the Genesis Ark is of Time Lord design but the
Doctor
admits he has never seen it before, both sides had secrets.
The Daleks
explain the Time Lord science will restore Dalek
supremacy
and Rose explains it needs the touch of a time traveller
to awaken
it. The Doctor comments that that is the one thing Daleks
cannot do;
touch. Sealed inside their casings they are completely
alone, no
wonder they scream.
The Daleks
order him to open the Ark but he refuses and instead
takes out
his Sonic Screwdriver, using it to blast open a door and
allow the
Cybermen and the fighters from the other dimension inside,
blasting
the Daleks and confusing them. Pete and Jake help the
others out
into the corridor but Mickey trips and steadies himself
by placing
his hand on the Ark. He joins the others and the doctor
seals the
door. Soon the battle is over, the Cybermen have been
exterminated and the Genesis Ark is primed. The head Dalek explains
that the
Ark needs a space of thirty square miles and together they
exit the
room.
As the
Doctor and company flee Jackie, running down a corridor, is
confronted
by two Cybermen. Before they can act they are blasted
apart by
the newly arrived Pete. Jackie is astounded by his presence
but soon
after he explains where he comes from and he tells her to
be proud
of bringing up Rose, they are embracing one another.
Across
Torchwood Tower the Daleks and the Genesis Ark are blasting
their way
to freedom, unstoppable against the Cybermen and the
Torchwood
soldiers. The Cyber Leader orders all Cybermen to return
to the
Torchwood tower and across London troops of them begin their
marching.
Amidst the
battle the Doctor, wearing his 3-D glasses, creeps into
the store
room and steals tow large clamp devices before retreating
with the
others, leaving the Daleks to override the sliding roof and
elevate
outside, as the Doctor ponders what the Genesis Ark really
is. He
orders the others to return to the office and when they
arrive
they finally see what is inside. The Ark opens and inside
there
advances an army of Daleks. Like a TARDIS it is bigger on the
inside, a
prison ship containing a million Daleks all flying out
across the
city.
Soon the
troops of Cybermen are under attack and the Daleks are
flying
around the streets, exterminating both Cybermen and humans
alike, led
by the Black Dalek. Inside the office Pete hands Jackie
one of the
teleport necklaces and tells her she is coming with him.
The Doctor
prepares to seal the breech and finally reveals that his
3-D
glasses enable him to see who has travelled via the void by
illustrating the background radiation surrounding them, including
himself
and Rose but not Jackie. The Daleks and Cybermen have
travelled
through the void and thus if he opens the void all of the
matter
that has travelled inside will be sucked back inside.
Rose
realises that as she has been through the void she will be
sucked in
with the others but the Doctor explains that that is why
she must
go with Pete and the others to his own world before the
breech is
sealed forever. He tells that the clamps he picked up will
fix to the
wall and he will hold onto them, keeping him safe. He
sets about
programming them and as Rose decides she must stay with
the
Doctor, bidding farewell to Jackie, he places a necklace over
her head.
Pete activates them all and she fades away to the other
dimension.
However on
the other side she refuses to be left behind again and
manages to
activate the necklace, sending herself back. Jackie tries
to follow
but Pete stops her and on the other side Rose refuses to
go, even
if it means never seeing her own mother again. The Doctor
reluctantly sets her a task as Jackie is left to sob to herself.
The
Cybermen are on their way back to the void entrance, having
decided to
retreat back to their own world but are stopped by the
Cyberman
version of Yvonne, who refuses to let them pass. Telling
them she
did her duty for queen and country she destroys them.
Soon the
levers are operated and as the Doctor and Rose fix the
clamps to
the wall and pull the void levers the process tarts. They
hold onto
the clamps as every Cyberman and Dalek is sucked off of
the face
of the Earth and into the void. The Black Dalek however
activates
an emergency temporal shift and teleports away, leaving
the
Genesis Ark to follow the other Daleks.
However
one of the levers begins to shut down, closing the void and
Rose is
forced to grab onto it, pushing it back to the online
position.
The suction starts again but despite the Doctor s pleas to
hold on
Rose s grip starts to slacken. He fingers slip and she
hurtles
towards the void. The Doctor screams out to her but Pete
arrives in
the nick of time and takes her back to his own dimension.
The Doctor
is left alone as the last of the Daleks are sucked into
the void
and it closes itself.
On the
other side Rose pounds on the wall as Pete inspects one of
the
teleport necklaces, they cease to function, the Doctor has
succeeded.
In different dimensions the Doctor and Rose are left to
clutch the
wall where the void was opened, the Doctor stone-faced
and Rose
sobbing her heart out, separated from him forever.
Eventually
the Doctor turns and walks away and Rose does the same.
Jackie,
Pete and Mickey all await her and reluctantly she goes
towards
them.
Last
night I had a dream. I heard a voice and it was calling my
name. I
told mum and dad and Mickey. Anyone else would think I was
mad but
not those three. They believed it, because they ve met the
Doctor so
they listened to the dream. And that night we packed up,
got into
dad s old jeep and off we went, just like the dream said.
We
followed the voice across the water, kept on driving hundreds and
hundreds
of miles cos he s calling. Here I am at
last. And this is
the story
of how I died.
On a
winded deserted beach, Rose stands looking for something.
Slowly the
Doctor fades into view and explains he is inside the
TARDIS,
communicating through the very last crack in the universe.
He
explains that he is only an image and she can t touch him, he
can t even
come through properly because of the fractures it will
cause.
Rose
explains they are in Norway, and the beach s name is Bad Wolf
Bay. With
the two minutes they have left she is lost for words until
she
explains that a baby is on its way, Jackie is pregnant. She
tells him
she is working for Torchwood; she knows a thing or two
about
aliens.
The Doctor
tells her that she is listed as dead in their world, yet
still she
has an ordinary life day after day, the one adventure
he ll
never have. Tearfully she asks him if she can ever see him
again but
he admits that she can t. He explains he ll go off on his
old life,
travelling the stars.
Fighting
back tears she tells him she loves him and he tells her she
is right
to. He realises that if he ll never have another chance to
say
it: Rose Tyler
But it is
too late. His images fades away and he is left in the
TARDIS,
tears running down his cheeks and his mouth failing to utter
the last
words he ever wanted to say to her. Rose is left on the
beach to
cry until Jackie, who stands with the others in the
background
runs forwards and hugs her.
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor begins the take off procedure but there
is a
surprise in store for him. On the gangway stands a woman in
full
bridal dress. She turns and looks at him and as he stutters in
confusion
and disbelief she asks him:
Who are
you? Where am I? What the hell is this place?
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Cybermen first appear in the original series in Tenth
Planet, and in the new series in Rise of the Cybermen. While
Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel suggested that the
original Cybermen still exist in our universe, the Cybermen
in
this story are those from the alternate universe of Rise
of
the Cybermen.
The Daleks first appear in the original series in The
Daleks, and in the new series in Dalek. In their brief
appearance in Army of Ghosts, it was unclear whether these
Daleks are survivors of the oft-mentioned Time War between
the Time Lords and the Daleks, or are themselves from an
alternate universe (not necessarily the same one as the
Cybermen). The Void Ship makes either equally possible.
However, in Doomsday the Doctor and the Black Dalek both
make it clear that the four Daleks are survivors of the Time
War.
The preview shown at the end of Fear Her contained scenes
for the entire two-parter rather than just Army of Ghosts.
One of these scenes contained an early give-away of the
Dalek's involvement, in the form of a a person being shot
with an energy weapon and their skeleton being revealed as
they're fried, the effect of a Dalek weapon since
Rememberance of the Daleks.
Although mentioned in Bad Wolf as the correct answer to one
of
the Anne Droid's questions, Torchwood is first referred
to
in The Christmas Invasion, and created as a result of the
Doctor's meeting with Queen Victoria in Tooth and Claw.
Since then, it's been referred to in School Reunion
(blocking Mickey's data access), Rise of the Cybermen (an
alternate universe version, mentioned twice in background
conversations), The Idiot's Lantern (the police are afraid
of
their involvement), The Satan Pit (the expedition
represents the Torchwood Archive), Love & Monsters (the
source of much of Victor Kennedy's information about the
Doctor) and Fear Her (in the background). The Doctor is
explicitly mentioned in the Torchood Royal Charter. When the
Doctor notes that he's never heard of them in all his time
on
Earth, Yvonne Hartman makes it clear that this was
deliberate -- he is the enemy, so they've kept their
existence as secret from him as they could. It's somewhat
odd that, in all his years with UNIT, he never butted heads
with them over some piece of alien technology, but not
entirely impossible. The Doctor can be notoriously
unobservant, and Torchwood were trying hard not to be
noticed by him.
Despite classifying him blithely as "the enemy" and making
it
clear that he is a prisoner, Yvonne Hartman clearly hopes
to
use the Doctor in a cooperative capacity similar to that
which UNIT used him. She seems to be counting on the
Doctor's natural curiousity and meddlesome nature to
overcome any resentment at being a prisoner, and in fact, he
does largely cooperate (and attempt to bully) as if he were
not under any duress.
The concept of a Cyber Leader distinct from other troops
dates to Revenge of the Cybermen and became a staple from
that point forward. Although credited in Rise of the
Cybermen / Age of Steel (recorded in the same block), the
Cyber Leader actually makes his first New Series appearance
here, with the traditional black handles on his helmet. No
Cyber Controller is in evidence in Army of Ghosts.
The small Dalek task force appears to be led by a Black
Dalek. A Black Dalek, sometimes referred to as Dalek
Supreme, appears first in The Dalek Invasion of Earth and is
seen leading Dalek forces whenver a Dalek Emperor or Davros
aren't from that point forward. In Rememerance of the
Daleks, for example, the Imperial forces were led by Davros,
but the Renegade faction was led by a Black Dalek.
The Cybermen cutting through plastic to emerge is
reminiscent of the emergence of the Cybermen from
hibernation in Tomb of the Cybermen.
The use of Bluetooth earpieces as a control mechanism for
uncoverted human agents is reminiscent of the use of the
EarPods in Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel, although
those were not wired directly into the brain. The use of
hardwired control implants suggests that the alternate
universe Cybermen are starting to utilize partial
conversions, as the Mondasian / Telosian Cybermen have since
Tomb of the Cybermen.
The Cybermen now have energy weapons embedded in or mounted
on
their ams. This seems inconsistent with the level of
technology seen in Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel, and
may suggest that the Cybermen had access to the
alternate-universe Torchwood files.
In
describing how different races refer to the Void, the
Doctor refers to the Eternals, seen in Enlightenment. The
Doctor fails to mention that the TARDIS has itself been in
the Void at least twice (The Mind Robber and Logopolis, both
of
which have the TARDIS taken out of time and space).
The Doctor's manipulation of Yvonne Hartman (when he stops
trying actively to convince her to stop the Ghost Shift) is
reminisicent of his manipulation of the scientists in Tomb
of
the Cybermen, although with different ends in mind. In
both cases, however, the Doctor has some idea of what is
going to happen next and deliberately chooses to be coy and
manipulative rather than just revealing what he knows (or
suspects) is going on.
The Cybermen and the Daleks previous appeared in the same
story together in The Five Doctors, but never interacted. A
story involving both races was planned in 1967, but scrapped
when Terry Nation would not give permission for the Daleks
to
be used.
The sarcophagous next to the TARDIS in the Torchwood
warehouse is an intentional reference to Pyramids of Mars.
Yvonne Hartman's name is an apparent homage to the character
of
Yvonne Hartley from Spare Parts, the Big Finish story
that Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel was inspired by
(but not based on).
The Doctors plan to infiltrate Lumic's processing plant,
above, between, below, is reminiscint of his plan to gain
entrance to Rassilons tower in The Five Doctors.
Rose refers to the Gelth when talking of the ghosts, the
creatures she and the Doctor encountered in The Unquiet
Dead.
The Cybermen and their dimension last appeared in Rise of
the Cybermen / The Age of Steel.
The Daleks were last seen in Bad Wolf / The Parting of the
Ways although a lone Dalek was encountered by the tenth
Doctor and Rose in I Am A Dalek.
The idea of a Dalek with a new colour scheme from the rest
of
the troops relates back to the earlier stories, such as
the stories Day of the Daleks and Planet of the Daleks.
The names of the Daleks from the Cult of Skaro are Thay,
Sec, Jast and Caan.
Mickey, Jake and Pete were last seen in Rise of the Cybermen
/
The Age of Steel.
Jackie remembers Pete s death, as was detailed in Father s
Day.
Rose remembers the last time the Doctor tried to send her to
safety, away from him in The Parting of the Ways. She also
recalls the events of her becoming the bad wolf, when she
channelled the power of the time vortex to destroy the
Daleks.
The Daleks in the Void Ship have been in hiding since the
Time War's end, and thus are as surprised to see the Doctor
as
he is to see them. They ask him, "How did you survive the
Time War?", word-for-word mimicing his own question to the
Daleks in The Parting of the Ways
The Doctor drops hints of his own involvement in the Time
War, mentioning that he fought on the front lines, and was
present at the "fall of Arcadia". The statement creates more
questions than it answers, though, since the Doctor is not a
soldier, and we don't know what significance Arcadia might
have. On the other hand, it's reminiscent of his statement
that he was with the Filipinio army at the battle of
Reykjavik in the 51st Century in The Talons of Weng-Chiang.
And of course, where the Daleks are concerned, the Doctor
has been willing to make an exception to his general
pacifism since their very first appearance in The Daleks.
While it's somewhat understandable due to time constraints,
it's a little odd that UNIT is not clearly in evidence or
explicitly mentioned during scenes involving fighting.
The Daleks recognize the alternate-universe Cybermen as
"resembling" the Mondasian/Telosian Cybermen. The dialogue
suggests that they also recognise that these Cybermen are
different.
Pete Tyler's universe includes Torchwood, but it's never
really clear if there's an alternate Doctor in that
universe, or if perhaps the point of divergence between the
two universes came after the Doctor's adventure in Tooth and
Claw that leads to Torchwood's formation. Without some
explanation of this sort, it's not entirely clear why
Torchwood would exist, since it stems directly from the
Doctor's interactions with Queen Victoria. (Rewatching
Father's Day, it's momentarily tempting to think that the
alternate universe was created by Rose saving Pete, but Pete
and Jackie never had Rose at all in that universe, and Rose
was a baby when "her" Pete Tyler died.)
Pete Tyler says to the Doctor that he knows who he (the
Doctor) is, now. It's not clear if this is because Mickey
has told him everything he knows (which is really quite a
lot), or if Pete has read the alternate universe's Torchwood
files.
The Void Ship's Daleks appear to be from "our" universe
(based on their references to the Time War and recognition
of
the Doctor), but the Cybermen followed the Void Ship from
their universe to ours. This suggests that the Void Ship has
been ping-ponging around or otherwise traversing universes,
rather than simply waiting in the Void to emerge, and either
way it's implied that the crack the TARDIS fell through in
Rise of the Cybermen was caused by the Void Ship.
In
addition to the Black Dalek successfully escaping
(presumably his shell is essentially a self-contained time
capsule), we do not see the fate of the Cyber-converted
Yvonne Hartman.
The new President of Great Britain in Pete's universe is
Harriet Jones, and her Presidency is being hailed as a
golden age. In "our" universe, she was first seen as MP for
Flydale North in Aliens of London / World War Three, at the
end of which she begins to take charge in the chaos, and the
Doctor remembers that she goes on to become a three-term
Prime Minister responsible for Britain's Golden Age. In The
Christmas Invasion she is Prime Minister, but her actions
toward the end lead the Doctor to attempt to topple her
government with just six words, suggesting to her aid,
"Don't you think she looks tired?". In Love & Monsters,
Victor Kennedy is seen reading a newspaper with headlines
suggesting her government is still embattled, but nothing on
screen has suggested it's actually fallen.
Bad Wolf Bay, the beach the Doctor and Rose say their
goodbyes from, relates back to the running theme of series
one, where the words bad
wolf appeared in the majority of
places the ninth Doctor and Rose landed, the reason for
which was given in The Parting of the Ways.
According to the Torchwood website, most of the humans who
were cyber-converted were pulled into the void along with
the original Cybermen. A few had their cyber-components
wrenched from them but those whose components were made in
this universe were left behind. Most of these people died
shortly afterwards but one appears in the Torchwood episode
Cyberwoman.
The series will return at Christmas with an episode called
The Runaway Bride.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Runaway Bride
The Runaway
Bride
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Sarah Parish (Empress), Don Gilet (Lance Bennett), Howard
Attfield (Geoff Noble), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Trevor
Georges (Vicar), Glen Wilson (Taxi Driver), Krystal Archer
(Nerys), Rhodri Meilir (Rhodri), Zafirah Boateng (Little
Girl), Paul Kasey (Robot Santa).
The
Doctor finds himself with a new companion, Donna - but
she's late for her wedding! As the Tardis races to get to the
church on time, the mysterious Empress joins the chase, and it
becomes clear that Donna is the key to an ancient alien plan
to
destroy the Earth.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Runaway Bride
December 25th, 2006 7h00pm
- 8h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant and Julie Gardner is
available on the official Doctor Who website.
On the
planet Earth in a church somewhere in London, a nervous bride
begins to
make her way up the aisle. Under the glare of a room full
of people
she progresses, but all is not well. Suddenly she begins
to
illuminate with a golden glow and as an alien whine rings out she
screams.
Her body reduces to a glowing cloud of gas, flying up
through
the roof and then out into space, towards a small blue box
floating
beside a burning star. She reforms her human shape inside
the craft,
and the occupant of the ship splutters in shock, as she
demands to
be told who he is, where she is and into what she has
just
materialised.
The
Runaway Bride
(drn:60'12")
The Doctor
splutters that it is physically impossible for the woman
to have
made her way inside and reveals to her that she is inside
the
TARDIS. Aggressively she moans that he is making this up before
theorising
that her friend Nerys must have hired him to kidnap her.
As he
pokes at the controls of the ship she explains that she was
half way
up the aisle when she was taken and threatens to sue him as
soon as
she is married.
She then
runs to the doors across the gangway and before the Doctor
can warn
her she thrusts them open, stunning herself at the glowing
orb of
light before her. The Doctor explains that she is in outer
space in a
ship called the TARDIS, protecting her from the vacuum
outside
via a force field. He introduces himself and she reveals
that she
is called Donna Noble. She soon realises that he is an
alien
before complaining of a draft being let in by the open doors.
He closes
them and returns to the console, still claiming that her
appearance
within the ship is impossible. He begins to examine her
and
theorises what may be wrong, before she slaps him and tells him
to get her
to the church.
Becoming
defensive he claims he does not want her with him anyway,
and sets
the controls for the exact location the wedding, in
Chiswick.
Donna then spots a discarded blouse draped over a handrail
nearby,
and takes it as evidence of other girls the Doctor has
taken. The
Time Lord sees the blouse and claims it belonged to one
of his
friends, whom he has lost. He continues to programme the
controls
and takes the top back.
In the
church disarray runs rampant. Donna s mother calls
frantically on the phone for people to help find her, and then asks
the groom
Lance if she has been seen. He admits she is missing and
after the
mother chides her daughter for showing off she worries
that she
could be dead.
The TARDIS
has landed and as Donna walks outside she is astounded to
find that
they are not at the church. The Doctor wonders what is
wrong with
the ship and asks Donna if she has knowledge of anything
that may
have caused her apparition in his ship. She does not
respond
and is instead fascinated by the fact that the ship appears
to be
bigger on the inside than the outside. Examining both
dimensions
she begins to run, and tells the Doctor to leave her
alone. She
examines her watch and explains they are late. The Doctor
asks if
she has a phone but angrily and sarcastically she notes that
her
wedding dress has no pockets. He wishes her futures husband good
luck
before listening to her vow that no Martian is going to ruin
her big
day. The Doctor tries to explain that he is not from Mars
before
joining her in trying to hail a taxi. After realising that
passers by
are supposing she is either in fancy dress, drunk or in
drag,
Donna sighs, but the Doctor solves the situation by whistling
inhumanely
loudly. A taxi stops and they get inside, but are soon
thrown out
again when they realise they have no money.
Back on
the pavement the Doctor realises that it is Christmas and as
Donna
heads for a phone box the Doctor tries to get hold of some
money.
Arriving at a cash point he waits frantically for his turn.
Donna
reaches her mother but the battery cuts out and Lance has no
signal.
Donna leaves her mother a message, but cannot explain where
she is,
citing that the only certainty is that she is on Earth. The
Doctor
meanwhile uses the sonic screwdriver to retrieve some money,
and as
Donna urges a passer-by to lend her some money he notices a
series of
sinister figures looming nearby; a group of masked Santa s
playing
Christmas carols on brass instruments.
Donna
climbs inside the cab and claims that she will see the Doctor
in court.
The Time Lord realises that the cab is being driven by one
of the
Santa s, and another on the street is raising it s musical
instrument
to try and fire the weapon concealed inside at him.
Creating a
distraction, the Doctor uses the Sonic Screwdriver to
make the
cash machine fire out money and as the passers by try and
grab the
bank notes the Doctor makes his escape.
In the cab
Donna asks the driver to hurry and then realises that the
driver has
missed the turning, they are going the wrong way. The
Doctor
meanwhile returns to the TARDIS and begins to activate the
controls
and as Donna cries for the cab driver to turn the taxi
around,
she reaches forward to pull his hood, revealing a robotic
face
behind the mask. She tries to open the taxi doors but they are
locked, as
are the windows and soon she is screaming for help. The
Doctor
frantically pilots his ship and as the console whines out
TARDIS
makes its entry onto the motorway, hovering alongside the
taxi as it
speeds along the tarmac.
He unlocks
the doors with the Sonic Screwdriver and then urges her
to jump,
but the taxi speeds away. Pulling on a length of string he
has
attached to the controls he begins to pilot the ship in order to
catch up,
the console sending out showers of sparks in protest. Soon
he is
confronting the bride again and after much persuading, from
the Doctor
and other passengers in passing cars, the Doctor explains
that for
whatever reason the robot needs her, and it will not be
good. She
opens up the door and nervously hovers inches above the
road
surface. The Doctor tells her to trust him and she asks if that
is what he
said to his lost friend. Sorrowfully he admits that she
did trust
him and moments later Donna leaps into his arms.
Some time
later the TARDIS sits on a rooftop, the Doctor cooling the
ship down
with a fire extinguisher. Donna admits that they have
missed the
wedding, before wishing that they had a time machine so
that they
could go back and make things right. The Doctor explains
that even
if they did he couldn t cross someone s own personal
timeline
apparently. Donna strolls off and he removes his coat,
placing it
over her shoulders to keep warm. They sit together on the
rooftop
and he gives her a ring, explaining that it is a biodamper;
it will
keep her hidden from the creatures that are after her.
The Doctor
begins to explain that the robotic Santa s are
scavengers, using costumes to blend into surroundings. He claims to
have met
them the Christmas before and following Donna s bemusement
recounts
the spaceship hovering over London on Christmas day, when
Donna had
a hangover. He remembers spending Christmas on the Powell
Estate,
but those he spent it with are all gone. Donna asks who his
friend was
but he instead wonders what the robot mercenaries want
with Donna
and how she got into the TARDIS. He begins to examine her
with the
Sonic Screwdriver and finds nothing special, so asks her
about her
job.
She
explains that she works as a secretary at a firm called H R
Clemens,
and it was then, six months ago that she met Lance. She
explains
that he insisted they get married and nagged her into
submission, but in reality it is shown to be the other way round.
After
explaining that the company works in identification
procedures, the Doctor ponders about the importance of keys, before
his
would-be companion admits that it is time to face the
consequences of her disappearance, and the Doctor can do the
explaining, the guests must be heartbroken.
At the
reception venue everyone is dancing to upbeat songs and as
Donna
enters with the Doctor all goes silent. Furious at her being
left out
she confronts Lance and the Doctor quickly introduces
himself,
as Donna s mother appears, asking what happened. Soon
everyone
is talking at her at once and she begins to sob, causing a
wave of
sympathetic cries and applause. However as she hugs Lance
she
sneakily turns her face to the Doctor and winks.
Some time
later the music resumes and Donna begins to enjoy herself,
leaving
the Doctor at the bar, examining a mobile phone. Zapping it
with the
Sonic Screwdriver he finds information held on H R Clemens,
and finds
that its soul proprietor is Torchwood. He puts down the
phone and
as he looks on at the dancing couples he is reminded of
Rose, and
his eyes begin to well up. Soon however he is busy again,
asking the
cameraman of the wedding to replay the video of the
ceremony.
As he watches he sees Donna glow with golden energy,
recognising it as a cloud of Huon Energy, something that has not
been
around for billions f years, so old that it cannot be hidden by
a
biodamper.
He rushes
to a window to see the robotic Santa s advancing and then
returns to
Donna to tell her she must leave. Soon they realise that
the house
is surrounded, and as one of the robots lifts a remote
control
the Doctor realises their plan. He orders everyone to step
back from
the Christmas trees lining the room and as the
disbelieving crowd do a she says, the barbules hanging on the
branches
glide into the air, floating around before launching
forward
and exploding like grenades. Tables collapse and people run
for cover
as the robots enter the room and prepare to open fire.
Before
they can attack, the Doctor stands up and addresses them,
warning
them not to let a man near the sound system when he is armed
with a
Sonic Screwdriver. He brandishes the DJ microphone and then
fires the
sonic device into the mixing desk, creating piercing
screech
that destroys the robotic assailants. As Donna tries to help
the fallen
guests the Doctor realises a second remote control is
hidden in
the robot s helmets, they are no longer scavengers, they
are being
used by something else. Donna asks him to help the injured
guests,
but he claims that he must look at the bigger picture. In a
fit of
realisation he bounds away and after her mother asks who the
stranger
is, Donna runs after him.
Outside,
the Doctor realises that whatever is controlling the robots
is up in
the sky, and in a dark control room a large claw points at
his
picture on a screen. A rasping voice declares that the Doctor
and the
bride shall soon come to her. From a giant web in a ship
made of
the very fabric of a spider s abode the voice of a giant
fanged
mouth declares that soon it will descend upon the Earth and
shine.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor decides he must return to Donna s office at H
R Clemens
to see where it all started and he decides to take her and
Lance with
him. Once there the explains that the company was brought
out twenty
three years ago by the Torchwood Institute, the
administration behind the battle of Canary Wharf, which Donna seems
oblivious
to as she was scuba diving in Spain. He explains that
although
Torchwood was destroyed H R Clemens has remained in
business,
suggesting that someone else is behind the running of the
company.
Donna asks
why she is so important and the Doctor explains that she
has been
dosed with Huon energy, which has not existed since the
dark times
and is only found in the TARDIS, which explains why Donna
appeared
in the TARDIS, the two sets of Huon particles activated at
the same
time and magnetised. He then accesses the official building
plans of
the building on a computer and realises that there is a
floor
missing from the plans that can be accessed via the lift.
Together
with Donna and Lance they descend down in the lift and the
sinister
creature in its spaceship monitors their progress. The
bride is
approaching and she is the key.
Arriving
in the underground level the Doctor and his accomplices
begin to
make their move and use motorised transporters to move
along the
vast corridors. They arrive at a locked door and the
Doctor
manages to open it, ascending an iron ladder that leads him
away from
the others. He finds himself at another hatchway and with
some
effort he pushes it open, finding himself standing on top of
the Thames
Flood Barrier. He returns below to tell Donna and then
proceeds
to a vast laboratory chamber, full of particle extrusion
machinery.
The Time
Lord explains that whoever is in charge is manufacturing
Huon
particles, after his own people destroyed them by unravelling
their
genetic structure. He tells Donna that the particles are
inert, but
need a human body to saturise them. In a fit of excited
realisation he explains that during the wedding Donna s body was
alive with
hormones, chemical signals that helped to cook the Huon
particles.
Donna slaps him again for appearing so excited at her
troubles
and then asks if the particles inside her are dangerous. He
admits
that they are deadly, but he promises to reverse what has
been done,
he is not about to loose someone else.
Suddenly a
rasping voice calls to them and one of the walls of the
laboratory
slides away, revealing a deep pit and hoards of the
unmasked
Santa robots, armed and ready to fire. The voice tells them
that Donna
has been long since lost, and that it has waited for so
long,
hibernating at the edge of the universe until the secret heart
was
uncovered and called out to it. As the voice talks Lance begins
to sneak
away, running along the corridors and into the hatchway.
The Doctor
inspects the pit and the voice tells him that it reaches
down into
the centre of the Earth. The Time Lord then goads the
voice into
revealing itself and soon the creature fades from its
ship high
above the planet s surface and appears before them. It is
an
enormous spider-like creature, blood red with sharp fangs and a
face
dotted with inhuman eyes. It hisses and spits and bears its
long feet,
before the Doctor recognises it as one of the Rachnoss
race, the
Empress.
He ponders
if she is the only one, and explains to Donna that the
Rachnoss
were born in the dark times, and were known as omnivores
that
devoured whole planets, along with their inhabitants; indeed he
points out
the trapped body of H R Clemens himself in the web above
the
Empress head. He continues to explain
that the Rachnoss were
wiped out
by the very first civilisations, but the Empress cuts in
to explain
that she survived. Donna addresses the creature before
her and
asks why she has been filled with the Huon particles, but
soon
begins to try and buy time when she sees Lance creeping up at
the
Empress with an axe. She calls to him to strike her and he makes
a swing,
but stops and begins to laugh along with the giant spider.
The Doctor
apologises to his friend but she can t understand, and
when he
reminds her that she first met Lance when he made her a cup
of coffee,
she realises that he has been poisoning her for the past
six
months. A dumbfounded Donna listens as Lance gets off his chest
his pent
up hatred for Donna, the trivial life she has led him into
in the run
up to the wedding. As the bride mutters that he loved him
he merely
points out that it was that which made it so easy to fool
her.
The Doctor
asks why he did such a thing and he explains that it was
his chance
to see the wonders of the universe, to see the sights
that make
the human race look so small. The Time Lord tries to find
out why
the Empress has had the pit dug when all of her people were
wiped out,
but she and Lance note that they do not need him, he can
be killed.
As the robots take aim the Doctor realises that if Donna
can be
drawn to the TARDIS, then the process can be reversed, and as
the robots
prepare to fire he uses the uses a vial of Huon particle
to
materialise the TARDIS around them.
Soon the
ship is materialising and the Doctor admits that the ship
can in
fact travel in time, and explains that they must find out why
the
Empress is digging to the centre of Earth. He looks over but
Donna is
not listening, she is shaking with tears. Meanwhile, the
Empress
theorises that if her key has been lost, then a new one must
be cut.
She signals to her robots and they turn on Lance.
In the
TARDIS the Doctor explains that they have arrived and moves
to open
the doors, revealing another starscape, at the point when
the Earth
was first formed. Donna looks at the mass of rocks
floating
around and thinks about how insignificant the human race
seems, but
the Doctor tells her that humans are meant to be that
way,
making sense out of chaos by marking life out with weddings and
other
events.
In the
distance a giant ship appears from within a cloud of dust,
the one
rock that will form the centre of everything, the Rachnoss
ship. Back
in the basement, the Empress observes as the robots
force-feed
Lance the liquid Huon particles, cutting the new key. In
the TARDIS
the Doctor and Donna watch as the Earth forms around the
Rachnoss
ship, but are forced into turbulence as the Empress tries
to pull
them back, whilst ordering her servants to bind Lance, who
is now
glowing with Huon energy.
Suddenly
the Doctor has an idea, he picks from the floor the
wired-up
extrapolator, and uses it to materialise the TARDIS out of
the pull
of the Rachnoss, back into the corridor leading into the
base. The
Empress calls for the robots to find Donna and as the
Doctor
inspects the walls of the corridor he explains to Donna that
the Huon
particles inside her will enable the Empress to unlock the
web at the
centre of the Earth in which the Rachnoss are entombed.
As he
talks he is unaware that Donna is abducted, grabbed by the
robotic
servants and taken away. However when he notes the sudden
silence he
rushes to find her again, only to be confronted by one of
the
robots, armed with a gun. Meanwhile Donna finds herself tangled
in the web
with Lance and as the Empress taunts them she orders that
the
particles be activated and purged. As she talks the two bodies
begin to
glow, and the golden mist descends into the pit, to awaken
he
children and release them onto Earth to feast on flesh.
She calls
her ship, the Webstar; to descend onto the Earth and as it
enters the
atmosphere the Empress severs Lance from the web, leaving
him to
fall into the pit. The ship descends the streets of London
and zaps
bolts of energy onto the ground, attacking the defenceless
bystanders. As events unfold one of the robots begins to return to
the base,
but the Empress realises the disguise and order the Doctor
to unmask
himself. He does so and then fires the Sonic Screwdriver
at the
web, forcing it to loosen its grip on Donna. She swings down
to him on
a tendril of web but her jump is misjudged, she lands too
low for
the Doctor to catch her and with a thud, land son the floor,
thanking
the Time Lord for nothing.
The Doctor
turns to the Empress and offers her one last change,
explaining
that he can take her and her children to another planet
to live
and end the carnage on Earth. She declines it he announces
that what
happens next is her own doing. She tries to rally he
servants
to fire on the Doctor but he orders them to relax, causing
them to
run down. He shows Donna the remote control he took at the
reception
when the robots attacked and explains that he kept it in
his
pockets, pointing out that they are bigger on the inside.
The
Empress announces that she does not need the droids; her
children
can feast on the Doctor s Martian flesh. He cuts in and
explains
that he is not from Mars, his planet is far away and long
since
gone, but it s name lives on. Gallifrey. The Empress hisses
and
remarks that it was the Gallifreyans who slaughtered the
Rachnoss.
The Doctor warns her that it was she who did this and he
reveals a
set of the barbules that exploded at the wedding
reception.
He uses the remote control to fire them at the walls of
the base,
letting the water of the Thames flood in, deep down into
the pit.
The Empress calls out to her children as they screech out
in pain
and Donna tells the Doctor that he can stop now, but he
remains
silent, a stony expression on his face.
As the
water continues to flood the two friends manage to make an
escape and
the Empress beams back to the Webstar, but as the Doctor
points
out, she has used up all of the Huon energy, and is now
defenceless. Outside a gigantic tank rolls into the street, a radio
voice
reporting that Mr Saxon has given orders to fire at will. The
barrel
releases a missile that launches up into the skies, colliding
with the
Webstar. As the Empress cries out in agony and the Doctor
and Donna
find themselves back out in the open air on top of the
Flood
Barrier, the web of the ship begins to unravel and fiery
explosions
rip across the framework, leaving the sky empty one more
and the
Doctor and Donna to remark at their triumph, with only one
problem
remaining; they have drained the Thames.
Some time
later the TARDIS stands on a street corner in the dark of
night. The
Doctor and Donna appear from within, and the Time Lord
explains
that all of the Huon particles have gone. Donna however is
not so
jubilant, she wallows in the fact that she has lost her job,
missed her
wedding and almost become a widow all in the same day.
The Doctor
tells her that he couldn t save Lance, but Donna claims
that he
deserved it, before retracting her words with one look from
the
Doctor. She glances inside one of the houses, and sees her
worried
parents hugging each other amongst the Christmas
decorations.
The Doctor
remembers how Donna once told him that she hated
Christmas
and to try and cheer her up he activates a button on the
TARDIS
exterior, sending a bright light up into the air, which
explodes
and sends a shower of snow down upon them. Donna smiles and
laughs as
the Time Lord explains it is a simple atmospheric
excitation. Donna sighs and wishes him a merry Christmas, a
sentiment
he returns before momentarily falling silent. He asks her
what she
will do now everything is over, and she tells him that she
wants to
travel, see more of Earth and go out to do something with
her life.
The Doctor
ponders and tells her that she could always go with him,
but she
claims that she cannot. He sheepishly agrees with her and
she tells
him that she couldn t live a life as the Doctor does;
despite
the beauty there is always terror. She remembers the
screaming
children of the Empress and how the Doctor merely stood
and
watched, and now he s managed to make it snow; he scares her.
The
Doctor, noticeably disappointed, shuffles her feet and Donna
tells him
to come in for Christmas dinner. He agrees and explains
that first
he must properly park the TARDIS as she warns her parents
that he is
coming. However when she turns her back the ship s
engines
start to whine and she calls out his name. The noise stops
and he
reappears, complaining of her shouting. She asks if she will
ever see
him again and he tells her she will if he is lucky. She
asks him
to promise her that he will find someone. He claims that he
does not
need anyone but she tells him that he does, sometimes he
needs
someone to stop him. He quietly agrees before thanking her and
tells her
to be magnificent.
He makes
to leave but she has one more question for him. She asks
what the
name of his lost friend was and with his eyes already
filling
with tears he tells her she was called Rose. He closes the
TARDIS
door and moments later the ship rockets into the air and
disappears, leaving Donna to turn and walk away.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
In
trying to find out anything unique about Donna, the
Doctor asks if her fianc e might have a zip on his forehead,
a
reference to the disguises used by the family Slitheen in
Aliens of London / World War Three and Boom Town.
The episode picks up where the previous episode Doomsday
left off, continuing the Doctor s grief at loosing Rose,
Jackie and Mickey.
The Doctor remembers his encounter with the Sycorax in The
Christmas Invasion, which also saw the first appearance of
the robot Santa s, albeit with different masks.
In
the chase sequence there is a car bearing the same
licence plate as Gwen Cooper s car in the Torchwood episode
They Keep Killing Suzie. Whether or not this is significant
is
uncertain, it may well be a reused prop.
The Doctor refers back to his encounter with Torchwood in
Army of Ghosts / Doomsday, an administration founded in the
episode Tooth and Claw that was referenced in most of the
episodes of series two, including The Christmas Invasion and
the series one finale The Parting of The Ways. The Cardiff
branch of Torchwood was examined in it s own spin-off
series, set after the events in Army of Ghosts / Doomsday.
The extrapolator, first seen in the first series episode
Boom Town and reused in The Parting of the Ways from the
same season, makes a reappearance here, apparently having
begun to grow as part of the TARDIS judging by the crusted
edges.
This is the first time since the series returned in 2005
that the Doctor s home planet has been actually named,
although mentions of Gallifreyan
text have been made in
the tie-in books.
As
the tank destroys the Webstar we hear mention of a man
called Mr Saxon. Saxon is rumoured to be the recurring
word for series three, just as the phrase Bad Wolf
was for
series one and the name
Torchwood was for series two. A
headline about Mr Saxon, outlining him as a political figure
(a
possible the replacement for Harriet Jones after The
Christmas Invasion) was seen on the newspaper being read by
Victor Kennedy in the series two episode Love & Monsters.
This has however not been confirmed by any official sources.
When the Doctor is taking Donna back to the creation of
earth he says that he is going back further then he has ever
gone before. It is odd since both the first and fifth
doctors have been around during the time of the creation of
the Earth and the universe. He may however be referring
simply to his tenth incarnation having never gone so far
back in time, despite having done so in previous
incarnations.
The Doctor states his pockets are bigger on the inside,
which is something the BBC books touch upon. The Doctor's
pockets are also dimensionally trancendental -- like the
TARDIS -- and there are loads of stuff in them.
[Back to Main
Page]
Smith & Jones
Smith &
Jones
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Charles Palmer
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Anne
Reid (Florence Finnegan), Roy Marsden (Mr. Stoker), Adjoa
Andoh (Francine Jones), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Tish Jones), Reggie
Yates (Leo Jones), Trevor Laird (Clive Jones), Kimmi Richards
(Annalise), Ben Righton (Morgenstern), Vineeta Rishi (Julia
Swales), Paul Kasey (Judoon Leader), Nicholas Briggs (Judoon
Voices).
The
Doctor meets new companion Martha Jones on modern-day
Earth as he battles against the alien Judoon, storm-troopers
who
have transported a hospital to the moon.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Smith & Jones March
31st, 2007 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Freema Agyeman and Phil Collinson is
available on the official Doctor Who website.
Smith
& Jones
(drn:44'26")
On a busy
London street medical student Martha Jones is on her way
to work;
but her day has not begun peacefully. Speaking to her
sister
Tish, brother Leo, mother Francine and father Clive in turn
on her
mobile phone, she finds herself in the midst of an argument
concerning
Leo s upcoming 21st birthday party; the crux of the
debate
being the presence of her father s new girlfriend at the
event.
As she
turns off her phone a tall man with a long brown coat steps
out in
front of her, taking off his tie.
Like so
see
And as
quick as he arrived, he is gone. Martha looks after him in
bemusement
before continuing her way to the Royal Hope Hospital,
where a
leather-clad courier, his face concealed by a heavy helmet,
walks into
her and stalks off without a word. Soon after she dresses
herself at
her locker, drawing back as a bolt of static electricity
launches
from the door to her hand.
Some time
later she is with the other medical students, doing the
rounds
with the somewhat austere Mr Stoker. After several failed
diagnoses
from his students he concludes that one of the patients,
an elderly
woman named Florence Finnegan, is suffering from a simple
salt
deficiency.
Moving
through the foyer Martha notices the courier again, who is
joined by
an identical looking counterpart, both standing stiffly
side-by-side as the group move on to the next patient, Mr John
Smith.
Mr Stoker
invites Martha to examine him and she realises that the
man is the
same one who approached her in the street earlier, and
comments
on his somewhat strange behaviour. He claims that is wasn t
him and
she asks if he has brother, to which he replies
No, not
anymore .
He goes on to explain that he has been in bed since the
previous
night.
Somewhat
confused she goes on to examine his heart, but realises
something
is wrong when his pulse appears to beat in two separate
places on
his chest. Mr Stoker cynically notes her difficulty to
locate a
heartbeat and then points out that she has failed to
examine
the patient s chart. He reaches for the clipboard, only for
it to zap
him with a static charge.
As the
students complain of similar experiences Stoker puts it down
to the
build up of static electricity in the wake of a thunderstorm.
He
randomly asks his pupils who discovered such knowledge and Mr
Smith,
alias the Doctor, chimes in that it was Benjamin Franklin,
one of his
friends. Not amused, Mr Stoker leads the way out of the
ward.
At
lunchtime Martha is on the phone again, this time talking to her
sister
Tish, commenting on their father s girlfriend Annalise. The
only
interruption is Mr Smith stalking the corridors in his dressing
gown, as
if looking for something. The conversation soon turns to
the
subject of weather, as Tish notices that a rain cloud has formed
over the
hospital. Moments later events take an even stranger turn
as the
raindrops begin to fly skywards, lifting from the
windowpanes. In a flash of light the room in which Martha and her
colleague
Julia are standing begins to shake.
Blinding
light pours from outside the window as the two women are
thrown to
the ground. Glasses smash and the contents of shelves are
thrown to
the ground, before the turbulence suddenly stops. Shocked,
Martha
gets to her feet and peers out of the window, realising that
they are
no longer in London. We re on the bloody
moon.
Sure
enough the building stands on the lunar landscape, and as the
patients
gaze out of the windows in wonder the emotion overtakes
them, and
they begin breaking down in tears. Back on Earth Tish
arrives at
the site of the hospital, only to find a large crater in
the ground
where it once was. She tries to speak to Martha on her
phone but
there is no reply, all that remains is a tall blue Police
Box
standing on the opposite street.
In the
hospital corridors panic has set in. Martha hurries to calm
people but
cannot help but marvel at the sight before her at the
windows.
Reaching forward to open one Julia warns her not to or the
air will
be sucked out. She retorts that the windows are not
airtight
in the first place; if the air were to be removed it would
have
already happened.
Mr Smith,
now dressed in his suit, has overheard their conversation
and
compliments Martha on her reasoning, before asking her name and
enquiring
if there is a balcony nearby. She tells him of one and he
asks if
she wants to come with him outside. He warns her they could
die but
she comments that they might not. Again he seems impressed
by her
attitude, and together they walk off, leaving Julia alone.
Together
they arrive at the doorway to the balcony and then step
outside,
where they realise that the air is still present. Suddenly
events
seem to overcome the young student as she thinks about the
life she
has just left behind on Earth. She manages to overcome her
emotion
and begins to marvel at the beauty before her.
She
enquires what is going on and deduces herself that it must be
extra-terrestrial activity, which matches with the strange goings on
of the
past few years. She recalls the battle of Canary Wharf, and
explains
that her cousin Adeola was one of those caught up in the
crossfire.
Her companion claims he was also involved in the battle
and then
falls quiet.
Martha
promises him they will find a way out and he reveals to her
that his
name is not Mr Smith, he is known simply as the Doctor.
Martha
protests at the ease with which he uses the title she has
been
working hard for, but the Doctor is already working to find out
how the
air has been contained; and discovers by throwing a stone
into the
distance that a force field has been set up to contain the
building;
which leads Martha to realise that with the air contained,
it will
not last long.
She asks
who has done this and as a rumbling appears from overhead
the Doctor
tells her that she can ask them herself. Sure enough
three
giant spaceships loom above them; giant cylindrical shapes
painted in
black, which roar into a land some distance away. Once
settled
the inhabitants of the ships begin to advance; armoured
soldiers
marching through the force field with militant ease. Martha
marvels at
the real-life aliens before her and the Doctor announces
their
name: the Judoon.
Mr Stoker
observes from his window as they continue to advance but
is
interrupted by Florence when she enters his office, asking for
help. He
fobs her off, more worried about the current situation
outside.
She insists he can help her and into the office march the
two
couriers, flanking her on either side.
She
explains that there are great tests to come, horrible deeds,
some of
them her own. Bemused he looks on as Florence insists that
she must
survive through all this, and to do that she needs blood.
The
couriers walk forward and grab him, as Florence continues to
prepare
herself, producing a drinking straw from her handbag. She
advances
on him and he screams in agony.
Meanwhile
the Judoon force their way into the hospital, causing the
patients
to run for their lives. Assuming formation in the reception
area one
of them removes its helmet, revealing a giant rhino-like
face
beneath. It shouts orders in a strange language and the others
raise
their guns. The patients cower in fear as Morgenstern, another
medical
student, walks forward and greets them.
The leader
points it s gun at him but doesn t appear to fire;
instead it
scans him and records what he says, before adopting an
English
dialect. It claims the man will be catalogued as a human and
draws a
cross on his hand. Soon the others are doing the same to the
rest of
the humans, as the Doctor and Martha watch from their hiding
place on
the balcony.
The Time
Lord admires the small shop in the hospital foyer before
explaining
that the Judoon are intergalactic police-for-hire, who
have
brought the building to the Moon as neutral territory, the
Earth
being out of their jurisdiction. The rain and static were a
result of
the preparations for the transfer. He theorises that if
they are
cataloguing all humans, they must be looking for something
extra
terrestrial, which makes things much harder for him.
Martha
laughs at his insinuation but continues to follow him as he
moves
away; the Judoon Commander meanwhile begins ordering his
soldiers
onto different floors of the hospital to search out the
non-human
entity. Morgenstern follows, telling the other humans not
to panic.
His words however go unheard as one of the captives tries
to assault
the creatures with a vase, only to be executed for his
crime. Justice is swift.
Elsewhere,
the Doctor is trying to hack into the hospital records
with the
Sonic Screwdriver, which Martha finds less than impressive.
He finds
that the software has been locked down, which gives him the
opportunity to explain to Martha the reason he arrived in the
hospital
in the first place; to investigate the strange activity
that had
been building up for some time.
After
Martha asks why the Judoon cannot be left alone to find the
alien the
Time Lord tells her that if the creatures find the
building
guilty of harbouring an alien being they will execute
everyone
inside, so he needs to find it first. Martha departs to try
and warn
Mr Stoker but when she arrives in his office all she finds
are the
two couriers, the lifeless body of her tutor and Florence,
leaning
over the body with a bloodstained straw protruding from her
mouth.
Florence
tells her servants to kill the girl and they follow her
out,
pursuing her as she rejoins the Doctor. Together they run
through
the hospital corridors, rushing toward an X-ray room where
the Doctor
uses the sonic screwdriver to increase the radioactivity
by 5000%.
Martha assists him it zapping the courier and he falls
down dead.
Absorbing
the radiation into his own body the Doctor is rejoined by
Martha,
and he starts to force the energy into his left shoe, which
he rips
off and throws into the bin, complaining of an itch.
Astounded,
Martha claims he is mad and, misinterpreting her, the
Doctor
removes his other show to avoid looking stupid.
He
explains that the creature was a Slav, a servant of the creature
the Judoon
are looking for. As Martha explains about Mrs Finnegan
the Doctor
realises that his Sonic Screwdriver has been destroyed in
the blast,
but throws it away as Martha speaks in a more stern tone.
He focuses
on what she says and realises that the creature is an
internal
shape shifter, and was assimilating the blood rather than
drinking
it.
In a
corridor elsewhere in the hospital, Florence wanders about as
the other
patients continue to panic. One of the Judoon approaches
her and
scans her, identifying her as human. The Doctor has realised
this and
rushes to warn the intergalactic storm troopers, stopping
only to
avoid the second Slav. Martha takes the opportunity to ask
him if he
has a partner, but he is not interested, more amazed at
the human
capacity to be more interested in personal information
than the
bigger picture.
They
continue into the corridors, but the Judoon are waiting for
them. They
scan the Doctor and identify them as non-human, leaving
Martha
dumbstruck as he leads her off into another run. The Judoon
fire after
them unsuccessfully as they return to a different floor,
one the
creatures have already checked and therefore will most
likely not
do so again.
They then
return to Mr Stoker s office, where the pale lifeless body
of the
former Consultant awaits them. The Doctor identifies the work
of a
Plasmavore, presumably on the run. After Martha closes the dead
man s
eyelids they leave, but the Judoon are already on their tail.
Spurred by
the sight of an MRI lab sign, the Doctor tells Martha to
stay
behind and hold the advancing monsters off. He tells her that
she could
save a thousand lives then leans forward and kisses her.
He dashes
off, leaving her speechless.
Tearing
down another corridor he arrives in the MRI scanning room,
where
Florence is busy tampering with the controls. The scanner
itself
crackles wildly and to distract her the Doctor begins to play
the fool,
talking to her about the monsters stalking the hospital.
She
ignores his muttering but he begins to annoy her and so she
orders her
Slav to hold him.
Meanwhile,
the Judoon continue to search for the non-human and when
they come
across Martha they scan her, finding traces of a non-human
nature
inside her.
The Doctor
asks Florence what she is doing and she claims she has
increased
the magnetic field to a degree of 50,000, enough to wipe
out the
brain stems of every living creature within 250,000 miles,
including
everything on the half of the Earth s surface facing the
moon, but
at the same time leaving herself safe. Asking why she
would do
such a thing the Doctor is stunned by the Florence s plan
to use the
empty Judoon ships to make an escape.
Again
playing the fool the Time Lord manages to make her admit that
she is the
one the Judoon are looking for, but he lets slip that the
creatures
are increasing their scan, triggering her to realise her
cover must
be increased. She reaches for her handbag and pulls out
her straw.
The Doctor tries to make a joke but she comments that he
laughs at
the darkness on purpose, and he needs some peace. The Slav
holds him
tighter, exposing his neck and she stabs the straw into
his flesh,
before sucking his blood.
In the
corridor Martha is scanned again but only a small contact
with
non-human life is detected. The Judoon move on after handing
her a form
with which to claim compensation.
As
Florence continues to suck the Doctor s blood his eyes grow
heavy.
Suddenly the doors fly open and the Judoon march in. The Slav
drops the
Doctor, prompting Florence to pretend the shock of the
entrance
has killed the young man in the room with her. They scan
the
lifeless body and detect that he is the non-human life form, but
is now
dead.
Martha
realises what has happened and uses one of the Judoon devices
to scan
Florence, the Doctor s blood now highlighting her as a
non-human;
a Plasmavore charged with the murder of the princess of
Padravore
Regency 9. Confessing to her crime she orders the Slav to
stop her
captors but they manage to destroy both her and her slave,
however
they are too late to prevent her from making the final
connection
of the MRI scanner.
The Judoon
refuse to do anything; their jurisdiction has ended and
they must
now leave. Martha is left with the Doctor s body in her
arms as
the Oxygen levels of the hospital begin to plummet and the
armed
soldiers return to their ships. Administering CPR on the Time
Lord,
Martha tries to revive him but to no avail. With her Oxygen
failing
she kisses him and suddenly he awakens. She weakly mutters
that the
scanner has been tampered with and so he staggers limply to
his feet
and moves over to the control panel.
As bolts
of electricity zap across the hospital he struggles to
disconnect
the machine, relying on luck to lead him to the right
choice of
which connection to remove. It serves him well and soon
the
scanner is disconnected, but the oxygen levels are still
falling.
Moments
later he carries Martha in his arms, watching at the window
as the
Judoon ships depart. He urges them to reverse the
transportation of the hospital and sure enough it begins to rain. In
a flash of
light the hospital returns to Earth, with paramedics
ready and
waiting to attend all those who have passed out.
Martha
makes her way outside where Tish runs towards her, relieved
to have
her back. Martha however is more concerned with the
whereabouts of the Doctor, who has made his way toward a large blue
box on the
opposite side of the street. He waves but after Martha
looks away
for one second he, and the box, are gone.
Later that
night Martha sits alone in her room, a radio reporting an
interview
with Morgenstern, who claims that life on other planets is
real, just
as Mr Saxon has said. Martha stops to think about the
unique
events of the past few hours, but soon after she is once
again
mixed up in a family feud again; this time at Leo s party. As
her mother
and Annalise take to the streets outside a pub in a fit
of anger
the others look on. Eventually the young blonde girl runs
off,
pursued by her lover, Martha s father.
Soon the
others are running off as well, leaving Martha seemingly
alone.
However as she looks around she notices the Doctor waiting
for her on
a street corner. She follows him as he stalks off and
finds him
waiting for her beside his blue box. She takes the
opportunity to ask what species he is and he tells her he is a Time
Lord.
He asks
her if she d like to take a trip with him but she is more
concerned
with her life at the moment and the problems she has to
deal with.
He then explains that he can travel in time as well, she
wouldn t
miss anything. However the young human is sceptical and to
prove it
the Doctor disappears inside the box, which fades away with
a
deafening roar.
Martha
steps forward in amazement at the now empty space, but the
box soon
returns and the Time Lord emerges, holding his tie. Martha
remembers
their encounter that morning and realises he has been
telling
the truth. She asks why he never used the opportunity to
tell her
not to go to work but he is adamant that established events
cannot be
interfered with, except for cheap tricks.
He tells
her the name of the ship, the TARDIS, and then shows her
inside.
First marvelling at the massive space within she returns
outside to
examine the exterior, before asking if the extraordinary
ship has a
crew. The Doctor claims he is alone but occasionally
brings
along friends, most recently a girl named Rose who is now
living
happily with her family.
He is
quick to establish that Martha is not a replacement for Rose,
he is
taking her on one trip only, as a thank you for her actions
earlier in
the day. She points out the kiss he gave her earlier on
but he
insists it was a genetic transfer and nothing more. She
continues
to point out the tight suit he is wearing and the fact
that he
travelled across the universe to flirt with her but he
orders her
to stop, and in return she claims she is only interested
in humans.
Soon the
Doctor is setting the ship in motion and with one last
release of
the handbrake the craft shudders to life, shaking
violently
as they cling onto the console.
Welcome
aboard Miss Jones
It s my
pleasure Mr Smith
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Martha refers to the events in Aliens of London / World War
Three and Army of Ghosts / Doomsday in her recounting of
extra terrestrial experiences in the past few years..
Freema Agyemann also played the character of Adeola in the
episode Army of Ghosts. In this episode it is established
they are related, and in the short novel Made of Steel it is
further mentioned that the two looked somewhat similar.
The Doctor again talks of his fondness for shops in
hospitals, something he first made reference to in New
Earth.
There is a vague resemblance between the Judoon and another
alien race called the Sontarans, but no connection is
established in the episode itself.
In
a trend hinted at in Love & Monsters and established in
The Runaway Bride, reference is made to
Mr Saxon , who will
appear later on in the series. His name appears twice in
this episode, firstly on a radio report where he is
referenced as preaching the existence of life on other
planets, and again on some posters at the end of the
episode, which read Vote Saxon .
[Back to Main
Page]
The Shakespeare Code
The Shakespeare
Code
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Charles Palmer
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Dean
Lennox Kelly (William Shakespeare), Christina Cole
(Lilith), Sam Marks (Wiggins), Amanda Lawrence (Doomfinger),
Linda Clarke (Bloodtide), Jalaal Hartley (Dick), David
Westhead (Kempe), Andree Bernard (Dolly Bailey), Chris Larkin
(Lynley), Stephen Marcus (Jailer), Matt King (Peter Streete),
Robert Demeger (Preacher), Angela Pleasance (Queen Elizabeth
I).
Martha takes her first trip in the Tardis, all the way back to
Elizabethan England. She and the Doctor witness a series of
bizarre deaths and discover that playwright William
Shakespeare is being controlled by dangerous witch-like
creatures. It seems the time-travelling duo must defeat
ancient forces to prevent history from being rewritten.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Shakespeare Code
April 7th, 2007 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Julie Gardner and writer Gareth
Roberts is available on the official Doctor Who website.
It is
London in 1599 and a hansom young man serenades his sweetheart
Lilith at
her balcony with a lute. She remarks that his blood is
afire and
welcomes him inside, but he is far from impressed by the
dark and
dingy interior. She silences him with a kiss but when she
draws away
her face is transformed into a warped mask.
She
introduces him to her mothers, Doomfinger and Bloodtide; equally
hideous
creatures who pounce and devour the young boy, leaving
Lilith to
stand and declare:
Soon, at
the hour of woven words, we shall rise again and this
fleeting
Earth will perish
The
Shakespeare Code
(drn:45'32")
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor frantically pulls at the controls,
whilst
Martha enquires how the ship manages to travel in time. He
refuses to
answer and with a sudden stop both are thrown off
balance;
the ship has landed. Martha gets up and as the Doctor
mutters
about failing his driving test he walks towards the door,
welcoming
his friend to a brave new world
Stepping
outside Martha is astounded by the sight of an Elizabethan
street in
London alive with activity. Narrowly avoiding a shower of
slops from
a window above the Doctor comments they re at a time
before the
flushing toilet; around 1599. He prepares to move on but
his new
companion is concerned about affecting the future, something
science
fiction films have warned her about.
The Time
Lord assures her and together they move through the
streets,
but Martha has more concerns; asking if a black woman is
safe in
the streets of history. Again he reassures her and as they
progress
he realises they are near the riverside, not so far from
the
newly-opened Globe theatre, containing Shakespeare himself.
They step
inside to view the Bard s latest play;
Love s Labours
Lost and once it has drawn to a close Martha calls
for the author,
triggering
a similar reaction from the crowd. Soon the playwright
storms
onto the stage, and the Doctor anticipates his carefully
chosen
greeting.
Shut ya
big fat mouths!
Somewhat
disheartened the Doctor sighs, unaware that in other parts
of the
theatre Lilith, now back in human form, is caressing a small
doll. As
Shakespeare addresses the audience she begins to chant
quietly,
her words having a strange effect over him as he suddenly
announces
the premier of the play s sequel for the following night;
Love s
Labours Won .
As they
leave the Globe the Doctor explains to Martha that Love s
Labours
Won came to be regarded as Shakespeare s
lost play,
included
on many lists of his works but never found. Eager to find
out more
he decides that they can stay a little longer, even if
Martha was
only supposed to stay with him for one short trip.
Some time
later they arrive at the Elephant Inn, where Shakespeare
and his
acting troupe discuss his recent premature announcement. He
tells them
not to worry; he has only the closing scene left to
write. As
the landlady Dolly busies herself around him she calls for
the
housemaid to leave the gentlemen be, and as the girl turns the
fresh-faced Lilith unveils her latest disguise.
As the two
women depart the Doctor and Martha enter, but Shakespeare
is not in
the mood to meet his fans. His attitude changes however
when he
spots Martha. He bids the two actors farewell and
compliments Martha on her clothes. She begins to respond in an
Elizabethan dialect but the Doctor warns her not to, and instead
introduces
the both of them with his psychic paper, which the
playwright
sees through.
Instead he
flirts with Martha, intrigued by his
Blackamore lady ; a
name she
takes some offence at. The Doctor reasons they are in a
time
before political correctness and claims that Martha comes from
a land
called Fredonia , interrupted when the
owner of the Globe
theatre,
Lynley, enters and swears that Love s
Labours Won will
never be
staged if he is not presented with a script.
He hurries
out where Lilith is waiting, pretending to walk into him
and
plucking a hair from his head in an apparent attempt to flirt.
He walks
away and she is left to conceal herself in a corner,
calling to
her mothers to help stop the man who plots to stop
tomorrow s
performance. She ties the lock of hair to another of her
dolls and
chants
Water
damps the fiercest flame
Drowns
young boys and girls the same
She
plunges the doll into a barrel of water and in the courtyard the
impresario
clutches at his throat.
Back
inside Martha seems content to have solved the mystery behind
Love s
Labours Won but she is interrupted by
the sound of screams.
Hurrying
outside with the Doctor and Shakespeare they find Lynley
heaving up
streams of water. The two travellers rush to help as
Lilith
continues her spell.
Now to
halt the vital part
Stab the
flesh, stab the heart
She stabs
a needle into the chest of the doll and tears off it s
head, and
in the yard Lynley suddenly chokes his last, falling to
the floor.
Martha tries to administer CPR but his mouth is full of
water. The
Doctor realises that he has drowned, and orders a serving
wench to
call a constable, claiming he has died an unusual but
natural
death.
He tells a
cynical Martha that he could not claim the truth or the
locals
would call it witchcraft. However when Martha enquires the
truthful
explanation he adds to her confusion; claiming it was
witchcraft.
Lilith
returns home, where her mothers claim that their potion is
ready, it
is time for Shakespeare s great mind to free them. Lilith
takes old
of a smoking bottle of liquid and chants again
Upon this
night the work is done
A muse to
pen Love s Labours Won
Returning
inside, Shakespeare marvels at Martha s ability as a
doctor and
the Doctor s considerable knowledge for a man so young.
The two
travellers retire to bed and Shakespeare consigns himself to
work,
hoping to know more of the Doctor s constant performance, to
which the
Time Lord recites All the world s a
stage
I might
use that Shakespeare replies, and they
bid each other
goodnight.
As the
Doctor and his companion examine their new room they are
forced to
squeeze into a single bed, Martha claiming the night s
events
are a bit Harry Potter . The Doctor
denies the existence of
magic or
similar beliefs and then ponders what has caused Lynley s
death.
After claiming his friend Rose would know what to do he
ponders
about returning Martha home in the morning, leading her to
blow out
the candle in temper.
Elsewhere,
Lilith arrives at Shakespeare s window, letting the
potion she
has prepared drift over to the writer, leaving him
unconscious. Clambering into the room she stands before him holding
a
marionette
Bind the
mind and take the man
Speed the
words to writer s hand
And as she
moves the puppet Shakespeare springs to life, scribbling
away at
his parchment without glancing at his work until he is done.
He falls
down onto his desk again as Dolly enters with a broom.
Lilith
turns to face her, her complexion now warped as it was when
she
seduced her young Romeo.
I ll take
that to aid my flight
And you
shall speak no more this night.
She lunges
forward and suddenly a scream rings out around the house.
The
Doctor, still awake, springs from his bed to find the woman on
the floor
lifeless, apparently having died of fright. Shakespeare
stirs
quickly from his sleep as Martha runs to the window, only to
see a
witch flying across the night s sky.
The next
day the three friends are none the wiser, the Doctor only
springing
into action when he hears Shakespeare mention the
architect
of the Globe having spoken of witches in the past. He runs
from the
room and the others follow.
Soon they
are inside the Globe theatre, the Time Lord struggling to
find the
significance of the building having fourteen sides, and why
it in
itself should be so important.
Shakespeare insists it is only a theatre but the Doctor claims it is
a powerful
thing; a place where you can change people s minds simply
with
words. Again this appears to stir him and he asks if he can see
the
architect of the building, Peter Streete. Shakespeare explains
that he
was sent to the Bedlam mental institution after claiming her
heard
voices, and then follows the Doctor and Martha as they make
their way
to the hospital.
He stops
momentarily to hand one of his actors a copy of the final
scene,
claiming the performance must be good; the queen might turn
up.
However as he exits the theatre he mutters to himself As if,
she never
does .
On the
streets he enquires from Martha more about Fredonia, again
taking the
opportunity to flirt with her. The Doctor moans that
there will
be time for such activity later, and the Bard asks if
that is a
promise he intends to keep. Sighing, the Time Lord moves
on.
Back in
the Globe the actors, bemused by the last scene Shakespeare
has
provided them with, begin to rehearse. However as one of them
begins to
deliver the final speech a violent wind picks up. It
settles
and the actor continues with his somewhat obscure monologue.
The wind
stirs up again and elsewhere in London Doomfinger and
Bloodtide,
who worry that the process is being triggered too soon,
observe
the scene. Lilith assures them it is merely a rehearsal. In
the
theatre an apparition appears before the two actors on stage, an
odd-looking spirit who fades to cinders in the sky without a word.
The duo
swear not to speak of it again, for fear of ending up in
Bedlam.
At the
hospital Martha is disgusted by the poor conditions the
patients
are left in, but Shakespeare claims it serves it s purpose;
he once
lost his mind in despair and the fear of Bedlam set him
straight.
The Doctor notes his illness was due to the death of his
only son,
and Shakespeare admits he began to question the futility
of
existence; To be or not to be He ponders his outburst and the
Doctor
advises him to write it down.
Soon the
trio enter Peter s cell and after scolding the guard for
beating
the poor man, the Doctor comforts the patient, unaware that
Lilith is
watching him in her cauldron. He holds Peter s head and
tells him
to set back his mind one year, to forget the past
twelve-month s events. He does so and after the Doctor lays him down
Peter
begins to speak.
Lilith
dispatches Doomfinger to deal with the Doctor, who listens as
Peter
claims the witches spoke to him in his sleep, getting him to
build the
Globe to their design; in particular the fourteen walls.
Once the
building work was over they snapped his mind. The Time Lord
asks where
he saw them and he claims it was in All Hallows Street,
but before
he can say any more Doomfinger appears.
With one
touch of his chest she stops the architect s heart, and
looks
around for her next victim. Lilith and Bloodtide look on as
the
carefully-listening Doctor realises that the creature holds
power over
words. Suddenly his mind clicks and he identifies the
number
fourteen s importance in relation to the fourteen stars of
the Rexel
Planetary Configuration. He announces the creature s
species as
being a Carrionite, and suddenly Doomfinger is gone.
Martha is
astounded and the Doctor claims the power in a name is old
magic. She
reminds him of his cynical outlook of the subject and the
Time Lord
admits it is more of a science, one with a different basic
discipline; humans use mathematics as a base for science, the
Carrionites use words. Shakespeare asks what these words are used
for and
the Doctor explains: The end of the
world .
Doomfinger
arrives back with Lilith, who claims she will deal with
the Doctor
herself. She sends her mothers away to the Globe whilst
her target
arrives back at Shakespeare s house with Martha,
explaining
that the Carrionites were creatures from the dawn of time
that
disappeared and were then thought of as legend. Theorising that
they now
wish to rebuild an empire on Earth he ponders if
Shakespeare, the master of words, could prove a help.
Martha
asks what he was doing when Dolly was killed and he claims he
was
finishing Love s Labours Won , and
recalls that the last few
lines of
the play struck him as being somewhat nonsensical when he
read them
back. The Doctor realises that the Carrionites have used
him to
place the right words in the right place (the Globe) to
create an
energy converter.
The play
s the thing and yes you can have that
As the
play begins, with Doomfinger and Bloodtide hidden in the
audience
caressing a glowing sphere filled with tiny ghouls awaiting
their
freedom, the Doctor sends Shakespeare off to the theatre,
himself
and Martha making a move for All Hallow s street. Once more
unto the
breech the Time Lord calls, which again
Shakespeare is
impressed
by, only to remember it is his own work.
The
playwright makes his way to the stage but the witches will not
allow him
to stop the performance. Using one of Lilith s dolls they
knock him
unconscious, leaving the actors to carry him off under the
excuse
that he is drunk.
Martha and
the Doctor arrive in All Hallow s Street, the young
earthling
confused as to how the world could end in 1599 when she is
still
alive. To explain the Time Lord refers to the film Back to
the Future
, reminding her that changing history can have a knock-on
effect for
the present. The human race could end that very night.
Pondering
which house is the correct one the he looks on as a nearby
door
creaks open. Make that witch house .
The two
friends step inside, the Doctor seeing Lilith and commenting
that she
has been awaiting them. She remarks that death has been
awaiting
the Doctor for a very long time, before Martha steps
forward
and tries to re-enact the Time Lord s actions against
Doomfinger
in the hospital. However this time, naming Lilith s
species
has no effect; the power of a name works only once.
As if to
prove her point the witch utters Martha s name, causing her
to fall
down to the floor, asleep. Pondering that the power seems
faded, as
if she were out of her time, Lilith turns on the Doctor,
but she
finds no name with which to use against him. However as she
looks
further into his mind she finds one name that still holds a
power over
him.
Your
heart grows cold, the North wind blows
And
carries down the distant Rose
But this
does not disarm him either; it rallies him to keep
fighting.
He turns on her and asks how it was the Carrionites
disappeared and then managed to come back. Lilith explains that with
the use of
the right word, they were banished to the void by a race
known as
the Eternals. However when Shakespeare s son died and he
began to
put his grief into words, a power was created that allowed
three of
them to escape.
She
declares that with the completion of
Love s Labours Won the
rest of
her race will be able to return, and mankind shall be
purged.
Soon the universe will return to the old ways of blood and
magic. The
Doctor claims she will have to get through him first and
suddenly
she becomes warmer to him, caressing his hair. She plucks
several
strands out then flies backwards through an open window,
threading
the hairs into another of her dolls whilst she floats in
midair.
As Martha
awakens the Time Lord identifies the object as a DNA
replication module, but is too late to stop Lilith from stabbing the
figure s
heart. The Doctor falls down in pain as she flies off,
leaving
Martha to help him to his feet. Suddenly he realises that
only one
of his hearts is working, and after some initially
unsuccessful manoeuvres she applies a force to his back that starts
it beating
again. Revitalised he dashes out of the room, his bemused
companion
hot on his heels.
Lilith
returns to the theatre and claims the Doctor is dead. Soon
the play
is reaching its climax, and the three witches sit gazing at
their
glowing orb as the last monologue is delivered.
betwixt
Dravidian shores and linear 5 930167.02 and strikes the
fulsome
grove of Rexel four. Co-radiating crystal activate.
Suddenly a
light bursts through from the theatre as the
newly-created energy is drawn to the glowing orb. Clouds of red
smoke
drift into the sky and soon the Doctor and Martha arrive,
finding
Shakespeare awakening from his earlier attack.
They hurry
to the stage as the army of Carrionites begin to flood
into the
night sky. The three witches cackle in victory but the
Doctor has
one last idea. Calling on Shakespeare to reverse the
spell with
his own words, the playwright steps forward, improvising
a counter
spell.
Close up
this din of hateful dire decay
Decomposition of your witch s plot.
You feed
my brains, consider me your toy
My doting
Doctor tells me I am not!
Lilith
overhears his words and fears the power they hold, but it is
too late
to stop him
Foul
Carrionite spectres, cease your show
Between
the points
He is
suddenly lost for words but the Doctor comes to his aid
761390
The
playwright repeats the code and continues
Banish
like a tinker s cuss
I say to
thee
Again he
looses his way and this time the Doctor cannot think of the
right
word, but Martha soon comes to his aid
Expelliarmus!
Shakespeare shouts out the final word and as the Doctor adds his own
outburst; Good old JK , the
Carrionites spell is reversed. The
creatures
circling the skies are sucked up in a torrent of wind,
returning
to the void. From behind the stage a shower of paper
floods
into the whirlpool; the scripts for Love
s Labours Won .
In a flash
Lilith and her mothers are gone, the sky returns to it s
normal
shade and the stunned audience begin to applaud, the Doctor
dashing
backstage as Martha and Shakespeare take their bows.
Arriving
on the balcony the Doctor recovers Lilith s orb, finding
her and
her mothers trapped inside, screaming to be let out.
The next
day Shakespeare and Martha compare jokes, interrupted as
the Doctor
appears from the theatre s props store. Examining an
animal
skull he admits the resemblance to a Sycorax, and as
Shakespeare ponders the word the Time Lord places a ruff around his
neck as a
brace to nurse his aches from the previous night.
After
advising his new friend not to rewrite the play, and adding
that the
Carrionite orb will have a new home in one of the TARDIS
attics,
Shakespeare laments about writing a new piece, dedicated to
his lost
son Hamnet.
Martha is
somewhat confused but the Doctor insists it is time for
him to
return her to Fredonia. However Shakespeare is not convinced,
he has
worked out for himself that the duo are travellers in time
and space.
He claims that he and the Doctor are alike in many ways,
and
prepares to say goodbye to Martha with a new sonnet
Shall I
compare thee to a summer s day
Thou art
more lovely and more temperate
Suddenly
he is interrupted by an approaching convoy; the Queen has
heard of
last night s production and wants to see the play for
herself.
The Doctor prepares to meet her but when she arrives his
feelings
are not returned. Calling him her sworn enemy she sends her
guards
after him and as he flees with Martha, Shakespeare is left to
chuckle to
himself.
Soon the
time travellers are back in the streets, the Doctor
claiming
the reason for the outburst must lie somewhere in the
future.
They hurry inside the TARDIS and close the door, closely
followed
by an arrow that buries itself in the ship s door.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor has met Shakespeare before in the comic strip A
Groatsworth of Wit and claimed to have helped him write
Hamlet in City of Death.
The Carrionites were banished to the void (referenced in
Army of Ghosts / Doomsday) by the Eternals, seen in the
Fifth Doctor story Enlightenment.
The Doctor has seen a man drown on dry land before in The
Mind of Evil.
The Doctor s reaction to Martha adopting a Jacobean dialect
is
similar in tone to that of hearing Rose speaking in a
Scottish in Tooth and Claw.
An
arrow has been shot into the TARDIS door before, in the
story Silver Nemesis.
The Doctor s reference to a Sycorax links back to his first
full story, The Christmas Invasion. The character of Sycorax
appears in the Shakespeare play The Tempest.
[Back to Main
Page]
Gridlock
Gridlock
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Richard Clark
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Ardal O'Hanlon (Thomas Kincade Brannigan), Anna Hope (Novice
Hame), Travis Oliver (Milo), Lenora
Crichlow (Cheen), Jennifer
Hennessy (Valerie),
Bridget Turner (Alice), Georgine Anderson
(May), Simon Pearsall (Whitey), Daisy Lewis (Javit), Nicholas
Bolton (Businessman), Erika Macleod (Sally Calypso), Judy
Norman (Ma), Graham Padden (Pa), Lucy Davenport (Pale Woman),
Tom
Edden (Pharmacist #1), Natasha Williams (Pharmacist #2),
Gayle Telfer Stevens (Pharmacist #3), Struan Rodger (The Face
of
Boe).
The
Doctor makes a return trip to New Earth, where he and Rose
once
encountered menacing feline nurses, and patients used as
medical guinea pigs. This time he's got new companion Martha
in
tow, and there's a new threat too - a sinister group known
as
the Pharmacists are in control. It's not long before Martha
finds herself in danger, and the Doctor is set to renew an old
acquaintance.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Gridlock April
14th, 2007 7h40pm
- 8h25pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Russell T. Davies and
Dave Houghton is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
On a
grainy television screen mounted into a space-age car, Sally
Calypso
gives the latest traffic report. The old couple listening
look on in
terror as something outside rocks the vehicle too and
fro. The
husband calls for the police using a radio but is put on
hold as
the cabin continues to rock violently.
His wife
scolds him for telling the authorities they had three
passengers
but it is no use. Showers of sparks rain from the ceiling
as
something breaks inside. The couple scream but no one is
listening,
and soon the only voice to be heard is Sally Calypso
signing
off.
Gridlock
(drn:44'59")
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor decides to extend his initial
invitation
to Martha of only taking her on a single trip; deciding
to take
her once into the past and once into the future before
finally
taking her home. He decides to take her to a different
planet but
disregards the idea of visiting his home-world. Martha
continues
to ask what it is like and eventually he tells her of the
burnt
orange skies above the glass-domed Citadel, beside the red
mountains
capped with snow beneath the twin suns.
He tells
his young friend there would be no fun for him in returning
home and
instead opts to take her to New Earth in the year 5 billion
and 53, to
the city of New New York. They step outside and as the
Doctor
removes the arrow lodged in the ship door from their previous
trip,
Martha is less than impressed by the torrent of rain that
awaits
them.
They move
through a dark alleyway searching for cover as elsewhere
in the
city the Face of Boe has sensed their arrival. He tells the
nurse
attending him to find them before it is too late, and Novice
Hame gets
to her feet in obedience, arming a gun.
Back
outside Martha fails to see what is so new about the planet but
after the
Doctor finds an information screen and activates it with
the Sonic
Screwdriver, he shows her a view of the city, a collection
of shining
buildings ringed with flying cars surrounded by vast
stretches
of water, the place he stayed on his last visit.
Martha
comments that he has brought her to the slums before asking
if this
was a place he brought Rose. He admits that it was and her
reaction
is not a happy one.
Even
heard the word rebound ?
Soon the
rain stops and as they move into another alleyway three
proprietors concealed in tiny outlets built into the walls detect
their
arrival. They open up shop and all talk at once, trying to
sell
them happy and
anger amongst other emotions.
Martha is
unimpressed by the similarities to drug dealing and she looks on as
a young
woman approaches one of the vendors.
She
explains that her parents have gone onto the motorway and she
wants to
buy a forget patch. She hands over the money but before
she can
apply the patch the Doctor cuts in. He fails to understand
her
problem but she insists that nobody returns from the motorway,
everyone
goes there in the end.
She
attaches the patch to her neck and saunters off, leaving Martha
to look on
in disgust. Suddenly, through the fog of the alley two
people; a
young man and a young woman lunge forward and grab her.
Holding a
gun to her head and apologising profusely they back off,
the Doctor
demanding that they let his friend go.
They make
their way to a doorway and slam it shut. The Doctor
struggles
to open it again but soon he is on their tails. The young
couple
arrive at a vehicle some distance away and to calm Martha
down they
apply a sleep patch to her neck. She slumps down and
they
bundle her into the black, block-like shuttle. They strap
themselves
in and soon the car rises into the air zooming off,
leaving
the Doctor alone on a nearby balcony.
The young
couple check Martha is OK before reporting into an onboard
computer
that they have three passengers, and would like access to
the Fast
Lane. A voice grants them entry and they smile.
Returning
to the alleyway the Doctor demands that the vendors tell
him where
the duo has taken his friend, and they explain that they
will have
gone to the motorway. He asks why they needed three people
and one of
them explains that if a vehicle carries three adults then
they have
access to the Fast Lane. He vows to get her back and then
tells them
to pack up and leave, once he has returned the street
will
close.
Back
inside the car Martha awakens and removes the patch on her
neck.
Hazily she reaches for her kidnappers
gun lying nearby.
Aiming it
at them she orders them to take her back but they reveal
the gun is
a fake. The young woman introduces herself as Cheen, and
her
boyfriend as Milo. She explains why they abducted her and then
tells
Martha that once they have arrived at their destination she
will be
free to go.
Cheen
swears she is telling the truth and reveals an
honesty patch
on her
neck. Milo reveals that they are on their way to Brooklyn to
start a
new life; Cheen is pregnant. Martha scolds her for wearing
the patch
in her condition and asks how long the journey will take.
They
explain the route is only ten miles long; they should be there
in about
six years.
The Doctor
finds an access point to the motorway and when he goes
through he
finds himself in a giant metallic tunnel, with thousands
of
identical cars all stuck in jams sounding their horns. He begins
to choke
on the fumes given off by the vehicles until the car
hovering
next to him opens up, and a masked passenger calls him
inside.
They close
the door and the stranger, a male Catperson with an Irish
accent,
talks about the dangers of overexposure to the atmosphere
outside.
He takes his seat by the steering mechanism and as a gap
opens
ahead of them he lurches the vehicle forward. Commenting on a
good days
progress of twenty feet he introduces himself as Thomas
Brannigan,
and the human woman sitting beside him as his wife
Valerie.
The Doctor also introduces himself before finding the rest
of the
family, a pack of kittens, sitting in the back of the van.
Brannigan
tells him they are two months old; children of the
motorway,
and then explains that he and his wife have been on the
road for
twelve years, having only covered five miles. The Doctor is
astounded
and then realises he must find Martha. Brannigan points
out they
have moved past the lay-by, and they won t arrive at the
next one
for six months.
Back in
one of the other cars Martha marvels at the thousands of
similar
vehicles outside, as Milo explains that the Fast Lane is at
the bottom
of the entire motorway. Cheen begins to talk quite fondly
about the
idea of living inside the car, but Martha is still not
impressed.
The Doctor
tries to call the police but is put on hold. Valerie
explains
that the entire motorway is enclosed so outside calls are
impossible; the only contact is with the cars outside who are added
to each
driver s friends list . Brannigan calls
up the Cassini
sisters,
an elderly couple who were amongst the first to join the
motorway
over twenty years ago. One of them manages to locate the
car in
which Martha is being held and gives him the registration
number.
However the Time Lord still has no way of reaching them.
Now ten
layers of cars away from the Fast Lane Martha is confused by
a roaring
sound coming from below. Milo states it is the air vents
but Cheen
relates a story that claims something lives at the bottom
of the
motorway, feeding off of lost drivers. Milo again states his
theory but
Martha is sceptical; judging by the filthy air outside
the air
vents are no longer working; yet the noise still continues.
The Doctor
asks Brannigan to take him to the Fast Lane but both he
and
Valerie refuse. He calls the Cassini sisters again and asks if
they have
ever seen a police car or an ambulance on the roads, but
they admit
they never have. He theorises that there is no one out
there, the
cars are forgotten and continue to drive round and round,
with no
end in sight.
Valerie
silences him before Sally Calypso s voice cackles into
earshot;
announcing the daily contemplation. Brannigan claims the
Doctor
knows nothing of the drivers on the roads, and the Time Lord
looks on
as across the motorway a hymn can be heard.
On a hill
far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem
of suffering and shame;
And I love
that old cross where the dearest and best
For a
world of lost sinners was slain.
All of the
drivers solemnly sing along, their eyes welling up. Even
Martha,
through her gathering tears, manages to mumble a few lines.
So I ll
cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my
trophies at last I lay down;
I will
cling to the old rugged cross,
And
exchange it some day for a crown.
Milo,
Cheen and Martha receive access to the Fast Lane, and dive
below the
traffic to an empty road shrouded in the sickly mist.
The Doctor
decides to find Martha on his own. He opens a hatch in
the bottom
of the car and throws Valerie his coat. Brannigan laments
that
Martha must mean a lot to him but he confesses he hardly knows
her; and
yet he lied to her. In an instant he jumps through the gap
and onto
another car roof.
Beginning
to choke on the fumes again he uses the Sonic Screwdriver
to open up
the roof of the car. Astounding the driver inside he
claims to
be from the Motorway Foot Patrol, and as quick as he
arrived he
departs, continuing through the floor.
Soon he
begins his descent, slowly clambering through the layers of
cars,
surprising the passengers in each vehicle. Unable to cope with
the fumes
anymore he borrows a handkerchief from one of the drivers,
continuing
his journey with it tied over his mouth.
Milo and
Cheen are devastated to find all exits to Brooklyn closed
and the
noises outside gradually growing louder. Suddenly the
vehicle
begins to shake and Milo insists that nothing could survive
outside in
the fumes. Suddenly they receive a call from another
vehicle on
the Fast Lane, which is being attacked by something
outside.
The driver
tells them that all of the exits are always closed, and
warns them
they must leave, but Milo claims they don t have access
to drive
upwards. The woman s passengers scream out in terror and
soon the
line is cut off, and Martha tells the couple to rush
forward as
fast as possible.
Elsewhere
the Doctor arrives at the final layer before the fast
lane. The
driver, a well-dressed businessman, gives him some water
before the
Time Lord opens up the hatch on the floor. Seeing nothing
below but
the fumes dotted with distant lights he listens to the
loud
grumbling and sets about using the onboard computer to create
some kind
of a breeze.
Back in
Brannigan and Valerie s car the roof hatch falls away in a
shadow of
sparks. Suddenly Novice Hame appears with her gun,
demanding
to know where the Doctor is.
The Doctor
manages to create a draft beneath the car and as the
clouds
thin out he realises what is waiting below.
The
Macra
Milo
drives the car flat out but the roaring continues and the
vehicle
keeps shaking, whilst outside giant claws snap at the tiny
shuttle.
Calls to the police continue not to work and Martha comes
up with an
idea; switch everything off to see if it is the car
itself
that provokes the creatures. Milo does so and suddenly all
falls
silent and still. Cheen congratulates her but a bigger problem
faces
them; the air con has stopped and in eight minutes the air
will run
out unless they start the engine again.
The Doctor
explains to his erstwhile companion that the Macra were
the
scourge of the galaxy, feeding off of unrefined gas. They built
a small
empire and used humans for salves but now, billions of years
later;
they have devolved into savage beasts.
Suddenly
the roof above the two men gives way and Novice Hame
clambers
inside. The Doctor initially fails to recall who she is but
when he
does he embraces her; before realising that the last time he
met her
she was helping to breed humans for experimentation.
She claims
her gun was only for protection before explaining that
she has
sought forgiveness and if he follows her she may retrieve
it. She
grabs hold of his arm and after activating a transporter
they
vanish from sight.
They
arrive in a tumbledown building somewhere above the alleyways
of the
slums. The Doctor demands to see the Senate of New New York
to
complain about the people trapped on the motorway, but Hame
points out
he is already there. She turns up the lights to reveal
the grand
building surrounding them; lined with the skeletons of the
dead
Senators.
Hame
explains they and the rest of the city died twenty-four years
ago after
the development of a new mood drug called
Bliss . The
entire
city became addicted and eventually a virus mutated within
it, wiping
out the entire population and eventually itself. The
undercity
and the motorway were sealed off but there was not enough
power to
open it up again once the danger had passed.
The Doctor
asks who helped her do this and suddenly he hears a voice
calling
his name. He runs across the room to find the Face of Boe
waiting
for him. Hame explains she was made his Nurse as penance for
her sins
and when the virus came he protected her. Now wired into
the
mainframe Boe has been giving his life force to protect the
undercity,
unable to call for help due to the quarantine the planet
was placed
under.
The Face
of Boe pleads for the Doctor to help, whilst deep beneath
them Milo,
Martha ad Cheen sit in silence. Martha laments the Doctor
coming to
rescue her but begins to realise how little he has told
her about
himself, and how her parents would never know if she died
on an
alien world.
Cheen
notes that their only hope is a complete stranger but Martha
insists he
is more than any other man. Just as the drivers have
their
faith and their hymns, she has the Doctor. Milo starts the
engines
again and as the noise outside rears up once more they
accelerate
through the minefield of crab-like creatures outside.
In the
Senate the Doctor discovers that Martha s car still registers
on the
computer systems and sets about restoring the power. Hame
helps him
with the burnt out computers but the Doctor s confidence
is
misplaced. He tries to activate the machines but has made an
error; the
transformers need to be fixed first. He continues his
work as
the Face of Bow struggles to speak.
Doctor I
give you my last
Suddenly
the power begins to return and as Hame tends to her patient
the
motorway begins to shake. High above the cars the roof slowly
opens.
Sections of the ceiling fold away and daylight floods inside.
The
drivers look on in amazement as the Doctor s face appears on the
computer
screens, telling everyone to drive up into the skies and
clear the
Fast Lane.
Milo
manages to fly his vehicle out of the Macra s reach and as
Martha
jumps for joy the whole motorway rejoices as they fly towards
their
freedom. The Doctor continues to speak to Brannigan and
reminds
him to return his coat, before telling Martha to come to the
Senate.
However as he speaks Hame calls to him. He turns around and
watches as
the glass container in which the Face of Boe resides
begins to
crack.
Some time
later Martha arrives, and finds her friend crouched over
the dying
body of Boe; the glass container smashed. The Doctor
recalls
the legends that surround the Face of Boe and Hame claims
that at
the end of his life, her patient will impart his last secret
to a
traveller.
Boe begins
to speak, recalling the many things he has seen in his
long life.
He is the last of his kind just as the Doctor is the last
of his.
The Time Lord asks him not to go but he is too late, and Boe
speaks his
last.
Know this
Time Lord You are not alone.
The Doctor
s brow becomes furrowed as Boe breathes his last and Hame
begins to
cry. He gets to his feet and walks over to Martha, putting
an arm
around her.
Having
retrieved his coat the Time Lord returns with his companion
to the
undercity, where the vending stations have closed down.
Martha
asks what Boe meant and ponders if he meant that the Doctor
is not
alone as long as he has her. Her friend claims that that was
not the
secret, but then dismisses the importance of the message
altogether
and instead moves to return to the TARDIS.
Martha
however is not impressed so instead of following pulls up an
abandoned
chair and sits down in the middle of the alleyway. She
demands
that the Doctor explain why he is the last of his kind and
as the
city begins to sing again the Doctor talks. He explains that
he lied to
her, that way he could pretend his race were still alive.
He is not
just a Time Lord. He is the last of the Time Lords. The
Face of
Boe was wrong; there is no one else.
He pulls
up a chair and sits before her, explaining that his people
were
destroyed in the last great Time War, fighting for the sake of
all
creation against a race known as the Daleks.
They re
all gone now. My family, my friends even that sky. Oh you
should
have seen it that old planet. The second sun would rise in
the south
and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees
were
silver. When they caught the light every morning it looked like
a forest
on fire. When the autumn came breeze would blow through the
branches
and sound like a song
And as he
talks the singing far above continues, the setting sun
silhouetting the tall buildings of New New York; the skyline now
bustling
with life.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor first visited New New York (and met Novice Hame)
with Rose in New Earth.
The Macra first appeared back in the Patrick Troughton era
in
The Macra Terror .
The Doctor removes an arrow lodged in the TARDIS door, which
was planted there at the end of The Shakespeare Code.
The Doctor first revealed the results of the Time War in The
End of the World.
[Back to Main
Page]
Daleks in Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks
Daleks in
Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Helen Raynor
Directed by James Strong
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Miranda Raison (Tallulah), Ryan Carnes
(Laszlo), Hugh Quarshie
(Solomon), Andrew
Garfield (Frank) [1], Eric Loren (Mr
Diagoras) [1], Eric Loren (Dalek Sec) [2], Flik Swan (Myrna),
Alexis Caley (Lois), Earl Perkins (Man #1), Peter Brooke (Man
#2),
Ian Porter (Foreman) [1], Ian Porter (Hybrid) [2], Joe
Montana (Worker #1) [1], Stewart Alexander (Worker #2) [1],
Mel
Taylor (Dock Worker) [1]; Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg,
Anthony Spargo [1], David Hankinson (Dalek Operators); Nicolas
Briggs (Dalek Voices), Paul Kasey (Hero Pig).
The
Doctor and Martha face old enemies in 30's New York.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Daleks in Manhattan
April 21st, 2007 6h35pm
- 7h20pm
Evolution of the Daleks April
28th, 2007 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by James Strong and Phil Collinson for
Daleks in Manhattan is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
A
commentary track by James Strong and Mike Jones for
Evolution of the Daleks is available on the official Doctor
Who website.
Nighttime
has fallen over the Big Apple and at the New York revue
it s two
minutes to curtain up but showgirl Tallulah is busy
smooching
with her boyfriend Laszlo. He hands her a white flower and
as she
attaches it to her costume she prepares to go on stage,
kissing
her lover goodbye.
However in
the corridors of the building strange creatures are
lurking,
and after Laszlo goes to investigate he finds himself in
the prop
store, seemingly alone. A snarling echoes around him and
with no
warning a man-sized pig lunches at him from the shadows.
Daleks in
Manhattan
(drn:46'52")
The TARDIS
materialises beside the Statue of Liberty and the Doctor
and Martha
step outside. Admiring the city across the water they
observe
the nearly competed Empire State Building, as well as a
discarded
newspaper that bears the headline Hoover
Mystery
Deepens .
As they
make their way through Central Park the Doctor explains that
following
the Wall Street Crash in 1929 the huddled masses doubled
in size
and took up residence in the open area within the city. Sure
enough the
Hooverville settlement is close by, and as they wander
through
the makeshift town they observe two men fighting over a loaf
of bread.
The town s
sheriff Solomon breaks them up and shares the loaf
between
them. The Doctor and Martha approach him and introduce
themselves. Solomon asks the Doctor as a man of learning why America
can afford
to construct the tallest building in the world but still
have
hundred of citizens living in poverty.
Inside the
building the foreman of construction is complaining to
his boss
Mr Diagoras about the accelerated rate of work. The smartly
dressed
man insists that their new masters are demanding the rate of
work must
remain, with the extra work on the building s mast needing
to be
completed that night.
The
foreman threatens to halt work and Mr Diagoras calls upon one of
the
masters to meet his guest. As the lift slowly rises up to meet
them the
foreman looks on as the door opens to reveal a Dalek,
flanked on
wither side by creatures resembling half-man half-pig.
The Dalek
demands to know why it was summoned and Mr Diagoras
explains
what has been going on. He is taken away for the final
experiment and the Dalek insists
that the Empire State Building
must be
completed in time. They need more bodies, fast.
Back in
Hooverville Solomon explains that people have been vanishing
from the
town and it is believed they are being abducted and the
police are
no interested. Soon Mr Diagoras arrives offering work in
the
sewers. The Doctor becomes interested in the talk of accidents
happening
below the ground of the city and offers to help out,
taking
Martha, Solomon and a young boy called Frank with them.
Soon they
are below grounds being given directions to clear away a
fallen
tunnel. Martha talks with Frank as they make their way
through
the dark passageways, the Doctor enquiring into the role of
Mr
Diagoras, whom Solomon explains appeared almost overnight but now
appears to
run most of Manhattan.
Suddenly
they come across a growing green brain-like entity, which
the Doctor
carefully examines. He then takes note that they appear
to have
not yet found any sign of a collapsed tunnel and ponders why
they have
been sent below ground.
Up above
them in the Empire State Building Mr Diagoras is giving his
men
instructions for the constructions of the building s mast,
telling
them to attach a series of panels to the base of it by the
end of the
night. He shows them the panels, which appear to be taken
from the
base of a Dalek casing.
They
protest about the task in hand but Mr Diagoras warns them that
they will
be replaced if they do not comply. They take the panels
and move
off to complete their task.
Once they
are gone the Dalek arrives again in the lift, explaining
that the
conductor must be completed for their plan to work. They
move to
observe the shining city below, the alien creature
exclaiming
that his planet is gone, yet the human race always
continues.
Diagoras tells it he will do anything to survive in a
world,
even through war.
He is
unaware that in the lower levels of the building Dalek Sec is
watching
him. Flanked by the other members of the Cult of Skaro he
claims
that Diagoras is the prime example they need. He sends orders
for him to
be brought below ground, and his colleague above follows
the
orders, Diagoras following him into the lift shaft.
Prepare
the laboratory, the final experiment will begin
Arriving
at the base of the building Diagoras looks around at the
strange
machinery lining the walls, tended to by the strange pig
servants.
Before him awaits Dalek Sec, who introduces himself and Mr
Diagoras
identifies as the one who transmitted it s thoughts into
his mind,
tempting him with such images of power. Sec orders his
slaves to
hold the man but he insists he wants to work with them.
Down in
the sewers there is still no sign of a sewer; only inhuman
squeals
echoing around the Doctor and his group. They progress and
Martha
spots one of the pig creatures, slumped on the floor
defenceless. The Doctor promises to help but is forced to retreat
when more
of the creatures begin to advance on him from the shadows,
forcing
him and the others the break into a run.
They flee
through the sewers, the pig men following, and eventually
they find
a ladder leading up above ground. Frank however is too
slow and
the creatures take him with them. Solomon refuses to loose
anyone
else and closes the ladder s hatch.
Suddenly
Tallulah appears from around a corner; they have arrived in
the
theatre. Aiming a gun at them she demands to know what they have
done with
Laszlo. She takes them back to her dressing room and
explains
that her boyfriend vanished two weeks ago. She throws away
the gun
and explains it was a prop, before the Doctor explains that
more
people have been disappearing across the city, and to find out
more he
needs to examine the alien object he found in the sewers,
which he
has been keeping in his pocket.
Searching
the prop stores he begins to put together a crude DNA
scanner,
whilst Solomon comments on his extraordinary persona. He
tells him
that he must return to Hooverville and wishes the Time
Lord luck,
whilst Martha sits with Tallulah as she prepares for the
nights
show.
The
showgirl talks about the dismal times she lives in, always going
on with
the show in the hope her boyfriend will return. She explains
that a
white flower has been appearing on her dressing table, just
as Laszlo
used to do before he goes missing, and wonders why, if he
is still
around, he insists on being so secretive.
Back in
Hooverville Solomon tells the citizens of the town that the
rumours
are true; people are being taken and it must be stopped. He
orders
them to set up sentries on duty and to arm themselves for
protections.
Meanwhile,
on top of the Empire State Building the construction
workers
fix the Dalek panels to the base of the mast, whilst below
ground the
Daleks prepare for the final experiment. Diagoras fears
they will
turn him into one of the pig slaves but Sec insists they
need his
flesh.
They begin
to argue amongst themselves; Sec claiming that the Cult
of Skaro
was invented to find new ways of survival, and despite
Dalek Thay
s claims that they must remain pure, Sec explains that
purity has
almost brought them to extinction; they must adapt to
survive.
Already some of the Daleks have sacrificed their components
to aid the
experiments and now he will sacrifice himself for the
good of
Dalek-kind.
He faces
Diagoras and opens his casing, revealing the mutated
creature
within. The pig slaves drag the prisoner forward and the
mutant
engulfs him in it s grasp, puling him into the bottom of the
casing
before slowly closing him inside.
At the
theatre the Doctor focuses a stage light on the alien
creature,
whilst Tallulah takes to the stage to perform her number.
Taking
Martha with her they leave the Doctor in his examination;
deducing
that the creature has been manufactured.
As
Tallulah begins her number; My Angel Put
The Devil In Me ,
Martha
watches from the wings, but spots one of the pig creatures on
the
opposite side of the stage. Creeping over to try and help she
warns
Tallulah and they race from the stage, as the Doctor
determines
that the creature originated on the planet Skaro
Martha
tracks the pig creature to the prop store but from there she
is
ambushed and dragged back down into the sewers. The Doctor
follows
but Tallulah is hot on his heels, theorising that whatever
took her
may have taken Laszlo.
The pig
creatures take Martha to the rest of their prisoners, Frank
standing
among them, and they are marched away. The Doctor and
Tallulah
continue their search but are stopped when the Doctor spots
the
silhouette of a Dalek gliding towards them. They hide and watch
as one
glides past and the Doctor speaks:
They
survive. They always survive while I loose everything
He
explains to Tallulah that the Daleks are living creatures encased
in metal
casings, bent on destroying every creature unlike them.
In the
basement Dalek Sec begins to shake and smoke from the casing,
but
refuses to let the experiment end; telling his colleagues to
administer
an injection.
In the
sewers the Doctor decides to return Tallulah above ground,
but run
into one of the pig creatures that turns away at the sight
of them.
The Doctor demands to know what has been done to Martha
and. the
creature, still with a human voice, tells them she has been
taken.
He claims
that the masters turned him into a human as they have with
so many
others to use as slaves. Tallulah asks why he was in the
theatre
and the creature claims he didn t want her to see him in is
mutated
form. Confessing to following her he eventually reveals
himself in
a shaft of light; his is Laszlo. Tallulah begins to break
down in
tears before agreeing to show the Doctor to the other
prisoners.
Soon a
Dalek arrives to inspect the prisoners and Martha warns the
others not
to resist. Upon hearing the name Dalek the young
earthling
ponders, remembering something the Doctor said to her
before.
Another Dalek arrives and claims the Dalekanium is in place;
the energy
converted is ready.
They then
begin scanning each prisoner for intelligence; and as
Laszlo
points out from the shadows the most intelligent are taken
away to
the laboratory for the final experiment, the others become
pig
slaves.
The Daleks
identify Martha as worthy of being taken to the
transgenic
laboratory and the Doctor hurries to join her. Laszlo
tells
Tallulah to return to the theatre and then walks with the
Doctor.
Tallulah moves off but begins to loose her way, reducing
herself to
tears.
Martha is
relieved as the Doctor joins the group being taken above
ground and
soon they arrive in the laboratory, where they look on as
Dalek Sec
enters the final stage of evolution. The Doctor tells
Martha to
ask what is happening so that he is not noticed, and
fighting
her fear she demands to be told what the final experiment
is. The
Daleks tell her she will witness a new dawn of evolution; to
survive
the Daleks must adapt and soon the children of Skaro will
walks
again, free from their casings.
They turn
back to Sec, whose casing opens and from within steps the
result of
the experiment. The human body of Diagoras has been
mutated
beyond recognition. His hands are disfigured so that his
fingers
taper to a point. His face is hidden but his brain, fused
with Dalek
flesh, is left exposed. A single eye looks out at the
room and
six tentacles lining what is left of his face stretch out
at his new
surroundings. The creature s mouth opens to breathe the
air around
it and then it announces:
I am a
human Dalek and I am your future.
Evolution
of the Daleks
(drn:46'25")
The Doctor
cuts in with the sound of a nearby radio and confronts
the
Daleks, realising that having used an emergency temporal shift
to escape
their last encounter they are low on power and have
retreated
to the sewers. He turns on the newly evolved Sec and
enquires
as to how he feels. The creature proclaims that he can feel
the
aggressiveness of mankind, a genius for war.
The Time
Lord protests but then chooses to make his escape, using
the radio
to emit a high-pitched scream. With Martha and the rest of
the
captives in tow, the group flee out into the sewers, finding
Tallulah
waiting for them. Two of the remaining
pure Daleks and
pig slaves
follow, leaving Sec to stroke the now-broken radio with
his
deformed hands. The captives manage to escape above ground again
and the
Daleks are left to discuss their doubts about their new
leader.
Back in
Hooverville the Doctor warns Solomon of the oncoming attack,
and soon
the pig slaves are swarming in from the woods surrounding
them them.
Realising they are trapped Solomon and his men open fire,
but it is
no use, the Daleks have arrived. Up in the air they open
fire,
stopping only when the Doctor intervenes. Solomon tries to
make
speech and even though Sec, who watches the encounter back in
the
laboratory, appears to be moved by the human s call for peace,
his Daleks
open fire and kill the human leader.
Infuriated, the Doctor orders the Daleks to kill him and spare the
others,
but Sec orders them to halt before they can carry out the
act. He
orders that the Time Lord be brought back to the Empire
State
Building on the condition that the remaining humans will be
left
alone. The Doctor prepares to leave, handing Martha his psychic
paper
before departing.
In the
laboratory the remaining Dalek asks Sec why their enemy was
spared, to
which he claims that his genius may be needed for the
future of
the Dalek race. Whilst in Hooverville Martha helps those
injured in
the conflict and ponders how she is supposed to use the
psychic
paper, the Doctor arrives.
He
condemns Sec for allowing the death of Solomon but is taken back
when the
creature admits it was wrong, again admiring his courage.
The Doctor
realises that he is slowly becoming more human then asks
why he has
been summoned. Sec explains that the Daleks have resorted
to
adapting human flesh in order to survive as a race, and reveals
thousands
of frozen brain-dead bodies suspended above them.
He lowers
one of them, and the Doctor examines it, as Sec explains
that they
have removed all traces of human nature. The Time Lords
asks from
where the power to convert every body will be obtained and
Sec orders
for the conductor plan to be opened.
Martha,
meanwhile, realises that her mission may have something to
do with
the energy conductor the Daleks spoke of in the sewers and
goes to
ask Frank what the Dalekanium has to do with the device.
Sec
explains that with a high enough blast of gamma radiation the
energy
conductor will awaken the frozen bodies and fill them with
his own
DNA. A solar flare from the sun will soon hit the Earth and
power the
converter. He then asks the Doctor to help him restore
emotions
to the new Dalek army, but his counterparts are not
convinced
of his plans. Sec proclaims that their quest for supremacy
has led
them to near extinction and they must now change.
Elsewhere
in the building Martha, Frank and Tallulah have used the
psychic
paper to access one of the lifts, and begin to make their
way to the
top floor.
Sec asks
the Doctor to alter the gene sequence of the new army but
the Time
Lord is not convinced the other Daleks will allow the
change.
However they insist that they will follow orders and after
Sec
explains that he wishes to take the new race to a new planet
(and leave
Earth in peace) the Doctor agrees to help.
Martha and
her new friends arrive at the top of the building and
find new
building plans for the spire of the building; something has
been
changed in the past few hours. She and Frank begin trying to
locate the
change as Tallulah admires the view.
In the
laboratory the Doctor and Sec begin their work but the Time
Lord is
concerned about the pig slaves, whom he learns will live no
longer
than few weeks. He apologises to the irreversibly deformed
Laszlo and
promises him that no one else shall suffer his fate.
Up above
Martha and Tallulah discuss the Doctor, and Martha reveals
that she
worries if her companion really cares for her; he still
seems
infatuated with his lost friend Rose. Conversation turns to
Laszlo,
and tearfully Tallulah admits that the Daleks have taken the
only thing
in her life that she cared about.
Soon the
feeding lines to the frozen bodies in the lab are ready and
the gene
solution begins to disperse as the storm approaches. Martha
finally
discovers the change in the building plans; panels of
Dalekanium
have been added to the lightening conductor on top of the
building.
However,
all is not well in the sewers. Suddenly alarms sound and
the Doctor
realises that the three remaining Daleks have bypassed
the gene
feed, reversing the Doctor s alterations. They turn on Sec
and order
the pig slaves to hold him. Laszlo grabs the Doctor and
they run
to the lift. They ascend but Laszlo is having difficulty
breathing.
They
arrive at the top floor and find Martha, who explains that
changes to
the energy converter. With six minutes to go the Doctor
ascends to
the mast above, leaving Martha to deal with the pig
slaves
approaching in the lift.
Thunder
rumbles around the city as the Doctor begins his work. With
the aid of
the sonic screwdriver he begins to detach the panels.
Below,
Laszlo tries to help Tallulah and the others defend the top
floor but
collapses in strain. Suddenly Martha has an idea and
begins
constructing a maze of metallic piping, leading from the
scaffolding to the lift door. The lightening strike will still fill
the
building with electricity and if this can be channelled to the
lift the
pig slaves will be electrocuted.
The Doctor
succeeds in removing one of the panels but drops the
sonic
screwdriver. He tries in vain to rip the remaining two panels
by hand
but realises it is too late. He lurches forward and grabs
the mast
in his hands. The lightening hits and the electricity
courses
through his body. Below, Martha s plan succeeds and even
further
down in the laboratory the new Dalek army awakens as the new
DNA is
transmitted.
Martha
begins to feel remorse for the dead pig slaves but Laszlo
insists
the Daleks had already killed them. She then remembers the
Doctor and
ascends to the roof.
In the
laboratory the new army identify themselves as Daleks and
with
orders to capture Manhattan and convert it s population in
order to
start a world conquest they begin to disperse, arming
themselves
with Dalek weaponry.
On the
roof the Doctor lies motionless on the floor, as Martha
arrives
with his Sonic Screwdriver. She notices the Dalekanium
panels
still attached to the mast and the Doctor leaps to his feet.
Down below
Sec is held in chains as Dalek Caan designates himself
Controller.
The Doctor
realises that with the new army spreading out across the
sewers he
must try and draw them out into he open. He decides to use
the
theatre and hurries with the others toward the service elevator.
Not long
after they arrive and the Doctor begins to put his plan in
motion,
using the Sonic Screwdriver to send out a signal as Tallulah
looks
after the ailing Laszlo.
Suddenly
the room fills with the Dalek army, and on the stage Dalek
Jast and
Dalek Thay blast into view, Sec held between them in
chains.
They proclaim that Earth will become the new Skaro, and the
last Time
Lord will be killed in the process. Both the Doctor and
Sec warn
them that their visions will not come to fruition but they
proceed
and exterminate Sec.
The Doctor
confronts the new army and orders them to kill him, but
as Caan
notes, they have changed. The soldiers do not fire; instead
they
question their orders. The Doctor explains that the lightening
strike
passed through him first, the army contains his own DNA as
well as
that of the Daleks. In fury the pure Daleks open fire and a
battle
soon ensures.
Both Jast
and Thay are destroyed, but Caan has the last word,
destroying
all of the hybrids from his control centre. As the Doctor
points
out, they have committed genocide.
He returns
to the laboratory where he and Dalek Caan stand alone.
The Time
Lord claims that he is the only man left in existence that
will show
him some compassion, and having seen one genocide he will
not cause
another. He offers to help but Caan has other ideas.
Emergency
Temporal Shift
And in a
flash of light he is gone, leaving the Doctor standing
alone.
Martha and Tallulah enter with Laszlo, who is close to death.
The Doctor
vows that no more will die on this day and with an entire
laboratory
at his fingertips, soon he is setting about his work.
Soon the
deformed stagehand is fit and well again, ready to live out
his days
with Tallulah in Hooverville.
The Doctor
and Martha return to the TARDIS and Marta apologises to
him that
the Dalek escaped again, she knows how much it means to
him. He
admits that one day he will meet the creature again.
One
day.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Cult of Skaro were last seen in Army of Ghosts /
Doomsday, initiating an Emergency Temporal Shift at the end
of
the story.
Martha tell Tallulah that she once performed with
Shakespeare on stage, which he did in The Shakespeare Code.
The Doctor and Martha visit New York having seen the city s
future incarnation in the previous story Gridlock.
The Doctor and the Daleks have visited the Empire State
Building before, in The Chase.
The Daleks have experimented with human DNA before, in The
Evil of the Daleks.
The Daleks count down the lightening strike in Rels, the
unit of time seen in the 1960 s movie Dalek Invasion Earth
2150 AD.
The name Dalekanium was first mentioned in The Dalek
Invasion of Earth.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Lazarus Experiment
The Lazarus
Experiment
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Stephen Greenhorn
Directed by Richard Clark
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Gugu
Mbatha-Raw (Tish Jones), Reggie Yates (Leo Jones), Adjoa
Andoh (Francine Jones), Mark Gatiss (Richard Lazarus), Thelma
Barlow (Lady Thaw), Lucy O'Connell (Party Guest), Bertie
Carvel (Mysterious Man).
Martha comes back homes to find her family embroiled with
Professor Lazarus and his experiment to change "what it means
to
be human".
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Lazarus Experiment
May 5th, 2007 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Reggie Yates and Will Cohen is
available on the official Doctor Who website.
The TARDIS
returns to Earth, inside Martha s home the morning after
they left.
The Doctor claims that the one journey he promised her is
over,
before watching a report on the television of an old man
promising
to reveal a device which will change what it means to be
human.
Nevertheless he prepares to leave and after thanking him for the
journey
Martha watches the Doctor depart, only to return a few
moments
later; curious as to what the elderly man meant by changing
what it
meant to be human.
The
Lazarus Experiment
(drn:42'25")
In an
office overlooking the city, Professor Richard Lazarus (the
gentlemen
from the television report) and Lady Thaw look out into
the night.
Lazarus assures his austere counterpart that the upcoming
experiment
will work and give the audience as well as Mr Saxon what
they are
waiting for.
Tish Jones
enters with a guest list for the evening and waylays some
amorous
advances from her learned employer; whilst outside the
Doctor and
Martha, both in evening dress, make their way toward the
Lazarus
Laboratories building. Inside stands a magnificent machine,
a chamber
surrounded by shining columns.
Tish
arrives and greets her sister, before introducing the Doctor.
Soon
Martha s mother Francine arrives with her son (Martha s
brother)
Leo, and Martha greats them both warmly. Awkwardly she
introduces
the Doctor, who only succeeds in arousing suspicion about
his
relationship with Martha from her concerned mother.
Lazarus
then takes to the stage, claiming his experiment will
signify a
great scientific advance. He steps inside the central
chamber of
the machine, which is then activated. The smaller columns
begin to
rotate as the machine is bathed in blue light. Suddenly
alarms
ring out and the Doctor is forced to turn the device off
before it
overloads. Lady Thaw protests but he succeeds in stopping
the
machine, and Martha opens the door.
From
within steps a somewhat startled young man, wearing the same
clothes as
the elderly Professor Lazarus. He staggers forward and
announces:
Ladies
and gentlemen. I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old; and
I am
reborn
The Doctor
looks on with an icy look as Lady Thaw congratulates her
friend,
who suddenly succumbs to ravenous hunger. The Doctor steps
in and
identifies it as an energy deficit and then begins to talk
about the
experiment, noting that Lazarus could not have allowed for
all
possible variables in the outcome.
Lady Thaw
claims the Doctor is not in a position to comment and
Lazarus
insists that he is fine; he has created a way for humanity
to
improve. The Doctor dismisses this but Lazarus and Thaw leave,
the former
kissing Martha s hand before moving off. The Time Lord
claims
that they should run some tests to check the machine and
Martha
points out that she now has a DNA sample on the back of her
hand.
Back in
their office Lazarus and Lady Thaw discuss growing up in the
Second
World War, Lazarus having spent time hiding in Southwark
Cathedral
during the Blitz. The pair kisses but Lazarus draws back,
apparently
disturbed by the visual age gap between them.
In another
laboratory the Doctor and Martha examine Lazarus s DNA,
shocked to
find it constantly changing, something laying dormant in
his
genetics has been unleashed in the process of renewal, and is
now trying
to change him. Realising the risk they run upstairs to
find him.
Lady Thaw
is furious to think Lazarus will cut her out of the profit
of the
experiment and claims that if she too is rejuvenated they can
be rich
and young together. Lazarus mocks the idea but suddenly
begins to
contort unnaturally. He falls to the floor and writhes in
agony,
apparently changing. Lady Thaw looks on as Lazarus gazes upon
her with
inhuman eyes.
In the
reception area Francine is curious to find out more about the
Doctor,
finding him somewhat peculiar. Lazarus soon arrives, now
wearing a
different shirt. He approaches Tish and whisks her away.
The Doctor
and Martha arrive in Lazarus office,
finding the husk of
Lady Thaw
s body awaiting them, now devoid of all life energy. They
realise
that Lazarus needs such energy to cater for the dormant
genes, and
so he will kill again. They hurry downstairs, only for
Tish and
Lazarus to arrive in the room moments after they leave.
They
ascend to the roof to admire the view whilst downstairs the
Doctor and
Martha discover where Lazarus has gone. They hurry away
whilst a
mysterious man, who enquires as to the Doctor s presence,
approaches
Francine.
On the
roof Lazarus and Tish admire the view of Southwark Cathedral.
Tish leans
forward and gently strokes the man s skin, asking if the
outcome of
the experiment is as he expected. He replies in verse:
Between
the idea
And the
reality
Between
the motion
And the
act
Falls
the shadow.
The Doctor
finishes his recital and warns that the experiment is a
curse.
Suddenly he falls to the floor again and reappears a hideous
monster,
some way between a spider and a scorpion. The Doctor,
Martha and
Tish run inside as the security alarm is sounded and the
building
is locked down.
They flee
downstairs and Martha uses the Sonic Screwdriver to try
and open
one of the exits. Suddenly Lazarus, still in monster form,
arrives
and chaos breaks out, as the monster feeds on another
victim.
The Doctor mocks him then runs, the creature chasing him
along a
corridor. They arrive in a boiler room as Martha manages to
open up
the front doors, allowing the guests to flee outside. The
Doctor
flees from the boiler room and the chase continues, whilst
Martha
vows to return to find her friend, against her mother s
wishes.
Arriving
in another laboratory the Doctor begins to tamper with the
wiring of
the lighting and starts turning on all of the methane gas
taps.
Lazarus enters but the Doctor manages to escape, flicking the
light
switch and creating a massive explosion. He continues to run
and finds
Martha awaiting him, but Lazarus is not dead yet.
Outside
Francine worries about the Doctor and Martha, the mysterious
man
returning again to warn her that the Doctor is a dangerous man,
whispering
something in her ear. Back inside the Doctor and Martha
take
refuge in Lazarus s machine; hoping the creature will not
attack his
own masterpiece.
However
with no further plan the Doctor is left to improvise and
begins
zapping the chamber with the Sonic Screwdriver whilst Lazarus
stalks
around outside, eventually switching the machine on. As light
floods
into the chamber the Doctor manages to reverse the polarity
of the
machine and it zaps Lazarus, who returns to human form. The
two time
travellers step outside to find Lazarus slumped on the
floor.
This is
the way the world ends
Not with a
bang but a whimper
Soon
Lazarus body is being taken away in an
ambulance and the
Doctor and
Martha are confronted by Francine, who slaps the Time
Lord and
warns him to stay away from her daughter. She tells Martha
that he is
dangerous and begs her to leave him, but she cannot, and
follows
him as he dashes off following the sound of a distant crash,
Tish also
in tow.
They
arrive to find the ambulance crashed and Lazarus escaped,
tracing
him to Southwark Cathedral. Inside all is dark, and as they
ascend the
aisle they find Lazarus, draped in an alter cloth,
cowering
in fear. He remembers being in the Cathedral when he was a
child. He
boasts again about changing the course of history but the
Doctor
claims that facing death is all part of being human.
Lazarus
again fights the DNA override, and the Doctor whispers to
Martha
that he has an idea; he needs to get Lazarus into the bell
tower. He
turns to Lazarus and warns him that the only certainty of
a long
life is that you will end up alone. Lazarus prepares to feed
and Martha
uses herself as bait. She and Tish ascend the staircase
and as
Lazarus finally transforms once more, he follows.
The Doctor
arrives at the Cathedral s giant pipe organ, and as
Martha,
Tish and Lazarus ascend to the bell tower he begins to play.
The
mutated creature almost succeeds in dropping Martha through the
tower and
onto the stone floor far below, but when the Doctor
manages to
maximise the hypersonic sound waves of the organ the
creature
is overcome, plummeting to down into the abyss.
Safe once
more, Martha and Tish join the Doctor down below, where
once again
Lazarus s naked human body lies motionless. The Doctor
leans
forward to close the man s eyes, as he reverts back to his
original
elderly form.
Some time
later the Doctor and Martha are back outside the TARDIS.
She warns
him to take more care wherever he goes next and he offers
one more
trip with him. She declines, no longer content with being
just a
passenger. He agrees that she is more than that and together
they
depart one more.
As the
ship fades from view the telephone rings. Switching to the
answer
phone Francine s voice is heard
Martha it
s your mother. Please phone me back I m begging you. I
know who
this Doctor really is; I know he s dangerous. You re gonna
get
yourself killed. Please trust me. This information comes from
Harold
Saxon himself, you re not safe.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor remembers the last time he wore his evening suit,
in
Rise of the Cybermen / Age of Steel.
Martha arrives back on Earth shortly after she left in Smith
and Jones.
Mr
Saxon is referred to in this episode as someone with an
interest in Lazarus experiments.
In Smith and Jones it is
established that he is a politician. He was first mentioned
in
Love & Monsters and then again The Runaway Bride. He will
appear in person during the series finale The Sound of Drums
/
Last of the Time Lords.
The Doctor talks of reversing the polarity, something he did
frequently in his third persona.
[Back to Main
Page]
42
42
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones),
Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones), Michelle
Collins (Kath
McDonnell), William
Ash (Riley Vashtee), Anthony Flanagan
(Orin Scannell), Matthew Chambers (Hal Korwin), Vinette
Robinson (Abi Lerner), Gary Powell (Dev Ashton), Rebecca
Oldfield (Erina Lessak), Elize du Toit (Sinister Woman),
Joshua Hill (Voice of Countdown).
The
TARDIS materializes on a space cargo vessel, where the
Doctor and Martha learn that a crazed crewmember has sabotaged
the
ship. The Doctor has only 42 minutes before they all burn
into
the sun.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
42 May
19th, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
Notes:
This is the first episode taking place in real time.
A
prologue is availlable on the official Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Phil Collinson, Michelle Collins and
Anthony Flanagan is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
Inside the
TARDIS the Doctor alters Martha s mobile phone to enable
calls to
all numbers from anywhere and any time in the universe.
After this
he struggles to overcome a bout of turbulence as the ship
lands as
they receive a distress signal.
He and
Martha emerge into a stifling hot room but are unaware of
their
exact location. Suddenly three panic-stricken people run
forward
and seal them from the TARDIS, demanding to know whom they
are.
Explaining they answered the distress signal a computerised
voice
calls out
Impact
projection: 42 minutes 27 seconds.
As Martha
looks out of a portal one of the people with them explains
they are
on a spaceship, which is about to crash into a sun.
42
(drn:45'24")
The Doctor
tries to return to the TARDIS but it has been parked in a
vent
chamber, and is now inaccessible. Instead he decides he must
fix the
engines of the ship and runs off to the engine room.
On arrival
he finds the engines wrecked, and theorises that they
have been
sabotaged. As the captain of the ship, McDonnell tries to
contact
the other members of the crew the Doctor suggests using the
auxiliary
controls. However other members of the crew point out that
they lie
behind 29 deadlock-sealed password-protected doors.
The Doctor
sends Martha and a crewmember named Riley to unlock the
door
whilst the others are called to the medical centre.
Impact in
34:31
In the med
centre crewmember Korwin struggles against two others,
Abi and
Ashton, as they try to put him in stasis. It is he who
sabotaged
the ship after succumbing to rising body temperature. The
Doctor
tells the others to keep his internal temperature regulated
and
sedated, before rushing back downstairs.
Impact in
32:50
At the
first door Riley explains to Martha that the passwords are
the
answers to random questions set by the crew. They pass through
the first
but get stuck at the second, which requires the answer to
a
mathematical sequence. The Doctor aids them over the intercom and
they move
on to the next.
Impact in
30:50
Stumped by
a question on music they again call the Doctor but he is
busy
making a back up should Martha and Riley fail to reach the
auxiliary
engines.
Impact in
29:46
Martha
calls her mother to get the answer to the question but she is
more
concerned about the Doctor. As she connects to the Internet the
computer
sound
Impact in
28:50
The Doctor
receives a message from Abi, who explains that Korwin s
body is
changing. She turns around to find him standing over her and
calls for
urgent assistance. The Doctor runs to help but as Korwin,
whose eyes
are closed, advances on her it becomes to late. In a
rasping
voice he proclaims; Burn with me! He opens his eyes to
reveal a
blinding light within and Abi screams out in pain.
Francine
manages to find the correct answer and Martha and Riley
progress,
Martha having to severe the phone line when Abi s scream
rings out
over the intercom. In the med centre Korwin places a
helmet
over his head and stalks away, leaving the Doctor and
McDonnell
to find the vaporised remains of Abi. The Time Lord
examines
Korwin s medical chart and realises that he has been taken
over by an
alien force.
McDonnell,
Korwin s husband, becomes distraught but warns the crew
that
Korwin is dangerous and on the loose. Elsewhere Erina, another
crewmember
fetches tools for the repair work but is stopped by
Korwin,
who lifts his visor to expose her to the light.
In the med
centre the Doctor is forced to admit that Korwin cannot
be saved,
but continues to try and find out what force has made its
way onto
the ship. Martha and Riley continue on their journey as
Korwin
moves onto his next victim, Ashton. He reaches forward and
clasps his
head, his bare hands burning his skin.
Soon
Ashton advances on Riley and Martha, wearing a helmet like
Korwin s.
He calls out to them Burn With Me and they flee, making
their way
to an escape pod. Ashton tries to jettison it but Riley
manages to
counteract it as Martha tells the Doctor.
Soon
McDonnell and Scannell return to the engines, only to find them
damaged
even further. Korwin arrives and his wife tries to reason
with him,
only for him to blame her for what has happened.
The Doctor
arrives at the escape pod to confront Ashton, who smashes
the
release circuit locking the jettison programme. Scannell managed
to blast
Korwin with the ice vents as the Doctor faces Ashton, who
appears to
feel Korwin s pain. He stalks away and the Doctor warns
Scannell,
who claims that Korwin is dead.
The Time
Lord then tries to free Martha, only to find it is too
late. As
they each gaze through a portal at each other the escape
pod
departs from the ship, toward the sun.
Impact in
17:05
Scannell
asks McDonnell why Korwin claimed it was her fault, but she
avoids the
question. He is called to meet the Doctor whilst
McDonnell
decides to deal with Korwin.
Inside the
pod Martha sits in hope of rescue as Riley claims it is
too late.
Their conversation talks to families, and Martha begins to
realise
she may never see hers again. Riley tells her to call them.
McDonnell
confronts Ashton and manages to place him in a stasis
chamber,
subjecting him to temperatures of 273
degrees Celsius.
Elsewhere,
the Doctor dons a spacesuit and prepares to try and
recall the
escape pod from a control panel on the outside of the
ship.
Martha
calls her mother again and tells her she loves her. She is
unaware
that Francine is not alone; a mysterious woman is recording
their
conversation from the next room. As she asks again if Martha
is with
the Doctor Martha hangs up, leaving Francine alone with the
woman.
Impact in
11:15
The Doctor
opens and air lock and struggles to step outside.
Grabbing
hold of the airlock door he reaches over to the control
panel,
first activating a series of buttons. He then reaches for a
rusted
hatch covering a lever. With a cry of agony he managed to
grab the
lever and activate it, pulling the escape pod back toward
the ship.
However as he steps back inside he looks into the heart of
the sun,
realising that it is alive.
Impact in
8:57
The Doctor
stumbles back into the ship and Martha, Riley and
McDonnell
join him. Riley moves off to help Scannell with the doors
as the
Doctor opens his eyes, revealing the blinding light that
infected
Korwin and Ashton. He blames McDonnell for all that has
happened,
explaining that she mined the sun for cheap fuel. In
actuality
she mined out the heart of a creature that took the form
of a sun,
a creature that now lives inside the Doctor. Struggling to
regain
control he tells Martha to take him to the stasis chamber
Impact in
7:30
Back in
the engine room Korwin begins to awaken, and Riley and
Scannell
race to unlock the remaining doors. In the med centre
Martha
prepares to subject the Doctor to ice cold temperatures, and
he finally
admits to her that he is scared. She tries to calm him
and
activates the stasis chamber, causing him to scream out in pain.
Korwin
rises from the floor and uses a control panel to close down
the power
of the stasis chamber. The Doctor writhes in agony as
McDonnell
rushes to solve the problem.
Impact in
4:47
Riley and
Scannell continue to hurry and the Doctor orders Martha go
to the
front of the ship and dump the fuel mined from the sun. She
promises
to return and runs off.
Impact in
4:08
McDonnell
manages to find Korwin and she accepts the blame for what
has
happened but as Korwin advances she is forced to run away, her
lost
husband following.
Impact in
3:43
Martha
runs as Korwin continues to track McDonnell, finding her
cowering
in an airlock. Again she faces him and begs him to stop,
before
sealing the doors. She apologises to her crew and opens the
air lock,
she and Korwin plummeting into the sun in a final embrace.
Impact in
2:17
Riley and
Scannell arrive at the last door as the Doctor escapes
from the
stasis chamber. Still struggling to suppress the force
inside him
he crawls along the floor and contacts Martha over the
intercom
Burn with
me Martha
Riley and
Scannell open the last door and reach the auxiliary
engines,
but they appear not to work
Impact in
1:06 Collision Alert
Martha
arrives, telling them to vent the engines and dump all of the
fuel. They
do so and as the fuel plummets into the sun the Doctor s
eyes, once
filled with light, return to normal. The engines roar to
life and
the ship begins to fly away from the sun.
Impact
Averted
Riley and
Scannell rejoice as Martha rejoins the Doctor, who is now
his normal
self.
Some time
later the TARDIS is retrieved, Riley and Scannell
remaining
onboard to await the authorities. As the Doctor steps
inside the
ship Riley kisses Martha goodbye and she too makes her
way
inside. She jokes about not really needing the Doctor but his
stone-clod
expression stops her in her tracks.
She asks
how he is coping but instead he avoids the question,
instead
handing her a copy of the TARDIS key. She suddenly recalls
leaving
her mother somewhat abruptly and calls her again. She
apologises
for her past abruptness and agrees to meet her for
dinner,
making sure of the date: Election Day. Again she hangs up
before the
subject of the Doctor arises and Francine is left to
confront
the mysterious woman monitoring her conversations. She
hands over
her mobile phone and she is thanked for her work.
Mister
Saxon will be very grateful
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor enables Martha s phone to contact any phone
number in the universe from anywhere and in any time. He did
this to Rose s phone in The End of the World.
[Back to Main
Page]
Human Nature / The Family of Blood
Human Nature /
The Family of Blood
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Paul Cornell
Directed by Charles Palmer
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor / Smith), Freema Agyeman (Martha
Jones), Jessica Hynes (Nurse Joan Redfern), Harry Lloyd
(Baines), Thomas Sangster (Tim Latimer), Tom Palmer
(Hutchinson), Pip Torrens (Rocastle), Rebekah Staten (Jenny),
Gerard Horan (Mr. Clark), Lauren Wilson (Lucy Cartwright),
Matthew White (Phillips), Derek Smith (Doorman), Peter Bourke
(Mr.
Chambers), Sophie Turner (Vicar).
England, 1913: as war threatens, schoolteacher John Smith and
his
maid Martha battle evil scarecrows at a private school.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Human Nature May
26th, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
The Family of Blood June
2nd, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Freema Agyeman, Ailsa Berk and Thomas
Sangster for Human Nature is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Paul Cornell, Danny Hargreaves and
Ruari Mears for The Family of Blood is available on the
official Doctor Who website.
The Doctor
and Martha, perused by gunfire, flee into the TARDIS and
hurriedly
take off. The Doctor makes sure their pursuers saw neither
of them
before discovering that they are being followed through the
time
vortex. He realises there is only one possible way to stop them
and
presents Martha with a fob watch
Take this
watch, my life depends on it. This watch Martha, this
watch
John Smith
awakens in his bed. He gets up as his maid Martha enters
with his
breakfast. He tells her of his recent extraordinary dreams
of being a
space-traveller known as the Doctor, dreams in which she
has also
played a part. He picks up his fob watch from his
mantelpiece and identifies it as also being part of his fantasy,
before
remembering that his dream took place in 2007.
Martha
hands him the morning paper, reading out the date of Monday
10th
November 1913
And you
re completely human .
Human
Nature
(drn:45'00")
In an
English Boarding school Smith, a teacher, walks the corridors
and
teaches his lessons, whilst Martha and her companion Jenny go
about
their cleaning work, heckled by the senior boys of the school.
Some time
later Smith carries a large pile of books around the
school,
encountering the school matron on the way. She helps him
with the
load and together they make their way around the school,
Matron
(alias Nurse Joan Redfern) taking the opportunity to ask him
if he will
be attending the annual local dance. He begins to
splutter a
reply but manages to fall down the stairs before he can
give an
eloquent response.
Soon Joan
nurses a wound on the back of his head in his study,
Martha
rushing in to make sure he is not harmed. Seeing all is well
she begins
to tidy his things whilst Smith recounts to Joan his
dreams,
wherein he is a man hiding from someone, he dreams he is a
man with
two hearts. Joan takes her stethoscope and examines his
chest,
playfully confirming he has only one.
He
presents her with a journal of his dreams; a diary filled with
scribbled
writing and drawings of all manner of creatures some
human.
Martha looks on keenly and follows Matron out, trying to
prevent
her from reading the book, but to no avail.
In one of
the school dormitories sit three boys, Baines, Hutchinson
and a
younger boy named Latimer. Hutchinson reads a letter from his
father,
and Latimer correctly manages to pre-empt that he has been
stationed
in Africa, despite knowing nothing of the man himself. He
admits
that he has in the past managed to predict things before
knowing
them, but the others ignore him. Baines decides to retrieve
some
concealed beer in the woods, and hurries out of the window.
That night
Martha and Jenny sit outside the local pub, Martha
somewhat
annoyed at not being allowed inside with the men, and takes
refuge in
the fact she will be leaving in a month s time. Suddenly
she sees a
bright green light in the sky, but Jenny denies it.
However,
in the woods not far away Joan, who is walking alone, is
suddenly
bathed in a vivid green light, which proceeds to scan the
surrounding area like a searchlight.
Joan
hurries to the pub, were Smith joins her. Together with Martha
and Jenny
they see another light falling to Earth, which Smith
claims is
a meteorite. He leaves with Matron whilst Martha runs off
to find
where the light came down.
In the
woods, Baines is distracted from his work by an eerie green
light
descending from the skies. He nervously goes to find it but
finds
himself in an empty field. Suddenly he is stopped in his
tracks by
an invisible wall, which glows to the touch. He manages to
locate a
gap in the surface and wanders inside, disappearing from
view.
Moments
later Martha and Jenny arrive but find nothing, and returns
wearily to
the school whilst inside the invisible structure, which
appears to
be a ship; Baines is interrogated by sinister bodiless
voices. He
asks to know what they look like and moments later a
scream
rings out. He arrives sometime later back at the school, an
unnatural
look on his face. He sniffs around the room as Latimer
looks on
curiously, shining his shoes.
The next
day Martha cycles into the woods, arriving at an abandoned
cottage in
which stands the TARDIS. She steps inside to find the
ship
illuminated only by the central console, the walls surrounding
it are
dark. She remembers arriving in the ship, chased by some
unnatural
force. She recounts the Doctor s words to her:
Martha,
this watch is me
He had
explained to her that the creatures were chasing him, the
last Time
Lord in existence. To avoid them he had to become human.
He used a
helmet that descended from the ceiling, the chameleon
arch, to
change his own biology and store what made him a Time Lord
inside the
watch.
She looks
up at the device still suspended from the ceiling in the
darkened
ship and she remembers his screams of agony. His cries of
pain that
rang around the ship as a new life was set for him and all
that he
was became stored inside the watch.
Finally
she moves over to the scanner, playing back the last
recording
he made for her before the change; a list of instructions
for what
to do whilst he remains human. She scans them but finds
nothing
regarding meteorites in the sky, and is left alone in the
hollow
room.
Back at
the school Latimer calls on Smith to borrow a book. Whilst
his
teacher searches for the title the young boy sees the watch the
mantle, he
opens it temporarily as voices swarm around his head, and
as Smith
returns he places it in his pocket. He retreats back to his
room and
opens the watch, a bright light emitting from within and
the voices
returning.
Outside
Baines appears to sense the disturbance, and when he returns
inside he
reports back to the ship that a source has been detected,
and the
soldiers must be activated.
In a field
not far away a man named Mr Clark sees one of his
scarecrows
moving. Thinking it to be one of the schoolboys he
reaches
inside the lining to grab them, finding only a handful of
straw.
Bemused he looks at the figure, which grabs him as others
like it
spring to life across the field. On a road nearby a small
girl with
a balloon walks along, but is confronted by a scarecrow,
who
carries her away, screaming.
Back at
the school Smith oversees the boys practising to fire
machineguns at dummy targets. Latimer and Hutchinson arm the weapon,
the former
appearing to experience a vision of war, himself and his
colleague
fighting in the maze of barbed wire and mud. He observes
his
watches and claims that the time is now
.
Breaking
from his fantasy Hutchinson takes him away to be beaten,
whilst
Baines simply sniffs at his teacher, Smith. Matron appears
from
inside and Smith moves to speak to her, finding her upset by
thought of
her husband who was killed in war.
Together
they leave the school and walk through the local town,
discussing
the idea of war, a premonition Smith appears to find in
his
dreams. Suddenly the teacher observes an accident waiting to
happen, a
piano being hauled to a first floor window is about to
fall, a
woman with her pram slowly walking into it s path.
He grabs a
cricket ball from a nearby by and throws it at some
scaffolding nearby. It pushes the poles aside, upsetting a plank of
wood on
which lays a brick. The brick launches into the air and
upturns a
milk urn, which falls in front of the pram, preventing it
from
moving further into the space where the piano falls.
Smith
appears marvelled by his own capabilities and suddenly finds
the
courage to invite Joan to the village dance. Soon they are
walking
through the fields together, discussing the character of the
Doctor.
Smith sees a nearby scarecrow and moves to correct it on
it s perch
whilst Joan compliments him on his drawing, provoking him
to mention
his home in Gallifrey, a place she assumes to be in
Ireland.
Having finished correcting the scarecrow the two walk off,
unaware
that it turns to watch them go.
Back in
his study Smith sits and draws Joan in his journal,
eventually
moving to kiss her. He begins to mutter some excuse but
she kisses
him again, as Martha enters unannounced and sees them.
She flees
back to the TARDIS to consult the Doctor s instructions
but finds
nothing to explain what she should do.
You had
to go and fall in love with a human and it wasn t me.
At the
school, Latimer sits with the watch and listens to the
voices,
stooping to observe Baines, Mr Clark and the young girl with
the
balloon meeting on the other side of the grounds. On a road not
far away
Jenny is ambushed on her bicycle, surrounded by the
animated
scarecrows.
Soon she
is inside the alien ship, Baines introducing her to his
mother, a
glowing green orb. He claims that she needs a body and
suddenly a
green gas emerges from the orb, overcoming the poor
servant.
Smith and
Joan prepare for the ball as Jenny returns to her
quarters,
where Martha awaits. She sniffs unnaturally as Martha
confesses
her concern about Smith, who is to leave the school in a
few weeks.
She begins to realise that Jenny is not herself and
hurriedly
leaves. However, Jenny draws an alien gun and pursues her,
firing at
her as she flees.
She
returns to Smith s room and tells him they have been found. She
tries to
find the watch but it appears to have gone. Smith believes
her to be
having some sort of breakdown and patronisingly explains
the
situation to her, only for her to slap him in an attempt to
bring him
round. He grabs her by the arm and pushes her outside,
dismissing
her from his service. He then returns inside, where Joan
tells him
that Martha was not lying about the watch, it has gone.
Martha
runs outside, bumping into Latimer (who appears to have a
subsequent
vision of the same incident occurring in Martha s own
time
zone). She hurries back to the ship and rummages in the
Doctor s
coat, as Baines and Jenny arrive in Smith s now-empty
quarters
looking for him.
Smith and
Joan meanwhile arrive at the village dance, closely
followed
by Latimer. As they dance around the room Baines and Jenny
continue
to search the school, before Mr Clark produces the poster
for the
dance. Jenny smiles, her daughter is already there.
At the
dance the girl with the balloon watches the entertainment as
Martha
arrives, unaware the scarecrows are watching from the
surrounding fields. Inside she confronts Smith and presents the
Doctor s
Sonic Screwdriver, ordering him to identify it. She tries
to explain
to him that he isn t John Smith; he is the Doctor, the
man from
the journal.
Soon
Baines, Jenny and Clark arrive, storming the venue and shooting
anyone who
disobeys their orders for silence. Martha orders Smith to
be silent
as Baines turns on him, realising that the Doctor has
taken
human form. Smith fails to understand and Baines threatens to
shoot him
if he doesn t change back. Jenny and Clark grab Martha and
Joan and
point guns at their heads. Baines offers him the ultimatum:
Your
friend or your lover. Your choice.
The Family
of Blood
(drn:42'55")
The family
continue their demands but Latimer distracts them by
momentarily opening the watch. Martha takes one of the family s guns
and aims
it at Baines, taking Jenny hostage. Eventually the family
release
Joan and together with Smith she flees alongside the other
guests.
Martha stays behind but drops her gun and runs when one of
the
scarecrow soldiers attacks her.
Baines
orders Clark, his father, to find the Doctor s ship and the
others
make their way to the school, where the Smith, Joan, Martha
and
Latimer have already returned. Smith raises the alarm for the
students
to take up arms despite Martha s protests. Outside the
family
arrive and Baines sends his sister to find a way into the
building.
Smith
warns the headmaster of the oncoming danger as the boys
continue
their preparations and Martha runs to find the watch, which
Latimer
cradles beneath one of the staircases, the device appearing
to talk to
him, warning him to keep the Doctor safe.
Outside
the headmaster and his aide arrive to confront Baines, Jenny
and the
scarecrows. He tries to warn the attackers to leave but they
demand to
have Smith handed over. Baines then warns the headmaster
that in
the following year, 1914, a war will come and the boys of
the school
will fall in the mud of foreign fields:
Do you
think they will thank the man who taught them it was
glorious?
The
headmaster returns to the school after Baines shoots down his
colleague,
whereupon Smith tells him the phone lines have been cut;
they are
on their own. He orders the boys to continue preparing but
Baines too
is ready, ordering his scarecrow army to march on the
building.
Upstairs
Martha explains to Joan that the watch contains all that
makes the
Doctor a Time Lord, and then proves to her the strength of
her
medical knowledge, which the nurse initially appears to doubt.
The nurse
then returns to the boys downstairs as the father of the
Family of
Blood contacts Baines and claims he has found the Doctor s
TARDIS, he
cannot escape.
Smith
encounters Joan in the corridor and she begins to question his
morality,
finding him unable to reveal more than encyclopaedic facts
of his
childhood home. She then tries to appeal to him, asking him
not to
send the boys to fight but he claims he has no choice.
Outside
Latimer and Hutchinson are aiding the preparations, and Tim
reveals
another of his visions, that the two boys will fight
together
in the approaching war. Hutchinson seems not to understand
and looks
on as Latimer runs off, concerned about why the watch
appears to
talk to him.
Inside it
tells him to beware the daughter of the Family, and sure
enough she
is soon on his tail. He opens the watch in an attempt to
ward her
off but in doing so he transmits it s significance to the
rest of
the Family, who realise that the watch is all they need.
Soon they
are advancing on the school, battering on the barred
gates. The
boys await the command to attack and Smith too raises a
rifle.
However as the scarecrows brake in and the boys open fire, he
is unable
to release a single shot. The army are ploughed to the
ground but
soon the daughter arrives. Martha rushes outside to warn
the
headmaster not to go near her but he neglects the warning and
she shoots
him down.
Smith
refuses to let the boys shoot her and orders a retreat. Baines
arrives to
reanimate his soldiers and chaos brakes out as Latimer
and the
other boys evacuate the school. The Family begin searching
for the
watch but Latimer again distracts them by opening the watch,
fleeing as
they begin to chase his tail
Smith,
Martha and Joan make their way outside and conceal themselves
in the
bushes. Nearby Clark stands with the TARDIS, ordering the
Doctor to
come out of hiding. Smith claims never to have seen the
blue box
before but Joan reasons that it is part of one of his
dreams. He
begins to panic, fearing the accusations that he is not
just John
Smith. He flees whilst Baines and his family move off to
launch the
next stage of their attack, and as Joan leads Smith and
Martha to
an abandoned cottage, the Family return to their invisible
ship,
preparing their armaments.
Inside the
cottage Smith is distraught, realising he must surrender
himself
before anyone else dies. Joan protests but soon Tim arrives
with the
watch, claiming it wants him to return it to the Doctor. He
turns to
Smith and recounts what he has learnt of the Doctor from
the watch:
He s like
fire and ice and rage. He s like the night and the storm
and the
heart of the sun He s ancient and forever. He burns at the
centre of
the time and he can see the turn of the universe and he s
wonderful.
Joan
produces Smith s journal of his dreams and theorises that they
may be
more than stories. Soon the Family open fire on the village
with
bombardment shells and Smith takes the watch, suddenly talking
as if he
were the Doctor, claiming Latimer s special powers are
simply
abnormal levels of psychic ability. Reverting to his usual
speech
pattern, Smith reels back and turns on Martha, who he claims
merely sat
and watched as he fell in love, despite knowing she would
have
to execute him.
She claims
that such a thing was not in the Doctor s instructions
for her
and he scoffs at the thought of a man who doesn t think of
love. She
explains that the Family of Blood has a limited lifespan,
and that
the Doctor went into hiding to wait until they had died.
She
confesses that there is more to the Doctor than Smith thinks,
and
reveals how special he is to her; although she s only known him
for a
short time and although she hopes he never hears her confess
it; she
loves him.
As the
bombardment gets closer Smith claims he can simply give the
Family the
watch and not die in order to bring back the Doctor, but
Joan cuts
in, having realised that should they gain the watch they
will be
able to live forever, and that cannot happen. She asks
Martha and
Latimer to leave for a moment and once they are gone she
embraces
her distressed lover.
Joan
insists that Smith must open the watch, even if the Doctor will
not love
her the way he does. She takes the device and he in turn
holds her
hand. Suddenly they see what could be if the Doctor were
to remain
human; Smith and Joan would marry and have children, live
happy
lives until their old age and then die peacefully. Back in the
present
Joan protests that the Time Lord could never have such a
life and
then finally asks what Smith has decided to do.
Some time
later he arrives on the Family s ship. He bumbles around,
accidentally activating some of the controls. He offers them the
watch and
Baines takes the device, but upon opening it he finds it
empty. The
Doctor has tricked them.
No longer
a human, the Time Lord drops his act and reveals that his
pratfalls
weren t for nothing, he has activated a self-destruct
sequence.
He flees the ship and soon the family follow, a giant
explosions
throwing them to the ground. They look up into the night
sky, as
the Doctor stands over them, and Baines recounts what
happened
next.
He never
raised his voice, that was the worst thing. The fury of
the Time
Lord. And then we discovered why, why this Doctor; who had
fought
with Gods and demons, why he had run away from us and hidden.
He was
being kind.
He wrapped
my father in unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a
dwarf
star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a
collapsing
galaxy, to be trapped there forever. He still visits my
sister;
once a year, every year. I wonder if one day he might
forgive
her He trapped her inside a mirror. Every mirror. If ever
you look
at your reflection and see something move behind you, just
for a
second, that s her. That s always her. As for me, I was
suspended
in time, and the Doctor put me to work standing over the
fields of
England as their protector.
We wanted
to live forever, so the Doctor made sure that we did.
And after
leaving Baines, now a scarecrow, the Doctor returns to the
abandoned
cottage, where Joan is waiting. He tells her he has
finished
his work as she struggles to get used to seeing the man she
once loved
in a different form. She asks if he might ever change
back and
he claims that although he could, he wouldn t. She tells
him Smith
was a braver mad than he is; whereas the Time Lord chose
to change
John Smith chose to die.
The Doctor
asks her to come with him in the TARDIS but she refuses,
even if
Smith does live on somewhere within the Doctor. She asks him
if people
would still have died had he not arrived in England, but
he cannot
answer. He leaves her alone with Smith s journal,
returning
to the TARDIS as tears form in her eyes.
Finding
Martha waiting for him the Time Lord announces it is time to
go, and
she takes the opportunity to dismiss her previous
declaration of love as an attempt to get Smith to change. He agrees
and then
thanks her for looking after him. They embrace as Latimer
arrives to
thank them, now knowing his future and what he must face.
The Doctor
gives him the now-empty watch and after saying goodbye
the two
travellers leave.
In June
1914 an archduke of Austria was shot by a Serbian. And this
then led
to nations having treaties with nations, like a line of
dominoes.
And some boys from England walking together in France one
terrible
day
The
following year, in the muddy fields of battle, Latimer and
Hutchinson
walk together. Latimer observes his watch and notes that
now is the
time. He looks to the sky and pulls Hutchinson to the
ground,
narrowly avoiding an artillery strike. He looks to the sky
again and
thanks the Doctor, before walking off with his friend.
And some
ninety years later at a memorial service, an elderly
Latimer
sits in a wheelchair, still holding his watch. He looks off
into the
distance to find the Doctor and Martha standing close by,
and he
smiles.
We will
remember them.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
This story is an adaptation of the novel Human Nature, also
by
Paul Cornell.
Smith claims that his mother and father were called Verity
and Sydney, i.e. Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman, the
producer and creator of the original Doctor Who series in
1963.
The Doctor s skill with a cricket ball has been seen before
in
Four to Doomsday and Black Orchid.
When Latimer opens the watch there are several flashbacks to
previous stories, namely Army of Ghosts / Doomsday, Dalek,
The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit, Tooth and Claw, The
Christmas Invasion and The Runaway Bride.
The Doctor s journal is plethora of references to the
series past. The sketches include
depictions to the TARDIS
and Sonic Screwdriver, gas mask zombies (The Empty Child /
The Doctor Dances), Daleks, the Moxx of Balhoon (The End of
the World), Autons (Rose), K-9 (The Invisible Enemy and
School Reunion), Clockwork Droids (The Girl In The
Fireplace), Rose (Rose), Cybermen (Rise of the Cybermen /
Age of Steel and Army of Ghosts / Doomsday), Slitheen
(Aliens of London / World War Three and Boom Town) and also
portraits of the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth
Doctors. This is the first time the series has shown
pictures of the Doctor s past selves prior to his Ninth
incarnation.
A
flashback to The Runaway Bride is shown when Latimer opens
the watch to fend off the daughter of the Family.
[Back to Main
Page]
Blink
Blink
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Hettie MacDonald
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
Carey Mulligan (Sally Sparrow), David Tennant (The Doctor),
Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Lucy Gaskell (Kathy
Nightingale), Finlay Robertson (Larry Nightingale), Richard
Cant
(Malcolm Wainwright), Michael Obiora (DI Billy Shipton),
Louis Mahoney (Old Billy), Thomas Nelstrop (Ben Wainwright),
Ian
Boldsworth (Banto), Ray Sawyer (Desk Sergeant).
A
young woman called Sally comes to regret breaking into an
old,
abandoned house. There the Weeping Angels wait. As people
begin disappearing, Sally intercepts cryptic messages from a
mysterious stranger known as the Doctor, who's trapped in the
year
1969. But can she make sense of them before the Angels
claim their prize?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Blink June
9th, 2007 7h00pm
- 7h45pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Gardner, Andy Pryor and Finlay
Robertson is available on the official Doctor Who website.
On a dark
wet night Sally Sparrow sneaks into an old abandoned
house.
Making her way through the dark and decaying corridors she
takes
pictures of the ruined interior. Arriving in one empty room
she finds
some writing behind a peeling piece of newspaper.
Pulling
the paper from the wall she finds more words written on the
walls,
including her own name. The message tells her to duck and
sure
enough, seconds later, a rock is thrown through the window
toward her
head. She avoids being hit but finds the only thing
outside is
a statue of a crying angel.
She looks
back at the wall and peels away more paper, revealing the
name of
the message writer the Doctor (1969).
Blink
(drn:43'38")
Later that
night Sally returns to the home of her friend Kathy
Nightingale, where she finds a room full of television screens, all
showing
the same young man in a brown suit. She phones her friend,
who is
still in bed, using her mobile phone and tells her to come
downstairs.
Asking
about the screens Kathy warns Sally that her brother Larry is
in the
house, and sure enough when Sally turns round she finds a
young
naked man waiting for her. He dozily greets her as Kathy comes
downstairs, asking what has happened.
The next
day the two women return to the abandoned house and as they
walk
through the various rooms they look again at the message, which
not only
warns Sally to duck, but tells her to beware the Weeping
Angels.
The two friends look to the statue in the garden and Sally
claims
that it has moved since the previous night, it is closer to
the house.
Moments
later there is a ring at the door and Sally goes to answer
it,
leaving Kathy in upstairs. The caller is a middle-aged man with
a letter
for Sally Sparrow, claiming he has been told to deliver at
the
message at this exact moment in time.
Meanwhile,
Kathy looks around the house, unaware that the angels
outside
are watching. At the doorway the man hands over the letter,
claiming
that it has been sent by Kathy Nightingale. Sally looks on
in
disbelief and calls to her friend, but to no reply.
Kathy
finds herself transported from the house to a field in the
countryside, asking a local man where she is. He claims she is in
Hull, in
1920. In the present day the man explains that Kathy
Nightingale is his grandmother, and inside the envelope Sally finds
a
photograph of her friend. She runs about the house trying in vain
to find
her friend, but only the Weeping Angels are to be found. One
of them
holds a key, which Sally takes before fleeing the house, the
statues
watching from the windows.
The letter
itself reveals that the two women are indeed the same,
Cathy
having left the message to be delivered to Sally on the day
she
disappeared. In the letter she asks Sally to tell her brother
Larry that
she is gone, hoping she will think of something to cover
up the
truth.
Sally
makes her way to a DVD shop elsewhere in London and in the
back room
she finds another television screen, on which is displayed
the same
man she saw the night before. Larry enters and Sally gives
him the
message, claiming Kathy has had to go on a trip for work and
will be
gone for some time.
She asks
Larry who the man on the screen is and he explains that he
is an
Easter Egg, a hidden special feature on a DVD. The same short
film is
found on seventeen different DVDs but nobody knows how or
why he got
there. Larry goes to the front of the shop as Sally
watches
the film, listening as the young man talks about time.
She
comments on what he says and oddly enough he appears to reply to
her
remarks, which causes her to pause the disk in shock. Larry then
returns
with a list of the DVDs on which the extra is found, and she
leaves the
shop, making her way to the police station.
Her
statement to the desk sergeant appears to have no effect, and
she is
left to glance out of the window at a pair of angel statues
perched on
a nearby church. She is somewhat unnerved when they
appear to
disappear in the blink of an eye, and is left unaware that
they now
stand outside the window by which she stands.
A young
policeman named Billy enters, ready to listen to her story.
He takes
her down to a garage below the building and explains that
all of the
cars inside have been found by the house, the owners
disappearing upon entering the house. Sally looks around and finds a
tall blue
police box sitting in one corner of the room, another item
found in
the house, which the police themselves have failed to open.
Billy
turns his attention to trying to get Sally to go on a date
with him
but she is reluctant. However, she gives him her phone
number and
leaves with his promise to phone her. Once she has gone
the young
Detective Inspector turns to find a group of angel statues
surrounding the blue box. He walks over to investigate but finds no
sign of
life. Approaching one statue he faces the weeping figure,
again
finding no sign of life, but in the blink of an eye the
creature
strikes.
Outside,
Sally remembers Billy s comment about not being able to
open the
box and retrieves from her pocket the key she found at the
house. She
turns back toward the police station and rushes away
through
the falling rain. However, when she arrives she finds the
box, and
Billy, have gone.
Billy
finds himself in a dark alleyway and drops to the floor
exhausted.
He finds himself confronted by the young man from the
DVDs and
his female companion, who explain to him that he has been
transported to 1969. The man, alias the Doctor, tells him that the
culprits
are the angels, an ancient race who kill people by sending
them back
in time with a single touch, and then feed on the
potential
energy left behind from the lives their victims might have
led.
Billy is
still confused by his ordeal but the Doctor continues,
claiming
that he must send a message to Sally Sparrow, only it will
take some
time before it can be delivered.
In the
present day, Sally receives a phone call from Billy, and
follows
his directions to a nearby hospital. She finds him alone in
one of the
wards, an elderly man with a message. As the rain falls
outside he
reveals that it was he who managed to place the Doctor s
messages
on the seventeen DVDs using his job as a DVD publisher as a
cover. He
then tells her the message he as given nearly forty years
ago; look
at the list.
He
explains to her that there is a trend in the DVDs that she must
somehow
figure out, and then cryptically recalls that the Doctor
knew in
1969 that Sally would have obtained the list by now. She
promises
to find out the trend and return to tell Billy but the old
man
confesses that the Doctor told him one other thing when they met
in 1969;
the time he and Sally would meet again would be the night
he died.
I have
until the rain stops
Some time
later, when the weather has changed and Sally is left
alone in
the ward, she looks at the list again and with a determined
look,
leaves the building. She calls Larry and explains to him that
the link
between the seventeen DVDs are that they are the only ones
she owns,
the message the Doctor recorded and Billy distributed was
meant for
her.
They
arrange to meet at the old house and using Larry s laptop play
the Doctor
s message. As before it appears the Doctor can reply to
what Sally
says despite having reordered the message thirty-eight
years
previously. Larry produces a transcript of the Time Lord s
speech he
made some time ago and fills in Sally s words, which
complete
the second half of a coherent conversation.
The Time
Lord explains that he has the transcript of the
conversation, and obtains it some time in the future before
encountering the Angles and getting stuck in 1969 like Billy. He
then
explains to her that the Weeping Angels are not statues; they
only turn
to rock when being observed by another living being, but
come to
life when someone looks away, when someone blinks. As he
speaks
Larry turns to find one standing in the corner of the room
He tells
her that she must send the blue box back to him, before the
Angels
access the energy it contains. He then claims that his
transcript
has finished, and can only guess that this is the point
when the
Angels come after Sally and Larry. With a parting message
he warns
them:
Don t
turn your back. Don t look away. And don t blink. Good Luck
Sally
protests and Larry rushes to help her. They realise that
neither of
them is looking at the Angel in the corner and when they
turn to
look at it they find it has moved closer. The lock their
sights on
the creature and back away, Sally departing to try and
find a way
out. Larry remains in the room to stare at the Angel as
Sally
moves to the front door. She finds it locked and instead
searches
for another way out, realising that the Angels are after
her
because she holds to the key to the Doctor s blue box.
Larry
fails to resist the urge to turn his head and in the split
second
that he does the Angel advances on him, bearing down on him
with bared
fangs and stone-cold eyes. He begins to back away to join
Sally, who
discovers a light coming from the basement. Together they
venture
down the stairs, finding the blue box, and a group of silent
Angles,
waiting for them.
Sally
removes the key from her pocket and along with Larry moves
toward the
box, turning only to discover that the Angel from
upstairs
has followed them, and is now pointing at the light bulb.
The bulb
flickers and Sally realises that the Angels are trying to
turn off
the lights so that they cannot be seen, thus allowing them
to close
in. Sure enough as the light flickers fleeting glimpses of
the
creatures reveal that they are moving in for the kill.
Larry
panics as Sally struggles to open the box, the Angels moving
ever
closer. Eventually they manage to get inside and close the
door.
Amazed by the massive interior inside, a hologram of the
Doctor
appears, claiming that the ship has detected an authorised
travel
disk, permitting one journey.
Larry
removes a DVD case from his jacket and finds the disk inside
is
glowing. He places it into a slot in the console in the centre of
the room
and as the Angels begin to shake the ship in an attempt to
get
inside, the machine is set in motion.
However,
all is not as it seems and as the ship departs the interior
fades,
leaving the young humans behind. They return to the basement
but
discover that the Angels, gathered around where the box once
stood,
have been tricked into looking at each other, trapped and
unable to
move again.
One year
later Sally and Larry are running the DVD shop together,
Sally
still pouring over a folder of information regarding the
mystery of
the Angels. Larry claims that the problem is over but
Sally
still cannot understand how the Doctor knew what she would be
doing
thirty eight years in the future.
Larry
leaves to buy some milk and Sally gazes out of the window,
amazed as
the Doctor and Martha arrive outside. She rushes outside
to speak
to him but he appears not to recognise her, and she
realises
that all of these events happen in his future. She hands
him the
file and warns him that one day he will become trapped in
1969, and
on that day he will need the file. He thanks her and
dashes
away to deal with another problem. Larry returns to see him
go and
hand in hand, he and Sally return inside.
Yet
although for Sally and Larry the case of the Weeping Angels is
over,
hundreds of statues still remain all over the city, all over
the world.
And to all those who see them the Doctor has a message:
Don t
blink. Blink and you re dead. Don t turn your back, don t
look away
and don t blink. Good luck
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
This episode is based on the short story What I did on my
Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow.
It
looks like these two stories cannot be reconciled, as the
young Sally travels in the TARDIS but the adult Sally fails
to
recognise it in Blink. It may be that What I did on my
Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow occurs before the Time
War and this particular timeline has, like that of Human
Nature, been deleted as the result of that particular
conflict, meaning that a similar but not indentical incident
occurs later in the Doctor's life. Or it may simply be a
different Sally Sparrow...
[Back to Main
Page]
Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords
Utopia / The
Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winstone Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Graeme Harper [1] and Colin Teague [2-3]
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor / Smith), Freema Agyeman (Martha
Jones), John Barrowman (Captain Jack Harkness), Derek Jacobi
(Professor Yana) [1], Chipo Chung (Chantho) [1], René Zagger
(Padra) [1], Lieutenant Atillo (Neil Reidman) [1], Chieftain
(Paul Marc Davies) [1], Guard (Robert Forknall) [1], Creet
(John Bell) [1], Deborah (Maclaren Kistane) [1], Abigail
Canton (Wiry Woman) [1], John Simm (The Master), Adjoa
Andoh(Francine Jones) [2-3], Trevor Laird(Clive Jones) [2-3],
Gugu
Mbatha-Raw(Tish Jones) [2-3], Reggie Yates(Leo Jones)
[2], Alexandra Moen(Lucy Saxon) [2-3],
Elize du Toit Sinister
Woman) [2], Nichola
McAuliffe(Vivien Rook) [2], Nicholas
Gecks(Albert Drumfries) [2], Colin Stinton(President Arthur
Winters) [2], Olivia Hill(BBC Newsreader) [2], Daniel
Ming(Chinese Newsreader) [2], Lachele Carl(US Newsreader) [2],
Sharon Osbourne(Herself) [2], McFly(Themselves) [2], Ann
Widdecombe(Herself) [2], Tom Ellis (Thomas Milligan) [3],
Ellie Haddington (Professor Docherty) [3], Tom Golding (Lad)
[3],
Natasha Alexander (Woman) [3]; Zoe Thorne, Gerard Logan,
Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis (Toclafane voices)
[2-3].
On a flying visit to
Cardiff, the Doctor is reintroduced to a
familiar face. Shortly after, the TARDIS spins out of control
and
its crew find themselves transported to the end of the
universe. There they discover that the remnants of the human
race
are under threat from the savage Futurekind. Even the
Doctor finds the situation rather disconcerting, but a
committed science professor refuses to accept that his people
are
beyond help. Is he more than he seems?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Utopia June
16th, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
The Sound of Drums June
23rd, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h00pm
Last of the Time Lords June
30th, 2007 7h15pm
- 8h05pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by by Phil Collinson, Louise Page and
Arwel Wyn-Jones for Utopia is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Freema Agyeman, Trevor Laird and Gugu
Mbatha-Raw for The Sound of Drums is available on the
official Doctor Who website.
A
commentary track by Russell T Davis, Julie Gardner and
Phil Collinson for Last of the Time Lords is available on
the official Doctor Who website.
The TARDIS
lands in present day Cardiff, where the Doctor explains
to Martha
that the ship needs to refuel using a rift in time and
space that
runs over the city. Noting that the rift has become
active
recently he glances at the scanner to find Captain Jack
running
toward the ship.
He
hurriedly moves to take off but Jack manages to grab hold of the
ship.
Inside the Doctor and Martha are thrown off balance as the
ship
accelerates to the year 100 trillion, the end of the universe.
Outside
Jack clings to the ship as it hurtles through the vortex and
on a
distant planet a group of savages sense an oncoming presence
“Humans
are coming…”
Utopia
(drn:45'00")
Elsewhere
on the planet a terrified human runs for is life as the
savages
chase after him. An elderly man some miles away, who gazes
at a radar
screen in his laboratory with his insect-humanoid
assistant,
monitors their activities and recognises the victim as
another
lost soul dreaming of Utopia.
A voice
rings out over a nearby intercom, asking the pair about
their
progress in their work. The man, Professor Yana, mumbles a
reply but
then leaves his assistant Chan Tho to explain their
situation;
he instead stumbles away as a militaristic drumbeat
swarms
into his head. Once the intercom goes silent he returns to
the radar,
finding a series of uncharacteristic traces have appeared
on the
screen. Unbeknownst to him these traces are the TARDIS and
Jack.
Inside the
ship the Doctor theorises that he and his friend should
leave, not
even the Time Lords travelled so far into the future.
However,
he then breaks into a smile and in a rush of adrenalin runs
outside.
Martha follows and they find Jack unconscious nearby.
Martha
examines his body as the Doctor confesses he knows him. She
claims
that he is dead but suddenly he breathes in, showing himself
to be very
much alive.
He begins
flirting with Martha and the Doctor scolds him. They give
each other
a somewhat frosty reception and Jack, after noting the
Doctor’s
regeneration, confesses he has been following the Time Lord
for some
time. He then tells him that he has seen the list of the
dead
following the battle of Canary Warf some time ago, and asks if
Rose, the
Doctor’s previous companion, is really gone. The Doctor
explains
that she is in fact safe, now living in a parallel
universe,
and the two embrace in their happiness, Martha somewhat
less
amused.
Elsewhere,
the ‘Human Hunt’ continues and as the Doctor and his
friends
begin walking across the planet’s surface Jack explains that
after the
events on the Game Station the last time he met the
Doctor, he
used his now broken Time Vortex Manipulator to return to
Earth in
1869, living through the 20th Century until he found a
version of
the Doctor he could happily coincide with.
The Doctor
grows bored of the conversation and they move on,
discovering a forgotten city built into the face of a canyon. They
then
encounter the hunt, and try to intervene. Soon they are
confronted
by the savages, who stop advancing when Jack fires a gun
into the
air.
The
savage’s prey tells the travellers they must make it to a nearby
silo in
order to reach safety, and they run to find it. They arrive
with the
savages hot on their tails. Safely within the complex they
watch as
the hunters move away, swearing to return. They are then
taken
inside and their arrival is reported to the Professor, who is
jubilant
at the arrival of a scientist.
The Doctor
manages to arrange for the TARDIS to be collected from
the
planet’s surface, and he and his friends move off into the dirty
corridors
of the complex, which Martha notes resembles a refugee
camp.
Following a young boy who now works for those who run the
silo, the
Doctor admires the ability of humans to survive before
finding a
giant rocket concealed behind a locked door. The humans
are not
refugees; they are passengers awaiting their departure.
The
Professor arrives and rushes the Doctor to the laboratory;
unaware
that one of the savages has made their way into the complex.
Jack and
Martha introduce themselves to Chan Tho as the Doctor
examines
their work, a massive launch mechanism for the rocket that
so far has
failed to work. He tells a disheartened Professor that he
has no
idea how to make the machinery function correctly and then
turns his
attention to a shocked Martha.
Having
looked inside Jack’s backpack, she discovers a severed hand
encased in
a jar of liquid. The Doctor recognises it as his own and
recalls
how he lost it shortly after his regeneration. Jack explains
that it
was this that allowed him to trace his friend as the Doctor
tells the
Professor his species; a Time Lord.
The
Professor then explains that the savages are outside are called
the Future
Kind, and it is feared that they are what the current
humans
will become if they do not reach Utopia; a planet from which
a call to
the humans came many years ago. The Professor, who is
helping to
transport his people there in the rocket, remembers the
work of
the Utopia Project some time ago, aiming to find a way of
allowing
the human race to last beyond eternity, and now it appears
they have
succeeded. As the Doctor examines the mechanics in more
detail the
elderly man hears the drums again, stronger than before.
The Doctor
realises that the rocket will not work, something the
Professor
is aware of but will not tell the others so as not to
dishearten
them. The Time Lord then proceeds to reverse one of the
components
of the maze of machinery with his Sonic Screwdriver and
suddenly
the system roars to life.
Elsewhere
in the complex the humans begin making their way to the
rocket, as
the Professor, the Doctor and Jack hurry about their
work.
Outside the TARDIS arrives on a truck and the sentries abandon
their
posts to go inside, the Future Kind still waiting and their
spy still
concealed inside. Martha and Chan Tho rush along corridors
making
preparations for the launch, Martha wishing luck to the small
boy she
and her friends first met when they arrived as he rushes to
take his
seat inside the rocket.
In the lab
the Doctor compliments the Professor on his work and then
realises
that for the rocket to depart someone must stay behind to
make sure
the system is functioning. Yana claims he is too old for
Utopia but
the Time Lord insists he will make it after hearing that
his ship
has been recovered. Looking at an image of the ship via a
communication screen the drums in the Professor’s head begin beating
again.
Linking
the TARDIS to the launch system the Doctor asks Yana what is
wrong and
he explains that all of his life the drums have sounded in
his head.
Elsewhere Martha talks to Chan Tho, who reveals she adores
the
Professor but he doesn’t notice, a feeling Martha can relate to.
In a room
beneath the rocket the final linkages are being made. The
Professor
explains that the room is flooded with radiation, and the
levels
inside must be kept steady. However, the Future Kind spy
manages to
sabotage the system and the levels rise, disintegrating
the man
inside. Jack tries to jumpstart the system by connecting two
large live
wires. The spy is killed and Jack falls to the floor from
shock.
Martha
tries to examine him but declares he is dead. The Doctor
notes that
they now need a man who cannot die to enter the room and
make the
linkages, and sure enough Jack reawakens, ready to help. As
he
prepares to enter the chamber Jack asks the Doctor how long he
has knows
about his immortality, and the Time Lord declares that he
has known
ever since he ran away.
In the
laboratory, Martha explains that she, the Doctor and Jack are
travellers
in time and space, using the TARDIS to move around. These
words
begin to echo around Professor Yana’s head whilst below the
rocket,
the Doctor watches Jack continue to connect the couplings.
Discussing
Jack’s immortality the Doctor explains that as a Time
Lord he
fears such anomalies, a fixed point in time and space should
never
happen. Jack remembers his encounter with the Daleks (another
word that
reverberates in Yana’s head) and the Doctor explains that
Jack was
made immortal by Rose, who used the power of the Time
Vortex to
resurrect him from death, only to let the process go too
far. The
Doctor asks Jack if he has ever wanted to die, but he is
not sure.
He thinks about the humans surviving at the end of time,
and claims
it inspires him.
In the
laboratory Martha and Chan Tho notice the Professor’s
discomfort, and ask him what is wrong. He admits his confusion
concerning
the concept of actual time travel, and notes how he, as a
person,
has never been able to keep track of time. As an example he
shows them
a fob watch he carries that he claims is broken. Martha
recognises
the device as identical to one the Doctor once used to
change his
own biology, causing him to become human.
Yana
insists that it is broken, remembering that he was found with
it as a
naked child discovered on the coast of a Silver Devastation.
Martha
then runs below level to the rocket, where Jack has finished
making the
connections. He and the Doctor then begin making the
final
preparations as their friend arrives, explaining that the
Professor
has a Chameleon Ark, just like the Doctor’s.
Jack
realises that it may mean the Doctor might not be the last Time
Lord, but
the Doctor is weary of discovering which one survived.
Martha
explains that Yana could not see the watch, as if fooled by a
perception
filter the Doctor placed on his device when becoming
human. The
Doctor asks if Yana can see the watch now, but Martha is
not sure.
As the
voices continue to echo in his head the Professor opens the
watch, and
as the rocket takes off the Doctor seems to sense an
arrival,
remembering the words the Face of Boe departed him with
some time
ago.
“You. Are.
Not. Alone.”
Yana.
A bright
light from the watch engulfs the Professor and his manner
appears to
change. The Doctor makes sure that the rocket has taken
off safely
before rushing off, only for the Professor to lock them
below
level, as well as opening the external gates to allow the
Future
Kind inside the complex. As the creatures flood inside Chan
Tho
protests what her colleague is doing, and tearfully aims a gun
at him. He
looks at her in wonder and then proclaims
“Now I can
say I was provoked” And he moves towards her holding one
of the
live wires.
The Doctor
and his friends manage to open the locked door and flee
toward the
laboratory, the Future Kind close behind.
Yana
continues to turn on Chan Tho; angered that she never
questioned
him about the watch as Martha did. She apologises as he
continues
to approach her, claiming that his name is not the
Professor,
which was an invention that eventually caused him to
forget who
he really is:
“I…am…the
Master!”
He lunges
at her with the wire as the Doctor, Martha and Jack arrive
at the
door of the laboratory, finding it locked. The Master
meanwhile
removes a disk from a nearby computer screen, which he
claims
contains Utopia, another invention. He tries to sever the
connection
between the TARDIS and the launch system but is shot by
the dying
Chan Tho.
The Doctor
opens the door and enters as the Professor stumbles into
the ship,
carrying the Doctor’s severed hand with him. He used a
deadlock
seal to lock out the Doctor, who tries to reason with him
whilst
Martha and Jack try and hold back the Future Kind.
The Master
curses being shot by an insect and a girl, but then
realises
that if the Doctor can have a young, strong body, so can
he.
“The
Master…reborn”
He
staggers to a halt, explosions of light filling the room from his
head and
hands. His face warps and changes and he screams in agony,
as the
Doctor watches light pour from the TARDIS windows. Jack and
Martha
continue to struggle with the door as the Master, now a young
slim man,
runs manically about the console.
He opens a
communication link and talks to the Doctor, his voice
becoming
recognisable to Martha. The Doctor begs him to stop and
think but
it falls on deaf ears. The Master begins to take off and
although
the Doctor zaps the TARDIS with the Sonic Screwdriver,
causing
sparks to fly from the console, the ship departs, leaving
Jack and
Martha still fighting to hold the door closed against the
Future
Kind and the Doctor standing alone.
Having
repaired Jack’s broken Time Vortex Manipulator the Doctor,
Martha and
Jack return back to Earth in present-day London. Visibly
shaken by
their ordeal they make their way to a main street
whereupon
the Doctor insists that they will have arrived in the same
time zone
as the Master.
Jack notes
that the Master will have regenerated and as the Doctor
observes a
nearby tramp tapping out a rhythmic beat on a mug a giant
screen
above them reveals Harold Saxon, the newly elected Prime
Minister.
The Doctor recognises him instantly as the Master and
after
kissing his wife Saxon addresses the cameras around him,
concluding:
“What this
country really needs, right now…is a Doctor”
The Sound
of Drums
(drn:46'40")
Mr Saxon
walks through the halls of Downing Street, casually
greeting
his new employee Tish Jones. He enters the cabinet room and
declares
the work of government will begin, throwing files of paper
up into
the air. Failing to crack a smile from any of his ministers
he
suddenly launches a verbal attack on his employees, branding them
traitors
for joining him only when the political votes moved into
his
favour. As a reward he gasses them, watching as they choke
before
tapping out a rhythmic beat on the table.
The
Doctor, Martha and Jack return to Martha’s flat. After noting
that it is
only four days after the Time Lord met his her, Martha
listens to
the first half of an answer machine message from Tish but
switches
it before she can reveal where she has got a new job.
In Downing
Street journalist Vivian Rook sails through security to
interview
Saxon’s wife Lucy, bribing her with promises of a positive
image in
the morning papers. She agrees but once they are alone
Vivian
suddenly becomes very serious, claiming that she believe the
entire
world to be in great danger, all because of Harold Saxon.
Whilst the
Doctor accesses Saxon’s website on Martha’s laptop,
Vivian
declares that his entire biography is a fake, his name is
missing
from all archives until eighteen months previously, when the
Archangel
network was launched. Lucy claims she knows nothing of
such
activities, and after Vivian begs her for any knowledge that
might
expose her husband, she admits she did once have doubts, but
she has
made her choice.
Suddenly
Saxon reveals himself in the corner of the room, confirming
that
Harold Saxon is an invention. Vivian asks who he is and he
tells her
he is the Master.
“And these
are my friends”
Suddenly
two floating metal orbs appear before him. He begins to
lament
about the approaching drumbeat as the devices close in on
Vivian,
childishly noting her fear of them. Rotating weapons appear
from
within them and Saxon and Lucy rush out, blocking out her
screams of
pain. Lucy appears to fear the fact that Vivian was
unaffected
by Archangel, but her husband comforts her.
“Tomorrow
morning, I promise. That’s when everything ends.”
In
Martha’s flat Jack is puzzled at how the Master could create such
an
extensive biography, and theorises that he may have used the
TARDIS to
travel back decades in time. The Doctor dismisses the
idea,
claiming that before the ship left them in the year one
hundred
trillion, he fused the coordinates so the ship could only
travel
between then and the present day, with only eighteen months
leeway.
Both
Martha and Jack admit they seemed drawn to Saxon, and Martha
claims it
was something in his voice. The Doctor notices that she is
tapping
out the same rhythm he saw the tramp tapping in the street,
but she
appears not to notice it. Suddenly an announcement is made
on the
television, the Prime Minister talking about recent alien
activity
and the government secrecy surrounding it.
He then
claims that he will hide nothing, and reveals that a new
species
has contacted him, the same floating balls that attacked
Vivian
Rook. He names them as the Toclafane, a race who will launch
first
contact with mankind the following morning. He then talks of
every man
and woman taking their place in history, be they a lorry
driver, a
farmer…or a medical student.
The Doctor
suddenly realises something is wrong and turns the
television
around to reveal a bomb strapped to it. He, Martha and
Jack flee
to the road outside as the windows give way to a massive
fiery
explosion. Martha tries to phone her family encase they are in
trouble,
despite the Doctor’s warnings.
She speaks
to her mother, unaware that her mother is being watched
by one of
Saxon’s henchmen. She grows suspicious when Francine
declares
she and Clive are going to live together again, and after
her father
reveals that he and his ex-wife are not alone, Martha
dashes to
her car. As the henchmen tackle Clive and place him in a
van
Martha, the Doctor and Jack speed to help.
However,
upon their arrival the henchmen open fire on the car and
they are
forced to rush away, as Francine is thrown into the van as
well and
Tish is abducted inside Downing Street. Martha blames the
Doctor for
what has happened and after ditching the car she phones
her
brother Leo, who is in Brighton with his son.
He appears
safe and well but before Martha can tell him to hide the
Master
interrupts the conversation, swearing that he will find her
eventually. The Doctor takes his friend’s phone and speaks to his
nemesis,
calling once again by his chosen name. He asks whom the
Toclafane
really are, knowing the name to be no more than a
fairytale.
He then
reveals that Gallifrey is gone, along with the Time Lords
and most
of the Daleks. The Master remembers being resurrected to
help the
Time War, only to flee in terror and hide at the end of the
universe.
He appears to relish the prospect of being the destroyer
of two
civilisations, to be like a God.
The Doctor
asks him to leave the Earth but Saxon claims it is too
late, and
talks of the drumming inside his head, the constant
drumming
he can hear everywhere, the same beat the Doctor heard in
the street
and in Martha’s flat. The Doctor demands to know what
Saxon has
done, but receives no response, instead watching a
television
in a shop window as it claims that he and his friends
have been
labelled public menaces. On Saxon’s orders they run,
realising
that the Master as taken control of everything.
As the
world’s media report the news of first contact, the Master
watches a
different programme; the Telebubbies. He marvels at what
he views
as a masterful piece of evolution, as one of the Toclafane
appears in
the room. It asks if “the machine” is ready, and he
claims it
will be prepared at 8:02 the next morning.
“The world
is waiting.”
That
night, in an abandoned warehouse Martha arrives having visited
a fish and
chip shop. With no further news on her family the Doctor
tells his
friends about the Master. Once his friend, he recalls how
every Time
Lord child, at the age of eight was taken to the
Un-tempered Schism, a gap in the fabric of reality. Each child stood
and faced
the power of the time vortex. He explains that some were
inspired,
some ran away…and some went mad.
Himself
one of the children that ran away, the Doctor sits as Jack
receives a
message on his Vortex Manipulator. He is forced to reveal
that he
now works for Torchwood, but protests that he rebuilt it
following
the battle of Canary Warf, doing so in the Doctor’s
honour.
The file
is a message from Vivian Rook, automatically sent following
her death.
An attached document relates to the Archangel network, a
global
communications network covering every mobile phone. The
Doctor
patches into it and reveals the same rhythm the Master spoke
of being
played inside the phone, a hypnotic message to all; calling
for them
to vote for Saxon, to believe in him. It is this that hides
his true
identity, even from the Doctor.
Now
knowing how the Master is controlling everyone, the Doctor has a
way to
fight back. Dismantling the phone he adapts the TARDIS keys
of himself
and his companions to create a miniature perception
filter,
drawing attention away from whoever holds it. With the keys
on string
hung around their necks the trio then take to the streets,
unseen and
unheard.
Soon
after, the American President arrives in England to confront Mr
Saxon. He
declares that UNIT now has control of the first contact,
warning
that Saxon will be removed from office if he does not take
the
situation sensibly. Due to first contact being disallowed of
sovereign
soil the event will now take place on the aircraft carrier
Valiant.
He departs as Saxon reveals to his wife Lucy that he has
already
made plans for such a situation; he has a private jet ready
to take
them onboard.
Lucy
departs but the Master remains, seemingly unaware that the
Doctor,
Martha and Jack are watching events unfold from a corner of
the
airstrip. Soon a police van arrive containing the Jones family
(except
Leo), and they are dragged outside. Jack considers using the
perception
filter to attack Saxon but the Doctor insists that the
Master is
his problem.
“I’m not
here to kill him. I’m here to save him.”
Jack uses
his Time Vortex Manipulator to locate the Valiant and the
trio
teleport themselves onboard. Arriving at dawn the next day,
Martha
discovers that the ship is not floating on the sea, it is an
airbase.
Above deck Saxon and his wife arrive as the President makes
the final
preparations for the televised first contact. The Prime
Minister
then reveals to his wife that the Valiant was made to his
design; he
knows every detail of it.
Making
their way through the bowels of the ship, the Doctor suddenly
sense
something and runs off, Martha and Jack in tow. They find
themselves
in a hold containing the TARDIS. Joyfully they step
inside,
only to find that the Master has cannibalised the ship to
create a
Paradox Machine, ready to trigger at 8:02. He realises they
must act
quickly, before announcing that he has a plan to stop the
Master.
Moments
later the televised broadcast begins, with President Winters
giving the
address. He discusses the moral benefits of first contact
as the
Doctor and his friends arrive, with the Doctor aiming to
place one
of the perception filters around Saxon’s neck in order to
cancel out
the Archangel signal.
Soon the
Toclafane arrive, and President Winters introduces himself.
However,
the creatures are unsatisfied and demand to see the Master.
Saxon then
chooses his moment and takes the floor, taking control
and
ordering the Toclafane to kill the President. They do so and the
Doctor
makes a run to attack, only to be caught by Saxon’s guards.
Revealing
that the perception filter doesn’t work on him, the Master
looks on
at Martha and Jack, who runs to attack him only to be shot
down by
the Time Lord’s Laser Screwdriver.
The Doctor
begs him to calm down and offers to help stop the
drumming
sound in his head. However the Master has other ideas, and
asks the
Doctor to recall the experiments of Professor Lazarus, who
managed to
alter the aging process. He explains that the technology
is now
held within his Laser Screwdriver, and with the Doctor’s
biological
pattern obtained from his severed hand, the Master can
now
manipulate the process to his own will.
He aims
the device at the Doctor and fires, causing him to writhe in
agony. As
the torture progresses Jack hands Martha his Vortex
Manipulator to teleport herself to safety, before watching as the
Doctor
falls to the floor, and old man. As the Jones family are
brought on
deck he demands to know what the Toclafane are but the
Master
simply replies
“Doctor,
if I told you the truth, your hearts would break”
The
Toclafane ask if the machine is ready and after announcing to
the nearby
television camera that the end of the world is about to
follow,
the Master finally declares
“Here come
the drums!”
And as the
TARDIS roars to life the sky above the Valiant tears
open. Six
billion Toclafane descend on the Earth, entering every
home and
building they can find. Upon the orders of the Master they
wipe out
one tenth of the population, and as the screams and cries
for help
ring through the communications system of the ship, Martha
looks
around in dismay.
She leans
close to the Doctor, who whispers something in her ear,
and after
glancing from her family, to the Doctor, to Jack, she
tearfully
activates the Vortex Manipulator, teleporting away from
the
Valiant and back down to Earth. She arrives on a hillside
outside
London and watches as the Toclafane swarm into the city,
setting it
alight.
“I’m
coming back” she snarls and then runs off into the distance,
whilst
high above her the Master, Lucy and the aged Doctor look on
at the
devastation below.
“So it
came to pass that the human race fell and the Earth as no
more. And
I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all. And I
thought it
good…”
Last of
the Time Lords
(drn:51'24")
One year
later, the Earth has been labelled as one facing terminal
extinction, the planet is closed.
On a beach
in England Dr Tom Milligan watches as Martha Jones
arrives on
a small boat. Running ashore they greet each other,
Martha
claiming she needs him to take her to Professor Doherty. He
agrees and
they walk together, Milligan lamenting about the stories
he has
heard of his new companion.
“Martha
Jones, they say, she’s gonna save the world.”
They go to
Tom’s lorry and get inside, driving away as Milligan
recalls
another legend, that she is the only one who can kill the
Master.
Dawn soon
comes and onboard the Valiant the Master is jubilant.
Dancing
around to music he kisses his wife, insults Francine his new
maid, and
toys with the Doctor, wheeling the old man about in a
wheelchair. He stations him beside a window and claims that the new
Time Lord
Empire is nearly ready to rise.
He notes
that after working out what the Toclafane really are some
months
ago, the Doctor’s hearts were broken, and then tells him that
Martha
Jones has arrived back in Britain. He demands that the Doctor
tell him
what it was he whispered in her ear before she left but the
aged Time
Lord instead claims that he has only one thing to say to
the
Master, and his nemesis already knows what it is.
Instead of
listening he announces to his crew that launch day will
occur in
twenty-four hours. However, he is unaware that behind his
back the
Doctor gives a secret message to Francine, holding three
fingers
out as she passes him. She does the same as she ventures
below
deck, passing her husband Clive. The enslaved workman then
passes the
message to Tish, another of the Master’s maids and she in
turn gives
it to Jack, who has been chained up as a prisoner.
Far below
them, in the desolate landscape of England, Milligan and
Martha
arrive at one of the giant shipyards, constructing huge war
ships and
preparing them for battle, each with their own black-hole
converter.
Martha recalls visiting Russia, the largest of the yards
with a
hundred thousand ships ready to rage war on the universe.
Suddenly
they are approached by two Toclafane, who interrogate
Milligan
and demand to see his ID. He produces a permit to travel
and they
move on, apparently neglecting Martha. She explains that
she holds
a perception filter and shows Tom her adapted TARDIS key.
Again they
move on in search of Professor Doherty whilst up above
them in
the Valiant the Doctor’s plan is about to take action. The
Master
enters the bridge in time for his daily massage (much to the
disgust of
his wife) and as time approaches three o’clock, Jack
manages to
break free of his chains, running to try and escape but
to little
avail.
Clive
tries to sabotage the ship’s engines and in the confusion
Francine
and Tish help the Doctor steal the Laser Screwdriver. He
aims it at
the Master and again claims he has only one thing left to
say to
him, but his nemesis is one-step ahead, refusing to listen
and
confiscating the device, explaining that only he can operate the
controls.
He puts
the Doctor back in his wheelchair and recalls the past glory
of his
prisoner, deciding that it is time he exacted his revenge.
Down below
Martha and Milligan arrive at the workplace of Doherty,
who is
watching a transmission from the Valiant. It shows the Master
addressing
Martha, inviting her to watch as he suspends the Doctor’s
ability to
regenerate, turning him into tiny frail creature,
nine-hundred years of age.
The
transmission is cut off but Martha is not deterred, instead she
talks to
Doherty about the Toclafane, wanting to find out what is
inside
each floating globe. She reveals that the creatures are
vulnerable
to high levels of electricity, and soon they are in the
process of
catching one.
Milligan
acts as bait and lures one toward Doherty and Martha, who
have set
up a high-energy bolt of electricity. The Toclafane is
zapped and
falls to the ground, deactivated.
Whilst the
Doctor is held in a cage on the Valiant the Jones’ are
locked in
a cell, each of them swearing that eventually they kill
the
Master, even at the sacrifice of themselves. On the bridge the
Master
announces that the next day his ships will launch to declare
war. He
speaks to the Doctor and tells him again of the drumming
inside his
head, which began when he first looked inside the vortex,
calling
him to war.
A
Toclafane arrives and the Master claims that he is carrying out
such plans
for them, and that the Doctor should be grateful.
“After
all, you love them…so very very much”
Down below
Doherty manages to open the globe and inside she uncovers
a withered
face, which is still very much alive. It talks to Martha
and she
realises that it is the remains of the small boy she met
shortly
before the Master was unleashed, one of the refugees seeking
Utopia.
The Master
explains to his prisoner that he and Lucy travelled back
to the end
of the universe, where the last humans, as part of the
Utopia
Project, began cannibalising themselves in order to survive.
He used
the TARDIS to create a paradox, allowing the future humans
to travel
back in time, wipe out the human race and adapt it to be a
strong
warrior race, capable of lasting for eternity.
The
changing of history on such a huge scale; with the Master
heading
the new empire sickens the Doctor, but he can only watch as
the Master
leaves the bridge with a parting shot:
“The human
race. The greatest monsters of them all.”
On Earth,
Doherty recalls a legend that claims Martha searched the
world for
a way to kill a Time Lord, and sure enough she tells them
that over
the years organisations such as UNIT and Torchwood have
gained a
lot of information about the Doctor and the Master, and
have
constructed capable of killing a Time Lord stone dead. She
produces
the weapon and explains that the four chemicals needed to
arm the
device are scattered across the world, she has found three
but needs
to reach London to locate the fourth.
She and
Milligan then depart to find the final chemical, leaving
Doherty
alone. She casts her suspicions on Martha’s ability to kill
and as
they make their way to a safe house on an abandoned street
not far
away, she contacts the Valiant with important information
regarding
Martha Jones.
In the
house, which is crammed full of people living as slaves,
Martha
tells everyone about the Doctor, the man who has saved their
live so
many times but will never be thanked. She talks warmly of
him as she
confesses her love for him, but is cut off as the Master
arrives
outside. He walks slowly along the street, flanked by
Toclafane
and armed soldiers. He calls for Martha to reveal herself
and
threatens to slaughter the entire street unless she surrenders.
Sure
enough she concedes, and steps outside. Upon his orders she
throws
down her bag containing the Time Lord gun and he destroys it
with the
Laser Screwdriver. He then aims the device at her but
Milligan
runs out to save her, and the Master kills him instead. The
Time Lords
then decides that the Doctor should be present at her
death and
soon she is taken onboard the Valiant, as outside the
light of
dawn breaks.
The Doctor
looks on from his cage as his friend is led forward. The
Master
confiscates her Time Vortex Manipulator and sets a countdown
for the
launching of the Time Lord fleet. He prepares to kill her
but she
simply laughs at him. She reveals that the gun was a fake, a
cover
story to make sure she was caught and brought onboard the
Valiant at
the right time.
She
recalls the Doctor’s last words to her before she left one year
ago: “Use
the countdown”, and reveals that the true point of her
travels
was to tell her story, to spread the Doctor’s name. The
Master is
sceptical but Jack, who is now onboard the bridge, points
out that
every human is telepathically linked to the Archangel
network.
Martha has organised for every human to think the Doctor’s
name at
the climax of the countdown, and sure enough as the clock
reaches
zero the withered form of the Doctor begins to glow.
The Master
looks on in horror as the creature grows. All over the
world the
Doctor’s name is chanted, and soon he reverts to his
normal
self, claiming he too is now linked to the psychic network.
The Master
tries to fire at him with the Laser Screwdriver but it is
no use,
the Doctor is too powerful. He confiscates the device and
bears down
on him with his final message:
“I forgive
you”
Above the
Earth the Toclafane swarm to protect their paradox, with
Jack
rushing to dismantle the device in the TARDIS. The Master tries
to
teleport back to the Earth but the Doctor follows, watching as he
threatens
to destroy the Earth using the black-hole converters in
every
ship, with the two of them still on the planet’s surface.
As Jack
fights to reach the TARDIS and the Toclafane approach the
Valiant,
the Doctor turns on his nemesis, claiming that despite the
Master’s
schemes he has always held the most powerful weapon – he
knows his
enemy. He realises that the Master would never destroy
himself
and orders him to hand over the trigger to the black-hole
converters.
Jack makes
his way into the ship and opens fire on the paradox
machine.
The cannibalised central console explodes in flames as the
Master and
the Doctor fight for control of the Time Vortex
Manipulator once more and beam back onto the Valiant. The airbase
rocks and
the Doctor announces that time is reversing.
Sure
enough the skies begin to swirl, the Time Lord ships fade and
the
Master’s Empire is destroyed as the turn of the world reverses.
Across the
Earth people continue in their lives, unaware of what has
happened.
The Doctor explains that they have returned to 8:02am the
preceding
day, just after President Winters was killed but before
the
Toclafane arrived.
However,
everyone onboard the Valiant still remembers and as Jack
returns to
the bridge, Francine pulls a gun on the Master. Tortured
by the
knowledge of what he did she prepares to fire, urged on by
the man
himself. The Doctor tries to reason with her and manages to
stop her,
claiming responsibility for the Master himself. He decides
that he
will be locked away in the TARIDS, he realises that it is
time to
stop travelling, now he has someone to care for.
Suddenly a
gunshot rings out and the Master falls to the floor, as
Lucy Saxon
stands over him. The Doctor rushes to help and urges him
to
regenerate, but he refuses, claiming the Doctor doesn’t know him
as well as
he thought. The Doctor urges him again, his eyes filling
with
tears. The Master merely laughs:
“I win.”
With his
last words he wonders if the drumming inside his head will
stop and
suddenly his eyes close, leaving the crying Doctor alone.
The last
of the Time Lords.
Some time
later he stands on the Earth, the Master’s body before him
on a
funeral pyre. He sets it alight and watches as the flames rise
into the
night sky before walking away, unaware that some time later
someone
else arrives at the smouldering monument, picking up the
Master’s
Gallifreyan ring from the ashes.
Not long
after he stands in Cardiff Bay with Martha and Jack, who
has
decided that it is time to leave. With a year to think about his
life he
has decided his place is with his team in Torchwood. The
Doctor
dismantles his Time Vortex Manipulator to make sure he
doesn’t
get into trouble and before he leaves the Time Agent asks
about the
future, pondering what could happen to his complexion in
the if he
were to live for a million years.
He laughs
at his own vanity then recalls joining the Time Agency
from his
home in the Boeshane Peninsula and his nickname at the
academy;
The Face of Boe. He walks away as the Doctor and Martha
watch him
go, stunned.
The two
friends then return to London, where Martha’s family are
reunited
with Leo. The Doctor waits inside the repaired TARDIS and
eventually
Martha enters. He begins talking excitedly of where they
could go
next but his companion has other ideas. She has decided
that with
a family to look after she cannot travel with him any
more. He
thanks her for her help and they embrace, before she leaves
the ship
and steps outside.
Suddenly
she thinks of something and goes back inside, recalling a
friend of
hers who was once infatuated with a flatmate, but her
feelings
were never reciprocated. She recalls advising her to move
on, and it
is time for her to do the same with the Doctor. She hands
him her
mobile phone and tells him that as soon as it rings he
should
return to her.
“I’ll see
you again mister.”
She
departs once again and as the Doctor sets the TARDIS in motion.
Walking
alone around the console he flicks at the various switches,
until
suddenly there is the sound of an alarm, the wall before him
is blown
away and he is thrown to the floor.
He looks
up to find the front of an ocean liner embedded in the side
of the
TARDIS, and scrambles to reach a buoyancy aid that has fallen
from the
vessel. He turns it over to reveal the name of the ship:
the
Titanic.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor remembers his encounter with the Slitheen at the
rift when he was in his Ninth incarnation.
The Doctor last saw Jack in The Parting of the Ways, when he
was killed by the Daleks. Rose, having been possessed by the
power of the time vortex, resurrected him but made him
immortal, as was revealed in the Doctor Who spin off series
Torchwood.
The Doctor’s hand was severed shortly after his regeneration
in
The Christmas Invasion. It was revealed Jack had
retrieved it in the Torchwood episode Everything Changes,
and was used by him to detect the Doctor in End of Days.
The Battle of Canary Warf, which took place in Army of
Ghosts / Doomsday, resulted in the Doctor’s companion Rose
being trapped in a parallel universe.
The Master was last seen on television in Doctor Who, the
1996 television movie. In the following episode, The Sound
of
Drums, it is revealed he was resurrected to help fight
the Time War, but fled and hid himself as a human.
The Chameleon Ark was first seen in Human Nature / Family of
Blood, where the Doctor used one to make himself human to
hide from a group of alien hunters.
Two audio clips of previous incarnations are heard shortly
before Professor Yana opens the watch. The first is from The
Dæmons and the second is from an unknown episode featuring
Anthony Ainley.
The Master’s comments about the Teletubbies are reminiscent
of
a similar scene in The Sea Devils, where he watches the
Clangers.
Saxon offers his wife a jellybaby, a common personality
trait of the fourth Doctor, first seen in his debut story
Robot.
In
his address to the British public, Saxon recalls the
encounters with the Slitheen (Aliens of London / World War
Three), the Sycorax (The Christmas Invasion) and the
Rachnoss (The Runaway Bride).
Professor Richard Lazarus’ aging process machine was first
seen in The Lazarus Experiment.
The agents monitoring Francine’s phone calls to Martha were
first seen in 42.
There is a flashback to Gallifrey, in which we see the
Citadel and the Time Lords themselves. The costume designs
for the Time Lords are similar, if not identical, to those
seen in the classic series, most notably in The Deadly
Assassin.
The Utopia Project, and the last humans seeking it, were
seen in Utopia, which also saw the return of the Master.
The Master recalls some of his past encounters with the
Doctor, namely with The Sea Devils and the Axons (The Claws
of
Axos) .
The Doctor recalls being onboard the Titanic before (The End
of
the World) and reference is made to his involvement in
Rose. Some mention was also made in The Invasion of Time.
The Master demonstrated his unwillingness to die in The
Deadly Assassin, The Keeper of Traken and Doctor Who the
1996 television movie.
[Back to Main
Page]
Voyage of the Damned
Voyage of the
Damned
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Brian
Minchin Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by James Strong
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Kylie Minogue (Astrid Peth),
George Costigan (Max Capricorn), Clive Swift (Mr Copper), Gray
O'Brien (Malcolm Wainwright), Russell Tovey (Midshipman
Frame), Andrew Havill (Chief Stewart), Bruce Lawrence
(Engineer), Debbie Chazen (Foon Van Hoff), Clive Rowe (Morvin
Van
Hoff), Jimmy Vee (Bannakaffalatta), Geoffrey Palmer
(Captain Hardaker) Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Nicholas
Witchell (Himslef), Paul Kasey (The Host), Jessica Martin (The
Queen).
When
the TARDIS collides with a spaceship named Titanic, the
Doctor uncovers a plot to destroy Earth.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Voyage of the Damned December
25th, 2007 6h50pm
- 8h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Russel T. Davies, Julie Gardner and
Phil Collinson is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
Now alone,
the Doctor flicks switches on the TARDIS console until
suddenly
the front a cruise liner embeds itself into the side of the
ship,
throwing the Time Lord to the ground. Scrambling around on the
floor he
discovers a buoyancy aid that has fallen from the vessel
one which
is written its name: the Titanic. He hurriedly repairs the
damage via
the console then lands inside the craft.
He makes
his way outside and enters the main hall, inside which
well-dressed partygoers; humanoid and alien alike, are celebrating.
Walking
about the lobby the traveller finds robotic angels standing
guard
around the room. He moves over to the window and discovers the
vessel is
not an ocean liner it is a space ship orbiting the planet
Earth.
Voyage of
the Damned
(drn:72'28")
On the
bridge of the ship Captain Hardaker gives the rest of his
navigational crew leave on account of it being Christmas on the
planet
below. However, Midshipman Frame refuses to leave as ship
regulations state two crewmembers must be present on the bridge at
all times.
The two men continue to monitor the ship s orbit around
the Earth,
as the Captain tells his colleague about the traditions
of planet
s festive celebrations.
The Doctor
views an information screen displaying a recorded message
by Max
Capricorn, the proprietor of the company who own the ship. He
then walks
over to one of the angel-shaped robots and it tells him
they are
called Hosts, information points for the guests. It
explains
that the ship originates from the planet Stow, and its
mission is
to offer guests cultural experiences from the planets it
visits,
which is why it has been named and designed after a famous
vessel
from Earth and is visiting the planet at Christmas time.
Suddenly
the robotic Host malfunctions and is taken away by members
of the
crew. They deliver it to Deck 31, where they find theirs is
not the
only Host ceasing to function properly, many across the ship
are
beginning to go haywire and the technicians have no ideas why.
Back in
the lobby a young waitress accidentally spills a drink on
one of the
partygoers, a businessman named Rickston Slade. He
indignantly dismisses her and claims the cost for his cleaning bill
will be
deducted from her wage packet before leaving her to pick up
the
remains of the broken glass. The Doctor appears beside her and
offers to
help. He introduces himself and she tells him her name is
Astrid
Peth.
After he
tells her that he is on the cruise alone the two begin to
talk about
travelling. The Time Lord recognises in his new friend a
year to
visit other worlds and entrances her with talk of other
worlds and
other skies. He reveals to her that he is a stowaway, and
tells her
the Titanic hit his own ship when he forgot to arm his
defence
shields. She agrees not to tell anyone of his presence and
goes to
get him a free drink.
The Doctor
then joins two portly partygoers at the buffet, who much
to the
amusement of the other guests have mistaken the even for a
fancy-dress occasion. The explain to him that the wealthier guests
look down
on them as they won their tickets for the cruise in a
competition, and would rather they stayed in the service decks. In
response
the Time Lord aims his Sonic Screwdriver at the snobbish
guests,
causing their champagne bottle to explode much to the
amusement
of the couple he is seated with, who introduce themselves
as Morvin
and Foon Van Hoff.
Back on
the bridge Midshipman Frame discovers some of the ship s
power is
being diverted to Deck 31, and that a meteor storm is
approaching the vessel from port side. Captain Hardaker dismisses
the events
as nothing out of the ordinary and continues his control
at the
helm.
In the
lobby the Doctor, Morvin, Foon, a small red spiky alien named
Bannakaffalatta and various other guests prepare to take shore
leave, and
the Time Lord invites Astrid to join them. A kind elderly
man named
Mr Copper conducts the visit, and explains to his guests
about the
traditions of Christmas on the planet Earth, only to get
many facts
wrong (despite claiming to have a degree in
Earthanomics). He hands his guests special teleportation wristbands,
and they
all beam down to the planet below, only to find the streets
deserted.
The other
guests are not perturbed by this but the Doctor is
somewhat
concerned. After Mr Copper explains to the group that he
has petty
cash stored on a credit card should they wish to purchase
anything,
the Doctor speaks to a nearby newspaper vendor at the side
of the
road who explains that following attacks by the Sycorax and
the
Rachnoss the city of London has been deserted for Christmas in
fear that
another alien ship will soon appear in the sky. Some
people
still remain, including the Queen, who is spending the
festive
season in Buckingham Palace.
Astrid
meanwhile marvels at the scene surrounding her, and joins the
Doctor as
they look around. Suddenly they are returned to the
Titanic
and Mr Copper explains there has been a power fluctuation.
Astrid is
not saddened by this and instead thanks the Doctor for
taking her
with him, before returning to her work.
On the
bridge Midshipman Frame looks on as the meteors outside
appear to
change course and begin flying toward the ship. He warns
the
Captain but he is busy at a computer bank, appearing to
magnetise
the hols so the approaching projectiles will be drawn
toward
them..
The party
continues in the lobby but the Doctor is concerned about
the power
problems. He approaches another of the computer screens
displaying
the recorded message from Max Capricorn and manages to
augment it
so it shows him technical information about the ship. He
discovers
the defence shields have been taken off line and then sees
the
meteors outside approaching the ship with increasing speed.
He
contacts the bridge to warn the crew but the Captain, who
continues
to fiddle with the controls, ignores him and orders his
men to
bring him to the bridge. Sure enough several members of the
crew
escort the Doctor from the computer screen. Up above in the
bridge
Midshipman Frame moves to restore the defence shields but the
Captain
pulls a gun on him. Frame ignores this threat and tries to
continue
his work, only for Hardaker to pull the trigger.
In the
lobby the Doctor tries to warn the other guests of the
approaching danger but is dragged away by the Chief Steward. Astrid,
Bannakaffalatta, Foon and Morvin all try to help and Mr Copper
approaches, wishing to know what is the reason for the disturbance.
As they
leave the room Rickston Slade asks one of the Hosts what is
going on.
It replies:
Information: You are all going to die.
Captain
Hardaker checks his watch as the wounded Frame nurses the
gunshot
wound in his side. He warns the Captain he will be killed by
the
approaching storm but he claims he is dying anyway.
Six
months. And they offered me so much money for my family.
Rickston
joins the Doctor, Astrid, Mr Copper, Foon, Morvin,
Bannakaffalatta and the Chief Steward as they move along a service
corridor
en route to the bridge, having also noticed the state of
the
shields. However his concerns, like the Doctor s, fall on deaf
ears and
as Captain Hardaker looks on from the bridge the three
meteors
hit the side of the ship.
The guests
are thrown to the floor as balls of fire erupt across the
craft. On
Deck 31 the Hosts gather together whilst the turbulence
comes to a
halt. In the service corridor the Chief Steward tries to
apologise
and decides to find out what is going on. He opens a
nearby
door; unaware the meteors have destroyed the room beyond. He
is sucked
out into space and the others are forced to struggles not
to follow
him.
The Doctor
manages to restore order by repairing the Oxygen Shield.
He warns
Astrid the meteor strike may not have been an accident,
then
promises he will save her and the others. He explains he can
take them
to safety in his own ship but when he glances outside he
discovers
the TARDIS has also been sucked into space, and is now
drifting
down toward the Earth.
On Deck 31
one of the technicians finds himself seriously injured
and calls
to the Hosts for help. However, the robots tell him they
now have
only one purpose; to kill. One of the angelic droids
removes
the metallic halo from around its head and flings it towards
him;
moments later his screams out in agony.
On Deck 22
the Doctor contacts the bridge where the ailing
Midshipman
explains to him the Captain is dead, crushed under
falling
debris. He then tells the Doctor the nuclear storm drive
engines
are failing, and when they stop the ship will loose orbit
and crash
down to Earth. Over the intercom the Doctor manages to
assist in
patching up a temporary solution to make the engines last
longer
then tells Frame he will make his way to the bridge to help
avert
disaster.
He turns
back to his group of companions and promises he will save
them, but
they will have to get to the bridge first. Rickston Slade
seems
unimpressed with the Doctor s claims and asks what authority
he has,
and who he is. The traveller turns on him and replies:
I m the
Doctor. I m a Time Lord. I m from the planet Gallifrey in
the
constellation of Katerborous. I m 903 years old and I m the man
who is
going to save your lives and all six billion people on the
planet
below. You got a problem with that?
Slade
concedes and the group make their way to a staircase, which is
littered
with wreckage. Clearing some of it aside the Doctor
discovers
a Host that has been damaged in the explosion. He realises
it can
help them clear the rubble once it is fixed and Foon and
Morvin
offer to help, telling him they are experts in robotics.
They stay
behind and the others move on but find their way blocked.
They
locate a gap small enough for Bannakaffalatta to fit through
and he
makes it to the other side, followed by the dainty Astrid.
The others
start making the gap wider for the rest of the group to
fit
through whilst on the staircase Foon reveals to her husband that
they are
in serious debt, having entered the competition to win the
cruise
tickets 5000 times, at the cost of one credit per entry. She
expects
him to shout at her but instead he laughs at her integrity,
and tells
her that he will always love her no matter what.
Up above
them Astrid begins dismantling the remaining blockade but
discovers
Bannakaffalatta has been hurt. He reveals to her that he
is a
cyborg, a race frowned upon by the people of Stow. She claims
he has
nothing to fear as cyborgs now have equal rights, they can
even get
married. The tiny red alien cheekily claims he could marry
her, and
she laughs. Setting him to recharge, Astrid returns to the
wall of
debris and calls back to the Doctor, jokily claiming she has
just got
engaged.
On the
bridge Midshipman Frame receives a call from one of the
kitchens,
where some of the staff are still alive following the
collision.
He tells them to make their way to the bridge but they
claim the
doors are locked. Seconds later the heavy metal portals
open and
the Hosts enter, killing the survivors with their razor
sharp
halos.
Frame
contacts the Doctor and warns him the Hosts may be dangerous.
The Time
Lord tries to warn Foon and Morvin that the droid they are
repairing
is dangerous but it is too late, it has been fixed.
Immediately it begins chasing after them, ready to kill. The Doctor
gets the
others to safety beyond the blockade but then stops and
asks the
droid where it receives its commands from. It tells him
they come
from Deck 31 then resumes its attempts to kill him, but
the Doctor
manages to make it through the blockade, which collapses,
destroying
the robot once and for all.
Midshipman
Frame manages to defend the bridge from another group of
the robots
but is forced to seal the doors with a maximum deadlock,
meaning
nobody else can get inside. He contacts the Doctor and warns
him, but
the Time Lord is more concerned about Deck 31, which Frame
tells him
is used for storing the Hosts. He sends the Doctor a map
of the
ship via a nearby information screen and he identifies an
area on
the Deck that is sealed off, showing no source of power,
light or
energy.
Frame
signs off and the Doctor returns to his group of friends. He
and Astrid
speak with Mr Copper, who again displays a flawed
understanding of Christmas traditions and Earth culture. He reveals
to them
his degree in Earthanomics is something of a fake; he was
forced to
lie to the company to secure a job, having spent his life
as a
travelling salesman with no money and no home. He fears that
should he
survive the Titanic disaster he will be imprisoned for
fraud, and
as an old man will not survive his prison sentence.
Their
conversation is interrupted by a group of Hosts, who have
managed to
follow them. They run for safety and emerge in a giant
chamber
suspended above the storm drive engines. The floor has
collapsed
and all that remains is a single walkway extending from
one side
of the chasm to the other.
The Doctor
seals the door behind them but the Hosts are soon trying
to break
it down. The others seem concerned about being able to make
their way
across, especially Foon and Morvin. The Doctor claims the
makeshift
bridge will take their weight but tragedy strikes when
Morvin
looses his footing on the balcony beside the crossing and
plunges
down into the fiery engines.
The Doctor
and Astrid try to comfort the distraught Foon but they
are forced
to move on and the party begins making its way from the
balcony to
the walkway, surrounded by the sound of metallic thumping
as the
Hosts try to break down the door. Rickston makes it across
with
Bannakaffalatta, Astrid and Mr Copper following behind. The
Doctor
tries to convince Foon she must cross but is forced to leave
her behind
when Rickston reveals the door on the other side of the
ravine is
locked and they need the Sonic Screwdriver. He promises
Foon he
will return for her then follows the others onto the
walkway.
The noise
at the door stops. The Doctor wonders what might have
happened
when suddenly the Hosts reappear, now flying down upon them
from the
decks above using their angelic wings. They remove their
halos and
launch them at the escaping guests, who manage to fend off
the attack
using pieces of fallen debris as shields. Bannakaffalatta
manages to
end the onslaught by disabling the Hosts with an
electromagnetic pulse launched from his robotic body parts. However
the
massive loss of power has a devastating effect and with Astrid
watching
over him he dies.
Mr Copper
removes a transmitter from Bannakaffalatta s chest and
claims
they can use it as a weapon against their attackers, he might
not have
died in vain. Suddenly one of the fallen hosts reactivates
and
advances toward them, but the Doctor stops it by engaging the
robot s
emergency protocol. He questions it and it tells him that
killing
the passengers and crew means there will be no witnesses to
what has
happened. The ship must be made to crash into the Earth,
that
is the plan .
It then
advances towards the Doctor, ready to kill again. Suddenly
Foon
appears and binds the creature with a length of rope before
throwing
herself over the edge, dragging the Host with her. The
Doctor
looks on as she plummets and swears to himself that no more
will die.
He and the
others proceed to the other side of the chasm and pass
into the
corridors beyond. He hands Bannakaffalatta s transmitter to
Astrid and
tells her to use it to ward off any other Hosts. He then
tells Mr
Copper and Slade to get to safety and send out an SOS,
handing
over the Sonic Screwdriver to help unlock sealed doors on
the way.
He and
Astrid then find a power point and charge up the transmitter.
She asks
him what he intends to do whilst she and the others reach
safety and
he explains he wants to try and find what is being hidden
on Deck
31. The conversation topic then turns to travelling and
Astrid
asks the Doctor if he will take her with him in the TARDIS
once the
problems on the Titanic are over. He agrees, but they are
interrupted when the ship is rocked by turbulence.
The Doctor
again contacts Frame, who explains they only have eight
minutes
left until the ship closes down. He promises he will find a
way to the
bridge them turns to the others, telling them to get on
their way.
Before they depart Astrid rushes up to the Time Lord and
kisses
him, claiming it to be a tradition on the planet Stow.
Soon she,
Mr Copper and Slade are fighting off Hosts whilst the
Doctor
makes his way around the ship until the robots surround him.
He manages
to convince them that he is a stowaway and therefore
should be
taken to the highest authority instead of being killed. He
guesses
that the relevant authority is on Deck 31, and sure enough
it is
there that the Hosts escort him.
Mr Copper
and the others reach the lobby and Rickston seals the
doors.
Astrid begins trying to send and SOS but is distracted by the
sight of
the teleport wristbands sitting beside her. She calls
Midshipman
Frame and convinces him to transfer power to the teleport
system in
order to let her follow the Doctor down to Deck 31.
Down below
the Hosts arrive with the Doctor on Deck 31, which like
the
walkway is also suspended above the engines. The Time Lord
discovers
the hidden area from the map is an indestructible impact
chamber,
capable of surviving the crash to Earth. Suddenly the doors
of the pod
open and from within emerges a motorised life support
system,
inside of which is sat the dismembered head of Max
Capricorn,
owner of the Titanic.
Unsurprised by this, the Doctor listens as Capricorn explains he has
gone into
hiding to keep the fact he has become a cyborg a secret
fro the
people of Stow. He goes on to admit he is no longer the
owner of
the company in charge of the ship; his business partners
fired him.
The Doctor
deduces that as an act of revenge Capricorn now intends
to crash
one of the company s ships and then destroy life on Earth,
causing
those who crossed him to be arrested and put in jail for
mass
murder whilst he goes undetected. The company meanwhile will be
liquidated. He will be retrieved from the wreckage and can then
retire
with a fortune his has accumulated elsewhere in the universe.
After the
Doctor calls him a loser Capricorn s temper frays and,
annoyed
the ship has not already crashed, reveals he can stop the
engines
without returning to the bridge, he can shut them off from
Deck 31,
which he does much to the Doctor s dismay.
On the
bridge Midshipman Frame struggles to regain control as the
vessel
begins to shake uncontrollably. On Deck 31 Max Capricorn
prepares
to return to his pod but first orders the Hosts to kill the
Doctor.
Suddenly a voice calls out and they all turn to see Astrid
in the
distance, driving a forklift truck toward them. She
accelerates forward and collides with Capricorn s life support
system,
trying to push him over the edge of the crumbling floor and
into the
open engines below.
The Doctor
tries to stop her but can only watch as the Hosts use
their
halos to severe the break lines of Astrid s forklift. With a
last look
at her friend Astrid puts her foot down on the accelerator
and she
and Max Capricorn roll forward, through the barrier and down
into the
engines. The Doctor breaks free of the Hosts
grasp and
runs
forward in time to see his friend disappear amongst the flames.
The ship
finally looses power and starts to plummet. The bridge
begins to
break up in a shower of sparks, leaving Midshipman Frame
to cry out
in dismay. Copper and Slade are left in the mercy of the
turbulence
but down below the Doctor has a plan. Surrounded by
flames he
clicks his fingers and is joined on either side by two
Hosts.
They take him by the arms and fly him up into the air, until
they break
through the ceiling and appear in the bridge.
The Doctor
begins flicking switches and then takes the helm,
struggling
to take control of the ship is it soars down towards
Earth. The
heat of the descent into Earth s atmosphere engulfs the
front of
the ship but soon it cools and the computers indicate the
impact
zone of the craft on the planet below. Dismayed, the Doctor
picks up a
nearby phone and asks to be put through to Buckingham
Palace.
Soon the
palace is being evacuated as the starship Titanic plummets
towards
it. Suddenly the engines roar to life and the Doctor pulls
the
steering control violently backwards. The ship levels off then
soars back
up into the sky, leaving Buckingham Palace and the Queen
safe. The
Time Lord and his fellow survivors whoop with joy as the
ship
ascends back into the skies, the heat from the re-entry having
been used
to fuel the engines.
The Doctor
laments that not everyone lived to tell the tale but then
realisation dawns and he rushes off to the lobby, where Mr Copper
and
Rickston Slade are alive and well. He runs to the teleportation
area and
recalls that when Astrid fell she was still wearing a
teleportation wristband. Mr Copper confirms that if a passenger has
an
accident while wearing the band their molecules are held in
stasis,
and can be recalled to the lobby.
Adjusting
the teleport controls with the Sonic Screwdriver the
Doctor
manages to bring back a faint image of Astrid, but despite
his
desperation cannot return her fully. Mr Copper tells him the
system is
too damaged to return her; all she is now is atoms;
stardust
. The faint image calls out into space, claiming she is
falling.
The Doctor approaches and kisses his lost friend, before
aiming the
Sonic Screwdriver at her.
Now you
can travel forever You re not falling Astrid, you re
flying .
He
activates the Screwdriver and the image reduces to floating blue
particles
that fly out of an open window and ascend to the stars
outside.
Some time
later the SOS has been sent and the Doctor, Slade, Mr
Copper and
Midshipman Frame stand in the lobby. Mr Copper fears he
will be
arrested when the authorities arrive and Rickston finally
thanks the
Doctor for saving his life, before revealing jubilantly
that he
sold the shares he owned in Max Capricorn s company and
brought
some in a rival business before the disaster occurred, and
has thus
made a fortune. He walks off and Mr Copper observes from
the Doctor
s stern gaze that of all those who could have survived,
Slade
would not have been the Time Lord s first choice.
But if
you could choose Doctor, if you could decide who lives and
who dies,
that would make you a monster.
The
Doctor, touched by Mr Copper s understanding, offers him a
teleport
bracelet and together they beam down to Earth.
Some time
later the two men walk together on a landscape covered in
snow (or
rather sediment from the Titanic when it entered Earth s
atmosphere). Eventually they find the TARDIS and the Doctor prepares
to leave.
Mr Copper asks what he is to do now he is stuck on Earth
and the
Doctor tells him to start his own life, albeit a quiet one.
He takes
Mr Copper s credit card and prepares to use his Sonic
Screwdriver to add more money to it, but discovers it already
contains a
fortune. Mr Copper explains he added a million pounds to
it by
computer before the voyage began, having mistaken the exchange
rate. He
believed the amount would only be sufficient enough for the
passengers
to buy trinkets when they visited the planet. After the
Doctor
explains exactly how much money he has, Mr Copper is jubilant
at being
able to afford his own home. He thanks the Doctor and runs
off into
the night to start his new life, turning back to call one
more thing
to the Doctor.
Doctor! I
won t forget her.
Looking up
at the night sky the Doctor observes a cloud of blue
molecules
dancing about amongst the snow and stars, and then glances
back at
the old man in the distance.
Merry
Christmas Mr Copper.
He steps
inside the ship and it dematerialises, leaving behind the
snowy
white landscape and the city beyond.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
This episode leads on from the events of Last of the Time
Lords and Time Crash.
The Doctor comments about the bad luck that follows him
whenever he wears his dinner jacket, the previous times he
has worn it being Rise of the Cybermen / The Age of Steel
and The Lazarus Experiment.
Reference is made to The Christmas Invasion and The Runaway
Bride.
The Doctor has had encountered the original Titanic before,
reference is made to it in Rose, The End of the World and
The Invasion of Time.
This episode was dedicated to the memory of Verity Lambert
OBE (1935-2007), the first producer on Doctor Who. Verity s
named was mentioned in Human Nature as the name of John
Smith s mother. This is not the first time an episode has
been transmitted under a dedication; the TV Movie was
broadcast with a caption commemorating the memory of Jon
Pertwee.
[Back to Main
Page]
Time Crash
Time Crash
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (Doctor Who), Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor).
The
Doctor meets his earlier self...
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Time Crash November 16th, 2007 7h00pm - 7h30pm
Notes:
David Tennant and Peter Davison star in a special Doctor Who
scene written exclusively for BBC Children in Need.
Time-Placement: For the Tenth Doctor this takes place
between Last of the Time Lords and Voyage of the
Damned.
For the Fifth Doctor the placement is far less clear.
Reference is made to him loosing the Sonic Screwdriver
in The Visitation. He appears to be alone and no
mention is made of who is travelling with him at the
time (Although the Tenth Doctor mentions Nyssa and
Tegan as he recalls his past adventures). A possible
placement would be after Excelis Dawns, before the
Doctor picks up Tegan and Turlough.
I ll see
you again mister.
Martha
departs the TARDIS and the Doctor sets the ship in motion.
Walking
alone around the console he flicks at the various switches,
until
suddenly there is the sound of an alarm. Smoke pours from the
console
and the Time Lord struggles to keep the ship under control.
It
stabilises and he begins to examine the controls, accompanied by
another
man, who is dressed in a long beige coat, a hat and a
cricket
jumper. The two look up and face each other, the Fifth and
Tenth
Doctors.
What?
Time Crash
(drn:
7'54")
The Fifth
Doctor demands to know the identity of his new companion
whilst the
Tenth marvels at what has happened, seeming to shrug off
the fact
the result of their meeting could destroy the universe.
Again his
erstwhile self demands to know who he is, but the Tenth
Doctor
ignores him and examines his previous incarnation further. He
notes that
he appears somewhat older than usual, presumably because
of the
time differential of having the two of them in the same place
at the
same time; normality will be resumed when he is returned to
his own
TARDIS.
He then
stands back and admires the Fifth Doctor s costume,
complimenting him on trying to encompass a stick of celery into the
ensemble.
He is silenced by his former incarnation, who removes his
hat and
turns to examine the console. The Tenth Doctor takes the
opportunity to examine the back of his own head, but asks that his
past self
put his hat back on when he notices a bald spot.
The Fifth
Doctor turns to face him and moans that he has changed the
theme of
the TARDIS interior. He then returns to his work and, much
to the
amusement of the Tenth Doctor, puts on his glasses:
You don t
even need them, you just think they make you look a bit
clever
Another
alert sounds and the Fifth Doctor notes that it means two
TARDISes
have collided, merging together. Two time zones are at war
at the
heart of the TARDIS, creating a paradox that could punch a
whole in
the universe the size of Belgium. The Tenth Doctor offers
him the
Sonic Screwdriver to try and make repairs, but he declines
the offer.
Eventually he turns to his companion and a look of
realisation slides across his face.
You re a
fan!
He resumes
his work leaving his counterpart somewhat dumbfounded by
his
ignorance. He explains that during his travels he has been
noticed
and as a result people start fan-groups in favour of his
good work.
The Tenth Doctor tells him bluntly who he is, a future
incarnation.
Check out
this bone structure Doctor because one day you ll be
shaving
it
The
Cloister Bell sounds and the Fifth Doctor notes that the
collision
that has occurred could create a black hole capable of
destroying
the universe. The Tenth Doctor explains it is his fault,
he forgot
to activate the defence shields of his TARDIS when he was
rebuilding
it. He hurriedly jabs at the controls of the ship and the
Fifth
Doctor notes he is about to blow up the ship. The Tenth Doctor
insists:
Only way
out
Who told
you that?
You told
me that!
There is a
flash of light but moments later the two Doctors are
still
alive inside the undamaged ship. The supernova created by the
TARDIS has
cancelled out the black hole caused by the collision
thereby
maintaining stability. The Tenth Doctor explains that he
only knew
what to do because he remembered being the Fifth Doctor
and seeing
his future self activate the controls.
You only
knew what to do because I saw you do it
The
TARDISes begin to separate and the Tenth Doctor begins to say
goodbye,
asking whereabouts in his existence the Fifth Doctor has
reached.
He tells him that the Master has reappeared recently and
his other
self asks if he still has that rubbish
beard . The Tenth
Doctor
tells him he doesn t, but he did have a wife.
The Fifth
Doctor begins to fade away and they thank each other. The
Tenth
Doctor suddenly remembers something and flicks a switch on the
console,
causing his past incarnation to return. He hands him his
hat, which
he has left behind and then says his final farewell:
You know,
I loved being you. Back when I first started at the very
beginning
I was always trying to be old and grumpy and important,
like you
do when you re young and then I was you. And it was all
dashing
about and playing cricket and my voice going all squeaky
when I
shouted, I still do that, the voice thing, I got that from
you. Oh,
and the trainers because you know what Doctor, you were my
Doctor
The Fifth
Doctor fades from view with one final farewell and the
Tenth
resumes his place at the console. A voice then rings out
around
him:
Oh
Doctor, remember to put your shields up!
The Doctor
flicks a switch and suddenly there is the sound of an
alarm, the
wall before him is blown away and he is thrown to the
floor. He
looks up to find the front of an ocean liner embedded in
the side
of the TARDIS, and scrambles to reach a buoyancy aid that
has fallen
from the vessel. He turns it over to reveal the name of
the ship:
the Titanic.
What?
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Fifth Doctor refers to LINDA, the club that appeared in
Love and Monsters. The Tenth Doctor refers to his past
companions Nyssa and Tegan, and to his fifth incarnation's
encounters with the Cybermen, the Mara, Time Lords in funny
hats, and the Master (in several episodes).
The cloister bell was also used in the previous Children in
Need special. The scene of the Titanic crashing through the
TARDIS is reprised from Last of the Time Lords and leads
into the next full episode, Voyage of the Damned.
When referring to the paradox of knowing what to do because
he'd seen himself do it, the Doctors both repeat the Tenth
Doctor's description of Time as "wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey"
from Blink.
Reference is made to the Fifth Doctor loosing the Sonic
Screwdriver in The Visitation.
[Back to Main
Page]
Partners in Crime
Partners in
Crime
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Lindsay
Alford Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by James Strong
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Sarah Lancashire (Miss Foster),
Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott), Jacqueline King (Sylvia
Noble), Verona Joseph (Penny Carter), Jessica Gunning
(Stacey), Martin Ball (Roger Davey), Rachid Sabitri (Craig
Staniland), Chandra Ruegg (Claire Pope),
Sue Kelvin (Suzette
Chambers) Jonathan
Stratt (Taxi Driver).
Donna Noble, the eponymous Runaway Bride who helped the Doctor
defeat the Empress of Racnoss, has realised she made the wrong
decision when she turned down the chance to travel in the
Tardis. She's determined to track the Time Lord down and tell
him
she's changed her mind. Meanwhile, the Doctor is
investigating the strange goings-on linked to a new diet pill
that
claims to promote dramatic weight loss.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Partners in Crime April
5th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h35pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Phil
Collinson is available on the official Doctor Who website.
Partners
in Crime
(drn:48'34")
Unaware of
each other s presence, Donna Noble and the Doctor both
make their
way to the Adipose Industries building in London. Both
claim to
be health and safety inspectors but their mode of entering
the
building differs whereas Donna bluffs
her way through
security,
the Doctor breaks in through the back door.
Soon they
are both in a lecture theatre, the Doctor observing from
the
projection room at the back whilst Donna sits in the stalls.
They
listen as Miss Foster, head of Adipose Industries, introduces
to her
audience the company s main export diet
pills. She tells
them that
one pill taken daily for three weeks will completely
removed
excess fat, which she claims will simply
walk away .
A reporter
names Penny Carter interrupts the talk several times to
air her
scepticism of the company and its product. Miss Foster
dismisses
her, claiming the company have one million customers in
Greater
London alone, and are soon going to market the pills
nationwide.
After the
talk Donna and the Doctor, still ignorant of the fact the
other is
in the building, make their way to the sales area and
station
themselves within two separate worker s cubicles. They
discover
that each client of the company is rewarded with a solid
gold
Adipose Industries pendant, an example of which they each
decide to
take for further examination before asking the members of
staff they
have intercepted to print them off a list of the
company s
customers. During this time Miss Foster arrives to
threaten
the staff with removal from the firm if their sales records
do not
improve.
That night
Donna visits Stacey Campbell, one of Adipose s customers.
Likewise
the Doctor calls at the house of a man named Roger Daley.
Each pair
discuss the weight loss pills and both clients appear to
be happy
(and visibly thinner) having used the product. The Doctor
discovers
that Roger has periodically lost 1 kilo of weight after
taking
each pill, and that it appears the weight vanishes at the
same time
each night. Roger explains he has discovered this because
every
night he is woken up at the same time by his burglar alarm
going off,
apparently for no reason at all. Once woken, he takes the
opportunity to weigh himself and discovers the excess fat has gone.
The Doctor
theorises that the house s cat flap may be the cause of
the alarm
sounding, remarking that things can not only get into the
house via
the flap, but they can also leave. When Roger asks what he
is hinting
at the Doctor recites Miss Foster s sales slogan: The
fat just
walks away .
Back at
Stacey s home Donna waits in the living room whilst her new
acquaintance goes to the bathroom. She takes the opportunity to
examine
the pendant she took earlier and discovers the small gold
capsule at
the end of the chain is made up of two separate sections,
which can
be twisted. She tries this several times, unaware of its
effects.
Up in the bathroom Stacey begins to feel ill, and her skin
begins to
move to the point where a bulge appears at her stomach.
Back at
the Adipose Industries building an alarm sounds and Miss
Foster
announces that premature Parthenogenesis is taking place
somewhere
in the city.
The Doctor
leaves Roger s house and also detects strange activity
occurring
in the metropolis, tracing it using a small botched
tracking
device. Miss Foster, meanwhile, orders her
Collection
Squad to go to the source of the disturbance
and bring them home .
Meanwhile,
Stacey s stomach continues to expand until the lump
forming
there breaks away from her body and falls in the sink. She
looks down
to discover it is a small white creature, which waves to
her. Back
in her office, Miss Foster claims that
the Adipose has
been
witnessed , and so she must now activate full parthenogenesis.
She takes
out her own pendant and twists the small capsule hanging
from the
chain.
As more
little creatures beginning forming and splitting from
Stacey s
body, Donna, who has realised something is wrong, ascends
the stairs
and walks over to the bathroom door. Suddenly she hears a
scream and
behind the door Stacey s body suddenly disperses into a
dozen or
so tiny creatures. Donna forces her way inside to find
Stacey s
clothes on a pile in the middle of the floor, and then
witnesses
one of the creatures as it escapes via a window.
Outside,
Miss Foster s hired hands arrive to collect the miniature
creatures
whilst the Doctor makes his way toward the house using his
tracker.
Donna rushes outside to look for the creatures but finds
they are
all gone, collected in the van, which speeds away nearly
running
over the Doctor. Both the Time Lord and Donna continue to
search the
streets, again uninformed that the other is simply metres
away from
them.
Meanwhile,
Miss Foster realises that one of the pendants has been
stolen,
meaning someone is trying to interfere with her plans. She
scans
through videos of security footage taken that day then stops
when she
discovers a female on screen she believes to be the
culprit.
She then ponders what must be done to stop her.
Donna
arrives home and is given a frosty reception by her mum
Sylvia,
who is unimpressed with her late arrival. Throughout the
evening
she sits at the kitchen table whilst her mother lectures her
about her
life, claiming it is time she found a job and moved out
again.
Although she admits Donna claims she has plans for her life,
she
accuses her of never making them clear.
Tired of
this, Donna makes her way to a nearby hill where her
grandfather Wilf is sitting by a potting shed, gazing at the stars
with his
telescope. She sits down beside him and the two begin to
talk, Wilf
noting that lately Donna appears to be somewhat distant.
She tells
him she is waiting for the right man, someone she met once
but let
slip away from her, and who she now wants back. She tells
him to
keep a look out for a small blue box flying through the night
sky, and
to call her when he sees it for it is the box, and the man
inside,
that she is looking for. She worries that she may never find
him again,
but Wilf encourages her to keep searching. She agrees:
You re
right. Cos he s still out there,
somewhere. And I ll find
him
gramps, even if I have to wait a hundred years I ll find him.
In the
TARDIS console room the Doctor examines the Adipose
Industries
pendant he took from the office, and begins talking
excitedly
about it. However, he soon realises that no one is around
to listen
to him and he ceases to speak, instead choosing to stand
alone
beside the console.
The next
day Donna, against her mother s wishes, takes her car and
returns to
Adipose Industries, unaware that the TARDIS lands metres
away a few
moments later. Again she bluffs her way inside whilst the
Doctor
zaps the back door with his Sonic Screwdriver. However,
instead of
looking around the two conceal themselves away; Donna
hides in a
toilet cubicle whilst the Doctor hangs around the service
and
maintenance areas. Elsewhere in the building Miss Foster and her
guards
patrol around, looking for their saboteur.
Several
hours later the building closes for business and Donna and
the Doctor
come out from their hiding places, ready to look around
again
unhindered. Donna is forced to stop when she receives a call
from her
mother, who wants to use the car to visit a friend of hers
who is
celebrating losing a lot of weight after taking the Adipose
pills.
Suddenly the door of the restroom is forced open and as Donna
hides back
in her cubicle, Miss Foster and her two armed guards
enter to
locate the woman they have been searching for.
The guards
begin knocking each cubicle door down to find the
suspect,
and Donna grows increasingly nervous. However, she is
surprised
and relieved when it transpires that she is not the woman
Miss
Foster is looking for, it is Penny Carter, who is also hiding
in a
toilet cubicle. The guards grab her and she announces that she
has
checked all of the data linked with Adipose Industries,
determining it as fake. Miss Foster tells her to be silent, and she
is taken
away.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor arrives on the roof and clambers into a
motorised
cradle attached to two cables, which can be lowered down
the side
of the building to enable it to be cleaned. As Miss Foster
has her
guards escort Penny to her office and tie her to a chair,
the Doctor
begins lowering himself down so that he is outside the
office. He
leans down into the cart so as not to be seen but listens
in on the
conversation taking place inside. Meanwhile, in a corridor
outside,
Donna approaches Miss Foster s office and crouches down
beside the
door, also hoping not to be seen.
Miss
Foster, claiming Penny will not live to see the true nature of
the
organisation revealed to the world, decides to explain the true
function
of the company. The pills, instead of flushing fat into the
bloodstream as they claim, actually bind the fat together to form
living
creatures. She then discusses her name, Foster, and claims it
is one she
chose with great care. Claiming she is a foster mother,
she opens
up a drawer in her desk and reveals her children: the
small
white creatures created from human fat galvanised by the pills
the
Adipose.
The Doctor
and Donna both stand up to observe the creature, which is
identical
to the ones created out of Stacey, and are finally
reunited
when they see each other across the office. The Doctor is
somewhat
bewildered by the situation but Donna is jubilant at
finding
the man she has been looking for. In the silent conversation
that
follows Donna explains that she, like him, has been
investigating the company, having heard rumours connected with the
company.
Suddenly
she realises Miss Foster has seen the two miming to each
other
across the room. The Doctor motions for Donna to run up to the
roof and
he follows by ascending in the cable cart. Miss Foster and
her guards
soon give chase, leaving Penny tied up in the office.
Eventually
the Doctor arrives on the roof and runs back inside,
where he
meets Donna on the stairs. Realising the guards are on
their way
they sprint back up onto the roof, where Donna explains
that she
has been looking for the Doctor. Ever since they met her
eyes have
been opened to the wonders of the universe, and she wants
to explore
them with him. She began trying to find him by
researching alien activity on the Internet (believing he would not
be far
behind), and amongst other strange goings on such as huge
swarms of
bees disappearing, she uncovered conspiracy theories
surrounding Adipose Industries, so she decided to find out what was
going on.
The Doctor
clambers back into the cable cart and zaps the controls
with the
Sonic Screwdriver. Donna follows him but worries that Miss
Foster
will simply be able to pull them back up again. The Time Lord
is
sceptical; claiming he has locked the controls, meaning only
another
sonic device will be able to release them, and it is
unlikely
Miss Foster will have such a tool.
Unfortunately for him, she does, and after opening the locked doors
leading to
the roof, Miss Foster begins attacking the controls of
the cable
cart with her Sonic Pen. Suddenly the cradle plummets
toward the
ground at an alarming rate, but is forced to stop when
the Doctor
locks the controls again. He and Donna then begin trying
to break a
window in order to climb back into the building but Miss
Foster
orders for the office block to be deadlocked, rendering their
efforts
useless. She then zaps one of the cables with her Sonic Pen
and it
snaps, causing one side of the cart to drop. Donna tumbles
out and
falls, but manages to grab hold of the snapped cable and is
left
dangling perilously in mid-air.
The
Doctor, having managed to remain inside the upturned cart, tries
in vain to
drag Donna back inside. He watches as Miss Foster attacks
the other
cable but stops her by shooting her Sonic Pen from her
hand with
his Screwdriver. He catches the small device as it falls
and uses
it to open one of the deadlocked windows. He clambers
inside and
then runs downstairs to a few floors below, where Penny
is still
in Miss Foster s office, now watching Donna dangling from
the cable.
The Doctor opens the window, helps his friend inside and
then frees
Penny. He and Donna then run off but are stopped in their
tracks
when Miss Foster and her guards block their path.
The Doctor
enquires as to Miss Foster s real name, and she tells
him. Her
name is Matron Cofelia of the Five-Straighten Classabindi
Nursery
Fleet, sent to Earth by her employers, the Adiposian First
Family, to
cultivate their children after their own breeding planet
was lost.
Donna asks
why Stacey was completely disintegrated when the Adipose
were only
meant to be formed from her fat, and Miss Foster explains
that in
extreme cases the creatures can be fashioned from flesh and
bone as
well. The Doctor cuts in, claiming what she is doing is
against
galactic law, and she must be stop or he will intervene.
Unimpressed, Miss Foster orders her guards to aim their guns on the
pair but
the Doctor manages to escape with Donna by aiming his Sonic
Screwdriver and newly acquired Sonic Pen at each other, causing a
high-pitched whine that distracts the guards.
Miss
Foster does not follow the escaping duo; instead she claims she
is
instigating premature labour. The guards follow her back to her
office
where they find Penny rummaging through the company files.
They tie
her up again and Miss Foster resumes her work
opening up
a section
of the wall to reveal a glowing green control panel.
The Doctor
and Donna meanwhile have descended to the lower levels of
the office
block, where the Doctor hid that morning. He explains
that he
has discovered an identical panel, part of a computer system
running
through the whole building. Now he has the Sonic Pen he can
override
the triple deadlock protecting it and tamper with it.
Upstairs
Penny asks what the computer does, and Miss Foster explains
it is an
Inducer, capable of accelerating the birth of the Adipose
creatures.
Now that the Doctor has discovered her plans she is
worried he
will alert the Shadow Proclamation. As such she must act
quickly,
activating the million Adipose planted in people across the
city as
soon as she can. As she sets about configuring the controls
she sends
her guards after the Doctor and Donna, ordering them to
shoot on
sight.
However,
the Doctor manages to reroute the power of the building so
that it
hits the guards, rendering them unconscious. He then resumes
his work
trying to reverse Miss Foster s plans. As he examines the
computer
Donna asks if he is still alone, and he tells her of his
friend
Martha Jones, whom he travelled with but ultimately harmed as
a result
of his dangerous life. She then asks of his other friend
Rose, whom
he told her about the first time they met, and whom he
claims is
still lost.
Donna
recalls the brief time she spent with him and how she swore
she would
change her lifestyle as a result of the things he showed
her, but
ultimately she remained in her same dead-end life. She
manages to
bring up the idea of travelling with him, and the Time
Lord seems
somewhat bemused by this unexpected suggestion. Before he
can reply
the Inducer activates, and across the city a million
people
begin feeling the ill effects of the Adipose pills, including
Sylvia s
friend and the Doctor s acquaintance Roger. Each victim s
skin
begins to ripple, bulge and separate into tiny Adipose
creatures,
which swarm out into the streets and make their way to
the
Adipose Industries building; in Roger s case, the creature
escapes
through the cat flat before joining it s siblings outside.
The Doctor
realises Miss Foster has instigated emergency
parthenogenesis, and as a result every human who took the Adipose
tablets
will be completely disintegrated like Stacey. He tries to
cripple
the Inducer by overriding the signal it transmits, which he
intends to
achieve by linking the pendant he stole into the machine,
the result
being that the unborn Adipose would return to simply
being fat,
not living creatures. However, Miss Foster realises what
he intends
to do so doubles the strength of the signal.
The Time
Lord despairs that he will not be able to save the million
people
about to die, but is himself saved when Donna reveals she too
has a
pendant, which he can use to double the strength of the
override
and shut down the Inducer completely. This he does and soon
all those
suffering from the parthenogenesis are saved. Miss Foster,
disgruntled by this, claims she has still managed to convert ten
thousand
of the creatures, and rejoices as a distant rumbling is
heard
overhead her lift home.
Outside a
giant spaceship appears in the sky. People rush out into
the
streets to watch it arrive, whilst inside the Adipose building
the Doctor
explains to Donna that it is the nursery ship arriving to
take the
newborn creatures away. Suddenly the Inducer springs to
life as
the ship s transmissions are received. The Doctor reads them
and
realises something is wrong.
We re not
the ones in trouble now she is.
Outside,
Miss Foster stands before the crowd of Adipose, promising
they are
going to be taken home. Sure enough the ship emits giant
beams of
light and as the Adipose creatures step into them, they
begin
floating up toward the craft. Miss Foster calls out to be
taken as
well so she can care for the creatures, and she too begins
ascending
into the sky.
The Doctor
and Donna arrive up on the roof in time to see the
Adipose
being taken into the ship. Soon they see Miss Foster
ascending
and the Time Lord tries to urge her to jump onto the roof
and out of
the levitation field. She scoffs, but the Doctor
continues
to warn her, explaining that the Adipose parents will no
longer
need her now they have their children, and that having
discovered
that breeding their young on Earth is illegal, they will
want to
get rid of her. A look of realisation dawns on Miss Foster s
face but
it is too late, the beam of light lifting her up is shut
off and
she plummets to the ground, screaming. With all of the
Adipose
safely onboard the ship departs, leaving Earth behind.
Some time
later the police arrive to clear up the mess. The Doctor
throws
away Miss Foster s Sonic Pen as he and Donna make their way
to the
TARDIS. Donna runs over to her nearby car and reveals that
she packed
for the trip some time ago, and begins unloading luggage
from the
back of the vehicle. She talks excitedly about travelling
but stops
when she realises her friend has fallen silent. He claims
he is
worried that the life he leads will harm her, as it did to
Martha. He
tells her he doesn t want things to get complicated
again, he
simply wants a friend. Donna agrees, somewhat disturbed by
the
prospect of a relationship with him, and prepares to leave,
before
realising that she still has her mother s car keys.
Whilst the
Doctor begins loading her baggage into the TARDIS Donna
calls her
mother on her mobile phone to explain she is staying with
a friend
for a while. She tells her the car keys are hidden in a bin
nearby and
sure enough as she hangs up she throws the keys into the
container.
She then turns to a blond woman standing in a crowd
watching
the police and asks her to point out the bin when her
mother
arrives. This done she hurries away, leaving the woman to
turn and
reveal her identity it is is Rose. She
looks solemnly
back at
the police blockade then turns and walks away alone, fading
from view
as she goes. Donna meanwhile returns to the TARDIS and
steps
inside, where the Doctor is waiting. He asks her where she
wishes to
go, and she claims she knows exactly where.
Back on
the hillside Wilf is still stargazing. He is startled when
he sees a
small blue box flying past and, remembering what his
granddaughter said to him the previous night, calls out to her. He
hurries to
catch a glimpse of the object in his telescope, and when
he does he
realises it is a spaceship. In the doorway of the craft
is Donna,
and standing just behind her is the Doctor. They smile and
wave and
Wilf cheers them on; glad Donna has found the world she was
looking
for. As the TARDIS spins off he dances and cheers, happy his
granddaughter is where she wants to be at last.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Donna first met the Doctor in The Runaway Bride. Several
elements of that story are referred to in this episode,
including Donna s ill-fated fianc
Lance, the Doctor s suit
and the spider creatures, the Rachnoss.
The Doctor is alone at the start of the story, having been
left by Martha and Jack in Last of the Time Lords and then
having lost Astrid in Voyage of the Damned.
Donna refers to the Titanic flying over Buckingham Palace on
Christmas Day, an event that occurred in Voyage of the
Damned. Bernard Cribbins, who plays Donna s grandfather
Wilf, also featured in that story as a newspaper vendor, and
it
is quite likely the character is the same.
The episode is dedicated to the memory of Howard Attfield,
who played Donna s father in The Runaway Bride and who was
scheduled to appear in this series, but sadly died shortly
after filming began.
The Doctor talks of not being much of a cat person, a
sentiment echoed in Fear Her, presumably inspired by his
trip to New Earth.
Rose was last seen in Doomsday, having been apparently
trapped in a parallel world with her mother Jackie and
boyfriend Mickey.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Fires of Pompeii
The Fires of
Pompeii
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Brian
Minchin Written by James Moran
Directed by Colin Teague
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Peter Capaldi (Caecilius), Tracey Childs (Metella), Phil Davis
(Lucius), Sasha Behar (Spurrina),
Francesca Fowler (Evelina),
Lorraine Burroughs
(Thalina), Victoria Wicks (High Priestess),
François Pandolfo (Quintus), Karen Gillan
(Soothsayer), Phil
Cornwell
(Stallholder).
The
Doctor meant to take Donna to Rome, but they've ended up
in
Pompeii. Which wouldn't be so bad, except it's AD 79 and
Vesuvius is due to erupt. But that's not the only thing
they've got to worry about. Monsters made of stone are loose
on
the streets and a high priestess is making some decidedly
dodgy prophecies. As the danger mounts, Donna challenges the
Doctor to change history and save lives.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Fires of Pompeii April
12th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h35pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by writer James Moran, actor François
Pandolfo and associate designer James North is available on
the official Doctor Who website.
Stepping
out of the TARDIS, Donna is jubilant to discover the Doctor
has taken
her to Ancient Rome. After discussing the TARDIS
translation system (which allows the travellers to speak and
understand
Latin), the two friends walk through the city, followed
by a woman
in red robes. They emerge in an open street and are
shocked to
discover a volcano stretching out on the landscape before
them. As a
tremor rocks the city the Doctor realises they are not in
fact in
Rome:
“We’re in
Pompeii, and it’s volcano day!”
The Fires
of Pompeii
(drn:48'14")
The woman
in red robes following the travellers runs off to a nearby
temple,
which houses the Sibylline Sisterhood. She begs audience
with the
Reverend Mother but it is forbidden. When asked of her
message
she tells her fellow Sisters that the blue box from their
prophecies
has finally arrived.
The Doctor
and Donna run back to where they landed but discover the
TARDIS is
gone. A nearby merchant tells them he has sold it to a man
named
Caecilius, who believed it to be a modern art sculpture.
At his
villa, Caecilius examines his new purchase, but his appraisal
is cut
short when another tremor hits the city. He, his wife
Metella,
his daughter Evelina and his son Quintus all hurry to
protect
the decorative items of the house, and once the disturbance
has passed
resume preparations to welcome their visitor, a man named
Lucius.
Evelina
and her mother sit beside a large stone vent, which leads
down to
the fiery underworld of the city. Metella tries to encourage
her
daughter to access the powers of precognition she appears to
have
developed recently, and upon gazing into the smoke that rises
from the
vent she confesses that it makes her feel ill. Her mother
leaves
her, claiming soon, as the Sisterhood have predicted, she
will
become a Seer. Evelina once more looks down into the smoke and
sees a
fiery creature sitting far below.
The Doctor
is keen to find the TARDIS and leave but Donna is more
concerned
with saving the city from Mount Versuvius, which is due to
erupt the
following day. However, the Time Lord warns his companion
that they
cannot intervene, the destruction of Pompeii and its
people is
a fixed point in time, one he cannot allow to change. They
argue the
matter, but eventually Donna concedes to help find their
lost ship.
Meanwhile,
the Sisterhood fear that the arrival of the blue box and
its
inhabitants will spell doom for the city. The Reverend Mother,
who speaks
from behind a coloured veil, tells them these predictions
are
untrue, and prophecies the city will soon enjoy a new golden age
of
prosperity and power. She claims Pompeii will head an empire
mightier
than Rome itself, and warns that if the two newly arrived
travellers
threaten this, they must be killed.
Another
tremor reverberates around the city and Caecilius and his
family
once more hurry to protect their possessions, only this time
the Doctor
and Donna arrive to help. Caecilius assumes they are
customers,
and reveals he is a purveyor of marble sculptures. The
Doctor
claims he is an inspector, and warns that the tall blue box
in the
corner of the room is against regulations. Donna meanwhile
tries to
convince the family that they should take a holiday as soon
as
possible, thus saving them from the terror to come. The Doctor
prevents
her for explaining her intentions to the family and again
they argue
as to which course of action – intervention or none – is
the more
moral. They are interrupted when Lucius, a government
representative and soothsayer, arrives in the villa.
The family
greets him and introduce the Doctor and Donna, who have
both taken
the pseudonym of Spartacus. The two travellers prepare to
leave but
stop when they discover the reason for Lucius’ arrival –
to view a
new marble sculpture he has commissioned Caecilius to
produce –
one that resembles an electronic circuit.
Evelina,
now somewhat unwell, arrives and notes that the Doctor and
Donna are
sceptical of the prophetic nature of life in Pompeii.
Lucius
denounces Evelina’s abilities, claiming the prophecies of
women are
meaningless, only his own and those of men are
representative of true precognitive ability.
The Doctor
is interested in the vapours from the nearby vent, which
Evelina
claims aid her in her perceptions. He is interrupted when
both of
the soothsayers begin to note facts about he travellers they
have not
revealed, such as their names and places of origin and the
fact that
the Doctor’s planet has been consumed by fire. Lucius
makes two
further observations: he claims that Donna has “something”
on her
back, and then cryptically tells the Doctor that “she is
returning”. Evelina notes that the Doctor’s title is a lie; his true
name is
hidden in the Cascade of Medusa. After claiming he is a lord
of time,
she faints.
Some time
later Metella tends to her daughter. Donna observes and
questions
why the young woman has a bandage wrapped around her arm.
Metella
claims it is covering a skin irritation she recently
contracted, and takes off the dressing to reveal the skin beneath
has turned
grey and hard. Donna examines the condition, which she
realises
is turning the young girl into stone.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor examines the vent, which Caecilius claims is a
hot spring
of Versuvius. The sculptor tells his visitor that the
power of
the Soothsayers originated after an earthquake that hit the
area
seventeen years ago, and since then they have been able to
predict
rainfall and the wealth of local harvests. The Doctor asks
if any
predictions have been made concerning the next day, but
Caecilius
claims there are none. The Time Lord then ponders the
importance
of the vent and it’s counterparts across the city, and
realises
the Seers have been breathing in the dust of Versuvius.
That night
he speaks with Quintus about Lucius, and manages to bribe
the young
man into taking him to the Seer’s home. They break inside
and find a
similar vent to the one in Caecilius’ house. The Doctor
then
examines the other rooms and discovers several more marble
sculptures, each resembling a section of a circuit board. Lucius
then
arrives and tells them the circuits have been made to help
create a
future dictated to him by the gods.
Donna
meanwhile speaks with the revived Evelina about her abilities,
and
discovers she has been promised to the Sisterhood once her
powers
have matured. Donna confesses she also has a prophecy, and
tells the
young girl of the impending disaster. However, she is
unaware
that the Sisterhood are listening to her words through
Evelina,
who is now telepathically linked to them. Once Donna has
spoken the
Sisters at the temple speak with the veiled Reverend
Mother,
who again claims Donna’s foretelling of destruction is
false, and
that she must be killed because of this.
Back at
Lucius’ villa the Doctor rearranges the marble circuits and
explains
that it is an energy converter, although its exact purpose
evades
him. He asks Lucius who designed the full circuit but the
Seer
doesn’t answer, instead he orders his guards to kill the two
intruders.
However, before they can strike the Doctor reaches
forward
and grabs Lucius’ arm, which he reveals is made of stone. He
snaps the
petrified limb and then runs off with Quintus.
As they
flee through the streets Lucius speaks into the volcanic
vent and
calls for his gods to destroy the Doctor, whom he claims
threatens
Pompeii. Sure enough, the Doctor and Quintus realise
something
beneath the ground is following them outside, and are
chased by
thunderous tremors back to Caecilius’ villa. Upon their
arrival
the creature following them, the same beast Evelina saw in
the smoke
earlier, bursts out of the ground and prepares to attack.
The Doctor
examines the stone monster, which appears to be held
together
with magma from the volcano.
The Time
Lord calls for water to fight the beast with then tries to
reason
with creature, unaware the Sisterhood have arrived at the
villa and
taken Donna. Quintus fetches a container of water and
douses the
creature with it, causing the magma holding it together
to cool
and extinguish. It’s stone limbs crumble and the beast falls
down in
pieces.
The Doctor
arrives at the Sisterhood’s temple; just as Donna is
about to
he sacrificed. He frees his companion then speaks with the
Sisters
about their religion, before being summoned by the Reverend
Mother.
The senior soothsayer pulls back the veils covering her and
reveals
her true appearance – humanoid whose skin has turned to
stone.
Donna recalls seeing Evelina’s arm and realises this is the
fate of
every Seer. The Doctor confronts the priestess, claiming
that there
is a creature within her taking over her body. He
addresses
it and with a rasping voice it speaks through its host,
claiming
to be a Pyroville. The Sisters begin to chant this name and
the Doctor
explains to Donna that the creature from the villa that
attacked
them is also a Pyroville, albeit a fully formed one.
He
produces a water pistol from his jacket pocket and aims it at the
possessed
woman, who explains that the Pyrovilles arrived seventeen
years ago;
causing the earthquake that shook the city. They embedded
themselves
in the depths of the mountain and began reaching out to
the city’s
occupants, using their own powers to open the human’s
minds and
access their latent psychic ability. The Doctor questions
their
ability to see through time, which is not within the human
capability, and then asks why the approaching eruption has been
hidden
from the Seers.
His
questions are not answered. By now the Sisters have read his
mind and
determined that the water pistol is not dangerous to them
or the
Reverend Mother. They advance on him but he escapes with
Donna into
the underground passageways that link to the vents in
Caecilius
and Lucius’ houses. The travellers advance through the
rocky
passageways, heading toward the volcano. Back in the temple
the
Reverend Mother claims the prophecy she has made about the
future of
Pompeii must advance. This declaration is heard by all of
the Seers
across the city, including Lucius, who rallies his group
of guards
and prepares to leave for the mountain.
As the sun
rises on the day of the eruption, Metella worries that
the
creature they killed the previous night was a messenger from the
gods, and
in destroying it they have brought great misfortune upon
themselves. Evelina enters and claims that she foresees a great
decision
being made, one that will have terrible consequences.
Still
underground, Donna questions the Doctor’s decision to save the
Earth in
her own time but still let Pompeii be destroyed. He claims
that he
sees time in a different way to her, he can see what must be
changed
and what must remain constant, that is his burden. Donna
continues
to try and persuade him to save the city, disturbed that
he is
prepared to let twenty thousand people die.
On the
hillside surrounding the mountain, Lucius and his men advance
with the
marble circuits. They arrive at an opening in the volcano
and are
greeted by a gigantic Pyroville. Inside, the Doctor and
Donna find
themselves emerging into the very heart of Versurius,
which is
now overrun with Pyrovilles. The Doctor examines the
remains of
the creature’s ship, but is interrupted when Lucius
arrives.
He calls for the stone warriors to destroy the two
intruders
but the Doctor again uses his water pistol to fend them
off.
He asks
what the creatures plan to do when the Seers are fully
developed
into Pyrovilles, and Lucius explains that they intend to
create an
empire spanning the whole of the Earth. Donna asks why
they
cannot rebuild their ship and go home instead, and Lucius again
answers,
claiming their home planet has disappeared. The Doctor is
confused
by this but nevertheless vows he must stop the creatures
for the
good of the planet. He and Donna conceal themselves in a
nearby
pod; in which are similar marble circuits and controls to
those
Lucius has been collecting.
The Doctor
realises that the energy converter will take the lava
from
Versuvius and use it to convert the rest of the human race into
Pyrovilles.
The Soothsayers cannot foresee the volcano erupting
because
with its power gone it never will. He realises that by
destroying
the converter and stopping the Pyrovilles he will trigger
the
eruption – the destruction of Pompeii is not just part of
history,
it happens because of him.
He
prepares to invert the converter but wavers, not sure of what to
do. At
last Donna understands his decision – save one city or the
entire
world – and together they press the lever that will cause the
mountain
to explode. Lucius and the other Seers cry out, realising
that the
future as they see it is changing.
The
converter pours energy back into the volcano and it erupts,
sending a
great column of smoke into the atmosphere and huge clouds
of ash
onto the city. The force of the explosion throws the Doctor
and
Donna’s pod out of the mountain, and it lands on the hillside
nearby. As
smoke blocks out the sun and the surrounding area is
plunged
into darkness, the two travellers run back to the city,
where the
inhabitants have descended into panic. Ash falls from the
sky like
snow and back at the temple, the Sisterhood realise the end
is nigh.
The Doctor
is adamant he and Donna must return to the TARDIS and
leave, but
his companion has other ideas. She runs through the
streets
screaming for the people to head toward the hills so they
will be
safe, but her cries fall on deaf ears. Those still left in
the city
run for the beach, which is soon to be buried in ash.
Donna and
the Doctor return to the house of Caecilius, where the
family is
cowering in fear of the mounting eruption. Caecilius calls
out to the
Doctor to save them but the Time Lord does not respond.
He returns
to the TARDIS and begins to take off, Donna reluctantly
following
on behind. As the ship leaves she orders him to go back to
Pompeii
and save those in danger, claiming it is not fair that they
should die
when the volcano’s eruption was pre-empted.
She tries
to convince him, claiming his own planet burned like
Pompeii
and he cannot allow such a thing to happen again. Once more
he tells
her he cannot intervene, he was forced to let his planet
die and
the laws of time do not permit him to go back and save it,
the same
rules must apply to Pompeii. Tearfully, Donna begs him to
save just
one person, to prove he can make a change. Reluctantly he
returns to
the villa and tells Caecilius and his family to enter the
ship.
Some time
later, as the city is buried under the volcano’s ash, the
Doctor,
Donna, Caecilius and his family look on from the hillside.
The Doctor
tells them that the city will never be forgotten, for it
will be
uncovered in a thousand years time. Donna asks Evelina if
she can
still see into the future, but she claims the visions are
gone. The
Doctor explains that the explosion caused a rift in time
and space
to appear for a few moments, which echoed back to the
Pyrovilles
and allowed them to see into the future, an ability they
passed on
to the Seers of the city. Before they leave the Doctor
tells the
family not to mention his or Donna’s presence in the city
at the
time of the eruption, and at last he and his friend depart.
Inside the
ship Donna thanks the Doctor for saving the family, and
he in turn
thanks her for directing him, admitting at last that as
she once
told him, he needs someone to save him from himself.
Six months
later, Caecilius and his family are living in Rome.
Evelina
now leads the life of a normal teenage girl and Quintus is
studying
to become a Doctor. As he prepares to leave the villa and
continue
his studies he stops to show gratitude to the household
gods. He
kneels down and thanks the stone carving that depicts the
two
saviours – the Doctor and Donna.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor mentions visiting Ancient Rome at the time of the
fire that destroyed the city – which we see in The Romans.
The Tenth Doctor also visited Rome in The Stone Rose, where
he
also witnessed people being turned to stone.
‘Volcano Day’ was first mentioned by Captain Jack Harkness
in
The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances.
Creatures made of magma were seen in Shada.
The Seventh Doctor witnessed Pompeii’s destruction in The
Fires of Vulcan
The Doctor names the Shadow Proclamation, which was last
mentioned in Partners In Crime. Also mentioned in that
episode and continued here is the idea of a planet going
missing.
The Cascade of Medusa (or rather the Medusa Cascade) was
mentioned by the Master in The Sound of Drums / Last of the
Time Lords.
[Back to Main
Page]
Planet of the Ood
Planet of the
Ood
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Phil
Collinson
Producer
Susie
Ligat
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Keith Temple
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Tim
McInnerny (Klineman Halpen), Ayesha Dharker (Solana Mercurio),
Adrian Rawlins (Dr Ryder), Roger Griffiths (Commander Kess),
Paul
Clayton (Mr Bartle), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma), Tariq Jorden
(Rep), Silas Casron (Voice of the Ood).
Donna's helped the Doctor avert disaster in modern-day Britain
and
taken a trip back in time to the Roman Empire - now she's
ready to experience an alien world. The duo visit the home
planet of the Ood, a servile race the Doctor has encountered
before (in series two episodes The Impossible Planet/The Satan
Pit). A company run by the ruthless Mr Halpen (Tim McInnerny)
is
exploiting the genial aliens - and it's up to the Doctor
and
Donna to discover the secret he's hiding
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Planet of the Ood April
19th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by producer Susie Loigat, writer Keith
Temple and actor Paul Kasey is available on the official
Doctor Who website.
The Ood.
They came from a distant world. They voyaged across the
stars. All
with one purpose to serve.
Mr Bartle,
a businessman at the head of a large organisation,
watches
the sales promotion video for the Ood whilst talking with
his
counterpart Mr Halpen over a telecommunications line. He
expresses
discomfort at the falling prices of the Ood but
nevertheless continues with his work. Suddenly his Ood servant turns
on him,
its eyes glowing red. It holds out its communication orb and
touches it
against his head electrocuting him.
Planet of
the Ood
(drn:43'35")
Setting
the TARDIS coordinates to random, the Doctor takes Donna to
her first
alien world. They excitedly step outside the ship and the
Doctor
eulogises about seeing a new planet, commenting that after a
mundane
life on Earth Donna finally has a new surrounding. He turns
back to
the ship, only to find that his companion has returned
inside to
find a warmer coat. She emerges moments later and together
they look
on as a rocket soars overhead, coming into land some
distance
away. They run off to investigate further.
At a large
industrial estate elsewhere on the planet Mr Halpen
arrives to
speak with two of his employees, a scientist named Dr
Ryder and
a woman named Solana. They explain that three people have
died in
the complex in the past few months and show him security
footage of
Mr Bartle being killed. They theorise that the Ood must
be to
blame for the other deaths and attribute this behaviour to a
condition
known as red eye . Halpen asks where the
Ood that killed
Bartle has
gone, and they explain it is being tracked down. Halpen
listens as
his assistants explain the change in Ood behaviour,
whilst
taking time to drink a dose of hair tonic brought to him by
his
assistant Ood Sigma.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor and Donna continue to explore. The Doctor
stops
suddenly, claiming he can hear a song being sung inside his
head. He
tries to follow it to a source and eventually discovers an
Ood lying
down, half buried by the snow. He examines the creature
and Donna
tries to comfort it. It tells them the
circle must be
broken ,
and it s eyes glow red. It snarls at them but moments later
it is
dead, leaving the Doctor and Donna alone.
The Doctor
explains that he has met the creatures before, and
recalls
how they were possessed by an evil force that claimed to be
the devil.
He claims the creatures are telepathic, hence the song he
heard in
his head. Donna claims she heard nothing and together with
the Doctor
she leaves the creature to be buried by the falling snow.
As they
walk on the Time Lord explains the creatures are usually
benign,
but something has gone wrong.
Some time
later they arrive at the industrial complex, where Solana
is
greeting a group of other visitors who have come to visit the
company
and discuss business deals regarding the Ood. The two
travellers
claim to be representing a company and Solana gives them
information packs before welcoming them inside. As they go an alarm
sounds.
In his
office Mr Halpen, after drinking more of his hair tonic,
contacts
his security officer, Commander Kess, and asks what is
going on.
Kess tells him an Ood with red eye is now on the loose
within the
complex. Whilst Solana conducts a business lecture about
the Ood
and their functions as servants, the security team track
down the
rogue Ood, which not only has red eye but also appears to
be rabid
with anger. Speaking over the intercom Halpen orders them
to take
the creature away, then resumes looking at himself in the
mirror,
trying to decide if his hair is growing back yet.
Solana
shows her guests further information about the Ood, who are
being sold
as servants across the Second Human Empire. The Doctor
identifies
the time zone as being the 42nd Century, and Donna
confesses
she never expected mankind to live so long
what with
continual
signs of impending doom such as global warming and the
bees going
missing occurring in her own time.
She asks
one of the Ood servants if there are any Ood who are free
to roam,
but it insists they are bred to serve. Like the Ood they
found
dying in the snow, it claims the circle
must be broken . Not
content
with the official tour of the complex, the Doctor decides to
take a
look around for himself, and Donna is soon alongside.
In one of
the other buildings Halpen and Dr Ryder examine the rabid
Ood
captured by Commander Kess. Halpen is concerned that other Ood
may start
to show similar signs of illnesses, which could put the
company
out of business. Ryder theorises the answer may lie in
Warehouse
15, but Halpen insists what is contained there is not to
blame; it
has been dormant for two centuries. He calls for more hair
tonic and
his personal Ood servant complies. He decides to visit
Warehouse
15 anyway and tells the nearby guards to shoot the
captured
Ood so a post mortem can be carried out.
The Doctor
and Donna look on as crowds of Ood are paraded around the
complex,
those who fall behind being beaten like slaves. They then
see Halpen
walking around and, assuming him to be in charge of the
company,
decide to stay out his way. They leave too soon to see
Halpen
enter Warehouse 15. He emerges with Dr Ryder on a balcony
overlooking something far below. Nothing appears to be wrong, but
Ryder
conducts some checks anyway. Halpen continues to look over the
balcony
before telling Ood Sigma: say hello to
daddy . He is
interrupted when Solana calls him over the intercom to tell him two
visitors
are missing. He tells her to send out a search party but
not to
sound any alarms en case the remaining guests grow
disgruntled and take their business elsewhere. He takes another
glass of
hair tonic from Ood Sigma and tips it over the edge of the
balcony
and onto the creature below, which screeches in discomfort.
Halpen
downs another glass, and then leaves.
Outside,
the Doctor and Donna make their way toward another
warehouse,
where they find hundreds of large metallic containers
being
shipped off to the rest of the empire. They open one of the
strongboxes and discover each one is full of Ood, all crammed
together.
Although the doors are unlocked they do not try to escape,
because
they have nowhere to go. The Doctor asks if the Ood know of
the
circle mentioned by the other Ood they
have encountered and
they claim
in unison that it must be broken . When
asked why, they
claim it
is so they can sing .
Halpen
receives a call from Commander Kess claiming the security
team have
located the missing visitors in the cargo hold. They set
off an
alarm despite instructions not to and the Doctor and Donna
run off,
but are separated in their attempts to find an exit. Donna
is
captured by the guards and thrown into a container with the Ood,
which is
then locked. The Doctor is left outside but is chased
around the
hold by Commander Kess, who operates a large claw-like
object
otherwise used for transporting the containers. The large
metal
grabber pursues the Time Lord around the myriad of metal Ood
transportation caskets, occasionally making an attempt to grab hold
of him but
continually proving unsuccessful.
Inside the
locked container the Ood awaken, their eyes glowing red.
They
advance on Donna, who calls out to the Doctor for help.
Meanwhile,
Solana, who explains that Mr Halpen wants the two
strangers
kept alive, has stopped Commander Kess in his murderous
pursuit of
the Doctor. The guards collect the Time Lord, who has
been
knocked to the ground by the claw, and retrieve Donna from the
container,
ready to take them away. However, the security team are
left with
other concerns when the rogue Ood begin leaving their
container,
and begin murdering anyone who gets in their way.
Solana
flees the scene with the Doctor and Donna and when requested
tells them
where they can find Dr Ryder, the man who will be able to
help them
understand what is going on with the Ood. The Doctor tells
her to
come with them but instead she alerts the guards to their
presence.
Once they have run off, she calls Mr Halpen to let him
know where
they are going Ood Conversion.
Halpen
calls Commander Kess, who explains that the Ood with red eye
have been
contained in a cage, but more of them are going rabid.
Halpen
downs more of his hair tonic and then orders that the Ood be
culled
before they can escape or infect any of the others. Kess
agrees,
and goes to fetch some gas canisters.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor and Donna make their way to the Ood Conversion
section of
the complex, where they discover a group of Ood who are
yet to be
processed. The Doctor again complains of hearing singing
in his
head, and upon her request manipulates Donna s mind so that
she is
able to hear the song as well. However, after a few moments
she breaks
down in tears and asks him to stop it, unable to bear the
song of
the Ood s captivity.
Halpen
arrives outside the chamber but is unable to enter for the
Doctor has
fused the lock with the Sonic Screwdriver. Inside, the
Time Lord
examines the unprocessed Ood more closely and discovers
that
before they are conditioned, the creatures carry a secondary
brain in
their hands rather than a communications orb. Removing the
brain
removes their emotions, without it the creatures become
unthinking
slaves.
Donna is
distraught by the things she has seen and confesses she
wants to
go home; life with the Doctor is not what she imagined.
Halpen
arrives with his guards and has the two intruders taken to
his
office, assuming them to be peace protesters working in favour
of the Ood.
He claims the creatures did not resist being captured
when
humans first explored the planet, but Donna insists they did
not do so
because of their vulnerability they
must trust in
whomever
they can.
Halpen
checks that the gas containers are in place and Commander
Kess
confirms the toxic fumes will be released in a few minutes.
However,
the Ood begin to fight back. Those contained in the
makeshift
gas chamber join hands in a circle, and use their
telepathic
ability to transmit the red eye condition to all the Ood
on the
planet. They begin turning on every human in the base,
including
the business visitors welcomed by Solana.
The Ood
manage to escape the gas chamber and lock Commander Kess
inside.
Seconds later the gas canisters activate and he is drowned
in toxic
fumes. Halpen, meanwhile, decides to leave the base before
he can be
killed or blamed for what has happened. He decides to
leave the
Doctor and Donna tied up, hoping the Ood will track them
down and
kill them when they spread through the base. Before he can
go,
however, the Doctor takes the chance to ask if he is correct in
thinking
there is a third element of the Ood brain, alongside the
brain in
their head and the one replaced by the communications orb.
It is this
element that prevents them from going mad when the second
element is
removed. Halpen reveals the Time Lord is correct, and
congratulates him on his intellect before fleeing with Dr Ryder.
He arrives
outside and prepares to make his escape, but not before
giving Ood
Sigma leave to join his own people as they revolt. Inside
the
complex the Doctor struggles to undo the handcuffs binding
himself
and Donna. The Ood enter and advance on them, ready to kill,
but stop
when the Ood from the conversion chamber telepathically
command
them to stop, claiming the Doctor and Donna are friends.
Their red
eye disappears and they free the captive travellers.
The two
friends run outside whilst the rest of the Ood continue
their
rebellion, battling to overcome the firepower of the human
guards.
With the help of Ood Sigma the travellers follow Halpen and
Dr Ryder
to Warehouse 15, where the two men are planning to destroy
the
creature stored inside, the third element of the Ood brain.
Halpen
claims that if the creature is destroyed, so are the Ood.
They begin
placing detonation devices around the warehouse parameter
when the
Doctor arrives. He glances over the edge of the balcony and
discovers
the creature is in fact a giant brain, one that
telepathically links all of the Ood and allows them to share their
song.
However,
the brain is surrounded by a circle of pylons, which create
a static
barrier capable of preventing the Ood from communicating
telepathically. This is the circle that must be broken so that the
Ood can be
free. Having planted all of the detonation devices,
Halpen
arrives ready to leave. Before he can, Dr Ryder reveals he is
a secret
agent for Friends of the Ood, a peace protest group opposed
to the
treatment of Ood across the empire. He infiltrated the
complex
and lowered the power of the barrier surrounding the brain
so that
the Ood could begin to communicate again and gain the chance
to break
free. Betrayed, Halpen turns on him and throws him over the
barrier.
He lands on the brain and is absorbed into it.
Halpen,
who is beginning to show visible signs of illness, then
pulls a
gun on the Doctor and Donna. However, but before he can pull
the
trigger Ood Sigma stands in front of the travellers and offers
his master
a drink of hair tonic. Halpen declines the offer but
Sigma is
insistent. Halpen thinks for a second and fears that his
servant
has poisoned him. Sigma claims this is not the case, as the
Ood are
not permitted to kill. Halpen is, however, correct in
guessing
the liquid he has been drinking is not hair tonic, it is
Ood DNA.
The Doctor realises what is going on and guesses correctly
that
Halpen can now hear the Ood s song. He watches with Donna as
Halpen
reaches to the top of his scalp and, with a mighty effort,
begins
peeling away the skin on his head, revealing the skull of an
Ood
beneath. His mouth opens and he heaves - causing tentacles to
fall
out he has become one of the creatures
he enslaved. Bemused
by this,
Donna comments that having spent time with the Doctor she
has no
idea what is right and what is wrong any more. He claims this
is for the
best.
The Doctor
suddenly recalls the detonation devices attached to the
building
and hurriedly de-actives them, before doing the same with
the
barrier surrounding the giant brain. With the circle broken at
last, the
Ood are freed. The conflict outside stops and the
liberated
Ood hold their hands to the sky, singing a song of freedom
one that
even Donna can hear.
Some time
later the Doctor and Donna stand beside the TARDIS, ready
to leave.
The Doctor explains that the new song will have been heard
around the
entire empire, and as a result the Ood will all be
brought
home. Ood Sigma offers them a place in the song as well, but
the Doctor
declines, claiming he has a song of his own. Ood Sigma
agrees but
comments:
I think
your song must end soon.
The Doctor
asks what he means and Sigma tells him that every song
must end
eventually. The Time Lord considers this but then turns to
Donna
instead and asks her if she still wishes to leave his company.
She claims
that she has changed her mine again, and together they
depart in
their TARDIS, aware that their names will not go with
them, they
shall remain to become part of the song.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Ood were last seen in the episodes The Impossible Planet
/
The Satan Pit.
The Doctor claims the planet Ood Sphere is in the same
galaxy as the Sense Sphere which
he visited in The
Sensorites.
Donna and the Doctor comment about the bees disappearing,
something Donna discovered when searching for alien activity
in
Partners In Crime.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky
The Sontaran
Stratagem / The Poison Sky
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Phil
Collinson
Producer
Susie
Liggat
Script
Editor
Brian
Minchin Written by Helen Raynor
Directed by Douglas Mackinnon
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) [2],
Christopher Ryan (General Staal), Rupert Holliday Evans
(Colonel Mace), Bridget Hodgson (Captain Price) [2], Dan
Starkey (Commander Skorr), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott),
Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Eleanor Matsuura (Jo
Nakashima) [1], Ryan Sampson (Luke Rattigan), Christian Cooke
(Ross Jenkins), Clive Standen (Private Harris), Wesley
Theobald (Private Gray), Ruari Mears (Clone) [1], Meryl
Fernandes (Female Student) [2], Leeshon Alexander (Male
Student) [2], Kirsty Wark (Herself) [2], Lachele Carl (US
Newsreader) [2], Jack Steed (Sontaran) [2].
Just
as the Doctor's getting to know his new companion, Donna,
old
friend Martha summons him to Earth. Following her
adventures with Torchwood, she's back with Unit, who are
facing a threat from one of the Doctor's old enemies. What
exactly are the devices being manufactured at the mysterious
Atmos factory? Can Donna save her family from the danger they
face? And how will she get on with Martha ?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Sontaran Stratagem
April 26th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
The Poison Sky May 3rd, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Freema Agyeman, writer Helen Raynor
and movement artist Ruari Mears is available on the official
Doctor Who website for The Sontaran Stratagem.
A
commentary track by Catherine Tate, Ryan Sampson and
Executive Producer Julie Gardner is available on the
official Doctor Who website for The Poison Sky.
After
trying to warn young American genius Luke Rattigan that his
car
navigation product ATMOS is dangerous, a journalist named Jo
Nakashima
is thrown from the academy that bears the boy s name. She
clambers
into her car and prepares to leave for UNIT HQ, guided by
the ATMOS
device installed in her car.
As she
drives away Luke returns inside the
Rattigan Academy and
speaks to
an unseen figure via an intercom. He warns that the
journalist
could pose a threat to their plans and an agreement is
made to
terminate her. Sure enough, some distance away, the ATMOS
device in
Jo s car takes control of the vehicle, and plunges her
into a
river
Meanwhile,
in the TARDIS, the Doctor looks on nervously whilst Donna
attempts
to pilot the ship but is distracted by the ringing of a
mobile
phone. He realises it is the one given to him by Martha, and
answers
the call.
Doctor?
It s Martha. And I m bringing you back to Earth.
The
Sontaran Stratagem
(drn:44'29")
The TARDIS
arrives in an alleyway somewhere in London, where Martha
is
waiting. She greets the Doctor warmly and then introduces herself
to Donna.
The two women speak as friends, which comes as a great
relief to
the Doctor, who assumed they wouldn t like each other.
Donna
notices an engagement ring on Martha s finger and she reveals
she is to
be married to Tom Milligan, whom she met during the
Toclafane
Invasion.
Once the
welcomes are over Martha produces a radio from her jacket
and calls
for Operation Blue Sky to commence. Seconds later the
area is
swarming with UNIT troops, who storm into a nearby factory
and order
the workers to surrender. Martha strolls off to oversee
the
procedure, leaving the Doctor somewhat bemused that his former
companion
has become a soldier.
However,
the Doctor and Donna are not the only ones watching the
unfolding
scene. The disembodied voice that spoke to Luke is also
observing,
and talks with a fellow conspirator. They claim all is
going to
plan the UNIT threat will not impede
them.
Now a
fully trained doctor, Martha has become an expert on alien
activity
and is working for UNIT a name that now
stands for
Unified
Intelligence Taskforce. She takes the Doctor and Donna
inside a
UNIT lorry, which houses a mobile HQ. The Doctor is
introduced
to Commanding Officer Colonel Mace, who claims that
because he
hasn t resigned from the post, the Doctor is still UNIT s
scientific
advisor.
The Doctor
asks what UNIT are doing at the factory, which is owned
by a
company called ATMOS. Colonel Mace explains that the previous
day
fifty-two people died simultaneously when their cars drove into
open
water. There are no wounds on the bodies and any poisonous
toxins
that may have been present were dispersed immediately so the
only thing
linking the victims was the fact all their vehicles were
fitted
with ATMOS which stands for Atmospheric
Emissions System.
Donna, who
has heard of the system before, assists Martha in
explaining
that the new technology makes exhaust fumes in vehicles
0% toxic.
Such an incredible feet of engineering has aroused
suspicion,
and the murders have forced UNIT to investigate the
possibility that ATMOS may be alien.
As UNIT
troops begin rounding up the workers and investigating the
factory,
the Doctor is shown a model of the navigation system, which
has tested
negative for any alien threat. Donna questions why aliens
would wish
to produce environmentally friendly technology, and the
Doctor
explains that the devices may have been built as concealed
weapons.
If one is attached to each car on Earth, than whoever is
running
this scheme will have an 800 million-strong arsenal at their
disposal.
In the
lower levels of the factory two soldiers investigate a
darkened
corridor. After finding a light switch they make their way
to a room
guarded by two of the ATMOS staff. They order the men to
stand
down, but it is only when the disembodied voices that spoke to
Luke order
the men to do so, that they step aside.
Entering
the chamber the two soldiers discover a vat of bubbling
green
liquid, from which springs a half-formed humanoid figure. They
back off
and examine it from a distance. Seeing an umbilical cord
running
down it s back they begin to assume it is being grown, and
that the
green liquid is it s food. Suddenly a somewhat squat alien
appears
behind them. Dressed in full body armour and a domed helmet
the
creature congratulates them on their intellect then fires an
alien gun
at one of them, causing him to keel over in agony.
The other
soldier tries to open fire with his own gun but the
creature
warns him that a special electromagnetic field covering the
area is
causing the metal of his bullets to expand inside the
barrel,
thus rendering the weapon useless. Similarly, the soldier s
radio
signals have been blocked. He shoots the other intruder and
motions
for the two ATMOS guards to enter, claiming the UNIT troops
are to be
used as part of his stratagem. Upon being asked his name
he claims
he is General Staal of the Tenth Sontaran Battle Fleet. He
then
removes his helmet, revealing a slimy brown face underneath.
Back in
the UNIT lorry the Doctor continues examining one of the
ATMOS
devices under the watchful eyes of Martha. After they air
their
views on the military situation (the Doctor admitting to being
uncomfortable with so many guns around him), Donna enters and claims
she has
discovered something interesting. She explains that she has
been
investigating one of the ATMOS offices, and has uncovered a
file
detailing the absences of staff members
it is empty not one
worker has
reported ill since the company was founded, and that has
aroused
her suspicion. Martha complements Donna on her investigation
then,
acting on orders given by Colonel Mace, goes to examine one of
the
workers. Once she and Donna have gone Mace talks to the Doctor
about Luke
Rattigan, a renowned child genius who invented ATMOS. He
now runs
the Rattigan Academy, a school for exceptionally gifted
children.
Now alone
and able to talk, Martha warns Donna that she must warn
her family
of the travels she is embarking on with the Doctor
because
the consequence of life with him can be devastating. She
explains
that her own family endured torture once she had left them
behind
and, although not the Doctor s fault, they need to be
protected.
Donna agrees to return home, already concerned that her
mother has
an ATMOS device installed in her car.
Back in
the guarded chamber General Staal orders the now-brainwashed
UNIT
soldiers to take their positions in time for the completion of
the
Sontaran stratagem. He watches them go then steps into a large
square
purple pod. He claims that soon the planet Earth shall
witness
its last days, then disappears as the pod, a teleport,
activates.
In the
main facility the Doctor decides to visit the Rattigan
Academy to
talk with Luke, and Colonel Mace grants him access to a
jeep,
along with an escort, Private Ross Jenkins. Donna arrives and
turns down
the opportunity to go with them; instead she has decided
to return
home. After lamenting the places they could have travelled
to
together and thanking her for saving his life in more ways than
one, the
Doctor realises his companion only intends to return home
for a
brief visit, not forever. She mocks his misinterpretation then
clambers
inside the jeep, claiming he and Ross can give her a lift
home.
As they
drive away Martha prepares to inspect one of the factor
workers.
When she examines his heart she discovers it is beating at
an
alarming rate. She interrogates him and, speaking in a cold dull
monotone,
he reveals that he works twenty-four hours a day. Her
suspicion
aroused, Martha decides to talk with Colonel Mace. Two
UNIT
soldiers intercept her to tell her Mace is waiting for her
elsewhere
in the factory. She lets them act as escorts, unaware they
are the
two guards brainwashed by General Staal.
Having
been dropped off by the Doctor and Ross, Donna walks along
the street
in which she lives and recalls in her mind the adventures
she has
faced over the past few days. She eventually arrives at her
home,
where she is welcomed with open arms by her grandfather Wilf.
Back at
the factory the conditioned UNIT guards escort Martha to the
hidden
chamber in which is contained the teleport and the vat of
green
liquid. She steps inside and, upon failing to see Colonel
Mace,
realises she has been led into a trap. She tries to leave but
the guards
prevent her. They drag her back inside and the door
closes
behind them. As she screams out for help the lights in the
corridor
outside go out.
Now inside
the house, Donna talks with Wilf about her travels. He
seems
excited for her but is concerned for her safety. Donna claims
the Doctor
will look after her then turns her attentions to her
mother
Sylvia, whom Wilf claims must not be told of her adventures
because
she will not condone them. Despite feeling torn on the
matter
Donna remains tight-lipped when Sylvia enters the room.
On their
way to see Luke, Private Ross tells the Doctor that UNIT
has been
watching the Rattigan Academy for some time
having become
concerned
by the Hitler Youth -style regime the
students are
subjected
to. The Doctor notes that their jeep is equipped with an
ATMOS
device, which Ross explains is standard issue on all company
vehicles.
Eventually
they arrive, and Luke is waiting for them. He claims
Colonel
Mace has notified him of their arrival then follows the
Doctor as
he runs inside. He excitedly examines the science
experiments being conducted by the students which centre on
developing
the ability to terraform an entire planet.
They move
into another room where the Doctor confronts Luke about
the
difficulties of being a genius. He does, however, claim the
young man
is not responsible for creating ATMOS as the technology is
too
advanced. He then notes another anomaly
a large purple
teleport
pod in the corner of the room. He steps inside and
activates
it.
Arriving
in a large chamber drenched in purple light, the Time Lord
finds he
is not alone dozens of Sontaran
soldiers also occupy the
room. Upon
seeing the intruder, they advance towards him but before
they can
stop him the Doctor manages to teleport back to the
Academy,
where he warns Ross and Luke that they must leave. However,
it is to
late; General Staal arrives and aims his gun at the Doctor
and Ross.
Before he can fire though, the Doctor zaps the teleport
with the
Sonic Screwdriver.
By
displaying a level of understanding about the Sontarans that
surpasses
the knowledge of humans the Doctor prevents Staal from
shooting
him or Ross. He explains to his UNIT friend that the
Sontarans
are a warrior race that expands its numbers via mass
cloning.
He claims the creatures have one weakness
a probic vent
on the
back of the necks, which when hit renders them disabled.
He picks
up a nearby squash racket and ball and manages to aim a
shot that
rebounds off of the teleport pod and hits Staal on the
neck,
causing him to stagger. Ross and the Doctor flee outside
whilst
Luke watches Staal regain his composure. The alien general
then
repairs the teleport with the aid of his gun and he and Luke
step
inside.
They
arrive in the purple chamber where they are joined by Commander
Skorr, who
asks Luke how many ATMOS devices have been installed in
vehicles
on Earth. He claims 400 million cars have been converted,
which is
enough to activate the conversion . He
further explains
that the
devices were tested and proved fully operational the test
having
been the cause of the fifty-two simultaneous deaths the
previous
day. Staal asks if UNIT has been infiltrated and Skorr
claims it
is almost complete.
He
teleports down to Earth and arrives inside the hidden factory
chamber,
where Martha has been strapped onto an operating table. He
explains
to her that the UNIT soldiers and factory staff have been
controlled
using hypnosis, but her use will be more complicated. As
he speaks
a human hand emerges from the vat of green liquid, and the
Sontaran
tells Martha that soon the creature is sign
will be you .
Back on
the Sontaran ship, Luke gazes down upon the Earth via an
observation deck. Staal joins him and Luke claims the planet was
never big
enough for him he wants something more.
Staal commend
him on his
ambition then the two discuss the Doctor, who is an old
enemy of
the Sontarans. Staal tells Luke that legends claim the
Doctor led
the battle in the Last Great Time War, which the
Sontarans
were forbidden from participating in. Now he will be able
to seek
revenge by destroying the last of the Time Lords, along with
the planet
he loves so much.
In the
factory laboratory Commander Skorr explains that Martha is to
be cloned.
Sure enough the creature inside the liquid emerges and
reveals
itself to be an exact replica of her. Martha protests but is
lulled
into sleep, unable to prevent the Sontarans from duplicating
her
memories and depositing them into the mind of the clone.
Elsewhere,
the Doctor and Ross begin the journey back to the
factory,
but are deterred when the Sontarans override the ATMOS
device in
their jeep and order it to drive them into a nearby river.
Finding
all the doors deadlock sealed the Doctor is forced to
interface
with the device, discovering that is has been programmed
to
contradict his instructions. He orders it to drive the vehicle
into the
river and it does the opposite it stops
inches away from
the water
s edge and allows the passengers to exit. They run away
and duck
for cover as the ATMOS device goes haywire and terminates
not with a
bang but a whimper.
On the
Sontaran ship Staal and Luke see the device s signal fade and
assume the
Doctor to be dead. Staal then orders the other devices to
be primed
and ready. Back on Earth Commander Skorr briefs Martha s
clone and
orders it to go about its work, accompanied by the two
Sontaran-controlled soldiers.
The Doctor
and Ross arrive at Donna s home and together they inspect
Sylvia s
car, which is fitted with ATMOS. Wilf arrives to greet the
Doctor and
the two realise they have met before, on Christmas Eve
when the
Doctor briefly visited Earth whilst attending a party on
the
Starship Titanic.
The Doctor
then calls Martha to warn her that UNIT must prepare for
the
Sontaran invasion, but must not open fire because their troops
will be
massacred. Unaware that he is speaking to a clone the Time
Lord
assumes his instructions will be carried out, but in reality
Martha s
double disregards the warning and tells Colonel Mace there
has been
no cause for alarm.
The Doctor
tries to disarm the ATMOS device attached to the engine
of Sylvia
s car. He realises the navigation apparatus is hiding
another
in-built system but he is unable to access it. Sylvia then
arrives
and it horrified to see the Doctor again, still appalled by
the
destruction he caused at Donna s wedding reception. She is cut
off when
the Doctor manages to trigger the hidden weapon built into
the ATMOS
device, causing smoke to pour from the engine. A signal is
sent to
the Sontaran ship warning them that one of their converters
has been
activated, which leads Staal to realise that the Doctor
must still
be alive for only he could have done this.
The Doctor
manages to stem the flow of the gas coming from the
triggered
converter and realises that the fumes contain a form of
poison.
Wilf clambers inside the car in the hope of driving it out
of harm s
way, but is trapped inside when the ATMOS device
reactivates and deadlocks the car doors.
Up above
the Earth, Staal orders for every converter to be
activated.
As hoards of Sontaran soldiers prepare to swarm the
planet
those left on the ship rejoice at their impending victory,
and chant
the Sontaran battle cry.
Down below
the UNIT soldiers hurry to try and prevent the unfolding
chaos,
whilst Martha s clone and the conditioned guards look on
calmly.
All over the world cars begin emitting the toxic gas into
the
atmosphere, and no one is able to stop it.
Meanwhile,
Donna tries desperately to free her grandfather, who is
becoming
engulfed in the poisonous emissions from the car. As Sylvia
hurries
back inside the house the Doctor is left to simply look on
as the
streets around him are buried beneath the deadly fog
The Poison
Sky
(drn:44'37")
As fumes
engulf the Earth the Doctor struggles desperately to free
Wilf. His
efforts are trumped though, when Sylvia arrives with a
fire axe
and smashes the windscreen.
At the
ATMOS factory Colonel Mace orders his men to seal off all
doors to
prevent the gas from getting inside. He returns to the
mobile HQ
where his technical staff tells him that ATMOS has been
activated
across the entire world. Meanwhile, Martha s clone enters
and begins
accessing the NATO defence system.
At Donna s
house Sylvia leads the freed Wilf inside. Seconds later
Private
Ross arrives in a taxi (the only vehicles not fitted with
ATMOS) and
tells the Doctor to get inside. Despite Sylvia s protests
Donna also
goes with them, and finds support in Wilf, who realises
she will
be safer with the Doctor.
Back at
UNIT mobile HQ Clone Martha downloads NATO security
protocols
onto a data chip and loads it onto a mobile phone. The
codes are
transmitted up to the Sontaran battleship, where General
Staal
orders that she must be protected from being discovered.
Commander
Skorr agrees to launch an attack squad in the factory and
leaves.
General Staal then turns to Luke, who is rejoicing in the
destruction on the planet far below.
Whilst
news reports warn the public to stay away from the poisonous
gas, the
Doctor, Donna and Ross return to the ATMOS factory. Inside
the mobile
HQ Clone Martha delivers the Doctor s previous
instructions to Colonel Mace and warns him that they are facing a
threat
from the Sontarans, a race UNIT has encountered before.
Outside
the Doctor tells Donna to return to the TARDIS where she
will be
safe, and hands her a key to the ship. He then hurries back
inside.
He arrives
in the mobile HQ and warns Colonel Mace not to engage the
Sontarans
in battle because the human troops will be slaughtered. He
tells him
that he will use the TARDIS to go onboard the Sontaran
ship and
prepares to leave, seemingly unaware that Clone Martha has
sent a
signal to the two conditioned UNIT soldiers waiting outside.
As the
impostor companion leaves with the Doctor the two soldiers
approach
the nearby TARDIS and attach two alien devices to its
doors. The
Sontarans activate the pieces of equipment and the ship
is
teleported onto the battleship, with Donna still inside. General
Staal
examines the machine and is jubilant it is now his. Luke
Rattigan,
meanwhile, returns to Earth to summon his student and
ready
themselves for battle.
The Doctor
and Clone Martha arrive in the alleyway where the TARDIS
was taken
and the Time Lord realise sit must have been taken by the
Sontarans.
He begins to question his companion; surprised she has
not
mentioned any concern for her family. She bluffs her way out of
the
situation and then returns with the Doctor to the ATMOS factory.
The
students of the Rattigan academy watch as London is engulfed in
fog. Luke
arrives and tells them that they must not concern
themselves
with it because they must concentrate on their work.
Returning
to HQ the Doctor listens as the first reports of death
from the
fumes are sent in. Meanwhile Colonel Mace has been
preparing
to fire NATO nuclear strike at the Sontaran ship, which
has been
detected orbiting the Earth. The Doctor warns him such an
attack
will have no effect on Sontaran defences and instead opts to
talk to
the creatures himself.
He
establishes a visual link with the battleship, which is overseen
by Donna
in the TARDIS via the scanner. However, unbeknownst to
Donna that
is not the only signal reaching the ship. Before the
image of
the Doctor appears the face of a girl screaming for help is
seen
amidst the interference on screen it is
Rose.
The Doctor
turns on General Staal, calling him a coward for using
poisonous
gas instead of confronting the humans face-to-face in
battle, as
would befit a Sontaran. He theorises that instead they
must be
planning something else; this is not usual Sontaran
behaviour.
He questions whether it is a strategic move in the
Sontaran s
war with the Rutans, which he suggests may be going badly
for the
aforementioned side. Staal rubbishes this claim and leads
his men in
a victory chant, which the Doctor ignores. His attention
is gained,
however, when Staal reveals the TARDIS is onboard his
ship.
The Doctor
manages to speak with Donna without arousing suspicion
from
Staal, and tells her to call him on the mobile phone he keeps
on the
console. She finds the device but doesn t know what number to
call.
Meanwhile Staal severs the communications link when the Doctor
threatens
to regain the TARDIS using the Sonic Screwdriver as a
remote
control device. The ship is moved out of the main war room,
instead
being placed in a section of the ship where the transmission
field from
Earth will not reach it.
At the
Rattigan Academy Luke tells his students that the experiments
they have
been conducting are preparations to be used to create a
new world
for them to live on. The Sontarans have promised to take
Luke and
his students to a new world where they can create a new
superior
human race, away from the scorn of people who belittled
their
intelligence. However, the young scientists do not believe in
his plans,
for they are more concerned with the well being of their
families.
They desert him, and he is left in a fit of rage.
The toxic
fumes continue to spread and the population descends into
panic.
Thousands of people begin fleeing into the open countryside
whilst
others are seeking refuge at sea.
In the
TARDIS Donna calls her mother and tries to reassure her that
she is
safe and everything will be all right. Wilf takes the phone
and speaks
to his granddaughter, concerned that she is safe from the
fumes. He
is disgruntled that the Doctor is not with her but seems
assured
when Donna promises that wherever he is, he will be able to
save them
all.
At UNIT
mobile HQ Clone Martha has analysed a sample of the gas and
shows the
report to the Doctor. He notes that there is an
unidentified element in the chemical composition, and that it is the
rogue
element that the Sontarans need. He believes the gas is not
just
poison; it is something else as well
Colonel
Mace begins to launch the nuclear strike and the Doctor is
distraught. As each nuclear station across the world goes online
General
Stall looks on from the Sontaran battleship, claiming, the
bravery of
idiots is bravery nonetheless . Commander Skorr claims
their
operative working within UNIT will be able to stop the attack,
and then
assures his General that the Sontaran Attack Squad is
ready.
As the
countdown to nuclear strike reaches zero Clone Martha is able
to stop
the missiles using the protocols she has downloaded. The
Doctor
comments that the strike wouldn t dent the battleship yet the
Sontarans
are keen to stop the attack. He turns to Martha for an
explanation but she has none.
Soon the
Sontarans are beginning to swarm the lower levels of the
factory,
with the objective of collecting the Clone of Martha.
Private
Ross and his men hear the troops approaching and prepare to
defend
themselves, but their weapons are rendered useless by the
alien
signal being transmitted by the Sontarans that causes the
bullets to
lodge in the barrels of the guns. Ross contacts Colonel
Mace to
warn him of the attack and the base goes into red alert. He
and his
men are gunned down, and the Sontarans advance.
The Doctor
orders Colonel Mace to withdraw his men and he complies,
ordering a
full retreat. However, battle has already begun as the
Sontarans
storm the factory. The two conditioned guards are gunned
down in
the process as the UNIT soldiers are massacred, just as the
Doctor
predicted. The Time Lord wonders why the factory is so
important
to the Sontarans and wishes he had the Brigadier with him
to help.
Colonel Mace apologises, claiming Sir Alistair is stranded
in Peru.
Another
nuclear strike is prepared but again Clone Martha manages to
thwart it.
Colonel Mace order the source of the sabotage is found,
whilst
outside the toxicity of the gas increases.
Luke
returns to the Sontaran battleship, claiming he has failed in
his
mission to gather the population of his new planet. General
Staal
seems nonplussed by this, and admits that it doesn t matter;
the
students were to be used as target practise in any instance.
Luke is
confused by this and listens as Staal explains that the
promise of
a new world for Luke was simply a ploy to secure his
cooperation he was needed simply
to install the ATMOS system
nothing
more. Luke grows infuriated by this but evades being shot
down by
teleporting away. Staal brands him a coward and then orders
for all
teleport links with the ship to be closed. Back on Earth
Luke is
left alone in his Academy, reduced to tears.
At UNIT
mobile HQ the Doctor continues to wander what it is that the
Sontarans
need inside the factory. As Colonel Mace continues in vain
to try and
fight back the Doctor takes Martha s phone and calls
Donna. He
explains that he needs her to reopen the teleport link,
which he
has assumed will be closed down now the creatures are at
battle
stations.
Reluctantly she agrees and slowly opens the TARDIS door, only to
find a
Sontaran standing guard outside. The Doctor tells her to hit
the
creature on its probic vent, which she does so using a hammer
sitting
beside the ship s console. She progresses down a corridor
and the
Doctor tells her to find the teleport controls. He guides
her along
but is forced to abandon her when Colonel Mace arrives. He
hands the
Doctor and Clone Martha gas masks, and they follow him
outside.
Meanwhile,
on the Sontaran ship, Donna takes cover as a troop of
soldiers
pass her in the corridor. She sits and waits for them to
pass;
terrified that she might be seen.
Colonel
Mace shows the Doctor a new supply of ammunition which
should be
unaffected by the Sontaran s crippling signal. The Doctor
is still
sceptical and notes that battle will be useless in the fog
they
cannot see the enemy. Mace ignores him and instead rallies
his troops
to fight back. Seconds later a strong wind picks up and
the fog
begins to clear. The Doctor looks up into the skies and sees
a familiar
shape the Valiant. Now a UNIT carrier
ship the craft s
engines
are powerful enough to sweep away the gas, leaving the air
clear.
Mace then
orders the ship to fire upon the factory. A lightening
green
laser shoots from the ship and hits the complex, demolishing
the
Sontaran forces inside. Soon the UNIT soldiers are putting up a
palpable
defence and the troops begin to swarm the building. The
Doctor and
Clone Martha hurry inside, the Time Lord taking a moment
to assure
Donna via the phone that he is still with her. He begins
scanning
for alien technology and heads towards the basement. Martha
is in
quick succession, pausing only to stop another nuclear attack.
Eventually
the duo arrives inside the chamber where Martha was
cloned.
The Doctor discovers the real Martha still strapped to the
operating
table, and runs to help her. He confesses that the clone
of his
friend did not convince him but he found her useful for
stopping
the nuclear strikes. He realises that the reason the
Sontarans
protected the factory was to stop the real Martha from
being
discovered whilst she is unconscious
the clone can survive.
He
disconnects Martha from the Sontaran equipment and immediately
her clone
topples over in agony. The Doctor helps Martha as he
reawakens
then answers a call from Donna, who has found the teleport
controls
on the Sontaran ship.
Whilst
Colonel Mace dispatches Commander Skorr up above, in the
basement
the Doctor tries to repair the teleport unit and Martha
confronts
her duplicate. She tries to ascertain what the Sontarans
are using
the gas outside for and she recites the unknown part of
the toxin
s chemical composition. The Doctor recognises the new
element as
clone feed, and realises that the Sontarans are going to
use Earth
as a clone planet. They have no need to invade because
soon new
warriors will be born all over the planet.
The beat
of Clone Martha s heart begins to slow, and the real Martha
is only
able to look on as her duplicate dies. She takes the wedding
ring from
the clone s finger and places it on her own.
Donna
calls the Doctor and tells him she has completed her work, but
the
Sontarans have found her. They aim their weapons at her but
before
they can fire the Doctor manages to bring her back to Earth.
He then
sends the TARDIS back to the alleyway and ushers Donna and
Martha
inside the teleport pod. He activates the device and they
arrive at
the Rattigan Academy, where the distraught Luke is still
alone.
On the
Sontaran ship General Staal orders the ATMOS devices to be
set to
maximum conversion, and across the globe the fog gets
thicker.
At Donna s home Wilf and Sylvia find themselves at the
mercy of
the gas, which is seeping into the house. Sylvia breaks
down in
tears and Wilf comforts her, reminding her that Donna
promised
they would all be saved.
At the
Academy the Doctor rushes around trying to construct one of
the
experiments Luke s students were working on. He explains to the
others
that the Sontarans were holding back the nuclear strikes
because
the missiles would ignite the atmosphere and burn away the
gas. Now
he intends to finish the job only by a more humane means
by using
an atmospheric converter made by the students.
General
Staal prepares to launch the clone pods that shall soon
inhabit
the Earth whilst on the planet below the Doctor runs outside
and
activates the atmospheric converter. A bolt of light fires up
into the
sky and ignites the poisonous fumes. Soon a blanket of fire
is
sweeping across the city. Staal can only look on in vain as the
purifying
flames spread across the Earth, leaving the air breathable
once more.
The UNIT troops and the people of the Earth rejoice, just
as Donna
promised, they have been saved.
However,
the Doctor claims there is still trouble to come, and he is
right. On
the battleship General Staal orders his army to prepare
for an
invasion the Sontarans cannot accept
defeat and so
therefore
they shall wipe out the human race as compensation for
failing to
create a new breeding planet.
The Doctor
hurries inside the Academy ad steps inside the teleport
pod. He
says goodbye to Martha and Donna and then tells Luke to do
something
clever with his life. Martha asks why he is saying
farewell
and he explains that he must stop the Sontarans which he
will
achieve by destroying their ship with the recalibrated
atmospheric converter. Martha asks why he cannot send the device on
its own
and set it on a timed delay, and he tells her it is because
he must
offer the Sontarans the option of surrender.
He
teleports away and arrives on the ship, where he tells General
Staal that
if the Sontarans leave he will not activate the device
and
destroy him. Staal tells him the Sontarans do not fear death,
and his
warriors aim their guns at the Doctor. As the battleship
prepares
to open fire on the Earth the Doctor hesitates, but his
choice is
made for him when Luke reactivates the teleport.
He sends
the Doctor back to Earth and takes control of the
atmospheric converter s controls. With a mocking recitation of the
Sontaran
battle cry he activates the device and the Sontaran
battleship
is destroyed in a colossal explosion.
The city
of London returns to normal, only now the public are
somewhat
reluctant to use their cars. Donna returns home again to
see her
family, and once more Wilf warns that her mother must not
know of
her travels with the Doctor. He tells he she must go with
the Time
Lord again and see the stars, and tearfully she says
goodbye to
him.
Eventually
she returns to the TARDIS, where the Doctor and Martha
are
waiting for her. She asks Martha is she going to join them on
their next
journey but she declines the offer; although she has
missed her
time with the Doctor she has a whole new life to explore
on Earth.
She is
about to leave when the ship doors slam shut and the console
begins to
set the craft in motion. The three travellers are left at
the mercy
of the machine, which appears to be piloting itself. As
the jar
containing the Doctor s severed hand begins to bubble and
glow
Martha orders the Doctor to take her home
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Donna said goodbye to her grandfather Wilf at the end of
Partners In Crime. The Doctor last met him when he was
working as a newspaper vendor on Christmas Ever in Voyage of
the Damned. Sylvia previously encountered the Doctor in The
Runaway Bride.
Martha left the TARDIS at the end of Last of the Time Lords,
whereupon she gave the Doctor a mobile phone with which she
promised to contact him. Her fianc , Tom Milligan, was also
seen in that episode.
UNIT were previously known as the
United Nations
Intelligence Taskforce , although it is claimed the name was
changed at the request of the UN to
Unified Intelligence
Taskforce after their appearance
in Aliens of London /
World War Three.
We
first discover Martha is working for UNIT in the
Torchwood episode Reset. The organisation is later seen in
the episode Fragments.
The Sontarans were last seen on television in the story The
Two Doctors. They previously appeared in The Invasion of
Time, The Sontaran Experiment and The Time Warrior as well
as
various publications.
The Doctor mentions that be once worked for UNIT, most
notable in his third incarnation. His comment about not
knowing whether it was in the 1970s or 1980s refers to the
dating problems associated with various UNIT stories
(especially Mawdryn Undead).
Donna recalls events that occurred in Partners In Crime, The
Fires of Pompeii and Planet of the Ood.
The Doctor once again mentions the Medusa Cascade, which was
first referred to in The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time
Lords.
The Doctor is said to have led the battle in the Time War,
which is hinted at in Doomsday.
The Doctor s old friend the Brigadier is mentioned. Now the
owner of a Knighthood, the Brig was last seen in
Battlefield.
The Valiant was previously seen in The Sound of Drums / Last
of
the Time Lords. It was designed by the Master and proved
to
be the centre of his evil scheme.
Rose is seen on the TARDIS scanner screen for a split second
when the Doctor contacts General Staal. Rose s last
appearance was another brief cameo in Partners In Crime.
When he is wearing a gas mask the Doctor coins the phrase
Are you my mummy? This was the
cry of The Empty Child.
The Doctor s severed hand makes a brief reappearance. It was
cut off in The Christmas Invasion, seen again in series 1 of
Torchwood and Utopia and was used by the Master in The Sound
of
Drums / Last of the Time Lords.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Doctor's Daughter
The Doctor's
Daughter
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Stephen Greenhorn
Directed by Alice Troughton
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), Georgia Moffett (Jenny), Nigel
Terry (Cobb), Joe Dempsie (Cline), Paul Kasey (Hath Peck),
Ruari Mears (Hath Gable), Akin Gazi (Carter), Olalekan Lawal
Jr.
(Soldier).
The
Doctor and his companions find themselves on the planet
Messaline, the backdrop for a war between humans and the Hath
that's raged for generations. When Martha is abducted by the
Hath, the Doctor and Donna are determined to rescue her. But
first the Doctor must come to terms with unexpected fatherhood
-
and painful memories from his past.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Doctor's Daughter
May 10th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, executive producer
Russell T. Davies and director Alice Troughton is available
on
the official Doctor Who website.
The
Doctor, Martha and Donna struggle to remain standing as the
TARDIS
flies violently through the vortex. Eventually is comes to an
uneasy
landing and they all step outside, emerging in a run down
tunnel
that resembles a war zone. They are greeted by a group of
soldiers,
who decide the new arrivals must be
processed .
One of
them takes the Doctor over to a large machine and forces his
hand
inside. A mechanical whirring is heard and the Time Lord notes
the device
is taking a sample of his tissue. He withdraws his hand
and steps
back. Second later a young woman emerges from a large blue
pod
connected to the machine. One of the soldiers hands her a gun
and she
inspects it. Donna and Martha ask who the woman is and the
Doctor
explains:
She s my
daughter.
The
Doctor's Daughter
(drn:45'06")
The young
woman joins the other soldiers in defending the area as
the Doctor
explains that the machine his hand was in takes a tissue
sample and
grows it into a human being. Suddenly the soldiers are
under
attack from a race known as the Hath ,
humanoid creatures
with faces
like fish and whose speech is governed by a small tank of
green
bubbling liquid attached to their heads.
A gunfight
ensues and the Hath abduct Martha. The Doctor tries to
intervene
but is stopped when his newly born daughter detonates a
series of
explosives and seals the tunnel. The Time Lord vows he
will find
his lost friend but is stopped when one of the younger
soldiers,
Cline, aims a gun at him. Confused that the Doctor and
Donna have
no weapons or intention of fighting, he decides to take
them to
his commanding officer, a man named Cobb.
On the
other side of the blockade Martha is still alive and unhurt.
She finds
an injured Hath and examines him, determining his shoulder
to be
dislocated. The other Hath train their guns on her but she
proceeds
to put the shoulder back in place, an act of kindness that
wins her
the loyalty of the alien creatures.
Elsewhere,
Donna introduces herself to the Doctor s new daughter,
who claims
she has no name herself because it has not been assigned.
She claims
the only thing she knows is how to fight, and the Doctor
identifies
this as a result of being a Generated Anomaly. This term
leads
Donna to suggest the name Jenny for the young woman and she
adopts it.
The Doctor refrains from acknowledging Jenny as his real
daughter,
claiming she was systematically force-cloned from his
tissue.
The Time
Lord changes the subject and asks Cline the name of the
world they
are on. He tells him it is what is left of the planet
Messaline.
The small group emerge in a building that was once a
theatre,
now it is a shelter for soldiers. They are introduced to
General
Cobb, who dismisses the Doctor and Donna as peacemakers,
whom shall
be ignored for the good of the fight .
He refuses to let
them
search for Martha, claiming all movement will be regulated.
Arriving
at the Hath base Martha discovers identical cloning
technology
to the machine that created the Doctor s daughter. She
finds
herself surrounded by Hath, but they do not seem interested in
harming
her.
Cobb tells
the Doctor that at the dawn of Messaline s existence the
ancestors
of his people arrived to build a new world, and started by
carving
out living areas beneath the planet s surface. However,
their
dream of a new life died when they were apparently betrayed by
the Hath,
who were meant to be their allies.
Donna
examines one of the rooms and questions why, if buildings must
be forged
underground, should they have windows. She also notes a
strange
metal plaque attached to the wall, on which is written a
number.
The Doctor
asks how long the war has lasted and Cobb tells him it
has
endured many generations. Jenny explains that all children of
the
cloning machines are born with the knowledge that the Hath are
their
enemies and they must be destroyed. Everyone lives to fight,
and the
only way out is death.
Back at
the Hath base Martha examines a map of the underground
complex.
The Doctor finds a similar map in the human base and
decides he
must use it to determine the whereabouts of his lost
friend.
Cobb,
meanwhile, recalls the other mission of his people to find
the Source , a legendary object, said to contain
the sigh of a
great
creator, who breathed life into the universe. It was lost when
the war
began but now both sides wish to find it, for whoever holds
it
controls the destiny of the planet.
Still
examining the map the Doctor discovers a suppressed layer of
information a section that is
missing. Cobb realises the Source
must be
concealed there and determines to find it so peace can be
restored.
The Doctor claims peace could be achieved by ending the
war but
Cobb claims it will only be achieved with the genocide of
the Hath.
The Doctor
continues to protest and Cobb places him and Donna under
arrest.
Jenny is taken as well as it is feared she may harbour the
same
feelings as the Doctor. Cline holds them at gunpoint and takes
them away.
Elsewhere
the Hath also prepare to move out and search for the
Source,
the hidden area of the map having been made available to
their
scanners as well. As they begin arming themselves Martha
worries
that she may have just started a war by accessing the map
The
Doctor, Donna and Jenny are locked in their cell. Donna
discovers
another metal plaque on the wall, also with a number
etched
into it. The Doctor begins considering the Source, and tells
Jenny that
the creation story of a god-like figure that breathed
life into
the world is just a myth. The Source may be real but it
doesn t
contain cosmic breath it could be a
weapon, and he has
shown Cobb
and his soldiers how to get hold of it. He realises he
must break
out of prison, find Martha and then stop Cobb.
Jenny is
astounded that a man who won t call himself a soldier would
confess to
such strategic planning, but her would-be father claims
he is
doing so to stop the fighting. She retorts that that is the
aim of
every soldier and is surprised even more when the Doctor
appears to
produce a weapon. It is in fact his Sonic Screwdriver,
which he
uses to upgrade Donna s phone so that it will be able to
function
away from Earth.
He calls
Martha and she explains that the Hath are marching off to
examine
the area on the map the Doctor discovered, and the Time Lord
realises
that he may now have caused a bloodbath. He warns Martha
not to
leave the Hath base but the phone line is cut off.
Across the
complex the Hath and their opponents, led by Cobb, all
begin
preparations to search for the Source. As dawn approaches,
both sides
arm themselves and begin moving out.
In their
cell the Doctor hears the chant of the soldiers as they
prepare to
leave, and claims they must act quickly. Jenny offers to
knock out
their guard but the Doctor stops her. Again he tries to
deny being
her father but Donna is determined to make him see sense.
She takes
the Doctor s stethoscope and holds it to Jenny s chest.
The Doctor
listens as Jenny s two hearts beat, and is silenced.
Donna
claims Jenny is a Time Lord but the Doctor insists she is an
echo of
something that was far more than she was. He tells her that
the entire
race is gone now, consumed by a war. Jenny realises that
the Doctor
really is a soldier; he fought and killed for his people.
Once more
she claims that he is not so different than her.
Martha
tries to find some way of recharging her phone, which is out
of power.
She decides she must go to the site of the Source as well,
but she
will be able to do so quicker than the others if she goes
over the
surface. A Hath soldier accompanying her warns her not to
but she
claims she will be safe from any dangers outside as long as
she is
quick in her journey. She prepares to leave but she is not
alone, her
new Hath friend decides to assist her.
Back in
the cells Jenny distracts Cline, their guard, and manages to
steal his
gun. She forces him to free them and the trio leave. The
Doctor
manages to distract another guard with the use of a clockwork
mouse, but
Jenny decides to render him unconscious instead.
Disgruntled by this, the Doctor orders her not to move and goes off
to find a
copy of the map of the underground complex.
Meanwhile,
the Hath continue to march and Martha begins her ascent
to the
surface. Her Hath companion hesitates but ultimately decides
to follow
her. They emerge on a dark windswept wasteland, which they
immediately begin to transverse.
Cobb
arrives in the prison area and finds Cline tied up. He has his
men free
him before ordering that they all arm themselves for the
journey to
find the Source. He vows that having waited a lifetime to
find the
oracle, he will not let someone like the Doctor stop him
achieving
his goal.
Now
exploring the base for themselves, the Doctor, Donna and Jenny
find
themselves in a tunnel hidden from the main map. Donna sees
another of
the number written on the walls and begins recording them
down in a
notebook given to her by the Doctor, who is now concerned
with
fixing a nearby control panel.
Jenny
enquires as to the meaning of the Doctor s life and Donna
claims
that he travels the universe fighting off aliens, saving
planets,
and running a lot. Jenny seems intrigued by this but their
conversation is ended when a section of the tunnel wall slides away
the
Doctor has discovered what he was looking for.
They
disappear into the new tunnel whilst elsewhere in the base
Cobb s men
are on the march. The trio turn a corner and find
themselves
confronted by a corridor guarded by laser beams, which
the Doctor
tries to disable. Donna finds another of the numbers she
has been
recording and notes that each one is exactly the same
length,
but the value of each decreases with every new plaque.
Jenny
hears General Cobb approaching and prepares to shoot them
down. The
Doctor stops her, and tells her that she must stop killing
because
soon it will infect her and she will never be able to keep
her
conscious clear. She disobeys him and proceeds to open fire on
the
approaching soldiers.
The Doctor
and Donna manage to disable the lasers and proceed down
the
corridor, the Doctor still angered that Jenny craves the life of
a soldier.
At the other end of the passageway Cobb tries to persuade
Jenny to
join his battalion and defeat the Hath, but she refuses and
aims her
gun at him.
However,
instead of killing him she shoots a pipe above his head and
steam
pours out, creating a barrier between them. She runs to join
the Doctor
and Donna but when she arrives the lasers power up again
and stop
her from proceeding. The Doctor confesses he cannot break
the
circuit again from his end of the corridor, but Jenny has her
own way of
getting past the lasers. She leaps forward and flips over
them like
a gymnast, managing to jump effortlessly past each one
until she
is with the Doctor and Donna at the other end. She tells
the Doctor
that she was unable to kill General Cobb, she had a
choice,
and she chose not to. The Doctor smiles.
Cobb
arrives at the end of the corridor and the Doctor warns him
that if
the Source is a weapon he will not let him use it. Cobb
retorts,
claiming either man will die today and he will not let it
be
himself. He shoots but the Doctor escapes.
Above
ground Martha and her Hath friend continue their journey.
Suddenly
Martha looses her footing and plunges down a slope into a
bog, where
she begins sinking. The Hath accompanying her leaps in
and pushes
her to safety, but is unable to save itself. Martha looks
on as her
saviour drowns and begins crying, alone on the windy
landscape.
Jenny
continues to ask the Doctor and Donna about travelling, and
Donna
claims it is an ever-changing lifestyle that both of them
enjoy.
Donna hints that Jenny might see a few new world of her own,
and the
Doctor admits that he will take her with him in the TARDIS,
because he
doesn t want to leave her alone on Messaline.
Excited by
this, Jenny runs on ahead and the Doctor is left to tell
Donna that
the reason for his initial reluctance to accept Jenny is
because
when he looks at her he sees the family he lost before the
family he
has come to realise he will never see again. Donna tells
him
something she has never said before she
believes him to be
wrong.
Gunfire signals that Cobb and his men have passed the laser
beams, and
the duo, along with Jenny, begin to run.
Outside,
Martha struggles on and discovers what she has been looking
for a giant tower reaching up into the dark sky.
The
Doctor, Donna and Jenny find themselves at what appears to be a
dead end,
but the Doctor is convinced it is the entrance to the
temple
containing the Source. He begins trying to open up a nearby
door
whilst Donna examines another of the numbers written on a
nearby
wall.
As Martha
arrives inside the tower the Doctor and his friends also
make their
way into the temple , which they
discover is in fact a
space
ship. Donna assumes it to be the one the first settlers
arrived on
but the Doctor claims if it were it would not still be
powered up
and in such good condition.
Soon the
Hath are beginning to break their way inside and General
Cobb is
leading the opposing assault force onward. The Doctor
locates
the ship s log and discovers it is in fact the ship
belonging
to the original settlers. The original intention was to
build a
city using robotic drones, one in which humans and Hath
could
co-exist. However, the mission commander died and the settlers
disagreed
about who should take control, and split into two
squabbling
factions.
Donna sees
another of the numbers, this time displayed on a computer
screen.
She realises the number is in fact a date, and each number
written
around the base is a completion date for the construction of
the city.
Her calculations would dictate that the base only a few
days
old meaning the war began only a week
ago. Because twenty new
generations can be born in one day and many others can die at the
same time
(and pass on the legend of the war), the timescale of the
conflict
has been believed to be enormous when in fact it is very
small.
The Doctor
then notes that if the ship holds the key to
understanding the people of Messaline then the Source must be part
of the
mystery as well. They hurry to try and find it and meet
Martha on
the way, who has noted the small of flowers in the air.
The race
to find the Source continues and the Doctor finds himself
emerging
in a wide-open area populated by vegetation. The Source, a
glowing
orb of energy, sits in the middle of everything and at last
the Doctor
understands what it is a terraforming
device in transit
state.
The humans
and the Hath arrive and the Doctor explains that the
Source is
meant to make the planet inhabitable for them both to live
in. He
takes the large orb, holds it up and then smashes it on the
ground.
The energy that escapes spreads out across the area and
begins
growing new life.
However,
Cobb is not finished yet. Infuriated at the Doctor s
attempts
for peace he aims a gun at him. Jenny foresees what is
about to
happen and leaps to her father s aid, taking the bullet
herself.
As Cobb is restrained Jenny falls to the floor and the
Doctor
takes her in his arms. She marvels at the beauty of the new
world
growing around her and the Doctor tells her to be strong
they have
a life to live together. At last he accepts she is his
daughter,
but it is too late and she dies in his arms. He thinks for
a minute
and wonders if she will regenerate. Martha tells him there
are no
signs of life left; she was not enough like him. He retorts:
No too
much. That s the truth of it; she was too much like me.
He lays
her down and kisses her, then gets to his feet. He picks up
a gun and
aims it at Cobb s head, threatening to kill him. He thinks
for a
moment, wild with rage, but then he stops. He throws the
weapon
down and confesses:
I never
would. Have you got that? I never would. When you start
this new
world; this world of Human and Hath, remember that. Make
the
foundation of this society a man who never would!
As new
life comes to Messaline, blowing away the dead soil outside
so that
light shines through the windows of the city, Cline prepares
Jenny s
funeral ceremony. The Doctor, Donna and Martha return to the
TARDIS,
where the Time Lord explains that the reason the ship
brought
them to Messaline was because it sensed Jenny was there.
However,
it caused them to arrive before she was born
thus
creating a
paradox.
Soon
Martha is returned home to face her new life. She talks with
Donna
about wanting to leave travelling behind, but the Doctor s
latest
companion claims she will never return to normal life, she
will
travel forever. They wish each other good luck and Martha bids
the Doctor
goodbye once more, confessing that she though that Jenny
would give
him something to live for at last. The Doctor insists
that he
already has things to live for, even if there is much to die
for as
well.
Back on
Messaline Jenny s story is not over yet. As she lies in
state
golden streams of energy begin to flow from her mouth, and she
is
resuscitated. Alive once more she runs to a nearby shuttle and
prepares
to leave. Cline, who has been tending to her body, tells
her to
come back but she insists she has a universe to explore:
I ve got
the whole universe. Planets to save, civilisations to
rescue,
creatures to defeat and an awful lot of running to do!
She flies
off into space, in search of new adventures, just like her
father.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor has mentioned his family several times to his
travelling companions, including in Tomb of the Cybermen,
The Time Monster, Time and the Rani, Fear Her and Smith and
Jones. His granddaughter Susan travelled with him for a
while but assumed a life of her own on Earth in The Dalek
Invasion of Earth.
Donna s comment about never leaving the Doctor is
reminiscent of Rose s in Fear Her and Army of Ghosts.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Unicorn and the Wasp
Logo
Executive Producers
Russell T. Davies
Julie Gardner
Phil Collinson
Producer
Susie Liggat
Script Editor
Lindsey Alford
Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Fenella Woolgar (Agatha Christie), Felicity Kendal (Lady Clemency Eddison),
Felicity Jones (Robina Redmond), Christopher Benjamin (Colonel Hugh), Tom
Goodman-Hill (Reverend Golightly), Ian Barritt (Professor Peach), David Quitter
(Greeves), Adam Rayner (Roger Curbishley), Dabiel King (Davenport), Charlotte
Eaton (Mrs Hart), Leena Dhingra (Miss Chandrakala).
The Doctor and Donna find themselves in the middle of a
classic murder mystery. So it's a good thing Agatha Christie, crime writer
extraordinaire, is around to help them solve it. There are no end of suspects
at Lady Eddison's estate - and don't discount the giant alien wasp… Might the
strange goings-on explain the mystery of those infamous ten days in 1926 when
Christie went missing?
Original Broadcast (UK)
The Unicorn and the Wasp May 17th, 2008 6h45pm - 7h30pm
Notes:
A commentary track by writer Gareth Roberts, director Graeme
Harper and actor Tom Gododman-Hill is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
England 1926. After landing outside a manor house in the
TARDIS the Doctor and Donna observe as Professor Peach and Reverend Golightly
arrive to attend a party thrown by the owner of the house – a woman named Lady
Eddison. Peach greets the Reverend them tells him he has urgent business to
attend to in the library and disappears inside the house. When he arrives he
examines a series of papers – which he claims hold the key to a secret that has
been held for many years. He is interrupted when someone else arrives in the
room, someone he appears to recognise. The unknown arrival advances on the
Professor, holding a section of lead piping in their hand. Suddenly a strange
noise is heard and just before he is struck down, Peach is horrified to see a
giant wasp hovering in the room before him.
The Unicorn and the Wasp
(drn:44'43")
Donna returns to the TARDIS to change into a cocktail dress
and together with the Doctor she arrives at the party outside, where Lady
Eddison greets them. They use the Time Lord’s psychic paper to bluff an
invitation and talk with the hostess about a recent chain of jewel robberies,
instigated by a thief known as the ‘Unicorn’.
Lady Eddison’s husband – the wheelchair-bound Colonel
Curbishley – and her son Roger arrive to join the party, followed close behind
by Robina Redmond (a popular socialite), Reverend Arnold Golightly (whom Lady
Eddison claims apprehended two thieves robbing his church the previous
Thursday), and the party’s special guest – Agatha Christie.
The Doctor and Donna are thrilled to meet the famous author,
who impresses them with some subtle artful deduction. Lady Eddison
congratulates the writer on the success of her books and asks where her husband
is. Agatha retorts that she can socialise without him by her side them resumes
conversation with the rest of the guests.
After Lady Eddison asks her maid Miss Chandrakala to fetch
Professor Peach from the library the Doctor pulls Donna aside to show her a
nearby newspaper he has found – the date on which corresponds with the day
Agatha Christie famously disappeared. Whilst Miss Chandrakala enters the house
and opens the door to the library he explains to his friend that Agatha
disappeared shortly after discovering her husband was having an affair. Her car
was found the following morning beside a lake, and ten days later Christie was
found in a hotel in Harrogate. She never spoke of the incident, but whatever
caused her to disappear is soon to take place…
Suddenly Miss Chandrakala arrives, claiming that Professor
Peach has been murdered. The Doctor hurries inside to the library where he
discovers the victim was hit in the head with a lead pipe. As he rifles through
some nearby papers he notices Agatha, who has joined him along with Donna, pick
up a small piece of paper beside the fireplace.
He doesn’t mention this and instead continues searching.
When the other guests arrive he again uses the psychic paper to deceive them –
claiming he is an Inspector. Agatha hurries the guests to the sitting room
whilst the Doctor examines the floor of the room, where he discovers traces of
Morphic Residue, which is left behind when certain alien species change their
shapes – one of the guests downstairs is an alien in human form.
He and Donna hurry away where Agatha meets them. The Doctor
asks her to accompany him as he interrogates the other partygoers and then
hands Donna a spyglass and asks her to search the rest of the house for more
clues. The Time Lord enthuses about solving a murder mystery with a famous
crime author but Agatha is not so jubilant. Disturbed by his easy-going
attitude to murder she warns him that her participation in the matter is for
the sake of justice, not his amusement.
They go to the sitting room where they question each of the
other guests in turn, looking for an alibi. Reverend Golightly claims he was
unpacking his cases in his room, Robert tells them he was strolling the grounds
alone (when in fact he was engaging in a secret liaison with a serving boy),
Robina recalls going to the bathroom before preparing herself for the party
(which unbeknownst to the detectives involved loading a pistol concealed in her
purse), the Colonel maintains that he was inspecting some old war journals (in
reality a selection of risqué magazines) and Lady Eddison claims she was taking
afternoon tea (a cover-up for an indiscreet sip from a hipflask).
With all the guests apparently busy at the time of the
murder the Doctor and Agatha ponder the mystery together. After the Doctor
slips into a recollection of the time he visited Belgium Agatha reveals the
paper she took from the library. What is left of the burnt document is a single
word – ‘maiden’.
Upstairs Donna continues checking the other rooms. She is
met by Greeves the butler, who begrudgingly unlocks one of the sealed rooms for
her. He explains that when Lady Eddison returned from a trip to India many
years ago she caught malaria, and locked herself away in the room until she was
well again. Forty years later the room has remained sealed.
Greeves leaves Donna to investigate but she finds very
little. After a few moments she hears a buzzing noise coming from the window.
She opens the drawn curtains and is shocked to discover a wasp the size of a
human hovering outside. It smashes the window and flies at her, but she manages
to stall it by using her magnifying glass to concentrate the sunlight outside
onto its chest. She runs out into the hall and slams the door shut, all the
while calling for the Doctor to help her.
The wasp implants its sting into the door as the Doctor and
Agatha arrive. They hurry inside the room only to discover the creature has
gone; only its sting remains. Agatha is sceptical about the existence of such a
creature but the Doctor insists it may hold the key to solving Professor
Peach’s murder.
Down in the kitchens the servants discuss the recent goings
on. After a few moments Miss Chandrakala ponders what the Professor might have
been looking for in the library and hurries away to talk with Lady Eddison. She
runs outside but is distracted when one of the stone gargoyles perching on the
roof of the building begins to move. Suddenly it topples from its resting place
and plummets towards her. She screams out but is soon silenced…
Hearing the scream the Doctor, Donna and Agatha hurry
outside. They find Miss Chandrakala, who has time to mutter the words, “the
poor little child” before breathing her last. Once again a buzzing sound is
heard and the Doctor looks up to see the giant wasp hovering above them. It
flies off in the direction of the house and the Time Lord follows in hot
pursuit. He and his friends arrive upstairs to discover the creature waiting
for them.
Having seen the creature for herself Agatha is dumbstruck.
Suddenly it tries to attack again but misses and is chased off by Donna, who
threatens it with her spyglass. The Doctor insists they must follow the
creature and they run to chase it once again before it takes human form once
again. The Doctor orders the creature to show itself but his plan is foiled
when all of the other guests appear to answer his call.
Some time later Roger comforts his distraught mother whilst
the Doctor ponders Miss Chandrakala’s last words. Lady Eddison and the other
guests turn to Agatha for an answer to the mystery surrounding the house but
she insists she is unable to help – the Doctor is the man with the answers.
A while after Donna finds Agatha sitting alone outside the
house. They discuss Agatha’s books (which she believes will not be remembered)
and then their partners, both having lost a loved one in the past. Suddenly
Agatha notices one of the nearby flowerbeds has been disrupted and upon
examining them discovers a wooden box lying in the undergrowth. She and Donna
take it inside where the Doctor opens it and finds it full of tools a thief
would use to commit a burglary. As Agatha realises the Unicorn may be close by
Greeves brings in a tray of drinks and the three friends discuss the giant
wasp, which the Doctor explains is actually called a Vespiform. He ponders why
the creature appears to be behaving like a character in one of Agatha’s books
but is silenced when he realises something is wrong with his drink. He lurches
forward and tells the others he has been poisoned. He staggers to his feet and
after detecting traces o cyanide in his glass, Agatha runs after him with Donna
alongside.
The Time Lord, increasingly coming under the affect of the
poison, makes his way to the kitchen where he begins looking for something to
save his life. After downing a bottle of ginger beer he tells Donna and Agatha
that he must consume something with high protein content. Donna fetches some
walnuts and he begins hurriedly consuming them. Unable to speak with his mouth
full he mimes to his companions the ingredient he needs next to combat the
cyanide. A botched game of charades ensues and after some effort the Doctor
asks for something with a lot of salt – which Agatha provides by handing him a
jar of anchovies. He then asks them to give him a shock so as to complete the
ritual and Donna obliges by kissing him on the lips. Suddenly he lurches back
and exhales a cloud of white powder – the poison has gone.
That night the guests all sit down to dinner and the Doctor
ponders the day’s events – including the failed attempt on his life. After
revealing that any one of the guests could have spiked his drink he reveals
that he too has turned his hand to poison – he has laced the soup the guests
are consuming with pepper. He claims the active ingredient of pepper is
Piperine, which is also used in insecticides. He waits to see which guest this
will have an effect on, hoping it will reveal the identity of the masked Vespiform.
However, before he finds an answer the lights go out and the
party is plunged into darkness. A buzzing sound fills the room and the party is
thrown into disarray. When the lights return the Vespiform is gone, but it is
not the only thing that has. Lady Eddison’s necklace – the firestone – has been
taken and her son Roger is dead – impaled with a knife.
As the night wares on the Doctor, Donna and Agatha retire to
another room and discuss the two new crimes. Donna explains that Lady Eddison
brought the firestone back to England when she returned from India, and it is
now worth a great deal of money. The Doctor, on the other hand, is more
concerned with the motives of the Vespiform. He turns to Agatha for answers,
claiming that she is the only person who can solve the murder. She refutes his
claims but he insists that she is able to help – her murder mystery stories are
the best ever written, the reason for this being that she understands human
nature better than anyone else because she has encountered the many facets of
it throughout her life, and thereby can construct plausible motive for the
villains in her books.
Once Agatha has had time to think the Doctor calls the
remaining guests to the study, where he introduces Agatha. She begins pondering
the situation and first turns her attentions to Miss Redmond, whom she claims
is an impostor assuming someone else’s name. She recalls how Robina claimed she
visited the toilet that afternoon then reveals that the box of tools she and
Donna found was beneath her bathroom window. She accuses her of trying to
dispose of the box when Donna began searching the house following the murder.
She opens the box and shows the guests the tools inside, then reveals that Robina
Redmond is in fact the ‘Unicorn’.
Robina confesses that Agatha is correct, and produces the
missing firestone from her dress. She hands it to the Doctor and he examines
it, whilst Donna questions if the thief is also the killer. Agatha and Robina
claim this is not so, and the finger of blame appears to fall upon the Colonel
instead.
Admitting to being court out he reveals his secret – he is
in fact able to walk. This stuns Lady Eddison, who listens as he explains that
the reason for his deceit was to garner her sympathy so that she would not
leave him for a younger man. He asks Agatha how she knew he was lying and she
confesses she did not – her intention of addressing him was to declare his
innocence in the matter.
The Colonel sits back in his chair and Agatha turns to Lady
Eddison, questioning her about the firestone jewel. She reveals that Eddison
was not suffering from malaria when she returned from India, she was in fact
pregnant. Unmarried at the time, she locked herself away until the baby was
born – the only person aware of this being Miss Chandrakala (hence her final
words). Lady Eddison confesses that she had the child given away for fear of
being ill thought of by society then, prompted by the Doctor’s claim that her
pregnancy was not an ordinary one, tells the story of how she came to bare a
child.
When she was in India she witnessed a dazzling light falling
in the sky. The next day she met a young gentleman named Christopher, with whom
she fell in love. He revealed to he that he was a shape-shifting alien who had
come to Earth to learn about human beings. Because she loved him she did not
regard this as a problem and the two continued their relationship until
Christopher – alias a Vespiform – was killed in a monsoon. Before he died he
left her the firestone, and not long after she discovered he was pregnant with
his child – also a Vespiform.
Agatha continues the story, claiming that Miss Chandrakala
took the child to an orphanage. Forty years later Professor Peach found the
child’s birth certificate in Lady Eddison’s library (the document found by
Agatha – the word “maiden” referred to the maiden name of the child’s mother)
and when Miss Chandrakala considered what he might have uncovered she rushed to
warn her mistress, only to be killed before she could reveal what was going on.
Donna assumes Lady Eddison to be the killer, protecting her
alien child, but Agatha insists she is innocent. The Doctor then assumes the
mantle of detective and asks Lady Eddison what she was doing the previous
Thursday night. She claims she was alone in her library reading one of Agatha
Christie’s books then asks the Doctor why this is important. He explains that
something significant happened that night – the break-in at the church. Turning
to Reverend Golightly he reveals that the vicar is in fact Lady Eddison’s
child. He then guesses that the night of the burglary, when he caught the two
thieves, the anger he felt at the moment allowed him to access his Vespiform
heritage for the first time.
He shape-shifted and killed the assailants, before forming a
mental link with the firestone – an alien artefact that contains part of the
Vespiform brain and is responsible for assigning the creature’s mind. When the
stone activated it linked with Lady Eddison’s mind and downloaded her knowledge
of Agatha Christie. Thus when the Vespiform was given its conscience by the
firestone it was endowed with the assumption that life on Earth resembled an
Agatha Christie book – all of his actions that followed were inspired by the
plots of her novels.
Reverend Golightly tries to claim the entire story is
fiction but he is exposed when the Doctor goads him into anger – the emotion
that triggers his metamorphosis. As he is overcome by spasms of buzzing the
reverend explains that when his mind was born he vowed to take the fortune that
was rightly his. His present thought turn to murder and he transforms into his
true wasp-like form.
Realising her imagination is responsible for the creature’s
behaviour, Agatha vows that it will also be the cause of it’s downfall.
Clutching the firestone she runs from the house, the Vespiform and the Doctor
and Donna close behind. Agatha climbs inside a car parked in the courtyard and
drives away. The Doctor and Donna also commandeer a vehicle and they give
chase, fearing that Agatha could be killed and as a result history will be
changed forever.
The Doctor realises that the author is heading toward the
lake, where she gets out of the car and steps toward the water. Having realised
that her mind and the creature’s are linked, she resolves that if she kills
herself then the Vespiform will die as well. However, Donna manages to save her
life by snatching the firestone and throwing it into the nearby water. The
Vespiform dives in after it and drowns as a result. The Doctor is unsettled by
her murderous actions but she insists it was all she could do to save the day.
Suddenly Agatha doubles up in pain and the Doctor realises
that if the Vespiform is dying then the mental link between them will cause
Agatha to die too. However, before he can act a glowing light hits Agatha’s
face and she passes out – still alive but unconscious. The Doctor explains that
the Vespiform freed Agatha before it died; its last act was one of salvation.
He then tells Donna that Agatha will suffer from amnesia
because of the near-fatal incident – she will not recall the Vespiform, the
murders, or ever meeting either of the two travellers. This is the key to the
mystery of Agatha’s disappearance – her car will be found by the lake the next
day and she will arrive at a hotel a few days later with no memory of what has
happened to her – the latter piece of the puzzle being fulfilled by the Doctor
and Donna with the aid of the TARDIS.
The Doctor insists that the other guests at the party will
carry on with their lives and Agatha will carry on with hers as well. Donna
laments upon Agatha’s concern that her books will be remembered and the Doctor
resolves to prove that they will. He hurries inside the ship and produces a
large trunk from beneath the floor. Sorting through the various clutter inside
– which include the chest plate of a Cyberman and an orb containing the trapped
Carrionites – he produces a copy of one of Agatha’s books, “Death In The
Clouds”, which bares on the cover a picture of a giant wasp. The two travellers
realise Agatha’s memory might not be entirely missing from the encounter with
the Vespiform then open the book and discover that the edition the Doctor has
kept in his collection was printed in the year five billion – Agatha’s books
really do last forever.
Source: Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Agatha Christie did indeed disappear in 1926, and the reason
for this is unknown – Christie having claimed to have no memory of the event.
There is, however, one main difference between the story told here and the true
events (apart from the involvement of a giant wasp of course), in reality
Christie’s car was found in a chalk pit, not beside a lake.
Donna inadvertently refers to the events of The Unquiet Dead
when she claims that the likelihood of meeting Agatha Christie surrounded by a
murder mystery would be as unbelievable as meeting Charles Dickens surrounded
by ghosts at Christmas.
The Doctor reveals he has kept the chest plate of a Cyberman
(obtained in The Age of Steel) and also the orb in which he trapped the
Carrionites in The Shakespeare Code.
This isn’t the first time the Doctor has encountered giant
alien wasps – the met similar creatures in The Web Planet.
Although the Doctor claims in Terror Firma that he travelled
with Agatha Christie for a while, he doesn’t acknowledge that here – apparently
having met her for the first time in this story (which follows on from comments
he made in Last of the Time Lords).
Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead
Silence in the
Library / Forest of the Dead
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Producer
Phill
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Steven Moffat
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble), Alex
Kingston (Professor River Song), Colin Salmon (Dr Moon), Eve
Newton (The Girl), Mark Dexter (Dad), Sarah Niles (Node 1)
[1],
Joshua Dallas (Node 2) [1], Steve Pemberton (Strackman
Lux), Talulah Riley (Miss Evangelista), Jessika Williams
(Anita), O-T Fagbenle (Other Dave), Harry Peacock (Proper
Dave), Jason Pitt (Lee) [2], Eloise Rakic-Platt (Ella) [2],
Alex
Midwood (Josuah) [2], Jonathan Reuben (Man) [2].
The
Doctor and Donna enter an abandoned library. Not just any
old
library - it's the greatest in the universe. The one that
was
sealed off a century before, without any explanation -
unless you include the cryptic warning "Count the shadows".
With
the shadows on the move again, the Doctor and Donna must
uncover the terrible truth behind the Nodes and the Data Ghost
to
reveal the library's secret.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Silence in the Library
May 31st, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Forest of the Dead June 7th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by director Euros Lyn and Produc Phil
Collinson is available on the official Doctor Who website
for Silence in the Library.
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Executive Producer
Russell T. Davies and writer Steven Moffat is available on
the official Doctor Who website for Forest of the Dead.
Close
your eyes tell me what you see
Doing as
she is told a young girl closes her eyes and appears in the
vast
backdrop of a giant city which she
calls her library. She
opens her
eyes, returning to her living room, where her companion, a
man named
Doctor Moon, asks her about the landscape, which she
visits
every time she closes her eyes always
appearing in a
different
part of the complex.
She closes
her eyes again and finds herself in a dark chamber within
one of the
buildings. Suddenly there is a banging at the door and
she
becomes distressed someone has got
inside her library. Doctor
Moon
insists she is safe as the library
exists only in her mind,
but her
panic continues to grow. Eventually the door gives way and
two people
enter, a young man and woman. They barricade the entrance
with a
book then turn to the girl it is the
Doctor and Donna
Silence in
the Library
(drn:42'57")
Some time
earlier, the Doctor and Donna arrive on a planet called
The
Library , which houses every book ever written. Beneath the
continents
of tomes the core of the planet houses the index computer
the
largest ever known. Donna casually picks up a book but the
Doctor
insists she must not look inside any of the volumes for fear
of
discovering something about her future
otherwise known as
spoilers.
Looking
around the Doctor notes that the planet is silent the
entire
Library is empty. He checks a nearby computer terminal and
discovers
that although no human life other than he and Donna is
registering, one million million life forms are still being
detected.
Returning
to where they landed the pair discover a Node, a statue
with a
human face that dispenses information. It recites the last
message
recorded before the Library fell silent one hundred years
ago a warning to all those inside to leave
immediately because the
planet is
no longer safe. Another message then plays that leaves the
travellers
with a cryptic warning: if you want to
live count the
shadows .
The Doctor heeds this caution and tells his companion to
stay away
from the darkness.
The two
friends then venture deeper into the complex and emerge in a
long
corridor lined with shelves. The Doctor reveals the reason why
he brought
them to the Library to answer an
anonymous summons he
received
via his psychic paper. Suddenly, the lights in the corridor
begin
going out and the darkness begins approaching them. Recalling
the Node s
warning they both run, finding their escape blocked by a
locked
door. Donna manages to force it open and they dash inside,
barricading it behind them with the use of a nearby book. They turn
around to
find they are being watched but it is
not by the girl
being
tended to by Doctor Moon it is a
spherical security camera,
which
deactivates when the girl closes her eyes.
The Doctor
and Donna examine the device whilst in her living room,
the little
girl begins to hear the noise of the Sonic Screwdriver
inside her
head the Doctor is trying to patch into
the
surveillance device. When he manages to activate it the girl
collapses her cries for help
being relayed to the device on a
small
screen. When she manages to open her eyes again she warns
Doctor
Moon and her father that others will soon be visiting the
library.
This
message is also relayed to the Doctor and Donna via the camera.
Donna
turns to another of the Nodes for help and enquires as to why
the
machines have human faces the answer
being that the likeness
is donated
following the death of the previous owner. Donna is
distressed
by this but her panic is cut short when the Doctor
suddenly
realises a shadow has appeared on the floor beside them,
despite
there being nothing around that would cast it.
Suddenly
the Time Lord realises what is causing the problem. He
turns to
discover the shadow has now gone but he insists it has not
disappeared it has moved. He
warns Donna that they must return to
the TARDIS
but is interrupted when another doorway is forced open
and a
group of travellers arrive all dressed
in space suits. Their
leader a woman named Professor
River Song steps forward and
greets the
Doctor by calling him sweetie .
He ignores
this and warns the group of six that they must leave
immediately. They disregard his remarks and begin looking around -
they are
an archaeological expedition. One of the group, a
businessman named Lux, demands that the Doctor and Donna sign
contracts
to guarantee they do not infringe on Lux s exclusivity to
the
expedition. His assistant, Miss Evangelista, hands over the
contracts
but the two travellers simply tear them up.
The Doctor
then explains the threat posed by the shadows
they
contain
the Vashta Nerada. He sets the group to work sealing the
doors and
making sure the room is lit, and they begin their work,
all apart
from Miss Evangelista, who is ignored by the others
because of
her lack of common sense.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor and River Song begin talking, and River
reveals it
is she who sent the Doctor the summons to the Library.
She then
produces a diary and begins asking the Time Lord if he has
witnessed
a list of events ones he apparently
experienced with
her. He
claims he doesn t know who River is and she seems
crestfallen evidently he is
younger than she thought he might be.
Back in
her living room the little girl is interrupted from her
colouring
book by a ringing phone alias the Data
Core of the
library
the Doctor and his friends are trying to access. She asks
her father
to answer the device but he claims it is not ringing.
Eventually
the Doctor manages to establish a link and he appears on
the screen
on the girl s television screen
something he is
somewhat
bemused by.
After a
short while the image fades and the link is broken. The
little
girl tries to re-establish it with her remote control whilst
the Doctor
does the same with the computer system. He is momentarily
tempted to
look away when he sees River s diary, and moves to open
it before
she takes it away and claims he is not allowed to look
inside something he has
apparently warned her of before.
The little
girl continues pressing buttons on her remote and
eventually
finds one that, unbeknownst to her, causes the books in
the
library to propel themselves off of their shelves. Amidst this
chaos the
Doctor discovers the Data Core is embodied by a system
called
CAL, which makes no apparent sense to him. As the barrage
subsides
Donna talks to Miss Evangelista, who appears to be well
aware of
how her crewmates feel about her.
The Doctor
turns to Lux, whose family built the Library, and asks
what CAL
is, but he gets no reply. He instead asks what happened the
day the
Library was sealed and River replies by
explaining that
the only
message received that day was one claiming the lights were
going out,
and that 4022 people were saved, but there were no
survivors.
Whilst
they speak, a panel of a nearby wall slides away to reveal a
hidden
passage this is the result of the
little girl and her
remote
control again. With nobody listening to her, Miss Evangelista
ventures
inside alone and emerges in a dark chamber littered with
piles of
books. Back in the other chamber a piercing scream is
heard. The
Doctor and the others rush to follow Miss Evangelista but
when they
arrive in the chamber all that is left is her skeleton
After a
few moments her voice is heard emitting
from a small
communicator attached to the remains of her space suit. She calls
out,
asking where she is over and over again. This is the result of
her
conscience being held for a moment after death by the device
it is her
Data Ghost. The voice eventually calls to Donna, who
speaks
with her solemnly as the footprint left behind on the
communicator fades, still repeating itself.
The Doctor
vows to show the others what killed their companion and
runs back
to the main chamber, where he asks for some food. River
Song
obliges, all the while claiming she cannot reveal how she knows
the
Doctor for fear of bombarding him with
spoilers about his life
to come.
He dissuades from following the enquiry further then turns
to the
others and claims they are about to meet the Vashta Nerada.
In the
living room the little girl is frustrated at losing contact
with the
people in her Library. Doctor Moon then speaks with her
again and
tells her that the real world is a lie
the Library is a
real
place, it is not just inside her head. He claims that the
people
trapped inside must be saved from the shadows, and only she
can help
them.
In the
Library the Doctor begins examining the shadows with his
Sonic
Screwdriver. Meanwhile, River Song and Donna talk about the
Doctor.
River explains that she will meet the Doctor in the future
her
message was intended for a future version of the Time Lord but
it was
sent back too far along the his time line.
She then
discovers Donna s name and is struck by silence. Donna asks
why River
does not know her, and enquires where she stands in the
life of
the older Doctor known by River. She is given no reply.
The Doctor
finds what he is looking for and beckons Donna and the
five
remaining explorers over. He holds up a chicken leg given to
him by
River and throws it into the shadows in
the blink of an eye
the meat
has been stripped from the bone just
like Miss
Evangelista. He explains that the Vashta Nerada is a swarm of
piranhas
of the air . When gathered together create the impression
of
shadows. He claims they inhabit many worlds and are usually
undetected
as they feed off of road kill, but those in the Library
are of
massive numbers they are the million
million life forms
detected
by the computer.
The Doctor
turns back to the others and is shocked to discover that
another
member of the crew, Proper Dave (as opposed to
Other
Dave ),
has gained an extra shadow meaning the
Vashta Nerada have
begun
hunting him. He warns the young man to remain still and places
his space
helmet back on him, hoping the swarm will eventually move
on.
He uses
his Sonic Screwdriver to boost the suit s defences, and then
offers the
tool to River so she can do likewise for the rest of the
crew.
However, much to his bemusement she already has a Sonic
Screwdriver similar to his but
notably adapted. He then turns to
Donna and
takes her to a nearby shop, which holds a teleport. He
latches
the controls onto the TARDIS coordinates and sends his young
friend to
the ship, where she will be safe (he is unable to do so
for the
others as the craft will not recognise them and thus will
not allow
them to get inside).
With Donna
gone he runs back to the others, unaware that the
teleportation process is not functioning properly. Dona begins to
fade into
view inside the TARDIS console room but suddenly something
goes wrong
and she shrieks in pain fading from
view.
Back in
the Library the second shadow following Proper Dave
disappears, and the Doctor worries about where the creatures may
have gone.
His question is answered when the lights inside Dave s
helmet go
out the swarm has infiltrated his
spacesuit. Suddenly he
contorts
with pain, but insists he is still okay. However, when Dave
starts
repeating himself the others realise this is simply the Data
Ghost just like the one created when Miss
Evangelista was killed.
The Doctor
steps forward to examine the suit and it grabs his
shoulder,
revealing in the process that it now houses Dave s
skeleton.
River Song runs forward and zaps the suit (now being
operated
by the swarm), giving the others a chance to escape. She
then
provides an escape route by zapping a nearby wall with a
concealed
gun, which removes a large block of the concrete, creating
a gap for
the group to climb through. As they go the Doctor warns
them that
they must stay away from the shadows
any one of them
could
contain a deadly swarm of Vashta Nerada.
The little
girl remains in her living room, and after a few moments
proclaims
to her father: Donna Noble has been
saved
The Doctor
and River manage to illuminate some of the corridors in
the
library, and River reveals that her Sonic Screwdriver is in fact
a future
version of the Doctor s, he gave it to her. The Time Lord
claims he
would never do such a thing and again presses River for
answers,
but as before she remains tight-lipped. The Doctor then
realises
that his Screwdriver should have picked up a signal from
the TARDIS
when Donna arrived as this has not
happened something
must have
gone wrong.
He turns
to one of the Nodes and asks it to locate Donna. When the
statue
turns to face him he is shocked to discover it bears Donna s
face something only achievable once someone is
dead. The Node
recites: Donna Noble has left the
Library. Donna Noble has been
saved repeatedly as the devastated Doctor and River
Song look on.
They are
forced to continue running when the Swarm Suit tracks them
down and
begins hunting them. They sprint down a corridor with the
others but
soon the shadows begin shifting, leaving them trapped
between a
swarm and the reanimated remains of Proper Dave
Forest of
the Dead
(drn:45'16")
Using her
Sonic Blaster, River is able to open up an escape route
for her
and the others to climb through. As they continue their
retreat
through the Library the little girl watches their progress
on her
television, whose channels now show different parts of the
planet.
One
channel, however, depicts a country retreat. An ambulance pulls
up outside
and Donna Noble is taken inside, where Doctor Moon is
ready to
greet her. He claims she has been there for two years, and
although
she seems to doubt this she suddenly recalls it as if it
were fact.
Doctor
Moon suggests they take a walk outside, and before she can
comprehend
the situation, Donna finds herself walking with him in
the
grounds. She talks with her carer about the dreams she once had
of
travelling with a man named the Doctor
dreams Doctor Moon has
helped to
stop.
In another
blink-of-an-eye they find themselves at the lake feeding
ducks,
where Donna is introduced to a fellow patient, named Lee,
who s
speech impediment causes him difficulty in pronouncing her
name. In
quick succession the two become friends, get married, buy a
house and
have two children, and all the while Doctor Moon is
observing.
He visits
Donna one day and commends her on integrating herself so
well over
the past seven years a period of time
she admits
sometimes
feels like no time at all. As he gets up to leave his body
begins to
flicker and is replaced with that of the Doctor, who
appears to
be tracing some form of signal with the use of his Sonic
Screwdriver. Turning to face Donna he is jubilant to have found her,
but before
he can say any more he reverts back to being Doctor Moon.
Donna
claims she has just seen the man from her dreams and Doctor
Moon
confirms it was the Doctor and then
you forgot . Immediately
Donna
stops thinking about the encounter, and appears surprised at
Doctor
Moon s presence, apparently not recalling him arriving some
minutes
ago.
Back in
the Library the Doctor, River and their three companions
find a
clear room but discover the Vashta Nerada are beginning to
swarm
nearby. As the Doctor continues his scans River speaks with
her
colleagues about him, claiming that she trusts the Doctor to the
end of the
universe somewhere, coincidentally,
they have visited
together.
They ask how she knows the stranger and she confesses that
technically speaking, he has not met her yet.
River then
speaks with the Doctor, who has picked up a nearby
signal.
She offers the use of her (formally his) Sonic Screwdriver,
and he
begins interrogating her again about why, in his future, he
would hand
over the device so readily. Worried about his mistrust
and the
increasing need of cooperation, River decides to prove she
will one
day become someone he can trust, and confirms it by
whispering
something in his ear. Immediately he becomes somewhat
unnerved
but confirms the two can now work together without more
questioning.
Covering
up his emotions, the Time Lord ponders what might be
blocking
his Screwdriver, and notes that the moon has begun to show
in the sky
above the Library. Lux explains that it is an artificial
mass,
a Doctor Moon that completes virus checks to safeguard the
mainframe
of the Library, which lies at the core of the planet. He
realises
someone in the Library is communicating with the moon, and
begins
scanning again. He is surprised when the Screwdriver suddenly
projects
an image of Donna into midair, but is unable to communicate
with her
before the image fades.
He
struggles to find the signal again but is interrupted when Anita,
another
member of the party, tearfully reveals she has developed a
second
shadow the Vashta Nerada have caught
her. River places her
colleague
s space helmet back onto her suit and the Doctor tints the
visor,
hoping the Vashta Nerada will assume something is already
inside and
refrain from attacking.
Further
complications ensue when the animated remains of Proper Dave
enter,
having tracked them down once again. They run, still being
watched by
the small girl with her television, who momentarily
flicks
back to the channel showing Donna s newfound life with Lee.
As her
husband arrives home, Donna is somewhat bemused that Doctor
Moon, who
was with her seconds ago, has disappeared. She glances out
of the
window and finds a cloaked stranger walking away outside. She
doesn t
mention this to Lee, instead confessing that she is tired.
Suddenly
she is in her room getting ready for bed. Initially she
seems
concerned by the time shift but then rationalises what must
have
happened during the skip and thinks no more of it.
After a
few moments the letterbox downstairs is heard and Lee goes
to
retrieve what has been delivered. Donna, meanwhile, glances
outside
again and once more sees the veiled stalker walking around
outside.
Lee returns with the note, addressed to Donna, and he reads
it it claims,
The world is wrong and asks Donna
to come to the
local
playground the following day.
In the
blink of an eye she is there with her children, who go off to
play
whilst she confronts the masked stranger. She claims to have
received
the note the previous night but the stranger, who speaks
with a
voice Donna finds familiar, claims she received it only a few
seconds
ago, and that having decided to attend the meeting was
immediately brought there as if
in a dream. The figure then claims
that they
met once before, in the Library, and the kindness shown by
Donna on
that encounter will be returned now. Again Donna considers
the voice
speaking to her through the heavy veil and the stranger
confesses
her identify she is all that remains of
Moss
Evangelista.
In the
Library, the Doctor, River, Anita, Lux and Other Dave all run
for their
lives. The Doctor sends the others ahead and remains to
talk with
the creature chasing them however River
ensures that
Other Dave
remains with him to stop him being harmed. As the
creature
arrives the Doctor tells the swarm inside to use the
discarded
soul of Proper Dave to speak, and after a few seconds it
begins to
talk.
As Other
Dave repeatedly calls for them to leave, the Doctor asks
why the
Vashta Nerada, who usually hunt in forests, have come to the
Library.
The swarm replies by claiming the Library is the forest
they were
born in the trees were cut down to form
the books and
the spores
of the Vashta Nerada were transported within the pages.
After a
while they hatched and took over the planet.
The Doctor
then realises that Other Dave s repeated calls are not a
cry for
retreat they are the words of the Data
Ghost created by
his life
support system he to has been devoured
by the swarm. Now
caught
between two reanimated bodies, the Doctor appears helpless,
but
reveals he has a trick up his sleeve. He has positioned himself
over a
trap door, which he opens with the Sonic Screwdriver. He
disappears
below ground and finds himself dangling from a girder
outside,
which he proceeds to climb along.
Meanwhile,
Donna and the masked Miss Evangelista continue to talk
with Donna
beginning to recall the events of her time in the
Library.
Miss Evangelista claims that both she and Donna are the
dead of
the Library, but Donna retorts by claiming that this cannot
be because
her children are real. However, her companion exposes the
lie of the
world they live in by revealing that every child is
identical.
Sure enough Donna turns and sees that every boy and girl
playing in
the park all look alike. Enraged by this and Miss
Evangelista s claims, she pulls up her veil, only to recoil at the
disfigured
face beneath.
Night
falls on the Library and River Song begins examining a
circular
pattern on the floor of a chamber she, Lux and Anita have
sought
refuge in. She talks with Anita about the Doctor and
reminisces
about the travels they shared together. She claims that
he could
turn away entire armies and open the TARDIS doors just by
clicking
his fingers.
Unbeknownst to the others the Doctor has returned and has been
listening
to the conversation, and denies that the TARDIS can be
operated
in such a way. River insists the Doctor she knew could do
it but the
conversation stops there instead the
Doctor turns to
Anita. He
asks if she needs anything and she claims she needs some
reassurance. Recalling the Doctor s change of trust when River
whispered
something in his ear, Anita asks the Doctor to repeat it
to her,
thinking it will give her the same solace. When he doesn t
respond
she claims he can trust her his secrets
will be safe with
her.
Suddenly
something clicks in the Doctor s head
the use of the word
safe . He
recalls the message stored in the Library databank
4022
saved , and claims that the wording is misleading anyone
else would
say 4022 safe , so therefore those who
went missing,
including
Donna, must literally have been
saved somewhere.
In the
park, Miss Evangelista explains that when she was transferred
away from
the Library the genetic makeup of her face was corrupted
but so was
her intellect, which is now massively improved. Donna
asks why
all the children are identical and her friend replies by
claiming
that it saves space cyberspace. This
comment throws the
little
girl, who is still watching these events on her television,
into
panic, and she screams at the television screen claiming Miss
Evangelista must not tell Donna any more.
In the
Library, the Doctor explains that when the Vashta Nerada
hatched
and attacked, all 4022 people on the planet were teleported
away, but
the computer operating the system had nowhere to send
them. In
order to stop them being deleted they were saved to the
main hard
drive the Data Core at the centre of
the planet.
Miss
Evangelista tells Donna that the world in which they now exist
is virtual
reality Donna, like the others
teleported from the
Library
are simply projections. She, however, was a Data Ghost
caught in
the field of the computer and automatically uploaded. Now
with a
larger IQ and disfigured face she holds the two qualities
that allow
for absolute truth and understanding
she is both
brilliant
and unloved.
Donna,
still struggling to understand this concept, asks whose dream
it is they
now inhabit, and Miss Evangelista claims she doesn t
know. The
only clue is a word that keeps recurring in the fictional
landscape CAL. At this
revelation the little girl watching them on
television
descends into fury. Almost in reaction to this, one of
Donna s
children falls over and hurts herself
causing Donna to
become
distracted from Miss Evangelista s warnings. She hurries home
with her
children, all the while the disfigured woman calls out to
her to let
her offspring go and accept the true reality.
The little
girl grows more frustrated and screams that Miss
Evangelista is ruining everything. When her father tries to
interrupt
she zaps him with her remote control and he disappears,
causing
her yet more strife. With this she throws the remote onto
the
floor which causes a warning system in
the Library to activate
the auto
destruct system will launch in twenty minutes.
As Donna
and her children return home, now bathed in a blood red
light, Lux
tries to assure the Doctor that the Doctor Moon will deal
with any
problems. However, when the little girl zaps the humanoid
manifestation of Doctor Moon that resides in her landscape with her
remote
control this option is no longer available. Lux insists they
must do
all that can to save CAL, and at last decides to reveal what
CAL is by
taking the others down into the data core.
The
gateway to the core is the circular pattern River was examining
earlier when activated it
transforms into a platform that lowers
she, the
Doctor, Lux and Anita deep below the planet s surface.
In the
virtual reality, Donna tries to comfort her children by
putting
them to bed, but soon they themselves begin doubting their
own
existence, claiming that when Donna is not around they cease to
exist.
Donna tries to soothe them but is thrown into despair when,
in the
blink of an eye, the two children disappear from their beds,
leaving
their erstwhile mother alone and terrified.
Down in
the data core the Doctor and River begin trying to save the
planet,
which is going into meltdown. As the little girl begins
crying out
for help her words are relayed by the main computer,
which the
Doctor claims is dreaming. Lux claims that it is not the
computer
that is dreaming, but a little girl.
He walks
over to a different terminal, where he shows the others the
main
command Node whose face is that of the
little girl. He
explains
that CAL is Charlotte Abigail Lux the
youngest daughter
of his
grandfather. When it was discovered the child was dying the
family
built her the Library and stored her mind inside, meaning she
could live
forever. With every book known to man at her disposal and
a massive
hard drive she could live happily in any era of history
she
wished. The family s wish was to keep her hidden, Lux s anger at
seeing the
Doctor and Donna when they first arrived was not because
of wanting
exclusivity of the excavation, but for fear that CAL
would be
exposed and made into a freak show.
CAL
explains that when the swarm arrived she tried to save all those
in the
library but could not send them anywhere so stored them in
her own
imagination where they could be safe However, with nobody
around to
retrieve them they are stuck.
The
Doctor, on the other hand, is able to bring them back and begins
his work
to set up a transfer from CAL s dreamscape to the real
world with this he can rescue all those inside her
mind and also
avert the
destruction of the Library, which is still approaching
meltdown.
However, CAL does not have the sufficient memory space to
achieve
the transfer so he realises he will have to wire himself
into the
computer. River warns that this will burn out his two
hearts and
leave him unable to regenerate but he insists he will
find a way
to survive. He sends her and Lux up to the main Library
to try and
locate any computer space that will assist the download,
whilst
Anita remains to look after the Doctor.
She asks
what will happen to the Vashta Nerada and he claims that
once all
those in the computer are brought back the creatures will
be able to
swarm freely, as long as they allow enough time to let
the
transference take place. After a few moments the Doctor turns on
her,
revealing she has infact already been devoured, now the Vashta
Nerada are
using her to speak.
The
creatures begin to swarm and a pool of shadow extends from where
Anita s
remain stand spreading out toward the
Doctor. Unconcerned,
the Time
Lord goads the creatures into accessing the main computer
bank and
looking him up in the Library s catalogue. As soon as they
have done
this the shadows retreat. After claiming he has one day in
which to
evacuate the planet the swarm depart, causing the suit to
crumple
into a heap on the floor. Seconds later River enters,
distressed
by the loss of Anita. Claiming Lux can cope above ground
without
her, she tells the Doctor he cannot, and promptly knocks him
out.
He
recovers sometime later, chained to a wall several feet before
River, who
is seated near a computer terminal, ready to complete the
transfer this time using her
mind instead of the Doctor s,
something
that will result in her death. The Doctor protests but she
snaps at
him, claiming it was either her or him. She ponders that
this
means, by the time the Doctor first meets her in the future, he
will
always have known how she will die. She recalls the last time
they
met how sad he was and how he gave her
his Screwdriver.
Again the
Doctor protests but River insists it must be her who dies
if the
Doctor sacrifices himself then he will never live to meet
her and
time will be rewritten, something she will not allow given
the time
they spent together. She seeks solace for the both of them
by
claiming the entire relationship they will share is, in a way,
yet to
come together they will witness all of
time and space
together
they will run.
In one
last attempt to discover how he and River will meet and what
they will
mean to each other the Doctor begs to know how she knew
the words
she whispered in his ear his real name.
He claims that
there is
only one reason why he would reveal that to anyone, there
is only
one time he ever could.
Before he
can be given an answer the countdown reaches it s final
stages and
with her last breath River chides him lovingly for
wanting to
know things ahead of their time. When the clock reaches
zero she
activates the transference and the chamber is flooded with
a blinding
light.
Inside the
computer Donna and Lee find themselves bathed in light
at last
Donna understands that nothing in their world is real. Lee
asks her
if he truly exists and as she clings to him she insists
that he
does, but her certainty begins to falter. Their surroundings
are
bleached out in the brilliant light and the two are dragged
apart, Lee
trying to call out his lover s name and Donna pleading
that he
truly be real and not an invention.
In the
foyer of the Library Lux taps away at a computer terminal,
then looks
up to discover the room is full of people. He runs out to
a balcony
and finds the planet is now full of people
4022 people
have been
returned.
Eventually
the Doctor manages to return to the surface and there he
finds
Donna, who has been trying to find Lee in the crowd of people
now safely
restored to the real world. However, the computers claim
that
nobody called Lee was in the Library the day it was closed down
it seems
he really was an invention of her mind.
She asks
the Doctor if he is okay, and he claims he is fine, but she
realises
this is a front like her he is far from
being all right.
Together
in their grief they leave the foyer, unaware that only feet
away Lee
has been placed on the teleport that is being used to
transport
people home. He sees Donna and tries to call out but his
speech
impediment prevents him. He is sent away, alone.
Finding
themselves on a balcony the Doctor places River Song s diary
and Sonic
Screwdriver on the ledge. Donna asks why River did not
know about
her, and ponders where she will be in the future when the
Doctor
finally meets River the way he were meant to. The Doctor
claims
they can look in River s diary and find out but they both
know that
they must find out for themselves and avoid the spoilers.
Leaving
the diary and Screwdriver behind the pair walk away, headed
for the
next chapter in their adventures.
When you
run with the Doctor it feels like it will never end. But
however
hard you try you can t run forever. Everybody knows that
everybody
dies, and nobody knows it like the Doctor, but I do think
that all
the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he
ever, for
one moment, accepts it
Suddenly
the Doctor runs back and picks up the Screwdriver,
determined
to uncover why he would give it to River on their last
encounter
before she came to the Library. He realises that his
future
self would find a way to save her and opens up the device to
discover
the remains of River s life support system built into the
workings.
Like Miss Evangelista and the others who were killed it
still
holds an impression of consciousness
she has been saved.
Frantically the Doctor runs through the Library until he reaches the
portal to
the data core. Throwing himself down into the depths of
the
planet, and just as the last of the Data Ghost is about to fade
he plugs
the Screwdriver into the data core and transmits River into
the world
invented by CAL with Doctor Moon, CAL,
and her lost
companions
all there to be with her.
Everybody
knows that every body dies, but not every day. Not
today...Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some
days
nobody dies at all.
Returning
to the empty foyer, the Doctor approaches the TARDIS.
Recalling
what River said about the machine earlier he stands before
the doors
and clicks his fingers. They open. He steps inside and
joins
Donna, before clicking his fingers again to make the doors
close.
In the
dream world inside the Data Core, River Song reads from her
diary to
her newly adopted children, including CAL:
Now and
then, every once in a very long while, every day in a
million
days when the wind stands fair and the Doctor comes to call,
everybody
lives sweet dreams everyone.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor talks about the little
shop in the Library, a
reference back to his comments in New Earth and Smith &
Jones. At last we understand his fascination it is a key
to
finding the exit.
River Song s Sonic Gun is identical to the one used by Jack
in
The Doctor Dances. In an interview writer Steven Moffatt
has claimed he imagines it to be the exact same gun which
Jack left in the TARDIS, only for River to find it many
years later.
The phrase everybody lives was prominent in the resolve of
The Doctor s Dances, also written by Steven Moffat.
[Back to Main
Page]
Midnight
Midnight
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Helen
Raynor Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Alice Troughton
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Lesley Sharp (Sky Silvestry), Rakie
Ayola (Hostess), David Troughton (Professor Hobbes), Ayesha
Antoine (Dee Dee Blasco), Lindsey Coulson (Val Crane), Daniel
Ryan
(Biff Cane), Colin Morgan (Jethro Cane), Tony Bluto
(Driver Joe), Duane Henry (Mechanic Claude).
The
Doctor jumps at the chance to take a journey across the
planet Midnight to see a breathtaking waterfall. Donna opts to
top
up her tan instead, but as the journey gets under way,
it's
clear the Time Lord would have been grateful to have her
on
his side. A sinister knocking on the wall of the shuttle
bus
triggers a shocking series of events - and the terrified
passengers' paranoia soon sparks a witch-hunt.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Midnight June
14th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Julian Howarth, Paul McFadden and Bryn
Thomas is available on the official Doctor Who website.
Inside a
pleasure dome on the diamond planet of Midnight, Donna is
sunbathing
beside a swimming pool. Soon she is interrupted by a
phone call
from the Doctor, who has found a day trip that drives
passengers
across the planet to view a sapphire waterfall. He asks
Donna to
go on the trip with him but she refuses, and reluctantly he
agrees to
go on his own. Before he departs Donna warns him about
being
careful, and he insists that nothing will go wrong
Midnight
(drn:43'49")
Boarding
the tiny shuttle that will take them to the waterfall, the
Doctor and
the other passengers are greeted by the stewardess, who
hands out
their complementary supplies for the journey. The Doctor
chimes allons-y with the enthusiasm of departing, much to the
Hostess disinterest. Amongst
those travelling are Professor Hobbes
and his
assistant Dee Dee Blasco, who are conducting a scientific
study of
the planet. Also onboard is the Cane family, namely couple
Val and
Biff and their teenage son Jethro. After being greeted by
the
Professor the Doctor looks around and observes a rather austere
looking
woman sitting nearby, who resigns herself to reading a book
as the
other passengers take their seats.
Soon the
shuttle is ready to leave, and the hostess ensures that the
capsule is
fully sealed and the occupants fully secured before
takeoff.
She reminds the passengers that the planet outside has no
air so
they must not open the portals, and then points out the
emergency
exits.
Driver
Joe, speaking over an intercom from the sealed-off cabin,
tells his
travellers that they will be taking a slight detour due to
a rock
fall, but the journey will otherwise remain unchanged. He
starts the
engines and as they move off the Hostess introduces the
onboard
entertainment a garish selection of
videos, film and light
projections that flood the cabin via small screens built into the
ceiling,
much to the passengers distaste.
Sensing
the entertainment will not go down well, the Doctor disables
it with
his Sonic Screwdriver then turns to his fellow travellers
and tells
them they will all have to talk to one another instead
something
they initially seem somewhat reserved about. However, soon
they are
speaking jovially, all bar Jethro who
remains sat
sullenly
in the corner, and the austere woman at the front, who
doesn t
say anything.
As the
journey progresses, the Doctor finds himself talking to Dee
Dee about
her work namely the paper she wrote
about the Lost Moon
of Poosh,
and her time as an assistant to the Professor.
After a
while he befriends the woman sitting alone at the front of
the
capsule, who explains she is trying to overcome a recent
relationship breakdown. The Doctor sympathises with the experience
citing
that one of his friends parted with him by ending up in a
parallel
dimension.
Later on,
Professor Hobbs gives a presentation about Midnight, and
proudly
notes that he is the first to examine the planet which is
bombarded
with Extonic Sunlight (deadly radiation). He claims that
Midnight,
as well as it s entire planetary system, is notable by
it s lack
of history as no life can exist on any
of the planets
without
protection. Jethro asks if anyone has searched the planet
for signs
of life and the Professor explains that because no one can
step
outside (even the leisure dome Donna is residing in was lowered
onto the
surface from orbit), the study of the planet is more
complicated than usual.
Suddenly
the capsule hits a bout of turbulence and then grinds to a
halt. A
worried Hostess asks the passengers to return to their
seats, but
the Doctor is curious as to what has gone wrong. Bluffing
his way
past the Hostess with his Psychic Paper he enters the cabin,
where
Driver Joe and his Mechanic Claude are trying to find the
source of
the problem and find that all systems
are functioning
normally
but for some reason the capsule will not move. They send
out a
distress call and as they begin the hour-long wait for
assistance
the Doctor persuades them to open the main shield at the
front of
the cabin.
They do so
and then marvel at the beautiful landscape that stretches
out before
them a staggering formation of diamond
rocks all
poisoned
by the sun s radiation. After a few seconds Claude notices
something
moving outside, but the Doctor and Joe don t see it. As
the
shields close to prevent the deadly sunlight outside from
penetrating the safety glass, Claude sees it again a shadow
outside
running toward the capsule.
Joe sends
the Doctor back to the seating area, where the passengers
are
concerned about the breakdown, all apart from the rather gothic
Jethro,
who seems somewhat delighted at the macabre goings on. Soon
all of the
passengers are talking at once, worried about how they
are going
to return to safety. The Doctor manages to restore order
(and
silence) then hands over to Dee Dee, who reassures the others
that the
air in the capsule is filtered so will last for years
they have
nothing to worry about.
A moment
later there is a thumping sound, as if something were
knocking
on the walls outside. Again Jethro seems enthused by the
strange
goings on, but the others remain panicked, fearing what
might be
on the other side of the wall. Professor Hobbs reiterates
that
nothing could survive in the radiation outside, but despite his
claims the
knocking continues, slowly moving around the cabin until
it reaches
the main door.
Soon the
austere woman descends into hysterics, convinced whatever
is causing
the noise is coming for her. As the other passengers turn
to her,
she backs away towards the cabin door. Suddenly there is a
crash and
the passengers are thrown across the capsule. Showers of
sparks
explode all around them and then the lights go out.
Eventually
the ship settles and the Doctor asks if everyone is
alright,
unaware that on one of the screens behind him there is a
mute video
of a girl calling out to him it is
Rose.
The screen
fades whilst the passengers begin lighting torches, which
are stored
behind each of the seats. Jethro looks around and finds
the
austere woman is still at the front of the cabin sat on the
floor,
turned away from them, clutching her head. The seats around
her have
been torn up from the floor. The Doctor tries to comfort
her but
she makes no sound. Meanwhile the Hostess tries to contact
Claude and
Joe, but when she opens the cabin door a piercing light
greets
her. The passengers scream as the Hostess closes the portal.
The Doctor
examines some of the circuits and discovers that the
cabin has
been sliced off of the rest of the capsule
Claude and
Joe have
been reduced to dust.
He turns
to the others and promises that help is on its way, then
resumes
talking to the woman at the front of the cabin, whom the
Hostess
names as Sky Silvestry. As the Doctor talks to her Jethro
realises
the knocking on the wall has stopped
and wonders whether
whatever
was causing the noise may have gotten inside.
A few
seconds later Sky turns around her eyes
wide and face almost
expressionless. She looks around and the Doctor talks to her, trying
to
reassure her that everything will be all right. However, he
realises
something is wrong when she begins repeating his every
word. He
asks her to stop but she continues and
as each of the
other
passengers begins talking she mimics them as well. The Doctor
begins
testing her and recites the square root of pie. Sky responds
by
reciting it as well, much to everyone else s astonishment. Again
the cabin
descends into worried chatter, with Sky still copying
everyone s
words.
Suddenly
the lights come on and the Hostess assures the others that
help will
arrive soon. The Professor claims that Sky must be in a
state of
self-induced hysteria and should be left alone. However,
both the
Doctor and Jethro discover it is something far more
disturbing. As the passengers talk Sky no longer repeats their words
back to
them now she is talking along with
them, mimicking their
words as
they speak them.
The Doctor
confronts Sky, who is still crouched at the front of the
capsule,
and continues to test her newfound ability
but it proves
to be
infallible. He ponders what might happen next
first she
repeated
them, now she talks in synch with them, what next? Both
Jethro and
the Doctor have realised the woman before them is no
longer Sky
Silvestry.
The Doctor
motions everyone except Sky to the back of the capsule,
and
assures them that they will be safe. Val claims she is still
unnerved
by Sky, who now sits at the front staring over at them.
Jethro
recalls the knocking on the wall and notes that the banging
followed
her along the capsule as she backed away, and stopped when
it found
her. Again the Professor claims that nothing could live
outside,
but the Doctor is sceptical, fearing that some
consciousness may have taken over Sky. He claims they must try to
save her
but for now it is best to stay away from her
if the
second
step of the transformation is synchronising with people, the
next stage
may well be becoming them.
Out of the
blue, the Hostess suggests they throw Sky out of the
capsule a suggestion that
horrifies the Doctor. He claims they
will not
throw her out but Dee Dee begins to theorise the
possibility of such an act
claiming that when the cabin door
opened
earlier nobody was sucked out into the planet outside because
of a wall
of pressure that collapses after six seconds
long enough
to throw
someone outside without sacrificing themselves.
The Doctor
turns on the group and tells them that the creature
inside sky
could be a new life form, and they are not showing it the
welcoming
side of humanity. He claims that their actions now will
define
them as people, and asks if any of them could really be
willing to
kill someone. After a moment or two of hesitation the
Hostess,
Biff, Val and Dee Dee all claim that they would, and will,
throw her
outside to make sure that they remain safe. Again the
Doctor
refuses to let them commit murder but they insist they will
go past
him in order to throw Sky outside.
Soon they
begin turning on him, even the Professor and Jethro begin
admitting
doubts as to the Doctor s credentials and intentions,
noting his
glee at discovering the monster inside Sky. He admits he
is
fascinated by the new life form he has encountered but insists he
means
well. However the others now begin wondering what it was he
said to
Sky when he sat with her at the start of the trip, and what
he did to
the wiring when he opened up the control panel. In an
outburst
the Doctor claims he knows what he is doing because he is
clever, a
claim that enrages the group even more
now they suggest
that he
too should be thrown outside along with Sky.
Again the
Time Lord tries to reassure his fellow travellers but they
continue
to turn on him, this time demanding to know his name. He
claims he
is called John Smith, but they all disbelieve the
pseudonym.
After more wrangling the passengers are surprised to
discover
that Sky, who is still at the front of the capsule, has
ceased
from talking alongside them. The Doctor speaks with her again
and it
becomes clear that now it is only he she is mimicking, which
fuels the
other passengers belief that he is
working alongside Sky.
The Doctor
asks Sky why she has latched onto his voice and what she
needs it
for, but he gets no reply. He realises that the creature
within Sky
needs him for something and he tries to reason with her
telling
her that whatever she needs, be it a voice or a body, she
does not
have to steal it. As he tries to make a deal with her to
keep
everyone, including himself, safe, it becomes apparent he may
be too
late now Sky is speaking first, and he
is repeating.
The
passengers note that the creature must have passed into the
Doctor and
let Sky go, and indeed she now seems to be returning to
independent thought, with the Doctor repeating her words. However,
Dee Dee
claims this is not what has happened, but her words go
unheeded.
Sky asks
the Professor to get her away from the Doctor and he
obliges.
She gets to her feet and walks away with the other
passengers, leaving the crouched Doctor alone. As she talks about
being free
again he repeats her words. However, unlike Sky when she
was in a
similar state, his voice retains some form of emotion, as
if
struggling to overcome the force mounting inside. His eyes are
wide with
fear rather than menace, and his body shivers.
Once more
Dee Dee passes doubt on the idea of Sky being released
from the
grasp of the creature but the others all agree that she is
now safe
and the Doctor is contaminated. Sky tells them that the
creature
inside the Doctor s head was waiting in the dark and the
cold for a
chance to take freedom. It is the creature that killed
Joe and
Claude, and now it wants to destroy the rest of the
passengers.
Dee Dee
claims the creature is not inside the Doctor and despite the
protests
of the other passengers, the Hostess insists that she be
allowed to
speak. She explains that, just as the Doctor said, the
creature
would go from repeating to synchronising to something else,
and it is
this next stage it currently resides at. Instead of
passing
from one body to another is has latched onto the Doctor and
stolen his
voice it is draining him.
Again she
is ignored and Sky continues to turn the others on the
Doctor,
claiming that he is trying to get inside their heads.
Blinded by
fear and lies Val, Biff and the Professor begin claiming
that they
saw the creature move between Sky and the Doctor, when in
fact it
was not visible. Even Jethro begins to fall for these
misguided
claims and watches as Biff moves to throw the Doctor out
of the
capsule, at Sky s command.
Dee Dee
and the Hostess protest as the Professor joins in. Jethro
finds
himself torn between believing Sky and believing Dee Dee. As
Biff
shouts at him he begins helping to move the Doctor, who is
doing his
best to grab hold of the seats and save himself, all the
while
blindly repeating the words of Sky, who calmly eggs the others
on.
However,
when Sky says allons-y and
molto bene , the Hostess
realises
from her conversation with the Doctor shortly before the
capsule
departed that Sky is using his voice and his words Dee Dee
was right.
As the Doctor is dragged to the rear door she grabs Sky
and takes
her to the door that once led to the cabin. She opens it
and after
six seconds the pressure field gives way, sucking them
both out
into the radiation-washed landscape outside.
As the
door closes automatically the Doctor drops to the floor and
breathes
deeply he has been released. The other
passengers recoil
in horror
at what has happened and as the Doctor struggles to regain
his
balance and composure Val is left alone with her indignant claim
that she
knew Sky was to blame all along
Twenty
minutes later, the rescue vehicle is about to arrive.
Everyone
sits silently until the Doctor asks sullenly what the
Hostess name was. Nobody can
answer. Nobody knew.
Eventually
they return and the Doctor is greeted by Donna, who has
heard of
what has happened. She asks if the creature is still
outside
the leisure palace, but the Time Lord has no answer, all he
can do is
warn the owners of the complex that they should leave and
let the
planet be silent again. Donna claims warmly that she cannot
imagine
the Doctor without a voice and he smiles.
Molto
bene , he says.
Molto
bene , Donna replies, but the Doctor cannot smile at the
friendly
gesture. He tells her not to repeat him, evidently still
unnerved
by the creature lurking on the surface of Midnight.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor has been to a leisure complex before in The
Leisure Hive.
Rose is seen on one of the shuttle screens. A similar
occurrence was in The Poison Sky, where she appeared on the
TARDIS monitor screen, again calling out to the Doctor. She
was also glimpsed briefly in Partners In Crime. On all three
occasions the Doctor has been oblivious to her presence.
Dee Dee talks about the Lost Moon of Poosh this is not the
only planet to go missing in recent episodes. Lost planets
are also mentioned in Partners In Crime and The Fires of
Pompeii.
The Doctor uses his frequently adopted pseudonym of John
Smith .
Rose and Martha are both mentioned by the Doctor in his
attempts to test Sky s abilities. He also names the Medusa
Cascade, which has been name-checked several times, firstly
in
Last of the Time Lord and periodically since.
[Back to Main
Page]
Turn Left
Turn Left
Executive
Producers
Russell T. Davies
Julie Gardner
Phil Collinson
Producer
Susie
Liggat
Script
Editor
Brian
Minchin Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott),
Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Joseph Long (Rocco Calasanto),
Noma
Dumzwemi (Capt. Magambo), Chipo Chung (Fortune Teller),
Marcia Lecky (Mooky Kahari), Suzann McLean (Veena Brady),
Natalie Walters (Alice Coltrane), Neil Clench (Man in Pub),
Clive Standen (Private Harris), Bhasker Pater (Jival Chowdry),
Catherine York (Female Reporter), Ben Righton (Oliver
Morgenstern), Loraine Velez (Spanish Maid), Jason Mohammad
(Studio News Reader), Sanchia McCormack (Housing Officer),
Lawrence Stevenson (Solider #1), Terri-Ann Brumby (Woman in
Doorway), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Paul Richard Biggin
(Soldier #2).
What
would Donna Noble's life have been like if she hadn't met
the
Doctor? The former temp might regret having her fortune
told
on the planet Shan Shen As her world
collapses, Donna
finds help from a mysterious blonde woman - a traveller from a
parallel universe. But are she and Rose too late to save the
universe from the approaching darkness?
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Turn Left June
21st, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h35pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by director Graeme Harper, Tracie Simpson
and Nick Murray is available on the official Doctor Who
website.
On the
planet of Shan Shen, the Doctor and Donna make their way
through a
marketplace, examining with gusto the items for sale.
After a
while Donna encounters a fortuneteller, who tempts her
inside her
chamber and sits her down. Donna explains about her life
with the
Doctor, and recalls how she first met him. The
fortuneteller asks if there were any choices that led to this
meeting,
and Donna recalls she did have a choice
she could either
work at H
C Clements (in doing so she would go on to meet the
Doctor) or
a small photocopying firm.
As the
reading progresses Donna recalls vividly the day she chose
which job
she would take. Sitting in her car with her mother she
arrived at
a junction turning left led her to HC
Clements, turning
right led
her to the photocopying firm. Despite her mother s
insistence
to the contrary she turned left, but now all that is
about to
change. The fortuneteller speaks to Donna, who has become
somewhat
drowsy, and tells her to change that decision. As something
scuttling
along the floor of the chamber makes it s way towards the
overpowered time traveller and begins crawling onto her back, the
vision of
what happened that day repeats itself, only now Donna
turns
right.
Turn Left
(drn:49'23")
It is
Christmas Eve, and Donna and her friends are celebrating in a
pub. As
Donna explains that she has just been promoted in her job
she sees
that her friend Alice keeps looking at her back, seemingly
disturbed
by what she sees. The young woman claims there is
something
perched there but she can t quite see it
Before
they can talk any more about it a man enters the pub and
tells
everyone to go outside, a Christmas star has appeared in the
sky. They
do so and sure enough see the giant silver star hanging in
the sky
above London. However, when Donna looks at the apparition
she notes
that it is not a star it is a web.
Suddenly the alien
object
begins shooting giant bolts of electricity down onto the
city,
causing chaos. The crowd outside the pub disperses, but Donna
remains,
with Alice still standing behind her looking worriedly at
her back.
She claims that there is something there then runs away
with the
others.
Concerned
about what is going on, Donna hurries away to get a better
look. As a
giant tank pulls into one of the busy streets and blasts
the star
to oblivion, an army barricade is set up, blocking Donna s
way. She
looks on as a stretcher is brought forward, carrying the
remains of
a body found underneath the Thames. One of the soldiers,
speaking
on his radio, claims the man was fighting a giant red
spider but
could not save himself when the chamber he was in beneath
the river
flooded.
As the
stretcher is carried away the body s arm drops down the side
of the
trolley, revealing that the man was holding a strange
metallic
device when he died. As he is carried away into the
Ambulance
the soldier confirms what has happened
the Doctor is
dead,
unable to regenerate.
As Donna
turns away she meets a blonde woman running toward the
scene of
the accident. She asks frantically what has happened and
Donna
explains that a man called the Doctor has been killed. The
stranger
is distraught by this, claiming she has travelled a great
distance
to find him, and now he is dead.
She asks
Donna her name, but does not reciprocate when posed the
same
question. Instead she seems intrigued by Donna s back, just as
Alice was.
When Donna asks why she is staring at her she claims she
is doing
nothing of the sort. Donna turns around to try and see for
herself
what it might be she was staring at and when she turns back,
the woman
is gone.
Some
months later Donna finds herself at work, under threat of being
fired. She
protests but her employer and her workmates are not
concerned,
instead they are fascinated when the building is shaken
and a
large explosion is heard. They hurry to the window then turn
on the
television and discover from the news that the nearby Royal
Hope
Hospital has disappeared. Donna does not seemed so concerned by
this;
instead she begins looting the office for stationary to take
when she
leaves.
When she
returns home the news reports about the hospital are still
on the
television it has been returned. Wilf
watches the screen
avidly;
convinced the disappearance is something to do with aliens.
As the
report continues it is announced that medical student Oliver
Morgenstern was the only survivor. He claims that the hospital was
invaded by
creatures that looked like rhinos, and then explains that
the
building was slowly being devoid of air. Everyone suffocated
apart from
him because fellow student Martha Jones gave him the last
remaining
oxygen tank, she died as a result.
Whilst
Donna and Wilf watch the television Sylvia examines the items
Donna took
from the office, including a raffle ticket. Donna
confesses
she thought her mother would be furious about her daughter
being
sacked but Sylvia confesses that following the recent turmoil
concerning
her husband, she is tired and has given
up on Donna.
The news
reports continue and Oliver Morgenstern
reveals that when
the
hospital was abducted a woman named Sarah Jane Smith was present
to look
after everyone, apparently having been investigating the
matter
with her young son Luke and his friends Clive and Maria all
of whom
were killed before the hospital returned.
That night
Donna goes outside and walks along the street alone.
Suddenly
there is a flash of light coming from down a side alley and
the woman
from the scene of the accident at Christmas appears,
claiming
not to know what has happened. Again when the two speak the
stranger
appears more concerned by Donna s back than the actual
conversation, much to Donna s annoyance. She claims that it is not
the first
time this has happened, several people claim they see
something
but when she looks she sees nothing.
The woman
then cryptically asks Donna what she is doing next
Christmas,
and tells her to get away from London for a while. She
tells
Donna to use the raffle ticket she took from the office, which
causes
Donna to become very suspicious, having only taken the ticket
that day.
Again Donna asks the stranger her name but again gets no
reply. She
tells her to leave her alone and then walks away, unaware
that she
disappears in a flash of light once she is gone.
That
Christmas, Donna wins first prize on the raffle a luxury
holiday
over the festive period. Staying in a country hotel with
Sylvia and
Wilf the trio enjoy the break. On Christmas morning,
however,
they are shocked to discover more harrowing news reports
a giant
ship modelled like the Titanic is plummeting from the sky
towards
London. As Sylvia calls for everyone to watch the report
Donna is
alarmed when a maid bringing in their breakfast points at
her back,
shocked by what she sees. She tries to see what might be
there in
the mirror, and almost catches a glimpse of some strange
black
creature, before hurrying to watch the television.
Seconds
later there is a massive explosion in London, the shockwave
bursting
out right across the country. The television goes dead and
the family
runs outside, only to see a giant mushroom cloud rising
above them
in the skyline miles away. Wilf ponders that had Donna
not won
the raffle they would have been in London when the ship hit,
and would
have been killed along with everyone else.
In the
aftermath of the explosion, the entire of Southern England is
swamped
with radiation and France has closed its borders. Donna and
her family
find themselves shipped to Leeds, where they are placed
in an
emergency housing scheme. Finding themselves sharing a tiny
house with
several other families; including an Italian clan headed
by the
cheerful Mr Colasanto. Whilst living in the cramped
conditions
they hear news of trouble in America, where sixty million
people
have been killed all dissolving into
tiny creatures made
out of
fat, which are then collected by a series of giant space
ships.
Time
passes and Sylvia grows more and more depressed, despite
Donna s
optimism that she can find a job and get the family a new
house. One
night, when the entire household are bonding over a
singsong,
gunfire is heard outside. Donna, Mr Colasanto, Sylvia and
Wilf hurry
onto the street where every vehicle is spouting clouds of
gas from
its exhaust pipe. The soldiers patrolling the area open
fire on
the vehicles but to no avail. Suddenly one of the soldiers
sees Donna
and aims a gun at her, terrified that there is something
on her
back. When she turns around to reveal there is nothing there
she is
allowed to go.
However,
instead of going inside Donna hurries to the bottom of the
street where she has seen a
large flash of light. She does not
seem
surprised when she turns the corner and finds the blonde woman
standing
alone. They walk together and arrive on a park bench, where
the
stranger explains that all over the world people are being
chocked by
the poisonous gas, which is emitted by ATMOS devices
fitted to
vehicles all over the world. However, she claims a band of
fighters
are working to save everyone, and no sooner has she spoken
a large
blanket of flame rips across the sky, burning away the
noxious
fumes. She explains that Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones of
Torchwood
died to save the world, and their comrade Captain Jack
will soon
be taken away to the Sontaran Homeworld
there is nobody
left.
She then
claims that none of the recent catastrophic events were
meant to
occur the man who died underneath the
Thames was meant to
prevent
them. She tells Donna that she was meant to be with him on
Christmas
Eve to help him to safety so that he would live to save
the world
again, she was meant to travel with him to distant worlds,
just like
she herself used to do
Donna
tells her she has no idea what she is talking about but the
woman
insists that she was meant to be there, claiming that now a
greater
threat is coming. She tells Donna that the universe needs
the Doctor
because now everything is in danger
hence her arrival
from a
different dimension. She claims that something is coming
across the
stars and it cannot be stopped. When Donna asks what it
is the
woman replies simply: the darkness .
Frustrated
by the stranger s need to involve her in this, Donna asks
why she is
so special, claiming she has done nothing of worth that
would mark
her out. The stranger claims that Donna is the most
important
woman in the whole of creation but she does not believe
her. Tired
and upset she returns home, but her would-be companion is
not
finished yet. She claims that soon, in three weeks time, Donna
will
choose to go with her and help save the universe, and on that
day, she
will die
As time
passes Donna finds herself saying goodbye to Mr Colasanto
and his
family the emergency government has
decreed that England
is for the
English all foreigners must be rounded
up. However,
with the
oceans closed they cannot be deported, instead they will be
sent to
special labour camps. Donna claims they have nothing to work
for as
there are no jobs, but Mr Colasanto cheerfully tells her they
will
complete such work as sawing and digging
it will good.
However,
both he and Wilf realise that the reality will be very much
different history is repeating
itself in the most terrible ways.
During all
of this Sylvia is slipping further into depression sat
alone
inside the house. Donna tells her about her failed attempts to
get work,
having found nowhere that thinks she is qualified to work.
She
recalls how her mother told her to work harder at school and how
she failed
to do so, and claims that she must have always been a
disappointment. All Sylvia can do is agree, the bravado and comfort
she might
have once held is gone.
That night
Donna and Wilf sit in the open air glancing up at the
stars.
Again Donna recalls her failings she
had hoped to provide
for her
grandfather in his old age, but never found the money to do
so. Again
she seems to find no comfort, left to assume she really is
useless.
Wilf, however, is not distracted by depression; he is
concerned
that his telescope might not be working
all he can see
is black.
As Donna
looks on both she and Wilf realise that the stars are going
out eternal darkness is spreading across the
sky. Recalling what
the blonde
woman told her three weeks ago Donna realises it is time
for her to
act. She turns around to find the stranger waiting for
her.
I m ready
.
Travelling
in a UNIT jeep the two women arrive at a secret base
where
soldiers are hurriedly working on some sort of experiment.
Captain
Magambo, who appears to be working with the woman Donna has
been
stalked by, greets them. She reveals that even UNIT do not know
the woman
s name, she guards it closely so as not to upset the
balance of
the universe.
The blonde
stranger takes Donna to a tall blue police box standing
nearby,
wired up to various pieces of machinery. They step inside to
a space
much bigger than the exterior shell. The stranger explains
that it is
a ship, called the TARDIS, which once belonged to the
Doctor.
Once alive with light and energy the ship is dying, the
central
console now dull and the once-golden walls now blackened.
However,
some energy remains and it is being used by the UNIT
soldiers
for their experiments. Donna asks why the Doctor, a
brilliant
man, would travel with her, and her companion claims that
really she
is a brilliant person, it wasn t until she was with the
Doctor
that she realised that. She, herself was exactly the same
Looking
once more at Donna s back she asks if she would like to see
whatever
it is that is stuck there. Initially Donna refuses but on
second
thoughts, agrees to it. She is taken to a circle of mirrors
placed
nearby, which has been linked up to the TARDIS. Upon
activation
a series of lights illuminate the circle and the creature
is exposed
in the mirrors it is a large black
beetle.
Initially
Donna is terrified by the creature but calms down. Her
aide
explains that the beetle feeds off of time, specifically
changes in
time. It takes hold of someone s life and changes certain
parts of
it to create an alternate reality. In Donna s case it made
her take a
path in life that caused her never to meet the Doctor and
as such
the whole universe has changed.
Suddenly
Donna descends into tearful ferocity
claiming that when
the
stranger called her special it was a lie
only the beetle is
special
because it is responsible for what has happened. However,
the blonde
woman claims that after measuring certain readings
concerning
the beetle it was found that all of reality was bending
and
changing around Donna; they need her just as much as they need
the
Doctor together the two can fight the
approaching darkness.
At Donna s
request the circle is turned off so the creature is no
longer
visible, but Donna knows that the beetle is still there. She
asks that
it be removed and immediately the soldiers leap into
action.
Wiring up Donna s jacket the stranger explains that they are
going to
send her back to the day where her life was changed the
day she
turned right in her car instead of left. Her mission is to
make sure
her past self turns left instead of right so that history
will not
be changed.
Stepping
inside the circle Donna appears to take solace in the fact
that she
will have to die, along with the rest of this reality, in
order to
restore the one in which the Doctor lives, one in which she
is still
alive. However, the stranger does not reply to this, and
Donna
begins to panic, fearing that even if she changes things she
may still
die. Before she can do anything else the circle activates
and she
disappears, sparks flying everywhere as the power of the
TARDIS is
tapped into.
Donna
arrives on a street in London, but realises it is the wrong
place the junction where her car is about to turn
is half a mile
away. She
runs as fast as she can, weary that she only has a few
minutes in
which to make the change.
As the
past versions of Donna and her mother get into their car and
begin
their journey, present day Donna continues to run, but begins
to realise
that she will not make it in time. However, she can still
stop
herself turning right. Remembering that she is supposed to die
she
solemnly waits for her moment then strikes. Jumping out into the
road she
is hit by a lorry, causing a traffic jam that tails back to
the
junction where Donna and Sylvia are about to emerge, blocking
the
turning right.
As present
day Donna lies dying in the middle of the road, the
blonde
woman she has encountered so many times before appears once
again. She
kneels beside her and asks her to pass a message on to
the Doctor
when the timelines are restored. She whispers the message
in her ear
and then Donna dies, just as her past self turns left,
and
reality is restored
Back in
the fortune-teller s lair on Shan Shen, Donna awakens from
her
ordeal. The beetle that has attached itself to her back drops to
the floor
dead, and the fortune teller retreats, terrified by
Donna s
strength. She questions what kind of person Donna must be to
repel the
creature, and fears for what she may become in the future
Soon the
Doctor arrives. Reunited at last Donna explains what has
happened
to her relating the entire story of her
altered
existence,
which is now slipping away from her. The Doctor inspects
the beetle
and explains that it is one of the Trickster s Brigade,
capable of
changing a life. Usually the universe alters around the
change but
in Donna s case an entire parallel world was created. He
notes that
this is not the first time something
similar happened
in the
Library.
Thinking
further into the matter the Doctor considers the
astonishing coincidences that have led to them being together he
met Donna
once, then her grandfather, and then he managed to bump
into Donna
once more as if something were binding
them together.
Donna
retorts, claiming there is nothing special about her, but the
Doctor
claims that she is brilliant.
Suddenly
Donna remembers the blonde stranger from her alternate
reality,
how she said something similar and how she told her to pass
on a
message to the Doctor. As he listens to what Donna has to say,
hearing
her talk of the approaching darkness, the Time Lord suddenly
realises
who the stranger may have been. He asks Donna what the
message
was and she replies:
Bad Wolf
.
It is
Rose.
Panic-stricken, the Doctor hurries outside, where those two words
are now
spread across everything every banner,
ever poster, even
the
writing on the TARDIS is now replaced with the words Bad Wolf
bleeding
across from Rose s dimension into his.
He and
Donna hurry inside the TARDIS, only to find it bathed in a
blood red
warning light. The Cloister Bell sounds and Donna asks
what is
going on. Realising that the walls between dimensions are
starting
to shatter, the Doctor tells her:
It s the
end of the universe .
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
Many key events in the Tenth Doctor s life are revisited and
retold in this story, mainly the invasion of the Rachnoss
and Donna s first encounter with the Doctor (The Runaway
Bride), the abduction of the Royal Hope Hospital by the
rhino-like Judoon (Smith and Jones), the descent of the
alien copy of the Titanic (Voyage of the Damned), the birth
of
the Adipose (Partners In Crime) and the malfunction of
the ATMOS devices (The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky).
Rose s last encounter with the Doctor was in Doomsday, but
she has been glimpsed in the episodes Partners In Crime, The
Poison Sky and Midnight, as well as being mentioned by the
Doctor several times since her departure.
Donna s dad is mentioned in this episode, it is implied that
he
has passed away. In real life Howard Attfield, who played
Donna s father in The Runaway Bride, passed away shortly
after beginning filming for Partners In Crime, Bernard
Cribbins was brought in as a replacement character, playing
Wilfred Mott. Wilf s first appearance in Voyage of the
Damned is mentioned here, although at the time the character
was not envisioned as being Donna s grandfather.
In
the alternate reality many of the Doctor s companions and
allies are killed. Martha Jones (last seen in The Doctor s
Daughter) and Sarah Jane Smith (last seen by the Doctor in
School Reunion but also seen alongside her adopted son Luke
and his friends Clive Langer and Maria Jackson in her own
spin off series The Sarah Jane Adventures) were killed in
the Royal Hope Hospital. On the other hand Captain Jack
(last seen by the Doctor in Last of the Time Lords but also
seen with Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper in Torchwood who
both are said to perish in this episode), who is taken away
by
the Sontarans, presumably because he is now immortal.
The words Bad Wolf were a recurring theme in the first
series, and were finally explained in Bad Wolf / The Parting
of
the Ways, and has been mentioned several times since.
The tool the Doctor s dead body is clutching when it is
wheeled by on a stretcher is of course his trusty Sonic
Screwdriver, first seen in Fury From The Deep.
The Guinevere satellites are mentioned
first seen in The
Christmas Invasion.
Whilst billeted in Leeds Sylvia mentions that the bees are
disappearing, this was mentioned by Donna in Partners In
Crime and several times since.
The creature on Donna s back was alluded to by Lucius in The
Fires of Pompeii, as is the return of Rose.
The Cloister Bell is heard at the end of the episode, it was
last heard chiming in Time Crash.
The Doctor claims the beetle on the Donna s back is part of
the Trickster s Brigade , the
Trickster was a key character
in
the Sarah Jane Adventures story Whatever Happened To
Sarah Jane?, which also dealt with the theme of time being
changed. The idea of a creature being stuck on someone s
back, and also the fact it is not always plainly visible, is
similar to the Metebelis arachnids in Planet of Spiders.
A
circle of mirrors was seen in Kinda, it was used to expose
the Mara.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Stolen Earth / Journey's End
The Stolen Earth
/ Journey's End
Executive
Producers
Russell T.
Davies
Julie
Gardner
Producer
Phill
Collinson
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Catherine Tate (Donna Noble),
Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones), John
Barrowman (Jack Harkness), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane
Smith), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith) [2], Camille Coduri (Jackie
Tyler) [2], Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones) [1], Gareth
David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones), Eve Myles (Gwen Cooper), Tommy
Knight (Luke Smith), Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott),
Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Adjoa Andoh (Francine Jones),
Julian Bleach (Davros), Michael Brandon (General Sanchez) [1],
Andrea Harris (Suzanne) [1], Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells) [1],
Richard Dawkins (Himself) [1], Paul O'Grady (Himself) [1],
Marcus Cunningham (Drunk Man) [1], Jason Mohammad (BBC
Newsreader) [1], Paul Kasey (Judoon) [1], Kelly Hunter (Shadow
Architect) [1], Amy Beth Hayes (Albino Servant) [1], Gary
Milner (Scared Man) [1], Nicholas Briggs (Dalek Voices),
Alexander Armstrong (Mr. Smith) [1], Valda Aviks (German
Woman) [2], Shobu Kapoor (Scared Wooman) [2], Elizabeth Tan
(Anna Zhou) [2], Michael Price (Liberian Man) [2]; Barney
Edwards, Nick Pegg, David Hankinson, ANthony Spargo (Dalek
Operators) [2]; John Lesson (Voice of K-9) [2].
As
Earth's greatest heroes battle the implacable threat, a
fearsome old enemy waits in the shadows
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Stolen Earth
June 28th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h30pm
Journey's End July 5th, 2008 6h45pm
- 7h50pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Nicholas Briggs, Barnaby Edawrds and
Nicj Pegg is available on the official Doctor Who website
for The Stolen Planet.
A
commentary track by Executive Producer Julie Gardner and
Producer Phil Collinson is available on the official Doctor
Who website for Journey's End.
Fearing
the worst, the Doctor and Donna take the TARDIS back to
Earth, and
arrive in London to discover that despite their concerns
everything
seems to be fine. The Time Lord explains that if Rose is
able to
travel between dimensions then the walls of reality are
beginning
to crumble everything is in danger but
he is not sure
how. As he
and Donna hurry back inside the ship they are unaware
that a
tremor is mounting outside. The turbulence increases as the
roof tiles
of houses begin to shake and fall
something is
happening
Inside the
TARDIS Donna speaks with the Doctor, claiming that
whatever
threat may be approaching, at least he is about to see Rose
again, and
for that he should be glad. He agrees but his merriment
is
short-lived; seconds later the ship rocks violently. The Doctor
hurries to
the doors but upon opening them finds only space the
Earth has
gone
Far Across
The Universe
New York
At UNIT
HQ, Martha Jones has been thrown to the floor by a sudden
jolt of
turbulence. She gets to her feet and checks that her
colleagues
are all unharmed, assuming the problem to be an
earthquake. One of her friends, Suzanne, tells her to look at the
sky,
alarmed by what she sees out of the window.
Cardiff
In the
Torchwood hub, Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto
Jones are
also recovering from the shock. Worried about the Rift
above the
city, Jack hurries outside whilst his colleagues check
their
computers the quake has impacted far
beyond South Wales.
Ealing,
London
Inside 13
Bannerman Road, Sarah Jane Smith and her adopted son Luke
are
equally disturbed by the shockwaves, having been thrown to the
floor of
their attic. After Luke identifies the blast as a
cross-dimensional special transference, Sarah glances out of the
window and
notices that everything has gone dark, despite it being
early
morning. She calls on her alien computer, Mr Smith, who he
tells her
to go outside and look up at the sky.
Chiswick,
London
Wilfred
Mott and Sylvia Noble step outside of their house and onto
the road.
Wilf is convinced that aliens are at work once more, and
his fears
are confirmed when he and his daughter look skywards,
amazed by
what they see.
On another
street, not far away, a piercing screech is heard and in
a flash of
light Rose Tyler appears, brandishing a large gun. She
proclaims
that the trouble has only just begun and then looks to the
heavens,
where a collection of new planets has appeared. The Earth
has
moved
The Stolen
Earth
(drn:45'38")
Inside the
TARDIS, Donna worries about what may have happened;
assuming
her planet and her family have been destroyed. After
finding no
trace of the Earth on the TARDIS scanner, the Doctor
realises
he is going to need help, and tells Donna that he is taking
her to the
Shadow Proclamation.
Back on
Earth the Torchwood team try to determine what has happened
to the
Earth. They detect that whoever has moved the planet has
rigged a
protective shield around it, keeping the air and heat from
escaping they want the human
race alive. Ianto notes that
twenty-seven new planets have been found in close proximity, as well
as a large
mass at the centre of the web.
In Ealing,
Mr Smith tells Sarah that the unidentified mass is
artificial
in construction it is a spacestation.
As Luke phones
his
friends, Maria Jackson and Clive Langer and checks that they are
all right,
Mr Smith reveals that movement has been detected close to
the
planet a fleet of ships.
In New
York General Sanchez of UNIT claims that the fleet numbers
two
hundred vessels, all of which are headed Earthward. The planet
is now on
red alert, UNIT are to take battle stations. Martha,
meanwhile
has been trying to call the Doctor but has not been
successful, the signal is being blocked.
As the
ships enter orbit, the streets of London descend into chaos,
with mobs
looting every shop and vandalising everything in sight.
Rose walks
alone, unnerved by what she sees around her, stopping
only to
disperse some thieves in a local electronics shop. When they
are gone
she sets up a laptop, monitoring the approaching fleet.
Sylvia and
Wilf return inside their home to discover alarming news
reports
concerning the oncoming armada. Wilf has unsuccessfully
tried to
contact Donna, now fearing for her safety.
In Cardiff
the Torchwood team begin to worry about what creatures
might be
contained in the ships when Jack receives a phone call from
Martha,
who is still trying to get hold of the Doctor. She reveals
she has
been promoted to medical officer for the top secret Project
Indigo,
which Jack already seems to have heard of.
Mr Smith
alerts Sarah to an incoming signal from the approaching
fleet,
which she tells him to play. The message it reveals is heard
all over
the world, at UNIT HQ in New York, in the Torchwood Hub and
in Sarah s
attic. As they hear the battle cry of the approaching
invaders
Sarah, Martha and Jack all realise they are doomed. The
Daleks are
about to descend upon the Earth
As Rose
wanders the streets again, witnessing the devastation of the
Dalek
Saucers at first hand, the Daleks themselves coordinate the
invasion
from the safety of their main base, known as the Crucible.
Meanwhile,
in New York, Martha watches as the Daleks descend on the
city,
their ships swarming around at an alarming rate. General
Sanchez
tries to retain control but soon the Daleks begin to attack
the
building.
Whilst the
Supreme Dalek enters the bridge of the Crucible and
rallies
the thousands of Daleks hovering before him, the Doctor and
Donna,
unaware of the carnage being brought upon the Earth, head
toward the
Shadow Proclamation, a sort of Intergalactic Police
housed
upon a giant complex of asteroids. When they land they are
confronted
by a squadron of Judoon, whom the Doctor speaks with in
their
native tongue.
Eventually
he and his friend are taken to one of the main
Proclamation officials, an austere woman with blood red eyes. She
warns them
that Earth is not the only planet to have been stolen
from the
sky; twenty-three others have also gone missing at exactly
the same
time. Donna, recalling her adventure in Pompeii, asks if
Pyrovillia
is one of the missing worlds, but the Judoon claim it is
a Cold
Case, the planet disappeared over two thousand years ago.
Undeterred
by this, Donna reasons that the sudden disappearance of
the other
twenty-four worlds may still be connected, as might the
disappearace of the Adipose Breeding Planet.
The Doctor
realises that Donna is correct, and explains that the
planets
must have been taken out of time as well as space. Taking
control of
a 3-D simulation of the lost worlds, he adds in those
mentioned
by Donna, as well as the Lost Moon of Poosh, and when they
are
supplemented into the group of lost worlds the configuration in
which they
are set out is automatically altered to sustain
equilibrium the twenty-seven
lost planets taken have been
specially
selected for something, possibly as part of the
construction of an engine. He thinks about the lost Earth and
recalls
how someone tried to steal it before
Back on
Earth the Valiant is overrun by Daleks to the point of
surrender.
As the Daleks land across the world Jack tries to contact
Martha and
warn her to get to a place of safety. However, she is
instead
ordered to accompany General Sanchez in order to activate
Project
Indigo. They arrive in an unpopulated area of the building
and grab
the experiment which resembles a large
backpack. Despite
Jack s
warnings Martha mounts the device on her back. Before she
activates
it General Sanchez hands her a large circuit board the
Osterhagen
Key, and tells her to use it when she has the chance.
Martha
initially declines it but reluctantly agrees to take it.
General
Sanchez then disembarks to fend off the Daleks that are
entering
the building; as he is shot down Martha activates Project
Indigo,
disappearing in a flash of light. Back in the Torchwood Hub,
Martha s
former colleagues ask what Project Indigo is. Jack explains
to his
friends that it is a teleport system salvaged from Sontaran
technology, but has not been fitted with coordinates of
stabilisation so is therefore highly dangerous. With no way of
knowing
what has happened, he can only assume Martha has been
reduced to
atoms.
On the
Dalek Crucible, the Supreme Dalek orders that the humans be
brought
onboard. He then receives communication from a disembodied
voice
elsewhere in the base a voice pitched
somewhere between that
of a
Daleks and an ordinary humanoid being. The voice, which is
apparently
housed in a Dalek casing with a robotic hand, asks if any
news has
reached them of the Doctor, but none has. He then warns
that the
Daleks must not assume their invasion will go unchallenged.
He
explains that Dalek Caan has been uneasy. Indeed the former
member of
the Cult of Skaro, who s casing is now broken and who s
mind is
clearly unstable, warns that soon the Doctor will come
At the
Shadow Proclamation the Doctor continues to mull over the
problem of
the missing planets whilst Donna sits alone, still
worried
about her family. Inside her head she suddenly hears a
pulsating
heartbeat, which is interrupted by another member of the
Proclamation, who provides her with water. She looks at Donna and
cryptically tells her there was once something on her back, and then
claims
that she is not like other human beings. Donna dismisses
this,
claiming she is only a work temp. The alien woman then
apologises
for Donna s loss, but not for the loss of her planet, she
talks of
the loss still to come.
After the
woman hurries away the Doctor asks Donna if there was
anything
occurring on Earth that might have foreshadowed recent
events.
She recalls that the bees were disappearing, and the Doctor
realises
this is the key to solving the mystery. He explains that
some bees
are in fact aliens, who were migrating home before the
disaster
struck. The signal these bees emit is tiny but will lead
them back
to Earth. He traces this and discovers it is the same
wavelength
being used by whatever took the Earth.
He and
Donna hurry into the TARDIS and, using the scanner, find the
remains of
a trail that will lead them to Earth. The Time Lord
hurries
outside to tell the Judoon and their austere commander, who
claims the
Doctor must lead them in the battle across the universe
to recover
the lost planets. Appalled by this idea he goes back
inside the
ship on a false pretence and dematerialises before he can
be
followed.
By now the
Daleks are on the streets of London, rounding up everyone
from their
houses and exterminating those who show resistance.
Meanwhile,
Wilf has armed himself with a paintball gun and has taken
to the
streets with Sylvia, hoping to use the paint to blind the
Daleks and
render them useless. When they turn to go home again a
Dalek
confronts them and Wilf tests his idea. However, the creature
simply
melts the paint away to restore its vision and turns on the
two
humans. Just as it is about to fire it explodes, having been
blasted by
Rose. She approaches Sylvia and Wilf, confirming them as
being
Donna s family. She tells them she needs them, and the three
return
inside the house, where she claims that they need to find
Donna in
order to locate the Doctor who is their
only hope of
stopping
the Daleks.
In the
TARDIS the Doctor and Donna find themselves at the end of the
trail,
having stopped at the Medusa Cascade, a sealed rift in time
and space
the Doctor visited a long time ago. Donna asks what they
do now but
her friend has no answer for once he
does not know.
Donna begs
him to do something but she realises even the Doctor
cannot
help this time.
On Earth,
the United Nations surrender to the Daleks. In the
Torchwood
Hub Gwen, Ianto and Jack are left to listen to the
incoming
reports, which identify that the human race is being
processed the Daleks are
choosing selected individuals for
testing.
Just as all appears to be lost a voice begins calling out
amidst the
different transmissions. It is heard on Rose s laptop, on
the
Torchwood computers and also by Mr Smith. It is Harriet Jones.
She
establishes links with Torchwood and Sarah Jane but Rose, who
has no web
cam, is unable to communicate. Harriet boosts her signal
to try and
establish a third connection and eventually she succeeds
Martha
is also listening. She explains that Project Indigo tapped
into her
thoughts, and when she teleported she ended up exactly
where she
wanted to be at home. Now she sits with
her mother
Francine
at their laptop.
Harriet
introduces everyone, much to the protest of Rose, who wants
to be
involved as well but is unable to reach the others. The former
Prime
Minister explains that she has contacted them via the Subwave
Network, a
sentient piece of software built to track down all those
who can
help contact the Doctor without being traced by other
aliens,
such as the Daleks. Harriet developed the software after it
was
created by the Mr Copper Foundation.
Jack
claims that the group needs a weapon to fight back, and asks
Martha
about the Osterhagen Key and what it does. Harriet interrupts
and
forbids Martha from using it, for she knows the damage it will
cause.
Sarah then interjects and asks Harriet why she is so keen to
help the
Doctor, when it was he who deposed her. She claims that
what she
did to the Sycorax Invasion was the right thing, but
insists
the Doctor is still required. Just as she warned him when
they last
met, a time has come when the Earth needs him but he
cannot be
reached.
Now able
to join forces, Jack realises that the Torchwood Hub will
be able to
use the power of the Cardiff Rift to transmit the
Doctor s
phone number into space. Luke then explains that with the
aid of Mr
Smith he and Sarah will be able to boost the signal by
connecting
every telephone network on Earth together. Ianto however
has
doubts, noting that when they start transmitting they will be
detectable. Harriet confirms his fears and explains that the signal
will be
traced back to her, but this does not matter now.
Soon the
combined forces of Torchwood, Harriet and Mr Smith are at
work,
beaming the signal out into space. After a few moments it
reaches
the TARDIS and the Doctor, formally solemn, now leaps to
life.
However, the Daleks have also detected the transmission and
dispatch a
squadron to seek the source of it and destroy whoever is
responsible. Elsewhere in the Crucible the disembodied voice warns
the
Supreme Dalek that Dalek Caan s predictions are coming true. The
Children
of Time are moving against them, but everything is falling
into
place.
As the
Daleks arrive at Harriet s cottage, the Doctor locks onto the
signal and
suddenly the TARDIS begins moving. Columns of flame burst
from the
floor as the ship is forcibly moved through time.
Harriet
transfers control of the Subwave Network over to Torchwood
and asks
Jack to tell the Doctor that he chose his companions well.
She then
gets up and turns to see the Daleks entering. She tells
them that
their lack of understanding about humanity will ultimately
defeat
them, and then they exterminate her.
As the
signal continues to transmit, the lost planets start
appearing
all around the TARDIS. The Doctor explains that the Medusa
Cascade
has been placed one second out of synch with the rest of the
universe,
creating a hiding place for the stolen worlds. He then
turns to
the console and establishes a link with the others using
the
Subwave Network rejoiced to see
everyone again, but somewhat
disappointed not to find Rose, who is equally saddened at not being
able to
make contact.
On the
Crucible, Dalek Caan childishly giggles, claiming that the
Doctor has
arrived. The disembodied voice speaking with the Supreme
Dalek then
demands to be given access to the Subwave Network, and he
overrides
it. As the Doctor fights to regain the connection he is
shocked to
discover the voice belongs to someone he thought long
dead Davros.
The other
companions, including a very shocked Sarah, watch as
Davros
welcomes his old enemy, who assumed that he was destroyed in
the first
year of the Time War he had tried to
save him. Davros
explains
that it was Dalek Caan who managed to intervene, having
emerged
there after temporal shifting away from 1930s New York.
Despite
the War being Time Locked Caan managed to arrive there, at
the cost
of his mind. He saved Davros and the two went into hiding,
where
Davros began cannibalising his own body in order to breed a
new race
of pure Daleks. The Doctor claims that after all the time
they have
spent together and after all they have both lost, he has
only one
thing to say:
BYE!
He severs
the connection with Davros and immediately the Daleks leap
into
action the Supreme Dalek orders that
the TARDIS be found and
brought to
the Crucible. Whilst Davros claims that the Doctor will
soon
travel to the Earth in search of his companions, Dalek Caan has
another
premonition that the most faithful
companion of all is
destined
to die
Soon a
Dalek Saucer is headed towards Cardiff to destroy Torchwood
and the
Subwave Network. However, instead of staying to fight, Jack
contacts
Martha. He uses the codes held in the Project Indigo device
to
reactive his personal teleporter wrist-strap and, after arming
himself,
bids farewell to his two friends. He promises he will
return
once he has found the Doctor and then leaves, just as the
Daleks
begin to break in.
In Ealing,
Mr Smith locates where the TARDIS is about to land and
Sarah
hurries to find it. She bids Luke farewell and tells him she
loves him,
before hurrying to her car and driving away. In Chiswick,
Rose is
also making her farewells. She contacts her
Control and
asks them
to teleport her to the TARDIS. She says goodbye to Wilf
and
Sylvia, who wish her good luck as she disappears.
Meanwhile,
the Doctor and Donna land on a deserted street somewhere
in London.
The Doctor asks his companion what Rose said when she met
her and
she recalls a warning the darkness is
coming. He presses
her for
more information but Donna claims he can ask her himself.
She nods
over his shoulder and he turns to find Rose standing
waiting
for him at the end of the road. The two former companions
run toward
each other, but their reunion is interrupted when a lone
Dalek
appears from the shadows. The Doctor is hit in his side by a
deadly
Dalek ray and comes crashing to the ground, much to Rose s
terror.
Before the Dalek can strike again Captain Jack appears and
destroys
it with his gun. He and Donna then run to Rose, who is
leaning
over the dying Doctor. Together the three companions pick
him up and
carry him to the TARDIS.
Back in
Cardiff, Gwen and Ianto arm themselves with machine guns.
Hoping to
go down fighting like their former colleagues Owen and
Tosh, they
await the Dalek onslaught.
Inside the
TARDIS Rose leans over the Doctor s body. Donna begs to
know how
they can save him and Jack claims both he and Rose know
what is
about to occur. Devastated by this knowledge Rose looks on
as the
Doctor examines his own hand it has
started to glow
On the
streets outside, Sarah races along in her car. After a few
moments
she screeches round a corner and is confronted by two
Daleks,
who prepare to exterminate her Likewise, in the Torchwood
Hub, a
Dalek manages to force its way inside. Determined to stop it,
Gwen and
Ianto open fire.
As Jack
grabs Rose and Donna and holds them tight, the wounded
Doctor
staggers to his feet. Rose explains to Donna that when a Time
Lord is
wounded his body changes. Sure enough, a few seconds later
the Doctor
s body explodes with light. Ferocious yellow and orange
flames
engulf his head and hands, as he starts to regenerate
Journey's
End
(drn:63'12")
Although
the regeneration may have started, this time it will not be
so
straightforward. Seemingly unchanged by the process, the Doctor
stretches
his arms out towards the jar containing his severed hand
and
siphons the regenerative energy into it. As his companions look
on,
somewhat bemused, he leaps back into action.
Outside,
Sarah cowers in fear of the two Daleks about to exterminate
her, but
is saved moments later when Jackie Tyler and Mickey Smith
appear,
both brandishing weapons similar to the one carried by Rose.
They
destroy the two Daleks and Sarah clambers out of her car, as
Jackie
demands to know where Rose is.
In the
Torchwood Hub, a Dalek advances through the entrance portal
as Gwen
and Ianto open fire. Although their bullets have no effect,
they are
stunned when the Dalek stops moving. Lowering their weapons
they step
forward and discover the bullets are suspended in midair,
as if some
force field is shielding them and freezing everything
outside.
Back in
the TARDIS, the Doctor examines his severed hand, which is
now
glowing with golden light. He explains to his three friends that
he used
some of the regenerative energy to heal the damage done by
the Dalek
but halted the process before he could be completely
changed therefore he is the same
Doctor. When he is through
explaining
Rose steps forward and the two embrace. Donna suggests
she and
Jack do the same, but he is not so sure.
In the
Hub, Ianto uses the computer to discover that the force field
is a Time
Lock, implemented by Tosh before she was killed. Torchwood
is now
suspended in a bubble, nothing can get in but they cannot get
out
without unlocking the Dalek sitting nearby. Jack is their only
hope.
In London,
the Daleks manage to locate the TARDIS and the Supreme
Dalek
orders for it to be brought to the Crucible. Inside the ship
all of the
lights go out and the Doctor realises they are trapped.
As Sarah,
Jackie and Mickey arrive outside to watch the proceedings
they see
the TARDIS disappear. Sarah realises they too must go to
the Dalek
Space Station, and with the trans-dimensional teleports
used by
Jackie and Mickey out of power for the next thirty minutes,
she offers
herself to the Daleks in order to be taken away. After a
few
moments Jackie and Mickey disarm themselves and follow suit.
Elsewhere
in London, Martha prepares to activate Project Indigo
again,
claiming it is time she used the Osterhagen Key as instructed
by General
Sanchez. Despite her mother s objections she teleports
away, and
arrives in Germany, sixty miles from Nuremberg. Getting to
her feet
she looks around the area is swarmed
with Daleks.
As the
TARDIS is dragged toward the Crucible
the massive structure
at the
centre of the web of stolen planets the
Doctor turns to
Rose,
recalling that her parallel universe is running ahead of his
own. He
asks what happened in her world and she explains that the
sky above
the Earth was being claimed by darkness
the stars were
going out
one by one. She then tells him that her version of
Torchwood
managed to build a Dimension Cannon, which allowed her to
cross
dimensions in search of the Doctor. She discovered that the
walls of
reality were beginning to crumble even
the Void between
dimensions
has been decimated, something has been tampering with
reality.
Recalling
her previous encounter with Rose, Donna asks why she
seemed so
adamant that she was special in some way, and Rose tells
her that
when her Torchwood used the Dimension Cannon to measure
different
timelines, they all seemed to converge on her, which Donna
finds
unlikely, as she sees nothing special about herself.
Eventually
the ship arrives and the Supreme Dalek orders the Doctor
to step
outside. Rose and Jack protest but the Doctor claims they
cannot
fight back when they faced the Daleks
before the creatures
were
half-breeds, now they are up against a full-blooded Dalek
Empire,
even the TARDIS will not withstand attack. As the three
companions
continue to talk about the situation, Donna stands alone,
a strange
rhythmic heartbeat sounding inside her head.
Preparing
to face the terror outside, the Doctor turns to each of
his three
companions in succession and tells them they were
brilliant,
and together they step outside, all bar Donna, who seems
overcome
by the beating in her head. Suddenly the TARDIS doors close
and she is
stuck inside. The Doctor tells the Supreme Dalek to let
Donna go
but it claims not to know what is happening. Labelling the
TARDIS as
a weapon it orders for it to be destroyed, and the vessel
is dropped
through a trap door into the depths of the Crucible, with
Donna
still inside.
The
Supreme Dalek explains that the TARDIS is going to be plunged
into the
core of the Dalek Ship, which will burn it to dust. Sure
enough the
ship is flung into the burning heart of the Dalek Base
and Donna
is left helpless as the roundels on the walls begin to
shatter
and flames start to billow from the heart of the ship. The
Doctor,
Jack and Rose are made to watch as the Time Lord ship starts
to
crumble. Inside, Donna is flung to the floor, and once again she
hears a
heartbeat, which appears to be coming from the Doctor s
severed
hand. She reaches out to it and as golden light swirls
around
her, the glass case breaks. Recovering from the ordeal, Donna
watches as
the hand starts to grow. The golden light spreads across
the floor
and in a matter of seconds the body of the Doctor is lying
on the
floor, naked.
On the
bridge of the Crucible, the three travellers watch as the
TARDIS
disappears amidst the burning core, and the Doctor is left
defenceless. Outraged, Jack takes out a pistol and fires at the
Supreme
Dalek. The bullets have no marked effect and he is shot
down.
Unbeknownst to the Daleks and Rose, however, Jack is not dead.
As the two
remaining prisoners are led away to see Davros, the
Doctor
catches the very-much-alive Jack winking at him.
Despite it
s ordeal in the heart of the Crucible, the TARDIS has not
been
destroyed. With the New Doctor now dressed in a blue suit (as
opposed to
the brown one worn by his counterpart), and the damage to
the ship
repaired, he tells Donna not to make a sound or else the
Daleks
will be able to detect them. Donna, however, is more
concerned
about the cloned Doctor she saw grow from the hand in the
jar. He
explains that he was born from the regenerative energy
unused by
the Original Doctor, sparked into existence with the help
of Donna.
He is the first of a new species a Time
Lord-Human
metacrisis. As he talks he begins to notice a significant change in
his
biology he has only one heart.
Donna
recalls the heartbeat she heard and the Doctor explains it is
his own,
echoing back in time and converging on Donna. Again Donna
questions
why she is at the centre of things and once again the
Doctor
tells her it is because she is special, a claim she still
refutes.
Apparently understanding the workings of Donna s mind since
the
metacrisis, the Doctor begins to realise that Donna really does
believe
she is useless.
Suddenly
things begin to clear in his head and he become conscious
that there
is more than sheer coincidence in the two of them being
together.
First she was brought to the TARDIS, then he met Wilf,
then she
found him again and not only that, the
day they found
each other
again it just so happened her car was parked metres away
from where
the TARDIS was due to land. Even now it seems the ties
that bind
them are not yet fully woven they are
heading towards
the end of
something
Back on
Earth, Martha makes her way through the woodland to a
castle,
where an elderly housekeeper greets her. She takes her
inside and
Martha prepares to set about her work. She enters one of
the many
rooms and approaches a bookcase. Upon uncovering a hidden
computer
panel she opens up the door to a lift, which will lead her
to what
she needs. However, the housekeeper has heard of the
Osterhagen
Key and what it will do when activated. She pulls a gun
on Martha
and threatens to shoot, but eventually Martha convinces
her that
she must be allowed to do as she was instructed and use the
key. The
housekeeper lowers her pistol and Martha steps inside the
lift.
Onboard
the Crucible, Jack is thrown into the incinerator, but
manages to
escape and runs off further into the ship. In Germany,
Martha
emerges in a small control chamber and sends out a message to
any other
members of UNIT who will be able to help activate the key.
Soon
Sarah, Mickey and Jackie are all escorted onto the Crucible,
along with
a crowd of other prisoners. Down below in the Vault, Rose
and the
Doctor are held in two apparently invisible security cells.
The Time
Lord demands to know what is going on and questions why
Davros has
been left in the lower levels of the ship. He realises
that his
old enemy is still not in complete control of his Daleks;
he is
being kept as a pet.
Davros
rises above the Doctor s jibes and introduces his two
prisoners
to the remains of Dalek Caan, whom he says foresaw the two
companions
being together at this moment. Having flown unprotected
into the
Time War, Caan saw all of time itself and knows what is to
happen
soon the end of everything is
approaching, and one of the
Doctor s
Children of Time will die. The Time Lord grows angry;
demanding
to know whom it was that locked Donna in the TARDIS.
Davros
takes delight in the mounting emotion, and again he turns to
one of
Caan s prophecies which declare that
soon the Doctor s true
soul will
be exposed. Davros claims that he and the Doctor will
witness
one final journey together, and tells him he has arrived in
time to
witness the testing of his new experiment
the Reality
Bomb.
The crowd
of prisoners are brought to a halt in a large chamber
onboard
the Crucible. When one of the group collapses and the Daleks
are
distracted, Sarah and Mickey take the chance to escape. They run
and seal
themselves away in another chamber and look on as Jackie,
who has
stopped to help the fallen woman, looks up to the ceiling
far above,
where a massive armament has been constructed. As the
Supreme
Dalek counts down to the testing of the device, alias
Davros bomb, the Doctor begins to
realise what the stolen planets
are for.
The formation of the planets creates a massive amount of
energy,
which the Reality Bomb concentrates it into a singularity
giving it
enough power to destroy matter entirely. Onboard the
TARDIS the
Duplicate Doctor and Donna inspect scans of the Crucible
and
discover the same thing.
Back in
the prisoner s chamber, Jackie and the others look on as the
device
above their heads begins to glow. Mickey then realises that
the
teleporters he and Jackie are carrying have now recharged. He
motions
for his friend to activate the device and she beams away to
safety,
standing with Sarah and Mickey as the Reality Bomb is fired
upon the
other prisoners, reducing them to clouds of atoms.
Down in
the Vault, Davros explains that the Reality Bomb cancels out
the
electrical bond between every atom, causing them to disperse.
With the
power of the twenty-seven stolen planets at his dispersal,
his
invention will be able to transmit a wave big enough to destroy
any living
thing in any universe or dimension as
Rose has already
witnessed,
the stars are about to go out.
As the
Daleks prepare to unleash their cataclysm, the Supreme Dalek
recalls
all other Daleks to the Crucible to seek shelter. Leaving
the planet
behind, the people of Earth begin to think their worries
are over,
but as Wilf predicts correctly as he and Sylvia walk the
deserted
streets of London, the ordeal is not finished yet.
Still
hidden from the Daleks, Mickey, Jackie and Sarah are shocked
to
discover Jack crawling around in the service shafts. After he and
Mickey
greet each other, Sarah declares that she has something to
fight the
Daleks with. She produces from her jacket a necklace, on
which is
hung a shining gem, which Jack identifies as a warp star.
It was
given to Sarah by a Verran Soothsayer, for use at the end of
days .
Jack explains that a warp star is essentially a giant
explosion
waiting to happen.
Back on
Earth, Martha makes contact with two other UNIT officers,
who
together prepare to activate the Osterhagen key. However, Martha
is not
prepared to destroy the Daleks yet without first taking a
leaf out
of the Doctor s book.
Inside the
TARDIS, the Duplicate Doctor and Donna begin constructing
a weapon
to fight the Dalek forces with. Knowing that Davros
genetic
code runs throughout the entire race of Daleks, the Doctor
intends to
lock the Crucible s transmission onto the evil genius,
thereby
wiping out the Daleks in a massive backfire.
On the
bridge of the Crucible, the Daleks receive an incoming
transmission it is Martha. The
link is sent down to the Vault and
the Doctor
makes contact. At last Martha explains what the
Osterhagen
Key is a chain of warheads placed
beneath the Earth s
crust the final option if the human race s
suffering becomes too
great to
reverse. Realising the Daleks need all twenty-seven planets
for
something, Martha threatens to deprive them of one of them,
thereby
thwarting their plan and saving the people of Earth from an
even worse
fate.
Moments
later a second transmission is received, this time from
inside the
Crucible itself. It is Sarah, Jack, Jackie and Mickey,
who are
threatening to use the warp star in order to destroy the
Crucible.
As Davros marvels at seeing Sarah again, so long after
their
first encounter on Skaro, Rose turns to the Doctor to find him
looking
far from happy. Dalek Caan claims the Time Lord s soul is at
last
revealed, and Davros begins to goad his old enemy by claiming
that
despite his entire crusade for what is right and good, the man
who abhors
violence manages to take ordinary people and turn them
into
weapons and murderers. After revealing the fate of Harriet
Jones,
Davros questions how many people have died in the Doctor s
name; and
the Time Lord cannot deny that the number is vast indeed.
At last
Davros succeeds in exposing the Doctor for who he truly is
the man
who runs and does not look back for fear of shame.
The
Supreme Dalek then orders for the Doctor s companions to be
brought to
the Vault, and sure enough, before they can act on their
threats,
Martha, Sarah, Jack, Jackie and Mickey are all brought
before
Davros. He orders them to kneel and forces them to watch, as
the
Reality Bomb is primed for universal detonation. The Doctor
pleads
with him to stop but it is too late, maddened by his
approaching victory, Davros begins giggling and laughing manically.
Just as
all seems lost, Donna and the New-born Doctor appear in the
TARDIS.
The half Time-Lord, half Human runs forward with his weapon,
but Davros
is one step ahead. Firing a bolt of electricity from his
robotic
hand, he throws the Doctor to the floor and places him in a
holding
cell. Donna runs forward and grabs the fallen gun but she
too is
blasted back, falling against a nearby control panel. The gun
is
destroyed and Davros blasts such resistance as pathetic.
The final
countdown begins and the Doctors and their companions look
on. As
Donna gets to her feet, somewhat dazed by her fall, the
Reality
Bomb prepares to fire, but it is stopped when suddenly the
system
shuts down. All eyes turn to Donna, who has used the control
panel to
shut down the device, much to the bemusement of the
Doctors.
Not finished yet, she then proceeds to disarm Davros
robotic
hand, cancel out the Dalek s weaponry and close down the
holding
cells trapping the Doctors and Rose. Astonished by her
newfound
intelligence, the Original Doctor asks how this has
happened
and Donna explains that the metacrisis that created the new
Doctor was
two-way. As well as placing some human attributes in the
new
doctor, it placed some Time Lord attributes in her. With the
intellect
of a Time Lord and the instinct of a Human, she is capable
of more
remarkable feats than even the two Doctor s can achieve.
Working
together the three of them begin disabling the Daleks all
over the
Crucible, whilst the other companions set about clearing
the Vault.
With the
Crucible disarmed, the Daleks malfunctioning and Davros
held at
gunpoint by Mickey, the Doctors and Donna begin sending all
of the
stolen planets home using a device called the Magnetron. Rose
asks what
has happened to Donna and she explains about the
metacrisis, and how the new Time Lord genes inside her were only
activated
following the shock of electricity administered by Davros.
Now, with
effectively three Doctors at work, they can undo all of
the Daleks
have done and restore normality. The timelines that
converged
on Donna were waiting for this moment in time, when she
would
become the person who had the power to save the whole of
reality.
Turning on
Dalek Caan, Davros asks why he did not foresee this
happening.
However, Caan has not lied. He foresaw the end of
everything, but it was not the end of reality, it was the end of
everything
Dalek. Seeing all of time, he understood the pain and
suffering
his race brought and he determined to stop them, buy
ensuring
the timeline that brought the Doctor and Donna to the
Crucible
was not altered, he could ensure she was in a position to
stop
Davros it was therefore Caan who closed
the TARDIS doors in
order to
make sure Donna was present to initialise the metacrisis.
Descending
into the Vault, the Dalek Supreme opens fire and zaps the
control
panel, but is stopped from causing any further harm by Jack,
who blasts
it with his gun. The Doctors discover that the Magnetron
has been
wrecked and only one planet is left the
Earth now they
will have
to use the TARDIS to take it home. Whilst the Original
Doctor
readies the ship, his counterpart continues work in the
Vault,
listening as Dalek Caan tells him to destroy the Crucible and
end the
reign of the Daleks completely. This he does, and uses what
is left of
the control panel to overload the Dalek s power feeds,
causing
them all to blow up, including the one in the Torchwood Hub,
which in
being destroyed manages to break the Time Lock.
Angered by
his counterpart s actions, the Original Doctor ushers
everyone
back into the TARDIS as the Crucible begins to overload.
Showers of
sparks begin to fall and flames engulf large parts of the
Vault.
Seeing Davros and Dalek Caan sat alone across the chamber,
the Doctor
offers his nemesis safety, but he will not take it. As
the
station crumbles around him, Davros names the Doctor as the
destroyer
of worlds. He gargles in pain as the flames lick higher,
and Dalek
Caan is left to assert his last unfulfilled prophecy one
of the
companions will still die.
As the
TARDIS takes off, the Original Doctor contacts Torchwood and
tells them
to open up their Rift Manipulator device and allow all
the energy
to be picked up by the TARDIS. He then contacts Luke and
Mr Smith
and asks them to seal the link between the TARDIS and the
Torchwood
Hub. However, Mr Smith requires the TARDIS base-code
numerals
in order to do this, and registering that will take a long
time.
However, Sarah has a trick up her sleeve. Speaking into the
scanner
she calls for K-9, who appears in the attic and links up to
Mr Smith,
feeding him the data he needs.
Soon the
connection is ready and the TARDIS is all set to tow the
Earth
home. However, this time the Doctor is not going to be
piloting
the ship alone. Positioning Rose, Martha, Jack, Mickey and
Sarah at
each of the console panels (he asks Jackie not to touch
anything),
and with he, his clone and Donna ready to assist when
required,
he explains that the ship is actually meant to be piloted
by six
people, but he has to make do on his own
hence his somewhat
chaotic
piloting style.
With
everyone in place the ship is set in motion, slowly but surely
pulling
the Earth along through space. On the planet itself, Gwen,
Ianto and
Luke all whoop with joy, whilst the Doctor s Children of
Time work
together at the ship s controls to take the Earth back
home united at last. Eventually the Earth is
returned safely, and
celebration floods across the planet. Wilf and Sylvia dance for joy
as light
is returned and Francine Jones walks out into the open air
to look
again upon the familiar sky.
Landing
the TARDIS in a park in London, the Doctor (in his original
form)
begins to say goodbye to his companions. Before rushing off
home to
see Luke again, Sarah chides her old friend for acting like
such a
lonely man, when in fact he has a far bigger family than many
people on
Earth. As she departs, Jack and Martha step outside; ready
to return
to their lives on Earth. After disabling Jack s teleport
and
telling Martha to get rid of the Osterhagen Key system, he bids
them
farewell.
Next
Mickey steps outside, having decided he no longer wishes to
live in a
parallel world, where there is nothing for him now that
Rose is no
longer his girlfriend and his grandmother has passed
away. He
thanks the Doctor for everything then walks off, joining
Martha and
Jack as they leave the park.
Finally,
he decides to send Rose and Jackie home too, to the
parallel
world where they have now made lives for themselves. He
pilots the
ship to Norway, on the beach where he and Rose last said
goodbye.
Donna explains that soon the walls between realities will
be closed
for good, and Rose suddenly becomes desperate to stay with
the
Doctor. However, he insists that she now has a job to do look
after his
clone. Born in battle and responsible for genocide, the
Duplicate
Doctor needs to be kept safe and stopped from doing wrong
again.
Just as Rose managed to save the real Doctor when they first
met, she
must do the same for his copy. However, with only one heart
and no
possibility of regeneration, this new Doctor will grow old
and die
with Rose at last she can be with him
forever.
Despite
this, Rose is not convinced that the new Doctor is the man
she fell
in love with, and to test that she asks him to recall the
words he
meant to say to her the last time they met, he began by
saying Rose Tyler but was cut off from speaking. The Original
Doctor
claims the words he meant do not need to be said, but the
Duplicate
Doctor whispers them in Rose s ear. They kiss passionately
and the
Original Doctor and Donna leave, returning to their own
reality.
Inside the
TARDIS, Donna theorises where she and the Doctor might go
next.
However, the Doctor knows that something is wrong. He looks on
as Donna
begins to get tongue-tied trying to recall people and
places.
Eventually it becomes too much for her and she leans
forward,
evidently in pain. The Doctor stands before her and asks if
she knows
what is happening. She claims she does. They both know
that a
Human-Time Lord metacrisis cannot exist because it is
impossible
to sustain. Knowing she may be moments from death, Donna
laments
that she wished to spend the rest of her life with the
Doctor.
Travelling together throughout the cosmos, they could have
seen and
done so much more, but now all of that is doomed never to
happen.
However,
the Doctor will not let Donna die, he has another plan.
Donna
begins to realise this and begs him not to send her back home.
Despite
her pleas, he hugs her tightly and tells her they had the
best of
times together. He apologises to her then clasps his hands
to her
head. With a horrifying gasp Donna s body goes limp, and the
Doctor is
left holding her in his arms.
One stormy
night on Earth the Doctor returns her home, where Wilf is
waiting.
They lay her to rest on her bed and then return downstairs
to Sylvia.
The Doctor at last explains what has happened
absorbing
the Doctor
s mind was too much for Donna to cope with and it was
beginning
to kill her. To save her life he wiped her mind completely
of all
traces of the adventures they spent together
she is now
returned
to the woman she was before she met the Doctor
the Donna
Noble he
knew, the woman he helped her become, is dead.
He warns
Wilf and Sylvia that they must never remind her of the time
she spent
with him, because the second she remembers she will die.
Wilf
protests, claiming (despite Sylvia s remarks to the contrary)
that Donna
was better with the Doctor, and the Time Lord replies by
telling
them that there are worlds in the universe that exist in
peace and
happiness because of Donna, and for one moment she was the
most
important woman in the universe. Sylvia claims that she still
is as she
is her daughter, and the Doctor snaps by telling her to
say that
to Donna once in a while, if for nothing more than to make
her feel
valued.
Suddenly
Donna enters, oblivious to what has gone on, assuming, as
the Doctor
predicted, that she has missed the ball and does not
recall the
extraordinary events that have just occurred. She says a
half-hearted hello to the Doctor then goes to kitchen to phone her
friends
and chat banally. Sylvia then asks the Doctor to leave, and
after one
more goodbye to the woman he lived through so much with,
he
departs.
On the
doorstep, Wilf watches the Doctor return to the TARDIS, but
before he
goes he promises to look up to the sky each night and
think of
him on Donna s behalf, grateful for the wonderful things he
showed
her. As the Time Lord goes on his way, Wilf stands to
attention
and salutes him, and then returns indoors. Inside the
TARDIS,
the Doctor tends to the console. With all of his friends
somewhere
else with other people to care for, he walks quietly
around the
ship, alone once more
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
These episodes see a crossover between Doctor Who, The Sarah
Jane Adventures and Torchwood. It begins where the previous
episode, Turn Left (in which Rose met Donna for the first
time), ended.
From Torchwood, we encounter Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and
Ianto Jones, all last seen in Exit Wounds. Captain Jack last
made an appearance in Last of the Time Lords. Former
Torchwood colleagues Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper, who left
the series in Exit Wounds, are mentioned here. Martha has
also worked with Torchwood, in the episodes Reset, Dead Man
Walking and A Day In The Death.
From The Sarah Jane Adventures we are introduced to Luke
Smith, the adopted son on Sarah Jane, and Mr Smith, Sarah s
alien computer, who were last seen with her in The Lost Boy.
Sarah and Luke s friends Maria Jackson and Clive Langer are
referenced, but not seen. Sarah last met the Doctor in
School Reunion , as did K-9, who also appears here and who
was also last seen in The Lost Boy.
Francine Jones was last seen in Last of the Time Lords, and
her daughter Martha recently encountered the Doctor and
Donna in The Sontaran Stratagem / The Poison Sky (along with
UNIT, and whose titular aliens are responsible for Project
Indigo) and The Doctor s Daughter.
Jackie and Mickey last met the Doctor in Doomsday, when he
was parted from Rose and they were stranded in a parallel
universe. Rose appeared fleetingly in Partners In Crime, The
Poison Sky and Midnight, returning properly in Turn Left.
Harriet Jones was last seen in The Christmas Invasion, when
the Doctor deposed her. Here she demonstrates that she has
been working on the Subwave Network, which was devised by Mr
Copper, whom the Doctor left on Earth following their
adventure together in Voyage of the Damned.
Wilfred and Sylvia last saw the Doctor in The Poison Sky,
but featured largely in Turn Left. Wilf tells Rose that he
last spoke to Donna when she was on the diamond planet
Midnight.
The Shadow Proclamation was first mentioned in Rose, and
referenced several times since, notably in The Christmas
Invasion and Partners In Crime. The Judoon were last seen in
Smith & Jones, and featured in the Quick Reads novel Revenge
of
the Judoon.
The themes of lost planets and the mysterious disappearance
of
Earth s bees has been mentioned several times throughout
the recent run of episodes, namely in Partners In Crime, The
Fires of Pompeii, Planet of the Ood and Midnight. Events in
this episode were alluded to in Turn Left. The Medusa
Cascade has also been mentioned several times, the first
time being Last of the Time Lords.
Davros last met the Doctor on television in Remembrance of
the Daleks, although has appeared in several
chronologically-consequent spin-off media since, including
Terror Firma and War of the Daleks. The evil creator of the
Daleks has been mentioned twice since then, but not by name,
firstly in Dalek and then again in Evolution of the Daleks.
The Daleks were last encountered by the Doctor in The Daleks
In
Manhattan / Evolution of the Daleks.
Sarah, Jack and Martha all recognise the Dalek battle cry
when it is transmitted to Earth. Sarah last met the
creatures in Genesis of the Daleks (when she also
encountered Davros), Jack in The Parting of the Ways and
Martha in Evolution of the Daleks. Jackie and Mickey also
met them in Doomsday, as did Rose.
The airship Valiant, last seen in The Poison Sky and first
introduced in The Sound of Drums, is seen here once again.
The Doctor s severed hand was last featured in The Doctor s
Daughter.
Rose has witnessed the Doctor regenerate before, in The
Parting of the Ways. Jack also knows of the process, having
commented upon it in Utopia.
The Doctor recalls that the Earth was almost stolen before
namely in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
The Doctor recalls how the Ood predicted the joining of he
and Donna in Planet of the Ood, when they christened the
pair DoctorDonna .
[Back to Main
Page]
The Next Doctor
The Next Doctor
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Susie
Liggat
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Andy Goddars
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), David Morrissey (Jackson Lake),
Velile Tshabalala (Rosita), Dervla Kirwan
(Miss Hartigan),
Nicholas Briggs
(Cybermen voices), Paul Kasey (Cyberleader),
Ruari Mears –(Cybershade), Edmund Kente (Mr Scoones), Michael
Bertenshaw (Mr Cole), Jason Morell (Vicar), Neil McDermott
(Jed), Ashley Horne (Lad), Tom Langford (Frederick), Jordan
Southwell (Urchin), Matthew Allick (Docker).
Christmas Eve, 1851, and Cybermen stalk the snow of Victorian
London. But when the Doctor meets another Doctor, the two must
combine forces to stop the rise of the CyberKing.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Next Doctor December 25th, 2008 6h00pm
- 7h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by Russell T. Davies and Julie Gardner is
available on the official Doctor Who website.
Arriving
in London on Christmas Eve, 1851, the Doctor merrily makes
his way
through a busy marketplace in the midst of a snowfall.
Suddenly
he hears a woman calling his name, and rushes to
investigate.
He finds
himself in an alleyway where the woman, named Rosita, is
panicking
as something threatens to break through a nearby door. He
introduces
himself but Rosita insists he is not the Doctor. Soon
another
man arrives, clothed in classic Edwardian dress. He tells
Rosita,
his companion, to pass him his Sonic Screwdriver and then to
return to
the TARDIS; this is the job of a Time Lord. As the door
gives way
the two men both stand ready with their Screwdrivers; the
two
Doctors…
The Next
Doctor
(drn:60'29")
The
creature in the doorway, a curious beast covered in black
feathers
but sporting a copper mask, leaps up onto the side of a
nearby
building. The man calling himself ‘the Doctor’ quickly grabs
a rope and
lassos the creature, but it begins climbing the wall,
dragging
him with it. Soon the Doctor follows and the two men ascend
whilst
Rosita watches from below.
The
Doctor, bemused his namesake does not recognise him, is left at
the mercy
of the beast – which he identifies as the result of a
primitive
conversion process – as it leaps through a top floor
window.
The two men follow and are soon being dragged along the
floor at
high speed. Soon the creature heads for another window but
before it
can pull the Doctors to their deaths, Rosita arrives and
cuts the
rope with an axe. Much relieved the two Doctors rejoice at
their
adventure, laughing off the danger.
They all
return downstairs. Rosita decides to dismantle the traps
she and
her Doctor previously set for the creature and reminds her
friend
that they have a funeral to attend very soon. The Doctor
still
marvels at having seemingly met a future incarnation of
himself,
but is surprised he knows nothing of his past. To avoid
confusion
he introduces himself as John Smith. Soon the Other Doctor
admits
that large sections of his memory are missing – ever since he
discovered
the Cybermen at work in Victorian London.
He recalls
the aliens, who fell to Earth, found him and subsequently
he knows
only that on that night something was taken from him, and
something
was lost. He then turns his attentions to the present and
hurries
away to attend the funeral, wishing his new friend Merry
Christmas
as he goes.
Somewhere
below London the Cybermen are massing. Receiving
transmission from a CyberShade (the creature that attacked the
Doctors
and Rosita) they identify the Doctor (the Other Doctor) as
their
enemy and warn that he may be a threat. The CyberLeader turns
to a human
woman standing nearby, and tells her that she must
prepare
herself for ‘the ascension’. Apparently on terms with the
Cybermen,
the woman agrees to do her best at ‘the intervention’, so
long as
the Cybermen keep their promise and herald her at the court
of the new
CyberKing. Turning to leave, she claims she has a funeral
to attend.
Sure
enough, a funeral carriage is being wheeled through the streets
of London.
Observing from a distance, the Other Doctor tells Rosita
that the
deceased is the late Reverend Fairchild. He then orders her
to return
to the TARDIS whilst he breaks into the Reverend’s empty
house to
conduct a search.
However,
upon arriving he finds the Doctor, or rather John Smith, is
already
there, asking to see his Sonic Screwdriver. He produces it,
and the
Doctor is surprised to find it is a normal screwdriver; it
is only
sonic because when the Other Doctor hits things with it, it
makes a
sound.
Hurrying
inside, the Other Doctor begins searching cupboards and
drawers
for something, all the while explaining that his latest
investigation began some weeks ago when a man named Jackson Lake was
murdered;
his body was never found. More suspicious murders and
child
abductions followed until the latest killing, that of the
Reverend;
the pillar of the community and advocate of children’s
charities,
occurred.
The Doctor
ponders why the deaths of Lake and Fairchild might be
connected.
However, the Other Doctor has ceased his explanations, he
is more
concerned by the fact he feels he can unquestioningly trust
Mr Smith,
for somehow he recognises his face. The Doctor answers by
taking the
fob watch the Other Doctor is wearing, claiming it is
known that
such devices can contain the memories of Time Lords.
Expecting
it to be a Chameleon Arch he opens it, only to discover it
is an
ordinary watch.
He then
begins helping the Other Doctor in his search for something
in the
house, namely a metal object not of Earth origin. Using his
own real
Sonic Screwdriver, he identifies the location and uncovers
a series
of cylindrical objects he knows to be Info-stamps, mobile
databases
of information. He activates one and it projects onto the
wall a
series of pictures and articles charting the history of
London
dating back to 1066. He ponders why the Cybermen would need
such basic
technology, and theorises that being in the wrong century
they must
have very little power, and therefore rely on these stamps
to
conserve energy.
He turns
to find the Other Doctor seated, apparently in some
discomfort. He explains that he has seen an Info-stamp before; he
was
holding one the night he lost his mind; the night he
regenerated. He recalls seeing Mr Smith on that night, and begs him
to help
find out what has really happened to him. The Doctor, Smith,
agrees and
claims they must return to the Other Doctor’s TARDIS.
However,
before going he checks the house once more, believing that
if the
Info-stamps are present then the Cybermen will follow.
Sure
enough he opens a door to find a Cyberman waiting for him. He
slams the
door shut and then hurries away with the Other Doctor.
However,
the way out is blocked by another Cyberman and they are
forced to
ascend the stairs, the Doctor fending off the Cybermen
with a
cutlass previously mounted on the wall. He tries to talk with
them,
claiming he is the only man who can help them escape from
1851, and
at last reveals that he is the true Doctor, and that they
should
leave the other man with him alone.
The
Cybermen do not listen and continue their charge but are stopped
when the
Other Doctor, recalling something from the night he last
met the
Cybermen, turns one of the Info-stamps on them. Blasting
them with
the power source within, he causes their heads to explode.
The Doctor
is excited but his new companion is still unnerved. He
allows the
Doctor, who tells him he was calling himself ‘the Doctor’
to fool
the Cybermen, to check his heartbeat with a stethoscope as
he
struggles to remember the night he changed. All he can recall is
that the
Cybermen took something precious from him, and now John
Smith is
trying to take all he has left – his identity. The Doctor,
finishing
his examination, promises that together they will uncover
the truth
about what happened that night.
Meanwhile,
in a graveyard blanketed by snow, a crowd of mourners
look on as
the Reverend Fairchild’s coffin is lowered into the
ground.
Soon the woman from the Cybermen’s lair arrives, now adorned
in a
scarlet red dress. She casually walks up to the graveside and
the
service grinds to a halt. The mourners, all charitable men of
the city,
are disgusted by her apparel but she makes light of the
situation.
One of the men recognises her as Miss Hartigan, Matron of
the St
Joseph Workhouse. She explains that the Reverend Fairchild
had to die
in order to bring all of the men together in one place.
Now they
are gathered she can introduce her new friends…
A squadron
of Cybermen march through the snow, advancing on the
funeral
party. Miss Hartigan, still calm, calls for Messer Cole,
Scoones,
Fetch and Milligan to remain still; the others are not
needed.
Soon the Cybermen and their slaves the CyberShades attack,
killing
every last man but the four named by Miss Hartigan, who ask
why they
are required. Hartigan tells them they are needed for their
children,
then casually remarks that in all the years these men have
visited
her hospital, they have never asked of her first name –
Mercy.
That night
the two Doctors return to Rosita, who welcomes them into
the
stables where she and the Other Doctor are staying on a
temporary
basis. The room is covered in packing cases, all belonging
to the
deceased Jackson Lake. As the Other Doctor laments his lack
of bravery
in facing the Cybermen, his counterpart uses his Sonic
Screwdriver to scan the luggage, and soon begins rummaging through
it.
Speaking
with Rosita, he listens as she recalls how she and the
Other
Doctor met – she was working on the streets when she was
attacked
by a Cyberman and the Doctor arrived to save her. She calls
upon her
new friend to help her Doctor, claiming he has nightmares.
The Other
Doctor chides her, claiming that after all the Time Lord
has seen
he must surely have bad dreams. The Doctor agrees.
Soon the
Time Lord finds what he is looking for – an Info-stamp
hidden in
the luggage. He claims that before he can deduce why it is
there, he
must see the Other Doctor’s TARDIS, which he soon
discovers
to be an ordinary air balloon (Tethered Arial Release
Developed
In Style). Soon the Other Doctor plans to depart, to be
free with
all of the time and space he needs – at last, as the
Doctor
notes, he will have the perfect escape. Now understanding how
it is the
man before him came to be ‘the Doctor’, he offers him the
answer to
what happened the night he lost his memories, and what he
is running
from.
Across
London Miss Hartigan stands with Messers Cole, Scoones, Fetch
and
Milligan. The four gentleman stand to attention, their heads now
fitted
with primitive earpod devices, controlling their brains.
After
testing the men’s new obedience, Miss Hartigan sends them to
do their
appointed tasks;
“Bring
them to me.”
In the
stables, with Rosita and the Other Doctor listening
carefully,
the Doctor recounts the story of the Cybermen, explaining
that they
were once fought and trapped in a wilderness known as ‘the
void’.
However, some time later a greater battle caused the void to
perish,
allowing the last Cybermen to gain passage to Victorian
London,
where they found the Other Doctor. However, he was not
alone.
Another man, Jackson Lake, also found the Cybermen and like
the Other
Doctor, he took hold of an Info-stamp, and then
disappeared.
The Doctor
asks to see the Other Doctor’s watch again, and reveals
it is
engraved ‘JL’. The watch belongs to Jackson Lake – alias the
Other
Doctor. The Info-stamp Jackson Lake picked up was a book about
the
Doctor. Discarding his pseudonym, the Doctor explains that the
Info-stamp
must have backfired and filled Jackson’s head with all of
the data
about him.
Jackson
brands himself a lie but the Doctor insists the bravery he
has shown
in saving Rosita, defending London and confronting the
Cybermen
is his own. Lake demands to know what else happened on the
night he
became the Doctor, for he realises there is something
missing.
The Doctor apologises for what he is about to make Jackson
remember
and comments upon the numerous cases he brought with him to
London –
far too many for just one man. He realises that Jackson’s
head could
only be filled with the data in the Info-stamp if the
mind it
replaced willingly surrendered. As the church bells chime
midnight,
Christmas Day, Jackson Lake remembers what he lost, what
forced his
mind to run away – his wife, a victim of the Cybermen.
As Jackson
grieves, the Doctor notices that the Info-stamp has
started to
bleep, as has the one he picked up in the Reverend
Fairchild’s house. He hears more bleeping and uncovers a cache of
Info-stamps hidden in a nearby case. The sound denotes activation –
the
Cybermen are moving.
He hurries
out into the streets and Jackson tells Rosita to follow –
for he
understands that the Doctor must always have a companion. She
leaves the
stables and joins the Doctor, in time to see a crowd of
children
being marched through the streets by Mr Cole, owner of one
of the
workhouses. Seeing Cole’s earpods, the Doctor moves to
disable
them with his Sonic Screwdriver but the growl of a nearby
CyberShade, now acting as guard dogs, forces him to rethink.
Soon Jed,
the man looking after Jackson’s TARDIS, arrives and
reports
that more children are being moved further across the city.
The Doctor
and Rosita hurry away and indeed find more children, who
are being
led to a large building guarded by the Cybermen. This is
the court
of the CyberKing.
Back at
the stables Jackson Lake is in tears. Suddenly he rises and,
almost in
anger, he begins rummaging through his luggage, looking
for
something.
Back on
the streets, the Doctor and Rosita watch as more children
are led
inside the guarded building, which Rosita recognises as a
route to
the sewers. She and the Doctor run to find another entrance
but are
stopped in their tracks by two Cybermen. Miss Hartigan then
arrives
and the Doctor assumes her to be under some influence of the
Cybermen.
However, Miss Hartigan explains she has not been
converted;
she is working freely with the Cybermen to achieve her
ultimate
goal – liberation.
The Doctor
then introduces himself (the Cybermen having to update
their
databases before realising their mistake in thinking Jackson
Lake to be
the Doctor) and asks what the children are needed for.
Miss
Hartigan tells him they are a workforce, helping to mould the
arrival of
a new emperor for Britain’s empire. Timed to coincide
with
Christmas Day, she vows to oversee the birth of a new saviour,
as well as
the death of his enemy. She sends the Cybermen after him
but they
are stopped in their tracks by Jackson Lake, who has
grabbed
the cache of Info-stamps and is now using them as a weapon
to fight
the Cybermen.
Given the
chance to escape the three friends flee, but not before
Rosita has
had a swipe at Miss Hartigan. As they run off into the
night
Hartigan calls to the CyberShades, telling them that their
plan has
changed; instead of dawn, the CyberKing shall rise tonight.
Safe for
the moment, the Doctor claims he must enter the Cybermen’s
stronghold, and Jackson obliges by handing him the deeds to the
house he
and his wife were staying at – the house where they found
the
Cybermen. Although his memory is still clouded, he recalls there
is
something else in the basement of the house, something that may
hold the
key to saving the day.
Back at
the Cybermen’s base, the CyberLeader agrees with Miss
Hartigan
that the ascension of the CyberKing must take place
immediately, before the Doctor can interfere. After dispatching the
now
redundant Mr Cole, Mr Scoones, Mr Fetch and Mr Milligan; Miss
Hartigan
addresses her infant workforce, who are busy operating a
myriad of
machinery constructed by the Cybermen. She tells them the
new
industrial revolution is about to begin, and then orders them
back to
their work. As the energy levels required to raise the
CyberKing
escalate, Miss Hartigan walks with the Cybermen to observe
the
CyberKing’s chamber.
Beginning
their ascent to below ground, the Doctor, Jackson and
Rosita
find more Cybermen on guard, which are dispatched thanks to
Jackson’s
Info-stamps. The Doctor finds the creatures are guarding a
Dimension
Vault, technology stolen from the Daleks in the void. He
wonders if
the device, which is ineffective as it has not been
powered up
fully, is the thing Jackson is struggling to recall, but
he
responds with more uncertainty – his mind is still not clear.
Miss
Hartigan and the Cybermen arrive at the chamber of the
CyberKing,
in which is housed a large throne. Miss Hartigan tells
the
CyberLeader he will suit the new position but he turns on her,
claiming
that she is to be converted into the CyberKing, not he. She
is
outraged, having been promised she would never be converted. The
CyberLeader claims that that promise was designated as a lie.
As the
Doctor relates to Rosita the Cybermen’s plan to convert
everything
until it is like them, Miss Hartigan is strapped into the
throne.
The CyberLeader tells her that having lived a life wracked
with
anger, abuse and revenge, her mind is too emotional to be
effective.
Soon a crown descends onto her head and waves of
electricity are zapped through her brain. When the process is
complete
the CyberLeader announces that the CyberKing has been born.
Surely
enough, when Miss Hartigan opens her eyes following the
conversion, they are pitch black.
The
Doctor, Rosita and Jackson arrive in the work room, which the
Doctor
notes is housing the workings of an engine, geared to
creative
massive amounts of electricity for some unknown cause.
Jackson
prepares to destroy the Cybermen standing guard but the
Doctor
stops him, and heads off in the opposite direction. He finds
an energy
readout. The power is now at 90%, and cannot be stopped
without
raising the Cybermen’s awareness. Suddenly an energy spike
hits – the
software is rewriting itself.
In the
throne room Miss Hartigan, now with a partially-robotic
voice,
marvels at the new landscapes and scopes in her head. It soon
becomes
clear that her mind is too strong for the Cybermen to
override;
now she holds the might of an army and the passion of a
human
being. The CyberLeader moves to disconnect her but she fires a
bolt of
energy at him from her crown, which vaporises him. Now she
is in
control of the Cybermen.
Seeing the
subsequent power fluctuations, which are now nearing
100%, the
Doctor realises that whatever the engine is powering, it
could be
deadly, and rushes to help the children in the workroom.
Sure
enough, with the engine working and the children redundant, the
Cybermen
have been given orders to destroy them.
However,
the Doctor arrives in the nick of time and with the help of
Rosita,
Jackson and the Info-stamps, manages to clear the area.
Rosita
leads the children back above ground and out of harm’s way,
whilst the
Doctor struggles to comprehend what the engine is for.
Meanwhile,
Jackson watches the last of the children leave, and
begins to
remember what was taken from him on the night he lost his
mind – his
own son, Frederick. He looks up and sees the boy, too
scared to
move, standing in the rafters. He calls to the Doctor to
help but
their way is blocked. Jets of fire begin shooting from the
floor as
the starter motor begins to disintegrate – no longer of any
use.
With the
Cybermen by her side, Miss Hartigan calls for the CyberKing
to rise,
and soon the throne room begins to ascend up out of sewers.
Back in
the engine room the Doctor grabs his cutlass and severs a
pulley
rope, which pulls him up to the gantry on which Frederick
stands. He
grabs the child and swings back to the ground, where at
last
father and son are reunited. They head for the surface, the
Doctor
stopping only to pick up the powered-up Dimension Vault on
his way
out.
On the
streets, Rosita hurriedly directs the children to a place of
safety and
then heads across the city, in time to witness the ascent
of the
CyberKing – a colossal vessel, shaped like a Cyberman –
rising out
of the Thames and towering above London, with Miss
Hartigan
sitting in the throne room at the top of the craft. She
addresses
London and announces herself as new CyberKing.
The Doctor
and Jackson return to the streets, where the Doctor
identifies
the ship as the frontline of an invasion force, housing a
factory
inside that can convert millions of people. Soon the ship
begins
stomping across the city, crushing buildings underfoot. Miss
Hartigan
sees all, but is confused as to why the people below are
not
rejoicing at her ascent to power.
Sending
Jackson and Frederick to safety, and acknowledging that
unlike
them he has little to live for, the Doctor returns to the
stables,
where he picks up another belt of Info-stamps. Meanwhile,
Miss
Hartigan orders a complete surrender from the people’s of
Earth,
before demonstrating the destructive fire power of the
CyberKing
that awaits those who refuse.
With the
purchased help of Jed, the Doctor clambers into Jackson’s
TARDIS
balloon and prepares to take to the skies, despite not
knowing
how to operate the vessel. Down below on the streets Jackson
is
reunited with Rosita, and shows her his son.
Sensing an
approaching vessel, Miss Hartigan turns the ships about
to view
the Doctor in his balloon, floating just level with the
throne
room. He offers her a choice; either she agrees to leave the
Earth and
find another world to live out her days, or he will stop
her. Miss
Hartigan refuses to leave, claiming the people of Earth
will soon
be converted into extensions of her mind.
The Doctor
warns her that her words have forced him to action, and
with the
combined force of the many Info-stamps at his disposal, he
fires at
her. The pure data streams into her head but she does not
die. The
Doctor stops his assault and she belittles his attack.
However,
the Doctor explains he was not attempting to kill her;
instead he
has severed the Cybermen’s hold on her and allowed her to
see what
she has brought about. With a more open mind, and her eyes
restored
to normality, she screams out in desperation – her raw
emotion
ripping out of her crown and decimating both the Cybermen
and then
herself.
However,
the CyberKing ship still remains, about to topple onto the
city after
sustaining a great deal of damage. The people on the
streets,
including Jackson and Rosita, flee for cover, but the
Doctor has
one more ace up his sleeve. Levelling the Dimension Vault
at the
ship, he opens fire and, as Jackson realises (for his mind
still
retains the data about the Doctor); he sends the ship into the
time
vortex, where it can safely disintegrate.
Rejoicing,
Jackson turns to the stunned crowds around him and tells
them that
the man in the sky, the Doctor, has saved the day many
many times
before, but not once is he thanked for it. He calls for
an end to
this and leads the masses in a cheer for the Time Lord, a
sentiment
that echoes across the city in gratitude for their hero.
Some hours
later, as the recovery of the city begins, the Doctor and
Jackson
make their way back to the real TARDIS. Jackson laments that
now a new
history is about to begin for him, although a widower he
still has
a child, and a good friend in Rosita to help care for him.
He invites
the Doctor to a celebratory Christmas feast, but he soon
realises
that the Time Lord will not stay, he never does. Instead he
turns his
attentions to the TARDIS, and excitedly he goes inside,
amazed by
the interior, which he describes as ‘wonderful nonsense’.
Overwhelmed but overjoyed he returns outside, where he has one more
question
for the Doctor.
He asks
why, after having seen the Doctor’s travels and the many
brilliant
companions he has travelled with, he now sees the universe
alone. The
Doctor tells him that eventually all his friends leave
him; some
feel they must, others find a new life to lead, and some
of them
forget him. He admits to Jackson, and perhaps to himself,
that in
the end they break his heart, and he is left alone once
more.
Jackson
tells him that the request to dinner is now a demand and,
agreeing
to eat in memory of those they have lost, the Doctor – just
this once
– decides to stay behind. Closing the TARDIS door, he
tells
Jackson that he is glad he was the man who became the Doctor,
and
together they walk off into the snow, wishing each other a Merry
Christmas.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor references the events of Blink in an attempt to
rouse the Other Doctor’s memories.
The Doctor is no stranger to sword fights – he has fought
before in The Sea Devils, The Androids of Tara, The Kings
Demons and The Christmas Invasion.
The Doctor recalls the battle of Canary Wharf in Doomsday,
wherein the Cybermen and the Daleks were trapped in the
void. He then recounts the events of Journey’s End, where
Davros’ Daleks used a reality bomb to destroy the void.
When talking of his companions at the end of the story, the
Doctor talks of those who feel they must leave him (Martha,
perhaps), those who find another life to lead (arguably
Rose), and those who forget him (Donna).
The Info-stamp containing data about the Doctor displays
footage of all of the Time Lord’s incarnations; the First
Doctor (The Time Meddler), Second Doctor (The Ice Warriors),
Third Doctor (Terror of the Autons), Fourth Doctor (City of
Death), Fifth Doctor (Arc of Infinity), Sixth Doctor (The
Mysterious Planet), Seventh Doctor (Time and the Rani),
Eighth Doctor (The Movie), Ninth Doctor (The Parting of the
Ways) and the Tenth Doctor (The Family of Blood). Further
footage of the Tenth Doctor is taken from Blink, The Runaway
Bride, Voyage of the Damned and The Lazarus Experiment.
[Back to Main
Page]
Planet of the Dead
Planet of the
Dead
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Tracie
Simpson
Script
Editor
Lindsey
Alford Written by Russell T. Davies and Gareth Roberts
Directed by James Strong
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Michelle Ryan (Lady Christina da
Souza), Lee Evans (Malcom Taylor), Noma Dumezweni (Capt. Erisa
Magambo), Adam James (D.I. McMillan), Glenn Doherty (Sgt.
Dennison), Victoria Alcock (Amgela Whittaker), David Ames
(Nathan), Ellen Thomas (Carmen), Reginald Tsiboe (Lou), Daniel
Kaluuya (Barclay), Keith Parry (Bus Driver), James Layton
(Sgt. Ian Jenner), Paul Kasey (Sorvin), Ruari Mears (Praygat).
When
a London bus takes a detour to an alien world, the Doctor
must
join forces with the extraordinary Lady Christina. But
the
mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets, hidden in the
sand. And time is running out, as the deadly Swarm gets
closer...
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Planet of the Dead April 11th, 2009 6h00pm - 7h00pm
Notes:
A
commentary track by David Tennant, Julie Gardner and James
Strong is available on the official Doctor Who website.
At the
International Gallery in London, four security officers stand
guard for
one of the exhibits a golden chalice
residing on a
plinth. A
fence of lasers prevents its removal or
so they think.
High up in
the atrium ceiling, a hatch opens and a masked woman
peers down
at the guards. She descends silently into the hall on a
wire, then
nabs the chalice from above and replaces it with a toy
cat before
rising back up to the ceiling.
The guards
soon discover the theft and sound the alarm, but the
thief
manages to exit the museum and take to the streets, unmasking
herself as
she goes. With police arriving and swarming the area, she
takes the
only option for escape the night bus.
However,
she is not the only new passenger onboard. Just before the
bus
departs a man in a long brown coat arrives and takes a seat next
to
her it is the Doctor. He smiles and
wishes her a Happy
Easter ,
proffering a chocolate egg as he does.
Planet of
the Dead
(drn:58'54")
D I
McMillan oversees the police as they arrive, but upon glancing
at the bus
as it pulls away, recognises the woman he is looking for
and
quickly clambers into a car to give chase.
Onboard
the bus the Doctor enthuses about Easter before breaking off
to examine
a botched scanner he is carrying in his pocket
whatever
he is
looking for is fast approaching.
The bus
enters a tunnel and McMillan orders the traffic authorities
to seal it
off. Sure enough police cars arrive at the other end to
stop the
bus in its tracks.
However,
the bus does not make it through the tunnel
the Rhodium
particles
the Doctor is scanning for amass and he realises something
is about
to go wrong. As an old woman at the back of the bus
complains
to her husband that she can hear voices, the Doctor warns
the other
passengers to hold tight. Suddenly everything outside goes
dark and
the vehicle begins to shake violently. Something strikes
the roof
and the windows shatter. Back in the subway, McMillan
reports to
the officers at the other end that the bus has
disappeared.
It arrives
in a desert, a seemingly endless landscape of sand dunes.
The Doctor
and a few of the other passengers step outside, unaware
something
is watching them via a scanner screen. The elderly woman
again
confesses that she hears voices now
they are all around her.
Her
husband asks her whom they belong to and she cryptically
responds
by claiming they are the voices of the dead.
Outside
the Doctor examines the sand whilst the passengers marvel at
the three
suns suspended in the sky. The driver inspects the damaged
upper deck
and reveals that the vehicle has become stuck in the sand
they are
stranded. The museum thief steps out onto the sand and
watches as
the Doctor tastes it, sensing something odd in the
composition.
Recalling
the device the Doctor was holding when the bus left Earth,
another of
the passengers, a young man, accuses him of causing what
has
happened. He responds by claiming that he was simply tracking a
wormhole,
which for some inexplicable reason swelled to a giant size
and sucked
the bus through. He demonstrates by throwing a pebble at
the space
behind the bus. It hits an invisible barrier, which flares
with
colour both there and at the other side
in London. The driver
assumes
that they can simply walk through the portal and home again.
Despite
the Doctor s warnings he does so and is immediately reduced
to
skeletal form, disappearing into the wormhole and emerging in a
heap back
in London. Witnessing this, McMillan realises he is out of
his depth
and calls in UNIT.
Back on
the sand planes the Doctor explains that the bus protected
the
passengers from the wormhole as it is made of metal it took
the brunt
of the damage. Now they must find a way of digging it out
of the
sand and driving it back through so that they can all get
home. At
that point the female burglar decides to take charge of the
group and
ushers them all back inside the damaged bus.
Once there
they all identify themselves. She is Christina and the
young man
who questioned the Doctor earlier is Barclay. There is
also
another young lad, named Nathan, who is comforting a distressed
lady named
Angela. The elderly couple at the back are Carmen and
Lou. The
Doctor then begins discussing the wormhole. He initially
claims it
was an accident that they drove through it, but Carmen
insists
someone placed it there; the voices seem to be telling her
so. The
Doctor identifies that Carmen has a low-level psychic
ability,
exacerbated by the alien suns outside.
She talks
of the voices she can hear and begins to identify them.
She claims
they are death, and that they are getting closer. The
other
passengers begin to panic but the Doctor regains calm when he
asks them
each to focus on what is waiting for them back home, which
is where
he promises to return them to.
In London,
UNIT troops arrive at the tunnel. They sweep the area
with
precision, surrounding the opening of the wormhole, guns
trained.
Captain Magambo takes charge, clearing the police
(including
D.I. McMillan) from the scene. Standing before the
tunnel,
Magambo orders her men to shoot anything that appears
hostile
on-sight.
On the
other side of the wormhole, Nathan and Barclay are at work
digging
the bus free from the sand, with a little help from the
tools
Christina keeps in her rucksack. Angela attempts to start the
bus but
the engine is damaged, clogged with sand. Barclay, who has
some
knowledge of mechanics, begins work fixing it whilst the
Doctor,
followed closely by Christina, walks off to one of the sand
dunes still being watched by some alien creature
on its scanner.
The Doctor
questions why Christina, who seems equipped for any
possibility, would be so scared by the police alarms they heard
earlier,
but she does not offer him any answers. Instead she asks
him about
Carmen s prediction, and he admits to sensing something
unsettling
in the air. Climbing the dunes Christina offers him her
full
title Lady Christine de Souza and the pair are introduced
properly.
However, this is quickly ended when they spot something on
the
horizon a fast-approaching storm.
Christina assumes it must be
a
sandstorm, but the Doctor is not so sure.
Inside the
bus, Carmen begins to recount the voices again as the
Doctor and
Christina return. The Time Lord grabs a nearby mobile
phone and,
with the help of the Sonic Screwdriver, phones UNIT HQ.
He is put
through to Captain Magambo, telling her that he needs to
examine
the wormhole but has no equipment with which to do so.
She refers
him to their on-site Scientific Adviser Dr Malcolm
Taylor; a
professorial-looking man sat in a mobile laboratory.
Magambo
passes on the call to him, who is hugely excited by the
prospect
of talking to his hero. The two men discuss the wormhole
and it
transpires that Malcolm is already attempting to measure it.
The Doctor
gives him further instructions and cancels the call,
returning
to the dunes to take a photo of the storm clouds with the
phone. He
spots a flickering in amongst the clouds, as if something
metal were
there as well. In the bus Carmen reveals more about the
clods; she
implies there is something within them, something that
will
devour everything in its path.
Back on
the dunes Christina and the Doctor are confronted by the
thing that
has been watching them. It is a humanoid figure in
stance,
but with the head of a fly. Pointing a gun at them, it leads
them away
to its ship, which has crashed some distance away like
them it is
stranded. Onboard they find another of the creatures,
which are
called Tritovores, and are accused of causing their ship
to crash.
The Doctor tells them that he and his friends are also
trapped,
and gains the trust of the aliens. He turns to their
computer
systems and, after fixing some of the broken circuits,
manages t
send out a probe to investigate the approaching storm.
He then
accesses the navigation computer and determines that they
are on the
planet San Helios. The Tritovores explain that they came
to trade
with the planet, but could not find the main city. They
discover
that the desert is the city, reduced to sand. The voices in
Carmen s
head are the voices of the billions of people who once
populated
the planet, all dying in the dust.
A call
comes through from Malcolm, who tells the Doctor that the
wormhole
is getting bigger; it is now four miles in circumference.
Magambo
has grounded all flights across the city, but is worried the
portal may
now pose a threat to Earth security. Another call
interrupts
their conversation it is Nathan. He
explains that the
bus wheels have been dug free but now the engine,
which they kept
turning
over to see if it was fixed, is out of petrol.
Again the
conversation is interrupted the
Tritovore probe has
reached
the distant storm. Just as the Doctor feared, they clouds
are not
dust; they are a swarm. Millions of semi-metallic
stingray-like creatures are soaring through the air, approaching the
bus, the
crashed ship, and the wormhole.
Studying
the analysis of the creatures made by the probe, the Doctor
deduces
that the creatures create a wormhole in time and space, fly
through
it, devour everything they can find and then move on to the
next one.
The size of the swarm and the speed at which they travel
generates
enough power to open the portal. Now they have gained
enough
momentum circling San Helios, they are opening the next
wormhole which leads to Earth.
The metal he and Christina saw in
the clouds
was the creatures exoskeletons, which
protect them when
they pass
through the wormhole.
Whilst
Carmen reveals another prediction
that the girl will fly
Christina asks why the Tritovores crashed since they did not pass
through
the wormhole, and they reveal that their drive system
stalled
ten miles up in the air. They take the Doctor and Christina
to the
cause of the problem the gravity well,
where the Doctor
realises
that the crystal nucleus of the well could be used to power
the bus.
However, the crystal is at the bottom of the well. He runs
off to the
service shafts, handing Christina a communication
earpiece
so that they can stay in contact whilst she remains at the
foot of
the well.
However,
Christina has no intention of staying put. Whilst the
Doctor
works at the compute system, she harnesses herself in and
sets up
the wire she used to rob the museum. The Doctor soon
realises
what she intends to do and hurries back to stop her. She is
halfway
down the well when he jams the pulley system. He reveals
that she
is about to hit the electrified security system, and
instructs
her on disabling it before reluctantly allowing her to
descend
once more, albeit at the slower pace.
Finally
given the chance to talk, the Doctor reveals that he is a
space-time
traveller, and recounts some of the many places he has
been. As
he does so he opens Christina s backpack to reveal the item
she took
from the museum the Cup of Athelstan.
At last Christina
reveals
her motives her father has been made
bankrupt and she
wishes to
regain her fortunes. The Cup is worth enough to supply her
with that
and more.
She
eventually reaches the bottom of the well and finds the crystal.
However,
something else is waiting down there
one of the swarm.
The Doctor
realises that it must have flown into the engines of the
Tritovore
s ship and caused the crash. Christina quickly grabs the
crystal
and it s metallic holder and ascends back to the main deck,
but the
creature is quickly on her tail. She manages to stop it by
reactivating the security blockade on her way up, and returns to the
Doctor
safely.
The two
friends try to convince the Tritovores to return to Earth
with them,
but when another creature from the swarm breaks into the
chamber
the aliens make the mistake of trying to fend it off and are
devoured.
The Doctor and Christine flee back to the desert and head
back to
the bus, as the swarm gets closer. On the way Malcolm calls
again with
news but the Doctor has no time to talk. He reaches the
bus and
explains to Christina that the crystal she retrieved is
useless he needs the clamps that
were holding it in place. He
throws the
gemstone away and begins fixing the clamps to the wheels
of the
bus.
He and
Christina board the vehicle and the Doctor takes to the
driver s
seat, fixing the last clamp to the steering wheel. He
phones
UNIT again and asks Malcolm to find a way of closing the
wormhole
as soon as the bus returns. Once again Malcolm is one step
ahead with
an idea, but Captain Magambo is more concerned with what
might be
following the bus through the ever-increasing portal. The
Doctor
hangs up to avoid explaining but Magambo is not deterred. She
orders her
troops to cover the wormhole with their weapons aimed and
ready.
On the
bus, the Doctor s dismay, the clamp on the steering wheel is
rendered
incompatible, unless he can meld the two systems together
with a
non-corrosive, malleable metal
something gold. Begrudgingly
Christina
hands over the Cup of Athelstan, which he proceeds to beat
mercilessly with a hammer so that it will fit into the clamp.
Back on
Earth Malcolm readies his solution for closing the wormhole
and
prepares for the bus return. However,
Captain Magambo orders
him to
close the portal immediately to prevent any threat making its
way
through. He refuses, not wanting to leave his hero stranded on
an alien
world. Unperturbed, Magambo points her gun at him and
repeats
her orders.
With the
system working, the Doctor starts the bus. The gravity
clamps
lift the vehicle up into the air, and slowly but surely it
turns
around. As the swarm finally reaches them the passengers are
propelled
forward into the wormhole, through the darkness of the
void
beyond and back to Earth. However, they are soon followed by
three of
the swarm creatures, which Captain Magambo
having heard
of the
bus return and gone to investigate orders her men to open
fire at.
The Doctor
phones Malcolm and tells him to close the wormhole. He
immediately hangs up and starts the process, but something
short-circuits. Eventually the Doctor gets through the Malcolm again
and gives
him the key to fixing the system. He hurriedly computes it
in and the
wormhole closes, leaving the rest of the storm back on
San
Helios.
Outside,
two of the creatures are blasted out of the sky, but one
remains
soaring near the airborne bus. With some nifty manoeuvring
the Doctor
bats it out of the way and UNIT are able to destroy it.
Crisis
averted the Doctor returns the jubilant passengers back to
the
ground, welcomed by applause from the UNIT troops. The
passengers, Christina included, are led away for debriefing and the
Doctor
approaches Captain Magambo. Malcolm is there to welcome him
too, but
is quickly returned to his station, leaving them alone. The
Doctor
explains that the swarm will still be able to create another
wormhole,
but he shall endeavour to shift them onto uninhabited
planets to
avoid any more trouble. Magambo then reveals that the
TARDIS has
been found and brought to the scene so that he can leave
promptly.
He thanks her and they bid each other a fond farewell.
Christina
manages to break away from the rest of the passengers and
approaches
the Doctor, asking him to take her with him when he goes.
He
refuses, telling her that he has travelled with many people
before,
and he has lost them all; he will not go through that pain
again. He
watches as D.I McMillan arrives and arrests Christina,
before
leading her away to a nearby police car.
Carmen and
Lou then approach the Doctor and wish him goodbye, but
Carmen
carries a far more sinister message for him. Telling him to
look after
himself she warns him:
You be
careful, because your song is ending, sir It is returning.
It is
returning through the dark. And then Doctor oh, but then he
will knock
four times.
And with
that she leaves. The Doctor, clearly struck by her words,
looks
coldly into the distance before turning to watch Christina
being put
in the back of the police car. He quickly pulls out his
Sonic
Screwdriver and zaps her handcuffs, releasing her hands. She
hurriedly
escapes the car and runs off to the bus, D.I. McMillan
close
behind.
Unable to
do anything, he watches as the bus ascends into the sky
with
Christina at the wheel. She navigates over to where the Doctor
is
standing and tells him that they would have made a great team.
However,
the Doctor knows that already were back on San Helios. He
watches as
she flies off into the night, and then turns and steps
back
inside his TARDIS.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor ponders why people on buses are always suspicious
of
him a reference to Midnight.
When Malcolm first talks with the Doctor he claims to have
read all of his UNIT files. The Doctor asks him which he
likes best, suggesting the Giant
Robot (Robot).
Captain Magambo was last seen assisting Rose and Donna in
Turn Left.
The Doctor remarks that Christina is not the first person to
call him space man ; this was
Donna s nickname for him.
The Doctor refers to his liberation of the TARDIS from the
Time Lords when talking to Christina.
Magambo is delighted when the swarm are brought down by
UNIT s weaponry. Her line Guns
that work! is a reference
to
various comments made by the Brigadier about the
ineffective nature of human weaponry against alien species.
The bus in this episode is called the 200, a reference to
Planet of the Dead being viewed
by some to be the 200th
Doctor Who Television story. This calculation involves
discounting the unfinished Shada, the Children In Need
Special, Time Crash (also for Children in Need), Attack of
the Graske (an interactive episode), The Infinite Quest (an
animated serial) and Music of the Spheres (a BBC Proms
special). It also interprets Trial of a Time Lord as a
single story.
The Doctor feels awkward when saluted by Captain Magambo, a
sentiment he made clear in The Sontaran Stratagem.
The Doctor talks of losing his companions, echoing his
comments at the end of The Next Doctor. It was in Journey s
End that he was left alone when all of his friends returned
to
their own lives / were forced to leave his company.
Carmen s warning that the Doctor s
song is ending is an
echo of Ood Sigma s comments at the end of Planet of the
Ood. This and the remainder of Carmen s prophecy will be
played out in David Tennant s final three episodes as the
incumbent Doctor beginning with
Waters of Mars.
[Back to Main
Page]
The Waters of Mars
The Waters of
Mars
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Nikki
Wilson
Script
Editor
Gary
Russell Written by Russell T. Davies and Phil Ford
Directed by Graeme Harper
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Lindsay Duncan (Adelaide Brooke),
Peter O'Brien (Ed Gold), Aleksander Mikic (Yuri Kerenski),
Gemma Chan (Mia Bennett), Sharon Duncan Brewster (Maggie
Cain), Chook Sibtain (Tarak Ital), Alan Ruscoe (Andy Stone),
Cosima Shaw (Steffi Ehrlich), Michael Goldsmith (Roman Groom),
Lily
Bevan (Emily), Max Bollinger (Mikhail), Charlie De'Ath
(Adelaide's father), Rachel Fewell (Young Adelaide), Anouska
Strahnz (Ulrika Ehrlich), Zofia Strahnz (Lisette Ehrlich),
Paul
Kasey (Ood Sigma).
The
Doctor arrives on Mars in 2059 and stumbles on the first
human colony at a pivotal moment in the history of humanity.
Knowing the tragic fate of the colonist, the Doctor must
decide whether to use his knowledge to change history.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
The Waters of Mars November 15th, 2009 7h00pm - 8h00pm
Notes:
None.
"Hello mum. Suzie says hello, don't you sweetheart? That's it, give
a little
wave"
Far away,
Adelaide Brooke watches her daughter and infant grandchild
on her
computer screen, displaying a satellite feed that sadly
proceeds
little beyond the initial greeting due to solar flare
activity.
Defeated, she turns away.
Elsewhere,
on a desolate red landscape somewhere nearby, the TARDIS
arrives
and the Doctor, dressed in his spacesuit, wanders outside to
revel in
his latest destination - the red plane: Mars.
Across the
surface of Mars is the human colony Bowie Base One. Uri
Kerenski,
one of the crew, clambers outside to set up a solar device
and takes
the opportunity to amuse himself by erecting a 'No
Trespassers' sign. His crewmate Mia Bennett, watching on a scanner,
is highly
amused but their superior Ed Gold is less so. Adelaide,
their
captain, also fails to see the funny side and blames Ed for
this lack
of discipline; assuming, much to his chagrin, that he is
responsible.
Back
outside the Doctor arrives on a cliff top overlooking the base.
However,
before he can make more of his sightseeing a gun is pointed
at his
back. Turning to face his captor he discovers a robot
standing
before him...
The Waters
of Mars
(drn:62'03")
The Doctor
is taken to Bowie Base One where Adelaide and many more
of her
crew are there to witness his arrival. Immediately he is held
under
suspicion - and not a little awe - at being an unexpected new
arrival on
an unpopulated planet. He manages to gain Adelaide's
trust
enough for her to lower her gun but she insists that the robot
- named
GADGET - keeps him under surveillance. In actual fact GADGET
is being
controlled by another of the crew, Roman Groom, who
activates
the machine with an arm-mounted control panel.
Soon
Maggie Cain, another crewmember working in the base's bio-dome,
contacts
Adelaide to ask about the Doctor's arrival. She is
dismissed
for her casual manner and receives no answers. She
complains
to her co-worker Andy Stone, but he is more interested in
the
carrots he has successfully managed to cultivate on the surface
of the
planet. Washing them under a tap he rejoices at this
accomplishment and takes a bite from one of them.
Maggie
continues to ponder the intruder upstairs and which
government
on Earth might have been behind the infiltration. She
does not
notice Andy dropping to his knees behind her and convulsing
wildly.
When she does see him she begins to grow worried - he does
not speak,
only the sound of running water can be heard. She
approaches
him and he turns to face her. His eyes have changed to an
eerie
white colour, the skin around his lips is badly blistered and
his mouth
is blackened. Water gushes from his jaws and he growls.
Maggie
screams.
Back in
the control room the Doctor bluffs his way through
interrogation to learn the names of his captors. When Adelaide
mentions
that they are the very first off-world colonists he
recognises
them, their names: Captain Adelaide Brooke, Deputy Ed
Gold,
Tarak Itel MD, Nurse Uri Kerenski, Senior Technician Steffi
Ehrlich,
Junior Technician Roman Groom and Geologist Mia Bennett.
With each
of the names he sees flashes of their profiles printed on
websites,
and upon learning the date - November 21, 2059, he recalls
another -
the destruction of the base upon this very day. With each
of the
names he recalls is the date of their death.November 21,
2059.
Suddenly
he declares that he must leave and heads for the exit,
claiming
that he has no choice but to go and not interfere with what
is
happening on Mars. He bids farewell to the crew one by one, even
GADGET,
and then Adelaide, before recalling the other two members of
the crew -
Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone (also both noted in
history as
having died on this day). Ed opens a communication line
to Maggie
to offer her the chance to meet the Doctor, but all that
is heard
in reply is a deathly growling.
The Doctor
reiterates that he should leave but when Adelaide and Ed
discover
the security cameras in the bio-dome are down and that the
power is
being cut inside, he is ordered to help them investigate
since the
problem has occurred shortly after his arrival.
Adelaide
takes the Doctor, Tarak and GADGET (guided by Roman back in
the
control room) on foot to the bio-dome. The Doctor asks the stern
captain
the one question the history books cannot answers - how she
felt to be
the leader of the first expedition to Mars. She recalls
the chaos
of climate change back on Earth and how she was able to
leave that
and stand on an untouched world. Smiling for once, she
tells him
her devotion to the trip has been worth any cost.
Suddenly
they see a body in the long tunnel leading to the dome. It
is Maggie
- still breathing but unconscious. Tarak calls Uri to
bring a
medical kit and he hurries to meet them. Ed also runs to
join the
party, despite procedure dictating otherwise. When they
arrive in
the tunnel Adelaide immediately orders him back. Tarak
tells Uri
to isolate Maggie in quarantine and then prepares to
proceed to
the bio-dome with the Doctor and Adelaide whilst GADGET
stands
guard.
Back in
the main dome, Steffi and Mia analyse the growling heard on
the
intercom, which is identified by the computer as Andy's voice.
Steffi
alerts Adelaide who tells her to double check. She, Tarak and
the Doctor
arrive in the bio-dome and search for Andy. The Doctor
manages to
restore the lights with his Sonic Screwdriver and then
goes to
investigate the dome with Adelaide whilst Tarak checks the
doors are
secured.
Uri calls
from the medical bay to alert them that Maggie has awoken,
but is
unaware of what has happened to herself or Andy. Ed tries to
ask
question her further over the communication channel but Adelaide
orders him
to be silent. Maggie asks to be let out of isolation but
Uri tells
her she must stay there for twenty-four hours.
In the
bio-dome Tarak continues the search for Andy. He sees him
standing
some distance away, his clothes and hair saturated with
water,
which pours out of his fingers. His back is turned. Tarak
approaches
him but as he does Andy turns and hisses through his
possessed
mouth.
Back in
the medical bay Uri watches a recording of a video message
sent by
his brother and laughs, recalling the outrageous spending of
his
brother-in-law back on Earth. He is unaware that in the
isolation
chamber behind him, Maggie has started to convulse. When
the
tremors end she asks him, in her normal voice, about the Earth.
She
comments on how much water it has.
"We
should like that world".
Her voices
changes to an eerie, deep tone and Uri turns to face her.
Like Andy,
her mouth has become blistered and she exhales water, a
menacing
smile on her face. Uri contacts Adelaide to warn her, and
she tells
him to remain calm. He relates her symptoms and
immediately Adelaide realises that the bio-dome is no longer safe.
She calls
to Tarak to form a retreat but there is no reply. She runs
to find
him, the Doctor following close behind. Eventually they find
him, knelt
on the floor before Andy, who places a hand on his head,
causing
him to convulse as water pours over him. When Adelaide
raises her
gun Andy stops, but it is too late - Tarak has already
been
possessed.
The Doctor
and Adelaide flee, followed closely by Andy and Tarak.
They
narrowly make it out of the bio-dome - sealing the doors as
they go -
before Andy unleashes a jet of water from his hand. They
watch the
two possessed humans through the locked door, Andy looking
carefully
at the barricade.
Ed arrives
in the medical bay in time to see Maggie displaying
similar
symptoms - Water oozes from her palms as she presses them up
against
the quarantine glass. He contacts Adelaide to confirm that
Maggie is
contained and in return the captain orders her crew:
"Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."
Meanwhile,
the Doctor gazes at Andy through the bulkhead glass, but
insists
once again that he cannot probe into the matters unfolding
on Mars.
When Andy and Tarak begin bombarding the door with water -
thereby
fusing the lock systems - he and Adelaide retreat.
Soon Andy
and Tarak are after them again but the Doctor has a plan -
returning
to the tunnel he uses his Sonic Screwdriver to reprogram
GADGET and
enable him to move at massive speed. At last able to make
a palpable
escape he and Adelaide drive back to the main dome, once
again
sealing the doors to block out their pursuers. Adelaide
protests
her faith in the security system but the Doctor simply
warns that
the Water will not be defeated - it can erode entire
planets if
it waits long enough.
"Water always wins."
He and
Adelaide then trek to the medi-dome to join Uri and Ed. The
Doctor
notices that Maggie's eyes are still human - unlike the
washed-out
irises of Andy and Tarak. Adelaide explains that all of
the water
used by the crew comes from a glacier underneath the base,
but it is
filtered before use. However, the Doctor knows something
must be
wrong for the infection to spread. Ed surmises that the
glacier
must contain some viral life-form, which has found its way
into the
infected humans by transition of water.
Ed takes
Adelaide to one side and reminds her that now the safety of
the crew
is jeopardised she must initiate Action One - evacuation of
the base.
This she does and orders Mia, Steffi and Roman to prepare
the rocket
for emergency take-off. Roman is reluctant to leave
GADGET
behind but Steffi insists there is no room for him on the
shuttle,
he must be left in storage. They begin loading provisions
for the
journey. She, Ed and Uri then follow suit but the Doctor
reminds
them that if the infection was able to delay manifesting in
Maggie in
order to gain access to the bio-dome, then any other
member of
the crew might already be infected - the virus, like the
water, can
wait; manifesting only when it reaches Earth.
Adelaide
goes to inspect the ice field and the Doctor, despite
knowing
morally that he should not interfere any further, goes with
her. Uri,
meanwhile, collects what he needs from the medi-dome and
evacuates,
leaving Maggie behind. Pressing her palms to the
quarantine
bay door she short circuits the locks and steps outside.
Ed and
Roman watch from the main dome, unsure of whether the other
doors will
hold her. At the moment the security cameras fail - they
no longer
know where Maggie is.
Still
inside the medi-dome Maggie stands with her arms outstretched.
Looking to
the heavens she begins to scream. Across the base in one
of the
tunnels, Andy and Tarak hear her and, slowly and patiently,
turn
around and walk away.
Adelaide
and the Doctor arrive at the glacier to begin examining the
filtration
system. The Doctor recalls the legends of the Ice
Warriors,
inhabitants of mars long since gone who built their empire
in the
snow - perhaps it was they who discovered the infection and
sought to
freeze it to prevent it from spreading.
Adelaide
questions why the Doctor seems intent of leaving the base,
and asks
why he seems to know so much about the Bowie Base crew. He
responds
by claiming that his reluctance to involve himself in their
troubles
is because, deep down, he understands that this day and
what
happens to Adelaide and her crew is a fixed point, it must not
be
changed.
He turns
the conversation back to Adelaide, recalling a story he
knows her
granddaughter will tell in the future - the story of the
day
Adelaide Brooke met the Daleks. She admits the tale is true.
When she
was a child the fearsome cyborgs stole the planet Earth and
invaded
its continents. Her mother was lost outside and her father
abandoned
her in an attempt to find his wife - neither was seen
again.
Left alone in her house Adelaide was seen by a Dalek as it
surveyed
the skies, but it did not attack her. Looking at her it
simply
turned away.
He tells
Adelaide that seeing the Dalek was the beginning of a
legacy - a
destiny to lead mankind to the stars. He talks of her
granddaughter Susie and how she will lead the first light speed
mission
away from Earth. Her descendants continue this exploration,
carrying
with them the name of Brooke. Adelaide asks who the Doctor
is to know
such things, and why he would tell her. To the second
question
he has only one answer - it is consolation for what is to
come.
Returning
to the computer they discover that Andy left a recording
on the
colony log the previous day. Upon examining it they discover
that there
was indeed a malfunction with the filtration system - one
of the
filter heads has broken and the replacements do not fit. The
Doctor
muses that one single filter has allowed the virus - the
Flood - to
break free, but Adelaide seems heartened by the news.
Knowing
that the infection has only just arrived, and that the water
is
filtered through the bio-dome once a week, she can be sure none
of the
rest of her crew is infected, and they can abandon base.
As Ed and
the rest of the crew continue to stock their shuttle with
supplies,
Adelaide and the Doctor return to the main dome. Adelaide
hands the
Doctor his spacesuit and bids him leave. He watches as she
returns to
her crew to help them prepare, but trouble is already on
its way.
Up above, on the roof of the dome, Andy and Tarak have
positioned
themselves, flooding the surface with water. Soon
Adelaide
and Ed realise what is happening but refuse to acknowledge
that the
water might get through the hull. Adelaide orders Ed to the
shuttle to
prepare for take-off, and the rest of the crew resume
their
work.
The Doctor
watches. He knows that this is the day Bowie Base One is
destroyed,
that all of the preparations made by the frantic crew
will come
to nothing. But he cannot interfere; the laws of his
people
will not allow him to change a fixed point in time. Turning
slowly, he
heads for the exit.
Donning
his space suit he enters the decompression chamber, but
something
is blocking him access to the Mars terrain. Over the video
link
Adelaide tells him that she will not let him go before he tells
her what
it is he cannot prevent, what the fixed moment in time is.
He feigns
ignorance but she knows better. He tells her that there
are events
in history that are unavoidable, like Pompeii, and
anything
that he does to alter them will never truly avert the
outcome,
only alter it.
He tells
her that although the crew is currently carrying out Action
One -
evacuation, history dictates that events will escalate so that
Adelaide's
only option is to execute Action Five - detonation of a
nuclear
device held at the centre of the colony so that nothing can
survive,
thereby denying the Flood access to Earth. He claims that
it is this
self-sacrifice that inspires her granddaughter to take
mankind
out into the galaxy, all because her grandmother dies on
November
21, 2059.
Adelaide
protests, determined that she will not perish, but the
Doctor is
adamant about her destiny. He knows that her passing is a
significant factor in shaping the future and for that reason he
cannot
save her. He recalls the Dalek that saw Adelaide and spared
her,
theorising that it too knew that she must be preserved so that
she could
live out her place in history, fixed in time forever.
Adelaide
asks why he himself will not die on Mars with her and he
tells her
it is because she lets him go. With history against her
she
relents, cursing the Doctor but allowing him to leave.
At that
moment the water breaks through the bulkhead, pouring into
the
control room. Adelaide orders her frantic crew to depart for the
shuttle.
Uri lead the way but finds the corridor blocked by a
cascade of
water. Steffi panics, fearing he may have touched the
liquid but
he is clean. Forced to change their root Adelaide directs
the other
once again.
All the
while the Doctor is listening over the intercom in the
decompression chamber, listening to the terrified cries of the Bowie
Base
colony.
In the
control area Steffi hurries across the room to pick up more
supplies
but before she can return to the others the ceiling gives
way and a
torrent of water cuts her off, slowly advancing towards
her. She
is forced back into a tiny communication chamber, but even
there she
is not safe. The water begins to seep through the ceiling.
Adelaide
orders the others away and promises Steffi they will save
her, but
it is too late. Knowing her time is up, Steffi calls up a
video on
the computer screen - a message from her children back on
Earth. It
plays as she weeps, the water spilling over her.
And all
the while the Doctor is listening. Departing the airlock and
walking
out onto Mars' surface he can hear in his head the cries of
the
doomed.
Adelaide
and Mia watch as Steffi's body convulses, the Flood taking
control
over her. Possessed, she steps out of the communication
chamber
and walks slowly towards Adelaide, who retreats with the
others en
route to the rocket, which Ed is preparing for take-off.
The
engines roar to life.
And all
the while the Doctor is listening, walking away as commanded
by time.
Adelaide,
Mia, Uri and Roman slowly make their way toward the
shuttle,
forced to channel their air supply through each section of
corridor
before they can proceed. In a passing glance Roman looks up
at the
ceiling. A water droplet has formed on the surface and falls
silently
onto his cheek. Adelaide can only watch as he apologises
for his
folly, and his body begins to shake.
nd all the
while the Doctor is listening.
In the
shuttle Ed is still making preparations, seated in the
pilot's
chair. Suddenly he sees Maggie approaching up one of the
service
ladders. He tries to seal the door but she manages to fire a
jet of
water at him. Breathing heavily, fighting the infection, he
contacts
Adelaide and tells her the shuttle is down. He knows the
Flood
needs the shuttle to get to Earth and that leaves him only one
option.
With his final breaths he curses his job and Adelaide for
never
giving him the chance to shine. She never forgave him. He
activates
the self-destruct circuit and the craft is blown to
smithereens.
And all
the while the Doctor is listening. He is thrown to the floor
by the
force of the explosion. Another life lost.
The blast
bounces back and hits the rest of the base, fracturing the
hull.
Adelaide, Uri and Mia are left surrounded by debris, flames
and
rushing wind as the oxygen begins to desert them.
And all
the while the Doctor is listening; he can see them in the
burning
ruins of the colony. But there is something else inside his
head;
another voice - his own - recalling, so many times, the loss
of his
people. How he is the last of his race, how the old order was
destroyed
in a fury of flame and how he was left alone.
The last
of the Time Lords.
He returns
to the base and calmly walks through the chaos. He grabs
a canister
of sealant and tells Mia to fix the hull, then orders Uri
to open an
emergency bottle of oxygen from his medi-dome supplies.
Helping
Adelaide to his feet he swaggers across the room. She warns
him that
their fates are sealed and tells him not to allow himself
to die
with them. However, the Doctor claims fate is not his concern
- he was
told himself of destiny, that "he" will knock four times
and end
his life, and although he claims to understand what this
means, he
knows it is not going to happen on Mars.
At that
moment Andy reaches the door and begins to knock. After
three the
Doctor leaps into action, sending a surge of power through
the
bulkhead and electrocuting him. He then turns his attention to
the rest
of the Flood, realising that they need heat to defeat the
infection,
by raising the temperature they can reduce the water to
vapour.
Adelaide again protests, recalling the Doctor's earlier
claims
that she and her crew all die on Mars. However, the Doctor
now tells
her that although there are rules governing time and those
who
traverse it, the people who guarded them are dead.
"D'you know who that leaves? Me! It's taken me all these years to
realise;
the laws of time are mine, and they will obey me!"
Suddenly
one of the computers explodes, denying him access to the
temperature controls. Adelaide tells him history has other ideas. He
then
decides tat they must escape the base and go outside - but the
spare
spacesuits are in another room which is sealed off by the
water. The
Doctor, now breathless and manic, tells his three
companions
that they are not simply fighting the Flood, they are
fighting
time itself, and he intends to win.
Down in
the glacier, Maggie arrives and begins a summons. As she
emits a
deathly scream the ice begins to fracture - the Flood is on
its way.
The Doctor
furiously thrashes through his brain, trying to think of
how to
save the others. He asks what is left that they can access
and
utilise, but Uri claims it is only storage. However, this is all
the Doctor
needs. For locked away in storage is GADGET. He places
something
in the robots hand and then uses the remote control to
direct it
outside. Adelaide watches sullenly and then turns to the
computer
keyboard, preparing to launch Action Five. The Doctor sees
and warns
her that he is prepared to fight her as well in order to
win his
battle, but she activates the countdown regardless.
Meanwhile,
GADGET has arrived on the planet surface and, thanks to
the
Doctor's modifications, is able to hurtle away across the
planet's
surface. With the Doctor at the controls the robot
eventually
arrives at the TARDIS and, having been given the ships'
key, is
able to open the door.
The Doctor
cheers as the base begins to deteriorate around him, Uri
and Mia
still fighting to contain the collapse whilst Adelaide looks
on,
defeated. Across the colony the possessed Andy, Tarak, Steffi,
Maggie and
Roman all scream, welcoming the release of the Flood.
Under the
Doctor's guidance GADGET activates the TARDIS controls and
sets the
ship in motion. As the final seconds of the countdown begin
the sound
of the ship materialising is heard, and the Doctor is
ready.
The
nuclear device detonates, reducing the colony to dust and wiping
out the
Flood. Just as history and time dictate, Bowie Base One has
been
destroyed.
But the
Doctor has not been defeated.
The TARDIS
arrives back on Earth, on a silent city street lined with
houses,
covered in snow under a starry night sky. The Doctor,
Adelaide,
Uri and Mia all step outside, accompanied by GADGET, who
promptly
shuts down now that his signal from Mars has been
destroyed.
Adelaide recognises her house a few feet away. The
Doctor,
wishing to be thanked, explains that he has brought them to
Earth on
November 21, 2059; it is the same day, and they are safe.
Mia gazes
at the TARDIS, astonished by what she has just seen
inside.
Overwhelmed she turns on the Doctor and then flees, with Uri
following
close behind on Adelaide's command.
Left
alone, Adelaide confronts the Doctor, claiming that now he has
saved her,
her granddaughter will not become he woman she would have
had her
grandmother died saving the Earth. The Doctor insists that
she still
will, only now her inspiration can be gained directly -
the same
story but with one detail that he has changed. Adelaide is
not
convinced by this, claiming that if her family history changes
then so
too could all of Earth's. The Doctor claims that this is
tough, for
now he is in command of time, and he alone. He is not the
lost soul
of the Time War, he is the winner: The 'Time Lord
Victorious'.
Adelaide
is horrified by his sudden callous change of tone, and
venomously
calls this newfound title wrong. However, the Doctor
simply
claims that that decision is his to take. He turns to her
house and
opens the front door with his Sonic Screwdriver. She takes
a few
steps forward and then addresses him one last time.
"Is
there nothing you can't do?"
"Not
anymore"
She turns
and walks toward her home, as he returns to his TARDIS.
She walks
over the threshold and, taking her gun from its holster
hanging
around her waist, she closes the door. As the Doctor reaches
his ship a
single shot is heard. He turns in horror. Suddenly time
rewrites
itself again and the history books are rewritten Adelaide
Brooke
still died on November 21 2059, but on Earth, not Mars. The
same story
but with one detail he has changed.
A look of
horror crosses the Time Lord's face as he realises that
Adelaide
was right, the Time Lord Victorious is an abomination. Soon
he hears
singing, a sorrowful tune drifting on the air. He turns
around to
see Ood Sigma standing in the snow some distance away,
calling to
him, summoning him. Immediately he realises that he has
gone too
far in his actions and asks if this is the time of his
death, as
was prophesised. Ood Sigma gives no reply and disappears.
Terrified,
the Doctor quickly steps inside the TARDIS and
disappears.
Stood
alone in the console room, the cloister bell tolling, he
solemnly
realises that his life is drawing to a close. But the end
is not yet
upon him. Raging against the dying of the light, he leaps
into
action and activates the controls.
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The Doctor references the Ice Warriors, a Martian race
previously seen in The Ice Warriors, The Seeds of Death, The
Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon.
When talking about GADGET the Doctor voices his dislike of
'funny' robots, with the exception of robotic dogs - a
reference to K-9.
The Doctor talks about fixed points in time, and alludes to
the events of The Fires of Pompeii. He also claims that Jack
is
a fixed point in time in Utopia.
Adelaide's encounter with the Dalek takes place during the
events of The Stolen Earth / Journey's End.
The Doctor references Carmen's prophecy, made at the end of
Planet of the Dead. The prophecy claims that 'he will knock
four times' - the true meaning of this is revealed in the
Tenth Doctor's final story - The End of Time.
[Back to Main
Page]
The End of Time
The End of Time
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Tracie
Simpson
Script
Editor
Gary
Russell Written by Russell T. Davies
Directed by Euros Lyn
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), John Simm (The Master), Timothy
Dalton (The Narrator / Lord President), Catherine Tate (Donna
Noble), Jacqueline King (Sylvia Noble), Billie Piper (Rose
Tyler), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Freema Agyeman (Martha
Smith-Jones), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), John Barrowman
(Captain Jack Harkness), Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith),
Jessica Hynes (Verity Newman), Russell Tovey - Midshipman
Alonso Frame), Thomas Knight (Luke Smith), June Whitfield
(Minnie Hooper), Claire Bloom (The Woman), David Harewood
(Joshua Naismith), Tracy Ifeachor (Abigail Naismith), Lawry
Lewin (Rossiter), Sinead Keenan (Addams), Alexandra Moen (Lucy
Saxon), Karl Collins (Shaun Temple), Teresa Banham (Governor),
Barry Howard (Oliver Barnes), Allister Bain (Winston Katusi),
Sylvia Seymour (Miss Trefusis), Simon Thomas (Mr Danes), Pete
Lee-Wilson (Tommo), Dwayne Scantlebury (Ginger), Joe Dixon
(The
Chancellor), Julie Legrand (The Partisan), Brid Brennan
(The
Visionary), Krystal Archer (Nerys), Lacey Bond (Serving
Woman), Lachele Carl (Trinity Wells), Paul Kasey (Ood Sigma),
Ruari Mears (Elder Ood), Max Benjamin (Teenager), Silas Carson
(Voice of Ood Sigma), Brian Cox (Voice of Elder Ood), Nicholas
Briggs (Voice of Judoon), Dan Starkey (Sontaran).
It's
the Tenth Doctor's final journey - but his psychotic
nemesis the Master has been reborn, on Christmas Eve. With
both
determined to cheat death, the battle ranges from the
wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, while
the
alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a
terrible shadow falls across the entire Universe.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Part One December
25th, 2009 7h00pm
- 8h00pm
Part Two January
1st, 20109 7h00pm
- 8h15pm
Notes:
None.
"It
is said that in the final days of planet Earth everyone had bad
dreams. To
the west of the north of that world the human race did
gather in
the celebration of a pagan rite to banish the cold and the
dark. Each
and every one of those people had dreamt of the terrible
things to
come but they forgot, because they must. They forgot their
nightmares
of fire and war and insanity. They forgot, except for
one."
Wilfred
Mott stands on a busy London street under a starry sky,
soaking up
the festive atmosphere. However all is not well. Wilf
pauses
momentarily as he suffers a vision of a maniacal man
laughing,
gone as quickly as it arrives. He carries on his way until
he sees a
church in the distance.
Cautiously
he makes his way inside. Gazing up at the stained glass
window he
finds, hidden away in the corner, a picture of a small
blue
police box. A woman appears standing behind him and relates a
local
legend from the fourteenth century; that a man - a sainted
physician
- appeared to a local convent when it came under attack
from a
demon that fell from the sky. He came, banished the evil
spirit and
then disappeared in his magic blue box.
She
ponders if the man will return, and Wilf - knowing this mystical
figure to
be the Doctor, and the blue box to be his TARDIS - admits
that such
a return would make him very happy. He turns to face the
woman but
she is gone; leaving him alone to look at the blue box in
the
window, and listen to the manic laughter in his head - the
cackle of
the Master.
Part One
(drn:60'03")
Far across
the universe, on the snow-swept planet known as the Ood
Sphere,
the wheezing and groaning of ancient engines is heard as the
TARDIS
materialises. From within steps the Doctor - adorned in a
straw hat,
sunglasses and a Hawaiian garland. He sees that Ood Sigma
has
arrived to meet him and recalls their last encounter, whereupon
he was
summoned to return to the Sphere. He confesses to delaying
his visit,
and relates his rather hedonistic adventures of the
interim
before letting his summons speak. Sigma claims that the Time
Lord
should not have delayed, but the Doctor is not concerned. He
remembers
the Ood once told him his song was ending, and he has no
wish to
welcome that day.
Ood Sigma
takes the Doctor across the planet's surface and shows him
the
advanced civilisation his people have developed since the Time
Lord last
visited. The Doctor is impressed, and asks how long it has
been since
he left. Upon hearing the timeframe to be only a century,
he grows
weary, knowing the rate of development that has taken place
is far too
rapid - something is altering Ood history. Sigma explains
that there
are further troubles; the telepathic gestalt mind of the
Ood has
become troubled, and they are suffering from bad dreams.
He then
guides the Doctor to a cavern beneath the planet's surface,
where a
group of Ood, led by the Ood Elder, sit in a circle around a
burning
stove of perfume. The Elder chants as he inhales the
vapours:
"It
is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but
too late,
far too late."
The
Doctor, having discarding his merrymaking regalia, is sat down
in the
circle and joins hands with the Ood. They share with him
their
dream, the same suffered by Wilf and by, they believe, all the
peoples of
the universe. Immediately the Doctor recognises the
Master's
face and claims that he is dead. However the Ood can see
more; they
show him Wilf, whom they know as being scared, then two
faces the
Doctor does not recognise; a wealthy man and is daughter
seen
standing before photographers, and then finally a woman marked
as the
loneliest of all - Lucy Saxon, abandoned in a prison cell.
The Doctor
telepathically explains to the oblivious Ood that Lucy
was once
married to the Master, when he posed as Prime Minister
Harold
Saxon of Great Britain and tried to enslave the human race.
The Doctor
made the world forget these events but Lucy, caught at
the heart
of the evil deeds, remembered, and killed the Master as an
act of
revenge. The Doctor burned his corpse on a funeral pyre and
was once
again left as the last of his race. However, the Ood know
that this
was not the end. They show the Doctor the aftermath of his
ceremony;
a hand reaching into the ashes and retrieving the ring the
Master
once wore on his hand. Part of him survived.
Realising
this revelation could be disastrous; the Doctor makes to
leave, but
the Ood prevent him. The Ood Elder tells him the Master
is part of
a wider plan, one that endangers all of creation. He
explains
that the Ood can only see through time because time is
bleeding,
and this is a sign of a great danger that lies ahead;
something
is returning which when established will mean the end of
everything, even time itself.
The Doctor
runs. Fleeing the cavern he hurtles back above ground and
into the
TARDIS. Knowing he is bound to travel only in the
concurrent
timeline of events, he hurries about the controls like a
madman,
desperate to reach Earth before the Master can emerge again.
But as Ood
Sigma has noted, he has already delayed.
Meanwhile,
Lucy Saxon is removed from her cell by one of the
wardens,
Miss Trefusis, and taken to a shadowy chamber at the heart
of
Broadfell Prison. There she is introduced to the new Governor,
who has
secured the position after ensuring her predecessor met with
a nasty
accident. She recalls Lucy's trial without jury following
the murder
of her husband, and reveals that although Harold Saxon
was
replaced there are followers who still revere him. She, Miss
Trefusis
and the other prison guards are such devotees, and plan to
instigate
his return. Miss Trefusis produces the ring she retrieved
from the
Master's pyre, and Lucy wails.
Across
London, a storm is brewing in the night sky and once again
Wilf
suffers visions of a lunatic giggling in the darkness. He gazes
out of the
window of his home, unaware that on the television screen
across the
room a picture of the woman he saw in the church has
appeared,
only to fade a few seconds later.
Back in
the prison the ring is placed in a ceremonial cauldron, to
which
special liquids are added. The Governor reveals that the
potions
were concocted by Harold Saxon (nee the Master) himself
before he
died. Knowing he might one day be overthrown, he left
instructions that when followed would enable him to be resurrected.
The final
ingredient needed is Saxon's own biometrical signature,
which Miss
Trefusis takes by wiping a tissue across Lucy's lips.
Although
Lucy protests that the wardens do not understand Harry
Saxon's
true identity, the last part of the equation is added and a
blinding
beam of light blasts from the mixing bowl.
As a vague
form of a humanoid body begins to take shape in the
middle of
the light, eerie tendrils of energy latch onto the prison
guards,
feeding off of them to enable the Master's return. Lucy
looks on
horrified as her former husband appears in the swirling
chaos,
rejoicing in his return. His mind starts to take shape and he
listens to
the rhythmic drum beat in his head, the same sound he has
heard all
of his life, calling him into battle. He greets Lucy
bitterly,
vowing to avenge himself upon the entire human race for
his past
defeat, but she is not prepared to let him take over so
easily.
Turning on
him she reveals that she knew he might one day find a way
back to
life, and prepared herself accordingly. Having discovered
his
letters and the concoction needed to revive him she has
calculated
the antidote. Another of the prison guards, really
working
against the Governor, produces a vial of liquid and hands it
to Lucy.
She removes the stopper and, bidding her former lover a
bitter
farewell, casts the tincture into the light. The Master
screams
and the entire building is consumed by flame, taking the
Governor,
Miss Trefusis and Lucy with it.
The Doctor
finally arrives the following morning, only to find the
remains of
Broadfell prison cordoned off by a police barrier. He is
too late.
In a large
country house elsewhere in Britain, Joshua Naismith and
his
daughter Abigail - the pair seen in the Ood prophecy - review
the news
footage of the previous night's blast at Broadfell. They
see a
shadow running through the flames and realise the man they
have been
waiting for may well have survived. Abigail rejoices as
Joshua
addresses his household staff, telling them Christmas is
cancelled,
and that they should instead prepare 'the Gate', an
ominous
metallic archway positioned at the centre of the large
chamber in
which they stand. Scientists are seated all around the
room at
various computers, trying to activate it.
Back in
Chiswick, Wilf emerges onto the street and immediately calls
someone on
his mobile phone. Using a variety of call signs he
arranges a
covert rendezvous, which turns out to be a mini-bus full
of local
OAPs, which pulls up to let him onboard. Once on the move
again he
hands out papers to all of the passengers and tells them
they are
looking the Doctor, a tall man who is often seen in an
old-fashioned police telephone box (which he has drawn a picture of
on the
handout). He tells them all that it is vital they find him,
for he is
the only man who can stop their bad dreams.
Across the
city, in a wasteland amidst a building site, two homeless
men, Tommo
and Ginger, are getting their daily meal from a burger
van. As
they walk away another man with a hood over his head
approaches
the trailer and asks for everything. Removing his
disguise
he reveals himself to be the Master, only now his hair is
bleached
blonde, as if ruined by the aborted resurrection.
"I am
so hungry"
Elsewhere
in the tip, Tommo and Ginger discuss the upcoming address
from the
American President, who has promised to end the world's
financial
troubles. Suddenly the Master appears behind them, eating
a burger
at a furious rate. When finished he growls demands for
more.
Ginger then recognises the starving wreck as the former Prime
Minister,
and the Master laughs. He claims that he is stuck with his
appearance
and cannot hide anywhere. He knows that someone is after
him and
this, he claims mockingly, is funny. Suddenly his face
contorts
and for a few moments his skull is visible beneath his
worn-out
skin. Tommo and Ginger run away, returning to the burger
van. When
they arrive they find the serving lady is gone, replaced
by a
skeleton stripped of all its flesh. The Master is still hungry.
He leaps
into the air, soaring high above before zooming back down
again
toward his next victims.
The Doctor
arrives in the wasteland, standing on an embankment
overlooking the desolation. He can sense the Master's presence, and
likewise
the Master can smell him. He picks up a metal bar and beats
it against
a barrel four times, over and over, emulating the noise
in his
head. Unnerved, the Doctor runs towards the sound, but the
Master
runs as well. A chase ensues across the tip, until finally
the two
come face to face. Seeing the Master's skin fluctuate to
reveal his
bare bones, the Doctor offers his help, knowing that his
enemy must
be burning up what is left of his life-force at a
phenomenal
rate. The Master ignores him and once again runs off, his
new
reserves of energy allowing him to hurtle ahead by leaping over
great
chasms and shooting into the air.
The Doctor
gives chase but is intercepted - Wilf and his Silver
Cloak of
networked eyes and ears have found their man. The Doctor is
initially
nonplussed by the welcome but is forced to give up his
hunt; the
Master has disappeared. He listens as Wilf and his friends
relate the
trail of phone calls that led to the Time Lord being
spotted,
and now they have got him they are jubilant. Two of them,
Minnie
Hooper and Oliver Barnes, insist on having their photos taken
with him,
admiring his handsome face. Wilf discourages them but they
are
insistent, and pose for the camera.
Some time
later the Silver Cloak drop the Doctor and Wilf off at a
caf - why a particular one, the Doctor is
oblivious to. Inside Wilf
recalls
all of their past encounters and tells him of the nightmares
he keeps
witnessing. His companion is not interested. Astounded that
Wilf has
been able to track him down in a matter of hours when it
has taken
some people centuries to find him, the Doctor ponders what
extraordinary force must be somehow binding them together. There is
a moments
silence and then the Doctor tells Wilf:
"I'm
going to die"
Wilf makes
light of the comment by claiming he will as well, one
day, but
the Doctor will not hear of it. He recalls a prophecy that
claimed
when "he" knocks four times then his life will end. Even
though a
Time Lord can regenerate it is possible to die if the
process is
averted. And if it is successful the Doctor admits it
feels like
death - his body and personality are taken from him so
that a new
man can walk away in his place.
At that
moment he follows Wilf's gaze out of a window and
understands why he was brought to this caf in particular. Outside
is Donna
Noble, arguing with a traffic officer about where she has
parker her
car. The Doctor turns away, knowing that if Donna
recognises
him then the memory block he placed on her to protect her
mind from
disintegrating will break and she will die. Wilf begs him
to help
her, claiming that the loss of her memory of the time she
spent
travelling in the TARDIS is wrong. He reveals the Donna now
has a
fianc , Shaun Temple, and they are planning to get married.
However,
with little income they are only just getting by.
Wilf then
enquires about the Doctor's life. He admits that he is
alone,
with all of his companions having left him. He thought once
that it
was better he travel alone but with no voice of reason to
ground him
he confesses he became reckless and arrogant. His actions
had dire
consequences and now.he breaks down in tears but recovers
quickly
and wishes a distraught Wilf 'Happy Christmas'. Wilf again
asks him
to find a way of saving Donna, claiming that she would make
him laugh
again. The Doctor knows he is right, but leaves before
saying
another word.
"And
so it came to pass that the players took their final places,
making
ready the events that were to come. The madman sat in his
empire of
dust and ashes, little knowing of the glory he would
achieve;
while his saviour looked upon the wilderness in the hope of
changing
his inevitable fate. Far away the idiots and fools dreamt
of a
shining new future, a future now doomed to never happen. As
Earth
rolled onwards into night the people of that world did sleep
and
shiver, somehow knowing the dawn would bring only one thing.the
final
day."
That
night, the Doctor and the Master find themselves stood at
either end
of an abandoned warehouse. The Doctor walks slowly
forward
but the Master - still alternating between skeletal and
flesh form
- fights him off, firing violent bolts of electricity
from his
hands. The first two are simply warning shots but the third
hits the
Doctor square in the chest. He struggles onward until the
Master
finally relents, and collapses in a heap on the floor. The
Master
sits on the ground beside him and recalls their childhood,
running
through the red-grass fields of Gallifrey.and now here they
sit, in
the dust of Earth's wastelands. The Doctor warns him once
again that
his body is unstable; the massive energy discharges are
the result
of his form being ripped open by Lucy Saxon's antidote.
The
intense hunger he feels is the need to replace that energy but
it cannot
be achieved - he too is dying. Instead of offering his
help he
implores the Master for his own, claiming there is more at
work than
themselves. He recalls the Ood's prophecy that something
is
returning. The Master assumes this to be himself but the Doctor
knows it
is something more.
The Master
ignores him, instead telling him of the tortuous drumming
he hears
in his head - the same four beats growing louder and
louder.
The Doctor has always believed this to be a symptom of his
enemy's
insanity, but.the Master places his hands on the Doctor's
head and
allows him to hear his own thoughts. Suddenly he too can
hear the
drumming, and is astounded that the noise is real.
Recoiling,
he asks the Master what is wrong in his head, but before
he can get
an answer the ailing Time Lord; who is delighted that at
last he
has vindication the drumming is not merely an invention but
a
corporeal sound, and now ponders what it is that is calling him,
becomes
the subject of abduction. A helicopter appears above them,
bathing
them in light. Armed men descend to the ground and grab the
Master.
The Doctor tries to intervene but the guards knock him
unconscious and leave him in the rubble.
The
following morning, on Christmas Day, Wilf, Sylvia, Donna and
Shaun
gather at the Noble household to exchange gifts. Donna gives
Wilf a
book by Joshua Naismith called 'Fighting the Future'. He asks
why shy
brought it for him and, suddenly becoming confused herself,
she claims
she had a feeling it was something he ought to own.
Snapping
out of her trance she returns to the jollity of the day,
leaving
Wilf to ponder the book.
At the
Naismith mansion Joshua watches as his armed guard present
the
Master, bound and gagged. He tells his guest that the idea of
abducting
him was his daughters - she has been following the story
of the
Cult of Harry Saxon very closely, and is overjoyed that she
has
finally found him. The Master, still protesting hunger when his
gag is
removed, smiles at her.
Back at
the Noble household Wilf settles down to watch the Queen's
speech. He
salutes the screen, but soon it is clouded by
interference. The woman from the church appears instead. She talks
to him,
claiming that only he can see her for he stands alone at the
heart of
coincidence. She knows that he is an old solider, but that
the war
passed him by - he joined service too late to fight. She
claims he
never killed a man, a fact Wilf claims is not as shameful
as she
suggests. Her warning to him is that soon he must take arms,
but tell
the Doctor nothing of their conversations, for it could be
fatal to
him. His life might yet be saved.
And with
that she disappears from the screen, leaving Wilf
bewildered. Some time later he goes upstairs to his room and takes a
suitcase
from under his bed. Inside he finds his old service
revolver
and a stash of bullets. Then he hears a tapping at the
window.
The Doctor is on the street below, throwing stones to catch
his
attention.
He hurries
outside and the Doctor claims that only Wilf can help him
find the
Master, for the sheer happenstance of their meeting again
tells the
Time Lord that he must be significant somehow. He asks
Wilf I he
has seen anything out of the ordinary recently and he
bluffs
that the only abnormality is Donna's funny turn over
Naismith's
book. He fetches the tome and the Doctor examines it,
recognising the man from the Ood's prophecy. He realises that their
dream must
be linked to Donna's subconscious, even in her state of
ignorance
there is still a bond to her time as a traveller. Suddenly
Sylvia
appears, furious that the Doctor has returned and thereby
jeopardised Donna's safety. She tells the Doctor to leave and he
does so,
Wilf following close behind. The two friends clamber inside
the TARDIS
leaving Sylvia protesting in the street that her father
has gone.
The ship disappears as Donna arrives to find her mother
shouting
at the air.
Inside the
ship Wilf is astonished by the vast interior, but admits
he
expected it to be cleaner. He asks why the Doctor cannot simply
go back in
time and catch the Master before he was abducted, but the
Doctor is
adamant that he cannot cross his own timeline - his
attitude
has changed since his adventure on Mars.
At the
Naismith mansion the Master is taken to see the Gate, which
has begun
to fluctuate with power. He notes that it is not from
Earth.
Naismith claims that the Master is not either, and therefore
they make
the perfect match. One of the scientists, Rossiter,
interrupts
and asks to be excused to make some checks in the bunker
beneath
the house. His colleague Addams hurries away with him.
They
descend to the basement where more computers are kept, and
begin to
worry that the visitor upstairs might blow their cover. At
that
moment they discard their disguises, revealing themselves to be
aliens
with green spiky skin. Rossiter threats that now Harold Saxon
has
arrived they might not be able to complete their mission, but
Addams
realises he may in fact be able to help them if he can get
the gate
to work.
Upstairs
Joshua releases the Master and explains that the gate was
found in a
crashed spaceship by Torchwood, but when the institute
fell he
stole it. The Master once again asserts his hunger and is
dually
presented with a cooked turkey. Immediately he devours it,
ripping it
to pieces with his fingers and choking down every scrap
of meet,
still striving to fill his endless need for sustenance.
When he
has finished Naismith tells him that although the Gate is
equipped
with its own nuclear powered control - a cabinet
constituting of two individual compartments that must be staffed by
at least
one person at all times - it is not functioning properly.
Naismith
claims that through experimenting with the device, he has
come to
realise that it holds restorative qualities, and if fixed
properly
it can rejuvenate living cells to the point of total
preservation; hence it has become known as the Immortality Gate.
Naismith
wants it fully functional so that he can use it to make
Abigail
live forever.
In the
stables of the mansion the TARDIS materialises. The Doctor
and Wilf
step outside and immediately the Doctor uses a remote
control to
send the ship one second out of synch with real time, so
that the
Master will not be able to find it. However their arrival
has not
gone unnoticed, the Master can smell the Doctor and quickly
sets to
work repairing the gate, his plan already set in his mind.
The Doctor
and Wilf, dodging the guards of Naismith's private army,
make their
way inside the main building where they find the
disguised
Addams marvelling at the rapid repairs the Master has
begun to
make. Immediately the Doctor recognises Addams is an alien
and
removes her disguise with his Sonic Screwdriver.
Upstairs,
the Master finalises his programming and activates the
Gate.
Naismith is overjoyed, but will not risk letting the Master -
who
insists on disregarding his old moniker Harold Saxon - near the
device and
demands that he be restrained again. He embraces Abigail
as they
gaze at the Immortality Gate, through which an
almost-transparent ripple can be seen. Naismith insists that he
knows the
Master's reputation for deceit and plotting; anything he
has done
must be double checked before the Gate is actually used.
Rossiter
arrives in the basement and, after the Doctor removes his
human
disguise, confirms that the Master has repaired the Gate
properly
without making any unjust changes. The Doctor briefly
addresses
the subject of Addams and Rossiter's species - he has seen
a similar
creature on the Starship Titanic, only he was small and
red. They
claim that he was a Zocci, whereas they are Vinvocci. They
explain
that the Gate is also of Vinvocci origin, and they are on
Earth to
reactivate it then teleport it onto their ship currently
orbiting
the planet. They explain that the Gate is a medical device
used to
heal the sick and wounded. Wilf asks why it is so big and
they
respond by explaining that it does not simply mend people; it
can
restore entire planets at once by transmitting a medical temple
across the
whole population. At last the Doctor understands what the
Master's
plan may be, it is as colossal and grave as the Ood warned.
He hurries
upstairs.
He arrives
in the main chamber and immediately the guards train
their guns
on him. He warns that the Master must not be allowed
access to
the Gate, but he is too late to stop him. The unstable
Time Lord
casts off his bonds and leaps into the device, cackling as
he goes.
He rejoices at his return to form and suddenly everyone in
the room
begins to flinch, all they can see in their minds is the
Master's
laughing face; their nightmares are returning once again.
Wilf
stumbles into the room and he too confesses to suffering from
this
vision; everyone on Earth has succumbed to the Master's
influence.
The Doctor takes Wilf to the nuclear control cubicles and
both men
step inside, where the Time Lord is able to alter the
radiation
filtration system so as to clear Wilf's mind. This done,
he tells
Wilf to activate the lock on his own side of the control
cubicle,
which in turn unlocks the Doctor's door; this is the safety
mechanism
that ensures one person remains inside at all times.
Released,
the Doctor hurries out into the vast room but can only
stand by
as the Master counts down to victory. Addams and Rossiter
watch the
plan unfold from the bunker, realising the Master has
programmed
a special code into the machine and set it to latch onto
the human
biological code.
The Doctor
tries in vain to shut down the Gate but the Master has
locked the
controls. Wilf then receives a call from Donna, who is
not
suffering from the visions, but is concerned that Sylvia and
Shaun are.
He then hears from his friend Winston, who reports that
everyone
on his estate has begun to see the Master's face. The
Doctor
asks what it is the Master is doing and at last he reveals
his plan:
all the people of Earth are about to be remade in his
image. At
that moment the Gate emits the Master's biological code
and
transmits it across the globe.
Every
single human except for the Wilfred and Donna begins to shake,
their
features blurring until the Master's replace them. Donna sees
Sylvia and
Shaun transform and immediately suffers her own
nightmares: apparitions of giant wasps and shrieking spiders and
furious
alien monsters. Wilf knows what is happening - she has
started to
recall her forbidden memories.
The Doctor
looks on as his enemy presents his grand scheme. Every
human is
now him; they have his appearance and his mind. Stepping
out of the
Immortality Gate the Original Master goads the helpless
Doctor by
proclaiming that his favourite species, the human race, is
gone; all
that remains is the Master Race.
"And
so it came to pass on Christmas Day that the human race did
cease to
exist. But even then the Master had no concept of his
greater
role in events, for this was far more than humanity's end.
This day
was the day upon which the whole of creation would change
forever.
This was the day the Time Lords returned."
Standing
in the Panopticon of Gallifrey, the Lord President
addresses
the Time Lord High Council. He chants his war cry and they
all but
two return the call.
"For
Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!"
Part Two
(drn:72'36")
The
once-golden hills of Gallifrey are burning. The wrecks of Dalek
saucers
litter the ground at the foot of the broken glass dome
surrounding the Time Lord citadel. Inside the crumbling walls the
Lord
President and his aides arrive at the inner sanctum that houses
the select
committee of war.
The
President's first concern is the whereabouts of the Doctor.
Reports
confirm that he has fled his home world once again, now in
possession
of 'the moment', which the council claim will allow him
to destroy
both the Daleks and the Time Lords. Across the table, a
seemingly-deranged Time Lord known as the Visionary professes that
the end of
Gallifrey is approaching - the last day of the Time War,
and the
fall of the Time Lords is upon them.
Another of
the committee bravely claims that the extinction of the
Time Lords
is justified; the Gallifreyan stand at the outer edge of
the war,
but those at its heart are being tortured by the anomalies
caused by
the conflict; endlessly slaughtered and resurrected by the
temporal
decimation.
The
President turns on her and, using a gauntlet worn permanently
upon his
arm, blasts her with some unknown energy that reduces her
to dust.
Incensed, he yells at the rest of the council, screaming
that he
will not accept death nor let the history of the Time Lords
come to an
end whilst he is in power.
Timidly,
one other of the councillors recounts that part of the
Visionary's written prophecy does predict that two of the Time Lords
will
survive their planet's destruction - two men locked in 'the
Enmity of
Ages' - the Doctor and the Master. Furthermore, another
part of
the prophecy indicates the planet Earth, repeating its name
over and
over again. Perhaps, the President muses, that is where
they shall
find their salvation.
At the
Naismith Mansion the Master straps the Doctor to the
'Hannibal'
trolley and ties Wilf to a chair. Turning to a massive
Communications Screen he observes his cloned self, now possessing
the
highest ranks of office, from President of the United States to
Commander
of UNIT - he now has charge of enough weapons to turn
Earth into
a warship.
Suddenly
Wilf's mobile phone rings. The Master, after finding the
rifle the
old man has hidden in his coat, grabs the handset and
answers -
it is Donna, protected from the Immortality Gate's
metamorphosis by the memory wipe the Doctor placed on her when they
parted
company. Having witnessed the worldwide transmutation she has
fled onto
the streets, now begging her grandfather for help. The
master
orders his minions to trace the call and then lets Wilf have
the phone,
telling him to say goodbye.
Wilf
orders her to run and immediately she does so, but there is
nowhere
she can hide. The hoards of Masters entrap her, still hungry
from the
failed resurrection. Soon Donna's head is filled with her
forbidden
memories again, and her mind begins to boil. However, the
Doctor has
made sure to protect his old friend, and instead of
dying,
Donna instead collapses on the ground asleep, releasing as
she does a
wave of golden energy that knocks out the clones
surrounding her.
The Doctor
explains this to Wilf and the Master before his nemesis
turns on
him and demands to know where he has hidden his TARDIS.
Instead of
answering he tells him:
"You
could be so wonderful."
He claims
that the Master is a genius, but that he does not have to
own the
universe, merely see it, for that is ownership enough. He
suggests
that they travel the cosmos together, and the Master asks
if that
will end the drumming in his head. Wilf enquires about the
noise and
the Master explains that it began when, at the age of
eight, he
was taken to gaze at the Untempered Schism - a gap in the
fabric of
reality.
.On
Gallifrey the tale is also recounted and the President, with the
help of
the Visionary, realises the rhythm of four the Master has
heard in
his head all his life is not merely a sign of insanity - it
is the
rhythm of the heartbeat of a Time Lord.
The Doctor
offers to help find the source of the noise, but the
Master
already has a plan to do so on his own. Now the noise is
inside six
billion heads, he can triangulate each signal and find
its
source. Recalling the prophecy the Doctor spoke of in the
wasteland,
the Master gleefully decrees that it must refer to
himself.
Again he demands to be given the TARDIS, and threatens to
have Wilf
shot by one of his guards if the Doctor doe not relent.
However,
the Doctor points out that the helmeted guard is an inch
taller
than the Master and therefore not one of his clones. It is in
fact
Rossiter, who swiftly knocks out the Master with the butt of
his rifle
and with the help of Addams sets about releasing the two
prisoners.
Realising
that they have little time, Rossiter abandons this plan
and
instead wheels the Doctor on his trolley out of the room whilst
the freed
Wilf (who has retrieved his revolver) and Addams follow
them back
down to the basement. Soon the Master's guards are on
their tail
but before they can recapture them Addams teleports the
four
escapees away from Earth and onboard Hesperus the Vinvocci
ship.
The Doctor
protests, knowing the Master will not let them escape,
and
demands to be released from the trolley. As Wilf marvels at the
view of
Earth far below them, he disarms to the teleport with his
Sonic
Screwdriver so that the Master cannot follow them nor reverse
the
process and bring them back to the mansion. He also anticipates
his
enemy's next move - to blast them with Earth's missiles - and
runs to
the flight deck. Dragging Wilf along with him he arrives and
promptly
destroys the ship's navigation equipment, draining away the
craft's
power thus preventing them from being picked up by any radar
scan.
Sure
enough the Master is unable to trace them, but nevertheless
decides to
take precautionary measures to ensure the Doctor cannot
return by
destroying the Earth-bound half of the teleport controls.
On the
Hesperus, Addams and Rossiter are furious that the Doctor has
decimated
the engine, leaving them stranded. Wilf assumes that his
friend
will have a plan to save them but the Time Lord is silent.
On the
Earth far below, as night falls over England, the Master
readies
his plan to locate the source of the drumbeat. Forcing every
on of his
clones to concentrate on the sound, they begin to listen.
Suddenly
it becomes louder, tangible to be detected. The Master
suddenly
realises that this has been designed by someone; it is
there for
a purpose...
Far across
time and space, the doomed Time Lords of Gallifrey
transmit
the rhythmic beat back through history to the moment the
Master
first heard the noise as a child, imprinting it through his
life so
that they have a faint link between the moment the noise was
first
created by them and the moment it is amplified on the planet
Earth in
the year 2009. However, something tangible is needed to
make the
link strong enough to be traversed. The Visionary again
guides the
President into producing a small jewel from his
ceremonial
staff, which he hurls at a projected image of Earth
hanging
above their heads.
On the
Hesperus the Doctor listlessly begins making repairs to the
ship when
he sees a star falling across the sky towards Earth.
The Master
sees it too and dispatches guards to find the object once
it has
landed. When they manage to locate the impact zone they
search the
crater and find a gemstone; but this is no mere diamond,
it is a
White Point Star.
Back
onboard the Vinvocci ship Wilf searches the engine decks for
the Doctor
when the Woman he met in the Church on Christmas Eve
appears
behind him. She warns him that the day of reckoning is now
upon them.
Wilf confirms that he has armed himself for the occasion,
and she
tells him to give it to the Doctor but he protests, he knows
the Doctor
never carries a gun. Once again the Woman disappears, and
Wilf
wanders away.
He returns
to the main deck to meet the Doctor. Once again he gazes
at the
view of Earth and ponders that he wife is buried on the
planet,
and he might never see her again. He asks if the Master
would have
imprinted his images on corpses too, and the Doctor seems
to confirm
that indeed the maniac would. Wilf then recalls his days
of service
in Palestine at the end of its mandate. The Doctor
listens
intently, claiming despite Wilf's assumption that humans are
insects
compared to Time Lords, that he sees humanity as a race of
giants.
Seizing
his moment, Wilf grabs his revolver and offers it to his
friend,
claiming he was too scared to use it himself when he had the
chance in
the mansion. He recalls the Doctor's prophecy - that when
"he" knocks four times then he will die. Knowing the knocker
to be
the Master
he tells the Doctor to kill him before the reverse can
happen,
but the Doctor again protests. He admits that he has taken
lives
before, even manipulated people into killing themselves.
"Sometimes I think the Time Lord lives too long."
He refuses
to take the gun and Wilf asks what will happen if the
Master is
killed. The Doctor admits that the template he holds over
humanity
will snap and mankind will be given its own image. Wilf
then
orders him never to put the Master's life before those he has
oppressed
and pleadingly tells him to take the rifle as per the
instructions given to him by the Woman. Once again, the Doctor
refuses.
Suddenly
the Master's voice fills the air on an open broadcast. He
addresses
the Doctor and tells him of the fallen star, revealing its
true
identity. The Doctor's face is steeped with terror as the
Master
explains that he has prepared to amplify the signal of the
drumming
in his head, in conjunction with the star, and produce from
it a
lifeline. He signs off.
The Doctor
explains to Wilf that the White Point Star is only found
on
Gallifrey, which means the lifeline must be meant for his people
- the Time
Lords are returning. Suddenly he grabs the revolver and
pockets it
before fleeing to the flight deck with Wilf in hot
pursuit.
Back on
Earth the Master fuses the crystal to a nuclear bolt. As two
of his
clone technicians man the one-in-one-out control cubicle, he
prepares
to ramp up the drumbeat so that the link made by the star
can become
a pathway. He activates the computer and the drumming
begins,
growing louder and louder. Soon contact has been made.
Back on
Gallifrey the Lord President, sensing his approaching
triumph,
addresses the High Council for a vote - whether to die at
the end of
the Time War or to return to the universe and initiate
the Final
Sanction.
Aboard the
Hesperus the Doctor hears the signal being transmitted
from Earth
and explains to Wilf, Addams and Rossiter that although
the Time
War is time locked with Gallifrey and the Time Lords
trapped
inside, it is possible to break the lock if something from
Gallifrey
has already escaped - the signal imprinted in the Master's
brain
which survives because he fled the planet long before the end
of the
war.
Wilf asks
why the Doctor is so scared of his people returning if, as
he has
heard him claim before, they are so wonderful. The Doctor
claims he
chooses to remember them as such but in actuality they
have the
capacity to be far more dangerous than any of his enemies.
With a
flourish he effortlessly returns power to the ship and orders
Rossiter
and Wilf to man the two laser cannons strapped to either
side of
the ship.
With the
power restored to the Hesperus the master is able to locate
it, and
gives order for the missile bases of the planet to prepare
arms.
Addams,
the captain of the ship, objects to the Doctor's plan of
piloting
the ship back to Earth but he is not listening. Without
facing her
he tells her:
"There's an old Earth saying Captain, a phrase of great power and
wisdom,
and consolation to the soul in times of need.Allons-y!"
He slams
the ship into gear, hurtling toward Earth, but it is not
fast
enough to avoid the Master's missiles. A torrent of projectiles
is
unleashed and Wilf and Rossiter take them on with the laser
cannons,
like a dog fight in the skies above the Earth. At the
Doctor's
command they open fire and blast the rockets to smithereens
before
they can impact on the ship. Another wave is launched but
again Wilf
is able to shoot them down and the Doctor capable of
dodging
each one as he manoeuvres the Hesperus across the ocean.but
too late.
With the
vote cast and only two objections, the Time Lords prepare
to make
their return. Forcing the dissenters to follow him on his
journey,
masking their faces for their shame, the Lord President
readies
himself. In a rupture of light they are consumed.
At the
Naismith mansion the Master beholds the arrival of his
people,
bathed in a pool of blinding white light that consumes half
of the
Gate Room.
High
above, the Hesperus reaches England and as it passes over the
Naismith
mansion the Doctor opens up a service hatch and throws
himself
outside, still brandishing Wilf's revolver. He plummets
through
the air and smashes through the glass ceiling of the estate,
landing
with a horrid thud on the floor between the Master and the
council of
Time Lords. Bloodied and bruised he languishes on the
ground as
the President welcomes the two Gallifreyan survivors and
announces
that they are gathered to witness 'the End'.
Meanwhile,
Addams takes control of the Hesperus and struggles to
keep the
ship steady. Wilf tells her to return him back to the
mansion so
that he can help the Doctor, refusing to leave him on his
own.
In the
mansion the Doctor tries to explain to the President why the
Master has
opted for summoning them. The Master intervenes and
explains
that now he has access to the highest race in the universe
he no
longer needs to imprint himself merely on mankind - he can
instead
fashion the Time Lords in his own image and reign supreme.
He taunts
the President, but has underestimated him. Raising his
gauntlet
the Time Lord-in Chief summons the power to reverse the
work of
the Immortality Gate and return mankind to its own true form
- as
individuals - once again. The Master shouts at him to stop but
it is no
use. Once returned, the President orders them to their
knees and
announces that 'the Approach' has begun. A rumbling is
heard
overhead as the Doctor tells the Master that he was wrong
about the
Ood prophecy - it was that something was returning, not
simply
someone. The entity returning is Gallifrey.
Sure
enough, in the sky outside a blood-red planet begins to fade
into view.
The Earth tremors and people start to run through the
streets in
a blind panic. Shaun Temple, seeing that Donna has gone
mission,
sprints off to find his fianc e as Sylvia steps outside and
looks to
the heavens, pleading for the Doctor to help.
Having
been returned to the Naismith mansion by the now-retreating
Addams and
Rossiter, Wilf hurries towards the Gate room as the rest
of the
household flee outside. He eventually arrives to find the
Doctor
crouched on the floor in pain amidst the chaos. He then sees
one of
Naismith's scientists trapped inside the control cabinet. He
hurries
inside the opposite glass cubicle and locks himself in,
allowing
the other man to open his door and escape.
Sensing a
need to impress the Master announces the glory of having
the Time
Lords restored. However, the ailing Doctor warns him that
their
people changed in the last throws of the Time War, once he had
fled to
the edge of the universe and hidden himself as a lowly human
baby. He
recounts the pandemonium that defined the final days of
conflict;
the monsters and nightmares, the abominations and
travesties, all of which will be unleashed when Gallifrey returns.
He tells
him the war descended into Hell, but the Master is
unperturbed - Hell is his kind of world.
The Doctor
again remonstrates, telling him that even the Time Lords
cannot
survive such carnage. It is then that the President reveals
his Final
Sanction - a plan to send a rupture through the Time
Vortex
itself that will destroy everything bar the Time Lord
consciousness. When all else perishes they will elevate to a state
of pure
mental existence, the only ones left, able to reign over
all. This,
the Doctor claims, is what convinced him to destroy his
own
people; the genocide he unleashed was to prevent the destruction
of the
whole of creation.
The Master
asks to be allowed to ascend with the rest of his people
but the
president renounces him as a diseased lunatic. He prepares
to
vaporise him with the gauntlet but the Doctor intervenes, aiming
the
revolver at him. The President warns that he has chosen the
wrong
enemy, then the Master rebukes by telling the Doctor if he
kills the
President then he could take Gallifrey for himself. The
Doctor
turns and points the gun at the Master, who protests until he
realises
that if he is killed then the link keeping the Time Lords
on Earth
will be broken - for it exists in his head. He goads the
Doctor to
pull the trigger whilst renouncing him as a coward. The
Doctor
changes his mind and returns his aim to the President, who
belittles
him by claiming this act of murder will be his last. The
Doctor
hesitates, still aiming the gun, when he looks at the Time
Lord stood
behind the President - one of the dissenters hiding their
face in
shame. She drops her hands and reveals herself as the Woman.
The Doctor
gazes at her, recognising her. Finally he turns to face
the Master
and prepares to fire.
However,
it is not the Master he is aiming for. Telling his nemesis
to get out
of the way, he shoots at the computer behind him, which
contains
the White Point Star. The machine explodes and the room
begins to
shake violently as link is broken. The Doctor turns on the
President:
"Back
into the Time War Rassilon, back into hell".
Rassilon
aims his gauntlet at the Doctor, who stands and accepts
this is
the consequence of saving Earth. He readies himself but the
battle is
not over yet. The Master stands behind him and orders him
to move
aside. He does so and watches as his unwilling accomplice
blasts the
Time Lord President with the compressed energy that flows
from his
ripped-open body. Rassilon staggers back, unable to return
fire the
vengeful son of Gallifrey whom he cursed with the sound of
drums. As
he drops to his knees and the Master staggers toward him,
the room
fills with light and they both disappear. Gallifrey too is
send back
across the ages to the Time War, taking the Time Lords and
abominations with it, and leaving Earth safe once more.
Thrown
again to the ground, the Doctor slowly pulls himself up onto
his hands
and knees, almost weeping as he realises that he has
beaten
death. Despite the drumbeat and the prophecy of the return,
despite
the blood spilt and the enmity of ages, he is still alive.
And then
he knocks, four times.
The Doctor
stops. He lets his eyes follow the sound across the room
as it is
heard again. He turns and meets the gaze of Wilf, still
locked in
the control cabinet, knocking on the glass door to be let
out.
The Time
Lord gets to his feet as Wilf, unmindful of the prophecy he
is about
to seal, asks why the cabinet has begun to emit a loud
buzzing
noise. He friend explains that the Master left the nuclear
bolt
activated and it has gone critical, about to vent itself
through
the cabinet where the Vinvocci glass will seal it off to
prevent
any radiation spreading. Wilf asks to be let out but the
Doctor
explains that the cabinet has itself gone critical; any
attempt to
unlock Wilf's door will cause the entire chamber to
flood,
killing whoever locks themselves inside the other cubicle so
that his
door can be released. Even the Sonic Screwdriver cannot
activate
the controls without setting the venting process off.
Wilf
realises the sacrifice that is required for him to be saved and
apologises, telling the Doctor to leave him. Enraged, the Doctor
claims
that he will, cursing the old man for locking himself in the
cabinet in
the first place and fulfilling the prophecy that has
haunted
him across the universe. He claims that Wilf has always been
waiting
for him, destined to bring about his death. Again Wilf
claims
that the Doctor should leave him, for he is an old man who
has lived
his life. The Doctor, raging against the dying of the
light,
agrees and claims that he himself is capable of far more than
he has
been given time to do. After screaming his rage he falls
quiet and
mutters to himself that he has lived too long, and wearily
walks over
to the control cabinet. Wilf yells at him not to step
inside but
the Doctor insists it would be his honour to die for him.
He steps
inside and activates the lock, releasing Wilf, who hurries
out and
watches and the radiation pours into the cubicle and drowns
the
defeated Time Lord. He drops to the floor, writhing in agony,
and
eventually the onslaught subsides. When it has passed he gets to
his feet -
the same man.
He claims
that the system is dead and the radiation has all been
absorbed
into his body. The mechanism broken, he is able to open the
door
without locking the other cubicle, and steps outside where Wilf
is
waiting, commenting that he is not dead after all. He notes the
Doctor's
battle scars, which suddenly disappear. The Doctor realises
that this
is only the beginning. The end may not be on him yet, but
it is
coming. Wilf realises this, and hugs him.
Some time
later the Doctor returns Wilf to his home, where Donna has
been found
alive and well, if a little confused. They are met by
Sylvia and
the Doctor prepares to leave, telling Wilf that this is
not
goodbye for he will see them both once again before he goes. He
announces
that before that he must leave to take his reward, and
then steps
inside the TARDIS.
Somewhere
on Earth in an abandoned factory, Martha Jones and Mickey
Smith are
on the run from a rogue Sontaran. Armed themselves, they
seek
refuge in the remains of a concrete bunker. Mickey remarks that
the battle
is no place for a married woman, and Martha retorts by
telling
him he should not have married her. Bother consider their
next move,
unaware that high on a nearby gantry the Sontaran has
it's gun
trained on them. However, before it can fire it reels back
and
collapses on the floor, revealing the Doctor stood behind it
with his
trusty mallet. He watches his two friends below and, after
a few
seconds, they spot him. He turns silently and walks away.
Moments
later the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising fills the air
and Mickey
holds Martha close.
On a sunny
day in Ealing, London, Luke Smith wanders across
Bannerman
Road speaking to his friend Clyde Langer over his mobile
phone. As
he recalls the extraordinary events of the past Christmas
and the
subsequent cover-up, a car approaches rapidly behind him. In
the nick
of time the Doctor runs in and grabs Luke, dragging him
back onto
the pavement. Having met before, Luke recognises his
saviour
and runs to tell his mother what has happened. The Doctor
makes to
leave as Sarah Jane Smith steps outside of her home to find
her son in
a flurry of excitement. He tells her about the man he has
seen and
she looks across the road. She sees her old friend stood at
the door
of his ship, looking subdued and waving solemnly. As he
disappears
from view she begins to cry, knowing what the visit
means.
In a bar
on a distant planet all manner of creatures gather to drown
their
sorrows. Amongst them is Captain Jack Harkness, recently fled
from
Earth, whom finds himself the recipient of a note delivered by
the
barman. He is directed towards the sender of the message and
looks up
to see the Doctor standing across the room. He then reads
the note,
which reads: "His name is Alonso", and sees the Doctor
indicating
the man seated on his left - former Midshipman Frame of
the
Starship Titanic. Jack salutes the Doctor, who casually
reciprocates before departing, leaving his old ally to chat-up his
new man.
Back on
Earth, at a bookshop, Verity Newman is signing copies of her
book 'A
Journal of Impossible Things' which, she tells one customer,
is in fact
a diary left by her great grandmother that tells the
story of a
man she fell in love with named John Smith, who was in
fact a
traveller from another world. As the next customer steps
forward
she asks for a name to dedicate the book to, without looking
up. The
customer asks for her to sign it to 'the Doctor', and she
realises
who is stood before her - the man her ancestor once loved.
He asks
her simply if the book's heroine, Joan Redfern, was happy at
the end of
her life, and Verity claims she was. She asks the same
question
to the Doctor but he gives no reply, he simply smiles,
takes his
book and leaves.
The
wedding bells ring at an idyllic church as Donna Noble and Shaun
Temple
step outside into a shower of confetti. Wilfred Mott leads
the cheers
before the photographs of the happy couple are taken.
Wilf
chides his friend Minnie, who teases him about the idea of
marrying
again, and then - prompted by his daughter Sylvia - turns
to see the
Doctor stood at the gates of the churchyard. They go to
him and
Wilf tells him about the recent arrest and imprisonment of
Joshua and
Abigail Naismith. He then asks who the Woman that
appeared
to him was, the same one whom the Doctor saw in the Gate
room
amongst the other Time Lords. The Doctor does not reply, he
simply
turns and looks at Sylvia and then Donna - mother and
daughter.
Changing the subject he takes an envelope from his pocket
and gives
it to Wilf - a wedding present for Donna. He claims he
bought it
with money he borrowed from a sweet old man named Geoffrey
Noble.
Overwhelmed, Sylvia begins to cry at the gesture, and the
pair
return to the wedding festivities to present the gift. It is a
lottery
ticket - just in time for the triple rollover draw.
Realising
the Doctor has saved Donna from her financial woes, Wilf
and Sylvia
smile, before turning back to the Doctor, stood across
the
graveyard next to the TARDIS. Wilf salutes and blows the Time
Lord a
kiss as he departs, tears filling his eyes.
It is
snowing on the Powell Estate as Rose and Jackie Tyler stroll
through
the crisp night air towards a News Years party. Late for
their
separate engagements, they discuss Jackie's latest boyfriend,
who,
despite being unreliable, Jackie claims may be her last chance.
Rose
chides her for being so pessimistic then wishes her a Happy New
Year. They
embrace and bid each other goodnight. As Rose walks off
through
the snow she sees a man standing in the shadows, evidently
in pain.
Not recognising the man in the long brown coat she assumes
he is
another over-jolly partygoer and asks if he is okay. He claims
he is and
she suggests it might be time for him to go home. He
agrees and
they wish each other a Happy New Year. Finally, the man
asks the
young woman what year it is and she replies that it is
2005. He
smiles and predicts that she will have a memorable year
ahead of
her. Smiling back, she says goodbye and walks away.
By now the
Doctor is in a fierce amount of pain. Staggering out of
the
shadows he sees the TARDIS parker some distance away across the
estate and
begins to stagger towards it, needing to return to his
home to
die in peace. The journey is hard and it costs him a
tremendous
effort to walk. Halfway there he collapses in a heap.
Looking up
he sees Ood Sigma standing in the distance. The gentile
alien
calls to him, telling him that the universe will sing him to
his sleep.
Soon the air is filled with a bittersweet melody that
guides the
Doctor back to his ship. Sigma tells him that though his
current
song is ending, his story will never end.
The Doctor
makes his way inside and, still in great pain, discards
his coat
and approaches the glowing console. He looks at one his
hands and
watches as it is bathed in a golden mist. He gazes
defiantly
up at the console and sets the ship in motion, sending it
into orbit
around the planet Earth. Looking about the ship one last
time and,
with his body ready to relent, he utters his last:
"I
don't want to go."
And the
regeneration begins. Slowly at first, the Doctor's face is
embraced
by the golden glow and then suddenly, with a massive
acceleration, his body is enveloped in a torrent of fiery light. The
force of
the blast shatters the TARDIS windows and obliterates the
coral
masonry. The console explodes sending showers of sparks all
over the
floor like a pool of molten metal. Flames gouge from the
engines
below as the Doctor's face blurs and he begins to scream.
When the
process subsides the New Doctor stands wide-eyed in the
middle of
his ruined ship. Feverishly he examines his new body:
"Legs! I've still got legs, good. Arms, hands; ooh fingers, lots of
fingers.
Ears, yes. Eyes, two. Nose, I've had worse. Chin, Blimey!
Hair.I'm a
girl! No! No, I'm not a girl, no.and still not ginger!"
Satisfied
with this assessment he begins to recall something urgent
that
requires his attention, and when another violent explosion
knocks him
off his feet it dawns on him - he is crashing. Dancing
around the
console as the wrecked TARDIS hurtles violently back
towards
Earth; he grabs hold of the scanner, looks to the heavens
and cries:
"Geronimo!"
Source:
Dominic Smith
Continuity Notes:
The prophecy of the Tenth Doctor's death was given by Carmen
in
Planet of the Dead. The Immortality Gate was alluded to
by
the Trickster in The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.
This story leads on from the Doctor's fleeting glimpse of
insanity in The Waters of Mars, whereupon he was summoned by
Ood Sigma. This results in a return to the Ood Sphere, last
seen in Planet of the Ood.
The Doctor claims that as part of his delay he married Queen
Elizabeth I, but presumably has fled the scene. This
explains why the monarch was so angry to see him at the end
of
The Shakespeare Code.
The events of Utopia / The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time
Lords are recalled at various points, particularly with
reference to the Master's role in the episodes.
Clips from previous episodes are shown as part of Donna's
mind recalling her time with the Doctor, taken from The
Runaway Bride, The Fires of Pompeii, Planet of the Ood, The
Unicorn and the Wasp and Journey's End. The latter episode
is
also referenced by Wilf, along with The Poison Sky.
The Doctor comments on the likeness between the Vinvocci and
Bannakaffalatta from Voyage of the Damned.
The Immortality Gate came from the Torchwood Institute,
which Naismith claims has fallen. This may be a reference to
the events of Children of Earth.
The Doctor mentions the 'Nightmare Child', also referenced
in
The Stolen Earth.
The Lord President orders the two Time Lord dissenters to
cover their faces 'like the Weeping Angels of old' - a
reference to Blink. The President's name is given as
'Rassilon'. The character has appeared several times in
various Doctor Who stories, most noticeably in Big Finish
audios such as Zagreus and The Next Life, but also in The
Five Doctors.
The Doctor says a final goodbye to all of his companions,
most of whom he has not seen since Journey's End. In the
interim Captain Jack returned to Torchwood but fled at the
end of Children of Earth and Sarah Jane has continued her
life on Bannerman Road, meeting the Doctor once more in The
Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith.
He
also says goodbye to Verity Newman, the descendant of
Joan Redfern, seen in Human Nature / Family of Blood. Her
name is an amalgamation of Doctor Who alumni Verity Lambert
and Sydney Newman. Her book is an adaptation of John Smith's
journal from that story.
The space bar scene contains many aliens encountered by the
Doctor over the past few years, including Slitheen (Aliens
of
London), Graske (Attack of the Graske), Hath (The
Doctor's Daughter), Adipose (Partners In Crimes) and Judoon
(Smith and Jones).
The Eleventh Doctor bemoans not being ginger - his previous
incarnation voiced similar sentiments during The Christmas
Invasion. His story continues in The Eleventh Hour.
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Attack of the Graske
Attack of the
Graske
Executive
Producers
Julie
Gardner
Russell T.
Davies
Producer
Phil
Collinson
Script
Editor
Simon
Winston Written by Gareth Roberts
Directed by Ashley Way
Incidental Music by Murray Gold
David Tennant (The Doctor), Jimmy Vee (The Graske), Lisa
Palfrey (Mum), Nicholas Beveney (Dad), Mollie Kabia
(Daughter), James Harris (Son), Robin Meredith (Granddad),
Gwenth Petty (Grandma), Ben Oliver (Urchin), Roger Nott (Older
Man), Catherine Olding (Young Woman).
Attack of the Graske is a mini-episode of Doctor Who with a
twist: it allows viewers to become the Doctor’s companion.
Original
Broadcast (UK)
Attack of the Graske December 25th, 2005 8h00pm - 8h15pm
Notes:
An
interactive episode broadcast after The Christmas
Invasion to Digital Satellite and Freeview viewers.
Attack of
the Graske
(drn:
14'30")
Fancy a
trip in the TARDIS? The Doctor has dropped off Rose at an
ABBA
concert at Wembley in 1979, so he’s going to need your help.
First,
he’ll connect your digital remote control to his sonic
screwdriver, and then you can help him find out what’s gone awry
with an
ordinary family Christmas. Mum and Dad, gran and granddad,
and a
little boy and girl are milling about the living and dining
room,
going through their presents and preparing to eat while the
girl tests
out her new camcorder and tries to get all the family in
one place
for her Christmas video. If you watch the scene carefully,
you’ll
notice that the mother’s eyes briefly glow yellow -- but why?
Moments
later, the mother calls the father into the dining room --
and an
alien materialises on the dining-room table and zaps the dad
with a
hand-held control, replacing him with an exact duplicate
whose eyes
briefly glow yellow.
The Doctor
identifies the alien as a Graske, one of a species that
takes over
planets by replacing their populations with duplicates.
While the
Doctor tries to follow the Graske’s trail, you must pilot
the TARDIS
for him, using your remote control to operate the
dimensional stabiliser, the vector tracker, and the vortex loop when
the Doctor
tells you to. The trail leads back in time; you must keep
an eye on
England from orbit, and select the section of the grid
where the
Graske’s DNA trail appears. The trail leads to a street in
London on
Christmas, 1883; if you look closely, you’ll see exactly
where the
Graske is hiding. The Graske then leaps out of hiding, and
in the
ensuing confusion and panic, he zaps a young street urchin
and
replaces him with a duplicate.
The TARDIS
pursues the Graske to Gryffoth, its home planet. The
entrance
to the Graske’s base is shielded, and in order to get
inside,
you’ll have to solve a series of three logic codes; two are
shape-recognition puzzles, and one is numerical. Once through, you
find
yourself in the chamber where the Graske store their victims’
bodies;
they need to keep the originals alive in order to sustain
the
copies. As the Graske transfers his two latest victims into the
cubicles,
he spots you and opens fire -- and when you duck out of
the way,
the ricochet blasts open another cubicle and releases an
angry
Slitheen. The Slitheen pursues the Graske through the chamber,
giving you
a chance to reach the controls, but you only have time to
do one of
two things: reverse the settings, which will destroy the
duplicates
and send the originals back home; or use the stasis
controls
to freeze everything except you in place.
This is
the tricky bit. If you choose to operate the teleport, then
well done
-- all of the Graske’s victims, including the Slitheen,
are
transported back home. Back in the family house, the proper dad
and mum
snap back to normal and start having fun with their family,
and as the
boy plugs in his new video game, the girl prepares to
make her
Christmas video. Well done; there’ll always be another
chance to
deal with the Graske, and in the meantime, you’ve saved
Christmas
-- and proven yourself a worthy companion of the Doctor.
Maybe if
he ever needs a new companion, he’ll be by to pick you up
one day!
If, on the
other hand, you choose to operate the stasis field...
that’s not
so well done. You’ve frozen Time, so everyone’s staying
right
where they are... including all of the Graske’s victims. Back
on Earth,
the duplicated mum and dad sit blandly on the sofa,
suggesting
that the family go for a brisk jog in the cold or cut
their
toenails, and they simply stare blankly at the girl when she
begs them
to do the Christmas video with her. Nice going; you just
ruined
Christmas and failed to prove yourself a worthy companion of
the
Doctor. Disappointed, he drops you off back home, but admits
that you
did okay for a first run and that maybe you’ll improve one
day.
But you
can always try again...
Source:
Cameron Dixon
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