The doctor takes Clara to the rings of Akhaten, A partly destroyed planet, where a religious ceremony is about to be carried out, but a darkness is stirring, a hungry darkness that could con... Read allThe doctor takes Clara to the rings of Akhaten, A partly destroyed planet, where a religious ceremony is about to be carried out, but a darkness is stirring, a hungry darkness that could consume the rings of Akhaten and the universe.The doctor takes Clara to the rings of Akhaten, A partly destroyed planet, where a religious ceremony is about to be carried out, but a darkness is stirring, a hungry darkness that could consume the rings of Akhaten and the universe.
- Clara
- (as Jenna-Louise Coleman)
- Ellie
- (as Nicola Sian)
- Passer By
- (uncredited)
- The Vigil
- (uncredited)
- The Vigil
- (uncredited)
- Millennium Alien
- (uncredited)
- Vigil
- (uncredited)
- Beast Man
- (uncredited)
- 80s Man
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Neil Cross
- Steven Moffat
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the market on Akhaten, the Doctor points out a Hooloovoo, a race first described in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy books as a "Super-intelligent shade of the colour blue".
- GoofsIn the marketplace, Clara hears various alien languages. Normally, because of the TARDIS effect, they would have sounded to her like English. But the TARDIS has shown that it doesn't much like Clara, so this might account for why it did not translate for her.
- Quotes
The Doctor: Okay then. That's what I'll do; I will tell you a story. Can you hear them? All these people who lived in terror of you and your judgement. All these people who's ancestors devoted themselves, sacrificed themselves to you. Can you hear them singing? Oh, you like to think you're a god. You're not a god, you're just a parasite, eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of other. You feed on them, on the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow! So... So... Come on, then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope you've got a big appetite because I've lived a long life and I've seen a few things. I walked away from the Last Great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and I watched as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time. No space. Just me. I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a madman. I've watched universes freeze and creations burn. I have seen things you wouldn't believe. I have lost things you will never understand. And I know things, secrets that must never be told and knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that will make parasite gods blaze. So come on then! Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Doctor Who Live: The Afterparty (2013)
This being the second episode for new companion Clara Oswald -- sort of -- we leave the familiar locales of Earth to show the new companion the wonders of the universe. Of course there's a huge monster that threatens the fabulous alien world; however, just as last episode strove to take series two's THE IDIOT'S LANTERN and fill out the story, this one seems more of a gloss on that season's two-parter THE IMPOSSIBLE PLANET/Satan PIT.
This will not please some fans. Frankly, it doesn't please me particularly, since I consider those stories pretty weak. While these re-dos are stronger than the originals, there's enough annoyance lingering to make me wish they had tackled something else. Still, I understand Mr. Cross' impulse as a writer to fix a story that should have been better.
Part of the problem of writing a series like Doctor Who is that if you save the universe one week and a Dulwich curry shop the next, there's a feeling of anticlimax. My favorite writer from the original series, Robert Holmes, enjoyed the small stories and redeemed them by good humor and clever wordplay. The new series is chock full of jokes, so that reset is more problematic. Add in the issues in learning to write for the actor of the new companion and we are left with the season arc to provide some scaling.
So what do we have here? There's always going to be a threat that the Doctor must save something from. That's a basic thesis of the show. It's done decently here, better than the original, since what the monster this week feeds on is actually stories; Mr. Cross' meta-fictional statement is that the untold stories are far more numerous than the stories actually told; anyone who has tried to write a story as more than a series of standard plot points will recognize that. It's interesting, if not entirely satisfying.
We also get to see more of the new companion and see how the writers, directors and cinematographers use Ms. Coleman to advantage. She shows gumption and looks very cute peering out from around a corner, which, I don't doubt, will be used later in the series. Already I like her better than the frequently strident Amy Pond.
I have commented in earlier reviews that it's hard to be absolutely original in a fifty-year-old series. Changes have to be accretive rather than ground-breaking since the series must draw in new fans without upsetting old fans who get upset because something in this episode contradicts something that was broadcast almost half a century ago. All these factors make a straitjacket for the show's staff to work in. The result here is good, if not great.
- boblipton
- Apr 6, 2013
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Filming locations
- Goldsmith Close, Newport, Wales, UK(The Doctor meets Clara as a toddler)
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD