Tin Dog Podcast
- Description:
- tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk The Tin Dog welcomes you to sit back and listen to his rants and ramblings about all that is best in modern SF and Television. Via the gift of the new fangled Podcast over the tinterweb. As you can probably guess Tin Dog mostly talks about Doctor Who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane Smith but that wont stop him talking about any other subject you suggest. Hailing from a non specific part of the northeast of England, Tin Dog is male and in his mid 30s. A life long fan of almost all TV SF. His semi-autistic tendencies combined with his total lack of social skills have helped him find a place in the heart of British SF Fandom. Even as a child the Tin Dogs mother told him that she can trace his love of SF TV back to his rhythmic kicking, while still in the womb, along to the beat of the Avengers theme music. From Gabriel Chase to Totters Lane, from the Bad Wolf Satellite to the back streets of the Cardiff, Tin Dog will give you his thoughts on the wonderful Whoniverse. Daleks and Cybermen and TARDIS ES Oh My If you enjoy these Tin Dog Podcasts please remember to tell your friends and leave an email tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk
Homepage: http://tin-dog.co.uk
RSS Feed: http://www.tin-dog.co.uk/rss
- Episodes:
- 2905
- Average Episode Duration:
- 0:0:10:09
- Longest Episode Duration:
- 0:2:09:15
- Total Duration of all Episodes:
- 20 days, 11 hours, 17 minutes and 36 seconds
- Earliest Episode:
- 1 May 2007 (6:54pm GMT)
- Latest Episode:
- 20 June 2025 (5:54am GMT)
- Average Time Between Episodes:
- 2 days, 6 hours, 43 minutes and 43 seconds
Tin Dog Podcast Episodes
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TDP 302: The Mat Irvine Interview (My First Interview!)
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis is the show that should have been show 300! An EXTRA LONG interview with Mat Irvine!!! to celebrate my and the tin dog podcasts birthday and reaching show 300 I wanted to do something special... and here it is.... Mat Irvine was born on 7 July 1948. He was a Technical Consultant and Visual Effects Designer who worked on television, primarily for the BBC, from the 1970s to the 1990s. As a Technical Consultant, Irvine worked on shows such as The Sky at Night, Tomorrow's World and, most recently, Robot Wars, on which he was hired as a technical consultant in 1998. As a Visual Effects Designer, Irvine worked on shows such as Rentaghost, Terry and June, Blake's 7, The Tripods, Edge of Darknessand To the Manor Born. He is perhaps best known for his work on Doctor Who, for which he was a Visual Effects Designer, from the 1970s to the 1980s. He is credited with building the first K-9 prop for the serial The Invisible Enemy, (1977). He was not told that it would be required beyond that story, thus the prop he designed was only capable of traversing the studio floor and proved useless when brought on location for subsequent stories. Irvine eventually built a second K-9 that could cover rougher ground. He occasionally operated the K-9 prop during filming. His connection with K-9 has continued. In 1981, Irvine served as Visual Effects Designer for the Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company. In 1993, he operated K-9 for the Doctor Who charity special, Dimensions in Time. In 1999, he once again operated the robotic dog when a model K-9, (in reality one of the original props), was given to the character Vince as a Birthday present in Queer as Folk. He operated K-9 in an episode of Totally Doctor Who in 2006. He spoke about his work on Blake's 7 and The Tripods in 2006 on BBC Four's The Cult of... series, in the episodes The Cult of...Blake's 7 and The Cult of...The Tripods. Nowadays, he makes appearances at sci-fi and Doctor Who conventions, often alongside K-9. He appeared alongside K-9, (the Mark III model used on K-9 and Company), and Elisabeth Sladen on Totally Doctor Who in July 2006.
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TDP 302: The Mat Irvine Interview (My First Interview!)
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis is the show that should have been show 300! An EXTRA LONG interview with Mat Irvine!!! to celebrate my and the tin dog podcasts birthday and reaching show 300 I wanted to do something special... and here it is.... Mat Irvine was born on 7 July 1948. He was a Technical Consultant and Visual Effects Designer who worked on television, primarily for the BBC, from the 1970s to the 1990s. As a Technical Consultant, Irvine worked on shows such as The Sky at Night, Tomorrow's World and, most recently, Robot Wars, on which he was hired as a technical consultant in 1998. As a Visual Effects Designer, Irvine worked on shows such as Rentaghost, Terry and June, Blake's 7, The Tripods, Edge of Darknessand To the Manor Born. He is perhaps best known for his work on Doctor Who, for which he was a Visual Effects Designer, from the 1970s to the 1980s. He is credited with building the first K-9 prop for the serial The Invisible Enemy, (1977). He was not told that it would be required beyond that story, thus the prop he designed was only capable of traversing the studio floor and proved useless when brought on location for subsequent stories. Irvine eventually built a second K-9 that could cover rougher ground. He occasionally operated the K-9 prop during filming. His connection with K-9 has continued. In 1981, Irvine served as Visual Effects Designer for the Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company. In 1993, he operated K-9 for the Doctor Who charity special, Dimensions in Time. In 1999, he once again operated the robotic dog when a model K-9, (in reality one of the original props), was given to the character Vince as a Birthday present in Queer as Folk. He operated K-9 in an episode of Totally Doctor Who in 2006. He spoke about his work on Blake's 7 and The Tripods in 2006 on BBC Four's The Cult of... series, in the episodes The Cult of...Blake's 7 and The Cult of...The Tripods. Nowadays, he makes appearances at sci-fi and Doctor Who conventions, often alongside K-9. He appeared alongside K-9, (the Mark III model used on K-9 and Company), and Elisabeth Sladen on Totally Doctor Who in July 2006.
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TDP 301: Hunters of Earth - Destiny 01
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 6 secondsDoctor Who - Tin Dog Podcast reviews Synopsis Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien… Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself, she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted. PLEASE NOTE: THE CD RELEASE DOES NOT COME WITH A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE STORY. Written By: Nigel RobinsonDirected By: John Ainsworth Cast Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Tam Williams (Cedric)
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TDP 302: The Mat Irvine Interview (My First Interview!)
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis is the show that should have been show 300! An EXTRA LONG interview with Mat Irvine!!! to celebrate my and the tin dog podcasts birthday and reaching show 300 I wanted to do something special... and here it is.... Mat Irvine was born on 7 July 1948. He was a Technical Consultant and Visual Effects Designer who worked on television, primarily for the BBC, from the 1970s to the 1990s. As a Technical Consultant, Irvine worked on shows such as The Sky at Night, Tomorrow's World and, most recently, Robot Wars, on which he was hired as a technical consultant in 1998. As a Visual Effects Designer, Irvine worked on shows such as Rentaghost, Terry and June, Blake's 7, The Tripods, Edge of Darknessand To the Manor Born. He is perhaps best known for his work on Doctor Who, for which he was a Visual Effects Designer, from the 1970s to the 1980s. He is credited with building the first K-9 prop for the serial The Invisible Enemy, (1977). He was not told that it would be required beyond that story, thus the prop he designed was only capable of traversing the studio floor and proved useless when brought on location for subsequent stories. Irvine eventually built a second K-9 that could cover rougher ground. He occasionally operated the K-9 prop during filming. His connection with K-9 has continued. In 1981, Irvine served as Visual Effects Designer for the Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company. In 1993, he operated K-9 for the Doctor Who charity special, Dimensions in Time. In 1999, he once again operated the robotic dog when a model K-9, (in reality one of the original props), was given to the character Vince as a Birthday present in Queer as Folk. He operated K-9 in an episode of Totally Doctor Who in 2006. He spoke about his work on Blake's 7 and The Tripods in 2006 on BBC Four's The Cult of... series, in the episodes The Cult of...Blake's 7 and The Cult of...The Tripods. Nowadays, he makes appearances at sci-fi and Doctor Who conventions, often alongside K-9. He appeared alongside K-9, (the Mark III model used on K-9 and Company), and Elisabeth Sladen on Totally Doctor Who in July 2006.
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TDP 301: Hunters of Earth - Destiny 01
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 6 secondsDoctor Who - Tin Dog Podcast reviews Synopsis Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien… Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself, she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted. PLEASE NOTE: THE CD RELEASE DOES NOT COME WITH A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE STORY. Written By: Nigel RobinsonDirected By: John Ainsworth Cast Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Tam Williams (Cedric)
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TDP 302: The Mat Irvine Interview (My First Interview!)
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 51 minutes and 48 secondsThis is the show that should have been show 300! An EXTRA LONG interview with Mat Irvine!!! to celebrate my and the tin dog podcasts birthday and reaching show 300 I wanted to do something special... and here it is.... Mat Irvine was born on 7 July 1948. He was a Technical Consultant and Visual Effects Designer who worked on television, primarily for the BBC, from the 1970s to the 1990s. As a Technical Consultant, Irvine worked on shows such as The Sky at Night, Tomorrow's World and, most recently, Robot Wars, on which he was hired as a technical consultant in 1998. As a Visual Effects Designer, Irvine worked on shows such as Rentaghost, Terry and June, Blake's 7, The Tripods, Edge of Darknessand To the Manor Born. He is perhaps best known for his work on Doctor Who, for which he was a Visual Effects Designer, from the 1970s to the 1980s. He is credited with building the first K-9 prop for the serial The Invisible Enemy, (1977). He was not told that it would be required beyond that story, thus the prop he designed was only capable of traversing the studio floor and proved useless when brought on location for subsequent stories. Irvine eventually built a second K-9 that could cover rougher ground. He occasionally operated the K-9 prop during filming. His connection with K-9 has continued. In 1981, Irvine served as Visual Effects Designer for the Doctor Who spin-off, K-9 and Company. In 1993, he operated K-9 for the Doctor Who charity special, Dimensions in Time. In 1999, he once again operated the robotic dog when a model K-9, (in reality one of the original props), was given to the character Vince as a Birthday present in Queer as Folk. He operated K-9 in an episode of Totally Doctor Who in 2006. He spoke about his work on Blake's 7 and The Tripods in 2006 on BBC Four's The Cult of... series, in the episodes The Cult of...Blake's 7 and The Cult of...The Tripods. Nowadays, he makes appearances at sci-fi and Doctor Who conventions, often alongside K-9. He appeared alongside K-9, (the Mark III model used on K-9 and Company), and Elisabeth Sladen on Totally Doctor Who in July 2006.
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TDP 301: Hunters of Earth - Destiny 01
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 6 secondsDoctor Who - Tin Dog Podcast reviews Synopsis Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien… Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself, she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted. PLEASE NOTE: THE CD RELEASE DOES NOT COME WITH A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE STORY. Written By: Nigel RobinsonDirected By: John Ainsworth Cast Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Tam Williams (Cedric)
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TDP 301: Hunters of Earth - Destiny 01
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 6 secondsDoctor Who - Tin Dog Podcast reviews Synopsis Shoreditch, London, 1963. The Beatles have beaten John Smith and the Common Men to No. 1 and satellites are being launched in outer space. Back down on Earth, strange goings-on are occurring: the normally placid teenagers of Coal Hill are running riot and a master thief is stealing highly specialised equipment. Schoolgirl Susan Foreman just wants an easy life for herself and her grandfather, the mysterious Doctor. She wants to be liked and accepted by Cedric and all the other pupils at Coal Hill School. But there’s trouble in the streets and bombsites around Totter’s Lane. The teenagers are becoming dangerous… Their mission: to hunt down anyone different, or alien… Susan’s quiet life is about to spiral out of control. Having inadvertently started drawing attention to herself, she finds herself drawn into a desperate situation. Suddenly, the chase is on and she and her grandfather are now the hunted. PLEASE NOTE: THE CD RELEASE DOES NOT COME WITH A FREE DOWNLOAD OF THE STORY. Written By: Nigel RobinsonDirected By: John Ainsworth Cast Carole Ann Ford (Susan Foreman), Tam Williams (Cedric)
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TDP 300: Tin Dog Podcast Show 300!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes and 50 secondsA Thank you...
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TDP 300: Tin Dog Podcast Show 300!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes and 50 secondsA Thank you...
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TDP 300: Tin Dog Podcast Show 300!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes and 50 secondsA Thank you...
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TDP 300: Tin Dog Podcast Show 300!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 4 minutes and 50 secondsA Thank you...
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TDP 299: Voyage to the New World
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 56 secondstin dog podcast 299. Roanoke Island, 1590. The TARDIS materializes in the past, and the Doctor’s companions, Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, find themselves prisoners of the natives in the New World. But there’s something something strange here – stranger than even the colonists, led by Englishman John White. What are the ghostly children? And who is the Old Man of Croaton? The travellers are about to discover the secret of the lost colony... and it may cost Jago's life. Written By: Matthew SweetDirected By: Ken Bentley Cast Colin Baker (The Doctor), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Philip Pope (John White), Ramon Tikaram(Wanchese), Mark Lockyer (Sir Walter Raleigh), Emerald O'Hanrahan (Eleanor Dare)
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TDP 299: Voyage to the New World
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 56 secondstin dog podcast 299. Roanoke Island, 1590. The TARDIS materializes in the past, and the Doctor’s companions, Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, find themselves prisoners of the natives in the New World. But there’s something something strange here – stranger than even the colonists, led by Englishman John White. What are the ghostly children? And who is the Old Man of Croaton? The travellers are about to discover the secret of the lost colony... and it may cost Jago's life. Written By: Matthew SweetDirected By: Ken Bentley Cast Colin Baker (The Doctor), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Philip Pope (John White), Ramon Tikaram(Wanchese), Mark Lockyer (Sir Walter Raleigh), Emerald O'Hanrahan (Eleanor Dare)
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TDP 299: Voyage to the New World
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 56 secondstin dog podcast 299. Roanoke Island, 1590. The TARDIS materializes in the past, and the Doctor’s companions, Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, find themselves prisoners of the natives in the New World. But there’s something something strange here – stranger than even the colonists, led by Englishman John White. What are the ghostly children? And who is the Old Man of Croaton? The travellers are about to discover the secret of the lost colony... and it may cost Jago's life. Written By: Matthew SweetDirected By: Ken Bentley Cast Colin Baker (The Doctor), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Philip Pope (John White), Ramon Tikaram(Wanchese), Mark Lockyer (Sir Walter Raleigh), Emerald O'Hanrahan (Eleanor Dare)
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TDP 299: Voyage to the New World
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 56 secondstin dog podcast 299. Roanoke Island, 1590. The TARDIS materializes in the past, and the Doctor’s companions, Professor Litefoot and Henry Gordon Jago, find themselves prisoners of the natives in the New World. But there’s something something strange here – stranger than even the colonists, led by Englishman John White. What are the ghostly children? And who is the Old Man of Croaton? The travellers are about to discover the secret of the lost colony... and it may cost Jago's life. Written By: Matthew SweetDirected By: Ken Bentley Cast Colin Baker (The Doctor), Christopher Benjamin (Henry Gordon Jago), Trevor Baxter (Professor George Litefoot), Philip Pope (John White), Ramon Tikaram(Wanchese), Mark Lockyer (Sir Walter Raleigh), Emerald O'Hanrahan (Eleanor Dare)
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TDP 298: My First Joint Hosted Tin Dog Podcast
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 55 minutes and 56 secondsJoin me and luke from TMDWP as we discuss fan ideas... its the longest tin dog podcasdt... EVER!
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TDP 298: My First Joint Hosted Tin Dog Podcast
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 55 minutes and 56 secondsJoin me and luke from TMDWP as we discuss fan ideas... its the longest tin dog podcasdt... EVER!
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TDP 298: My First Joint Hosted Tin Dog Podcast
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 55 minutes and 56 secondsJoin me and luke from TMDWP as we discuss fan ideas... its the longest tin dog podcasdt... EVER!
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TDP 298: My First Joint Hosted Tin Dog Podcast
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 55 minutes and 56 secondsJoin me and luke from TMDWP as we discuss fan ideas... its the longest tin dog podcasdt... EVER!
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TDP 297: The Ark in Space - Special Edition DVD
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 8 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 076 – The Ark in Space Doctor Who serial Noah is steadily being transformed into a Wirrn Cast Doctor Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) Companions Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan) Others Kenton Moore — Noah Wendy Williams — Vira Richardson Morgan — Rogin John Gregg — Lycett Christopher Masters — Libri Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbs — The Wirrn Gladys Spencer — High Minister's Voice Peter Tuddenham — Voices Production Writer Robert HolmesJohn Lucarotti (uncredited) Director Rodney Bennett Script editor Robert Holmes Producer Philip Hinchcliffe Executive producer(s) None Production code 4C Series Season 12 Length 4 episodes, 25 minutes each Originally broadcast 25 January–15 February 1975 Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → Robot The Sontaran Experiment The Ark in Space is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975. Contents [hide] 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 3 Broadcast and reception 4 In print 5 VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases 6 References 7 External links [edit]Plot The TARDIS materialises on an aged space station. Sarah is overcome by lack of oxygen. While Harry and the Doctor explore, Sarah is transported away and placed into cryonic suspension by the station computer. Harry and the Doctor explore and realize the station is a kind of ark. Discovering Sarah, Harry searches for a resuscitation unit but discovers a mummified alien insect instead. A woman (Vira) revives from suspended animation. Vira revives both Sarah and the Ark's leader, Lazar, nicknamed "Noah". The Doctor tells Vira that the Ark's (Space Station Nerva) inhabitants have overslept by several millennia, thanks to the insect visitor that sabotaged the control systems. Noah and the visitors clash, and Noah accuses them of murdering a missing crewmate. Noah investigates the power room and is infected by an alien creature. The Doctor realizes the alien insect laid eggs inside the missing crewman, who became an alien now inhabiting the Ark. Noah kills a crewmate, but recovers enough to order Vira to revive the remaining crew and evacuate, but the Doctor realizes the alien pupae will mature too quickly for this. He proposes that they destroy the Wirrn while they are in their dormant, pupal stage. Dissection of the Wirrn corpse reveals the Wirrn are vulnerable to electricity. As he tries to reactivate the station power, the fully transformed Noah attacks him. Noah reveals that the Wirrn were driven from their home by human settlers and now intend to absorb all human knowledge. To electrify the cryogenic chamber and overcome the Wirrn, Sarah crawls through service conduits to reach the Doctor and succeeds in electrifying the Ark. Set back, Noah, as the Swarm Leader, offers the others safe passage from the Ark if they leave the sleeping crew for the Wirrn, but the crew decline. The Wiirn escape in a transport ship. Noah, realizing his altered nature, sabotages the engines. He transmits one final good-bye to Vira before the transport ship explodes with the entire Wiirn swarm on board. In the closing sequence, the TARDIS party transmats down to Earth to repair the receiver terminal and allow the Ark colonists to repopulate the Earth. [edit]Continuity This serial forms part of a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of Robot and continuing through to Terror of the Zygons. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Nerva at the end of the season in Revenge of the Cybermen. The Fourth Doctor also returns to Nerva in the Big Finish audio Destination Nerva, by Nicholas Briggs. In the script, Wirrn is spelled with only two 'r's. In Ian Marter's (the actor who portrayed Harry Sullivan) novelisation of The Ark in Space, Wirrrn is spelled with three 'r's.The Wirrn also appear in the BBV audio play Wirrn: Race Memory. The Eighth Doctor encounters the Wirrn in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect, by Gary Russell and the Big Finish audio story Wirrn Dawn by Nicholas Briggs. [edit]Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership(in millions) "Part One" 25 January 1975 24:58 9.4 "Part Two" 1 February 1975 24:49 13.6 "Part Three" 8 February 1975 24:05 11.2 "Part Four" 15 February 1975 24:37 10.2 [1][2][3] The script, written by Robert Holmes, is from a story by John Lucarotti, which was rewritten because it was considered unusable. Holmes rewrote The Ark in Space as a four part serial as a lead in to the two part The Sontaran Experiment. Lucarotti does not receive any on-screen credit.[4][5] Producer Philip Hinchcliffe believed that in order to expand the show's core audience, it was necessary to broaden the show's appeal to adults, and Ark in Space demonstrates this with its use of horror, particularly the inexorable transformation of Noah into an alien creature. A scene in which the half-transformed Noah begs Vira to kill him was deemed too scary for children and had to be cut.[6] The sets for this story were re-used for Revenge of the Cybermen, partially set on Space Station Nerva at an earlier time.[7] The title sequence for Part One was tinted green as an experiment, but was not repeated for subsequent episodes. The title sequence would stay constant for the next six years.[8] [edit]Broadcast and reception Part Two of this story charted at number five for the most-watched television programmes across the week on all channels. This was the highest chart placing ever attained by a single episode of Doctor Who until 2007's Voyage of the Damned placed second for both that week and the entire year. The highest rated episode (in terms of viewing audience) is Part Four of City of Death. At Inside the World of Doctor Who, a live event hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 29 November 2008,Russell T Davies, producer of the 21st century revival of Doctor Who, said that The Ark in Space was his favourite story from the original run of Doctor Who[9] as did Steven Moffat.[10] [edit]In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Series Target novelisations Release number 4 Writer Ian Marter Publisher Target Books Cover artist Chris Achilleos ISBN 0-426-11631-3 Release date 10 May 1977 A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter, was published by Target Books in 1977. This was Marter's first novelisation for Target (he would write several more before his death in 1986). Marter alters the ending so that the travellers leave in the TARDIS. [edit]VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases The Ark in Space was first released on VHS in 1989 in an omnibus format. It was then re-released in 1994 in its original episodic format. It was released on Laserdisc in 1996 in its original episodic format. It was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2002. It was released for sale on iTunes on 11 August 2008. The Ark in Space has been announced for a special edition DVD release on 18 February 2013.[11] [edit]References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "The Ark in Space". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived fromthe original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "The Ark in Space". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (7 August 2007). "The Ark in Space". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1992). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Fourth Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 57. ISBN 0-426-20369-0. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "76 'The Ark in Space'". Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. "from an uncredited plot by John Lucarotti" ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, p. 58 ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, pp. 58, 63, 64 ^ Richards, Justin (2005) [2003]. Doctor Who: The Legend Continues - 5 decades of time travel (revised ed.). London: BBC Books. p. 199. ISBN 0-563-48640-6. ^ Russell T Davies (Interviewee), Kirsten O'Brien (Host) (29 November 2008) (Flash Video).Inside the World of Doctor Who. Barbican Centre, London: British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Event occurs at -05:32. Retrieved 19 December 2008. ^ http://twitter.com/steven_moffat/statuses/19069453421 ^ Foster, Chuck (8 December 2012). "DVD Update: 2013 updates and expectations". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 16 December 2012. [edit]External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fourth Doctor The Ark in Space at BBC Online The Ark in Space at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Ark in Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Reviews The Ark in Space reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Doctor Who and the Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Doctor Who and the Ark in Space [hide] v t e
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TDP 297: The Ark in Space - Special Edition DVD
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 8 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 076 – The Ark in Space Doctor Who serial Noah is steadily being transformed into a Wirrn Cast Doctor Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) Companions Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan) Others Kenton Moore — Noah Wendy Williams — Vira Richardson Morgan — Rogin John Gregg — Lycett Christopher Masters — Libri Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbs — The Wirrn Gladys Spencer — High Minister's Voice Peter Tuddenham — Voices Production Writer Robert HolmesJohn Lucarotti (uncredited) Director Rodney Bennett Script editor Robert Holmes Producer Philip Hinchcliffe Executive producer(s) None Production code 4C Series Season 12 Length 4 episodes, 25 minutes each Originally broadcast 25 January–15 February 1975 Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → Robot The Sontaran Experiment The Ark in Space is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975. Contents [hide] 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 3 Broadcast and reception 4 In print 5 VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases 6 References 7 External links [edit]Plot The TARDIS materialises on an aged space station. Sarah is overcome by lack of oxygen. While Harry and the Doctor explore, Sarah is transported away and placed into cryonic suspension by the station computer. Harry and the Doctor explore and realize the station is a kind of ark. Discovering Sarah, Harry searches for a resuscitation unit but discovers a mummified alien insect instead. A woman (Vira) revives from suspended animation. Vira revives both Sarah and the Ark's leader, Lazar, nicknamed "Noah". The Doctor tells Vira that the Ark's (Space Station Nerva) inhabitants have overslept by several millennia, thanks to the insect visitor that sabotaged the control systems. Noah and the visitors clash, and Noah accuses them of murdering a missing crewmate. Noah investigates the power room and is infected by an alien creature. The Doctor realizes the alien insect laid eggs inside the missing crewman, who became an alien now inhabiting the Ark. Noah kills a crewmate, but recovers enough to order Vira to revive the remaining crew and evacuate, but the Doctor realizes the alien pupae will mature too quickly for this. He proposes that they destroy the Wirrn while they are in their dormant, pupal stage. Dissection of the Wirrn corpse reveals the Wirrn are vulnerable to electricity. As he tries to reactivate the station power, the fully transformed Noah attacks him. Noah reveals that the Wirrn were driven from their home by human settlers and now intend to absorb all human knowledge. To electrify the cryogenic chamber and overcome the Wirrn, Sarah crawls through service conduits to reach the Doctor and succeeds in electrifying the Ark. Set back, Noah, as the Swarm Leader, offers the others safe passage from the Ark if they leave the sleeping crew for the Wirrn, but the crew decline. The Wiirn escape in a transport ship. Noah, realizing his altered nature, sabotages the engines. He transmits one final good-bye to Vira before the transport ship explodes with the entire Wiirn swarm on board. In the closing sequence, the TARDIS party transmats down to Earth to repair the receiver terminal and allow the Ark colonists to repopulate the Earth. [edit]Continuity This serial forms part of a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of Robot and continuing through to Terror of the Zygons. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Nerva at the end of the season in Revenge of the Cybermen. The Fourth Doctor also returns to Nerva in the Big Finish audio Destination Nerva, by Nicholas Briggs. In the script, Wirrn is spelled with only two 'r's. In Ian Marter's (the actor who portrayed Harry Sullivan) novelisation of The Ark in Space, Wirrrn is spelled with three 'r's.The Wirrn also appear in the BBV audio play Wirrn: Race Memory. The Eighth Doctor encounters the Wirrn in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect, by Gary Russell and the Big Finish audio story Wirrn Dawn by Nicholas Briggs. [edit]Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership(in millions) "Part One" 25 January 1975 24:58 9.4 "Part Two" 1 February 1975 24:49 13.6 "Part Three" 8 February 1975 24:05 11.2 "Part Four" 15 February 1975 24:37 10.2 [1][2][3] The script, written by Robert Holmes, is from a story by John Lucarotti, which was rewritten because it was considered unusable. Holmes rewrote The Ark in Space as a four part serial as a lead in to the two part The Sontaran Experiment. Lucarotti does not receive any on-screen credit.[4][5] Producer Philip Hinchcliffe believed that in order to expand the show's core audience, it was necessary to broaden the show's appeal to adults, and Ark in Space demonstrates this with its use of horror, particularly the inexorable transformation of Noah into an alien creature. A scene in which the half-transformed Noah begs Vira to kill him was deemed too scary for children and had to be cut.[6] The sets for this story were re-used for Revenge of the Cybermen, partially set on Space Station Nerva at an earlier time.[7] The title sequence for Part One was tinted green as an experiment, but was not repeated for subsequent episodes. The title sequence would stay constant for the next six years.[8] [edit]Broadcast and reception Part Two of this story charted at number five for the most-watched television programmes across the week on all channels. This was the highest chart placing ever attained by a single episode of Doctor Who until 2007's Voyage of the Damned placed second for both that week and the entire year. The highest rated episode (in terms of viewing audience) is Part Four of City of Death. At Inside the World of Doctor Who, a live event hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 29 November 2008,Russell T Davies, producer of the 21st century revival of Doctor Who, said that The Ark in Space was his favourite story from the original run of Doctor Who[9] as did Steven Moffat.[10] [edit]In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Series Target novelisations Release number 4 Writer Ian Marter Publisher Target Books Cover artist Chris Achilleos ISBN 0-426-11631-3 Release date 10 May 1977 A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter, was published by Target Books in 1977. This was Marter's first novelisation for Target (he would write several more before his death in 1986). Marter alters the ending so that the travellers leave in the TARDIS. [edit]VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases The Ark in Space was first released on VHS in 1989 in an omnibus format. It was then re-released in 1994 in its original episodic format. It was released on Laserdisc in 1996 in its original episodic format. It was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2002. It was released for sale on iTunes on 11 August 2008. The Ark in Space has been announced for a special edition DVD release on 18 February 2013.[11] [edit]References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "The Ark in Space". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived fromthe original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "The Ark in Space". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (7 August 2007). "The Ark in Space". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1992). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Fourth Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 57. ISBN 0-426-20369-0. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "76 'The Ark in Space'". Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. "from an uncredited plot by John Lucarotti" ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, p. 58 ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, pp. 58, 63, 64 ^ Richards, Justin (2005) [2003]. Doctor Who: The Legend Continues - 5 decades of time travel (revised ed.). London: BBC Books. p. 199. ISBN 0-563-48640-6. ^ Russell T Davies (Interviewee), Kirsten O'Brien (Host) (29 November 2008) (Flash Video).Inside the World of Doctor Who. Barbican Centre, London: British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Event occurs at -05:32. Retrieved 19 December 2008. ^ http://twitter.com/steven_moffat/statuses/19069453421 ^ Foster, Chuck (8 December 2012). "DVD Update: 2013 updates and expectations". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 16 December 2012. [edit]External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fourth Doctor The Ark in Space at BBC Online The Ark in Space at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Ark in Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Reviews The Ark in Space reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Doctor Who and the Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Doctor Who and the Ark in Space [hide] v t e
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TDP 297: The Ark in Space - Special Edition DVD
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 8 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 076 – The Ark in Space Doctor Who serial Noah is steadily being transformed into a Wirrn Cast Doctor Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) Companions Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan) Others Kenton Moore — Noah Wendy Williams — Vira Richardson Morgan — Rogin John Gregg — Lycett Christopher Masters — Libri Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbs — The Wirrn Gladys Spencer — High Minister's Voice Peter Tuddenham — Voices Production Writer Robert HolmesJohn Lucarotti (uncredited) Director Rodney Bennett Script editor Robert Holmes Producer Philip Hinchcliffe Executive producer(s) None Production code 4C Series Season 12 Length 4 episodes, 25 minutes each Originally broadcast 25 January–15 February 1975 Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → Robot The Sontaran Experiment The Ark in Space is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975. Contents [hide] 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 3 Broadcast and reception 4 In print 5 VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases 6 References 7 External links [edit]Plot The TARDIS materialises on an aged space station. Sarah is overcome by lack of oxygen. While Harry and the Doctor explore, Sarah is transported away and placed into cryonic suspension by the station computer. Harry and the Doctor explore and realize the station is a kind of ark. Discovering Sarah, Harry searches for a resuscitation unit but discovers a mummified alien insect instead. A woman (Vira) revives from suspended animation. Vira revives both Sarah and the Ark's leader, Lazar, nicknamed "Noah". The Doctor tells Vira that the Ark's (Space Station Nerva) inhabitants have overslept by several millennia, thanks to the insect visitor that sabotaged the control systems. Noah and the visitors clash, and Noah accuses them of murdering a missing crewmate. Noah investigates the power room and is infected by an alien creature. The Doctor realizes the alien insect laid eggs inside the missing crewman, who became an alien now inhabiting the Ark. Noah kills a crewmate, but recovers enough to order Vira to revive the remaining crew and evacuate, but the Doctor realizes the alien pupae will mature too quickly for this. He proposes that they destroy the Wirrn while they are in their dormant, pupal stage. Dissection of the Wirrn corpse reveals the Wirrn are vulnerable to electricity. As he tries to reactivate the station power, the fully transformed Noah attacks him. Noah reveals that the Wirrn were driven from their home by human settlers and now intend to absorb all human knowledge. To electrify the cryogenic chamber and overcome the Wirrn, Sarah crawls through service conduits to reach the Doctor and succeeds in electrifying the Ark. Set back, Noah, as the Swarm Leader, offers the others safe passage from the Ark if they leave the sleeping crew for the Wirrn, but the crew decline. The Wiirn escape in a transport ship. Noah, realizing his altered nature, sabotages the engines. He transmits one final good-bye to Vira before the transport ship explodes with the entire Wiirn swarm on board. In the closing sequence, the TARDIS party transmats down to Earth to repair the receiver terminal and allow the Ark colonists to repopulate the Earth. [edit]Continuity This serial forms part of a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of Robot and continuing through to Terror of the Zygons. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Nerva at the end of the season in Revenge of the Cybermen. The Fourth Doctor also returns to Nerva in the Big Finish audio Destination Nerva, by Nicholas Briggs. In the script, Wirrn is spelled with only two 'r's. In Ian Marter's (the actor who portrayed Harry Sullivan) novelisation of The Ark in Space, Wirrrn is spelled with three 'r's.The Wirrn also appear in the BBV audio play Wirrn: Race Memory. The Eighth Doctor encounters the Wirrn in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect, by Gary Russell and the Big Finish audio story Wirrn Dawn by Nicholas Briggs. [edit]Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership(in millions) "Part One" 25 January 1975 24:58 9.4 "Part Two" 1 February 1975 24:49 13.6 "Part Three" 8 February 1975 24:05 11.2 "Part Four" 15 February 1975 24:37 10.2 [1][2][3] The script, written by Robert Holmes, is from a story by John Lucarotti, which was rewritten because it was considered unusable. Holmes rewrote The Ark in Space as a four part serial as a lead in to the two part The Sontaran Experiment. Lucarotti does not receive any on-screen credit.[4][5] Producer Philip Hinchcliffe believed that in order to expand the show's core audience, it was necessary to broaden the show's appeal to adults, and Ark in Space demonstrates this with its use of horror, particularly the inexorable transformation of Noah into an alien creature. A scene in which the half-transformed Noah begs Vira to kill him was deemed too scary for children and had to be cut.[6] The sets for this story were re-used for Revenge of the Cybermen, partially set on Space Station Nerva at an earlier time.[7] The title sequence for Part One was tinted green as an experiment, but was not repeated for subsequent episodes. The title sequence would stay constant for the next six years.[8] [edit]Broadcast and reception Part Two of this story charted at number five for the most-watched television programmes across the week on all channels. This was the highest chart placing ever attained by a single episode of Doctor Who until 2007's Voyage of the Damned placed second for both that week and the entire year. The highest rated episode (in terms of viewing audience) is Part Four of City of Death. At Inside the World of Doctor Who, a live event hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 29 November 2008,Russell T Davies, producer of the 21st century revival of Doctor Who, said that The Ark in Space was his favourite story from the original run of Doctor Who[9] as did Steven Moffat.[10] [edit]In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Series Target novelisations Release number 4 Writer Ian Marter Publisher Target Books Cover artist Chris Achilleos ISBN 0-426-11631-3 Release date 10 May 1977 A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter, was published by Target Books in 1977. This was Marter's first novelisation for Target (he would write several more before his death in 1986). Marter alters the ending so that the travellers leave in the TARDIS. [edit]VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases The Ark in Space was first released on VHS in 1989 in an omnibus format. It was then re-released in 1994 in its original episodic format. It was released on Laserdisc in 1996 in its original episodic format. It was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2002. It was released for sale on iTunes on 11 August 2008. The Ark in Space has been announced for a special edition DVD release on 18 February 2013.[11] [edit]References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "The Ark in Space". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived fromthe original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "The Ark in Space". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (7 August 2007). "The Ark in Space". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1992). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Fourth Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 57. ISBN 0-426-20369-0. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "76 'The Ark in Space'". Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. "from an uncredited plot by John Lucarotti" ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, p. 58 ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, pp. 58, 63, 64 ^ Richards, Justin (2005) [2003]. Doctor Who: The Legend Continues - 5 decades of time travel (revised ed.). London: BBC Books. p. 199. ISBN 0-563-48640-6. ^ Russell T Davies (Interviewee), Kirsten O'Brien (Host) (29 November 2008) (Flash Video).Inside the World of Doctor Who. Barbican Centre, London: British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Event occurs at -05:32. Retrieved 19 December 2008. ^ http://twitter.com/steven_moffat/statuses/19069453421 ^ Foster, Chuck (8 December 2012). "DVD Update: 2013 updates and expectations". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 16 December 2012. [edit]External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fourth Doctor The Ark in Space at BBC Online The Ark in Space at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Ark in Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Reviews The Ark in Space reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Doctor Who and the Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Doctor Who and the Ark in Space [hide] v t e
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TDP 297: The Ark in Space - Special Edition DVD
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 10 minutes and 8 secondsFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 076 – The Ark in Space Doctor Who serial Noah is steadily being transformed into a Wirrn Cast Doctor Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor) Companions Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) Ian Marter (Harry Sullivan) Others Kenton Moore — Noah Wendy Williams — Vira Richardson Morgan — Rogin John Gregg — Lycett Christopher Masters — Libri Stuart Fell, Nick Hobbs — The Wirrn Gladys Spencer — High Minister's Voice Peter Tuddenham — Voices Production Writer Robert HolmesJohn Lucarotti (uncredited) Director Rodney Bennett Script editor Robert Holmes Producer Philip Hinchcliffe Executive producer(s) None Production code 4C Series Season 12 Length 4 episodes, 25 minutes each Originally broadcast 25 January–15 February 1975 Chronology ← Preceded by Followed by → Robot The Sontaran Experiment The Ark in Space is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 25 January to 15 February 1975. Contents [hide] 1 Plot 1.1 Continuity 2 Production 3 Broadcast and reception 4 In print 5 VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases 6 References 7 External links [edit]Plot The TARDIS materialises on an aged space station. Sarah is overcome by lack of oxygen. While Harry and the Doctor explore, Sarah is transported away and placed into cryonic suspension by the station computer. Harry and the Doctor explore and realize the station is a kind of ark. Discovering Sarah, Harry searches for a resuscitation unit but discovers a mummified alien insect instead. A woman (Vira) revives from suspended animation. Vira revives both Sarah and the Ark's leader, Lazar, nicknamed "Noah". The Doctor tells Vira that the Ark's (Space Station Nerva) inhabitants have overslept by several millennia, thanks to the insect visitor that sabotaged the control systems. Noah and the visitors clash, and Noah accuses them of murdering a missing crewmate. Noah investigates the power room and is infected by an alien creature. The Doctor realizes the alien insect laid eggs inside the missing crewman, who became an alien now inhabiting the Ark. Noah kills a crewmate, but recovers enough to order Vira to revive the remaining crew and evacuate, but the Doctor realizes the alien pupae will mature too quickly for this. He proposes that they destroy the Wirrn while they are in their dormant, pupal stage. Dissection of the Wirrn corpse reveals the Wirrn are vulnerable to electricity. As he tries to reactivate the station power, the fully transformed Noah attacks him. Noah reveals that the Wirrn were driven from their home by human settlers and now intend to absorb all human knowledge. To electrify the cryogenic chamber and overcome the Wirrn, Sarah crawls through service conduits to reach the Doctor and succeeds in electrifying the Ark. Set back, Noah, as the Swarm Leader, offers the others safe passage from the Ark if they leave the sleeping crew for the Wirrn, but the crew decline. The Wiirn escape in a transport ship. Noah, realizing his altered nature, sabotages the engines. He transmits one final good-bye to Vira before the transport ship explodes with the entire Wiirn swarm on board. In the closing sequence, the TARDIS party transmats down to Earth to repair the receiver terminal and allow the Ark colonists to repopulate the Earth. [edit]Continuity This serial forms part of a continuous series of adventures for the TARDIS crew, beginning from the end of Robot and continuing through to Terror of the Zygons. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry return to Nerva at the end of the season in Revenge of the Cybermen. The Fourth Doctor also returns to Nerva in the Big Finish audio Destination Nerva, by Nicholas Briggs. In the script, Wirrn is spelled with only two 'r's. In Ian Marter's (the actor who portrayed Harry Sullivan) novelisation of The Ark in Space, Wirrrn is spelled with three 'r's.The Wirrn also appear in the BBV audio play Wirrn: Race Memory. The Eighth Doctor encounters the Wirrn in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Placebo Effect, by Gary Russell and the Big Finish audio story Wirrn Dawn by Nicholas Briggs. [edit]Production Serial details by episode EpisodeBroadcast dateRun timeViewership(in millions) "Part One" 25 January 1975 24:58 9.4 "Part Two" 1 February 1975 24:49 13.6 "Part Three" 8 February 1975 24:05 11.2 "Part Four" 15 February 1975 24:37 10.2 [1][2][3] The script, written by Robert Holmes, is from a story by John Lucarotti, which was rewritten because it was considered unusable. Holmes rewrote The Ark in Space as a four part serial as a lead in to the two part The Sontaran Experiment. Lucarotti does not receive any on-screen credit.[4][5] Producer Philip Hinchcliffe believed that in order to expand the show's core audience, it was necessary to broaden the show's appeal to adults, and Ark in Space demonstrates this with its use of horror, particularly the inexorable transformation of Noah into an alien creature. A scene in which the half-transformed Noah begs Vira to kill him was deemed too scary for children and had to be cut.[6] The sets for this story were re-used for Revenge of the Cybermen, partially set on Space Station Nerva at an earlier time.[7] The title sequence for Part One was tinted green as an experiment, but was not repeated for subsequent episodes. The title sequence would stay constant for the next six years.[8] [edit]Broadcast and reception Part Two of this story charted at number five for the most-watched television programmes across the week on all channels. This was the highest chart placing ever attained by a single episode of Doctor Who until 2007's Voyage of the Damned placed second for both that week and the entire year. The highest rated episode (in terms of viewing audience) is Part Four of City of Death. At Inside the World of Doctor Who, a live event hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 29 November 2008,Russell T Davies, producer of the 21st century revival of Doctor Who, said that The Ark in Space was his favourite story from the original run of Doctor Who[9] as did Steven Moffat.[10] [edit]In print Doctor Who book Doctor Who and the Ark in Space Series Target novelisations Release number 4 Writer Ian Marter Publisher Target Books Cover artist Chris Achilleos ISBN 0-426-11631-3 Release date 10 May 1977 A novelisation of this serial, written by Ian Marter, was published by Target Books in 1977. This was Marter's first novelisation for Target (he would write several more before his death in 1986). Marter alters the ending so that the travellers leave in the TARDIS. [edit]VHS, Laserdisc and DVD releases The Ark in Space was first released on VHS in 1989 in an omnibus format. It was then re-released in 1994 in its original episodic format. It was released on Laserdisc in 1996 in its original episodic format. It was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 8 April 2002. It was released for sale on iTunes on 11 August 2008. The Ark in Space has been announced for a special edition DVD release on 18 February 2013.[11] [edit]References ^ Shaun Lyon et al. (31 March 2007). "The Ark in Space". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived fromthe original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ "The Ark in Space". Doctor Who Reference Guide. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Sullivan, Shannon (7 August 2007). "The Ark in Space". A Brief History of Time Travel. Retrieved 30 August 2008. ^ Howe, David J.; Stammers, Mark; Walker, Stephen James (1992). Doctor Who The Handbook - The Fourth Doctor. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 57. ISBN 0-426-20369-0. ^ Cornell, Paul; Day, Martin; Topping, Keith (1995). "76 'The Ark in Space'". Doctor Who: The Discontinuity Guide. London: Doctor Who Books. p. 168. ISBN 0-426-20442-5. "from an uncredited plot by John Lucarotti" ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, p. 58 ^ Howe, Stammers & Walker 1992, pp. 58, 63, 64 ^ Richards, Justin (2005) [2003]. Doctor Who: The Legend Continues - 5 decades of time travel (revised ed.). London: BBC Books. p. 199. ISBN 0-563-48640-6. ^ Russell T Davies (Interviewee), Kirsten O'Brien (Host) (29 November 2008) (Flash Video).Inside the World of Doctor Who. Barbican Centre, London: British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Event occurs at -05:32. Retrieved 19 December 2008. ^ http://twitter.com/steven_moffat/statuses/19069453421 ^ Foster, Chuck (8 December 2012). "DVD Update: 2013 updates and expectations". Doctor Who News. Retrieved 16 December 2012. [edit]External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Fourth Doctor The Ark in Space at BBC Online The Ark in Space at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) The Ark in Space at the Doctor Who Reference Guide Reviews The Ark in Space reviews at Outpost Gallifrey The Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide Target novelisation Doctor Who and the Ark in Space reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide On Target — Doctor Who and the Ark in Space [hide] v t e
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TDP 296: Bringing Up A Doctor Who Fan
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsAfter reading Jaq Rayners article in DWM I was inspired to podcast
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TDP 296: Bringing Up A Doctor Who Fan
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsAfter reading Jaq Rayners article in DWM I was inspired to podcast
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TDP 296: Bringing Up A Doctor Who Fan
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsAfter reading Jaq Rayners article in DWM I was inspired to podcast
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TDP 296: Bringing Up A Doctor Who Fan
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 5 minutes and 12 secondsAfter reading Jaq Rayners article in DWM I was inspired to podcast
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TDP 295: The Legacy Box Set
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 37 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 295: The Legacy Box Set
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 37 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 295: The Legacy Box Set
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 37 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 295: The Legacy Box Set
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 13 minutes and 37 secondsinfo to follow
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TDP 294: Patrick Moore and Gerry Anderson RIP
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 39 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 294: Patrick Moore and Gerry Anderson RIP
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 39 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 294: Patrick Moore and Gerry Anderson RIP
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 39 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 294: Patrick Moore and Gerry Anderson RIP
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 11 minutes and 39 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 293: Reign of Terror - DVD review
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 49 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 293: Reign of Terror - DVD review
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 49 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 293: Reign of Terror - DVD review
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 49 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 293: Reign of Terror - DVD review
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 9 minutes and 49 secondsInfo to follow
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TDP 292: TMDWP takes over the TDP!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 57 secondsShare your thoughts...
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TDP 292: TMDWP takes over the TDP!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 57 secondsShare your thoughts...
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TDP 292: TMDWP takes over the TDP!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 57 secondsShare your thoughts...
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TDP 292: TMDWP takes over the TDP!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 6 minutes and 57 secondsShare your thoughts...
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TDP 291: Silurian Gift - Quick Reads - By Mike Tucker!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 27 seconds'My new Fire-Ice will solve all the problems of the planet!' The world is on the brink of crisis. As fuel runs short, society begins to break down. One man seems to have the answer. But is it too good to be true? The Doctor arrives at an old oil refinery near the South Pole, concerned by claims about this new form of energy. He soon discovers something huge and terrifying is stalking the refinery. It brings death and destruction in its wake. The battle has begun for planet Earth. A thrilling, all-new adventure, featuring The Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television
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TDP 291: Silurian Gift - Quick Reads - By Mike Tucker!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 27 seconds'My new Fire-Ice will solve all the problems of the planet!' The world is on the brink of crisis. As fuel runs short, society begins to break down. One man seems to have the answer. But is it too good to be true? The Doctor arrives at an old oil refinery near the South Pole, concerned by claims about this new form of energy. He soon discovers something huge and terrifying is stalking the refinery. It brings death and destruction in its wake. The battle has begun for planet Earth. A thrilling, all-new adventure, featuring The Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television
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TDP 291: Silurian Gift - Quick Reads - By Mike Tucker!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 27 seconds'My new Fire-Ice will solve all the problems of the planet!' The world is on the brink of crisis. As fuel runs short, society begins to break down. One man seems to have the answer. But is it too good to be true? The Doctor arrives at an old oil refinery near the South Pole, concerned by claims about this new form of energy. He soon discovers something huge and terrifying is stalking the refinery. It brings death and destruction in its wake. The battle has begun for planet Earth. A thrilling, all-new adventure, featuring The Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television
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TDP 291: Silurian Gift - Quick Reads - By Mike Tucker!
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 7 minutes and 27 seconds'My new Fire-Ice will solve all the problems of the planet!' The world is on the brink of crisis. As fuel runs short, society begins to break down. One man seems to have the answer. But is it too good to be true? The Doctor arrives at an old oil refinery near the South Pole, concerned by claims about this new form of energy. He soon discovers something huge and terrifying is stalking the refinery. It brings death and destruction in its wake. The battle has begun for planet Earth. A thrilling, all-new adventure, featuring The Doctor as played by Matt Smith in the spectacular hit series from BBC Television
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TDP 290: The Snowmen - Christmas 2012
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds"The Snowmen" is the sixth episode and a Christmas special of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by head writer Steven Moffat and was first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 at 5.15pm on BBC1 in the UK. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, his new companion.[2] The episode also features a redesigned TARDIS,[3] revised opening credit and theme music, and sees major changes to the Doctor's costume.[4] The episode is set in the Victorian era and sees the Doctor brooding with the assistance of Silurian Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny Flint and Sontaran Strax, after the loss of companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams in the previous episode, "The Angels Take Manhattan." He is forced out of hiding to investigate mysterious, sentient snowmen that are building themselves and meets Clara, a governess also investigating the snowmen. It guest stars Richard E. Grant and Ian McKellen as the villains.[5][6] McKellen provides the voice of the Great Intelligence, a disembodied alien previously featured in Doctor Who in the Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. From the Great Intelligence's perspective, this episode occurs before those serials and several elements from "The Snowmen" reference and lead into them. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, most of whom received the introduction and character of Clara well,[7][8] but some felt that Grant and McKellen were underused as villains.[9] Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Prequels 1.2 Synopsis 1.3 Continuity 1.4 Cultural references 2 Production 2.1 Writing and design changes 2.2 Casting 2.3 Filming and effects 3 Broadcast and reception 3.1 Critical reception 4 References Plot Prequels To promote the special, two prequels were released. The first was broadcast during the 2012 Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2012, titled "The Great Detective". A trailer for the special was also broadcast during this programme.[10] In the prequel, the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human wife[11] Jenny Flint, and the Sontaran Strax (all returning from "A Good Man Goes to War", with Strax's apparently revival after being killed off in the earlier episode explained in the special) describe a number of strange phenomena to a shadowed fourth detective. The fourth detective reveals himself to be the Doctor, and tells the group that he has retired.[12] A second prequel, titled "Vastra Investigates", was released online on 17 December 2012.[13] At the end of a case, Vastra and Jenny converse with an officer from Scotland Yard, apologising for Strax's violent wishes for the culprit's punishment. Vastra explains Strax's alien origin as well as her own to the officer, much to his astonishment. She was awoken by an extension to the London Underground and initially disliked humans, though that changed when she fell in love with Jenny, which leaves the officer flabbergasted. On the carriage ride home, during a discussion about the Doctor's retirement, Jenny notices it is beginning to snow. Vastra voices that the snow is impossible due to the fact that there are no clouds in the sky.[13] Synopsis In 1840s England, a young boy builds a snowman but refuses to play with the other children. The snowman starts speaking to the boy, repeating his assertions that the other children are "silly". Fifty years later, the boy has grown up to be Dr Simeon, proprietor of "The Great Intelligence Institute". He hires men to collect samples of snow, which he places in a large snow-filled globe in his laboratory, before feeding the men to a group of animated snowmen. Meanwhile, the Doctor, still despondent after losing his former companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, has parked his TARDIS above Victorian London among the clouds, descending to the surface via a long circular staircase, and instructed his allies - the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human wife Jenny, and the Sontaran Strax - to scout the city, through which he learns of Dr Simeon's interest in the snow. Elsewhere, Clara, a barmaid, investigates a disturbance outside her tavern to find the Doctor walking by. She accuses him of building a snowman, but the Doctor realises that the snowman is made of snow with a memory. The Doctor attempts to leave discreetly, but Clara follows him to a coach. The Doctor, hesitant about gaining a new companion, instructs Strax to bring a "memory worm", with the intent to use the creature's touch to wipe away the last hour of Clara's memory, in particular her knowledge of him. As more snowmen form and try to harm them, the Doctor tells Clara that her thoughts are creating the snowmen, and to think of them melting; after she concentrates, the snowmen melt. Clara cautions the Doctor that if he wipes her memory, she will forget how to deal with the snowmen. The Doctor relents, letting her go, and returning to the TARDIS. Clara follows; she finds it locked and knocks, but hides and flees down the staircase when the Doctor answers. Clara returns to her other job as governess for the children of Captain Latimer. She learns that Latimer's daughter has been having horrible dreams about the old governess, who had been frozen a year prior in Latimer's pond - returning from the dead and killing them all. Clara attempts to contact the Doctor but instead attracts the attention of Jenny, who takes her to see Vastra. Vastra tells Clara she gets only one word to impress the Doctor with if she wants his help; she chooses "pond", which arouses the Doctor's interest. The Doctor visits Dr Simeon's laboratory, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, and finds that the giant snow-filled globe contains the Great Intelligence, the entity that has been speaking to Dr Simeon since childhood. The Doctor learns that the Great Intelligence has been controlling the snowmen and has taken interest in Latimer's pond, deducing that it contains the DNA to create a new snow creature. The Doctor visits the pond, where an ice creature in the form of the former governess rises out of the pond and enters the mansion. Vastra, Jenny and Strax arrive and trap the creature behind a barrier. Leaving Latimer and the children with his allies, the Doctor flees with Clara to the roof of the mansion followed by the ice creature. They ascend to the TARDIS and the Doctor gives Clara a key, explaining that he now considers her a companion, though he does not understand why. However, the ice creature grabs Clara and pulls her over the edge of the clouds. The Doctor recovers Clara from the snowmen and returns to the mansion. He collects the ice fragments from the creature, ensuring they remain dormant but finding they contain ice-based DNA, the material that the Great Intelligence is looking for, and apparently places them in a souvenir London Underground biscuit tin. He travels to Dr Simeon's lab, where the Doctor reveals the Great Intelligence's plan to replace humanity with ice creatures, and holds up the tin, stating that it contains the ice DNA that is necessary for the plan. Dr Simeon grabs the tin, but opens it to find it contains the memory worm. It bites Simeon; the Doctor states that the Great Intelligence, which has been existing as a mirror of Dr Simeon's thoughts, will vanish with the erasure of Dr Simeon's memories. Instead, the Intelligence reveals that it existed long enough that it can now control Dr Simeon's body, which it uses to attack the Doctor. However, the influence of the Great Intelligence quickly wanes, and Dr Simeon falls dead. Outside, a salt-water rain has started, and the Doctor realises that some other, more powerful psychic ability has taken control of the snow from the Great Intelligence. The Doctor deduces that it must be the Latimer family, crying for Clara. Strax informs the Doctor upon his return to the Latimer mansion that Clara only has moments left, and she passes away as the Doctor returns the TARDIS key to her. At her funeral, the Doctor reads Clara's full name, Clara Oswin Oswald, on her tombstone and realises she is the woman he met in "Asylum of the Daleks" who became a Dalek. He gleefully announces that a person dying twice is an impossibility he must investigate, says his goodbyes to his allies. In contemporary times, a young woman resembling Clara walks through the graveyard. Meanwhile, the Doctor dashes around the TARDIS console, echoing Clara's dying words: "watch me run!" Continuity The Second Doctor previously encountered the Great Intelligence in the serials The Abominable Snowmen, set in the 1930s, and The Web of Fear, set in the 1960s. In these stories, the Great Intelligence uses robot Yeti as its physical presence. The events of The Web of Fear are alluded to by the Doctor in "The Snowmen" when he presents the London Underground biscuit tin to the Great Intelligence in Dr. Simeon's laboratory; the Intelligence states, "I do not understand these markings", in reference to the 1967 London Underground map design on the tin, an anachronism in 1892. The Doctor remarks that the Underground is a "key strategic weakness in metropolitan living", referring to (and possibly setting in motion) the future Yeti attack on London via the Underground.[14] In this respect, "The Snowmen" may be considered as a prequel to the Second Doctor Yeti serials, establishing an origin for the Intelligence and explaining its penchant for "Snowmen" and knowledge of the London Underground. Vastra, Jenny and Strax first appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War". Vastra and Jenny were considered popular characters from the previous episode with some fans hoping for a spinoff series,[15] but while Moffat stated then he had no time to work on such a show, he would consider reusing the characters within Doctor Who.[16] Strax had died in that episode; the Doctor states that his death has been reversed ("He gave his life for a friend once. Another friend brought him back"), but the circumstances of how this occurred are not explained in full. Clara is given a test by Vastra to ask the Doctor why he should help in one word. She chooses "pond", which is the surname of former companion Amy Pond.[4] In order to convey the emotional effect this word has on the Doctor, during the scene in which he hears it he is wearing the reading glasses Amy left him with at the close of "The Angels Take Manhattan". Clara is played by the same actress, Coleman, as Oswin Oswald from "Asylum of the Daleks", though the connectivity of these characters is not established until the Doctor takes Clara into the TARDIS. There, the Doctor finds her to have an interest in soufflés, a trait that Oswin's character also had; the show uses scenes from "Asylum" to show the Doctor's recollection of this.[17] The final scenes at the graveyard establish that Clara shares the same name as Oswin, leading the Doctor to surmise they are the same person. As seen on her gravestone, Clara's birthdate is 23 November, the date Doctor Who was first transmitted in 1963.[4] Cultural references Doctor Simeon posits that Doctor Doyle is basing his stories in The Strand Magazine on the exploits of Vastra, a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes. The Doctor later uses the alias 'Sherlock Holmes' to gain entrance to Simeon's house, bearing the deerstalker and magnifying glass associated with the character. Doctor Who lead writer Steven Moffat, who wrote this episode, is also the co-creator of the BBC series Sherlock, a contemporary update of Doyle's works, for which Matt Smith auditioned for the part of Doctor Watson.[18] The Doctor Who novel All-Consuming Fire features the Seventh Doctor sharing an adventure with Holmes himself.[19] Production Promotional poster for The Snowmen Writing and design changes Writer Steven Moffat stated that he wanted an "epic" quality to the Christmas special. He compared the withdrawn Doctor seen at the onset of the episode to the first appearances of the First Doctor (William Hartnell) in 1963 and the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) in 2005.[20] He also attributed the idea of a retired Doctor to a plot proposed by Douglas Adams in the 1970s, but rejected by the production team at the time.[21] As with the first half of series 7, "The Snowmen" was written like a movie. A movie poster was released in the Radio Times, showing the Doctor and Clara ascending the ladder to the TARDIS.[22] According to producer Caroline Skinner, the concept of introducing the new companion as Oswin in "Asylum of the Daleks" occurred to Moffat during casting auditions for Clara.[23] The production team requested that the press and fans who attended advanced screenings keep Coleman's appearance a secret until "Asylum" was broadcast; the effort was ultimately successful.[24] The episode saw several major design changes for the series. "The Snowmen" is the debut of a redesigned TARDIS interior,[25][26] as well as a new title sequence and variation of the theme tune (although the closing credits still use the previous version of the tune).[27] The new title sequence features a brief glimpse of the Eleventh Doctor's face, the first time since the end of the original series in 1989 that the Doctor's face has been seen in the title sequence. Moffat had noticed that the TARDIS' design was getting "progressively whimsical" and resembled more of a "magical place" rather than a machine.[1] The Doctor also wears a new costume, tying in to the purple colour scheme, which Smith described as "a bit Artful Dodger meets the Doctor".[28] Moffat described the new outfit as a "progression" as the Doctor was in "a different phase of his life now" and felt more "grown-up" and fatherlike.[29] The costume was designed by Howard Burden for this episode.[4] Casting This episode marks the return of Jenna-Louise Coleman, who previously appeared in the series 7 opener, "Asylum of the Daleks".[30] Coleman was cast because of her chemistry with Matt Smith, and especially because she was able to talk faster than him.[31] She auditioned for the role of Clara, not Oswin from "Asylum", as the concept of the two characters being the same only occurred to Moffat whilst casting for Clara.[23] Smith said that Clara was different from her predecessor Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), which allowed the audience to see a different side of the Doctor.[20] Moffat felt that the introduction of a new companion made "the show feel different" and brought the story to "a new beginning" with a different person meeting the Doctor.[32] Also returning are Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Dan Starkey as Strax and Catrin Stewart as Jenny. All three previously appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War" and reprised their roles both in this episode and in the prequels. They returned due to the popularity of Vastra and Jenny; Moffat considered a spin-off featuring them, though he did not have the time to do it. Instead, he decided to bring them back in the main series.[33] Richard E. Grant had previously played the Doctor on two occasions, as an alternative Tenth Doctor in the spoof charity special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, which was written by Moffat and as an alternative Ninth Doctor in the animated story Scream of the Shalka which had been intended to be a continuation of the series before it was revived in 2005.[20] Smith commented that Grant was "born to be a Who villain. He pitches it on that perfect level and tone".[34] Grant's appearance in Doctor Who was teased by the BC via Twitter, announcing his appearance at midnight August 5 2012.[35][36] Tom Ward was drawn to his role because of the quality of the script, and also stated his young children were pleased that he appeared in the programme.[20] The Great Intelligence was voiced by Sir Ian McKellen.[37] The two children Clara is governess to, Digby and Francesca, were played by real-life brother and sister Joseph and Ellie Darcey-Alden.[4] Filming and effects "The Snowmen" was originally intended to be produced in the fourth production block of the series and be the first episode Coleman shot as her character;[38] however it did not begin filming until the week of 6 August 2012[39] after Coleman had worked on later episodes while Moffat was writing the Christmas special.[32] The read-through had taken place on 2 August 2012.[4] This was the first Christmas special to be filmed in BBC Wales' new Roath Lock studios.[4] Scenes featuring Coleman and several guest stars in a Victorian setting were filmed in Newport, Wales,[40] while Coleman and Smith were also spotted filming in Bristol two weeks later on 21 August.[41] Some scenes which used snow props were filmed in Portland Square, Bristol, where filming took place overnight on 21–22 August 2012.[42] Director Saul Metzstein explained that it was difficult to achieve the desired look for the snowmen; the first ones he likened to Zippy from Rainbow which was too "cute" of an appearance, and so the effects team created more menacing CGI faces.[43] Clara's introduction to the TARDIS introduced two novel effects for the show. The first was a single-shot camera tracking from Clara's point of view, from a few feet away from the TARDIS to its interior, with the implication of the TARDIS's trans-dimenional nature shown to the audience. This was a shot that has been postulated throughout Doctor Who's production history, as documented in the Doctor Who: Thirty Years in the TARDIS special, but only first to be realized in The Snowmen.[44] In the following shot, the camera does a complete circle of the TARDIS console, an effect not seen since the early days of the show. Metzstein wanted to include this shot to further emphasize the "bigger on the inside than the outside" nature of the time machine.[43] Broadcast and reception "The Snowmen" aired on BBC One on 25 December 2012 at 5:15 p.m.,[45] the same day on BBC America in the US[46] and Space in Canada[47] and the next day on ABC1 in Australia.[48] UK overnight ratings showed that the special had been watched by 7.6 million viewers, coming in sixth for the night.[49] Final consolidated figures (not including BBC iPlayer viewers) showed that the episode was watched by 9.87 million viewers, coming in fourth for the night.[50] It also received an Appreciation Index figure of 87, higher than most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials.[51] The iPlayer version had 1,467,220 views,[52] making it the most popular TV show on iPlayer over Christmas.[52] The US airing was seen by 1.43 million viewers, with a 0.6 rating in the demographic of adults aged 18–49.[53] Critical reception The episode received mostly positive reviews. Dan Martin of The Guardian called it "actually the best since 'The Christmas Invasion'" and the first to be "actually scary", with "everything we like" about Doctor Who and Christmas. He praised Coleman's introduction as Clara and the gang of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax.[7] IGN's Matt Risley gave "The Snowman" a score of 9.4 out of 10, describing it as "a rollicking, riveting masterclass in storytelling" which "refreshingly" lacked traditional Christmas references "in favour of some sparkling dialogue, gorgeous set design and fascinating characterisation". While he felt that Grant and McKellan were underused, he was very positive towards Coleman's "unpredictable" Clara.[8] Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern was pleased with the return of the Great Intelligence despite an inconsistency in the timeline he found, and praised the "lovely images" and direction of the special, though he felt the variation of the theme music "lacks the menace" of the original. While he was positive towards Clara, he was "unmoved by her death" as it was "plainly silly" that she did not look injured.[54] Nick Setchfield of SFX gave the special four and a half out of five stars, writing that the "the power of emotion saves the day again" was appropriate in light of the festivities and many fairytales referenced in the story. Setchfield was positive towards the "terrific" comedy with Strax, Coleman and the "surprisingly underused" Grant, as well as the new title sequence and TARDIS. While he wrote that the subtle callback of the Great Intelligence was "a tad more interesting than the usual 'So, we meet again!' schtick", he ultimately felt their threat "never quite comes into sharp relief".[9] Neela Debnath of The Independent wrote that "The Snowmen" was stronger than the previous year's "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" as it was connected to the overall story of the series, but "still has a way to go if it is to live up to 'A Christmas Carol'". Despite feeling that it was "enjoyable", she noted that "the story feels truncated and rushed"[7] The Mirror's Jon Cooper also praised Coleman and the new side of the Doctor that was shown, comparing it to Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) challenging the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). However, he felt the character-heavy story was to the detriment of the plot, which was "a classic Who set-up that ultimately suffers from a lack of explanation [and] more set-pieces than a coherent whole". He felt that the episode may not have been accessible for casual viewers, but offered much for fans in time for the programme's fiftieth anniversary.[55] Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph gave "The Snowmen" three out of five stars, disappointed that it was not as scary as it had been hyped to be. While he was positive towards Smith and the TARDIS on the cloud, he criticised Strax and the "Sudoku-like complexity" of the script.[56] References ^ a b Jeffery, Morgan (19 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Steven Moffat on new TARDIS: 'It's quite a scary place'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who's latest companion is unveiled". BBC News. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2012. ^ "New Look TARDIS Materialises at Christmas!". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012. ^ a b c d e f g "The Fourth Dimension: The Snowmen". BBC. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ Hogan, Michael (14 August 2012). "Karen Gillan 'in denial' about leaving Doctor Who". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 September 2012. ^ "Appeal Night line-up announced". BBC. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012. ^ a b c Martin, Dan (29 September 2012). "Doctor Who: The Snowmen – Christmas special 2012". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ a b Risley, Matt (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who: "The Snowmen" Review". IGN. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ a b Setchfield, Nick (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who "The Snowmen" Review". SFX. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Great Detective". SFX. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012. ^ Their marriage is not revealed until the main special itself. ^ "Doctor Who Mini Episode" (Video). BBC. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ a b "Vastra Investigates – A Christmas Prequel" (Video). BBC. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ Wilkins, Alasdair (25 December 2012). "The Snowmen". A.V. Club. Retrieved 25 December 2012. ^ "SFX Spurious Awards". SFX. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011. ^ Setchfield, Nick (22 July 2011). "Madame Vastra Spin-Off". SFX. Retrieved 29 December 2012. ^ Sagers, Aaron (18 December 2012). "Actress Jenna-Louise Coleman talks 'Doctor Who'". CNN. Retrieved 7 January 2013. ^ French, Dan (4 February 2010). "Matt Smith rejected for BBC's 'Sherlock'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 4 February 2010. ^ "All-Consuming Fire novel review". Doctor Who Reviews. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ a b c d "Steven Moffat and the Cast on The Snowmen". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ Moffat, Steven (December 2012). "Mr presents – Past & Future". Radio Times. ^ Goodacre, Kate (27 November 2012). "'Doctor Who' Christmas special 'The Snowmen' gets poster, new image". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ a b "MATT SMITH & KAREN GILLAN: Doctor Who Q&A w/ Chris Hardwick - SPOILERS". YouTube. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2013. ^ Martinovic, Paul (1 September 2012). "Steven Moffat thanks press and fans for saving 'Doctor Who' surprise". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (8 December 2012). "Doctor Who — The Snowmen preview". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ "New Look TARDIS Materialises at Christmas!". BBC. 8 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ "Revamped Theme Tune and Opening Title Sequence". BBC. 17 December 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ Jones, Paul (4 December 2012). "Matt Smith: the Doctor is "attracted" to "hot chick" Clara". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (20 December 2012). "Steven Moffat On The Doctor's New Look". SFX. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ Collins, Clark (28 November 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman talks about becoming the Doctor's new companion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 December 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (21 March 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman - The press conference in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ a b "New Companion Makes Doctor Who A Different Show, Says Moffat". SFX. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (22 July 2012). "Madame Vastra Spin-Off". SFX. Retrieved 17 November 2012. ^ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (18 December 2012). "Matt Smith: "Richard E Grant was born to be a Doctor Who villain"". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ "Casting news! An iconic star will be appearing in #DoctorWho and we’ve been granted permission to reveal who at midnight… See you at 00:00!". Twitter @bbcdoctorwho. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Richard E Grant and Tom Ward to Star in the Christmas Special". BBC. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ Brew, Simon. "Ian McKellen joins Doctor Who Christmas special". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2012. ^ Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (446). 5 April 2012. ^ "Richard E Grant and Tom Ward to Star in the Christmas Special". BBC. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Saunders, Louise (9 August 2012). "Doctor Who: Jenna-Louise Coleman gets to work filming the Doctor Who Christmas special". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Edwards, Richard (21 August 2012). "Doctor Who: New Christmas Special Filming Pics". SFX. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "Doctor Who film crews move to Portland Square after Corn Street". This is Bristol. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^ a b Synnot, Siobhan (23 December 2013). "Interview: Saul Metzstein on the Doctor Who Christmas special". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ Who, Dale (28 December 2012). "Review: The Legacy Collection (Box-set) - DVD". Doctor Who Online. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (4 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Christmas special airdate confirmed by BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen" (Press release). BBC America. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen". Space. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Christmas Day television ratings topped by EastEnders". BBC News. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "EastEnders retains Christmas Day crown for BBC One in 2012" (Press release). BBC. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013. ^ "The Snowmen scores an AI of 87". Doctor Who News Page. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012. ^ a b Laughlin, Andrew (2 January 2013). "'Doctor Who - The Snowmen' boosts Christmas iPlayer". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 January 2013. ^ Bibel, Sara (27 December 2012). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: NBA Basketball Wins Night, 'Doctor Who', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Leverage' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who - The Snowmen review". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Cooper, Jon (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who review: The Snowmen Christmas special was full of nods to the past while also celebrating the present and also looking forward to the 50th anniversary future". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who: The Snowmen, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
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TDP 290: The Snowmen - Christmas 2012
Episode Duration: 0 days, 0 hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds"The Snowmen" is the sixth episode and a Christmas special of the seventh series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by head writer Steven Moffat and was first broadcast on Christmas Day 2012 at 5.15pm on BBC1 in the UK. It stars Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna-Louise Coleman as Clara Oswald, his new companion.[2] The episode also features a redesigned TARDIS,[3] revised opening credit and theme music, and sees major changes to the Doctor's costume.[4] The episode is set in the Victorian era and sees the Doctor brooding with the assistance of Silurian Madame Vastra, her wife Jenny Flint and Sontaran Strax, after the loss of companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams in the previous episode, "The Angels Take Manhattan." He is forced out of hiding to investigate mysterious, sentient snowmen that are building themselves and meets Clara, a governess also investigating the snowmen. It guest stars Richard E. Grant and Ian McKellen as the villains.[5][6] McKellen provides the voice of the Great Intelligence, a disembodied alien previously featured in Doctor Who in the Second Doctor serials The Abominable Snowmen and The Web of Fear. From the Great Intelligence's perspective, this episode occurs before those serials and several elements from "The Snowmen" reference and lead into them. The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics, most of whom received the introduction and character of Clara well,[7][8] but some felt that Grant and McKellen were underused as villains.[9] Contents 1 Plot 1.1 Prequels 1.2 Synopsis 1.3 Continuity 1.4 Cultural references 2 Production 2.1 Writing and design changes 2.2 Casting 2.3 Filming and effects 3 Broadcast and reception 3.1 Critical reception 4 References Plot Prequels To promote the special, two prequels were released. The first was broadcast during the 2012 Children in Need telethon on 16 November 2012, titled "The Great Detective". A trailer for the special was also broadcast during this programme.[10] In the prequel, the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human wife[11] Jenny Flint, and the Sontaran Strax (all returning from "A Good Man Goes to War", with Strax's apparently revival after being killed off in the earlier episode explained in the special) describe a number of strange phenomena to a shadowed fourth detective. The fourth detective reveals himself to be the Doctor, and tells the group that he has retired.[12] A second prequel, titled "Vastra Investigates", was released online on 17 December 2012.[13] At the end of a case, Vastra and Jenny converse with an officer from Scotland Yard, apologising for Strax's violent wishes for the culprit's punishment. Vastra explains Strax's alien origin as well as her own to the officer, much to his astonishment. She was awoken by an extension to the London Underground and initially disliked humans, though that changed when she fell in love with Jenny, which leaves the officer flabbergasted. On the carriage ride home, during a discussion about the Doctor's retirement, Jenny notices it is beginning to snow. Vastra voices that the snow is impossible due to the fact that there are no clouds in the sky.[13] Synopsis In 1840s England, a young boy builds a snowman but refuses to play with the other children. The snowman starts speaking to the boy, repeating his assertions that the other children are "silly". Fifty years later, the boy has grown up to be Dr Simeon, proprietor of "The Great Intelligence Institute". He hires men to collect samples of snow, which he places in a large snow-filled globe in his laboratory, before feeding the men to a group of animated snowmen. Meanwhile, the Doctor, still despondent after losing his former companions Amy Pond and Rory Williams, has parked his TARDIS above Victorian London among the clouds, descending to the surface via a long circular staircase, and instructed his allies - the Silurian Madame Vastra, her human wife Jenny, and the Sontaran Strax - to scout the city, through which he learns of Dr Simeon's interest in the snow. Elsewhere, Clara, a barmaid, investigates a disturbance outside her tavern to find the Doctor walking by. She accuses him of building a snowman, but the Doctor realises that the snowman is made of snow with a memory. The Doctor attempts to leave discreetly, but Clara follows him to a coach. The Doctor, hesitant about gaining a new companion, instructs Strax to bring a "memory worm", with the intent to use the creature's touch to wipe away the last hour of Clara's memory, in particular her knowledge of him. As more snowmen form and try to harm them, the Doctor tells Clara that her thoughts are creating the snowmen, and to think of them melting; after she concentrates, the snowmen melt. Clara cautions the Doctor that if he wipes her memory, she will forget how to deal with the snowmen. The Doctor relents, letting her go, and returning to the TARDIS. Clara follows; she finds it locked and knocks, but hides and flees down the staircase when the Doctor answers. Clara returns to her other job as governess for the children of Captain Latimer. She learns that Latimer's daughter has been having horrible dreams about the old governess, who had been frozen a year prior in Latimer's pond - returning from the dead and killing them all. Clara attempts to contact the Doctor but instead attracts the attention of Jenny, who takes her to see Vastra. Vastra tells Clara she gets only one word to impress the Doctor with if she wants his help; she chooses "pond", which arouses the Doctor's interest. The Doctor visits Dr Simeon's laboratory, dressed as Sherlock Holmes, and finds that the giant snow-filled globe contains the Great Intelligence, the entity that has been speaking to Dr Simeon since childhood. The Doctor learns that the Great Intelligence has been controlling the snowmen and has taken interest in Latimer's pond, deducing that it contains the DNA to create a new snow creature. The Doctor visits the pond, where an ice creature in the form of the former governess rises out of the pond and enters the mansion. Vastra, Jenny and Strax arrive and trap the creature behind a barrier. Leaving Latimer and the children with his allies, the Doctor flees with Clara to the roof of the mansion followed by the ice creature. They ascend to the TARDIS and the Doctor gives Clara a key, explaining that he now considers her a companion, though he does not understand why. However, the ice creature grabs Clara and pulls her over the edge of the clouds. The Doctor recovers Clara from the snowmen and returns to the mansion. He collects the ice fragments from the creature, ensuring they remain dormant but finding they contain ice-based DNA, the material that the Great Intelligence is looking for, and apparently places them in a souvenir London Underground biscuit tin. He travels to Dr Simeon's lab, where the Doctor reveals the Great Intelligence's plan to replace humanity with ice creatures, and holds up the tin, stating that it contains the ice DNA that is necessary for the plan. Dr Simeon grabs the tin, but opens it to find it contains the memory worm. It bites Simeon; the Doctor states that the Great Intelligence, which has been existing as a mirror of Dr Simeon's thoughts, will vanish with the erasure of Dr Simeon's memories. Instead, the Intelligence reveals that it existed long enough that it can now control Dr Simeon's body, which it uses to attack the Doctor. However, the influence of the Great Intelligence quickly wanes, and Dr Simeon falls dead. Outside, a salt-water rain has started, and the Doctor realises that some other, more powerful psychic ability has taken control of the snow from the Great Intelligence. The Doctor deduces that it must be the Latimer family, crying for Clara. Strax informs the Doctor upon his return to the Latimer mansion that Clara only has moments left, and she passes away as the Doctor returns the TARDIS key to her. At her funeral, the Doctor reads Clara's full name, Clara Oswin Oswald, on her tombstone and realises she is the woman he met in "Asylum of the Daleks" who became a Dalek. He gleefully announces that a person dying twice is an impossibility he must investigate, says his goodbyes to his allies. In contemporary times, a young woman resembling Clara walks through the graveyard. Meanwhile, the Doctor dashes around the TARDIS console, echoing Clara's dying words: "watch me run!" Continuity The Second Doctor previously encountered the Great Intelligence in the serials The Abominable Snowmen, set in the 1930s, and The Web of Fear, set in the 1960s. In these stories, the Great Intelligence uses robot Yeti as its physical presence. The events of The Web of Fear are alluded to by the Doctor in "The Snowmen" when he presents the London Underground biscuit tin to the Great Intelligence in Dr. Simeon's laboratory; the Intelligence states, "I do not understand these markings", in reference to the 1967 London Underground map design on the tin, an anachronism in 1892. The Doctor remarks that the Underground is a "key strategic weakness in metropolitan living", referring to (and possibly setting in motion) the future Yeti attack on London via the Underground.[14] In this respect, "The Snowmen" may be considered as a prequel to the Second Doctor Yeti serials, establishing an origin for the Intelligence and explaining its penchant for "Snowmen" and knowledge of the London Underground. Vastra, Jenny and Strax first appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War". Vastra and Jenny were considered popular characters from the previous episode with some fans hoping for a spinoff series,[15] but while Moffat stated then he had no time to work on such a show, he would consider reusing the characters within Doctor Who.[16] Strax had died in that episode; the Doctor states that his death has been reversed ("He gave his life for a friend once. Another friend brought him back"), but the circumstances of how this occurred are not explained in full. Clara is given a test by Vastra to ask the Doctor why he should help in one word. She chooses "pond", which is the surname of former companion Amy Pond.[4] In order to convey the emotional effect this word has on the Doctor, during the scene in which he hears it he is wearing the reading glasses Amy left him with at the close of "The Angels Take Manhattan". Clara is played by the same actress, Coleman, as Oswin Oswald from "Asylum of the Daleks", though the connectivity of these characters is not established until the Doctor takes Clara into the TARDIS. There, the Doctor finds her to have an interest in soufflés, a trait that Oswin's character also had; the show uses scenes from "Asylum" to show the Doctor's recollection of this.[17] The final scenes at the graveyard establish that Clara shares the same name as Oswin, leading the Doctor to surmise they are the same person. As seen on her gravestone, Clara's birthdate is 23 November, the date Doctor Who was first transmitted in 1963.[4] Cultural references Doctor Simeon posits that Doctor Doyle is basing his stories in The Strand Magazine on the exploits of Vastra, a reference to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories of Sherlock Holmes. The Doctor later uses the alias 'Sherlock Holmes' to gain entrance to Simeon's house, bearing the deerstalker and magnifying glass associated with the character. Doctor Who lead writer Steven Moffat, who wrote this episode, is also the co-creator of the BBC series Sherlock, a contemporary update of Doyle's works, for which Matt Smith auditioned for the part of Doctor Watson.[18] The Doctor Who novel All-Consuming Fire features the Seventh Doctor sharing an adventure with Holmes himself.[19] Production Promotional poster for The Snowmen Writing and design changes Writer Steven Moffat stated that he wanted an "epic" quality to the Christmas special. He compared the withdrawn Doctor seen at the onset of the episode to the first appearances of the First Doctor (William Hartnell) in 1963 and the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) in 2005.[20] He also attributed the idea of a retired Doctor to a plot proposed by Douglas Adams in the 1970s, but rejected by the production team at the time.[21] As with the first half of series 7, "The Snowmen" was written like a movie. A movie poster was released in the Radio Times, showing the Doctor and Clara ascending the ladder to the TARDIS.[22] According to producer Caroline Skinner, the concept of introducing the new companion as Oswin in "Asylum of the Daleks" occurred to Moffat during casting auditions for Clara.[23] The production team requested that the press and fans who attended advanced screenings keep Coleman's appearance a secret until "Asylum" was broadcast; the effort was ultimately successful.[24] The episode saw several major design changes for the series. "The Snowmen" is the debut of a redesigned TARDIS interior,[25][26] as well as a new title sequence and variation of the theme tune (although the closing credits still use the previous version of the tune).[27] The new title sequence features a brief glimpse of the Eleventh Doctor's face, the first time since the end of the original series in 1989 that the Doctor's face has been seen in the title sequence. Moffat had noticed that the TARDIS' design was getting "progressively whimsical" and resembled more of a "magical place" rather than a machine.[1] The Doctor also wears a new costume, tying in to the purple colour scheme, which Smith described as "a bit Artful Dodger meets the Doctor".[28] Moffat described the new outfit as a "progression" as the Doctor was in "a different phase of his life now" and felt more "grown-up" and fatherlike.[29] The costume was designed by Howard Burden for this episode.[4] Casting This episode marks the return of Jenna-Louise Coleman, who previously appeared in the series 7 opener, "Asylum of the Daleks".[30] Coleman was cast because of her chemistry with Matt Smith, and especially because she was able to talk faster than him.[31] She auditioned for the role of Clara, not Oswin from "Asylum", as the concept of the two characters being the same only occurred to Moffat whilst casting for Clara.[23] Smith said that Clara was different from her predecessor Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), which allowed the audience to see a different side of the Doctor.[20] Moffat felt that the introduction of a new companion made "the show feel different" and brought the story to "a new beginning" with a different person meeting the Doctor.[32] Also returning are Neve McIntosh as Madame Vastra, Dan Starkey as Strax and Catrin Stewart as Jenny. All three previously appeared in "A Good Man Goes to War" and reprised their roles both in this episode and in the prequels. They returned due to the popularity of Vastra and Jenny; Moffat considered a spin-off featuring them, though he did not have the time to do it. Instead, he decided to bring them back in the main series.[33] Richard E. Grant had previously played the Doctor on two occasions, as an alternative Tenth Doctor in the spoof charity special Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, which was written by Moffat and as an alternative Ninth Doctor in the animated story Scream of the Shalka which had been intended to be a continuation of the series before it was revived in 2005.[20] Smith commented that Grant was "born to be a Who villain. He pitches it on that perfect level and tone".[34] Grant's appearance in Doctor Who was teased by the BC via Twitter, announcing his appearance at midnight August 5 2012.[35][36] Tom Ward was drawn to his role because of the quality of the script, and also stated his young children were pleased that he appeared in the programme.[20] The Great Intelligence was voiced by Sir Ian McKellen.[37] The two children Clara is governess to, Digby and Francesca, were played by real-life brother and sister Joseph and Ellie Darcey-Alden.[4] Filming and effects "The Snowmen" was originally intended to be produced in the fourth production block of the series and be the first episode Coleman shot as her character;[38] however it did not begin filming until the week of 6 August 2012[39] after Coleman had worked on later episodes while Moffat was writing the Christmas special.[32] The read-through had taken place on 2 August 2012.[4] This was the first Christmas special to be filmed in BBC Wales' new Roath Lock studios.[4] Scenes featuring Coleman and several guest stars in a Victorian setting were filmed in Newport, Wales,[40] while Coleman and Smith were also spotted filming in Bristol two weeks later on 21 August.[41] Some scenes which used snow props were filmed in Portland Square, Bristol, where filming took place overnight on 21–22 August 2012.[42] Director Saul Metzstein explained that it was difficult to achieve the desired look for the snowmen; the first ones he likened to Zippy from Rainbow which was too "cute" of an appearance, and so the effects team created more menacing CGI faces.[43] Clara's introduction to the TARDIS introduced two novel effects for the show. The first was a single-shot camera tracking from Clara's point of view, from a few feet away from the TARDIS to its interior, with the implication of the TARDIS's trans-dimenional nature shown to the audience. This was a shot that has been postulated throughout Doctor Who's production history, as documented in the Doctor Who: Thirty Years in the TARDIS special, but only first to be realized in The Snowmen.[44] In the following shot, the camera does a complete circle of the TARDIS console, an effect not seen since the early days of the show. Metzstein wanted to include this shot to further emphasize the "bigger on the inside than the outside" nature of the time machine.[43] Broadcast and reception "The Snowmen" aired on BBC One on 25 December 2012 at 5:15 p.m.,[45] the same day on BBC America in the US[46] and Space in Canada[47] and the next day on ABC1 in Australia.[48] UK overnight ratings showed that the special had been watched by 7.6 million viewers, coming in sixth for the night.[49] Final consolidated figures (not including BBC iPlayer viewers) showed that the episode was watched by 9.87 million viewers, coming in fourth for the night.[50] It also received an Appreciation Index figure of 87, higher than most of the Doctor Who Christmas specials.[51] The iPlayer version had 1,467,220 views,[52] making it the most popular TV show on iPlayer over Christmas.[52] The US airing was seen by 1.43 million viewers, with a 0.6 rating in the demographic of adults aged 18–49.[53] Critical reception The episode received mostly positive reviews. Dan Martin of The Guardian called it "actually the best since 'The Christmas Invasion'" and the first to be "actually scary", with "everything we like" about Doctor Who and Christmas. He praised Coleman's introduction as Clara and the gang of Vastra, Jenny, and Strax.[7] IGN's Matt Risley gave "The Snowman" a score of 9.4 out of 10, describing it as "a rollicking, riveting masterclass in storytelling" which "refreshingly" lacked traditional Christmas references "in favour of some sparkling dialogue, gorgeous set design and fascinating characterisation". While he felt that Grant and McKellan were underused, he was very positive towards Coleman's "unpredictable" Clara.[8] Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern was pleased with the return of the Great Intelligence despite an inconsistency in the timeline he found, and praised the "lovely images" and direction of the special, though he felt the variation of the theme music "lacks the menace" of the original. While he was positive towards Clara, he was "unmoved by her death" as it was "plainly silly" that she did not look injured.[54] Nick Setchfield of SFX gave the special four and a half out of five stars, writing that the "the power of emotion saves the day again" was appropriate in light of the festivities and many fairytales referenced in the story. Setchfield was positive towards the "terrific" comedy with Strax, Coleman and the "surprisingly underused" Grant, as well as the new title sequence and TARDIS. While he wrote that the subtle callback of the Great Intelligence was "a tad more interesting than the usual 'So, we meet again!' schtick", he ultimately felt their threat "never quite comes into sharp relief".[9] Neela Debnath of The Independent wrote that "The Snowmen" was stronger than the previous year's "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe" as it was connected to the overall story of the series, but "still has a way to go if it is to live up to 'A Christmas Carol'". Despite feeling that it was "enjoyable", she noted that "the story feels truncated and rushed"[7] The Mirror's Jon Cooper also praised Coleman and the new side of the Doctor that was shown, comparing it to Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) challenging the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston). However, he felt the character-heavy story was to the detriment of the plot, which was "a classic Who set-up that ultimately suffers from a lack of explanation [and] more set-pieces than a coherent whole". He felt that the episode may not have been accessible for casual viewers, but offered much for fans in time for the programme's fiftieth anniversary.[55] Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph gave "The Snowmen" three out of five stars, disappointed that it was not as scary as it had been hyped to be. While he was positive towards Smith and the TARDIS on the cloud, he criticised Strax and the "Sudoku-like complexity" of the script.[56] References ^ a b Jeffery, Morgan (19 December 2012). 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"Matt Smith: the Doctor is "attracted" to "hot chick" Clara". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (20 December 2012). "Steven Moffat On The Doctor's New Look". SFX. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ Collins, Clark (28 November 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman talks about becoming the Doctor's new companion". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 28 December 2012. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (21 March 2012). "'Doctor Who': Jenna-Louise Coleman - The press conference in full". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 June 2012. ^ a b "New Companion Makes Doctor Who A Different Show, Says Moffat". SFX. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Setchfield, Nick (22 July 2012). "Madame Vastra Spin-Off". SFX. Retrieved 17 November 2012. ^ Walker-Arnott, Ellie (18 December 2012). "Matt Smith: "Richard E Grant was born to be a Doctor Who villain"". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 December 2012. ^ "Casting news! An iconic star will be appearing in #DoctorWho and we’ve been granted permission to reveal who at midnight… See you at 00:00!". Twitter @bbcdoctorwho. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Richard E Grant and Tom Ward to Star in the Christmas Special". BBC. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ Brew, Simon. "Ian McKellen joins Doctor Who Christmas special". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 8 December 2012. ^ Doctor Who Magazine (Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics) (446). 5 April 2012. ^ "Richard E Grant and Tom Ward to Star in the Christmas Special". BBC. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Saunders, Louise (9 August 2012). "Doctor Who: Jenna-Louise Coleman gets to work filming the Doctor Who Christmas special". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ Edwards, Richard (21 August 2012). "Doctor Who: New Christmas Special Filming Pics". SFX. Retrieved 2 September 2012. ^ "Doctor Who film crews move to Portland Square after Corn Street". This is Bristol. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^ a b Synnot, Siobhan (23 December 2013). "Interview: Saul Metzstein on the Doctor Who Christmas special". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ Who, Dale (28 December 2012). "Review: The Legacy Collection (Box-set) - DVD". Doctor Who Online. Retrieved 4 January 2013. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (4 December 2012). "'Doctor Who' Christmas special airdate confirmed by BBC". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen" (Press release). BBC America. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen". Space. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Doctor Who: The Snowmen". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 December 2012. ^ "Christmas Day television ratings topped by EastEnders". BBC News. 26 December 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2012. ^ "EastEnders retains Christmas Day crown for BBC One in 2012" (Press release). BBC. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013. ^ "The Snowmen scores an AI of 87". Doctor Who News Page. 27 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2012. ^ a b Laughlin, Andrew (2 January 2013). "'Doctor Who - The Snowmen' boosts Christmas iPlayer". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 January 2013. ^ Bibel, Sara (27 December 2012). "Tuesday Cable Ratings: NBA Basketball Wins Night, 'Doctor Who', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Leverage' & More". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 30 December 2012. ^ Mulkern, Patrick (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who - The Snowmen review". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Cooper, Jon (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who review: The Snowmen Christmas special was full of nods to the past while also celebrating the present and also looking forward to the 50th anniversary future". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 26 December 2012. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (25 December 2012). "Doctor Who: The Snowmen, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 December 2012.