 This story marks the first that has ever been filmed partially in the USA, albeit for effects shots and without any of the principal cast due to budget constraints. The shots that were taken in the USA were made possible due to the behind-the-scenes programme Doctor Who Confidential planning to travel to the Big Apple with Helen Raynor for an on-location interview segment. This enabled Director James Strong to obtain various plate shots and establishing shots to be taken. Despite the illusion neither David Tennant and Freema Agyeman accompanied James Strong to New York City.
The scenes on the rooftops and those in Central Park and the Hooverville scenes were filmed in Bute Park, Cardiff. While The Laurenzi theatre was really the Parc & Dare Theatre in Treorch with backstage areas shot at Headlands School in Penarth.
This though is not the first story to be set in the USA. Both the Daleks and the First Doctor briefly visited the completed Empire State Building in "The Chase"; neither stayed long enough to appreciate any Dalek architecture that may have survived. The last time that The Doctor visited the USA, he was with Rose Tyler. On that occasion, he encountered what he believed to be the very last Dalek.
Among the classic horror films and novels that helped inspire this story are The Island of Doctor Moreau, Frankenstein and The Phantom of the Opera.
Tallulah's name and character were inspired by Jodie Foster's performance as Tallulah in the 1976 film Bugsy Malone.
The Great Depression was an economic low point for the world, which started after the Black Tuesday stock market crash on 29th October 1929. Beginning in the United States, it quickly spread to the rest of the world, with devastating effects. International trade fell rapidly, as did personal incomes, tax revenues, prices and profits.
"Happy Days Are Here Again", heard on the radio at the start of the second episode, was written in 1929 by Milton Ager and Jack Yellen. It was a hugely popular song in the 1930s and remains well known to this day.
Construction of the Empire State Building began on the 17th March 1930. Remarkably, it was officially opened just over a year later, on the 1st May 1931. 3,400 workers were involved in the project, of which five died during the construction. For 41 years, it stood proud as the tallest skyscraper in the world.
On average, the Empire State Building is struck by lightning a hundred times each year. Due to efficient lighting conductors and other precautionary measures, the vast majority of strikes occur without incident.
The Pig Men are the latest race of humanoid slaves used by the Daleks. Others have included Robomen ("The Dalek Invasion of Earth"), Ogrons ("Day of the Daleks") and also humans ("Resurrection of the Daleks").
Daleks acknowledged the advantage of defining the 'Human Factor' in the Second Doctor story "The Evil of the Daleks". In past stories it has been revealed that the Daleks abhor anything that is genetically different from themselves; so much so, that variations in Dalek DNA have been known to cause civil war to break out between differing Dalek factions (see "Revelation of the Daleks" and "Remembrance of the Daleks").
We first learned about Dalekanium, the powerful metal from which Dalek cases are formed, in the classic 1964 story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".
Although this is the first time Daleks have appeared on stage in the television show, they are no strangers to trundling the boards. Three major theatre productions have featured the Daleks over the years: "Curse of the Daleks" (1965), "Seven Keys to Doomsday" (1974) and "The Ultimate Adventure" (1989).
Before the title sequence in episode two there is a brief recap of the main events that took place in the first episode.
Like the last two double episode stories in Season Twenty Eight (New Series 2), the first episode of this story includes a trailer for the next episode - this follows immediately after the end credits. The end credits also include a title card reading "To be continued...". The ending of the second episode of this story includes a trailer for the next story - This being "The Lazarus Experiment".
Following on immediately after each episode of this story, on BBC3, were the fourth and fifth chapters of the third series of Doctor Who Confidential. These being "A New York Story" and "Making Manhattan". Both were presented by Anthony Head.
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The Firsts:
The first time Doctor Who has been filmed in the USA - albeit only for effects shots and without any of the principal cast.
The first time Daleks have appeared on stage in the television series.
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Helen Raynor.
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(Position = 10 out of 10)
(Position = 152 out of 200)
