 "The Bells of Saint John" is the first story of the second half of Season Thirty Three (New Series 7) and is the sixth regular story of this season.
This story introduced a third version of Clara Oswald, who appeared earlier in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen" and reintroduces The Great Intelligence, who last appeared in "The Snowmen", played by Richard E. Grant.
This story was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Colm McCarthy - his first work on Doctor Who. Colm McCarthy has been directing television since 1997 and amongst his recent work are episodes of the mini-series The Deep, Spooks, Hustle, Endeavour and The Tudors as well as the series Outcast, for which he also wrote.
The title of this story comes from the ringing telephone and the St. John Ambulance logo on the TARDIS exterior. This emblem was originally on real-life police boxes to remind the public that police officers were trained in first aid by members of the St. John Ambulance Association. The St. John Ambulance logo itself appeared on the TARDIS when we first encountered the time machine in 1963, before disappearing for several years. It reappeared briefly during the Third Doctor’s era before making a true come back in the 2009 Eleventh Doctor story "The Eleventh Hour". The TARDIS' exterior public-use emergency telephone rang previously in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" which was also written by Steven Moffat.
The read through for this story took place in the BBC’s Roath Lock buildings on the 19th September 2012 and filming began on the 8th October 2012.
Some filming took place in London, on and near Westminster Bridge and alongside the River Thames in October 2012. The scene where The Doctor drives a motorbike out of the TARDIS was shot on London’s South Bank, only yards away from the British Film Institute where "Asylum of the Daleks" was premiered in August 2012.
The tall building which houses Miss Kizlet’s lair is called The Shard. It was though formerly known as London Bridge Tower. Construction of this 1,016 foot tall skyscraper began in March 2009 and was opened to the public on the 1st February 2013. The Shard, at the time this story was recoded and first broadcast, was the tallest building in the European Union, and the second-tallest in Europe, after the Mercury City Tower in Moscow.
Writer Steven Moffat has described this story as being ‘The traditional Doctor Who thing of taking something omnipresent in your life and making it sinister, if something did get in the Wi-Fi, we'd be kind of screwed. Nobody had really done it before, so I thought, “It's time to get kids frightened of Wi-Fi!”’. He has though denied that his intention was to give a warning about technology, but rather tell a story about a new way for aliens to invade based on something viewers were familiar with.
It has been revealed that it was producer Marus Wilson who suggested that the story be an ‘urban thriller’, as the story would already be set in contemporary London to introduce Clara and monsters in the Wi-Fi. Steven Moffat has also compared the style of this story to James Bond and The Bourne Identity. Steven Moffat has also said that this story was ‘an action roller coaster’ rather than a story intended to be scary.
Despite being announced as the new companion, Jenna-Louise Coleman had first appeared as two different characters called Clara in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen", but this story actually introduces the character who will be The Doctor's new travelling companion. Steven Moffat has described this version of Clara as ‘more real-world’ and Matt Smith has stated that Clara reignites The Doctor's curiosity in the universe and gives him his mojo back.
Miss Kinzet's client is revealed to be The Great Intelligence (its second appearance in a row) and still has Walter Simeon's image despite, from The Great Intelligence's perspective, two centuries have elapsed since it first took his form in the 2012’s Christmas special, "The Snowmen". During this time, The Great Intelligence has encountered the Second Doctor twice; first in the 1967 story "The Abominable Snowmen" and then in the 1968 story "The Web of Fear".
To keep the reappearance of The Great Intelligence a surprise, Richard E. Grant was not credited in the Radio Times. He was, however, originally listed on the BBC website, but this was subsequently taken down.
The walking robotic Wi-Fi base stations are nicknamed ‘Spoonheads’ by the technicians because of a spoon-like antenna dish on the back of their head that they use to upload their victims to Miss Kizlet's cloud storage.
Clara is referred to as ‘The Woman Twice Dead’ a reference that she has already, in The Doctors timeline, died twice. First in "Asylum of the Daleks", when she was converted into a Dalek, and then again in "The Snowmen" when she died falling from a great height.
In the opening scene a painting of Clara by The Doctor can be seen. On it are the words ‘RUN, YOU CLEVER BOY, AND REMEMBER’ – words Clara has spoken previously in "Asylum of the Daleks" and "The Snowmen". Clara also says this later while trying to remember a password to access the Wi-Fi on her laptop.
When Clara calls The Doctor in the year 1207, Clara believes she is calling another time zone. The Doctor does not try to explain that it is the year 1207 but instead replies ‘You have no idea’. He then apologises about her phone bill (see also "The End of the World" and "The Eleventh Hour").
George, Artie, and Angie's household Wi-Fi network is named Maitland_Family. And Clara thinks of ‘Oswin’ as a username.
Clara and the Maitland family are shown on the network map to live in Ealing (immediately north-northwest of the intersection of South Ealing Road and Pope's Lane). Interestingly the majority of the spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, took place in Ealing.
When Clara is sucked into to Wi-Fi, she is heard to ask ‘Where am I?’ - the exact same question Oswin Oswald asked when she realised she is a Dalek in "Asylum of the Daleks".
After saving Clara from being downloaded The Doctor sends a message to her attempted captors stating, ‘Under My Protection’ – a similar message he gave in "The Christmas Invasion" and "The Eleventh Hour".
Clara is heard to joke about Twitter. It is also revealed that all those working for Miss Kinzet's have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Google+ or Tumblr, and they all posted the location of their workplace in some fashion.
Summer Falls, the book that Clara spots Artie reading, is written by Amelia Williams. This is a reference to Amy Pond as Williams is the married name of The Doctor’s former companion and mother-in-law. As revealed in "The Angels Take Manhattan" Amy Pond became a travel writer in the 21st century before being permanently sent back to the early 20th century, and becoming the editor of her daughter's detective novel/guidebook.
When The Doctor looks at Clara’s book, 101 Places to See, he discovers on the inside cover she has added her age for each year from the age of 9 to 24. Strangely though she has skipped ages 16 and 23.
Clara is heard to call the TARDIS a ‘snog box’ much to the annoyance of The Doctor.
The ‘Doctor who?’ line, having been used continually since the première story, "An Unearthly Child" in 1963, has had in-universe significance since "The Wedding of River Song". Each of Clara's three incarnations have thus far uttered this question upon meeting The Doctor.
The Doctor at one point gives Clara a plate of Jammie Dodgers – a reference to the 2009 story "Victory of the Daleks" and the 2011 story "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon".
This is not the first time that The Doctor has encountered an alien whose plan was to upload humans to a popular technology. Previously, in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "The Idiot's Lantern", The Doctor encountered the Wire, who extracted the faces of humans. Both times, the victims were trapped in television screens.
Another striking similarity to "The Idiot's Lantern" is the use of the motorbike: in both stories The Doctor rides it with his current companion through the streets of London and subsequently he rides it on his own after he loses his travelling companion. In "The Idiot's Lantern" this was Rose Tyler, who had begun to enquire on her own before being captured by the Wire.
The Doctor is seen to ride the motorbike out of the TARDIS. Previously, in the 1996 Eighth Doctor film "Doctor Who: The Movie", a motorbike is seen being driven into the TARDIS and then back out.
The Doctor tells Clara that they are riding a motorbike because he does not bring the TARDIS into battle, fearing that it may fall into the wrong hands. The same concern had been expressed by the Ninth Doctor to Rose Tyler. He actually has used the TARDIS fairly often in battle or at least had it on a battlefield (see also: "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways", "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End", "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" and "A Good Man Goes to War").
The Doctor is heard saying that he took part in a motor race during the Anti-Gravity Olympics in 2074 - but came last. The Doctor is then seen riding up the side of The Shard. The Anti-Gravity Olympics were also referenced in the opening moments of the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Tooth and Claw".
The Doctor is heard stating that he is a thousand years old, presumably rounding his age for convenience since he was speaking in a hurry at the time. In "A Town Called Mercy" he claimed to be 1,200.
When they locate the TARDIS, Mahler is heard to say that ‘Earl’s Court was an embarrassment…’ - a reference to the real-life police box - looking very much like The Doctor’s TARDIS – that is outside the Earl's Court underground station in London. The Great Intelligence was pointed at the London Underground as a key strategic weakness, and eventually fought The Doctor there (see "The Snowmen" and "The Web of Fear").
The Doctor mentions having two hearts. He also claims that Time Lords have 27 brains. However, he then admits that he was exaggerating.
The Doctor once again wears Amy Pond's reading glasses as he did in "The Angels Take Manhattan" and "The Snowmen".
The Doctor is seen with a fez (before giving it to a young boy standing outside the TARDIS). The Doctor wearing a fez was previously a plot point in the 2010 story "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang", and has been referenced several times thereafter.
The Doctor mentions that the TARDIS's telephone should not work (see also "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances").
The Doctor notes that travelling short hops in the TARDIS can be difficult (see also "The Seeds of Death", "State of Decay", "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday" and "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship").
The Doctor can't fly an aeroplane. He had previously claimed, in the 2011 story "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon", that he was due for a lesson in flying a bi-plane in 1911, but never attended the lesson.
This story contains a number of errors. Namely: When The Doctor enters the house to save Clara it can be seen by the actresses' hands that the walking robotic base station is standing backwards, rather than forwards with its head turned completely around; When The Doctor and Clara are talking, after she wakes up, he sets the laptop on the ground and the monitor is upright, however, after the camera switches back to him from Clara, the screen is bent back; When Clara is seen entering The Doctor's TARDIS for the first time, her mug shakes several times, which would cause it to spill, yet it doesn't. Later, on the Aeroplane, she starts to take a sip but is pulled away by The Doctor, and again she does not spill her drink. However, when she returns to the TARDIS, she takes a sip, proving that her mug wasn't empty and that it should have spilled several times; When the TARDIS has travelled to the aeroplane, just before The Doctor gets out, a scene change is visible and the wall position changes; While in the aeroplane, you can't see the city below through the open windows; Before the motorcycle scene, the TARDIS's doors are open when The Doctor comes forward but then, when he starts riding, they are shown closed and apparently he did not close them remotely; During the motorcycle scene, a crew member and camera can be seen reflected in The Doctor's helmet; During the same scene, Clara's hands can be seen going back and forth between The Doctor's belly and his shoulder on each cut, sometimes in the middle of a line.
This story takes a lot of the directing tropes of the BBC television series Sherlock, a show also written and created by Steven Moffat and writer Mark Gatiss. A prime example of this is formulas and words appearing on-screen.
As with all of the stories in this season this story has individually stylized opening credits and The Doctor Who logo sports a weathered metallic texture, much like that of the walking robotic base stations.
The prequel to this story premiered on the 23rd March 2013 - a week before the story itself. It was written by Steven Moffat and featured The Doctor sitting on a swing in a children's playground when he meets a little girl. They talk about losing things, and The Doctor states that he has lost someone twice and he hopes he might be able to find her again. As she leaves, the audience learns that the little girl’s name is Clara Oswald.
In this short prequel The Doctor is seen wearing his old tweed jacket which we then see him discard in favour of his ‘new’ coat in an early scene inside the TARDIS in "The Bells of Saint John" - the first time since the previous season.
"The Bells of Saint John" first aired in the United Kingdom on BBC One on the 30th March 2013 - the same date in the United States on BBC America and in Canada on Space. It was also shown on 31st March in Australia on ABC1, in South Africa on BBC Entertainment and, on the 11th April 2013, on Prime in New Zealand.
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The Firsts:
The first story of the second half of Season Thirty Three (New Series 7)
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Colm McCarthy.
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(Position = 4 out of 9)
(Position = 120 out of 241)
