 "Under the Lake" is the first part of a two-part story, the second of which is "Before the Flood" - both are written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Daniel O'Hara.
This story’s two episodes are set in different time periods – "Under the Lake" takes place in 2119 and "Before the Flood" is set in an earlier time, initially described by Executive Producer Brian Minchin as being ‘a few hundred years before’, but later revealed to be 1980.
The guest cast for this story includes Paul Kaye, who played Thoros of Myr in the third series of Game of Thrones. Paul is also well-known for being the voice of Vincent the fox on the puppet-based BBC comedy Mongrels, and came to fame as the controversial comic character Dennis Pennis in the 1990s.
Commenting on his new role, Paul said: ‘As a kid of the 1970s, the two shows you always watched were Top of the Pops and Doctor Who - they were unmissable. I actually wrote a song called Looking for Davros in my first punk band, and I sang it like a demented Dalek. I got to present Top of the Pops back in the mid-90s, and landing this role in Doctor Who completes the dream double. Peter Capaldi is a perfect Doctor and I'm loving every minute of the experience - even the five hours in make-up. What a treat. Best 50th birthday present ever! ’.
Also appearing in this story is Morven Christie, who played the role of Amanda in the ITV crime drama Grantchester, and featured in Death in Paradise and Twenty Twelve; Arsher Ali, who played the part of Malik Suri in BBC One's critically acclaimed The Missing; Colin McFarlane, who recently appeared in EastEnders' Lucy Beale murder storyline; Sophie Stone, who was the lead actress in the stage play Woman of Flowers and has appeared in Midsomer Murders and Casualty; as well as Zaqi Ismail, Steven Robertson and Neil Fingleton.
Colin McFarlane, who plays Moran in this story, had previously featured in the 2007 Christmas story "Voyage of the Damned", in which he voiced the Heavenly Host. He also appeared in spin-off series Torchwood, in four episodes of Children of Earth, as General Pierce.
Doctor Who's head writer and Executive Producer, Steven Moffat has commented, ‘What an amazing guest cast for a brilliantly creepy two-parter by Toby Whithouse. Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are back in Cardiff, back in the box, and back in action - for one of our scariest adventures yet’.
Toby Whithouse's previous work on Doctor Who includes "School Reunion", "The Vampires of Venice", "The God Complex" and "A Town Called Mercy". He has also written for Torchwood and created the long-running drama Being Human.
This story has been produced by former Doctor Who script editor Derek Ritchie, and directed by a talent new to the show, Daniel O'Hara, whose previous credits include Silent Witness and Being Human.
This is the first full-length story produced by Derek Ritchie who was script editor on "The Time of The Doctor", "Deep Breath", "Into the Dalek" and "The Caretaker" as well as the 2013 special, The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Derek Ritchie also produced the prequel for "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar".
The read through for this story took place on the 17th December 2014 with the first day of recording starting on the 6th January 2015. It was the first story of Season Thirty Five (New Series 9) to be recorded.
The read through draft of the script for the first part of his story, glimpsed in the online Doctor Who Extra focusing on Cass and Lunn, was titled "Ghost in the Machine".
One of The Doctor's cards has him offering reassurance that no-one, among other disasters, is going to be ‘exterminated/upgraded’. This is a scripted response to potential Dalek and/or Cybermen encounters. Another card has an apology for dropping someone off in Aberdeen, a reference to the story "The Hand of Fear" and "School Reunion" when He mistakenly dropped off companion Sarah Jane Smith in the wrong town.
The Doctor is seen breaking the fourth wall by appearing to directly address the audience. This is rare but not without precedent. In "The Invasion of Time" the Fourth Doctor looks into the camera and observes, ‘Even the sonic screwdriver won’t get me out of this one!’ Most famously, in the seventh episode "The Feast of Steven", of the 1965 story "The Daleks' Master Plan" that was broadcast on Christmas day, the First Doctor explicitly addresses the audience with the words ‘Oh, and incidentally… a happy Christmas to all of you at home!’ More recently, The Doctor’s ruminations at the beginning of "Listen" could be interpreted as him speaking directly to viewers.
The Doctor reveals that Prentis (the alien in the top hat) is from the planet Tivoli. We previously met someone from that world – the unctuous Gibbis from "The God Complex", also written by Toby Whithouse. In that story it was revealed that Tivoli was the most conquered planet in its galaxy and its cities were specifically designed to be comfortable for any invaders!
The motto on Prentis’ business card ‘May the remorse be with you...’ could be seen as a reference to the expression spoken in every Star Wars movie, ‘May the Force be with you!’.
Prentis is heard to say that they were liberated from the Fisher King's people by the ‘glorious Arcateenians’, only to be conquered by them in turn; the Arcateenians were first mentioned in the Torchwood story Greeks Bearing Gifts also written by Toby Whithouse.
The Fisher King describes Time Lords as ‘cowardly, vain curators who suddenly remembered they had teeth and became the most war-like race in the galaxy’, referring to the Time Lords' passive role in earlier series and their subsequent participation in the Time War.
O’Donnell makes several references to The Doctor’s history, mentioning previous companions Rose Tyler, Martha Jones and Amy Pond. Harold Saxon (the alias of the Master/Missy during the Gallifreyan’s time on Earth throughout "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords") is mentioned and events of "Kill the Moon" directly alluded to. But from The Doctor’s reaction to ‘the Minister of War’ it’s clear that this particular figure is from his personal future...
The Fisher King is played by Neil Fingleton who with a height of 7ft 7.56 inches (232.6 cm) is one the tallest men in the World. The Fisher King is voiced by Peter Serafinowicz and its roar is provided by Corey Taylor.
Outside the world of Doctor Who, the Fisher King is a mysterious and powerful figure that has pervaded myths, legends and other stories for centuries, most notably as part of the Arthurian legends in which he was entrusted with the Holy Grail.
When pondering what the ghosts actually are, The Doctor eliminates the possibility that they are Flesh avatars ("The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People"), Autons (Spearhead From Space), or digital copies in the Nethersphere ("Dark Water/Death in Heaven").
The Cloister Bell is again heard. It was first heard in the 1981 Fourth Doctor’s story "Logopolis", when The Doctor described it as ‘...a sort of communications device reserved for wild catastrophes and sudden calls to man the battle stations’. It subsequently sounded in many stories including "Resurrection of the Daleks", "The Waters of Mars" and "The Eleventh Hour".
The Doctor’s comment, ‘She once had an argument with Gandhi...’, is presumably a reference to Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, one of the leaders of the Indian independence movement in British-ruled India. Famous for his non-violent, peaceful approach.
The Doctor remembers an encounter with Shirley Bassey… Dame Shirley Bassey is a Welsh singing legend, probably best-known for belting out the theme song for the James Bond films Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker.
The Doctor reveals that he is not a fan of Peter Andre's Mysterious Girl: after suffering a two-week earworm of the song.
Faraday cages - named after the British scientist, Michael Faraday, who invented them in 1836 - are enclosures formed by conductive material used to block electric fields. They’re often used to protect sensitive equipment from external radio frequency interference but sometimes they’re employed to protect people from actual electricity such as lightning strikes.
When planning to abandon the base, Cass wants her superiors to send marines or ‘Ghostbusters’, an allusion to the 1984 film of the same name.
Unusually, for the second episode the opening theme was performed with an electric guitar. The inclusion of an electric guitar was prompted by a joke from Peter Capaldi, who performed the theme as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in the prologue. Peter Capaldi had previously been a leading member of punk band the Dream Boys, alongside presenter Craig Ferguson. The Doctor had previously been shown playing such an instrument atop a tank in the previous story "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar".
During the second episode's prologue The Doctor mentions that he met the actual Ludwig van Beethoven - a ‘nice chap, very intense’. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) was almost totally deaf during the last decade of his life but during these years he continued to write and composed many of his most admired pieces.
The electric guitar amplifier seen in The Doctor's prologue has a plaque reading Magpie Electronics, a shop originally owned by Mr Magpie and visited by The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "The Idiot's Lantern". This is another piece of electrical equipment with the famous ‘Magpie’ branding which we’ve previously seen on many items including Martha’s television set (in "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords") and various TARDIS console components during the Eleventh Doctor’s era. It’s an enduring concern as there was a shop with the same name on board Starship UK in the 33rd century! (see "The Beast Below").
At one point O’Donnell is heard to say ‘One small step for man. One giant...’ This is the second time during the Twelfth Doctor’s era that Neil Armstrong’s famous line – ‘One small step for man… One giant leap for mankind!’ – has been referenced and subverted. In "Kill the Moon", Courtney Woods declared ‘One small thing for a thing! One enormous thing for a thingy thing!’ as she leapt onto the lunar surface. The Eleventh Doctor also made use of Neil Armstrong's line when he first defeated "The Silence in The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon".
Security Protocol 712 was introduced in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "Blink" where a hologram of The Doctor addresses Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale after they make it into the TARDIS. Similar holograms have been seen in the TARDIS during "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways" (when Emergency Program One kicked in, allowing a hologram of the Ninth Doctor to address Rose Tyler) as well as in "Let’s Kill Hitler" when The Doctor activating ‘voice interface’ produced depictions of himself plus Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Donna Noble and Amy Pond as a child.
"Under the Lake" received highly positive reviews from television critics, with many praising the episode's creepy atmosphere and old fashioned style.
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The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Daniel O’Hara.
Derek Ritchie's first involvement in the show as a Producer.
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(Position = 5 out of 9)
