 In this story The Doctor investigates why a pyramid has suddenly appeared in Turmezistan and confronts an ancient enemy ready to destroy humanity. It is the second of three loosely connected stories known as "The Monks Trilogy" in which we see Bill make a deal with The Monks to help The Doctor regain his eyesight, having been blind since "Oxygen", when he was exposed to the vacuum of space when trying to save Bill.
This story has been written by Peter Harness. This is his third Doctor Who story after writing the 2014 story "Kill the Moon" and the 2015 story "The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion". He has therefore contributed to three consecutive seasons.
Togo Igawa, who plays the part of the Secretary General, is no stranger to the world of Doctor Who. In the first season of Torchwood he played the part of Dr Tanizaki in Cyberwoman.
Aside from the regular cast this story marks the return of actors Jamie Hill (as The Monk), Tim Bentinck (as the Voice of the Monk) and Ronke Adekoluejo (as Penny) - all from the previous story "Extremis".
Recording was carried out at the same time as "Extremis", and began on the 23rd November 2016 and finished on the 17th January 2017. Some filming was carried out in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. This location has previously been used for the Moon ("Kill the Moon"), Skaro ("The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familar") and Gallifrey ("Heaven Sent/Hell Bent").
The Secretary General refers to the fact that The Doctor is the President of Earth. In the 2014 story "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" it was revealed that in times of crisis (specifically if an invasion occurs) an ‘Earth President’ is inducted immediately, with complete authority over every nation state. As Kate Stewart, the head of UNIT, remarked ‘There was only one practical candidate’ - meaning The Doctor! The position seems to have become a permanent office by the 26th Century. In the 1973 Third Doctor story "Frontier in Space" The Doctor and Jo Grant met the President of Earth, an apparently elected politician, who initially suspected The Doctor of being a Draconian spy!
The Doctor is seen playing his electric guitar again (see "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar" and "Heaven Sent/Hell Bent").
Nardole calls himself ‘sexy’, a nickname often used by the Eleventh Doctor to describe the TARDIS.
The Doctor is heard to mention about his reassembly of Nardole, telling Nardole ‘I got your lungs cheap’, further indicating that Nardole may be a cyborg (see "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" and "The Pilot").
As he did in the 2016 Christmas Special, "The Return of Doctor Mysterio", Nardole uses a microphone in his coat to communicate with The Doctor.
According to The Doctor's sonic sunglasses, Bill is female, 26 years old, 167.6cm tall, weighs 130.2 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 79BPM and a body temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius; whereas Nardole is male, 237 years old, 167.7cm tall, weighs 216.1 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 78BPM and a temperature of 30.3 degrees Celsius.
One Monk has a height of 204.6cm and a weight of 93.5 pounds. Another has a height of 214.3cm. The sonic sunglasses are unable to detect their ages.
The Doctor compares The Monks' countdown to the real Doomsday Clock and includes a bit of the history behind its rationale.
The Doomsday Clock is a concept that seeks to represent the likelihood and nearness of an apocalyptic, man-made catastrophe. Its original setting (in 1947) was seven minutes to midnight, with midnight denoting the point of cataclysm. As such, the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for how vulnerable the planet is to catastrophe.
The idea that a harmful force cannot enter a home without the owner’s permission is a concept most closely identified with vampires, as Bill suggests, but various mythologies attribute the same limitations to other harmful creatures, such as vampire-hybrids and the Devil. Bram Stoker’s Dracula cemented this element of folklore but prior to that story’s publication in 1897, ‘creatures of the night’ such as the eponymous ‘Varney the Vampire’ weren’t always bound by the convention.
The TARDIS is once again relocated by authorities without The Doctor's permission (see "The Day of The Doctor"). And once again it finds itself on board an aircraft (see "The Bells of Saint John").
The Doctor is heard to question how the UN got his TARDIS out from his office, since the windows are too small. It is revealed that the UN had to break down some of the wall to get the TARDIS out.
Much of the action in this story takes place in Turmezistan. This is a fictitious country which first appeared in the 2015 story "The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion".
Douglas and Erica work for Agrofuel Research Operations. An ‘agrofuel’ is (broadly speaking) a biofuel produced by agricultural means.
It is revealed that Agrofuel Research Operations is seen using EC 07, EC 31 and EC 46 to genetically modify R. Planticola. They have also been experimenting with the bacteria for at least 26 days.
Boat One is boarded again. This is at least the third such aircraft to carry this designation after the previous two were destroyed in "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" and "The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion".
This story contains a reference to a Plastic Ono Band song when the three military commanders all agree to set aside hostilities so as to 'give peace a chance'.
‘It’s a matter of a pyramid’ The Doctor visited the ‘real’ Great Pyramid of Giza in episode nine of the 1965/66 First Doctor story "The Daleks' Master Plan". Co-incidentally, that story also saw him pitted against another monk known as The Meddling Monk.
Nardole is heard to mention that air, water, food and beer, as being basic necessities.
The Doctor is heard to mention UNIT and UNIT HQ. The United Nations is featured throughout this story in lieu of UNIT. This marks the first time the UN has played a major role in a Doctor Who story since the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky" when the real-life organisation requested UNIT's name be changed from United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. Since then UNIT has become known as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce.
The Doctor mentions that Earth has been doomed before, but that he got in the way. (see "The Eleventh Hour"). The Doctor also states that the future dead Earth wouldn't be his first dead planet that he has visited (see "The Daleks" and "Planet of the Dead").
The Doctor is heard exclaiming to Erica ‘She's got it. By George, she's got it! ’. The Doctor is quoting Henry Higgins who, in the musical My Fair Lady, declares ‘I think she’s got it… By George, she’s got it!’ when he is referring to Eliza Doolittle. In the 1989 Seventh Doctor story "Ghost Light", in a clear allusion to that character, The Doctor accidentally called his companion Ace ‘Eliza’. Incidentally, My Fair Lady is a musical version of Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw. The Doctor could be a fan of his because in the 1987 Seventh Doctor story "Dragonfire" we saw him reading Bernard Shaw’s 1906 work, The Doctor’s Dilemma.
This story contains an error - the character Colonel Don Brabbit is seen wearing the insignia of a four-star general.
The title of this story has the longest word count for a Doctor Who episode, with eight words. By characters, however, that would go to "The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe", with 32 characters over this story's 28. The spin-off series Class trumps them both, with 42 characters in The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did.
This story features a unique opening sequence in which it jumps back and forward between "Previously" and "Now" sequences.
A line of dialogue referring to terrorism was reportedly removed from this story out of respect for the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, which occurred five days prior to the broadcast of this story.
| |
|
|
(Position = 7 out of 12)
