 This is the second story of Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11). It was written by showrunner and Executive Producer Chris Chibnall and was directed by Mark Tonderai.
This story starts were the previous story ("The Woman Who Fell to Earth") ended - with The Doctor and her three new friends floating in space.
Shaun Dooley (who played the part of Epzo) was announced to be appearing in this season in July 2018, while after the previous story "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", was broadcast, it was confirmed that Susan Lynch (who played the part of Angstrom) and Art Malik (who played the part of Ilin) would be among a number of guest actors that would also appear.
This story marks the debut of the new title sequence for Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11) due to it being left out of the preceding story, making this the first time this has been done.
This title sequence marks the first time since the 1987 Seventh Doctor story "Time and The Rani", with the exception of "The Day of The Doctor" and "Sleep No More", that the TARDIS does not appear. It also marks the first time since the 2012 Eleventh Doctor story "The Snowmen", with the exception of "The Night of The Doctor", "The Day of The Doctor", "Dark Water/Death in Heaven" and "Sleep No More" in which The Doctor's face or eyes do not appear in the title sequence.
This story marks the first time since the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "Partners in Crime" that there is no scene shown before the title sequence.
This story also marks the first time since the mini-episode "Time", as well as the second time overall, in which the titles start outside, and then zooms inside, the Time Vortex effect.
Cosmetic changes as of this story include a new TARDIS interior design and slight modifications to its exterior. Namely the St. John Ambulance badge has been removed from the front door, marking its absence for the first time since "The End of Time", having been present for the entirety of Steven Moffat’s era of the show.
This is the first story, since the 2015 Twelfth Doctor story "The Husbands of River Song", to not have any scenes on Earth.
Filming for this story began in January 2018 in South Africa. According to the cast the drought meant they were limited to two-minute showers, while the hot weather led to Tosin Cole developing heatstroke.
All the aerial shots were provided by Timeslice Cinematography.
The Doctor is seen using Venusian Aikido to paralyse Epzo temporarily (see "Inferno", "The Sea Devils", "Robot of Sherwood", "World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls" and the Big Finish Productions audio stories "Faith Stealer" and "Last of the Cybermen").
This story continued exploring the warrior race Stenza which appeared in the previous story, as well as introducing an element of The Doctor's past by mentioning ‘The Timeless Child’.
Yasmin Khan compares The Doctor's TARDIS to a police box on Surrey Street.
The Doctor notes how her TARDIS has redecorated itself in contrast to her predecessors. She admits that she actually likes the new design.
The new TARDIS console dispenses a biscuit, similar to that of the function of the food machine as seen in the First Doctor stories "The Daleks" and "The Edge of Destruction" and "The Space Museum".
The Doctor has been on a spaceship crash-landing on a planet before (See "The Night of The Doctor"). Unlike last time, there were no casualties this time.
The Doctor has encountered a space rally before in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Enlightenment").
Angstrom and Epzo are competitors in the last ever Rally of the Twelve Galaxies. In this story they have reached the final stage. The Doctor compares the event to Paris-Dakar race, but in space.
The prize of the rally is 3.2 trillion Krin. One krin is worth 200 Kavlons, 90 Forvalars, or 4,000 Trynties. Unfamiliar with the currency discussed, The Doctor notes that she is 'a bit behind' on exchange rates.
The Doctor reiterates her dislike of guns (see "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky", "The Doctor's Daughter", "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon", "The Curse of the Black Spot", "Into the Dalek" and "World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls").
Events from the previous story are mentioned including how Ryan Sinclair dislikes climbing ladders, Grace's death and the Stenza.
The Doctor disables the robots using an electromagnetic pulse (see "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel" and "Voyage of the Damned").
The Doctor warns everyone about the water in a similar way that the Tenth Doctor did on Mars in the 2009 story "The Waters of Mars".
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The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Mark Tonderai.
Fiona McAllister's first involvement in the show as Script Editor.
First appearance of the new title sequence for Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11) due to it being left out of the preceding story.
The first time since the 1987 Seventh Doctor story "Time and The Rani", with the exception of "The Day of The Doctor" and "Sleep No More", that the TARDIS does not appear in the title sequence.
The first time since the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "Partners in Crime" that there is no scene shown before the title sequence.
The first story, since the 2015 Twelfth Doctor story "The Husbands of River Song", to not have any scenes on Earth.
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