 This is the third story of Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11). It was co-written by Malorie Blackman and Executive Producer Chris Chibnall and was directed by Mark Tonderai.
This story's plot concerns racial segregation in the United States during the 1950s, including the law upheld in Alabama regarding the use of municipal transit during this period.
In this story The Doctor and her three companions arrive in Alabama, 1955, and find themselves making certain that history remains in place by ensuring that Rosa Parks (played by Vinette Robinson) will become a pivotal figure in the US civil rights movement, by thwarting the efforts of a time-travelling criminal from the future.
After the first story of this season, "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", was broadcast, it was confirmed that Vinette Robinson and Joshua Bowman would be among a number of guest actors that would appear during this season. Vinette Robinson previously appeared in the show, playing the part of Abi Lerner, in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "42" which was also written by Chris Chibnall.
Actor Morgan Deare, who played the part of Arthur, previously appeared in the show playing the part of as Hawk in the 1987 Seventh Doctor story "Delta and the Bannermen".
This story is one of few in the show's history not to end with the traditional closing theme, instead the closing credits are played out with the song Rise Up by Andra Day, the same song used in the sequence of Rosa's arrest. This is the second story to not feature the Doctor Who theme in the ending credits, following Part Four of the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Earthshock".
This story, along with the previous story "The Ghost Monument", was filmed in South Africa in January 2018, with Out of Africa Entertainment - a local production company.
The Doctor is heard to tease herself as being the identity of Banksy.
The Doctor claims to have lent a mobile phone to Elvis, who in turn lent the device to Frank Sinatra, against The Doctor's wishes.
The Doctor is still not used to being addressed as a woman.
Graham O'Brien is heard to refer to The Doctor as Doc several times. Unlike the First Doctor and the Tenth Doctor, she does not seem annoyed by the abbreviation (see "The Five Doctors" and "Dreamland").
Yasmin Khan is heard to remark on how dangerous it is for her and Ryan Sinclair to walk around Alabama given their racial ethnicity. Martha Jones held similar reservations in Elizabethan England, (see the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "The Shakespeare Code") as did Bill Potts in the Regency era in the 2017 Twelfth Doctor story "Thin Ice".
Graham discovers he was a part of the original history of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, similar to how The Doctor and Donna Noble became part of events when causing the volcanic eruption in Pompeii in the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Fires of Pompeii".
The Doctor has encountered time travellers attempting to alter history before in the 1965 First Doctor story "The Time Meddler".
The Doctor identifies Krasko as an ex-prisoner of the Stormcage Containment Facility. River Song was also imprisoned there for seemingly murdering The Doctor (see "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone", "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang", "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon" and "A Good Man Goes to War").
Upon leaving the Stormcage facility, Krasko had a Neural Restrictor implanted into his brain, preventing the criminal from inflicting harm on others.
Krasko has a vortex manipulator. The Doctor comments that it is cheap and nasty time travel, resembling her eleventh incarnation's view of the device in the 2010 story "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang". Missy also referred to it as such in the 2015 story "The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar".
Krasko also has a temporal displacement weapon. He also keeps an information brick, a multi-intercepting surveillance device, and a backup charger for the displacement gun, in his suitcase. His suitcase is protected by a perception filter.
Krasko recognises the TARDIS in the alley and deduces that it might be worth a lot of money.
The Doctor mentions how the TARDIS feeds on Artron Energy (see "Four to Doomsday" and "The Doctor's Wife").
The TARDIS shows events from history in a similar way to the Time-Space Visualiser that was seen in the 1965 First Doctor story "The Chase").
Set just prior to Rosa Parks' arrest for refusing to surrender her seat to a white passenger, this story dealt with heavy themes, and included blatant depictions of racism, mainly directed at The Doctor's companions Ryan and Yasmin.
The Doctor and her companions arrive in Montgomery, Alabama on Wednesday the 30th November 1955, one day before Rosa Parks made history on the 1st December when she refuses to give up her seat and is arrested for sitting in a whites only section of a bus.
After this incident the Montgomery Bus Boycott then began on the following Monday - the 5th December 1955. The racial segregation of buses in Montgomery finally ended on the 21st December 1956.
The Civil Rights Movement was led by Martin Luther King (who is seen in this story played by Ray Sesay). In 1999, President Bill Clinton gives Rosa Parks the Congressional Medal for her services to the advancement of black people's rights in America.
This was the first televised story, since the 2013 Eleventh Doctor story "The Day of The Doctor", to feature a real-world historical figure.
Of all historical stories, since the show was revived in 2005, this story has the least amount of science fiction or fantasy element.
Ryan's response when told that the diner doesn't serve negroes is Good, because I don't eat them. This is a quote from the boxer Muhammad Ali.
Yasmin remarks on how years later there will be a black president (see the 2009/2010 story "The End of Time".
At the end of this story The Doctor takes her companions to see Asteroid 284996, named Rosaparks.
This story contains a number of errors. Namely when Ryan is forced to use the back door of the bus, he enters using the backdoor, but behind him we see the inside of the front of the bus. Also in the end credits, for the person who recorded the music, Olga FitzRoy's name is incorrectly spelt as 'Olga FitxRoy'.
This story came with a warning on iPlayer subtitles that: In this episode, there are familiar prejudices to face for The Doctor's friends.
| |
|
The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story to be written by Malorie Blackman.
The first televised story, since the 2013 Eleventh Doctor story "The Day of The Doctor", to feature a real-world historical figure.
|
|
