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The Girl Who Waited
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Synopsis


The Girl Who Waited
The Girl Who Waited
 The Doctor takes Amy and Rory for a relaxing break on Apalapucia, not realising that the planet is ravaged by a deadly disease - one that threatens even the life of the . Doctor himself. But that's not the biggest problem: Amy's gone and got herself trapped in a very unusual hospital. How long will she have to wait before The Doctor comes back for her this time?



General Information

Season: Thirty Two (New Series 6)
Production Code: 6-10
Story Number: 221 (New Series: 65)
Episode Number:780 (New Series: 84)
Number of Episodes: 1
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Working Titles:"The Visitors' Room", "The Visiting Hour" and "Kindness"
Production Dates: March - April 2011
Broadcast Date: 10 September 2011
Colour Status: HD Colour
Studio: BBC Wales (Upper Boat, Pontypridd)
Location: Wales Millennium Centre (Cardiff); Uskmouth Power Station (Newport); Dyffryn Gardens (St. Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan) and Mamhilad Park Industrial Estate (Pontypool, Wales).
Writer:Tom MacRae
Director:Nick Hurran
Producer:Marcus Wilson
Executive Producers:Beth Willis, Piers Wenger and Steven Moffat
Associate Producer:Denise Paul
Script Executive:Lindsey Alford
Script Editor:Caroline Henry
Editor:Tim Porter
Production Executive:Julie Scott
Production Manager:Phillipa Cole
Production Assistant:Charlie Coombes
Production Designer:Michael Pickwoad
Director of Photography:Owen McPolin
Casting Director:Andy Pryor CDG
Line Producer:Diana Barton
Costume Designer:Barbara Kidd
Make-Up Designer:Barbara Southcott
Cameramen:Elliot Hale (Assistant), Matthew Lepper (Assistant), Simon Ridge (Assistant) and James Leigh (Operator)
Visual Effects:The Mill
Special Effects:Real SFX
Prosthetics:Millennium FX
Stunt Co-ordinators:Crispin Layfield and Gordon Seed (Assistant)
Stunt Performers:Belinda McGinley and Stephanie Carey
Incidental Music:Murray Gold
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Paul Jefferies
Sound Recordist:Bryn Thomas
Music Orchestrated By:Ben Foster
Music Conducted By:Ben Foster
Music Performed By:The BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Music Recorded By:Gerry O'Riordan
Music Mixed By:Jake Jackson
Title Sequence:Frame Store
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold
Handbot Design: Robert Allsop & Associates
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Matt Smith (The Eleventh Doctor)
Number of Companions: 2The Companions: Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) Additional Cast: Josie Taylor (Check-in Girl), Imelda Staunton (Voice of Interface)Setting: Two Streams Facility, Apalapucia Villain:Handbots

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
780The Girl Who Waited10 September 201145'56"7.6Yes

Total Duration 46 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 7.6
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2011)77.40%  (Position = 5 out of 13)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)73.66% Lower (Position = 91 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 10 out of 39


Archives


 This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.



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Notes


This story has been written by returning writer Tom MacRae whose first contribution to the show was the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel".

This is the first Doctor Who story directed by Nick Hurran. His previous credits include The Last Detective, starring Peter Davison and he directed all six episodes of ITV’s 2009 remake of The Prisoner. He also worked on dramas such as Bonekickers, Outside Edge and Boon.

This story’s original title was "The Visitors' Room". This changed to "The Visiting Hour" and later, the one-word title, "Kindness". Despite many reports to the contrary, there was no late change to this story’s title and at no point was it ever called "The Green Anchor".

The title, "The Girl Who Waited" references The Doctor's nickname of Amy, given because she waited for him for so long when they first met in the 2010 story "The Eleventh Hour" and again in the 2010 story "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang".

The cast list for this story is the shortest of any full length story since the show was revived in 2005. Not counting the regular cast only three additional actors took part and of these only two received a credit as Stephen Bracken-Keogh (Voice of Handbots) was not listed in the end credits.

Almost every line in this story is spoken by The Doctor, Amy or Rory. This is rare but not unique for a Doctor Who story. The 1963 First Doctor story "The Edge of Destruction" featured only The Doctor and his companions due to it having taken place entirely within the TARDIS.

This story’s main plot and unique moral choice at the centre of the story made it a character study of the relationship between Amy and Rory.

The Doctor insists that the TARDIS cannot sustain two Amys, yet it contained two Amys, two Rorys and two Eleventh Doctors in the special 2011 Comic Relief two-part Doctor Who mini-story, "Space/Time", two incarnations of The Doctor in the 1973 story "The Three Doctors" and again in the 2007 special Children in Need story "Time Crash".

The TARDIS' ability to sustain the paradox of a person in two different points of their timestream was previously shown in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "Father's Day" as the TARDIS was unable to maintain the paradox of Rose Tyler touching her infant self. The TARDIS previously was only able to sustain a paradox by rebuilding its time rotor into a Paradox Machine (see the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords". Two versions of The Brigadier were also seen in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead".

Amy previously met past/future versions of herself in the 2010 story "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood", "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang" and "Space/Time".

It has been revealed that the original idea was to have an older actress play the part of the older Amy. Karen Gillan, however, volunteered to play the older version of her character, with the aid of prosthetics. She also developed different body-language, vocal range and attitude for the new individual, whose character has changed after being left behind and in danger.

It has been revealed that Karen Gillan studied with a voice coach and movement coach to ensure her depiction of the older Amy was definitively spot on. Matt Smith called her performance in this story ‘absolutely fantastic’ and has suggested it is her best work to date on the show.

Amy is heard calling The Doctor ‘Raggedy Man’, referring to the memory of him as the Raggedy Doctor she grew up with after meeting him in "The Eleventh Hour".

Listen out for when Amy talks about Rory being the most beautiful man she's ever met. Although not vital to the plot it has been revealed that since the first draft of the script Executive Producer Beth Willis loved this section so much that she mentioned to writer Tom MacRae that whatever happened this speech should make it to the final version.

It seems that The Doctor is still willing to accept blame for the TARDIS landing too late in Amy's timestream, even though in "The Doctor's Wife" established that such misdirection’s were often the result of the TARDIS herself making a decision as to whether The Doctor would land.

Amy is the first companion to have constructed a sonic screwdriver - aside from Jackson Lake using a common screwdriver to make a noise in the 2009 Christmas special "The Next Doctor".

The Sonic screwdriver was previously referred to as a sonic probe by the Daleks in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Army of Ghosts/Doomsday".

While this story marks the first appearance of The Doctor's camera glasses, similarly capable contact lenses have been used in the spin-off series Torchwood.

Rory is heard to remark to Amy that the camera glasses look better than a fez, referring to the fez The Doctor insisted looked ‘cool in "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang". In the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Silver Nemesis" Ace is seen wearing a fez in that story.

At one point The Doctor refers to jettisoning TARDIS rooms for power, as previously shown in the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Castrovalva" and "The Doctor's Wife".

This story also contains a reference to the fact that The Doctor has two hearts. This was first established in the 1970 Third Doctor story "Spearhead From Space" when an X-ray is taken when The Doctor finds himself unconscious and taken to a hospital.

During this story a painting that looks very much like the famous Mona Lisa is seen hanging on a wall and is then used as a weapon against one of the Handbots. In the 2009 The Sarah Jane Adventures story "Mona Lisa's Revenge" the painting came to life. The Mona Lisa also featured in the 1979 Fourth Doctor story "City of Death".

When the older Amy puts her hand up on the glass of the TARDIS door, her hand can also be seen on the glass from the inside. This is the first time on screen that this effect has been seen, indicating the TARDIS door windows are not opaque but translucent.

Both Twitter and a Disneyland on the planet Clom are mentioned. Clom was first mentioned in the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "Love & Monsters".

Following on after this story, on BBC3, was the ninth chapter of the sixth series of Doctor Who Confidential. Titled "What Dreams May Come" it was presented by Russell Tovey and looked into the making of this story.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 The first Doctor Who story where a companion uses there own sonic screwdriver.

 The first appearance of The Doctor's camera glasses.

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Nick Hurran.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
Rory and The Doctor Leaving the TARDIS
Rory and The Doctor Leaving the TARDIS

The Doctor takes his travelling companions Amy Pond and Rory to the planet Apalapucia, supposedly a top holiday destination. But they arrive in a clinically white room, its only exit is a door with two buttons that open it – a green one and a red one.

As they start to explore Amy steps back into the TARDIS to collect her phone. Rather than wait for her to return The Doctor and Rory pass through the door using the green button. Shortly afterwards Amy follows but by uses the red button. Both groups find a similar white waiting room with a glass scope in the centre of it, but for The Doctor and Rory there is no sign of Amy. While for Amy there is no sign of The Doctor or Rory.

When The Doctor realises that Amy has not joined them, he discovers that she has ended up in a second, faster time stream, but is able to communicate to her through the glass scope. He also discovers that despite them only being in the room for a few minutes a week has already passed for Amy. The Doctor and Rory are soon joined by a faceless, white robot, who explains they are in the Two Streams Facility, which is assisting in dealing with a plague known as Chen7 that affects only races with two hearts, including the native Apalapucians and Time Lords.

Rory and The Doctor
Rory and The Doctor

The robot, and others like it, do not recognise The Doctor and Rory as alien life forms, and so attempt to administer injections that would be fatal to them. The Doctor warns Amy of this, and tells her to wait, as he will rescue her. He and Rory then race back to the TARDIS with the glass scope, using it to lock onto Amy's time stream to effect her rescue.

Because of the Chen7 virus The Doctor is forced to stay in the TARDIS while Rory, with The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver and the glass scope, sets off to find Amy. The Doctor also gives Rory a set of glasses that allows him to see, hear, and communicate with Rory to help him locate Amy.

The Doctor Communicating with Amy
The Doctor Communicating with Amy

Rory explores more of the facility, but soon is set on by more of the robots. He is saved by a much older Amy, now a fugitive hiding from the complex's sensors. The Doctor realises that he locked onto the wrong time stream of Amy, and tries to get Rory to convince the older Amy to help locate the younger one.

But Rory finds that the older Amy has become bitter, having waited as The Doctor instructed, and otherwise has been alone for 36 years save for the complex's computer interface and a disarmed robot she has come to call Rory. At first the older Amy refuses to help, knowing that by saving the younger version of herself, she would cease to exist.

Eventually The Doctor detects signals from the younger Amy nearby, and Rory finds her through the glass scope, crying to herself. Rory sets the scope to allow the older Amy to speak to her younger self, but the older Amy reiterates that she experienced this before, and hearing her future self warn about the time streams convinced her to wait out for rescue.

Amy
Amy

Rory though manages to convince the younger Amy to change her mind. This though results in the older Amy to demand that The Doctor take her too, a difficult but not impossible task for the TARDIS. The Doctor agrees, and as Rory re-routes a control panel that maintains the facility's time streams, The Doctor helps the two Amys to synchronise their thoughts, letting the two exist at the same time.

With these changes, The Doctor's glasses fail, and Rory and the two Amys must race through groups of robots to make it back to the safety of the TARDIS. But as they near its location, the older Amy falls back to protect the other two. However, the younger Amy runs into a robot and is sedated. As the older Amy covers his back, Rory takes the younger Amy into the TARDIS, upon which The Doctor slams the door behind him, telling Rory that it is impossible for both Amys to exist in the same time stream. He then gives Rory a very difficult choice to make of which Amy he wants.

He and the older Amy have a tearful farewell at the TARDIS door before the older Amy tells Rory to move on without her. As she does so she is taken by the robots just as the TARDIS dematerialises.

Inside the TARDIS Amy wakes up and asks The Doctor and Rory where her other self is. Neither The Doctor nor Rory can answer her. The Doctor though decides that after what they have just experienced that it would be best to leave Amy and Rory alone together.

 
A Worried Rory
A Worried Rory
A Handbot
A Handbot
Handbots Arrice
Handbots Arrice
Amy and the Voice of Interface
Amy and the Voice of Interface
 
Amy in the Garden
Amy in the Garden
The Older Amy and Rory
The Older Amy and Rory
Two Amys
Two Amys
The Older Amy's last Wish
The Older Amy's last Wish




Quote of the Story


 'Beautiful word, beautiful world, Apalapucia - voted number two planet in the top ten greatest destinations for the discerning intergalactic traveller.'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
DVD
Series 6 Part 2: - Episodes 8-13October 2011BBCDVD 3429Photo-montage
Video
Blu-Ray
Series 6 Part 2: - Episodes 8-13October 2011BBCBD 0152Photo-montage
Video
DVD
The Complete Sixth Series Box SetNovember 2011BBCDVD 3430Photo-montageDVD boxed set containing all 12 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Sixth Series Box SetNovember 2011BBCBD 0153Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing all 12 stories
Video
DVD
The Complete Sixth Series Box Set (Limited Edition)November 2011BBCDVD 3564Photo-montageLimited Edition DVD boxed set containing all 12 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Sixth Series Box Set (Limited Edition)November 2011BBCBD 0193Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set containing all 12 stories
Audio
CD
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 6December 2011Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Series 1-7 Box Set (Limited Edition)December 2013BBCBD 0242Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set containing all Series 1-7 stories at full 1080p high definition
Video
DVD
The Complete Sixth Series (2014 Re-release)August 2014BBCDVD 3970Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 12 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Sixth Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)August 2020BBCBD 0505Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 12 stories


In Print

No Book Release
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 438 (Released: September 2011)
Doctor Who Magazine - ReviewIssue 439 (Released: October 2011)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 593 (Released: August 2023)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companions

 
Matt Smith
The Eleventh Doctor

   

Karen Gillan
Amy Pond
 
Arthur Darvill
Rory Williams
   




On Release

DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Blu-Ray Cover
Blu-Ray Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series DVD Box Set
Complete Series DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
   
Ltd Edition DVD Box Set
Ltd Edition DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set
Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Original Television Soundtrack Cover
Original Television Soundtrack Cover

BBC
AUDIO
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
   
Complete Series DVD Box Set<BR>(2014 Re-release)
Complete Series DVD Box Set
(2014 Re-release)

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

BBC
VIDEO



Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 438
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 438

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 439
Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 439

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 593
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 593

Marvel Comics
   

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