 This is Amy and Rory's penultimate story. It also features the return of UNIT and introduced their new leader, Kate Stewart – the daughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (aka The Brigadier).
It has been written by Chris Chibnall, who has previously written the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "42". He also wrote the 2010 story "The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood" and also "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - the second story of this season. He has also been a major contributor to the spinoff series Torchwood.
Chris Chibnall has described "The Power of Three" as ‘a lovely big Earth invasion story’ but different than the ones done before, as it focuses on Amy and Rory's time with The Doctor and the impact he has on their lives. He has also stated it is told more from Amy and Rory's point of view than ever before, and is about celebrating them before they leave in the following story.
This story has been directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who previously oversaw the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky".
Jemma Redgrave, who played the part of Kate Stewart, is a member of the famous Redgrave theatrical family. She is the daughter of the late Corin Redgrave and the niece of both Vanessa Redgrave and the late Lynn Redgrave. Her film appearances include 1992's Howards End, in which she played Evie Wilcox, and the 2005 version of Lassie in which she was Daisie. She has played many roles on television but is perhaps best known as Eve Granger in Cold Blood, Dr Eleanor Bramwell in Bramwell, and another Eleanor in The Buddha of Suburbia.
Acclaimed actor Steven Berkoff, who played the hologram Shakri, is also a playwright, author and director. For his works in Hollywood movies, he is best known for portraying uncompromising villains. In the 1983 Roger Moore James Bond film Octopussy, he played General Orlov; he was a corrupt art dealer with Eddie Murphy in the original Beverly Hills Cop in 1984; and he was a sadistic Soviet officer in the 1985 sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II, which starred Sylvester Stallone. He has also played a wide variety of roles on television, several of which have been in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, including parts in The Avengers, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Children of Dune, and a recurring role as a Moonbase interceptor pilot in Gerry Anderson's UFO.
This story also features cameos from physicist Brian Cox and Lord Sugar, both of whom are long-time fans of the show. Lord Sugar's cameo was in fact filmed on the set of The Apprentice, with director Douglas Mackinnon standing in for the man who was fired for not selling enough cubes. While Brian Cox is seen being interviewed, on the news, and giving an opinion about the cubes. Neither Brian Cox nor Lord Sugar received an onscreen credit.
This was the last story that Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill (Amy and Rory) worked on together. Their final day working on the show took place on the 12th May 2012.
Their last scene filmed together was getting into the TARDIS with The Doctor. It has been reported that when the doors closed Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, and Matt Smith hugged and started crying. Some exterior scenes at Amy and Rory's house were re-shot in June and July 2012, with Darvill briefly returning for the June re-shoot.
The Doctor and Amy's conversation outside the Tower of London could not be filmed at the genuine location due to the London Olympics, so it was shot in a studio in Cardiff and the live action was combined with other footage to create the illusion.
Producer Marcus Wilson has revealed that a hundred individual cube props were made, with many more added using computer-generated imagery (CGI).
UNIT first appeared in the 1968 Second Doctor story "The Invasion" and became a regular feature during the Third Doctor’s era. UNIT was last seen in the 2009 Tenth Doctor story "Planet of the Dead".
The Tower of London had previously served as a UNIT base in the Tenth Doctor stories "The Christmas Invasion" (2005) and "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky" (2008).
This story reveals that Kate Stewart is now running UNIT and that she is the daughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. This character previously appeared in the Reeltime Pictures direct-to-video films Downtime and Dæmos Rising played by Beverley Cressman. Kate Stewart also appeared in the Virgin Books’ The Missing Adventures Third Doctor novel "The Scales of Injustice" that was written by Gary Russell.
The appearance of Kate Stewart marks the first time that a character introduced in a direct-to-video spin-off has reappeared in the television show. As Head of Scientific Research, Kate Stewart's role in UNIT combines that of scientific advisor, held by the Third Doctor and Fourth Doctor with that of Commanding Officer held by her father. She shortened her family name when she joined UNIT as she wanted to be judged on her own merits.
Following the death of actor Nicholas Courtney, who played The Brigadier, in early 2011, The Doctor learned of The Brigadier's death in the Season Thirty Two (New Series 6) finale "The Wedding of River Song".
It has been revealed that Matt Smith enjoyed working with Jemma Redgrave, who described her as being‘graceful, funny and charming and an absolute delight’.
This story’s title was originally reported as being "Cubed", but was later announced as "The Power of Three".
At one point, The Doctor, Amy, and Rory are seen relaxing and eating fish fingers and custard - a reference that has been made throughout the Eleventh Doctor's era. The Doctor was first seen eating fish fingers and custard in the 2010 story "The Eleventh Hour" when he met Amy for the first time.
The Doctor states that he invented the Yorkshire Pudding.
While playing virtual tennis, The Doctor mentions the tennis player Fred Perry and a pair of shorts he borrowed from him.
Twitter is mentioned again (see the 2011 story "The Girl Who Waited"). Matt Smith put disgust into The Doctor's remark concerning Twitter - reflecting his real-life decision to stay off the social network. Kate Stewart is also heard to mention Flickr and You Tube.
Kate Stewart traced Artron energy levels to find The Doctor and then identifies him due to his fashion sense and double hearts.
The Doctor once again is heard to ask how humans cope with just one heart (see the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "The Shakespeare Code").
A defibrillator has been used on The Doctor before (see the 1996 Eighth Doctor film "Doctor Who: The Movie").
There were Zygon duplicates at the newly opened Savoy hotel and Amy and Rory's stay is ruined when it is revealed that there was ‘a Zygon spaceship parked under the Savoy’. The Zygons previously featured in the 1975 Fourth Doctor story "Terror of the Zygons".
The Doctor is heard to mention that he has run restaurants before, possibly a reference to the Virgin Books’ The Missing Adventures Fifth Doctor novel "The Crystal Bucephalus" written by Craig Hinton.
The dress and hairstyle of Amy during his visit to the Savoy Hotel is very similar to Tegan Jovanka’s dress and hairstyle seen in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Enlightenment".
It is revealed that ten years have passed since the events of "The Eleventh Hour" in Amy's personal timeline.
Whilst hiding from Henry VIII, The Doctor is seen holding a mobile phone charger, which is apparently dropped as he sneezes (see also "A Town Called Mercy").
The Doctor has unintentionally revealed his hiding place by sneezing in a previous story, whilst hiding from another royal, Charles II (see the 2011 story "The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon").
During this scene it is revealed that Amy has accidentally married Henry VIII.
When Amy calls the Gallifreyan bedtime story about The Shakri weird, The Doctor remarks ‘You can talk. Werewolf in your grandmother's dress?’ in reference to the story Little Red Riding Hood.
The Doctor is heard saying to Amy ‘Through the looking glass, Pond - a reference to the classic children’s book Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
Amy and Rory’s wedding anniversary takes place during this story. They previously got married, in Leadworth on the 26th June 2010, in "The Pandorica Opens//The Big Bang".
Rory is seen kissing The Doctor on the cheek. The Doctor was seen kissing Rory on the mouth in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".
Rory's father Brian reappears. His first appearance was in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".
When Brian asks The Doctor what happened to those who previously travelled with him, The Doctor replies that some left him, some got left behind, and some died. The most notable companions who have died in the show are Katarina (in the 1965/66 First Doctor story "The Daleks' Master Plan", Sara Kingdom (also in "The Daleks' Master Plan") and Adric (in the 1982 Fifth Doctor story "Earthshock"). The Doctor’s granddaughter Susan was left behind in the 1966 First Doctor story "The Dalek Invasion of Earth".
The song Merry Xmas Everybody, by the rock band Slade, is briefly heard in the hospital and the song Titanium, by French disc jockey/music producer David Guetta, is heard playing at the party Amy attends.
One of the cubes plays the infamously irritating Chicken Dance song (aka The Birdie Song), on an endless loop. The Doctor seems annoyed when he hears it and sticks his fingers in his ears.
The Doctor, talking to a flying cube, is heard to say ‘Is that all you can do? Hover? I'd a metal dog that could do that’ - referring to K9.
A voice interface was last seen in the 2011 story "Let's Kill Hitler".
This story contains a number of errors. Namely: When The Doctor observes the cube surfing the internet on the television, you can see someone outside the window behind the television. In other shots during this scene no one is outside the window; In some shots when the cubes are counting down from 7, some cubes are missing the numbers in one shot and then have them in the next. This can be seen when The Doctor is in the room with the cube, and when the nurse is removing the cubes in the hospital.
As with the previous three stories this story includes a unique logo in the title sequence. This time the texture resembled the cubes that featured prominently in this story. The production team have confirmed that the title sequence for every story in this season will have slightly different stylized versions of the Doctor Who logo.
Critical reception to this story was generally positive, highlighting the emotion and humour, although many critics derided the solution to the plot.
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The Firsts:
The first time that a character introduced in a direct-to-video spin-off has reappeared in the television show.
Jemma Redgrave's first appearance as Kate Stewart - daughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart.
The first appearance of UNIT since the 2009 Tenth Doctor story "Planet of the Dead".
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(Position = 3 out of 5)
(Position = 164 out of 241)
