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Peter Capaldi
The Caretaker
Twelfth Doctor Logo


Synopsis


Meeting Clara's Boyfriend
Meeting Clara's Boyfriend
 It’s back to Coal Hill School as we find Clara juggling her job, a new boyfriend and adventures with The Doctor.

 But her world is about to become even more complex and dangerous as the Skovox Blitzer - a terrifying machine - threatens the entire planet.

 And the only person who seems able to stop the Skovox Blitzer is The Doctor who is also the school’s new caretaker!



General Information

Season: Thirty Four (New Series 8)
Production Code: 8-6
Story Number: 247 (New Series: 91)
Episode Number:806 (New Series: 110)
Number of Episodes: 1
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Production Dates: March - June 2014
Broadcast Date: 27 September 2014
Colour Status: HD Colour
Studio: BBC Wales (Roath Lock Studios, Cardiff)
Location: Stryd Bute; Lloyd George Avenue; The Maltings, E Tyndall Sreet; St Illtyd's Catholic High School, Newport Road (Cardiff); Holton Primary School (Barry)
Writers:Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat
Director:Paul Murphy
Producer:Nikki Wilson
Executive Producers:Brian Minchin and Steven Moffat
Assistant Directors:Chris Thomas and Gareth Jones
Script Supervisor:Steve Walker
Script Editors:David P Davis and Derek Ritchie
Editors:Will Oswald, Carmen Sanchez-Roberts (Assistant) and Katrina Aust (Assistant)
Production Executive:Julie Scott
Production Manager:Simon Morris
Production Assistants:Katie Player and Matthew Jones
Post Production Supervisor:Nerys Davies
Production Designer:Michael Pickwoad
Director of Photography:Mark Waters
Casting Director:Andy Pryor CDG
Line Producer:Tracie Simpson
Costume Designer:Howard Burden
Make-Up Designer:Claire Pritchard-Jones
Cameramen:Cai Thompson (Assistant), Gethin Williams (Assistant), Katy Kardasz (Assistant) and Martin Stephens (Operator)
Visual Effects:BBC Wales VFX and Milk
Special Effects:Real SFX
Prosthetics:Millennium FX
Stunt Co-ordinators:Crispin Layfield and Gordon Seed
Stunt Performer:Rashid Pheonix
Incidental Music:Murray Gold
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Harry Barnes
Sound Recordist:Deian Llyr Humphreys
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:Billy Hanshaw
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Peter Capaldi (The Twelfth Doctor)
Number of Companions: 1The Companion: Jenna-Louise Coleman (Clara Oswald) Number of Acquaintances: 1The Acquaintance: Samuel Anderson (Danny Pink) Guest Cast: Ellis George (Courtney Woods) Additional Cast: Edward Harrison (Adrian), Nigel Betts (Mr Armitage), Andy Gillies (CSO Matthew), Nanya Campbell (Noah), Joshua Warner-Campbell (Yashe), Oliver Barry-Brook (Kelvin), Ramone Morgan (Tobias), Winston Ellis (Mr Woods), Gracy Goldman (Mrs Woods), Diana Katis (Mrs Christopholou), Jimmy Vee (Skovox Blitzer), Chris Addison (Seb)Setting: Coal Hill School (2014) Villain:Skovox Blitzer

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
806The Caretaker27 September 201445'11"6.8Yes

Total Duration 45 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 6.8
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2015)66.60%  (Position = 10 out of 12)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 31 out of 35


Archives


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



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Notes


"The Caretaker" is the sixth story of Season Thirty Four (New Series 8). It has been written by Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat and has been directed by Paul Murphy. It has the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald deal with an alien threat to Coal Hill School, leading to Danny Pink meeting The Doctor and subsequently discovering his true nature.

Regarding this story Steven Moffat has stated that ‘The Skovox Blitzer is ready to destroy all humanity - and worse, any second now, Danny Pink and The Doctor are going to meet…’.

The guest stars for this story include: Nigel Betts (Eddie Hope in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale), Edward Harrison, Andy Gillies, Ellis George and Jimmy Vee playing the part of the Skovox Blitzer.

This is not Jimmy Vee's first Doctor Who story. He previously appeared as the Moxx of Balhoon in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "The End of World" and was the Space Pig in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "Aliens of London/World War Three". He later starred as Bannakaffalatta in the 2007 Christmas Special "Voyage of the Damned".

Writer Gareth Roberts' most recent Doctor Who script was the 2011 Eleventh Doctor story "Closing Time". He also wrote the 2010 Eleventh Doctor story "The Lodger".

Building on the experience of writing "The Lodger" and "Closing Time", Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat tried to match the former for threat, feeling there was an excessive amount in "Closing Time", which had included a back-story for the antagonists at the expense of other themes. For this reason, it was decided that for this story the first draft had the right amount of threat and that it would be unnecessary to add anymore.

This story has been directed by Paul Murphy who also directed this season's "Robot of Sherwood". Paul Murphy has previously directed a variety of different television series, including Trollied, Casualty, Waterloo Road, Trexx and Flipside, and Hollyoaks. He also worked on BBC Wales' Wizards vs Aliens.

The read through for this story took place on the 20th March 2014. Filming began soon afterwards, on the 24th March 2014, at Bute Street and Lloyd George Avenue in Cardiff. Filming then continued at The Maltings in Cardiff Bay and the former St Illtyd's Boys' College, Splott on the 4th April 2014. Scenes were also filmed at Holton Primary School in Barry on the 5th April 2014. Principal photography was concluded on the 11th April 2014. The final scene with Seb (portrayed by Chris Addison) however, was not recorded until the 11th June 2014.

In this story The Doctor pretends to be a Caretaker. This is not the first time he has taken on this role as The Eleventh Doctor previously pretended to be a Caretaker to make Madge Arwell and her children's Christmas special and in fact had Madge and her children call him 'The Caretaker' instead of The Doctor in the 2011 Christmas Special "The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe".

Ironically, when the Seventh Doctor visited the school in the "Remembrance of the Daleks" the headmaster assumed The Doctor had come to apply for the vacant position of school caretaker.

It has apparently been at least a year since The Doctor's regeneration as Courtney's mother mentioned that she talked to Danny Pink last year about her daughter and he started working at Coal Hill School shortly after The Doctor regenerated (see "Into the Dalek").

It is revealed that The Doctor spent a month living among otters after he and River Song had a fight that caused him to sulk.

Danny Pink is not the first soldier-turned-maths-teacher encountered by The Doctor. Also the Twelfth Doctor continues to be uncomfortable with the military and soldiers (see "Into the Dalek"), as he has in prior incarnations (see the 1970 Third Doctor story "Doctor Who and the Silurians" and the 2008 Tenth Doctor story "The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky"). The Doctor is also heard to say many times that a soldier can not be a maths teacher. This is probably a reference to The Brigadier who it was discovered, in the 1983 Fifth Doctor story "Mawdryn Undead", became a maths teacher, at Brendon Public School (much to The Doctor's surprise), when he left UNIT and retired from the military.

It is revealed that The Doctor likes maths, but doesn't respect PE.

The Doctor purposely calls Danny 'PE' in derogatory fashion due to an acquired dislike towards him. The Ninth Doctor previously called Rose Tyler's boyfriend Mickey Smith 'Mickey the Idiot' and 'Ricky' to annoy him.

Danny compares The Doctor to the officers who light the flames he carries out. The War Doctor considered himself a lesser man to those forged in the fire he was creating (see "The Day of The Doctor").

The Doctor appears unable to recognise Danny Pink's similarity to Orson Pink even when prompted by Clara. She chooses, however, not to reveal to The Doctor that Danny is the same individual as the child Rupert Pink that they meet at the children's home in the 1990s (see "Listen").

Fellow school teacher Adrian slightly resembles the Eleventh Doctor, which Clara uses as an example to explain to Danny about The Doctor's regenerations.

Clara is heard to question if The Doctor's previous companions allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

It is revealed that Clara’s apartment number is 63 and she’s a teacher at Coal Hill school. It may just be a coincident but Doctor Who began in 1963 and the first story introduced two Coal Hill School teachers - Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton.

The Doctor tells Clara that he had a teacher like her once, possibly referring to Barbara Wright, who we first saw in the 1963 story "An Unearthly Child", or possibly to one of his teachers at the Academy, such as Borusa (see the 1976 Fourth Doctor story "The Deadly Assassin").

Speaking with Clara on the new caretaker's appearance, Danny Pink is heard to remark 'Did you see those eyebrows?'. This continues the theme of The Doctor's conspicuous eyebrows, mentioned in "Deep Breath" and "Time Heist".

The Twelfth Doctor mentions River Song for the first time when he comments ‘River and me had this big fight…’. River Song was last seen in the 2013 Eleventh Doctor story "The Name of The Doctor". This also makes the second time the Twelfth Doctor refers to a former companion, having previously commented in "Deep Breath" that he missed Amy Pond.

The Doctor later asks Clara if she wants to see the Thames frozen over, so maybe the time-travelling archaeologist is on his mind. In the 2011 Eleventh Doctor story "A Good Man Goes to War", River Song revealed that The Doctor once took her ice skating on the River Thames in 1814, during the last of the great Frost Fairs.

The Doctor mentions about Clara having two meals. She recently had a Chinese meal with Psi and Saibra before a going on a dinner date with Danny in "Time Heist".

The Doctor and Clara are seen opening and closing the TARDIS doors by snapping their fingers. The Doctor's ability to do this with the TARDIS doors was first demonstrated by the Tenth Doctor in the 2008 story "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead". Clara's ability to do the same was first shown in "The Day of The Doctor".

The Doctor believes that ‘Artron emissions’ may have brought the Skovox Blitzer near to Coal Hill School, The Doctor comments that there have been a lot of them over the years (see "An Unearthly Child" and "Remembrance of the Daleks").

Although its exact nature remains unclear, Artron energy seems to be a form of energy with a physical connection to the process and actuality of time travel. Kate Stewart used it to track down The Doctor in the 2012 Eleventh Doctor story "The Power of Three" and it has been mentioned as far back as "The Deadly Assassin", as well as The Sarah Jane Adventures stories "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith" and "Death of The Doctor".

Coal Hill School, where Clara Oswald and Danny Pink are both teachers, was originally featured in the very first story - the 1963 story "An Unearthly Child". It later reappeared in the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks" and was recently seen in "The Day of The Doctor", "Into the Dalek" and "Listen".

In the 2006 Tenth Doctor story "School Reunion" The Doctor previously went undercover in a school; this time, however, the school does not get blown up.

After observing Clara shout at unruly pupils, The Doctor is heard to whistle the refrain of Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall (Part II).

The 'Break the Silence' poster about school bullying that appeared outside the headmaster's office in Leadworth and the Coal Hill supply closet also appears in the teachers' room (see "Let's Kill Hitler" and "Into the Dalek").

When Clara is doing a lesson about Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice she and The Doctor argue over whether it was written in 1796 or 1797. In this scene Clara assumes The Doctor is going to 'name drop' about meeting Jane Austen. The Doctor however, catches her out when he reveals that he knows the year because he read her biography at the back of a copy of the book. In the real world, Jane Austen actually started writing this book in 1796 and finished it in 1797.

Clara’s notion of Jane Austen being in a band with The Doctor is not such a fanciful idea. In "Deep Breath" Madam Vastra revealed that Marcus Aurelius was a ‘superlative bass guitarist’, reflecting that The Doctor ‘really knows how to put a band together!’.

Adrian refers to William Shakespeare's The Tempest not being finished. William Shakespeare appeared in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "The Shakespeare Code" which was also written by Gareth Roberts.

The pseudonym 'John Smith' has been used by The Doctor multiple times throughout the show, being introduced in the 1968 Second Doctor story "The Wheel in Space". This name was most prominent as the Third Doctor's alias during his time with UNIT and with the Tenth Doctor. It was, for example, his chosen alias when he went undercover at another school, teaching physics in "School Reunion" and again in "Human Nature/The Family of Blood".

Upon entering the junkyard The Doctor is heard to say 'Home, Sweet Home'. This is a reference to his first incarnation having parked the TARDIS there previously (see the 1963 story "An Unearthly Child").

The Doctor is heard to mention fish people to Clara ('Fish. And people. Come and see, if you’ve got the time!'). The Doctor encountered a race of fish people in the 1967 Second Doctor story "The Underwater Menace". It is not clear whether he is referring to the same species here, but in the "The Underwater Menace" the fish people helped The Doctor defeat the insane Professor Zaroff.

The Doctor (and later Danny) are seen (or rather not seen) using an invisibility watch. The Doctor is not the first television character to own an invisibility watch. Sam Casey, aka the Gemini Man, had a digital watch that allowed him to become invisible for fifteen minutes each day. Gemini Man debuted in the USA on NBC in 1976. Eleven episodes were produced but only five aired before cancellation. Yet, all eleven episodes were aired in the United Kingdom as the show was more successful with British audiences.

After receiving the invisibility watch from Clara, Danny is heard to complain that 'it's not even a ring', a reference to the One Ring from the Lord of the Rings book series.

At the end of this story The Doctor takes Courtney Woods, a student at Coal Hill School, for a brief trip in the TARDIS to dump the Skovox Blitzer in space. She is not able to handle the immensity of the universe and becomes ill. During this scene The Doctor asks her 'Have I impressed you yet, Courtney?'. The Eleventh Doctor previously asked the same thing to Amy Pond in the 2010 story "The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone".

The Doctor uses Chronodyne Generators to project the Skovox Blitzer into the future.

At the end of this story Michelle Gomez once again plays the part of Missy (albeit uncredited). This is after a three story absence - reprising her role from "Deep Breath" and "Into the Dalek". This follows the pattern of deceased characters going to 'heaven' or 'the promised land'. This scene also gives her location a new name - 'The Nethersphere'.

This story contains a number of errors. Namely: When The Doctor meets Courtney Woods in The Caretaker's shed, he hands her the package of paper towels, but they reappear in his hand, and she walks off empty-handed; When Courtney looks into the TARDIS, The Doctor's work bench, which he was sitting at just a few minutes ago, is no longer in the room. It returns later on; When Clara leads Danny down the stairs and away from the TARDIS she is standing behind him and to his right in the close-up shot, but in the wide shot she is behind him to his left.

This story was first broadcast on BBC One at 8.30pm on Saturday, 27th September 2014 - an hour later than previous stories of this season.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
Arriving For School
Arriving For School

Clara Oswald is struggling to maintain two separate lives: one as The Doctor's travelling companion and the other as a school teacher at Coal Hill School where she is having a relationship with fellow teacher Danny Pink. Danny though starts to become suspicious when, after an adventure on a desert planet, Danny notices she’s developed a tan since he last saw her and while an encounter with fish people leaves seaweed in her hair during a date.

However, while preparing for their next outing The Doctor informs Clara that she cannot join him as he is going 'deep undercover'. The next morning Clara is in for a shock when, in the school staffroom, the head teacher presents a temporary caretaker: The Doctor, under the alias John Smith...

Clara eventually learns of The Doctor's actual purpose at the school and the presence of a murderous robot called the Skovox Blitzer that is located nearby which has enough firepower to destroy the planet. Clara tells The Doctor to leave it alone, but The Doctor explains that if he does not act, someone will discover and attack it and so prompting it to begin destroying Earth. He intends to draw it to the school at night when it is empty and use a time vortex to displace it a billion years into the future where it can not harm anyone.

Let me Introduce the New Caretaker
Let me Introduce the New Caretaker

Being the school's caretaker enables The Doctor freedom to plant devices around the school that will generate the time displacement vortex. He also demonstrates to Clara an invisibility watch, which he will use to avoid detection by the Skovox Blitzer. But one of Clara and Danny's students, Courtney Woods, becomes suspicious of The Doctor when she sees the TARDIS hidden inside his cupboard.

While working at the school it is not long before The Doctor gets to meet Danny and on learning he is a former soldier The Doctor shows disdain and they have a conflict over what Danny teaches. Danny claims to have been a soldier who now teaches maths, while The Doctor instead thinks he teaches PE, as this would make more sense due to him being a soldier. But The Doctor doesn’t realise Danny is Clara’s boyfriend, instead thinks that this is another school teacher called Adrian, who resembles his previous incarnation, the Eleventh Doctor. Because of this The Doctor states that he approves of Clara's relationship with Adrian.

Clara Confused
Clara Confused

Working late, Danny however, discovers some of The Doctor's devices and inadvertently changes the settings of the devices. Unaware of this The Doctor lures the Skovox Blitzer to the school in the evening when it is deserted but due to Danny's interference the Skovox Blitzer is only displaced 72 hours forward in time.

After witnessing the chaos, Danny realises Clara’s has lied to him and is shocked to learn of Clara's double life, assuming that she is an alien and The Doctor is her father. Clara has no choice but to tell him the truth: that even though she is human, The Doctor is the alien and that they travel through time and space together in the TARDIS. To prove this The Doctor shows Danny the inside of the TARDIS. Danny though asks Clara why she travels with him, which she attributes mostly to the wonders that she experiences. Danny struggles to accept this and he wonders whether Clara loves The Doctor romantically, which she denies.

The following day, and to convince Danny that what she has said is the truth, Clara allows Danny to observe her interactions with The Doctor, with him wearing The Doctor's invisibility watch. However, while building a device to fight the Skovox Blitzer, The Doctor sees through this and when Danny makes himself visible an argument arises between them out of mutual disdain of each other before Clara blurts out that she loves Danny.

The Doctor on a Mission
The Doctor on a Mission

Later that day, during a parents' evening at the school, the Skovox Blitzer re-materializes earlier than The Doctor estimated. On discovering this and with Clara acting as a decoy, using The Doctor's sonic screwdriver to attract the Skovox Blitzer, the creature is lured into The Caretaker's cupboard where The Doctor is waiting with the device he built. It is a communication device that makes the Skovox Blitzer think The Doctor is its superior. Unfortunately when The Doctor instructs the creature to deactivate he accidentally triggers its self-destruct protocol. To prevent catastrophe The Doctor has to deduce an authorisation code that will stop the self-destruct count down. He tells Clara to distract it while he hurriedly tries to prepare the code, but she is unsure what to do. Just then, Danny arrives, despite being told to stay away, and is able to distract the Skovox Blitzer long enough for The Doctor to give the final code, deactivating the Skovox Blitzer for good.

Soon after The Doctor takes the Skovox Blitzer into space and ejects it from the TARDIS, taking Courtney on her first trip. Unfortunately, she is unable to cope with the immensity of the universe and finds herself feeling rather ill.

Back on Earth, during a heart-to-heart, Danny tells Clara that The Doctor reminds him of previous commanders he has known, who push their soldiers to get them to do more than they realised they were capable of. Even though he is impressed that The Doctor can push her to act without fear he is worried that The Doctor might push her too far. He therefore insists that Clara must promise to let him know if The Doctor pushes her too far so that he can help her.

Meanwhile, a police officer who was vaporised by the Skovox Blitzer, while investigating a mysterious noise coming from a rundown building a few days ago, awakens in a long white office corridor with many doors. An interviewer, behind a desk, informs the police officer of his death and their whereabouts. As the mysterious Missy appears further down the corridor the interviewer tells CSO Matthew that the place has many names, including the 'Promised Land', but he prefers to call it 'The Nethersphere'.

 
The Skovox Blitzer
The Skovox Blitzer
Kill The Doctor
Kill The Doctor
Introductions
Introductions
Giving New Instructions
Giving New Instructions
 
Self Destruct
Self Destruct
Clara's Hero
Clara's Hero
Courtney's Trip of a Lifetime
Courtney's Trip of a Lifetime
Missy
Missy




Quote of the Story


 'You want to know what's in that box? I'll tell you what's in that box! It's a Time Machine! It also travels in space! And it usually contains a man who just wants to get on with his work of preventing the end of the world — but keeps on getting interrupted by boring little humans!'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
DVD
The Complete Eighth Series Box SetNovember 2014BBCDVD 3935Photo-montageDVD boxed set containing 11 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Eighth Series Box SetNovember 2014BBCBD 0272Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 11 stories
Video
DVD
The Complete Eighth Series Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)November 2014BBCDVD 4003Photo-montageDVD boxed set containing 11 stories
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Eighth Series Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)November 2014BBCBD 0289Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 11 stories
Audio
CD
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 8May 2015Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Eighth Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)April 2021BBCBD 0525Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 11 stories


In Print

No Book Release
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 478 (Released: November 2014)
Doctor Who Magazine - ReviewIssue 479 (Released: December 2014)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companion/Acquaintance

 
Peter Capaldi
The Twelfth Doctor

   

Jenna-Louise Coleman
Clara Oswald
 
Samuel Anderson
Danny Pink
   




On Release

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
Complete Series DVD Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)
Complete Series DVD Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)

BBC
VIDEO
   
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set (BBC Shop Exclusive)

BBC
VIDEO
Original Television Soundtrack Cover
Original Television Soundtrack Cover

BBC
AUDIO
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 478
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 478

Marvel Comics
 
Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 479
Doctor Who Magazine - Review: Issue 479

Marvel Comics
   

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