Aliens of London

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160a – "Aliens of London"
Doctor Who episode
Cast
Guest
Production
Directed by
Series 1
Running time45 minutes
First broadcast16 April 2005 (2005-04-16)
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Unquiet Dead" 		Followed by →
"World War Three"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the

science fiction television show Doctor Who after its revival in 2005. First broadcast on 16 April 2005 on BBC One, it was written by Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak. It is the first in a two-part story, concluding with "World War Three
".

The episode is set in London one year after the 2005 episode "Rose". In the episode, the alien crime family the Slitheen fake a spaceship crash-landing in the River Thames, putting the Earth on high alert. The Slitheen use the crashed spaceship to lure experts of extraterrestrial life including the "ultimate expert", the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), into a trap inside 10 Downing Street.

This episode introduced the character of Harriet Jones, played by Penelope Wilton, who would reprise her role in the episodes "The Christmas Invasion" and "The Stolen Earth". It also featured an appearance by actress Naoko Mori, who went on to feature in the spin-off Torchwood as a result of her performance. The Slitheen aliens are part-computer-generated imagery (CGI) and part-prosthetic/costume. "Aliens of London" was watched by seven million viewers on initial broadcast and received generally mixed reviews.

The Series wide arc of "Bad Wolf"s appearance in this episode comes in the form of Graffiti, Scribbled onto the side of the TARDIS by an Unnamed Child.

Plot

Intending to return Rose to Earth twelve hours after her original departure, the Ninth Doctor miscalculates, arriving twelve months after they left. Rose's mother Jackie is furious with her, believing that Rose had been abducted and murdered. Rose's boyfriend Mickey is also upset, as he was suspected of murdering Rose. As Rose expresses her frustration to the Doctor over not being able to tell the truth of where she had gone, they witness a spacecraft crash through Big Ben and fall into the River Thames. Central London is shut down while the population becomes excited at the possibility of first contact with an alien species. The Doctor suspects trickery and uses the TARDIS to land inside the hospital where the alien pilot has been taken. The Doctor discovers that the alien craft was launched from Earth and that the pilot is really a common pig that has been modified by alien technology.

The government is unable to locate the Prime Minister due to the confusion of the crash, and Joseph Green MP is named acting Prime Minister. Green is revealed to be a member of the Slitheen, a family of aliens that uses a device to compress their bodies into large human "suits" resulting in frequent releases of flatulence. Two other high members of the government, Margaret Blaine and Oliver Charles, are also revealed to be Slitheen. The Slitheen secretly celebrate luring the humans into their plan but are unaware of their conversation being witnessed by MP Harriet Jones.

When the Doctor returns to Rose, Jackie discovers the truth about the Doctor and the TARDIS and calls it in. They are surrounded by soldiers and escorted to 10 Downing Street. The Doctor is asked to join a panel of alien experts including members of UNIT, and Rose is escorted into the building by Harriet. Harriet tells Rose about the aliens, and together they discover the Prime Minister's corpse. Before they can reveal their discovery, they are caught by Blaine, who begins to unzip her human suit to attack them. At Jackie's flat, a police officer also unzips his human suit and attacks Jackie for being associated with the Doctor. As the Doctor attempts to convince the experts of the forgery of the events, the Doctor realises that the experts have been lured to Downing Street together as part of a trap. Green sends an electrical shock through the assembled group.

Production

The production of the episode was overseen by executive producers Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young,[1] and regular producer Phil Collinson.[3]

Conception

Initially, the episode was entitled "Aliens of London, Part One".

"Jump" music video which takes place there.[6]

The production team had intended to suggest that the murdered Prime Minister in this episode was the current real-life incumbent,

Blair's Babes" by the British media. That Tony Blair was elected in Doctor Who continuity was confirmed in "Rise of the Cybermen".[7]

The role of Harriet Jones was written specially for Penelope Wilton by Davies.[8] Wilton was drawn to the role because of the quality of the writing; she had previously worked with Davies on Bob & Rose.[9]

This episode is the last to have the acronym UNIT stand for United Nations Intelligence Taskforce. It was later changed to Unified Intelligence Taskforce in the Tenth Doctor story “The Sontaran Stratagem” after complaints from the real United Nations.[5]

Filming

"Aliens Of London" was scheduled as part of the second production block along with

BBC Television Centre Studio 4 in London. This took place during the second production block.[10] During the third production block the final piece of location and studio filming was completed in Unit Q2 and Studio 1, HTV Wales respectively.[1][10]

During recording, the crew realised that the complexity of the first production block had caused them to fall behind schedule and, consequently, additional filming time was prescribed.[10] Composer Murray Gold stated in an interview that the decision to mix CGI and prosthetics caused problems for the production crew.[13]

The episode featured many different creatures and props, shown here at various Doctor Who exhibitions.

Broadcast and reception

In an interview, Russell T Davies noted that he had to check with the editorial policy before screening the episode because it clashed with the

BBC3 repeat the next Sunday had 598,800 viewers which made it number one in that time slot.[17] In Canada the episode scored 849,000 viewers which made it number 2 for the timeslot across Canada and number 4 in all of primetime for Tuesday nights.[18] This episode, together with "World War Three" and "Dalek", were the first released on the UMD format for the PlayStation Portable. The three episodes were then released on a DVD, then later with the rest of series 1 on a box set.[19]

"Aliens of London" received generally mixed reviews. Arnold T Blumburg of

Robert Holmes." He also praised the domestic situation, though he found the political satire "one-note", the direction disappointing, and Eccleston "out of his depth" with lighter moments.[23]

There were minor audience complaints with Rose's remark to the Doctor, "You're so gay", generating some controversy. Davies defended himself by saying he was trying to reflect how people talk in real life.[24] The decision to show the next time trailer immediately after the cliffhanger was met with some disdain, with one person writing to the BBC how they were "immediately spoilt by the preview of the second half of the story".[25]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Mulkern, Patrick (7 March 2013). "The Aliens of London/World War Three ***". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Aliens of London / World War Three". Doctor Who Guide. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b Phil Collinson: DVD commentary for "World War Three"
  4. ^ "Aliens of London". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Mcalpine, Fraser (2015). "'Doctor Who': 10 Things You May Not Know About 'Aliens of London'". BBC America. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  6. ^ McEwan, Cameron (18 September 2017). "Former Doctor Who boss: Girls Aloud video was influence for Slitheen invasion". Doctor Who Tv. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  7. ^ Tom MacRae (writer), Graeme Harper (director), Phil Collinson (producer) (13 May 2006). "Rise of the Cybermen". Doctor Who. Series 2. Episode 5. BBC. BBC One.
  8. ^ Craig, Olga (15 November 2008). "Penelope Wilton: an actress who epitomises all things quintessentially English". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Introduction – interview with Penelope Wilton" (Press release). BBC. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Aliens of London". shannonsullivan. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Doctor Who: Aliens of London". BBC. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  12. ^ Berriman, Ian (17 November 2005). "Doctor Who Commentary Facts!". SFX. Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  13. ^ McEwan, Cameron K (16 July 2013). "Murray Gold interview: Doctor Who, Russell T Davies, Batman, David Bowie & more..." Den of Geek. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  14. ^ Lyons, Shaun (15 April 2005). "Thursday/Friday Series News". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  15. ^ Timms, Dominic (18 April 2005). "Ant and Dec triumph over Doctor Who". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
  16. ISBN 978-0-563-48649-7
    .
  17. ^ Lyons, Shaun (19 April 2005). "Tuesday Series Updates". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  18. ^ Lyons, Shaun (28 April 2005). "Wednesday Series Updates". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  19. ^ Smith, Tony (5 October 2005). "Doctor Who to transmat onto PSP". The Register. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  20. ^ Blumburg, Arnold T (20 April 2005). "Doctor Who – "Aliens of London"". Now Playing. Archived from the original on 21 April 2005. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  21. ^ Wilkins, Alasdair (1 December 2013). "Doctor Who: "Aliens of London"/"World War Three"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  22. ^ Burk and Smith pp. 20–22
  23. ^ Burk and Smith pp. 22–23
  24. ^ Burk and Smith p. 19
  25. ^ Lyons, Shaun (26 April 2005). "Monday-Tuesday Series Updates". Outpost Gallifrey. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 15 March 2020.

Bibliography

  • Burk, Graeme; Smith, Robert (6 March 2012). "Series 1". Who Is the Doctor: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who-The New Series (1st ed.).
    ISBN 978-1-55022-984-4
    .

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ninth Doctor.
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