Aliens of London

Doctorwhobox
number=164a
serial_name= Aliens of London


caption=First contact, or something more sinister?
show=DW
type=episode
doctor=Christopher Eccleston (Ninth Doctor)
companion=Billie Piper (Rose Tyler)
guests=
*Camille Coduri – Jackie Tyler
*Noel Clarke – Mickey Smith
*Penelope Wilton – Harriet Jones
*Annette Badland – Margaret Blaine
*Corey Doabe – Spray Painter
*Ceris Jones – Policeman
*Jack Tarlton – Reporter
*Lachele Carl – Reporter
*Fiesta Mei Ling – Ru
*Basil Chung – Bau
*Matt Baker – Himself
*Andrew Marr – Himself
*Rupert Vansittart General Asquith
*David Verrey – Joseph Green
*Navin Chowdhry – Indra Ganesh
*Naoko Mori – Doctor Sato
*Eric Potts – Oliver Charles
*Jimmy Vee – Space Pig
*Steve Spiers – Strickland
*Elizabeth Fost, Paul Kasey, Alan Ruscoe – Slitheen
writer=Russell T Davies
director=Keith Boak
script_editor=Elwen Rowlands
producer=Phil Collinson
executive_producer=Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner
Mal Young
production_code=1.4
length=1st of 2-part story, 45 minutes
date=16 April 2005
preceding="The Unquiet Dead"
following="World War Three"
imdb_id=0562985
series=Series 1
series_link=Series 1 (2005)|"Aliens of London" is an episode in the British science fiction television series "Doctor Who" that was first broadcast on 16 April 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "World War Three", was broadcast on 23 April.

ynopsis

The Ninth Doctor takes Rose back to 21st century London, just in time to witness a spaceship crashing into the River Thames, triggering a worldwide state of alert and the closing off of the city. As the Doctor investigates the survivor of the crash, Rose finds problems closer to home.

Plot

The Doctor uses the TARDIS to take Rose back to her flat, supposedly 12 hours after she left her mother Jackie (in "Rose"), but discovers that they have actually returned 12 months since that point; Jackie declared Rose missing and Mickey Smith was accused but cleared of murdering Rose. As Rose expresses her frustration at the Doctor for not being able to tell the truth of where she's been, a spacecraft speeds through the sky, crashing through Big Ben, and splashes down in the River Thames. Central London is quickly sealed off, forcing the Doctor and Rose to follow events on television. An alien is discovered in the wreckage and taken, under command of General Asquith to nearby Albion Hospital. The general examines the body and asks Dr. Sato, the pathologist, to learn all she can about the creature. As various "alien-welcoming" parties occur in the estate flats that evening, the Doctor sneaks off to his TARDIS alone, promising Rose he will not interfere with Earth's first alien contact and that he won't leave her, and materialises at the hospital. There, managing to influence the guards, he is able to meet Dr. Sato and the alien, and determines that the alien is really just an Earth pig, enhanced by alien technology; someone wanted to fake the alien crash.

Meanwhile, due to the inability to locate the Prime Minister and with gridlock around London, MP Joseph Green, a large, flatulent man and a Chair of a DEFRA committee, is instated as the acting Prime Minister by Indra Ganesh, a Junior Secretary with the Ministry of Defence. Ganesh gives Green the emergency protocols for dealing with an extraterrestrial encounter, and introduces him to Margaret Blaine of MI5 and Oliver Charles, an MP who is a Parliamentary Liaison at the Department of Transport. Ganesh leaves the trio alone, who begin laughing among themselves. Harriet Jones, a backbench MP, attempts to deliver a report to the trio, but ends up overhearing General Asquith complaining to Green of his inactivity. The three think it a joke, passing gas as they laugh, then begin to unzip their heads, revealing a blue light, causing the General to scream. General Asquith is killed, the being occupying Charles now using the General's appearance as its own.

As Rose tries to tell Mickey and Jackie about where she had been for the last year and that the Doctor is her friend, the TARDIS rematerialises back at the flats. The Doctor explains to Rose and Mickey that the alien crash was all faked, and that the ship was actually launched from Earth, meaning that whomever launched it has been on Earth for some time, while Jackie calls the Emergency Alien Hotline to report the Doctor as an alien. Jackie's call triggers a "Code 9" alert; when the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey leave the TARDIS, they are surrounded by soldiers, but while Mickey is able to escape, the Doctor and Rose are escorted to 10 Downing Street. There, they find several other alien experts, including those from the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, gathered to decide on humanity's course of action. While the Doctor is asked to be a part of the meeting, Rose is not, though Harriet Jones offers to keep an eye on her. Harriet shows Rose the empty skin of Oliver Charles, and on further investigation, they find the dead body of the Prime Minister, which they tell Ganesh about. However, Blaine blocks their exit and begins to unzip her head. Simultaneously, police inspector Strickland who has been talking to Jackie after the Doctor was captured, begins to do the same. In the meeting room, General Asquith also unzips his head, and reveals himself as the alien Slitheen, while Green sends a deadly electrical shock through all the alien experts, including the Doctor. The episodes ends in a cliffhanger into "World War Three".

Continuity

*The official police poster is the first reference to the Powell Estate on the television series. Rose is described as, "19 years old, 5 feet 4 inches in height, slim build with shoulder-length blonde hair." The photograph used is one of Billie Piper herself, rather than one of Piper playing Rose. [http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p145/fancover5/cap552.jpg] Several other, home-made posters are seen on Jackie's table, including one with a banner headline saying "WHERE IS ROSE?". [http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p145/fancover5/cap554.jpg]
*The Doctor tells Rose he is 900 years old. The last on-screen mention of the Doctor's age, in "Time and the Rani", put it at 953. [cite serial | title = Time and the Rani | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writers Pip and Jane Baker, Director Andrew Morgan, Producer John Nathan-Turner | network = BBC | station = BBC1 | city = London | began = 1987-09-07 | ended = 1987-09-28] See The Doctor's age.
*UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, is mentioned amongst the experts on aliens, its first appearance on television since the 1989 serial "Battlefield". The Doctor mentions having worked with them in the past, but that they wouldn't recognise him now, alluding to regeneration.
*Mickey notes that he found out on the Internet that the Doctor had worked before for UNIT, among other things. A notation at http://www.whoisdoctorwho.co.uk/ implies that Mickey is the one who has been updating Clive's website since the latter's death in "Rose".
*A boy spray paints the words "BAD WOLF" on the side of the TARDIS while it is parked on the council estate.
*The TARDIS was previously defaced with chalk scribblings in "The Time Warrior" (1973) [cite serial | title = The Time Warrior | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Robert Holmes, Director Alan Bromly, Producer Barry Letts | network = BBC | station = BBC1 | station = BBC1 | city = London | began = 1973-12-15 | ended = 1974-01-05] and "The Leisure Hive" (1980), [cite serial | title = The Leisure Hive | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer David Fisher, Director Lovett Bickford, Producer John Nathan-Turner | network = BBC | station = BBC1 | city = London | began = 1980-08-30 | ended = 1980-09-20] graffiti in "Paradise Towers" (1987) [cite serial | title = Paradise Towers | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Stephen Wyatt, Director Nicholas Mallett, Producer John Nathan-Turner | network = BBC | station = BBC1 | city = London | began = 1987-10-05 | ended = 1987-10-26] and was painted pink in "The Happiness Patrol" (1988). [cite serial | title = The Happiness Patrol | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Graeme Curry, Director Chris Clough, Producer John Nathan-Turner | network = BBC | station = BBC1 | city = London | began = 1988-11-02 | ended = 1988-11-16]
*The Cardiff Royal Infirmary provided the setting for the fictional London Albion Hospital. The interior scenes at "10 Downing Street" were shot at Hensol Castle in Wales. The Doctor revisits the hospital in 1941 during the episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances". [cite episode | title = The Empty Child | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Steven Moffat, Director James Hawes, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2005-05-21] [cite episode | title = The Doctor Dances | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Steven Moffat, Director James Hawes, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2005-05-28]
*The episode ends on a cliffhanger, the first since episode two of "Survival" in 1989. The story continues in "World War Three". This is also the first occasion since "Invasion of the Dinosaurs" in 1974 in which the first episode of a serial does not share its title with the second.
*Dr Toshiko Sato, the "government pathologist", returns in the "Doctor Who" spin-off series "Torchwood".
*The events of this episode are briefly mentioned in a conversation with Toshiko and Owen in the "Torchwood" episode "Exit Wounds". In Torchwood, Toshiko is a computer expert, not a pathologist, and it is explained that because Owen was hungover from the night before, Toshiko covered for him and said that she was a doctor and examined the space pig. [cite episode | title = Exit Wounds | series = Torchwood | credits = Writer Chris Chibnall, Director Ashley Way, Producers Richard Stokes, Chris Chibnall | network = BBC | station = BBC Two | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2008-04-04]

Production

*This episode had the working title "Aliens of London Part One" ("World War Three" being "Part Two").
*When the ship crashes into the clock tower, both the numbers on the clock face and the text beneath are backwards. According to the DVD commentary, director Keith Boak altered his shots of the crash sequence but this was not relayed to the visual effects team, who had prepared according to the storyboarded version. As a result, the sequence was electronically flipped to make it conform to the spaceship's final descent pattern.
*The clock also appears to keep working after the incident: the time reads roughly 10:55 when the spaceship strikes it, but reads roughly 6:10 when the clock is later seen on a news broadcast.
*The entrance to the Prime Minister's residence was a redress of a similar-looking door in Central London.
*The screen of the detection software that identifies the Code 9 carries the crest of the UK government as identified by the motto and the feet of the supporters. However the crest is incorrect as the two supporters (the lion and the unicorn) are swapped over and the roses, thistles, and clovers that are normally around the motto are missing.

Cast notes

*Lachele Carl reappears as a reporter in "World War Three", [cite episode | title = World War Three | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Russell T Davies, Director Keith Boak, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2005-04-23] "The Christmas Invasion", [cite episode | title = The Christmas Invasion | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Russell T Davies, Director James Hawes, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2005-12-25] "The Sound of Drums", [cite episode | title = The Sound of Drums | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Russell T Davies, Director Colin Teague, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2007-06-23] "The Poison Sky", [cite episode | title = The Poison Sky | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Helen Raynor, Director Douglas Mackinnon, Producer Susie Liggat | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2008-05-03] "Turn Left", [cite episode | title = Turn Left | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Russell T Davies, Director Graeme Harper, Producer Susie Liggat | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2008-06-21] "The Stolen Earth" [cite episode | title = The Stolen Earth | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Russell T Davies, Director Graeme Harper, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2008-06-28] and the "Sarah Jane Adventures" story "Revenge of the Slitheen". [cite serial | title = Revenge of the Slitheen | series = The Sarah Jane Adventures | credits = Writer Gareth Roberts, Director Alice Troughton, Producer Matthew Bouch | network = BBC | station = BBC One, CBBC Channel | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2007-09-24]

Outside references

*The production team had intended to suggest that the murdered Prime Minister in this episode was current real-life incumbent, Tony Blair. On the DVD commentary for the following episode, producer Phil Collinson explained that they had hired an actor to play the dead body on the understanding that the man was a Tony Blair lookalike. When the resemblance proved disappointing, they decided to avoid showing the body clearly. The suggestion that the body is Blair's remains in Harriet's line "I'm hardly one of the babes", a reference to the large number of female Labour Party MPs who entered the House of Commons in Labour's 1997 general election victory, who were dubbed "Blair's Babes" by the British media. That Tony Blair was elected in "Doctor Who" continuity was confirmed in "Rise of the Cybermen". [cite episode | title = Rise of the Cybermen | series = Doctor Who | credits = Writer Tom MacRae, Director Graeme Harper, Producer Phil Collinson | network = BBC | station = BBC One | city = Cardiff | airdate = 2006-05-13]
*During the night scene set on the balcony outside the Tyler flat, "Starman" by David Bowie is heard playing in the background.

Broadcast and DVD releases

*This episode together with "World War Three" and "Dalek" were the first released on the UMD format for the PlayStation Portable.
*This episode together with "World War Three" and "Dalek" were released on a DVD, then later with the rest of series 1 on a box set.

References

External links

*BBCDWnew|year=2005|id=aliensoflondon|title=Aliens of London
*Brief| id=2005de | title=Aliens of London" / "World War Three|quotes=y
*Doctor Who RG| id=who_tv04 | title=Aliens of London" / "World War Three|quotes=y
*OG|2005-04|Aliens of London|quotes=y
*Tv.com episode|id=407895|title=Aliens of London
*" [http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/doctorwho/ram/confidential4?size=16x9&bgc=CC0000&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1 Doctor Who Confidential] " — Episode 4: I Get a Side-Kick Out of You
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/doctorwho/ram/ep4trail?size=16x9&bgc=CC0000&nbram=1&bbram=1 "Bong!"] — Episode trailer for "Aliens of London"
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/doctorwho/ram/news24?size=16x9&bgc=CC0000&nbram=1&bbram=1 Mock report from BBC News 24]

Reviews

*OG review| id=2005-04 | title=Aliens of London|quotes=y
*OG review| id=2005-0405 | title=Aliens of London" / "World War Three|quotes=y
*DWRG| id=alienslondon | title=Aliens of London|quotes=y
*DWRG| id=alienswar | title=Aliens of London" / "World War Three|quotes=y