"The Empty Child" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 21, 2005. It is the first of a two-part story. The concluding episode, "The Doctor Dances", was broadcast on May 28. This episode marks the first appearance of John Barrowman as Jack Harkness and, together with "The Doctor Dances", won the 2006 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.^[1] Christopher Eccleston (born February 16, 1964) is an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who and for other television roles, as well as for his roles in several high-profile low-budget films. ... The Ninth Doctor refers to the ninth official incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor, in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ... James Hawes is a British television director, who has worked on a variety of the most popular series on British television since the early 1990s. ... Elwen Rowlands is a British television script editor. ... Phil Collinson is a British television producer. ... Russell T Davies, interviewed for the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential in 2005. ... She was born on September 3, 1981 in Richmond, Virginia. ... Mal Young (born in Liverpool, England, on January 26, 1957) is a British television producer and executive . ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fathers Day is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 14, 2005. ... The Doctor Dances is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 28, 2005. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... A broadcast of the long-running and popular British science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Doctor Who is a long-running British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC, (and a 1996 television movie). ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Doctor Dances is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 28, 2005. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... John Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Glasgow) is a Scottish-American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer, and TV presenter who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. ... Jack Harkness, also known as Captain Jack (an alias; his real name is, as yet, unrevealed), is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and one of its spin-offs, Torchwood. ... The Hugo Awards are given annually by members of the World Science Fiction Convention for the best science fiction or fantasy works. ...

Synopsis

Chasing a metallic object through the vortex, the Ninth Doctor and Rose arrive in London during the Blitz. There, they find homeless children being terrorised, dead bodies with unexplained marks on their hands, a strange cylinder guarded by the army, and the dashing Captain Jack Harkness. The Ninth Doctor refers to the ninth official incarnation of the fictional character known as the Doctor, in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Rose Tyler is a fictional character played by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Blitz, a popular English contraction of the German word Blitzkrieg, was the sustained and intensive bombing of Britain, particularly London, from September 7, 1940 through to May 1941 by the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Although the Blitz is named after Blitzkrieg, it was not an example of...

Plot

"Are you my mummy?"

The TARDIS chases a metal cylinder that is careening its way through space. As the Doctor struggles to keep up with it, he explains to Rose that the cylinder is mauve — the universal colour for danger (as opposed to red, which is too camp for anyone but humans). The TARDIS console sparks as the object jumps a time track, travelling back in time towards London. The face of the Empty Child, a terrifying entity carrying a plague that is rewriting the DNA of the inhabitants of 1941 London. ... The face of the Empty Child, a terrifying entity carrying a plague that is rewriting the DNA of the inhabitants of 1941 London. ... The TARDIS The TARDIS[1][2] is a time machine and spacecraft in the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. ... This is an article about the color mauve. ... Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 625–750 nm. ... For the baseball player Bert Campaneris, see Bert Campaneris For the prestigious bicycle component manufacturer, see Campagnolo The current version of this article or section is written in an informal style and with a personally invested tone. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) in the family Hominidae (the great apes). ...

The TARDIS materialises in a narrow alley between some brick buildings at night. The Doctor and Rose step out in search of the object; the Doctor notes that they have arrived a couple of weeks to a month after the cylinder's impact. Rose asks if the Doctor is going to scan for alien technology, and is disappointed when the Doctor tells her that he is just going to pose as Dr. John Smith from the "Ministry of Asteroids" and ask the locals if anything fell from the sky. She complains that it is "not very Spock". The Doctor hears music coming from behind a locked door and uses the sonic screwdriver to open it. He steps inside the building, but Rose hears a child calling for its mother. She looks up and sees a young boy wearing a gas mask on the roof. Spock, commonly called Mr. ... The Fourth Doctor and his sonic screwdriver (from The Sontaran Experiment). ... Belgian 1930s era L.702 model civilian mask. ...

The door leads to a makeshift cabaret. After the singer ends her set, the Doctor steps up to the microphone and asks them if any object had fallen from the sky in the last few days. He is puzzled when they start laughing, but then an air raid siren sounds, he spots a poster warning of German bombing and realises to his chagrin that he has arrived during the London Blitz. In the meantime, Rose has reached the roof of the building where the young boy is standing on a cargo container. A rope dangles in front of her, and she uses it to climb up, not realising that it is attached to a barrage balloon above. It rises, taking Rose clean off the roof with it and hanging on for dear life. There, Rose sees bits of the city of London in flames, spotlights sweeping through the sky, the sound of anti-aircraft fire and bombers flying right at her. American Signal AL-8000 in OFallon, Illinois A civil defense siren (also referred to as an air raid siren, tornado siren, or outdoor warning siren) is an electrically-powered mechanical device for generating sound to provide warning of approaching danger and to indicate when the danger has passed. ... The Blitz, a popular English contraction of the German word Blitzkrieg, was the sustained and intensive bombing of Britain, particularly London, from September 7, 1940 through to May 1941 by the German Luftwaffe in World War II. Although the Blitz is named after Blitzkrieg, it was not an example of... US Marine Corps barrage balloon, Parris Island, May 1942 A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against bombardment by aircraft by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. ...

The Doctor returns to where the TARDIS landed, and sees no sign of Rose. He is puzzled when the exterior telephone of the TARDIS's police box disguise rings. He prepares to examine it with the sonic screwdriver when a young woman appears and tells him not to answer it. The Doctor asks her how the telephone can even be ringing, but when he turns back, she has disappeared. He picks up the earpiece, but all that comes through is a child's voice asking, "Mummy?" several times before it falls dead again. Hearing clattering down the alley, the Doctor looks over a wall into a residential garden and sees a woman ushering family into an air-raid shelter. He also spots the young woman he saw moments before entering the house. Once inside, she begins to raid the cupboards for tinned food. A police box is a telephone kiosk or callbox for use by members of the police. ...

Rose is still hanging by a rope over a blazing London. From a balcony below, a man dressed in RAF uniform peers through binoculars up at her, but they are binoculars of an advanced technological design. A British Army officer addresses him as "Jack" and asks if he is going to the shelter, but Jack is distracted by the sight of Rose's bottom in his sights. Jack grins at the officer and, speaking with an American accent, says that he has to meet a girl, but adds as he leaves that the officer has an excellent bottom as well. The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Porro-prism binoculars with central focusing Binocular telescopes, or binoculars, (also known as field glasses) are two identical or mirror-symmetrical telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point accurately in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (Binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. ...

Rose loses her grip on the rope and falls, shrieking before she finds her descent halted by a tractor beam. Jack's voice tells her to deactivate her cellular phone and to keep her limbs inside the light field as she slides rapidly down the beam into Jack's ship and his arms. Rose stares at the handsome Jack, managing to get out a couple of "hellos" before she faints. A tractor beam is a hypothetical device with the ability to attract one object to another from a distance. ... Several mobile phones A mobile telephone or cellular telephone (commonly, mobile phone or cell phone) is a long-range, portable electronic device used for mobile communication. ...

Back at the house, the young woman has been joined by several other children, and they start to consume the dinner that has been left on the table. The sudden appearance of the Doctor, however, startles them. The Doctor deduces that all of them are homeless, but notes that as it is 1941, the children should have been evacuated to the country long ago. The children say that they were, but they returned to London for various reasons. Nancy, the young woman who told him not to answer the phone earlier, finds them food this way, by waiting for families to hide in shelters before stealing their food. // In the 1930s, aerial bombing became an ever larger spectre in the minds of the government and the public (see Trenchard, Douhet, Spain). ...

The Doctor asks the children if they have seen the cylinder, drawing them a picture, but before any can answer, there is a knocking on the window, accompanied by a child's voice asking for its mother. Outside is a child in a gas mask, and it slowly wanders over to the front door, still repeating its query. Nancy hurriedly bolts the door before it can get in. Nancy tells the Doctor that it is not "exactly" a child, and then orders the other children to leave by the back way. The Child sticks its arm through the mail slot, and a strange, lightning-shaped scar can be seen on the back of its hand.

Nancy tells the Doctor not to let the Child touch him, or he will become just like it — empty. The telephone on the mantelpiece rings, and when the Doctor picks it up to hear the same plaintive request for its mother, Nancy grabs the receiver and hangs up. The Child has the ability to make telephone calls, just as it did with the TARDIS exterior telephone. The radio starts up, playing music and the Child's request, and a toy monkey starts to bang its cymbals together as Nancy leaves the house. The Doctor asks the Child through the door why the other children are frightened of him, but he keeps asking to be let in, claiming to be scared of the bombs. The Doctor agrees to open the door, but when he does, the street is empty.

Rose wakes up in Jack's ship, which she says is very "Mr Spock", a reference he does not understand. He introduces himself as Captain Jack Harkness, an American volunteer with No. 133 Squadron RAF. He hands her an identification card which Rose identifies as psychic paper — it shows her whatever he wants her to see, which is apparently that he is single and works out. At the same time, to Rose's embarrassment, Jack reads the paper as showing that Rose has a boyfriend but considers herself "very" available. Jack uses his ship's nanites (which he calls "nanogenes") to treat Rose's hands for rope burns. He also tells her to stop acting, he can spot a "Time Agent" a mile away and had been expecting one to turn up. Jack invites her for a drink on the "balcony"; opening the hatch, they step out onto the invisible hull of the ship which is floating tethered to Big Ben. Captain is a nautical term, an organizational title, and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... 133 Squadron RAF was one of the famous Eagle squadrons formed from American volunteers serving with the RAF during World War II. History 133 was first formed in 1918. ... Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with nanorobotics. ... The Clock Tower, colloquially known as Big Ben (a name that correctly refers to only the main bell) “Big Ben” redirects here. ...

Nancy makes her way across an abandoned rail yard to a locomotive, where she unloads the tins she took from the house. The Doctor surprises her again, having followed her. He has made the connection between the fallen cylinder and the empty child, and Nancy tells him about a bomb falling near the Limehouse Green station "that was not a bomb". It is now guarded by soldiers and barbed wire. Nancy says if he wants to find out what is going on, he needs to talk to "the doctor". Limehouse Town Hall Limehouse is a place in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. ... Passengers bustle around the typical grand edifice of Londons Broad Street Station in 1865. ... A selection of forms of barbed wire. ...

On top of his ship, Jack and Rose continue to flirt, dancing to the strains of Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade" as bombs fall on London around them. He used to be a Time Agent, but has since gone freelance. He tells her that he has something the Time Agency might want to buy and asks her if she is empowered to negotiate. Rose plays along, saying that she should talk to her "companion" first. He tells her that what fell on London was a fully equipped Chula warship, the last of its kind, and offers to get it for her if the Agency names the right price. However, the deadline for a decision is in two hours, because that is when a German bomb will fall and destroy it. He proceeds to look for her "companion" by scanning for alien technology, to which Rose gives an approving smile. Alton Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 — presumably December 15, 1944), was an American jazz musician and bandleader in the swing era. ... This article is about the Miller-Parish song. ...

The Doctor uses his own binoculars to monitor the crash site from a distance with Nancy. She encourages him to go speak to the doctor at nearby Albion Hospital. The Doctor remarks that Nancy is looking after the children to make up for something, and she admits that it is because her brother Jamie died during an air raid. The Doctor observes that at this point in history, Hitler has been unstoppable, until one "tiny damp island" said no, and praises Nancy's people for their indomitability. He tells her to go do what she has to do, and walks towards the hospital. Albion Hospital is a fictional hospital appearing in the Doctor Who episodes The Empty Child and Aliens of London. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

In the wards, the Doctor finds the beds apparently filled with corpses wearing gas masks. An elderly man in a doctor's coat appears, telling the Doctor that there are hundreds of them. Dr Constantine invites the Doctor to examine the masked people, warning him not to touch their flesh. The Doctor finds that, impossibly, all of them have identical injuries to the skull and chest cavity. The gas masks are also seemingly fused to their flesh, although there are no burns or scarring. They also have a lightning-shaped scar on the back of their hands. Constantine also has the same scar, but the Doctor does not notice.

Constantine explains that when the "bomb" dropped, it claimed one victim, and those who were in contact with it soon suffered the exact same injuries; the symptoms themselves spreading like a plague. The Doctor asks what killed them, but Constantine explains that they are not dead. With a rap of his cane against a table leg, the "corpses" come to life.

The Doctor takes a startled step back, but Constantine tells him they are harmless: they just sit there, have no signs of life, but they just do not die. All Constantine can do is make them comfortable, but he suspects the Army has a plan to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb, as isolated cases are breaking out all over London. He directs the Doctor to Room 802, where the first victim, Nancy's brother, was housed. Constantine says that Nancy knows more than she is saying but before he can say anything else, he grabs his neck and starts to choke out the words, "Are you my mummy?" Before the Doctor's eyes, Constantine's features shift and change into a gas mask and he slumps in his chair.

Rose and Jack enter the hospital, and Jack introduces himself to the Doctor, calling him "Mr Spock" to the Doctor's puzzlement. Rose privately tells the Doctor that she had to tell Jack they were Time Agents and give him a false name, and tells the Doctor about the Chula warship. The Doctor demands to know from Jack what kind of warship it is, but Jack insists that it has nothing to do with the plague. Jack confesses that the cylinder was just an ambulance — an empty shell which he was trying to pass off as valuable. Jack realises now that Rose and the Doctor are not really Time Agents. The Doctor explains that human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot, but for what purpose? The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the development and function of living organisms. ...

Meanwhile, Nancy has returned to the house to get more food, but the radio turns itself on and from the speakers comes the cry of the Child. She tries to hide when she sees it has entered the house. When her hiding place is discovered, she makes a break for the door but the child points a finger and shuts it from a distance. Suddenly, at the hospital, all the patients, including Constantine, sit bolt upright and climb out of their beds, calling for their mothers. Nancy backs up as the Child approaches. She calls it Jamie, and tells it that it's dead. At the hospital, the trio of time travellers are also being backed into a corner, as the gas-masked virus carriers get closer and closer...

Cast

• Doctor Who — Christopher Eccleston
• Rose Tyler — Billie Piper
• Nightclub Singer — Kate Harvey
• The Child Jamie — Albert Valentine
• Nancy — Florence Hoath
• Mrs Lloyd — Cheryl Fergison
• Mr Lloyd — Damian Samuels
• Jack Harkness — John Barrowman
• Algy — Robert Hands
• Jim — Joseph Tremain
• Ernie — Jordan Murphy
• Alf — Brandon Miller
• Dr Constantine — Richard Wilson
• Voice of the Empty Child — Noah Johnson
• Computer Voice — Dian Perry

Doctor Who or, see History of Doctor Who. ... Christopher Eccleston (born February 16, 1964) is an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who and for other television roles, as well as for his roles in several high-profile low-budget films. ... Rose Tyler is a fictional character played by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Billie John Piper (originally registered as Lianne Piper[1]), born on 22 September 1982, is an English actress. ... Florence Hoath (born 8 December 1984) is a British actress and daughter of British actress Tina Martin. ... Jack Harkness, also known as Captain Jack (an alias; his real name is, as yet, unrevealed), is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and one of its spin-offs, Torchwood. ... John Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Glasgow) is a Scottish-American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer, and TV presenter who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. ... Richard Wilson OBE (born July 9, 1936) is a Scottish actor and theatre director, best known for playing Victor Meldrew in the popular BBC situation comedy One Foot in the Grave. ...

Cast notes

• Features a guest appearance by Richard Wilson. See also Celebrity appearances in Doctor Who.

Several celebrities have made guest appearances in Doctor Who. ...

Continuity

• The Doctor notes when the TARDIS lands how they always bump into Earth. Many fans noted that during this and the 2006 series, most of the stories were set on Earth or on a space station nearby.
• This episode is the first to feature the character of Captain Jack Harkness as portrayed by John Barrowman, who recurs in the remainder of the episodes of the 2005 series. He also appears in the New Series Adventures novels and his own series, Torchwood.
• As the Chula ship jumps the time track, on the console screen it is shown to be in the time vortex as seen in the credits. The TARDIS jumped a time track in the First Doctor serial The Space Museum (1965), giving the Doctor and his then companions a glimpse into their apparent future.
• The Doctor is surprised to hear the police box telephone on the TARDIS ringing. In the animated webcast Scream of the Shalka, the unofficial "Ninth Doctor" (voiced by Richard E. Grant) uses a mobile phone that is detached from the telephone compartment of the TARDIS exterior. A fake police box telephone was seen in Logopolis, although that particular one belonged to the Master's TARDIS, which had adopted a police box disguise for the start of that story. At the end of "World War Three", the Doctor uses a fixed telephone inside the TARDIS console room.
• According to a police officer in the Torchwood episode "Everything Changes", Captain Jack Harkness failed to report for duty and disappeared on 21 January 1941. This would suggest that this story takes place in January 1941.
• A later episode of Torchwood, "Captain Jack Harkness" is set not long before this episode.
• There is no explicit reference to "Bad Wolf" in this episode, but there is one in "The Doctor Dances", similar to there being only one explicit reference in the two-part "Aliens of London"/"World War Three" story. Nancy does comment on the size of the Doctor's ears and nose, as Little Red Riding Hood does to the Big Bad Wolf. Also as of this week, the UNIT website changed its secure password from "buffalo" to "badwolf".^[2] See Bad Wolf references in Doctor Who.
• Albion Hospital, in reality the Cardiff Royal Infirmary, also appears in the episode "Aliens of London".
• "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances" are the only Doctor Who stories strongly connected with an alien race in which none of its members or representatives are actually seen.
• The Doctor Who Confidential for this episode describes Jack as a former Time Agent from the 51st century. In The Talons of Weng-Chiang, the villainous Magnus Greel is a time traveller from the 51st century who fears pursuit from Time Agents. The Time Agents appear in the spin-off novels Eater of Wasps by Trevor Baxendale and Trading Futures by Lance Parkin, and their origins in the aftermath of the wars of the 51st century are described in Emotional Chemistry by Simon A. Forward.
• The Doctor's use of the alias "John Smith" (with or without the title "Doctor") is a longstanding one, first appearing in The Wheel in Space and then several times during the course of the series, in particular the Third Doctor's time with UNIT.
• At one point, frustrated at not knowing his real name, Rose asks, "Doctor who?" The Doctor's actual name has been a running gag in the series since the very first serial. Examples include The Curse of Peladon and The Five Doctors (and later "Boom Town"). For other aliases used by the Doctor, see "Doctor who?".
• During the scene in the nightclub, the actor Jamie Foreman who played the character of Eddie Connolly in "The Idiot's Lantern" can be glimpsed. As the two stories take place only 11 years apart, this may be a cameo by the same character.

Jack Harkness, also known as Captain Jack (an alias; his real name is, as yet, unrevealed), is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and one of its spin-offs, Torchwood. ... John Barrowman (born 11 March 1967 in Glasgow) is a Scottish-American actor, musical performer, dancer, singer, and TV presenter who has lived and worked both in the United Kingdom and the United States. ... This is a list of Doctor Who television serials. ... The Clockwise Man was the first volume in the New Series Adventures range. ... For the eponymous fictional institute, see Torchwood Institute. ... The TARDIS in the vortex. ... The First Doctor is the name given to the first incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The Space Museum is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from April 24 to May 15, 1965. ... A police box is a telephone kiosk or callbox for use by members of the police. ... Scream of the Shalka was a flash-animated serial based on the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. ... The Shalka Doctor (or the REG Doctor) is the name given to the character that appeared as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the flash-animated serial Scream of the Shalka in 2003 and the later short story The Feast of the Stone which were based on the British... Richard E. Grant depicted as the unofficial Ninth Doctor. ... Logopolis is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from February 28 to March 21, 1981. ... The Master is a supporting character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... World War Three is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 23, 2005. ... Everything Changes is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006. ... January 21 is the 21st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film). ... Captain Jack Harkness is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 1 January 2007. ... The Doctor Dances is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 28, 2005. ... Aliens of London is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 16, 2005. ... World War Three is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 23, 2005. ... A depiction by Gustave Doré. Little Red Riding Hood is a famous folktale about a young girls encounter with a wolf. ... The Big Bad Wolf (sometimes called the Big Ol Wolf) is a fictional character who first appeared in the Three Little Pigs, Little Red Riding Hood and other folk tales. ... The logo of the Badwolf Corporation The phrase Bad Wolf is a recurring motif in the 2005 series of the long-running British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. ... Cardiff (English:  Welsh: ) is the capital, largest and core city of Wales. ... Aliens of London is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 16, 2005. ... The Doctor Dances is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on May 28, 2005. ... The Doctor Who Confidential logo Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The Talons of Weng-Chiang is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from February 26 to April 2, 1977. ... Eater of Wasps is a BBC Books original novel written by Trevor Baxendale and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Trevor Baxendale is a novellist who has penned several Doctor Who tie-in novels and audio dramas. ... Trading Futures is a BBC Books original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who (and spin-offs including the Virgin New Adventures and Faction Paradox) and Emmerdale. ... Emotional Chemistry is a BBC Books original novel written by Simon A. Forward and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... Simon A. Forward (born 1967 in Penzance) is an author and dramatist most famous for his work on a variety of Doctor Who spin-offs. ... The Wheel in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from April 27 to June 1, 1968. ... The Third Doctor is the name given to the third incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (also known as UNIT) is a fictional military organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... The running gag is a popular hallmark of comic and serious forms of entertainment. ... An Unearthly Child (also known as 100,000 BC, among other titles, see below) is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. ... The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 29 to February 19, 1972. ... The Five Doctors was a special movie-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programmes twentieth anniversary. ... Boom Town is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 4, 2005. ... Doctor Who or, see History of Doctor Who. ... Jamie Foreman (1958) is a British actor best known for his roles as Duke in Layer Cake (2004) and Bill Sykes in Roman Polanskis Oliver Twist (2005). ... The Idiots Lantern is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

Production

• This episode had the working title "World War II".^[3] In the French language version of the show, this episode has the title Drôle de mort ("Strange/Funny Death"), referring to the Drôle de guerre (Phoney War).
• Early versions of this script quoted this episode's title as being "An Empty Child". This is a reference to "An Unearthly Child", the very first episode of Doctor Who. The episode's television listings information and the DVD cover also mention that "London is being terrorised by an unearthly child".
• The sound of Dr Constantine's skull cracking as his face changes into a gas mask was considered too horrific in its full form by the production team and was cut before broadcast. However, writer Steven Moffat claims on the DVD commentary to this episode that the sound was discussed but never put on. According to the Doctor Who Confidential episode "Fear Factor", the effect was added in the version of the episode presented on the The Complete First Series box set.
• Unlike previous episodes, the "next episode" trailers were shown after the end credits instead of immediately preceding them, possibly in reaction to comments after "Aliens of London" about having the cliff-hanger for that episode spoiled.
• Captain Jack's line explaining the nanogenes was not audible in either the original or repeat broadcasts on CBC Television in Canada. It was also removed from the UKTV Gold and US Sci Fi Channel broadcasts, although the lines were still present in the subtitles. This adds some confusion to Rose's next line, "Well, tell them thanks!" The cause for this change is unknown.
• Several scenes of this story were filmed at the Vale of Glamorgan Railway sites at Plymouth Road on Barry Island in January 2005. Barry Island was used for location filming for the 1987 Seventh Doctor serial Delta and the Bannermen.

French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... British Ministry of Home Security Poster of a type that was common during the Phoney War The Phoney War, or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was a phase in early World War II marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German... An Unearthly Child (also known as 100,000 BC, among other titles, see below) is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 23 November to 14 December 1963. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... The Doctor Who Confidential logo Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... An assortment of Region 1 and Region 2 Doctor Who DVD releases. ... Aliens of London is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on April 16, 2005. ... CBC Television is the primary English language television service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. ... UKTV Gold, (previously known as UK Gold until March 8, 2004), is a British television channel that shows mainly classic BBC entertainment programmes. ... SCI FI (sometimes rendered SCI FI Channel when part of a longer phrase) is an American cable television channel, launched on September 24, 1992, specializing in science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming. ... The Vale of Glamorgan Railway is a heritage railway based at Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. ... Barry Island (Welsh: Ynys y Barri) is a peninsula forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. ... The Seventh Doctor is the name given to the seventh incarnation of the Doctor seen on screen in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. ... Delta and the Bannermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from November 2 to November 16, 1987. ...

Outside references

• Frequently in this episode, Rose makes references to the Star Trek character Mr. Spock. This is the first televised Doctor Who story to make a direct reference to Star Trek, although there had been previous references in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip and original novels.
• Writer Steven Moffat says in the DVD commentary for this episode that the Doctor's reply to Rose asking him what she should call him ("Doctor who?") was originally going to be, "I'd rather have Doctor Who than Star Trek," a metafictional dig at the latter programme.
• The Chula ships are named after Chula, an Indian/Bangladeshi fusion restaurant in Hammersmith, London where the writers celebrated and discussed their briefs on the scripts they were to write for the season after being commissioned by Russell T. Davies.^[4]

The current Star Trek franchise logo Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series. ... Spock, commonly called Mr. ... Steven Moffat (born 1961 in Paisley, Scotland) is a British comedy/drama writer who has contributed to television series since the late 1980s. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions whilst not fitting specifically into any. ... Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, approximately 5 miles (8km) west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames. ... Russell T Davies, interviewed for the documentary series Doctor Who Confidential in 2005. ...

Historical details

• Rose is carried away on a rope attached to a barrage balloon. World War II barrage balloons were actually tethered by steel cables to winches anchored to the ground and not by ropes. They were operated by RAF and WAAF Balloon Command personnel.
• Jack Harkness claims to be an American volunteer with 133 Squadron. Group 12, No. 133 Squadron RAF — one of the "Eagle squadrons", so-called because of their American complement — was formed in July 1941, but was not based in the London area and disbanded in September 1942. His rank of "Captain" is also unusual as they used RAF ranks. It would be equivalent to a Squadron Leader or a United States Air Force Major. (Flight Lieutenant is the equivalent RAF rank to a USAF Captain). The Eagle squadrons had British or Commonwealth squadron leaders.
• The gas masks shown in the programme are not normal civilian-issue masks, which had a single wide "window". They are closer to the Special Air Service mask, but lack the slightly conical rubber valve at the "nose". In Doctor Who Confidential it was stated that these were custom masks specially designed by the production team and not replicas of any period equipment.

The U.S. Womens Auxiliary Air Force was created in June of 1939. ... 133 Squadron RAF was one of the famous Eagle squadrons formed from American volunteers serving with the RAF during World War II. History 133 was first formed in 1918. ... The Eagle Squadrons were Royal Air Force fighter squadrons formed during World War II from American volunteer pilots. ... A Squadron Leaders sleeve/shoulder insignia Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in some air forces. ... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ... Major is a military rank the use of which varies according to country. ... A Flight Lieutenants sleeve/shoulder insignia Flight Lieutenant (abbreviated as Flt Lt and pronounced as flight lef-tenant, see Lieutenant) is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. ... The Commonwealth of Nations as of 2006 Headquarters Marlborough House, London Leaders  -  Queen Elizabeth II  -  Secretary-General Don McKinnon (since 1999)  -  Ransford Smith Establishment  -  as British Commonwealth 1926   -  as the Commonwealth 1949  Membership 53 sovereign states Website thecommonwealth. ... The Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) is the principal special forces unit of the British Army. ... The Doctor Who Confidential logo Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ...

References

1. ^ Hugo and Campbell Awards Winners. Locus Online (2006-08-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-27.
2. ^ http://www.unit.org.uk/
3. ^ http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/2005ij.html
4. ^ http://www.restaurantsomh.com/l33.htm

Locus Magazine is subtitled The Magazine Of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field. It reports on the science fiction writing industry, including comprehensive listings of new books published in the field. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year (239th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Ninth Doctor

• The Empty Child episode guide on the BBC website
• The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
• The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Empty Child at Outpost Gallifrey
• "The Empty Child" at TV.com
• Doctor Who Confidential — Episode 9: Special Effects
• "Are you my mummy?" — Episode trailer for The Empty Child

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Outpost Gallifrey is a fan website for the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. ... TV.com is a website belonging to the CNET Games and Entertainment family of websites. ...

Reviews

• The Empty Child reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances reviews at Outpost Gallifrey
• The Empty Child reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide
• The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances reviews at The Doctor Who Ratings Guide