Aliens of London in “Real Life”

This is the third in a series of Doctor Who in “Real Life” posts. The idea is that I discuss how episodes work from a real world perspective. To celebrate it’s ten year anniversary, today I am looking at the episode Aliens of London.

Some time before the events in London, certain areas of the internet already believed there was some kind of conspiracy in the British government. One site posted this:

Rose Tyler was reported missing to the police who ran a large campaign locally to find her. Much of the suspicions fell on her boyfriend, Mickey Smith who wrote online:

Their net of suspicion has closed in around me - they refuse to consider the evidence I have of what REALLY happened. And of who it really affects.

The following poster was put up around the Powell Estate and the local area.

The spaceship crashing into Big Ben and landing on the Thames was witnessed by a considerable number of people. Surprisingly little footage of the incident was captured, probably due to the speed of the incident, but this was one photo taken by a witness.

Various people told of their sightings of the event- here are a few witness statements:

Bill: I was on my first vacation in years. I saw the crash through my video camera! I tried to get closer, but your army wouldn't let me anywhere near. They even took my camera! I want to know who to contact to get it back! I'll tell you this. I was scared out of my mind on the flight home!

Connor: I was site seeing with my family when there was a really loud humming! i didn't have a clue what was happening and suddenly this huge ship flew stragiht over and crashed into big ben! The sound was immense i saw all the shards of big ben falling from the sky! i was really scared but was told to evacuate the area!

Andy H: I didn't see the crash but I was visiting my nan in Albion Hospital when all these army men turned up and turfed everyone out. Apparently they put the alien in there. There were men with guns everywhere and despite what was going on they kept telling us there was nothing to see. Yeah, right.

Padrone: A soldier told me that it was just an experimental plane that crashed and the pilot was killed. He said they haven't named him yet as his family has to be told. They UFO story started because people panicked!

The incident led to various parties and lots of internet memes, like the one below:

Though the Albion Hospital was supposed to be sealed off to the public, an image from within did make it online:

The person who posted the image also shared a sketch of the supposed pilot of the spaceship.

That’s all for this week but keep checking back as I continue by look back at Series 1 of Doctor Who!

^{(Again, much of the content comes from here. The missing poster comes from here although is an exact copy of the one in the episode)}

My Top 10 New Who Episodes

This week sees the 10th anniversary of Doctor Who returning to our screens. A lot of people seem to have done a list like this and I thought it would be fun to do one too. So, here are my top 10 favourite new series Doctor Who episodes.

10: Blink (2007- Written by Steven Moffat, Starring David Tennant and Freema Agyeman)

Many people regard this as the best Doctor Who episode ever. I wouldn’t quite go that far but I have to agree that it is excellent. I think the big reason this idea is so good is the villains, the Weeping Angels. Statues that move but only when you are not looking. It’s a terrifying idea. It’s also notable for the fact that the Doctor barely appears so it’s a case of him solving things from afar. Guest star Carey Mulligan, now quite the famous actress, is superb as Sally Sparrow here too. A real joy.

9: Turn Left (2009- Written by Russell T. Davies, Starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate)

Another Doctor-lite episode, this one is a sort of celebration of New Who up to this point. Thanks to Donna not saving the Doctor’s life in a parallel timeline, this sees what happens to Earth when the Doctor is not around to save it. Basically, things don’t go well. It’s a great idea and there are some really deep emotional moments, like when Wilf realises history is repeating itself.

8: The Parting of the Ways (2005-Written by Russell T. Davies, Starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper)

This was the Ninth Doctor’s last stand. I adore the Ninth Doctor and this is his greatest moment. The companion/Doctor relationship is shown to be perhaps the strongest it has ever been- the Doctor saves Rose by sending her home but then Rose stubbornly returns and saves the Doctor by looking into the time vortex. The Ninth Doctor’s recorded message is incredible, there are loads of daleks and there’s the wonderful first appearance of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor.

7: Father’s Day (2005- Written by Paul Cornell, Starring Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper)

An episode all about a companion, this one. Rose asks the Doctor to take her back to the day her Dad died and proceeds to save his life, thus changing history. Monsters happen. It displays the daughter/father relationship beautifully and in a way conventional drama can’t do. The monsters are pretty good, in my opinion anyway, the Doctor sacrifices himself and the resolution is heart-breaking.

6: The Doctor’s Wife (2011- Written by Neil Gaiman, Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill)

Neil Gaiman gave the TARDIS a voice in this wonderful episode. That’s a great idea in itself but the whole idea of a sentient asteroid is brilliant and there’s some terrifying scenes in the TARDIS corridors featuring Amy and Rory. For me, those are perhaps the scariest scenes Doctor Who has ever had. Suranne Jones is brilliant as the TARDIS and there’s also an Ood there too to make things more fun.

5: The Girl in the Fireplace (2006- Written by Steven Moffat, Starring David Tennant, Billie Piper and Noel Clarke)

I would adore this episode simply for the scene where the Tenth Doctor stumbles into a spaceship, apparently drunk, and tells the monsters they are thick. That is my favourite scene in all of New Who. The whole premise of this episode is wonderful, Sophia Myles makes a wonderful Madame de Pompadour and the pay-off at the end of the episode revealing the connection between the spaceship and 18th century France is a staggering silent reveal.

4: Asylum of the Daleks (2012- Written by Steven Moffat, Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill)

I’m not quite sure why I like this episode so much. In terms of a dalek story, it’s not great but it is a brilliant story in terms of the show’s main characters. The Doctor having to solve a typical Doctor-ish problem whilst trying to save Amy and Rory’s marriage is a wonderful idea. It leads to Rory being at his sarcastic best and some really touching relationship drama. Not to mention the whole Oswin being a dalek thing and a gorgeous soundtrack!

3: School Reunion (2006- Written by Toby Whithouse, Starring David Tennant, Billie Piper and Elisabeth Sladen)

I’ve never liked this episode because it saw the return of Sarah-Jane and K9. That’s like an additional bonus. Sarah-Jane’s return shows us the best of Rose Tyler and her relationship with the Doctor. I love the scene where Rose and Sarah-Jane try and compete with each other and the Doctor having to defend the way he treated Sarah-Jane. I also think the Krillitane are the best aliens created for New Who and would really, really like to see them return.

2: The Day of the Doctor (2013- Written by Steven Moffat, Starring Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt)

How could I not include this celebration of fifty years of Doctor Who? For a start there’s two brilliant Doctors, Smith and Tennant, together. Plus a whole new one, John Hurt, who turned out to make a truly wonderful Doctor. A heart-breaking decision for the Doctor and the pure triumph of him being able to fix his greatest regret. It’s a great celebration, topped by the presence of Tom Baker as the Curator.

1: The Eleventh Hour (2010- Written by Steven Moffat, Starring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan)

Only two episodes in New Who had to completely reinvent the show. The first was Rose, which whilst excellent has some truly awful bits in it (plastic Mickey, that wheely bin). This though sees a hilarious introduction to a new Doctor and a sad one for a new companion. The fairly tale feel of it is really something special- there’s no way this story would have felt the same in a London suburb. Apart from the whole thing of introducing all the new stuff, the standalone plot is superb. I still think the line “the human residence will be incinerated” meaning the whole world rather than a house is so very clever and so sinister. In my eyes, this was an hour of perfect Doctor Who.

This list is of course simply my own opinion. I’m quite pleased that I’ve got quite a range of Doctors and surprised that as many as half of my favourites were written by Steven Moffat. I haven’t deliberately left out the Twelfth Doctor but I feel for an episode to be a true favourite it needs time and repeated viewings. It’s always fun to discuss these things so if you agree or, God forbid, disagree with my list then please do let me know with a comment!

Oh, and to celebrate ten years of New Who over on my blog Classic Who Catch Up I am about to start looking at the Ninth Doctor era. Please do take a look!