Series 1, Episode 13 | First broadcast: 18 June 2005 | Writer: Russell T Davies | Director: Joe Ahearne
Cast
- Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor
- Billie Piper as Rose Tyler
- John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness
- Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler
- Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith
- Jo Joyner as Lynda Moss
- Paterson Joseph as Rodrick
- Anne Robinson as the Anne Droid (voice)
- Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks
- David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor
Summary
With Rose captured by the Dalek fleet and Satellite 5 under direct assault, the Doctor, Jack, and their allies mount a desperate defense of the station against a full-scale Dalek invasion, revealed to be led by the mad, god-like Emperor Dalek, who has rebuilt an army from the cellular remains of humanity itself. To save Rose, the Doctor sends her home to modern-day London in the TARDIS against her will, leaving himself to face the Daleks alongside Jack and the station’s staff. Back on Earth, Rose convinces Jackie and Mickey to help her open the TARDIS console and looks into the time vortex itself, gaining god-like power as she returns to save the Doctor, wipe out the Dalek fleet, and resurrect Jack, an act that ultimately proves fatal to the Doctor’s body, triggering his regeneration into a new form at the episode’s close.
Interesting Facts
- This episode concludes Series 1 and marks Christopher Eccleston’s final regular appearance as the Ninth Doctor.
- Its closing moments reveal David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor for the first time, in a regeneration sequence completed in the following Christmas special, “The Christmas Invasion.”
- The episode marks the apparent death of Captain Jack Harkness, who is brought back to life by Rose using the power of the time vortex, an act later revealed to have made him effectively immortal, directly setting up his role in Torchwood.
- It was the first time an “Emperor Dalek” had appeared on television, having previously existed only in Doctor Who’s expanded print and audio fiction.
- Billie Piper’s performance as the vortex-empowered “Bad Wolf” incarnation of Rose paid off the recurring phrase seeded throughout every episode of the series.
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