Series 2, Episode 7 | 1 part | First broadcast: 27 May 2006 | Writer: Mark Gatiss | Director: Euros Lyn
Cast
- David Tennant as the Doctor
- Billie Piper as Rose Tyler
- Maureen Lipman as the Wire
- Rory Jennings as Tommy Connolly
Summary
Arriving in 1953 London on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the Doctor and Rose investigate a spate of mysterious disappearances in which victims’ faces are wiped blank, their consciousness seemingly stolen. The culprit proves to be the Wire, a malevolent alien entity broadcasting itself through television sets to feed on the minds of viewers, and the Doctor must stop it before it can use the mass coronation broadcast to harvest millions of faces at once.
Interesting Facts
- The story is set against the backdrop of the real 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the first major events broadcast on television in Britain.
- Maureen Lipman voices the villainous Wire, an alien intelligence trapped within television transmissions after being sentenced by her own people.
- The episode explores 1950s social themes, including domestic abuse and post-war family tension, through the character of Mr Connolly.
- Writer Mark Gatiss also appears elsewhere in the Doctor Who franchise as an actor, though this episode marks one of his notable writing contributions to the revived series.
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