Specials, Episode 5 | 1 part | First broadcast: 11 April 2009 | Writer: Russell T Davies & Gareth Roberts | Director: James Strong
Cast
- David Tennant as the Doctor
- Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina de Souza
- Lee Evans as Malcolm Taylor
- David Harewood as Captain Erisa Magambo
Summary
A London bus carrying the Doctor, a jewel-thief passenger, and an assortment of commuters passes through a wormhole and finds itself stranded on the sands of an alien desert world under threat from a swarm of ravenous, metallic Swarm creatures. With UNIT scientist Malcolm Taylor working the mathematics from Earth to reopen the wormhole before it collapses, the Doctor must get the bus and its passengers home before the planet’s ancient prophecy of destruction comes due.
Interesting Facts
- The episode was partly filmed on location in Dubai, standing in for the alien desert world, marking one of the series’ more ambitious overseas shoots.
- It introduced UNIT scientific advisor Malcolm Taylor, a character intended as a comic foil who name-drops the Doctor’s forthcoming “song” prophecy.
- The story ends with an ominous prophecy about the Doctor’s “song” ending in four knocks, seeding the arc that would culminate in “The End of Time.”
- This was one of two 2009 specials broadcast outside the Christmas/New Year slot, airing instead over the Easter holiday weekend.
No Responses