The Stolen Earth

201b – "The Stolen Earth"
Doctor Who episode
File:The Stolen Earth - Shadow Planets.png The Doctor and Donna investigate the missing planets at the Shadow Proclamation.
Cast
Doctor David Tennant (Tenth Doctor)
Companion Catherine Tate (Donna Noble)
Others Penelope Wilton – Harriet Jones Gareth David-Lloyd – Ianto Jones Eve Myles – Gwen Cooper Thomas Knight – Luke Smith Bernard Cribbins – Wilfred Mott Jacqueline King – Sylvia Noble Adjoa Andoh – Francine Jones Julian Bleach – Davros Michael Brandon – General Sanchez Andrea Harris – Suzanne Lachele Carl – Trinity Wells Richard Dawkins – Himself Paul O'Grady – Himself Marcus Cunningham – Drunk Man Jason Mohammad – Newsreader Paul Kasey – Judoon Kelly Hunter – Shadow Architect Amy Beth Hayes – Albino Servant Gary Milner – Scared Man Nicholas Briggs – Dalek voices Alexander Armstrong – Mr Smith
Production
Directed by	Graeme Harper
Written by	Russell T. Davies
Script editor	Lindsey Alford
Produced by	Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s)	Russell T. Davies Julie Gardner
Production code	4.12
Series	Series 4
Running time	45 mins
First broadcast	28 June 2008
Chronology
← Preceded by "Turn Left" Followed by → "Journey's End"

"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth and penultimate episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 June 2008 at 7:10pm. The title was withheld until two weeks before broadcast, as "it gives away too much." It is the second episode of the three-part finale.

The episode features the return of many past characters, including five companions and the recurring villain Davros, his first TV appearance since the 1988 serial Remembrance of the Daleks. There are also several crossover elements from Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, with both characters and locations from these series featuring.

Plot

Synopsis

The Doctor and Donna Noble arrive on Earth in the TARDIS immediately following the events of "Turn Left". They re-enter the TARDIS after finding nothing wrong, to search for any possible threats to the universe. Moments later the Earth, along with twenty-six other planets, is teleported to an unknown location. The Doctor turns to the Shadow Proclamation, a universal police force manned by Judoon, for help. Together, they determine that the missing planets, when placed in the same region of space, optimise their orbits like cogs in a giant machine for some unknown purpose. While searching for warning signs that could have preceded the teleport, Donna mentions the disappearance of the bees; the Doctor explains that some bees are actually aliens, and must have fled the Earth after detecting a transmat signal on the tandoka frequencies they use to communicate. This leads them to the edge of the Medusa Cascade, a rift in time and space near a gas nebula. However, it is empty, and without further information the path to Earth is hidden from them.

On Earth, a fleet of Dalek saucers descends upon the planet, obliterating all resistance in their path. Once the population is subdued, they begin rounding up humans. The Daleks are commanded by a red Supreme Dalek, which is confident that the Doctor cannot track them. However, another voice warns the Supreme Dalek about its pride, and reminds him that Dalek Caan, predicts that the Doctor will come, citing "Dalek Caan speaks only the truth". Caan, now insane, predicts "everlasting death for the most faithful companion."

Martha Jones, working with UNIT in New York City, is given the "Osterhagen Key" and told to escape using Project Indigo, an experimental teleportation device created from Sontaran technology. She safely arrives back at her home in England. The members of Torchwood — Captain Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, and Gwen Cooper — try to work out ways to contact the Doctor, as well as Sarah Jane Smith and her son Luke. Amid the chaos, Rose Tyler appears and meets up with Donna's family, Wilfred and Sylvia, keeping them safe as the Daleks round up the human population. They are all contacted by former Prime Minister Harriet Jones, using the sub-wave network, a sentient piece of software that uses an untraceable sub-wave signal to contact all those who know the Doctor (the "children of time", as the Daleks refer to them). Rose, though able to watch the transmission, cannot join in because she has no webcam. When asked about the Osterhagen Key, Harriet dismisses its use, though she refuses to explain why. She decides the best plan is to amplify the signal of Martha's superphone through the sub-wave signal, aided by the Cardiff Rift and Mr Smith. Though this will reveal Harriet's position to the Daleks, she willingly sacrifices her life, handing over control of the signal to Torchwood Three at the last moment.

The amplified signal allows the Doctor to find the planets, which are one second out of phase with the rest of the universe. He taps into the sub-wave network and learns further details of the situation. However, the signal is interrupted by another voice; Davros, the creator of the Daleks. The Doctor claims that he saw (and tried to save him from) his death in the first engagement of the Time War, but Davros reveals that he was saved from the Time War by Dalek Caan, whose emergency temporal shift broke through the time-locked barrier on the War, albeit at the cost of his sanity.

Davros then reveals his own mutilated body — much of the flesh of his chest is gone, exposing his internal organs — and reveals that he created his new Dalek army from cells of his own body. The Doctor breaks communication and lands on Earth to reunite with his friends. Rose and Jack both use teleportation devices to reach the Doctor's location, while Sarah Jane drives there by car. Rose reaches him first. As they rush to embrace each other, the Doctor is shot by a lone Dalek, which is subsequently destroyed by Jack. Rose, Jack, and Donna carry the Doctor back to the TARDIS. Both Jack and Rose understand that the Doctor will soon regenerate, and keep Donna from trying to help. The episode ends in a cliffhanger as the Doctor's regeneration begins, while Gwen, Ianto, and Sarah Jane are facing Daleks bent on exterminating them.

Continuity

This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of the Shadow Proclamation, first mentioned in "Rose", and the Medusa Cascade, which was first mentioned in "Last of the Time Lords". Donna mentions that "the bees have disappeared", an occurrence mentioned in "Partners in Crime", "Planet of the Ood", "The Unicorn and the Wasp" and "Turn Left", whilst the events of "Turn Left" as a whole are also referred to when the servant at the Shadow Proclamation mentions to Donna that there was "something on her back". The regeneration effect seen here is the same style used in "The Parting of the Ways" by the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston).

Among the planets that have been stolen are Callufrax Minor, Woman Wept, Clom, Adipose 3, Pyrovilia and the Lost Moon of Poosh; these are mentioned in The Pirate Planet, "Boom Town", "Love & Monsters", "Partners in Crime", "The Fires of Pompeii", and "Midnight" respectively. The latter episode is referred to by Wilfred, who mentions Donna phoning from the diamond planet Midnight. Also mentioned is Mr. Copper, a character who appeared in "Voyage of the Damned", as the inventor of the sub-wave network. The airborne aircraft carrier Valiant, which last appeared in "The Poison Sky", also appears, and is apparently destroyed by the Daleks. The Doctor mentions that someone tried to move the Earth once before, a reference to either The Dalek Invasion of Earth or The Trial of a Time Lord. The gun Captain Jack uses near the end of the episode is the gun he created from the Defabricator, previously seen in "Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways". Also, the device he uses to find the Doctor is his Vortex Manipulator. The Doctor theorises on how the lost planets may have been taken, asking Donna if there were electrical storms or freak weather before she left Earth; these symptoms are the symptoms of an imminent H2O scoop as seen in "Smith and Jones". Pushing something out of sync with the rest of time, as is done with the stolen planets, is also used by the Sontarans to disguise the alien technology in the ATMOS devices in "The Poison Sky". Davros is seen to have a metallic right hand; his real hand was shot off in "Revelation of the Daleks" (1985).

All of the Doctor's companions present to hear it recognise the Daleks' cry of "Exterminate!" in their initial signal. Sarah Jane had encounters with the Daleks in the Third Doctor serial Death to the Daleks and the Fourth Doctor serial Genesis of the Daleks, and met Davros in the latter. Rose encountered Daleks with the Ninth Doctor in "Dalek" and "Bad Wolf"/"The Parting of the Ways" and with the Tenth Doctor in "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday". Jack encountered the Daleks with the Ninth Doctor in "Bad Wolf"/"The Parting of the Ways" and was killed by them before being brought back to life by Rose. Martha encountered the Daleks and Dalek Caan in "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks". Rose recognises Harriet Jones's voice, having met her in "Aliens of London"/"World War Three" and "The Christmas Invasion".

This episode marks the first crossover with the other Doctor Who spin-off series, as well as several mentions of events within those respective series. Sarah Jane's encounter with the Slitheen, seen in The Sarah Jane Adventures stories Revenge of the Slitheen and The Lost Boy, is mentioned by Captain Jack. Similarly, the events of Torchwood episode "Exit Wounds" and the deaths of Torchwood personnel Toshiko Sato and Owen Harper are referenced by Gwen and Ianto in the face of what they feel is imminent death. The Sarah Jane Adventures characters Maria Jackson, Alan Jackson and Clyde Langer and Torchwood characters Rhys Williams and Mary Cooper (Gwen's mother who appeared in "Something Borrowed") are all mentioned.

Production

This episode marks the first appearance of a "starring" caption after the opening credits, listing Penelope Wilton, Adjoa Andoh, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd.

In the audio commentary for this episode, it is mentioned that the Slitheen were originally going to appear at the Shadow Proclamation and voices for them were recorded, but were probably cut due to time. Preview DVDs released to the media before this episode was broadcast did not contain the regeneration scene.

Cast notes

The episode features the return of many actors and characters to the programme. Freema Agyeman reprises her role as Martha Jones for the second time in the series, and John Barrowman and Elisabeth Sladen return as Jack Harkness and Sarah Jane Smith. Unlike in Sladen's last Doctor Who appearance, she receives credit in the opening titles. Adjoa Andoh returns as Francine Jones for the first time since "Last of the Time Lords", while Penelope Wilton reprises the role of Harriet Jones, last seen in "The Christmas Invasion". Julian Bleach assumes the role of Davros, after appearing as the "Ghostmaker" in the Torchwood episode "From Out of the Rain" earlier in 2008.

This episode is also the first fully-fledged crossover between Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, with Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd), Luke Smith (Thomas Knight), and Mr Smith (Alexander Armstrong) all appearing in the parent program for the first time. Eve Myles previously played Gwyneth in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Unquiet Dead".

Lachele Carl reappears as the recurring American newsreader, credited as "Trinity Wells" in series 4 after previously being named "Mal Loup" in an on-line video. Jason Mohammad also reprises his role as the newsreader. Dalek Caan returns in this episode for the first time since "Evolution of the Daleks", along with the Judoon from "Smith and Jones".

Television host Paul O'Grady and biologist Richard Dawkins also appear as themselves in brief scenes, continuing the pattern of celebrity appearances in the penultimate episode of every series since the show's revival in 2005. Dawkins is the husband of actress Lalla Ward, who played the Doctor's companion Romana in the 1970s. O'Grady appears presenting his Channel 4 show The Paul O'Grady Show with his dog, Buster, in front of a live studio audience.

External links

• The Stolen Earth on Tardis Wiki, the Doctor Who Wiki
• "The Stolen Earth" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
• Template:Brief