Kill the Moon

248 – "Kill the Moon"
Doctor Who episode
File:Kill the moon.jpg Promotional image
Cast
Doctor Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor)
Companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald)
Guest Samuel Anderson – Danny Pink Ellis George – Courtney Woods Hermione Norris – Lundvik Tony Osoba – Duke Phil Nice – Henry Christopher Dane – McKean
Production
Directed by	Paul Wilmshurst
Written by	Peter Harness
Script editor	David P Davis
Produced by	Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Brian Minchin
Music by	Murray Gold
Series	Series 8
Running time	45 minutes
First broadcast	4 October 2014
Chronology
← Preceded by "The Caretaker" Followed by → "Mummy on the Orient Express"

Kill the Moon is the seventh episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Peter Harness, and directed by Paul Wilmshurst. The episode stars Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman, with Hermione Norris guest starring.

Plot

After the events of "The Caretaker", Clara Oswald warns The Doctor that her student, Courtney, is still interested in his TARDIS and is trying to clean up the mess inside it she made last week. As they enter the TARDIS, the Doctor stops Courtney from cleaning and offers to take her and Clara on a trip in the time machine.

They arrive in 2049 on a Space Shuttle filled with nuclear devices on crash course with the Moon. They survive the crash and while the Doctor is curious as to higher-than-expected gravity they are experiencing, the three are met by Captain Lundvik and two other astronauts. After dismissing the Doctor's attempt to call their presence as a school trip, Lundvik explains they are on a suicide mission to blow up the Moon; she explains that years prior, there was a sudden mass high tide, wiping out a significant fraction of humanity and taking out many of Earth's artificial satellites. Mankind abandoned scientific advancement for sake of survival of the species, a decision Lundvik regretted as she was poised to help lead a major space program prior to the disaster. A Mexican colony on the Moon had reported changes in the Moon before Earth lost contact with them, leading scientists to believe the problem existed there. They surmised that by destroying the Moon, they will be able to save humanity from further harm. In private, Clara tries to ask the Doctor about this point in time, knowing that in future events she has witnessed the Moon is still there, but the Doctor says this is a fixed moment in time and he cannot reveal those events or get involved.

The group sets for the Mexican colony, which they find oddly covered in spiderwebs. Lundvik sends one of the crew members to prime the bombs as they explore the colony, though he is attacked on the way back when he investigates an opening on the surface. In the colony, they find the colonists entombed in more spider webs. The Doctor finds readings they had taken, showing seismic activity on the surface, and an increase of the Moon's mass by over 1 billion tons, explaining the sudden tidal shift on Earth. A spider-like creature attacks them, killing Lundvik's other astronaut, but Courtney is able to kill the creature using disinfecting fluid she had brought for the TARDIS earlier. The Doctor realizes these creatures are like germs, and after returning Courtney back to the safety of the TARDIS, leads the group back outside to investigate one of the cracks on the surface. They find thousands more spider-like creatures inside the crack, and the Doctor discovers amniotic fluid nearby. To the others' surprise, the Doctor tells them he will be back and dives into the hole.

Clara and Lundvik witness the Shuttle fall into a crack on the surface, and return to the colony to wait, with Lundvik preparing to set the timer on the nuclear detonators despite Clara's assurance the Doctor will be back. The Doctor appears soon after and brings the TARDIS to the colony, where Courtney is still safe. The Doctor explains that the Moon is really a 100-milion-year-old egg, the creature inside ready to hatch, and the spider-like creatures the equivalent of microbes on the surface of the egg. Lundvik immediately asserts that they should still destroy the Moon and kill the creature as to prevent any possible harm to humanity the creature may cause, but Clara refuses to accept this solution. The Doctor decides that it is not his decision to make and leaves in the TARDIS, abandoning the three of them on the Moon and forcing them to come to a decision within about an hour and half, the time left before the egg hatches.

Clara, Courtney and Lundvik attempt to come to a decision but none of them can make the choice about saving humanity at the cost of sacrificing the life of the creature in the egg. As the spider creatures begin to swarm the surface, Lundvik is able to make contact with Earth, and Clara uses a simultaneous television broadcast to plead to humanity to help them make their choice, by either turning off their lights to destroy the Moon or keeping them on to let the creature live (a scene shown in medias res at the start of the episode). Lundvik then initiates the countdown on the nuclear devices as they wait for Earth's response which they will be able to see on the Moon. The lights on Earth go out, but Clara intervenes and stops the countdown. At the last moment, the Doctor returns, knowing they have decided to allow the creature to live, and rescues them from the Moon as it starts to crumble.

Back on Earth, the four watch as the creature is hatched and flies away, the shell of the Moon harmlessly disintegrating. At Clara's insistence, the Doctor reveals that because of the brief re-interest in what happened with the Moon, humanity would be rekindled to travel to the stars, helping them to spread across the universe, and then assures Lundvik that she will now have a real space program to lead. They then witness a new Moon - a freshly-laid egg by the creature - appear in Earth's orbit. After they return Lundvik and Courtney to their proper time and place, Clara accosts the Doctor about forcing her to make that choice, telling him that if he makes himself a friend of Earth, it is his decision too. She ultimately tells him that she does not want to see him again. After she leaves the TARDIS back at Coal Hill, she is comforted by Danny Pink. She explains to him that she is done with the Doctor but Danny notes that she is really not ready to move on. When asked how he became so wise, we learn that he left the army under circumstances that he refers to as a "really bad day". Later that evening, Clara returns to her flat and looks out onto the Moon.

Continuity

The Doctor uses a yo-yo to test the moon's gravity inside the shuttle. The Fourth Doctor used the same method to test gravity in the Nerva space station in The Ark in Space. According to executive producer Brian Minchin, Capaldi had requested the yo-yo to be similar to the one that Tom Baker had used before.

The Doctor tells Clara that "Earth isn't my home", echoing the Fourth Doctor's stating "The Earth isn't my home, Sarah. I'm a Time Lord. I walk in eternity."

The Doctor claims that Courtney will meet "a fella called Blinovitch." This refers to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect, first mentioned in the Third Doctor story Day of the Daleks.

Production

Writing

The episode was originally written for Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor. An early working title for the episode was "Return to Sarn", however, this was intended to be misleading. While briefing Harness on how to write the script, executive producer Steven Moffat told him to "Hinchcliffe the shit out of it for the first half", meaning, essentially, to make it frightening. This was in reference to Philip Hinchcliffe, who produced Doctor Who from 1974–77, a period known as especially frightening during the classic series. Moffat called the script "intense and emotional". Harness has said that the episode will see a large change for the show. "I still don’t know how people will take it. I’m in this kind of limbo now waiting for people to see it, and I’ve no idea, really I do not know how it is going to go down."

Filming

Filming for the episode took place in Lanzarote, near the Volcán del Cuervo (Raven's Volcano) in Timanfaya National Park. The last episode to be filmed there was 1984's Fifth Doctor serial Planet of Fire. Filming took place on 12–13 May, while the park was closed to visitors, with locals reporting that “they’ve erected a huge marquee, have trailers, toilets and a van.” Filming also took place at the Cardiff Bay Business Centre in Splott and St Illtyd's College in Cardiff on 20 May, and at Aberavon Beach in Port Talbot on 21 May.

Casting

Tony Osoba previously appeared in the classic serials Destiny of the Daleks and Dragonfire.

Broadcast and reception

The overnight viewing figures were estimated at 4.81 million.

Critical reception

"Kill the Moon" was received positively by critics, particularly in respect of the writing, direction and Jenna Coleman's performance. Writing for The Daily Telegraph, Ben Lawrence notes that "Kill the Moon was an excellent example of Doctor Who reaching out to different generations, something it hasn’t always done in recent weeks." He had praise for Coleman and Capaldi, noting that she was terrific and that he added layers of complexity to his character. Lawrence also states that the guests were underdeveloped, but concludes that, "it lacked the clever-cleverness that has marred recent episodes and proved how good Doctor Who can be when it simply tells a story." Dan Martin whilst writing for The Guardian noted that "Clara’s outburst was the next stage in what I have loved about this series most of all. More than ever before, they’re playing out the reality of running off to fight aliens with a time-travelling space detective. And, guess what, this life is not all wine and roses." Martin notes that Coleman has been terrific all series stating that "We no longer need to make note of just how good Jenna is this year; she’s already established herself in pantheon of all-time great companions."

The Independent praised Coleman's performance, stating that she "impressed again with her fury as she held the Doctor to account. This is the grown up assistant the Time Lord needs to keep him in check" and ultimately closed their review by saying "‘Kill the Moon’ was an enclosed space adventure with all the claustrophobia that an episode like this demands". Radio Times also heavily praised the episode, awarding it a perfect 5/5. They also praised Coleman's performance by saying "Coleman expertly conveys Clara’s terrible dilemma – and later her tearful fury at the Doctor’s behaviour". They also praised the episode's writing as "audacious, highly imaginative, and is well matched by Paul Wilmshurst’s supremely eerie, cinematic direction", and closed their review by noting "Portentous dialogue, sharp direction, urgent music and a powerhouse performance from Peter Capaldi make this one of the defining moments of the season". Den of Geek stated that "Doctor Who hits top form with Kill The Moon. And Jenna Coleman has never been better". They also praised Harness' script as "impressive" and said that Wilmshurst "fully understands that slowing things down and making little moments count is the key to crawling under people's skins". They closed their review by saying "The best Doctor Who episodes have something to say, get under your skin, and keep you pretty much gripped until the end credits roll. "Kill The Moon" certainly did that, with us heading for a rewatch as soon as it was done. It has a good science fiction story underneath it, a strong dilemma, and real consequences".

The A.V. Club also reacted incredibly positively to the episode, awarding it a perfect A score praising almost every aspect of the episode, but particularly the focus on character development. They said "'Kill The Moon' is the second time this season that Doctor Who has genuinely surprised me. That fact, above all else, is why tonight’s episode rates as an instant classics" and went on to praise the episode's final scene, saying that "Maybe the whole Moffat era is going to be defined by that final scene in the TARDIS, in which Clara delivers the most blistering rebuke we have ever seen any companion give the Doctor". They ended their review by claiming that "This season is already a return to form, but “Kill The Moon” could help turn it into something truly special".

External links

• "Kill the Moon" at IMDb