The God Complex

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This article is about the Doctor Who episode. For the mental disorder, see Grandiose delusions.
222 – "The God Complex"
Doctor Who episode
Cast
Others
Production
Directed byNick Hurran
Written byToby Whithouse
Produced byMarcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)
Music byMurray Gold
SeriesSeries 6
Running time50 mins
First broadcast17 September 2011
Chronology
← Preceded by
"The Girl Who Waited" 		Followed by →
"Closing Time"
List of Doctor Who episodes (2005–present)

"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One 17 September 2011. It was written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Nick Hurran.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory (Arthur Darvill) find themselves trapped in what appears to be a 1980s hotel with constantly changing corridors. They meet humans Rita (Amara Karan), Howie (Dimitri Leonidas), Joe (Daniel Pirrie), and the alien Gibbis (David Walliams) who have also appeared in the hotel without any idea how they arrived. The Doctor learns that each hotel room contains the greatest fear of someone who has been in the hotel, and that a minotaur-like creature is feeding off their faith.

Whithouse originally developed the concept of "The God Complex" for the previous series, but due to it being similar to episodes in that series it was pushed back, with Whithouse contributing "The Vampires of Venice" instead. The episode ends with the departure of Amy and Rory, though this was not a permanent leave. "The God Complex" was filmed during the early months of 2011, mainly on sets constructed for the hotel. The episode was seen by 6.77 million viewers in the United Kingdom and received positive to mixed reviews from critics. While the performances in the episode, especially Smith's, were praised, not all critics were impressed with the plot.

Plot

Synopsis

The TARDIS, while travelling to a new planet, arrives in what appears to be a 1980s Earth hotel, but the Doctor recognises it as an alien structure specifically designed to take that appearance. They soon meet a group of four individuals — humans Rita, Howie, Joe, and the alien Gibbis — each of whom had previously been taken from their routine lives to find themselves in the hotel. The four explain that there is a Minotaur-like beast in the hotel that consumes others. It does this by enticing them to enter one of the many rooms in the hotel which contains their greatest fears, upon which they become brainwashed to "praise him" and allow themselves to be taken, their bodies left without any signs of life; many others have experienced this, and photos of them and their fears cover many of the hotel's walls. The hotel would seem inescapable — its doors and windows walled up — and its halls and rooms can change on a whim. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory soon find the TARDIS has also disappeared, and the Doctor warns them from opening any door they are drawn to, for fear of being possessed.

As the Doctor tries to ascertain the situation, Joe, already possessed, has been drawn away from the group and is killed by the beast. Howie soon becomes possessed after entering a room against the Doctor's warnings. The remaining group set up a trap to lure the beast into the hotel's hairdressing salon using Howie's voice, upon which the Doctor questions the trapped creature and learns it is in agony wishing for its end. The Doctor realises the hotel is really a prison for the creature, and the "fears" in each room are harmless illusions. Howie escapes from the group, allowing the beast to escape and chase him down, killing him before the Doctor can save him. While exploring more of the hotel, both Amy and the Doctor are separately lured to look into two specific rooms, facing their own fears. Rita soon follows the fate of Joe and Howie.

The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and Gibbis regroup, and the Doctor surmises that the other three believed that some higher fate controlled their lives. The hotel and its rooms were, by design, meant to challenge their faith by fear to allow the beast to possess them. The Doctor identifies that Gibbis has survived due to the extreme cowardice of his species, while Rory lacks any such faith to be broken. However, the Doctor realises that it is Amy's faith in him that is being challenged; it is her faith that brought them to the hotel in the first place. Amy soon becomes possessed like the others. As the beast comes for Amy, the Doctor and the others grab her and take her to the room she opened previously. Inside, they find the illusion of young Amy, Amelia, still waiting for the return of her "raggedy Doctor" ("The Eleventh Hour"). The Doctor asserts to Amy that he is "not a hero" but "just a mad man with a box" to break her faith in him; her faith broken, the beast outside the door collapses on the floor.

As they watch, the hotel is revealed to be part of a large simulation; the Doctor identifies themselves aboard an automated prison spaceship, and the beast as a relative of the Nimon, a creature that feeds off the faith of others. The ship's automated systems had provided it "food" by bringing aboard creatures who had a strong faith. The beast mutters that "death would be a gift" for the Doctor before it passes away. The Doctor finds his TARDIS nearby, Gibbis asks for a lift home and The Doctor then takes Amy and Rory back to Earth, believing it best for the two to stop travelling with him before they end up getting killed. Gifting them with a new house and car, the Doctor sets off alone in the TARDIS.

Continuity

Several references to past Doctor Who species are displayed throughout the wall of photos of the past victims of the beast, including a Sontaran, a Judoon, a Catkind Sister of Plenitude and a Tritovore ("Planet of the Dead").[1] The Doctor identifies the beast as being from a species that is distantly related to the Nimon, previously a foe in the serial The Horns of Nimon;[2] and the group witnesses two illusions of Weeping Angels, from the episodes "Blink" and "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone". Though the audience is not shown the contents of the room (numbered 11) that the Doctor is lured to open, the sound of the TARDIS' cloister bell can be heard.[3] Young Amelia is shown waiting for her "raggedy Doctor" to return from the episode "The Eleventh Hour".[4] The Doctor, being forced to break Amy's faith in him, echoes a previous event in The Curse of Fenric where the Seventh Doctor is forced to break Ace's faith in him.[5][6]

Production

Writing

The episode was written by Toby Whithouse, who originally planned to write it for the previous series.

Showrunner Steven Moffat originally pitched the episode to Toby Whithouse for the previous series with the idea of a hotel with shifting rooms.[7] However, as production continued, Moffat thought that there were too many instances in which the characters were running through corridors in that series, so Whithouse wrote "The Vampires of Venice" instead and "The God Complex" was pushed to the next series.[8] The idea to have a Minotaur be the monster came from Whithouse's love for Greek mythology.[7] Whithouse was more pleased with "The God Complex" than "School Reunion" and "The Vampires of Venice", his previous Doctor Who scripts, as the tone was darker which he was "more comfortable" writing.[9]

The first line of dialogue Whithouse wrote was the Doctor's translation of the Minotaur's words: "An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift".[10] The Minotaur then tells the Doctor he was not talking about himself, but rather the Doctor. This is foreshadowing of the upcoming event of the Doctor's death, the story arc of the series.[10] Amy and Rory's departure in the episode was only temporary; they return for the series finale, "The Wedding of River Song"[11] and appear briefly at the end of the 2011 Christmas Special.[12] They permanently leave during the seventh series[13] in the fifth episode.[14]

Filming and costumes

The read-through for "The God Complex" took place in February 2011.[10] It was then filmed mainly on hotel sets constructed in the studio.[10] The Doctor, Amy, and Rory's first encounter with a fear in the hotel is the ventriloquist dummies found in Joe's room; Whithouse wanted to include something "big and bold" and noted that there was "something macabre about ventriloquist dummies".[10] Many members of the crew were brought in to operate the dummies, most of them having to lie underneath them on the floor.[10] The actor who portrayed the Minotaur, Spencer Wilding, was six foot seven inches tall.[10] Wilding received a costume fitting in early 2011, after which the suit was dressed up with paint and fur.[10]

David Walliams was asked to guest-star in the episode in an email and he agreed, having been a fan of the show.[10] He had previously appeared in the Fifth Doctor audio drama Phantasmagoria where he played two separate characters.[15] Matt Smith called his co-star "hilarious" and found it hard to take him seriously, as when he was in his prosthetics for the part he resembled a giant mole.[16] The prosthetics took about two hours to apply. Walliams felt the make-up was not limiting to his acting, finding it "quite expressive".[10]

Outside references

The hotel and setting has been compared to Stanley Kubrick's film The Shining, using similar composition such as long corridor shots and odd angles.[17][18][19] Critics also observed that the episode drew inspiration from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, particularly in the concept of rooms (or, in Orwell's case, Room 101) containing each person's deepest fear.[18] Joe also quotes the old English nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons", singing "Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head!".[4]

Broadcast and reception

"The God Complex" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 17 September 2011[20] and on the same date in the United States on BBC America.[21] Overnight ratings showed that 5.2 million viewers watched the episode on BBC One, beaten by direct competitor All-Star Family Fortunes on ITV1. This made Doctor Who third for the night behind The X Factor and Family Fortunes. The episode was ranked number 1 on BBC's iPlayer the day after it aired service and was also popular on social networking site Twitter, where the phrase "Amy and Rory" trended the night it aired.[22] When the final consolidated figures were calculated, an additional 1.57 million time-shifted viewers were added, bringing the total up to 6.77 million. With these figures it beat Family Fortunes, which achieved a consolidated rating of only 5.39 million viewers.[23] The episode also received attention on BBC's online iPlayer, where it placed fourth for the month of September.[24] It was given an Appreciation Index of 86, considered "excellent".[25]

Critical reception

The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern called Whithouse's script "clever and original" and Walliams "endearing" as Gibbis, believing it was another entry into the series' "fabulous" stand-alone episodes.[18] io9's Charlie Jane Anders was also positive, especially of the way the Doctor's character was explored through his overconfidence making other believe in him instead of themselves and praising Smith's performance.[5] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club gave the episode a B+, praising the guest stars and the way the Doctor's character was explored.[17] Neela Debnath, writing for The Independent, also gave a positive review, praising the creepiness, Karan and Leonidas' performances, and the sadness in the ending. However, she was surprised that Amy accepted the Doctor would be leaving her despite her wanting to find her child as seen earlier in the series.[19]

Dan Martin of The Guardian praised the exits of Amy and Rory and highlighted Gillan and Smith's performance, noting how more of his dark side is shown. Of the plot, he stated that it was "funny and thoughtful" but felt "like a runaround bolted on to make way for the ending".[2] Martin later rated it the fifth best episode of the series, though the finale was not included in the list.[26] Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffery wrote that Hurran "excelled" in directing and that the episode worked "incredibly well" on an emotional level. However, he felt it did not succeed as well in terms of plot, citing the "thin explanation" for the happenings.[27] Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph awarded the episode three and a half out of five stars, stating that "the surreal tone to the episode... helped camouflage the fact that the plot made very little sense". However, he praised the cast's "impressive performances", especially Smith's.[28]

Dave Golder of SFX also gave "The God Complex" three and a half out of five stars, questioning some logical aspects but noting that it was "extremely witty, particularly when it comes to David Walliams's cowardly moleman Gibbis". He also did not believe Amy and Rory would be gone for long, especially as the Doctor had placed them in more perilous situations before.[1] IGN's Matt Risely rated the episode 7 out of 10, calling it "a notably wonky episode, both in terms of tone and plot development" that came off as "a confused, slightly ill-fitting hodgepodge of a tale". While he praised Hurran's directing and the performances of Walliams and Karan, he felt the characters were sidelined near the end. Risely noted that "things certainly chugged along with a witty, sparkling vibrancy at least early on", but the tone "lost its way halfway through" culminating in a "hollow and rushed" final scene where he left Amy and Rory.[29]

References

  1. ^ a b Golder, Dave (17 September 2011). "Doctor Who, The God Complex". SFX (TV Review). Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b Martin, Dan (17 September 2011). "Doctor Who: The God Complex – series 32, episode 11". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  3. ^ Le Trout, Queenie (17 September 2011). "Queenie's TV Highlights: The Queen's Palaces, Torchwood and Doctor Who". ATV Today. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. ^ a b "The God Complex — The Fourth Dimension". BBC. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b Anders, Charlie Jane (17 September 2011). "Doctor Who: The Hero Takes A Fall". io9. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  6. ^ Brew, Simon (17 September 2011). "Doctor Who series 6 episode 11 review: The God Complex". Den of Geek. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  7. ^ a b "An Interview With Toby Whithouse". BBC. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  8. ^ Golder, Dave (25 July 2011). "Toby Whithouse on Doctor Who "The God Complex"". SFX. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  9. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (22 April 2011). "'Doctor Who' & 'Being Human': Toby Whithouse Q&A". Digital Spy. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Heartbreak Hotel". Doctor Who Confidential. Episode 11. 17 September 2011. BBC. BBC Three. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Steven Moffat (writer), Jeremy Webb (director), Marcus Wilson (producer) (1 October 2011). "The Wedding of River Song". Doctor Who. Episode 13. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Steven Moffat (writer), Farren Blackburn (director), Marcus Wilson (producer) (25 December 2011). "The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe". Doctor Who. Episode X. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Masters, Tim (15 December 2011). "Doctor Who's Amy and Rory to leave during next series". BBC. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  14. ^ Eames, Tom (24 March 2012). "'Doctor Who' Amy, Rory finale episode to be filmed in New York". Digital Spy. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Doctor Who — Phantasmagoria". Big Finish. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Doctor Who — Matt Smith as the Doctor" (Press release). BBC. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  17. ^ a b Phillips, Keith (17 September 2011). "The God Complex". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  18. ^ a b c Mulkern, Patrick (18 September 2011). "Doctor Who: The God Complex". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  19. ^ a b Debnath, Neela (18 September 2011). "Review of Doctor Who 'The God Complex'". The Independent. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  20. ^ "Network TV BBC Week 38: Saturday 17 September 2011" (Press release). BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  21. ^ "The God Complex". BBC America. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  22. ^ Golder, Dave (18 September 2011). "Doctor Who "The God Complex" Overnight Ratings". SFX. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  23. ^ Golder, Dave (25 September 2011). "Doctor Who "The God Complex" Final Ratings". SFX. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  24. ^ Golder, Dave (5 October 2011). "Wednesday Link-A-Mania". SFX. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  25. ^ "The God Complex — Appreciation Index". The Doctor Who News Page. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
  26. ^ Martin, Dan (30 September 2011). "Doctor Who: which is the best episode of this series?". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  27. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (17 September 2011). "'Doctor Who': 'The God Complex' recap". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  28. ^ Fuller, Gavin (17 September 2011). "Doctor Who: The God Complex, BBC One review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
  29. ^ Risely, Matt (18 September 2011). "Doctor Who: "The God Complex" Review". IGN. Retrieved 30 March 2012.

External links

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