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|trailer = Here are all the adventures to look forward to in Season 1! 💞 -DoctorWho | |trailer = Here are all the adventures to look forward to in Season 1! 💞 -DoctorWho | ||
|clip = | |trailer2 = NEXT TIME - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | ||
|clip2 = | |clip = Inside the Remembered TARDIS! - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | ||
|clip3 = | |clip2 = The Doctor Drags Sutekh into the Vortex - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | ||
|bts = | |clip3 = Sutekh is Destroyed in the Vortex - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | ||
|bts = Behind the Scenes - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | |||
|bts2 = Bonnie Langford's Remembered TARDIS Tour - Behind the Scenes - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | |||
|bts3 = The INCREDIBLE actor voicing Doctor Who finale villain Sutekh - Doctor Who: Unleashed - BBC | |||
|bts4 = Genesis Lynea's TARDIS Tour - Behind the Scenes - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | |||
|bts5 = Ruby's Reunion: From Script to Screen - Behind the Scenes - Empire of Death - Doctor Who | |||
}}{{you may|Empire of Death (novel)|Empire of Death|n1=the novel of the same name|n2=Sutekh's Empire of Death}} | }}{{you may|Empire of Death (novel)|Empire of Death|n1=the novel of the same name|n2=Sutekh's Empire of Death}} | ||
'''''Empire of Death''''' was the eighth episode of [[Season 1 (Doctor Who 2023)|Season 1]] of ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]''.<ref name="Empire">{{Cite_web|url=https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1774474235752157656|title=EMPIRE OF DEATH <br />Writer: Russell T Davies <br />Director: Jamie Donoughue <br />#DoctorWho|author=[[Official Doctor Who Twitter|@bbcdoctorwho]]|date of source=2024-03-31|archiveurl=https://archive.ph/516lL|archivedate=2024-05-29}}</ref> It finally resolved the matter of [[Ruby Sunday]]'s [[Louise Miller|parentage]], which had served as a [[story arc]] since {{cs|The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)}}, and featured her initial departure from [[the TARDIS]]. | '''''Empire of Death''''' was the eighth episode of [[Season 1 (Doctor Who 2023)|Season 1]] of ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]''.<ref name="Empire">{{Cite_web|url=https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/1774474235752157656|title=EMPIRE OF DEATH <br />Writer: Russell T Davies <br />Director: Jamie Donoughue <br />#DoctorWho|author=[[Official Doctor Who Twitter|@bbcdoctorwho]]|date of source=2024-03-31|archiveurl=https://archive.ph/516lL|archivedate=2024-05-29}}</ref> It finally resolved the matter of [[Ruby Sunday]]'s [[Louise Miller|parentage]], which had served as a [[story arc]] since {{cs|The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)}}, and featured her initial departure from [[the TARDIS]]. | ||
The return of classic [[1970s]] villain, [[Sutekh]], was fully explained, with it being retroactively established that the God of Death was able to escape his fate of being banished to [[the Void]] by latching onto [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the Doctor's TARDIS]], growing in power into a [[Titan (mythology)|new form]], and projecting a new [[Angel of Death]] - the mysterious women played by recurring actress [[Susan Twist]] - into whatever time and place it landed. | The return of classic [[1970s]] villain, [[Sutekh]], was fully explained, with it being retroactively established that the [[God of Death]] was able to escape his fate of being banished to [[the Void]] by latching onto [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the Doctor's TARDIS]], growing in power into a [[Titan (mythology)|new form]], and projecting a new [[Angel of Death]] - the mysterious women played by recurring actress [[Susan Twist]] - into whatever time and place it landed. | ||
Unexpectedly, the story also revealed the [[Time Window]] projection of the Doctor's TARDIS - first shown in the [[The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)|previous episode]] - to be the [[Remembered TARDIS]], the setting of the spinoff miniseries, ''[[Tales of the TARDIS]]'', which debuted half a year prior. To coincide with this revelation, [[Pyramids of Mars (TotT TV story)|an additional episode of the spinoff]] - bringing its original six episode run up to seven - was broadcast on [[BBC Four]] two days prior, which presented a condensed omnibus edition of Sutekh's original debut story, framed as a story being told by the Doctor to Ruby during the events of this episode. | Unexpectedly, the story also revealed the [[Time Window]] projection of the Doctor's TARDIS - first shown in the [[The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)|previous episode]] - to be the [[Remembered TARDIS]], the setting of the spinoff miniseries, ''[[Tales of the TARDIS]]'', which debuted half a year prior. To coincide with this revelation, [[Pyramids of Mars (TotT TV story)|an additional episode of the spinoff]] - bringing its original six episode run up to seven - was broadcast on [[BBC Four]] two days prior, which presented a condensed [[omnibus]] edition of Sutekh's original debut story, {{cs|Pyramids of Mars (TV story)}}, framed as a story being told by the Doctor to Ruby during the events of this episode. | ||
With most of the season's previously established mysteries solved, the episode ended with one last mystery still remaining; the identity of the Sunday family's mysterious neighbour, [[Flood (The Church on Ruby Road)|Mrs. Flood]], who closed out the episode by ominously informing [[Fourth Wall|the audience]] of the Doctor's story ending in "absolute terror", before declaring "night night" to them. | With most of the season's previously established mysteries solved, the episode ended with one last mystery still remaining; the identity of the [[Sunday family]]'s mysterious neighbour, [[Flood (The Church on Ruby Road)|Mrs. Flood]], who closed out the episode by ominously informing [[Fourth Wall|the audience]] of the Doctor's story ending in "absolute terror", before declaring "night night" to them. | ||
== Synopsis == | == Synopsis == | ||
[[Sutekh]] has won, and spread his gift of death across all the universe. Holed away in a [[Remembered TARDIS]], can the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] and [[Ruby Sunday|Ruby]] find the one thing that vexes the God of Death himself, and save the day? | [[Sutekh]] has won, and spread his [[gift of death]] across all the universe. Holed away in a [[Remembered TARDIS]], can the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] and [[Ruby Sunday|Ruby]] find the one thing that vexes the God of Death himself, and save the day? | ||
== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
[[Fifteenth Doctor|The Doctor]] and [[Melanie Bush|Mel]] warn everyone out of the room as [[Susan Triad]] unleashes [[Sutekh]]'s [[Dust of Death]], fleeing back to [[UNIT HQ, City of London|UNIT HQ]] - [[Harriet Arbinger]] doing the same at UNIT as they fire at Sutekh, desiccating life wherever it touches bit by bit. [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]] and the rest of UNIT fall, a wave of dust crashing over London. As [[Flood (The Church on Ruby Road)|Mrs Flood]] watches the city, she tells [[Cherry Sunday]] to pray, to tell [[God|her Maker]] - "I will come to storm down his gates of gold and seize his kingdom in my true name", before the two dissolve into sand. | |||
The Doctor and Mel enter the [[time window]], meeting [[Ruby Sunday]], the Doctor entering the [[Remembered TARDIS|TARDIS]] he finds there. A TARDIS made of memories, Ruby's memories of the TARDIS and the TARDIS's memories of itself making it real. As this TARDIS stabilises, another [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] appears behind them, a beast curled on top of it, Sutekh with his harbinger. Sutekh explains to the Doctor that he'd been hiding, cloaked around the TARDIS, for years, evolving into godhood. How he learned the Doctor's secrets and laid a trap. How he birthed angels of death in Susan Triad's image wherever they landed using the TARDIS's [[perception filter]], now ready to spread his gift of death throughout all of time and space. But the Doctor doesn't know why Sutekh is monologuing, rather than killing him - only coming to one conclusion. Sutekh is uncertain, Sutekh has doubt. Sutekh snarls at the taunt, and the trio flee into the remembered TARDIS, a patchwork mess of all the Doctor's previous TARDISes, barely able to fly without collapsing, held together with the time window and their memories. | The Doctor and Mel enter the [[time window]], meeting [[Ruby Sunday]], the Doctor entering the [[Remembered TARDIS|TARDIS]] he finds there. A TARDIS made of memories, Ruby's memories of the TARDIS and the TARDIS's memories of itself making it real. As this TARDIS stabilises, another [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] appears behind them, a beast curled on top of it, Sutekh with his harbinger. Sutekh explains to the Doctor that he'd been hiding, cloaked around the TARDIS, for years, evolving into godhood. How he learned the Doctor's secrets and laid a trap. How he birthed angels of death in Susan Triad's image wherever they landed using the TARDIS's [[perception filter]], now ready to spread his gift of death throughout all of time and space. But the Doctor doesn't know why Sutekh is monologuing, rather than killing him - only coming to one conclusion. Sutekh is uncertain, Sutekh has doubt. Sutekh snarls at the taunt, and the trio flee into the remembered TARDIS, a patchwork mess of all the Doctor's previous TARDISes, barely able to fly without collapsing, held together with the time window and their memories. | ||
As all of time and space dies, everywhere the Doctor has ever landed being a place where Sutekh's angels unleash their gift, Sutekh contemplates the one thing that frustrates him, baffles him, still - the secret Ruby carries within her. The Doctor arrives in a desolate land and meets a [[Kind woman (Empire of Death)|woman]]. He takes a [[spoon]] from her, needing metal. He stays with the woman as she dies, returning to the TARDIS, connecting the spoon to the remnants of the time window inside the remembered TARDIS. As the trio ponder why Sutekh has finally gone on the offensive, after waiting for so long, the time window shows them the answer - Sutekh couldn't make sense of [[Louise Miller|Ruby's mother]], a fact which terrified him. As Mel sits, listening, Sutekh's voice begins to infiltrate her thoughts. The time window then suggests how they might find Ruby's mother. In [[2046]] [[Roger ap Gwilliam]] made [[DNA]] testing mandatory for British citizens. | As all of time and space dies, everywhere the Doctor has ever landed being a place where Sutekh's angels unleash their gift, Sutekh contemplates the one thing that frustrates him, baffles him, still - the secret Ruby carries within her. The Doctor arrives in a desolate land and meets a [[Kind woman (Empire of Death)|woman]]. He takes a [[spoon]] from her, needing metal. He stays with the woman as she dies, returning to the TARDIS, connecting the spoon to the remnants of the time window inside the remembered TARDIS. As the trio ponder why Sutekh has finally gone on the offensive, after waiting for so long, the time window shows them the answer - Sutekh couldn't make sense of [[Louise Miller|Ruby's mother]], a fact which terrified him. As Mel sits, listening, Sutekh's voice begins to infiltrate her thoughts. The time window then suggests how they might find Ruby's mother. In [[2046]] [[Roger ap Gwilliam]] made [[DNA]] testing mandatory for [[British]] citizens. | ||
The trio pilot their way to 2046, to the [[Department of Health]]. Sending Mel to keep watch, the Doctor uses the screen from the time window to access the DNA database. The Doctor and Ruby find a name, comparing Ruby's DNA to the database as it [[snow (The Church on Ruby Road)|snow]]s, but Mel crumbles before Sutekh's will, re-entering the room and subduing them. Using the Doctor's TARDIS, Harriet summons the trio before Sutekh. Sutekh toys with the Doctor, tortures him, until Ruby agrees to hand over the screen from the time window that has the name of her mother. As she goes to hand the screen to Sutekh she drops it, shattering the device. | The trio pilot their way to 2046, to the [[Department of Health]]. Sending Mel to keep watch, the Doctor uses the screen from the time window to access the DNA database. The Doctor and Ruby find a name, comparing Ruby's DNA to the database as it [[snow (The Church on Ruby Road)|snow]]s, but Mel crumbles before Sutekh's will, re-entering the room and subduing them. Using the Doctor's TARDIS, Harriet summons the trio before Sutekh. Sutekh toys with the Doctor, tortures him, until Ruby agrees to hand over the screen from the time window that has the name of her mother. As she goes to hand the screen to Sutekh she drops it, shattering the device. | ||
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== Worldbuilding == | == Worldbuilding == | ||
*The [[Kind woman (Empire of Death)|kind woman]] is from [[Agua Centina]], a lush planet turned to dust by the [[death wave]]s. It had at least one [[opera house]]. | *The [[Kind woman (Empire of Death)|kind woman]] is from [[Agua Centina]], a lush planet turned to dust by the [[death wave]]s. It had at least one [[opera house]]. | ||
*[[Sutekh]] is revealed to have been latched onto the TARDIS since the events of ''Pyramids of Mars''. Like [[Rose Tyler]] ''(TV: [[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]), Sutekh was'' exposed to, and obtained [[Bad Wolf (entity)|god-like power]] from, the Time Vortex. River Song and Martha Jones were previously shown to have been altered in some way by exposure to the Time Vortex. | |||
*[[Flood (The Church on Ruby Road)|Mrs Flood]] alludes to plans she has, and refers to [[Cherry Sunday]] as a "little woman". She is last seen standing on a rooftop promising that the Doctor's story will "end in absolute terror". | |||
*The Doctor mentions that his death would be an "extinction event". | |||
*The Doctor reveals a hope to once again reunite with Susan Foreman. | |||
== | == Story notes == | ||
* The title of the episode was revealed on the [[Official Doctor Who Twitter|official ''Doctor Who'' Twitter account]] on [[31 March (releases)|31 March]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]].<ref name="Empire" /> | * The title of the episode was revealed on the [[Official Doctor Who Twitter|official ''Doctor Who'' Twitter account]] on [[31 March (releases)|31 March]] [[2024 (releases)|2024]].<ref name="Empire" /> | ||
* It shares its title with a [[2004]] [[Empire of Death (novel)|novel]] from the [[Past Doctor Adventures]] series. | * It shares its title with a [[2004]] [[Empire of Death (novel)|novel]] from the [[Past Doctor Adventures]] series. | ||
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** The episodes were separated by a 15 minute interval followed by a message from [[Millie Gibson]] thanking the audience for coming. | ** The episodes were separated by a 15 minute interval followed by a message from [[Millie Gibson]] thanking the audience for coming. | ||
* [[Gabriel Woolf]], [[Aneurin Barnard]], [[Amol Rajan]], [[Tachia Newall]], [[Fela Lufadeju]], and [[Faye McKeever]] were omitted from the advance cast list.<ref name="Cast">{{Cite_web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020krd|title=Doctor Who, Season 1, Empire of Death|website name=bbc.co.uk|publisher=[[BBC]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612173403/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020krd|archivedate=2024-06-12}}</ref> | * [[Gabriel Woolf]], [[Aneurin Barnard]], [[Amol Rajan]], [[Tachia Newall]], [[Fela Lufadeju]], and [[Faye McKeever]] were omitted from the advance cast list.<ref name="Cast">{{Cite_web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020krd|title=Doctor Who, Season 1, Empire of Death|website name=bbc.co.uk|publisher=[[BBC]]|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240612173403/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0020krd|archivedate=2024-06-12}}</ref> | ||
* A special episode of Tales of the TARDIS was released the night before this episode aired. It appears to take place during this episode, while the Doctor shows Ruby the events of The Pyramids of Mars on the portable screen. | |||
* Footage taken from {{Cite source|Pyramids of Mars (TV story)}} is edited to replace its depiction of the [[Time Vortex]] with the version introduced in {{Cite source|The Star Beast (TV story)}}. | |||
=== Myths === | === Myths === | ||
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=== Filming locations === | === Filming locations === | ||
* One Central Square, Cardiff | |||
* Principality Stadium, Cardiff | |||
* Barry, Vale of Glamorgan | |||
=== Ratings === | === Ratings === | ||
'' | ''BBC UK overnight ratings: 2.25 million.'' | ||
=== Production errors === | === Production errors === | ||
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{{Section cleanup|Those parentheticals need to be changed into proper BTS-focused sentences. The parentheticals are being phased out Wiki-wide.}} | {{Section cleanup|Those parentheticals need to be changed into proper BTS-focused sentences. The parentheticals are being phased out Wiki-wide.}} | ||
* The Doctor asks how Sutekh survived his apparent death seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Pyramids of Mars (TV story)}} | * The Doctor asks how Sutekh survived his apparent death seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Pyramids of Mars (TV story)}} | ||
* The Remembered TARDIS manifests and is sustained by stories told by Ruby Sunday. | |||
* Mel discovers the Sixth Doctor's ascot and coat. (TV: The Twin Dilemma) | |||
* Like many other objects in the remembered TARDIS, the [[fire extinguisher (The Angels Take Manhattan)|fire extinguisher]] originated from another story, namely [[TV]]: {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}. | * Like many other objects in the remembered TARDIS, the [[fire extinguisher (The Angels Take Manhattan)|fire extinguisher]] originated from another story, namely [[TV]]: {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}. | ||
* The Doctor reminds Mel of the time they met [[Albert Einstein]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'') | * The Doctor reminds Mel of the time they met [[Albert Einstein]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'') | ||
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* The Time Window shows the TARDIS landing on [[Ribos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}}), in [[Rassilon]]'s tomb on [[Gallifrey]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}), on a beach on [[Thoros-Beta]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Mindwarp (TV story)}}), in [[Paradise Towers]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Paradise Towers (TV story)}}), on ancient Earth ([[TV]]: {{cs|City of Death (TV story)}}), [[San Francisco]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}) [[Bad Wolf Bay]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}) [[Cardiff]], above [[Torchwood Three]]'s hub, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}} at the base of the [[Statue of Liberty]], [[New York]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)}}) [[Mercy, Nevada]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|A Town Called Mercy (TV story)}}) | * The Time Window shows the TARDIS landing on [[Ribos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}}), in [[Rassilon]]'s tomb on [[Gallifrey]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}), on a beach on [[Thoros-Beta]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Mindwarp (TV story)}}), in [[Paradise Towers]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Paradise Towers (TV story)}}), on ancient Earth ([[TV]]: {{cs|City of Death (TV story)}}), [[San Francisco]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}) [[Bad Wolf Bay]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}) [[Cardiff]], above [[Torchwood Three]]'s hub, ([[TV]]: {{cs|Utopia (TV story)}} at the base of the [[Statue of Liberty]], [[New York]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)}}) [[Mercy, Nevada]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|A Town Called Mercy (TV story)}}) | ||
* The Doctor observes that [[Venus]] (visit[[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Voyage to Venus (audio story)}}), [[Telos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)}} et al.), [[Karn]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}}), the [[Ood Sphere]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Ood (TV story)}}) and [[Skaro]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)}}, etc.) are dead. Mel is familiar with the [[Dalek]]s; [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Juggernauts (audio story)}} had shown her meeting them on the planet [[Lethe]]. | * The Doctor observes that [[Venus]] (visit[[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Voyage to Venus (audio story)}}), [[Telos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)}} et al.), [[Karn]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Brain of Morbius (TV story)}}), the [[Ood Sphere]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Ood (TV story)}}) and [[Skaro]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)}}, etc.) are dead. Mel is familiar with the [[Dalek]]s; [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Juggernauts (audio story)}} had shown her meeting them on the planet [[Lethe]]. | ||
* The Doctor says that the TARDIS’s [[perception filter]] extends to a distance 66.7 [[metre]]s, which Ruby immediately says is [[73 yards]]. She doesn’t know how she knows that, but 73 yards was the distance the mystery woman kept from Ruby in [[TV]]: {{cs|73 Yards (TV story)}}. | * The Doctor says that the TARDIS’s [[perception filter]] extends to a distance 66.7 [[metre]]s, which Ruby immediately says is [[73 yards]]. She doesn’t know how she knows that, but 73 yards was the distance the mystery woman kept from Ruby in [[TV]]: {{cs|73 Yards (TV story)}}. The Doctor also comments that “Funny things happen at 73 yards. People say that you can see things.” 73 yards was also the distance of the nearest CCTV camera to the church in Ruby Road, as reported by Harriet in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Legend of Ruby Sunday (TV story)}}. | ||
* When monitoring the locations where life has been restored, the Doctor mentions [[Vortis]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Web Planet (TV story)}}), [[Vox (Empire of Death)|Vox]], [[Tigella]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Creature from the Pit (TV story)}}), [[Messaline]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)}}), [[Calufrax]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Pirate Planet (TV story)}}), [[Spiridon]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Daleks (TV story)}}), [[Telos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)}} et al.), [[Shan Shen]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}}), and the [[Ood Sphere]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Ood (TV story)}}). | * When monitoring the locations where life has been restored, the Doctor mentions [[Vortis]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Web Planet (TV story)}}), [[Vox (Empire of Death)|Vox]], [[Tigella]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Creature from the Pit (TV story)}}), [[Messaline]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)}}), [[Calufrax]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Pirate Planet (TV story)}}), [[Spiridon]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Daleks (TV story)}}), [[Telos]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)}} et al.), [[Shan Shen]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Turn Left (TV story)}}), and the [[Ood Sphere]] ([[TV]]: {{cs|Planet of the Ood (TV story)}}). | ||
* Like previous stories of this season, a character breaks the fourth wall, in this case Mrs. Flood. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road, TV: The Devil's Chord) | |||
== Gallery == | == Gallery == | ||