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{{ImageLinkTV}} | {{ImageLinkTV}} | ||
{{Infobox Story | {{Infobox Story SMW | ||
|image = Wedding of river song main img.jpg | |image = Wedding of river song main img.jpg | ||
|series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]] | |series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]] | ||
|story number = 224 | |story number = 224 | ||
|season number = Series 6 (Doctor Who) | |season number = Series 6 (Doctor Who 2005) | ||
|series episode number = 13 | |series episode number = 13 | ||
|doctor = Eleventh Doctor | |doctor = Eleventh Doctor | ||
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|enemy = [[Silent]]s | |enemy = [[Silent]]s | ||
|setting = [[River Song's World|Alternate Earth]], [[22 April]] [[2011]] | |setting = [[River Song's World|Alternate Earth]], [[22 April]] [[2011]] | ||
|writer = | |writer = Steven Moffat | ||
|director = [[Jeremy Webb]] | |director = [[Jeremy Webb]] | ||
|producer = [[Marcus Wilson]] | |producer = [[Marcus Wilson]] | ||
|broadcast date = | |broadcast date = 1 October 2011 | ||
|network = | |network = BBC One | ||
|format = 1×45 minute episode | |format = 1×45 minute episode | ||
|production code = 2.13 | |production code = 2.13 | ||
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|bts3 = Mark Gatiss falls into a pit of skulls the stunt - Doctor Who Confidential - Series 6 - BBC Three | |bts3 = Mark Gatiss falls into a pit of skulls the stunt - Doctor Who Confidential - Series 6 - BBC Three | ||
|thwr=32|thwr2=161|thwr3=183}} | |thwr=32|thwr2=161|thwr3=183}} | ||
'''''The Wedding of River Song''''' was the thirteenth and final episode of [[Series 6 (Doctor Who)|series 6]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | '''''The Wedding of River Song''''' was the thirteenth and final episode of [[Series 6 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 6]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. | ||
The episode featured an unusually extreme alteration to the course of history resulting from a change to a [[fixed point]] in time. It also showed how the Doctor survived his supposed death and it concluded a long-running story-arc when the Doctor [[marriage|married]] River Song. However, a new arc arose in its place with a prophetic statement about the Doctor's future battles, which would become a pressing matter in [[Series 7 (Doctor Who)|due time]]. It's also the first time since the first half of [[Series 6 (Doctor Who)|Series 6]] that Amy's pain of losing Melody on [[Demons Run|Demon's Run]] is mentioned, and she takes her anger out on [[Kovarian]] by killing her. | The episode featured an unusually extreme alteration to the course of history resulting from a change to a [[fixed point]] in time. It also showed how the Doctor survived his supposed death and it concluded a long-running story-arc when the Doctor [[marriage|married]] River Song. However, a new arc arose in its place with a prophetic statement about the Doctor's future battles, which would become a pressing matter in [[Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|due time]]. It's also the first time since the first half of [[Series 6 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 6]] that Amy's pain of losing Melody on [[Demons Run|Demon's Run]] is mentioned, and she takes her anger out on [[Kovarian]] by killing her. | ||
This episode was notable for featuring [[Simon Callow]] to briefly reprise his role of [[Charles Dickens]], who was last seen six years prior to this episode in the [[Ninth Doctor]] story, [[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]''. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] stories had up until then remained somewhat detached from the [[Russell T Davies]]-era, introducing a purely new entourage of human and humanoid characters to work with instead of bringing back the old ones. This cameo, as well as stories after this one, effectively broke the practice. | This episode was notable for featuring [[Simon Callow]] to briefly reprise his role of [[Charles Dickens]], who was last seen six years prior to this episode in the [[Ninth Doctor]] story, [[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]''. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] stories had up until then remained somewhat detached from the [[Russell T Davies]]-era, introducing a purely new entourage of human and humanoid characters to work with instead of bringing back the old ones. This cameo, as well as stories after this one, effectively broke the practice. | ||
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With the ''Teselecta''<nowiki/>'s information, the Doctor tracks down [[Gantok]]. He challenges Gantok to a game of [[Live Chess|live chess]], an illegal game that has electricity run through the pieces that increases with each move. The Doctor corners Gantok, with the queen being his only legal move; however, the voltage is too much, even with the protective glove he wears. Gantok asks the Doctor to concede in exchange for a favour; though fearful of retribution from the Silence, Gantok agrees to take the Doctor to [[Dorium Maldovar]], who can answer the Doctor's questions. Gantok brings the Doctor to the [[Seventh Transept]], where the Headless Monks keep their heads. The richest have their heads preserved in boxes, which shocks the Doctor upon finding Dorium's, which sneezes. Gantok then tries to kill the Doctor in revenge for being beaten at chess; however, he falls into a trapdoor that drops him into a pile of ravenous skulls. | With the ''Teselecta''<nowiki/>'s information, the Doctor tracks down [[Gantok]]. He challenges Gantok to a game of [[Live Chess|live chess]], an illegal game that has electricity run through the pieces that increases with each move. The Doctor corners Gantok, with the queen being his only legal move; however, the voltage is too much, even with the protective glove he wears. Gantok asks the Doctor to concede in exchange for a favour; though fearful of retribution from the Silence, Gantok agrees to take the Doctor to [[Dorium Maldovar]], who can answer the Doctor's questions. Gantok brings the Doctor to the [[Seventh Transept]], where the Headless Monks keep their heads. The richest have their heads preserved in boxes, which shocks the Doctor upon finding Dorium's, which sneezes. Gantok then tries to kill the Doctor in revenge for being beaten at chess; however, he falls into a trapdoor that drops him into a pile of ravenous skulls. | ||
The screams awake Dorium, who jokes about his condition. The Doctor asks about the Silence, and why he got stuck being killed at [[Lake Silencio]]; the location was chosen as it was easier to create a [[fixed point]] to ensure that the Doctor died without fail. Dorium insists that if the Doctor lives, on the fields of [[Trenzalore]], [[Siege of Trenzalore|at the fall of the Eleventh]], [[Truth Field|when no creature can speak falsely or fail to answer]], [[ | The screams awake Dorium, who jokes about his condition. The Doctor asks about the Silence, and why he got stuck being killed at [[Lake Silencio]]; the location was chosen as it was easier to create a [[fixed point]] to ensure that the Doctor died without fail. Dorium insists that if the Doctor lives, on the fields of [[Trenzalore]], [[Siege of Trenzalore|at the fall of the Eleventh]], [[Truth Field|when no creature can speak falsely or fail to answer]], [[Aliases of the Doctor#Doctor Who|a question that must never be answered will be asked]]: [[The Question|the first question]], hidden in plain sight. To Dorium's surprise, the Doctor doesn't know the question, despite its significance to him. He asks if his visitor wants to know the question. The Doctor agrees nervously. | ||
Taking Dorium's head with him, the Doctor determines to continue his [[farewell tour]]. However, when he learns his old friend [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]] is dead, his bravado crumbles. He accepts his time has come. He gives the ''Teselecta'' invitations to deliver since it would involve crossing his own timeline, which is a bad idea. He goes to Lake Silencio with [[Amy Pond]], [[Rory Williams]] and [[River Song]], where they drink a bottle of [[wine]] [[Napoléon Bonaparte|Napoleon]] threw at him. An [[The Impossible Astronaut|impossible astronaut]] rises from the lake and he goes to meet it; as before, he orders his companions to stay back and not interfere no matter what they see. The astronaut's visor lifts to reveal River Song, trapped in the suit by [[the Silence]]. She has no control over the suit as it prepares to kill the Doctor. He explains she won't remember murdering him and will serve time for a crime she doesn't remember and committed against her will. He forgives her unconditionally, shutting his eyes as her arm rises to deliver the three deadly blows. | Taking Dorium's head with him, the Doctor determines to continue his [[farewell tour]]. However, when he learns his old friend [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]] is dead, his bravado crumbles. He accepts his time has come. He gives the ''Teselecta'' invitations to deliver since it would involve crossing his own timeline, which is a bad idea. He goes to Lake Silencio with [[Amy Pond]], [[Rory Williams]] and [[River Song]], where they drink a bottle of [[wine]] [[Napoléon Bonaparte|Napoleon]] threw at him. An [[The Impossible Astronaut|impossible astronaut]] rises from the lake and he goes to meet it; as before, he orders his companions to stay back and not interfere no matter what they see. The astronaut's visor lifts to reveal River Song, trapped in the suit by [[the Silence]]. She has no control over the suit as it prepares to kill the Doctor. He explains she won't remember murdering him and will serve time for a crime she doesn't remember and committed against her will. He forgives her unconditionally, shutting his eyes as her arm rises to deliver the three deadly blows. | ||
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[[File:Area 52.jpg|thumb|left|The train arrives at "Area 52."]] | [[File:Area 52.jpg|thumb|left|The train arrives at "Area 52."]] | ||
The Doctor awakens in Amy's office on a train; he tries reasoning with her, and make Amy remember the proper timeline. However, he stops once he sees that the walls of the office are lined with drawings of their adventures. Thanks to the [[time | The Doctor awakens in Amy's office on a train; he tries reasoning with her, and make Amy remember the proper timeline. However, he stops once he sees that the walls of the office are lined with drawings of their adventures. Thanks to the [[time rift]] which Amy grew up next to, she can [[history-proofing|things that never happened]]; however, she doesn't recall that Captain Williams, a soldier in her force, is Rory. The train is bound for the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]] - [[Area 52]]. Amy wonders if things can stay like they are, but the Doctor tells her that this mess on Earth will spread to the rest of the cosmos until all of reality will fall apart. | ||
In Area 52, the Doctor and Amy walk past more than 100 captured Silents; he is given an eyepatch, which is explained as an external memory storage system to remember the Silents. They arrive in the King's Chamber, where River awaits them. [[Madame Kovarian|Kovarian]] is a prisoner, tied to a chair, annoyed at how the Doctor continues to live. "Did my best, dear; I showed up. You just can't get good psychopaths these days." River taunts Kovarian, telling her it was a big mistake to kidnap and raise a girl into a perfect psychopath and introducing her to the Doctor; who else would River fall in love with? | In Area 52, the Doctor and Amy walk past more than 100 captured Silents; he is given an eyepatch, which is explained as an external memory storage system to remember the Silents. They arrive in the King's Chamber, where River awaits them. [[Madame Kovarian|Kovarian]] is a prisoner, tied to a chair, annoyed at how the Doctor continues to live. "Did my best, dear; I showed up. You just can't get good psychopaths these days." River taunts Kovarian, telling her it was a big mistake to kidnap and raise a girl into a perfect psychopath and introducing her to the Doctor; who else would River fall in love with? | ||
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They kiss and time moves again. River shoots the Doctor thrice, preventing his [[regeneration]]. He dies. The distorted timeline vanishes. | They kiss and time moves again. River shoots the Doctor thrice, preventing his [[regeneration]]. He dies. The distorted timeline vanishes. | ||
Sometime later, River, fresh from the crash of the ''[[Byzantium ( | Sometime later, River, fresh from the crash of the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'', arrives at her mother's home to split a bottle of wine. Amy wonders what the events in the aborted, frozen timeline say about her, particularly her murder of Kovarian. She needs to talk about her guilt with the Doctor, but he is dead. River disagrees. Amy notes that her daughter is still having adventures with him in the centuries before his death, but River tells her a secret which she probably shouldn't. As Rory joins his wife and daughter, they dance for joy until Amy realises to her horror she is the Doctor's [[mother-in-law]].[[File:Doctors_plan_revealed.jpg|thumb|The Doctor reveals his plan.]] | ||
A [[Headless monks|monk]] carries Dorium's head back to the Seventh Transept. Dorium recognises the Doctor and asks how he escaped. Discarding his disguise, the Doctor explains that he asked for some help from the ''Teselecta ''crew; he had it disguise itself as him while he and the TARDIS were safely inside of it. Simply, he was at Lake Silencio but had someone else take his place. | A [[Headless monks|monk]] carries Dorium's head back to the Seventh Transept. Dorium recognises the Doctor and asks how he escaped. Discarding his disguise, the Doctor explains that he asked for some help from the ''Teselecta ''crew; he had it disguise itself as him while he and the TARDIS were safely inside of it. Simply, he was at Lake Silencio but had someone else take his place. | ||
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* This episode pays tribute to [[Nicholas Courtney]], who died in February 2011. The Doctor learns his character, [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]], died peacefully in his sleep, fulfilling the prophecy made by the [[Seventh Doctor]] in the 1989 episode ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]''. The episode also contains scenes in which "everybody was wearing an eyepatch"; this is a reference to an anecdote Courtney frequently recounted at ''Doctor Who'' fan events, about an incident while recording of the 1970 serial ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'' ([[DWMSE 31]]). | * This episode pays tribute to [[Nicholas Courtney]], who died in February 2011. The Doctor learns his character, [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]], died peacefully in his sleep, fulfilling the prophecy made by the [[Seventh Doctor]] in the 1989 episode ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]''. The episode also contains scenes in which "everybody was wearing an eyepatch"; this is a reference to an anecdote Courtney frequently recounted at ''Doctor Who'' fan events, about an incident while recording of the 1970 serial ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'' ([[DWMSE 31]]). | ||
** In the serial Courtney played an evil, alternate universe version of the Brigadier who wore an eyepatch. During filming he began with his chair turned away from the cameras and spun it around to reveal his character. When Courtney spun the chair around, all of the cast and crew were also wearing eye patches but he managed to continue with the scene as if nothing was wrong. | ** In the serial Courtney played an evil, alternate universe version of the Brigadier who wore an eyepatch. During filming he began with his chair turned away from the cameras and spun it around to reveal his character. When Courtney spun the chair around, all of the cast and crew were also wearing eye patches but he managed to continue with the scene as if nothing was wrong. | ||
** Furthermore, Amy says to the Doctor "We'll be in Cairo soon", Cairo being Courtney's place of birth. | |||
* A [[Prequel (The Wedding of River Song)|prequel]] to this episode was released online.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/videos/p00kn2y6</ref> | * A [[Prequel (The Wedding of River Song)|prequel]] to this episode was released online.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/videos/p00kn2y6</ref> | ||
* [[Meredith Vieira]], co-host of the American morning news/chat programme ''Today'', filmed her cameo during a visit to the Upper Boat Studios as part of a profile of ''Doctor Who'' produced for {{wi|Today ( | * [[Meredith Vieira]], co-host of the American morning news/chat programme ''Today'', filmed her cameo during a visit to the Upper Boat Studios as part of a profile of ''Doctor Who'' produced for {{wi|Today (American TV program)|Today}}. The profile aired on 9 May 2011, contained several minor spoilers for this episode. It revealed the cameo appearance by [[Richard Hope]] as [[Malohkeh]] and the return of [[Ian McNeice]] as [[Winston Churchill]]. Appearances by several [[Cybermen]] served as a "false flag" spoiler suggesting they might also appear in the episode. They did not. | ||
* This is the first series finale of the revived series not to be a multi-part episode. In fact, it is the first series finale ever to only be one episode, though it can be seen to be completing the multi-part story started in [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]''. It was also the first-series finale of the revival series not to feature a "classic series" adversary as the main antagonist, even though it featured a cameo of a [[Dalek]]. | * This is the first series finale of the revived series not to be a multi-part episode. In fact, it is the first series finale ever to only be one episode, though it can be seen to be completing the multi-part story started in [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]''. It was also the first-series finale of the revival series not to feature a "classic series" adversary as the main antagonist, even though it featured a cameo of a [[Dalek]]. | ||
* In [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'' the versions of the Doctor give their ages as 909 and 1103. The Doctor has apparently lived for almost two hundred years between these two episodes. Writer [[Gareth Roberts]] indicated in an interview that this is indeed two hundred years after ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]'' for the Doctor and he spent these years "waving" at Amy and Rory through history books. | * In [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'' the versions of the Doctor give their ages as 909 and 1103. The Doctor has apparently lived for almost two hundred years between these two episodes. Writer [[Gareth Roberts]] indicated in an interview that this is indeed two hundred years after ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]'' for the Doctor and he spent these years "waving" at Amy and Rory through history books. | ||
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* This is the first series finale of the revived series in which the final scene is set outside [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. | * This is the first series finale of the revived series in which the final scene is set outside [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. | ||
* This is the first and only time the Doctor wears his green, double-breasted moleskin coat in an odd-numbered episode. | * This is the first and only time the Doctor wears his green, double-breasted moleskin coat in an odd-numbered episode. | ||
* [[Steven Moffat]] described the episode as "a big roller coaster ride of ''Doctor Who'' madness". | |||
* "Live Chess", came because [[Steven Moffat]] wanted to make chess — which he called "one of the most boring games in the world" — into a dangerous spectator sport. | |||
* The Dalek cameo was the culmination of a deliberate wind-up on [[Steven Moffat]]'s part. Although he believed that the Daleks were an essential part of ''Doctor Who'' and should appear on a regular basis, he had been teasing the British press that they were being “rested” for season six. All the same, Moffat's decision to include a Dalek in the finale came on the spur of the moment, and was not by design. | |||
* Amy's confrontation with Madame Kovarian, a scene which shows what she might have been like had she not met the Doctor, was a late addition to the script. | |||
* The stopping of time at 5.02pm was prompted by what was intended to be a red herring in a list of predictions found in ''Doctor Who: The Brilliant Book 2011'', edited by [[Clayton Hickman]]. | |||
* [[Meredith Vieira]] recorded her report of Churchill's return to the Buckingham Senate in front of a [[Chroma key|green screen]] while filming a segment for ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_(American_TV_program) The Today Show]'''s "Anchors Abroad" segment covering the wedding of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William,_Prince_of_Wales Prince William] to [[Kate Middleton]]. | |||
* Unusually, filming began months before [[Steven Moffat]] tackled the script. As his plans for the season coalesced, Moffat knew of certain developments which would have to take place in the finale, and so he wrote a few pages of script back in the autumn of 2010, which became part of [[Toby Haynes]]' shooting schedule while recording material for ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]/[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', in the United States. | |||
* The episode comprised Block Nine of season six. | |||
* The first material to be filmed was the scenes in the ''Teselecta,'' which were filmed during the recording of ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'', the other story to feature the Justice Department Vehicle. | |||
* [[Mark Gatiss]] was credited in this episode under the pseudonym "Rondo Haxton", a homage to the American horror actor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rondo_Hatton Rondo Hatton] on whom Gantok's look was based; Gatiss underwent prosthetics to play the part. | |||
* The cast found working with the eye patches strange as they had to act with one eye; [[Alex Kingston]] remarked that it made her "slightly dizzy". | |||
* [[Karen Gillan]] was allowed to fire a specially-made machine gun used for films. | |||
* The script called for an ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' style tunnel for the Headless Monks' chamber, but as that kind of location was not available in Cardiff a set was built instead. | |||
* The skulls were hand-crafted and required a lot of preparation, so it was one of the first things started for the episode's production. | |||
* To represent the malfunctioning Dalek, the white Paradigm casing introduced in ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'' was heavily distressed. With the blue and orange Paradigm Daleks having been effectively destroyed when they were repurposed as the stone Daleks of ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'', this meant that only the red and yellow versions remained intact. As it would transpire, however, neither would ever be used again on-screen; this would mark the last use of an original Paradigm casing in a featured role. | |||
* Dubbing was required to introduce the term “eye drive” for the devices originally called “data cores”, when it became clear that viewers might not understand that this was referring to the eyepatches. | |||
=== Ratings === | === Ratings === | ||
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* The Doctor encounters the ''[[Teselecta]]'' again, and its [[Carter (Let's Kill Hitler)|captain]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'') | * The Doctor encounters the ''[[Teselecta]]'' again, and its [[Carter (Let's Kill Hitler)|captain]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'') | ||
* The Doctor again sports a beard. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]])'' | * The Doctor again sports a beard. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]])'' | ||
* When talking to Amy after the timeline has been restored, River mentions climbing out of the ''[[Byzantium ( | * When talking to Amy after the timeline has been restored, River mentions climbing out of the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]''. She is still in her combat fatigues and has just seen a younger Amy who had no idea as to River's identity. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'' / ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]]'') | ||
* Amy is partially protected from some kind of temporal changes by her long-term exposure to [[The Cracks|the cracks]] in the universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') | * Amy is partially protected from some kind of temporal changes by her long-term exposure to [[The Cracks|the cracks]] in the universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') | ||
* When River says to the Doctor that time can be rewritten, he replies "Don't you dare." This is what River says to the [[Tenth Doctor]] in a similar situation ([[TV]]:'' [[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'') and echoes the sentiment of the [[First Doctor]] when trying to stop [[Barbara Wright]] interfering in [[Aztec]] history. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') | * When River says to the Doctor that time can be rewritten, he replies "Don't you dare." This is what River says to the [[Tenth Doctor]] in a similar situation ([[TV]]:'' [[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'') and echoes the sentiment of the [[First Doctor]] when trying to stop [[Barbara Wright]] interfering in [[Aztec]] history. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'') | ||