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{{Infobox TV|
{{title dab away}}
story name=The Empty Child|
{{real world}}
image= [[Image:The empty child.jpg|300px]] |
{{ImageLinkTV}}
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[TV stories|TV Stories]] |
{{Infobox Story SMW
number= 27 |
|image                 = The-empty-child.jpg  
doctor=[[Ninth Doctor]] |
|series               = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
companions= [[Rose Tyler]]<br>Captain [[Jack Harkness]] (introduction) |
|season number        = Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)
enemy= [[Empty Child plague|Empty Child]] |
|series episode number = 9
year= [[London]], [[1941]] |
|story number          = 164a
writer= [[Steven Moffat]] |
|doctor               = Ninth Doctor  
director= [[James Hawes]] |
|companions           = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]
producer= [[Phil Collinson]] |
|featuring            = [[Jack Harkness|Jack]]
broadcast date= [[21st May]] [[2005]] |
|enemy                 = [[Empty Child Syndrome|Empty Child]]
format= 1 45-minute episodes |
|setting              = [[London]], [[20 January]] [[1941]]{{Note|In [[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'', [[Yvonne (Everything Changes)|Yvonne]] states that Jack failed to report for duty on the morning of [[21 January]] [[1941]].}}
production code= 169 |
|writer               = Steven Moffat
next story= [[The Doctor Dances]] |
|director             = [[James Hawes]]  
previous story=[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]] | }}
|producer             = [[Phil Collinson]]
|confidential          = Special Effects (CON episode)|Special Effects
|broadcast date       = 21 May 2005
|network              = BBC One
|format               = 1x45 minute episode<br/>Part 1 of 2
|production code       = 1.9
|next                 = The Doctor Dances (TV story)
|prev                  = Father's Day (TV story)
|made prev            = The Long Game (TV story)
|made next            = The Doctor Dances (TV story)
|script                = The Shooting Scripts
|clip                  = "Are You My Mummy?" (HD) The Empty Child Doctor Who
|clip2                = Gas Mask Transformation (HD) The Empty Child Doctor Who
|bts                  = Best chair in the business - Dr Who Confidential - BBC sci-fi
}}{{you may|Empty Child|Jamie (The Empty Child)|n1=the condition|n2=the "patient zero" of the condition}}
'''''The Empty Child''''' was the ninth episode of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 1]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.


{{Quote|Are you my mummy?|The Empty Child}}
It was the first part of a two-part story, and [[writer]] [[Steven Moffat]]'s first episode of ''Doctor Who''. Furthermore, it introduced [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] into the [[DWU]]. The idea of alien interference during the Second World War would be revisited later in the [[Eleventh Doctor]] story ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]''.


==Synopsis==
It's the first of the Revived Series to have a child being responsible for the bizarre goings-on in the episode, due to gaining some kind of extraterrestrial powers. This pattern would be repeated in future stories such as ''[[Fear Her (TV story)|Fear Her]]'' and ''[[Night Terrors (TV story)|Night Terrors]]''.
Chasing a metallic object through the vortex, the [[Ninth Doctor]] and [[Rose Tyler| Rose]] arrive in [[London]] during the [[Blitz]]. There, they find homeless children being terrorized, dead bodies with unexplained marks on their hands, a strange cylinder guarded by the army, and the dashing Captain [[Jack Harkness]].


==Plot==
== Synopsis ==
[[the Doctor's TARDIS| The TARDIS]] chases a [[Chula ambulance| metal cylinder]] because it is [[Mauve| mauve]], universally recognized colour for danger, as opposed to red which to other civilizations is camp. The Doctor and Rose pursue it though space and time, whatever it is it's dangerous and 30 seconds from the center of London.
Chasing a metallic object through the [[Time Vortex]], the [[Ninth Doctor]] and his [[companion]], [[Rose Tyler]], arrive in [[London]] during [[the Blitz]]. While Rose meets "Captain [[Jack Harkness]]", the dashing [[Time Agent]] responsible for bringing the object, the Doctor finds a group of [[homeless]] children terrorised by [[Jamie (The Empty Child)|Jamie]], an "empty" child wearing a gas mask.


The TARDIS materializes in a narrow alley between some brick buildings at night. The Doctor and Rose step out in search of the object; the Doctor notes that they have arrived a couple of weeks to a month after the cylinder's impact.  
== Plot ==
[[The Doctor's TARDIS]] chases a [[Chula ambulance|metal cylinder]] displaying [[mauve alert]], which prompts [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] to ask why they are chasing it. The [[Ninth Doctor]] explains that mauve is the universally recognised colour for danger, and that "red's camp" — only [[human]]s considered red a colour for danger. The Doctor hacks into the flight program of the cylinder and keeps the TARDIS locked on it. However, the cylinder begins jumping [[time track]]s. Coming out of the [[Time Vortex|vortex]], they find the cylinder is thirty seconds from the centre of [[London]].


The Doctor hears music coming from behind a locked door and uses the sonic screwdriver to open it. He steps inside the building, but Rose hears a child calling for its mother. She looks up and sees a young boy wearing a gas mask on the roof.
The TARDIS [[materialise]]s in a narrow alley between some brick buildings at night. The Doctor and Rose step out in search of the object; the Doctor notes they have arrived a couple of weeks to a month after the cylinder's impact — it was jumping time tracks, which made it hard to keep up. He hears music coming from behind a locked door and uses the [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] to open it. He steps inside, but Rose hears a child calling for his mother. She looks up and sees a [[Empty Child|young boy]] wearing a [[gas mask]] on the roof.


The door leads to a makeshift cabaret. After the singer ends her set, the Doctor steps up to the microphone and asks them if any object had fallen from the sky in the last few days.
The door the Doctor enters leads to a makeshift cabaret. After the [[nightclub singer (The Empty Child)|singer]] ends her set, the Doctor steps up to the microphone and asks if any object has fallen from the sky in the last few days. Everyone laughs, and the Doctor finally spots posters showing that it's [[1941]] — the middle of the Blitz — and closes his eyes in embarrassment.


In the meantime, Rose has reached the roof of the building where the young boy is standing on a cargo container. A rope dangles in front of her, and she uses it to climb up, not realizing that it is attached to a barrage balloon above. It rises, taking Rose clean off the roof with it and hanging on for dear life. There, Rose sees bits of the city of London in flames, spotlights sweeping through the sky, the sound of anti-aircraft fire and bombers flying right at her.
In the meantime, Rose has reached the roof of the building where the young boy is standing on a cargo container. A rope dangles in front of her. She uses it to climb up, not realising that it is attached to a [[barrage balloon]] above. It rises, taking Rose with it, clean off the roof and hanging on for dear life. Rose sees bits of the city of London in flames, spotlights sweeping through the sky, the sound of anti-aircraft fire and bombers flying right at her.


The Doctor returns to where the TARDIS landed, and sees no sign of Rose. He is puzzled when the exterior telephone of the TARDIS's [[Police box]] exterior rings. He prepares to examine it with the [[sonic screwdriver]] when a young woman appears and tells him not to answer it. The Doctor asks her how the telephone can even be ringing, but when he turns back, she has disappeared. He picks up the earpiece, but all that comes through is a child's voice asking, "Mummy?" several times before it falls dead again. Hearing clattering down the alley, the Doctor looks over a wall into a residential garden and sees a woman ushering family into an air-raid shelter. He also spots the young woman he saw moments before entering the house. Once inside, she begins to raid the cupboards for tinned food.
[[File:The_Empty_Child_076.JPG|thumb|left|The Doctor finds that the dummy [[TARDIS telephone|police box telephone]] is ringing.]]
The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and sees no sign of Rose. Petting [[Cat (The Empty Child)|a stray cat]], he rather sarcastically remarks that one day, he'll get a [[companion]] that actually does what he says. He pulls up short when the [[TARDIS telephone|exterior telephone of the TARDIS]] rings; it's not a real [[phone]]. He prepares to examine it with the sonic screwdriver when a [[Nancy (The Empty Child)|young woman]] appears and tells him not to answer it. The Doctor asks her how the telephone can be ringing, but when he turns back she has disappeared. He picks up the earpiece, but all that comes through is a child's voice asking, "Mummy? Are you my mummy?" several times before the phone falls dead again. Hearing clattering down the alley, the Doctor looks over a wall into a residential garden and sees [[Lloyd (The Empty Child)|a woman]] ushering her family into an air-raid shelter. He also spots the young woman he saw moments before entering the house. Once inside, she begins to raid the cupboards for tinned food.


Rose is still hanging by a rope over a blazing London. From a balcony below, a man dressed in RAF uniform peers through binoculars up at her, but they are binoculars of an advanced technological design. A [[British Army]] officer addresses him as "Jack" and asks if he is going to the shelter, but Jack is distracted by the sight of Rose's bottom in his sights. Jack grins at the officer and, speaking with an American accent, says that he has to meet a girl, but adds as he leaves that the officer has an excellent bottom as well.
Rose is still hanging by a rope over a blazing London. From a balcony below, a man dressed in RAF uniform peers through binoculars up at her. A [[British Army]] officer addresses him as "Jack" and asks if he is going to the shelter, but Jack is distracted by the sight of Rose's bottom in his sights. Jack mutters, "Excellent bottom", and grins at the officer, before saying that he has to meet a girl, "but you've got an excellent bottom too."


Rose loses her grip on the rope and falls, shrieking before she finds her descent halted by a beam. Jack's voice tells her to deactivate her cell phone and to keep her limbs inside the light field as she slides rapidly down the beam into Jack's ship and his arms. Rose stares at the handsome Jack, managing to get out a couple of "hellos" before she faints.
Rose loses her grip on the rope and falls, screaming, until she finds her descent halted by a blue beam. Jack's voice tells her to deactivate her [[mobile phone]] and to keep her limbs inside the light field as she slides rapidly down the beam into Jack's ship and his arms. Rose stares at the handsome Jack and gets out a couple of "hellos" before she faints.


Back at the house, the young woman has been joined by several other children, and they start to consume the dinner that has been left on the table. The Doctor appears suddenly and deduces that all of them are homeless, but notes that as it is [[1941]], the children should have been evacuated to the country long ago. The children say that they were, but they returned to London for various reasons. [[Nancy]], the young woman who told him not to answer the phone earlier, finds them food this way, by waiting for families to hide in shelters before stealing their food.
Back at the house, the young woman has been joined by other children. They start to eat the dinner left on the [[table]]. The Doctor appears suddenly and [[deduce]]s that all of them are homeless, but notes that, as it is 1941, they should have been evacuated to the country long ago. The children say that they were, but they returned to London for various reasons. Nancy, the young woman who told him not to answer the phone earlier, finds them food this way, waiting for families to hide in shelters before stealing their food. The Doctor thinks it a great idea, but isn't sure if it's "Marxism in action or a [[West End]] musical".


The Doctor asks the children if they have seen the cylinder, drawing them a picture, but before any can answer, there is a knocking on the window, accompanied by a child's voice asking for its mother. Outside is a child in a gas mask, and he slowly wanders over to the front door, still repeating his query. Nancy hurriedly bolts the door before he can get in. Nancy tells the Doctor that he is not "exactly" a child, and then orders the other children to leave by the back way. The Child sticks his arm through the mail hole, he has a strange scar on his arm.
The Doctor asks the children if they have seen the cylinder, drawing them a picture, but before any can answer, there is knocking on the window, accompanied by a child's voice asking for its mother. Outside is a child in a gas mask. He wanders over to the front door, repeating his query. Nancy hurriedly bolts the door before he can get in. Nancy tells the Doctor that he is "not exactly" a child, and then orders the other children to leave via the back entrance.


Nancy tells the Doctor not to let the Child touch him, or he will become just like him — empty. The telephone on the mantelpiece rings, and when the Doctor picks it up to hear the same plaintive request for its mother, Nancy grabs the receiver and hangs up. The Child has the ability to make telephone calls.  
[[File:The_Empty_Child_Nancy_and_the_Doctor.JPG|thumb|right|Nancy and the Doctor watch the gas-masked child beyond the door.]]
The child sticks his arm through the mail slot; he has a strange scar on his hand. Nancy tells the Doctor not to let the child touch him or he will become just like him — empty. The telephone on the mantelpiece rings. When the Doctor picks it up to hear the same plaintive request for its mother, Nancy grabs the receiver and hangs up. The child has the ability to make telephone calls.


The Doctor asks the Child through the door why the other children are frightened of him, but he keeps asking to be let in, claiming to be scared of the bombs. The Doctor agrees to open the door, but when he does, the street is empty.
The Doctor asks the child through the door why the other children are frightened of him, but he keeps asking to be let in, saying he is scared of the bombs. The Doctor agrees to open the door, but when he does, the street is empty.


Rose wakes up in Jack's ship, which she says is very "Spock", a reference he does not understand. He introduces himself as Captain Jack Harkness, an American volunteer with No. 133 Squadron RAF. He hands her an identification card which Rose identifies as psychic paper — it shows her whatever he wants her to see, which is apparently that he is single and works out. At the same time, to Rose's embarrassment, Jack reads the paper as showing that Rose has a boyfriend but considers herself "very" available. Jack uses his ship's [[nanogenes]] to treat Rose's hands for rope burns. He also tells her to stop acting, he can spot a "[[Time Agent]]" a mile away and had been expecting one to turn up. Jack invites her for a drink on the "balcony"; opening the hatch, they step out onto the invisible hull of the ship which is floating next to [[Big Ben]].
Rose wakes up in Jack's ship, which she says is very "Spock", a reference he does not understand. He introduces himself as Captain Jack Harkness, an [[American]] volunteer with No. [[133 Squadron]] RAF. He hands her an identification card which Rose identifies as [[psychic paper]] — it shows her whatever he wants her to see, which is apparently that he is single and works out. To Rose's embarrassment, when she hands the paper back, Jack reads it as showing that Rose has a boyfriend but considers herself "very" available. Jack uses his ship's [[nanogene]]s to treat Rose's hands for rope burns. He also tells her to stop acting, he can spot a "[[Time Agent]]" a mile away and has been expecting one to turn up. Jack invites her for a drink on the "balcony"; opening the hatch, they step out onto the invisible hull of the ship, floating next to [[Big Ben]].


Nancy makes her way across an abandoned rail yard to a locomotive, where she unloads the tins she took from the house. The Doctor surprises her again, having followed her. He has made the connection between the fallen cylinder and the empty child, and Nancy tells him about a bomb falling near the [[Limehouse Green station]] "that was not a bomb". It is now guarded by soldiers and barbed wire. Nancy says if he wants to find out what is going on, he needs to talk to [[Constantine| "the doctor"]].
Nancy makes her way across an abandoned rail yard to a locomotive, where she unloads the tins she took from the house. The Doctor surprises her again, having followed her. He has made the connection between the fallen cylinder and the empty child. Nancy tells him about a "bomb that was not a bomb" falling near the [[Limehouse Green station]]. It is now guarded by soldiers and barbed wire. Nancy says that if he wants to find out what is going on, he needs to talk to [[Constantine (The Empty Child)|"the doctor"]].


On top of his ship, Jack and Rose continue to flirt he tells her that he has something the Time Agency might want to buy and asks her if she is empowered to negotiate. Rose plays along, saying that she should talk to her "companion" first. He tells her that what fell on London was a fully equipped Chula warship, the last of its kind, and offers to get it for her if the Agency names the right price. However, the deadline for a decision is in two hours, because that is when a German bomb will fall and destroy it. He proceeds to look for her "companion" by scanning for [[Alien]] technology, to which Rose gives an approving smile.
[[File:The_Empty_Child_Jack_and_Rose_screenshot.JPG|thumb|left|Rose and Jack dance to "Moonlight Serenade" in front of Big Ben.]]
On top of his ship, Jack and Rose continue to flirt. He tells her that he has something the Time Agency might want to buy and asks her if she is empowered to negotiate. Rose plays along, saying that she should talk to her "companion" first. Jack tells her that what fell on London was a fully equipped [[Chula]] warship — the last of its kind — and offers to get it for her if the Agency names the right price. However, the deadline for a decision is in two hours — because that is when a [[Germany|German]] bomb will fall and destroy it. He proceeds to look for her "companion" by scanning for [[alien]] technology. Rose gives an approving smile — the Doctor had earlier refused to do just that.


The Doctor uses his own binoculars to monitor the crash site from a distance with Nancy. She encourages him to go speak to the doctor at nearby [[Albion Hospital]]. The Doctor remarks that Nancy is looking after the children to make up for something, and she admits that it is because her brother Jamie died during an air raid.  
The Doctor uses his own binoculars to monitor the cylinder's crash site from afar with Nancy. She encourages him to go speak to the doctor at nearby [[Albion Hospital]]. The Doctor remarks that Nancy is looking after the children to make up for something and she admits that it is because her brother Jamie died during an air raid.


In the wards, the Doctor finds the beds apparently filled with corpses wearing gas masks. An elderly man in a doctor's coat appears, telling the Doctor that there are hundreds of them. Dr Constantine invites the Doctor to examine the masked people, warning him not to touch their flesh. The Doctor finds that, impossibly, all of them have identical injuries to the skull and chest cavity. The gas masks are also seemingly fused to their flesh, although there are no burns or scarring. They also have a lightning-shaped scar on the back of their hands. Constantine also has the same scar, but the Doctor does not notice.
In the wards, the Doctor finds the beds apparently filled with corpses wearing gas masks. An elderly man in a doctor's coat appears. He tells the Doctor that there are hundreds of masked people in the hospital. [[Constantine (The Empty Child)|Dr Constantine]] invites the Doctor to examine them, warning him not to touch their flesh. The Doctor finds that, impossibly, all of them have the exact same injuries to the skull and chest cavity. The gas masks are also seemingly fused to their flesh, although there are no burns or scarring. They also have lightning-shaped scars on the backs of their hands; Constantine has the same scar, but the Doctor does not notice.


Constantine explains that when the "bomb" dropped, it claimed one victim, and those who were in contact with it soon suffered the exact same injuries; the symptoms themselves spreading like a plague. The Doctor asks what killed them, but Constantine explains that they are not dead. With a rap of his cane against a table leg, the "corpses" come to life.
Constantine explains that when the "bomb" dropped, it claimed one victim. Those in contact with the victim soon suffered the exact same injuries, the symptoms spreading like a plague. After the Doctor guesses unsuccessfully what the cause of death was, he asks Constantine for the answer. Constantine tells that there wasn't one; they are not dead. When he raps his cane against an empty pail, the "corpses" come to life, sitting up in their beds.


The Doctor takes a startled step back, but Constantine tells him they are harmless: they just sit there, have no signs of life, but they just do not die. All Constantine can do is make them comfortable, but he suspects the Army has a plan to blow up the hospital and blame it on a [[German]] bomb, as isolated cases are breaking out all over London. He directs the Doctor to [[Room 802]], where the first victim, Nancy's brother, was housed. Constantine says that Nancy knows more than she is saying but before he can say anything else, he grabs his neck and starts to choke out the words, "Are you my mummy?" Before the Doctor's eyes, Constantine's features shift and change into a gas mask and he slumps in his chair.
The Doctor takes a startled step back, but Constantine tells him they are harmless: they just sit there. They have no life signs, but they do not die. The Doctor is shocked that the patients have just been abandoned with nobody doing anything about it; all Constantine can do is keep them comfortable. Constantine states that before the war, he was a father and a grandfather; now he is neither, but still a doctor. The Doctor, [[Last Great Time War|having been through a similar experience]], tells Constantine that he "knows the feeling". Constantine suspects that the Army plans to blow up the [[hospital]] and blame it on a German bomb, but the Doctor suspects that it is probably too late for such a act to make a difference. Constantine agrees, stating that there are now isolated cases breaking out all over London. Suddenly, he enters a coughing fit; when the Doctor moves to help him, Constantine tells him to keep back. He directs the Doctor to [[Room 802]] on the top floor of the hospital, where the first victim from the crash site was housed. He also advises the Doctor to find Nancy again; the first victim was her brother, and she knows more than she is saying, but she has refused to tell Constantine anything.


Rose and Jack enter the hospital, and Jack introduces himself to the Doctor, calling him "Mr. Spock" to the Doctor's puzzlement. Rose privately tells the Doctor that she had to tell Jack they were Time Agents and give him a false name, and tells the Doctor about the [[Chula Warship]]. The Doctor demands to know from Jack what kind of warship it is, but Jack insists that it has nothing to do with the plague. Jack confesses that the cylinder was just an ambulance — an empty shell which he was trying to pass off as valuable. Jack realizes now that Rose and the Doctor are not really Time Agents. The Doctor explains that human [[DNA]] is being rewritten by an idiot, but for what purpose?
[[File:The_Empty_Child_290.JPG|thumb|right|Constantine's transformation.]]
Before Constantine can say anything else, he grabs his neck and starts to choke out the words, "Are you my mummy?" The Doctor watches aghast as Constantine's features shift and change into a gas mask and he slumps in his chair, as lifeless as the rest of the plague victims.


The trio of time travelers are being backed into a corner, as the gas-masked virus carriers get closer and closer...
Rose and Jack enter the hospital. Jack introduces himself to the Doctor, calling him "Mr Spock", to the Doctor's puzzlement. Rose privately tells the Doctor that she had to tell Jack they were Time Agents and give him a false name. She tells the Doctor about the [[Chula warship]]. The Doctor demands to know from Jack what kind of warship it is, but Jack insists that it has nothing to do with the plague. Jack confesses that the cylinder was just an ambulance — an empty shell which he was trying to pass off as valuable. Jack realises now that Rose and the Doctor are not really Time Agents. The Doctor explains that human [[DNA]] is being rewritten by an idiot — but for what purpose?
==Cast==
*[[Ninth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Christopher Eccleston]]
*[[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
*Captain [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
*Nightclub Singer - [[Kate Harvey]]
*[[Jamie (The Empty Child)|The Child]] - [[Albert Valentine]]
*[[Nancy]] - [[Florence Hoath]]
*[[Mrs Lloyd]] - [[Cheryl Ferguson]]
*[[Arthur Lloyd]] - [[Damian Samuels]]
*[[Timothy Lloyd]] - [[Luke Perry]]
*[[Algy]] - [[Robert Hands]]
*[[Jim (1941)|Jim]] - [[Joseph Tremain]]
*[[Ernie]] - [[Jordan Murphy]]
*[[Alf]] - [[Brandon Miller]]
*Dr [[Constantine]] - [[Richard Wilson]]
*Voice of The Empty Child - [[Noah Johnson]]
*Computer Voice - [[Dian Perry]]


==Crew==
Back at the house, Nancy has returned to raid the kitchens, but the child gets inside. She does her best to hide, but the child eventually finds her in the dining room and asks her, "Are you my mummy?" Nancy backs away, calling the child "Jamie" and pleading, "But you're dead!"
''to be added''


==References==
In the hospital, the gas-mask virus carriers suddenly get up and start advancing on the trio of time travellers, all calling for "Mummy"...
* Jack mentions Time Agents.
* Rose refers to the Doctor as "''[[Star Trek |Spock]]''".
* When Constantine told [[Ninth Doctor|the Doctor]], that he lost both his son/daughter and his grandchild, the Doctor replied "Yeah, know the feeling". which possibly could reference that he lost his [[Susan Foreman |granddaughter]].


==Story Notes==
== Cast ==
* This story introduces [[John Barrowman]] as [[Jack Harkness]]. Although slated to become a companion, Barrowman's name is not added to the opening credits. The notion of adding a third name to reflect an "expanded roster" would not be introduced until Barrowman's return to the series two years later in ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]''.
* [[Ninth Doctor|Doctor Who]] - [[Christopher Eccleston]]
* Jack Harkness becomes the first ongoing LGBT character in ''Doctor Who'', although actor Barrowman is not the first LGBT actor to be cast in a major role in the series.
* [[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
* [[Nightclub singer (The Empty Child)|Nightclub Singer]] - [[Kate Harvey]]
* [[Jamie (The Empty Child)|The Child]] - [[Albert Valentine]]
* [[Nancy (The Empty Child)|Nancy]] - [[Florence Hoath]]
* [[Lloyd (The Empty Child)|Mrs Lloyd]] - [[Cheryl Fergison]]
* [[Arthur Lloyd|Mr Lloyd]] - [[Damian Samuels]]
* [[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Algy]] - [[Robert Hands]]
* [[Jim (The Empty Child)|Jim]] - [[Joseph Tremain]]
* [[Ernie (The Empty Child)|Ernie]] - [[Jordan Murphy]]
* [[Alf (The Empty Child)|Alf]] - [[Brandon Miller]]
* Dr [[Constantine (The Empty Child)|Constantine]] - [[Richard Wilson (actor)|Richard Wilson]]
* Voice of The Empty Child <!--Exact capitalisation in credits--> - [[Noah Johnson]]
* Computer Voice - [[Dian Perry]]


===Ratings===
=== Uncredited Cast ===
*7.1 million viewers


===Myths and rumours===
* [[Timothy Lloyd]] - [[Luke Perry]]
''to be added''
* London Kids - [[Laura Flook]], [[Levi Cavelli]], [[Jessica Grey]], [[Ryan Conway]], [[Chris Conway]], [[David Pursey]]
* British Soldiers - [[Jason Weeks]], [[Philip Rattray]], [[Leighton Haberfield]], [[Alan White]], [[Paul Birke]], [[Nigel Ash]]
* Doctors - [[Alan Sula]], [[Tony Blair|Roderick Mair]]


===Location Filming===
== Crew ==
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== Worldbuilding ==
 
=== Theories and concepts ===
* The Doctor uses the word "[[Camp (style)|camp]]".
* [[Jack Harkness]] uses his ship's computer to forecast [[Rose Tyler]]'s [[descent pattern]] as she's falling.
 
=== Professions ===
* One of the kids thinks the Doctor is a "[[Policeman|copper]]".
 
=== Individuals ===
* Rose wears a [[Union Flag|Union Jack]] T-shirt.
* The Doctor states that if he was [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]], he would be scared of [[Britain]].
* The Doctor's jacket matches the style worn by [[U-boat]] captains.
* Rose uses the word "[[flash (slang)|flash]]" as slang.
* Rose tells Jack that the Doctor's name is [[Spock]].
 
=== Mammals ===
* The Doctor says about [[milk]], "Of all the species, in all the universe, it has to come out of a [[cow]]."
* The Doctor talks to a [[cat]] about his companions "wandering off".
* The Doctor describes the [[United Kingdom]] standing up and fighting against [[Germany]] as "a [[mouse]] in front of a [[lion]]".
 
=== Foods and beverages ===
* The children eat [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]] inside a home during the air raid.
* Jack and Rose drink [[champagne]].
 
=== Music ===
* ''[[Moonlight Serenade]]'' and ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Mood In the Mood]'' by [[Glenn Miller]] are heard.
* Jamie makes "[[Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens]]" play on the [[radio]]. The Doctor then references the song name to Jamie, soon correcting himself — ''this'' [[chicken]] — when he realises the song's stopped playing and everybody else has left.
* The Doctor comparing Nancy's actions to a West End musical is a reference to ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver! Oliver!]''
 
=== Psychic paper ===
* The Doctor's psychic paper says that he's [[Aliases of the Doctor|Doctor John Smith]] from the [[Ministry of Asteroids]] when Rose reads it.
 
== Story notes ==
* This story introduces [[John Barrowman]] as [[Jack Harkness]]. Although slated to become a companion, Barrowman's name is not added to the opening credits. The notion of adding a third name to reflect an "expanded roster" would not be introduced until Barrowman's return to the series [[Series 3 (Doctor Who 2005)|two years later]] in ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]''.
* The only words the Empty Child says not in relation to his mummy are "[[balloon]]" and a mention of his fear of "[[bomb]]s".
* The Empty Child shows an ability to make [[telephone]]s ring even when they are not really connected to anything, such as the fake police box phone. [[Steven Moffat]] would later reuse this device in his series {{wi|Jekyll (TV series)|Jekyll}}, in which Mr Hyde develops the ability to make his alter ego, Tom Jackman, believe that phones are ringing even if they are turned off or disconnected, and can then communicate with Jackman through these phones.
* This episode had the working title ''World War II''. Early versions of this script quoted this episode's title as being ''An Empty Child''. This is a reference to ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]''. The episode's television listings information and the DVD cover also mention that "London is being terrorised by an unearthly child".
* In [[Russell T Davies]]' initial pitch, Captain Jack was originally called 'Captain Jax', an interstellar alien soldier who befriends the Doctor but intimidates Rose. He was to be tracking an escaped child-creature, the story's antagonist, while posing as an English officer. The name Jax was eventually dropped, as was Jack's original characterisation, instead being a human conman from the 51st century. [[Steven Moffat]] suggested making Jack a human from the future rather than an alien, to avoid having too many extraterrestrials present in 1941 London. His relationship with Rose was made more flirtatious, helping to establish Davies' vision of the character as pansexual.
* The sound of Dr Constantine's skull cracking as his face changes into a gas mask was considered too horrific in its full form by the production team and was cut before broadcast. However, writer [[Steven Moffat]] claims on the DVD commentary to this episode that the sound was discussed but never put on.
* Unlike previous episodes, the "next episode" trailers were shown after the end credits instead of immediately preceding them, possibly in reaction to comments after ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' about having the cliffhanger for that episode spoiled. This trend has continued for most two-part stories in the new series.
* [[Steven Moffat]] says in the DVD commentary for this episode that the Doctor's reply to Rose asking him what she should call him ("Doctor who?") was originally going to be, "I'd rather have Doctor Who than ''[[Star Trek]]''," a metafictional dig at the latter programme. This is the first televised ''Doctor Who'' story to make a direct reference to ''Star Trek''.
* Chula ships are named after Chula, an Indian/Bangladeshi fusion restaurant in [[Hammersmith]], London where the writers celebrated and discussed their briefs on the scripts they were to write for the season after being commissioned by [[Russell T Davies]]. This meeting was videotaped, and is available on the DVD release of ''Doctor Who'' — The Complete First Series.
* The episode was initially smaller in scale and personal with [[Steven Moffat]] saying that "there was no big enemy and the major fear factor was a little boy looking for his mummy. ''Doctor Who'' can be small and domestic, and brilliantly effective."
* The French title is "Drôle de Mort" (A Weird Dead), while the Hungarian title is "Bomba meglepetés" (Bomb Surprise).
* Early drafts included the character of Jamie's father, who would silently and anonymously appear to aid Nancy and the war orphans. The climactic discovery of his true identity would be accompanied by the revelation that he is German, providing an alternative motivation to Nancy's shame.
* This episode, along with its following part, has the distinction of being ranked as ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' readers' favourite [[Ninth Doctor]] story in all three of their major polls held since its airing, in [[2009]], [[2014]], and [[2023]]. ([[DWM 592]])
* [[Russell T Davies]] chose a World War II setting because he wanted to place Rose in a romantic era that was just far enough away from her own time to be disconcerting.
* Whereas [[Russell T Davies]] focussed on the romance of the period, [[Steven Moffat]] wanted to emphasise the haunting nature of Blitz-torn London. Spending some time immersing himself in the history of the era, he was struck by the image of gas masks tailored specifically for use by children. This suggested that the child-creature of the pitch document could instead be an eerie young boy clad in a gas mask.
* The initial draft of the serial gave the infected humans more elaborate powers, including the ability to levitate and generate waves of force.
* Dr. Constantine was originally called Summers, and it was he who brought the Doctor to the hospital after meeting at the club.
* The material at the hospital was originally more horrific, depicting a skeleton and organs in jars, all sporting gas masks.
* The street urchins were originally protected by a woman named Miss Timberlake and a man called Mr McTavish. It was ultimately revealed that Timberlake was Nancy's mother and McTavish was really the German father of Nancy's child. The former was dropped, while the latter was at one stage an apparantely mute man named John who hovered around Nancy.
* The Doctor was originally led to the hospital by one of the children, who was called Billy. However, concern then arose that the Doctor did not meet Nancy until the very end of the narrative, so she was given Billy's role.
* The nanogenes were originally called nanites; the new terminology was suggested by [[Helen Raynor]] after it was observed that nanites were a plot device often used in ''[[Star Trek (franchise)|Star Trek]]''.
* [[James Hawes]] was originally a candidate to direct Block One (''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]], [[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' and ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'').
* Lighting the Vale of Glamorgan Railway proved to be a challenge. Director of photography [[Ernie Vincze]] erected a single large arc lamp, which proved to be visible from a great distance, becoming an irritant and a traffic hazard. A number of smaller lamps were used instead, slowing the pace of production to the point that some material had to be dropped or rewritten for the studio.
* Jamie was played by [[Albert Valentine]], although [[Luke Perry]] (who had been cast as Timothy Lloyd) stood in for him in some long shots. It was originally planned that Valentine would also provide the Empty Child's dialogue but, in post-production, concerns were raised that his delivery lacked a sense of menace. The production team instead turned to [[Zoe Thorne]], but her timbre was too obviously feminine. Finally, it was decided that the Empty Child would be dubbed by [[Noah Johnson]], who was the son of a friend of dialogue editor [[Paul McFadden]].
 
=== Ratings ===
* 7.11 million viewers (UK final)<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&start=100&type=date&order= Doctor Who - consolidated ratings]</ref>
 
=== Filming locations ===
* [[Barry Island]]
* [[Cardiff Royal Infirmary]], [[Cardiff]].
* [[Cardiff Royal Infirmary]], [[Cardiff]].


===Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
=== Production errors ===
* Whilst Jack and Rose were next to Big Ben, the clock continued to show 21:30 and Big Ben's clock never stopped during World War II, it continued to tell the time.
{{discontinuity}}
*At the very start, the TARDIS occupants are experiencing a bumpy ride. The camera tilts anti-clockwise as it often does, to indicate the TARDIS has violently tilted in one direction – but the actors don't react properly: Rose leans forward, the Doctor leans in the other (wrong) direction. And none of the cables (loosely run about the control panel) move even slightly.
* When the Doctor opens the TARDIS's telephone compartment, it's blue but both the inside of the TARDIS doors and the phone compartment are white.
ep 1 - 
When the Doctor first discovers he's in London during the Blitz and exits out of the club, then up the alleyway towards the camera – before turning the corner, you can clearly hear someone (presumably the animal handler) issue the command 'Stay!' to the cat in the basket.
ep 1 - 
When Rose grabs the rope and begins to drift up and away from the rooftop, look at the first wide shot of her. She's flailing her legs while hanging onto the rope in front of some plain-looking buildings. However, when we cut to a closeup, her head is in a different position and she's no longer flailing her legs.
ep 1 - 
Barrage balloons were put up to protect from low flying aircraft... So why did we see the aircraft fly underneath the balloons? They should have had their wings ripped to pieces by the steel cables hanging from the balloons. Speaking of which, technically that's another blooper – the balloons should have had steel cables attached rather than ropes, though these wouldn't have been as easy for Rose to hang onto!
ep 1 - 
When Nancy first goes into the kitchen, there's half a cake on the cooling rack, but when she picks it up, it has reformed into a whole cake.
[The nanogenes' handiwork again?]
ep 1 - 
When Rose is about to fall off the rope, there's a shot of her hanging with her arms above her head – then in the next shot her arms are lower, at chest level. Then back to above her head again!


*When Captain Jack lowers the hatch inside his ship (before he and Rose ascend to the top of the craft), in the shot of him standing next to it as he descends from Rose's POV, the hatch is just about to brush his shoulder. But when the shot changes to behind him, he has somehow moved further away.  
== Continuity ==
 
* Jack is a Time Agent. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang (TV story)|The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]'', ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Eater of Wasps (novel)|Eater of Wasps]]'', ''[[Trading Futures (novel)|Trading Futures]]'', ''[[Human Nature (novel)|Human Nature]]'')
*Jack introduces himself as coming from the 133rd Squadron of the Royal Air Force, which in reality wasn't formed until the end of July 1941, a couple of months after the Blitz ended (mid-May 1941).
* Jack will later return to an earlier point in World War II and meet the real [[Jack Harkness (Captain Jack Harkness)|Jack Harkness]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|Captain Jack Harkness]]'')
 
* The [[Chula ambulance]] jumps [[time track]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]]'')
*When she goes outside to fetch the kids, how does Nancy manage to do a (very good) two-fingered whistle whilst wearing her woollen gloves?
* [[Albion Hospital]] becomes involved in another incident when, in [[2006]], the [[Alien (Aliens of London)|alien body]] found in a spaceship that crashed into the [[River Thames|Thames]] is taken there for study. ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'')
 
* According to [[Gwen Cooper]]'s [[police]] colleague, [[Yvonne (Everything Changes)|Yvonne]], a detailed search of [[United Kingdom|UK]] records revealed that Captain Jack Harkness failed to report for duty on [[21 January]] [[1941]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'')
*That cat looks suspiciously well-fed considering that the episode was taking place during a time of massive food shortages...
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] quips "Are you my mummy?" when given a gas mask to wear, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'') as does the [[Twelfth Doctor]] when he sees the mummy-like [[Foretold]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mummy on the Orient Express (TV story)|Mummy on the Orient Express]]'')
[Then again, maybe it was just a very resourceful cat.]  
* The Doctor relates to Constantine's statement that he was once a father and a grandfather, but is still a doctor despite being neither now. In doing so, the Doctor indirectly references his own granddaughter, [[Susan Foreman|Susan]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'' et al.) The Doctor would later offhandedly tell Rose that he used to be a dad. ([[TV]]: ''[[Fear Her (TV story)|Fear Her]]'')
 
* During his [[First Doctor|first incarnation]], the Doctor and Susan also visited London during the Blitz in 1941. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Alchemists (audio story)|The Alchemists]]'')
*The "Charley Chimp" toy (the classic cymbal-crashing monkey) is an anachronism. Charley Chimp wasn't first made until the 50's, and doesn't belong in 1941.  
* While Rose hands Jack the psychic paper it says she has a "sort of" boyfriend but that she considers herself to be available, alluding to the stress on her and Mickey's relationship travelling with the Doctor has caused. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' / ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]'') The topic is revisited in [[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]''.
 
* In his [[sixth incarnation]], the Doctor met a future version of Jack who had been abandoned by the [[Ninth Doctor]]. At the end of their premature encounter, the Doctor assured Jack that he would "edit" his [[memory]] and, indeed, the Ninth Doctor seemingly fails to recognise the younger Jack here. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Piece of Mind (audio story)|Piece of Mind]]'')
*If mauve is the Chula colour for danger, why do the attack alarms on their ambulances flash red?
* The Doctor dismisses the idea of using an alien technology scanner. However, he uses one much later in ''[[The Woman Who Lived (TV story)|The Woman Who Lived]]''.


*Somebody needs to tell Captain Jack that there's no such rank as Captain in the Royal Air Force. Group Captain, yes. Captain, no.
== Home video releases ==
 
[[File:Bbcdvd-s1-v3.jpg|thumb|Series 1 Volume 3 DVD Cover]]
*People's air raid preparations are shockingly lax compared to how real Londoners behaved during the Blitz – watch out for many examples of lights left on unnecessarily, windows wide open with no curtains, etc 
*Not to mention, doesn't it seem at all dangerous to light up Big Ben like a lighthouse in the middle of an air raid?? Why didn't the German bombers start swarming in like flies?
 
*Albion Hospital's big iron gates are unlikely to have lasted 2 years into the war, as there were big drives to reclaim iron for munitions and bomb manufacturing.
 
*Nancy asks to use the "bathroom" – however, most London houses (at least, of the rather old type the Lloyds have) wouldn't have had bathrooms until after the war: they'd have had a privy or outhouse instead.  


*Tape recorders were invented by the Germans during the war – and didn't fall into Allied hands until 1944 or thereabouts as the Allies pushed into Germany. Shame really, as it ruins that wonderfully creepy scene with the tape running out...
=== DVD releases ===
 
* This story was released on a vanilla DVD with ''[[The Long Game (TV story)|The Long Game]]'', ''[[Father's Day (TV story)|Father's Day]]'' and ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'' on [[1 August (releases)|1 August]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]. This episode and ''Father's Day'' were the focus of the front cover.
*Jack says that there's a seven-storey drop outside the window of Albion Hospital. Previous shots of the building establish it as having five storeys and a one-storey tower.
* It was also released as part of the Series 1 DVD box set on [[21 November (releases)|21 November]] 2005.
 
* This story was also released with Issue 5 of the [[Doctor Who DVD Files]].
*In one or two shots, we see a gas-mask person in a wheelchair, which if you stop and think about it, doesn't make sense. Shouldn't they also have been repaired like the one-legged woman?
[OK, perhaps they were repaired, but it never crossed the victim's mind to get up and try walking?]
 
*All the children are facing the typewriter, so why do none of them notice it typing on its own? 
*In The Empty Child, when the Doctor is chasing the Chula ambulance, the computer monitor is on the far side of the TARDIS console (away from the doors). When the Doctor and Rose come back into the TARDIS in The Doctor Dances, the computer monitor is missing entirely. The Doctor walks all the way around the console and it's nowhere to be seen on any panel. Finally, when Jack comes on board and the Doctor and Rose are dancing, the computer monitor is back – but on the panel facing the door this time!
 
*There is NO way on Earth a picket of soldiers would be gathering around a bonfire during an air-raid!
[Why not just paint targets on their helmets and be done with it?]  
 
*It looks as though Captain Jack's spaceship windows are covered with CSO material. Did someone forget to add the stars?
 
*If the nanogenes repair injuries, why do all those 'infected' still have a scar on their hands? Even if Jamie had had a cut on his hand when he was killed, surely it would have been healed by the nanogenes while they were turning his face into a gas mask?
 
*In a similar vein, if the nanogenes assumed the gas mask was part of Jamie, then why not assume all his clothes were part of the human body too and incorporate them onto all the humans they modify? Or, to take it a step further, why didn't they try to turn everyone into little boys... or at least males? 
 
*This might be a new Doctor, but it seems he hasn't lost the ability of many of his previous incarnations to regenerate his clothes between scenes. He's wearing his red jumper on Jack's ship, but when he releases the nanogenes towards Jamie and Nancy, all of a sudden he's wearing his blue jumper.
 
*In the railyard, after Jamie becomes human again, the Doctor looks at his hands and moves away from the group – then he's out of shot while Jack is praising Rose's T-shirt. But after Jack's ship flies up, the Doctor is back behind Jamie and Nancy again.  
 
*Captain Jack's ship is a marvel of 51st century technology, so why can't it defuse or otherwise dispose of a crude 1940's bomb? Why does Jack think it's a great plan to take the bomb physically on board his ship and fly out light years into space (an extremely long way as there's no large nebulae that close to Earth) and risk blowing himself up, rather than simply dropping it off with his tractor beam somewhere convenient (middle of the ocean should do) and letting it explode harmlessly?
 
*After Rose asks the Doc to dance with her, he comes over and starts inspecting her hands. As the camera cuts back and forth between views, Rose's hands are facing the wrong way up or down as he turns them over – for a second it makes you wonder just how flexible her arms are!
 
*The Doctor might be able to dance, but he can't click his fingers in time to the music.


==Continuity==
=== Blu-Ray releases ===
* This story is continued in [[The Doctor Dances]].
* This story was released in the Series 1 Blu-Ray set in November [[2013 (releases)|2013]] along with the rest of the series. Despite not being filmed in HD, the Blu-Ray features an upscaled picture and fewer compression artefacts. The release was initially bundled with the first seven series of the revived ''Doctor Who''.
* Time Agents have also been mentioned in: [[The Talons of Weng-Chiang]], [[Eater of Wasps]], [[Trading Futures]] and [[Human Nature (novel)|Human Nature]].
* [[Torchwood]]: [[Captain Jack Harkness]] explains some details of Jack's past.
*The concept of jumping time tracks was introduced in [[The Space Museum]].


==DVD, Other Releases==
=== Digital releases ===
*This was released on a vanilla DVD along side [[The Long Game]], [[Father's Day]] and [[The Doctor Dances]]
* This story is available for streaming via HBO Max. It can also be purchased on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, and other online video stores.
*It was also released as part of the series 1 box set.
* In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in ''A Decade of the Doctor'' bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by [[Peter Capaldi]], ''Earth Conquest: The World Tour'' and an episode guide.


==See Also==
== External links ==
''to be added''
* {{bbcdw|episodes/2005/emptychild.shtml|The Empty Child}}
{{dwrefguide|who_tv08.htm|The Empty Child}}
* {{whoniverse|s01_09|The Empty Child}}
* {{briefhistory|serials/2005ij.html|The Empty Child}}


==External Links==
== Footnotes ==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2005/emptychild.shtml Official BBC  Website - Episode Guide for '''The Empty Child''']
=== Notes ===
* [http://www.gallifreyone.com/episode.php?id=2005-09 Outpost Gallifrey Episode Guide: '''The Empty Child''']
{{notelist}}
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_tv08.htm The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of '''The Empty Child''']
* [http://www.whoniverse.org/discontinuity/9I.php The Whoniverse Discontinuity Guide to '''The Empty Child''']
*[http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/serials/2005ij.html A Brief History of Time (Travel): '''The Empty Child''']


{{Series 1}}
=== Sources ===
{{TV stub}}
{{reflist}}
{{DWTV}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[es:The Empty Child]]
[[fr:The Empty Child (TV)]]
[[he:הילד הריק (סיפור טלוויזיה)]]
[[pt:The Empty Child]]
[[ro:The Empty Child]]
[[ru:Пустой ребёнок]]


[[Category:Ninth Doctor episodes|Empty Child, The]]
[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1941|Empty Child, The]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1941]]
[[Category:Stories set in London|Empty Child, The]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Bad Wolf arc|Empty Child, The]]
[[Category:Series 1 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:2005 television stories|Empty Child, The]]
[[Category:Stories set in World War II]]
[[Category:Historical stories|Empty Child]]
[[Category:An Introduction To The Ninth Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the City of London]]

Latest revision as of 20:06, 3 November 2024

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the condition or the "patient zero" of the condition.

The Empty Child was the ninth episode of series 1 of Doctor Who.

It was the first part of a two-part story, and writer Steven Moffat's first episode of Doctor Who. Furthermore, it introduced Captain Jack Harkness into the DWU. The idea of alien interference during the Second World War would be revisited later in the Eleventh Doctor story Victory of the Daleks.

It's the first of the Revived Series to have a child being responsible for the bizarre goings-on in the episode, due to gaining some kind of extraterrestrial powers. This pattern would be repeated in future stories such as Fear Her and Night Terrors.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

Chasing a metallic object through the Time Vortex, the Ninth Doctor and his companion, Rose Tyler, arrive in London during the Blitz. While Rose meets "Captain Jack Harkness", the dashing Time Agent responsible for bringing the object, the Doctor finds a group of homeless children terrorised by Jamie, an "empty" child wearing a gas mask.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor's TARDIS chases a metal cylinder displaying mauve alert, which prompts Rose to ask why they are chasing it. The Ninth Doctor explains that mauve is the universally recognised colour for danger, and that "red's camp" — only humans considered red a colour for danger. The Doctor hacks into the flight program of the cylinder and keeps the TARDIS locked on it. However, the cylinder begins jumping time tracks. Coming out of the vortex, they find the cylinder is thirty seconds from the centre of London.

The TARDIS materialises in a narrow alley between some brick buildings at night. The Doctor and Rose step out in search of the object; the Doctor notes they have arrived a couple of weeks to a month after the cylinder's impact — it was jumping time tracks, which made it hard to keep up. He hears music coming from behind a locked door and uses the sonic screwdriver to open it. He steps inside, but Rose hears a child calling for his mother. She looks up and sees a young boy wearing a gas mask on the roof.

The door the Doctor enters leads to a makeshift cabaret. After the singer ends her set, the Doctor steps up to the microphone and asks if any object has fallen from the sky in the last few days. Everyone laughs, and the Doctor finally spots posters showing that it's 1941 — the middle of the Blitz — and closes his eyes in embarrassment.

In the meantime, Rose has reached the roof of the building where the young boy is standing on a cargo container. A rope dangles in front of her. She uses it to climb up, not realising that it is attached to a barrage balloon above. It rises, taking Rose with it, clean off the roof and hanging on for dear life. Rose sees bits of the city of London in flames, spotlights sweeping through the sky, the sound of anti-aircraft fire and bombers flying right at her.

The Doctor finds that the dummy police box telephone is ringing.

The Doctor returns to the TARDIS and sees no sign of Rose. Petting a stray cat, he rather sarcastically remarks that one day, he'll get a companion that actually does what he says. He pulls up short when the exterior telephone of the TARDIS rings; it's not a real phone. He prepares to examine it with the sonic screwdriver when a young woman appears and tells him not to answer it. The Doctor asks her how the telephone can be ringing, but when he turns back she has disappeared. He picks up the earpiece, but all that comes through is a child's voice asking, "Mummy? Are you my mummy?" several times before the phone falls dead again. Hearing clattering down the alley, the Doctor looks over a wall into a residential garden and sees a woman ushering her family into an air-raid shelter. He also spots the young woman he saw moments before entering the house. Once inside, she begins to raid the cupboards for tinned food.

Rose is still hanging by a rope over a blazing London. From a balcony below, a man dressed in RAF uniform peers through binoculars up at her. A British Army officer addresses him as "Jack" and asks if he is going to the shelter, but Jack is distracted by the sight of Rose's bottom in his sights. Jack mutters, "Excellent bottom", and grins at the officer, before saying that he has to meet a girl, "but you've got an excellent bottom too."

Rose loses her grip on the rope and falls, screaming, until she finds her descent halted by a blue beam. Jack's voice tells her to deactivate her mobile phone and to keep her limbs inside the light field as she slides rapidly down the beam into Jack's ship and his arms. Rose stares at the handsome Jack and gets out a couple of "hellos" before she faints.

Back at the house, the young woman has been joined by other children. They start to eat the dinner left on the table. The Doctor appears suddenly and deduces that all of them are homeless, but notes that, as it is 1941, they should have been evacuated to the country long ago. The children say that they were, but they returned to London for various reasons. Nancy, the young woman who told him not to answer the phone earlier, finds them food this way, waiting for families to hide in shelters before stealing their food. The Doctor thinks it a great idea, but isn't sure if it's "Marxism in action or a West End musical".

The Doctor asks the children if they have seen the cylinder, drawing them a picture, but before any can answer, there is knocking on the window, accompanied by a child's voice asking for its mother. Outside is a child in a gas mask. He wanders over to the front door, repeating his query. Nancy hurriedly bolts the door before he can get in. Nancy tells the Doctor that he is "not exactly" a child, and then orders the other children to leave via the back entrance.

Nancy and the Doctor watch the gas-masked child beyond the door.

The child sticks his arm through the mail slot; he has a strange scar on his hand. Nancy tells the Doctor not to let the child touch him or he will become just like him — empty. The telephone on the mantelpiece rings. When the Doctor picks it up to hear the same plaintive request for its mother, Nancy grabs the receiver and hangs up. The child has the ability to make telephone calls.

The Doctor asks the child through the door why the other children are frightened of him, but he keeps asking to be let in, saying he is scared of the bombs. The Doctor agrees to open the door, but when he does, the street is empty.

Rose wakes up in Jack's ship, which she says is very "Spock", a reference he does not understand. He introduces himself as Captain Jack Harkness, an American volunteer with No. 133 Squadron RAF. He hands her an identification card which Rose identifies as psychic paper — it shows her whatever he wants her to see, which is apparently that he is single and works out. To Rose's embarrassment, when she hands the paper back, Jack reads it as showing that Rose has a boyfriend but considers herself "very" available. Jack uses his ship's nanogenes to treat Rose's hands for rope burns. He also tells her to stop acting, he can spot a "Time Agent" a mile away and has been expecting one to turn up. Jack invites her for a drink on the "balcony"; opening the hatch, they step out onto the invisible hull of the ship, floating next to Big Ben.

Nancy makes her way across an abandoned rail yard to a locomotive, where she unloads the tins she took from the house. The Doctor surprises her again, having followed her. He has made the connection between the fallen cylinder and the empty child. Nancy tells him about a "bomb that was not a bomb" falling near the Limehouse Green station. It is now guarded by soldiers and barbed wire. Nancy says that if he wants to find out what is going on, he needs to talk to "the doctor".

Rose and Jack dance to "Moonlight Serenade" in front of Big Ben.

On top of his ship, Jack and Rose continue to flirt. He tells her that he has something the Time Agency might want to buy and asks her if she is empowered to negotiate. Rose plays along, saying that she should talk to her "companion" first. Jack tells her that what fell on London was a fully equipped Chula warship — the last of its kind — and offers to get it for her if the Agency names the right price. However, the deadline for a decision is in two hours — because that is when a German bomb will fall and destroy it. He proceeds to look for her "companion" by scanning for alien technology. Rose gives an approving smile — the Doctor had earlier refused to do just that.

The Doctor uses his own binoculars to monitor the cylinder's crash site from afar with Nancy. She encourages him to go speak to the doctor at nearby Albion Hospital. The Doctor remarks that Nancy is looking after the children to make up for something and she admits that it is because her brother Jamie died during an air raid.

In the wards, the Doctor finds the beds apparently filled with corpses wearing gas masks. An elderly man in a doctor's coat appears. He tells the Doctor that there are hundreds of masked people in the hospital. Dr Constantine invites the Doctor to examine them, warning him not to touch their flesh. The Doctor finds that, impossibly, all of them have the exact same injuries to the skull and chest cavity. The gas masks are also seemingly fused to their flesh, although there are no burns or scarring. They also have lightning-shaped scars on the backs of their hands; Constantine has the same scar, but the Doctor does not notice.

Constantine explains that when the "bomb" dropped, it claimed one victim. Those in contact with the victim soon suffered the exact same injuries, the symptoms spreading like a plague. After the Doctor guesses unsuccessfully what the cause of death was, he asks Constantine for the answer. Constantine tells that there wasn't one; they are not dead. When he raps his cane against an empty pail, the "corpses" come to life, sitting up in their beds.

The Doctor takes a startled step back, but Constantine tells him they are harmless: they just sit there. They have no life signs, but they do not die. The Doctor is shocked that the patients have just been abandoned with nobody doing anything about it; all Constantine can do is keep them comfortable. Constantine states that before the war, he was a father and a grandfather; now he is neither, but still a doctor. The Doctor, having been through a similar experience, tells Constantine that he "knows the feeling". Constantine suspects that the Army plans to blow up the hospital and blame it on a German bomb, but the Doctor suspects that it is probably too late for such a act to make a difference. Constantine agrees, stating that there are now isolated cases breaking out all over London. Suddenly, he enters a coughing fit; when the Doctor moves to help him, Constantine tells him to keep back. He directs the Doctor to Room 802 on the top floor of the hospital, where the first victim from the crash site was housed. He also advises the Doctor to find Nancy again; the first victim was her brother, and she knows more than she is saying, but she has refused to tell Constantine anything.

Constantine's transformation.

Before Constantine can say anything else, he grabs his neck and starts to choke out the words, "Are you my mummy?" The Doctor watches aghast as Constantine's features shift and change into a gas mask and he slumps in his chair, as lifeless as the rest of the plague victims.

Rose and Jack enter the hospital. Jack introduces himself to the Doctor, calling him "Mr Spock", to the Doctor's puzzlement. Rose privately tells the Doctor that she had to tell Jack they were Time Agents and give him a false name. She tells the Doctor about the Chula warship. The Doctor demands to know from Jack what kind of warship it is, but Jack insists that it has nothing to do with the plague. Jack confesses that the cylinder was just an ambulance — an empty shell which he was trying to pass off as valuable. Jack realises now that Rose and the Doctor are not really Time Agents. The Doctor explains that human DNA is being rewritten by an idiot — but for what purpose?

Back at the house, Nancy has returned to raid the kitchens, but the child gets inside. She does her best to hide, but the child eventually finds her in the dining room and asks her, "Are you my mummy?" Nancy backs away, calling the child "Jamie" and pleading, "But you're dead!"

In the hospital, the gas-mask virus carriers suddenly get up and start advancing on the trio of time travellers, all calling for "Mummy"...

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Theories and concepts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Professions[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • One of the kids thinks the Doctor is a "copper".

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Rose wears a Union Jack T-shirt.
  • The Doctor states that if he was Hitler, he would be scared of Britain.
  • The Doctor's jacket matches the style worn by U-boat captains.
  • Rose uses the word "flash" as slang.
  • Rose tells Jack that the Doctor's name is Spock.

Mammals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor says about milk, "Of all the species, in all the universe, it has to come out of a cow."
  • The Doctor talks to a cat about his companions "wandering off".
  • The Doctor describes the United Kingdom standing up and fighting against Germany as "a mouse in front of a lion".

Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The children eat turkey inside a home during the air raid.
  • Jack and Rose drink champagne.

Music[[edit] | [edit source]]

Psychic paper[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story introduces John Barrowman as Jack Harkness. Although slated to become a companion, Barrowman's name is not added to the opening credits. The notion of adding a third name to reflect an "expanded roster" would not be introduced until Barrowman's return to the series two years later in Utopia.
  • The only words the Empty Child says not in relation to his mummy are "balloon" and a mention of his fear of "bombs".
  • The Empty Child shows an ability to make telephones ring even when they are not really connected to anything, such as the fake police box phone. Steven Moffat would later reuse this device in his series Jekyll, in which Mr Hyde develops the ability to make his alter ego, Tom Jackman, believe that phones are ringing even if they are turned off or disconnected, and can then communicate with Jackman through these phones.
  • This episode had the working title World War II. Early versions of this script quoted this episode's title as being An Empty Child. This is a reference to An Unearthly Child. The episode's television listings information and the DVD cover also mention that "London is being terrorised by an unearthly child".
  • In Russell T Davies' initial pitch, Captain Jack was originally called 'Captain Jax', an interstellar alien soldier who befriends the Doctor but intimidates Rose. He was to be tracking an escaped child-creature, the story's antagonist, while posing as an English officer. The name Jax was eventually dropped, as was Jack's original characterisation, instead being a human conman from the 51st century. Steven Moffat suggested making Jack a human from the future rather than an alien, to avoid having too many extraterrestrials present in 1941 London. His relationship with Rose was made more flirtatious, helping to establish Davies' vision of the character as pansexual.
  • The sound of Dr Constantine's skull cracking as his face changes into a gas mask was considered too horrific in its full form by the production team and was cut before broadcast. However, writer Steven Moffat claims on the DVD commentary to this episode that the sound was discussed but never put on.
  • Unlike previous episodes, the "next episode" trailers were shown after the end credits instead of immediately preceding them, possibly in reaction to comments after Aliens of London about having the cliffhanger for that episode spoiled. This trend has continued for most two-part stories in the new series.
  • Steven Moffat says in the DVD commentary for this episode that the Doctor's reply to Rose asking him what she should call him ("Doctor who?") was originally going to be, "I'd rather have Doctor Who than Star Trek," a metafictional dig at the latter programme. This is the first televised Doctor Who story to make a direct reference to Star Trek.
  • Chula ships are named after Chula, an Indian/Bangladeshi fusion restaurant in Hammersmith, London where the writers celebrated and discussed their briefs on the scripts they were to write for the season after being commissioned by Russell T Davies. This meeting was videotaped, and is available on the DVD release of Doctor Who — The Complete First Series.
  • The episode was initially smaller in scale and personal with Steven Moffat saying that "there was no big enemy and the major fear factor was a little boy looking for his mummy. Doctor Who can be small and domestic, and brilliantly effective."
  • The French title is "Drôle de Mort" (A Weird Dead), while the Hungarian title is "Bomba meglepetés" (Bomb Surprise).
  • Early drafts included the character of Jamie's father, who would silently and anonymously appear to aid Nancy and the war orphans. The climactic discovery of his true identity would be accompanied by the revelation that he is German, providing an alternative motivation to Nancy's shame.
  • This episode, along with its following part, has the distinction of being ranked as Doctor Who Magazine readers' favourite Ninth Doctor story in all three of their major polls held since its airing, in 2009, 2014, and 2023. (DWM 592)
  • Russell T Davies chose a World War II setting because he wanted to place Rose in a romantic era that was just far enough away from her own time to be disconcerting.
  • Whereas Russell T Davies focussed on the romance of the period, Steven Moffat wanted to emphasise the haunting nature of Blitz-torn London. Spending some time immersing himself in the history of the era, he was struck by the image of gas masks tailored specifically for use by children. This suggested that the child-creature of the pitch document could instead be an eerie young boy clad in a gas mask.
  • The initial draft of the serial gave the infected humans more elaborate powers, including the ability to levitate and generate waves of force.
  • Dr. Constantine was originally called Summers, and it was he who brought the Doctor to the hospital after meeting at the club.
  • The material at the hospital was originally more horrific, depicting a skeleton and organs in jars, all sporting gas masks.
  • The street urchins were originally protected by a woman named Miss Timberlake and a man called Mr McTavish. It was ultimately revealed that Timberlake was Nancy's mother and McTavish was really the German father of Nancy's child. The former was dropped, while the latter was at one stage an apparantely mute man named John who hovered around Nancy.
  • The Doctor was originally led to the hospital by one of the children, who was called Billy. However, concern then arose that the Doctor did not meet Nancy until the very end of the narrative, so she was given Billy's role.
  • The nanogenes were originally called nanites; the new terminology was suggested by Helen Raynor after it was observed that nanites were a plot device often used in Star Trek.
  • James Hawes was originally a candidate to direct Block One (Rose, Aliens of London and World War Three).
  • Lighting the Vale of Glamorgan Railway proved to be a challenge. Director of photography Ernie Vincze erected a single large arc lamp, which proved to be visible from a great distance, becoming an irritant and a traffic hazard. A number of smaller lamps were used instead, slowing the pace of production to the point that some material had to be dropped or rewritten for the studio.
  • Jamie was played by Albert Valentine, although Luke Perry (who had been cast as Timothy Lloyd) stood in for him in some long shots. It was originally planned that Valentine would also provide the Empty Child's dialogue but, in post-production, concerns were raised that his delivery lacked a sense of menace. The production team instead turned to Zoe Thorne, but her timbre was too obviously feminine. Finally, it was decided that the Empty Child would be dubbed by Noah Johnson, who was the son of a friend of dialogue editor Paul McFadden.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 7.11 million viewers (UK final)[1]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • When the Doctor opens the TARDIS's telephone compartment, it's blue but both the inside of the TARDIS doors and the phone compartment are white.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 1 Volume 3 DVD Cover

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Blu-Ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story was released in the Series 1 Blu-Ray set in November 2013 along with the rest of the series. Despite not being filmed in HD, the Blu-Ray features an upscaled picture and fewer compression artefacts. The release was initially bundled with the first seven series of the revived Doctor Who.

Digital releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story is available for streaming via HBO Max. It can also be purchased on iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, and other online video stores.
  • In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in A Decade of the Doctor bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, Earth Conquest: The World Tour and an episode guide.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ In TV: Everything Changes, Yvonne states that Jack failed to report for duty on the morning of 21 January 1941.

Sources[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Doctor Who - consolidated ratings
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