The Magician's Apprentice (TV story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|name            = {{StoryTitle}}
|image          = Twelve and Davros.jpg
|image          =S9e1dalekman.jpg  
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number  = [[Series 9 (Doctor Who)|9]]
|season number  = Series 9 (Doctor Who 2005)
|story number    = 253
|series episode number = 1
|story number    = 254a
|doctor          = Twelfth Doctor
|doctor          = Twelfth Doctor
|companions      = [[Clara Oswald|Clara]]
|companions      = [[Clara Oswald|Clara]]
|featuring      = [[Kate Stewart|Kate]], [[The Master#As Missy|Missy]]
|featuring      = Missy
|enemy          = [[Davros]], [[Daleks]], [[Colony Sarff]]
|featuring2      = Kate Stewart
|setting        = [[Earth]], [[Skaro]]
|featuring3      = Jac (The Magician's Apprentice)
|writer          = [[Steven Moffat]]
|featuring4      = Bors (The Doctor's Meditation)
|featuring5      = Ohila
|featuring6      = Shadow Architect
|enemy          = [[Davros]]
|setting        = {{il|[[London]], [[2010s]]|[[Essex]], [[1138]]|[[Skaro]]}}
|writer          = Steven Moffat
|director        = [[Hettie MacDonald]]
|director        = [[Hettie MacDonald]]
|producer        = [[Peter Bennett]]
|producer        = [[Peter Bennett]]
|broadcast date  = [[19 September (releases)|19 September]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]]
|confidential    =
|network        = [[BBC One]]
|confidential2  =
|format          = 1x45 minute episode
|confidential3  =
|production code = 5.1
|confidential4  =
|prev            = The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)
|broadcast date  = 19 September 2015
|next            = TBA
|network        = BBC One
|made prev      =  
|format          = 1x45 minute episode;<br/>Part 1 of 2
|made next      = TBA
|scripturl      = http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/scripts/DW9-EP1-The-Magicians-Apprentice.pdf
|trailer        =  
|prev            = Last Christmas (TV story)
|next            = The Witch's Familiar (TV story)
|made prev      = Prologue (webcast)
|made next      = The Witch's Familiar (TV story)
|trailer        = The Magician's Apprentice Trailer - Series 9 Episode 1 - Doctor Who
|trailer2        =  
|trailer2        =  
|clip            =  
|clip            = The Doctor's Guitar Entrance - The Magician's Apprentice - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip2          =  
|clip2          = Maximum Extermination! - The Magician's Apprentice - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip3          =  
|clip3          =  
|bts            =  
|bts            = The Grand Entrance - Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 1 - BBC One
|bts2            =  
|bts2            = Colony Sarff - Doctor Who Extra Series 2 Episode 1 (2015) - BBC
|bts3            =  
|bts3            = The Doctor's Guitar - Doctor Who Extra Series 2 Episode 1 (2015) - BBC
}}
}}{{you may|The Magician's Apprentice (in-universe)|n1=the episode as it exists within the DWU|The Sorcerer's Apprentice (novel)|n2=The Sorcerer's Apprentice}}
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the first episode of the [[series 9 (Doctor Who)|ninth series]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]'' produced by [[BBC Wales]].
'''''The Magician's Apprentice''''' was the first episode of [[Series 9 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 9]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
It saw the return of [[Kate Stewart]], as well as [[The Master|Missy]], the latest incarnation of the Master, who had apparently been killed by a [[Cyber-conversion|Cyber-converted]] [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] at the end of ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]''.
 
It saw the return of [[Davros]] after [[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'' in [[2008 (releases)|2008]], who was shown prior to his disfigurement for the first time on television. However, it was not the first story to depict Davros as a [[child]]. [[Big Finish Productions]]' ''[[I, Davros]]'' chronicled his rise to becoming the leader of the [[Scientific Elite]], starting in his early [[Adolescence|teenage years]]. The episode gives no explanation as to how Davros managed to survive after the events of ''Journey's End'', nor when the Doctor discovered he had done so.


The episode brings to reality an issue long ago posed by the [[Fourth Doctor]]: [[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|"If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives... could you then kill that child?"]] This is something the [[Twelfth Doctor]] experiences as this episode not only reintroduces [[Davros]] into the series after his apparent demise in [[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]] (and also the first encounter between the Twelfth Doctor and Davros), it also introduces a younger Davros before his disfigurement, but also as a young boy, for the first time on television.  
The episode also placed the Twelfth Doctor in a moral dilemma that he himself had brought up many years ago in his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'': ''"If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?"'', with the Doctor coming face to face not only with Davros in the present but also as a child in the past.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
Where is the Doctor? When the skies of [[Earth]] are frozen by a mysterious alien force, Clara needs her friend. But where is the Doctor, and what is he hiding from?
The serpentine [[Colony Sarff]] has searched the entire universe for the Doctor, to give him the final message of [[Davros]]; however, the [[Time Lord]] is nowhere to be found.


As past deeds come back to haunt him, old enemies will come face-to-face, and for the Doctor and Clara survival seems impossible.
This is quite serious, as not even the Doctor's closest [[frenemy]], [[Missy]], is able to find him. Adding onto this is the fact she was given his [[Confession dial]], which in human terms is the last will and testament of the Doctor...


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
[[File: YoungDavros.jpg|thumb|A young Davros]]
On a [[Skaro|misty battlefield]], soldiers flee a bombing run. When the dust settles, [[Kanzo|one of the soldiers]] notices a [[Davros|small figure]] running in the mist. [[Soldier (The Magician's Apprentice)|The soldier's companion]] warns him they need to leave, because [[clam drones]] are going to pass through the area to pick off those whom the bombing run missed.
On a misty battlefield, soldiers flee a bombing run. When the dust settles, one of the soldiers notices a small figure running in the mist. The soldier's companion warns him they need to leave, for Kal drones are going to pass through the area to pick off those whom the bombing run missed.
 
The soldier says he thinks he saw a child and will catch up; he runs off and discovers a boy, whom he tells to stop. The boy, dressed in the same uniform as the soldier, turns fearfully as he is asked if he is lost. The boy nods and the earth below him rumbles; something appears to be tunnelling underneath it. The soldier warns the boy to be still and quiet and takes out a scanner. The soldier and the boy are standing on a [[Handmine]] field; they will be safe as long as they remain still and quiet.


The soldier says he thinks he saw a child and will catch up; he runs off and discovers a boy, whom he tells to stop. Dressed in the same uniform as the soldier, the boy turns fearfully and is asked if he is lost. The boy nods and the earth below him rumbles; something appears to be tunneling underneath it. The soldier warns the boy to be still and quiet; he takes out a scanner. It turns out the soldier and the boy are standing on a [[Handmine]] field; they will be safe as long as they remain still and quiet.
The soldier pulls out some tools and tries to keep the child calm; he asks if the boy has ever seen a Handmine before. The boy nods and points to the man's leg — a muddy hand has clamped onto the soldier's ankle. The soldier looks upon his ankle in fear and then back to the boy, before the Handmine pulls him down into the earth, creating a gaping hole that closes behind him.


The soldier pulls out some tools and tries to keep the child calm; he asks if the boy has ever seen a Handmine before. The boy nods and points to the man's leg; a muddy hand has clamped onto the soldier's ankle. The soldier looks upon his ankle in fear and then back to the boy; the Handmine pulls the soldier down, creating a gaping hole that closes afterwards.
[[File: YoungDavros.jpg|thumb|A young Davros.]]
Several muddy hands with a single eye on their palms rise from the ground. Alone and panicked, the boy begins to scream for someone to help him. Suddenly, something lands beside him: a [[sonic screwdriver]]. The boy picks it up and sees a man through the mist. The Doctor has arrived to help the child. Using the sonic screwdriver to create an audio corridor, they talk. The Doctor tells the boy that he has one chance in a thousand of surviving, but that he should focus on that one chance: one is all he needs. He asks the boy what war this is, not knowing when or where he is. The boy, confused, replies that "it's just [[Thousand Year War|the war]]." He is similarly confused when the Doctor asks him what planet this is. The Doctor tells him not to mind. In an attempt to reassure and comfort the boy, the Doctor asks him what his name is. The boy replies, "Davros. My name is Davros."


Alone and panicked by what he has seen, the boy begins to scream for someone to help him. His cries aggravate the Handmines; several muddy hands with a single eye on their palms rise from the ground and search for the source of the noise.
At [[the Maldovarium]], [[Colony Sarff]], an envoy of Davros, is searching for the Doctor. He demands that the patrons tell him his location. He is met with silence. Later, in the [[Shadow Proclamation]], the [[Shadow Architect]] refuses to tell Sarff where the Doctor is, insisting that she has no idea. Later still on [[Karn]], [[Ohila]] warns Sarff of the dangers hunting the Doctor can bring. Colony Sarff tells Ohila that Davros is dying, but is still anticipating his final meeting with the Doctor. They then leave, giving Ohila a message for the Doctor, unaware that the Time Lord is hiding behind the rocks.


The Doctor arrives to help the child, but is shocked to discover that this is the Thousand Year War, and the child is Davros.
On present-day Earth, Clara is teaching in [[Coal Hill School]]. She looks out the window, noticing something amiss; using a marker, she draws a circle around a plane in the sky, realising that it's frozen in the air. After assigning her class to use their mobiles to search for any information, Clara is told by another teacher about a call for her. Knowing it's [[UNIT]], Clara leaves for the Tower of London. She attempts to contact the Doctor but receives no answer.


Colony Sarff, an envoy of Davros, is searching the universe for the Doctor. He isn't in [[the Maldovarium]]. In the [[Shadow Proclamation]], the Shadow Architect refuses to tell Sarff. On Karn, Ohila warns Sarff of the dangers hunting the Doctor can bring.
At UNIT HQ, [[Kate Stewart]] is tracking the frozen planes. Clara [[deduce]]s the planes aren't being weaponised because an invasion involves stealth, not spectacle. At that moment, [[Doctor Channel|the Doctor channel]] is opened, and lyrics appear on the screen, with one repeating word — Missy. [[Missy]] appears on-screen, explaining that the frozen planes were just a way to get their attention. She proposes a meeting with UNIT.


Davros is dying, but anticipating his final meeting with the Doctor.
At 16:00, Clara and Missy meet in a cafe, where Missy demonstrates her ability to freeze the planes with a [[Time stop|simple Time Lord trick]]. She also notes that Clara must have tried contacting the Doctor by now; Missy explains that she can't find him either. Clara dismisses it, stating it happens sometimes. Missy then reveals that it's worse than she thinks, showing Clara the Doctor's [[confession dial]] — containing the Doctor's last will and testament. She explains that a confession dial is given to a dying Time Lord's closest friend on their final day. Clara attempts to touch the dial, but is zapped by it; Missy explains that it was given to her, not Clara.


Clara's teaching in [[Coal Hill School]], where, through the window, she sees a plane frozen in the sky - which the rest of the world have also noticed. UNIT summons Clara.
Clara wonders if Missy has turned over a new leaf, but Missy then vaporises a member of UNIT, stating that she has not "turned good". Threatening to have the snipers kill her, Clara demands Missy show she cares about the Doctor. Missy releases the planes from the time stop, revealing nothing else could have been done with them; they were just stuck in time.


At UNIT HQ, Kate Stewart's tracking the frozen planes. Clara deduces that the planes aren't being weaponised because an invasion doesn't forewarn itself. Missy intrudes the meeting on the Doctor's communication channel, and proposes a meeting with UNIT.
Missy explains the Doctor is facing his final day, and therefore has come to Earth; however, when and where is unknown. Clara asks Missy how a Time Lord would spend his final day, and Missy says that it is supposed to be in meditation. Clara tells Kate to track mentions of the Doctor across history that doesn't involve an alien disturbance, and they discover his location: [[Essex]], the [[Middle Ages]]. Using a [[vortex manipulator]], Missy and Clara vanish into the past.


16:00. Clara and Missy meet in a cafe, where Missy demonstrates her ability to freeze the planes with a simple Time Lord trick and shows Clara the Doctor's confession dial - containing the Doctor's last will and testament. A confession dial's given to a dying Time Lord's closest friend on their final day. The Doctor's confession dial has been given to Missy, but will only open once he's dead. The Doctor's living his final day, Missy tells Clara, and has therefore come to Earth. Clara tells Kate to track mentions of the Doctor that don't also mention an alien disturbance - Essex, the Middle Ages.
Clara and Missy arrive in a castle, where Missy explains that the vortex manipulator she put on Clara, is slaved to her own; where Missy goes, so does Clara. Wondering how they will find the Doctor, Clara is told to look for anything that stands out. At that moment, they hear an electric guitar playing; the Doctor arrives in a stadium, playing the guitar on a tank. His opponent, [[Bors (The Doctor's Meditation)|Bors]] is annoyed; the Doctor laughs that he wanted an "axe fight". The Doctor begins making bad jokes, to which Clara notes is not like him; Missy retorts "you really are new, aren't you."


Clara and Missy arrive in a castle where the Doctor's performing for a primitive crowd atop a tank. They think he's a magician, and his apprentice is Bors. Sarff arrives and demands for the Doctor to speak with Davros, who's also dying. The Doctor remembers his encounter with the child Davros, and agrees to go with Sarff. The Doctor, Clara and Missy are teleported to Sarff's shuttle. In their absence, Bors - a [[Dalek puppet]] - procures the TARDIS and informs Dalek High Command.
To Clara's surprise, the Doctor looks right at them and starts playing ''[[Pretty Woman]]'' to clue them in; Clara heads down, wondering how the Doctor picked her out of the crowd. The Doctor says he always sees her and hugs her; Clara notes this isn't like him. The Doctor states he spent the past days wearing items his last lives did, stating [[regeneration|all of him]] is welcome to his party. Missy arrives next, wondering what he's up to. The Doctor gets the crowd to boo at her. However, Bors is next heard choking; the Doctor checks his neck, finding a snake, which he tosses off Bors.


Travelling to Davros' location - an apparent space station hospital - the Doctor tells Clara who Davros is - the creator of the Daleks; a war child who sealed his species inside tanks to preserve them.
The crowd flees. as Sarff arrives, revealing his composition: a colony of snakes, bound together to form a humanoid. They demand the Doctor come with them to speak with Davros. The Doctor, recalling an action about which he feels great shame, agrees to go with Sarff. Missy and Clara demand to be taken as well; after voting, Sarff agrees to take them, binding the hands of all three with snakes. The Doctor, Clara and Missy are teleported to Sarff's shuttle. In their absence, Bors — revealed to have been converted into a [[Dalek puppet]] — procures the TARDIS and informs [[Dalek High Command]].


In the hospital, the Doctor goes with Sarff to see Davros, leaving Clara with Missy. Both the Doctor and Missy can feel the gravity - it's natural. The hospital isn't a space station. Missy opens the air lock.
[[File:DoctorMeetsDavros.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor encounters a [[Death|dying]] Davros.]]
Travelling to Davros' location — apparently a space hospital - the Doctor tells Clara who Davros is — the creator of the Daleks; a child of war who sealed his species inside tanks to preserve them. In the hospital, the Doctor goes with Sarff to see Davros, leaving Clara with Missy. As he leaves, he mentions the gravity. Both the Doctor and Missy have noticed that the gravity is natural. The hospital cannot be a space station. Missy daringly opens the airlock.


The Doctor meets with Davros, and they talk of how their conflict's been fuelled by a conversation - is the Davros right to create the Daleks, or does he lack compassion?
The Doctor meets with Davros, and they talk of how their conflicts have been fuelled by a single disagreement — was Davros right to create the Daleks, or was his lack of compassion wrong? Davros plays several recordings of the Doctor's various speeches to him about morality.


Clara and Missy walk out apparently into apparent outer space, until Missy realises that, once on the planet, one begins to synchronise with it. At that moment, both Missy and the Doctor realise they're on Skaro.
Clara and Missy walk out, apparently into outer space. However, they are breathing, and apparently walking on solid ground. Missy realises that once within the planet's atmosphere, one begins to synchronise with it. The illusion vanishes, showing a city in the middle of a wasteland; Missy reacts with horror and disbelief, while Clara is left confused. At the same time, the Doctor is shown the truth by Davros; they are on [[Skaro]], the Daleks' homeworld.


Sighted by the Daleks, Clara and Missy are taken to see the Supreme Dalek, who's with the TARDIS and a large weapon aimed at it. Missy attempts to reason with the Daleks - if they don't destroy the TARDIS, she can help them fly it, allowing them to conquer the universe. The Supreme Dalek orders her extermination instead. Missy is exterminated.
Sighted by a Dalek, Clara and Missy are taken to see the [[Supreme Dalek (The Magician's Apprentice)|Supreme Dalek]], who has a large weapon aimed at the TARDIS. Missy attempts to reason with the Daleks - if they don't destroy the TARDIS, she can help them fly it, allowing them to conquer the universe. However, the Supreme Dalek demands Missy's total extermination, and she vanishes in the blast.


The Doctor pleads with Davros to not let Clara come to harm - but Davros doesn't control the Daleks. Davros observes the Daleks' preference for waiting for Clara to run. Then, they exterminate her. Davros reasons with the Doctor that this happened because the Doctor showed him compassion as a child, despite knowing his destiny - allowing Davros to create the Daleks, that have killed Clara and Missy.
The Doctor pleads with Davros to not let Clara come to harm — but Davros tells him that he does not control the Daleks. Davros observes the Daleks' choice to wait for Clara to run. As she runs, they exterminate her, causing her to vanish. The Supreme Dalek then orders the TARDIS to be destroyed and it is seemingly vaporised by the weapon aimed at it.


Back on the battlefield, the Doctor returns to the child Davros. But this time... he prepares to exterminate him.
[[File:Doctordalekgun.jpg|thumb|right|"Exterminate!"]]
Back on the battlefield, a young Davros, still pleading with the Doctor not to leave, hears the TARDIS rematerialise behind him, and disbelievingly asks him how he has moved. The Doctor explains he's come from the future, and that he has to save his friend the only way he can. Brandishing a severed Dalek [[gunstick]], the Doctor glares towards the child, shouting "Exterminate!"


== Cast ==
== Cast ==
* [[Twelfth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Capaldi]]
* [[Twelfth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Capaldi]]
* [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] - [[Jenna Coleman]]
* [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] - [[Jenna Coleman]]
* {{Gomez|n=Missy}} - [[Michelle Gomez]]
* [[Missy]] - [[Michelle Gomez]]
* [[Colony Sarff]] - [[Jami Reid-Quarrell]]
* [[Davros]] - [[Julian Bleach]]
* [[Davros]] - [[Julian Bleach]]
* [[Colony Sarff]] - [[Jami Reid-Quarrell]]
* [[Kate Stewart|Kate]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]
* [[Kate Stewart|Kate]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]
* [[Jac (The Magician's Apprentice)|Jac]] - [[Jaye Griffiths]]
* [[Jac (The Magician's Apprentice)|Jac]] - [[Jaye Griffiths]]
Line 93: Line 107:
* [[Davros|Boy]] - [[Joey Price]]
* [[Davros|Boy]] - [[Joey Price]]
* [[Kanzo]] - [[Benjamin Cawley]]
* [[Kanzo]] - [[Benjamin Cawley]]
* [[Dunlop|Mr Dunlop]] - [[Aaron Neil]]
* [[A. Dunlop|Mr Dunlop]] - [[Aaron Neil]]
* [[Ohila]] - [[Clare Higgins]]
* [[Ohila]] - [[Clare Higgins]]
* Voice of the [[Dalek]]s - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Dalek|Voice of the Daleks]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* [[Shadow Architect]] - [[Kelly Hunter]]
* [[Shadow Architect]] - [[Kelly Hunter]]
* [[Alison (The Magician's Apprentice)|Alison]] - [[India Ria Amarteifio]]
* [[Alison (The Magician's Apprentice)|Alison]] - [[India Ria Amarteifio]]
* [[Ryan (The Magician's Apprentice)|Ryan]] - [[Dasharn Anderson]]
* [[Ryan (The Magician's Apprentice)|Ryan]] - [[Dasharn Anderson]]
* [[Newsreader 1 (The Magician's Apprentice)|Newsreader]] - [[Stefan Adegbola]]
* Newsreaders - [[Stefan Adegbola]], [[Shin-Fei Chen]], [[Lucy-Newman Williams]]
* [[Newsreader 2 (The Magician's Apprentice)|Newsreader]] - [[Shin-Fei Chen]]
* [[Newsreader 3 (The Magician's Apprentice)|Newsreader]] - [[Lucy Newman-Williams]]
* [[School girl (The Magician's Apprentice)|School Girl]] - [[Demi Papaminas]]
* [[School girl (The Magician's Apprentice)|School Girl]] - [[Demi Papaminas]]
* [[Dalek]] - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* [[Dalek operator|Daleks]] - [[Barnaby Edwards]], [[Nicholas Pegg]]
* Dalek - [[Nicholas Pegg]]
* [[Soldier (The Magician's Apprentice)|Soldier]] - [[Jonathon Ojinnaka]]
* [[Soldier (The Magician's Apprentice)|Soldier]] - [[Jonathan Ojinnaka]]
 
=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Grey Dalek (The Magician's Apprentice)|Grey Dalek]] - [[David Hobday]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thatwasmydalek.blogspot.com/ |title=That was my Dalek|date of source= |website name=That was my Dalek|accessdate=9 October 2015}}</ref>
* [[Blowfish (The Magician's Apprentice)|Blowfish]] - [[Christos Gauci]]<ref>https://www.starnow.com.au/christosgauci/photos/8109717</ref>


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
''to be added''
{{wales crew
|1stAD=Dan Mumford
|2ndAD=James DeHaviland
|3rdAD=Danielle Richards
|AD=Gareth Jones (assistant director)
|AD2=Chris Thomas (assistant director)
|Runner=
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|FloorRunner=
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|LocationManager=Iwan Roberts
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|UnitManager=Iestyn Hampson-Jones
|AssistantUnitManager=
|ProductionManager=Adam Knopf
|ProductionCoOrdinator=Sandra Cosfeld
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
|ProductionManagerAsst=
|ProductionManagementAsst=
|ProductionAssistant=Siôn Crowle
|ProductionAssistant2=Jamie Shaw
|ProductionScriptSecretary=
|ProductionSecretary=Hannah Jones
|ScriptSecretary=
|ProductionRunner=
|ProductionRunner2=
|ProductionRunner3=
|Driver=
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|AssistantProductionAccountant=
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|ScriptEditor=David P Davis
|ScriptEditor2=
|ScriptExecutive=Lindsey Alford
|ScriptSupervisor=Nicki Coles
|Continuity=
|CameraOperator=Mark McQuoid
|CameraOperator2=
|BCameraOperator=
|2ndUnitCameraOperator=
|2ndCameraOperator=Steve Rees
|FocusPuller=Jonathan Vidgen
|FocusPuller2=Matthew Lepper
|2ndUnitFocusPuller=
|2ndFocusPuller=
|PolecamOperator=
|Grip=John Robinson
|AssistantGrip=Sean Cronin
|CameraAsst=Cai Thompson
|CameraAsst2=Scott Waller
|CameraAsst3=
|CameraTrainee=
|BoomOperator=
|BoomOperator2=
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer=Tam Shoring
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer2=Christopher Goding
|Gaffer=Mark Hutchings
|BestBoy=Andrew Gardiner
|Electrician=Andrew Williams (electrician)
|Electrician2=Bob Milton
|Electrician3=Gareth Sheldon
|Electrician4=Gawain Nash
|Electrician5=Matt Wilson
|StuntCoOrdinator=Crispin Layfield
|StuntCoOrdinator2=Gordon Seed
|StuntCoOrdinator3=Lucy Allen
|Choreographer=
|Wires=
|Stunt=Sarah Lochlan
|Stunt2=Belinda McGinley
|Stunt3=David Grant
|Stunt4=Nicholas Daines
|Stunt5=
|Stunt6=
|Stunt7=
|Stunt8=
|ChiefSupervisingArtDirector=
|SupervisingArtDirector=Tristan Peatfield
|SupervisingArtDirector2=Dafydd Shurmer
|ArtDirector=
|AssistantArtDirector=
|ArtDeptCoOrdinator=
|ArtDeptProdManager=
|ArtDeptAccountant=Bethan Griffiths
|AssociateDesigner=
|ProductionBuyer=Sarah Frere
|ProductionBuyer2=
|SetDecorator=Adrian Anscombe
|PropsBuyer=
|PropBuyer=May Johnson
|PropBuyer2=Vicki Male
|PropBuyer3=Rosy Pearce
|Draughtperson=Kartik Nagar
|PettyCashBuyer=
|StandbyArtDirector=Julia Challis
|ASupervisingArtDirector=
|SetDesigner=
|StoryboardArtist=Mike Collins
|ConceptArtist=Chris Lees
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|DesignAssistant=
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|DesignAssistant3=
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|CyfleTrainee=
|GraphicArtist=Matthew Clark
|MotionGraphics=Tom Munday
|GraphicDesigner=
|StandbyProps=Liam Collins
|StandbyProps2=Ian Davies
|StandbyProps3=
|StandbyCarpenter=Paul Jones
|StandbyRigger=
|Rigging=Shadow Scaffolding
|StandbyPainter=
|StandbyScenicArtist=
|StorePerson=
|Storeman=Jamie Southcott
|ChiefPropMaster=
|PropMaster=Paul Smith (prop master)
|PropertyMaster=
|AssistantPropMaster=
|DressingChargehand=
|PropsChargehand=Kyle Belmont
|SetDresser=
|PropHand=Scott Howe
|PropHand2=Nigel Magni
|PropHand3=Matt Watts
|PropsStoreman=
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|ChiefPropsMaker=
|PropsFabricationManager=
|PropsMaker=Alan Hardy
|PropsMaker2=Jamie Thomas
|PropsMaker3=
|PropsDriver=Gareth Fox
|PracticalElectrician=Christian Davies
|PracticalElectrician2=Austin Curtis
|ArtDepartmentDriver=
|ConstructionManager=Terry Horle
|ConstructionWorkshopManager=
|WorkshopManager=
|ConstructionChargehand=Dean Tucker
|ChargehandCarpenter=John Sinnott <!-- new -->
|Carpenter=Tim Burke
|Carpenter2=Lawrie Ferry
|Carpenter3=Matt Ferry
|Carpenter4=Chris Daniels
|Carpenter5=Julian Tucker
|Carpenter6=George Rees
|Carpenter7=Dan Berrow
|Carpenter8=Keith Richards (carpenter)
|Carpenter9=Campbell Fraser
|ConstructionDriver=Jonathan Tylke
|ScenicArtist=
|ScenicArtist2=
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|DedicatedTo=<!--This exact credit never actually used as of April 2010; left for future use-->
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=== Uncredited crew ===
{{uncred list
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|Compositor7=Rebecca Clay
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|Compositor9=Theajo Nagaraja
|JuniorCompositor=Alex Balmer
|JuniorCompositor2=Daniel Long
|JuniorCompositor3=Marco Pileri
|JuniorCompositor4=Matteo Inchingolo
|JuniorCompositor5=Ross Allen
|JuniorCompositor6=Sarah Iduwe
|JuniorCompositor7=Vasco Cerqueira
}}


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* Whilst playing the electric guitar, The Doctor gets a crowd in medieval England to chant the word "dude", most likely a reference to "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". In the film, the two rock musician protagonists often use the word "dude", and also use a time machine disguised as a phonebox to visit medieval England.
* Missy refers to the [[Cloister Wars]] and the Doctor stealing [[Gallifrey's moon|the moon]] and the [[President's wife (The Magician's Apprentice)|President's wife]].
* The Doctor also gets the crowd to complete the phrase "all the young dudes", the title of a song by Mott The Hoople.
 
=== Technology ===
 
* Missy uses a [[time stop]] to stop all of the [[plane]]s of Earth in mid-air.
* Missy shows Clara the [[Confession dial]] of the Doctor and explains what it is.
 
=== Species ===
* An [[Ood 2 (The Magician's Apprentice)|Ood]], a [[Hath (The Magician's Apprentice)|Hath]], a [[Sycorax (The Magician's Apprentice)|Sycorax]], another [[Ood 1 (The Magician's Apprentice)|Ood]], a [[Kahler (The Magician's Apprentice)|Kahler]], and a [[Blowfish (The Magician's Apprentice)|Blowfish]] are at the Maldovarium.
* A [[Judoon (The Magician's Apprentice)|Judoon]] is present at the [[Shadow Architect]]'s side when [[Colony Sarff]] visits the [[Shadow Proclamation]].
* Missy claims that three bullets to each of a [[Time Lord]]'s hearts and two bullets to their brain stem simultaneously could prevent [[regeneration]].
 
=== Culture from the real world ===
* A picture of [[Edgar Allan Poe]] is visible in Clara's classroom.
* Clara tells her [[Coal Hill School|Coal Hill]] students to turn on their [[phone]]s and go to news, websites and [[Twitter]], and search for hashtags such as #[[ThePlanesHaveStopped]].
* Missy refers to [[selfie]]s when threatening to kill a UNIT guard.
* Clara quotes the [[Dylan Thomas]] poem "[[Do not go gentle into that good night]]".
* The Doctor can play the [[electric guitar]]. He plays the introductory bars of "[[Pretty Woman]]".
* The Doctor gets the crowd to complete the title of "[[All the Young Dudes]]".
 
=== Individuals ===
* [[Dunlop|Mr Dunlop]] mentions the [[prime minister]] and Kate Stewart mentions a [[President]].
* The Doctor claims to have given [[Marble (toy)|marbles]] of his to Bors and told him not to swallow them.
* Missy refers to Clara as a "[[nano-brain]]".
 
=== Numbers ===
* Jac mentions the numbers [[4165 (number)|4165]] and [[439 (number)|439]].
 
=== Unified Intelligence Taskforce ===
* UNIT has a "[[Doctor Channel]]".
 
=== Locations ===
* Jac mentions [[San Martino]], [[Troy]], [[New York City|New York]], and [[Atlantis]].
 
=== The TARDIS ===
* [[Roundel]]s have been added to the lower section of the [[TARDIS control room#Neon console|TARDIS control room]].


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
* To keep Davros's return a surprise, [[Julian Bleach]] went uncredited until the episode's release.
* To keep Davros' return a surprise, [[Julian Bleach]] was not credited prior to airing. The young Davros, played by Joey Price, is credited as "Boy".
* In Welsh, "Sarff" means "serpent".
* This was the first series opener in the [[BBC Wales]] series, and the first Dalek story, to be directed by a woman.
* This was the first series opener since ''Doctor Who'' returned in 2005 to be directed by a woman.
* This is the first televised story to be set on Skaro since ''[[Destiny of the Daleks (TV story)|Destiny of the Daleks]]''.
* The episode's credits list the creators of the [[Kahler (species)|Kahler]], [[Skullion]]s, [[Hath]], [[Blowfish]], [[Ood]], and [[Sycorax]], all of whom were present when [[Colony Sarff]] was searching for the Doctor. This is the Skullion's first appearance on ''Doctor Who'', having previously appeared in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''.
* The ''Radio Times'' programme listing was accompanied by a head-and-shoulders shot of Missy operating her control device, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 7.40 p.m. Missy is one of many searching for the missing Time Lord as the series returns".
* On 27 September, the day after the broadcast of ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'', the two-part opener was broadcast on [[BBC One]] and [[BBC One|BBC One HD]] as one single feature-length episode.<ref>https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06h9y66</ref>
* The title sequence was slightly modified starting with this episode; the clock gears, gas and the first Roman numeral clock face tunnel now have a blue hue.
* The episode's credits list the creators of the [[Kahler (species)|Kahler]], [[Skullion]]s, [[Hath]], [[Blowfish]], [[Ood]], and [[Sycorax]], all of whom were present when [[Colony Sarff]] was searching for the Doctor. This is the Skullions' first appearance on ''Doctor Who'', having previously appeared in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''. This is the first time in which creator credits are included for creatures introduced during Steven Moffat's tenure as showrunner, and for creatures introduced in a spin-off series.
* This is the first time a [[Special Weapons Dalek]] has been shown to apparently talk on-screen and also features the gold oblong windows encircling its dome lighting up. These traits were subject to debate and speculation ever since the Special Weapons Dalek model first appeared in ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', as the model featured was never shown speaking either in that serial, or in ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]''. A new model was used in the story, completely separate from the prop used in the first two stories. As a result, if one pays close attention to details, it can actually be seen that it looks slightly different in some places.
* The congregation of Daleks that Clara and Missy meet on Skaro includes the original silver and blue model used from [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'' to [[TV]]: ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]]'', the second silver and blue model used from [[TV]]: ''[[The Space Museum (TV story)|The Space Museum]]'' to [[TV]]: ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'', the [[Emperor Dalek]]'s [[Emperor's Personal Guard|personal guard]] from [[TV]]: ''[[The Evil of the Daleks (TV story)|The Evil of the Daleks]]'', the grey and black model used from [[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Daleks (TV story)|Day of the Daleks]]'' to [[TV]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', the [[Special Weapons Dalek]] from [[TV]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', a black Dalek resembling [[Dalek Sec]], the [[Supreme Dalek]] model from [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'' and ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'', and the incumbent bronze model that has been in use since [[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]''.
* Peter Capaldi actually played the guitar in this story, and for the rest of the season, having been a musician in real life.
* Michelle Gomez confirmed on Twitter that her tickling a nearby Dalek's [[sensor globe|bumps]] when referring to the TARDIS as "the dog's unmentionables" was improvised.<ref>https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/648186904089919489</ref>
* This story is the first time [[Ohila]] has been featured in a full-length episode of ''Doctor Who'' as opposed to mini-episodes.
* The design of the Dalek city and the sliding doors in it pays homage to the set of the first Dalek story, [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]''.
* The title (which formed an interesting dichotomy with ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'') was not the first time the Doctor's companion was compared to a "magician's apprentice", as this had already been the object of a sequence in the novel ''[[Vampire Science (novel)|Vampire Science]]'', between the [[Eighth Doctor]] and [[Sam Jones]]. Referring to the [[Twelfth Doctor]] as a magician, as the title does, may also be an allusion to the common wisdom that this Doctor's outfit resembles a classic stage magician's.
* In the "[[Showrunner Showdown]]" interview for [[DWM 551]], Steven Moffat revealed he had wanted his predecessor as showrunner [[Russell T Davies]] to write this episode and sent him an early draft of the pitch. The story behind this original pitch was "almost unrecognisable" from the final episode, focusing on Davros on trial. Moffat suggested the plot would have given the Doctor and Davros' conversations an audience, with the Doctor winning over the Dalek crowd but in the process sympathising with his longtime enemy. Ultimately, Davies was not interested, and Moffat wrote the episode himself.
=== Ratings ===
* [[BBC One]] Overnight: 4.58 million<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34307519</ref>
* [[BBC America]] Overnight: 2 million<ref>http://doctorwhowatch.com/2015/09/22/doctor-who-the-magicians-apprentice-smashes-ratings-record-in-the-us/</ref>
* UK final ratings: 6.54 million<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date Doctor Who Ratings - UK final]</ref>


=== Ratings ===
=== Filming locations ===
''To be added''
* Fuerteventura, Canary Islands<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3JZDF14smXfkQNdlcbsGXM5/the-magician-s-apprentice-the-fact-file</ref>
* Convento de San Francisco, Garachico, [[Tenerife]], [[Canary Islands]]
* Parque Nacional del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands


=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
''To be added''
{{Discontinuity}}
* When [[Colony Sarff]] is leaving [[Karn]], the glow of a hoverboard, used to make him appear to slither along the ground, can be seen under his robes.
* After Missy opens the door to the cell she and Clara are in, the snake binding Clara's hands disappears without an explanation.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*From the Doctor's perspective, both [[WC]]: ''[[Prologue (webcast)|Prologue]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)|The Doctor's Meditation]]'' take place entirely within the narrative of this episode.
* Clara mentions that it has been "ages" since she last saw [[Missy]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
*Davros replays footage to the Doctor of their earlier confrontations featuring his previous incarnations: the [[Fourth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]''), the [[Fifth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)|Resurrection of the Daleks]]''), the [[Sixth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]''), the [[Seventh Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]''), and the [[Tenth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]''). Highlighted due to its particular relevance to the situation is the Fourth Doctor's question to his [[companion]]s:
* Clara says the Doctor will "go Scottish" if UNIT doesn't have a reason for calling him. ([[TV]]: ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'')
::"''If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?''" ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* Missy reintroduces herself to [[UNIT]] on their computer screens with her song "Hey Missy". ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
*Clara is still teaching classes about [[Jane Austen]], only this time she seems to have met her. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caretaker (TV story)|The Caretaker]]'')
* Missy treats her apparent resurrection as no big deal, having been shot by a [[Cyberman]] in full view of Clara and the Doctor on [[Earth]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'') There have been several instances where {{Ainley}} has escaped from certain death with no explanation as to how they survived. ([[TV]]: ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'', ''[[Planet of Fire (TV story)|Planet of Fire]]'', ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'')
*The Doctor had previously contemplated his death on a battlefield, at [[Trenzalore]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* Clara considers herself the Doctor's best friend. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
*As UNIT tracks locations that the Doctor has visited in the past across the globe in an attempt to deduce where he could have gone for his last destination, Jac notes [[San Martino]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)|The Masque of Mandragora]]''), [[Troy]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Myth Makers (TV story)|The Myth Makers]]''), multiple visits to [[New York (state)|New York]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'', ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]''/''[[Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Evolution of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Monsters from the Past]]'', ''[[Time Bomb (DWM comic story)|Time Bomb]]'', ''[[Dinosaurs in New York!]]'', ''[[The Greed of the Gavulav]]'', ''[[The Doctor and the Nurse (comic story)|The Doctor and the Nurse]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[CHAOS (short story)|CHAOS]]'', ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]'', ''[[Christmas on a Rational Planet]]'', ''[[Presence (short story)|Presence]]'', ''[[Best Seller]]'', ''[[Femme Fatale]]'', ''[[Beautiful Chaos]]'', ''[[The Forgotten Army]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Blackout]]'', ''[[Invaders from Mars (audio story)|Invaders from Mars]]''), and three possible versions of [[Atlantis]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Underwater Menace (TV story)|The Underwater Menace]]'', ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'', ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Transit]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Antidote to Oblivion (audio story)|Antidote to Oblivion]]'', ''[[Scavenger (audio story)|Scavenger]]'')
* [[Jac (The Magician's Apprentice)|Jac]] tells [[Kate Stewart|Kate]] that they are scanning for key words such as "Doctor" and "Blue box"; both were key words used in attempts at finding the [[Ninth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'', ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]'')
* Missy says a [[Time Lord]] is supposed to die after meditation, in which they show their acceptance of it. ([[WC]]: ''[[Prologue (webcast)|Prologue]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)|The Doctor's Meditation]]'')
* The Doctor reminds Clara he and Missy have known each other a long time. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]''; [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dark Path (novel)|The Dark Path]]'')
* Missy describes vortex manipulator time travel as "cheap and nasty". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
* Missy asks Clara if [[Danny Pink]] is still dead. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dark Water (TV story)|Dark Water]]'', ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
* Clara is surprised by the Doctor's hug, knowing he doesn't like them. ([[TV]]: ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'', ''[[Listen (TV story)|Listen]]'') He reminds her that it's a way to hide one's face. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
* The Doctor mentions that he helped Bors and his men to dig a well. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)|The Doctor's Meditation]]'')
* [[Bors (The Doctor's Meditation)|Bors]] calls the Doctor a magician. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Heist (TV story)|Time Heist]]'', ''[[Last Christmas (TV story)|Last Christmas]]'', ''[[The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)|The Doctor's Meditation]]'')
* When the Doctor says he's been in Essex all day, Bors reminds him that he's been there for three weeks. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Meditation (TV story)|The Doctor's Meditation]]'')
* Colony Sarff visits [[The Maldovarium]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'', ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
* The Doctor says he no longer has a screwdriver. He had earlier stopped using his screwdriver when it was destroyed by the Terrileptils during his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth incarnation]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Visitation (TV story)|The Visitation]]'') and would not reuse it until his [[seventh incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
* Bors becomes a [[Dalek puppet]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)|Asylum of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* The Doctor says Davros is a child of the [[Thousand Year War]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Innocence (audio story)|Innocence]]'')
* Davros replays footage to the Doctor of some of their earlier confrontations featuring his previous incarnations. ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)|Resurrection of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'')
* Clara is still teaching classes about [[Jane Austen]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caretaker (TV story)|The Caretaker]]'')
* The Doctor had previously contemplated his death on a battlefield, at [[Trenzalore]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* As UNIT tracks locations that the Doctor has visited in the past across the globe in an attempt to [[deduce]] where he could have gone for his last destination, Jac notes [[San Martino]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Masque of Mandragora (TV story)|The Masque of Mandragora]]'') [[Troy]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Myth Makers (TV story)|The Myth Makers]]'') multiple visits to [[New York (state)|New York]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Chase (TV story)|The Chase]]'', ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]'') and three possible versions of [[Atlantis]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Underwater Menace (TV story)|The Underwater Menace]]'', ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'', ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'')
* The Doctor concludes that the war must have been going on for a long time, judging by the mix of technology. The [[Fourth Doctor]] made the same observation on the war when he arrived at the [[creation of the Daleks]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* Missy offers to teach the Daleks how to operate the TARDIS in exchange for her life. The [[First Doctor]] made a similar bargain with them when first meeting them, though he bargained for [[Susan Foreman]]'s life as well. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'')
* Davros believes the Doctor's greatest weakness is his compassion. The Daleks have previously made the same observation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'')
* The life forms which became the Daleks were humanoids. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]'', ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* The Master and the Daleks have previously worked together. ([[TV]]: ''[[Frontier in Space (TV story)|Frontier in Space]]'')
* Clara combines her computer skills and talent for understanding behaviour to find the Doctor. She previously did the same to find [[Rosemary Kizlet]]'s uploaded victims. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'')
* The Doctor uses a [[Magpie Electricals]] amplifier with his guitar. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]'')
* When Clara states her anger to the Doctor for having sent his Confession Dial to Missy, she pointed out that he sent it because he thought (or hoped, which she calls worse) that Missy was still alive since they both saw her "death". When the Doctor revealed the truth about them being on the [[Orient Express (spacecraft)|Orient Express]], he countered her accusing him of knowing that something was going on by stating that he hoped this was so. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mummy on the Orient Express (TV story)|Mummy on the Orient Express]]'')
* The Daleks previously encountered numerous planets hidden from sight by their inhabitants. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Archives of Phryne (comic story)|The Archives of Phryne]]'') The Daleks themselves later did the same to Skaro to hide from the [[Collector]]<nowiki/>s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Heart of TARDIS (novel)|Heart of TARDIS]]'')


== Home video releases ==
== Home video releases ==
''To be added''
=== DVD & Blu-ray releases ===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:Complete 9th Series UK Cover.jpg|The Complete Series 9
File:Series 9 Part 1 UK DVD Cover.jpg|Series 9 Part 1 DVD Cover
</gallery>
* ''The Magician's Apprentice'' was released as part of the Series 9, Part One DVD and Blu-ray boxsets in region 1/A on [[3 November (releases)|3 November]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]], in region 2/B on [[2 November (releases)|2 November]] 2015 and in region 4/B on [[4 November (releases)|4 November]] 2015.
* It was later released as part of the Complete Ninth Series DVD and Blu-ray boxsets in region 1/A on [[5 April (releases)|5 April]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]], in region 2/B on [[7 March (releases)|7 March]] 2016 and in region 4/B on [[9 March (releases)|9 March]] 2016.
===Digital releases===
 
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]].
== External links ==
* Transcript of [http://www.chakoteya.net/DoctorWho/35-1.html ''The Magicians Apprentice''] at ''[http://www.chakoteya.net Chrissie's Transcripts Site]''
* {{locguide|themagiciansapprentice|The Magician's Apprentice}}


== Footnotes ==
== Footnotes ==
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Latest revision as of 01:01, 22 October 2024

RealWorld.png

You may be looking for the episode as it exists within the DWU or The Sorcerer's Apprentice.

The Magician's Apprentice was the first episode of series 9 of Doctor Who.

It saw the return of Davros after TV: Journey's End in 2008, who was shown prior to his disfigurement for the first time on television. However, it was not the first story to depict Davros as a child. Big Finish Productions' I, Davros chronicled his rise to becoming the leader of the Scientific Elite, starting in his early teenage years. The episode gives no explanation as to how Davros managed to survive after the events of Journey's End, nor when the Doctor discovered he had done so.

The episode also placed the Twelfth Doctor in a moral dilemma that he himself had brought up many years ago in his fourth incarnation in TV: Genesis of the Daleks: "If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?", with the Doctor coming face to face not only with Davros in the present but also as a child in the past.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The serpentine Colony Sarff has searched the entire universe for the Doctor, to give him the final message of Davros; however, the Time Lord is nowhere to be found.

This is quite serious, as not even the Doctor's closest frenemy, Missy, is able to find him. Adding onto this is the fact she was given his Confession dial, which in human terms is the last will and testament of the Doctor...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

On a misty battlefield, soldiers flee a bombing run. When the dust settles, one of the soldiers notices a small figure running in the mist. The soldier's companion warns him they need to leave, because clam drones are going to pass through the area to pick off those whom the bombing run missed.

The soldier says he thinks he saw a child and will catch up; he runs off and discovers a boy, whom he tells to stop. The boy, dressed in the same uniform as the soldier, turns fearfully as he is asked if he is lost. The boy nods and the earth below him rumbles; something appears to be tunnelling underneath it. The soldier warns the boy to be still and quiet and takes out a scanner. The soldier and the boy are standing on a Handmine field; they will be safe as long as they remain still and quiet.

The soldier pulls out some tools and tries to keep the child calm; he asks if the boy has ever seen a Handmine before. The boy nods and points to the man's leg — a muddy hand has clamped onto the soldier's ankle. The soldier looks upon his ankle in fear and then back to the boy, before the Handmine pulls him down into the earth, creating a gaping hole that closes behind him.

A young Davros.

Several muddy hands with a single eye on their palms rise from the ground. Alone and panicked, the boy begins to scream for someone to help him. Suddenly, something lands beside him: a sonic screwdriver. The boy picks it up and sees a man through the mist. The Doctor has arrived to help the child. Using the sonic screwdriver to create an audio corridor, they talk. The Doctor tells the boy that he has one chance in a thousand of surviving, but that he should focus on that one chance: one is all he needs. He asks the boy what war this is, not knowing when or where he is. The boy, confused, replies that "it's just the war." He is similarly confused when the Doctor asks him what planet this is. The Doctor tells him not to mind. In an attempt to reassure and comfort the boy, the Doctor asks him what his name is. The boy replies, "Davros. My name is Davros."

At the Maldovarium, Colony Sarff, an envoy of Davros, is searching for the Doctor. He demands that the patrons tell him his location. He is met with silence. Later, in the Shadow Proclamation, the Shadow Architect refuses to tell Sarff where the Doctor is, insisting that she has no idea. Later still on Karn, Ohila warns Sarff of the dangers hunting the Doctor can bring. Colony Sarff tells Ohila that Davros is dying, but is still anticipating his final meeting with the Doctor. They then leave, giving Ohila a message for the Doctor, unaware that the Time Lord is hiding behind the rocks.

On present-day Earth, Clara is teaching in Coal Hill School. She looks out the window, noticing something amiss; using a marker, she draws a circle around a plane in the sky, realising that it's frozen in the air. After assigning her class to use their mobiles to search for any information, Clara is told by another teacher about a call for her. Knowing it's UNIT, Clara leaves for the Tower of London. She attempts to contact the Doctor but receives no answer.

At UNIT HQ, Kate Stewart is tracking the frozen planes. Clara deduces the planes aren't being weaponised because an invasion involves stealth, not spectacle. At that moment, the Doctor channel is opened, and lyrics appear on the screen, with one repeating word — Missy. Missy appears on-screen, explaining that the frozen planes were just a way to get their attention. She proposes a meeting with UNIT.

At 16:00, Clara and Missy meet in a cafe, where Missy demonstrates her ability to freeze the planes with a simple Time Lord trick. She also notes that Clara must have tried contacting the Doctor by now; Missy explains that she can't find him either. Clara dismisses it, stating it happens sometimes. Missy then reveals that it's worse than she thinks, showing Clara the Doctor's confession dial — containing the Doctor's last will and testament. She explains that a confession dial is given to a dying Time Lord's closest friend on their final day. Clara attempts to touch the dial, but is zapped by it; Missy explains that it was given to her, not Clara.

Clara wonders if Missy has turned over a new leaf, but Missy then vaporises a member of UNIT, stating that she has not "turned good". Threatening to have the snipers kill her, Clara demands Missy show she cares about the Doctor. Missy releases the planes from the time stop, revealing nothing else could have been done with them; they were just stuck in time.

Missy explains the Doctor is facing his final day, and therefore has come to Earth; however, when and where is unknown. Clara asks Missy how a Time Lord would spend his final day, and Missy says that it is supposed to be in meditation. Clara tells Kate to track mentions of the Doctor across history that doesn't involve an alien disturbance, and they discover his location: Essex, the Middle Ages. Using a vortex manipulator, Missy and Clara vanish into the past.

Clara and Missy arrive in a castle, where Missy explains that the vortex manipulator she put on Clara, is slaved to her own; where Missy goes, so does Clara. Wondering how they will find the Doctor, Clara is told to look for anything that stands out. At that moment, they hear an electric guitar playing; the Doctor arrives in a stadium, playing the guitar on a tank. His opponent, Bors is annoyed; the Doctor laughs that he wanted an "axe fight". The Doctor begins making bad jokes, to which Clara notes is not like him; Missy retorts "you really are new, aren't you."

To Clara's surprise, the Doctor looks right at them and starts playing Pretty Woman to clue them in; Clara heads down, wondering how the Doctor picked her out of the crowd. The Doctor says he always sees her and hugs her; Clara notes this isn't like him. The Doctor states he spent the past days wearing items his last lives did, stating all of him is welcome to his party. Missy arrives next, wondering what he's up to. The Doctor gets the crowd to boo at her. However, Bors is next heard choking; the Doctor checks his neck, finding a snake, which he tosses off Bors.

The crowd flees. as Sarff arrives, revealing his composition: a colony of snakes, bound together to form a humanoid. They demand the Doctor come with them to speak with Davros. The Doctor, recalling an action about which he feels great shame, agrees to go with Sarff. Missy and Clara demand to be taken as well; after voting, Sarff agrees to take them, binding the hands of all three with snakes. The Doctor, Clara and Missy are teleported to Sarff's shuttle. In their absence, Bors — revealed to have been converted into a Dalek puppet — procures the TARDIS and informs Dalek High Command.

The Doctor encounters a dying Davros.

Travelling to Davros' location — apparently a space hospital - the Doctor tells Clara who Davros is — the creator of the Daleks; a child of war who sealed his species inside tanks to preserve them. In the hospital, the Doctor goes with Sarff to see Davros, leaving Clara with Missy. As he leaves, he mentions the gravity. Both the Doctor and Missy have noticed that the gravity is natural. The hospital cannot be a space station. Missy daringly opens the airlock.

The Doctor meets with Davros, and they talk of how their conflicts have been fuelled by a single disagreement — was Davros right to create the Daleks, or was his lack of compassion wrong? Davros plays several recordings of the Doctor's various speeches to him about morality.

Clara and Missy walk out, apparently into outer space. However, they are breathing, and apparently walking on solid ground. Missy realises that once within the planet's atmosphere, one begins to synchronise with it. The illusion vanishes, showing a city in the middle of a wasteland; Missy reacts with horror and disbelief, while Clara is left confused. At the same time, the Doctor is shown the truth by Davros; they are on Skaro, the Daleks' homeworld.

Sighted by a Dalek, Clara and Missy are taken to see the Supreme Dalek, who has a large weapon aimed at the TARDIS. Missy attempts to reason with the Daleks - if they don't destroy the TARDIS, she can help them fly it, allowing them to conquer the universe. However, the Supreme Dalek demands Missy's total extermination, and she vanishes in the blast.

The Doctor pleads with Davros to not let Clara come to harm — but Davros tells him that he does not control the Daleks. Davros observes the Daleks' choice to wait for Clara to run. As she runs, they exterminate her, causing her to vanish. The Supreme Dalek then orders the TARDIS to be destroyed and it is seemingly vaporised by the weapon aimed at it.

"Exterminate!"

Back on the battlefield, a young Davros, still pleading with the Doctor not to leave, hears the TARDIS rematerialise behind him, and disbelievingly asks him how he has moved. The Doctor explains he's come from the future, and that he has to save his friend the only way he can. Brandishing a severed Dalek gunstick, the Doctor glares towards the child, shouting "Exterminate!"

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.


Uncredited crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Culture from the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Numbers[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Jac mentions the numbers 4165 and 439.

Unified Intelligence Taskforce[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

The TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • To keep Davros' return a surprise, Julian Bleach was not credited prior to airing. The young Davros, played by Joey Price, is credited as "Boy".
  • This was the first series opener in the BBC Wales series, and the first Dalek story, to be directed by a woman.
  • This is the first televised story to be set on Skaro since Destiny of the Daleks.
  • The Radio Times programme listing was accompanied by a head-and-shoulders shot of Missy operating her control device, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 7.40 p.m. Missy is one of many searching for the missing Time Lord as the series returns".
  • On 27 September, the day after the broadcast of The Witch's Familiar, the two-part opener was broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD as one single feature-length episode.[4]
  • The title sequence was slightly modified starting with this episode; the clock gears, gas and the first Roman numeral clock face tunnel now have a blue hue.
  • The episode's credits list the creators of the Kahler, Skullions, Hath, Blowfish, Ood, and Sycorax, all of whom were present when Colony Sarff was searching for the Doctor. This is the Skullions' first appearance on Doctor Who, having previously appeared in The Sarah Jane Adventures. This is the first time in which creator credits are included for creatures introduced during Steven Moffat's tenure as showrunner, and for creatures introduced in a spin-off series.
  • This is the first time a Special Weapons Dalek has been shown to apparently talk on-screen and also features the gold oblong windows encircling its dome lighting up. These traits were subject to debate and speculation ever since the Special Weapons Dalek model first appeared in Remembrance of the Daleks, as the model featured was never shown speaking either in that serial, or in Asylum of the Daleks. A new model was used in the story, completely separate from the prop used in the first two stories. As a result, if one pays close attention to details, it can actually be seen that it looks slightly different in some places.
  • The congregation of Daleks that Clara and Missy meet on Skaro includes the original silver and blue model used from TV: The Daleks to TV: The Space Museum, the second silver and blue model used from TV: The Space Museum to TV: The War Games, the Emperor Dalek's personal guard from TV: The Evil of the Daleks, the grey and black model used from TV: Day of the Daleks to TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, the Special Weapons Dalek from TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, a black Dalek resembling Dalek Sec, the Supreme Dalek model from TV: The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, and the incumbent bronze model that has been in use since TV: Dalek.
  • Peter Capaldi actually played the guitar in this story, and for the rest of the season, having been a musician in real life.
  • Michelle Gomez confirmed on Twitter that her tickling a nearby Dalek's bumps when referring to the TARDIS as "the dog's unmentionables" was improvised.[5]
  • This story is the first time Ohila has been featured in a full-length episode of Doctor Who as opposed to mini-episodes.
  • The design of the Dalek city and the sliding doors in it pays homage to the set of the first Dalek story, TV: The Daleks.
  • The title (which formed an interesting dichotomy with The Witch's Familiar) was not the first time the Doctor's companion was compared to a "magician's apprentice", as this had already been the object of a sequence in the novel Vampire Science, between the Eighth Doctor and Sam Jones. Referring to the Twelfth Doctor as a magician, as the title does, may also be an allusion to the common wisdom that this Doctor's outfit resembles a classic stage magician's.
  • In the "Showrunner Showdown" interview for DWM 551, Steven Moffat revealed he had wanted his predecessor as showrunner Russell T Davies to write this episode and sent him an early draft of the pitch. The story behind this original pitch was "almost unrecognisable" from the final episode, focusing on Davros on trial. Moffat suggested the plot would have given the Doctor and Davros' conversations an audience, with the Doctor winning over the Dalek crowd but in the process sympathising with his longtime enemy. Ultimately, Davies was not interested, and Moffat wrote the episode himself.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • Fuerteventura, Canary Islands[9]
  • Convento de San Francisco, Garachico, Tenerife, Canary Islands
  • Parque Nacional del Teide, Tenerife, Canary Islands

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 Colony Sarff is leaving Karn, the glow of a hoverboard, used to make him appear to slither along the ground, can be seen under his robes.
  • After Missy opens the door to the cell she and Clara are in, the snake binding Clara's hands disappears without an explanation.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

DVD & Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Complete Series 9

    The Complete Series 9

  • Series 9 Part 1 DVD Cover

    Series 9 Part 1 DVD Cover

  • The Magician's Apprentice was released as part of the Series 9, Part One DVD and Blu-ray boxsets in region 1/A on 3 November 2015, in region 2/B on 2 November 2015 and in region 4/B on 4 November 2015.
  • It was later released as part of the Complete Ninth Series DVD and Blu-ray boxsets in region 1/A on 5 April 2016, in region 2/B on 7 March 2016 and in region 4/B on 9 March 2016.

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

  • In the United Kingdom, this story is available on BBC iPlayer.

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ That was my Dalek. That was my Dalek. Retrieved on 9 October 2015.
  2. ↑ https://www.starnow.com.au/christosgauci/photos/8109717
  3. ↑ Doctor Who Series 9 Episode 1: The Magician’s Apprentice. Milk VFX. Retrieved on 18 October 2018.
  4. ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06h9y66
  5. ↑ https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/648186904089919489
  6. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34307519
  7. ↑ http://doctorwhowatch.com/2015/09/22/doctor-who-the-magicians-apprentice-smashes-ratings-record-in-the-us/
  8. ↑ Doctor Who Ratings - UK final
  9. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3JZDF14smXfkQNdlcbsGXM5/the-magician-s-apprentice-the-fact-file
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