The Time of Angels (TV story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
 
(669 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox NewTV
{{title dab away}}
|image = [[File:S5e04promo.jpg|250px]]
{{real world}}
|story name = The Time of Angels
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|series = [[Doctor Who]] - [[List of Doctor Who television stories|Television stories]]
{{Infobox Story SMW
|number = [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]]
|image = Time_of_angels_cliffhanger.jpg
|series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|season number = Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)
|series episode number = 4
|story number = 206a
|story number = 206a
|doctor = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|novelisation = The Time of Angels (novelisation)
|companions = <ul><li>[[Amy Pond]]</li><li>[[River Song]] (guest)</li></ul>
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/doctor-who-5-episode-4-the-time-of-angels-blue-revisions-30072009.pdf
|enemy = [[Weeping Angels]]
|doctor = Eleventh Doctor
|setting = <ul><li>[[The Delirium Archive]], [[171st century]] </li><li>[[Alfava Metraxis]], [[51st century]]
|companions = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[River Song|River]]
|writer = [[Steven Moffat]]
|enemy = [[Angel Bob]]
|setting = [[Alfava Metraxis]], [[51st century]]
|writer = Steven Moffat
|director = [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]]
|director = [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]]
|producer = [[Tracie Simpson]]
|producer = [[Tracie Simpson]]
|broadcast date = 24th April 2010
|confidential = Eyes Wide Open (CON episode)
|format = 1x 45 minute episode
|broadcast date = 24 April 2010
|previous story = [[Victory of the Daleks]]
|network = BBC One
|next story = [[Flesh and Stone]]
|format = 1x45 minute episode
}}{{semi-protect}}''''' The Time of Angels''''' is the fourth episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series Five]]. It is the first part of a two-part story. It marks the re-appearance of [[River Song]] and the [[Weeping Angels]].
|production code = 1.4
|prev = Victory of the Daleks (TV story)
|next = Flesh and Stone (TV story)
|made prev = The End of Time (TV story)
|made next = Flesh and Stone (TV story)
|trailer = Doctor Who - The Time of Angels Trailer - BBC One
|clip = River rescue - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip2 = Maze of the Dead - Doctor Who - BBC
}}
''''' The Time of Angels''''' was the fourth episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 5]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
 
It was the first part of a two-part story. It saw the return of the enigmatic woman of the Doctor's future, [[River Song]], and the [[Weeping Angel]]s. Throughout the episode, hints are given about River's relationship with the Doctor in his personal future. It also showed the purpose [[the Church]] will serve in the [[51st century]].


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The enigmatic River Song hurtles back into the Doctor's life but she's not the only familiar face returning... The Weeping Angels are back! The Doctor is recruited by Father Octavian to track the last of the Angels, that have have escaped from the Byzantium starliner, through the terrifying Maze of the Dead.
The enigmatic [[River Song]] hurtles back into the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s life, but she's not the only familiar face returning — the [[Weeping Angel]]s are back! Following River's calling card, the Doctor is recruited to help track down the last of the Angels, which has escaped from the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' [[starliner]] and into the terrifying [[Aplan Mortarium|Maze of the Dead]].


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
A guard is found in a green field, surrounded by trees. He is approached by a man being followed by two guards, each armed. The first guard has his lips wiped with tissue, revealing hallucinogenic lipstick, the calling card of River Song. They are all found to be in the tunnels of the spaceship. River Song finds a vault and quickly manages to blast the door with a firearm so it opens, she then uses the same firearm to burn ancient Gallifreyan language into the artifact that is found in the vault, a [[Home Box]], the equivalent of a black box in planes, except it homes. Meanwhile, 12,000 years into the future, the Doctor and Amy Pond are in a museum, the Doctor explaining that most things there are incorrect until they come across the same home box. Amy is told of the power of the language of Time Lords and when Amy asks what it says, he replies "Hello sweetie", soon after, the Doctor and Amy steal the box and retreat into the [[TARDIS]].
[[Security guard (The Time of Angels)|A man]] spins dazedly in a green field on a sunny day. There is a [[lipstick]] smear on his mouth. He is approached by two armed guards and [[Alistair (The Time of Angels)|a man in evening clothes]]. He tells them what a beautiful day it is. The man wipes the [[hallucinogenic lipstick]] off, revealing the dazed guard is actually standing in the metallic corridor of [[Byzantium (spacecraft)|a spaceship]]. He states grimly, "She's here."


They look at the box's data and see a security feed of [[River Song]] standing in front of a doorway, and giving a series of coordinates. The Doctor takes TARDIS to these coordinates and rescues River right after the door opens, throwing her into space.
Elsewhere in the ship, a woman in [[shoes|high heels]] blasts through a [[steel]] door with a [[firearm]]; behind it, is a room with a black box suspended in the centre. She changes the gun's settings, and uses it as a [[torch]], burning a message onto the box's face.


The TARDIS gives chase to the ''Byzantium'', but River takes the controls from him, telling him to press the blue stabilizers. The TARDIS stops shaking, and she lands the ship without the trademark hum of the landing TARDIS.
Meanwhile, [[171st century|twelve thousand years later]], the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Amy Pond]] explore the [[Delirium Archive]], the final resting place of the [[Headless Monks]]. Amy is bored. The Doctor promised to take her to a [[planet]] next, and the museum is on an [[asteroid]]. She wonders why they are at a museum while the Doctor announces that most of the displays are "wrong" until coming to one that he says is "one of mine". Amy [[deduce]]s that this is how he keeps score.


They exit the TARDIS, where they see the flaming wreckage of the [[Byzantium (ship)|Byzantium]] atop a plateau of stone. After Amy asks who River is, and the Doctor introduces them, accidentally letting loose to River that she will one day become a Professor. River calls in reinforcements that she has in orbit, and four men in desert camoflouge teleport down. They are introduced to the Doctor by River, and the leader, Father Octavian, has already heard of the Doctor. After being urged by Father Octavian, River reveals to the Doctor that they are, in fact, chasing a[[Weeping Angel| Weeping Angel]].
The Doctor is fascinated by the box seen earlier. He says it's a [[Home Box|home box]], which works like an aeroplane's black box except it homes. He says the message scrawled on the box is for him. It is written in [[Old High Gallifreyan]]. Amy asks what the message says, and the Doctor exasperatedly replies, "Hello, sweetie." They steal the box and run to [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], pursued by guards.


They enter the Temple, where camp is swiftly set up. The men in camoflouge, the Clerics, have landed a dropship, which Father [[Octavian]], River, Amy, and the Doctor enter. River has a tape of a Weeping Angel in the hull of the ship, one which loops every four seconds. The Docto and River explain to Amyt the nature of a Weeping Angel. The Doctor grins after he explains that they can move, and then he, River, and Father Octavian leave the dropship to work out how they will deal with the [[Weeping Angel]]. While working out a plan, River mentions to the Doctor that he once gave her all of his faces for whenever they meet. She hands the Doctor a book warning people about the Angels, and he starts to read.
The Doctor connects the home box to the [[TARDIS console]], and explains that someone is trying to get his attention. Getting a visual, he sees [[River Song]] smiling at the camera. Changing the footage, River is now cornered in front of an airlock by the man in evening clothes and two guards. She explains coolly she needed to see what was in the vault and warns them that the ship will not reach its destination.
[[File:DoctorAmyTOA.JPG|thumb|The Doctor tells Amy about the Weeping Angels]]
While the Doctor, River, and Father Octavian plan out their exploits, Amy stays in the dropship and watches the feed from the security vault. She notices that the four-second loop changes, and the Weeping Angel is now facing the camera, arms spread. Amy attempts to turn the television off, but it turns itself back on. After trying to convince herself a recording can't move, she attempts to unplug the television, to no avail. When Amy looks back up, the Weeping Angel has again moved closer to the camera, it's face now consuming the screen. Amy tries opening the dropship's airlock, but it is sealed, and the Weeping Angel is now screaming into the camera.


Outside, the Doctor questions why a warning about the [[Weeping Angels]] has no pictures of the Angels. Re-reading the warning, he realizes that the image of an Angel becomes an Angel itself. At the same time, Amy looks back to the screen and the Weeping Angel is projecting itself inside the dropship as a hologram with image noise. The Doctor attempts to open the door with his [[sonic screwdriver]], but it won't work, and neither will attempting to cut off power to the ship's television from outside. The Doctor warns Amy to not look into the eyes of the Angel explaining they aren't the window to the soul, but the door. This is useless though, because Amy has already looked into the eyes of the angel. Amy finally defeats the Angel by freezing the image on the television between loops. The doors unlock and the Doctor enters and pulls the power cord to the television. The Doctor explains that the Angel was trying to reach out to them through the television and is no longer dormant. The Christian soldiers outside are able to break through into the temple and the Doctor leaves exclaiming "It's begun," but not before Amy rubs her eye, and tells River that there was something in it.
As the guards prepare to shoot her, River rattles off "7775/349x10,012/[[acorn]]" — coordinates — and requests an [[air corridor]]. The Doctor sets the TARDIS controls for River's location. Meanwhile, River tells the men they'd better find something to hold on to. They grab for handholds as alarms sound, and the airlock blows open. A calm River floats out into space just as the TARDIS [[materialise]]s. She flies inside, knocking the Doctor to the floor. Surprised to see her [[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|again]], the Doctor greets her. But the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]''{{'}}s getting away. River yells "Follow that ship!"
[[File:AmyEye.JPG|thumb|left|Amy gets something in her eye after looking at The Angel]]
The team climbs down into the temple and discovers a gravity well inside. The Doctor kicks a gravity globe into the well, and it floats into the middle of the chamber, revealing a room filled with stone statues. The Doctor goes off to explore, giving Father Octavian a moment to ask River if he "knows" yet. River tells Octavian that it is too soon in the Doctors timeline, to which Octavian responds "Well, don't let him work it out." She ends the conversation by telling Octavian that she has "no intention of going back to prison." Octavian lets River leave and then sends Cleric's Christian and Angelou to search the one visible exit from the chamber.


While exploring with the Doctor and River, Amy rubs her eye again. This time, dust runs out of it and through her fingers. River notices Amy looking at her hand, and asks if she is alright. Amy shakes the question off and asks what a maze of the dead is. River tells her its not as bas as it sounds, and that its just called that because dead people are buried in the walls. While getting innoculation to provide protection from radiation, Amy asks River what the Doctor is like. River says "the Doctor is the Doctor."
As the TARDIS chases after the ship, River suggests using the stabilisers. The Doctor notes that the TARDIS doesn't ''have'' stabilisers... until she presses a blue button, and the TARDIS stops shaking. As River takes over the piloting, the Doctor sits down and complains about the "blue boringers". Amy asks him who River is and how she can fly the TARDIS, prompting the Doctor sneer at River's style of piloting. River says she had lessons from [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the very best]]. The Doctor looks smug until she adds, "A shame [[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|you were busy that day]]."


Elsewhere, Cleric Christian and Cleric Angelo explore the caves exit and complain about the mission. Christian continues forward, and away from Angelo, when his rifles light goes flickers. He turns back to call for Angelo to come to him, and looks up to see a Weeping Angel about to attack. Angelou then gets a transmission from Cristian to come and see something. He continues down the caves and is also attacked.
River announces that she's plotted all possible landing locations, and, with a soft thud, that she's parked the TARDIS next to the ''Byzantium''. However, the Doctor protests to the TARDIS having landed; the [[Dematerialisation circuit|dematerialisation]] noise didn't sound, so he's sceptical. River replies that it only makes that sound because he leaves the brakes on, though he insists it's a brilliant noise. The Doctor, grumbling, opens the door — despite River's warnings that they must do environmental checks — and announces they have landed on [[Alfava Metraxis]], which has an [[oxygen]]-rich [[atmosphere]], an eleven-hour day, and a chance of rain later. River sneers, "He thinks he's so hot when he does that."


The Doctor, Amy, and River hear gunfire from afar, and head out to investigate. Cleric Bob had fired on a regular statue thinking it was an Angel. During a short conversation with the Doctor, Octavian tells the Doctor that their names are sacred names given to them when they enter the service of the church. Octavian orders Bob to keep guard of the entrance along with Christian and Angelo, and then joins the Doctor in his exploration. It is unknown to any of them that Chrisian and Angelo are dead.
[[File:Amy-river-song.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor introduces Amy to River.]]
River exits the TARDIS before the Doctor gets ready to leave. He tells Amy that River is his future, and can run away from it if he wishes to, but Amy reminds him that he promised her a planet and insists on spending 5 minutes there. The Doctor reluctantly accepts, though insists River is not dragging them into anything. They exit the TARDIS to see the smouldering wreckage of the ''Byzantium'' atop a stony plateau. On Amy's request, the Doctor introduces her to [[Professor]] River Song. Happy to learn that she'll be a professor one day, Rivers states her trademark, "[[spoiler]]s"; the Doctor is annoyed he just gave away foreknowledge. River asks the Doctor to boost the signal of her radio with his [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]], so that she can use it as a homing beacon for reinforcements in orbit. She also mentions there was one survivor of the crash, something that can never die; she notes that "now he's listening". She produces [[River Song's diary|her diary]], and asks the Doctor where she's landed in his timeline. The Doctor orders Amy to keep away from it, as it is "Her past, my future".


The Doctor, Amy, River, Octavian, and a few cleric soldiers continue deeper into the caverns and into a chamber of just statues. While in the statues River and the Doctor notice that the statues all have only one head, and the builders of the temple were two headed beings. When they turn back around, all the statues are trying to climb over to the group to attack. They realize that the entire chamber is filled with Weeping Angels. They do not look or act like other Angels, and the Doctor deduces that they have been down without anything to feed off of for long enough to degrade and weaken. He then continues and realizes that the crash of the Byzantium is releasing enough radiation to feed the army of Angels.
Before River can read off any past adventures, four men in combat uniform teleport in and approach them. Their leader, [[Octavian (The Time of Angels)|Father Octavian]], is rather cross; River had promised him an army. However, she corrects him, saying that she promised the ''equivalent'' of an army. He takes back his complaint once introduced to the Doctor. They then reveal their enemy. Turning to the Doctor, River asks him what he knows of the [[Weeping Angel]]s.


Meanwhile, Cleric Bob gets a transmission over the radio from Angelo, telling him to come over and see something. Bob does so, and is attacked the Weeping Angel from the ship (this being true because it is the only Angel that is not damaged). Octavian radios Bob with a warning about the Angels, and gets a responce. After a short talk, Bob reveals that he is on his way to the group, and that he did't escape the Angels. He explains that his neck was snapped, along with Christian's and Angelo's, and that the Angel took his cerebral cortex and reanimated a copy so that it could have a voice. The group begins running towards the wreckage, but Amy cannot. Her hand turned to stone while she was grabbing something, and she is now stuck. The Doctor tells Amy that the Angel is playing with her mind, and her hand is just fine. They argue over whether or not her hand is stone as Angels draw nearer, flickering the Doctors flashlight in order to gain ground. The Doctor bites Amy's hand to convince her, and the two run away.
By nightfall, the Doctor is fed up with Amy's persistent questions about his relationship with River and with her disobedience of his order to wait in the TARDIS. River calls them to a drop-ship to show them footage of the Weeping Angel they're chasing. It is a four-second clip on a loop. The Doctor and River explain the nature of the Weeping Angel to Amy and Father Octavian, including their [[Quantum-locking|quantum-lock defence mechanism]]; the Doctor also briefly recounts his [[Blink (TV story)|previous encounter with the Weeping Angels on Earth]]. The Angel that they're after had been patient and feigned dormancy since it was discovered. All but Amy depart the drop-ship as River offers the Doctor [[Book of the Weeping Angels|a book about the Angels]]; he reads the whole book in seconds. He is perplexed; something is missing, but he doesn't know what.
[[File:5x04_Time_of_the_Angels_174.jpg|thumb|The Angel moves closer to Amy.]]
While the others make plans, Amy is left with nothing to do. Looking back at the tape, she realises the Weeping Angel has changed its position slightly. When she asks River if she has more than one clip of the Angel, River says no, it's just the one. When Amy looks back, the Angel has moved again; it now faces the camera with its arms spread out. The door behind her shuts without her noticing. Amy tries to turn off the [[television]], but it quickly switches back on. She then tries and fails to unplug it. When she looks back up, though, the Angel's face has filled the screen. She tries to leave, but the door won't budge. She looks back again to find the Angel is now baring its fangs at her.


All the survivors are now gathered below the wreckage of the Byzantium, with no way out. Bob radios again, and tells the Doctor that the Doctor lied to him. Bob tells the Doctor that he thought his fear would save him, like the Doctor said, but Bob died afraid and alone anyway. This is all in an attempt to get the Doctor angry, but it doesn't work. The Doctor asks if the group trusts him (they do), and then for Octavian's sidearm, and tells Bob that the Angel's made one mistake in the trap. Bob asks what they shouldn't have put in the trap, and the Doctor answers "me" and he shoots the gravity globe illuminating the chamber and the episode ends as a cliffhanger.
Outside, River wonders how early the Doctor is in his [[time stream]]. When he replies it is fairly early, she is amused because he doesn't know [[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|who she is]] yet. The Doctor wonders how she knows who he is as he [[regeneration|doesn't always look the same]]. River says that she has all his faces in her diary, but he doesn't show up in order; River thinks she needs a spotter's guide. The Doctor then realises what the book of angels is missing: pictures. Why would there be no visual on what to look out for? River says there was a mention about images in the book. The Doctor returns to the sentence and reads it aloud: "Whatever takes the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel." He ponders its meaning.


== Cast==
Back in the dropship, Amy looks away again. This time, when she looks back, the Angel has projected itself into the drop-ship as a [[hologram]]. Amy shouts for the Doctor. He runs to the door and tries to open it with the sonic screwdriver, but fails. River tries burning through the hull as the Doctor fails to cut the power; the Angel has added a [[deadlock seal]], though, and neither succeed, River noting it's "not even warm". The Doctor warns Amy not to blink, then looks back into the [[book]], and adds she is not to look into the Angel's eyes; however, Amy already has, though doesn't mention it. The Doctor explains to River the book says that the eyes are the "doors" to the soul, not windows.
*[[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
 
*[[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
Realising there is a blip in the loop where there's no picture, Amy freezes the recording at that moment, ending the "image" and shutting off the screen. The Doctor and River enter; the Doctor orders River to hug and comfort Amy because he's busy scanning the plug to the television. He explains that it was a projection of the Angel they're after, not the Angel itself; it was scoping out its foes, and remarks that "it's no longer dormant". An explosion sounds outside, and Octavian enters to tell them the Clerics have blasted into the structure. The Doctor departs, convinced things are going to get even worse. Amy rubs her eye. She tells River there's something in it.
*[[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
 
*[[Alistair]] - [[Simon Dutton]]
[[File:5x04 Time of the Angels 219.jpg|thumb|The [[Maze of the Dead]].]]
*[[Security Guard (The Time of Angels)|Security Guard]] - [[Mike Skinner]]
The group climbs down into the temple, finding a gravity well inside. The Doctor says it is the perfect hiding place for the Angel. He kicks a [[gravity globe]] high into the air. With the space lit, the interior is revealed: hundreds of disintegrating [[stone]] statues. Finding the Angel is going to be like finding a [[needle]] in a haystack. The Clerics wonder how they are going to neutralise the Angel. The best strategy the Doctor can think of is to "Find it, and hope."
*[[Octavian]] - [[Iain Glen]]
 
*[[Christian]] - [[Mark Springer]]
The Doctor and Amy rush off to explore, but Father Octavian holds River back, warning her they need the Doctor on their side; the Doctor must never know [[The Wedding of River Song|why she's imprisoned]], or he won't help them. As she leaves, Octavian sends Clerics [[Christian (The Time of Angels)|Christian]] and [[Angelo (The Time of Angels)|Angelo]] to investigate the one exit visible from the chamber.
*[[Angelo (The Time of Angels)|Angelo]] - [[Troy Glasgow]]
 
*[[Bob (The Time of Angels)|Bob]] - [[David Atkins]]
In one of the tunnels, Amy has stopped some distance away from the Doctor to rub her eye. This time, [[dust]] runs between her fingers; Amy is shocked by this, but the dust vanishes. River appears behind her and gives her an inoculation to protect her from the radiation from the ship. Amy asks River about her relationship with the Doctor. River is evasive and Amy continues to believe they are married. The Doctor hears them but denies it. River points out that he's holding a device upside-down. This reassures Amy that she is right; River doesn't confirm this, but simply says Amy is "good".
*[[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]] - [[Darren Morfitt]]
 
*[[Weeping Angel]] - [[Marie McGonigle]] (uncredited)
Elsewhere, Christian and Angelo are complaining about the mission, even preferring to go back to hunting [[lava snake]]s. Christian decides to investigate another passage but soon finds his torchlight flickering. He turns to call for Angelo to come to him, but the [[Weeping Angel]] kills him. Oddly, Angelo receives a transmission from the now-deceased Christian to come and see something. When he does, he also finds his torchlight flickering. He turns to see the Angel just as it kills him as well.
*[[Weeping Angel]] - [[Caroline Royce]] (uncredited)
 
*[[Pedro]] - [[Mark Monero]] (uncredited)
The Doctor, Amy and River explore the maze. He remembers the [[Aplan]]s who built the crypt, saying he had dinner with the chief architect. According to him, the [[species]] had two heads. He changes the subject, asking River about the last line in the book — it's a rather ominous prophecy: ''"What happens when ideas have thoughts of their own? What happens when dreams no longer need dreamers? When these things have come to pass, the time will be upon us. The Time of Angels."'' The Doctor grimly tells River he hoped he mis-remembered that.
*[[Phillip (The Time of Angels)|Phillip]] - [[George Russo]] (uncredited)
 
[[File:Cleric Bob.jpg|left|thumb|200x200px|Bob listens to the Doctor's encouragement.]]
They hear [[Firearm|gunfire]] and return to the main chamber. [[Cleric Bob]] has fired at a statue, thinking it looked at him. Octavian berates him, telling Bob that according to the Doctor, they are facing an enemy of unimaginable evil and it would serve them best not to be scared of decor. However, the Doctor insists Bob's fear will keep him alert and fast; "anyone who isn't scared is a moron." The Doctor becomes embarrassed when he realises he insulted the cool-headed Octavian. Octavian orders Bob to guard the entrance with Christian and Angelo, while he and the four other Clerics join the Doctor's exploration.
 
As they ascend to the second-to-last level, River tells the Doctor that something's wrong, but doesn't know what. The Doctor's feeling the same. He then tells Amy that they should go meet the Aplans some time; Amy counters that they're dead. "So is, [[Virginia Woolf]]. I'm on her [[bowling]] team." the Doctor laughs. The Doctor explains that the Aplans were a relaxed happy race, and then the Church prevented self-marriage. Examining a statue while Amy points out that divorce of self-marriage must have been messy, the Doctor and [[River Song|River]] have a terrifying epiphany. As they explain, the Aplans had two heads... So why don't the statues?
 
Gathering everyone behind him, the Doctor has them turn off their torchlights. When they turn back on after a second, all of the statues have turned to face them; every single statue is an [[Weeping Angel]]! River wonders how they didn't notice, to which the Doctor says it is either because of a low level [[perception filter]] or because they were too thick to notice the oddity. Amy notes how slow the angels are, as they should've had them by now; the Doctor puts this down to starvation after being there for centuries without a supply of energy.
 
Elsewhere, Cleric Bob gets a call from Angelo over his radio, begging him to come and see something. Angelo becomes increasingly annoyed that Bob won't come, telling him it's something he ''has'' to see. Finally, Bob does so, and he's killed by the same Angel.
 
Back to the Doctor's group, he's [[deduce]]d the angels are slowly being restored by the radiation leaking from the wreckage; the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' was crashed by the healthy Angel to save its species. Apparently, the Angels caused the [[extinction]] of the Aplans by displacing too many of them in time, leaving hardly enough left to reproduce and keep the species alive. Octavian radios Bob to warn him. Bob says he's on his way and that the others are dead; the Angels have broken their necks.
 
The Doctor is surprised; Angels normally [[Time travel|displace their victims]] in time, unless they need bodies for something. He asks Bob how he got away, but Bob explains the Angel killed him as well. River and Amy share a grim stare. The Doctor asks how he can be talking to him, and learns that the Angels stripped the [[cerebral cortex]] from Bob and reanimated a copy of his [[consciousness]] to speak to them as it cannot speak their language. When Bob said that "he" is on his way, he really meant the Angel. The group flees to the ''Byzantium'' while the Doctor chats with Bob, confirming he is speaking to the original Angel; thus as it's not in the ship, it's the safest place..
 
[[File:5x04 Time of the Angels 348.jpg|thumb|left|The Angels approach.]]
As the Doctor runs to join the others, he finds [[Amy Pond|Amy]] frozen in the corridor. She tells the Doctor that, because she looked into the Angel's eyes earlier, her hand has turned to [[stone]]. He must leave her. Her hand is not stone, though, and it's just the Weeping Angels playing with her mind. As the lights in the cavern flicker and the Angels approach, the Doctor apologises, but Amy tells him she understands why he must leave her; he doesn't mean for ''that'', and bites her hand, taking her out of the trance. They meet up with the others, who are standing on a rocky ledge some fifty feet beneath the ''Byzantium'' wreckage; they're trapped.
 
"Sacred Bob" radios the Doctor again. He says there is nowhere for the Doctor to go and the Angels will kill them all. The Angels are also keen to have him know that the real Bob was afraid when he died; the Doctor had assured Bob that his fear would keep him fast, but he died alone and afraid. They are trying to make the Doctor angry, and angering the Doctor is a ''very'' bad move.
 
[[File:The Doctor Aims a Gun at a Gravity Globe.jpg|thumb|right|The Doctor prepares to outwit the Angels' trap.]]
The Doctor tells [[Bob (The Time of Angels)|Bob]] that he's sorry for his death, promising what's left of him that the Angels will pay. But they're trapped with no chance of escape. The Doctor tells Bob that there is something wrong with the trap: a great, big mistake. He asks the group if they trust him. He takes Octavian's [[Firearm|sidearm]] and orders them to jump on his signal. The Doctor warns the Angels, "There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."
 
''"Me!"'' The Doctor then shoots the [[gravity globe]] with [[Octavian (The Time of Angels)|Octavian]]'s sidearm, plunging them into total darkness...
 
== Cast ==
* [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
* [[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
* [[Alistair (The Time of Angels)|Alistair]] - [[Simon Dutton]]
* [[Security guard (The Time of Angels)|Security Guard]] - [[Mike Skinner]]
* [[Octavian (The Time of Angels)|Octavian]] - [[Iain Glen]]
* [[Christian (The Time of Angels)|Christian]] - [[Mark Springer]]
* [[Angelo (The Time of Angels)|Angelo]] - [[Troy Glasgow]]
* [[Bob (The Time of Angels)|Bob]] - [[David Atkins]]
* [[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]] - [[Darren Morfitt]]
 
=== Uncredited cast ===
* Security Guards - [[Ruari Mears]], [[Ben Ashley]]
* [[Pedro]] - [[Mark Monero]]<ref name="DWMSE">[[DWMSE 26]]</ref>
* [[Phillip (The Time of Angels)|Phillip]] - [[George Russo]]<ref name="DWMSE" />
* [[Crispin (The Time of Angels)|Crispin]] - [[Stephen Martin-Walters]]
* Clerics - [[Kristian Arthur|Kristin Arthur]], [[Levi Crosdale]], [[Matthew Doman]], [[Marcus Elliott]], [[Dennis Gregory]], [[Peter Howe]], [[Yinka Onitiri]], [[Daniel Slater]], [[Shelby Williams]], [[Darren Williams]], [[Duane Barnes]]


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
Line 71: Line 127:
|2ndAD=James DeHaviland
|2ndAD=James DeHaviland
|3rdAD=Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch
|3rdAD=Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch
|Runner=Nicola Enyon Price
|Runner=Nicola Eynon Price
|Runner2=Laura Jenkins
|Runner2=Laura Jenkins
|FloorRunner=
|FloorRunner=
Line 81: Line 137:
|UnitManager=Rhys Griffiths
|UnitManager=Rhys Griffiths
|AssistantUnitManager=
|AssistantUnitManager=
|ProductionManager=Holly Pullinger
|ProductionManager=
|ProductionCoOrdinator=
|ProductionCoOrdinator=
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
Line 116: Line 172:
|Gaffer=Mark Hutchings
|Gaffer=Mark Hutchings
|BestBoy=Pete Chester
|BestBoy=Pete Chester
|Electrician=Benn Griffiths
|Electrician=Ben Griffiths
|Electrician2=Steve Slocombe
|Electrician2=Steve Slocombe
|Electrician3=Bob Milton
|Electrician3=Bob Milton
Line 137: Line 193:
|ArtDeptProdManager=
|ArtDeptProdManager=
|AssociateDesigner=James North
|AssociateDesigner=James North
|ProductionBuyer=Ben Morris
|ProductionBuyer=Ben Morris (crew){{!}}Ben Morris
|SetDecorator=Julian Luxton
|SetDecorator=Julian Luxton
|PropsBuyer=Adrian Anscombe
|PropsBuyer=Adrian Anscombe
|StandbyArtDirector=Ciaran Thompson
|StandbyArtDirector=Ciaran Thompson (crew){{!}}Ciaran Thompson
|ASupervisingArtDirector=
|ASupervisingArtDirector=
|SetDesigner=Ben Austin
|SetDesigner=Ben Austin
Line 167: Line 223:
|PropsStoreman=
|PropsStoreman=
|DressingProps=Martin Broadbent
|DressingProps=Martin Broadbent
|DressingProps2=Rhys Jones
|DressingProps2=Rhys Jones (props)
|ForwardDresser=
|ForwardDresser=
|SpecialistPropMaker=
|SpecialistPropMaker=
Line 291: Line 347:
|Make-upDesigner=Barbara Southcott
|Make-upDesigner=Barbara Southcott
|VisualEffects=The Mill
|VisualEffects=The Mill
|VisualFXProducer=
|VisualFXProducer2=
|VisualFXSupervisor=
|VisualFXSupervisor2=
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
Line 301: Line 353:
|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|DOP=Damian Bromley
|DOP=Damian Bromley
|ProductionManager=
|LineProducer=Patrick Schweitzer
|LineProducer=Patrick Schweitzer
|AssociateProducer=
|AssociateProducer=
Line 331: Line 382:
}}
}}


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
=== Individuals ===
* A [[Verger (The Time of Angels)|verger]] was in charge of laying the explosives to create a path into the [[Maze of the Dead]].
* The Doctor is on [[Virginia Woolf]]'s [[bowling]] team.
* Amy guesses that River Song is the Doctor's wife [[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|in the future]]. River doesn't tell the truth to protect the established timeline. However, she notes Amy is good for being able to figure this out from their interactions.
* Everyone in the service of the Church is given a [[Sacred Name]].
 
=== Species ===
* The Doctor states that humans are like [[rabbit]]s, spreading out across the [[universe]].
* Over hundreds of years [[Weeping Angel]]s lose their form.
* The Aplans are a two-headed species.
* The Doctor had dinner with the Aplans' [[chief architect (The Time of Angels)|chief architect]].
* The Aplans are said to have died out over 400 years before the ''Byzantium'' crashed on Alfava Metraxis.
* The [[Delerium Archive]] is the final resting place of the [[Headless Monks]].
* There are over 6 billion [[human]] colonists on Alfava Metraxis.
* In the book the Doctor reads about the Weeping Angels, it states "that which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel".
* One of the Clerics talks about chasing [[lava snake]]s.
* River says the Angel was retrieved from the ruins of [[Razbahan]].
 
=== TARDIS ===
* The TARDIS is capable of creating and extending an [[air corridor]].
* River Song says the TARDIS has brakes.
* According to River Song, the TARDIS isn't supposed to make the classic materialisation/dematerialisation noise; she says it's because the Doctor always leaves the brakes on, which he counters by saying he likes the sound the TARDIS makes.
* The TARDIS can operate like a spaceship, following the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' through space before jumping through time to reach the crash site.
* The TARDIS has [[blue stabiliser]] buttons the Doctor seemed unaware of; however, he then says that they are "boring".


===[[:Category:Languages|Languages]]===
=== Languages ===
*River leaves the Doctor a message in Old [[High Gallifreyan]].
* River leaves the Doctor a message in [[Gallifreyan (language)|Old High Gallifreyan]] on a home box: "Hello, sweetie".


===[[:Category:Planets|Planets]]===
=== Locations ===
*The ''Byzantium'' crash lands on [[Alfava Metraxis]].
* The Weeping Angel was discovered in the ruins of [[Razbahan]] at the end of the [[50th century]].


===[[:Category:Spacecraft|Spacecraft]]===
==== Planets ====
*The ''[[Byzantium (ship)|Byzantium]]'' is a spacecraft carrying a Weeping Angel, it crash lands when its [[warp engine]]s suffer a phase shift.
* [[Alfava Metraxis]] is seventh [[planet]] of the [[Dundra system]], which is located in the [[Garn belt]].
* Alfava Metraxis has an [[oxygen]] rich atmosphere and toxins in its soft-band. Its days last for 11 hours.
* Alfava Metraxis was [[terraform]]ed nearly 200 years before the crash of the ''Byzantium''.


===[[:Category:Races and species|Races and species]]===
=== Religion ===
*Over millions of years [[Weeping Angel]]s lose their form.
* The soldiers who accompany River Song are from [[the Church]].
* The Angels' use of the phrase, "Come and see", is a reference to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation, specifically the Angel of Death.


===[[:Category:Religion|Religion]]===
=== Technology ===
*The soldiers who accompany River Song are from the [[Church]].
* A [[Home Box|home box]] is like a flight recorder; if a ship crashed it would fly to the spacecraft's planet of origin.
* The projection of a Weeping Angel is able to [[deadlock seal]] the landing pod, despite the pod not having the capability.
* [[Perception filter]]s are referred to again.
* The new [[sonic screwdriver]] is as ineffective against deadlock seals as its predecessors.


===[[:Category:TARDIS|TARDIS]]===
=== Spacecraft ===
*The TARDIS is capable of creating and extending an air corridor.
* The ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' is a spacecraft carrying a Weeping Angel. It crash lands when its [[warp engine]]s suffer a phase shift.


===[[:Category:Technology|Technology]]===
=== Influences ===
*A [[Home Box]] is like a flight recorder, after a ship lands it can home-in back to the spacecraft's planet of origin.
*The projection of a Weeping Angel is able to [[deadlock seal]] the landing pod, despite the pod not having the capability.
*[[Perception filter]]s are refered to again.


== Story Notes ==
* In comparing this two-parter with ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]],'' [[Steven Moffat]] said that if ''Blink'' was like ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]],'' the two-parter is like ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aliens_(film) Aliens].''
*This was the first episode of Series 5, and therefore the first episode featuring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, to be filmed.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/04/doctor-who-the-return-of-the-w.shtml]


*This is, in truth, the third appearance of the Weeping Angels if one counts non-TV appearances; they have previously featured in [[DW]]: [[Blink]] and in [[Captain Jack's Monster Files]] (See [[WC]]: [[A Ghost Story for Christmas]])
== Story notes ==
* This was the first episode of Series 5 to be shot, and therefore the first episode featuring [[Matt Smith]] and [[Karen Gillan]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/tv/2010/04/doctor-who-the-return-of-the-w.shtml "Doctor Who: Return of the W" bbc.co.uk/blogs]</ref> This was the second time that a new Doctor began his tenure by recording something other than his first adventure. [[Peter Davison]] had initially taped his second story, ''[[Four to Doomsday (TV story)|Four to Doomsday]]'', while his introduction in ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'' was actually the fourth of his serials to be shot.
* This is Amy's first meeting with River Song, who, unknown to her, is actually her daughter.
* [[Amy Pond]] thinks her hand has turned to stone. [[Karen Gillan]] had previously appeared in [[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'' as a member of the [[Sibylline Sisterhood]], a cult of soothsayers whose flesh was beginning to turn to stone under the influence of the [[Pyrovile]]s.
* This is the third appearance of the Weeping Angels if one counts non-TV appearances; they have previously featured in [[TV]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'' and in [[Captain Jack's Monster Files]]. (See [[WC]]: ''[[A Ghost Story for Christmas]]'')
* The Doctor ripping the strap off the ceiling of one of the small ships was originally an accident; the producers liked the idea so much that they filmed [[Matt Smith]] doing it again.
* At one point in the episode, [[Bob (The Time of Angels)|Bob]] shot one of the statues because he thought it looked at him. All the statues turned out to be Weeping Angels, so the statue probably did look at Bob.
[[File:GrahamNortonDW.jpg|thumb|left|The controversial cartoon.]]
* During its airing in some parts of [[England]], an animated advert for the talent show ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Rainbow_(2010_TV_series) Over the Rainbow]'' began playing over the cliffhanger. This sparked complaints to the BBC, who later apologised. The advert contained an animated Graham Norton, who later joked about it on his own show – saying he finally secured a role on ''Doctor Who''. However, his voice had already been overheard during the first episode of the revived series, ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', when an error in broadcasting began playing the audio of a trailer featuring Norton for another of his talent shows, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strictly_Dance_Fever Strictly Dance Fever]''. In referring to his "appearance" in "Time of Angels," Norton then played a version of the cartoon banner, with a Dalek exterminating his cartoon self; coincidentally, the same show also featured an appearance by Karen Gillan and they spoke further about the error.
* This is the first episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 5]] not to feature one of [[the Cracks]], but one does show up in the next episode. This is likely because it is the first of a two-part story.
* One question commonly asked by fans regarding [[TV]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'' was why [[Sally Sparrow]] and [[Larry Nightingale]] did not try closing one eye at a time to keep the Weeping Angels at bay. When the Angel is attacking Amy, she tries this, but remarks on how difficult it actually is.
* The episode ran short in its original cut because high tides at the beach location forced the abandonment of about three scripted pages — including the scene which had been used to audition [[Karen Gillan]] for the part of [[Amy Pond]]. In its place, [[Steven Moffat]] inserted the scene where River flies [[the TARDIS]], filmed as a [[pick-up]]. ([[DCOM]]: ''The Time of Angels'')
* [[Matt Smith]] actually bit [[Karen Gillan]]'s hand on several takes to provoke a proper reaction.
* Most of the Weeping Angels are not statue props but young women wearing masks, costumes, and paint that took two to three hours to apply. [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]] called them "an absolute nightmare to film with" because it took a long time for them to get ready and they had to stand still for long periods of time.
* In the script it was not written in that River would land on the Doctor when she flew into the TARDIS. It was an idea that [[Matt Smith]] came up with in rehearsal that proved difficult to film.
* In the pod when River Song is showing the recorded film of the Weeping Angel, early in the scene a sealed suit helmet can be seen that is at least the same make/model used by Professor Song and her party in ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]/[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]''.
* Wet conditions constantly plagued the shoot during the crew's stay in Puzzlewood, forcing considerable rescheduling. One consequence was that Stephen Martin-Walters could not complete his scenes as the Cleric Crispin, and so many of his lines were shared between Crispin's colleagues Marco, Pedro and Phillip instead. Another rewrite saw [[Steven Moffat]] give the Doctor a line to explicitly acknowledge the incessant rain.
* One of the clerics is named "Bob" and this is called a 'sacred name'. This may be a reference to the real life religion Church of the SubGenius.
* For the scene in which sand pours out of Amy's eye as she rubs it, an eye patch containing sand that would be released when [[Karen Gillan]] rubbed it was placed over her eye.
* [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]] wished River Song's entrance to be a shocking surprise to the audience. A stunt double was used for some shots of the scene where River flies out of the ''Byzantium''<nowiki/>'s airlock, but [[Alex Kingston]] wished to do some of it herself. The scene was filmed on a greenscreen with Kingston hooked up on wires that pulled her up and backwards as a wind machine was blown to create the effect of the airlock. Kingston said she "absolutely loved" filming the scene.
* [[Iain Glen]] would later play Ser Jorah Mormont on ''[[Game of Thrones]]''. [[Matt Smith]] would later play Daemon Targaryen in the prequel series ''[[House of the Dragon]]''.
* [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]] was keen to help forge a close bond between [[Matt Smith]] and [[Karen Gillan]], so he worked with them to develop the dynamics of their characters' relationship. Given the pulse-pounding situations in which the TARDIS would deposit them, he even encouraged the two actors to share an adventurous thrill ride. The result was a frenetic boat excursion off Cardiff Bay, which proved more to Gillan's liking than Smith's.


*The Doctor ripping the strap off the ceiling of one of the small ships was originally an accident; the producers liked the idea so much that they filmed Matt Smith doing it again.
=== Ratings ===
* 6.8 mi<nowiki/>llion viewers (UK overnight)
* 8.59 million viewers (UK final)<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date Doctor Who Ratings - UK final]</ref>


*In this story, River Song is a doctor. She acts with surprise when the Doctor lets slip that she will one day be a professor. In conversation with Father Octavian, she mentions that she was once imprisoned for a crime, and that the Doctor wouldn't help them if he knew who she truly was. It was revealed shortly before the episode aired that the crime was murdering "the best man she ever knew." Fans have speculated that this man could be the Doctor. [http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/time-of-angels-spoilers-4575.htm].''This proved to be wrong, because when River responded to Amy's question about piloting the TARDIS, she said that she learn from the best. The Doctor said shy "Well, yeah", thinking that River's talking about him. Anyway, Song said that the Doctor was busy then. So, the best isn't the Doctor. Also it is hard to see how this could be the Doctor when in her personal future she expects 'her' Doctor to come to the Library.''
=== Filming locations ===
* The beach scenes on [[Alfava Metraxis]] were filmed at {{w|Southerndown}} beach, {{w|Vale of Glamorgan}}. This was also where scenes in ''[[Army of Ghosts (TV story)|Army of Ghosts]]''/''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'' and ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'' were filmed.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/southerndown-beach</ref>


*River Song is only the third person seen capable of flying the TARDIS well on their own since the reintroduction of Doctor Who in 2005. Only the Doctor and [[The Master]] have been seen to do the same.
=== Myths ===
* When River Song meant she had pictures of all the Doctor's faces, it meant she had pictures of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctor. ''This was proven false in both [[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]] when the Eleventh Doctor explained he was the last incarnation, and in [[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]] when we saw the photos of the faces.''
* [[Amy Pond's outfit (The Time of Angels)|Amy Pond's outfit]] is a deliberate reference to a similar outfit worn by [[Romana II]] in [[Warriors' Gate (TV story)|Warrior's Gate]]. ''While the outfit is superficially similar, to date no one on production has confirmed whether this is a deliberate callback.''


* During its airing in [[England]] and [[Wales]], an animated advert for the talent show ''Over the Rainbow'' began playing over the cliffhanger.
=== Rumours ===
* This is the first episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] not to feature one of [[The Cracks]]. ''though as the next time trailer shows it will appear in the next episode.''
* A teaser from Digital Spy implied a [[data ghost]] device would appear in this episode.[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a215096/ten-teasers-about-the-time-of-angels.html]
*: ''This proved partially true. The same suits which have the devices were spotted in the episode, but were not used.''
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
* When the Doctor is talking to Angel Bob over the radio, he doesn't have a torch in his hand. In the next shot, running past Amy, he is shown with one.
* The warning on the dropship door reads "CAUTION: Trip Hazzard". The word is properly spelt "Hazard".
* When River is in space, the TARDIS has white windows. The scene cuts to a close up of the Doctor, and the windows are black. Also, the St John's Ambulance badge is missing from the door. [[Steven Moffat]] admits on the DVD commentary that it is the "[[David Tennant]] [[police box]]", but falls short of laying blame at the feet of any particular production member.
* When the Doctor asks River to read out the end of the book, she is clearly reading from the middle of it.
* Steven Moffat notes in the [[in-vision commentary]] that there are massive [[Continuity supervisor|continuity]] errors throughout the episode with respect to the length of [[Matt Smith]]'s hair. Indeed, careful examination reveals that Smith's hair has several different lengths, sometimes within the same scene.
* At the end when the Doctor is seen shooting the gravity globe, he does not actually move his finger, but the pistol still shoots.


===Ratings===
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] points out historical inaccuracies in the museum. In [[TV]]: {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)}}, [[Susan Foreman]] did this with one of her history textbooks.
* The same suits [[River Song]] and her crew wore in [[TV]]: {{cs|Silence in the Library (TV story)}}/{{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}} can be seen in this episode in the pod where Amy encounters her first Weeping Angel.
* The Doctor states that he previously encountered the Weeping Angels once, a long time ago, on [[Earth]]. However, he had previously encountered them not just in his [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|Blink (TV story)}}, [[COMIC]]: {{cs|The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)}}, but also in his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth incarnation]] in [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Fallen Angels (audio story)}} and his [[Eighth Doctor|eighth incarnation]] in [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|The Side of the Angels (audio story)}}, making this the Doctor's fifth encounter with the creatures.
* The Doctor previously used the TARDIS to chase a crashing spaceship in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Empty Child (TV story)}}.
* A [[gravity globe]] was previously used in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Impossible Planet (TV story)}}.
* Amy mentions travelling to a spaceship, referring to [[Starship UK]], which she and the Doctor visited in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Beast Below (TV story)}}. She then refers to [[Winston Churchill]]'s [[Cabinet War Rooms]], to which they went in [[TV]]: {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}}.
* [[Gallifreyan (language)|High Gallifreyan]] was previously seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}; the Doctor declares that he is one of the few who understand the language.
* The scene where the Doctor refuses to do an environment check is reminiscent of [[TV]]: {{cs|The Power of the Daleks (TV story)}}, where a post-regeneration [[Second Doctor]] absentmindedly starts to wander out of the TARDIS. When his companions protest that he hasn't checked for oxygen on the planet, the Doctor rattles off the temperature, radiation, and oxygen density and detects a likelihood of mercury deposits.
* The Doctor is annoyed by River claiming to be better at piloting the TARDIS than he is. In [[TV]]: {{cs|The Ribos Operation (TV story)}}, the [[Fourth Doctor]] has a similar reaction to [[Romana I]]'s piloting skills.
* Amy notes that the Doctor never lets people call him "sir". He previously resisted people putting him in such a position of authority in numerous stories, such as [[TV]]: {{cs|The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)}} and {{cs|Planet of the Dead (TV story)}}.
* After flicking quickly through [[Book of the Weeping Angels|the book on the Weeping Angels]], the Doctor remarks, "Not bad, bit boring in the middle." He did a similar thing with a [[book]] in a [[Paris]]ian [[cafe]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|City of Death (TV story)}} and with ''[[The Lovely Bones]]'' in [[TV]]: {{cs|Rose (TV story)}}. He also proved capable of speed-reading a book in his eighth incarnation in [[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Invaders from Mars (audio story)}}.
* The Doctor tells River that he is not a [[taxi]] service. The Fifth Doctor told [[Adric]] the same thing in [[TV]]: {{cs|Earthshock (TV story)}} and later tells Rory in [[TV]]: {{cs|Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)}}.
* The ''[[Book of the Weeping Angels]]'' later appears in the Doctor's study in his TARDIS in [[GAME]]: {{cs|TARDIS (video game)}}.
* River Song again uses the [[hallucinogenic lipstick]] in {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}}.
* River mentions that she learnt to fly [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] from "the best" and notes that "It's a shame [the Doctor was] busy that day". It is later revealed in [[TV]]: {{cs|Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)}} that River learnt to pilot the TARDIS from the TARDIS itself shortly after her [[regeneration]].
* In [[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}}, River admits to lying about not knowing Amy here to keep the timeline from being changed.
* River is mentioned to have been in the [[Stormcage Containment Facility]] for murdering someone, someone Father Octavian warns her against telling the Doctor about. She later tells him that he was the best man she knew. The reason Octavian didn't want the Doctor to know is revealed in [[TV]]: {{cs|Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)}}: it's the Doctor himself. However, [[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song}} later reveals that the Doctor and River actually faked his death and for a time only they and Amy and [[Rory Williams|Rory]] knew the truth.
** The Stormcage Containment Facility would later be seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}}, and would go on to make further appearances in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)}}, {{cs|Day of the Moon (TV story)}}, and {{cs|A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)}}, as well as the minisode [[HOMEVID]]: {{cs|First Night (home video)}}.
* The Doctor once had dinner with the [[chief architect (The Time of Angels)|chief architect]]. This is likely a reference to [[TV]]: {{cs|The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)}}, in which [[Ninth Doctor (The Curse of Fatal Death)|a "listless looking" Doctor]] did much the same on [[Tersurus]].


=== Filming Locations ===
== Home video releases ==
''to be added''
[[File:Dvd-series5vol21.jpg|thumb|Series 5, volume 2 DVD cover.]]


=== Rumours ===
=== DVD & Blu-ray releases ===
*River Song's presence in this episode may indicate that it is set in the [[51st century]], but this is not certain, as it is unknown precisely where in the timeline River Song comes from. ''The Doctor very briefly mentioned that it was the 51st century. ''
*The Doctor will meet Father Octavian at Amy and Rory's wedding. Octavian will be a able to see the future like [[Carmen]] and foreseen the Doctor's showdown with the [[Weeping Angels]] and send him after them. ''This turned out to be false.''
*A Teaser from Digital Spy has implied a [[Data Ghost]] device will appear in this episode.[http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a215096/ten-teasers-about-the-time-of-angels.html]''This was proved false, but a similar device was used when Bob was killed by the [[Weeping Angels |Weeping Angel]].''


=== Production errors===
* Series 5, Volume Two was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in region 2/B on [[5 July (releases)|5 July]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]] and region 4/B on [[5 August (releases)|5 August]] 2010. The volume features ''The Time of Angels'', ''Flesh and Stone'' and ''The Vampires of Venice'', and the featurette ''The Monster Diaries''.
* The CG TARDIS used when River is floating through space appears to look more like the old model, seeing as the blue hue is different, the windows are not the same, and the St. John's Ambulance logo isn't visible, although the lamp is still the current variant.
* The episode was later released in the Complete Fifth Series boxset on both DVD and Blu-ray, in region 1/A on [[9 November (releases)|9 November]] 2010, in region 2/B on [[8 November (releases)|8 November]] 2010 and in region 4/B on [[2 December (releases)|2 December]] 2010.
* In the Delirium Archives, the TARDIS isn't shown in the background until The Doctor and Amy run to it with the Home Box.
* A DVD-only release of Series 5, Part One, containing the first six episodes of the series, was released in region 1 on [[15 March (releases)|15 March]] [[2016 (releases)|2016]].


== Continuity ==
=== Digital releases ===
*The Weeping Angels previously appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[Blink]]''
*River Song previously appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]/[[Forest of the Dead]]''
*The Doctor refers to the events of [[DW]]: ''[[Blink]]''
*River Song mentioned the crash of the [[Byzantium]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library|Silence in the Library.]]''
*The Doctor previously used the TARDIS to chase a crashing space ship in [[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]''
*A gravity globe was previously used in [[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Planet]]''
*Amy refered visiting a spaceship and Winston Churchil in cabinet war-rooms. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Beast Below]], [[DW]]: [[Victory of the Daleks]])''
*High Gallifreyan was previously seen in [[DW|DW:]] ''[[The Five Doctors]]''
*The Sonic Screwdriver still can't get past Deadlocks
*Perception Filter is mentioned (though the Doctor does mention that the group may have just been "a bit thick")


== DVD Release ==
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]].


==External Links==
== External links ==
''to be added''
{{dwrefguide|who_tv50.htm|The Time of Angels}}


==Footnotes==
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Weeping Angel sources}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]]
[[Category:Series 5 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Weeping Angel television stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 51st century]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 171st century]]
[[Category:Stories set in alternate timelines]]
[[Category:The Doctors and Monsters, Aliens, Robots stories]]


{{Series 5}}
[[es:The Time of Angels (historia de TV)]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor episodes]]
[[fr:The Time of Angels]]
[[it:The Time of Angels (TV)]]
[[ru:Время Ангелов]]

Latest revision as of 17:54, 21 November 2024

RealWorld.png

The Time of Angels was the fourth episode of series 5 of Doctor Who.

It was the first part of a two-part story. It saw the return of the enigmatic woman of the Doctor's future, River Song, and the Weeping Angels. Throughout the episode, hints are given about River's relationship with the Doctor in his personal future. It also showed the purpose the Church will serve in the 51st century.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The enigmatic River Song hurtles back into the Eleventh Doctor's life, but she's not the only familiar face returning — the Weeping Angels are back! Following River's calling card, the Doctor is recruited to help track down the last of the Angels, which has escaped from the Byzantium starliner and into the terrifying Maze of the Dead.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

A man spins dazedly in a green field on a sunny day. There is a lipstick smear on his mouth. He is approached by two armed guards and a man in evening clothes. He tells them what a beautiful day it is. The man wipes the hallucinogenic lipstick off, revealing the dazed guard is actually standing in the metallic corridor of a spaceship. He states grimly, "She's here."

Elsewhere in the ship, a woman in high heels blasts through a steel door with a firearm; behind it, is a room with a black box suspended in the centre. She changes the gun's settings, and uses it as a torch, burning a message onto the box's face.

Meanwhile, twelve thousand years later, the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond explore the Delirium Archive, the final resting place of the Headless Monks. Amy is bored. The Doctor promised to take her to a planet next, and the museum is on an asteroid. She wonders why they are at a museum while the Doctor announces that most of the displays are "wrong" until coming to one that he says is "one of mine". Amy deduces that this is how he keeps score.

The Doctor is fascinated by the box seen earlier. He says it's a home box, which works like an aeroplane's black box except it homes. He says the message scrawled on the box is for him. It is written in Old High Gallifreyan. Amy asks what the message says, and the Doctor exasperatedly replies, "Hello, sweetie." They steal the box and run to the TARDIS, pursued by guards.

The Doctor connects the home box to the TARDIS console, and explains that someone is trying to get his attention. Getting a visual, he sees River Song smiling at the camera. Changing the footage, River is now cornered in front of an airlock by the man in evening clothes and two guards. She explains coolly she needed to see what was in the vault and warns them that the ship will not reach its destination.

As the guards prepare to shoot her, River rattles off "7775/349x10,012/acorn" — coordinates — and requests an air corridor. The Doctor sets the TARDIS controls for River's location. Meanwhile, River tells the men they'd better find something to hold on to. They grab for handholds as alarms sound, and the airlock blows open. A calm River floats out into space just as the TARDIS materialises. She flies inside, knocking the Doctor to the floor. Surprised to see her again, the Doctor greets her. But the Byzantium's getting away. River yells "Follow that ship!"

As the TARDIS chases after the ship, River suggests using the stabilisers. The Doctor notes that the TARDIS doesn't have stabilisers... until she presses a blue button, and the TARDIS stops shaking. As River takes over the piloting, the Doctor sits down and complains about the "blue boringers". Amy asks him who River is and how she can fly the TARDIS, prompting the Doctor sneer at River's style of piloting. River says she had lessons from the very best. The Doctor looks smug until she adds, "A shame you were busy that day."

River announces that she's plotted all possible landing locations, and, with a soft thud, that she's parked the TARDIS next to the Byzantium. However, the Doctor protests to the TARDIS having landed; the dematerialisation noise didn't sound, so he's sceptical. River replies that it only makes that sound because he leaves the brakes on, though he insists it's a brilliant noise. The Doctor, grumbling, opens the door — despite River's warnings that they must do environmental checks — and announces they have landed on Alfava Metraxis, which has an oxygen-rich atmosphere, an eleven-hour day, and a chance of rain later. River sneers, "He thinks he's so hot when he does that."

The Doctor introduces Amy to River.

River exits the TARDIS before the Doctor gets ready to leave. He tells Amy that River is his future, and can run away from it if he wishes to, but Amy reminds him that he promised her a planet and insists on spending 5 minutes there. The Doctor reluctantly accepts, though insists River is not dragging them into anything. They exit the TARDIS to see the smouldering wreckage of the Byzantium atop a stony plateau. On Amy's request, the Doctor introduces her to Professor River Song. Happy to learn that she'll be a professor one day, Rivers states her trademark, "spoilers"; the Doctor is annoyed he just gave away foreknowledge. River asks the Doctor to boost the signal of her radio with his sonic screwdriver, so that she can use it as a homing beacon for reinforcements in orbit. She also mentions there was one survivor of the crash, something that can never die; she notes that "now he's listening". She produces her diary, and asks the Doctor where she's landed in his timeline. The Doctor orders Amy to keep away from it, as it is "Her past, my future".

Before River can read off any past adventures, four men in combat uniform teleport in and approach them. Their leader, Father Octavian, is rather cross; River had promised him an army. However, she corrects him, saying that she promised the equivalent of an army. He takes back his complaint once introduced to the Doctor. They then reveal their enemy. Turning to the Doctor, River asks him what he knows of the Weeping Angels.

By nightfall, the Doctor is fed up with Amy's persistent questions about his relationship with River and with her disobedience of his order to wait in the TARDIS. River calls them to a drop-ship to show them footage of the Weeping Angel they're chasing. It is a four-second clip on a loop. The Doctor and River explain the nature of the Weeping Angel to Amy and Father Octavian, including their quantum-lock defence mechanism; the Doctor also briefly recounts his previous encounter with the Weeping Angels on Earth. The Angel that they're after had been patient and feigned dormancy since it was discovered. All but Amy depart the drop-ship as River offers the Doctor a book about the Angels; he reads the whole book in seconds. He is perplexed; something is missing, but he doesn't know what.

The Angel moves closer to Amy.

While the others make plans, Amy is left with nothing to do. Looking back at the tape, she realises the Weeping Angel has changed its position slightly. When she asks River if she has more than one clip of the Angel, River says no, it's just the one. When Amy looks back, the Angel has moved again; it now faces the camera with its arms spread out. The door behind her shuts without her noticing. Amy tries to turn off the television, but it quickly switches back on. She then tries and fails to unplug it. When she looks back up, though, the Angel's face has filled the screen. She tries to leave, but the door won't budge. She looks back again to find the Angel is now baring its fangs at her.

Outside, River wonders how early the Doctor is in his time stream. When he replies it is fairly early, she is amused because he doesn't know who she is yet. The Doctor wonders how she knows who he is as he doesn't always look the same. River says that she has all his faces in her diary, but he doesn't show up in order; River thinks she needs a spotter's guide. The Doctor then realises what the book of angels is missing: pictures. Why would there be no visual on what to look out for? River says there was a mention about images in the book. The Doctor returns to the sentence and reads it aloud: "Whatever takes the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel." He ponders its meaning.

Back in the dropship, Amy looks away again. This time, when she looks back, the Angel has projected itself into the drop-ship as a hologram. Amy shouts for the Doctor. He runs to the door and tries to open it with the sonic screwdriver, but fails. River tries burning through the hull as the Doctor fails to cut the power; the Angel has added a deadlock seal, though, and neither succeed, River noting it's "not even warm". The Doctor warns Amy not to blink, then looks back into the book, and adds she is not to look into the Angel's eyes; however, Amy already has, though doesn't mention it. The Doctor explains to River the book says that the eyes are the "doors" to the soul, not windows.

Realising there is a blip in the loop where there's no picture, Amy freezes the recording at that moment, ending the "image" and shutting off the screen. The Doctor and River enter; the Doctor orders River to hug and comfort Amy because he's busy scanning the plug to the television. He explains that it was a projection of the Angel they're after, not the Angel itself; it was scoping out its foes, and remarks that "it's no longer dormant". An explosion sounds outside, and Octavian enters to tell them the Clerics have blasted into the structure. The Doctor departs, convinced things are going to get even worse. Amy rubs her eye. She tells River there's something in it.

The Maze of the Dead.

The group climbs down into the temple, finding a gravity well inside. The Doctor says it is the perfect hiding place for the Angel. He kicks a gravity globe high into the air. With the space lit, the interior is revealed: hundreds of disintegrating stone statues. Finding the Angel is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. The Clerics wonder how they are going to neutralise the Angel. The best strategy the Doctor can think of is to "Find it, and hope."

The Doctor and Amy rush off to explore, but Father Octavian holds River back, warning her they need the Doctor on their side; the Doctor must never know why she's imprisoned, or he won't help them. As she leaves, Octavian sends Clerics Christian and Angelo to investigate the one exit visible from the chamber.

In one of the tunnels, Amy has stopped some distance away from the Doctor to rub her eye. This time, dust runs between her fingers; Amy is shocked by this, but the dust vanishes. River appears behind her and gives her an inoculation to protect her from the radiation from the ship. Amy asks River about her relationship with the Doctor. River is evasive and Amy continues to believe they are married. The Doctor hears them but denies it. River points out that he's holding a device upside-down. This reassures Amy that she is right; River doesn't confirm this, but simply says Amy is "good".

Elsewhere, Christian and Angelo are complaining about the mission, even preferring to go back to hunting lava snakes. Christian decides to investigate another passage but soon finds his torchlight flickering. He turns to call for Angelo to come to him, but the Weeping Angel kills him. Oddly, Angelo receives a transmission from the now-deceased Christian to come and see something. When he does, he also finds his torchlight flickering. He turns to see the Angel just as it kills him as well.

The Doctor, Amy and River explore the maze. He remembers the Aplans who built the crypt, saying he had dinner with the chief architect. According to him, the species had two heads. He changes the subject, asking River about the last line in the book — it's a rather ominous prophecy: "What happens when ideas have thoughts of their own? What happens when dreams no longer need dreamers? When these things have come to pass, the time will be upon us. The Time of Angels." The Doctor grimly tells River he hoped he mis-remembered that.

Bob listens to the Doctor's encouragement.

They hear gunfire and return to the main chamber. Cleric Bob has fired at a statue, thinking it looked at him. Octavian berates him, telling Bob that according to the Doctor, they are facing an enemy of unimaginable evil and it would serve them best not to be scared of decor. However, the Doctor insists Bob's fear will keep him alert and fast; "anyone who isn't scared is a moron." The Doctor becomes embarrassed when he realises he insulted the cool-headed Octavian. Octavian orders Bob to guard the entrance with Christian and Angelo, while he and the four other Clerics join the Doctor's exploration.

As they ascend to the second-to-last level, River tells the Doctor that something's wrong, but doesn't know what. The Doctor's feeling the same. He then tells Amy that they should go meet the Aplans some time; Amy counters that they're dead. "So is, Virginia Woolf. I'm on her bowling team." the Doctor laughs. The Doctor explains that the Aplans were a relaxed happy race, and then the Church prevented self-marriage. Examining a statue while Amy points out that divorce of self-marriage must have been messy, the Doctor and River have a terrifying epiphany. As they explain, the Aplans had two heads... So why don't the statues?

Gathering everyone behind him, the Doctor has them turn off their torchlights. When they turn back on after a second, all of the statues have turned to face them; every single statue is an Weeping Angel! River wonders how they didn't notice, to which the Doctor says it is either because of a low level perception filter or because they were too thick to notice the oddity. Amy notes how slow the angels are, as they should've had them by now; the Doctor puts this down to starvation after being there for centuries without a supply of energy.

Elsewhere, Cleric Bob gets a call from Angelo over his radio, begging him to come and see something. Angelo becomes increasingly annoyed that Bob won't come, telling him it's something he has to see. Finally, Bob does so, and he's killed by the same Angel.

Back to the Doctor's group, he's deduced the angels are slowly being restored by the radiation leaking from the wreckage; the Byzantium was crashed by the healthy Angel to save its species. Apparently, the Angels caused the extinction of the Aplans by displacing too many of them in time, leaving hardly enough left to reproduce and keep the species alive. Octavian radios Bob to warn him. Bob says he's on his way and that the others are dead; the Angels have broken their necks.

The Doctor is surprised; Angels normally displace their victims in time, unless they need bodies for something. He asks Bob how he got away, but Bob explains the Angel killed him as well. River and Amy share a grim stare. The Doctor asks how he can be talking to him, and learns that the Angels stripped the cerebral cortex from Bob and reanimated a copy of his consciousness to speak to them as it cannot speak their language. When Bob said that "he" is on his way, he really meant the Angel. The group flees to the Byzantium while the Doctor chats with Bob, confirming he is speaking to the original Angel; thus as it's not in the ship, it's the safest place..

The Angels approach.

As the Doctor runs to join the others, he finds Amy frozen in the corridor. She tells the Doctor that, because she looked into the Angel's eyes earlier, her hand has turned to stone. He must leave her. Her hand is not stone, though, and it's just the Weeping Angels playing with her mind. As the lights in the cavern flicker and the Angels approach, the Doctor apologises, but Amy tells him she understands why he must leave her; he doesn't mean for that, and bites her hand, taking her out of the trance. They meet up with the others, who are standing on a rocky ledge some fifty feet beneath the Byzantium wreckage; they're trapped.

"Sacred Bob" radios the Doctor again. He says there is nowhere for the Doctor to go and the Angels will kill them all. The Angels are also keen to have him know that the real Bob was afraid when he died; the Doctor had assured Bob that his fear would keep him fast, but he died alone and afraid. They are trying to make the Doctor angry, and angering the Doctor is a very bad move.

The Doctor prepares to outwit the Angels' trap.

The Doctor tells Bob that he's sorry for his death, promising what's left of him that the Angels will pay. But they're trapped with no chance of escape. The Doctor tells Bob that there is something wrong with the trap: a great, big mistake. He asks the group if they trust him. He takes Octavian's sidearm and orders them to jump on his signal. The Doctor warns the Angels, "There's one thing you never put in a trap, if you're smart, if you value your continued existence, if you have any plans about seeing tomorrow, there is one thing you never, ever put in a trap."

"Me!" The Doctor then shoots the gravity globe with Octavian's sidearm, plunging them into total darkness...

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.
          

Reza Karim and Jill Reeves were interviewed on the accompanying Doctor Who Confidential, credited as "Prosthetics Supervisors". Likewise, Ailsa Berk is clearly seen providing choreography for the Weeping Angels in Confidential. However, none of these people were listed in the end credits of The Time of Angels as originally broadcast on BBC One.


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • A verger was in charge of laying the explosives to create a path into the Maze of the Dead.
  • The Doctor is on Virginia Woolf's bowling team.
  • Amy guesses that River Song is the Doctor's wife in the future. River doesn't tell the truth to protect the established timeline. However, she notes Amy is good for being able to figure this out from their interactions.
  • Everyone in the service of the Church is given a Sacred Name.

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor states that humans are like rabbits, spreading out across the universe.
  • Over hundreds of years Weeping Angels lose their form.
  • The Aplans are a two-headed species.
  • The Doctor had dinner with the Aplans' chief architect.
  • The Aplans are said to have died out over 400 years before the Byzantium crashed on Alfava Metraxis.
  • The Delerium Archive is the final resting place of the Headless Monks.
  • There are over 6 billion human colonists on Alfava Metraxis.
  • In the book the Doctor reads about the Weeping Angels, it states "that which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel".
  • One of the Clerics talks about chasing lava snakes.
  • River says the Angel was retrieved from the ruins of Razbahan.

TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The TARDIS is capable of creating and extending an air corridor.
  • River Song says the TARDIS has brakes.
  • According to River Song, the TARDIS isn't supposed to make the classic materialisation/dematerialisation noise; she says it's because the Doctor always leaves the brakes on, which he counters by saying he likes the sound the TARDIS makes.
  • The TARDIS can operate like a spaceship, following the Byzantium through space before jumping through time to reach the crash site.
  • The TARDIS has blue stabiliser buttons the Doctor seemed unaware of; however, he then says that they are "boring".

Languages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

Religion[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The soldiers who accompany River Song are from the Church.
  • The Angels' use of the phrase, "Come and see", is a reference to the Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Revelation, specifically the Angel of Death.

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • A home box is like a flight recorder; if a ship crashed it would fly to the spacecraft's planet of origin.
  • The projection of a Weeping Angel is able to deadlock seal the landing pod, despite the pod not having the capability.
  • Perception filters are referred to again.
  • The new sonic screwdriver is as ineffective against deadlock seals as its predecessors.

Spacecraft[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Byzantium is a spacecraft carrying a Weeping Angel. It crash lands when its warp engines suffer a phase shift.

Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

  • This was the first episode of Series 5 to be shot, and therefore the first episode featuring Matt Smith and Karen Gillan.[2] This was the second time that a new Doctor began his tenure by recording something other than his first adventure. Peter Davison had initially taped his second story, Four to Doomsday, while his introduction in Castrovalva was actually the fourth of his serials to be shot.
  • This is Amy's first meeting with River Song, who, unknown to her, is actually her daughter.
  • Amy Pond thinks her hand has turned to stone. Karen Gillan had previously appeared in TV: The Fires of Pompeii as a member of the Sibylline Sisterhood, a cult of soothsayers whose flesh was beginning to turn to stone under the influence of the Pyroviles.
  • This is the third appearance of the Weeping Angels if one counts non-TV appearances; they have previously featured in TV: Blink and in Captain Jack's Monster Files. (See WC: A Ghost Story for Christmas)
  • The Doctor ripping the strap off the ceiling of one of the small ships was originally an accident; the producers liked the idea so much that they filmed Matt Smith doing it again.
  • At one point in the episode, Bob shot one of the statues because he thought it looked at him. All the statues turned out to be Weeping Angels, so the statue probably did look at Bob.
The controversial cartoon.
  • During its airing in some parts of England, an animated advert for the talent show Over the Rainbow began playing over the cliffhanger. This sparked complaints to the BBC, who later apologised. The advert contained an animated Graham Norton, who later joked about it on his own show – saying he finally secured a role on Doctor Who. However, his voice had already been overheard during the first episode of the revived series, Rose, when an error in broadcasting began playing the audio of a trailer featuring Norton for another of his talent shows, Strictly Dance Fever. In referring to his "appearance" in "Time of Angels," Norton then played a version of the cartoon banner, with a Dalek exterminating his cartoon self; coincidentally, the same show also featured an appearance by Karen Gillan and they spoke further about the error.
  • This is the first episode of Series 5 not to feature one of the Cracks, but one does show up in the next episode. This is likely because it is the first of a two-part story.
  • One question commonly asked by fans regarding TV: Blink was why Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale did not try closing one eye at a time to keep the Weeping Angels at bay. When the Angel is attacking Amy, she tries this, but remarks on how difficult it actually is.
  • The episode ran short in its original cut because high tides at the beach location forced the abandonment of about three scripted pages — including the scene which had been used to audition Karen Gillan for the part of Amy Pond. In its place, Steven Moffat inserted the scene where River flies the TARDIS, filmed as a pick-up. (DCOM: The Time of Angels)
  • Matt Smith actually bit Karen Gillan's hand on several takes to provoke a proper reaction.
  • Most of the Weeping Angels are not statue props but young women wearing masks, costumes, and paint that took two to three hours to apply. Adam Smith called them "an absolute nightmare to film with" because it took a long time for them to get ready and they had to stand still for long periods of time.
  • In the script it was not written in that River would land on the Doctor when she flew into the TARDIS. It was an idea that Matt Smith came up with in rehearsal that proved difficult to film.
  • In the pod when River Song is showing the recorded film of the Weeping Angel, early in the scene a sealed suit helmet can be seen that is at least the same make/model used by Professor Song and her party in Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead.
  • Wet conditions constantly plagued the shoot during the crew's stay in Puzzlewood, forcing considerable rescheduling. One consequence was that Stephen Martin-Walters could not complete his scenes as the Cleric Crispin, and so many of his lines were shared between Crispin's colleagues Marco, Pedro and Phillip instead. Another rewrite saw Steven Moffat give the Doctor a line to explicitly acknowledge the incessant rain.
  • One of the clerics is named "Bob" and this is called a 'sacred name'. This may be a reference to the real life religion Church of the SubGenius.
  • For the scene in which sand pours out of Amy's eye as she rubs it, an eye patch containing sand that would be released when Karen Gillan rubbed it was placed over her eye.
  • Adam Smith wished River Song's entrance to be a shocking surprise to the audience. A stunt double was used for some shots of the scene where River flies out of the Byzantium's airlock, but Alex Kingston wished to do some of it herself. The scene was filmed on a greenscreen with Kingston hooked up on wires that pulled her up and backwards as a wind machine was blown to create the effect of the airlock. Kingston said she "absolutely loved" filming the scene.
  • Iain Glen would later play Ser Jorah Mormont on Game of Thrones. Matt Smith would later play Daemon Targaryen in the prequel series House of the Dragon.
  • Adam Smith was keen to help forge a close bond between Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, so he worked with them to develop the dynamics of their characters' relationship. Given the pulse-pounding situations in which the TARDIS would deposit them, he even encouraged the two actors to share an adventurous thrill ride. The result was a frenetic boat excursion off Cardiff Bay, which proved more to Gillan's liking than Smith's.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 6.8 million viewers (UK overnight)
  • 8.59 million viewers (UK final)[3]

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

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When River Song meant she had pictures of all the Doctor's faces, it meant she had pictures of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctor. This was proven false in both The Time of the Doctor when the Eleventh Doctor explained he was the last incarnation, and in The Husbands of River Song when we saw the photos of the faces.
  • Amy Pond's outfit is a deliberate reference to a similar outfit worn by Romana II in Warrior's Gate. While the outfit is superficially similar, to date no one on production has confirmed whether this is a deliberate callback.

Rumours[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • A teaser from Digital Spy implied a data ghost device would appear in this episode.[1]
    This proved partially true. The same suits which have the devices were spotted in the episode, but were not used.

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 is talking to Angel Bob over the radio, he doesn't have a torch in his hand. In the next shot, running past Amy, he is shown with one.
  • The warning on the dropship door reads "CAUTION: Trip Hazzard". The word is properly spelt "Hazard".
  • When River is in space, the TARDIS has white windows. The scene cuts to a close up of the Doctor, and the windows are black. Also, the St John's Ambulance badge is missing from the door. Steven Moffat admits on the DVD commentary that it is the "David Tennant police box", but falls short of laying blame at the feet of any particular production member.
  • When the Doctor asks River to read out the end of the book, she is clearly reading from the middle of it.
  • Steven Moffat notes in the in-vision commentary that there are massive continuity errors throughout the episode with respect to the length of Matt Smith's hair. Indeed, careful examination reveals that Smith's hair has several different lengths, sometimes within the same scene.
  • At the end when the Doctor is seen shooting the gravity globe, he does not actually move his finger, but the pistol still shoots.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Eleventh Doctor points out historical inaccuracies in the museum. In TV: An Unearthly Child [+]Loading...["An Unearthly Child (TV story)"], Susan Foreman did this with one of her history textbooks.
  • The same suits River Song and her crew wore in TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"]/Forest of the Dead [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"] can be seen in this episode in the pod where Amy encounters her first Weeping Angel.
  • The Doctor states that he previously encountered the Weeping Angels once, a long time ago, on Earth. However, he had previously encountered them not just in his tenth incarnation in TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"], COMIC: The Weeping Angels of Mons [+]Loading...["The Weeping Angels of Mons (comic story)"], but also in his fifth incarnation in AUDIO: Fallen Angels [+]Loading...["Fallen Angels (audio story)"] and his eighth incarnation in AUDIO: The Side of the Angels [+]Loading...["The Side of the Angels (audio story)"], making this the Doctor's fifth encounter with the creatures.
  • The Doctor previously used the TARDIS to chase a crashing spaceship in TV: The Empty Child [+]Loading...["The Empty Child (TV story)"].
  • A gravity globe was previously used in TV: The Impossible Planet [+]Loading...["The Impossible Planet (TV story)"].
  • Amy mentions travelling to a spaceship, referring to Starship UK, which she and the Doctor visited in TV: The Beast Below [+]Loading...["The Beast Below (TV story)"]. She then refers to Winston Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms, to which they went in TV: Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"].
  • High Gallifreyan was previously seen in TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]; the Doctor declares that he is one of the few who understand the language.
  • The scene where the Doctor refuses to do an environment check is reminiscent of TV: The Power of the Daleks [+]Loading...["The Power of the Daleks (TV story)"], where a post-regeneration Second Doctor absentmindedly starts to wander out of the TARDIS. When his companions protest that he hasn't checked for oxygen on the planet, the Doctor rattles off the temperature, radiation, and oxygen density and detects a likelihood of mercury deposits.
  • The Doctor is annoyed by River claiming to be better at piloting the TARDIS than he is. In TV: The Ribos Operation [+]Loading...["The Ribos Operation (TV story)"], the Fourth Doctor has a similar reaction to Romana I's piloting skills.
  • Amy notes that the Doctor never lets people call him "sir". He previously resisted people putting him in such a position of authority in numerous stories, such as TV: The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Loading...["The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)"] and Planet of the Dead [+]Loading...["Planet of the Dead (TV story)"].
  • After flicking quickly through the book on the Weeping Angels, the Doctor remarks, "Not bad, bit boring in the middle." He did a similar thing with a book in a Parisian cafe in TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"] and with The Lovely Bones in TV: Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"]. He also proved capable of speed-reading a book in his eighth incarnation in AUDIO: Invaders from Mars [+]Loading...["Invaders from Mars (audio story)"].
  • The Doctor tells River that he is not a taxi service. The Fifth Doctor told Adric the same thing in TV: Earthshock [+]Loading...["Earthshock (TV story)"] and later tells Rory in TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship [+]Loading...["Dinosaurs on a Spaceship (TV story)"].
  • The Book of the Weeping Angels later appears in the Doctor's study in his TARDIS in GAME: TARDIS [+]Loading...["TARDIS (video game)"].
  • River Song again uses the hallucinogenic lipstick in The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"].
  • River mentions that she learnt to fly the TARDIS from "the best" and notes that "It's a shame [the Doctor was] busy that day". It is later revealed in TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"] that River learnt to pilot the TARDIS from the TARDIS itself shortly after her regeneration.
  • In TV: The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"], River admits to lying about not knowing Amy here to keep the timeline from being changed.
  • River is mentioned to have been in the Stormcage Containment Facility for murdering someone, someone Father Octavian warns her against telling the Doctor about. She later tells him that he was the best man she knew. The reason Octavian didn't want the Doctor to know is revealed in TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"]: it's the Doctor himself. However, TV: The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song"] later reveals that the Doctor and River actually faked his death and for a time only they and Amy and Rory knew the truth.
  • The Doctor once had dinner with the chief architect. This is likely a reference to TV: The Curse of Fatal Death [+]Loading...["The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)"], in which a "listless looking" Doctor did much the same on Tersurus.

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

Series 5, volume 2 DVD cover.

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

  • Series 5, Volume Two was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in region 2/B on 5 July 2010 and region 4/B on 5 August 2010. The volume features The Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone and The Vampires of Venice, and the featurette The Monster Diaries.
  • The episode was later released in the Complete Fifth Series boxset on both DVD and Blu-ray, in region 1/A on 9 November 2010, in region 2/B on 8 November 2010 and in region 4/B on 2 December 2010.
  • A DVD-only release of Series 5, Part One, containing the first six episodes of the series, was released in region 1 on 15 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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 DWMSE 26
  2. ↑ "Doctor Who: Return of the W" bbc.co.uk/blogs
  3. ↑ Doctor Who Ratings - UK final
  4. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/southerndown-beach
v • e
Doctor Who television stories
 
Seasons 1-4: William Hartnell
Season 1: 1963-1964
Season 2: 1964-1965
Season 3: 1965-1966
Season 4: 1966
 
Seasons 4-6: Patrick Troughton
Season 4: 1966-1967
Season 5: 1967-1968
Season 6: 1968-1969
 
Seasons 7-11: Jon Pertwee
Season 7: 1970
Season 8: 1971
Season 9: 1972
Season 10: 1972-1973
Season 11: 1973-1974
 
Seasons 12-18: Tom Baker
Season 12: 1974-1975
Season 13: 1975-1976
Season 14: 1976-1977
Season 15: 1977-1978
Season 16: 1978-1979
Season 17: 1979-1980
Season 18: 1980-1981
 
Seasons 19-21: Peter Davison
Season 19: 1982
Season 20: 1983
Children in Need 1983
Season 21: 1984
 
Seasons 21-23: Colin Baker
Season 21: 1984
Season 22: 1985
Season 23: 1986
 
Seasons 24-26: Sylvester McCoy
Season 24: 1987
Season 25: 1988-1989
Season 26: 1989
 
TV Movie & 2013 specials: Paul McGann
TV Movie: 1996
Specials: 2013
Minisodes
 
Series 1: Christopher Eccleston
Series 1: 2005
Regular episodes
 
Series 2-4: David Tennant
Series 2: 2005-2006
Minisode
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
Series 3: 2006-2007
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
Animated special
Series 4: 2007-2010
Minisode
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
Minisodes
Animated special
Seasonal specials
 
Series 5-2013 specials: Matt Smith
Series 5: 2010
Regular episodes
Series 6: 2010-2011
Christmas Special
Minisodes
Regular episodes
(Part 1: Apr 2011)
Regular episodes
(Part 2: Aug 2011)
Minisode
Series 7: 2011-2013
Christmas Special
Minisodes
Regular episodes
(Part 1: 2012)
Minisode
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
(Part 2: 2013)
Specials: 2013
 
Series 8-10: Peter Capaldi
Series 8: 2014
Regular episodes
Series 9: 2014-2015
Christmas Special
Minisode
Regular episodes
Christmas Special
Series 10: 2016-2017
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
Christmas Special
 
Series 11-13: Jodie Whittaker
Series 11: 2018-2019
Regular episodes
New Year Special
Series 12: 2020-2021
Regular episodes
New Year Special
Series 13: 2021
Minisodes
Regular episodes
Seasonal specials
 
60th Anniversary Specials: David Tennant
Specials: 2023
Minisodes
60th Anniversary Specials
 
Season 1 (2023)-present: Ncuti Gatwa
Season 1: 2023-2024
Christmas Special
Regular episodes
v • e
Weeping Angel sources
For the purposes of this list, a "Weeping Angel story" is one in which one living, authentic Weeping Angel plays a part within the confines of the story, outside of flashbacks to previous stories and cliffhangers that lead into the following story. For this reason, stories such as The Lost, The Halloween Apocalypse and Once, Upon Time are not counted due to the Weeping Angels' appearance being defined by their importance to following stories, while stories such as Survivors of the Flux are absent due to the Weeping Angels' only contribution being references to past Weeping Angel stories, and stories such as The God Complex are absent due to the Weeping Angels' only contribution being as illusions. Stories like Hell Bent and Revolution of the Daleks are also not included due to the Weeping Angels' appearance being restricted to a single scene of no consequence to the plot of the story.
Television
Webcast
Audio
Prose
Comics
Video games
Stage plays
Exhibits
Complete list of appearances
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Time_of_Angels_(TV_story)&oldid=3900432"