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{{Infobox Object
{{Infobox Object
|image         = [[File:Pandorica.png|250px]]
|image       = The Pandorica.jpg
|object name  = Pandorica
|type        = Cubic prison
|type          =  
|first      = The Pandorica Opens (TV story)
|appearances   = [[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens]]''/''[[The Big Bang]]''
|appearances = {{il|[[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]''|[[AUDIO]]: ''[[I, Rorius (audio story)|I, Rorius]]''|[[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Once and Future Nurse (audio story)|The Once and Future Nurse]]''|[[GAME]]: ''[[Lost in Time (video game)|Lost in Time]]''}}
|clip        = I. Am. Talking! - The Pandorica Speech - Doctor Who - The Pandorica Opens - BBC
}}
}}
{{semi-protect}}
The '''Pandorica''' was a prison hidden under [[Stonehenge]].
'''The Pandorica''' was mentioned by [[Prisoner Zero]] to [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]] and told him that it would open and that silence would fall. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]''). [[River Song]] also mentioned the Pandorica to the Doctor, telling him she would next see him there and that she remembered it well. The Doctor believed the Pandorica to be a fairytale. ([[DW]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone]])''


Its later revealed that the Pandorica was in fact a construct created by an alliance consisting of the [[Daleks]], [[Cybermen]], [[Nestene Consciousness]], [[Judoon]] and the [[Sontaran]]s along witha  myriad of other races with the intention of preventing the [[Time Field]] from manifesting as that would destroy the universe. Their conclusions held that the Doctor would be responsible for the destruction of existence itself and thus used the lure of the Pandorica in order to entrap him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens]]'')
It was built to hold [[the Doctor]] and ensure the safety of the [[The Pandorica Alliance|Pandorica Alliance]].


{{stub}}
Despite being described time and again as the "perfect prison" by the [[Eleventh Doctor]], it also proved to be "easy" to open from the outside; [[Rory Williams]], on instruction from the Doctor, opened it with the [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]].
 
== Design ==
The Pandorica looked like an image of [[Pandora's box]] on [[The Legend of Pandora's Box|a book]] found in Amy Pond's bedroom. It was lined with a very ornate and complex set of security tumblers that glowed green when they were being unlocked, likening the Pandorica to a heavily vaulted safe. The interior was a small room with a chair in it and a set of manacles built into the chair. When someone was placed on the chair, the exterior would close and the manacles would lock around their waist, shoulders, and wrists to shackle the person to the chair, sealing them in tightly. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
 
== History ==
According to legend, the Pandorica was the prison of a warrior or [[goblin]] who dropped out of the sky and tore the world apart until a good [[wizard]] tricked it and locked it up.
 
The Pandorica was actually a prison built by the [[The Pandorica Alliance|Pandorica Alliance]] for the [[Eleventh Doctor]] to stop him from inadvertently destroying all of creation in every [[Universe]]. They believed the Doctor would be responsible for the destruction of existence itself.
[[File:The Pandorica Imprisonment.jpg|thumb|The Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')]]
They used the lure of the Pandorica to trap him. There were many layers of security in the Pandorica including [[deadlock seal|deadlocks]], [[time stop]]s and matter lines. It even had a [[restoration field]] to stop the Doctor from dying, which the Alliance believed a form of escape. In addition, [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] guarded the box for some time before the Eleventh Doctor's arrival. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'') All of this turned the "Underhenge" into a space-time [[Waypoint]]. It was visited by the [[Twelfth Doctor]] and a future version of [[Clara Oswald]] to collect [[vortex energy]]. They were attacked by two Cybermen, but managed to escape, after which Clara returned to [[Clara's TARDIS|her and Me's TARDIS]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Lost in Time (video game)|Lost in Time]]'')
 
After the Alliance trapped the Doctor in the Pandorica in 102 AD, the [[Auton]] duplicate of [[Rory Williams]] succumbed to his programming and shot [[Amy Pond]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'') However, a future version of the Doctor was able to go back in time using River Song's vortex manipulator and tell Rory how he could use the sonic screwdriver to release the Doctor, as well as use the Pandorica to save Amy by sealing the dying Amy inside the Pandorica. Rory then pledged himself to defending the Pandorica until Amy could be revived. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
 
In [[107]], the Pandorica was discovered under Stonehenge. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)}}) In [[118]], the Pandorica was taken back to [[Rome]] under armed guard. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') Rory followed it to Rome where he was forced to fight as a [[gladiator]], then the personal guard of [[Caesar (Gladiator)|the Caesar]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Gladiator (audio story)|Gladiator]]'') the assassin of his successor [[Augusta (Gladiator)|Augusta]], and finally he became Emperor himself. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Unwilling Assassin (audio story)|The Unwilling Assassin]]'') Not long after, Rory abdicated. After locating the Pandorica, he made for [[Britain|Britannia]] with the box, intending to travel via [[Ostia]] and [[France]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[I, Rorius (audio story)|I, Rorius]]'')
 
In [[420]], it was plundered by the [[Franks]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') and stolen by the [[Goths]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)}}) By [[1120]], it was the prized possession of the [[Knights Templar]].
 
In [[1231]], it was donated to the [[Vatican]]. Sometime after, it was sold by [[Marco Polo]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') It was later recovered from the [[Aegean]] [[seabed]]. ([[PROSE]]: {{cs|The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)}})
 
[[File:Lone Centurion Blitz (TBB).jpg|thumb|left|A painting depicts [[Rory Williams (Auton)|the Last Centurion]] heaving the Pandorica out of war-torn London. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')]]
It was once put into storage in a London warehouse which was destroyed by [[the Blitz]] in [[1941]]. It was reportedly seen being dragged to safety from the burning warehouse by [[Rory Williams (Auton)|the Last Centurion]], and found a short distance away, unscathed.
 
It was finally opened in [[1996]], when Amy's younger self came to the museum where the Pandorica was kept. Young Amy's contact with the Pandorica gave it a sample of her [[DNA]], which it could use as a sample to fully revive the nearly dead adult Amy.
 
The Pandorica was then used by the Doctor to [[Big Bang Two|reboot the universe]]. Since all of the traps inside it provided the perfect barrier against the destruction of the universe the Alliance had been trying to avoid, it retained several billion atoms of the original universe within, even after the destruction of the rest of creation. Operating on the same principle as [[cloning]] a body from a single cell, these atoms provided a "blueprint" for the universe when the Doctor piloted it into the exploding TARDIS which had [[Time Field|cracked]] all of time and space. The atoms from the Pandorica combined with the energy of the TARDIS's explosion to restore every point in time and the universe. Doing so caused the cracks in time to close and allowed Amy to remember her family and the Doctor - all erased by the cracks - back into existence. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
 
== Other references ==
As a "sneak preview", River mentioned to the Eleventh Doctor that he would see her again "quite soon. When the Pandorica opens." The Doctor responded that that was a [[fairy tale]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Flesh and Stone (TV story)|Flesh and Stone]]'') When [[Flemming (The Husbands of River Song)|Flemming]] was reading [[River Song's diary|River's diary]], he mentioned this adventure, remarking that it sounded "exciting". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Husbands of River Song (TV story)|The Husbands of River Song]]'')
 
[[Human]] [[historian]]s following the [[Siege of Trenzalore]] acknowledged the Pandorica within a string of defeats, following the [[Eye of Time]] and the [[Eternity Clock]] and preceding the [[Dalek Project]] and the [[Dalek Foundation]], the Doctor inflicted on the [[New Paradigm]] which led to their organisational restructure into the [[Parliament of the Daleks]] preceding the [[Asylum Incident]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe (short story)|Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe]]'')
 
As recorded by the [[Testimony]], the "Imp of the Pandorica" was a [[Aliases of the Doctor|name]] for [[the Doctor]] given his entrapment in the prison. ([[TV]]: ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'')
 
A prison similar to the Pandorica, made of [[dwarf star alloy]] to prevent anything from entering it, was built by the [[United States government]] inside [[Area 51]] in [[1969]] with the official purpose of keeping inside it the Doctor, but was later revealed to be a place where he, [[River Song]], Amy, Rory, [[Canton Everett Delaware III]] and President [[Richard Nixon]] could talk about [[Silent]]s and operate [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'')
 
While discussing everything the toil that his non-stop adventuring had taken on his mental state across their many lifetimes, the [[Fifteenth Doctor]] reminded the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] of the events of the Pandorica. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Giggle (TV story)}})
 
== Behind the scenes ==
[[File:Pandorica II.jpg|thumb|The Pandorica II]]
* For the [[Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)]], part of the interactive story featured a device called the "Pandorica II". The Alliance trapped the Doctor in it again and it was up to the guests to bring the TARDIS to him, so he could escape. The Doctor considered the Back Up Pandorica as cheating and complained on the fact that it wasn't even a different colour.
 
[[Category:Prisons]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Fairy tales]]
[[Category:Security]]
[[Category:Resurrection]]
 
[[fr:Pandorica]]
[[Category:Total Collapse Event Incident]]

Latest revision as of 17:50, 3 November 2024

The Pandorica was a prison hidden under Stonehenge.

It was built to hold the Doctor and ensure the safety of the Pandorica Alliance.

Despite being described time and again as the "perfect prison" by the Eleventh Doctor, it also proved to be "easy" to open from the outside; Rory Williams, on instruction from the Doctor, opened it with the sonic screwdriver.

Design[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Pandorica looked like an image of Pandora's box on a book found in Amy Pond's bedroom. It was lined with a very ornate and complex set of security tumblers that glowed green when they were being unlocked, likening the Pandorica to a heavily vaulted safe. The interior was a small room with a chair in it and a set of manacles built into the chair. When someone was placed on the chair, the exterior would close and the manacles would lock around their waist, shoulders, and wrists to shackle the person to the chair, sealing them in tightly. (TV: The Big Bang)

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

According to legend, the Pandorica was the prison of a warrior or goblin who dropped out of the sky and tore the world apart until a good wizard tricked it and locked it up.

The Pandorica was actually a prison built by the Pandorica Alliance for the Eleventh Doctor to stop him from inadvertently destroying all of creation in every Universe. They believed the Doctor would be responsible for the destruction of existence itself.

The Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

They used the lure of the Pandorica to trap him. There were many layers of security in the Pandorica including deadlocks, time stops and matter lines. It even had a restoration field to stop the Doctor from dying, which the Alliance believed a form of escape. In addition, Cybermen guarded the box for some time before the Eleventh Doctor's arrival. (TV: The Pandorica Opens) All of this turned the "Underhenge" into a space-time Waypoint. It was visited by the Twelfth Doctor and a future version of Clara Oswald to collect vortex energy. They were attacked by two Cybermen, but managed to escape, after which Clara returned to her and Me's TARDIS. (GAME: Lost in Time)

After the Alliance trapped the Doctor in the Pandorica in 102 AD, the Auton duplicate of Rory Williams succumbed to his programming and shot Amy Pond. (TV: The Pandorica Opens) However, a future version of the Doctor was able to go back in time using River Song's vortex manipulator and tell Rory how he could use the sonic screwdriver to release the Doctor, as well as use the Pandorica to save Amy by sealing the dying Amy inside the Pandorica. Rory then pledged himself to defending the Pandorica until Amy could be revived. (TV: The Big Bang)

In 107, the Pandorica was discovered under Stonehenge. (PROSE: The Visual Dictionary [+]Loading...["The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)"]) In 118, the Pandorica was taken back to Rome under armed guard. (TV: The Big Bang) Rory followed it to Rome where he was forced to fight as a gladiator, then the personal guard of the Caesar, (AUDIO: Gladiator) the assassin of his successor Augusta, and finally he became Emperor himself. (AUDIO: The Unwilling Assassin) Not long after, Rory abdicated. After locating the Pandorica, he made for Britannia with the box, intending to travel via Ostia and France. (AUDIO: I, Rorius)

In 420, it was plundered by the Franks (TV: The Big Bang) and stolen by the Goths. (PROSE: The Visual Dictionary [+]Loading...["The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)"]) By 1120, it was the prized possession of the Knights Templar.

In 1231, it was donated to the Vatican. Sometime after, it was sold by Marco Polo. (TV: The Big Bang) It was later recovered from the Aegean seabed. (PROSE: The Visual Dictionary [+]Loading...["The Visual Dictionary (2010 reference book)"])

A painting depicts the Last Centurion heaving the Pandorica out of war-torn London. (TV: The Big Bang)

It was once put into storage in a London warehouse which was destroyed by the Blitz in 1941. It was reportedly seen being dragged to safety from the burning warehouse by the Last Centurion, and found a short distance away, unscathed.

It was finally opened in 1996, when Amy's younger self came to the museum where the Pandorica was kept. Young Amy's contact with the Pandorica gave it a sample of her DNA, which it could use as a sample to fully revive the nearly dead adult Amy.

The Pandorica was then used by the Doctor to reboot the universe. Since all of the traps inside it provided the perfect barrier against the destruction of the universe the Alliance had been trying to avoid, it retained several billion atoms of the original universe within, even after the destruction of the rest of creation. Operating on the same principle as cloning a body from a single cell, these atoms provided a "blueprint" for the universe when the Doctor piloted it into the exploding TARDIS which had cracked all of time and space. The atoms from the Pandorica combined with the energy of the TARDIS's explosion to restore every point in time and the universe. Doing so caused the cracks in time to close and allowed Amy to remember her family and the Doctor - all erased by the cracks - back into existence. (TV: The Big Bang)

Other references[[edit] | [edit source]]

As a "sneak preview", River mentioned to the Eleventh Doctor that he would see her again "quite soon. When the Pandorica opens." The Doctor responded that that was a fairy tale. (TV: Flesh and Stone) When Flemming was reading River's diary, he mentioned this adventure, remarking that it sounded "exciting". (TV: The Husbands of River Song)

Human historians following the Siege of Trenzalore acknowledged the Pandorica within a string of defeats, following the Eye of Time and the Eternity Clock and preceding the Dalek Project and the Dalek Foundation, the Doctor inflicted on the New Paradigm which led to their organisational restructure into the Parliament of the Daleks preceding the Asylum Incident. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)

As recorded by the Testimony, the "Imp of the Pandorica" was a name for the Doctor given his entrapment in the prison. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)

A prison similar to the Pandorica, made of dwarf star alloy to prevent anything from entering it, was built by the United States government inside Area 51 in 1969 with the official purpose of keeping inside it the Doctor, but was later revealed to be a place where he, River Song, Amy, Rory, Canton Everett Delaware III and President Richard Nixon could talk about Silents and operate the Doctor's TARDIS. (TV: Day of the Moon)

While discussing everything the toil that his non-stop adventuring had taken on his mental state across their many lifetimes, the Fifteenth Doctor reminded the Fourteenth Doctor of the events of the Pandorica. (TV: The Giggle [+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Pandorica II
  • For the Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff), part of the interactive story featured a device called the "Pandorica II". The Alliance trapped the Doctor in it again and it was up to the guests to bring the TARDIS to him, so he could escape. The Doctor considered the Back Up Pandorica as cheating and complained on the fact that it wasn't even a different colour.