Melody Pond (The Impossible Astronaut): Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:07, 2 April 2024

In her first incarnation, Melody Pond was abducted shortly after birth by Madame Kovarian. Trained by the Silence to be the perfect assassin for the Doctor, she'd eventually encounter the Eleventh Doctor while trapped inside an augmented astronaut suit.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

Conception and gestation[[edit] | [edit source]]

Melody Pond was conceived soon after her parents' wedding, aboard the Doctor's TARDIS while transiting the Time Vortex. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War) Melody's mother, Amy Pond, remained unaware that she was pregnant for a while, (TV: The Almost People) and continued enjoying her honeymoon. (TV: A Christmas Carol)

Amy was kidnapped and replaced with a living flesh doppelgänger during or shortly after her honeymoon. The ganger functioned as an avatar through which Amy perceived existence as if she was present in place of the Ganger. (TV: The Almost People) In reality, Amy was taken to a church marine base on the Demons Run asteroid in the 52nd century to gestate Melody. Through some combination of the circumstances of her conception in the vortex, plus interference by the Silence, Melody developed Time Lord characteristics, including regeneration. (TV: A Good Man Goes To War)

Madame Kovarian harvested Melody's embryonic DNA in order to clone more children like her. This resulted in the creation of River's clones, the Proto-Time Lords. The clones referred to one another as siblings. The first batch consisted of seven clones named Lake, Rindle, Tarn, Wadi, Creek, Stream, and Beck. (AUDIO: The Lady in the Lake) The second batch of clones included Brooke, H-One, H-Two, and O. (AUDIO: My Dinner with Andrew, The Furies) Like River, the clones had two hearts and the ability to regenerate; however, the exact amount of regenerations each of them had was random. (AUDIO: The Lady in the Lake)

Birth[[edit] | [edit source]]

Melody Pond at Demons Run. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)

Delivered by Kovarian, (TV: The Almost People) Melody was born on Demons Run. (TV: A Good Man Goes To War) She was named after Amy and Rory's childhood friend, Mels Zucker. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) Amy insisted using her maiden surname, Pond, for Melody. Amy opined that "Melody Williams" was a name of a geography teacher, whereas "Melody Pond" evoked a superhero. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War) Kovarian placed a neural block on Melody as a failsafe to ensure that Melody would never be able to kill her, even if she wanted to. (AUDIO: The Furies)

Within a month, Melody was replaced with a ganger and taken away from her mother by Madame Kovarian to the 20th century, to be reared to kill the Doctor. (TV: Day of the Moon, The Almost People, A Good Man Goes to War) She was chosen for this task because of her conception in the Time Vortex. This gave her the potential for great strength and regeneration, to pilot the TARDIS and understand complex principles of time and space. (TV: The Time of Angels, Day of the Moon, A Good Man Goes to War, The Wedding of River Song) It was through her ganger avatar that Melody first met her father, Rory Williams, and the Eleventh Doctor. When Melody's connection to her ganger was severed, her ganger liquefied, while her father and the Doctor's allies fought to protect her from the Headless Monks. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)

Raised by the Silence[[edit] | [edit source]]

While she grew up, Melody was trained by the Silence to be the perfect assassin for the Doctor, though she would be unable to properly remember this part of her life due to their memory-erasing powers. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) Her first words were "Kill Doctor". She was taught to use a throwing star at ten paces before she even knew how to pace, her first steps were towards a box of grenades, and she was given nunchucks for her third birthday.

As a little girl, Melody was kept isolated in "the Nightmare Room" on Demons Run. The room contained clockwork toys, a jack-in-the-box, teddy bears, and a door with a force field on it. Kovarian told Melody bedtime stories and one of Kovarian's favourites was about the Furies. Just prior to being transferred to the Graystark Hall Orphanage, there was an incident where Melody's teddy bears were disembowelled, which Kovarian blamed on Melody. Kovarian gave Melody nightmares and was also the one to put her back to bed when she woke up afraid of the very same nightmares. (AUDIO: The Furies)

Escaping the Silence[[edit] | [edit source]]

Melody was later transferred to Graystark Hall in 1969 Florida under heavy security (TV: Day of the Moon) and forced into an Apollo astronaut suit that the Silence upgraded with alien technology. The suit could move autonomously and would insert Melody into itself both for control and to provide sustenance. The suit's artificial intelligence and communication faculties automatically put the frightened Melody in contact with the highest authority it could find: President Richard Nixon, at whatever telephone was closest to him at a given moment. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut) Melody repeatedly rang Nixon, trying to warn him about the Silents (WC: Prequel (The Impossible Astronaut)), asking for help and describing how the "spaceman" was going to "eat" her, but not knowing what help she needed or where precisely she was. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)

A young Melody escapes her space suit, and flees. (TV: Day of the Moon)

These telephone calls led to her first physical meeting with the Eleventh Doctor since her birth, in a warehouse in Florida near Cape Kennedy. She approached the Doctor whilst in the space suit, prompting her mother to shoot at her in fear of the Doctor's impending death. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut) The suit's visor was damaged, but Melody was unharmed. (TV: Day of the Moon)

She returned to Graystark three months later, to find her mother in her room. Melody begged her for help, but Amy, originating from a point in time before Melody's birth, was confused because of a picture of herself with Melody as a baby. With the arrival of the Silents, Melody forced her way out of the suit and fled, though she lingered long enough to catch a glimpse of the Doctor once more. (TV: Day of the Moon)

Regeneration[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Melody Pond's regeneration

Melody had made her way to New York City (TV: Day of the Moon) and lived on the streets. She was once visited by Captain Jack Harkness, who gave her a pepperoni pizza which she ate in the rain with some difficulty. (AUDIO: R&J)

Melody developed a terminal illness, but knew that she could "fix it" by regenerating. In an alley in January 1970, she finally succumbed to her ailment and regenerated in front of a homeless man. (TV: Day of the Moon) Her next incarnation was a toddler. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler)

Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]

Melody was shy, innocent and terrified of the "monsters" who had trapped her in the spacesuit. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{merge|River Song|She is now known to be River, most of this article has been added to that page, however some still may be left. Please discuss the final deletion on the talk page.}}
+{{ImageLink}}
-<!---Please do not suggest Time Lord origins nor revert the paragraphing--->
 {{Infobox Individual
-|image           = [[File:The Astronaut.jpg|250px]]
+|image        = <gallery>
-|individual name = Little girl
+Young melody escaping.jpg|Wade
-|alias           = Jefferson Adams Hamilton
+Melody Infant.jpg|Mortimer
-|race            = [[Near-human]]
+</gallery>
-|home planet     =
+|alias        = Melody Williams, The Child
-|home era        = [[20th century]]
+|species      = Human
-|appearances     = [[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'' / ''[[Day of the Moon]]''
+|species2     = Proto-Time Lord
-|actor           = [[Sydney Wade]]
+|affiliation  = The Silence
-|}} '''Melody Pond''' was a mysterious being who, according to [[River Song]], appeared to be human. However, she possessed superhuman strength and the ability to regenerate, suggesting an as yet unknown connection to the [[Time Lord]]s.
+|grandparent  = Tabetha Pond
+|grandparent2 = Augustus Pond
+|grandparent3 = Brian Williams (Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
+|grandparent4 = Rory Williams' mother{{!}}Rory's mother
+|mother       = Amy Pond
+|father       = Rory Williams
+|sibling      = Lake (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling2     = Rindle
+|sibling3     = Tarn (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling4     = Stream (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling5     = Creek (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling6     = Wadi
+|sibling7     = Beck (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling8     = Brooke (The Lady in the Lake)
+|sibling9     = H-One
+|sibling10    = H-Two
+|sibling11    = O (The Furies)
+|origin       = [[Demons Run]]
+|first        = Prequel to The Impossible Astronaut (webcast)
+|appearances  = [[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'', ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[R&J (audio story)|R&J]]''
+|actor        = Sydney Wade
+|other actor  = Harrison and Madison Mortimer
+|clip         =
+}}{{MelodyPonds}}
+In her first incarnation, '''[[Melody Pond]]''' was abducted shortly after birth by [[Kovarian|Madame Kovarian]]. Trained by [[the Silence]] to be the perfect [[assassin]] for [[the Doctor]], she'd eventually encounter the [[Eleventh Doctor]] while trapped inside an augmented astronaut suit.
-==Biography==
+== Biography ==
-The girl contacted [[Richard Nixon]] for assistance, but he did not know who was calling him. She told him about the "[[the Silence|Monsters]]", and how she feared them.
+=== Conception and gestation ===
+Melody Pond was [[sex|conceived]] soon after her parents' [[wedding]], aboard [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] while transiting the [[Time Vortex]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'') Melody's [[mother]], [[Amy Pond]], remained unaware that she was [[pregnant]] for a while, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Almost People (TV story)|The Almost People]]'') and continued enjoying her [[honeymoon]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
-When Nixon asked where or who she was, the girl told him "Jefferson Adams Hamilton", leading him to believe her to be a boy. However, the [[Eleventh Doctor|Doctor]] realised these were the names of streets, the only three by those names intersecting in [[Florida]], and probably all of [[United States of America|America]].
+Amy was kidnapped and replaced with a [[Ganger|living flesh doppelgänger]] during or shortly after her honeymoon. The ganger functioned as an avatar through which Amy perceived existence as if she was present in place of the Ganger. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Almost People (TV story)|The Almost People]]'') In reality, Amy was taken to [[the Church|a church marine]] base on the [[Demons Run]] asteroid in the [[52nd century]] to gestate Melody. Through some combination of the circumstances of her conception in the vortex, plus interference by [[the Silence]], Melody developed Time Lord characteristics, including [[regeneration]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes To War]]'')
-She watched from a distance when the Doctor arrived to find her. Whilst wearing what appeared to be an [[Astronaut|astronaut's]] suit, the girl eventually approached the Doctor and [[Amy Pond]], the latter firing a [[firearm|gun]] at her, as she initially believed that she was the assassin of the Doctor, 200 years in his future, who wore a similar, if not identical, astronaut suit to her. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
+[[Madame Kovarian]] harvested Melody's embryonic [[DNA]] in order to [[clone]] more children like her. This resulted in the creation of River's clones, the [[Proto-Time Lord]]s. The clones referred to one another as siblings. The first batch consisted of seven clones named [[Lake (The Lady in the Lake)|Lake]], [[Rindle]], [[Tarn (The Lady in the Lake)|Tarn]], [[Wadi]], [[Creek (The Lady in the Lake)|Creek]], [[Stream (The Lady in the Lake)|Stream]], and [[Beck (The Lady in the Lake)|Beck]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Lady in the Lake (audio story)|The Lady in the Lake]]'') The second batch of clones included [[Brooke (The Lady in the Lake)|Brooke]], [[H-One]], [[H-Two]], and [[O (The Furies)|O]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[My Dinner with Andrew (audio story)|My Dinner with Andrew]]'', ''[[The Furies (audio story)|The Furies]]'') Like River, the clones had [[binary vascular system|two hearts]] and the ability to regenerate; however, the exact amount of regenerations each of them had was random. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Lady in the Lake (audio story)|The Lady in the Lake]]'')
-[[File:Regen girl.png|thumb|left|162px|The little girl regenerates in New York. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')]]
+=== Birth ===
-Three months later she again encountered Amy, who had only punctured the suit's visor, in what appeared to be her bedroom at the [[Graystark Hall Orphanage|Graystark Hall]] children's home. The room contained a number photos of the girl, including one of Amy holding an infant. [[The Silence]] then appeared in the room behind the girl and took Amy hostage.
+[[File:PondMelodyDemonsRun.jpg|thumb|left|Melody Pond at Demons Run. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'')]]
+Delivered by Kovarian, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Almost People (TV story)|The Almost People]]'') Melody was born on [[Demons Run]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes To War]]'') She was named after [[Amy Pond|Amy]] and [[Rory Williams|Rory]]'s [[childhood]] [[friend]], [[Mels Zucker]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'') Amy insisted using her maiden surname, Pond, for Melody. Amy opined that "Melody Williams" was a name of a [[geography]] [[teacher]], whereas "Melody Pond" evoked a [[superhero]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'') Kovarian placed a [[neural block]] on Melody as a failsafe to ensure that Melody would never be able to kill her, even if she wanted to. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Furies (audio story)|The Furies]]'')
-The girl was able to free herself from the suit, which had been fitted with [[alien]] technology to act as a life support system, displaying enormous strength. She then ran from the scene after spying on the Doctor, [[Canton Everett Delaware III|Canton]], [[River Song|River]] and [[Rory Williams|Rory]] rushing to help Amy.
+Within a month, Melody was replaced with a [[ganger]] and taken away from her mother by Madame Kovarian to the [[20th century]], to be reared to kill the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', ''[[The Almost People (TV story)|The Almost People]]'', ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'') She was chosen for this task because of her conception in the Time Vortex. This gave her the potential for great strength and [[regeneration]], to pilot [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] and understand complex principles of [[time]] and [[space]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'', ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'') It was through her ganger avatar that Melody first met her father, [[Rory Williams]], and the [[Eleventh Doctor]]. When Melody's connection to her ganger was severed, her ganger liquefied, while her father and the Doctor's allies fought to protect her from the [[Headless Monks]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
-Six months later, her deteriorating health caused her to [[Regeneration|regenerate]] in a [[New York]] alleyway. ([[DW]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'')
+=== Raised by the Silence ===
+While she grew up, Melody was trained by [[the Silence]] to be the perfect [[assassin]] for [[the Doctor]], though she would be unable to properly remember this part of her life due to their [[memory]]-erasing powers. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'') Her first words were "Kill Doctor". She was taught to use a [[throwing star]] at ten paces before she even knew how to pace, her first steps were towards a box of [[grenade]]s, and she was given [[nunchucks]] for her third [[birthday]].
-{{Series 6 aliens}}
+As a little girl, Melody was kept isolated in "the [[Nightmare Room]]" on [[Demons Run]]. The room contained [[clockwork]] toys, a jack-in-the-box, [[teddy bear]]s, and a door with a [[force field]] on it. Kovarian told Melody [[bedtime story|bedtime stories]] and one of Kovarian's favourites was about the [[Furies (legend)|Furies]]. Just prior to being transferred to the [[Graystark Hall Orphanage]], there was an incident where Melody's [[teddy bear]]s were disembowelled, which Kovarian blamed on Melody. Kovarian gave Melody [[nightmare]]s and was also the one to put her back to bed when she woke up afraid of the very same nightmares. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Furies (audio story)|The Furies]]'')
-[[Category:Individuals with unknown names]]
-[[Category:Individuals of unknown species]]
+=== Escaping the Silence ===
+Melody was later transferred to Graystark Hall in [[1969]] [[Florida]] under heavy security ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'') and forced into an Apollo [[astronaut]] suit that the Silence upgraded with alien technology. The suit could move autonomously and would insert Melody into itself both for control and to provide sustenance. The suit's artificial intelligence and communication faculties automatically put the frightened Melody in contact with the highest authority it could find: [[President of the United States|President]] [[Richard Nixon]], at whatever telephone was closest to him at a given moment. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'') Melody repeatedly rang Nixon, trying to warn him about the [[Silent]]s ([[WC]]: ''[[Prequel (The Impossible Astronaut)]]''), asking for help and describing how the "spaceman" was going to "eat" her, but not knowing what help she needed or where precisely she was. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
+[[File:Young melody escaping.jpg|thumb|A young Melody escapes her space suit, and flees. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'')]]
+These telephone calls led to her first physical meeting with the Eleventh Doctor since her birth, in a warehouse in [[Florida]] near Cape Kennedy. She approached the Doctor whilst in the space suit, prompting her mother to shoot at her in fear of the Doctor's impending death. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'') The suit's visor was damaged, but Melody was unharmed. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'')
+She returned to Graystark three months later, to find her mother in her room. Melody begged her for help, but Amy, originating from a point in time before Melody's birth, was confused because of a picture of herself with Melody as a baby. With the arrival of the Silents, Melody forced her way out of the suit and fled, though she lingered long enough to catch a glimpse of the Doctor once more. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'')
+=== Regeneration ===
+{{Main|Melody Pond's regeneration}}
+Melody had made her way to [[New York City]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'') and lived on the [[street]]s. She was once visited by [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]], who gave her a [[pepperoni pizza]] which she ate in the [[rain]] with some difficulty. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[R&J (audio story)|R&J]]'')
+Melody developed a terminal illness, but knew that she could "fix it" by [[regeneration|regenerating]]. In an alley in [[January]] [[1970]], she finally succumbed to her ailment and regenerated in front of [[Tramp (Day of the Moon)|a homeless man]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'') Her next [[incarnation]] was [[Mels Zucker|a toddler]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]'')
+== Personality ==
+Melody was shy, innocent and terrified of the "monsters" who had trapped her in the spacesuit. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
+{{Proto-Time Lords}}
+{{NameSort}}
+[[Category:Biologically modified humans]]
+[[Category:Cloned individuals]]
+[[Category:20th century individuals]]
+[[Category:52nd century individuals]]
+[[Category:Human time travellers]]
+[[Category:Humans who have been kidnapped]]
+[[Category:Humans who met the Doctor as babies]]
+[[Category:Members of the Silence]]
+[[Category:Humans who met the Doctor as children]]
+[[Category:Amy Pond's relatives]]
+[[Category:Rory Williams's relatives]]
+[[Category:Americans]]
+[[Category:Incarnations of Melody Pond]]