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{{Infobox Story SMW
|image = [[file:Walk like you can see.png|250px]]
|image = Walk like you can see.jpg
|story name = Flesh and Stone
|series = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|series = [[Doctor Who]] - [[List of Doctor Who television stories|Television stories]]
|season number = Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)
|number = [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]]
|series episode number = 5
|story number = 206b
|story number = 206b
|doctor = [[Eleventh Doctor]]
|novelisation = The Time of Angels (novelisation)
|companions = <ul><li>[[Amy Pond]] </li><li>[[River Song]] (guest)
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/documents/doctor-who-5-episode-5-flesh-and-stone-yellow-revisions-30072009.pdf
|enemy = [[Weeping Angel]]s<br>[[Time Field]]
|doctor = Eleventh Doctor
|setting = <ul><li>[[Alfava Metraxis]], [[51st century]] </li><li>[[Leadworth]], [[England]], [[25 June|25]]-[[26 June]] [[2010]]
|companions = [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[River Song|River]]
|writer = [[Steven Moffat]]
|enemy = [[Angel Bob]]
|setting = The ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'', [[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]]
|confidential=[[Blinded by the Light]]
|confidential = Blinded by the Light (CON episode)
|broadcast date = [[1st May]] [[2010]]
|broadcast date = 1 May 2010
|format = 1x 45 minute episode
|network = BBC One
|production code = 5.5
|format = 1x45 minute episode
|previous story = [[The Time of Angels]]
|production code = 1.5
|next story = [[The Vampires of Venice]]
|prev = The Time of Angels (TV story)
}}'''''Flesh and Stone''''' was the fifth episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|the fifth series]] of [[BBC Wales]] ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was the second part of a two-part story that began with ''[[The Time of Angels]]''.
|next = The Vampires of Venice (TV story)
==Synopsis==
|made prev = The Time of Angels (TV story)
There's no way back, no way up and no way out. Trapped among an army of [[Weeping Angel]]s, The Doctor and his friends must try to escape through the wreckage of a crashed space liner. Meanwhile, in the forest vault Amy finds herself facing an even more deadly attack.
|made next = The Beast Below (TV story)
|clip = Narrow escape - Doctor Who - BBC
|clip2 = The gravity of the situation - Doctor Who - Flesh and Stone - Series 5 - BBC
|thwr=100}}
'''''Flesh and Stone''''' was the fifth episode of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 5]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
 
It was the second of a two-part story that began with ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]''. It showed the Weeping Angels moving for the first time; when moving slowly, they give off a stone-scraping sound. It also showed the Angels' cruelty and sadism in a new light; though the Angels wish only to feast on the ''Byzantium''{{'}}s power, they continuously go after the survivors fleeing them for no other reason than to kill.
 
It also continued the theme of suggesting that the Eleventh Doctor is [[Crazy|mad]], which he has either claimed to be or has been called a madman.
 
This story revealed more about the cracks, such as why Amy cannot remember the Daleks' attacks on Earth during ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'' or ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'' / ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]''. The [[Pandorica]] is mentioned again, this time by River Song, hinting it may be a serious event in [[the Doctor]]'s future. The story also contained a moment where the Doctor appeared out of place from the conflict around him and seemed more engrossed in a [[The Big Bang (TV story)|bigger crisis]] yet to ensue. The end of this story leads into part two of ''[[Meanwhile in the TARDIS (home video)|Meanwhile in the TARDIS]].''
 
== Synopsis ==
There's no way back, no way up and no way out. Trapped by an army of [[Weeping Angel]]s and an ever-growing [[Time field|mysterious crack]], the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and his friends try to escape through the wreckage of [[Byzantium (spacecraft)|a crashed space liner]]. Meanwhile, surrounded by Angels, [[Amy Pond|Amy]] faces an even more deadly attack, as she's forced to find her way through the forest vault, eyes closed.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
[[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]], [[Amy Pond|Amy]], [[River Song]], [[Octavian|Bishop Octavian]], and his clerics have all jumped on the Doctor's signal. They have been caught by the ''[[Byzantium (ship)|Byzantium]]'''s gravity field to land on the Byzantium's hull, upside down over the restoring [[Weeping Angel]]s beneath them, draining the energy around them. They enter the ship, but the Angels pursue. The Doctor manages to isolate the lights so the Angels cannot turn them off while draining the power. However, the only way out of the corridor is to channel all the power in the section to the door to force it open. Octavian becomes concerned that the Doctor is a madman that can't be trusted as he has lost good clerics already. Luckily, River manages to convice Octavian the Doctor can save them as she trusts him. The Doctor prepares to open the door to the secondary flight deck and tells Amy to spin the handle four times to open it. Amy says ten instead and the Doctor asks why she said ten. She denies saying it and Octavian gives the signal to begin reruiting power to the door while he and the clerics fire at the Angels to keep them back.
Quickly picking himself up, [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]] tells everyone to look up, as he begins pacing around and pointing the [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] at their footing. A confused Amy asks the Doctor what he is looking at. Exasperated at Amy's inability to grasp the obvious, the Doctor reminds her that the power is still on in the crashed ship, so what else is on? The artificial gravity!


As everyone flees into the secondary fleight deck, the Doctor seals the door behind them; however, the Angels begin turning the wheel. Octavian uses a device to magntize the door shut, convinced that not even the Angels can turn it now. Much to his growing horror, Octavian finds the Angels are managing to slowly force the door wheel to open. Other Angels begin [[file:Revealing_the_forest.png|thumb|left|The Oxygen Factory is revealed.]]opening the other doors in the room and Octavian orders the clerics to seal the other doors. The Doctor tells them that they have five minutes max until the Angels succeed in opening the doors and begins babbling on about how they can get out until he realises something important that the people that flew this ship needed during long voyages. Directing the clerics, the Doctor finds clamps behind some equipment and releases them. Amy wonders what could be so important and River explains they needed to breathe as the wall lifts up to reveal a forest. River explains it's an oxygen factory and the Doctor explains the forest is full of [[treeborg]]s, which he cleverly explains their purpose before asking if Amy is impressed yet. Amused, Amy says seven. The Doctor catches this and points it out to her and so does River, however, Amy denies this.
The Doctor explains that shooting the [[gravity globe]] caused an updraft, allowing them to be caught in the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]''{{'}}s [[gravity]] field once they jumped. They have landed upside down on the [[Spacecraft|ship]]'s hull; even if they jumped again, they would still be in the ship's gravity field. Octavian quickly notices that the [[Weeping Angel]]s are beginning to look more like themselves; within an hour they'll be an army, the Doctor notes. The Doctor opens the door, telling everyone to get in. Amy wonders how. The Doctor tells her its just a corridor; the gravity orientates to the floor. Everyone heads inside as the Angels pop the lights outside the entrance.


[[Angel Bob]] calls the Doctor to find out what they are planning as the Angels are curious as to what they are doing. The Doctor asks [[Angel Bob]] how life is then appologises as it was a bad subject before tricking him into saying "We have no need of comfy chairs", which the Doctor, Amy and River find amusing. However, Amy says six and the Doctor changes the subject to learn what Bob has done to Amy. Angel Bob explains that "they" are in her eye and soon they will take her and the rest of them; they will consume the vessel and all the power within it, becoming masters of time and space. Annoyed, the Doctor tells Bob to get a life and appologises again before telling him that the Byzantium doesn't have the kind of power the Angel is talking about. A horrible screeching sound is heard outside and Bob explains that the Angels are laughing at him because the Doctor hasn't noticed a source of that great power. The Doctor wonders what he missed and notices a large [[Time Field|crack]] in the hull the exact same shape as the one in Amy's wall when she was seven. He orders the others to flee while he scans the crack, whose reading gives the Doctor chills. He turns to find the Angels have broken in and attempts to escape. However, right before he can exit into the forest, an Angel grabs him by by his jacket.
Right as the door shuts behind them, the Doctor notes the Angels arrived within the first few seconds after the door closed they are not [[quantum lock]]ed in the dark. Making matters worse is the way to the secondary flight deck is shutting, despite the Doctor's attempts to force it back. Worse, the lights are still flickering. As the Doctor works on the lights, four Angels break off the door and enter the corridor. In the nick of time, the Doctor prevents the Angels from draining the lighting grid's power. However, he gravely announces he will have to drain the power in the corridor to get the door open — including the lights. Amy points out that they lost the torches when they jumped; this will leave them in total darkness.


The Doctor is shocked to find he is not dead yet and wonders why before looking back at the Angels. Two of them have their arms open to absorb the energy coming out of the crack. However, the Doctor explains that the energy coming out of the crack is not something the Angel can absorb, even if it was strong enough to entice them to come to the Byzantium; the light coming from the crack is pure time energy, not power, but "the fire at the end of the universe".  The Doctor then tells them another peice of advice, "Never let me talk", before wiggling out of his jacket and fleeing into the forest.
Having lost good men to these monsters, Octavian asks River if she trusts the Doctor; she does. However, when asked if the Doctor is a [[Insanity|madman]], River repeats "I absolutely trust him." Seeing that the Doctor is the only one who can get them out of this time-bomb/death trap, Octavian and his men line up to fire on the Angels while the Doctor tells Amy to turn the wheel on the door four times after he has cut the power. She responds with "ten", but the Doctor corrects her and she replies that she said four.


Elsewhere, in the forest, Amy is falling behind everyone else, barely able to stand. River asks Amy what's wrong as Amy lies down on a stump. A cleric hands River a med scanner and she begins taking a look at Amy's vitals.  Octavian complains that they are exposed to the enemy. River tells him his job is to keep the Doctor safe; if he's dead, she won't forgive herself and if he's alive, she won't forgive him, "And Doctor, you're standing right [[file:Amy Angel Eye.PNG|thumb|right|A Weeping Angel invades Amy Pond's mind.]]behind me aren't you?" The Doctor is indeed and smiles. River says she hates the Doctor, but he says she doesn't. Amy wonders how the Doctor got away and he explains "I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe" River asks what it truly was and the Doctor responds "the end of the universe". Amy then asks the Doctor what's wrong with her as River comforts Amy by saying she is fine. However, the Doctor tells Amy the truth "Everything, you're dying". River snaps at him for being insensitive, but the Doctor points out lying to Amy will not make her better. The Doctor begins babbling to himself about what's happened to Amy and calls Bob to ask why Amy is counting down; it is to make her afraid for the Angels' amusement. Angerily tossing his communicator away, the Doctor wonders how the can "starve the Angel" and River suggests closing Amy's eyes. Amy does so are some resitence to the Angel in her mind, stablizing her vitals. The Doctor explains to Amy that the Angel in her mind is still there, only paused; if she opens her eyes for more than a second, she will die.
They quickly enter, with the Doctor shutting the door behind them. Octavian magnetizes the door to keep the Angels out, thinking even they cannot turn the wheel now; they start doing so, but slow enough that it buys everyone time to think. Now that Octavian gets that the Angels cannot be stopped by conventional means, the Doctor begins figuring out what their resources are; River joins him in contemplating what they can do. The Doctor and River realise there must be an [[oxygen]] factory on board to supply the passengers with air. The Doctor activates a panel on the back wall, which opens to reveal a cybernetic [[forest]] within the ship. Amy continues counting down but has no memory of doing so.


The Doctor decides that they have to reach the primary fleight deck, where "we'll stablize the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Amy". River questions how the Doctor plans to do so and the Doctor responds "it's a thing in process; respect the thing". The Doctor instructs Octavian and the clerics to gaurd Amy with their lives or he will hold them each responsible twice. As the Doctor prepares to take River with him until Octavian says he has to go where River goes, saying they are "engauged in a matter of speaking". The Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, saying he will need her computer.
While the Doctor and River try to explain the counting to her, [[Angel Bob]] calls to find out their plans. The Doctor taunts him but grows serious when Bob tells him that they are in Amy's eye. The Angels are making her count to scare them and will take her soon. Bob gloats over gaining mastery over [[time]] and [[space]]. The Doctor informs him the ''Byzantium'' doesn't have that much power. A screeching noise is heard from outside; "Dear God! What is that!?" Bob explains, the best as it can, that the Angels are laughing because "[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|the Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed]]".


Amy feels alone and wonders what to do. The Doctor returns and tells Amy that she has to start trusting him as it matters more than ever. Amy retorts that the Doctor doesn't always tell the truth and earns a joke in return "If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me". The Doctor asks Amy if she remembered something he told her as a little girl, but then stops, saying it's not the point. He gives her a kiss on the forehead and leaves.
[[File:Byzantium crack.jpg|thumb|left|The crack appears...]]
The Doctor wonders what he has missed and turns to see [[Time field|a huge crack]] appear on the wall of the ship; the energy the crack is giving off makes the room shake. He orders the others to run while he looks at it. Though Amy is reluctant, River pulls her away, knowing the Doctor will catch up. A scan from the sonic tells the Doctor that the crack is "extremely very not good." When the Doctor turns to follow, he is surrounded by the Angels. He quickly scans the entire room, maneuvering over the equipment to block the Angels. However, right before he can enter the forest and lose them, an Angel catches the Doctor by his jacket.


Elsewhere, the Doctor is curious about River and Octavian's relationship and learns River is on leave from the [[Stormcage Containment Facility]] and in Octavian's custody until she has fullfilled her duty and earned her pardon. Octavian goes ahead and the Doctor gets a beeping response on the computer he borrowed from River. The Doctor explains to River that it is the results of the scan he toke from the crack, saying one say there will be an explosion so big, all of time and space will crack around it. River can't read the results on the screen and asks the Doctor what it says. The Doctor responds "Amy's time" - 6/26/10.
The Weeping Angels do not kill him immediately, confusing the Doctor. He turns around to see them facing the crack, arms raised. Wiggling to get free of the grip of the Angel holding him by his jacket, the Doctor tells them that the light coming out of the crack is pure [[time]] energy; it is not power, but "the fire at the [[End of the Universe|end of the universe]]." As the entire group looks at the crack, the Doctor runs off into the forest without his jacket, telling them, "Another thing, never let me talk"; he got out of his coat while they were distracted.


Elsewhere, the clerics notice the Angel are still gathering and infrom Amy of this. However, the Angels begin tearing apart the [[treeborg]]s to cause the lights to flicker. The clerics prepare to fire on the Angels, but once the lights go out for a minute, a cleric checks his scanner to see the Angels are ''passing them'' instead of trying to kill them. Suddenly, a bright white glow comes from back at the secondary fleight deck; a cleric wonders if the ship's on fire. Another realizes it must have scared the Angels away and the head cleric, [[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]] sends clerics [[Phillip]] and [[Crispin]] to investigate.
Meanwhile, Amy has reached "four" in her countdown and lies down, cradling her head. River produces [[River Song's scanner|a scanner]] to check her while Octavian worries they are exposed. River retorts that Octavian's only job is to keep the Doctor safe. If he's dead, she won't forgive herself, but if he's alive, she won't forgive him. She realises he is standing right behind her. They wonder how he escaped the Angels; "Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe". When questioned what the crack really is, the Doctor repeats "the end of the universe" and rushes over to Amy.


Elsewhere, the Doctor, River and Octavian have found the primary fleight deck entrance and look around for Angels. The Doctor then begins to wonder if "time can run out" as River realises she can open the service hatch to the deck if she can crack the code.
The Doctor quickly babbles over the fact Amy looked into an Angel's eyes, and an image of an Angel becomes one. He then realizes that the Angels want their victims to use the [[quantum lock]], so they'll look in the Angels eyes and create an image in their brain's visual centre. And there's a copy of Angel Bob in Amy's mind. At "zero", it will pop out of Amy's head, killing her. After internal debate, the Doctor orders Amy to close her eyes; she complies, after fighting off the fear the Angel tried using to stop her. She soon begins to normalise. If she opens them for more than a second, the Angel will escape and she will die. Unable to see, the Doctor suggests she stay in the clearing with the others while he and River proceed to the primary flight deck. Octavian insists that where River goes, he does as well. The Doctor reluctantly agrees, leaving Amy with the remaining Clerics. As they head off, Amy asks him not to leave him.


Back to Amy and the clerics, Marco and Pedro explain what the light looks like and how it makes you feel looking at it. Amy decides to use up some of her remaining countdown to look at the light. When she does, she realizes it is the same shape as the one in her bedroom. Marco covers her eyes nd forces them shut, asking if she is okay. Amy says she is, but wonders how it can be following her. [[Pedro]] asks Marco if he wants him to get a better look at the light and is given permission to do so. However, Amy asks why he is sending Pedro instead of waiting for the other two to return. Much to Amy's confusion, Marco cannot remember them.
As she sits waiting, the Doctor suddenly reappears and tells her that it's vital she start trusting him. She asks how she can trust him, as he doesn't always tell her the truth. He says that if he always told the truth, he wouldn't need her to trust him. Amy then asks how the crack in her wall can be here, and the Doctor responds that he doesn't know yet, but he's working it out. He requests that she [[The Big Bang (TV story)|remember what he told her when she was a little girl]]. When Amy asks him what he told her, the Doctor tells her that what he said isn't the point... just as long as she remembers. Just as quickly as he arrived, the Doctor is gone again.


At the primary fleight deck wall, River is working on opening the door to the primary flight deck while Octavian looks out for the Angels. The Doctor, in the meantime, remember oddities he has seen in his travels and things he is surprised are not known to modern earth- "a duck pond without ducks" in Leadworth, Amy not knowing who the [[Dalek]]s were, and the [[Cyber king]] in Victorian London.
As Octavian, River, and the Doctor move through the forest, Octavian tells the Doctor that River is on leave from [[Stormcage Containment Facility]] in his custody. Through this mission, she hopes to earn a [[pardon]]. While River tries to open the door to the primary flight deck, the Doctor considers the anomalies he has recently noticed: the [[Leadworth duck pond|duckless duck pond in Leadworth]]; Amy's inability to remember [[Dalek invasion of Earth (2009)|the Dalek invasion of Earth]]; and the lack of any mention of [[The Next Doctor (TV story)|the CyberKing in Victorian London]] in the history books. He uses River's scanner to analyse the scan he took from the crack; it reveals that a temporal explosion will occur on [[26 June]] [[2010]] and cause the cracks in time and space — Amy's time.


Elsewhere, Amy is still trying to convince Marco that there was a Phillip and Crispin before he sent Pedro to investigate. However, Marco now no longer remembers who Pedro is and decides to investigate the light himself. Despite Amy's protesting, Marco hands her a spare communicator and heads of to the light.
The Angels stake out the clearing and begin tearing apart the [[treeborg]]s to cut off the power supply to the lights. The lights flicker. When they go out, the Angels are nowhere to be seen. Light projects across the forest from the secondary flight deck. [[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]], the squad leader, sends [[Crispin (The Time of Angels)|Crispin]] and [[Phillip (The Time of Angels)|Phillip]] to investigate it. Amy insists on seeing its source, though she will have to open her eyes. When she sees it is the crack from her wall, she collapses and begs to know why it is following her.


At the primary fleight deck wall, the Doctor is motioning clocks with his hands as River manages to open the door and goes into the primary fleight deck. Octavian calls to the Doctor, but he doesn't hear him as he realizes "time can be unwritten". Once again, Octavian calls to the Doctor and tells him they have to hurry or the Angels will soon be upon them. The Doctor brushes off the thought saying, "there're worse things than Angels". The lights go out and whent hey come back on, the Doctor finds Octavian in the stranglehold of an Angel.
[[File:Cleric_marco.jpg|thumb|The lead cleric, [[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]].|left|200x200px]]
Marco orders [[Pedro]] to go to the light. Amy reminds him he sent the other two, but he [[history-proofing|insists there weren't any others]]. After some time, Marco decides to go and investigate, having forgotten Pedro as well. Amy pleads with him to stay, but Marco foolishly wishes to investigate what the light is. As a compromise, he leaves her a spare communicator and agrees to speak to her through it. As he reaches the crack, his voice vanishes in a crackle of static. Amy is now left alone without anyone to guard her against the Angels: the one in her mind and the ones outside of it.


Elswhere, Amy calls Marco to make sure he still exists and gets a respond from him. He says he is quite close to the "curtain of energy" now and Amy begs him to come back. However, as Marco says how the light makes him feel, the communicator fills with static, Marco is no longer around. Amy is now completely alone.
River opens the door and steps inside while Octavian waits with the Doctor. The Doctor deduces to his own surprise that time can be unwritten; Octavian tells him to hurry inside because of the Angels. ''"There's more dangerous things here than Angels."'' the Doctor retorts. The lights go out. When they return, Octavian is trapped in an Angel's stranglehold. Knowing the Doctor cannot save him, Octavian tells him River is in prison for murder and he shouldn't trust her. As the Doctor flees, Octavian's neck is snapped. River tries to get a [[teleport]] working as the Doctor explains the cracks. When she challenges his ideas, he responds with growing rage and tells her the teleport is useless.


Back to the Doctor, he is trying to pry the Angel's arm away from Octavian with his [[sonic screwdriver]], but it proves useless as doesn't effect the Angel and Octavian cannot wiggle out of its grip. Before letting Octavian pass on, the Doctor asks Octavian why River is imprisoned in stormcage. Octavian tells the Doctor that she "killed a good man, a hero to many" and that he cannot trust her as he doesn't know who or ''what'' she is. With Octavian content, the Doctor leaves and enters the main control deck. River tells him that she is working on getting the teleporter working and wonders where Octavian is. The Doctor tells her Octavian is dead and so is the teleporter, so she is wasting her time.
Amy huddles alone in the forest, blind and with nothing but the communicator. The Doctor contacts her; Amy must make her way to the flight deck. The Angels can only kill her, but the crack can erase her from time. He sends software to the communicator to help her find her way. Terrified, she slowly makes her way across the forest, soon surrounded by the army of Weeping Angels fleeing from the crack. In their own terror, they do not realise her eyes are closed and their defence mechanisms kick in. They figure it out, though, when Amy trips over a root on the ground. They slowly remove the statue guise and move in to kill her.


Elsehwere, Amy is alone and blind, with only a communicator. The Doctor radios her. She must come to the control room; it was a mistake to leave her there. Amy tells him about the clerics not remembering each other and the Doctor tells her he expected as much and sends software to her communicator; when the communicator sounds like his [[sonic screwdriver]], she is facing the right way. Amy is at first, unable to move until the Doctor yells in concern for her, explaining that the Angel can only kill her and that she must stay ahead of the time energy. Pestered by Amy to know what the time energy can do, the Doctor explains it will erase her very exestence just like the clerics; she will have never been born.
Just as an Angel reaches towards Amy, River thankfully gets the teleport working and transports her to the flight deck. The Doctor tells River he could kiss her out of happiness, but River tells him to wait until he's older. An alarm goes off, confusing River. The Doctor says its warning the ship is low on power, which means the flight deck will open.


River questions what the time energy is going to do and the Doctor explains it will keep eating until they can feed it a complicated time/space event, shutting it up for awhile. When River asks what kind of complicated time/space event they can toss in the crack, the Doctor angerily answers that ''himself''. They then hear thunking outside the deck and the Doctor realizes Amy will catch up to the Angels soon. He radios her again and tells her that he is sending a proximity detector to help Amy tell when the Angels are around her; since they are scared, the Angels will automaticly turn to stone, thinking she can see them.
[[File:Angel Bob.jpg|thumb|"Bob" tries to get the Doctor to sacrifice himself to close the crack.]]The wall lifts up, revealing the Weeping Angels all snarling at them, except for Angel Bob; "Bob" explains the crack will destroy their reality if left unchecked. The Angels have calculated the crack will close if the Doctor throws himself into it. When asked why he should help the Angels, "Bob" tells him it will save River and Amy as well. River, as a time traveller, wants to take the Doctor's place, but he laughs — she is not even as complicated as one Angel and it would take all of them to equal him. He tells her to get a grip. River continues to protest, but the Doctor tells her to seriously get a grip.


Amy manages to get past a few Angels, but trips over a root in the ground and begins franticly reachign around for the communicator. The Angels notice this and begin to move in for the kill. Amy manages to get herself back up and an Angel almost touches her. Suddenly, Amy vanishes in a bright light. She arrives in the control room, where River explains where she is and who she is with. Suddenly, an alarm goes off and the Doctor explains the ship is almost out of power, meaning the primary fleight deck entrance to the forest will open.
River [[deduce]]s his "genius" plan and has Amy grab onto the console, warning her not to let go. Angel Bob repeats his request for the Doctor to sacrifice himself, but the Doctor reminds them that they've been draining all of the power on the ship, including that of the artificial gravity; with the words "Night-night", the Doctor grabs onto the console and the ship's gravity fails. The planet's gravity field takes over in its place, sending the Angels plummeting into the crack while the Doctor watches in delight. The [[Time Field|crack]] glows brighter and closes.  


The wall lifts up, revealing the Angels snarling at them, except one: the lead Angel, [[Angel Bob]]. Angel Bob knows about the time field and what can stop it, demanding the Doctor throw himself in to save the Angels. The Doctor asks why he should do that and Bob responds that it will save his friends as well; the Doctor agrees that would be a good comprimise. However. River, as a time traveler, wants to throw herself in, but the Doctor laughs at the idea. She is not even as complicated as one Angel and it would take all them to equal him. He tells her to "Get a grip". River tells the Doctor she will not let him die. The Doctor tells her "Seriously. Get a grip". River calls him a genius and has Amy grab onto the console.
Later, another squad of Clerics cleans up the camp outside the temple while Amy sits nearby, complaining of aches from climbing out of the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' with her eyes shut. The Doctor likewise did so; Amy tells him that he didn't have to do that. ''"Neither did you"'' he states. Since the Angels fell into the crack, the one in her mind never existed now. Amy wonders why she remembers them and the Clerics when they never existed at all; the Clerics all forgot each other and walked straight into the crack. The Doctor explains that, as a [[time travel]]ler, she now sees things differently.


Angel Bob tells the Doctor to hurry and throw himself in for the Angels. Confidently, the Doctor looks at the Angels and says "The thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining the power from this ship; every last bit of it. And I think the Angels have forgotten where they're standing. I think they're forgotten the ''gravity'' of the situation. Or in other words, Angels... night-night". The gravity fails due to the lack of power and the Doctor grabs the console along with his companions. River and the Doctor watch from above as the Angels plunge through the trees and into the crack. The crack explodes in a glare of energy, then closes.
The Doctor goes to River, who has been handcuffed. She is prepared to [[teleport]] up to the prison ship, hoping to have done enough to earn a pardon. The Doctor admits that Octavian told him of River's crime that she [[murder]]ed a man. River confirms this. When further stating that Octavian told him the victim was a good man, she replies that he was the best man she ever knew. The Doctor asks if he can trust her. River laughs, saying he can if he wants to... "but where's the fun in that?" She also adds that [[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|they'll see her next when the Pandorica opens]]; the Doctor laughs at this, thinking the [[Pandorica]] is a fairytale, River responding with "Aren't we all?" She vanishes with the Clerics.


Outside, Amy aches from climbing out with her eyes closed. The Doctor tells her that she did not have to as [[Angel Bob]]'s double in her mind no longer exists due to it falling into the [[Time Field]]. Amy wonders why she remembers them and the Clerics, who didn't even remember each other. The Doctor explains she is a time traveller now and it changes the way she sees the world. Amy wonders if the crack is gone, but the Doctor tells her it is still out there; the explosion that is cracking all of time and space.
Back in [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]], Amy tells the Doctor she wants to go home. He thinks she means for good, but she insists she has something to show him. "You're running from River. I'm running from something, too." He parks the TARDIS in [[Amy Pond's house#Amy's bedroom|Amy's bedroom]] [[25 June|five minutes after they first left]]. Amy shows him her wedding dress and engagement ring; she is getting [[married]] in the morning to [[Rory Williams]].


The Doctor goes to River, who has been handcuffed to be returned to Stormcage. River laughs. She may have done enough this time to earn her pardon. The Doctor tells her Octavian told him she murdered someone. River sadly says that he was a very good man, the best man she'd ever known. The Doctor wishes to know ''who'', but River explains it is a long story that has to be lived instead of told as she cannot give sneak previews; but there is one she does give "You'll see me again, quite soon; when [[the Pandorica]] opens".  The Doctor tells her that the Pandorica is a fairy tale, prompting River to laugh. He then wonders if he can trust her, River laughs again, "If you like. . . but where's the fun in that?" She vanishes in a whirlwind of dust with the remaining clerics. The Doctor walks back over to Amy and looks out to the sea. Amy wonders what he is thinking and the Doctor explains, "Time can be rewritten".
[[File:The Doctor and Amy kiss.jpg|thumb|left|Amy [[kiss]]es the Doctor.|200x200px]]
Amy says that she needs comforting, after the recent events. She tries to explain to the Doctor "who" she wants, but the Doctor hasn't a clue as to what she is talking about. Seeing he is not going to get hints, Amy tries to [[kiss]] him, but he dodges her and stands up. She continues to allude to sexual connotations, all of which the Doctor nervously attempts to fend off. He rebuffs her advances by protesting that he is 907 years old and the kind of relationship she wants will never work out between them.


[[File:DR_AMY_KISS.png|thumb|Amy kisses the Doctor]]Back in the TARDIS, Amy tells the Doctor she wants to go home. The Doctor assumes she wants to leave his company, but Amy assures him she doesn't wish to leave, there is just something she wants to show him. She explains that while he's been running from River, she has been running, too. They land in Amy's bedroom five minutes after they first left. Amy explains she is getting married to [[Rory Williams]] the next day and shows him her wedding ring. The Doctor is confused as to why she left it behind when she decided to travel with him; Amy is amused that the Doctor has no idea about human behavior. She then goes on to explain that her near death experience made her think about who she wants and tries to seduce the Doctor. The Doctor says out a relationship between them wouldn't work as he is 907 and doesn't age like a human. However, Amy says she "wasn't planning on anything ''long term''" and kisses him. Shocked, the Doctor pulls Amy away and tells her she's getting married in the morning. He then realizes Amy may be at the very center of what caused the explosion in time and tells her she is the most important person in the universe who needs to be sorted out. Amy misunderstands this and says "That's what  I've been trying to tell you". The Doctor takes her back to the TARDIS as she tries again to seduce, him, but he shoves her inside as he watches her alarm clock turn to the [[26 June|26th of June]], [[2010]].
Amy retorts that she was thinking of a one-night stand, not a relationship. She attempts to undress him and finally kisses him, but he pushes her away, citing her marriage the next morning. Amy thinks he's given in, heading to her bed. Realising that the date of the temporal explosion: [[26 June]] [[2010]] is the date of Amy's wedding. The Doctor tells her that the most important thing is that he straightens things out with her. He pulls her to the TARDIS, with Amy trying to kiss him again. He pushes her back into the TARDIS just as the [[clock]] turns past midnight to the next day.


== Cast==
[[File:Date of the Universe Explosion.jpg|thumb|right|The cracks in time will be created on Amy's wedding day.]]
*[[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
A flashback returns to the conversation River Song and the Doctor were having about the origin of the cracks in time. Amy's wedding day will preclude a catastrophic event. The base code of the universe translates to "[[Tel:26 06 2010|26 06 2010]]", the date of an explosion that caused the cracks to appear. With that, the Doctor vanishes into the TARDIS.
*[[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
 
*[[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
== Cast ==
*[[Octavian]] - [[Iain Glen]]
* [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
*[[Bob (The Time of Angels)|Bob]]/[[Angel Bob]] - [[David Atkins]]
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
*[[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]] - [[Darren Morfitt]]
* [[River Song]] - [[Alex Kingston]]
*[[Pedro]] - [[Mark Monero]]
* [[Octavian (The Time of Angels)|Octavian]] - [[Iain Glen]]
*[[Cleric Phillip|Phillip]] - [[George Russo]]
* [[Angel Bob|Bob]] - [[David Atkins]]
* [[Marco (The Time of Angels)|Marco]] - [[Darren Morfitt]]
* [[Pedro]] - [[Mark Monero]]
* [[Phillip (The Time of Angels)|Phillip]] - [[George Russo]]


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
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|UnitManager=Rhys Griffiths
|UnitManager=Rhys Griffiths
|AssistantUnitManager=
|AssistantUnitManager=
|ProductionManager=Holly Pullinger
|ProductionManager=
|ProductionCoOrdinator=Jess van Niekerk
|ProductionCoOrdinator=Jess van Niekerk
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
|AsstProductionCoOrdinator=
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|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
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|PropsStoreman=
|PropsStoreman=
|DressingProps=Martin Broadbent
|DressingProps=Martin Broadbent
|DressingProps2=Rhys Jones
|DressingProps2=Rhys Jones (props)
|ForwardDresser=
|ForwardDresser=
|SpecialistPropMaker=
|SpecialistPropMaker=
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|CostumeDesigner=Ray Holman
|CostumeDesigner=Ray Holman
|Make-upDesigner=Barbara Southcott
|Make-upDesigner=Barbara Southcott
|VisualEffects=The Mill
|VisualEffects=
|VisualFXProducer=
|VisualFXProducer2=
|VisualFXSupervisor=
|VisualFXSupervisor2=
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
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|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|DOP=Damian Bromley
|DOP=Damian Bromley
|ProductionManager=
|LineProducer=Patrick Schweitzer
|LineProducer=Patrick Schweitzer
|AssociateProducer=
|AssociateProducer=
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}}
}}


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
=== [[:Category:The Doctor|The Doctor]]===
=== The Doctor ===
*Whilst trying to figure out the implications of [[the Cracks|the cracks in time]], the Doctor wonders to himself about the [[CyberKing]], and wonders if [[21st century]] [[Earth]]'s lack of knowledge of its presence is somehow related.
* Whilst trying to figure out the implications of [[the Cracks|the cracks in time]], the Doctor wonders about the [[CyberKing]], and if [[21st century]] [[Earth]]'s lack of knowledge of its presence is somehow related.
*When mentioning how time can be rewritten the Doctor references Amy's lack of knowledge of the Daleks and planets in the sky ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'').
* The Doctor states his age is nine hundred and seven.
*He mentions the duck pond that may not have been a duck pond from ''[[DW]]: [[The Eleventh Hour]]''
* River Song says she and the Doctor will meet again when the [[Pandorica]] opens; the Doctor claims that the Pandorica is just a fairy tale.
*[[Eleventh Doctor]] states his age is nine hundred and seven, which suggests that a year has passed since the events of ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''.
*River Song said that she and the Doctor will meet again when the [[Pandorica]] opens. The Doctor claims that it is just a fairytale.


===[[:Category:Timeline|Timeline]]===
=== Timeline ===
*Amy's age is established and her second encounter with the Doctor as taking place in [[2008]] (when she encountered [[Prisoner Zero]]), while her third encounter with the Doctor when she left with him took place on the night of [[25 June]] [[2010]] when Amy is twenty-one.
* Amy's age and her second encounter with the Doctor are established as taking place in [[2008]], when she encountered [[Prisoner Zero]], while her third encounter with the Doctor when she left with him took place on the night of [[25 June]] [[2010]] when Amy is twenty-one.


== Story notes ==
== Story notes ==
*According to [[Steven Moffat]] on the [[30 March]] [[2010]] edition of the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme, ''Front Row'', the title of this episode was supplied by his son, Joshua.
* In [[2020]], [[Steven Moffat]] admitted that he should not have played the scene where [[Amy Pond|Amy]] tries to seduce the Doctor "for laughs", noting that Amy ignoring the Doctor's protests against her overtures does, at the very least, have some rather uncomfortable sexual assault undertones. He admitted that this was the one thing about his era which he would change.
*The title is a play on 'flesh and bone', a common idiom referring to a creature's anatomy, since most humans and animals are composed of flesh and a skeletal structure. The title also refers to the Weeping Angels' weakness of turning to stone whenever anyone looks at them, and possibly the fact that Amy thought her hand had turned to stone in the previous episode, ''[[The Time of Angels]]''. This was a rumored title for the episode ''[[Gridlock]]''.
* According to [[Steven Moffat]] on the [[30 March (production)|30 March]] 2010 edition of the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Row_(radio_programme) Front Row]'', he struggled to find an appropriate phrase which incorporated the word “Angels” in the title until Joshua pointed out that this was unnecessary, since the presence of the Weeping Angels would have been well-established during [[The Time of Angels (TV story)|''The Time of Angels'']]. Playing on the phrase “flesh and bone”, he suggested Flesh and Stone as an alternative, and the name stuck.
*In the trailer at the end of ''[[The Time of Angels]]'' it shows a [[The Cracks|crack]] - continuing the theme throughout the series. The crack appears to be growing, and upon finding it, Amy Pond notes its similarity to the one on her bedroom wall from [[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]''. The Doctor says of the crack, "That is extremely very not good."
* The title is a play on "flesh and bone", a common idiom referring to a creature's anatomy, since most humans and animals are composed of flesh and a skeletal structure. The title also refers to the Weeping Angels' weakness of turning to stone whenever anyone looks at them, and possibly the fact that Amy thought her hand had turned to stone in the previous episode, ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]''. This was a rumoured title for the episode ''[[Gridlock (TV story)|Gridlock]]''.
*A video clip on the official Doctor Who website shows that the Doctor gets the Weeping Angels to say "comfy chairs".
* The Weeping Angels are seen moving for the first time. One Angel is seen moving a hand to grab the Doctor by his jacket, and later they turn their heads when they realise that Amy can't see them.
*The Doctor finds out that time can be unwritten.
* The date shown in the episode, 26/06/2010, would be the broadcast date of the final episode of Series 5, ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'', in Britain. In other countries, it was not aired until later, however.
*The time on the scanner that The Doctor holds says that Amy's time is her wedding day.
* The method the Doctor uses to dispose of the Weeping Angels resembles his method of vanquishing the [[Cyberman (Pete's World)|Cybermen]] and [[Dalek]]s in ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]''.
*The Weeping Angels are seen moving for the first time. One Angel is seen moving their hand to grab the Doctor by his jacket, and later they are seen turning their heads when they begin to realise that Amy can't see them.
* Amy continues the tradition of female companions [[kissing]] the Doctor. However, instead of falling in love with him, Amy had [[sex|another idea]].
*The date shown in the episode, 26/06/2010, was the final episode date of Series 5 in Britain. In America, however, it was not aired until much later in the summer.
* This episode aired on the same day as the ''[[K9 (TV series)|K9]]'' episode ''[[Alien Avatar (TV story)|Alien Avatar]]'' was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that ''[[Sirens of Ceres (TV story)|Sirens of Ceres]]'' was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
*The method the Doctor uses to dispose of the Weeping Angels mirrors his method of vanquishing the [[Cybermen (Pete's World)|Cybermen]] and [[Dalek]]s in [[DW]]: ''[[Doomsday]]''.
* The episode's final scene leads into ''[[Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2 (TV story)|Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2]]''.
*Amy continues the tradition of the female companions kissing the Doctor. However, instead of falling in love with him, Amy had ''another idea'' instead.
* The blue in Amy's bedroom was an idea of [[Adam Smith (director)|Adam Smith]] to show that it was inspired by the TARDIS from Amy's encounter with the Doctor when she was young.
*This episode aired on the same day as the [[K9 (TV series)|K9]] episode, ''[[Alien Avatar]]'' was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that ''[[Sirens of Ceres]]'' was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
* The Doctor's gesture indicating Rory's long nose wasn't in the script. This two-parter was actually the first episodes filmed, before [[Arthur Darvill]] had acted on the show, but after he'd been cast. [[Matt Smith]] and Darvill were already old friends, so Smith already knew about Darvill's honker and improvised.
*Because the cracks never existed, the events of this story may have changed.
* [[Steven Moffat]] came up with the concept for this two-parter when he was thinking of the worst possible situations to be in with the Weeping Angels and thought of the inability to see. His first idea was blindness, though this developed into the situation that Amy ends up in.
===Ratings===
* [[Matt Smith]] had difficulty saying: "the forest is full of angels", instead he said: "the angel is full of forests". There's even a t-shirt in existence showing the phrase.
6.9 million
* In the climactic scene, [[Karen Gillan]] had to walk with her eyes closed, which she said was difficult and challenging as the ground was uneven and muddy. She stated that "it was the most scary thing" when she had to trip over a step and fall, even though she was aware of the crash mat. As she was not able to express herself through her eyes, Gillan had to make herself more animated to convey emotion.
* The scene in which the Doctor, Amy and River are horizontal in mid-air when the gravity field fails on the Byzantium was achieved by using wires and powerful wind machines.
* [[The Doctor's rules]] come into play to defeat the angels: use your enemy's power against them.
* The Mill remain uncredited in this story.
* [[Iain Glen]] would later appear in ''[[Game of Thrones]]'', where his character is infected by a "stone man" with greyscale, a disease which makes a victim's skin become dead and cracked, resembling stone. In ''Flesh and Stone'', he contends with living stone statues, one of which appears to start to turn Amy to stone. [[Matt Smith]] would later star in the ''Game of Thrones'' prequel series ''[[House of the Dragon]].''
 
=== Ratings ===
* 6.9 million viewers
* 8.5 million viewers (UK final)<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&type=date Doctor Who Ratings - UK final]</ref>


=== Filming locations ===
=== Filming locations ===
*The beach on [[Alfava Metraxis]] were filmed at [[wikipedia:Southerndown|Southerndown]] beach, [[wikipedia:Vale of Glamorgan|Vale of Glamorgan]]. This was also where scenes in ''[[Army of Ghosts]]''/''[[Doomsday]]'' and ''[[Journey's End]]'' were filmed.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/southerndown-beach</ref>
* 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>
*Scenes in the forest vault of the ''Byzantium'' were filmed in [[wikipedia:Puzzlewood|Puzzlewood]] in the [[wikipedia:Forest of Dean|Forest of Dean]].<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8635000/8635073.stm</ref>
* Scenes in the forest vault of the ''Byzantium'' were filmed in {{w|Puzzlewood}} in the {{w|Forest of Dean}}.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8635000/8635073.stm</ref>


===Rumours===
=== Rumours ===
*Amy and Rory will either marry each other or put it on hold at the end of the episode, and Rory will travel in the TARDIS at the end. ''This was proven false, but Rory joined Amy and the Doctor in the TARDIS in [[The Vampires of Venice|the next episode]], and he and Amy got married in the [[The Big Bang|series finale]] ''.
* Amy and Rory will either marry each other or put it on hold at the end of the episode, and Rory will travel in the TARDIS at the end. ''This was proven false, but Rory joined Amy and the Doctor in the TARDIS in [[The Vampires of Venice (TV story)|the next episode]], and he and Amy got married in the [[The Big Bang (TV story)|series finale]]''.
* The Doctor wearing his coat while explaining to Amy it's vital she remembered was an error on the production team's behalf as the Doctor had lost his coat earlier. ''This was proven false in [[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]] when it was revealed that conversation took place much later in the Doctor's timeline.''


=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
*When Amy lies down on the tree stump her hair is all over her face but on the wide shot her hair is behind her head.{{discontinuity}}
{{discontinuity}}
*While the Doctor is talking to River in the forest, he has both hands behind his back as if tucking in his shirt; however in the next shot he is still in mid-sentence and is suddenly holding his hands in front.
* On first entering the Byzantium, the Weeping Angels' stances change between first breaking in and just before the Doctor must turn the lights off. This is despite the lights being isolated and them always being observed by at least four Clerics.
*While the Doctor talks to River at the end of the episode the position of his right suspender strap switches places from angle to angle.
* After the Doctor and co make it through the door to the secondary flight deck, a camera is visible on the far right hand side.
*Just after the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, his future self holds Amy's hand and talks to her. However, he does not wear his normal gold watch, which is replaced with a black one, and does not have the vortex manipulator on his right arm, which he should have had.
* When the Doctor is searching for a way to open the door to the forest he places his hands on it and it wobbles.
*During the final scene in Amy's bedroom the Doctor looks at Amy's alarm clock. Despite the fact that the conversation was talking about Amy getting married "in the morning" the clock changes from 11:59 '''AM''' '''on 6/25 '''to 12:00 '''PM on 6/26''', a mysterious 24-hour jump.
* When the Doctor is grabbed by a Weeping Angel, the Angel's hand is seen moving along with the Doctor.
*Steven Moffatt originally wanted this episode to be called '''War Of The Angels'''.
* When Amy lies down on the tree stump her hair is all over her face but on the wide shot her hair is behind her head.
* While the Doctor is talking to River in the forest, he has both hands behind his back as if tucking in his shirt; however in the next shot he is still in mid-sentence and is suddenly holding his hands in front.
* While the Doctor talks to River at the end of the episode the position of his right suspender strap switches places from angle to angle.
* Just after the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, his future self holds Amy's hand and talks to her. However, he does not wear his normal gold watch, which is replaced with a black one, and does not have the vortex manipulator on his right arm, which he should have had.
* During the final scene in Amy's bedroom the Doctor looks at Amy's alarm clock. Despite the fact that the conversation was talking about Amy getting married "in the morning" the clock changes from 11:59 ''AM'' ''on 6/25 ''to 12:00 ''PM on 6/26'', a mysterious 12-hour jump.
* In the scene where Amy is following the sound of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, there are points where the light on the screwdriver is off, yet the sound can still clearly be heard on both ends of the communicator.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Events the Doctor thinks are erased from history by the cracks include [[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'' and ''[[The Next Doctor]].''
* River says to the Doctor, "You, me, handcuffs... must it always end this way?" In the final moments of her life in [[TV]]: {{cs|Forest of the Dead (TV story)}}, River handcuffed the Doctor to prevent him from saving her life.
* River says to the Doctor "You, me, handcuffs... must it always end this way?", unknowingly referencing her own death in [[DW]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]''.
* River Song mentioned the crash of the ''[[Byzantium (spacecraft)|Byzantium]]'' when meeting the [[Tenth Doctor]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|Silence in the Library (TV story)}}.
* River Song mentioned the crash of the Byzantium to the [[Tenth Doctor]] in [[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]''.
* River Song says the Doctor will see her again soon, when the [[Pandorica]] opens. This refers to [[TV]]: {{cs|The Pandorica Opens (TV story)}} where it is shown that, due to her timeline running opposite to the Doctor's, she knows to say this as Amy told her she did.
* River Song refers to the events of the Pandorica opening, foreshadowing the series 5 finale. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'')
* When mentioning how time can be rewritten the Doctor references Amy's lack of knowledge of the [[Dalek]]s and planets in the sky from [[TV]]: {{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}}/{{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}, which he previously learned about in [[TV]]: {{cs|Victory of the Daleks (TV story)}}. He also considers that no one on [[Earth]] remembered a [[Cyber-King]] in [[19th century]] [[London]], referring to the events of [[TV]]: {{cs|The Next Doctor (TV story)}}.
* There is a flashback to [[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]''.
* The Doctor and Amy both recall the crack from her bedroom wall, first seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}}.
* Amy asks the Doctor "Do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?" The Doctor previously interrupted [[Donna Noble]]'s wedding in [[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]''.
* After the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian to find the primary flight deck, the Doctor quickly returns for a moment to speak with Amy and his behaviour and appearance are different (jacket, rolled-up sleeves, etc). It was revealed in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Big Bang (TV story)}} that this is the Doctor from his future.
* After the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian to find the primary flight deck, the Doctor returns for a moment to speak with Amy and his behavior and appearance is completely different (Jacket, rolled-up sleeves, different watch, etc). This turned out to be the Doctor from the future, though there were some inconsistencies concerning his watch. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
* The Doctor mentions the duck-pond with no ducks in [[Leadworth]], which he first noticed in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}}.
* The Doctor mentions the duck-pond with no ducks from [[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]''.
* The Doctor describes himself as a [[complicated space-time event]]. In [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Continuity Errors (short story)}}, [[Steven Moffat]]'s first professional Doctor Who publication, [[Arthur Candy]]'s research defined the Doctor as "a [[CSTE]] – a [[Complex Space-Time Event]]. In fact, I believe he is the most complex space-time event there has ever been anywhere".
* This is the second time the doctor has kissed a female companion on the forehead before he temporarily left them; the first was [[Zoe Heriot]] in [[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]]''. He similarly kissed [[Jo Grant]] on the forehead in [[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'', but that was upon meeting her (after she had been abducted).
* The Doctor [[kisses]] Amy on the head before temporarily leaving her. He did the same with [[Zoe Heriot]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|The War Games (TV story)}}, and [[Jo Grant]] in [[TV]]: {{cs|Colony in Space (TV story)}}.
* [[Angel Bob]] says that the Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed. [[Prisoner Zero]] says something similar to the Doctor in [[DW]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]''.
* [[Angel Bob]] says that "the Doctor in the TARDIS" hasn't noticed. [[Prisoner Zero]] similarly taunted the Doctor in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}}.
* In [[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]'', the Doctor prevented the cracks from ever existing. Although most cracks were closed, anything that Amy remembered (such as her travels) would still exist following the finale, meaning a few cracks still existed, but as seen, were solved individually (such as the one on Byzantium being closed due to swallowing the angels)
* The Doctor's regret on not getting to know Octavion resembles his [[Sixth Doctor|sixth incarnation]]'s remorse in [[TV]]: {{cs|Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)}} when he realised how wrong about [[Gustave Lytton|Lytton]] he was, and also his [[Ninth Doctor|ninth incarnation]] realising in [[TV]]: {{cs|Father's Day (TV story)}} how harsh he was on [[Rose Tyler]] for messing with her [[Pete Tyler|father]]'s death.
* River says that the man she killed is the best man she knows, heavily implying that it was the Doctor. This is confirmed in [[TV]]: {{cs|Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)}} where the crew of the ''[[Teselecta]]'' state that she killed the Doctor on [[22 April]] [[2011]] at [[Lake Silencio]] which is a [[fixed point in time]]. River's "murder" of the Doctor is later explored in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}}.
* River states that she hopes she has done enough to get a pardon. While she apparently doesn't at this time, it is stated in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}} that she was pardoned after the Doctor erased all records of himself, meaning there is no proof she killed anyone.
* River later visits Amy and Rory shortly after the events of this episode from her perspective in the epilogue to {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}} to reveal the Doctor's survival to them and that she had lied about not recognising Amy.


== [[Eleventh Doctor - Timeline|Timeline]] ==
== Home video releases ==
'''For the present Doctor and Amy'''
[[File:Dvd-series5vol21.jpg|right|thumb|Series 5 Volume 2 DVD Cover]]
* This story occurs after: [[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]''
* This story occurs before: [[DW]]: ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]''
'''For the future Doctor'''
* This story occurs during: [[DW]]: ''[[The Big Bang]]''
'''For River Song'''
* This story occurs after: [[DW]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]''
* This story occurs before: [[DW]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]''


==DVD/Blu-ray-exclusive scene==
=== DVD & Blu-ray releases ===
The 2010 DVD and Blu-ray release of the ''Complete Series 5'' included an additional scene from ''Flesh and Stone''. Contrary to many reviews and video-sharing site repostings of the scene, it is not a deleted scene, but rather a scene shot specifically for the DVD/BD release sometime during the later stages of Series 5 production.


The scene reveals what happened after Amy's failed seduction attempt and the Doctor taking her away. Inside the TARDIS, Amy continues to try to convince the Doctor to sleep with her, leading him to explain his attitude towards his companions -- that they help him "see things" that he no longer is able to see because of his age and travel experience. Her physical desires replaced by curiosity, this leads Amy to quiz the Doctor about his past companions.
* 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 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.
* 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]].


She eventually tricks the Doctor into unlocking visual files of past TARDIS inhabitants, and she is treated to a slide show of various female companions ranging from [[Barbara Wright]] to [[Donna Noble]], with apparent particular emphasis on [[Leela]]. In order to distract Amy from the picture show, the Doctor suggests they pick up [[Rory Williams|Rory]] from his stag party, which leads directly into ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]''.
=== Digital releases ===


Other companions shown in the slide show include [[Polly Wright]], [[Leela]], [[Peri Brown]], both [[Romana]]s, and [[Josephine Grant]], as well as recent companions [[Rose Tyler]] and [[Martha Jones]]. With the exception of [[Sarah Jane Smith]] (also shown), all companions pre-dating Rose are making their first on-screen appearance in the post-2005 era (Jo Grant's appearance in [[SJA]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor]]'' had not yet been broadcast at the time of the DVD/BD release).
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]].


The context of the scene supports the recurring implication that the TARDIS is sentient, given the way the Doctor reacts to the TARDIS when the slideshow begins -- coupled with the fact the TARDIS does not show images of the Doctor's various male companions such as [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Adric]] or [[Jack Harkness]]. The fact expanded universe companions, such as [[Izzy Sinclair]] and [[Destrii]] from the comic strip and [[Evelyn Smythe]] and [[Lucie Miller]] from the audio dramas, are not visible does not necessarily disqualify them from canon as the viewscreen is not visible all the time, and several TV series companions are not shown either.
== External links ==
* Series 5: Episode 5 - Flesh & Stone [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s971z]
{{dwrefguide|who_tv50.htm|Flesh and Stone}}


==Home video releases ==
== Footnotes ==
[[file:Dvd-series5vol21.jpg|right|thumb]]
[[BBC Video]] - ''Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Two'' was released on Monday [[5th July]] [[2010]] (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring ''[[The Time of Angels]]'', ''Flesh and Stone'' and ''[[The Vampires of Venice]]''.<ref>DWM 421, Page 17</ref>
 
==External links==
Series 5: Episode 5 - Flesh & Stone [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s971z]
 
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}
{{DWTV}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Weeping Angel sources}}
{{TitleSort}}


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[[Category:Doctor Who (2005) television stories]]
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[[Category:Eleventh Doctor television stories]]
[[Category:Cracks arc]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 51st century]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 51st century]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2010]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2010]]
[[Category:2010 television stories]]
[[Category:Weeping Angel television stories]]
[[Category:Weeping Angel stories]]
[[Category:Series 5 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Series 5 (Doctor Who) stories]]
[[Category:Silence arc]]
[[Category:Stories set in Leadworth]]
[[Category:Stories set in Leadworth]]
[[Category:Stories set in alternative timelines]]
 
[[es:Flesh and Stone (historia de TV)]]
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[[it:Flesh and Stone (TV)]]
[[ru:Плоть и камень]]

Latest revision as of 22:46, 30 October 2024

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Flesh and Stone was the fifth episode of series 5 of Doctor Who.

It was the second of a two-part story that began with The Time of Angels. It showed the Weeping Angels moving for the first time; when moving slowly, they give off a stone-scraping sound. It also showed the Angels' cruelty and sadism in a new light; though the Angels wish only to feast on the Byzantium's power, they continuously go after the survivors fleeing them for no other reason than to kill.

It also continued the theme of suggesting that the Eleventh Doctor is mad, which he has either claimed to be or has been called a madman.

This story revealed more about the cracks, such as why Amy cannot remember the Daleks' attacks on Earth during Doomsday or The Stolen Earth / Journey's End. The Pandorica is mentioned again, this time by River Song, hinting it may be a serious event in the Doctor's future. The story also contained a moment where the Doctor appeared out of place from the conflict around him and seemed more engrossed in a bigger crisis yet to ensue. The end of this story leads into part two of Meanwhile in the TARDIS.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

There's no way back, no way up and no way out. Trapped by an army of Weeping Angels and an ever-growing mysterious crack, the Eleventh Doctor and his friends try to escape through the wreckage of a crashed space liner. Meanwhile, surrounded by Angels, Amy faces an even more deadly attack, as she's forced to find her way through the forest vault, eyes closed.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Quickly picking himself up, the Doctor tells everyone to look up, as he begins pacing around and pointing the sonic screwdriver at their footing. A confused Amy asks the Doctor what he is looking at. Exasperated at Amy's inability to grasp the obvious, the Doctor reminds her that the power is still on in the crashed ship, so what else is on? The artificial gravity!

The Doctor explains that shooting the gravity globe caused an updraft, allowing them to be caught in the Byzantium's gravity field once they jumped. They have landed upside down on the ship's hull; even if they jumped again, they would still be in the ship's gravity field. Octavian quickly notices that the Weeping Angels are beginning to look more like themselves; within an hour they'll be an army, the Doctor notes. The Doctor opens the door, telling everyone to get in. Amy wonders how. The Doctor tells her its just a corridor; the gravity orientates to the floor. Everyone heads inside as the Angels pop the lights outside the entrance.

Right as the door shuts behind them, the Doctor notes the Angels arrived within the first few seconds after the door closed they are not quantum locked in the dark. Making matters worse is the way to the secondary flight deck is shutting, despite the Doctor's attempts to force it back. Worse, the lights are still flickering. As the Doctor works on the lights, four Angels break off the door and enter the corridor. In the nick of time, the Doctor prevents the Angels from draining the lighting grid's power. However, he gravely announces he will have to drain the power in the corridor to get the door open — including the lights. Amy points out that they lost the torches when they jumped; this will leave them in total darkness.

Having lost good men to these monsters, Octavian asks River if she trusts the Doctor; she does. However, when asked if the Doctor is a madman, River repeats "I absolutely trust him." Seeing that the Doctor is the only one who can get them out of this time-bomb/death trap, Octavian and his men line up to fire on the Angels while the Doctor tells Amy to turn the wheel on the door four times after he has cut the power. She responds with "ten", but the Doctor corrects her and she replies that she said four.

They quickly enter, with the Doctor shutting the door behind them. Octavian magnetizes the door to keep the Angels out, thinking even they cannot turn the wheel now; they start doing so, but slow enough that it buys everyone time to think. Now that Octavian gets that the Angels cannot be stopped by conventional means, the Doctor begins figuring out what their resources are; River joins him in contemplating what they can do. The Doctor and River realise there must be an oxygen factory on board to supply the passengers with air. The Doctor activates a panel on the back wall, which opens to reveal a cybernetic forest within the ship. Amy continues counting down but has no memory of doing so.

While the Doctor and River try to explain the counting to her, Angel Bob calls to find out their plans. The Doctor taunts him but grows serious when Bob tells him that they are in Amy's eye. The Angels are making her count to scare them and will take her soon. Bob gloats over gaining mastery over time and space. The Doctor informs him the Byzantium doesn't have that much power. A screeching noise is heard from outside; "Dear God! What is that!?" Bob explains, the best as it can, that the Angels are laughing because "the Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed".

The crack appears...

The Doctor wonders what he has missed and turns to see a huge crack appear on the wall of the ship; the energy the crack is giving off makes the room shake. He orders the others to run while he looks at it. Though Amy is reluctant, River pulls her away, knowing the Doctor will catch up. A scan from the sonic tells the Doctor that the crack is "extremely very not good." When the Doctor turns to follow, he is surrounded by the Angels. He quickly scans the entire room, maneuvering over the equipment to block the Angels. However, right before he can enter the forest and lose them, an Angel catches the Doctor by his jacket.

The Weeping Angels do not kill him immediately, confusing the Doctor. He turns around to see them facing the crack, arms raised. Wiggling to get free of the grip of the Angel holding him by his jacket, the Doctor tells them that the light coming out of the crack is pure time energy; it is not power, but "the fire at the end of the universe." As the entire group looks at the crack, the Doctor runs off into the forest without his jacket, telling them, "Another thing, never let me talk"; he got out of his coat while they were distracted.

Meanwhile, Amy has reached "four" in her countdown and lies down, cradling her head. River produces a scanner to check her while Octavian worries they are exposed. River retorts that Octavian's only job is to keep the Doctor safe. If he's dead, she won't forgive herself, but if he's alive, she won't forgive him. She realises he is standing right behind her. They wonder how he escaped the Angels; "Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe". When questioned what the crack really is, the Doctor repeats "the end of the universe" and rushes over to Amy.

The Doctor quickly babbles over the fact Amy looked into an Angel's eyes, and an image of an Angel becomes one. He then realizes that the Angels want their victims to use the quantum lock, so they'll look in the Angels eyes and create an image in their brain's visual centre. And there's a copy of Angel Bob in Amy's mind. At "zero", it will pop out of Amy's head, killing her. After internal debate, the Doctor orders Amy to close her eyes; she complies, after fighting off the fear the Angel tried using to stop her. She soon begins to normalise. If she opens them for more than a second, the Angel will escape and she will die. Unable to see, the Doctor suggests she stay in the clearing with the others while he and River proceed to the primary flight deck. Octavian insists that where River goes, he does as well. The Doctor reluctantly agrees, leaving Amy with the remaining Clerics. As they head off, Amy asks him not to leave him.

As she sits waiting, the Doctor suddenly reappears and tells her that it's vital she start trusting him. She asks how she can trust him, as he doesn't always tell her the truth. He says that if he always told the truth, he wouldn't need her to trust him. Amy then asks how the crack in her wall can be here, and the Doctor responds that he doesn't know yet, but he's working it out. He requests that she remember what he told her when she was a little girl. When Amy asks him what he told her, the Doctor tells her that what he said isn't the point... just as long as she remembers. Just as quickly as he arrived, the Doctor is gone again.

As Octavian, River, and the Doctor move through the forest, Octavian tells the Doctor that River is on leave from Stormcage Containment Facility in his custody. Through this mission, she hopes to earn a pardon. While River tries to open the door to the primary flight deck, the Doctor considers the anomalies he has recently noticed: the duckless duck pond in Leadworth; Amy's inability to remember the Dalek invasion of Earth; and the lack of any mention of the CyberKing in Victorian London in the history books. He uses River's scanner to analyse the scan he took from the crack; it reveals that a temporal explosion will occur on 26 June 2010 and cause the cracks in time and space — Amy's time.

The Angels stake out the clearing and begin tearing apart the treeborgs to cut off the power supply to the lights. The lights flicker. When they go out, the Angels are nowhere to be seen. Light projects across the forest from the secondary flight deck. Marco, the squad leader, sends Crispin and Phillip to investigate it. Amy insists on seeing its source, though she will have to open her eyes. When she sees it is the crack from her wall, she collapses and begs to know why it is following her.

The lead cleric, Marco.

Marco orders Pedro to go to the light. Amy reminds him he sent the other two, but he insists there weren't any others. After some time, Marco decides to go and investigate, having forgotten Pedro as well. Amy pleads with him to stay, but Marco foolishly wishes to investigate what the light is. As a compromise, he leaves her a spare communicator and agrees to speak to her through it. As he reaches the crack, his voice vanishes in a crackle of static. Amy is now left alone without anyone to guard her against the Angels: the one in her mind and the ones outside of it.

River opens the door and steps inside while Octavian waits with the Doctor. The Doctor deduces to his own surprise that time can be unwritten; Octavian tells him to hurry inside because of the Angels. "There's more dangerous things here than Angels." the Doctor retorts. The lights go out. When they return, Octavian is trapped in an Angel's stranglehold. Knowing the Doctor cannot save him, Octavian tells him River is in prison for murder and he shouldn't trust her. As the Doctor flees, Octavian's neck is snapped. River tries to get a teleport working as the Doctor explains the cracks. When she challenges his ideas, he responds with growing rage and tells her the teleport is useless.

Amy huddles alone in the forest, blind and with nothing but the communicator. The Doctor contacts her; Amy must make her way to the flight deck. The Angels can only kill her, but the crack can erase her from time. He sends software to the communicator to help her find her way. Terrified, she slowly makes her way across the forest, soon surrounded by the army of Weeping Angels fleeing from the crack. In their own terror, they do not realise her eyes are closed and their defence mechanisms kick in. They figure it out, though, when Amy trips over a root on the ground. They slowly remove the statue guise and move in to kill her.

Just as an Angel reaches towards Amy, River thankfully gets the teleport working and transports her to the flight deck. The Doctor tells River he could kiss her out of happiness, but River tells him to wait until he's older. An alarm goes off, confusing River. The Doctor says its warning the ship is low on power, which means the flight deck will open.

"Bob" tries to get the Doctor to sacrifice himself to close the crack.

The wall lifts up, revealing the Weeping Angels all snarling at them, except for Angel Bob; "Bob" explains the crack will destroy their reality if left unchecked. The Angels have calculated the crack will close if the Doctor throws himself into it. When asked why he should help the Angels, "Bob" tells him it will save River and Amy as well. River, as a time traveller, wants to take the Doctor's place, but he laughs — she is not even as complicated as one Angel and it would take all of them to equal him. He tells her to get a grip. River continues to protest, but the Doctor tells her to seriously get a grip.

River deduces his "genius" plan and has Amy grab onto the console, warning her not to let go. Angel Bob repeats his request for the Doctor to sacrifice himself, but the Doctor reminds them that they've been draining all of the power on the ship, including that of the artificial gravity; with the words "Night-night", the Doctor grabs onto the console and the ship's gravity fails. The planet's gravity field takes over in its place, sending the Angels plummeting into the crack while the Doctor watches in delight. The crack glows brighter and closes.

Later, another squad of Clerics cleans up the camp outside the temple while Amy sits nearby, complaining of aches from climbing out of the Byzantium with her eyes shut. The Doctor likewise did so; Amy tells him that he didn't have to do that. "Neither did you" he states. Since the Angels fell into the crack, the one in her mind never existed now. Amy wonders why she remembers them and the Clerics when they never existed at all; the Clerics all forgot each other and walked straight into the crack. The Doctor explains that, as a time traveller, she now sees things differently.

The Doctor goes to River, who has been handcuffed. She is prepared to teleport up to the prison ship, hoping to have done enough to earn a pardon. The Doctor admits that Octavian told him of River's crime that she murdered a man. River confirms this. When further stating that Octavian told him the victim was a good man, she replies that he was the best man she ever knew. The Doctor asks if he can trust her. River laughs, saying he can if he wants to... "but where's the fun in that?" She also adds that they'll see her next when the Pandorica opens; the Doctor laughs at this, thinking the Pandorica is a fairytale, River responding with "Aren't we all?" She vanishes with the Clerics.

Back in the TARDIS, Amy tells the Doctor she wants to go home. He thinks she means for good, but she insists she has something to show him. "You're running from River. I'm running from something, too." He parks the TARDIS in Amy's bedroom five minutes after they first left. Amy shows him her wedding dress and engagement ring; she is getting married in the morning to Rory Williams.

Amy kisses the Doctor.

Amy says that she needs comforting, after the recent events. She tries to explain to the Doctor "who" she wants, but the Doctor hasn't a clue as to what she is talking about. Seeing he is not going to get hints, Amy tries to kiss him, but he dodges her and stands up. She continues to allude to sexual connotations, all of which the Doctor nervously attempts to fend off. He rebuffs her advances by protesting that he is 907 years old and the kind of relationship she wants will never work out between them.

Amy retorts that she was thinking of a one-night stand, not a relationship. She attempts to undress him and finally kisses him, but he pushes her away, citing her marriage the next morning. Amy thinks he's given in, heading to her bed. Realising that the date of the temporal explosion: 26 June 2010 is the date of Amy's wedding. The Doctor tells her that the most important thing is that he straightens things out with her. He pulls her to the TARDIS, with Amy trying to kiss him again. He pushes her back into the TARDIS just as the clock turns past midnight to the next day.

The cracks in time will be created on Amy's wedding day.

A flashback returns to the conversation River Song and the Doctor were having about the origin of the cracks in time. Amy's wedding day will preclude a catastrophic event. The base code of the universe translates to "[06 2010|26 06 2010]", the date of an explosion that caused the cracks to appear. With that, the Doctor vanishes into the TARDIS.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



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


Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Whilst trying to figure out the implications of the cracks in time, the Doctor wonders about the CyberKing, and if 21st century Earth's lack of knowledge of its presence is somehow related.
  • The Doctor states his age is nine hundred and seven.
  • River Song says she and the Doctor will meet again when the Pandorica opens; the Doctor claims that the Pandorica is just a fairy tale.

Timeline[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Amy's age and her second encounter with the Doctor are established as taking place in 2008, when she encountered Prisoner Zero, while her third encounter with the Doctor when she left with him took place on the night of 25 June 2010 when Amy is twenty-one.

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

  • In 2020, Steven Moffat admitted that he should not have played the scene where Amy tries to seduce the Doctor "for laughs", noting that Amy ignoring the Doctor's protests against her overtures does, at the very least, have some rather uncomfortable sexual assault undertones. He admitted that this was the one thing about his era which he would change.
  • According to Steven Moffat on the 30 March 2010 edition of the BBC Radio 4 programme, Front Row, he struggled to find an appropriate phrase which incorporated the word “Angels” in the title until Joshua pointed out that this was unnecessary, since the presence of the Weeping Angels would have been well-established during The Time of Angels. Playing on the phrase “flesh and bone”, he suggested Flesh and Stone as an alternative, and the name stuck.
  • The title is a play on "flesh and bone", a common idiom referring to a creature's anatomy, since most humans and animals are composed of flesh and a skeletal structure. The title also refers to the Weeping Angels' weakness of turning to stone whenever anyone looks at them, and possibly the fact that Amy thought her hand had turned to stone in the previous episode, The Time of Angels. This was a rumoured title for the episode Gridlock.
  • The Weeping Angels are seen moving for the first time. One Angel is seen moving a hand to grab the Doctor by his jacket, and later they turn their heads when they realise that Amy can't see them.
  • The date shown in the episode, 26/06/2010, would be the broadcast date of the final episode of Series 5, The Big Bang, in Britain. In other countries, it was not aired until later, however.
  • The method the Doctor uses to dispose of the Weeping Angels resembles his method of vanquishing the Cybermen and Daleks in Doomsday.
  • Amy continues the tradition of female companions kissing the Doctor. However, instead of falling in love with him, Amy had another idea.
  • This episode aired on the same day as the K9 episode Alien Avatar was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that Sirens of Ceres was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
  • The episode's final scene leads into Meanwhile in the TARDIS 2.
  • The blue in Amy's bedroom was an idea of Adam Smith to show that it was inspired by the TARDIS from Amy's encounter with the Doctor when she was young.
  • The Doctor's gesture indicating Rory's long nose wasn't in the script. This two-parter was actually the first episodes filmed, before Arthur Darvill had acted on the show, but after he'd been cast. Matt Smith and Darvill were already old friends, so Smith already knew about Darvill's honker and improvised.
  • Steven Moffat came up with the concept for this two-parter when he was thinking of the worst possible situations to be in with the Weeping Angels and thought of the inability to see. His first idea was blindness, though this developed into the situation that Amy ends up in.
  • Matt Smith had difficulty saying: "the forest is full of angels", instead he said: "the angel is full of forests". There's even a t-shirt in existence showing the phrase.
  • In the climactic scene, Karen Gillan had to walk with her eyes closed, which she said was difficult and challenging as the ground was uneven and muddy. She stated that "it was the most scary thing" when she had to trip over a step and fall, even though she was aware of the crash mat. As she was not able to express herself through her eyes, Gillan had to make herself more animated to convey emotion.
  • The scene in which the Doctor, Amy and River are horizontal in mid-air when the gravity field fails on the Byzantium was achieved by using wires and powerful wind machines.
  • The Doctor's rules come into play to defeat the angels: use your enemy's power against them.
  • The Mill remain uncredited in this story.
  • Iain Glen would later appear in Game of Thrones, where his character is infected by a "stone man" with greyscale, a disease which makes a victim's skin become dead and cracked, resembling stone. In Flesh and Stone, he contends with living stone statues, one of which appears to start to turn Amy to stone. Matt Smith would later star in the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • 6.9 million viewers
  • 8.5 million viewers (UK final)[1]

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

Rumours[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Amy and Rory will either marry each other or put it on hold at the end of the episode, and Rory will travel in the TARDIS at the end. This was proven false, but Rory joined Amy and the Doctor in the TARDIS in the next episode, and he and Amy got married in the series finale.
  • The Doctor wearing his coat while explaining to Amy it's vital she remembered was an error on the production team's behalf as the Doctor had lost his coat earlier. This was proven false in The Big Bang when it was revealed that conversation took place much later in the Doctor's timeline.

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.
  • On first entering the Byzantium, the Weeping Angels' stances change between first breaking in and just before the Doctor must turn the lights off. This is despite the lights being isolated and them always being observed by at least four Clerics.
  • After the Doctor and co make it through the door to the secondary flight deck, a camera is visible on the far right hand side.
  • When the Doctor is searching for a way to open the door to the forest he places his hands on it and it wobbles.
  • When the Doctor is grabbed by a Weeping Angel, the Angel's hand is seen moving along with the Doctor.
  • When Amy lies down on the tree stump her hair is all over her face but on the wide shot her hair is behind her head.
  • While the Doctor is talking to River in the forest, he has both hands behind his back as if tucking in his shirt; however in the next shot he is still in mid-sentence and is suddenly holding his hands in front.
  • While the Doctor talks to River at the end of the episode the position of his right suspender strap switches places from angle to angle.
  • Just after the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, his future self holds Amy's hand and talks to her. However, he does not wear his normal gold watch, which is replaced with a black one, and does not have the vortex manipulator on his right arm, which he should have had.
  • During the final scene in Amy's bedroom the Doctor looks at Amy's alarm clock. Despite the fact that the conversation was talking about Amy getting married "in the morning" the clock changes from 11:59 AM on 6/25 to 12:00 PM on 6/26, a mysterious 12-hour jump.
  • In the scene where Amy is following the sound of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, there are points where the light on the screwdriver is off, yet the sound can still clearly be heard on both ends of the communicator.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • River says to the Doctor, "You, me, handcuffs... must it always end this way?" In the final moments of her life in TV: Forest of the Dead [+]Loading...["Forest of the Dead (TV story)"], River handcuffed the Doctor to prevent him from saving her life.
  • River Song mentioned the crash of the Byzantium when meeting the Tenth Doctor in TV: Silence in the Library [+]Loading...["Silence in the Library (TV story)"].
  • River Song says the Doctor will see her again soon, when the Pandorica opens. This refers to TV: The Pandorica Opens [+]Loading...["The Pandorica Opens (TV story)"] where it is shown that, due to her timeline running opposite to the Doctor's, she knows to say this as Amy told her she did.
  • When mentioning how time can be rewritten the Doctor references Amy's lack of knowledge of the Daleks and planets in the sky from TV: The Stolen Earth [+]Loading...["The Stolen Earth (TV story)"]/Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"], which he previously learned about in TV: Victory of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Victory of the Daleks (TV story)"]. He also considers that no one on Earth remembered a Cyber-King in 19th century London, referring to the events of TV: The Next Doctor [+]Loading...["The Next Doctor (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor and Amy both recall the crack from her bedroom wall, first seen in TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"].
  • After the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian to find the primary flight deck, the Doctor quickly returns for a moment to speak with Amy and his behaviour and appearance are different (jacket, rolled-up sleeves, etc). It was revealed in TV: The Big Bang [+]Loading...["The Big Bang (TV story)"] that this is the Doctor from his future.
  • The Doctor mentions the duck-pond with no ducks in Leadworth, which he first noticed in TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor describes himself as a complicated space-time event. In PROSE: Continuity Errors [+]Loading...["Continuity Errors (short story)"], Steven Moffat's first professional Doctor Who publication, Arthur Candy's research defined the Doctor as "a CSTE – a Complex Space-Time Event. In fact, I believe he is the most complex space-time event there has ever been anywhere".
  • The Doctor kisses Amy on the head before temporarily leaving her. He did the same with Zoe Heriot in TV: The War Games [+]Loading...["The War Games (TV story)"], and Jo Grant in TV: Colony in Space [+]Loading...["Colony in Space (TV story)"].
  • Angel Bob says that "the Doctor in the TARDIS" hasn't noticed. Prisoner Zero similarly taunted the Doctor in TV: The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"].
  • The Doctor's regret on not getting to know Octavion resembles his sixth incarnation's remorse in TV: Attack of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)"] when he realised how wrong about Lytton he was, and also his ninth incarnation realising in TV: Father's Day [+]Loading...["Father's Day (TV story)"] how harsh he was on Rose Tyler for messing with her father's death.
  • River says that the man she killed is the best man she knows, heavily implying that it was the Doctor. This is confirmed in TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"] where the crew of the Teselecta state that she killed the Doctor on 22 April 2011 at Lake Silencio which is a fixed point in time. River's "murder" of the Doctor is later explored in TV: The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"].
  • River states that she hopes she has done enough to get a pardon. While she apparently doesn't at this time, it is stated in TV: The Angels Take Manhattan [+]Loading...["The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)"] that she was pardoned after the Doctor erased all records of himself, meaning there is no proof she killed anyone.
  • River later visits Amy and Rory shortly after the events of this episode from her perspective in the epilogue to The Wedding of River Song [+]Loading...["The Wedding of River Song (TV story)"] to reveal the Doctor's survival to them and that she had lied about not recognising Amy.

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. ↑ Doctor Who Ratings - UK final
  2. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/sites/doctor-who-wales/alllocations/southerndown-beach
  3. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/gloucestershire/hi/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8635000/8635073.stm
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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.
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