The Pandorica Opens (TV story)

The Pandorica Opens
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy Pond(dies) Rory Williams (Auton)
Main enemy:	The Alliance The Silence (unseen)
Main setting:	Stonehenge, 102
Key crew
Writer:	Steven Moffat
Director:	Toby Haynes
Producer:	Peter Bennett
Release details
Story number:	212a
Premiere broadcast:	19 June 2010
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1 x 50 minute episode
Production code:	5.12
Confidential:	[[confidential::Alien Abduction|Alien Abduction]]
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Lodger
Next →	The Big Bang

You may be looking for the painting of the same name.

The Pandorica Opens was the twelfth episode of series 5 of Doctor Who. It was the first of a two-part series finale. Its narrative concluded in the following episode.

At the time of its release, it was unique amongst BBC Wales series finales for a number of reasons. It was the first series-ender with significant principal photography outside Wales. It was also the first to have been the Doctor Who debut of its director and cinematographer. It was the first finale to have used major guest actors — aside from companions — who had featured in previous single episodes of the series. Finally, it featured the largest number of individual alien species seen in a single episode of Doctor Who since the great antelope breakout of '63.

Synopsis

A Van Gogh painting ferried from to France

Plot

France 1890: Vincent Van Gogh lies in bed, screaming. His doctor, Gachet, and caretaker, Madame Vernet, are at his side. Vernet notes the painting displayed on a nearby easel is even worse than his usual work. The reason for it be-ing so ugly is that it depicts Colin Baker smiling.

Cabinet War Rooms 1941: Professor Edwin Bracewell carries a rolled-up canvas to Winston Churchill's office. Bracewell shows it to the Prime Minister and confirms it is Van Gogh that is killing that Dalek over there

The TARDIS is travelling through the cliff, man! The Doctor has decided to visit the Universe's oldest cliff-face, made of pure diamond. He will use the TARDIS's translation matrix to decipher an inscription that has never been translated. When Amy and he step out to see it, the message reads, "Hello, sweetie," with a set of temporal coordinates carved underneath.

Van Gogh's Painting

The coordinates lead them to Roman Britain in the 222222nd century,

Convinced the two events are linked, he decides to look for the Pandorica. He asks for maps of the area; if someone were to bury such a device, they would want to remember where they left it.

File:Pandorica.png

The Pandorica

The Doctor, Amy and River ride to Stonehenge to find Fred Flinstone. They trace it underground and descend, not noticing a Sheep's head, activating as the box opens. Six pillars around the box are transmitting a signal across all space and time, bringing at least ten thousand ships into Earth's orbit -- every one belonging to the Doctor's enemies.

The.

Back at Stonehenge, the Doctor continues to monitor the Pandorica. Amy asks about the engagement ring she found in his jacket pocket. He encourages her to remember the night she flew away with him, confessing he was lying when he told her there wasn't a reason he was taking her. He draws her attention to her house. It's too big and her life doesn't make any sense. Before she can respond, a dismembered Cyber-arm shoots at them. The Doctor tries to deactivate it, but is knocked out. The Cyber-head has worked its way down the steps and attacks Amy, shooting her with a sleeper dart. The head opens; it is a type-2 upgrade, with the parts grafted directly onto the body. It ejects the skull of its previous occupant and attempts to assimilate Amy. She shakes the head off, but the Cyber-body appears and attaches it to itself before advancing on her. She takes cover in a side chamber, where the Cyberman is killed by the arriving centurion, who is actually Rory. She faints at his ugliness

The times he has defeated them in the past, and encourages them to consider who wants to go first. The fleet flees.

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References

Individuals

• Vincent van Gogh has nightmares/visions about the destruction of the Doctor's TARDIS.
• Winston Churchill attempts to contact the Doctor after Edwin Bracewell shows him Van Gogh's painting.
• River Song steals The Pandorica Opens from Elizabeth X's Royal Collection.

Locations

• The Pandorica is located under Stonehenge on Earth. The Doctor calls it "Underhenge".
• River Song is in prison in Stormcage Containment Facility in 5145.
• The Doctor's TARDIS takes River to Amy Pond's house.

Planets

• Planet One is the oldest planet in the universe. It has "Hello Sweetie" written into one of its cliff faces.

Species

• The Alliance consists of:

• Atraxi
• Blowfish
• Chelonians
• Cybermen
• Daleks
• Draconians
• Drahvins
• Hoix
• Judoon
• Nestene Consciousness
• Roboforms
• Silurians
• Slitheen family
• Sontarans
• Commander Stark
• Sycorax
• Terileptils
• Uvodni
• Weevils
• Zygons
• Bill Gates
• Freddie Maxwell
• Freddy Kuger
• Joushua Naismith
• The writer of Family Guy
• The Dandy Editor

TARDIS

• The Doctor's TARDIS can re-route calls to the vortex.

Technology

• The individual who sells River a vortex manipulator says he got it off the wrist of a "handsome Time Agent".

Books

• Amy has a book called The Legend of Pandora's Box.

Story notes

• Amy Pond appeared to die in this episode but will be resurrected by the Pandorica in the following episode, The Big Bang.
• Almost every major enemy since the beginning of the new Doctor Who series (as well as a few from the classic series) are mentioned though not all appeared. The list of enemies include the Daleks, the Cybus Cybermen, the Slitheen, the Sontarans, the Judoon, the Hoix, the Weevils, the Uvodni, the Sycorax, the Silurians, the Autons, the Roboform, the Nestene, the Chelonians, the Drahvins, the Atraxi, the Zygons, the Terileptils and the Draconians. They formed an alliance, but some of them were unseen. The Slitheen were also mentioned but not seen. River also mentions the Haemogoths, who briefly appeared in NSA: The Forgotten Army.
• This is the first episode to feature an in-narrative use of the time vortex seen in the series 5 title sequence.
• The Weevils, Blowfish and Uvodni are the first aliens originally from a spin-off series to appear in the main show.
• The Chelonians from the novels get their first mention in a TV episode.
• When River starts mentioning the aliens that are approaching the Doctor, the Cyber-Leader and the Supreme Dalek are heard talking about their plan for the Doctor.
• The writing on the cliffs reads "HELLO SWEETIE ΘΣ Φ ΓΥΔϟ". ΘΣ
• At least one reviewer thought this message on the cliff of Planet One was not unlike a scene in in Douglas Adams' book, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, which featured the last message of God to his creation lit in flames on a cliff face.
• This episode deliberately evoked the feel of the Indiana Jones franchise. River's scene at the Maldovarium is a gag drawn directly from the teaser sequence of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The use of flambeaux in the cavernous "under Henge" was directly inspired by the teaser to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Finally director Toby Haynes played back a cue from Raiders while filming the sequence of the Doctor, River and Amy entering the "under Henge" to give the sequence appropriate tempo. (CON: "Alien Abduction")
• The disembodied Cyberman head tells Amy, "You will be assimilated." Though modern viewers might think this a line borrowed from the Borg, a Star Trek cybernetic species similar to Cybermen, in fact the line is in The Tenth Planet.
• Amy Pond describes her deep interest in Roman culture. Karen Gillan's original appearance on Doctor Who was that of a soothsayer from Pompeii in The Fires of Pompeii.
• The story is set at Stonehenge and the episode broadcast just a few days before the real Summer Solstice.
• When River begins having problems flying the TARDIS, the Doctor tells her she's not flying it right, to which she promptly replies, "I'm flying it PERFECTLY. You taught me!". In their previous meeting (from the Doctor's POV), River mocked the Doctor for not being able to properly fly the TARDIS, always leaving the brakes on when it lands. She also implied that the Doctor might not have been the one who had taught her. It would be revealed in Let's Kill Hitler that it was the TARDIS herself who taught River.
• This story marks at least the fourth time in televised Doctor Who that the fate of every universe is at stake. (DW: Logopolis, Journey's End, The End of Time)
• Amy doesn't know who the Cybermen are, despite meeting them in VG: Blood of the Cybermen.
• River's main costume in this story was deliberately designed to evoke both Princess Leia and Han Solo, so that she looked like, according to Toby Haynes, a "female Han Solo". (DCOM: The Big Bang)
• According to Toby Haynes, this episode had no bigger budget, "and maybe even a little less", than other episodes in the series. (DCOM: The Big Bang)
• Similar to DW: Rise of the Cybermen and DW: The Stolen Earth, this episode is the first part of a two-part story, and features no "Next Time" trailer at the end.

Ratings

7.57 million (according to TV magazine)

Rumours

• Many fans believed Omega would return. He does not appear in the episode as far as we know.
• The Doctor himself is inside the Pandorica. At the climax of the episode, the Doctor is placed inside the Pandorica.
• The Slitheen were among the villains mentioned by River approaching the Doctor. This was proven true; River says Slitheen whilst reading out the list.
• It was rumoured that either the Timoreen, the Ha'rik, or the Skarkish would appear – primarily because these were all listed as "new aliens" to appear in Series 5 which had not already appeared. This was proven false.
• According to the Radio Times, the Vincent van Gogh painting will be in Churchill's war bunker. This was proven true.
• It was believed that the enemies would form an alliance; this was supported by the screen-shots depicting many of the Doctor's enemies together but not fighting. This was proven true.
• Many fans believed Rory would reappear. This was proven partially true. He was an Auton duplicate.
• It was believed the episode will take place on Gallifrey in the Death Zone. This was proven false.

Filming locations

• Stonehenge, England
• Margam Park, Wales

Production errors

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.

• The 1890 scene is set after Van Gogh famously cut his left ear in 1888, but the actor's unharmed left ear is briefly visible.
• The Cyber-Leader's mouth glows blue when it isn't speaking, twice.
• The Supreme Dalek's lights were flashing when it isn't speaking.
• When the damaged Cyberman enters the room where the Pandorica is, the "missing" arm can be seen in a shadow.
• When River says the words, "And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding", as the Doctor bends down to examine the painting, a brief view of River's face shows that her lips aren't moving.
• When the Doctor, Amy and River enter Stonehenge, the Doctor's fringe is on the right of his face. During the close-up of him, it's on the left.
• When Amy is pushing against the Pandorica and discussing the Cyberman's arm, the Pandorica bends inwards slightly.

Continuity

• Roman soldiers previously appeared on screen in DW: The War Games.
• This is the second time the Doctor has appeared on horseback. The last time coincidentally was also in a Steven Moffat episode. (DW: The Girl in the Fireplace)
• Vincent van Gogh was last seen in DW: Vincent and the Doctor.
• Liz Ten was last seen in DW: The Beast Below.
• Winston Churchill, Bracewell and the Daleks were last seen in DW: Victory of the Daleks.
• River Song was last seen in DW: The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone.
• Rory and the Silurians were last seen in DW: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood.
• The Judoon, Sycorax, and Sontarans were last seen in DW: The End of Time.
• Autons and the Hoix were last seen in DW: Love & Monsters.
• Roboform were last seen in DW: The Runaway Bride.
• Cybermen were last seen in DW: The Next Doctor.
• River Song wrote, "Hello Sweetie", previously on a home box in DW: The Time of Angels, from the Doctor's perspective.
• The Uvodni, Blowfish and Weevils were amongst the creatures at the end of the episode, but they were seen very briefly among the other aliens.
• This epsiode marks the third time the Daleks and Cybermen have featured in the same story in the TV series. The first was DW: The Five Doctors and the second DW: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday. It is however only the second time the Cybus Cybermen have featured alongside the Daleks on television. They would also do so in SP: Doctor Who: The Monsters Are Coming!, VG: Return to Earth and VG: The Mazes of Time.
• The Cybermen present have become a space-faring race. Cybus Cybermen were also seen as space travellers in VG: Return to Earth. Judging by dialogue in the game however, such as the Cyber-Leader stating how the Cybermen will survive and how their technology there is incompatible with time travel, it seems likely that their knowledge, experience and technology have improved since then, as they are able to travel back in time to Stonehenge with the rest of the Alliance and do not appear to be a scattered race.
• The Doctor says to Rory, "Hello again", just as he did when he re-encountered Jack Harkness in DW: Utopia.
• While communicating to the alien fleet, the Doctor shouts, "I -- AM -- TALKING!!!", similar to the Ninth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor addressing the Nestene Consciousness in DW: Rose and Eddie Connolly in DW: The Idiot's Lantern respectively.
• The idea that an event will happen on a specific day in time (in this case 26/06/10) is similar to DW: Silver Nemesis and DW: Doctor Who.
• Sentient Autons last appeared in BFA: Brave New Town.
• The explosion of all the stars in the universe bears a resemblance to the night sky as viewed by Vincent van Gogh (and, by extension, the painting "Starry, Starry Night") at the end of DW: Vincent and the Doctor.
• When Amy questions River about her mentioning the Pandorica at the end of DW Flesh and Stone, River replies, "Maybe I did ... but I haven't yet ... but I will have." This is similar to a scene in in DW: The Five Doctors when Sarah Jane Smith tells the Third Doctor she has already witnessed him regenerate, to which he replies, "Maybe I did ... but I haven't yet."
• One of the ships in the alliance fleet, although it was never identified as a Cyber-ship, resemble the Cyber-ships from DW: The Invasion.
• The Doctor tells Amy about fruit flies which live for twenty minutes and don't mate for life. Forgetting the point to that fact, he tells her he'll get back to it later. He does so in The Big Bang when he lists a number of things you can do in twelve minutes, after finding out he has twelve minutes before he "dies". (DW: The Big Bang)
• This is the second time that an Auton has tried to get close to the Doctor through his companion's boyfriend (in this case, Rory). The other time was Rose Tyler's boyfriend Mickey in DW: Rose.
• Needing to buy some time, the Doctor goads the thousands of ships hovering over Stonehenge into fleeing back into orbit. Shortly after the Tenth Doctor met River Song, she told him that she had seen "whole armies turn and run away" from "her" Doctor. (DW: Forest of the Dead)

Timeline

For the Eleventh Doctor and Amy:

• This story occurs after DWAN: Red Christmas.
• This story occurs before DW: The Big Bang.

For Rory Williams:

• This story occurs after DW: Cold Blood.
• This story occurs before DW: The Big Bang.

For River Song:

• This story occurs after DW: Day of the Moon.
• This story occurs before DW: The Big Bang.

Home video releases

BBC Video – Doctor Who Series Five – Volume Four features Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. It was released on Monday 6 September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray.

External links

• The Pandorica Opens at the Doctor Who Reference Guide

Footnotes