The Power of Three (TV story)

The Power of Three
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy, Rory
Featuring:	Brian, Kate
Main enemy:	The Shakri
Main setting:	England, 21st century
Key crew
Writer:	Chris Chibnall
Director:	Douglas Mackinnon
Producer:	Marcus Wilson
Release details
Story number:	228
Premiere broadcast:	22 September 2012
Format:	45 minutes
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	A Town Called Mercy

The Power of Three was the fourth episode of the seventh series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

Synopsis

There have been many ways to invade the Earth, and the Doctor has seen them all – or so he always thought. And then the human race wakes up one morning and discovers the world has been overrun by… "very small cubes", which then proceed to… do nothing at all. A plan is afoot, humanity is endangered – but by what and how and, above all, when?

For the first time in his world-saving career the Doctor has to call upon one of the least of his virtues: patience. And the Ponds face something possibly more terrifying than any world-ending apocalypse: the Doctor is moving in!

Plot

The episode begins with the shot of Earth from The Pandorica Opens, only played in reverse. Amy narrates, saying what life with the Doctor is like; several clips of her adventures with him are shown in rapid succession. She then compares it to normal life; she and Rory life normal, uninteresting lives. They eventually talk about the two lives they have, thinking they have to choose one of them. However, the sound of the TARDIS materializing causes them to put off the decision for later. More clips are shown as Amy says that every time they go away, they become a part of the Doctor's life. However, he has never stuck around long enough to be part of theirs. That is, until the Year of the Slow Invasion. With the narrating done, a strange cube materializes on their dresser.

Brian Williams presses the doorbell to Amy and Rory's home repeatedly while holding another strange black cube in his hand. Amy and Rory look out of the window, sleepy, and wonder why he is waking them up so early (it's 6 A.M.). Brian directs them to look around the streets; the cubes litter ever road within eyesight. They go outside, and Amy catches sight of the Doctor examining one of the cubes. The Doctor parks the TARDIS in the Ponds' living room and collects a couple cubes for observation. He asks his companions/family what they think the cubes could be, being given multiple, highly possible, explanations from Brian. Instructing Brian to watch the cubes in the TARDIS, the Doctor takes some equipment out with him and the Ponds. The Doctor explains that he is going to use their kitchen as a make-shift lab to conduct experiments while Rory leaves to get ready for work. The Doctor wonders what Amy has been up to, learning that she writes travel catalogues now.

Setting up an experiment, the Doctor tells Amy that he is going to boil the cubes and see how they respond. At that very moment, soldiers break in and hold them at gunpoint; Rory, missing his trousers, is walked to the Doctor and Amy, much to his embarrassment. A woman named Kate Stewart enters and apologises for the rudeness of the soldiers; she examines the Doctor visually and with a small device, confirming his identity. Kate explains that she is now UNIT's Head of Scientific Research, having reorientated UNIT (as she said "kicking and screaming") into a science-based organization. She tracked artron energy to the Ponds' home in hopes of finding the Doctor. She goes onto explain that the cubes are all over Earth and have been subjected to every kind of destructive experiment they could think of; listing some of them. The Doctor decides that since they can't be destroyed, it's best to watch the cubes instead.

The Doctor, Amy and Rory watch the cubes as the Doctor snarls in annoyance; he needs to be constantly busy as "patience is for wimps". Amy tells him to be busy then. The Doctor does several things for about an hour; painting their fence, rewiring the electrics, and practicing football. Seeing that he needs to have an adventure or two to "restore sanity", the Doctor prepares to leave, just noticing Brian is still in the TARDIS. He tells them that the TARDIS will be synched to the Earth broadcast programs from this day onward to keep him informed.

May:

Brian continues doing as the Doctor ordered him to do: watching the cubes for any sign of activity. He keeps a video log of the days he's been at it, watching footage the camera takes while he's sleeping to make sure he didn't miss anything. Rory is slightly amused by the fact his father keeps on doing this "project"; he is later asked at the hospital to be there full-time while Amy is asked to be a bride's maid months in advance. Infroming each other of this, they both wonder what to do as their lives on Earth are becoming more important.

June:

It's Amy and Rory's anniversary. Amy calls the Doctor, telling him that she's left several messages to remind him. The Doctor pops up behind her with a bouquet, telling her that he got the messages. He then tells Amy to grab Rory and follow him into the TARDIS. He drops them off at a hotel's grand opening, but the plan backfires when it turns out half the staff were Zygons in disguise. He next takes them to the time of Henry VIII, where Amy accidentally marries him, much to Rory's annoyance. The Doctor manages to return them to the evening of their anniversary seven weeks after they originally left. Brian can tell because of their different clothes; he asks the Doctor what happened to the companions before Amy and Rory. The Doctor explains that some leave on their own or he leaves them behind, and very, very rarely they die (Katarina and Adric fall under the third category).

December:

Rory is working at the hospital, noticing that he has a repeat patient. Unbeknowst to anyone, a little girl in the waiting area is holding a box and lightly glowing blue. In a patient's room, one is reading a book while waiting for his medication. Two doctors come in and despite the protests of the patient, try using anesthetic on him. He pulls the mask off one of them to discover he isn't human. The man screams in terror as the little girl, who entered the room, looks on.

July:

Brian continues his log, now reaching nearly an entire year since the cubes arrived, only to fall asleep after making sure the camera is recording. No sooner has Brain fallen asleep, the cube slightly moves. He awakens and tricks it into thinking he fell asleep to catch it moving. He quickly leaves to inform Rory and Amy. At the Ponds' house, the Doctor has arrived and is keeping himself busy with their Wii. Rory notices a cube near him open on one side and he quickly rushes over to see it open, only for the other side to open instead. Amy sees her cube acting funny and touches, only to get jabbed with needles and have it take her pulse. While playing, the Doctor notices his cube fly in front of him and he tells it that he will defend humanity against any threat it poses. It fires at him, forcing the Doctor to run. The three of them met up with each other just as Brian enters, they explain what each of their cubes is doing (as the Doctor's is searching the web) and decide they have to contact Kate Stewart. Rory gets a page and decides it's better for him to go to work. Brian agrees and says he'll help.

The Doctor and Amy arrive outside the Tower of London, where a UNIT base is located. Kate explains that UNIT collected several cubes, but they only display one form of activity apiece; one produces fire, one induces mood swings, while another plays an annoying song. The Doctor is brought to the monitors that shows where every cube is in the world. He then reveals to Kate that he figured out she really is: the daughter of his old friend, the Brigadier. Kate explains that her father led her all the way to the end, saying science would lead the way; an old friend told him that. She also explains she dropped "Lethbridge" from her name to make sure she got by with her own credentials and not being favoured because of her heritage.

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
• Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
• Brian Williams - Mark Williams
• Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
• Shakri - Steven Berkoff
• Ranjit - Selva Rasalingam
• Laura - Alice O'Connell
• Arnold Underwood - Peter Cartwright
• Orderly 1 - David Beck
• Orderly 2 - Daniel Beck
• UNIT Researcher - David Hartley

Uncredited cast

• Brian Cox - Himself
• Lord Sugar - Himself
• Nick Hewer - Himself
• Karren Brady - Herself

Crew

Executive Producers   Caroline Skinner and Steven Moffat

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Line Producer - Diana Barton Production Manager - Phillipa Cole Location Manager - Iwan Roberts Location Assistant - Jestyn Hampson-Jones Unit Manager - Geraint Williams Production Co-ordinator - Claire Hildred Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Gabriella Ricci Production Assistants - Rachel Vipond, Samantha Price Production Secretary - Sandra Cosfeld Production Accountant - Jeff Dunn A/Production Accountants - Rhys Evans, Justine Wooff Script department Assistant Script Editor - John Phillips Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Sarah Davies 2nd Assistant Director - James DeHaviland 3rd Assistant Director - Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch Assistant Director - Danielle Richards Camera Operator - Joe Russell Focus Pullers - James Scott, Julius Ogden Grip - Gary Norman Assistant Grip - Owen Charley Camera Assistants - Meg De Koning, Sam Smithard, Evelina Norgren Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Stephen Slocombe Electricians - Bob Milton, Gareth Sheldon, Matt Wilson	Art department Art Director - Amy Pickwoad Assistant Art Director - Richard Hardy Art Department Co-ordinator - Donna Shakesheff Production Buyers - Charlie Lynam, Adrian Greenwood Petty Cash Buyer - Florence Tasker Set Decorator - Adrian Anscombe Set Dresser - Jayne Davies Graphic Artist - Christina Tom Graphic Designer - Chris Lees Standby Props - Phill Shellard, Helen Atherton Standby Carpenter - Will Pope Prop Hand - Austin J. Curtis Standby Rigger - Bryan Griffiths Props Master - Paul Smith Props Chargehand - Ian Griffin Dressing Props - Mike Elkins, Paul Barnett Props Driver - Gareth Fox Props Makers - Penny Howarth, Alan Hardy, Jamie Thomas Construction Manager - Terry Horle Construction Chargehand - Dean Tucker Graphics - Peter Anderson Studio Costume department Costume Supervisor - Carly Griffith Assistant Costume Designer - Fraser Purfit Costume Assistants - Katarina Cappellazzi, Gemma Evans	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Artists - Sara Angharad, Vivienne Simpson, Allison Sing Prosthetics - Millennium FX Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Crispin Layfield Casting Casting Associate - Alice Purser General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Nerys Davies Assistant Editor - Becky Trotman On-line Editor - Geraint Pari Huws Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Joel Skinner Colourist - Gareth Spensley Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys Dubbing Mixer - Darran Clement Sound Maintenance Engineer - Ross Adams Dialogue Editor - Paul McFadden Sound Effects Editor - Tom Heuzenroeder Foley Editor - Jamie Talbutt

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.

References

Communication technology

• Kate mentions Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

Game consoles

• The Doctor plays tennis on the Nintendo Wii.

Music

• The song "Merry Xmas Everybody" by the rock band Slade is briefly heard in the hospital.
• One of the cubes plays the infamously irritating Chicken Dance song (aka The Birdie Song), on an endless loop. The Doctor seems annoyed.
• The song "Titanium" plays at the party Amy attends.

Culture

• When Amy calls the Gallifreyan bedtime story about the Shakri weird, the Doctor remarks "You can talk. Wolf in your grandmother's night dress?" in reference to the story Little Red Riding Hood.
• The Doctor tells Amy "Through the looking glass, Pond" in reference to Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
• The Power of Three could be a a veiled reference to the American television series Charmed.

Energy and radiation

• Kate traced Artron energy levels to find the Doctor and then identifies him due to his fashion sense and binary vascular system.

Foods and beverages

• The Doctor states that he invented the Yorkshire Pudding.
• The Doctor, Amy and Rory eat fish custard.

Individuals

• When Brian asks the Doctor what happened to those who previously travelled with him, he tells him that some left him, some got left behind, and some died.
• Amy accidentally marries Henry VIII.
• While playing virtual tennis, the Doctor mentions the tennis player Fred Perry and a pair of shorts he borrowed from him.
• The real physicist Brian Cox plays himself as he is interviewed on the news for an opinion about the cubes.

Species

• There were Zygon duplicates at the Savoy when Amy, the Doctor and Rory visit.

Story notes

File:DWLogoS7 Power of Three.jpg

The unique logo for The Power of Three.

• For this episode, the Doctor Who logo's texture resembled the cubes featured prominently in the episode.
• The working title for this episode was Cubed.

Ratings

• The episode received an overnight viewership of 5.49 million people in the UK.

Filming locations

Belle Vue Park, Albert Road, Penarth (filming took place on June 28 2012)

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.

• In some shots when the cubes are counting down from 7, some cubes are missing the numbers in one shot and then have them in the next.This can be seen at 28:01 when the doctor is in the room with the cube, and when the nurse is removing the cubes from the hospital at around 25:44

Continuity

• Rory's father Brian reappears. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
• The Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory have fish custard. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
• Kate Stewart is the daughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. She previously appeared on-screen in HOMEVID: Downtime and Dæmos Rising, as well as the book, The Scales of Injustice.
• Ten years have passed since the events of The Eleventh Hour in Amy's personal timeline.
• The Doctor, talking to a flying cube, says "Is that all you can do? Hover? I'd a metal dog that could do that" referring to K9 Mark IV. (TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith
• The Doctor once again asks how humans cope with just one heart. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
• Twitter is mentioned again, the Doctor seems similarly unimpressed. (TV: The Girl Who Waited)
• The UNIT base beneath the Tower of London is visited. It was previously mentioned in TV: The Christmas Invasion and The Sontaran Stratagem.
• The Ponds' anniversary takes place. They were married in Leadworth on 26 June 2010. (TV: The Big Bang)
• A voice interface was last seen in TV: Let's Kill Hitler.
• Rory kisses the Doctor on the cheek. The Doctor previously kissed Rory on the mouth in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship.
• The dress and hairstyle of Amy during his visit to the Savoy Hotel is very similar to Tegan Jovanka dress and hairstyle at the party's Shadow. (TV: "Enlightenment")
• Whilst hiding from Henry VIII, the Doctor is holding a Mobile phone charger, which is apparently dropped as he sneezes. (TV: A Town Called Mercy)
• The Doctor mentions that he's run restaurants before, possibly a reference to PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus.
• The Doctor unintentionally reveals his hiding place to Henry VIII by sneezing. In a previous adventure, whilst hiding from another royal, Charles II, he gives away his location by sneezing. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
• The Doctor tells Brian that companions have left him (TV: The Last of the Time Lords et al.), been left behind (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth et al.), and a very few have died (TV: Earthshock et al.).

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

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External links

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Footnotes