The Girl Who Died (TV story): Difference between revisions

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== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Clara is floating in space, calling the TARDIS for a pickup. However, the Doctor is busy trying to resolve a conflict, and is having trouble locking on to her location. Clara then notices that something is in her spacesuit; the Doctor suggests its a brain-eating parasite with an odd name - [[Love Sprite]]. Within moments of it getting too close to Clara's head, the Doctor materialises the TARDIS around him and takes off her helmet. As Clara re-ajusts, the Doctor squashes the creature; he explains that he sent the hostiles far away from their battlefield.
Clara is floating in space, calling the TARDIS for a pickup. However, the Doctor is busy trying to resolve a conflict, and is having trouble locking on to her location. Clara then notices that something is in her spacesuit; the Doctor suggests its a brain-eating parasite with an odd name - [[Love Sprite]]. Within moments of it getting too close to Clara's head, the Doctor materialises the TARDIS around her and takes off her helmet. As Clara re-ajusts, the Doctor squashes the creature; he explains that he sent the hostiles far away from their battlefield.


The Doctor decides to land the TARDIS to check on any damage. However, the moment they land, they are surrounded by vikings. The Doctor pulls out his sonic sunglasses, gloating that he wears the highest technology that the primatives will ever see on his face. A viking takes the glasses and snaps them in two. Seeing that he should have had a backup plan, the Doctor flatly tells Clara that they're going with the vikings.
The Doctor decides to land the TARDIS to check on any damage. However, the moment they land, they are surrounded by vikings. The Doctor pulls out his sonic sunglasses, gloating that he wears the highest technology that the primatives will ever see on his face. A viking takes the glasses and snaps them in two. Seeing that he should have had a backup plan, the Doctor flatly tells Clara that they're going with the vikings.

Revision as of 04:18, 22 November 2015

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The Girl Who Died was the fifth episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It was the 100th story of Doctor Who since its revival in 2005.

The story was notable for revealing the purpose behind the Twelfth Doctor's face. It also revisited the idea of something alien taking over a historic era by impersonating an important figure. The concept was last seen in Robot of Sherwood.

Synopsis

The Doctor and Clara are forced to help protect a Viking village from the Mire, one of the deadliest warrior races in the galaxy. Are they fated to suffer death due to being outnumbered? So what is it about a simple Viking girl that interests the Time Lord?

Plot

Clara is floating in space, calling the TARDIS for a pickup. However, the Doctor is busy trying to resolve a conflict, and is having trouble locking on to her location. Clara then notices that something is in her spacesuit; the Doctor suggests its a brain-eating parasite with an odd name - Love Sprite. Within moments of it getting too close to Clara's head, the Doctor materialises the TARDIS around her and takes off her helmet. As Clara re-ajusts, the Doctor squashes the creature; he explains that he sent the hostiles far away from their battlefield.

The Doctor decides to land the TARDIS to check on any damage. However, the moment they land, they are surrounded by vikings. The Doctor pulls out his sonic sunglasses, gloating that he wears the highest technology that the primatives will ever see on his face. A viking takes the glasses and snaps them in two. Seeing that he should have had a backup plan, the Doctor flatly tells Clara that they're going with the vikings.

The Doctor and Clara are enchained and dragged by the vikings to their village. The leader gifts a girl named Ashildr with the right half of the Doctor's sonic sungalsses; she seems to think its a weird kind of eye patch. Clara wonders if the Doctor has a plan, which he does; freeing himself, the Doctor loudly declares that he's cross with the vikings, tossing his yo-yo upwards. "Surely, you would recognize the sign of Odin." The vikings declare the Doctor is not Odin, to which he begins protesting until the image of a man who looks like Odin appears in the sky; obviously outdone, the Doctor gives up on the ruse.

Odin declares only the best warriors will get to dine with him in Valhalla; at the mention of that mechanical suits appear and begin scanning the townsfolk, rounding up the most fit warriors. Clara tries getting Ashildr to use the sonic sunglasses to open her cuffs, but this alerts the sentries, who teleport both of them and the vikings on-board a ship hidden behind Odin's projection. The Doctor points out that for vikings, they do a very poor job of noticing when they're pillaged.

On board the ship, Clara notices that her cuffs are off and that the warriors are impatient to meet Odin. One tries opening a door in front of them, only to be zapped into dust. Clara and Ashildr manage to open the door, barely escaping the next zap that reduces the other warriors to dust as well. They come face-to-face with "Odin", who Clara knows is an alien; the fake god downs a green vial of liquid made from the warriors' adrenaline and testosterone. Clara attempts a peaceful negotiation, but Ashildr, now knowing her people have been tricked, declares war on the fake Odin. "Odin" welcomes it, sending Clara and Ashildr back; the battle will commence the next day.

The Doctor, reading his 2000 Year Diary, discovers that the species is the Mire, who typically leave others alone if they get what they want; they are a deadly warrior race, like the Sontarans. Clara returns at that moment, explaining Ashildr's blunder. The Doctor tries explaining that the best option for the villagers is to run, but fails due to their pride; he decides instead to teach them basic combat, nicknaming them as he hates to waste time learning names. After seeing Ashildr practice swordplay on a puppet of Odin, the Doctor has a stroke of genius and rounds everyone up - "There is going to be a war: we're going to win the Hell out of it!" With the help of Ashildr and "Lofty" the blacksmith, the Doctor begins setting up a nasty surprise for the Mire.

The next day "Odin" arrives with some of his men, and are lured into a barn. On the Doctor's cue, a bucket of eels is startled; their electric charge is channeled into an anvil in the barn, creating a magnetic effect that lifts the Mire soldiers' helmets off. The Doctor quickly gives it to Ashildr, who uses the visual link to trick them into thinking a puppet of a sea monster is a real one attacking them. Ending the ruse, the Doctor shows "Odin" the recording of this embarassment on Clara's phone; he threatens to upload it to the Galactic Hub (and thus ruin the Mire's reputation) if they don't leave peacefully.

The Mire leave without any further conflict. However, the Doctor discovers that using the Mire helmet has drained Ashildr's heart, leaving her dead. The Doctor is left brooding about the loss, with Clara trying to comfort him, saying he couldn't save her. He snaps back, saying he can do anything, but the Laws of Time prevent him from doing so. Looking at his reflection, the Doctor suddenly remembers back to when he first saw it, wondering once more "who frowned me this face?" It's at that moment that the memory comes back to him; Donna Noble had encouraged him to always try to at least save someone even in a fixed point, and he saved Lobus Caecilius' family from Pompeii's destruction. He tells Clara that he chose this face to remember to always save someone. The Doctor then yells to the sky

☀"And if anyone happens to be listening, and you've got any kind of a problem with that, to hell with you!".

He takes a chip from the helmet and rushes over to Ashildr's corpse. He places on her head and activates it, bringing her back to life; its the medical kit for the Mire soliders. The Doctor gives her father a second chip, telling him its for whoever she wants; he explains to Clara that the kit would likely keeping repairing her, preventing Ashildr from dying. The second chip is to prevent her from being alone for eternity.

Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor is left wondering if he did the right thing; when he's emotional, he makes mistakes. And he sure was emotional just now. Clara assures him everything will be fine, because what he did was born of good intentions.

Ashildr is then seen in a montoge of time passing her by, but with age never affecting her. As the screen pulls in to her face, she is shown to have stopped smiling and is now angry...

Cast

Uncredited

Crew

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.


References

  • The Doctor asks Clara if she can see a nebula.
  • The Vikings wish to die with honour.
  • When asked "what happened," the Doctor refers to the Big Bang, the dinosaurs and bipeds.
  • The Doctor threatens to upload the video of "Odin" to the Galactic Hub.
  • The Doctor references Clarke's Law, which states that "any sufficiently advanced form of technology is indistinguishable from magic."
  • The Doctor refers to web designers.

The Doctor

Individuals

  • Heidi has Haemophobia, which he later "upgrades" to a fear of even the mention of blood.

Species

Technology

Popular culture

  • The Doctor gives a bearded Viking the nickname of "ZZ Top", another "Noggin the Nog", and he names a third after the children's book character "Heidi".
  • Clara adds a piece of music she calls "The Benny Hill Theme" to the video of the Mire's defeat.

Story notes

  • This story features the use of footage from The Fires of Pompeii and Deep Breath when the Twelfth Doctor finally realises where he got his face.
  • This is the 100th story of the BBC Wales era of Doctor Who.
  • This is the third episode in a row in which the Cloister Bell rings, the first time this has happened on the show.
  • The FX shot of Clara floating in space was seen in the "Next Time" trailer at the end of Before the Flood where it was shown in an incomplete state. The shot as seen in the episode itself is complete.
  • Brian Blessed was originally cast as "Odin", but had to drop out due to illness.
  • The Radio Times programme listing was accompanied by a small colour head-and-shoulders shot of Ashildr dressed in armour during the Battle of Agincourt, as seen in flashback during the following episode, The Woman Who Lived, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 8.20 p.m. / Viking girl Ashildr (Maisie Williams) becomes the focus of the Doctor's attention".

Ratings

Filming locations

to be added

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.

to be added

Continuity

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

to be added

External links

Footnotes