The Haunting of Villa Diodati (TV story): Difference between revisions
(→Culture: it refers to the "spark of life" in the book but you'd need to know the context of the era to get what it refers to) |
|||
| Line 73: | Line 73: | ||
=== Culture === | === Culture === | ||
* Graham begins "[[Pride and Prejudice|It is a truth universally acknowledged...]]", but the Doctor interjects "[[Jane Austen|wrong writer]]". | * Graham begins "[[Pride and Prejudice|It is a truth universally acknowledged...]]", but the Doctor interjects "[[Jane Austen|wrong writer]]". | ||
* The Doctor has instructed her friends not to mention ''[[Frankenstein]]'', or otherwise affect its inception. Mary Shelley wonders if [[Lone Cyberman|Ashad]] is a composite of multiple men (like the [[Frankenstein's monster|creature]] in her novel), and refers to his creators as a "Modern [[Prometheus (figure)|Prometheus]]" (the novel's full title is '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''). She watches him recharge via a lightning strike; in the novel, it is implied the monster is brought to life via electricity. | * The Doctor has instructed her friends not to mention ''[[Frankenstein]]'', or otherwise affect its inception. Mary Shelley wonders if [[Lone Cyberman|Ashad]] is a composite of multiple men (like the [[Frankenstein's monster|creature]] in her novel), and refers to his creators as a "Modern [[Prometheus (figure)|Prometheus]]" (the novel's full title is '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''). She watches him recharge via a [[lightning strike]]; in the novel, it is implied the monster is brought to life via electricity. | ||
* Ryan plays "[[Chopsticks (composition)|Chopsticks]]" on the [[piano]]. | * Ryan plays "[[Chopsticks (composition)|Chopsticks]]" on the [[piano]]. | ||
* The | * The Doctor quotes Lord Byron's poem "[[She Walks in Beauty]]". | ||
* Lord Byron believes that the Doctor is after the third stanza of his work ''[[Childe Harold's Pilgrimage]]''. | * Lord Byron believes that the Doctor is after the third [[stanza]] of his work ''[[Childe Harold's Pilgrimage]]''. | ||
* The Lone Cyberman recites Percy Shelley's poem "[[Queen Mab (poem)|Queen Mab]]". | * The Lone Cyberman recites Percy Shelley's poem "[[Queen Mab (poem)|Queen Mab]]". | ||
* The poem read aloud by Byron at the end of the episode is "[[Darkness (poem)|Darkness]]". | * The poem read aloud by Byron at the end of the episode is "[[Darkness (poem)|Darkness]]". | ||
Revision as of 12:37, 17 February 2020
The Haunting of Villa Diodati was the eighth episode of series 12 of Doctor Who.
It offered an alternate account of the conception of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley to that of the audio story Mary's Story featuring the Eighth Doctor.
The episode featured the return of the Cybermen, in their first television appearance since 2017's The Doctor Falls and their first encounter with the Thirteenth Doctor. Specifically, The Haunting of Villa Diodata properly introduced the Lone Cyberman, as well as its motivations, after he had been mentioned by Jack Harkness in Fugitive of the Judoon.
Synopsis
to be added
Plot
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
- Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
- Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
- Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
- Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin - Lili Miller
- Lord Byron - Jacob Collins-Levy
- Claire Clairmont - Nadia Parkes
- Dr John Polidori - Maxim Baldry
- Ashad - Patrick O'Kane
- Percy Bysshe Shelley - Lewis Rainer
- Fletcher - Stefan Bednarczyk
- Elise - Sarah Perles
Crew
to be added
References
Locations
- Villa Diodati is near Lake Geneva.
History
- Graham searches for the lavatory, but finds that they're too early in history to enjoy the invention of toilets.
Culture
- Graham begins "It is a truth universally acknowledged...", but the Doctor interjects "wrong writer".
- The Doctor has instructed her friends not to mention Frankenstein, or otherwise affect its inception. Mary Shelley wonders if Ashad is a composite of multiple men (like the creature in her novel), and refers to his creators as a "Modern Prometheus" (the novel's full title is Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus). She watches him recharge via a lightning strike; in the novel, it is implied the monster is brought to life via electricity.
- Ryan plays "Chopsticks" on the piano.
- The Doctor quotes Lord Byron's poem "She Walks in Beauty".
- Lord Byron believes that the Doctor is after the third stanza of his work Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.
- The Lone Cyberman recites Percy Shelley's poem "Queen Mab".
- The poem read aloud by Byron at the end of the episode is "Darkness".
Food and beverages
to be added
Technology
to be added
Story notes
- The episode had a "cold opening".
- Unusual to a normal set up, this particular episode did feature a cliffhanger but it wasn't set at the end of the episode, instead appearing before Team TARDIS head back to the TARDIS, in the final scenes in Villa Diodati.
- In the real world, the competition to create the best ghost story took place over the course of three days, not one single night.
Ratings
to be added
Filming locations
to be added
Production errors
to be added
Continuity
- In another account, the Eighth Doctor was involved in this night's events. (AUDIO: Mary's Story)
- Mary also travelled with the Eighth Doctor for a time, as his companion. (AUDIO: The Silver Turk, The Witch from the Well, Army of Death)
- In one of their adventures, Mary encountered another lone Cyberman, popularly known as the Silver Turk, in 1873 Vienna. (AUDIO: The Silver Turk)
- In a second account, the Tenth Doctor saved Mary from a bandaged alien during her stay in Switzerland, at least partly inspiring her to write Frankenstein, and certainly leading to the book's ultimate title. (COMIC: The Creative Spark)
- The Shelley Cabal's encounters with the Mal'akh are detailed in PROSE: The Book of the War.
- Although taking on Shelley's name, Mary and Percy are not yet officially married. (AUDIO: Mary's Story)
- The Doctor mentions that she knows Byron's daughter, Ada. (AUDIO: The Enchantress of Numbers, TV: Spyfall)
- Team TARDIS recall Jack's warning about the Lone Cyberman. (TV: Fugitive of the Judoon)
- The Doctor refuses to lose anyone else to Cyber-conversion. (TV: World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls)
- Mary calls the Cyberman a "modern Prometheus"; this would form part of her title for Frankenstein. (COMIC: The Creative Spark et al.)
Home video releases
to be added
External links
- Official The Haunting of Villa Diodati page on the Doctor Who website
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
