Survivors of the Flux (TV story)

Survivors of the Flux
Doctor:	Thirteenth Doctor
Companion(s):	Yaz, Dan
Featuring:	Vinder, Bel, Azure, Swarm, Karvanista, Jericho, Kate, Williamson, Diane
Main enemy:	Awsok, the Grand Serpent
Main setting:	Division ship outpost, outside of N-Space and 1904 on Earth
Key crew
Writer:	Chris Chibnall
Director:	Azhur Saleem
Producer:	Pete Levy
Release details
Story number:	297e
Premiere broadcast:	28 November 2021
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x50 minute episode; Part 5 of 6
Official trailer
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Doctor Who television stories
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Survivors of the Flux, prefixed in the title sequence with Chapter Five and in other sources with Flux, was the fifth episode of series 13 of Doctor Who. It formed the fifth chapter of the six-part serial Doctor Who: Flux.

The episode established Awsok as another incarnation of the Shobogan Time Lord Tecteun, whilst revealing the space station she was found on to be the remains of the Division with an Ood as her servant.

It further revealed the space station to be a Multiversal "Division" point in the Void between what she labelled Universe One and Universe Two, revealing that with the Flux destroying "One", all that is left is moving into "Two".

Synopsis

As the forces of evil mass, the Doctor, Yaz and Dan face perilous journeys and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their quest for survival.

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
• Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
• Dan Lewis - John Bishop
• Professor Jericho - Kevin McNally
• Tecteun - Barbara Flynn
• Prentis/Grand Serpent - Craig Parkinson
• Farquhar - Robert Bathurst
• Karvanista - Craige Els
• Bel - Thaddea Graham
• Vinder - Jacob Anderson
• Swarm - Sam Spruell
• Azure - Rochenda Sandall
• Diane - Nadia Albina
• Millington - Nicholas Blane
• Williamson - Steve Oram
• Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
• Sontaran Commander Stenck - Jonathan Watson
• Weeping Angels - Barbara Fadden, Isla Moody, Lowri Brown
• Ood - Simon Carew
• Voice of Ood - Silas Carson
• Waiter - Guy List
• Passenger - Jonny Mathers
• Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart - Nicholas Courtney
• Kumar - Kammy Darweish
• Alfie - George Caple

Crew

Executive Producers   Matt Strevens and Chris Chibnall

Co-executive producer   Nikki Wilson

Written by Chris Chibnall	Produced by Pete Levy	Directed by Azhur Saleem	Director of Photography Phil Wood	Production Designer Dafydd Shurmer	Visual Effects DNEG
Make-up Designer Claire Pritchard-Jones	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Segun Akinola	Costume Design & Creature Design Ray Holman	Edited by Cat Gregory	Special Effects Real SFX
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  Title sequence by Ben Pickles  Music orchestrated & conducted by Alec Roberts  •  Recorded by Jeremy Murphy  •  Mixed by Goetz Botzenhardt   Ood created by Russell T Davies  •  Sontarans created by Robert Holmes  •  Weeping Angel created by Steven Moffat

General production staff Head of Production - Jacquie Glanville Executive Producer for the BBC - Ben Irving Production Executive - Tracie Simpson Line Producer - Steffan Morris Associate Producer - Sheena Bucktowonsing Production Manager - Delmi Thomas Supervising Location Manager - Iwan Roberts Location Manager - Gareth Roberts Unit Manager - Kyle Yates Production Co-ordinator - Sandra Cosfeld Assistant Production Co-ordinators - Jade Stephenson, Ellie Simmons Production Secretary - Sam Milletti Executive Assistant - Caroline Cook Production Office Runners - Ellie Hilton, Chris Reynolds Unit Drivers - Paul Watkins, Jolyon Davey, Steve Darwent Unit Medics - Glyn Evans, Andy Jones Business Affairs - Elaine Evans, Kyle Parsons, Steve Robson Production Accountant - Rhys Evans Assistant Accountants - Kate Barber-Williams, Kim Dyer Cast Payroll Accountant - Helen Searle Contracts Booker - Leanne Bowcott Crew Payroll Accountant - Bethan Wray Covid Assistants - Joseph Fletcher, Jonny Tarr Covid Testing Schedulers - Etty Stanley, Leila Arada Script department Script Editors - Caroline Buckley, Rebecca Roughan Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Charles Curran 2nd Assistant Director - Lauren Pate 3rd Assistant Director - Jennifer Day Assistant Directors - Jac Lewis, Laura Thompson, Tom May Script Supervisor - Nicki Coles Camera Operator - Mark McQuoid ACO Camera Trainees - Adam Clewes, Olga Walus Focus Pullers - Jonathan Vidgen, Matt Hillier Key Grip - John Robinson Assistant Grips - Matt Clark, Marc Marshall Camera Assistants - Dan Patounas, Nic Yates, Evangeline Davies Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Rigging Gaffer - Andy Gardiner Best Boy - Gareth Sheldon Electricians - Gawain Nash, Stuart Gale, Matthew Hutchings, Rhodri Moses, Owen Hashimi	Art department Supervising Art Director - Ifan Lewis Construction Art Director - Julia Jones Art Department Assistants - Laura Honeybun, Megan Depledge Art Department Co-ordinator - Hannah Miller Production Buyer - Billie Blue Williams Petty Cash Buyer - Sally Sharp Set Decorator - Chris House Action Props Buyer - Milannah Faith Summers Concept Artist - Louis Knight Graphic Designer - Stephen Fielding Trainee Graphic Designer - Lois Drage Standby Props - Matthew Ireland, Lewis Reece Standby Carpenter - Colm Garrett Prop Hands - Dewi Thomas, John Thomas, Liv Cheung, Tom Major Rigging - Shadow Scaffolding Standby Rigger - Alex Herbert Scenic Painters - Rachel Willsher, Alex Morgan, Ana Marlene Ribeiro HOD Painter - Scenic Steve Painters - Mark Reece, Alison Drane Storeman - Lucy Hookings Prop Master - Paul Aitken Props Chargehand - Trystan Howell Props Driver - Paul Carmichael Construction Manager - David Hobbs Construction Assistant - Matthew Pike Workshop Manager - Mark Hill Workshop Assistant - Chris Slocombe Construction Chargehands - Dean Tucker, Jonathan Tylke Construction Driver - Darren Bousie CNC Programmer - Kristian Tucker Plasterer - Jason Tylke Practical Electricians - Rob Hearne, Matthew Dunford Draughtspersons - Lauren Harper, James Dyer Trainee Draughtsperson - Rachel Ellis Carpenters - Chris Daniels, Campbell Fraser, Matt Gronow, Charlie Wright, Marcus Scholl, Ben McDonald, Dafydd Llewelyn Jones, Mike Venables, Gemma Spence, Simon Pothecary, David Warner Costume department Costume Supervisor - Grace Brooks Assistant Costume Designer - Simon Marks Costume Cutter/Maker - Brighde Penn Creature Costume Maker - Robert Allsopp & Associates Costume Assistants - Ian Fowler, Jenny Tindle Costume Trainee - Yiwen Lin	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Emma Cowen Make-up Artists - Amy Riley, Angharad Walsh Junior Make-up Artist - India Jones Prosthetics Trainee - Nyle Pritchard-Trew Prosthetics Designer - Danny Marie Elias Prosthetics Artist - Amy Paul Junior Prosthetics Artists - Elly Suggit, Ashley Lovett Movement Stunt Co-ordinators - Crispin Layfield, Belinda McGinley Stunt Performers - Guy List, Matt Hermiston, Paul Ginns, Rob Jarman Casting Casting Associate - Ri McDaid-Wren Casting Assistant - Ray Böhm General post-production staff Post-production Producer - Ceres Doyle Post-production Supervisor - Liv Duffin Assistant Editors - Brooke Taylor Michael, Joseph Keirle On-line Editors - Christine Kelly, Luke Stanbury Special and visual effects Additional VFX - BBC Wales Graphics, Zodiak VFX, The 2D Workshop, Ben Pickles VFX Editor - Emily Lawrence Assistant VFX Editor - Alastair Gray Colourist - Gareth Spensley Head Model Maker - Lee Radford Model Makers - Penny Howarth, Lee Price Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys AMPS Dubbing Mixers - Natasha Haycocks, Howard Bargroff Sound Maintenance Engineers - Christopher Goding, Joe Malone Sound Designer - Harry Barnes Dialogue Editor - Darran Clement ADR Editor - Matthew Cox Foley - Bang Post Production

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

UNIT

• UNIT is established at some point between 1958, when Farquhar and Prentis discuss it, and 1966, when WOTAN attacked London with the War Machines.
• Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is a newly-recruited corporal in 1967.
• Kate attempts to contact Osgood.

Locations

• According to the map, Yaz, Dan and Jericho travelled past River Ganges, across the Bay of Bengal, through a bay between Sumatra and Siam, past Borneo and the Gulf of Siam, through the China Sea and past Formosa on their way from Nepal to the Great Wall of China.
• Tehraun, Persia, Persian Gulf, Bombay, Hindoostan, Calcutta, Arabian Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb, Maldives, Cape Comorin, Ceylon, Madras, Birmah, China, Canton, Java, Luzon, Philippine Islands, Mindanao and Gilolo can also be seen on the map.

Story notes

• This is the only story in series 13 not to have a cold opening; all that came before the title sequence is the "Previously" sequence.
• This story references the real world release date of the subsequent episode, mirroring how The Halloween Apocolypse also referenced and was released on Halloween.
• Nicholas Courtney's audio clip was taken from the Third Doctor serial Terror of the Autons.
  • This is his first credit on "main" televised Doctor Who since the 1989 story Battlefield. He had since appeared in the 1993 story Dimensions in Time and the The Sarah Jane Adventures story Enemy of the Bane in 2008.
• In this story Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is referenced to in dialogue to be a corporal in 1967 in his earliest days in UNIT.
  • This seem to be in contradiction to all previous established Doctor Who lore, which would put him as a colonel already by a time before he joins the organisation, as seen in his first appearance in 1968 Second Doctor story The Web of Fear with him already promoted to brigadier in same-era story The Invasion.

Ratings

• Overnight: 3.82 million
• Consolidated: 4.72 million

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.

• In a close-up shot in the first pyramid scene, Yaz is looking at the Professor whilst talking to him; however, in the next shot, she is seen looking away from him, her head and eyes in a different position.

Continuity

• Yaz, Dan and Jericho have been in the 1900s for three years. (TV: Village of the Angels)
• UNIT has been in the works since 1958 and are embarrassed to have missed the invasion of the War Machines. (TV: The War Machines)
  • Whilst various spin-off media has delved into UNIT's history, this is the first televised story to give an origin for the group, who first appear in The Invasion as an already existing "independent intelligence group".
• UNIT found the Doctor's TARDIS in Medderton after the residents all disappeared. (TV: Village of the Angels)
• In her pre-recorded message to Yaz, the Doctor mentions they just left the planet Time and hears Yaz calling her from the TARDIS control room. (TV: Once, Upon Time)
• The Doctor asks Tecteun if what the Spy Master told her was true, which Tecteun confirms. (TV: The Timeless Children)
• Tecteun reveals she and members within Division caused the Flux to occur and notes that the Doctor launching her TARDIS and its heart into the event is what prevented it destroying the entire universe. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse)
• Tecteun shows the Doctor that she has captured the Weeping Angel whom possessed Claire, (TV: Village of the Angels) and has also retrieved the Doctor's memories from her Division incarnation contained within it. (TV: The Timeless Children, Once, Upon Time)
• The Doctor's lost memories are contained within a biodata module shaped like a fob watch. (TV: Human Nature) When near it, the voices of her lost incarnations are heard calling towards her. (TV: The Family of Blood, Utopia) It is also revealed this fob watch is what causes the Doctor to experience visions of a desolate house. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse)
• Tecteun recalls how she found the Doctor as a child underneath a wormhole and how she experimented on her to discover regeneration. (TV: The Timeless Children) She also dismisses the Doctor's efforts to scold her, noting that taking the Doctor and leaving her when her usefulness ran out is similar to how the Doctor treats her companions. Davros and the Dream Lord made similar comments to the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors respectively. (TV: Journey's End, Amy's Choice)
• Division uses a ship to exist within the Void. The Cult of Skaro previously did similar. (TV: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday)
• UNIT's funding is cut in the 2010s. (TV: Resolution)
• Yaz and Dan recall their previous brief encounters with Williamson. (TV: War of the Sontarans, Once, Upon Time)
• Kate Stewart mentions being the head of UNIT. (TV: The Power of Three, The Day of the Doctor)
• Karvanista and the Lupari are still protecting Earth from the Flux event. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse)
• Bel is still using a stolen Lupari ship. (TV: Once, Upon Time)
• Diane is still trapped within a Passenger. (TV: Once, Upon Time)
• The Sontarans return to once again invade Earth, seeking revenge for their loss in an alternate timeline. (TV: War of the Sontarans)
• Swarm builds a psycho-temporal bridge to the Doctor using the Time Force harvested from the Temple of Atropos and the spatial energy harvested from the lifeforms trapped within the Ravagers' Passengers in conjunction with the psychic link between Swarm and the Doctor. He and Azure use the bridge to reach the Division ship outpost. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse, Once, Upon Time, Village of the Angels)

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

to be added

Digital releases

to be added

External links

• Official Survivors of the Flux page on the Doctor Who website