The Pandorica Opens (TV story)

The Pandorica Opens
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy Pond River Song (guest)
Main enemy:	TBC
Main setting:	Stonehenge, Earth, and various other places
Key crew
Writer:	Steven Moffat
Director:	Toby Haynes
Release details
Story number:	212a
Release number:	Series 5
Premiere broadcast:	19th June 2010
Format:	1 x 45 minute episode
Production code:	1.12

The Pandorica Opens will be the twelfth episode, and first in a dramatic two-part story of Series 5.

Synopsis

A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years, communicating a disturbing prophecy to the Doctor, “There was a Goblin. Or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. Nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it – one day it would just drop out of sky and tear down your world.”, and a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years. In 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge conceals the Pandorica, a prison-box of legend, which is said to contain the most feared being in all the cosmos! As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens above. The fates are drawing close around the TARDIS – is this the day the Doctor falls? But there is just one certainty: Silence will fall...

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
• River Song - Alex Kingston
• Dorium - Simon Fisher-Becker
• TBA - Philip Madoc
• Claudio - Marcus O'Donovan
• Amy's mother - Karen Westwood
• Daleks/Cybermen/Judoon (TBC) (voice) - Nicholas Briggs
• Commander Strak - Christopher Ryan
• Young Amelia Pond - Caitlin Blackwood

Production Crew

to be added

References

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Story notes

• The episode was incorrectly entitled Silver Sentence.
• Young Amelia Pond will reappear, played by actress Caitlin Blackwood.
• Many old enemies have been confirmed to appear in the second half of the finale, although not necessarily in the first half. Whether they're to play an enemy part is still to be confirmed. The list of enemies include the Daleks, Cybermen, the Sontarans, the Judoon, the Hoix, the Weevils, the Uvodni, the Sycorax, the Silurians, the Autons, the Roboform and the Blowfish.
• An alleged leaked Radio Times episode guide for episodes 12 and 13 includes the quote, "There was a goblin. Or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. Nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it -- one day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world." This was actually published in the Radio Times in an issue released on March 29th 2010.
• At least part of the story takes place at Stonehenge in Roman Britain in 102 AD, where the Pandorica, a "prison-box of legend", is hidden.
• Cleopatra will appear.
• Clips from the Trailers show the following:

Either from The Pandorica Opens or The Big Bang

1. The Doctor, Amy and River Song running towards Stonehenge, where the Doctor uses the Sonic Screwdriver to scan something in the air.
2. The Doctor, Amy, and River Song entering what might be a cave or temple while holding flaming torches.
3. Amy fending off a damaged Cyberman with a flaming torch.
4. The Doctor and Amy back to back in front of some strange monument.
5. A damaged Cyberman picking up a decapitated Cyber helmet.
6. Roman soldiers seeing something strange above them.
7. River Song saying, "You can't win this! You can't even fight it!"
8. Amy being tied down and dragged somewhere by an anonymous enemy.
9. Amy narrowly avoiding being stabbed by a sword breaking through a barrier.
10. The Doctor holding Amy's hand as if he was escorting her out of the TARDIS.
11. The Doctor giving a cheerful thumbs up to Amy, to which she gives one back with a confused face.
12. Dozens of Cybermen standing waiting for something.
13. The Doctor looking upwards at some sort of light shining down on him while surronded by Roman soldiers.
14. The Doctor, Amy and River riding on horses in the countryside which is thought to be near Stonehenge.

Ratings

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Rumours

• The Original Cybermen will return.
• Omega will return.
• Some fans believed that the episode would take place in the Death Zone and Dark Tower on Gallifrey, both because the presence of multitudes of enemies is reminiscent of DW: The Five Doctors and because some leaked productions photos looked reminiscent of the Death Zone. Since those photos later turned out to be of the Pandorica buried beneath Stonehenge, this rumour has become less plausible.
• The Pandorica is a prison, possibly an ancient and secret Time Lord prison, holding a prisoner or prisoners too dangerous to be kept anywhere else. Numerous spoilers have hinted at or outright stated different parts of this over the months. A BBC press release said that the Pandorica "is said to contain the most feared being in all the cosmos", which seems to confirm at least part of it (although given the wording, it may be a rumour within the Whoniverse, as well as in fandom).
• Rory Williams may appear, after being dead and erased from time by the Time Field since DW: Cold Blood. Some fans have taken the fact that Arthur Darvill will be appearing in a Q&A panel after a BAFTA preview screening as evidence that he's in the episode. However, so far, the only photos showing Rory are from the following episode.
• The "love story" mentioned could be Mark Antony and Cleopatra (as their love story is one of the most famous things about Cleopatra), Amy and Rory (as he died, but they were always meant to be together), or River Song and the Doctor (we may find more about their relationship and her role in the Whoniverse).
• The Van Gogh Painting that communicates a disturbing prophecy for the Doctor could chain to the events of DW: Vincent and the Doctor.
• The story will feature River Song's first meeting with the Doctor in her personal timeline.
• There is a persistent fan rumour that the Pandorica is related to Pandora's box, due to the similarity in names, and the fact that both "open", and to spoilers referring to it as being a prison holding something evil within it.
• Fans theorize that in part 1 or 2, the TARDIS will be destroyed, causing an explosion equal to the big bang that will crack all of time and space and bring silence, scattering the TARDIS remains. This rumour has become more prevalent after the Doctor found a shard of the TARDIS door sign inside a crack in DW: Cold Blood.
• Many of the confirmed enemies appearing (Daleks, Silurians, Weevils, etc.) will all gather at Stonehenge and/or the "Pandorica Chamber" hidden beneath it.
• Three new enemies, the Ha'rik, the Timoreen and the Skarkish have been confirmed to appear in Series 5 and have yet to (although there are also rumours that Ha'rik is the personal name of the Eknodine inside Mrs Poggit). As there are only three stories in Series 5 left, this could mean at least one new enemy will appear in the finale. Or the Timoreen might appear as a (sort of) old enemy, since their name is reminiscent of a Raxacoricofallapatorian surname.
• Previous companions will return. A press release begins "The Doctor's friends unite to send him a terrible warning", and this might seem a little overdramatic if it were only meant to be River, who apparently hasn't even met him yet during the episode, and Rory. Amy is already with him, and doesn't know of the Pandorica. It is possible that the friends a some characters seen throughout this series, as no former friends were seen on set at all during fiming. It could be something to do with the Van Gogh painting.

Filming locations

to be added

Production errors

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Continuity

• The Van Gough painting would return as it had something to do with these events (DW: Vincent and the Doctor)

Home video releases

BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Four will feature The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. It will be released on Monday 6th September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-Ray.

See also

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External links

to be added