The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)

The Idiot's Lantern
Doctor:	Tenth Doctor
Companion(s):	Rose
Main enemy:	The Wire
Main setting:	London, 1953
Key crew
Writer:	Mark Gatiss
Director:	Euros Lyn
Producer:	Phil Collinson
Release details
Story number:	173
Premiere broadcast:	27 May 2006
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x45-minute episode
Production code:	2.7
Confidential:	[[confidential::The Writer's Tale|The Writer's Tale]]
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Age of Steel
Next →	The Impossible Planet
Production order
← Previous	Doomsday
Next →	Fear Her

The Idiot's Lantern was the seventh episode of the second series of Doctor Who. This was one of the earliest instances where the Tenth Doctor displayed a ruthless and overpowering personality when his patience and mercy were pushed to their boundaries.

Tardisode 7 serves as an unusually important prologue, revealing what happened to Grandma Connolly prior to the intervention of the Doctor and Rose.

Synopsis

It is 1953, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II — but there is something hiding in the televisions of the British people. Something hungry...

Plot

Inside the Magpie Electricals shop, the proprietor Mr Magpie realises his business is broke as the television behind him finishes its broadcast for the day. Shortly after, a red lightning bolt hits the antenna over the shop. The television comes alive with the TV announcer's face and calls to the dozing Magpie. Within a few seconds the image on the screen lashes out with an energy beam, absorbing Magpie's face.

The Tenth Doctor and Rose land in Muswell Hill, London, in 1953, yet expecting to be in New York. Dressed in an Elvis Presley mode, they expect to attend a performance of the Ed Sullivan Show. However, the different skyline, a red double-decker bus, and a Union Flag tell them that, actually, they are in northern London on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

The Doctor and Rose drop in on the Connollys.

By chance, the Doctor witnesses a person covered in a blanket being abducted by men in black. The Doctor and Rose hop on a scooter and race after the car. The car passes through a gated doorway which slams shut and a market stall moves in front of the gate, making it look like a dead end. The Doctor and Rose arrive shortly after, mystified by the car's disappearance. They decide to investigate: posing as royal inspectors, with the help of the Doctor's psychic paper, they arrive at the home of the Connollys, where Mr Connolly has bullied his family into ignoring Gran after her face was stolen. The Doctor convinces Rita Connolly to bring him to Gran. As the Doctor examines Gran, two men burst into the house, knock out the Doctor and hustle Gran away. The Doctor gives chase, but Rose stays behind. She notices the television set is giving off electrical sparks. Later at the dump site, the Doctor finds people whose faces have been stolen locked in a cage. As they begin to surround him, the investigators shine a light into the cage.

Rose reads the name on the television's tag: Magpie. She heads for the television shop where Mr Magpie, who seems to be extremely stressed, tries to get her out the door before the Wire is alerted to her presence. Rose insists on asking Magpie about the televisions he's selling. The announcer appears on one of the TV screens, looking to Rose like a broadcast was being played, but the image declares it is sentient by telling Rose its name is the Wire — and it's hungry. The Wire begins sucking Rose's brainwaves and face into its television as Rose desperately pleads for help. Magpie only apologises, claiming Rose brought it upon herself.

A faceless Rose.

Detective Inspector Bishop begins to interrogate the Doctor, but the tables are turned as the Doctor asks him questions he can't answer. He convinces the DI that he can help. As Bishop begins to share information, an agent brings in another victim, much to the Doctor's horror: Rose. They return to Florizel Street. The Doctor and Bishop ask Tommy what happened with Gran the night her face was stolen; she was watching television.

The three head to Magpie's shop, but Magpie is gone. The Doctor discovers a handheld portable TV, which should not exist yet on Earth. He also discovers the televisions in the shop are holding the people's missing faces. On one of the screens is Rose's face, calling over and over for the Doctor. Magpie enters, and the Doctor demands to know who is really in charge. The Wire appears, briefly turning the black-and-white television to colour, telling the Doctor that it was executed by its own people, but fled to Earth, where there is enough mental energy for it to reconstitute its physical form. The Doctor wonders when this will be and the Wire cryptically says her "crowning achievement", causing Bishop to realise that it plans to feed while people watch the coronation. The Wire then begins to feed on Bishop, the Doctor and Tommy Connolly. However, the Doctor is able to stop the Wire by brandishing the higher alien technology: his sonic screwdriver. Realising the Doctor is an off-worlder as it is, the Wire stops its feeding after completely draining Bishop, but not the Doctor and Tommy.

The Wire begins to feast.

The Wire transfers itself into the portable TV and orders Magpie to take it to Alexandra Palace. Magpie climbs the antenna and plugs the TV into the tower. It begins to suck the energy from the coronation viewers. The Doctor comes to, and with Tommy's assistance quickly assembles a device. They race to the TARDIS to pick up one more part then run to the Palace's broadcast centre. The Doctor orders Tommy to keep the device he's plugged in to the broadcasting system operating no matter what. Grabbing a spool of wire, he heads for the top and begins to climb the tower. Magpie is at the top, begging the Wire to stop the pain in his head, as it promised him peace after its physical reconstitution. Complying with Magpie's wish for peace, the Wire incinerates him with a bolt of electricity.

The Doctor reaches the Wire, grabbing the portable television, and tells the Wire that it wasn't smart to take a shot at Magpie, as it has overexerted itself. The Wire tries to fry the Doctor using the tower as a conductor, but the soles of the Doctor's shoes are rubber, keeping him safe. The Doctor attaches the wire he's been trailing to the portable, but a fuse shorts and the machine Tommy is keeping an eye on stops. The Wire taunts the Doctor, for now it will be able to live again. Tommy quickly changes the fuse and the machine operates again. Screaming in horror, the Wire is transferred from the portable into a Betamax cassette the Doctor built with parts from the TV shop. The Doctor jokes he made the home video over 30 years earlier than it should have been. Elsewhere, all of the Wire's victims have regained their faces and minds and are released from holding.

Rita throws Eddie out.

The Doctor reunites with Rose on Tommy's street, which is now throwing a party to celebrate the coronation. Rose asks the Doctor what he'll do with the Wire trapped in the tape. The Doctor explains that he'll use his unrivalled knowledge of transtemporal extirpation methods to neutralise the residual electronic pattern. Confused as to what the Doctor means, Rose asks him to dumb it down. "I'm gonna tape over it," the Doctor explains. As a gift for helping him, the Doctor gives Tommy the keys to his scooter, telling him to wait until he's old enough to drive. At the same time, Mr Connolly is being kicked out by his wife for only thinking about his family's status over their well being. Tommy is glad that his father is going, but Rose tells him even an idiot like Mr Connolly deserves a second chance. Tommy runs off to talk to his father. The Doctor and Rose toast with orange juice and enjoy the party.

Cast

• The Doctor - David Tennant
• Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
• The Wire - Maureen Lipman
• Magpie - Ron Cook
• Eddie Connolly - Jamie Foreman
• Rita Connolly - Debra Gillett
• Tommy Connolly - Rory Jennings
• Grandma Connolly - Margaret John
• Detective Inspector Bishop - Sam Cox
• Crabtree - Ieuan Rhys
• Aunty Betty - Jean Challis
• Security Guard - Christopher Driscoll
• Mrs Gallagher - Marie Lewis

Crew

Executive Producers   Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner

Written by Mark Gatiss	Produced by Phil Collinson	Directed by Euros Lyn	Director of Photography Rory Taylor	Production Designer Edward Thomas	Visual Effects The Mill
Make-up Designer Sheelagh Wells	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Murray Gold	Costume Designer Louise Page	Edited by Crispin Green	Special Effects Any Effects
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  With thanks to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales

General production staff Production Manager - Marcus Prince Location Manager - Gareth Lloyd Unit Manager - Rhys Griffiths Production Co-ordinator - Jess van Niekerk Production/Script Secretary - Claire Roberts Production Runner - Sarah Davies Production Accountant - Endaf Emyr Williams A/Production Accountants - Debi Griffiths, Kath Blackman Script department Script Editor - Simon Winstone Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Peter Bennett 2nd Assistant Director - Steffan Morris 3rd Assistant Director - Lynsey Muir Continuity - Non Eleri Hughes Focus Puller - Steve Rees Grip - John Robinson Boom Operator - Jeff Welch Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Peter Chester	Art department Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicholas Art Department Production Manager - Jonathan Marquand Allison Production Buyer - Joelle Rumbelow Set Decorator - David Morison A/Supervising Art Director - James North Storyboard Artist - Shaun Williams Design Assistants - Al Roberts, Peter McKinstry Standby Props - Phil Shellard, Matthew North Standby Art Director - Lee Gammon Property Master - Adrian Anscombe Assistant Props Master - Paul Aitken Props Chargehand - Phil Lyons Props Storeman - Stuart Wooddisse Specialist Prop Maker - Mark Cordory Props Maker - Penny Howarth Construction Manager - Matthew Hywel-Davies Construction Chargehand - Allen Jones Graphics - BBC Wales Graphics Costume department Costume Supervisor - Anna Lau Costume Assistants - Lindsay Bonaccorsi, Kirsty Wilkinson	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Artists - Anwen Davies, Steve Smith, Moira Thomson Prosthetics - Millennium Effects Prosthetics Designer - Neill Gorton Prosthetics Supervisor - Rob Mayor Prosthetics Technicians - Jo Glover, Martin Rezard Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Dave Forman Stunt Performers - Gordon Seed, Steve Griffin, Rocky Taylor, Ray De-Haan, Sarah Franzl Casting Casting Associate - Andy Brierley General post-production staff Post-production Supervisors - Chris Blatchford, Samantha Hall Post-production Co-ordinator - Marie Brown Assistant Editor - Ceres Doyle On-line Editor - Matthew Clarke Special and visual effects Visual Effects Co-ordinator - Kim Phelan SFX Co-ordinator - Ben Ashmore SFX Supervisor - Paul Kelly SFX Technicians - Danny Hargreaves, Richard Magrin 3D Artists - Serena Cacciato, Nick Webber, Chris Tucker, Chris Petts 2D Artists - Bronwyn Edwards, Simon Holden, Joseph Courtis, Sara Bennett, Michael Harrison, Russell Horth, Sandra Roach, Melissa Butler-Adams Colourist - Mick Vincent Digital Matte Painter - Ilyas Kaduji Sound Sound Recordist - Simon Fraser Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts Sound Effects Editor - Paul Jefferies Sound Editors - Paul McFadden, Doug Sinclair

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

Events

• The Doctor and Rose try to arrive in 1956 to see Elvis Presley's performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in New York City, but arrive mistakenly in London, three years earlier. The Doctor also says it's best to see Elvis in the late 50's, "before burgers". This is a nod to Elvis's rapid weight gain in his later life.

Torchwood

• Torchwood is mentioned by the police officer.

Real world

• Magpie was watching an episode of What's My Line?
• Rose mentions how she and her mum would watch Cliff Richard movies every Bank holiday.
• The Doctor describes the policemen as Men in Black.
• The Doctor identifies the portable television as a Bakelite.
• The Doctor mentions Kylie.

Technology

• The Wire is trapped on a Betamax.

Foods and beverages

• Grandma Connolly mentions how television turns your brain to soup.
• A poster of HP sauces can be seen in the background.
• The Doctor mentions burgers.

Locations

• The Doctor compares Churchill's England to Stalin's Russia.
• The Connolly's live on Florizel Street, a working title for the ITV programme Coronation Street.
• Rose was found near Damascus Street.
• Magpie's shop is located in Muswell Hill.

Individuals

• Eddie Connolly fought against fascism.
• The Doctor uses his psychic paper to hurriedly convince a broadcast guard he is the King of Belgium.
• The Bell family were neighbours of the Connollys who had bought a television.

Minerals

• The Doctor says the portable television tastes like iron.

Story notes

• This story had working titles of Mr Sandman, Sonic Doom, and The One-Eyed Monster.
• The Idiot's Lantern was originally to have been the ninth episode of Series 2.
• Originally, the Doctor was supposed to have a line about having trouble with radio transmitters, which was supposed to be a reference to TV: Logopolis, where the Fourth Doctor fell from the Pharos Project transmitter to his death.
• The Doctor quotes Kylie Minogue's song "Never Too Late." Minogue would later appear as a guest star in the episode Voyage of the Damned, playing Astrid Peth.
• All the television aerials seem to resemble Nazi swastikas. On the DVD commentary, one of the set designers mentions that this was done to evoke the post-war era.
• Magpie Electricals apparently continues to exist beyond the death of Mr. Magpie; Martha Jones had a Magpie brand television in TV: The Sound of Drums, and a Magpie brand microphone can be seen in Voyage of the Damned. The new TARDIS interior, after it repaired itself following the events of TV: The End of Time, has some parts made by Magpie Electricals. Magpie apparently continues to thrive into the future, as a large sign with the company's logo can be seen aboard Starship UK in TV: The Beast Below.
• The Wire's line, "Are you sitting comfortably? Then let's begin," is a line made famous by Daphne Oxenford in the program Listen With Mother.
• The Wire's repeated demand, "Feed me!", is reminiscent of a similar demand made, to comic effect, by the killer plant Audrey II in the classic horror-comedy film (and later musical) The Little Shop of Horrors. When the faces are shown on the screens in the TVs, it is also similar in the original film when Audrey II finally bloomed showing the faces of all its victims.

Ratings

• Overnight viewing figures for the initial broadcast of this episode were 6.32 million, peaking at 7.78 million, an audience share of 32.2%.
• The final rating was 6.76 million, making it the most watched programme of the day.

Myths

• This episode is frequently mistakenly cited as taking place in 1952, the year Elizabeth ascended to the throne upon the death of her father; her official coronation ceremony, however, did not occur until nearly 18 months later, in June 1953. (In addition, the episode itself states that it is 1953.)
• It is often erroneously claimed that footage of Rose calling out from the TV set was recycled for her brief cameos in the Season 4 episodes The Poison Sky and Midnight.

Filming locations

• Alexandra Palace, Wood Green, London
• Florentia Street in Cathays, Cardiff
• Blenheim Road in Pen-y-lan, Cardiff
• Cardiff Royal Infirmary
• Veritair Limited tarmac at the Cardiff Heliport on Cardiff Bay

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.

• David Tennant mentioned on the DVD commentary that he accidentally hit the button on the sonic screwdriver prop while putting it into his pocket, causing the light to flicker on and "sonic-ing" himself. This error is clearly visible on the episode itself.
• The episode's last scene in Magpie Electricals ends with the Doctor exiting the shop and looking towards Alexandra Palace. It was achieved by dropping in a matte painting of Ally Pally on a hill into a location foreground actually filmed in Cardiff. According to David Tennant on the DVD commentary for the episode, however, the composition of the shot violates the narrative of the story. Magpie is said to be in Muswell Hill, but in order to have that particular view of Ally Pally, one would actually have to be filming from the vantage point of Crouch End. Whether this is a production error or not depends on one's point of view. To those unfamiliar with London, there's nothing wrong with the technical set-up or execution of the scene. But given the episode's otherwise meticulous attempts to capture the reality of a particular moment in history, it is a glaring error to anyone who knows London.
• When the Doctor is climbing the transmitter, there's a moment where David Tennant's right foot disappears completely due to a compositing error.
• At the beginning of the episode when the Doctor and Rose are on the mopeds with helmets and sunglasses, the camera crew are reflected in them. A similar issue happens with the Eleventh Doctor on a motorbike in TV: The Bells of Saint John.

Continuity

• The scene where the Doctor flips his interrogation with Detective Inspector Bishop is similar to the scene with the Seventh Doctor and the Chief Caretaker in TV: Paradise Towers.
• This is the second time in recent memory the Doctor has tried to take Rose to a rock concert in the past, only to get the time and/or place wrong. (TV: Tooth and Claw)
• There is a similar scene where people's faces are shown on screens (computer screens rather than TV screens) in TV: The Bells of Saint John.

Home video releases

Series 2 Volume 3 DVD Cover

• This story was released on a vanilla DVD with Rise of the Cybermen and The Age of Steel.
• It was also released as part of the Series 2 DVD box set.

External links

• Official BBC Website - Episode Guide for The Idiot's Lantern
• The Idiot's Lantern at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Discontinuity Guide to: The Idiot's Lantern at The Whoniverse
• The Idiot's Lantern at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
• The Idiot's Lantern at The Locations Guide