Thin Ice (TV story)

Thin Ice
Doctor:	Twelfth Doctor
Companion(s):	Bill
Featuring:	Nardole
Main enemy:	Sutcliffe
Main setting:	London, 1814
Key crew
Writer:	Sarah Dollard
Director:	Bill Anderson
Producer:	Nikki Wilson
Release details
Story number:	267
Premiere broadcast:	29 April 2017
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x45 minute episode
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Doctor Who television stories
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Thin Ice was the third episode of series 10 of Doctor Who. It was written by Sarah Dollard, directed by Bill Anderson and featured Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts.

The events of this story follow on directly from Smile, with the TARDIS arriving in London just moments after the Doctor and Bill left the human colony planet.

Bill repeats many of the concerns that Martha Jones expressed in TV: The Shakespeare Code word for word, such as the fact that she has arrived in a time period when black people were still enslaved and treated poorly. Unlike Martha in that episode, Bill experiences racism from Lord Sutcliffe. Bill also initially thinks that time travel worked like the movie The Butterfly Effect, where she could erase herself from existence by the smallest change to history.

The Doctor did not run into his previous incarnation, who had brought their wife River Song to the last Frost Fair to hear Stevie Wonder sing for her birthday, as was revealed in A Good Man Goes to War.

It is also the first episode since 2006's New Earth that a character has almost said a strong swear word, only for the scene to change.

The Doctor's morality and ability to be indifferent towards people dying is also brought up again. As the Doctor goes on to explain, he has to put his outrage aside and keep a cool head to prevent even more losses. He is also shown not to tolerate racism, as he punches out Lord Sutcliffe for insulting Bill.

As was the case in Cold Blood and Kill the Moon, the Doctor shows a refusal to do anything that could drastically alter the history of Earth on his own. Instead, he makes his companion make the decision.

Synopsis

Trying to get back to the university before Nardole notices he broke his oath, the Doctor accidentally lands himself and Bill in the past, at the final frost fair in 1814. He decides to enjoy the unexpected trip.

However, something sinister is lurking below the frozen Thames.

Plot

The Doctor and Bill are shocked to find themselves on the ice of one of the Frost Fairs, seeing an elephant. Before Bill has more time to come to terms with what she's seeing, the Doctor rushes her back into the TARDIS. As the Doctor works at the controls, Bill inquires if they've gone to a parallel world. The Doctor tells her that it's NOT; its Febuary 4th, 1881, the last Frost Fair. Bill questions why they aren't back, asking the Doctor why he can't steer the TARDIS. The Doctor states you don't steer the TARDIS, but negotiate with it (rather unsucessfully). "She's a bad, bad guy this one. Always looking for trouble."

The TARDIS moves to a bridge above the Thames. They exit back out, with the Doctor explaining that the thaw comes tommorow, so he needed a more reliable parking spot. The Doctor is up to going to the fair, but Bill points out that they're in an era where her race was enslaved. He dismisses her worries, telling her where to find the wardrobe. Bill then laughs that the TARDIS has dresses.

Elsewhere, a drunken man follows the lights across the ice to an area of thin ice before being sucked under leaving only his drink bottle behind.

The TARDIS detects trouble

Bill steps outside the TARDIS later, dressed in period clothing. The Doctor exits next, wearing a suit and top hat. Bill wonders if there's anything they need to be on the lookout for, as the Doctor shuts the door. As they leave the TARDIS, they miss an alert message that a large creature is living in the River Thames.

As they walk, Bill asks about being in the past; she wonders if the future could be changed by the slightest things she does. The Doctor jokes their friend stepped on a butterfly and ceased to exist; now Bill can't even remember him. Bill notes the Doctor's joking; they were the only passengers in the TARDIS. As they walk, a street urchin offers them a flyer for the Frost Fair on the Thames, which they attend.

Watching a wrestling match, Bill cheers enthusiastically; the Doctor, however, is not that impressed. He tells her that 'real" wrestling involves zero gravity, tentacles and magic spells. Amused by the idea, Bill notes that Regency London is a lot more racially diverse than she remembers from the movies. The Doctor remarks that "history is a whitewash", even suggesting that Jesus Christ could have another race other than Caucasian. They visit a pie shop, where the Doctor has a bet with the proprietor over a coin toss; Bill enjoys some pie, noticing green lights under the ice. The Doctor tells the pie man that he knows he cheated on the coin toss, asking him how he did it; it's a very impressive trick. However, the man takes offense. The Doctor attempts to diffuse the tension by stating he's a skilled con man too, saying he could steal anything in the shop without him knowing it.

Kitty tries scamming the Doctor

Bill and the Doctor are promptly thrown out by the pie man, with the Doctor revealing he managed to steal some more pie. Right as Bill begins asking the Doctor about the lights, he reveals that he saw them too; he just didn't bring it up, so Bill could enjoy the fair. They are approached a girl named Kitty, who asks for help looking for her lost dog. Bill finds her adorable, willing to help. The Doctor looks at the leash Kitty is holding, asking her to describe the dog; a boy in a large red hat sneaks up on the Doctor. Kitty tells him that she's looking for a small black dog. Smiling, the Doctor congratulates Kitty on her con, knowing she was lying because the leash belongs to a big white dog. He quickly grabs the boy's hand as he attempts to pickpocket his sonic screwdriver from behind, only for the girl to kick his leg, enabling the pair to flee.

Inside their hideout, the boy, Spider, wonders what the sonic screwdriver is. Kitty doesn't know, but guesses it could be worth a lot of money. Having lost sight of them, Bill wonders what they stole; the Doctor tells her that its a sonic (because it makes noise) screwdriver (in a broad sense.) The kids head to sell the sonic screwdriver, being spotted by the Doctor and Bill. The kids run past "Thin Ice" warning sign, with Kitty making it back to shore. However, Spider becomes distracted by the green lights, despite Kitty yelling at him for not sticking close to her. Spider is sucked under leaving only his outstretched arm, with the sonic screwdriver, protruding through the ice.

Though the Doctor tries, he cannot save him and only manages to retrieve his screwdriver. A shocked Bill demands the Doctor save the boy; the Doctor says he can't. The Doctor apologizes to Kitty for not being able to save Spider, warning that the danger is not over. He asks to be taken to others kids living rough; Kitty thinks its because he wants to take them to the magistrate. The Doctor grabs her arm, stating they only want to help; Kitty point a out Bill is gone. When the Doctor turns to look, Kitty gets free of his grip and runs into the fog. The Doctor ponders quickly which girl to go after, deciding he must find Bill first.

The Doctor finds in a secluded spot, telling her to get used asking how he finds her; he asks what's wrong. Bill says she's never seen anyone die before; the Doctor reminds of their last adventure, where the dead were used as fertilizer. Bill states its different because they were already dead. "Morally and practically, that is not a useful distinction, unlearn it." Bill yells at him to stop telling her what to think; he jokes back that as her tutor, he's supposed to. Angered by his indifference towards the death of that boy, Bill demands to know how many people he's seen die; he's lost count. She then demands to know how many he's killed; the Doctor admits it, but didn't keep count. The Doctor tells her that he is 2000 years old and doesn't have the time for the luxury of outrage otherwise more people would die. They need to intervene before the kids living rough end up on the menu. Kitty overhears them talking and asks what they mean.

Seeing the Doctor means well, Kitty takes the Doctor and Bill to meet the rest of the urchin gang - including the girl who handed Bill the flyer. The Doctor asks them if they've seen anything unusually, producing pies he stolen for them. A little girls mentions a man with a tattoo of a ship on his hand paid them to hand out flyers of the fair. The Doctor reads to the kids; Bill tells Kitty the Doctor can help.

Night at the Thames

The Doctor and Bill walk along the river, wondering about the lights that "eat" people. He decides that the only logical conclusion is to "get eaten". Finding some diving suits, the Doctor and Bill don them as preparation of being pulled under by the lights. As the Doctor says they don't need to worry about being defenseless, Bill asks if he has magic aliens powers; the Doctor gives an annoyed look. On the ice, the Doctor explains the lights are smart, they choose isolated targets.

Lights begins spinning around Bill below the ice. As her yells cannot be heard by the Doctor due to their primitive diving suits, Bill throws her lantern at the Doctor to gain his attention before she is sucked under the ice. The Doctor jumps through before it reseals, making a human sized hole. Down below, Bill is safe; she and the Doctor discover a giant sea creature chained at the bottom of the river. Bill sees the hat belonging to the boy who was sucked under in its mouth before they come back to the surface.

The Doctor examines the fish

On the surface again, Bill tells the Doctor that the creatures cries sounded of misery. The Doctor notices the pie man harvesting the odd angler fish, yelling to get his attention. The man promptly flees. The Doctor yells for him to wait, as he loves his con. Bill is sickened to learn the pie she ate was made out of those fish; she loved that fish pie. The Doctor picks up a fish, examining it, wondering what they get out of helping feed the creature.

Deciding the pie man might have answers, they quickly catch him. The Doctor earnestly asking for the pie man to teach him the coin trick. However, Bill reminds him that they have more pressing matters. The Doctor asks if the man's seen someone with a tattoo of a ship, but is silent. Wondering if the man's against tattoos, the Doctor states that he is as well; "I think that we are bonding." Bill points out the flaw in the question; asking if he's seen someone with the tattoo of ship near the river. Realizing that this will get them nowhere, Bill asks if the pie man has heard of anything odd going on near the Thames. The pie man reveals that the dredgers have been working very hard. They're also heavily guarded.

Day time.

The Doctor and Bill observe the dredgers hauling buckets of gunk out of the Thames. Bill wonders how they are going to get past the guards, prompting the Doctor to flash the psychic paper; Bill reads off that it says he works for the palace. The Doctor notes that he hasn't heard that one in a while. They walk down to the operation, being brought to the foreman, who is intimated by the psychic paper's lie; he asks if Lord Sutcliffe knows they are here. Muttering the question to himself and Bill, the Doctor saya Lord Sutcliffe insisted upon them coming for an inspection. As the foreman walks off to check on the workers, Bill inspects a brick of the gunk, wondering why they're investigating over a mile away from the creature; the Doctor tells her that the creature's head is back by the fair. They're on the other end of it now, meaning that it's not mud that the dredgers are hauling out of the Thames; it's the creature's waste matter. Bill drops the brick in disgust, quickly wiping her hand on her coat.

Rejoining the foreman, the Doctor inquires if the men can be trusted and that it's been ensured that no-one follows the muck being transported to Hampton; however, the foreman corrects him, explaining the carts go to the steel mill. The Doctor quickly covers the blunder explaining "Hampton" is code for the steel mill; "we have to speak in code, otherwise anyone can walk in here and get you blabbing away like a fool." Bill laughs to herself. Noting that the foreman is a man of intelligence, the Doctor goads him into revealing what he knows about the "muck". The foreman tells them that the waste of the creature is more efficient than coal, burning a thousand times longer and is hotter than can be measured. The Doctor half-jokes that the foreman won't be having his job much longer at the rate he's going. The foreman also reveals that it's rumored to burn underwater.

Lord Sutcliffe

They visit the manor home of the employer Lord Sutcliffe to determine whether he is an alien; the reason being that the creative's waste can be used as fuel for interstellar travel. The Doctor insists he does the talking as they must charm Sutcliffe into revealing the information they need; Bill is likely to become angered due to the creature eating the children. Under the guise of "Doctor Disco of the Fairford Club", the Doctor meets Sutcliffe who instantly makes sexist, classist but mainly racist, remarks towards Bill even calling her a "creature" and demanding she shows "respect in the presence of [her] betters". Bill quietly seethes with anger, with a look of disgust on her face. The Doctor taps Sutcliffe on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around for a punch to the face. As Sutcliffe falls down, the Doctor states Sutcliffe is very clearly human. Bill agrees that if Sutcliffe was an alien "then that was pretty convincing racism."

Bill and the Doctor are quickly captured by Sutcliffe's minions with a bruised Sutcliffe revealing the creature has been a family secret for years. The Doctor deduces Sutcliffe funded the current fair, as the regular one wasn't able to draw in enough victims for the creature to digest; adding to the proof is man holding the Doctor has a tattoo of a ship on his hand. The creature has caused a good freezing of the Thames for the first time in years; Sutcliffe took advantage of the situation. The Doctor states he preferred it when he thought Sutcliffe was an alien; it would explain the lack of humanity. Sutcliffe states its no different from losing lives in a coal mine.

Sutcliffe plans on blowing up the ice and sinking numerous victims to feed the creature. Bill is confused, as everyone will see it; however, Sutcliffe states the people would be too stupid to notice the creature as they will stop to mourn the ice "breaking". He claims to be moving the world forward by using this new fuel, citing that the lives of those eaten by the creature were not important. However, the Doctor tells him real value is putting an unimportant life above his own. Sutcliffe notes that the speech would have moved anyone with the slightest bit of compassion; he then adds with an evil smirk "not your lucky day, is it?"

The Doctor and Bill are shoved into a carriage by Sutcliffe, who plans on storing them at the fair until he can detonate the ice; not wishing to risk the duo having warned others to stay away, he plans on detonating at noon after he brings in an elephant to draw in a crowd. Sitting in the carriage, Bill wonders if the Doctor really is 2000 years old; he wonders why she asks. With an impressed smile, Bill asks if it takes that long to be able to make a righteous speech like the Doctor did. If so, its worth the wait for getting that old.

Once at the fair, the Doctor and Bill are tied to a pole near the explosives. Bill thinks she can save them by screaming for help; however, the Doctor tells her not to bother. Ignoring the Doctor, Bill screams for help at the top of her lungs; the Doctor only waits for her to stop with annoyed look. Bill's screams are being drowned out by the cheers of the patrons watching the performances. Once done yelling, Bill asks the Doctor what they should do. He asks her to help him get his sonic screwdriver to cut through the ropes they're in. This also attracts the angler fish. Their guard rushes in and the Doctor hands him the sonic causing the fish to become attracted to him. The Doctor tells him to toss the sonic back, having already untied himself; the man is sucked below by the fish.

Free, the Doctor tells Bill that they have two choices: let the creature suffer for centuries, or free it. Bill points out that it could kill everyone if let go. She adds they already have the answer; the Doctor tells her only idiots have the answers. The Doctor tells her that it's her choice; he works for the human race, and will only do something that could drastically change the future of their planet only if he's ordered to do so. Remembering the creature's moans of agony, Bill tells the Doctor to free it. With that, the Doctor tells her that he will, telling her to get everyone off the ice beforehand.

Bill finds Kitty, telling her to spread word the ice is thawing to scare people back to safety. The urchins spread word of the ice breaking and someone falling in, quickly getting everyone to leave. Sutcliffe sees everyone running away, deciding to detonate immediately. However, each attempt to detonate instead breaks the chains holding the creature in place; the Doctor switched the explosives' positions.

Bill watches the creature leave

Sutcliffe enters the tent to find the barrels still intact, and the sonic screwdriver hanging on a wire, jamming the signal. He attempts to hold it, but is startled by the sudden sound of the cracking of the ice. He goes outside to see the creature's fin swimming by; the force of it going by cracks the ice and Sutcliffe falls in, never to be seen again. Bill manages to avoid falling in, thanks to the Doctor; he pulls her up to the docks. The creature swims by, splashing them and avoiding harming anyone. Bill wonders where it will go now; the Doctor believes the fish will end up somewhere cold and try to avoid the human race for the rest of its life. However, she then wonders if they just doomed Greenland. As this is possible, the Doctor promises to check on Greenland in its future to see if the fish lives there now.

Later, Kitty arrives outside Sutcliffe's home with the urchins, telling the children to behave and not steal anything. Bill lets them in, leading them to the dining hall. In the hall, the Doctor is scraping a name off Sutcliffe's will, asking a boy for his name; it's Perry. When Kitty asks why, Bill states that Sutcliffe's "long lost heir" couldn't be Kitty (due to the sexism and racism of the era).

Back in 2017 Nardole enters the Doctor's office at St Luke's University. Placing the tea on the Doctor's desk, he notices that the Doctor is still in period garb. Nardole reminds the Doctor that he promised not to go off-world; the Doctor sarcastically asks if it looks like he's wearing off-world clothes. He tells him that he's returned to his office as promised in his "tea-drinking" clothes. Bill exits the TARDIS, still in her period garb, revealing that the Doctor has broken his oath. He reminds the Doctor of his vow whilst Bill is surprised that googling the sea creature from 1881 turned up no results. The Doctor explains that humans tend to overlook the inexplicable and that the Frost Fair involved a lot of day drinking. He shows her the headlines which detail Lord Sutcliffe's death and, despite the contestion of inheritance, Perry was eventually deemed the legitimate heir.

The Doctor and Nardole soon toss a coin to decide whether the Doctor keeps his vow and remains on Earth, or Nardole leaves him alone. Using a trick he learned from the con artist, the Doctor wins and presumably goes off in the TARDIS with Bill whilst Nardole checks the vault. As he goes to leave, knocking comes from inside, Nardole refuses to let the entity out before hurrying away looking very worried.

Cast

• The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
• Bill - Pearl Mackie
• Nardole - Matt Lucas
• Sutcliffe - Nicholas Burns
• Kitty - Asiatu Koroma
• Pie-Man - Peter Singh
• Overseer - Simon Ludders
• Dowell - Tomi May
• Spider - Austin Taylor
• Dottie - Ellie Shenker
• Harriet - Kishaina Thiruselvan
• Perry - Badger Skelton

Crew

Executive Producers   Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin

Written by Sarah Dollard	Produced by Nikki Wilson	Directed by Bill Anderson	Director of Photography Damian Bromley	Production Designer Michael Pickwoad	Visual Effects Milk BBC Wales VFX
Make-up Designer Barbara Southcott	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Murray Gold	Costume Designer Hayley Nebauer	Edited by Adam Trotman	Special Effects Real SFX
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  Titles by BBC Wales Graphics  •  With thanks to National Orchestra of Wales  Music conducted & orchestrated by Alastair King  •  Music score assistant - Jack Sugden   •  Music mixed by Jake Jackson  •  Music recorded by Gerry O'Riordan

General production staff Head of Production - Gordon Ronald Production Executive - Tracie Simpson Line Producer - Steffan Morris Production Manager - Adam Knopf Location Manager - Nicky James Unit Manager - Beccy Jones Production Co-ordinator - Sandra Cosfeld Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Nicola Chance Production Assistants - Virginia Bonet, Jamie Shaw Unit Drivers - Sean Evans, Kyle Davies Unit Medic - Glyn Evans Business Affairs Executive - Carol Griggs Production Accountant - Simon Wheeler Assistant Accountant - Justine Wooff Script department Script Editor - Nick Lambon Script Executive - Lindsey Alford Assistant Script Editor - Emma Genders Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Sarah Davies 2nd Assistant Director - James DeHaviland 3rd Assistant Director - Christopher J Thomas Assistant Directors - Rhun Llewelyn, Lauren Pate Script Supervisor - Nicki Coles Camera Operator - Mark McQuoid Focus Pullers - Jonathan Vidgen, Elhein De Wet Grip - John Robinson Assistant Grip - Sean Cronin Camera Assistants - Gethin Williams, Drew Marsden, Dan Patounas Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Andy Gardiner Electricians - Gawain Nash, Gareth Sheldon, Bob Milton, Sion Davies	Art department Supervising Art Director - Henry Jaworski Art Director - Tim Overson Art Department Accountant - Alison Harvey Production Buyer - Jen Saguaro Set Decorator - Adrian Anscombe Prop Buyers - Jo Pearce, Charlotte Lailey de Ville Storyboard Artist - Mike Collins Concept Artist - Darren Fereday Graphic Artist - Matt Clark Standby Props - Matt Ireland, Jonathan Barclay Standby Carpenter - Paul Jones Prop Hands - Scott Howe, Nigel Magni, Matt Watts Standby Art Director - Nick Murray Rigging - Shadow Scaffolding Standby Rigger - Colin Toms Head Scenic Artist - Clive Clarke Painters - Steve Nelms, John Nelms, Paul Murray, Debby McShane Storeman - Jamie Southcott Prop Master - Paul Smith Props Chargehand - Kyle Belmont Props Driver - Gareth Fox Construction Manager - Terry Horle Construction Chargehand - Dean Tucker Construction Driver - Jonathan Tylke Construction Labourer - Jason Tylke Practical Electricians - Callum Alexander, Austin Curtis Graphics Assistant - Jack Bowes Draughtsperson - Kartik Nagar Chargehand Carpenter - John Sinnott Carpenters - Tim Burke, Keith Richards, Matt Ferry, Campbell Frazer, Chris Daniels, Joe Painter, George Rees, Alan Jones, Dan Berrow, Mike Venables, Tom Berrow Title Concept - Billy Hanshaw Costume department Costume Supervisor - Kat Willis Assistant Costume Designer - Zoe Howerska Costume Assistants - Rebecca Cunningham, Leila Headon, Jenny Tindle	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - James Spinks Make-up Artists - Megan Bowes, Lolly Goodship Movement Stunt Co-ordinators - Crispin Layfield, Jo McLaren, Dani Biernat, Dean Forster Stunt Performers - Troy Kenchington, Belinda McGinley, Andrew Burford Casting Casting Associate - Ri McDaid-Wren Casting Assistant - Louis Constantine General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Samantha Price Post-production Co-ordinator - Hannah Jones Assistant Editors - Becky Trotman, David Davies On-line Editors - Geraint Pari Huws, Mark Hardyman Assistant On-line Editor - Christine Kelly Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Dan Rawlings Special Creature Effects & Prosthetics - Millennium FX Colourist - Gareth Spensley Miniature Effects - The Model Unit Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys Dubbing Mixer - Mark Ferda Sound Maintenance Engineers - Tam Shoring, Christopher Goding Dialogue Editor - Darran Clement ADR Editor - Matthew Cox Effects Editor - Harry Barnes Foley Editor - Simon Clement Foley Artist - Meltem Baytok

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

Culture

• The Doctor refers to the whitewashing in history.
  • He mentions Jesus Christ as an example.
  • Bill mentioned that there were more black people present than shown in movies.
• A frost fair is being held at the frozen River Thames.
  • The Doctor and Bill encounter an elephant walking past.
  • The frost fair has many activities and performances, notably wrestling, sword swallowing, skittles, cartwheel performers, magicians, ring toss, M. G. Clark Printing Co., souvenir shops, book shops, strongmen, pubs, The Nelson Arms, The City of Moscow and "try your luck" stalls.
• A map for 19th century London is displayed on the TARDIS scanner.
• The Doctor reads Struwwelpeter out loud for the street urchins.
• The Doctor shows Bill the British Newspaper Archives when trying to find information about the frost fair-incident.

Biology

• Bill refers to the melanin in her skin.

Technology

• Spider steals the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.
• A detonator is wired up to explosive barrels.
• The sonic screwdriver works underwater.
• The Doctor and Bill wear diving suits.

Science

• Bill thinks they have travelled to a parallel world.
• The Doctor says only real wrestling is in zero gravity with tentacles and magic spells.
• According to the psychic paper, the Doctor works for the Palace. The Doctor says he hasn't heard that one in a while.
• In Sutcliffe's mansion, the Doctor plays with an Orrery.

Currency

• The frost fair costs only sixpence to take part.

Food and beverages

• A bypasser accidentally drops a basket of fruits and vegetables on the Thames.
• A seller is selling chestnuts just above the stairs to the fair.
• Food stalls at the fair include:
  • Shish kebab, shish squid, shish chicken, ox cheek, Lapland Mutton, sheep heart etc. stalls.
  • Fish pie, meat pie, chicken pie etc. stalls.
  • Gingerbread stalls.
  • Gin stalls.
• The Doctor steals fish pies from a con-artist.
• Nardole has made tea and adds coffee to give it flavour.
• Sutcliffe has a bowl of nectarines, pears, clementines, grapes and apples.
• At Sutcliffe's mansion, the street urchins are given a traditional Christmas dinner, consisting of turkey, salad, potatoes, gravy, broccoli, red cabbage, a Christmas pudding and glasses of milk.

Species

• A giant sea serpent is held chained beneath the Thames. After it broke free, the icy River cracked and ended the frost fair tradition.
• Lure fish were swimming in the River Thames, luring people out on the thin areas of the ice with their green light bulbs and trap them underneath for the serpent to feed on.
• The Doctor mentions fireflies and glow worms.
• The excrement from the sea serpent is used as fuel by Sutcliffe's people.

People

• The Doctor jokes with Bill about an imaginary person called "Pete" who stepped on a butterfly and got erased from history.
• The Doctor likes good con artists.
• Watermen are in charge of keeping order at the frost fair.
• Bill says she was a skittles champion two years in a row.
• Sutcliffe is racist and sexist.
• Sutcliffe has hired dredgers.
• Sutcliffe is low in iron.
• The workplace has a dredger-in-chief overlooking the work.
• Sutcliffe has a manservant.
• Sutcliffe greets the Doctor as "Doctor Disco, from the Fairford Club".
• The Doctor refer to the sea serpent as "Tiny", "the loch-less monster" and the "not-so-little mermaid".

Locations

• The TARDIS lands on the Blackfriars Bridge next to New Lime Wharf.
  • The fair stretched from Blackfriars to London Bridge.
• The Doctor and Bill are heading towards Freezeland Street.
• Kitty worries that the Doctor will take her and the other urchins to the Magistrate.
• Sutcliffe has a workhouse upriver where his men work with the serpent's excrement.
• The Doctor questions whether the chief dredger checked that no one followed the transport carts all the way to Hampton. He says he checks all the way to the steel mill.
• Bill worries the serpent will eat people off the Southbank and half of London and that they've doomed Greenland.

Story notes

File:Sarah Dollard and Hayley Nebauer - The Aftershow - Doctor Who The Fan Show

• The read-through for Thin Ice took place on 18 July 2016, and filming on the episode began on 1 August.
• Steven Moffat joked in an interview that the intro to EastEnders was always about a giant snake, a reference towards the view of the River Thames from above, which makes it look like a serpent.
• Spider is one of the few child characters to actually be killed on-screen throughout the history of the program.
• For shots involving the Doctor falling below the ice in his diving gear were created by The Model Unit using a miniature 1/3 scale puppet inspired by a similar effect in James Cameron’s film The Abyss. To create Capaldi's head, Stephen Mansfield was invited back to the production to sculpt the feature. Mansfield had previously worked on the show during the era of Sylvester McCoy, making such creatures as the Destroyer and the Haemovores. The members of the team who worked on the effect, as listed on the Facebook page of the Model Unit, are:
  • Model Unit Supervisor: Mike Tucker
  • Senior VFX Technician / Sculptor: Alan 'Rocky' Marshall
  • Senior VFX Technician: Colin Mapson
  • Portrait Sculptor: Stephen Mansfield
  • Director: Bill Anderson
  • Producer: Nikki Wilson
  • Line Producer: Steffan Morris
  • Underwater DoP: Rob Franklin
  • Grip: Sam Reeves
  • Gaffer: Mark Hutchings
  • Best Boy: Andy Gardiner
• Kitty warning Spider about how they'll be transported if caught is a reference to how England would transport convicts to Australia contemporaneously.

Ratings

• 3.76m (UK overnight figures)
• 5.61m (UK final)

File:Pearl's Guide To The Frost Fair - Doctor Who Series 10

Filming locations

• Kings Weston House, Bristol - Sutcliffe Manor

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

• The Doctor and Bill find themselves in the middle of the frozen River Thames with an elephant crossing their path. (TV: Smile)
• The Doctor previously visited the 1814 Frost Fair with River Song. They brought Stevie Wonder with them to perform. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
• He mentions having been there before, "a few times". (AUDIO: Frostfire, PROSE: The Frozen, TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
  • He has also previously visited different frost fairs (PROSE: Silhouette, PROSE: The Roundheads) and attempted to visit one other (COMIC: The Instruments of War).
• The Doctor gives Bill a similar set of directions to the TARDIS wardrobe that the Ninth Doctor gave Rose. (TV: The Unquiet Dead)
  • He doesn't say "third on the left" and "straight ahead".
• The Doctor wears a hat. This incarnation rarely wears them, having done so only once before. (COMIC: Gangland)
• According to the short story The Frozen, in February 1814, the Hyban Masoon froze the Thames on arrival.
• In Regency London, Bill voices her fear that she will be enslaved due to the colour of her skin. Martha Jones voiced the same concern when she visited London of 1599 with the Tenth Doctor. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
• Bill speculates that they had travelled to a parallel world. (TV: The Age of Steel)
• Bill is concerned about the butterfly effect, also exactly like Martha in her first visit to London's past. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
• Bill asks about physical side effects of time travel. (TV: The End of the World, Doomsday, The Sound of Drums et al.)
• The Doctor says he's getting used to being asked how he finds people. (TV: Partners in Crime, The Sontaran Stratagem)
• The Doctor alters a will again. (TV: The Lodger)
• The Doctor reminds Bill of her recent experience with death when they visited a garden full of dead people. He confirms this was only a few hours before this episode. (TV: Smile)
• The Doctor reminds Bill that he is her tutor. (TV: The Pilot)
• The Doctor asked Bill if she noticed he was "down with the kids" after entertaining the urchins. He previously noted his ability to fit in. (TV: School Reunion)
• The Doctor has previously used the "conjecture/proposition/conclusion" manner of working out a problem. (TV: Listen, The Witch's Familiar)
• The Doctor once again notes humanity's habit of overlooking and forgetting the bizarre. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, In the Forest of the Night) Charlie Smith noted the same after the Shadow Kin came close to invading Earth through Coal Hill School. (TV: The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo)
• The Doctor uses his psychic paper. (TV: The End of the World et al.)
• Nardole reminds the Doctor of his oath. (TV: The Pilot, Smile)
• Nardole reminds the Doctor he said he wouldn't be going off-world. (TV: Smile)
• Nardole has made tea for the Doctor. (TV: Smile)
• Nardole mentions being reassembled. (TV: The Husbands of River Song, The Return of Doctor Mysterio)
• The Doctor again mentions how you don't steer the TARDIS; you reason with it. (TV: Smile)
• The Doctor once more states that he's 2,000 years old. (TV: Deep Breath, Smile)
• The Doctor is asked how many people he has seen die (TV: Journey's End) and personally killed. (TV: The Wheel in Space, State of Decay, TV: The Two Doctors, TV: The End of the World, The Day of the Doctor, The Time of the Doctor, et. al) He remarks on how he has lost count. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
  • The Doctor mentions how sometimes the options available are limited, and begins to say something about choices, alluding to the explanation he provided to Clara. (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express)
• Bill questions if the Doctor cares about people dying; Psi had similarly questioned the Doctor's detached nature. (TV: Time Heist)
• The Doctor punches someone in the face out of anger and defence of his companion. (TV: Hell Bent)
• Sutcliffe refers to the Doctor as "Doctor Disco". (TV: The Zygon Invasion)
• The Doctor and Bill return to the Doctor's office. Bill remarks that it looks the exact same, from the cup of previous sonics, wooden raven and family photographs to the books, the busts and the placing of the chairs. (TV: The Pilot)
• Bill uses search-wise.net to look for the serpent incident. Rose Tyler used the same web to look up the Ninth Doctor. (TV: Rose)
• Nardole checks on the vault. (TV: The Pilot)
• Someone behind the vault doors knocks three times repeatedly. The last row of knocks is 4 times. The Doctor previously said knocks were weirdly in rows of 4. (TV: Hell Bent) The Saxon Master was previously plagued with a drumming sound in 4 beats, and later a prophecy developed around the Tenth Doctor's death being preceded by 4 knocks. (TV: Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time) The Midnight entity also used 2, 3 and 4 knocks when inspecting the Midnight Crusader Tours' shuttle bus. (TV: Midnight)
• The Doctor once again defers to his human companion's judgement as to whether to allow a creature to live or die. (TV: The Beast Below, Kill the Moon)
• The Doctor states the sonic screwdriver is sonic because it makes a noise. (TV: The Next Doctor)
• The TARDIS scanner displays a contemporary map of London (TV: The Visitation)

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