The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)

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The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)

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The Idiot's Lantern
Doctor:	[[doctor::Tenth Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Rose Tyler
Main enemy:	The Wire Mr Magpie
Main setting:	London, 1953
Key crew
Writer:	Mark Gatiss
Director:	Euros Lyn
Producer:	Phil Collinson
Release details
Story number:	173
Release number:	Series 2
Premiere broadcast:	27th May 2006
Format:	1x45 minute Episode
Production code:	2.7
Confidential:	[[confidential::The Writer's Tale|The Writer's Tale]]

The Idiot's Lantern was the eighth episode of the second series of Doctor Who.

Synopsis

1953, the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II - but there is something hiding in the televisions of the British people. Something hungry...

Plot

The Wire is a creature/entity that was executed on its own world, but escaped by becoming living energy. In that form, it arrives on Earth in 1953 and is electrically transferred into the television signal system to stay alive. The Wire then makes a deal with a television repairman, Mr. Magpie. It will spare him if he sells televisions for extremely cheap- to maximize the amount of viewers (and therefore potential victims). The victims of The Wire are those unlucky television viewers who are subjected to alien radiations from their television sets; through this process their brain waves are robbed and their faces disappear and are captured onto the screens in the shop. The Wire steals this energy, which it feeds on to survive.

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

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 slam shut and a market stall is arranged in front of the gate making it look like a dead end (ala Indiana Jones). 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. Mr. Connolly bullies his family into ignoring Gran after her face was stolen. The father prohibits his son, Tommy, from talking with her or seeing her. She is being away from everyone else in the family. The Doctor convinces Rita Connolly to bring him to Gran. As the Doctor examines Gran, two men burst into the house and hustle her away, after knocking out the Doctor. The Doctor gives chase but Rose stays behind. She notices the television set is giving off electrical sparks.

File:Magpiedoctorrose.jpg

The Doctor and Rose with Magpie

Rose reads the name on the television's tag: Magpie. She decides to investigate. At the shop, Mr. Magpie tries to get her out the door before The Wire is alerted to her presence. But Rose insists on staying. The Wire appears on a screen and steals Rose's brain waves and her face.

At the dumpsite, 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. 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: Rose. The Doctor is very angry at Rose's condition and tells Bishop, nothing can stop him now. They return to Floridel Street. The Doctor and Bishop ask Tommy what happened with Gran the night her face was stolen. They learn she was watching television. The three head to Magpie's shop, but Magpie is not there. As he looks around, the Doctor discover a handheld portable TV as well as external power source. He discover the people's missing faces as they appear on the screens in the shop. Magpie enters, and the Doctor demands to know who is really in charge. The Wire appears and attacks Bishop, the Doctor and Tommy. The Doctor is able to stop the transfer with his sonic screwdriver, but too late for Bishop. The effort knocks them both out.

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. The Doctor orders Tommy to keep the device operating no matter what. He goes to the top and begins to climb the tower. Magpie is at the top begging the Wire to stop the pain in his head. It completely consumes Magpie in a bolt of electricity. The Doctor is able to plug in his machine into the portable. But a fuse shorts and the machine stops. The Wire taunts the Doctor. Tommy quickly changes the fuse and the machine operates again. The Wire is transferred from the portable into a betamax cassette the Doctor built with parts from the TV shop. All the victims regain their faces and minds.

Cast

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

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

• 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.
• Torchwood is mentioned by the police officer (though the mention doesn't appear to be noticed by the Doctor).
• The Doctor drives a Vespa out of the TARDIS. This is the second time a vehicle has been shown leaving the TARDIS; the first time was in the TV Movie. This is the first time that a vehicle was shown to be kept inside the TARDIS (although the Eighth Doctor had a Volkswagen Beetle at one point)
• Just before the Doctor climbs Alexandra Palace, the script originally included a line alluding to the Doctor's fear of transmitter towers because he "fell off one once", a reference to the Fourth Doctor's death.

Story notes

• This story had working titles of: Mr Sandman, Sonic Doom, 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 Logopolis, where the Fourth Doctor fell from the Pharos Project transmitter.
• 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.
• 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 DW: Paradise Towers.
• 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 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 a 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 due to a compositing error.

Continuity

• Magpie Electricals apparently continues to exist beyond the death of Mr. Magpie; Martha Jones had a Magpie brand television in DW: 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 DW: 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 DW: The Beast Below.
• The Wire shares many things with the Abzorbaloff (Love & Monsters, also of the second series). Both absorb their victims, whose faces are visible somewhere around the creature and whose consciousnesses are preserved somehow in such medium of captivity. However, The Wire expected to be fed and to regain its corporeal form. The Abzorbaloff wanted to absorb the Doctor's memories.
• Lara Phillipart, who played Jasmine Pierce in TW: Small Worlds can be seen briefly as a girl in the Connolly's living room watching the coronation.
• The Wire's repeated demand "FEED ME!" is reminiscent of a similar demand made, to comic effect, by the killer plant Audry Jr. in the classic horror-comedy film (and later musical) The Little Shop of Horrors. Also when the faces are shown on the screens in the TVs, it is also similar in the orginal film when Audry Jr. finally bloomed showing the faces of all its victims.
• Grandma refers to Eddie Connolly as "Our lord and master" in the opening scene. The same phrase had previously been used to describe John Lumic and the Bad Wolf Corporation. It would later be used about The Master.

Timeline

• This story occurs after DWA: No One Died
• This story occurs before NSA: The Nightmare of Black Island

Home video releases

Series 2 Volume 3 DVD Cover

• This was released on a vanilla DVD along side 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