The Power of Three (TV story)

The Power of Three
Doctor:	[[doctor::Eleventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Amy, Rory
Featuring:	Brian, Kate
Main enemy:	The Tally The Shakri Orderlies
Main setting:	England, 21st century
Key crew
Writer:	Chris Chibnall
Director:	Douglas Mackinnon
Producer:	Marcus Wilson
Release details
Story number:	228
Premiere broadcast:	22 September 2012
Format:	45 minutes
Doctor Who television stories
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Next →	The Angels Take Manhattan
Production order
← Previous	The Angels Take Manhattan

The Power of Three was the fourth episode of the seventh series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It saw to the reappeance of UNIT since Planet of the Dead, along with the Brigadier's daughter, who now has reoganized the organization. Brian Williams also makes a return in this episode, having apparently ended his traveling around the world. For the first time, the story does not solely focus on the Doctor; Amy and Rory's life is instead what the story focuses on in the backround. This also the first episode since Vincent and the Doctor to show veiwers that the Eleventh Doctor has very little patience.

Synopsis

There have been many ways to invade the Earth, and the Doctor has seen them all – or so he always thought. And then the human race wakes up one morning and discovers the world has been overrun by… "very small cubes", which then proceed to… do nothing at all. A plan is afoot, humanity is endangered – but by what and how and, above all, when? Thus begins the Year of the Slow Invasion.

For the first time in his world-saving career the Doctor has to call upon one of the least of his virtues: patience. And the Ponds face something possibly more terrifying than any world-ending apocalypse: the Doctor is moving in!

Plot

Amy narartes that life with the Doctor is amazing, while normal life is boring; flashbacks of her adventures are shown when mentioning traveling with the Doctor.

After realising that they lead two lives, their "Doctor" life and their everyday life, Amy and Rory conclude that they should choose one to stick with; but then are whisked away on another adventure with the Doctor. After returning home, the couple settle back into routine.

Amy goes on to narrate that every time they go away with the Doctor, they become a part of his life; however, he has never stuck around long enough to be a part of theirs. But that is all about to change; during the Year of the Slow Invasion.

One morning they are by Rory's father Brian, who alerts them to the global appearance of small, black cubes. The Doctor, already there, quickly attempts to understand them. He asks his family what they think the cubes could be, being given multiple high possible ideas from Brian. He orders him to stay in the TARDIS and watch the cubes to see if anything happens. Taking some equipment out with him, the Doctor tells Amy and Rory that hee'll be using their kitchen as a laboratory to conduct experiments on the cubes. Rory leaves to get ready for work, confusing the Doctor; he thinks that they spend most of their time away from him kissing. Amy then reveals to the Doctor she writes for a travel magazine now.

No sooner than right as he began experimenting the Doctor finds a U.N.I.T. strike team breaking into the Ponds' house. Rory, missing his trousers, is led into the kitchen, where he expresses embaressment. Amy, however, feels envious, she wanted his situtaion to happen to her. Kate Stewart, the Head of Scientific Research at UNIT, arrives on scene and identifies the Doctor; she also explains that she reorganized UNIT into following their scientists. She goes on to explain that UNIT has already conducted all kinds of destructive experiments on the cubes, only to find them completely intact, without any damage.

The Doctor tells them that the best things to do is keep watching the cubes. After UNIT leaves, the Doctor watches a batch of cubes with Amy and Rory, but quickly snaps; he hates having to wait. Telling his in-laws that he needs to be busy, the Doctor is encouraged to do so as his yelling is becoming annoying. The Doctor paints the Ponds' fence, practives football, vaccums the house and rewires the electronics. Much to his growing annoyance, it only toke him an hour. The Doctor prepares to leave and travel for a bit to "restore sanity". Finding Brian is still inside the TARDIS, the Doctor tells him to continue watching while he leaves.

Over the year, Brian keeps a video log of each day watching the cubes, being made fun of by Rory for fanaticly following the Doctor's orders. By October, Amy and Rory taking on the commitments of everyday life; Amy agrees to be a bride's maid at the wedding of one of her friends in the near future while Rory takes on full-time work. Both talk about how commited they are becoming to their normal lives.

In December, Rory takes a repeat patient away from the waiting area, not noticing a little girl is holding an active cube. An orderly enters the room of an elderly man waiting to be given his medication. Despite the man's protests, the orderly stays there; another enters. The old man asks the new olderly to remove his colleage from the room, but both try subdoing him. He removes the sugical mask from one of them to discover he isn't human. He screams in terror as the little girl, who also entered the room, watches with a blank face.

During the Ponds' anniversary, the Doctor returns to take the couple on a journey through time once again. The trip takes on the usual mishaps; a few days journey turns into seven weeks. They return to the moment they left, and Brian questions the Doctor about the fates of his past companions; worrying about the Ponds possible future travelling with him.

July, one full year has past since the arrival of the cubes; they've become a part of every day life to the point of being used as paperweights and doorstops. Brian falls asleep after setting the camera to catch any activity while he sleeps. The cube he's watching spins a little. He immediately wakes up, feeling something amiss. He tricks the cube into thinking he fell back asleep, but immeediately catches it when it spins. He leaves to inform Rory and Amy.

Back in the Ponds' house, Rory is doing the dishes while Amy gives him a kiss. She wodners where the Doctor is, learning that he's busy playing Tennis on their Wii. She heads up to take a bath just as Rory notices a cube near him open on one side. He takes a look at the side that opened, only to see the opposite side open. Upstairs, Amy notices a cube in their bedrrom glow; she touches it and is pricked by several needles. The cube displays her pulse. The Doctor continues playing the game as he finaly notices a cube floating in front of him; he mentions K-9, when comparing its boring feature. It shoots at him, scaring the Doctor outside the room as it scans the internet.

Everyone converges in the hall just as Brian enters the house; they all explain what their cubes did. Fearing that many people could have been hurt by the cubes, Rory gets a page from the hospital; Brian offers to come help. At the same time, the Doctor receives a message on his psychic paper, calling him to UNIT. Kat Stewart (the one who sent the message) takes them to the UNIT base at the Tower of London. Captured cubes exhibit different effects; ranging from mood swings, spewing fire and playing the "Chicken Dance" non-stop. Soon the cubes become inactive again; the world begins to recover. The Doctor orders her to trace the signals being broadcasted to the cubes, hoping to find the source of it.

At the hospital, Brian crosses paths with the two identical "nurses" while looking for supplies. Having been discovered, Brian is kidnapped as well. Rory notices Brian has gone missing and soon see sthe nurses running off with his father into an lift. Seeing it empty, Rory touches the wall and finds himself in a spaceship with all the captured patients. The "nurses" put Brian down and turn on Rory with seringes in hand.

Outside the Tower, the Doctor and Amy debate the merit of travelling the way they do; Amy considers it "running away" and the Doctor considers it "running to". During their conversation, the Doctor realises the cubes acted out to gain attention and scan the entire planet. The Doctor tells Kate not to despair as her father never did; she's the daughter of his old friend, the Brigadier. Kate explains that her father taught her everything he coudl right to the end, saying "science will lead the way"; something an old friend taught him. The power at U.N.I.T. goes out, and the cubes start a countdown from seven. At zero, the cubes open but contain nothing. Moments pass when around people suffer fatal heart attacks, with the Doctor experiencing heart failure with one heart.

He and Amy leave for the hospital. The Doctor discovers the little girl with the active cube and reveals her to be a simple android overseeing the entire operation. The Doctor shuts her down and Amy restarts the Doctor's heart with a defibrillator - "never do that to me again". The Doctor and Amy find the "Out of Order" lift and discover the portal to the alien ship. The two "nurses" are on board and are quickly disabled while Rory is woken up. After they wake Brian, Amy and Roy take him back to the hospital; they also begin taking the other captives back as well.

The Doctor meets the ship's on-board hologram (or "interactive propaganda poster"); the ship was built by the Shakri, which in the Doctor's opinion are the "pest controllers of the universe". The stolen electricity was used to exterminate the human race; which the hologram thinks is a contagion to be destroyed. Returning to the ship, Amy and Rory watch the Doctor reuse the electricity to start the stopped hearts on Earth. The surge, however, destroys the Shakri ship just after the Doctor and the Ponds escape.

The Doctor has dinner with his family that night, sharing a joyous conversation with them. Preparing to leave, the Doctor offers to take Amy and Rory on another trip and bring them back. However, Brian tells them to instead go with the Doctor as they should enjoy the opportunity to change the world. The Doctor offers Brain a place in the TARDIS as well; however, Brian turns it down, saying that someone has to water the plants while they're gone.

As the Doctor, Amy, and Rory board the TARDIS, Amy does one last voice over, saying that there was something the Shakri didn't know: "Cubed means the power of three."

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
• Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
• Brian Williams - Mark Williams
• Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
• Shakri - Steven Berkoff
• Ranjit - Selva Rasalingam
• Laura - Alice O'Connell
• Arnold Underwood - Peter Cartwright
• Orderly 1 - David Beck
• Orderly 2 - Daniel Beck
• UNIT Researcher - David Hartley

Uncredited cast

• Brian Cox - Himself
• Lord Sugar - Himself

Crew

Executive Producers   Caroline Skinner and Steven Moffat

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Line Producer - Diana Barton Production Manager - Phillipa Cole Location Manager - Iwan Roberts Location Assistant - Jestyn Hampson-Jones Unit Manager - Geraint Williams Production Co-ordinator - Claire Hildred Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Gabriella Ricci Production Assistants - Rachel Vipond, Samantha Price Production Secretary - Sandra Cosfeld Production Accountant - Jeff Dunn A/Production Accountants - Rhys Evans, Justine Wooff Script department Assistant Script Editor - John Phillips Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Sarah Davies 2nd Assistant Director - James DeHaviland 3rd Assistant Director - Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch Assistant Director - Danielle Richards Camera Operator - Joe Russell Focus Pullers - James Scott, Julius Ogden Grip - Gary Norman Assistant Grip - Owen Charley Camera Assistants - Meg De Koning, Sam Smithard, Evelina Norgren Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Stephen Slocombe Electricians - Bob Milton, Gareth Sheldon, Matt Wilson	Art department Art Director - Amy Pickwoad Assistant Art Director - Richard Hardy Art Department Co-ordinator - Donna Shakesheff Production Buyers - Charlie Lynam, Adrian Greenwood Petty Cash Buyer - Florence Tasker Set Decorator - Adrian Anscombe Set Dresser - Jayne Davies Graphic Artist - Christina Tom Graphic Designer - Chris Lees Standby Props - Phill Shellard, Helen Atherton Standby Carpenter - Will Pope Prop Hand - Austin J. Curtis Standby Rigger - Bryan Griffiths Props Master - Paul Smith Props Chargehand - Ian Griffin Dressing Props - Mike Elkins, Paul Barnett Props Driver - Gareth Fox Props Makers - Penny Howarth, Alan Hardy, Jamie Thomas Construction Manager - Terry Horle Construction Chargehand - Dean Tucker Graphics - Peter Anderson Studio Costume department Costume Supervisor - Carly Griffith Assistant Costume Designer - Fraser Purfit Costume Assistants - Katarina Cappellazzi, Gemma Evans	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Artists - Sara Angharad, Vivienne Simpson, Allison Sing Prosthetics - Millennium FX Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Crispin Layfield Casting Casting Associate - Alice Purser General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Nerys Davies Assistant Editor - Becky Trotman On-line Editor - Geraint Pari Huws Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Joel Skinner Colourist - Gareth Spensley Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys Dubbing Mixer - Darran Clement Sound Maintenance Engineer - Ross Adams Dialogue Editor - Paul McFadden Sound Effects Editor - Tom Heuzenroeder Foley Editor - Jamie Talbutt

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

Communication technology

• Kate mentions Flickr, YouTube and Twitter.

Game consoles

• The Doctor plays tennis on the Nintendo Wii.

Music

• The song "Merry Xmas Everybody" by the rock band Slade is briefly heard in the hospital.
• One of the cubes plays the "Chicken Dance" song (aka "The Birdie Song"), on an endless loop. The Doctor seems annoyed.
• The song "Titanium" plays at the party Amy attends.

Culture

• When Amy calls the Gallifreyan bedtime story about the Shakri weird, the Doctor remarks, "You can talk. Wolf in your grandmother's night dress?" in reference to the story Little Red Riding Hood.
• The Doctor tells Amy, "Through the looking glass, Pond," in reference to Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.
• The Power of Three could be a a veiled reference to the American television series Charmed where the power of three witches known as the Charmed Ones combined is referred to as The Power of Three.

Energy and radiation

• Kate traced Artron energy levels to find the Doctor and then identifies him due to his fashion sense and binary vascular system.

Foods and beverages

• The Doctor states that he invented the Yorkshire pudding.
• The Doctor, Amy and Rory eat fish custard.

Individuals

• When Brian asks the Doctor what happened to those who previously travelled with him, he tells him that some left him, some got left behind, and some died.
• Amy accidentally marries Henry VIII.
• While playing virtual tennis, the Doctor mentions the tennis player Fred Perry and a pair of shorts he borrowed from him.
• The real physicist Brian Cox plays himself as he is interviewed on the news for an opinion about the cubes.
• Amy estimates that she and Rory have known the Doctor for ten years in their personal timestream.

Species

• There were Zygon duplicates at the Savoy when Amy, the Doctor and Rory visit.

Regeneration

• The Doctor states that he keeps returning to Amy because she was the first face his eleventh incarnation laid eyes on

.

Story notes

File:DWLogoS7 Power of Three.jpg

The unique logo for The Power of Three.

• For this episode, the Doctor Who logo's texture resembled the cubes featured prominently in the episode.
• The working title for this episode was Cubed.

Ratings

• The episode received an overnight viewership of 5.49 million people in the UK.

Filming locations

Belle Vue Park, Albert Road, Penarth (filming took place on June 28 2012)

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.

• After Kate Lethbridge-Stewart enters Amy and Rory's house, we see her take out her scanner. When she originally takes it out, her screen is facing the Doctor, and in the next shot, it is facing away from him.
• In some shots when the cubes are counting down from 7, some cubes are missing the numbers in one shot and then have them in the next.This can be seen at 28:01 when the doctor is in the room with the cube, and when the nurse is removing the cubes from the hospital at around 25:44

Continuity

• Rory's father Brian reappears. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
• The Eleventh Doctor, Amy and Rory have fish custard. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
• Kate Stewart is the daughter of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. (HOMEVID: Downtime, Dæmos Rising,The Scales of Injustice)
• The Doctor, talking to a flying cube, says, "Is that all you can do? Hover? I'd a metal dog that could do that", referring to K9. (TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith)
• The Doctor once again asks how humans cope with just one heart. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
• Twitter is mentioned again; the Doctor seems similarly unimpressed. (TV: The Girl Who Waited)
• The UNIT base beneath the Tower of London is visited. It was previously mentioned in TV: The Christmas Invasion and The Sontaran Stratagem.
• The Ponds' anniversary takes place. They were married in Leadworth on 26 June 2010. (TV: The Big Bang)
• A voice interface was last seen in TV: Let's Kill Hitler.
• Rory kisses the Doctor on the cheek. The Doctor previously kissed Rory on the mouth in a moment of excitement. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)
• The dress and hairstyle of Amy during her visit to the Savoy Hotel is similar to Tegan Jovanka's dress and hairstyle at the party's Shadow. (TV: Enlightenment)
• The Doctor unintentionally reveals his hiding place to Henry VIII by sneezing. In a previous adventure, whilst hiding from another royal, Charles II, he gives away his location by sneezing. (TV: The Impossible Astronaut)
• Whilst hiding from Henry VIII, the Doctor is holding a mobile phone charger, which is apparently dropped as he sneezes. (TV: A Town Called Mercy)
• The Doctor mentions that he's run restaurants before. (PROSE: The Crystal Bucephalus)
• The Doctor tells Brian that companions have left him, (TV: The Last of the Time Lords, et al.) been left behind, (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, et al.) and a very few have died. (TV: Earthshock, et al.)
• A defibrillator has been used on the Doctor before. (TV: Doctor Who: The Movie)
• Although he hates it, the Doctor gave a salute to Kate, like the Tenth Doctor when he was reunited with the Brigadier. (COMIC: The Warkeeper's Crown)

Home video releases

DVD releases

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Blu-ray releases

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External links

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Footnotes