Dark Water (TV story)
Dark Water was the eleventh episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It saw the return of the Cybermen and Missy, and the Twelfth Doctor's first encounter with both. The events of the episode centred around the sudden and unexpected physical death of Danny Pink after a fatal accident, his transition into an existence beyond his body and the effect his bodily demise had on Clara Oswald. The story also explored the concept of an engineered afterlife, and revealed the identity of the victim unintentionally murdered by Danny when he was still a soldier.
Dark Water showed an important aspect of the Time Lord's regeneration process that had been mentioned before, but never seen before on screen: the possibility for a change of gender to occur. Missy, a mysterious figure throughout the series, was revealed to be the first female incarnation of the Master, showing for the first time in the history of the series a Time Lord, who had been portrayed by male actors, now being portrayed by a female actor.
This was also the first encounter between the Doctor and the Master since The End of Time, before they regenerated into their next incarnations, though while the cause of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration was shown, it's not revealed in Dark Water or Death in Heaven when the previously male Master had regenerated, nor how she had escaped the pocket dimension that held Gallifrey.
Synopsis
Though Clara wants to mend her relationship with Danny, fate seems to have a different idea for how to resolve her guilt for lying to him; a terrible accident tears Danny out of Clara's life and leaves her more desperate than she's ever been.
Adding onto the unfolding drama, the Doctor and Clara discover a tomb where the dead aren't exactly as they seem...
Plot
Clara is ready to confess to Danny the adventures she's been having with the Doctor, despite telling him she wasn't. She calls Danny, explaining that she cannot tell him this in person and reaffirms that she loves him. However, when there is nothing but silence on the other end of the line, Clara asks for a response; a woman answers, and explains that Danny was hit by a car. Clara rushes to find a lifeless Danny being put in an ambulance.
Time passes, with a memorial to Danny being erected at the site of his death; an announcement is held at the school, asking everyone to help Clara through the ordeal. An obviously distraught Clara watches the area Danny died, but keeps a calm face.
Clara returns to her flat, where she is attempting to call the Doctor; however, he isn't in the TARDIS at the time. Her gran arrives, trying to console her. Clara seems about ready to lose her sanity, going on into a rant about how it wasn't fair. At that moment, the Doctor finally picks up the phone; Clara greets him warmly, asking if there's anything he can do for her. Clara pauses, looking as if she has just gotten an idea.
Later, the Doctor picks up Clara; he senses that something is wrong, interrogating her about how "P.E." is. However, Clara deflects his questions as she walks around the console room; she asks to see an active volcano, since she hasn't. The Doctor works the controls as Clara picks up all the hidden keys inside the room. She asks for a sleep patch, since she's having trouble sleeping; she argues with the Doctor as she sneaks up on him with one, knocking him out.
The Doctor awakens to find himself outside the TARDIS with Clara on a volcano; she explains that he once told her only lava can destroy a TARDIS key, hence her request of destination. She explains that Danny is dead, and that she wants him to prevent the accident; however, the Doctor points out that it would create a paradox - if the accident never happened, this current scenario wouldn't have either. To prevent the Doctor from taking control of the situation, Clara tosses all but one of the keys into the lava. The Doctor still refuses, and after egging Clara on, she tosses the remaining key into the lava. She breaks down, hysterical that she has now doomed them to be on this world. However, the Doctor tells her to look at her hand; its the sleep patch,.
The Doctor removes the patch, explaining Time Lords are immune to mood drugs; when she tried sedating him, he put it on her instead, putting her in suggestive state. Now seeing reality, which is that they are both still inside the TARDIS, Clara wonders where this has left them. The Doctor tells her "go to Hell", prompting Clra to head for the door; however, he explains that he was being literal - they're going to Hell, or some kind of afterlife to find Danny Pink. He was testing her to see how far she would go out of love. The Doctor agrees to do everything he can and connects her to the TARDIS' telepathic circuits, as her timestream's connected to Danny's. The TARDIS takes them to wherever she thinks Danny now is.
Danny wakes-up in the Nethersphere, and is greeted by Seb, who informs him of his demise. He looks out the window to see an entire city, which is contained within a spherical shape. Seb asks him to fill out some forms, but abruptly asks if Danny's to be cremated; he flinches upon hearing it's a possibility.
In the meantime, the TARDIS has taken the Doctor and Clara to the 3W, where they see skeletons seated in watery graves. The find a book, which gives a holographic greeting; a voice reads the text aloud. The Doctor knows someone was reading the words backwards, asking the person to come forward. They’re greeted by Missy, who asks how she can assist them. Stating that he clearly didn't receive the formal advance materials, she kisses the Doctor, and claims to be a MobIle Intelligence SyStems Interface. Missy lets the Doctor feel her heart, evoking a reaction of quiet surprise from the Doctor. She explains that "the doctor" maintains her heart, calling for Dr. Chang. He greets them and takes them to the main office, where he can help find Danny for them.
In the Nethersphere, Seb asks Danny if he's ever killed someone, due to a request from someone Danny could have killed in the army. Remembering his "bad day", the child Danny accidentally killed is revealed to him.
In Dr. Chang's office, he explains tanks are full of dark water; only organic matter can be seen, and the bodies are in exoskeletons to prevent the remains from floating away. He explains that he's been trying to get people to put the dark water in public pools, but the Doctor can't understand why since it's not a practical idea.
Danny meets with the child, who runs away when Danny tries reaching out to him. He and Seb hear a man screaming, which Seb explains to mean he left his body to science.
Chang then explains to the Doctor and Clara that the 3W was established after a discovery from television static, that their founder, Dr Skarosa, translated to be distant voices. Believing them to be the voices of the recently departed, Skarosa isolated some of them. Chang plays a recording of the fearful voice that inspired 3W's founding: “Don’t cremate me”. Chang tells them the dead are still conscious, and completely aware of everything that happens to their body.
Seb is explaining the same to Danny, who constantly feels cold because he’s still connected to his body, which is being kept in a cold place. At the same time, they hear a scream from someone who donated their body to science, and thus is in a lot of pain.
The Doctor states that the dead don't come back, and Chang establishes a signal to the Nethersphere for communication, and Clara is able to speak to Danny, with Seb's assistance. The Doctor tells to Clara to ask Danny questions only to which would he know the answer; he doesn't believe that this is possible and thus is forcing her to question her only chance to get any closure with Danny.
Missy activates the tanks, and the skeletons stand. The Doctor arrives with Chang, telling him that his greeting droid is in need of repair; however, Chang explains that Missy is actually his boss. Missy asks Dr. Chang to says something nice, or she will wait to kill him until he does so. Telling Missy that he enjoyed working with her, Chang is vaporized. As the tanks begin to empty, the Cybermen are slowly revealed.
Clara asks Danny to name the restaurant of their first date – he can't remember. She keeps pressing him for other answers.
Missy shows the Doctor the Nethersphere, which is a part of the Matrix housing minds of the deceased in edited forms, while their bodies are used for Cyber-conversion. The Doctor knows the Nethersphere (actually a small sphere within 3W) which is containing the neural patterns is actually Gallifreyan technology, and Missy reveals that she is indeed a Time Lord, or rather a Time Lady as she prefers to be called. The Doctor asks her which Time Lady she is – she's the one he "left for dead", without expecting her to "find [her] way back". The Doctor runs out of the 3W, which is St Paul's Cathedral; Missy laughs at him for not knowing where he was.
Clara asks Danny more information about her and tells him if he is Danny, she is determined to find him and threatens to hang up if he says "I love you" one more time instead of answering her questions. Danny tells Clara she must continue her life and not follow him; he repeats the same words for the last time and she disconnects the communication signal. Seb gives Danny the option to delete himself, which would relieve him from the surge of emotional trauma from his call with Clara.
Back in 3W, a miffed Clara turns around to see a fully-revealed Cyberman (made from the 3W founder) in the water tank. The Cybermen activate, and begin marching down the steps of St Paul's Cathedral. The Doctor yells at civilians to run away, but he’s dismissed as an angry Scotsman (thanks to Missy making fun of him). The Doctor demands that Missy tell him who she truly is, and Missy reveals that her name is short for "Mistress" as she couldn't keep calling herself by her old title... the Master. The Doctor initially reacts with disbelief that quickly turns to horror when he realizes she is telling the truth and his old nemesis has returned.
In the Nethersphere, Danny is on the verge of disconnecting himself, and sees the child he killed reflected on the screen of the iPad he holds.
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
- Clara - Jenna Coleman
- Danny - Samuel Anderson
- Missy - Michelle Gomez
- Woman - Joan Blackham
- Gran - Sheila Reid
- Seb - Chris Addison
- Dr Chang - Andrew Leung
- Fleming - Bradley Ford
- Boy- Antonio Bourouphael
- Cyberman - Jeremiah Krage
- Cyberman - Ryan Armstrong (Uncredited)
- Mr Armitage - Nigel Betts
Crew
| Executive Producers Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin |
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| 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
- TARDIS keys can only be destroyed by lava.
- The Doctor is busy on another planet when Clara calls.
Individuals
- Clara's birthday (23rd November) is used by Danny to convince her that he is genuine.
- Upon being asked by the Doctor whether there are stairs in the 3W base, Missy replies that she isn't a Dalek.
- When asked about having iPads in the afterlife by Danny, Seb responds by saying that they have Steve Jobs.
Story notes
- The Cybermen walking from St Paul's Cathedral and through the London streets emulates a similar scene in the same location in the TV story The Invasion.
- This episode marks the first on screen instance of regeneration changing the gender of a Time Lord, although the possibility had been alluded to in The End of Time, The Doctor's Wife and The Night of the Doctor. The only time the Doctor had indicated he may change genders had been when he was recovering from regeneration, a state in which his mental stability is temporarily diminished.
- The Radio Times programme listing was accompanied by a small colour head-and-shoulders photograph of Missy and the Doctor, with the accompanying caption “ Doctor Who / 8:15 p.m. Missy and the Time Lord come face to face at last – what will the outcome be?”
- The Hyperscape Body Swap Ticket used to get Clara and the Eleventh Doctor into the Doctor Who at the Proms is shown on Clara's bookshelf among her sticky notes. Discounting the sticky note references to the Paternoster Gang, whom Clara had also encountered in Series 7, and one reading "Impossible Girl" (which was a plot element in TV: Deep Breath), the ticket is the only item exclusive to the Eleventh Doctor era visible on Clara's notes, though the camera does not focus in on all the stickies.
- When the Doctor hands Dr. Chang the psychic paper, it says that he is from the government and Chang questions the amount of swearing on the paper. The Doctor responds with "I've got a lot of internalized anger." Peter Capaldi is well known for his role as the foul-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It and its spin-off film, In the Loop.[1]
- This episode marks the first use of the term "Time Lady" in the revived series.
- At a Royal Television Society event, Steven Moffat revealed a decoy version of Missy's reveal in the episode was shot in case any members of the public overheard: “You know who I am. I’m Missy. Or, if you’d prefer, Random Access Neural Integrator. Rani for short.”[2]
- Even with series 8 running for one episode shorter than normal, this episode still mananges to continue the trend of the Cybermen appearing in the penultimate episode of every series since Steven Moffat assumed the role of head writer and executive producer. The Pandorica Opens in series 5, Closing Time in series 6 and Nightmare in Silver in series 7, all of them featuring the Cybermen, were also all the twelfth episodes of thirteen in their respective series.
- From among books in which the Doctor has hidden TARDIS keys, Clara picks up a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife, which influenced the character of River Song and the plot of The Girl in the Fireplace.[3]
- The plot point of the dead been conscious was controversial enough for the BBC to release a statement defending it after receiving complaints from viewers.
Ratings
7.34 million (DWM 481)
Filming locations
Production errors
- When Danny is walking across the park, his phone rings, which means that Clara is calling him. When Clara is shown holding her phone, it displays "Danny calling" which would normally indicate that Danny has called her. Furthermore, her phone clearly still shows the "Danny calling" message even when she is talking to him.
- In addition, all smartphone-style mobile phones are designed to blank their screens when held up to a person's ear (to avoid accidental key presses by the cheek, earlobe, etc.), yet the screen on Clara's phone remains active throughout the call.
Continuity
- In Clara's flat, there are numerous post-it notes with references to Clara's travels with the Doctor, including:
- The Paternoster Gang (TV: The Crimson Horror, The Name of the Doctor, Deep Breath)
- The "Impossible Girl" (TV: The Name of the Doctor, Deep Breath)
- "Dinosaur in London" and Half-Face Man (TV: Deep Breath)
- "Miniature Clara"" (TV: Into the Dalek)
- Robin Hood (TV: Robot of Sherwood)
- The Bank of Karabraxos, Psi and Saibra (TV: Time Heist)
- Courtney Woods becoming the president and the text "Kill the Moon" (TV: Kill the Moon)
- The Orient Express (TV: Mummy on the Orient Express)
- In addition there were many post-it notes about Clara telling the truth to Danny. (TV: In the Forest of the Night) There is also a post-it with the words "3 months", the context of which has yet to be explained.
- Among the post-it notes in the shelf, there is a "body swap" ticket. The Eleventh Doctor and Clara previously used one of these to infiltrate the Royal Albert Hall. (Doctor Who at the Proms)
- The Doctor takes a call from Clara using the TARDIS's exterior phone. (TV: The Bells of Saint John, The Time of the Doctor)
- The emergence of the Cybermen from their tombs bears similarities to their awakening on Telos (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen) and their descending the steps of St Paul's mirrors their earlier invasion of Earth. (TV: The Invasion)
- A female incarnation of the Master was previously mentioned to be among his various incarnations who were captured by the Sild. (PROSE: Harvest of Time)
- The Doctor previously knew of at least one other Time Lord who changed gender, the Corsair (TV: The Doctor's Wife). The Doctor momentarily thought himself a female upon regeneration due to his long hair (TV: The End of Time), and was offered an artificially induced female regeneration at the end of his eighth incarnation. (TV: The Night of the Doctor)
- The Doctor uses the TARDIS's telepathic interface to help them find Danny. (TV: Listen)
- Clara attempts to force the Doctor to go back in time and avert Danny's death. This isn't the first time he has been asked to do so. (TV: Earthshock)
- The Master previously had an assistant named Chang Lee whom he also killed, although in that case Lee was resurrected. (TV: Doctor Who)
- The dark water shows the human skeletons inside the Cybermen. The Cyberman guarding the Pandorica under Stonehenge revealed a human skull inside its head when it attacked Amy Pond. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)
- The windows on the door to Dr. Chang's office and the logo of 3W itself somewhat resemble the Cybus Industries logo. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen, Age of Steel) When two doors with the logo are placed next to each other, they resemble Cyberman eyes.
- Cybermen have converted and housed the deceased before. (AUDIO: The Reaping, TV: The Pandorica Opens, PROSE: Plague of the Cybermen)
- There is a black and white photo on Clara's bookshelf of her and her father. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten)
- The Nethersphere is a "Matrix slice," related to the Time Lord consciousness storage and virtual reality technology. (TV: The Deadly Assassin et.al.)
- The St. Paul's Cathedral was made bigger on the inside by Missy, who used it to store 91 Cybermen. This was later pointed out by the Doctor. (TV: Death in Heaven)
- After Missy's kiss with the Doctor, he says that she is very realistic. Clara points out the tongue, prompting a "shut up" from the Doctor. The Tenth Doctor had previously told the Eleventh Doctor to shut up when he pointed out the earlier incarnation had kissed a Zygon. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- The Master previously worked briefly with the Cybermen before, albeit only because he was forced to at that time. He soon tricked that group of Cybermen into their demise. (TV: The Five Doctors)
- We finally learn what Danny's "bad day" was that forced him out of the army. (TV: Kill the Moon)
Home video releases
DVD releases
Doctor Who Series 8 Boxset
Blu-ray releases
Doctor Who Series 8 Blu-ray Boxset
External links
to be added
Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/11198931/Doctor-Who-Review-Dark-Water.html
- ↑ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2014-11-12/we-tried-to-trick-doctor-who-fans-into-thinking-missy-was-the-rani-reveals-steven-moffat
- ↑ http://gothamist.com/2011/04/21/steven_moffatt_executive_producer_o.php
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