The Lie of the Land (TV story)

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The Lie of the Land was the eighth episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. The conclusion of a three-story arc in which the Twelfth Doctor is pitted against the Monks, it saw him enter the Vault to consult Missy, revealing his endeavour to turn her from her destructive past to a path of "good".

The episode is very notable before it even aired for having one scene shown from it in the preview for all of Series 10 at the end of The Pilot: that being the Doctor starting to regenerate. Much like David Tennant before, after The Stolen Earth had aired, there were rumours and speculations that Peter Capaldi was actually leaving Doctor Who much earlier than he had previously announced.[1] However The Lie of the Land reveals that the Doctor doesn't actually regenerate, as it's shown that Time Lords can actually fake a regeneration by making the usual effects appear, but with no actual change in appearance happening.

Synopsis

The Monks have ruled the world since humanity took its very first baby steps towards the Sun. One problem... they haven't always been there. And only Bill Potts sees the truth. But where is the Doctor? And how can Bill make the rest of the world see?

Plot

A montage of images of events in human evolution is shown, as the Doctor does a voice over, saying that the Monks have guided humanity and helped them evolve while praising them, as a shot of the world on Earth shows that the Monks have erected giant statues of them.

In a house a family is watching it, as a symbol is shown with the words "truth" underneath. Suddenly, armed men break into the house and arrest the mother for spreading information that denies the "true history" as she yells that the Monks have only been there a few months. She is sentenced to ten years in labour camp. Bill watches them in horror, as a shot of the cities on Earth show that the statues are erected everywhere. The camera cuts to the Doctor telling everyone to relax and be obedient, assuring them that their future is being taken care of with a sinister smile.

In her flat, Bill sets down two mugs on a table, then concentrates. Another woman appears across the table. Bill greets her, saying, " Hello, Mum," revealing her to be her mother. She tells her that she did not know how the Monks had invaded. The scene changes to a flashback- Bill walking in the streets, among multiple representations of the Monks, and watching as bystanders cheer at images in a television of the Monks implementing "A swift and painless death". She remarks that it's like the population has been brainwashed. She says that she used to travel with the Doctor and Nardole, telling her mum that every day it's harder for her to remember. However, she's sure that he has a plan and "one day soon, he's going to come back and save us all".

Bill hears someone opening her door. She grabs a stool to use as a weapon, but finds that the intruder is Nardole. They scream at each other in fright. She angrily asks him where he had been, who says that he had been laid up with the bacteria for 6 weeks, having been poisoned. Nardole asks Bill who she had been talking to, and she tells him that she imagined a version of her mother who she talks to "all the time".

Cast

Crew

to be added

References

Culture

Science

Biology

  • A montage (in the beginning of the episode) shows a cell splitting.

Technology

Martial arts

Philosophy

Business

Currency

Food and beverages

  • The Doctor has takeaway menus in a drawer in the TARDIS.
  • The Doctor says that after spending six months of talking sense into the guards, he could use a Strepsil.
  • Missy says Nardole looks like an egg.

Locations

Species

People

Music

Story notes

File:Millenium FX's Gary Pollard Talks Series 10 Monsters - The Aftershow - Doctor Who The Fan Show

McNeice's Churchill in review copies
  • Ian McNeice's version of Winston Churchill was to appear at one of the screens in The Cathedral, seen as the Doctor is walking in. This was changed in the broadcast episode, as an image of the real Churchill was instead used.
  • This is the only episode of the revived series to feature the appearance of regeneration (albeit a faked one) to not be written by the head writer (then Steven Moffat).

Ratings

  • 3.01m (UK overnight figures)
  • 4.82m (UK final)

The episode also notably had the lowest audience share of any episode since the series revived in 2005, with only 20.3%.

Filming locations

to be added

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

Home video releases

DVD releases

to be added

Blu-ray releases

to be added

Digital releases

to be added

External links

Footnotes