Bad Night (home video)
Bad Night was the first of five exclusive-to-home-video shorts under the Night and the Doctor umbrella title. It was written by showrunner Steven Moffat.
Synopsis
When Amy is woken in the middle of the night by the TARDIS telephone, she finds an unamed Prince of Wales is on the other line, asking for the Doctor. Asking for the details of who the prince is and what year is calling from, Amy swats a fly. The Doctor enters the TARDIS with a fishbowl in hand, taking the phone and telling the prince not to worry as his mother is alright; the goldfish in the bowl is a transformed Queen.
A new call comes in, forcing the Doctor to hang up. An unnamed ambassador is on the other end of the line, yelling for his warrior cheif to be returned. However, the Doctor tells him that until the Queen is returned to normal, the warrior cheif will be trapped in the TARDIS. However, he hangs up upon seeing the fly Amy swatted. Amy is shocked since she thought it was a normal fly; "So much for the slaughterer of ten billion souls".
Amy questions what the Doctor has been up to and the Doctor explains that there was a slight incident at a party he was attending. She then tricks him into revealing River is at the party as he never dresses up. Amy the stops him for heading back out, needing to ask him something. However, the Doctor calls for Rory as she's "having an emotion" and it's his turn.
However, the Doctor screams in horror upon examining the goldfish in the bowl; it's the wrong one! He opens the door, shouting to River that they've got the wrong fish. He then explains to his sleepy companions that he has to get the right fish in three hours to save the commonwealth. When questioned why by Rory, the Doctor explains the pet shops open then.
Cast
Crew
- Writer - Steven Moffat
- Director - Richard Senior (uncredited)
References
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Story notes
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Myths and rumours
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Filming locations
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Production errors
- When the TARDIS phone rings, no one is standing at the TARDIS console. When it cuts to Amy answering the phone, she is standing in a position that was vacant in the previous shot.
- The water level of the goldfish bowl varies from shot to shot. Its lowest level is the close-angle shot of the bowl as the Doctor addresses the goldfish.
Continuity
- The opening shot of the TARDIS interior as the phone rings is similar to the opening shot for the prequel to DW: Let's Kill Hitler.
- Amy wears a nightie and and dressing gown ensemble, similar to that seen in The Eleventh Hour and The Beast Below
- The TARDIS phone was also called by another British historical figure, Winston Churchill. (DW: The Beast Below, DW: Victory of the Daleks)
- The Doctor denies sneaking away at night to be with River Song, which he subsequently contradicts when Amy asks how River's doing. The Doctor spending his nights with River is the theme of four of the five "Night and the Doctor" shorts and is also touched upon towards the end of DW: The Wedding of River Song.
Timeline
For the Doctor
Placement for this story for the Doctor, Amy and Rory is difficult as no indication of when it takes place is provided. However, the question Amy wishes to ask (and eventually gets to ask in Good Night), one can tell the following:
- This story occurs some point after: DW: Space / Time
- This story occurs some time before: DW: Good Night
For River Song
- This story occurs at some indeterminate point after: DW: Last Night
Home video releases
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External links
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