The Beast Below (TV story)

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The man above might say hello, expect no love from the Beast Below!Poetry Girl

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The Beast Below is the second episode of Matt Smith's first series.

Synopsis

The Doctor takes Amy to the distant future, where she finds Britain in space. Starship UK houses the future of the British people, as they search the stars for a new home. But as Amy explores, she encounters the terrifying Smilers and learns a deadly truth inside the Voting Booth.

Plot

Starship UK is floating through space - the words 'Yorkshire', 'Kent' and 'Surrey' visible on some of the buildings. The scene cuts to a classroom on board Starship UK where a line of children are receiving praise from a Smiler. One boy, Timmy, stays seated until his sister, Mandy, persuades him to join the line. When it is his turn to face the Smiler, he doesn't receive any praise , instead getting a 0, but the Smiler turns it's head 360 degrees to show its frowning face. Because Timmy got 0, he isn't allowed on the lifts back down to his house in London. He protests about having to walk down 20 decks and wants to take the lift. However, his sister says that if he were to ride a lift, he would get sent down 'below'. As soon as the lift has gone, he steps into the other one and says to go to London. On the screen, a girl reads out some verses - ending in 'The man above might say hello, expect no love from the Beast Below'. The Smiler in the lift turns its face from happy to frowning and then looks at Timmy. Suddenly, the lift shudders and starts plunging down to Floor Number 0. On arriving, the floor opens up onto a deep red cavern, and as Timmy falls in the Smiler's frowning face swivels and is replaced by an almost demonic face.

The scene cuts to the TARDIS drifting through space with the doors open, with the Doctor holding Amy as she joyfully drifts around. The Doctor pulls her in and comments that he was not lying to Amy when he stated it was a space ship. While Amy goes mad with enthusiasm, the Doctor notices a ship flying under the TARDIS. The Doctor sets a course for the ship and tells Amy about the Sun turning on Earth, and all of humanity migrating to the stars.

The Doctor tells Amy that as this is not their time, they should only observe and not get involved in affairs. As Amy comments on how hard that is, she notices that the Doctor has already left and is trying to talk to Mandy, who is silently crying.

Cast

Crew

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Sound



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 tells Amy about some of the events that happened in The End of Time and how he is still coping with the fact that he is the last of the Time Lords since all the others were taken back to the day Gallifrey was destroyed.

Story Notes

  • The sinister 'Smilers' appeared in this episode, as confirmed in DWM Issue 419.
  • The Story was set in the UK in the far future, floating in space.
  • Like DW: The End of the World , this episode featured the Doctor taking a new companion into the distant future for her first trip in the TARDIS.
  • In a short clip on the BBC's Doctor Who website, the Doctor says that in the 29th century the Earth was roasted with solar flares and that the human race had to migrate out into the stars. (DW: The Ark in Space)
  • In the latest UK trailer, a shot of "Starship UK" was seen, showing what appeared to be skyscrapers with names of various counties of Britain on them. [1]
  • This story leads directly into the next.
  • Another crack could be seen at the very end of the story, continuing the new theme of cracks appearing throughout the universe.
  • Unusually for the program, nobody dies on screen.
  • Counting his flashback appearance in the previous story, this is the first episode to not show David Tennant since Series 1's Bad Wolf.

Ratings

to be added

Filming Locations

  • Mamhilad, Monmouthshire, Wales

Rumours

  • It was originally rumoured that Sophie Okonedo was to play the character called "Liz Ten" which then was rumoured to be "Queen Elizabeth X". Sophie Okonedo was confirmed to play The Masked Woman. In dialogue, it was confirmed that her character was indeed "Elizabeth X". In the credits, she was listed as "Liz 10".
  • It was rumoured that The Doctor and Amy will be swallowed by a creature 'The Beast' and have to make the 'Beast' regurgitate then to escape. This is proven more likely with them both being drenched (having wet clothes) in the trailer[2]. This was indeed the case, and the Doctor and Amy were swallowed. [3].

Production errors

to be added

Continuity

DVD/Blu-Ray release

  • BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume One is scheduled for release on DVD and Blu-Ray on 7th June 2010 (UK only), featuring The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, and the featurette The Monster Diaries. [1]

External Links

to be added

Footnotes

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