Flatline was the ninth episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. For scheduling reasons, it was a “Doctor-lite” episode.
Flatline was Jamie Mathieson’s first scrip for the show. Two years before writing it, he had pitched his ideas for a story to Steven Moffat, but was unsuccessful. When he again met with the executive producer, he showed him four ideas for episodes, complete with his own illustrations, aided by his background in art college. Taking an interest in the monster he had created for what would become Flatline, Moffat asked Mathieson to produce a story outline and he got the job to script the episode.
It was only after writing several drafts that he was told the episode would need to lock the Doctor away in a single location, as Peter Capaldi’s scenes for the episode needed to be filmed quickly to bide by the production schedule.
Mathieson decided to write a script where the Doctor was “in the dark”. For this to be successful, he had to create a unknown quantity to feature as his alien enemy. Much like his next creation, the Foretold, he elected to have no dialogue for the aggressors, allowing something about them to remain “unknowable”. (DWM 479)
Synopsis
In a council estate, Clara takes charge as beings from another dimension threaten the Earth...
Plot
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Cast
Crew
| Executive Producers Brian Minchin and Steven Moffat |
| Production Designer Michael Pickwoad | ||||||||||
| Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG
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Music Murray Gold
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Special Effects Real SFX | ||||||||
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Original theme music by Ron Grainer • With thanks to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales | ||||||||||
| General production staff Script department Camera and lighting department |
Art department Costume department |
Make-up and prosthetics
General post-production staff Special and visual effects Sound |
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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
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Story notes
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Ratings
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity
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Home video releases
DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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External links
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