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The Shakespeare Code was the second episode of the third series of Doctor Who. It included the first televised appearance of William Shakespeare since a cameo in 1965's The Chase.
Writer Gareth Roberts was well known as a fan of Shakespeare; he had included him as a character in A Groatsworth of Wit, a Ninth Doctor comic strip. The Carrionites were also derived from the Bard's work, specifically the witches in Macbeth.
Code was one of the most costly stories ever produced, with large expenditures on costumes and sets. Some of the expense was quickly rationalised by BBC Wales, however. The interior of the witches' house was almost immediately reused as Sarah Jane's attic at 13 Bannerman Road, where its expense was amortised over the five-year run of The Sarah Jane Adventures. (DWMSE 23)
It also introduced the narrative lynchpin of Queen Elizabeth I having a severe distrust towards the Tenth Doctor. The reasoning behind why she disliked him so much wasn't explained until the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor.
Synopsis
As a reward for her help in the last episode, Martha Jones gets a trip in the TARDIS. The Tenth Doctor takes her to 1599 England. After viewing a performance of Shakespeare's latest play, the time travellers are beset by apparent sorcery. Under threat of annihilation from a species from the Dark Times, the TARDIS team have to establish whether there is a connection between a witch they've met and Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Won — a play that was legendarily lost to time.
Plot
A nymph, Lilith, is serenaded from her balcony by a lute-playing swain, Wiggins. Seeing how much he desires her, Lilith allows him entrance to her home. However, upon entering home, he is shocked to find it full of horrifying witching artifacts — not what he would expect a beautiful girl to have in her home. Lilith kisses Wiggins, but on pulling away, he finds her transformed into a wrinkled hag. She decides to introduce her suitor to her two "mothers", Mother Doomfinger and Mother Bloodtide. Much to Wiggins' horror, the two mothers cackle and pounce on him, apparently devouring him. Lilith cackles and states that at the hour of spoken words, they will be freed and the Earth will perish.
Meanwhile, the TARDIS has just landed nearby. Martha Jones steps outside and is amazed by the fact they've gone back in time. Martha questions when they are, but the Doctor quickly pulls Martha back, keeping her from being struck by the contents of a chamber pot. The Doctor tells her it's "before the invention of the toilet", apologising. However, Martha takes the event in stride as she has seen worse things in hospital. She then questions whether it is safe to walk around in the past, citing familiar time travel paradoxes such as the grandfather paradox and the so-called "butterfly effect". She frets over her reception as a black woman in a time when slavery still exists. The Doctor points out that he's not even human and to walk around like "you own the place", just as he does.
They walk around the town and the Doctor says Elizabethan England is far more like the 21st century than she might think. He points out there are things similar to the future: recycling, water cooler moments and people thinking the Earth will burn in flames AKA global warming. The Doctor deduces both their location and the year: near the Globe Theatre in 1599. He offers to take her to the theatre, to which Martha happily agrees to. The Doctor tells Martha when she gets home, she can tell everyone she's seen Shakespeare. However, Martha gleefully and sarcastically retorts that she would get sectioned.
At the Globe, Love's Labour's Lost is on. Martha tells the Doctor how much she loved the play before pointing out that the male actors are dressed as women. The Doctor jokes, "London never changes". Wanting to see the author himself, Martha starts what the Doctor thinks might be the first crowd chant for Shakespeare. The author himself comes on stage with the crowd cheering; he's quite a bit different from his portraits: he's not bald or wearing a collar. The Doctor goes on about how much he admires Shakespeare's genius. However, the Doctor turns out to be wrong about the consistency of the Bard's genius when he asks the audience to shut their "big fat mouths". Frowning, the Doctor moans in disappointment. Martha tells the Doctor he shouldn't meet his heroes.
Shakespeare then announces there will soon be a sequel, Love's Labour's Won. Watching from above is Lilith, dressed as royalty. When Will is about to announce when the play will be performed, she takes control of his mind with a puppet; Will declares that it will be tomorrow night. The Doctor is left bewildered by Will's sudden behaviour. Martha asks why she has never heard of Love's Labour's Won. The Doctor knows of the lost play as it appears in the listing of Shakespeare's works, but the play itself is non-existent. He decides to find out more about why it was never published.
At The Elephant, Will and his actors are given beer by Dolly Bailey, the landlady and Will's lover. In the room is Lilith, disguised as a maid. The actors asks Will why he announced the play for tomorrow instead of next week as they planned. He states that he will have the last scene finished by the morning. The Doctor enters and Shakespeare tells him to leave. He says he won't give him an autograph or a portrait done with him. He adds that the Doctor not ask him where he gets his ideas. Upon seeing Martha enter, he stops dead. Recognising the signs, the actors excuse themselves; to them, it looks like Shakespeare has found a new muse. Shakespeare is confused by Martha's clothing and the Doctor explains she's from "Freedonia".
Upon trying to pass himself off as "Sir Doctor of TARDIS" via the psychic paper, the Doctor is shocked to find that Shakespeare sees it as blank. Martha is confused by this as she sees the Doctor's title on the paper. Shakespeare remains adamant about what he sees and the Doctor explains the psychic paper, noting that Shakespeare's immunity to the paper proves the writer is an "absolute genius". The writer takes interest in the word and wonders who the Doctor is. However, his attention shifts to Martha, whom he tries wooing, describing her as "a queen of Afric" or a "blackamoor lady", which she finds slightly offensive. The Doctor says it's "political correctness gone mad".
At that moment, Lynley, Master of the Revels, barges in, demanding to see the script before he allows the play to proceed. Shakespeare tells him that the play will be given to him tomorrow morning; however, Lynley arrogantly declares that the Master of Revels does not work to an author's schedule. He again demands the play, but Shakespeare insists it's not ready yet. Insulted, Lynley declares that this slight means he will ensure the play will never be performed, even if it's the last thing he does. The Doctor assumes that this explains why Love's Labour's Won was never shown. Martha, on the other hand, thinks it's karma for Will insulting her.
Lilith overhears this, contacting her mothers to warn them; they tell her that the play must be performed the next night. She tells them to calm down and chant with her, adding hair she secretly took from Lynley to a doll; it is now a voodoo doll. Lillith plunges the doll into a bucket of water. The Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare hear a commotion in the street and run out, where Lynley vomits water. Lilith stabs the doll in the chest, and Lynley collapses, dead.
Martha and the Doctor try helping him, with the Doctor noting that it's like something stuck Lynley's heart. Martha attempts CPR, but is shocked to find Lynely's lungs full of water. The Doctor calmly announces to the crowd that Lynley died a natural death, of an sudden imbalance of the humours. Confused, Martha asks the Doctor why he told the crowd a lie. The Doctor whispers that they've got "one foot in the Dark Ages", and any seemingly unnatural answer would lead them to think that it was witchcraft. When Martha asks what actually killed Lynley, the Doctor responds, "witchcraft", confusing her further.
Inside the inn, they wonder about Lynley's murder, but Shakespeare is equally confused by Martha's training as a doctor, wondering what kind of land Freedonia is. Martha defends herself by saying that in Freedonia, women can have any profession they want. He then asks the Doctor how he can have eyes so old for someone young. The Doctor says it because he reads a lot. Shakespeare sees it's a trite reply, something he'd do himself. He then notes Martha looks at the Doctor like she's surprised that he even exists.
The Doctor and Martha have been informed by Dolly that she's prepared a room for them. Shakespeare explains he still has to finish writing the end of the play and bids the Doctor good-night, saying he will solve why the constant performance from him tomorrow. The Doctor then gives Shakespeare his "All the world's a stage" line before retiring for the night.
Martha is less than impressed with the room, complaining she doesn't even have a toothbrush. The Doctor gives her one from one of his pockets, explaining it contains Venusian spearmint. An excited Martha notes these odd events remind her of Harry Potter; with a smile, the Doctor tells her "Wait to till you read book seven. Oh, I cried." She then asks if magic is real, to which he states it doesn't — this looks like magic but isn't. She complains that she just started believing in time travel. The Doctor gives a disgruntled Martha mixed signals by casually sharing the bed with her only to show no interest, then dismissing the idea that a mere human could be channeling the psychic energy and bemoaning the lack of Rose's insight. However, without seeming to notice Martha's reaction, he attributes this to Martha being a novice to time travel. He says he'll take her back home tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Lilith entrances Shakespeare and, using a marionette, compels him to write a strange concluding paragraph to Love's Labour's Won. She is discovered by Dolly, whom had just finished her work to "relax" Will. Lilith shows her true face, scaring Dolly with a snarl as she reaches to steal her broom. Upon hearing another scream, the Doctor and Martha run into to find Dolly's body as Shakespeare wakes. Through the window, Martha sees Lilith flying away on a broomstick. When asked by the Doctor what she saw, Martha answers, "A witch".
In the morning the Doctor, Martha and Shakespeare are confused by what has happened. Correctly guessing that Shakespeare is central to the witch's plot, Martha accidentally tells Shakespeare he will write about witches. Shakespeare then remembers Peter Streete spoke of witches; he was the architect for the Globe Theatre. This leads the Doctor to investigate the Globe next. There, he wonders why the theatre is tetradecagal. The Doctor thinks he's heard of something before that involves the number 14, but can't seem to remember it.
Upon his companions' opinions of what has the number 14 in it, the Doctor asks why the Globe was designed like this. Shakespeare explains the architect thought it allowed the sound to carry well. When questioned as to the whereabouts of Peter Streete, Shakespeare says that he was admitted to Bedlam. The Doctor decides that is their next stop. Shakespeare follows after him after giving his actors the final draft of his play. He tells them the Queen may come, before muttering "As if."
The actors rehearse, with the lead actor reading what he thinks is gibberish; he guesses Will was dozing off as he wrote it. This alerts the witches, who say it's too soon for their spell. However, Lilith tells them it's just a preview of what's to come that night. They all cackle in glee as a spirit appears to the actors before they can finish reading the spell. It fades away, making them decide to keep it a secret. Or else they risk getting committed to Bedlam.
Once at Bedlam, Martha and the Doctor are disgusted to learn that the patients are whipped to entertain the gentry. Shakespeare defends it, saying that fear of the place helped "set him right". The Doctor explains that Shakespeare fell into depression after his son's death. Shakespeare then speaks, "To be or not to be", from his future play when explaining what he felt then, but wonders if the line is a bit pretentious; the Doctor is indifferent about it. They are led into Streete's cell, where the Doctor finds he is suffering from catatonia.
This visits causes Lillith to sense something is amiss; she and her mothers look into their cauldron and find the Doctor at the mad house with Shakespeare. Lillith notes the Doctor was at the inn with Shakespeare, and smells of something new. Fearing that they be revealed if the Doctor can get Peter to talk, Lilith has Doomfinger transport herself.
In the cell, the Doctor uses his telepathy to help Peter overcome his condition long enough to help explain what he went through. On the Doctor's order, Streete reveals that witches spoke to him and made him design the Globe to their design, not his own. He also tells the Doctor that the witches were based in All Hallows Street. Immediately, Mother Doomfinger appears in the cell and kills Peter with a touch. Martha yells to be let out, but is told by the Doctor that it's pointless as the entire building is yelling that.
Doomfinger tells them she'll stop their hearts, asking who would like to go first. The Doctor steps forward to confront her; Doomfinger explains no-one on Earth has knowledge of them. "Good thing I'm here" the Doctor quips. He then begins rambling about the facts: humanoid females that channel energy into power through words. The Doctor figures out that the 14 walls of the Globe are based on the 14 stars of the Rexel configuration. He then names Doomfinger a Carrionite, which causes her to disappear. The Doctor explains the Carrionites produce their "magic" through an ancient science based on the power of words.
In the witch's home, a wheezing Doomfinger rejoins Bloodtide and Lillith; she tells them that the Doctor knows of their true nature. Lillith promises to kill the Doctor as the bells ring outside. She tells her mothers to go the Globe and wait for her; Lillith will be waiting for the Doctor to find their home so she can kill him to put and end to his threat to their plans.
Back at the Elephant, the Doctor explains that Carrionites vanished at the dawn of the universe; thus it was left to debate whether they were actually real. However, its seems some of them are back. How they managed to get back is quickly figured out by Martha and the Doctor; when Shakespeare was grieving for his son, he wrote something in a play that allowed them access to Earth. The Carrionites now plan on using Will's brilliant words to bring the rest of their species back; "Love's Labour's Won is a weapon!" The Doctor tells Shakespeare to stop the show whilst he and Martha go to All Hallows Street to thwart the witches.
Per his orders, Shakespeare bursts on to the Globe's stage; he tells the crowd that they will be getting a refund, but the play must not be performed. However, Bloodtide and Doomfinger are there waiting, using their voodoo doll to knock Will out by tapping its head. The actors think Will is drunk, and carrying him backstage. They apologise to the crowd, resuming the play. Amused, Bloodtide tells her sister that no-one that can stop them now; humanity will doom itself.
The Doctor and Martha reach All Hallows Street, with Martha questioning how this could cause a problem, as she's living proof that the world didn't end this year. Annoyed, the Doctor tells her that it's like Back to the Future, where if the past is significantly changed, the entire present day will be rewritten into something entirely different; now fearful, Martha wonders if she's going to start fading away, to which the Doctor confirms if they don't stop the witches. The Doctor wonders which house they need to go to, finding a door opening itself; "Make that witch house."
They confront Lilith, who is expecting them. She confirms the Doctor's suspicions: the three Carrionites hope to gain entry for the rest of their species, eliminate the humans, begin a new empire on Earth and spread out from there. Martha, mimicking the Doctor's actions at Bedlam, tries to neutralise her by speaking the name Carrionite, but Lilith mocks her, since naming only works once. Instead, she names Martha Jones, rendering her unconscious, muttering that she was unable to harm her more, as she must be out of her own time. Lilith tries to do the same to the Doctor, but fails, as her psychic power is unable to uncover his real name. She senses a name that could hurt him and tries to weaken him by naming "Rose", but he assures her that that name keeps him fighting and demands to know how the Carrionites came to be on Earth.
Lilith explains the Eternals found the correct word to banish the Carrionites into darkness, but the three were able to escape using the power of Shakespeare's grief over his son — the grief of a genius — and intend to free the others. She approaches seductively, which the Doctor says definitely won't work on him, and then quickly cuts a lock of his hair. Taking flight through the window, she attaches the hair to a doll — which the Doctor says is basically a DNA replication module — and stabs it in the heart. The Doctor collapses, making Lilith think he's dead. She flies to the Globe, leaving them behind. Martha awakens, thinking the Doctor is dead as well, but finds he's still alive — two hearts. With her help, the Doctor manages to re-start his other heart. They proceed to the Globe to stop the Carrionites.
However, at the Globe, the actors have already spoken the last lines of the play. Much to the horror of the audience, Carrionites emerge from a crystal held by the three and swarm outside. The Doctor and Martha arrive to find Shakespeare regaining consciousness and rubbing his head in pain. After making a joke about his eventual balding, the Doctor goes on stage to try undoing the damage, but finds only William can.
Joining the Doctor, Shakespeare is told to improvise a verse to get rid of the Carrionites, as he is the most brilliant wordsmith. The Carrionites in the theatre wither in fear of his words, but William gets stuck on the last one, unable to think of a rhyme. Martha comes up with "Expelliarmus" (a magic word coined by author J. K. Rowling in her Harry Potter books) and the Carrionites — together with all the extant copies of Love's Labour's Won — are sucked through the portal. Martha, Shakespeare and the actors are left to take the applause of the audience who thought it was special effects. The Doctor finds the three "witches" trapped, screaming in their own crystal ball.
In the morning, Shakespeare flirts once more with Martha. The Doctor walks out of the prop room, carrying a skull, which he states reminds him of a Sycorax; Shakespeare states he'll take that word from him as well. "I must be on 10% now" the Doctor thinks. The Doctor gives Will a neck brace for his pain, telling him to keep it as it looks good on him. Looking at the crystal ball, the Doctor says he has a nice dark attic for the Carrionites to scream in for all eternity, and that he needs to get Martha back to Freedonia. However, Will then tells the Doctor that he actually means they will be leaving this era. He reveals his deduction that the Doctor is not of the Earth and that Martha is from the future.
Shakespeare tells the Doctor that they aren't so different; both are men of great intellect. He ponders rewriting the play, but is told not to as it would risk releasing the Carrionites (as they could manipulate him into rewriting the spell). Accepting this, Will announces that he will now focus on writing about sons and father in honour of his son, Hamnet. Martha is surprised by this, asking Will about the name; obviously, Will is going to base Hamlet on his son. For his "Dark Lady", he produces the sonnet, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" in her honour, but is interrupted when two of his actors burst in
To Will's shock, they tell him the Queen wants to see the play, due to the audience thinking that the Carrionites were all part of the play; however, this is not going to be possible as it was a one-off event. Queen Elizabeth enters, much to the Doctor's amusement. However, it seems they have met before in her past; he is deemed her "sworn enemy". The Queen declares, "Off with his head!"
This shocks the Doctor as he has yet to meet her, but comments that he is looking forward to finding out what he will do to offend her. He is then forced to run by Martha to keep himself alive. They run through the streets back to the TARDIS as the guards run after them. They enter the TARDIS, slamming the door just as an arrow embeds itself in the TARDIS' exterior before dematerialisation.
Cast
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
- Shakespeare - Dean Lennox Kelly
- Lilith - Christina Cole
- Wiggins - Sam Marks
- Doomfinger - Amanda Lawrence
- Bloodtide - Linda Clark
- Dick - Jalaal Hartley
- Kempe - David Westhead
- Dolly Bailey - Andrée Bernard
- Lynley - Chris Larkin
- Jailer - Stephen Marcus
- Peter Streete - Matt King
- Preacher - Robert Demeger
- Queen Elizabeth - Angela Pleasence
Crew
| Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner |
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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
- Psychic paper doesn't work on Shakespeare.
- The Carrionites have several similarities to the Shadeys who were also involved with Shakespeare at one point.
Culture
- There are numerous Harry Potter mentions and references.
- Martha references the Grandfather Paradox.
- The Doctor uses the 1980s film Back to the Future to explain the mechanics of the infinite temporal flux in relation to time travel to Martha.
- Martha thinks she is going to be carted off as a slave because she is black, which references the slave trade.
- In attempting to explain Martha to Shakespeare, the Doctor claims that she comes from Freedonia.
Story notes
- This was the second appearance of a famous writer in the revived series, the first being Charles Dickens in TV: The Unquiet Dead.
- This episode's working titles were Theatre of Doom and Love's Labours Won.
- Freedonia is a fictional country from the comedy film Duck Soup.
- Shakespeare did use the word Sycorax in his play The Tempest.
- Shakespeare referred to Martha as the "Dark Lady," the mysterious subject (though perhaps allegorical) of many of his sonnets.
- The story plays on the speculation around Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Won, a possible "lost play" or alternate title for an existent play.
- Lilith's name is only said once throughout the whole episode. It is only said in the beginning when the young man tells Lilith that her house is foul. Her name is not even said by Bloodtide, Doomfinger or Lilith herself.
- Actress Christina Cole revealed on the audio commentary that she took her vampire teeth home with her.
Ratings
- 7.22 million viewers - BARB final ratings
- 6.8 million viewers - Overnight ratings
- 1.039 million viewers - BBC3 Repeat ratings
Filming locations
- Ford's Hospital, Greyfriar's Lane, Coventry
- Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick
- Newport Indoor Market (Basement), Newport
- Chelesmore Manor House, Greyfriar's Lane, Coventry
- Shakespeare's Globe, Southwark, London
- BBC Studios, Upper Boat, Tonteg Road, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd
- Stageworks, Unit H1, Colchester Industrial Estate, Colchester Avenue, Penylan, Cardiff
- Black Horse Ltd, St William House, Tresillian Terrace, Cardiff
Production errors
- When Lilith is attempting to charm the Doctor, she strokes his face. In the first shot, she's stroking his hair behind his ear, in the next shot, she is touching his sideburn, and her fingers shift to behind his ear again in the following shot.
- When the crowd is chanting "author!" a shot of one of the wooden beams has 'Bay J' printed on it. This is part of the reconstructed Globe and wouldn't have been present in the original.
Continuity
- The Doctor previously encountered the Carrionites in his fourth (PROSE: Toil and Trouble) and sixth incarnations (AUDIO: The Carrionite Curse).
- The Doctor and Martha visit the Globe Theatre, as the First Doctor's companions Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright had intended to do in November 1605 before becoming embroiled in the Gunpowder Plot. (PROSE: The Plotters)
- Shakespeare has previously appeared as a young boy in AUDIO: The Time of the Daleks, on the Space Time Visualiser in TV: The Chase, as an older man (who hitches a ride aboard the TARDIS) in AUDIO: The Kingmaker and PROSE: The Empire of Glass.
- The Doctor reads minds in TV: The Girl in the Fireplace and TV: Fear Her. The First Doctor earlier remarked upon his capability to read Ian Chesterton's mind. (TV: The Sensorites)
- The Doctor previously felt emotional at the mention of his lost companion, Rose. (TV: The Runaway Bride)
- The arrow that is shot into the TARDIS mimics similar occurrences in TV: An Unearthly Child and TV: Silver Nemesis. It is still there in the next episode and is removed by the Doctor after materialising. (TV: Gridlock)
- Queen Elizabeth's anger at the Doctor is given a possible cause in TV: The End of Time, when the Doctor indicates that he had married her and then left unexpectedly, during an event later in his timeline but earlier for her. This marriage takes place during TV: The Day of the Doctor, where he made a marriage proposal to the real Elizabeth I by accident after thinking he was speaking to a Zygon impersonator, then jilted her by fleeing to his TARDIS when there was no other way out of the lifelong commitment.
- The Doctor also mentioned meeting Queen Elizabeth in TV: The Mind of Evil.
- The Doctor claims that Martha is a citizen of the nation of "Freedonia". Freedonia was the name of a planet in PROSE: Warmonger.
- The Doctor uses the title of "Sir Doctor of TARDIS". (TV: Tooth and Claw)
- The Doctor's elder brother, Irving Braxiatel, would later obtain a copy of Love's Labour's Won for the Braxiatel Collection. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
- Lilith mentions the Eternals. (TV: Enlightenment)
- The Doctor mentions the Sycorax from Christmas Day. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
- The Doctor's psychic paper fails to work again because the person on the receiving end is able to outsmart the trick it plays on the mind. (TV: Army of Ghosts)
- The crystal ball imprisoning the Carrionites reappears when the Doctor is fishing through a TARDIS chest for an Agatha Christie novel. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp)
- After arriving in 1599, The Doctor tells Martha to "walk like you own the place." The Seventh Doctor told Ace something similar while they were investigating at Windsor Castle. (TV: Silver Nemesis)
- In TV: Planet of Evil, the Fourth Doctor mentions he once met Shakespeare, and went on to claim he was a terrible actor. Sarah Jane suggests that perhaps this is why he took up writing.
- The subject of the Doctor's old eyes returns when Clara Oswald later notices that the War Doctor has younger eyes than the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor because they contain more hope. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- One of the Doctor's hearts stops temporarily. Both hearts stopped in the previous episode, TV: Smith and Jones, from blood loss, but were restarted when Martha applied pressure to them.
Home video releases
- This story was released with Smith and Jones and Gridlock on the Series 3 Volume 1 DVD.
- It is also included in the Series 3 DVD box set.
External links
- Official BBC Website - Episode Guide: The Shakespeare Code
- The Shakespeare Code at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
- The Discontinuity Guide to: The Shakespeare Code at The Whoniverse
- The Shakespeare Code at Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History of Time (Travel)
- The Shakespeare Code at The Locations Guide