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Here's to it, Utopia!
Synopsis
As Captain Jack stows his way back into the Doctor's life, the TARDIS lands at the end of the universe. But as the last of the human race sets out to their dream homeland, will the vicious Futurekind scuttle the rocket?
Plot
The episode begins with the TARDIS arriving at Cardiff to refuel at the Rift. The Doctor mentions that the Rift has been active (reference to the events of TW: End of Days), and so refuelling should only take 20 seconds. Jack Harkness is seen running towards the TARDIS. Martha then asks the Doctor about the earthquake that happened in Cardiff, to which the Doctor merely replies "A bit of trouble with the Slitheen."
Jack is seen running for the TARDIS, shouting the Doctor's name. The Doctor, shocked, sees Jack approaching on the monitor, but nonetheless
takes off. Jack leaps on to the TARDIS as it dematerialises, and the TARDIS console sends out sparks, knocking the Doctor and Martha to the floor. The Doctor notes that they are accelerating towards the future, ending up at the year 100 trillion, as the Doctor notes, the end of the Universe. Jack holds on tightly to the TARDIS, screaming for the Doctor as they hurtle through the vortex.
A human is seen running from the Futurekind. Within his laboratory, Professor Yana notes that there is movement on the surface: a "human hunt". His assistant Chantho asks if she should alert the guards. Yana tells her not to, as there are too few soldiers left. The Professor is asked for a progress report over the radio, but is unable to finish, as he hears the sound of drums in his head. Yana then detects the TARDIS on the radar, "It would seem something new has appeared".
The Doctor tells Martha that he doesn't know what is outside, remarking that none of the Time Lords
came this far. They step outside to find Jack on the ground, as Martha rushes to get a medical kit, the Doctor looks at Jack, saying; "Oh I'm sorry.". The Doctor realises that
Jack hung on all the way through the vortex, remarking how it is "very him". Martha tells the Doctor that Jack is dead, just before he takes a deep breath and sits up, grabbing Martha by the arms. Jack immediately begins to flirt with Martha, and an annoyed Doctor tells him not to start.
The Doctor and Jack greet each other tersely. The Doctor asks Jack if he has "had work done", to which an incredulous Jack refers to the Doctor's regeneration. Jack accuses the Doctor of abandoning him, which the Doctor shrugs off. Jack asks after Rose, having seen the list of the dead after the Battle of Canary Wharf. The Doctor happily tells Jack that she is safe and sound on a parallel world, and Jack and the Doctor embrace.
The Futurekind are once again seen chasing the same man as before, Jack tells Martha of being stranded in the year two-hundred-thousand one hundred (200,100 A.D.), and of the Doctor going off without him. Jack shows Martha his Vortex Manipulator, and the Doctor compares it to a space hopper as opposed to his TARDIS, which he labels a sports car. Jack had used the Manipulator, ended up in 1869, and had to live through the centuries, basing himself at the Rift until his life co-incided with one of the Doctor's incarnations, Martha asks if the Doctor just gets bored of his companions, with Jack replying "not if you're blonde".
As they come across a city-like conglomeration, the Doctor remarks that all the great civilisations of the universe are gone, and the stars are all burning out. The Doctor hints that he knows of Jack's "condition". Jack spots the man running from the Futurekind. Jack catches the man, and pushes him towards the Doctor, drawing his service revolver. The Doctor stops Jack from killing the Futurekind, and Jack fires into the air, scaring them. The Doctor plans to head for the TARDIS, but they are cut off by more Futurekind. The four agree to head for the silo.
They approach the gates, as the guard yells at them to show their teeth. They are admitted to the silo. A soldier fires an assault rifle at the Futurekind. Jack remarks that the Doctor didn't tell him to put his gun down, to which the Doctor replies that the soldier is not his responsibility. The Futurekind leader tells of his hunger.
Professor Yana learns that the Doctor is in the silo, and believes him to be a scientist. He rushes upstairs. The Doctor asks for the men to help retrieve the TARDIS. The Doctor is happy when he discovers that humans have survived to the end of the universe, remarking that though they "spent a million years evolving into clouds of gas", they revert to the same form eventually.
Jack flirts with a male refugee, with the Doctor once again telling him to stop. Jack helps the Doctor open a deadlock seal. The door opens and the Doctor blindly steps out, nearly falling down a shaft. They see a large rocket in the shaft, with neither the Doctor or Jack recognising the engines.
The Professor arrives, dragging an amused Doctor away, followed by Martha and Jack. They pass a woman, who bares her teeth revealing her to be one of the Futurekind. The four rush into the lab, with Jack immediately flirting with Yana's alien assistant by saying "Maybe later, Blue." The Professor shows the Doctor all the machines within the rocket, but the Doctor cannot help, as the technology is utterly unknown to him.
Martha finds the Doctor's hand in the glass case from Jack's pack. Jack calls it his "Doctor Detector". Martha is disgusted by this, and the Doctor tells her how he lost it in the events of Christmas 2006. Yana enquires as to the Doctor's species, and the Doctor is saddened by the fact that the Time Lords have never been heard of.
Chantho reveals that she is the last of her kind also, the Malmooth, and Yana says that this was originally their planet, Malcassairo, before the humans took refuge. Jack reminds the Doctor of his manners, the Doctor apologises, as Martha deliberates on the fact that he regrew his hand. Jack asks Yana about the "Beastie Boys" upstairs, and Yana tells them of the Futurekind, which in themselves are a myth. It is feared that they are what the humans will become, unless they reach Utopia.
Yana shows the Doctor the co-ordinates of Utopia. Yana once again hears the sound of drums. The Doctor surmises that the rocket will not fly. The Doctor then uses the sonic screwdriver to perfect the system. The passengers board the rocket. The Doctor, Yana and Jack work to speed toward the launch process, and the guards run toward the silo.
The Doctor remarks to Yana that he built the system of "food and string and staples", calling Yana a genius, to which Yana replies; "Says the man who made it work". The Doctor tells Yana that he would be revered in a different time. Yana says wistfully that some admiration just once would have been nice. The Doctor says that Yana must stay behind to launch the rocket, with Yana saying that Chantho will stay with him, as she refuses to leave him. A message comes over the radio that the TARDIS has been found.
Yana views the TARDIS over the monitors, and once again hears the sound of drums. The Doctor uses the TARDIS to provide extra power. The Professor tells the Doctor of the sound of drums, and remarks as if they are getting closer. He says that he has had it all his life.
Chantho tells Martha she has been with the Professor for 17 years, letting slip her unrequited love for him. Martha asks about the sentence structure she uses, starting sentences with "Chan" and ending with "Tho". Chantho replies that it would be rude not to.
Atillo communicates with Yana, and Yana gives him instructions as the communication line fails. Yana has Martha reboot the system every time the picture goes. Atillo sends a man into the couplings room. Yana reveals that the couplings room is flooded with Stet radiation.
The female Futurekind damages the system, and Jack and Yana furiously try to correct the radiation levels. Jack sends a massive electric current through his body in order to jump-start the override system. The man in the couplings room is vapourised by the Stet radiation. Jack has collapsed to the floor, and Martha tries to revive him. The Doctor says no-one can enter the room without dying, and as Jack comes around, remarks he has got just the man.
The Doctor and Jack race down to the couplings room, ordering Atillo to board the rocket, Jack asks the Doctor how long he has known that he is immortal, and the Doctor replies; "Since I ran away from you". Jack enters the room. As they watch the process, Martha tells Yana and Chantho of the Doctor's ability to travel through time and space.
Yana has new sounds in his head, including the word "TARDIS". Jack says that he realised in 1892 that he was immortal, when he was shot through the heart. His past deaths have included; falling off a cliff, trampling by horses, WWI, WWII, poison, starvation... and a stray javelin. The Doctor remarks that Jack is "wrong"; a fixed point in time and space; a fact. Even the TARDIS knew what Jack was - it travelled to the end of the universe just to try and shake him off.
Jack recalls facing three Daleks, and the word reverberates in Yana's head, as does "Extermination", the Doctor tells Jack about Rose and the Bad Wolf entity, remarking that if a Time Lord had done what she did they would have become a vengeful god. The Doctor then tells Jack that Rose brought him back. Forever.
Jack says that in the 1990s he went back to the Powell Estate, never letting Rose see him, but watching her growing up. The Doctor asks Jack if he wants to die, but Jack replies in a negative fashion. Jack says this regeneration is cheeky, and "regeneration" is another word added to those reverberating around Yana's head.
Yana is in tears, remembering stories of time travel from the old days that he never believed. He pulls out a fob watch, remarking that he was always late with time and the watch never worked. Martha is shocked, and recalls the Doctor having a similar watch which he used to become human to avoid the Family of Blood, Yana remarks that he was found with the watch, "an orphan in the storm", on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Yana says it is broken, and Martha asks how he could know if he has never opened it. Martha turns over the watch and finds Gallifreyan inscriptions on it.
Martha rushes to find the Doctor, having inadvertently piqued Yana's interest in the watch. The countdown for launch begins. Martha tells the Doctor of the watch, and the Doctor dismisses the idea as impossible. Jack says he may not be the last Time Lord, and Martha says it should be brilliant news - though the Doctor says it depends just which Time Lord Yana is. The Doctor screams at Martha, demanding to know exactly what Yana said.
Yana inspects the watch, and voices call to him from it. Jack remarks that the end of the universe is the perfect place to hide, and Martha recalls the dying words of the Face of Boe. The rocket launches. Yana stands in front of the TARDIS, and opens the watch. The Doctor realises Yana is an acronym for the words "You Are Not Alone", and the Futurekind watch as the rocket is launched into the sky.
Yana, at this point an unknown Time Lord, closes all the doors, barring the Doctor, Martha and Jack entrance to the laboratory. Chantho remarks that Yana has locked them in, and he replies "as one door closes, another must open", opening the front gates and allowing entrance by the Futurekind to the silo. He lowers the defense systems, expertly operating the controls, as the Doctor gets in through the door.
Chantho holds a gun to Yana, and Yana raises one half of the high voltage cable, advancing towards her. The Doctor and the others run into the Futurekind and are forced to double back on themselves. Yana blames Chantho for never asking about the watch, and insults her, saying that the constant "Chan" and "tho" drove him insane. Chantho begs "the Professor" for his forgiveness, but he shouts that it is not his name, and reveals himself to be the Master.
The Master then attacks Chantho with the cable, and looks at the Doctor's dismembered hand, which is bubbling and glowing in its tank. The Doctor and Jack try to gain entrance, but the Master does not help them. As the Master pulls the cable from the TARDIS, the dying Chantho fires a laser at him, Jack smashes the control panel and the door opens. The Doctor finds the Master, who retreats into the TARDIS. The Master locks the door, and moves to the console.
As the Doctor shouts desperately that everything's changed, Jack and Martha struggle to close the door. The Master reflects that he has been killed "by an insect... a girl...", and muses that if the Doctor can be young and strong, so can he. In a burst of light, he regenerates, becoming the sixth known incarnation of the Master. The Futurekind appear at the door as the new Master laughs in triumph.
He speaks to the Doctor and Martha remarks that she knows his voice. The Doctor begs him to stop, to which the Master demands that he use his name. The Doctor then says "Master... I'm sorry." The Master contemplates, and shouts "Tough!", as he prepares the TARDIS for launch. The Doctor gets the sonic screwdriver and stops the launch momentarily. The Master overrides it, and the TARDIS dematerialises as the Doctor looks on in horror, while the Futurekind pound at the door...
Cast
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
- Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
- Professor Yana / The Master - Derek Jacobi
- Chantho - Chipo Chung
- Padra Toc Shafe Cane - Rene Zagger
- Lieutenant Atillo - Neil Reidman
- Chieftain - Paul Marc Davies
- Guard - Robert Forknall
- Creet - John Bell
- Kistane Toc Shafe Cane - Deborah MacLaren
- Wiry Woman - Abigail Canton
- The Master - John Simm
- Bilto Toc Shafe Cane - Thomas Night (uncredited)
Crew
- 1st Assistant Director - Gareth Williams
- 2nd Assistant Director - Steffan Morris
- 3rd Assistant Director - Sarah Davies
- Location Manager - Gareth Skelding
- Unit Manager - Ryhs Griffiths
- Production Co-ordinator - Jess van Niekerk
- Production Secretary - Kevin Myers
- Production Assistant - Debi Griffiths
- Drivers - Wayne Humphreys & Malcolm Kearney
- Floor Runner - Heddi Joy Taylor
- Contracts Assistant - Bethan Britton
- Continuity - Non Eleri Hughes
- Script Editor - Simon Winstone
- Camera Operator - Roger Pearce
- Focus Puller - Steve Rees
- Grip - John Robinson
- Boom Operator - Jeff Welch
- Gaffer - Mark Hutchings
- Best Boy - Peter Chester
- Electricians - Clive Johnson, Ben Griffiths & Steve Slocombe
- Stunt Co-ordinator - Abbi Collins
- Chief Supervising Art Director - Stephen Nicolas
- Art Department Production Manager - Jonathan Marquand Allison
- Art Department Co-ordinator - Matthew North
- Chief Props Master - Adrian Anscombe
- Supervising Art Director - Arwel Wyn Jones
- Associate Designer - James North
- Set Decorator - Julian Luxton
- Standby Art Director - Lee Gammon
- Design Assistants - Ian Bunting, Al Roberts & Peter McKinstry
- Storyboard Artist - Shaun Williams
- Standby Props - Phill Shellard & Nick Murray
- Standby Carpenter - Paul Jones
- Standby Painter - Ellen Woods
- Standby Rigger - Bryan Griffiths
- Props Master - Phil Lyons
- Props Buyer - Ben Morris
- Props Changehand - Gareth Jeanne
- Practical Electrician - Albert James
- Construction Manager - Matthew Hywel-Davies
- Graphics - BBC Wales Graphics
- Assistant Costume Designer - Marnie Ormiston
- Costume Supervisor - Lindsay Bonaccorsi
- Costume Assistants - Sheeafh O'Marah & Kirsty Wilkinson
- Make-Up Artist - Pam Mullins, Steve Smith & John Munro
- Special Effects Co-ordinator - Ben Ashmore
- Special Effects Supervisor - Paul Kelly
- Special Effects Technicians - Dan Bently & Richard Margrin
- Prosthetics Designer - Neill Gorton
- Prosthetics Supervisor - Rob Mayor
- On Set Prosthetics Supervisor - Pete Hawkins
- Prosthetics Technician - Anthony Parker
- Casting Assosiates - Andy Brierley & Kirtsy Robbertson
- VFX Editor - Ceres Doyle
- Assistant Editors - Tim Hadges & Matthew Mullins
References
- The Doctor states that the Rift had recently been active, this was due to Abaddon and Bilis Manger.
- The Master returns in this episode.
- Captain Jack Harkness returns in this episode.
- Yana (as in Professor Yana) is an acronym of the Face of Boe's last words "You Are Not Alone"
- Jack isn't the first to grab onto the exterior of the TARDIS as it dematerialises, Father Kreiner also achieved this.
- Skagra stole the Doctor's TARDIS to try and locate Shada; the Master stole the TARDIS to escape the year 100,000,000,000,000.
- The Slitheen are mentioned.
- Rose Tyler is mentioned.
Story Notes
- Derek Jacobi and John Simm are the Fifth and Sixth distinct incarnations of the Master (respectively) seen on screen. However there have been eight actors to previously play the Master in different media. This marks the first time two different incarnations have played major roles in a single episode (only the 1996 TV movie and Keeper of Traken previously showed more than one Master.)
- In Doctor Who Adventures issue 22 it mentions the Doctor and Martha "discovering" Utopia, meaning it is a place.
- John Bell (who played Creet) won his role on the children's television show Blue Peter during a Doctor Who special that aired the same night.
- This story features the second regeneration scene in which the Time Lord subject is shown to be standing. Including Romana's off-screen regeneration in Destiny of the Daleks, it's the third in which a Time Lord was probably standing while regenerating.
- Graeme Harper's penchant for including a distorted image of a main character is present in this story. Though not included in every single story he's directed for BBC Wales, it's seen often enough to be considered something of a directorial "signature". Similar distortion is achieved through the use of other magnifying glasses in The Unicorn and the Wasp and Army of Ghosts, a curved window in Journey's End, and with mirrors in Turn Left. This time, it's the Master that's under the magnifying glass.
- Each sentence heard from the watch were spoken by Derek Jacobi and Roger Delgado respectively, the latter taken from an audio clip from classic series episode The Dæmons, and the chuckle is Anthony Ainley's trademark laugh from his classic series appearances, though it is not known which specific episode the audio clip is taken from. Delgado and Ainley, both of whom are now deceased, portrayed the two best known incarnations of The Master.
- This is the first Doctor Who story to feature John Barrowman's name in the opening credits, and thus is the first opening credits to include more than two names.
- This episode marks the start of the first 3-part story since Survival, which also featured The Master. In terms of actual screen time, it is actually more the equivalent of an old-style 6-part episode. The episode was not originally promoted as being connected to the finale two-parter, and there remains some debate as to whether it should actually be considered a three-parter. (A similar scenario involves the 2008 episodes Turn Left, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End; despite being linked, the fan base and show officials tend to consider Turn Left a separate story and not part of a trilogy.)
- This is the sixth televised Doctor Who story which actually shows a regeneration occurring in the Doctor's TARDIS. It was preceded by The Tenth Planet, Destiny of the Daleks, The Caves of Androzani, Time and the Rani, and The Parting of the Ways. Additionally, Spearhead from Space implies, and TVC: The Night Walkers confirms, that the regeneration resulting in the Third Doctor actually occurred in the TARDIS as well.
- For the first time, three names are presented in the opening credits; prior to this only the Doctor and his "current" companion's names were ever displayed, even when the series featured other actors as companions, such as Barrowman and Noel Clarke. Hereafter, most guest companions (such as the returning Martha Jones in The Sontaran Stratagem and the multiple companions of The Stolen Earth/Journey's End) receive similar credit treatment.
- Just before the start of the opening credits, the scene shifts from showing Jack clinging to the TARDIS to the arrival of the Futurekind. According to the DVD commentary, this had to be done otherwise the opening credits, showing the TARDIS flying through the vortex, would have felt out of place without Jack being seen clinging to the outside. David Tennant jokes that they could have re-made the titles with Jack clinging to the TARDIS.
Ratings
- 7.3 million viewers - Overnight
- 0.82 million viewers - BBC Three Sunday repeat
- 7.84 million viewers - Final BARB ratings
Myths
- The setting of this episode in the year 100 trillion is the farthest in the future of any science fiction story ever. In fact, there are works that take place in even later times, in particular the works of Stephen Baxter, whose novel Manifold: Time takes place in the year 500,000,000,000,000,000,000 (500 quintillion).
Filming Locations
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- At the end of Last of the Time Lords, Jack says that he can't die but he still keeps getting older. In this episode, he claims that his vortex manipulator went wrong and he was forced to live through the nineteenth and twentieth century. How come he has not aged? He has. Compare this Jack to the one in Series 1. The rate at which Jack ages is simply much, much slower than normal human ageing. Also, the Doctor earlier asked if Jack had had "work done".
- Before the guards would let the Doctor, Martha and Jack into the silo, they yelled at them to show their teeth, in order to make sure they where not Futurekind. So, how did the female Futurekind, who tries to sabotage the shuttle launch get in? (Either that individual snuck in, or perhaps this could be a hint to the development of humans into Futurekind as referenced by Professor Yana.)
- Jack hears Martha referring to the Face of Boe's last words but makes no connection with that being his own youthful nickname or wonder if there is a connection and also he doesn't flinch when Martha mentioned the name. (He likely didn't hear it, and/or chose not to bring this up at that point - considering the depth of explanation needed and considering and that they were rather busy.)
- Jack is able to grab onto the TARDIS when it dematerializes, yet when others have attempted to in some way maintain contact with the TARDIS as it disappears, they are unable to (see, for example, Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale in Blink). The series has never been consistent in the mechanics of the TARDIS dematerializing. Perhaps there is a specific point in the dematerialization at which someone may hold on to the Tardis and dematerialize with it, and Jack is the first to reach it by that point. Also, we don't know if the TARDIS actually faded away or if it took off vertically without dematerialising as established in The Runaway Bride. The reason Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale couldn’t hold onto the TARDIS as it left is possibly due to the Authorized Control Disk telling the TARDIS to leave them behind (No need to bring them to 1969!). Perhaps there are Emergency Programs other than Emergency Program 1 (which takes the occupant home immediately) which force the TARDIS to evacuate without the occupants.
- Jack shouts "DOCTOR!" while clinging to the TARDIS. Is there air in the time vortex? (Jack only shouts 'Doctor' once. That would only take one breath, which he certainly had in his lungs.)
- It is left unclear why none of the Time Lords during the last Time War against the Daleks tried to use the Time Vortex to destroy the Daleks. (If a Time Lord looked into the Time Vortex he or she would become a god, a vengeful god, as mentioned by the Doctor in this episode. This would be incredibly dangerous. It is implied in DW: The Christmas Invasion that Time allowed Rose to do what she did as a singular event; none of the Time Lords may have been allowed such an opportunity. As well, the Dalek Empire they were facing was far more powerful and extensive and could have countermeasures to such an attack.)
- According to the Doctor in DW: Rise of the Cybermen his TARDIS is the last in the Universe, so how did the Master travel to the End of the Universe? (Having access to Time Lord technology when he decided to run from the Daleks, the Master would have had multiple technological options to send himself to the end of the Universe.)
- How come refueling the Tardis in DW: Utopia takes 20 seconds but in DW: Boom Town it takes a whole day? (The Doctor references that the rift has been active, which obviously allows the process to happen much more quickly.)
Continuity
- This episode references from DW: The Parting of the Ways, DW: The Christmas Invasion,DW: Gridlock, DW: Human Nature.
- The Doctor and Martha references the events of DW: Boom Town.
- Derek Jacobi has previously played (an android version) of the Master in Scream of the Shalka, he has also played a role usually occupied by the Doctor in the Big Finish audio drama Deadline.
- Yana tells the Doctor that he hears the Sound of Drums. That is the title of the next story.
- The last 'regeneration' (or the closest thing to regeneration) of the Master occurred in the 1996 TV movie. This is the first-ever episode to show the Master undergoing a natural regeneration.
- The Master last appeared in DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie.
- Captain Jack last appeared in TW: End of Days and this episode continues directly from the end of that episode which had been first broadcast six months earlier.
- The Master states that he was found naked on the banks of the Silver Devistation. It is also subtly revealed in DW: The End of the World that that is where the Face of Boe came from.
- Yana hears a phrase from (DW: The Dæmons)
- The Doctor refers to the human race as "indomitable" (DW: The Ark in Space)
- The Doctor previously referred to himself as a doctor "of everything" in DW: Four to Doomsday.
DVD and Other Releases
- This has been released along with The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords
- It is also part of the series 3 box set.