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Human Nature (TV story)

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference

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You may be looking for the novel on which this episode is based.

Human Nature was the eighth episode of the third series of Doctor Who. It introduced the Chameleon arch and its ability to change Time Lord's DNA, and saw the Doctor become human.

Synopsis

England 1913, and a schoolteacher called John Smith has strange dreams of adventures in time and space.

Plot

The Doctor and Martha barely make it into the TARDIS as some sort of energy weapon discharges behind them. After ascertaining that their pursuers had not seen their faces, the Doctor explains that they are being pursued by aliens who have stolen a Time Agent's vortex manipulator and can follow the TARDIS anywhere.

The Doctor sees only one way out: since their pursuers have very short lifespans, he and Martha can hide from them until they die naturally. He considers their plight and comes to a decision: he entrusts Martha with a pocket watch, explaining that his Time Lord consciousness will be kept in the watch while he uses the TARDIS' Chameleon Arch to transform himself into a human.

Two months later, in November 1913, schoolteacher John Smith is settling into his new job at the Farringham School for Boys, ably assisted by his maid, Martha. A quiet, introspective, and somewhat absent-minded man, John finds a creative outlet in a journal he keeps of his strange and vivid dreams. Fascinated by his extraordinary dreams of adventures in space and time, he begins to confide in Matron Joan Redfern, the school's nurse.

Meanwhile, a group of John's students are studying in their dormitory room. One of them, Tim Latimer, is bullied by the rest, as much for his obvious intelligence as for his uncanny and unsettling ability to know things he shouldn't or couldn't possibly know. Another student, Jeremy Baines, tires of teasing Latimer and announces that he knows the location of a secret cache of beer and will bring some back for the boys to enjoy in secret.

Baines has just found the cache of beer, in the woods near the school, when he sees a strange green light land on the field just beyond the woods. Curious, he investigates the light source, and stumbles across an entrance to an invisible spaceship. There, he meets its occupants, gaseous creatures who call themselves the Family. One of them takes over Baines' body.

Joan Redfern confronts Martha and asks about John's strange behaviour, but Martha cannot tell her the truth. She finds refuge in the TARDIS, which has been hidden safely out of sight, and reviews instructions that the Doctor hastily recorded just before his transformation. But the instructions are notably lacking: the Doctor did not foresee that his human self might fall in love.

Meanwhile, Tim Latimer is summoned to John Smith's office to retrieve a book. While Smith looks for it, Latimer is drawn to the pocket watch that contains the Doctor's Time Lord memories and abilities. The boy opens it, briefly seeing the Doctor's world, but closes it quickly as he hears Smith approaching. Latimer slips the watch into his pocket and scurries away, unnerved.

Latimer inspects his prize, unaware that each time he opens the watch, a diffuse trace is detected by the pursuers, who now number three, as the Family have possessed two other villagers: local farmer Mr. Clark becomes the Family's Father, and schoolgirl Lucy Cartwright becomes the Daughter.

John Smith and Nurse Redfern discuss his Journal of Impossible Things while on a walk around the village.

Meanwhile, the Family has captured Jenny, Martha's fellow maid, and their "mother" possesses her. Jenny then returns to the school and engages Martha in conversation. Martha quickly realises Jenny has been taken over. She runs to Smith, who is with Redfern preparing to go to the village dance that evening, finds that the watch is gone, and tries in vain to restore him to his Time Lord configuration without it.

Smith, shocked at Martha's behaviour, promptly fires her and leaves for the village dance with Nurse Redfern.

The pursuers crash the dance and reveal that John Smith is the Doctor in human form. Smith still refuses to believe it. They take Martha and Joan hostage and demand that the bewildered schoolteacher choose which of them they should kill: his friend, or his lover.

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

Story notes

  • When the Doctor is speaking to Joan he names his parents as Sydney and Verity. This is clearly a reference to Sydney Newman, the original creator of Doctor Who, and Verity Lambert, the first producer.
  • This is the first occurrence of an (explicitly) racist comment within the new series directed at a companion.
  • Radio Times credits David Tennant as John Smith for Human Nature, and as The Doctor for The Family of Blood. On-screen credits read The Doctor/Smith for Human Nature, and The Doctor for The Family of Blood.
  • During the video instructions that The Doctor has recorded for Martha, a deleted scene for the episode reveals that instruction number five stated that The Doctor hated pears (before a number of improvised statements by Tennant that were intended to be "fast forwarded" when shown). The declaration of The Doctor's distaste for pears was removed, and the fast forward implemented just before this instruction was said, as the BBC felt that it may encourage children to stop eating pears.
  • The weapons used by The Family are sonic.
  • This double episode was originally written for the novel Human Nature (novel), also by Paul Cornell. It featured the Seventh Doctor.
  • The title of this episode shares its name with Michael Jackson's 1983 single Human Nature.

Ratings

  • 7.1 million (overnight)
  • 7.74 million (final ratings)
  • 0.87 million (BBC3 repeat ratings)

Myths

to be added

Filming locations

  • Llandaff Cathedral, Llandaff, Cardiff
  • St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff
  • Tredegar House, Newport
  • Treberfydd House, Llangasty, Brecon
  • BBC Broadcasting House, Llandaff, Cardiff
  • Cwm Ifor Farm, Caerphilly

Production errors

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • Joan puts her stethoscope in her ears backwards when listening to John Smith's single heart.
  • When John Smith throws the cricket ball to stop the baby carriage from reaching where the piano is going to fall, the rope is revealed snapping just seconds after the ball has left his hand. In the wide shot showing the aftermath, the carriage is a good fifteen feet from the crashed piano. The carriage wasn't in any actual danger.

Continuity

Timeline

Home video releases

 
Series 3 Volume 3 cover
  • This episode has been released on DVD alongside The Family of Blood and Blink.
  • It is also part of the series 3 DVD boxset.

See also

to be added

External links

Template:Series 3

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