Flesh and Stone was the fifth episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales Doctor Who. It was the second part of a two-part story that began with The Time of Angels.
Synopsis
There's no way back, no way up and no way out. Trapped among an army of Weeping Angels, The Doctor and his friends must try to escape through the wreckage of a crashed space liner. Meanwhile, in the forest vault Amy finds herself facing an even more deadly attack.
Plot
The Doctor, Amy, River Song, Bishop Octavian, and his clerics have all jumped on the Doctor's signal. They have been caught by the Byzantium's gravity field to land on the Byzantium's hull, upside down over the restoring Weeping Angels beneath them, draining the energy around them. They enter the ship, but the Angels pursue. The Doctor manages to isolate the lights so the Angels cannot turn them off while draining the power. However, the only way out of the corridor is to channel all the power in the section to the door to force it open. Octavian becomes concerned that the Doctor is a madman that can't be trusted as he has lost good clerics already. Luckily, River manages to convice Octavian the Doctor can save them as she trusts him. The Doctor prepares to open the door to the secondary flight deck and tells Amy to spin the handle four times to open it. Amy says ten instead and the Doctor asks why she said ten. She denies saying it and Octavian gives the signal to begin reruiting power to the door while he and the clerics fire at the Angels to keep them back.
As everyone flees into the secondary fleight deck, the Doctor seals the door behind them; however, the Angels begin turning the wheel. Octavian uses a device to magntize the door shut, convinced that not even the Angels can turn it now. Much to his growing horror, Octavian finds the Angels are managing to slowly force the door wheel to open. Other Angels begin
opening the other doors in the room and Octavian orders the clerics to seal the other doors. The Doctor tells them that they have five minutes max until the Angels succeed in opening the doors and begins babbling on about how they can get out until he realises something important that the people that flew this ship needed during long voyages. Directing the clerics, the Doctor finds clamps behind some equipment and releases them. Amy wonders what could be so important and River explains they needed to breathe as the wall lifts up to reveal a forest. River explains it's an oxygen factory and the Doctor explains the forest is full of treeborgs, which he cleverly explains their purpose before asking if Amy is impressed yet. Amused, Amy says seven. The Doctor catches this and points it out to her and so does River, however, Amy denies this.
Angel Bob calls the Doctor to find out what they are planning as the Angels are curious as to what they are doing. The Doctor asks Angel Bob how life is then appologises as it was a bad subject before tricking him into saying "We have no need of comfy chairs", which the Doctor, Amy and River find amusing. However, Amy says six and the Doctor changes the subject to learn what Bob has done to Amy. Angel Bob explains that "they" are in her eye and soon they will take her and the rest of them; they will consume the vessel and all the power within it, becoming masters of time and space. Annoyed, the Doctor tells Bob to get a life and appologises again before telling him that the Byzantium doesn't have the kind of power the Angel is talking about. A horrible screeching sound is heard outside and Bob explains that the Angels are laughing at him because the Doctor hasn't noticed a source of that great power. The Doctor wonders what he missed and notices a large crack in the hull the exact same shape as the one in Amy's wall when she was seven. He orders the others to flee while he scans the crack, whose reading gives the Doctor chills. He turns to find the Angels have broken in and attempts to escape. However, right before he can exit into the forest, an Angel grabs him by by his jacket.
The Doctor is shocked to find he is not dead yet and wonders why before looking back at the Angels. Two of them have their arms open to absorb the energy coming out of the crack. However, the Doctor explains that the energy coming out of the crack is not something the Angel can absorb, even if it was strong enough to entice them to come to the Byzantium; the light coming from the crack is pure time energy, not power, but "the fire at the end of the universe". The Doctor then tells them another peice of advice, "Never let me talk", before wiggling out of his jacket and fleeing into the forest.
Elsewhere, in the forest, Amy is falling behind everyone else, barely able to stand. River asks Amy what's wrong as Amy lies down on a stump. A cleric hands River a med scanner and she begins taking a look at Amy's vitals. Octavian complains that they are exposed to the enemy. River tells him his job is to keep the Doctor safe; if he's dead, she won't forgive herself and if he's alive, she won't forgive him, "And Doctor, you're standing right
behind me aren't you?" The Doctor is indeed and smiles. River says she hates the Doctor, but he says she doesn't. Amy wonders how the Doctor got away and he explains "I found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe" River asks what it truly was and the Doctor responds "the end of the universe". Amy then asks the Doctor what's wrong with her as River comforts Amy by saying she is fine. However, the Doctor tells Amy the truth "Everything, you're dying". River snaps at him for being insensitive, but the Doctor points out lying to Amy will not make her better. The Doctor begins babbling to himself about what's happened to Amy and calls Bob to ask why Amy is counting down; it is to make her afraid for the Angels' amusement. Angerily tossing his communicator away, the Doctor wonders how the can "starve the Angel" and River suggests closing Amy's eyes. Amy does so are some resitence to the Angel in her mind, stablizing her vitals. The Doctor explains to Amy that the Angel in her mind is still there, only paused; if she opens her eyes for more than a second, she will die.
The Doctor decides that they have to reach the primary fleight deck, where "we'll stablize the wreckage, stop the Angels and cure Amy". River questions how the Doctor plans to do so and the Doctor responds "it's a thing in process; respect the thing". The Doctor instructs Octavian and the clerics to gaurd Amy with their lives or he will hold them each responsible twice. As the Doctor prepares to take River with him until Octavian says he has to go where River goes, saying they are "engauged in a matter of speaking". The Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, saying he will need her computer.
Amy feels alone and wonders what to do. The Doctor returns and tells Amy that she has to start trusting him as it matters more than ever. Amy retorts that the Doctor doesn't always tell the truth and earns a joke in return "If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me". The Doctor asks Amy if she remembered something he told her as a little girl, but then stops, saying it's not the point. He gives her a kiss on the forehead and leaves.
Elsewhere, the Doctor is curious about River and Octavian's relationship and learns River is on leave from the Stormcage Containment Facility and in Octavian's custody until she has fullfilled her duty and earned her pardon. Octavian goes ahead and the Doctor gets a beeping response on the computer he borrowed from River. The Doctor explains to River that it is the results of the scan he toke from the crack, saying one say there will be an explosion so big, all of time and space will crack around it. River can't read the results on the screen and asks the Doctor what it says. The Doctor responds "Amy's time" - 6/26/10.
Elsewhere, the clerics notice the Angel are still gathering and infrom Amy of this. However, the Angels begin tearing apart the treeborgs to cause the lights to flicker. The clerics prepare to fire on the Angels, but once the lights go out for a minute, a cleric checks his scanner to see the Angels are passing them instead of trying to kill them. Suddenly, a bright white glow comes from back at the secondary fleight deck; a cleric wonders if the ship's on fire. Another realizes it must have scared the Angels away and the head cleric, Marco sends clerics Phillip and Crispin to investigate.
Elsewhere, the Doctor, River and Octavian have found the primary fleight deck entrance and look around for Angels. The Doctor then begins to wonder if "time can run out" as River realises she can open the service hatch to the deck if she can crack the code.
Back to Amy and the clerics, Marco and Pedro explain what the light looks like and how it makes you feel looking at it. Amy decides to use up some of her remaining countdown to look at the light. When she does, she realizes it is the same shape as the one in her bedroom. Marco covers her eyes nd forces them shut, asking if she is okay. Amy says she is, but wonders how it can be following her. Pedro asks Marco if he wants him to get a better look at the light and is given permission to do so. However, Amy asks why he is sending Pedro instead of waiting for the other two to return. Much to Amy's confusion, Marco cannot remember them.
At the primary fleight deck wall, River is working on opening the door to the primary flight deck while Octavian looks out for the Angels. The Doctor, in the meantime, remember oddities he has seen in his travels and things he is surprised are not known to modern earth- "a duck pond without ducks" in Leadworth, Amy not knowing who the Daleks were, and the Cyber king in Victorian London.
Elsewhere, Amy is still trying to convince Marco that there was a Phillip and Crispin before he sent Pedro to investigate. However, Marco now no longer remembers who Pedro is and decides to investigate the light himself. Despite Amy's protesting, Marco hands her a spare communicator and heads of to the light.
At the primary fleight deck wall, the Doctor is motioning clocks with his hands as River manages to open the door and goes into the primary fleight deck. Octavian calls to the Doctor, but he doesn't hear him as he realizes "time can be unwritten". Once again, Octavian calls to the Doctor and tells him they have to hurry or the Angels will soon be upon them. The Doctor brushes off the thought saying, "there're worse things than Angels". The lights go out and whent hey come back on, the Doctor finds Octavian in the stranglehold of an Angel.
Elswhere, Amy calls Marco to make sure he still exists and gets a respond from him. He says he is quite close to the "curtain of energy" now and Amy begs him to come back. However, as Marco says how the light makes him feel, the communicator fills with static, Marco is no longer around. Amy is now completely alone.
Back to the Doctor, he is trying to pry the Angel's arm away from Octavian with his sonic screwdriver, but it proves useless as doesn't effect the Angel and Octavian cannot wiggle out of its grip. Before letting Octavian pass on, the Doctor asks Octavian why River is imprisoned in stormcage. Octavian tells the Doctor that she "killed a good man, a hero to many" and that he cannot trust her as he doesn't know who or what she is. With Octavian content, the Doctor leaves and enters the main control deck. River tells him that she is working on getting the teleporter working and wonders where Octavian is. The Doctor tells her Octavian is dead and so is the teleporter, so she is wasting her time.
Elsehwere, Amy is alone and blind, with only a communicator. The Doctor radios her. She must come to the control room; it was a mistake to leave her there. Amy tells him about the clerics not remembering each other and the Doctor tells her he expected as much and sends software to her communicator; when the communicator sounds like his sonic screwdriver, she is facing the right way. Amy is at first, unable to move until the Doctor yells in concern for her, explaining that the Angel can only kill her and that she must stay ahead of the time energy. Pestered by Amy to know what the time energy can do, the Doctor explains it will erase her very exestence just like the clerics; she will have never been born.
River questions what the time energy is going to do and the Doctor explains it will keep eating until they can feed it a complicated time/space event, shutting it up for awhile. When River asks what kind of complicated time/space event they can toss in the crack, the Doctor angerily answers that himself. They then hear thunking outside the deck and the Doctor realizes Amy will catch up to the Angels soon. He radios her again and tells her that he is sending a proximity detector to help Amy tell when the Angels are around her; since they are scared, the Angels will automaticly turn to stone, thinking she can see them.
Amy manages to get past a few Angels, but trips over a root in the ground and begins franticly reachign around for the communicator. The Angels notice this and begin to move in for the kill. Amy manages to get herself back up and an Angel almost touches her. Suddenly, Amy vanishes in a bright light. She arrives in the control room, where River explains where she is and who she is with. Suddenly, an alarm goes off and the Doctor explains the ship is almost out of power, meaning the primary fleight deck entrance to the forest will open.
The wall lifts up, revealing the Angels snarling at them, except one: the lead Angel, Angel Bob. Angel Bob knows about the time field and what can stop it, demanding the Doctor throw himself in to save the Angels. The Doctor asks why he should do that and Bob responds that it will save his friends as well; the Doctor agrees that would be a good comprimise. However. River, as a time traveler, wants to throw herself in, but the Doctor laughs at the idea. She is not even as complicated as one Angel and it would take all them to equal him. He tells her to "Get a grip". River tells the Doctor she will not let him die. The Doctor tells her "Seriously. Get a grip". River calls him a genius and has Amy grab onto the console.
Angel Bob tells the Doctor to hurry and throw himself in for the Angels. Confidently, the Doctor looks at the Angels and says "The thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining the power from this ship; every last bit of it. And I think the Angels have forgotten where they're standing. I think they're forgotten the gravity of the situation. Or in other words, Angels... night-night". The gravity fails due to the lack of power and the Doctor grabs the console along with his companions. River and the Doctor watch from above as the Angels plunge through the trees and into the crack. The crack explodes in a glare of energy, then closes.
Outside, Amy aches from climbing out with her eyes closed. The Doctor tells her that she did not have to as Angel Bob's double in her mind no longer exists due to it falling into the Time Field. Amy wonders why she remembers them and the Clerics, who didn't even remember each other. The Doctor explains she is a time traveller now and it changes the way she sees the world. Amy wonders if the crack is gone, but the Doctor tells her it is still out there; the explosion that is cracking all of time and space.
The Doctor goes to River, who has been handcuffed to be returned to Stormcage. River laughs. She may have done enough this time to earn her pardon. The Doctor tells her Octavian told him she murdered someone. River sadly says that he was a very good man, the best man she'd ever known. The Doctor wishes to know who, but River explains it is a long story that has to be lived instead of told as she cannot give sneak previews; but there is one she does give "You'll see me again, quite soon; when the Pandorica opens". The Doctor tells her that the Pandorica is a fairy tale, prompting River to laugh. He then wonders if he can trust her, River laughs again, "If you like. . . but where's the fun in that?" She vanishes in a whirlwind of dust with the remaining clerics. The Doctor walks back over to Amy and looks out to the sea. Amy wonders what he is thinking and the Doctor explains, "Time can be rewritten".
Back in the TARDIS, Amy tells the Doctor she wants to go home. The Doctor assumes she wants to leave his company, but Amy assures him she doesn't wish to leave, there is just something she wants to show him. She explains that while he's been running from River, she has been running, too. They land in Amy's bedroom five minutes after they first left. Amy explains she is getting married to Rory Williams the next day and shows him her wedding ring. The Doctor is confused as to why she left it behind when she decided to travel with him; Amy is amused that the Doctor has no idea about human behavior. She then goes on to explain that her near death experience made her think about who she wants and tries to seduce the Doctor. The Doctor says out a relationship between them wouldn't work as he is 907 and doesn't age like a human. However, Amy says she "wasn't planning on anything long term" and kisses him. Shocked, the Doctor pulls Amy away and tells her she's getting married in the morning. He then realizes Amy may be at the very center of what caused the explosion in time and tells her she is the most important person in the universe who needs to be sorted out. Amy misunderstands this and says "That's what I've been trying to tell you". The Doctor takes her back to the TARDIS as she tries again to seduce, him, but he shoves her inside as he watches her alarm clock turn to the 26th of June, 2010.
Cast
Crew
| Executive Producers Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger and Beth Willis |
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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
The Doctor
- Whilst trying to figure out the implications of the cracks in time, the Doctor wonders to himself about the CyberKing, and wonders if 21st century Earth's lack of knowledge of its presence is somehow related.
- When mentioning how time can be rewritten the Doctor references Amy's lack of knowledge of the Daleks and planets in the sky (DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End).
- He mentions the duck pond that may not have been a duck pond from DW: The Eleventh Hour
- Eleventh Doctor states his age is nine hundred and seven, which suggests that a year has passed since the events of The End of Time.
- River Song said that she and the Doctor will meet again when the Pandorica opens. The Doctor claims that it is just a fairytale.
Timeline
- Amy's age is established and her second encounter with the Doctor as taking place in 2008 (when she encountered Prisoner Zero), while her third encounter with the Doctor when she left with him took place on the night of 25 June 2010 when Amy is twenty-one.
Story notes
- According to Steven Moffat on the 30 March 2010 edition of the BBC Radio 4 programme, Front Row, the title of this episode was supplied by his son, Joshua.
- The title is a play on 'flesh and bone', a common idiom referring to a creature's anatomy, since most humans and animals are composed of flesh and a skeletal structure. The title also refers to the Weeping Angels' weakness of turning to stone whenever anyone looks at them, and possibly the fact that Amy thought her hand had turned to stone in the previous episode, The Time of Angels. This was a rumored title for the episode Gridlock.
- In the trailer at the end of The Time of Angels it shows a crack - continuing the theme throughout the series. The crack appears to be growing, and upon finding it, Amy Pond notes its similarity to the one on her bedroom wall from DW: The Eleventh Hour. The Doctor says of the crack, "That is extremely very not good."
- A video clip on the official Doctor Who website shows that the Doctor gets the Weeping Angels to say "comfy chairs".
- The Doctor finds out that time can be unwritten.
- The time on the scanner that The Doctor holds says that Amy's time is her wedding day.
- The Weeping Angels are seen moving for the first time. One Angel is seen moving their hand to grab the Doctor by his jacket, and later they are seen turning their heads when they begin to realise that Amy can't see them.
- The date shown in the episode, 26/06/2010, was the final episode date of Series 5 in Britain. In America, however, it was not aired until much later in the summer.
- The method the Doctor uses to dispose of the Weeping Angels mirrors his method of vanquishing the Cybermen and Daleks in DW: Doomsday.
- Amy continues the tradition of the female companions kissing the Doctor. However, instead of falling in love with him, Amy had another idea instead.
- This episode aired on the same day as the K9 episode, Alien Avatar was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that Sirens of Ceres was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
- Because the cracks never existed, the events of this story may have changed.
Ratings
6.9 million
Filming locations
- The beach on Alfava Metraxis were filmed at Southerndown beach, Vale of Glamorgan. This was also where scenes in Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and Journey's End were filmed.[1]
- Scenes in the forest vault of the Byzantium were filmed in Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean.[2]
Rumours
- Amy and Rory will either marry each other or put it on hold at the end of the episode, and Rory will travel in the TARDIS at the end. This was proven false, but Rory joined Amy and the Doctor in the TARDIS in the next episode, and he and Amy got married in the series finale .
Production errors
- When Amy lies down on the tree stump her hair is all over her face but on the wide shot her hair is behind her head.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.
- While the Doctor is talking to River in the forest, he has both hands behind his back as if tucking in his shirt; however in the next shot he is still in mid-sentence and is suddenly holding his hands in front.
- While the Doctor talks to River at the end of the episode the position of his right suspender strap switches places from angle to angle.
- Just after the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian, his future self holds Amy's hand and talks to her. However, he does not wear his normal gold watch, which is replaced with a black one, and does not have the vortex manipulator on his right arm, which he should have had.
- During the final scene in Amy's bedroom the Doctor looks at Amy's alarm clock. Despite the fact that the conversation was talking about Amy getting married "in the morning" the clock changes from 11:59 AM on 6/25 to 12:00 PM on 6/26, a mysterious 24-hour jump.
- Steven Moffatt originally wanted this episode to be called War Of The Angels.
Continuity
- Events the Doctor thinks are erased from history by the cracks include DW: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End and The Next Doctor.
- River says to the Doctor "You, me, handcuffs... must it always end this way?", unknowingly referencing her own death in DW: Forest of the Dead.
- River Song mentioned the crash of the Byzantium to the Tenth Doctor in DW: Silence in the Library.
- River Song refers to the events of the Pandorica opening, foreshadowing the series 5 finale. (DW: The Pandorica Opens)
- There is a flashback to DW: The Eleventh Hour.
- Amy asks the Doctor "Do you comfort a lot of people on the night before their wedding?" The Doctor previously interrupted Donna Noble's wedding in DW: The Runaway Bride.
- After the Doctor leaves with River and Octavian to find the primary flight deck, the Doctor returns for a moment to speak with Amy and his behavior and appearance is completely different (Jacket, rolled-up sleeves, different watch, etc). This turned out to be the Doctor from the future, though there were some inconsistencies concerning his watch. (DW: The Big Bang)
- The Doctor mentions the duck-pond with no ducks from DW: The Eleventh Hour.
- This is the second time the doctor has kissed a female companion on the forehead before he temporarily left them; the first was Zoe Heriot in DW: The War Games. He similarly kissed Jo Grant on the forehead in DW: Colony in Space, but that was upon meeting her (after she had been abducted).
- Angel Bob says that the Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed. Prisoner Zero says something similar to the Doctor in DW: The Eleventh Hour.
- In DW: The Big Bang, the Doctor prevented the cracks from ever existing. Although most cracks were closed, anything that Amy remembered (such as her travels) would still exist following the finale, meaning a few cracks still existed, but as seen, were solved individually (such as the one on Byzantium being closed due to swallowing the angels)
Timeline
For the present Doctor and Amy
- This story occurs after: DW: The Time of Angels
- This story occurs before: DW: The Vampires of Venice
For the future Doctor
- This story occurs during: DW: The Big Bang
For River Song
- This story occurs after: DW: The Time of Angels
- This story occurs before: DW: The Wedding of River Song
DVD/Blu-ray-exclusive scene
The 2010 DVD and Blu-ray release of the Complete Series 5 included an additional scene from Flesh and Stone. Contrary to many reviews and video-sharing site repostings of the scene, it is not a deleted scene, but rather a scene shot specifically for the DVD/BD release sometime during the later stages of Series 5 production.
The scene reveals what happened after Amy's failed seduction attempt and the Doctor taking her away. Inside the TARDIS, Amy continues to try to convince the Doctor to sleep with her, leading him to explain his attitude towards his companions -- that they help him "see things" that he no longer is able to see because of his age and travel experience. Her physical desires replaced by curiosity, this leads Amy to quiz the Doctor about his past companions.
She eventually tricks the Doctor into unlocking visual files of past TARDIS inhabitants, and she is treated to a slide show of various female companions ranging from Barbara Wright to Donna Noble, with apparent particular emphasis on Leela. In order to distract Amy from the picture show, the Doctor suggests they pick up Rory from his stag party, which leads directly into The Vampires of Venice.
Other companions shown in the slide show include Polly Wright, Leela, Peri Brown, both Romanas, and Josephine Grant, as well as recent companions Rose Tyler and Martha Jones. With the exception of Sarah Jane Smith (also shown), all companions pre-dating Rose are making their first on-screen appearance in the post-2005 era (Jo Grant's appearance in SJA: Death of the Doctor had not yet been broadcast at the time of the DVD/BD release).
The context of the scene supports the recurring implication that the TARDIS is sentient, given the way the Doctor reacts to the TARDIS when the slideshow begins -- coupled with the fact the TARDIS does not show images of the Doctor's various male companions such as Ian Chesterton, Adric or Jack Harkness. The fact expanded universe companions, such as Izzy Sinclair and Destrii from the comic strip and Evelyn Smythe and Lucie Miller from the audio dramas, are not visible does not necessarily disqualify them from canon as the viewscreen is not visible all the time, and several TV series companions are not shown either.
Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Two was released on Monday 5th July 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring The Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone and The Vampires of Venice.[3]
External links
Series 5: Episode 5 - Flesh & Stone [1]