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Synopsis
The Doctor takes Rose to the London 2012 olympics, only to find terror in an ordinary street.
Plot
The TARDIS materialises on Dame Kelly Holmes Close on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. On the street, concern is divided between preparation for the Games, as the torchbearer on the final leg, and the continued disappearance of children from their gardens. Cars break down on the street, something which a council worker, Kel, states have been happening all day.
The source of the problems is a small girl, Chloe, who is able to cause people to disappear by drawing them. The Doctor is able to deduce from detection of residual energy and the carbon nature of a scribble that had attacked Rose that the problem is coming from an alien influence.
Intrigued, the Doctor investigates and through talking to Chloe, he discovers that the disappearance is related to the Isolus, an alien life-form, who had befriended Chloe as she had a troubled childhood including an abusive father. The Doctor warns that the Isolus is desperate for love too, and will use the billions of people watching Olympic opening ceremony to renumber its family.
The Doctor returns to the TARDIS, which locates the Isolus pod to the Close. However, the Doctor and thousands at the Olympic Stadium start to disappear, leaving Rose to dig the pod up (to Kel's protestations). Rose realises that she needs to offer the pod heat, which she does by throwing the pod towards the torch, which had subsequently became a moral beacon, that is passing the Close.
As the missing children start to reappear, Rose realises that so will the demon-like drawing that Chloe had made of her father. Rose and Chloe's mother are able, though, to calm Chloe enough to destroy him.
As the torch-bearer approaches the Olympic Stadium, he staggers, but the Doctor completes the run and lights the Olympic Flame, allowing the Isolus to return home.
As the Doctor and Rose walk off to watch the Games, Rose remarks that however hard they attempt, nothing will ever split the two of them up. However, the Doctor does not seem so sure, as he surmises that a storm is approaching.
Cast
- The Doctor - David Tennant
- Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
- Trish Webber - Nina Sosanya
- Chloe Webber - Abisola Agbaje
- Maeve - Edna Dore
- Tom's Dad - Tim Faraday
- Kel - Abdul Salis
- Driver - Richard Nichols
- Neighbour - Erica Eirian
- Police Officer - Stephen Marzella
- Commentator - Huw Edwards
Crew
to be added
References
- The Doctor invokes the Shadow Proclamation.
- The Doctor mentions that he 'was a dad once', this could refer to his relationship to Susan or to his adopted daughter Miranda Dawkins, or to the woman who claims to be his daughter in The Doctor's Daughter
- The Isolus are beings that can draw power from other being's extreme emotion.
Story Notes
- Fear Her is a story which replaces an (unwritten) script originally allocated to Stephen Fry.
- The Doctor has travelled with several children throughout all his lives, but this is the first televised story to deal with actual child abuse.
Ratings
- 7.14 million
Myths
to be added
Filming Locations
to be added
Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
- Despite the fact that the torch will be running down in a few minutes, there is no crowd or fences when Rose digs up the pod
- The fences and crowds also disappear very quickly after the drawings are brought back
- When drawing Tom, the trousers in the picture are of a different colour to the ones he is wearing.
- Tom also disappears before the drawing is complete, but later the cat doesn't disappear till after the drawing is complete.
- The logo for the Olympics is the one used for the bid. The logo for the Olympics was released after the episode.
Continuity
- The Doctor mentions that he 'was a dad once' this could be a reference to his relationship with Susan (who first appeared in An Unearthly Child) or to Miranda his adopted daughter (Father Time).
- The Doctor uses his telepathy as he did in The Girl in the Fireplace.
- 2012 previously featured in Dalek, and is the home era of Adam Mitchell.
DVD Releases
- This was released on a vanilla DVD along side Army of Ghosts and Doomsday.
- It was also released as part of the Series 2 box set.
See Also
to be added
External Links
- The Doctor Who Reference Guide detailed synopsis of Fear Her
- The Whoniverse Discontinuity Guide to Fear Her
