World War Three (TV story)

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For the conflict of the same name, see World War III.


World War Three is an episode that was first broadcast on April 23, 2005. It is the second of a two-part story. The first part, Aliens of London was broadcast on April 16.

Synopsis

The Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Harriet Jones are trapped in 10 Downing Street. The world stands poised on the brink of interplanetary war, and the missiles can only be stopped if the Slitheen can be unmasked in time.

Plot

Following on from the end of Aliens of London, the deadly electricity courses through all of the alien experts in the room, killing them, but the Doctor, not being human, is not as affected as the rest. The Doctor grabs his own electrified identity badge and attaches it to the collar of the Slitheen that was masquerading as Asquith. Somehow, as the electricity courses through Asquith, it affects Green, Blaine and the police inspector threatening Jackie as well. The Doctor makes good his escape, running down and attracting the attention of the Metropolitan Police squad below. Mickey comes into Jackie's flat and sees the police inspector alien paralysed by electricity. He knocks it aside with a chair and grabs Jackie's hand, pulling her out of there — but not before taking a photograph of the alien with his mobile phone. Harriet and Rose rush past the writhing Margaret Blaine alien, running down the corridors of 10 Downing Street.

Green struggles and manages to remove the badge from Asquith's neck, and they hurriedly scramble into their skins just as the Doctor returns with the police squad. The Doctor tells the squad that the Acting Prime Minister is an alien, but is met with obvious disbelief. Green accuses the Doctor of having killed all the experts, and Asquith orders the police, under authority of the Emergency Protocols, to execute the Doctor. The Doctor, however, has his back to the lift, and ducks into it before they can do so. He rides it up to the top floor.

Blaine continues to chase Harriet and Rose through No. 10, and the two seek refuge in one of the offices on the upper floor. In the meantime, Asquith tells the police to isolate the upper floors, and rides upstairs in the lift together with Green, removing their skins. They join Blaine, who is enjoying the hunt, and they sniff out Harriet and Rose's hiding places. They are about to strike when the Doctor comes in, spraying the Slitheen with a fire extinguisher, causing enough of a distraction for Harriet and Rose to duck around the aliens. They run towards the Cabinet Rooms to get the Emergency Protocols to see what procedures they have for fighting aliens.

The Slitheen are just about to follow them in, when the Doctor grabs a bottle of port from a side table, threatening to use his sonic screwdriver to "triplicate the flammability" of the alcohol. He asks them who they are and why they are invading. The Slitheen, held at bay for the moment, say that they are not invading, and the Slitheen is not the name of their species, but their family. They are here for business reasons, but before the Doctor can get them to tell what that is, the Slitheen realise that the Doctor's threat is a bluff. They prepare to end the hunt, but the Doctor observes that the Cabinet Rooms have a special feature — three-inch thick steel walls that can seal off the room, making it the safest place in Great Britain. He does just that, shutting the Slitheen out... but also cutting off any avenue of escape.

The Slitheen summon the rest of their family, all disguised as various government and military officials, who start arriving at Downing Street. Meanwhile, Mickey and Jackie have managed to make their way back to his flat, but the Slitheen police inspector is still in pursuit, using his sense of smell to track Jackie. In the Cabinet Rooms, the Doctor puts the Prime Minister and Ganesh's body in the cupboard, and then checks for possible escape routes. Rose wonders how the Slitheen can fit inside smaller human skins. The Doctor explains that it is a function of the collar they wear — its compression field shrinks them down, leading to the gas exchange that causes their flatulence. The Prime Minister's skin was too small, even for them, which is why they did not use him as a disguise. The Doctor wonders why he finds Harriet Jones's name so familiar.

Harriet says she is not famous, just a lifelong backbencher. The Emergency Protocols list all the people who could help, but they are all dead downstairs. Rose wonders if the Protocols have defence codes that they can use to launch nuclear weapons at the Slitheen. Harriet explains that due to the United Kingdom's past record, the release codes for a nuclear strike are in the hands of the United Nations, and a resolution has to be passed before the authorisations can be released. As they wonder what the Slitheen could be after, Rose's mobile phone beeps. It is Mickey, and he has sent a picture of the Slitheen in Jackie's kitchen.

Despite his dislike of Mickey, the Doctor admits that he needs him. He asks Mickey to go to the computer and log on to the UNIT website, using the password "buffalo" to gain access. As he does so, Jackie takes over the phone, pointedly telling the Doctor how dangerous his life is, and asking him if he can promise her that Rose will be safe. The Doctor does not answer. Once in, Mickey finds the signal that the Slitheen ship in the North Sea is pulsing out into space. The Doctor puts Mickey on the speakerphone and tries to decipher the signal. The doorbell to Mickey's flat rings and Jackie goes to answers it. It is the Slitheen inspector, who unmasks and starts to break through the door.

Desperately, the Doctor and the others try to gather the information they know about the Slitheen so he can identify their race and hopefully their weakness. The various characteristics they have exhibited, including the fact that their gas smells like halitosis — calcium decay — helps the Doctor narrow it down to one planet — Raxacoricofallapatorius — and identify them as creatures of living calcium, which will be weakened by the compression. As the Slitheen crashes into the flat, the Doctor tells them through the phone to get into the kitchen and find anything with vinegar in it. Jackie dumps as many pickled foods into a measuring cup as she can and hurls the mixture at the Slitheen as it comes through. The acetic acid reacts with the creature, and it explodes.

In Downing Street, Green and Asquith sense the death of their brother. Green steps out onto the street and speaks to the media as Acting Prime Minister. He informs them of the death of the experts at the hands of aliens and that there are "massive weapons of destruction" capable of being deployed within 45 seconds above their heads. He urges the UN to pass a resolution and release the access codes that will allow the UK to launch a pre-emptive strike against the alien mothership. The Doctor, listening to the broadcast over Rose's phone, knows that Green is lying. He realises that is why the Slitheen made such a spectacle out of the crash; not just to attract the experts but to panic the world and make it more likely for the United Nations to acquiesce to Green's request.

He unseals the room long enough to confront the Slitheen outside. They will launch the missiles not into space but against other nations, triggering World War III. The Slitheen will then sell off the radioactive remains of Earth to the rest of the Galaxy as a fuel source. The signal from their ship is an advertisement that the planet is for sale. The Doctor tells the Slitheen he will stop them. Blaine sneers, expressing disbelief that he could do anything whilst sealed inside the room. The Doctor says grimly, "Yes. Me." He seals the room again, as uncertainty flickers across Blaine's face, her confidence shaken by the Doctor's demeanour.

As morning breaks over London, the streets are deserted. The Slitheen gather, unmasked, in the Prime Minister's office to await the call from the UN Security Council. Jackie calls the Doctor, and says there must be something he can do. The Doctor reluctantly admits there is an option, but he cannot guarantee Rose's safety. He could save the world, but he could lose Rose. Jackie protests, but without even hearing what the option is, Rose bravely tells the Doctor to just go ahead and do it. Harriet steps in at this point and, as the only elected representative in the room, orders the Doctor to take action.

The Doctor tells Mickey to use the "buffalo" password to access the Royal Navy's systems. Mickey locates the HMS Taurean, a Trafalgar class submarine off the coast of Plymouth, and under the Doctor's instructions, remotely selects and launches a Harpoon missile. The missile streaks inland, on a direct course for 10 Downing Street, as the UN concludes their debate. Persuaded by the "proof" that the UK has provided, they agree to release the nuclear missile codes.

The missile is picked up on radar, but Mickey stops the counter measures taking effect. The Doctor, Harriet and Rose take refuge in the cupboard, hoping to ride out the explosion. The police squad sergeant orders the evacuation of 10 Downing Street, and goes upstairs to warn Green. When he sees the Slitheen in their true forms, he makes a hasty retreat. The surrounding streets are cleared as the missile starts its final descent, and as the Slitheen still scramble around trying to get into their skins, 10 Downing Street is reduced to rubble. Thanks to the steel walls, however, the Cabinet Rooms survive, as do Harriet, Rose and the Doctor. The Slitheen are not so lucky.

Harriet wonders how they will rebuild from this, and the Doctor suggests that she become Prime Minister. She goes off to speak to the press and emergency services, announcing proudly that the crisis has passed; mankind stands tall, proud and undefeated. As he and Rose leave quietly, the Doctor remembers now why Harriet's name was familiar. Harriet Jones will be a future Prime Minister, elected for three successive terms and the architect of Britain's Golden Age.

Rose goes back to Jackie's flat and watches the aftermath on television. Jackie grudgingly admits that she can't get rid of the Doctor now since Rose is so infatuated with him, something which Rose denies. Jackie offers to cook for the three of them and get to know the Doctor better. The Doctor calls Rose on her mobile phone from the TARDIS, where he is cancelling the Slitheen "advertisement". When Rose tells him of her mother's offer, he refuses — Rose can stay there if she likes, but he has a universe to see. Jackie sees Rose packing and asks her not to go, but Rose just hugs her.

Mickey speaks to the Doctor by the TARDIS. He cannot believe that the papers are already saying the whole incident was a hoax. The Doctor gives Mickey a compact disc containing a computer virus that will wipe all trace of the Doctor's presence on the Internet and asks him to use it. He also offers Mickey a place in the TARDIS, but Mickey says that the Doctor's world is not for him. He asks the Doctor not to tell Rose he said this, however. Rose arrives with a backpack full of her belongings, tossing it to the Doctor and playfully telling him that he is now stuck with her. Rose says goodbye to Mickey and Jackie, assuring her mother that the TARDIS is a time machine — she can travel all over the universe and be back within ten seconds. Rose asks Mickey to come along with them but the Doctor, following Mickey's wishes, pretends that Mickey is not welcome.

Rose and the Doctor enter the TARDIS and it dematerialises. Jackie waits ten seconds, but it does not return, and she walks back towards her flat. Mickey stays in the street, and continues to wait.

Cast

Crew

to be added

References

  • Using the date of the crash as given on the UNIT website and from the passage of time seen on-screen, the main events of this two-part story take place on June 28 and June 29, 2006. This means that both the UNIT website and Mickey's website are one year in the future.
  • The Slitheen bear a resemblance to the Foamasi; the Foamasi were also bulky alien monsters who disguised themselves as humans as part of a plan to gain control of a planet.
  • Mickey has Pickled onions in his fridge.

Story Notes

  • Andrew Marr appears playing himself as a television news reporter.
  • According to Russell T. Davies (among others), this episode was called Aliens of London Part Two until the last minute, when the name was changed to World War 3, soon amended to World War Three. The Telos Publishing book Back to the Vortex cites 10 Downing Street as another working title.
  • Elements of the story parody the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the actions of the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. This includes a pre-emptive strike based on incorrect information, namely the presence of "massive weapons of destruction" which could be deployed in 45 seconds (as opposed to Blair's "weapons of mass destruction" that could be deployed in "45 minutes").
  • The use of vinegar on calcium "just like Hannibal" references the story of how Hannibal's engineers, while crossing the Alps, heated boulders that blocked their way with wood fires, then poured vinegar over them. The rocks, weakened by the heat, were broken up by the vinegar into smaller pieces, which were then easily moved to clear a path.
  • The Doctor mentions that the Slitheen scheme to make a profit will cost "5 billion lives". The human population of the Earth in reality, as of January 2005, is estimated at approximately 6.4 billion.
  • The submarine HMS Taurean is completely fictional. Also, aside from the unlikelihood of being able to launch a missile over the Internet, the Harpoon missile is primarily an anti-ship missile and not launched against targets inland (a variant, the AGM-84E, is meant for coastal targets and ships in port). The Trafalgar-class submarines do carry Tomahawk missiles, which would have been a more appropriate weapon.
  • When a Slitheen disguised as a policeman appears outside Mickey's flat, the word "Salford" appears as graffiti on the wall near the elevator. Salford is Christopher Eccleston's hometown.
  • Continuing the "bad wolf" theme begun in, the American newsreader announcing the UN's decision is named "Mal Loup", French for "Bad Wolf". The name appears not in the televised clip, but the version on Mickey's website.

Ratings

  • 7.6 million viewers

Broadcast Differences

  • The episode's initial Canadian broadcast on CBC had a programming error. The action before the title sequence which was supposed to resolve the previous episode's cliffhanger — by showing the Doctor turning the tables with the electrified ID badge — was omitted. This led to understandable confusion from Canadian viewers. The error was corrected on the repeat broadcast, although the sequence appeared after the opening titles.

Myths

to be added

Location Filming

to be added

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

  • In the shot that pans over the central London skyline, St Stephen's Clock tower (Big Ben) appears to have been repaired since the spaceship hit it.

Possibly taken to study by UNIT or Torchwood

  • How would Rose know where the stuff with vinegar in it be, if it's been a whole year?

Mickey never cleans out his kitchen/the vinegar rich foods are his favorite?

  • During the various Slitheen electrocution scenes (in Jackie's kitchen, in the Cabinet room, etc.) we see large Slitheen shadows thrown onto the walls. But since the source of the illumination is meant to be the aliens themselves, how could they cast a shadow?
  • When the Doctor, Rose & Harriet emerge from the wreckage of Downing Street, they don't have so much as a hair out of place: no soot or debris on them anywhere.
  • Watch out for street traffic and busses in the background following the destruction of Downing Street, when London is supposedly "empty".
  • The Navy used the wrong type of missile to destroy Number 10: the Harpoon is primarily an anti-ship missile. Although it can be used against land-based targets, it can't dodge buildings as shown on screen, and has a range of only 60 nautical miles – judging from the map, London looked further away than that when it was launched. The Tomahawk (a cruise missile) would have been a more appropriate choice.
  • Right before the missile hits, we clearly see that it's daytime. Yet, when the trooper sounds the fire alarm, and the troops run outside just before the missile hits, it looks as though it could be the middle of the night.
  • Rose says that the vinegar is "in the cupboard by the sink, middle shelf". The cupboard Jackie gets it from only has two shelves.
  • How is it the nation's missiles can be controlled from one easily hacked Web site?
  • Since the Doctor was locked in a room, how did he know that a) all the Slitheen were gathered in Number 10, and b) that all the humans would evacuate in time? Or did he just not really care if they died? And while we're at it, since when does the Doctor resort to using a missile to solve his problems?
  • When Mickey is hacking, it's painfully clear that the Royal Navy website author can't spell "override".
  • When Mickey launched the missile, he didn't actually give the missile a target, it just automatically headed for Number 10! Are the Navy in the habit of targetting missile strikes at the Prime Minister?

Continuity

DVD and Other Releases

  • World War Three together with Aliens of London and Dalek were the first released on the Universal Media Disc format for the PlayStation Portable. (1)

See Also

to be added

External Links

Online Video Links

Template:Series 1 Template:Slitheen stories

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