The Stolen Earth (TV story)

{{Infobox Story |image = 19h.jpg |name = The Stolen Coach |season number = Series 4 |story number = 198a |scripturl=http://www.thewriterstale.com/pdfs/Doctor%20Who%204%20Ep.12%20-%20%20Shooting%20Script%20-%20The%20Stolen%20Earth%20-%2022.02.08.pdf |doctor=Tenth Doctor |companions=Donna |featuring= Rose
Jack
Sarah Jane
Martha
Luke
Mr Smith
Harriet
Ianto
Gwen
Wilfred
Sylvia
Francine hkfhfhkhkhfkhfkfhkhfkfhk

• For the first time, the opening credits incorporate not two or three names, but six, adding Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman and Elisabeth Sladen to the Tennant, Tate and Piper credits of the previous week. The typeface used for these credits is slightly different than that usually used. In addition, several "overflow" cast credits are featured over the first scene after the opening sequence, a first for the series (Penelope Wilton, Adjoa Andoh, Eve Myles and Gareth David-Lloyd). Although the appearances of Harriet Jones and Francine Jones are clearly intended to be surprises, the surprise is weakened for anyone who recognised the names of Wilton and Andoh in these opening credits. Despite their major roles in this episode, neither Bernard Cribbins nor Jacqueline King received similar credits.
• Scientist and author Richard Dawkins has a cameo as himself. Dawkins is married to Lalla Ward, the actress who portrayed Romana II. The two were introduced by Douglas Adams, who met Ward in his capacity as the show's script editor during the time Ward's ex-husband, Tom Baker, played the Fourth Doctor.
• The claws of the Daleks in Crucible are very similar to ones in the Dr. Who and the Daleks movie, but with eight fingers instead of two.
• The clicking sound when the Time Beetle from Turn Left was mentioned occurred when Donna was offered water at the Shadow Proclamation, accompanied by the same words used when the Time Beetle was "seen" by somebody else, "There's something on your back!"
• The original Sci-Fi channel broadcast in the United States cut some scenes to fit the different commercial times.
• The differences between the child-friendly Sarah Jane Adventures and the very adult-oriented Torchwood are reflected in the onscreen conference. Sarah Jane mentions that she tries to steer away from Torchwood because they have "too many guns", nodding to Luke as she does so. Despite this, Jack cannot resist flirting with her and she seems to appreciate his compliment.
• Michael Brandon, who plays General Sanchez in this story, starred in an episode of the Catherine Tate show.
• The concept of the bees leaving the earth and heading to another planet as it seems the end is near strongly reflects the dolphins from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, who also left the planet right before its impending doom. Though most likely a coincidence, it should be noted that Douglas Adams, who wrote Hitchhiker's Guide, was a writer and script editor for Doctor Who.
• Another reference to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy occurs when a Dalek near the start of the episode shouts, "Resistance is useless". This line was often used by Vogons (an alien in THGTTG) when they captured Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect.

Russell T Davies' sketch for his original concept of the Shadow Proclamation scene

• In the scene in the Shadow Proclamation, it was originally planned to show many more aliens old and new including:

• Raxacoricofallapatorians with a child. This child was originally conceived as Margaret following her regression to an egg (TV: Boom Town)
• Baby Adipose and very big adult one (imagined by Russell T Davies as being about fifteen feet tall)
• Scholars of the University of Rago Rago 56 Rago or members of the same species
• Krillitane
• Vespiform
• Hath
• Gelth-like species
• Cybermen
• Sycorax
• Alonso Frame working for the Shadow Proclamation as a Shadow Soldier
• Isolus
• Graske
• Kroton
• Hoix
• Chelonian-like species
• Two-headed race (Aplans?)

While this scene was not transmitted in this episode, it could have been scaled down to become the space-bar scene in the final scenes of the second part of The End of Time.

Ratings

to be added

Myths and rumours

• The presence of Davros in this episode had been rumoured for a long time before broadcast. An associated rumour suggested that the episode would reveal that Donna was actually Davros in disguise or Caan mutated himself into Davros. See this section in Journey's End for additional rumours related to Donna.
• It was also rumoured on the fan boards that Patrick Stewart or Ben Kingsley might have been cast as Davros. The speculation surrounding Stewart followed media reports of his interest in appearing in Doctor Who after it was announced that he and Tennant would perform a season of Shakespeare together in 2008. Ultimately, Julian Bleach was revealed to be playing the character.
• The cliffhanger regeneration ending sparked a week's worth of widespread speculation as to whether David Tennant was in fact about to hand the role over to another actor, despite reports that he was to at least appear in the upcoming Christmas special. The rumours, of course, were put to bed upon the cliffhanger's resolution.
• It was also rumoured that there would be a massive fight between the Judoon and the Daleks that would decide the fate of planet Earth. This was proven false.
• It has been rumoured, but never confirmed, that Russell T Davies was originally planning to bring back Clive Swift as Mr. Copper from Voyage of the Damned but changed his mind after Swift's interview for DWM 391 in which he refused to answer some questions and insulted the interviewer (Benjamin Cook), the franchise and the fandom in general before terminating the interview altogether.

Filming locations

• Cardiff
• Pontypridd

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.

• In the scene just before Martha teleports with Project Indigo, her earpiece disappears, then reappears when she takes it off.
• In the scene where Martha first calls Jack, Martha is in New York City, and yet a British-style fire exit sign can be clearly in the background, instead of an American one.
• When the Daleks discover the location of the subwave network has been moved to Torchwood, the Dalek who announces it to the Supreme Dalek only has its eyestalk light turned on just as he says Torchwood, which is the last word of the line.

Continuity

• This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of the Shadow Proclamation, first mentioned in TV: Rose.
• The Medusa Cascade was first mentioned in TV: Last of the Time Lords.
• The Doctor refers to the lost moon of Poosh (TV: Midnight).
• The Valiant last appeared in TV: The Poison Sky to help UNIT with attacking the ATMOS factory and, before that, in TV: The Sound of Drums. In this episode, it is seen being swarmed (and most likely destroyed) by a huge group of Daleks using 'maximum extermination', which they also use to exterminate a man that rebels against their order of human surrender.
• The Doctor deposed Harriet Jones in TV: The Christmas Invasion.
• The gun that Captain Jack used to kill the Dalek with appears to be the same gun he used in TV: The Parting of the Ways.
• The Doctor previously disabled the teleportation function of Captain Jack's Time Agency wrist strap in TV: Last of the Time Lords yet Jack regained the correct digits to reactivate it in this episode.
• Gwen states to Ianto, after handing him a firearm during the Dalek invasion of Torchwood 3, that she intends to "go out fighting" like Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato referring to their deaths in TV: Exit Wounds.
• The Doctor mentions a previous attempt to move the Earth "a long time ago", a reference to the goal of the Daleks in TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, where the Daleks try to place a drive system into the centre of the Earth so they can pilot the planet around the galaxy.
• The Earth was moved in TV: The Mysterious Planet, when it became known as Ravolox, and the Cybermen attempted to move it in TV: The Tenth Planet.
• Sarah Jane Smith, Rose, Jackie, Mickey, Jack, and Martha have all encountered the Daleks before. (TV: Genesis of The Daleks, Dalek etc al)
• Gwen does not know who the Daleks are; this is a reference back to an early episode of Torchwood in which it was stated that an attempt at covering up some elements of the Battle of Canary Wharf was made.
• Donna is told that she had something on her back. She was first told she had something on her back in TV: The Fires of Pompeii and it was a major element of the preceding episode, TV: Turn Left. The beetle sound effect from Turn Left is also heard at this point as well.
• This is the second on-screen appearance of the Judoon, the first being TV: Smith and Jones. They also appear in PROSE: Revenge of the Judoon.
• The Daleks proclamation that "The Daleks are the masters of Earth!" was previously said in TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, where they also issued the command for "the males, the females and the descendants" to come into the street and surrender to them.
• The Doctor calls out, "Bye!" to Davros in a similar fashion that the Fourth Doctor bade him farewell in TV: Destiny of the Daleks. The Master also says something similar in TV: Utopia, whilst stealing the TARDIS, as a rather childish "Bye-Bye!"
• Jack refers to Sarah Jane's encounters with the Slitheen. (TV: Revenge of the Slitheen and/or TV: The Lost Boy)
• The Doctor's TARDIS has reverted to its original appearance and is no longer covered with the words "Bad Wolf" as at the end of TV: Turn Left.
• Mr. Smith using every phone on Earth to call the Doctor is similar to everyone saying, "Doctor" in TV: Last of the Time Lords, where mobile phones also played an integral role as the transmitters of the Archangel Signal.
• In The Parting of the Ways, the Emperor of the Daleks refers to Rose as 'the Abomination', and in this episode the Dalek Supreme used the same nickname for Dalek Caan. This is also the name given to the Special Weapons Dalek in the novelization of Remembrance of the Daleks. This seems to be a popular name (or insult) for things that that the Daleks hate or fear.
• The Doctor and Rose are reunited near a church, echoing the setting of TV: Father's Day in which Rose's father is killed by an oncoming car and dies in the street. In this instance, Rose witnesses the Doctor being mortally wounded by a Dalek, and cradles him as he lies dying in the street.
• On screen, the Doctor was last shown meeting Davros in TV: Remembrance of the Daleks, but this episode establishes that they had at least one more encounter, during the Time War. Davros acknowledges that the Doctor has changed again since their last meeting.
• The Third Doctor was also shot by a Dalek and on that occasion his legs were temporarily paralysed. (TV: Planet of the Daleks)
• Upon answering the phone to Martha the first time, Jack says, "Martha Jones, voice of a nightingale" - the same words he used in TV: Reset.
• Davros now has a mechanical, slightly claw-like hand. His flesh-and-blood hand was shot off in TV: Revelation of the Daleks.
• In AUDIO: The Juggernauts, the self-destruct mechanism of Davros' life-support chair explodes, leaving him as presumably nothing but a head, as seen in TV: Remembrance of the Daleks in which he is wired into an Emperor Dalek casing. However, in The Stolen Earth his body is how it was in TV: Revelation of the Daleks, and his torso is clearly seen.
• In AUDIO: Terror Firma, the "Emperor" personality in Davros becomes dominant and he becomes, mentally, an Emperor Dalek. Here, he is clearly Davros again.
• When Wilfred shoots a Dalek in the eye with his paint gun, it says, "My vision is not impaired". This is a reference to Dalek stories (eg, The Daleks, Planet of the Daleks, Resurrection of the Daleks) where the Dalek eye would be shot, or covered. The Dalek would cry hysterically, "My vision is impaired! My vision is impaired!" And the heroes would escape or destroy the Dalek.
• Harriet Jones has yet again introduced herself by flashing her identity card earning her the response of "Yes, I/we know who you are", even from the Daleks dispatched to her location to exterminate her. (TV: The Christmas Invasion)
• Luke's comment about spatial transference echoes a similar statement made by Grace Holloway when she displays unexpected knowledge of time travel in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie. (TV: Doctor Who)
• General Sanchez is heard saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war." The same phrase was spoken by Jack Harkness when facing the Daleks on the Game Station. (TV: The Parting of the Ways)
• Wilf uses a paintball gun as a weapon against the Daleks by shooting paintballs at their eye stalks, this technique was first used in the Daleks' debut in the series in the 1964 episode "The Escape".
• Woman Wept was mentioned by Rose when talking to Mickey of the planets she had visited. (TV: Boom Town)
• The missing planet Callufrax Minor may be a reference to Calufrax, the miniaturised planet and Key to Time segment of The Pirate Planet.
• When the sub-wave network patches through to Rose at Donna Noble's home, the ring tone matches the rhythm of the drums that the Master spoke of in The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords.
• A continuity error arises in this episode when the Doctor and Donna arrive at the Shadow Proclamation. The TARDIS does not translate what the Judoon captain says even though the TARDIS translates all foreign languages in its vicinity, as seen in The Christmas Invasion.

Home video releases

• This story was released in the Series 4 DVD box set in November 2008 along with the rest of the series.
• It was released as Series 4 Volume 4 in a vanilla edition with Turn Left and Journey's End.

External links

• BBC Episode Guide to The Stolen Earth
• The Stolen Earth at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• Original script, posted online by Russell T Davies in conjunction with the release of his book REF: Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale.