The Witch's Familiar (TV story)

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The Witch's Familiar was the second episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It probed the reason why the Doctor had fled from Gallifrey and gave a needed explanation as to why Skaro had returned after it was shown to be destroyed in Remembrance of the Daleks. It also divulged how Missy had escaped her death in Death in Heaven, using the same technique to allow herself and Clara to survive the cliffhanger of the previous episode.

This story was further notable for exploring several new narratives with Davros. For the first time, Davros appeared seen outside his chair, revealing both a lack of legs and Dalek technology hooking him into the chair. Davros also opened his own eyes for the first time on-screen, and the possibility of him dying an indisputable death--as well as him regretting his actions--was brought up. This story was also the first to show Davros cry, as well as sharing a moment where he and the Doctor genuinely find something funny and laugh together.

In that same respect, the mechanics of a Dalek were given an in-depth look, specifically how they control their casing functions, their weaponry and the filtering of their speech. It also gave a rational explanation for why they often shout, "Exterminate!" reatedly.

In addition, it introduced the sonic sunglasses to replace the sonic screwdriver.

Synopsis

As he's trapped in a terrifying Dalek city, the Doctor is on his own, without his sonic, without his TARDIS without Clara.

Can the Doctor resist his greatest temptation, and will he show his greatest enemy compassion?

Plot

On the outskirts of the Dalek City, Clara awakens to find herself suspended upside down in the air by rope and Missy sharpening a stick nearby. Missy tells her they'll probably have to hunt for food, hence the stick, and that Clara is tied up "in case there's nothing to hunt". She quickly explains how they survived being shot.

She recalls how the Doctor once faced 40 invisible Android Assassins without a TARDIS or companion, just a teleport device - "in short, the Doctor happy." At the moment that the androids fired on him, the Doctor used siphoned energy from the blasts to power the teleporter and escape.

Clara is left impressed with the trick; the androids think the Doctor's dead and he escapes. Missy then points out this is the Doctor they're talking about; he's not that lucky. The Doctor fell into a nest vampire monkeys soon after "but that's another story!"

Clara realizes Missy copied what the Doctor did back when she attacked with the Cyber-converted deceased; Missy used the energy from the Brigadier's attack to teleport away. Missy repeated this process to get them away from the Daleks, but this has burnt out their manipulators. Without them or a TARDIS, they are left stranded on Skaro.

Missy frees Clara from her restraint and both stare at the city; Missy states that standing between them and the Doctor is everything that the greatest empire in the universe can throw at them, but they have a pointy stick. As they begin to approach the city Clara asks if she can have a stick for herself only to be told to make her own.

"Admit it- you've all had this exact nightmare."

Meanwhile the Doctor searches the infirmary and finds a gunstick, grabs it and threatens Davros, aiming directly behind his head. The Doctor tells Davros to get out of his chair, and soon the Daleks see on their screen that "Davros" is leaving the infirmary. As they inform Davros to stay in the room Davros call them for help and tells all Skaro Daleks to find the escaping Doctor. A Dalek finds Davros on the floor, as the Doctor rolls into the Dalek room in his wheelchair, stating that the Daleks have had "this exact nightmare". Davros calls for Sarff, who comes to his aid.

The Daleks attempt exterminating the Doctor, but find him unharmed. The Doctor explains that "Davros is an insane, paranoid scientist who has survived centuries around trigger-happy mini tanks", and thus has a personal force-field to keep them for killing him. Amused, the Doctor says he's keeping the chair. Threatening the Supreme Dalek with a gunstick, he asks if any Daleks is brave enough to admit Clara is dead; if she's not, she's to be brought to him. Davros contacts the Doctor, saying it must be nice to have so much power at his command. At that moment, snakes emerge from the chair and begin wrapping around the Doctor; Sarff keeps agents wherever Davros needs them.

Meanwhile, Missy and Clara are standing in another area on the outskirts of the City. After having heard the Doctor's call for Clara, they enter a Dalek sewers. In an attempt to find out how deep it is, Missy pushes Clara down into it, and the landing knocks her unconscious. Clara reawakens to find Missy standing in front of her, then grabs her stick and threatens her. However, Missy reclaims her stick and enters the main sewer area, explaining that all the "nasty stuff" they see on the walls are old decaying and angry Daleks that have been left to rot and liquify. Missy soon cuffs Clara to a security camera, which spots her and sends a Dalek to collect her. As a Dalek approaches, Missy attacks it, using her brooch to poke holes in the casing, allowing the old Daleks to enter it and kill the new Dalek as revenge.

Back in the infirmary, the Doctor awakens to find Davros back in his chair. Davros tells him to be grateful as the chair he sits on is the only other chair on Skaro, and that the Doctor should be privileged, but he quickly picks himself up. Unbeknownst to the Doctor, Colony Sarff is hidden amongst the tubes of Davros' life-support. Examining the life-support system, the Doctor is able to deduce its function. Davros is "vampiring" off the Daleks; so long as the Daleks' hearts beat, so does Davros'. The Daleks allow this because of the one flaw Davros couldn't get rid of in them: respect for the one who gave them life.

Davros shows the Doctor that Colony Sarff confiscated the confession dial and sunglasses; the Doctor quickly takes his sunglasses, saying they are one of the few things that matter to him. Davros points out the Doctor still plays the part of the fool, to which the Doctor says should still make Davros nervous. Davros asks why the Doctor came; The Doctor explains that he came because a sick man asked him to. Wondering what the Doctor has confessed, Davros asks to be gifted with such knowledge before he dies; the Doctor points out that Davros keeps claiming to die soon, but never does. Davros wonders why the Doctor left Gallifrey, to which they argue; the Doctor was bored there, but is homesick. The Doctor then wonders how Skaro came back, to which Davros explains was due to the Daleks wanting a homeland; he notes that the Doctor is now alone.

However, the Doctor explains he saved Gallifrey, and it's safe from the both of them, somewhere out there. Davros congratulates the Doctor, as he himself was not able to save his species. Davros begins to show remorse for all his terrible deeds and asks whether he was a good man. Davros asks to see the Doctor with his own eyes, shutting off the implant in his forehead and opening his true eyes. Realizing Davros is indeed dying, both have a laugh that the Doctor isn't a really good doctor after all.

In the sewer, Missy pulls the now-dead Dalek mutant out of its casing; she has Clara sit in the armour and sticks the telepathic circuits into her temples before sealing her inside. Clara learns whatever she says is spoken by the shell, something she finds weird; however, her own voice cannot be heard outside of the shell. Amusing herself, Missy has Clara attempt saying her name, but gets "I am a Dalek" instead; she then has Clara try "you are different from me" and "I love you", but they come out as "exterminate". She then has Clara say "exterminate", causing the shell to spin and fire rapidly; Missy laughs as Clara regains control. Missy explains that unlike the Cybermen, who cut out their emotions, the Daleks harness it to fire their weapons, and reload by saying "exterminate."

Now understanding how the Dalek shell works, Clara heads back into the hospital with Missy. They are confronted by a Dalek, which questions Clara as to why an intruder in the city hasn't been exterminated yet. As Clara isn't able to think of a good excuse, Missy takes control of the situation, explaining that she's a Time Lady, and thus a prisoner of value; she tells the Dalek to inform the Supreme Dalek had better be informed that "the bitch is back".

Back in the infirmary, the Doctor connects Davros' chair to the life support system, and maxing out the life it can give the ancient scientist. Davros wonders why the Doctor is helping him, to which he hears the Doctor is doing something for the little boy he abandoned. Reflecting on the past, Davros says he wishes he and the Doctor had been on the same side; smiling, the Doctor tells Davros they're on the same side now. Davros says all he wants is to see one last sunrise, but cannot open his eyes now. As the sun looms on the horizon, the Doctor asks Davros "not to tell anyone that I did this" as his hand starts to glow with regenerative energy. Commenting that what he's about to do will "probably cost me an arm or a leg somewhere down the line", or just result in him being smaller in one of his future incarnations, the Doctor approaches Davros' life support as Davros chuckles softly behind him.

The Doctor's regenerative energy is siphoned from him by Davros.

Grabbing one of tubes with his glowing hand, the Doctor prepares to donate a tiny bit of regenerative energy to revive Davros long enough to see the sunrise. However, the moment he touches the life-support, Sarff binds him to the cables, and the machinery begins to drain more energy from the Doctor, transmitting it to the Daleks, renewing them. Davros laughs, commenting that regenerative energy is "The ancient magic of the Time Lords", and remarking that he thought he would have to vivisect the Doctor to take it from him. He gloats that the Doctor's compassion has driven him to open his veins of his own free will, allowing all Daleks to "Drink the blood of Gallifrey."

In the Daleks' command room, Missy walks up to the Supreme Dalek, calling it her "special favourite" and not to tell anyone. The Supreme Dalek declares her to be an enemy of the Daleks, but Missy pokes fun of its logic; the Daleks considered anyone who isn't one of them to be an enemy, so that was an easy guess. Missy offers to reveal where Clara Oswald is, to which the Daleks chant for her to reveal her information; Missy refuses, dancing to their chanting. Suddenly, all the Daleks freeze, with their casings seeming to shut down. Missy wonders if this was because she was boring them. Missy reacts with horror as the regenerative energy stolen from the Doctor begins leaking from their casings. Telling Clara that she needs to find the Doctor, Missy runs off to find Davros' room.

In the infirmary, Davros asks if the Doctor's true reason for leaving Gallifrey was because of a prophecy concerning the creation of a Dalek/Time Lord hybrid that he may be the catalyst for. Before Davross can pursue this line of inquiry any further Missy breaks in and zaps Colony Sarff with a gunstick. The Doctor is freed, though it is unclear if any of his remaining regenerations were consumed by Davros' attempt to harness his energy.

Elsewhere, the Daleks reactivate, gloating that they have been renewed, and being chanting praise for Davros' experiment succeeding. Davros gloats the Daleks have gained new strength, and that his own life has been prolonged; however, the Doctor pays no mind to him, reclaiming his confession dial as he counts down from three. Missy recognizes the Doctor's face, wondering what her friend has done this time.

At "one", the city begins shaking; Davros wonders what's happening. The Doctor has two words for him "Moron" and "Sewers". Missy begins laughing. The Doctor has used Davros' own plan against him; the regenerative energy Davros used to renew the Daleks was also distributed through the sewers beneath the city, and the decaying Daleks within have awoken and started attacking the city. The Doctor sets off to find Clara, and Missy follows after informing Davros that it was a pleasure to finally meet him. She pokes his eye implant, and runs off after the Doctor, laughing.

In the hall, Clara finds them, but cannot tell the Doctor that she's inside the Dalek shell, due to it not speaking what she wants. Missy lies, saying that Clara was killed by the Dalek casing in front of them, trying to goad the Doctor into using a gunstick to kill it. All Clara's attempts to tell the Doctor her identity come out "I am a Dalek"; Missy says that "the Dalek" is gloating. The Doctor asks the Dalek why it hasn't killed him. Begging the Doctor not to kill her, Clara causes the casing to say "I... show... mercy"; the Doctor lowers the gun and tells her to open the casing just by thinking the word.

The casing opens to reveal Clara, who was crying from fear. The Doctor glares at Missy for trying to trick him into killing Clara and tells her to run. Missy explains this is a metaphor as to why she gave Clara to the Doctor - to see the friend inside the enemy and vice versa. Reminding Missy to run after she concludes that "Everyone's a bit of both; everyone's a hybrid.", the Doctor is told that it was always him who ran; the Doctor begins helping Clara out. Continuing to run through the collapsing building, Missy is caught by the Daleks, but tells them that she has an idea.

After freeing Clara of the Dalek casing, they head back to where the TARDIS was destroyed. The Supreme Dalek demands to know what's happening, to which the Doctor says "your sewers are revolting." The Doctor then reveals that the HADS broke apart the TARDIS to save it; using his new sonic sunglasses, the Doctor brings it back together, allowing him and Clara to flee.

The TARDIS has materialised on a nearby hillside outside the Dalek city and the Doctor and Clara are standing watching the city as it suffers damage. The Doctor wonders why the Dalek shell was able to say "mercy". He then realises what he must do. He returns to young Davros, shooting the Handmines with a Dalek gun, telling him it doesn't matter what side anyone's on so long as there's mercy. He then begins guiding Davros back home.

Cast

Uncredited

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

Individuals

  • Missy mentions she had a daughter.
  • Missy has a pendant made of a dark star alloy.
  • Davros mentions that the Doctor's compassion is like a cancer, that grows stronger in him and that it will kill him in the end.
  • Missy references Elton John's The Bitch Is Back, when telling a Dalek those exact words.

Story notes

  • Missy is seen in a sewer. Previously, in the Doctor Who spoof The Curse of Fatal Death also written by Steven Moffat, an incompetent version of the Master was shown falling into an absurdly vast sewer three times and taking three hundred and twelve years to climb out each time.
  • Davros says the Doctor is privileged to be able to use the only other chair on Skaro. This was similarly brought up in the spoof The Curse of the Fatal Death, where the Doctor and his companion were tied to chairs by Daleks; when his companion asked why the Daleks had chairs, the Doctor promised to "explain later."
  • A dying Davros telling the Doctor that he wants to look at him with his own eyes is very similar to a scene in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi when Anakin Skywalker says he wants to look at his son Luke with his own eyes as he is dying, and, like Davros, has been hooked up to mechanical apparatuses after suffering crippling injuries, including a mask over his face as part of his Sith identity as Darth Vader.
  • On 27 September, the day after the episode's broadcast, the two-part opener was broadcast on BBC One and BBC One HD as one single feature-length episode.
  • This episode saw a rare use of the mild expletive "bitch" on the series, spoken by Missy. This is notable as the episode premiered pre-watershed hours on BBC One and Doctor Who is often considered a family-friendly television series. To further denote the rarity of this language on the show, the expletive was last heard in the second episode of Series 1, in TV: The End of the World by Rose Tyler.
  • Missy tells Clara Oswald a story about the Doctor that happened a long time ago, and told it didn't matter to her which incarnation it was, as they were all the Doctor, but told Clara to imagine "the eyebrows" (Twelfth Doctor).
  • The Dalek sewers connect to the Dalek City via the Lower Level Thirteen.
  • Davros, as a child, thinks that the Doctor might be a Thal.
  • Missy says that murdering Daleks is like golf to Time Lords. Ironically, this line was previously used in a different show Steven Moffat writes for - Sherlock - where the detective mentions that the activities of secret terrorist organizations are basically golf.
  • Daleks have one genetic flaw that Davros was unable to eliminate; respect towards him.
  • Missy said that Cybermen suppress emotion whereas Daleks channel it through their gun.
  • Daleks are unable to say anything that betrays their basic function of hatred.
  • Davros says that regenerative energy is "The ancient magic of the Time Lords", and describes it as "The blood of Gallifrey."
  • Daleks are shown to be controlling their casing via telepathy.
  • The inside of the Dalek-casing have a button that can open and close it.
  • Davros mentions a Gallifreyan prophecy about a hybrid creature that was half-Dalek half-Time Lord.

Ratings

  • BBC One overnight: 3.71 million
  • BBC America overnight: to be added
  • UK final ratings: 5.71 million

Filming locations

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.
  • Because of a reflection in the sonic sunglasses, a camera can be seen.
  • When the Daleks corner Missy at the end of the episode, none of their dome lights flash as they threaten her.

Continuity

Home video releases

DVD releases

The Witch's Familiar was released on DVD as part of "Doctor Who: Series 9, Part 1" on November 2 in region 2 and November 3 in region 1.

Blu-ray releases

to be added

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ That was my Dalek. That was my Dalek. Retrieved on 9 October 2015.
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