Earpiece
An earpiece (occasionally written as ear-piece) (PROSE: Scared Stiff [+]Loading...["Scared Stiff (short story)"]) was a wearable communication device used on Earth. It relayed audio into the ear for the purpose of private communication.
Earpieces had various unique designs. Some were prominently worn on the ear, (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"] etc.) while a more common earpiece design was that of a smaller, acoustic tube. (TV: Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"] etc.) Certain earpieces were designed to be concealed (TV: The Gift [+]Loading...["The Gift (TV story)"]) or practically near invisible. (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang [+]Loading...["Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)"])
Some earpieces had attached microphone components, while less conspicuous designs had them separate. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"], Children of Earth: Day One [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day One (TV story)"] etc.)
History[[edit] | edit source]
Use by humans[[edit] | edit source]
Earpieces were often used in certain professions, such as by members of intelligence agencies, (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) police, (TV: Flatline [+]Loading...["Flatline (TV story)"]) and private organisations. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"], Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"] etc.) Television and news presenters also used earpieces to receive communication from their studio. (TV: Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"], PROSE: Scared Stiff [+]Loading...["Scared Stiff (short story)"] etc.) In 2006, as a newsreader, Trinity Wells reported that the United Nations Security Council had voted to release the codes for nuclear weapons to the British government, after being informed of the vote's passing through an earpiece. (TV: World War Three [+]Loading...["World War Three (TV story)"]) Scared Stiff presenter Corynne Fletcher received information on when she was about to go live via her earpiece. When the Tenth Doctor made an unplanned appearance on the show, a tinny voice in Corynne's earpiece gave her instructions on how to proceed. (PROSE: Scared Stiff [+]Loading...["Scared Stiff (short story)"])
Earpieces were used by musical performers. Ruby Sunday used them when playing the keyboard in a band, during a performance at a Christmas party. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road [+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])
The Torchwood Institute had their own issued earpieces for personnel. (TV: Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"], Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"] etc.) The Unified Intelligence Taskforce also provided earpieces for its officers by the early 21st century. (PROSE: The Dying Days [+]Loading...["The Dying Days (novel)"], TV: The Sontaran Stratagem [+]Loading...["The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)"]) Alex Klein, a UNIT operative and senior aide to Harriet Jones, used an earpiece to communicate with Torchwood One. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"]) In the 2000s,[nb 1] while working at UNIT's headquarters in New York, Martha Jones used an earpiece to keep in contact with Jack Harkness during the Planetary Relocation Incident. (TV: The Stolen Earth [+]Loading...["The Stolen Earth (TV story)"])
Members of the United States FBI, (PROSE: In the Blood [+]Loading...["In the Blood (novel)"]) CIA, (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"]) British MI6, and the Australian Secret Service used earpieces. (TV: Spyfall [+]Loading...["Spyfall (TV story)"])
Earpieces could be damaged by sonic devices. When cornered at Combat 3000, Sarah Jane Smith used her sonic lipstick on Mark Grantham's earpiece, which caused electricity and loud feedback to emit from it, allowing Sarah Jane to escape. (TV: Warriors of Kudlak [+]Loading...["Warriors of Kudlak (TV story)"]) She would later do the same to the earpieces of a group of UNIT guards at the Black Archive. (TV: Enemy of the Bane [+]Loading...["Enemy of the Bane (TV story)"])
When pursuing the Torchwood Three team, Agent Johnson constantly wore a tube earpiece. Through it, she was able to communicate with her base of operations. (TV: Children of Earth: Day One [+]Loading...["Children of Earth: Day One (TV story)"] etc.)
K9 Mark IV had the ability to relay his voice into an earpiece. Clyde Langer used this in order to cheat at an exam. (TV: The Gift [+]Loading...["The Gift (TV story)"]) K9 Mark II also had this ability. (AUDIO: The Pursuit of History [+]Loading...["The Pursuit of History (audio story)"])
In 2012, Diana Goddard often wore an earpiece while working at Geocomtex. She used this earpiece to communicate with other staff, such as Danny Simmons. The security officers at the Vault also had earpieces. (TV: Dalek [+]Loading...["Dalek (TV story)"])
In 2040, the Personal Associative Network ID system functioned as a communications device and entertainment system. It had attachable earpieces and microphones. (PROSE: Carpenter/Butterfly/Baronet [+]Loading...["Carpenter/Butterfly/Baronet (short story)"])
The crewmembers of the Drum had earpiece communicators. (TV: Before the Flood [+]Loading...["Before the Flood (TV story)"])
The Van Baalen brothers used earpiece communicators during salvages. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS [+]Loading...["Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)"])
The staff of the Dalek Dome used earpieces to communicate with each other. This was later exploited by the Daleks, when a Dalek interrogator sent a hypno-pulse into Lieutenant Georgette Gold's earpiece. A hypnotised Georgette would use her earpiece to hypnotise the entire Dome by placing a microphone to it, emitting the hypno-pulse through the Dome's loudspeakers. Some staff members, such as the Chief, Claire, and Claudine, did not use earpieces due to their cross-species body mod, and instead communicated through the use of wrist communicator devices. (COMIC: Liberation of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Liberation of the Daleks (comic story)"])
Employees of TransAllied, Inc wore automated personal assistant earpieces, which organised and monitored their activities. While working for the CEO Arnold Baynes, the Sixth Doctor was forced to wear one. (AUDIO: Davros [+]Loading...["Davros (audio story)"])
Use by the Doctor[[edit] | edit source]
In situations that required them to remain in contact with the TARDIS, the Doctor has used an earpiece. On three occasions, the Eleventh Doctor used an earpiece for this purpose. On the first, the Doctor used an advanced earpiece to remain in contact with Amy Pond in the TARDIS, who was stuck in the time vortex due to interference from 79B Aickman Road. The Doctor was stuck in Colchester, and in an attempt to remain hidden while investigating the flat, used an earpiece which "scrambled" his speech and made it sound like gibberish to anybody else listening. (TV: The Lodger [+]Loading...["The Lodger (TV story)"]) The Doctor would once again use an earpiece to communicate with Amy while stuck outside the TARDIS, this time due to a "space riptide". (GAME: TARDIS [+]Loading...["TARDIS (video game)"]) The Doctor would also use an earpiece to remain in contact with "Handles" while teleporting to other ships, giving instructions to Handles who controlled the TARDIS teleportation system. (TV: The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"])
This situation also happened in reverse, when the Doctor needed to remain in contact with an individual from inside the TARDIS. This was the case for the Twelfth Doctor, who gave Clara Oswald an earpiece while he was trapped inside the TARDIS as its external shell had been reduced in size. This earpiece used nanotechnology which hacked into Clara's optic nerve when placed in her ear, allowing the Doctor to see from her point of view with the TARDIS scanner. (TV: Flatline [+]Loading...["Flatline (TV story)"]) While testing Missy's "goodness", the Twelfth Doctor allowed her to take his place in answering a distress call, instructing her from an earpiece from the TARDIS. Bill Potts and Nardole acted as her "companions" and also wore the same earpieces. (TV: World Enough and Time [+]Loading...["World Enough and Time (TV story)"])
The Fifth Doctor created an anti-dreaming device to protect Tegan Jovanka from the Mara and the influence held over the dreams she had been having. The device used an earpiece which inhibited the brainwaves associated with dreaming when inserted into Tegan's ear. (TV: Snakedance [+]Loading...["Snakedance (TV story)"])
Use by the Cybermen[[edit] | edit source]
The Cybermen frequently used earpieces as a means of controlling humans. This was especially common with the Cybermen of Pete's World, who captured individual humans and coverted them into Cyber-agents using earpieces to control them, modified with Cyber-filament connecting the devices to the human brain. (TV: Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"])
After escaping the Void, the Cybermen found themselves in London in 1851. They once again used earpieces, this time cruder versions to control workhouse owners. They allowed a human ally, Mercy Hartigan, control over the earpieces. Once the controlled workhouse owners had fulfilled their purpose of bringing their children to the CyberKing, Miss Hartigan disposed of them by pulling a lever which electrified the earpieces, killing them. (TV: The Next Doctor [+]Loading...["The Next Doctor (TV story)"])
Earpiece mind control was also used by Mondasian Cybermen. After crash landing in Baltimore in 1982, a Cyber-Leader used an earpiece to control Anthony Chambers, who had stumbled upon the crashed Cyber-Leader and the Cyber-conversion pod he had brought with him. The Cybermen would also control others, such as Lt. Doyle and Natalie Hamilton, through the use of earpieces. (AUDIO: The Reaping [+]Loading...["The Reaping (audio story)"])
Use by other species[[edit] | edit source]
Earpiece-like devices were also used on other planets and among different species. The Tritovore trading ship that crashed on San Helios had earpiece internal communication devices. Despite being made for a different species, these earpieces fit human ears perfectly, and were used by the Tenth Doctor and Christina de Souza while trying to retrieve the ship's crystal power source. (TV: Planet of the Dead [+]Loading...["Planet of the Dead (TV story)"])
When posing as a human, Mrs Wormwood used an earpiece to communicate with the Bane staff at the Bubble Shock! factory. (TV: Invasion of the Bane [+]Loading...["Invasion of the Bane (TV story)"])
Earpieces were used by Cadmians, such as Fief. (PROSE: In the Blood [+]Loading...["In the Blood (novel)"])
Other realities[[edit] | edit source]
In Pete's World, earpieces called EarPods were in common use by the residents of the parallel world. They were produced by Cybus Industries, and were more technologically advanced than the earpieces of the Doctor's universe's Earth. As well as communication, the EarPods also allowed their wearers to download information into their brains as well as serving as covert mind control devices. (TV: Rise of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Rise of the Cybermen (TV story)"], The Age of Steel [+]Loading...["The Age of Steel (TV story)"], PROSE: EarPod [+]Loading...["EarPod (feature)"])
In Andrea Yates's universe, newsreader Jason Mohammad reported on the incoming meteor K67, and was informed via an earpiece that a missile strike against it had failed. (TV: Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? [+]Loading...["Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane? (TV story)"])
In one alternate timeline, as UNIT prepared to apprehend a figure that had been following Ruby Sunday, Kate Lethbridge-Stewart communicated with UNIT officers through an earpiece. Aware that the figure possessed some form of psychic influence on anybody that came into contact with them, Kate instructed the officers not to look at them or engage in any conversation. However, the UNIT soldiers sent to the figure still came under its influence as they approached, as did Kate through her earpiece. As a result, the order was given immediately to disengage, and Kate and left Ruby on her own. (TV: 73 Yards [+]Loading...["73 Yards (TV story)"])
Footnotes[[edit] | edit source]
- ↑ The present day of Doctor Who's fourth series is not consistently dated, with TV: The Fires of Pompeii, TV: The Waters of Mars, and AUDIO: SOS setting the present of the 13 regular episodes in 2008, and PROSE: Beautiful Chaos setting them in about April to June 2009.
