Rain
- You may be looking for the individual or living rain.
Rain, or aqueous precipitation, (TV: The Stones of Blood [+]Loading...["The Stones of Blood (TV story)"]) was a form of precipitation that came from rain clouds, often connected to sadness. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin [+]Loading...["So Vile a Sin (novel)"]) Rain was formed from water at ground level, which then "[went] all the way up into the sky, and then [fell] all the way back down on to [a person]." (TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"]) It was frequently accompanied by thunder, (PROSE: Frayed [+]Loading...["Frayed (novel)"], Loving the Alien [+]Loading...["Loving the Alien (novel)"]) and a raincoat could be worn to keep the wearer dry. (PROSE: The Party in Room Four [+]Loading...["The Party in Room Four (short story)"])
People rarely went outside while it rained. (PROSE: Pack Animals [+]Loading...["Pack Animals (novel)","Pack Animals"]) Afterwards, stones would look "washed clean" (PROSE: The City of the Dead [+]Loading...["The City of the Dead (novel)"]) and the dirt would turn to mud. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass [+]Loading...["The Shadow in the Glass (novel)"], Loving the Alien [+]Loading...["Loving the Alien (novel)"], Players [+]Loading...["Players (novel)"]) According to Chris Cwej, "everybody [thought] that rain [was] miserable." Nevertheless, the Seventh Doctor loved the prickling on the skin caused by rain, calling it "one of the beautiful constants" of certain parts of Earth. (AUDIO: The Dread of Night [+]Loading...["The Dread of Night (audio story)"]) Carl Smithson found the sound of rain comforting "when you were tucked up and warm" in bed, but not so much from nearby. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass [+]Loading...["The Shadow in the Glass (novel)"]) Petrichor was the smell of dust after rain. (TV: The Doctor's Wife [+]Loading...["The Doctor's Wife (TV story)"]) Sarah Jane Smith loved "that fresh smell just after a rain shower". (TV: The Android Invasion [+]Loading...["The Android Invasion (TV story)"])
Roz Forrester speculated that the TARDIS liked rain, and the Seventh Doctor claimed this was why he carried an umbrella. The Doctor confirmed that the TARDIS would be jealous if she saw the travellers splashing into puddles. (AUDIO: The Dread of Night [+]Loading...["The Dread of Night (audio story)"])
Rain on Earth and other planets[[edit] | [edit source]]
According to Jack Harkness, contraceptives were in Earth's rain due to people flushing oestrogen pills down the toilet and therefore into the water cycle. (TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"])
When Mr Smith explained to Sarah Jane Smith and Maria Jackson that entanglement shells were used for terraforming, Maria joked that Ealing didn't need terraforming, as "it gets too much rain as it is." (TV: Warriors of Kudlak [+]Loading...["Warriors of Kudlak (TV story)"])
As Amy Pond implied, it rained a lot in Scotland; when it was raining in a car park, she deduced that it must be Great Britain. (PROSE: Apollo 23 [+]Loading...["Apollo 23 (novel)"]) It constantly rained in Cardiff, (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive [+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archive (audio story)"], TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"], Ghost Machine [+]Loading...["Ghost Machine (TV story)"], They Keep Killing Suzie [+]Loading...["They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)"], Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang [+]Loading...["Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)"], Meat [+]Loading...["Meat (TV story)"], Adam [+]Loading...["Adam (TV story)"]) as well as in Colchester. Once, Ian Chesterton spent "one of the worst weekends of [his] life" in Colchester with a girl; it rained without end. (PROSE: Byzantium! [+]Loading...["Byzantium! (novel)"]) On another occasion, rain in Cardiff forced Nettie Williams to hide in a bus stop. (TV: From Out of the Rain [+]Loading...["From Out of the Rain (TV story)"]) The presence of rain clouds told the Second Doctor that he, Jamie McCrimmon and Zoe Heriot had arrived in England during the summer. (TV: The Invasion [+]Loading...["The Invasion (TV story)"]) Wellington was also well-known for its rain; hard, torrential rain was in fact dubbed "Wellington rain". (PROSE: World Game [+]Loading...["World Game (novel)"]) Sun showers — "tiny droplets of cool rain falling down" — were found in rainforests. Io's Kibero Patera tried to imitate this in their rain garden, although Leabie Forrester was reminded more of Little Chalfont, England. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin [+]Loading...["So Vile a Sin (novel)"])
The Fourth Doctor expected always to encounter rain in the summer in England, and tried to be prepared for the occasion. (AUDIO: Trail of the White Worm [+]Loading...["Trail of the White Worm (audio story)"]) According to the Fourth Doctor, a typical sunmer's day on the English seaside involved rain. He thought Leela's description of this "wet world" was rather more apt than "Great Britain". (AUDIO: The Darkness of Glass [+]Loading...["The Darkness of Glass (audio story)"]) Jack Harkness explained that, due to the constant rain in Cardiff, seasons merged together, and time passed without notice. (AUDIO: The Torchwood Archive [+]Loading...["The Torchwood Archive (audio story)"])
The Joseph Conrad's food was produced hydroponically, and thus no precipitation was truly needed. Nevertheless, the ship's artificial sky rained "on special occasions". The Lacaillan homeworld, however, rained constantly, the species needing the rain to survive. (PROSE: So Vile a Sin [+]Loading...["So Vile a Sin (novel)"]) It rained a lot on Grått, forcing the Tenth Doctor to employ an umbrella. (COMIC: The Whispering Gallery [+]Loading...["The Whispering Gallery (comic story)"]) Rain was relatively uncommon on the planet Iwa and, even when it came, it did so extraordinarily briefly. As a result, the air remained fairly saturated and humid. The occasional downpours usually lasted only a few minutes, sometimes even a few seconds. Olmec's theory was that this was because the inhabitants didn't grow much food; they got most of their food from cans and packages. Chac was Iwa's rain god, who supposedly "didn't visit" the planet often. (PROSE: Frayed [+]Loading...["Frayed (novel)"]) The inhabitants of one planet believed that a sacrifice to the Rain Gods was necessary to make it rain. Two natives almost sacrificed the Eleventh Doctor and River Song to these gods, but they escaped; it began to rain regardless. (HOMEVID: Rain Gods [+]Loading...["Rain Gods (home video)"]) On Dellah, the needle of St Oscar's University's spaceport caused an increase in the local rainfall. (PROSE: Oh No It Isn't! [+]Loading...["Oh No It Isn't! (novel)"])
Sally Sparrow first met Billy Shipton in the basement of Wester Drumlins while it was raining. After Billy got sent back by the Weeping Angels, she met an older Billy during the same rain. Billy died when it ceased raining. (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"])
It rained in 17th century Cornwall when the First Doctor, Polly and Ban made their way from Joseph Longfoot's church to Jacob Kewper's inn. (TV: The Smugglers [+]Loading...["The Smugglers (TV story)"])
It was raining on the day the Seventh Doctor and Ace visited the Festival of Britain in 1951. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus [+]Loading...["Timewyrm: Exodus (novel)"])
On the planet Graxis Major, it rained during Sergic's burial by the orders of the Daleks. (AUDIO: The Healers [+]Loading...["The Healers (audio story)"])
In the centuries following the neutronic war on Skaro, the Thals came to depend on a great rainfall that came every four or five years to sustain their lives as farmers. When the rain was two years overdue, the Thals left their home in search of new food sources. (TV: The Daleks [+]Loading...["The Daleks (TV story)"]) When the Eleventh Doctor was abducted by the Parliament of the Daleks, he was lured to a Skaro city beset by heavy rain. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)"]) The area around the Dalek City was noted by Susan Foreman to not receive rainfall despite having lightning strikes. (TV: The Daleks [+]Loading...["The Daleks (TV story)"], AUDIO: Return to Skaro [+]Loading...["Return to Skaro (audio story)"])
Rain was rare on the planet Quinnis, falling in amounts large enough to cause a flood when it did. When the First Doctor and Susan Foreman arrived, the former attempted to excite the atmosphere to create rain before the flood struck. (AUDIO: Quinnis [+]Loading...["Quinnis (audio story)"])
Exceptional cases[[edit] | [edit source]]
When the Judoon used an H₂O scoop to transport the Royal Hope Hospital to the Moon, the rain went up around the hospital, while no precipitation fell anywhere else. It rained again on the Moon when the hospital made the return trip. (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"])
When the TARDIS returned the planet Earth from the Medusa Cascade to the solar system, it rained a lot for a while on Earth afterwards due to atmospheric disturbances. (TV: Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"])
The Doctor's sonic screwdriver was capable of causing rain via atmospheric excitation. (COMIC: Death to the Doctor! [+]Loading...["Death to the Doctor! (comic story)"], Mudshock [+]Loading...["Mudshock (comic story)"])
Francesca Latimer's tears at Clara Oswin Oswald's death on Christmas Eve 1892 caused the telepathic snowfall to turn into salty rain. (TV: The Snowmen [+]Loading...["The Snowmen (TV story)"]) Once, when Honoré Lechasseur set bottles of vodka free into the wind, it rained alcohol in London for a whole day. (PROSE: The Cabinet of Light [+]Loading...["The Cabinet of Light (novel)"])
Cyber-pollen was used by Missy in the form of rain in order to convert the dead into Cybermen. The rain only occurred in the graveyards to raise the deceased. (TV: Death in Heaven [+]Loading...["Death in Heaven (TV story)"])
Among the many parallel universes that Rose Tyler visited was one where it rained constantly, owing to Earth being pulled closer to the Sun. The rain was further affected to the point where it began poising the soil instead of nourishing it, it being expected to poison the planet seventy years after Rose's visit. This was suspected to be the result of hostile alien powers. (AUDIO: The Flood [+]Loading...["The Flood (RTDC audio story)"])
Predictions[[edit] | [edit source]]
Several species and objects were able to predict rainfall. "Dark clouds" were a good indication that it would soon rain. (PROSE: Pack Animals [+]Loading...["Pack Animals (novel)"], Byzantium! [+]Loading...["Byzantium! (novel)"])
Bazoolium went cold before it was to rain. (TV: Army of Ghosts [+]Loading...["Army of Ghosts (TV story)"])
After the Pyroviles entered the Pompeii area, the soothsayers, the augurs and the haruspex inherited psychic powers and could predict crops and rainfall with absolute precision. The Tenth Doctor claimed that always knowing this would make life boring. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"])
Impact of rain[[edit] | [edit source]]
As Lucius Petrus Dextrus put it, "Rain please[d] the soil". (TV: The Fires of Pompeii [+]Loading...["The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)"]) Plants had to be watered regularly to maintain life. (PROSE: The Secret in Vault 13 [+]Loading...["The Secret in Vault 13 (novel)"]) Both the Tenth Doctor and Vincent Linfoot said, "A little rain never hurt anyone." (TV: Gridlock [+]Loading...["Gridlock (TV story)"], AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Plague of the Daleks (audio story)"]) This, however, was most certainly not true.
According to Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, while it was raining, "visibility was low" — this could lead to car accidents, a fatal misstep or loss of electricity. (TV: Boom Town [+]Loading...["Boom Town (TV story)"], PROSE: The City of the Dead [+]Loading...["The City of the Dead (novel)"])
Excess rain could cause flooding, (TV: The Invasion [+]Loading...["The Invasion (TV story)"]) which in turn might drown someone. (TV: Small Worlds [+]Loading...["Small Worlds (TV story)"], PROSE: The City of the Dead [+]Loading...["The City of the Dead (novel)"]) Flooding would also turn dirt to mud, which would make travel difficult, particularly on unurbanised soil. (PROSE: The Shadow in the Glass [+]Loading...["The Shadow in the Glass (novel)"]) Usually being incredibly cold, rain could also cause numbness. (PROSE: The Cabinet of Light [+]Loading...["The Cabinet of Light (novel)"])
Acid rain, rain that was unnaturally acidic, could "melt" forests. (TV: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe [+]Loading...["The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe (TV story)"]) The Daleks made false, acidic rain that could turn humanoids into zombies fall on Stockbridge within its 45th century environment dome. (AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Plague of the Daleks (audio story)"]) A species resembling rain could easily cut through human flesh. When the human colonists arrived on its planet, they drank the water, and were consequently killed by it. The rain would keep on falling until at least one or two people were killed. (PROSE: Pitter-Patter [+]Loading...["Pitter-Patter (short story)"])
References[[edit] | [edit source]]
"A little rain never hurt anyone" (TV: Gridlock [+]Loading...["Gridlock (TV story)"], AUDIO: Plague of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Plague of the Daleks (audio story)"]) was not the only rain-related expression.
The Eleventh Doctor once used the expression, "It never rains but it pours" to express how drastic bad things always were, when faced not only with a sinking Soviet submarine, but also a murderous Ice Warrior. (TV: Cold War [+]Loading...["Cold War (TV story)"])
The First Doctor once told a "savage" that he'd have him "right as rain", meaning that he'd fix him. (TV: The Savages [+]Loading...["The Savages (TV story)"]) Owen Harper said the same thing to Gwen Cooper after describing how he'd treat the Nostrovite wound that had impregnated her. (TV: Something Borrowed [+]Loading...["Something Borrowed (TV story)"]) Mike Yates likewise felt right as rain. (TV: The Green Death [+]Loading...["The Green Death (TV story)"])
A period of light rain was dubbed a "soft day". "Anyone for tennis?" was, according to the Fourth Doctor, an English expression meaning "Is anyone coming outdoors to get soaked?" (TV: The Stones of Blood [+]Loading...["The Stones of Blood (TV story)"])
Breakfast in the Rain was one of the DVDs (like Falling Star) on which the Tenth Doctor hid messages for Sally Sparrow, which Larry Nightingale tried to puzzle out at Banto's DVD store. (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"])
The "Katy Manning" Iris once mused that her Celestial Omnibus might look more in place on "Regent Street in the pouring rain, pulling up at a bus stop on a dark December night". (AUDIO: Iris Wildthyme Speaks...! [+]Loading...["Iris Wildthyme Speaks...! (audio story)"])
Legends[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Sun of Fire and Rain was one of the "Five Suns in the Sky" according to the Aztecs. (TV: The Aztecs [+]Loading...["The Aztecs (TV story)"])
According to the legends of the Gonds, when the Krotons invaded their planet, they "caused a poisonous rain to fall", killing hundreds of them. (TV: The Krotons [+]Loading...["The Krotons (TV story)"])
The Night Travellers were said to "come out of the rain". Indeed, it always seemed to be raining when they attacked. (TV: From Out of the Rain [+]Loading...["From Out of the Rain (TV story)"])
