World War Three (7 Apr. 2006)

The fiendish Slitheen have been unmasked as the ones who crashed the spaceship into London as part of a ruse to trigger World War Three. But how can The Doctor save the planet when he's trapped inside a locked room?

Director:

Keith Boak

Writer:

Russell T. Davies

Stars:

Christopher Eccleston, Billie Piper, David Verrey

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Eccleston	...	Doctor Who
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
David Verrey	...	Joseph Green
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Penelope Wilton	...	Harriet Jones
Noel Clarke	...	Mickey Smith
Rupert Vansittart	...	General Asquith
Morgan Hopkins	...	Sergeant Price
Andrew Marr	...	Himself
Annette Badland	...	Margaret Blaine
Steve Speirs	...	Strickland (as Steve Spiers)
Jack Tarlton	...	Reporter Tom Hitchingson
Lachele Carl	...	Reporter
Corey Doabe	...	Spray Painter
Elizabeth Fost	...	Slitheen

Storyline

Now locked in the reinforced Cabinet Room, the Doctor and Rose finally learn of the Slitheen's intentions. Having locked themselves in however, how they will manage to stop them becomes a major issue. While trying to keep the aliens at bay, the Doctor works against the clock to destroy them the only way he knows how - to blow up 10 Downing Street. To so however, Rose's boyfriend Mickey will have to hack into a submarine's computer and launch a missile.

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Plot Keywords:

political satire | fantasy episode

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (USA)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 45 min (50 episodes)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This episode was watched by 7.98 million viewers on its original transmission, winning a 40.15% audience share.

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Goofs

When the Slitheen at Mickey's flat unzips his head, the blue light shining from his forehead fills the frame and seems to cast a shadow BEHIND him. Unless he was standing in front of a mirror, this would simply not be possible.

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Quotes

Rose Tyler: My mum's cooking.
The Ninth Doctor: Good! Put her on a slow heat and let her simmer.

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Connections

Featured in Doctor Who Confidential: The New World of Who (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Doctor Who Theme"
(uncredited)
Written by Ron Grainer
Arranged by Murray Gold
Performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales

User Reviews

"Raxacoricofallapatorious!"

World War Three is a satisfying, but not perfect conclusion to the story that began in Aliens of London. Not that there are any major defects; just some dodgy FX work when the actual aliens are revealed.

The green men in question - twist: they're big, despite what has been said in The X-Files - call themselves the Slitheen, and they are posing as the Prime Minister and his aides in order to declare a new war, which will end with Earth's destruction. The only person who can stop them is the Doctor, but since he is "trapped" in an emergency room with Rose and one Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton), he's gonna need some help from Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), who doesn't really get along with the Time Lord to begin with.

This story has it all (minus the aforementioned perfection required from the special effects): suspense, action, great dialogue and interesting characters. Mickey gets to evolve significantly after being reduced to little more than an extra in earlier episodes, and Wilton's contribution leaves the door open for further developments later on. More than anything, though, the episode's real triumph is Eccleston, who has his go at another Doctor Who tradition: saying ridiculous names with rock-hard conviction. In this case, he adds his typical grin when he identifies the Slitheen's home planet, Raxacoricofallapatorious (a sci-fi tongue-twister), a rare case in which something that stupid ends up adding to the protagonist's charisma.