The Stolen Earth (28 Jun. 2008)

The return of an old enemy leaves Earth along with 26 other planets stolen from their places. As the Doctor and Donna look for the whereabouts of Earth, former companions of the Doctor assemble a resistance against the new Dalek Empire.

Director:

Graeme Harper

Writers:

Russell T. Davies, Terry Nation (characters: Daleks)

Stars:

David Tennant, Catherine Tate, Billie Piper

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
David Tennant	...	The Doctor
Catherine Tate	...	Donna Noble
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Freema Agyeman	...	Martha Jones
John Barrowman	...	Captain Jack Harkness
Elisabeth Sladen	...	Sarah Jane Smith
Penelope Wilton	...	Harriet Jones
Gareth David-Lloyd	...	Ianto Jones
Eve Myles	...	Gwen Cooper
Tommy Knight	...	Luke Smith (as Thomas Knight)
Bernard Cribbins	...	Wilfred Mott
Jacqueline King	...	Sylvia Noble
Adjoa Andoh	...	Francine Jones
Julian Bleach	...	Davros
Michael Brandon	...	General Sanchez

Storyline

The universe is beginning to crumble and the Earth is pulled out of its orbit around the Sun and finds itself grouped with 26 other planets in a far off location. What is to be called the Doctors private army - Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Captain Jack Harkness along with Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper, Sarah Jane Smith and former Prime Minister Harriet Jones - band together to fight their unknown enemy. When the enemy is revealed to be the Daleks, everyone expects the worse particularly when their leader is revealed to be someone from the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith's distant past. A wounded Doctor may be forced to regenerate however.

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Plot Keywords:

dalek | crossover | dyson's sphere | evil genius | flying fortress

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

28 June 2008 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BBC Wales

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 45 min (50 episodes)

Did You Know?

Trivia

The filming block that contained this particular story as well as the next, Journey's End, took approximately 39 days to complete.

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Goofs

During the scenes where Martha is in New York, you might be able to notice an English style EXIT sign (with a person running towards a door on a green background), yet the scenes are set in the United States, and hence the sign should simply say EXIT.

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Quotes

Captain Jack Harkness: Gwen! Ianto! You okay?
Ianto Jones: No broken bones. Slight loss of dignity. No change there, though.

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Crazy Credits

Along with the story's second half, "Journey's End" (4.13), this episode has the largest opening-title cast listing of the modern series: six names (Tennant, Tate, Agyeman, Barrowman, Sladen and Piper) appear before the title, rather than the usual two... in the same amount of time.

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Connections

Featured in Doctor Who Confidential: Lords and Masters (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Doctor Who Closing Credits"
(uncredited)
Written by Ron Grainer
Performed by BBC National Orchestra of Wales

User Reviews

Edge of the seat first parter from messrs Davies and Harper

"The Stolen Earth" is an important milestone in "Doctor Who" mythology. Here we have the largest gathering of "Who" characters since "The Five Doctors"....companions old and new are faced with not just the dreaded Daleks but also their creator.

It's been a long wait for Davros but this has made his appearance all the better. As Davies has commented, he wanted the character to remain the same - there's no re-imagining like the "new" Cybermen here.

This is an ambitious tale and it's in safe hands with Graeme Harper. The tale builds to a very memorable cliffhanger. It's an agonising wait for next week's episode and there's no teaser present to put viewers out of their misery.

10 out of 10. Great continuity, beautiful effects and a smörgåsbord of "Who" characters - what more could anybody ask for?