The Beast Below (10 Apr. 2010)

The Doctor takes Amy to the future inside Starship UK, which contains in addition to British explorers, an intimidating race known as the Smilers.

Director:

Andrew Gunn

Writer:

Steven Moffat

Stars:

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Sophie Okonedo

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Matt Smith	...	The Doctor
Karen Gillan	...	Amy Pond
Sophie Okonedo	...	Liz 10
Terrence Hardiman	...	Hawthorne
Hannah Sharp	...	Mandy
Alfie Field	...	Timmy
Christopher Good	...	Morgan
David Ajala	...	Peter
Catrin Richards	...	Poem Girl
Jonathan Battersby	...	Winder
Chris Porter	...	Smilers / Winder (voice)
Ian McNeice	...	Churchill

Storyline

The Doctor and Amy travel to a future time where all of the residents actually live in a orbiting spacecraft, Starship UK. The Doctor soon realizes that while the spaceship is moving through space, it isn't powered in the conventional sense. Amy meanwhile is given the opportunity to learn the truth but chooses to have her memory erased. The Doctor is faced with unacceptable options and it's Amy who makes the final decision on what to do.

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Plot Keywords:

corruption

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Details

Official Sites:

BBC [United Kingdom]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 2010 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Crack Sighting: On the shell of the Starship UK.

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Goofs

After Amy wakes up in the chair and the computer verifies her identity, the display shows "Age: 1,308", but the voice announces "Age: 1,306".

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Quotes

Mandy: Everyone chooses the "Forget" button.
The Doctor: Did you?
Mandy: I'm not eligible to vote yet. I'm 12. Anytime after you're 16 you're allowed to see the film and make your choice, and then, once every five years.
The Doctor: And once every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they've learned. Democracy inaction.

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Connections

References EastEnders (1985)

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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

Who Am I This Time?

After a fast-paced season opener introducing Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillian as Amy Pond, his latest companion, we settle immediately into a typical Doctor Who episode, set on a space ship -- space ships and rocky planets, because one can be shot in a studio with minimal set dressing and the other in a stone quarry.

But, despite the introduction, we don't know who either of these people really is, so we have to go through a lot of character exposition. This tends to cut down on the plot and calls for a lot of words, which Matt Smith is able to get out at a fast clip with amusing emphasis. Perhaps one of the trips back in time in future episodes will have him meeting Gilbert & Sullivan and filling in for George Grossmith for a patter song or two. Karen Gillian shows that Amy Pond is a budding control freak, willing to make big mistakes that will put her in peril. However, the character exposition needed to tell us who these two are interferes with the speed of the plot.

It's a fairly typical Moffat plot, with a number of mysteries to be unraveled. Who is Liz Ten? Why does the Doctor keep placing glasses of water on the floor? How does Starship UK move through space and what is it that everyone keeps forgetting?

Unhappily, despite this sounding just like Moffat's meat, this is just an average WHO script. Perhaps the strain of letting us know who these people really are is what is telling on it. Still, it is decent, if not remarkable, and the opening sequence with another of Moffat's typical commonplace terrors, the image of Amy Pond, floating in space in her nightie and Matt Smith's engaging performance offers us some hope.