Amy's Choice (15 May 2010)

Five years after finally leaving the TARDIS Amy and Rory now married, live in the quiet little village of Leadworth. But everything is not what it would seem.

Director:

Catherine Morshead

Writer:

Simon Nye

Stars:

Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Matt Smith	...	The Doctor
Karen Gillan	...	Amy Pond
Arthur Darvill	...	Rory
Toby Jones	...	Dream Lord
Nick Hobbs	...	Mr Nainby
Joan Linder	...	Mrs Hamill
Audrey Ardington	...	Mrs Poggit

Storyline

It is five years after Amy and Rory have married and reside in the quaint, sleepy little village of Leadworth. Amy is now heavily pregnant with their first child and all seems to be going well for the couple. But the peace is soon shattered as grinding sounds of the TARDIS signal the return of the Doctor who has decided to pay them a visit. But as is always the case, trouble soon follows when the Time Lord makes an appearance. The trio collapse and awaken to find themselves once more within the confines of the TARDIS with the lights out and the system disabled and they are drifting perilously close to a "cold" star. The plot thickens when a mysterious, mischievous stranger who appoints him self the moniker of the Dream Lord makes his presence known. Have the trio awoken in reality or have they slipped in to a dream like state in Leadworth? Only the Dream Lord knows the truth and he's not giving very little away as that would be all too easy.

---

Plot Keywords:

dream | alternate reality | country doctor | zombie | male ponytail | 

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 2010 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Skenfrith, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

The old age home in the episode has a big sign reading "Sarn", which is also the name of a planet visited by the Fifth Doctor in "Planet of Fire".

---

Goofs

When Rory winds the generator that the Doctor gives him, Rory is holding it straight up, and the arms of the device are not moving. When the camera angle changes, Rory is holding the device pointing upward, and the arms of the device are flapping.

---

Quotes

Amy Pond: Shall I run and get the manual?
The Doctor: I threw it in a supernova.
Amy Pond: You threw the manual in a supernova... why?
The Doctor: Because I disagreed with it.

---

Connections

References Oklahoma! (1955)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Cleansing the palate

Throughout the history of Doctor Who there have always been episodes or serials that veered from its sci-fi obsession with monsters and ancient high-tech civilizations over to the edge of fantasy -- often with the result that the young female companion would be dressed in a catsuit and the camera would shoot her from behind or the Doctor would meet Tweedledum and Tweedledee. Most recently, in Season Four of the revived series, we had the weird and wonderful melange of TURN LEFT.

Personally I have enjoyed these illustrations of Clarke's Third Law -- a sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic -- and the way they give the dedicated fan a change from the usual fare and, one hopes, some insight into the character of the Doctor and his companions as they react to situations which are not about a problem so much as about themselves.

That is what we have in AMY'S CHOICE. Oh, there is a problem to be solved: how do you tell the difference between reality and dream. But for fans of Dr. Who, it is about the Dream Lord, played by the inimitable Toby Jones as he teases and torments the Doctor, Amy and Rory about the reality of their relationships and forces them, and the audience, to understand their characters a bit better.

Simon Nye, in his first script for DOCTOR WHO, offers us those insights, throws in some amusing lines and contrasts versions of two typical Dr. Who adventures to make choices against: a quiet English village where monsters have popped up and a pseudo-science adventure worthy of an early 1930s pulp in which the TARDIS is about to crash into a sun which radiates cold.

Structurally and symbolically, this is brilliant. but structure and symbol, while always important to Doctor Who -- episodes in the 1970s tackled current issues such as the ecology and toleration in such terms -- so too is the surface execution of the story. There are enough funny lines to amuse the adults and thrills for the children. While the purpose and plot of this story may confuse the casual viewer who's looking for meat on the bones, for those of us who are willing to crack the bones open, there's plenty of succulent marrow.