The Empty Child

Episode aired May 21, 2005
66
45min

9.2/10

8.2K

S1.E9

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When a spaceship crashes in the middle of the London Blitz the Doctor, Rose and the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness find themselves investigating a plague of physical injuries and a little b... Read allWhen a spaceship crashes in the middle of the London Blitz the Doctor, Rose and the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness find themselves investigating a plague of physical injuries and a little boy in a gas mask.When a spaceship crashes in the middle of the London Blitz the Doctor, Rose and the enigmatic Captain Jack Harkness find themselves investigating a plague of physical injuries and a little boy in a gas mask.

9.2/10

8.2K

Director
- James Hawes
Writers
- Steven Moffat(showrunner)
- Sydney Newman(uncredited)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

Christopher Eccleston in Doctor Who (2005)

Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper in Doctor Who (2005)

John Barrowman and Billie Piper in Doctor Who (2005)

Christopher Eccleston, John Barrowman, and Billie Piper in Doctor Who (2005)

Rose and the Doctor find themselves in 1941 London when the TARDIS receives an emergency signal from another time-traveling vehicle. While the Doctor tries to determine where the object may have landed, Rose goes off in search of a child she can hear calling for help. When she gets herself into a precarious situation, she's rescued by the rather handsome RAF Captain Jack Harkness, who owns a time machine of his own. The Doctor meanwhile meets Nancy who has an interesting way of arranging meals for homeless children. They are also being chased by the child Rose heard calling. The Doctor determines that human DNA is being rewritten but it's not obvious why or by who. —garykmcd

london air raid gas mask time machine ninth doctor time lord 29 more

Trivia
When Captain Jack mocks the Doctor and Rose for their out-of-place outfits ("Flag Girl was bad enough - but U-boat captain?"), he is actually spot on - the Doctor's leather jacket is in fact a vintage 1938 German U-boat commander's jacket.

Goofs
Nancy seems to have the unique ability to whistle with her fingers in her mouth - even though she's wearing gloves.

Quotes
[Captain Jack has just greeted the Doctor as "Mr. Spock"]
The Doctor: Mister Spock?
Rose Tyler: What was I supposed to say? You don't have a name! Don't you ever get tired of "Doctor"? Doctor Who?
The Doctor: Nine centuries in, I'm coping.

Connections
Featured in Doctor Who Confidential: Bringing Back the Doctor (2005)

Soundtracks
In The Mood
Written by Wingy Manone, Andy Razaf and Joe Garland
Performed by Glenn Miller

Top review

9/10

Compelling

So begins the start of Moffat's great standalones. Shame about his showrunning, and his sexism does peek through with Jack objectifying Rose, but that's a review for another time.

The Empty Child is a great episode with great characters. I absolutely loved Nancy and what she did for the homeless kids of London, it was very clever and touching. Even now, in 2018, I actually didn't think the CGI of the transformation was that bad - in fact, it was a bit horrific to watch.

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