The Pandorica Opens (TV story)


 * You may be looking for the painting of the same name.

The Pandorica Opens was the twelfth episode of series 5 of Doctor Who. It was the first part of a two part series finale. Its narrative concluded in the following episode.

At the time of its release, it was unique amongst BBC Wales series finales for a number of reasons. It was the first series-ender that had significant principal photography outside of Wales. It was also the first to have been the Doctor Who debut of its director and cinematographer. It was the first finale to have used major guest actors — aside from companions — that had featured in previous single episodes of the series. Finally, it featured the largest number of individual alien species seen in a single episode of Doctor Who since the programme began in 1963.

Synopsis
A Van Gogh painting ferried across thousands of years, communicating a disturbing prophecy to the Doctor, a message on the oldest cliff-face in the universe and a love that lasts a thousand years. In 102 AD England, Romans receive a surprise visit from Cleopatra. Nearby, Stonehenge conceals the Pandorica, a prison-box of legend. As it slowly unlocks from the inside, terrible forces gather in the heavens above. The fates are drawing close around the TARDIS. The Pandorica, which contains the most dangerous threat in the Universe, is opening. Only one thing is certain: "The Pandorica will open... silence will fall".

Plot
France 1890: Vincent Van Gogh lies in bed, screaming. His doctor, Gachet, and caretaker, Madame Vernet, are at his side. Vernet comments on one of the paintings displayed on a nearby easel, commenting that it's worse than his usual work.

Cabinet War Rooms 1941: Professor Edwin Bracewell carries a rolled-up sheet of paper underneath his arm and rapidly makes his way to Winston Churchill's office. Showing Churchill the paper, Bracewell confirms the canvas is a Van Gogh original; it is also a message of some sort, and Churchill can see who the message is for. The Prime Minister picks up his phone to make a call.

Stormcage Containment Facility 5145: A prison guard -- his first day on the job -- answers the ringing phone outside River Song's cell; speaking to the caller, he responds that there is no "Doctor" in the facility. River realizes who the call is meant for and demands to speak to the caller -- Winston Churchill. She informs Churchill that the TARDIS rerouted his phone call meant for the Doctor, and demands to know the message he was planning to convey. She returns the phone to the guard, questioning if this is his first day; when he replies in the affirmative, she apologizes and kisses him. Her hallucinogenic lipstick makes him delirious and enables her escape.

The Royal Collection 5145: River walks among the paintings in the gallery, eventually discovering the one she is looking for. However, she accidentally trips an alarm on her way out and is held at gunpoint by Liz 10. River reminds Liz of her previous correspondence with the Doctor and informs her that she must pass on the message; to assure her of the gravity of the situation, River shows her the painting, which horrifies the Queen.

The Maldovarium 5145: River speaks to Dorium Maldovar at his bar. He knows that she is looking for a method of cheap time travel and offers her a vortex manipulator, which he had previously taken from the wrist of a handsome Time Agent. The device, however, is not cheap, and he demands payment; River offers him a Calisto Pulse, a device with the ability to deactivate micro-explosives from up to twenty feet away. When Dorium wonders why he'd need it, River informs him that she slipped similiar micro-explosives into his wine, which he has taken a drink from.

The TARDIS, meanwhile, is traveling through the time vortex. The Doctor has decided to visit the oldest cliff-face -- made of pure diamond -- in history so that he may use the TARDIS's translation matrix to decipher an inscription that, up until now, has never been translated. When he and Amy step out to see the translation, the message reads, "Hello, sweetie," with a set of temporal coordinates carved underneath.

The coordinates lead the TARDIS to Roman Britain in the 2nd century, where Amy comments that Roman history was her favorite topic at school. The two are greeted by a Roman centurion with a lipstick smear across his mouth; the centurion takes them to meet "Cleopatra," who turns out to be River in disguise. River shows the Doctor the painting, which is titled "The Pandorica Opens" and depicts an exploding TARDIS; given that he had previously retrieved a TARDIS fragment from within a Time Field in the Silurian city, this new discovery worries him greatly. He also remembers how River alluded to the Pandorica opening during their last meeting on the Byzantium; convinced that the two events are related, he decides to go looking for the Pandorica. He asks for Roman maps of the area, deciding that if someone were to bury such a device, they would want to remember where they left it.

The trio rides to Stonehenge to search for the Pandorica; the Doctor and River use sonic equipment to trace the Pandorica underground, and they descend, not noticing the discarded Cyber-head (which begins to reactivate). The group discovers the Pandorica, with the Doctor explaining that it was designed to contain the most dangerous creature in the galaxy; Amy notes the legend's similarity to Pandora's box, her favorite childhood story. Upon scanning the Pandorica and the surrounding area, River realizes that the Pandorica's security failsafes are activating, and the box is opening; not only that, but six pillars surrounding the box are transmitting a signal all across space and time, bringing at least ten thousand ships into Earth's orbit -- all of them belonging to the Doctor's enemies.

The Doctor calls on the Romans for help and sends River back to camp to appeal to the commander; however, he has realized that she is not actually Cleopatra and initially refuses. River fires her disintegrator pistol to demonstrate her power, and before the commander can react, a volunteer centurion arrives.

Back at Stonehenge, the Doctor continues to monitor the Pandorica while Amy confronts him about the engagement ring she found in his jacket pocket. He encourages her to remember the night she flew away with him, confessing that he was lying when he told her there wasn't a reason for why he was taking her. He draws her attention to her house, informing her that it's too big and that her life doesn't make any sense. Before she can respond, a dismembered Cyber-arm activates and shoots at them; the Doctor attempts to deactivate it, but is knocked out. Additionally, the Cyber-head has worked its way down the steps and attacks Amy, shooting her with a sleeper dart. The head opens -- it is a type-2 upgrade, with the parts grafted directly onto the body. It ejects the decomposed skull of its previous occupant, and the casing attempts to assimilate Amy. She manages to shake the head off, but the Cyber-body appears and reattaches it to itself before advancing on her. She takes cover in a side chamber, where the Cyberman is killed by the arriving centurion -- who is actually Rory. She faints.

The Doctor wakes and, after ensuring that Amy is all right, begins to inspect the side chamber, which contains a variety of Cyberman weaponry. He notices Rory, but barely reacts to his supposed resurrection, instead addressing him as though he'd never left. It is not until he leaves the room that he realizes what has occurred; returning, the two men have an awkward conversation, where Rory acknowledges that he died outside the Silurian city, though he can't account for how he ended up in the 2nd century. The two men are alerted to the descending alien fleet, and the Doctor leads the way outside, standing on a rock and addressing his enemies over a communicator. He informs the aliens that he has the Pandorica and that it's opening -- and even though they have plenty of weapons with which to defeat him, he also has nothing to lose. He reminds them of all the times he has defeated them in the past, and encourages them to take a half-hour to think about whether or not they'd like to confront him. The fleet retreats.

Rory and the Doctor return to the Pandorica, where they try to make sense of what has happened. Amy awakes, but fails to recognize Rory, devastating him. The Doctor acknowledges that he can't explain Rory's appearance, supposing it to be something like a "miracle," which he hasn't seen in all his years of traveling. He gives Rory the engagement ring and encourages him to go after Amy and make her remember him.

River attempts to return the TARDIS to the Doctor, but is thrown through the vortex and materializes outside Amy's house on 26 June 2010 -- the date of the temporal explosion that caused the cracks in time and space. As she leaves the TARDIS to explore, a crack splits the scanner screen and a voice is heard crying, "Silence will fall!" Nothing the presence of landing patterns on the ground, indicative of alien craft, River enters the house and realizes that it belonged to Amy. In Amy's room, River locates a book on Roman Britain, as well as a copy of The Legend of Pandora's Box; what disturbs her is that all of the pictures in the books directly resemble things and people that exist where the Doctor is. She contacts him to warn him, and he urges her to return; instead, she is thrown uncontrollably around the time vortex. Upon learning the date, the Doctor orders her to shut off the engines; when this is unsuccessful, he tells her to land and leave the TARDIS. Though she is able to land, the doors are locked.

The Romans begin falling asleep in a standing position; even Rory, who is talking to Amy, begins to shut down, but succeeds in resisting. When the Romans awake, they advance on the Doctor, revealing themselves as Autons under the control of the Nestene Consciousness. They capture the Doctor and escort him to the Pandorica, where he is greeted by an Alliance of his greatest enemies, including the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Judoon, the Silurians, and the Sontarans. They inform the Doctor that evidence gathered reveals that he will be responsible for the end of the universe, and so they plan to imprison him in the Pandorica to prevent this event from occurring; to lure him to this spot, they built the perfect trap, using Amy's memories as building blocks. Above, the Auton Rory continues to fight the temptation to join the others; however, he inadvertently shoots Amy just as she remembers who he is. She dies in his arms.

The Pandorica opens, and the Doctor is set inside. He tries to protest his imprisonment, informing the Alliance that the true threat to the universe is the TARDIS, not him; the Daleks remind him that he is the only person who can fly the TARDIS, not knowing of River. The Cybermen order the Pandorica to be closed despite the Doctor's desperate pleas.

Somewhere in time, River manages to unlock the TARDIS doors by creating a controlled explosion; however, a stone walls blocks her departure. Apologizing to the Doctor, she turns to see the TARDIS console explode.

Thousands of explosion erupt across the sky, and Earth is left in the middle of a black void as silence falls.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * River Song - Alex Kingston
 * Auton Rory - Arthur Darvill
 * Bracewell - Bill Paterson
 * Winston Churchill - Ian McNeice
 * Liz 10 - Sophie Okonedo
 * Vincent van Gogh - Tony Curran
 * Dr. Gachet - Howard Lee
 * Madame Vernet - Chrissie Cotterill
 * Guard - Joe Jacobs
 * Dorium - Simon Fisher Becker
 * Claudio - Marcus O'Donovan
 * Commander - Clive Wood
 * Marcellus - David Fynn
 * Dalek Operator - Barnaby Edwards
 * Cyber-Leader - Ruari Mears
 * Commander Stark - Christopher Ryan
 * Judoon - Paul Kasey
 * Daleks/Cybermen (voice) - Nicholas Briggs (Uncredited)

Individuals

 * Vincent van Gogh has nightmares/visions about the destruction of the Doctor's TARDIS.
 * Winston Churchill attempts to contact the Doctor after Edwin Bracewell shows him Van Gogh's painting.
 * River Song steals The Pandorica Opens from Elizabeth X's Royal Collection.

Locations

 * The Pandorica is located under Stonehenge on Earth. Which the Doctor called "Underhenge".
 * River Song is in prison in Stormcage Containment Facility in 5145.
 * The Doctor's TARDIS takes River to Amy Pond's house.

Planets

 * Planet One is the oldest planet in the universe. It has "Hello Sweetie" written into one of its cliff faces.

Species

 * The Cybermen originally created by Cybus Industries in a parallel universe have developed space travel since escaping from the Void.
 * The Alliance consists of:
 * Atraxi
 * Blowfish
 * Chelonians
 * Cybermen
 * Daleks
 * Draconians
 * Drahvins
 * Hoix
 * Judoon
 * Nestene Consciousness
 * Roboforms
 * Silurians
 * Slitheen family
 * Sontarans
 * Commander Stark
 * Sycorax
 * Terileptils
 * Uvodni
 * Weevils
 * Zygons

TARDIS

 * The Doctor's TARDIS can re-route calls to the vortex.

Technology

 * The individual who sells River a vortex manipulator says he got it off the wrist of a "handsome Time Agent".

Books

 * Amy has a book called The Legend of Pandora's Box.

Story notes

 * Amy Pond appeared to die in this episode but was resurrected by the Pandorica in the following episode The Big Bang.
 * Almost every major enemy since the beginning of the new Doctor Who series (as well as a few from the classic series) are mentioned though not all appeared. The list of enemies include the Daleks, the Cybus Cybermen, the Slitheen, the Sontarans, the Judoon, the Hoix, the Weevils, the Uvodni, the Sycorax, the Silurians, the Autons, the Roboform, the Nestene, the Chelonians, the Drahvins, the Atraxi, the Zygons, the Terileptils, and the Draconians. They formed an alliance, but some of them were unseen. The Slitheen were also mentioned but not seen. River also mentions the Haemogoths, who briefly appeared in NSA: The Forgotten Army.
 * This is the first episode to feature an in-narrative use of the time vortex seen in the series 5 title sequence.
 * The Weevils, Blowfish and Uvodni are the first aliens originally from a spin-off series to appear in the main show.
 * The Chelonians from the novels get their first mention in a TV episode.
 * When River starts mentioning the aliens that are approaching the Doctor you can hear the Cyber-Leader and the Supreme Dalek talking about their plan for the Doctor.
 * The writing on the cliffs reads "HELLO SWEETIE ΘΣ Φ ΓΥΔϟ". ΘΣ
 * At least one reviewer thought this message on the cliff of Planet One was not unlike a scene in in Douglas Adams' book, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, which featured the last message of God to his creation lit in flames on a cliff face.
 * This episode deliberately evoked the feel of the Indiana Jones franchise. River's scene at The Maldovarium is a gag drawn directly from the teaser sequence of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The use of flambeaux in the cavernous "under Henge" was directly inspired by the teaser to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Finally director Toby Haynes played back a cue from Raiders while filming the sequence of the Doctor, River and Amy entering the "under Henge" in order to give the sequence appropriate tempo. (CON: "Alien Abduction")
 * The disembodied Cyberman head tells Amy, "You will be assimilated." Though modern viewers might think this a line borrowed from the Borg, a Star Trek cybernetic species similar to Cybermen, in fact the line is in The Tenth Planet.
 * Amy Pond describes her deep interest in Roman culture. Karen Gillan's original appearance on Doctor Who was that of a soothsayer from Pompeii in The Fires of Pompeii.
 * The story is set at Stonehenge and the episode broadcast just a few days before the real Summer Solstice.
 * When River begins having problems flying the TARDIS, the Doctor tells her she's not flying it right, to which she promptly replies, "I'm flying it PERFECTLY. You taught me!". In their previous meeting (from the Doctor's POV), River mocked the Doctor for not being able to properly fly the TARDIS, namely, always leaving the brakes on when it lands. She also implied that the Doctor might not have been the one who had taught her. It would be revealed in Let's Kill Hitler that it was the TARDIS herself who taught River.
 * This story marks at least the fourth time in televised Doctor Who that the fate of every universe is at stake. (DW: Logopolis, Journey's End, The End of Time)
 * Amy doesn't know who the Cybermen are, despite meeting them in Blood of the Cybermen.
 * River's main costume in this story was deliberately designed to evoke both Princess Leia and Han Solo, so that she looked like, according to Toby Haynes, a "female Han Solo". (DCOM: The Big Bang)
 * According to Toby Haynes, this episode had no bigger budget, "and maybe even a little less", than other episodes in the series. (DCOM: The Big Bang)
 * Similar to DW: Rise of the Cybermen and DW: The Stolen Earth, this episode is the first part of a two-part story, and features no "Next Time" trailer at the end.

Ratings
7.57 million (according to TV magazine)

Rumours

 * Many fans believed Omega would return. He does not appear in the episode as far as we know.
 * The Doctor himself is inside the Pandorica. At the climax of the episode, the Doctor is placed inside the Pandorica.
 * The Slitheen were among the villains mentioned by River approaching the Doctor. This was proven true; River says Slitheen whilst reading out the list.
 * It was rumoured that either the Timoreen, the Ha'rik, or the Skarkish would appear – primarily because these were all listed as "new aliens" to appear in Series 5 which had not already appeared. This was proven false.
 * According to the Radio Times, the Vincent van Gogh painting will be in Churchill's war bunker. This was proven true.
 * It was believed that the enemies would form an alliance; this was supported by the screen-shots depicting many of the Doctor's enemies together but not fighting. This was proven true.
 * Many fans believed Rory would reappear. This was proven partially true, however he was an Auton duplicate.
 * It was believed the episode will take place on Gallifrey in the Death Zone. This was proven false.

Filming locations

 * Stonehenge, England
 * Margam Park, Wales

Production errors

 * The 1890 scene is set after Van Gogh famously cut his left ear in 1888, but the actor's unharmed left ear is briefly visible.
 * The Cyber-Leader's mouth glows blue when it isn't speaking, twice.
 * The Supreme Dalek lights were flashing when it isn't speaking.
 * When the damaged Cyberman enters the room where the Pandorica is, the "missing" arm can be seen in a shadow.
 * When River says the words, "And it's got something to do with your TARDIS exploding", as the Doctor bends down to examine the painting, a brief view of River's face shows that her lips aren't moving.
 * When the Doctor, Amy and River enter Stonehenge, the Doctor's fringe is on the right of his face. During the close-up of him, it's on the left.
 * When Amy is pushing against the Pandorica and discussing the Cyberarm, the Pandorica bends inwards slightly.

Continuity

 * Roman soldiers previously appeared on screen in DW: The War Games.
 * Vincent van Gogh was last seen in DW: Vincent and the Doctor.
 * Liz Ten previously was last seen in DW: The Beast Below.
 * Winston Churchill, Bracewell and the Daleks were last seen in DW: Victory of the Daleks.
 * River Song was last seen in DW: The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone.
 * Rory and the Silurians were last seen in DW: The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood.
 * The Judoon, Sycorax, and Sontarans were last seen in DW: The End of Time.
 * Autons and the Hoix were last seen in DW: Love & Monsters.
 * Roboform were last seen in DW: The Runaway Bride.
 * Cybermen were last seen in DW: The Next Doctor.
 * River Song wrote "Hello Sweetie" previously on a home box in DW: The Time of Angels, from the Doctor's perspective.
 * The Uvodni, Blowfish and Weevils were amongst the creatures at the end of the episode, but they were seen very briefly among the other aliens.
 * This epsiode marks the third time the Daleks and Cybermen have featured in the same story in the TV series, the first being DW: The Five Doctors and the second being DW: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday. It is however only the second time the Cybus Cybermen have featured alongside the Daleks on television. They would also do so in SP: Doctor Who: The Monsters Are Coming!, VG: Return to Earth and VG: The Mazes of Time.
 * The Cybermen present have become a space-faring race. Cybus Cybermen were also seen as space travellers in VG: Return to Earth. Judging by dialogue in the game however, such as the Cyber-Leader stating how the Cybermen will survive, and how their technology there is incompatible with time travel, it seems likely that their knowledge, experience and technology have improved since then, as they are able to travel back in time to Stonehenge with the rest of the Alliance and do not appear as a scattered race.
 * The Doctor says to Rory "Hello again", just as he did when he re-encountered Jack Harkness in DW: Utopia.
 * While communicating to the alien fleet, the Doctor shouts "I -- AM -- TALKING!!!", similar to the Ninth Doctor and the Tenth Doctor addressing the Nestene Consciousness in DW: Rose and Eddie Connolly in DW: The Idiot's Lantern respectively. 
 * The idea that an event will happen on a specific day in time (in this case 26/06/10) is similar to DW: Silver Nemesis and DW: Doctor Who.
 * Sentient Autons last appeared in BFA: Brave New Town.
 * The explosion of all the stars in the universe bears a resemblance to the night's sky as viewed by Vincent van Gogh (and, by extension, the painting "Starry, Starry Night") at the end of DW: Vincent and the Doctor.
 * When Amy questions River about her mentioning the Pandorica at the end of DW Flesh and Stone, River replies, "Maybe I did ... but I haven't yet ... but I will have." This is similar to a scene in in DW: The Five Doctors when Sarah Jane Smith tells the Third Doctor she has already witnessed him regenerate, to which he replies "Maybe I did ... but I haven't yet."
 * One of the ships in the alliance fleet, although it was never identified as a Cyber-ship, resemble the Cyber-ships from DW: The Invasion.
 * The Doctor tells Amy about fruit flies that live for twenty minutes and don't mate for life. Forgetting the point to that fact, he tells her he'll get back to it later. He does so in The Big Bang when he lists a number of things you can do in twelve minutes, after finding out he has twelve minutes before he "dies". (DW: The Big Bang)
 * This is the second time that an Auton has tried to get close to the Doctor through his companion's boyfriend (in this case, Rory). The other time was Rose Tyler's boyfriend Mickey in DW: Rose.

Timeline
For the Doctor and Amy For Rory Williams For River Song
 * This story occurs after: DWAN: Red Christmas
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Big Bang
 * This story occurs after: DW: Cold Blood
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Big Bang
 * This story occurs after: DW: Day of the Moon
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Big Bang

Home video releases
BBC Video – Doctor Who Series Five – Volume Four features Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens, and The Big Bang. It was released on Monday 6th September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray.