Amy's Choice (TV story)

Amy's Choice is the seventh episode of Series 5 and focused on Amy's relationship with the Doctor and Rory as well as the darker side of the Doctor.

Synopsis
It has been five years since Amy Pond last travelled with the Doctor, and when he lands in her garden again, on the eve of the birth of her first child, she finds herself facing a heartbreaking choice – one that will change her life forever. They will have to choose which is the dream world and which is reality.

Plot
Upper Leadworth, 2059. a duck Pond is in a bowl.

Cast

 * Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * The Dream Lord - Toby Jones
 * Mr. Nainby - Nick Hobbs
 * Mrs. Poggit - Audrey Ardington
 * Mrs. Hamil - Joan Linder

Production crew
to be added

The Doctor

 * The Dream Lord brings up the Doctor's relationship with Elizabeth I.
 * The Doctor says he is 907.

TARDIS

 * The Doctor reveals to Amy and Rory that he threw the TARDIS Instruction Manual into a supernova because he 'disagreed' with it.

Time travel

 * The Doctor initially assumes that the TARDIS has jumped a time track.

Story notes

 * The hostile aliens possessing the old folks are a race known as the Eknodine.
 * Technically, the entire episode took place in the TARDIS.
 * The box under the TARDIS console the Doctor opens has the words: "TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimension In Space. Build Site: Gallifrey Blackhole Shipyard. Type 40. Build date: 1963. Authorised for use by qualified Time Lords only by the Shadow Proclamation. Misuse or theft of any TARDIS will result in extreme penalties and permanent exile." written on it. The is also written on a plaque on the console itself, as shown in the TARDIS tour on the BBC website.
 * This is the first story of series 5 not to have any cracks or silence or foreshadowing of the finale. Except possibly the TARDIS exploding.
 * There is no indication of how much time has passed since DW: The Vampires of Venice.
 * The sign outside the old peoples' home reads "SARN Residential Care Home". Planet Sarn was the setting for DW: Planet of Fire and is also the name of a character in DW: Time and the Rani.
 * This is the only episode of Series 5 that is not referred to in any way later in the series.
 * Several of the Dream Lord's outfits reflect aspects of the Doctor's personality: In the care home, he is dressed like a medic, reflecting the "healer" aspect. Outside the castle he is dressed like the "lord of the manor", reflecting the fact that the Doctor is a Time Lord. In the butcher's shop, he is dressed like a butcher (Davros referred to the Doctor having "butchered millions" in Journey's End). The "lothario" outfit he appears in while talking to Amy reflects the Doctor's sexual nature, which has been referred to many times in the new series. When riding in the van, he is wearing a race car driver's outfit, reflecting the "challenger of limits" aspect.
 * This episode aired on the same day as the K9 episode, The Cambridge Spy was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that Fall of the House of Gryffen was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
 * The van the Doctor uses to rescue the survivors has the license plate 'ADW 308N'. Fan speculation believe this could be an hint to the conclusion of the story. ADW meaning A Dream World, and the numbers on the plate adding to 11, the current incarnation of the Doctor.

Ratings
Overnight ratings were 6.2 million (5.9 million on BBC1, 0.3 million on HD) for a 33.0% share.

The Appreciation Index was 84.

The final BARB ratings were 7.55 million (7.06 million on BBC1, 0.49 million on HD).

Rumours

 * The 'Dream Lord' was rumoured to pretend to be the Doctor because of a shot of him inside the TARDIS wearing the Eleventh Doctor's costume in the trailer. He was, in fact, the dark side of the Doctor.
 * Aunt Sharon will appear. This was false.
 * The Dream Lord is an early form of the Valeyard. This was left unconfirmed.
 * This episode was rumoured to be Doctor-light to match the companion-light episode, The Lodger. This was false.

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * When Rory and Amy are running from the Eknodine, there is clearly no mud on his back, but he was thrown on his back into mud, a minute before.

Continuity

 * This episode is the first since DW: Rose that features the forename of the companion in the title.
 * The Dream Lord teleports around much like the Valeyard did in DW: The Ultimate Foe.
 * The Dream Lord refers to the Doctor as the 'last of the Time Lords' and 'The Oncoming Storm', two nicknames he has been given. (DW: Doomsday, Journey's End et al.)
 * The Doctor mentions again that bow ties are cool. (DW: The Eleventh Hour)
 * The Dream Lord refers to what happened between Tenth Doctor and Queen Elizabeth I. (DW: The Shakespeare Code, The End of Time, The Beast Below)
 * The Doctor initially assumes that the TARDIS has jumped a Time track, like it did in DW: The Space Museum.
 * The Dream Lord says "I'm surprised you haven't got a little purple space dog", clearly an oblique reference to K9.
 * The Doctor tries to jump start the TARDIS by kicking it. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen)
 * The Doctor refers to throwing the TARDIS Instruction Manual into a supernova because he 'disagreed with it'. The Doctor had an instruction Manual in DW: The Pirate Planet and disagreed with it (even tearing a page out of it). It's assumed to be the same Manual.
 * The Dream Lord accuses the Doctor of abandoning his companions in favour of younger friends, echoing remarks by Sarah Jane Smith about the Tenth Doctor and his relationship with Rose Tyler. (DW: School Reunion)
 * The Dream Lord, once alone with Amy, echoes a conversation Jackie Tyler had with the Ninth Doctor about how 'anything could happen'. (DW: Rose)
 * After Rory dies in the dream, Amy asks the Doctor "What is the point of you?", similar to how Gwen asks the same to Jack after Rhys dies (TW: End of Days) and what the Doctor asks a Dalek. (DW: Dalek)
 * The swimming pool is referenced, and apparently has turned up; the Doctor said that "it'll turn up" in DW: The Eleventh Hour. Leela swam in the pool in the DW: The Invasion of Time.
 * Amy says "Can we not do the running thing?", which seems to be a running gag in Series Four and Series Five.
 * The Dream Lord taunts the Doctor, "I bet you're a vegetarian!", in a butcher's shop and then by calling him "veggie", perhaps referring to his failed vegetarianism. This originated at the end of DW: The Two Doctors but he has since been seen many times to have lapsed (even ordering steak in DW: Boom Town).
 * In the dreams, the Doctor wears both variations of his outfit. He wears the teal version in Upper Leadworth and his maroon version in the TARDIS.

Timeline

 * This story occurs after DW: The Vampires of Venice
 * This story occurs before DW: The Hungry Earth

Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Three will feature Amy's Choice, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood. It will be released on Monday 2nd August 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray.