Turn Left (TV story)

"It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it..."

- Rose Tyler

Synopsis
Donna’s entire world collapses, but there’s no sign of the Doctor, as Russell T Davies’s Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. Instead, she finds help from a mysterious blonde woman – a traveller from a parallel universe. But, as Donna and Rose Tyler combine forces, are they too late to save the whole of creation from the approaching darkness?

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King
 * Wilfred Mott - Bernard Cribbins
 * Mr Colastanto - Joseph Long
 * Captain Magambo - Norma Dumezweni
 * The Fortuneteller - Chipo Chung
 * Spanish Maid - Loraine Velez
 * Mooky Kahari - Marcia Lecky
 * Veena Brady - Suzann Mclean
 * Alice Coltrane - Natalie Walter
 * Jival Chowdry - Bhasker Patel
 * Oliver Morgenstern - Ben Righton
 * Mal Loup - Lachele Carl
 * Private Harris - Clive Standen
 * Colonel Mace - Rupert Holliday Evans

Production crew
to be added

Story notes

 * This episode deals with what would have happened to Donna if she had chosen not to travel with the Doctor, as so is set in a different timeline. Therefore, all the events of series 3 (Racnoss, Judoon invasion, Professor Lazarus' monster) happen again in this episode, with different consequences. (Her life in a paralell universe?)
 * In the Next Time Trailer shown at the end of Midnight, The Doctor is dead, as a U.N.I.T. soldier says "Found a body Sir. The Doctor is dead." He is talking into his walkie-talkie, then The Doctor's hand is shown over a stretcher, and he drops his Sonic screwdriver. In the exclusive clip shown on the BBC site the soldier goes on to explain that the Doctor drowned in the Racnoss lair under the Thames and that it happened too quickly for him to regenerate.
 * This is the first story to feature Rose in the capacity of the Doctor's companion since Doomsday.
 * Lucius Petrus Dextrus from The Fires of Pompeii says that "she is returning" when seeing the future. This is most likely a reference to Rose's return in this episode.
 * Billie Piper was seen at the end of Partners in Crime, as well as a short cameo in The Poison Sky and another in Midnight.
 * Chipo Chung was last seen in the episode Utopia as the Malmooth, Chantho. She plays a human character in this story.
 * This is the 'Doctor-lite' episode of the series, similar to Love and Monsters and Blink, albeit with a much darker storyline.
 * A reference to something on Donna's back was last heard in The Fires of Pompeii when Lucius Petrus Dextrus saw into the future 'something on your back' is a back story arc as it has never been mentioned up to this episode.
 * In DWM it said that Donna will receive a free tarot card reading and find out something bad is going to happen. When she is receiving it there will also be something behind her lurking in the curtains. The Tarot person will also look for a specific event in Donna's past.
 * Part of this episode is filmed in China Town, though not the one in London, but recreated in Cardiff. Chinese people living in South Wales were invited to be background extras via Facebook at the end of 2007. They had to reply to the Doctor Who casting crew with their name and sizes for costumes to be made for them and they were paid approx £70 for the day. David Tennant was seen in 'China Town' when he took time out of filming though staying on location to appear on Blue Peter to appeal to viewers to donate shoes to their Shoebiz appeal.
 * In an preview clip on BBC.co.uk, the creature that attacked the Doctor is a "red spider". Whether it means a Racnoss is yet to be known.

Ratings
to be added

Rumours
''And according to one interview with writer Russell T. Davies, the fortune-teller "casts a spell" on Donna. And then suddenly we see Donna in a world where she's never met the Doctor. Instead, she meets Rose, who calls her the "most important woman in creation." There's a "circle of mirrors" that Donna has to go back to, to make everything right.''
 * Davros may be seen in the last few minutes of this episode. Plausible, as it will tie into episode 12, like Utopia did in Series 3 to start the 1st part of the Finale. (The Stolen Earth), and will also appear in the second part of the finale, Journey's End.
 * Rose is able to cross worlds because of tech developed by her parallel Torchwood, last seen in Doomsday.
 * Harriet Jones will appear in either this episode or the next, most likely beacause in this alternate timeline, she was never succeeded by Harold Saxon.
 * It comments in DWM that Rose might not be on the same side as Donna. She may have her new worlds best interests at heart.
 * We see flashbacks of Donna before the events of The Runaway Bride.
 * The Thing on Donna's back is called a Time beetle.
 * The time beetle forces donna into a sort of trance were she meets rose and it also makes it appears as if the doctor is dead!
 * Maybe, Rose appears to Donna in a dream and guides her, as the Doctor did in Doomsday to her world (Possibly through Bad Wolf Bay, as photos on www.youtube.com show Rose on the beach.).
 * The true mastermind of the ill fate that happens to Donna in this episode will be familiar to fans of one of the Doctor Who spinoff shows.
 * This epiosde is set in an alternate timeline. Confirmed by "t.v. choice" magazine. Their feature on this episode that Donna recieving a free tarot card reading sets a chain of events in motion that disrupts the timeline.
 * The Eight legs are is in this episode and an eight leg is on Donna's back.
 * History is being rewritten and Donna is the only one able to fix it, Rose is there to help her sort it all out.
 * The Time Beetle (the thing on Donna's back) may prevent Donna from ever having met The Doctor, causing him to be killed when flooding the Racnoss Base instead of escaping.
 * The Medusa Cascade (mentioned in past episodes) is the link between Pete's world and our world.

Filming Locations
"China Town" Recreated in Cardiff

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors
to be added

Continuity

 * In The Sontaran Strategem the Sat Nav kept saying Turn Left. This could have something to do with this episode.

DVD and Other releases

 * This is due to be released in the Series 4 boxset in November 2008 along with the rest of the Series.
 * It will be released as Series 4 Volume 4 alongside The Stolen Earth and Journey's End in September 2008.