The Pyramid at the End of the World (TV story)

 was the seventh episode of series 10 of Doctor Who.

The episode is the second part of the Monks story arc, which sees them arriving on Earth to take it over. It also saw Bill make a deal with the Monks to help the Doctor regain his eyesight, having been blind since TV: Oxygen, in which he was exposed to the vacuum of space.

Synopsis
At a war zone in Turmezistan where American, Chinese, and Russian armies are about to meet, a 5,000-year-old pyramid stands. It's very strange, but one thing raises the suspicions of the United Nations: it just appeared overnight. The aliens inside claim that humans would cause the death of all life on Earth. Soon, the Twelfth Doctor, Bill and Nardole are facing an invasion the likes of which they have never seen before. Before they invade, the aliens need the permission of humanity.

Plot
Bill brings a girl, Penny, to her flat while telling her about the Shadow World her friend, the Doctor, told her about. They sit at the kitchen table. discussing what their relationship actually is. During the conversation, the Secretary General of the United Nations asks Bill to speak to the President, taking her from Penny. Confused by his question Bill asks what President given she wouldn't have voted for America's president as he is 'orange'. However, he corrects her that he means the President of Earth; the Doctor.

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Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Bill - Pearl Mackie
 * Nardole - Matt Lucas
 * Secretary General - Togo Igawa
 * The Commander - Nigel Hastings
 * Colonel Don Brabbit - Eben Young
 * Erica - Rachel Denning
 * Douglas - Tony Gardner
 * Ilya - Andrew Byron
 * Xiaolian - Daphne Cheung
 * Monk - Jamie Hill
 * Voice of the Monk - Tim Bentinck

Uncredited

 * Penny - Ronke Adekoluejo

Crew
to be added

Science

 * Agrofuel Research Operations uses EC 07, EC 31 and EC 46 to genetically modify R. planticola. They have been experimenting with the bacteria for at least 26 days.
 * Douglas is also working on Experiment 7C1677, Enzyme C36 and Culture 14578.
 * The Doomsday Clock is mentioned as having been started by some atomic scientists in 1947.

Locations

 * Bill and Penny are at the pub.
 * Bill and Penny go back to Bill's flat.
 * The Doctor, Bill, Nardole and the representatives meet up in a base in Turmezistan.
 * The Doctor's office is mentioned. As the windows aren't big enough, the UN had to break down some of the wall to get the TARDIS out.
 * Bill is wearing a jacket with Okinawa printed on it.
 * Agrofuel is located in Yorkshire.
 * The Doctor mentions Chasm Forge.

Technology

 * Penny mentions the computer simulation.
 * Penny says she's getting an Uber to get home.
 * The UN car's driver is called on his iPhone.
 * Boat One is boarded again.
 * The Doctor plays his electric guitar.
 * The Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses which have once again been modified to give him very limited spatial information; enough to identify structures and data involving individuals present with him (age, height, etc), but not enough for fine details, such as reading the numbers on a combination lock.
 * The UN sends of a USAF B52 towards the Pyramid.
 * The pilot "maydays" Red 12.
 * Agrofuel uses Bowes brand computers.
 * Citizens in Turmezistan use cameras to photograph the Pyramid.
 * The UN military uses guns.
 * The UN uses Defender 110s.
 * Russia tried to use a missile from a submarine against the Pyramid.
 * GriffinFinder is a search engine.
 * The Monks used a simulation machine.
 * The Doctor tells the people at the meeting to go use Google.

Organisations

 * The Doctor is recruited by the United Nations.
 * The Doctor mentions UNIT and UNIT HQ.
 * The Doctor pays a visit to the Agrofuel Research Operations.

Biology

 * Bacteria are being researched in Agrofuel.
 * Xiaolian mentions flu and plague as possible ends to the world.
 * The Doctor mentions GM (genetically modified) bacteria.
 * Erica says the greenhouses at Agrofuel are full of Ethanol.

Species

 * Bill thinks the Monks are vampires.

People

 * Bill and Penny laugh about the Pope being in Bill's flat.
 * Bill calls the President "orange".
 * Douglas has messages on his iPad from Terry Beyer-Rees (Head of Research), Dr Patel, J. Plant, P. Spriggs, Dr Sherives, K. Moore, P. Hilton, Dr D. Newton, Dr Palmer, S. Lamont and M. Henshaw.
 * The Doctor thinks Erica calls him God when she says "Oh my God".
 * The Doctor says "By George".

Biological data

 * According to the sonic sunglasses, Bill is female, 26 years old, 167.6cm tall, weighs 130.2 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 79BPM and a body temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius.
 * Nardole is male, 237 years old, 167.7cm tall, weighs 216.1 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 78BPM and a temperature of 30.3 degrees Celsius. Discounting River Song, whose status as a companion is a matter of debate, this data makes Nardole the oldest known companion to date.
 * The Secretary General is male, 70 years old, 165.2cm tall, weighs 140.1 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 68BPM and a temperature of 37.9 degrees Celsius.
 * Xiaolian is female, 41 years old, 167.0cm tall, weighs 126.7 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 76BPM and a temperature of 37.7 degrees Celsius.
 * Don Brabbit is male, 59 years old, 177.6cm tall, weighs 141.0 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 69BPM and a temperature of 38.0 degrees Celsius.
 * Ilya Svyatoslavovich is male, 70 years old, 186.7cm tall, weighs 176.4 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 72BPM and a temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius.
 * The Commander is male, 63 years old, 176.7cm tall, weighs 176.3 pounds, has a resting heart rate of 75BPM and a temperature of 37.6 degrees Celsius.
 * One Monk has a height of 204.6cm and a weight of 93.5 pounds. Another has a height of 214.3cm. The glasses are unable to detect their ages.

Food and beverages

 * Bill and Penny are drinking wine.
 * Bill: white wine, Penny: rosé wine.
 * Erica and Douglas drink coffee.
 * Water is being drunk during the meetings in the base.
 * Nardole mentions air, water, food and beer, as basic necessities.

Events

 * The Doctor says that they are against World War III.

Story notes

 * Filming on The Pyramid at the End of the World began on 28 November 2016, took a break for Christmas with Extremis, and then wrapped up on 17 January 2017.
 * This title has the longest word count for a Doctor Who episode, with eight words. By character, however, that would go to The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, with 32 characters over Pyramid's 28. The spin-off series Class trumps them both, with 42 characters in The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did.
 * This episode featured a unique opening sequence in which it jumped back and forward between "Previously" and "Now".
 * A line of dialogue referring to terrorism was reportedly excised from the episode, out of respect for the victims of the, which occurred five days prior to broadcast.
 * When the Secretary General asks about the President, Bill says she doesn't know him, and says he is "orange". While never stated in the narrative, this is a reference to Donald Trump.
 * The Doomsday Clock is maintained by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Science and Security Board. As the writing – and some of the filming – of the episode took place in 2016, the time shown in the beginning of the episode is three minutes to midnight. As of January 2017 – and so at the time of broadcast – however, the clock is set at two and a half minutes to midnight.
 * The United Nations is featured throughout in lieu of UNIT. This marks the first time the UN has played a major role in Doctor Who since the real-life organization requested UNIT's name be changed from United Nations Intelligence Taskforce in the mid-2000s (it became Unified Intelligence Taskforce).
 * When the Doctor regains his sight, "The Doctor's Theme" can be heard.
 * The title of this episode is an homage to Douglas Adams' book "The Restaurant at the End of the Universe", the sequel to the "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". Douglas Adams was a former script writer on Classic Who.
 * This is the last episode in which the Twelfth Doctor is shown playing an electric guitar.

Ratings

 * 4.12m (UK overnight figures)
 * 5.79m (UK final)

Filming locations

 * Tenerife was used again, this time for location filming in "Turmezistan", around the pyramid.
 * The laboratory in Agrofuel Research Operations was filmed in the Engineering Quarter at Swansea University's Bay Campus.
 * The outside of the Agrofuel Research Operations appears to be the London City Hall, by Norman Foster.

Production errors

 * Although referred (and credited) to as a Colonel, Don Brabbit is seen wearing the insignia of a four star general.

Continuity

 * The Doctor told Bill she should call Penny on a date. (TV: Extremis)
 * Penny mentions the Doctor being Bill's tutor. (TV: The Pilot)
 * Bill explains the Doctor's alien origins. (TV: An Unearthly Child et al.)
 * Penny laughs at Bill's claim about a simulation. (TV: Extremis)
 * Bill and Penny discuss the Pope's interruption of their Shadow World counterparts' date. (TV: Extremis)
 * The Doctor returns to Turmezistan. (TV: The Zygon Inversion)
 * Boat One is boarded again. This is at least the third such aircraft to carry this designation after the previous two were destroyed; this time, however, it survives. (TV: Death in Heaven, The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion)
 * The Doctor is declared President of Earth in a crisis. (TV: Death in Heaven, The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon Inversion)
 * The Doctor plays his electric guitar. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice, Hell Bent)
 * The Doctor says he is meditating while in the TARDIS playing his guitar. (WC: Prologue, TV The Doctor's Meditation, The Magician's Apprentice)
 * The Doctor uses his sonic sunglasses. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice / The Witch's Familiar, et al.)
 * The Doctor uses the double-lock on the doors. (TV: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, Utopia)
 * The Doctor wonders how the UN got the TARDIS out from his office, since the windows are too small. (TV: The Pilot)
 * Nardole again uses his microphone in the coat to communicate with the Doctor. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio)
 * The Doctor mentions having been blind since Chasm Forge. (TV: Oxygen, Extremis)
 * The Doctor states that the future dead Earth wouldn't be his first dead planet. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
 * A pyramid appears on Earth. (TV: Pyramids of Mars)
 * The Doctor mentions that Earth has been doomed before, but that he got in the way. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
 * The Doctor mentions UNIT and UNIT HQ. (TV: The Invasion, Spearhead from Space et al.)
 * The Doctor refers to his reassembly of Nardole, telling Nardole "I got your lungs cheap", further indicating that Nardole may still be a cyborg. (TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio, The Pilot, Oxygen)
 * The TARDIS is once again relocated by authorities without the Doctor's permission (TV: The Day of the Doctor). And once again it finds itself on board an aircraft (TV: The Bells of Saint John).
 * A companion has to make a decision on behalf of the entire planet Earth. (TV: Kill the Moon)
 * The Doctor again calls himself stupid over and over. (TV: Time Heist)
 * The Doctor advises people to use Google. (TV: Before the Flood)
 * The Doctor makes fun of unfolding events like a game show. (TV: The Zygon Inversion)

DVD releases
This episode was released as part of the Series 10 DVD box set on 13 November 2017.

Blu-ray releases
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Digital releases
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