The Ghost Monument (TV story)

The Ghost Monument was the second episode of series 11 of Doctor Who.

This episode marked the debut of the new title sequence due to it being left out of the preceeding episode, making this the first time this has been done. The sequence has also done away with the TARDIS and the Doctor's face/eyes.

Narratively, it continued exploring the warrior race Stenza which appeared in the previous episode, as well as introducing an element of the Doctor's past by mentioning "The Timeless Child".

Synopsis
Stranded on an alien planet infamously called Desolation, can the Doctor find her way to the TARDIS as she promised her new friends? Will her newest company be of any help when they're also racing against each other? And what exactly is "the Ghost Monument"?

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
 * Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
 * Ryan Sinclair - Tosin Cole
 * Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Angstrom - Susan Lynch
 * Epzo - Shaun Dooley
 * Ilin - Art Malik
 * Voice of the Remnants - Ian Gelder

The Doctor

 * The Doctor has met Pythagoras and Audrey Hepburn.
 * The Doctor tells the Remnants she has "a dozen" lifetimes worth of fear.
 * The Doctor once spent three weeks as a hologram.
 * The Doctor can see microbes with the naked eye.
 * The Remnants mention "the Timeless Child" of the Doctor's past.

TARDIS

 * The Doctor says her TARDIS can translate alien languages.
 * The TARDIS is stuck in a loop, phasing in and out of time and space.
 * The Doctor says she has lost the key.
 * The Doctor says the TARDIS is bigger inside due to dimensional engineering.
 * The TARDIS control console now has a custard cream dispenser, which activates via stepping on a pedal by the floor.

Species

 * Angstrom is an Albarian from the planet Albar.
 * Epzo is a Muxteran.
 * Although both are humanoids, Angstrom and Epzo know nothing of humans or Earth.
 * The Doctor says the Venusian nuns were clever.
 * The water on Desolation is filled with flesh-eating microbes.
 * Albar had previously been subjugated by the Stenza.
 * The Remnants can smell fear.

Martial arts

 * The Doctor uses Venusian aikido to paralyse Epzo temporarily.

Science

 * Acetylene smells like garlic, is lighter than air and ignites very easily.

Currency

 * The prize of the last Rally of the Twelve Galaxies is 3.2 trillion Krin.
 * One krin is worth 200 kavlons, 90 forvalars, or 4,000 trynties.
 * Unfamiliar with the currency discussed, the Doctor notes that she is "a bit behind" on exchange rates.

Food and beverages

 * The new TARDIS console dispenses custard cream biscuits.

Events

 * Angstrom and Epzo are competitors in the last ever Rally of the Twelve Galaxies. They have reached the final stage.
 * Other competitors included Kornlite and Fythen.
 * The Doctor compares the event to Paris-Dakar, but in space.

Locations

 * Desolation is out of orbit.
 * A rally is being held throughout the Twelve Galaxies.
 * Yaz compares the Doctor's TARDIS to the police box on Surrey Street.
 * Albar is a tiny planet.
 * Graham mentions Sheffield.

People

 * The Doctor and friends are about to suffocate in space.
 * Angstrom has a tattoo on her neck.
 * People have written songs about the Cerebos because she is the envy of millions.
 * The Doctor states that people will write an opera about their pointless deaths should Ezpo not jettison the rear section.
 * The Doctor gives Graham a pair of glasses which belonged to Audrey Hepburn, though the Doctor fails to remember and states that they could have belonged to Pythagoras.
 * The Doctor has seen Pythagoras with a hangover.
 * Yaz mentions Karl Wright and Tim Shaw, and how the Doctor jumped off a crane.
 * Ryan still refuses to befriend Graham and call his granddad. Even mocking him sarcastically saying to not argue with his wisdom and politics.
 * Graham suggest Ryan uses his NVQ studies to repair the boat.
 * Epzo mentions Angstrom's family.
 * Graham and Ryan talk about Grace and her death.
 * Epzo's mum was untrustworthy.
 * Angstrom made Yaz miss her family, saying her dad drives her crazy and her sister attempts to get her to move out.
 * Graham calls Epzo Sleeping Beauty.
 * Angstrom's wife was killed by the Stenza.

Technology

 * Angstrom's spaceship was in Hyperjump.
 * Epzo's ship is named the Cerebos.
 * Cerebos and Angstrom's ship have medi-pods.
 * The Doctor says that the Cerebos should be on Antiques Roadshow because of its manual shield activation.
 * Medi-pods check for Universal translators in their patient and implant them if needed.
 * The Doctor wonders if Ilin is projection reality or AI interface and compliments his nose hairs.
 * Epzo has a blaster.
 * Ryan states that he has played enough Call of Duty to know how to handle a gun.

Story notes

 * This story marks the debut of the new title sequence for Series 11.
 * It also marks the first time since The Snowmen in 2012, with the exception of The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor, Death in Heaven and Sleep No More in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively, in which the Doctor's face or eyes do not appear.
 * It also marks the first time since The Ultimate Foe in 1986, with the exception of The Day of the Doctor and Sleep No More, that the TARDIS does not appear.
 * It also marks the first time since Partners in Crime in 2008, with the exception of a one-off with The Day of the Doctor, that there is no scene shown before the title sequence.
 * It also marks the first time since the mini-episode Time, as well as the second time overall, in which the titles start outside, and then zooms inside, the Time Vortex effect.
 * This episode introduced a new TARDIS interior design, and slight modifications to its exterior.
 * The St John Ambulance badge has been removed from the front door, marking its absence for the first time since The End of Time, having been present for the entirety of the Steven Moffat era.
 * The black text on white phone sign has changed to white text on a black sign, the first time since the Tom Baker era.
 * For the first time since the show's attempted reboot in 1996 with Doctor Who the TV movie, the time rotor no longer extends all the way to the ceiling. This also marks the first time the rotor isn't shown to be a perfect cylinder, instead, taking on a crystalline appearance. Also for the first time, the interior of the time rotor is not visible.
 * This is the first episode since The Husbands of River Song in 2015 to not have any scenes set on Earth.
 * Timeslice Cinematography provided all the aerial shots.

Ratings

 * 7.11 million (UK overnight)

Filming locations

 * South Africa - Desolation

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * At the start of the episode, the Doctor and her friends are still trapped in space. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * Ryan remembers being in Rahul's warehouse and then in space. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * The Doctor has been on a spaceship crash-landing on a planet before. (TV: The Night of the Doctor) Unlike that time, there were no casualties.
 * The Doctor has come across a space rally before. (TV: Enlightenment)
 * Yaz mentions how the Doctor saved Karl Wright, beat Tim Shaw and jumped off a crane. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * The Doctor reiterates her dislike of guns, (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem, The Doctor's Daughter, The Impossible Astronaut, The Curse of the Black Spot, Into the Dalek, The Doctor Falls)
 * The Doctor uses Venusian aikido. (TV: Inferno, The Sea Devils, Robot of Sherwood, World Enough and Time, AUDIO: Faith Stealer, Last of the Cybermen)
 * The Doctor notes how the TARDIS has changed its interior itself and that she likes the new design. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
 * Past incarnations had previously used the phrase "You've redecorated" to criticise their future incarnation's choice of interior, (TV: The Day of the Doctor) or generally expressed that they don’t like it. (TV: The Three Doctors, Time Crash, Twice Upon a Time)
 * Ryan reminds the Doctor about how he dislikes climbing ladders. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * Graham mentions Grace's death. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * The Doctor mentions the Stenza. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * The Doctor disables robots using an electromagnetic pulse. (TV: The Age of Steel, Voyage of the Damned)
 * Ryan still prefers not to call Graham "grandad". (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)
 * The new TARDIS dispenses a biscuit, similar to that of the function of the Food machine. (TV: The Daleks, The Edge of Destruction, The Space Museum)
 * The Doctor warns everyone about the water in a similar way to the Tenth Doctor did on Mars. (TV: The Waters of Mars)

DVD releases
to be added

Blu-ray releases
to be added

Digital releases
to be added