The Hungry Earth (TV story)

The Hungry Earth is the eighth episode of Series Five. It is the first part of a two-part story. It marks the re-appearance of the Silurians for the first time in 26 years.

Synopsis
It’s 2020, and the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth’s crust than man has ever gone before – but now the ground itself is fighting back. The Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village and find themselves plunged into a battle against a deadly danger from a bygone age.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * Dr. Nasreen Chaudhry - Meera Syal
 * Alaya - Neve McIntosh
 * Tony Mack - Robert Pugh
 * Elliot - Samuel Davies
 * Mo - Alun Raglan
 * Ambrose - Nia Roberts
 * Malohkek - Richard Hope
 * Eldane - Stephen Moore

Technology

 * The Doctor has a pair of sunglasses that function as infrared thermal imaging scanners.
 * The Sonic Screwdriver can't do wood.

Story notes

 * The episode was incorrectly entitled, The Ground Beneath their Feet.
 * A review for the episode by Beehive City states that the year is actually 2020 despite the press release saying 2015. It may have been changed due to some events of the previous episode happen in 2015.
 * The masks the Silurians wear are similar to the helmets the Sycorax wore. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)DoctorAmy-HungryEarth.jpg The visor's different scanning types are reminiescient of the helmets used by the aliens in the Predator film series. Also when Matt Smith moves his hand when looking through the heat scanning glasses, there is the same 'swish' sound heard when the Predator changes scanning type.
 * Matt Smith celebrated his 27th birthday during the filming of this episode.
 * Amy and Rory see future versions of themselves in 2020 from a distance, seemingly revisiting their past adventure and watching their past (current, from a series perspective) selves.
 * The completed episode had a running time of sixty minutes, requiring over fifteen minutes of footage to be removed in order to fit its broadcast slot.
 * This Silurian tribe have the ability to flick their long forked tongues at their enemies, injecting them with poison. The Doctor implies that he has prior knowledge of such an ability, suggesting that he had encountered another Silurian tribe with a similar trait.
 * This is the first Silurian story to feature a female member of the species.
 * Originally, Mo and Amy were to be stripped down to their underwear before being dissected. This was removed for being "too adult".
 * Amy mentions that she has been travelling with the Doctor for "months".

Ratings
To be added

Rumours

 * It is rumoured that the Sea Devils will appear as one of the races seen in the trailers. This was proven false.
 * Melanie Walters will appear in this episode and in Cold Blood. This is likely as Walters has been confirmed as a guest star. Also, she is Welsh, and The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood are set in a Welsh village.

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Silurians have appeared twice in television stories in 1970's DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians and in 1984's DW: Warriors of the Deep.
 * The Silurians return after a 26 year absence, having last appeared in DW: Warriors of the Deep.
 * In reply to the question "Are you scared of monsters?" The Doctor says "No, they're scared of me." Similar to something he says in DW: The Girl in the Fireplace to Reinette.
 * A similar drilling project took place in DW: Inferno.
 * The Doctor again mentions that the sonic screwdriver doesn't work on wood. (DW: Silence in the Library)
 * This isn't the first time The Doctor has tried to broker a peace between the Silurians and Humans. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
 * This story shares many simularities to DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians
 * This is the second time the Doctor has used a church as a refuge, the first time was in DW: Father's Day. The Doctor also herded people into the church in Amy's Choice and in The Daemons.

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