Doomsday (TV story)

"Cybermen plus Daleks. Together we could upgrade the universe."

- Cybermen

Synopsis
As two mighty armies clash, the Doctor realises that saving the Earth might mean losing the love of his life: Rose...

Plot
Dr. Singh, Mickey Smith and Rose Tyler are trapped in a sealed room within Torchwood Tower as the four Daleks who have emerged from the void ship approach them, with a vaguely Dalek-shaped artifact following. As they cry out their intent to exterminate, Rose surprises them by calling out their name. She approaches the black Dalek and offers to tell them how she knows about the Daleks and the Time War if they keep them alive, with Mickey and Mr. Singh playing along. The black Dalek decides that they are necessary and asks about the status of the artifact — which it calls the Genesis Ark. It orders the awakening to begin and declares that the Ark must be protected above all else.

The black Dalek "Sec" then asks which one of the three is least important. Rose refuses to answer, but Dr Singh volunteers, knowing he is of no importance compared to the two time travellers. They ask him to kneel down and say they need to know everything they can. Dr Singh begins to respond but they say that speech is not required. All four Daleks place their plungers around his skull and stretch his brain. A few minutes later, his mutilated corpse drops to the floor. Rose and Mickey are horrified to see the Daleks do this but they only reply that he was of no use to them alive.

The Cybermen hold Jackie, Yvonne, and the Doctor hostage. The Cyber-Leader demands to speak to the world leader. Yvonne tells the leader they don't have one, and the Cyber-Leader tells her they have one now. It interrupts all television to make a message in which it promises to convert all humans into Cybermen. There appears to be Cybermen in every home on Earth, and Cybermen are said to be on every landmass. However, despite the call for surrender, the British Army mobilises and soon fighting & fire have spread across the whole of London (and by implication other places as well), with both sides taking losses. The Cyber-Leader is confused that humanity hasn't surrendered, while the Doctor snarls that "you're on every street, you're in every home, you've got their children! Of course they're gonna fight!"

The Cybermen then notice other lifeforms in the building and two are sent down to the Void Room to investigate. At the same time, the Daleks notice lifeform readings and send Dalek "Thay" to investigate. The Cybermen and the Dalek meet in the corridor outside the Void Room. The Doctor, Jackie, Rose and Mickey can see them both through video transmissions and the Doctor is visibly stunned to see the Dalek.

The Cybermen ask that the Daleks identify themselves and the Daleks demand the same. Neither comply and there is a stand-off, which Mickey describes as "Stephen Hawking vs. The Speaking Clock". The Daleks accidentally slip up with Thay saying that "Daleks do not take orders", but recognize the Cybermen from a previously unseen event, comparing them to their own universe's Cybermen. The Cybermen and the Daleks exchange insults until the Cybermen offer to upgrade the Daleks and overtake Earth, and eventually the universe, together. The Dalek rufuses and kills the two Cybermen. The Cyber-Leader speaks to "Dalek Sec" and tells him that this is war, however the Dalek is not frightened, explaining that it is "pest control", stating that, whilst there are only 4 Daleks against the 5,000,000 Cybermen, the latter would be destroyed with only one Dalek.

After a brief conversation with the Doctor about Rose's safety, Jackie is dragged away to be upgraded along with Yvonne Hartman. The Doctor promises he will save Jackie, and get her out alive before she is taken away. The Cyber Leader comments on how the Time Lord is proof of how emotions weaken humans. The Doctor replies by saying he still feels hope, and in that instant a team with guns suddenly appears and destroys all Cybermen in the Breach Room. The leader reveals himself to be Jake Simmonds. The Doctor is shocked to see him here, since he is from a parallel universe.

The Cybermen sense that the Cyber-Leader has been terminated and begin to download his files into another Cyberman unit. This gives Jackie the chance to escape down the stairwell.

Meanwhile, the Doctor tells Jake that they cannot just hop from one universe to another. Jake shows the Doctor the disc-shaped devices they developed with their world's version of Torchwood, and before the Doctor can stop him, Jake transports the two of them. Jake explains that they found out what the parallel Torchwood was doing and the People's Republic took control. As the Doctor asks Jake to take him back, Pete Tyler steps out of the shadows, telling the Doctor that this is their world and for once, he is going to listen.

Pete explains that they tried sealing up the Cybermen in the factories, but other people argued that the Cybermen were still people and needed help. As the debate went on, the Cybermen infiltrated the parallel Torchwood, found the Doctor's universe and vanished. The sheer mass of five million Cybermen is why it took them three years to cross while individuals could pop across in a second.

Pete shows off his world, where Great Britain is apparently enjoying a Golden Age, and where Harriet Jones is President. However, ambient temperatures are rising and the ice caps are melting. Pete correctly surmises that it has to do with the breach; the Doctor confirms that every time someone crosses over damage is done, and if it keeps up both worlds will fall into the Void. Pete believes the Doctor can close the breach, but when the Doctor says that doing so will leave the Cybermen on his world, Pete replies that he is only interested in protecting his Earth. The Doctor points out there is a parallel Jackie who is still alive but Pete says that there are more important things at stake and asks the Doctor to help them. Seeing Pete's faith in him, the Doctor agrees to help.

The Doctor, Pete and Jake cross back. The Doctor calls up Jackie on her mobile phone, telling her to keep a low profile in the stairwell. The Doctor takes Jake's rifle and modifies it so it can affect polycarbide: the skin of a Dalek. He then surrenders to the Cybermen and the two sides work together.

The black Dalek demands that Rose activate the Ark, threatening Mickey's life. Rose steps forward to do so, but gleefully tells the Daleks how she met the Dalek Emperor and used the time vortex to turn him to dust. The furious black Dalek is about to exterminate her for this when the Doctor appears in the doorway.

The black Dalek asks how the Doctor survived the Time War. The Doctor says that he did that by fighting on the front lines, whereas these Daleks fled. Rose tells the Doctor that these Daleks have names, a fact which the Daleks confirm by declaring each of their names respectively: Dalek Thay, Dalek Sec, Dalek Jast, and Dalek Caan. The Doctor realises that these four Daleks are members of the Cult of Skaro, a secret order above even the Emperor. The Cult's purpose was to think as the enemy thinks, to find new ways of killing, including daring to take on individual identities. When Mickey asks the Doctor about the Genesis Ark, the Doctor replies that he does not know what it does; both sides had secrets.

The Black Dalek Dalek Sec gloats that Time Lord science will ensure the supremacy of the Daleks, and orders the Doctor to open the Ark. The Doctor laughs off the suggestion and produces his sonic screwdriver. He explains that, while it cannot kill, wound, or maim, it is very good for opening doors, a fact he demonstrates by using it to open explosively all the doors leading into the sphere chamber. Jake's squad, side by side with Cybermen, enter and open fire on the Daleks using the modified energy rifles, temporarily disrupting the Daleks' shields and weapons, giving the Doctor and the humans time to escape. However, the Daleks quickly regain control of their weapons. The Cybermen are still no match for the Daleks and are all swiftly exterminated. As the Doctor and the humans rush out of the chamber, Mickey is knocked into the Ark by a damaged Cyberman and his hand presses against its surface. The Ark is primed, steam gushing from the bottom vents, but Dalek Sec says that it needs a space of thirty square miles to activate. The Daleks begin to escort it out of the chamber.

The Doctor and the humans retreat towards the stairwell. Mickey apologises for his slip-up, but the Doctor tells him that he did them a favour because the Daleks would have destroyed the Sun in an attempt to open the Ark.

Meanwhile, Jackie is found by two Cybermen who lurch forward to capture her for upgrading. However, the Cybermen are shot from behind by Pete, with the Doctor, Rose and Mickey following him. Jackie and Pete see each other for the first time and have an awkward exchange as their parallel counterparts are dead. Although Pete tries to rationalise that Jackie is not really his wife, the two end up running into each other's arms and embracing.

The Daleks and the Ark move into the Torchwood storage area, battling another force of Cybermen. Some human soldiers break in and add to the chaos. The Doctor stumbles into the area as well, grabbing two Magna-Clamps before leaving. As the Daleks blast their way through all opposition, the new Cyber-Leader calls for reinforcements. Sec opens the roof, and elevates upward with the Ark. As the Doctor and the others watch, the Ark opens above London and starts spinning, disgorging Dalek after Dalek. The Doctor realises that the "Time Lord science" Sec referred to was the fact that the Ark is bigger inside than outside: the Ark is a prison ship, containing millions of Daleks. As hundreds of Daleks line up in aerial formation, Sec orders them to exterminate all life forms below. The Daleks and Cybermen begin fighting all over the planet, with humans caught in the crossfire.

Pete believes the situation to be hopeless, and prepares to escape back to his world while offering to take Jackie along with him. The Doctor, however, is more optimistic. Wearing his 3-D glasses, he explains that it allows him to see that everything that has crossed the Void between universes has picked up background radiation from it: "Void stuff". Since the Daleks and Cybermen have been hiding in the void, they will be saturated in it and will be pulled back into the Void if he re-opens the rift then seals it again.

Rose, however, points out that they are covered in "Void stuff" too. The Doctor explains that he will open the breach here, but if Rose and the others go back to Pete's world, they will be safe. The Doctor will hang on to the magnetic clamps so he will not be pulled in. Rose realises that if the breach seals she will never be able to return, and refuses to leave the Doctor despite the prospect of never seeing her mother again. While Rose and Jackie argue about who is leaving, the Doctor and Pete slip the devices around their necks and Pete transports them all across. However, Rose reactivates her device and returns, telling the Doctor she will never leave him.

Rose sets all the coordinates on the Void controls to six on the Doctor's instructions. As the Cybermen climb the stairs, intending to escape back to the parallel Earth, they are met by a Cyberman with a female-sounding voice, that of Yvonne Hartman. She declares that they shall not pass and shoots them with an energy rifle. As she repeats that she did her duty for Queen and country, a tear of oil leaks from the duct below her left eye.

The Doctor and Rose fix the magnetic clamps on the walls. They pull the levers, activating the breach then hold on tightly to the clamps. Outside, millions of Daleks, including the Ark, are drawn towards Torchwood Tower and are rapidly sucked into the breach as the Cybermen are also pulled upward into the sky. However, Sec (along with the rest of the Cult) initiates an "emergency temporal shift" and vanishes.

The power lever on Rose's side begins to shift to the off-line position, threatening to abort the process. Unable to reach her lever while still holding on, Rose lets go of her clamp to do so. She pushes the lever back up and power is restored, but Rose is left clinging on as the void tries to consume her. The Doctor yells at her to hold on.

As the last of the Daleks fall into the breach, Rose can no longer hold on and lets go, flying towards oblivion. The Doctor screams in anguish, but at the last moment, Pete materialises in front of the breach, grabs Rose, and vanishes again. The breach ripples, and seals itself. On the parallel world, Rose beats the wall, sobbing hysterically as Pete notes that his device no longer works. On both sides of the breach, the Doctor and Rose lean against the wall, resting their cheeks against it for a moment as if sensing the other's presence. The Doctor then walks away sadly, alone.

Some time later, Rose has a dream where she hears the Doctor's voice calling her. Rose, Jackie, Pete and Mickey follow the voice to fifty miles outside Bergen, Norway, on the coastline of Dålig Ulv Stranden roughly translated to Bad Wolf Bay. There, an image of the Doctor appears; he tells her that he found the last of the breaches, and is transmitting the signal by using the TARDIS to harness the power of a supernova, commenting that he is burning up a sun to say good-bye. Rose tells him that he looks like a ghost, and the Doctor increases the image of himself to maximum projection — making it look as if he is really standing there, but he regretfully tells Rose that he is still just an image, and that she cannot touch him. With only two minutes left, the two share their final farewell. Rose tells the Doctor that her mother is three months pregnant. At first, Rose jokes that she is now back working as a shop girl, but then reveals that she is with the parallel Torchwood, which has re-opened, as they could use her expertise with aliens. The Doctor smiles proudly and says, "Rose Tyler: Defender of the Earth."

The Doctor tells Rose that she is officially listed among those that died on that day. Rose tearfully asks the Doctor if she will ever see him again, and the Doctor replies regretfully, "You can't." Breaking down, Rose asks what the Doctor will do, and he says he will go on, alone. Weeping, Rose tells the Doctor she loves him. As it is his last chance to do so, he begins to reply, "Rose Tyler..." but his image fades. Rose, still in tears, turns and runs back into Jackie's arms.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor stands for a minute, lips still parted. about to mouth the word 'I' a single tear rolls down each cheek. He regretfully starts to work the console. Suddenly, he looks up to see a woman in a wedding dress standing in the console room. Dumbfounded, all the Doctor can repeat is "What?" as the bride demands sharply that he tell her where she is...

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Mickey Smith - Noel Clarke
 * Jackie Tyler - Camille Coduri
 * Pete Tyler - Shaun Dingwall
 * Jake Simmonds - Andrew Hayden-Smith
 * Yvonne Hartman - Tracy Ann Oberman
 * Dr. Rajesh Singh - Raji James
 * Police Commissioner - David Warwick
 * Dalek & Cybermen Voices - Nicholas Briggs
 * Dalek Operators - Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg, Stuart Crossman, Anthony Spargo, Dan Barratt, David Hankinson
 * The Bride (Donna Noble) - Catherine Tate
 * Minor characters - Takako Akashi, Hajaz Akram, Maddi Cryer, Anthony Debaeck, Paul Fields, Kyoko Morita, Andrew Ufondo

Crew
to be added

Story Notes

 * The working title for this episode was Torchwood Falls.
 * Julie Gardner, Executive producer for the new series, said that the Doctor was going to "say it back".
 * Besides resonating throughout Series 3 and into Series 4, the events of Doomsday, or specifically Rose's fate, would be referenced in two original songs related to the series: the extended version of "Song for Ten" recorded for the Series 1 and 2 soundtrack album, and "Love Don't Roam", which would be introduced during the next episode, The Runaway Bride.
 * According to commentaries and discussion on the Series 2 DVD release, secrecy was very tight surrounding the filming of the two final scenes of the episode. According to Tennant and Davies, only Tennant and Piper were given the script for their farewell scene in advance, with the director receiving his copy soon before filming. According to Tennant, the filming of the Catherine Tate cameo was a rare example of a surprise being kept without getting spoiled; the scene was shot with minimal crew while the rest of the production team were having their wrap party. As such, the Tate scenes were actually shot long after the Doctor and Rose's farewell scene, which was filmed during and earlier production block.
 * At this point, Tate's character is identified only as "The Bride". She wouldn't be officially identified by the name Donna Noble until months later as publicity for the Christmas special began to circulate.
 * So far this is the only finale of the revival to not involve Jack Harkness.
 * This story is marked by one of the few attempts in the television series, modern or classic, to introduce humourous elements to the Daleks; Dalek Sec is uncharacteristically witty for a Dalek, a fact explained in-universe by the special status of the Cult of Skaro. It tells the Cyberleader, 'you are superior to us in only one respect...you are better at dying'. There is also the comical dialogue between a Dalek and Cyberman. Each orders the other to identify themselves.They refuse, until the Dalek retorts that Daleks need not identify themselves. The Cyberman then says, 'you have identified yourselves as Daleks'. Other examples of humour in Dalek stories can be found in The Chase and Destiny of the Daleks.
 * When the episode first aired, there was wide fan speculation indicating that the Genesis Ark may contain Davros.
 * When Rose and the Doctor put their heads against the wall, as if listening for each other, it is very similar to the way the wolf and the Doctor listened to each other through the door in Tooth and Claw.

Ratings

 * 8.22 million

Myths

 * This is the first Doctor Who episode in which both the Cybermen and Daleks appeared together. While it is true that this is the first episode in which they have interacted, there have been several episodes in which Cybermen and Daleks have appeared separately, most notably The Five Doctors (the only other story in which both races were physically present and functioning). The Ninth Doctor found the head of a Cyberman during the events of Dalek, and the Doctor conjured up images of both Cybermen and Daleks during his trial before the Time Lords in The War Games.

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * The fires outside London are not present when the Daleks fly out of the Genesis Ark.


 * When Rose was about to fall in when Pete rescued her, wouldn't he have been sucked in? He can't have been that quick to teleport. Pete would not have been exposed to as much of the Void stuff as he had only been transported across the void about 3 times, compared with the Daleks and the Cybermen who had spent years crossing the void and would be completely coated in the void radiation. Also it is possible that the technology was that quick.


 * How would he have known when and where to teleport to grab her or that she even needed saving? He didn't need to know where to teleport as the teleporter goes to the same spot in the other world, and he caught her on instinct/reflex.


 * In the ending scene after the Doctor has faded and Rose is hugging her mum, if you look at the back wheel of the jeep in the background a foot steps out from behind the wheel and then steps back.


 * Although great pains were taken to keep David Tennant's hair from blowing in the wind during the last scene (since he's supposed to only be a projection), you can still see his hair moving slightly.


 * One of the Cyberman that alerts the Cyber-leader of the "Unknown technology", the Cybus "C" on its chest is on backwards. The Cybermen may have, in response to the Dalek threat, sped up the converting process, thus causing errors and glitches in the process. This would also explain how Yvonne Hartman was still in control of her own mind, despite having seemingly been completely converted.


 * How does the Doctor know 'hope' is going to come with Jake's return? Perhaps he can see the breach showing signs of something travelling through the void? But more like he didn't...because that would be "knowledge" not "hope".  The Doctor spoke of "hope" because he didn't know how he would escape certain death but had "hope" that "something" would intervene...and he was right. He said hope becasue a deleted part of the script was the Doctor and the CyberLeader talking about emotions.


 * How did Rose know that she had used the Time Vortex at the Heart of the TARDIS to destroy the Dalek Emperor? She didn't remember anything at the end of DW: The Parting of the Ways. There was ample opportunity over the course of the intervening season for the Doctor to explain anything which Rose may have forgotten, which is likely as she may of questioned why he had to change further. 


 * The Doctor tells Mickey that if the Cult of Skaro tried to open the Genesis Ark by force they would have destroyed the sun. How could he possibly know this with no knowledge of the Genesis Ark or the technology available to the Daleks? He may be aware of the device, but not know what it looks like. Alternatively, he could just be attempting to make Mickey feel better so that he doesn't break down thinking he had destroyed the world. Alternatively and most likely the Doctor knows the Daleks of old and also knows the extremes they go to in order to get to their goal.


 * When Donna arrives in the TARDIS, she finds Rose's top hanging on the rail, while in the scene at the end of this episode it is not there.

Continuity

 * Arcadia is mentioned in NA: Deceit.
 * Several companions have departed in Dalek stories; Susan (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth), Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright (DW: The Chase) and Tegan Jovanka (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks).
 * Rose now calls Pete Tyler "Dad".
 * There is a flashback sequence to the events of (DW: Dalek)
 * Rose refers to the events of DW: The Parting of the Ways.
 * Donna Noble (known as the Bride in the credits) appears at the end of this story, leading straight into DW: The Runaway Bride.
 * TW: Cyberwoman features a partially cyberconverted person who escape the events of this episode.
 * When Pete Tyler takes the Doctor to see his world, he mentions several things that could be vital to the plot of Series 4: Harriet Jones is President in that world, "Who's President now?". "A woman named Harriet Jones". "I'd keep an eye on her!" The reference to Harriet Jones leading a golden age in the parallel world directly correlates to the Doctor's earlier prediction of Harriet Jones leading three successive terms as a leader in Britain's Golden Age.

DVD Releases

 * This episode was released as a 'vanilla DVD' together with Army of Ghosts and Fear Her on 25th of September 2006.
 * This was also released as part of the Season 2 boxset. Due to scheduling decisions made by the show's Canadian broadcaster, the CBC, the North American release of the box set occurred several days before Doomsday was broadcast in that country.