Cold Blood (TV story)

Cold Blood was the ninth episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales Doctor Who. It was the second part of a two-part story that featured the return of Silurians and it featured the death of recurring companion Rory Williams.

Synopsis
It is the most important day in the history of Earth: the dawn of a new age of harmony… or the start of its final war.

The Doctor must face his most difficult challenge yet and he tries desperately to ensure Alaya's prediction of a massacre does not come true. Meanwhile, what fate will befall the captured Amy and can Tony and his friends be trusted?

Plot
The Doctor and Nasreen enter the Silurian city using the "front door approach"; however, they are captured by several Silurian troops who have been awoken from suspended animation by an alarm.

Amy and Mo are strapped to medical tables in the laboratory. The Silurian doctor, Malohkeh, is performing a cursory examination of Amy, prepping her for dissection, but is interrupted and called away to examine the Doctor and Nasreen. Amy, who has snuck the remote controlling the medical tables away from Malohkeh, releases herself and Mo when he leaves, and the two escape into the city. While searching for a means of returning to the surface, they discover Elliot, who is trapped in suspended animation, but alive.

The Doctor and Nasreen are strapped to tables in a separate laboratory and forcibly scanned; while Nasreen is complacent throughout the procedure, the Doctor cries out in pain. Malohkeh converses with Commander Restac, wondering if there has been any word from Alaya; when Restac briskly responds in the negative, Malohkeh assures her that it is all right to show some emotion, as Restac and Alaya are twin sisters. Malohkeh begins the decontamination process on the Doctor and Nasreen; again, the Doctor cries out, begging Malohkeh to stop. Because the Doctor is not human, the decontamination process affects him differently -- not only does it cause him severe pain, but it removes all of the bacteria that is keeping him alive. Against Restac's wishes, Malohkeh agrees to abstain from the process; he informs a curious Doctor that the drill was threatening the city's oxygen pockets. The Doctor reveals that they have Alaya -- also determining from Restac's reaction that Restac and Alaya are sisters -- and assures the Silurians that she is safe. Restac, however, is less inclined to negotiate, and orders the execution of Nasreen and the Doctor.

On the surface, Tony approaches Alaya for help in curing the venemous sting on his shoulder, promising to release her if she can do something for him. Alaya refuses. Ambrose eventually learns the truth of Tony's injury, as well as Alaya's refusal to help, and angrily confronts the Silurian, threatening her with a taser. Alaya encourages her to activate it, which Ambrose does; on the second shot, Alaya collapses, dead.

Restac and Malohkeh lead the two prisoners to the city's execution chamber, flanked by a troop of Silurian warriors. The Doctor explains the nature of the Silurians' hibernation to Nasreen: centuries before, their astronomers predicted that a planet was on a crash course for Earth, and so they hibernated below the surface to avoid the catastrophe. The planet was, in fact, the moon coming into alignment. Malohkeh is impressed with the Doctor's knowledge of their race, prompting the Doctor to reveal that he'd previously met another branch of them; he is less excited to inform Malohkeh and Restac that that branch was killed by the humans, igniting Restac's further disapproval. Once inside the execution chamber, Mo and Amy appear, brandishing guns they have taken from sleeping Silurian warriors, with the intention of rescuing the Doctor; Restac swiftly disarms Amy, forcing their surrender, and the two are also added to the procession. When Malohkeh protests, Restac dismisses him.

On the surface, Rory and Tony berate Ambrose for what she has done to Alaya. Suddenly, Restac's face appears on the screen of a deactivated computer monitor in the church cellar; she has somehow manipulated control of the monitor to address the humans and negotiate Alaya's return. Though the Doctor orders Ambrose to let Rory handle the situation, Ambrose steps in anyway and declares that she has had enough of the Silurians' orders; she refuses to return Alaya unless Restac releases her family. Angered, Restac orders the first execution -- Amy. The computer monitor goes dark, but before the Silurian warriors can fire, their leader, Eldane, arrives with Malohkeh and countermands the orders. He dismisses Restac and her warriors. The Doctor, realizing that his chances of negotiating have been reignited, resumes communications with his companions on the surface, ordering them to bring Alaya down via the Silurian transport pods in the mine store room. Reaching the mine, Ambrose encourages Tony to reactivate the drill on a timer in case things go wrong.

The Doctor appoints Nasreen and Amy as the ambassadors for humanity and allows the two of them to talk to Eldane; meanwhile, he and Mo are led by Malohkeh to the stasis chamber where Elliot is being kept. The boy is released, and the Doctor apologizes for putting him in harm's way; Elliot happily forgives him. The Doctor, Mo, and Elliot return to the negotations, but Malohkeh opts to stay behind to check something; he discovers that Restac has awoken more of her warriors, but is killed by her before she can warn the others

Amy, Nasreen, and Eldane talk about how the Silurians might be able to eventually live alongside the humans. Amy proposes utilizing areas of the Earth that are uninhabitable to humans as new habitats for the Silurians; with the promise of a place to live, Eldane insists that his race can bring new technological advances and resources. As the meeting concludes, the Doctor comments on how well things had gone.

However, Rory, Tony, and Ambrose enter, placing Alaya's body on the floor. The Doctor is furious with Ambrose, promising Eldane that he had no idea of what had happened. Ambrose pleads that she was only trying to protect her family, but it becomes clear that even Elliot and Mo are disappointed with her. Restac returns and begins to cry at the sight of her sister; when she learns that Ambrose is responsibile, she orders the woman's immediate execution. The warriors fire at her, but the Doctor steps in to protect her, and the group is forced to flee the room.

Eldane leads the Doctor and his friends to the laboratory; they barricade themselves inside and think of a way to proceed. Time is running out before the drill reactivates and destroys the Silurian city; however, with Restac's warriors surrounding them, they are unable to return to the surface and turn it off. Eldane decides to utilize an emergency failsafe: he will use the controls to release a cloud of toxic gas all across the city. The Silurians that remain in suspended animation in their cryochambers will be safe, but those who freely roam under Restac's orders will be killed. The Doctor, with Nasreen's reluctant permission, agrees to program an energy surge which will destroy the drill and prevent any further threat to the city. Though the Doctor regrets not being able to form some sort of compromise, Eldane insists that the Earth is not ready for the return of the Silurians yet; with this, the Doctor informs his companions that in a thousand years, the Silurians will be allowed to return to the surface no matter what, and they must spread the word.

Tony decides to stay behind when he learns that the Silurians can cure his wound, which is causing mutation; Nasreen also opts to remain, thanking the Doctor for helping her to fulfill her dream of seeing the Earth. The Doctor ushers his companions to the TARDIS, ordering the Northovers inside.

However, he is distracted by the sight of a crack appearing in the Earth opposite the TARDIS; Amy recognizes it instantly. The Doctor is distressed by the fact that he doesn't understand it, especially when he remembers that both Prisoner Zero and the Weeping Angels seemed to know what it was. Knowing that the cracks are caused by a temporal explosion, he muses that with an explosion, there is shrapnel -- and so he reaches into the crack, wincing in pain, before producing a piece of smoking debris. Before he can take a good look at it, however, Restac crawls into the room, weakened by the poison but unwilling to die until she can get her revenge. She aims her weapon at the Doctor, but Rory jumps in the line of fire, taking the hit; before Restac can fire again, she dies.

After a brief conversation with Amy, Rory dies in her arms. The Doctor, seeing that he has already been surrounded by the Time Field, forces Amy into the TARDIS, where they watch as Rory is slowly swallowed by the crack. A devastated Amy reminds the Doctor of what he told her after the Byzantium -- she was able to remember the Clerics because she is a time traveller -- but the Doctor reminds her that this is her own history changing, so it's different. He does his best to help Amy remember Rory, which he admits is possible if there is no distraction; however, a bumpy landing breaks her concentration, and she forgets all about him. All that remains of Rory is the engagement ring that he gave Amy, which lies on the floor of the TARDIS console room.

The Doctor, Amy, Elliot, Mo, and Ambrose rush out of the TARDIS in time to see the drill explode. Some time later, the Doctor encourages Ambrose to bring Elliot up with the best values, so that he may represent the best of humanity in the ways that she couldn't.

The Doctor and Amy return to the TARDIS, with Amy stopping to wave at her future self on the opposite hill; for a moment, she believes she saw someone else next to her as well, but quickly forgets about it, reminding the Doctor of Rio. Once she is inside the TARDIS, the Doctor remembers the debris he pulled from the crack: it is a scorched blue and white fragment of wood with black lettering. The Doctor recognizes it immediately and holds it up against the sign on the TARDIS door, confirming that it is a broken piece of the TARDIS exterior.

Cast

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

The Doctor

 * The Doctor asks for a stick of celery after the almost lethal "decontamination", a reference to the Fifth Doctor, who wore a stick of celery on his lapel and stated it was to detect certain gasses and was also an "excellent restorative".
 * The Doctor states that Prisoner Zero knew of the Cracks in Time.
 * The Doctor also mentions that the Weeping Angels laughed at him.

Individuals

 * Rory Williams is killed and consumed by a crack, effectively erasing him from the timeline.

Technology

 * The Homo Reptilia's transport pads use gravity bubbles.

Species

 * The Klempari defence is when a single member of a species claims to be the last of it's kind.

Story notes

 * This episode was incorrectly entitled Warm Planet by the BBC.
 * It is revealed the Doctor's TARDIS is at least at the centre of the explosion that started the cracks, as the Doctor fishes a piece of TARDIS out of the crack, which is burnt and destroyed. It is also a foreshadowing to (DW: The Pandorica Opens /The Big Bang)
 * Though it apparently was not used in the episode, in Doctor Who Confidential a cut segment from the scene in which the Silurians are marching the Doctor and Nasreen to the court hall appears. In the dialogue, Nasreen expresses that she does not want to be executed "down here". The Doctor commiserates, saying that the "last time I was executed it really put a blight on the day." There are several possible events to which this could be a reference, but as this scene did not appear on screen it should not affect continuity.
 * The Doctor uses the phrase "squeaky bum time" originally coined by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2003. Ferguson is the manager of football club Manchester United. Before Matt Smith became an actor, he planned to become a professional footballer and is still a fan of the sport, perhaps why the line was included.
 * This is the first episode since Part One of DW: The End of Time to have narration. Other stories with narration include DW: The Deadly Assassin, Doctor Who (1996), Army of Ghosts and Human Nature. The opening narration, however, was not actually in the script. According to Ashley Way in the DVD commentary, it was added by Steven Moffat in the edit.

Ratings
Overnight ratings were 5.7 million (5.4 million on BBC1, 0.3 million on HD) for a 27.2% share.

Offical viewing figures was 7.04 million.

Rumours

 * It was rumoured that the Silurians were stealing bodies to splice with Silurian DNA to make half-human/half-Silurians. It was revealed in part 1 and 2 that they were (nonfatally) vivisecting humans to learn more about them.
 * According to on-set fan reports, from filming, it seems that Rory Williams will die by saving the Doctor and then be swallowed by the Time Field crack near the end of the episode. This was proven true.
 * The Doctor will look into a crack and see the TARDIS door sign on fire. This was mostly true, as the Doctor recovers a door sign on the TARDIS exterior with burn marks, but no TARDIS is seen physically.
 * There will be conflict among the Silurians. This was true; there was a military-science conflict.

Filming locations

 * The Silurian Council Chamber is a redress of the Temple of Peace which had previously been used as the Platform One meeting room set from DW: The End of the World, the Senate building seen in DW: Gridlock, the temple of the Sibylline Sisterhood in DW The Fires of Pompeii and the Mona Lisa chamber at the art gallery from SJA: Mona Lisa's Revenge. 
 * Plantasia Botanic Gardens, Parc Tawe, Swansea (this exact same location had previously been used in DW: The Doctor's Daughter) 

Production errors

 * When running from the Silurians in the tunnels, the Doctor holds his sonic screwdriver. In the shots of the Doctor, the screwdriver is vertical, but in the shots of the Silurians, the screwdriver is more horizontal.
 * When Amy is trying not to forget Rory, the memory of him getting shot does not show the laser blast striking him.
 * When Restac shows up, the Doctor has just pulled the shard of the TARDIS out of the crack. He starts to push himself off the ground. The camera cuts to Restac dragging herself towards them, and then back to the Doctor who finishes jumping to his feet. The shard of the TARDIS is nowhere in sight. It has not been left on the ground, and there wasn't time for the Doctor to put it in his pocket.
 * In the scene where Rory is dead after the Doctor remembers about the crack erasing people. He goes near the TARDIS but when it cuts to Amy crying the Doctor is behind her. There wouldn't be enough time for him to go from the TARDIS to behind Amy in that short amount of time.

Continuity

 * The Doctor mentions the Silurians going into hibernation when the Moon first aligned with the Earth.
 * The Doctor directly references the events of DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians.
 * Clips from DW: The Eleventh Hour, The Time of Angels, Flesh and Stone, and The Vampires of Venice were shown.
 * Rory is one of only a handful of recurring companions who have been killed. A similar occurrence was the death of the Fifth Doctor's companion Adric.
 * Rory pushes the Doctor out of the line of fire only to be mortally wounded himself, just as Jenny does in DW: The Doctor's Daughter.
 * The Doctor mentions fixed points in time again, previously mentioned in DW: The Fires of Pompeii, The Waters of Mars.
 * The warrior class of Silurians use heat ray weapons similar to those utilised by the Sea Devils in DW: Warriors of the Deep.
 * A gravity bubble is used by the Silurians. They were also used by Edwin Bracewell to keep the Spitfires in space. (DW: Victory of the Daleks)
 * Amy pickpockets Malokeh so she can escape. Darius Pike picked Thorne's pocket. (K9TV: Liberation)
 * The Crack appears twice in this episode. It appears on the wall where the TARDIS lands, and can also been seen when the Doctor and Nasareen are confronting the Silurians in the tunnels underneath the Earth. It appears at the bottom of the screen.

Timeline
For the Doctor and Amy For Rory
 * This story occurs after: DW: The Hungry Earth
 * This story occurs before: DYD: The Coldest War
 * This story occurs after: DW: The Hungry Earth
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Pandorica Opens

Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Three was released on 2nd August 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray, featuring Amy's Choice, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood.