The Runaway Bride (TV story)

The Runaway Bride is a special episode of the long running British science fiction television series Doctor Who starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. The special is to be produced for Christmas 2006, set to air on December 25 (Christmas Day)[1], and will play much the same role that The Christmas Invasion did the previous year, introducing the third series while not actually being part of it.

It was written by Russell T. Davies and directed by Euros Lyn. The special features Catherine Tate as the Bride. She appeared in the TARDIS at the end of Doomsday.

Synopsis Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. As Donna is about to marry her boyfriend Lance on Christmas Eve, she suddenly finds herself aboard the TARDIS. As the Doctor tries to get Donna to the church on time, the alien Empress of Racnoss watches closely from the throne in her spaceship. How is Donna the key to an ancient plot to destroy the Earth? With time running out, can the Doctor solve the puzzle, defeat the Empress and stop her army of robot santas?[2]Cast The Doctor — David Tennant The Bride (Donna Noble) — Catherine Tate The Empress of Racnoss — Sarah Parish[3][4] Lance Bennett — Don Gilet[5] Geoff Noble — Howard Attfield[5] Sylvia Noble — Jaqueline King[5] Vicar — Trevor Georges[5] Rhodri — Rhodri Meiler[5] Nerys — Krystal Archer[5] Taxi driver — Glen Wilson[5] Little girl — Zafirah Boateng[5] Robot Santas — Paul Kasey, George Cottle[5]

[edit] Trivia The Doctor's new companion Martha Jones, played by Freema Agyeman, will not appear in this episode.[6] According to the commentary for Doomsday, the Bride's name is Donna. This has now been confirmed on the Doctor Who website.[7] The Daily Star reported that the special was a three-parter to be shown over the Christmas period, and that the Doctor would come face-to-face with a "Cyberwoman".[8] However, Russell T. Davies subsequently confirmed that the special will air in one 60-minute slot;[9] the "Cyberwoman" rumour stemmed from confusion with a Torchwood episode. Radio 1 has reported that Billie Piper might appear in the episode "in one form or another".[8] This has also been debunked by Davies.[9] For legal reasons, the production team were forced to make obviously fake banknotes for a scene. The £10 notes feature the Doctor's face and the phrases "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ten satsumas" and "No second chances - I'm that sort of a man".[10][11] The text is a reference to the Doctor's actions and dialogue near the end of The Christmas Invasion. There were also £20 notes featuring producer Phil Collinson. These had the phrase 'There's no point being grown up if you can't be a little childish sometimes.' printed on them, seemingly misquoting the line originally spoken by the Fourth Doctor, (Tom Baker), in Robot, "There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes."[10][12] All notes and the cash machine were labelled "London Credit Bank". Night filming of scenes involving gunfire, explosions and a tank disturbed some Cardiff residents, including one American woman returning home from the conflict in Israel. [13] The Daily Mirror reported that Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 will appear in The Runaway Bride. The same report said that the special has a theme of "past, present and future" and described it as "a combination of A Christmas Carol and It's A Wonderful Life, set in London's West End — with scores of evil aliens."[14] This has not been confirmed by the BBC. In the same week, the BBC's internal newsletter Ariel reported that CBBC was developing a spin-off series featuring Sarah Jane.[15][16] The Mirror's report may reflect confusion with this project. Russell T. Davies had the idea for this episode from the very beginning of his association with the programme, and he planned to air it in Series Two. With the public announcement of two Christmas specials and the private knowledge of Billie Piper leaving at the end of Series Two, Davies decided to "elevate" this story to the Christmas special, not introducing the new companion immediately, and filling the slot with Tooth and Claw.[17] Guest star Sarah Parish's role is described as an "evil, alien mastermind".[3] Russell T. Davies, in his interview with Newsround, said that "Parish will be hard to recognise". This implies that her character will include prosthetics, covering her face. This is backed up by The Guardian Weekend Magazine in which Sarah Parish revealed that she plays "the Empress of Racnoss". According to Parish, the character is "half-woman, half-spider. It took four hours to apply all the prosthetics in the morning and an hour and a half to remove them at the end of the day".[4] Parish has co-starred alongside David Tennant in two other BBC One dramas — 2004's Blackpool and 2006's Recovery. The "robot Santas" from The Christmas Invasion will return in this story. [3] A four-minute clip of the special was shown at a concert organised for Children in Need. It features Donna riding in a taxi, at first unaware it is being driven by a robot Santa. The Doctor gives chase in the TARDIS, flying it down the motorway and trying to persuade Donna to jump between the moving vehicles. This clip was leaked online shortly after the event. According to issue 372 of Doctor Who Magazine, this episode contains the words Morocco, Biodamper, Lotto and "you can do the explaining, Martian boy". Much like The Christmas Invasion's use of the original tune "Song for Ten", composer Murray Gold has written a song titled "Love Don't Roam" for this special. The song was previewed at the Doctor Who: A Celebration concert on 19 November 2006 at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff; a studio version is on the soundrack album released on 4 December. This will be the first Doctor Who story to be broadcast with in-vision British Sign Language interpretation, in a UK repeat scheduled for 30th December 2006.[18]

[edit] References ^ a b Continuity announcement (8 July 2006). Doomsday [television series episode]. In R.T. Davies (Executive Producer), Doctor Who. Cardiff: BBC Wales. ^ BBC Press Office (2006-11-27). Programme Information—Network TV Weeks 52/1—DRAMA. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-11-30. ^ a b c Who's new. bbc.co.uk (2006-08-10). Retrieved on 2006-08-10.. ^ a b Parish, Sarah. "Sarah Parish in Shropshire and Wales", The Guardian Weekend Magazine, 2006-09-02. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Russell, Gary (2006). Doctor Who: The Inside Story. BBC Books. ISBN 056348649X. ^ BBC Press Office (2006-07-05). Freema Agyeman confirmed as new companion to Doctor Who. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-07-25. ^ Davies, Russell T.; Julie Gardner, Phil Collinson (2006-06-08). "Doomsday" episode commentary (MP3). BBC Doctor Who website. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2006-07-25. ^ a b ^ a b Mzimba, Lizo (Interviewer). (2006-09-12). Exclusive Q&A: The brains behind Dr Who [RealMedia]. London: CBBC Newsround. ^ a b Carey, Paul. "Fake notes are Doctor Who's cash conversion", Western Mail, 2006-07-26. Retrieved on 2006-07-27. ^ Image of "David Tennant" £10 note. Outpost Gallifrey (2006-07-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-01. ^ Image of "Phil Collinson" £20 note. Outpost Gallifrey (2006-07-26). Retrieved on 2006-08-01. ^ Cox, Emma. "Tanks for waking us, Doc", The Sun, 2006-08-01. Retrieved on 2006-08-01. ^ Methven, Nicola, Polly Hudson. "DOC'S XMAS BRIDE SHOCK", Daily Mirror, 2006-08-04. Retrieved on 2006-08-04. ^ Lyon, Shaun (2006-08-01). Sarah Jane Investigates. Outpost Gallifrey News Page. Retrieved on 2006-08-02. ^ Wright, Mark (2006-08-02). With apologies.... The Stage. Retrieved on 2006-08-06. ^ "Wedding Plans: Russell reveals Runaway Bride origins in DWM special", Doctor Who Magazine Series Two Companion via bbc.co.uk, 2006-08-07 ^ BBC Press Office (2006-12-07). Programme Information - BBC One Transmission Details - Weeks 52/1. Press release. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.

[edit] External links The Runaway Bride at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) "Doctor Who has Christmas in July", BBC News, bbc.co.uk, 2006-07-24. Retrieved on 2006-07-25. Filming reports and photos for The Runaway Bride at Outpost Gallifrey's News Page "Sarah Parish in Shropshire and Wales", The Guardian, 2006-08-02. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Runaway_Bride_%28Doctor_Who%29"