The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)

The Impossible Astronaut was the first episode of the sixth series of Doctor Who. This story is perhaps most notable as the first opening two-parter of the BBC Wales series. Behind the scenes, it was notable for the significant amount of location filming with cast and crew travelling to Utah in the United States of America.

Narratively, it saw the reappearance of River Song with some insight into her back story. Yet again, questions of her trustworthiness were posed. Additionally, it built on the references of the previous series to "the Silence".

Synopsis
Four envelopes, numbered 2, 3 and 4, each containing a date, time and map reference, unsigned, but TARDIS blue: who sent them? And who got the missing envelope numbered 1? This strange summons reunites the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song in the middle of the Utah desert and unveils a terrible secret the Doctor's friends must never reveal to him. Placing his life entirely in their hands, the Doctor agrees to search for, and figure out just who is Canton Everett Delaware the Third. What is the relevance of their only other clue: 'Space 1969'? Their quest lands them—quite literally—in the Oval Office, where they are enlisted by President Nixon to assist former-FBI agent Canton in saving a terrified little girl from a mysterious spaceman.

Plot
In the 17th century, Charles II bursts into his daughter's room, demanding to know the Eleventh Doctor's whereabouts. By her stands "My Mysterious Doctor," a painting of the Time Lord; his clothes are strewn about the room. His daughter asks "Doctor who?" A loud sneeze comes from beneath her skirt. The king lifts its hem with his sword to find the Doctor naked underneath, saying that it's not as bad as it looks.

In 2011, Amy Pond reads to her husband, Rory Williams, from a history book in their home; it is an account of "a mysterious doctor" imprisoned in the Tower of London on order of the king. Rory doubts it is the Doctor until Amy reads he was seen flying away from the Tower two days later. She also reads of the Doctor taking part in a break-out from a POW camp during World War II. He led a group of men through tunnels, to be caught after emerging in the commandant's office.

Amy wonders if the Doctor is trying to get their attention, a theory Rory shrugs off. He doesn't notice the Doctor waving at them from a Laurel and Hardy film. Going through their mail, Amy finds a TARDIS-blue envelope plastered with stamps and labelled with the number 3; she finds a card with a map reference, date and time. It is unsigned, but she easily deduces who it is from. Three thousand years later, River Song receives an identical letter -- hers is marked number 2 -- in her cell at Stormcage Containment Facility. The prison goes on alert when they learn she is packing to go to a planet called America.

Rory and Amy arrive in Utah, where they are greeted happily by the Doctor. River arrives shortly after. At a cafe, the Doctor and River compare diaries. The Doctor informs his friends they're going to space in 1969. They picnic by a lake, where the Doctor mentions in passing he is over eleven hundred years old -- nearly two hundred years older than when Amy and Rory last saw him. Amy spots a figure watching them from a distant cliff, but forgets about it when she looks away. Not long after, an elderly man pulls up in a truck and waves, but makes no move to join them. Behind them, an astronaut rises out of the water, wearing an Apollo 11-style spacesuit. Spotting it, the Doctor gravely orders his friends that they're not to interfere, and he approaches the astronaut, who waits for him at the edge of the lake.

The astronaut shoots the Doctor twice, initiating his eleventh regeneration, but shoots again, killing him before the transformation is complete. The astronaut returns to the water as the Doctor's companions run to his body; River announces that he is truly dead, devastating Amy. The elderly man brings a container of gasoline to them, introducing himself as Canton Everett Delaware III; the Doctor told him they would need the gasoline. River explains that a Time Lord's body is one of the most sought-after things in the universe; they can't just leave him. Spotting a boat moored across the lake, Rory initiates a Viking-style funeral and burns the Doctor's corpse. Delaware presents River with his TARDIS-blue invitation, labeled with the number 4, and says he won't be seeing them again, but they will be seeing him

River, Amy, and Rory return to the cafe where they previously ate; while Rory and River are eager to figure out what the Doctor was planning, Amy insists that it doesn't matter now that he's dead. Across the cafe, Rory spots another invitation on a table; this one is labeled number 1, and appears to have been addressed to the person the Doctor trusted the most. As they try to deduce who this is, the Doctor steps into the restaurant, greeting them happily, surprised they are all here. River slaps him in fury, but the Doctor appears to have no knowledge of the emotional turmoil they have just endured; it is only when he mentions that he is nine hundred and nine that his companions realize the version of the Doctor they saw die at the lakeside was a future version. River explains they have been hired by someone who trusts him to investigate something involving space, 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III.

The group returns to the TARDIS. River tells Amy and Rory privately they cannot tell the Doctor of his coming death; because he has interacted with his own time stream, his knowledge of it could rip a hole in the universe. The Doctor, meanwhile, is reluctant to heed the mysterious summons; when River asks him to trust them, the Doctor asks who she really is and whom she killed, taking her refusal to answer either question as proof of why he shouldn't. Amy finally convinces him to go along with them by swearing on fish fingers and custard -- their first meal together. He sets the TARDIS on course for 1969; because of the mission's importance, the Doctor sets the TARDIS to "invisible" and "silent" with help from River. Upon landing, he orders his companions to show some discretion, but is horrified to leave the TARDIS and discover he has landed it in the Oval Office, where President Richard Nixon is conducting a private meeting with a younger Canton Delaware. Nixon wants Canton to conduct an investigation -- independent of the FBI, from which Canton was recently fired -- and find a child who has been calling him every night, begging for help because the "space man" is coming to eat her. Nixon plays Canton a recording of one such phone call, where the child appears to identify herself as "Jefferson Adams Hamilton."

Canton and Nixon become aware of the Doctor's presence, and Secret Service agents swarm the office. The TARDIS becomes visible per the Doctor's request,. His companions step out. The Doctor proposes to sort out the mysterious phone calls, claiming to be an undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard. Canton, intrigued, tells him he has five minutes to solve the mystery; the Doctor rises to the challenge, ordering street maps covering all of Florida.

While researching the street maps, Amy sees a mysterious, suited alien standing in the doorway of the Oval Office, and remembers their encounter on the shore of the lake; but when she looks away, she forgets it again. Feeling ill, she is escorted to the bathroom, where she finds the alien waiting for her. A woman who happened to be in the bathroom at the time is vaporized by the alien after seeing it and forgetting it numerous times; Amy, realizing the alien's power, takes a picture of it with her camera phone. The alien cryptically informs Amy that she will tell the Doctor "what he must know, and what he must never know". Amy exits and immediately forgets the encounter.

In the Oval Office, the Doctor achieves success and departs in the TARDIS with his companions and Canton, whom he had just ordered not to follow him. They materialize in a warehouse in Florida, just a few miles away from Cape Kennedy; Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton are the names of three streets which intersect in view of the warehouse window. As they explore the warehouse, the Doctor confesses that they have most likely walked into a trap; the warehouse phone cords are cut, so the child couldn't have possibly called Nixon from here. Meanwhile, Rory attempts to explain the TARDIS and time travel to a stunned Canton, who eventually recovers. The group discovers what appears to be a large console made of cables and coated in some sort of extraterrestrial slime, as well as numerous boxes of Apollo space equipment. Amy suggests to River that they find some way to kill the astronaut now to prevent it from killing the Doctor in the future; acknowledging that time can be rewritten, River explains that it is very complicated and doesn't work in the way that Amy has described.

River discovers a drain leading down into a tunnel network below the warehouse. Climbing down, she discovers many hibernating aliens, the same species that Amy interacted with previously; she forgets her encounter as soon as she climbs back up to warn the Doctor, instead saying that it is safe but that she wants to take another look. Suspicious, the Doctor sends Rory down with her. Eventually, River discovers a maintenance room, though the door is locked; while she works to unlock it, she and Rory discuss her relationship with the Doctor. River tells him that when they first met, she was just an impressionable young girl and the Doctor knew everything about her; when she asks him to imagine herself in this situation, Rory says he doesn't have to. River says that because the Doctor and she are traveling in opposite directions, at some point in her future, she will meet a version of him that doesn't know her -- and she's certain that it'll kill her. She succeeds in unlocking the door, opening it to find a large control console like the TARDIS. Behind Rory, electricity crackles and something approaches.

Above, Canton and Amy discuss the former agent's FBI career; he explains that he was kicked out because he wanted to get married. He questions her relationship with the Doctor, leading her to explain the is her friend; before she can expand on this, they hear the little girl calling for help and run after her. Amy, however, crumples over in pain and the Doctor stays behind to make sure that she is all right while Canton runs ahead.

They find him further up the corridor, unconscious. As they examine him, Amy tells the Doctor that she is pregnant; he has little time to react to this, however, as he spots the astronaut approaching them. Amy recognizes it from the lakeside and grabs for Canton's gun. Her back is turned when the the astronaut lifts its faceplate, revealing the little girl is inside. Despite the Doctor's protests, Amy insists that she is saving his life, and shoots.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * River Song - Alex Kingston
 * Canton Delaware - Mark Sheppard
 * Old Canton Delaware - William Morgan Sheppard
 * President Richard Nixon - Stuart Milligan
 * Carl - Chukwudi Iwuji
 * Phil - Mark Griffin
 * The Silent - Marnix Van Den Broeke
 * Little Girl - Sydney Wade
 * Joy - Nancy Baldwin
 * Prison Guard - Kieran O'Connor
 * Captain Simmons - Adam Napier
 * Matilda - Henrietta Clemett
 * Charles II - Paul Critoph
 * Busboy - Emilio Aquino
 * Young Couple- Alexus Koors & Benjamin Wright

The Doctor

 * An older Eleventh Doctor, who is eleven hundred and three years old, begins to regenerate, but is killed before the process completes.
 * The younger Doctor states his current age is nine hundred and nine.
 * The Doctor says that he is late for a biplane lesson in 1911 but gets confused and wonders if it is actually knitting.
 * The Eleventh Doctor still dislikes wine.
 * The Doctor claims that two of the American founding fathers mentioned in the girl's message fancied him, although he does not identify which two.
 * In The Wedding of River Song, it is shown that the Doctor was actually the Teselecta in his form.

Music

 * When The Doctor, Amy, Rory and River are in the diner before going to Lake Silencio, "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele is playing in the background.

Films

 * Amy Pond and Rory Williams watch a Laurel & Hardy film, The Flying Deuces, on television.
 * This story shares numerous similarities with the 1988 John Carpenter film They Live, in which the primary protagonist discovers a hidden alien race living amongst humans, using subliminal messages to influence their development.
 * The Doctor refers to River Song as Mrs. Robinson - a character from the 1967 film The Graduate.

Fashion and clothing

 * The Doctor wears a fez in a Laurel & Hardy film, The Flying Deuces.
 * The eleven hundred three year old Doctor wears a Stetson hat, and proclaims that "Stetsons are cool". As with the last time he tried to adopt headgear, it is promptly dealt with by River Song's gun.

Foods and beverages

 * The Doctor thought wine would taste more like 'the gums', referring to wine gums.
 * The Doctor asks for twelve Jammy Dodgers.

Years

 * The Doctor states that the year 1482 is full of glitches, but also says 1969 is 'easy'. It seems some years are harder to travel to than others.

TARDIS

 * The Doctor makes the TARDIS invisible when he materialises in the Oval Office. The Doctor states that this causes a huge drain on the TARDIS energy. When he tries to re-enter the TARDIS, he smashes into it.
 * The Doctor also manages to land the TARDIS silently.
 * The Doctor claims that the TARDIS scanner cannot be activated when the TARDIS is invisible. This is later shown to be false, as River makes adjustments inside the TARDIS and operates the scanner, as the Doctor's later dialogue indicates he had expected her to do.

Story notes

 * This episode had the working title The Year of the Moon
 * This is the first two-part opening episode of the revived series, and the first since Attack of the Cybermen.
 * A prequel for this story was released on the official BBC website.
 * The monsters in this episode were said to be "the scariest monsters yet".
 * The episode was dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen, who passed away four days before the episode's initial broadcast. The dedication was shown before the episode on BBC1 and Space, and after the episode on BBC America. The dedication was omitted from the DVD and Blu-ray release.
 * The version supplied for broadcast in the United States and Australia is the first episode of Doctor Who to have a voiceover introductory sequence before the main titles, with the voice of Amy explaining her relationship with the Doctor.
 * While the local date and time when the Doctor is killed is the evening of the 22nd April, 2011, the local date and time in Britain (a seven-hour difference from Utah) would be two minutes after midnight on 23rd April, as DW: Let's Kill Hitler establishes the point of death as 5:02pm local time. Thus, this is the third story in the revived series whose airdate coincides with in-story events (the first being DW: The End of Time on December 25, 2009, and the second being DW: The Big Bang on June 26, 2010).
 * The attempted regeneration in this episode occurs in front of six witnesses, the greatest number in the revived series (Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song, Canton Delaware, the astronaut, and a Silent).
 * This is the first episode of the revived series to feature a regeneration (albeit an unsuccessful one) outside the TARDIS.
 * The sequence with the Doctor inserted into the Laurel and Hardy clip is a reference to the 1992 American Academy Awards. Host Billy Crystal was digitally added into the same clip and was depicted dancing alongside Laurel and Hardy. In this version, the Doctor begins to dance with Laurel and Hardy at the end of the clip, standing in the same spot that was occupied by Crystal.
 * The repeated phrase "Space: 1969" is a reference to the British science fiction series "Space: 1999", which is set on the Moon.
 * The Doctor asks the Secret Service agents for a SWAT team. The first SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) team had only been established the year before in 1968 (by Darryl Gates in Los Angeles) and it's possible the agents might not have even known what the Doctor was talking about.
 * The idea of tunnelling out of a German POW camp is based on an actual incident that occurred during World War II, immortalised in the film The Great Escape and parodied in the television series Hogan's Heroes.
 * Joy asks if the Silent is wearing a Star Trek mask. Star Trek was cancelled the same year this story takes place, with the last episode airing on June 3, 1969.
 * The Doctor calls River Song "Mrs. Robinson", referencing the character from the film The Graduate. Mrs. Robinson has an affair with a younger man, so the nickname may be the Doctor's way of teasing Song about their relationship and the fact that physically she appears to be older than he is. Oddly enough, the Doctor doesn't recognise the reference when River Song calls him 'Benjamin' (her lover) in Let's Kill Hitler
 * William Morgan Sheppard is the real life father of Mark Sheppard.
 * The Silents bear a slight resemblance to The Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Ratings

 * 8.86 million. (43.3% market share)
 * Viewership for the episode on BBC America was 1.3 million, breaking the station's previous viewership record which had been set by the premiere of The Eleventh Hour.
 * The episode was the most recorded show in UK history with 4.1 Million viewers

Myths

 * We will see River Song as a child. This was been proven true in A Good Man Goes to War and Let's Kill Hitler.
 * The second episode will air the day after the first.  This has been proven false.
 * Overnight figures for BBC was 6.4 million making this the least watched series opener since the 2005 relaunch. The Daily Mail and other places were comparing the overnight-only ratings of this episode to the full consolidated BARB ratings for the previous season openers, which include people watching time-shifted playback and recordings (such as with Sky+). The consolidated figures were 8.86 million, which compares favourably to other series openers.

Filming locations

 * Valley of the Gods, Utah, United States of America.
 * Eddie's Diner, Cardiff Bay

Production errors

 * While the Doctor appears in the Laurel & Hardy film, Rory's shifts through the pages of the history book which appear underneath the screen imply the film footage was overlaid on the actual shot.
 * When the Doctor approaches the astronaut he leaves the picnic with a wine bottle in his hand. In the next shot the bottle is gone.
 * During the Doctor's death scene, someone is visible by Canton's car.
 * When the Doctor is shot the second time during his regeneration cycle, the regeneration energy just cuts off. It does not fade away like during a normal regeneration.Shadow-impossible-astronaut.jpg
 * When Amy is talking to the agent outside of the toilet, a boom mic can be seen over his shoulder.
 * When the Doctor exits the TARDIS control room he opens the right door but when he walks out to the Oval office he goes out the left.
 * One of the Mission Patches on the Astronaut's space suit is an anachronism; the "Vitruvian Emblem" was first used during the Space Shuttle missions of the early Eighties.
 * The Secret Service agents all carry revolvers, which were more commonly in use during the period. However by 1969 the Secret Service had transitioned to the semi-automatic Colt M1911.
 * There are two African-Americans on the president's detail. The first African American Secret Service agent assigned was Abraham Bolden in 1961, but such appointments were comparatively rare until some years later.
 * When Amy and Rory get off the bus, it drives away and then, when the Doctor and Amy hug, the bus is nowhere to be seen.
 * In the scene when the Silent gets ready to kill Joy, electricity can be seen flying into his body, but on the mirror next to him the electricity cannot be seen.
 * Canton Delaware offers another example of British usage by American characters. Referring to the TARDIS ability to travel in space and time and to be bigger on the inside, he asks "How long have Scotland Yard had this?" An American would have said "How long has Scotland Yard had this?"

Continuity

 * River Song shoots the Doctor's headwear. (DW: The Big Bang)
 * Amy mentions fish fingers and custard (DW: The Eleventh Hour)
 * The Doctor requests Jammie Dodgers and a fez. (DW: Victory of the Daleks, The Big Bang)
 * The Doctor says that time isn't a straight line. (DW: Blink)
 * The Doctor again asks River whom she murdered. (DW: Flesh and Stone)
 * The Doctor again expresses his dislike of wine, despite drinking it. (DW: The Lodger).
 * River Song suspects that she will one day meet a Doctor who hasn't met her yet, and it will be the death of her. (DW: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)
 * As of this episode, River and the Doctor are each aware of how the other (apparently) dies, though neither will say so to the other. (DW: Forest of the Dead)
 * River Song says "I hate you" to the Doctor and he replies "No, you don't". (DW: Forest of the Dead, Flesh and Stone )
 * The attempted TARDIS is seen again. (DW: The Lodger)
 * The Doctor looks at the front and then back of his hands before he is about to regenerate. (DW: The Parting of the Ways, The End of Time)
 * The TARDIS has previously been made invisible, and the Doctor has previously operated the scanner while it was. (DW: The Invasion)
 * The Doctor has landed the TARDIS silently before. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)
 * The danger of the Doctor's body being used as a commodity was seen in EDA: Alien Bodies.
 * Rory pokes the Doctor and asks him "How can you be here?", much as the Doctor did to him. (DW: The Pandorica Opens)
 * The Doctor says "Brave heart, Canton", referencing the catch phrase "Brave heart, Tegan", used by the Fifth Doctor.
 * In the Oval Office, the Doctor refers to Canton Delaware III as "Canton Three". This is a similar naming convention to the one used by Liz Ten for herself and earlier ruling members of the Royal Family. (DW: The Beast Below)
 * The Doctor says, "Human beings. I thought I'd never get done saving you" at the picnic, which echoes his line in Time of Angels: "You're like rabbits! I'll never get done saving you!"
 * When sitting at the President's desk, the Doctor says "Mister President" in the exact same manner as Ramón Salamander (played by Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton, a large inspiration for the Eleventh Doctor). (DW: The Enemy of the World)

For the present Doctor, Amy and Rory

 * This story occurs after: NSA: Hunter's Moon
 * This story occurs before: DW: Day of the Moon

For the future Doctor

 * This story occurs after: DW: Closing Time
 * This story occurs during: DW: The Wedding of River Song
 * This story occurs before DW: First Night

For adult River Song

 * This story occurs after: DW: A Good Man Goes to War
 * This story occurs before: DW: Day of the Moon

For young Melody

 * This story occurs after: DW: A Good Man Goes to War
 * This story occurs before: DW: Day of the Moon

For the astronaut at the lake

 * This story occurs after: DW: Closing Time
 * This story occurs during: DW: The Wedding of River Song
 * This story occurs before: DW: First Night

Home video releases
Released as Series 6 Part 1 with Day of the Moon, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor's Wife, The Rebel Flesh, The Almost People and A Good Man Goes to War on 11 July 2011.