Oxygen (TV story)

 was the fifth episode of the tenth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

The episode is most notable for showing the risks the Doctor places himself in to save his friends. In this case, saving Bill robs him of his sight, with an attempt to fix it failing, rendering this incarnation of the Doctor blind.

Synopsis
The Twelfth Doctor, Bill and Nardole investigate a strange spaceship, but are interrupted by walking dead in spacesuits... will they make it out alive? And how much does air actually cost?

Plot
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Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Bill - Pearl Mackie
 * Nardole - Matt Lucas
 * Ivan - Kieran Bew
 * Tasker - Justin Salinger
 * Dahh-Ren - Peter Caulfield
 * Abby - Mimi Ndiweni
 * Ellie - Katie Brayben

Crew
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Physics

 * The Doctor gives a lecture about space, while the audience was expecting a lecture about crop rotation.
 * He describes how one dies when exposed to the vacuum of space.

Technology

 * The Doctor calls distress calls "[his] theme tune", and emphasises that "You only see the true face of the universe when it's asking for your help."
 * Chasm Forge uses artificial gravity.
 * The Doctor is happy that the "space doors", as Nardole calls them, are of a classic design. They have pressure seals and hinges. He and Nardole disagree on whether space doors should go "shk shk" or "nnnnn".
 * The smartsuits employed at Chasm Forge uses gyros stabilisers, magnetic boots and gloves, and has on-board computech. According to the Doctor, it can run, jump and update one's Facebook. They also have force fields to keep the air in, and oxygen tanks for air supply.
 * A magnetic glove on one of the active suits destroys the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, though the sonic also fries the suit.
 * The suits' AI have "limited problem solving".
 * To send the distress call, the miners boosted a smartsuit through the dish.

TARDIS

 * The Doctor once told Nardole that the TARDIS can't go anywhere without the fluid link K57. However, he reveals this to be untrue.
 * The air shell room in the TARDIS can provide oxygen to enough of the space station for them to stroll around.

Units of measurement

 * Distance is measured in average breaths, rather than in metres.

Locations

 * The Doctor sent Nardole to Birmingham for a packet of crisps.
 * Chasm Forge is a mining station in outer space. It has a crew of 40.

Resources

 * Chasm Forge is a station for mining copper ore.

Travelling

 * The Doctor compares going to outer space to camping, and refers to tents and campsites.
 * Bill asks if there are reviews for space locations, like there are online for restaurants.

Businesses

 * The smartsuits are made by Ganymede Systems.
 * Ganymede provides oxygen for personal use only, charging credits for air, and making breathing into a capitalist endeavour. Unauthorised oxygen is automatically expelled, to protect market value.

Biology

 * The Doctor purposely "maxes out" his companions' adrenaline: "Fear keeps you fast. Fast is good."
 * Bill wonders what happens if she were to throw up in the space helmet.
 * After having been exposed to the vacuum of space, Bill suffers from oxygen deprivation.

People

 * As a result of saving Bill from suffocating in space, the Doctor has now become blind. An attempt to return his vision was made, but only the colour in his eyes returned.
 * Nardole recognises the smartsuit's interface voice as his ex Velma, and remembers her as a "nice girl, actress. Bit orange, left me for an AI at a call centre."

Culture

 * The Doctor mentions, amongst other things the smartsuits can do, updating Facebook.
 * Dahh-Ren cannot understand why Bill would experience racism herself.

Literature

 * The Doctor says, "Death, where is thy sting?", quoting the in the New Testament.

Story notes

 * The read-through for Oxygen took place on 12 October 2016 (immediately after Capaldi and Mackie returned from promoting Series 10 at the 2016 New York Comic Con and in Toronto, Ont.), and filming on the episode took place between 17 October and 18 November.
 * On The Fan Show, Jamie Mathieson jokes that the Twelfth Doctor's hair is "chalky blonde", rather than grey.
 * On The Fan Show, Jamie Mathieson worried that this episode would turn out "too political".
 * On The Fan Show, Jamie Mathieson said that an ongoing joke on set was calling Peter Caulfield "Blue Peter", due to his character being blue. This was a reference to Blue Peter.
 * Two references to Star Trek are made:
 * The Doctor makes a speech about space being "the final frontier", quoting the monologue that opens each episode of Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: The Next Generation.
 * Nardole mentions the "Swish Swish" sound the doors always make. The Doctor says he hates that noise.
 * The blackboard from TV: The Pilot that was also used in Class reappears, in another of the Doctor's lectures.

Ratings
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Filming locations
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Production errors
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Continuity

 * The Doctor wears his sonic sunglasses again. (TV: The Witch's Familar - The Husbands of River Song, The Pilot)
 * Nardole once more stresses the Doctor's oath to stay on Earth to guard the vault. (TV: The Pilot, Smile, Thin Ice, Knock Knock)
 * The sonic screwdriver is broken. (TV: The Visitation, Smith and Jones, The Eleventh Hour, A Christmas Carol, COMIC: The Tragical History Tour)
 * The Doctor once more gives a lecture. (TV: The Pilot)
 * The Doctor and his companions are almost sucked into the vacuum of space. (TV: The Impossible Planet, Voyage of the Damned)
 * The Doctor previously faced an enemy that hijacked spacesuits to control them. (TV: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead)
 * Bill mentions being on the receiving end of racism, (TV: Thin Ice) and is accused of racism herself. Dahh-Ren is surprised by this, unsure of why Bill would be persecuted.

DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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Digital releases
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