The Caretaker (TV story)

The Caretaker was the sixth episode of the eighth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It had the Twelfth Doctor and Clara Oswald deal with an alien threat to Coal Hill School, leading to both Danny Pink and Courtney meeting the Doctor and subsequently discovering his true nature.

It also contributed to the "Promised Land" arc by introducing an underling of, and giving her location a new name, the Nethersphere.

Building on the experience of writing The Lodger and Closing Time, Gareth Roberts and Steven Moffat tried to match the former for threat, feeling there was an excessive amount in Closing Time, which had included back-story for the antagonists at the expense of other themes. For this reason, it was decided that the first draft had the right amount of threat and that it would be unnecessary to add more later. (DWM 478)

Synopsis
The Doctor's decision to use Clara's school at the centre of a trap for a wild Skovox Blitzer results in revelations in her personal life. Meanwhile, the Doctor's mechanical quarry, which has enough firepower to decimate entire planets, is running amok in the halls of Coal Hill.

Plot
Clara and the Doctor are chained to posts on a desert planet. He asks her for the vibro-cutters; however, Clara tells him that she left them in her other jacket. The Doctor is baffled, wondering why she has two jackets; is one of them malfunctioning? However, Clara then tells him that she couldn't have handed him the vibro-cutters since they are chained up. She worries about dying of dehydration, but the Doctor tells her that the Sand piranhas will get to them before that happens.

Somehow, the Doctor and Clara manage to free themselves. Clara gets back home just in time for a date with Danny, who notices the tan she's developed from being stuck on the planet for so long. She passes it off as the result of a tanning bed.

Later, Clara tries to leave for a date with Danny, only to find the Doctor waiting outside her bedroom. He offers to take her to see fish people; curious, she boards the TARDIS. Once the trip is over, Clara heads to meet the taxi Danny is waiting in. Luckily, it was raining, so Clara can pass off her wet dress as due to the rain. Danny is slightly confused, given the short short distance to the cab; however, he then finds seaweed stuck in her hair. Clara quips "I did say freak shower".

On another adventure, the Doctor and Clara are running from hostile soldiers as they head back to the TARDIS. The Doctor once more voices his dislike of soldiers. The exhausted Clara is dropped off at home; however, much to her disappointment, it was also her day to go jogging with Danny. Once back home, Clara collapses, deciding that she can't continue this double life; however, she regains her spirit and decides she can't quit just because her adventures with the Doctor wear her out.

The next day, she enters the TARDIS, wondering where the Doctor will take her this time. However, he complements her appearance, asking if she's had a wash; he apologizes, saying there won't be a trip today. She notes that he's acting mysterious, which the Doctor says is because he's a man of mystery. However, Clara becomes serious, telling him that he must be up to something, and insulting her by trying to pretend that she can't figure it out.

He finally relents, admitting that he's going under deep cover, which she doesn't need to be a part of. Laughing at the idea of the Doctor going undercover, Clara tells him he'd have a good chance with the Magic Circle. Accepting he doesn't need her help, Clara leaves, saying she'll have a wash. The Doctor starts fiddling with the controls as Clara sticks her head back in, giving the "I'm watching you" gestures. Once she leaves again, the Doctor turns his concern to something the scanner found in East London.

Clara arrives at Coal Hill School, where she greets Danny formally in the parking lot to avoid mockery from the children. However, they all laugh the moment the two teachers are inside the school; they know about their relationship, and have written graffiti mocking it throughout the school. Danny wonders what's up with Clara, noting she's usually in a rush or a state of anxiety before their dates; he even notes Clara showed up in space helmet once. Smiling, Clara tells that she was busy with something all those times, but nothing odd will happen for the next few days - she's all his.

After a meeting in the teacher's lounge, Mr Armitage announces the caretaker Atif is out sick; they have a new caretaker for the next week. The replacement walks in the room, and to Clara's shock it's the Doctor, introducing himself as John Smith; he winks at Clara. Everyone leaves for an assembly as the Doctor silently mouths to Clara that he's under deep cover. Danny wonders if Clara knows who "Smith" is as he winked at her, to which she denies; pretending to have left her students' homework in the lounge, Clara heads back to confront the Doctor.

In the lounge, the Doctor sees Clara enter and hides a map he was studying. Clara points out that she recognized him; the only difference is he's wearing a worn-out brown coat (not exactly a disguise). She demands to know where Atif is; the Doctor explains he hypnotized Atif into thinking he was sick, plus having a flying car and three wives - "it's going to be a rude awakening." He needed to investigate without being suspicious. Clara points out the Doctor does a poor job at pretending to be human; he explains he was able to live among otters for a month. However, he then admits that he was sulking after having a big fight with River. Clara yells that humans are not like otters; the Doctor says that's what makes it easier. The Doctor says he needs to get to work as "the walls need sponging, and there's a sinister puddle."

Clara demands to know if there is an alien in the school; the Doctor retorts there is since, he's there. Clara immediately deduces the Doctor is up to something involving the school; he didn't tell her because it would anger Clara. He tells her to go the assembly - "go worship something" Annoyed, she glares at the Doctor, causing him to raise his broom in defense. Pushing the broom away, Clara demands that the Doctor answer a single question - are the kids safe? The Doctor tells her no, but soon the answer will be "yes" if she leaves him be. The Doctor leaves, telling Clara to go "sing with the otters" (due to mis-remembering their conversation). Clara loudly whispers that she hates him; the Doctor says it's a perfectly natural reaction.

Meanwhile, CSO Matthew finds two kids from the school near an abandoned building. He tells them to get to school, with them retorting that it's free period. He threatens to take their names down, annoying the kids into leaving. Hearing a noise inside, Matthew heads in to see if another kid is there. Hearing an electronic voice, Matthew thinks it's a game and tells the kid to shut it off and head to school. However, a robot reveals itself instead and reduces the officer to charred pieces.

Clara attempts teaching during school, finding the Doctor outside the window. He tells her that she got the date on the autobiography of Jane Austen wrong; she wonders if it's because he met her during some kind of ridiculous adventure. However, the Doctor explains that it's because he read biography on the back of the book, surprising her. Clara tells the confused students that the Doctor is Mr. Smith, the new caretaker. The Doctor resumes his caretaking duties, placing small devices around the school.

Clara catches sight of the Doctor working on a substation with Danny and Adrian talking to him. She walks to him, being stopped by a student named Tobias (she ignores what he's saying, telling him she's okay with him leaving class early for his club activities). Clara is next stopped by Armitage, who explains about someone getting hurt and can't help with a upcoming fair; Clara, having not paid attention, says she'll help with anything. She manages to get outside, only to be bothered by Courtney Woods, who she completely ignores, telling her to deal with her own problems. Courtney retorts "Ozzie loves the Squadie", confusing Clara.

The Doctor continues working on the substation, with Adrian leaving to deal with a kid. Danny tells him about being a soldier before coming to work at the school; Clara greets them and manages to get the conversation from getting strange. However, the Doctor thinks Danny is P.E. teacher, not a Maths teacher, despite being corrected numerous times. Once Danny is gone, Clara wonders if the Doctor noticed Danny looked like Orson Pink; he didn't, but asks if Clara's boyfriend is at the school. He promises not to act like a normal human "to be nice"; however, before they are stopped by Adrian, who needs help with class. The Doctor notices that Adrian looks like his last incarnation, coming to the wrong conclusion that Clara is dating this man because of the resemblance.

Laughing to himself, the Doctor leaves the teachers to continue talking as he returns to the caretaker's storeroom, where he has parked the TARDIS. He is soon bother by Courtney, who needs fresh paper towels for the ladies' loo. The Doctor gives her the towels and sends her off after some snarky remarks are exchanged between them. Clara enters as Courtney leaves, wondering what the Doctor is up to. Relenting, the Doctor admits that he's scanned for dangerous elements in the area. Annoyed that he gave in to ehr pestering, the Doctor notes that he once had a teacher just like her; Clara retorts that he still does since she travels with him.

He activates a hologram, which shows a Skovox Blitzer, a machine that will kill without any concern as to whether its victims actually pose a threat (it basically just kills whatever moves); it was attracted by the residual atron energy in the area. Knowing it will eventually destroy Earth, he aims to send it away; the military will just mess things up. They head inside the TARDIS, where Clara asks what the "insanely dangerous plan" is. The Doctor reveals that he'll use an invisibility watch to prevent the Blitzer scanning him and use the sonic screwdriver to lead it to trap, where the chronodyne generators will send it billions of years into the future through a vortex.

As he doesn't need her help this time, the Doctor tells Clara to go "conoodle" with her boyfriend, telling her that he did recognize him and has given his approval on their relationship. Clara smiles, not knowing the Doctor mistook Adrian for her boyfriend; she leaves the caretaker's storeroom, happy. Danny finds her, saying that he will something else to do that evening as she had a look that told him she would be busy. The Doctor exits the storeroom, with Danny asking Clara's opinion of him as he seems shady; she retorts that the caretaker has nothing but nice things to say about him.

Once done with her work for the evening, Clara returns to the TARDIS, telling the Doctor that her plans were canceled. Seeing no-one there, she wonders if the Doctor has turned invisible and messing with her. Danny, likewise is leaving for the evening, but notices one of the generators under a Fire Alarm lever; he examines it, thinking the Doctor is up to something. Clara leaves the storeroom, being missed by Danny who walks up to it with the generator in-hand; he notices another one in a flower basket, coming to the wrong conclusion that the Doctor must be hostile.

Elsewhere, the Doctor finds the Blitzer's location, turning invisible and luring out into the open; he gives bursts of the sonic screwdriver to lure it. Danny notices the Blitzer walking through the school hall. The Doctor arrives and de-cloaks, but finds to his horror that the generators have been deactivated due to Danny's interference. The Blitzer arrives, and the Doctor attempts to reason with it; however, the machine refuses to listen and targets him. Danny enters to talk with the Doctor about the devices, catching the Blitzer's attention; he drops the generator in-hand and the devices turn back on. Clara enters, giving the Blitzer more confusion.

The Doctor activates the generators, sucking the creature into the time vortex, along with some chairs in the hall battering it. Clara wonders if the Blitzer is gone and Earth is safe; the Doctor scans the spot it vanished at, telling her that the vortex will reopen and let it out in three days rather than a billion years thanks to "P.E." ruining the precise positioning of the devices. This will force the Doctor to come up with a new plan as the machine will now kill him on sight since he has been scanned and pegged as a hostile target. Clara demands to know what Danny was doing there, to which he starts to explain; however, he then demands to know what Clara is doing there and using alien words.

Coming to wrong conclusion that Clara is from space and that the Doctor is her dad, Danny earns annoyance from both of them. The Doctor wonders how Danny can mistake her for his daughter, as they are the same age; Clara points out that the Doctor has gotten their ages wrong (again), to which he says he was being kind. The Doctor takes out the sonic, ready to erase the night's events from Danny's mind; however, Clara stops him, wondering why the Doctor has forgotten that Danny is her boyfriend. The Doctor is stunned, wondering about Adrian; Clara tells him that Adrian is just a friend. Danny, having calmed down some, asks Clara to explain to him what's going on. She tells him the truth: she's a human from Blackpool as she told him before, but the Doctor's an alien. They travel through time and space in a TARDIS, which is disguised as a police box, but is bigger on the inside. The Doctor opens the doors to show Danny the inside of the TARDIS.

Danny wonders if the Doctor brought the Blitzer to earth; annoyed, the Doctor tells him that he will protect Clara and him from it. It's only coming back because Danny interfered with the plan, and therefore caused more danger. Danny wants to call in the military, but the Doctor tells him that is the worst idea. Clara takes Danny home to deal with the shock. The Doctor tells her to finish the job by explaining to him about Danny once the Blitzer has been taken care of.

Danny recaps what Clara's told him: the Doctor used to resemble Adrian, but changed into a Scottish caretaker. He travels with Clara in-between her time with Danny. He asks her why she travels with him, which she attributes mostly to the wonders that she experiences. Danny struggles to accept whether or not Clara loves the Doctor romantically, which she denies.

Parents' evening arrives, and Clara gives Danny the invisibility watch. He turns invisible, and she takes him with her into the TARDIS so he can watch her interact with the Doctor. He has nearly finished building a device to fight the Blitzer, thanking her for leaving him alone. Clara says she explained to Danny and that he gets it. Clara tries telling the Doctor that Danny wasn't a soldier, trying to improve his opinion of him. The Doctor mentions something is odd, suddenly suggesting that they go off as he's bored. She reacts worriedly, and Danny realizes that the Doctor knows he's there. He turns off the watch, becoming visible. The Doctor reveals Time Lords can feel an invisibility shield when it's right next to them.

Seeing the Doctor's title as a Time Lord to be pompous, he mockingly responds to the Doctor's demand to leave the TARDIS like a soldier taking an order. This brings out the militant side of the Doctor, and the two men trade insults in a heated confrontation. As Danny heads for the door, the Doctor then turns to Clara, saying "Well, all things considered, I think that went well." Clara and Danny leave the TARDIS; Clara reminds Danny that he can't go home as it's parents evening. The Doctor lags at the door, wondering why he never seems to learn his lesson about humans. Courtney Woods enters the storeroom, asking the Doctor what's really in the police box, which he shows her. Wondering if she can go with him, the Doctor says he might have a vacancy.

As the parents arrive, the Blitzer unexpectedly returns from the vortex. The Doctor's device detects it. He summons Clara through the door, prompting her and Danny both to leave. Courtney's parents, who were talking to Danny, express that their daughter was right about the two teachers' relationship. Meanwhile, the Doctor discusses his plan: Clara attracts the Blitzer with the sonic screwdriver, and it chases her from the school hall to the caretaker's storeroom, where the Doctor speaks to it through the device he's built. It is a communication device that makes the Blitzer think the Doctor is its superior. He tells Danny to do one very important thing: keep out of their way.

The plan seems to work, and the Doctor tells the Blitzer to deactivate. It obeys, pending a final authorization code. The Doctor needs time to prepare the code. Instead of deactivating, the Blitzer has begun a self-destruct count down. He tells Clara to distract it while he hurriedly tries to prepare the code, but she is unsure what to do. Just then, Danny yells out to the Blitzer. He runs and jumps over it as it fires its lasers at him. This distracts it long enough for the Doctor to give the final code, deactivating the Blitzer. Danny reveals to Clara he was following her with the watch and vows to protect her. He tells her that he only needs to do one thing, which the Doctor confirms: to prove he's worthy of Clara. This is reason that the Doctor is so angry; he wants to make sure Danny is the right choice for his best friend.

The Doctor takes the Blitzer into space and ejects it from the TARDIS, taking Courtney on her first trip. Unfortunately, Courtney is unable to cope with the immensity of the universe and finds herself feeling rather ill — whereupon she rushes back inside and is sick.

Back on Earth, Clara and Danny watch television. Danny tells her that the Doctor reminds him of previous commanders he has known, who push their soldiers to get them to do more than they realised they were capable of. Clara obeyed the Doctor without being scared. Danny worries that the Doctor might push her too far. He insists that Clara promises to tell him if that happens.

Elsewhere, CSO Matthew is in a long white office corridor with many doors on either side of the hallway. He doesn't realise that he has been killed, and is talking to a person named Seb at an information desk. Seb tries to break the news gently, having encountered many new patrons to the afterlife because of the Skovox Blitzers. He tells Matthew that the place has many names, including the Promised Land. Seb personally prefers to call it the "Nethersphere". They notice appear from one of the doors. She gives a stone-faced glance. Seb tells Matthew that Missy is quite busy at the moment, before asking him if he has any questions about his new existence in the Nethersphere.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Clara - Jenna Coleman
 * Danny - Samuel Anderson
 * Courtney Woods - Ellis George
 * Mr Armitage - Nigel Betts
 * Adrian - Edward Harrison
 * CSO Matthew - Andy Gillies
 * Noah - Nanya Campbell
 * Yashe - Joshua Warner-Campbell
 * Kelvin - Oliver Barry-Brook
 * Tobias - Ramone Morgan
 * Mr Woods - Winston Ellis
 * Mrs Woods - Gracy Goldman
 * Mrs Christopholou - Diana Katis
 * Skovox Blitzer - Jimmy Vee
 * Seb - Chris Addison

Uncredited

 * - Michelle Gomez

Individuals

 * The Doctor spent a month living among otters after he and River Song had a fight that caused him to sulk.
 * The Doctor likes the school subject maths, but doesn't respect PE.
 * Clara wonders if the Doctor's previous companions allowed him to do whatever he wanted.
 * The Doctor tries to show Courtney the Olveron Cluster.

Cultural references from the real world

 * The Doctor whistles the introduction to "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)".
 * Clara is doing a lesson about Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She and the Doctor argue over whether it was written in 1796 or 1797.
 * Adrian refers to The Tempest not being finished.
 * After receiving the invisibility watch from Clara, Danny complains that "it's not even a ring".
 * Clara mentions the Magic Circle, a UK organization dedicated to magic.

Technology

 * The Doctor asks Clara for his vibro-cutters.
 * The Doctor (and later Danny) uses an invisibility watch.
 * The Doctor uses chronodyne generators to project the Skovox Blitzer into the future.

Story notes

 * reappears after a three-episode absence. Her episodes of absence were previously Robot of Sherwood, Listen, and Time Heist.
 * A banner hangs on the wall saying "A Spirit of Adventure". This is a nod back to the First Doctor story The Sensorites, in which the Doctor tells then-companions Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton that their travels in the TARDIS with him and Susan Foreman turned out to be "a great spirit of adventure".
 * Oddly, the "Next Time" trailer for this episode also features footage from TV: Listen, specifically the moment where the Doctor asks Clara who she's having dinner with. No such scene plays out in The Caretaker, flashback or otherwise.
 * A few days after the broadcast of TV: The Time of the Doctor, Jenna Coleman had co-starred in the miniseries Death Comes to Pemberley, based upon a mystery-novel sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Coleman played Lydia Wickham; in this episode, Clara's students are heard reading a passage related to Lydia.

Ratings
6.82 million (DWM 480)

Filming locations

 * Bute Street, Cardiff - Noah and Yashe are confronted by Matthew.
 * Lloyd George Ave., Cardiff
 * The Maltings, E Tyndall St.
 * St Illtyd's Catholic High School, Newport Rd. - Coal Hill School
 * Holton Primary School, Barry - Coal Hill School
 * Gladstone Primary School, Cardiff - Coal Hill School exterior
 * Tonyrefail School, Wales - Coal Hill School exterior

Production errors

 * When the Doctor meets Courtney Woods in the caretaker's storeroom, he hands the package of paper towels to her, but they reappear in his hand, and she walks off empty-handed.
 * When Courtney looks into the TARDIS, the Doctor's work bench, which he was sitting at just a few minutes ago, is no longer in the room. It returns later on.
 * When Clara leads Danny down the stairs and away from the TARDIS she is standing behind him and to his right in the closeup shot, but in the wide shot she is behind him to his left.
 * When the Skovox Blitzer deactivates, its eyes fade out from red until they are no longer shining. When the Doctor sends it floating into space, still deactivated and spewing sparks, its eyes are glowing blue.

Continuity

 * The Doctor previously went undercover in a school while in his tenth incarnation. (TV: School Reunion)
 * The Doctor once more says "It's a roller-coaster with you", during a conversation with someone that goes up and down. (TV: The Time of the Doctor, Into the Dalek)
 * Clara mentions Danny's future descendant, Orson Pink, to the Doctor, pointing out their similar appearance. She does not mention, however, that Danny is the same individual as the child Rupert Pink that the Doctor encountered in the 1990s. (TV: Listen)
 * The Twelfth Doctor continues to be uncomfortable with the military and soldiers (TV: Into the Dalek), as he has been in prior incarnations as well. (TV: Doctor Who and the Silurians, The Poison Sky, etc)
 * The Doctor invites Clara to meet fish people. He previously met fish people in his second incarnation. (TV: The Underwater Menace)
 * After being killed by the Skovox Blitzer, CSO Matthew arrives in the Promised Land. (TV: Deep Breath, Into the Dalek, Robot of Sherwood)
 * Clara mentions the Doctor having gained a new watch, and it was quite disappointing, referring to the golden watch he traded for an old coat with a tramp. (TV: Deep Breath)
 * The Doctor says many times that a soldier can't be a maths teacher. The Brigadier became a maths teacher after retiring from the military, much to the Fifth Doctor's surprise. (TV: Mawdryn Undead)
 * The Doctor tells Clara that he had a teacher like her once, possibly referring to another Coal Hill School teacher such as Barbara Wright (TV: An Unearthly Child, etc.), or possibly to one of his teachers at the Academy, such as Borusa. (TV: The Deadly Assassin, etc.)
 * The Seventh Doctor was previously asked if he was applying for the position of Coal Hill School's caretaker, in 1963. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
 * The Doctor asks, "Have I impressed you yet, Courtney?" The Eleventh Doctor previously asked the same thing to Amy Pond. (TV: The Time of Angels)
 * The Doctor and Clara open and close the TARDIS doors by snapping their fingers. (TV: Forest of the Dead, The Eleventh Hour, Day of the Moon, The Day of the Doctor)
 * Upon entering the junkyard, The Doctor says "Home, Sweet Home." His first incarnation parked the TARDIS in a junkyard near Coal Hill while Susan attended the school. (TV: An Unearthly Child)
 * The Doctor mentions Clara eating two meals. She recently ate Chinese with Psi and Saibra before a dinner date with Danny. (TV: Time Heist)
 * The Doctor offers to take Clara to a frost fair on the Thames. The First Doctor previously visited the frost fair in 1814 with companions Vicki and Steven. (AUDIO: Frostfire) At some point, the Doctor took River Song to the frost fair for her birthday. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War)
 * It has apparently been at least a year in "real" time since the Doctor's regeneration, as Courtney's mother mentions that she talked to Danny last year about her daughter. Danny had started working at Coal Hill School shortly after the Doctor regenerated, from Clara's perspective. (TV: Into the Dalek)
 * The Doctor pretends to be a caretaker. The Eleventh Doctor previously pretended to be a caretaker to make Madge Arwell and her children's Christmas special, and in fact had Madge and her children called him "the Caretaker" instead of "the Doctor". (TV: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe)
 * Artron emissions appear to have attracted the Skovox Blitzer to the area nearby to Coal Hill School, the Doctor commenting that there have been a lot of them over the years. (TV: An Unearthly Child, Attack of the Cybermen, Remembrance of the Daleks, Death of the Doctor, et al.)
 * The "Break the Silence" poster about school bullying that appeared outside the headmaster's office in Leadworth (TV: Let's Kill Hitler) and the Coal Hill supply closet (TV: Into the Dalek) also appears in the teachers' room.
 * The Doctor and Clara note the physical similarity between Adrian and the Eleventh Doctor. (TV: The Time of the Doctor) Clara says that Adrian "isn't her type" despite having previously indicated her attraction to the Eleventh Doctor (TV: The Time of the Doctor, TV: She Said, He Said)
 * The Doctor purposely calls Danny "PE" in derogatory fashion due to an acquired dislike towards him. The Ninth Doctor previously called Mickey Smith "Mickey the Idiot" and "Ricky" to annoy him, also the then-boyfriend of his female companion at the time, Rose Tyler. (TV: Aliens of London)
 * Danny compares the Doctor to the officers who light the flames he carries out. The War Doctor considered himself a lesser man to those forged in the fire he was creating. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
 * According to Clara, part of the Skovox Blitzer's attack takes place "on a miserable wet Monday morning." (COMIC: Terrorformer)
 * The Doctor tells Clara to shut Danny "Up or down - I don't care", much as he said during his second incarnation about the Daleks. (TV: The Power of the Daleks)
 * Clara is now familiar with how to use some functions on the sonic screwdriver (compare with TV: The Time of the Doctor).
 * The Doctor mentions living with otters after a big fight with River, this was likely during the Eleventh Doctor's time as it sounded like a marrital fight and in (TV: The Husbands of River Song) it is revealed that River hasn't meet the Twelfth Doctor yet.

DVD releases

 * Doctor Who: Series 8 Boxset

Blu-ray releases

 * Doctor Who: Series 8 Blu-ray Boxset

Digital releases

 * The episode was released on Google Play, iTunes and Amazon Instant Video in HD or SD, also available as part of the Series 8 digital boxset. The digital boxset contains various features: trailer, interviews, The Ultimate Companion, The Ultimate Time Lord, Inside the World Tour and Doctor Who Extra episodes for each episode.
 * In the US, the series was released through digital streaming services Hulu and Netflix with a subscription.