The Rings of Akhaten (TV story)

The Rings of Akhaten was the seventh regular episode of the seventh series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. In it, the Eleventh Doctor's new companion, Clara Oswald, took her first trip in the TARDIS to an alien planet.

Synopsis
Clara Oswald wants to see something awesome, so the Doctor whisks her off to the inhabited rings of the planet Akhaten, where the Festival of Offerings is in full swing. Clara meets the young Queen of Years as the pilgrims and natives ready for the ceremony. But something is stirring in the pyramid, and a sacrifice will be demanded.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Clara Oswald - Jenna-Louise Coleman
 * Merry - Emilia Jones
 * Dave Oswald - Michael Dixon
 * Ellie Oswald - Nicola Sian
 * The Chorister - Chris Anderson
 * The Mummy - Adrian Cook
 * Dor'een - Karl Greenwood

Alien species

 * At the market, the Doctor recognizes some alien species: Panbabylonians. a Lugal-Irra-Kush, Lucanians, a Hooloovoo, Qom VoTivig, a Terraberserker of the Kodion Belt and an Ultramancer.

Cultural references from the real world

 * The Doctor references The Walrus and The Carpenter by Lewis Carroll.
 * The Doctor points out a Hooloovoo, this is a super intelligent shade of the colour blue in The HitchHikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.

Individuals

 * Clara tells Merry that she hated history.

The Doctor

 * The Doctor tells Clara that he's been to Akhaten with his granddaughter before.
 * The Doctor tells Clara that the one thing she needs to know about him, "aside from the blue box and the two hearts," is that he doesn't walk away.
 * Clara mentions the Doctor being 1,000 years old.
 * The Doctor mentions his Sonic screwdriver has sentimental value to him, and wished not to give it up as currency as it "comes in handy".

Story notes

 * Unlike the previous episodes of Series 7, this episode does not introduce a new variation of the Doctor Who logo.

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors

 * The crack on the glass case containing the mummy disappears and reappears between shots.
 * The leaf that Clara has in this episode is different to the one shown in the previous episode. In fact, they come from different trees; the one from Bells is from a maple and this one's from a birch.

Continuity

 * The Doctor wears Amy's reading glasses. (TV: The Angels Take Manhattan, The Snowmen, The Bells of Saint John)
 * Clara's leaf is featured and the story behind it is explained. (TV: The Bells of Saint John)
 * Clara's book, 101 Places to See, used to belong to her mother. (WC: The Bells of Saint John: A Prequel, TV: The Bells of Saint John)
 * The Doctor again mentions seeing the beginning of the universe. (TV: Destiny of the Daleks)
 * This is not the first time the Doctor has faced a living star, although he implied that it was the first time he'd faced one so massive. (TV: 42)
 * The Doctor mentions the Last Great Time War. (TV: The End of Time)
 * The Doctor mentions bringing his granddaughter to Akhaten at some point in time, though she is not mentioned by name.
 * This marks the first explicit mention of Susan Foreman in the revived series.
 * The Doctor recalls being in a universe where the laws of physics were controlled by a madman. (TV: The Three Doctors, The Mind Robber, The Celestial Toymaker)
 * Clara notices that the TARDIS doesn't seem to like her, an issue that former companion Jack Harkness had; the reason being both are unnatural beings to it. (TV: Utopia)
 * The Doctor talks about seeing the end of time. (TV: Flesh and Stone, The Big Bang)

Home video releases
to be added