Ember (planet)

The planet Ember, colonised by humans in the 38th century with help from the Eleventh Doctor and a young Kazran Sardick, (AUDIO: The Top of the Tree) was a foggy Victorian era-esque planet that came to be controlled by the Sardick family in the 44th century.

Astronomical data
The planet was characterised by the cloud belt which covered the planet. These clouds were made of ice crystals with tiny electrical charges. The sky fish evolved to fly through these clouds, but they could only live outside them for a little while. (TV: A Christmas Carol)

Culture
The human colonists of the planet had a society reminiscent of Victorian era Britain. They used Gideons as a currency. They originally called Christmas "the Crystal Feast", but it was later just called Christmas. There was no lottery.

Despite the planet having a president, he could not order/force the Sardick family to open the cloud belts despite the life-threatening nature the closed clouds caused spaceships. (TV: A Christmas Carol)

History
The Eleventh Doctor visited the planet when a ship containing his companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams, began to plummet through its atmosphere. The Doctor visited Sardicktown and convinced Kazran Sardick to allow the ship to land, but (after rewriting the man's history) he could no longer control the skies. However, they had Abigail Pettigrew sing for the fish instead, which calmed the atmosphere, enabling the ship to land. (TV: A Christmas Carol)

Behind the scenes
Although the name of the planet was not mentioned onscreen in A Christmas Carol, it arised in the video game Worlds in Time, during which the planet was attacked by clockwork robots. However, it was mentioned by name in the The Brilliant Book 2012. In both instances, the planet's name was given as Ember.