The Beast Below (TV story)

The Beast Below was the second episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales Doctor Who. It was notable for featuring Amy Pond's first trip in the TARDIS. It also brought up some of the past interactions with royalty that the Doctor had in his other incarnations and what effects they've had.

Synopsis
For Amy Pond's first trip through time and space, the Doctor brings his companion to the 33rd century, where all of Britain's citizens live onboard Starship UK, searching for a new home amongst the stars as the Earth is being roasted by solar flares. However, the Doctor soon finds something amiss onboard the vessel. The citizens appear to fear "the smiling fellows in the booths" and ignore crying children. What is going on? What secrets does Starship UK hold at its depths?

Plot
On Starship UK in the late 33rd century, children sit in class waiting to be graded by their instructor, a Smiler. A boy called Timmy does not want to line up, and so he joins at the very end; the Smiler calls Timmy a bad boy and gives him a zero. As the students walk out, Timmy's friend Mandy reminds him that he cannot take the vator because students aren't allowed if they have a zero. She leaves in one, promising to wait for him at the bottom. Not wanting to walk twenty decks to London, Timmy enters the second vator as it arrives; he asks to go to London. On the monitor, a little girl is seen saying a poem: "A horse and a man, above, below. One has a plan but both must go. Mile after mile, above, beneath. One has a smile and one has teeth. Though the man above might say 'hello', expect no love from the beast below". However, instead of heading to London, the vator drops down to Floor 0, with the floor in the vator opening to a red chasm beneath him as the Smiler in the vator shows its anger. Timmy screams in terror.

Amy is suspended in space outside the TARDIS, with the Doctor standing at the ledge holding her ankle to keep her from floating away. Pulling Amy inside, the Doctor asks her if she believes him now; she does. However, she then questions how they can be breathing with the doors open; the Doctor calmly explains that he's extended the TARDIS's air shell. He then looks below them, seeing Starship UK and racing back to the console, going on to explain that in the 29th century, solar flares burned the Earth and forced the entire human race to flee to the stars until it was all over. However, he notices Amy hasn't followed after him and is repeatedly calling his name; the doors accidentally hit her in the rear and she's holding onto the TARDIS for dear life.

Getting Amy back inside, the Doctor pulls Starship UK up on the circular monitor, going on to say its the same Britain, only metal. Amy asks if they can go on board. The Doctor tells her that they are observers and cannot interfere, something that he has always (tried) to stick to doing in his travels. When they spot Mandy crying silently on the scanner, Amy asks him whether it's hard not to interfere, comparing it to seeing a wounded cub on a wildlife documentary -- only for the Doctor to suddenly appear onscreen, asking Mandy if she needs help. The little girl runs away from him, and the Doctor beckons for Amy to join him.

Amy exits the TARDIS and is immediately overwhelmed by everything around her. Once Amy says she's been dead for centuries, the Doctor is less than amused; "you're a cheery one." The duo explores the area, known locally as the London Market, with the Doctor encouraging Amy to notice everything as there are "secrets, shadows, lives lived in fear." Abruptly, he stops and takes a glass of water off a nearby table, setting it on the floor and observing it for a brief moment before returning it; jokes to those he took the glass from that "there's an escaped fish". He informs Amy that this is a police state: the government controls everything. The Doctor spots Mandy crying across the room and they move towards her, followed closely by a dark-robed individual. The figure phones Hawthorne, controller of the Smilers, to report that he has seen the Doctor.

Hawthorne, likewise, calls a cloaked woman sitting in a bedchamber amidst a sea of water glasses; he tells her that there has been a sighting. She asks him if he "did the thing", which is observing the still water; she is assured that the Doctor did. The woman tells him that she will take a look at the monitors, and grabs a porcelain mask sitting next to her on the floor before leaving.

The Doctor and Amy observe Mandy from a bench. The Doctor explains that children cry because they want attention or they're hurt; when they cry silently, it means they can't stop. He tells her that any parent would know that, making Amy ask if he's a father; the Doctor doesn't answer, going on to explain several possible parents are passing Mandy and are not even bothering to talk to her, meaning it's highly likely that they know what's making her cry, and it's something that they're too afraid to talk about. The Doctor encourages Amy to follow the little girl and ask her about the Smilers, because they are everywhere; even more disturbing is that the cases they're in are clean. The Doctor tells Amy "it's either this, or Leadworth," prompting Amy to comply with his orders. As for himself, the Doctor explains that he's going to "stay out of trouble. Badly." As they part ways, Amy asks the Doctor if he interferes with other lives and planets if children are crying. With a smile, the Doctor replies "Yes."

Searching for Mandy, Amy encounters her in a street. They discover a sealed-off part of the road -- which Mandy refers to as a "hole" -- which Amy investigates despite Mandy's warnings that they are not allowed; it has something to do with the Smilers and "Below." She asks Amy whether she's Scottish, informing her that Scotland has its own ship, something that amuses Amy. Meanwhile, the nearby Smiler's face turns angry as Amy enters the tent. Inside, she discovers a giant tentacle rising up through the ship from below; it attacks her and forces her back out of the tent, where she is immediately surrounded by a group of hooded men who put her to sleep with a gas in one of their rings as Mandy looks on.

Meanwhile, the Doctor descends a ladder into the ship's "engine" room. After examining the surrounding area, he meets the masked woman, who tells him that she is conducting an investigation similar to the Doctor's and demands to know why he thought to put the glass of water on the floor in the marketplace earlier. He relays his suspicions that, in a ship of this size, the engines would have created some sort of disturbance on the surface of the water -- and yet there was none. In fact, it would appear that the ship has no engine at all. The woman replies in the affirmative and offers him a device that will lead him to Amy. The Doctor inquires how he can find her again, learning she will find him and that she is Liz 10.

Amy regains consciousness in a voting booth as she's scanned by a machine, confirming her name and reading her age as 1,306 years -- which amuses her -- and her marital status as "unknown," which unsettles her. The screen switches to a video narrated by a man in a smart suit who tells her that she will now be shown the truth of the ship's travels; afterwards, she will be faced with the choice to "forget" everything she's learned in the booth or to "protest," which may have terrible consequences for everyone on board should 10% of the ship vote the same. She sees the film, a succession of subliminal images that suggests a huge influx of information. After the film, Amy quickly chooses to "forget." A recording she made prior to forgetting appears on the screen, where, crying, she says to find the Doctor and get him off Starship UK to keep him from investigating. The booth's door opens, with the Doctor and Mandy waiting for her outside; Amy quickly stops the message to keep the Doctor from seeing it. However, the Doctor asks her what she has done after hearing part of it.

From a scan with the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor deduces that a machine in the lamp above Amy's head has made her forget the last twenty minutes. Mandy explains anyone 16 and older can choose to use a booth once every five years; the Doctor jokes that everyone choosing to forget is "democracy in action." This makes Mandy asks him if he's Scottish like Amy, making him crack a joke as he fiddles with the machine; it won't play the movie for him as he's an alien. A surprised Amy says that he looks human; the Doctor retorts that she looks Time Lord because they came first. She wonders if there are other Time Lords. However, he sadly informs her that he's the only one left after a "bad day." The Doctor wishes he could forget it, but he can't as investigating mysteries and saving those in need is what he does every day; he slams his fist on the "protest" button ("Hold on; we're bringing down the government"), making the door shut and the floor open to the red abyss that Timmy fell in. While Amy screams in terror, the Doctor is overjoyed, telling her to instead say "Wheee!" Both plummet down a chute. Mandy is met by Liz 10, who removes her mask, saying it's only her. Mandy smiles.

Amy and the Doctor land in a rubbish dump at the heart of the ship, which the Doctor jokes could be one of the countries. However, he then notices only food refuse is down there with them as Amy notices the floor is all squishy and a scan from the sonic makes him become panicky. Getting Amy calm, the Doctor explains that they are on the tongue of a large beast, which presumably eats anyone who "protests." As pipes have been surgically implanted in the beast, they can try using the normal "entrance" to escape; however, it is closed. Amy tries walking to the teeth, accidentally causing the swallow reflex. To avoid being digested, the Doctor uses the sonic to make the beast vomit.

Amy awakens to find herself in an overspill pipe, where the Doctor explains that she has no injures and is covered in sick. The Doctor explains that the only way they can get back into the ship is to press another "forget" button that opens the door out. If they press the switch, they will forget what they've seen and be readmitted into the ship. When they refuse to press the switch, the Smilers at the end of the corridor not only become angry, but physically step out of their booths and move to attack them. They are rescued by the mask-less Liz 10, who enters from the other side of the door and shoots the Smilers with a gun.

Liz explains that she tracked the device she gave the Doctor; she heard everything they did through it. Liz jokes that the Doctor is a bit hard to miss; "Mysterious Stranger M.O.; intelligence of higher alien life forms, hair of an idiot". The Doctor fixes his hair at the mention of this. She introduces them once more to Mandy, explaining that she's been very brave through all this. Seeing that the Smilers are beginning to repair themselves, Liz tells them to run as it doesn't take the Smilers long. Walking through a hall, Liz goes on to explain the Doctor was old drinking buddies with Henry 12, "Vicky" knighted and exiled him, and Liz 2 had tea and scones with him. The Doctor immediately realises who Liz is; she tells him he's right and to duck as more Smilers are coming after them. Shooting the Smilers down, Liz 10 tells them "I'm the bloody Queen, mate; basically, I rule".

Walking through another corridor, they notice another root coming from the creature pounding against a barred opening. Amy explains her previous encounter with the root that burst through the road; the Doctor confirms that the roots are part of the same creature, whose mouth they were just inside and that it's reaching out. Liz wonders if the beast is infesting the kingdom, but is more angry that someone is feeding her subjects who protest to it. Explaining that there is a high-speed vator to her quarters nearby, Liz walks off with Mandy. Watching the roots continue banging against the bars, the Doctor sadly tells Amy that they shouldn't have come here. Amy remembers her message to herself and follows them. Hawthorne sees them on the monitor and calls it in, saying that since Liz has seen the truth, it's time to activate the pre-agreed protocol.

In Liz's room, Amy fixes her hair as the Queen goes on to explain that she has been investigating the creature for ten years, ever since she came to the throne at the age of forty. This makes Amy wonder how Liz can still look so pretty at 50; Liz had the rate at which she ages slowed, "keeps [me] looking like the stamps." With everyone knowing who she is, Liz wears her mask to protect her identity; the Doctor notes that because the mask is made of air-balanced porcelain, it has been made to perfectly fit her face. The Doctor points out that it's 200 years old and fits her face, no problem; this seems to imply something. At that moment the hooded men enter Liz's room and demand that she come with them. However, when she protests, their heads rotate to show angry Smiler faces; they are half human/half Smiler, the Winders in charge of keeping the peace of Starship UK. Liz tells the Winders that she is still their Queen; they agree, but tell her that she must go to the Tower of London.

They are taken to the Tower of London in the bowels of the ship, where Liz meets Hawthorne, who seems to be a senior member of the government. The Doctor reveals that the creature, whom they previously thought was malevolent, is, in fact, the ship's means of flying; the ship was constructed on its back, and they have placed a laser above the exposed pain center of the creature's brain that repeatedly zaps it. Seeing children being put to work, they question this; Hawthorne explains that protesters and citizens of limited value are fed to the beast. However, it won't eat children; he calls the Doctor and Amy lucky for being the first adults its spared. The Doctor jokes that they are lucky, for ending up in the Tower of London's torture chamber. He then says it is, but isn't saying that it depends on how you view it; it's either a torture chamber, or the gas pedal, "Starship UK's go faster button".

The Queen demands the creature's immediate release. Hawthorne insists that he is simply obeying the orders of a higher authority. Liz protests, saying that she is the highest authority on the ship. The Doctor brings her attention back to her mask, saying that its perfectly sculpted to her face and is over 200 years old. Liz, not understanding what the Doctor is trying to say, asks what he's getting at. The Doctor tells her that she's 250 years old and has been ruling the kingdom for a lot longer than she thought; her body clock was slowed all right, but she's forgotten every decade of her rule each time that she figures out the truth, which is about 20 times so far.

Hawthorne plays a recording of Liz 10, confirming this hunch to her. In the video, she explains that the British people faced destruction when Earth was devastated by the solar flares, and the children screamed in pain; all other countries had taken to the sky, but they lacked the resources to build their own ship. The creature, which she identifies as a star whale, is the last of its kind and appeared to the British people "like a miracle." The government captured it and used it to power their spaceship; the recording tells herself that if she has the strength to continue, press the "forget" button, but if she doesn't she may end her rule and the kingdom by pressing the "abdicate" button instead, releasing the whale - however, doing so will destroy the ship and kill everyone on board. This leaves Liz stunned.

The Doctor allows the humans present to hear the star whale's screams of pain through the use of the sonic screwdriver. He tells them that he has no choice but to kill the conscious functions of the creature in order to keep it from feeling pain; this will keep the creature floating in space, thus preserving the lives of the humans; disgusted with himself for doing this, he decides to abandon his name "the Doctor" because he sees himself unworthy of it once done. He calls this a horrible solution, and expresses his anger at all of the humans who have allowed this to happen, especially after Amy says that there has to be a better solution. With righteous indignation, he tells Amy off for pressing the "forget" button in the voting booth earlier, even though she did so from having to make such a difficult decision. Completely ignoring her attempts to apologize, the Doctor tells Amy that when they're done, he's taking her back home to Leadworth.

However, as the Doctor sets up the massive electrical charge which will render the star whale brain-dead, Amy remembers the Doctor's encouragement that she notice everything; she quickly ascertains that, while the roots will attack adults, they do not attack children. Amy watches as a root plays with Mandy and Timmy, much to their shock. She realises that the star whale is, in fact, benevolent and has been voluntarily propelling the ship for the humans because of its compassion for the children. She makes Liz 10 press the "abdicate" button, and the brain stimulus halts; however, the creature continues to power the ship, with Hawthorne observing that they have increased speed. Explaining her deduction, Amy says that "if you are very old and the last of your kind" like the star whale -- though she is looking at the Doctor -- then "you just can't stand there and watch children cry."

On an observation deck, the Doctor looks out to space, deep in thought over the events that have just transpired. Amy walks up behind him, handing the Doctor Liz's mask as a souvenir from their adventure there. She explains that Liz has decided that there will be no more secrets in Starship UK; everyone will know the star whale is to thank for their salvation from the inferno on Earth. Calmly, the Doctor points out the Amy that she could have killed the entire British nation if she was wrong; however, Amy points out that he could have killed the star whale (and continued living with the guilt with one more life on his conscience). They hug and laugh.

They walk through the market street, back to the TARDIS, as Amy wonders if it's really okay to leave without saying good-bye. The Doctor tells her that they'll wonder about that and come up with stories, saying it's a big day tomorrow. Amy, shocked, stops and asks him what he means. The Doctor tells her that it's always a big day tomorrow for him because he skips the little ones. Amy, relieved that he didn't know about her wedding, asks him if there was anything he ever ran away from because he was scared or just because he could. The Doctor says yes, but it was a long time ago; traveling through time and space was the end result. Amy tries revealing the reason she wants to go back the morning after they took off, but the sound of the TARDIS phone ringing distracts them.

Inside, the Doctor works on the console as Amy answers the phone. She asks who's on the other end, only to be asked by the Doctor to get the specifics; he meets a lot of people throughout time and space who have the same titles, so it gets very confusing. Learning that it's his old buddy British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, the Doctor takes the phone. Winston tells the Doctor that he's in a bit of tricky situation; he asks the Doctor for help -- as the shadow of a Dalek glides into view. The Doctor and Amy set off to help Churchill.

Amy says a poem: "In bed above or deep asleep, While greater love lies further deep; This dream must end, this world must know, We all depend on the beast below" and the star whale continues to ferry humanity through the stars; a crack appears on the hull of the ship.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Liz 10 - Sophie Okonedo
 * Hawthorne - Terrence Hardiman
 * Morgan - Christopher Good
 * Timmy - Alfie Field
 * Peter the Winder - David Ajala
 * Mandy - Hannah Sharp
 * Poem Girl - Catrin Richards
 * Winder - Jonathan Battersby
 * Voice of Smilers / Winder - Chris Porter
 * Winston Churchill - Ian McNeice

Story notes

 * Sophie Okenedo is credited as 'Liz 10' on-screen, and as 'Liz' in Radio Times.
 * A cut line, revealed in an Eleventh Doctor Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition, would have stated there were other nation-ships and there used to be travel between them, but that Starship UK sealed off its 'borders' several decades ago.
 * Like TV: The End of the World, this episode featured the Doctor taking a new companion into the distant future for her first trip in the TARDIS.
 * Also like TV: The Doctor Dances, the resolution to the main problem of the plot is solved by an action people at first believed would cause another effect, and so tried to avoid (Nancy tried to avoid Jamie for fear of becoming infected by Empty Child whilst Liz 10 always chose to forget since she believed releasing the star whale would destroy Starship UK).
 * This story leads directly into the next, Victory of the Daleks.
 * Another crack can be seen at the very end of the story, in roughly the same shape as the crack on Amy's wall and the TARDIS monitor in TV: The Eleventh Hour, continuing the Series 5 theme of cracks appearing throughout the universe.
 * Amy stopping the Doctor from killing the star whale echoes Donna Noble's pleas for the Tenth Doctor to stop his attack on the Racnoss and her children in TV: The Runaway Bride.
 * This is the first average length Doctor Who episode (forty-five minutes) since TV: The Stolen Earth. The intervening episodes were all specials or extended, not including the amalgamated Dreamland.
 * Amy Pond's age is said to be 1306, however the monitor shows her age to be 1308.
 * Amy Pond's age is said to be thirteen hundred six. As she was twenty-one in 2010, this episode takes place in the year 3295.
 * A red telephone box, exactly the same as the one destroyed by the sonic screwdriver in Leadworth, appears in the background.
 * There are several references and similarities between this episode and Star Wars. Liz 10 says to the Doctor, "Help us, Doctor. You're our only hope", echoing Princess Leia's holographic message in Episode IV. The Doctor and Amy are shunted down into a pile of refuse echoing another scene in Episode IV. The scenes inside the star whale and when they look outward through the jaws are reminiscent of the sequence in Episode V with the space slug. Lastly, near the end, the scene change between the climax and the denouement features a vertical transitional wipe similar to Lucas' wipe style.
 * This episode aired on the same day as the K9 episode Sirens of Ceres was first broadcast on Disney XD in Britain. It also aired on the same day that Liberation was first broadcast on Network Ten in Australia.
 * The Doctor had previously had a conversation with a human about Time Lords and humans looking the same, but being different internally. (TV: Planet of the Dead)
 * This is the only episode to use the new Eleventh Doctor opening theme in the "Next Time trailer".
 * Sophie Okonedo (Elizabeth X) previously played Alison Cheney, the companion of a non-canonical version of the Ninth Doctor, in WC: Scream of the Shalka.
 * Terrence Hardiman (Hawthorne) would later play King Sitric Silkbeard of Dublin in AUDIO: The Book of Kells, Reverend Dobbs in AUDIO: The Broken Crown and the Gryphon in AUDIO: Aladdin Time.
 * This is currently the last episode to feature the "Middle Eight" in the closing credits.
 * As is routine for post-2005 Doctor Who, a "NEXT TIME" trailer for the next episode is shown at the end of the episode.

Ratings
6.7 million - First broadcast

8.42 million - Final BARB ratings

Filming locations

 * Mamhilad, Monmouthshire, Wales

Rumours

 * It was originally rumoured that Sophie Okonedo was to play the character called "Liz Ten" which then was rumoured to be "Queen Elizabeth X". Sophie Okonedo was confirmed as playing the Masked Woman. In dialogue, it was confirmed that her character was indeed "Elizabeth X". In the credits, she was listed as "Liz 10".
 * It was rumoured that the Doctor and Amy will be swallowed by a creature, 'the Beast', and have to make the 'Beast' regurgitate then to escape. This is proven more likely with them both being drenched (having wet clothes) in the trailer. The Doctor and Amy actually managed to escape being swallowed, only entering the creature's mouth..
 * This episode was believed to be titled Meddling Monks by fans prior to transmission.

Production errors

 * When Timmy boards the elevator at the beginning of the episode, the Smiler is smiling at the occupants' standing area. However, before it rotates to its "frown face", it is already seen with its frown face aimed toward the standing area in the external view-shot of the elevator.
 * When Amy's age is given as 1306, the computer screen reads 1308 instead.
 * When the Doctor and Amy are in the star whale's mouth, the light given off by the sonic screwdriver is the previous version's blue, instead of the usual current green.
 * The star whale's mouth is clearly depicted at the end of the episode as being in open space. However, when the Doctor and Amy are "ejected" from said mouth, they land inside the ship, as opposed to outside of it. No logical explanation is given for this.
 * The Union Flag shown on the side of the ship includes the elements of the St. Andrews cross even though Scotland is stated to have chosen to become independent.
 * After being thrown out of the mouth of the star whale, the Doctor's fringe is on his forehead. The next shot, it is pushed back. It returns to normal in all following shots.
 * In the scene where the winders kidnap Liz 10, the Doctor and Amy, despite only the winder's head rotating, the creature's whole body appears to have turned round in its clothes.

Continuity

 * Amy is considerably more amused by being recognised and accepted by the British government as 1,306 years old than Barbara Wright was when Vicki Pallister calculated the latter's age as 550 years, but not as tickled as Ian Chesterton was by Barbara's reaction. (TV: ''The Rescue)
 * A sign with Magpie Electricals can be seen. The brand was first created by Mr Magpie in TV: The Idiot's Lantern and has continued to appear in many stories set years later.
 * The advent of the Earth being rendered uninhabitable by solar flares not long before the 30th century is a plot point previously featured in TV: The Ark in Space/The Sontaran Experiment.
 * Winston Churchill calls the Doctor at the end of the episode, and the shadow of a Dalek is seen. This episode leads straight into TV: Victory of the Daleks.
 * Liz Ten is the queen of Starship UK. She mentions that the Tenth Doctor was knighted and exiled by Queen Victoria, (TV: Tooth and Claw) that he had a relationship with the "Virgin Queen", (TV: The End of Time, The Shakespeare Code) that he was an old drinking buddy of Henry XII, and that he had tea and scones with "Liz 2".
 * The Doctor tells Amy Pond about being the last of his race shortly after she joins him, much as he did with Rose, Martha, and Donna.
 * The crack, previously seen on Amy's wall and the TARDIS' monitor (TV: The Eleventh Hour), is seen on the side of Starship UK.
 * The Doctor's, "You look human/You look Time Lord", exchange with Amy mirrors a similar conversation between his previous incarnation and Lady Christina de Souza. (TV: Planet of the Dead) The Doctor also mentions that the Time Lords came before the human race.
 * The star whale's exposed brain being restrained by humans is similar to the Ood Brain in TV: Planet of the Ood. Just as in that story, the brain was released in the end, and the restrained creature was freed. Similarly, the Doctor allows the beast's screams of pain to be heard by others, just as the Doctor uses his telepathic powers to let Donna hear the Ood's song.
 * As in a previous Moffat story, The Girl in the Fireplace, the "villains" are clockwork (or at least clockwork-based) androids. In both episodes, however, they are not the true villains, but working under commands given to them.
 * Amy asked the Doctor if he was a parent and he ignored the statement; he did the same to Rose's, "What?", when he told her he was a dad once in TV: Fear Her.
 * The star whale bears some semblance to the creature from TV: Meat.
 * Amy Pond is nearly kicked off the TARDIS for bad behaviour ("When we're done I'm taking you home"); luckily her actions save the day, unlike Adam Mitchell whose (selfish) actions got him expelled from the TARDIS permanently. (TV: The Long Game)
 * The resolution of this episode bears a resemblance to that of TV: Rose. In both cases, a relatively new companion is responsible for saving the day, rather than the Doctor. Also, on both occasions the Doctor speaks with disdain about humans, and is surprised by his companion's resourcefulness. In both stories he expresses keen sense of the motions of his surroundings, or the lack thereof.

Home video releases

 * BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume One was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 7 June 2010 (UK only), featuring The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, and the featurette The Monster Diaries.