First Night (home video)

First Night was the third of five Night and the Doctor shorts produced exclusively for the Doctor Who: The Complete Sixth Series DVD and Blu-ray box sets. It is the first of a two-part story concluding with "Last Night". It was written by showrunner Steven Moffat.

Synopsis
The night River Song is imprisoned in Stormcage for killing the Eleventh Doctor, she receives a visit from her husband to take her out on their first date. Things get complicated when another River arrives.

Plot
Having been apprehended, taken to the 52nd century and incarcerated in the Stormcage Containment Facility to serve twelve thousand consecutive life sentences for killing the Doctor (DW:The Wedding of River Song), River is in her cell on her first night, looking through the blue diary the Doctor gave her (DW: Let's Kill Hitler). She hears the TARDIS.

In it, she finds the Eleventh Doctor in a white dinner suit. Her parents are asleep and he is taking her to Calderon Beta, a boring planet apart from a four hundred foot tall tree growing out of a cliff-top in the middle of the sea, where he intends to show her the sky on the starriest night in the entire history of the universe, 12 December 2360. He asks if she’s brought the diary. She believes she's not going to have much need for a diary in prison. He reminds her she can easily break out because she is River Song. The book is to help them keep their encounters sorted and he's chosen a dress for her, but that there are more in the wardrobe down the corridor if she wants another. She hurries off to look while he pilots the TARDIS to their destination.

While she is off looking through the dresses, the Doctor lands the TARDIS and hears laser-gunfire outside. He opens the door as a second incarnation of River enters, calls him a nostalgic idiot for returning to this spot and collapses into his arms.

Cast

 * Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
 * River Song - Alex Kingston

Crew

 * Writer - Steven Moffat
 * Director - Richard Senior (uncredited)

Planets

 * Calderon Beta is described by the Doctor as "Boring. Planet of the Chip Shops". However it is home to a four hundred foot tall tree "growing out of a clifftop on the north side of a mountain in the middle of the sea". At 12:12am on 21 September 2360, you can see more stars in the sky from the top of the tree than in any other point in history. The Doctor notes that "You could read a book by it."

TARDIS

 * The wardrobe is now "first right, second left, just past the Helter Skelter." This is significantly shorter (not to mention easier to remember) than the directions the Ninth Doctor gave Rose Tyler during DW: The Unquiet Dead.

Story notes

 * First of a two-part story, concluded in Last Night.
 * This is the shortest of the Night and the Doctor to feature the Doctor, coming in at 2 minutes and 15 seconds. The shortest overall is Up All Night, which is just under 2 minutes.
 * This is also the only Night and the Doctor short to feature scenes outside of the TARDIS.
 * The footage of the TARDIS flying through the solar storm is originally from The Rebel Flesh.

Myths and rumours
To be added

Filming locations
To be added

Production errors
To be added

Continuity

 * The first River Song is serving her first night of "Twelve thousand consecutive life sentences" in Stormcage.
 * Second appearance (in chronological order) of River Song's diary. Here, the Doctor instructs her on its use and purpose. (DW: Silence in the Library, et al.)

For the Doctor
Placement for this story is difficult, but this seems most realistic:


 * This story takes place at some indeterminate point after DW: Let's Kill Hitler.
 * This story takes place before DW: Last Night.

For River no. 1

 * This story takes place after DW: The Wedding of River Song.
 * This story takes place before DW: Last Night.

For River no. 2

 * This story takes place five years after the River no. 1 in DW: First Night.

Home video releases
To be added