Turn Left (TV story)

"It's coming, Donna. It's coming from across the stars and nothing can stop it..."

- Rose Tyler

Synopsis
Donna’s entire world collapses, but there’s no sign of the Doctor. Instead, she finds help from a mysterious blonde woman – a traveller from a parallel universe. But, as Donna and Rose Tyler combine forces, are they too late to save the whole of creation from the approaching darkness?

Plot
On the planet Shan Shen, the Doctor and Donna are walking through the stalls. Donna wonders off by herself and comes across a fortune teller. Reluctant at first, Donna eventually decides to have her fortune told by her.

In the fortune teller's hut, Donna recalls the moment she was forced to make a choice, she finally decided to Turn Left, meanwhile something comes into the room, it climbs up Donna's back while the fortune teller holds her hands away from her back and tells her to "turn right" instead. Back at the deciding moment in she decides to Turn right instead.

During a Christmas party, Donna's friend keeps looking at her back, when the Webstar attacks London. Because Donna doesn't help the Doctor escape from the fight the Empress of the Racnoss he dies. Donna then discovers that the Doctor was killed and meets Rose; but when Donna checks her back Rose disappears.

Donna's boss then tries to fire her, but is interrupted by large grey clouds. Then a nearby hospital disappears (this also happens in Smith and Jones). The hospital soon returns and one medical student survives. Martha, Sarah Jane Smith and Luke Smith die by running out of oxygen trying to save everyone. Donna then meets Rose again and she remarks that people are constantly looking at her back. Rose then tries to persuade Donna to leave London at Christmas. Donna and her family take a holiday (away from London), when on Christmas Day, a replica of the RMS Titanic falls towards Buckingham Palace (as seen in the 2007 Christmas Special Voyage of the Damned) and it destroys London. After London's destruction, many of the residents of South Eastern England and Donna and her family are moved to Leeds, whey they are forced to share a house with many other families. The Americans tried to help England by sending them money, but many Americans were killed by being transformed into Adipose, (as seen in Partners in Crime).

Outside, the house gunshots are heard, as all of the ATMOS equipped cars are releasing poisonous gases. The Torchwood team (named as Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper) are reported dead defeating the Sontrans while Captain Jack Harkness is transported to the Sontaran homeworld. Donna then meets Rose again and they discuss The Doctor (although Donna doesn't know he exists). Rose then reveals that Donna will die. One of the families living with Donna, are told they are going to be moved to a labour camp and Donna's grandfather comments how this is similar to World War II. Donna and her grandfather are stargazing, when he comments that the constellation Orion has disappeared, when all of the other stars start to "go out".

Donna is then taken to a UNIT base by Rose, where Donna discovers that she has a giant beetle on her back. Then UNIT use the TARDIS, to transport Donna back to time when she decides to "turn right". Donna stops herself turning right by getting run over by a truck causing a traffic jam going right because the truck has stopped blocking the road, the other Donna sees the jam and decides to go left so they will not be stuck in traffic. Rose then appears and whispers two words (Bad Wolf) into Donna's ear. Then Donna dies.

Back on Shan Shen, she wakes out of her trance and shakes off the beetle and scares off the Fortune Teller just as the Doctor enters the tent. They talk about what happen and Donna vaguely describes Rose and tells the Doctor what Rose whispered into her ear. The Doctor then runs out of the tent and discovers that the word Bad Wolf is written everywhere.

He and Donna run into the TARDIS and discover that is it gone red inside, and it slightly resembles the Paradox machine the Master had created. Donna asks what happened and the Doctor says: "The end of the universe".

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Wilfred Mott - Bernard Cribbins
 * Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King
 * Mr Colastanto - Joseph Long
 * Captain Magambo - Norma Dumezweni
 * Fortune Teller - Chipo Chung
 * Mooky Kahari - Marcia Lecky
 * Veena Brady - Suzann Mclean
 * Alice Coltrane - Natalie Walter
 * Man in Pub - Neil Clench
 * Private Harris - Clive Standen
 * Jival Chowdry - Bhasker Patel
 * Female Reporter - Catherine York
 * Oliver Morgenstern - Ben Righton
 * Spanish Maid - Loraine Velez
 * Studio News Reader - Jason Mohammad
 * Housing Officer - Sanchia McCormack
 * Soldier Number 1 - Lawrence Stevenson
 * Woman in Doorway - Terri-Ann Brumby
 * Trinity Wells - Lachele Carl
 * Soldier Number 2 - Paul Richard Biggin
 * Mal Loup - Lachele Carl

Production crew
to be added

Story notes

 * Without The Doctor's intervention, Martha Jones dies when the Judoon attack the hospital where she works. Sarah Jane Smith and her teenage assistants also die in the hospital - with the Doctor dead, she has taken it upon herself to investigate the hospital.
 * Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones die destroying the Sontarans whilst Jack Harkness is transported to the Sontaran homeworld.
 * This is the first story to feature Rose in a starring role since Doomsday.
 * Lucius Petrus Dextrus from The Fires of Pompeii says that "she is returning" when seeing the future. This is most likely a reference to Rose's return in this episode.
 * Billie Piper was seen at the end of Partners in Crime, as well as a short cameo in The Poison Sky and another in Midnight.
 * Chipo Chung was last seen in the episode Utopia as the Malmooth, Chantho. She plays a human character in this story.
 * This is the 'Doctor-lite' episode of the series, similar to Love and Monsters and Blink, albeit with a much darker storyline.
 * A reference to something on Donna's back was last heard in The Fires of Pompeii when Lucius Petrus Dextrus saw into the future 'something on your back' is a back story arc as it has never been mentioned up to this episode.
 * In DWM it said that Donna will receive a free tarot card reading and find out something bad is going to happen. When she is receiving it there will also be something behind her lurking in the curtains. The Tarot person will also look for a specific event in Donna's past.
 * Part of this episode is filmed in China Town, though not the one in London, but recreated in Cardiff. Chinese people living in South Wales were invited to be background extras via Facebook at the end of 2007. They had to reply to the Doctor Who casting crew with their name and sizes for costumes to be made for them and they were paid approx £70 for the day. David Tennant was seen in 'China Town' when he took time out of filming though staying on location to appear on Blue Peter to appeal to viewers to donate shoes to their Shoebiz appeal.

Ratings
to be added

Continuity

 * In The Sontaran Strategem the Sat Nav kept saying Turn Left. This could have something to do with this episode.
 * The explanations above for what would've happened of the Doctor died take on a similar context to the Unbound series and DWM:Time & Time Again
 * Captain Jack mentioned telling someone they should have turned left during a joke in 'Boom Town' In fact, a few of the episodes from the new series have the phrase turn left in them.
 * Bad Wolf returns as a warning for the end of the universe. Bad Wolf was last heard in Doomsday.
 * The Cloister Bell is heard, again as a warning. The Cloister was last heard in Time Crash.
 * Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones are mentioned and they will appear in the next episode
 * The Webstar and RMS Titanic are seen.
 * The characters from The Sarah Jane Adventures are named in the news report to be dead in the parallel world.

DVD and Other releases

 * This is due to be released in the Series 4 boxset in November 2008 along with the rest of the Series.
 * It will be released as Series 4 Volume 4 alongside The Stolen Earth and Journey's End in September 2008.