Day of the Moon (TV story)

Day of the Moon was the second episode in the sixth series of Doctor Who. It heavily featured location filming across Utah. Some scenes, such as River's plunge from a skyscraper, were filmed back in Cardiff.

Synopsis
The Doctor is locked in the perfect prison. Amy, Rory and River Song are being hunted across America by the FBI. With the help of new friend and FBI-insider, Canton Everett Delaware III, our heroes are reunited to share their discoveries, if not their memories. For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted. Aided by President Nixon and Neil Armstrong's foot, the Doctor must mount a revolution to drive out the enemy and rescue the missing little girl. No one knows why they took her or why they have kidnapped Amy Pond.

Plot
Three months after the events of the warehouse, Amy is chased down the Valley of Gods in Utah; she has strange pen markings all over her skin and arms. Finally, she is cornered between two SUVs and a cliff-face. Canton Delaware advises her to surrender, leading her to wonder if he even remembers what happened at the warehouse; he responds by shooting her down. Her body is brought to the Doctor, who is a prisoner at Area 51.

River Song, also covered in pen markings, explores an unfinished skyscraper in New York City, which is filled with the mysterious aliens. FBI agents corner her at the edge of the building; again, Canton advises her to surrender, but she merely warns them of the alien occupation before plunging off the side of the building.

Finally, Rory -- also covered in pen markings -- is shot at the Glen Canyon Dam. His body is also brought to the Doctor at Area 51. FBI agents have spent the past three months building a perfect prison around the Time Lord -- blocks of dwarf star alloy that seal together perfectly, constructing a solid block that is soundproof and impregnable. With it finished, Canton seals himself inside with the Doctor and the two body bags.

Once the door is closed, the Doctor, Amy, and Rory easily free themselves from their constraints, and Canton takes on a much friendlier tone. The Doctor reveals the parked -- and invisible -- TARDIS, which they all climb into; when Canton expresses some concern for River, the Doctor reveals that she had parked the TARDIS alongside the building and jumped into its swimming pool. The trio clean themselves of the markings, revealing that they are a tally of how many aliens they've seen in the past three months -- eventually deducing that this is not an alien invasion, but that they've been here all along. Privately, Amy informs the Doctor that she made a mistake and that she is not pregnant. The Doctor reveals that he already has an idea of how to defeat the aliens; landing the TARDIS, they rush outside to find they are a short distance away from Cape Kennedy, where Apollo 11 is being prepared for launch. The key to the aliens' defeat, the Doctor explains, is Neil Armstrong's foot.

The Doctor implants a nanorecorder in each of his companions' palms, explaining that they are to activate it and leave themselves a message each time they have an encounter; when it flashes red, they'll know they've seen one of the creatures. Canton casually adjusts the Doctor's bowtie, but is horrified to realize that his nanorecorder is flashing; the message, "How the hell did it get here?" makes each person realize that there is an alien standing near the TARDIS doors. However, the alien is not real; the Doctor has extrapolated the image from Amy's phone and projected it into the TARDIS as a hologram -- nevertheless, the effect is the same. The message also contains the Doctor's voice ordering Canton to straighten his bowtie upon turning around; the fact that he did so confirms the Doctor's suspicions that the aliens possess the power of post-hypnotic suggestion.

The Doctor sends Canton and Amy to Graystark Hall, a children's home a few miles away from Cape Kennedy where the little girl may or may not have been kept. The building's warden is clearly insane, believing the year to be 1967, and there are messages warning the building's occupants to leave scrawled all over the walls. Amy goes off on her own to investigate, eventually discovering a nest of hibernating aliens on the ceiling in one of the rooms. Her nanorecorder flashes red; she has left a message warning herself to leave, and there are tally marks all over her arms and face. Eventually, she departs, forgetting her encounter, but one of the aliens awakes as the door slams shut behind her. Further down the hall, Amy spots a woman with an eyepatch looking at her through a slot in one of the doors; however, when she steps inside, the room is empty and the slot is gone. It is a child's bedroom, scattered with toys and pictures of the little girl. Amy discovers one picture of herself with the girl as a baby; while trying to make sense of it, the little girl -- still in the astronaut suit -- enters the room behind her, begging for help. Amy apologizes to the little girl for shooting her and tries to explain that she will kill the Doctor in the future. The girl continues to beg for help, confusing Amy further; two of the aliens enter behind her. Amy screams.

In the warden's office, Canton hears Amy's screams, but before he can go off to help her, one of the aliens enters. Activating his nanorecorder, Canton wonders why the alien doesn't have a weapon. After haughtily stating that, as the owners of the planet, they don't need weapons, Canton pulls out his gun, shoots the creature, and welcomes it to America before running out of the room.

The Doctor, meanwhile, has been busy. He is caught breaking into the Apollo 11 command module, where he was rearranging some of the electronics and adding his own device. Eventually, President Nixon arrives in the TARDIS with River and Rory and orders the Doctor's release. As they depart, the Doctor receives a call from Canton, who is requesting help.

They rendezvous at the orphanage, where Canton is trying to break into the child's room; Amy can be heard inside, crying for help. The Doctor uses the sonic screwdriver to open the door, but the group is horrified to discover that Amy is missing -- all that's left of her is her nanorecorder, which lies on the floor, broadcasting her current words. They also discover the abandoned astronaut suit; unbeknownst to the Doctor, the little girl hides around the corner, listening to him and his companions. On receiving word that Canton has shot one of the aliens, the Doctor rushes off to the warden's office to confront the creature; the Doctor asks what it is, and the alien replies that it is the Silence -- and silence will fall. This echoes previous warnings the Doctor has received from Prisoner Zero and Rosanna Calvierri.

Rory, River, and the Doctor set about finding Amy, returning the empty astronaut suit to the warehouse; Canton, meanwhile, brings the wounded alien to the Doctor's prison at Area 51, where it is fixed up by a military doctor. The alien gloats that the Silence have ruled the world since the Stone Age, and that it was a mistake for Canton to treat its wounds; when Canton asks what he should've done, the alien responds the humans should kill them all "on sight." Canton smugly reveals that he has recorded this order on Amy's video phone.

In the Florida warehouse, River and the Doctor dissect the space suit, discovering that it is, in fact, the perfect life support machine -- which explains how the little girl was able to survive Amy shooting her. It is fitted with at least twenty different types of alien tech, meaning that the little girl must have been very strong if she was able to fight her way out of it. River wonders if the suit could move without an occupant, remembering that the little girl's original phone call claimed the space man was coming to eat her. Rory, meanwhile, is devasted by Amy's disappearance, keeping her nanorecorder with him at all times; in one instance, Amy tells the listener that her life was so boring before he "dropped out of the sky," and that he needs to get his "stupid face" where she can see it. Rory believes she is referring to the Doctor, who attempts to reassure Rory of Amy's love for him by reminding him of the two thousand years he spent protecting her.

Amy wakes to find herself tied to a standing framework, surrounded by the Silence, in their console room. The Silence inform her that she has been with them for several days, and that she will help "bring the silence."

The launch of Apollo 11 goes off without a hitch. On the day of the moon landing, the Doctor tracks the signal from Amy's nanorecorder to her location, landing the TARDIS there. He brings a television with him and sets it on the console, warning the Silence that although he is not violent, River would not hesitate to shoot any of them. He asks the Silence why the little girl is so important to them; they do not answer. He gets the television set working in time for the live broadcast of the moon landing and uses the device he placed in the command module to hack the broadcast signal just as Neil Armstrong's foot touches the lunar surface. The image is replaced with the video Canton took on Amy's phone -- the Silence saying that humans should kill them all on sight. This seals the fate of the Silence, as every human in history will see this famous broadcast at some point in their lives; through their power of post-hypnotic suggestion, the Silence have just ordered their own execution. People who watch the live broadcast begin to act on this order, shooting the Silence without thinking. Enraged by the Doctor's victory, the Silence begin the attack. Rory goes to free Amy, but she orders him to get his "stupid face" to safety; with the Doctor's assistance, they manage to get her to the TARDIS, where they wait as River kills each alien in the room.

The group returns to the TARDIS, with Rory finally certain of Amy's love for him. They return Canton to the Oval Office. Nixon, who has been told that the Doctor is from the future, wonders if the American people will remember him; the Doctor replies that he will never be forgotten. He informs Nixon that all Canton wants to do is get married, and insists that Nixon should give his permission and allow Canton to return to the FBI as a parting favor. As the TARDIS disappears, Nixon realizes that Canton's girlfriend must be black, and explains that he's sure he can help, as he is really more liberal than most people thin; however, Canton corrects him -- "she" is actually a "he." Nixon tells him the moon is far enough for now.

River is returned to prison, where the Doctor offers her a chance to travel with him. She declines, having made a promise to serve her sentence in full, and that he'll soon understand. As the Doctor turns to leave, River pulls him into a lingering kiss; responding to the Doctor's confusion, she realizes that, from the Doctor's perspective, this is their first kiss -- meaning that, from her perspective, it will be their last.

The Doctor sends Rory on an errand in the TARDIS, giving him and Amy time to talk about her pregnancy. She reveals that she didn't tell Rory about it because she was afraid that her time spent in the TARDIS would give the baby some deformity; unbeknownst to her, Rory is listening to their conversation via her nanorecorder, which is still broadcasting. She eventually catches him and reassures him that he is safe and she is not pregnant. The Doctor, however, is less assured; while he sets the TARDIS on course for a new destination, he has the console scan Amy for pregnancy. The readings flicker back and forth between a positive and negative reading.

Six months later, in New York City, a homeless man comes across the little girl in an alley. She is coughing and reveals that she is dying -- but that it'll be okay, because she can fix it. He flees as, to his astonishment and terror, she begins to regenerate.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Rory Williams - Arthur Darvill
 * River Song - Alex Kingston
 * Little Girl - Sydney Wade
 * Canton Delaware - Mark Sheppard
 * President Richard Nixon - Stuart Milligan
 * Carl - Chukwudi Iwuji
 * Phil - Mark Griffin
 * The Silent - Marnix Van Den Broeke
 * Doctor Renfrew - Kerry Shale
 * Gardner - Glenn Wrage
 * Doctor Shepherd - Peter Banks
 * Tramp - Ricky Fearon
 * Eye Patch Lady - Frances Barber
 * Grant - Jeff Mash
 * Sergeant - Tommy Campbell

Individuals

 * The Doctor asks Nixon to say "Hi" to David Frost for him, referencing the famous series of interviews between Frost and Nixon and the film Frost/Nixon. Michael Sheen, who played Frost in the film, appeared as the voice of House two episodes later in The Doctor's Wife.

Objects

 * When the Doctor, Amy, and Rory enter the TARDIS, the Doctor asks Rory to grab some thermocouplings. (DW: Space)

Films

 * This story shares numerous similarities with the 1988 John Carpenter film They Live, in which the primary protagonist discovers a hidden alien race living amongst humans and using subliminal messages to influence their development.

Story notes

 * This episode had the working title: Look Behind You.
 * This is the first two-part opening episode of the revived series, and the first since Attack of the Cybermen.
 * Rory's cover as an aide to Nixon is blown not only by his obvious English accent but also by his use of the British Army salute, which is distinctly different from the American version.
 * At a little over three months, this is one of the longest single adventures in terms of total time elapsed from the Doctor's perspective.
 * Canton is able to receive a call from the Doctor on Amy's mobile phone. Since there were no mobile phone networks in 1969, Amy's phone must have been upgraded to a superphone by the Doctor, allowing it to be used anywhere in time and space.
 * The Doctor calls for help after he is captured breaking into Apollo 11. Rory, River and President Nixon arrive in the TARDIS to help him. This is one of the very rare moments in the series where someone other than the Doctor (in this case River) pilots the TARDIS without the Doctor on board.
 * This episode marks the first time a female has regenerated onscreen.
 * The Doctor tells Nixon that he has to tape everything that he says in his office, or else he won't know if the Silent has affected him. This is a reference to the Nixon tapes, with the famous eighteen and a half minute gap occuring in one of the tapes.

Ratings

 * 7.30 million (36.7% market share)

Myths

 * We will see River Song as a child. This has been proven true in Let's Kill Hitler .
 * This episode will air the day after The Impossible Astronaut  This has been proven false

Filming locations

 * The Prequel to The Impossible Astronaut was shot on 11 November, 2010. Other scenes shot that day included the scene in the 'perfect prison'. These sequences were shot metres from each other as the Oval Office stood about half a dozen paces from the Doctor's cell.

Production errors

 * When River backs toward the edge of the building, she's still a few inches from the edge before she falls back.
 * When President Nixon arrives to bail out the Doctor, he and River follow the Doctor back into the TARDIS. When the camera focuses on Rory, you hear the TARDIS doors close, but when it shows Rory again, they're still partially open.
 * Close examination of the television sets shows they only have one tuning dial, clearly marked "UHF". American television receivers of that era would have had two mechanical tuning dials, one for VHF and one for UHF. Sets from the UK would presumably only have the UHF dial if it was a 625-line PAL set, as VHF had only been used for the 405-line System A transmission that was the original BBC signal standard.
 * Dwarf star alloy would be far too heavy for two men to lift.
 * The audio of the moon landing playing in the final confrontation between the Doctor and the Silents is incorrect. You can clearly hear Armstrong say "engines stopped", identifying the audio clip as from the landing of the Eagle Lunar Module, which occurred several hours before Armstrong stepped on the moon. When the Doctor finally points to the screen, the audio and video are of Armstrong's historic first step.
 * In the orphanage, Doctor Renfrew is holding a cloth in his right hand, then there is a shot of Amy and Canton, and then when the camera cuts back to Doctor Renfrew, the cloth is then in his left hand. After another shot of Amy and Canton, the cloth is back in his right hand again. This is either a production error or he passed it to each hand between shots.

Continuity

 * River Song mocks the Doctor for brandishing his sonic screwdriver in a gunfight and tells him to go "build a cabinet", similar to a conversation Captain Jack had with the Ninth Doctor. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
 * The Doctor tastes the "TARDIS blue"-coloured envelope in an attempt to gather information. (DW: The Hungry Earth, The Idiot's Lantern, The Eleventh Hour, Tooth and Claw)
 * River's scanner is branded Magpie Electricals. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern)
 * The Doctor recalls Prisoner Zero, a silent Venice, and the voice claiming "silence will fall". (DW: The Eleventh Hour, The Vampires of Venice, The Pandorica Opens)
 * Rory reveals that he remembers the two thousand years he spent as an Auton guarding the Pandorica with Amy inside, but that he doesn't always have those memories. (DW: The Big Bang)
 * The Doctor has previously been held prisoner in Area 51.(DW: Dreamland).
 * The Doctor opens the TARDIS with a snap of his fingers (DW: Forest of the Dead, The Eleventh Hour).
 * The Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones watched the Apollo 11 moon landing four times. Given the dangers of crossing time streams, it's possible they watched the television transmission from Earth on at least one of those occasions.
 * Dwarf star alloy previously featured in DW: Warriors' Gate and briefly in DW: The Family of Blood.
 * When the Doctor discovers the Silence' underground lair, which is nearly identical to the interior of the 79B Aickman Road timeship, he makes the comparison, describing it as being "very Aickman Road." (DW: The Lodger)
 * When Canton tells the Doctor that River jumped off a skyscraper, he replies "It's okay, she does that.", referencing her leap out of an airlock in The Time of Angels. The Doctor once again positions the TARDIS to catch her after she makes the seemingly fatal leap.
 * The Doctor has apparently found (or recreated) the TARDIS's swimming pool again, and orders everyone to open the doors to the room that contains it, referencing DW:The Eleventh Hour.
 * While this is the first time we see the Doctor kiss River Song, this may be the last time River kisses the Doctor from her perspective.
 * The music cue that plays when the Doctor drops River off at Stormcage is the same cue used later in DW: A Good Man Goes to War when River reveals her identity to Amy and Rory. It also plays when the future Doctor's body is burned and when the little girl regenerates.
 * The Doctor says that the dwarf star alloy is being used to build the "perfect prison", this was used to describe the Pandorica in The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang.

Timeline
For the Doctor, Amy and Rory For adult River Song For young Melody
 * This story occurs after: DW: The Impossible Astronaut
 * This story occurs before: DWAN: Extinction Event
 * This story occurs after: DW: The Impossible Astronaut
 * This story occurs before: DW: The Pandorica Opens
 * This story occurs after: DW: The Impossible Astronaut
 * This story occurs before: DW: Let's Kill Hitler

Home video releases
Released as Series 6 Part 1 with The Impossible Astronaut, The Curse of the Black Spot, The Doctor's Wife, The Rebel Flesh, The Almost People and A Good Man Goes to War on 11th July 2011.