The Stolen Earth (TV story)

"Welcome to my new Empire, Doctor. It is only fitting that you should bear witness to the resurrection - and the triumph - of Davros, Lord and Creator of the Dalek Race."

- Davros

Synopsis
When the Earth is stolen from its orbit and placed in another galaxy with 26 other stolen planets, the Doctor's secret army of allies comes together to defend the Earth from the new Dalek Empire. With battles raging on the streets and in the sky, the Doctor and Donna confront the Shadow Proclamation to find the truth; however, a fearsome old enemy waits in the shadows.

Plot
The Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble arrive on Earth immediately following the events of Turn Left. They rush out of the TARDIS to find the Earth as normal. They ask a nearby milkman the day and ascertain nothing is wrong.

They re-enter the TARDIS to try and work out what caused the Bad Wolf warnings to appear. Whilst inside the TARDIS shakes violently and the Doctor rushed to the door and opens it to find the TARDIS is now floating in outer space, the TARDIS has not moved however, the Earth has been stolen from underneath them.

Meanwhile on Earth, the Doctor's companions, Sarah-Jane Smith, Torchwood, and Martha Jones all look to the sky outside and see 26 planets, as well as earth all orbiting a common centre of mass inside a nebula in space.

Meanwhile the Doctor and Donna travel to the Shadow Proclamation, manned by Judoon and humanoid females with white hair and red eyes. Whilst there the Doctor discovers that 24 planets have disappeared immediately before their arrival. Donna remembers a number of other planets and moons which they were told had disappeared in earlier adventures, including Pyrovillia, Adipose 3 and Clom.

One of the humanoid females provides Donna with refreshment and cryptically tells her she is sorry for her future loss. Donna and the Doctor ascertain that in the time before the Earth being stolen, bees were disappearing from the planet which emitted carrier waves to where the planet would be taken to. The Doctor then runs to leave in the TARDIS whilst one of the Humanoids orders the Doctor to surrender the TARDIS to them so that he could lead them to war. The Doctor escapes before the Shadow Proclamation can commandeer the TARDIS.

On Earth, Rose Tyler appears in a high street where widespread chaos and looting is in progress. She enters a computer store and hacks into UNIT computer systems. UNIT detects 3000 space ships approaching the Earth and the UN in Geneva declares an "Ultimate Code Red" as the ships transmit a message to Earth composed of only the word "Exterminate!".

Captain Jack Harkness in Torchwood 3 calls Martha Jones in New York with UNIT, whilst her commanding officer orders her to initiate the "Project Indigo". Martha is surprised to learn that Jack knows of the existence of "Project Indigo", Jack explains to Ianto that it is teleportation device based on recovered Sontaran technology, which UNIT are still trying to perfect. Martha and her commanding officer leave the main office just in time to avoid extermination by the Daleks which have arrived on Earth and have begun attacking military installations, including the Valiant which is destroyed by swarming Daleks. Martha escapes to a back room and is ordered to put on a harness which is apparently a prototype device resulting from the "Indigo Project". She is given a device called the Osterhagen key by her commanding officer and ordered to activate the teleportation harness. She does so and disappears immediately before her commanding officer and his aide are exterminated by Daleks.



Donna Noble's mother and grandfather are hiding in a back alley, armed with a paintball gun, as they watch the Daleks order everyone in the street from their homes. One family refuses to comply and retreats backs in to their home. Three Daleks converge and destroy the house, presumably with the family inside. Donna's family retreat to their own home but are stopped by a Dalek on the way. Donna's grandfather shoots the Dalek's eyestalk with the paintball gun, but the Dalek vapourises the paint declaring "My vision is not impaired!" and prepares to exterminate him. However immediately before it can, Rose Tyler destroys the Dalek with her weapon.

They retreat to the Noble's house as a laptop comes to life with former Prime Minister Harriet Jones communicating with all the Doctor's Companions on Earth by an unnoticeable sub-wave communications network. Torchwood, Sarah-Jane (via Mr Smith) and Martha Jones all communicate via a conference video call. Rose Tyler can only watch however as the Noble's never bought a webcam for their PC.

They establish that everyone with superphones have been unable to contact the Doctor. They together come up with a plan to boost the signal using the power of the rift and the coordination of Mr Smith to break through whatever the interference with the signal is. However the increased power of the resulting signal will make the communication network noticeable and traceable to the Daleks.

Meanwhile the Doctor in the TARDIS has followed the trail to its end and they arrive at the Medusa Cascade, apparently with no way to follow the signal further, the Doctor concludes that there is no way to find where all the planets have gone. The signal from Torchwood breaches the barrier however and begins to ring the Doctor's superphone. He uses the signal to trace where the Earth has been taken to and sends the TARDIS back to the source. He concludes that the Cascade has been placed 1 second out of phase with the rest of the universe and the 27 missing planets appear in front of them.

Meanwhile a shadowy figure inside the Daleks central command orders the Red Dalek to patch him to the sub-wave network after sending Daleks to the source of the network at Harriet Jones's house, where it appears she is exterminated off screen. Davros appears on the screen in the TARDIS and declares to the Doctor that Dalek Caan arrived on his ship in the time war after his emergency temporal shift despite the Time War being time locked, succeeding where the Doctor had failed and rescued him from the War. Davros also reveals he has rebirthed the Dalek race by cannabilizing his own body, he opens his shirt to reveal his remains of his exposed organs and skeleton.

The Doctor abruptly cuts the transmission and dematerialises the TARDIS and lands on Earth. Captain Jack gains some information from Martha Jones about the Indigo project which he uses to reactivate his wrist device. He then teleports to the location of the TARDIS but not before telling his Torchwood colleagues that he'll be back for them. He leaves and a Dalek breaks through into the hub as Ianto Jones and Gwen Cooper fire machine guns to defend themselves. At the same time, presumably on her way to find the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith leaves Luke Smith under the care of Mr Smith and takes off in her car, only to be stopped by Daleks who reject the concept of apologies or surrender, and prepare to EXTERMINATE her.

Rose communicates to Torchwood in her own universe and tells them to transmat her to the Doctor's location. Rose arrives as the Doctor and Donna step out of the TARDIS and the two see each other. As they run towards each other a stray Dalek emerges from behind a van and shoots towards the Doctor. It is only a glancing blow but some of the beam hits his arm and sends the Doctor to the ground. Captain Jack materialises and destroys the Dalek with his gun. Together they drag the Doctor into the TARDIS and the Doctor proclaims he is beginning to regenerate, and light begins shooting out of his body as his regeneration occurs.

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * Martha Jones - Freema Agyeman
 * Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman
 * Sarah Jane Smith - Elisabeth Sladen
 * Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles
 * Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd
 * Luke Smith - Tommy Knight
 * Davros - Julian Bleach
 * Sylvia Noble - Jacqueline King
 * Wilfred Mott - Bernard Cribbins
 * Harriet Jones - Penelope Wilton
 * Francine Jones - Adjoa Andoh
 * General Sanchez - Michael Brandon
 * Dalek (voice) - Nicholas Briggs
 * Judoon (voice) - Nicholas Briggs
 * Judoon Captain- Paul Kasey
 * Shadow Architect - Kelly Hunter
 * Albino Servant - Amy Beth Hayes
 * Paul O'Grady - Paul O'Grady
 * Richard Dawkins - Richard Dawkins

Production crew
to be added

Story notes

 * This episode was the last of Series 4 to have its title revealed.
 * This is the fourth time that the Daleks have returned with a leader in a finale. In DW: The Evil of the Daleks they returned led by their emperor; in the 2005 finale, The Parting of the Ways, the Daleks were led by the Dalek Emperor; and in 2006 finale, Doomsday, Dalek Sec led the Cult of Skaro. The Other Dalek two parter in 2007 Series was shown as the 4th & 5th Episodes of the Series (Daleks in Manhattan and Evolution of the Daleks). The Daleks were the Cult of Skaro.
 * Davros refers to Donna Noble, Martha Jones, Rose Tyler, and possibly the minor companions as The Children Of Time.
 * The Doctor starts to regenerate yet again, acting as a cliffhanger.
 * Davros and his command ship were lost in the first years of the Time War. Dalek Caan managed to save Davros, at the cost of his own sanity.
 * The "To Be Continued" before the end credits is different from the others previously used. There is also no sneak peek of the next episode.
 * When Harriet Jones contacts Captain Jack, Martha Jones and Sarah Jane Smith, the contact tone is the same tone used by The Master to control the populace under the Archangel network.
 * For the first time, the opening credits incorporate not two or three names, but six, adding Freema Agyeman, John Barrowman and Elisabeth Sladen to the Tennant, Tate and Piper credits of the previous week. The typeface used for these credits is slightly different than that usually used. In addition, several "overflow" cast credits are featured over the first scene after the opening sequence, a first for the series. Incidentally this is the first time Elizabeth Sladen's name has appeared in the opening credits.
 * Russell T Davies's pattern of using the same surnames is the most notable in this episode with Martha Jones, Francine Jones, Harriet Jones and Ianto Jones. Francine and Martha are related (mother and daughter).
 * In The Sontaran Stratagem 52 people died simultaneously (at the same time). In this episode 24 planets were stolen simultaneously.
 * Scientist and author Richard Dawkins has a cameo as himself. Dawkins is married to Lalla Ward, the actress who portrayed Romana II. The two were introduced by Douglas Adams, who met Ward in his capacity as the show's script editor.
 * The weapon Jack Harkness used against the Daleks in this episode was the same one he built in Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways
 * In the associated Doctor Who Confidential episode, both Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri can be seen attending the initial cast read-through for this episode, even though their characters Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler, respectively, do not appear.
 * Clom the home of Abzorbaloff was one of the stolen planets. After he found out, The Doctor said "Cloms gone, whoed want Clom" as he knew (and dispised) The Abzorbaloff.

Ratings
To be added

Myths and rumours

 * The presence of Davros in his episode had been rumoured for a long time before broadcast. An associated rumour suggested that the episode would reveal that Donna was actually Davros in disguise or Caan mutating himself into Davros.
 * Early "spoilers" posted to the Internet suggested that Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler would appear in this episode, as would K-9.

Filming Locations
Cardiff, Pontypridd

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * Normally when a Dalek exterminates someone the beam normally hits them and disappears but when The Doctor gets exterminated you can clearly see the ray go through him and come out the other side.
 * At the end of Turn Left Bad wolf was on the TARDIS. It's not there now. They've travelled to Earth, as per Rose's request. Having arrived, there's no further need for the Bad Wolf message. In addition, it's been suggested that the Bad Wolf wording might have been put there by the chameleon circuit; perhaps the Doctor was able to rectify this, or the TARDIS itself decided it didn't need it anymore.
 * The TARDIS didn't translate the 'Judoon-speak', though the Doctor could understand it. This could have been similar to the Hath. This may also have been done to give a bit of humour to a much serious episode. Later in the episode we can understand the Judoon, maybe it just takes time to work. Maybe it can not be translated into English because there is no English for it, it is clear that it is used as some form of clearance code, or something along those lines. Or perhaps Translations are not used in the Shadow Proclamation for legal reasons. Or Doctor understands Judoon language(as being able to respond to Judoons), so no need to translate. Or maybe it translated for the Doctor and Donna, but didn't translate for us, the viewers, because the way Donna looks at the Doctor when he is speaking seems as though she understands him.
 * When Harriet Jones transfers control of the sub-wave network to Torchwood, the map circles an area in Swansea, not Cardiff. Russell T. Davies was born in Swansea, this may be an intentional error.
 * When Jones' sub-wave system seeks out those who have worked with the Doctor, only the companions of the Tenth Doctor are singled out, not other past companions and/or acquaintances who might have worked with previous incarnations. Presumably, Harriet, having only encountered the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, would have calibrated her invention to seek out those who worked with them, and not, say, the Second Doctor; this might also explain why The Brigadier was not one of those contacted. In a similar vein, the absence of Sally Sparrow might be because she never actually travelled with the Doctor.
 * Donna indicates she has no idea what regeneration is, even though she was present when Martha referenced it re:Jenny in The Doctor's Daughter. (She might not have understood what was meant at the time.)
 * When Martha is about to engage the Project Indigo device, there is a scene where she says goodbye to Captain Jack over the phone, using a bluetooth headset. In the shot immediately preceding, she is not wearing the headset. In the shot immediately following, right before she activates the device, she is seen removing the headset.
 * Why did Harriet's computer screen turn off just because she died? Presumably the computer was destroyed as well as Harriet, perhaps by an EMP or some other effect. The Subwave could have shut itself off to protect any vital systems from being damaged by the blast.
 * How did Captain Jack know exactly where to teleport to shoot the Dalek that had shot The Doctor? He probably tracked the TARDIS location. The numbers 4 and 9 were to reactivate his vortex manipulator. He also appears to have arrived facing the Dalek, so his reflexes would have come into play.
 * If Rose asked her "Control" to lock on to the TARDIS and transport, why did she end up at the other end of the street? Even a machine as good as the TARDIS can make slight errors. The control did reasonably well to land her quite near to the TARDIS, especially since we don't yet know where "Control" is located; if it's on Pete's World or Donna's World, accuracy may have been difficult.
 * How can Davros have an organic body when he was just a head in Remembrance of the Daleks. Presumably he generated a new body, considering he's able to create Daleks from his own cells.
 * Dalek Caan didn't have emotions, so how can he laugh or go insane in the first place? Caan was a member of the Cult of Skaro, who were made to think like the enemy, i.e. having names and some emotions. Also the unnamed Dalek in the episode Dalek displayed emotion. As indicated in dialogue in this episode, emotions are discouraged, but still exist. There are also other examples of Daleks displaying anger, pride, and even a sense of humor in past episodes (for an example of the last, reference the "pest control" comment directed at the Cybermen in Doomsday. Not only that, but Davros, when he created the darleks, didnt remove all emotion, just those which he considered a weakness. Emotions such as mercy, compassion and forgivness. Humour (or mockery), and a certain joy at destroying things is rarely considered a weakness by a bad guy!
 * Ianto is seen watching Paul O'Grady, but it was said earlier in the episode that it was a Saturday. Paul O'Grady is not aired on a Saturday. A possibility is that the move of Earth has taken time or time has skipped forward since the mention of the date was prior to the move. Perhaps Ianto uses Sky+. Also, there is clear indication that, on earth at least, at least a few hours might have elapsed.
 * How would Jack know enough about regeneration that Rose should stand back from the Doctor because "you know what happens next"? Although he is familiar with the concept of regeneration, he wasn't present when the Doctor changed the last time. But he did witness the "light show" that occurred when The Master regenerated in Utopia, so he'd know it was a relatively violent event. He might have also been privy to details of some of the Doctor's past earth-based regenerations, although none of them involved a similar display.
 * When a Dalek turns around and implies, "New location, Torchwood", the blue light in it's eye is switched off as if it has been blinded and does not come on until a few seconds later.

Continuity

 * This episode marks the first on-screen appearance of the Shadow Proclamation, first mentioned in DW: Rose. This episode reveals that it is an organization, not a treaty.


 * This episode also marks the first appearance in the main Doctor Who series of the following characters and locations from the spinoff series: Luke Smith, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, the Torchwood Hub, 13 Bannerman Road, and the Mr Smith computer. Also referenced for the first time in the parent series is Owen Harper. However this is not the first reference to Toshiko Sato as she had previously appeared in Aliens of London.


 * For those who have not watched the spinoffs, the episode provides a brief reference to the deaths of Owen and Tosh in Torchwood, but offers no explanation for the absence of K-9 in The Sarah Jane Adventures.


 * The Medusa Cascade, first mentioned in DW: Last of the Time Lords also plays a key role in the episode.


 * The Valiant last appeared in DW: The Poison Sky to help UNIT with attacking the ATMOS Factory. In this episode, it is seen being swarmed (and most likely destroyed) by a huge group of Daleks using 'maximum extermination'), which they also use to exterminate a man that rebels against their order of human surrender. This is the first time this power has been used. When building the new Dalek army, Davros most likely improved the Daleks' weaponry.


 * The Doctor deposed Harriet Jones in DW: The Christmas Invasion.


 * The gun that Captain Jack used to kill the Dalek with was the same gun he used in DW: The Parting of the Ways.
 * The Doctor previously disabled the teleportation function of Captain Jack's Time Agency wrist strap in DW: Last of the Time Lords and regained the correct digits to reactivate it in this episode.


 * Gwen states that she intends to "go out fighting" like Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato to Ianto after handing him a firearm during the Dalek invasion of Torchwood 3, referring to their deaths in TW: Exit Wounds.


 * The sub-wave network mentioned by Harriet Jones, and funded by the Mr Copper Foundation is most likely a reference to Mr Copper from DW: Voyage of the Damned.


 * The Doctor mentions a previous attempt to move the earth "a long time ago", possibly a reference to the goal of the Daleks in DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth, as well as the feature film remake Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 AD which co-starred Bernard Cribbins, who plays Donna's grandfather in this episode. Or the Time Lords moving Earth in 'Trial of a Time Lord'


 * Sarah Jane Smith, Rose, Jack, Martha have all encountered the Daleks.
 * Sarah first encountered the Daleks in DW: Death to the Daleks and then in Genesis of the Daleks where she also encountered Davros.
 * Rose first encountered the Daleks in DW: Dalek, and then in DW: Bad Wolf (TV story)/The Parting of the Ways and in DW: Army of Ghosts/Doomsday.
 * Jack previously encountered them in DW: Bad Wolf (TV story)/The Parting of the Ways
 * Martha first encountered the Daleks in DW: Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks.


 * Donna is told that she had something on her back. She was first told she has something on her back in DW: The Fires of Pompeii and it was a major element of the preceding episode, Turn Leftthe Beetle sound effect is heard as this point aswell.
 * This is the second on screen appearance of the Judoon the first being DW: Smith and Jones.


 * The Daleks say "The Daleks are the masters of Earth!" they previously said this in DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
 * The Doctor calls out "Bye!" to Davros in a similar fashion that the Fourth Doctor bade him farewell in DW: Destiny of the Daleks.


 * Jack refers to Sarah Jane's encounter with the Slitheen (SJA: Revenge of the Slitheen).


 * The Doctor's TARDIS has reverted back to its original appearance and is no longer covered with the words "Bad Wolf" as at the end of Turn Left.


 * Mr Smith using every phone on Earth to call The Doctor is similar to everyone saying 'Doctor' in Last of the Time Lords


 * The Doctor forces himself to stand in order to begin regeneration. This is consistent with the previously seen regenerations of the Ninth Doctor and The Master, but not of the regenerations shown for the the first eight Doctors, all of whom are shown regenerating lying down (save for the Second and Eighth Doctors whose regenerations are not shown).

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 part of Series 4 Volume 4 alongside Turn Left and Journey's End in September 2008.