The Runaway Bride (TV story)

"Drink the particles, become the key!"

- The Doctor

Summary
As Donna is about to marry her boyfriend Lance on Christmas Eve, she suddenly finds herself aboard the TARDIS. As the Doctor tries to get Donna to the church on time, the alien Empress of the Racnoss watches closely from the throne in her spaceship. How is Donna the key to an ancient plot to destroy the Earth? With time running out, can the Doctor solve the puzzle, defeat the Empress and stop her army of robot Santas?

Plot
Donna Noble walks down the aisle in a church, beginning her wedding ceremony. Suddenly, a strange light appears around her, and she disappears off into the sky in a burst of light. This light enters the TARDIS, still orbiting a supernova immediately after Rose's departure. Donna materialises in the TARDIS, and demands the Doctor tell her where she is. The Doctor is clearly still reeling from the loss of his beloved Rose, and is truly lost for words.

The Doctor snaps out of his grief and starts to work out how Donna managed to arrive. He comments that it is not only unusual, it is physically impossible. She panics and tries to leave the TARDIS. Outside she sees the supernova, and the Doctor tells her that this is his spaceship, and he's an alien. Donna demands that the Doctor takes her to the church. The two argue as Donna accuses the Doctor of abduction. She believes this as she discovers a jacket, and asks whose it is. The Doctor looks horror-struck - it is Rose's. He tells Donna that he lost his friend. She takes the wrong meaning from this, and believes Rose is dead.

In the church, all the guests are extremely confused. Guests try to find excuses for Donna's departure. The TARDIS arrives in Chiswick and as she steps outside, she realises it's bigger on the inside. The Doctor comments that the TARDIS is "recalibrating". She runs away from the police box and tells him that no one will stop her from marrying Lance, her fiancé. She desperately tries to get to the church. She calls the Doctor a Martian, and he responds bemusedly to this, as she tries to hitch a taxi. No one stops for her however, and those that do don't take her seriously.

Eventually she gets a taxi, but Donna realises she has no money neither does the Doctor and the two of them are still stranded. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to make a phonebox spill money, and she reaches her mother and leaves a confusing message. As this is happening, the Doctor notices a brass band on the street - wearing Santa masks.

Donna gets into a taxi and the Doctor suddenly realises the danger she is in. He hurtles into the TARDIS and chases after her, down a motorway, flying the TARDIS maniacally. The taxi driver turns out to be one of the Robot Santas, and starts driving off with Donna on board. She is locked inside, when the Doctor dramatically arrives after zooming down the motorway...

Cast & Characters

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Donna Noble (The Bride) - Catherine Tate
 * Empress of the Racnoss — Sarah Parish
 * Lance Bennett — Don Gilet
 * Geoff Noble — Howard Attfield
 * Sylvia Noble — Jacqueline King
 * Vicar — Trevor Georges
 * Rhodri — Rhodri Meiler
 * Nerys — Krystal Archer
 * Taxi driver — Glen Wilson
 * Little girl — Zafirah Boateng
 * Robot Santas — Paul Kasey, George Cottle

Production crew
to be added

Story Notes

 * A controversy occurred during filming of this story as guests at a hotel were awakened and frightened by gunfire and explosions during filming of one scene in the street below, including one who had just returned from the conflict in Israel.


 * Though set at Christmas, this story was filmed in late July, with an average temperature of thirty degrees, centigrade. David Tennant was quoted as saying he was "blinking boiling" during filming.


 * As part of the 2006 Children In Need concert, a four minute clip from this episode was shown. It features Donna riding in a taxi, unaware that it is being driven by a Robot Santa. The Doctor gives chase in the TARDIS down a motorway and tries to persuade Donna to jump between the two vehicles.


 * This is the first appearance of companion Donna Noble. It is debatable whether Donna qualifies as an actual companion for this episode, though in the eyes of the show makers, she gains this status. She also recieves a lead credit at the start which so far only the Doctor and his companion have recieved. She returned in Partners in Crime in Series 4.


 * Catherine Tate was unable to attend the traditional first cast read-through of the episode. David Tennant's girlfriend, and former guest star Sophia Myles (The Girl in the Fireplace) read the part of Donna Noble on this occasion.


 * According to David Tennant on his DVD commentary, the reprise of the cliffhanger scene from Doomsday had to be refilmed for The Runaway Bride as the change of directors and cinematographers would have resulted in a discontinuity in terms of lighting between the earlier footage and that shot for the special.


 * The "TARDIS car chase" sequence was the first part of the episode to be publicly screened when it was included in the Music and Monsters charity concert TV special, broadcast several weeks before the episode.

Ratings

 * 9.4 million viewers

Myths
to be added

Filming Locations

 * This is the first episode to be filmed in the new Upper Boat studios.
 * Filming also also took place in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. (Representing the Torchwood base)

Discontinuity, Plot Holes and Errors

 * Even though this episode takes place immediately after Doomsday in terms of the Doctor's timeline, almost six months have passed since the Battle of Canary Wharf. This makes it unclear what time the Bad Wolf Bay scene in Doomsday took place in, presumably some time within these months. Earlier, Doomsday makes it clear that time does not pass at the same rate in the two universes involved.
 * How come the fires don't go out once the water has been released from the drains? (There could be an alien substance or oil preventing fires from going out easily).

Continuity

 * The Tribophysical waveform macro-kinetic extrapolator was first seen in Boom Town.
 * The Robot Santas previously appeared in The Christmas Invasion.
 * These events are refered to in The Sound of Drums by The Master.

DVD Releases

 * This episode was released as the sole story on Doctor Who : The Runaway Bride, alongside the full Children In Need 2006 concert.
 * It is also included in the Series 3 boxset.

Behind the Scenes

 * For some shots in was suggested that the Torchwood helicopter be used for certain shots by Patrick Schweitzer, this was turned down