Editing (section) The Fires of Pompeii (TV story) 0 You are not logged in. == Story notes == * Caecilius' purchase of the TARDIS in the belief that it's a work of modern art is a deliberate reference to ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'' — one of episode writer [[James Moran]]'s favourite stories from the classic series. In ''City of Death'', the TARDIS is parked in an art gallery, causing a pair of critics ([[John Cleese]] and [[Eleanor Bron]]) to discuss its artistic merits before being even more impressed when it dematerialises in front of them. * The Pyrovile were originally called Pyrovillaxians. This was shortened to Pyrovellians, then Pyrovile. * Originally ''The Fires of Pompeii'' was intended to be transmitted after ''[[Planet of the Ood (TV story)|Planet of the Ood]]'', but this was swapped because, as [[Russell T Davies]] wrote in ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]'': ** "Since the Ood tale is surprisingly dark, I'd thought that it would undercut people's comedy expectations of Life With Donna, but then, at the read-through, I thought that the Ood episode was dark to the point of grim. It's a very macho, testosterone-fuelled script, and they're never my favourites, so, yes, it's better as the third episode." * BBC4 broadcast three related programmes on the same evening as the original broadcast; "Earth: the Power of the Planet" (an episode about volcanoes) at 2010BST, "Pompeii: the Last Day" at 2110BST, and "10 Things You Didn't Know About Volcanoes" (actually broadcast at 0155BST the following morning). The ''[[Radio Times]]'' listing for The Fires of Pompeii made reference to "Pompeii: the Last Day". * The fountain in this story is reused as the [[cloning]] vat in ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]''. * In an email to Ben Cook in ''The Writer's Tale'', Davies suggests that the escape pod the Doctor and Donna use to trigger the eruption and then flee Vesuvius might be a reworked [[Sontaran]] globe-ship, since they would need the ships for the upcoming Sontaran double episode. Whether or not they actually did so is unclear. * The "Petrus Dextrus" in [[Lucius Petrus Dextrus]] translates roughly to "stone right-hand". This is a reference to his right arm, which had turned to stone. * The name "Caecilius" translates roughly to "blind", which might be a reference to the people of Pompeii being "blind" about the upcoming eruption. * The names Caecilius, Metella and Quintus were taken from the historical character of {{w|Lucius Caecilius Iucundus}}, as well as his wife Metella and his son {{w|Quintus Caecilius Iucundus}}, all of whom featured in Book 1 of the ''Cambridge Latin Course'', which is also set in [[Pompeii]]. * The Doctor jokes that Donna is from [[Barcelona]], a reference to a running gag in ''Fawlty Towers''. The Ninth and Tenth Doctors also talked of visiting the planet [[Barcelona (planet)|Barcelona]] with their companion. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'' and ''[[Children in Need Special (TV story)|Born Again]]'') * The Caecilius family scrambling to steady fragile valuables every time the house shakes is very similar to a bit from Mary Poppins, even down to the shouting of "Positions!" * The episode addresses a long-standing issue of the "gift of translation" the Doctor or the TARDIS bestows upon companions. It is revealed that while the Doctor and Donna hear the Romans speaking colloquial English, with Cockney accents in some cases, the Romans hear them speaking Latin. When Donna and the Doctor actually speak Latin phrases e.g. "Veni, vidi, vici", the Romans hear this as Celtic, as the English language hadn't yet developed. The Doctor seems to have been unaware of what would happen in such a case. * Discounting [[Doctor Who (TV story)|the ''Doctor Who'' TV movie]] (1996), which was filmed in Canada, and ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]'', which featured some second-unit photography in [[New York City]] but nothing involving the cast, this is the first regular-series episode to be filmed outside the UK since ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'', which was filmed in [[Spain]] in [[1984 (production)|1984]]. * This episode's events were deeply engraved in the Doctor's subconscious. So when he regenerated into the [[Twelfth Doctor]], his subconscious chose the face of [[Caecilius]] to remind him to always try saving someone, no matter what the consequences were. * According to David Tennant on the episode commentary track, when the Doctor breaks off Lucius's arm, the original script had the Doctor throw it on the ground to break it into pieces. Tennant requested that this part be taken out, as he figured it was far too violent and destructive for the Doctor. Both him and Catherine Tate still consider the final cut to be "aggressive" by the Doctor's usual standards. === Ratings === * 9.04 million viewers (UK final)<ref>[http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/info.php?detail=ratings&start=100&type=date&order= Doctor Who - consolidated ratings]</ref> === Filming locations === ==== Studio ==== * Upper Boat Studios, Treforrest * Cinecittà Studios, Rome ==== Location ==== * Mount Vesuvius, Naples * Welsh Centre for International Affairs, Cardiff * Clearwell Caves, Gloucestershire * Morlais Quarry, Merthyr Tydfil * Taffs Well Quarry, Taffs Well === Production errors === {{Discontinuity}} * Just before the Doctor finds out that everyone with the "gift" is breathing in Vesuvius, the Doctor's glasses fog up but in the next shot, they are all clear. * As the Doctor and Donna enter the TARDIS after watching the destruction of Pompeii from the hills, the front of the TARDIS is facing outward, towards the city. In the very next shot, showing a wide view of the surroundings, the TARDIS has rotated, as shown by the sign on the door now facing approximately 90° to the left. This is purely a CGI error, as the sound of the Doctor and Donna entering the TARDIS can be heard but not seen. * A major error is that once the Doctor breaks off [[Lucius Petrus Dextrus]]' right arm, he becomes wider and it is quite obvious by this that the actor's arm is strapped under his toga. * The word "BIRTVS" or "BURTVS" can be seen carved into the stone towards the end after the Doctor saved the family, more specifically when Evelina and Quintus are holding hands. 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