Planet of the Dead ( TV story ) Planet of the Dead was the first of the specials that aired throughout 2009 . It was also notable as being the first " Doctor Who " Easter special . And so far , it remains the only Easter special of " Doctor Who " ; keeping with the previous Christmas specials ' s theme of having the holiday take place in the episode , it is Easter during the Doctor ' s adventure . This episode marks one of the few times that the Doctor has met someone who could be his equal in adventuring . " Planet of the Dead " also featured guest star Michelle Ryan as Lady Christina de Souza , who acted as the companion for the episode , continuing the practice of pairing a guest actor with the Doctor during a special . " Planet of the Dead " was also notable for introducing the " he will knock four times " and " something is returning " arcs , something that would come up again in the following story , " The Waters of Mars " and ultimately conclude in the two - part serial " The End of Time " . From a production point of view , " Planet of the Dead " was the first episode of BBC Wales " Doctor Who " to be written by two people , Russell T Davies and Gareth Roberts . The most notable point about " Planet of the Dead " was that it was the two - hundredth " Doctor Who " story , and as such , the bus featured in the episode was named the 200 to connote the celebration . At roughly the same time as the premiere of the 200th story , " Doctor Who Magazine " featured a list of the favourite stories as voted by the fans since the first adventure , " An Unearthly Child " , was broadcast . " Planet of the Dead " clocked in at # 99 . " Planet of the Dead " was also the first episode to be filmed and broadcast in high - definition . From this episode onward , the series would remain in HD format . Synopsis . When a London bus takes a detour to an alien world , the Tenth Doctor must join forces with the extraordinary Lady Christina . But the mysterious planet holds terrifying secrets and time is running out as the deadly Swarm gets closer . . . Plot . As the night shift of the International Gallery museum commences , armed guards are at work protecting a highly - coveted golden goblet . One guard types out a security code to unlock a security system level . He turns to the side , raising a four - sided barricade of laser alarm sensors around the cup . It might seem foolproof , but the one thing the guards haven ' t counted on is a sleuth attempt to pilfer the cup from above . . . While their backs are turned , a round panel is quietly pried loose from the domed ceiling of the museum . On the rooftop is a woman in a black clothes and a ski mask . She peers down and assesses the security detail . The woman lowers herself from the roof , flawlessly infiltrates the museum without setting off the alarms , and replaces the cup with a mechanical Maneki Neko ; when the guards finally turn around at the sound of her releasing her winch on the roof , she waves at them in a mocking fashion . As the alarms go off , she dashes out of the museum and unmasks ; she is Lady Christina de Souza , an expert thief . Christina runs out to the street to see someone being arrest ed , and she says , " Sorry , lover " to her presumed accomplice , getting away with the prize while he takes the fall . She then takes a back route onto the main road , where she frantically looks for a way out as police move in searching for her , although unaware of her presence . She runs onto a 200 bus to Victoria , where she exchanges her diamond earrings for a bus ride . Soon afterwards , the Tenth Doctor comes onto the bus , and uses a psychic paper on the Oyster card scanner . He then sits down opposite Lady Christina . After enjoying a chocolate Easter egg and engaging in some small talk with Christina , he receives an alert from the rhondium sensor in his pocket that the particles he ' s been looking for have been detected . As he fiddles with the sensor , he gets inquisitive looks from a young man sitting parallel to him . The police are still after Christina , since they know she has stolen the cup . Christina is visibly frightened by the sound of the wailing sirens , giving the Doctor reason to wonder if she ' s hiding something . It looks like the vehicle is about to be pulled over , but whilst chasing the bus through a tunnel , the police witness it disappear in front of their eyes ; startled , they set up a perimeter around the area . Meanwhile , the bus passes through a ripple in space and a bright , blinding light flashes out . The passengers scream as the bus is put through the wringer ; the metal frame buckles , the windows burst into shards of flying glass , and everyone ducks down in their rows . After the bus takes a hard landing back onto solid ground , the Doctor ' s jaw is agape at the sight of a completely different environment . Rather than tarmac , street lamps , and dark , rainy nighttime skies , it is now daytime , with sand as far the eye can see in every direction . They have been spat out into a world covered in desert with three suns . The bus has been wrecked in the process of landing , with smoke hissing from its engine and parts of its double - decker roof sheared apart . The bus driver proclaims it unmovable . The Doctor tells the passengers that the bus has passed through a wormhole into a different world , proving this to them by throwing a handful of sand into the space behind the bus . The sand causes a rippling effect in the air . The same man who eyeballed the rhondium detector points a finger at the Doctor and demands to know if he used it to make the bus end up in the desert . Annoyed for receiving immediate blame from a human on a bus and having dealt with the animosity of the Midnight incident , the Doctor doesn ' t keep to himself again . Instead , he comes clean and says he was tracking a hole in reality that suddenly grew big and the bus drove into it . He elaborates that the other end of the wormhole was in the tunnel on Earth . Among the passengers is Carmen , who has been hearing mysterious voices since Christina got on . The bus driver announces his desire to return to Earth , and promptly runs through the wormhole , accompanied by the Doctor ' s , " No , don ' t ! " . The other passengers of the bus witness the driver ' s skin and tissues incinerating , before he disappears into the wormhole with the same rippling effect as the sand . Meanwhile on Earth , where the police are watching the wormhole , the driver ' s blackened skeleton steps out , halts , and then tumbles to the ground . Unnerved , the police declare an emergency Code One , calling UNIT to the scene . After watching the bus driver ' s death , the Doctor sums up that the metal of the bus protected them from the same fate as the driver when they passed through the wormhole ( like a Faraday cage , as Christina states ) . Everyone returns to the bus so the group can make sense of the situation . Christina takes charge , introduces herself and the Doctor , then everyone introduces themselves : Nathan , a young adult with slicked up hair , Barclay , about the same age and the one who confronted the Doctor , Angela Whittaker , an older blond woman , Louis , who goes by the nickname " Lou , " and his wife , Carmen . Christina notices the Doctor is the brainpower of the bunch and has him fill the rest of the group in on what has happened . The Doctor explains to the passengers of the bus that they went through the wormhole by accident , but Carmen tells him with surprising knowledge that it was a doorway put there for a reason . Her husband Lou notes she has had a gift of foresight since she was a girl which has helped them make small wins on the lottery . The Doctor deems Carmen a low - level psychic , and theorises the alien sun has amplified her abilities . He asks her if she can see anything . She foretells , " Something is coming , riding on the wind and shining . " When asked what she means , she answers , " Death . Death is coming . " Her words send Angela into complete hysterics , Nathan panics no one will find them , Barclay begins to get rebellious , and both Christina and Lou are drowned out by the uproar . The Doctor quells the clamouring bus and regains control , but Angela is still sobbing heavily . He instinctively grips her by the arms to get her attention and asks where she was heading to take her mind off the peril . She replies she was going home to her family , Mike and Suzanne ; thinking about them calms her and abolishes her panicky state . The Doctor moves on to Barclay , who has a love interest named Tina ; Nathan ' s dealing with unemployment ; and Carmen and Lou talk about whose turn it is to cook . The Doctor asks Christina where she was going ; she is the only person in the bus with something to hide . She tells him she was going far away , not giving away her thievery . Having defused the tension in the bus , the Doctor reminds the group to focus on those pleasant thoughts so the fear doesn ' t set in again , then informs them the planet outside is " nothing compared to all those things waiting for you " on Earth . He promises to get them all home . Back on Earth , the highway tunnel has been shut down as Detective McMillan and the police officers wait to intercept Lady Christina . They find themselves joined by a fleet of UNIT soldiers and weapon - toting armoured vehicles , and have to deal with the troops forcibly interfering with their line of work . The woman in charge , Captain Erisa Magambo , establishes a strategic hold on the highway . The detective tries to remain in control , but a soldier holds him back as a firing squad readies themselves to open fire if anything hostile emerges through the wormhole . Nathan and Barclay dismantle part of the bus ' s upholstered seats and bring them to the Doctor , who wants to wedge them beneath the wheels of the bus like duckboards . This will give the wheels enough traction to throw the bus in reverse and back through the wormhole . Using experience from trips to the Kalahari , Christina has them air out the tyres slightly to improve it further by giving the bus extra grip , as its weight is more distributed . When Barclay is distressed over how deep the wheels will run , Christina produces a fold - up spade from her rucksack to begin digging them out , then a small axe for Nathan to unearth the seats more quickly . This piques the Doctor ' s curiosity , but he is distracted when Angela asks for a key to get the bus running . The Doctor informs her the bus doesn ' t use keys , just a master switch and stop and go buttons . She follows his instructions and attempts to start the bus . The engine cranks and coughs , but fails to get going . Christina and the Doctor pop open the 200 ' s hood to find it gummed up with sand . Christina asks if anyone has experience with mechanics , and Barclay states he does . He is assigned the task of stripping the air filter . The Doctor wanders off , causing Christina to chase after him . Unbeknownst to them , they are being watched from a monitor by a creature with insectoid hands . The Doctor questions Christina about her toting a backpack that she refuses to let out of her sight , which has an axe and spade inside by happenstance . That along with her fear of sirens has him wondering what she ' s running from . She initially refuses to answer his questions , instead calling herself and the Doctor " two equal mysteries . " After a bit more conversation , however , Lady Christina de Souza announces her full title to him , and they shake hands . In response to her claim of nobility , the Doctor says he is a Lord of a " big estate " . Growing savvy , Christina notices the Doctor seems unusually acclimated to the out of the ordinary . He pulls her attention off the subject and exclaims , " Allons - y ! " Christina impresses him with some articulate knowledge of the French language herself ; " Oui mais pas si nous allons vers un cauchemar . " As they continue walking in the desert , they see what appears to be storm clouds approaching . Christina fears it could be a deadly sandstorm , but the Doctor thinks it is something worse . " It ' s a storm — who says it ' s sand ? " he notes mysteriously . The Doctor and Christina rush back to the bus as Carmen begins to have distressing visions . He borrows Barclay ' s cell phone , pulling out his sonic screwdriver and turning it into a superphone . The Doctor then attempts to call someone on Earth . Unsure of the number , he dials Pizza Geronimo by accident . Redialling the correct number , he ' s connected to UNIT ' s automated phone system . Angela gives him a tip to hold " 0 " ; it overrides the machine , which allows one to speak with a real person . Through the helpline , the Doctor gets in touch with UNIT at the tunnel . Speaking to Captain Magambo , the Doctor informs her of the crisis , tells her he is stranded without his TARDIS . Magambo connects him with UNIT ' s scientific advisor , Malcolm Taylor , who is beyond elated to know he ' s speaking to the one person he ' s always wanted to meet . Malcolm describes an ingenious process of measuring the wormhole by creating a reflection of its energy readings , which prompts the Doctor to request a capacity scan so he can get a full idea of what the wormhole is like . He deems Malcolm his " new best friend " and hangs up for the time being . The group sets back to digging the bus wheels out from the sand in order to enable them to move it back through the wormhole . The Doctor and Christina set off to explore the area . They find that the storm from earlier has grown closer . The Doctor takes a snapshot of the storm on Barclay ' s phone to send to Malcolm for further analysis . From what he and Christina can tell , it looks like a massive sandstorm sweeping across the planet towards them , glinting in the sun as if made from metal . On the bus , Carmen shudders as her visions tell her these things are a storm that devours . At the same time on the dunes , the Doctor and Christina are found and captured by a fly - like alien who holds them at gunpoint with a blaster . The Doctor and Christina are escorted to the alien ' s crashed ship , where another alien is waiting . One points a blaster at them and blames the Doctor for their crashed ship . The Doctor soon explains to the two aliens , who identify themselves as Tritovore s , that they mean them no harm . He assures them that " the 200 " , which is how the aliens refer to the bus due to its route number , is trapped on the planet just as they are . The Tritovores in turn become more friendly ; the telepathic translation devices they use enable them to know the Doctor is not lying . The Doctor then asks them to send a probe out to investigate the sandstorm seen earlier . When told that the ship is without power , he promptly fixes the ship ' s power to launch it with a well - placed kick . He and Christina learn they are in the Scorpion Nebula on the planet San Helios , which is on the other side of the universe from Earth ; the Doctor comments on how Christina got her wish of being " so far away " . The aliens explain that they had been on their way to trade with the people of San Helios when their ship had crashed . They show a hologram depicting San Helios as a thriving environment with advanced cities . Christina notices the Doctor treats the visual of the amazing city like he ' s used to such things , then asks about his title of lordship . He reveals he comes from a race of Time Lords . Christina suggests they should seek out the city in San Helios for help ; the Doctor isn ' t so sure it will be that simple . The Tritovores give the Doctor information that the entire planet became a desert last year , with all 100 billion inhabitants suddenly vanishing along with the city , wildlife , oceans , and mountains . Everything has been reduced to sand , including the inhabitants . The idea of having " dead people " in her hair repulses Christina , whose hair has sand caught in it . She quickly attempts to stroke it out . The Doctor receives a phone call from Malcolm and Magambo . The wormhole has grown to four miles in length and is heading outward . Neither Malcolm nor the Doctor can understand what could make it grow on its own . Magambo has ordered all aircraft above London grounded to keep others from falling in . She wants him to answer if the wormhole could be dangerous to the planet , but Barclay ' s phone picks up a call waiting . The Doctor cuts off his conversation , knowing the answer would cause more trouble . Switching over to the second caller , the Doctor picks up Nathan on the other end , using another mobile phone . Their attempts to get the bus dislodged from the sand have exhausted all the petrol , putting them back at square one , and Nathan wonders if the Doctor can hold true to his promise in spite of the marooned bus . The Doctor does not answer . He leaves the call hanging at the sound of beeping from the Tritovore ship ' s controls . The probe has reached the storm - turns out , its not a storm . The camera on the probe is transmitting unsettling footage . It shows that the " storm " is a swarm of billions of carnivorous stingray - like aliens with metal exoskeletons before the transmission is cut off by the probe being eaten by one of the alien stingrays . The Doctor then analyses the alien physique by the data they get and theorises that they must be creating the wormhole effect . Their velocity as a pack is reaching a speed that creates static buildup with enough energy to pierce open the fabric of space . When asked why they don ' t burn up upon passing through , the Doctor replies that any metal they eat gets extruded into their bones . It has made them immune to the effects of the wormhole because their exoskeletons have transformed into metal . They ' ve been using the portals to jump through space and prey on anything they find edible . Another , scarier realisation dawns on him — all of San Helios has been devoured by these predators . What remains of it , including the dead , makes up the sand of the deserts . The Tritovores and the Doctor plan to get away from the planet before the swarm hits their area , and need to get the crystal power source that makes the Tritovorian ship fly . The Doctor and the two aliens try to bring up the source manually , but the entire system is unresponsive , lacking power . Christina , in the meantime , prepares her cat burgling equipment , and lines down the shaft with her winch . The Doctor stops her just in time before she is electrocuted by a security grid . After disabling it , she makes her way slowly down the shaft . While curiously flipping the top of her rucksack , the Doctor tells Christina about himself . He talks about how he can travel through time and space in his blue box and some of the places he ' s been , including the Court of King Athelstan in 924 AD . . . but he didn ' t remember her being there . At this , he pulls the Cup of Athelstan out of her bag . He realises that she ' s a thief , and she says she prefers to say she " liberated " it . The Doctor doesn ' t approve of her lifestyle of thievery , but levels with her , admitting he stole the TARDIS from his own people . While Christina lowers down the gravity well , a screech rings out from below . The Doctor remembers they never found out why the Tritovores crashed , until he ' s informed they have an open - vent system . Much like birds being sucked into an airplane , he suspects a stingray got pulled into the ship . As he feared , when Christina reaches the bottom of the shaft to get the crystal and its holding brackets , she sees a sleeping stingray behind some metal poles ; it quickly stirs from its resting place . The Doctor tells her that it had been dormant from the cold , but the temperature is being raised by her body heat and is waking it up . She replies she has that effect on men , but the Doctor isn ' t laughing ; he urges her to hurry and , once she has the fixture in hand , brings her back up . The alien stingray which was down in the shaft next to Christina gives chase , but it gets fried in the security grid after she turns it back on whilst ascending . As they run away with the Tritovores out of the ship , the Doctor offers them a means of escape on the 200 . Before they accept , a deafening roar booms through the ship . The Doctor wonders if the Tritovores collided with more than one stingray , and speculates that it could be munching through the metal sleeve - covered infrastructure of the ship . One of the Tritovores gets ready to escape the ship , but the other goes back to shut down the controls . Another stingray bursts in from above and knocks him over , then gulps him down its jaws . The other , in rage , prepares to fire its weapon at the Stingray , but before he can , he is eaten as well . The Doctor and Christina run to the bus . Once there , the Doctor pitches the crystal into the sand because he doesn ' t need it since it only worked to power the alien ship ' s components , not an Earth - built bus . Christina protests she risked her life for it , but the Doctor corrects her : she risked her life for the clamps it was mounted on . The Doctor attaches 4 Tritovorian anti - gravity clamps onto the wheels , and uses the 5th to interface the bus steering wheel with the Tritovorian technology . The Doctor calls Malcolm , telling him that they need to prepare to close the wormhole . Malcolm figures out a way to do it and starts on the process immediately . Integrating the 5th anti - gravity clamp to the bus ' s steering proves difficult , as the two technologies are incompatible alone ; he needs something soft , malleable , non - corrosive and able to conduct electricity , suggesting gold , to act as an interface . Reluctantly , Christina hands the Doctor the Cup of Athelstan along with a hammer upon request . She asks him to " be careful with it " as it is a millennia - old artefact worth 18 million pounds . He promises to do so , then smashes it to bits so it fits between the bus wheel and the anti - gravity clamp controller . In response , Christina says , " I hate you " . Once Malcolm is ready to close the wormhole , Captain Magambo orders him to close it to protect the Earth , despite the fact the Doctor and the passengers of Bus 200 are still trapped on the other side . Morally outraged at the idea of abandoning the Doctor who has saved humanity countless times before , Malcolm refuses to follow her order so they can allow the Doctor to get back to Earth . Drawing her gun on him , Magambo once again orders him to close the wormhole in the hopes of intimidating him . In spite of his fear , Malcolm passionately refuses to close the wormhole , surprising even Magambo . Their argument buys the Doctor precious time . He is able to make the bus lift out of the sand and into the air , flying back through the wormhole to Earth . However , the swarm is hard upon its heels . The tense stand - off between Captain Magambo and Malcolm is defused when a soldier tells her the bus is safely through , but they are not out of danger . Three of the stingrays have followed the bus through the wormhole ; furthermore , if they don ' t close the wormhole in time , the entire swarm will come through and devastate Earth . As the Doctor flies the bus across London , he attempts to dodge the stingrays whilst helping Malcolm overcome some technological difficulties via mobile phone . With just seconds to spare , Malcolm is able to close the wormhole just ahead of the main swarm ; though bullets prove unable to get through the stingrays metallic exoskeleton , missiles prove much more effective and two of the stingrays are shot down and killed almost immediately . The third goes after the 200 , but the Doctor sternly says " Oh no , you don ' t ! " and swings the bus violently around . The creature swoops in to take a bite out of the bus , but gets smacked right in the kisser by the vehicle ' s rear end and is stunned long enough for UNIT to get a fix on it and blow it out of the sky . After he manages this , Christina passionately kiss es the Doctor , taking back her earlier comment of " hating him " . Somewhat stunned but pleased , the Doctor takes on the manner of an actual bus driver and welcomes home " the mighty 200 " . The bus lands back on the spot where it vanished , being given a standing ovation by the assembled soldiers , and the passengers are released and taken to be examined by UNIT . The Doctor meets Malcolm , who embraces him in a hug and exclaims , " I love you ! " four times , to the Doctor ' s bemusement . Magambo gives the Doctor a salute even though he doesn ' t want one , trusting him that the creatures will not return . The Doctor replies they will generate more doorways ; it is part of their natural life cycle and something they can ' t help , but he ' ll try to nudge them onto uninhabited worlds . He also puts in a good word for Nathan , who needs a new job , and Barclay , who is good with engines , saying they ' re good to have in a crisis if Magambo would bring them on to UNIT as privates . Magambo then informs the Doctor that they found the TARDIS at Buckingham Palace , revealing it in the back of a military truck . Magambo then turns her attention to the task of clearing up three dead alien stingrays and inquires if the Doctor is willing to help with the paperwork , to which he declines . They part on friendly terms . Christina , meanwhile , is being searched by UNIT soldiers , but she breaks off and runs to the Doctor . D . I McMillan immediately moves in to capture her at last , but Christina hopes the Doctor will help her escape in the TARDIS . Additionally , she wants to come with him for adventure and excitement , telling him that is why she steals . Despite the fact that he had earlier proclaimed them to be " the perfect team " , he says no . When she asks him why , he replies sadly , " People have travelled with me , and I ' ve lost them . Lost them all . Never again . " He looks on silently as D . I McMillan proudly arrives to confront Christina with the charge of suspicion of theft . The police promptly arrest her and take her away , leaving the unperturbed Doctor by himself . The Doctor , about to enter the TARDIS , is told by Carmen to take care of himself ; the Doctor , full of joy , tells her the same . However , she replies , " No , but you be careful , because your song is ending , sir ! " When the bemused Doctor asks what she means by this , Carmen replies , " It is returning . It is returning through the dark , and then Doctor . . . oh but then . . . he will knock four times . " The implication of this prophecy leaves the Doctor very unnerved . After Carmen leaves , the Doctor decides to take pity on Christina , who is now handcuffed and being put in a police car . The Doctor points his sonic screwdriver at her handcuffs and frees her hands . Christina gets in the police car on one side and gets out on the other . She heads for the bus , chased by the police , and closes the doors after she gets on it . McMillan furiously orders her to open them , but the Doctor advises him to step back . The inspector charges him with aiding and abetting ; the Doctor feigns remorse and heads over to the TARDIS , saying , " I ' ll just step inside this police box and arrest myself . " The bus takes off , flying over the inspector ' s head and hovering over the TARDIS ; the door opens as the others watch . Smiling down at the Doctor , Christina happily tells him , " We could have been so good together " , revealing no hard feelings over her rejection . The Doctor merely smiles back and replies , " Christina , we were . " Christina flies off into the night , the other passengers cheering her off , and the Doctor merely watching ; the Doctor then heads into the TARDIS . The BARB official ratings are 9 . 54 million , the 5th most watched programme of the week , the second most watched on BBC of the week and the second most watched of Saturday 11th April . It also gained 200 , 000 viewers on BBC HD , the biggest ever audience for the channel . " Planet of the Dead " is now the sixth best rated " Doctor Who " episode since its 2005 revival with " Voyage of the Damned " , " The Next Doctor " , " Rose " , " Journey ' s End " and " The Christmas Invasion " beating the episode . Home video releases . " Planet of the Dead " was released on DVD and , for the first time for a " Doctor Who " episode , on Blu - ray in the United Kingdom on 29th June 2009 . The release includes a single bonus feature : In North America , the DVD and Blu - ray were released on 28 July 2009 . The release is identical to the Region 2 version , including the intact " Confidential " , even though it includes clips from the 1996 TV movie which at the time could not be released in Region 1 due to licensing issues . In Australia , the DVD was released on 29th of June 2009 , Blu - ray on 1st of October 2009 and included the same special features as the UK release . This is the first " Doctor Who " episode to ever be released on the high - definition Blu - ray format . The four specials plus " The Next Doctor " were released in the UK on both DVD and Blu - ray in a box set in January 2010 , with a North American release scheduled for 2nd February 2010 . This episode is listed as episode 16 of Series 4 on Netflix in the US . Previously , it had been listed as a separate standalone title , before vanishing from the service entirely some time in 2011 . It reappeared on Netflix in 2014 , concurrent with the additions of " The Day of the Doctor " and " The Time of the Doctor " to the service . International broadcast . The Canadian cable network Space aired the special on July 25th , 2009 in an 85 - minute timeslot ( including commercials ) with minimal edits , the most noticeable being the omission of the trailer for " The Waters of Mars " . As a result of the edit , the episode ends uniquely , with the traditional " howlaround " sound replaced instead with a single tolling of the cloister bell . BBC America aired the special on 26 July as part of the rollout of its new HD service . This marks the changeover for " Doctor Who " from broadcasts on Syfy to BBC America , which has taken over first - run broadcasts of the series .