The Hungry Earth ( TV story ) The Hungry Earth was the eighth episode of the fifth series of BBC Wales " Doctor Who " . It was the first part of a two - part story that featured the first televised re - appearance of the Silurian s since 1984 ' s " Warriors of the Deep " . It also introduced a new branch of the Silurian species , who are different both in appearance and in culture . Synopsis . It ' s 2020 , and the most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth ' s crust than man has ever gone before — but now the ground itself is fighting back . The Eleventh Doctor , Amy and Rory arrive in a tiny mining village , and find themselves plunged into a battle against a deadly danger from a bygone age . Plot . In 2020 , in the small Welsh village of Cwmtaff , a team led by Dr Nasreen Chaudhry is attempting the deepest drilling project in history to investigate minerals that have appeared locally , but otherwise have not been seen on Earth ' s surface for over twenty million years . Mo Northover , a night watchman on the project , is helping his dyslexic son Elliot read the book " The Gruffalo " , without his headphones for the audio option . His wife Ambrose gives him his lunch , and sends him off to work . At the site , Ambrose ' s father , Tony Mack , is celebrating their latest drill with Nasreen . They have reached their latest goal of 21 kilometres ! Mo arrives , and sends them off so he can start his shift , happy to a have a peaceful night to himself . By night time , a strange earthquake strikes . Investigating , he finds a smoking hole in a storeroom floor . He plunges his hand in and finds nothing beneath it but air . After his torch is dropped onto the dirt , though , he watches as it sinks . He manages to pull himself away , but bumbles , getting his feet stuck in the dirt . He is promptly dragged down . Shortly thereafter , the Eleventh Doctor arrives in Cwmtaff with Amy Pond and Rory Williams , having promised them a vacation in Rio de Janeiro , missing by several thousand miles ; the TARDIS has brought them to the wrong place yet again , much to the annoyance of the companion s . As they look across the valley , Amy spots two figures waving at them from the opposite hillside . It is Amy and Rory from ten years in their future , coming back to revisit past glories . Though she finds this " interaction " with her future self thrilling , Amy still wants to go to their intended destination . However , the Doctor is intrigued by blue grass in the cemetery where the TARDIS has parked , as well as the drilling operation in the valley below ; it ' s the reason the ground " doesn ' t feel right " . He insists they investigate , much to Amy ' s annoyance and expectation . While the Doctor and Amy head off to explore , Rory returns Amy ' s engagement ring to the TARDIS for safekeeping , promising to catch up to them . As he leaves the police box , he is stopped by Ambrose Northover , who mistakes him for an investigator she called down for . Seeing that he cannot get away , Rory decides to play along until he gets an opportunity to run . Along with her son Elliot , Ambrose explains that her aunt Gladys ' grave has been dug up without the round being disturbed . The body , the coffin — it all just disappeared ! While Ambrose leaves to get tea , Elliot talks to a baffled Rory , telling him his conclusion is that the bodies are eaten by the graves . He learned to think this way from his Sherlock Holmes audiobooks : " When you ' ve eliminated the impossible , whatever remains , however improbable , must be the truth . " Travelling with the Doctor , Rory knows Elliot may just be right . At the mine , the Doctor and Amy meet Nasreen and Tony , who are investigating the hole in the store room . Checking the readings on Nasreen ' s computer , the Doctor announces the earth is shifting when it shouldn ' t be ; specifically , the shifting is " only " and " directly " under this room . Abruptly , another earthquake strikes and more holes appear . As the group rushes to escape , Tony is caught in one of the holes . Despite the Doctor ' s orders that she keep moving , Amy stops and tries to help Tony , only to be caught in one of the holes herself . Nasreen and the Doctor double back to help the two . Nasreen helps Tony to safety , and the Doctor orders them to shut the drill down while he holds onto Amy . Though he promises not to let go of her , he can ' t stop her from being pulled under . When Nasreen and Tony return — having shut off the drill too late to save Amy — the trio continues inspecting the earth . The Doctor deduce s the earth was bio - programmed to attack whenever it perceived a threat . Nasreen ' s drill , which has breached a network of tunnels twenty - one kilometres down , was such a threat . Transport pods are heading for the surface , and will arrive in twelve minutes . The Doctor , Nasreen and Tony gather the equipment and make for the local church , where they encounter Rory , Ambrose and Elliot ; the Doctor dismisses Rory ' s concerns about the graves . The attackers create an energy barrier around the town to prevent escape . Ambrose and Rory are furious their loved ones have been lost , but the Doctor promises to get them back , though he requires their cooperation . The group sets up a network of camera s and security alarms around the church , and continues monitoring the pods ' ascent via Nasreen ' s computer s . Elliot , meanwhile , draws a map of the entire village , marking the locations of the cameras placed . The Doctor , distracted by the impending threat , allows Elliot to leave the safety of the church so he can return home and collect his headphones . The attack begins with the energy barrier blocking out all light . The attackers ' advanced technology knocks out all the electricity in the area including the camera network , leaving the group blind . Elliot is chased back to the church by a reptilian , humanoid creature . It catches up with him before the group can open the church door . Ambrose races into the night , calling for her son . She is attacked by one of the creatures . When Tony steps in to rescue her , the creature lashes at him with its venomous tongue . The Doctor gives chase , using special sunglasses to determine that the creatures belong to a species he ' s encountered before . With Rory ' s help , they trap it in the back of Ambrose ' s Meals - on - Wheels van , with the cold putting it to sleep due to its reptilian nature . The other creatures flee ; both sides have hostages now . Amy awakes beneath the surface ; she is trapped in a clear container . Banging her fists against the container , Amy demands that whoever put her in the container let her go . Despite her protests , a shadowy figure with a surgical mask activates a control , flooding the container with gas that knocks her out again . The Doctor and Rory bring the creature to the church cellar , and restrain it with chains . The Doctor deduces it is a member of an unknown , three - hundred - million - year - old branch of the Silurian s , the reptilian race that inhabited Earth before the human s ; he ' s failed numerous times before to make peace between them and humanity , mostly due to humanity being uncompromising . He confronts the prisoner , a warrior called Alaya . She says the Silurians have been hibernating below Cwmtaff for countless centuries , but their civilisation was disturbed by the drill , threatening its safety . The Doctor tries to negotiate with her , but Alaya declares war . The Silurians will wipe humanity off the surface of the planet , and reclaim what is rightfully theirs . The Doctor returns to the church hall , and informs his companions that he will travel beneath the surface to commence negotiations , and rescue Amy , Mo and Elliot . While Tony insists they dissect Alaya to learn more about what they are facing , the Doctor refuses . If they are to get their loved ones back unharmed , Alaya must be kept alive . He entrusts the humans with this responsibility , paying particular attention to Ambrose , who has opposed his actions so far , and likely poses the most danger to his attempts to once more broker peace between Silurian and human . As the Doctor goes out to the TARDIS , Nasreen follows , asking to go down with him ; he reluctantly agrees . Nasreen and Tony share a passionate kiss before she departs . Tony returns to the church and inspects his wound in a mirror , horrified to realise that the veins around the injury are turning green . Rory , Ambrose and Tony visit Alaya , who warns them that one of them will kill her , which will ignite a huge war between the two species . And she knows which one of them did do it . . . Below the surface , Amy regains consciousness again . She is strapped to a standing surgical table in a Silurian surgery . Mo is imprisoned next to her , and warns her of her impending live dissection . He reveals a long scar stretching down from his chest as evidence of this . Amy hears footsteps , and looks forward . She sees tools banging and chiming behind a masked surgeon . She begins to struggle as the surgeon approaches her with a scalpel . He closes in on her . Amy struggles , but can ' t break free as the surgeon enters her surgical chamber . In the meantime , the TARDIS is dragged under by the bio - programmed soil and into a cavern deep within the Earth . The Doctor and Nasreen begin exploring the surrounding tunnels in search of the Silurian camp . The Doctor warns Nasreen to expect a small group of perhaps a dozen Silurian s . However , she points him to an entire civilization living beneath the Earth , stretching for miles around . Story notes . Ratings . Overnight ratings were 4 . 5 million ( 4 . 2 million on BBC1 , 0 . 3 million on HD ) for a 32 . 2 % share . The official viewing figures were 6 . 01 million viewers . The Appreciation Index was 86 . Filming locations . St . Gwynno ' s Church , Llanwonno , Rhondda Valley Bedwelty Coal Pit , Tredegar , Blaenau Gwent Tower Collery , Hirwaun , Glamorgan , South Wales Home video releases . BBC Video - " Doctor Who Series Five - Volume Three " features " Amy ' s Choice " , " The Hungry Earth " and " Cold Blood " . It was released on Monday 2 August 2010 ( UK Only ) on DVD and Blu - ray .