Vampire Science (TV Story)

***Vampire Science*** was the second serial of Season 34 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Jonathan Blum and Kate Orman, directed by Brian Farnham, and starred Stephen Fry as the Ninth Doctor and Emma Fielding as Lena Haigh.

## Synopsis

In the days when the Time Lords were young, their war with the Vampires cost trillions of lives on countless worlds. Now the Vampires have been sighted again, in San Francisco. Some want to coexist with humans, using genetic engineering in a macabre experiment to find a new source of blood. But some would rather go out in a blaze of glory — and UNIT's attempts to contain them could provoke another devastating war.

The Doctor strikes a dangerous bargain, but even he might not be able to keep the city from getting caught in the crossfire. While he finds himself caught in a web of old feuds and high-tech schemes, Lena finds just how deadly travelling with the Doctor can be.

## Cast

* The Doctor - Stephen Fry
* Lena Haigh - Emma Fielding
* Carolyn McConnell - Daphne Ashbrook
* Joanna Harris - Catherine Lough
* Brigadier-General Adrienne Kramer - Dolores Drake
* Weird Harold - Matthew Lillard
* James Court - John Novak
* Abner - Anne De Salvo
* Slake - Gordon Tipple
* David Shackle - Will Sasso
* Mi-Jung Kanaka - Mi-Jung Lee

## Worldbuilding

### Biology

* The Doctor gets blood fasted with Joanna Harris.

### Communications technology

* The Doctor gives Carolyn a hypercube to contact him.

### Concepts

* The Doctor and Joanna discuss Mid-Death Crisis.

### Culture

* Lena comments to the Doctor, "Old enough to dodge Daleks, too young to go to a nightclub."
* Slake calls Lena *Buffy the Vampire Slayer* after Lena kills Weird Harold.

### The Doctor

* The Doctor states, "I'm a Time Lord...From the planet Gallifrey in the constellation of Kasterborous." Then he further goes on, "I'm a former President of the High Council of the Time Lords, Keeper of the Legacy of Rassilon, Defender of the Laws of Time and Protector of Gallifrey."
* General Kramer describes the Seventh Doctor as "a manipulative little weirdo who was always up to something behind [her] back."
* The Doctor hints when speaking to Joanna Harris that Osiris and the archangel Gabriel were two past identities of his.
* Thanks to their bloodfasting-induced psychic link, 370-years-old Joanna Harris reads the Doctor's memories and instantly comes to realise that he is far older than she is.

### Individuals

* Lena Haigh's only methods of acting out could have been to become a major drug addict or join the Conservative Party.
* Carolyn McConnell meets the Doctor and Lena in 1976 and then again in 1997.
* During their first meeting, Carolyn thinks the Doctor is dressed like Bill Nye.
* Joanna Harris was born in Canterbury on the same day that James I died in 1625, which would make her around 370.
* Adrienne Kramer met the Seventh Doctor in Washington DC when it was about to disappear up a time rift. She is of the opinion that "chicks dig the time machine".
* Slake was turned into a vampire in the 1950s.
* Slake wanted to turn Anne Rice into a vampire.

### Planets

* Joanna glimpses within the Doctor's mind Metebelis, Androzani and Yemaya.
* The Doctor once had a half hour conversation with a pharmacist on Lacaille 8760 on lipids.
* The Doctor mentions the giant mosquitoes of Atraxi 3.

### Species

* The Doctor tells Carolyn McConnell about a species of intelligent sea serpents who worshipped whales as gods.
* Time Lords can see in the dark better than humans.

### TARDIS

* The TARDIS is parked on the corner of Haight and Ashbury Streets in San Francisco.
* The Doctor has a room in the TARDIS that has a hillside complete with sunshine and butterflies; included with the butterflies is a Flutterwing.
* Lena's room in the TARDIS contains a Victorian writing desk, an ergonomic chair from the mid 2050s, a mammoth wardrobe with children's coloured stickers and peeling paint, a 14th century Persian rug, and a 4 poster bed.

### United Nations Intelligence Taskforce

* UNIT only operates a small division within the United States.
* SETSO, or Survivors of Extra-Terrestrial/Supernatural Occurrences, have a program for counselling services.
* General Kramer's UNIT in the US, doesn't know of the Eighth Doctor yet.

### Vampires

* Great Vampires created the vampires on Earth.
* Vampires have motivation problems; conversion doesn't occur after a bite, you have to exchange blood.
* The V Factor is the gene which makes vampires, vampires.
* There are 14 vampires in a coven (one more than a Time Lord's life).

### Vehicles

* Lena has an Altairian driver's licence.

## Notes

* There are a variety of references to *Time Rift*, a fan made film that Jonathan Blum appeared in (as the Seventh Doctor).

## Continuity

* TV: *State of Decay* first debuted the Vampires. TV: *Goth Opera* explains how Vampires got to Earth.
* The Doctor gives Carolyn a white cube similar to what he he used to contact the Time Lords in TV: *The War Games*.
* The Doctor paraphrases himself (...Keeper of the Legacy of Rassilon...etc) from TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*.
* The Doctor states it's been three years since his regeneration in TV: *Mind Games*.

## Home Video & DVD Releases

### VHS

* This story was released alongside TV: *Blink* on VHS in 1999.

### DVD

* This story along with the other stories in Season 34 were released as *Doctor Who: The Complete Thirty-Fourth Season* in 2011.

### Blu-ray

* This story along with the other stories in Season 34 were upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and were released as *Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 34* in the UK.