Aliens Of Londen

Aliens Of Londen was the fourth episode of Season 42 of Doctor Who. It was written by Russell T Davies, directed by Keith Boak and featured Hugh Grant as the Doctor & Stephen Fry as Sam Youto.

## Aliens Of Londen

### Director

Keith Boak

Synopsis

Sam returns home to discover that he has been missing for a whole year, although for him, it's been a couple of months. However, before he can explain his absence, a spaceship crashes into Big Ben, causing a worldwide crisis. Worse still, the Prime Minister has mysteriously disappeared... The Doctor's investigation puts him in the spotlight with the British government, as his long history of defending Earth finally catches up with him. But there are sinister goings on at 10 Downing Street, and politician Harriet Jones' quest to get some answers brings her into a brave new world... of aliens. Meanwhile, Sam finds trouble closer to home, as his past mistakes threaten to tear his family apart.

Plot

Sam and the Doctor have returned to the Powell Estate. Sam, thinking he has only been gone twelve hours, heads off to see his mum. Meanwhile, the Doctor notices a poster depicting a missing girl. Rosie is shocked to see Sam, who is lying that a friend of hers needed to talk to him over night. As Sam returns his mother's hug, he notices several posters in the living room that say he is missing. A breathless Doctor enters the room and informs Sam that he's been gone twelve months, not twelve hours.

Later, a policeman questions the Doctor; Rosie called the police as she did not believe Sam's claims to have been travelling as his passport is still at his house. The Doctor explains that he employed Sam as his travelling companion; they simply lost track of time. Jackie questions if the Doctor is really a doctor, or simply made up stories to lure in Sam for some kind of vile purpose. The Doctor tells her that he is one, to which she says "Prove it, stitch this mate" and slaps him.

Later, Sam and the Doctor chat outside on the roof of the Powell Estate. The Doctor is surprised Jackie slapped him, remarking his companion's mothers have never slapped him throughout his 900 years of travelling through time and space. Sam notes that's "one hell of an age gap" between them. He then laments that he's seen so much in his travels with him, but he can't tell anyone. Both are shocked to see an alien spaceship pass overhead and clip Big Ben before crashing into the river.

Sam and the Doctor try to visit the scene but are prevented by traffic; Sam suggests the TARDIS, but the Doctor tells her that is a bad idea as everyone in the world is now watching the skies for more aliens. They head for home to watch the news on television. Several people are visiting, while the Doctor tries to watch the news. He sees General Asquith entering the hospital where the alien has been taken. The news also reports that the Prime Minister is still missing.

At the hospital mortuary, Dr Sato performs an autopsy on the alien. Meanwhile, several important figures gather at 10 Downing Street, including Joseph Green. He is informed by Indra Ganesh, the junior secretary, that he is acting Prime Minister for the crisis. As Ganesh attempts to lead Green away, he is accosted by Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North, who wishes to meet with the Prime Minister but is brushed off. Green meets with Margaret Blaine and is given the emergency protocols.

The Doctor decides to leave the party, giving Sam a TARDIS key; he tells him that the crash was genuine, as it gave all the signs of engine failure meaning that day is the day the human race learns that they are not alone in the universe, and can start becoming part of the greater world beyond Earth. He promises he won't interfere, but is just going for a wander as the atmosphere inside the flat is 'too human'.

Despite his assurances, the Doctor decides to investigate when Bernice notices him. Giving chase, she reaches the TARDIS just as it disappears. The Doctor heads to the hospital where the alien is being held. He accidentally walks into a room of soldiers, but when they hear screaming, the Doctor calls out a battle formation and they all run out of the room and the soldiers listen to the Doctor's orders. He finds Dr Sato, who says that the "dead" alien is alive and has run off. Giving chase, they find that the alien has the appearance of a pig, albeit one running on its hind legs and wearing a suit. It runs away in obvious fear, and the Doctor tries to catch it. Despite the Doctor's command, one of the soldiers shoots the alien dead. Saddened, the Doctor tells the soldiers it was just scared and trying to run away.

Back in the Cabinet Room, General Asquith meets with Green and Blaine, who are acting strangely. He attempts to relieve Green of command, but Green, Blaine and another man, Oliver Charles, unzip their foreheads. Asquith screams. Unknown to them, Harriet Jones has sneaked inside the room and watches them from her hiding place, as they kill him.

After examining the body, the Doctor informs Dr Sato that the pig is (or rather was) an ordinary pig from Earth. It had its brain rewired and was stuck in the ship which was sent to dive bomb into the Thames. Although its obvious the crash was faked, the technology involved is indeed not from Earth. Sato questions why aliens would fake an alien encounter, only to find the Doctor has gone. Meanwhile, Bernice arrives at Rosie's flat, revealing that several people, including Rosie, had suspected she murdered Sam. Sneering at Rosie, Bernice tells Sam that Rosie called the police three times because she thought she killed Sam though there was not any evidence of such and then Rosie continued to harass her. The accusations ruined his reputation.

Outside, as Bernice is catching up with the Doctor, the TARDIS materialises. The trio enter but the interior causes Rosie to flee back to her flat and call a number to report the Doctor. When she mentions the word 'TARDIS', an alarm is triggered after a brief spat with Bernice about his name really being "Jesse", the Doctor tells her that he has deduced that the spaceship landing was faked; it was launched from Earth, and whoever did it has been here for a while. Bernice points out that all the crash has done is put the world on red alert, which is unusual if the aliens were actually planning to invade. She notes that UNIT has been called in to deal with the crisis.

The trio of Green, Blaine and Asquith complain about compression and gas exchange. They receive a code nine — the Doctor, an expert in extra-terrestrial affairs, has been located. On the TARDIS, the Doctor finds that experts and specialists on alien encounters are being brought in and realises that these people belong to UNIT. He fills Sam in on the organisation and Bernice confirms that the Doctor has worked for them before, having spent time with the Doctor in the past. Sam suggests going to UNIT for help, but the Doctor refuses as the world doesn't need another alien (and also points out he's 'changed a lot' since his last meeting with them).

The Doctor decides they need to check out the crashed spaceship up close now the roads are clearing. However, when the Doctor, Sam and Bernice step out of the TARDIS, they are surrounded by police and helicopters. Bernice runs away, and the Doctor and Sam are taken in; however, the Doctor tells Sam that they're not being arrested but instead escorted to the heart of the discussion. He's the ultimate expert on aliens, according to UNIT files. They are taken to Downing Street, where the Doctor is brought in to meet with the other experts. Sam does not have proper clearance, so Harriet offers to stay with her. Meanwhile, a policeman visits Rosie for information.

The experts are gathered with Green and Asquith in a small room. Harriet takes Sam to the Cabinet Room and tells what she saw — Green and Blaine are aliens in skin suits who killed Asquith. Suddenly the two find the body of the Prime Minister hidden in the cupboard.

The Doctor interrupts Asquith telling everyone that three days earlier, some radiation was detected in the North Sea and was due to be investigated but this was forgotten after the crash. The Doctor wonders aloud why the spaceship crash was faked, since all its managed to do is panic the population and get the Earth's alien experts in one place. The Doctor suddenly realises that this is what the aliens want; anyone who has the expertise and knowledge to fight them gathered together. He now understands the crash wasn't a diversion but a trap. The policeman visiting Rosie begins to unzip his forehead. Ganesh, Sam and Harriet are caught by Margaret Blaine, who unzips her forehead. In the room below, Asquith unzips his forehead, and Green - thanking the attendees for wearing their ID cards - uses a remote control to electrocute the experts including the Doctor. They announce themselves as the Slitheen.

Cast

The Doctor - Hugh Grant

Sam Youto - Stephen Fry

Rosie Youto - Siobhan Redmond

Spray Painter - Corey Doabe

Policeman - Ceris Jones

Reporter - Jack Tarlton

Reporter - Lachele Carl

Ru - Fiesta Mei Ling

Bau - Basil Chung

Matt Baker - As himself

Andrew Marr - As himself

General Asquith - Rupert Vansittart

Joseph Green - David Verrey

Indra Ganesh - Navin Chowdhry

Harriet Jones - Penelope Wilton

Margaret Blaine - Annette Badland

Doctor Sato - Naoko Mori

Oliver Charles - Eric Potts

Bernice - Julia Ormond

Alien - Jimmy Vee

Strickland - Steve Speirs

Slitheen - Elizabeth Fost, Paul Kasey, Alan Ruscoe

Uncredited cast

Academic - Claudia Blondeau

Crew

Created by Sydney Newman, Donald Wilson and C.E. Webber

Executive Producers - Ira Steven Behr and Julie Gardner

Co-Executive Producers - Ronald D. Moore, Paul Cornell and Robert Shearman

Producer - Tony Redston

Script Editor - Russell T Davies

Writer - Russell T Davies

Director - Keith Boak

Director of Photography - David Odd

Production Designer - Chris Wilkinson

Visual Effects - The Mill

Make-Up - Davy Jones

Casting Director - Andy Pryor

Music - Murray Gold

Costume Designer - Emma Rosenthal

Edited by - Tony Cranstoun

Original Theme Music - Ron Grainer

Title Sequence - BBC Wales VFX

Music conducted & orchestrated by Ben Foster

Memorable Quotes

To be added.

Background Information

To be added.

Development

To be added.

Pre-Production

To be added.

Production

To be added.

Post-Production

To be added.

Reaction

This episode received a 7-Day Viewing Figure from BARB of 6.96m viewers. It ranked at 24th over the week.

Story Notes

To be added.

Continuity

Home Video Releases

To be added.