Day of the Moon
Encyclopedia
"Day of the Moon" is the second episode of the sixth series
of the British science fiction
television series Doctor Who
. Written by show runner Steven Moffat
, and directed by Toby Haynes
, the episode was first broadcast on 30 April 2011 on BBC One
in the United Kingdom
and on BBC America
in the United States
. The episode is the second of a two part story, which began with "The Impossible Astronaut
".
In 1969 America, alien time traveller the Doctor
(Matt Smith) attempts, alongside newlyweds Amy
(Karen Gillan
) and Rory
(Arthur Darvill
), sometimes-assistant River Song
(Alex Kingston
) and an FBI agent
(Mark Sheppard
), to lead the human race into a revolution against the Silence
, a race of aliens who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. The episode received final viewing figures of 7.3 million, and was met with generally positive reviews from critics, whilst gaining an audience appreciation index of 87 - considered excellent.
", the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song have been attempting to track the Silence
, an alien race who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. Ex-FBI agent Canton Delaware, under the ruse of capturing them as criminals, helps to reunite the group inside a special prison at Area 51
containing the TARDIS
. Though they do not yet know the name or motive for the aliens, the Doctor's allies have discovered they exist across the entire planet, and have the ability to place post-hypnotic suggestion
s in humans they encounter. The Doctor plants a communication device called a nanorecorder in each of the group's hands to record audio of meetings with the Silence. As they travel to Cape Canaveral
shortly before the launch of Apollo 11
, Amy tells the Doctor she was mistaken and is not pregnant as she previously had claimed.
While the Doctor alters part of the command module
of Apollo 11, Canton and Amy visit a nearby orphanage, hoping to find where the girl in the spacesuit was taken from. Amy discovers a nest of the Silence, and a photograph of her and a baby amongst pictures of the little girl from the space suit. The girl enters with the Silence, and Amy is abducted and taken to their time engine control room. Arriving too late to help Amy, the Doctor and his allies find her recording device, through which Rory still can hear Amy's voice confessing her love for one of the group. Canton is able to shoot and wound one of the creatures, and from it the Doctor discovers the creatures are the Silence, a group he was warned about by several of his foes in his recent adventures. Analysing the now-empty space suit, River realises that the girl possesses incredible strength to have forced her way out of it, and that the suit's advanced life-support technology would have called the President as the highest authority figure on Earth when the girl got scared. The Doctor realises why the Silence have been controlling humanity — by guiding their technological advances, they have influenced humanity into the Space Race
for purposes of building a spacesuit, which must somehow be crucial to their intentions. Meanwhile Canton interrogates the captured Silent in the Area 51 prison, who mocks humanity for treating him when "...you should kill us all on sight". Canton records this using Amy's mobile phone.
The Doctor uses Amy's communication chip to track her location, and lands the TARDIS in the Silence's control room five days later. As River and Rory hold the Silence at bay, the Doctor shows them the live broadcast of the moon landing. As they watch, the Doctor uses his modification of the Apollo command module to insert Canton's recording of the wounded Silent into the footage of the landing. Because of this message, humans will now turn upon the Silence whenever they see them. The group frees Amy and departs in the TARDIS, while River kills all the Silence in the control room. Amy reassures Rory that the man he overheard her speaking of loving through the communication chip was him, not the Doctor.
River refuses the Doctor's offer to travel with him, returning to her Stormcage prison in order to keep a promise. She kisses the Doctor goodbye, and as the Doctor has never kissed her before deduces that this will be her last kiss with him. In the TARDIS, Amy appears unable to remember seeing her picture in the orphanage and claims that she told the Doctor, rather than Rory, when she believed she was pregnant through fears that travelling in the TARDIS might have affected her child's development. As the trio sets off, the Doctor discreetly uses the TARDIS scanner to attempt to determine if Amy is pregnant.
Six months later, a homeless man in New York City
comes across the young girl, previously seen in the astronaut's suit. The girl says she is dying, but can fix it; before the man's eyes, she appears to begin regenerating
, a trait only applied to Time Lord
s.
believed that the darker episodes like "The Impossible Astronaut
" and "Day of the Moon" would allow the series to get into "more dangerous territory." The creation of the Silence was partly inspired by the figure from the Edvard Munch
painting The Scream
. Introducing the alien villains became a "big challenge" for the producers; it would tie in with the loose "silence will fall" arc that carried through the fifth series. Moffat did not wish to end the arc in the previous series, as he felt it would be "more fun" to continue it. Elsewhere in the episode, Delaware was written to be deceptively antagonistic towards the protagonists, which was based on actor Mark Sheppard's past as villains for his work in American television. Moffat was also keen on the idea of having the Doctor imprisoned with a beard in Area 51.
Many of the opening scenes of the episode were filmed on location in the United States
. The sequence where Delaware chases Amy was shot in the Valley of the Gods
in Utah
. Gillan found it difficult to run because of the altitude. The sequence where Delaware chases Rory was shot at the Glen Canyon Dam
in Arizona
. The Dam sequence was the final scene to be shot in the States. The sequence where Delaware chases River in New York
was in fact shot in central Cardiff
. A set was later constructed in a studio for the jump sequence, and Kingston was replaced by a stunt woman to perform the jump. The scenes set in Area 51 were filmed in a large disused hangar in South Wales.
The Florida orphanage was filmed at the abandoned Troy House
in Monmouthshire
. To add the effect that a storm is outside the building, the production crew placed rain machines outdoors and flashing lights to simulate lightning
. The Silence were portrayed by Marnix van den Broeke
and other performers. The masks caused vision difficulties for the performers, who had to be guided by two people when they had to walk. Van den Broeke did not provide the voices of the Silence, as it was replaced during post-production. The control room set used from "The Lodger
" was used again for this episode. Moffat wanted the set to be used again, feeling it would be a suitable Silence base. The set was adapted to give it a darker, evil feel.
episode "To the Last Man
". Chuk Iwuji
who plays secret service agent Carl previously played Joshua Sembeke in the audio play A Thousand Tiny Wings
.
on 30 April 2011 at 6 pm and on the same date on BBC America
in the United States. The episode received final ratings of 7.3 million viewers, equalling a 36.7 per cent audience share. The figures do not include the 1.2 million that watched the episode on the BBC
's iPlayer service, but it was still the second most seen broadcast for the day, behind Britain's Got Talent
on ITV1
. It received an Appreciation Index
of 87, considered "excellent".
The episode was met with generally positive reviews from television critics. Dan Martin of The Guardian
praised the episode for its "action, tension, horror and River Song in a business suit," but felt it "sags a little around the middle." Martin believed the scenes with Amy and Delaware in the orphanage was the "fear factor" of the episode. He later rated it the fourth best episode of the series, though the finale
was not included in the list. Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy
stated "after the sensational opening gambit that kicked off the series premiere, it's perhaps unsurprising that 'Day of the Moon' starts with a similarly thrilling onslaught of action." Jeffery was positive towards the nano-recorder, which provided the episode with "a number of unsettling moments in which characters listen back to their own terrified exclamations about the Silents." However, Jeffery felt the final scenes "expose this episode's chief flaw — quite simply, too much is left unresolved." In conclusion, the reviewer stated "While 'The Impossible Astronaut' aced the set-up, 'Day of the Moon' falters slightly in providing the resolution." Jeffery rated the episode four stars out of five.
Tom Phillips of Metro stated that "Amy and Canton's sojourn to the orphanage was not just a high-mark for sheer skin-crawling horror on recent mainstream telly — that image of The Silence nesting on the ceiling like cadaverous bat-people will live on in the nightmares of many, many children — but also genuinely, properly weird." Dave Golder from SFX thought that although "This series of Doctor Who is shaping up to be like no other before it, as the show moves even further away from its traditional series of sequential standalone stories format and more towards Lost style storytelling", that "on the other hand, "Day Of The Moon" is no mere exercise in delayed gratification. You want fun? You want creepy? You want action? You've got it – all not-so-neatly tied up with a neat bow tie." The review went on to state that "once again we're treated to some outstanding direction, glorious performances, near flawless FX and gorgeous locations (let's hope the whole budget for the series hasn't been blown). "Day Of The Moon" is huge fun, effortlessly entertaining, beguilingly bat's-arse and blessed with a cliffhanger so jawdroppingly unexpected it's bound to keep viewers hooked". He gave the episode a rating of four out of five stars.
IGN
reviewer Matt Risley rated the episode 9 out of 10, saying it "maintained the thrills, chills and scalp-scratching plot twists of "The Impossible Astronaut", whilst somehow tweaking its predecessor's thundering pace into 45 minutes of near-perfectly plotted TV." When comparing it to "The Impossible Astronaut", he said it was "scarier, creepier...and more action packed in every way...[and] also managed to leave things on a suitably epic, mythos-expanding note." He concluded, "the show as a whole has a brand new energy, and we can't wait to see where Who goes from here."
Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph
was more critical with the episode, stating, "having set up an interesting cliffhanger last week, it was a tad annoying that Steven Moffat did his trick again of taking a swerve with the pre-credits section of this week's episode, and more supposed shock value with the shootings of Amy and Rory," but also more annoyed "that what exactly was going on here, and how it was influenced by the events of the previous episode, were never exactly explained, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks." Fuller believed that the plot and ending "only raised more questions than answers," believing that the over-arching storyline would "require the audience's concentration over many weeks; any casual viewer tuning in this week, and I suspect not a few fans, will have been left baffled by the goings-on," but still felt the episode "was interesting and showed just how, when the writers use their imagination, Doctor Who can tell stories in a way little else on television can."
Doctor Who (series 6)
The sixth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was shown in two parts. The first seven episodes were broadcast from April to June 2011 and the final six episodes from August to October. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill continued their roles as The Doctor, Amy...
of the British science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. Written by show runner Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat
Steven Moffat is a Scottish television writer and producer.Moffat's first television work was the teen drama series Press Gang. His first sitcom, Joking Apart, was inspired by the breakdown of his first marriage; conversely, his later sitcom Coupling was based upon the development of his...
, and directed by Toby Haynes
Toby Haynes
Toby Haynes is a British television director, notable for his work on Doctor Who, Five Days, Being Human and M.I. High.He is a graduate of the National Film and Television School.-Credits:-External links:* at the Curtis Brown Agency...
, the episode was first broadcast on 30 April 2011 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The episode is the second of a two part story, which began with "The Impossible Astronaut
The Impossible Astronaut
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States...
".
In 1969 America, alien time traveller the Doctor
Eleventh Doctor
The Eleventh Doctor is the eleventh incarnation of the protagonist of the BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. Matt Smith plays this incarnation, replacing David Tennant's Tenth Doctor in the 2010 episode "The End of Time, Part Two"...
(Matt Smith) attempts, alongside newlyweds Amy
Amy Pond
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(Karen Gillan
Karen Gillan
Karen Sheila Gillan is a Scottish actress and former model who is best known for her current portrayal of Amy Pond in the British science fiction series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
) and Rory
Rory Williams
Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Having been introduced at the start of the 5th series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor as a companion in the middle of Series 5...
(Arthur Darvill
Arthur Darvill
Thomas Arthur Darvill is an English actor, known professionally as Arthur Darvill. He is noted for his work in the plays Terre Haute and Swimming with Sharks , but is probably best known for his role as the Eleventh Doctor's Companion Rory Williams in the television series Doctor Who.-Early and...
), sometimes-assistant River Song
River Song (Doctor Who)
River Song is a fictional character played primarily by Alex Kingston in the British science-fiction series Doctor Who. River Song was introduced to the series as an experienced future companion of series protagonist the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who travels through time in his TARDIS...
(Alex Kingston
Alex Kingston
Alexandra Elizabeth "Alex" Kingston is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Dr. Elizabeth Corday on the NBC medical drama ER and as River Song in Doctor Who.-Early life and education:...
) and an FBI agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
(Mark Sheppard
Mark Sheppard
Mark Andreas Sheppard is an English actor and musician, born in London of an Irish-German background. He is often credited as "Mark A. Sheppard".-Personal life:Mark Sheppard is the son of actor W. Morgan Sheppard...
), to lead the human race into a revolution against the Silence
Silence (Doctor Who)
The Silence is a fictional religious order or movement in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.Executive producer Steven Moffat created the Silence, intending them to be "scarier" than past villains in Doctor Who...
, a race of aliens who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. The episode received final viewing figures of 7.3 million, and was met with generally positive reviews from critics, whilst gaining an audience appreciation index of 87 - considered excellent.
Plot
In the three months since the end of "The Impossible AstronautThe Impossible Astronaut
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States...
", the Doctor, Amy, Rory and River Song have been attempting to track the Silence
Silence (Doctor Who)
The Silence is a fictional religious order or movement in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who.Executive producer Steven Moffat created the Silence, intending them to be "scarier" than past villains in Doctor Who...
, an alien race who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. Ex-FBI agent Canton Delaware, under the ruse of capturing them as criminals, helps to reunite the group inside a special prison at Area 51
Area 51
Area 51 is a military base, and a remote detachment of Edwards Air Force Base. It is located in the southern portion of Nevada in the western United States, 83 miles north-northwest of downtown Las Vegas. Situated at its center, on the southern shore of Groom Lake, is a large military airfield...
containing the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
. Though they do not yet know the name or motive for the aliens, the Doctor's allies have discovered they exist across the entire planet, and have the ability to place post-hypnotic suggestion
Post-hypnotic suggestion
A Post-hypnotic suggestion is a behavior or thinking pattern that presumably will manifest after a subject has come out of the so-called "hypnotic state" .According to a psychologist at the University of New South Wales:...
s in humans they encounter. The Doctor plants a communication device called a nanorecorder in each of the group's hands to record audio of meetings with the Silence. As they travel to Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
shortly before the launch of Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
, Amy tells the Doctor she was mistaken and is not pregnant as she previously had claimed.
While the Doctor alters part of the command module
Apollo Command/Service Module
The Command/Service Module was one of two spacecraft, along with the Lunar Module, used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon. It was built for NASA by North American Aviation...
of Apollo 11, Canton and Amy visit a nearby orphanage, hoping to find where the girl in the spacesuit was taken from. Amy discovers a nest of the Silence, and a photograph of her and a baby amongst pictures of the little girl from the space suit. The girl enters with the Silence, and Amy is abducted and taken to their time engine control room. Arriving too late to help Amy, the Doctor and his allies find her recording device, through which Rory still can hear Amy's voice confessing her love for one of the group. Canton is able to shoot and wound one of the creatures, and from it the Doctor discovers the creatures are the Silence, a group he was warned about by several of his foes in his recent adventures. Analysing the now-empty space suit, River realises that the girl possesses incredible strength to have forced her way out of it, and that the suit's advanced life-support technology would have called the President as the highest authority figure on Earth when the girl got scared. The Doctor realises why the Silence have been controlling humanity — by guiding their technological advances, they have influenced humanity into the Space Race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
for purposes of building a spacesuit, which must somehow be crucial to their intentions. Meanwhile Canton interrogates the captured Silent in the Area 51 prison, who mocks humanity for treating him when "...you should kill us all on sight". Canton records this using Amy's mobile phone.
The Doctor uses Amy's communication chip to track her location, and lands the TARDIS in the Silence's control room five days later. As River and Rory hold the Silence at bay, the Doctor shows them the live broadcast of the moon landing. As they watch, the Doctor uses his modification of the Apollo command module to insert Canton's recording of the wounded Silent into the footage of the landing. Because of this message, humans will now turn upon the Silence whenever they see them. The group frees Amy and departs in the TARDIS, while River kills all the Silence in the control room. Amy reassures Rory that the man he overheard her speaking of loving through the communication chip was him, not the Doctor.
River refuses the Doctor's offer to travel with him, returning to her Stormcage prison in order to keep a promise. She kisses the Doctor goodbye, and as the Doctor has never kissed her before deduces that this will be her last kiss with him. In the TARDIS, Amy appears unable to remember seeing her picture in the orphanage and claims that she told the Doctor, rather than Rory, when she believed she was pregnant through fears that travelling in the TARDIS might have affected her child's development. As the trio sets off, the Doctor discreetly uses the TARDIS scanner to attempt to determine if Amy is pregnant.
Six months later, a homeless man in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
comes across the young girl, previously seen in the astronaut's suit. The girl says she is dying, but can fix it; before the man's eyes, she appears to begin regenerating
Regeneration (Doctor Who)
Regeneration, in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a biological ability exhibited by Time Lords, a race of fictional humanoids originating on the planet Gallifrey. This process allows a Time Lord who is old or mortally wounded to undergo a transformation into a new...
, a trait only applied to Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s.
Continuity
- The Silence's 'time engine' set was previously used in "The LodgerThe Lodger (Doctor Who)"The Lodger" is the eleventh episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 12 June 2010...
". The Doctor describes it as "very Aickman Road", a reference to the house the ship occupied in that episode. - When the Silent reveals his species' name to the Doctor, the Doctor has flash-backs to "The Eleventh HourThe Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....
" and "The Vampires of VeniceThe Vampires of Venice"The Vampires of Venice" is the sixth episode in the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 8 May 2010. It was written by Toby Whithouse, who previously wrote "School Reunion". Rory Williams returns to the series in this episode, this time...
", the first mentions of the Silence. - The Doctor is held captive in Area 51, which he had visited previously in the Tenth DoctorTenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
animated story DreamlandDreamland (Doctor Who)Dreamland is the second animated Doctor Who serial to air on television...
. - The Doctor and Rory discuss both being present at the fall of Rome. As an AutonAutonThe Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
, Rory guarded the Pandorica from the Roman era to the present day in "The Big BangThe Big Bang (Doctor Who)"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
", and the First DoctorFirst DoctorThe First Doctor is the initial incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor William Hartnell from 1963 to 1966. Hartnell reprised the role in the tenth anniversary story The Three Doctors in 1973 - albeit in a...
indirectly instigated the Great Fire of RomeGreat Fire of RomeThe Great Fire of Rome was an urban fire that occurred beginning July 19, AD 64.-Background:According to Tacitus, the fire spread quickly and burned for six days. Only four of the fourteen districts of Rome escaped the fire; three districts were completely destroyed and the other seven suffered...
in The RomansThe Romans (Doctor Who)The Romans is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from January 16 to February 6, 1965. The story is set during the era of the Roman Empire in the reign of Nero.-Plot:...
. - "Eye Patch Lady" (Frances BarberFrances BarberFrances Barber is an Olivier Award-nominated English actress with a long and distinguished stage career. She has also appeared in numerous television productions...
) appears for the first time in this episode, and makes similar appearances in "The Curse of the Black SpotThe Curse of the Black Spot"The Curse of the Black Spot" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Stephen Thompson, and directed by Jeremy Webb, the episode was first broadcast on 7 May 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the...
" and "The Rebel FleshThe Rebel Flesh"The Rebel Flesh" is the fifth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2011 on BBC One and on BBC America in the United States...
" before her connection to Amy is revealed in "The Almost PeopleThe Almost People"The Almost People" is the sixth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2011...
". - The Doctor is imprisoned within walls of "zero balance dwarf star alloy, the densest material in the universe..." Dwarf star alloy first appeared in the Fourth DoctorFourth DoctorThe Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....
serial Warriors' Gate. - The Doctor sends Rory off to fetch thermal couplings from another room in the TARDIS. The two of them were installing thermal couplings under the control panel in the mini-episodes "SpaceSpace and Time (Doctor Who)"Space" and "Time" are two mini-episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were broadcast on 18 March 2011 as part of BBC One's Red Nose Day telethon for the charity Comic Relief...
" and "TimeSpace and Time (Doctor Who)"Space" and "Time" are two mini-episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were broadcast on 18 March 2011 as part of BBC One's Red Nose Day telethon for the charity Comic Relief...
". - The Doctor uses the TARDIS' scanners to detect Amy's alternating pregnancy state. The Doctor repeats the scan with the same results in "The Curse of the Black SpotThe Curse of the Black Spot"The Curse of the Black Spot" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Stephen Thompson, and directed by Jeremy Webb, the episode was first broadcast on 7 May 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the...
", "The Doctor's WifeThe Doctor's Wife (Doctor Who)"The Doctor's Wife" is the fourth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on 14 May 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States...
", and "The Rebel FleshThe Rebel Flesh"The Rebel Flesh" is the fifth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 21 May 2011 on BBC One and on BBC America in the United States...
".
Outside references
- Near the end of the episode, President Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
asks the Doctor if he will be remembered by future generations. Amused by the question, the Doctor uses Nixon's nickname "Tricky Dicky" and coyly remarks that the American people will never forget him, a reference to the Watergate scandalWatergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
that eventually led to Nixon's resignation as President.
- The Doctor also tells Nixon to say "hi" to David FrostDavid FrostSir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
for him. Frost is a British journalist who conducted a famous series of interviewsThe Nixon InterviewsThe Nixon Interviews were a series of interviews of former United States President Richard Nixon conducted by British journalist Sir David Frost, and produced by John Birt. They were recorded and broadcast on television in four programs in 1977...
with Nixon after his resignation.
Production
Steven Moffat, head writer of the new series, said before broadcast that this would be one of the darkest openers to a series ever done for Doctor Who. Director Toby HaynesToby Haynes
Toby Haynes is a British television director, notable for his work on Doctor Who, Five Days, Being Human and M.I. High.He is a graduate of the National Film and Television School.-Credits:-External links:* at the Curtis Brown Agency...
believed that the darker episodes like "The Impossible Astronaut
The Impossible Astronaut
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Steven Moffat, and directed by Toby Haynes, the episode was first broadcast on 23 April 2011 in the United Kingdom, as well as the United States...
" and "Day of the Moon" would allow the series to get into "more dangerous territory." The creation of the Silence was partly inspired by the figure from the Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
painting The Scream
The Scream
Scream is the title of Expressionist paintings and prints in a series by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky...
. Introducing the alien villains became a "big challenge" for the producers; it would tie in with the loose "silence will fall" arc that carried through the fifth series. Moffat did not wish to end the arc in the previous series, as he felt it would be "more fun" to continue it. Elsewhere in the episode, Delaware was written to be deceptively antagonistic towards the protagonists, which was based on actor Mark Sheppard's past as villains for his work in American television. Moffat was also keen on the idea of having the Doctor imprisoned with a beard in Area 51.
Many of the opening scenes of the episode were filmed on location in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The sequence where Delaware chases Amy was shot in the Valley of the Gods
Valley of the Gods
Valley of the Gods is a scenic sandstone valley near Mexican Hat in San Juan County, southeastern Utah. It is north of Monument Valley across the San Juan River , and has similar rock formations...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. Gillan found it difficult to run because of the altitude. The sequence where Delaware chases Rory was shot at the Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...
in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The Dam sequence was the final scene to be shot in the States. The sequence where Delaware chases River in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
was in fact shot in central Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. A set was later constructed in a studio for the jump sequence, and Kingston was replaced by a stunt woman to perform the jump. The scenes set in Area 51 were filmed in a large disused hangar in South Wales.
The Florida orphanage was filmed at the abandoned Troy House
Troy House
Troy House is a Welsh historic house north-east of Mitchel Troy, Monmouthshire. It originally belonged to Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy, who retired there around 1550. Present-day structure overlooking the River Trothy was completed in 1681 for Charles Somerset. 19th century authors attributed design...
in Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
. To add the effect that a storm is outside the building, the production crew placed rain machines outdoors and flashing lights to simulate lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. The Silence were portrayed by Marnix van den Broeke
Marnix Van Den Broeke
Marnix Van Den Broeke is a Dutch actor and stuntman. He is notable for a recurring appearance as the physical Death in Hogfather , The Colour of Magic He also appeared inTerry Pratchett's Going Postal as Mr. Pump who was voiced by Nicholas Farrell...
and other performers. The masks caused vision difficulties for the performers, who had to be guided by two people when they had to walk. Van den Broeke did not provide the voices of the Silence, as it was replaced during post-production. The control room set used from "The Lodger
The Lodger (Doctor Who)
"The Lodger" is the eleventh episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 12 June 2010...
" was used again for this episode. Moffat wanted the set to be used again, feeling it would be a suitable Silence base. The set was adapted to give it a darker, evil feel.
Cast notes
Ricky Fearon who played the tramp previously played Foreman in the TorchwoodTorchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episode "To the Last Man
To the Last Man (Torchwood)
"To the Last Man" is the third episode of the second series of British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast by BBC Two on 30 January 2008.-Synopsis:...
". Chuk Iwuji
Chuk Iwuji
Chukwudi Iwuji , usually shortened to Chuk Iwuji or Chuck Iwuji, is a Nigerian-born actor, active in the United Kingdom.-Life:...
who plays secret service agent Carl previously played Joshua Sembeke in the audio play A Thousand Tiny Wings
A Thousand Tiny Wings
A Thousand Tiny Wings is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It contains a four part story. -Plot:...
.
Broadcast and reception
"Day of the Moon" was first broadcast on BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 30 April 2011 at 6 pm and on the same date on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
in the United States. The episode received final ratings of 7.3 million viewers, equalling a 36.7 per cent audience share. The figures do not include the 1.2 million that watched the episode on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's iPlayer service, but it was still the second most seen broadcast for the day, behind Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
. It received an Appreciation Index
Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index is a score out of 100 which is used as an indicator of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by BARB, the organisation that compiles television...
of 87, considered "excellent".
The episode was met with generally positive reviews from television critics. Dan Martin of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
praised the episode for its "action, tension, horror and River Song in a business suit," but felt it "sags a little around the middle." Martin believed the scenes with Amy and Delaware in the orphanage was the "fear factor" of the episode. He later rated it the fourth best episode of the series, though the finale
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 October 2011.-Plot:...
was not included in the list. Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
stated "after the sensational opening gambit that kicked off the series premiere, it's perhaps unsurprising that 'Day of the Moon' starts with a similarly thrilling onslaught of action." Jeffery was positive towards the nano-recorder, which provided the episode with "a number of unsettling moments in which characters listen back to their own terrified exclamations about the Silents." However, Jeffery felt the final scenes "expose this episode's chief flaw — quite simply, too much is left unresolved." In conclusion, the reviewer stated "While 'The Impossible Astronaut' aced the set-up, 'Day of the Moon' falters slightly in providing the resolution." Jeffery rated the episode four stars out of five.
Tom Phillips of Metro stated that "Amy and Canton's sojourn to the orphanage was not just a high-mark for sheer skin-crawling horror on recent mainstream telly — that image of The Silence nesting on the ceiling like cadaverous bat-people will live on in the nightmares of many, many children — but also genuinely, properly weird." Dave Golder from SFX thought that although "This series of Doctor Who is shaping up to be like no other before it, as the show moves even further away from its traditional series of sequential standalone stories format and more towards Lost style storytelling", that "on the other hand, "Day Of The Moon" is no mere exercise in delayed gratification. You want fun? You want creepy? You want action? You've got it – all not-so-neatly tied up with a neat bow tie." The review went on to state that "once again we're treated to some outstanding direction, glorious performances, near flawless FX and gorgeous locations (let's hope the whole budget for the series hasn't been blown). "Day Of The Moon" is huge fun, effortlessly entertaining, beguilingly bat's-arse and blessed with a cliffhanger so jawdroppingly unexpected it's bound to keep viewers hooked". He gave the episode a rating of four out of five stars.
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
reviewer Matt Risley rated the episode 9 out of 10, saying it "maintained the thrills, chills and scalp-scratching plot twists of "The Impossible Astronaut", whilst somehow tweaking its predecessor's thundering pace into 45 minutes of near-perfectly plotted TV." When comparing it to "The Impossible Astronaut", he said it was "scarier, creepier...and more action packed in every way...[and] also managed to leave things on a suitably epic, mythos-expanding note." He concluded, "the show as a whole has a brand new energy, and we can't wait to see where Who goes from here."
Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
was more critical with the episode, stating, "having set up an interesting cliffhanger last week, it was a tad annoying that Steven Moffat did his trick again of taking a swerve with the pre-credits section of this week's episode, and more supposed shock value with the shootings of Amy and Rory," but also more annoyed "that what exactly was going on here, and how it was influenced by the events of the previous episode, were never exactly explained, leaving the audience to fill in the blanks." Fuller believed that the plot and ending "only raised more questions than answers," believing that the over-arching storyline would "require the audience's concentration over many weeks; any casual viewer tuning in this week, and I suspect not a few fans, will have been left baffled by the goings-on," but still felt the episode "was interesting and showed just how, when the writers use their imagination, Doctor Who can tell stories in a way little else on television can."