The Impossible Astronaut
Encyclopedia
"The Impossible Astronaut" is the first episode of the sixth series
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 23 April 2011 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...

, as well as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It also aired in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 on 30 April 2011. The episode features 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) and his companions Amy Pond
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 her husband Rory Williams
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...

), and is the first of a two part story, which concluded with "Day of the Moon
Day of the Moon
"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...

".

In the episode, Amy Pond, Rory and 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...

 are summoned to 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...

 by the Eleventh 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"...

, who is killed by a mysterious figure in a space suit. The dead Doctor is revealed to be an older self, after his younger version returns. They try to understand what the future-Doctor said and are sent to Washington D.C. The team deals with 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 with the ability to make people forget their encounter with them when they look away.

Moffat wrote the episode with the intention to improve the series. The Silence was created to compete with other past aliens in terms of "scariness," including the Weeping Angels
Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a fictional ancient race of aliens from the Doctor Who television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor episode "Blink", and the Eleventh Doctor episodes "The Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex"...

. The episode was partially filmed on location in Utah; the first time in Doctor Who that principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....

 took place in the United States. Before the broadcast, a fan leaked the plot of the episode following a press screening. The episode was seen by 8.86 million viewers in the United Kingdom, and received generally positive reviews from critics. "The Impossible Astronaut" gained an Appreciation Index of 88 - considered excellent. The episode was dedicated to Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...

, known for playing former companion Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....

, who died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 on 19 April 2011.

Prequel

On 25 March 2011, a short scene serving as a prequel for the first episode was released on the show's website. In the prequel, Nixon receives a phone call from the little girl who keeps calling him in the episode. She begs for the president to look behind him, but he asks how she got this number, which the 'spaceman' told her. She tells him it is about monsters, to which he replies "young lady; there are no monsters in the Oval Office." He then hangs up and leans back. Behind him stands an out of focus Silent.

Synopsis

After a two-month break from their travels with 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), his companions Amy Pond
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 Williams
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...

), her husband, receive a "TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

 blue"-coloured envelope providing a time, date and set of coordinates leading them to 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...

. They arrive to meet 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:...

), who also received an envelope, and the Doctor, now 1,103 years old, nearly 200 years older from when he last saw them. He takes them to a picnic at a nearby lake, telling them he is taking them on a trip to "Space 1969". Amy catches a glimpse of a mysterious figure from a distance, but appears to immediately forget about it after she looks away. Later, a figure in a space suit emerges from the lake; the Doctor approaches it but warns his companions not to interfere. His companions are horrified to witness the astronaut killing him before he can fully regenerate
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...

. The three are met by Canton Everett Delaware III (William Morgan Sheppard
W. Morgan Sheppard
William Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with...

) who also received an envelope and was instructed to bring a can of gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...

, which the group then use to give the Doctor a Viking-style funeral.

Regrouping at a diner, Amy, Rory and River discuss the sender of the envelopes when they are shocked to see the Doctor walking in, 200 years younger again. He reveals he too was given an envelope, but does not know who sent it to him. Reluctantly his companions decide not to tell the Doctor either about his death or that the sender was his future self. The four do a search on Delaware and "Space 1969". The TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...

 ends up cloaked
Invisibility
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be invisible . The term is usually used as a fantasy/science fiction term, where objects are literally made unseeable by magical or technological means; however, its effects can also be seen in the real...

 in the Oval Office
Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end...

, where President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard 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...

 (Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan
Stuart Milligan is an American actor based primarily in Britain, best known for his recurring role as Adam Klaus in Jonathan Creek.He attended South High School in Denver, Colorado...

) converses with a younger Delaware (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...

) about a series of phone calls he received from a young girl asking for help. The Doctor quickly gains Delaware's trust, convincing Nixon to give him a few minutes to locate the girl.

While the Doctor works, Amy sees the mysterious figure again, and excuses herself to the restroom. There, the figure, a member of a species known as 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...

, waits for her and destroys an innocent woman despite Amy's pleas. Realising the alien is wiping her memory of their encounter, Amy takes a picture of it. When she leaves however, she yet again forgets the encounter. By then the Doctor finds the girl's location, a building near 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...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 at the intersection to streets named Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

, Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

, and Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...

. The Doctor and his companions leave in the TARDIS, followed closely by a curious Delaware.

Upon arrival, they find pieces of a space suit and alien technology. River and Rory explore a vast network of tunnels that have apparently spread across the planet for centuries, unnoticed by the human population. The two find a control room with a similar design to one seen in "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...

" but are unaware they are surrounded by the Silence. Meanwhile, Delaware hears the screaming girl and gives chase. As Amy and the Doctor follow, Amy tells him she is pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...

. When they find Delaware unconscious an astronaut appears. Without thinking Amy picks up Delaware's gun and shoots at the suit. However, she realises too late that the visor opened to reveal the girl.

Continuity

The episode ties into the series five
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...

 story arc phrase, "Silence will fall". The phrase was first used in the series five
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...

 premiere, "The Eleventh Hour
The 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 repeated through that series, but was left unresolved in the series ending to be carried into this series.

River Song tells Rory that she and the Doctor are travelling through time "in opposite directions." She comments that a day is coming when "I'll look into that man's eyes, my Doctor, and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me." In the series four
Doctor Who (series 4)
The fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2007 with the Christmas special "Voyage of the Damned". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes aired, starting with "Partners in Crime" on 5 April 2008 and ending with "Journey's End"...

 episodes "Silence in the Library
Silence in the Library
"Silence in the Library" is the eighth episode of the fourth series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 31 May 2008. It is the first of a two-part story, followed by "Forest of the Dead", and is the second two-parter Steven Moffat contributed to...

" and "Forest of the Dead
Forest of the Dead
"Forest of the Dead" is the ninth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast by BBC One on 7 June 2008...

", the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The 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...

 meets River for the first time (from his perspective); at the conclusion of that story, River is killed saving people trapped inside the Library's core, although only corporeally; her consciousness is "saved", preserved in the core, along with all her crewmates.

The TARDIS had been previously turned invisible, by damage to its visual stabiliser, in the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....

 story The Invasion
The Invasion (Doctor Who)
The Invasion is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in eight weekly parts from 2 November to 21 December 1968...

. When Canton first leaves the TARDIS, the Doctor remarks, "Brave heart, Canton," a reference to the Fifth Doctor
Fifth Doctor
The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

's recurrent statement to Tegan
Tegan Jovanka
Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to...

, "Brave heart, Tegan." When Amy asks the younger Doctor to trust her, he asks her to swear to him on something that matters. After some thought, she smiles and says "Fish fingers and custard", referring to events in the first Series 5 episode "The Eleventh Hour", when Amy first meets the Doctor as a little girl.

Writing

The episode was written by 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...

, who took charge of the show in 2010. Moffat wanted the 2011 season to start with a two-part story in an attempt to begin with more gravity and a wider scope in plot, as well as wanting the episodes to be one of the darker ones in the series. "The Impossible Astronaut" and "Day of the Moon" was the first two-part episode to open a series since the 1985 Sixth Doctor
Sixth Doctor
The Sixth Doctor is the sixth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Colin Baker...

 story Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen
Attack of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in two weekly parts from 5 January to 12 January 1985. It opened Season 22 of the series...

.

In the Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...

episode following the broadcast of "The Impossible Astronaut", Moffat stated it was one of the darker episodes of the series, but it still maintained the same level of humour. The inclusion of the Doctor's death felt like a series ender for some of the producers, but was actually there to "kick it off." In writing the death scene of the future Doctor, Moffat wanted to acknowledge to the audience that 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 are not invincible, and could still die permanently if killed before regeneration. In creating the Silence, the alien antagonists of the episode, Moffat wanted them to challenge past monsters in terms of "scariness." He felt these creatures are a "much bigger deal". The aliens' design was partially 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...

.

Casting

In October 2010, it was announced that 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...

, who appeared in other past science fiction series including Battlestar Galactica
Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)
Battlestar Galactica is an American military science fiction television series, and part of the Battlestar Galactica franchise. The show was developed by Ronald D. Moore as a re-imagining of the 1978 Battlestar Galactica television series created by Glen A. Larson...

, Firefly
Firefly (TV series)
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon, under his Mutant Enemy Productions label. Whedon served as executive producer, along with Tim Minear....

, Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...

and Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13 is an American fantasy television series that premiered on July 7, 2009 on the Syfy network.Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from Universal Media Studios has been described as borrowing much from 1980s television series Friday the 13th: The...

, would make a guest appearance on the series. Sheppard described playing Canton as a "dream job," and wished to appear in another of Moffat's works, including Sherlock. Even though Sheppard is an English actor, it was his first appearance in a British-made television show. For the scene depicting the older Canton Delaware, it was planned that Sheppard would appear older using makeup effects; he successfully suggested instead that his father, William Morgan Sheppard
W. Morgan Sheppard
William Morgan Sheppard , sometimes credited as Morgan Sheppard or W. Morgan Sheppard, is a British actor.Sheppard was born in London to an Anglo-Irish family but was educated in Ireland. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art 1956-58 before spending 12 years as Associate Artist with...

, play the role. American actor Stuart Milligan was cast as President Nixon, which he found exciting, having played other presidents in the past including Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

. Prosthetic pieces were applied on his cheeks, nose and ears to resemble Nixon as much as possible. He also practiced how Nixon would speak, but initially found it difficult since he had to wear fake teeth. Milligan previously appeared in the animated Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The 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...

 special Dreamland
Dreamland (Doctor Who)
Dreamland is the second animated Doctor Who serial to air on television...

as the voice of Colonel Stark. 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:...

 previously appeared in the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....

 audio drama 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:...

where he played Joshua Sembeke.

Filming and effects

This pair of episodes marks the first time that Doctor Who has filmed principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....

 footage within the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

; the American-produced TV movie of 1996 was filmed in Canada, and some second unit
Second unit
In film, the second unit is a team that shoots subsidiary footage for a motion picture. Its work is distinct from that of the first unit, which shoots all scenes involving principal actors...

 establishing shots of New York and the Statue of Liberty were filmed on Liberty Island for the episode "Daleks in Manhattan
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...

", but none of the cast of the episode were involved in the shoot. Filming took place in the state of 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...

. For the opening shot for the location, director 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...

 wanted it to be epic so that the audience could recognise where the episode was set. Scenes on the roadway were filmed on U.S. Route 163
U.S. Route 163
U.S. Route 163 is a U.S. Highway that runs from US 160 northward to US 191 in the U.S. states of Arizona and Utah. The southernmost of its length is within the Navajo Nation. The highway forms part of the Trail of the Ancients, a National Scenic Byway...

  (several miles east of the coordinates listed on the Doctor's invitations). The crew wanted to add as many American icons as they could into those shots, including a Stetson
Stetson
Stetsons are the brand of hat manufactured by the John B. Stetson Company of St. Joseph, Missouri.Stetson eventually became the world’s largest hat maker, producing over 3.3 million hats a year in a factory spread over . Today Stetson remains a family-owned concern...

 hat, a 1950s Edsel Villager
Edsel Villager
The Edsel Villager was a station wagon produced by the former Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln Division of the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn, Michigan, and sold through its Edsel marque from 1958 to 1960. Like the two-door Edsel Roundup and premium Edsel Bermuda station wagons, the Villager was built on a...

, and a yellow school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

. Moffat, having enjoyed writing episodes featuring River Song, wanted to give her an impressive entrance. Haynes had Alex Kingston block the sunlight from the camera angle and blow smoke from her revolver. The scenes involving the picnic and the future-Doctor dying took place on the shore of Lake Powell
Lake Powell
Lake Powell is a huge reservoir on the Colorado River, straddling the border between Utah and Arizona . It is the second largest man-made reservoir in the United States behind Lake Mead, storing of water when full...

. The suit worn by the future-Doctor's killer was a fabricated replica of an Apollo space suit. In filming the death scene the filming crew noticed that Karen Gillan was genuinely upset and "was acting her heart out." In filming the "Viking funeral" scene, Haynes wished to film it during the sunset
Sunset
Sunset or sundown is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.The time of sunset is defined in astronomy as the moment the trailing edge of the Sun's disk disappears below the horizon in the west...

. However, the sun set over the desert, so was instead filmed during sunrise
Sunrise
Sunrise is the instant at which the upper edge of the Sun appears above the horizon in the east. Sunrise should not be confused with dawn, which is the point at which the sky begins to lighten, some time before the sun itself appears, ending twilight...

, as the sun rose over the water.

Kingston had to genuinely slap Matt Smith several times in a scene because it was difficult to fake. Kingston recalled that after a few takes, Smith got red cheeked and grew frustrated at having to do the sequence over and over again. The Oval Office set was constructed at Upper Boat Studios
Upper Boat Studios
Upper Boat Studios is a television studio complex operated by BBC Wales and based in Upper Boat, a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The studios were officially opened on 27 July 2006 by Welsh Enterprise Minister Andrew Davies, for the purpose of producing Doctor...

 in South Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Because the production crew had access to several pictures and plans of the real office, they were able to replicate it in almost every detail. The main problem for building the set was the plastering; the crew normally plaster one wall at a time for normal rooms, but because the Oval Office was round, they had to do the entire set at once. The American-style diner scene when the companions reunite with the Doctor in this episode is actually located in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...

. The Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...

 film The Flying Deuces
The Flying Deuces
The Flying Deuces, also known as Flying Aces, is a 1939 comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy, in which the duo join the French Foreign Legion. It is a partial remake of their 1931 short film Beau Hunks.- Plot :...

, in which the Doctor intruded, was done by Smith dancing in front of greenscreen
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...

.

Pre-broadcast leak

Sometime before the broadcast of the episode, it and "Day of the Moon" were released in a press screening, where a number of fans were invited to attend. The production team present asked them not to give away any spoilers. However, following the screening a fan gave away the entire plot of the two episodes on an internet forum. News of this angered Moffat. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...

, Moffat stated;
Despite this he added that the majority of Doctor Who fans are "spoiler-phobes," who refused to go online to be spoiled.

Broadcast and ratings

"The Impossible Astronaut" was first broadcast 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...

 on 23 April 2011 at 6 pm. It began with a still-caption tribute to actress Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Sladen
Elisabeth Clara Heath-Sladen was an English actress best known for her role as Sarah Jane Smith in the British television series Doctor Who. She was a regular cast member from 1973 to 1976, alongside both Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, and reprised the role many times in subsequent decades, both on...

, who died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 on 19 April 2011. Sladen had previously appeared in the series as companion Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....

, and as the same character on the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures
The Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...

. After the broadcast "The Impossible Astronaut" received preliminary, overnight figures of 6.52 million viewers. Final consolidated ratings for the episode increased to 8.86 million, with a 43.2 per cent audience share. This made the episode the second highest rated programme of 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...

. The episode was the third most watched on BBC One, and sixth overall for the entire week ending 24 April. An additional 300,000 viewed the episode from BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....

 within two days of its original broadcast. 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 88, one of the higher scores for the weekend.

In the United States the episode aired 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...

 on the same day it was released in the United Kingdom, as was the case in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 for Space. 1.3 million viewers saw "The Impossible Astronaut" on BBC America, making it the highest rated telecast in the history of the channel. It was reportedly up by 71,000 from "The Eleventh Hour". In Canada, the episode was seen by 538,000, making it the most watched Who episode for the channel, and its most watched telecast in 2011. It was shown on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...

 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 on 30 April 2011, and was viewed by 860,000 from the five capital cities, matching the ratings from "A Christmas Carol" on Boxing Day
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...

 2010.

Audience measurement service Kantar Media
Kantar Group
Kantar, based in UK, was founded in 1993 as the Market Research, Insight and Consultancy Division of WPP plc, a London-based public company. It is a network of 13 specialist companies, with around 28,500 employees working in 100 countries across various research and consultancy disciplines...

 reported that "The Impossible Astronaut" is the most recorded television event of all time. Analysis of BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...

 data revealed that 4.11 million people recorded and viewed the programme within a week of broadcast, accounting for 46% of the episode's total viewers. A total of 1.38 requests were placed on iPlayer for the month of April, placing it at number one for the month.

Critical reception

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...

reacted positively towards the episode, believing the cast performed better than the previous fifth series
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...

. He stated "Steven Moffat has thrown away the rule book and made Doctor Who as, you imagine, he's pictured it should be his whole life. Killing the Doctor leaves the shape of the series mapped out, raises the bar so that no one is safe, and sees Amy, Rory and River facing a terrible dilemma." Martin liked that "Amy's numbed horror ramps things up to a series-finale level on intensity from the off," and then switches "into an Oval Office comedy of manners," and "morphs into gothic horror and finally flings you to the ground with its cinematic cliffhanger." He was also positive towards the American setting, and "our eccentric British foursome bumbling through it," believing the series raised its game with this. With regards to the Silence, Martin believed it was "a standard Moffat psychological trick, but the most refined to date." Martin later rated it the second 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....

 called the episode "a fantastic launch for the sixth series," adding "the Doctor Who team's US location shooting has certainly paid off, lending these early scenes a grand scale that the series could scarcely have expected to achieve in 2005, let alone in 1963." Commenting on the future-Doctor's death, Jeffery said "seven minutes in, a nation's collective jaw dropped as The Doctor — this show's lead — is mercilessly gunned down. This plot twist is simply stunning, and it's difficult to imagine even casual viewers not sitting up to pay attention at this point." Jeffery also believed that the series regulars were on "top form," adding "the more abrasive aspects of Amy Pond's personality seem to have been toned down this year, and Karen Gillan responds with her best, most sympathetic performance to date. Arthur Darvill also lives up to his recent promotion to full-time companion. His comic timing is simply superb, but he excels too in the episode's darker moments." Jeffery rated the episode five stars out of five.

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...

believed it was "a cracking start to the first part of the 2011 series, with the shocking ending of Amy seemingly shooting a girl making one keen wait for the conclusion next week to see how it all resolves itself," as well as enjoying the concept of the Silence. Rick Marshall of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 believed that "Steven Moffat and the Doctor Who crew offer up yet another great episode," but also said the "big cliffhanger will likely cause more than a few fans' heads to explode." In addition, Marshall believed the alien antagonists "give the Weeping Angels
Weeping Angels
The Weeping Angels are a fictional ancient race of aliens from the Doctor Who television series, featured in the Tenth Doctor episode "Blink", and the Eleventh Doctor episodes "The Time of Angels", "Flesh and Stone" and in a cameo appearance in Series 6's "The God Complex"...

 a run for their money in scare factor." Simon Brew of Den of Geek thought the episode was "a triumphant return for Doctor Who, bubbling with confidence and throwing down story strands that hint at an engrossing series." Brew liked Sheppard's performance as Delaware and Darvill's increasing presence as Rory. Brew also complimented Haynes' work in the United States, saying it was an improvement from "Daleks in Manhattan
Daleks in Manhattan
"Daleks in Manhattan" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007, and is the fourth episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. It is part one of a two-part story, concluded in "Evolution of the Daleks"...

", which featured British actors attempting to play with American accents. Tom Phillips of Metro said the 1969 US setting were "beautifully used," and enjoyed the "spookiness" of the Silence. However Phillips felt the episode would be "a bit hard to get into" for new viewers. Kevin O'Sullivan The Sunday Mirror was more negative towards the episode, stating it was "impossible to understand," and for "strictly sci-fi nerds only," adding that Smith "remains a derivative Doctor who brings nothing new to the party."

External links

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