Tag: UNIT

Categories
Essay

The Zygon Invasion: Error of the Zygons

More than just nostalgia, “The Zygon Invasion” is a study of contrasts of modern and classic era Who. It follows Terror of the Zygons much better than “Day of the Doctor.”

Part of the show’s longevity is its ability to express its premise with different types of stories. Most of new Who stories fall into “soft” escapist space fantasy; the primary emphasis is action, humor, and romance. My preference is “hard” science fiction that speculates technology’s effect onour human condition. Rather than escape from reality, these stories mercilessly embrace political corruption, class warfare, race and gender roles, crime, violence, and more. Examples of classic Who stories include “The War Machines,” “The Enemy of the World,” “Inferno,” “The Robots of Death,” and “The Caves of Androzani.”

Right off the bat, Peter Harness rips the politically flimsy human/Zygon detente in “The Day of the Doctor.” For a sci-fi/fantasy show, this is as topical as Three Days of the Condor. It explores the consequences of allowing millions of the shape-shifting aliens to secretly settle among us. The tension between the “off the boaters” and younger Zygons is consistent with children of Jewish and Irish immigrants who saw a big difference between the American Dream and ghetto reality of the early 1900s. “The Zygon Invasion” covers the same human/alien immigrant theme of the 1980s show Alien Nation (without the harsher social indictment of District 9.)

The focus on real world events to tell a hard science fiction story is a welcome change from new Who‘s tear-jerking fairy tales. In execution, however, that realism is undermined by gaping plot holes and genre convention. The Zygon’s year-long campaign to neutralize UNIT seems to only affect the troops; technicians, administrators and managers are unaccounted for.

When compared to modern audience media access, new Who‘s politics—especially UNIT—are under written. Moffat, and previous show runner Russell T. Davies, gave nods to diversity by casting all women in authority positions. This seems progressive until the Doctor berates them like an angry, old, white man. The tenth Doctor deposes Harriet Jones, the democratically elected Prime Minister, in “The Christmas Invasion.” Here and in “Day of the Doctor,” Kate Stewart simply isn’t allowed to act on her own opinions. This approach certainly wouldn’t haveworked on the Brig. Part of what made “The Sontaran Stratagem” great was Colonel Mace using the Doctor as a scientific advisor, then beating the Sontarans with his own solution.

The wasted potential of Kate Stewart is disappointing. Showing her make tough decisions in chaotic situations would go a long way to defining her character. Classic Who usually got this part right; Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart always had someone to answer to, not enough resources, and wasin a constant love/hate relationship with the Doctor. In contrast, Kate doesn’t seem to have much character beyond speeches. And why the hell did she wear zebra-striped pumps? That’s more improbable than hunting for Zygons by herself in Mexico.

Dirty Harry
Dirty Harry

How did I miss that Doctor Harry Sullivan created Zee-67, the Zygon-killing nerve gas? He certainly looked angry enough to do it at the end of Terror of the Zygons. Either following orders or his own initiative to protect Earth without the Doctor, the Brigadier would have authorized UNIT to experiment on captured aliens.

Mundane realism got displaced by sci-fi adventure, but there’s plenty of room for both.

Sandeep, the lost boy in the hallway, is an example of new Who writing laziness. He doesn’t look frightened, sad, angry, or worried. He’s just an actor reading lines. If he was a Zygon participating in the trap to get Clara, his Zygon acting coach would be embarassed. Basing this scene on actual child behavior would not have ruined the episode. Like most new Who kids, however, he’s an adorable little device for Clara to look compassionate and get in the apartment.

Jenna as Clara as Bonnie
Jenna as Clara as Bonnie

After watching a second time, there are clues to Clara being a Zygon after the apartment scene. The Doctor and Jac look horrified by the execution of the Zygon High Command; Clara looks bored. Wanting to “swing by home and grab a couple of things” seemed odd even to Jac. In the elevator, her hand position is way too deliberate. Jenna Coleman turns in the best evil twin performance since Patrick Troughton in “Enemy of the World.” These behaviors, however, would have been more jarring if the real Clara were written better. The Doctor had no trouble spotting imposters for Martha (“Sontaran Stratagem”) and Amy (“The Almost People”).

When did the Doctor become an expert on political revolutions? He normally takes off from a battle, usually surrounded by destruction and bodies, leaving reconstruction to others. The Doctor’s aftermaths usually look like Team America: World Police. Whenever asked to stay, the Doctor runs to that TARDIS so fast his feet kicks his own behind. His constant running is a theme in the classic and modern eras…and even this season. Perhaps 2,000 years of conflict have given him “back seat driver” ideals. “…radicalize the lot. That’s exactly what the splinter group wants” is an accurate assessment, but should have been said by Jac.

Twelve is still trying to resolve Three’s losses with Silurians, who were killed by UNIT in Doctor Who and The Silurians. Three called it murder, but the plot was logistically complicated. The Brig couldn’t see that the Doctor’s solution didn’t work, and the last Silurian was about to revive the others to launch a full-scale attack on humans. That situation was closer to Japan not surrendering until getting bombed. The Doctor who said “Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose” in “Mummy on the Orient Express” would understand this.

How did the Zygons extend the elevator shaft below the apartment building basement? They don’t have TARDIS-like transcendental dimension technology, so this extension would be 100% physical. It would take months, be loud, and shake the building. Perhaps there were enough militant Zygonsto infiltrate local government, disguising the task as replacing water and sewage pipes.

In Summary

“The Zygon Invasion” was entertaining, thoughtful and ambitious. The cinematography was outstanding, especially the outdoor Mexico scene and Zygon interiors. Considering the padding needed to get to the cliffhanger, director Daniel Nettheim paced the story he had extremely well. He certainly made the most of Jenna Coleman, who must’ve channeled her Christina Ricci as Wednesday Adams. Her portrayal of feminine evil is more effective and less exaggerated than Michelle Gomez as Missy.

A more realistic setting would have made it even better, pushing the Doctor into ethical conflict. How would he react to his advice being ignored, or to the possibility of being wrong?

TARDIS Bits

Since this is a week late, I obviously ran out of time. Shut up.

  • Why do the letters of USA have long pauses between them in the typewritten intro?
  • The family trick doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t’ve worked. Hitchley’s “mother” deliberately evaded his questions. Benton would have fired.
  • The Doctor still preaches peace, while benefitting from guns and bloodshed.
  • Finding Osgood was too well timed. So is the bombing. How the hell did Osgood and the Doctor survive but the Zygon get killed?
  • The Zygons evolving their powersis fantastic.
  • “My name is, well, you can call me the Doctor” perfectly exposes his hypocrisy.
  • Did evil Clara deliberately reveal the real Clara’s pod? She looks sadistically gleeful at the deaths.
  • Why is evil Clara called “Bonnie?”
Categories
Essay

Under the Lake: Energy Never Dies

Doctor Who: Under the Lake

Niels Bohr would be intrigued by Toby Whitehouse’s refreshing, back-to-the-basics episode. “Under the Lake” is far less “accept it” showy entertainment and more sci-fi story. What a novel concept for Doctor Who. Whitehouse has an ongoing history with the show. He began writing episodes in 2006 (“School Reunion“), beginning under Russell T. Davies and continuing under Steven Moffat. And for that, the Who fandom is grateful. He has frequently been touted as a potential successor when Moffat leaves. Currently, however, Whitehouse keeps himself busy with his own projects, including BBC Three’s Being Human.

Closing in on the Halloween season, Whitehouse chose to offer us a ghost story. And who knew the Tardis would be afraid of ghosts? Then again, it’s far more likely that she’s afraid of the electromagnetic energy of the ghosts rather than any supernatural powers. Imagine if the ghosts entered into the Tardis and could wreak havoc with the electrical system? We open the episode with the Doctor knowing that she is unsettled, while Clara tries to convince him to leave for another adventure (one would think that Clara knows that where they land adventure will follow). The Tardis is so frightened of the ghosts that later in the episode the Doctor has to throw on the hand brake.

I was confused that the two ghosts the Doctor and Clara first encountered were merely curious and did not attempt to kill them. (And I was more confused later in the episode when a ghost chooses not to kill another crew member.) Given the storyline, it appears that they were programmed to kill in order to convert and harness more energy. Perhaps, I thought, there was some supernatural, metaphysical aspect of them that took over in order to lead the Doctor and Clara to the ship. Then, sadly disappointed that the Doctor was not able to immediately assist, they went into aggressive mode. Then it hit me, none of these characters had yet been into the space ship when they first encountered the ghosts. Quibble resolved.

From the get-go, I felt a nuanced difference in Clara and the Doctor’s characters and found it both intriguing and beneficial to their working together as a team. The Doctor introduces himself by use of psychic paper that declares him UNIT and lets everyone know that he’s in charge in an oh, so subtle way (“So, who’s in charge now? I need to know who to ignore.”). Simulated day returns and the underwater team (which includes the insufferable, greedy Pritchard), the Doctor, and Clara gather in the control room to conference. The Doctor, as we know, has few filters. He has rarely been known for the ability to engage in what is considered appropriate social interaction, and endearingly we see that Clara has devised cue cards. Of course, they cannot be beneficial if read verbatim. Throughout the episode, it appeared that the connection between Clara and the Doctor flowed more easily and each character felt a bit more defined. Or, have I lost my mind? I have read one other account wherein the author would take issues with this contention. The scene in the Tardis where the Doctor reminds Clara that there is only one of him and that he has a duty of care, is in my humble opinion, geared toward definition. And you have to admit that the Doctor’s lovable arrogance shined brightly. This may be my personal perception and other viewers will have their reactions and preferences to this scene.

Far be it from me to ever say that Doctor Who contains social commentary (but it does). It certainly seemed appropriate that Pritchard was flushed out of the ship after leaving to seek the missing power cell strictly for monetary reasons. Who else guffawed when his early response to the Doctor about leaving the ship was: “…It’s not them that lost a bonus.” Of course the Doctor’s brilliant response was: “It’s ok, I understand. You’re an idiot.”

Things are made more interesting by the symbols that have been found inside the ship. We are shown that once they  are looked at they register on the eye. Later, we find out that their magnetic imprint programs the individual so that when dead, the words (which are coordinates) will be repeated over and over as transmission. Without the imprint, an individual would be useless. Brilliant. I want to meet the species that designed that.

I should state that the Doctor doesn’t believe that ghosts are a natural phenomenon. Or didn’t. Or doesn’t. And the way that he announces that the “monsters” are ghosts is every bit what my idea of the 12th Doctor is — frequently oblivious to others. Typically it does not appear that this is an intentional slight of others, it may be that the Doctor is simply so lost within his own processing that he frequently dismisses what others say even if there may be some underlying sense. Or am I romanticizing this potential fault? We have likely all encountered people like this and it can be annoying, but the Doctor’s character tends to make it embraceable on some level.

From a paranormal perspective, it is thought that ghosts have the ability to manipulate energy and electricity. From a quantum physics perspective, energy never dies, it simply changes form and that form remains part of the four fundamental reactions. The ghosts that plague our characters in “Under the Lake” had the ability to manipulate the system controls to bring on night and give them an advantage in being able to use the ship against its inhabitants. Were ghosts actually at  play? Or is there an intelligent being who is able to harness the shifted energy of the dead?

Indeed, Whitehouse has taken us back to basics. A base under siege story with plenty of walks/runs down dark corridors and a storyline where the characters can shine through performance and dialogue was a perfect prescription. Visuals, production, and direction may remind many fans of classic Who as well as an allusion or two to modern Who. The Doctor and Clara saying good-bye through porthole windows, behind flood doors, reminded me of the Doctor and Donna saying hello through windows (Series 4, first episode, “Partners in Crime“). Throughout the entirety of Doctor Who, the Doctor and his companion have been partners. Whitehouse made this connection apparent, once again, in “Under the Lake.” I couldn’t help but wonder if his I’m the only Doctor reminder to Clara was a throw-back to the Doctor Donna days. And, by the way, who knew that Clara wrote songs?

A poignant part of the episode is that the individual next in charge following the death of the commander of the base is deaf (as is Sophie Stone, the actor who portrays her). Through the use of sign and her interpreter she was both quiet and vocal when necessary in order to lead. Though the Doctor appeared to dismiss her, along with the others, when issuing his own orders, he was very aware of her thought processes and, perhaps, some heightened intuitive sensitivities. She knew it was unsafe to go into the space ship and insisted that her interpreter not go, why? She realized that the symbols in the ship were not merely words or symbols. Again, not to overplay social commentary, but is this a nod to accepting disability in the social structure, rather than labeling or ostracizing?

Having said that, it is thought-provoking and irritating that the one black member of the crew gets about 15 seconds of air-time, and is then killed. There is an unfortunate history in Doctor Who with black, male characters receiving the short end of the stick. Is the BBC really oblivious to this fact?

Overall, this episode was a refreshing drink of water and, thankfully, not the poisoned water on “The Water of Mars.” We stay alive quite well through the ghostly ordeal and the quibbles are few. Those storyline quibbles that may exist can wait until the second of this two-parter where they will hopefully be resolved. I, personally, found that the dots were easier to connect in this Whitehouse episode and that far fewer dots went missing. On to next Saturday — Geronimo!

Sophie Stone talks about “Under the Lake”

Categories
Fan Fiction

On the Road to New Who’s Tenth Anniversary: Rose-Colored Dream

Theme image
Main image uncredited. Baby Rose screenshot from "Father's Day"

In the quiet, evening light, Ginny drifts to the sound of the TARDIS on take-off. Earlier today she was a clerk at a department store, but tonight she will travel with a madman in a box. The television flickers all of time and space into her bedroom, and she imagines herself as Rose Tyler. The sound of the alarm clock that wakens Rose in the streaming episode is a hypnotic trigger that sends Ginny deeper into the vortex of her own timeline.

One moment she is lying on her back, tucked in by comforter and blanket while she watches Rose grab purse and lunch, and toss a good-bye over her shoulder to her Mum. Then, in an instant, she wakes up on the floor of the TARDIS. Staring up into the bright lights of the console tower, she vaguely makes out the shape of the Doctor. She can tell he is agitated by the tone of his mumbling. The only word that Ginny can wholly understand is ‘baby.’ The Doctor stumbles around the console, trips over Ginny and continues muttering about the Silence. She watches, wonders why he’s so obsessed with silence. He stops. Starts. Stops. Looks back over his shoulder.

“Oh, hi. So who are you?” He goes back to pressing buttons and manipulating levers.

Ginny props herself up on one arm, shields her eyes with the free hand, “Rose” she says, “Rose Tyler.”

“Well, a name is fine, but who are you Rose Tyler?”

She shakes her head, tries to orient herself to the inside of the TARDIS: “Just a shop girl. A tired shop girl.”

“Hmmmm, nobody is ‘just.’ I’m the Doctor. I’m not yet sure how you appeared on the floor of my ship, but you’re here now and there’s no turning back. We’re off to rescue an infant! Though I’ve no idea whose infant or why.”

Rose raises herself to a seated position then pulls herself up to standing by grabbing onto the console. Everything looks familiar to her. “I’ve seen you on television,” she says, “haven’t I?”

The Doctor looks amused. “Really? On the telly? I am rather fantastic, aren’t I?”

Rose doesn’t understand, decides that it wouldn’t progress matters to probe the question. “I lost a baby two years ago. Odd,” she says, “her name is Rose too.” She pauses for a moment, “Or, is that a story I know from someone else?” Rose rubs at her temple. Brain freeze, she thinks.

He glances over at her then faces her full on. His eyes scan her from the top of her head down to her toes. He picks up his sonic screwdriver and uses it to scan her a second time. “There are no coincidences Rose. Maybe the baby I’m looking for is yours. Or, you.”

At that moment the TARDIS lands with a lurch. Rose startles and the Doctor strides to the door. “After you Miss Rose Tyler.”

Outside of the TARDIS, daylight jolts Rose from reverie to high alert. In front of her is a house that looks disturbingly familiar. Standing on the lawn is a woman in a skirted business suit holding a cell phone to her ear. She turns and waves at the Doctor, ending her phone call.

“Glad to see you got my message,” said Kate Stewart, of Unified Intelligence Taskforce.

“Of course, UNIT calls and I answer immediately. Your wish is my command, dear Kate.” The Doctor grins. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen you! Now, what’s this important flutter about a baby?”

“Yes, well a baby is missing, but I’m more concerned about who may have taken the baby. The parents cannot seem to remember anything. They have a feeling that something had been watching them for a while, but no concrete information to give us. You understand what I’m thinking, yes?”

“The Silence…” started the Doctor

“Yes,” said Kate while Rose wondered, again, what the hullabaloo over silence could be. “Why, Doctor, would they want this baby?” Kate finished.

“Bad Wolf.” The two words came up from deep in Rose’s throat. Stunned by her own strange outburst, Rose clapped a hand over her mouth. Kate and the Doctor looked at her in surprise. “Wha…” Kate began.

“I scanned Rose when she arrived in the TARDIS. She appeared out of thin air. I’m certain that the baby we’re looking for is Rose,” revealed the Doctor.

“Could someone please explain to me what’s happening?” asked Rose.

“Sure. You’re you. But you may not have been you if Kate and I weren’t here to get you back from the Silence.”

Rose stared over the shoulder of the Doctor to a man and a woman sitting on the porch of the house. They appeared to be consoling each other. She rubbed her temple. Odd, she thought, I’ve an ice-cream headache that won’t go away and I haven’t eaten any ice-cream. She continued to rub her temple and asked “Would they be my parents?”

“If what the Doctor says is accurate, then yes,” said Kate. “The lost baby’s name is Rose. Her parents are inconsolable. Now may not be the best time to spring your adulthood on them. Don’t you think Doctor?”

“I’m not worried about talking to them right now or introducing Rose to them. You’ve got professionals to help them deal with the loss and the ongoing search. Let’s go into the house, Kate. Show me what you’ve discovered.”

“Doctor,” Kate said, “somehow this baby’s abduction has everything to do with you, doesn’t it?”

“Us,” said the Doctor pointing to Rose. “It has everything to do with us.”

Inside, the house was in chaos. UNIT personnel had a makeshift control center set up in the living room. LED light poured from computer screens, phones rang, and a large white board, covered in written bullet points and pictures of a baby, had been hung on one wall. A monitor scrolled through up-to-the-moment pictures of each room of the house. Rose watched the pictures. The kitchen, bathrooms, the basement, bedrooms, and the attic all represented, all apparently fit with security cameras.

“Doctor,” she said, “Can we take a tour of the house?”

The Doctor was in the midst of a conversation with a young man seated at a computer. He used his finger as a pointer and poked it at the screen while talking about cracks in the universe. “Not now, Rose. Why don’t you go into the kitchen and get yourself some coffee.”

“But I want to make myself useful.”

“We’ll tour the house in a short while. You can come along then.” said the Doctor somewhat absent-mindedly.

Rose shrugged and wandered off toward the kitchen. She found coffee and an assortment of baked goods. On the other side of the kitchen island she noticed a narrow stairway beyond an open door, decided she wasn’t hungry and made a beeline for the stairs. Once she was a step up, she turned around and pulled the door shut. She didn’t want anyone trying to stop her. At the top of the stairs Rose found what appeared to be a room used for nothing more than storage. Rose shivered. It was oddly cold in the room. She walked over to a file cabinet and opened the top drawer. While she was rifling through folders, she caught sight of a dark shape out of the corner of her eye. She shivered again, then went back to rifling, forgetting. When she turned from the file cabinet she found herself face-to-face with a tall creature in a black suit. She jumped back and let out a screech. He cocked his head at an angle and told Rose to bring the Doctor to this room. She turned and ran for the stairs then through the kitchen and back into the living room.

As she tumbled in, the Doctor noticed she had gone pale. “All right Rose Tyler?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure, fine,” Rose replied.

“Then why are you stumbling about all out of breath?

“Huh,” Rose said. “I guess…well I guess I don’t know. I feel a bit foggy and unsettled.” She shook her head in an attempt to clear the fog. “I think I need that coffee.”

The Doctor followed her into the kitchen. He wanted to take time to ask her questions about herself and how she ended up on the TARDIS floor when he noticed the stairway that Rose had gone up earlier and walked over to the doorway.

“I’ve been up there. Not much there but some file cabinets,” Rose said.

“Ok,” the Doctor said and walked to the coffee pot, “later.” He poured himself a cup of coffee, placed it on the counter and then looked straight at Rose.

“Why do they want to take you Rose?” Rose shrugged. “Tell me about your parents,” the Doctor said. “Maybe there’s some type of a clue in who they are or what they do.”

“Nawww. My parents?” Rose asked. “They’re just simple folk. Well, my Dad isn’t really all that simple. He invents things. I always thought they were interesting things, but no one else did apparently. He never sold any of his inventions, though he tried.”

“Tried?” asked the Doctor. “Is he gone?”

“Yes, he died in a car accident.” Rose said. “We should go up those stairs, Doctor. You should probably look in those file cabinets.”

“Nahhhhhh,” the Doctor began. “I want to learn more about you.”

“I can answer all your questions while you’re looking through those files!”

“Oh, ok. Let’s go up then,” said the Doctor.

As they walked up the stairs, they heard a baby crying. Rose glanced over at the Doctor. The Doctor seemed to take the sound of the baby in stride.

“Did you hear that?” asked Rose.

“What?” asked the Doctor. “You mean the baby crying. Yeah, of course I heard that. I’m surprised it took so long for me to hear the baby. We are here, after all, because of a missing baby.”

“True,” said Rose. “But we didn’t think the baby would be in this house.”

“You girls from London. Always thinking you know what’s what,” the doctor said through a grin. “I knew the baby would be in the house. We’re here. If the baby were not here in the house, we would not be here.”

At that moment they heard the baby cry again and hurried up the stairs. A Silent met them at the top. The Doctor stared at him hard, keeping his eyes focused. “Where is the baby?” he demanded.

“In exchange for you, Doctor, the baby will be given back,” uttered the Silent.

“Right. No,” said the Doctor and walked beyond the Silent toward the baby’s cry. Rose followed. The Doctor handed her a black marker. “What’s this for?” she asked.

“Every time you see a tall alien in a dark suit, put a tally mark on you. I want us to keep track of when we see them.” Rose shook her head in confusion. “The Silence erase your memory,” said the Doctor. “You are only aware of them when you look at them. When you look away they are forgotten.”

They found another door on the other side of the room. When they opened it they saw a cradle suspended over a vat. The cradle swung precariously as the baby moved around. It was only a matter of time before the cradle tipped too far and the baby fell out and into the vat below. “Acid,” said the Doctor.

“If that baby falls into the acid, what will happen to me?” asked Rose.

“You’ll cease to exist. Poof. You’ll disappear, timeline erased,” said the Doctor.

“How comforting,” said Rose. “Let’s get that baby down!” She turned and yelped. A group of Silents had entered the room. Marker ready, she wrote down the tally on her arm.

The Doctor had climbed on a chair and was busy examining the rope structure suspending the cradle. He did not look back, but called to Rose, “Don’t take your eyes off them!” At that moment, UNIT personnel burst into the room: Silents scattered, Rose screamed, and the Doctor took a spill from the chair he’d been standing on. His sonic screwdriver rolled away and across the floor. A passing Silent picked it up, then strode from the room.

Kate followed the UNIT personnel. “We hear the baby crying. That baby could not have been in this house the entire time we’ve been here!” she exclaimed. “And why was this room not fit with a security camera!”

“You’re right, the baby was not here the entire time. I would imagine that the Silence brought her here once I arrived. Rose, look at your arm. How many tally marks are there?” The Doctor asked while crawling around on the floor.

“Ten,” Rose gasped. “What are you doing crawling around on the floor?”

“Looking for my sonic screwdriver, I dropped it when I fell. Kate, the Silence is here now. We need to keep an eye on the cradle so it’s not taken while we look away.”

At that moment, a UNIT member shouted, “A rope’s been cut, the cradle is going to tip over!” No one remembered seeing the rope cut, but out of the corner of her eye, Rose had seen a Silent and marked it on her arm.

“Eleven tally marks,” she said to the Doctor.

A UNIT member appeared with a ladder, the cradle tipped further, so far to the side that everyone could see the baby now. The Doctor scrambled to get the ladder set up, but as he began to climb he saw a Silent reach for the baby, pull it from the cradle before the Doctor could, and hold it high above the vat. “Don’t stop looking,” the Doctor called out. “Don’t…stop!”

UNIT members rushed the Silent, their eyes trained on him. The Silent’s grip released on the baby and she flew up into the air and tumbled down toward the roiling vat of acid. The Doctor grabbed a round table top, grinning and whooping “you gotta love storage rooms” and placed it over the vat. He reached over the table top and grabbed the baby’s sleeper with one hand, while the other hand flew up and under her armpit.

“Got her!” he cheered, drawing her close to his body and shielding her. UNIT members surrounded him to aid in protection.

“Silence will fall,” they heard a guttural voice proclaim.

The Doctor’s sonic screwdriver rolled across the floor and stopped at his feet. “Thanks for that,” he said as he bent to pick it up.

“Thirteen tally marks!” called Rose.

“And no more tonight,” said the Doctor. “Let’s get baby Rose back to her parents.”

“She is me,” Rose said with wonder. “I have seen pictures of me in this sleeper. Can I hold her?”

“Unfortunately not. The paradox would bring harm to both of you,” said the Doctor as he carried baby Rose downstairs.

Rose’s parents were standing in the kitchen. They had been alerted that the baby was in the house and would be retrieved soon. When the Doctor walked through the doorway holding the baby, their tears began to flow.

“How can we ever thank all of you?” they gushed.

“You already have,” said the Doctor. “Baby Rose is special. She will grow up to travel to distant places and do great things in this wibbly-wobbly universe,” he said with a wink to Rose. “Your daughter will scatter her words throughout time and space.” Rose’s parents stared at him blankly, then returned to hugging the infant. The Doctor said his good-byes to Kate and other UNIT members and began to make his way out of the house to the TARDIS.

“C’mon,” he waved to Rose, “It’s time to get you back home.” Rose was fixated on her parents. She wanted to say something to acknowledge her Mum and Dad, but words would not come. She took a step closer and reached a hand out toward her Mum, but her parents were locked in their group hug, baby Rose smashed between the two of them. Rose decided it best not to interrupt. She turned and followed the Doctor, wiping a tear from her eye.

“Home,” Rose whispered as she stepped inside the TARDIS. She looked around and knew that she felt oddly at rest in this traveling ship that was bigger on the inside. “I don’t want to go home.”

“For tonight, Rose. You’ll be back in the TARDIS again. I’ll take you to distant stars, beautiful and tragic planets. You’re going to have a good year, Rose Tyler, a very good year.”

The sleepy Ginny vaguely heard the credits of the episode she had been watching. She rolled over on her side, stretched long like a cat, and peered cautiously out of half-closed eyes. On the hardwood floor next to the bed she noticed a pile of what looked like soot or ash. What on earth is that, she wondered. Wait, she thought, that looks like the ash left from the dream crabs in “The Last Christmas.” She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. The last of the credits were rolling off the screen. Ginny remembered seeing the Doctor. Slowly the dream images began to come back.

“Wow,” she said out loud. “That was wild. I was Rose Tyler. I was the Doctor’s companion, how timey-wimey and wibbly-wobbly. And dream crabs are real.”

She turned off the television, settled back beneath her blanket and comforter and smiled. Bad Wolf, she said softly to herself. As she drifted off for the night, she heard the sound of the TARDIS on take-off.

The End

“Rose-colored Dream” collage by David Marshall. Silents tally mark image uncredited (if you know the artist, please tell us!) Baby Rose screenshot from “Father’s Day”