Doctor Who/Recap/S32/E15 Night and The Doctor
Five additional scenes written and produced for "The Complete Sixth Series" boxset, which examine the question: what does the Doctor do at night, when his companions are asleep?
They included "Bad Night", "Good Night", "First Night", "Last Night" and "Up All Night". "First Night" and "Last Night" comprise one two-part episode.
The episodes resolve some of the plot threads set up in Doctor Who.
Like "Space" and "Time", these minisodes are all Bottle Episodes, and the first four are also Minimalist Cast episodes.
Bad Night
Amy answers the TARDIS phone one night, and gets the Prince of Wales on the line. She absently swats a fly while trying to figure out what's going on. The Doctor arrives shortly after, carrying a fish bowl and getting quite cross at Amy for touching his phone. As Amy tries to get through to the Doctor about the fact that she can't sleep, because she's been through a severe trauma for months now, the Doctor yells out to River (outside the TARDIS) about the fact that the fish is not, in fact, the Queen, but an ordinary fish. And the fly Amy killed was a man. He delegates Amy's emotional troubles to a very sleepy Rory while dashing out again.
Tropes regarding "Bad Night"
- Bad Liar: The Doctor, when it comes to River
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The Doctor: I do not sneak out at night to parties with River Song! |
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- Baleful Polymorph: The Queen has somehow become a goldfish.
- Brought Home the Wrong Kid: Or rather, goldfish.
- Noodle Implements: The Doctor's incident involves a party, River Song, a cricket bat, the Queen turned into a goldfish, and a pet shop. Feel free to imagine what's happening.
- Noodle Incident: How did the Queen turn into a goldfish?
Good Night
The Doctor comes home from a party one night to find Amy waiting for him. She still can't sleep; there are two timelines in her head, one with her parents and one without, and she's been having a lot of trouble coping. She feels that the Doctor's human friends are just little blips in his life, and even Rory's Auton memories are flighty at best. The Doctor avoids actually reassuring her, instead hooking her up to the TARDIS telepathic link and having her look at her most painful memory of all. Which consists of her dropping an ice cream when she was little. As the TARDIS uncovers more of the memory for her, it changes to a nice red-headed lady in a nighty buying her a second ice cream. The Doctor takes her out to go do just that.
Tropes regarding "Good Night"
- Call Back: To The Big Bang.
- Amy's changing memory is similar to Kazran Sardick's in A Christmas Carol.
- Amy has a "I hate you"/"No, you don't" exchange with the Doctor, just like her daughter.
- Double Consciousness: Amy discusses the fact she remembers two lives. According to the Doctor, everyone has this to a certain extent- whenever your memories don't quite match reality, or you meet someone who you feel like you've known forever, it's because of time being rewritten.
- Noodle Incident: The Doctor's exploits while Amy and Rory are asleep. Apparently, he helped out a possessed orchestra. On the moon. Which somehow involved Marilyn Monroe and a biplane.
- Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Amy discusses with the Doctor how she remembers having two different timelines.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Rory has one whenever he remembers being "The Last Centurion". The Doctor has noticed.
- Timey-Wimey Ball: The Doctor causes Amy's past to change while she is remembering it.
First Night / Last Night
The Doctor and River have their very first date since their wedding, during her first night of imprisonment in Stormcage. While she changes into a dress he got her, a second River appears, who's been in Stormcage for five years. The Doctor tries to prevent them from meeting each other in order to prevent paradox. A third River walks in, wearing that same dress, followed by an older version of the Doctor. He's going to take her to see the Singing Towers of Darillium—he's been promising for ages. The Doctor remembers River saying that this was their last date before River's death in the Library, and with much sadness in his expression, he wishes his older self good luck. His older self wishes him good luck with their first date as well, and the youngest River happily dashes into the control room again after the older two have gone.
Tropes regarding "First Night" / "Last Night"
- Acting for Two: Multiple versions of the Doctor and River appear.
- Author's Saving Throw: In series 4, River mentioned that the Doctor had a new haircut during their last night together. In this episode, he wears a hat.
- Closet Shuffle
- Cliffhanger Copout: At the end of "First Night", the second River bursts through the TARDIS doors and falls to the floor, unconscious. Cue the start of "Last Night": "River, you are holding your breath."
- Continuity Nod: River's formal dress is the same one she wore in Day of the Moon.
- Dramatic Irony: River Song: "He's taking me to the Singing Towers of Darillium! He's been promising for ages!" Also counts as a Wham! Line, Mood Whiplash and a Tear Jerker.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar:
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Doctor: We've got ten minutes, get dressed. |
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Doctor: "River, you can't do things like this!" [i.e., asking Sontarans if they're on a hen night and being shot at accordingly.] |
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- Kiss of Life: The Doctor seems to be about to try this when he realizes River is playing possum.
- Twin Threesome Fantasy: River thinks so.
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Two of you!? The mind races, does it not? |
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- Definitely a Call Back to the "whole different birthday" River mentioned.
Up All Night
Sophie prepares to leave for the weekend, and Craig is worried about whether or not he'll be able to take care of Alfie.
Tropes regarding "Up All Night"
- Dolled-Up Installment: Doesn't match the rest of the set in style or theme, or for that matter share any characters, and looks suspiciously like a deleted scene or prequel for "Closing Time" that they just decided to stick the "Night and the Doctor" label on.
- Tempting Fate: Regarding Craig and Alfie spending the weekend alone, Sophie asks what is the worst that could happen. Craig lampshades this.