Amy Pond
Encyclopedia
Amelia Jessica 'Amy' Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan
in the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. Amy is a companion
of the series protagonist the Doctor
, in his eleventh
incarnation, Amy's storylines have focused on her relationship with Rory Williams
(Arthur Darvill
), whom she eventually marries; in the second series, Amy gives birth to their daughter, Melody, who is revealed to be recurring character River Song
(Alex Kingston
).
" as a seven year old girl living with only her aunt, Sharon. She asks the Doctor
to investigate an unusual crack in her wall, but he is interrupted by the TARDIS' cloister bell; he promises Amelia that he will return in five minutes, but is inadvertently late by twelve years. In the intervening period, the Doctor is believed by Amelia's family and friends to be her imaginary friend. She is treated by four psychiatrists
as a result of her insistence that the "Raggedy Doctor" is real, biting them for insisting that the Doctor is imaginary. When the Doctor returns, Amy is nineteen years old and working as a kissogram
. Amy then helps the Doctor save Earth from the Atraxi, but due to the TARDIS' unstable state, does not see the Doctor again for a further two years, when she is twenty-one and he invites her to travel with him; she accepts on the condition that the Doctor return her by the following morning, not revealing that her wedding is the next day.
At the end of Flesh and Stone
, Amy reveals to the Doctor her upcoming marriage to Rory
and, in a moment of pre-wedding jitters, attempts to seduce
him. The Doctor then finds Rory and takes him and Amy to 16th century Venice
, after which Rory continues travelling with them. In "Amy's Choice
", Amy is pressured to resolve her conflicted feelings for the Doctor and Rory and realises the depth of her love for Rory. At the end of "Cold Blood
", Rory is killed and then erased from history by the cracks in the universe. Because he is part of Amy's own time-line, she ceases to remember him. The Doctor takes Amy to her favourite places to lessen his guilt about Rory's loss and in 19th century France
, Amy forms a close friendship with famed painter Vincent Van Gogh
, in which Van Gogh expresses romantic interest. In "The Pandorica Opens
", Rory reappears in 102 AD as a Roman centurion
. He triggers Amy's memories of him, but as she remembers, it is revealed that the centurion Rory is actually an Auton
—a duplicate of living plastic—created from Amy's memories to trap the Doctor. Rory's consciousness tries to fight his programming, but he is compelled to shoot and kill her. Amy's body is placed in the Pandorica, which as a "perfect prison", will keep any occupant alive. Auton Rory protects the Pandorica while Amy is kept in suspended animation until she is restored and released by an alternative version of her younger self in 1996.
Once the Doctor realises that Amy is connected to the cracks in the universe and that they originate from a temporal explosion on the date of her wedding, he reminds Amy of her house— too big for only her and her aunt. Amy then realises that her family had been erased by the crack in her wall and she had forgotten them. The Doctor encourages her to remember them, as her exposure to the crack in her wall made her subconscious memory resistant. After he uses the Pandorica to re-boot the universe, the Doctor encounters the sleeping Amelia on the night they met. He tells her the story of how he borrowed the TARDIS from his own people, and how it is "old and new," and "big and small" and "the bluest blue that there is", before stepping into the crack in her wall to seal the cracks for good. Amy awakes on her wedding day and is reunited with her parents. She marries Rory, and at the reception she notices River Song
's diary of encounters with the Doctor, now blank. The sight of the diary stirs Amy's latent memories; she declares that her "Raggedy Doctor" was real, and her memory of him restores him to reality. After their wedding reception, Amy and Rory decide to join him once again. They are dropped off at a "honeymoon planet" between the end of "The Big Bang" and the start of Death of the Doctor
. The couple continue their honeymoon aboard an interstellar cruise ship which the Doctor saves from crashing into a populated planet.
In the 2011 series, after an unspecified period of travelling with the Doctor, Amy and Rory return to the present and resume a typical domestic routine until Amy receives an anonymous "TARDIS blue" invitation to the Utah
desert. There, she and Rory reunite with the Doctor (aged nearly two hundred years since they left the TARDIS) and fellow invitee River Song, before witnessing the Doctor's death at the hand of an astronaut. They then discover the older Doctor also invited a younger version of himself, with whom they travel to 1969 Washington, D.C.
to investigate strange occurrences involving the Silence
, an alien race who cannot be remembered after they are encountered. While there, Amy informs the Doctor she's pregnant before mistakenly shooting a little girl in an astronaut suit in an attempt to save the future Doctor's life. When the Doctor questions Amy later about the pregnancy, she insists she was wrong and further investigation by the Doctor is inconclusive. In "Day of the Moon
", Amy finds strange pictures of the astronaut girl in an old and rundown orphanage, and is thoroughly shocked to find herself holding a newborn baby in one of the pictures. She then re-encounters the little girl, followed by two Silence. After, Amy is kidnapped, only to be rescued by the Doctor, Rory, and River some days later.
Throughout the course of the first six episodes, Amy is plagued by strange visions of a woman in an eye-patch appearing sporadically and claiming that "she must be dreaming". In "The Almost People
" it is revealed that the Amy present is actually an avatar version created with "the Flesh" animated by Amy's consciousness, which the Doctor destroys and sets off with Rory to find the real Amy, who is going into labour. Amy gives birth to her daughter Melody Pond
, who, in "A Good Man Goes to War
", is kidnapped by the eye-patched woman, Madame Kovarian, and replaced by a "Flesh" version. It is revealed at the end of the episode that Melody Pond is River Song
's real name, and that she is Amy and Rory's daughter. Let's Kill Hitler
reveals how Melody had regenerated into Mels, the childhood friend of Amy and Rory, whom Amy named her daughter after, and does not reveal her true identity until she regenerates into her River Song incarnation after being shot by Hitler. In "The God Complex
" the Doctor has to break Amy's faith in him after he discovers that she is the reason they are brought to a prison for a being that kills by feeding on faith. The Doctor says goodbye to Rory and Amy after giving them a house and car. In "Closing Time
" Amy makes a cameo appearence and it is revealed that she has become a model and the face of Petrichor perfume.
In "The Wedding of River Song
," River, as the astronaut, averts the Doctor's death (a temporal fixed point) and inadvertently creates an alternate reality in which all of time exists at once, under imminent threat of total collapse. In it, Amy leads a secret organisation, with Rory as her subordinate, and reunites the Doctor and River. Amy remembers all of her past experiences with the Doctor but cannot remember Rory, even with the Doctor's encouragement, until Amy saves Rory from the Silence. Amy then murders Madame Kovarian for taking away Melody. After giving consent for River to marry the Doctor, reality restores with Amy and Rory at home, having had no further contact with the Doctor since "The God Complex
," but still remembering the alternate events. River visits Amy, having "just climbed out of the Byzantium" ("Flesh and Stone
"), and informs her parents of how the Doctor cheated death and is still alive in the true reality.
and head writer Steven Moffat
came up with the name for the character. In an interview with Kat Angus of Dose magazine
, Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies commented on the character, "So when the new series starts next year with the new Doctor, you don’t just get Matt Smith coming on, you also get Karen Gillan as his new companion. I think Amy Pond will be hugely welcomed, because ... I think he does need someone. A lot of these stories prove that. There’s been a huge, empty space on the TARDIS for a long time now and I think her arrival will be every bit as big as Matt’s. It’s really exciting, and everything I’ve heard about Karen is that she’s brilliant. It’s one of our plans that I’m most pleased with, actually. We’ve held off on companions for a long time, so you’ll get rewarded with a great, big, strong character in Amy Pond, when she arrives. I think that plan’s been good." Gillan revealed in an interview with the Radio Times
that she was to play Amy Pond with her natural Scottish accent
, though she auditioned for the part in both her natural accent and with an English one
. Gillan has commented that she feels using her Scottish accent better fits the character.
, had already appeared on Doctor Who in a smaller role. Gillan previously portrayed a soothsayer
in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii
", which aired in 2008.
Steven Moffat said of the casting for the character, "We saw some amazing actresses for this part. But when Karen came through the door, the game was up - she was funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too." Doctor Who executive producer and drama chief at BBC Wales Piers Wenger
concurred, "We knew Karen was perfect for the role the moment we saw her. She brought an energy and excitement to the part that was just fantastic."
Gillan commented she was happy to have been cast in the role, and stated, "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started." A young Amelia was played by Gillan's real-life relative, 10-year-old Caitlin Blackwood. The actresses met for the first time on the set of the show after Gillan urged producers to let her cousin play the part, though Blackwood still had to undergo auditions.
In October 2009, scenes with the character were shot in Cardiff
alongside the Eleventh Doctor
; with the character portrayed in a police costume. These were the first scenes shot including the character. In early December 2009, scenes were filmed including the character, with shooting taking place on location
in Croatia
. The actors were dressed in period costume from a few centuries ago. "The scripts are brilliant and working alongside Karen and the rest of the crew is an inspiration because their work ethic and passion for the show is so admirable," said the actor for the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, on working on the new series.
", two viewers anonymously quoted in The Telegraph complained that Amy's character was too "sexy" for a family programme like Doctor Who
. Executive producer Piers Wenger stated that Amy was intended to be "feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn’t promiscuous."
In an online poll, with 3,000 participants, taken in late 2010, Amy Pond was listed as the fifth most popular companion.
The character has gone on to be referenced in popular culture. American supernatural drama Supernatural
s seventh season "The Girl Next Door" (2011), a character played by Jewel Staite
operates under the alias Amy Pond. Digital Spy
felt the Doctor Who reference was "rather random", while IGN
"loved" the shoutout.
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:...
in the long-running British
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...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
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...
. Amy is a companion
Companion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
of the series protagonist the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
, in his eleventh
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"...
incarnation, Amy's storylines have focused on her relationship with 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...
), whom she eventually marries; in the second series, Amy gives birth to their daughter, Melody, who is revealed to be recurring character 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:...
).
Television
Amelia Pond is introduced in the first episode of the 2010 series, "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....
" as a seven year old girl living with only her aunt, Sharon. She asks the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
to investigate an unusual crack in her wall, but he is interrupted by the TARDIS' cloister bell; he promises Amelia that he will return in five minutes, but is inadvertently late by twelve years. In the intervening period, the Doctor is believed by Amelia's family and friends to be her imaginary friend. She is treated by four psychiatrists
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
as a result of her insistence that the "Raggedy Doctor" is real, biting them for insisting that the Doctor is imaginary. When the Doctor returns, Amy is nineteen years old and working as a kissogram
Kissogram
A kissogram, also called kissagram , is a message delivered along with a kiss usually arranged as a fun surprise for a person for a special occasion...
. Amy then helps the Doctor save Earth from the Atraxi, but due to the TARDIS' unstable state, does not see the Doctor again for a further two years, when she is twenty-one and he invites her to travel with him; she accepts on the condition that the Doctor return her by the following morning, not revealing that her wedding is the next day.
At the end of Flesh and Stone
Flesh and Stone
"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
, Amy reveals to the Doctor her upcoming marriage to 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...
and, in a moment of pre-wedding jitters, attempts to seduce
Seduction
In social science, seduction is the process of deliberately enticing a person to engage. The word seduction stems from Latin and means literally "to lead astray". As a result, the term may have a positive or negative connotation...
him. The Doctor then finds Rory and takes him and Amy to 16th century Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, after which Rory continues travelling with them. In "Amy's Choice
Amy's Choice (Doctor Who)
"Amy's Choice" is the seventh episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One on 15 May 2010...
", Amy is pressured to resolve her conflicted feelings for the Doctor and Rory and realises the depth of her love for Rory. At the end of "Cold Blood
Cold Blood (Doctor Who)
"Cold Blood" is the ninth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was broadcast on Saturday 29 May 2010...
", Rory is killed and then erased from history by the cracks in the universe. Because he is part of Amy's own time-line, she ceases to remember him. The Doctor takes Amy to her favourite places to lessen his guilt about Rory's loss and in 19th century France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Amy forms a close friendship with famed painter Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
, in which Van Gogh expresses romantic interest. In "The Pandorica Opens
The Pandorica Opens
"The Pandorica Opens" is the twelfth episode, and first in a two-part story, in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast on 19 June 2010. The Doctor's friends send him a warning; he deals with a message on a cliff, a mysterious box and a love story that...
", Rory reappears in 102 AD as a Roman centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
. He triggers Amy's memories of him, but as she remembers, it is revealed that the centurion Rory is actually an Auton
Auton
The 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...
—a duplicate of living plastic—created from Amy's memories to trap the Doctor. Rory's consciousness tries to fight his programming, but he is compelled to shoot and kill her. Amy's body is placed in the Pandorica, which as a "perfect prison", will keep any occupant alive. Auton Rory protects the Pandorica while Amy is kept in suspended animation until she is restored and released by an alternative version of her younger self in 1996.
Once the Doctor realises that Amy is connected to the cracks in the universe and that they originate from a temporal explosion on the date of her wedding, he reminds Amy of her house— too big for only her and her aunt. Amy then realises that her family had been erased by the crack in her wall and she had forgotten them. The Doctor encourages her to remember them, as her exposure to the crack in her wall made her subconscious memory resistant. After he uses the Pandorica to re-boot the universe, the Doctor encounters the sleeping Amelia on the night they met. He tells her the story of how he borrowed the TARDIS from his own people, and how it is "old and new," and "big and small" and "the bluest blue that there is", before stepping into the crack in her wall to seal the cracks for good. Amy awakes on her wedding day and is reunited with her parents. She marries Rory, and at the reception she notices 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...
's diary of encounters with the Doctor, now blank. The sight of the diary stirs Amy's latent memories; she declares that her "Raggedy Doctor" was real, and her memory of him restores him to reality. After their wedding reception, Amy and Rory decide to join him once again. They are dropped off at a "honeymoon planet" between the end of "The Big Bang" and the start of Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor
Death of the Doctor is a two-part story of The Sarah Jane Adventures which was broadcast on CBBC on 25 and 26 October 2010. It is the third story of the fourth series. This episode features the return of Katy Manning to the role of Jo Grant and a guest appearance by Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor...
. The couple continue their honeymoon aboard an interstellar cruise ship which the Doctor saves from crashing into a populated planet.
In the 2011 series, after an unspecified period of travelling with the Doctor, Amy and Rory return to the present and resume a typical domestic routine until Amy receives an anonymous "TARDIS blue" invitation to the 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...
desert. There, she and Rory reunite with the Doctor (aged nearly two hundred years since they left the TARDIS) and fellow invitee River Song, before witnessing the Doctor's death at the hand of an astronaut. They then discover the older Doctor also invited a younger version of himself, with whom they travel to 1969 Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to investigate strange occurrences involving 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. While there, Amy informs the Doctor she's pregnant before mistakenly shooting a little girl in an astronaut suit in an attempt to save the future Doctor's life. When the Doctor questions Amy later about the pregnancy, she insists she was wrong and further investigation by the Doctor is inconclusive. In "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...
", Amy finds strange pictures of the astronaut girl in an old and rundown orphanage, and is thoroughly shocked to find herself holding a newborn baby in one of the pictures. She then re-encounters the little girl, followed by two Silence. After, Amy is kidnapped, only to be rescued by the Doctor, Rory, and River some days later.
Throughout the course of the first six episodes, Amy is plagued by strange visions of a woman in an eye-patch appearing sporadically and claiming that "she must be dreaming". In "The Almost People
The 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...
" it is revealed that the Amy present is actually an avatar version created with "the Flesh" animated by Amy's consciousness, which the Doctor destroys and sets off with Rory to find the real Amy, who is going into labour. Amy gives birth to her daughter Melody Pond
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...
, who, in "A Good Man Goes to War
A Good Man Goes to War
"A Good Man Goes to War" is the seventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 June 2011...
", is kidnapped by the eye-patched woman, Madame Kovarian, and replaced by a "Flesh" version. It is revealed at the end of the episode that Melody Pond is 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...
's real name, and that she is Amy and Rory's daughter. Let's Kill Hitler
Let's Kill Hitler
"Let's Kill Hitler" is the eighth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, Space and BBC America on 27 August 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story, continuing stories from "A Good Man Goes to War"...
reveals how Melody had regenerated into Mels, the childhood friend of Amy and Rory, whom Amy named her daughter after, and does not reveal her true identity until she regenerates into her River Song incarnation after being shot by Hitler. In "The God Complex
The God Complex
"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
" the Doctor has to break Amy's faith in him after he discovers that she is the reason they are brought to a prison for a being that kills by feeding on faith. The Doctor says goodbye to Rory and Amy after giving them a house and car. In "Closing Time
Closing Time (Doctor Who)
"Closing Time" is the twelfth 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 24 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
" Amy makes a cameo appearence and it is revealed that she has become a model and the face of Petrichor perfume.
In "The Wedding of River Song
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:...
," River, as the astronaut, averts the Doctor's death (a temporal fixed point) and inadvertently creates an alternate reality in which all of time exists at once, under imminent threat of total collapse. In it, Amy leads a secret organisation, with Rory as her subordinate, and reunites the Doctor and River. Amy remembers all of her past experiences with the Doctor but cannot remember Rory, even with the Doctor's encouragement, until Amy saves Rory from the Silence. Amy then murders Madame Kovarian for taking away Melody. After giving consent for River to marry the Doctor, reality restores with Amy and Rory at home, having had no further contact with the Doctor since "The God Complex
The God Complex
"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 17 September 2011.-Plot summary:...
," but still remembering the alternate events. River visits Amy, having "just climbed out of the Byzantium" ("Flesh and Stone
Flesh and Stone
"Flesh and Stone" is the fifth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by showrunner Steven Moffat and directed by Adam Smith, the episode was first broadcast on 1 May 2010 on BBC One...
"), and informs her parents of how the Doctor cheated death and is still alive in the true reality.
Character creation
Doctor Who executive producerExecutive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
and head writer 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...
came up with the name for the character. In an interview with Kat Angus of Dose magazine
Dose (magazine)
Dose is a daily Canadian news website and former daily print magazine.Dose was a mixture of standalone features and coverage of daily news, sometimes from an irreverent perspective...
, Doctor Who writer Russell T Davies commented on the character, "So when the new series starts next year with the new Doctor, you don’t just get Matt Smith coming on, you also get Karen Gillan as his new companion. I think Amy Pond will be hugely welcomed, because ... I think he does need someone. A lot of these stories prove that. There’s been a huge, empty space on the TARDIS for a long time now and I think her arrival will be every bit as big as Matt’s. It’s really exciting, and everything I’ve heard about Karen is that she’s brilliant. It’s one of our plans that I’m most pleased with, actually. We’ve held off on companions for a long time, so you’ll get rewarded with a great, big, strong character in Amy Pond, when she arrives. I think that plan’s been good." Gillan revealed in an interview with the Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
that she was to play Amy Pond with her natural Scottish accent
Scottish English
Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....
, though she auditioned for the part in both her natural accent and with an English one
English language in England
The English language in England refers to the English language as spoken in England. These forms of English are a subsection of British English, as spoken throughout Great Britain. Other terms used to refer to the English language as spoken in England include:...
. Gillan has commented that she feels using her Scottish accent better fits the character.
Casting and initial filming
Gillan, like some of her predecessors in the role of the Doctor's companionCompanion (Doctor Who)
In the long-running BBC television science fiction programme Doctor Who and related works, the term "companion" refers to a character who travels with, and shares the adventures of the Doctor. In most Doctor Who stories, the primary companion acts as both deuteragonist and audience surrogate...
, had already appeared on Doctor Who in a smaller role. Gillan previously portrayed a soothsayer
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
in the episode "The Fires of Pompeii
The Fires of Pompeii
"The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008....
", which aired in 2008.
Steven Moffat said of the casting for the character, "We saw some amazing actresses for this part. But when Karen came through the door, the game was up - she was funny, clever, gorgeous and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it. A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too." Doctor Who executive producer and drama chief at BBC Wales Piers Wenger
Piers Wenger
Piers Wenger is a British television producer who has been Head of Drama at BBC Wales since January 2009. His work includes the BAFTA-winning Victoria Wood drama Housewife, 49 and the 2007 adaptation of Noel Streatfeild's novel Ballet Shoes....
concurred, "We knew Karen was perfect for the role the moment we saw her. She brought an energy and excitement to the part that was just fantastic."
Gillan commented she was happy to have been cast in the role, and stated, "I am absolutely over the moon at being chosen to play the Doctor's new companion. The show is such a massive phenomenon that I can't quite believe I am going to be a part of it. Matt Smith is an incredible actor and it is going to be so much fun to act alongside him – I just can't wait to get started." A young Amelia was played by Gillan's real-life relative, 10-year-old Caitlin Blackwood. The actresses met for the first time on the set of the show after Gillan urged producers to let her cousin play the part, though Blackwood still had to undergo auditions.
In October 2009, scenes with the character were shot in 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...
alongside 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"...
; with the character portrayed in a police costume. These were the first scenes shot including the character. In early December 2009, scenes were filmed including the character, with shooting taking place on location
On location
On location can refer to:*Filming location, a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced*On Location , a name of an HBO special series*Adobe OnLocation, computer software for direct to disk recording....
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The actors were dressed in period costume from a few centuries ago. "The scripts are brilliant and working alongside Karen and the rest of the crew is an inspiration because their work ethic and passion for the show is so admirable," said the actor for the Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, on working on the new series.
Reception
With the premiere of "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....
", two viewers anonymously quoted in The Telegraph complained that Amy's character was too "sexy" for a family programme like 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...
. Executive producer Piers Wenger stated that Amy was intended to be "feisty and outspoken and a bit of a number. Amy is probably the wildest companion that the Doctor has travelled with, but she isn’t promiscuous."
In an online poll, with 3,000 participants, taken in late 2010, Amy Pond was listed as the fifth most popular companion.
The character has gone on to be referenced in popular culture. American supernatural drama 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...
s seventh season "The Girl Next Door" (2011), a character played by Jewel Staite
Jewel Staite
Jewel Belair Staite is a Canadian actress, who portrayed Catalina in Space Cases, Kaylee Frye in Firefly and Serenity, and Dr. Jennifer Keller on Stargate Atlantis.-Personal life:...
operates under the alias Amy Pond. 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....
felt the Doctor Who reference was "rather random", while 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...
"loved" the shoutout.
External links
- The Name's Pond. Amy Pond, BBCBBCThe 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...
- Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, BBC AmericaBBC AmericaBBC 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...