Army of Ghosts
Encyclopedia
"Army of Ghosts" is the twelfth and penultimate episode in the second series of the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
which was first broadcast on 1 July 2006. It is the first episode of a two-part story; the concluding episode, "Doomsday
", was first broadcast on 8 July.
The episode takes place on contemporary Earth, some time after the Doctor's and Rose's visit to Earth in "Love & Monsters
". During this time, the public have become accustomed to intermittent appearances of ghost
s. The Doctor tracks the source of the ghosts to the Torchwood Institute, where the Doctor learns of the Cybermen from "Rise of the Cybermen
" and "The Age of Steel
" crossing a breach in the Void created by a Dalek
-piloted Void ship.
, via narration, recollects her life with The Doctor
and how she believed their adventures would continue indefinitely before all that changed and she announces, "This is the story of how I died."
The TARDIS
arrives back on the Powell Estate where Rose and The Doctor visit Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler
. Jackie is pleased to see them, however she is behaving strangely and remarks with happy anticipation that her deceased father - Rose's grandfather - will arrive soon. Despite Rose's gentle protestations that her grandfather is dead, Jackie insists that he has returned in some capacity and has been visiting her for some time. At this point a vaguely-humanoid, luminous silhouette appears in the flat, surprising both The Doctor and Rose but delighting Jackie before disappearing after a short time. Television broadcasts confirm that this is a worldwide phenomenon and Jackie explains that a few months previously millions of these "ghosts" began to appear at regular intervals in numbers all over the world with humanity coming to accept them and believing that they are the manifestations of long-lost loved ones.
Dismissing the possibility that these are returning spirits, The Doctor deduces that the ghosts are impressions of something forcing its way into the universe and tracks the source to One Canada Square
, revealed to be the secret headquarters of an organisation known as Torchwood
which, along with its director Yvonne Hartman, is shown to have a special interest in The Doctor. Arriving inside Torchwood HQ via the TARDIS, The Doctor and Jackie, who is mistaken for Rose, are imprisoned and then given the reason for the ghosts appearance - an invisible breach in the universe through which a mysterious spherical object has arrived. The Doctor, after an inspection of the sphere, reveals that it is a "void ship", an indestructible vessel designed to exist outside of space and time and inhabit the void - the nothingness between universes.
While Torchwood have no explanation for what the sphere is or where it came from, it is shown that they have been responsible for the arrival of the ghosts as they have been periodically forcing open the breach with the aim of using it as an inexhaustible power source. Hartman also reveals to The Doctor that his encounter
with Queen Victoria made him an enemy of the state
, and was the catalyst for the creation of Torchwood. Unbeknownst to all at this point, an unseen party has infiltrated the institute and has been successful in subjecting two Torchwood staff to manipulation.
Rose, free from detection, masquerades as an employee and explores Torchwood. She gains entrance to the chamber where the void ship is located, but is immediately questioned by Dr Singh, who is in charge of experimenting upon the sphere. He discovers that Rose is an imposter, and asks his colleague Samuel, who Rose recognises as Mickey Smith
, to seal the doors.
Back in the command centre, the two employees under manipulation initiate an unscheduled "ghost shift" and forcibly open the breach, ignoring Hartman's orders to stop. The extended shift causes millions of ghosts to appear across the globe before they materialise into their true form. The ghosts are Cybermen
from a parallel universe and have been attempting to gain access to our own via the breach. Simultaneous to their arrival, the void ship - previously undetectable to any scientific instrument - suddenly activates and begins to open. The Doctor, puzzled at how the Cybermen could have created such an advanced piece of technology, asks the Cyber Leader how they were able to use it. The Cyber Leader responds that the Cybermen are similarly oblivious to the origins of the sphere and that they merely followed its course through the breach.
Down in the sphere chamber, Mickey explains to Rose that after a battle in the parallel universe, the Cybermen mysteriously disappeared. He happened upon their means of escape and returned to his native universe with the intention of stopping them. Believing Cybermen to be in control of the sphere, he produces a gun and prepares to fire until the sphere opens fully and Rose is horrified by what emerges: four Dalek
s that immediately identify their location as Earth and prepare to exterminate all life forms.
" tapes during the filming of the first series. It was an arc word used through the majority of the second series, starting with the series one episode "Bad Wolf
".
The episode's secondary plot device is the Cybermen, from the universe featured in "The Age of Steel" and "Rise of the Cybermen". The Cybermen breaking through plastic sheets is a recurring theme throughout Cybermen appearances, in particular, The Tomb of the Cybermen
, The Invasion
and Earthshock
.
The episode is also the first in which Freema Agyeman
appears, although she is not playing the role of Martha Jones
, which she would play in series 3, but a minor character named Adeola. Russell T Davies admired Agyeman's performance as Adeola and called her back to fill the role of companion
that Piper had chosen to leave. Agyeman was officially announced to be playing Martha Jones
on 4 July 2006, and first appeared as Martha in the episode "Smith and Jones
". In that episode she refers to her cousin Adeola, explaining the resemblance between the two characters that she had portrayed.
Although both Cybermen and Daleks previously appeared in The Wheel in Space
, The War Games
, The Mind of Evil
, Logopolis
, The Five Doctors
, and "Dalek
", this two-part episode (including the next episode "Doomsday") is the first time that both the Cybermen and Daleks play a major role. They would later appear together in "Human Nature
" and the two-part episode, "The Pandorica Opens
" and "The Big Bang
".
which was the focus of the episodes "The Unquiet Dead
" and "Boom Town
". With the commission of the Torchwood series in 2005, Davies decided to base the spin-off in Cardiff and relocate "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday" to Canary Wharf
in London.
To ensure that Noel Clarke
and Shaun Dingwall
(Mickey Smith
and Pete Tyler
, respectively) were available for filming, the story was filmed in the season's third production block along with "Rise of the Cybermen
" and "The Age of Steel
". Filming for the story started on 2 November 2005 on location in Kennington, but this story did not become the primary focus of the production crew until 29 November, when filming began on the scenes in and around the sphere chamber. Scenes in the lever room, the main setting for the story, were filmed between 12 December and 15 December, and 3 January and 5 January 2006.
The episode also features references to other programmes by the BBC. The most notable of these is the cameo of Barbara Windsor
as Peggy Mitchell
in EastEnders
, where she bars a ghost whom she presumes to be Den Watts
from The Queen Victoria
. Watts, presumed killed in 1989, returned to the soap in 2003, before being killed a second time in 2005 after being written out of the show. Other British TV personalities appearing in the episode are Trisha Goddard
, Alistair Appleton and famed ghost-hunter Derek Acorah
, appearing as themselves. Additionally, the shot of One Canada Square is taken from the opening credits of The Apprentice
. A programme with the same name as a controversial broadcast in 1992 by the BBC, Ghostwatch
, also appears in the show.
Location shooting took place at the Coal Exchange and Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay.
The episode was watched by 8.19 million viewers, and was the seventh most watched programme of the week, behind four World Cup
games and two episodes of Coronation Street. The Companion episode of Doctor Who Confidential
gained 570,000 viewers. The episode's Appreciation Index
was 86, above the average baseline of 77 for drama series.
The episode was generally well reviewed by critics. The Stage
commented that the episode was "a tense contest, full of drama, tears, adversity and two powerful forces coming face to face in the ultimate battle" while mockingly downplaying the England football team
's defeat earlier that evening. The author of the review then stated that the cliffhanger increased his affection of the show. The Guardian
commented that the episode was "Who back at its best" while The People
complimented the humour of the scene of the Doctor channel surfing
. Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity gave the episode an A- rating. Ahsan Haque of IGN
gave the episode 9.8 out of 10 (Incredible), and complimented the pacing of the episode and the revelation of both the Cybermen and the Daleks, concluding that "you couldn't ask for a better cliffhanger".
After its initial airing, the episode was released on DVD with "Fear Her
" and "Doomsday
" on 25 September 2006. The story ("Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday") was nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award
for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
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 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...
which was first broadcast on 1 July 2006. It is the first episode of a two-part story; the concluding episode, "Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
", was first broadcast on 8 July.
The episode takes place on contemporary Earth, some time after the Doctor's and Rose's visit to Earth in "Love & Monsters
Love & Monsters
"Love & Monsters" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In this episode, an ordinary man named Elton Pope becomes obsessed with a man called the Doctor and his strange blue box, and joins a group of like-minded people in hopes of finding him...
". During this time, the public have become accustomed to intermittent appearances of ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s. The Doctor tracks the source of the ghosts to the Torchwood Institute, where the Doctor learns of the Cybermen from "Rise of the Cybermen
Rise of the Cybermen
"Rise of the Cybermen" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode features the return of Cybermen, where they are created on Earth itself. It is the first part of a two-part story, the concluding part being "The Age of Steel"...
" and "The Age of Steel
The Age of Steel
"The Age of Steel" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 20 May 2006 and is the second part of a two-part story that was the first to feature the Cybermen since Silver Nemesis in 1988. The first part, "Rise of the Cybermen", was...
" crossing a breach in the Void created by a Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
-piloted Void ship.
Plot
The episode begins with a cold open in which Rose TylerRose Tyler
Rose Marion Tyler is a fictional character portrayed by Billie Piper in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was created by series producer Russell T Davies...
, via narration, recollects her life with 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....
and how she believed their adventures would continue indefinitely before all that changed and she announces, "This is the story of how I died."
The TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
arrives back on the Powell Estate where Rose and The Doctor visit Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler
Jackie Tyler
In "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel" Coduri plays a parallel Earth version of Jackie. In this universe, she is still married to Pete, but they have no children, although she has a Yorkshire terrier named Rose. Despite Pete's success, which has led to Jackie becoming a celebrity, they...
. Jackie is pleased to see them, however she is behaving strangely and remarks with happy anticipation that her deceased father - Rose's grandfather - will arrive soon. Despite Rose's gentle protestations that her grandfather is dead, Jackie insists that he has returned in some capacity and has been visiting her for some time. At this point a vaguely-humanoid, luminous silhouette appears in the flat, surprising both The Doctor and Rose but delighting Jackie before disappearing after a short time. Television broadcasts confirm that this is a worldwide phenomenon and Jackie explains that a few months previously millions of these "ghosts" began to appear at regular intervals in numbers all over the world with humanity coming to accept them and believing that they are the manifestations of long-lost loved ones.
Dismissing the possibility that these are returning spirits, The Doctor deduces that the ghosts are impressions of something forcing its way into the universe and tracks the source to One Canada Square
One Canada Square
One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the tallest completed building in the United Kingdom since 1991, standing at above ground level and containing 50 storeys...
, revealed to be the secret headquarters of an organisation known as Torchwood
Torchwood Institute
The Torchwood Institute is a fictional secret organization from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series Torchwood. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the events of "Tooth and Claw". Its prime directive, is to defend the earth against...
which, along with its director Yvonne Hartman, is shown to have a special interest in The Doctor. Arriving inside Torchwood HQ via the TARDIS, The Doctor and Jackie, who is mistaken for Rose, are imprisoned and then given the reason for the ghosts appearance - an invisible breach in the universe through which a mysterious spherical object has arrived. The Doctor, after an inspection of the sphere, reveals that it is a "void ship", an indestructible vessel designed to exist outside of space and time and inhabit the void - the nothingness between universes.
While Torchwood have no explanation for what the sphere is or where it came from, it is shown that they have been responsible for the arrival of the ghosts as they have been periodically forcing open the breach with the aim of using it as an inexhaustible power source. Hartman also reveals to The Doctor that his encounter
Tooth and Claw (Doctor Who)
"Tooth and Claw" is the second episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who and was first broadcast on 22 April 2006. In 1879 Scotland, the Doctor and Rose meet Queen Victoria...
with Queen Victoria made him an enemy of the state
Enemy of the state
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state, such as treason. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, an authoritarian regime may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political...
, and was the catalyst for the creation of Torchwood. Unbeknownst to all at this point, an unseen party has infiltrated the institute and has been successful in subjecting two Torchwood staff to manipulation.
Rose, free from detection, masquerades as an employee and explores Torchwood. She gains entrance to the chamber where the void ship is located, but is immediately questioned by Dr Singh, who is in charge of experimenting upon the sphere. He discovers that Rose is an imposter, and asks his colleague Samuel, who Rose recognises as Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
, to seal the doors.
Back in the command centre, the two employees under manipulation initiate an unscheduled "ghost shift" and forcibly open the breach, ignoring Hartman's orders to stop. The extended shift causes millions of ghosts to appear across the globe before they materialise into their true form. The ghosts are Cybermen
Cyberman
The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs who are amongst the most persistent enemies of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series, Doctor Who. Cybermen were originally a wholly organic species of humanoids originating on Earth's twin planet Mondas that began to implant more...
from a parallel universe and have been attempting to gain access to our own via the breach. Simultaneous to their arrival, the void ship - previously undetectable to any scientific instrument - suddenly activates and begins to open. The Doctor, puzzled at how the Cybermen could have created such an advanced piece of technology, asks the Cyber Leader how they were able to use it. The Cyber Leader responds that the Cybermen are similarly oblivious to the origins of the sphere and that they merely followed its course through the breach.
Down in the sphere chamber, Mickey explains to Rose that after a battle in the parallel universe, the Cybermen mysteriously disappeared. He happened upon their means of escape and returned to his native universe with the intention of stopping them. Believing Cybermen to be in control of the sphere, he produces a gun and prepares to fire until the sphere opens fully and Rose is horrified by what emerges: four Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
s that immediately identify their location as Earth and prepare to exterminate all life forms.
Continuity
The majority of this episode takes place in the Torchwood Institute, which is seen on screen for the first time. The phrase "Torchwood" first originated from an anagram of Doctor Who used to conceal the "rushesDailies
Dailies, in filmmaking, are the raw, unedited footage shot during the making of a motion picture. They are so called because usually at the end of each day, that day's footage is developed, synched to sound, and printed on film in a batch for viewing the next day by the director and some members...
" tapes during the filming of the first series. It was an arc word used through the majority of the second series, starting with the series one episode "Bad Wolf
Bad Wolf
"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
".
The episode's secondary plot device is the Cybermen, from the universe featured in "The Age of Steel" and "Rise of the Cybermen". The Cybermen breaking through plastic sheets is a recurring theme throughout Cybermen appearances, in particular, The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Tomb of the Cybermen
The Tomb of the Cybermen is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that originally aired in four weekly parts from September 2 to September 23, 1967 and is the earliest serial starring Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor to exist in its entirety...
, 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...
and Earthshock
Earthshock
Earthshock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from 8 March to 16 March 1982...
.
The episode is also the first in which Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman
Freema Agyeman is a British actress who is best known for playing Martha Jones, former companion of the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, and itsspin-off series Torchwood...
appears, although she is not playing the role of Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
, which she would play in series 3, but a minor character named Adeola. Russell T Davies admired Agyeman's performance as Adeola and called her back to fill the role of 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...
that Piper had chosen to leave. Agyeman was officially announced to be playing Martha Jones
Martha Jones
Martha Jones is a fictional character played by Freema Agyeman in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. She is a companion of the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who, replacing Rose Tyler...
on 4 July 2006, and first appeared as Martha in the episode "Smith and Jones
Smith and Jones (Doctor Who)
"Smith and Jones" is the first episode of the third series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 31 March 2007. It sees the debut of Freema Agyeman as new companion Martha Jones...
". In that episode she refers to her cousin Adeola, explaining the resemblance between the two characters that she had portrayed.
Although both Cybermen and Daleks previously appeared in The Wheel in Space
The Wheel in Space
The Wheel in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 27 April to 1 June 1968...
, The War Games
The War Games
The War Games is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in ten weekly parts from 19 April to 21 June 1969. It was the last regular appearance of Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor, and of Wendy Padbury and Frazer Hines as companions Zoe...
, The Mind of Evil
The Mind of Evil
The Mind of Evil is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 30 January to 6 March 1971.-Plot:...
, Logopolis
Logopolis
Logopolis is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 28 February to 21 March 1981. It was Tom Baker's last story as the Doctor and marks the first appearance of Peter Davison in the role...
, The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors
The Five Doctors is a special feature-length episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, produced in celebration of the programme's twentieth anniversary. It had its world premiere in the United States, on the Chicago PBS station WTTW and various other PBS member stations...
, and "Dalek
Dalek (Doctor Who episode)
"Dalek" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 30 April 2005. It should not be confused with the first Dalek serial, The Daleks...
", this two-part episode (including the next episode "Doomsday") is the first time that both the Cybermen and Daleks play a major role. They would later appear together in "Human Nature
Human Nature (Doctor Who episode)
"Human Nature" is the eighth episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first episode of a two-part story written by Paul Cornell adapted from his 1995 Doctor Who novel Human Nature...
" and the two-part episode, "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...
" and "The Big Bang
The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
".
Production
The two-part finale comprising "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday" was originally going to take place in Cardiff on the time riftCardiff Rift
The Cardiff Rift is a fictional wormhole in the science fiction television series Doctor Who and Torchwood, one end of which is located in Cardiff Bay, Wales. The other end is apparently floating freely through spacetime, and matter and radiation can pass through the Rift, allowing extraterrestrial...
which was the focus of the episodes "The Unquiet Dead
The Unquiet Dead
"The Unquiet Dead" is an episode in the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 9 April 2005 and is the first episode of the revival to be set in the past. In Victorian Cardiff, the dead are walking, and creatures made of gas are on the loose...
" and "Boom Town
Boom Town (Doctor Who)
"Boom Town" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 4 June 2005. The Doctor, Rose and Jack travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey...
". With the commission of the Torchwood series in 2005, Davies decided to base the spin-off in Cardiff and relocate "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday" to Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
in London.
To ensure that Noel Clarke
Noel Clarke
Noel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
and Shaun Dingwall
Shaun Dingwall
Shaun Dingwall is a British actor and is known for his roles on British television.-Early life:Shaun Dingwall was born in 1972 and attended Ilford County High School for boys. His initial ambition was to become a photographer and for several years he worked as an assistant photographer within the...
(Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith
Mickey Smith is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Noel Clarke.Mickey is introduced as the boyfriend of the Ninth and Tenth Doctor's companion Rose Tyler, and a recurring character on the programme...
and Pete Tyler
Pete Tyler
Pete Tyler, full name Peter Alan Tyler, is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Shaun Dingwall...
, respectively) were available for filming, the story was filmed in the season's third production block along with "Rise of the Cybermen
Rise of the Cybermen
"Rise of the Cybermen" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode features the return of Cybermen, where they are created on Earth itself. It is the first part of a two-part story, the concluding part being "The Age of Steel"...
" and "The Age of Steel
The Age of Steel
"The Age of Steel" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 20 May 2006 and is the second part of a two-part story that was the first to feature the Cybermen since Silver Nemesis in 1988. The first part, "Rise of the Cybermen", was...
". Filming for the story started on 2 November 2005 on location in Kennington, but this story did not become the primary focus of the production crew until 29 November, when filming began on the scenes in and around the sphere chamber. Scenes in the lever room, the main setting for the story, were filmed between 12 December and 15 December, and 3 January and 5 January 2006.
The episode also features references to other programmes by the BBC. The most notable of these is the cameo of Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor
Barbara Ann Windsor, MBE , better known by her stage name Barbara Windsor, is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders....
as Peggy Mitchell
Peggy Mitchell
Margaret Ann "Peggy" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders. Peggy was initially played by Jo Warne when she first appeared on 30 April 1991, featuring in the series on a recurring basis over several weeks. Peggy was reintroduced in 1994, recast and was then played by...
in EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
, where she bars a ghost whom she presumes to be Den Watts
Den Watts
Dennis Alan "Den" Watts is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by actor Leslie Grantham. He became well known for his tabloid nickname, "Dirty Den"....
from The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
. Watts, presumed killed in 1989, returned to the soap in 2003, before being killed a second time in 2005 after being written out of the show. Other British TV personalities appearing in the episode are Trisha Goddard
Trisha Goddard
Patricia "Trisha" Goddard is a British television presenter and actress best known for her morning talk show, Trisha Goddard, which is broadcast on a mid morning slot on Channel 5 in the UK. In Australia she is known as a long time presenter of Play School.-Background:Goddard was born in London,...
, Alistair Appleton and famed ghost-hunter Derek Acorah
Derek Acorah
Derek Acorah is a British medium. He is best known for his work on Most Haunted, broadcast on Living, between 2002 and 2005. He recently presented the series Derek Acorah on Sky Real Lives...
, appearing as themselves. Additionally, the shot of One Canada Square is taken from the opening credits of The Apprentice
The Apprentice (UK)
The Apprentice is a British reality television series in which a group of aspiring young businessmen and women compete for the chance to win a £100,000-a-year job as an apprentice to the British business magnate Lord Sugar in series one to six...
. A programme with the same name as a controversial broadcast in 1992 by the BBC, Ghostwatch
Ghostwatch
Ghostwatch is a British reality–horror/mockumentary television movie, first broadcast on BBC1 on 31 October , 1992.Despite having been recorded weeks in advance, the narrative was presented as 'live' television...
, also appears in the show.
Location shooting took place at the Coal Exchange and Mount Stuart Square, Cardiff Bay.
Broadcast and reception
To keep the appearance of the Daleks secret, the final scene was removed from all preview tapes and replaced with a title card reading "final scene withheld until transmission", including the copy given to the Doctor Who microsite's "fear forecast" team.The episode was watched by 8.19 million viewers, and was the seventh most watched programme of the week, behind four World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
games and two episodes of Coronation Street. The Companion episode of 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...
gained 570,000 viewers. The episode's 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...
was 86, above the average baseline of 77 for drama series.
The episode was generally well reviewed by critics. The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
commented that the episode was "a tense contest, full of drama, tears, adversity and two powerful forces coming face to face in the ultimate battle" while mockingly downplaying the England football team
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
's defeat earlier that evening. The author of the review then stated that the cliffhanger increased his affection of the show. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
commented that the episode was "Who back at its best" while The People
The People
The People, previously known as the Sunday People, is a British tabloid Sunday-only newspaper. The paper was founded on 16 October 1881.It is published by the Trinity Mirror Group.In July 2011 it had an average daily circulation of 806,544....
complimented the humour of the scene of the Doctor channel surfing
Channel surfing
Channel surfing is the practice of quickly scanning through different television channels or radio frequencies in order to find something interesting to watch or listen to. Modern viewers, who may have cable or satellite services beaming down dozens if not hundreds or thousands of channels, are...
. Jacob Clifton of Television Without Pity gave the episode an A- rating. Ahsan Haque of 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...
gave the episode 9.8 out of 10 (Incredible), and complimented the pacing of the episode and the revelation of both the Cybermen and the Daleks, concluding that "you couldn't ask for a better cliffhanger".
After its initial airing, the episode was released on DVD with "Fear Her
Fear Her
"Fear Her" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 24 June 2006.The episode takes part on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, almost exclusively on a fictitious cul-de-sac named after the British athlete...
" and "Doomsday
Doomsday (Doctor Who)
"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the revival of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006...
" on 25 September 2006. The story ("Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday") was nominated for the 2007 Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.
External links
- TARDISODE 12
- Trailer for "Army of Ghosts"
- Episode commentary by Russell T Davies and Matt Savage (MP3)
- "Army of Ghosts" episode homepage