Face of Boe
Encyclopedia
The Face of Boe is a fictional character
in the British
science fiction television series Doctor Who
. Not portrayed on-screen by an actor, the Face of Boe is a wholly mechanical effect, resembling in appearance a gigantic, wrinkly human-like head
with, in place of hair, numerous tendrils which terminate in round pod-like structures. Typically this is encased in a clear sealed container and mounted on a movable pedestal base. The Face merely grunted during his appearance in "The End of the World
", communicated telepathically
in "New Earth
" and "Gridlock
", and spoke for the first and last time in the latter, and was voiced by Struan Rodger
. It is stated in "New Earth" that he is thought to be millions of years old, but responded to a statement of that with a leading question concerning the impossibility of such an age. It was suggested in "Last of the Time Lords
" that the Face of Boe is an elderly Jack Harkness
.
has encountered the Face of Boe (as originally presented) three times. In "The End of the World
" (2005), set five billion years in the future, the Face of Boe sponsored the safe viewing of Earth
's destruction by the expansion of the Sun
. The event was sabotaged, but the Face of Boe survived along with most of the guests, thanks to the Ninth Doctor
's intervention.
In "New Earth
" (2006), the Face of Boe is apparently dying of old age in a New New York hospital in the year five billion and twenty-three. His nurse, one of the Sisters of Plenitude, Novice Hame, tells the Tenth Doctor
that the sleeping Face sometimes sings "ancient songs", which she hears telepathically, and relates the legend that, just before dying, the Face will reveal his greatest secret to "one like himself", "a wanderer without a home" (such as the Doctor). When the Doctor later asks the Face of Boe about the legend, the Face of Boe claims that the "great secret" can wait for their third and final meeting, and enigmatically teleports away to an unspecified destination.
The Face of Boe's ostensible last appearance is in "Gridlock
" (2007), in the year five billion and fifty-three, some time after a drug-induced plague has wiped out almost all life on New Earth. He had been using his life force to power the undercity of New New York, which was sealed off from the rest of the planet to save the only survivors from the now-extinct virus. The Face of Boe needed the Doctor's help to free the people from the undercity, and he uses the last of his life energy to provide a power boost to unseal the exits. As was foretold in legend, initially introduced in spin-off media, the sky (of the undercity) splits asunder just before the Face of Boe dies. In his final moments, the Face of Boe reveals his great secret to the Doctor: "You are not alone." The Doctor tells his companion
, Martha Jones
, that the Face of Boe must be mistaken, but it is later revealed
that there is indeed another Time Lord
— the Master
has survived the Time War
.
In the episode "The End of the World
", the Face of Boe is described as a being of considerable influence in galactic circles and is identified as coming from the "Silver Devastation". In "Bad Wolf
", set in the 2002nd Century, he is said to be "the oldest being in the Isop galaxy" (the location of the planet Vortis in "The Web Planet
"). In "The Long Game
", set 100 years earlier (the Face's youngest appearance), a TV network reports that he is pregnant with the "Baby Boemina", though the credibility of Satellite 5's news reporting is taken into question in the episode as well. In "New Earth
", it is stated that the Face of Boe is the last of his species, the "Boekind" having died off long before. The Doctor also makes a comment that the Face of Boe is possibly over 5 billion years old.
", the immortal time traveller Captain Jack Harkness
expresses concern about how he might look if he lives "for a million years", because although he can't die, he is still aging, albeit slowly. He tells the Doctor and Martha Jones
that it's a matter of vanity, because he "used to be a poster boy when [he] was a kid in the Boeshane Peninsula", as "the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency," earning him the name "the Face of Boe". This astonishes Martha and the skeptical Doctor.
Writer Russell T Davies, in the episode's commentary, called the implication of this scene "a theory" as to the Face of Boe's origins, prompting Executive Producer Julie Gardner
to urge him to "stop back-pedaling" about the two characters being the same. Davies also said that after writing the scene he inserted a line in the ADR
recording for "Gridlock" in which the Face of Boe calls the Doctor "old friend". However, Davies doesn't like making the relationship explicit, stating "the moment it became very true or very false, the joke dies". He has refused the publication of spin-off novels and comic books that have tried to definitively link the two.
novel The Stealers of Dreams
by Steve Lyons, Jack Harkness
(who is from the 51st century) says that he once saw someone "dressed up as the Face of Boe".
The tie-in book Monsters and Villains states that the Face has an abnormally long lifespan for an unknown reason; he had six children during the 21st Century who only lived for 40 years each, the average lifespan of the species. Jack currently has one known child. This could be explained by Jack's immortality, if in fact Jack and the Face of Boe are one and the same.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
in the 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 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...
. Not portrayed on-screen by an actor, the Face of Boe is a wholly mechanical effect, resembling in appearance a gigantic, wrinkly human-like head
Head
In anatomy, the head of an animal is the rostral part that usually comprises the brain, eyes, ears, nose and mouth . Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do....
with, in place of hair, numerous tendrils which terminate in round pod-like structures. Typically this is encased in a clear sealed container and mounted on a movable pedestal base. The Face merely grunted during his appearance in "The End of the World
The End of the World (Doctor Who)
"The End of the World" is the second episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on 2 April 2005....
", communicated telepathically
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
in "New Earth
New Earth
"New Earth" is the first episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 15 April 2006. It is a sequel to the first series episode "The End of the World", and brings back its villain who was thought to be destroyed, Lady Cassandra, as...
" and "Gridlock
Gridlock (Doctor Who)
"Gridlock" is the third episode from the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who which aired on 14 April 2007. The Doctor returns to a much grittier New Earth with Martha Jones and meets the Face of Boe one final time. But as New New York becomes a deadly...
", and spoke for the first and last time in the latter, and was voiced by Struan Rodger
Struan Rodger
Struan Rodger is a British actor who has appeared widely in a range of supporting roles. His first feature film role was as Eric Liddell's friend and running coach Sandy McGrath, in the Oscar-winning 1981 film, Chariots of Fire....
. It is stated in "New Earth" that he is thought to be millions of years old, but responded to a statement of that with a leading question concerning the impossibility of such an age. It was suggested in "Last of the Time Lords
Last of the Time Lords
"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
" that the Face of Boe is an elderly Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
.
Appearances within the series
The DoctorDoctor (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....
has encountered the Face of Boe (as originally presented) three times. In "The End of the World
The End of the World (Doctor Who)
"The End of the World" is the second episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on 2 April 2005....
" (2005), set five billion years in the future, the Face of Boe sponsored the safe viewing of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's destruction by the expansion of the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. The event was sabotaged, but the Face of Boe survived along with most of the guests, thanks to the Ninth Doctor
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is the ninth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by Christopher Eccleston....
's intervention.
In "New Earth
New Earth
"New Earth" is the first episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 15 April 2006. It is a sequel to the first series episode "The End of the World", and brings back its villain who was thought to be destroyed, Lady Cassandra, as...
" (2006), the Face of Boe is apparently dying of old age in a New New York hospital in the year five billion and twenty-three. His nurse, one of the Sisters of Plenitude, Novice Hame, tells the Tenth Doctor
Tenth Doctor
The Tenth Doctor is the tenth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is played by David Tennant, who appears in three series, as well as eight specials...
that the sleeping Face sometimes sings "ancient songs", which she hears telepathically, and relates the legend that, just before dying, the Face will reveal his greatest secret to "one like himself", "a wanderer without a home" (such as the Doctor). When the Doctor later asks the Face of Boe about the legend, the Face of Boe claims that the "great secret" can wait for their third and final meeting, and enigmatically teleports away to an unspecified destination.
The Face of Boe's ostensible last appearance is in "Gridlock
Gridlock (Doctor Who)
"Gridlock" is the third episode from the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who which aired on 14 April 2007. The Doctor returns to a much grittier New Earth with Martha Jones and meets the Face of Boe one final time. But as New New York becomes a deadly...
" (2007), in the year five billion and fifty-three, some time after a drug-induced plague has wiped out almost all life on New Earth. He had been using his life force to power the undercity of New New York, which was sealed off from the rest of the planet to save the only survivors from the now-extinct virus. The Face of Boe needed the Doctor's help to free the people from the undercity, and he uses the last of his life energy to provide a power boost to unseal the exits. As was foretold in legend, initially introduced in spin-off media, the sky (of the undercity) splits asunder just before the Face of Boe dies. In his final moments, the Face of Boe reveals his great secret to the Doctor: "You are not alone." The Doctor tells his 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...
, 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...
, that the Face of Boe must be mistaken, but it is later revealed
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
that there is indeed another Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
— the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
has survived the Time War
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.
In the episode "The End of the World
The End of the World (Doctor Who)
"The End of the World" is the second episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on 2 April 2005....
", the Face of Boe is described as a being of considerable influence in galactic circles and is identified as coming from the "Silver Devastation". In "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...
", set in the 2002nd Century, he is said to be "the oldest being in the Isop galaxy" (the location of the planet Vortis in "The Web Planet
The Web Planet
The Web Planet is the fifth serial in the second season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 13 February 1965 to 20 March 1965...
"). In "The Long Game
The Long Game
"The Long Game" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on May 7, 2005. Along with new companion Adam, the TARDIS deposits the Doctor and Rose on Satellite 5, a space station that broadcasts across the entire human empire...
", set 100 years earlier (the Face's youngest appearance), a TV network reports that he is pregnant with the "Baby Boemina", though the credibility of Satellite 5's news reporting is taken into question in the episode as well. In "New Earth
New Earth
"New Earth" is the first episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 15 April 2006. It is a sequel to the first series episode "The End of the World", and brings back its villain who was thought to be destroyed, Lady Cassandra, as...
", it is stated that the Face of Boe is the last of his species, the "Boekind" having died off long before. The Doctor also makes a comment that the Face of Boe is possibly over 5 billion years old.
Possible origin
In the episode "Last of the Time LordsLast of the Time Lords
"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
", the immortal time traveller Captain Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
expresses concern about how he might look if he lives "for a million years", because although he can't die, he is still aging, albeit slowly. He tells the Doctor and 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...
that it's a matter of vanity, because he "used to be a poster boy when [he] was a kid in the Boeshane Peninsula", as "the first one ever to be signed up for the Time Agency," earning him the name "the Face of Boe". This astonishes Martha and the skeptical Doctor.
Writer Russell T Davies, in the episode's commentary, called the implication of this scene "a theory" as to the Face of Boe's origins, prompting Executive Producer Julie Gardner
Julie Gardner
Julie Gardner is a Welsh television producer. Her most prominent work has been serving as executive producer on the 2005 revival of Doctor Who and its spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
to urge him to "stop back-pedaling" about the two characters being the same. Davies also said that after writing the scene he inserted a line in the ADR
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
recording for "Gridlock" in which the Face of Boe calls the Doctor "old friend". However, Davies doesn't like making the relationship explicit, stating "the moment it became very true or very false, the joke dies". He has refused the publication of spin-off novels and comic books that have tried to definitively link the two.
Appearances in other media
In the New Series AdventuresNew Series Adventures (Doctor Who)
The New Series Adventures are a series of novels relating to the long-running BBC science fiction television series, Doctor Who. The 'NSAs', as they are often referred to, are published by BBC Books, and are regularly published in the spring and autumn of each year. Beginning and concluding with...
novel The Stealers of Dreams
The Stealers of Dreams
The Stealers of Dreams is a BBC Books original novel written by Steve Lyons and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was published on September 8, 2005, alongside The Deviant Strain and Only Human. It features the Ninth Doctor, Rose Tyler and Captain Jack...
by Steve Lyons, Jack Harkness
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
(who is from the 51st century) says that he once saw someone "dressed up as the Face of Boe".
The tie-in book Monsters and Villains states that the Face has an abnormally long lifespan for an unknown reason; he had six children during the 21st Century who only lived for 40 years each, the average lifespan of the species. Jack currently has one known child. This could be explained by Jack's immortality, if in fact Jack and the Face of Boe are one and the same.