Doctor Who: The Doctor Dances

Written by: Steven Moffat
Directed by: James Hawes
Starring: Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper
Duration: 42'49m
Broadcast Date: 29/5/2005
Ratings/Chart Pos: 6.86m/No.18
DVD Availability: Try sendit.com (region 2 only)
Images: Pending

Cast (credits order): Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Kate Harvey (Nightclub Singer), Albert Valentine (The Child), Florence Hoath (Nancy), Cheryl Fergison (Mrs Lloyd), Damian Samuels (Mr Lloyd), John Barrowman (Jack Harkness), Robert Hands (Algy), Joseph Tremain (Jim), Jordan Murphy (Ernie), Brandon Miller (Alf), Richard Wilson (Dr Constantine), Noah Johnson (Voice of The Empty Child) and Dian Perry (Computer Voice).

Crew & Credits: Jon Older (1st Assistant Director), Steffan Morris (2nd Assistant Director), Dan Mumford (3rd Assistant Director), Llyr Morus (Location Manager), Justin Gyphion (Unit Manager), Jess van Niekerk (Production Co-ordinator), Debi Griffiths/Kath Blackman (A/Production Accountants), Non Eleri Hughes (Continuity), Helen Raynor (Script Editor), Martin Stephens (Camera Operator), Mark Isaac (Focus Puller), John Robinson (Grip), Damian Richardson (Boom Operator), Mark Hutchings (Gaffer), Peter Chester (Best Boy), Lee Sheward (Stunt Co-ordinator), Kim McGarrity (Stunt Performer), Gwenllian Llwyd (Art Dept Co-ordinator), Bryan Hitch (Concept Artist), Catherine Samuel (Production Buyer), Liz Griffiths (Set Decorator), Stephen Nicholas (Supervising Art Director), Arwel Jones (Standby Art Director), Adrian Anscombe (Property Master), Andrew Smith (Construction Manager), Phill Shellard/Trystan Howell (Standby Props), Jenny Bowers (Graphic Artist), Yolanda Peart-Smith (Wardrobe Supervisor), Linda Davie (Make-Up Supervisor), Claire Pritchard/Steve Williams (Make-Up Artists), Kirsty Robertson (Casting Associate), Ceres Doyle/Jamie Adams (Assistant Editors), Marie Brown (Post Production Supervisor), David Bowman/Alberto Montanes/Astrid Busser-Casas/Jennifer Herbert/Simon C Holden/Sara Bennett/Michael Harrison (2D VFX Artists), Andy Howell/Matt McKinney/Jean-Claude Deguara/Paul Burton/Chris Petts/Nicolas Hernandez/Nick Webber (3D VFX Artists), Alexander Fort (Digital Matte Painter), Matthew Clarke/Zoe Cassey (On line Editors), Jamie Wilkinson (Colourist), Tim Ricketts (Dubbing Mixer), Paul McFadden (Dialogue Editor), Paul Jeffries (Sound FX Editor), Richard Pugsley (Finance Manager), Ron Grainer (Original Theme Music), Andy Pryor CDG (Casting Director), Endaf Emyr Williams (Production Accountant), Ian Richardson (Sound Recordist), Lucinda Wright (Costume Designer), Davy Jones (Make Up Designer), Murray Gold (Music), Any Effects (Special Effects), The Mill (Visual Effects), Millennium Effects (Prosthetics), Will Cohen (Visual FX Producer), Dave Houghton (Visual FX Supervisor), Liana Del Giudice (Editor), Edward Thomas (Production Designer), Ernie Vincze BSC (Director of Photography), Tracie Simpson (Production Manager), Helen Vallis (Associate Producer), Russell T Davies/Julie Gardner/Mal Young (Executive Producers), Phil Collinson (Producer) and James Hawes (Director). BBC Wales. c. BBC MMV.


Story: World War II, and while Rose finds romance, the Doctor finds death with a strange disease and a ghostly child...



Trivia: Rose's sort-of boyfriend Mickey is mentioned by Captain Jack, who learns about him via psychic paper. It's via Captain Jack that we get to know Mickey's surname - Smith.

For the first time the BBC broadcast the "Next Time..." trailer after the main credits, with the continuity announcer offering "... and look away if you don't want that preview of next week's episode of Doctor Who. As it's on its way, in a mo." The trailer, incidentally, was 37 seconds.

In order to meet scheduling requirements of that evening's Eurovision Song Contest, the screening of this episode was brought forward to 18:30 instead of its usual 19:00 timeslot.

Viewpoint:

TWO-PART STORY: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW COVERS BOTH EPISODES

"Everybody lives, Rose. Just this once – EVERYBODY lives!"

The boldest, most confident and inspired of the Doctor Who stories starring Christopher Eccleston. Shot with darkened lighting, the witty script allows Chris to display his comic timing without forcing him to indulge in the exaggerated silliness of other episodes and with which he doesn't appear comfortable. This is the script that best plays to his strengths, and the imagination involved better fills the duration, allowing the viewer to overlook the fact that his Doctor is almost superfluous to events, in particular the resolution.

The introduction of John Barrowman as Captain Jack is perhaps the only problemmatical element of the story. Not only does the character frequently refer to sex, which may seem a little inappropriate in a family programme depending on your personal taste, but there's also the obvious clash with Chris. Not only does this clash relate to their working relationship (See "John Barrowman on Chris" under the entry for The Empty Child) but also their acting styles. An adequate yet unexceptional actor that can be occasionally wooden, Barrowman's thesping does draw a marked contrast with Eccleston's more operatic leanings. In October 2006 Barrowman would star in the first full series Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, where his work was notably below the standard achieved in the five episodes of 2005 Doctor Who he appeared in. As for the writer of The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, then in May 2008 it was revealed that Steven Moffat would become the new head writer of Doctor Who, beginning in 2010.