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Christopher Eccleston
The End of the World
Ninth Doctor Logo


Synopsis


Cassandra
Cassandra
 The Doctor takes Rose on her first voyage through time, to the year Five Billion. The Sun is about to expand, and swallow the Earth.

 But amongst the alien races gathering to watch on Platform One, a murderer is at work. Who is controlling the mysterious and deadly Spiders?

Source: BBC DVD


General Information

Season: Twenty Seven (New Series 1)
Production Code: 1-2
Story Number: 158 (New Series: 2)
Episode Number:698 (New Series: 2)
Number of Episodes: 1
Percentage of Episodes Held:100%
Production Dates: September 2004 - February 2005
Broadcast Date: 02 April 2005
Colour Status: Colour
Studio: BBC Wales (Unit Q2, Newport)
Location: Cathays Park, Churchill Way and Queen Street (Cardiff), Headlands School (Penarth) and Llandaff.
Writer:Russell T Davies
Director:Euros Lyn
Producer:Phil Collinson
Executive Producers:Julie Gardner, Mal Young and Russell T Davies
Associate Producer:Helen Vallis
Script Editor:Elwen Rowlands
Editor:John Richards
Production Manager:Tracie Simpson
Production Designer:Edward Thomas
Director of Photography:Ernie Vincze BSC
Casting Director:Andy Pryor CDG
Costume Designer:Lucinda Wright
Make-Up Designer:Davy Jones
Cameramen:Anna James (Assistant), David Jones (Assistant), Martin Stephens (Operator) and Mike Costelloe (Operator)
Visual Effects:The Mill
Special Effects:Any Effects
Prosthetics:Millennium Effects
Stunt Co-ordinator:Lee Sheward
Stunt Performers:Jamie Edgell and Sarah Franzl
Incidental Music:Murray Gold
Special Sounds (SFX Editor):Paul Jefferies
Sound Recordist:Ian Richardson
Title Music:Ron Grainer and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Arranged by Murray Gold
Number of Doctors: 1
The Doctor: Christopher Eccleston (The Ninth Doctor)
Number of Companions: 1The Companion: Billie Piper (Rose Tyler) Number of Acquaintances: 1The Acquaintance: Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler) Guest Cast: Zoe Wanamaker (Cassandra) Additional Cast: Simon Day (Steward), Yasmin Bannerman (Jabe), Jimmy Vee (Moxx of Balhoon), Beccy Armory (Raffalo), Sara Stewart (Computer Voice), Silas Carson (Alien Voices)Setting: Platform One, Earth orbit, far future. Villain: Cassandra

The Episodes

No. Episodes Broadcast
(UK)
Duration Viewers
(Millions)
In Archive
698The End of the World02 April 200544'43"8.0Yes

Total Duration 45 Minutes


Audience Appreciation

Average Viewers (Millions) 8.0
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2005)73.68%  (Position = 6 out of 10)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2009)70.98% Lower (Position = 94 out of 200)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2014)70.19% Lower (Position = 134 out of 241)
Doctor Who Magazine Poll (2023) Position = 7 out of 10


Archives


 This story exists and is held in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library.



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Notes


A special-effects bonanza also featuring a variety of new alien races including the Forest of Cheem, the Moxx of Balhoon, the Face of Boe, Cassandra as well as The Spiders.

This is the first time in the revived show that The Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey is mentioned (though not by name).

'The Eye of Harmony' on Gallifrey is mentioned in this story as being the power source of the TARDIS, as it is in a number of earlier stories, particularly 1976 story "The Deadly Assassin" and the 1996 Television Movie.

The new console in the TARDIS includes what looks like a bicycle-pump mechanism; this was subsequently identified as a Vortex Loop in 2005 special "Attack of the Graske".

This isn't the first time in the shows history that the Earth has been burned by the Sun. Other stories include "The Ark" (in 1966), "The Ark in Space" (in 1975) and "The Mysterious Planet" (in 1986).

The Spiders were fully CGI creations by the effects house The Mill, as was the face of Cassandra, whose voice was provided by famed actress Zoe Wanamaker. She also appears onscreen in the Season Twenty Eight (New Series 2) story "New Earth".

The Doctor is heard to drop another hint that he was on the (real) RMS Titanic when it sank, when he tells Jabe of an incident when he had to cling to an Iceberg the last time he was on an unsinkable ship. He has previously been associated with the doomed ship in "Rose", "The Invasion of Time" and the Virgin Books' The New Adventures novel "The Left-Handed Hummingbird".

References are made to the iPod (although Cassandra's demo model actually turns out to be a 1950's jukebox); among the selections in the jukebox, played during the story, are "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell and "Toxic" by Britney Spears.

Before the title sequence there is a brief recap from "Rose" that leads directly into a pre-credits sequence. The end of the story contains a trailer for the next story "The Unquiet Dead".

Following on immediately after this story, on BBC3, was the second chapter of Doctor Who Confidential "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" looking into the making of the aliens for the revived show.



First and Last

The Firsts:

 Rose Tyler's first trip into the future.

 The first appearance in the show of Cassandra played by Zoe Wanamaker.

 The first appearance in the show of The Face of Boe.

 The first time a story includes a pre-credits sequence.

 The first time in the new series that The Doctor’s home planet of Gallifrey is mentioned (though not by name).

 The first Doctor Who story to be directed by Euros Lyn.


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The Plot

WARNING: May Contain SpoilersHide Text
Platform One
Platform One

Having gained a new travelling companion, The Doctor gives Rose Tyler the option of choosing to take a trip into the future or the past. Rose chooses the future and so in the year five billion the TARDIS arrives on Platform One, a space observation platform that travels between the stars for the viewing, by invited guests, 'artistic' events like, in this case the day that the Sun expands and the Earth gets destroyed.

While Rose admires the view The Doctor explains that the Earth has long been abandoned at that the human race is safely spread amongst various planets and colonies. Then the space station’s Steward spots them but The Doctor manages to convince the official that they are honoured guests.

Rose is then confronted with a multitude of alien races who have come to witness the Earth’s demise. They include the Forest of Cheem, a race of tree-people led by Jabe; the Moxx of Balhoon, a diminutive blue solicitor; hooded aliens called the Adherents of the Repeated Meme; the Face of Boe, a glass-encased head; and Lady Cassandra, a hideously mutilated survivor of the human race who exists only as a layer of stretched skin.

Rose Tyler and The Doctor
Rose Tyler and The Doctor

Unbeknown to The Doctor one of the guests is not who they seem and has smuggled aboard a strange brand of metallic spiders who start to infest the space station. And those who come into contact with them meet an untimely death. Even the Steward is killed as one of the spiders lowers the sun shields that exposes him to searing temperatures. The spiders then start tampering with the gravity shields that keep the station free from harm.

It is then that The Doctor becomes aware of the infestation and also who is behind the tampering of the space station’s safety devices. But he finds out to late. And as the station’s systems start to close down the recently revealed culprit teleports to safety leaving everyone to their deadly fate.

Looking at the Earth
Looking at the Earth

After rescuing Rose from the observation room, that she has found herself trapped within as the sun shields start to fail in there too, it is a race against time to prevent the whole space station from being consumed by the Sun. But The Doctor is helped by Jabe, who it turns out knows a lot about The Doctor’s race. But for Jabe the increasing heat becomes too much and it is left to The Doctor to restore the space station’s safety systems before it is to late.

With the space station safe all remains is the matter of dealing with the culprit behind all the problems, and assisting Rose to come to terms with recent events.

 
Cassandra
Cassandra
Jabe
Jabe
The Face of Boe
The Face of Boe
Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler
 
The Moxx of Balhoon
The Moxx of Balhoon
Jabe and The Doctor
Jabe and The Doctor
Watching the Earth Burn
Watching the Earth Burn
Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler




Quote of the Story


 'You let, you spend all your time thinking about dying. Like you’re gonna get killed by eggs, or beef or global warming, or asteroids. But you never take time to imagine the impossible. That maybe you survive…'

The Doctor



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Release Information

FormatTitleRelease Date (UK)Code NumberCover ArtRemarks
Video
DVD
Rose - The End of the World - The Unquiet DeadMay 2005BBCDVD 1755Photo-montage
Video
DVD
The Complete First SeriesNovember 2005BBCDVD 1770Photo-montageTARDIS Boxed Set containing all 10 stories
Audio
CD
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 1 and 22007Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold
Video
DVD
Series 1 - 4 Box SetOctober 2009BBCDVD 3058Boxed set containing all 43 stories on 23 Discs
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete Series 1-7 Box Set (Limited Edition)December 2013BBCBD 0242Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray boxed set containing all Series 1-7 stories at full 1080p high definition
Video
DVD
The Complete First Series (2014 Re-release)August 2014BBCDVD 3965Photo-montageBoxed set containing all 10 stories
Audio
CD
The 50th Anniversary CollectionDecember 2013Photo-montageOriginal Television Soundtracks
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete First Series Box SetAugust 2015BBCBD 0261Photo-montageBlu-Ray boxed set containing 10 stories
Audio
LP
Original Television Soundtrack - Series 1 and 22016Photo-montageMusic by Murray Gold
Video
DVD
The Complete First Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)March 2017Photo-montageLimited Edition DVD Steelbook boxed set containing 10 stories (Amazon Exclusive)
Video
Blu-Ray
The Complete First Series Box Set (Limited Edition Steelbook)March 2017BBCBD 0343Photo-montageLimited Edition Blu-Ray Steelbook boxed set containing 10 stories (Amazon Exclusive)
Video
Blu-Ray
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray CollectionNovember 2023BBCBD 0582Photo-montageBoxed set containing all Ninth and Tenth Doctor stories upscaled to high definition


In Print

No Book Release
Doctor Who Magazine - PreviewIssue 355 (Released: April 2005)
Doctor Who Magazine - After ImageIssue 356 (Released: May 2005)
Doctor Who Magazine - Time TeamIssue 431 (Released: March 2011)
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of FictionIssue 506 (Released: Winter 2016/17)
Doctor Who DVD FilesVolume 1 (Released: January 2009)

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Photo Gallery


The Doctor and Companion/Acquaintance

 
Christopher Eccleston
The Ninth Doctor

   

Billie Piper
Rose Tyler
 
Camille Coduri
Jackie Tyler
   




On Release

DVD Cover
DVD Cover

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series DVD Box Set
Complete Series DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Original Television Soundtrack Silva Screen CD Cover
Original Television Soundtrack Silva Screen CD Cover

Silva Screen
AUDIO
Series 1-4 DVD Box Set
Series 1-4 DVD Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
   
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series 1-7 Ltd Edition Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series DVD Box Set<BR>(2014 Re-release)
Complete Series DVD Box Set
(2014 Re-release)

BBC
VIDEO
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover
The 50th Anniversary Collection Cover

BBC
AUDIO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
   
Original Television Soundtrack Vinyl Cover
Original Television Soundtrack Vinyl Cover

Silva Screen
AUDIO
Complete Series DVD Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set
Complete Series DVD Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set
Complete Series Blu-Ray Limited Edition Steelbook Box Set

BBC
VIDEO
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection Cover
Series 1 - 4 & Specials Blu-Ray Collection Cover

BBC
VIDEO
   



Magazines

Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 355
Doctor Who Magazine - Preview: Issue 355

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 356
Doctor Who Magazine - After Image: Issue 356

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 431
Doctor Who Magazine - Time Team: Issue 431

Marvel Comics
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 506
Doctor Who Magazine - The Fact of Fiction: Issue 506

Marvel Comics
   
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 1
Doctor Who DVD Files: Volume 1

GE Fabbri


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