The Beast Below
"The Beast Below" is the second episode of the fifth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was written by executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat and broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 10 April 2010.
204 – "The Beast Below"
In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor—a time travelling alien played by Matt Smith—and his new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) arrive in the distant future aboard the Starship UK, a ship constructed to transport the population and major cultural artefacts of the United Kingdom (apart from Scotland, who "wanted their own ship") away from Earth to escape the deadly solar flares that made Earth uninhabitable. However, they discover that the government of the ship secretly tortures a Star Whale that guides the ship, the abandonment of which is believed will destroy the ship and kill everyone on board.
The episode, which featured the first time Amy was away from her home world, was designed to show how important she was to the Doctor and his need for a companion. As part of the second production block of the series, the episode's production took place in Autumn 2009. "The Beast Below" was seen by 8.42 million viewers on BBC One and BBC HD, the fifth most-watched programme in the week it was broadcast. It was met with a generally positive reception from critics; many praised the chemistry between Smith and Gillan, but some thought that there were too many imaginative concepts that did not make a satisfying conclusion, or that the message of the episode was not as strong as it should have been.
Plot[edit]
Synopsis[edit]
The Eleventh Doctor and Amy arrive on Starship UK, a colony ship in the future which the population of the United Kingdom evacuated in to escape deadly solar flares. Amy is taken by the monk-like Winders to one of many voting booths set up on the ship when she investigates a hole containing a tentacled creature. She is shown a video about the truth of Starship UK, and then asked if she wants to protest the truth or forget it, the latter causing her short-term memory to be wiped. Amy chooses to forget, and creates a video to herself to prevent the Doctor from learning the truth, before the mind wipe. The Doctor is curious as to what "protest" will cause and activates it, sending him and Amy into the maw of a giant creature below the ship. The Doctor induces the creature to vomit, allowing them to escape back to the ship. The Doctor and Amy meet Queen Elizabeth X, known as Liz 10, the ruler of the ship.