Doctor Who tie-in websites
Encyclopedia
The 2005 series revival of the long-running British
science fiction television
programme Doctor Who
features several tie-in websites produced by the BBC
website team that viewers can access on the Internet
. Whilst none of the material in the website
s is necessary to understand the broadcast episodes, they are examples of viral marketing
, a means of promoting the programme as well as supplementary material for the entertainment of fans of the series. The network of tie-in websites uses elements reminiscent of (although not as elaborate as) alternate reality game
s. With the exception of Deffry Vale, International Electromatics and Cybus Fitness, these websites have disclaimer
s indicating their fictional nature.
In Doctor Who Magazine
#367, James Goss, producer of bbc.co.uk
's cult television websites, announced that Series 2 would feature "dozens" of inter-related sites featuring interactive games, to create "the most ambitious online fictional world ever". In the same article he revealed that the content for the websites would be written by Joseph Lidster
, produced by Rob Francis and created by games company, Sequence.
A number of fans have also set up similar sites tying into the series, including several concerning the political campaigns of the fictional Mr Saxon.
Please note that as of November 2011, all of the sites listed are inaccessible. It is unknown if any of these sites will be reactivated, or if other websites will be created in support of a future episodes of Doctor Who.
", the character of Rose Tyler
searched the Internet for information about the mysterious Doctor
. Rose used a search engine
called search-wise.net which was set up to provide television programmes with a search website that could be shown on screen. While search-wise.net does not actually work as a search engine, the website that she found, whoisdoctorwho.co.uk, can be accessed.
At the time the episode was transmitted, the search term used by Rose, "doctor blue box", if typed into Google
in the real world, produced whoisdoctorwho.co.uk as the first search result. It is not known if this is the result of collusion between the BBC and Google or simply a clever use of search engine optimization
.
The website "Who is Doctor Who?" turned out to be run by a conspiracy theorist
named Clive, who had been tracking the appearances of the Ninth Doctor
through history, and was under the impression that the Doctor was an immortal
alien. Clive was killed by an Auton
during the course of the episode, but when Rose disappeared to travel with the Doctor, the website continued to be updated, with video clips from the Auton
invasion and an invitation to readers to send their own stories of encounters with the Doctor. Later updates of the site tied in to new episodes as they were broadcast.
The "guest book" section of the site featured several entries apparently signed by former companions or supporting characters, including Sarah Jane Smith
, Peri Brown
and Mike Yates
. It is not clear which of these were written by the BBC website team and which messages were by fans writing in, since all messages are screened by the website team before they are posted. It also features comments from the fictional characters Arthur Dent
, Marty McFly
, and a character from Twilight.
After "Aliens of London
" was first broadcast on April 16, 2005, it became apparent from a note on the website that the person who had taken over Clive's website was Mickey Smith
, Rose's boyfriend. Interestingly, as "Aliens of London" took place in 2006 and the updates were contemporaneous with the series as it progresses, it meant that the website was at least one year in the relative future of the reader.
After the episode Dalek
an interview took place with a younger Henry van Statten (the villain in Dalek). There was a "competition" to win a bundle of Geocomtex Hardware (Van Statten's Company). The winner was Adam Mitchell who also appeared in "Dalek".
Following the events of "Boom Town
", the site featured a bitter message from Mickey ("World saved. Who cares?"), who has realised that Rose no longer loves him. After this episode, the website remained static for many months before it was updated with references to the Guinevere One probe in time for the 2005 Christmas special
.
On March 30, 2006, the website underwent a redesign and was renamed "Defending the Earth!", two weeks before the start of Series 2.
, an international organisation dedicated to defending the Earth from extraterrestrial
and paranormal threats. In the week leading up to the broadcast, unit.org.uk went "live". The site showcased press releases and pages referencing UNIT's history in the old series. A portion of the website was blocked by a password, "buffalo", but that was easily obtained by looking at the HTML source code
. The password (later added with "badwolf") allowed access to "classified" reports, one of which described the events of "Rose". The "Conferences" section of the website shows that UNIT has a facility at Maidstone Barracks.
In the second part of the story, "World War Three
", the website was shown on screen, and the Doctor used the password "buffalo" to access it. Using that password on the "live" website activates a simple Flash animation simulating the missile control website featured in the episode. The UNIT site was updated with reports detailing the aftermath of the story, putting it in the same position as Mickey's website of being a year in the future. The website also named the unnamed-on-screen UNIT officer that died in the episode as a "Major Frost", who may have been the Doctor Who Magazine
comic strip character Muriel Frost
. Other reports reference the episodes "Rose" and "Dalek
".
In his regular column in Doctor Who Magazine
#360 (August 2005), new series executive producer Russell T Davies explained that the United Nations were no longer happy to be associated with the organisation, and its full name could not now be used. However, the "UNIT" and "UN" abbreviations can be used, as long as it is not explained what the letters stand for. In 2008, Russell T Davies announced that the organisation's name has been changed to the "Unified Intelligence Taskforce". This new name was first mentioned on-screen in "The Sontaran Stratagem".
Following "The Christmas Invasion
", a press release confirming the existence of alien life was added to the site, and the "secure portion" of the website was updated with reports on Guinevere One and "Project Rooftop", referring to the events of that episode.
". The site is more sparse compared to the others, with a "products" page, an uneditable "support" page and a "recruitment" page aside from the usual disclaimer.
The Geocometex website, like the others, has numerous in-jokes and references to the old series. Products that GeoComtex manufactures include "IE core chip transistor
s" (International Electromatics in The Invasion
), "bubble memory
" (Logopolis
), "Ether beam sensing technology" (Genesis of the Daleks
) and "bonded polycarbon" (Remembrance of the Daleks
). The support page has a question that asks whether a "MX-TBL plug-in" is needed for the "WTFLD Generator" — a reference to the characters of Maxtible and Waterfield in The Evil of the Daleks
— and refers to a "finklegruber", a Gallifrey
an tool mentioned in The Invasion of Time
and the Virgin Missing Adventures
novel The Well-Mannered War
by Gareth Roberts
. Another support entry answers the question, "My Tubbs just doesn't work like it used to. How do I reset it?" with "Enter code 12-T", a reference to The League of Gentlemen
(an earlier project of Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss
). The support page also contains the word BADWOLF written in Morse code
(although for the first few days, the Morse actually read "twat
s"), and on an unrelated note, the words "VOTE LIB DEM
" scrambled and backwards. This references a joke started on the Outpost Gallifrey
forum after transmission of "World War Three
" claiming that a flashing light at the end of this episode signals this sentence in Morse Code. Other absurd jokes in the support page from question 4 including a reference to Jabberwocky
. One of the questions refers to a user's difficulty in using RealPlayer
, a reference to the controversial choice by the BBC website
to use only RealAudio
and RealVideo
formats. The support number for GeoComTex is 555
-236-801.
The site was redesigned late in the 2006 series.
".
The BBC registered the domain name
badwolf.org.uk in November 2004, and the website went live in the week before the episode "Boom Town
". The Bad Wolf site consisted of a listing of every explicit Bad Wolf reference in the 2005 series, along with speculation and theories, some culled from fan discussions on forums such as Outpost Gallifrey, as to what the phrase might mean. The site differed from the other websites, however, as it discussed the television series from a non-fictional perspective. The website had a distorted reading of The Sick Rose
by William Blake
at the end of an included audio clip.
The website's disclaimer noted that its contents were merely to speculate on what "Bad Wolf" meant, but did not propose to provide a definitive answer. It also stated that the Internet
was "used by kind permission of GeoComtex" (In "Dalek", Henry van Statten claimed to own the Internet) and referred to "an enormous experiment in neuro-linguistic programming
". There was also a hidden message that was visible only when the text beneath the disclaimer was highlighted.
In the series finalé, "The Parting of the Ways
", it was revealed that Rose
(or the TARDIS
, through her, after she had looked into its "heart") had distributed the words "Bad Wolf" throughout time as a reminder, so that she would know she could go back to the future and save the Doctor. The website has since been updated to include the conclusion.
", the BBC launched the guinevere.org.uk website. This is apparently the website of a project by the British Rocket Group to land a probe on Mars
, like the Beagle 2
project in reality, on Christmas Day. It includes an introduction by Prime Minister
Harriet Jones
and an interview with the project director, Professor Danny Llewellyn. The British Rocket Group is a reference to the BBC Quatermass
science fiction serials of the 1950s.
Other elements of the site include a history of the British Rocket Group, a Mars FAQ, a "live tracker" for the probe, a game to pilot Guinevere One through a narrow "launch window", and the opportunity to add a message of peace to the probe.
Previous British manned missions to Mars (The Ambassadors of Death
, 1970) are not referred to on the site. The British Rocket Group was previously mentioned in the series in Remembrance of the Daleks
(1988).
Following "The Christmas Invasion", the website's front page has been changed to memorialise project manager Daniel Llewellyn, who was killed during the events of that episode. The original site is very briefly seen on a mobile phone browser in "The Runaway Bride
".
) was available, where he asked the reader for help and led them to the Leamington Spa Lifeboat Museum website which included an interactive game. This was the first of several "mini-missions" that became available through the various tie-in websites over the course of Series 2.
The name of the site may be a reference to the Doctor's declaration to the Sycorax in "The Christmas Invasion" that when they talk of the Earth, to "make sure you tell them this. It is defended!" Mickey repeats this declaration as the Sycorax ship leaves the Earth's atmosphere. In Army of Ghosts
Mickey states that he is "Defending the Earth!"
In the text version of the "Tooth and Claw
" update, Mickey mentioned that someone has repeatedly e-mailed him with the message "They're coming". This message is also visible on the Millingdale Organic Ice Cream site.
The update for "The Girl in the Fireplace" was the first time a mission had been on Mickey's own site. The game involves taking control of a clockwork robot to collect seven crystals from different rooms in Versailles
in various time periods.
During "Rise of the Cybermen
" and "The Age of Steel
", the design of the site was changed to reflect the parallel Earth on which the story took place, with initially the parallel Mickey (Ricky) giving the video message then Mickey himself the following week.
After the events of "The Idiot's Lantern
", the website design was reverted back to its original layout, but instead of using video messages, the new site owner, who refers to himself as "A Friend", now corresponds by text version only. It is possible that this is "David Roberts", The Voice of Deffry Vale's Youth.
The Take the test game was added after "Love & Monsters
". The game asks questions, which have optional answers (apart from in the final round). In order to complete the test, the player must use information from previous Doctor Who tie-in websites.
The Art Attack game was added after "Fear Her
". The game involves three levels of guiding the Tenth Doctor
through a maze to join dots in numerical order. The game has the appearance of a child's drawing, and when each level is complete, the player saves what is trapped in the picture: a cat, a boy, and finally the TARDIS. As of 2008 and the conclusion of the fourth series, the website has remained the same since "Fear Her" was broadcast.
MediaPlay is a fake instant messaging
and internet radio
web application
which allows the user to communicate with an associate of Ricky Smith, to find first the product support for a broken radio from International Electromatics, then the frequency to set the radio from Cybus Fitness, followed by a secret code from Millingdale Organic Ice Cream, a clue from a John Lumic book at Henrik's Online, and then finally the code to the enter the Cybus Industries intranet
.
When the radio is set to channel 657, a voice repeats "What's the secret of Henrik's surprise?" over the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight
", which was played in "Rise of the Cybermen" to disguise the screams of those being transformed into Cybermen
.
The Magpie Online Archive is a "file sharing application" in which the player must search through various clips of BBC television history to look for messages left behind by the Wire from "The Idiot's Lantern
".
By moving a cursor up and down, the player is able to select clips and hear a brief audio segment from that broadcast. Some clips contain a word or words that end up showing a message created by the Wire; others are just audio and some delete the words the player has already found, forcing them to start over.
Notable clips in the game include catchphrases from personalities such as Dick and Dom
and Larry Grayson
; classic scenes from comedies such as Fawlty Towers
, Red Dwarf
and Hancock
; quotes from cult programmes including two from Blake's 7
; Marvin the Paranoid Android
from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and children's television clips from shows such as the Flower Pot Men
and Muffin the Mule
(the last of which was shown in "The Idiot's Lantern"). There are also excerpts from pop songs, including "Through the Wire" by Kanye West
as well as "Never Too Late" by Kylie Minogue
, which the Doctor also quotes in the episode. Upon completion of the game, players view the traditional ending of The Two Ronnies
sketch show.
Lifeboat Museum (oddly, Leamington Spa is around 60 miles from the nearest saltwater, the Severn Estuary
).
This website tells the tale of the Leamington Spa Lifeboat Society, which saved hundreds of lives all over the Leamington Spa area, including Carlisle, Manchesterford
and Cardiff
(if the map on the website is to be believed). It tells of a family who were killed by a "mad wolf", and various small hints are dropped throughout the history pages. Although the disclaimer admits freely that this website is fictional, it does recommend the viewer to visit the website of the real Royal National Lifeboat Institution
website and to donate if possible. The contact page lists the museum's postcode as CV31 1EZ, which is the postcode for Pixel Studios who, in the real world, produced concept art for the 2005 series.
There is an interactive game where the player, on Mickey's behalf, controls a robot through the museum in search of a Sycorax sword, trying to avoid security robots and finding other alien artefacts (most related to past stories) in the process. One of these, a large alien firearm recovered in 1938 from the Brooklyn Bridge
, may be a reference to the Big Finish Productions
audio play Invaders from Mars
. A Cyberman
helmet's label claims that the artefact was found in Deffry Vale Underground Station.
Which 2006 series episode the site specifically relates to, if any, is not known, but the mention of Queen Victoria
opening the museum and the picture of a werewolf in the history pages point to the episode "Tooth and Claw
".
This website claims that Millingdale's is a family company established in 1860, although they only went public in 1980. Since 1981, they have had parlours the length and breadth of the UK, and are internationally renowned for their unique taste and the enigma of their "secret formula" (compare to Coca-Cola
). They state that their first parlour opened on June 23, 1981 (in the British calendar, 23/6/81).
A list of flavours is given on this website whose names reference various episodes, both past and upcoming, including "Silver Giant
", "Magpie Mayhem
", "Red Pit of Delight
" and "Madame du Popadom
".
Since "Rise of the Cybermen", the ingredients also contain another secret formula which is part of one of the mini games.
After "Army of Ghosts
", a "Restricted Section" can be accessed, containing video files of the Torchwood
computer system displays used during Army of Ghosts. The section can be accessed through the Flavours page by clicking the flavour "Ghost Glace".
An advertisement for Millingdale Ice Cream appears on the newspaper being read by the Abzorbaloff, in the episode "Love & Monsters
". The pattern at the bottom of the advertisement also appears on the remains of a poster affixed to the wall of a lift in the same episode.
There is a hidden recipe that cannot be viewed unless the page's code is viewed. Using the html
source, a few lines of text can be seen. The text says, Christmas Surprise – a popular choice! Turkey ice cream with a generous helping of satsuma segments.
The Observatory page also contains a reference to the Butler Institute, an organisation featured in several of the Virgin New Adventures
novels.
When clicking on the Weddings Link, a picture of Bernard Cribbins, who played Donna's Grandfather in series 4, can be seen with a bride.
". The site contains a concealed link to Deffry Vale, as well as a game based on the Skasis Paradigm Code seen in the episode, involving continuing visual patterns and memory tests. The website also refers to unlocking the secrets of the universe "with the eyes of a child", foreshadowing events in the show. The game can be played by clicking on the "Are You Smart Enough?" link.
The website is based on the colour green, and all the logos are in tones of green, rather than the red and blue seen in the episode. However, there is a link to the welcome poster seen at the main entrance, and the archive shows the "proper" logo as well. The eat more chips poster seen in the episode is available for download. The "Grounds" section of the site shows a plan of the school with alien-looking notations, taken from the lockdown scene in "School Reunion". The "Archive" link displays a screenshot of the school's "original website" with red and blue colours.
The archive claims that the school is twinned with one in Gorselbaten, Germany
and that they recently put on a "highly commended" performance of Romeo and Juliet
.
The site also mentions that "Mr Smith" taught physics in Shoreditch, a reference to "Remembrance of the Daleks"
The website has now closed.
The website also includes images of both a bus stop and a playground which include the numbers 23, 6 and 801, and a short video of a rotating green cube, used within the episode, is hidden at http://www.cheapserve.co.uk/members/236801/, a further reference to the numbers. From London Transport
iconography on the website it can be assumed that Deffry Vale is a London borough
or nearby, although Deffry is a Welsh
word meaning "Awaken". There is a section of the site devoted to Queen Victoria.
alternate reality game
, a play on the Internet service provider
Freeserve
.
The site includes several subpages Parsons Family Project, run by Mr Parsons, a history teacher in School Reunion
, and The Voice of Deffry Vale's Youth, run by a mysterious "David R.", which claims to have been merged with Defending the Earth! The photographs of "weird orange lights in the sky" were taken by a David Roberts.
After "Love & Monsters
", a Sycoraxic translator was added to the site, to tie in with a quiz on Defending the Earth!.This translator also gives hidden messages when asked to translate "Bad Wolf", "Rose", or "Torchwood".
The Torchwood Interface includes screengrabs from Eugene Jones
' homepage, which show it as a Cheapserve site, although it does not exist on the tie-in site.
for Cybus Industries of a parallel Earth. The International Electromatics of the Doctor's own universe first appeared in the Second Doctor
serial The Invasion
(1968).
The site includes very little content, but has a small interactive Flash system, which responds only to the codes IE2306801, available from the MediaPlay site, which brings up a yes/no question. Also IE555055/3, which is mentioned on the corporate history page of the site as a product that must be recalled, and 44044/01, mentioned on the homepage as a trial product. (Although neither code listed on the site has the IE prefix, the former only works if it is added, and the latter only works without it.)
influence.
, and has products such as "Water Lite" which claim to "melt fat", "reduce wrinkles" and even "reduce hair loss".
The site also has a password-protected intranet, which, when entered with the password "Gemini12", completes the minigame relating the episode "Rise of the Cybermen", and triggers a message from Ricky along with the code "Binary9". If typed into the chatbot, Ricky will comment that this code will be needed again next week. Once logged in, clicking on the "© Cybus Industries" link in the bottom right of the screen links to a hidden page which includes many of the posters and videos seen in "Rise of the Cybermen".
The site also mentions a music festival, "The Pod", taking place on July 15, a week after the final episode of Series 2 ends. The significance of this is unclear.
Following "The Age of Steel", two extra pages were added to the site. One is an interview with John Lumic by Tom MacRae
(who wrote the television story) and the other a game based on the end of the episode, where the user must use a zeppelin
to save Paris
from the Cybermen. Initially, a code, mentioned on the show as 6879760, was needed to unlock it. However, the game can now be accessed freely through the "Airship" tab on the home page.
worked for Henrik's in her own universe in "Rose
"). The site contains an excerpt of John Lumic's biography Man of Steel
. It also has Jackie's
autobiography The Strong Survive, and The Light of the Moon, a reference to the events of "Tooth and Claw
". The site links to Millingdale Organic Ice Cream, who, the site claims, makes their special ice cream, known as "Henrik's Surprise".
". The tie-in website for the programme is presented as if the programme were real and features several sections, including a game, a "Ghost report" and sightings from "viewers". The front page also tells people that the programme is shown on "BBC One
12pm, 7pm daily. GHOSTWATCH UPDATE - BBC Three
23.15." A ghost sighting has been filed by the mysterious David Roberts, who wants proof of the ghosts' existence (and whose name is also attached to a text message within the tie-in game, warning not to trust the ghosts).
The tie-in game contains several references to other episodes in the accompanying text messages, and the instrumental version of "Song for Ten" (as heard in "School Reunion
"). The game involves directing the on-screen investigator to various locations and controlling remote cameras to collect data on the "ghosts".
page was set up in the name of Martha Jones
with a picture of Agyeman in front of the BBC Television Centre. This includes a blog
which, amongst other things, describes her family and work situation. She also references her cousin Adeola's death from as being the only significant tragedy in her life recently (Adeola was killed in "Army of Ghosts
"). The site was updated following "Smith and Jones
", with Martha describing the events of the episodes as well as her preparations for Leo's 21st birthday. The site was further updated after transmission of the following episodes, implying that she is somehow able to update her blog while travelling in the TARDIS
.
" the BBC activated a website for Mr Saxon's political campaign. It contains a link to the Vote Saxon posters seen in various episodes, to a video showing every reference to "Mr Saxon" that has appeared in Doctor Who and to a poll, where one votes for or against Saxon. After the broadcast of "Last of the Time Lords
", the website redirects to Harold Saxon's personal website.
's electoral defeat was caused by attempting to cover-up the events of "The Christmas Invasion
".
presented in Flash
(a non-Flash version is also available). It contains files and information from Torchwood
episodes being broadcast.
Following the episode "Ghost Machine
" a file on "Ghosts" was added, including a link to the Ghostwatch site. Similarly, after "Cyberwoman
", information on The Fall of Torchwood One
was added, explaining what might otherwise be construed as continuity errors. Additional files have been added with each new episode. After the last episode was broadcasted, an mp3
file of the TARDIS
' engines was added to the Jack Harkness page (with a note by Toshiko Sato
that it defies analysis), along with an image of a missing poster of Jack.
Possibly due to the run-up to the second series of Torchwood, the website is unavailable at its usual address, but can be accessed at this address, though the non-Flash version cannot be viewed at all. The non-flash website is however viewable via Internet Archive
.
, websites such as http://www.darktalk.co.uk, http://www.standardmail.co.uk , http://newedenbiotech.co.uk, http://www.venusclinic.co.uk,
www.blakeenquiries.co.uk., http://www.centurycardiff.co.uk and http://www.singlessos.co.uk were launched. As part of the game, players watch video messages from Ianto and Toshiko who instruct them on how to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a man called Conrad Fischer who stumbled across some dark secrets. On the DarkTalk website and its accompanying MySpace tie-in, Welsh actress Siwan Morris
(Skins
) portrays Abigail Crowe, a supernatural radio host who discusses the sightings of Torchwood and other alien phenomena around Cardiff. The BBC set up a phoneline (0845 610 1503) which allows callers to leave their own "sightings" of aliens on, the more humorous ones being added to the podcast each week.
of the material on these websites is unclear. While parts of "Who is Doctor Who?" and the UNIT website are consistent with the events of the episodes as broadcast, other parts are not. For example, the UNIT website dates the climactic events of "Rose" to March 26, 2005 (the date of broadcast). However, a poster clearly seen in "Aliens of London" states that Rose Tyler had gone missing on the night of March 6.
The "History" section of the website claims that UNIT was formed in 1968 following the "London Underground
" incident, a reference to the events of The Web of Fear
. This seems to establish the events of the serial as happening in that year, although the dating of the UNIT serials is a long-standing controversy in Doctor Who fandom. See UNIT dating controversy
for more details.
In addition, despite the implication that at the end of "Father's Day
" the attack of the Reapers did not happen due to changes in history, "Who is Doctor Who" featured photographs that showed the attack. The UNIT website also referred to a report about the incident, although the Doctor claimed no one would remember it.
The Torchwood website features audio and video participation of the actors from the series, usually onset. In one instance, PC Andy refers to his surname as "Davidson", which had been noted in the novels (of debatable canonicity) but unmentioned by the TV series. This development lent some credibility to the surname.
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
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
programme 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...
features several tie-in websites produced by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
website team that viewers can access on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Whilst none of the material in the website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s is necessary to understand the broadcast episodes, they are examples of viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
, a means of promoting the programme as well as supplementary material for the entertainment of fans of the series. The network of tie-in websites uses elements reminiscent of (although not as elaborate as) alternate reality game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
s. With the exception of Deffry Vale, International Electromatics and Cybus Fitness, these websites have disclaimer
Disclaimer
A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship...
s indicating their fictional nature.
In Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
#367, James Goss, producer of bbc.co.uk
Bbc.co.uk
BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
's cult television websites, announced that Series 2 would feature "dozens" of inter-related sites featuring interactive games, to create "the most ambitious online fictional world ever". In the same article he revealed that the content for the websites would be written by Joseph Lidster
Joseph Lidster
Joseph Lidster is an English television writer best known for his work on the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures.-Biography:His debut work was the audio play The Rapture for Big Finish Productions in 2002...
, produced by Rob Francis and created by games company, Sequence.
A number of fans have also set up similar sites tying into the series, including several concerning the political campaigns of the fictional Mr Saxon.
Please note that as of November 2011, all of the sites listed are inaccessible. It is unknown if any of these sites will be reactivated, or if other websites will be created in support of a future episodes of Doctor Who.
Who is Doctor Who?
In the premiere episode of the 2005 series, "RoseRose (Doctor Who)
"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
", the character of Rose Tyler
Rose 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...
searched the Internet for information about the mysterious 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....
. Rose used a search engine
Search engine
A search engine is an information retrieval system designed to help find information stored on a computer system. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. Search engines help to minimize the time required to find information and the amount of information...
called search-wise.net which was set up to provide television programmes with a search website that could be shown on screen. While search-wise.net does not actually work as a search engine, the website that she found, whoisdoctorwho.co.uk, can be accessed.
At the time the episode was transmitted, the search term used by Rose, "doctor blue box", if typed into Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
in the real world, produced whoisdoctorwho.co.uk as the first search result. It is not known if this is the result of collusion between the BBC and Google or simply a clever use of search engine optimization
Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization is the process of improving the visibility of a website or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid search results...
.
The website "Who is Doctor Who?" turned out to be run by a conspiracy theorist
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
named Clive, who had been tracking the appearances of 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....
through history, and was under the impression that the Doctor was an immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
alien. Clive was killed by an Auton
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
during the course of the episode, but when Rose disappeared to travel with the Doctor, the website continued to be updated, with video clips from the Auton
Auton
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and adversaries of the Doctor. First appearing in Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, Spearhead from Space in 1970, they were the first monsters on the show to be presented in colour.Autons...
invasion and an invitation to readers to send their own stories of encounters with the Doctor. Later updates of the site tied in to new episodes as they were broadcast.
The "guest book" section of the site featured several entries apparently signed by former companions or supporting characters, including Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith
Sarah Jane Smith is a fictional character played by Elisabeth Sladen in the long-running British BBC Television science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-offs K-9 and Company and The Sarah Jane Adventures....
, Peri Brown
Peri Brown
Peri Brown, full name Perpugilliam Brown, is a fictional character played by Nicola Bryant in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
and Mike Yates
Captain Mike Yates
Captain Mike Yates is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, played by Richard Franklin. He was adjutant of the British contingent of UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth...
. It is not clear which of these were written by the BBC website team and which messages were by fans writing in, since all messages are screened by the website team before they are posted. It also features comments from the fictional characters Arthur Dent
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character, the hapless protagonist and anti-hero in the comic science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams....
, Marty McFly
Marty McFly
Martin Seamus "Marty" McFly, Sr. is the protagonist in the Back to the Future film trilogy, and is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. Marty was also the protagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by David Kaufman...
, and a character from Twilight.
After "Aliens of London
Aliens of London
"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television show Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 16 April 2005. The Doctor takes Rose back to 21st century London, just in time to witness a spaceship crashing into the River Thames, triggering a...
" was first broadcast on April 16, 2005, it became apparent from a note on the website that the person who had taken over Clive's website was 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...
, Rose's boyfriend. Interestingly, as "Aliens of London" took place in 2006 and the updates were contemporaneous with the series as it progresses, it meant that the website was at least one year in the relative future of the reader.
After the episode 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...
an interview took place with a younger Henry van Statten (the villain in Dalek). There was a "competition" to win a bundle of Geocomtex Hardware (Van Statten's Company). The winner was Adam Mitchell who also appeared in "Dalek".
Following the events of "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...
", the site featured a bitter message from Mickey ("World saved. Who cares?"), who has realised that Rose no longer loves him. After this episode, the website remained static for many months before it was updated with references to the Guinevere One probe in time for the 2005 Christmas special
The Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
.
On March 30, 2006, the website underwent a redesign and was renamed "Defending the Earth!", two weeks before the start of Series 2.
UNIT
"Aliens of London" also featured the return of the United Nations Intelligence TaskforceUnited Nations Intelligence Taskforce
UNIT is a fictional military organisation from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
, an international organisation dedicated to defending the Earth from extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life in popular culture
In popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
and paranormal threats. In the week leading up to the broadcast, unit.org.uk went "live". The site showcased press releases and pages referencing UNIT's history in the old series. A portion of the website was blocked by a password, "buffalo", but that was easily obtained by looking at the HTML source code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
. The password (later added with "badwolf") allowed access to "classified" reports, one of which described the events of "Rose". The "Conferences" section of the website shows that UNIT has a facility at Maidstone Barracks.
In the second part of the story, "World War Three
World War Three (Doctor Who)
"World War Three" is the fifth episode of the first series in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 23 April 2005. It is the second of a two-part story. The first part, "Aliens of London", was broadcast on 16 April...
", the website was shown on screen, and the Doctor used the password "buffalo" to access it. Using that password on the "live" website activates a simple Flash animation simulating the missile control website featured in the episode. The UNIT site was updated with reports detailing the aftermath of the story, putting it in the same position as Mickey's website of being a year in the future. The website also named the unnamed-on-screen UNIT officer that died in the episode as a "Major Frost", who may have been the Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
comic strip character Muriel Frost
Muriel Frost
Muriel Frost is a fictional character who appeared in the Doctor Who Magazine comic strip based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An officer in the British Army, she worked for UNIT , an international organisation that defends the Earth from alien threats...
. Other reports reference the episodes "Rose" 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...
".
In his regular column in Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
#360 (August 2005), new series executive producer Russell T Davies explained that the United Nations were no longer happy to be associated with the organisation, and its full name could not now be used. However, the "UNIT" and "UN" abbreviations can be used, as long as it is not explained what the letters stand for. In 2008, Russell T Davies announced that the organisation's name has been changed to the "Unified Intelligence Taskforce". This new name was first mentioned on-screen in "The Sontaran Stratagem".
Following "The Christmas Invasion
The Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
", a press release confirming the existence of alien life was added to the site, and the "secure portion" of the website was updated with reports on Guinevere One and "Project Rooftop", referring to the events of that episode.
Geocomtex
The third fictional website to be featured was geocomtex.net, the corporate website for Henry van Statten's company, whose logo was seen in the background in the episode "DalekDalek (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...
". The site is more sparse compared to the others, with a "products" page, an uneditable "support" page and a "recruitment" page aside from the usual disclaimer.
The Geocometex website, like the others, has numerous in-jokes and references to the old series. Products that GeoComtex manufactures include "IE core chip transistor
Transistor
A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify and switch electronic signals and power. It is composed of a semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. A voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes the current...
s" (International Electromatics in 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...
), "bubble memory
Bubble memory
Bubble memory is a type of non-volatile computer memory that uses a thin film of a magnetic material to hold small magnetized areas, known as bubbles or domains, each storing one bit of data...
" (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...
), "Ether beam sensing technology" (Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks
Genesis of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was originally broadcast in six weekly parts from 8 March to 12 April 1975. It marks the first appearance of Davros, the creator of the Daleks.-Plot:...
) and "bonded polycarbon" (Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
). The support page has a question that asks whether a "MX-TBL plug-in" is needed for the "WTFLD Generator" — a reference to the characters of Maxtible and Waterfield in The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks
The Evil of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. This serial marked the debut of Deborah Watling as the Doctor's new companion, Victoria Waterfield.Evil was initially intended to...
— and refers to a "finklegruber", a Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
an tool mentioned in The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time
The Invasion of Time is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 4 February to 11 March 1978...
and the Virgin Missing Adventures
Virgin Missing Adventures
The Virgin Missing Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which had been cancelled in 1989, featuring stories set between televised episodes of the programme. The novels were published from 1994 to 1997, and...
novel The Well-Mannered War
The Well-Mannered War
The Well-Mannered War is a Virgin Missing Adventures original novel written by Gareth Roberts based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fourth Doctor, Romana and K-9...
by Gareth Roberts
Gareth Roberts (writer)
Gareth John Pritchard Roberts is a British television screenwriter and novelist, best known for his work related to the science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
. Another support entry answers the question, "My Tubbs just doesn't work like it used to. How do I reset it?" with "Enter code 12-T", a reference to The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen (comedy)
The League of Gentlemen are a quartet of British dark comedy writers/performers, formed in 1995 by Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith...
(an earlier project of Doctor Who writer Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
). The support page also contains the word BADWOLF written in Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
(although for the first few days, the Morse actually read "twat
Twat
The word twat has various functions. It is a vulgar synonym for the human vulva, but is more widely used as a derogatory epithet, especially in British English...
s"), and on an unrelated note, the words "VOTE LIB DEM
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
" scrambled and backwards. This references a joke started on the Outpost Gallifrey
Outpost Gallifrey
Outpost Gallifrey was a fan website for the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was active as a complete fan site from 1995 until 2007, then existing solely as a portal to the still-active parts of the site, including its news page and forums Outpost Gallifrey was a fan website...
forum after transmission of "World War Three
World War Three (Doctor Who)
"World War Three" is the fifth episode of the first series in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 23 April 2005. It is the second of a two-part story. The first part, "Aliens of London", was broadcast on 16 April...
" claiming that a flashing light at the end of this episode signals this sentence in Morse Code. Other absurd jokes in the support page from question 4 including a reference to Jabberwocky
Jabberwocky
"Jabberwocky" is a nonsense verse poem written by Lewis Carroll in his 1872 novel Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, a sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
. One of the questions refers to a user's difficulty in using RealPlayer
RealPlayer
RealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
, a reference to the controversial choice by the BBC website
Bbc.co.uk
BBC Online is the brand name and home for the BBC's UK online service. It is a large network of websites including such high profile sites as BBC News and Sport, the on-demand video and radio services co-branded BBC iPlayer, the pre-school site Cbeebies, and learning services such as Bitesize...
to use only RealAudio
RealAudio
RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
and RealVideo
RealVideo
RealVideo is a suite of proprietary video compression formats developed by RealNetworks – the specific format changes with the version. It was first released in 1997 and is at version 10. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile...
formats. The support number for GeoComTex is 555
555 telephone number
Telephone numbers with the prefix 555 are widely used for fictitious telephone numbers in North American television shows, films, computer games, and other media....
-236-801.
The site was redesigned late in the 2006 series.
Bad Wolf
The phrase "Bad Wolf" was a recurring theme throughout the 2005 series, beginning with "The End of the WorldThe 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 BBC registered the domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
badwolf.org.uk in November 2004, and the website went live in the week before the episode "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...
". The Bad Wolf site consisted of a listing of every explicit Bad Wolf reference in the 2005 series, along with speculation and theories, some culled from fan discussions on forums such as Outpost Gallifrey, as to what the phrase might mean. The site differed from the other websites, however, as it discussed the television series from a non-fictional perspective. The website had a distorted reading of The Sick Rose
The Sick Rose
"The Sick Rose" is a poem by William Blake. The first publication was in 1794, when it was included in his collection titled Songs of Experience as the 39th plate. The incipit of the poem is O Rose thou art sick. Blake composed the page sometime after 1789, and presents it with the illuminated...
by William Blake
William Blake
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
at the end of an included audio clip.
The website's disclaimer noted that its contents were merely to speculate on what "Bad Wolf" meant, but did not propose to provide a definitive answer. It also stated that the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
was "used by kind permission of GeoComtex" (In "Dalek", Henry van Statten claimed to own the Internet) and referred to "an enormous experiment in neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming
Neuro-linguistic programming is an approach to psychotherapy, self-help and organizational change. Founders Richard Bandler and John Grinder say that NLP is a model of interpersonal communication and a system of alternative therapy which seeks to educate people in self-awareness and effective...
". There was also a hidden message that was visible only when the text beneath the disclaimer was highlighted.
In the series finalé, "The Parting of the Ways
The Parting of the Ways
"The Parting of the Ways" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 18 June 2005. It was the second episode of the two-part story that featured Christopher Eccleston making his last appearance as the Ninth Doctor...
", it was revealed that Rose
Rose 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...
(or the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, through her, after she had looked into its "heart") had distributed the words "Bad Wolf" throughout time as a reminder, so that she would know she could go back to the future and save the Doctor. The website has since been updated to include the conclusion.
Guinevere One
In the lead-up to "The Christmas InvasionThe Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
", the BBC launched the guinevere.org.uk website. This is apparently the website of a project by the British Rocket Group to land a probe on Mars
Mars (Doctor Who)
Mars, the fourth planet in our solar system, has been featured in the Doctor Who fictional universe on a number of occasions. In the various Doctor Who serials which feature the Ice Warriors, mention is made that Mars is their homeworld....
, like the Beagle 2
Beagle 2
Beagle 2 was an unsuccessful British landing spacecraft that formed part of the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. All contact with it was lost upon its separation from the Mars Express six days before its scheduled entry into the atmosphere...
project in reality, on Christmas Day. It includes an introduction by Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Harriet Jones
Harriet Jones
Harriet Jones MP is a recurring fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Jones was introduced in the two-part story "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as an MP who aids the...
and an interview with the project director, Professor Danny Llewellyn. The British Rocket Group is a reference to the BBC Quatermass
Bernard Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading up the British Experimental Rocket Group...
science fiction serials of the 1950s.
Other elements of the site include a history of the British Rocket Group, a Mars FAQ, a "live tracker" for the probe, a game to pilot Guinevere One through a narrow "launch window", and the opportunity to add a message of peace to the probe.
Previous British manned missions to Mars (The Ambassadors of Death
The Ambassadors of Death
The Ambassadors of Death is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in seven weekly parts from March 21 to May 2, 1970.-Plot:...
, 1970) are not referred to on the site. The British Rocket Group was previously mentioned in the series in Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks
Remembrance of the Daleks is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 5 October to 26 October 1988....
(1988).
Following "The Christmas Invasion", the website's front page has been changed to memorialise project manager Daniel Llewellyn, who was killed during the events of that episode. The original site is very briefly seen on a mobile phone browser in "The Runaway Bride
The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)
"The Runaway Bride" is a special episode of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor...
".
Defending the Earth!
This is Mickey's new website, although the URL is still at whoisdoctorwho.co.uk. The previous pages are still available as links, but it has undergone a radical redesign. The week before the 2006 series began, a video message from Mickey (played, as in the series, by Noel ClarkeNoel 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...
) was available, where he asked the reader for help and led them to the Leamington Spa Lifeboat Museum website which included an interactive game. This was the first of several "mini-missions" that became available through the various tie-in websites over the course of Series 2.
The name of the site may be a reference to the Doctor's declaration to the Sycorax in "The Christmas Invasion" that when they talk of the Earth, to "make sure you tell them this. It is defended!" Mickey repeats this declaration as the Sycorax ship leaves the Earth's atmosphere. In Army of Ghosts
Army of Ghosts
"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...
Mickey states that he is "Defending the Earth!"
In the text version of the "Tooth and Claw
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...
" update, Mickey mentioned that someone has repeatedly e-mailed him with the message "They're coming". This message is also visible on the Millingdale Organic Ice Cream site.
The update for "The Girl in the Fireplace" was the first time a mission had been on Mickey's own site. The game involves taking control of a clockwork robot to collect seven crystals from different rooms in Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
in various time periods.
During "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...
", the design of the site was changed to reflect the parallel Earth on which the story took place, with initially the parallel Mickey (Ricky) giving the video message then Mickey himself the following week.
After the events of "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
", the website design was reverted back to its original layout, but instead of using video messages, the new site owner, who refers to himself as "A Friend", now corresponds by text version only. It is possible that this is "David Roberts", The Voice of Deffry Vale's Youth.
The Take the test game was added after "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...
". The game asks questions, which have optional answers (apart from in the final round). In order to complete the test, the player must use information from previous Doctor Who tie-in websites.
The Art Attack game was added after "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...
". The game involves three levels of guiding 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...
through a maze to join dots in numerical order. The game has the appearance of a child's drawing, and when each level is complete, the player saves what is trapped in the picture: a cat, a boy, and finally the TARDIS. As of 2008 and the conclusion of the fourth series, the website has remained the same since "Fear Her" was broadcast.
MediaPlay
MediaPlay is a fake instant messaging
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
and internet radio
Internet radio
Internet radio is an audio service transmitted via the Internet...
web application
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
which allows the user to communicate with an associate of Ricky Smith, to find first the product support for a broken radio from International Electromatics, then the frequency to set the radio from Cybus Fitness, followed by a secret code from Millingdale Organic Ice Cream, a clue from a John Lumic book at Henrik's Online, and then finally the code to the enter the Cybus Industries intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
.
When the radio is set to channel 657, a voice repeats "What's the secret of Henrik's surprise?" over the song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
"The Lion Sleeps Tonight", also known as "Wimoweh" and originally as "Mbube", is a song recorded by Solomon Linda and his group The Evening Birds for the South African Gallo Record Company in 1939. It was covered internationally by many 1950s pop and folk revival artists, including The Weavers,...
", which was played in "Rise of the Cybermen" to disguise the screams of those being transformed into 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...
.
Magpie Online Archive
The Magpie Online Archive is a "file sharing application" in which the player must search through various clips of BBC television history to look for messages left behind by the Wire from "The Idiot's Lantern
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
".
By moving a cursor up and down, the player is able to select clips and hear a brief audio segment from that broadcast. Some clips contain a word or words that end up showing a message created by the Wire; others are just audio and some delete the words the player has already found, forcing them to start over.
Notable clips in the game include catchphrases from personalities such as Dick and Dom
Dick and Dom
Dick and Dom are a children's comic double act consisting of the presenters Richard McCourt and Dominic Wood. They are primarily known for presenting children's television, such as Dick and Dom in da Bungalow for 5 series between 2002 - 2006...
and Larry Grayson
Larry Grayson
Larry Grayson , born William Sulley White, was an English stand-up comedian and television presenter of the 1970s and early 80s...
; classic scenes from comedies such as Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
and Hancock
The Blood Donor
"The Blood Donor" is an episode from comedy series Hancock, the final BBC series featuring British comedian Tony Hancock. First transmitted on 23 June 1961, the show was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, and was produced by Duncan Wood. Supporting Hancock were Patrick Cargill, Hugh Lloyd,...
; quotes from cult programmes including two from Blake's 7
Blake's 7
Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television series produced by the BBC for its BBC1 channel. The series was created by Terry Nation, a prolific television writer and creator of the Daleks for the television series Doctor Who. Four series of Blake's 7 were produced and broadcast between 1978...
; Marvin the Paranoid Android
Marvin the Paranoid Android
Marvin, the Paranoid Android, is a fictional character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams. Marvin is the ship's robot aboard the starship Heart of Gold...
from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and children's television clips from shows such as the Flower Pot Men
Flower Pot Men
The Flower Pot Men were a British pop group created in 1967 as a result of the single "Let's Go to San Francisco", recorded by session musicians, becoming a major UK Top 20 and Continental Europe hit) in the autumn of 1967...
and Muffin the Mule
Muffin the Mule
Muffin the Mule is a puppet character in British television programmes for children. The original programmes featuring the character were presented by Annette Mills, sister of John Mills, & aunt to Hayley Mills, and broadcast live by the BBC from their studios at Alexandra Palace from 1946 to 1952...
(the last of which was shown in "The Idiot's Lantern"). There are also excerpts from pop songs, including "Through the Wire" by Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
as well as "Never Too Late" by Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, which the Doctor also quotes in the episode. Upon completion of the game, players view the traditional ending of The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies
The Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...
sketch show.
Leamington Spa Lifeboat Museum
leamingtonspalifeboatmuseum.co.uk, apparently the website of the Leamington SpaLeamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
Lifeboat Museum (oddly, Leamington Spa is around 60 miles from the nearest saltwater, the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
).
This website tells the tale of the Leamington Spa Lifeboat Society, which saved hundreds of lives all over the Leamington Spa area, including Carlisle, Manchesterford
Acorn Antiques
Acorn Antiques is a parodic soap opera written by Victoria Wood as a regular feature in the two seasons of Victoria Wood As Seen On TV, which ran from 1985 to 1987. It was turned into a musical by Wood, opening in 2005.-Television version:...
and Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
(if the map on the website is to be believed). It tells of a family who were killed by a "mad wolf", and various small hints are dropped throughout the history pages. Although the disclaimer admits freely that this website is fictional, it does recommend the viewer to visit the website of the real Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
website and to donate if possible. The contact page lists the museum's postcode as CV31 1EZ, which is the postcode for Pixel Studios who, in the real world, produced concept art for the 2005 series.
There is an interactive game where the player, on Mickey's behalf, controls a robot through the museum in search of a Sycorax sword, trying to avoid security robots and finding other alien artefacts (most related to past stories) in the process. One of these, a large alien firearm recovered in 1938 from the Brooklyn Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
, may be a reference to the Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
audio play Invaders from Mars
Invaders from Mars (Doctor Who audio)
Invaders from Mars is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
. A Cyberman
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...
helmet's label claims that the artefact was found in Deffry Vale Underground Station.
Which 2006 series episode the site specifically relates to, if any, is not known, but the mention of Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
opening the museum and the picture of a werewolf in the history pages point to the episode "Tooth and Claw
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...
".
Millingdale Organic Ice Cream
millingdaleicecream.co.uk, the website for the Millingdale Organic Ice Cream company, is linked to from the Leamington Spa Lifeboat Museum, Torchwood House, Henrik's Online and Deffry Vale websites. The background music for the site is a bells-only, jingle-like version of "Flavia's Theme" from Series 1, a theme that is used by the production team when things get (in their words) "Time Lord-y". As the logo fades in, the repeated text "they're coming" is visible.This website claims that Millingdale's is a family company established in 1860, although they only went public in 1980. Since 1981, they have had parlours the length and breadth of the UK, and are internationally renowned for their unique taste and the enigma of their "secret formula" (compare to Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
). They state that their first parlour opened on June 23, 1981 (in the British calendar, 23/6/81).
A list of flavours is given on this website whose names reference various episodes, both past and upcoming, including "Silver Giant
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...
", "Magpie Mayhem
The Idiot's Lantern
"The Idiot's Lantern" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 27 May 2006.-Plot:...
", "Red Pit of Delight
The Impossible Planet
"The Impossible Planet" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the first part of a two-part story, followed by "The Satan Pit". The TARDIS lands in a base on a planet orbiting a black hole, an allegedly impossible situation that stumps even the Doctor...
" and "Madame du Popadom
The Girl in the Fireplace
"The Girl in the Fireplace" is the fourth episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 6 May 2006, and is the only episode in the 2006 series written by Steven Moffat...
".
Since "Rise of the Cybermen", the ingredients also contain another secret formula which is part of one of the mini games.
After "Army of Ghosts
Army of Ghosts
"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...
", a "Restricted Section" can be accessed, containing video files of the Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
computer system displays used during Army of Ghosts. The section can be accessed through the Flavours page by clicking the flavour "Ghost Glace".
An advertisement for Millingdale Ice Cream appears on the newspaper being read by the Abzorbaloff, in the episode "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...
". The pattern at the bottom of the advertisement also appears on the remains of a poster affixed to the wall of a lift in the same episode.
There is a hidden recipe that cannot be viewed unless the page's code is viewed. Using the html
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
source, a few lines of text can be seen. The text says, Christmas Surprise – a popular choice! Turkey ice cream with a generous helping of satsuma segments.
Torchwood House
visittorchwood.co.uk, the Torchwood House website, is linked to from Defending the Earth and contains a link to Millingdale Organic Ice Cream. The site is for the Torchwood Estate from "Tooth and Claw". There is an interactive game on the site, accessed by entering the password "victoria" on the "Scan for Heavenly Bodies" bell of the Observatory page.The Observatory page also contains a reference to the Butler Institute, an organisation featured in several of the Virgin New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
novels.
When clicking on the Weddings Link, a picture of Bernard Cribbins, who played Donna's Grandfather in series 4, can be seen with a bride.
Deffry Vale School
deffryvaleschool.org.uk is the website of Deffry Vale High School, seen in "School ReunionSchool Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
". The site contains a concealed link to Deffry Vale, as well as a game based on the Skasis Paradigm Code seen in the episode, involving continuing visual patterns and memory tests. The website also refers to unlocking the secrets of the universe "with the eyes of a child", foreshadowing events in the show. The game can be played by clicking on the "Are You Smart Enough?" link.
The website is based on the colour green, and all the logos are in tones of green, rather than the red and blue seen in the episode. However, there is a link to the welcome poster seen at the main entrance, and the archive shows the "proper" logo as well. The eat more chips poster seen in the episode is available for download. The "Grounds" section of the site shows a plan of the school with alien-looking notations, taken from the lockdown scene in "School Reunion". The "Archive" link displays a screenshot of the school's "original website" with red and blue colours.
The archive claims that the school is twinned with one in Gorselbaten, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and that they recently put on a "highly commended" performance of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
.
The site also mentions that "Mr Smith" taught physics in Shoreditch, a reference to "Remembrance of the Daleks"
The website has now closed.
Deffry Vale
http://www.deffryvale.co.uk, the website of the borough in which Deffry Vale School is located. It includes a link to Millingdale Organic Ice Cream and Deffry Vale School, as well as two personal pages, hosted on a fictional web provider known as "Cheapserve".The website also includes images of both a bus stop and a playground which include the numbers 23, 6 and 801, and a short video of a rotating green cube, used within the episode, is hidden at http://www.cheapserve.co.uk/members/236801/, a further reference to the numbers. From London Transport
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
iconography on the website it can be assumed that Deffry Vale is a London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
or nearby, although Deffry is a Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
word meaning "Awaken". There is a section of the site devoted to Queen Victoria.
Cheapserve
cheapserve.co.uk is a fictional web host, first used for the Jamie KaneJamie Kane
Jamie Kane was an alternate reality game created by the British Broadcasting Corporation, aimed primarily at teens, aged 14 years to 18 years, appealing to both sexes due to its mix of mystery and drama. The game is named after the main character in it, a fictional pop star named "Jamie Kane"...
alternate reality game
Alternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
, a play on the Internet service provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
Freeserve
Freeserve
Freeserve was a British Internet Service Provider, founded in 1998. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged into the Wanadoo group in 2000, itself a subsidiary of France Telecom...
.
The site includes several subpages Parsons Family Project, run by Mr Parsons, a history teacher in School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
, and The Voice of Deffry Vale's Youth, run by a mysterious "David R.", which claims to have been merged with Defending the Earth! The photographs of "weird orange lights in the sky" were taken by a David Roberts.
After "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...
", a Sycoraxic translator was added to the site, to tie in with a quiz on Defending the Earth!.This translator also gives hidden messages when asked to translate "Bad Wolf", "Rose", or "Torchwood".
The Torchwood Interface includes screengrabs from Eugene Jones
Random Shoes
"Random Shoes" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood, which was broadcast on 10 December 2006. It is the ninth episode of the first series.-Synopsis:...
' homepage, which show it as a Cheapserve site, although it does not exist on the tie-in site.
International Electromatics
internationalelectromatics.co.uk is the website of the fictional "International Electromatics", a front organizationFront organization
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy groups, or corporations...
for Cybus Industries of a parallel Earth. The International Electromatics of the Doctor's own universe first appeared in the Second Doctor
Second Doctor
The Second Doctor is the second incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by character actor Patrick Troughton....
serial 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...
(1968).
The site includes very little content, but has a small interactive Flash system, which responds only to the codes IE2306801, available from the MediaPlay site, which brings up a yes/no question. Also IE555055/3, which is mentioned on the corporate history page of the site as a product that must be recalled, and 44044/01, mentioned on the homepage as a trial product. (Although neither code listed on the site has the IE prefix, the former only works if it is added, and the latter only works without it.)
Cybus Fitness
cybusfitness.co.uk is the website for the personal fitness arm of Cybus Industries. It contains very little content, except for the frequency to tune the radio to. Cybus Fitness has the slogans "Strength is not a weakness", and "We can give you a perfect body", implying the CybermanCyberman
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...
influence.
Cybus Industries
cybusindustries.net is the main website of Cybus Industries. It includes a subscription service for ear-pod downloads, which are seen in "Rise of the Cybermen", and has a microsite devoted to Vitex drinks, marketed by Pete TylerPete 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...
, and has products such as "Water Lite" which claim to "melt fat", "reduce wrinkles" and even "reduce hair loss".
The site also has a password-protected intranet, which, when entered with the password "Gemini12", completes the minigame relating the episode "Rise of the Cybermen", and triggers a message from Ricky along with the code "Binary9". If typed into the chatbot, Ricky will comment that this code will be needed again next week. Once logged in, clicking on the "© Cybus Industries" link in the bottom right of the screen links to a hidden page which includes many of the posters and videos seen in "Rise of the Cybermen".
The site also mentions a music festival, "The Pod", taking place on July 15, a week after the final episode of Series 2 ends. The significance of this is unclear.
Following "The Age of Steel", two extra pages were added to the site. One is an interview with John Lumic by Tom MacRae
Tom MacRae
Tom MacRae is a British television writer. He is the creator of Sky One’s Mile High. He has also written for Channel 4's No Angels and As If....
(who wrote the television story) and the other a game based on the end of the episode, where the user must use a zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...
to save Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from the Cybermen. Initially, a code, mentioned on the show as 6879760, was needed to unlock it. However, the game can now be accessed freely through the "Airship" tab on the home page.
Henrik's Online
henriksonline is the website of the Henrik and Son department store of a parallel Earth (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...
worked for Henrik's in her own universe in "Rose
Rose (Doctor Who)
"Rose" is the first episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, the episode was first broadcast on 26 March 2005....
"). The site contains an excerpt of John Lumic's biography Man of Steel
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...
. It also has Jackie's
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...
autobiography The Strong Survive, and The Light of the Moon, a reference to the events of "Tooth and Claw
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...
". The site links to Millingdale Organic Ice Cream, who, the site claims, makes their special ice cream, known as "Henrik's Surprise".
Ghostwatch
Ghostwatch is the website for the fictional television programme Ghostwatch featured in the episode "Army of GhostsArmy of Ghosts
"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...
". The tie-in website for the programme is presented as if the programme were real and features several sections, including a game, a "Ghost report" and sightings from "viewers". The front page also tells people that the programme is shown on "BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
12pm, 7pm daily. GHOSTWATCH UPDATE - BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
23.15." A ghost sighting has been filed by the mysterious David Roberts, who wants proof of the ghosts' existence (and whose name is also attached to a text message within the tie-in game, warning not to trust the ghosts).
The tie-in game contains several references to other episodes in the accompanying text messages, and the instrumental version of "Song for Ten" (as heard in "School Reunion
School Reunion (Doctor Who)
"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
"). The game involves directing the on-screen investigator to various locations and controlling remote cameras to collect data on the "ghosts".
Martha Jones
A week before series three began its run, a MySpaceMySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page was set up in the name 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...
with a picture of Agyeman in front of the BBC Television Centre. This includes a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
which, amongst other things, describes her family and work situation. She also references her cousin Adeola's death from as being the only significant tragedy in her life recently (Adeola was killed in "Army of Ghosts
Army of Ghosts
"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...
"). The site was updated following "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...
", with Martha describing the events of the episodes as well as her preparations for Leo's 21st birthday. The site was further updated after transmission of the following episodes, implying that she is somehow able to update her blog while travelling in the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
.
Vote Saxon
After the broadcast of "UtopiaUtopia (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...
" the BBC activated a website for Mr Saxon's political campaign. It contains a link to the Vote Saxon posters seen in various episodes, to a video showing every reference to "Mr Saxon" that has appeared in Doctor Who and to a poll, where one votes for or against Saxon. After the broadcast of "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...
", the website redirects to Harold Saxon's personal website.
Harold Saxon
After the broadcast of 'The Sound Of Drums' the BBC activated a website for Harold Saxon. The site includes biographies of both Mr Saxon and his wife Lucy, photographs of Mr Saxon at Cambridge University, video clips seen in the episode and several pages detailing his beliefs. The My Beliefs section hints that Harriet JonesHarriet Jones
Harriet Jones MP is a recurring fictional character played by Penelope Wilton in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. With the revival of Doctor Who in 2005, Jones was introduced in the two-part story "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" as an MP who aids the...
's electoral defeat was caused by attempting to cover-up the events of "The Christmas Invasion
The Christmas Invasion
"The Christmas Invasion" is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is Christmas, but there is little cause for celebration as planet Earth is invaded by aliens known as the Sycorax...
".
Torchwood Institute System Interface
www.torchwood.org.uk is the Torchwood Institute System Interface, a simulated operating system for the Torchwood InstituteTorchwood 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...
presented in Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
(a non-Flash version is also available). It contains files and information from Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
episodes being broadcast.
Following the episode "Ghost Machine
Ghost Machine (Torchwood)
"Ghost Machine" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the third episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 29 October 2006.-Synopsis:...
" a file on "Ghosts" was added, including a link to the Ghostwatch site. Similarly, after "Cyberwoman
Cyberwoman
"Cyberwoman" is the fourth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television series Torchwood. Written by Chris Chibnall and directed by James Strong, the episode was first broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three on 5 November 2006, and later repeated on terrestrial channel...
", information on The Fall of Torchwood One
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 added, explaining what might otherwise be construed as continuity errors. Additional files have been added with each new episode. After the last episode was broadcasted, an mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
file of the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
' engines was added to the Jack Harkness page (with a note by Toshiko Sato
Toshiko Sato
is a fictional character from the television series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, played by Naoko Mori. After a one-off appearance in the Doctor Who episode "Aliens of London" , Toshiko is re-introduced as a series regular in the Torchwood 2006 premiere episode "Everything Changes"...
that it defies analysis), along with an image of a missing poster of Jack.
Possibly due to the run-up to the second series of Torchwood, the website is unavailable at its usual address, but can be accessed at this address, though the non-Flash version cannot be viewed at all. The non-flash website is however viewable via Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
.
Alternate reality game
With the launch of Series Two and Torchwood's alternate reality gameAlternate reality game
An alternate reality game is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, often involving multiple media and game elements, to tell a story that may be affected by participants' ideas or actions....
, websites such as http://www.darktalk.co.uk, http://www.standardmail.co.uk , http://newedenbiotech.co.uk, http://www.venusclinic.co.uk,
www.blakeenquiries.co.uk., http://www.centurycardiff.co.uk and http://www.singlessos.co.uk were launched. As part of the game, players watch video messages from Ianto and Toshiko who instruct them on how to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a man called Conrad Fischer who stumbled across some dark secrets. On the DarkTalk website and its accompanying MySpace tie-in, Welsh actress Siwan Morris
Siwan Morris
Siwan Morris is a Welsh actress.After an education in South Wales, she graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University....
(Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
) portrays Abigail Crowe, a supernatural radio host who discusses the sightings of Torchwood and other alien phenomena around Cardiff. The BBC set up a phoneline (0845 610 1503) which allows callers to leave their own "sightings" of aliens on, the more humorous ones being added to the podcast each week.
Canonicity
Although they are produced by the BBC, the canonicityCanon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
of the material on these websites is unclear. While parts of "Who is Doctor Who?" and the UNIT website are consistent with the events of the episodes as broadcast, other parts are not. For example, the UNIT website dates the climactic events of "Rose" to March 26, 2005 (the date of broadcast). However, a poster clearly seen in "Aliens of London" states that Rose Tyler had gone missing on the night of March 6.
The "History" section of the website claims that UNIT was formed in 1968 following the "London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
" incident, a reference to the events of The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear
The Web of Fear is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. This serial — which marks the return of the Yeti, the Great Intelligence, and Professor Travers — is the sequel to The Abominable...
. This seems to establish the events of the serial as happening in that year, although the dating of the UNIT serials is a long-standing controversy in Doctor Who fandom. See UNIT dating controversy
UNIT dating controversy
The UNIT dating controversy is an ongoing debate in Doctor Who fandom, concerning exactly when the stories featuring the fictional military organisation known as United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, or more recently as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, take place in the timeline of the...
for more details.
In addition, despite the implication that at the end of "Father's Day
Father's Day (Doctor Who)
"Father's Day" is the eighth episode in series one of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was first broadcast on 14 May 2005...
" the attack of the Reapers did not happen due to changes in history, "Who is Doctor Who" featured photographs that showed the attack. The UNIT website also referred to a report about the incident, although the Doctor claimed no one would remember it.
The Torchwood website features audio and video participation of the actors from the series, usually onset. In one instance, PC Andy refers to his surname as "Davidson", which had been noted in the novels (of debatable canonicity) but unmentioned by the TV series. This development lent some credibility to the surname.
Registered domains
The BBC has registered the following domain names, but none of them have active websites at this time:- sarahjanesmith.org.uk
- deffryvale.com
- cybusindustries.com
- cybusindustries.co.uk
- cybusfinance.com
- cybusfinance.co.uk
- cybusproperty.com
- cybusproperty.co.uk
- torchwood.net