Satellite 5
Encyclopedia
Satellite 5 is a major location in the 2005 series of the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. In the series, it is first seen in the year 200,000 and is the main setting for the episode "The Long Game
". It reappears six episodes later in the two-part series finale consisting of the episodes "Bad Wolf
" and "The Parting of the Ways
". These episodes are set 100 years later.
Satellite 5 is a long orbiting space station
which appears to have artificial gravity generated through centripetal force and inertia by rings rotating around it.
To process information on Satellite 5, all the reporters place their hands onto a computer. Whilst one main reporter, whose head is opened up by a special chip, sits in the center, all the information is drained from the reporters into the head of the main reporter and processed into one central information storage unit. The reporters forget everything, since the data is not copied, but moved from their minds.
" the Ninth Doctor
, Rose
and Adam arrive on Satellite 5 finding it as the largest human news station, with a complete archive of all available knowledge in history and mankind. However, secretly Satellite 5 is home to a creature called the Jagrafess, which is manipulating the empire.
" and "The Parting of the Ways
" the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack
arrive on Satellite 5 to find it has been transformed into a TV games station run by the mysterious Bad Wolf Corporation, in which the losers of each game appear to be vaporised.
However, it is revealed the station is really only being used to provide a signal beam to hide a Dalek
fleet and that the contestants are actually sent by transmat to the Dalek ships, where they can be transformed into Daleks. After the Doctor reveals the Daleks' presence, they invade the station and the planet below, massacring everyone who has not been evacuated. The final confrontation, where Rose destroys the Dalek fleet using the energy from the heart of the TARDIS, takes place there as well.
It is later referred to in Utopia
, when Jack confronts the Doctor about leaving him behind on Satellite 5.
in 200,100. At this point in time, Earth had five moon
s, was covered in mega-cities, and was the centre-point of the "Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire", spanning a million planets and a million species.
) was used for broadcasting reality television for the entertainment of the people of Earth in the year 200,100.
Some of the shows that were broadcast were The Weakest Link
, What Not to Wear and Big Brother
.
However, if a contestant lost or was evicted, the contestant would be immediately executed.
It was later revealed that the disintegrator beams used to kill the eliminated contestants were actually secondary teleportation beams, used to transport the human stock over to the Dalek
Fleet that was hiding at the edge of the Solar System, so they could become part of the growing Dalek
army.
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...
series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. In the series, it is first seen in the year 200,000 and is the main setting for the episode "The Long Game
The Long Game
"The Long Game" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on May 7, 2005. Along with new companion Adam, the TARDIS deposits the Doctor and Rose on Satellite 5, a space station that broadcasts across the entire human empire...
". It reappears six episodes later in the two-part series finale consisting of the episodes "Bad Wolf
Bad Wolf
"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
" and "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...
". These episodes are set 100 years later.
Satellite 5 is a long orbiting space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
which appears to have artificial gravity generated through centripetal force and inertia by rings rotating around it.
Satellite 5 and its reporters
The news station Satellite 5 is part of the fourth great and bountiful human empire, and has five-hundred floors. Some of the upper floors are entirely abandoned due to the Editor keeping the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe hidden. The people who work on Satellite 5 are marooned there forever, never allowed leave. To work for Satellite 5, the people must have a computer chip inserted into their head so they can interact with the computers of the system. The reporters who travel around for Satellite 5 have all of the information partly stored in their heads until it is time to process.To process information on Satellite 5, all the reporters place their hands onto a computer. Whilst one main reporter, whose head is opened up by a special chip, sits in the center, all the information is drained from the reporters into the head of the main reporter and processed into one central information storage unit. The reporters forget everything, since the data is not copied, but moved from their minds.
"The Long Game"
In "The Long GameThe Long Game
"The Long Game" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on May 7, 2005. Along with new companion Adam, the TARDIS deposits the Doctor and Rose on Satellite 5, a space station that broadcasts across the entire human empire...
" 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....
, 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...
and Adam arrive on Satellite 5 finding it as the largest human news station, with a complete archive of all available knowledge in history and mankind. However, secretly Satellite 5 is home to a creature called the Jagrafess, which is manipulating the empire.
"Bad Wolf" and "The Parting of the Ways"
In "Bad WolfBad Wolf
"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
" and "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...
" the Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack
Jack Harkness
Captain Jack Harkness is a fictional character played by John Barrowman in Doctor Who and its spin-off series, Torchwood. He first appeared in the 2005 Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" and reappeared in the remaining episodes of the 2005 series as a companion of the ninth incarnation of the...
arrive on Satellite 5 to find it has been transformed into a TV games station run by the mysterious Bad Wolf Corporation, in which the losers of each game appear to be vaporised.
However, it is revealed the station is really only being used to provide a signal beam to hide a Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
fleet and that the contestants are actually sent by transmat to the Dalek ships, where they can be transformed into Daleks. After the Doctor reveals the Daleks' presence, they invade the station and the planet below, massacring everyone who has not been evacuated. The final confrontation, where Rose destroys the Dalek fleet using the energy from the heart of the TARDIS, takes place there as well.
It is later referred to in Utopia
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
, when Jack confronts the Doctor about leaving him behind on Satellite 5.
Geography
The Game Station is situated above the planet EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in 200,100. At this point in time, Earth had five moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
s, was covered in mega-cities, and was the centre-point of the "Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire", spanning a million planets and a million species.
Usages
The Game Station (formerly Satellite 5Satellite 5
Satellite 5 is a major location in the 2005 series of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the series, it is first seen in the year 200,000 and is the main setting for the episode "The Long Game"...
) was used for broadcasting reality television for the entertainment of the people of Earth in the year 200,100.
Some of the shows that were broadcast were The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
, What Not to Wear and Big Brother
Big Brother (UK)
Big Brother UK is the British version of the Dutch Big Brother television format, which takes its name from the character in George Orwell's 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four...
.
However, if a contestant lost or was evicted, the contestant would be immediately executed.
It was later revealed that the disintegrator beams used to kill the eliminated contestants were actually secondary teleportation beams, used to transport the human stock over to the Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
Fleet that was hiding at the edge of the Solar System, so they could become part of the growing Dalek
Dalek
The Daleks are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Within the series, Daleks are cyborgs from the planet Skaro, created by the scientist Davros during the final years of a thousand-year war against the Thals...
army.