The Girl Who Waited
Encyclopedia
"The Girl Who Waited" is the tenth episode of the sixth series
of the British science fiction
television series Doctor Who
, and was first broadcast on BBC One
and BBC America
on 10 September 2011.
The Doctor, unable to leave the TARDIS due to the plague, gives Rory the lens, his sonic screwdriver, and a pair of glasses through which the Doctor can see and communicate with Rory. Rory explores the complex, and runs into a group of Handbots. The robots are quickly defeated by a much older and more bitter Amy, who is now a vigilante with the aid of Interface, but has otherwise been unable to escape. She is angry with the Doctor, telling him she has been waiting 36 years for rescue. She has been alone except for a reprogrammed Handbot called "Rory". The Doctor realises they have mistakenly latched onto the wrong time stream, and urges the older Amy to help find her younger self. She refuses, knowing that if the younger Amy is rescued, she will cease to exist. Though Rory considers saving the older Amy, the Doctor warns him that by taking her aboard the TARDIS, they will forgo any chance of rescuing the younger Amy. The Doctor discovers evidence of younger Amy nearby, and instructs Rory to use the lens to communicate with her, hoping that seeing the older, bitter Amy will convince the younger one to seek rescue. The older Amy remembers this discussion from when she was younger Amy and had failed to convince the older Amy to help. However, this time the younger Amy convinces the older Amy to change her mind by asking her to consider Rory. The older Amy agrees to help if the Doctor would take her too; the Doctor promises to do so despite the difficulty in completing the action since the TARDIS will be unable to handle the paradox of having two Amys from different timestreams aboard together.
The Doctor temporarily brings the two Amys into the same time stream by having them synchronise their thoughts whilst having Rory manipulate the time engines. Rory's glasses begin to malfunction due to feedback from the paradox, forcing the three of them to race through the complex amongst several Handbots to reach the TARDIS without the Doctor's assistance. As they near its location, the older Amy falls back to protect the other two, but the younger Amy runs into a Handbot and is sedated. As the older Amy covers his back, Rory takes the younger Amy into the TARDIS. Once they are inside the Doctor slams the door behind them and admits to Rory that it is impossible for both Amys to exist in the same timestream. Rory must now choose which Amy he wants. Rory and the older Amy have a tearful farewell at the TARDIS door before the older Amy tells him to move on without her. The older Amy then allows herself to be taken by the Handbots. Amy wakes up and asks "Where is she?", and the Doctor leaves Rory to explain to her.
".
Rory remarks to Amy that the glasses look better than a fez, the Doctor having insisted that a fez was "cool" in episode "The Big Bang
". Amy calls the Doctor "Raggedy Man". After meeting him as a child in "The Eleventh Hour
" she grows up referring him as the "Raggedy Doctor". In the episodes "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Big Bang" the Eleventh Doctor describes Amy as "the girl who waited". One of the facility's amusements is a recreation of an amusement-park ride on Clom, a planet first mentioned in "Love and Monsters".
episode "Love & Monsters
" because of the production schedule, it has become a tradition that continued with episodes such as "Blink
".
The original idea was to have an older actress play the older Amy, but Karen Gillan volunteered to play the older version of her character with the aid of prostheses. She also developed different body-language, vocal range and attitude for the new individual, whose character has changed after being left behind and in danger. To achieve this, Gillan studied with a voice coach and movement coach.
The original title to the episode was "The Visitors Room." This was then changed to "Visiting Hour" and then "Kindness." The episode, contrary to some reports, was never at any point titled "The Green Anchor."
on 10 September 2011 and on the same date in the United States on BBC America
. Overnight viewing figures showed that it was watched by six million viewers on BBC One, which was an improvement of 0.5 million from the previous episode
. The episode was also at the number one spot on BBC's iPlayer
, as reported the day after it aired. The episode later topped the iPlayer chart for September. Final consolidated ratings showed a time-shift increase of 1.6 million, bringing the total up to 7.6 million viewers, up 53,000 viewers on the previous episode, "Night Terrors".
said that it contained "the series' most tearjerking suckerpunch so far" and the "psychedelic premise [gave] the characters the chance to shine". He praised Karen Gillan's difference in performance as the old Amy and her improvement in performance since the previous series
. Martin later rated it the best episode of the series, calling it a "damn near perfect episode", though the finale
was not included in the list. Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph
gave the episode four out of five stars, praising MacRae's ability to overcome budget issues and deliver "quite a powerful and moving drama, with an ending that although inevitable still delivered a well of sadness". He thought the older Amy's "technical wizardry seemed a tad unlikely" (she manages to scrounge up a sonic screwdriver while waiting for the Doctor) but "the power of Gillan's performance skated over any minor quibbles".
In a review for The Independent
, Neela Debnath said that "critics of the constant tampering with time will not like this episode" but "it is a cracker in terms of time paradoxes and the hypothetical moral dilemmas caused by said paradoxes". She praised the character development of Rory and the dynamic between the trio that had not been seen previously in the show, as well as "some great moments of comedy". She also called it a "sumptuous visual delight" in the sets of the garden and the centre. Jack Pelling of Celluloid Heroes Radio was also positive about the episode, saying "MacRae’s emotionally charged screenplay and a pair of career performances made The Girl Who Waited the most enjoyable of the second half of the season, showing that you don’t necessarily need big special effects, or even The Doctor to pack the biggest punches."
IGN
's Matt Risley rated the episode 8.5 out of 10, praising MacRae for straying away from a complicated time travel narrative and instead give "a simple yet refreshingly new examination of Amy Pond". He also praised Karen Gillan's climatic performance and director Nick Hurran. However, he criticised the "talkiness" that ensured a slower pace and "iffy time travel rules". SFX magazine reviewer Nick Setchfield awarded "The Girl Who Waited" five out of five stars, praising Hurran as well as the performance of the three leads. Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times
praised MacRae's dialogue because "it works so beautifully and is delivered to perfection by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill". He also commented on Gillan's make-up job for the older Amy, which "is brilliant in its subtlety" but wished her hair could have been "chopped or grey".
Christopher Bahn of the A.V. Club was less positive about the episode, grading it as a B-. He praised the early scene where Amy was abandoned for the "zingy dialogue" but found himself "enjoying the cleverness of the explanation without really buying into it". He expressed confusion of how the time-shift worked and thought the problem was too thin to carry out the whole episode, and that Amy's abandonment and love for Rory which was left "[didn't] pull it off". He thought that the two Amys seen in the mini episodes "Space" and "Time"
were more fun to watch and the episode did not reveal anything new about Amy and Rory. However, he praised how the decision the Doctor had to make was portrayed.
Doctor Who (series 6)
The sixth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who was shown in two parts. The first seven episodes were broadcast from April to June 2011 and the final six episodes from August to October. Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill continued their roles as The Doctor, Amy...
of the British science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
television 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...
, and was first broadcast 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...
and BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
on 10 September 2011.
Synopsis
The Doctor takes Rory and Amy to the planet Apalapucia, claiming it is a top holiday destination, but is unaware that the planet is suffering from a fatal plague, Chen7, that affects beings with two hearts and can kill them within a day. The native population has created "kindness centres", where those infected by the plague are placed in one of several thousand accelerated time streams, allowing them to live out their lives whilst in communication with their loved ones through a large glass lens in the waiting room. On their arrival, Amy is separated from the Doctor and Rory, and becomes stuck in an accelerated time stream. As the Doctor and Rory discover Amy's location, they are approached by one of the facility's Handbots, a white faceless robot with human-like hands. The Handbot explains about the plague, and failing to recognise the Doctor or Rory as alien, attempts to administer a dose of medicine that would be fatal. The Doctor uses the glass lens to warn Amy of this, and tells her to wait for him in the kindness centre, promising to rescue her. The Doctor and Rory return to the TARDIS with the glass lens, which the Doctor uses to lock the time machine onto Amy's timestream. Meanwhile, Amy discovers Interface, providing vocal control over the complex's computer systems, and learns she can mask her presence from the Handbots using the emissions from the time engines driving the accelerated time streams.The Doctor, unable to leave the TARDIS due to the plague, gives Rory the lens, his sonic screwdriver, and a pair of glasses through which the Doctor can see and communicate with Rory. Rory explores the complex, and runs into a group of Handbots. The robots are quickly defeated by a much older and more bitter Amy, who is now a vigilante with the aid of Interface, but has otherwise been unable to escape. She is angry with the Doctor, telling him she has been waiting 36 years for rescue. She has been alone except for a reprogrammed Handbot called "Rory". The Doctor realises they have mistakenly latched onto the wrong time stream, and urges the older Amy to help find her younger self. She refuses, knowing that if the younger Amy is rescued, she will cease to exist. Though Rory considers saving the older Amy, the Doctor warns him that by taking her aboard the TARDIS, they will forgo any chance of rescuing the younger Amy. The Doctor discovers evidence of younger Amy nearby, and instructs Rory to use the lens to communicate with her, hoping that seeing the older, bitter Amy will convince the younger one to seek rescue. The older Amy remembers this discussion from when she was younger Amy and had failed to convince the older Amy to help. However, this time the younger Amy convinces the older Amy to change her mind by asking her to consider Rory. The older Amy agrees to help if the Doctor would take her too; the Doctor promises to do so despite the difficulty in completing the action since the TARDIS will be unable to handle the paradox of having two Amys from different timestreams aboard together.
The Doctor temporarily brings the two Amys into the same time stream by having them synchronise their thoughts whilst having Rory manipulate the time engines. Rory's glasses begin to malfunction due to feedback from the paradox, forcing the three of them to race through the complex amongst several Handbots to reach the TARDIS without the Doctor's assistance. As they near its location, the older Amy falls back to protect the other two, but the younger Amy runs into a Handbot and is sedated. As the older Amy covers his back, Rory takes the younger Amy into the TARDIS. Once they are inside the Doctor slams the door behind them and admits to Rory that it is impossible for both Amys to exist in the same timestream. Rory must now choose which Amy he wants. Rory and the older Amy have a tearful farewell at the TARDIS door before the older Amy tells him to move on without her. The older Amy then allows herself to be taken by the Handbots. Amy wakes up and asks "Where is she?", and the Doctor leaves Rory to explain to her.
Continuity
The Doctor mentions jettisoning TARDIS rooms (including a karaoke bar) for power, a technique also mentioned in Castrovalva and "The Doctor's WifeThe Doctor's Wife
The Doctor's Wife, known in Japanese as , is a noted novel by Sawako Ariyoshi written in 1966.The partly historical novel is based on the life of noted male physician Hanaoka Seishū. Though much is based on fact, many events were added for dramatic purposes. The novel follows the protagonist, here...
".
Rory remarks to Amy that the glasses look better than a fez, the Doctor having insisted that a fez was "cool" in episode "The Big Bang
The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the 13th and final episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It is the second part of a two-part season finale started with "The Pandorica Opens", at the end of which The Doctor is trapped, the TARDIS destroyed, and Amy Pond has been shot...
". Amy calls the Doctor "Raggedy Man". After meeting him as a child in "The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Hour (Doctor Who)
"The Eleventh Hour" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD on 3 April 2010....
" she grows up referring him as the "Raggedy Doctor". In the episodes "The Eleventh Hour" and "The Big Bang" the Eleventh Doctor describes Amy as "the girl who waited". One of the facility's amusements is a recreation of an amusement-park ride on Clom, a planet first mentioned in "Love and Monsters".
Production
"The Girl Who Waited" is designed as an episode in which the actor playing the Doctor is not required for much of the shooting - these have become known as "Doctor Lite" episodes. Established with the second seriesDoctor Who (series 2)
The second series of British science fiction series Doctor Who began on 25 December 2005 with the Christmas special "The Christmas Invasion". Following the special, a regular series of thirteen episodes was broadcast, starting with "New Earth" on 15 April 2006...
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...
" because of the production schedule, it has become a tradition that continued with episodes such as "Blink
Blink (Doctor Who)
"Blink" is the 10th episode of the third series of the new production of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 9 June 2007, and is the only episode in the 2007 series written by Steven Moffat; the episode is based on a previous short story written by...
".
The original idea was to have an older actress play the older Amy, but Karen Gillan volunteered to play the older version of her character with the aid of prostheses. She also developed different body-language, vocal range and attitude for the new individual, whose character has changed after being left behind and in danger. To achieve this, Gillan studied with a voice coach and movement coach.
The original title to the episode was "The Visitors Room." This was then changed to "Visiting Hour" and then "Kindness." The episode, contrary to some reports, was never at any point titled "The Green Anchor."
Broadcast and reception
"The Girl Who Waited" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC OneBBC 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...
on 10 September 2011 and on the same date in the United States on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
. Overnight viewing figures showed that it was watched by six million viewers on BBC One, which was an improvement of 0.5 million from the previous episode
Night Terrors (Doctor Who)
"Night Terrors" is the ninth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 3 September 2011.-Synopsis:...
. The episode was also at the number one spot on BBC's iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
, as reported the day after it aired. The episode later topped the iPlayer chart for September. Final consolidated ratings showed a time-shift increase of 1.6 million, bringing the total up to 7.6 million viewers, up 53,000 viewers on the previous episode, "Night Terrors".
Critical reception
The episode has received generally positive reviews from critics. Dan Martin of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said that it contained "the series' most tearjerking suckerpunch so far" and the "psychedelic premise [gave] the characters the chance to shine". He praised Karen Gillan's difference in performance as the old Amy and her improvement in performance since the previous series
Doctor Who (series 5)
The fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who began on 3 April 2010 with "The Eleventh Hour" and ended with "The Big Bang" on 26 June 2010. The series was led by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, who took over after the departure of Russell T Davies. The...
. Martin later rated it the best episode of the series, calling it a "damn near perfect episode", though the finale
The Wedding of River Song
"The Wedding of River Song" is the thirteenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC America and Space on 1 October 2011.-Plot:...
was not included in the list. Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave the episode four out of five stars, praising MacRae's ability to overcome budget issues and deliver "quite a powerful and moving drama, with an ending that although inevitable still delivered a well of sadness". He thought the older Amy's "technical wizardry seemed a tad unlikely" (she manages to scrounge up a sonic screwdriver while waiting for the Doctor) but "the power of Gillan's performance skated over any minor quibbles".
In a review for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Neela Debnath said that "critics of the constant tampering with time will not like this episode" but "it is a cracker in terms of time paradoxes and the hypothetical moral dilemmas caused by said paradoxes". She praised the character development of Rory and the dynamic between the trio that had not been seen previously in the show, as well as "some great moments of comedy". She also called it a "sumptuous visual delight" in the sets of the garden and the centre. Jack Pelling of Celluloid Heroes Radio was also positive about the episode, saying "MacRae’s emotionally charged screenplay and a pair of career performances made The Girl Who Waited the most enjoyable of the second half of the season, showing that you don’t necessarily need big special effects, or even The Doctor to pack the biggest punches."
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Matt Risley rated the episode 8.5 out of 10, praising MacRae for straying away from a complicated time travel narrative and instead give "a simple yet refreshingly new examination of Amy Pond". He also praised Karen Gillan's climatic performance and director Nick Hurran. However, he criticised the "talkiness" that ensured a slower pace and "iffy time travel rules". SFX magazine reviewer Nick Setchfield awarded "The Girl Who Waited" five out of five stars, praising Hurran as well as the performance of the three leads. Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times
Radio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
praised MacRae's dialogue because "it works so beautifully and is delivered to perfection by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill". He also commented on Gillan's make-up job for the older Amy, which "is brilliant in its subtlety" but wished her hair could have been "chopped or grey".
Christopher Bahn of the A.V. Club was less positive about the episode, grading it as a B-. He praised the early scene where Amy was abandoned for the "zingy dialogue" but found himself "enjoying the cleverness of the explanation without really buying into it". He expressed confusion of how the time-shift worked and thought the problem was too thin to carry out the whole episode, and that Amy's abandonment and love for Rory which was left "[didn't] pull it off". He thought that the two Amys seen in the mini episodes "Space" and "Time"
Space and Time (Doctor Who)
"Space" and "Time" are two mini-episodes of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They were broadcast on 18 March 2011 as part of BBC One's Red Nose Day telethon for the charity Comic Relief...
were more fun to watch and the episode did not reveal anything new about Amy and Rory. However, he praised how the decision the Doctor had to make was portrayed.