Tooth and Claw (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
"Tooth and Claw" is the second episode in the second series
Doctor 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...

 of the British
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 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 22 April 2006. In 1879 Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the Doctor and Rose meet 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....

. However, a group of warrior monks have sinister plans for the monarch, and the full moon is about to summon a creature out of legend.

Plot

The 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....

 attempts to take 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...

 to Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 in 1979 to see Ian Dury
Ian Dury
Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...

 in concert, but ends up in the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 moors in 1879. They encounter a carriage carrying 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....

, who has been forced to travel by roads to Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...

 as a fallen tree has blocked the train line to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, feared to be a potential assassination attempt. The Doctor poses as Dr. James McCrimmon using his psychic paper, and the Queen invites him and Rose to join her as they travel to the Torchwood Estate, a favourite of her late consort Prince Albert, to spend the night. The royal party is unaware that the Torchwood Estate has been captured by a group of monks from a monastery in St. Catherine's Glen led by Father Angelo, forcing its owner, Sir Robert MacLeish, to play into their ruse as they take the place of the house's servants and guards. The monks, having arranged for the fallen tree to force the Queen to the estate, have brought a man infected with a form of lycanthropy
Lycanthropy
Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...

, hoping to pass its nature to the Queen and create a new "Empire of the Wolf".

The Doctor soon realizes the trap they have fallen into, and helps to save Rose, the Queen, and Sir Robert from Father Angelo's men and the werewolf by taking shelter in the estate's library, its wood coated with oil of mistletoe
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.-Mistletoe in the genus Viscum:...

 wood to stave off the beast. They study the library and discover evidence collected by Sir Robert's father, a polymath
Polymath
A polymath is a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable...

, and Prince Albert that indicate the werewolf is really the current form of an alien species that fell to earth in 1540 near the monastery, surviving by passing its lycanthropic form from human to human. The Doctor also realizes that the estate was designed as a trap for the werewolf, as by use of its strange telescope along with the Queen's Koh-i-Noor
Koh-i-Noor
The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...

 diamond, its cut fashioned by Prince Albert, they can force the werewolf to revert to human form and destroy the alien lifeform.

Sir Robert sacrifices himself to allow the Doctor, Rose, and the Queen to prepare the telescope in the Observatory. They are able to trap the werewolf in the concentrated light of the full moon collected by the diamond. The transformed human being begs for the Doctor to kill him by increasing the power of the light concentration, which he obliges. As they recover, the Queen finds a small cut she believes came from a wood splinter, but the Doctor remarks to Rose that all her children will carry a form of haemophilia
Haemophilia
Haemophilia is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A is the most common form of the disorder, present in about 1 in 5,000–10,000 male births...

, and that perhaps this was simply a Victorian euphemism for lycanthropy. The next day, the Queen dubs the Doctor and Rose with royal titles before banishing them from the British Empire
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

. The Queen is appalled and outraged by the unholy sort of lifestyle the Doctor and Rose share. In honor of Sir Robert's sacrifice and his father's ingenuity, she orders the creation of the Torchwood Institute
Torchwood 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...

 to help defend Britain from further alien attacks.

Cast notes

  • Pauline Collins
    Pauline Collins
    Pauline Collins, OBE is an English actress of the stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah during the 1970s. She later drew acclaim for playing the title role in the play Shirley Valentine for which...

     appeared previously in the series as Samantha Briggs in the Second Doctor serial The Faceless Ones
    The Faceless Ones
    The Faceless Ones is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from April 8 to May 13, 1967. The story concerns a race of identity-stealing aliens known as the Chameleons...

    (1967). This makes her the third actor from the classic series to appear in the new series, following William Thomas
    William Thomas (actor)
    William Thomas is a Welsh actor, who has appeared in many TV episodes and films. He made his first appearance on TV in 1974, and his work, as an actor, is still ongoing...

     (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....

    and "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...

    ") and Nisha Nayar
    Nisha Nayar
    Nisha K. Nayar is a British actress, perhaps best known for her recurring role as Elaine 'The Pain' Boyak in The Story of Tracy Beaker.- Filmography :- External links :...

     (Paradise Towers
    Paradise Towers
    Paradise Towers 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 1987.-Plot:...

    and "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...

    "/"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...

    "). Collins had been offered a role as a companion in 1967, but had turned this down.
  • When Sir Robert offers to precede the Queen out of the window, she calls him "my Sir Walter Raleigh". Actor Derek Riddell
    Derek Riddell
    Derek Riddell is a Scottish television actor.He was born in Glasgow, the son of actress Hope Ross and former St Mirren footballer Ian Riddell...

     had played Raleigh in the BBC drama The Virgin Queen
    The Virgin Queen (TV show)
    The Virgin Queen is a 2005 BBC and Power co-production, four-part miniseries based upon the life of Queen Elizabeth I, starring Anne-Marie Duff...

    , screened earlier in the year. The script originally had Victoria refer to Sir Francis Drake, until Riddell pointed out that this would have been incorrect for the reference the Queen was making.
  • According to the accompanying episode commentary, actor Tom Smith, who played the Host, studied at drama school with David Tennant.
  • Derek Riddell
    Derek Riddell
    Derek Riddell is a Scottish television actor.He was born in Glasgow, the son of actress Hope Ross and former St Mirren footballer Ian Riddell...

     and Billie Piper
    Billie Piper
    Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...

     also appeared together in the adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing
    Much Ado About Nothing
    Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy written by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero....

    for the BBC's ShakespeaRe-Told
    ShakespeaRe-Told
    ShakespeaRe-Told is the umbrella title for a series of four television adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays broadcast on BBC One during November 2005. In a similar manner to the 2003 production of The Canterbury Tales, each play is adapted by a different writer, and relocated to the present day...

    series.
  • Ron Donachie and Jamie Sives
    Jamie Sives
    -Filmography:-External links:...

     would go on to star together as Roderick and Jory Cassel in Game of Thrones
    Game of Thrones (TV series)
    Game of Thrones is an American medieval fantasy television series created for HBO by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. Based on author George R. R. Martin's best-selling A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels, the first of which is called A Game of Thrones, the television series debuted in...

    .

Continuity

  • This episode starts a running joke of the Tenth Doctor saying "No, no, don't do that" whenever a companion attempts (usually badly) to put on an accent appropriate to their time/location. He would say it again to 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...

     in "The Shakespeare Code
    The Shakespeare Code
    "The Shakespeare Code" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 7 April 2007, and is the second episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series. According to the BARB figures this episode was seen by 7.23 million viewers and was...

    " and "The Infinite Quest
    The Infinite Quest
    The Infinite Quest is an animated serial based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was made by BBC Television, but does not share the same producers as the live-action series. It was aired in twelve weekly parts starting 2 April 2007 as a segment of the children's...

    " and to Donna Noble
    Donna Noble
    Donna Noble is a fictional character played by Catherine Tate in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A secretary from Chiswick, London, she is a companion of the Tenth Doctor, appearing in one scene at the end of the final episode of the 2006 series,...

     in "The Unicorn and the Wasp
    The Unicorn and the Wasp
    "The Unicorn and the Wasp" is the 7th episode in the revised fourth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was aired by BBC One on 17 May 2008 at 19:00. Perhaps due to its later broadcast, it received an overnight audience rating of 7.7 million, making it the...

    " and "Midnight
    Midnight (Doctor Who)
    "Midnight" is the tenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 14 June 2008. The episode placed much more emphasis on the role of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor than in the rest of the fourth series, with the...

    ".
  • In the Third Doctor
    Third Doctor
    The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....

     story The Curse of Peladon
    The Curse of Peladon
    The Curse of Peladon is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 29 January to 19 February 1972.-Synopsis:...

    (1972), the Doctor mentioned having been in attendance at Queen Victoria's coronation. The Fifth Doctor
    Fifth Doctor
    The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

     meets Victoria (and is appointed her Scientific Advisor) in 1863 in the Past Doctor Adventures
    Past Doctor Adventures
    The Past Doctor Adventures were a series of spin-off novels based on the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who and published under the BBC Books imprint. For most of their existence, they were published side-by-side with the Eighth Doctor Adventures...

     novel Empire of Death
    Empire of Death
    Empire of Death is a BBC Books original novel written by David Bishop and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa.-Synopsis:...

    and she is also involved in the events of the novel Imperial Moon
    Imperial Moon
    Imperial Moon is a BBC Books original novel written by Christopher Bulis and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Fifth Doctor, Turlough and Kamelion.-External links:*...

    , taking place in 1878, where the Doctor's companion Kamelion
    Kamelion
    Kamelion is a fictional character from the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A shape-changing android voiced by Gerald Flood in its default form, it is a companion of the Fifth Doctor and appears in the television series in two serials between 1983 and...

     poses as Prince Albert to convince her to keep the events of the novel secret. The canonicity of the novels, like all non-televised stories, is unclear.
  • This episode bears some similarities to the Fourth Doctor
    Fourth Doctor
    The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....

     serial Horror of Fang Rock
    Horror of Fang Rock
    Horror of Fang Rock is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 3 September to 24 September 1977.-Synopsis:...

    (1977). In the earlier story, the Doctor also uses a diamond to refract light, creating an "amplified carbon beam oscillator" that brings down the Rutan
    Rutan Host
    Rutans are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. They have been at war with the Sontaran Empire for more than 50,000 years, and this war dominates both cultures to the exclusion of all else...

     mothership. Both stories are also set in remote, enclosed locations, in or around the Victorian era
    Victorian era
    The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

    , involve shape-changing aliens and a feral girl
    Leela (Doctor Who)
    Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...

    .
  • A werewolf also appeared in the Seventh Doctor
    Seventh Doctor
    The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....

     serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
    The Greatest Show in the Galaxy
    The Greatest Show in the Galaxy is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 14 December 1988 to 4 January 1989.-Plot:...

    (1988), while silver bullet
    Silver bullet
    In folklore, the silver bullet is supposed to be the only kind of bullet for firearms that is effective against a werewolf, witch, or other monsters...

    s were mentioned in Battlefield
    Battlefield (Doctor Who)
    Battlefield is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from September 6 to September 27, 1989. It was the last appearance of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart in Doctor Who....

    (1989). Werewolves feature in the Past Doctor Adventures novel Wolfsbane
    Wolfsbane (Doctor Who)
    Wolfsbane is a BBC Books original novel written by Jacqueline Rayner and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

    , the Eighth Doctor Adventures novel Kursaal
    Kursaal
    Kursaal is an original novel written by Peter Anghelides and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

    and 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 Loups-Garoux
    Loups-Garoux
    Loups-Garoux is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Plot:...

    . A race of werewolves, the Wereloks, turn the Fourth Doctor
    Fourth Doctor
    The Fourth Doctor is the fourth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC British television science-fiction series Doctor Who....

     into a werewolf in the Doctor Who Weekly
    Doctor Who Magazine
    Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...

    comic strip story Doctor Who and the Dogs of Doom (DWW #27-#34), although he manages to devise a cure for his condition in the TARDIS.
  • Rose is wearing a T-shirt with a crown on it, a reference by the costume designer to Queen Victoria's presence in the episode, but also in keeping with Rose's expected visit to a 1979 Ian Dury
    Ian Dury
    Ian Robins Dury was an English rock and roll singer, lyricist, bandleader and actor who initially rose to fame during the late 1970s, during the punk and New Wave era of rock music...

     concert. In the episode "Attack of the Graske
    Attack of the Graske
    "Attack of the Graske" is an interactive mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who that was first broadcast on the BBC Red Button service on 25 December 2005. It is now available as an online game on the official Doctor Who website.-Synopsis:The human race is in...

    ", he took Rose to an ABBA
    ABBA
    ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...

     concert in 1979 Wembley
    Wembley
    Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...

    , and quoted the Status Quo song "Down Down" at one point in the same episode.
  • The Doctor mentions assisting the early re-entry of Skylab
    Skylab
    Skylab was a space station launched and operated by NASA, the space agency of the United States. Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, and included a workshop, a solar observatory, and other systems. It was launched unmanned by a modified Saturn V rocket, with a mass of...

     in 1979, although the circumstances are not elaborated on. He does, however, state that it nearly cost him a thumb.
  • The Doctor introduces himself as "James McCrimmon". Jamie McCrimmon
    Jamie McCrimmon
    James Robert "Jamie" McCrimmon is a fictional character played by Frazer Hines in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. A piper of the Clan McLaren who lived in 18th century Scotland, he was a companion of the Second Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1966...

     was a young Scottish
    Scottish people
    The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

     piper from the 18th Century (1746 to be precise), and a companion of 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....

    . The Doctor's use of Jamie's name as an alias has a certain symmetry, as Jamie was the one who gave the Doctor his most often-used alias, "John Smith", in The Wheel in Space
    The Wheel in Space
    The Wheel in Space is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which originally aired in six weekly parts from 27 April to 1 June 1968...

    .
  • When Rose first encounters the wolf in its human form it says it can see "something of the wolf" in her and that she has "burnt like the Sun", a reference to the 2005 series episode "The Parting of the Ways".
  • The Doctor gives an explanation of lycanthropy
    Lycanthropy
    Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. The term comes from Greek Lykànthropos : λύκος, lykos + άνθρωπος, ànthrōpos...

     in this episode. He says, "Well, you'd call it a werewolf, but it's actually a lupine wavelength haemovariform."
  • Although Victoria shoots at him, we do not see Father Angelo's body, nor do we see what happened to the monks after the werewolf was dispelled.
  • At the very end of this episode, Queen Victoria founded the Torchwood Institute
    Torchwood 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...

    , taking the name from the estate, with a remit to investigate paranormal events such as the werewolf in this episode.
  • "Tooth and Claw" was also the name of an unrelated Eighth Doctor
    Eighth Doctor
    The Eighth Doctor is the eighth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by Paul McGann...

     comic strip story involving vampires on an island in the Indian Ocean
    Indian Ocean
    The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

    . It was published 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...

    #257-#260, written by Alan Barnes
    Alan Barnes (writer)
    Alan Barnes is a British writer and editor, particularly noted for work in the field of cult film and television.-Biography:Barnes served as the editor of Judge Dredd Megazine from 2001 until December 2005, during which time the title saw a considerable increase in the number of new strip pages. ...

     and drawn by Martin Geraghty and Robin Smith.
  • This is the second time the Doctor has been knighted, but the first time he was officially knighted; the Fifth Doctor
    Fifth Doctor
    The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

     was knighted by his future companion Kamelion – then posing as King John I while under the control of the Master
    Master (Doctor Who)
    The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....

     – in The King's Demons
    The King's Demons
    The King's Demons is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two parts on March 15 and March 16, 1983...

    .
  • In the 21st century, Torchwood House becomes a museum and wedding venue.

Production

  • David Tennant is actually from Scotland. Thus, the accent the Doctor puts on at points in this episode is actually Tennant's real Scottish accent
    Scottish English
    Scottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not be considered distinct from the Scots language. It is always considered distinct from Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic language....

    , and it slips to his in-character accent.
  • Michelle Duncan and Jamie Sives were unable to attend the readthrough for this story, and their parts were read by David Tennant's parents, who happened to be visiting the Doctor Who set. Tennant told reporters at the series' press launch, "Because it's set in Scotland they were delighted to be asked to read in. My Mum played Lady Isobel and my Dad played Captain Reynolds and they were in seventh heaven. And they were genuinely cheesed off when they didn't get asked to play the parts for real! I was like 'chill-out Mum and Dad, back in your box!'"
  • At one point during filming, Billie Piper's hair caught fire.
  • Interviewed in Doctor Who Confidential
    Doctor Who Confidential
    Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly...

    , director Euros Lyn said that various martial arts films were viewed in researching the opening fight sequence, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a 2000 wuxia film. An American-Chinese-Hong Kong-Taiwanese co-production, the film was directed by Ang Lee and featured an international cast of ethnic Chinese actors, including Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, and Chang Chen...

    .
  • Treowen House in Dingestow, Wales was one of the sites for filming this episode, representing Torchwood House in the Scottish Highlands.
  • Exterior shots were filmed at Craig-y-Nos Castle
    Craig-y-Nos Castle
    Craig-y-Nos Castle , is a Victorian-Gothic country house in Britain. Built on parkland beside the River Tawe in the upper Swansea Valley, it is located on the southern edge of Fforest Fawr in Powys. The former estate of opera singer Adelina Patti, part of the complex is now used as a boutique...

    , Swansea Valley
    Swansea Valley
    The Swansea Valley , one of the South Wales Valleys is the name often given to the valley of the River Tawe area in South Wales, UK. It reaches southwest and south from the Brecon Beacons National Park down to the city of Swansea. Today, administration of the area is divided between the City and...

    .
  • The monk fight scene was filmed at a courtyard in Dyffryn Gardens, St Nicholas.
  • The werewolf in this story is computer-generated
    Computer-generated imagery
    Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

    . Pauline Collins stated in a BBC press release that there were two performance artists who demonstrated the movements that the werewolf would do and talked about the problems of overacting in a situation where one was simply reacting to a green screen.
  • A deleted scene was included on the boxset DVD, where the Doctor and Rose, after being knighted, run off towards the TARDIS.

Outside references

  • The title is an allusion to a merciless "Nature, red in tooth and claw" from Lord Tennyson's 1850 poem In Memoriam A.H.H.
    In Memoriam A.H.H.
    In Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage in Vienna in 1833...

    The poem was a favourite of Queen Victoria's, who found it a comfort after Prince Albert's death in 1861.
  • The Doctor alludes to the Scottish ballad Walter Lesly
    Walter Lesly
    -Synopsis:Walter Lesly asks a lady to come to Conland. Then his kinsmen, led by Geordy Lesly, carry her off. A wedding feast is ready, and they are put in bed together. When he is asleep, she gets up, dresses, and runs off, swearing to deal no more with him....

     ("I've been chasin' this- this wee naked child over hill and over dale,") and Robert Burns's poem To a Mouse
    To a Mouse
    "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1785, and was included in the Kilmarnock volume...

    ("Isn't that right, ye tim'rous beastie?") while trying to explain his and Rose's sudden appearance and their unusual dress to the soldiers at the beginning of the episode.
  • The Doctor notes that the Queen, by 1879, has had six attempts on her life. Of the known assassination attempts, one took place in 1840, three in 1842, one in 1849 and one in 1850. Subsequent to 1879, two more attempts were made in 1882 and 1887. In the Seventh Doctor
    Seventh Doctor
    The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....

     serial Ghost Light
    Ghost Light (Doctor Who)
    -Pre-production:Working titles for this story included The Bestiary and Life-Cycle. As revealed in the production notes for the DVD release, the story was renamed Das Haus der tausend Schrecken upon translation into German.The story evolved out of an earlier, rejected script entitled Lungbarrow...

    , the Doctor thwarts an attempt in 1883 by an alien force to kill the Queen and thereby take over the British Empire
    British Empire
    The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

    .
  • The Doctor claims he is from the township of Balamory. Balamory
    Balamory
    Balamory was a live action television series on British television for pre-school children, based around the fictional small island community of Balamory in Scotland. It was produced between 2002 and 2005 by BBC Scotland, with 254 episodes made...

    was a popular live-action children's television programme broadcast between 2002 and 2005 and set on the Isle of Mull.
  • The Doctor also claims to have trained at the University of Edinburgh
    University of Edinburgh
    The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

     under "Dr Bell", a reference to Joseph Bell
    Joseph Bell
    Joseph Bell, JP, DL, FRCS was a famous Scottish lecturer at the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in the 19th century. He is perhaps best known as an inspiration for the literary character Sherlock Holmes....

    , the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes
    Sherlock Holmes
    Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...

    . In The Moonbase
    The Moonbase
    The Moonbase is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in four weekly parts from 11 February to 4 March 1967...

    (1967), the Second Doctor claimed to have studied under another Scottish doctor, Joseph Lister
    Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
    Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...

    , in 1888.
  • One of the traditional uses of mistletoe is indeed as a ward against werewolves, although the plant is "almost unknown" in Scotland. In the commentary for the episode, script editor
    Script editor
    A script editor is a member of the production team of scripted television programmes, usually dramas and comedies. The script editor has many responsibilities including finding new script writers, developing storyline and series ideas with writers, ensuring that scripts are suitable for production...

     Simon Winstone notes that mistletoe was also used as an anticonvulsant, which tracks with the fits the Host suffers as he transforms.
  • Also noted in the commentary was Prince Albert's overseeing of the cutting of the Koh-i-Noor
    Koh-i-Noor
    The Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...

     and his dissatisfaction with the results, although Winstone suggests it was more due to the fact that the stone was cut down so much. Although Queen Victoria mentions that the Koh-i-Noor brings death to those who own it, the curse is supposed to only affect men; the stone is reputed to bring good luck to female owners. The Koh-i-Noor is currently set into the crown of Elizabeth
    Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
    Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...

    , the late Queen Mother
    Queen mother
    Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...

    .
  • Rose, in a running gag
    Running gag
    A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

     tries time and again to trick the queen to utter the famous phrase "We are not amused", and makes a triumphant gesture when she finally succeeds (History tells Queen Victoria actually never said this, but urban legend
    Urban legend
    An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...

     does).

Broadcast and releases

  • Overnight ratings for the episode peaked at 10.03 million (during one five minute segment). The audience Appreciation Index
    Appreciation Index
    The Audience Appreciation Index is a score out of 100 which is used as an indicator of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by BARB, the organisation that compiles television...

     was 83. The episode received an average of 9.24 million viewers, taking the timeshift into account.
  • The Defending the Earth! site update for this episode features another "live" message from 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...

     to the viewer. Mickey mentions how he was tracking satellites on the Torchwood website but was kicked out. He then re-directs the viewer to the Torchwood House site, telling them to access the telescope feed by using the password "Victoria" and help him search for the satellites.
  • This episode was released on 5 June 2006 as a basic DVD
    DVD
    A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

     with no special features, together with "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 Girl in the Fireplace
    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...

    ", and as part of a second series boxset on 20 November 2006. This release included an audio commentary
    Audio commentary
    On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...

     by writer Russell T Davies, visual effects
    Visual effects
    Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...

    supervisor David Houghton and supervising art director Stephen Nicholas.

Footnotes

A father's account of bringing his young son to the set of "Tooth and Claw". Actor Derek Riddell discusses the filming of "Tooth and Claw".

External links

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