Q&A: Series 6 Episodes 1 & 2
A spoiler-lite Q&A on the first two episodes of Series 6 – The Impossible Astronaut & Day of The Moon, by Tom Colman. Thanks to the Doctor Who TV community for their questions.
River Song
Q. When the Doctor meets River, is she handcuffed?
A. She is not.
Q. Is River trapped in the Storm Cage when we first see her in the episode?
A. Yes. River is in Storm Cage.
Q. There was a review that said the Doctor first meets River when she is young. Is that something we see, something River tells us, or an assumption made by the reviewer that could be wrong?
A. River talks about how they are meeting in the wrong order – though there is no meeting of her young. I guess given the fact they meet out of order, River is always younger as the Doctor meets her…
Q. How much of River do we see?
A. A lot.
Q. Does River reveal any more about who she is?
A. A little, not much.
Q. What is your theory on who River is? Has it changed after watching the first two episodes?
A. I think it’s his wife – that’s been my theory since the 10th Doctor met her and it has never changed.
Q. Do we get a hint at who River actually is?
A. Her kissing the Doctor might fuel some rumours to who she is, but that is it.
Q. In your opinion, will this raise even more questions as to who River Song is, or cement her place in people’s crazy minds and theories?
A. I think that will depend entirely on what theories you have on who she is – for me I always had one and for me it didn’t change at all thanks to the episode.
Q. Is River a goodie or a baddie?
A. It is not answered, but the question of being able to trust her is brought up again.
Q. Do we find out more about River’s personal life in this episode? And is there any mention of why they keep meeting in the wrong order?
A. We know why they meet in the wrong order – they are time travellers. As to a bit more into River – let’s just say we learn what she is frightened of and something really upsets her in episode 2!
Q. Is River’s fear related to her relationship with the Doctor, or is it something she feels threatened by?
A. It is do with her relationship to the Doctor.
Q When does the Doctor kiss River?
A. It is some time in Episode 2
Q. Is the kiss between River and the Doctor in the BBC trailer the same one that takes place in the opening episodes?
A. It sure is!
Q. The shot we see in the trailer of River spinning around and shooting the Silence behind her, is that in either of the episodes?
A. Yes, It is in the episode.
The Death
Q. Does Amy kill the person who dies in the first ten minutes or not?
A. She does not.
Q. As we know that someone is going to die in the first ten minutes, are going to see it coming? I mean will the audience go “Oh it is happening! He/she is the one that is going to die!” Or is it really that sudden that we will have no time to think about it?
A. Well that’s hard to say – you all know a death is coming, so I think you are going to suspect everything that goes on – to be honest though, I think you’ll know.
Q. Does the death have blood?
A. I don’t think it does have blood.
Q. Is it realistic? Believable?
A. Yes I think so.
Q. Is the death like, ‘Hello! BANG! Goodbye!’ ?
A. Hard to say…
Q. How sudden is the death of a main character?
A. Very sudden!
Q. Is the person alone, with one of the others, two of the others – or ALL of the others?
A. They are with four other people…
Q. If someone dies in the first 10 minutes, and the cliffhanger of episode 1 is where Amy shoots someone, does that mean that’s there’s two deaths?
A. That would be the cliffhanger of episode 1!
The Silence
Q. Is it “The Silence” or “Silents”?
A. The Silence.
Q. What planet does the Silence come from?
A. I do not know…
Q. How many are there?
A. I just do not know.
Q. Are there any other monsters but them in the episodes?
A. No.
Q. Do the Silence speak? And if so is it the same voice in the TARDIS from the end of Series 5?
A. Well, they need to introduce themselves… No confirmation of the voice I am afraid.
Q. Does the Silence have the same voice as the voice we heard in the trailer (the ‘FEAR ME!” voice?)
A. I don’t think so – we don’t even know who that is yet.
Q. Do you hear that creepy voice that says, “Silence will fall”!
A. That I think is still open – but I’m fairly sure others will say otherwise.
Q. Is there any relevance in the Silence wearing suits? Or are they just snappy dressers?
A. No, but once you find out what they are about, what they do etc. – you’ll probably have your own idea to why they dress like that.
Q. Do we find out why specifically Amy and the little girl are targeted by the Silence, or does that remain a mystery?
A. Something cryptic is said to Amy but that’s about it.
Q. Are the Silence the same things as the pale faces in the suits on the trailer?
A. Yes they are.
Q. Which is scarier – the idea or the look of the Silence?
A. The idea.
Q. On a scale of one to ten; how scary are the Silence?
A. For me they are a 10 – just due to how they work – I wont go into more.
Q. Can you tell me what they do please?
A. I’m afraid I can’t – but knowing you forget about them after you stop looking should give you an idea about what they can do.
Q. Do we see the Silence in the first episode, the second or both?
A. We see them in both.
Q. Do the Silence have perception filters on them?
A. I wouldn’t describe it as a perception filter at all.
Q. Does this idea about the Silence mean that they might have been in the last series and we’ve just all forgotten, or is the focus all on the current series and what’s to come?
A. That’s hard to say and venturing into guesswork I am afraid – it wasn’t answered in the episode.
Q. So is their ‘forget’ ability their only defence against not being seen?
A. They have no defence against not being seen! Nothing stops you from seeing them.
Q. Are the Silences holding their necks for any particular reason?
A. They are, but I believe that scene in the trailer is misleading – that’s all I’ll say on the matter.
Q. Does Silence really fall?
A. It depends on how you are defining the word fall.
Q. The tally marks we’ve been told that they self inflicted. Do the characters draw a mark on themselves every time they see the Silence to attempt to remind them that they exist?
A. Your question is hard to answer without spoiling, though I’ll say this – they have a better way of reminding themselves that the Silence exists…
Q. Are the Silence really Cybermen?
A. They are not, I repeat not Cybermen. Well, according to these episodes anyway.
The Astronaut
Q. Are the astronauts and the Silence connected? I mean do they have anything to do with each other?
A. It’s hard to say…
Q. Is the astronaut anywhere as near as scary as the Silence?
A. It depends. Some might find it scary.
Q. How much is the astronaut used compared to the Silence?
A. They are about the same I’d say.
Q. Do we know who the astronaut is or is it somebody new?
A. It is somebody new.
Secrets
Q. Karen said in an interview that everyone on the TARDIS is keeping secrets from each other. Does that mean that, say, Amy is keeping something from the Doctor and Rory, Rory is keeping something from the Doctor and Amy, and the Doctor is keeping something from them both?
A. It’s not quite that perfect but yes, they all know something each other doesn’t and in some cases a group of people know something another doesn’t.
Q. Does Rory know what Amy’s big secret is?
A. He finds out something about the secret. I guess whether or not you see him as knowing it would depend on your point of view.
Q. The secret of Amy’s that Rory knows about, is it her big personal secret or is it another one? And does Amy know that Rory knows her secret?
A. Hmm, It’s hard to answer this without spoiling it. But I will confirm Rory knows a secret of Amy’s.
Q. Is Amy’s secret actually LIFE changing?
I’d say so, yeah.
Q. Is Rory’s secret a life-changing secret?
All secrets are life changing!
Q. Does her secret have anything to do with River Song…. or just her own personal problem that she is keeping from the Doctor?
A. Her own thing.
Q. Is the Doctor suspicious of Amy’s secret or is he completely clueless to the fact that she is hiding something?
A. He is not clueless to it being there, but know knows there is something.
Other
Q. Does the 9th/10th Doctors TARDIS appear?
A. It doesn’t.
Q. Is the whole story told in a linear timeframe/in order – or are things out of sequence, time-wise?
A. I’d say it is quite linear to be honest…
Q. Does Moffat set up some unanswered questions for the series?
A. He certainly does.
Q. Is Dorium from the CBBC trailer in the first two?
A. He is not.
Q. Does watching the first two episodes make you want to go and watch certain Series 5 episodes to have an “Oh, I didn’t see that before” moment? And if so, which episodes?
A. Nope, I can’t say it does – I don’t think there is anything from 5 that could tell you what happens in this.
Q. How dark are the first two episodes?
A. Very!
Q. On another site, they’re saying that when we first see the Doctor he’s sans clothing? Is that true? And I wonder why. Although you can’t tell I know… I take it it isn’t a hand regeneration metacrisis thing like with David Tennant!
A. Oh yeah, that’s nothing – he’s naked…
Q. Are there any memorable jokes in the episodes that you could tell us? I heard there was a visual gag about the TARDIS swimming pool, although you don’t have to tell us about that.
A. In my opinion the best joke is when the Doctor introduces the three companions to Nixon – the code names he gives them are fantastic.
Q. So could you tell us about that visual gag with the TARDIS swimming pool?
A. I’m afraid not – I didn’t find it that funny to be honest, but there was plenty of laughs in the theatre.
Q. Do we get to see any other parts of the TARDIS?
A. We do not see any more of the TARDIS.
Q. Do the Cavaliers from the ‘Coming Soon’ trailer appear?
A. Yes, at the beginning of episode 1.
Q. How do the Cavaliers appear?
A. Exactly like they do in the trailer.
Q. Do Nazis appear?
A. No.
Q. What do we see in the trailer at the end of episode 2?
A. I can’t answer that as I do not know what trailer you will get.
Q. Which of the two episodes in your opinion is better?
A. I cannot answer that as I saw them as one episode.
Q. Does the Fez make a guest appearance?
A. It does not.
Q. River says “Picnic on Asgard” and you say there is a picnic in the episodes. If that’s true and it’s the same picnic, then we know that River and the Doctor didn’t die in the opener. It would be Rory or Amy, right?
A. The picnic is not the same – at least I don’t think it is, it happens at Utah, not on a place called Asgard. I’m sorry to say – and this is by far not confirmation – River can die. As mentioned a lot in the last series and once in this episode “Time can be rewritten/”
Q. Have there been any changes to the title sequence since A Christmas Carol? Music? Names added/ removed?
A. No major change. It’s still the same style and same music – Arthur Darvill’s name is still present.
Q. How long are the episodes?
A. About 45 minutes each.
Q. Is there any reference to The Pandorica Opens or The Big Bang?
A. There is a reference to The Big Bang.
Q. Did you notice any hints for later episodes, like in Series 5 when they had cracks, or Series 4 when they had pictures of Rose and a wolf on the wall.
A. It’s hard to say without knowing what to look for – i.e. what features appear again in later episodes – however I believe the cliffhangers are going to be built on.
Q. Amy and Rory weren’t expecting to run into the Doctor out in the desert, were they?
A. I think they were 50/50.
Q. Was there any reference to the Clerics from, The Time Of Angels, in the opening two-parter? – or even an appearance?
A. No reference at all – however that hasn’t happened for River yet (I don’t think.)
Q. The envelopes contain dates and places: how many are visited?
A. The envelopes all contain one date on time and one grid reference.
Q. By that, do you mean they all contain those 3 things, or does one contain the reference, one the time, and one the date?
A. No, they all contain the same thing.
Q. So they all have the same details, and that’s where all the characters that received them meet up?
A. Yes, that is correct.
Q. Do we find out who sent them?
A. We do find out who sent them – or at least we think we do.
Q. I heard something about a scene that’s meant to be really scary in the White House toilets, can you please tell me what that’s about?
A. I can tell you a little – it’s where we see the monster for the first time and learn what it’s capable of.
Q, Do the lyrics to Abigail’s Song in A Christmas Carol foreshadow anything about the opening two episodes?
A. I cannot remember the lyrics exactly…but I’m going to say no.
Q. What was your opinion on Arthur’s performance? How did Rory hold up – any meaty moments?
A. It wasn’t a bad performance to be honest – no moment’s strike at out me though.
Q. Is it a really good episode or slightly disappointing? Is it scary?
A. It’s really good – it depends on your age – Moffat said at the event he has wrote it to scare children.
Q. There’s been talk in other reviews of a mysterious photo frame. Could you perhaps give us a clue as to who is belongs to, or what type of photo it contains?
A. I wouldn’t say a mysterious photo frame – more like a mysterious photo – I cannot say who it’s of though.
Q. Do any of the characters see the photo in the picture frame, or is it only something the audience sees? And does the picture belong to the little girl?
A. One character does see it and is shocked by it.
Q. Do we get to see the picture? Or is it kept hidden from us?
A. We get to see the picture.
Q. At the end of Day of the Moon, do the TARDIS trio end up being strapped into a wibbly machine and are flung forwards through time and backwards too?
A. Not really.
Q. What is the Doctor’s sitting on when he’s wearing his stetson?
A. A pick up truck I think.
Q. Will the cracks emerge again, and is there a different vortex than in series 5?
A. The cracks were not in the episodes I saw – though don’t think they will as they went at the end of the last series.
Q. Does Rory have a big part in the episode or is he just as usual a secondary character?
A. I’d say Rory could be classed as a full companion now.
Q. Is the little girls identity a big part in the series arc?
A. I think it might be but who knows without seeing the remaining 11 episodes.
Q. Do we find out what Amy wanted to ask the Doctor in the Comic Relief special? If so, any hints?
A. We do not – but apparently that is coming sometime in the series.
Q. DWM said that the first episode was very character filled and not much action it can you clarify whether you felt it was action packed enough?
A. I can relate to that, it is character driven, but still exciting. The action picked up pretty much at the start of episode 2.
Q. Is there a cliffhanger for episode 2? Does this story link in with the pirate story?
A. There are 2 cliffhangers and it does not link with the next.
Q. Is the cliffhanger at the end of episode 2 bigger than the one at the end of episode 1?
Yes very much so – episode one just sets up the next episode. Episode 2 I think sets up the whole series
Q. Do you think there is much evidence for a new plot arc?
A. I think there is evidence of many plot arcs.
Q. Why is episode 2 called Day of the Moon?
A. It’s to do with the moon landing.
Opinion Based Questions
Q. Best Scene?
A. I liked the first scene in the Whitehouse, a certain scene in the TARDIS, the Orphanage…so many.
Q. Worst scene?
A. None spring to mind
Q. Any bad new actors?
A. No bad actors spring to mind.
Q. Any surprisingly good new actors?
A. The FBI agent, Canton, (Mark Sheppard) is fantastic.
Q. Any cheesy predictable bits?
A. There’s a few predictable bits, but nothing I would class as “cheesy”.
Q. Is there anything you really couldn’t see coming?
A. I didn’t see the death coming.
Q. Did President Nixon annoy you?
A. He’s not in it that much.
Q. Did it drag at any point?
A. It dragged towards the end of episode 1, but picks right back up and gathers momentum pretty much the start of episode 2
Q. Are there any Series 5 episodes that rival this?
A. In my opinion, this is the best episode in the revived series.
Q. How good are these episodes compared to those of The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang? If better, how much better or how much worse??
A. This is a matter of opinion – however in mine, much much better.
Questions that can’t be answered without spoiling
Is the astronaut a bad guy or a good guy?
Can you give us ANY hints at all about the thing in the spacesuit?
Does the Silence come from the moon? Do we know where they came from?
The Silence – Are there a lot or just a few?
What’s Rory’s Secret?
What’s River’s Secret?
What’s Amy’s secret?
What’s the Doctor’s secret?
Who dies?
