It's ten years since David Tennant's first series of Doctor Who was first broadcast in the UK. To celebrate we take a look back in time...
Fear Her
First Broadcast on 24th June 2006. Running Time: 45 Minutes. Viewing Figures: 7.14 million.
Written By Matthew Graham.
Directed By Euros Lyn.
Executive Producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.
Synopsis:
When the Tardis lands in 2012, the Doctor plans to show Rose the London Olympics. Nearby, a desperate mother is hiding her daughter's unearthly powers. Can the Doctor defeat the danger nestling within this ordinary household?
Extras: Promotional Photos | On Set Photos | Screen Caps | Videos | Articles
Production Notes:
The episode is set on the day of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics and during the episode the Doctor is seen lighting the Olympic flame at the stadium. This prompted an online petition last year for David Tennant to perform the same task in real life. Although the petition had thousands of signatures, David did not play a part in the ceremony. Eleventh Doctor actor, Matt Smith, did however carry the torch in Cardiff.
The action takes place on a housing estate in a suburban close named after the British athlete Dame Kelly Holmes.
Dame Kelly was approached to star in the episode as a torch bearer but she was already filming for the ITV reality show Dancing On Ice so had to turn the offer down.
Fear Her was written by Matthew Graham, co-creator of Life On Mars, Ashes To Ashes and Bonekickers. Graham claims that lead character Sam Tyler in Life On Mars was accidentally named after Rose Tyler when his daughter suggested using the surname without Graham realising why she had picked it.
The episode was commissioned as a replacement to the infamous Stephen Fry script. The details of the original story by Fry have never been released.Other titles considered for this episode were "Chloe Webber Destroys the Earth" and "You're a Bad Girl, Chloe Webber" but Russell T Davies rejected them as he said they were too long.
Although set in the summer Fear Her was filmed in January and February 2006 alongside The Idiot's Lantern. The temperature's were freezing and on several occasions you can see the actors breath as the warm air hits the cold..this was explained as as part of the Isolus' endothermic nature.
Location shots for Dame Kelly Holmes Close were filmed on Page Drive, Tramorfa, Cardiff. The Olympic stadium was actually the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and altered footage of the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
The Friends:
Chloe Webber was a 12 year old girl that lived with her mum at 53 Dame Kelly Holmes Close. Chloe had encountered a lonely alien, the Isolus, which had merged with her, creating two intelligences in one body. Using Chloe's artistic skills, the Isolus gave her the power to draw things that would take on a life of their own, while the object or person that she had drawn would disappear from reality. Chloe was the cause of the disappearance of other children. She had drawn them so they could become friends to the Isolus. She also created her own scribble creature that attacked Rose and a full sized drawing of her late, violent father which threatened her and her mum. Eventually the Isolus was coaxed out of Chloe when Rose found a way to release its space capsule and, using the heat from the Olympic torch being carried past the road was able to get the Isolus back to the rest of it's family. With the Isolus gone Chloe and her mother, Trish, carried on with their lives
The Foes:
The irony of this tale is that the monster is of the human variety.
Chloe Webber's abusive and violent dad has died in a car crash a year before when we meet up with Chloe and her mum, but the poor girl is still haunted by nightmares of the cruel bully.
When Chloe draws her Dad it is accidentally brought to life and even though the Isolus is gone, the residual energy of it in Chloe's room continued to animate the drawing of Mr Webber. Chloe and Trish's love for one another and their mother and daughter bond broke the power and the image of Mr Webber vanished forever.
Quotes:
- (Rose spots a cat whilst she and the Doctor are investigating the close, she kneels down to stroke it
- Rose: Aren't you a beautiful boy!
- The Doctor: (with his back to Rose he assumes she is talking to him) Thanks. I've been experimenting with back-combing... oh.
- Rose: What?
- The Doctor: No, I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nuns wimple, kind of takes the joy out of it.
- The Doctor: It only seems like yesterday, a few Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling with each other in the sand and the crowd stood around... no, wait a minute that was Club Med!
- The Doctor: I was a dad once.
- The Doctor: There's something in the air, there's something coming.
- Rose: What?
- The Doctor: A storm's approaching.
Facts:
- Prior to the graphite scribble monster, the Doctor encountered other mineral-based lifeforms, such as the crystalline Krotons in The Krotons (1968), the Kastrians in 1976's The Hand Of Fear and the Ogri in 1978's The Stones Of Blood.
- Nina Sosanya starred alongside David Tennant in the 2005 BBC production of Casanova, produced by Russell T Davies.
- Edna Doré is probably best known for playing Frank Butcher's mother Mo in EastEnders.
- The Doctor Who website ran a competition for artwork to be used for its homepage during the week the episode was transmitted.
- Huw Edwards joined a long list of BBC newsreaders to feature in the show, playing himself commentating on the Olympic Opening Ceremony.
- Bird Song The Kookaburra Song, featured in the episode, was written by Marion Sinclair in 1932 for a contest being held by the Victorian Guides
Cast:
- David Tennant - The Doctor
- Billie Piper - Rose Tyler
- Nina Sosanya - Trish Webber
- Abisola Agbaje – Chloe Webber
- Edna DorĂ© – Maeve
- Tim Faraday – Tom's Dad
- Abdul Salis – Kel
- Richard Nichols – Driver
- Erica Eirian – Neighbour
- Stephen Marzella – Police Officer
- Huw Edwards – Commentator
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