We explained the general inspiration for this trilogy of episodes last time. Writer Peter Harness's idea had involved "Kung-fu Monks" whilst Steven Moffat had actually considered destroying the Earth - but as separate stories. The showrunner then decided to merge these, plus Toby Whithouse's 1984 Orwellian society drama, into a single storyline.
Harness wanted his episode to be a comment on current world affairs, similar to what he had done with his Zygon two-parter the series before, which had dealt with issues of radicalisation amongst young Muslims. The background was Donald Trump's first run for the Presidency of the United States. He felt that what Trump was offering to the American people was simply a short-term fix, one that might prove disastrous in the longer term.
The aliens would therefore appear benign initially, in order to take in their intended victims. This idea had been used before by Bob Baker & Dave Martin in The Claws of Axos - an idealised family group of golden skinned humanoid, bearing gifts, who were actually tentacled monsters, out to destroy all life on Earth. It was also the M.O. of the Nimon in The Horns of Nimon.
He hit upon the aliens as monks - generally peace-loving, spiritual individuals.
The "Kung-fu" aspect came from the fact that they were initially supposed to have martial arts skills.
They would turn out to be blackmailers from another dimension, who observed probabilities to seek out points in time when a race might be at its most vulnerable, then step in to appear to offer salvation.
Researching potential flash points in recent history, Harness noted an occasion when a Norwegian rocket was launched from the US for scientific purposes, but was mistaken for a missile by the Russians in 1995, and another incident in 1983 when the Russian satellite defence system had erroneously flagged up an attack.
It was going to be revealed that the Monks had tried to intervene before during these events, as well as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963, but this information had been supressed by the three major powers.
For his episode, he decided to go with a story he had read about an artificially created soil bacteria named Klebsiella planticola, which broke down plant waste and turned it into ethanol. However, this had only ever been tested in laboratory conditions using sterile soil, and in nature it would prove to be much more powerful - potentially destroying healthy plants.
We are naturally reminded of the insecticide DN6 in Planet of Giants, which appears effective to its creator in the laboratory but will actually destroy all insect life, including that which is essential for agriculture. Harness was actually going to call his soil bacteria DN8, and it was to have been manufactured by Global Chemicals - the company responsible for The Green Death.
This was changed as there is a real company of that name, though one which has never knowingly created a race of giant maggots (as far as we know...).
Hungover lab assistant Douglas was to have had a conversation with Erica about boiled eggs for lunch - a nod to the discussion between scientists Phillips and Goodge in Terror of the Autons.
Harness looked to his Zygon story for other elements. The Doctor would once again be made President of Earth, and the Monks would arrive in the disputed region of Turmezistan. This was where the Zygon rebels had established their base. Here, it is a potential point of conflict between the US, Russia and China.
Whilst the UN features, through the presence of its Secretary General, UNIT does not - despite this being right up their street. (UNIT had become disassociated from the United Nations back in The Sontaran Stratagem, but as an independent multi-national organisation you would have thought they ought to have been involved. They had actually been included in Harness's original storyline, including the return of Kate Stewart. She couldn't appear anyway as Jemma Redgrave had just taken on a regular role in Holby City).
The appearance of the Monks as mummies came from images Harness had seen of mummified corpses in catacombs, which he thought would make for a striking visual image.
Bill's role had to be pivotal. It would be she who would permit the Monks to intervene on Earth - more for saving the Doctor than for the whole world. His blindness - introduced in Oxygen by Jamie Matheison and carried over by Moffat, would lead to him having to be saved.
Bill was originally going to appear to have been vapourised by the Monks on her acceptance of their help, which would form part of the cliffhanger for resolution in the next episode.
Mention is made of the Doomsday Clock. This was created in 1947 by the Manhattan Project scientists to measure the imminent danger of human-made catastrophe. Midnight would signal the end of the world. As of January 2026 it has been set at 85 seconds to midnight - the highest it has ever been. This is due to the on-going risk of nuclear warfare, as well as the mounting concerns about the climate and the rise of Artificial Intelligence.
Next time: The Monks party like it's 1984. The Doctor looks like he's gone over to the dark side, until Bill shoots him...
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