Prologue:
On the planet Karn, home to the Sisterhood, the Doctor has come to meet their leader Ohila. He tells her that he has been offered an invite from a very old acquaintance - who is also a very old enemy...
He does not want to go, but Ohila does not believe him.
He changes his mind and agrees to go - but not yet. The Doctor then hands Ohila a small circular object made of metal - a Confession Dial. She will know who to give it to.
He tells her that he is going to go and meditate, then departs.
The Doctor's Meditation:
The Doctor is visiting the county of Essex in England, in the year 1138. He is staying at a castle where he has befriended a man named Bors. He must remain here during his lengthy period of meditation. After a time he is surprised to learn that he has only been there some three hours.
Unhappy with the taste of the water, the Doctor decides to dig a well. He takes ages to locate the correct spot. Over the next few days, the Doctor changes his mind and several wells are begun then scrapped.
After the well is eventually dug, the Doctor grows bored with it. He takes up magic tricks instead, and decides to have a new throne built. Several more weeks pass.
Bors questions why he is really here. The Doctor is procrastinating - dragging out his meditations as he does not want to face up to the meeting he must inevitably attend.
After arranging a joust with Bors, he tells him that he recently let someone down very badly, on a distant battlefield...
The former was released on-line on 11th September 2015. It was originally intended to form part of the opening sequence of the episode but was removed in the editing stage for timing reasons.
Despite being seen earlier, it actually fits into the middle of the opening section of the episode, during the sequence when Colony Sarff travels the galaxy in search of the Doctor, including a visit to the Sisterhood of Karn - last seen in the 50th Anniversary prequel Night of the Doctor.
As then, the Sisterhood are led by Ohila, played by Clare Higgins.
At one point the Doctor asks Ohila to look after the Universe, as he has put a lot of work into it. This line is lifted from Moffat's Comic Relief piece "The Curse of Fatal Death".
The Doctor's Meditation was the prequel proper, released initially in cinemas alongside the 3-D screenings of Dark Water / Death in Heaven. These screenings commenced 15th September in the US and Canada. It was then shown in the UK on Facebook on the 17th September, and on TV in Australia.
The prequel ends with a shot of the battlefield which is the opening setting of The Magician's Apprentice.
The working title for the piece was "The Knight's Disciple"- giving it the same title structure as the two episodes which were to follow.
As with the Prologue, it actually fits within the opening section of the main episode.
Bors is played by Daniel Hoffmann-Gill.
The castle location is Caerphilly, only a few miles north of Cardiff, should you wish to visit it. You can visit Karn on the way - filmed in Taffs Well Quarry.
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