Inspirations: Amy's Choice

Technically, this story takes place entirely within the TARDIS. It just doesn't look like it due to the Leadworth dream.

It's only the second episode to have the companion's name in the title - the first being Rose.

One of the things Steven Moffat did on becoming showrunner was to invite submissions from writers who were better known for comedy / comedy-drama work. The author of this story is Simon Nye, who is best known for the popular sitcom Men Behaving Badly, which ran from 1992 - 1998. It was produced by Moffat's mother-in-law, Beryl Vertue.

The idea for a story involving split dreams came from Moffat, but Nye wanted to write an episode which would concentrate on the relationship between Amy and the Doctor / Rory when under stress.

In discussions with Moffat, Nye had told him that on first waking after particularly vivid dreams, was he momentarily confused as to whether he was still sleeping or awake.

Having one dream set five years in the future allowed for some humour. Having Amy pregnant was introduced purely to play around with the cliché that the Doctor and companions are always running.

When asked to include a monster, he came up with the idea of a creature centred around an old peoples' home. 

Nye claimed that young people often found old people somewhat scary - but hoped he wouldn't put small children off visiting their grandparents.

The home is called "Sarn", which just happens to be the name of the world in Planet of Fire.

The Eknodines were designed to be cheap and easy to realise.

Mr Nainby (stunt performer Nick Hobbs, who played Aggedor) was named after a school friend of Nye's.

The Dream Lord calls the Doctor "the oncoming storm", which is supposed to be what the Daleks call him - first mentioned in the novel Love and War, but stated on screen in Parting of the Ways.

He also refers to him as a vegetarian. The Doctor had adopted a meat-free diet after the events of The Two Doctors.

The running joke about his relationship with Queen Elizabeth I is also mentioned - which originated in The Shakespeare Code.

The Dream Lord is a manifestation of the darker side of the Doctor's nature - originating from his subconscious.

We'd previously seen an embodiment of this in the Valeyard - an incarnation from between his twelfth and final one. (The extension of his regeneration cycle in The Time of the Doctor, and then the introduction of the Timeless Child have further muddied this already opaque concept).

Even earlier, in The Time Monster, the Doctor had told Jo to ignore his subconscious thoughts as relayed by the TARDIS telepathic circuits, claiming that there were some he was not very proud of.

Moffat has big plans for Rory, usually involving him dying (as happens for the first time here - though only within a dream).

After her attempted seduction of the Doctor,  this episode served to make Amy realise just how much she really loved her fiancé.

At one point the Doctor thinks the TARDIS has jumped a time-track - a reference to The Space Museum.

This is the first story of the 5th Series not to feature the crack in time.

Next time: The Pertwee era revisited...