Inspirations - The Awakening

The Awakening is the only story written by Eric Pringle, though he did submit others which were never developed. It is the last of the old-style two part stories of the Classic Era. (Future two-parters will be in the 45 minute per episode format, so technically run like old school four-parters).
At the time he was commissioned, Pringle had as his agent one Peter Bryant - best known to Doctor Who fans as the one-time producer of the show for much of Patrick Troughton's tenure in the role. He was also responsible, with Derrick Sherwin who succeeded him, for casting Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Working titles for this story were "War Game", which might have been a bit confusing due its similarity to Troughton's last adventure, and "Poltergeist", which isn't really terribly relevant to the finished episodes.
A trick is missed at the beginning of this story, as we might have been led to believe that it was going to be a Historical, set at the time of the English Civil Wars. The BBC had experience of this period thanks to the drama series By The Sword Divided, which was running at the same time as this story (it ran over two series from 1983 - 85). It told the story of a fictional family which becomes divided amongst itself as some follow the Parliamentarian cause, whilst others stay faithful to the Royalist one. This is probably based on the memoirs of the Verney Family of Middle Claydon. The father, Sir Edmund, was a staunch Royalist, but his eldest son Ralph was a Parliamentarian, whilst his second son was also a Royalist.
I mentioned Civil Wars (plural) above, and that's because there were three of them.
The First Civil War ran between 1642 to 1646, culminating in the capture of King Charles by Scots Covenanters. His refusal to negotiate and give any ground led to the Second Civil War, which comprised various Royalist attacks on the Parliamentarians. It ran through 1648, but as there was no co-ordination between the various attackers, each was defeated separately, and in January 1649 Charles was executed in London. The Third Civil War took place in 1651, when Charles II attempted to win back the throne. Failure led him to self-imposed exile until after the death of Cromwell.
The battle fought at Little Hodcombe took place in 1643, so right in the middle of the First Civil War.
As we've said, The Awakening might have allowed us to think that we were watching a story set in the 17th Century, but we have already seen the school teacher, Jane Hampden in modern costume, and we see 20th Century objects such as red telephone boxes and telegraph poles.
It then looks as if this might be some sort of time-slip story, with people from the past being brought forward to the present. There is a bit of that in the story, but that's not the main thing going on. What is really going on is a historical re-enactment.

Every weekend during the better weather months, thousands of people get dressed up and head for the countryside for the weekend to indulge in some historical re-enactment activity. They cover all sorts of time periods, but the English Civil Wars is one of the most popular. Best known group are the Sealed Knot Society, who specialise in this period, and re-enact the famous battles such as Naseby and Marston Moor (no mention of Little Hodcombe on their website though). Other groups of re-enacters include the Ermine Street Guard, who live the life of Roman soldiers, all the way up to those who prefer the Second World War era. The latter have courted controversy by some dressing as Nazis, which many naturally see as offensive. Re-enacters try to indulge their passion in their everyday lives as well, not just when they gather for big events.
In The Awakening, the local squire, Sir George Hutchinson, is taken over psychically by a malevolent alien entity known as the Malus (which is, of course, the Latin word for evil).
Many of the characters are named after real people from the Civil War era. Hutchinson comes from the Puritan Colonel John Hutchinson (1615 - 1664) who fought on the Parliamentarian side. Hampden gets her name from another Parliamentarian - John Hampden (1595 - 1643). A cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he died from wounds received at the Battle of Chalgrove Field. Tegan's grandfather, Andrew Verney, derives his name from the family mentioned above.

As Sir George becomes more obsessed with his war games, and the Malus exerts its influence further, it is decided that Tegan will play the part of the May Queen. Apparently this tradition goes back to ancient pagan tree worship, and might be derived from the Roman Goddess of Springtime - Maia. There are also links to Robin Hood's Maid Marian. Written records of a May Queen, or Lady of the May go back to the 16th Century. Traditionally the May Queen was a girl who dressed in white to signal her purity. (What does that say about Tegan?). The idea that the May Queen was put to death as a sacrifice at the end of the May Day festivities, popular in Folk Horror tradition, does not have any historical basis. The odd thing about her inclusion in this story is that the battle was supposed to have been fought in July of 1643, not in May.
Of course an earlier Doctor Who story was set around May Day in a supposedly quiet English hamlet tainted by an ancient, long buried evil, and involved someone who was going to be burnt at the stake - The Daemons. Many have noted the similarity of the conclusions to both stories - with the local church being the setting for the reappearance of the evil, we see the building destroyed. As The Daemons owed much to the work of Nigel Kneale, especially Quatermass and the Pit, we need to acknowledge his influence here as well. Another of his screenplays should also be mentioned - The Stone Tape - as we here see phantoms from the past appearing in the present day, and the idea that the past itself can be "recorded" in the fabric of a place.
Next time: the TARDIS goes further into the future than it's ever gone before. The Doctor is worried the Time Lords will find out, but doesn't yet realise the gravity of the situation he's in...

Story 219 - A Good Man Goes To War

In which the Doctor and Rory are determined to find Amy, and call upon a few old acquaintances to assist them. First the Doctor takes Rory, dressed in his Roman Centurion costume, to the 12th Cyberfleet, as it is believed the Cybermen who are monitoring this region of space may know where Amy is being held. To force the Cyber-Leader to cooperate, the Doctor blows up most of the Cyberships. A trader named Dorium Maldovar had been approached by the Eyepatch-wearing woman - Madame Kovarian - and Colonel Manton of the militaristic Church, asking for information on the Doctor's whereabouts. On their departure he decides to flee, not wanting to get caught between the Church and the Doctor, but finds the TARDIS waiting for him. In the London of 1888, a Silurian known as Madam Vastra has just returned from a mission which has put an end to the murders of the man known as Jack the Ripper. Vastra is a private investigator who occasionally helps the police. She had been woken from hibernation when the London Underground railway was being constructed, but the Doctor had stopped her from killing any humans she had encountered, and enabled her to live amongst them. Her servant, Jenny, informs her of a visitor, and she finds the TARDIS waiting in her drawing room. At the Battle of Zarusthra, in 4037, a Sontaran named Strax is working as a nurse. This is penance for the loss of his clone batch. He sees the TARDIS waiting for him, as the Doctor had been involved in him taking on this new role.
Rory goes to the Stormcage prison facility to enlist the help of River Song. However, on learning why he has come she declines to go with him - explaining that the day has come when the Doctor will finally know who she is. She also warns that the Doctor will never have risen so high, only to fall.

Amy, meanwhile, has given birth to a daughter, whom she has named Melody. She is being held in a base run by the Church on the remote asteroid known as Demons Run. Kovarian intends to take the baby away. The Church soldiers - Clerics - who guard the base have been joined by the Headless Monks. No-one is ever allowed to see under their hoods, and it is customary for some members of other churches to join the Monks whenever they cooperate. One of the Clerics, a young woman named Lorna, gives Amy a gift. It is a prayer leaf embroidered with the name of her child in the language of her people. Colonel Manton holds a mass meeting of all the base personnel, at which it has been agreed that the Headless Monks will allow themselves to be seen, as a show of faith in the alliance with the Clerics. They are quite literally headless. On uncovering one of the hoods, Manton is shocked to discover that it is the disguised Doctor. Elsewhere. Vastra and Jenny have overpowered some guards and taken over the control centre. They plunge the main hall into darkness and when the lights come back on the Doctor has vanished. This leads to confusion amongst the ranks as some Clerics open fire on the Monks, who retaliate with their laser swords. Manton finally restores order and has everyone drop their weapons. However, this is just what the Doctor wanted. The base is overrun by Silurian warriors and Judoon troopers, as space-going Spitfire aircraft take out the asteroids external defences. Strax takes Manton prisoner, as Kovarian attempts to flee the base with the baby. She is stopped by Rory, who is assisted by the pirate captain Avery and his son Toby, who have captured her escape ship.

Rory and Amy are reunited with their child. The Doctor forces Manton to leave the base along with his Clerics and the Monks, escorted by the Judoon. He promises to ensure the Colonel's reputation is destroyed. Rory is reminded of River's warning when Vastra tells the Doctor that his bloodless taking of Demons Run means he has never risen so high. Vastra accesses the base computer to try to find out why Kovarian and Manton had wanted Melody. She discovers that the child's DNA has been altered due to exposure to the Temporal Vortex. The baby had been conceived in the TARDIS after all. Kovarian had wanted someone who was part-Time Lord, whom she could weaponise. Strax has discovered that Lorna has stayed on the base. She tells the Doctor that she once seen and admired him as child, and only joined the Clerics as she thought it would give her the best chance of seeing him again. In Lorna's language, 'Doctor' means 'Warrior'. Scans of the base has shown that Kovarian's troops had all left, but Lorna points out that the Monks don't show up on scans as they aren't really alive. They have remained on the base, and begin to attack by killing the Silurian warriors. Dorium attempts to broker peace, but is decapitated. In the ensuing battle, Strax and Lorna are both killed, but the Monks are eventually defeated.

The Doctor receives a message from Kovarian who has managed to escape in the confusion, and she taunts him that she has really won. The Doctor works out what has happened and rushes to warn Amy. He is too late, as she discovers that her baby is just a Flesh avatar. Kovarian has the real Melody. After rising so high the Doctor has now fallen. Suddenly River Song appears. The Doctor is initially furious that she had failed to help, but she then explains why. The TARDIS translates Lorna's prayer leaf as 'Song' and 'River' instead of 'Melody' and 'Pond' - and Rory suddenly recalls the cryptic message Idris had left about the only water in the forest being the river. River Song is the baby Melody Pond grown up. The Doctor leaves alone - telling the shocked Amy and Rory that he will find their baby...

A Good Man Goes To War was written by Steven Moffat and was first broadcast on 4th June 2011.
It marked the end of the first half of Season 6, it having been decided to split the season to avoid the summer months when viewing figures always dipped.
The series had broken for several weeks over Christmas on some occasions during the Classic Era of the show, and it was often the case that the first story of the New Year would be described as the start of a new season, either in the Radio Times, or by the BBC continuity announcer. The production team never saw it this way.
It is significant for revealing the origins of River Song, and introduces some new characters who will go on to feature as semi-regulars - Madam Vastra, Jenny and Strax (though at this point it was assumed that the latter had been killed). We also have the return of some recently seen characters - Avery and his son from The Curse of the Black Spot, and the space-going Spitfires from Victory of the Daleks. Dorium had appeared at the beginning of The Pandorica Opens, when River obtained her Vortex Manipulator. Dorium had also featured in this story's prequel, in which he did some business with the Monks (which is why he thinks they will listen to him when they are about to attack).
We also get cameos from the Silurians, Cybermen and the Judoon. The Headless Monks had been referred to once before, in The Time of Angels, when the Doctor and Amy visited their museum, the Delirium Archive.

On first viewing, one of the things which strikes you straight away is the sudden appearance of previously never even mentioned friends. When Russell T Davies needed to bring together an army to help the Doctor, he was able to call upon all the companions and their relatives since 2005 for the Children of Time, even managing to include a companion (Sarah Jane Smith) from the previous era who had already encountered Davros and the Daleks. Moffat doesn't have such a history to fall back on, and seems determined to avoid using elements from his predecessor's time, so is forced to make some new friends up. This just looks wrong. When the stakes are as high as they are here, you really expect Captain Jack at the very least to be called upon. We get some old monsters - but are denied a chance to see old companions.
The story is all set-up for the big reveal of River Song's true identity, but of course she is hardly in it - only appearing briefly at the beginning, and then at the conclusion. She's the child of Amy and Rory, conceived in the TARDIS (presumably on their wedding night). She was the little girl in the spacesuit, who we saw regenerate at the conclusion of the opening story of the series. What Kovarian's plan is, we don't yet know (spoilers - we won't really get the full picture for another two years). Viewers at the time were left with a long wait over the summer months to find out what happens next. Despite all these big revelations, a lot of fans think the best part of the episode is the pre-titles section, especially the scenes with Rory and the Cybermen.

Heading the guest cast we have Neve McIntosh returning as her third Silurian (Alaya, then Restac, and now Vastra), and Dan Starkey as his fourth Sontaran (Skorr, Skree, Jask and now Strax). They are joined by Catrin Stewart as Jenny, and together will later form the Paternoster Gang. Lorna is Christina Chong. Colonel Manton is Danny Sapani. High Bonneville and Oscar Lloyd return as Henry and Toby Avery, in a scene recorded during The Curse of the Black Spot - which is why they aren't seen to interact with anyone else. Simon Fisher-Becker returns as Dorium Maldovar, with a much fuller part to play. In order to set up the Church and its relationship with the Monks we have a gay couple - known as the Thin One and the Fat One. They provide some exposition and help introduce the Lorna character. The Thin One is played by Dan Johnston, and the Fat One by Charlie Baker, who was better known for stand up comedy at the time. There's an uncredited cameo for Mark Gatiss, voicing the Spitfire pilot as he previously did on Victory of the Daleks.

Overall, a very good episode despite the lack of old companions. The group we do get are an entertaining bunch, and the story fairly rattles along.
Things you might like to know:

• The working title was "Demons Run", though "His Darkest Hour" was also considered. The episode actually went out as "Demons Run" in Germany.
• The title as broadcast comes from a poem - "Demons run, when a good man goes to war" as quoted by Dorium. We had earlier heard that River went to prison for killing a "good man". However, from Amy's opening narration, and its scenes showing only Rory, it is clear that the good man who goes to war is her husband, and not the Doctor.
• The Doctor isn't seen until his unmasking by Manton a considerable way into the episode - the longest period we have waited for the Doctor to appear in the revised series. (He doesn't appear until Scene 23).
• The end credits mention the Ood as well as the Judoon being created by Russell T Davies. This is because Ood Sigma was originally intended to have been part of the Doctor's gang.
• Moffat claimed that he did try to get John Barrowman to appear, but he was busy making Torchwood: Miracle Day at the time.
• There are no scenes set inside the TARDIS, which is significant only when you realise that every episode since Moffat took over has had at least one TARDIS interior scene.
• There's a Thunderbirds reference as Vastra's driver is named Parker, and is heard to say "Yes M'lady" as he's dismissed.
• River suggests that we get our word "doctor" from the Doctor - rather than him adopting the title from us. This was an idea first suggested by Moffat way back in 1995 on a fan internet forum.
• Strax originated with writer Gareth Roberts, in an unused script from an earlier season. A story called "Death to the Doctor" had featured a Sontaran named Strom who would not be typical of his race - a nurse like Strax - as it was felt there could be a lot of comedic potential in such a character.
• "Anniversary" episodes often included a reference to their number within their scripts - e.g. the bus in the 200th story having a 200 Route number, or the Crusader vehicle in Midnight being the Crusader 50, as it was the 50th episode of the revised series. A Good Man Goes To War is the 777th episode of Doctor Who (and was the 7th episode of the current series). You won't find any references to the number 7 in the story, however, as this was only realised afterwards. (Though we almost had a "Magnificent Seven" had River joined the Doctor and Rory as they hoped she would, or if Ood Sigma had appeared as originally planned).

H is for... Hayter, Professor

Professor Hayter of Darlington University was a passenger on a Concorde supersonic aircraft which was captured by a time distortion in 1982 and sent back to prehistoric times. The passengers and crew were all subjected to an hypnotic influence which made them believe that they had arrived where they were supposed to be, but Hayter was able to resist this mental conditioning. He believed that they had actually been abducted by the Soviet Union and were in Siberia. When the Doctor arrived he was informed of what had really happened, which he initially found hard to believe. The temporal distortion had been created by the marooned Master, who required slave labour to access the hibernation chamber of the alien Xeraphin, who had fled to Earth after their planet was destroyed in a cosmic war. Within the chamber, they had evolved into a single biomass which contained their collective intelligence. The Doctor wanted to communicate with this life-form, but it would be dangerous to do so. Professor Hayter volunteered instead. His body was destroyed, but his mind was absorbed into the biomass. Later, the Xeraphin took on Hayter's form to help guide the TARDIS back to their pyramid, after it had been sabotaged and sent into a temporal orbit, with Concorde Captain Stapley and his crew trapped on board.

Played by: Nigel Stock. Appearances: Time-Flight (1982).

• Stock was best known for his role as Dr Watson in the BBC's 1960's adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories, appearing first opposite Douglas Wilmer as the Great Detective, then Peter Cushing.
• One of his last roles was as the title character in the BBC's 1985 adaptation of The Pickwick Papers, part of the Classic Serials series produced by Barry Letts and script edited by Terrance Dicks.
• He is the only person other than Patrick McGoohan to have played Number 6 in the original series of The Prisoner (in the episode Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling).

H is for... Hawthorne, Miss

Miss Olive Hawthorne was a resident of the village of Devil's End who had a keen interest in the occult, being a white witch herself. She became alarmed at proposals to open up a prehistoric burial mound known as the Devil's Hump which lay near the village. An archaeologist named Professor Horner was planning to break into the burial chamber at midnight on Beltane, one of the most important occult feasts. The dig was to be broadcast live on BBC 3. Miss Hawthorne found that no-one would heed her warnings that a great evil would be released if the dig went ahead - the raising of the Devil himself. She tried to get the new vicar, Mister Magister, to support her, but he proved to be a rationalist existentialist, who scorned her beliefs. He was also the disguised Master, come to the village to resurrect a dormant alien Daemon named Azal, whose powers he wanted for himself. The Master used some of the Daemon's powers to cause the local policeman to become hypnotised into attempting to kill her, but she countered his powers with protective spells of her own. Later, the Master had his minion Garvin, the church sexton, abduct her to stop her interfering with the opening of the mound. She was rescued by Sergeant Benton of UNIT the following morning, and took rather a shine to the young man. The Doctor had seen her warnings on TV and had come to the village to stop Horner, but he arrived too late. Miss Hawthorne and he argued repeatedly about their respective beliefs in magic and science. When the Doctor was captured by villagers dressed as Morris Men, Miss Hawthorne saved Benton by striking an attacker with her reticule - which contained her crystal ball. She then helped Benton fool the superstitious villagers into believing that the Doctor was really a mighty wizard. Once the Master had been defeated, and Azal destroyed, the villagers took part in May Day celebrations, dancing around the May Pole. Miss Hawthorne got Benton to join her in the dance.

Played by: Damaris Heyman. Appearances: The Daemons (1971).

• Heyman had a genuine interest in the occult herself. She argued with director Christopher Barry over some aspects of the script, and producer Barry Letts sided with her when he realised she knew what she was talking about.
• The cape she wears in the story was borrowed from her friend, the actress Margaret Rutherford.
• Heyman reprised the role for the 2017 video anthology The White Witch of Devil's End, from Reeltime Pictures.

H is for... Hawthorne

Hawthorne was Prime Minister to Liz 10, Queen of England, aboard the generational spaceship Starship UK in the late 33rd century. Starship UK held the entire population of Great Britain (apart from Scotland, which had set up its own starship), which had fled from the dying Earth to find a new home out in space. Hawthorne was based in the Tower of London, which had been relocated to the spaceship. From here he controlled the Winders - half human, half mechanical people who acted as a police and security force - as well as the Smilers, which were fully mechanical.
Only Hawthorne was constantly aware of the terrible secret which underpinned Starship UK's journey through the stars. Its engines did not work, and at some point in the distant past the humans had captured a huge whale-like creature which had come to investigate the stricken vessel. They had secured it beneath the spaceship, then tortured it into propelling the ship through space. As most people found this abuse of a sentient creature alarming, the population elected to have the memory of what they were doing erased. Occasionally someone would find out, and they would be invited to vote to either remember what they knew, or to forget it once again. If enough people voted to remember, however, the creature would be released but this might lead to the destruction of the spaceship. Liz 10 confronted Hawthorne at the Tower, demanding to know what he was keeping from her, and he informed her that she frequently discovered the secret, and always asked to forget it again.
When Amy Pond realised that the creature had originally come to help anyway, she realised that it would continue to do so even if not coerced into helping.

Played by: Terrence Hardiman. Appearances: The Beast Below (2010).

• Hardiman is probably best known for his role as The Demon Headmaster, in the BBC children's drama of that name.

H is for... Hawkins, Captain

The Brigadier's right hand man at the time of the incident at Wenley Moor, Derbyshire. Hawkins took charge of the search for the creature which had escaped from the cave system under the moors after it had been shot by Major Baker, head of security at the scientific research complex adjoining the caves.
Later, he joined the Brigadier in an expedition to investigate the caves, after reports that they were home to an intelligent reptilian race - the Silurians. The Doctor had forewarned the Silurians that soldiers would be coming into the caves, as he wanted to broker peace between the two races, but instead the information was used to set up a trap - the Silurians being able to seal up the caves in seconds. Hawkins and his men nearly suffocated, before the Doctor talked the Silurian leader into freeing them. Later, the Silurians broke into the research centre itself. Hawkins was killed in the attack.

Played by: Paul Darrow. Appearances: The Silurians (1970).

• Darrow will always be best remembered for his portrayal of the anti-hero Avon in Blake's 7. 
• He returned to Doctor Who in the 1980's, with the more substantial role of the villainous Tekker in Timelash. Taking inspiration from Olivier's Richard III, he deliberately gave an over the top performance after Colin Baker had given an overblown performance in Blake's 7.

H is for... Hawk

Hawk, and his partner Weismuller, were CIA agents operating in South Wales in 1959. The pair suddenly found themselves involved in a top security mission, as the Pentagon had lost contact with a communications satellite, and it was believed that it might have crashed in the area where they were located. It transpired that the satellite had actually been carried to Earth embedded in the front of a Navarino spaceship which had collided with it. Hawk and Weismuller were captured by alien Bannermen, led by the sadistic Gavrok, but the Doctor found and released them. They joined him and his friends at the nearby Shangri-La holiday camp where everyone had taken refuge. Hawk hurt his hand when he failed to heed the Doctor's warning about a destructive invisible barrier placed around the TARDIS. After the Bannermen had been defeated, the Doctor gave Hawk and Weismuller the remains of the satellite.

Played by: Morgan Deare. Appearances: Delta and the Bannermen (1987).