The Unquiet Dead was the second serial of Season 39 of Doctor Who. It was written by Mark Gatiss, directed by Euros Lyn and starred Aidan Gillen as the Tenth Doctor & Miranda Raison as Jessica Tyler.
Synopsis[]
The dead are roaming the streets of Cardiff in 1869 when the Doctor and Jessica arrive, just in time for Christmas. Teaming up with Charles Dickens, the TARDIS team encounter the Gelth, creatures sucked through a gateway in Cardiff from the other end of the universe, their home lost to war. Surely inhabiting dead bodies is wrong, though! Can both sides be helped, or are these gaseous creatures not to be trusted?
Plot[]
To be added.
Cast[]
- The Doctor - Aidan Gillen
- Jessica Tyler - Miranda Raison
- Gabriel Sneed – Alan David
- Redpath – To be added.
- Mrs Peace – Jennifer Hill
- Gwyneth – To be added.
- Charles Dickens – Simon Callow
- Stage Manager – To be added.
- Driver — To be added.
- The Gelth – To be added.
Crew[]
To be added.
Worldbuilding[]
- As he panics about how he is going to die in the dungeon in Cardiff, the Doctor claims he has seen the fall of Troy and World War V, and has "pushed boxes at the Boston Tea Party".
- The Doctor calls Jessica "Barbarella" for wanting to go out before changing into something more suitable for 1869.
- There are several literary in-jokes during Dickens and the Doctor's conversation in the coach.
- The "American bit" in Martin Chuzzlewit, which the Doctor describes as "rubbish" and "padding", was indeed inserted by Dickens to spice up the original serialised story when sales flagged, although the gambit failed to improve sales.
- The death of Little Nell, which the Doctor says always "cracks [him] up," is cited (notably by Oscar Wilde in 1895) as an example of bathos, excessive sentimentality and purple prose that becomes unintentionally amusing.
TARDIS arrival[]
- The Doctor was aiming for Naples, 24 December 1860, but they arrive in Cardiff, Christmas Eve, 1869.
Individuals[]
- Sneed once did a bishop a favour.
Locations[]
- The deceased are laid to rest in the Chapel of Rest.
Professions[]
- Dickens calls the Doctor a "navvy".
Foods and beverages[]
- Gwyneth serves tea to everyone. The Doctor takes his with two sugars.
Notes[]
To be added.
Continuity[]
- The Doctor gives Jessica some complicated directions to the TARDIS wardrobe: "First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left." Previously the Fourth Doctor asked Leela to escort Chancellor Borusa to the VIP suite. The directions were so complicated that she lost her way and left him in a luxurious bathroom instead. (TV: The Invasion of Time)
- This echoes a similar conversation between Romana and Chris Parsons (TV: Shada) about where to find the TARDIS medical kit.
- The Doctor's partiality to the works of Dickens was indicated previously when the Sixth Doctor quoted A Tale of Two Cities. (TV: The Ultimate Foe) The Fourth Doctor also read out a description of Little Nell's dress (from The Old Curiosity Shop). (TV: Shada)
- Sally Ryder unintentionally references these events: "Yeah, but think about it. There's a murder, a mystery, and Agatha Christie... No, but isn't that a bit weird? Agatha Christie didn't walk around surrounded by murders. Not really. I mean that's like meeting Charles Dickens, and he's surrounded by ghosts. At Christmas." The Doctor reacts but does not explain, as shown in TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp.
- The Doctor had previously had an adventure near Christmas, as seen in TV: The Runaway Bride & will later have many more adventures at or near Christmas, as displayed in TV: Starship Titanic, Silent Night, The Forgotten Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Eternal Christmas, Relative Dimensions, Frozen Time, The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Night of the Krampus, Santa's Coming to Town! and Last Christmas.
- The Doctor mentions that he saw the fall of Troy. (TV: The Myth Makers)
- Despite Rose and Dickens struggling to breathe as the dungeon fills with gas, the Doctor shows no issues with it due to his respiratory bypass system. The Fourth Doctor was previously able to avoid breathing in helium because of it. (TV: The Robots of Death)
Home video releases[]
VHS[]
- This story was first released on VHS.
DVD[]
- This story along with the other stories in Season 38 were released as Doctor Who: The Complete Thirty-Eighth Season in 2001.
Blu-ray[]
- This story along with the other stories in Season 38 were later released as Doctor Who: The Complete Thirty-Eighth Season on Blu-ray.