Doctor Who Extra (2014) s01e10 Episode Script
In the Forest of the Night
212, take one.
Action.
- We're in the middle of London.
- We're in the middle of a forest.
Come and see.
'Things have gone green on Doctor Who' Are those trees? '.
.
as London is overrun by a forest.
'This week, Mr Pink gives us a guided tour' Careful not to alarm the film crew.
Maebh! They bite.
'.
.
and there is chaos on the TARDIS as children take over.
' Stop that! Hey! Don't touch that.
Get away from there.
Don't touch that! Welcome to our episode of Doctor Who! 'Not all is as it seems as the TARDIS arrives at a familiar location.
' COMPUTER: 'You have reached your destination.
' Oh! Stop saying that! She's only saying it because it's true.
We ARE in the middle of London.
- We're in the middle of a forest.
- Come and see.
Forest of the Night is an absolutely wonderful story that takes us into the heartland of the dark and mystical fairy tale, which is the forest.
It's one of the most lyrical and beautiful ideas for an episode we've ever had on Doctor Who.
So many Doctor Who stories are about Earth being invaded.
This is about Earth invading us.
This is about what would happen if all the trees turned against us.
And action! Maebh! Maebh! Doctor, give me a boost so I can pull her up.
Maebh? Maebh? Earth has been transformed into a gigantic forest, but by forces that are mysterious and possibly dark, that the Doctor clearly has to uncover because of a threat that he senses is coming.
Maebh This forest is communicating with you.
Nobody else, no technology can hear what it's saying, but you can.
Tell us what it wants, where it came from.
It was me.
She's hearing these voices in her head and she can't get rid of them, so she does like this swatting thing, trying to get them away.
The thoughts! The thoughts! They go so fast.
This is stressing me, now.
When I get stressed, I forget my anger management.
She's trying to run away from them, and she meets the Doctor, and he's trying to get everything out of her.
Cut there! 'This script required a lot of trees and set dressing, which was quite a challenge for the designers.
One of the great joys of Forest Of The Night was seeing London being completely overgrown and taken over by a forest, which, of course, is done on location in a real forest.
'The cast and crew set off deep into a forest near Newport 'to recreate overgrown London.
'And actor Samuel Anderson, AKA Danny Pink, was there to take us 'on a guided tour.
' And here we see London has totally been taken over by the woods.
We're at Underground Station.
There appears to be a film crew.
We should maybe move away from them.
They're known to be vicious creatures, film crews.
Very dangerous.
'We'll catch up with Samuel in a moment.
'Finding a location which would suit the needs of the script 'fell to location manager Iwan Roberts.
' We were looking for, sort of, unmanaged woods, really, wild woods, quite dense, quite dark, and that's what we were after on this one.
To bring London into a forest, and the scale of what the art department have done, you know, it's justit is amazing.
It's fabulous.
You'd find yourself walking along these woods, and suddenly Green Park tube station had been built there, and it looked for real, you know, and pillar boxes, and taxis and traffic lights, and it was just rather beautifully designed and rather cleverly done.
Maybe we can make a call.
Found a telephone box.
Hello? Operator? Yes, I know! It's a jungle out here.
'With the location selected, 'it was down to production designer Michael Pickwoad 'to bring in the hints of London.
' We brought in certain elements of London.
It was very tricky to get a bus into the forest, so we had We used a photograph of a bus stuck on board and it worked very well.
It was behind trees.
You really didn't know that it wasn't a bus.
'How did Abigail feel about the location?' It's amazing how, like, they put Trafalgar Square in the forest, cos the lion is massive.
Everyone was very worried about the lion, but I said, "We've got to start somewhere," and he measured up the lions and the plinths in Trafalgar Square and it was size for size - that's the size they are.
And it was an interesting job.
Why would there be no reading? Because they're actually made of wood.
No circuits, no mechanism.
Wood.
They're still growing.
If you look long enough, you can actually see it growing.
'But this isn't the first time the Doctor has encountered 'sinister saplings and plant life that wasn't all it appeared to be.
'Krynoids could take over the minds of humans 'and grew to this size before creating hundreds of pods 'that could form an army of deadly flora.
'And meet Meglos, 'one of a cactus-like species known as the Zolfa-Thurans.
'Meglos tried to pass himself off as the Time Lord.
'Think the face needed a bit of work, though! 'Years later, the Eleventh Doctor came up against a ruthless couple 'who grew from these bauble-like pods dropped from living Christmas trees.
'The Wooden King and Queen only wanted to save their forest, 'but didn't care how they managed it.
'But not all intelligent plant life has been so troublesome.
'The Forest of Cheem is a race 'of intergalactic, walking, talking trees 'that can trace their roots back to Earth.
'They were brave and intelligent, and, according to the Doctor, 'one of them even fancied him, 'but if she thought she'd get anywhere with the Time Lord, 'she was barking up the wrong tree! 'Back in the forest, our tour with Samuel has come to an abrupt end.
' This is not a good day.
I am now the final surviving member of the human race.
Our cameraman took one for the team.
I shall sign off for now.
Hopefully, I'll see you when I find water.
'The TARDIS has been visited by schoolkids before, 'but never a bunch quite like this.
' There's a group of kids who we have in, kids from Cole Hill school, who are fabulous.
Doctor, this is Cole Hill Year 8 gifted and talented group.
What are the round bits for? Ask your teacher! Come on, down from there.
Don't touch! Don't touch any of that stuff! Come away from the console.
Keep them away, for goodness' sake! Why, by the way, have none of you remarked upon the fact that it's bigger on the inside? PETER: When they all came in the TARDIS, I just look at them and fall about, becausejust the way they look, with all their crazy hairstyles and glasses and their mobile phones.
They just look like the real thing.
They look like, you know, kids from, you know, a local school, who have stumbled into the TARDIS and don't really care about it very much.
'Abigail plays the plucky Maebh who also gets a trip in the TARDIS.
' It was amazing, cos when they say it's bigger on the inside, it really is bigger on the inside! There's three floors to it, and it's just amazing.
The TARDIS.
It's bigger on the inside than the outside, or did you not notice? I just thought it was supposed to be bigger on the inside, so I didn't say anything.
Well, of course it's supposed to be bigger.
Most people are confused by that.
I didn't want to touch anything in case I broke anything, cos you feel like, "Hmm, I don't want to touch that.
" 'Not only did the kids get a trip to the TARDIS, 'they also got a trip to the museum.
' Bradley! Sir! Tell him, sir, he's blinding me.
I'm allowed a torch, sir.
I've got a note.
I'm darkness-phobic.
Just cos he's scared of the dark, sir, does that mean he's allowed to blind me? They're so good.
I mean, I said to Jenna as soon as they appeared, I said, "You know that we're mincemeat, here.
"There's no point in us trying to do any acting here, "because they'll just wipe the floor with us completely," which is what they did, so they were great to have around.
Andaction! 'With London restored, all is back to normal with the Doctor.
' I hope I'm right.
Be slightly awkward if the world was destroyed at this point! What?! There goes the planet-sized airbag.
Cut there.
Thank you.
'Or so it seems.
' Now that WAS surprising.
And I LOVE surprises.
Action.
- We're in the middle of London.
- We're in the middle of a forest.
Come and see.
'Things have gone green on Doctor Who' Are those trees? '.
.
as London is overrun by a forest.
'This week, Mr Pink gives us a guided tour' Careful not to alarm the film crew.
Maebh! They bite.
'.
.
and there is chaos on the TARDIS as children take over.
' Stop that! Hey! Don't touch that.
Get away from there.
Don't touch that! Welcome to our episode of Doctor Who! 'Not all is as it seems as the TARDIS arrives at a familiar location.
' COMPUTER: 'You have reached your destination.
' Oh! Stop saying that! She's only saying it because it's true.
We ARE in the middle of London.
- We're in the middle of a forest.
- Come and see.
Forest of the Night is an absolutely wonderful story that takes us into the heartland of the dark and mystical fairy tale, which is the forest.
It's one of the most lyrical and beautiful ideas for an episode we've ever had on Doctor Who.
So many Doctor Who stories are about Earth being invaded.
This is about Earth invading us.
This is about what would happen if all the trees turned against us.
And action! Maebh! Maebh! Doctor, give me a boost so I can pull her up.
Maebh? Maebh? Earth has been transformed into a gigantic forest, but by forces that are mysterious and possibly dark, that the Doctor clearly has to uncover because of a threat that he senses is coming.
Maebh This forest is communicating with you.
Nobody else, no technology can hear what it's saying, but you can.
Tell us what it wants, where it came from.
It was me.
She's hearing these voices in her head and she can't get rid of them, so she does like this swatting thing, trying to get them away.
The thoughts! The thoughts! They go so fast.
This is stressing me, now.
When I get stressed, I forget my anger management.
She's trying to run away from them, and she meets the Doctor, and he's trying to get everything out of her.
Cut there! 'This script required a lot of trees and set dressing, which was quite a challenge for the designers.
One of the great joys of Forest Of The Night was seeing London being completely overgrown and taken over by a forest, which, of course, is done on location in a real forest.
'The cast and crew set off deep into a forest near Newport 'to recreate overgrown London.
'And actor Samuel Anderson, AKA Danny Pink, was there to take us 'on a guided tour.
' And here we see London has totally been taken over by the woods.
We're at Underground Station.
There appears to be a film crew.
We should maybe move away from them.
They're known to be vicious creatures, film crews.
Very dangerous.
'We'll catch up with Samuel in a moment.
'Finding a location which would suit the needs of the script 'fell to location manager Iwan Roberts.
' We were looking for, sort of, unmanaged woods, really, wild woods, quite dense, quite dark, and that's what we were after on this one.
To bring London into a forest, and the scale of what the art department have done, you know, it's justit is amazing.
It's fabulous.
You'd find yourself walking along these woods, and suddenly Green Park tube station had been built there, and it looked for real, you know, and pillar boxes, and taxis and traffic lights, and it was just rather beautifully designed and rather cleverly done.
Maybe we can make a call.
Found a telephone box.
Hello? Operator? Yes, I know! It's a jungle out here.
'With the location selected, 'it was down to production designer Michael Pickwoad 'to bring in the hints of London.
' We brought in certain elements of London.
It was very tricky to get a bus into the forest, so we had We used a photograph of a bus stuck on board and it worked very well.
It was behind trees.
You really didn't know that it wasn't a bus.
'How did Abigail feel about the location?' It's amazing how, like, they put Trafalgar Square in the forest, cos the lion is massive.
Everyone was very worried about the lion, but I said, "We've got to start somewhere," and he measured up the lions and the plinths in Trafalgar Square and it was size for size - that's the size they are.
And it was an interesting job.
Why would there be no reading? Because they're actually made of wood.
No circuits, no mechanism.
Wood.
They're still growing.
If you look long enough, you can actually see it growing.
'But this isn't the first time the Doctor has encountered 'sinister saplings and plant life that wasn't all it appeared to be.
'Krynoids could take over the minds of humans 'and grew to this size before creating hundreds of pods 'that could form an army of deadly flora.
'And meet Meglos, 'one of a cactus-like species known as the Zolfa-Thurans.
'Meglos tried to pass himself off as the Time Lord.
'Think the face needed a bit of work, though! 'Years later, the Eleventh Doctor came up against a ruthless couple 'who grew from these bauble-like pods dropped from living Christmas trees.
'The Wooden King and Queen only wanted to save their forest, 'but didn't care how they managed it.
'But not all intelligent plant life has been so troublesome.
'The Forest of Cheem is a race 'of intergalactic, walking, talking trees 'that can trace their roots back to Earth.
'They were brave and intelligent, and, according to the Doctor, 'one of them even fancied him, 'but if she thought she'd get anywhere with the Time Lord, 'she was barking up the wrong tree! 'Back in the forest, our tour with Samuel has come to an abrupt end.
' This is not a good day.
I am now the final surviving member of the human race.
Our cameraman took one for the team.
I shall sign off for now.
Hopefully, I'll see you when I find water.
'The TARDIS has been visited by schoolkids before, 'but never a bunch quite like this.
' There's a group of kids who we have in, kids from Cole Hill school, who are fabulous.
Doctor, this is Cole Hill Year 8 gifted and talented group.
What are the round bits for? Ask your teacher! Come on, down from there.
Don't touch! Don't touch any of that stuff! Come away from the console.
Keep them away, for goodness' sake! Why, by the way, have none of you remarked upon the fact that it's bigger on the inside? PETER: When they all came in the TARDIS, I just look at them and fall about, becausejust the way they look, with all their crazy hairstyles and glasses and their mobile phones.
They just look like the real thing.
They look like, you know, kids from, you know, a local school, who have stumbled into the TARDIS and don't really care about it very much.
'Abigail plays the plucky Maebh who also gets a trip in the TARDIS.
' It was amazing, cos when they say it's bigger on the inside, it really is bigger on the inside! There's three floors to it, and it's just amazing.
The TARDIS.
It's bigger on the inside than the outside, or did you not notice? I just thought it was supposed to be bigger on the inside, so I didn't say anything.
Well, of course it's supposed to be bigger.
Most people are confused by that.
I didn't want to touch anything in case I broke anything, cos you feel like, "Hmm, I don't want to touch that.
" 'Not only did the kids get a trip to the TARDIS, 'they also got a trip to the museum.
' Bradley! Sir! Tell him, sir, he's blinding me.
I'm allowed a torch, sir.
I've got a note.
I'm darkness-phobic.
Just cos he's scared of the dark, sir, does that mean he's allowed to blind me? They're so good.
I mean, I said to Jenna as soon as they appeared, I said, "You know that we're mincemeat, here.
"There's no point in us trying to do any acting here, "because they'll just wipe the floor with us completely," which is what they did, so they were great to have around.
Andaction! 'With London restored, all is back to normal with the Doctor.
' I hope I'm right.
Be slightly awkward if the world was destroyed at this point! What?! There goes the planet-sized airbag.
Cut there.
Thank you.
'Or so it seems.
' Now that WAS surprising.
And I LOVE surprises.