"Doctor Who" Aliens of London (2005)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Keith Boak

Writer:

Russell T. Davies (written by)

TV Series:

"Doctor Who" (2005)

Original Air Date:

16 April 2005 (Season 1, Episode 4)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

The Doctor returns Rose to her own time - well, sort of - but her family reunion is ruined when a spaceship crashes in the middle of London. What is the origin of the spaceship, and where has the Prime Minister gone in this time of crisis? |

Plot Keywords:

Fantasy | Political Satire | Space Hero | Telephone Box | Girl Heroine

Cast

Christopher Eccleston	...	Doctor Who
Billie Piper	...	Rose Tyler
Camille Coduri	...	Jackie Tyler
Corey Doabe	...	Spray Painter
Noel Clarke	...	Mickey Smith
Ceris Jones	...	Policeman
Jack Tarlton	...	Reporter
Lachele Carl	...	Trinity Wells
Fiesta Mei Ling	...	Ru
Basil Chung	...	Bau
Matt Baker	...	Himself
Andrew Marr	...	Himself
Rupert Vansittart	...	General Asquith
David Verrey	...	Joseph Green
Navin Chowdhry	...	Indra Ganesh
Penelope Wilton	...	Harriet Jones
Annette Badland	...	Margaret Blaine
Naoko Mori	...	Dr. Sato
Eric Potts	...	Oliver Charles
Jimmy Vee	...	Alien
Steve Speirs	...	Strickland
Elizabeth Fost	...	Slitheen
Paul Kasey	...	Slitheen
Alan Ruscoe	...	Slitheen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Simon Davies	...	Hospital Cameraman (uncredited)
Spencer Hawken	...	Slitheen (uncredited)
Dean Mitchell	...	Armed Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Keith Boak

Writing credits
Russell T. Davies		(written by)

Produced by
Phil Collinson	....	producer
Russell T. Davies	....	executive producer
Julie Gardner	....	executive producer
Helen Vallis	....	associate producer
Mal Young	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Murray Gold

Cinematography by
Ernest Vincze		(director of photography) (as Ernie Vincze)

Film Editing by
Mike Jones

Casting by
Andy Pryor

Production Design by
Edward Thomas

Art Direction by
Stephen Nicholas		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Peter Walpole

Costume Design by
Lucinda Wright

Makeup Department
Linda Davie	....	makeup supervisor
Davy Jones	....	makeup designer
Sarah Wilson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Marie Brown	....	post-production supervisor
Tracie Simpson	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Gerwitz	....	first assistant director
Steffan Morris	....	second assistant director
Dafydd Rhys Parry	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Adrian Anscombe	....	stand-by props
Patrick Begley	....	property master
Jenny Bowers	....	graphic artist
Bryan Hitch	....	concept artist
Gwenllian Llwyd	....	art department coordinator
Julian Luxton	....	stand-by art director
Catherine Samuel	....	production buyer
Phil Shellard	....	stand-by props (as Phill Shellard)
Andrew Smith	....	construction manager

Sound Department
Paul Jefferies	....	sound effects editor
Paul McFadden	....	dialogue editor
Damian Richardson	....	boom operator
Ian Richardson	....	sound recordist
Tim Ricketts	....	dubbing mixer
Doug Sinclair	....	sound editor
Julie Ankerson	....	foley artist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Waldo Mason	....	special effects crew (uncredited)
Steve Scotton	....	special effects technician (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David A.T. Bowman	....	lead compositor (as David Bowman)
Paul Burton	....	3D visual effects artist
Will Cohen	....	visual effects producer
Jean-Claude Deguara	....	3D visual effects artist
Bronwyn Edwards	....	2D visual effects artist
Michael Harrison	....	digital compositor
Simon C. Holden	....	lead compositor
Dave Houghton	....	visual effects supervisor (as David Houghton)
Andy Howell	....	3D visual effects artist
Porl Perrott	....	senior character animator
Chris Petts	....	lead cgi artist
Mike Tucker	....	model unit supervisor
Mark Wallman	....	3D visual effects artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Chester	....	best boy
Michael Costelloe	....	camera operator (as Mike Costelloe)
Mark Hutchings	....	gaffer
Mark Isaac	....	focus puller
Steve Lawes	....	focus puller
John Robinson	....	grip
Martin Stephens	....	camera operator
Warwick Drucker	....	additional grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Kirsty Robertson	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Yolanda Peart-Smith	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Ceres Doyle	....	assistant editor
Kai Van Beers	....	colorist
Jamie Adams	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Ron Grainer	....	composer: theme music

Other crew
Kath Blackman	....	assistant production accountant
Clive Evans	....	location manager
Dathyl Evans	....	production coordinator
Debi Griffiths	....	assistant production accountant
Sian Prosser	....	continuity
Richard Pugsley	....	finance manager
Elwen Rowlands	....	script editor
Lowri Thomas	....	location manager
Endaf Emyr Williams	....	production accountant
Faujja Singh	....	armorer (uncredited)

Distributors

• BBC America (2006) (USA) (TV)
• Pro 7 (2008) (Germany) (TV)
• Verenigde Arbeiders Radio Amateurs (VARA) (2006) (Netherlands) (TV)

Special Effects

• The Mill (visual effects)
• Any Effects (special effects)
• Millennium FX (prosthetics)

Runtime:

45 min | 45 min (50 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:PG | USA:TV-PG

Trivia:

When the Doctor complains of being slapped by Rose's mother, Rose laughingly remarks, "You're so gay!" This remark has caused some controversy in fan circles, some seeing it as an anti-homosexual slur. Russell T. Davies, who is gay, wrote in an e-mail response that it was the way people talked, and claimed that he was trying to provoke discussion by using the phrase.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The close-up shots of the Palace of Westminster clock tower (a.k.a. "Big Ben"), as it is destroyed by an alien ship crashing into it, show the clock faces back-to-front. This is because the director wanted the ship to move across the frame the other way.

Quotes:

Rose Tyler: So, in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else?
Mickey Smith: No.
Rose Tyler: Okay.
Mickey Smith: Mainly because everyone thinks I murdered you.
Rose Tyler: Right.
Mickey Smith: So now that you've come back, are you gonna stay?

Soundtrack:

Starman

Something For No One

You can just imagine Russell T Davies writing Aliens Of London /World War 3 with the explicit reasoning that it would contain something that would appeal to everyone watching . Unfortunately there's the very real danger that RTD has written something that will appeal to no one and just as bad it's at this point we start to see how much of a problem he has in creating a coherent plot structure

The story starts with a pre title sequence which has no bearing on the rest of the story - The Doctor has returned Rose to her London housing estate but the problem is that a whole year has passed since she left at the end of the first episode . Cut to her being questioned by the police as to whether she's been having a " sexual relationship " with this man known only as The Doctor . Considering Rose is 19 and has joined The Doctor of her own free will - And let's not forget she phoned her mother letting her know she's all right in End Of The World - you'll be puzzled as to why so much time is taken up with subplot . Was it just written so RTD could use the phrase " sexual relationship " ?

But it gets worse because the Slitheen arrive on Earth and they use peoples skin to disguise themselves as humans or rather human British politicians ( A contradiction in terms ? ) in order to start WW3 and in using someones skin there's a gas exchange which leads to squeaking noises which leads to a classic terrible line : " Do you mind not farting while I'm saving the planet ? " Very clever Russell I musn't say and just to prove this isn't puerile childish nonsense RTD introduces satire involving tongue in cheek references to the search for WMD in Iraq but for a discerning viewer one can't help wishing Davies had concentrated on what " Attack plan delta " is