[S1E4] Aliens Of London
This episode introduced the character of Harriet Jones, played by Penelope Wilton, who would reprise her role in the episodes "The Christmas Invasion" and "The Stolen Earth". It also featured an appearance by actress Naoko Mori, who went on to feature in the spin-off Torchwood as a result of her performance. The Slitheen aliens are part-computer-generated imagery (CGI) and part-prosthetic/costume. "Aliens of London" was watched by seven million viewers on initial broadcast and received generally mixed reviews.
[S1E4] Aliens of London
The government is unable to locate the Prime Minister due to the confusion of the crash, and Joseph Green MP is named acting Prime Minister. Green is revealed to be a member of the Slitheen, a family of aliens that uses a device to compress their bodies into large human "suits" resulting in frequent releases of flatulence. Two other high members of the government, Margaret Blaine and Oliver Charles, are also revealed to be Slitheen. The Slitheen secretly celebrate luring the humans into their plan but are unaware of their conversation being witnessed by Harriet Jones.
When the Doctor returns to Rose, Jackie discovers the truth about the Doctor and the TARDIS and calls it in. They are surrounded by soldiers and escorted to 10 Downing Street. The Doctor is asked to join a panel of alien experts including members of UNIT, and Rose is escorted into the building by Harriet. Harriet tells Rose about the aliens, and together they discover the Prime Minister's corpse. Before they can reveal their discovery, they are caught by Blaine, who begins to unzip her human suit to attack them. At Jackie's flat, a police officer also unzips his human suit and attacks Jackie for being associated with the Doctor. As the Doctor attempts to convince the experts of the forgery of the events, the Doctor realises that the experts have been lured to Downing Street together as part of a trap. Green sends an electrical shock through the assembled group.
Rose returns home to discover that she has been missing for a whole year, although for her, it's been a couple of days. However, before she can explain her absence, a spaceship crashes into Big Ben, causing a worldwide crisis. Worse still, the Prime Minister has mysteriously disappeared... The Doctor's investigation puts him in the spotlight with the British government, as his long history of defending Earth finally catches up with him. But there are sinister goings on at 10 Downing Street, and politician Harriet Jones' quest to get some answers brings her into a brave new world... of aliens. Meanwhile, Rose finds trouble closer to home, as her past mistakes threaten to tear her family apart.
Rose and the Doctor try to visit the scene but are prevented by traffic; Rose suggests the TARDIS, but the Doctor tells her that is a bad idea as everyone in the world is now watching the skies for more aliens. They head for home to watch the news on television. Several people are visiting, while the Doctor tries to watch the news. He sees General Asquith entering the hospital where the alien has been taken. The news also reports that the Prime Minister is still missing.
After examining the body, the Doctor informs Dr Sato that the pig is (or rather was) an ordinary pig from Earth. It had its brain rewired and was stuck in the ship which was sent to dive bomb into the Thames. Although its obvious the crash was faked, the technology involved is indeed not from Earth. Sato questions why aliens would fake an alien encounter, only to find the Doctor has gone. Meanwhile, Mickey arrives at Rose's flat, revealing that several people, including Jackie, had suspected he murdered Rose. Sneering at Jackie, Mickey tells Rose that Jackie called the police three times because she thought he killed Rose though there was not any evidence of such and then Jackie continued to harass him. The accusations ruined his reputation.
Outside, as Mickey is gloating that the Doctor has left Rose, the TARDIS materialises. The trio enter but the interior causes Jackie to flee back to her flat and call a number to report the Doctor. Whenn she mentions the word 'TARDIS', an alarm is triggered after a brief spat with Mickey about his name really being "Ricky", the Doctor tells her that he has deduced that the spaceship landing was faked; it was launched from Earth, and whoever did it has been here for a while. Mickey points out that all the crash has done is put the world on red alert, which is unusual if the aliens were actually planning to invade. He notes that UNIT has been called in to deal with the crisis.
The Doctor decides they need to check out the crashed spaceship up close now the roads are clearing. However, when the Doctor, Rose and Mickey step out of the TARDIS, they are surrounded by police and helicopters. Mickey runs away, and the Doctor and Rose are taken in; however, the Doctor tells Rose that they're not being arrested but instead escorted to the heart of the discussion. He's the ultimate expert on aliens, according to UNIT files. They are taken to Downing Street, where the Doctor is brought in to meet with the other experts. Rose does not have proper clearance, so Harriet offers to stay with her. Meanwhile, a policeman visits Jackie for information.
The Doctor interrupts Asquith telling everyone that three days earlier, some radiation was detected in the North Sea and was due to be investigated but this was forgotten after the crash. The Doctor wonders aloud why the spaceship crash was faked, since all its managed to do is panic the population and get the Earth's alien experts in one place. The Doctor suddenly realises that this is what the aliens want; anyone who has the expertise and knowledge to fight them gathered together. He now understands the crash wasn't a diversion but a trap. The policeman visiting Jackie begins to unzip his forehead. Ganesh, Rose and Harriet are caught by Margaret Blaine, who unzips her forehead. In the room below, Asquith unzips his forehead, and Green - thanking the attendees for wearing their ID cards - uses a remote control to electrocute the experts including the Doctor. They announce themselves as the Slitheen.
"Aliens of London" is the fourth episode of series one of the 2005 relaunch of the British sci-fi series Doctor Who. Totalling the episode count of both programs together, "Aliens of London" is the 699th episode in the Doctor Who franchise. It was directed by Keith Boak and written by Russell T. Davies. It first aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on April 16th, 2005. It first aired in the United States on BBC America on March 31st, 2006. In this episode, an alien spacecraft crashes down in the River Thames, alerting the population of Earth that aliens do in fact exist. The Doctor brings Rose Tyler back home for a bittersweet reunion with her loved ones, after she discovers that she had been gone for more than a year.
SATO: I just assumed that's what aliens look like,but you're saying it's an ordinary pig from Earth. DOCTOR: More like a mermaid. Victorian showmen used to draw the crowdsby taking the skull of a cat, gluing it to a fish and calling it amermaid. Now someone's taken a pig, opened up it's brain, stuck bitson, then they've strapped it in that ship and made it dive bomb. Itmust've been terrified. They've taken this animal and turned it into ajoke. SATO: So it's a fake, a pretend, like the mermaid. But the technologyaugmenting its brain, it's like nothing on Earth. It's alien. Aliensare faking aliens. But why would they do that? Doctor? (He's gone.)
TELEVISION: As the crisis continues and thegovernment shows remarkable lack of leadership, paranoia sweeps thecountry. There've been at least three reports of public assaults onpeople falsely identified as aliens. Now back to Tom Hitchinson. HITCHINSON [on TV]: Are there more ships to come? And what is theirintention? The authorities are now asking if anyone knows anything. Ifany previous sighting has been made, then call this number. We needyour help. (Jackie dials 08081 570980. It is 23:08. She gets the busy tone twice.)TELEVISION: Tonight, the London Institute of Psychology is warning thatincidents of violence JACKIE: Yes, I've seen one. I really have. An alien. And she's withhim. My daughter, she's with him. And she's not safe. Oh, my God. She'snot safe. I've seen an alien, and I know his name. He's called theDoctor. (Someone or something types The Doctor into a database search.) JACKIE: It's a box. A blue box. She called it a Tardis. (Over in Downing Street, an alarm goes off. Ganesh's computer screen isflashing Red Alert - The Doctor.)
MICKEY: So, what're you doing down there? DOCTOR: Ricky. MICKEY: Mickey. DOCTOR: Ricky. If I was to tell you what I was doing to the controls ofmy frankly magnificent time ship, would you even begin to understand? MICKEY: I suppose not. DOCTOR: Well, shut it, then. MICKEY: Some friend you've got. ROSE: He's winding you up. I am sorry. MICKEY: Okay. ROSE: I am, though. MICKEY: Every day, I looked. On every street corner, wherever I went,looking for a blue box for a whole year. ROSE: It's only been a few days for me. I don't know. It's, it's hardto tell inside this thing but I swear it's just a few days since I leftyou. MICKEY: Not enough time to miss me, then? ROSE: I did miss you. MICKEY: I missed you. ROSE: So, er, in twelve months, have you been seeing anyone else? MICKEY: No. ROSE: Okay. MICKEY: Mainly because everyone thinks I murdered you. ROSE: Right. MICKEY: So, now that you've come back, are you going to stay? DOCTOR: Got it! Ha, ha! Patched in the radar, looped it back twelvehours so we can follow the flight of that spaceship. Here we go. Holdon. Come on. (The Doctor looks at the trajectory on the monitor.) DOCTOR: That's the spaceship on its way to Earth, see? Except. Hold on.See? The spaceship did a sling shot round the Earth before it landed. ROSE: What does that mean? DOCTOR: It means it came from Earth in the first place. It went up andcame back down. Whoever those aliens are, they haven't just arrived,they've been here for a while. The question is, what have they beendoing? 041b061a72