History Recap / DoctorWhoS31E02TheBeastBelow

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Poem Girl, anyone?

* TitleDrop: Four times:

** [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory Yes, that's a completely reasonable interpretation of the script for a family show.]]
*** [[http://www.psa.ac.uk/2009/pps/Charles.pdf Completely reasonable enough that someone wrote an entire section on interpretations of the RTD era in his essay.]]
*** Hardly the first time the show's made such a statement. The writers of the Seventh Doctor stories [[http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/287573 loathed]] MargaretThatcher and so weaved commentaries into their scripts, with "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E2TheHappinessPatrol The Happiness Patrol]]" being notably a very unsubtle attack on her. "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E4AliensOfLondon Aliens of London]]"/"[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E5WorldWarThree World War Three]]" made an equally unsubtle jab to the WarOnTerror (not to mention RussellTDavies' {{Take That}}s at the US in his scripts...).
*** [[FantasticAesop Everyone who cares enough to register their vote will be fed to a monster?]]

** [[MemeticMutation Bloody]] [[Recap/TorchwoodS2E1KissKissBangBang Torchwood...]]

* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened To The Scottish?]] - If the English and Welsh were saved by the last Space Whale, this calls BS on the little girl's comment that the Scottish had their own ship...
** Unless they used the last set of resources, meaning that they're the ones who nearly doomed the English and Welsh in the first place.

* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened To The Scottish?]] - If the English, Welsh, and Irish were saved by the last Space Whale, this calls BS on the little girl's comment that the Scottish had their own ship...
** Unless they used the last set of resources, meaning that they're the ones who nearly doomed the English, Welsh, and Irish in the first place.

Afterwards, the Doctor tells Amy she couldn't have known that. She responds that maybe ''he'' couldn't have known, but that an alien, the last of his kind, who has been through pain and anguish, and just become kinder and unable to see children cry, was something ''she'd'' already seen. They return to the TARDIS when the console's phone starts ringing. It's WinstonChurchill and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E03VictoryOfTheDaleks he wants the Doctor's help, while a Dalek is standing in his office]].

* ActionGirl: Liz X is very much made of BadAss

*** And that the Doctor and QueenVicky [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS2E2ToothAndClaw didn't quite see eye to eye]].

** It's Alison from that ''Doctor Who'' webcast with Richard E Grant!
*** Or Don Cheadle's wife in ''HotelRwanda''.

* FridgeHorror: The wave of vomit that hits the Doctor and Amy was at least partially made up of digested people. Good God, [[NightmareFuelStationAttendant Moffat]], I didn't even think about that until now.

* The space whale still needs food.

Down in the Tower's torture chamber they find a rather odd installation - a laser in the ceiling perpetually fires shots into a very large pain center. Piecing together the puzzle, the Doctor figures out that this pain center, the mouth, and the tentacle from earlier are all part of on creature, and...it's what they have instead of an engine. And they're torturing it to keep it going - that's one high-pitched scream it has, Doctor, quit sonicking the vibrations! And then we find out what's wrong with Liz's mask. It's at least 200 years old...and perfectly sculpted to her face. Wait, that can't be right, she's only been Queen for 10 years! Oh...dear. The same 10 years...over and over again, always leading her to this same place - a voting booth. It's her choice - [[AC:forget]] or [[AC:abdicate]]. Her own recorded message to herself starts to play.

* SchitzoTech: Life on the spaceship involves a large number of very low-tech things.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: See {{HeartwarmingMoment.DoctorWho}}

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Liz 10 discovers that the star-whale's torture is carried out her orders, and she resets her memory every ten years when she's told about it again.

** The Republic of Ireland (Eire) is a separate country. Perhaps they were able to make other arrangements. The Irish diaspora probably helped save the motherland, especially Irish-Americans. (It's just more surprising that Northern Ireland is still about in the 29th Century) As for the Welsh, maybe they had more power in the 29th Century, or they were [[NoodleIncident wiped out in a civil war]] or something. Given New Who's recent slants (it's made by BBC Wales and filmed in Cardiff), probably the former.

* WorldInTheSky

Down in the Tower's torture chamber they find a rather odd installation - a laser in the ceiling perpetually fires shots into a very large pain center. Piecing together the puzzle, the Doctor figures out that this pain center, the mouth, and the tentacle from arlier are all part of on creature, and...it's what they have instead of an engine. And they're torturing it to keep it going - that's one high-pitched scream it has, Doctor, quit sonicking the vibrations! And then we find out what's wrong with Liz's mask. It's at least 200 years old...and perfectly sculpted to her face. Wait, that can't be right, she's only been Queen for 10 years! Oh...dear. The same 10 years...over and over again, always leading her to this same place - a voting booth. It's her choice - [[AC:forget]] or [[AC:abdicate]]. Her own recorded message to herself starts to play.

When the solar flares originally roasted the Earth, the UK weren't quite quick enough to make a ship. Their children were screaming as the skies grew hotter. But then it came...like a miracle...a Star Whale. A massive, old, gentle creature, and the last of its kind. They trapped it, built theit starship around it, and now they torture it to keep it moving. Heartbreaking. But hey, at least they feed it...with people. Protesters and citizens of limited value, to be precise (but it won't eat the children). If Liz chooses to [[AC:abdicate]], the ship will disintegrate and everyone will die. But if she chooses to [[AC:forget]], poor old SpaceWhale will be in agony for another decade.

** Also, it should be noted that there is a little friction in space. Not much, but you will run into micrometeorites, stellar dust and such. Sure, its gonna take a while for it to stop you, but we are talking about what amounts to a generational ship. Time? They've got that.

-->'''The Doctor:''' "Look, three options. One, I let the star whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful and innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, 'cause I won't be the Doctor any more."

*** Liz Ten stated in her video that other nations (including Scotland, presumably) had already evacuated. Evidently in the 29th century the rump UK is a 3rd world country unable to build it's own ship. Of course, if every country was looking out for number one, one wonders who else was [[FridgeHorror left to fry]]?

*** [[HotFuzz The greater good.]]

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: A tide of vomit rushes towards the Doctor and Amy:
--> '''The Doctor:''' Right. This isn't going to be big on dignity.

* FridgeLogic: Why do the voting booths have a recording function? The whole point of them is to ''forget''.
** Because otherwise people would be totally confused, and might think it was just a scam. This way, they can leave a recording to tell themselves that they're better off not knowing the truth.
** If the Star Whale refuses to eat the children, why do you keep feeding them to it? Are you just trying to be assholes now?
*** It's certainly one way of encouraging the kids to behave. And since they seem to end up working in the Tower... one theory is that they become Winders once they're a little older.
** Oh come on... how can nobody notice it? Amy: 1306 years old. It's 29th century. She's on her twenties when [[spoiler:she marries Rory]]. On [[spoiler:June 26]], 2010. What the hell???

* [[RecycledINSPACE In Space]]: Battleship UK.

-->'''Amy''': Oh, don't mind me! Never could resist a Keep Out sign.

*** The old man in the UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans video could've been Dr. Breen with glasses from ''Half Life 2''. He loved making these videos too.
** Don't the lettering of "STARSHIP UK" on the voting booth TV screens resemble the old BBC logo, especially as seen on [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/BBC-one1969.jpg the 70's BBC]] StationIdent?
*** Actually, while the lettering was similar, it was more likely a reference to [[http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/images/bbcone/images_idents/1960s/bbctv_continuity_a.jpg this ident]].

-->'''The Doctor:''' "Look, three options. One, I let the star whale continue in unendurable agony for hundreds more years. Two, I kill everyone on this ship. Three, I murder a beautiful and innocent creature as painlessly as I can. And then I find a new name, 'cause I won't be the Doctor anymore."

** Well, Ten obviously helped get them set up with their own ship. I don't think David Tennant would abandon his countrymen like that.

* BlatantLies: The Doctor tells Amy he never interferes.
** And that he always stays out of trouble.

*MoralDissonance: Granted he was very upset at the time, but the Doctor telling Amy, who waited ''fourteen years'', that he's going to drop her back on earth after messing up on her very first trip?