Meanwhile, over in the Physics Department, Dr Philippa Stone is working night and day on a top-secret project – but can her theoretical time machine really be the solution to the university's problems?
Present and past are about to collide – and the results, as the TARDIS crew is about to discover, will be far from academic!
Includes examples of:
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Arthur Kettleson intends to make Ælfwynn marry him or kill her, hoping to become King through this.
- Artistic Licence – History:
- The historical Queen Æthelflæd is remaned "Æthelfrid".
- York is shown to be part of the Kingdom of Mercia, when in reality it was part of the Kingdom of Northumbria and under Viking control at the time the story is set.
- In reality Edward the Elder never came into conflict with his older sister; they worked in alliance to fight the Danes. This story depicts him as murdering her.
- Berserk Button: The Doctor insults Arthur Kettleson, finally calling him stupid and driving him into a berserker state.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Tegan puts on a Northern English accent when pretending to be Ælfwynn.
- Cain and Abel: Æthelfrid and her brother the Earl of Wessex, who attempts to take her kingdom and ends up killing her.
- Emergency Impersonation: Tegan is forced to impersonate Ælfwynn.
- Everybody Knew Already: Professor Bleak already knew about his wife’s affair with Barry.
- Historical Domain Character: Æthelflæd (renamed "Æthelfrid" for some reason), Edward the Elder, and Ælfwynn.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Edward the Elder gets this majorly. The real Edward, was a successful, well-regarded King who worked in partnership with his sister to defeat the Danes and drive them from Mercia. This story depicts him as a jerk who despises his own sister and ultimately murders her to claim her kingdom for himself.
- Touched by Vorlons: When Tegan first sees Æthelfrid's sword, she has a brief, psychic vision of the battle in the tenth century. The Doctor muses that she might have picked up some form of time sensitivity during her travels with him.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: In-universe; Tegan makes a valiant attempt at a Northern accent as part of her Emergency Impersonation, but it's not entirely convincing.
