History Recap / DoctorWhoS33E7TheRingsOfAkhaten

* ChewingTheScenery: The Doctor's BadassBoast speech is a particularly hammy moment in the episode.

** Once again, the bad guy interacts with Clara's mind but it proves to be [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks too]] [[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen much]] for them.

* DeclarativeFinger: The Doctor gives one to the villain in its final moments.

* GeniusLoci: A sentient planet.

* KillTheGod: The sentient planet is called the "god of Akhaten", but it's not ''really'' a god. It's actually a really big, really old, really powerful parasite.

* MusicalEpisode: Downplayed in that there is a lot of singing in this episode, but it's only done by two people, both of whom are professionals in official circumstances.

* PatrickStewartSpeech: The Doctor to Merry, describing how precious life is.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Clara asks the Doctor why he chose her; he responds that she "reminds him of someone who died." She points out that she is her own self, not a replacement for someone else. She doesn't yet realize that she is a ReplacementGoldfish for herself.

* ShipTease: Clara's eyes widen as the Doctor [[WithThisRing give her a ring]]. Turns out it's her mother's ring she sold for the space hopper; the people she saved wanted her to have it back.

** One of the races the Doctor claims makes up the crowd is the [[Franchise/TheHitchHikersGuideToTheGalaxy Hooloovoo]]. It appears to be an InNameOnly reference though (possibly an attempt at trolling by the Doctor) since the Hooloovoo are described as "a hyper intelligent shade of the colour blue", whereas it's a human-looking alien, and the Doctor has read Creator/DouglasAdams in the past.

** A monstrous EldritchAbomination so powerful it can be considered a deity even by someone like the Doctor, who for the good of the universe is kept dormant by way of endless singing, and should the aforementioned music cease for a second it will wake and destroy everything... uh yeah, this story literally has the Doctor directly confronting [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Azathoth]]. Which makes two Outer Gods in a row; the Great Intelligence is Yog-Sothoth ''in-canon'' (Expanded Universe only).

* ThisCannotBe: The Doctor fumes that he can't find anything extraordinary about Clara, despite going through her entire timeline. "She can't be...she is! It's not possible!"

* TheUndead: A mummified vampire.

* MakeMeWannaShout: The power of the temple guardians is sonic based, like the screwdriver.

* TheUnintelligible: Most of the aliens in the bazaar speak in gibberish, including one that speaks in barks. This is despite the fact that a well-established convention in the series is that the TARDIS translates alien languages for the Doctor and the companions, though the Doctor is at leadt shown to be fluent in the barkes.

* BadassBoast: The Doctor gets an ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoVLhUxhdSw epic]]'' one.

* DramaticChoirNumber: In "The Rings of Akhaten", The Doctor discovers that young Merry Gejelh is to be offered as a sacrifice to keep the god of Akhaten from awakening. The Doctor and Clara save her from the withered mummy that they think is being worshipped, only to realize that it was merely the "alarm clock" and that the star at the heart of the system is the god, and that it has awakened. The Doctor moves Clara and Merry to relative safety, then returns to the temple to confront the god, known as "Grandfather". Merry, hoping to support the Doctor, leads the various races gathered together in a choral performance of "The Long Song" to help bolster him with the psychic resonance, as The Doctor offers up his memories to the stellar deity.

The first broadcast ''Doctor Who'' episode by PromotedFanboy Neil Cross, who got the job by mentioning ''Doctor Who'' for years in every [[Creator/TheBBC BBC]] meeting.

The first broadcast ''Doctor Who'' episode by PromotedFanboy Neil Cross, who got the job by mentioning ''Doctor Who'' for years in every BBC meeting.

The [[LighterAndSofter superbly sentimental]] one. Which also happens to be [[LargeHam ham-tacular.]] [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast Ham that's sugar-cured with singing.]]

* AppeaseTheVolcanoGod: Not a volcano, but the same principle applies. Feed the Old God your stories and memories or he'll eat the seven planets and then move on.

* BadassBoast: The Doctor gets an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoVLhUxhdSw EPIC]] one.

** The Doctor mentions having come to Akhaten before, with his granddaughter. (Which makes it the first explicit mention of Susan Foreman in the revived series.)

** His third incarnation relied on a Venusian lullaby to tame another beastly foe, the Aggedor, on two [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon separate]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E4TheMonsterOfPeladon occasions, and it also ended up dying in the long run, 50 years later from his perspective]] (tragically shot to death when it attacked someone, which the Doctor lamented and had tried to avoid happening ever since he first met the beast, because he knew it could also be friendly and quite lovable and spent some time bonding with it, taming it and befriending it).

* EmotionEater: "Grandfather"/the Old God feeds on emotions and stories.
* EternallyPearlyWhiteTeeth: That mummy has had some dental work. That's the point of mummification, after all, preserve the body.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The inifinite possibilites leaf actually represented Clara herself, not her mother's unlived future, hinting at TheReveal of Clara's true nature later in the season.

* HeroicSacrifice: The Doctor nearly makes one when he challenges the Old God to eat all of his memories. He survives the experience, but it was a near thing.

* KillTheGod: The sentient planet is called the "god of Akhaten" but it's not ''really'' a god. It's actually a really big, really old, really powerful parasite.

* ManlyTears: The Doctor ''cries'' during his magnificent speech to the beast.
* MeetCute: Clara's parents meet RescueRomance style because of a leaf. This leads to LoveAtFirstSight. You can see it in the dual smile.
* MisterSandmanSequence: The Doctor reads the 1981 ''Beano'' Summer Special. The track playing is "Ghost Town" by the Specials, released in 1981. It's probably 1981.

** Victorian Clara's gravestone in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]" says she was born on November 23, the date "An Unearthly Child" aired in 1963. She also lived to age 26, the same age as classic ''Doctor Who'' when it was cancelled in 1989. Clara's mother died on March 5th, 2005, the day "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]" (the first episode of the new series) takes place (was she shopping downtown that night?).

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: The Doctor calls the Alien God a vampire, but only in the sense that it's a parasite. Turns out the real Old God isn't even remotely humanoid.

* PhlebotinumOverload: The Old God feeds on the life experiences of others but when Clara offers it "the most important leaf in human history", containing not only the experiences of its owner but all the experiences they ''could'' have had, it implodes. The Doctor tried to invoke this with his own memories, and came pretty close, but the planet survived that.

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The Doctor gives one to the Old God. It's not a ''god'', it's just a parasite.
* RedHerring: The Doctor mentions visiting Akhaten with Susan (first time she was explicitly referred to in the new series), and then we find out that the god of Akhaten is called "Grandfather". At first, it looks like the aliens are worshipping the Doctor.
* ReplacementGoldfish: Clara asks The Doctor why he chose her; he responds that she "reminds him of someone who died." She points out that she is her own self, not a replacement for someone else. She doesn't yet realize that she is a ReplacementGoldfish for herself.

* SceneryPorn: The Rings of Akhaten are ''gorgeous'' and shown in great detail. Clara ''did'' ask to go "somewhere awesome", so why disappoint?
* ShipTease: Clara's eyes widen as the Doctor [[WithThisRing give her a ring]]. Turns out it's a gift from the people she saved.
* SlasherSmile: The Old God flashes a few nasty, mocking grins at the Doctor while they stare each other off.
* StaringDownCthulhu: The Doctor stares down the Old God when it finally awakes.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The temple monk presses a button on his wrist device and disappears into thin air. This might have been [[DrivenToSuicide suicide]], but his dialogue is somewhat ambiguous about his plans.

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: The Doctor and Clara's conversation regarding the awakened Old God.

* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The Doctor's 1200 years of far flung adventures are not quite spicy enough to bring down Akhaten. Clara's leaf of infinite possibilities does the trick.

* TheUnintelligible: Most of the aliens in the bazaar speak in gibberish, including one that speaks in ''barks''. This is despite the fact that a well-established convention in the series is that the TARDIS translates alien languages for the Doctor, the companions and us, the viewers (though it is established that the TARDIS doesn't like Clara, so maybe she decided not to translate everything, just to be a pain).
* UmbrellaOfTogetherness: Clara's parents while dating. Meanwhile the poor Doctor is alone and soaking wet.

* VisibleBoomMic: The second time Clara encounters Merry (when they startle each other during their game of cat and mouse), though the sound guy ''does'' notice quick enough to lift it back up fast enough that it becomes a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. Interestingly, all shots focused on Merry in that scene following the hiccup are close-ups.
* WhenThePlanetsAlign: When the Rings of Akhaten align every thousand years or so, an extremely important festival is thrown. Well, important ''locally''; the Doctor compares the whole thing to "Pancake Tuesday".

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: The Doctor to Merry, describing how precious life is.

The Doctor quietly watches ([[{{Adorkable}} and reads]] ''ComicBook/TheBeano'') as Clara's parents meet for the first time. A leaf blows into Clara's dad's face and he stumbles into the road, where her mother saves him from being hit by a car. The two fall in love, become Clara's mother and father, and raise her with kindness and sweet stories. The Doctor is always there, just to watch her grow up. When Clara's mother dies, the Doctor is there at the graveyard, just looking at the scene from a distance. Clara is, for all intents and purposes, a completely normal human being, but this is not the case. "She's not possible!" the Doctor declares.

* DontWakeTheSleeper: A textbook example in that the threat is sleeping and a full religion is established to keep it asleep. It's even doubled, in that the sleeping god is a sleeper that will awaken an even bigger sleeper if awoken.

* NotSoInnocentWhistle: Clara does this while trying to sneak Merry back to the TARDIS.

The [[LighterAndSofter superbly saccharine]] one. Which also happens to be [[LargeHam ham-tacular.]] [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast Ham that's sugar-cured with singing.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The inifinite possibilites leaf actually represented Clara herself, not her mother's unlived future, hinting at TheReveal of Clara's true nature later in the season.

** Victorian Clara's gravestone in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]" says she was born on November 23, the date "An Unearthly Child" aired in 1963. She also lived to age 26, the same age as classic ''Doctor Who'' when it was cancelled in 1989. Clara's mother died on March 5th, 2005, the day "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]" (the first episode of the new series) takes place.

*** The extreme close-up eye with fire in the reflection is remincient of the opening scene of "Film/BladeRunner''

The [[LighterAndSofter suffocatingly saccharine]] one. Which also happens to be [[LargeHam ham-tacular.]] [[MusicSoothesTheSavageBeast Ham that's sugar-cured with singing.]]