Trivia / Doctor Who S27 E4 "Aliens of London"

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• Acting for Two: Rupert Vansittart plays both the real General Asquith, and the Slitheen impersonating him by wearing his skin.
• Awesome, Dear Boy: Andrew Marr — at the time the BBC's political editor — likened his Newscaster Cameo to being asked to carry the torch in a previously lost Shakespeare play.
• Completely Different Title: the French title is "L'humanité en péril" (Mankind in Peril)
• Recycled Set: Mickey's flat is the same set as Jackie's and Rose's. Well justified, since it's a council estate and the apartments are all going to be built on the same few designs.
• Serendipity Writes the Plot: The murdered Prime Minister was implied to be Tony Blair. According to Phil Collinson, explained that the actor hired, Roderick Mair, didn’t look like Blair enough, so his body was kept not in focus.
• Trolling Creator: Russell T Davies inserted a line of dialogue where Rose says to the Doctor, "You're so gay!", deliberately intending to set off a heated discussion about homosexuality within fan circles. For the record, Davies himself is gay.
• What Could Have Been:
  • There was supposed to be no Time Skip. Rose would’ve shown up a few minutes after she left rather than a year.
  • Jackie was originally meant to accompany the Doctor and Rose to 10 Downing Street. Such a concept would later be adapted into "Army of Ghosts"/"Doomsday" (where Jackie accompanies the Doctor and Rose to the Torchwood offices).
  • Early on, Russell T Davies had the "alien" and its shuttle found in a construction site. However, he realized early on the capabilities of CGI, and used it to create the destructive entrance of the ship. The story was also made to be more action-y.
  • One of the military representatives at the conference is long-running Doctor Who Magazine character Muriel Frost. She was originally going to be addressed by name, but the line was cut as unnecessary and the only evidence remaining that it's her is her name-tag. She also gets killed. This would also have made her the first immigrant from the Wilderness Years by miles, beating out Kate Stewart who wouldn't appear for another decade.
  • The "Bad Wolf" reference that would echo throughout the rest of the season wasn’t included until by Davies to make the story more realistic.

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