The Fall Of Pompeii
| The Downfall of Pompeii | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode of Doctor Who | |||||||
| Original Title | The Fires of Pompeii | ||||||
| Episode number | Season 4 Episode 2 | ||||||
| Realization | Colin Teague | ||||||
| Scenario | James Moran | ||||||
| Production | Phil Collinson | ||||||
| Duration | 48 minutes | ||||||
| Dissemination | 12 April 2008 | ||||||
| Characters | Doctor: 10th ( David Tennant ) Companion: Donna Noble ( Catherine Tate ) Others: Caecilius ( Peter Capaldi ) Metella ( Tracey Childs ) Evelina ( Francesca Fowler ) Quintus (Francois Pandolfo) Pextrus Dextrus Lucius ( Phil Davis High priestess ( Victoria Wicks ) | ||||||
| Chronology ( List of episodes ) | |||||||
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The Fall of Pompeii (The Fires of Pompeii) is the second episode of the fourth season of the television series of science fiction British . It was aired for the first time April 12 2008 on BBC One. This is the first episode where the Doctor plans to travel to Donna Noble , his new companion. The episode was filmed in studios Italian Cinecitt .
The story takes place shortly before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79. In this episode, the Doctor faces a dilemma moral: he does not know whether to save the inhabitants of Pompeii. The activities of the Doctor in the city are hampered by Pyroviles - an alien race - and their allies the Sybille , who seek to use the volcano to transform humans into creatures of stone.
Critics on The Fall of Pompeii are shared. The choice faced by the Doctor and Donna's insistence to save at least one family of Pompeii have been widely appreciated. However, the writing of the episode has been criticized, particularly as regards the supporting cast: the dialogue is described as "one-dimensional "and those of Peter Capaldi and Phil Davis as "whiners and hargeux .
Summary |
Plot
Synopsis
Donna Noble and the Doctor arrive in a city they think ancient Rome , but which turns out to be Pompeii one day before its destruction by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD AD. AD. They return to where they had left the TARDIS , but note his passing, a merchant sold it to the sculptor of marble Lucius Caecilius.
The antagonists of the episode are Pyroviles , alien creatures similar to golems whose home planet has been "lost" and who live within the Vesuvius. They operate secretly with the help of the priestesses of the Sybil and the omen Dextrus Lucius. Growing up in the bodies of humans, Pyroviles give them visions of the future. But in return, humans have gradually turned to stone.
The priests of the Sibyl were surprisingly accurate visions of the future but a problem remains: none is able to see Vesuvius erupt and destroy the entire city.
The Doctor discovers that Pyroviles want to spread around the globe to replace their own planet who has mysteriously disappeared. The Doctor is going to stop itself and trigger the eruption of Vesuvius in order to destroy them.
Continuity
In one of his conversation with Pyroviles, the Doctor refers to the Shadow Proclamation, an intergalactic code already mentioned in Rose , The Christmas Invasion , London 2012 , The Return of Donna Noble. The cascade of Medusa, mentioned for the first time by the Master in The Last Time Lord , is referenced; . The Doctor also alludes to the events of the episode The Romans ( 1965 ) indirectly admitting some responsibility in the Great Fire of Rome , this reference to an episode of the series was first introduced by James Moran. The sale of the TARDIS as an object of modern art is a nod to one of the favorite episodes of Moran, City of Death .
This episode helps answer many questions that have arisen fans of the series, namely: "Why does Doctor saving the humans of the contemporary era, but he remains strictly the subject of history ? "
We find the thread of the season when the two oracle told the Doctor this sentence: "She comes back. "
Production
Writing
Russell T Davies had the idea to include the fall of Pompeii in the first season after watching the docudrama The Last Day of Pompeii.
This episode was written by James Moran, known in the Whoniverse for writing the episode of Torchwood Alien fatal . It says he had difficulty writing this episode and have at least rewrites the opening text about twenty times. The Pyroviles have seen many editions during the script writing, having called Pyrovillaxians or Pyrovellians.
Moran has worked closely with Davies because of constraints imposed by the more specific film and Davies is that ideas come from jokes, language, inspired by the comic strip Asterix , as Lucius Petrus Dextrus (Lucius au Bras Petrified right). TK Maxximus is a pun with TK Maxx, an English chain store, and Spartacus. The phrase "I am Spartacus" is a nod to the 1960 film Spartacus , . Moran found the names and Quintus Caecilius Metella by reading manuals of Latin at Cambridge, only the character of Evelina is a fantasy , . Indeed, in this manual, we find the Caecilius family, a family who perished in Pompeii the day of the eruption, and this episode creates an alternative history where they were rescued by the Doctor and go to Rome.
The phrase "excuse my friend, she comes from Barcelona "is a reference to a recurrent phrase in the series Hotel Madness . The sentence pronounced by the Doctor in the pre-built "is the day of the Volcano", refers to his conversation with Captain Jack Harkness in season 1. In the episode The Doctor Dance Jack admits he used many times the day of the volcano of Pompeii to scam investors.
This episode is obviously based on the moral question posed by Donna: should we warn the public or allow history. , Davies and Moran have quite enjoyed the game of Catherine Tate to humanize the character of Doctor in situations "lose-lose" .
Filming
The episode was filmed in the studios of Cinecitta in Rome in September 2007 . As Book VI of Kaamelott , it reuses the sets of the television series Rome. Some scenes were filmed in Malta and Wales , but most of the episode was filmed in Italy This is the first time since 1996 (the TV movie The Time Lord was shot in Vancouver) an episode of Doctor Who was shot mostly outside of England. , .
The scenes inside the temple of Sybil were nevertheless toured the Temple of Peace Cardiff.
External Links
- (In) The Fires of Pompeii on the official website of the BBC
- (In) The Fires of Pompeii on Doctor Who Reference Guide
- Fire of Pompeii, In ... save at least one critic of the episode on The Village
References
- "Pyro" comes from ancient Greek which means fire.
- (en) "Doctor Who" The Fires of Pompeii (2008) on the Internet Movie Database.
- (en) "Doctor Who Watch". Radio Times (BBC) (12-18 April 2008).
- (en) Doctor Who 4.2: The Fires of Pompeii , Scott Matthewman, The Stage, April 13, 2008: "Similarly, Francois Pandolfo's feckless Quintus Remained pretty much one-dimensional THROUGHOUT."
- (en) S04E02: 'The Fires Of Pompeii' , Ben Rawson-Jones, digital spy: "They try admirably Their best, goal Have little to do apart from whimper and scowl, respectivement. "
- "The Gallifrey Guardian: Series Four Episode 1: Partners in Crime: Back in Business!". Doctor Who Magazine, Tom Spilsbury, April 2008.
- (en) Episode 2: The Fires Of Pompeii , Fact File, BBC.
- The Lost Stories (MQ) , ShannonSullivan.com, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-27
- Simon Hugo, "Slash Fiction" in Torchwood Magazine , Titan Magazines , London , No. 2, March 2008, p. 49-51
- a , b , c and d The Fires of Pompeii - Fact File , BBC , 2008-04-12. Retrieved on 2008-04-12
- a , b and c Tom Spilsbury, "The Gallifrey Guardian: Series Four Episode 2: The Fires of Pompeii: Volcano Day!" in Doctor Who Magazine , Panini Publishing Ltd. , Tunbridge Wells , Kent , No. 394, April 2008 p. 8-9
- a , b , c , d , e and f The Italian Job. " Doctor Who Confidential. BBC. BBC Three. 2008-04-12. episode 2, season 4.
- Doctor Who (1996) , A Brief History of Time (Travel). Retrieved on 2008-04-19
- Walesarts, Temple of Peace, Cathays Park, Cardiff , BBC. Retrieved on 2010-05-30
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