Modern Series Episode 101:
The Rings Of Akhaten
The Doctor takes Clara to a market in the system of rings which
surround the planet Akhaten. It is the gathering place for the people of
many worlds, all of whom harbour a belief in the Grandfather, a godlike
entity who must be appeased with song and story. Central to these rites
is the Queen of Years, a role currently filled by a frightened young
girl named Merry Gejelh whom Clara befriends. But when the Queen of
Years' ceremony goes wrong, the Doctor's intervention reawakens an
ancient power -- forcing both time travellers to risk the things they
treasure most.
As had been the case for Doctor Who's thirty-second season,
Season Thirty-Three was split into two segments. But whereas its
predecessor aired on either side of the summer months, the new slate of
episodes would experience a hiatus spanning half a year. Between the end
of September 2012 and the end of March 2013, the only full-length
Doctor Who adventure scheduled for broadcast was the 2012
Christmas special, The Snowmen. As a
result, the production team had to effectively treat the Fall 2012 and
Spring 2013 runs as if they were two separate seasons, even though they
were being budgeted and recorded together. This provoked concern when it
was observed that both of the year's overseas location shoots -- to
Spain for A Town Called Mercy and Asylum Of The Daleks, and to the United
States for The Angels Take Manhattan --
were for the Fall 2012 episodes. This would run the risk of depriving
the Spring 2013 stories of the visual diversity that viewers had come to
expect.
As a result, by the late summer of 2012, executive producer Steven
Moffat had decided that the second of the Spring 2013 episodes would
chronicle new companion Clara Oswald's first trip into outer space. It
would be a big, colourful science-fiction spectacular filled to the brim
with aliens and dazzling extra-terrestrial sights, providing an
opportunity for Doctor Who's design and effects wizards to
captivate viewers in a manner comparable to an excursion to an exotic
foreign locale. To write the script, Moffat turned to Neil Cross; he had
already contributed Hide, the fourth of
the Spring 2013 adventures. Cross was initially doubtful that he had the
time to accommodate Moffat's offer, but he was finally won over when he
learned of the production team's ambition for the story. As such, his
new script would actually precede Hide
in the broadcast schedule by two weeks.
The space mopeds were inspired by the speeder bikes in the
Star Wars sequel Return
Of The Jedi
Cross completed an initial draft in early October, at which point it
bore the functional title “Alien Planet”. This reflected the
author's process of first conceiving the sentient planet Akhaten with
its two concentric ring systems -- where the pyramid-like Apex Temple
lay in the inner ring, and the market asteroid of Tiaanamaat lay in the
outer -- and then developing its people and their religion, before
building the plot around the setting. The bustling environment of
Tiaanamaat drew upon the Mos Eisley cantina from the 1977 feature film
Star Wars, while the space mopeds were inspired by the speeder
bikes in its second sequel, 1983's Return Of The Jedi; the latter
was an element suggested by producer Marcus Wilson.
Cross originally planned to spend some time at the Maitland household
where Clara was working as a nanny, but Moffat instead encouraged him to
focus on the story of Clara's parents. As a result, Artie Maitland was
dropped from the cast list, while Akhaten's defeat would now result from
Clara's sacrifice, rather than the Doctor's. The living planet was
originally referred to as Akhet, a name which survived in references to
the Sun Singers of Akhet. It was an homage to both the unknowable alien
gods depicted in the macabre Cthulhu Mythos stories of HP Lovecraft, and
the anthropomorphised moon in Georges Méliès' iconic 1902
movie Le voyage dans la lune (that is, A Trip To The
Moon).
With production looming, Cross' episode gained the title The Rings Of
Akhaten. It would be made on its own as Block Nine of the production
calendar, and was assigned to director Farren Blackburn, who had been
responsible for the 2011 Christmas special, The
Doctor, The Widow And The Wardrobe. It was the second of four
episodes produced by Denise Paul, while Wilson turned his attention to
Doctor Who's forthcoming fiftieth-anniversary special; he would
instead be credited as series producer. Cast in the crucial role of
Merry Gejelh was ten-year-old Emilia Jones, who had appeared in the
juvenile mystery series House Of Anubis, movies such as One
Day with Anne Hathaway, and West End productions like Shrek The
Musical. She would go on to star in 2021's CODA, the first
movie distributed by a streaming service to win the Academy Award for
Best Picture.
Blackburn's initial order of business was the flashback material, all of
which was filmed in Newport. On October 22nd, Clara's parents met in
1981 at Rupert Brooke Drive. Work on the 23rd saw the Doctor
encountering the four-year-old Clara in a playground on Goldsmith Close,
while Dave Oswald and the sixteen-year-old Clara visited Ellie's
gravesite in St Woolos Cemetery. Blackburn's team then wrapped up the
day on the standing TARDIS set at Doctor Who's regular home of
Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff.
From this point on, virtually all of The Rings Of Akhaten was
recorded at Roath Lock. Many of the alien costumes which appeared in
these sequences had been accumulated by Neill Gorton of Millennium FX
over the years in anticipation of being called upon to help realise a
Mos Eisley-type setting. Filming on October 24th began with the effects
shot of Clara seeing the Akhaten system for the first time, before
moving on to the Tiaanamaat marketplace; the latter remained the focus
on the 25th. On October 26th, attention turned to the abandoned building
where Clara found Merry, plus an insert of Clara holding the travel book
in the cemetery. The 27th offered an opportunity to head back out on
location, with cast and crew returning to Rupert Brooke Drive -- this
time, to a home which would pose as the Oswald household. Then it was
back to Roath Lock for more material in the market streets and the
abandoned building.
After a day off on Sunday the 28th, Blackburn spent the following week
concentrating on scenes in and around the Apex Temple. Recording on the
interior set spanned October 29th to November 1st, before the focus
shifted to material outside the pyramid on both November 1st and 2nd.
After the weekend, the remaining footage of the Apex Temple exterior was
captured on November 5th. Work on this day also included effects
sequences involving the space moped, plus the closing shots in the
TARDIS console room. The last day of principal photography was November
6th, which was dedicated to the Tiaanamaat amphitheatre.
Some recording for The Rings of Akhaten remained outstanding, and
was completed throughout November. The 12th saw a combination of green
screen effects and wireworks employed for the sequence of Merry being
pulled towards the Apex Temple. Inserts at the abandoned building were
taped on the 15th. On the 26th, the shot of the TARDIS materialising at
the Maitland residence was filmed on Beatty Avenue in Cardiff during the
making of the season finale, The Name Of The
Doctor. Finally, on the 30th, the shot of Clara waiting for the
TARDIS was captured at Roath Lock.
- Doctor Who Magazine Special Edition #37, Autumn 2014,
“The Rings Of Akhaten” by Andrew Pixley, Panini UK Ltd.
- Doctor Who: The Complete History #73, 2016, “Story 233:
The Rings Of Akhaten”, edited by John Ainsworth, Hachette
Partworks Ltd.
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Original Transmission
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Date |
6th Apr 2013 |
Time |
6.15pm |
Duration |
43'45" |
· BBC1/HD |
7.5m |
Appreciation |
84% |
Cast
The Doctor |
Matt Smith (bio) |
Clara |
Jenna-Louise Coleman (bio) |
Dave |
Michael Dixon |
Ellie |
Nicola Sian |
Merry |
Emilia Jones |
The Chorister |
Chris Anderson |
The Mummy |
Aidan Cook |
Dor'een |
Karl Greenwood |
Crew
Written by |
Neil Cross (bio) |
Directed by |
Farren Blackburn (bio) |
|
Series Producer |
Marcus Wilson (bio) |
Producer |
Denise Paul |
Stunt Coordinator |
Crispin Layfield |
Stunt Performers |
Dani Biernat |
Gordon Seed |
Andy J Smart |
First Assistant Director |
David Mack |
Second Assistant Director |
Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch |
Third Assistant Director |
Danielle Richards |
Assistant Directors |
Gareth Jones |
Louisa Cavell |
Location Manager |
Nicky James |
Unit Manager |
Monty Till |
Location Assistant |
Iestyn Hampson-Jones |
Production Manager |
Phillipa Cole |
Production Coordinator |
Claire Hildred |
Assistant Coordinator |
Gabriella Ricci |
Production Secretary |
Sandra Cosfeld |
Production Assistants |
Rachel Vipond |
Samantha Price |
Assistant Production Accountant |
Rhys Evans |
Assistant Script Editor |
John Phillips |
Script Supervisor |
Rory Herbert |
Camera Operator |
Joe Russell |
Focus Pullers |
James Scott |
Chris Reynolds |
Grip |
Gary Norman |
Camera Assistants |
Meg de Koning |
Sam Smithard |
Cai Thompson |
Assistant Grip |
Owen Charnley |
Sound Maintenance Engineers |
Ross Adams |
Chris Goding |
Gaffer |
Mark Hutchings |
Best Boy |
Stephen Slocombe |
Electricians |
Bob Milton |
Nick Powell |
Gafin Riley |
Gareth Sheldon |
Supervising Art Director |
Paul Spriggs |
Art Directors |
Amy Pickwoad |
Lucienne Suren |
Set Decorator |
Adrian Anscombe |
Production Buyers |
Adrian Greenwood |
Holly Thurman |
Standby Art Director |
Nandie Narishkin |
Assistant Art Director |
Richard Hardy |
Art Department Coordinator |
Donna Shakesheff |
Prop Master |
Paul Smith |
Prop Chargehand |
Ian Griffin |
Set Dresser |
Jayne Davies |
Prophands |
Austin J Curtis |
Jamie Farrell |
Jamie Southcott |
Standby Props |
Helen Atherton |
Rob Brandon |
Dressing Props |
Mike Elkins |
Paul Barnett |
Graphic Designer |
Chris Lees |
Graphic Artist |
Christina Tom |
Storyboard Artist |
Andrew Wildman |
Petty Cash Buyer |
Florence Tasker |
Standby Carpenter |
Will Pope |
Standby Rigger |
Bryan Griffiths |
Practical Electrician |
Christian Davies |
Props Makers |
Penny Howarth |
Alan Hardy |
Props Driver |
Gareth Fox |
Construction Manager |
Terry Horle |
Construction Chargehand |
Dean Tucker |
Scenic Artist |
John Pinkerton |
Assistant Costume Designer |
Fraser Purfit |
Costume Supervisor |
Carly Griffith |
Costume Assistants |
Katarina Cappellazzi |
Gemma Evans |
Make-Up Artists |
Vivienne Simpson |
Sara Angharad |
Allison Sing |
Casting Associate |
Alice Purser |
Assistant Editors |
Becky Trotman |
Katrina Aust |
VFX Editor |
Joel Skinner |
Dubbing Mixer |
Tim Ricketts |
ADR Editor |
Matthew Cox |
Dialogue Editor |
Darran Clement |
Sound Effects Editor |
Paul Jefferies |
Foley Editor |
Jamie Talbutt |
Graphics |
Peter Anderson Studio |
Additional Visual Effects |
BBC Wales Visual Effects |
Online Editor |
Geraint Pari Huws |
Colourist |
Mick Vincent |
With Thanks to |
Crouch End Festival Chorus |
Conducted by |
David Temple |
With Thanks to |
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales |
Conducted and Orchestrated by |
Ben Foster |
Recorded & Mixed by |
Jake Jackson |
Original Theme Music |
Ron Grainer |
Casting Director |
Andy Pryor CDG |
Production Executive |
Julie Scott |
Post Production Supervisor |
Nerys Davies |
Production Accountant |
Jeff Dunn |
Sound Recordist |
Deian Llŷr Humphreys |
Costume Designer |
Howard Burden |
Make-Up Designer |
Barbara Southcott |
Music |
Murray Gold |
Visual Effects |
The Mill |
Special Effects |
Real SFX |
Prosthetics |
Millennium FX |
Editor |
Sam Williams |
Production Designer |
Michael Pickwoad |
Director Of Photography |
Dale McCready |
Line Producer |
Des Hughes |
Executive Producers |
Steven Moffat (bio) |
Caroline Skinner |
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