'World War Three' Story Code 1.5 by Russell T. Davies

"If I don't dare, everybody dies." - The Doctor

Fighting the intense electrical discharge, the Doctor manages to wrench off his ID tag and thrust it into the compression-field box worn by the ‘Asquith’ Slitheen. The intense electrical feedback affects all the other Slitheen, allowing Mickey to rescue Jackie, and enabling Rose and Harriet to run for their lives. The Doctor attempts to elicit the aid of the soldiers stationed inside Ten Downing Street, but when he returns to the conference room, ‘Green’ has switched off the field, and ‘Asquith’ is once more in human disguise. Confronted with the dead bodies strewn around the room, Sergeant Price and his men immediately believe ‘Green’s’ claims that the Doctor is to blame; they attempt to arrest the Doctor, but the Time Lord is able to escape. ‘Green’ then gives the order to seal off the building. The Doctor rescues Rose and Harriet from their Slitheen attackers with the aid of a fire extinguisher, and together they head for the cabinet room, sealing themselves safely inside its impregnable metal blast doors. By a ruse the Doctor tricks the Slitheen into revealing that ‘Slitheen’ is not the name of their race, but is in fact their surname - it seems that their family is engaged in nothing more than a moneymaking scheme… Meanwhile, outside Downing Street, the other members of the Slitheen family arrive, all disguised as high-ranking officials. When Rose receives a call on her mobile phone from her mother and boyfriend, the Doctor instructs Mickey to use his computer to log on to the U.N.I.T. secure website using his own password; with the site’s facilities, they soon hear a message transmitting into space from the Slitheen ship. Jackie and Mickey are interrupted by the arrival of Strickland, who throws off his human disguise and begins breaking through the door. By a process of elimination, the Doctor uses his knowledge of alien species to determine the Slitheen’s planet of origin, Raxacoricofallapatorius, and their weakness: vinegar; Jackie is then able to use the contents of Mickey’s larder to destroy their assailant. Back at Downing Street, ‘Green’ tells the assembled press that Earth is under alien attack, and implores the United Nations to release the codes required to make a nuclear retaliation. The Doctor confronts the Slitheen waiting outside the cabinet room, and learns that their transmission is in fact a sales pitch - they wish to reduce Earth to a radioactive cinder in order to sell off chunks of it as raw fuel for the spacecraft of prospective buyers. The Doctor faces a dilemma: the only way to save the Earth will result in Rose’s death, a decision he cannot make lightly; however, Rose insists, and, as the only elected minister present, so does Harriet. To Jackie’s dismay, the Doctor instructs Mickey to use the U.N.I.T. website to hack into the Royal Navy, select a missile from the submarine H.M.S. Taurean, and fire it at Downing Street. Just as the assembled Slitheen learn that the U.N. have agreed to release the codes, they receive news of the approaching missile, and in panic they begin donning their disguises so that they can leave. The Doctor, Rose and Harriet brace themselves for impact, while the troops evacuate the building. The incoming missile strikes Ten Downing Street, utterly destroying the building and the Slitheen; however, the Doctor, Rose and Harriet survive, thanks to the secure metal box they have sealed themselves into. As Harriet reassures the press that humanity is safe, the Doctor remembers where he heard her name: she is to be the next Prime Minister of Great Britain. Some time later, while the Doctor gives Mickey a disc containing a virus that will remove all trace of himself from the Web, Rose rejoins her mother; Faced with the choice between her mother’s dinner plans and travelling with the TARDIS, Rose decides to pack, and, after saying a final goodbye, she rejoins the Doctor on his travels in the TARDIS…

Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), David Verrey (Joseph Green), Camille Coduri (Jackie Tyler), Penelope Wilton (Harriet Jones), Noel Clarke (Mickey Smith), Rupert Vansittart (General Asquith), Morgan Hopkins (Sergeant Price), Andrew Marr (As Himself), Annette Badland (Margaret Blaine), Steven Speirs ([Asst Commissioner] Strickland), Jack Tarlton (Reporter), Lachelle Carl (Reporter), Corey Doabe (Spray Painter), Elizabeth Fost, Paul Kasey, Alan Ruscoe (Slitheen)

Directed by Keith Boak
Produced by Phil Collinson
Executive Producers Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner and Mal Young
A BBC Wales production

TX:
23rd April 2005 @ 7.00 pm

Notes:
*Featuring the Ninth Doctor, Rose, Mickey and Jackie

*Working title: '10 Downing Street'

*Part 2 of a 2-part story

*Bad Wolf sightings: The Doctor makes the young boy remove his 'Bad Wolf' graffiti from the side of the TARDIS. Also, according to the BBC's spoof ‘Who is Doctor Who’ website (which is now being run by Mickey) the American newsreporter seen in this episode is called Mal Loup – a reference to a mythical creature known as a loup de mal, which can change shape at will into that of a wolf. Mickey also tells us on the website “When he said goodbye, The Doctor gave me a disc. He said it contained a virus that would wipe him from the internet. Thing is: I can’t bring myself to use it. You see, he’s off, making another decision for us, all “I’m the big bad wolf and it’s way past your bedtime.” Well, I don’t think so. Not this time. It’s enough for us all that I’ve got the virus. On CD. And I’m ready to use it. If he really is that dangerous.” Also, the BBC's fake U.N.I.T. website required the password "buffalo" to log on, and then "bison" to play a missile game - although this was later reset to "badwolf".