In the year 200,000, the human race receives all of its news and information from Satellite 5, orbiting the Earth. Satellite 5 could possibly be based on Thunderbird 5 from Thunderbirds. The staff on Satellite 5 dream of being promoted to Floor 500. However, the walls there are not made of gold! Satellite 5 is really being controlled by the disgusting Jagrafess and his henchman, the Editor. The Daleks installed the Jagrafess on Satellite 5 in order to manipulate Earth’s media in preparation for a full scale Dalek invasion of Earth in the future. The Daleks therefore played The Long Game. The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe (aka Max) was a gigantic purple monster that needed to live in cool conditions, so all of the heat was pumped downwards from Floor 500, heating up the rest of Satellite 5. Luckily, the Ninth Doctor and his companions Rose Tyler and Adam Mitchell noticed this and they were able to defeat the Jagrafess. However, Adam’s irresponsible actions in this story led to him becoming one of the shortest term companions in the history of Doctor Who…

The Long Game

★★★☆☆

TX: 07/05/2005

Written by Russell T Davies    Directed by Brian Grant

The TARDIS arrives on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000. “Time travel is like visiting Paris. You can’t just read the guidebook. You’ve got to throw yourself in! Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers! Or is that just me?” The TARDIS team eat Kronk Burgers served in the canteen. I enjoy eating sometimes at Shake Shack, Burger King, Byron Burger, Wetherspoons, McDonalds and KFC. 🍔 The space station broadcasts all news and media to the planet Earth below. I don’t watch the news anymore and I don’t read any newspapers. I am not interested in politics anymore. My life is happier without politics or the news! However, the Ninth Doctor realises that Earth society is being manipulated by a higher power. Rose Tyler is keen to know why the temperature in Satellite 5 is so high. Upon close inspection, the Doctor discovers that the central heating pumps all the heat downwards from Floor 500. Floor 500 is the coveted head office where all employees of Satellite 5, particularly Cathica, dream of being promoted to. However, up in Floor 500, the walls are not made of gold… After venturing upstairs, the Doctor and Rose confront the true controller of Satellite 5 and therefore humanity: the Jagrafess and his henchman, the Editor. The Jagrafess is a disgusting, gigantic purple alien that needs to live in cool conditions and has a lifespan of 3000 years. The Jagrafess and the Editor have been feeding Earth society fake news so that they can manipulate humanity (Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall, The Lie of the Land, Wish World). The Editor says that for example, it is easy to keep the borders closed when a climate of fear is created in the mainstream media (Years and Years). This story sheds a light on the issues of immigration rhetoric in the media, censorship, free speech and fake news (Sherlock: His Last Vow, which contained an allegory for Rupert Murdoch). The situation worsens when the Doctor’s selfish companion Adam gets a chip in his head so that he can steal information from Satellite 5 and send it back to the present day. The Editor intercepts this and realises that the Doctor is a Time Lord and that he can therefore steal his TARDIS. Cathica thankfully comes to the rescue and vents the heat up to Floor 500, which destroys the Jagrafess killing the Editor in the process. The Doctor and Rose escape in the nick of time and reunite with Cathica. The Doctor tells Cathica that Earth society should now go back to normal after these events. Although, he later discovers that he is wrong about this during the events of Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways. If something is genuinely your fault, you should always own up to it and take responsibility for your actions. The Doctor and Rose confront Adam who apologises for his irresponsible behaviour, but the Doctor drops him off at home anyway and leaves him there. This story has some similarities to the plot of Dragonfire.