Akhaten – The Old God and the Leaf

Posted on August 14, 2024 by Chris Olsen's TARDIS

In the far flung reaches of the galaxy lies the exotic planet of Akhaten. Akhaten regularly celebrates the Festival of Offerings, during which attendees offer gifts to the old God, the sentient Sun at the centre of Akhaten’s solar system. The Queen of Years is to be sacrificed to the Mummy by the Vigil. However, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara were around to prevent this in one of the most visually spectacular episodes in Doctor Who‘s history.

The Rings of Akhaten

★★☆☆☆

TX: 06/04/2013

Written by Neil Cross    Directed by Farren Blackburn

The Eleventh Doctor takes his new companion Clara Oswald to the distant planet of Akhaten, which is currently celebrating the Festival of Offerings. During the ceremony, the Queen of Years is kidnapped and taken to be sacrificed to the Mummy by the Vigil. The Doctor and Clara pursue them on a space bike and rescue the Queen of Years. The Old God, the sentient Sun at the centre of Akhaten’s solar system, requires memories to feed. The Doctor makes a beautiful speech to the Old God, during which it takes his memories of his travels in time and space (including references to The Three Doctors), as well as his losses and emotional experiences. The Festival goers sing to pacify the Old God. Clara then offers a leaf which represents all of her memories of her late mother. The Old God sun begins to consume too many memories and it implodes. The Doctor returns Clara to the present day, thanking her for helping him in what was a very personal adventure for her. When this episode was broadcast, I was on a trip to Paris with some university friends. The others wanted to go and see the Eiffel Tower at night, but I wanted to stay in the hostel and watch The Rings of Akhaten live on my laptop instead. My friends wore me down and they persuaded me to go and see the Eiffel Tower instead (which I had been to before anyway). Because of this, I wasn’t smiling in any of the photos taken of us at the Eiffel Tower that night, because I was so angry that I had been dragged away from watching Doctor Who live.

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About Chris Olsen's TARDIS

I am an aspiring television producer, screenwriter and showrunner. I became a childhood fan of the popular BBC TV series Doctor Who at the age of 10, when my parents introduced me to the show upon its return in 2005. I am interested in all things sci-fi, fantasy and geeky, but Doctor Who takes the crown above all else. This website will detail my reviews of various episodes of Doctor Who from throughout its 60-year history. It will also contain content relating to other franchises that I grew up with as a kid, such as Star Wars and Harry Potter.
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