In the far future, humanity struggles to survive in a hostile, collapsing universe. Threats come from all sides: alien invasions, solar flares and the decay of the cosmos. The Doctor and his companions have helped the future of the human race to survive on many occasions in Doctor Who. But can anything really escape the collapse of reality itself?
The Ark in Space
★★★★★
TX: 25/01/1975 – 15/02/1975
Written by Robert Holmes Directed by Rodney Bennett
The Fourth Doctor, Sarah-Jane and Harry arrive on a space station in the far future, which contains the last survivors of humanity. The Ark was launched into space thousands of years previously after a solar fireball ravaged the Earth. The humans were frozen in suspended animation and kept in cryogenic chambers. Unfortunately, a parasitic insectoid species called the Wirrn has infested the Ark and the sleepers are in danger! Dr Harry Sullivan begins reviving some of the humans, including Vira and Noah. However, Noah becomes infected by the Wirrn and mutates into one of their kind. Soon the Wirrn are swarming all over the Ark. The Doctor plans to electrify the cryogenic chamber to prevent the Wirrn swarm from attacking more of the human crew. Because the Wirrn have disabled the station’s power supply, the crew decide to use the generators on board a transport ship docked at the space station. Sarah-Jane volunteers to crawl through a narrow conduit carrying the power cable from the ship, and the Doctor succeeds in electrifying the cryogenic chamber. The Wirrn offer the Doctor and his friends safe passage from the Ark in exchange for the sleepers, which they wish to devour. Vira and the rest of the crew lure all of the Wirrn into the transport ship. They set the transport ship on autopilot so that it fires into outer space where it detonates, destroying all the Wirrn including Noah. The Doctor assures Vira that humanity will continue and thrive. The Doctor, Sarah-Jane and Harry teleport down to the planet Earth to repair the receiver terminal and to allow the ark colonists to repopulate the Earth. The plot of The Ark in Space is very similar to that of the classic horror/sci-fi movie Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott and released four years after The Ark in Space (1975) was broadcast. Is there something that you are not telling us Ridley?
The Beast Below
★★☆☆☆
TX: 10/04/2010
Written by Steven Moffat Directed by Andrew Gunn
The Eleventh Doctor takes his new companion Amy Pond to visit Starship UK in the far future. Starship UK is fleeing a doomed planet Earth devastated by solar flares (The Ark in Space). Different nations of Earth have fled in their own ships, an independent Scotland has its own ship! 🏴 I support Scottish independence! The entire population of Great Britain lives in ignorance of the fact that their ship is on the back of a giant space whale that voluntarily saved the country. The ship is genetically welded into the whale and it is regularly tortured. The horrifying truth about this is concealed from the public until they vote. If voters protest, they are fed to the whale. The majority choose to forget what they’ve learned every five years in elections – “democracy in action” notes the Doctor. I am planning to vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party in the next UK General Election. Also if I were American, I would vote for AOC to be US president. 🗳️ The Doctor and Amy meet a little girl and also Liz 10 who is the Queen of Starship UK. This is the first time that a black female monarch was depicted in Doctor Who, and she joined the ranks of the many female politicians, leaders and other powerful figures in the show. Doctor Who is fantastic for representation and diversity! She is in charge of the Winders and the Smilers that police the ship. Elizabeth the Tenth is taken to the Tower of the London, where the Doctor reveals the truth about Starship UK and the space whale. The Doctor also explains that Liz 10 has had her body clock slowed down, so that her reign can last longer. Amy makes Liz 10 press the abdicate button, which causes the whale to stop being tortured and the ship increases speed. This is because Amy realises that the star whale volunteered to save Britain. The Doctor and Amy leave in the TARDIS, but they receive an urgent message from Winston Churchill which prompts them to head to London 1941. This adventure leads directly into the events of Victory of the Daleks.
The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet
★★★☆☆
TX: 06/09/1986 – 27/09/1986
Written by Robert Holmes Directed by Nicholas Mallett
The Doctor is put on trial by the Time Lords for his continual interference in the affairs of other life forms. The court prosecutor, the Valeyard presents evidence from the Doctor’s recent past. The Sixth Doctor and Peri arrive on the planet Ravolox, where they discover a Marble Arch Underground tube station sign. Peri deduces that Ravolox is really Earth in the far future. Her theory is proved right after the pair enter some underground tunnels and discover a civilisation that lives in fear of the Immortal. The Immortal is really an L3 Robot called Drathro, who depends on Black Light to function. The Black Light receiver is used as a totem pole in a nearby primitive village, run by Katryca the Queen of the Free. An intergalactic con man called Sabalom Glitz and his business partner Dibber try to shoot the Doctor. Dibber destroys the receiver, which cuts of the supply of Black Light to Drathro. Drathro instructs the Doctor to build his own supply of Black Light. Queen Katryca and the other primitives mount an attack on the underground dwellings. Glitz and Dibber are searching for Time Lord secrets from the Matrix on Gallifrey, which Drathro gives to them in exchange for an escape from the planet. Drathro’s Black Light convertor overloads, which destroys him and his base. The Doctor, Peri and the other survivors escape to the surface. It is later revealed in The Trial of a Time Lord: The Ultimate Foe that the Earth was dragged across space by the Time Lords which created a solar fireball that destroyed all life on the surface of the Earth, forcing the survivors to live underground. The Time Lords did this to prevent Gallifreyan secrets on Earth from being found by a robot recovery mission from Andromeda.
Orphan 55
★☆☆☆☆
TX: 12/01/2020
Written by Ed Hime Directed by Lee Haven Jones
The Thirteenth Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz arrive at the tranquility spa in the far future for a relaxing holiday. However, all is not well at the luxury holiday destination on Orphan 55. The time travellers discover that terrifying creatures called the Dregs have broken into the facility and that holiday makers are being devoured by these monsters. The Doctor and the other survivors venture outside in a vehicle, which is attacked by the Dregs. The Doctor and the humans find an underground passage. On the wall of the cavern, Graham spots Russian writing, mirroring the reveal of Ravolox as Earth in The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet. The Doctor later reveals that Orphan 55 is actually Earth in the far future, ravaged by the effects of climate change to the point where it is unrecognisable. After returning to the spa, the surviving humans mount a hopeless defence against the thousands of swarming Dregs. The Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz teleport back to the safety of the TARDIS. The Doctor explains that what they have just witnessed is a possible future for Earth which can be prevented if humans in the present day wake up to the devastating effects of climate change. “Lives change worlds. People can save planets or wreck them. That’s the choice. Be the best of humanity.” Doctor Who also showed the awful consequences of pollution on the environment in The Green Death, Praxeus and The War Between the Land and the Sea. I studied environmental law at university. 99% of the world’s scientists agree that man-made climate change is real and that it poses an existential threat to our planet! We only have one planet and we haven’t got the technology to reach other planets yet. We have to learn how to share our planet harmoniously with each other and how to treat the Earth with kindness and respect! Earth Day should become a national holiday!
The End of the World
★★★★★
TX: 02/04/2005
Written by Russell T Davies Directed by Euros Lyn
The Ninth Doctor takes his new companion Rose Tyler to the year 5 billion to witness the end of the world. A convention of aliens has met on Platform One to watch the Earth be destroyed by the expansion of the Sun. However, a murderer is aboard. Robot spiders have been programmed by someone to sabotage the space station and kill the guests. The Doctor unmasks the murderer as none other than Lady Cassandra, who claims to be the last human. Lady Cassandra intends to manufacture a hostage situation with herself as one of the victims. She will then claim billions of credits in compensation to continue financing the many cosmetic surgery operations she has had to keep herself “pure”. The Doctor braves the station’s giant fans in order to reach the switch to manually raise Platform One’s shields. Unfortunately, he is too late to save several guests from the extreme heat surge, including his friend Jabe and also the Moxx of Balhoon. The Doctor confronts Lady Cassandra, who explodes due to the increase in heat and the absence of her surgeons. Rose contemplates the end of the Earth and remarks that it is a tragedy that no one witnessed it because they were busy saving themselves on Platform One. The Doctor takes Rose back to the present day where he tells her that his home planet of Gallifrey is gone as a result of war. Despite the danger, Rose decides to continue travelling with the Doctor.
The Ark
★★★☆☆
TX: 5-26/3/1966
Written by Paul Erickson & Lesley Scott Directed by Michael Imison
The First Doctor, Steven and Dodo arrive on a human space Ark in the distant future, carrying the last survivors of humanity (and their servants, the Monoids) and many other animals to the planet Refusis II. The Earth has apparently been destroyed. After witnessing The End of the World, humanity has chosen to resettle on the Earth-like planet Refusis II, home to the invisible Refusians. Dodo has a cold and when she sneezes, a virus mutates from it which begins to spread across the Ark. Thankfully, the Doctor manages to find a cure and the humans and Monoids are saved. The Doctor, Steven and Dodo return to the TARDIS, but the ship lands in the same place, 700 years in the future. Since then, the Monoids have overthrown their human overlords and built the giant statue in their own image. The Doctor, Steven and Dodo travel down to Refusis II upon arrival, where they are greeted by the invisible Refusians. The Refusians help to trigger a civil war amongst the Monoids, which allows the humans to regain control of the situation. “Two, take them away to the Security Kitchen and then call a grand council!” This line tickled me almost as much as when the Ninth Doctor first asserted that “lots of planets have a north” in Rose. The Ark is an intriguing story with plenty of influences from The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, whom the Doctor later met onscreen in Timelash. This story also pays homage to Wells’ lesser-known novel The Sleeper Awakes, whilst the invisible nature of the indigenous Refusians references one of Wells’ most famous books, The Invisible Man. The Monoids may not be one of Doctor Who’s most successful monsters. But, combined with the Sensorites, they played a key part in the inspiration for the Ood that have frequently appeared in the new series. The Ood were also an oppressed slave race that later overthrew their human overlords in Planet of the Ood. Another great treat that this adventure provides is that it is effectively two stories in one. The entire tale is turned on its head after the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 2, following the reveal of the Monoid statue.
Frontios
★★★☆☆
TX: 26/01/1984 – 03/02/1984
Written by Christopher H Bidmead Directed by Ron Jones
The TARDIS is dragged down to the planet Frontios in the far future by an unknown gravitational pull. One of the last surviving human colonies is struggling to survive on Frontios, as the encampments are bombarded by meteors and other debris. During one strike, the TARDIS is apparently destroyed, leaving the Fifth Doctor, Tegan and Turlough stranded on Frontios. The Plantagenet who leads the people of Frontios is considered weak by his subordinates, including Security Chief Brazen. The Plantagenet assumed the position after his father, Captain Revere was sucked into the ground. This is the same fate that awaits many of the humans on Frontios. Under the ground is a network of subterranean tunnels which have been dug by an intelligent woodlice species called the Tractators. A traumatised Turlough recognises the Tractators because they invaded his home planet a long time ago. The Tractators have powers over gravity and they have been dragging humans down through the Earth so that their animated corpses can be used to drive the Tractators’ machinery. They are also responsible for the regular bombardment on the planet’s surface. The Doctor, Norna and her father Mr Range confront the leader of the Tractators, the Gravis. The Gravis wants the Doctor’s TARDIS, the fragments of which have been scattered throughout Frontios. The Doctor tricks the Gravis into using its powers over gravity to pull the missing TARDIS components together, rebuilding the ship. The Gravis collapses and whilst dormant, the Doctor later drops it off on the barren planet of Kolkokron. The Doctor gives Plantagenet the TARDIS hat stand as a farewell token and asks that his own involvement in the situation should not be mentioned to anyone, especially the Time Lords. Once the TARDIS has left Frontios, its engines start making a concerning noise. The Doctor appears to be helpless as the ship is being pulled down a Dalek Time Corridor back to Earth. This story leads directly into the events of Resurrection of the Daleks.
Utopia
★★★★★
TX: 16/06/2007
Written by Russell T Davies Directed by Graeme Harper
The Tenth Doctor and Martha land in Cardiff Bay so that the TARDIS can refuel from the rift in time and space running through Cardiff (The Unquiet Dead, Boom Town, Torchwood). However, Captain Jack Harkness detects this in the Torchwood Hub underneath the bay and he runs after the TARDIS and jumps aboard. This causes the TARDIS to hurtle all the way to the end of the universe to try and shake him off. When they land in the year 100 trillion on the desolate planet of Malcassairo, the Tenth Doctor and Martha find the immortal Captain Jack outside the TARDIS. The trio are then chased by savage humanoids called the Futurekind. The time travellers take refuge in a nearby space silo, where they meet Professor Yana, his assistant Chantho and the last survivors of humanity. The Professor explains that they are trying to launch a rocket so that the human race can reach Utopia, a fabled planet that holds the key to surviving the collapse of the universe. Professor Yana complains to the Doctor that he can hear The Sound of Drums in his head, which he has suffered with his whole life. However, a member of the Futurekind has infiltrated the silo and it sabotages the first attempt to launch the rocket using a gravity funnel. Jack is immortal so he is able to enter the chamber beneath the rocket which is full of stet radiation. The Doctor explains that he abandoned Jack in The Parting of the Ways because Jack’s immortality is disturbing to him and the TARDIS. Professor Yana produces a fob watch which he tells Chantho and Martha that he was found with as an abandoned child. Martha tells the Doctor and Jack about this, but they are too late to prevent the Professor from opening the Time Lord fob watch and revealing his true identity: the Master. The Face of Boe’s message was right: the Doctor is not the Last of the Time Lords and he is not alone! Professor Y.A.N.A (“YOU ARE NOT ALONE”) aka the Master kills his assistant Chantho and he lowers the silo’s defences, allowing the feral Futurekind to break in. The rocket carrying the humans launches, taking them to Utopia (although it will not be paradise that they were hoping for and so they cannibalised themselves into Toclafane). The Twelfth Doctor and Clara later visited the last planet in Listen, where they encountered a strange creature that knocked on the walls outside like the Midnight Entity. The Doctor, Martha and Jack are chased by the Futurekind back to the Professor’s laboratory. However, they are too late to stop the evil Master from stealing the Doctor’s TARDIS. The Master is shot by Chantho moments before she dies, forcing the Master to regenerate inside the TARDIS. The newly regenerated Master gloats at the Doctor, Martha and Jack as he leaves them with the attacking Futurekind.
Chris Olsen's TARDIS 