In the far future, humanity struggles to survive in a hostile, collapsing universe (The Ark, The End of the World). Threats come from all sides: alien invasions, solar flares and the decay of the cosmos (Utopia). 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 UK flees the Earth on the back of a giant star whale, in search of a new home for humanity following devastating solar flares (The Ark in Space). However, the Star Whale is routinely tortured by the government of Starship UK, but thankfully Amy and the Eleventh Doctor arrive and free the Star Whale from the corrupt system of government on the ship (The Beast Below). If I had a TARDIS, I would prefer to travel into the future rather than the past because I would like to see what the future of the human race will be.

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. I loved meeting Jeremy Corbyn and I also tried to meet Nicola Sturgeon after she gave a brilliant talk. Also if I were American, I would vote for AOC to be US president. 🗳️ I want to meet Barack & Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Al Gore, Bernie Sanders and AOC (and I have emailed all of them) but the priority is for me to meet President Obama when he returns to the O2! I also want to meet President Zelenskyy. 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. Queen 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.