"World War Three" is the fifth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who. It was written by showrunner Russell T Davies and directed by Keith Boak, and is the second of a two-part story which began with "Aliens of London". They were the first two-part story of the 2005 Doctor Who revival, leading to showrunner and episode writer Davies designing it to be large in scope. Production on the story began in 2004, eventually wrapping in January 2005.

In the episode, the alien time traveller known as the Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and his companion, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), team up with Rose's boyfriend Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), her mother Jackie (Camille Coduri), and Member of Parliament Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) to foil the plan of the alien Slitheen family from destroying the Earth and then selling its remains.

It was first broadcast on BBC One on 23 April 2005 to a live audience of 7.98 million. The episode received mixed responses from critics. Though many praised the performances of the cast and the writing of its characters, the Slitheen were heavily criticised for not being taken seriously within the narrative.

Plot

Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke), ex-boyfriend of Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) is able to push aside the impostor police inspector advancing on Rose's mother Jackie Tyler (Camille Coduri) in her flat. Escaping an electrical pulse set by the Slitheen to kill him in 10 Downing Street, alien time-traveler the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) attempts to get the help of the police. However, by the time he has returned, the Slitheen have returned to their human disguises and accuse the Doctor of killing those affected by the pulse. The Doctor escapes to the upper floors of Downing Street and reunites with Rose, who is his travelling companion, and MP Harriet Jones (Penelope Wilton) in the Cabinet Rooms. Just before sealing off the rooms, the Doctor confronts the Slitheen and learns that they are a crime family intent on selling the Earth for commercial purposes.

Making contact with Mickey, the Doctor gives him instructions on how to log into the military organisation UNIT's website on his computer. The Doctor uses the information from the site to determine that a Slitheen ship is presently in the North Sea transmitting a signal. After the Doctor figures out the Slitheen are weak to acetic acid, Jackie and Mickey use food items covered in vinegar from Mickey's flat to kill the Slitheen threatening to kill them.

The Slitheen declare a national emergency and request that the United Nations release the activation codes to launch a nuclear strike against a fictitious mothership. The Doctor realises that the Slitheen actually plan to fire the weapons against other countries in order to start World War III, which would reduce the Earth to molten rock. The Slitheen plan to sell the Earth's radioactive remains as a fuel source, which they have already begun advertising through the signal. Through Harriet's insistence, the Doctor helps Mickey to hack into the controls of a Royal Navy submarine and fire a missile at 10 Downing Street, even though the Doctor is unsure of whether they will survive. The explosion kills the Slitheen, though the trio are able to survive. Harriet subsequently begins to campaign to be the next Prime Minister, and the Doctor offers Mickey the chance to travel with him, though Mickey declines. The Doctor and Rose subsequently depart in the TARDIS.

Production

Development and writing

"World War Three", like its preceding installment, "Aliens of London", was part of the first two-part story of Doctor Who 2005 revival. As a result, showrunner and episode writer Russell T Davies felt the story had to be "big". Thus, it was decided to focus the plot on 10 Downing Street, alongside the introduction of the alien crime family the Slitheen. Davies asserted that "Doctor Who is all about big green monsters", resulting in him giving the Slitheen such characteristics, as well as incorporating fart humor into their characters. David Verrey portrays Green, one of the Slitheen, She was first seen in "Aliens of London", and has since reprised her role in various Doctor Who episodes. Journalist Andrew Marr also appears as himself in several scenes depicting news footage. 350 thousand more than the preceding episode, but 650 thousand less than the next episode. Its audience was over double the audience of the competing ITV1 series Celebrity Wrestling. The episode had a rerun the next day, on BBC Three, garnering an audience of around 170 thousand. It would later be re-broadcast the same evening, which was watched by half a million viewers. The episode received an Audience Appreciation Index score of 81, one lower than "Aliens of London". "World War Three" would later be re-aired in a slightly edited form in Canada on CBC Television on 3 May. In 2013, Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times praised Wilton's performance, as well as Rose's character and the focus on how her travels with the Doctor impacted her personal life. Wilkins similarly positively highlighted the performances of the cast, and in particular highlighted Rose's dynamic with Mickey and Jackie. In the 2012 book Who is the Doctor, authors Graeme Burk and Stacey Smith? both positively highlighted the story, with Burk praising the Slitheen and their fart humor while Smith? highlighted Eccleston and Wilton's performances.

In print

A novelisation of "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" was written by Joseph Lidster under the title Doctor Who: Aliens of London. It is set to be released, alongside Doctor Who: The Satan Pit and Doctor Who: Flesh and Stone, as a paperback on 26 March 2026 as part of the Target Collection. An audiobook version, read by Coduri, will also release on the same day.

References

  • BBC Doctor Who Homepage