Eleventh Doctor Rewatch: The Beast Below

The Beast Below

Overall: This episode was one that I did not particularly enjoy the first time round, and I usually skip when re-watching. Watching it now, I realize that a lot of the foundation of the friendship between The Doctor and Amy is in this episode. Over 1,000 years in the future, Starship UK is the majority of the United Kingdom on a spaceship after Earth is no longer habitable. Policed by Smilies, creepy plastic men in fortune-teller-machine like boxes, this episode is why I do not make eye-contact with the fortune-teller-machines at the far. We see more of Elevens serious side in this episode as he comes down hard on Amy toward the end for a decision she makes. “You don’t ever decide what I need to know,” he chides her.

Fixed Points: Despite having just been chided for deciding what the Doctor needs to know, Amy makes a bold decision at the end of the episode that changes everyone’s fate. This really shows her strength of character and strongly impacts her relationship with The Doctor.

Forgettable: After shooting two Smilies, Liz10 says “I’m the bloody queen, mate. Basically, I rule.” It is super tacky.

Line of the Episode: “And then every five years, everyone chooses to forget what they have learned? Democracy in action!” – The Doctor

Foreshadowing: There’s a crack in the side of Starship UK, just like the one in Amy’s room.

 FanService: 11 taps his nose at the beginning of the episode, after putting a glass of water on the ground. This was a quirk of Tom Baker’s Doctor.