"The Long Game" is the seventh episode of the
first series of the British
science fiction television
Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
programme ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' that was first broadcast on 7 May 2005 on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
. It was written by executive producer
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
and directed by
Brian Grant
Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...
.
In the episode, the alien time traveller the
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the seri ...
(
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston (; born 16 February 1964) is an English actor. A two-time BAFTA Award nominee, he is best known for his television and film work, which includes his role as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC sci-fi series '' ...
) and his
companion Rose Tyler
Rose Tyler is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. She was created by series producer Russell T Davies and portrayed by Billie Piper. With the revival of ''Doctor Who'' in 2005, Rose was introd ...
(
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...
), having been joined by near-future genius
Adam Mitchell (
Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley (born 21 March 1983) is an English former actor. He is known for his roles as Darren Michaels and Todd Grimshaw in ''Coronation Street'' (2001–2004, 2007, 2011, 2013–2017) and Adam Mitchell in ''Doctor Who'' (2005).
In Octob ...
), land on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000. Satellite 5 is a space station that broadcasts news across the entire human empire. However, the Doctor notices that the station is suspicious: there are no aliens, and those who are promoted to Floor 500 seem to disappear. The Doctor and Rose discover that the Editor (
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
) and an alien are controlling the rest of humanity by way of the press. Meanwhile, Adam makes a mistake that forces the Doctor and Rose to take him home.
The concept of "The Long Game" was originally submitted by Davies to the ''Doctor Who'' script office in the 1980s. Davies had also been interested in doing a storyline about a failed companion. In addition, critics have pointed out that the story is a
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
on the media. Production for the episode took place in
Newport in November and December 2004 and in
Coryton, Cardiff
Coryton is a district of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, lying immediately to the north of Whitchurch next to junction 32 of the M4 motorway. It is within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais electoral ward.
Coryton House
Coryton House is a large ...
in December. "The Long Game" was watched by 8.01 million viewers in the UK and received generally mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
The
Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Christopher Eccleston during the first series of the show's revival in 2005. Within the seri ...
,
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
, and
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
arrive on Satellite 5, a space station orbiting Earth in the year 200,000. The Doctor gets Adam and Rose some credits to buy food while he looks around the station. The Doctor meets a woman named Cathica, a reporter who tells him that the station is a giant broadcast tower transmitting news across Earth. Cathica leads them to a room where she sits down in a chair located in the centre of a round table. The reporters are connected to the computer via a special port installed directly into the brain. The Doctor believes there is a malevolent purpose to the station that is holding back human development. He learns from Cathica that a select few are invited to Floor 500, which is believed to be the highest promotion that can be earned on the station.
The Doctor, with Rose, hacks into the computer systems of the station and is detected by the Editor. The Editor allows the Doctor and Rose to travel to Floor 500, with Cathica following soon after. On Floor 500 the Doctor and Rose find the Editor directing control over the station through a number of dead humans. On the ceiling resides the Editor-in-Chief, the Jagrafess, to whom the Editor answers. The Doctor learns that the Jagrafess controls the lives of the people on the planet below by manipulating the news.
Meanwhile, Adam discovers that he can gain access to information about Earth's future. He has an information port installed in his brain and uses Rose's phone to call his answering machine at home and transfer data to it. The port also allows the Jagrafess into Adam's mind. The Jagrafess learns about the Doctor and makes plans to kill him. The Doctor, aware of Cathica's presence outside the room, loudly comments on how altering the environmental systems will likely kill the Jagrafess. Cathica reverses the cooling system, causing Floor 500 to overheat, killing the Jagrafess and the Editor. As the humans on board the station and on Earth come to wake from the stupor they have been in, the Doctor congratulates Cathica and gives her hope for the future. The Doctor discovers Adam's duplicity and takes him to his home on Earth. The Doctor destroys Adam's answering machine and tells Adam he is no longer welcome in the
TARDIS
The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...
. The Doctor leaves with Rose, just as Adam's mother arrives at home; she accidentally activates his port.
Production
![Simon Pegg by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Simon_Pegg_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
In the book ''The Shooting Scripts'',
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One scie ...
claims that he had originally set out to write this episode from Adam's perspective, watching the adventure unfolding from his point of view (exactly as Rose did in "Rose") and seeing both the Doctor and Rose as enigmatic, frightening characters. He even gave this outline a working title: "Adam".
Another working title for this story was "The Companion Who Couldn't".
According to Davies, the concept of "The Long Game" was originally written in the early 1980s and submitted to the ''Doctor Who'' production office. Whether it was ever read by the production team of the time is unclear, as Davies received a rejection from the BBC Script Unit, who advised him to write more realistic television about "a man and his mortgage" instead.
Davies reworked the story for the new series.
In the
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
commentary for this episode, director
Brian Grant
Brian Wade Grant (born March 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player. He played the power forward and center positions for five teams during 12 seasons in the National Basketball Association. He was known for his tenacious ...
and actor
Bruno Langley
Bruno Langley (born 21 March 1983) is an English former actor. He is known for his roles as Darren Michaels and Todd Grimshaw in ''Coronation Street'' (2001–2004, 2007, 2011, 2013–2017) and Adam Mitchell in ''Doctor Who'' (2005).
In Octob ...
refer to an additional motivation for Adam's actions. Apparently, in earlier drafts of the script, Adam's father suffered from a disease that was incurable in his time (2012) and he hoped to learn about a cure which had been discovered between that year and 200,000.
In the shooting script, the condition is
arthritis
Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...
.
No trace of this motivation remains in the finished programme, although Grant discusses it as if it were still present.
Langley and Grant also reveal that the "frozen vomit" that Adam spits out in one scene was in fact a "kiwi and orange ice cube".
Simon Pegg
Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
had grown up with ''Doctor Who'' and considered it a "great honour" to guest star.
He was pleased at being cast as a bad guy.
Pegg had previously played Don Chaney in the
Eighth Doctor
The Eighth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Paul McGann.
The character was introduced in the 1996 TV film ''Doctor Who'', a back-door pilo ...
audio play ''
Invaders from Mars''.
When the Editor announces the Jagrafess's name to the Doctor and Rose, he pronounces it as "The Mighty Jagrafress of the Holy Hadrajassic Maxaraddenfoe." Pegg has stated during interviews that he found this an extremely difficult line to say.
Voice artist
Nicholas Briggs
Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Dal ...
had recorded voice work for the Jagrafess, but his contribution was not used because it sounded too similar to the
Nestene Consciousness
The Autons are an artificial life form from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and adversaries of the Doctor. They were originally created by scriptwriter Robert Holmes for Jon Pertwee's first serial as the Doctor, ' ...
(which Briggs had voiced in "
Rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
"). "The Long Game" was produced singularly in the series' fourth production block. Filming in the studio took place at the Unit Q2 warehouse in
Newport from 30 November to 3 December, on 7 December, and from 10 to 15 December 2004. The spike room set (used for Floors 139 and 500), the control room set, and the suburban house set were recorded at the former
BT building in
Coryton, Cardiff
Coryton is a district of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, lying immediately to the north of Whitchurch next to junction 32 of the M4 motorway. It is within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais electoral ward.
Coryton House
Coryton House is a large ...
on 6, 8, and 9 December. The house set was later rebuilt for recording in the Newport warehouse on 15 December. The Jagrafress was entirely made of
computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
(CGI), animated by
The Mill. It was given a
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...
-like design, with the intention that it would "snap out" like a shark.
The initial design was also described as a "lump of meat on the ceiling".
Broadcast and reception
"The Long Game" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 7 May 2005. Overnight ratings showed that the episode had been watched by 7.51 million viewers live, a 38.9% audience share.
It received a final rating of 8.01 million viewers in the UK, the sixth highest-rated broadcast on BBC One for the week.
[ Note: Information is in the section titled "w/e May 02–08, 2005", listed under BBC1] The episode received an
Audience Appreciation Index
The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom.
Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
score of 81.
"The Long Game" was released on DVD in Region 2 alongside the following episodes "
Father's Day
Father's Day is a holiday of honoring fatherhood and paternal bonds, as well as the influence of fathers in society. In Catholic countries of Europe, it has been celebrated on 19 March as Saint Joseph's Day since the Middle Ages. In the United ...
", "
The Empty Child
"The Empty Child" is the ninth episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 May 2005. It was the first episode written by Steven Moffat, who later beca ...
", and "
The Doctor Dances
"The Doctor Dances" is the tenth episode of the first series in the reboot of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2005. It is the second of a two-part story, following t ...
" on 1 August 2005. It was then re-released as part of the first series boxset on 21 November 2005.
The episode received generally mixed reviews. ''
SFX'' described it as an "okay" episode that was reminiscent of the earlier episode "The End of the World." Despite praising Pegg, the theme of "media control," and the Jagrafess, they criticised it for "
ailing
Ailing may refer to:
* ailing in health, see ail (health)
* Ailing (Chinese name) (♀; given name; aka ''Ai-ling''), several Chinese female given names
* Charles Ailing Gifford (♂; 1860–1937) U.S. architect
* Ailing Dojčin (♂) culture h ...
to capture the imagination" because there was "no real palpable sense of threat" and that human culture looked identical to modern day. Rupert Smith of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' wrote, "Anything that satirises the profession of journalism is all right with me, but this did it with style." Arnold T Blumburg of ''
Now Playing'' gave "The Long Game" a grade of B−, describing it as "entertaining" and a welcome throwback to the classic series. However, he questioned the developing tradition of the Doctor not being the hero of the episode and noted that there were some dangling threads. Reviewing the episode in 2013, Patrick Mulkern of ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' was more positive, writing that it "acts brilliantly as a satire of the media." He also praised the guest cast and characters and Adam's departure.
In 2011, Den of Geek's Mark Harrison wrote that "In retrospect, 'The Long Game' is an underrated and perfectly enjoyable mid-series episode," praising Adam's departure.
Reviewing "The Long Game" for ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' in 2013, Alasdair Wilkins gave it a grade of "B−". He found it "inessential" and commented that it was not very clear on the motives of the Editor and Jagrafess, but Pegg's performance was almost enough to make up for it. Overall he felt that the story "presents a few too many simple ideas, with the cumulative effect that this is a story that feels slight at best, underdeveloped at worst. The episode is hardly a failure, but it could have been so much more."
In ''Who Is the Doctor'', a guide to the revived series, Graeme Burk described the episode as "entertaining, if unspectacular."
[Burk and , pp. 33–34] He called Pegg the best guest star so far, and stated that Langley did a "superb job" at conveying Adam, but he felt that the episode did not have much else beside the failed companion storyline. Burk criticised the satire for not being subtle enough and borrowing from other stories such as ''
Nineteen Eighty-Four
''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final ...
''. He also remarked that it was a shame Adam's motives were cut, as well as development between Rose and Adam.
Burk's coauthor Robert
he_"?"_is_part_of_his_pen_name.html" ;"title="pen_name.html" ;"title="he "?" is part of his pen name">he "?" is part of his pen name">pen_name.html" ;"title="he "?" is part of his pen name">he "?" is part of his pen namewas more positive, opining that a satire did not have to be subtle to be effective, and that viewers could still relate it to the news media today.
[Burk and , pp. 34–35] He also praised the way "The Long Game" showed the Ninth Doctor as an "inspirational figure."
The two also questioned the decision to leave Adam in the 21st century with future technology.
[Burk and , p. 32]
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
Doctor Who Confidential' — Episode 7: The Dark Side
"I'm the Editor."nbsp;— Episode trailer for "The Long Game"
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Game, The
Fiction set in 2012
Dystopian television episodes
Ninth Doctor episodes
2005 British television episodes
Television shows written by Russell T Davies
Fiction set in the 7th millennium or beyond
Television episodes set in outer space