"Good as Gold" is a special mini-episode of the British

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series '' Doctor Who'' that was first broadcast on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

(as part of '' Blue Peter'') on 24 May 2012. It was written via a competition (Script to Screen) in which junior schools were asked to write a script including the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doct ...

(

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...

) and an enemy of his. The competition was won by the children of Ashdene School. The mini-episode also featured

Karen Gillan Karen Sheila Gillan (; born 28 November 1987) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her work in British film and television, particularly for playing Amy Pond, a primary companion to the Eleventh Doctor in the science fiction ser ...

Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion of the series protagonist the Doctor, in his eleventh incarnation, played by ...

. The first ''Doctor Who'' Script to Screen special was " Death Is the Only Answer", which was broadcast as part of ''

Doctor Who Confidential ''Doctor Who Confidential'' is a documentary series created by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Each episode was broadcast on BBC T ...

''.

Plot

Amy reminds the Doctor he needs to have an adventure once in a while, the Doctor complies and sets the TARDIS to its "adventure setting". After a series of malfunctions, the ship lands in the middle of the

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Olympic Games, where they are visited by a panicked Olympic runner, who claims he is being chased. His pursuer is revealed as a

Weeping Angel The Weeping Angels are a race of predatory creatures from the long-running science fiction series ''Doctor Who''. They were introduced in the 2007 episode "Blink", making repeat appearances in later episodes. They also appeared in the spin-off s ...

, who is seeking to seize the

Olympic Flame The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olymp ...

and rob the planet of the good will and spirit it symbolises. The Doctor vanquishes the Angel with the

sonic screwdriver The sonic screwdriver is a fictional multifunctional tool in the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, used by the Doctor. Like the TARDIS, it has become one of the icons of the programme, and spin-o ...

, and the runner resumes his mission. Before he leaves, he gives the Doctor his gold medal. As the Doctor prepares to embark on another adventure with Amy, the Weeping Angel begins to reform.

Reception

Robert Gonzalez of

io9 ''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...

stated that Steven Moffat chose the winning script "wisely" though he did find the premise of "a weeping angel that can chase somebody while being watched by thousands of Olympic Game spectators a little dubious". Kevin Fitzpatrick of ScreenCrush described the episode as "hokey" though enjoyed the indication that the Weeping Angels would return in the following series. Susana Polo writing for "girl geek" website The Mary Sue described it as "funny and cute" and stated that it "definitely should not be part of a serious effort to fit it into 'Doctor Who''canon". Louisa Mellor of Den of Geek affirmed that the short episode should be viewed "in the spirit in which it was intended, i.e. some fun for primary school kids who love Doctor Who, the Olympics, and presumably, making their teachers happy".

References

{{Weeping Angel stories 2012 British television episodes Eleventh Doctor episodes Doctor Who mini-episodes