P.S. (Doctor Who)
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"P.S." is a mini episode of the seventh series of ''
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 ...
'', written by
Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' and as a showrunner of the long-running BBC sci-fi ...
. Set after the departure of
Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion (Doctor Who), companion of the series protagonis ...
and
Rory Williams Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Having been introduced at the start of the fifth series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) ...
in "
The Angels Take Manhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan" is the fifth episode of the Doctor Who (series 7), seventh series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 September 2012. It is the last in th ...
", it depicts a letter that Rory sent to his father Brian explaining why he and Amy are not returning. This episode was dubbed "the scene that was never shot", as it was released in complete storyboard drawings.


Synopsis

The final scene from "
The Power of Three In mathematics, a power of three is a number of the form where is an integer – that is, the result of exponentiation with number 3, three as the Base (exponentiation), base and integer  as the exponent. Applications The powers of three ...
" is shown, before the titles. Afterwards, in complete drawing format, Brian is shown watering the plants, when there is a knock at the door. A man, Anthony, from New York, hands Brian a letter. Anthony tells Brian that he'll wait indoors until he has read it. Brian sits down and reads the letter, which is from his son
Rory Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the ga, Ruairí/''Ruaidhrí'' and gd, Ruairidh and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", ...
. It explains that Brian will never be able to see him or Amy again, and he apologises. Rory also explains that the person who delivered the letter is Brian's grandson, Anthony Brian Williams, whom Amy and Rory adopted in 1946. After Brian reads the letter, he walks out to Anthony, who offers a handshake. The two then embrace in a hug as the episode closes.


Continuity

Amy Pond Amelia "Amy" Pond is a fictional character portrayed by Karen Gillan in the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Amy is a companion (Doctor Who), companion of the series protagonis ...
and
Rory Williams Rory Williams is a fictional character portrayed by Arthur Darvill in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Having been introduced at the start of the fifth series, Rory joins the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) ...
departed from the series in "
The Angels Take Manhattan "The Angels Take Manhattan" is the fifth episode of the Doctor Who (series 7), seventh series of the revived British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 29 September 2012. It is the last in th ...
", when the
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 ...
s sent them into the past to live out the rest of their lives in full. Amy died at 87, Rory at 82.


Production

Following the completion of the writing on "
Dinosaurs on a Spaceship "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" is the second episode of the Doctor Who (series 7), seventh series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It first aired on BBC One in the UK on 8 September 2012 and on BBC America on the ...
", writer Chris Chibnall explains how head writer of ''Doctor Who''
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...
"knew how the Weeping Angels episode was going to end" and that they "knew that Brian would come back in "
The Power of Three In mathematics, a power of three is a number of the form where is an integer – that is, the result of exponentiation with number 3, three as the Base (exponentiation), base and integer  as the exponent. Applications The powers of three ...
". Chibnall quoted Moffat saying "I feel terrible, because I really want to finish off what happens to Brian but it just will not fit in The Angels Take Manhattan"and it would feel really odd to put him in that", at which point Chibnall said to him, "Look, I'll write a scene for the DVD." Chibnall revealed that he wrote "P.S." around the same time of writing the series seven five-part mini-prequel '' Pond Life''. After watching Mark Williams (the actor of Brian) feature in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship", the crew felt as though he was a very good actor, and how important he would be in "The Power of Three". However, at the time, Mark Williams was filming ''
Blandings Blandings Castle is a recurring fictional location in the stories of British comic writer P. G. Wodehouse, being the seat of Lord Emsworth (Clarence Threepwood, 9th Earl of Emsworth), home to many of his family and the setting for numerous tal ...
'' in Northern Ireland, and therefore unavailable to film "P.S.". Later on, as the series was beginning to air, Chibnall wondered whether or not the crew would actually do anything with the scene that he had written, before finding out at a later date that they had turned it into an animation. After "The Angels Take Manhattan" was broadcast, the BBC received various email from fans asking about what happened to Brian after his
son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...
and
daughter-in-law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship which each party to a marriage has to the relations of the other part ...
's departure. These emails convinced the BBC to release "P.S." as a mini animated storyboard adventure. Excluding the opening scene (a repeat of the final scene of "The Power of Three") this episode was entirely realised in animated storyboards, with simple text depicting the actions and sets.
Arthur Darvill Thomas Arthur Darvill (born 17 June 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Rory Williams, a companion of the Eleventh Doctor in the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2012), as well as Rip Hunter in ''Legends of Tomorrow'' ( ...
recorded his voice-over dialogue in a recording studio.


References

{{Doctor Who episodes, N7 Eleventh Doctor episodes Television episodes written by Chris Chibnall Doctor Who mini-episodes