Series 5 (2010)
Episode title: The Beast BelowFeaturing: Eleventh Doctor
Companions: Amy Pond
First shown: 10th April 2010
Related articles: Smilers, Star Whale
Guide: The Doctor and new companion Amy Pond land the TARDIS on the Starship UK, a spaceship colony that contains the population of the United Kingdom, who have left Earth following deadly solar flares in the 29th Century (with the exception of Scotland, who opted for their own ship). The Doctor discovers that the ship is not powered by ordinary engines, and so goes to investigate. He finds the engine controls to just be a front, and encounters a woman named Liz 10, who is aware of the Doctor’s identity and the oddness in the ship.
Amy is taken away to vote after investigating a workman’s tent, where she watches a film about the Starship UK and is then given two options, to protest or forget. She chooses to forget, but makes a video of herself to remind her to tell the Doctor to leave. The Doctor arrives and also looks at the voting booth equipment, and decides to protest, dropping him and Amy into the bowels of the ship. They discover that they are in the mouth of a giant creature, but escape with the help of Liz 10 who reveals herself to be Queen Elizabeth the Tenth, and she is also troubled by what she has seen since the Doctor arrived. The Doctor, Amy and Liz 10 are arrested and taken to the Tower of London by Winders where the truth is revealed. The Starship UK is riding atop a giant star whale, providing the ships motion. The star whale appeared at the time of the solar flares on Earth. To get the ship to move however, they have revealed the beasts brain and send it frequent jolts of electricity, ordered by Liz 10 herself, but every ten years she chooses to forget what she has done, so that the population can continue on, and implemented the voting programme to do the same, for fear of releasing the creature would destroy the ship and the population.
The Doctor now faces a difficult choice, to save the star whale or the population of the United Kingdom. He eventually opts for making the star whale brain dead, so that it can continue through space but no longer feeling any pain. As he sets to work, Amy notices children playing with some of the tentacles of the creature that are coming up into the control room, and deduces that the creature came to help the humans willingly. She forces Liz 10’s hand to press the ‘abdicate’ button, releasing the star whale from the electrical controlling device. To the surprise of those in the control room, the star whale begins to go faster because it wanted to help, not be controlled. The episode ends as Amy and the Doctor say goodbye, and Amy is about to tell the Doctor about her impending wedding, when they are interrupted by a phone call from Winston Churchill, who is facing a Dalek.