The Beast Below
In the episode, the Eleventh Doctor—a time travelling alien played by Matt Smith—and his new companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) arrive in the distant future aboard the Starship UK, a ship constructed to transport the population and major cultural artefacts of the United Kingdom (apart from Scotland) away from Earth to escape the deadly solar flares that made Earth uninhabitable.
It was met with a generally positive reception from critics; many praised the chemistry between Smith and Gillan, but some thought that there were too many imaginative concepts that did not make a satisfying conclusion, or that the message of the episode was not as strong as it should have been.
The Eleventh Doctor and Amy arrive on Starship UK, a colony ship in the future which the population of the United Kingdom (sans Scotland) evacuated in to escape deadly solar flares.
As the Doctor starts the process, Amy recalls hearing the Winders' leader Hawthorne stating the Whale would not eat the children.
After the Doctor and Amy return to the TARDIS, they receive a call from Winston Churchill at the Cabinet War Rooms, where the shadow of a Dalek appears.
It is noted that the Earth was abandoned in the 29th century due to solar flares; this was a central plot point of the classic serials The Ark in Space and The Sontaran Experiment.
[5] Executive producer and head writer Steven Moffat wrote the episode as an introduction for Amy to the role of the Doctor's companion.
[4] Scenes set in Liz 10's Buckingham Palace were filmed at Margam Country Park, Port Talbot on a night shoot on 22 September 2009.
[8][10] The industrial streets of Starship UK were filmed in a disused factory in Mamhilad, with the art department designing it in accordance with Moffat's specific description in the script.
[12] Both Sophie Okonedo and Terrence Hardiman, who played Liz 10 and government head Hawthorne respectively, have had experience in Doctor Who related roles.
[19] "The Beast Below" was released in Region 2 on DVD and Blu-ray with the episodes "The Eleventh Hour" and "Victory of the Daleks" and special features on 7 June 2010.
However, he worried that Moffat "may not be as interested in the Time Lord as the rest of his fans", referring to a scene in which the Doctor dismisses the death of his people as a "bad day".
[3] Dan Martin, also of The Guardian, praised the story for testing the characters' relationships rather than being just a visit to the Starship UK to make it better, though he commented that the "anti-vivisection message" seemed to be lost along the way.
[26] Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern said that the episode "neither moved [him] to wave a Save the Starwhale banner nor reach for the nearest harpoon" and made him feel "out of the loop" as it seemed more directed at children than adults.
