3x08 Human Nature (1) - Doctor Who (UK) Episode Guide

Doctor Who (UK)

- Episode 03x08

Episode: 03x08
Title: Human Nature (1)
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: N/A
First Aired: May. 26, 2007

Season 3 » Episode #08 - Human Nature (1)

Doctor Who (UK) - 03x08 Human Nature (1)

Summary: To evade alien mercenaries seeking his regenerative ability, the Doctor transforms himself into a human being with no memory of being a Time Lord, then hides as a schoolteacher in the early 20th century while Martha stays nearby as a maid to monitor him. But the mercenaries arrive, while a schoolboy gets hold of the watch containing the Doctor's "essence."

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

John Smith	played by David Tennant
Joan Redfern	played by Jessica Hynes
Jenny	played by Rebekah Staton
Mother of Mine	played by Rebekah Staton
Tim Latimer	played by Thomas Sangster
Son of Mine	played by Harry Lloyd
Jeremy Baines	played by Harry Lloyd
Hutchinson	played by Tom Palmer (VIII)
Father of Mine	played by Gerard Horan

	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Human Nature (1) Rocastle: You need to be better than the best. Those targets are tribesmen from the dark continent. Tim Latimer: That's exactly the problem, sir. They only have spears. Rocastle: Oh dear me. Latimer takes it upon himself to make us realize how wrong we all are. I hope, Latimer, that one day you may have a just and proper war in which to prove yourself.
	Season 3 / Episode 8: - Human Nature (1) Jenny: Head in the clouds, that one. I don't know why you're so sweet on him. Martha Jones: He's just kind to me, that's all. And not everyone's that considerate, what with me being a... Jenny: ...Londoner? Martha Jones: Exactly! Good old London Town!

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

FACT: School boys are shown firing a .303 Vickers machine gun, which had a range of 4,500 yards. An outdoor firing range would always have a slope of earth or sand behind the targets to stop dead all bullets fired down the range. Not only is there no such slope behind the boys targets, but we can see they're firing down into a valley full of buildings, well within the 4.5km (2.8mi) range of the gun, jeopardizing the lives of the villagers!
DATE: The episode is set in 1913, and as the Doctor enters the village dance, he's asked for a donation for 'veterans of the Crimean war'. This war ended in 1856, and since the average age of a fighting soldier during it was 25, it's unlikely there would be any extant veterans to collect on behalf of.
DATE: Tubular metal scaffolding (of the kind that the Doctor dislodges with a thrown apple in order to save the woman and child from a falling piano) was not in widespread use in the UK until the 1930s. Before that, wooden scaffolding poles were employed, lashed together/into position with rope or something similar.

TRIVIA

The aliens in this episode were intended to have technology that was very organically based and this carried through to the design of their guns. The guns' theoretical design was that there was a creature inside each gun and pulling the trigger resulted in a jab to the creature, who would then scream; this scream is the disintegration beam.
In John Smith's book, "A Journal of Impossible Things", sketches of previous actors who have played the Doctor are shown, marking the first time that the 2005 series has explicitly depicted the Doctors from "Doctor Who" (1963) and Doctor Who (1996) (TV). The actors depicted on screen were William Hartnell, Peter Davison (I), Colin Baker (I), Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann (I). Images of the Journal that were published on the BBC website reveal that the other remaining Doctors, Tom Baker (I), Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton, Christopher Eccleston, and David Tennant himself, were also illustrated on the page.
The fob watch that figures so prominently in this episode (and through the rest of the third series) was originally seen in the early series one episodes as a knob on the TARDIS control console. It is clearly seen in closeups of Christopher Eccleston's hands as he sets the controls in "Doctor Who" (2005) {The End of the World (#1.2)}.
John Smith gives the names of his parents as Sydney and Verity. This is a reference to Sydney Newman (creator of "Doctor Who" (1963)) and Verity Lambert (the show's first producer).
This episode and part two "The Family of Blood" were adapted by scriptwriter Cornell from his 1995 Doctor Who novel, "Human Nature". This marks the first time in Doctor Who history that a novel based upon the series was adapted as an episode. Many changes were made in transferring the novel to the screen. The original book featured the Seventh Doctor and his companion, Benny Sommerfield, and the Doctor's motive for becoming human was to study the human condition, not to flee aliens.