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			{{DISPLAYTITLE:Utopia (''Doctor Who'')}}
	{{Doctorwhobox
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=November 2019}}
	\| serial_name = 191 - Utopia
			{{Infobox Doctor Who episode
	\| doctor = ] (])
	\| ~~companion~~ = ] ~~(])~~		\| number = 187a
			\| serial_name = Utopia
	\| companion2 = ] (])
	\| ~~writer~~ = ]		\| show = DW
			\| type = episode
			\| image =
			\| image_size =
			\| alt =
			\| caption =
			\| doctor = ] – ]
			\| companions =
			* ] – ]
			* ] – ]
			\| guests =
			* ] – ]
			* ] – Chantho
			* ] – Padra
			* ] – Lieutenant Atillo
			* ]{{refn\|group=N\|Credited as Paul Marc Davies}} – ]
			* Robert Forknall – Guard
			* ] – Creet
			* Deborah Maclaren – Kistane
			* Abigail Canton – Wiry Woman
			* ] – ]
	\| director = ]		\| director = ]
	\| ~~executive_producer~~ = ]<br /> ]		\| writer = ]
			\| script_editor = ]
			\| producer = ]
			\| executive_producer = ]<br>]
			\| composer = ]
	\| production_code = 3.11		\| production_code = 3.11
	\| ~~date~~ = ] ]		\| series = ]
	\| ~~preceding~~ = ]		\| length = 1st of 3-part story, 45 minutes
	\| ~~following~~ = ]		\| date = {{Start date\|2007\|6\|16\|df=y}}
	\| ~~imdb_id~~ = ~~1000259~~		\| preceding = "]"
	\| ~~series~~ = ]		\| following = "]"
	}}		}}
			"'''Utopia'''" is the eleventh episode of the ] of the revived British ] series '']''. It was broadcast on ] on 16 June 2007.<ref>{{Cite news \|title=Doctor Who UK airdate announced \|work=News \|publisher=] \|date=27 February 2007 \|url=http://www.dwscifi.com/articles/show/227 \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312164215/http://www.dwscifi.com/articles/show/227 \|archive-date=12 March 2007}}</ref> It is the first of three episodes that form a linked narrative, followed by "]" and "]". The episode serves to re-introduce ] (]), a ] villain of the show's original run who last appeared in the 1996 television movie '']''.
	"'''Utopia'''" is an ] of the ] ] series '']''. It will be broadcast on ] on ] ]<ref>{{cite news
	\| title = Doctor Who UK airdate announced
	\| work = News
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date = ], ]
	\| url = http://www.dwscifi.com/articles/show/227
	}}</ref> and is the eleventh episode of ] of the revived ''Doctor Who'' series. This episode sees the return of ],<ref>{{cite journal \| last = Cook \| first = Benjamin \| date = ] cover date \| title = BRAVE NEW WORLDS \| journal = ] \| issue = 373 \| pages = 28–35 }}</ref> and the introduction of a character called the Professor, played by Derek Jacobi. '']'' reports that Jacobi's character will be "a good guy'" who "plays a key role in preventing the world from ending."<ref>{{cite news \|first=Nicola \|last=Methven \|title=JACOBI'S A HERO IN DR WHO \|url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/showbiz/tm_method=full%26objectid=18526461%26siteid=89520-name_page.html \|work=] \|date=] \|accessdate=2007-01-26 }}</ref>

			Set close to the ] 100 trillion years in the future, the episode involves Professor Yana (]) attempting to send the last of humanity in a rocket to a place called "Utopia".
	==Synopsis==

			==Plot==
	When ] storms back into the ] life, the ] is thrown out of control and sent trillions of years into the future: the end of the universe. There, they find the savage Futurekind ruling the wilderness, while a lonely professor tries in vain to save the last of the human race.
			The ]'s former ] ] is stranded on Earth and has based himself in 21st-century Cardiff to wait for the Doctor, knowing the Doctor would eventually land there to refuel with the ].{{refn\|group=N\|The Ninth Doctor did this before in the 2005 episode "]".}} He uses the severed hand of the ] as a Doctor detector.{{refn\|group=N\|The Doctor's hand is cut off, and immediately grows back, in the 2005 episode "]".}} After landing the ] in Cardiff to refuel, the Tenth Doctor sees Jack racing towards the TARDIS and departs.{{refn\|group=N\|Jack prepares to leave 21st-century Cardiff shortly before "something" takes him away in the 2007 '']'' episode "]".}} Jack grabs onto the outer shell, causing the TARDIS to fly to the end of the universe trying to shake him off. Jack dies on the journey but revives seconds later as he cannot stay dead. As they explore the planet Malcassairo, the Doctor, Jack, and the Doctor's companion ] encounter Padra, a lone human running for his life from cannibalistic humanoids called the Futurekind.
	The professor is really... The Master!<ref name="POrelease">{{cite news
	\| title = Doctor Who – Utopia Ep 11/13
	\| work = News
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date =
	\| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk25/sat.shtml
	}}</ref>

			The Doctor, Jack, and Martha help Padra reach a missile silo where a rocket intends to transport the last of the human race to "Utopia". While there they meet the elderly Professor Yana and his insectoid assistant Chantho. The Professor asks the Doctor to look at their rocket engine to determine why it will not launch, and the Doctor helps him repair it and give it power. During the repairs, the Professor repeatedly hears a rhythmic drumbeat he has heard his entire life. When the rocket is ready to launch, the refugees board it. One of the Futurekind shorts the system out, filling the room with the rocket couplings with deadly radiation. Jack is enlisted to fix the couplings.
	==Cast==

			While Jack is inside working, the Doctor admits he abandoned Jack purposely because of the immortality ] granted to Jack.{{refn\|group=N\|Though not mentioned at the time as granting him immortality, the 2005 episode "]" depicts Rose bringing Jack back to life.}} Jack readies the rocket for launch. Martha unintentionally draws attention to the Professor's fob watch, similar to the one which changed the Doctor from a ] into a human.{{refn\|group=N\|As depicted in the 2007 episodes "]" and "]".}} She rushes to tell the Doctor about the watch as the Professor hears voices coming from it.
	* ] — ]<ref name="POrelease"/>
	* ] — ]<ref name="POrelease"/>
	* ] — ]<ref name="POrelease"/>
	* Professor Yana/The Master — ]/]<ref name="POrelease"/>
	* Padra — ]<ref name="POrelease"/>
	* Chantho — ]<ref name="BBCFact">{{cite news
	\| title = Fact File:Utopia
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date = ], ]
	\| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/facts/fact_311-pre.shtml}}</ref>
	* Lieutenant Atillo — ]<ref name="BBCFact"/>
	* Chieftain — ]<ref name="BBCFact"/>
	* Guard - ]<ref name="BBCFact"/>
	* Kistane - ]<ref name="BBCFact"/>
	* Wiry Woman - ]<ref name="BBCFact"/>
	* Creet — John Bell<ref name="JohnnyB">{{cite news
	\| title = Future Boy
	\| work = News
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date = ], ]
	\| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/06/07/45505.shtml
	}}</ref>
	* ] - ]

			The Doctor initiates the launch sequence of the rocket at the same time that the Professor opens the fob watch. A frantic Doctor runs back to the control room, but the Professor lets the Futurekind inside the silo. Chantho confronts the Professor. He responds that his name is ]. Chantho and the Master both fatally injure each other. The Master leaves in the TARDIS, with the hand inside, and ] into a younger form. The Doctor, Jack, and Martha are stranded.
	===Cast notes===
	*This is ]'s third involvement in ''Doctor Who''. The first was in the September ] audio drama '']''<ref>{{cite web
	\|url= http://www.bigfinish.com/drwho_unbound/dwu05_deadline.shtml
	\|title= A New Doctor, A New Dimension?
	\|accessdate=2007-06-11
	\|format= HTML
	}}</ref>, where he played a screenwriter who believes himself to be the Doctor. The second was several months later, in the webcast '']'', where he played a robot copy of ].<ref>{{cite news
	\| title = Jacobi confirmed for Dr Who role
	\| work = ]
	\| publisher = ]
	\| date = ], ]
	\| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6297661.stm
	}}</ref> David Tennant also had a minor, uncredited role in ''Scream of the Shalka''.

			===Continuity===
	*John Bell is a nine-year-old who won a '']'' competition to appear in this episode.<ref name="JohnnyB"/>
			The episode marks the return of the Master, who last appeared during the 1996 television movie '']''.

			Derek Jacobi plays the fifth version of the Master whom the Doctor has encountered on screen, and John Simm is the sixth.<ref name="Utopia">{{Cite web\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/episodes/2007/facts/fact_311.shtml \|title=Doctor Who - Fact File - "Utopia" \|access-date=17 June 2007}}</ref> At least one television pundit speculated whether "Mister Saxon" was an intentional anagram of "Master No. Six" or was perhaps "a big ]".<ref name="master_anagram">{{Cite web\|title=Of a Thursday\|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a44695/of-a-thursday.html \|work=] \|date=1 April 2007\|access-date=17 June 2007}}</ref> However, when asked, Russell T Davies stated that it was not deliberate.<ref>''Radio Times'' 30 June–6 July 2007: ''Doctor Who'' Watch</ref><ref>''Doctor Who Magazine'' issue 384: ''Return of the Master''</ref>
	==Continuity==
	*Prior to this episode, Captain Jack was last seen at the end of the '']'' episode "]" looking off-screen while the familiar sounds of the ] are heard in the background. The Torchwood team find Jack gone, and the place in a mess.<ref name="EndOfDays">{{cite episode
	\| title =]
	\| series = Torchwood
	\| serieslink = Torchwood
	\| airdate =2007-01-01
	\| season =1
	\| number =13 }}</ref> Also, the Doctor notes in the Jonathan Ross clip below that the rift has been active recently<ref name="RossClip">{{cite episode
	\| title =Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
	\| series = Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
	\| serieslink = Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
	\| airdate =2007-05-18
	\| season =12
	\| number =8 }}</ref> — this also occurred in this Torchwood episode.<ref name="EndOfDays">
	*A BBCi trailer showed a brief clip of The Doctor and Jack running down a corridor.
	*At the conclusion of "]", a special trailer was aired showing highlights of upcoming episodes; amongst them is a scene with Captain Jack leaping mid air in slow-motion, accompanied by the sounds of a TARDIS dematerialising, as well as him coming out of apparent unconsciousness and asking "Was someone kissing me?". The trailer also shows Derek Jacobi's character looking off-camera and saying "God help him".<ref>{{cite episode
	\| title =The Lazarus Experiment
	\| series = Doctor Who
	\| serieslink = Doctor Who
	\| airdate =2007-05-05
	\| season =29
	\| number =6 }}</ref>
	*In the clip of this episode shown on '']'', when Martha enquires as to the earthquake in ] a couple years ago, the Doctor claims "a bit of trouble with the ]", referring to the events of the 2005 episode "Boom Town" (which was set in 2006). He also states how he was "a different man back then" referring to the fact this happened when he was the ].<ref name="RossClip"/>

	==Production ~~and pre-broadcast publicity~~==		==Production==
			This episode was announced as the first of a three-part story in '']'', broadcast the day before. Prior to this, only the following two instalments had been linked. Later reference material, including '']'''s season poll, treated the three episodes as a single three-part story. Russell T Davies has said that he regards "Utopia" as a separate story, but notes that the determination is arbitrary.<ref>{{Cite magazine\|last=Davies \|first=Russell T \|author-link=Russell T Davies \|date=4 March 2009\|title=Production Notes \|magazine=] \|issue=406 \|page=4 \|publisher=]\|location=], ] \|quote=And I certainly feel the Series Three climax was two stories, no matter what the '''DWM''' season poll says. I'm sorry! I just do! I could rattle off the reasons, but we're into the mystical land of canon here, where the baseline of the argument simply comes down to "because I think so!"}}</ref>
	*A clip for this episode was shown on the ] episode of ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' on which ] appeared as a guest. The clip showed the TARDIS materialising at the ] in ] with Captain Jack running towards it screaming the Doctor's name. The Doctor appears surprised as he sees Jack on the monitor, but nevertheless sets the TARDIS in motion. Jack jumps through the air and grasps on to the machine as it dematerialises. The console explodes and the Doctor looks on in disbelief as they head further than 100 trillion years into the future; the Doctor concludes they are heading to "the end of the universe". Meanwhile, Jack is still holding on to the TARDIS, yelling for the Doctor, as it travels through the ].<ref name="RossClip">

			This is the first episode in the revived series to credit three principal cast members within the ], with the addition of ], who plays Captain Jack Harkness.
	*John Barrowman has stated that his name appears in the opening credits for the first time.<ref>{{Citation
	\| title = Captain fantastic is back
	\| magazine = ]
	\| pages = 14
	\| date = ]-], ]
	}}</ref>

			===Casting===
	*The BBC also released a TV trailer for the Utopia episode which can be seen .
			This is Derek Jacobi's third involvement in ''Doctor Who''. The first was in the September 2003 audio drama '']'',<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/drwho_unbound/dwu05_deadline.shtml \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050526235207/http://www.bigfinish.com/drwho_unbound/dwu05_deadline.shtml\|archive-date=26 May 2005\|publisher=]\|title=A New Doctor, A New Dimension? \|access-date=11 June 2007}}</ref> where he played a screenwriter who believes himself to be the Doctor. The second was several months later, in the webcast '']'', where he played an ] version of the Master.<ref>{{Cite news\|title=Jacobi confirmed for Dr Who role \|work=] \|publisher=] \|date=25 January 2007 \|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6297661.stm}}</ref> In 2017, Jacobi reprised his role from "Utopia" in the audio drama series '']''.

			Other actors returning to the franchise in this episode are ] had previously played Tom Braudy in the ] audio drama '']''<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://bigfinish.com/88-Doctor-Who-Memory-Lane\|title=Doctor Who - Memory Lane\|publisher=]}}</ref> and Robert Forknall, who plays ] in the Eighth Doctor audio drama '']''.
	*This episode has been described by a '']'' presenter as "the first of a three-parter".<ref>{{cite episode

	\| title = Episode 10
			], who played Chantho, would later go on to play the Fortuneteller in "]". ], who played the Futurekind chieftain, also returned to the ''Doctor Who'' universe, going on to play the role of ] in '']'' stories '']'', '']'' and '']''. He also had a small role in '']'' story '']'' and played the lead villain Corakinus in '']''.
	\| episodelink = Totally_Doctor_Who#Series_2_.282007.2C_aired_with_Doctor_Who_Series_3.29

	\| series = Totally Doctor Who
			] was a nine-year-old who won a '']'' competition to appear in this episode.<ref name="JohnnyB">{{Cite news\|title=Future Boy \|work=BBC Doctor Who website\|publisher=BBC\|date=7 June 2007\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/06/07/45505.shtml\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819032701/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2007/06/07/45505.shtml\|archive-date=19 August 2007\|access-date=10 July 2013}}</ref>
	\| serieslink = Totally_Doctor_Who

	\| airdate = 2007-06-15
			] reprised his role as the Master in the ]'s final story ] and reprised the role again in ] and "]", the finale of ], the final series to feature ] as the ] and ] as ]. Simm reprised the role once again in the audio drama ''Masterful'' by ].
	\| season = 2

	\| number = 10}}
			===Music===
	</ref>
			Music originally composed for ''Torchwood'' can be heard in the background of this episode: a variation of the ''Torchwood'' ] plays when Jack runs towards the TARDIS and a ] plays when Jack lies dead, having ridden on the TARDIS through the Vortex. The ]ming motif is suggestive of the fifth and subsequent bars of the ] as composed by ] and realised by ].<ref>{{cite podcast\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/doctorwho/ram/312_commentary?size=au&bgc=CC0000&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1\|title=The Sound of Drums commentary\|website=]'s Doctor Who microsite\|author1=Freema Agyeman\|author1-link=Freema Agyeman\|author2=Trevor Laird\|author2-link=Trevor Laird\|author3=Gugu Mbatha-Raw\|author3-link=Gugu Mbatha-Raw\|access-date=25 June 2007}}</ref>

			==Broadcast and reception==
			"Utopia" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on ] on 16 June 2007. Overnight rating showed that it was watched by 7.3 million viewers, which rose to 7.84 million when time-shifted viewers were taken into account.<ref name="Utopia"/> This made it the fourth most-watched programme on BBC One for the week.<ref name="BARB">{{cite web\|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing/weekly-top-30?\|title=Weekly Top 30 Programmes\|publisher=]\|access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> It received an ] of 87.<ref name="Utopia"/>

			]'s Travis Fickett gave the episode a rating of 8.4 out of 10, calling it "one hell of a way to kick off the finale episodes of the season", particularly praising how various elements planted in previous episodes came into importance. However, he was critical of the beginning of the episode, writing that Jack's entrance was "a bit silly" and "the remnants of civilization look like '']'' rejects being chased by space vampires".<ref>{{cite web\|first=Travis\|last=Fickett\|url=http://tv.ign.com/articles/822/822942p1.html\|title=Doctor Who: "Utopia" Review\|website=]\|date=25 September 2007\|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> Richard Edwards of '']'' gave "Utopia" four out of five stars, feeling that it was "minimally plotted" as it was part of a larger story but praising Jack's backstory and the return of the Master.<ref>{{cite web\|first=Richard\|last=Edwards\|url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2007/06/16/doctor_who_3_11_utopia/\|title=Doctor Who 3.11 "Utopia"\|work=SFX\|date=16 June 2007\|access-date=25 March 2012}}</ref> '']'' reviewer Mark Wright was mixed towards "Utopia", disliking the first 20 minutes on the planet but enjoying the introduction of Jacobi as Yana, particularly the reveal of his true nature. He wondered what casual fans would make of it.<ref>{{cite web\|first=Mark\|last=Wright\|url=http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/06/doctor-who-311-utopia/\|title=Doctor Who 3.11: Utopia\|work=]\|date=17 June 2007\|access-date=10 July 2013\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130128153003/http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/tvtoday/2007/06/doctor-who-311-utopia/\|archive-date=28 January 2013}}</ref>

			The episode has been noted by various reviewers and writers for its cliffhanger. It was listed among the best cliffhangers of the series by ] of ],<ref>{{cite web\|first=Charlie Jane\|last=Anders\|url=http://io9.com/5625151/greatest-doctor-who-cliffhangers-of-all-time\|title=Greatest Doctor Who cliffhangers of all time!\|publisher=]\|date=31 August 2010\|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> Den of Geek's Jeff Szpirglas,<ref>{{cite web\|first=Jeff\|last=Szpirglas\|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/television/925062/10_classic_doctor_who_cliffhangers.html\|title=10 classic Doctor Who cliffhangers\|publisher=Den of Geek\|date=2 June 2011\|access-date=23 February 2012}}</ref> and was chosen by Mark Harrison as the best cliffhanger of the Tenth Doctor's era in another Den of Geek article.<ref>{{cite web\|first=Mark\|last=Harrison\|url=http://www.denofgeek.com/television/519071/doctor_who_10_cliffhanger_screamers.html\|title=Doctor Who: 10 cliffhanger screamers\|publisher=Den of Geek\|date=24 June 2010\|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> It was also chosen among the five best of the revived series by Morgan Jeffery and Chris Allen of ]; Jeffery referred to it as a "stunning accumulator cliffhanger" while Allen called it a "superb cliffhanger" that "lifts 'Utopia' from a fairly average episode into something altogether different".<ref>{{cite web\|first1=Morgan\|last1=Jeffery\|first2=Chris\|last2=Allen\|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/british-tv/s7/doctor-who/tubetalk/a322771/doctor-whos-best-ever-cliffhangers-friday-fiver.html\|title='Doctor Who's best ever cliffhangers: Friday Fever\|website=]\|date=3 June 2011\|access-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> Stephen Brook of '']'' called it "perhaps the best moment of the entire series" in his review of the third series.<ref>{{cite web\|first=Stephen\|last=Brook\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/jul/02/doctorwhoitsseasonfinalet\|title=Doctor Who: it's season finale time!\|work=]\|date=2 July 2007\|access-date=27 July 2012}}</ref>

			==Notes==
			{{reflist\|group=N}}

	==References==		==References==
			{{reflist}}
	{{wikiquote\|Tenth Doctor}}
	{{Reflist}}

			==External links==
	{{Master Stories}}
			{{Wikiquote\|Tenth Doctor}}
			*{{BBCDWnew\|year=2007\|id=311\|title=Utopia}}
			* - episode trailer
			*{{IMDB episode\|1000259\|Utopia}}

			{{Doctor Who episodes\|N3}}
			{{navboxes\|list1=
			{{Doctor Who episodes by Russell T Davies}}
			{{Tenth Doctor stories\|selected=Television}}
			{{Captain Jack stories}}
			{{Master stories\|selected=Television}}
			{{Regeneration stories}}
			}}

	]		]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]
			]

Latest revision as of 16:04, 30 September 2024

2007 Doctor Who episode

187a – "Utopia"

Doctor Who episode

Cast

Doctor

David Tennant – Tenth Doctor

Companions

Freema Agyeman – Martha Jones
John Barrowman – Jack Harkness

Others

Derek Jacobi – Professor Yana
Chipo Chung – Chantho
René Zagger – Padra
Neil Reidman – Lieutenant Atillo
Paul Marc Davis – Chieftain
Robert Forknall – Guard
John Bell – Creet
Deborah Maclaren – Kistane
Abigail Canton – Wiry Woman
John Simm – The Master

Production

Directed by

Written by

Script editor

Produced by

Executive producer(s)

Russell T Davies
Julie Gardner

Music by

Murray Gold

Production code

3.11

Series

Series 3

Running time

1st of 3-part story, 45 minutes

First broadcast

16 June 2007 (2007-06-16)

Chronology

← Preceded by
"Blink"

Followed by →
"The Sound of Drums"

List of episodes (2005–present)

"Utopia" is the eleventh episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007. It is the first of three episodes that form a linked narrative, followed by "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords". The episode serves to re-introduce the Master (John Simm), a Time Lord villain of the show's original run who last appeared in the 1996 television movie Doctor Who.

Set close to the end of the universe 100 trillion years in the future, the episode involves Professor Yana (Derek Jacobi) attempting to send the last of humanity in a rocket to a place called "Utopia".

Plot

The Ninth Doctor's former companion Jack is stranded on Earth and has based himself in 21st-century Cardiff to wait for the Doctor, knowing the Doctor would eventually land there to refuel with the Cardiff Rift. He uses the severed hand of the Tenth Doctor as a Doctor detector. After landing the TARDIS in Cardiff to refuel, the Tenth Doctor sees Jack racing towards the TARDIS and departs. Jack grabs onto the outer shell, causing the TARDIS to fly to the end of the universe trying to shake him off. Jack dies on the journey but revives seconds later as he cannot stay dead. As they explore the planet Malcassairo, the Doctor, Jack, and the Doctor's companion Martha encounter Padra, a lone human running for his life from cannibalistic humanoids called the Futurekind.

The Doctor, Jack, and Martha help Padra reach a missile silo where a rocket intends to transport the last of the human race to "Utopia". While there they meet the elderly Professor Yana and his insectoid assistant Chantho. The Professor asks the Doctor to look at their rocket engine to determine why it will not launch, and the Doctor helps him repair it and give it power. During the repairs, the Professor repeatedly hears a rhythmic drumbeat he has heard his entire life. When the rocket is ready to launch, the refugees board it. One of the Futurekind shorts the system out, filling the room with the rocket couplings with deadly radiation. Jack is enlisted to fix the couplings.

While Jack is inside working, the Doctor admits he abandoned Jack purposely because of the immortality Rose granted to Jack. Jack readies the rocket for launch. Martha unintentionally draws attention to the Professor's fob watch, similar to the one which changed the Doctor from a Time Lord into a human. She rushes to tell the Doctor about the watch as the Professor hears voices coming from it.

The Doctor initiates the launch sequence of the rocket at the same time that the Professor opens the fob watch. A frantic Doctor runs back to the control room, but the Professor lets the Futurekind inside the silo. Chantho confronts the Professor. He responds that his name is the Master. Chantho and the Master both fatally injure each other. The Master leaves in the TARDIS, with the hand inside, and regenerates into a younger form. The Doctor, Jack, and Martha are stranded.

Continuity

The episode marks the return of the Master, who last appeared during the 1996 television movie Doctor Who.

Derek Jacobi plays the fifth version of the Master whom the Doctor has encountered on screen, and John Simm is the sixth. At least one television pundit speculated whether "Mister Saxon" was an intentional anagram of "Master No. Six" or was perhaps "a big red herring". However, when asked, Russell T Davies stated that it was not deliberate.

Production

This episode was announced as the first of a three-part story in Totally Doctor Who, broadcast the day before. Prior to this, only the following two instalments had been linked. Later reference material, including Doctor Who Magazine's season poll, treated the three episodes as a single three-part story. Russell T Davies has said that he regards "Utopia" as a separate story, but notes that the determination is arbitrary.

This is the first episode in the revived series to credit three principal cast members within the title sequence, with the addition of John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack Harkness.

Casting

This is Derek Jacobi's third involvement in Doctor Who. The first was in the September 2003 audio drama Deadline, where he played a screenwriter who believes himself to be the Doctor. The second was several months later, in the webcast Scream of the Shalka, where he played an android version of the Master. In 2017, Jacobi reprised his role from "Utopia" in the audio drama series The War Master.

Other actors returning to the franchise in this episode are Neil Reidman had previously played Tom Braudy in the Eighth Doctor audio drama Memory Lane and Robert Forknall, who plays Lord Byron in the Eighth Doctor audio drama The Company of Friends.

Chipo Chung, who played Chantho, would later go on to play the Fortuneteller in "Turn Left". Paul Marc Davis, who played the Futurekind chieftain, also returned to the Doctor Who universe, going on to play the role of The Trickster in The Sarah Jane Adventures stories Whatever Happened to Sarah Jane, The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith and The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith. He also had a small role in Torchwood story Exit Wounds and played the lead villain Corakinus in Class.

John Bell was a nine-year-old who won a Blue Peter competition to appear in this episode.

John Simm reprised his role as the Master in the Tenth Doctor's final story "The End of Time" and reprised the role again in "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls", the finale of Series 10, the final series to feature Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and Michelle Gomez as Missy. Simm reprised the role once again in the audio drama Masterful by Big Finish Productions.

Music

Music originally composed for Torchwood can be heard in the background of this episode: a variation of the Torchwood theme plays when Jack runs towards the TARDIS and a motif plays when Jack lies dead, having ridden on the TARDIS through the Vortex. The drumming motif is suggestive of the fifth and subsequent bars of the Doctor Who theme tune as composed by Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire.

Broadcast and reception

"Utopia" was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 16 June 2007. Overnight rating showed that it was watched by 7.3 million viewers, which rose to 7.84 million when time-shifted viewers were taken into account. This made it the fourth most-watched programme on BBC One for the week. It received an Appreciation Index of 87.

IGN's Travis Fickett gave the episode a rating of 8.4 out of 10, calling it "one hell of a way to kick off the finale episodes of the season", particularly praising how various elements planted in previous episodes came into importance. However, he was critical of the beginning of the episode, writing that Jack's entrance was "a bit silly" and "the remnants of civilization look like Mad Max rejects being chased by space vampires". Richard Edwards of SFX gave "Utopia" four out of five stars, feeling that it was "minimally plotted" as it was part of a larger story but praising Jack's backstory and the return of the Master. The Stage reviewer Mark Wright was mixed towards "Utopia", disliking the first 20 minutes on the planet but enjoying the introduction of Jacobi as Yana, particularly the reveal of his true nature. He wondered what casual fans would make of it.

The episode has been noted by various reviewers and writers for its cliffhanger. It was listed among the best cliffhangers of the series by Charlie Jane Anders of io9, Den of Geek's Jeff Szpirglas, and was chosen by Mark Harrison as the best cliffhanger of the Tenth Doctor's era in another Den of Geek article. It was also chosen among the five best of the revived series by Morgan Jeffery and Chris Allen of Digital Spy; Jeffery referred to it as a "stunning accumulator cliffhanger" while Allen called it a "superb cliffhanger" that "lifts 'Utopia' from a fairly average episode into something altogether different". Stephen Brook of The Guardian called it "perhaps the best moment of the entire series" in his review of the third series.

Notes

Credited as Paul Marc Davies
The Ninth Doctor did this before in the 2005 episode "Boom Town".
The Doctor's hand is cut off, and immediately grows back, in the 2005 episode "The Christmas Invasion".
Jack prepares to leave 21st-century Cardiff shortly before "something" takes him away in the 2007 Torchwood episode "End of Days".
Though not mentioned at the time as granting him immortality, the 2005 episode "The Parting of the Ways" depicts Rose bringing Jack back to life.
As depicted in the 2007 episodes "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood".

References

"Doctor Who UK airdate announced". News. Dreamwatch. 27 February 2007. Archived from the original on 12 March 2007.
^ "Doctor Who - Fact File - "Utopia"". Retrieved 17 June 2007.
"Of a Thursday". Digital Spy. 1 April 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
Radio Times 30 June–6 July 2007: Doctor Who Watch
Doctor Who Magazine issue 384: Return of the Master
Davies, Russell T (4 March 2009). "Production Notes". Doctor Who Magazine. No. 406. Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics. p. 4. And I certainly feel the Series Three climax was two stories, no matter what the DWM season poll says. I'm sorry! I just do! I could rattle off the reasons, but we're into the mystical land of canon here, where the baseline of the argument simply comes down to "because I think so!"
"A New Doctor, A New Dimension?". Big Finish Productions. Archived from the original on 26 May 2005. Retrieved 11 June 2007.
"Jacobi confirmed for Dr Who role". BBC News. BBC. 25 January 2007.
"Doctor Who - Memory Lane". Big Finish.
"Future Boy". BBC Doctor Who website. BBC. 7 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 August 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
Freema Agyeman; Trevor Laird; Gugu Mbatha-Raw. "The Sound of Drums commentary". BBC's Doctor Who microsite (Podcast). Retrieved 25 June 2007.
"Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
Fickett, Travis (25 September 2007). "Doctor Who: "Utopia" Review". IGN. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
Edwards, Richard (16 June 2007). "Doctor Who 3.11 "Utopia"". SFX. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
Wright, Mark (17 June 2007). "Doctor Who 3.11: Utopia". The Stage. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
Anders, Charlie Jane (31 August 2010). "Greatest Doctor Who cliffhangers of all time!". io9. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
Szpirglas, Jeff (2 June 2011). "10 classic Doctor Who cliffhangers". Den of Geek. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
Harrison, Mark (24 June 2010). "Doctor Who: 10 cliffhanger screamers". Den of Geek. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
Jeffery, Morgan; Allen, Chris (3 June 2011). "'Doctor Who's best ever cliffhangers: Friday Fever". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
Brook, Stephen (2 July 2007). "Doctor Who: it's season finale time!". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 July 2012.

External links

"Utopia" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
"Humans are coming" - episode trailer
"Utopia" at IMDb

Doctor Who episodes

Original series (1963–1989, 1996): Season 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; Film; Missing episodes

Revived series (2005–present): Series 1; 2; 3; 4; 2008–2010 specials; 5; 6; 7; 2013 specials; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 2022 specials; 2023 specials; 14; 15

Series 3

Special	"The Runaway Bride"
Series	"Smith and Jones" "The Shakespeare Code" "Gridlock" "Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks" "The Lazarus Experiment" "42" "Human Nature" / "The Family of Blood" "Blink" "Utopia" / "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"
Supp.	The Infinite Quest

Links to related articles

Doctor Who episodes by Russell T Davies

Ninth Doctor

Series 1	"Rose" "The End of the World" "Aliens of London" / "World War Three" "The Long Game" "Boom Town" "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways"

Tenth Doctor

Series 2	"The Christmas Invasion" "New Earth" "Tooth and Claw" "Love & Monsters" "Army of Ghosts" / "Doomsday"
Series 3	"The Runaway Bride" "Smith and Jones" "Gridlock" "Utopia" / "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords"
Series 4	"Voyage of the Damned" "Partners in Crime" "Midnight" "Turn Left" "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End"
Specials	"The Next Doctor" "Planet of the Dead" "The Waters of Mars" "The End of Time"

Fourteenth Doctor

Specials	"The Star Beast" "Wild Blue Yonder" "The Giggle"

Fifteenth Doctor

Series 14	"The Church on Ruby Road" "Space Babies" "The Devil's Chord" "73 Yards" "Dot and Bubble" "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" / "Empire of Death"

Mini episodes