Doctor Who (2005–…): Season 9, Episode 3 - Under the Lake - full transcript

Private journal of
Captain Jonathan Moran,

21st November 2119.

We have located a craft of
unknown origin on the lake floor.

Visual scans in situ revealed nothing,

so we have brought the craft on board

and myself and the crew
will now investigate.

How did they miss this
in the initial survey?

Cass says it was buried,

and the currents of the water must
have shifted the rubble around.

A conversation needs to be had
about who owns this spaceship.

Can we stop calling it a spaceship?



We don't know what it is.

A case could be made
that this is an asset,

and my company has bought
the rights to all assets...

What's this?

Lunn, grab me a torch, will you?

It was found on MOD property, even
if that property is underwater.

What you bought is the
oil under the ground...

Lunn! Where's the torch?

- Can I go in?
- What is the radiation count?

- Pretty much background level.
- Anything more,

it would have shown up on the
initial survey 20 years ago.

If it's not safe, how come you can go in?

"How long do you
think it's been down here?"

Well, there's next to no corrosion.



I've not seen technology like this...

Please don't say "on Earth".

...on Earth before.

Maybe it's some kind of experimental
craft that got left behind

when they abandoned the site.

Wait, you think the Army would
just lose a prototype weapon?

You're new to the
military, aren't you, son?

Cass says he might be right.

It might have been here since the
1980s, when the valley flooded.

Cass!

Come on! Move!

Come on, we need to go now!

Fire in the main hangar.

Safety protocols have been initiated.

All crew must evacuate immediately.

This safety message was brought
to you by Vector Petroleum.

We can't just leave him!

There was something in
the spaceship, I saw it!

- O'Donnell, he's dead. Didn't you see?
- The fire, are we safe out here?

It's fine, the CO2 will put the fire out.

It was you! You were messing about
with the controls on that ship!

Moran. But...

...we just saw you...

He's...

Oh, my God.

He's a...

ghost.

What's wrong?

You're not happy.

Why aren't you happy? Tell me.

Come on! We're on a roll!

Monsters, things blowing up.

Oh, hey, can we go back to that place

where the people with the long necks

have been celebrating New
Year for two centuries?

I left my sunglasses there.

And most of my dignity.

Why have you brought us here?

Here being...?

Underwater.

Some sort of a base.

The technology's 22nd century.

Maybe military, maybe scientific.

Is there a crew?

Must be, somewhere, if there's oxygen.

I want another adventure.

Come on, you feel the same.

You're itching to save
a planet, I know it.

Doctor, look at this.

Well. Looks like you got your wish.

- Food fight?
- I think there was more to it than that.

Whatever it was, it
happened pretty recently.

Seven or eight hours ago.

No bodies, though.

And they took provisions.

OK, so something or someone forced
the crew to abandon the base.

Maybe they went for a swim

in the creepy flooded village outside...

Oh, yeah. You see, this is more like it.

Oh, come on.

Don't leave me hanging.

Look. Told you.

Crew.

Hello, sailors!

Right, I did not expect that.
Hands up who expected that.

Wait, wait... I don't think
they're going to hurt us.

I think that they're just curious.

Are you sure?

Well, I mean, define "sure".

Look at you lovely chaps.

What's happened to you, then?

Come on.

- What are they?
- I haven't a clue.

Isn't that exciting?

Where did they go?

- What is it, some kind of submarine?
- No, it's alien.

That's weird. The Tardis
hasn't translated it.

Hey, look, they're back.

Hello! Did you want to show us this?

It's very nice.

Wait, are they saying something?

OK... they now appear

to be arming themselves.

Yes, I spotted that, too.

Was it something she said? She does that.

She once had an argument with Gandhi...!

I'm starting to see why
the crew did a runner.

Run!

In here! Quick!

What are YOU?

Who the hell are you, and
what are you doing here?

This is Clara,

and I'm the Doctor.

You're from UNIT.

Well, if that's what it says.

I'm Pritchard, this is Bennett.

O'Donnell!

Are you really the Doctor? I'm a huge fan!

I mean, you know...

Nice work.

Tim Lunn, I sign for Cass.

Tell me, what about those
things out there, what are they?

- Why are they trying to kill us?
- Well, they're...

- They're ghosts.
- They're not ghosts.

Cass is saying...

Thank you, but I actually
don't need your help.

I can speak sign.

Go ahead.

No, no, actually, I... I can't.

It's been deleted... for semaphore.

Someone get me a selection of flags.

One of the ghosts is our
previous commanding officer.

The other... moley guy,
we don't know what he is.

- He's from the planet Tivoli.
- See?

I told you he was an
alien! Didn't I say that?

Weird thing is, they're not
violent. They're too cowardly.

They wouldn't say boo to a goose.

They're more likely to give the goose
their car keys and bank details.

When did they first appear?

Oh, did you see that
spaceship in the hangar?

Yeah, we found that on the lake
bed and we'd just got it on board

and one of the engines started
up and then Moran got...

Moran was killed.

Then they appeared

and pretty much straightaway
started trying to kill us.

So we grabbed what we could and we
were looking for somewhere to hide

and that's when we realised the
ghosts couldn't come in here.

- What is this place?
- It's a Faraday cage.

Completely impenetrable to radio waves

and, apparently, whatever
those things are out there.

So, who's in charge now?

I need to know who to ignore.

That would be me.

Her.

Actually, that would be me.
I represent Vector Petroleum.

- We've obtained the mining rights to the oil.
- The oil?

- Where are we?
- This used to be a military training site.

There was a dam overlooking it,

but the dam burst and the
valley was submerged.

Then, 20 years ago, we discovered a
massive oil reservoir underneath it.

'Good morning.
Entering day mode.'

OK, it's morning. We can go outside now.

Thank God for that.

At last, we
can get out of here.

Morning?

Yeah, we're too far below
the surface for daylight,

so we have to demarcate
artificial days and nights.

I'd like to have a further
look at that spaceship,

but what about those
things that aren't ghosts?

It's all right. They
only come out at night.

Weird how that is not comforting.

If whatever they are...

- They're ghosts!
- They're not ghosts!

...have been trying to kill you,
why haven't you abandoned the base?

That was my call. We have 1 trillion worth

of mining equipment here.

We're not just going to abandon it...

What? If it all goes pear-shaped,

it's not THEM that lose a bonus.

It's OK. I understand.

You're an idiot.

Come to mention it, why is there
a Faraday cage on the base?

It's the mining equipment.
It runs on nuclear fission.

The Faraday cage has been lined with lead

to act as a shelter in the
event of a radiation leak.

So we're fighting an
unknown homicidal force

that has taken the form
of your commanding officer

and a cowardly alien,

underwater, in a nuclear reactor.

Anything else I should know?

Someone got a peanut
allergy, or something?

It all started with this ship.
This is where the answer will be.

What's happened to the
stuff you've removed?

This is for long-haul flights.

There should be a suspended-animation
chamber for the pilot right here.

Plus, one of the power cells is missing.

- A power cell?
- Yeah. You can see the casing is empty.

- It's not safe out here!
- What's the matter?

She won't let me look
inside the spaceship.

She says it's not safe. I'm
saying it's not safe out here.

- I imagine they're pretty valuable.
- What?

I mean, powerful. Those power cells.
I imagine they're pretty powerful.

They can zap a vessel from one
side of the galaxy to the other,

so take a wild stab in the dark.

- And the missing one must still be out there.
- Yes, well, otherwise...

Sorry, why is this man
still talking to me?

We haven't removed anything.
There hasn't been time.

So what have we got?

Moran dies, and then those things appear.

They can walk through walls.

They only come out at night...

...and they're sort of see-through.

Doctor, wait, you're not saying...

They're ghosts!

Yeah... ghosts...

You said there was no such thing.

You actually pooh-poohed the ghost theory.

Yes, well... well, there was no such thing

as socks or smartphones and badgers

until there suddenly were.

Besides, what else could they be?

They're not holograms,
they're not Flesh Avatars!

They're not Autons.

They're not digital copies
bouncing around the Nethersphere.

No, these people are
literally, actually dead.

This is... It's amazing!

I've never actually met a proper ghost!

Moran was our friend.

The cards.

Oh! Oh, right you are.

Oh, come here.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

I'll do all I can to solve
the death of your friend

slash family member slash pet.

But don't you see what this means?

Death! It was the one thing

that unified every single
living creature in the universe,

and now it's gone!

How can you just sit there?!

Don't you want to go out there right now,

wrestle them to the ground
and ask them questions

until your throat falls out?

What's death like? Does it
hurt? Do you still get hungry?

Do you miss being alive?

Why can you only handle metal objects?

Oh, I didn't know I'd noticed that. OK...

So, they'll try to kill
you, blah, blah, blah.

What does that matter? You come back!

A bit murder-y, sure, but even so!

Calm, Doctor...

Calm...

You were like this when
you met Shirley Bassey.

OK. Question one.

What is a ghost?

Question two.

What do they want?

Whoa. Whoa, what's happening?

Good evening.
Entering night mode.

That's not right.

We're switching back
into night mode again.

This can't happen! No, no, no!

What's doing that?

Doctor?

The Tardis Cloister Bell!

Doctor, what's wrong?

It must be the ghosts.

That's why she was upset when we got here.

Why?

I don't understand.

It's just what I was saying.

You live and you die... that's it.

The ghosts are aberrations.

A splinter of time in the skin.

They're unnatural.

- She wants to get away from them.
- So, what do we do?

Put the handbrake on.

Where do you think you're going?

Out there, where the action is.

Look...

- What?
- Oh... this is my own fault.

I like adventures as much as the next man.

If the next man is a man
who likes adventures.

Even so, don't... don't go native.

What do you mean? I'm not.

Look, there's a whole...
dimension in here,

but there's only room for one ME.

Wait... wait a second.

You just raved about ghosts like
a kid who had too much sherbet.

Do you know what you need?
You need a hobby!

I really don't.

Or, even better, another relationship!

Come on, you lot, you're
bananas about relationships.

You're always writing songs about them

or going to war or getting tattooed...

Doctor, I'm fine.

I just felt that I had to say something.

I know. And I appreciated it.

Because I've got a duty of care.

Which you take very seriously, I know.

- So can I stop now?
- Please. Please do.

Attention, all crew.

The Drum has switched to night mode early

so grab provisions and make
your way to the Faraday cage.

That you, Bennett?

I went out looking for
that missing power cell.

OK, contractually, it's a grey area,

but... I reckon we can argue
everything non-indigenous

is an asset and therefore...

Bennett?

We're meant to be in day mode!

You shouldn't be here.

What?

What?

What... what are you saying?

No, Moran! Don't!

Pritchard, you are unaccounted for.

Contact the bridge or get to
the Faraday cage immediately.

Pritchard, contact the bridge
or get to the Faraday cage!

I'd love to work for UNIT,

Earth's first line of defence, and all.

I'm probably not suited,
though. Not much of a fighter.

More of a bleeder.

Pritchard! Where you have you been?
Everyone's been looking for you.

What's with the wet suit?

Yeah, where have you been?

O'Donnell, it's
OK. Pritchard's in here!

Pritchard, you moron. Grab your
stuff, we're locking down early.

In case I can't get
this back into day mode.

Is he all right?

Man overboard. Man overboard!

We need a rescue team in the water now!

Bennett, wait! It's Pritchard.

He's a ghost. He's another ghost.

Come on, come on.

Come on, come on, come
on, come on, come on...

Good morning.
Entering day mode.

No! No, Moran! Don't!

They're working out how to
use the base against us...

altering the time settings so
they can go about uninhibited,

opening the airlocks...

They're learning.

And now there's three of them.

Cass, what do we do?

We abandon the base.

Topside can send down a whole
team of marines or ghost-busters

- or whatever.
- Wait, wait...

I can't force you to leave,

so you can stay and do the
whole cabin-in-the-woods thing

and get killed or drowned, if you want.

But my first priority
is to protect my crew.

But we're coming back, aren't we?

Yes, we're coming back.

Tell them we're abandoning
the base on my orders.

Topside, Topside, this is
Lance Corporal Alice O'Donnell

from Drum Control. Over.

Drum Control, this is Topside.

We have received your message.
Submarine on its way. Over.

Repeat, Topside. Over.

We've received your
request for a rescue sub.

It's two minutes away. Over.

Topside, who did you speak to and
when was this request made? Over.

Drum Control, it was in Morse code
and arrived maybe half an hour ago.

Said it was urgent, comms were down,

two crew members critically ill,

full paramedic team requested. Over.

Topside, this is the Doctor, UNIT
security visa 7-1-0-Apple-0-0.

You may be familiar with
my work. Call back the sub.

- Doctor, why...?
- Call it back!

We have a hazardous and
undefined contagion on board.

This base is now under quarantine.

What did you do that for?

None of us sent the message, did we?
So that means the ghosts sent it,

which means they want that crew down here.

- Why would they do that?
- I don't know, but I'm pretty certain

it's not so they can all form a boy band.

OK. We solve this on our own.

The ghosts can only come out at night

so they change the
base's time settings. Why?

What's different at night?

It's mainly atmospheric.
The lights are dim,

the noise from the engines is muffled.

No, something... something else.

The diagnostic sweep. When
the systems are checked,

that stops at night to save power.

What systems, specifically?

Life support, the locks.
They're electromagnetic.

They have to be secured in
case of flooding, so throughout

the day, they're checked, one
by one, every few seconds.

The answer is in there
somewhere, I can smell it.

Doctor, what do we do?

O'Donnell.

Excellent work, returning
the base to day mode.

Shut up. It was nothing...

You really think so?

- Now put it back into night mode.
- What?!

We know nothing.

We don't know what they want.
That's what's getting us killed.

Well, I won't run. Not any more.

So, O'Donnell, kindly put the
base back into night mode.

We want to know what these
ghosts are after? We ask them.

We're going to do the impossible.

We're going to capture a ghost.

Good evening.
Entering night mode.

H-Hey, how's it going?

Bennett's got them moving,
and Clara's in position.

Clara, Bennett is going to run
across the top of the T-junction

to your right in about ten seconds.

Draw the ghosts towards you.

Turn right, and then take second left.

Hey, ghosts.

Down here!

Lunn, they're coming your way.

Clara's going to duck down to her left.

You've got to keep the ghosts going
on the same route they're on now.

Then, after about 50 yards on
your left, there is a flood door.

O'Donnell will close the
door once you're through.

I... I can hear them.

Lunn, don't let them see where you go.

Hey! Yeah, this way.

We've got a problem!

They've separated.

- What?
- Moran and the mole guy are going after Clara.

Clara, look out. Two
ghosts are still on your case.

Right behind you.

I'm beginning to think we should
have let the ghosts in on the plan.

Clara, there's a flood door
at the end of the corridor,

around the corner to your right.

We'll close it from here.

Listen to me. You've got
to get through that door

before Moran and the other ghost see you.

- Doctor...
- Now, O'Donnell, fast as you can!

Guys, I'm nearly at my door.

Now, Lunn, quickly.

It saw me.

Oh, God. It saw me.

It's coming through.

It's coming through the door.

We don't have a camera in there.

No, no, Lunn. Lunn, can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Lunn, what's happening?

Lunn, can you hear me?

Lunn? Lunn?

Can you hear me? Lunn, Lunn? Lunn, Lunn!

What's happening? Lunn?

- Lunn? Can you hear me?
- I'm OK.

Cass, he's alive.

It didn't hurt me. I'm OK.

What? What's wrong with
you? Why didn't it hurt you?

Bennett, you're on again.
Bennett, where are you?

There.

Oh, God, look.

Bennett, can you hear me?

There are two ghosts just
around the corner from you.

Yes, thanks, I'd noticed!

The Faraday cage is
across the intersection

and down the corridor to your
right. This last bit is down to you.

OK, so, the good news is,
they aren't split up any more.

Cue Clara!

We need to talk.

Sorry, chaps. Just a hologram.
You play a little bit too rough.

I'm fine, by the way, in case
any of you were worried.

Cass, are you seeing this?

Sonic glasses Wi-Fi
locked in. On screen B2.

She says she can't see them properly.

The glass is too thick
and they're too far away.

- Open the door.
- What?

Doctor, you can't go in
there, they will kill you!

They don't have any weapons or
access to any of the controls.

They can't hurt me, so open the door.

Cold...

Isn't it?

Take away your weapons and
you're not so scary, are you?

Is that better, Cass?

She says they're saying the same thing,

the same phrase, over and over.

They're saying...

"The dark...

"The score..."

No, "the sword..."

The... for sale?

No, "the forsaken. The temple."

- What?
- Yes, she's sure.

"The dark, the sword, the
forsaken, the temple."

Just that. Over and over.

Dark, sword, forsaken, temple.

What does that mean? What
are you telling me, big man?

Bennett! I need maps.

I think I just worked out what
our friend here is telling us.

- They're coordinates.
- How can they be coordinates?

The dark... space.

So, whoever's following the coordinates

knows they're going to another planet.

The sword...

Orion's sword.

The sword, the three stars,

although one isn't actually
a star but the Orion Nebula,

hanging down from Orion's belt.

But...

...if viewed from back here,

the Earth becomes the
fourth bit of the sword.

So, narrowed it down to a
planet now. Getting closer!

The forsaken.

The forsaken or abandoned or empty town.

See, it's a location,

beaming out to someone or something
across the universe, over and over.

And every time they kill one of us...

It strengthens the signal. Another
ghost, another transmitter.

Which is why they sent
for that rescue sub.

Get more people down here,

kill them, make even more ghosts
to beam out the coordinates.

But why are they beaming
out the coordinates?

Is it a distress call?

It could be. Or a warning.

Might even be a call to arms.

It could mean, "Come here, they're
vulnerable, help yourself."

Wait a minute, though.

Wait a minuet. You know what this means?

It means that they're not
a natural phenomenon.

It means that someone is
deliberately getting people killed,

hijacking their souls and
turning them into transmitters.

What do the coordinates lead TO, though?

- To us? To the ghosts? What?
- Ah! What the coordinates are for...

that is part of the answer to the
other question you're all thinking.

Really?

Come on. None of you?

Surely just being around me
makes you cleverer by osmosis?

What is the other question?

The temple.

The fourth part of the
directions. What's the temple?

Finally. It's like pulling teeth.

This is the flooded military town.

Shops, houses, town square,

- and this...
- A church?

Whatever the coordinates are
for, it's in that church.

Find that and you're a hop,
skip and a jump to stopping them.

Wait, you're not suggesting that...?

But we're safe now.

The ghosts are in the cage,
we can get out of here.

No-one has to stay.

In fact, I would prefer it if you went.

You'll all get in the way and
ask ridiculous questions. But...

You know, YOU have chosen
to protect and serve.

YOU have given yourself to science
and the pursuit of knowledge.

None of you have chosen
anonymous or selfish lives.

Go, and a part of you will always wonder,

"What would have happened if I'd stayed?

"How could I have helped?
What would I have learned?"

I want you to go.

But you should know what
it is that you're leaving.

Cass says we should go,

but everything that happens
here is her responsibility now,

so she's going to stay.

So I... guess I should too.

Well, count me in.

Who wants to live forever, anyway?

Sorry... have you gone insane?

We can go home.

They're ghosts, though.

How can they be ghosts?

Well, at least if I die,

you know I really will come
back and haunt you... all.

OK, the sub is
approaching the town square.

- Which way is the church?
- North-north-west, 150 yards.

That's it. Starboard two degrees.

What are we looking for, exactly?

Something that has the
power to raise the dead

and turn them into transmitters.

I expect we'll know it when we see it.

Wait, I've found the church.

That's it, keep going.

Wait!

What's that?

Move closer.

It's the suspended-animation
chamber from the spaceship.

So the pilot could be in there.

There's SOMETHING inside there.

But it's deadlock sealed, I can't open it.

It should be the pilot, it should
be. So why do I think it isn't?

More questions.

Everything I solve, just more questions.

I have to go back to the beginning.

We arrive, we see the
ghosts. They don't kill us.

They lead us here, they
show us the spaceship.

THEN they try to kill us.

Not translated by the Tardis. Why?

Lunn, translate for me.

Whenever I step outside,

you are the smartest person in the room.

So, tell me, what's weird about this?

I know that it's all
bonkers but, you know,

when YOU think about it,

one thing keeps snagging
in your mind. What is it?

The markings on the
inside of the spaceship.

The markings on the inside
of the spaceship. Yes!

Why?

- I don't think they're just words.
- They're not. They're magnets.

Magnets? How?

Well, a localised and manufactured
electromagnetic field, to be precise.

The dark. The sword.

The forsaken. The temple.

When we heard the coordinates
for the first time,

did anyone expect them not to be that?

No, exactly. Me neither.

It's like we already knew, somehow.

Like the words were already in us.

So that writing IS the coordinates?

Everything we see or experience
shapes us in some way.

But these words actually rewrite the
synaptic connections in your brain.

They literally change
the way you are wired.

Clara, why don't I have
a radio in the Tardis?

You took it apart and used the pieces

to make a clockwork squirrel.

AND because whatever song I
heard first thing in the morning,

I was stuck with.

Two weeks of Mysterious
Girl by Peter Andre.

I was begging for the brush
of Death's merciful hand.

Don't you see? These words are an earworm.

A song you can't stop
humming, even after you die.

OK, so the spaceship lands here.

The pilot leaves the writing
on the wall so whoever sees it,

when they die, they become a
beacon of the coordinates,

while he/she/it snoozes in the
suspended-animation chamber...

Waiting for his/her/its
mates to pick the message up.

My God.

Every time I think it couldn't get
more extraordinary, it surprises me.

It's impossible. I hate it.
It's evil. It's astonishing.

I want to kiss it to death.

Attention, all crew.

Evacuate base immediately.

Emergency protocols have been initiated.

This safety message was brought
to you by Vector Petroleum...

- fuel for our futures.
- Oh, no.

The ghosts tampering with
the day-night settings

has caused a computer malfunction.

Its... its first priority
is to keep the reactor cool,

so it's opening the hull doors

and it's flooding the base.

Cass says, close the internal flood doors.

That'll contain the water
in the central corridor.

- Where's the Tardis?
- On the other side.

We need to get there.
It's our only way out.

OK. We've got 30 seconds
before the flood doors close.

Come on!

Doctor!

I'll get you and the others out.
Sit tight, I'll come back for you.

Just come over here in the Tardis now.

The Tardis won't go there,
it won't go near the ghosts.

You can't just leave us!

Listen to me.

I'm going back in time to
when this spaceship landed.

If I can understand why this is happening,

I can stop them killing
anyone else. I can save you.

You trust me, don't you, Clara?

Wait, you're going to go back in time?

- How do you do that?
- Extremely well.

You're sure they're not going to hurt us?

They can't get out of the Faraday cage.

Back to before the flood.

And you're sure the Doctor
won't just leave us here?

Guys, look, this is how we roll.

He's going to go away, come back

and we'll have to listen to how he did it.

Is it Moran or Pritchard or the mole guy?

- How... how did they get out?
- No, I don't think it's any of them.

I think it's... a new ghost.

What does that mean?

It means that something
happened in the past,

it means that somebody else must have...

Oh, no.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Another ghost has appeared.
What does it mean?

I have to die.

This is the town before it flooded.

I need to know how you create these
creatures with nothing but words.

He's opened the Faraday cage,
let the other ghosts out.

This isn't about saving me.
I'm a dead man walking.

So, who's next?