Doctor Who Confidential (2005–2011): Season 6, Episode 9 - About a Boy - full transcript
It's a really fun episode.
It's quite different from the others
because it's all about the tension
and building up the suspense.
(BOTH SCREAMING)
Crazy, eerie dolls creeping along,
moving malevolently.
NARRATOR: The demonic dolls are playing
a spooky game of House.
And we get down and dirty
in a vat of slime.
And the Doctor getting to have a bit
of a double act with someone's dad.
-We can't open the cupboard!
-God, no! No, we mustn't.
NARRATOR: But it all hinges
on the emotions of a little boy.
Doctor Who is scary,
but this is the scariest of all time.
-Whoa!
-Yo!
It's a youth TV Confidential.
-All right, come on, let's do it.
-I like it.
So, yo, this is Arthur.
This is, uh...
Oh, this is Karen.
All right, anyway,
so here we are at Dyrham Park.
And what are we doing here, Arthur?
-Which isn't in Durham.
-No. Dyrham.
Uh, we are filming a doll's house.
Yeah, we're filming an episode
about a doll's house.
DARVILL: Yeah.
Yeah, amazing place.
It was very nice. It was sunny.
We got to sit outside in the garden.
That was rather glorious.
I travelled around South Wales,
photographing all the Georgian houses.
But this one was quite fine
and also had a lovely staircase
with the archetypal
black and white checked floor,
which we didn't see anywhere else.
And it felt very dark and magical.
So that's why we came here.
GILLAN: Rory and I kind of get separated
from the Doctor
and we have to run around
and try and figure out where we are.
And we don't know it's a doll's house.
And then these freaky looking dolls
chase us around.
And they are freaky.
They've got, like, these big heads.
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(GASPING) Oh, it's just...
It's a dummy. Oh, it's just a dummy.
MARK GATISS: Well, I've always been
frightened of dolls,
particularly China-faced Victorian ones
with the hair missing
and those holes
where the hair's punched in.
Those terrible glass eyes.
"You ever seen a shark's eyes?
Like a doll's eyes.
"Black, lifeless." All that. (LAUGHING)
(DOLL LAUGHING)
(PURCELL SCREAMING)
DOLL: Don't run away.
(GIGGLING) We want to play.
-No, no, no, no, no!
-(DOLL LAUGHING)
(DOLL LAUGHING)
Amy, come on!
(GRUNTING)
R -Rory!
my, get up! Get up!
(SCREAMING)
There's a doll of me.
Which looks a bit like you,
it's got the same-shaped face.
-No, it doesn't!
-It does.
Apparently, I've got a moon head.
Do I have a moon head?
If you shine a light on Karen's face,
she looks like the moon.
Shut up! (LAUGHING)
Stop it, I've got a really
nicely shaped face.
Moon? Yeah, moons are all right.
-Are they?
-They're all right.
Not craters, though, yeah?
RICHARD CLARK: It was always a balance
between making them credibly,
like they could look like dolls,
but then also making them scary.
And that was a constant trial and error
approach with the clay.
So they would bake new clay models and
then send through photos and stuff.
Small things changed quite quickly.
But we noticed that we wanted
the features to feel slightly wrong.
The ones I've always found
the most sinister
are things that are slightly artless,
not so finely detailed.
So, if you've got something
which is meant to be a peg doll
and if someone has painted
the face like that
and then, obviously, when they get big,
in the process of that,
something gets even cruder.
So, there's just something brilliant,
I think about...
They feel like they've been
sort of carved with a knife
and there's something
a bit cracked about them.
And their hair is like wool.
I mean, it's just a primal fear,
I think.
SMITH: I think they're going
to be a real hit, actually.
Well done, Mark.
It's, again, brilliantly designed.
They have great colour and life to them.
I think the way they move and the way
they slowly turn their heads
is just really creepy and eerie.
A bit like the clockwork robots
can sort of...
you know, they have that slow,
malevolent sort of feel to them.
Bergerac. God help us!
Thirty years old, that.
(DOG GROWLING)
Where's the boxing?
There's meant to be boxing on.
NARRATOR: The delightful Mr Purcell
gets a sinking feeling
when he gets sucked into his carpet.
Never anything on, is there, Bern...?
GATISS: His only friend in the world
is his dog,
who he's actually rather soft about,
I think.
But I love the way it's been shot.
It's worked out so well.
He's sort of crying for help
and Bernard just sort of looks at him.
(SCREAMS) Help me, Bernard! Help!
(GROWLING)
NARRATOR: This sinking scene
was a tough one,
involving a vat of good old
Doctor Who-style green gunge.
(SPITTING)
Oh!
Oh, lovely.
This is the descending rig
that sends our character
through the floor.
And we've got this platform here,
it's a hydraulic platform,
and it basically descends
on a variable control
and it sends our character down,
looks like he's disappearing
into the floor.
(PANTING) The things I do for this show.
(INHALING DEEPLY)
There was endless discussions about
how thick the goo needs to be.
And I was also worried about
an actor going under It.
"Cause If it's too thick,
you don't want to shove your head under
kind of really thick green goo.
That was one of the most...
The trickiest bit.
trying to get the viscosity right.
Interesting filming day, that one.
MAN: Settle.
DIRECTOR: And action!
(GRUNTING)
I liked the idea of having this
very complicated, you know,
technically complicated effects shot
for him to sink into his grotty carpet.
I quite liked that sort of
juxtaposition.
It feels rather good to me.
-(PIANO PLAYING)
-♪ Confidential
♪ It's a secret
♪ Don't tell anyone
♪ You've got to keep it ♪
Oh, and also, just so we're, uh...
-Oh! It's funny.
-Oh, my God!
-Flicking through one of our...
-No!
One of our... Oh!
-"Karen Gillan's Timeless Trends."
-DARVILL: Oh, wow!
DARVILL: Karen, look!
"Fiery Karen shows us how to do
retro chic with an edgy, modern twist."
"Whether it's a sleek jumpsuit,
a natty scarf..."
Shut up!
"...or a flowing dress
with a fierce tiger print bag."”
You know nothing about fashion.
"Doctor Who's newest lady friend
nails it."
-What?
-Yeah, right? Nails it.
Oh, yeah.
NARRATOR: The rising star
at the heart of the episode
is the young actor playing
troubled child George.
Who are you, George?
Jamie is brilliant. I met him
for the first time the other day.
And he is such a little personality.
And he's tiny.
He's so little, but he's hilarious.
He was like, "Hello, are you Karen?"
I was like, "Yeah, hi,
nice to meet you."
And he just started telling me
all this stuff.
The thing.
You have to do the thing, Mum.
Jamie, who plays George,
I think he's lovely...
He's got a lovely little catch
in his voice.
And he's very believably
Emma and Danny's son.
I love that bit when the Doctor
appears in the doorway and he says...
I'm the Doctor.
A doctor?
Have you come to take me away?
And he actually sounds
quite like an old lady. I love it.
(MIMICKING JAMIE)
"Come to take me away?"
(LAUGHING) He's very sweet.
It's still broken.
He's the most excitable, lively child
I've ever met in my life.
He's very cool, he's very confident.
Apparently he likes sweet things,
which I think
he's been eating all lunchtime
which is going to mean we're
going to have a wonderful afternoon.
He doesn't stop talking.
I have no idea how he does it.
He just seems to...
He's kind of the best conversationalist.
You could just say nothing to him
and he'd just carry on. He's brilliant,
a fine addition to the Doctor Who cast.
-(LAUGHING) So, is it...
-What's going on now?
Um, well, I'm just sitting here
enjoying myself.
Uh, I think I'm going to go back in
to do more acting.
-Right. And how's that going?
-Yeah. Good.
-Good.
-Good.
Right, I'm on my way.
Run it continuously
and I will talk through it.
All right, let's go for that, then.
Jamie, well, again, you know,
it's sort of unnerving to find
young children that are quite astute
and savvy. And he's definitely that.
And a great energy and great enthusiasm.
And was a real hit among the set.
And I think he's turned in
a really good performance.
MAN: What's it been like
working with Matt Smith, then?
Very nice. He's a very funny chap.
DIRECTOR: Uh, I think we should
give this a go. You ready, Jamie?
Right, where's...
Does Jamie have an eye line upstairs?
Yeah, so you pretend
that's the Doctor, yeah?
MAN: Take a tiny
little step back, Jamie.
The thing that makes it snap,
as they're all on the staircase
inside the doll's house
and the dolls are
all converging on George...
The Doctor realises that
the nub of his problem
is he thinks he's going to be rejected
and that's the one thing he can't stand.
WOMAN: B camera one.
DIRECTOR: Action!
DOCTOR: Something's holding him back.
That's it! That's what the trigger was.
He thought he wasn't wanted.
That someone was going to
come and take him away.
DANIEL: Well, we talked about it.
DOCTOR: Yes, and he heard you, Alex.
A Tenza's sole function is to fit in,
to be wanted and you were rejecting him.
We just couldn't cope, we needed help!
Yes, but George didn't know that.
He thought you were rejecting him.
He still thinks it.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(DOLLS GIGGLING)
He's not...
human.
Whatever you are, whatever you do,
you're my son and I will
never, ever send you away.
Dad.
And then, Alex, you know,
knocks them aside
like the good dad he is,
and says, "You're my little boy,
I'll never let you go."
It makes me cry.
Cut. That'll do. Good, well done,
Jamie. Well done. That's good.
Now, did someone mention something
about planets and history and stuff?
We've shot that scene in the Tardis
with a bit of the nursery rhyme,
which has sinister implications
for the Doctor.
The whole universe.
The universe is... Ooh!
STEVEN MOFFAT: I wanted a prefiguring
of the Doctor's death.
So I suggested to Mark,
"Could you write a nursery rhyme?"
So he went and wrote this rather
wonderful Tick-Tack Goes the Clock.
AIL I know is the Doctor's going to die.
♪ Tick-tock goes the clock
even for the Doctor ♪
It's quite different from the others
because it's all about the tension
and building up the suspense.
(BOTH SCREAMING)
Crazy, eerie dolls creeping along,
moving malevolently.
NARRATOR: The demonic dolls are playing
a spooky game of House.
And we get down and dirty
in a vat of slime.
And the Doctor getting to have a bit
of a double act with someone's dad.
-We can't open the cupboard!
-God, no! No, we mustn't.
NARRATOR: But it all hinges
on the emotions of a little boy.
Doctor Who is scary,
but this is the scariest of all time.
-Whoa!
-Yo!
It's a youth TV Confidential.
-All right, come on, let's do it.
-I like it.
So, yo, this is Arthur.
This is, uh...
Oh, this is Karen.
All right, anyway,
so here we are at Dyrham Park.
And what are we doing here, Arthur?
-Which isn't in Durham.
-No. Dyrham.
Uh, we are filming a doll's house.
Yeah, we're filming an episode
about a doll's house.
DARVILL: Yeah.
Yeah, amazing place.
It was very nice. It was sunny.
We got to sit outside in the garden.
That was rather glorious.
I travelled around South Wales,
photographing all the Georgian houses.
But this one was quite fine
and also had a lovely staircase
with the archetypal
black and white checked floor,
which we didn't see anywhere else.
And it felt very dark and magical.
So that's why we came here.
GILLAN: Rory and I kind of get separated
from the Doctor
and we have to run around
and try and figure out where we are.
And we don't know it's a doll's house.
And then these freaky looking dolls
chase us around.
And they are freaky.
They've got, like, these big heads.
(BOTH SCREAMING)
(GASPING) Oh, it's just...
It's a dummy. Oh, it's just a dummy.
MARK GATISS: Well, I've always been
frightened of dolls,
particularly China-faced Victorian ones
with the hair missing
and those holes
where the hair's punched in.
Those terrible glass eyes.
"You ever seen a shark's eyes?
Like a doll's eyes.
"Black, lifeless." All that. (LAUGHING)
(DOLL LAUGHING)
(PURCELL SCREAMING)
DOLL: Don't run away.
(GIGGLING) We want to play.
-No, no, no, no, no!
-(DOLL LAUGHING)
(DOLL LAUGHING)
Amy, come on!
(GRUNTING)
R -Rory!
my, get up! Get up!
(SCREAMING)
There's a doll of me.
Which looks a bit like you,
it's got the same-shaped face.
-No, it doesn't!
-It does.
Apparently, I've got a moon head.
Do I have a moon head?
If you shine a light on Karen's face,
she looks like the moon.
Shut up! (LAUGHING)
Stop it, I've got a really
nicely shaped face.
Moon? Yeah, moons are all right.
-Are they?
-They're all right.
Not craters, though, yeah?
RICHARD CLARK: It was always a balance
between making them credibly,
like they could look like dolls,
but then also making them scary.
And that was a constant trial and error
approach with the clay.
So they would bake new clay models and
then send through photos and stuff.
Small things changed quite quickly.
But we noticed that we wanted
the features to feel slightly wrong.
The ones I've always found
the most sinister
are things that are slightly artless,
not so finely detailed.
So, if you've got something
which is meant to be a peg doll
and if someone has painted
the face like that
and then, obviously, when they get big,
in the process of that,
something gets even cruder.
So, there's just something brilliant,
I think about...
They feel like they've been
sort of carved with a knife
and there's something
a bit cracked about them.
And their hair is like wool.
I mean, it's just a primal fear,
I think.
SMITH: I think they're going
to be a real hit, actually.
Well done, Mark.
It's, again, brilliantly designed.
They have great colour and life to them.
I think the way they move and the way
they slowly turn their heads
is just really creepy and eerie.
A bit like the clockwork robots
can sort of...
you know, they have that slow,
malevolent sort of feel to them.
Bergerac. God help us!
Thirty years old, that.
(DOG GROWLING)
Where's the boxing?
There's meant to be boxing on.
NARRATOR: The delightful Mr Purcell
gets a sinking feeling
when he gets sucked into his carpet.
Never anything on, is there, Bern...?
GATISS: His only friend in the world
is his dog,
who he's actually rather soft about,
I think.
But I love the way it's been shot.
It's worked out so well.
He's sort of crying for help
and Bernard just sort of looks at him.
(SCREAMS) Help me, Bernard! Help!
(GROWLING)
NARRATOR: This sinking scene
was a tough one,
involving a vat of good old
Doctor Who-style green gunge.
(SPITTING)
Oh!
Oh, lovely.
This is the descending rig
that sends our character
through the floor.
And we've got this platform here,
it's a hydraulic platform,
and it basically descends
on a variable control
and it sends our character down,
looks like he's disappearing
into the floor.
(PANTING) The things I do for this show.
(INHALING DEEPLY)
There was endless discussions about
how thick the goo needs to be.
And I was also worried about
an actor going under It.
"Cause If it's too thick,
you don't want to shove your head under
kind of really thick green goo.
That was one of the most...
The trickiest bit.
trying to get the viscosity right.
Interesting filming day, that one.
MAN: Settle.
DIRECTOR: And action!
(GRUNTING)
I liked the idea of having this
very complicated, you know,
technically complicated effects shot
for him to sink into his grotty carpet.
I quite liked that sort of
juxtaposition.
It feels rather good to me.
-(PIANO PLAYING)
-♪ Confidential
♪ It's a secret
♪ Don't tell anyone
♪ You've got to keep it ♪
Oh, and also, just so we're, uh...
-Oh! It's funny.
-Oh, my God!
-Flicking through one of our...
-No!
One of our... Oh!
-"Karen Gillan's Timeless Trends."
-DARVILL: Oh, wow!
DARVILL: Karen, look!
"Fiery Karen shows us how to do
retro chic with an edgy, modern twist."
"Whether it's a sleek jumpsuit,
a natty scarf..."
Shut up!
"...or a flowing dress
with a fierce tiger print bag."”
You know nothing about fashion.
"Doctor Who's newest lady friend
nails it."
-What?
-Yeah, right? Nails it.
Oh, yeah.
NARRATOR: The rising star
at the heart of the episode
is the young actor playing
troubled child George.
Who are you, George?
Jamie is brilliant. I met him
for the first time the other day.
And he is such a little personality.
And he's tiny.
He's so little, but he's hilarious.
He was like, "Hello, are you Karen?"
I was like, "Yeah, hi,
nice to meet you."
And he just started telling me
all this stuff.
The thing.
You have to do the thing, Mum.
Jamie, who plays George,
I think he's lovely...
He's got a lovely little catch
in his voice.
And he's very believably
Emma and Danny's son.
I love that bit when the Doctor
appears in the doorway and he says...
I'm the Doctor.
A doctor?
Have you come to take me away?
And he actually sounds
quite like an old lady. I love it.
(MIMICKING JAMIE)
"Come to take me away?"
(LAUGHING) He's very sweet.
It's still broken.
He's the most excitable, lively child
I've ever met in my life.
He's very cool, he's very confident.
Apparently he likes sweet things,
which I think
he's been eating all lunchtime
which is going to mean we're
going to have a wonderful afternoon.
He doesn't stop talking.
I have no idea how he does it.
He just seems to...
He's kind of the best conversationalist.
You could just say nothing to him
and he'd just carry on. He's brilliant,
a fine addition to the Doctor Who cast.
-(LAUGHING) So, is it...
-What's going on now?
Um, well, I'm just sitting here
enjoying myself.
Uh, I think I'm going to go back in
to do more acting.
-Right. And how's that going?
-Yeah. Good.
-Good.
-Good.
Right, I'm on my way.
Run it continuously
and I will talk through it.
All right, let's go for that, then.
Jamie, well, again, you know,
it's sort of unnerving to find
young children that are quite astute
and savvy. And he's definitely that.
And a great energy and great enthusiasm.
And was a real hit among the set.
And I think he's turned in
a really good performance.
MAN: What's it been like
working with Matt Smith, then?
Very nice. He's a very funny chap.
DIRECTOR: Uh, I think we should
give this a go. You ready, Jamie?
Right, where's...
Does Jamie have an eye line upstairs?
Yeah, so you pretend
that's the Doctor, yeah?
MAN: Take a tiny
little step back, Jamie.
The thing that makes it snap,
as they're all on the staircase
inside the doll's house
and the dolls are
all converging on George...
The Doctor realises that
the nub of his problem
is he thinks he's going to be rejected
and that's the one thing he can't stand.
WOMAN: B camera one.
DIRECTOR: Action!
DOCTOR: Something's holding him back.
That's it! That's what the trigger was.
He thought he wasn't wanted.
That someone was going to
come and take him away.
DANIEL: Well, we talked about it.
DOCTOR: Yes, and he heard you, Alex.
A Tenza's sole function is to fit in,
to be wanted and you were rejecting him.
We just couldn't cope, we needed help!
Yes, but George didn't know that.
He thought you were rejecting him.
He still thinks it.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(DOLLS GIGGLING)
He's not...
human.
Whatever you are, whatever you do,
you're my son and I will
never, ever send you away.
Dad.
And then, Alex, you know,
knocks them aside
like the good dad he is,
and says, "You're my little boy,
I'll never let you go."
It makes me cry.
Cut. That'll do. Good, well done,
Jamie. Well done. That's good.
Now, did someone mention something
about planets and history and stuff?
We've shot that scene in the Tardis
with a bit of the nursery rhyme,
which has sinister implications
for the Doctor.
The whole universe.
The universe is... Ooh!
STEVEN MOFFAT: I wanted a prefiguring
of the Doctor's death.
So I suggested to Mark,
"Could you write a nursery rhyme?"
So he went and wrote this rather
wonderful Tick-Tack Goes the Clock.
AIL I know is the Doctor's going to die.
♪ Tick-tock goes the clock
even for the Doctor ♪