History Recap / DoctorWhoS27E4AliensOfLondon

* CostumesChangeYourSize: The episode finally offers an explanation for why some aliens in the Classic Series (e.g. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath Scaroth]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E1TheLeisureHive the Foamasi]]) could fit into human disguises noticeably smaller than their true forms: the Slitheen use compression fields to squeeze into human skins (though require more heavyset people since the tech can only do so much), and it's implied that this was the case for previous aliens as well.

* AdultFear: From Jackie's point of view, the Doctor is a stranger who ran off with her child.
-->"Do you know what terrifies me, is that you still can't say. What happened to you, Rose? What could be so bad that you can't tell me, sweetheart?"

** Joseph Green's position of "Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Monitoring of Sugar Standards in Exported Confectionery" is bodged together from several real positions: a select committee chairman,[[note]]the chairman of a committee of [=MPs=] scrutinising the work of a government department[[/note]] the chair of an All-Party Parliamentary Group,[[note]]a grouping of [=MPs=] from all political parties on a particular issue of concern which has no official status within Parliament[[/note]] and the House of Commons Commission[[note]]the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons[[/note]]. The implication is that Green's position is as obscure as it can possibly get.

* ArtisticLicencePolitics: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (and in any case, a Committee Chairman is not a Minister), and there is no such post as acting Prime Minister, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in. It is more likely that the civil service would temporarily take control.

* ArtisticLicenceLaw: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (and in any case, a Committee Chairman is not a Minister), and there is no such post as acting Prime Minister, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in. It is more likely that the civil service would temporarily take control.

* HumanDisguise: The Slitheen kill people and use compression technology to fit inside their skins. Due to their size, the Slitheen have to use large humans because their compression fields only shrink them down so much, limiting their plans as they can't, for example, simply impersonate the incumbent Prime Minister. The main Slitheen are disguised as Margaret Blaine of MI5, Oliver Charles (transport liaison), Joseph Green (MP for Hartley Dale, and [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on the Monitoring of Sugar Standards in Exported Confectionery]]), and General Asquith (for the Slitheen posing as Oliver Charles).

* RealityEnsues: The consequences of the TARDIS' notoriously dodgy choices of "time and place" are in full force. Jackie has had to spend a year living with the fact that her daughter vanished without a trace, assuming that Rose was quite possibly dead or worse. Mickey, meanwhile, was hauled in by the police ''five times'' for questioning and has become a social pariah on the estate as everyone believed he killed Rose and hid her body somewhere — particularly Jackie, who turned people against him even further. Both of them are ''furious'' at the Doctor when he and Rose finally get back, and Mickey in particular finds it hard to forgive Rose.

-->'''Rose Tyler:''' ''[taking in the front facade of 10 Downing Street]'' Oh my god....

* ToiletHumour: The Slitheen and the entire matter with the gas exchange.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: This or EarlyInstalmentWeirdness. Dr. Sato appears here as a medical doctor, as opposed to the scientist the character becomes in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. "[[Recap/TorchwoodS2E13ExitWounds Exit Wounds]]" finally explained that she was filling in for a hungover Owen Harper.

* FatBastard: All the Slitheen in their human suits. Slitheen are a lot bigger than humans, so in order to minimize the difficulty of squeezing down to size, the Slitheen choose chonky folks.

The Doctor takes Rose back home to visit her mother, materialising outside her flats seemingly twelve hours after she left. Or so he believes. However, while waiting for Rose to return, a flyer on a nearby wall catches his eye. To his surprise, it's a missing-persons flyer with Rose's picture on it. When Rose enters her flat and casually greets her mother, claiming to have spent the night with a friend, the stunned Jackie sweeps her daughter up in a desperate, unbelieving hug, and, over her shoulder, Rose sees a table covered with more missing-persons flyers and posters, all with her name and picture on them. The Doctor rushes into the flat, takes in the situation, and apologetically tells Rose that she hasn't been gone for twelve hours, but for twelve ''months''...

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor — who insists on calling Mickey "Ricky" rather than admit he can't remember his name — explains to Mickey and Rose that the crash landing was faked, but by other aliens. Mickey points out that putting the world on red alert is an odd way to start an invasion...[[DumbassHasAPoint a point that the Doctor acknowledges is very valid]]. The Doctor starts fiddling about with the circuitry beneath the console, but refuses to explain what he's doing, pointing out rather rudely that Mickey doesn't have a hope of understanding it anyway. Rose apologises for the Doctor's behaviour, and assures Mickey that she did miss him, even though she's only been gone for a few days from her perspective. He tells her that he spent the whole year looking for her, and that he never dated anyone else (though, to be fair, most people think he murdered Rose and hid her body somewhere). Now that she's back, she realises that Mickey wants to pick up where they left off... but as they're about to lean in to kiss, the Doctor announces that he's finished his work. He's looped back the TARDIS radar 12 hours to follow the ship's flight path, and he, Rose and Mickey thus discover another interesting detail: the ship launched from elsewhere on Earth, made a slingshot, then crashed in the Thames. It too was faked by the aliens, who have obviously been here for a while... but what they're up to is still a mystery.

** The trailer for this episode after "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E3TheUnquietDead The Unquiet Dead]]", which shows which characters are actually the Slitheen, but is less of a spoiler since this episode doesn't keep the identities of the Slitheen secret for very long.

** To a lesser extent, the trailer for this episode after "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E3TheUnquietDead The Unquiet Dead]]", which spoils which characters are actually the Slitheen. However, this episode doesn't bother keeping the identities of the Slitheen secret for very long, so it's much less of an issue than the aforementioned instance.

Also, the one where the show's timeline jumps ahead of year of broadcast by one year until Series 5. Better remember that!

Also, the one where the show's timeline jumps ahead of the real world by one year until Series 5. Better remember that!

Later, the Doctor sits with Rose on the roof as she ponders how to deal with having unwittingly traumatized her mother. The Doctor firmly states that Jackie's not coming with them if Rose decides to keep travelling. In passing, he reveals that he's 900 years old, and Rose realises that this is just another of the many things she can't discuss with anyone. [[TemptingFate She muses that it's frustrating yet also incredibly... being the only person on Earth who knows that aliens really are out there.]]

The Doctor, Rose and Mickey watch more news footage from inside the TARDIS, and see a group of experts from UNIT, the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, being escorted into 10 Downing Street. Mickey, who's spent the last year researching the Doctor's past appearances, reveals that the Doctor once worked for UNIT; however, the Doctor decides not to offer his help, as he's changed a lot since the old days and his arrival would just confuse matters. He decides to check out the wreck of the ship instead. However, as soon as he, Rose and Mickey step out of the TARDIS, they find themselves surrounded by police, soldiers and helicopters. Mickey bolts in panic and hides behind the dustbins as the police close in on them, and Jackie protests in vain when her daughter is apparently taken into custody alongside the Doctor.

Actually, the Doctor and Rose are not being arrested; they're just being escorted to 10 Downing Street. As they are driven through the streets, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace the Doctor admits to Rose that he's visited this planet a lot, and these days, his arrival tends to be noticed.]] He and Rose arrive at 10 Downing Street, where they wave and pose for the paparazzi before entering the seat of government. Inside, Harriet Jones is trying to mingle with the visiting experts, but before she can speak to any of them, Ganesh arrives and ushers them all out to the briefing room. He gives the Doctor an ID card, but refuses to give one to Rose, who doesn't have sufficient security clearance. Harriet offers to take care of Rose while the Doctor is busy, and escorts Rose out into the hall — where she breaks down in tears and tells Rose about what happened to the real Asquith.

Also, the one where the show's timeline jumps ahead by one year until Series 5. Better remember that!

* ArtisticLicencePolitics: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (and in any case, a Committee Chairman is not a Minister), and there is no such post as acting Prime Minister, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in. It is more likely that the civil service would temporarily take control.

* {{Whitehall}}: Number 10, Downing Street is the setting of most of this episode and the next.

* ArtisticLicencePolitics: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (and in any case, a Committee Chairman is not a Minister), and there is no such post as acting Prime Minister, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in. It is more likely that the civil service would temporarily take control.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The spaceship's approach to Big Ben shows it doing a sweep over Parliament Street, approaching Big Ben from the east, yet then hitting Big Ben from the northwest and landing on the east side of Westminster Bridge.
* ArtisticLicensePolitics: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (and in any case, a Committee Chairman is not a Minister), and there is no such post as acting Prime Minister, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in. It is more likely that the civil service would temporarily take control.

* BavarianFireDrill: The Doctor manages to get out of being held at gunpoint by a room full of soldiers by shouting "[[AttackPatternAlpha Defense Plan Delta]]! Come on!" after a scream is heard. He doesn't even flash his psychic paper! Then again they are UNIT soldiers, so the Doctor might be using an actual command from when he worked with them.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: This or EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. Dr. Sato appears here as a medical doctor, as opposed to the scientist the character becomes in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. "[[Recap/TorchwoodS2E13ExitWounds Exit Wounds]]" finally explained that she was filling in for a hungover Owen Harper.

* UnexpectedSuccessor: Part of the Slitheen's plan. They murder the Prime Minister, making it look like he's mysteriously vanished, and arrange for the Cabinet to be stranded outside London, making the most senior MP available to become acting PM one Joseph Green, the identity assumed by the Slitheen's leader. As seen above this does involve a lot of Artistic License.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The Slitheen posing as Oliver Charles, when donning Asquith's skin, bemoans he's going to miss Oliver's wife, mistress, and the young farmer he was seeing on the side. "[[ReallyGetsAround God, I was busy.]]"

The Doctor takes Rose back home to visit her mother, materialising outside her flats seemingly twelve hours after she left. Or so he believes. However, while waiting for Rose to return, a flyer on a nearby telephone pole catches his eye. To his surprise, it's a missing-persons flyer with Rose's picture on it. When Rose enters her flat and casually greets her mother, claiming to have spent the night with a friend, the stunned Jackie sweeps her daughter up in a desperate, unbelieving hug, and, over her shoulder, Rose sees a table covered with more missing-persons flyers and posters, all with her name and picture on them. The Doctor rushes into the flat, takes in the situation, and apologetically tells Rose that she hasn't been gone for twelve hours, but for twelve ''months''...

Some time later, outside Jackie's flat, a young boy spray-paints the words "[[ArcWords BAD WOLF]]" on the TARDIS and cycles off. Meanwhile, a police constable sits and listens patiently as Jackie lashes out at Rose for her thoughtlessness in vanishing for over a year without so much as a phone call. Rose claims that she's been travelling and simply forgot to call, but Jackie angrily points out that she left her passport behind. The Doctor steps in and explains that he's employed Rose as his companion (in a non-sexual sense, of course), but Jackie turns her anger on him, slapping him and accusing him of luring away her daughter for immoral purposes. Rose is embarrassed and remorseful, but despite Jackie's pleas, Rose can't even begin to explain where she's been for the past year.

The Doctor returns to Rose's flat, where Jackie reluctantly lets him in for fear of alienating her daughter further. Jackie's friends and neighbours have joined her to discuss the UFO crash and Rose's return, and the Doctor has difficulty hearing the television over their conversation; at one point, he even finds himself fighting for the TV remote with a young boy who wants to watch ''Series/BluePeter''. The world is on red alert, flights have been grounded in North American airspace, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations has advised people to watch the skies. Divers remove a body from the wreck and take it to Albion Hospital for examination by Dr. Toshiko Sato. She reveals her findings to General Asquith, who is startled by the alien pilot's appearance and orders Sato to keep it out of sight until the experts arrive.

Harriet is disrupted from her reading when she hears voices approaching the Cabinet office, and is forced to hide in a nearby closet. Moments later, General Asquith enters with Green, Margaret and Oliver, berating Green for his appalling lack of leadership. He isn't returning the White House's phone calls, he hasn't started any of the emergency procedures outlined in the protocols, and he's cancelled the airlift that would have brought the senior Cabinet ministers into central London. To Asquith's fury, Green, Margaret and Oliver begin giggling and farting like naughty schoolchildren, revelling in it having taken so long for Asquith to figure out this whole job has been a hoax. A fed-up Asquith finally snaps, and declares that he's using his emergency powers to remove Green from power and place London under martial law. This is a threat that Green takes seriously, saying it's quite hair-raising...quite literally. He, Margaret and Oliver promptly unzip their foreheads to reveal their true alien forms, and advance on the startled General Asquith.

Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor — who insists on calling Mickey "Ricky" rather than admit he can't remember his name — explains to Mickey and Rose that the crash landing was faked, but by other aliens. Mickey points out that putting the world on red alert is an odd way to start an invasion... a point that the Doctor acknowledges is very valid. The Doctor starts fiddling about with the circuitry beneath the console, but refuses to explain what he's doing, pointing out rather rudely that Mickey doesn't have a hope of understanding it anyway. Rose apologises for the Doctor's behaviour, and assures Mickey that she did miss him, even though she's only been gone for a few days from her perspective. He tells her that he spent the whole year looking for her, and that he never dated anyone else (though, to be fair, most people think he murdered Rose and hid her body somewhere). Now that she's back, she realises that Mickey wants to pick up where they left off... but as they're about to lean in to kiss, the Doctor announces that he's finished his work. He's looped back the TARDIS radar 12 hours to follow the ship's flight path, and he, Rose and Mickey thus discover another interesting detail: the ship launched from elsewhere on Earth, made a slingshot, then crashed in the Thames. It too was faked by the aliens, who have obviously been here for a while... but what they're up to is still a mystery.

In the Cabinet room, the alien pretending to be Oliver Charles has now shed his skin and clothed himself in General Asquith's. Like the other aliens, he must break wind frequently to fight into his tight disguise (Margaret insists they should do something about the gas exchange that comes with their disguises, but Green retorts it's a rather human thing to do). "Asquith" tosses his former skin inside the closet where Harriet Jones is hiding, while expressing regret that he'll now have to give up [[ReallyGetsAround Oliver's wife, his mistress, and the young farmer he was seeing on the side]]. As Green, Asquith and Margaret leave, Ganesh intercepts them and tells them that the government's automated surveillance software has detected someone speaking about "the Doctor", who is apparently the ultimate expert in extra-terrestrial affairs. Harriet listens from hiding as Ganesh tells the others that they'll have to enlist the Doctor's help.

However, the Doctor and Rose not being arrested; they're just being escorted to 10 Downing Street. As they are driven through the streets, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS7E1SpearheadFromSpace the Doctor admits to Rose that he's visited this planet a lot, and these days, his arrival tends to be noticed.]] He and Rose arrive at 10 Downing Street, where they wave and pose for the paparazzi before entering the seat of government. Inside, Harriet Jones is trying to mingle with the visiting experts, but before she can speak to any of them, Ganesh arrives and ushers them all out to the briefing room. He gives the Doctor an ID card, but refuses to give one to Rose, who doesn't have sufficient security clearance. Harriet offers to take care of Rose while the Doctor is busy, and escorts Rose out into the hall — where she breaks down in tears and tells Rose about what happened to the real Asquith.

The Doctor walks into the briefing room, flips through the agenda within seconds and immediately picks out the most important point. Before Asquith can begin the briefing properly, the Doctor speaks up, pointing out that a satellite detected an anomalous blip of radiation beneath the North Sea three days ago, but that the faked crash-landing has distracted attention from it. Worse, [[ExplainExplainOhCrap it suddenly occurs to the Doctor that everyone who could have investigated the radiation blip is currently in this room.]] The crash wasn't just a distraction; it's a trap. As he speaks, Green passes wind loudly, and when the Doctor turns on him for the interruption, Asquith unzips his forehead and removes his skin-suit, revealing who he and his fellow aliens really are: gigantic, corpulent, baby-faced bipedals with extended necks, claws, elongated arms, and sideways-blinking eyes, who call themselves the Slitheen.

* CatchPhrase: "Harriet Jones, MP Flydale North."
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: This or EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. Dr. Sato appears here as a medical doctor, as opposed to the scientist the character becomes in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''.

* ArtisticLicensePolitics: A Committee Chairman is not a Minister so even if Joseph Green was in Central London at the time he would not have been able to become acting Prime Minister as he is not even a member of Government. Also there is no such post as acting Prime Minister. The official Doctor Who Wiki [[https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom addresses]] this. And even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in.

* HollywoodLaw: There is no official line of succession to the office of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, so even in the situation that the ''entire'' cabinet was unable to be contacted, an obscure backbench MP like Joseph Green would not become Acting Prime Minister.

* ArtisticLicensePolitics: Also a Committee Chairman is not a Minister so even if Joseph Green was in Central London at the time he would not have been able to become acting Prime Minister. Also there is no such post as acting Prime Minister. Even if the Cabinet were stranded outside London it is rather ridiculous that a relatively minor MP would be pushed into this role and be able to cancel airlifting the Cabinet in.