The Witch’s Familiar Recap
PLEASE NOTE:If you haven’t seen The Witch’s Familiar, please stop reading now! This article contains spoilers about the episode.
You’ve probably calmed down now after the excitement of the weekend where we discovered Missy and Clara were not dead (yay!) and that Davros was up to his old schemes again. So included here are some of the points you may have missed in The Witch’s Familiar.
Dalek Dictionary
For Daleks, the word “sewer” is the same as “graveyard”.
Also, the phrases, “I Love You,” and, “You are different from me,” translate as “Exterminate!”
Apparently “mercy” is a new word for the Daleks despite being present when The Eleventh Doctor used it in Victory of the Daleks (2010) and a stone Dalek actually using the word three times when meeting River Song in The Big Bang later that year. (Perhaps the Doctor’s reboot of the universe deleted the word.)
“That’s a bit weird!” is a phrase never said by any Dalek before.
Familiar Face
The Fourth Doctor, made famous by Tom Baker in the 1970s, pops up in Missy’s flashback.
That’s New!
Sticking with the flashback, the Doctor fell into a nest of Vampire Monkeys - hopefully we’ll see them again in the future!
For the first time EVER in Doctor Who, Davros and The Master share a scene together. Back in 1973, the renegade Time Lord teamed up with the Daleks in Frontier In Space though they ended up executing him in the 1996 Paul McGann TV Movie.
Missy reveals that she once had a daughter…
The Doctor deposes Davros and uses his chair - and we get to see the full extent of the damage to the scientist’s body.
The Nevervault is mentioned by Missy - we’ve no idea what it is but it does have a slope!
Missy uses a Dark Star Alloy (not to be confused with a Dwarf star alloy as mentioned in Warriors' Gate (1981), The Family of Blood (2007) and Day of the Moon (2011).
The Hybrid - a mix of Dalek and Time Lord. The prophecy states that, “two great warrior races forced together to create a warrior greater than either.” Surely this can’t end well for anyone?
And finally, the Doctor is “over” the Sonic Screwdriver! Now he’s into “wearable technology,” - introducing the Sonic Shades! The Time Lord claims the screwdriver spoils the line of his jacket.
References
The
TARDISis saved by its “Hostile Action Dispersal System” which we assume is the same as the previously used Hostile Action Displacement System. HADS, as it’s also known, was used by the TARDIS here to defend itself against attack. It was first used in the
Patrick Troughtonstory The Krotons - “If the Tardis is attacked, it automatically dematerialises,” he told companion Zoe. HADS was used again in the Matt Smith episode, Cold War.
The Daleks have “remade” Skaro - it was destroyed by the Seventh Doctor using the Hand of Omega in Remembrance of the Daleks.
The classic Dalek line, “My vision is impaired!” (a favourite with fans) is brought back, having been used previously in The Daleks,
Resurrection of the Daleks, Revelation of the Daleks,
Remembrance of the Daleks and The Parting of the Ways.
The word “nanotech” is mentioned - in the Ninth Doctor story The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances, nanogenes were used to heal the injured whilst in Asylum of the Daleks nanoclouds converted humans into Dalek agents.
Music
Missy quotes a famous song by Elton John (who popped up in 2006’s Love & Monsters), “The Bitch Is Back!” A hit for the bespectacled pianist in 1974.
Past Episodes
Looks like Davros enjoys watching classic Doctor Who as, like last week, he still has Genesis of the Daleks on in the background. The same 1975 story is also evoked in the sewer scenes and in during the confrontation between the Doctor and Davros (reference to being a “God” and the ability to commit genocide on the Dalek race).
The Doctor has a cup of tea on standby whilst sitting in Davros’ chair - in Victory of the Daleks (2010), a Dalek uttered the immortal phrase, “Would you care for some tea?“
Clara gets inside a Dalek casing, just like companion Ian in the original 1963 story The Daleks (and reminiscent of her other self Oswin in 2012’s Asylum of the Daleks).
