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{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
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| caption = Towards the end of the episode, [[Rose Tyler]] cradles a dying [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|Doctor]] after a Dalek shoots him with its gunstick. The climax was written by executive producer [[Russell T Davies]] as a [[pastiche]] of science fiction romance, and described by David Tennant as "a moment of high emotion for all involved".<ref name="DWC" />
| doctor = [[David Tennant]] – [[Tenth Doctor]]
| companions =
* [[Catherine Tate]] – [[Donna Noble]]
* [[Billie Piper]] – [[Rose Tyler]]
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* [[John Barrowman]] – [[Jack Harkness]]
* [[Elisabeth Sladen]] – [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
| guests =
* [[Penelope Wilton]] – [[Harriet Jones]]
* [[Gareth David-Lloyd]] – [[Ianto Jones]]
* [[Eve Myles]] – [[Gwen Cooper]]
* [[Tommy Knight|Thomas Knight]] – [[Luke Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Luke Smith]]
* [[Bernard Cribbins]] – [[Wilfred Mott]]
* [[Jacqueline King]] – [[Sylvia Noble]]
* [[Adjoa Andoh]] – [[Francine Jones]]
* [[Julian Bleach]] – [[Davros]]
* [[Michael Brandon]] – General Sanchez
* Andrea Harris – Suzanne
* [[Lachele Carl]] – Trinity Wells
* [[Richard Dawkins]] – Himself
* [[Paul O'Grady]] – Himself
* Marcus Cunningham – Drunk Man
* [[Jason Mohammad]] –
* [[Paul Kasey]] – [[Judoon]]
* [[Kelly Hunter]] – Shadow Architect
* [[Amy Beth Hayes]] – Albino Servant
* Gary Milner – Scared Man
* [[Barnaby Edwards]],{{refn|group=N|Miscredited as "Barney Edwards"}} [[Nicholas Pegg|Nick Pegg]], David Hankinson, Anthony Spargo – [[Dalek]] Operators
* [[Nicholas Briggs]] – Dalek Voice
* [[Alexander Armstrong]] – Voice of [[Mr Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Mr Smith]] | director = [[Graeme Harper]]
| writer = [[Russell T Davies]]
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"'''The Stolen Earth'''" is the twelfth episode of the [[Doctor Who (series 4)|fourth series]] and the 750th overall episode{{refn|{{cite magazine|last=Spilsbury|first=Tom|date=24 June 2008|title=More Top Tens for Ten|magazine=Doctor Who Magazine|publisher=Panini Comics|location=Royal Tunbridge Wells|issue=397|page=13}}<ref group="note">"[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]", the seventh episode of the fourth series, is specified to be the 745th episode.</ref>}} of the British [[science fiction on television|science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was first broadcast on [[BBC One]] on {{nowrap|28 June 2008}}.<ref name="timedate">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cccvg|title=Doctor Who, Series 4, The Stolen Earth|date=28 June 2008|work=BBC One Programmes|publisher=BBC|access-date=22 April 2009}}</ref> The episode was written by [[show runner]] and [[head writer]] [[Russell T Davies]] and is the first of a two-part [[Fictional crossover#Spin-offs|crossover]] story with [[Spin-off (media)|spin-offs]] ''[[Torchwood]]'' and ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''; the concluding episode is "[[Journey's End (Doctor Who)|Journey's End]]", the finale of the fourth series, broadcast on 5 July.
The finale's narrative brings closure to several prominent story arcs created during Davies' tenure as show runner. In the episode, contemporary Earth and 26 other planets are stolen by the [[Dalek]]s, aided by their megalomaniacal creator [[Davros]] and a shattered but precognitive [[Cult of Skaro|Dalek Caan]]. As the [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|Doctor]] ([[David Tennant]]) and his [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companion]] [[Donna Noble]] ([[Catherine Tate]]) try to find Earth, his previous companions [[Jack Harkness]] ([[John Barrowman]]), [[Martha Jones]] ([[Freema Agyeman]]), [[Sarah Jane Smith]] ([[Elisabeth Sladen]]), and [[Rose Tyler]] ([[Billie Piper]]) convene to contact him and mount a defence against the Daleks. In the episode's [[Climax (narrative)|climax]], the Doctor is
The episode marks the first appearance of Davros in 19 years since the 1988 serial ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks]]''; he is portrayed by [[Julian Bleach]]. It is also the first ''Doctor Who'' appearance of [[Gwen Cooper]] ([[Eve Myles]]); [[Ianto Jones]] ([[Gareth David-Lloyd]]); [[Luke Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Luke Smith]] ([[Tommy Knight|Thomas Knight]]); and [[Mr Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Mr Smith]] (voiced by [[Alexander Armstrong (comedian)|Alexander Armstrong]]), though Myles
The two-part finale's epic scale and underlying plot was first conceived in early 2007 as the last regular-series story for departing [[television producer|producers]] Russell T Davies, [[Julie Gardner]], and [[Phil Collinson]]: the fourth series finale is the last story produced by Collinson; and [[Steven Moffat]] and [[Piers Wenger]] replaced Davies and Gardner as showrunner and [[executive producer]] respectively in 2010. Major concepts were already specified by July 2007 and the script was written in December 2007; Davies began on the 7th and finished on the 31st. Filming for the finale took place in February and March 2008, and post-production finished in mid-June 2008, only two weeks before the episode aired. To conceal as many plot elements as possible, the episode's title was not disclosed until sixteen days before broadcast, preview DVDs omitted the scene where the Doctor regenerates—the last scene is the Doctor being shot by a Dalek—and the episode aired without a preview trailer for "Journey's End".
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The [[Earth]] is teleported out of its spatial location. In order to find the Earth, the Doctor contacts the Shadow Proclamation, a universal police force. The Doctor and Donna determine that 27 missing planets—including Earth and others they learnt were lost{{refn|group=note|Three episodes earlier in the series also make reference to "lost" planets: the Adipose breeding planet from "[[Partners in Crime (Doctor Who)|Partners in Crime]]"; Pyrovillia from "[[The Fires of Pompeii]]"; and the Lost Moon of Poosh from "[[Midnight (Doctor Who)|Midnight]]".}}—automatically reorganise into a specific pattern when placed near each other. Donna mentions the disappearance of bees on contemporary Earth; this allows the Doctor to trace the planets to the Medusa Cascade, an inter-universal rift.
A [[Dalek]] force, led by their creator [[Davros]] and the Supreme Dalek, quickly subjugates Earth. Davros, who was thought to have been killed in the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]], was saved by [[Dalek Caan]], who entered the conflict after performing an emergency temporal shift.{{refn|group=note|As depicted in the 2007 episode "[[Evolution of the Daleks]]"
The Doctor's former [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companions]]—who have all encountered the Daleks before{{refn|group=note|The former companions who appear in this episode had encountered the Daleks in the 1974 serial ''[[Death to the Daleks]]''; the 1975 serial ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]''; the 2005 episodes "[[Dalek (Doctor Who episode)|Dalek]]", "[[Bad Wolf]]", and "[[The Parting of the Ways]]"; the 2006 episodes "[[Army of Ghosts]]" and "[[Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Doomsday]]", and the 2007 episodes "[[Daleks in Manhattan]]" and "[[Evolution of the Daleks]]".}}—hide in various places in Britain. [[Martha Jones|Martha]], [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah Jane]] are contacted by former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Harriet Jones]] through a secret Sub-Wave Network to contact the Doctor's companions in an emergency, although Harriet is unable to reach [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]. They attempt to reach the Doctor by amplifying the Sub-Wave signal; Sarah Jane uses her supercomputer [[Mr Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Mr Smith]]'s computing power, and Jack and his [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]] team members [[Gwen Cooper|Gwen]] and [[Ianto Jones|Ianto]] manipulate the [[Cardiff Rift]]. The Doctor, and consequently the Daleks, receive the transmission and trace the signal: the Daleks kill Harriet;<ref>{{cite episode|title=Interview with Russell T Davies|series=[[This Morning (TV programme)|This Morning]]|credits=[[Phillip Schofield]], [[Ruth Langsford]] (presenters)|network=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]|station=[[ITV (TV channel)|ITV1]]|airdate=4 July 2008|time=11:08 am|quote=Sometimes you have to kill a character, like Harriet Jones, played by Penelope Wilton, [who] dies in the last one.}}</ref> and the Doctor locates Earth in a "pocket of time".
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And Davros.|Russell T Davies|Series Four Breakdown<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 20, chapter 1: "Definitely Maybe"}}</ref>}}
Donna
Major concepts of the finale were already developed in March 2007. Davies explained the Medusa Cascade—first mentioned in dialogue between the [[Master (Doctor Who)|Master]] and the Doctor in "[[Last of the Time Lords]]"—to ''[[Radio Times]]'' and ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' journalist [[Benjamin Cook (journalist)|Benjamin Cook]] as "just an area of space" near an inter-universal rift which allowed Rose to return for the fourth series. He sent Cook another email several hours later that explained Dalek Caan's role in the finale and Davros' resurrection from the Time War.<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=49–50, chapter 2: "[[Catherine Tate|Catherine]], [[Kylie Minogue|Kylie]], and [[Dennis Hopper|Dennis]]"}}</ref> The Doctor's regeneration was conceived in two separate parts in mid-2007: Davies outlined the concept of two Doctors in "Journey's End" in late April 2007;<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 73, chapter 3: "Bastards"}}</ref> and using a regeneration to end the episode was originally conceived on {{nowrap|12 July 2007}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 186, chapter 7: "Fire and Brimstone"}}</ref>
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''Baby Slitheen talks with the voice of Margaret Blaine:''
:'''Baby Slitheen''': Take me home, Daddy, I don't like the nasty policemen!|[[Russell T Davies]]|"The Stolen Earth" draft script, Friday {{nowrap|14 December 2007}}.<ref name="scene47" />}}
The number of monsters and the Proclamation's bureaucratic nature would anger the Doctor and cause
A week after he had written the Shadow Proclamation scenes, Davies decided to rewrite the scenes heavily because of monetary and script constraints. Tovey's cameo was replaced with a scene centred on the "Chief Constable" because he was unavailable for filming, much to Davies' disappointment.<ref name="woeirt" /><ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 359, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> The Dalek invasion was also rewritten to the version broadcast after he decided a personal assassination of the Prime Minister was uncharacteristically "diplomatic", and recycled the Prime Minister's name for "[[The Next Doctor]]"<ref name="DVDcomm" /><ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 366, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> He also expressed doubts about the Shadow Proclamation to Cook; he thought the Chief Constable was "terribly stripped down", but admitted the Shadow Proclamation was a vital element of the plot. He decided to correct the faults in the Chief Constable by renaming her the "Shadow Architect" (Kelly Hunter):<ref name="shadowarchitect">{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 371, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref>
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Davies' scriptwriting was affected by the development of a head cold and overrunning script constraints; he was annoyed that he had written "dialogue [he had] been dying to write" with a "faint heart" because he would have to cut it. Because he was behind schedule, he was forced to cancel plans to attend Piper's wedding<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 390, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> and almost cancelled plans to celebrate the New Year with his boyfriend.<ref name="twtp395">{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 395, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> These problems affected his first draft of the Doctor's conversation with his companions and encounter with Davros; he dismissed it as "lame shit" which would waste [[Television licensing in the United Kingdom|licence-payers']] money,<ref name="twtp395" /> and replaced it with a different version hours later.<ref name="twtp395" /> The conversation features all of the Doctor's companions simultaneously talking to the Doctor; Tate, Tennant, and director [[Graeme Harper]] made the creative decision to have the Doctor ignore any mention of the Daleks because they thought the Doctor's joviality in the scene would be otherwise inappropriate.<ref name="DVDcomm" /> He eventually finished the script at 1{{nbsp}}am on [[New Year's Eve]].<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 400, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> Cook reviewed the last pages of the script and suggested that the episode should air without a trailer; Davies agreed by noting that "[the BBC] never send out preview discs of the last episode" and that any advertisements for "Journey's End" could "just show lots of Daleks and a repeat of "I'm regenerating" [the Doctor's last line in the episode before the regeneration process starts].<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 406, chapter 13: "The Christmas Invasion"}}</ref> The episode was officially submitted on {{nowrap|7 January 2008}}: the preparation date for "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End".<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 408, chapter 14: "Day Old Blues"}}</ref>
Davies discussed the episode's climax in detail in the show's companion series ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]''. The climax—a Dalek ray shooting the Doctor and his consequent regeneration—was written by Davies as a pastiche of romance fiction. He compared the reunion between Rose and the Doctor to "the biggest romance [the viewer] has ever seen" and joked that seminal films such as ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'' should have ended with a Dalek shooting the male lead,<ref name="DWC" /> and intensified the scene's emotional impact through Piper's cameos throughout the fourth series.<ref name="DWC" /> Tennant described the Doctor's wounding as a "moment of high emotion" and lamented that "[the Doctor] can't have a happy moment, especially with a cliffhanger needing to be written".<ref name="DWC" /> The episode ended during the regeneration because Davies wanted to create the "biggest, most exciting cliffhanger in ''Doctor Who''", and to differentiate the scene from previous regenerations, which were always completed at the end of serials.<ref name="DWC" /> He considered its resolution—the regeneration process being halted by the Doctor, who siphoned the excess energy into his
===Casting===
[[File:Richard Dawkins (2009).jpg|upright|thumb|alt=Evolutionary biologist and humanist Richard Dawkins at a book signing in October 2009.|[[Evolutionary biology|Evolutionary biologist]] and [[Humanism|humanist]] [[Richard Dawkins]] agreed to a cameo appearance because his then-wife, [[Lalla Ward]], portrayed companion and [[Time Lord|Time Lady]] [[Romana (Doctor Who)|Romana]] in the late 1970s.]]
The finale
Evolutionary biologist [[Richard Dawkins]] and comedian [[Paul O'Grady]] make cameo appearances on Torchwood's television screen;<ref name="factfile">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/?episode=s4_12&action=factfile|title=The Stolen Earth: Fact File|date=28 June 2008|work=Doctor Who microsite|publisher=BBC|access-date=16 April 2009}}</ref> cameos by celebrities such as [[Davina McCall]], [[Derek Acorah]], and [[Ann Widdecombe]] had been a part of each penultimate episode since the show's revival.<ref name="companion"/> O'Grady was given a cameo after Davies heard that he was a fan of the show;<ref name="factfile" /> and Dawkins was added to the script by Davies when Cook suggested him to portray the "elderly professor" on a ''[[Newsnight]]''-style television programme discussing the new planets in the sky.<ref>{{harvnb|Davies|Cook|2008|loc=p 335, chapter 12: "Holding the Line"}}</ref> Dawkins accepted because of his pre-existing association with ''[[Doctor Who]]''; his then wife [[Lalla Ward]] portrayed the second incarnation of the Time Lady [[Romana (Doctor Who)|Romana]] between 1979 and 1981.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Cook|last=Benjamin|author2=Dawkins, Richard |author-link2=Richard Dawkins |title=Who on Earth is... Richard Dawkins|magazine=Doctor Who Magazine|date=25 July 2008|publisher=Panini Comics|location=Royal Tunbridge Wells|issue=398|page=66}}</ref> Gary Milner was cast as the [[extra (actor)|extra]] "Scared Man" after misreading the callsheet as "Sacred Man" and creating a "priest-like" portrayal of the character.<ref name="pod" /> Andrew Bullivant—who portrayed the Milkman in the episode's [[cold open]]—was given a role in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' serial ''[[The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' as a policeman because of his performance in "The Stolen Earth".<ref name="DVDcomm" /> [[Michael Brandon]] later appeared in the audio play ''[[Lurkers at Sunlight's Edge]]''. [[Kelly Hunter]] made a further appearance as the Shadow Architect in the opening episode of [[Doctor Who (series 9)|Series 9]], "[[The Magician's Apprentice (Doctor Who)|The Magician's Apprentice]]".<ref name="radiotimes">{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dr86vx/doctor-who--series-9---1-the-magicians-apprentice|title=Doctor Who: The Magician's Apprentice|work=Radio Times|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306223558/http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dr86vx/doctor-who--series-9---1-the-magicians-apprentice|archive-date=6 March 2016}}</ref> ===Davros===
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[[Murray Gold]] concurrently composed the score for the episode. In conjunction with new cues composed for the fourth series, Gold used some of his earlier work, such as Rose's and Harriet Jones' [[leitmotif]]s, the [[Ood]]'s "Song of Freedom" from "[[Planet of the Ood]]", and the appearance fanfare for [[Mr Smith (The Sarah Jane Adventures)|Mr Smith]], the latter being played ''in [[diegesis]]''. Gold discussed the new cues in the release of [[Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack – Series 4|the fourth series soundtrack]]:
:*"'''The Doctor's Theme Season {{sic}} Four'''" is an orchestral and choral arrangement of the Doctor's leitmotif from the first series performed by the [[BBC National Orchestra of Wales|BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales]]. The original theme was a minimalist solo performed by [[Melanie Pappenheim]]. Davies and Collinson described the music as "President Flavia [from
:*"'''The Greatest Story Never Told'''" is a cue used regularly in the second half of the fourth series. The cue evokes the scores of previous episodes to represent the Doctor's "past love".<ref name="booklet" />
:*"'''The Rueful Fate of Donna Noble'''" is a cue that first appeared in "[[Turn Left (Doctor Who)|Turn Left]]". It represents Donna's realisation of her grand destiny and her demises at the end of "Turn Left" and "Journey's End".<ref name="booklet" />
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{{Regeneration stories}}
{{UNIT stories|selected=Television}}
{{Torchwood|selected=Programme}}
{{The Sarah Jane Adventures}}
}}
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[[Category:Dalek television stories]]
[[Category:Doctor Who stories set on Earth]]
[[Category:Television
[[Category:Tenth Doctor episodes]]
[[Category:Doctor Who crossovers]]
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[[Category:Television episodes set in London]]
[[Category:Doctor Who regeneration stories]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in the 2000s]]
[[Category:Fiction set in 2009]]
[[Category:Television episodes set in New York City]]
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