Doctor Who: Future (season five)

5.8 - The Stone Barbie

Leicester Square, 2023:
The TARDIS materialise, The Doctor & Alex step out.
The Doctor: Oh.
Alex: London, nice, coulda just jumped on the 24.
The Doctor: Free travel though!
Alex: True, costs an arm and a leg for a bus ride nowadays.
Alex looks at a cinema.
-No way!
She laughs.
-The red carpet premiere for Barbie! Doctor! Look!
The Doctor: Wow!
They laugh.
Alex: I've always dreamed of a life like that, wearing the most stunning dresses and the most expensive makeup money can buy and my hair done up all nicely! Curls, oh I could always do with curls.
The Doctor: You know the psychic paper...
Alex: Yes...
The Doctor smiles.
The scene cuts to them leaving the TARDIS, Alex wearing a pink dress with blonde curly hair with pink highlights, The Doctor wearing a pink suit with her hair gelled back.
The Doctor: Let's get this party started!
They walk up to the line, The Doctor presents her psychic paper.
-Johanna Smith, journalist for Radio Times, this is my work experience intern, Alexa Holt, we're here for the Barbie prem-
A man stood in front of them is a stone statue.
RUTH WILSON
HOLLY WESTON
DOCTOR WHO
THE STONE BARBIE
WRITTEN BY RB WILSON
Alex: What the hell?
The Doctor walks into the red carpet area.
The Doctor: Empty... completely empty! It was buzzing with life a minute ago!
Alex: How long were we in the TARDIS?
The Doctor: I activated a time bubble so whatever time passed it would've have mattered, time is relative in the TARDIS.
Alex: I don't understand, where are they all?
The Doctor sonics the stone man.
The Doctor: Oh.
Alex: What?
The Doctor: Quantum locked being.
Alex: Come again?
The Doctor: Weeping Angel.
Alex: Osgood told me about them, 'the stuff of nightmares' she said. A-are they worse than The Cybermen?
The Doctor: Everything we face is as bad as the other.
Alex: I know, it just still sits on my mind sometimes, sometimes I can still feel the cold steel on my arms a-and the needles stabbing me all over, and the sound of the drilling e-every time I close my eyes I can hear it, the whirring sound.
The Doctor: I'm sorry that happened-
Alex: Why didn't you save Quira? Y-you saved me, why? I'm not special, I was just a pawn in a long game.
The Doctor: I don't know i-it was like there was something in my mind that made me choose, come to think of it I never even gave it a thought, I just chose you.
Alex: Weird.
The Doctor: Yeah.
Alex: So, weeping angels have what, displaced a load of movie stars?
The Doctor: Seems like it.
Alex: But why?
The Doctor: It's how they survive, temporal energy, marooning people in time.
Alex laughs.
Alex: But why Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling? It makes no sense!
The Doctor: Exactly which makes me think there's a reason for it.
The Doctor runs back into the TARDIS, Alex runs in.
In the TARDIS:
Alex: What are you doing?
The Doctor: Searching for film premiere events where they might've been some type of temporal decay.
The Doctor squints at the screen.
-Bingo! 1922, Grauman's Egyptian Theatre, the showing of Robin Hood - aka the first ever film premier, hold on!
The Doctor pulls a lever, the TARDIS dematerialises abruptly, Alex shouts as she holds onto the console.
California, 1922:
The TARDIS materialises aggressively, Alex runs out.
Alex: Lord! That was rough!
The Doctor follows her out.
The Doctor: Yeah... materialising somewhere with temporal decay goes quite heavy on the materialisation circuits...
Alex: No sh-
The Doctor: Alex, I give you: Grauman's Egyptian Theatre!
Alex: Wow.
The Doctor: Privately owned by Netflix now, naturally.
A man approaches The Doctor.
-No.
Douglas: I say, your suit is lovely, shame can't be said for that dress of your... daughters?
Alex: Says the man in a plain black suit, but generic I'd say.
The Doctor: Douglass Fairbanks, how lovely to meet you.
Douglass: M'am, what is a police box? Have you come about the array of people that have somehow ended up at this premier?
The Doctor: People?
The Doctor walks in.
Alex: No!
Alex screams.
Ryan: Are you with the police?
Margot: One minute we were in 2023 London, now we're in 1922 California!
Ryan: The last thing I remember was that there were these angel statues, made of this dark grey stone and now we're here.
Alex: I think I might faint... Ryan Gosling & Margot Robbie... in the flesh...
The Doctor: They're called weeping angels, they feed of off temporal decay.
Margot: Can I just say, your dress is absolutely beautiful.
Alex: Oh so is yours.
Margot: Where'd you get yours?
Alex: Oh, um the T-TARDIS.
Margot: TARDIS? Is that like a shop in London or something.
Alex: No, it's that thing there.
Margot: The wooden box?
Alex: Yeah.
Margot walks over and opens it.
Margot: It's a wardrobe?
She gasps.
-W-what?
Alex laughs.
Alex: Yeah.
Margot: Not a shop?
Alex: Not a shop. Believe me, I have seen things you wouldn't imagine.
Ryan: Hey, so the Doctor said that there are these alien angel statues that have sent us to the past.
Margot: What?
The Doctor sonics her surroundings, she sees a man, he raises an eyebrow at her, she tilts her head.
The Doctor: Have we met?
Ncuti: I don't think so.
The Doctor: Sorry, a brain fump moment.
She walks away.
-There's temporal energy everywhere.
Alex: So does that mean they're nearby?
The Doctor: Yep.
Alex looks out the window.
Alex: Doctor...
The Doctor: Yeah?
Alex: Were those statues outside the cinema there before?
The Doctor: Nope!
They run outside.
Outside of the cinema:
The Doctor: So... what do you want this time? Last time we met you were leeching of off people's fears... so what this time?
Alex: Can they talk?
The Doctor: Not physically.
The Doctor takes her sonic back.
-Cover your ears.
Alex covers her ears, The Doctor sonics the weeping angel, a bright light flashes, The Doctor & a young blonde woman appear on a beach.
The Doctor: Hello.
Meredith: Hello.
The Doctor: Who are you?
Meredith: Meredith Bassington-Chalkwood, a woman who was once filled with potential.
The Doctor: Right...
Meredith: I was originally given the role of Barbie-
The Doctor: But I've never heard of you.
Meredith: I had a long list of credits, Wanda Maximoff; Various roles in soap operas, I played Theresa McQueen in Hollyoaks and Sarah Platt in Coronation Street.
The Doctor: No... no... you didn't?
Meredith: Believe me, Doctor I did, but they found a better actor to play Barbie-
Both: Margot Robbie.
The Doctor: Ohh.
Meredith: They told me I was beautiful, the perfect candidate for the role, but when they shattered my dreams, it filled me with rage, I became insecure and lost, I lost myself and that's when the weeping angels started to follow me until I let them take me, and then I became erased from time, and other actresses filled my roles I once had.
The Doctor: I see... and you want revenge on these actresses?
Meredith: Just Margot.
The Doctor: Stop, please. You were erased from time, YOU let the angels take you because you knew the power it'd give you.
Meredith: You're not going to help me?
The Doctor: No.
Meredith: Then I will kill Margot myself.
The Doctor No! You don't touch her!
The beach fades.
Outside of the cinema:
The Doctor puts her sonic down.
Alex: Doctor?
The Doctor: It's a revenge scheme.
The Doctor & Alex run.
In the cinema:
Alex: Margot!
A weeping angel wraps their hands around Margot's head.
Ryan: Oh!
Margot: Help me!
Alex: Doctor!
The Doctor: Meredith... let her go. I mean it! Let her go!
Alex: Meredith! I know your angry and your hurting! But Margot, she got that role for a reason and I'm sorry that you can't handle it but that's a you problem.
A screaming sound is made, Alex covers her ears.
-God that's like-
The Doctor: Stop!
A tear begins to fall from the angel's eye.
-A weeping angel... quite literally.
Ryan: A crying statue... some would see that as a miracle.
The Doctor: I'm sorry, Meredith but times up.
The angel begins to glow as it cracks.
Meredith: (voice) Don't make me go back!
The angel disappears, Margot falls.
The Doctor: You ok?
Margot: Yeah.
Ryan: I believe we have a premiere to get back to.
The Doctor: Everyone... into the TARDIS.
Leicester Square, 2023:
The Doctor & Alex walk onto the red carpet.
The Doctor: Smile.
Alex: Barbie!
A woman takes a photo of them.
In the park:
A screen is visible.
Ace: I don't believe it.
Graham: What?
Ace: Look on the screen!
Graham: Well I never! It's The Doc!
They laugh.
On the red carpet:
Ryan: Really though, Doctor. Who are you?
Margot: A new hero?
Ryan: Look out, Marvel!
The Doctor: Just The Doctor

NEXT TIME:
Alex: Kate? What's with the soldiers? I know I'm a friend of The Doctor's but I don't need escorting to the church...
Kate: Oh... this could be an issue.
Alex: What?
Kate: You're not human.
Alex: Well can you do it tomorrow? Or the day after tomorrow-
Osgood: Why not now?
Alex: Because I'm getting married & I will probably have a ridiculously painful hangover tomorrow.
Kate: I'm afraid your gonna have to postpone-
Alex: What?
Kate: Your wedding-
The Doctor: No! At least I don't think I have...
The Doctor runs a scan on Alex's body.
-Nothing... absolutely nothing.
She raises an eyebrow.
-Although...
Rick: Although what?
The Doctor: Gross human reproductive stuff... birds n'the bees n'all.
Rick: She's pregnant?!

THE DOCTOR - RUTH WILSON
ALEX HOLT - HOLLY WESTON
ACE MCSHANE - SOPHIE ALDRED
GRAHAM O'BRIEN - BRADLEY WALSH
RYAN GOSLING - HIMSELF
NCUTI GATWA - HIMSELF
MARGOT ROBBIE - HERSELF