Cold Blood (Doctor Who)

209b – "Cold Blood"
Doctor Who episode
A dead Rory is erased from history by the crack in the universe, the motif of the main story arc of the series. The emotional scene was praised by critics.
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams)
Others Neve McIntosh – Alaya/Restac Meera Syal – Nasreen Chaudhry Robert Pugh – Tony Mack Nia Roberts – Ambrose Richard Hope – Malohkeh Stephen Moore – Eldane Alun Raglan – Mo Samuel Davies – Elliot
Production
Directed by	Ashley Way
Written by	Chris Chibnall
Script editor	Lindsey Alford
Produced by	Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Piers Wenger Beth Willis
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Production code	1.9
Series	Series 5
Length	2nd of 2-part story, 45 minutes
Originally broadcast	29 May 2010
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "The Hungry Earth" "Vincent and the Doctor"
List of Doctor Who serials

"Cold Blood" is the ninth episode in the fifth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 29 May 2010 on BBC One. It was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Ashley Way. It is the second episode of a two-part story, the first episode being "The Hungry Earth", which features the return of the reptilian humanoid Silurians.

Continuing from the previous episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and geologist Nasreen Chaudhry (Meera Syal) have taken the TARDIS deep below the ground to the Silurian city where the Doctor's companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan), a local man named Mo (Alun Raglan), and Mo's son Elliot (Samuel Davies) are being held hostage. Meanwhile, above ground, Amy's fiancé Rory (Arthur Darvill), Mo's wife Ambrose (Nia Roberts), and Ambrose's father Tony (Robert Pugh) keep watch over Alaya (Neve McIntosh), a captured Silurian who is the key to freeing the hostages. While the Doctor leaves Amy and Nasreen to negotiate sharing the planet with the Silurians, to help Mo find his son Eliot, it is revealed that Restac's sister Alaya has been killed by Ambrose on the surface.

Chibnall was elected by executive producers Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger to write a two-part episode about the return of the Silurians. Chibnall wanted "Cold Blood" in particular to be about the mistakes people make under pressure, and conflict that could come out of protecting a family. The episode is also connected to the series' story arc, as the crack in the universe returns at the end of the episode. "The Hungry Earth" and "Cold Blood" were filmed in October and November 2009, with scenes in "Cold Blood" shot in Llanwynno, Wales, Cardiff's Temple of Peace, Plantasia, and an array of locations and sets for parts of the Silurian city, which the production team did not want to look like a cave. The episode was watched by 7.49 million viewers in the United Kingdom and received mixed reviews from critics. Some reviewers were disappointed by the plot and characteristics of the Silurians, but the emotional ending was widely praised.