The Almost People

217b – "The Almost People"
Doctor Who episode
Jennifer's Ganger transforms into a monster. The monster was CGI created in post-production and was criticised by some critics.
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams)
Others Mark Bonnar – Jimmy Marshall Lancaster – Buzzer Sarah Smart – Jennifer Raquel Cassidy – Cleaves Leon Vickers – Dicken Frances Barber – Eye Patch Lady Edmond Moulton – Adam
Production
Directed by	Julian Simpson
Written by	Matthew Graham
Script editor	Caroline Henry
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Piers Wenger Beth Willis
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Production code	2.6
Series	Series 6
Length	2nd of 2-part story, 45 minutes
Originally broadcast	28 May 2011
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "The Rebel Flesh" "A Good Man Goes to War"

"The Almost People" is the sixth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 28 May 2011. It is the second episode of a two-part story written by Matthew Graham and directed by Julian Simpson which began with "The Rebel Flesh".

Following from "The Rebel Flesh", alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are on an acid-pumping factory on a remote island in the 22nd century where the crew of the factory create "Gangers", the Flesh duplicates they control. However, a solar storm has caused the Gangers to become conscious, and the Doctor must prevent a war breaking out between the humans and Gangers.

"The Almost People" ends on a cliffhanger which brings several plot threads of the series to a head. The two-part story was filmed through November 2010 to January 2011, mainly at Caerphilly Castle. The Gangers were achieved with the aid of prosthetics, as well as computer-generated imagery for their contortions. "The Almost People" also features a Flesh double of the Doctor, which marked Smith's first time in prosthetic make-up. The episode was watched by 6.72 million viewers in the UK and received mixed reviews from critics, many noting that the cliffhanger overshadowed the actual story of the episode.

Following from "The Rebel Flesh", the Doctor, Amy, Rory and Foreman Cleaves and her staff of a hazardous acid factory housed in an old island monastery have discovered that several "Gangers" of the plant crew exist, created from a living organic liquid called the Flesh as a result of a recent solar tsunami. The Gangers have turned against their human counterparts, forcing the humans to take shelter in a secured commons area. There, they discover that a Ganger of the Doctor exists, differing only from the real Doctor by his shoes. Though the Ganger Doctor appears ready to help the crew to contact the mainland to request rescue, Amy is distrustful of the being, particularly after it advances on her after she asks about the Doctor's death she witnessed ("The Impossible Astronaut"). Eventually, Cleaves orders the two Doctors separated; the Ganger Doctor and another crewman go looking for Rory, who had gone off alone to find the emotionally distraught Jennifer, another of Cleaves' crew.