The God Complex

222 – "The God Complex"
Doctor Who episode
The Creature's hotel is revealed to be a simulation
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor)
Companions Karen Gillan (Amy Pond) Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams)
Others Sarah Quintrell – Lucy Hayward Amara Karan – Rita Dimitri Leonidas – Howie Spragg Daniel Pirrie – Joe Buchanan David Walliams – Gibbis Dafydd Emyr – PE Teacher Spencer Wilding – The Creature Rashid Karapiet – Rita's Father Caitlin Blackwood – Young Amelia Pond Roger Ennals – Gorilla
Production
Directed by	Nick Hurran
Written by	Toby Whithouse
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Piers Wenger Beth Willis
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Series	Series 6
Length	50 minutes
Originally broadcast	17 September 2011
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "The Girl Who Waited" "Closing Time"

"The God Complex" is the eleventh episode of the sixth series of the British television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on BBC One 17 September 2011. It was written by Toby Whithouse and directed by Nick Hurran.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor and his companions Amy Pond and her husband Rory find themselves trapped in what appears to be a 1980s hotel with constantly changing corridors. They meet Rita, Howie, Joe, and Gibbis, who have also appeared in the hotel, without any idea how they arrived. The Doctor learns that each hotel room contains the greatest fear of someone who has been in the hotel, and that a minotaur-like creature is feeding off their fear.

Whithouse originally developed the concept of "The God Complex" for the previous series, but due to it being similar to episodes in that series, it was pushed back, with Whithouse contributing "The Vampires of Venice" instead. The episode ends with the departure of Amy and Rory, though this was not a permanent exit. "The God Complex" was filmed during the early months of 2011, mainly on sets constructed for the hotel. The episode was seen by 6.77 million viewers in the United Kingdom and received positive to mixed reviews from critics. While the performances in the episode, especially Smith's, were praised, not all critics were impressed with the plot.

The TARDIS, while travelling to a new planet, arrives in what appears to be a 1980s Earth hotel, but the Doctor recognises it as an alien structure specifically designed to take that appearance. They soon meet a group of three individuals — humans Rita, Howie and the alien Gibbis — each of whom had previously been taken from their routine lives to find themselves in the hotel. They are also introduced to Joe, a human who has already succumbed to a madness that infects everyone who sets foot in the hotel, and so has been tied up for his own protection. The four explain that there is a beast in the hotel that consumes everyone who has been trapped here. It does this by enticing them to enter one of the many rooms in the hotel which contains their greatest fears, upon which they become brainwashed to "praise him" and allow themselves to be taken, their bodies left without any signs of life; many others have experienced this, and photos of them and their fears cover many of the hotel's walls. The hotel would seem inescapable — its doors and windows walled up — and its halls and rooms can change on a whim. The Doctor, Amy, and Rory soon find the TARDIS has also disappeared, and the Doctor warns them from opening any door they are drawn to, for fear of being possessed.