The Sound of Drums

187b – "The Sound of Drums"
Doctor Who episode
A rift opens above the Valiant to allow the Toclafane to descend.
Cast
Doctor David Tennant (Tenth Doctor)
Companions Freema Agyeman (Martha Jones) John Barrowman (Jack Harkness)
Others John Simm – The Master Adjoa Andoh – Francine Jones Trevor Laird – Clive Jones Gugu Mbatha-Raw – Tish Jones Reggie Yates – Leo Jones Alexandra Moen – Lucy Saxon Elize du Toit – Sinister Woman Nichola McAuliffe – Vivien Rook Nicholas Gecks – Albert Dumfries Colin Stinton – President Arthur Colman Winters Olivia Hill – BBC Newsreader Daniel Ming – Chinese Newsreader Lachele Carl – US Newsreader Sharon Osbourne – Herself McFly – Themselves Ann Widdecombe – Herself Zoe Thorne, Gerard Logan, and Johnnie Lyne-Pirkis – voices
Production
Directed by	Colin Teague
Written by	Russell T Davies
Script editor	Simon Winstone
Produced by	Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s)	Russell T Davies Julie Gardner
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Production code	3.12
Series	Series 3
Length	2nd of 3-part story, 45 minutes
Originally broadcast	23 June 2007
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "Utopia" "Last of the Time Lords"

"The Sound of Drums" is the twelfth episode of the third series of the revived British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 23 June 2007. It is the second of three episodes that form a linked narrative, following "Utopia" and followed by "Last of the Time Lords".

The Master—in the form of Harold Saxon, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom—arrives in the 21st century, and the world enters a period of terror when the Master announces an encounter with an unknown alien race he calls the "Toclafane".

Picking up immediately after the end of "Utopia", the Doctor along with Jack and Martha escape the Futurekind by using Jack's vortex manipulator to return to present-day London. They quickly learn that the Master has taken on the persona of Harold Saxon, and is the newly elected Prime Minister. The Master has created a phone network called Archangel which subliminally influences the population to vote for him. The three narrowly avoid a bomb placed in Martha's flat and learn that Martha's family has been arrested. The Master contacts them to gloat about his seeming victory, mentioning that he was resurrected by the Time Lords to fight in the Time War. The Master fled to the end of the universe and made himself human when defeat seemed inevitable. The Master reveals that the three are now England's most wanted criminals and has stripped them of any help, including sending Torchwood on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas. The Master asks the Doctor where Gallifrey is, and the Doctor responds that Gallifrey is gone and burned.

Hiding in an abandoned building, the Doctor uses parts of Martha's laptop and his TARDIS keys to create perception filters so they can move about unnoticed. He explains some of the Master's past and tells them how, as a child, the Master looked into the time vortex and was driven mad. They see a TV report that the Master is planning to reveal Earth's first contact the next day with an alien race known as the . U.S. President Winters arrives in the UK and places the operation in the hands of UNIT, taking over the meeting from Mr. Saxon and moving it to the flying aircraft carrier Valiant. The Master accepts the changes and boards the Valiant with his wife. The Doctor, Martha, and Jack teleport aboard with the vortex manipulator and discover that the TARDIS has been converted by the Master into a Paradox Machine that is building up power to be activated at the appointed time of first contact.