[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Doctor Who, Season 1 Episode 2, “The Devil’s Chord.”]
The Doctor has met many famous people during his adventures in doctor who, from Queen Elizabeth I to Rosa Parks and HG Wells. So, according to executive producer and showrunner Russell T Davies, “it's surprising that the Doctor hasn't met the Beatles before, especially since they were both born in 1963.”
By this, Davies means that doctor who It first premiered on the BBC in November 1963, while The Beatles recorded their first album in February of that year. And that's the point in space and time that the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) visit in “The Devil's Chord,” streaming now on Disney+.
“That script reading was special for sure,” says Millie Gibson. Consequence. “They were levels higher than anything I had ever read before. What gave me goosebumps when I read it were the stage directions for the finale: 'And the TARDIS doors go 'buh-boo.'”
The initial inspiration for “The Devil's Chord” came from a friend of Davies, who said that if he had a TARDIS, he would like to see The Beatles record their first album. Not a mind-blowing idea, except said friend is 23 years old. “The fact that he said that when I was young made me think, 'Oh, that's interesting,'” Davies says. “If I had said it, I think so, that's what a 61-year-old person says. But for someone so young to be interested in The Beatles made me sit up.”
And as soon as Davies started thinking about The Beatles, his years of experience as a television producer immediately led to an idea for a story. “I knew that Beatles music is too expensive, even on Disney's budget. So I thought, sure, you could never use their music; Lo and behold, you created the plot in that second. He was there instantly. I was like, 'Oh, that's good.' You go to see the Beatles and they're singing the wrong thing, the weather is bad and suddenly you're in the middle of a doctor who history.' That was great”.
In “The Devil's Chord”, Ruby tells the Doctor that she wants to visit the iconic band in 1963. However, when they arrive at Abbey Road studios, they discover that the band (with Chris Mason as John Lennon and George Caple as Paul McCartney ) has lost its charm; In fact, the concept of music has all but disappeared, thanks to the supernatural interference of a new villain called Maestro.
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