The Story & The Engine

This Story: Series 2 Episode 5. Production code 15.5
Overall: Story 317 Episode 895
Airdate: 10 May 2025
Written by Inua Ellams
Directed by Makalla McPherson

Notes

• Some establishing shots were actually filmed in Lagos, Nigeria. The bulk of it was filmed in the Bad Wolf studios, however.
• There was a prequel to this episode made available on the BBC website.  It is not a filmed scene, but is a short story to read.  It remains on the website as of Sep 2025.  You can read it here.
• The episode’s writer appears in the Lagos marketplace scene as a seller.  This is the second time this has happened in Who (where the writer appears in their own episode).  The other time was Mark Gatiss in “Victory of the Daleks“.
• The first episode of Doctor Who since “The Star Beast” where its title was not also spoken in the episode.
• When the Doctor tells his “endless story”, we see a crap ton of clips from various eras of Doctor Who.  The stories these are pulled from are: The Daleks (technically The Daleks in Colour), Tomb of the Cybermen, Spearhead from Space, Pyramids of Mars, The Five Doctors, The Ultimate Foe, The Night of the Doctor, The Doctor Dances, The Woman Who Fell to Earth, Voyage of the Damned, Vincent & The Doctor, The Zygon Inversion, Heaven Sent, The Power of the Doctor, The Giggle, & Boom.  There appears to be no appearance of the Seventh Doctor, however.
• Jo Martin’s “Fugitive Doctor” makes a cameo in this episode.
• ADMIN NOTE: This post was actually made on 11 Sep 2025.  It was back dated to appear on the date the episode aired.

Links

[ Wikipedia | Tardis Data Core | SPS Historium | Official BBC Page | UK DVD | UK Blu-Ray | UK Steelbook ]