The Wedding of River Song Storyboarding an Alternative World

In order to see this content you need both Javascript and Flash installed. Visit BBC webwise to find out more.

Overview

'It's time.'

This epic episode brought the Eleventh Doctor's second series to a spectacular climax, as we returned to the shores of Lake Silencio...

Old friends like River, Amy and Rory were back along with Churchill, Charles Dickens and Dorium Maldovar. But enemies from the Doctor's past also featured with Dalek action and, of course, Kovarian and the Silence!

Find out more about the episode with exclusive videos featuring the cast and crew, plus galleries, wallpapers, the Fourth Dimension and more.

The Fourth Dimension

  • The Fourth Dimension: The Wedding of River Song

    The Fourth Dimension: The Wedding of River Song

    The Doctor hears about the death of his old friend, Brigadier Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The character was played by Nicholas Courtney who died earlier this year. You can find out more about the role he made so memorable and eternally popular here.

  • This isn't the first time pterodactyls have appeared in Doctor Who. The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane survived a pterodactyl attack in the 1974 adventure, Invasion of the Dinosaurs.

  • 'The death of time' is referred to by Madame Kovarian in the pyramid. The Death of Time was the second episode of the First Doctor adventure, The Chase. Incidentally, episode 5 of this 1965 story features a robot that looks exactly like the Doctor...

  • Cleopatra is again mentioned but remains unseen. Mickey Smith revealed the Doctor knew Cleopatra and River later impersonated her. The Fourth Doctor himself claimed to have learnt his skills with a sword from one of her bodyguards.

  • Napoleon (Napoléon Bonaparte, 1769-1821) is also referred to. In Day of the Daleks, the Third Doctor remembers how he called him 'Boney' and advised him that an army marches 'on its stomach'. Unlike Cleopatra, Napoleon has made an appearance in Doctor Who, meeting the Time Lord's companions in The Reign of Terror.

  • Queen Elizabeth I (1533 -1603) is also mentioned. She appeared in The Chase and The Shakespeare Code and the Tenth Doctor implied he knew her very well.

  • 'I just climbed out of the Byzantium.' River is referring to events we witnessed in The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone, although we first heard her allude to the starliner during Silence in the Library.

  • Mark Gatiss returns to the world of Doctor Who, this time playing Gantok. He last appeared in the show playing Doctor Lazarus in the Tenth Doctor adventure, The Lazarus Experiment.

  • Other notable returns include Simon Callow, reprising the role of Charles Dickens, last seen in The Unquiet Dead; Richard Hope, back as a Silurian doctor after first appearing in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood and Ian McNeice, once again playing Churchill. Off camera, Nicholas Briggs again voices the Dalek.

Credits

  • Charles Dickens Simon Callow

  • Himself Bill Turnbull

  • The Doctor Matt Smith

  • Winston Churchill Ian McNeice

  • River Song Alex Kingston

  • Rory Arthur Darvill

  • The Silent Marnix Van Den Broeke

  • Amy Karen Gillan

  • Madame Kovarian Frances Barber

  • Dorium Maldovar Simon Fisher-Becker

  • Carter Richard Dillane

  • Dr Malokeh Richard Hope

  • Woman on Television Sian Williams

  • Herself Meredith Vieira

  • Gideon Vandaleur Niall Greig Fulton

  • Barman Sean Buckley

  • Gantok Mark Gatiss

  • Dr Kent Emma Campbell-Jones

  • Nurse Katharine Burford

  • Voice of the Daleks Nicholas Briggs

  • Director Jeremy Webb

  • Producer Marcus Wilson

  • Writer Steven Moffat

The Christmas Special The Christmas Special

Matt Smith returned in The Doctor, The Widow and The Wardrobe... Find out more now!

The Christmas Special

BBC One

BBC iPlayer

Now Playing

Catch up with the Doctor on BBC iPlayer

  1. BBC One
  2. Programmes
  3. Doctor Who
  4. Series 6
  5. The Wedding of River Song

The Wedding of River Song

Watch :

Availability:

Sorry, this programme is not available to watch again but we do have these Clips .

Last broadcast on Sun, 2 Oct 2011, 19:00 on BBC Three (see all broadcasts).

Synopsis

Episode image for The Wedding of River Song

Sci-fi drama. By the shores of Lake Silencio in Utah, all of time and space hang in the balance - for this is the day the Doctor dies.

Credits

The Doctor
Matt Smith
Amy
Karen Gillan
Rory
Arthur Darvill
River Song
Alex Kingston
Madame Kovarian
Frances Barber
Dorium Maldovar
Simon Fisher-Becker
Winston Churchill
Ian McNeice
Dr Malokeh
Richard Hope
The Silent
Marnix Van Den Broeke
Charles Dickens
Simon Callow
Woman on Television
Sian Williams
Himself
Bill Turnbull
Herself
Meredith Vieira
Gideon Vandaleur
Niall Greig Fulton
Barman
Sean Buckley
Gantok
Mark Gatiss
Dr Kent
Emma Campbell-Jones
Nurse
Katharine Burford
Carter
Richard Dillane
Voice of the Daleks
Nicholas Briggs
Director
Jeremy Webb
Producer
Marcus Wilson
Writer
Steven Moffat

Broadcasts

  1. Sat 1 Oct 2011
    19:05
  2. Sun 2 Oct 2011
    19:00

More details

Episode 13 of 13 from

In this series

Previous:
Next:
You're at the last episode.

Duration

45 minutes

Commercial Availability

The Wedding of River Song is available in the following formats

See all Doctor Who Commercial Availability

What is Commercial Availability?

More from BBC One

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2012

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.