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[[File:Amys_Choice_8640.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|
This episode was written by Simon Nye, who is mainly known for ''[[Men Behaving Badly]]''. While there are some recognisable elements of his comedy, this episode was ''not'' what many expected from his pen.
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It's five years since Amy and Rory travelled with the Doctor. They're back living in ''Upper'' Leadworth. (A bit more upmarket than Leadworth, according to Rory.) Amy is pregnant. Rory has grown a stupid ponytail. Life is good, if a little humdrum. Until the Doctor drops by for a visit. Firstly, he crushes their flower garden with the TARDIS. Secondly, he doesn't seem to cotton on to the fact that Amy is
In the TARDIS, the Doctor wakes from a horrible nightmare, having apparently fallen asleep under the console. It involved Amy and Rory being married in a dull village, with Amy being heavily pregnant. Thing is, Amy and Rory appear to have had the exact same "really good... mare". And there's something going wrong with the TARDIS console. And it seems to be getting slightly cooler in the TARDIS, with their breath gradually misting
And Amy, Rory and the Doctor wake up back on the village bench where they drifted off only moments before. As Rory and Amy realize they've had the same dream ''again'', the Doctor is inspecting his surroundings suspiciously, noting that his bow-tie and braces have changed, and warns the two not to trust anything around them; they may seem to be awake now, but then, they were also convinced that they were awake back on the TARDIS. They're dreaming,
"This is going to be a tricky one..."
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The trio wake up back on the TARDIS. The Doctor's a bit cross about all of this, which leads him to lash out at the TARDIS, which only ends badly for him and his foot. And unfortunately, he threw the TARDIS manual into a supernova the last time it disagreed with him, so no help there. Amy and Rory, meanwhile, are still struggling with the whole "awake / dream" problem they seem to be facing; their surroundings feel perfectly real to them. But then, a dream ''always'' feels real when you're in the middle of it. The Doctor urges them to keep a watch on their surroundings and look out for anything that doesn't ring true, something a lot more easily said than done when you happen to be on a dimensionally transcendental time machine piloted by an alien in a bow-tie. A big clue presents itself, however, when the TARDIS suddenly switches off. Dead. And then there's suddenly the birdsong...
Back in the village. It's revealed that Rory is the local doctor. Along with his pregnant young wife, something he's always dreamed of, a fact that the Doctor takes notice of. Rory points out that it's Amy's dream too (something that Amy is a bit more hesitant in admitting), but the Doctor has moved on, taking interest in a nearby old people's
The Doctor doesn't have a chance to elaborate on this [[Captain Obvious|apparently amazingly obvious fact]] before the three once again hear birdsong, waking up back in the TARDIS. Or are they falling asleep? Either way, everything is off in the TARDIS, including the heating. And the scanner. They could be anywhere, and someone is overriding the Doctor's control of the TARDIS.
That someone suddenly appears out of thin air, right behind them. A little man in a dark suit and a bowtie. He's pretty scathing about how long it took the Doctor to figure it out, seeing as he'd heard such incredible things about the last of the Time Lords, whom he intends to challenge. As such, call him the Dream Lord.
The Doctor quickly figures out that he's incorporeal by chucking a ball at him, but the Dream Lord is hardly impressed; being there and yet not there in a spooky fashion is kind of in the job title. Amy is quick to figure out that the Dream Lord creates dreams and illusions, to which the Dream Lord counters that they haven't given "the gooseberry" a chance to have a turn guessing at him. Rory retorts that Amy is ''his'' girlfriend... but, as the Dream Lord notes, Amy is a little hesitant in confirming that. Looks like she's going to have to make a choice...
However, the Dream Lord is much more interested in calling out the Doctor... so much so that he forgets where he was actually going with all of this. Oh,
Based on some of the remarks made by the Dream Lord, Amy has pegged that he has a history with the
Amy and the Doctor take a small break from the adventure on a set of swings.
{{quote|
'''Amy:''' I'm having a baby, I have to be this size!
'''The Doctor:''' No, not that... Rory... has a ''ponytail''. ... I hold him down, you cut it off. }}
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It's getting gradually colder on the TARDIS, and the Doctor sends Rory and Amy off to find some warmer clothing while he... constructs a thing out of kitchen utensils. Rory admits that he wants the other life to be real, where he and Amy are married, happy and expecting a baby. Except, he's a bit riled to notice, Amy seems a lot less happy with the other life, and is a lot more hesitant to give up life on the TARDIS. Since part of this giving up on that life involves getting married to Rory, this causes a certain amount of bickering; Rory believes they have to grow up eventually. Amy disagrees.
The Doctor has put together a wind-up contraption allowing them to turn on the scanner and see what's
Rory is relieved to be back in the village, confident that that's the real world. Tranquil, peaceful and relaxed, he's positive that nothing bad could ever happen here. Unfortunately, he's quite wrong; the playing children have disappeared, replaced by piles of dust, and the Doctor solemnly confirms that for them playtime is definitely
Of course, as the Dream Lord posits, a crowd of threatening pensioners is absurd; surely this must be the dream? But what does Amy think? The Doctor [[Berserk Button|definitely does not appreciate the Dream Lord's taunts]], which only tickles the Dream Lord, particularly in comparison to Rory's comparatively feeble reaction. Of course, all of this has just served to confirm the Doctor's suspicions about who the Dream Lord really
While they're arguing, however, [[When Elders Attack|the pensioners attack -- quite literally]]. With reinforcements. And eyes in their mouths. Eyes that spew lethal green gas. Yeah, definitely aliens. Specifically Ednodines, a proud race who were chased from their homeworld by "upstart neighbours" and have decided to pay it forward by doing the same to the humans by possessing their elderly. Starting with an unfortunate postman who wanders into the scene solely to get turned into dust by green gas. Time to run.
Rory and an exhausted Amy make it back to their cottage, but possessed pensioners have made it there first. Rory takes some persuading, but eventually manages to take the fight to one of them with a lump of wood. Once inside, Amy laments that they left the Doctor behind; having not seen him in years and struggling to reconnect, he's nevertheless taken the bullet for them. Rory is optimistic about the Doctor's
Back in the TARDIS, the Doctor insists that they have to decide here and now which is the real world and which is the dream. Rory is adamant that it's the world of the village, but the Doctor is equally adamant that the universe can contain a seemingly impossible ice-star. The Doctor challenges Rory that their disagreement may be more about competitiveness than
As the pensioners break into Rory and Amy's cottage, Rory drags the still unconscious Amy upstairs. The Doctor, liberating himself from the butcher's shop, manages to rescue a man being attacked; commandeering his van, he goes on to rescue as many remaining survivors as he can find and take them to the relative safety of the local church before rushing to Rory and Amy's rescue.
Back on the TARDIS, Amy must endure the Dream Lord's taunts about the
Having returned to the world of the village, Amy is in time to witness Rory make a symbol of his devotion to her... by sacrificing his ponytail. Unfortunately, it also appears that her labour has started... for real, this time. Having also had to endure the taunts of the Dream Lord, the Doctor arrives to perform a
Broken, Amy has decided that this world has to be the
And wake up back on the TARDIS, moments away from plummeting into the cold star. But, the Dream Lord assures them, fair's
They're all right, of course; Amy and Rory burst into the console room to find the Doctor musing over the true culprit of their recent exploits, a handful of psychic pollen specks which made their way into the time rotor and overheated, sending the trio into a dream state. As for the Dream Lord, he was the
Considering the nature of the Dream Lord's taunts against the Doctor, Amy is given to wonder whether the Doctor truly believes those things about
* [[All Just a Dream]]: {{spoiler|Both the frozen TARDIS and 2015 Upper Leadworth.}}
* [[Almost-Dead Guy]]: Rory begins a fine tradition by having just enough time to deliver a [[Tear Jerker]].
* [[Armor-Piercing Question]]: The Dream Lord delivers quite a few of these.
{{quote|
** Amy gives one to the Doctor {{spoiler|after Rory dies and he can't save him}}:
{{quote|
** "Who are you? What do you want?"
* [[Ask a Stupid Question]]:
{{quote|
'''Rory:''' What happens?
'''The Dream Lord:''' You die, stupid. That's why it's called "reality". }}
* [[Babies Ever After]]: The village is more or less Rory's dream for the future. And Amy's very pregnant.
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* [[Berserk Button]]: Amy is ''very'' touchy about her size when she's pregnant. Although in her defence, her two male friends don't seem to be willing or able to stop making insensitive remarks about it.
* [[Betty and Veronica]]: The whole core of the story. As the Dream Lord aptly points out:
{{quote|
* [[Call Back]]
** Possibly a coincidence, but Amy {{spoiler|questioning the Doctor about if he can't save people like Rory "then what is the point of you"}}, it is remarkably similar to the when the Ninth Doctor says to the [[Doctor Who
** And probably more on purpose, the whole scene is pretty much identical to the scene in ''[[Torchwood]]'' series one when Rhys died ([[Reset Button|well, kind of]])
** The [[Doctor Who/Recap/S21
** The Mention of The TARDIS manual which was last seen in [[Doctor Who/Recap/S22
* [[Continuity Nod]]
** The Dream Lord calls the Doctor "[[Doctor Who
** "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S31
** "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S22
** The Doctor builds a "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S9
** "I’m surprised you haven’t got a little purple space dog." Well, K-9 wasn't ''purple''...
* [[Crapsack Only by Comparison]]: The Doctor's reaction to Leadworth.
* [[Crying Wolf]]: Amy has a tendency to either experience false labour pangs or fake it, leading to confusion at the end when it looks like she actually ''is'' giving birth:
{{quote|
'''Amy''': ''Would I make it up at a time like this?!''
'''Rory''': Well, you do have a history of... ''[Amy [[Death Glare
* [[Cuckoos Nest]]
* [[Description Cut]]: Rory tells Amy not to worry about the Doctor, saying "Hey, he’ll be fine. You know the Doctor. He’s Mr. Cool." Cue the Doctor stumbling down the street like a drunk giraffe, trying not to fall asleep.
* [[Dreaming of Things to Come]]: By the end of Season Six, {{spoiler|almost everything predicted about Amy and Rory's future by the Leadworth dream}} had come true.
* [[Dream Land]]
* [[Dream Weaver]] {{spoiler|The Doctor/Dream Lord}}
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** Well, considering who he really is, it comes as no surprise...
* [[Foreshadowing]]: The Doctor offered Amy effectively the same choice early in The Beast Below. Namely, This or Leadworth.
** "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S32
* [[Genre Blindness]]: Rory, when he happily sighs that [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?|nothing bad could ever possibly happen]] in his idyllic life in Upper Leadworth. Rory, even discounting the possibility that this could be a dream designed to torture you (and for further [[Face Palm
** Amy also takes ten minutes to catch on to the fact that it feels really definitely real in ''each'' dream.
* [[Genre Savvy]]: The Doctor, conversely to Rory, has figured out that they're stuck in a [[
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]] - It's so cold the Doctor can't feel his feet..."and other parts."
** '''Rory''': ''about the eyeballs'' "They're not gonna be peeking out of anywhere else, are they?"
** "Did he tell you about Elizabeth the first? Well, she ''thought'' she was the first."
* [[Graceful Loser]] - {{spoiler|the Dream Lord. Of course, it's an act to make the Doctor, Rory and Amy think they've won}}.
* [[Great Gazoo]] - The Dream Lord.
* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: Delivered to the Doctor by, {{spoiler|basically, the Doctor himself}}. Amy also gets Hannibal Lectured.
* [[Harsher in Hindsight]]: Rory saying he just wants a village and a family.
* [[Held Gaze]]: Rory and Amy at the end when she is trying to tell him that she loves him as they gaze into each other's eyes, finally realising what both know before they [[Big Damn Kiss]].
* [[Hell Is That Noise]]: Every transition from village to TARDIS or back is accompanied by a specific clip of bird song.
* [[Heroes Want Redheads]]: The Dream Lord taunts the Doctor with this.
* [[How Did You Know? I Didn't.]]:
{{quote|
'''Amy:''' I Didn't. }}
* [[Ho Yay]]: In the Leadworth dream, the Doctor and Rory "wake up" to find themselves in the middle of a [[Headbutt of Love]], then jump away from each other in embarrassment.
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* [[Important Haircut]]: Rory {{spoiler|cuts off his ponytail! Shock! Horror!}}
* [[Incredibly Lame Pun]]: At the butcher's shop:
{{quote|
* [[Infant Immortality]]: Subverted {{spoiler|or at least it would have been if the schoolkids weren't a dream.}}
* [[Love Triangle]]: Rather obvious as the Dreamlord actually taunts Amy with it
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* [[Monster of the Week]] - Parodied. The Doctor can predict {{spoiler|what race the elderly REALLY are and why they're on Earth}} without them even having to say anything. Of course, {{spoiler|they're all part of the dream anyway.}}
* {{spoiler|[[Mushroom Samba]]: The whole thing is caused by the main characters being exposed to some mind altering psychic pollen.}}
* [[Name's the Same]]: No, not ''that'' [[The Sandman|Dream Lord]]...
* [[Panicky Expectant Father|Panicky Expectant Father And Time Lord]]: Both Rory and the Doctor engage in a certain amount of useless flapping when they think Amy's about to give birth. It culminates in the Doctor cupping his hands under the area where it's expected to come out like he's preparing to catch a football.
* [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]]: "If you had any more tawdry quirks you could open up a tawdry quirk shop..."
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** The exterior scenes of the TARDIS frosting over, backlit by the cold star, are quite beautiful, too.
* [[Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale]]: The Doctor mocks Rory for this.
{{quote|
'''The Doctor:''' [[Sarcasm Mode|Yeah, ‘cause the universe is really quite small and there’s bound to be someone nearby.]] }}
* [[Sadistic Choice]]
* [[
* [[Self-Parody]]: {{spoiler|The dream adventure with the [[Attack of the Killer Whatever|evil old people]] and general [[Cliché Storm]] is quite possibly a parody of the average Doctor Who episode; displaced aliens hiding out on Earth and randomly deciding to take it out on the locals for whatever reason has been a running theme for a while.}}
* [[Shipper on Deck]] - {{spoiler|When we realize that the Doctor is the Dream Lord, it brings this trope to a whole new level}}
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Recap]]
[[Category:Doctor Who]]▼
[[Category:Doctor Who/Recap]]
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