"London goes beyond any boundary or convention. It contains every wish or word ever spoken, every action or gesture ever made, every harsh or noble statement ever expressed. It is illimitable. It is Infinite London.”
Peter Ackroyd
"I do love London, so many cameras."
Miss Kizlet, The Bells of Saint Johns, Doctor Who
It's hard not to love London. On our last day in England, we took advantage of beautiful weather and made our way down to Embankment Station for a farewell walk along the Thames. We took an obligatory selfie with a newly restored and regilded Big Ben, crossed Westminster Bridge, and made our way back along the water to Jubilee Bridge.
As we wandered along the south bank, I realized that we had reached the spot where the Doctor and Clara amaze the passing pedestrians by making a blue police box appear from nowhere in Episode 6 of Doctor Who's seventh season, The Bells of St. John. This episode marks the third appearance of Clara Oswald, the Impossible Girl, and introduces her as the Doctor's new companion.
It's a fun, fast-paced and well-written episode, but it's also a bit of a love letter to London, as the Doctor and Clara make their magical South Bank manifestation, zoom across Westminster Bridge on a motorcycle, pass Horse Guards, and cruise through Admiralty Arch to enjoy breakfast at Grange St. Paul's Hotel rooftop patio near St. Paul's Cathedral*, after which the Doctor rides up the side of the Shard to invade the headquarters of the wifi soul stealers and restore Clara's mind to her body.
The Doctor explains all this as protecting the TARDIS from falling into the wrong hands, but really, it's just to show off some London scenery. That's the one shortcoming of the TARDIS: yes, all of time and space, bigger on the inside, but no windows.
- Sid
* Ever since I saw this episode I've wanted to have breakfast at that
restaurant, and to my intense happiness I stumbled across the shooting
location in the process of researching this posting - that's now on the
list for the NEXT visit to London.
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