"Rosa" is the third episode of the eleventh series of the British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television programme ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. It was written by Malorie Blackman and executive producer

Chris Chibnall Christopher Antony Chibnall (born 21 March 1970) is an English television writer and producer, best known as the creator and writer of the award-winning ITV (TV network), ITV mystery-crime drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013-17) and as the third showr ...

, and directed by Mark Tonderai, and was first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

on 21 October 2018. In the episode, alien time traveller the

Doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

(

Jodie Whittaker Jodie Auckland Whittaker (born 17 June 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Beth Latimer in ''Broadchurch'' (2013–2017) and the Thirteenth Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2017–2022, 2025). She came to pro ...

), and her companions Graham O'Brien ( Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair ( Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (

Mandip Gill Mandip Kaur Gill (born 5 January 1988) is an English actress and narrator. Her first television role came in 2012 when she was cast as Phoebe McQueen in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. After departing the series in 2015, Gill went on to ...

), arrive in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

in 1955, and find themselves seeking to stop time-travelling criminal Krasko ( Joshua Bowman) from preventing

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for her refusal to move from her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus, in defiance of Jim Crow laws, which sparke ...

( Vinette Robinson) influencing the American civil rights movement during the

Montgomery bus boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social boycott, protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United ...

. The episode's plot concerns

racial segregation in the United States Facilities and services such as housing, healthcare, education, employment, and transportation have been systematically separated in the United States based on racial categorizations. Notably, racial segregation in the United States was the leg ...

at the time, including the law upheld in Alabama regarding municipal transit during this period. The closing credits of "Rosa" were played out with the single " Rise Up" by Andra Day, making it one of few episodes in the programme's history not to end with the traditional closing theme. The episode was watched by 8.41 million viewers, and received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

When the

Thirteenth Doctor The Thirteenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. She is played by Jodie Whittaker, the first woman to portray the character, in three series, five specials and a ...

attempts to return to present-day

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. While a TARDI ...

instead brings her and her friends to

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

in 1955. Before attempting to leave, the Doctor finds that there are traces of artron energy in the area from another time travel device. Deciding to investigate, the group learn that they have arrived the day before

refused to give up her seat as bus driver James F. Blake demanded on 1 December, effectively influencing the civil rights movement. Tracing the energy, the group locate a suitcase of equipment from the future, but are unable to learn more when they are forced to flee when its owner attempts to hit them with a time displacement device. The Doctor suspects he is trying to alter Parks' history. Leaving her friends to research everything behind the critical moment on 1 December, the Doctor returns to examine the suitcase's contents, before using it to shield herself from its owner — a rehabilitated mass murderer named Krasko. The Doctor learns that Krasko seeks to prevent the

from occurring, but cannot simply kill Parks, since his neural implants prevent him from killing any living being. The Doctor is unable to convince him to abandon his plan, despite taking his time displacement device and destroying his vortex manipulator. When the Doctor learns that Krasko had arranged for Blake to take the day off, she and her friends focus on keeping history on track despite Krasko working to counter their efforts. Ryan encounters Krasko blocking the bus route with a car after removing false notices at bus stops, learning that Krasko succeeded in keeping the bus from reaching its passenger quota. Ryan learns that Krasko's actions are motivated by his deeply racist views, and uses the criminal's own displacement device to send him into the past to stop him completely. Removing the blockade, he and the others rejoin the Doctor on the bus as passengers before reaching Empire Theater. As the moment arrives, the Doctor realises they have become integral to events, and is forced to keep them aboard the bus. After witnessing Parks being arrested by the police for violating segregation laws, the group return to the TARDIS where the Doctor shows them the impact Rosa has had on history, leading to an asteroid being named in her honour in the future.

Continuity

The prison of Stormcage, mentioned in "Rosa" when the Thirteenth Doctor recognises a tattoo on the arm of Krasko, was featured in episodes of the

Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation (otherwise known as regeneration) of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As wi ...

, primarily as the place where River Song serves time for the "murder" of her husband.

Production

Co-written by Blackman, she became the first writer of colour to work on the programme in its entire history (something almost accomplished by Robin Mukherjee 29 years earlier, during the run of the original series with the unmade '' Alixion'').

Casting

After the premiere episode, " The Woman Who Fell to Earth", was broadcast, it was confirmed that Vinette Robinson and Joshua Bowman would be among a number of guest actors that would appear in the series. Vinette Robinson previously appeared on ''Doctor Who'' as Abi Lerner in Series 3 episode " 42", also written by

. Actor Morgan Deare, playing Arthur in this episode, also previously appeared on ''Doctor Who'', as Hawk in the November 1987 three-episode serial '' Delta and the Bannermen''.

Music

The closing credits for "Rosa" were played out with the single " Rise Up" by Andra Day. It is one of few episodes in the programme's history not to end with the traditional closing theme.

Filming

The episode was filmed in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa.

Broadcast and reception

Ratings

"Rosa" was watched by 6.39 million viewers overnight, accounting for an audience share of 29.6%, making it the second-highest overnight viewership for the night, and fifth for the week on overnights across all channels. The episode had an Audience Appreciation Index score of 83. The episode received an official total of 8.41 million viewers across all UK channels, making it the 4th most watched programme of the week. In the United States, the broadcast on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary series). Unlike the BBC's ...

had 808,000 viewers for the night.

Critical reception

"Rosa" was met with positive reviews from critics. It holds an approval rating of 97% based on 30 reviews on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, with an average rating of 7.99/10. The critical consensus reads "First time ''Doctor Who'' writer Malorie Blackman pens an insightful installment that returns the show to its educational roots and serves as a reminder of how powerful purposeful science fiction can be." In February 2019, the episode won the Visionary Arts Organisation Award for Television Show of the Year at the BAFTA in London. In April 2019, the episode was announced as a finalist (nominee) in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the 2019 Hugo Awards.

References

External links

* * * {{Thirteenth Doctor stories, selected=Television Fiction set in 1955 2018 British television episodes Television episodes about civil rights movement Television episodes set in Alabama Cultural depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural depictions of Rosa Parks Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials Doctor Who stories set on Earth Television episodes written by Chris Chibnall Thirteenth Doctor episodes Television episodes set in the 1950s Television episodes set in the 1940s Fiction set in 1943 Television episodes set in the United States