Episode Preview: A Citizen of the Universe

“The creators and destroyers of the cosmos... The architects of change and the agents of chaos... The light-bringers and the world-enders... The masters of gravity and the sovereigns of time... The citizens of the universe.”​

Auros. The City of Burning Sapphire. One of the wonders of the galaxy, home to the greatest among stargazers and astronomers. But beneath its cosmic tapestry, something terrible stirs; unbound, it will claim the lives of all who dwell on its surface.

And there is no one to save the day.

Clara Oswald. A woman suspended in her final moment, drifting through time and space with an immortal associate in a stolen time machine. Setting forth on a decisive journey in honour of past travels.

And there is one fateful destination that will change her course forever.

---

How do you follow on from ‘Hell Bent’? The groundbreaking story that redefined the role of the companion in Doctor Who, and ended Clara Oswald’s journey by launching her on an entirely new one? This is a question the whole writing team has wrangled with over the years, and nowhere is the answer more critical than in the episode to start it all, ‘A Citizen of the Universe’. Naturally, a story bearing such high expectations is suitably ambitious. So, what can we reveal about Clara and Me’s first explosive adventure?

Planning for this story and the series at large began with a thorough exploration of Clara’s headspace in the aftermath of the Series 9 finale. It’s one thing to analyse how the trilogy (‘Face the Raven’, ‘Heaven Sent’, and ‘Hell Bent’) culminates her three-series arc on Doctor Who, but when planning a continuation from that, there’s new meaning to be found: narrative threads set up as others are resolved. One only needs to watch Clara’s final scene with Me in their new TARDIS to see the promise of conflict to come amid the giddy triumph. What does “the long way round” actually mean for Clara? Why, fully aware that she has a responsibility to return to her point of death, does she make that choice? When you’ve been given a second chance after losing everything and embracing your end, what the hell do you do with it?

‘A Citizen of the Universe’ is about wrestling with these dilemmas. It’s taking the fallout of what’s come before and channelling it into something new and exciting. As such, we wanted to launch this series with a story that throws our characters in at the deep end. The city of Auros and the dangers found within its walls reflect that. Part of the intention behind this setting was to channel the wonder and awe of the ‘first trip to an alien world’ stories that were a staple of the Moffat era. Of course, this is generally the kind of premise that’s used to introduce a new companion to the mechanics of the show. Here, the setting is alien, but so are the two lead characters in their own ways. We’re exploring how things have changed for them, and how that informs where they go next.

In keeping with the tone and aesthetics of Clara’s era, The Untold Adventures has a certain fantastical underpinning, and ‘A Citizen of the Universe’ is no exception. This is a story of big ideas and larger-than-life characters, but with a profound sense of intimacy and the simple human need for companionship and purpose at its heart. It serves as both a pilot and an ode to times past, with all of the magic and surprises one would expect.