Under The Lake Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ghosts

Ghosts, genuine ghosts, appear to be the problem. The discovery of a mysterious spaceship leads to several deaths, and the appearance of killer ghosts.

According to the Doctor, the ghosts are serving as transmitters, seeking to send a signal out into space directing people to their location. Who the signal is directed towards and why the ghosts sending it want them to come remained unanswered questions at the end of "Under the Lake."

Answer: Scotland

Caithness, Scotland to be specific. Caithness is the northernmost section of Scotland; it contains Dunnet Head, the northernmost point in Great Britain. Caithness is flat, unlike most of northern Scotland, and relatively treeless. The Drum is located underwater, beneath a lake created by a flood. The Doctor and Clara arrived on November 24, 2119.

The Doctor has a long history of visiting Scotland. The Second Doctor encountered companion Jamie McCrimmon in "The Highlanders" (1966). The Fourth Doctor battled the Zygons near Loch Ness in "Terror of the Zygons" (1975). The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler faced off against werewolves in "Tooth and Claw" (2006). The Twelfth Doctor has a very pronounced Scottish accent, as Peter Capaldi is a native of Glasgow.

Answer: Vector Petroleum

In case you missed the dozens of symbols on the walls, Pritchard handed the Doctor his business card with the name of the company after telling him the name of the company. Pritchard is a classic example of the "corporate jerk" trope in the fine tradition of Carter Burke from "Aliens".

Issigri Mining is from the Second Doctor adventure "The Space Pirates" (1969). Galatron Mining was featured in "Vengeance on Varos" (1985), with the Sixth Doctor. Oil Corporation were the bad guys in "The Infinite Quest", an animated "Doctor Who" series featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones.

Answer: Tivoli

This is the second appearance of Tivoli in "Doctor Who". It first appeared in "The God Complex" when the Eleventh Doctor met a Tivolian named Gibbis. Tivoli was known as the most conquered planet in the universe, because they simply let invaders do whatever they wished without resistance. So the Doctor was correct when he stated that Tivolians were non-violent.

The Krillitanes were the bat-like creatures in "School Reunion" (2006). Kahler-Jex and Kahler-Tek appear in "A Town Called Mercy" (2012). While Rivoli is not a planet, it is a street in Paris. Several scenes for the Fourth Doctor Adventure "City of Death" (1979) were filmed in the area of the Rue de Rivoli, including shots of The Louvre museum.

Answer: Moran and Pritchard

Captain Moran, who barely had enough lines to make scale, was played by Colin McFarlane. Pritchard, the corporate toady who put profits ahead of safety, was played by Steven Robertson.

McFarlane is a veteran actor, who has appeared in television and films since 1986. He is also a frequent voice actor for video games. "Doctor Who" fans may remember him as General Pierce from the "Torchwood: Children of Earth" series. He often plays authority figures such as police officers or military officers.

Steven Robertson, another native of Scotland in this episode, has been acting since 2004. He worked with Toby Whithouse on the show "Being Human" as Dominick Rook. Robertson played a Scottish police officer in "Shetland" (2013-2016).

Answer: Orion

Orion's sword is a set of three stars (42 Orionis, Theta Orionis and Iota Orionis) that appear to be hanging from Orion's belt (Anitak, Alnilam and Mintaka). It is part of the Orion Nebula, the birthplace of new stars. Orion is one of the most brighter constellations in the sky and has a prominent place in the mythology of many cultures.
"The Sword of Orion" also happens to be a Big Finish audio adventure featuring the Eighth Doctor.

Taurus would appear north of Orion in the night sky, and Gemini would appear northeast. Opiucus means "the serpent bearer" and is the 13th symbol of the zodiac.

Answer: Bennett and O'Donnell

Scientist Mason Bennett (Arsher Ali) and Lance Corporal Alice O'Donnell (Morven Christie) travel with the Doctor on the TARDIS, in an attempt to discover the truth behind the mysterious spacecraft. Their goal is to travel to a point where they can prevent the events of 2119 from occurring. Unfortunately, the Doctor seemed to fail in this mission as he appeared in the form of a ghost at the very end of "Under the Lake."

Arsher Ali has been acting in British television since 2007. He is probably best known for playing a terrorist in the 2010 film "Four Lions."

Morven Christie, a native of Glasgow, has been acting in British television since 2004. Her credits include "Grantchester" (2014), "Hunted" (2012), "Monday Monday" (2009) and the film "The Young Victoria" (2009).

Answer: Advisor for the Unified Intelligence Task Force

The Doctor decided to play it mostly straight, and claimed he was from UNIT, an organization he has actually worked for many times in the past. Given that the staff at the oil refinery were well aware of UNIT (and had even heard of the Doctor's work with it), it clearly must still exist as an organization in 2119.

The Unified Intelligence Task Force is a military organization operating under the auspices of the United Nations, to counter extraterrestrial threats. The Second Doctor was the first to work with UNIT, and both the Third and Fourth Doctors regularly worked with UNIT. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors have also worked with UNIT.

Answer: Extremely well

One of the best lines in a show with lots of great lines for Capaldi. One of the best moments of the season so far has to be when Clara handed the Doctor a series of flash cards with pre-written apologies on them, and he had to apologize to the crew over his somewhat dismissive attitude about their dead captain.

Other good lines: "Surely just being around me makes you cleverer by osmosis" and "It's okay, I understand... you're an idiot" to Pritchard.

As a bonus, The Doctor name dropped Mahatma Gandhi and Shirley Bassey, and dissed Peter Andre. We also discovered he made a clockwork squirrel out of a radio.

Answer: Toby Whithouse

Toby Whithouse wrote "Under the Lake" and "Before the Flood", the fourth episode of Series 9. This is Whithouse's fifth time writing for Doctor Who - he also wrote "School Reunion" (2006), "The Vampires of Venice" (2010), "The God Complex" (2011) and "A Town Called Mercy" (2012). Whithouse is an actor as well as a writer. He is probably best known as the creator of the science fiction series "Being Human" (2011-2014).

Daniel O'Hara directed both "Under the Lake" and "Before the Flood" (2015). He has been directing since 2006. O'Hara has worked with Whithouse before, directing eight episodes of "Being Human."

Sophie Leigh Stone played Cass, who assumed command when Moran was killed. Stone is no stranger to ghosts having worked in the 2011 mini-series "Marchlands". Stone was the first deaf actress to win a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the most prestigious acting college in the UK. Its alumni includes many of Britain's finest actors, including John Hurt, Jon Pertwee, Paul McGann (former Doctors) and Alex Kingston (River Song).

Zaqi Ismail played Lunn, the translator for Cass. "Under the Lake" is his first appearance on television.