The Power of Three (Doctor Who)

229 – "The Power of Three"
Doctor Who episode
Promotional poster
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor
Companions Karen Gillan – Amy Pond Arthur Darvill – Rory Williams
Guest Mark Williams – Brian Williams Steven Berkoff – Shakri Stephen Blything – Henry Jemma Redgrave – Kate Stewart Selva Rasalingham – Ranjit Alice O'Connell – Laura Alan Sugar – Himself (uncredited) Brian Cox – Himself (uncredited)
Production
Directed by	Douglas Mackinnon
Written by	Chris Chibnall
Produced by	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Caroline Skinner
Music by	Murray Gold
Series	Series 7
Running time	41 minutes
First broadcast	22 September 2012 (2012-09-22)
Chronology
← Preceded by "A Town Called Mercy" Followed by → "The Angels Take Manhattan"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Power of Three" is the fourth episode of the seventh series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who that aired on BBC One and BBC One HD on 22 September 2012. It was written by Chris Chibnall and directed by Douglas Mackinnon.

In the episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) spends time on Earth with his travelling companions Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and her husband Rory (Arthur Darvill) while he awaits activity from millions of small cubes that appeared overnight.

"The Power of Three" focused on Amy and Rory's point of view and the impact of the Doctor's influence on their lives, as they would be leaving in the next episode. The story was inspired by The Man Who Came to Dinner and the story of the MSC Napoli. The episode also saw the return of UNIT and introduced their new scientific advisor, Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. The episode featured brief cameo appearances by Lord Sugar and professor Brian Cox. Despite being the penultimate episode in the first block of the series, "The Power of Three" was the last to be filmed, and was thus the last episode for Gillan and Darvill.

The episode was watched by 7.67 million viewers in the UK. Critical reception to the episode was generally positive, highlighting the emotion and humour, although many critics derided the solution to the plot.