The Pandorica Opens

212a – "The Pandorica Opens"
212a – "The Pandorica Opens"
Doctor Who episode
	Auton legionaries leading The Doctor towards the Pandorica as part of the alliance's plan to imprison him. This scene featured the then-largest assembly of different monsters in the show's history.
Cast
	Doctor Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor;
	Companions Karen Gillan – Amy Pond; Arthur Darvill – Rory Williams;
	Others Alex Kingston – River Song; Tony Curran – Vincent van Gogh; Bill Paterson – Bracewell; Ian McNeice – Winston Churchill; Sophie Okonedo – Liz Ten; Marcus O'Donovan – Claudio; Clive Wood – Commander; Christopher Ryan – Commander Stark; Ruari Mears – Cyber Leader; Paul Kasey – Judoon; Howard Lee – Doctor Gachet; Barnaby Edwards – Dalek; Simon Fisher-Becker – Dorium; Joe Jacobs – Guard; Chrissie Cotterill – Madame Vernet; David Fynn – Marcellus;
Production
Directed by	Toby Haynes
Written by	Steven Moffat
Script editor	Lindsey Alford
Produced by	Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat; Piers Wenger; Beth Willis;
Music by	Murray Gold
Production code	1.12
Series	Series 5
Running time	1st of 2-part story, 50 minutes
First broadcast	19 June 2010
Chronology
← Preceded by; "The Lodger"	Followed by →; "The Big Bang"
	List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Pandorica Opens" is the twelfth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on 19 June 2010 on BBC One. It is the first in a two-part finale; the second part, "The Big Bang", aired on 26 June. The episode was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes.

In the episode, the time-travelling archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) summons alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) and his companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) to Roman Britain in 102 AD, where underneath Stonehenge lies a fabled prison called the Pandorica that legend tells holds the most fearsome being in the whole universe. However, it is discovered that the Doctor has been put in a trap by an alliance of his greatest enemies to save the universe from cracks in time that were caused by the Doctor's space-time vessel the TARDIS. Amy's fiancé, Rory (Arthur Darvill), who had previously been erased from existence from one of the cracks in the universe, makes a return, though he is revealed to be an Auton duplicate outfitted with his consciousness.

Moffat wanted the episode to be "big" and "mad". Filming was done at the real Stonehenge and at a replica in early February 2010. The "Underhenge" set was the largest built on Upper Boat Studios and Haynes helped get the actors into the mood by playing music from the Indiana Jones franchise. The alliance of enemies was the first time such an assembly had been seen in the show, and the production team made sure they used the most iconic monsters that they had in good condition. "The Pandorica Opens" was seen by 7.57 million viewers in the UK and received an Appreciation Index of 88. The episode was well-received by critics and the two-part story won the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form).