Empress of Mars Trivia Quiz

Answer: Valkyrie

The probe was called Valkyrie, and it was exploring the polar ice caps of Mars. Bill and the Doctor pop into NASA unannounced (is the Doctor ever announced?) . They are just in time to discover a mysterious message on the surface of Mars.

Viking 1 and 2 were the first probes that NASA successfully landed on Mars in the 1970s. Curiosity was a NASA probe that landed on Mars in 2012. Bowie Base One was the first human colony on Mars, according to "Waters of Mars" (2009).

Answer: God Save the Queen

"God Save the Queen" was left by a group of British soldiers who had traveled to Mars. While they probably meant the sentiment, the song has been the British national anthem since the middle of the 18th century.

"Hello Sweetie" is River Song's catchphrase. She has used it several times to get the Doctor's attention. "Geronimo" was the catchphrase of the Eleventh Doctor. "Allons-Y" was the catchphrase of the Tenth Doctor.

Answer: 1881

Most of the episode takes place in 1881, with a group of British soldiers who had traveled to Mars in search of treasure - and to expand the Empire, of course.

The Eleventh Doctor encountered the Skladak aboard a Soviet nuclear submarine in 1983. ("Cold War", 2013) The year 3885 was the setting for "The Curse of Peladon" (1972), where the Third Doctor actually worked with Ice Warriors. The original "Ice Warriors" episode was set sometime in the 50th century, probably around 4935.

Answer: Ice Warriors

The Ice Warriors are the stars of "Empress of Mars", including as the title notes, the empress of the Ice Warriors herself.

The Second Doctor was the first to encounter the Ice Warriors, in the appropriately named "The Ice Warriors" (1967). The Third Doctor had encounters with them in "The Seeds of Death" (1969), "The Curse of Peladon" (1972) and "The Monster of Peladon" (1974).

It took almost forty years for the next appearance, with Matt Smith encountering General Skaldak on a Russian nuclear submarine during the "Cold War" (2013).

Answer: Friday

They nicknamed him Friday, after the servant of Robinson Crusoe. The novel by Daniel Defoe was published in 1719. Friday is a native rescued by Crusoe from cannibals, who serves as his servant.

Sancho Panza was the companion to Don Quixote. Jeeves was the man servant to Bertie Wooster. And Doctor John Watson was the assistant to Sherlock Holmes.

Answer: 5000 years

Friday tells the Queen that the Ice Warriors had been in hibernation for roughly 5000 years. This meshes with the time line established in "Cold War" in which the Professor claimed that Skaldak had been on ice for 5000 years.

The problem for the Ice Warriors was that the surface of Mars was inhabitable. With a little help from the Doctor, they were able to find a way to get rescued.

Answer: Gargantua

They called it the gargantua. The troops had been using it to mine mars for precious gems and minerals, but had been having little success.

The Doctor used the weapon to threaten the Empress with melting the polar ice cap and flooding the chamber.

Answer: upright crocodiles

Catchlove, the villain of the episode, called them "upright crocodiles". Catchlove effectively staged a mutiny and jailed his commanding officer. He also took the Empress hostage at knifepoint. Catchlove got his comeuppance at the hands of Colonel Godsacre, who shot him and rescued Empress Iraxxa.

Greenies is a derogatory phrase used for Ice Warriors in some "Doctor Who" prose stories.

Catchlove was played by Ferdinand Kingsley. Jenna Coleman fans probably recognize him as Francatelli from "Victoria" (2016). He is the son of Sir Ben Kingsley. Ferdinand began acting as a child, and began working in British television in 2010.

Answer: Frozen

The Doctor states that unfreezing the ice cap will bring about permanent winter, "like Frozen. That's a movie." "Frozen" (2013) is a Disney animated film about a princess who has the power to turn things into ice. It was the third highest grossing film released in 2013, making over $400 million (USA) and almost $1.3 billion worldwide.

Bill Potts brings up "The Terminator" (1984) and "The Thing" (1982). "The Thing" seems more relevant as it is about aliens hidden under the ice. "The Martian" (2015) stars Matt Damon as an astronaut stranded on Mars.

Answer: Mark Gatiss

Veteran Science Fiction/Fantasy writer Mark Gattis is back again. "Empress of Mars" is his eighth episode for the revived "Doctor Who". His first episode was "The Unquiet Dead" (2005), the Ninth Doctor's adventure with Charles Dickens. Other episodes include "Victory of the Daleks" (2010), "Cold War" (2013) and "Sleep No More" (2015). When he's not writing, Gattiss is an actor. He can be seen as Doctor Lazarus in "The Lazarus Experiment" (2007).

Wayne Yip directed "Empress of Mars" along with "Lie of the Land" (2017). Yip has been working in television since 2010. He directed two episodes of the "Doctor Who" spinoff "Class" in 2016. Yip worked with former companion Billie Piper on "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" in 2011.

Richard Ashton played Friday in "Empress of Mars". He is probably best known for his work on "The New Adventures of Robin Hood" (1997-1999). For fans of "The Fifth Element", Ashton was one of the Mondoshawans, the strange aliens.

Kage Baker was a science fiction novelist from California. She wrote "The Empress of Mars" novella in 2003. It won the Theodore Sturegon award as the best science fiction short story of the year. Baker died in 2010.