The Haunting of Villa Diodati Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1816

They arrive in June 1816, because the Doctor wants to witness the creation of the story "Frankenstein", which happened when Mary Shelley was challenged to come up with a scary story by Lord Byron. The novel was published in 1818.

As the story begins, mysterious things are happening around the mansion. Gloomy weather (historically accurate) contributes to the spooky mood, as does Byron reading ghost stories. The sopping wet Doctor and her companions create quite a scare on their arrival.

Answer: Lake Geneva

The Villa Diodati is located in the Swiss town of Coligny, very near Lake Geneva. It was occupied by the Shelleys and Doctor Polidori in the summer of 1816, and it was where Mary Shelley wrote the novel "Frankenstein." Polidori also wrote the first modern vampire story around the same time.

Answer: Percy Bysshe Shelley

The poet Percy Bysshe Shelley finds a quicksilver object in Lake Geneva, which turns out to be cyber technology. The Cyberman threatens to kill Shelley in order to get the technology back, so the Doctor uses a Jedi (oops Time Lord) mind trick to show Shelley his own death, forcing the cyber technology to leave his body.

The Doctor's mind trick probably didn't take too long, as Shelley only lived for six more years, dying in a boating accident in 1822. Byron did not last much longer, dying in 1824. Mary actually made it to age 53, dying in 1851.

Mary was married to Shelley, but not until after the story in "Villa Diodati" took place. Byron would have been there. Austen could have been, she didn't die until 1817, but didn't travel in those circles.

Answer: Cyberman

As mysterious things take place around the house, such as rooms shifting and objects moving, a Cyberman suddenly appears. This appears to be the "Lone Cyberman" that Jack Harkness warned the companions about in "Fugitive of the Judoon" (2020).

The Cybermen are some of the oldest foes of the Doctor, dating all the way back to the First Doctor adventure "The Tenth Planet" (1966). Most of the Doctors have faced off against Cybermen at one time or another.

Answer: William

William is the baby, and he is threatened by the Cyberman but spared. In reality, William Shelley died of malaria in 1819. He was one of three children that Mary and Percy would lose.

Shelley did have a son Charles, who died at the age of 12 in 1826. His son Percy, with Mary, lived to the age of 70, dying in 1890. Alfie (AKA Stormageddon Dark Lord of All) is the son of Craig and Sophie Owens.

Answer: Ashad

Ashad is the Cyberman. He appears to be an early, almost Mondosian version of Cyberman. Ashad is played by Patrick O'Kane. While most of the Irish actor's work is in theater, he appeared in around a dozen films between 1999 and 2018, including a small role in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" (2017). He has also appeared on "Game of Thrones." O'Kane is a graduate of Manchester University.

Ashildr is the Viking girl played by Maisie Williams in "The Girl Who Died" (2015). Adric was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors who died saving the Earth from Cybermen. Astrid Peth (Kylie Minogue) was the waitress who saved the Tenth Doctor in "Voyage of the Damned" (2007).

Answer: True

Despite Jack's desperate warnings to not give the cyberman what it wants, the Doctor is faced with the destruction of Earth in the year 1816. Deciding it would create too many ripples in the time line, the Doctor returns the Cyberium to Ashad. It is possible that the Doctor saw something when she possessed the Cyberium that let her determine there was a better time to confront the Cybermen in the future.

Answer: universe

The Doctor gets into some serious timey wimey territory with Shelley this episode, recognizing the importance of his poetry and philosophy on future generations. While Shelley is probably best known for his poetry, including "Ozymandius" and "To a Skylark", he was also a major political theorist.

Shelley's theories on non-violence would influence Henry David Thoreau, who went on to influence Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. And his theories on economics influenced Karl Marx. So indeed, his death in 1816 would have created major ripples in the universe.

Answer: Fletcher

Stefan Bednarczyk played Fletcher the Valet. He seems quite unflappable, as most good valets are. Sadly, Fletcher is killed by the Cyberman.

While Bednarczyk is best known for his work in the field of music - he has a music degree from Oxford - he has also acted in theater, films and television over the years. Two of his notable credits are "Topsy Turvy" (1999) and "Florence Foster Jenkins" (2016).

Jeeves is the manservant of Bertie Wooster, created by P.G. Wodehouse. Alfred Pennyworth is the butler/valet of Bruce Wayne (Batman). Woodhouse is the valet in the animated comedy series "Archer."

Answer: Emma Sullivan

Emma Sullivan directed "Villa Diodata." She got her start in television directing on the medical drama "Doctors" in 2012. She also directed the series 12 episode "Can You Hear Me?" (2020). The Doctor's line about "Frankenstein" was a deliberate lead-in to Villa Diodati.

Maxine Alderton was the writer behind "Haunting of Villa Diodati" (2020). Her day job is working at the soap opera "Emmerdale" where she has been part of the writing staff since 2013. Alderton also wrote several episodes of the fantasy drama "The Worst Witch" (2018).

Nadia Parkes played Claire Clairmont. She is fairly new to acting, but played Rosa de Vargas in "The Spanish Princess" (2019), a history piece about Catherine of Aragon. Parkes attended the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Lili Miller was future novelist Mary Shelley. "Doctor Who" is her second television appearance, after being in the pilot of "Gangs of London" (2019).