The Long Game

162 – "The Long Game"
Doctor Who episode
The Jagrafess looms over the Doctor, Rose, and the Editor. The Jagrafess was intended to look like "a lump of meat on the ceiling" and behave like a shark.
Cast
Doctor Christopher Eccleston – Ninth Doctor
Companions Billie Piper – Rose Tyler Bruno Langley – Adam Mitchell
Others Colin Prockter – Head Chef Christine Adams – Cathica Anna Maxwell-Martin – Suki Simon Pegg – The Editor Tamsin Greig – Nurse Judy Holt – Adam's mother
Production
Directed by	Brian Grant
Written by	Russell T Davies
Script editor	Elwen Rowlands
Produced by	Phil Collinson
Executive producer(s)	Russell T Davies Julie Gardner Mal Young
Music by	Murray Gold
Production code	1.7
Series	Series 1
Running time	44 minutes
First broadcast	7 May 2005 (2005-05-07)
Chronology
← Preceded by "Dalek" Followed by → "Father's Day"
List of episodes (2005–present)

"The Long Game" is the seventh episode of the first series of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who that was first broadcast on 7 May 2005 on BBC One. It was written by executive producer Russell T Davies and directed by Brian Grant.

In the episode, the alien time traveller the Ninth Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) and his companion Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), having been joined by near-future genius Adam Mitchell (Bruno Langley), land on Satellite 5 in the year 200,000. Satellite 5 is a space station that broadcasts news across the entire human empire. However, the Doctor notices that the station is suspicious: there are no aliens, and those who are promoted to Floor 500 seem to disappear. The Doctor and Rose discover that the Editor (Simon Pegg) and an alien are controlling the rest of humanity by way of the press. Meanwhile, Adam makes a mistake that forces the Doctor and Rose to take him home.

The concept of "The Long Game" was originally submitted by Davies to the Doctor Who script office in the 1980s. Davies had also been interested in doing a storyline about a failed companion. In addition, critics have pointed out that the story is a satire on the media. Production for the episode took place in Newport in November and December 2004 and in Coryton, Cardiff in December. "The Long Game" was watched by 8.01 million viewers in the UK and received generally mixed reviews from critics.

This episode's mention of the series wide arc of "Bad Wolf" comes in the form of the title of one of the several TV channels being broadcast from Satellite 5.