THE TARDIS FALLS FROM THE TIME VORTEX, seemingly dead. The Doctor declares that he, Rose and Mickey are now in “some sort of no place” – but on leaving the TARDIS they find themselves in London on the south bank of the River Thames. However, there are Zeppelins and other airships in the sky, and Rose’s father Pete Tyler is still alive, with a successful health-drink business to advertise. It’s a parallel world – and, despite the Doctor’s warnings, Mickey and Rose go in search of the alternative versions of their families while the last functioning TARDIS power cell recharges.
Pete Tyler is indeed rich, but he’s moved out of the house he shared with his wife Jackie. Mickey finds that his grandmother, Rita-Anne, is still alive in this world, too. On his way to her house he’s surprised to find that there’s a ten o’clock curfew.