12

12 is the first episode of Series 8 of Doctor Who. It features the first full appearance of the Twelfth Doctor and the introduction of his new companion, Elizabeth McGee.

Synopsis
The newly regenerated Doctor decides to take a breather by visiting present-day California on Earth. However, his "vacation" is short-lived when an time-travelling demon starts causing havoc in Los Angeles. During the chaos, the Doctor is introduced to his latest companion: a young acting student named Elizabeth.

Plot
The episode opens up several hours after the conclusion of The Fall of the Eleventh, and the TARDIS is seen spinning through space. Within the TARDIS, the Doctor is seen examining his new body in a hand mirror, musing that he looks somewhat older and more sophisticated. Deciding to take a little bit of time to adjust to his new body, the Doctor decides he needs some R-and-R and sets his course for present-day Earth, deciding to land the TARDIS in Los Angeles, California in the United States. Parking inconspicuously in a dingy back alley between two warehouses, the Doctor continues on foot and locates a nearby ATM. Hacking it with his sonic screwdriver, he obtains several hundred dollars.

Realizing that he is still wearing his previous incarnation's khaki suit and bowtie, the Doctor decides to stop at a nearby store to change his attire. He returns now wearing a black sports jacket, matching dress pants, and a white button-down. The scene shifts to the Doctor walking into a hotel and renting a room for the week. Later, he is briefly seen attending a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.

The scene cuts to him standing back in the hotel lobby, when he overhears that the Harrington Theatre Group was putting on a production of the Greek tragedy Hecuba. The Doctor seems intrigued, musing that he always loved good theatre, and that he'd seen the play performed when his "good friend" Euripides first put in on back in Ancient Greece.

The next scene shows the Doctor walking towards the Harrington Theatre. He briefly says hello to a shifty looking man wearing all black, who stares after him as he enters the building. The Doctor is next seen watching the play, looking impressed, but he seemingly recognizes the lead actress, but he can't recall from where.

After the play has concluded, the Doctor approaches the young woman who played Hecuba and compliments her on her performance. Using his psychic paper, he introduces himself as John Smith, a features writer for a magazine called The Thespian's Gazette. The young woman introduces herself as Elizabeth McGee and tells him that she is a student at UCLA. After a brief conversation, the two part ways, but the Doctor still can't help that he's seen the girl somewhere before. As he is leaving, the Doctor sees the man in all-black he saw earlier, who stares after him, then walks off. The Doctor briefly stares after the man, looking somewhat disturbed, but then shakes it off and walks away.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth is seen returning to her dorm room at UCLA, where she is greeted enthusiastically by her roommate, Jessica, who is also an acting student. After talking about the play, Elizabeth causally mentions that she briefly talked to a features writer from The Thespian's Gazette. Jessica looks confused at this statement, and informs Elizabeth that The Thespian's Gazette wasn't a magazine, but an online newsletter, and wasn't big enough for a features writer. Confused, the two search "John Smith Features Writer" on Google, but no matches come up matching the same man's description.

At that moment, the man in black is seen entering the basement of an abandoned building, where a four other men dressed in black cloaks are seen standing around what appears to be a cross between a fireplace and a satanic altar. The man in black, who is identified by name for the first time as "James", and speaks to the fireplace, saying, "Shadow King, I believe we have finally found the one you are looking for", and show a digitally enhanced picture of Elizabeth as Hecuba. A deep voice speaks from the fireplace, saying that "the descendant of my greatest enemy will bring me back into this world!" The five men being chanting, "All hail the Shadow King!"

Meanwhile, the Doctor has returned to his hotel room and turns on the television. A news story is being told about the recent string of young girls who'd been found in states of psychosis. Intrigued by the story, the Doctor pays close attention. the story goes on to say that each girl had striking resemblance to the other and had strange knife marks found on their arms. The story then show a photo of one such mark, making out the word "Alderius". The Doctor, looking shocked, then has a flashback: Several years after the end of the American Revolution, he helped a local minister named Thomas Hefner McGee battle a demon named Alderius that had been plaguing Old Boston for several months. The battle took them to McGee's church, where the two of them defeated the demon, but not before Alderius proclaimed that he would "exact vengeance some day." Thinking about the news story, he realizes that the girl who played Hecuba was named Elizabeth McGee, and that all the other girls looked like her. He quickly rushes out of his hotel room.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth is being driven by taxi from UCLA, and is on the phone, informing the other person that she is driving back to Harrington Theatre for the Hecuba strike party. The scene shifts to the end of the party, and she is seen leaving the building. As soon as she leaves, the Doctor walks up from nowhere and tells her that she is in danger and that she needed to come with him. She confronts him about his lying of his identity; the Doctor impatiently admits that he lied, but tries to convince her to come with him. She blatantly tells him no, and goes to wait for the taxi.