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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|name            = {{StoryTitle}}
|image          = ThreeDoctorsTDOTD.jpg
|image          = ThreeDoctorsTDOTD.jpg
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|special        = [[50th Anniversary Specials|50th Anniversary Special]]
|season number  =  
|citation series = [[50th Anniversary Specials]]
|story number    = 239
|story number    = 240
|novelisation    = The Day of the Doctor (novelisation)
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-2013-50th-anniversary-special-the-day-of-the-doctor-post-production-script-100913.pdf
|doctor          = Eleventh Doctor
|doctor          = Eleventh Doctor
|companions      = [[Clara Oswald|Clara]]
|companions      = [[Clara Oswald|Clara]]
|featuring      = {{il|[[Tenth Doctor]]|[[War Doctor]]}}
|featuring      = War Doctor
|enemy          = [[Zygon]]s, [[Dalek]]s
|featuring2      = Tenth Doctor
|setting        = {{il|[[London]], [[21st century]]|[[England]], [[1562]]|[[Gallifrey]], the [[Time War]]}}
|featuring3      = The Moment
|writer          = [[Steven Moffat]]
|featuring4      = Eleventh General{{!}}Eleventh General
|featuring5      = Kate Stewart
|featuring6      = Petronella Osgood
|featuring7      = Elizabeth I{{!}}Elizabeth I
|featuring8      = The Curator
|enemy          = The [[Dalek Fleet]], [[Zygon Kate Stewart|Zygon leader]]
|setting        = {{il|[[London]], [[September]] [[2013]]|[[England]], [[1562]]|[[Gallifrey]], the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]]}}
|writer          = Steven Moffat
|director        = [[Nick Hurran]]
|director        = [[Nick Hurran]]
|producer        = [[Marcus Wilson]]
|producer        = [[Marcus Wilson]]
|broadcast date  = [[23 November (releases)|23 November]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]]
|broadcast date  = 23 November 2013
|network        = [[BBC One]]
|network        = BBC One
|format          = 1x75-minute special
|format          = 1x79-minute special
|production code =  
|thwr            = 100
|prev            = The Last Day (TV story)
|series          = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|prev            = The Name of the Doctor (TV story)
|next            = The Time of the Doctor (TV story)
|next            = The Time of the Doctor (TV story)
|made prev      = The Name of the Doctor (TV story)
|made prev      = The Name of the Doctor (TV story)
|made next      = The Night of the Doctor (TV story)
|made next      = The Night of the Doctor (TV story)
|series2        = 50th Anniversary arc
|prev2          = The Last Day (TV story)
|trailer        = The Day of the Doctor The Second TV Trailer - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC One
|trailer        = The Day of the Doctor The Second TV Trailer - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC One
|clip            = The Day of the Doctor A Preview - BBC Children in Need 2013 - BBC
|clip            = NO MORE! The Moment Bad Wolf - Doctor Who - Day of the Doctor - BBC
|clip2          = *{{uc:plot spoilers}}* Tom Baker returns in The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC
|clip2          = No sir, all THIRTEEN! - Peter Capaldi's 1st Scene as Twelfth Doctor - The Day of the Doctor - BBC
|clip3          = *{{uc:plot spoilers}}* The Doctor's Destination - The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary - BBC
|clip3          = The Eleventh Doctor Meets The Curator (Tom Baker) - Doctor Who - Day of the Doctor - BBC
|bts            = Dr Who 50th Making Of 2013
|bts            = Dr Who 50th Making Of 2013
|bts2            = The making of The Day of the Doctor (full episode) - Doctor Who Behind the Lens - BBC
|bts2            = The making of The Day of the Doctor (full episode) - Doctor Who Behind the Lens - BBC
|bts3            = Matt Smith's Final Panel - Full Q&A - The Eleventh Hour - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary
|bts3            = Matt Smith's Final Panel - Full Q&A - The Eleventh Hour - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary
}}
|thwr2          = 195
'''''{{StoryTitle}}''''' was the fiftieth anniversary special of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. The episode featured the return of [[David Tennant]] as the [[Tenth Doctor]] and the appearance of [[John Hurt]] as a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor: the [[War Doctor]], in what was the final chronological adventure for his portrayal of the Doctor. His only full-length adventure on screen introduced a new iteration of the [[sonic screwdriver]] and a unique [[TARDIS control room]] predating those seen in [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|Series 1]].  
}}{{you may|The Day of the Doctor (novelisation)|n1=the novelisation|The Day of the Doctor (The Zygon Isolation)|n2=the episode of Doctor Who that exists within the DWU}}
'''''The Day of the Doctor''''' was the 50th Anniversary Special of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. It was written by [[Steven Moffat]], directed by [[Nick Hurran]] and featured [[Matt Smith]] as the [[Eleventh Doctor]], [[David Tennant]] as the [[Tenth Doctor]], [[Jenna Coleman]] as [[Clara Oswald]], [[Billie Piper]] as [[the Moment]] and [[John Hurt]] as the [[War Doctor]].
 
For the occasion, it was the first full-length [[List of multi-Doctor stories|multi-Doctor story]] of the [[BBC Wales]] era, the first ''Doctor Who'' adventure shot in stereoscopic 3D, and the first adventure to be broadly available in cinemas in a number of different countries.
 
It aired at the same time around the globe, on [[23 November (releases)|23]] and [[24 November (releases)|24 November]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]] on [[television]], setting a record for the largest ever simulcast of a television drama. In all, it was viewable in some 94 countries and 1,500 theatres worldwide.<ref>{{cite web | author = Dassanayake Dion | title = Doctor Who anniversary special sets world record as millions tune in to Day of The Doctor | date = 24 November 2013 | url = http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/444886/Doctor-Who-anniversary-special-sets-world-records-as-millions-tune-in-to-Day-of-The-Doctor | website name = Sunday Express | accessdate = 27 November 3013 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20131125080739/http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/444886/Doctor-Who-anniversary-special-sets-world-records-as-millions-tune-in-to-Day-of-The-Doctor | archivedate = 25 November 2013}}</ref> Domestically, the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]]'s 2013/14 Annual Report cited it as the most watched drama on the BBC in 2013, with 12.8 million television viewers, and an additional 3.2 million [[iPlayer]] requests.<ref name="AnnRep">[http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/2013-14/bbc_annualreport_201314_bbcexecutive_performance.pdf ''BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14''. BBC. July 2014. 60.]</ref> It also broke, or neared, viewing records in a number of other regions around the world. Because of its theatrical run and subsequently strong home media sales, it is the single adventure with the highest gross worldwide sales in the history of ''Doctor Who''. The success of this release led to the [[series 8 (Doctor Who 2005)|series 8]] premiere, {{cs|Deep Breath (TV story)}} receiving a similar theatrical simulcast as it aired on television on [[23 August (releases)|23 August]] [[2014 (releases)|2014]].


Furthermore, the War Doctor's [[regeneration]] was shown, into what appeared to be the [[Ninth Doctor]], completing a missing link in the chain of incarnations that started when [[Christopher Eccleston]] debuted in the [[2005 (releases)|2005]] relaunch of the series, [[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''. The process of resolving the regenerations issue was being enforced by [[executive producer]] [[Steven Moffat]], as  wished to have a "complete set" in time for [[Matt Smith]]'s upcoming final episode. Moffat chose to requisition actor [[Paul McGann]] for one more outing as the [[Eighth Doctor]] in a mini-episode production, ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'' one week after production wrapped on the anniversary special. McGann filmed his own regeneration into Hurt's version of the Doctor, cementing the lineage of all Doctors up to Smith's incarnation onward.
The episode featured the return of [[David Tennant]] as the [[Tenth Doctor]] and the appearance of [[John Hurt]] as a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor: the [[War Doctor]], in what was the final chronological adventure for his portrayal of the Doctor. His only full-length adventure on screen introduced a new iteration of [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver]] and a unique [[TARDIS control room]] predating those seen in [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 1]]. The reason for the War Doctor's existence was to compensate for not being able to use the [[Ninth Doctor]] as the incarnation who fought the Time War; [[Christopher Eccleston]] declined to return, so a workaround had to be implemented by using a regeneration who did not use the "Doctor" title so as not to disturb the numbering.


Actor [[Billie Piper]] also returned for the special, but recast in a different role than the Doctor's former [[companion]] [[Rose Tyler]]. Instead, she portrayed [[the Moment]], an ancient, sentient [[Gallifreyan]] device first mentioned in [[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''. Another former actor on the series, [[Joanna Page]], returned as a younger [[Queen]] [[Elizabeth I]], allowing for the resolution of an unexplained event that manifested in the Tenth Doctor story [[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]''.
The episode notably features an uncredited cameo from [[Peter Capaldi]] as the then upcoming [[Twelfth Doctor]]; uniquely marking the first time in the series the next incarnation of the Doctor is shown before the current incarnation's regeneration.


Much like the earlier episode [[TV]]: ''[[Cold War (TV story)|Cold War]]'' had reintroduced the [[Ice Warriors]] after several decades of absence from the show, ''The Day of the Doctor'' saw the return of the [[Zygons]], last seen in the [[1975 (releases)|1975]] [[Fourth Doctor]] serial [[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'', 38 years after their initial debut. Zygons were previously mentioned in [[TV]]: ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three ]]''.  
Furthermore, the special depicted the War Doctor's [[regeneration]] into the [[Ninth Doctor]], completing a missing link in the chain of incarnations that started when [[Christopher Eccleston]] debuted in the [[2005 (releases)|2005]] relaunch of the series, ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''. The process of resolving the regenerations issue was being enforced by [[executive producer]] [[Steven Moffat]], as he wished to have a "complete set" in time for [[Matt Smith]]'s upcoming final episode.{{source}} Moffat also chose to requisition actor [[Paul McGann]] for one more outing as the [[Eighth Doctor]] in a mini-episode production, {{cs|The Night of the Doctor (TV story)}}, one week after production wrapped on the anniversary special, resulting in a second former Doctor returning to the screen as part of the festivities. McGann filmed his own regeneration into Hurt's version of the Doctor, cementing the lineage of all Doctors up to Smith's incarnation onward.


The special also included the surprise debut of [[Peter Capaldi]] as the [[Twelfth Doctor]], noteworthy for being an early cameo before officially assuming the role of the Doctor with Matt Smith's departure in the [[2013 (releases)|2013]] [[Christmas special]] ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'', as well as a cameo from an elderly [[Tom Baker]], the former [[Fourth Doctor]], whose role was kept ambiguous as either the Doctor or someone else entirely — the [[Curator (The Day of the Doctor)|Curator]].  
''The Day of the Doctor'' also saw the return of the [[Zygon]]s, last seen in the series in the [[1975 (releases)|1975]] [[Fourth Doctor]] [[serial]] {{cs|Terror of the Zygons (TV story)}}, 38 years after their initial debut, though they had appeared extensively in expanded media.


''The Day of the Doctor'' provided a chance to reveal a missing element of the [[Last Great Time War]] that dramatically altered the outcome as viewers were previously led to believe. Instead of allowing [[Gallifrey]] to be destroyed, the Doctors were able to save it, giving the current incarnation a chance to forever shed his guilt from the outcome and begin a new mission to find his way home. The unique circumstances of this revelation also upheld the previous narratives set during the [[Russell T Davies]] era where the Doctor believed Gallifrey and its residents had been lost in battle.
''The Day of the Doctor'' revealed a missing element of the [[Last Great Time War]] that dramatically altered the outcome as viewers were previously led to believe. Instead of allowing [[Gallifrey]] to be destroyed, the Doctors were able to save it, giving the Eleventh Doctor a chance to shed his guilt from the outcome and begin a new mission to find his way home. The unique circumstances of this revelation also upheld the previous narratives set during the first [[Russell T Davies]] era, where the Doctor believed Gallifrey and its residents had been lost in battle, with all pre-Eleventh Doctor incarnations all losing their memory of the event due to [[timeline]]s being out of [[Synchronicity|sync]].


The episode was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest ever simulcast of a television drama, airing in 94 countries and 1,500 theatres worldwide.<ref>{{cite web | author = Dassanayake Dion | title = Doctor Who anniversary special sets world record as millions tune in to Day of The Doctor | date = 24 November 2013 | url = http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/444886/Doctor-Who-anniversary-special-sets-world-records-as-millions-tune-in-to-Day-of-The-Doctor | website name = Sunday Express | accessdate = 27 November 3013 | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20131125080739/http://www.express.co.uk/news/showbiz/444886/Doctor-Who-anniversary-special-sets-world-records-as-millions-tune-in-to-Day-of-The-Doctor | archivedate = 25 November 2013}}</ref>
Amongst fans, the story was exceedingly popular. In a 2014 poll by ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'',{{note|Polls by DWM are statistically invalid, as they do not feature a random sample of people. Respondents choose to participate on their own initiative, and are made aware of the poll because they subscribe to or at least frequently buy DWM. Thus, the poll is clearly weighted towards ''Doctor Who'' fans who are also residents of the United Kingdom. The views reflected almost certainly do not represent the "casual" viewer of ''Doctor Who'', non-English speaking fans, or other groups of fans who simply don't read or have access to DWM.}} which ranked all of the ''Doctor Who'' television stories aired to date, ''The Day of the Doctor'' ranked as ''"DWM readers' favourite adventure of the first 50 years"''.<ref name="DWM 474">[[DWM 474]]{{which}}</ref> In 2023, it was additionally voted as readers' favourite Eleventh Doctor story for the second time,<ref name="DWM 593">[[DWM 593]]{{which}}</ref> qualifying it as one of 37 finalists in the 2023 poll, in which it eventually placed fifth.<ref>[[DWM 597]]</ref>


The episode was shot, broadcast and screened in cinemas in stereoscopic [[3D]]. Despite confessing that he was not a big fan of 3D movies, writer and [[show runner]] [[Steven Moffat]] came up with the idea of shooting the episode in 3D and despite his initial worries, found the 3D version to be "better" and "more satisfying" than the 2D version. Knowing that the vast majority of viewers would have watched it in 2D, director [[Nick Hurran]] made sure that his shooting style wasn't influenced "too much" by the episode's use of 3D. Nonetheless, Hurran meticulously researched into which 3D films worked and didn't and how before shooting; Steven Moffat believing that Hurran watched "every 3D film ever made". ([[DWM 468]])
Along with Peter Capaldi's surprise cameo, ''The Day of the Doctor'' featured another surprise in the form of former Doctor [[Tom Baker]] making an appearance near the end of the story. Baker's appearance marked his first onscreen appearance in a ''Doctor Who'' story since the {{cs|Introduction to the Night (TV story)}} which depicted Baker as a future Doctor. Again, rather than Baker reprising his role as the [[Fourth Doctor]], who had been featured alongside returning incarnations through archive footage, Baker instead portrays a new character only known as the [[Curator]]. Initially believed to be a museum curator who bore a strong resemblance to one of the Doctor's past incarnations, his brief exchange and interaction with the Eleventh Doctor implied that this wasn't the case, suggesting that the Curator was actually a future incarnation of the Doctor, with the comic story {{cs|The Then and the Now (comic story)}} confirming the Curator as an incarnation of the Doctor, with the appearance of the Curator and the cameo from the Twelfth Doctor, future incarnations of the Doctor foreshadowing that the Doctor's fate on [[Trenzalore]] [[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|wasn't as final]] [[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|as the Doctor initially believed it to be]].


In a 2014 poll by ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' which ranked all of the ''Doctor Who'' television stories aired to date, ''The Day of the Doctor'' ranked as "DWM readers' favourite adventure of the first 50 years". ([[DWM 474]])
The Curator appearing identical to the Fourth Doctor, along with his cryptic words to the Eleventh Doctor that he would revisit old faces “but just the old favourites" introduced the concept that implied the Doctor, and by extension Time Lords in general, could possibly regenerate into incarnations that bore the same appearance as past incarnations they've had before during a regeneration, and as such a regeneration of this nature could see the return of previous actors of the Doctor in the role of a new separate incarnation from their original ones. This foreshadowed the [[Thirteenth Doctor]]'s regeneration in {{cs|The Power of the Doctor (TV story)}} in 2022; she regenerated into an [[Fourteenth Doctor|incarnation that shared the same appearance as the Tenth Doctor]], much to the new incarnation's shock and confusion.


== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In the 21st century, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in [[1562]], a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.
The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th-anniversary special. In the 21st century, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in [[1562]], a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space, an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
A police constable walks the beat by the [[Coal Hill School]] and passes by a sign advertising "[[I.M. Foreman]], Scrap Merchant". Inside the school, [[Clara Oswald]] is giving a lesson. As her students leave, [[Tom (The Day of the Doctor)|a teacher]] runs into the classroom informing Clara that her "[[Eleventh Doctor|doctor]]" called, and left an address. She grabs her helmet and hops on her motorbike. Finally spotting [[the TARDIS]], she drives straight through its open doors, closing them with a click of the fingers. The Doctor, perusing a copy of ''[[Advanced Quantum Mechanics]]'', welcomes Clara back with a huge hug. Unexpectedly, the TARDIS takes off without starting the engines.  
A police constable walks the beat by the [[Coal Hill School]] and passes by a sign advertising "[[I.M. Foreman]], Scrap Merchant". Inside the school, [[Clara Oswald]] is giving a lesson. She ends on a quote by [[Marcus Aurelius]]: "Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."
 
The school bell rings. As her students leave, [[Tom (The Day of the Doctor)|a teacher]] runs into the classroom; he gives a confused look, wondering if she's well. Clara wonders why, to which the teacher tells her that her "[[Eleventh Doctor|doctor]]" called, and left an address. She grabs her helmet and hops on her motorbike. Exiting [[Shoreditch]], Clara drives past a clock reading 5:16 p.m. and through a freeway tunnel. She reaches an open patch of road surrounded by grassland, where a lone [[police box]] is waiting for her.
 
Finally spotting [[the TARDIS]], she rides her motorcycle straight through its open [[door]]s, closing them with a click of the fingers. The [[Eleventh Doctor]], perusing a copy of ''[[Advanced Quantum Mechanics]]'', welcomes Clara back with a huge hug. He tells her that they'll be spending a weekend in ancient [[Mesopotamia]], followed by [[Cocktail]]s on the moon. Unexpectedly, the TARDIS takes off without starting the engines. Startled, the Doctor opens the doors, finding a large claw has hooked the TARDIS; it's attached to a [[helicopter]] from [[UNIT]].


Startled, the Doctor looks out to see a [[helicopter]] carrying the TARDIS away from the field; it's [[UNIT]]. He calls their head of Scientific Research, [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]], from the phone on the TARDIS exterior.  
At the [[Tower of London]], [[Kate Stewart]] is sitting on a bench, eating and observing their [[ravens of death]], which need a change of batteries from [[Malcolm Taylor|Malcolm]]. UNIT scientist [[Petronella Osgood|Osgood]] rushes to Kate with her personal phone, stating that the ringtone was the TARDIS wheezing noise; it's the Doctor. Kate reminds Osgood to use her inhaler at the sound of her heavy panting before accepting the call. Kate tells the Doctor that they found the TARDIS in a field and are bringing it in; she inquires as to where he is. The Doctor holds the TARDIS phone up towards the helicopter, surprising and mortifying Kate. She apologises, telling the pilot to instead take the Doctor to the scene of the crime.


[[File:Osgood and Kate.jpg|thumb|left|Osgood gives Kate her phone.]]
The sudden change in course makes the Doctor fall out of the door. Clara holds onto the Doctor's legs as he dangles. The phone bops his head as Kate wonders if he has hung up. Annoyed, the Doctor yells "Next time, would it kill you to KNOCK!?" Telling Kate that he'll have to put her on hold, the Doctor pulls himself up to put away the phone, making Clara lose her grip on him. She yells his name in concern. The Doctor holds onto the bottom of the TARDIS, whooping in excitement and fear.
UNIT scientist [[Osgood (The Day of the Doctor)|Osgood]] rushes to Kate with her personal phone as she is eating and observing their [[ravens of death]], which need a change of batteries from [[Malcolm Taylor|Malcolm]]. Kate reminds Osgood to use her inhaler at the sound of her heavy panting before accepting the call.  


[[File:Airborne TARDIS.jpg|thumb|right|The TARDIS is airlifted by a [[helicopter]].]]
The helicopter arrives at the museum, where it lands slowly to let the Doctor off. Clara smiles, knowing the Doctor enjoyed the near-death experience. Kate apologises, while the Doctor tries and fails at lecturing her. Kate explains that she is operating on orders from the throne. She hands him sealed orders from [[Queen Elizabeth I]] and takes them into the [[National Gallery]] for proof of her credentials. Kate asks [[Petronella Osgood|Osgood]] what the cover story is this time. She responds that they're using [[Derren Brown]] again, saying he's been sent flowers as an apology.
The Doctor learns that he has been summoned to the [[Tower of London]]. Kate is surprised to learn that he is on-board the TARDIS, which they thought was empty and were moving for convenience. She has it and him brought directly to the "scene of the crime". Upon arrival, he is handed sealed orders from [[Queen Elizabeth I]] and taken into the [[National Gallery]] for proof of her credentials.  


As they walk, the Doctor explains his relationship with UNIT to Clara, who is sceptical of the Doctor ever having had an actual job. They stop in front of an [[Gallifrey Falls No More|impossible painting]], something that belongs "not in this time or place": an oil painting in 3-D. It depicts the fall of the Gallifreyan city of [[Arcadia]] on the last day of the [[Time War]]. Kate tells the Doctor that there is some controversy over the work's name. It is either named ''No More'' or ''Gallifrey Falls''. The painting is a slice of frozen time, a form of [[Time Lord]] art.  
As they walk, the Doctor explains his relationship with UNIT to Clara, who is sceptical of the Doctor ever having had an actual job; though not directly working with UNIT anymore, the Doctor is still on the payroll as he never resigned. They stop in front of an [[Gallifrey Falls No More|impossible painting]], something that belongs "not in this time or place": an oil painting in 3-D. It depicts the fall of the Gallifreyan city of [[Arcadia (city)|Arcadia]] on the last day of the [[Time War]]. Kate tells the Doctor that there is some controversy over the work's name. It is either named ''No More'' or ''Gallifrey Falls''. The painting is a slice of frozen time, a form of [[Time Lord]] art.


[[File:Gallifrey Falls painting.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor and Clara view a three-dimensional painting of a horrific battle on [[Gallifrey]].]]
The Doctor is visibly disturbed by the painting. Clara notices, asking what's wrong. With immense sadness filling his face, the Doctor grabs Clara's hand for comfort. He tells her that he's had many faces and lived many lives, but there is one life he has tried very hard to forget. There was a man who brought an end to the Time War, and to both the Time Lords and Daleks alike. And that man was him. This painting was on the day it happened; the final day of the Time War...
The Doctor is visibly disturbed by the painting. As his old memories awaken, he shares with Clara his darkest secret: the life he has tried to bury for years. There was a past incarnation of the Doctor that fought in the Time War, and made the ultimate decision to eliminate the [[Dalek]]s and the [[Time Lord]]s. And it was done on the very day this painting depicts...


[[File:War Doctor Declares No More.jpg|thumb|right|The [[War Doctor]] declares his intentions to end the Time War by force.]]
Flashback to the Last Day of the Last Great Time War...
As the Daleks ravage Arcadia, the Gallifreyans are running in fear. There is little hope of survival. As children cry and the people scream, a soldier messages the [[High Council of Time Lords]]: Arcadia has fallen. He looks around and sees the Doctor's TARDIS. Then the elderly voice of the "[[War Doctor]]" asks him for his gun. He carves a message for both warring civilisations to see into a nearby wall: NO MORE. As Daleks attempt to exterminate innocent Gallifreyan refugees, the Doctor's presence draws their attention away from the innocent people and leads them to the wall with the message. He launches his TARDIS through the wall, demolishing several Daleks. The Doctor's escape from Arcadia is witnessed by one surviving Dalek of the attack, though it is bisected. It questions the meaning of "NO MORE", bellowing "Explain! Explain!" The nearby Gallifreyan soldier shoots the Dalek with his gun, and the slain Dalek erupts in flames.


The High Commanders gather in the [[War Room]], planning their next moves, with [[the General]] dismissing the [[High Council]]'s upcoming plans as "they have already failed". They receive the Doctor's message, and the General is not pleased to learn of his presence, calling him a madman. A Time Lady rushes in to inform the War Council that there has been a breach in the [[Omega Arsenal]] in the [[Time Vaults]]. The most feared and forbidden weapon in the universe is missing: [[The Moment]]. The Doctor has stolen it, and intends to use it to end the Time War once and for all. The Time Lords have already used all of the previously forbidden weapons, but dared not unleash ''this'' weapon in particular. It was said that the Moment was so advanced as to have developed a conscience, and could stand in judgement of the user. The General muses that only the Doctor would be mad enough to use such a weapon.
As the Daleks ravage Arcadia, a family of Time Lords run in fear. There is little hope of survival. As children cry and the people scream, a soldier messages the [[High Council of Time Lords]]: Arcadia has fallen. He looks around and sees the Doctor's TARDIS. Then the elderly voice of the "[[War Doctor]]", the warrior incarnation of the Doctor, asks the soldier for his gun. The Doctor carves a message for both warring civilisations to see into a nearby wall: NO MORE. As Daleks prepare to exterminate a family of Time Lords, the Doctor's presence draws their attention away from the innocent people and leads them to the wall with the message. Suddenly, the Doctor's TARDIS crashes through the wall, demolishing several Daleks. The Doctor's escape from Arcadia is witnessed by one surviving Dalek of the attack, though it is bisected. It questions the meaning of "NO MORE", bellowing "Explain! Explain!" The nearby Time Lord soldier shoots the Dalek with his gun, and the slain Dalek erupts in flames.


[[File:War Doctor trekking through Gallifreyan wilderness.jpg|thumb|left|The elderly War Doctor wearily marches across a Gallifreyan wilderness.]]
The High Commanders gather in the [[War Room]], planning their next moves, with the [[Eleventh General]] dismissing the [[High Council]]'s [[Ultimate Sanction|upcoming plans]] as "[[The End of Time (TV story)|they have already failed]]". They receive the Doctor's message, and the General is not pleased to learn of his presence, calling him a madman. A Time Lady rushes in to inform the War Council that there has been a breach in the [[Omega Arsenal]] in the [[Time Vaults]].
Footsteps can be seen leading away from the battle-scuffed frame of the TARDIS, which has been uncharacteristically abandoned by the Doctor. The sound of his voice issuing an ominous final warning is heard: "''Time Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long I have stayed my hand. No more. Today you leave me no choice. Today, this war will end. No more. No more...''" The Doctor's tired face comes into view as he strides across a desolate desert, a burlap sack over his shoulder.  


[[File:TheMomentBox.jpg|thumb|right|[[The Moment]] is revealed.]]
The most feared and forbidden weapon in the universe is missing: [[The Moment]]. The Doctor has stolen it and intends to use it to end the Time War once and for all. The Time Lords have already used all of the previously forbidden weapons but dared not unleash this weapon in particular. It was said that the Moment was so advanced as to have developed a conscience, and could stand in judgement of the user. The General muses that only the Doctor would be mad enough to use such a weapon.
He eventually enters a barn-like dwelling, where he uncovers a complicated mechanical box, covered in gears. The device ticks loudly as its clockwork-like parts rattle and clank, but as the Doctor studies it, he cannot find a discernible trigger mechanism. While he puzzles over how to activate it — grumbling "Why is there never a big red button?" — he hears a rustling sound. He opens the door and calls out. A girl's voice behind him reassures him that it’s "just a Wolf".  


[[File:The Moment Is coming.jpg|thumb|left|The Moment takes the form of the [[Bad Wolf (entity)|Bad Wolf]].]]
Footsteps can be seen leading away from the battle-scuffed frame of the TARDIS, which has been uncharacteristically abandoned by the Doctor. The sound of his voice issuing an ominous final warning is heard; "Time Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long I have stayed my hand. No more. Today you leave me no choice. Today, this war will end. No more. No more..." The Doctor's tired face comes into view as he strides across a desolate desert, a burlap sack over his shoulder.
Startled, he turns around to see what appears to be [[Rose Tyler]]. He doesn't recognise her, as this point in his timeline predates his first meeting with Rose. He grabs her arm and throws her out the door, only for her to appear inside the barn again, sitting on the Moment. She begins questioning the Doctor as to his motives and rationalisations (though it looks like she is making fun of him). The Moment also asks if the Doctor parked his TARDIS far away from the dwelling so that it would not witness what he was about to do. Not realising what she is, he orders her out, and then burns his hand on the box. Impishly, she guides the Doctor to realise that ''she'' is the interface of the Moment. She can hear the Doctor's thoughts, and has attempted to assume the form of a familiar figure from his past; however, the Moment has a history of confusing the past with the future, and so has chosen the form of Rose Tyler as [[Bad Wolf (entity)|the Bad Wolf]] to be its manifestation.  


War-weary and bitter, the elderly Time Lord tells her to stop calling him "the Doctor", claiming he has lost the right to bear the title. She replies that he will be the one to save the universe. He explains that the suffering of the universe is too great, and he must end it. He also intends to meet his death after using the Moment, not wishing to live through the bloodshed, but she decides that his fate and punishment will be to survive the activation and face the consequences. Like a conscience, she challenges his words and actions, guiding him towards his future. He ''will'' destroy the Daleks, but he will also murder his own people, asking him how many children on Gallifrey will die, but he has no idea. After suggesting that one day, he will find a way to count them, the Moment opens a window in time, to show him the man he will become. A time fissure opens - and a [[fez]] falls out, much to the mutual confusion of the Doctor and the Moment...
He eventually enters a [[Barn (The Day of the Doctor)|barn-like dwelling]], where he uncovers a complicated mechanical box, covered in gears. The device ticks loudly as its clockwork-like parts rattle and clank. As the Doctor studies it, he cannot find a discernible trigger mechanism. While he puzzles over how to activate it — grumbling "Why is there never a big red button?" — he hears a rustling sound. He opens the door and calls out. A girl's voice behind him reassures him that it's "just a Wolf".


Back in the 21st century, Kate explains that Queen Elizabeth left the painting to prove that the orders do come from her. The Doctor breaks the seal and reads her words: "''My dearest love: I hope the painting known as'' Gallifrey Falls ''will serve as proof that it is your Elizabeth that writes to you now. You will recall that you pledged yourself to the safety of my kingdom. In that capacity, I have appointed you Curator of the [[Under-Gallery]], where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you should be summoned. Godspeed, gentle husband.''"
Startled, he turns around to see what appears to be [[Rose Tyler]]. He doesn't recognise her, as he doesn't meet her until his [[Ninth Doctor|next incarnation]]. He grabs her arm and shoves her out the door, only for her to appear inside the barn again, sitting on the Moment. He tells her not to sit on it as it's not a chair, but the most dangerous weapon in the universe. She asks if the Doctor parked his TARDIS far away from the dwelling so that it would not witness what he was about to do. Not realising what she is, he orders her out and then burns his hand on the box. Impishly, she guides the Doctor to realise that she is the Moment's interface. She can hear the Doctor's thoughts, and has attempted to assume the form of a familiar figure from his past; however, the Moment gets the past and future mixed up, and so has chosen the form of [[Bad Wolf (entity)|the Bad Wolf]] to speak to him.
 
She laughs that the story of the Doctor's life is being between a girl and a box, referencing to his companions and the TARDIS. War-weary and bitter, the elderly Time Lord tells her to stop calling him "the Doctor". She states it's the name in his head. The Doctor tells her it shouldn't exist in his head anymore, as he's no longer worthy of the name. She replies that he will be the one to save the universe. He explains that the suffering of the universe is too great, and he must end it. He also intends to meet his death after using the Moment, not wishing to live through the bloodshed, but she decides that his fate and punishment will be to survive the activation and face the consequences.
 
Like a conscience, she challenges his words and actions, guiding him towards his future. He will destroy the Daleks, but he will also murder his own people, asking him how many children on Gallifrey will die, but he has no idea. After the Moment suggests that one day he will find a way to count them, the Doctor sits in contemplation. The Moment tells him that she's going to open a window in time to show him the man he will become. A [[time fissure]] opens - and a [[fez]] falls out, much to the mutual confusion of the Doctor and the Moment...
 
Back in the 21st century, Kate explains that Queen Elizabeth left the painting to prove that the orders do come from her. The Doctor breaks the seal and reads her words: "My dearest love: I hope the painting known as ''Gallifrey Falls'' will serve as proof that it is your Elizabeth that writes to you now. You will recall that you pledged yourself to the safety of my kingdom. In that capacity, I have appointed you Curator of the [[Under Gallery]], where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you should be summoned. Godspeed, gentle husband."


As Kate leads the Doctor and Clara away, a nearby UNIT scientist named [[McGillop]] receives a mysterious phone call. Befuddled, he stares at the painting, wondering why he should move it.
As Kate leads the Doctor and Clara away, a nearby UNIT scientist named [[McGillop]] receives a mysterious phone call. Befuddled, he stares at the painting, wondering why he should move it.


[[File:DNA_detector_The_Day_of_the_Doctor.jpg|thumb|Ding!]]In England in [[1562]], the [[Tenth Doctor]] and Queen Elizabeth I ride out of the TARDIS on horseback, the Doctor having proven that it really ''is'' bigger on the inside. They share a picnic on a hill, after which he proposes marriage. When she joyfully accepts, the Doctor accuses her of being a [[Zygon]] shapeshifter that has replaced the real Elizabeth. He whips out a "device that goes ding" to prove that she is a shapeshifter, before realising that it was the horse they were riding. They run for their lives, the Doctor now an engaged man. They split up in the woods, but Elizabeth is accosted by the Zygon. The Doctor runs through the woods, even threatening a rabbit before he is reunited with Elizabeth. However, a doppelganger of her appears, and he is unable to tell who is who. Suddenly another time fissure appears, and a fez falls through, shocking the Doctor and company.
The Doctor and Clara approach another painting, which shows the figure of Queen Elizabeth I, and the [[Tenth Doctor]]. Clara sees this is proof the Doctor once knew her, having seen all his past lives in his time-stream. The Doctor states he knew Elizabeth I a long time ago, practically being a different man back then...


Back in the National Gallery, Kate welcomes the Eleventh Doctor and Clara to the Under-Gallery, established by Elizabeth I to house dangerous art. The Doctor notices that the floor is covered in stone dust, and asks a scientist named [[Osgood (The Day of the Doctor)|Osgood]] to analyse it (with a triplicate report and lots of graphs). As they walk through the gallery, the Doctor spots a fez in a glass case and immediately dons it, much to the bemusement of Clara, who wonders if he can ever go past one without putting it on (answer: no).  
In England in [[1562]], the Tenth Doctor and Elizabeth I ride out of the TARDIS on horseback, the Doctor having proven that it really is bigger on the inside. She responds "the door isn't" bigger; it nearly took her head off. They share a picnic on a hill, where Elizabeth expresses concern that he has seen war. The Doctor confirms that it wasn't this face but he has indeed fought in battle. He then proposes marriage. When she joyfully accepts, the Doctor accuses her of being a [[Zygon]] shapeshifter that has replaced the real Elizabeth, as the real queen wouldn't accept marriage from a handsome stranger or be so nonchalant about the Doctor having a different face. He whips out a [[Machine That Goes "Ding"|"device that goes ding"]] to prove that she is a shapeshifter, before realising that it was the horse they were riding.


Kate shows them more 3-D paintings, all landscapes, with the broken glass from their shattered frames covering the floor. The Doctor notes that the glass has been shattered from the ''inside'', and Kate says that they all contained figures which are now missing. Suddenly, another time fissure opens. Annoyed, the Doctor faintly recalls seeing the fissure before, before realising that the fez that had fallen through in 1562 was the fez he was now wearing. Delighted, he throws the fez into the fissure and follows it. Clara tries to follow, but Kate restrains her.
They run for their lives, the Doctor dreads being an engaged man; "Oh, good work, Doctor. Nice one. The Virgin Queen? So much for history." They split up in the woods, but Elizabeth is accosted by the Zygon. The Doctor runs through the woods, even threatening a rabbit he mistakes for a Zygon before he is reunited with Elizabeth. However, a doppelganger of her appears, and he is unable to tell who is who as both speak as Elizabeth would. Suddenly another time fissure appears, with the Doctor noting anything can happen. A fez falls through, confusing the Doctor.


The Eleventh Doctor falls through the fissure and lands in front of the Tenth in the sixteenth century. Stunned, the Tenth Doctor dons the fez himself. The Eleventh pops up and gabbles excitedly about how skinny his predecessor is, which makes the Tenth realise who he is. They incredulously pull out their [[sonic screwdriver]]s and compare them. As they begin bickering, the time fissure increases in intensity. The Doctor orders the two Queens to run away; both kiss the Tenth Doctor and flee. After pointing out that one of the women his counterpart just kissed was definitely a Zygon, the Eleventh shouts through the funnel to Clara. Hypothesising that the fissure can go both ways, he tosses his fez in, but it fails to appear in Clara's time. Kate then leaves, to call one of the UNIT members to bring her the [[The Three Doctors (TV story)|Cromer file]] - not noticing a dark shadow behind her...
Back in the National Gallery, Kate welcomes the Eleventh Doctor and Clara to the Under Gallery, established by Elizabeth I to house dangerous art or things that could not be understood. The Doctor notices that the floor is covered in stone dust, and asks Osgood to analyse it with a triplicate report and lots of graphs. As they walk through the gallery, the Doctor spots a fez in a glass case and immediately dons it, much to the bemusement of Clara, who wonders if he can ever go past one without putting it on. The Doctor tells her that that's never going to happen.


At the end of the Time War, the War Doctor picks up the fez and steps into the fissure. Back in 1562, the two Doctors try to reverse the polarity, but the use of two sonic screwdrivers at once confuses the polarity, resulting in the War Doctor falling through, landing in front of his future selves. He jovially greets them, asking after the Doctor and mistaking them for companions-to-be. The two older Doctors — both horrified to see him — simply pull out their sonic screwdrivers, affirming their identity to their younger self. Completely unimpressed by his future incarnations, the War Doctor asks if he is going through a mid-life crisis.  
Kate shows them more 3-D paintings, all landscapes, with the broken glass from their shattered frames covering the floor. The Doctor notes that the glass has been shattered from the inside, and Kate says that they all contained figures which are now missing. As they leave to investigate, another time fissure opens. Annoyed, the Doctor faintly recalls seeing the fissure before, before realising that the fez that had fallen through in 1562 was the fez he was now wearing. Delighted, he throws the fez into the fissure and follows it with a loud ''"[[Geronimo]]."'' Clara tries to follow, but Kate restrains her; UNIT doesn't need the only other person with access to the TARDIS's technology getting lost.


Suddenly, they are surrounded by the Queen's soldiers. They are threatened by them, but Clara's voice sounds from the fissure, allowing the Doctors to convince them that she is "The Wicked Witch of the Well". Kate has, at that point, returned to Clara. The Queen returns to the group, implying that her human counterpart is dead. She has the trio of Doctors arrested and taken to the Tower of London (with the Eleventh loudly hinting for her to take them there). The hint is picked up on by Kate, who takes Clara to the [[Black Archive]] to retrieve [[Jack Harkness]]' [[vortex manipulator]].  
The Eleventh Doctor falls through the fissure and lands in front of the Tenth in the sixteenth century. Stunned, the Tenth Doctor dons the fez himself. The Eleventh pops up and gabbles excitedly about how skinny his predecessor is, which makes the Tenth realise who he is. They incredulously pull out their [[The Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdrivers]] and compare them, with the Tenth jokingly suggesting the Eleventh is compensating for something because of regeneration being a lottery. As they begin bickering, the time fissure increases in intensity. The Tenth Doctor orders the two Elizabeths to run away in opposite directions; both [[kiss]] him and flee. The Eleventh Doctor points out that his earlier self just kissed a Zygon, which has venom sacks in the tongue. The Tenth Doctor, rather annoyed, says he doesn't need the reminder.


The Doctors are thrown in a cell with a wooden door. The War Doctor tries to sonic the door, but it fails. The Tenth asks why these three Doctors have been brought together.
Clara calls out from the fissure to the Eleventh Doctor, asking where he is. The Eleventh Doctor asks the Tenth when they are, and repeats it. Clara asks who the Doctor is speaking to, prompting both to say "myself" at the same time; both are amused that they spoke together. Clara asks if the Doctor can come back. Hypothesising that the fissure can go both ways, the Doctor tosses his fez in, but it fails to appear in Clara's time. At the end of the Time War, the War Doctor picks up the fez; he hears Kate explaining to Clara that the Doctor has met an earlier version of himself. Kate leaves, calling the office to bring her the Cromier file. As she exits the hall, a mysterious shadow looms...


In the present, Osgood and McGilop are reading the results of the analysis of the stone dust. The dust is from materials not found in the structure of the building, but common in statues. Osgood realises that the statues must have been smashed, and suddenly understands why: the inhabitants of the paintings needed a hiding place. The Zygons reveal themselves from underneath the dust cloths covering what the humans had believed were statues. The aliens accost McGilop, and corner Osgood. Osgood prays for the Doctor to save her, but instead of being killed, she is faced with her duplicate. The Zygon taunts Osgood, but she gains the upper hand by tripping the alien with her scarf, and runs.
Back in 1562, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are staring at the fissure. The Tenth states that since the Eleventh used to be him, he should remember what happened next; unfortunately the Eleventh has no idea. Shocked his successor can't remember this event, the Tenth Doctor asks why. The Eleventh counters its because the Tenth isn't paying attention well enough; he tells him to reverse the polarity of the fissure. Both aim their sonic screwdrivers at the fissure, but are getting no result. The Tenth Doctor tells the confused Eleventh that he's reversing the polarity, while the Eleventh is reversing it back; they're actually confusing the polarity. Suddenly, their tampering with the fissure results in something falling through.


Kate and Clara enter the Black Archive, housing the most dangerous alien tech recovered by UNIT. Its contents are so top secret that its staff has their memories modified every day. Apparently, this has happened to Clara at least once, as she has already obtained the necessary clearance to enter the archive. They view the Vortex Manipulator, by trying to find the activation code. The Doctor has the code, but he hasn't informed UNIT of it. A scientist phones Kate, and she orders him to send a picture of some numerals (the activation code) that the Eleventh Doctor carved into the wall of the cell in 1562 for them to find centuries later. Osgood and McGilop enter the Archive, to Clara's surprise. They and Kate reveal themselves as Zygons. As they prepare to replace Clara, she sees the picture of the numerals on the phone. Taking a desperate gamble, she enters the code into the Vortex Manipulator and travels to the past.
Much to their shock, it's the War Doctor, who asks if they lost a fez. Both are horrified to see him. The War Doctor greets them and states that he's looking for his future self, prompting the Tenth Doctor to state that he's come to the right place. The War Doctor wonders who the two of them are, wondering if they are his future companions. Both the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors are shocked and insulted by the question; the War Doctor laughs that his companions keep getting younger. When the War Doctor asks to be pointed in the general direction of his future self, both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors pull out their sonic screwdrivers and turn them on. The War Doctor is stunned, asking several times if they are his future selves. Seeing that he's found two of his future selves at once, the War Doctor wonders if he's going through a midlife crisis. As he walks towards them, his future selves brandish their screwdrivers threateningly. Scoffing, the War Doctor asks why they're pointing scientific instruments at him.


In the 1562 Tower of London, the Eleventh Doctor scratches the activation code onto a wall in their cell, while the other two Doctors puzzle out how to escape. The War Doctor proposes an isolated sonic shift in the door molecules in order to disintegrate the door, but the Tenth Doctor rejects the idea, saying it would take centuries to calculate the necessary formula. The War Doctor starts bickering with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, chastising them for their shame of being "grown-up". Subdued, they look at him darkly, reminding him of the day he ended the Time War (unaware that this Doctor is actively in the process of making that choice).  
Suddenly, they are surrounded by the Queen's soldiers; who believe the Queen to have been bewitched by the Doctor, asking which of the trio is the man they seek. The War Doctor quips that today is their lucky day. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors point their sonic screwdrivers in defence again, prompting the War Doctor to dryly joke if they're going to assemble a cabinet at them. Clara's voice sounds from the fissure, allowing the Doctors to convince the soldiers that she is "The Wicked Witch of the Well". Kate has, at that point, returned to Clara. The Queen returns to the group, implying that her human counterpart is dead. She has the trio of Doctors arrested and taken to the Tower of London with the Eleventh loudly hinting for her to take them there. The hint is picked up on by Kate, who takes Clara to the [[Black Archive]] to retrieve [[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator]].


The Moment reappears, unseen and unheard by the other Doctors, and urges the War Doctor to ask his future selves the question that he needs to know: How many children died on Gallifrey that day. The Eleventh Doctor says, "I've absolutely no idea." The Tenth Doctor suddenly gives him a look of piercing outrage and disgust, because the same thing his future self is ignoring is a significant reminder of his personal duty to be a hero instead of a warrior so innocent people no longer have to die. However, the Eleventh Doctor has already taken that route and suffered great personal losses for trying to play hero. Somewhere along the line, he quit being heroic and the simple act of forgetfulness turned into a defence mechanism so the abundance of his regrets cannot torment him anymore.
The Doctors are thrown in a cell with a wooden door; the sonic is useless as it doesn't work on wood. The Tenth Doctor begins musing how a [[temporal paradox]] will start kicking up with three of them in the same room for a long time. The Eleventh works with a nail on the pillar in the room, stating it's their way out. Ignoring him, the Tenth Doctor asks why these three Doctors have been brought together; he and the Eleventh were surprised, but the War Doctor came to find them. The big question is why. The War Doctor sees the Moment, which gestures to keep quiet about it.


[[File:No you really wouldn't.jpg|thumb|left|The Eleventh Doctor aggressively rebukes his past self's concerns regarding [[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|where he's going to end up.]]]]
In the present, Osgood and McGillop are reading the results of the analysis of the stone dust. The dust is from materials not found in the structure of the building, but common in statues. Osgood realises that the statues must have been smashed, and suddenly understands why: the inhabitants of the paintings needed a hiding place. The Zygons reveal themselves from underneath the dust cloths covering what the humans had believed were statues. The aliens accost McGillop and corner Osgood. Osgood prays for the Doctor to save her, but instead of being killed, she is faced with her duplicate. The copy Osgood asks for her inhaler, annoyed she has had to copy a human with a defect. Having seen into Osgood's head, the Zygon says she wishes she copied her sister instead; Osgood thinks her sister is better than her. Osgood outsmarts the Zygon, noticing that it's standing on her scarf; she pulls it out from under the Zygon, knocking it over and allowing the real Osgood to flee.
After the Eleventh Doctor claims he doesn't know how many children died, he says he's forgotten the events of that day; he's so old that he's not even sure of his ''age'' anymore, so old that he can't remember if he's lying about his age. However, the Tenth Doctor angrily asks how the Eleventh could ever forget something as important as this particular number, and bitterly states that there were 2.47 billion children on the planet that day. Disturbed by his successor's impassive nature, he asks him, "For once, I would like to know where I'm going." Vexed by this remark, the Eleventh Doctor coldly replies, "No, you really wouldn't!" The Tenth Doctor looks back at him, eyes wide with fear. The Moment explains to the War Doctor that the Tenth Doctor has become "the man who regrets" and the Eleventh "the man who forgets". ''They'' are the future of the Doctor.


[[File:War Discovers Screwdriver Solution.jpg|thumb|The War Doctor discovers a time-managing solution to unlock the cell door.]]
Kate and Clara enter the Black Archive, housing the most dangerous alien tech recovered by UNIT. Its contents are so top secret that its staff have their memories modified every day; the guard has been there ten years, but always thinks it's his first day. Apparently, this has happened to Clara once, as she has already obtained the necessary clearance to enter the archive. They view the vortex manipulator, which was bequeathed to UNIT after one of Jack's many deaths. The Doctor has the code to fully reactivate it (not just the teleporter), but keeps it secret.
The Moment reminds the War Doctor that his sonic screwdriver, at the most basic level, is the exact same device as the ones used by his counterparts: "Same software — different case". He realises that if he scans the door and implants the calculations as a permanent subroutine in the screwdriver, it will take hundreds of years to work out the formula necessary to disintegrate the door, meaning that the Eleventh Doctor's screwdriver, being essentially the same as the ones before it, has the completed calculation ready to go. They exuberantly congratulate themselves on their cleverness before Clara pushes open the door — which has been unlocked the entire time. Clara chastises the three Doctors for being so obtuse, and the Queen comes in, telling them that she left the door unlocked as a test. She takes them down to the Zygons' lair to show them their plan.  


Osgood walks in the halls of the Under-Gallery, before discovering the real Kate trapped in a Zygon nest. She frees her, but Kate bemoans the fact that the Zygons now have control of the Black Archive.  
Kate adds that they keep the manipulator a secret from their allies. When Clara asks why, Kate indirectly references ''[[Back to the Future]]'' as an example. A scientist phones Kate, and she orders him to send a picture of some numerals, the activation code that the Eleventh Doctor carved into the wall of the cell in 1562 for them to find centuries later. [[Zygon Osgood|Osgood]] and [[Zygon McGillop|McGillop]] enter the Archive, to Clara's surprise. Kate says they're here because they disposed of the UNIT personnel, taking her true Zygon form. The Zygon tells its allies to replace Clara as well; however, Clara dons the manipulator and types in the code from Kate's phone; with a smirk, Clara vanishes.


The Doctors and Clara follow the Queen to the lair, whereupon they discover that the Zygon homeworld was destroyed in the early days of the Time War, and so they have decided to take Earth as their new home. However, the sixteenth century version of Earth is too primitive to be comfortable to the invading shapeshfiters, so they intend to invade the cushier future in order to establish their new homeworld. They therefore have translated themselves into stasis cubes, which are the Time Lords' three-dimensional paintings. The Tenth Doctor berates the Zygon commander for doing a lousy job of replicating the real Queen Elizabeth, but she reveals (to his mortification) that she ''is'' the real Elizabeth: She slew her twin in the forest and took her place as Zygon commander. She calls on the Doctor to save England, but first whisks him away to be married (with his past and future selves as reluctant witnesses, and an enthusiastic Clara throwing confetti).
In the Tower of London in 1562, the Eleventh Doctor scratches the activation code onto a wall in their cell, while the other two Doctors puzzle out how to escape. The War Doctor proposes an isolated sonic shift in the door molecules in order to disintegrate the door, but the Tenth Doctor rejects the idea, saying it would take centuries to calculate the necessary formula. The War Doctor starts bickering with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, chastising them for their shame of being "grown-up" by speaking like children. Subdued, they look at him darkly, reminding him of the day he ended the Time War. The War Doctor notices the feeling of dread and prejudice on their faces when they look at him.


[[File:TenGetsMarriedDOTD.jpg|thumb|left|The Tenth Doctor weds Elizabeth.]]
The Moment reappears, unseen and unheard by the other Doctors, and urges the War Doctor to ask his future selves the question that he needs to know: How many children died on Gallifrey that day. The Eleventh Doctor says, "I've absolutely no idea.", he says he's forgotten the events of that day. He then adds that he's so old that he can't even remember his proper age anymore; however, he guesses he's 1200 years old, putting the Time War 400 years in the past for him.
The three Doctors and Clara return to the Tenth's TARDIS (with the other two insulting the current desktop theme). The presence of three different Doctors causes the TARDIS to short a bit, showing the interior of the War Doctor's TARDIS, then finally the most current TARDIS desktop (which also receives an insult). They set off for the Black Archive.


Kate, Osgood, and McGillop confront their doppelgangers in the Black Archive. Kate threatens to detonate a nuclear warhead beneath the Tower, destroying all of London in order to protect the planet from the Zygons, and voice-activates it, blocking her Zygon duplicate's attempts to stop the countdown with her identical voice pattern. The Eleventh Doctor's voice crackles on via the [[Space-time telegraph|space-time telegraph]] he had once given to [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|her father]], begging Kate not to detonate but she cuts him off. He tries to land, but the [[Tower of London]] had been made TARDIS-proof to prevent his interference. However, the War Doctor figures out a way to get in - the stasis cubes. The Doctor calls McGillop in the past, and instructs him to bring the "''No More''"/"''Gallifrey Falls''" painting to the Black Archive...  
However, the Tenth Doctor angrily asks how the Eleventh could ever forget something as important as this particular number, and bitterly states that there were 2.47 billion children on the planet that day. The War Doctor exclaims in shock that he did count. Disturbed and furious by his successor's impassive nature, he asks him, "For once, I would like to know where I'm going." Vexed by this remark, the Eleventh Doctor coldly replies, "No, you really wouldn't!" The Tenth Doctor looks back at him, eyes wide with fear. The Moment explains to the War Doctor that the Tenth Doctor has become "the man who regrets" and the Eleventh "the man who forgets". They are the future of the Doctor, when he ends the Time War.


[[File:The Doctors Repel a Dalek.jpg|thumb|right|The Doctors force back an attacking Dalek.]]
The Moment reminds the War Doctor that his sonic screwdriver, at the most basic level, is exactly the same device as the ones used by his counterparts: "Same software — different case". He realises that if he scans the door and implants the calculations as a permanent subroutine in the screwdriver, it will take hundreds of years to work out the formula necessary to disintegrate the door. The Tenth Doctor checks his sonic screwdriver, finding the calculation still going. The Eleventh checks his, finding the calculation has been completed.
The two Kates fight over the detonation, both needing to agree in order to stop the detonation. The real Osgood begs the Doctor to save them again, as the Doctors and Clara force their way out of the painting, having frozen themselves in it earlier. The Doctors now face the Fall of Arcadia in real time as it unfolds, and are immediately met with an attacking Dalek, which they repel with their sonic screwdrivers. It crashes through the glass of the painting and the Doctors emerge. Clara soon follows.


The three Doctors hand the Kates an ultimatum when they refuse to disarm the Archive's nuclear option: They trigger the memory modifiers to confuse everybody as to whether they are Human or Zygon. Then, if they stop the detonation and create a peace treaty (which is sure to be incredibly fair, as the negotiators can't remember which side they're on), they will have their memories restored. Utterly confused over their identities, the two Kates stop the detonation in the nick of time and begin to negotiate the treaty.
They exuberantly congratulate themselves on their cleverness before Clara pushes open the door — which has been unlocked the entire time. Clara asks her Doctor if they are all him. The Eleventh Doctor reminds Clara of the time she went into his timeline, to which she barely remembers. She compliments the Tenth Doctor's suit; he thanks her. She then asks why neither of them tried to just open the door; one thing the Doctor retains in all his incarnations is his inability to do simple things. The Queen comes in, telling them that she left the door unlocked as a test; also revealing Clara fell into her trap. She takes them down to the Zygons' lair to show them their plan.


As they hash it out, Clara speaks to the War Doctor. She has somehow figured out that he hasn't used the Moment yet, explaining that "her" Doctor always talked about the day he wiped out the Time Lords. She says that he would do anything to take it back, but the War Doctor remains convinced that his actions will save billions of lives in the future. Across the room, the War Doctor sees the form of the Bad Wolf once more. The Moment has come. He tells the interface he's ready, and Clara turns to find who he's talking to; when she turns back, he's vanished.  
Osgood walks the halls of the Under Gallery, before discovering the real Kate trapped in a Zygon nest. Kate's body template is being used to refresh the image of her Zygon doppelganger. Osgood frees her, but Kate bemoans the fact that the Zygons now have control of the Black Archive. It means that they've just lost control of the planet to hostile aliens.


[[File:Doctors nearly use Moment.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctors are stopped from using the Moment.]]
The Doctors and Clara follow the Queen to the lair, whereupon they discover that the Zygon homeworld was destroyed in the early days of the Time War, and so they have decided to take Earth as their new home. However, sixteenth century Earth is too primitive to be comfortable to the invading shapeshifters, so they intend to invade the more advanced future in order to establish their new homeworld. They, therefore, have translated themselves into the paintings using [[stasis cube]]s, which are the Time Lords' three-dimensional paintings. The Eleventh and Tenth Doctors explain to Clara that it works similar to [[cup-a-soup]].
Returned to the barn on Gallifrey, the War Doctor stands in front of the Moment, which has simplified its interface by his request — the trigger mechanism is now a big red button for him to push. The interface questions him once more, trying to convince him of his goodness. He still doesn't believe he is worthy of the name "Doctor", losing all hope for himself and his people. The interface reminds him of his hope as his future selves step out of their TARDISes. They join him at the Moment, finally forgiving him, and themselves, for his actions, ready to support the man who ''was'' the Doctor more than anybody else. The three of them prepare to push the button together, but Clara tearfully objects. She knew that "the Doctor" had activated the Moment and destroyed his homeworld, but she had never imagined the Eleventh Doctor, ''her'' Doctor, with his hand on the button.


The reality of the Time War projects around them: children crying, innocents suffering. The Doctor could not find another way to end it all, but Clara believes in a different solution. She reminds the Time Lord of who he is: the Warrior, the Hero, and the Doctor. They've had plenty of warriors, and what he will do is a heroic act unto itself. What the universe needs now is a Doctor who lives up to the name he chose for himself: never cruel or cowardly, never giving up, never giving in. A new day dawns on Gallifrey: a day of hope.
The Tenth Doctor berates the Zygon commander for doing a lousy job of replicating the real Queen Elizabeth, but she reveals (to his mortification) that she is the real Elizabeth. Having had numerous attempts on her life already, Elizabeth carries a hidden blade on her, which she used to slay her twin in the forest and take her place as Zygon commander. The Zygons thought humans would be too weak to do so, hence why Elizabeth had the advantage of surprise. Elizabeth calls on the Tenth Doctor to save England but first whisks him away to be married with his past and future selves as reluctant witnesses, and an enthusiastic Clara throwing confetti. The War Doctor wonders if there's a lot of kissing in the future, to which the Eleventh states "It does start to happen, yeah.." in a defeated tone. The Tenth Doctor tells Elizabeth that he will be back, but ultimately abandoned his marriage.


At that, a brilliant new idea descends on the room; the Eleventh Doctor says that he's had a long time to think about it — he's changed his mind! The intent of the Moment worked: the War Doctor saw the future he needed to see. Picking up on his future self's idea without explanation, the War Doctor exclaims that he could just kiss "Bad Wolf girl" right now, which catches the Tenth's attention, only for him to be distracted from it as he realises what his counterparts were getting at and agrees that it's a wonderful idea. They have changed their minds about using the Moment, and the Eleventh Doctor disarms the device with his sonic screwdriver. Instead, they intend to freeze Gallifrey in a moment in time, slipped away in a pocket universe, the way the Zygons froze themselves into Time Lord art. When Gallifrey vanishes, the sphere of Dalek ships surrounding the planet and firing constantly will be exterminated in their own crossfire, and the universe will believe that the two races destroyed each other.  
The Tenth Doctor heads back to his TARDIS, prepping for take off as the other two Doctors and Clara head inside. The War Doctor notes that the Tenth really let the control room go. The Eleventh Doctor recalls it as his "grunge phase", making the Tenth think he insulted the TARDIS and he begins soothing it. Suddenly, a flash of light changes the control room, turning it into the War Doctor's control room. Because of the presence of three incarnations of the Doctor, the control room is trying to compensate for the different time zones. Both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors are delighted to see the [[roundel]]s, which they haven't seen in a while; however, neither of them knows what they actually are. The Eleventh Doctor stabilises the desktop, picking his current version; the Tenth Doctor criticises. Clara tells them that the Zygons have gotten into the Black Archive, prompting dark stares from them. "Okay. You've heard of it" Clara nervously says.


[[File:Three Doctors Gallifrey Stands.jpg|thumb|right|The three Doctors announce their ultimate plan to the General.]]
In the Black Archive, the Zygons note that the humans don't know what half the stuff there does, but they do; they can conquer the Earth in less than a day with what's stored there. Kate, Osgood and McGillop arrive, saying that they are not armed and thus not a threat. Kate tells her Zygon double that in the event that the Black Archive falls into the wrongs hands, a fail-safe was created. She voice activates a countdown to detonate a nuclear warhead beneath the Tower, which will destroy all of London in order to protect the planet from the Zygons; her double tries countermanding the order several times. The Kate Zygon fearful states that they just have to agree to live, implying she wishes to make a compromise. However, Kate refuses to negotiate, planning to destroy all of London just to be safe.
On the last day of the Time War, another message from the Doctor appears before the High Command: GALLIFREY STANDS. The three Doctors race in their TARDISes towards Gallifrey, and transmit to the War Room. Three transmissions, each showing a different Doctor (much to the General's dismay), appear. They explain their mad plan to save Gallifrey. They will position themselves around the planet equidistantly, and freeze it through the stasis cubes. The General objects, claiming that the calculations would take centuries, but the Eleventh Doctor is well prepared for the task. After all, he's had centuries to think about it.  


[[File:8_and_7_Time_War.jpg|thumb|left|All of the Doctors protect Gallifrey.]]
The Eleventh Doctor's voice crackles on via the [[space-time telegraph]] he had once given to [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|her father]], begging Kate not to detonate; Kate shuts off the device, not wishing to let the Doctor influence her. He tries to land, but the Tower of London had been made TARDIS-proof to prevent his interference; as he tells a confused Clara; "human stupidity plus alien technology. Trust me, it's an unbeatable combo." However, the War Doctor figures out a way to get in - the stasis cubes; they can just copy the Zygons and wait out in a painting until the time is right. The Eleventh Doctor calls McGillop in the past, and instructs him to bring the ''Gallifrey Falls'' painting to the Black Archive...
At that, the voice of the [[First Doctor]] is heard contacting the War Council. Ten more phone boxes fly around the planet, and ''all'' the past incarnations of the Doctor come together to save Gallifrey. His [[Second Doctor|second]] through [[Eighth Doctor|eighth]] incarnations check in with High Command, while the post-war [[Ninth Doctor]] delights in the act of redemption he always wished for, but will eventually be made to forget for two more incarnations. The General bemoans the idea that all twelve Doctors have arrived, when three was bad enough. However, his count is one short.  


[[File:EyesOfTwelve.jpg|thumb|right|A fleeting image of a [[Twelfth Doctor|future Doctor]].]]
[[File:The Doctors Repel a Dalek.jpg|left|thumb|The Doctors force back an attacking [[Dalek]].]]
Androgar points out that all ''thirteen'' incarnations of the Doctor are present to save Gallifrey — a [[Twelfth Doctor|new incarnation]] from the Doctor's days yet to come is also on the way. A brief glimpse of this future Doctor shows a hand reaching for a lever in the Eleventh Doctor's console room, and a pair of amazingly fierce eyes watching the console monitor. As the Daleks increase their attack upon seeing the thirteen TARDISes, the General tells the Doctor to do it now. After a flash and a colossal explosion, the space becomes empty and quiet.
The real Osgood begs the Doctor to save them again, as the Doctors and Clara force their way out of the painting, having frozen themselves in it earlier. The Doctors now face the Fall of Arcadia in real time as it unfolds, and are immediately met with an attacking Dalek, which they repel with their sonic screwdrivers. It crashes through the glass of the painting and the Doctors emerge in a heroic fashion. Clara soon follows.


[[File:War Doctor Regenerating.jpg|thumb|left|His body wearing thin, the War Doctor [[regenerate]]s.]]
The three Doctors hand the Kates an ultimatum when they refuse to disarm the Archive's nuclear option: They trigger the memory modifiers to confuse everybody as to whether they are human or Zygon. Then, if they stop the detonation and create a peace treaty (which is sure to be incredibly fair, as the negotiators can't remember which side they're on), they will have their memories restored. Utterly confused over their identities, the two Kates stop the detonation in the nick of time and begin to negotiate the treaty. While the Osgoods figure out which of them is which, they decide to keep it to themselves to protect the treaty.
Back in the National Gallery, the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors muse on the ambiguity of whether their plan succeeded. The presence of the mysterious painting of the fall of Arcadia remains an enigma to the three Doctors. The War Doctor bids a fond farewell to his replacements, who finally address him as "Doctor": a man fully worthy of the title, even if he will only know it briefly. Because the time lines are out of sync, the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor won't be able to retain their memories of these events. They will forget them completely until they catch up to their Eleventh incarnation. However, right now, the War Doctor is content. He gives Clara a farewell kiss and takes a moment to sort out his TARDIS out from the other two in the gallery. As he pilots his TARDIS away, he notices that his body has worn a bit thin again. After surviving the Time War, he is ultimately dying of old age, a gentle ending for an incarnation subjugated in the Time War. With his work done in the battle, [[regeneration]] energy begins to overtake the War Doctor, giving him a new lease on life. He expresses one last desire that the change will leave him with "less conspicuous" ears this time. The War Doctor smiles peacefully as his [[Ninth Doctor|next regeneration begins]]. New features of a more youthful appearance start to emerge and determine who the Ninth Doctor will be- a man with cropped hair, a solid face, and steely blue eyes. The ears, however, only manage to grow bigger.


[[File:Tenth Doctor Says Goodbye to Eleven.jpg|thumb|right|"We need a new destination... [[The End of Time (TV story)|because I don't want to go."]] The Tenth Doctor says goodbye.]]
As they negotiate, Clara speaks to the War Doctor. She has figured out he hasn't used the Moment yet, explaining that "her" Doctor always talked about the day he wiped out the Time Lords; the pain of making that decision is in both the eyes of the Tenth and Eleventh, but not in the War Doctor's. She says that he would do anything to take it back, but the War Doctor remains convinced that his actions will save billions of lives in the future. Across the room, the War Doctor sees the form of the Bad Wolf once more. The moment to decide has come. He tells the interface he's ready, and Clara turns to see who he's talking to; when she turns back, he's vanished.
Acknowledging that he won't be able to remember the answer, the Tenth Doctor questions his successor as to "where they're going" that the Eleventh Doctor so clearly wants to forget; he finally relents and reveals that they are destined to die on [[Trenzalore]], in battle, with millions of lives lost. The Tenth Doctor says that's not how it's supposed to be, but the Eleventh Doctor tells him it is determined now. Preparing to leave, the Tenth Doctor tells himself that he's glad his future is in good hands. He kisses Clara's hand, and with a smile, starts to step into his TARDIS. Before he does, he expresses his desire to change their final destination of Trenzalore, saying: "I don't want to go." As the TARDIS dematerialises, the Eleventh Doctor remarks "[[The End of Time (TV story)|he always says that]]".


[[File:TheCuratorTDOTD.jpg|thumb|left|The Curator of the National Gallery]]
Returned to the barn on Gallifrey, the War Doctor stands in front of the Moment, which has simplified its interface by his request — the trigger mechanism is now a big red button for him to push. The Moment questions him once more, trying to convince him of his goodness. He still doesn't believe he is worthy of the name "Doctor", losing all hope for himself and his people. He believes that the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are extraordinary men and that he has to commit this act to forge them into what they become. As the War Doctor goes to activate the Moment, the interface tells him that the wheezing sound the TARDIS makes brings hope to everyone who hears it. The War Doctor agrees that he believes it does and the Moment tells him that it brings hope to anyone, no matter how lost they are.
Clara asks the Doctor if he would like to sit and look at the painting for a little while. He smiles, asking how she knew. Clara kisses him on the cheek and tells him that she always knows — it's his sad old eyes. As she steps into the TARDIS, she mentions that an old man, possibly the Gallery's [[Curator (The Day of the Doctor)|Curator]], was looking for him.


The Doctor muses out loud that he would be a great curator. He could call himself "the Great Curator", retire and become the curator of this gallery. A very familiar voice affirms that he really might. The astonished Doctor looks over to see a very familiar face standing next to him. An old man who greatly resembles the [[Fourth Doctor]] speaks to him of the painting, which he says he acquired under "most unusual circumstances". He tells the Doctor that its two names are actually one: the true title of the painting is "''[[Gallifrey Falls No More]]''". The Doctor realises that he was successful, and Gallifrey was indeed saved. The mysterious man reveals that it is simply "lost", and that the Doctor has a lot to do. He also muses that he and the Doctor might be the same man from different perspectives, sounding wistful about days gone by, congratulating the Doctor on the new journey he is about to commence. As to whether or not he truly is an incarnation of the Doctor from the future, the Curator simply teases the thought, "Who knows, eh? Who... 'nose'?", and with a tap of his nose, he turns and walks away. The Eleventh Doctor concludes that he has a mission, the mission of a lifetime: he must find Gallifrey and return it and all its people to the universe.
The War Doctor realises what she means a moment later as the sounds of two TARDISes fill the barn. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors park the TARDISes and exit them. Clara tells the Eleventh that she was right about the War Doctor not having committed the act he was so ashamed of. The Tenth Doctor states that the [[Last Great Time War]] should be [[time lock]]ed; they shouldn't have been able to get here. The Eleventh counters that something must have let them through, so they can speak to their forgotten incarnation. The Moment, still unseen by all but the War Doctor, calls them clever. The War Doctor tells the two of them to go back to their lives and be the Doctor that he couldn't be and make it worth while.


[[File:Day of the Doctor Closing Scene.jpg|thumb|right|“It’s taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I’m going. Where I've always been going: Home, the long way round.”]]
Right as the War Doctor places his hand above the button, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors tell him of how they pushed him down in their memories for years. They kept him a secret, even from themselves out of shame. They pretended he wasn't "the Doctor", when he was the Doctor more than they or any of their other incarnations could have been. The War Doctor was the Doctor on the day it was ''impossible'' to make the right decision. However, this time, he doesn't have to make this horrible choice alone; they place their hands over his at the moment, forgiving him and themselves. Having gained some peace from hearing his future selves call him "the Doctor", something he denied himself for years, the War Doctor tearfully thanks them.
Later, the Doctor speaks of his dreams, as he is seen to walk through the TARDIS console room. He says that he finally realises where he has been travelling all this time: home. He simply has taken the long way around. As he exits the TARDIS in the dream, the Doctor joins his eleven past selves in gazing up at the magnificent planet in the sky, determined to find Gallifrey and save his home once and for all.


== Cast ==
Clara tearfully objects. She knew that "the Doctor" had activated the Moment and destroyed his home-world, but she had never imagined the Eleventh Doctor with his hand on the button. The reality of the Time War projects around them: children crying, innocents suffering. The Doctor could not find another way to end it all, but Clara believes in a different solution. She calls the past two Doctors the Warrior and the Hero, but this leads the Eleventh to wonder what he is. Clara asks if he truly has forgotten; he has, asking Clara to tell him what to do. "We have enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero. Be what you've always been. Be a Doctor." She asks him what the promise was when he chose to call himself the Doctor. The Tenth and War Doctors recite "Never cowardly or cruel. Never give up; never give in." The Moment ends the projection.
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At that, a brilliant new idea descends on the room; the Eleventh Doctor says that he's had a long time to think about it — he's changed his mind! The intent of the Moment worked: the War Doctor saw the future he needed to see. Picking up on his future self's idea without explanation, the War Doctor exclaims that he could just kiss "Bad Wolf girl" right now, which catches the Tenth Doctor's attention, only for him to be distracted from it as he realises what his counterparts were getting at and agrees that it's a wonderful idea.
 
They have changed their minds about using the Moment, and the Eleventh Doctor disarms the device with his sonic screwdriver. Instead, they intend to freeze Gallifrey in a moment in time, slipped away in a pocket universe, the way the Zygons froze themselves into Time Lord art. When Gallifrey vanishes, the sphere of Dalek ships surrounding the planet and firing constantly will be exterminated in their own crossfire before they can cease firing, and the universe will believe that the two races destroyed each other.
 
On the last day of the Time War, another message from the Doctor appears before the High Command: GALLIFREY STANDS. The three Doctors race in their TARDISes towards Gallifrey and transmit to the War Room. Three transmissions, each showing a different Doctor, much to the General's dismay, appear. They explain their incredible plan to save Gallifrey. They will position themselves around the planet equidistantly, and freeze it — just like the stasis cubes, but to a whole planet and all the people on it. The General objects, saying that they'd be lost in another universe, frozen in a single moment with nothing, but the Doctors tell him the alternative is burning and they've seen that and don't want to again. The Eleventh Doctor also informs him that with this plan, the Time Lords will at least have hope, something they don't have now. The General is dumbfounded, he tells them that the idea is delusional, claiming that even if it was possible, the calculations alone would take centuries. The Eleventh and Tenth Doctors agree, saying it would take "hundreds and hundreds" of years, but they've had "a very long time" to think about it. In fact, he could say they've been working on it all their lives.....
 
At that, the voice of the [[First Doctor]] is heard contacting the War Council. Nine more police boxes fly around the planet, and all of the past incarnations of the Doctor come together to save Gallifrey, all making contact with the Council. The General bemoans the idea that all twelve Doctors have arrived when three was bad enough. However, his count is one short. Androgar points out that all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor are present to save Gallifrey — a [[Twelfth Doctor|new incarnation]] from the Doctor's days yet to come is also on the way. A brief glimpse of this future Doctor shows a hand reaching for a lever in the console room, and a pair of piercing blue eyes watching the console monitor.
 
As the Daleks increase their attack upon seeing the thirteen TARDISes, the General realises that he has no choice and tells the Doctor quietly to "do it." The thirteen Doctors prepare their TARDISes with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors exclaiming their catchphrases while the exasperated War Doctor goes with a simple "Gallifrey Stands." After a flash and a colossal explosion, space becomes empty and quiet as one damaged Dalek fighter pod goes spinning off.
 
Back in the National Gallery, the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors muse on the ambiguity of whether their plan succeeded. The presence of the mysterious painting of the fall of Arcadia remains an enigma to the three Doctors. While they don't know if their plan worked, they agree that it was better to have failed having done the right thing than succeeding in doing the wrong. The War Doctor bids a fond farewell to his replacements, they return an equally fond farewell as they finally address him as "Doctor": a man fully worthy of the title, even if he will only know it briefly. Because the timelines are out of sync, the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor won't be able to retain their memories of these events. They will forget them completely until they catch up to their eleventh incarnation. However, right now, the War Doctor is content and pleased that he can refer to himself as "Doctor" again. He gives Clara a farewell kiss and takes a moment to sort out his TARDIS out from the other two in the gallery.


As he pilots his TARDIS away, he suddenly sees his hands glowing with [[regeneration energy]], and says that it makes sense, as his old body is "wearing a bit thin." After surviving the Time War, he is ultimately dying of old age. With his work done in the battle, the energy begins to overtake the War Doctor. He expresses one last desire that the change will leave him with "less conspicuous" ears this time. The War Doctor smiles peacefully as his [[Ninth Doctor|next regeneration begins]].


The Twelfth Doctor is not credited in this episode.
Acknowledging that he won't be able to remember the answer, the Tenth Doctor questions his successor as to "Where it is we're going that you don't wanna talk about." The Eleventh Doctor relents and reveals that they are destined to die on [[Trenzalore]], in battle, with millions of lives lost. The Tenth Doctor says that's not how it's supposed to be, but the Eleventh Doctor tells him it is determined now. Preparing to leave, the Tenth Doctor shakes his successor's hand and says that he's glad his future is in good hands. He kisses Clara's hand, and with a smile, starts to step into his TARDIS. Before he does, he expresses his desire to change their final destination of Trenzalore, saying: "I don't want to go." As the TARDIS dematerialises, the Eleventh Doctor smiles and remarks "he always says that".


Clara asks the Doctor if he would like to sit and look at the painting for a little while. He smiles, asking how she knew. Clara kisses him on the cheek and tells him that she always knows — it's his sad old eyes. As she steps into the TARDIS, she mentions that an old man, possibly [[The Curator|the Gallery's curator]], was looking for him.


-->
As the Doctor sits down and looks at the painting, he begins musing out loud that he would be a great curator. He says with a laugh that he could call himself "the Great Curator", [[retire]] and become the curator of this gallery. A deep and very familiar voice affirms that he really might. The astonished Doctor looks over to see a very familiar face standing next to him. [[The Curator|An old man]], the curator of the Gallery, who greatly resembles the [[Fourth Doctor]]. The Doctor studies the old man in wonderment, astonished by the resemblance he has to the Doctor's fourth incarnation as he tells him that he never forgets a face, and the old man replies that he knows he doesn't and that he might find himself revisiting some of them in the future, "but just the old favourites, eh?"; the Doctor merely smiles and winks at the old man. The man then turns the Doctor's attention to the painting, explaining that he acquired it under "remarkable circumstances" and asks the Doctor what he makes of the title, a question that confuses the Doctor due to the painting having two different titles, "No More" and "Gallifrey Falls". However the man reveals to the Doctor that people always get that fact about the painting wrong: its two titles are actually just one: the true title of the painting is ''[[Gallifrey Falls No More]].'' The man then asks the Doctor what the title of the painting could possibly mean.
* [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
* [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
* [[Ninth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Christopher Eccleston]]
* [[War Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[John Hurt]] <ref>The BBC iPlayer notes credit John Hurt's character as "the Other Doctor"</ref>
* [[Eighth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Paul McGann]]
* [[Seventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Sylvester McCoy]]
* [[Sixth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Colin Baker]]
* [[Fifth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Davison]]
* [[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Tom Baker]] <ref>Baker plays an enigmatic character implied to be the Doctor known as "[[Curator (The Day of the Doctor)|the Curator]]" towards the end of the episode. However, the credits only credit him as "the Doctor".</ref>
* [[Third Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Jon Pertwee]]
* [[Second Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Patrick Troughton]]
* [[First Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[William Hartnell]]
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The Doctor realises that he was successful, and Gallifrey was indeed saved. The mysterious man comments that he surely wouldn't know as he is merely a humble curator. The Doctor excitedly asks him if he knows where Gallifrey is, but he only cryptically reveals that it is simply "lost", and that the Doctor has a lot to do. The Doctor asks if that means that he is supposed to go looking for Gallifrey, but the Curator tells him that that decision is entirely up to him. He also muses that he and the Doctor might be the same man from different perspectives, sounding wistful about days having gone by, congratulating the Doctor on the new journey he is about to commence. As to whether or not he truly is an incarnation of the Doctor from the future, the Curator simply teases the thought, ''"Who knows, eh? Who... '[[nose]]'?"'', and with a tap of his nose, he turns and walks away. The Eleventh Doctor concludes that he has a mission, the mission of a lifetime: he must find Gallifrey and return it and all its people to the universe.


The Twelfth Doctor is not credited in this episode.
Later, the Doctor speaks of his dreams, as he is seen to walk through the TARDIS console room. Clara would laugh at him when he said that he dreamed about where he was going, as he was always going nowhere. However, he says that he finally realises where he has been travelling all this time: home. He simply says that it has taken so many years and lifetimes to take the long way around.


As he exits the TARDIS in the dream, the Doctor joins his eleven past selves, the War Doctor no longer excluded from the Doctor's incarnations as he stands proudly with his past and future selves, in gazing up at the magnificent planet in the sky, determined to find Gallifrey and save his home once and for all.


-->
== Cast ==
<!--Please do not divide into separate Doctors: this is how the credit was presented onscreen and, hence, has to be given by T:CAST-->
* [[The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]], [[David Tennant]], [[Christopher Eccleston]], [[John Hurt]],{{note|The BBC iPlayer notes credit John Hurt's character as "the Other Doctor"}} [[Paul McGann]], [[Sylvester McCoy]], [[Colin Baker]], [[Peter Davison]], [[Tom Baker]],{{Note|Besides appearing as the Fourth Doctor in flashback footage, Baker also appears towards the end of the episode as an enigmatic character implied to be the Doctor but known as "[[the Curator]]". However, the credits only credit Baker as "the Doctor".}} [[Jon Pertwee]], [[Patrick Troughton]], [[William Hartnell]]
* [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] - [[Jenna Coleman]]
* [[Clara Oswald|Clara]] - [[Jenna Coleman]]
* [[The Moment|Rose]] <!--Please read T:CAST. The character name as credited in this episode's transmission is Rose, so we pipe switch "Rose" to [[The Moment]].-->- [[Billie Piper]]<ref>Although Billie Piper is credited as playing "Rose", her character is in fact The Moment's projection of Bad Wolf.</ref>
* [[The Moment|Rose]] <!--Please read T:CAST. The character name as credited in this episode's transmission is Rose, so we pipe switch "Rose" to [[The Moment]].-->- [[Billie Piper]]{{note|Although Billie Piper is credited as playing "Rose", her character is in fact the Moment's projection of Bad Wolf.}}
* [[Tom (The Day of the Doctor)|Tom]] - [[Tristan Beint]]
* [[Tom (The Day of the Doctor)|Tom]] - [[Tristan Beint]]
* [[Kate Stewart]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]  
* [[Kate Stewart]] - [[Jemma Redgrave]]{{note|Redgrave also plays [[Zygon Kate Stewart|a Zygon impersonating Kate Stewart]].}}
* [[Osgood (The Day of the Doctor)|Osgood]] - [[Ingrid Oliver]]
* [[Petronella Osgood|Osgood]] - [[Ingrid Oliver]]{{note|Oliver also plays [[Zygon Osgood|a Zygon impersonating Osgood]].}}
* [[Time Lord soldier (The Last Day)|Time Lord soldier]] - [[Chris Finch]]
* [[Time Lord soldier 1 (The Last Day)|Time Lord soldier]] - [[Chris Finch]]
* [[Androgar]] - [[Peter de Jersey]]
* [[Androgar]] - [[Peter De Jersey]]
* [[The General]] - [[Ken Bones]]
* [[Eleventh General|The General]] - [[Ken Bones]]
* [[Arcadia father]] - [[Philip Buck]]
* [[Arcadia father]] - [[Philip Buck]]
* [[Time Lord (The Day of the Doctor)|Time Lord]] - [[Sophie Morgan-Price]]
* [[Time Lord (The Day of the Doctor)|Time Lord]] - [[Sophie Morgan-Price]]
* [[Elizabeth I]] - [[Joanna Page]]
* [[Elizabeth I]] - [[Joanna Page]]<ref>Page also plays [[Zygon Commander (The Day of the Doctor)|a Zygon impersonating Elizabeth I]].</ref>
* Lord [[Bentham]] - [[Orlando James]]
* [[Bentham|Lord Bentham]] - [[Orlando James]]
* [[McGillop]] - [[Jonjo O'Neill]]
* [[McGillop]] - [[Jonjo O'Neill]]<ref>O'Neill also plays [[Zygon McGillop|a Zygon impersonating McGillop]].</ref>
* [[Atkins (The Day of the Doctor)|Atkins]] - [[Tom Keller]]  
* [[Atkins (The Day of the Doctor)|Atkins]] - [[Tom Keller]]
* [[Zygon]]s - [[Aidan Cook]], [[Paul Kasey]]
* [[Zygon]] - [[Aidan Cook]]
* [[Zygon]] - [[Paul Kasey]]
* Voice of the [[Dalek]]s & [[Zygon]]s - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Voice of the [[Dalek]]s & [[Zygon]]s - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
* Dalek 1 - [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
* [[Dalek operator|Dalek 1]] - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* Dalek 2 - [[Nicholas Pegg]]
* [[Dalek operator|Dalek 2]] - [[Nicholas Pegg]]
* [[First Doctor|Voice over artist]] - [[John Guilor]]
* [[First Doctor|Voice over artist]] - [[John Guilor]]


==== Uncredited cast ====
==== Uncredited cast ====
* [[Twelfth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Capaldi]] <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/article/steven-moffat-celebrates-a-new-chapter-for-doctor-who |title=Steven Moffat celebrates a 'new chapter' for Doctor Who |author=Darren Scott |date of source=24 November 2013 |website name=doctorwho.tv |accessdate=7 December 2013 |quote=Speaking about the brief appearance of the next actor to play the Doctor, Peter Capaldi, in the anniversary special, Moffat said: 'I love that he's getting so much credit for less than half his face for less than a second. Well done Capaldi.'}}</ref>
{|
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| valign="top" |
* [[Twelfth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Peter Capaldi]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.doctorwho.tv/whats-new/article/steven-moffat-celebrates-a-new-chapter-for-doctor-who |title=Steven Moffat celebrates a 'new chapter' for Doctor Who |author=Darren Scott |date of source=24 November 2013 |website name=doctorwho.tv |accessdate=7 December 2013 |quote=Speaking about the brief appearance of the next actor to play the Doctor, Peter Capaldi, in the anniversary special, Moffat said: 'I love that he's getting so much credit for less than half his face for less than a second. Well done Capaldi.'}}</ref>
* [[Female High Council member]] - [[Rosie Jane]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-06-03/bills-birth-mother-previously-played-a-time-lord-in-doctor-who|title=Bill's birth mother previously played a Time Lord in Doctor Who|author=Doran, Sarah|date of source=3 June 2017|website name=Radio Times|accessdate=11 June 2017}}</ref>
* Policeman - [[Derrick Foord]]<ref name="DWMSE 38">[[DWMSE 38]]{{which}}</ref>
* Teachers<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** [[Victoria Thomas]]
** [[Marcus Sherard]]
* Passers<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** [[David Cavell]]
** [[Chris Altree]]
* School Children<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** [[Tyrell Williams]]
** [[George Slade]]
** [[Jack Jones]]
** [[Lewys Watkins]]
** [[Jordan Baker]]
** [[Liam Bowen]]
** [[Gemma Jones]]
** [[Mariah Yau]]
** [[Maya Williams]]
** [[Owen Slade]]
** [[Liam Hartery]]
** [[Dylan Williams]]
** [[Rhys Rolands]]
** [[Josh Coombs]]
** [[Lauren Rowlands]]
** [[Amber Morgan]]
** [[Shakira Logan]]
** [[Santhi Dosanjh]]
* Motorbike Doubles for Clara<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Cristian Knight]]
** [[Tracey Caudle]]
** [[Rob Hunt]]
* Tourists<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Eunice Learmont]]
** [[Sophie Cox]]
** [[Clem So]]
** [[John Field]]
** [[Lyn Field]]
** [[Melissa Stanton]]
** [[Kat Chow]]
* Tower Security - [[Victor Richards]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Beefeaters - 2 unknown
* Stunt Double for the Doctor - [[Gordon Seed]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Stunt Double for Clara - [[Dani Biernat]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Stunt Double for Time Lord - [[David Newman]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Stunt Civillians<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[David Newton]]
** [[Cristian Knight]]
** [[Kim McGarrity]]
* Civilian Children<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Katie Gear]]
** [[Jac Osmond]]
** [[Chloe Winkley]]
** [[Menna Isaac]]
** [[Gruffydd Jones]]
** [[Ellie Pirie]]
** [[Sasha Evans]]
** [[Kohn William Carter]]
** [[Elijah Dyer]]
* Young Civilian Child - [[Elis Hughes]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Adult Civilians<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Caroline Gill]]
** [[Bron Grover]]
** [[David Gethin]]
** [[Anne Gethin]]
** [[Johannah Hohnson]]
** [[James Rockey]]
** [[Marc Llewlyn Thompson]]
** [[Tom Grainger]]
** [[Ann Thompson]]
** [[Terence Meredith]]
** [[Volente Lloyd]]
** [[Ian Massey]]
** [[Natalie Harries]]
** [[Wayne Edmond]]
** [[Phil Brown]]
** [[Helenna Dennis]]
** [[Bridie Edwards]]
** [[Sy Turner]]
** [[Phillip Bailey]]
** [[Simon Carew]]
** [[Clive Thompson]]
** [[Simon Cooke]]
** [[Aiysha Griffin]]
** [[Arfa Begum]]
** [[Ankur Sengupta]]
** [[Ken Davies]]
| valign="top" |
* Time Lord Soldiers<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Chester Durrant]]
** [[Allan Gill]]
** [[Benjamin Holmes]]
** [[Darren Swain]]
* [[Dalek operator|Dalek Operators]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Jon Davey]]
** [[Jeremy Harvey]]
** [[Matt Doman]]
** [[Claudio Laurini]]
* Double for Other Doctor - [[Philip Crean]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Tenth Doctor - [[Harry Franklin-Williams]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* UNIT Soldiers<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Lee Bradshaw]]
** [[Michael Freeman]]
** [[Richard Highgate]]
** [[Joshua Eley]]
** [[Malcolm Grieve]]
** [[Martyn Mayger]]
** [[Leigh Maddern]]
** [[Phoenix Stewart]]
** [[Lee Hare]]
** [[Kevin Hudson]]
* Tourists<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Millicent Brown (actor)|Millicent Brown]]
** [[Sylvia Maharaj]]
** [[Beryl Phelps]]
** [[Corinna Allen]]
** 1 unknown
* Policemen<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Scott Stevenson]]
** [[Tim Reid]]
* Children<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Ailsa Husband]]
** [[Thomas Morris]]
** [[Nicole Paphitis]]
** [[Regan Bojang-Thomas]]
** [[Olivia Saunders]]
** [[Michael Seager]]
** [[Tallulah Stephens]]
** [[Tom Philpott]]
* UNIT Soldiers<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Pete Guiney]]
** [[Ken Hosking]]
** [[Andrew Cross]]
** [[Richard Parry]]
* Time Lords<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Dale Henry]]
** [[Nick Dunwell]]
** [[Angus Brown]]
** [[Louise Bowen]]
** [[Rosie Douglas]]
* Chancellery Guards<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Michael Gleeson]]
** [[Ian Hilditch]]
** [[Michael Houghton]]
** [[Daryl Matthews]]
* Double for the Moment - [[Louise Eastell]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Handwriting Double for Elizabeth I - [[Christina Tom]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* UNIT Soldiers<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Jon Davey]]
** [[Marcus Elliott]]
** [[Justin Beaver]]
| valign="top" |
* Riding Double for Tenth Doctor - [[Ian Van Temperley]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Riding Double for Elizabeth I - [[Annabel Canaven]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Elizabeth I - [[Carolynn Joliffe]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* UNIT Scientists<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Ankur Sengupta]]
** [[Ross Coles]]
* Bentham's Men<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Jeremy Harvey]]
** [[Steffan Allun]]
** [[Simon Challis]]
** [[Steve Coussens]]
** [[Shelby Williams]]
** [[Harry Burt]]
** [[Adam Davies-Sheeham]]
** [[Timothy Depaul]]
* Max the Jailer - [[Clive Haffner]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Shrouded Statues<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
** [[Jon Davey]]
** [[Marcus Elliott]]
** [[Justin Beaver]]
** [[Steven Lathwell]]
* Double for Osgood - [[Madeleine Havell]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* UNIT Soldier - [[Ian William George]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Priest - [[Phil Dixon]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for McGillop - [[Stuart Plant]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Kate Stewart - [[Sophie Morgan-Price]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for First Doctor - [[Kevin Legg]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Second Doctor - [[Richard Highgate]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Third Doctor - [[Mickey Lewis]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Fourth Doctor - [[Thomas Taylor]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Fifth Doctor - [[Dominic Kynaston]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Sixth Doctor - [[Stephen Coggins]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Seventh Doctor - [[Phil Brown]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Eighth Doctor - [[Scott Stevenson]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* Double for Ninth Doctor - [[Simon Ward]]<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
|}


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
Line 217: Line 421:
|2ndAD=Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch
|2ndAD=Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch
|3rdAD=Marie Devautour
|3rdAD=Marie Devautour
|AD=Gareth Jones
|AD=Gareth Jones (assistant director)
|AD2=Louisa Cavell
|AD2=Louisa Cavell
|Runner=
|Runner=
Line 224: Line 428:
|FloorRunner2=
|FloorRunner2=
|FloorRunner3=
|FloorRunner3=
|LocationManager=Nicky James
|UtilityStandIn=Ian William George
|LocationManager=Iwan Roberts
|LocationManager2=
|LocationManager2=
|LocationScout=
|LocationScout=
|LocationAssistant=Iestyn Hampson-Jones
|LocationAssistant=Iestyn Hampson-Jones
|AssistantLocationManager=
|AssistantLocationManager=
|UnitManager=Nick Clark
|UnitManager=Nick Clark (crew)
|AssistantUnitManager=
|AssistantUnitManager=
|ProductionManager=Phillipa Cole
|ProductionManager=Phillipa Cole
Line 248: Line 453:
|AssistantProductionAccountant2=
|AssistantProductionAccountant2=
|AssistantProductionAccountant3=
|AssistantProductionAccountant3=
|AssistantAccountant=Rhys Evans <!--new-->
|AssistantAccountant=Rhys Evans<!--new-->
|ContractsAssistant=
|ContractsAssistant=
|ContractsAssistant2=
|ContractsAssistant2=
Line 269: Line 474:
|AssistantGrip=Owen Charnley
|AssistantGrip=Owen Charnley
|CameraAsst=Meg de Koning
|CameraAsst=Meg de Koning
|CameraAsst2=Chris Johnson
|CameraAsst2=Chris Johnson (camera assistant)
|CameraAsst3=Cai Thompson
|CameraAsst3=Cai Thompson
|CameraTrainee=
|CameraTrainee=
|BoomOperator=
|BoomOperator=
|BoomOperator2=
|BoomOperator2=
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer=Ross Adams
|StereoDit = Jay Patel
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer2=Chris Goding
|StereoSupervisor = Adam Sculthorp
|Gaffer=Mark Hutchings
|StereoRigTech = John Perry
|StereoRigTech2 = Donald Eke
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer=Tam Shoring
|SoundMaintenanceEngineer2=Christopher Goding
|Gaffer=Scott Napier
|BestBoy=Colin Price
|BestBoy=Colin Price
|Electrician=Jordan Brown
|Electrician=Jordan Brown
Line 282: Line 491:
|Electrician3=James Foy
|Electrician3=James Foy
|Electrician4=Billy Harron
|Electrician4=Billy Harron
|Electrician5=Thomas Rhodri Moses
|Electrician6=Andrew Williams (electrician)
|BoardOperator=Jon Towler
|StuntCoOrdinator=Crispin Layfield
|StuntCoOrdinator=Crispin Layfield
|StuntCoOrdinator2=Jo McLaren
|StuntCoOrdinator2=Gordon Seed
|StuntCoOrdinator3=Jo McLaren
|Choreographer=
|Choreographer=
|Wires=
|Wires=
Line 306: Line 519:
|PropsBuyer=
|PropsBuyer=
|PettyCashBuyer=Helen O'Leary
|PettyCashBuyer=Helen O'Leary
|StandbyArtDirector=
|StandbyArtDirector=Jim McCallum
|ASupervisingArtDirector=
|ASupervisingArtDirector=
|SetDesigner=
|SetDesigner=
Line 322: Line 535:
|StandbyProps2=Rob Brandon
|StandbyProps2=Rob Brandon
|StandbyProps3=
|StandbyProps3=
|StandbyCarpenter=Will Pope
|StandbyCarpenter=Tim Jones
|StandbyRigger=Bryan Griffiths
|StandbyRigger=Bryan Griffiths
|StandbyPainter=
|StandbyPainter=
|StandbyScenicArtist=
|StandbyScenicArtist=
|StorePerson=
|Storeman= Jamie Southcott
|ChiefPropsMaster=
|ChiefPropsMaster=
|PropsMaster=Paul Smith
|PropMaster=Paul Smith (prop master)
|PropertyMaster=
|PropertyMaster=
|AssistantPropsMaster=
|AssistantPropsMaster=
Line 335: Line 548:
|PropsStoreman=
|PropsStoreman=
|SetDresser=Ian Griffin
|SetDresser=Ian Griffin
|SetDresser2=Mike Elkins
|SetDresser3=Jamie Farrell
|DressingProps=
|DressingProps=
|DressingProps2=
|DressingProps2=
Line 341: Line 556:
|PropHand=Liam Collins
|PropHand=Liam Collins
|PropHand2=Ian Davies
|PropHand2=Ian Davies
|Draughtsperson= Kartik Nagar
|SpecialistPropMaker=
|SpecialistPropMaker=
|SeniorPropsMaker=
|SeniorPropsMaker=
Line 363: Line 579:
|CrowdSupervisor=
|CrowdSupervisor=
|WardrobeSupervisor=
|WardrobeSupervisor=
|AsstCostumeDesigner=Fraser Purfit
|AsstCostumeDesigner=Carly Griffith
|CostumeAsst=Katarina Cappellazzi
|CostumeAsst=Katarina Cappellazzi
|CostumeAsst2=Gemma Evans
|CostumeAsst2=Gemma Evans
|CostumeAsst3=Lauren Kilcar
|CostumeTrainee=
|CostumeTrainee=
|Make-upSupervisor=Steve Williams
|Make-upSupervisor=Steve Williams
Line 412: Line 629:
|ProstheticsTechnician6=
|ProstheticsTechnician6=
|ProstheticMakeUpArtist=
|ProstheticMakeUpArtist=
|Stereo3DConsultant=David Wigram
|DubbingMixer=Tim Ricketts
|DubbingMixer=Tim Ricketts
|DialogueEditor=Darran Clement
|DialogueEditor=Darran Clement
Line 419: Line 637:
|SoundEditor=Doug Sinclair
|SoundEditor=Doug Sinclair
|SoundEditor2=
|SoundEditor2=
|SoundEffectsEditor=Paul Jefferies
|EffectsEditor=Paul Jefferies
|ModelUnitSupervisor=
|ModelUnitSupervisor=
|ModelUnitDOP=
|ModelUnitDOP=
Line 425: Line 643:
|ModelMaker=
|ModelMaker=
|FoleyEditor=Jamie Talbutt
|FoleyEditor=Jamie Talbutt
|Colourist=Gareth Spensley
|Colourist=Mick Vincent
|Colourist2=
|Colourist2=
|SeniorVFXArtist=
|SeniorVFXArtist=
Line 455: Line 673:
|OnlineConform=
|OnlineConform=
|OnlineConform2=
|OnlineConform2=
|OnlineEditor=Jon Everett
|OnlineEditor=Geraint Pari Huws
|OnlineEditor2=
|OnlineEditor2=
|RightsExecutive=
|RightsExecutive=
Line 475: Line 693:
|CrouchEnd=
|CrouchEnd=
|FromIdeaBy=
|FromIdeaBy=
|Character1=Daleks
|Character1=Dalek{{!}}Daleks
|CharCreatedBy1a=Terry Nation
|CharCreatedBy1a=Terry Nation
|CharCreatedBy1b=
|CharCreatedBy1b=
|Character2=Zygons
|Character2=Zygon{{!}}Zygons
|CharCreatedBy2a=Robert Banks Stewart
|CharCreatedBy2a=Robert Banks Stewart
|CharCreatedBy2b=
|CharCreatedBy2b=
|Character3=Cybermen
|Character3=Cyberman{{!}}Cybermen
|CharCreatedBy3a=Kit Pedler
|CharCreatedBy3a=Kit Pedler
|CharCreatedBy3b=Gerry Davis
|CharCreatedBy3b=Gerry Davis
Line 490: Line 708:
|SeniorProductionAccountant=
|SeniorProductionAccountant=
|ProductionAccountant=Jeff Dunn
|ProductionAccountant=Jeff Dunn
|SoundRecordist=Dein Llŷr Humphreys
|SoundRecordist=Deian Llŷr Humphreys
|CostumeDesigner=Howard Burden
|CostumeDesigner=Howard Burden
|Make-upDesigner=Lin Davie
|Make-upDesigner=Lin Davie
|VisualEffects=Milk VFX
|VisualEffects=Milk VFX
|VisualEffects2=BBC Wales Visual Effects
|VisualEffects2=BBC Wales Visual Effects
|AdditionalVisualEffects=
|AdditionalVisualEffects=Blue Bolt
|AdditionalVisualEffects2=Jellyfish Pictures{{!}}Jellyfish
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|SpecialEffects=Real SFX
|MiniatureEffects=The Model Unit
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
|Music=Murray Gold
|Music=Murray Gold
Line 535: Line 755:
}}
}}


== References ==
=== Uncredited crew ===
{{uncred list
|MilkVFX cite = <ref name="Milk VFX">{{cite web|url=http://www.milk-vfx.com/project/doctor-who-50th-anniversary-episode-the-day-of-the-doctor/|title=Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode: The Day of the Doctor|website name=Milk VFX|accessdate=18 October 2018}}</ref>
|ModelUnit cite = <ref name="Model Unit">{{cite web|url=https://www.doctorwho.tv/news/?article=doctor-who-experience-unveils-classic-fan-favourite-monsters|title=Doctor Who Experience Unveils Classic Fan-Favourite Monsters|date of source=5 September 2016|author=Cameron K McEwan|website=doctorwho.tv|accessdate=2 January 2019}}</ref>


==== Planets ====
|VFXProducer=Jenna Powell
* The [[Zygon]] [[Zygor|homeworld]] was destroyed during the first part of the [[Last Great Time War]].
|VFXSupervisor=Murray Barber
|2DSupervisor=James Moxon
|CGSupervisor=Darren Byford
|VFXCoOrdinator=Natalie Reid
|VFXEditor=Mark Bright
|ModellingSupervisor=Sam Lucas
|RiggingSupervisor=Neil Roche
|MatchmoveSupervisor=Amy Felce
|AnimationLead=David Bennett
|FXSupervisor=James Reid
|DMPSupervisor=Simon Wicker


==== Technology ====
|ModelUnitSupervisor=Mike Tucker
* The Eleventh Doctor uses the [[TARDIS console]]'s [[friction contrafibulator]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)|Vincent and the Doctor]]'') to stabilise the [[control room]] desktop theme. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'')
}}
* The number the Eleventh Doctor calls McGillop from is the same as Martha's old mobile — the one left on the TARDIS. This implies that the Doctor adopted this number as his main one.


==== Individuals ====
== Worldbuilding ==
* [[Jack Harkness]]'s [[vortex manipulator]] was saved in the Black Archive of [[UNIT]] after one of his deaths. It later ended up in the possession of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]].
=== Numbers ===
* The board containing photos of Clara's last visit to the Black Archive also showcase photos of previous associates of the Doctor, including [[Wilfred Mott]], [[Rory Williams]], [[Amy Pond]], [[River Song]], [[Kamelion]], [[Martha Jones]], [[Peri Brown]], [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]], [[Nyssa]], [[Donna Noble]], [[Mike Yates|Captain Yates]], [[Adric]], [[Sara Kingdom]], [[Tegan Jovanka]] , [[Barbara Wright]], [[Polly Wright]], [[Grace Holloway]], [[Ben Jackson]], [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Susan Campbell|Susan]], Brigadier [[Winifred Bambera]], UNIT Captain [[Erisa Magambo]], and [[Rose Tyler]].
* The Tenth Doctor says that there was [[2470000000 (number)|2,470,000,000]] children on Gallifrey when the planet was supposedly destroyed.
* [[Kate Lethbridge-Stewart]]'s mobile phone has a TARDIS [[dematerialisation]] sound set as her ringtone when the Doctor calls.
* The War Doctor claims the Dalek army numbers [[1000000000000000 (number)|1,000,000,000,000,000]].
* Clara quotes [[Marcus Aurelius]] to her class.
* A bust of [[Albert Einstein]] can be seen in front of the Cyberman painting in the Undergallery.


==== The Doctor ====
=== Individuals ===
* [[The Doctor's age]] is discussed by the three incarnations:
* [[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator]] was stored in the Black Archive of [[UNIT]] after one of his recent deaths. It later ended up in the possession of the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]].
** While confronting a [[rabbit]] which he briefly believes to be a [[Zygon]] in disguise, the [[Tenth Doctor]] says that he is 904 years old.
* The two boards containing photos of Clara's last visit to the Black Archive also showcase photos of previous associates of the Doctor: [[Susan Foreman]], Captain [[Mike Yates]] alongside [[Sara Kingdom]], [[Polly Wright]], [[Dodo Chaplet]], [[Zoe Heriot]], [[Harry Sullivan]] alongside [[John Benton|Sergeant Benton]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]], [[K9 Mark III|K-9 Mark III]], [[Barbara Wright]], [[Ian Chesterton]], [[Ben Jackson]], [[Jamie McCrimmon]], [[Zoe Heriot]] alongside [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]], [[John Benton|Sergeant Benton]] alongside [[Leela]], [[Vicki Pallister]], [[Victoria Waterfield]], [[Jo Grant]] alongside Sergeant Benton, [[Liz Shaw]] alongside the Brigadier, [[Romana II]], [[Steven Taylor]], [[Katarina]], [[Romana I]], [[Tegan Jovanka]] alongside [[Nyssa]], [[Grace Holloway]], [[Donna Noble]], [[Amy Pond]] alongside [[Kate Stewart]], Clara Oswald alongside Kate Stewart, [[Adric]], [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]], [[Kamelion]], UNIT Captain [[Erisa Magambo]] alongside [[Rose Tyler]], [[Wilfred Mott]], [[Peri Brown]], Brigadier [[Winifred Bambera]] alongside [[Ace]], [[Martha Jones]], [[Mickey Smith]], [[Adam Mitchell]], Lieutenant General [[Sanchez]] alongside Sarah Jane Smith, [[Rory Williams]], [[Vislor Turlough]], [[Melanie Bush]], [[Jack Harkness]], [[Craig Owens]], and Kate Stewart alongside [[River Song]].
** When asked how old he is by the [[War Doctor]], the [[Eleventh Doctor]] says that he doesn't know and has lost track, settling on "Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying." He goes on to say that he is so old he couldn't remember if he was lying about his age.
* Kate's mobile phone has the TARDIS dematerialisation sound set as her ringtone when the Doctor calls.
** The War Doctor in turn says that he's 400 years younger than the Eleventh Doctor at this point, making him approximately 800 years old. This would suggest that his successor may have travelled for about a century before first meeting Rose Tyler, as he tells her he is 900 years old. ([[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'') Another logical conclusion is that the Ninth Doctor's memory of his age became clouded when his time stream was put back into sync after his birth, and he forgot the exact circumstances of when and where his predecessor regenerated.
* Clara is now a teacher at [[Coal Hill School]], and she quotes [[Marcus Aurelius]] to her class. When they reunite, the Eleventh Doctor asks her about her new job, implying she has only recently begun teaching (at least at Coal Hill School), possibly even starting since her previous meeting with the Doctor. It is not indicated how long it has been since the events of ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'', and Clara is clearly no longer employed by the Maitland family, as she was in ''Name of the Doctor''.
* A bust of [[Albert Einstein]] can be seen in front of the Cyberman painting in the Under Gallery.
* Kate calls someone named Malcolm twice. Presumably, this is [[Malcolm Taylor]].


==== References to the real world ====
=== The Doctor ===
* When Elizabeth explains how she killed her Zygon duplicate, she says, "I may have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but at the time, so did the Zygon." This is a direct reference to the {{w|Speech to the Troops at Tilbury}}, in which she was credited as saying, "I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too..."
* While confronting a [[rabbit]] which he briefly believes to be a [[Zygon]] in disguise, the Tenth Doctor says that he is [[The Doctor's age|904-years-old]]. The Eleventh Doctor believes he is about 1200-years-old, which the War Doctor states is 400 years older than himself.
* The Eleventh Doctor calls the Tenth Doctor "[[Dick Van Dyke]]".
* The Doctor is mentioned to still be on the [[UNIT]] payroll.
* The [[War Doctor]] regenerates into the [[Ninth Doctor]].
 
=== Zygons ===
* Zygons have [[venom]] sacs located in their [[tongue]]s.
 
=== Planets ===
* The [[Zygor|Zygon homeworld]] was destroyed during the first days of the [[Last Great Time War]].
 
=== Technology ===
* The Eleventh Doctor uses the [[TARDIS console]]'s [[friction contrafibulator]] to stabilise the [[control room]] desktop theme.
* The Time Lords can take "snapshots" of different events by freezing time and presenting them as 3D oil paintings with their [[stasis cube]]s.
 
=== References to the real world ===
* The Eleventh Doctor calls the Tenth Doctor "[[Dick Van Dyke]]" in a sly reference to his accent.
* The Tenth Doctor wears [[sandshoe]]s.
 
=== Foods and beverages ===
* The Eleventh Doctor compares Time Lord [[stasis cube]]s to [[cup-a-soup]]s. The [[War Doctor]] had never heard of cup-a-soups before.
* The Doctors and Clara drink [[tea]] in the National Gallery.
 
== Notes ==
* The special had the working title of ''The Time War''.{{fact}}
* [[Red Bee Media]] produced [[Doctor Who: 50 Years (TV story)|a short minisode]] for this story featuring a short retrospective of the whole series.<ref name="DWMSE 38" />
* [[Steven Moffat]] granted publication of part of his initial draft scene featuring [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s Ninth Doctor in ''A Second Target for Tommy'', an anthology to help raise money for [[Tommy Donbavand]]'s medical costs associated with a tumour in his lung.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obversebooks.co.uk/product/a-target-for-tommy-a-second-target-for-tommy/|title=Obverse Books: A Second Target for Tommy|author=|date of source=8 February 2018|website name=Obverse Books|accessdate=9 February 2018}}</ref>


== Story notes ==
=== Ratings ===
=== Ratings ===
* 10.18 million (United Kingdom){{fact}}
* UK: 12.8 million, 3.2 million [[iPlayer]] requests<ref name="AnnRep" />
* 77 million (World){{Fact}}
* US: 2.8 million (the highest for the channel at the time)
* Canada: 1.7 million


=== Specific to theatrical presentation ===
=== Specific to theatrical presentation ===
{{main|Cinema Introduction to The Day of the Doctor (theatrical film)}}
* Two specially recorded scenes were shown before the special in its showing in cinemas. The first featured [[Dan Starkey]] as [[Commander]] [[Strax]], accompanied by his [[Sontaran]] [[clone batch]], lecturing the viewers on cinema etiquette. The second featured [[Matt Smith]] and [[David Tennant]] as the [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] and [[Tenth Doctor]]s instructing viewers to put on their [[3D glasses]]. The second ends with [[John Hurt]]'s [[War Doctor]] suddenly appearing behind the two Doctors who turn towards him while he has his back to them as the feature starts.
* Two specially recorded scenes were shown before the special in its showing in cinemas. The first featured [[Dan Starkey]] as [[Commander]] [[Strax]], accompanied by his [[Sontaran]] [[clone batch]], lecturing the viewers on cinema etiquette. The second featured [[Matt Smith]] and [[David Tennant]] as the [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] and [[Tenth Doctor]]s instructing viewers to put on their [[3D glasses]]. The second ends with [[John Hurt]]'s [[War Doctor]] suddenly appearing behind the two Doctors who turn towards him while he has his back to them as the feature starts.


=== Specific to the 3D version ===
=== Specific to the 3D version ===
* The original ''[[Doctor Who]]'' logo is not only in black and white; a 3D effect is added to suggest the logo moving towards the viewer.
* The episode was shot, broadcast and screened in cinemas in stereoscopic [[3D]]. Despite confessing that he was not a big fan of 3D movies, [[Steven Moffat]] came up with the idea of shooting the episode in 3D and, despite his initial worries, found the 3D version to be "better" and "more satisfying" than the 2D version. Knowing that the vast majority of viewers would have watched it in 2D, director [[Nick Hurran]] made sure that his shooting style wasn't influenced "too much" by the episode's use of 3D. Nonetheless, Hurran meticulously researched the back-catalogue of 3D films in order to see what worked and what didn't. Steven Moffat believed that Hurran's research had led the director to view "every 3D film ever made".<ref name="DWM 468">[[DWM 468]]{{which}}</ref>
* The 3D paintings are obviously ''more'' 3D in the 3D version.
* The original ''[[Doctor Who (TV series)|Doctor Who]]'' logo was not only modified to appear in black-and-white; a 3D effect was added to suggest the logo moving towards the viewer.
* The 3D paintings are obviously more three-dimensional in the 3D version.
* As the Eleventh Doctor walks out of the TARDIS onto the cloud bearing his other selves at the very end of the story, the effect is considerably "more 3D" than viewing the 2D version would suggest.
* As the Eleventh Doctor walks out of the TARDIS onto the cloud bearing his other selves at the very end of the story, the effect is considerably "more 3D" than viewing the 2D version would suggest.
* [[Mistika]] was used for the finishing of the stereo 3D work.


=== Common among all versions ===
=== Common among all versions ===
[[file:GRAHAM NORTON Regenerates into DAVID TENNANT & MATT SMITH Doctor Who on The Graham Norton Show|thumb|right|Marketing for the show was intense, with its stars actively courted by any number of television and radio programmes. Here, [[David Tennant]] and [[Matt Smith]] help [[Graham Norton]] break the usual format of {{wi|The Graham Norton Show}}'s opening sequence.]]
{{video|GRAHAM NORTON Regenerates into DAVID TENNANT & MATT SMITH Doctor Who on The Graham Norton Show|thumb|right|In the marketing for the anniversary special, [[David Tennant]] and [[Matt Smith]] helped [[Graham Norton]] break the usual format of {{wi|The Graham Norton Show}}'s opening sequence.}}
* The story is fronted by the version of the [[title sequence]] used on the original episode "[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]", modified to include a BBC logo, and slightly shortened. (This version is slightly different than the opening used on the unaired [[The Pilot Episode|pilot episode]].)  
* When pre-production on this special began, [[Jenna Coleman]] was the only cast member who was under contract to appear. As a result, [[Steven Moffat]] began working on a story which would have only her and tentatively named it ''The No Doctors'', just in case no other Doctors were available. His best idea for the "Absolutely-no-Doctors-in-it-at-all" anniversary special had fictional versions of the Doctor (played by different actors) appear in all sorts of different films after the ''real'' one vanished from the time-space continuum at the end of ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor,]]'' with Clara (who no longer remembers him) forced to piece together the mystery of why they all seem so familiar. <ref>The Doctor's Finest - A Look Back at 'The Day of the Doctor' - BBC America
* The opening scenes further mimic the original open to [[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'': the first shot shows a police officer going by a sign for [[76 Totter's Lane]], and the second shot is set at Coal Hill School as class dismisses. Clara is now a teacher at [[Coal Hill School]]. A sign shows that [[Ian Chesterton|I. Chesterton]] is chairman of the school's Board of Governors, also showing that a W. Coburn is headmaster — a likely in-joke reference to [[Anthony Coburn]], who wrote ''An Unearthly Child'', and [[Waris Hussein]], ''<nowiki>Doctor Who'</nowiki>''s original director.
</ref>
* ''Day'' is the sixth televised [[multi-Doctor story]]. The others are: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'', ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'', and ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]''.
* In the partial draft ''Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: The Time War'', the Ninth Doctor was featured in the script in the part that ultimately was of the War Doctor. Following [[Christopher Eccleston]] declining to reprise the role, Moffat suggested another past Doctor instead, but was vetoed by the BBC, prompting him to create a new secret incarnation for the occasion.<ref>[[The Fan Show]], Steven Moffat On Matt Smith's Era, Writing The 50th Anniversary & MORE!</ref>
* The end credits list all the actors who have played the Doctor in the reverse order of their incarnations (with the exception of [[Peter Capaldi]], who was completely uncredited for his brief appearance). As a result, Matt Smith and David Tennant are listed first and second respectively, but Christopher Eccleston is credited above John Hurt.  
* Talking about his refusal to return as the Ninth Doctor, [[Christopher Eccleston]] said, {{Quote|[W]hen I read the script, I felt that it was basically myself, Matt, and Dave riffing off the fact that we used to be the Doctors. I, personally, didn’t feel the narrative was strong enough, particularly for the Ninth Doctor, because I had taken quite a lot of abuse in my own country when I left. As the show was being celebrated, I was being abused in the press, and that was hard to take. And very confusing. So I looked at it and I thought, 'Is this really the way I want to come back?' And I decided it wasn’t.|[[Christopher Eccleston]]}} He, however, received the script without the Ninth Doctor and featuring the War Doctor, and thought that it was "immaculate".<ref>https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/why-christopher-eccleston-left-doctor-who/</ref> He later praised [[John Hurt]]'s performance, saying that Hurt offered more to the story than he could
* Actor [[John Guilor]] is credited as 'Voice Over Artist' in the credits, although they do not say which role he voiced. Castingcallpro.com credits him as the voice of the [[First Doctor]].
{{fact}}
* ''Radio Times'' credits David Tennant as 'The Tenth Doctor', John Hurt as 'The Other Doctor' and Billie Piper as 'Rose Tyler'.
* In a complete ''Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special'' draft, the War Doctor calls himself "the Renegade."{{fact}}
* Jonjo O'Neill (McGillop) is erroneously credited as 'McGuillop' in ''Radio Times''.
* ''Radio Times'' credits [[David Tennant]] as "The Tenth Doctor", [[John Hurt]] as "The Other Doctor" (matching marketing materials and merchandise for the incarnation prior to the episode's broadcast) and [[Billie Piper]] as "Rose Tyler". This is also reflected in the closing credits where Piper is credited as Rose, despite her playing [[the Moment]] in Rose's form.{{fact}}
* This is the first on-screen appearance of the [[Dalek]]s not to feature those of the [[New Dalek Paradigm]] in the [[Steven Moffat]] era. This doesn't likely mean that the multi-coloured Daleks are gone, because all Daleks in this story predated the multi-coloured versions introduced in [[TV]]:''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]''.
* [[Jonjo O'Neill]], who played [[McGillop]], is erroneously credited as "McGuillop" in ''Radio Times''.{{fact}}
* As Clara leaves the school a clock can be seen to display the time as 17:16, the broadcast time of "[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]".
* The ''Radio Times'' programme listing was accompanied by a small colour head-and-shoulders shot of the Eleventh Doctor and the Tenth Doctor in the wood, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 7.50 p.m. / [[Matt Smith]] and [[David Tennant]] join forces in a tale celebrating 50 years of the show".{{fact}}
* The access code for the [[vortex manipulator]] is "[tel:1716231163 1716231163]". This is a reference to the time (17:16) and date (23.11.63) that the episode [[TV]]: [[An Unearthly Child (episode)|''An Unearthly Child'']] first aired.
* The story is fronted by the version of the [[title sequence]] used on the original episode {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)|namedep=An Unearthly Child (1)}}, modified to include a BBC logo, and slightly shortened. This marks the sequence's first use since Episode 4 of {{cs|The Moonbase (TV story)}} in 1967, approximately 47 years prior; as such, ''The Day of the Doctor'' is the only episode to use a previously [[retire]]d title sequence, rather than use the current one or introduce a new one.
* When paired with the prequel episode [[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'', the titles of both episodes reflect opposite moments in the Doctor's personal lifetime. ''Night ''depicts the Doctor giving in to despair after suffering an absolute'' ''failure, whereas in ''Day'', he has an absolute triumph. The two episodes also bookend the War Doctor's lifetime. ''Night'' shows his birth, and ''Day'' shows his death, as well losing and regaining his title of "the Doctor".
* Similar to {{cs|The Two Doctors (TV story)}}, the opening shot is in black and white, but quickly fades into colour.
* The archived footage shown during the Save Gallifrey scene for the different Doctors are as follows:
* The TARDIS interior set floor was raised from its normal height during the filming of the special to help Jenna Coleman's stunt double ride Clara's motorbike into the TARDIS.{{fact}}
** The [[First Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[The Daleks (TV story)|The Daleks]]''.
* The soundtrack playing while the Eleventh Doctor is hanging out of the TARDIS over London was first used in {{cs|Aliens of London (TV story)}} and {{cs|World War Three (TV story)}}. This is an orchestral re-recording of the piece, first heard on the [[Doctor Who - Series 1 and 2 (soundtrack)|series one and two soundtrack]].
** The [[Second Doctor]]'s scene in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)|The Tomb of the Cybermen]]''.
* This is the first episode since {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}} to feature the theme tune's middle eight section in the closing titles.
** The [[Third Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]'', flipped around.
* This is the final televised story to feature the Eleventh Doctor in a [[fez]].
** The [[Fourth Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'', flipped around.''<nowiki/>''
* The promise that the Doctors state is based on a passage from the [[Terrance Dicks]] reference book ''[[The Making of Doctor Who]]''. Different parts of the passage have been quoted through different ''Doctor Who'' products. One of these is the 1999 [[Comic Relief]] special {{cs|The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)}}, written by Moffat himself.
** The [[Fifth Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Frontios (TV story)|Frontios]]''.
* The archived footage and recordings used during the "Save Gallifrey" scene for the different Doctors are as follows:
** The [[Sixth Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)|Attack of the Cybermen]].''
** [[First Doctor]]: footage from {{cs|The Daleks (TV story)}}: {{cs|The Daleks (TV story)|namedpart=The Dead Planet}}, newly recorded audio by [[John Guilor]]<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** The [[Seventh Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Battlefield (TV story)|Battlefield]]'', flipped around and [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]''.
** [[Second Doctor]]: footage from {{cs|The Tomb of the Cybermen (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Mind Robber (TV story)}} - audio from {{cs|The Seeds of Death (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** The [[Eighth Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]''.
** [[Third Doctor]]: flipped footage from {{cs|Colony in Space (TV story)}} - audio from {{cs|The Green Death (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
** The [[Ninth Doctor]]'s scenes in the climax are footage from [[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'' and [[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]''.
** [[Fourth Doctor]]: flipped footage from {{cs|Planet of Evil (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/> - audio from {{cs|Revenge of the Cybermen}}
* This is the final televised story to feature the Eleventh Doctor in a fez.
** [[Fifth Doctor]]: footage from {{cs|Frontios (TV story)}} - audio from {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
* The TARDIS interior set floor was raised from its normal height during the filming of the special to help Jenna Coleman's stunt double ride Clara's motorbike into the TARDIS.
** [[Sixth Doctor]]: footage and audio from {{cs|Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
* While the Eleventh Doctor is hanging out of the TARDIS over London, the soundtrack playing was first used in [[TV]]: ''[[Aliens of London (TV story)|Aliens of London]]'' and ''[[World War Three (TV story)|World War Three]]''.
** [[Seventh Doctor]]: flipped footage and audio from {{cs|Battlefield (TV story)}}, footage from {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
* With the airing of this episode's special closing credits, the actors for the First, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Doctors have finally had their faces featured in in a form of credits for ''Doctor Who'', along with the newcomer War Doctor. By extension, all faces of the Doctor up to the Eleventh Doctor have now been shown in either opening titles and/or closing credits.
** [[Eighth Doctor]]: footage from {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
* For the War Doctor, the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor, the events take place shortly before they regenerate. The War Doctor is seen regenerating at the end of the episode. Chronological evidence indicates the Tenth Doctor experiences this adventure during the period when he was on a "farewell tour" before his final adventure as depicted in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''. Similarly, the Eleventh Doctor would regenerate in his next televised adventure, ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]''. Interestingly enough, all three Doctors are living under the shadow of a prediction or expectation of their own death.
** [[Ninth Doctor]]: footage from {{cs|Rose (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Parting of the Ways (TV story)}}.<ref name="DWMSE 38"/> Also footage from {{cs|Aliens of London (TV story)}}.{{source}}
** Conversely, the episode foreshadows the birth of the Twelfth Doctor, who arrives before his actual debut from the not-so-distant future to join his younger selves in transporting Gallifrey into another universe.
* The scene featuring the War Doctor's regeneration does not conclude with the emergence of the Ninth Doctor. It only shows hints of his face beginning to form, due to the absence of [[Christopher Eccleston]] after his decision not to reprise the role for the anniversary special. [[Steven Moffat]] later explained his reasons for cutting the scene short in an interview published in [[DWM 473]]:
* One Dalek fighter pod can be seen knocked away from the destruction of the Dalek fleet. This would support the idea that some Daleks could feasibly survive beyond the Time War. However, it should not be confused with the [[Metaltron|Dalek]] seen in [[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'', as no connection is made that would suggest this craft was piloted by the same Dalek who fell through time and space to crash-land on Earth.
{{Quote|It was one thing to include him among all the other archive Doctors, as they flew in to save the day — in fact, it would have been disgraceful to have left anyone out — but placing him in that scene might have given the impression he'd actually turned up for filming, which would have been crossing the line. Not taking part in the 50th was a difficult decision for Chris, taken after a lot of thought and with great courtesy, and not respecting his wishes would have been grossly unprofessional and disrespectful to a good man and a great Doctor. Number 9 may not have turned up for the celebrations, but there would have been no party without him.|[[Steven Moffat]]|http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/moffat-explains-short-hurt-to-eccleston-regeneration-62935.htm}}
* ''The Day of the Doctor'' was given a higher pyrotechnics budget because of its anniversary special status, which allowed the production to feature much bigger explosions, The heightened explosive use can be witnessed during the [[Fall of Arcadia]] segments.
* Similarly to {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}, the end credits list all the actors who have played the Doctor in the reverse order of their incarnations (with the exception of [[Peter Capaldi]], who remained uncredited for his brief appearance). As a result, [[Matt Smith]] and [[David Tennant]] are listed first and second respectively, but [[Christopher Eccleston]] is credited above [[John Hurt]]. This marks the first time Eccleston is credited as playing "The Doctor" as during his season he was credited as "Doctor Who" (Hartnell had previously been credited as "The Doctor" at the end of {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}} after being credited as "Dr. Who" during his era).
* David Tennant's Tenth Doctor portrayal became notable for a spiky, modern hairstyle that he experimented with near the end of [[Series 2 (Doctor Who)|Series 2]] and later became his Doctor's default hairstyle up to his regeneration story. Unusually, Tennant's hair was slicked down in this special, save for one moment when the War Doctor acknowledged the "Bad Wolf" in front of his successors and his hair was standing on end.
* The photos of the Doctors used in the end credits are the same ones that appeared in {{cs|Nightmare in Silver (TV story)}} with two additional pictures inserted to represent the Eleventh Doctor and the War Doctor.
 
* One of the displays originally featured various Doctors, some of whom were implied to be from his future. Amongst them was a photo of [[Peter Cushing (in-universe)|Peter Cushing]]... with Kate explaining to a bemused Clara that {{cs|Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)}} and {{cs|Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)}} had been the work of some of the Doctor's former companions! References to the Cushing movies were ultimately deleted due to rights issues.<ref name="DWM 469">[[DWM 469]]{{which}}</ref><ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
=== The War Doctor's Regeneration ===
* Actor [[John Guilor]] is credited as "Voice Over Artist" in the credits, although they do not say which role he voiced. Castingcallpro.com, [[DWM 520]] and [[DWMSE 38]] credit him as the voice of the [[First Doctor]].
[[File:War Doctor turns into Ecclestone.jpg|thumb|right|The facial features of the Ninth Doctor are only partially seen before the regeneration scene cuts off.]]
* [[Peter Capaldi]]'s cameo was the last scene to be shot. It was added in post-production as one last surprise. His costume hadn't been decided on, so the crew shot a close-up of his eyes. It was filmed during his appearance at the end of {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}}.<ref name="DWMSE 38"/>
The scene featuring the War Doctor's regeneration into the Ninth Doctor does not conclude with the emergence of the Ninth Doctor. It only shows hints of his face beginning to form, due the absence of [[Christopher Eccleston]] after a difficult decision not to reprise the role for the anniversary special. [[Steven Moffat]] later explained his reasons for cutting the scene short in an interview published in [[DWM 473]]. He cited the main reason for abbreviating the regeneration as “human decency” for Eccleston.
* Much more music was composed and recorded for the episode than was actually used, including original pieces for the scene where the Eleventh Doctor hangs from the TARDIS, and a theme for the Curator called "[[Song for Four]]". The production team elected instead to use legacy music from previous episodes of the revived series. Much of the unused music is included on the [[Doctor Who: Original Television Soundtrack: The Day of the Doctor / The Time of the Doctor|soundtrack release]]. The aforementioned "Song for Four" would go on to be reworked for use in {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}}, retitled to "[[Snow over Trenzalore]]". The original unaltered piece was finally used in {{cs|Deep Breath (TV story)}} for the scene in which the Eleventh Doctor calls Clara.
* [[Steven Moffat]] stated that he believed that the Doctor did not change his past about destroying Gallifrey, since it is "the story of what really happened that he's forgotten" and that "of course he never did that."<ref>[https://www.buzzfeed.com/danmartin/steven-moffat-explains-this-big-the-day-of-the-doctor-twist?utm_term=.cdeEVj3vb#.bvojrV5QY Steven Moffat interview]</ref>
* [[Matt Smith]] and [[Billie Piper]] had previously appeared together in an episode of {{wi|Secret Diary of a Call Girl}}.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] considered having the Tenth Doctor paired up with Rose, in part as a way of recognising the crucial role played by [[Billie Piper]] in the show's relaunch. However, he felt that Rose's story had been drawn to its ideal conclusion in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}, and he did not want to undermine the work of [[Russell T Davies]]. Now, however, Moffat realised that the Moment could assume Rose's form, specifically, her manifestation after absorbing the power of the time vortex in {{cs|The Parting of the Ways (TV story)}}. [[Billie Piper]] agreed with Moffat's sentiments, despite loving the character of Rose.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] considered using audio clips to incorporate [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|the Brigadier]], but decided against it.{{fact}}
* Osgood was originally Kate's personal assistant before becoming a UNIT scientist.{{fact}}
* Osgood was named after [[Tom Osgood|Sergeant Tom Osgood]]. [[Steven Moffat]] intended for the pair to be father and daughter.{{fact}}
* Lord Bentham was named after [[Jeremy Bentham]].{{fact}}
* Early versions saw the Moment appear to the Ninth Doctor in the form of a young girl dressed in rags, while Clara accompanied the Eleventh Doctor through the portal to 1562. The portal's effects on the actions of the Tenth Doctor were to manifest themselves in the present day as the Eleventh Doctor became wracked with pain; this was similar to the Fifth Doctor's reaction when his past selves were removed from time in {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}.{{fact}}
* When [[Christopher Eccleston]] declined to appear, [[Steven Moffat]] considered assigning his role to [[Paul McGann]]. He then decided that he couldn't picture the [[Eighth Doctor]] as the one who ended the Time War. He ultimately wrote {{cs|The Night of the Doctor (TV story)}} for McGann. He then turned to an alternative concept he had been formulating, featuring a "mayfly Doctor" who appears for a single episode, asking, "Would it be weird in the run of the series to have the 45th Doctor turn up and be played by [[Johnny Depp]] or someone? Would that be a cool thing to do?"{{factyy
* [[John Hurt]] did not actually audition for the War Doctor, but had been asked by the production team and "said yes with remarkable speed".{{fact}}
* The War Doctor originally left the "No More" message behind at the Time Lord armoury from which he stole the Moment.{{fact}}
* Originally, Clara saved the Doctors from their cell in the Tower of London by convincing their jailer that she was a witch.{{fact}}
* The intent of the program which the Doctors ran through their sonic screwdrivers was to unlock the door to the Black Archive, before it was decided that they should access that area via the ''Gallifrey Falls'' painting.{{fact}}
* The War Doctor was originally referred to in the script as the Renegade and then the Other Doctor.{{fact}}
* The start of the War Doctor's regeneration in his TARDIS was a late addition. [[Steven Moffat]] was firm that this scene should be realised in a manner which would not imply [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s involvement, since he wanted to respect the actor's decision against participating in the special.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] was developing ideas for the 50th anniversary episode as early as late [[2011]], when he stated that the team "knew what [they] want[ed] to do" and were "revving up" for the episode in an interview discussing his work on {{wi|The Adventures of Tintin (film)|The Adventures of Tintin}}, and began writing the script in late [[2012]], announcing that, as a security precaution, he had not produced any copies, instead keeping it on his computer "under lock and key" until it was needed.{{fact}}
* The coda went through several variations before [[Steven Moffat]] arrived at its final form, although every version repurposed the image of the TARDIS parked upon a cloud, as in {{cs|The Snowmen (TV story)}}. Initially, the spiral staircase used to access it in that adventure also appeared: as the Doctor ascended, his form shifted through each of his incarnations, starting with the First Doctor and culminating with the Eleventh Doctor. Later, the Eleventh Doctor instead exited the TARDIS into a gallery where paintings of each of his incarnations were hung. The War Doctor's portrait was turned to face the wall, but the Doctor now restored it to its proper orientation before emerging onto the cloud.{{fact}}
* Knowing that [[Matt Smith]] was planning to leave the series, [[Steven Moffat]] wrote the special specifically with the brief appearance of the Twelfth Doctor during the sequence of all of the Doctors uniting to save Gallifrey, prior to casting anyone in the role.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] later stated that it was his "plan from the start" that all the Doctors would fly in to save Gallifrey.{{fact}}
* No new Daleks were constructed for the special; instead, [[Nick Hurran]] drew upon the existing pool of casings, including those which had been built during the early years of the revival, as well as the more recent additions to their ranks from {{cs|Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)}}.{{fact}}
* To preserve the secret of the War Doctor's identity, [[John Hurt]] was identified as “[[Omega]]” on the call sheet.{{fact}}
* While [[Matt Smith]], [[David Tennant]] and [[John Hurt]] appeared in the last scene, the first nine Doctors were played by stand-ins, their features being added in post-production.{{fact}}
* The War Doctor's console room was assembled at Roath Lock using elements which had been created for the First Doctor's TARDIS in {{cs|An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)}}.{{fact}}
* Some of the War Doctor's trek across the desert was filmed against a greenscreen at Roath Lock.{{fact}}
* To minimise the risk of [[Tom Baker]]'s involvement being discovered, he was driven to Cardiff from his home in [[East Sussex]] through the dark pre-dawn hours. Once his footage was completed, Baker was chauffeured back the same afternoon, having found the scene bittersweet. He told Digital Spy: "[[Matt Smith]] is a darling young man – he made me very welcome. [But] he was the only one who welcomed me – I drove through the night to Cardiff, and Matt Smith came seeking me out, so full of joy and so happy to see me! He made it very, very easy acting with him, and I'm so glad he's going on to tumultuous success. Nobody else bothered with me at all. I was a bit nettled about that. They didn't have Matt's warmth. That's what he's good at, warmth... absolutely wonderful, and there's not much of him – he's sort of lean, and exudes this warmth".{{fact}}
* The advertisement for IM Foreman's junkyard was the same one created for {{cs|An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)}}.
* A deleted scene saw the War Doctor insist to the Moment that, after he destroyed Gallifrey, he would no longer permit himself the luxury of regeneration.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] added new dialogue to the negotiations between UNIT and the Zygons which would make their final aim unclear, since he was considering revisiting the scenario in a future adventure. Originally, the humans were simply asked to provide the Zygons with enough technology to leave Earth.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] explained his choice of title to ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'', commenting that "... it's very rare in ''Doctor Who'' that the story happens to the Doctor. It happens to people around him, and he helps out – he's the hero figure who rides in and saves everybody from the story of the week. He is not the story of the week. In this, he is the story of the week. This is the day of the Doctor. This is his most important day. His most important moment. This is the one he'll remember, whereas I often think the Doctor wanders back to his TARDIS and forgets all about it."{{fact}}
* Filming took approximately five weeks. The first three days were spent at Roath Lock Studios. Some of the scenes set in the National Gallery and the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS were filmed in the period.{{fact}}
* Miniatures constructed by [[Mike Tucker]] and his company [[The Model Unit]] were used in filming for the Time War sequences, including a model of a Time Lord staser cannon and the War Doctor flying his TARDIS into and subsequently destroying several Daleks.{{fact}}
* The Dalek models used were 18-inch voice interactive toys produced by [[Character Options]]. The technique of using Dalek toys as models for filming was a common method of presenting entire armies in the classic series.{{fact}}
* [[Tom Baker]] had previously worked as a museum curator before he joined the army.{{fact}}
* The gag with the Doctor doing a double take when he spots an aged Fourth Doctor was proposed by [[Tom Baker]] himself during his convention appearances. He approached the showrunners with this idea as early as [[2007]], while praising [[David Tennant]]'s take on the role.{{fact}}
* [[John Hurt]] offhandedly turned down the role of the War Doctor when his agent phoned him to tell him he'd been offered the part. His wife overheard and insisted he take the part. He eventually came around, staying with the part for the rest of his life.{{fact}}
* According to [[Steven Moffat]], [[John Hurt]] gave a speech on his last day filming which went along the lines of, "I don’t want anyone to think I took this lightly or thought I was slumming it. This really meant something to me, to be the Doctor."{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] told Digital Spy: "''The Day of the Doctor'' was a monster hit – I think I can say that – but the actual process of doing it was murder. It was an awful show to work on and I kept just wanting to give up. Because the truth is, there is a reason why there is only one Doctor, and there is absolutely no reason to have more than one".{{fact{}
* [[Matt Smith]] performed the stunt where the Eleventh Doctor is hanging above Trafalgar Square himself.{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] revealed during the 2020 tweetalong during [[COVID-19]] that [[John Hurt]] improvised the line "Which one is mine?"{{fact}}
* [[Steven Moffat]] indicated that the "classic Doctor" he would most like to feature in a new story was the First, stating, "You'd want him to come and say 'What in the name of God have I turned into?' That's the confrontation that you most want to see, to celebrate 50 years. Going round and round in circles on it I just thought, 'What about a Doctor that he never talks about?' And what if it is a Doctor who's done something terrible, who's much deadlier and more serious, who represents that thing that is the undertow in both [[David Tennant|David]] and [[Matt Smith|Matt]]. You know there's a terrible old man inside them. Well, here he is, facing the children he becomes, as it were." This idea would come to pass in {{cs|Twice Upon a Time (TV story)}}.{{fact}}
* In an early draft of the script, the Moment also appeared in the role of the Curator. This was changed when [[Tom Baker]] became available. [[Steven Moffat]] has said it's possible to interpret the Curator as also being the Moment. However, Moffat believes that the Curator is a far future incarnation of the Doctor who chooses to revisit a different face every day.{{fact}}
* [[David Tennant]]'s other commitments meant that the Tenth Doctor doesn't sport his trademark spiky hairstyle.{{fact}}
* The Tenth Doctor's TARDIS console room could only be filmed from a few angles, as the set had been taken and installed in The [[Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)|Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff]]. In order to add display pieces, parts of the set were cut away and the crew had to work around the missing/altered sections.


{{Quote|It was one thing to include him among all the other archive Doctors, as they flew in to save the day -- in fact, it would have been disgraceful to have left anyone out -- but placing him in that scene might have given the impression he’d actually turned up for filming, which would have been crossing the line. Not taking part in the 50th was a difficult decision for Chris, taken after a lot of thought and with great courtesy, and not respecting his wishes would have been grossly unprofessional and disrespectful to a good man and a great Doctor. Number 9 may not have turned up for the celebrations, but there would have been no party without him.”||[[Steven Moffat]]|http://www.doctorwhotv.co.uk/moffat-explains-short-hurt-to-eccleston-regeneration-62935.htm}}
=== Easter eggs ===
* The opening scenes mimic the original open to {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)}}: the first shot shows a police officer going by a sign for [[76 Totter's Lane]], and the second shot is set at Coal Hill School as class dismisses. Clara is now a teacher at [[Coal Hill School]]. A sign shows that [[Ian Chesterton|I. Chesterton]] is chairman of the school's Board of Governors, also showing that a W. Coburn is headmaster — an in-joke reference to [[Anthony Coburn]], who wrote ''An Unearthly Child'', and [[Waris Hussein]], ''Doctor Who''{{'}}s original director.
* As Clara leaves the school, a clock can be seen to display the time as 5:16pm, the broadcast time of {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)|namedep=An Unearthly Child (1)}}.
* When Kate realises there are multiple Doctors, she asks for one of her father's files code-named [[Cromer]], which is a reference to [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|her father]] at first believing the [[anti-matter universe]] from {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}} to be Cromer.
* The access code for [[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator]] is "1716231163". This is a reference to the time (17:16) and date (23.11.63) that the episode {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)|namedep=An Unearthly Child (1)}} first aired.
* Although not readable in the episode, the companion wallboard contains details about companions from multiple media sources, as could be seen on the prop at the [[Doctor Who Experience (London/Cardiff)|Doctor Who Experience]]: Ace's full name is "Dorothy Gale McShane", Romana is from the [[House of Heartshaven]], Romana II became Lady President, Barbara wrote a GCSE textbook called ''[[Journeys Through History: A Sourcebook]]'' for GCSE for the Associated Exam Board in 1985, and Harry Sullivan was a commissioned surgeon-lieutenant, who later worked for [[NATO]] and [[MI5]].
* One Dalek fighter pod can be seen knocked away from the destruction of the Dalek fleet, alluding to the Dalek survivors of the Time War.
* When the Doctor and the Curator part, the wall features a pattern of "round things", very reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor's TARDIS.


However, this has not stopped fans from posting their own modified takes of the regeneration online, who were not satisfied with the original scene. One of these edits has received over 300,000 views since it was made available on [[3 December]], 2013 for demonstrating a professional effort to complete the regeneration. The video clip showcases an extended cut of the previous footage that completes the face morph from Hurt to Eccleston and visualizes a fully regenerated Ninth Doctor in his first moments aboard the TARDIS.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kasterborous.com/2013/12/war-doctors-regeneration-improved-video  |title=The War Doctor’s Regeneration Improved |author=Drew Boynton |date of source=15 December 2013 |website name=kasterborous.com |accessdate=13 May 2014 |quote=As seen on this very well-done video, the skilled fan has added just a few scant seconds, but it’s just enough to see the Ninth Doctor’s face fully regenerated in all his glory. It’s like years of waiting have finally come to an end.}}
=== Myths ===
</ref>
* The shrouded statues were secretly portrayed by [[Peter Davison]], [[Colin Baker]] and [[Sylvester McCoy]], as was revealed by {{cs|The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (TV story)}}. ''Although that's what "Reboot" shows, the scene is a different take of the one seen in the episode and [[DWMSE 38]] credits members of the production crew instead.''
* The special would pick up immediately after {{cs|The Name of the Doctor (TV story)}} ''The special instead takes place some time after the previous story.''
* Billie Piper would reprise her role as [[Rose Tyler]], and the Tenth Doctor's involvement would be during the events of [[Series 2 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 2]]. ''Billie Piper instead played The Moment's interface and the Tenth Doctor's involvement is set between {{cs|The Waters of Mars (TV story)}} and {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}


=== Production errors ===
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
{{discontinuity}}
* There is a basic hair [[continuity|continuity error]] in the scene where [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth]] and her duplicate catch up with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the forest. As the two Elizabeths each kiss the Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh's quiff inexplicably escapes from underneath the [[fez]] — mostly when he is out of focus — and then is magically back under the fez when he's in tighter shots.
* During the opening scene of the TARDIS being airlifted, the Police Box windows change colour from black (roadside used prop),  to black and white (Airlifted/crane prop), to white (CGI model) and back to black and white at Trafalgar Square. For the rest of the episode, the windows remain white.
** During Series 5-10, it was common for the windows to switch colour as different props were used in-studio and on-location, however this is the first time all 3 versions are used in quick succession to depict the same TARDIS.
* When the TARDIS arrives in Trafalgar Square and David Tennant's name appears on screen, a stage and rigging can be seen erected between the two fountains. This then disappears in the next shot as the TARDIS is lowered into the exact same spot.
* There is a basic hair [[Continuity supervisor|continuity error]] in the scene where [[Elizabeth I|Elizabeth]] and her duplicate catch up with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the forest. As the two Elizabeths each kiss the Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh's quiff inexplicably escapes from underneath the [[fez]] — mostly when he is out of focus — and then is magically back under the fez when he's in tighter shots.
** A similar hair error occurs with the Tenth Doctor when the War Doctor is exclaiming about the "Bad Wolf". After having his hair slicked down for the whole story, his hair suddenly stands on end in one shot with the Moment in the background, which inadvertently resembles the spiky hairstyle the Tenth Doctor wore in his final years.
** A similar hair error occurs with the Tenth Doctor when the War Doctor is exclaiming about the "Bad Wolf". After having his hair slicked down for the whole story, his hair suddenly stands on end in one shot with the Moment in the background, which inadvertently resembles the spiky hairstyle the Tenth Doctor wore in his final years.
* When the Tenth Doctor has been kissed by Elizabeth in their wedding, his collar is up in one shot, and down in the next.
*There is another continuity error regarding the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. In {{cs|Smith and Jones (TV story)}}, the Tenth Doctor discards his sonic screwdriver, having been burned out. This is the first time since the Eighth Doctor that his sonic screwdriver had been destroyed in {{cs|The Flood (comic story)}}, and as a result, the sonic screwdriver held by the Eleventh Doctor cannot be the same one used by the War Doctor to scan the door or to begin the calculations necessary to freeze Gallifrey and save it.
* When the Tenth Doctor has been kissed by Elizabeth at their wedding, his collar is up in one shot, and down in the next.
* When the Tenth Doctor says "This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with!", as he walks away from the console, the floor is clearly misplaced. One section is above the other.
* A close-up of the screen of the [[Space-time telegraph|Space-Time Telegraph]] shows that it refers to the [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]]'s last name as "Left-Bridge" Stewart.
* A close-up of the screen of the [[Space-time telegraph|Space-Time Telegraph]] shows that it refers to the [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]]'s last name as "Left-Bridge" Stewart.
* When all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor arrive to hide Gallifrey in a pocket universe, the Seventh Doctor first appears in his yellow pullover with question marks. When he appears again, his costume changes to the one he wore in the TV Movie and he is now in the Victorian parlour console room. When he appears for the third time, he goes back to wearing the pullover he originally wore in the television series. This emphasises that the archive footage used to generate his presence among the other Doctors has been pulled from asynchronous moments of his life, the early and late periods to be exact.
* When all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor arrive to hide Gallifrey in a pocket universe, the Seventh Doctor first appears in his yellow pullover with question marks. When he appears again, his costume changes to the one he wore in the TV Movie and he is now in the Victorian parlour console room. When he appears for the third time, he goes back to wearing the pullover he originally wore in the television series. This emphasises that the archive footage used to generate his presence among the other Doctors has been pulled from asynchronous moments of his life, the early and late periods to be exact.
* It is clearly visible that all the archive-footage Doctors that talk (except the Ninth Doctor) are not speaking when their voices are heard. This is obviously because the audio (except for the First Doctor's) and the clips are not taken from the same episodes, every Doctor having to be shown controlling the TARDIS. At one point the First Doctor's dialogue (newly recorded by an impersonator for this story) is heard as we see an image of William Hartnell, but his lips are not moving at all.
* At the end of the special, when the three Doctors are in the museum, the Tenth Doctor asks what the painting is actually called. In that shot, the door to his TARDIS is open. In every shot after that, the door is closed.
* At the end of the special, when the three Doctors are in the museum, the Tenth Doctor asks what the painting is actually called. In that shot, the door to his TARDIS is open. In every shot after that, the door is closed.
* The last scene of the special, where the Eleventh Doctor is walking out of the TARDIS onto the cloud with his other incarnations, the TARDIS door handle has been obviously removed.
** When Clara enters the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS and shuts the door, as the Eleventh Doctor starts thinking aloud he could [[retire]] and be "the great curator", Jenna Coleman can still be seen moving around inside the police box prop through a gap between the doors for about a second.
* The closing credits credit Billie Piper as playing Rose, however dialogue in the episode (plus copious interviews and promotional material related to the special) clearly indicates that Piper does not play Rose in the episode, but rather The Moment, a clearly defined stand-alone character, and in the form of the [[Bad Wolf entity]].
* In the last scene of the special, where the Eleventh Doctor is walking out of the TARDIS onto the cloud with his other incarnations, the TARDIS door handle has been obviously removed.
* After the War Doctor's TARDIS ploughs down a group of Daleks in Arcadia and takes flight, the [[SFX]] incorrectly show it as the untarnished Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS complete with the St. John's Ambulance logo, when the [[Practical effect|practical]] War Doctor's TARDIS prop has been heavily battle-damaged.
* After the War Doctor's TARDIS ploughs down a group of Daleks in Arcadia and takes flight, the [[SFX]] incorrectly show it as the untarnished Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS complete with the St. John's Ambulance logo, when the [[Practical effect|practical]] War Doctor's TARDIS prop has been heavily battle-damaged.
** In addition to this, a later shot of the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS flying through space is clearly a reuse of the same footage.
* Right after the three Doctors point their sonic screwdrivers towards the air in the Black Archive-scene, the War Doctor's arm is pointing straight upwards. In the very next shot, his arm is bending approximately 90 degrees.
* When the Eleventh Doctor says "we're going to freeze Gallifrey" to the War Council, Matt Smith's script can be seen on the TARDIS console. When asked about it, Moffat humorously explained that it is the recollections of the events by previous Doctors, written down to help their future self because of their memories getting out of sync.<ref name="DWM 489">[[DWM 489]]{{which}}</ref>
* As the Eleventh Doctor is about to drop down from the bottom of his TARDIS, the metal harnesses used to hold Matt Smith to the bottom of the police box prop are visible.
* Billie Piper's screen credit at the end identifies her as playing Rose, not the Moment, despite dialogue in her introductory scene directly indicating that Piper is not playing Rose.
== Continuity ==
{{section cleanup|As per [[Forum:Non-valid Continuity sections, categories, and prefixes#Continuity sections]], this section needs to be written from an '''out-of-universe perspective'''.}}
* Clara is now a teacher at [[Coal Hill School]]. A sign shows that [[Ian Chesterton|I. Chesterton]] is chairman of the school's Board of Governors in {{cs|An Unearthly Child (TV story)}}
* Clara rides a [[motorbike]] into the [[TARDIS console room]]. A policeman from [[San Francisco]] previously rode a motorbike into the TARDIS in {{cs|Doctor Who (TV story)}}. The [[Tenth Doctor]] similarly rode a [[moped]] out of the TARDIS in {{cs|The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)}} and the Eleventh Doctor did the same with a motorbike in {{cs|The Bells of Saint John (TV story)}}
* The War Doctor comments that his companions keep getting younger, a sentiment that had been previously stated by [[Sarah Jane Smith]] in {{cs|School Reunion (TV story)}}.
* The Eleventh Doctor continues to wear [[Amy's glasses|Amy Pond's reading glasses]] from {{cs|The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)}}, which he also wore in {{cs|The Snowmen (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Rings of Akhaten (TV story)}}.
* Kate asks Osgood to tell [[Malcolm Taylor]] to change the batteries in the robotic ravens outside the [[Tower of London]], who appeared in {{cs|Planet of the Dead (TV story)}}. Kate previously made a seemingly-joking comment to [[Amy Pond]] about having "[[ravens of death]]" in {{cs|The Power of Three (TV story)}}.
* The Eleventh Doctor again uses the [[TARDIS phone|phone on the outside of the TARDIS]],  such as in {{cs|The Bells of Saint John (TV story)}}. As seen in {{cs|The Empty Child (TV story)}}, it had previously not been a real [[phone]].
* [[Romana II]] said previously that [[painting]]s were done by computers on [[Gallifrey]] in {{cs|City of Death (TV story)}}.
* The War Doctor's statement, ''"No more"'', in relation to the Time War was also said by [[Dalek Caan]] after he saw the Daleks through all of time and space in {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}
* The War Doctor is willing to sacrifice his own life as his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] and [[Sixth Doctor|sixth]] incarnations had done, as shown in [[TV]]: {{cs|The Caves of Androzani (TV story)}}), {{cs|The Ultimate Foe (TV story)}} and [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Brink of Death (audio story)|The Brink of Death]]'', respectively.
* The Time Lords in the War Room mention that the [[High Council of Time Lords|High Council]] are holding an emergency session and that they have plans of their own. However, the General comments that the High Council's plans have "already failed", which were seen in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
* Androgar mentions ''"All Dalek fleets surrounding the planet now converging on the capital, but the [[sky trench]]es are holding."'' The Daleks managed to breach 400 sky trenches surrounding Arcadia, which was considered "the safest place on Gallifrey" by veteran Time Lord soldiers on duty at a city outpost, and until the final day of the Time War, nothing in history had managed to breach more than two sky trenches in {{cs|The Last Day (TV story)}}.
* Like [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] when it inhabited [[Idris]] in  {{cs|The Doctor's Wife (TV story)}}, the Moment is confused between the past and the future.
* When surrounded by Queen [[Elizabeth I]]'s soldiers, the [[War Doctor]] asks the [[Tenth Doctor]] and the [[Eleventh Doctor]] if they were going to "assemble a cabinet at them". The phrase "build a [[cabinet]]" was previously used by [[River Song]] in relation to the sonic screwdriver in {{cs|Day of the Moon (TV story)}}, while the [[Ninth Doctor]] asked Jack Harkness if he'd "never had a lot of cabinets to put up" when Jack asked him about the sonic in {{cs|The Doctor Dances (TV story)}}.
* Kate encounters an alien which duplicates her appearance and impersonates her. This had previously happened when a [[Dæmon]] statue had taken her shape in ''[[Dæmos Rising (home video)|Dæmos Rising]]''.
* When Clara exclaims that there are three Doctors present, "Kate" replies, ''"We have a precedent for that"'', recalling {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}}.
* The Eleventh Doctor calls to Clara through a [[wormhole]], referring to her as the "Wicked Witch of the Well". [[Hila Tacorien]] was previously referred to by this name due to the wormhole in [[Caliburn House]] in {{cs|Hide (TV story)}}.
* Many alien artefacts are seen in the [[Black Archive]], including [[River Song]]'s red [[High-heeled shoe|heels]] from ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]'', [[Magna-Clamp]]s from {{cs|Army of Ghosts (TV story)}} the head of a [[Supreme Dalek (The Stolen Earth)|Supreme Dalek]] as seen in {{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}} a [[Dalek enhanced Tommy Gun|Dalek tommy gun]] from {{cs|Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)}} the restraining chair from the [[Joshua Naismith|Naismith]] mansion in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}} the [[space-time telegraph]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'') a [[sonic probe]] depicted in {{cs|The Girl Who Waited (TV story)}} the facemask of one of the [[Clockwork Droid]]s from {{cs|The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)}} Amy Pond's pinwheel seen in {{cs|The Eleventh Hour (TV story)}} a [[Sontaran blaster]] from ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]'', and some [[TARDIS coral]] in {{cs|The Runaway Bride (TV story)}}
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] marries [[Elizabeth I]], as had been alluded to in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Beast Below (TV story)}}, {{cs|Amy's Choice (TV story)}} and {{cs|The Wedding of River Song (TV story)}}. She later shows antagonism towards the Tenth Doctor in [[1599]] in {{cs|The Shakespeare Code (TV story)}}, but, as this happened earlier in the Doctor's personal timeline, he had no idea why she hated him.
* When the Tenth Doctor sees his eleventh incarnation's [[desktop theme]], he says he doesn't like it, mirroring similar remarks in {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}}, {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}} and {{cs|Closing Time (TV story)}}. The [[Fifth Doctor]] also accused the Tenth Doctor of "changing the desktop theme" when they accidentally ran their TARDISes into each other in {{cs|Time Crash (TV story)}}.
* The security protocol for the Black Archive involves a self-destruct triggered through nuclear warhead detonation at the sacrifice of all human life in the blast radius. A similar nuclear option against alien attack was developed by UNIT in the form of the [[Osterhagen Project]] and was also nearly activated during {{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}} and {{cs|Journey's End (TV story)}}.
* Kate's prejudice of aliens as well as her willingness to commit genocide and sacrifice innocents without remorse equals that of [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|her father]] displayed in ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians (TV story)|Doctor Who and the Silurians]]''.
* When the Doctor calls from the [[Phone|TARDIS phone]], his telephone number once again is 07700900461 as shown in{{cs|The Stolen Earth (TV story)}}.
* The promise the Doctor made is almost identical to the idea that Ace has of him as when she tries to maintain her identity she thinks of the Doctor as ''"impulsive, idealistic, ready to risk his life for a worthy cause... hates tyranny and oppression... never gives in... never gives up... believes in good and fights evil... though often caught up in violent situations, he is a man of peace. He is never cruel or cowardly."'' ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation (novel)|Timewyrm: Revelation]]'') Later, [[John Smith (Seventh Doctor)|John Smith]] made similar notes about being the Doctor in ''[[Human Nature (novel)|Human Nature]]''.
* The Tenth and Eleventh Doctor's regret on prejudicing the War Doctor equals that of the [[Sixth Doctor]]'s remorse on misjudging [[Gustave Lytton]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)|Attack of the Cybermen]]'') and a certain [[Dalek (Jubilee)|Dalek]]; ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Jubilee (audio story)|Jubilee]]'') and the [[Ninth Doctor]] doing so to the [[Metaltron|Metaltron Dalek]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Dalek (TV story)}}; [[PROSE]]: {{cs|Dalek (novelisation)}}) [[Rose Tyler]], ([[TV]]: {{cs|Father's Day (TV story)}}) and [[Adam Mitchell]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Endgame (POT comic story)|Endgame]]'') The Tenth Doctor was ashamed on misjudging all [[Kotturuh|Kotturah]] after seeing [[Inyit]]'s [[morality]], and on how he committed genocide to preserve his own life as [[Time Lord Victorious]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[All Flesh is Grass (novel)|All Flesh is Grass]]'') The Eleventh Doctor previously regretted misjudging and refusing to get to know [[Octavian (The Time of Angels)|Octavian]] seen in [[TV]]: {{cs|Flesh and Stone (TV story)}}.
* The War Doctor excitedly exclaims that he could [[kiss]] the "Bad Wolf girl", to which the Moment replies with, ''"that's definitely gonna happen."'' as shown for the first time in {{cs|The Parting of the Ways (TV story)}}.
* When the Doctors contact the War Council to confirm they're ready to put Gallifrey into a pocket universe, the General complains, ''"I didn't know when I was well off. All twelve of them".'' This echoes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's comment of, ''"Three of them, eh? I didn't know when I was well off"'' from {{cs|The Three Doctors (TV story)}}.
* During the [[War in Heaven]], [[Homunculette]] heard rumours that there were Gallifreys hidden in pocket universes. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'') At least one of the [[Nine Gallifreys]] was moved into a [[bottle universe]] to escape destruction by [[the Enemy]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dead Romance (novel)|Dead Romance]]'')
* Gallifrey's war effort is led by the [[War Council]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Body Politic (audio story)|Body Politic]]'') also called [[Gallifrey High Command]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[K9 and the Time Trap (novel)|K9 and the Time Trap]]'', ''[[K9 and the Zeta Rescue (novel)|K9 and the Zeta Rescue]]'')
* Prior to regenerating, the [[War Doctor]] comments that his body is "wearing a bit thin", repeating the line spoken by the [[First Doctor]] immediately prior to his own regeneration into the [[Second Doctor]] in {{cs|The Tenth Planet (TV story)}}. He then hopes that "the [[ear]]s are a bit less conspicuous this time"; the Ninth Doctor makes a reference to the size of his ears when seeing his reflection in {{cs|Rose (TV story)}}.
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] refers to his fate on [[Trenzalore]] from {{cs|The Name of the Doctor (TV story)}}.
* The [[Tenth Doctor]], when returning to his own timeline, tells the [[Eleventh Doctor]] that he is glad his "future is in safe hands", echoing remarks in {{cs|The Five Doctors (TV story)}}.
* The Tenth Doctor, upon hearing of Trenzalore, says they need to take a different direction, proclaiming ''"I don't want to go."''; he will say this at the end of his incarnation in {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}.
== Home video releases ==
[[File:The Day of the Doctor UK DVD Cover.jpg|thumb|The Day of the Doctor DVD Cover]]


=== Deleted scene ===
=== DVD & Blu-ray releases ===
* A short deleted scene on the BBC ''Doctor Who'' website features the War Doctor, the Tenth and Eleventh arriving at the tower of London in ankle shackles. The Eleventh says his shoes "bring the cool" and that the Tenth "wouldn't understand the cool", whilst the exasperated War Doctor declares they haven't drawn breath "since Richmond".
* ''The Day of the Doctor'' was released in the UK on Region 2 DVD, and Region B 3D Blu-ray on [[2 December (releases)|2 December]] [[2013 (releases)|2013]]. ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'' and ''[[The Last Day (TV story)|The Last Day]]'' were also included on both versions. A Region 1 DVD and a Region A Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack were released in the US on [[10 December (releases)|10 December]] 2013, and a Region 4 DVD and a Region B Blu-ray were released in Australia on [[4 December (releases)|4 December]] 2013.
* The [[50th Anniversary Collector's Edition]] box set was released in the UK and Australia on DVD and Bluray, containing ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'', ''The Day of the Doctor'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'', the minisodes ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'' and ''[[The Last Day (TV story)|The Last Day]],'' and the 2013 docu-drama ''[[An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)|An Adventure in Space and Time]]''. The set was released in region 2/B on [[8 September (releases)|8 September]] [[2014 (releases)|2014]] and in region 4/B on [[10 September (releases)|10 September]] 2014.


== Continuity ==
=== Digital releases ===
* A police officer walks by a sign for I.M. Foreman's scrapyard at [[76 Totter's Lane]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child (TV story)|An Unearthly Child]]'')
* The special was added to [[Netflix]] instant streaming in the US in [[September (releases)|September]] 2014. It is listed as the 15th episode of [[Series 7 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 7]].
* Clara is now a teacher at [[Coal Hill School]]. A sign shows that [[Ian Chesterton|I. Chesterton]] is chairman of the school's Board of Governors.
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]] as part of Series 7.
* Clara rides a [[motorbike]] into the TARDIS console room. A policeman from San Francisco previously rode a motorbike into (and very quickly out of) [[the TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'') The [[Tenth Doctor]] similarly rode a [[moped]] out of the TARDIS ([[TV]]: ''[[The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)|The Idiot's Lantern]]''), and the Eleventh Doctor did the same with a motorbike ([[TV]]: ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'').
* While the TARDIS previously showed dislike for Clara, Clara is now able to close the TARDIS doors with just a snap of her fingers, suggesting it has grown to like her after saving the Doctor from the [[Great Intelligence]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Rings of Akhaten (TV story)|The Rings of Akhaten]]'', ''[[Hide (TV story)|Hide]]'', ''[[Clara and the TARDIS]]'', ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'') Previously only the Doctor had been able to do this. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Day of the Moon (TV story)|Day of the Moon]]'', with ''Forest of the Dead'' clearly indicating that the ability signifies an evolution in the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS.)
* The Eleventh Doctor continues to wear [[Amy's glasses|Amy Pond's reading glasses]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'', ''[[The Snowmen (TV story)|The Snowmen]]'', ''[[The Rings of Akhaten (TV story)|The Rings of Akhaten]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor continues preferring odd reading material; this time it's ''Advanced Quantum Mechanics''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'') For some reason, the cover of the book has an image of the TARDIS in its police box disguise.
* Kate asks Osgood to tell "Malcolm" to change the batteries in the robotic ravens outside the [[Tower of London]], and later calls Malcolm to request some of her father's files. This could be a reference to [[Malcolm Taylor]], a UNIT scientist the Tenth Doctor met during his time on [[San Helios]] with [[The Swarm (Planet of the Dead)|the Swarm]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'') This also refers back to an earlier comment Kate made about having "ravens of death" to [[Amy Pond]]. ([[TV]] ''[[The Power of Three (TV story)|The Power of Three]]'')
* The Doctor again uses the [[TARDIS phone|phone on the outside of the TARDIS]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'') It had previously not been a real [[phone]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') He later told [[Handles]] to remind him to rewire it back through the console. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* [[Romana II|Romana]] said previously that, on Gallifrey, paintings are done by computers. ([[TV]]: ''[[City of Death (TV story)|City of Death]]'')
* The Time Lords in the War Room mention that the [[High Council of Time Lords|High Council]] are holding an emergency session, and that they have plans of their own. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* The War Doctor's statement "No more" in relation to the Time War was also said by [[Dalek Caan]] after he saw the Daleks through all of Time and Space. ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* Upon viewing [[the Moment]]'s controls, the War Doctor asks "Why is there never a big [[red]] button?", which the Moment later modifies itself to incorporate. The Tenth Doctor previously mentioned he could never resist pressing a "great, big, threatening button". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]'')
* Like the [[TARDIS]], The Moment is confused by difference between the past and the future. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Wife]]'')
* The [[Tenth Doctor]]'s wedding with [[Elizabeth I]] is shown. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'', ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'', ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'', ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'') Presumably, the fact that he indicates no intention of returning to his new wife is what results in her antagonism towards him when they next met thirty years later in [[1599]]. That encounter, however, happened earlier in his personal timeline, so he had no idea why she wanted his head. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')
* A painting of the Tenth Doctor wearing Elizabethan clothing, including a large collar, is shown alongside a portrait of Elizabeth I's. Although Elizabeth I married the Tenth Doctor, she met both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. While investigating a time anomaly in [[Victorian]] London, there was a statue of the Eleventh Doctor in Elizabethan clothing. Eleven said he thought that Elizabeth I had made him wear the clothing, which he thought was for a private portrait. ([[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor's reference to his wedding in ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'' places his appearance here somewhere in the gap between ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]]'' and ''The End of Time'', during which he travelled around for a bit to try to avoid his fate. He tells a [[rabbit]] he is 904 years old here, while in ''The End of Time'' he states he is 906. This suggests that, like the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s 200-year [[farewell tour]] but much shorter, the gap lasted several years.
* The [[Fourth Doctor]] and [[UNIT]] previously fought the Zygons. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|Terror of the Zygons]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor previously encountered the Zygons in the [[Lake District]] in [[September]] [[1909]] in the company of [[Martha Jones]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Sting of the Zygons (novel)|Sting of the Zygons]]'') The Eleventh Doctor encountered them when he took [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]] on an anniversary trip to the [[Savoy Hotel]] in 1890. ([[The Power of Three (TV story)|TV: ''The Power of Three'']])
* While the Doctor is entranced by a fez, the painting that Clara stops to admire in the Under Gallery shows the latest variant of the [[Cybermen]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Nightmare in Silver (TV story)|Nightmare in Silver]]'')
* The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors try "[[Third Doctor|Reversing the polarity]]", a catchphrase his third incarnation used.
* The [[War Doctor]] doesn't recognise his [[Tenth Doctor|Tenth]] and [[Eleventh Doctor|Eleventh]] incarnations, believing them to be [[companion]]s. The [[Fifth Doctor]] didn't recognise the Tenth, and believed him to be a [[LINDA|fan]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor once again displays his habit of giving other people nicknames based on their appearance; calling the Tenth Doctor "Matchstick Man" and later "Sandshoes", while calling the War Doctor "Granddad", just as he did with [[Amy Pond]], [[Rory Williams]] and [[River Song]] in the White House. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'')
* The War Doctor calls the Eleventh Doctor's [[bow-tie]] a "dicky bow", criticising the fashion choice as Amy Pond and Rory Williams had before. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'', ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'')
* When Clara exclaims that "there's three of them", Kate replies "We have a precedent for that." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'')
* When the twelve Doctors contact the War Council to confirm they're ready to put Gallifrey into a pocket universe, the General complains "I didn't know when I was well off! All twelve of them!". This echoes Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's "Three of them, eh? I didn't know when I was well off!" ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'').
* When Kate realises there are multiple Doctors, she asks Malcolm for one of her father's files code-named [[Cromer]], which is a reference to her [[Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|father]] at first believing the [[anti-matter universe]] to be Cromer. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'')
:* She tells him it may be filed under the 70s or the 80s [[UNIT dating controversy|"depending on the dating protocol"]].
* When surrounded by Queen [[Elizabeth I]]'s soldiers, the [[War Doctor]] asks the [[Tenth Doctor]] and the [[Eleventh Doctor]] if they were going to "assemble a cabinet at them". The phrase "build a [[cabinet]]" was previously used by [[River Song]] in relation to the sonic screwdriver ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]''), while the [[Ninth Doctor]] asked Jack Harkness if he'd "never had a lot of cabinets to put up" when Jack asked him about the sonic. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances (TV story)|The Doctor Dances]]'') Ironically, the three Doctors later used their screwdrivers offensively to blast a Dalek back with a force field, destroying it.
* The War Doctor gripes at his future incarnations for brandishing their sonic screwdrivers as if they were water pistols. The Tenth Doctor actually used a water pistol against the [[Pyrovile]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor calls to Clara through a [[wormhole]], referring to her as the "Wicked Witch of the Well". [[Hila Tacorien]] was previously referred to by this name due to the wormhole in [[Caliburn House]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Hide (TV story)|Hide]]'')
* The [[Black Archive]] of [[UNIT]] appears. ([[TV]]: ''[[Enemy of the Bane (TV story)|Enemy of the Bane]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Don't Step on the Grass]]'')
* The War Doctor and his successors were haunted over the 2.47 billion children of Gallifrey they killed by using the Moment. When the Eleventh Doctor took [[Amy Pond]] to [[Starship UK]], he was moved by the sound of children crying. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor asks the Eleventh where he's going, to which the Eleventh Doctor replies, "Spoilers". ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]'' / ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'' et al.)
* Kate encounters an alien which duplicates her appearance and impersonates her. This had previously happened when a [[Dæmon]] statue had taken her shape. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[Dæmos Rising]]'')
*When a Zygon is killed disguised as another creature, it keeps the form of that creature. ([[HOMEVID]]: ''[[Zygon: When Being You Just Isn't Enough]]'')
* When the War Doctor enters the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS he says he really "let it go"; the Eleventh comments that this was his "grunge phase". The Eleventh Doctor then loads his own 'desktop', changing the TARDIS design. The Tenth declares he doesn't like it. The [[Second Doctor]] said the same when he saw the [[Third Doctor]]'s TARDIS ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'') and the redesigned UNIT HQ ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]''), as did the Eleventh Doctor when visited [[Craig Owens]] in his new home. ([[TV]]: ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'') The [[Fifth Doctor]] also disliked the Tenth Doctor "changing the desktop theme" when they accidentally ran their TARDISes into each other. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'') The TARDIS told the Doctor that she archived past and future versions of the console room in ''[[The Doctor's Wife (TV story)|The Doctor's Wife]]''. While changing the theme the Console Room briefly features a hybrid of the Tenth Doctor's Console Room and the original TARDIS [[roundel]] design which is later seen to be the War Doctor's TARDIS theme.
* The Doctor's various selves having difficulty getting on with each other when they meet. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors (TV story)|The Three Doctors]]'', ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', ''[[The Two Doctors (TV story)|The Two Doctors]]'', ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'')
* Many alien artefacts from previous adventures are seen in the Black Archive, including River Song's red heels ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels (TV story)|The Time of Angels]]''), [[Magna-Clamp]]s, ([[TV]]: [[Army of Ghosts (TV story)|''Army of Ghosts'']]/''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]''), the head of a [[Supreme Dalek (New Dalek Empire)|Supreme Dalek]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]/[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]''), a [[Dalek enhanced Tommy Gun|Dalek tommy gun]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Evolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Evolution of the Daleks]]''), the restraining chair from the [[Joshua Naismith|Naismith]] mansion ([[TV]]: [[The End of Time (TV story)|''The End of Time'']]), the [[Space-time telegraph]] (TV: [[Terror of the Zygons (TV story)|''Terror of the Zygons'']]), the [[sonic probe]] used by an older version of [[Amy Pond]] ([[TV]]: [[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|''The Girl Who Waited'']]), the facemask of one of the [[Clockwork Droid]]s (TV: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace (TV story)|The Girl in the Fireplace]]''), Amy Pond's pinwheel ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]''), the half part of a [[Silent]], the head of a [[Cybus Cyberman|Cybus]]/[[Cyber Legion]] [[Cyberman]], and a [[TARDIS coral]].
* The [[Tenth Doctor]], when returning to his own timeline, tells the [[Eleventh Doctor]] that he is glad his "future is in safe hands". These are the exact same words the [[First Doctor]] says to the [[Fifth Doctor]] upon the former's departure. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'')
* The security protocol for the Black Archive involves a self-destruct triggered through nuclear warhead detonation at the sacrifice of all human life in the blast radius. A similar nuclear option against alien attack was developed by UNIT in the form of the [[Osterhagen Project]] and was also nearly activated. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* When the Doctor calls from the [[Phone|TARDIS phone]], his telephone number once again is [tel:07700900461 07700900461]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'')
* This episode greatly resembles the events of ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]''; primarily, the sequence depicting the three Doctors placing their hands on the Moment resembles the scene in where Donna and the Doctor blow up Mount Vesuvius. In both cases, the Doctor was agonising over a terrible decision (Pompeii or the world; Gallifrey or the universe), but somebody came to support him, and share the responsibility of pressing the button. These two stories also resemble each other in that the Doctor's companion convinces the Doctor to take a different path rather than resigning himself to an unalterable consequence. (Donna convinced him to save Caecilius and his family; Clara convinces the Doctor to save Gallifrey without destroying the Time Lords).
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] refers to his fate on [[Trenzalore]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'', ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor, upon hearing of Trenzalore, says they need to take a different direction as "I don't want to go." His successor notes that "He always says that", as it was his last words before his [[regeneration]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* Prior to regenerating, the [[War Doctor]] comments that his body is "wearing a bit thin", repeating the line spoken by the [[First Doctor]] immediately prior to his own regeneration into the [[Second Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]''). He then hopes that "the ears are a bit less conspicuous this time"; the Ninth Doctor makes a reference to the size of his ears when meeting Rose. ([[TV]]:''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'')
* An eccentric, Doctor-like character who went by the name "the Curator" appeared in the story ''[[Summer Falls (novel)|Summer Falls]]'', which was marketed as being written by Amelia Williams.
* While making the treaty, one of the Kate Stewarts can be heard saying "Look what happened to the Sycorax." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor tells the Eleventh Doctor "Oh, don't start" when he says "hello" to the Queen Elizabeth's, recognising it as the same trick Captain Jack Harkness often pulled- flirting with people from the moment he said "hello" - one he repeatedly stopped. ([[TV]]: ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'')


== Home release ==
== External links ==
[[File:Doctor Who The Day of the Doctor () - Trailer for Doctor Who The Day of the Doctor|thumb|Home media trailer]]
* {{locguide|thedayofthedoctor|The Day of the Doctor}}
*''The Day of the Doctor'' was released in the UK on Region 2 DVD, and Region B 3D Blu-ray on 2nd December 2013. ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'' was also included on both versions. A Region 1 DVD and a Region A Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD combo pack was released in the US on 10th December 2013.


== Footnotes ==
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Latest revision as of 02:12, 4 November 2024

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The Day of the Doctor was the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran and featured Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, Billie Piper as the Moment and John Hurt as the War Doctor.

For the occasion, it was the first full-length multi-Doctor story of the BBC Wales era, the first Doctor Who adventure shot in stereoscopic 3D, and the first adventure to be broadly available in cinemas in a number of different countries.

It aired at the same time around the globe, on 23 and 24 November 2013 on television, setting a record for the largest ever simulcast of a television drama. In all, it was viewable in some 94 countries and 1,500 theatres worldwide.[1] Domestically, the British Broadcasting Corporation's 2013/14 Annual Report cited it as the most watched drama on the BBC in 2013, with 12.8 million television viewers, and an additional 3.2 million iPlayer requests.[2] It also broke, or neared, viewing records in a number of other regions around the world. Because of its theatrical run and subsequently strong home media sales, it is the single adventure with the highest gross worldwide sales in the history of Doctor Who. The success of this release led to the series 8 premiere, Deep Breath [+]Loading...["Deep Breath (TV story)"] receiving a similar theatrical simulcast as it aired on television on 23 August 2014.

The episode featured the return of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and the appearance of John Hurt as a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor: the War Doctor, in what was the final chronological adventure for his portrayal of the Doctor. His only full-length adventure on screen introduced a new iteration of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and a unique TARDIS control room predating those seen in Series 1. The reason for the War Doctor's existence was to compensate for not being able to use the Ninth Doctor as the incarnation who fought the Time War; Christopher Eccleston declined to return, so a workaround had to be implemented by using a regeneration who did not use the "Doctor" title so as not to disturb the numbering.

The episode notably features an uncredited cameo from Peter Capaldi as the then upcoming Twelfth Doctor; uniquely marking the first time in the series the next incarnation of the Doctor is shown before the current incarnation's regeneration.

Furthermore, the special depicted the War Doctor's regeneration into the Ninth Doctor, completing a missing link in the chain of incarnations that started when Christopher Eccleston debuted in the 2005 relaunch of the series, Rose. The process of resolving the regenerations issue was being enforced by executive producer Steven Moffat, as he wished to have a "complete set" in time for Matt Smith's upcoming final episode.[source needed] Moffat also chose to requisition actor Paul McGann for one more outing as the Eighth Doctor in a mini-episode production, The Night of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Night of the Doctor (TV story)"], one week after production wrapped on the anniversary special, resulting in a second former Doctor returning to the screen as part of the festivities. McGann filmed his own regeneration into Hurt's version of the Doctor, cementing the lineage of all Doctors up to Smith's incarnation onward.

The Day of the Doctor also saw the return of the Zygons, last seen in the series in the 1975 Fourth Doctor serial Terror of the Zygons [+]Loading...["Terror of the Zygons (TV story)"], 38 years after their initial debut, though they had appeared extensively in expanded media.

The Day of the Doctor revealed a missing element of the Last Great Time War that dramatically altered the outcome as viewers were previously led to believe. Instead of allowing Gallifrey to be destroyed, the Doctors were able to save it, giving the Eleventh Doctor a chance to shed his guilt from the outcome and begin a new mission to find his way home. The unique circumstances of this revelation also upheld the previous narratives set during the first Russell T Davies era, where the Doctor believed Gallifrey and its residents had been lost in battle, with all pre-Eleventh Doctor incarnations all losing their memory of the event due to timelines being out of sync.

Amongst fans, the story was exceedingly popular. In a 2014 poll by Doctor Who Magazine,[nb 1] which ranked all of the Doctor Who television stories aired to date, The Day of the Doctor ranked as "DWM readers' favourite adventure of the first 50 years".[3] In 2023, it was additionally voted as readers' favourite Eleventh Doctor story for the second time,[4] qualifying it as one of 37 finalists in the 2023 poll, in which it eventually placed fifth.[5]

Along with Peter Capaldi's surprise cameo, The Day of the Doctor featured another surprise in the form of former Doctor Tom Baker making an appearance near the end of the story. Baker's appearance marked his first onscreen appearance in a Doctor Who story since the Introduction to the Night [+]Loading...["Introduction to the Night (TV story)"] which depicted Baker as a future Doctor. Again, rather than Baker reprising his role as the Fourth Doctor, who had been featured alongside returning incarnations through archive footage, Baker instead portrays a new character only known as the Curator. Initially believed to be a museum curator who bore a strong resemblance to one of the Doctor's past incarnations, his brief exchange and interaction with the Eleventh Doctor implied that this wasn't the case, suggesting that the Curator was actually a future incarnation of the Doctor, with the comic story The Then and the Now [+]Loading...["The Then and the Now (comic story)"] confirming the Curator as an incarnation of the Doctor, with the appearance of the Curator and the cameo from the Twelfth Doctor, future incarnations of the Doctor foreshadowing that the Doctor's fate on Trenzalore wasn't as final as the Doctor initially believed it to be.

The Curator appearing identical to the Fourth Doctor, along with his cryptic words to the Eleventh Doctor that he would revisit old faces “but just the old favourites" introduced the concept that implied the Doctor, and by extension Time Lords in general, could possibly regenerate into incarnations that bore the same appearance as past incarnations they've had before during a regeneration, and as such a regeneration of this nature could see the return of previous actors of the Doctor in the role of a new separate incarnation from their original ones. This foreshadowed the Thirteenth Doctor's regeneration in The Power of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Power of the Doctor (TV story)"] in 2022; she regenerated into an incarnation that shared the same appearance as the Tenth Doctor, much to the new incarnation's shock and confusion.

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th-anniversary special. In the 21st century, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space, an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

A police constable walks the beat by the Coal Hill School and passes by a sign advertising "I.M. Foreman, Scrap Merchant". Inside the school, Clara Oswald is giving a lesson. She ends on a quote by Marcus Aurelius: "Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one."

The school bell rings. As her students leave, a teacher runs into the classroom; he gives a confused look, wondering if she's well. Clara wonders why, to which the teacher tells her that her "doctor" called, and left an address. She grabs her helmet and hops on her motorbike. Exiting Shoreditch, Clara drives past a clock reading 5:16 p.m. and through a freeway tunnel. She reaches an open patch of road surrounded by grassland, where a lone police box is waiting for her.

Finally spotting the TARDIS, she rides her motorcycle straight through its open doors, closing them with a click of the fingers. The Eleventh Doctor, perusing a copy of Advanced Quantum Mechanics, welcomes Clara back with a huge hug. He tells her that they'll be spending a weekend in ancient Mesopotamia, followed by Cocktails on the moon. Unexpectedly, the TARDIS takes off without starting the engines. Startled, the Doctor opens the doors, finding a large claw has hooked the TARDIS; it's attached to a helicopter from UNIT.

At the Tower of London, Kate Stewart is sitting on a bench, eating and observing their ravens of death, which need a change of batteries from Malcolm. UNIT scientist Osgood rushes to Kate with her personal phone, stating that the ringtone was the TARDIS wheezing noise; it's the Doctor. Kate reminds Osgood to use her inhaler at the sound of her heavy panting before accepting the call. Kate tells the Doctor that they found the TARDIS in a field and are bringing it in; she inquires as to where he is. The Doctor holds the TARDIS phone up towards the helicopter, surprising and mortifying Kate. She apologises, telling the pilot to instead take the Doctor to the scene of the crime.

The sudden change in course makes the Doctor fall out of the door. Clara holds onto the Doctor's legs as he dangles. The phone bops his head as Kate wonders if he has hung up. Annoyed, the Doctor yells "Next time, would it kill you to KNOCK!?" Telling Kate that he'll have to put her on hold, the Doctor pulls himself up to put away the phone, making Clara lose her grip on him. She yells his name in concern. The Doctor holds onto the bottom of the TARDIS, whooping in excitement and fear.

The helicopter arrives at the museum, where it lands slowly to let the Doctor off. Clara smiles, knowing the Doctor enjoyed the near-death experience. Kate apologises, while the Doctor tries and fails at lecturing her. Kate explains that she is operating on orders from the throne. She hands him sealed orders from Queen Elizabeth I and takes them into the National Gallery for proof of her credentials. Kate asks Osgood what the cover story is this time. She responds that they're using Derren Brown again, saying he's been sent flowers as an apology.

As they walk, the Doctor explains his relationship with UNIT to Clara, who is sceptical of the Doctor ever having had an actual job; though not directly working with UNIT anymore, the Doctor is still on the payroll as he never resigned. They stop in front of an impossible painting, something that belongs "not in this time or place": an oil painting in 3-D. It depicts the fall of the Gallifreyan city of Arcadia on the last day of the Time War. Kate tells the Doctor that there is some controversy over the work's name. It is either named No More or Gallifrey Falls. The painting is a slice of frozen time, a form of Time Lord art.

The Doctor is visibly disturbed by the painting. Clara notices, asking what's wrong. With immense sadness filling his face, the Doctor grabs Clara's hand for comfort. He tells her that he's had many faces and lived many lives, but there is one life he has tried very hard to forget. There was a man who brought an end to the Time War, and to both the Time Lords and Daleks alike. And that man was him. This painting was on the day it happened; the final day of the Time War...

Flashback to the Last Day of the Last Great Time War...

As the Daleks ravage Arcadia, a family of Time Lords run in fear. There is little hope of survival. As children cry and the people scream, a soldier messages the High Council of Time Lords: Arcadia has fallen. He looks around and sees the Doctor's TARDIS. Then the elderly voice of the "War Doctor", the warrior incarnation of the Doctor, asks the soldier for his gun. The Doctor carves a message for both warring civilisations to see into a nearby wall: NO MORE. As Daleks prepare to exterminate a family of Time Lords, the Doctor's presence draws their attention away from the innocent people and leads them to the wall with the message. Suddenly, the Doctor's TARDIS crashes through the wall, demolishing several Daleks. The Doctor's escape from Arcadia is witnessed by one surviving Dalek of the attack, though it is bisected. It questions the meaning of "NO MORE", bellowing "Explain! Explain!" The nearby Time Lord soldier shoots the Dalek with his gun, and the slain Dalek erupts in flames.

The High Commanders gather in the War Room, planning their next moves, with the Eleventh General dismissing the High Council's upcoming plans as "they have already failed". They receive the Doctor's message, and the General is not pleased to learn of his presence, calling him a madman. A Time Lady rushes in to inform the War Council that there has been a breach in the Omega Arsenal in the Time Vaults.

The most feared and forbidden weapon in the universe is missing: The Moment. The Doctor has stolen it and intends to use it to end the Time War once and for all. The Time Lords have already used all of the previously forbidden weapons but dared not unleash this weapon in particular. It was said that the Moment was so advanced as to have developed a conscience, and could stand in judgement of the user. The General muses that only the Doctor would be mad enough to use such a weapon.

Footsteps can be seen leading away from the battle-scuffed frame of the TARDIS, which has been uncharacteristically abandoned by the Doctor. The sound of his voice issuing an ominous final warning is heard; "Time Lords of Gallifrey, Daleks of Skaro, I serve notice on you all. Too long I have stayed my hand. No more. Today you leave me no choice. Today, this war will end. No more. No more..." The Doctor's tired face comes into view as he strides across a desolate desert, a burlap sack over his shoulder.

He eventually enters a barn-like dwelling, where he uncovers a complicated mechanical box, covered in gears. The device ticks loudly as its clockwork-like parts rattle and clank. As the Doctor studies it, he cannot find a discernible trigger mechanism. While he puzzles over how to activate it — grumbling "Why is there never a big red button?" — he hears a rustling sound. He opens the door and calls out. A girl's voice behind him reassures him that it's "just a Wolf".

Startled, he turns around to see what appears to be Rose Tyler. He doesn't recognise her, as he doesn't meet her until his next incarnation. He grabs her arm and shoves her out the door, only for her to appear inside the barn again, sitting on the Moment. He tells her not to sit on it as it's not a chair, but the most dangerous weapon in the universe. She asks if the Doctor parked his TARDIS far away from the dwelling so that it would not witness what he was about to do. Not realising what she is, he orders her out and then burns his hand on the box. Impishly, she guides the Doctor to realise that she is the Moment's interface. She can hear the Doctor's thoughts, and has attempted to assume the form of a familiar figure from his past; however, the Moment gets the past and future mixed up, and so has chosen the form of the Bad Wolf to speak to him.

She laughs that the story of the Doctor's life is being between a girl and a box, referencing to his companions and the TARDIS. War-weary and bitter, the elderly Time Lord tells her to stop calling him "the Doctor". She states it's the name in his head. The Doctor tells her it shouldn't exist in his head anymore, as he's no longer worthy of the name. She replies that he will be the one to save the universe. He explains that the suffering of the universe is too great, and he must end it. He also intends to meet his death after using the Moment, not wishing to live through the bloodshed, but she decides that his fate and punishment will be to survive the activation and face the consequences.

Like a conscience, she challenges his words and actions, guiding him towards his future. He will destroy the Daleks, but he will also murder his own people, asking him how many children on Gallifrey will die, but he has no idea. After the Moment suggests that one day he will find a way to count them, the Doctor sits in contemplation. The Moment tells him that she's going to open a window in time to show him the man he will become. A time fissure opens - and a fez falls out, much to the mutual confusion of the Doctor and the Moment...

Back in the 21st century, Kate explains that Queen Elizabeth left the painting to prove that the orders do come from her. The Doctor breaks the seal and reads her words: "My dearest love: I hope the painting known as Gallifrey Falls will serve as proof that it is your Elizabeth that writes to you now. You will recall that you pledged yourself to the safety of my kingdom. In that capacity, I have appointed you Curator of the Under Gallery, where deadly danger to England is locked away. Should any disturbance occur within its walls, it is my wish that you should be summoned. Godspeed, gentle husband."

As Kate leads the Doctor and Clara away, a nearby UNIT scientist named McGillop receives a mysterious phone call. Befuddled, he stares at the painting, wondering why he should move it.

The Doctor and Clara approach another painting, which shows the figure of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Tenth Doctor. Clara sees this is proof the Doctor once knew her, having seen all his past lives in his time-stream. The Doctor states he knew Elizabeth I a long time ago, practically being a different man back then...

In England in 1562, the Tenth Doctor and Elizabeth I ride out of the TARDIS on horseback, the Doctor having proven that it really is bigger on the inside. She responds "the door isn't" bigger; it nearly took her head off. They share a picnic on a hill, where Elizabeth expresses concern that he has seen war. The Doctor confirms that it wasn't this face but he has indeed fought in battle. He then proposes marriage. When she joyfully accepts, the Doctor accuses her of being a Zygon shapeshifter that has replaced the real Elizabeth, as the real queen wouldn't accept marriage from a handsome stranger or be so nonchalant about the Doctor having a different face. He whips out a "device that goes ding" to prove that she is a shapeshifter, before realising that it was the horse they were riding.

They run for their lives, the Doctor dreads being an engaged man; "Oh, good work, Doctor. Nice one. The Virgin Queen? So much for history." They split up in the woods, but Elizabeth is accosted by the Zygon. The Doctor runs through the woods, even threatening a rabbit he mistakes for a Zygon before he is reunited with Elizabeth. However, a doppelganger of her appears, and he is unable to tell who is who as both speak as Elizabeth would. Suddenly another time fissure appears, with the Doctor noting anything can happen. A fez falls through, confusing the Doctor.

Back in the National Gallery, Kate welcomes the Eleventh Doctor and Clara to the Under Gallery, established by Elizabeth I to house dangerous art or things that could not be understood. The Doctor notices that the floor is covered in stone dust, and asks Osgood to analyse it with a triplicate report and lots of graphs. As they walk through the gallery, the Doctor spots a fez in a glass case and immediately dons it, much to the bemusement of Clara, who wonders if he can ever go past one without putting it on. The Doctor tells her that that's never going to happen.

Kate shows them more 3-D paintings, all landscapes, with the broken glass from their shattered frames covering the floor. The Doctor notes that the glass has been shattered from the inside, and Kate says that they all contained figures which are now missing. As they leave to investigate, another time fissure opens. Annoyed, the Doctor faintly recalls seeing the fissure before, before realising that the fez that had fallen through in 1562 was the fez he was now wearing. Delighted, he throws the fez into the fissure and follows it with a loud "Geronimo." Clara tries to follow, but Kate restrains her; UNIT doesn't need the only other person with access to the TARDIS's technology getting lost.

The Eleventh Doctor falls through the fissure and lands in front of the Tenth in the sixteenth century. Stunned, the Tenth Doctor dons the fez himself. The Eleventh pops up and gabbles excitedly about how skinny his predecessor is, which makes the Tenth realise who he is. They incredulously pull out their sonic screwdrivers and compare them, with the Tenth jokingly suggesting the Eleventh is compensating for something because of regeneration being a lottery. As they begin bickering, the time fissure increases in intensity. The Tenth Doctor orders the two Elizabeths to run away in opposite directions; both kiss him and flee. The Eleventh Doctor points out that his earlier self just kissed a Zygon, which has venom sacks in the tongue. The Tenth Doctor, rather annoyed, says he doesn't need the reminder.

Clara calls out from the fissure to the Eleventh Doctor, asking where he is. The Eleventh Doctor asks the Tenth when they are, and repeats it. Clara asks who the Doctor is speaking to, prompting both to say "myself" at the same time; both are amused that they spoke together. Clara asks if the Doctor can come back. Hypothesising that the fissure can go both ways, the Doctor tosses his fez in, but it fails to appear in Clara's time. At the end of the Time War, the War Doctor picks up the fez; he hears Kate explaining to Clara that the Doctor has met an earlier version of himself. Kate leaves, calling the office to bring her the Cromier file. As she exits the hall, a mysterious shadow looms...

Back in 1562, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are staring at the fissure. The Tenth states that since the Eleventh used to be him, he should remember what happened next; unfortunately the Eleventh has no idea. Shocked his successor can't remember this event, the Tenth Doctor asks why. The Eleventh counters its because the Tenth isn't paying attention well enough; he tells him to reverse the polarity of the fissure. Both aim their sonic screwdrivers at the fissure, but are getting no result. The Tenth Doctor tells the confused Eleventh that he's reversing the polarity, while the Eleventh is reversing it back; they're actually confusing the polarity. Suddenly, their tampering with the fissure results in something falling through.

Much to their shock, it's the War Doctor, who asks if they lost a fez. Both are horrified to see him. The War Doctor greets them and states that he's looking for his future self, prompting the Tenth Doctor to state that he's come to the right place. The War Doctor wonders who the two of them are, wondering if they are his future companions. Both the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors are shocked and insulted by the question; the War Doctor laughs that his companions keep getting younger. When the War Doctor asks to be pointed in the general direction of his future self, both the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors pull out their sonic screwdrivers and turn them on. The War Doctor is stunned, asking several times if they are his future selves. Seeing that he's found two of his future selves at once, the War Doctor wonders if he's going through a midlife crisis. As he walks towards them, his future selves brandish their screwdrivers threateningly. Scoffing, the War Doctor asks why they're pointing scientific instruments at him.

Suddenly, they are surrounded by the Queen's soldiers; who believe the Queen to have been bewitched by the Doctor, asking which of the trio is the man they seek. The War Doctor quips that today is their lucky day. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors point their sonic screwdrivers in defence again, prompting the War Doctor to dryly joke if they're going to assemble a cabinet at them. Clara's voice sounds from the fissure, allowing the Doctors to convince the soldiers that she is "The Wicked Witch of the Well". Kate has, at that point, returned to Clara. The Queen returns to the group, implying that her human counterpart is dead. She has the trio of Doctors arrested and taken to the Tower of London with the Eleventh loudly hinting for her to take them there. The hint is picked up on by Kate, who takes Clara to the Black Archive to retrieve Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator.

The Doctors are thrown in a cell with a wooden door; the sonic is useless as it doesn't work on wood. The Tenth Doctor begins musing how a temporal paradox will start kicking up with three of them in the same room for a long time. The Eleventh works with a nail on the pillar in the room, stating it's their way out. Ignoring him, the Tenth Doctor asks why these three Doctors have been brought together; he and the Eleventh were surprised, but the War Doctor came to find them. The big question is why. The War Doctor sees the Moment, which gestures to keep quiet about it.

In the present, Osgood and McGillop are reading the results of the analysis of the stone dust. The dust is from materials not found in the structure of the building, but common in statues. Osgood realises that the statues must have been smashed, and suddenly understands why: the inhabitants of the paintings needed a hiding place. The Zygons reveal themselves from underneath the dust cloths covering what the humans had believed were statues. The aliens accost McGillop and corner Osgood. Osgood prays for the Doctor to save her, but instead of being killed, she is faced with her duplicate. The copy Osgood asks for her inhaler, annoyed she has had to copy a human with a defect. Having seen into Osgood's head, the Zygon says she wishes she copied her sister instead; Osgood thinks her sister is better than her. Osgood outsmarts the Zygon, noticing that it's standing on her scarf; she pulls it out from under the Zygon, knocking it over and allowing the real Osgood to flee.

Kate and Clara enter the Black Archive, housing the most dangerous alien tech recovered by UNIT. Its contents are so top secret that its staff have their memories modified every day; the guard has been there ten years, but always thinks it's his first day. Apparently, this has happened to Clara once, as she has already obtained the necessary clearance to enter the archive. They view the vortex manipulator, which was bequeathed to UNIT after one of Jack's many deaths. The Doctor has the code to fully reactivate it (not just the teleporter), but keeps it secret.

Kate adds that they keep the manipulator a secret from their allies. When Clara asks why, Kate indirectly references Back to the Future as an example. A scientist phones Kate, and she orders him to send a picture of some numerals, the activation code that the Eleventh Doctor carved into the wall of the cell in 1562 for them to find centuries later. Osgood and McGillop enter the Archive, to Clara's surprise. Kate says they're here because they disposed of the UNIT personnel, taking her true Zygon form. The Zygon tells its allies to replace Clara as well; however, Clara dons the manipulator and types in the code from Kate's phone; with a smirk, Clara vanishes.

In the Tower of London in 1562, the Eleventh Doctor scratches the activation code onto a wall in their cell, while the other two Doctors puzzle out how to escape. The War Doctor proposes an isolated sonic shift in the door molecules in order to disintegrate the door, but the Tenth Doctor rejects the idea, saying it would take centuries to calculate the necessary formula. The War Doctor starts bickering with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, chastising them for their shame of being "grown-up" by speaking like children. Subdued, they look at him darkly, reminding him of the day he ended the Time War. The War Doctor notices the feeling of dread and prejudice on their faces when they look at him.

The Moment reappears, unseen and unheard by the other Doctors, and urges the War Doctor to ask his future selves the question that he needs to know: How many children died on Gallifrey that day. The Eleventh Doctor says, "I've absolutely no idea.", he says he's forgotten the events of that day. He then adds that he's so old that he can't even remember his proper age anymore; however, he guesses he's 1200 years old, putting the Time War 400 years in the past for him.

However, the Tenth Doctor angrily asks how the Eleventh could ever forget something as important as this particular number, and bitterly states that there were 2.47 billion children on the planet that day. The War Doctor exclaims in shock that he did count. Disturbed and furious by his successor's impassive nature, he asks him, "For once, I would like to know where I'm going." Vexed by this remark, the Eleventh Doctor coldly replies, "No, you really wouldn't!" The Tenth Doctor looks back at him, eyes wide with fear. The Moment explains to the War Doctor that the Tenth Doctor has become "the man who regrets" and the Eleventh "the man who forgets". They are the future of the Doctor, when he ends the Time War.

The Moment reminds the War Doctor that his sonic screwdriver, at the most basic level, is exactly the same device as the ones used by his counterparts: "Same software — different case". He realises that if he scans the door and implants the calculations as a permanent subroutine in the screwdriver, it will take hundreds of years to work out the formula necessary to disintegrate the door. The Tenth Doctor checks his sonic screwdriver, finding the calculation still going. The Eleventh checks his, finding the calculation has been completed.

They exuberantly congratulate themselves on their cleverness before Clara pushes open the door — which has been unlocked the entire time. Clara asks her Doctor if they are all him. The Eleventh Doctor reminds Clara of the time she went into his timeline, to which she barely remembers. She compliments the Tenth Doctor's suit; he thanks her. She then asks why neither of them tried to just open the door; one thing the Doctor retains in all his incarnations is his inability to do simple things. The Queen comes in, telling them that she left the door unlocked as a test; also revealing Clara fell into her trap. She takes them down to the Zygons' lair to show them their plan.

Osgood walks the halls of the Under Gallery, before discovering the real Kate trapped in a Zygon nest. Kate's body template is being used to refresh the image of her Zygon doppelganger. Osgood frees her, but Kate bemoans the fact that the Zygons now have control of the Black Archive. It means that they've just lost control of the planet to hostile aliens.

The Doctors and Clara follow the Queen to the lair, whereupon they discover that the Zygon homeworld was destroyed in the early days of the Time War, and so they have decided to take Earth as their new home. However, sixteenth century Earth is too primitive to be comfortable to the invading shapeshifters, so they intend to invade the more advanced future in order to establish their new homeworld. They, therefore, have translated themselves into the paintings using stasis cubes, which are the Time Lords' three-dimensional paintings. The Eleventh and Tenth Doctors explain to Clara that it works similar to cup-a-soup.

The Tenth Doctor berates the Zygon commander for doing a lousy job of replicating the real Queen Elizabeth, but she reveals (to his mortification) that she is the real Elizabeth. Having had numerous attempts on her life already, Elizabeth carries a hidden blade on her, which she used to slay her twin in the forest and take her place as Zygon commander. The Zygons thought humans would be too weak to do so, hence why Elizabeth had the advantage of surprise. Elizabeth calls on the Tenth Doctor to save England but first whisks him away to be married with his past and future selves as reluctant witnesses, and an enthusiastic Clara throwing confetti. The War Doctor wonders if there's a lot of kissing in the future, to which the Eleventh states "It does start to happen, yeah.." in a defeated tone. The Tenth Doctor tells Elizabeth that he will be back, but ultimately abandoned his marriage.

The Tenth Doctor heads back to his TARDIS, prepping for take off as the other two Doctors and Clara head inside. The War Doctor notes that the Tenth really let the control room go. The Eleventh Doctor recalls it as his "grunge phase", making the Tenth think he insulted the TARDIS and he begins soothing it. Suddenly, a flash of light changes the control room, turning it into the War Doctor's control room. Because of the presence of three incarnations of the Doctor, the control room is trying to compensate for the different time zones. Both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors are delighted to see the roundels, which they haven't seen in a while; however, neither of them knows what they actually are. The Eleventh Doctor stabilises the desktop, picking his current version; the Tenth Doctor criticises. Clara tells them that the Zygons have gotten into the Black Archive, prompting dark stares from them. "Okay. You've heard of it" Clara nervously says.

In the Black Archive, the Zygons note that the humans don't know what half the stuff there does, but they do; they can conquer the Earth in less than a day with what's stored there. Kate, Osgood and McGillop arrive, saying that they are not armed and thus not a threat. Kate tells her Zygon double that in the event that the Black Archive falls into the wrongs hands, a fail-safe was created. She voice activates a countdown to detonate a nuclear warhead beneath the Tower, which will destroy all of London in order to protect the planet from the Zygons; her double tries countermanding the order several times. The Kate Zygon fearful states that they just have to agree to live, implying she wishes to make a compromise. However, Kate refuses to negotiate, planning to destroy all of London just to be safe.

The Eleventh Doctor's voice crackles on via the space-time telegraph he had once given to her father, begging Kate not to detonate; Kate shuts off the device, not wishing to let the Doctor influence her. He tries to land, but the Tower of London had been made TARDIS-proof to prevent his interference; as he tells a confused Clara; "human stupidity plus alien technology. Trust me, it's an unbeatable combo." However, the War Doctor figures out a way to get in - the stasis cubes; they can just copy the Zygons and wait out in a painting until the time is right. The Eleventh Doctor calls McGillop in the past, and instructs him to bring the Gallifrey Falls painting to the Black Archive...

The Doctors force back an attacking Dalek.

The real Osgood begs the Doctor to save them again, as the Doctors and Clara force their way out of the painting, having frozen themselves in it earlier. The Doctors now face the Fall of Arcadia in real time as it unfolds, and are immediately met with an attacking Dalek, which they repel with their sonic screwdrivers. It crashes through the glass of the painting and the Doctors emerge in a heroic fashion. Clara soon follows.

The three Doctors hand the Kates an ultimatum when they refuse to disarm the Archive's nuclear option: They trigger the memory modifiers to confuse everybody as to whether they are human or Zygon. Then, if they stop the detonation and create a peace treaty (which is sure to be incredibly fair, as the negotiators can't remember which side they're on), they will have their memories restored. Utterly confused over their identities, the two Kates stop the detonation in the nick of time and begin to negotiate the treaty. While the Osgoods figure out which of them is which, they decide to keep it to themselves to protect the treaty.

As they negotiate, Clara speaks to the War Doctor. She has figured out he hasn't used the Moment yet, explaining that "her" Doctor always talked about the day he wiped out the Time Lords; the pain of making that decision is in both the eyes of the Tenth and Eleventh, but not in the War Doctor's. She says that he would do anything to take it back, but the War Doctor remains convinced that his actions will save billions of lives in the future. Across the room, the War Doctor sees the form of the Bad Wolf once more. The moment to decide has come. He tells the interface he's ready, and Clara turns to see who he's talking to; when she turns back, he's vanished.

Returned to the barn on Gallifrey, the War Doctor stands in front of the Moment, which has simplified its interface by his request — the trigger mechanism is now a big red button for him to push. The Moment questions him once more, trying to convince him of his goodness. He still doesn't believe he is worthy of the name "Doctor", losing all hope for himself and his people. He believes that the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors are extraordinary men and that he has to commit this act to forge them into what they become. As the War Doctor goes to activate the Moment, the interface tells him that the wheezing sound the TARDIS makes brings hope to everyone who hears it. The War Doctor agrees that he believes it does and the Moment tells him that it brings hope to anyone, no matter how lost they are.

The War Doctor realises what she means a moment later as the sounds of two TARDISes fill the barn. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors park the TARDISes and exit them. Clara tells the Eleventh that she was right about the War Doctor not having committed the act he was so ashamed of. The Tenth Doctor states that the Last Great Time War should be time locked; they shouldn't have been able to get here. The Eleventh counters that something must have let them through, so they can speak to their forgotten incarnation. The Moment, still unseen by all but the War Doctor, calls them clever. The War Doctor tells the two of them to go back to their lives and be the Doctor that he couldn't be and make it worth while.

Right as the War Doctor places his hand above the button, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors tell him of how they pushed him down in their memories for years. They kept him a secret, even from themselves out of shame. They pretended he wasn't "the Doctor", when he was the Doctor more than they or any of their other incarnations could have been. The War Doctor was the Doctor on the day it was impossible to make the right decision. However, this time, he doesn't have to make this horrible choice alone; they place their hands over his at the moment, forgiving him and themselves. Having gained some peace from hearing his future selves call him "the Doctor", something he denied himself for years, the War Doctor tearfully thanks them.

Clara tearfully objects. She knew that "the Doctor" had activated the Moment and destroyed his home-world, but she had never imagined the Eleventh Doctor with his hand on the button. The reality of the Time War projects around them: children crying, innocents suffering. The Doctor could not find another way to end it all, but Clara believes in a different solution. She calls the past two Doctors the Warrior and the Hero, but this leads the Eleventh to wonder what he is. Clara asks if he truly has forgotten; he has, asking Clara to tell him what to do. "We have enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero. Be what you've always been. Be a Doctor." She asks him what the promise was when he chose to call himself the Doctor. The Tenth and War Doctors recite "Never cowardly or cruel. Never give up; never give in." The Moment ends the projection.

At that, a brilliant new idea descends on the room; the Eleventh Doctor says that he's had a long time to think about it — he's changed his mind! The intent of the Moment worked: the War Doctor saw the future he needed to see. Picking up on his future self's idea without explanation, the War Doctor exclaims that he could just kiss "Bad Wolf girl" right now, which catches the Tenth Doctor's attention, only for him to be distracted from it as he realises what his counterparts were getting at and agrees that it's a wonderful idea.

They have changed their minds about using the Moment, and the Eleventh Doctor disarms the device with his sonic screwdriver. Instead, they intend to freeze Gallifrey in a moment in time, slipped away in a pocket universe, the way the Zygons froze themselves into Time Lord art. When Gallifrey vanishes, the sphere of Dalek ships surrounding the planet and firing constantly will be exterminated in their own crossfire before they can cease firing, and the universe will believe that the two races destroyed each other.

On the last day of the Time War, another message from the Doctor appears before the High Command: GALLIFREY STANDS. The three Doctors race in their TARDISes towards Gallifrey and transmit to the War Room. Three transmissions, each showing a different Doctor, much to the General's dismay, appear. They explain their incredible plan to save Gallifrey. They will position themselves around the planet equidistantly, and freeze it — just like the stasis cubes, but to a whole planet and all the people on it. The General objects, saying that they'd be lost in another universe, frozen in a single moment with nothing, but the Doctors tell him the alternative is burning and they've seen that and don't want to again. The Eleventh Doctor also informs him that with this plan, the Time Lords will at least have hope, something they don't have now. The General is dumbfounded, he tells them that the idea is delusional, claiming that even if it was possible, the calculations alone would take centuries. The Eleventh and Tenth Doctors agree, saying it would take "hundreds and hundreds" of years, but they've had "a very long time" to think about it. In fact, he could say they've been working on it all their lives.....

At that, the voice of the First Doctor is heard contacting the War Council. Nine more police boxes fly around the planet, and all of the past incarnations of the Doctor come together to save Gallifrey, all making contact with the Council. The General bemoans the idea that all twelve Doctors have arrived when three was bad enough. However, his count is one short. Androgar points out that all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor are present to save Gallifrey — a new incarnation from the Doctor's days yet to come is also on the way. A brief glimpse of this future Doctor shows a hand reaching for a lever in the console room, and a pair of piercing blue eyes watching the console monitor.

As the Daleks increase their attack upon seeing the thirteen TARDISes, the General realises that he has no choice and tells the Doctor quietly to "do it." The thirteen Doctors prepare their TARDISes with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors exclaiming their catchphrases while the exasperated War Doctor goes with a simple "Gallifrey Stands." After a flash and a colossal explosion, space becomes empty and quiet as one damaged Dalek fighter pod goes spinning off.

Back in the National Gallery, the Tenth, Eleventh, and War Doctors muse on the ambiguity of whether their plan succeeded. The presence of the mysterious painting of the fall of Arcadia remains an enigma to the three Doctors. While they don't know if their plan worked, they agree that it was better to have failed having done the right thing than succeeding in doing the wrong. The War Doctor bids a fond farewell to his replacements, they return an equally fond farewell as they finally address him as "Doctor": a man fully worthy of the title, even if he will only know it briefly. Because the timelines are out of sync, the War Doctor and the Tenth Doctor won't be able to retain their memories of these events. They will forget them completely until they catch up to their eleventh incarnation. However, right now, the War Doctor is content and pleased that he can refer to himself as "Doctor" again. He gives Clara a farewell kiss and takes a moment to sort out his TARDIS out from the other two in the gallery.

As he pilots his TARDIS away, he suddenly sees his hands glowing with regeneration energy, and says that it makes sense, as his old body is "wearing a bit thin." After surviving the Time War, he is ultimately dying of old age. With his work done in the battle, the energy begins to overtake the War Doctor. He expresses one last desire that the change will leave him with "less conspicuous" ears this time. The War Doctor smiles peacefully as his next regeneration begins.

Acknowledging that he won't be able to remember the answer, the Tenth Doctor questions his successor as to "Where it is we're going that you don't wanna talk about." The Eleventh Doctor relents and reveals that they are destined to die on Trenzalore, in battle, with millions of lives lost. The Tenth Doctor says that's not how it's supposed to be, but the Eleventh Doctor tells him it is determined now. Preparing to leave, the Tenth Doctor shakes his successor's hand and says that he's glad his future is in good hands. He kisses Clara's hand, and with a smile, starts to step into his TARDIS. Before he does, he expresses his desire to change their final destination of Trenzalore, saying: "I don't want to go." As the TARDIS dematerialises, the Eleventh Doctor smiles and remarks "he always says that".

Clara asks the Doctor if he would like to sit and look at the painting for a little while. He smiles, asking how she knew. Clara kisses him on the cheek and tells him that she always knows — it's his sad old eyes. As she steps into the TARDIS, she mentions that an old man, possibly the Gallery's curator, was looking for him.

As the Doctor sits down and looks at the painting, he begins musing out loud that he would be a great curator. He says with a laugh that he could call himself "the Great Curator", retire and become the curator of this gallery. A deep and very familiar voice affirms that he really might. The astonished Doctor looks over to see a very familiar face standing next to him. An old man, the curator of the Gallery, who greatly resembles the Fourth Doctor. The Doctor studies the old man in wonderment, astonished by the resemblance he has to the Doctor's fourth incarnation as he tells him that he never forgets a face, and the old man replies that he knows he doesn't and that he might find himself revisiting some of them in the future, "but just the old favourites, eh?"; the Doctor merely smiles and winks at the old man. The man then turns the Doctor's attention to the painting, explaining that he acquired it under "remarkable circumstances" and asks the Doctor what he makes of the title, a question that confuses the Doctor due to the painting having two different titles, "No More" and "Gallifrey Falls". However the man reveals to the Doctor that people always get that fact about the painting wrong: its two titles are actually just one: the true title of the painting is Gallifrey Falls No More. The man then asks the Doctor what the title of the painting could possibly mean.

The Doctor realises that he was successful, and Gallifrey was indeed saved. The mysterious man comments that he surely wouldn't know as he is merely a humble curator. The Doctor excitedly asks him if he knows where Gallifrey is, but he only cryptically reveals that it is simply "lost", and that the Doctor has a lot to do. The Doctor asks if that means that he is supposed to go looking for Gallifrey, but the Curator tells him that that decision is entirely up to him. He also muses that he and the Doctor might be the same man from different perspectives, sounding wistful about days having gone by, congratulating the Doctor on the new journey he is about to commence. As to whether or not he truly is an incarnation of the Doctor from the future, the Curator simply teases the thought, "Who knows, eh? Who... 'nose'?", and with a tap of his nose, he turns and walks away. The Eleventh Doctor concludes that he has a mission, the mission of a lifetime: he must find Gallifrey and return it and all its people to the universe.

Later, the Doctor speaks of his dreams, as he is seen to walk through the TARDIS console room. Clara would laugh at him when he said that he dreamed about where he was going, as he was always going nowhere. However, he says that he finally realises where he has been travelling all this time: home. He simply says that it has taken so many years and lifetimes to take the long way around.

As he exits the TARDIS in the dream, the Doctor joins his eleven past selves, the War Doctor no longer excluded from the Doctor's incarnations as he stands proudly with his past and future selves, in gazing up at the magnificent planet in the sky, determined to find Gallifrey and save his home once and for all.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Uncredited cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

General production staff

Script department

Camera and lighting department

Art department

Costume department

Make-up and prosthetics

Movement

Casting

General post-production staff

Special and visual effects

Stereo 3D

Sound



Not every person who worked on this adventure was credited. The absence of a credit for a position doesn't necessarily mean the job wasn't required. The information above is based solely on observations of the actual end credits of the episodes as broadcast, and does not relay information from IMDB or other sources.


Uncredited crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Numbers[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Tenth Doctor says that there was 2,470,000,000 children on Gallifrey when the planet was supposedly destroyed.
  • The War Doctor claims the Dalek army numbers 1,000,000,000,000,000.

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • While confronting a rabbit which he briefly believes to be a Zygon in disguise, the Tenth Doctor says that he is 904-years-old. The Eleventh Doctor believes he is about 1200-years-old, which the War Doctor states is 400 years older than himself.
  • The Doctor is mentioned to still be on the UNIT payroll.
  • The War Doctor regenerates into the Ninth Doctor.

Zygons[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

References to the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Eleventh Doctor calls the Tenth Doctor "Dick Van Dyke" in a sly reference to his accent.
  • The Tenth Doctor wears sandshoes.

Foods and beverages[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • UK: 12.8 million, 3.2 million iPlayer requests[2]
  • US: 2.8 million (the highest for the channel at the time)
  • Canada: 1.7 million

Specific to theatrical presentation[[edit] | [edit source]]

Main article: Cinema Introduction to The Day of the Doctor (theatrical film)

Specific to the 3D version[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The episode was shot, broadcast and screened in cinemas in stereoscopic 3D. Despite confessing that he was not a big fan of 3D movies, Steven Moffat came up with the idea of shooting the episode in 3D and, despite his initial worries, found the 3D version to be "better" and "more satisfying" than the 2D version. Knowing that the vast majority of viewers would have watched it in 2D, director Nick Hurran made sure that his shooting style wasn't influenced "too much" by the episode's use of 3D. Nonetheless, Hurran meticulously researched the back-catalogue of 3D films in order to see what worked and what didn't. Steven Moffat believed that Hurran's research had led the director to view "every 3D film ever made".[14]
  • The original Doctor Who logo was not only modified to appear in black-and-white; a 3D effect was added to suggest the logo moving towards the viewer.
  • The 3D paintings are obviously more three-dimensional in the 3D version.
  • As the Eleventh Doctor walks out of the TARDIS onto the cloud bearing his other selves at the very end of the story, the effect is considerably "more 3D" than viewing the 2D version would suggest.
  • Mistika was used for the finishing of the stereo 3D work.

Common among all versions[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When pre-production on this special began, Jenna Coleman was the only cast member who was under contract to appear. As a result, Steven Moffat began working on a story which would have only her and tentatively named it The No Doctors, just in case no other Doctors were available. His best idea for the "Absolutely-no-Doctors-in-it-at-all" anniversary special had fictional versions of the Doctor (played by different actors) appear in all sorts of different films after the real one vanished from the time-space continuum at the end of The Name of the Doctor, with Clara (who no longer remembers him) forced to piece together the mystery of why they all seem so familiar. [15]
  • In the partial draft Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: The Time War, the Ninth Doctor was featured in the script in the part that ultimately was of the War Doctor. Following Christopher Eccleston declining to reprise the role, Moffat suggested another past Doctor instead, but was vetoed by the BBC, prompting him to create a new secret incarnation for the occasion.[16]
  • Talking about his refusal to return as the Ninth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston said,

    [W]hen I read the script, I felt that it was basically myself, Matt, and Dave riffing off the fact that we used to be the Doctors. I, personally, didn’t feel the narrative was strong enough, particularly for the Ninth Doctor, because I had taken quite a lot of abuse in my own country when I left. As the show was being celebrated, I was being abused in the press, and that was hard to take. And very confusing. So I looked at it and I thought, 'Is this really the way I want to come back?' And I decided it wasn’t.Christopher Eccleston

    He, however, received the script without the Ninth Doctor and featuring the War Doctor, and thought that it was "immaculate".[17] He later praised John Hurt's performance, saying that Hurt offered more to the story than he could

[source needed]

  • In a complete Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special draft, the War Doctor calls himself "the Renegade."[source needed]
  • Radio Times credits David Tennant as "The Tenth Doctor", John Hurt as "The Other Doctor" (matching marketing materials and merchandise for the incarnation prior to the episode's broadcast) and Billie Piper as "Rose Tyler". This is also reflected in the closing credits where Piper is credited as Rose, despite her playing the Moment in Rose's form.[source needed]
  • Jonjo O'Neill, who played McGillop, is erroneously credited as "McGuillop" in Radio Times.[source needed]
  • The Radio Times programme listing was accompanied by a small colour head-and-shoulders shot of the Eleventh Doctor and the Tenth Doctor in the wood, with the accompanying caption "Doctor Who / 7.50 p.m. / Matt Smith and David Tennant join forces in a tale celebrating 50 years of the show".[source needed]
  • The story is fronted by the version of the title sequence used on the original episode "An Unearthly Child" [+]Part of An Unearthly Child, Loading...{"namedep":"An Unearthly Child (1)","1":"An Unearthly Child (TV story)"}, modified to include a BBC logo, and slightly shortened. This marks the sequence's first use since Episode 4 of The Moonbase [+]Loading...["The Moonbase (TV story)"] in 1967, approximately 47 years prior; as such, The Day of the Doctor is the only episode to use a previously retired title sequence, rather than use the current one or introduce a new one.
  • Similar to The Two Doctors [+]Loading...["The Two Doctors (TV story)"], the opening shot is in black and white, but quickly fades into colour.
  • The TARDIS interior set floor was raised from its normal height during the filming of the special to help Jenna Coleman's stunt double ride Clara's motorbike into the TARDIS.[source needed]
  • The soundtrack playing while the Eleventh Doctor is hanging out of the TARDIS over London was first used in Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"] and World War Three [+]Loading...["World War Three (TV story)"]. This is an orchestral re-recording of the piece, first heard on the series one and two soundtrack.
  • This is the first episode since The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"] to feature the theme tune's middle eight section in the closing titles.
  • This is the final televised story to feature the Eleventh Doctor in a fez.
  • The promise that the Doctors state is based on a passage from the Terrance Dicks reference book The Making of Doctor Who. Different parts of the passage have been quoted through different Doctor Who products. One of these is the 1999 Comic Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death [+]Loading...["The Curse of Fatal Death (TV story)"], written by Moffat himself.
  • The archived footage and recordings used during the "Save Gallifrey" scene for the different Doctors are as follows:
  • The scene featuring the War Doctor's regeneration does not conclude with the emergence of the Ninth Doctor. It only shows hints of his face beginning to form, due to the absence of Christopher Eccleston after his decision not to reprise the role for the anniversary special. Steven Moffat later explained his reasons for cutting the scene short in an interview published in DWM 473:

It was one thing to include him among all the other archive Doctors, as they flew in to save the day — in fact, it would have been disgraceful to have left anyone out — but placing him in that scene might have given the impression he'd actually turned up for filming, which would have been crossing the line. Not taking part in the 50th was a difficult decision for Chris, taken after a lot of thought and with great courtesy, and not respecting his wishes would have been grossly unprofessional and disrespectful to a good man and a great Doctor. Number 9 may not have turned up for the celebrations, but there would have been no party without him.Steven Moffat [src]

  • Similarly to The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"], the end credits list all the actors who have played the Doctor in the reverse order of their incarnations (with the exception of Peter Capaldi, who remained uncredited for his brief appearance). As a result, Matt Smith and David Tennant are listed first and second respectively, but Christopher Eccleston is credited above John Hurt. This marks the first time Eccleston is credited as playing "The Doctor" as during his season he was credited as "Doctor Who" (Hartnell had previously been credited as "The Doctor" at the end of The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"] after being credited as "Dr. Who" during his era).
  • The photos of the Doctors used in the end credits are the same ones that appeared in Nightmare in Silver [+]Loading...["Nightmare in Silver (TV story)"] with two additional pictures inserted to represent the Eleventh Doctor and the War Doctor.
  • One of the displays originally featured various Doctors, some of whom were implied to be from his future. Amongst them was a photo of Peter Cushing... with Kate explaining to a bemused Clara that Dr. Who and the Daleks [+]Loading...["Dr. Who and the Daleks (theatrical film)"] and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. [+]Loading...["Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)"] had been the work of some of the Doctor's former companions! References to the Cushing movies were ultimately deleted due to rights issues.[18][10]
  • Actor John Guilor is credited as "Voice Over Artist" in the credits, although they do not say which role he voiced. Castingcallpro.com, DWM 520 and DWMSE 38 credit him as the voice of the First Doctor.
  • Peter Capaldi's cameo was the last scene to be shot. It was added in post-production as one last surprise. His costume hadn't been decided on, so the crew shot a close-up of his eyes. It was filmed during his appearance at the end of The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"].[10]
  • Much more music was composed and recorded for the episode than was actually used, including original pieces for the scene where the Eleventh Doctor hangs from the TARDIS, and a theme for the Curator called "Song for Four". The production team elected instead to use legacy music from previous episodes of the revived series. Much of the unused music is included on the soundtrack release. The aforementioned "Song for Four" would go on to be reworked for use in The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"], retitled to "Snow over Trenzalore". The original unaltered piece was finally used in Deep Breath [+]Loading...["Deep Breath (TV story)"] for the scene in which the Eleventh Doctor calls Clara.
  • Steven Moffat stated that he believed that the Doctor did not change his past about destroying Gallifrey, since it is "the story of what really happened that he's forgotten" and that "of course he never did that."[19]
  • Matt Smith and Billie Piper had previously appeared together in an episode of Secret Diary of a Call Girl.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat considered having the Tenth Doctor paired up with Rose, in part as a way of recognising the crucial role played by Billie Piper in the show's relaunch. However, he felt that Rose's story had been drawn to its ideal conclusion in Journey's End [+]Loading...["Journey's End (TV story)"], and he did not want to undermine the work of Russell T Davies. Now, however, Moffat realised that the Moment could assume Rose's form, specifically, her manifestation after absorbing the power of the time vortex in The Parting of the Ways [+]Loading...["The Parting of the Ways (TV story)"]. Billie Piper agreed with Moffat's sentiments, despite loving the character of Rose.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat considered using audio clips to incorporate the Brigadier, but decided against it.[source needed]
  • Osgood was originally Kate's personal assistant before becoming a UNIT scientist.[source needed]
  • Osgood was named after Sergeant Tom Osgood. Steven Moffat intended for the pair to be father and daughter.[source needed]
  • Lord Bentham was named after Jeremy Bentham.[source needed]
  • Early versions saw the Moment appear to the Ninth Doctor in the form of a young girl dressed in rags, while Clara accompanied the Eleventh Doctor through the portal to 1562. The portal's effects on the actions of the Tenth Doctor were to manifest themselves in the present day as the Eleventh Doctor became wracked with pain; this was similar to the Fifth Doctor's reaction when his past selves were removed from time in The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"].[source needed]
  • When Christopher Eccleston declined to appear, Steven Moffat considered assigning his role to Paul McGann. He then decided that he couldn't picture the Eighth Doctor as the one who ended the Time War. He ultimately wrote The Night of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Night of the Doctor (TV story)"] for McGann. He then turned to an alternative concept he had been formulating, featuring a "mayfly Doctor" who appears for a single episode, asking, "Would it be weird in the run of the series to have the 45th Doctor turn up and be played by Johnny Depp or someone? Would that be a cool thing to do?"{{factyy
  • John Hurt did not actually audition for the War Doctor, but had been asked by the production team and "said yes with remarkable speed".[source needed]
  • The War Doctor originally left the "No More" message behind at the Time Lord armoury from which he stole the Moment.[source needed]
  • Originally, Clara saved the Doctors from their cell in the Tower of London by convincing their jailer that she was a witch.[source needed]
  • The intent of the program which the Doctors ran through their sonic screwdrivers was to unlock the door to the Black Archive, before it was decided that they should access that area via the Gallifrey Falls painting.[source needed]
  • The War Doctor was originally referred to in the script as the Renegade and then the Other Doctor.[source needed]
  • The start of the War Doctor's regeneration in his TARDIS was a late addition. Steven Moffat was firm that this scene should be realised in a manner which would not imply Christopher Eccleston's involvement, since he wanted to respect the actor's decision against participating in the special.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat was developing ideas for the 50th anniversary episode as early as late 2011, when he stated that the team "knew what [they] want[ed] to do" and were "revving up" for the episode in an interview discussing his work on The Adventures of Tintin, and began writing the script in late 2012, announcing that, as a security precaution, he had not produced any copies, instead keeping it on his computer "under lock and key" until it was needed.[source needed]
  • The coda went through several variations before Steven Moffat arrived at its final form, although every version repurposed the image of the TARDIS parked upon a cloud, as in The Snowmen [+]Loading...["The Snowmen (TV story)"]. Initially, the spiral staircase used to access it in that adventure also appeared: as the Doctor ascended, his form shifted through each of his incarnations, starting with the First Doctor and culminating with the Eleventh Doctor. Later, the Eleventh Doctor instead exited the TARDIS into a gallery where paintings of each of his incarnations were hung. The War Doctor's portrait was turned to face the wall, but the Doctor now restored it to its proper orientation before emerging onto the cloud.[source needed]
  • Knowing that Matt Smith was planning to leave the series, Steven Moffat wrote the special specifically with the brief appearance of the Twelfth Doctor during the sequence of all of the Doctors uniting to save Gallifrey, prior to casting anyone in the role.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat later stated that it was his "plan from the start" that all the Doctors would fly in to save Gallifrey.[source needed]
  • No new Daleks were constructed for the special; instead, Nick Hurran drew upon the existing pool of casings, including those which had been built during the early years of the revival, as well as the more recent additions to their ranks from Asylum of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Asylum of the Daleks (TV story)"].[source needed]
  • To preserve the secret of the War Doctor's identity, John Hurt was identified as “Omega” on the call sheet.[source needed]
  • While Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Hurt appeared in the last scene, the first nine Doctors were played by stand-ins, their features being added in post-production.[source needed]
  • The War Doctor's console room was assembled at Roath Lock using elements which had been created for the First Doctor's TARDIS in An Adventure in Space and Time [+]Loading...["An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)"].[source needed]
  • Some of the War Doctor's trek across the desert was filmed against a greenscreen at Roath Lock.[source needed]
  • To minimise the risk of Tom Baker's involvement being discovered, he was driven to Cardiff from his home in East Sussex through the dark pre-dawn hours. Once his footage was completed, Baker was chauffeured back the same afternoon, having found the scene bittersweet. He told Digital Spy: "Matt Smith is a darling young man – he made me very welcome. [But] he was the only one who welcomed me – I drove through the night to Cardiff, and Matt Smith came seeking me out, so full of joy and so happy to see me! He made it very, very easy acting with him, and I'm so glad he's going on to tumultuous success. Nobody else bothered with me at all. I was a bit nettled about that. They didn't have Matt's warmth. That's what he's good at, warmth... absolutely wonderful, and there's not much of him – he's sort of lean, and exudes this warmth".[source needed]
  • The advertisement for IM Foreman's junkyard was the same one created for An Adventure in Space and Time [+]Loading...["An Adventure in Space and Time (TV story)"].
  • A deleted scene saw the War Doctor insist to the Moment that, after he destroyed Gallifrey, he would no longer permit himself the luxury of regeneration.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat added new dialogue to the negotiations between UNIT and the Zygons which would make their final aim unclear, since he was considering revisiting the scenario in a future adventure. Originally, the humans were simply asked to provide the Zygons with enough technology to leave Earth.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat explained his choice of title to SFX, commenting that "... it's very rare in Doctor Who that the story happens to the Doctor. It happens to people around him, and he helps out – he's the hero figure who rides in and saves everybody from the story of the week. He is not the story of the week. In this, he is the story of the week. This is the day of the Doctor. This is his most important day. His most important moment. This is the one he'll remember, whereas I often think the Doctor wanders back to his TARDIS and forgets all about it."[source needed]
  • Filming took approximately five weeks. The first three days were spent at Roath Lock Studios. Some of the scenes set in the National Gallery and the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS were filmed in the period.[source needed]
  • Miniatures constructed by Mike Tucker and his company The Model Unit were used in filming for the Time War sequences, including a model of a Time Lord staser cannon and the War Doctor flying his TARDIS into and subsequently destroying several Daleks.[source needed]
  • The Dalek models used were 18-inch voice interactive toys produced by Character Options. The technique of using Dalek toys as models for filming was a common method of presenting entire armies in the classic series.[source needed]
  • Tom Baker had previously worked as a museum curator before he joined the army.[source needed]
  • The gag with the Doctor doing a double take when he spots an aged Fourth Doctor was proposed by Tom Baker himself during his convention appearances. He approached the showrunners with this idea as early as 2007, while praising David Tennant's take on the role.[source needed]
  • John Hurt offhandedly turned down the role of the War Doctor when his agent phoned him to tell him he'd been offered the part. His wife overheard and insisted he take the part. He eventually came around, staying with the part for the rest of his life.[source needed]
  • According to Steven Moffat, John Hurt gave a speech on his last day filming which went along the lines of, "I don’t want anyone to think I took this lightly or thought I was slumming it. This really meant something to me, to be the Doctor."[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat told Digital Spy: "The Day of the Doctor was a monster hit – I think I can say that – but the actual process of doing it was murder. It was an awful show to work on and I kept just wanting to give up. Because the truth is, there is a reason why there is only one Doctor, and there is absolutely no reason to have more than one".{{fact{}
  • Matt Smith performed the stunt where the Eleventh Doctor is hanging above Trafalgar Square himself.[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat revealed during the 2020 tweetalong during COVID-19 that John Hurt improvised the line "Which one is mine?"[source needed]
  • Steven Moffat indicated that the "classic Doctor" he would most like to feature in a new story was the First, stating, "You'd want him to come and say 'What in the name of God have I turned into?' That's the confrontation that you most want to see, to celebrate 50 years. Going round and round in circles on it I just thought, 'What about a Doctor that he never talks about?' And what if it is a Doctor who's done something terrible, who's much deadlier and more serious, who represents that thing that is the undertow in both David and Matt. You know there's a terrible old man inside them. Well, here he is, facing the children he becomes, as it were." This idea would come to pass in Twice Upon a Time [+]Loading...["Twice Upon a Time (TV story)"].[source needed]
  • In an early draft of the script, the Moment also appeared in the role of the Curator. This was changed when Tom Baker became available. Steven Moffat has said it's possible to interpret the Curator as also being the Moment. However, Moffat believes that the Curator is a far future incarnation of the Doctor who chooses to revisit a different face every day.[source needed]
  • David Tennant's other commitments meant that the Tenth Doctor doesn't sport his trademark spiky hairstyle.[source needed]
  • The Tenth Doctor's TARDIS console room could only be filmed from a few angles, as the set had been taken and installed in The Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff. In order to add display pieces, parts of the set were cut away and the crew had to work around the missing/altered sections.

Easter eggs[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The opening scenes mimic the original open to An Unearthly Child [+]Loading...["An Unearthly Child (TV story)"]: the first shot shows a police officer going by a sign for 76 Totter's Lane, and the second shot is set at Coal Hill School as class dismisses. Clara is now a teacher at Coal Hill School. A sign shows that I. Chesterton is chairman of the school's Board of Governors, also showing that a W. Coburn is headmaster — an in-joke reference to Anthony Coburn, who wrote An Unearthly Child, and Waris Hussein, Doctor Who's original director.
  • As Clara leaves the school, a clock can be seen to display the time as 5:16pm, the broadcast time of "An Unearthly Child" [+]Part of An Unearthly Child, Loading...{"namedep":"An Unearthly Child (1)","1":"An Unearthly Child (TV story)"}.
  • When Kate realises there are multiple Doctors, she asks for one of her father's files code-named Cromer, which is a reference to her father at first believing the anti-matter universe from The Three Doctors [+]Loading...["The Three Doctors (TV story)"] to be Cromer.
  • The access code for Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator is "1716231163". This is a reference to the time (17:16) and date (23.11.63) that the episode "An Unearthly Child" [+]Part of An Unearthly Child, Loading...{"namedep":"An Unearthly Child (1)","1":"An Unearthly Child (TV story)"} first aired.
  • Although not readable in the episode, the companion wallboard contains details about companions from multiple media sources, as could be seen on the prop at the Doctor Who Experience: Ace's full name is "Dorothy Gale McShane", Romana is from the House of Heartshaven, Romana II became Lady President, Barbara wrote a GCSE textbook called Journeys Through History: A Sourcebook for GCSE for the Associated Exam Board in 1985, and Harry Sullivan was a commissioned surgeon-lieutenant, who later worked for NATO and MI5.
  • One Dalek fighter pod can be seen knocked away from the destruction of the Dalek fleet, alluding to the Dalek survivors of the Time War.
  • When the Doctor and the Curator part, the wall features a pattern of "round things", very reminiscent of the Fourth Doctor's TARDIS.

Myths[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The shrouded statues were secretly portrayed by Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy, as was revealed by The Five [+]Loading...["The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot (TV story)"]. Although that's what "Reboot" shows, the scene is a different take of the one seen in the episode and DWMSE 38 credits members of the production crew instead.
  • The special would pick up immediately after The Name of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Name of the Doctor (TV story)"] The special instead takes place some time after the previous story.
  • Billie Piper would reprise her role as Rose Tyler, and the Tenth Doctor's involvement would be during the events of Series 2. Billie Piper instead played The Moment's interface and the Tenth Doctor's involvement is set between The Waters of Mars [+]Loading...["The Waters of Mars (TV story)"] and The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]

Production errors[[edit] | [edit source]]

If you'd like to talk about narrative problems with this story — like plot holes and things that seem to contradict other stories — please go to this episode's discontinuity discussion.
  • During the opening scene of the TARDIS being airlifted, the Police Box windows change colour from black (roadside used prop), to black and white (Airlifted/crane prop), to white (CGI model) and back to black and white at Trafalgar Square. For the rest of the episode, the windows remain white.
    • During Series 5-10, it was common for the windows to switch colour as different props were used in-studio and on-location, however this is the first time all 3 versions are used in quick succession to depict the same TARDIS.
  • When the TARDIS arrives in Trafalgar Square and David Tennant's name appears on screen, a stage and rigging can be seen erected between the two fountains. This then disappears in the next shot as the TARDIS is lowered into the exact same spot.
  • There is a basic hair continuity error in the scene where Elizabeth and her duplicate catch up with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the forest. As the two Elizabeths each kiss the Tenth Doctor, the Eleventh's quiff inexplicably escapes from underneath the fez — mostly when he is out of focus — and then is magically back under the fez when he's in tighter shots.
    • A similar hair error occurs with the Tenth Doctor when the War Doctor is exclaiming about the "Bad Wolf". After having his hair slicked down for the whole story, his hair suddenly stands on end in one shot with the Moment in the background, which inadvertently resembles the spiky hairstyle the Tenth Doctor wore in his final years.
  • There is another continuity error regarding the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. In Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"], the Tenth Doctor discards his sonic screwdriver, having been burned out. This is the first time since the Eighth Doctor that his sonic screwdriver had been destroyed in The Flood [+]Loading...["The Flood (comic story)"], and as a result, the sonic screwdriver held by the Eleventh Doctor cannot be the same one used by the War Doctor to scan the door or to begin the calculations necessary to freeze Gallifrey and save it.
  • When the Tenth Doctor has been kissed by Elizabeth at their wedding, his collar is up in one shot, and down in the next.
  • When the Tenth Doctor says "This is not a decision you will ever be able to live with!", as he walks away from the console, the floor is clearly misplaced. One section is above the other.
  • A close-up of the screen of the Space-Time Telegraph shows that it refers to the Brigadier's last name as "Left-Bridge" Stewart.
  • When all thirteen incarnations of the Doctor arrive to hide Gallifrey in a pocket universe, the Seventh Doctor first appears in his yellow pullover with question marks. When he appears again, his costume changes to the one he wore in the TV Movie and he is now in the Victorian parlour console room. When he appears for the third time, he goes back to wearing the pullover he originally wore in the television series. This emphasises that the archive footage used to generate his presence among the other Doctors has been pulled from asynchronous moments of his life, the early and late periods to be exact.
  • It is clearly visible that all the archive-footage Doctors that talk (except the Ninth Doctor) are not speaking when their voices are heard. This is obviously because the audio (except for the First Doctor's) and the clips are not taken from the same episodes, every Doctor having to be shown controlling the TARDIS. At one point the First Doctor's dialogue (newly recorded by an impersonator for this story) is heard as we see an image of William Hartnell, but his lips are not moving at all.
  • At the end of the special, when the three Doctors are in the museum, the Tenth Doctor asks what the painting is actually called. In that shot, the door to his TARDIS is open. In every shot after that, the door is closed.
    • When Clara enters the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS and shuts the door, as the Eleventh Doctor starts thinking aloud he could retire and be "the great curator", Jenna Coleman can still be seen moving around inside the police box prop through a gap between the doors for about a second.
  • In the last scene of the special, where the Eleventh Doctor is walking out of the TARDIS onto the cloud with his other incarnations, the TARDIS door handle has been obviously removed.
  • After the War Doctor's TARDIS ploughs down a group of Daleks in Arcadia and takes flight, the SFX incorrectly show it as the untarnished Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS complete with the St. John's Ambulance logo, when the practical War Doctor's TARDIS prop has been heavily battle-damaged.
    • In addition to this, a later shot of the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS flying through space is clearly a reuse of the same footage.
  • Right after the three Doctors point their sonic screwdrivers towards the air in the Black Archive-scene, the War Doctor's arm is pointing straight upwards. In the very next shot, his arm is bending approximately 90 degrees.
  • When the Eleventh Doctor says "we're going to freeze Gallifrey" to the War Council, Matt Smith's script can be seen on the TARDIS console. When asked about it, Moffat humorously explained that it is the recollections of the events by previous Doctors, written down to help their future self because of their memories getting out of sync.[20]
  • As the Eleventh Doctor is about to drop down from the bottom of his TARDIS, the metal harnesses used to hold Matt Smith to the bottom of the police box prop are visible.
  • Billie Piper's screen credit at the end identifies her as playing Rose, not the Moment, despite dialogue in her introductory scene directly indicating that Piper is not playing Rose.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

This section needs a cleanup.

As per Forum:Non-valid Continuity sections, categories, and prefixes#Continuity sections, this section needs to be written from an out-of-universe perspective.

Home video releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Day of the Doctor DVD Cover

DVD & Blu-ray releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

Digital releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The special was added to Netflix instant streaming in the US in September 2014. It is listed as the 15th episode of Series 7.
  • In the United Kingdom, this story is available on BBC iPlayer as part of Series 7.

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. Polls by DWM are statistically invalid, as they do not feature a random sample of people. Respondents choose to participate on their own initiative, and are made aware of the poll because they subscribe to or at least frequently buy DWM. Thus, the poll is clearly weighted towards Doctor Who fans who are also residents of the United Kingdom. The views reflected almost certainly do not represent the "casual" viewer of Doctor Who, non-English speaking fans, or other groups of fans who simply don't read or have access to DWM.
  2. The BBC iPlayer notes credit John Hurt's character as "the Other Doctor"
  3. Besides appearing as the Fourth Doctor in flashback footage, Baker also appears towards the end of the episode as an enigmatic character implied to be the Doctor but known as "the Curator". However, the credits only credit Baker as "the Doctor".
  4. Although Billie Piper is credited as playing "Rose", her character is in fact the Moment's projection of Bad Wolf.
  5. Redgrave also plays a Zygon impersonating Kate Stewart.
  6. Oliver also plays a Zygon impersonating Osgood.

Sources[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. Dassanayake Dion. Doctor Who anniversary special sets world record as millions tune in to Day of The Doctor. Sunday Express. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved on 27 November 3013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2013/14. BBC. July 2014. 60.
  3. DWM 474[which?]
  4. DWM 593[which?]
  5. DWM 597
  6. Page also plays a Zygon impersonating Elizabeth I.
  7. O'Neill also plays a Zygon impersonating McGillop.
  8. Darren Scott (24 November 2013). Steven Moffat celebrates a 'new chapter' for Doctor Who. doctorwho.tv. Retrieved on 7 December 2013. “Speaking about the brief appearance of the next actor to play the Doctor, Peter Capaldi, in the anniversary special, Moffat said: 'I love that he's getting so much credit for less than half his face for less than a second. Well done Capaldi.'”
  9. Doran, Sarah (3 June 2017). Bill's birth mother previously played a Time Lord in Doctor Who. Radio Times. Retrieved on 11 June 2017.
  10. 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 10.11 10.12 10.13 10.14 10.15 10.16 10.17 10.18 10.19 10.20 10.21 10.22 10.23 10.24 10.25 10.26 10.27 10.28 10.29 10.30 10.31 10.32 10.33 10.34 10.35 10.36 10.37 10.38 10.39 10.40 10.41 10.42 10.43 10.44 10.45 10.46 10.47 10.48 10.49 10.50 10.51 10.52 10.53 10.54 10.55 10.56 10.57 10.58 10.59 10.60 DWMSE 38[which?]
  11. Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode: The Day of the Doctor. Milk VFX. Retrieved on 18 October 2018.
  12. Cameron K McEwan (5 September 2016). Doctor Who Experience Unveils Classic Fan-Favourite Monsters. Retrieved on 2 January 2019.
  13. Obverse Books: A Second Target for Tommy. Obverse Books (8 February 2018). Retrieved on 9 February 2018.
  14. DWM 468[which?]
  15. The Doctor's Finest - A Look Back at 'The Day of the Doctor' - BBC America
  16. The Fan Show, Steven Moffat On Matt Smith's Era, Writing The 50th Anniversary & MORE!
  17. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/why-christopher-eccleston-left-doctor-who/
  18. DWM 469[which?]
  19. Steven Moffat interview
  20. DWM 489[which?]