The End of Time (TV story): Difference between revisions

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:''You may be looking for [[The End of Time (novel)|the book of the same name]].''
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{{Infobox NewTV
{{real world}}
|image = [[image:s0_09_wal_01.jpg|250px]]
{{ImageLinkTV}}
|story name = The End of Time
{{Infobox Story SMW
|series = [[Doctor Who]] - [[List of Doctor Who television stories|Television stories]]
|image           = EndOfTimeChoice.jpg
|number = [[2009 Specials (Doctor Who)|2009 Specials]]
|series         = [[Doctor Who television stories|''Doctor Who'' television stories]]
|story number =<ul><li>202a</li><li>202b</li></ul>
|special        = [[Christmas Special]] 2009<br />[[New Year Special]] 2010
|doctor =<ul><li>[[Tenth Doctor]] (regenerates)</li><li>[[Eleventh Doctor]] (introduction)</li></ul>
|story number   = 202
|companions = [[Wilfred Mott]]
|scripturl      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-4-episode-17-the-end-of-time-part-1-green-revisions-18042009.pdf<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-4-episode-17-the-end-of-time-part-1-green-revisions-18042009.pdf ''The End of Time (Part 1)'' at the BBC Script Library]</ref>
|enemy =<ul><li>[[The Master]] (redeems himself)</li><li>[[The Master Race]]</li><li>[[Rassilon]]</li><li>[[Joshua Naismith]] |setting = <ul><li>[[Earth]] [[2009]] to [[2010]], [[2005]]</li><li>[[Ood Sphere]] [[4226]]</li><li>[[Gallifrey]]</li><li>[[Zagizalgul bar]] [[2010]]</li></ul>
|scripturl2      = https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-4-episode-18-the-end-of-time-part-2-goldenrod-revisions-11052009.pdf<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/writers/documents/doctor-who-4-episode-18-the-end-of-time-part-2-goldenrod-revisions-11052009.pdf ''The End of Time (Part 2)'' at the BBC Script Library]</ref>
|writer = [[Russell T Davies]]
|doctor          = Tenth Doctor
|director = [[Euros Lyn]]
|companions     = [[Wilfred Mott|Wilf]]
|producer = [[Tracie Simpson]]
|featuring      = Ood Sigma{{!}}Sigma
|broadcast date = 25th December 2009 (Part 1)<br />1st January 2010 (Part 2)
|featuring2      = Donna Noble
|format = 1x 60 minute episode (Part 1) <br />1x 75 minute episode (Part 2)
|featuring3      = Sylvia Noble
|production code = 4.17<br />4.18
|featuring4      = Shaun Temple
|previous story = [[Dreamland (TV story)|Dreamland]]
|featuring5      = Trinity Wells
|next story = [[Series 5]]
|featuring6      = Mickey Smith
}}
|featuring7      = Martha Jones
|featuring8      = Sarah Jane Smith{{!}}Sarah Jane
|featuring9      = Luke Smith
|featuring10    = Jack Harkness
|featuring11    = Alonso Frame
|featuring12    = Nerys
|featuring13    = Rose Tyler
|featuring14    = Jackie Tyler
|featuring15    = Eleventh Doctor
|enemy           = {{Dalton}}, the [[Saxon Master]]
|setting         = [[Earth]] and [[Gallifrey]], [[2009]] and [[2010]]
|writer         = Russell T Davies
|other writers  = Steven Moffat
|director       = [[Euros Lyn]]
|producer       = [[Tracie Simpson]]
|confidential    = Lords and Masters (CON episode)
|confidential2  = Allons-y! (CON episode)
|epcount        = 2
|broadcast date = 25 December 2009 - 1 January 2010
|network        = BBC One
|format         = 1x60 and 1x72 minute episodes
|production code = 4.17 and 4.18
|prev            = Dreamland (TV story)
|next            = The Eleventh Hour (TV story)
|series2        = [[Christmas special]]s
|prev2          = The Next Doctor (TV story)
|next2          = A Christmas Carol (TV story)
|made prev      = The Waters of Mars (TV story)
|made next      = The Time of Angels (TV story)
|series3        = [[New Year special]]s
|next3          = Resolution (TV story)
|series4        = [[Tenth Doctor]] television stories
|prev4          = 2009 BBC Christmas idents
|next4          = The Day of the Doctor (TV story)
|clip            = Doctor Who The End of Time - Christmas Special Preview HD - Children in Need 2009 - BBC
|clip2          = The Master race - Doctor Who The End of Time - BBC
|clip3          = The Tenth Doctor Regenerates - David Tennant to Matt Smith - Doctor Who - BBC
|bts            = 'I Don't Want To Go' The Alternative takes - Doctor Who Confidential - BBC
|bts2            = Doctor Who TV Interview - Storylines
|thwr=157
}}{{dab page|The End of Time (disambiguation)}}
'''''The End of Time''''' was the two-part story that served as the 2009 [[Christmas Special]] and 2010 [[New Year Special]] of ''[[Doctor Who]]''.


{{quote|I don't want to go.|[[Tenth Doctor|The Tenth Doctor's]] last words}}
It was the final chronological appearance of [[David Tennant]] as the [[Tenth Doctor]], though ultimately not as ''any'' incarnation of [[the Doctor]], due to his surprise return as the [[Fourteenth Doctor]] at the end of ''[[The Power of the Doctor (TV story)|The Power of the Doctor]]''. It introduced [[Matt Smith]] as the [[Eleventh Doctor]] in the closing moments of part two. The episode was also the last on-screen appearance of [[the Master]] for over four years. The Master returned in ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'' as the female incarnation called [[Missy]], while ''The End of Time'' actor [[John Simm]] returned as {{Simm}} in 2017's ''[[World Enough and Time (TV story)|World Enough and Time]]''.
'''The End of Time''' was a two-part ''[[Doctor Who]]'' special that was broadcast during the [[2009]][[2010]] [[Christmas]] season, concluding the [[2009 Specials (Doctor Who)|2009 Specials]] "interim season." It was the swansong for [[Tenth Doctor|the Tenth Doctor]] and his companions, and briefly included the first appearance of [[Eleventh Doctor|the Eleventh Doctor]]. The story also revealed many aspects of the [[Last Great Time War]], and gave important development to the character of [[the Master]].  


From a production standpoint, it marked a significant sea change in the history of ''Doctor Who''.  Like only ''[[The War Games]]'' before it, ''The End of Time'' ushered in a complete change of regular cast.  Unlike that [[1960s]] story, however, it was also the final story for [[executive producer]]s, [[Russell T. Davies]] and [[Julie Gardner]] and was the last regular story whose [[script editor|writing was overseen by]] Davies. It was also the first to include any part overseen by — though not credited to — incoming lead writer and executive producer, [[Steven Moffat]].  Though [[Tracie Simpson]] was the credited line [[producer]], her elevation to regular line producer on [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|the first Matt Smith series]] meant that Julie Gardner effectively became the line [[producer]] for the first and only time in her tenure on ''Doctor Who''.
Part 2 served as the first ever New Year special (although wasn't the first to be transmitted on New Year's Day, with episodes from ''[[The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)|The Daleks' Master Plan]]'', ''[[Day of the Daleks (TV story)|Day of the Daleks]]'' and ''[[The Face of Evil (TV story)|The Face of Evil]]'' previously falling on [[1 January (releases)|1 January]]).


== Synopsis ==
The story revealed details of the [[Last Great Time War]] and gave important development to [[the Master]]'s character. It also featured the final appearance of [[Elisabeth Sladen]] in ''[[Doctor Who]]'', although she would go on to star in several more episodes of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]],'' until she passed away in 2011.
====Part 1====
It is the Tenth Doctor's final journey - but his psychotic nemesis The Master has been reborn, on Christmas Eve. With both determined to cheat death, the battle ranges from the wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, while the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire Universe.  


====Part 2====
From a production standpoint, it marked a major change in the history of ''Doctor Who''. Like only ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'' before it, ''The End of Time'' ushered in a complete change of regular cast. Unlike that 1960s story, however, it was a complete change for [[executive producer|its principal producers]] and its [[head writer]] as well, with outgoing head writer Russell T Davies and executive producer [[Julie Gardner]] making way for head writer [[Steven Moffat]] and executive producer [[Beth Willis]]. It was also the first to include any part overseen by — if not credited to — Moffat as a lead writer. Though [[Tracie Simpson]] was the credited [[line producer]], her elevation to regular line producer on [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|the first Matt Smith series]] meant that Julie Gardner effectively became the [[line producer]] for the first and only time in her tenure on ''[[Doctor Who]]''.
The Doctor faces the end of his life as the Master's plans hurtle out of control. With the sound of drums growing louder, and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilf must fight alone. But sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."


== Plot ==
The change was ultimately not permanent, as both Davies and Gardner returned for the [[2023 specials]] alongside Tennant (with uncredited involvement of Davies and Gardner in ''The Power of the Doctor''), and also [[Catherine Tate]], who reprised her role as [[Donna Noble]]. Conversely, [[Bernard Cribbins]], the third billed actor in the opening titles behind Tennant and Simm, also returned as [[Wilfred Mott]] in 2023{{note|Cribbins died in 2022, and his newly filmed scene in ''[[Wild Blue Yonder (TV story)|Wild Blue Yonder]]'' was aired posthumously}} but in a short cameo.
=== Part 1 ===
The Doctor arrives on the [[Ood Sphere]], and sees that the [[Ood]] have progressed further technologically than they should have. Ood [[Sigma]] takes the Doctor to the Ood Elders who show him visions of [[the Master]] returning. He sees an old woman taking the Master's ring and he realises that the essence of the Master survived his death during their last encounter. The Doctor rushes to Earth in the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]] to try and find him. The scene shifts to [[Lucy Saxon]], who has been incarcerated in [[Broadfell Prison]] ever since she murdered her husband. One of the warders of Broadfell is Miss Trefusis, the woman who retrieved the Master's ring. On Christmas Eve night, the prison governor brings Lucy to a chamber where it is revealed that most of the staff are fanatics of the Master who have been working ever since his apparent death to bring about his resurrection. With the help of the ring and a biometric imprint taken from Lucy, the Master reappears in a swirl of energy, but Lucy and some other warders have prepared for this eventuality and Lucy hurls a harmful potion at the Master. The Doctor arrives to find the prison obliterated by the resulting explosion. 
[[File:S0 09 wal 13.jpg|thumb|[[The Master]]'s return.|200px|left]]
The Master survives the blast, but his life force is left in a state of constant depletion, forcing him to drain the vitality of a number of homeless people on a desolate construction site. Like the Ood and many others on [[Earth]], [[Wilfred Mott]] has experienced faded dreams of the Master, and has been scouring [[London]] with other pensioners, under the group name the "[[Silver Cloak]]", to track down the Doctor. Wilf and the Doctor re-unite and the Doctor reveals that a prophecy has been made predicting his death. Later encountering the Master, the Doctor discovers that the drumming in his head is not a symptom of insanity, but perfectly real. A squad of troops suddenly appear, sedating and kidnapping the Master and taking him to the mansion of billionaire [[Joshua Naismith]]. Naismith and his daughter, [[Abigail Naismith|Abigail]], are in possession of the "[[Immortality Gate]]", which has restorative powers enabling the healing of injuries and, as Naismith hopes, the resurrection of the dead. Wanting to secure immortality for Abigail, Naismith enlists the assistance of the Master to mend the malfunctioning Gate. Infiltrating the Naismith estate, the Doctor and Wilf discover that two of Naismith's staff are undercover [[Vinvocci]], members of the race which originally owned the Gate, and that its healing abilities can extend to the whole population of any given species across a whole planet. She and her partner are pressured into explaining the Immortality Gate is a device that heals lifeforms across entire planets. The Doctor realises the Master is going to cause harm to the Human race and goes to stop him. He gets to the immortality gate but is captured. After the Master breaks out of his straight jacket and flies into the gateway then because he has set the gateway to Human and he is in the the machine every Human on Earth then becomes copies of the Master with the exception of Wilf who is shielded in the control room and Donna, who due to the last time [[Journey's End|she travelled]] with the Doctor is half human - half Time Lord. However as Donna witnesses her mother and her fiancée turn into clones of the Master she starts to remember everything that was erased from her memory. As the Master steps out of the gateway he tells the Doctor that he has turned the Humans into "[[The Master Race]]" as he looks round and everyone is the Master. 
[[File:Doctor Who - Time Lords in The End of Time.jpg|thumb|right|The Time Lords return]]
The Narrator claims the Master and his removal of Humanity is only a small part of an approaching conflict. The Narrator is revealed as a Time Lord addressing a large hall of fellow Time Lords and Time Ladies, who shout, "For Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!"


=== Part 2 ===
In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the story, [[Fathom Events]] held a special screening on [[7 August]] [[2019]] also including a new interview with Tennant, reflecting on his time in the role and everything that has come since.<ref>https://www.fathomevents.com/events/doctor-who-the-end-of-time-10th-anniversary?date=2019-08-07</ref>
Then on a devastated Gallifrey, on the last day of the Time War. The Time Lord Council has foreseen that the Doctor, in possession of something called "The Moment", will end the war by destroying both [[Dalek]]s and Gallifrey. The Time Lord President is adamant that he will not allow himself or his race to die. To try and prevent this, the Time Lord Council concocts a plan which involves retrospectively implanting a link to the Master during his early childhood (the four-beat drum rhythm that has tormented the Master all his life), followed by sending a Gallifreyan "Whitepoint Star" diamond to Earth as a further, more physical, link. This link to the Master's present location will then enable the Time Lords to escape from the Time War's Time Lock, and so escape their impending destruction at the hands of the Doctor.


On Earth, the Master threatens to kill Wilfred if the Doctor will not show him the [[TARDIS]]. The pair are saved by the Vinvocci. However, [[Rossiter]], unable to free The Doctor from the chair he is strapped to, is forced to wheel the chair along, down several flights of stairs, prompting the Doctor to say "worst... rescue... ever!" Reaching the basement, the group teleport to the orbiting Vinvocci ship, the Doctor destroying the ship's systems to prevent their detection. The Master broadcasts a message that he has found the Gallifreyan diamond, and that it can only mean the Time Lords are returning. The Doctor, having repaired the ship, returns to Naismith's mansion, to find he is too late. The Master is there, and so are the Time Lord Council. The action of the machine is reversed, restoring all humans and leaving only the original Master standing. Gallifrey begins to materialise near Earth, fulfilling the prophecy that "it" (a previously unspecified entity) is returning. The Master reveals he had planned to replicate himself into Time Lord bodies too, but is told by the Doctor that many other terrible things were sealed in the Time Lock as well – the reason for the destruction – and these are all returning too.  
== Synopsis ==
It is the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s final journey — but his psychotic nemesis, {{Simm}}, has been resurrected on [[Christmas Eve]]! Each determined to cheat death, the battle rages from the abandoned wastelands of [[London]] to the mysterious [[Immortality Gate]], whilst the alien [[Ood]] warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire [[universe]].


The Time Lord President reveals they had planned this moment since the Time War, that all creation and all of time will be destroyed and the Time Lords will become pure consciousness. The Master begins to realise that the Time Lords had planned to use his life as a means for them to escape their inevitable death, at the cost of creation itself. 
With the sound of the drums growing louder in the Master's head and an ancient trap closing around the [[Earth]], the Doctor and [[Wilfred Mott]] must fight alone.
[[File:Ten regenerates.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The regeneration of the [[Tenth Doctor]].]]
[[Sacrifice]]s must be made, and the deadly [[prophecy]] warns:
"He will knock four times."
After agonizing over who to shoot – the Master, or the Lord President (revealed moments later as Rassilon, founder of Time Lord society) – the Doctor finally targets the diamond which is anchoring the Time Lords outside the time lock, and the Master in return uses his superhuman powers to blast the Lord President back into the Time War. There is a bright flash of light, and the Time Lords, the Master (as he used up the last of his life force), and (somewhat slower) Gallifrey, are gone.
The Doctor struggles to his feet, not quite able to believe he has survived. Then in the moment he finally feels safe, he hears four hesitant knocks, the sound that portends his death. Wilfred is trapped in a radiation containment device and wants to be let out and can only be released at the cost of the Doctor's own life; fulfilling the prophecy that "he" (an unspecified person) will knock four times and the Doctor will die. After debating with himself as to whether he is willing to sacrifice his own life for Wilf's, he concludes he may have lived too long, releases Wilfred, and receives a massive level of radiation poisoning.
[[File:eleventhdoctor.jpg|200px|thumb|right|[[Eleventh Doctor|The new Doctor]] examines his new features.]]
Although he survives initially, the effects on his body show that his regeneration has started. He takes Wilfred home and goes to get his reward. After saving Martha and Mickey who are now married from a Sontaran, he proceeds to save Luke Smith from being hit by a car, he then sets Captain Jack up with Alonso Frame. Afterwards he visits a book signing of A Journal of Impossible things by Joan Redferns great grand-daughter, finnaly he goes back to new years day 2005 where he informs Rose Tyler she will have a great year before the pain of regeneration sets in. As he collapses Ood Sigma appears to him, to tell him that the entire Universe would sing for him. Pushed on by this, he reaches the TARDIS, which he sets in motion, before his regeneration into the [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh Doctor]] occurs in an unusually violent manner, shattering the TARDIS windows and setting the interior on fire. After the new Doctor remarks on his new body, he gleefully clings to the controls of the TARDIS as it plummets towards the Earth.


== Cast==
== Plot ==
*[[Tenth Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
=== Part one ===
*[[Eleventh Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
"It is said that in the final days of planet [[Earth]], everyone had bad dreams..." Everyone forgot these terrible dreams, except one man.
*[[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]
 
*[[The Master]]/[[The Master Race]] - [[John Simm]]
On [[Earth]], [[Wilfred Mott]], is walking through the city to do his [[Christmas shopping]]. Having a vision of {{Simm}} laughing maniacally, Wilf decides to see if religion will purge these visions from his mind. Inside a church, he notices a [[stained glass|stained-glass]] [[window|panel]] with the image of [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. A [[The Woman (The End of Time)|mysterious woman]] tells him the church was a monastery in the [[14th century|1300s]]. It was attacked by a demon which was exorcised by a "sainted physician". When the woman suggests that the physician is returning, Wilf says it would make his [[Christmas]] and turns to find she has vanished. He has another vision of the Master laughing, startling him. Wilf hopes more than ever that the Doctor will return.
*[[Rassilon]] - [[Timothy Dalton]]
 
*[[The Woman]] - [[Claire Bloom]]
[[File:The Doctor meets Ood Sigma.jpg|thumb|left|The Doctor meets with Ood Sigma.]]
*[[Donna Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
Meanwhile, in the year [[4226]], a century after the Doctor freed the Ood, the TARDIS arrives on the [[Ood Sphere]]. The [[Tenth Doctor]] emerges, wearing a straw hat and ring of flowers. He is greeted by [[Ood Sigma]], whom he tries unsuccessfully to make laugh by locking his TARDIS like an Earth [[car]]. The Doctor mentions several feats he's done since the vision Sigma sent him, including naming a galaxy [[Alison (galaxy)|Alison]], seeing the [[Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt]], and [[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|marrying]] [[Queen Elizabeth I]].
*[[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
 
*[[Shaun Temple]] - [[Karl Collins]]
Unfazed by the Doctor's absurd behaviour, Sigma leads him away, with the Doctor curious about how long it's been since [[Planet of the Ood (TV story)|he liberated the Ood]]. They arrive at a [[Ood City|large city]] the Ood have built in place of [[Ood Operations]]; the Doctor wonders how long it took the Ood to build their city. Sigma explains that it took merely a hundred years. The Doctor's smile drops and he becomes serious, stating that this is way too fast for them. Something is happening in the past to create a temporal distortion, which is allowing the Ood to evolve at a much faster pace. Not just the city, but Sigma's ability to reach into the past to contact him is something that should be centuries away in the Ood's evolution.
*[[Addams]]- [[Sinead Keenan]]
 
*[[Rossiter]]- [[Lawry Lewin]]
Sigma takes the Doctor to the [[Ood Elder]]s, who tell him to join hands with them. They show him a vision of the Master laughing, which scares the Doctor. Sigma explains that the Ood have been dreaming about him a lot, and are curious about who the man is. The Doctor explains that the man is a fellow Time Lord, but an evil and insane one. They should have no fear of him, however, as he's dead. The Doctor explains that the Master's wife, [[Lucy Saxon|Lucy]], shot him and the Doctor burnt his corpse to ensure he couldn't be revived or have his biology exploited. However, the Ood tell him that he missed something and show him an older woman taking [[the Master's ring]] from his funeral pyre and that this allowed part of him to survive.
*[[Joshua Naismith]] - [[David Harewood]]
 
*[[Abigail Naismith]] - [[Tracy Ifeachor]]
The Doctor is more than willing to leave to stop this but is told that it's too late as the events are already happening in the past and that he should not have delayed in answering their summons. The Ood show him visions of a frightened Wilfred and a "King in his Counting House". The Doctor asks about [[Donna Noble|Donna]], but the Ood warn him that the Master is only the herald of a greater danger returning from the darkness, as their eyes glow red: "the [[end of time]] itself".
*[[Σ|Ood Sigma]] - [[Paul Kasey]]
 
*[[Ood Elder]] - [[Ruari Mears]]
Realising what this means, the Doctor immediately runs out. Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor unlocks it and rushes inside. He begins working feverishly at the controls, hoping to get back to London before the Master is revived. However, it seems the TARDIS isn't willing to cooperate well with him, as it constantly gives off sparks from the strain of the hurried trip into the past.
*[[Lucy Saxon]] - [[Alexandra Moen]]
 
*[[The Visionary]] - [[Brid Brennan]]
In 2009, [[Lucy Saxon]] has been locked in [[Broadfell Prison]] ever since she murdered her husband. One of her warders is [[Trefusis|Miss Trefusis]], the woman who retrieved the Master's ring. On [[Christmas Eve]], the prison governor brings Lucy to a chamber; most of the staff are fanatical [[Disciples of Saxon|disciples of the Master]] who have worked since his death to bring about his [[resurrection]]. They pour [[Potion of Life|potions]] into a bowl, along with the Master's ring; the only thing they need is some of his DNA. They take it from Lucy's lips. The ceremony begins as the cultists give their life energy to revive him; Lucy tries stopping them by revealing the Master isn't Harold Saxon and is evil, but they know this already.
*[[The Second]] - [[Joe Dixon]]
 
*[[The Partisan]] - [[Julie Legrand]]
The Master appears in a swirl of life energy. He greets Lucy, stating that he's missed the drumming in his head. Only now it's louder. Lucy asks him to stop draining the cultists' lives as he's taken enough to sustain himself, but he tells her they'll only be the first. Lucy tells him that she's been preparing for his return as well and that she's had her family create a [[Potion of Death]] to undo his revival. After receiving the potion from her warden ally, she hurls it at the Master, creating a violent explosion that kills everyone and destroys [[Broadfell Prison]]. The Doctor arrives the next day, seeing that he was too late.
*[[Minnie Hooper]] - [[June Whitfield]]
 
*[[Martha Smith-Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
Elsewhere, [[Joshua Naismith]] and his daughter [[Abigail Naismith|Abigail]] review footage of the prison fire, seeing a shadow run from it. Smiling, Abigail realises that Mr Saxon has returned and that he would be a great Christmas present. Joshua tells her that he will deliver the gift, cancelling Christmas for his staff; he then orders that the revived madman be brought to him.
*[[Mickey Smith]] - [[Noel Clarke]]
 
*[[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elizabeth Sladen]]
Meanwhile, Wilf pretends to leave for drinks with friends. Instead, he dances as he goes to enter a mini-bus, and the passengers laugh and applaud. When he meets up with the group inside, he gives them information packets on the Doctor; they are to be on the lookout for him or the TARDIS. When questioned as to why they need to find this man, Wilf reminds them that they've all been having bad dreams about something horrible that they can't remember. ''That'' is why they need to find the Doctor. He is the only one who can answer this mystery.
*[[Luke Smith]] - [[Tommy Knight]]
 
*[[Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
In a junkyard, two homeless people get sandwiches from a meals on wheels van and leave. A hooded man arrives, being asked for his order. He pulls off his hood, revealing himself to be the Master, only with blonde hair; he states he wants everything because he's so hungry. He surprises the homeless men moments later, quickly devouring his hamburger. When they point out he looks like Harold Saxon, the Master starts rambling that he looks the same despite being a master of disguise. His skin turns transparent briefly with each burst of emotion, scaring the men into running back to the van for help, however, they find only skeletons in the van. Declaring that it's dinner time, the Master pounces after them.
*[[Verity Newman]] - [[Jessica Hynes]]
 
*[[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
The Doctor arrives in the junkyard, shortly afterwards. The Master senses this and decides to taunt his old friend by beating a trashcan to a four-stroke beat. He then leads the Doctor on a chase through the junkyard, showing amazing speed and agility. However, the Doctor quickly realises the Master's burning up his own life energy; it seems the potion of death and the revival ritual resulted in a clashing, which has given the Master greater abilities that are slowly but surely killing him again.
*[[Jackie Tyler]] - [[Camille Coduri]]
 
*[[Alonso Frame]] - [[Russell Tovey]]
However, before the Doctor can take off after the Master again, he is stopped dead in his tracks by Wilf and his information network dubbed "[[Silver Cloak]]". [[Minnie Hooper]] asks if they got the right person; Wilf confirms it. The Doctor berates Wilf for telling people about him. However, Wilf explains that he kept the specifics about the Time Lord as secret, only telling them that he could find out about the strange dreams. To the Doctor's annoyance, the group wants a picture with him.
*[[Oliver Barnes]] - [[Barry Howard]]
 
*[[Time Lord]] - [[Roger Bailey]]
After retreating to a café with Wilf, the Doctor wonders why it is he keeps bumping into the old man; this is the third time they've met by chance. The Doctor then tells him the prophecy of his death. Wilf is confused, as he thought the Doctor could regenerate if he was about to die. The Doctor replies that he can potentially die before regenerating... and even if he does regenerate, the man he is now will be gone forever with a completely different person left sauntering away in his place. The Doctor then sees [[Donna Noble|Donna]] standing outside, arguing with a police officer over her ticketed car, and realises why Wilf insisted on this particular café. "She's not changed," the Doctor laughs.
*[[Trefusis|Miss Trefusis]] - [[Sylvia Seymour]]
 
*[[Governor (End of Time)|Governor]] - [[Teresa Banham]]
Wilf says she's engaged to [[Shaun Temple]]; although he is nice enough, the two are barely making ends meet and can only afford a tiny flat. The Doctor wonders if her married name will be "Noble-Temple" as it sounds like a tourist attraction; however, Wilf states it will be "Temple-Noble". Wilf tells the Doctor that even though Donna is happy with Shaun, there's times when he sees flashes of sadness like there's somewhere else she wants to be but doesn't know where. He pleads with the Doctor to at least go up to her and say hello to her, but the Doctor sadly reminds him that if Donna remembers him for even a second, she will die. Wilf then asks who the Doctor is travelling with now, but the Doctor replies he has no-one and thought it would be better that way... but with no-one around him, he has made some very bad choices. The Doctor then starts crying, burdened by the guilt of his recent actions which also devastates Wilf. He asks if Donna could make him smile again, but by now she is gone.
*[[Danes|Mr Danes]] - [[Simon Thomas]]
 
*[[Ood|Ood Voices]] - [[Silas Carson]]
The narrator, his face revealed, and his voice turning scornful toward humanity, speaks of the passage of Christmas Eve into Christmas Day; the players are moving into their final positions, with each human dreaming of the arrival of the final day.
*Voice of [[Ood Elder]] - [[Brian Cox]]
 
*Voice of [[Judoon]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
In a scrapyard, the Master finishes another meal. He notices the Doctor has found him again. Rubbing his hands together, he generates some kind of electricity. He fires some shots of electricity near the Doctor as he approaches. Ultimately, he uses both hands to send focused blasts at the Doctor, managing to make him collapse to the ground. The Doctor realises that the Master's body has been "torn wide open", allowing him to send his life energy as blasts but has also drastically reduced his life force. The Master remembers back to their childhood, where they would play on pastures of red grass, stretching across the slopes of [[Mount Perdition]]. Asking the Doctor to listen to the drumming in his head, the Master touches their heads together. The Doctor pulls away horrified; he has heard the drums too and now knows it's not just a symptom of his insanity. The Master becomes ecstatic to learn that the drumming is real, launching himself into the sky. However, before another chase can ensue, Naismith's men arrive and capture the madman, leaving the Doctor knocked out and confused.
*[[Trinity Wells]] - [[Lachele Carl]]
 
*[[Nerys]] - [[Krystal Archer]]
[[File:WilfSeesTheWoman.jpg|thumb|Wilf receives his orders.]]
*[[Sarah (The End of Time)|Sarah]] - [[Lacey Bond]]
Back at Wilfred's house, Donna's fiancé, Shaun, arrives. For Christmas, Donna gives Wilf a book called ''[[Fighting the Future]]'' by Joshua Naismith. When Wilf questions Donna giving it to him, she has a moment where her mind goes far away as she states that she saw it and sensed that Wilf should have it. As Wilf tries to watch the [[Queen's Christmas speech]], a mysterious woman appears to him only in place of the broadcast, ordering him to take arms; she also advises him not to tell the Doctor of what has happened, so that his life can be saved. Wilf takes his old service revolver from under his bed as the Doctor contacts him by throwing a stone at his window.
*[[Tommo]] - [[Pete Lee-Wilson]]
 
*[[Ginger]] - [[Dwayne Scantlebury]]
Outside, the Doctor tells Wilf he's his only possible connection to what's happening and asks if Wilf noticed anything odd. Wilf tries to tell the Doctor about the woman, but changes his mind and mentions Donna's strange moment with the book. The Doctor recognises the picture of Joshua Naismith from the Ood's vision and speculates the convergence touched upon Donna's subconscious Time Lord mind which acted to help. As they talk, [[Sylvia Noble|Sylvia]] comes outside and is angered to see the Doctor. The Doctor quickly retreats to the TARDIS followed by Wilf who'd rather go with the Doctor than face his daughter. Though the Doctor refuses at first, he changes his mind upon seeing how angry Sylvia is. As the TARDIS departs, Sylvia screams after it, drawing the confusion of Donna to her mother's strange behaviour.
*[[Graske]] - [[Jimmy Vee]]
 
*[[Jask]] - [[Dan Starkey]]
In the TARDIS, Wilf asks the Doctor why he can't go back to yesterday and catch the Master. The Doctor says he can't go back in his own timeline as [[Time Crash (TV story)|that can lead to the end of not only the world]], but the universe as well. The Doctor then wonders what Wilf thinks of his TARDIS, to which he gets "I thought it would be cleaner" due to how messy the control room is.
*[[Winston Katusi]] - [[Allister Bain]]
 
*[[Teenager (The End of Time)|Teenager]] - [[Max Benjamin]] <!-- Is not Ginger -->
At the [[Naismith mansion|mansion]], the Master is wheeled to Naismith and [[Abigail Naismith|Abigail]] on a trolley, and strapped to it in a straitjacket. He notices the "[[Immortality Gate]]", which can heal injuries and, Naismith hopes, offer life everlasting. Naismith acquired the Gate after [[Battle of Canary Wharf|the]] [[Children of Earth: Day Five (TV story)|fall]] of [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]]. The gate came with two nuclear-powered control booths, which are set-up in a way that if a worker wishes to leave he must be replaced in the other booth ensuring that someone is working the controls at all times. Abigail learned of the [[Disciples of Saxon]], and that Mr Saxon was an alien; it's their hopes that the Master will be able to repair the Gate properly. With it working properly, Naismith can give his daughter immortality.
*[[Neighbour]] - [[Jeanie Gold]]
 
The Doctor and Wilf arrive at the Naismith estate and hide the TARDIS one second out of sync, so the Master can't get to it. Their [[Utopia (TV story)|last encounter]] taught the Doctor to never leave the means of altering time available to a madman with an ego bigger than the size of a planet.
 
In the [[basement]], they discover two of Naismith's staff, [[Addams]] and [[Rossiter]], are undercover [[Vinvocci]], disguised with [[shimmer]]s as human; the Doctor can see through the shimmers and deactivates them with his [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]], revealing their true appearance as spiky green humanoids who resent being compared to cacti. The Vinvocci explain the Immortality Gate is a medical device that heals lifeforms across entire [[planet]]s, using a genetic template. Realising the Master's plan, a horrified Doctor rushes up to the room with the Gate. He tells Naismith not to let the Master anywhere near the Gate, which has now been repaired by the madman. Naismith assures the Doctor that the Master is secured, being proven wrong moments later as the Master blasts his straitjacket off and jumps into the Gate.
 
Every single human on Earth sees the Master in their minds, and when Wilf also arrives seeing the Master the Doctor gets the current worker out of the nuclear booth, then has himself replaced with Wilf, and the Doctor then modifies the booth to protect Wilf from whatever is happening. The Doctor asks the Master if he's planning on transmitting mind-control or hypnotic instructions, but the Master has far grander plans than that. He has modified the Gate to transmit his own genetic template across the entire planet. The gate is activated, and a wave spreads across the Earth. Everyone's heads shake back and forth rapidly; shortly after this starts, their bodies start fading in and out of a different form.
 
Donna phones Wilf, herself immune due to the [[Human-Time Lord Meta-Crisis|metacrisis]] that made her part Time Lord and tells him the same has happened to her mother and fiance. Seeing such a sight makes Donna start to remember her travels with the Doctor in flashes, and this causes her terrible pain as her brain cannot handle her Time Lord knowledge. Wilf, frightened for Donna's life, warns the Doctor his granddaughter is starting to remember her adventures.
 
Enraged, Wilf demands to know what the madman has done. The Master smugly asks if he was talking to him, while everyone in the room echoes the question, revealing that the Master has turned everyone on Earth into his clones. A clone who used to be [[Trinity Wells]] clearly makes his point for him: "Breaking news: I'm ''everyone.''"
 
[[File:The Master Race.jpg|thumb|left|The Master Race celebrates their birth.]]
As the Master's duplicates unveil themselves, the Doctor is horrified to find himself surrounded by perfect copies of the Master, including the people on TV. On top of that, he has become President [[Obama]]. He quickly abuses the President's power by blanking out a financial crisis solution just to spite the world, while a crowd of his own duplicates claps, roots, and hollers for the original Master's triumph.
 
As the Master steps out of the gateway he tells the Doctor that the human race was always the Doctor's favourite, but it now exists no more, having been replaced with "[[the Master Race]]". Every single Master on the planet laughs together with narcissistic glee and celebration, while the original laughs in the Doctor's face. As a world full of Masters taunts and mocks him, the Doctor's face twists with extreme fury.
 
[[File:Rassilon's Speech to Panopticon.jpg|thumb|Lord President Rassilon declares assured victory for the Time Lords.]]
The Narrator announces the Master and his removal of humanity is only a small part of an approaching conflict. Suddenly, he belittles humankind; this is not a narrator, but the Lord President of the High Council of [[Time Lord]]s, addressing the [[Gallifrey]] [[Panopticon]], which is packed with Time Lords. He announces that "This is the day the Time Lords return. For Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!"{{-}}
 
=== Part two ===
On a devastated [[Gallifrey]], on the last day of the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]], the [[Time Lord]] Council reports that [[the Doctor]] still possesses "[[the Moment]]". They have foreseen that he will use it to end the war by destroying the [[Dalek]]s and Gallifrey alike. A Time Lady suggests that this might be for the best. At the heart of the Time War, billions are dying, being resurrected and dying repeatedly. The never-ending carnage is a travesty of life.
 
[[File:Rassilon return.jpg|thumb|left|Rassilon plots the [[Ultimate Sanction]].]]
The Lord President uses his gauntlet to vaporise her. Exploding with anger, he decrees he will not allow himself or his race to die, with "a billion years of history riding on our backs". Finding that the Doctor and the Master both somehow survive the Time War and end up on [[Earth]], the Lord President decides that the salvation of Gallifrey lies with the two renegades. They retroactively implant a link to [[the Master]] during his early childhood: the four-beat drum rhythm that has tormented him all his life. They send a "[[White-Point Star]]" diamond to [[Earth]] as a more physical link next. This will let the Time Lords escape from the [[time-lock]] and their impending destruction at the hands of the Doctor.
 
On Earth, the Master has the [[Tenth Doctor|Doctor]] and [[Wilfred Mott|Wilf]] tied up. The Doctor tries warning him about the prophecy, but the Master insists he was what the prophecy was talking about. He interrogates the Doctor as to the whereabouts of his TARDIS, as he wants the technology to pinpoint where the drumming in his head is coming from; with 6,727,949,338 clones, it will be easy. The Doctor tries reasoning with the Master, asking him to travel with him to see the universe; he tells him "that's ownership enough".
 
Wilf's [[mobile phone]] rings. The Master is confused, as no one but the Master Race exists on Earth; and there's no way he'd be calling Wilf. He finds the phone, receiving a call from [[Donna Noble|Donna]]. The Master hears Donna, who is confused about everyone else changing; she ran into the alley, to get away from Shaun and Sylvia. Suspicious, the Master demands to know why Donna didn't change. Wilfred reluctantly admits the metacrisis that made her part [[Time Lord]]. The Master sneers, "He does love playing with [[Companion|Earth girls]]!", then orders his copies to take her down. He tells "grandad" to say goodbye to the freak. Wilf yells to Donna to run for her life.
 
As Donna is cornered by the Master Race, who state they have his hunger and plan to eat her. She starts to remember her adventures with the Doctor and is scared and confused, wondering why she can see a giant wasp. Instead of burning up, she emits an energy pulse that knocks everyone unconscious, including herself. Hearing nothing and seeing the Doctor smile, the Master removes his mouth gag. The Doctor calmly points out that when he [[Journey's End (TV story)|erased Donna's memories of her time with him]] he also left her, his best friend, with a defence mechanism to protect her from aliens and her Time Lord knowledge.
 
The Master demands to know where [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] is, threatening to kill Wilfred. The Doctor asks why the Master is so desperate to rule the universe when they could just travel together and see it, admitting that he knows the Master is a genius and would be honoured for the chance to travel with him. The Master asks if the drums in his head would stop, and tells Wilf how the noise started when he looked into the [[Untempered Schism]] as a child.
 
On Gallifrey, the Lord President is informed of this too. Although the Time Lords had assumed the drums were a symptom of the Master's insanity, the President sees it as something more; "a rhythm of four... a heartbeat of a Time Lord"''.''
 
The Master reveals that despite the gate, his body is still dying and then realises that as he's been duplicated, so has the drumbeat in almost every single person on Earth. Intending to triangulate the signal and work out where it's coming from, he demands the TARDIS again. The Doctor retorts ''"''You know the most amazing thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid." Somehow, the Master has failed to notice that the guard next to him is one inch too tall. The "guard" hits him in the head with the rifle, knocking him down. The guard is [[Rossiter]]. [[Addams]] rushes in and urges her partner to get the two men out of the mansion. Rossiter, unable to free the Doctor from the chair he is strapped to, wheels the chair bumpily down several flights of stairs to the basement, prompting the Doctor to note this as the "worst... rescue... ''ever''!".
 
From the basement, the four teleport to the orbiting [[Vinvocci]] ship, narrowly escaping the Master and his guards. Wilfred is amazed at being in space; the Doctor is more concerned with the Master. As soon as he gets out of his restraints, he destroys the teleporter, preventing the Master Race from following them. He asks for directions to the bridge; Addams initially refuses, citing that they are 100,000 miles above the Earth, but reconsiders when the Doctor points out the 'slight' problem of the Master having every single missile on the planet ready to fire. When they arrive, the Vinvocci prepare to leave, so the Doctor destroys the ship's systems, leaving them dead in orbit. As the Doctor begins to mend the systems, Wilfred sees the mysterious woman again, who instructs him to give the Doctor his [[firearm|gun]].
 
The Master and his clones listen to the drumming in their heads, pinpointing the source as "from the sky". Meanwhile, the Time Lord council have just finished putting the drumbeat in the Master's head as a child, giving them his location now. But as they're still trapped in the [[time lock]], they need something to make physical contact. The Lord President removes a diamond from his staff and throws it through the link to Earth where it falls to the ground in a blaze, landing in London. The Master soldiers pick it up, telling the original what they have found is not just any diamond... it's a [[White-Point Star]]. This makes the Master crack up hysterically.
 
On the ship, the Doctor is still repairing the systems. Wilf talks to him about many things and tries to have the Doctor take the gun to save himself by killing the Master. They believe the four knocks is the rhythm in the Master's head. The Doctor refuses and Wilf begins to cry over his fruitless efforts, prompting the Doctor to hug him. A broadcast from the Master reaches the ship; he informs the Doctor about the diamond and reveals it as a White-Point star. It can only mean the Time Lords are returning. Wilfred considers this good but the Doctor's reaction says quite differently... he grabs the gun and rushes for the control room. Wilf is confused as he thought the Time Lords were wise and peaceful. The Doctor tells him that's how he ''chooses'' to remember them; in reality, the horrors of the Time War had changed them, irrevocably corrupting them and making them far more dangerous than any of his enemies.
 
The Doctor has repaired the ship, but Addams will not have them going to Earth. The Doctor tells her "there's an old Earth saying. A phrase of great power and wisdom; and consolation to soul in times of need." When asked what it is, the Doctor yells "[[Allons-y]]!" and speeds the ship towards Earth. The Master decides to kill the Doctor as "soon [he'll] have Time Lords to spare", sending missiles at the ship. Rossiter and Wilf take charge of the asteroid lasers and blast away the missiles the Master launches at them.
 
Addams plots a course for Naismith's mansion and the Doctor jumps from the ship, crashing several stories through the skylight and into the [[Immortality Gate]] room. While he recovers from the fall, he finds himself too late. The Master has brought the Time Lords back. Not only is the Master in the room, but so is the Time Lord Council...
 
[[File:Rassilon Gauntlet.jpg|thumb|Rassilon counters the Master's threats by resetting the Master Race back to human form.]]
The President greets "''Lord Doctor''" and "''Lord Master''", then defames the latter by noting the 'paradox' that they have been saved by Gallifrey's most infamous child. The Master, fast to retort, quickly belittles the Lord President's authority and reveals that he did not call the Time Lords to Earth to save them. He intends to implant himself in them and assert control of the entire race, gloating at how much better the Lord President will look as him. However, the Lord President is not amused at the Master's assertion over his power and demonstrates how fast he can unravel his scheme. He raises his gauntlet and it radiates a blue light. The Master Race begins to revert to their unaltered human identities, causing the Master great panic as he loses his trump card.
 
The Lord President tells the humans present in the Naismith Mansion to kneel. Left powerless, the Master tries to bargain with the Time Lords by reminding them that he was their salvation. However, the whole planet shakes intensely. The President announces that "the approach begins". The Master is confused by his cryptic words; the Doctor angrily tells him that not only the whole species of Time Lords are coming back, but so is the planet.
 
Gallifrey begins to materialise near Earth, fulfilling the prophecy that "''it'' is returning". Standing about three times the size of Earth, it shadows over Earth with an air of doom.
 
Panic erupts in the streets of [[London]] as the giant red world of Gallifrey manifests above the atmosphere, with the Earth itself trembling. [[Shaun Temple]] goes searching for his [[fiancée]] Donna, while [[Sylvia Noble]] looks up at the ominous sky and prays for the Doctor to save them. Wilf, having left the Vinvocci shuttle, makes his way through the crumbling Naismith Mansion to find the Doctor. Refusing to stay on Earth as Gallifrey threatens to knock it out of orbit, Addams immediately readies the shuttle for takeoff. Rossiter is concerned about the Doctor's fate, but Addams shrugs and reminds him that he already said he was dying. All the residents of Naismith Mansion, including [[Joshua Naismith|Joshua]] and his daughter, flee from the residence. Joshua spots Gallifrey's descent and is affixed with terror.
 
Wilf returns to help the Doctor, freeing a trapped man in the control booth and trapping himself in the process, not hearing the Doctor yell out to stop him. The Master thinks that the Time Lords' restoration to the universe is fantastic, but the Doctor tells him that the broken time-lock means that all of the other horrors born in the last days of the Time War, which he had sealed away in the Time Lock as well, would also be released. The Daleks would not be the only additional escapees; they would be joined by the [[Skaro Degradations]], the [[Horde of Travesties]], the [[Nightmare Child]], and the [[Could've Been King]] with his [[Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres]]. The war had turned to Hell, which is exactly what the Master has unleashed above Earth. The Master delights at the thought of such chaos, but the Doctor tells him that not even the Time Lords can survive such an onslaught.
 
The Lord President then reveals that he had planned to deal with these horrors by initiating the [[Ultimate Sanction]]; a plan for the Time Lords to survive the collapse of all creation and all time, as the paradox of Gallifrey's return to the universe rips the [[Time Vortex]] apart, by ascending their conscious minds beyond the need for bodies, whilst creation itself ceases to be. The Master asks to join them, but the President refuses, contemptuously dismissing the Master as "diseased... albeit a disease of [the Time Lords'] own making," and moves to kill him.
 
Then the Doctor aims Wilf's gun at the President, who cautions the Doctor to "choose [his] enemy well. as [they] are many but the Master is one". Even the Master goads him on, urging him to kill the President and claim Gallifrey for himself. At this, the Doctor spins and aims the gun at the Master, who realises that the link that brought the Time Lords to Earth is inside his head, and if he dies, the link is broken and the Time Lock is reformed. He points out that killing the President would have the same effect. The Doctor aims the gun at the Lord President again, who coldly remarks that the final act of the Doctor's life is murder: which one will he choose?
 
Finally, in this dark hour of the Doctor's life, one of the "disgraced" Time Lords covering her eyes behind the Lord President reveals herself to the Doctor; she is the mysterious woman that Wilfred had seen on a number of occasions. As she casts her gaze to a spot behind the Doctor, he not only seems to recognise her but now knows what to do: he whirls around and aims toward the Master once again.
 
As the Master's face falls, the Doctor orders him to get out of the way. Suddenly understanding, the Master smiles darkly and jumps away from the White-Point Star just as the Doctor shoots it, and its destruction severs the link and reinforces the Time Lock, pulling the Time Lords back into the Time War and to their inevitable doom. The Doctor sends them "back into Hell", and identifies the Lord President as [[Rassilon (The End of Time)|Rassilon]].
 
As Gallifrey vanishes back into the Time Lock, Rassilon refuses to die alone and prepares to kill the Doctor. The Doctor is ready for the prophecy to be fulfilled... but the Master orders the Doctor out of the way and attacks Rassilon with his life force energy powers, shouting that Rassilon was responsible for everything that has happened to him since he was a child.
 
As the Master counts the drums one last time, his blasts occupy Rassilon long enough for a bright flash of light to send all of them — the Time Lords, Rassilon, Gallifrey, and the Master, back into the last day of the Last Great Time War. In the streets, Sylvia and the other humans watch as the giant red planet fades away and allows the sun to shine. The Doctor struggles to his feet, weary, but happy, almost in disbelief that he has survived the prophecy.
 
The Doctor's face turns from relief to horror as he hears the four hesitant knocks portending his death. The knocks persist, condemning him further. As he slowly turns, he sees where they are coming from — Wilfred is still trapped in the nuclear booth and wants to be let out. The Doctor, leery to approach the booth, looks at him with dread. As he suspects, Wilfred's life is in dire straits.
 
[[File:Wilf Trapped.jpg|thumb|left|Wilf is trapped in the nuclear booth as it nears a deadly meltdown.]]
Upon inspection of the booth, the Doctor tells Wilf that the Master left the nuclear bolt running. The machine has gone past critical and is about to overload, which will release a lethal dose of radiation into the booth and doing anything to it, even using the [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]], will set it off. The only way to get Wilf out alive is for the Doctor to walk into the open side of the booth and push a button to release the one-way lock, but this means the Doctor will be trapped inside in place of Wilf to endure the radiation blast. At 500,000 [[rad]]s, it would inflict catastrophic damage to his body.
 
Wilf tells the Doctor to leave him. Since he's lived a full life, it doesn't seem worth it for his friend to give up his own just for Wilf's sake. The Doctor pretends to callously accept Wilf's offer but knows he cannot allow the [[sacrifice]]. His spirit finally shattered, the Doctor cuts loose with a rant of anger, grief, and frustration. He rages and chokes back tears about how despite everything he's done he's still going to die just because Wilf had to climb into the booth and he's just an old man, "not remotely important"; he could just be left and the Doctor could live so much longer and "do so much more". Then he snaps out of this self-absorption and realises what he's just said. He knows he can't leave Wilf to die and concludes that a Time Lord sometimes lives too long.
 
[[File:Ten Stricken by Radiation.jpg|thumb|right|The Doctor writhes in pain from radiation exposure.]]
Ignoring Wilf's pleas, the Doctor enters the opposite booth and frees him, releasing the radiation into his booth. The Doctor writhes in intense pain until he finally collapses and the booth itself goes dead from the loss of power. After a few seconds, the Doctor gets up, having absorbed all the radiation from the nuclear bolt. At first, it looks like the Doctor has survived; however, when Wilf comments that the Doctor acquired some battle scars in the course of stopping the Time Lords returning, the Doctor passes his hands over his face, healing the wounds he had sustained earlier from crashing through the skylight. In response to Wilf's surprise, the Doctor examines his hands and announces that "It's started"; his body is preparing to [[regenerate]].
 
The Doctor takes Wilf home and tells him, "I'll see you again, one more time." When Wilfred asks where he's going, the Doctor simply states, "[[Final reward|To get my reward.]]"
 
The Doctor travels to various places where he has brief, mostly distant encounters with recent friends. He saves [[Martha Jones|Martha]] and [[Mickey Smith|Mickey]] from a [[Sontaran]] sniper. He pushes [[Luke Smith]] out of the path of a car, and exchanges a meaningful look with [[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]]. He goes to an alien bar where he finds a despondent [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack]], drowning his sorrows after [[Children of Earth: Day Five (TV story)|leaving Earth]]; and connects him with midshipman [[Alonso Frame]]. All of them realise they are seeing him for the last time. He visits a book signing for ''[[A Journal of Impossible Things (The End of Time)|A Journal of Impossible Things]]'' by [[Verity Newman]], [[Joan Redfern (TV character)|Joan Redfern]]'s great-granddaughter, to find out if Joan was happy in the end. She was.
 
The Doctor then appears after [[Donna Noble|Donna]]'s [[Donna Noble and Shaun Temple's wedding|wedding]] and meets Wilfred and Sylvia. Wilfred tells him Joshua and Abigail Naismith were both arrested, and asks the Doctor who the mysterious woman was. The Doctor focusses on Donna and then Sylvia, but doesn't answer. He then gives Wilfred and Sylvia a [[wedding present]] for Donna; an envelope with something in it, purchased with [[£1|a pound]] given to him by [[Geoff Noble|Sylvia's late husband]]. When Donna opens it she finds a [[lottery]] ticket, to which both Wilf and Sylvia realise that it is a winning ticket which will solve all of Donna's financial problems. The Doctor then leaves with a final look at Wilfred, the man whose life he saved at the expense of his own. As he leaves Wilfred salutes him and cries, realising he'll never see the Doctor again.
 
The Doctor's final stop is the [[Powell Estate]] early on New Year's Day [[2005]], where he watches [[Jackie Tyler|Jackie]] and [[Rose Tyler|Rose]] heading home after the New Year's celebrations from the shadows. After departing from Jackie, Rose hears the Doctor after he grunts in pain from holding back his regeneration. Rose thinks he's drunk and tells him "maybe it's time you went home". She wishes him a Happy New Year to which the Doctor asks her the year. She responds, "January the 1st, 2005". The Doctor tells Rose that she'll "[[Rose (TV story)|have a really great year]]." She smiles and leaves.
 
When Rose is gone, the Doctor staggers away as the pain of the radiation poisoning is finally setting in. A few feet away from the TARDIS, he collapses. He looks up to see [[Ood Sigma]], standing calmly. As the Doctor struggles to his feet, Sigma tells him that the universe will sing him to his sleep and "[[Tenth Doctor|this song]] is [[regeneration|ending]], but [[the Doctor|the story]] never ends." This gives the Doctor the last bit of strength he needs to make it to the TARDIS. On the Ood homeworld, the Ood sing "Vale Decem" in chorus.
 
The Doctor enters the TARDIS. After tossing his coat on one of the coral structures, he notices his right hand glowing with regenerative energy. He sets the TARDIS in flight as he circles the console. Fighting back tears, he utters: "I don't want to go..."
 
As the words leave him, golden energy radiates from both his hands and face as he breathes heavily. Taking a deep breath, the Doctor stretches his arms out as golden energy bursts from his hands and head and his body regenerates.
 
[[File:Ten regenerates.jpg|thumb|left|The regeneration of the [[Tenth Doctor]].]]
The regenerative energy shatters the TARDIS windows and sets the console room ablaze, destroying columns, blowing out the lights, and raining debris down from above. The Doctor's face is consumed by the [[regeneration energy]]. The Doctor closes his eyes as his facial features fade and morph into those of a young man with a swirl of brown hair, who is screaming in pain.
 
As the strain of the regeneration wears off, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] stumbles back with a look of surprise. He quickly examines himself to make sure all his body parts are still in the same place (although he is shocked at his larger than usual chin), with his long hair causing him to think he had become a girl for a moment. With a quick feel of his Adam's apple confirming that he hasn't, [[Thirteenth Doctor|yet]], he then notices, much to his annoyance, he is ''still'' not ginger, but has dark hair again.
 
Remembering there was something important that he forgot, the Doctor tries recalling what it was until another explosion forces him to his knees. Realising that what he was trying to remember was that the TARDIS is now crashing, the Doctor oddly seems ''happy'' as he jumps over to the monitor — it shows the ship spinning wildly towards Earth. Delighting in the chaos, the Doctor clings to the console and gleefully shouts, "Geronimoooooooooooo!"
 
== Cast ==
* [[Tenth Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[David Tennant]]
* {{Simm|n=The Master}} - [[John Simm]]
* [[Wilfred Mott]] - [[Bernard Cribbins]]
* {{Dalton|n=Lord President}}{{note|Rassilon is credited as "The Narrator" in Part One and "Lord President" in Part Two}} - [[Timothy Dalton]]
* [[Donna Noble|Donna Temple-Noble]] - [[Catherine Tate]]
* [[Sylvia Noble]] - [[Jacqueline King]]
* [[The Woman (The End of Time)|The Woman]] - [[Claire Bloom]]
* [[Minnie Hooper]] - [[June Whitfield]]
* [[Joshua Naismith]] - [[David Harewood]]
* [[Abigail Naismith]] - [[Tracy Ifeachor]]
* [[Addams]] - [[Sinead Keenan|Sinêad Keenan]]
* [[Rossiter]] - [[Lawry Lewin]]
* [[Lucy Saxon]] - [[Alexandra Moen]]
* [[Shaun Temple]] - [[Karl Collins]]
* [[Governor (The End of Time)|Governor]] - [[Teresa Banham]]
* [[Oliver Barnes]] - [[Barry Howard]]
* [[Winston Katusi]] - [[Allister Bain]]
* [[Danes (The End of Time)|Mr Danes]] - [[Simon Thomas]]
* [[Trefusis|Miss Trefusis]] - [[Sylvia Seymour]]
* [[Tommo (The End of Time)|Tommo]] - [[Pete Lee-Wilson]]
* [[Ginger (The End of Time)|Ginger]] - [[Dwayne Scantlebury]]
* [[Sarah (The End of Time)|Serving Woman]] - [[Lacey Bond]]
* [[Trinity Wells]] - [[Lachele Carl]]
* [[Ood Sigma]] - [[Paul Kasey]]
* [[Ood Elder|Elder Ood]] - [[Ruari Mears]]
* [[Teenager (The End of Time)|Teenager]] - [[Max Benjamin]]
* [[Ood Sigma|Voice of Ood Sigma]] - [[Silas Carson]]
* [[Ood Elder|Voice of Elder Ood]] - [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]]
<!--First credited in Part Two begin here-->
* [[Rose Tyler]] - [[Billie Piper]]
* [[Jackie Tyler]] - [[Camille Coduri]]
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] - [[John Barrowman]]
* [[Martha Jones|Martha Smith-Jones]] - [[Freema Agyeman]]
* [[Mickey Smith]] - [[Noel Clarke]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]] - [[Elisabeth Sladen]]
* [[Verity Newman]] - [[Jessica Hynes]]
* [[Luke Smith]] - [[Thomas Knight]]
* [[Alonso Frame|Midshipman Frame]] - [[Russell Tovey]]
* [[Chancellor (The End of Time)|The Chancellor]] - [[Joe Dixon]]
* [[The Partisan]] - [[Julie Legrand]]
* [[The Visionary]] - [[Brid Brennan]]
* [[Nerys]] - [[Krystal Archer]]
* [[Judoon|Voice of Judoon]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
:and introducing [[Matt Smith]] as [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]]
 
=== Uncredited cast ===
* [[Barack Obama]] - [[Roger Haynes]]<ref>[[DWMSE 25]] p. 97</ref><ref>[[TCH 62]] p. 116</ref>{{note|Archive audio of the real Obama was used for his voice.}}
* [[Sally (The Sontaran Stratagem)|Sally]] - [[Joan Williams]]<ref>[http://www.castingcollective.co.uk/search-for-artistes/wales/profile?sl=84685&p=3&artiste_id=6583 Profile Joan Williams] at Casting Collective</ref>
* [[Ood]], [[Judoon]], [[Hath]] - [[Jon Davey]]<ref>http://www.jondavey.com/acting.php</ref>
* Hath - [[Scott Baker]]<ref>http://guide.doctorwhonews.net/role.php?code=5936&detail=listing&pg=dwm</ref>


== Crew ==
== Crew ==
''to be added''  
{{wales crew
|1stAD=Peter Bennett
|2ndAD=James DeHaviland
|3rdAD=Heddi Joy Taylor
|Note2=The position of [[3rd AD]] was only credited on part 1.
|FloorRunner=Tom Evans
|Note4=[[Runner|Floor runner]] [[Chris Goding]] was only credited on part 2, while [[Tom Evans]] was only credited on part 1.
|FloorRunner2=Chris Goding
|Note=Because this site puts both episodes of ''The End of Time'' into a single article, it is slightly more difficult to properly represent the crew in the above framework.  '''The two episodes did not have exactly the same credits.''' 
|LocationManager=Gareth Skelding
|UnitManager=Rhys Griffiths
|Note3=A "[[Unit manager|Unit Manager]]" was only credited on part 1.
|ProductionCoOrdinator=Jess van Niekerk
|ProductionScriptSecretary=Kevin Myers
|Note5=[[Production secretary]] [[Kevin Myers]] was only credited on part 1.
|AssistantProductionAccountant=Carole Wakefield
|ScriptEditor=Gary Russell
|Continuity=Non Eleri Hughes
|CameraOperator=Joe Russell
|CameraOperator2=Alwyn Hughes
|FocusPuller=Steve Rees
|FocusPuller2=Jamie Southcott
|Grip=Clive Baldwin
|BoomOperator=Jeff Welch
|BoomOperator2=Bryn Thomas
|Note6=No [[boom operator]]s were credited in part 1.
|Gaffer=Mark Hutchings
|BestBoy=Peter Chester
|Electrician=Steve Slocombe
|Electrician2=Clive Johnson
|Note7=No [[electrician]]s were credited in part 2.
|StuntCoOrdinator=Lee Sheward
|Choreographer=Ailsa Berk
|ChiefSupervisingArtDirector=Stephen Nicholas
|SupervisingArtDirector=Stephen Nicholas
|Note8=[[Stephen Nicholas]] is credited as "[[Chief Supervising Art Director]]" in part 1, and "[[Supervising Art Director]]" in part 2.
|ArtDeptCoOrdinator=Amy Pope
|AssociateDesigner=James North
|Note10=[[Associate designer]] [[James North]] was only credited in part 1.
|ProductionBuyer=Ben Morris (crew){{!}}Ben Morris
|SetDecorator=Julian Luxton
|PropsBuyer=Adrian Anscombe
|Note12=No kind of [[buyer]] was credited in part 1.
|StandbyArtDirector=Keith Dunne
|Note11=[[Standby art director]] [[Keith Dunne]] was only credited in part 1.
|StoryboardArtist=Richard Shaun Williams
|Note13=A "[[Storyboard artist|Storyboard Artist]]" was only credited on part 2.
|DesignAssistant=Al Roberts
|Note9=[[Design assistant]] [[Al Roberts]] was only credited in part 2.
|PropertyMaster=Paul Aitken
|Note14=A "[[Property Master]]" was only credited on part 1.
|ConstructionManager=Matthew Hywel-Davies
|Graphics=BBC Wales Graphics
|CostumeSupervisor=Lindsay Bonaccorsi
|AsstCostumeDesigner=Rose Goodhart
|CostumeAsst=Barbara Harrington
|CostumeAsst2=Louise Martin
|Make-upArtist=Pam Mullins
|Make-upArtist2=Cathy Davies
|Make-upArtist3=Morag Smith
|CastingAssociate=Andy Brierley
|CastingAssistant=Alice Purser
|Note15=[[Casting assistant]] [[Alice Purser]] was only credited on part 1.
|AsstEditor=Carmen Roberts
|Note16=[[Assistant editor]] [[Carmen Roberts]] was only credited on part 2.
|VFXEditor=Matt Mullins
|VFXEditor2=Joel Skinner
|Note17=[[Matt Mullins]] was [[VFX editor]] for part 1; [[Joel Skinner]], for part 2.
|PostProdSupervisor=Samantha Hall
|PostProdSupervisor2=Chris Blatchford
|Note18=In part 1, [[post-production supervisor]] [[Chris Blatchford]] is listed before [[Samantha Hall]]; in part 2, it's reversed.
|PostProdCoOrdinator=Marie Brown
|DubbingMixer=Tim Ricketts
|SupervisingSoundEditor=Paul McFadden
|SoundFXEditor=Paul Jeffries
|FoleyEditor=Will Everett
|Note19=[[Foley]] editor [[Will Everett]] was only credited on part 1.
|Colourist=Mick Vincent
|WithThanksTo=BBC National Orchestra of Wales
|ConductedAndOrchestratedBy=Ben Foster
|MixedBy=Jake Jackson
|RecordedBy=Gerry O'Riordan
|CrouchEnd=David Temple
|CounterTenor=Mark Chambers (counter tenor)
|Note20=[[Countertenor]] [[Mark Chambers (counter tenor)|Mark Chambers]] was only credited on part 2.
|OriginalTheme=Ron Grainer
|CastingDirector=Andy Pryor{{!}}Andy Pryor CDG
|ProductionExec=Julie Scott
|ProductionAccountant=Ceri Tothill
|SoundRecordist=Julian Howarth
|CostumeDesigner=Louise Page
|Make-upDesigner=Barbara Southcott
|VisualEffects=The Mill
|SpecialEffects=Any Effects
|Prosthetics=Millennium FX
|Music=Murray Gold
|Editor=Philip Kloss
|ProductionDesigner=Edward Thomas
|DOP=Rory Taylor
|AssociateProducer=Catrin Lewis Defis
|Writer=Russell T Davies
|Producer=Tracie Simpson
|Director=Euros Lyn
|ExecutiveProd=Russell T Davies
|ExecutiveProd2=Julie Gardner
}}{{clear|both}}
 
== Worldbuilding ==
=== British royalty ===
* Wilfred watches the [[Queen's Christmas speech]].
 
=== Companies ===
* [[Sparrow Lane]] is a touring company.
* [[Steven's Point]] is a mobile catering company.
* The Doctor bought a [[Celebration Lottery]] ticket with the pound from [[Geoff Noble]].
 
=== Devices ===
* Wilf mentions [[ATMOS]].
 
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor compares regeneration to [[Afterlife|dying]], and how he feels a part of him dies during the regeneration.
* The [[Time Lord]]s, during their council meeting, make an oblique reference to [[the Doctor]]'s activities at that point in the Time War.
* The Doctor shows the Ood [[The Year That Never Was|the Year that Never Was]] telepathically to show them the history of the Master and [[Lucy Saxon]].
* Before meeting [[Ood Sigma]], the Doctor says that he saw the [[Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt]] amongst other things.
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] regenerates on January 1, 2005. This is the only time to date other than in the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 movie]] that an exact date for his regeneration is explicitly given. (This assumes the TARDIS does not enter a different time zone when it dematerialises.)
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] regenerates into the [[Eleventh Doctor]].
 
=== Galaxies ===
* One of the things the Doctor did before meeting Ood Sigma was name a [[galaxy]] [[Alison (galaxy)|Alison]].
 
=== The Master ===
* The Master kills a [[Cook (The End of Time)|cook]].
 
=== The TARDIS ===
* The Doctor's [[TARDIS key]] can be pointed at the TARDIS, emitting a warbling noise that puts it a second out of sync with space and time to hide its presence entirely.
* The coral-themed interior of the [[TARDIS console room]] is destroyed by the Tenth Doctor's turbulent regeneration.
 
=== Foods and beverages ===
* Tommo and Ginger eat [[burger]]s.
* The Master savagely eats a whole cooked [[Turkey (bird)|turkey]] at the Naismith Mansion.
* Donna makes [[margarita]]s, but uses [[orange]]s instead of [[lemon]]s.
* [[Oxtail soup]] was being prepared to be served at 02:30pm at the wedding.
 
=== Individuals ===
* [[Henrietta Goodheart|Netty]] is referred to as a member of the [[Silver Cloak]].
* [[Jimbo (The End of Time)|Jimbo]] is mentioned by [[Jackie Tyler]].
* Joshua Naismith has a book titled ''[[Fighting the Future]]''.
* The Doctor believes that the [[Doctor-Donna]] subconscious hidden in Donna's mind sensed from the convergence of events that he would need the Naismith book.
* Ms [[Collins (The End of Time)|Collins]] was a test subject for the [[Immortality Gate]].
* Lucy is helped in her attempt to kill Saxon by a [[Broadfell Prison guard]].
* The Doctor sends Jack a note via a [[Barman (The End of Time)|barman]].
 
=== Species ===
* The [[Vinvocci]] imply that they are connected to the [[Zocci]]. Additionally, they take offence to being called [[cactus]], citing it as a racist slur.
* A [[Raxacoricofallapatorian]], an [[Adipose]], [[Judoon]], [[Graske]], [[Sycorax]], a [[Uvodni]], a [[Eukanian]] and three [[Hath]] all appear in a [[Zaggit Zagoo bar|space cantina]], along with [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Alonso Frame]].
* The Doctor has saved a planet from the [[Red Carnivorous Maw]].
* Rassilon mentions the [[Weeping Angel]]s.
 
=== Temporal theory ===
* When asked why he couldn't just take the TARDIS back to the previous day, the Doctor states, "I can't go back inside my own timeline. I have to stay relative to {{Simm}} within the [[causal nexus]]."
* The Time War is time locked, but the Master's drumbeat was transmitted back through time through the [[Untempered Schism]] into the Master's mind so it was present throughout the Master's life.
 
=== Time Lords and the Time War ===
* Several crashed [[Dalek flying saucer|Dalek saucers]] are next to a badly damaged [[Capitol|Citadel]].
* [[The Doctor|An incarnation of the Doctor]] possesses [[the Moment]], and the Time Lords believe he will use it to destroy [[Gallifrey]] and the [[Dalek]]s.
* The Time Lords send a repeating [[The Drumming|four beat rhythm]] back through time and placed it in the Master's mind as a child.
* Rassilon kills [[the Partisan]] for suggesting they end the Time War.
* Rassilon says the Time Lord's have a history spanning a billion years.
* Male Time Lords possess Adam's apples, as the [[Eleventh Doctor]] checks to see he has one when he momentarily thinks he's regenerated into a female body.
* Time Lords can possibly change gender during regeneration, as the Eleventh Doctor briefly believes has done so due to the length of his hair.
 
=== Unified Intelligence Taskforce ===
* A [[UNIT]] officer from UNIT HQ in [[Geneva]] appears, having been transformed into the Master.


== References ==
=== Locations ===
*[[Donna Noble]] putting the Lottery Ticket down the front of her wedding dress is a reference to the running joke in [[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]'' about wedding dresses not having pockets.
* Numerous map references appear on the screens at UNIT HQ. These include [[New York City]], [[Adelaide, Australia|Adelaide]], [[Los Angeles]], [[London]], [[Moscow]], [[Warsaw]], [[Perth]], [[Auckland]], [[Mexico City]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Shanghai]], [[Belfast]], [[Madrid]], [[Nairobi]] and [[New Delhi]], [[Houston]], [[Toronto]] and [[Durban]].
*The Doctor considers the amount of coincidence around Wilf, and the sheer unlikelihood of the two meeting so many times. He also mentioned this about Donna in [[DW]]: ''[[Turn Left]]'' and [[DW]]: ''[[Journey's End]]''.
*The name of Jessica Hynes' character, Verity Newman, is a reference to [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Sydney Newman]]. This is the second time the revived series has honoured the two people who are considered among the primary creators of ''Doctor Who''; a similar reference occurred in [[DW]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' when the Doctor, under his human guise, says his parents were named Verity and Sydney. In this episode, Hynes plays a descendant of [[Joan Redfern]], a character featured in ''Human Nature''.
*The Doctor refers to the Master as Skeletor, the skull-headed villain from the 1980s cartoon series ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe''.
*In Part 1, the Tenth Doctor lists off things he did instead of rushing to meet Ood Sigma; among them is an implied marriage with Elizabeth I. He also implies that one nickname for her can't be used anymore. The Doctor had previously encountered her in [[DW]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code]]'', at which point she treated him as an enemy (possibly due to the Doctor leaving her on her wedding night).
*[[Netty]], a character from [[NSA]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos]]'', is referred to as a member of the [[Silver Cloak]].
*When the Doctor talks to Wilf in the Cafe, he mentions he did terrible things while travelling alone, possibly referencing the events of [[DW]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars]]''.
*Wilf mentions ATMOS ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky]]'') and planets in the sky. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'')
*The [[Vinvocci]] imply that they are connected to the [[Zocci]], as the Doctor refers to meeting [[Bannakaffalatta|one]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'')
*A woman on the minibus named 'Sparrow Lane' was called Sally. This could be a reference to [[Sally Sparrow]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Blink]]'')
*In Part 2 several crashed [[Dalek Flying Saucer|Dalek Saucers]] are seen next to a badly damaged [[Capitol|Citadel]]. This is shown to be the Last Day of the Time War, before the Doctor destroys [[Gallifrey]].
*Pictures of various historical Earth individuals can be seen in [[Joshua Naismith]]'s mansion.
*Joshua Naismith has a book titled Fighting the Future, which could be a reference to the many alien invasions in the past few Earth years.
*In Part 2 a [[UNIT]] officer (with the Master's appearance) from UNIT HQ in [[Geneva]] appears.
*A Sontaran briefly appears going after Martha and Mickey, who are married.
*The Doctor reveals the Narrator to be [[Rassilon]].
*The Woman's identity is not revealed leaving speculation as to who she is.
*Also left unrevealed is the identity of the second disgraced Time Lord.
*Rassilon refers to The Woman and the other disgraced Time Lord as "Weeping Angels." It's unclear whether this is meant in direct reference to the [[Weeping Angel]]s seen in [[DW]]: ''[[Blink]]''.
* A [[Raxacoricofallapatorian]], an [[Adipose]], [[Judoon]], [[Graske]], [[Sycorax]], and a [[Hath]] all have cameos in a [[Zagizalgul bar|space cantina]], along with [[Jack Harkness]] and [[Alonso Frame]]. Additionally, there are several unnamed new species present.
*The [[Nightmare Child]] is mentioned to be one of the "horrors of the Time War."
*The scene where Luke is saved is part of a subtle in-joke, according to Davies as in ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' none of the children characters look where they are going while crossing the road.
*Because Martha, a Jones, married Mickey, a Smith, it is a reference to her first episode, [[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]''. This was highlighted in episode commentary.


== Story Notes ==
=== Cultural references from the real world ===
*This was [[David Tennant]]'s last appearance as the Doctor and also [[Matt Smith]]'s first appearance.
*The original title for Part 1 was ''The Final Days of Planet Earth'', and was in fact the title when Davies teased readers of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' with the statement that the title was six words long. Later, however, he decided to give the title ''The End of Time'' to both specials.<ref>Russell T. Davies, Production Notes, ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' #416, 7 January 2010.</ref>
*The second part is 75 minutes, four minutes longer than [[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''. Thus it is the new holder of the title of third longest single episode, behind the 85 minute long [[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|TV movie]]'' and the 90 minute long [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]''.
*The person who knocks four times was Wilf.
*With this, his final Doctor Who story, Davies will have written or co-written no less than ten consecutive episodes (this number counts two-parters as separate and also includes a mini-episode, but does not include [[Torchwood]]), an unprecedented accomplishment in the history of the franchise.
*This is the first story of more than one episode since [[DW]]: ''[[Survival]]'' to have one overarching title. It is unknown if this is one-off or will be continued under [[Steven Moffat]].
*The Time Lords return after their apparent destruction in the [[Last Great Time War]]. This is their first appearance onscreen since [[DW]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' nearly 20 years eariler, except for a flashback in [[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]''.
*This is a second time that a [[Sontaran]] has appeared as a cameo in a Regeneration episode
*This is, along with [[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Army of Ghosts]]'', and ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' one of the only Doctor Who stories to feature narration. However, in this case it is revealed that the "narration" is in fact part of a speech given by the Lord President to the High Council.
*There is no traditional celebrity cameo in the story. Instead, a stand-in plays US President [[Barack Obama]] and stock audio from a speech of his is dubbed in. This is the first time in the revived series that the real-world US presidency has coincided with that featured in the Whoniverse.
*The opening credits list David Tennant, [[John Simm]] and [[Bernard Cribbins]]. Simm is the second person to be credited in the opening credits for playing a villain. (The first was [[Eric Roberts]], who likewise played the Master, in [[DW]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|TV Movie]]''). This is only the third time that all of the credits were male (the first being [[DW]]: "[[Time Crash]] and the second being [[DW]]: ''[[The Next Doctor]]'').
*Despite this being David Tennant's last regular ''Doctor Who'' story, he filmed scenes for [[SJA]]:''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'', after the production of this story.
*In the Doctor Who Confidential for this episode, the TARDIS in the opening titles bears the St. Johns Ambulance badge, a nod to the Eleventh Doctor.
*The continuity announcement before part 2 was voiced by the Tenth Doctor, and was the last time the Christmas ident featuring him was used.
*[[Russell T Davies]] confirmed in the commentary for part 2 that the scene where Captain Jack is in an alien bar is in a city named [[Zagizalgul]] in the planet [[Zog (planet)|Zog]]. The scene, a tribute to the famous Cantina Bar scene in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'', features cameo appearances by many alien species featured during the Davies era, plus the return of [[Alonso Frame]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'') and also features the song "[[My Angel Put the Devil in Me]]", last heard in [[DW]]: ''[[Daleks in Manhattan]]''.
*Russell T Davies has said in an interview that The Tenth Doctor's death had been planned out since David Tennant was signed on for the role. Davies also heavily implied had Tennant not been cast, the Tenth Doctor would have died a different way.
*During the [[Doctor Who Confidential]] episode for part two, Davies stated that the name of the Vinvocci's ship was '''The Hesperus'''.
*The Master redeems himself by sacrificing himself and saving the Doctor. According to historical accounts of the production of the classic series, this idea dates back to the original concept for [[Jon Pertwee]]'s final story as the [[Third Doctor]], which would have seen [[Roger Delgado]]'s [[the Master (UNIT years)|Master]] redeem himself in a similar fashion; Delgado's death ended this idea.
*Given that the canoncity of the interactive of [[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Graske]]'' and the fourth wall-breaking skit [[DW]]: ''[[Music of the Spheres]]'' are up for debate, the appearance of a [[Graske]] in the cantina scene marks the species' first undeniably canonical on-screen appearance in ''Doctor Who'' proper following several appearances in the spin-off ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]''.
*Daleks were meant to appear in this story as allies of the Time Lords, but were cut due to the Daleks being featured in the next series.<ref name="20things">[http://www.sfx.co.uk/page/sfx?entry=20_things_we_learnt_from 20 Things We Learnt from A Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter]</ref>
*A line where the Doctor said that he was "half human for a couple of days in 1999" was cut.<ref name="20things" />
*The ''The End of Time'' was not the only finale considered. In another, the Tenth Doctor was going to bow out in a one-parter, saving a family of four aliens from a radiation leak.<ref name="20things" />


===Ratings===
* As the Doctor is pushed down the stairs strapped to a wheelchair, he remarks "Worst. Rescue. EVER!", in reference to [https://simpsons.fandom.com/wiki/Comic_Book_Guy Comic Book Guy]’s catchphrase from ''[[The Simpsons]]''.
*Part 1 - 11.57 Million - According to BARB.
* The Doctor refers to the Master as [[Skeletor]].
*Part 2 - 10.4 Million - According to unofficial overnight figures.
* Minnie the Menace is a combination of two characters from ''[[The Beano]] -'' [[Dennis the Menace]] and [[Minnie the Minx]].
*In America, three broadcasts of Part 2 garnered a combined total of 1.42 million viewers, a record for [[BBC America]].[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/another-record-for-bbc-america.html]


=== Filming Locations ===
=== Influences ===
''to be added''


=== Rumours ===
* [[John Simm]] based his portrayal of the revived Master on [[The Joker]] in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight The Dark Knight].''
*It was rumoured that [[Martha Jones]] and [[Mickey Smith]] would not appear (in particular given [[Freema Agyeman]]'s commitments to the non-BBC production ''Law & Order: UK''), however this was proved false as the two appeared as did [[Billie Piper]] and [[John Barrowman]], whose involvement had been reported in the press during production of the specials.
* The Master being trapped between life and death and turning into a skeleton as a result of his resurrection going wrong were inspired by [https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Riddle Lord Voldemort] in [[Harry Potter]].
*Prior to the BBC's official announcement in mid-November, it was unclear whether Part 1 and Part 2 would both carry the same title (as prior to this only the title of Part 2 had been confirmed by the network). Following the broadcast of [[DW]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars]]'', Russell T. Davies was quoted in the media as saying the title of Part 1 would have six words, leading to speculation over what it might be before it was announced that the two chapters would share the title ''The End of Time''. The original name for the first part was "The Final Days of Planet Earth" but this was changed by Davies as he felt that it didn't fit the episode as a title.
* The Master being held in restraints was inspired by ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silence_of_the_Lambs_(film) The Silence of the Lambs].''  
*It was hinted by Russell T. Davies that Donna Noble and/or Wilfred Mott would die, mentioning "Donna's final words" and speaking grimly of Wilf's fate in ''The End of Time''. In another interview, Bernard Cribbins also made a cryptic statement regarding Wilf possibly "regenerating." Ultimately, both characters survived.
* The juddering effect accompanying humanity's transformation into the Master was inspired by the special effects seen in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob%27s_Ladder_(1990_film) Jacob's Ladder]''.  
*It was rumoured that [[Harriet Jones]] would re-appear, but she did not.
* Some of the climactic Time Lord material was inspired by [[Chris Rea]]'s [[1989]] album [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_to_Hell ''The Road to Hell''].
*It was widely reported in media and on fan discussion boards that the character played by Claire Bloom would be the Doctor's mother. Ultimately, the woman's identity was left a mystery. Some people suppose it to be the Doctor's mother, others believe it to be an alternative world's Donna the way the Doctor looked at her after Wilf asked who the woman was, or, by the same logic, Susan, who is the Doctor's own granddaughter. Davies and Julie Gardner, in the episode commentary, stated that this woman is the Doctor's mother, however as this has yet to be indicated on screen or in spin-off media, it remains to be seen if this actually turns out to be the case.
* The Vinvocci ship was called the ''Hesperus'' after [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]]'s [[1842]] poem ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wreck_of_the_Hesperus The Wreck of the Hesperus]''.
*Similarly, the identity of the other dissenting Time Lord is also left a mystery. The character is mentioned as male by Russell T. Davies, but the costuming and camera angles make it difficult to determine gender.
* The space bar was inspired by the [[starwars:Chalmun's_Spaceport_Cantina|Mos Eisley Cantina]] from ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]].''
*When it was reported that Billie Piper would appear, speculation mounted as to whether the events of ''Journey's End'' would be undone, or if somehow she and the [[Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor]] would somehow be able to leave [[Pete's World]]. Ultimately, Piper appeared in a context that prevented conflict with Rose's character arc.
*The Tenth Doctor's last words would be "Don't forget me." This stemmed from "[[A Letter from the Doctor]]", a feature written by Russell T. Davies for ''[[Doctor Who Storybook 2010]]'' which consisted of fragments of dialogue and descriptions taken from TV various TV episodes, in reverse chronological order. The first words of the Letter are "Don't forget me", while the last were "Hello! Ooh, new teeth..." which were the first words uttered by the Tenth Doctor in [[DW]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]''. This led to newsgroup-based speculation that extrapolating from the format that the final words of the Tenth Doctor would be "Don't forget me." Ultimately, the final words of the Tenth Doctor were, instead, "I don't want to go." The Tenth Doctor does, however, say "Don't forget me." to Sarah Jane Smith when they part company in ''The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith''.


=== Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors===
== Story notes ==
*When the Master is restored to life, it is with a growth of facial hair, which he did not have prior to his death. ''(He had stubble when he regenerated into the Harold Saxon version of the Master, so arguably he is simply returning to the "default state" of this regeneration).''
* Working titles for this story included ''The Immortality Gate''.
*If Lucy has been in prison for approx 2 years, how could the Master's DNA still be on her lips? ''(It's demonstrated in [[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'' that a quick kiss is enough for a genetic transfer. Presumably, since the Master kissed Lucy many times, the genetic transfer lasted long enough for it to be cultivated at a later date).''
* The original title for Part 1 was ''The Final Days of Planet Earth'', and was in fact the title when [[Russell T Davies]] teased readers of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' with the statement that the title was six words long. Later, however, he decided to give the title ''The End of Time'' to both specials, stating that the original didn't seem to 'fit' once he saw it on-screen.<ref>Russell T Davies, Production Notes, [[DWM 416|''DWM'' #416]], 7 January 2010.</ref>
*He also has blonde hair. (''Episode commentary said he dyed his hair blonde in order to make himself look less like "Harold Saxon"). It is also possible that since he used Lucy to bring him back to life he had a side effect of being blonde because of her.''
* Part 2 had the working titles of ''The Final Battle, The Final Reckoning'' and ''Death of the Doctor.'' The latter became [[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|a serial]] of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]].''
*Both Lucy's voice and personality seem dramatically different. (''Since Lucy has been in jail she has had time to think about her actions with the Master, and has seen how evil he was. Arguably, the first inklings of this "new" personality occur as far back as [[DW]]: [[Last of the Time Lords]] when she shoots and kills the Master, with the implication he had abused her during the lost year'').
* This story features the last appearance of the title sequence that debuted in ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'' and the theme that debuted in ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]''.
*How does the sight of the Master make Donna remember? She has never met him before. (''In [[DW]]: [[Journey's End]], Donna gained all of the Doctor's memories and knowledge. She is thus well acquainted with the Master despite never having met him in person before'').
* The second part is 75 minutes, 3 minutes longer than [[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'', making this currently the fourth longest single episode behind the 90-minute [[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', the 85-minute [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'', and the 76-minute [[TV]]: ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]''.
*When talking about their previous encounters, Wilf mentions his paintgun although the Doctor wasn't there when he shot the Dalek. (''It's possible that Wilf informed the Doctor of his encounter with the Dalek while they were waiting for Donna to awake in [[DW]]: [[Journey's End]]'').
* The version of Part 1 on US streaming service HBO Max has different end credits from the broadcast and home video versions. The "To be continued" message is made up of what seem to be flat cut-outs of the same message from the end of [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', and there is an additional woosh noise over the Doctor Who logo that pans horizontally after the end credits. This then abruptly cuts to the BBC Wales end card.
*It is said that Martha is married to Mickey but isn't she supposed to be married to [[Tom Milligan]]? ''(It was established in [[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]'' that Martha was engaged to Tom and later it was stated in [[TW]]: ''[[Children of Earth: Day One]]'' that she was on honeymoon but not who she married. Her relationship with Milligan obviously ended and then she married Mickey).''
* This is the first story of more than one episode since [[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'' to have one overarching title and the first 2-parter since ''[[Revelation of the Daleks (TV story)|Revelation of the Daleks]]'' to be called part 1 and part 2.
*How did the Doctor know where Captain Jack Harkness was? ''Since the Doctor was able to track down Naismith earlier through the TARDIS, he probably did the same here.''
* The Time Lords return after their apparent destruction in the [[Last Great Time War]]. This is their first appearance onscreen (except for a flashback in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'') since [[TV]]: ''[[Season 23 (Doctor Who 1963)|The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' in [[1986 (releases)|1986]].
*Why did the TARDIS explode during the regeneration scene? This hasn't happened before. ''(Regeneration is unpredictable, and some are more violent than others. This one actually began right after he saved Wilf, however, the Doctor fought it long enough to visit each of his companions one more time. It is possible that holding back the regeneration for so long caused a more violent reaction when it finally did happen).''
* [[Russell T Davies]] originally planned for the Master leave an 'M' at the scenes of the murders he committed so as to provide a trail for the Doctor to follow. This was dropped when he realised that it had already been established that the Doctor would simply 'know' where to find his fellow Time Lord.
* Why did the Doctor choose to meet Verity Newman, a descendant of Joan Redfern, and not Redfern herself? ''The Doctor has already caused Redfern a great deal of heartache and he likely does not wish to reopen old wounds.''
* This is a second time that a [[Sontaran]] has appeared as a cameo in a regeneration story. The first was the [[Fourth Doctor]]'s final story ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'', in his flashback to his enemies whilst hanging from the [[Pharos Project]] radio telescope.
* It was stated in the "Meet the Doctor" section of [[Doctor Who Annual 2006]] that the President of the Time Lords during the Time War was [[Romana]] - Rassilon is not mentioned. ''In the narration by Rassilon at the end of Part 1, he states that the Master's actions had a wider consequence.''
* There is no traditional celebrity cameo in the story. Instead, a stand-in, [[Roger Haynes]], plays US President [[Barack Obama]] and stock audio from a speech of his is dubbed in. This is the first time in the revived series that the real world US presidency has coincided with that featured in the Whoniverse.
* If the Doctor saw Rose from 2005, Wouldn't that create a paradox due to the fact Rose has not met the Doctor yet? ''(The Doctor stayed in the shadows at the end, not wanting Rose to see his face. She asked if he had been drinking, so she would have dismissed him as a drunk and likely not remembered him from the incident. Just as in [[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'', it is safe to do "tricks" like this that don't affect the timeline.)''
* The opening credits list [[David Tennant]], [[John Simm]] and [[Bernard Cribbins]]. Simm is the second person to be credited in the opening credits for playing a villain. The first was [[Eric Roberts]], who also played the Master, in [[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]''. This is only the third time that all of the credits were male, the first being [[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash (TV story)|Time Crash]]'' and the second being [[TV]]: ''[[The Next Doctor (TV story)|The Next Doctor]]'', discounting ''[[Attack of the Graske (video game)|Attack of the Graske]]'' and ''[[Music of the Spheres (TV story)|Music of the Spheres]]'', in which David Tennant is credited alone. The next time this would happen with more than one credited actor in the opening credits would be [[TV]]: ''[[The Return of Doctor Mysterio (TV story)|The Return of Doctor Mysterio]]'', which credits [[Peter Capaldi]] and [[Matt Lucas]].
* What was accelerating the Ood's evolution? ''The [[Ood Elder]] stated that "Time is bleeding," presumably, this affected certain points in time, including the Ood's evolution cycle.''
* Despite this being [[David Tennant]]'s last regular ''Doctor Who'' story as the Tenth Doctor, he filmed scenes for [[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'' after the production of this story; in the Tenth Doctor's personal timeline, the events of that story occur before ''The End of Time''.
*  As [[Rossiter]] is climbing into the mining laser pod while the Vinvocci ship is under fire from the missiles, his face is the colour of human skin, instead of the traditional Vinvocci green. ''The green coloring on the Vinvocci skin was enhanced in post-production. They simply missed a sequence.''
* In the ''[[Doctor Who Confidential]]'' for this episode and the ones for the other 2009 specials, the TARDIS in the opening titles bears the [[St John's Ambulance|St. John's Ambulance]] badge, a nod to the Eleventh Doctor's upcoming model.
* The room with The Gate was shaking because of Gallifrey coming closer, but then it stopped shaking when the Doctor picked up the gun. Why was this? ''A directorial issue, to emphasise the importance of the Doctor picking up the gun.''
* The continuity announcement before part 2 was voiced by the Tenth Doctor, and was the last time that the Christmas ident featuring him was used.
* Rassilon's personality is nothing like it was in the [[DW]]: ''[[The Five Doctors]]'', and since when is he evil? ''Rassilon has always been portrayed as an ambiguous character at best. Although not necessarily evil, there has been previous reference made that Rassilon had a dark component to his persona. For example, the Doctor said in [[DW]]: [[Five Doctors]] that it was rumored, contrary to the official story of Rassilon's "death," that he was deposed when the council rebelled against his cruelty.''
* [[Russell T Davies]] confirmed in the commentary for part 2 that the scene where Captain Jack is in an alien bar is in a city named Zaggit-Zagoo on the planet [[Zog (planet)|Zog]]. This is an in-joke referencing one of Davies' statements regarding his approach to the series that "no-one cares about Zogs attacking Zogs on the planet Zog". The scene, a tribute to the famous Cantina Bar scene in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'', features cameo appearances by many alien species featured during the Davies era, plus the return of [[Alonso Frame]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'') and also features the song "[[My Angel Put the Devil in Me]]", last heard in [[TV]]: ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]''.
* Why is a piece of music from 1930s Earth playing in a space cantina? ''Some aliens are interested in Earth culture. It may have been broadcast and intercepted.''
* [[Russell T Davies]] has said in an interview that the Tenth Doctor's death had been planned out since [[David Tennant]] was signed on for the role. Davies also heavily implied had Tennant not been cast, the Tenth Doctor would have died a different way.
* In [[DW]]: ''[[Smith and Jones]]'', the Doctor clearly states that he can expel radiation from his body if he focuses hard enough, so therefore why does he need to regenerate? ''(The damage has been done. There is a misconception that all radiation is the same, in reality there are several types and as shown in several stories ([[DW]]: [[The Daleks]], [[The Mutants]], [[Planet of the Spiders]] etc) it is shown that Alpha and Beta particle radiation is lethal to Time Lords (to a lower extent) while what's in the electromagnetic spectrum is near harmless to them (i.e Gamma rays, Ultra Violet, X-rays etc.). Furthermore, the Doctor was already in a weakened state after surviving the fall from the mining ship).''
* The Master redeems himself by sacrificing himself and saving the Doctor. According to historical accounts of the production of the classic series, this idea dates back to the [[The Final Game (TV story)|original concept]] for [[Jon Pertwee]]'s final story as the [[Third Doctor]], which would have seen [[Roger Delgado]]'s Master redeem himself in a similar fashion, also causing the Doctor's regeneration; with Delgado's tragic death aborting this idea.
* When Wilfred is trapped in the radiation chamber, why couldn't the Doctor leave and come back with a teleportation device, some other means to repair the chamber, or even a radiation suit of some kind? Perhaps even replicate the TARDIS effect he used in [[DW]]: ''[[The Doctor Dances]]'' to rescue Jack Harkness from his exploding ship? ''(By the time the Doctor did any of those things, Wilf would have died, and the Doctor has accepted the fact that he has to save Wilf at the cost of his own life).''
* In an early draft of the script, [[Russell T Davies]] had the Doctor address the "half-human" statement the [[Eighth Doctor]] made in the [[Doctor Who (TV story)|1996 TV movie]], dismissing it as "a forty-eight-hour bug". The line was cut by Davies for several stated reasons, including the fact it would have confused viewers who were only familiar with the events of [[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'')
* How did the Doctor survive jumping out of a moving spaceship, crashing through the skylight, and landing on the marble floor? A lesser fall onto grass killed the [[Fourth Doctor]]. ''Physically each Doctor is different and can be expected to be more or less durable than the others. In addition, the [[Tenth Doctor]] mentions he can survive a fall of at least thirty feet in the episode [[DW]]: [[The Satan Pit]].''
* During the chaotic sequence after the regeneration, the Eleventh Doctor is shown spitting, an act that raised some eyebrows. In addressing this during a publicity event for the launch of Series 5, Smith explained that it was his natural reaction to all the debris raining down on him during the filming, while [[Steven Moffat]] indicated that [[Russell T Davies]] chose to leave it in.<ref>[http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/290679 Long-awaited Doctor Who lands on American TV screens tonight], Digital Journal, 17 April 2010; accessed 17 April 2010</ref>
* When the Doctor decides whether to shoot the Master or the President he holds the gun in different hands (left when pointing at the Master right when pointing at Rassilon). ''(You can see him change hands).''
* [[Russell T Davies]] claimed that [[Omega]] was originally going to appear instead of Rassilon, but the idea was dropped.
* When the Doctor is aiming the gun at both the Master and Rassilon, you can see (and hear) that he has quite obviously pulled the trigger on each occasion. ''The Doctor is holding the trigger close to the point of shooting a bullet: as he changes targets, he changes hands where he is holding the trigger closely to the point of firing each time. ''
* Joshua Naismith mentions that the Gate was found buried at the foot of Mt. Snowdon by [[Torchwood Institute|Torchwood]]. In [[TV]]: ''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'', [[Yvonne Hartman]] states that the gravity clamps were found buried in the same place. Presumably, this means the gravity clamps are of Vinvocci origin. Also, in ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'', [[UNIT]] has a base at Mt. Snowdon.
* If Rassilon's glove is so powerful why would he hesitate to use it when the Doctor points a mere revolver at him? ''(Even if he did fire, the Doctor would have time to fire as well).''
* [[Jessica Hynes]]'s scene as [[Verity Newman]] was the first scene of this episode to be filmed (the scene was brought forward to accommodate Hynes' schedule, as she had just been cast in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Norman_Conquests The Norman Conquests]'' on [[Broadway]]). If Hynes hadn't been available, her cameo would have been replaced with an appearance from [[Elton Pope]] and [[Ursula Blake]].
* The security camera footage viewed by Joshua Naismith on his laptop is the same as the footage used in the episode [[DW]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'' on the news bulletin showing the destruction of the [[Henrik's]] Department Store.
* Part 2 was the only Tenth Doctor era episode to premiere in 2010.
* After the Doctor hits the Sontaran the scene cuts from a close-up shot to a full-body shot. However, no Sontaran is visible in the full-body shot. ''The Sontaran fell off of the floor the Doctor was on.''
* The scene where Luke is saved is part of an in-joke, according to [[Russell T Davies]]; in the first series of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', none of the children characters looked where they were going whilst crossing the road.
* Wilfred states that the Doctor mentioned regeneration to him during a previous encounter, although no such scene appears in previous episodes. Given that the Doctor doesn't mention the subject in casual conversation (Rose Tyler, Donna Noble and Martha Jones were never made aware of it until the possibility of it happening appeared), this seems unusual. Also, it seems unclear when the Doctor would have had occasion or reason to mention regeneration to Wilfred. ''In [[DW]]: [[Journey's End]] he explained the Time Lord Meta-Crisis to Wilf and Sylvia off screen.''
* Martha, a Jones, has now married Mickey, a Smith — a reference to her first episode, [[TV]]: ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]''. This was highlighted in episode commentary.
*Why weren't Earth and Gallifrey both ripped apart immediately by gravitational forces when the latter materialised in such close proximity? ''Gallifrey hadn't completely materialised yet, so it hadn't become solid enough for it's mass to completely destroy the Earth.''
* The name of [[Jessica Hynes]]' character, Verity Newman, is a reference to [[Verity Lambert]] and [[Sydney Newman]]. This is the second time the revived series has honoured the two people who are considered among the primary creators of ''Doctor Who. ''In [[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'', the Doctor in his human guise says his parents were named Verity and Sydney. In this episode, Hynes plays a descendant of [[Joan Redfern (TV character)|Joan Redfern]], the major character she portrayed in ''Human Nature''.
* Why did Sarah Jane Smith create a cover story for Gallifrey heading towards Earth when everyone is very aware of the existence of alien life by these events? ''Luke says "How else are you gonna explain everyone with a different face?" meaning that the cover story is for the "Master Race" incident, not Gallifrey's appearance. She was not aware of what happened, too, while Luke (non-human) was aware, which would be because she became one of the Master Race.''
* While the rest of the story was entirely written by [[Russell T Davies]], [[Matt Smith]]'s scene was written by [[Steven Moffat]].
* The Doctor recognised that the person that was aiming a gun at Wilf was a Vinvocci for being 1 inch taller, suggesting that all the Masters were the same height, but when Joshua Naismith and his daughter changed, it is clear that the Joshua Master is taller than his Master Daughter.
* Four takes of the Tenth Doctor's final line ("I don't want to go") were filmed, with [[David Tennant]] upping the emotion for each one. The third one was the take chosen. The fourth take featured the Tenth Doctor breaking down tearfully; however, Tennant and the editors felt that this was too out of character and that he should show bravery as he faced regeneration.
* Rassilon said to the doctor "the final act of your life is murder, but of which one of us?" He might have been referencing the Doctor's impending regeneration, but how would he have known? ''(It was clearly indicated from his earlier narration that Rassilon knew that the Doctor was phrophecised to "die" at this point).''
* Donna's neighbour who appeared throughout [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 4]] is finally given a name in part one: [[Sally (The Sontaran Stratagem)|Sally]].
* Rassilon stated the two time ladies standing beside him were "the weeping angels of old." But the actually weeping angels were said to have evolved near the start of the universe, so how could time lords and ladies be weeping angels?''They were only sated to be '''like''''' ''the Angels, but not actually them. <u>Further, Time is a funny thing, as any Doctor could tell you. It's dismayingly possible that the Master's life force bestowed his ability to survive his own death to Rassilon. If that's the case, The Moment (being the Doctor shooting the diamond and re-engaging the Time Lock) may well have hurled the consciousness of Rassilon and the Time Ladies to the beginning of Time. In short, President Rassilon '''becomes''' the founder of the Time Lords as a result of this incident. </u>''
* Early on in the bar scene, a creature somewhat resembling a [[Silurian]] is present, although it does not have a third eye. It is unlikely that this is actually intended to be a Silurian due to the physical difference, and as there had been no indication previously of Silurians engaging in inter-stellar travel. Also in the bar scene, another white furred alien appears that is reminiscent of Muftak, a character who appeared in the cantina scene in ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars: A New Hope]]''.
* The Master reminisces about how "we", presumed to be himself and the Doctor, used to run through fields of red grass on his father's estates, shouting up at the sky. This is the first reference to the Master's family, as well as presumably a reference to the fact the Doctor and the Master were once friends, previously confirmed in other stories. The fact the Master refers to "my father's estates", and not "''our'' father's estates", can be seen as further implying that the Doctor and the Master are not brothers, as has often been speculated. The Doctor previously seemed to dismiss that speculation in [[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]''.
* During his resurrection, the Master tells Lucy, "You will obey me!" This was a frequent catchphrase used during his previous and subsequent incarnations, particularly the one played by [[Roger Delgado]].
* Since [[the Drumming|the drumming]] in the Master's head has served its purpose, it's possible he is no longer tormented by it. His next incarnation, [[Missy]], shows no signs of being haunted by the drumming, nor does he in [[World Enough and Time (TV story)|his next appearance]]. However, in [[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|the following episode]], the Doctor mentions the Time Lords curing his decaying body, although it is unclear if the drumming was also cured.
* Part of Rassilon's narrations begin with the phrase "And so it came to pass ..."; [[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'' ended with a similar narration, albeit given by the Master instead.
* [[Murray Gold]] said that the pivotal scene featuring the Tenth Doctor's final meeting with Rose Tyler did not feature the [[incidental music]] he intended for the moment. He wished to use the music piece "Song For Ten (Reprise)", a melancholy version of the original "[[Song for Ten|Song For Ten]]". However, he argued with [[Julie Gardner]] to include this piece and lost, resulting in the use of "Rose's Theme" for the last time during the Tenth Doctor's tenure, whilst the reprise was moved up to the scene where the Tenth Doctor returned Wilf to Chiswick and embarked on his final reward.
* With regards to total runtime and not episode count, this is the second longest regeneration story, behind ''[[The War Games (TV story)|The War Games]]'' and ahead of ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]''.
* [[Russell T Davies]] originally wanted to have the Doctor and the Master swap bodies. However, Davies wasn't keen to spend time during [[David Tennant]]'s final story as the Tenth Doctor with the actor playing anybody other than the Doctor, and was also mindful that he had used a similar notion in ''[[New Earth (TV story)|New Earth]]''.
* Donna was originally supposed to appear only in the epilogue, giving the Doctor a chance to see that she was enjoying a good life despite losing all memory of her time with him.
* [[Patrick Stewart]] was offered the role of Rassilon.
* Abigail Naismith was originally named Alice.
* There was originally a scene where the Doctor actually met [[Trinity Wells]] at the ruins of HMP Broadfell. [[Russell T Davies]] was eager to give [[Lachele Carl]] a proper appearance in the series, but ultimately dismissed the sequence as too self-indulgent.
* Originally, much of the Vinvocci's faces retained their natural human skin tones, but it was now decided that they should be completely green; sequences featuring the aliens which had already been recorded would be computer-tinted to match the revised look.
* One prominent element dropped from the script was a subplot in which the Doctor tries to convince the "Danes-Master" (that is, the copy of the Master who had been Danes, the Naismiths' butler) to rebel against the evil Time Lord.
* The two Raxacoricofallapatorians at the bar are the new Slitheen costumes created for ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' rather than the old ones from season one. Notably, this was filmed before but broadcast after ''[[The Gift (TV story)|The Gift]],'' where the Slitheen costumes were painted orange to serve as Blathereen.
* [[Bernard Cribbins]] served in the army during [[World War II]] and he never killed a man during his service. He insisted that Wilfred not only have the same lack of kills in his past, but also share in his pride for never taking another life.
* It was [[John Simm]]'s idea for the Master to have blond hair.
* [[David Tennant]] and [[Timothy Dalton]] had each other's theme songs as their ringtones - Tennant had the [[James Bond]] theme and Dalton had the ''Doctor Who'' theme.
* The Vinvocci were originally named Shanshay and Shanshay - the pronunciation of the two names being so subtly different that Wilf is unable to discern it (although the Doctor can).
* [[Catherine Tate]] filmed her role in five days.
* The Doctor's confrontation with the Master originally took place in a desert. This setting was used for ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]''.
* [[Timothy Dalton]] and [[Billie Piper]] would later co-star in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Dreadful_(TV_series) Penny Dreadful]''.
* The female Time Lord was intended to be the Doctor's mother.
* [[Euros Lyn]] wanted to remove the scene where the Doctor visits Verity Newman, thinking it would be confusing for anyone who had missed the connection she has to the Doctor, but [[Russell T Davies]] insisted on keeping the scene in the final cut.
* The TARDIS console room exploding was done in one take because of the coral pillars being really expensive to redo, so multiple takes was not on the cards.
* [[Russell Tovey]] and [[Sinead Keenan]] both appeared in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Being_Human_(British_TV_series) Being Human]'' as [[Werewolf|werewolves]].
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] was originally expected to have just a line. [[Steven Moffat]] took the opportunity to write a short monologue.
* While paying tribute to [[Bernard Cribbins]] in [[2022]], [[John Simm]] recalled that he had difficulty filming the scenes where the Master is mean to Wilf. After a take, Cribbins would say to Simm, "Ooh, you 'orrible sod".
* The original idea for the Tenth Doctor's exit  would have seen the TARDIS materialise on board a spacecraft carrying an alien family; the Doctor would sacrifice his life to prevent a radiation leak and save these ordinary, seemingly unimportant beings. Although [[Russell T Davies]] liked the notion of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration taking place in such unremarkable circumstances, as opposed to the blockbuster events that had characterised each of his season finales, he was concerned that viewers would be deflated by the anticlimax. He also felt that such a simple idea could not support two hours of television. He retained only the prologue and epilogue.
* [[John Simm]] turned down a role in a stage play he had been considering in order to reprise his role as the Master.
* [[Russell T Davies]] had Wilf travel in the TARDIS because [[Bernard Cribbins]] lamented that he hadn't done so yet.
* Wilfred's gang of pensioners forming a neighbourhood watch was originally meant for ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]].''
* [[Russell T Davies]] had originally intended for the Tenth Doctor to sacrifice himself for a complete stranger, a technician named Keith. He realised that it should, in fact, be Wilfred, as it would be the ultimate explanation for the string of coincidences which had always surrounded the two characters.
* The Master's original plan was to trap Earth in the Time War in place of Gallifrey. [[Russell T Davies]] ultimately disliked this idea and considered abandoning the Gallifrey plot altogether.
* If any of the era's companion actor's hadn't been available, the epilogue would have been truncated to just Rose and Donna.
* Rose's cameo is set in 2005 just before the events of ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]],'' because [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Julie Gardner]] didn't want to revisit the parallel Earth where she now lived, given that her story had been drawn to a close in ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]''.
* [[Russell T Davies]] had previously used the surname Naismith for one of the families at the heart of his 1993 serial ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Falls Century Falls]''.
* In developing the benevolent aliens whose race created the Immortality Gate, [[Russell T Davies]] was reminded of his fondness for [[Bannakaffalatta]] in ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]].''
* [[Russell T Davies]] originally considered having the Time Lords in an alliance with the [[Dalek|Daleks]] to show how they had been corrupted. However, [[Steven Moffat]] was also planning to bring back the Daleks and expressed his preference for ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]'' to be the first Dalek story in a while. Keen not to undermine his successor's first season, Davies abandoned the notion.
* The concluding episode gave [[Russell T Davies]] the opportunity to include some ideas that he had intended to use in earlier stories: the dogfight involving the ''Hesperus'' drew from some of his original plans for ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'' and Captain Jack Harkness' scene reinstated two abandoned notions for ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'': a scene featuring a cavalcade of  monsters and the return of [[Alonso Frame]].
* Martha and Mickey's cameo was carefully scheduled around [[Freema Agyeman]]'s commitments to ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order:_UK Law & Order: UK]''.
* The Sontaran was called Commander Jask in the script.
* It was while filming the Doctor's pursuit of the Master through the wasteland that the BBC formally announced that [[Beth Willis]] and [[Peter Bennett]] would be joining the new production team.
* Wilfred's revolver was the same one previously used by Captain Jack.
* To play the transmogrified versions of President Barack Obama and all of the journalists, [[John Simm]] was required to endure more than thirty costume changes.
* A [[Vespiform]] originally appeared in the space bar, but it was omitted.
* The regeneration scene was the first shot that [[Matt Smith]] filmed as the Doctor. Before he did so, [[David Tennant]], [[Russell T Davies]] and [[Julie Gardner]] all exited the studio and gave way to [[Steven Moffat]] and [[Piers Wenger]], symbolically passing the torch to the new team.
* The last material that [[David Tennant]] filmed for this story was wire work for the Doctor's jump from the ''Hesperus''.
* Due to the special effects used to simulate the violent nature of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration, the glass central pillar in the middle of the TARDIS console was damaged so badly it had to be rebuilt prior to the recording of the next series. It was made by Bristol Blue Glass based in Brislington.
* When asked about the emotional impact of writing his last ''Doctor Who'' script (prior to his return in 2023), [[Russell T Davies]] said, "I would have thought that when I handed in the last script I might have burst into tears or got drunk or partied with 20 naked men, but when these great moments happen you find that real life just carries on. The emotion goes into the scripts." [[David Tennant]] and [[Julie Gardner]] separately said that they cried when they read the script.
* [[Freema Agyeman]] and [[Russell Tovey]] had previously appeared in ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Dorrit_(TV_series) Little Dorrit].''
* Although a matter of fan speculation for years, fuelled by occasional comments by individuals such as [[Tom Baker]], the Eleventh Doctor briefly wondering if he has regenerated into a woman marked the first time on screen that this was acknowledged as a possible outcome of regeneration.


=== International broadcasts ===
=== Ratings ===
* '''United States''': [[BBC America]] aired Part 1 on 26 December 2009, followed by Part 2 on 2 January 2010, only a day after the UK broadcast.
* Part 1 - 11.57 million - According to BARB.
* '''Canada''': [[Space (TV channel)|Space]] aired both parts back-to-back on 2 January 2010 as part of a daylong ''Doctor Who''/''Torchwood'' marathon. It was also rebroadcast on 3 January.
* Part 2 - 12.27 million - According to BARB.
* '''Australia''': [[ABC1]] is scheduled to air Part 1 on 14 February 2010, and Part 2 on 21 February 2010.<ref>[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/australian-dates-for-end-of-time.html Doctor Who News Page: Australian dates for End of Time]</ref>
* Part 1 - 12.04 million - UK final.<ref>[http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2018/01/twice-upon-time-official-rating.html Ratings - DW News]</ref>
* '''New Zealand''' and other countries: 7th and 14th February 2010 (Prime, New Zealand).[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/end-of-time-new-zealand.html]
* In America, three broadcasts of Part 2 garnered a combined total of 1.42 million viewers, a record for [[BBC America]].<ref>http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/another-record-for-bbc-america.html</ref>
 
=== Filming locations ===
* Tredegar House, [[Newport]] - [[Joshua Naismith|Naismith]] residence
* CEMEX's [[Taffs Well]] [[quarry]] - the [[Ood Sphere]]
* [[Wookey Hole Caves]], Wells, [[Somerset]] - [[Ood]] council
* Blackwells Bookshop, [[Cardiff University]] - book signing
* [[Brandon Estate]], [[London]] - the [[Powell Estate]]
 
=== Production errors ===
{{discontinuity}}
[[File:Vinvocci original.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Vinvocci]] makeup design as originally filmed, and post-recolouring. ([[CON]]: ''[[Lords and Masters (CON episode)|Lords and Masters]]''/[[TV]]: ''The End of Time'')]]
* On the wide shot of the Master's resurrection, it can marginally be seen that Lucy Saxon is kneeling on what appears to be knee support pads.
* After principal photography had wrapped, the production team decided to change the [[Vinvocci]]'s appearance. They had originally envisaged that the race would only be partially green. The only solution was to digitally composite a more complete green, and this necessitated frame-by-frame colouring of the Vinvocci scenes. At some points in the episodes this is noticeable, for example when [[Rossiter]] is climbing into the mining laser pod while the Vinvocci ship is under fire from the missiles.
** Also, when the Vincocci are in their control room hearing the Master's broadcast about finding the White-Point Star, it can be seen that the production team neglected to recolour that particular scene, as it can be seen (albeit with difficulty, since the Vinvocci are in the shadows) that their faces are not green.
* During the first time where Wilf is in the glass cabinet, in the close up his phone is to his head, yet in the long shots both his hands are against the glass.
* When the Doctor goes to get ''A Journal of Impossible Things'' signed, Jessica Hynes is quite plainly hovering her pen just above the page and not writing in it.
* When the Doctor arrives at Donna's wedding, the gates he stands behind are closed, but when Wilf and Sylvia approach him, one is open. Also, when Sylvia looks at him, the TARDIS is closer to the Doctor than when they approach him.
* The Nuclear Bolt control room switches sides of the Naismith's main hall at various points in part 2: It starts off on the right side in part 1, and stays that way until the Master reveals his true intentions of rescuing the Time Lords to Rassilon. The next shot, when all the Masters look smugly at Rassilon shows the Bolt on the left hand side. It later swaps back to its original position. This seems to suggest the post-production crew unnecessarily "flipped" the shot.
* Similarly, the occupants changed sides within the Bolt room. Two Masters (yellow shirt and purple shirt) did a change-around, with the purple-shirted Master taking the place of the yellow-shirted one. The first time this happens, the purple-shirted Master is on the left-hand side, and the yellow-shirted Master on the right. In the aforementioned shot of the Masters looking smugly at Rassilon, when the Bolt swaps sides the first time, the purple-shirted Master is now on the right-hand side of the Bolt, which would be explained by a reflection of the shot. When the Bolt swaps back to its original side, the purple-shirted occupant is once again on the right-hand side, which would not be explained by a reflection of the shot, rather than the left-hand side, which Wilf then occupies. Furthermore, when the Master starts the nuclear bolt, the left-hand booth is occupied but when Wilf arrives and rescues the booth's occupant, it is the right-hand booth with a man in it, leaving Wilf trapped on the left side.
* When the Doctor drops Wilf's gun after falling through the roof, it falls facing towards him and close to his hand. After the camera briefly pans to Rassilon, the gun is further away from the Doctor's hand and pointed towards the Time Lords.
* When the Doctor points Wilf's gun at Rassilon it is in his right hand, but when he turns to point it at the Master, it is immediately in his left hand.
* When the Doctor is aiming Wilf's gun at the Master and Rassilon, the trigger of the gun has already been pulled in and it should have fired. This is incorrectly reported as an error. Wilf's revolver was being used in 'single-action' mode, in which the hammer has been moved into the rearward position, which also moves the trigger rearward to a firing position. In 'double-action' mode, the hammer starts in the lowered position, and the trigger is forward; in this mode, pulling the trigger moves the hammer into firing position, causes the cylinder holding the bullets to revolve into place, and eventually causes the gun to fire.
* After the Doctor knocks [[Jask (The End of Time)|Jask]] out, the latter's body disappears in subsequent shots.
* The Doctor's jacket is tattered before he enters the nuclear chamber to let Wilfred out. However, as he returns Wilf home before setting off to get his Reward, the jacket appears undamaged. ''The Doctor may have spares of his jacket and changed into another one. (A change of clothes is further implied by the fact that the Doctor's tie is different when he returns Wilf home.)''
* During the Time Lord council scene, Rassilon's collar isn't in the middle and sits to one side.
* During the Captain Jack scene, a Sycorax that walks behind him only has one red eye.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
*The fall of Torchwood is mentioned. ([[DW]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts]]''/''[[Doomsday]]'') and/or ([[TW]]: ''[[Children of Earth]]'')
* The Doctor recalls seeing the [[Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Out of Time (audio story)|Out of Time]]'') saving a planet from the [[Circle of Transcendence|Red Carnivorous Maw]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Good Companion (comic story)|The Good Companion]]'') naming a galaxy [[Alison (galaxy)|Alison]] ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Shattered Hourglass (audio story)|The Shattered Hourglass]]'') and marrying [[Queen Elizabeth I]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
*The Master returns, and there is flashbacks to the events of [[DW]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]''.
* The Tenth Doctor previously visited Christmas Day 2009 with [[Heather McCrimmon]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[A Merry Little Christmas (comic story)|A Merry Little Christmas]]'')
*The Immortality Gate was previously referenced in [[SJA]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'', as "the Gate."
* The fall of Torchwood is mentioned. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts (TV story)|Army of Ghosts]]''/''[[Doomsday (TV story)|Doomsday]]'', ''[[Series 3 (Torchwood)|Children of Earth]]'')
*When Donna remembers the Doctor several things from her time with him appear, included are [[Empress of the Racnoss]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]''), the [[Adipose]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Partners in Crime]]''), [[Ood]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Ood]]''), the [[Suit Creature]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]''/''[[Forest of the Dead]]''), the [[Vespiform]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp]]''), [[Sontaran]]s ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky]]''), a [[Pyrovile]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]''), [[Dalek Caan]], [[Davros]] and the [[Supreme Dalek]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]''). The [[Judoon]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'') can also be heard in her memories.
* The Doctor tells the Ood of his last encounter with the Master. The Ood knew, though the Doctor did not, that the Master somehow survived at that time through his ring. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'', ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'')
*[[Alonso Frame]] ([[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]'') is sitting next to [[Jack]], who appears depressed, in an alien bar, and the Doctor hints they should start a relationship, following his loss of [[Ianto Jones]]. ([[TW]]: ''[[Children of Earth]]'')
* The Doctor's reluctance to regenerate can be linked with the fact that he only has one left to use (although this is never brought up in the episode, obviously partly due to the [[War Doctor]] not having been conceived at this point), though he would later be given a new regeneration cycle by the Time Lords. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
*The Doctor mentions [[Joan Redfern (TV character)|Joan Redfern]] to her granddaughter Verity, asking if she was happy after "John Smith" had gone, referencing the events of [[DW]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood]]''.
* The Doctor holds off his regeneration, much like the [[Fifth Doctor|Fifth]] and [[Ninth Doctor]]s before him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caves of Androzani (TV story)|The Caves of Androzani]]'', ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'') However, while the Fifth Doctor did so to save [[Peri Brown]], the Ninth Doctor only did so briefly to explain the process to [[Rose Tyler]], and the Tenth Doctor does so to say goodbye to all of his companions.
*The song [[My Angel Put the Devil in Me]] first heard in [[DW]]: ''[[Daleks in Manhattan]]''.
* The Tenth Doctor's upset at regenerating, and growing attached to being this specific incarnation, is later tied to him having "vanity issues". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'') The [[Twelfth Doctor]] would later echo the sentiment, purposefully halting his body's numerous attempts at regenerating in defiance of constantly changing who he is. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')
*The circumstances of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration echo that of the [[Ninth Doctor]]: Absorbing a massive amount of energy into his body, in order to save the life of another. ([[DW]]: ''[[Parting of the Ways]]'')
* Ood Sigma tells the dying Tenth Doctor that "[His] story never ends." The Eleventh Doctor would later tell an earlier version of the Tenth that "the story ends" on Trenzalore. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') However, the Eleventh would later be given a new cycle of regenerations, allowing him to survive the events of Trenzalore, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'') and allowing his story to continue. Ood Sigma's comment that "The story never ends" indicates that the Ood's new power to see through time may have allowed him a vision of the Doctor's victory in the [[Siege of Trenzalore]].
*The Doctor previously suffered near-lethal radiation poisoning [[DW]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders]].''
* The Immortality Gate was previously referenced by [[the Trickster]] as "the Gate" which was waiting for the Doctor. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'')
*Donna's neighbour who appeared throughout [[Series 4]] is finally given a name in part one, Sally.
* Donna begins to remember several of her adventures with the Doctor:
*[[Nerys]] previously appeared in [[DW]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride]]''.
** the [[Judoon]], (audio only - [[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[One Mile Down (audio story)|One Mile Down]]'')
*The notion of Gallifrey being moved due to Time Lord action from the constellation of Kasterborous to Earth's solar system isn't the first time the Time Lords have shown the ability to relocate an entire planet. In [[DW]]: ''[[The Mysterious Planet]]'', the planet [[Ravalox]] is revealed to be Earth, relocated to another part of the universe by the Time Lords. And [[DW]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'' revealed that (with a little assist), a single TARDIS is powerful enough to move the Earth.
** the [[Empress of the Racnoss (The Runaway Bride)|Empress of the Racnoss]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'')
*The Doctor knocks out a Sontaran using the exact same method used by Donna in [[DW]]: ''[[The Poison Sky]].''
** the [[Adipose]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]'')
*The Doctor states that he is 906 years old, implying that three years had past in his personal timeline since [[DW]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned]]''.
** the [[Ood]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Ood (TV story)|Planet of the Ood]]'')
** the [[Vashta Nerada]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]''/''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'')
** the [[Vespiform]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unicorn and the Wasp (TV story)|The Unicorn and the Wasp]]'')
** [[Sontaran]]s, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Stratagem (TV story)|The Sontaran Stratagem]]''/''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'')
** a [[Pyrovile]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'')
** and [[Dalek Caan]], [[Davros]] and the [[Supreme Dalek]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* [[Alonso Frame]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'') sits down in [[Zaggit Zagoo bar|an alien bar]] next to [[Jack Harkness]], who appears depressed following his loss of [[Ianto Jones]] and his [[Steven Carter|grandson]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Children of Earth]]'') The Doctor sends Jack a note with Alonso's name.
* The Doctor mentions [[Joan Redfern (TV character)|Joan Redfern]] to her great-granddaughter Verity, asking if she was happy after "[[John Smith (Tenth Doctor)|John Smith]]" had gone. ([[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'')
* The song "[[My Angel Put the Devil in Me]]" is playing in the alien bar. ([[TV]]: ''[[Daleks in Manhattan (TV story)|Daleks in Manhattan]]'')
* [[Henrietta Goodheart|Netty]] is mentioned as a member of the [[Silver Cloak]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Beautiful Chaos (novel)|Beautiful Chaos]]'')
* The circumstances of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration echo that of the [[Ninth Doctor]] in that he absorbed a massive amount of energy into his body in order to save the life of another. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'')
* This is the third time the Doctor has been forced to regenerate due to suffering near-lethal radiation poisoning; this was the fate of the [[Third Doctor]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'' and the [[Sixth Doctor]] in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Brink of Death (audio story)|The Brink of Death]]''.
* [[Nerys]] is at Donna's wedding. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'')
* The notion of Gallifrey being moved due to Time Lord action isn't the first time the Time Lords have shown the ability to relocate an entire planet. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'', ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* The Doctor knocks out a Sontaran by striking its [[probic vent]] with a mallet kept in the TARDIS for percussive maintenance. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sontaran Experiment (TV story)|The Sontaran Experiment]]'', ''[[The Poison Sky (TV story)|The Poison Sky]]'')
* When the Doctor is pointing the gun at the Master, the Master states that the Doctor "never would." The Doctor used these words himself when holding [[Cobb (The Doctor's Daughter)|Cobb]] at gunpoint. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'')
* This is not the first time the Master has been trapped in a body that is slowly dying. When he stole the body of a human named [[Bruce Gerhardt|Bruce]], that too began to perish. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
* [[Rassilon]] had achieved immortality before the Time War, though in a passive state. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') In council, we learn that many throughout the Time War are dying, only to be resurrected. He has been revived and restored to mastery over Time Lord society.
* The Doctor refers to Donna as his best friend, a title he had previously conferred on Sarah Jane Smith, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Seeds of Doom (TV story)|The Seeds of Doom]]'') [[K9 Mark II]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pirate Planet (TV story)|The Pirate Planet]]'') and, presumably in jest [[Malcolm Taylor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]'')
* The Doctor tells Wilf that some people wait centuries to find him. One example of such is [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]], who waited over a hundred years to find him again after being stranded in the late 19th century. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'')
* The Doctor tells Wilf that he has taken lives, "and I got worse, I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own." ([[TV]]: ''[[Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story)|Remembrance of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Curse of Fenric (TV story)|The Curse of Fenric]]'', ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* When [[Wilfred Mott]] mentions that Donna is getting married to [[Shaun Temple]] the Doctor asks "another wedding?" referencing Donna's previous cancelled marriage to [[Lance Bennett]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'')
* The Doctor's hands glow as the time his imminent regeneration nears. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]], [[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'')
* The Doctor offers to travel the universe with the Master. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'')
* The Doctor was previously called a "physician" by the [[Empress of the Racnoss (The Runaway Bride)|Empress of the Racnoss]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'')
* The Master has said, "Go on then... Do it!" when a gun was aimed at him before. ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'')
* The Doctor again uses the phrase ''[[Allons-y]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[Army of Ghosts (TV story)|Army of Ghosts]]'', ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'', ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'')
* The Doctor's description of the phrase, "Allons-y", as being "a phrase of great power, and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need" mirrors a similar comment made by the [[Fourth Doctor]] about [[Jelly baby|jelly babies]] being "a great comfort in times of stress". ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Psi-ence Fiction (novel)|Psi-ence Fiction]]'') Both ("Allons-y" and "Would you like a jelly baby?") were catchphrases of the Doctor (in his tenth and fourth incarnations, respectively).
:* Coincidentally, the Doctor's catchphrase "Allons-y", which the Doctor described as meaning "Let's Go!", ([[TV]]: ''[[Midnight (TV story)|Midnight]]'') is referenced in the Doctor's final words in his tenth life which were "I don't want to go".
* This is not the first time that the Doctor has bought a lottery ticket for someone. ([[TV]]: ''[[School Reunion (TV story)|School Reunion]]'')
* The Doctor considers the amount of coincidence around Wilf, and the sheer unlikelihood of the two meeting so many times. He also mentioned this about Donna. ([[TV]]: ''[[Turn Left (TV story)|Turn Left]]'', ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* The [[Vinvocci]] imply that they are connected to, or at least aware of, the [[Zocci]] when the Doctor refers to having met [[Bannakaffalatta|one]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Voyage of the Damned (TV story)|Voyage of the Damned]]'')
* When Wilf says that he's going to die some day, the Doctor tells him, "Don't you ''dare''!" This phrase has been used at least two other times related to an impending death; River Song said this to the Doctor, and the Doctor will have said it to her. ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead (TV story)|Forest of the Dead]]'', ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
* The Doctor again begs the Master to understand the difference between ruling the Universe and having unfettered freedom to travel through it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]'')
* The Master has caused the Doctor to regenerate before. ([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'', ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
* Earth had previously been threatened by the approaching of a whole planet in [[1986]], in that case [[Mondas]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet (TV story)|The Tenth Planet]]'')
* Rassilon condemns the two Time Lords that didn't agree with the return of Gallifrey to cower and hide their faces, just like "the [[Weeping Angel]]s of old." ([[TV]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'')
* The Doctor puts his TARDIS a second out of sync with time, creating a [[temporal gate]] to mask its presence. Objects and individuals have been placed in this asynchronous state before. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'', ''[[The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith (TV story)|The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]'')
* One of the things the Tenth Doctor lists he did instead of rushing to meet Ood Sigma is his marriage with [[Elizabeth I]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') possibly explaining why she wanted him arrested. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'')
* The ''[[Nightmare Child]]'' is mentioned to be one of the "horrors of the Time War." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'')
* While these events are taking place on Gallifrey, it is the final day of the Time War: the Capitol is under attack by Daleks, the [[War Council]] has already dismissed the High Council's plans, and [[the Doctor]] has (as mentioned by the High Council) stolen [[the Moment]] with plans to use it to end the war. ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'' would later utilise these elements within its narrative, retroactively showing that the Doctor who had stolen the Moment was the War Doctor.
* When Donna wakes up on the couch in her home she asks "Did I miss something, ''again''?". Previously when she woke up from her bed she asked if she had "missed something". ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'') This also refers to the fact that Donna missed several important world-changing events due to various reasons. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Rose (novelisation)|Rose]]'')
* The bearded male on the High Council is later identified as [[Grayvas]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Engines of War (novel)|Engines of War]]'')
* In an alternate timeline created by a [[continuity bomb]], the Doctor allowed Wilf to die in the radiation chamber. He went on to embrace the title of "[[Time Lord Victorious]]" and became a mad tyrant over time and space, until a [[Raxacoricofallapatorian]] killed him without regeneration. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Four Doctors (comic story)|Four Doctors]]'')
* The dying Master is last seen attacking Rassilon with his weaponised life force as Gallifrey is resigned to meet its fate at the end of the Time War. Following the revelation that "all thirteen" incarnations of the Doctor had preserved Gallifrey from destruction by relocating it to a [[pocket universe]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') the Master is revealed to have somehow repaired his condition before regenerating into a female incarnation known as "Missy", ([[TV]]: ''[[Dark Water (TV story)|Dark Water]]'') while Rassilon, who also survived, remained Lord President of Gallifrey while also regenerating into an older body. ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'') When the [[Twelfth Doctor]] encounters the resurrected version of the Master again, it is from after the events of ''The End of Time''. During their meeting, it is revealed that after returning to Gallifrey, the Time Lords cured the Master's condition. He then left in [[the Master's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] in what he calls "a mutual kicking me out." He is ultimately forced to regenerate into Missy by Missy herself though the regeneration from the Master to Missy is never shown on-screen. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Falls (TV story)|The Doctor Falls]]'')
* During the Time War, the [[Eighth Doctor]] encountered [[Jask (The Sontaran Ordeal)|another Sontaran named Jask]] on [[Drakkis]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Sontaran Ordeal (audio story)|The Sontaran Ordeal]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor checks on various parts of his body immediately after regenerating. The [[Ninth Doctor]] previously indicated that he could regenerate into having multiple or no heads, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways (TV story)|The Parting of the Ways]]'') while the [[Twelfth Doctor]] would claim that syphoning regeneration energy would cost him an arm, leg, or diminish his overall size down the line. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor takes note of his nose and claims, "I've had worse!" The [[Fourth Doctor]] previously stated that his nose was an improvement from the [[Third Doctor]]'s very prominent one, ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space (TV story)|Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'') while the [[Eighth Doctor|Eighth]] and Tenth Doctors both noted the size of the [[Ninth Doctor|Ninth's]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Tomorrow Windows (novel)|The Tomorrow Windows]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Four Doctors (comic story)|Four Doctors]]'')
* The Doctor attended Donna's two previous weddings. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Death and the Queen (audio story)|Death and the Queen]]'')
* The Eleventh Doctor briefly thinks he has regenerated into a woman. Though he is incorrect in this instance, such a change would actually occur [[Thirteenth Doctor|two regenerations later]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Twice Upon a Time (TV story)|Twice Upon a Time]]'')
* The last place the Doctor visits before finally regenerating is New Years Day 2005. According to one account, the last place the [[Sixth Doctor]] visited before his regeneration was also a New Years Day, in [[2000]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Head Games (novel)|Head Games]]'')
* The Doctor tells Wilf that he did [[Kotturuh crisis|some things that went wrong]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]]''; [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Knight, The Fool and The Dead (novel)|The Knight, The Fool and The Dead]]'', ''[[All Flesh is Grass (novel)|All Flesh is Grass]]''; [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Minds of Magnox (audio story)|The Minds of Magnox]]''; [[COMIC]]: ''[[Defender of the Daleks (comic story)|Defender of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Tales of the Dark Times (comic story)|Tales of the Dark Times]]'')


=='Ginger' controversy==
== Ginger controversy ==
During the final scene, the Eleventh Doctor takes a look at his hair and utters the phrase, "Still not ginger!". This statement was misinterpreted by a number of viewers as being a negative comment on redheaded people, resulting in more than 140 complaints being filed with the BBC.<ref>[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/ginger-clarification.html Doctor Who News Page: Ginger Clarification], 6 January 2010</ref> In response, the BBC issued an official statement clarifying that the Doctor was stating disappointment at not being ginger, a reference to the Tenth Doctor similarly expressing a wish to be ginger in [[DW]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]''. In response to claims of an "anti-ginger agenda" by the series, the BBC statement noted that the Doctor's two most recent ongoing companions, [[Donna Noble]] and the yet-to-be-introduced [[Amy Pond]], are both redheads.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/response/2010/01/100106_res_doctorwho_ginger_jmf.shtml BBC Complaint response], 6 January 2010</ref>
During the final scene, the Eleventh Doctor takes a look at his hair and utters the phrase, "Still not ginger!" This statement was misinterpreted by a number of viewers as being a negative comment on redheaded people, resulting in more than a hundred forty complaints being filed with the BBC.<ref>[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/01/ginger-clarification.html Doctor Who News Page: Ginger Clarification], 6 January 2010</ref> In response, the BBC issued an official statement clarifying that the Doctor was stating disappointment at not being ginger, a reference to the Tenth Doctor similarly expressing a wish to be ginger in ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]''. In response to claims of an "anti-ginger agenda" by the series, the BBC statement noted that the Doctor's two most recent ongoing companions, [[Donna Noble]] and [[Amy Pond]], are both redheads, not mentioning the difference between "red" and "ginger" hair.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20100114055103/http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/response/2010/01/100106_res_doctorwho_ginger_jmf.shtml BBC Complaint response], 6 January 2010</ref>


== DVD Release ==
== Home video releases ==
*''The End of Time'' was released to DVD and Blu-Ray both individually and part of a Specials box set in the UK on 11th January 2010. A similar release in North America is scheduled for on 2nd February 2010.<ref>[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2009/10/waters-of-mars-american-airdates.html The Doctor Who New Page: Waters of Mars Airdates]<small>accessed 16th November 2009</small></ref>
=== DVD releases ===
* ''The End of Time'' was released to DVD and Blu-ray both bundled with ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]]'' and part of a Specials box set in the UK on [[11 January (releases)|11 January]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]. A similar release in North America was released on [[2 February (releases)|2 February]] 2010.
* It was released as a promotional DVD alongside ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]] ''in [[2011 (releases)|2011]], with British tabloid ''The Sun.''
* It was released as ''[[Doctor Who DVD Files]] ''[[DWDVDF 56|issue 56]].
* This was released as part of the Complete Specials in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray in a box set on 11 January 2010, with a North American release scheduled for 2 February 2010.[http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2009/10/waters-of-mars-american-airdates.html] In Australia, the Blu-ray was released 29 June 2010 and the DVD on 1 July 2010.


==External Links==
=== Blu-ray releases ===
*[http://www.thewriterstale.com/scr.html Original script], posted online by [[Russell T. Davies]] in conjunction with the release of his book [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale]]''.
* As mentioned above, it has been released with ''[[The Waters of Mars (TV story)|The Waters of Mars]] ''and as ''The Specials. ''It was the first ''Doctor Who ''Blu-Ray boxset release.
* In [[2013 (releases)|2013]], this release was bundled with the first seven series of the revived ''Doctor Who''.


==Footnotes==
=== Digital releases ===
{{reflist}}
* [[Netflix]] in the US lists ''The End of Time'' as episodes 18 and 19 of [[Series 4 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 4]]. Previously the story was listed as its own title. As of 2013, the story was rolled into the core show listing. It can also be purchased on iTunes.
{{2009 Specials}}
* In [[2015 (releases)|2015]], it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in ''A Decade of the Doctor ''bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, ''Earth Conquest: The World Tour ''and an episode guide.
{{2009 Specials aliens}}
* In the United Kingdom, this story is available on [[BBC iPlayer]] as part of Series 4.
{{Master stories}}
 
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
File:BBCDVDTheEndOfTime.jpg|The End of Time DVD<br />Region 2 UK cover
File:The End of Time Region 1 US DVD cover.jpg|The End of Time DVD<br />Region 1 US cover
File:The End of Time DVD Australian cover.jpg|The End of Time DVD<br />Region 4 Australian cover
File:Winter-specials-boxset.jpg|The Waters of Mars &<br />The End of Time DVD<br />Region 2 UK cover
File:9195g7Y8UrL. AA1500 .jpg|The End of Time Blu-ray<br />Region A US cover
File:The End of Time Region B Australian Blu-ray cover.jpg|The End of Time Blu-ray<br />Region B Australian cover
File:Specials-boxset.jpg|The Complete Specials DVD<br />Region 2 UK cover
File:Specials.jpg|The Complete Specials DVD<br />Region 1 US cover
File:Complete specials region4.jpg|The Complete Specials DVD<br />Region 4 Australian cover
File:Doctor-who-the-complete-specials-blu-ray-2009-21908704.jpeg|The Complete Specials Blu-ray<br />Region B UK cover
File:91w9JtDlv7L. AA1500 .jpg|The Complete Specials Blu-ray<br />Region A US cover
File:Specials bluaustralia.jpg|The Complete Specials Blu-ray<br />Region B Australian cover
File:The Complete David Tennant Years Region 1 US DVD cover.jpg|The Complete David Tennant Years DVD<br />Region 1 US cover
File:Limited Edition Giftset Region 1 US DVD cover.jpg|Limited Edition Giftset DVD<br />Region 1 US cover
TheSpecials artwork(1).jpg|The Specials Steelbook
File:Regeneration.jpg|The Regeneration Box-Set
File:The Master (box set).jpg|The Master Box-Set
File:The 10 Christmas Specials 2015 Blu-ray UK.jpg|''The 10 Christmas Specials'' on Blu-ray
File:Bbcdvd-series1234567.jpg|thumb|''Doctor Who: The Complete Series One to Seven'' DVD box-set
</gallery>
 
== External links ==
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/episodes/S0_09 BBC — Doctor Who — '''The End of Time''' — Episode Guide]
* {{briefhistory|serials/2009cd.html|The End of Time}}
* {{locguide|endoftime|The End of Time}}
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20110809114614/http://www.thewriterstale.com/scr.html Original script] (archived), posted online by [[Russell T Davies]] in conjunction with the release of his book [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]''.
 
== Footnotes ==
=== Notes ===
{{notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|2}}
{{DWTV}}
{{Christmas specials}}{{SPEC|04.2/004}}
{{New Year specials}}{{SPEC|04.2/005}}
{{Regeneration stories}}
{{Saxon Master stories}}
{{Rassilon stories}}
{{Ood stories}}
{{Ood stories}}
{{Sontaran stories}}
{{UNIT stories}}
{{Raxacoricofallapatorian stories}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{Graske stories}}
 
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[[es:El fin del tiempo]]
[[fr:The End of Time (TV)]]
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[[pt:The End of Time]]
[[ru:Конец времени]]

Latest revision as of 21:03, 4 December 2024

RealWorld.png

You may wish to consult The End of Time (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

The End of Time was the two-part story that served as the 2009 Christmas Special and 2010 New Year Special of Doctor Who.

It was the final chronological appearance of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, though ultimately not as any incarnation of the Doctor, due to his surprise return as the Fourteenth Doctor at the end of The Power of the Doctor. It introduced Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor in the closing moments of part two. The episode was also the last on-screen appearance of the Master for over four years. The Master returned in Deep Breath as the female incarnation called Missy, while The End of Time actor John Simm returned as the Saxon Master in 2017's World Enough and Time.

Part 2 served as the first ever New Year special (although wasn't the first to be transmitted on New Year's Day, with episodes from The Daleks' Master Plan, Day of the Daleks and The Face of Evil previously falling on 1 January).

The story revealed details of the Last Great Time War and gave important development to the Master's character. It also featured the final appearance of Elisabeth Sladen in Doctor Who, although she would go on to star in several more episodes of The Sarah Jane Adventures, until she passed away in 2011.

From a production standpoint, it marked a major change in the history of Doctor Who. Like only The War Games before it, The End of Time ushered in a complete change of regular cast. Unlike that 1960s story, however, it was a complete change for its principal producers and its head writer as well, with outgoing head writer Russell T Davies and executive producer Julie Gardner making way for head writer Steven Moffat and executive producer Beth Willis. It was also the first to include any part overseen by — if not credited to — Moffat as a lead writer. Though Tracie Simpson was the credited line producer, her elevation to regular line producer on the first Matt Smith series meant that Julie Gardner effectively became the line producer for the first and only time in her tenure on Doctor Who.

The change was ultimately not permanent, as both Davies and Gardner returned for the 2023 specials alongside Tennant (with uncredited involvement of Davies and Gardner in The Power of the Doctor), and also Catherine Tate, who reprised her role as Donna Noble. Conversely, Bernard Cribbins, the third billed actor in the opening titles behind Tennant and Simm, also returned as Wilfred Mott in 2023[nb 1] but in a short cameo.

In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the story, Fathom Events held a special screening on 7 August 2019 also including a new interview with Tennant, reflecting on his time in the role and everything that has come since.[3]

Synopsis[[edit] | [edit source]]

It is the Tenth Doctor's final journey — but his psychotic nemesis, the Saxon Master, has been resurrected on Christmas Eve! Each determined to cheat death, the battle rages from the abandoned wastelands of London to the mysterious Immortality Gate, whilst the alien Ood warn of an even greater danger approaching, as a terrible shadow falls across the entire universe.

With the sound of the drums growing louder in the Master's head and an ancient trap closing around the Earth, the Doctor and Wilfred Mott must fight alone. Sacrifices must be made, and the deadly prophecy warns: "He will knock four times."

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

"It is said that in the final days of planet Earth, everyone had bad dreams..." Everyone forgot these terrible dreams, except one man.

On Earth, Wilfred Mott, is walking through the city to do his Christmas shopping. Having a vision of the Saxon Master laughing maniacally, Wilf decides to see if religion will purge these visions from his mind. Inside a church, he notices a stained-glass panel with the image of the TARDIS. A mysterious woman tells him the church was a monastery in the 1300s. It was attacked by a demon which was exorcised by a "sainted physician". When the woman suggests that the physician is returning, Wilf says it would make his Christmas and turns to find she has vanished. He has another vision of the Master laughing, startling him. Wilf hopes more than ever that the Doctor will return.

The Doctor meets with Ood Sigma.

Meanwhile, in the year 4226, a century after the Doctor freed the Ood, the TARDIS arrives on the Ood Sphere. The Tenth Doctor emerges, wearing a straw hat and ring of flowers. He is greeted by Ood Sigma, whom he tries unsuccessfully to make laugh by locking his TARDIS like an Earth car. The Doctor mentions several feats he's done since the vision Sigma sent him, including naming a galaxy Alison, seeing the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestalt, and marrying Queen Elizabeth I.

Unfazed by the Doctor's absurd behaviour, Sigma leads him away, with the Doctor curious about how long it's been since he liberated the Ood. They arrive at a large city the Ood have built in place of Ood Operations; the Doctor wonders how long it took the Ood to build their city. Sigma explains that it took merely a hundred years. The Doctor's smile drops and he becomes serious, stating that this is way too fast for them. Something is happening in the past to create a temporal distortion, which is allowing the Ood to evolve at a much faster pace. Not just the city, but Sigma's ability to reach into the past to contact him is something that should be centuries away in the Ood's evolution.

Sigma takes the Doctor to the Ood Elders, who tell him to join hands with them. They show him a vision of the Master laughing, which scares the Doctor. Sigma explains that the Ood have been dreaming about him a lot, and are curious about who the man is. The Doctor explains that the man is a fellow Time Lord, but an evil and insane one. They should have no fear of him, however, as he's dead. The Doctor explains that the Master's wife, Lucy, shot him and the Doctor burnt his corpse to ensure he couldn't be revived or have his biology exploited. However, the Ood tell him that he missed something and show him an older woman taking the Master's ring from his funeral pyre and that this allowed part of him to survive.

The Doctor is more than willing to leave to stop this but is told that it's too late as the events are already happening in the past and that he should not have delayed in answering their summons. The Ood show him visions of a frightened Wilfred and a "King in his Counting House". The Doctor asks about Donna, but the Ood warn him that the Master is only the herald of a greater danger returning from the darkness, as their eyes glow red: "the end of time itself".

Realising what this means, the Doctor immediately runs out. Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor unlocks it and rushes inside. He begins working feverishly at the controls, hoping to get back to London before the Master is revived. However, it seems the TARDIS isn't willing to cooperate well with him, as it constantly gives off sparks from the strain of the hurried trip into the past.

In 2009, Lucy Saxon has been locked in Broadfell Prison ever since she murdered her husband. One of her warders is Miss Trefusis, the woman who retrieved the Master's ring. On Christmas Eve, the prison governor brings Lucy to a chamber; most of the staff are fanatical disciples of the Master who have worked since his death to bring about his resurrection. They pour potions into a bowl, along with the Master's ring; the only thing they need is some of his DNA. They take it from Lucy's lips. The ceremony begins as the cultists give their life energy to revive him; Lucy tries stopping them by revealing the Master isn't Harold Saxon and is evil, but they know this already.

The Master appears in a swirl of life energy. He greets Lucy, stating that he's missed the drumming in his head. Only now it's louder. Lucy asks him to stop draining the cultists' lives as he's taken enough to sustain himself, but he tells her they'll only be the first. Lucy tells him that she's been preparing for his return as well and that she's had her family create a Potion of Death to undo his revival. After receiving the potion from her warden ally, she hurls it at the Master, creating a violent explosion that kills everyone and destroys Broadfell Prison. The Doctor arrives the next day, seeing that he was too late.

Elsewhere, Joshua Naismith and his daughter Abigail review footage of the prison fire, seeing a shadow run from it. Smiling, Abigail realises that Mr Saxon has returned and that he would be a great Christmas present. Joshua tells her that he will deliver the gift, cancelling Christmas for his staff; he then orders that the revived madman be brought to him.

Meanwhile, Wilf pretends to leave for drinks with friends. Instead, he dances as he goes to enter a mini-bus, and the passengers laugh and applaud. When he meets up with the group inside, he gives them information packets on the Doctor; they are to be on the lookout for him or the TARDIS. When questioned as to why they need to find this man, Wilf reminds them that they've all been having bad dreams about something horrible that they can't remember. That is why they need to find the Doctor. He is the only one who can answer this mystery.

In a junkyard, two homeless people get sandwiches from a meals on wheels van and leave. A hooded man arrives, being asked for his order. He pulls off his hood, revealing himself to be the Master, only with blonde hair; he states he wants everything because he's so hungry. He surprises the homeless men moments later, quickly devouring his hamburger. When they point out he looks like Harold Saxon, the Master starts rambling that he looks the same despite being a master of disguise. His skin turns transparent briefly with each burst of emotion, scaring the men into running back to the van for help, however, they find only skeletons in the van. Declaring that it's dinner time, the Master pounces after them.

The Doctor arrives in the junkyard, shortly afterwards. The Master senses this and decides to taunt his old friend by beating a trashcan to a four-stroke beat. He then leads the Doctor on a chase through the junkyard, showing amazing speed and agility. However, the Doctor quickly realises the Master's burning up his own life energy; it seems the potion of death and the revival ritual resulted in a clashing, which has given the Master greater abilities that are slowly but surely killing him again.

However, before the Doctor can take off after the Master again, he is stopped dead in his tracks by Wilf and his information network dubbed "Silver Cloak". Minnie Hooper asks if they got the right person; Wilf confirms it. The Doctor berates Wilf for telling people about him. However, Wilf explains that he kept the specifics about the Time Lord as secret, only telling them that he could find out about the strange dreams. To the Doctor's annoyance, the group wants a picture with him.

After retreating to a café with Wilf, the Doctor wonders why it is he keeps bumping into the old man; this is the third time they've met by chance. The Doctor then tells him the prophecy of his death. Wilf is confused, as he thought the Doctor could regenerate if he was about to die. The Doctor replies that he can potentially die before regenerating... and even if he does regenerate, the man he is now will be gone forever with a completely different person left sauntering away in his place. The Doctor then sees Donna standing outside, arguing with a police officer over her ticketed car, and realises why Wilf insisted on this particular café. "She's not changed," the Doctor laughs.

Wilf says she's engaged to Shaun Temple; although he is nice enough, the two are barely making ends meet and can only afford a tiny flat. The Doctor wonders if her married name will be "Noble-Temple" as it sounds like a tourist attraction; however, Wilf states it will be "Temple-Noble". Wilf tells the Doctor that even though Donna is happy with Shaun, there's times when he sees flashes of sadness like there's somewhere else she wants to be but doesn't know where. He pleads with the Doctor to at least go up to her and say hello to her, but the Doctor sadly reminds him that if Donna remembers him for even a second, she will die. Wilf then asks who the Doctor is travelling with now, but the Doctor replies he has no-one and thought it would be better that way... but with no-one around him, he has made some very bad choices. The Doctor then starts crying, burdened by the guilt of his recent actions which also devastates Wilf. He asks if Donna could make him smile again, but by now she is gone.

The narrator, his face revealed, and his voice turning scornful toward humanity, speaks of the passage of Christmas Eve into Christmas Day; the players are moving into their final positions, with each human dreaming of the arrival of the final day.

In a scrapyard, the Master finishes another meal. He notices the Doctor has found him again. Rubbing his hands together, he generates some kind of electricity. He fires some shots of electricity near the Doctor as he approaches. Ultimately, he uses both hands to send focused blasts at the Doctor, managing to make him collapse to the ground. The Doctor realises that the Master's body has been "torn wide open", allowing him to send his life energy as blasts but has also drastically reduced his life force. The Master remembers back to their childhood, where they would play on pastures of red grass, stretching across the slopes of Mount Perdition. Asking the Doctor to listen to the drumming in his head, the Master touches their heads together. The Doctor pulls away horrified; he has heard the drums too and now knows it's not just a symptom of his insanity. The Master becomes ecstatic to learn that the drumming is real, launching himself into the sky. However, before another chase can ensue, Naismith's men arrive and capture the madman, leaving the Doctor knocked out and confused.

Wilf receives his orders.

Back at Wilfred's house, Donna's fiancé, Shaun, arrives. For Christmas, Donna gives Wilf a book called Fighting the Future by Joshua Naismith. When Wilf questions Donna giving it to him, she has a moment where her mind goes far away as she states that she saw it and sensed that Wilf should have it. As Wilf tries to watch the Queen's Christmas speech, a mysterious woman appears to him only in place of the broadcast, ordering him to take arms; she also advises him not to tell the Doctor of what has happened, so that his life can be saved. Wilf takes his old service revolver from under his bed as the Doctor contacts him by throwing a stone at his window.

Outside, the Doctor tells Wilf he's his only possible connection to what's happening and asks if Wilf noticed anything odd. Wilf tries to tell the Doctor about the woman, but changes his mind and mentions Donna's strange moment with the book. The Doctor recognises the picture of Joshua Naismith from the Ood's vision and speculates the convergence touched upon Donna's subconscious Time Lord mind which acted to help. As they talk, Sylvia comes outside and is angered to see the Doctor. The Doctor quickly retreats to the TARDIS followed by Wilf who'd rather go with the Doctor than face his daughter. Though the Doctor refuses at first, he changes his mind upon seeing how angry Sylvia is. As the TARDIS departs, Sylvia screams after it, drawing the confusion of Donna to her mother's strange behaviour.

In the TARDIS, Wilf asks the Doctor why he can't go back to yesterday and catch the Master. The Doctor says he can't go back in his own timeline as that can lead to the end of not only the world, but the universe as well. The Doctor then wonders what Wilf thinks of his TARDIS, to which he gets "I thought it would be cleaner" due to how messy the control room is.

At the mansion, the Master is wheeled to Naismith and Abigail on a trolley, and strapped to it in a straitjacket. He notices the "Immortality Gate", which can heal injuries and, Naismith hopes, offer life everlasting. Naismith acquired the Gate after the fall of Torchwood. The gate came with two nuclear-powered control booths, which are set-up in a way that if a worker wishes to leave he must be replaced in the other booth ensuring that someone is working the controls at all times. Abigail learned of the Disciples of Saxon, and that Mr Saxon was an alien; it's their hopes that the Master will be able to repair the Gate properly. With it working properly, Naismith can give his daughter immortality.

The Doctor and Wilf arrive at the Naismith estate and hide the TARDIS one second out of sync, so the Master can't get to it. Their last encounter taught the Doctor to never leave the means of altering time available to a madman with an ego bigger than the size of a planet.

In the basement, they discover two of Naismith's staff, Addams and Rossiter, are undercover Vinvocci, disguised with shimmers as human; the Doctor can see through the shimmers and deactivates them with his sonic screwdriver, revealing their true appearance as spiky green humanoids who resent being compared to cacti. The Vinvocci explain the Immortality Gate is a medical device that heals lifeforms across entire planets, using a genetic template. Realising the Master's plan, a horrified Doctor rushes up to the room with the Gate. He tells Naismith not to let the Master anywhere near the Gate, which has now been repaired by the madman. Naismith assures the Doctor that the Master is secured, being proven wrong moments later as the Master blasts his straitjacket off and jumps into the Gate.

Every single human on Earth sees the Master in their minds, and when Wilf also arrives seeing the Master the Doctor gets the current worker out of the nuclear booth, then has himself replaced with Wilf, and the Doctor then modifies the booth to protect Wilf from whatever is happening. The Doctor asks the Master if he's planning on transmitting mind-control or hypnotic instructions, but the Master has far grander plans than that. He has modified the Gate to transmit his own genetic template across the entire planet. The gate is activated, and a wave spreads across the Earth. Everyone's heads shake back and forth rapidly; shortly after this starts, their bodies start fading in and out of a different form.

Donna phones Wilf, herself immune due to the metacrisis that made her part Time Lord and tells him the same has happened to her mother and fiance. Seeing such a sight makes Donna start to remember her travels with the Doctor in flashes, and this causes her terrible pain as her brain cannot handle her Time Lord knowledge. Wilf, frightened for Donna's life, warns the Doctor his granddaughter is starting to remember her adventures.

Enraged, Wilf demands to know what the madman has done. The Master smugly asks if he was talking to him, while everyone in the room echoes the question, revealing that the Master has turned everyone on Earth into his clones. A clone who used to be Trinity Wells clearly makes his point for him: "Breaking news: I'm everyone."

The Master Race celebrates their birth.

As the Master's duplicates unveil themselves, the Doctor is horrified to find himself surrounded by perfect copies of the Master, including the people on TV. On top of that, he has become President Obama. He quickly abuses the President's power by blanking out a financial crisis solution just to spite the world, while a crowd of his own duplicates claps, roots, and hollers for the original Master's triumph.

As the Master steps out of the gateway he tells the Doctor that the human race was always the Doctor's favourite, but it now exists no more, having been replaced with "the Master Race". Every single Master on the planet laughs together with narcissistic glee and celebration, while the original laughs in the Doctor's face. As a world full of Masters taunts and mocks him, the Doctor's face twists with extreme fury.

Lord President Rassilon declares assured victory for the Time Lords.

The Narrator announces the Master and his removal of humanity is only a small part of an approaching conflict. Suddenly, he belittles humankind; this is not a narrator, but the Lord President of the High Council of Time Lords, addressing the Gallifrey Panopticon, which is packed with Time Lords. He announces that "This is the day the Time Lords return. For Gallifrey! For victory! For the end of time itself!"

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

On a devastated Gallifrey, on the last day of the Time War, the Time Lord Council reports that the Doctor still possesses "the Moment". They have foreseen that he will use it to end the war by destroying the Daleks and Gallifrey alike. A Time Lady suggests that this might be for the best. At the heart of the Time War, billions are dying, being resurrected and dying repeatedly. The never-ending carnage is a travesty of life.

Rassilon plots the Ultimate Sanction.

The Lord President uses his gauntlet to vaporise her. Exploding with anger, he decrees he will not allow himself or his race to die, with "a billion years of history riding on our backs". Finding that the Doctor and the Master both somehow survive the Time War and end up on Earth, the Lord President decides that the salvation of Gallifrey lies with the two renegades. They retroactively implant a link to the Master during his early childhood: the four-beat drum rhythm that has tormented him all his life. They send a "White-Point Star" diamond to Earth as a more physical link next. This will let the Time Lords escape from the time-lock and their impending destruction at the hands of the Doctor.

On Earth, the Master has the Doctor and Wilf tied up. The Doctor tries warning him about the prophecy, but the Master insists he was what the prophecy was talking about. He interrogates the Doctor as to the whereabouts of his TARDIS, as he wants the technology to pinpoint where the drumming in his head is coming from; with 6,727,949,338 clones, it will be easy. The Doctor tries reasoning with the Master, asking him to travel with him to see the universe; he tells him "that's ownership enough".

Wilf's mobile phone rings. The Master is confused, as no one but the Master Race exists on Earth; and there's no way he'd be calling Wilf. He finds the phone, receiving a call from Donna. The Master hears Donna, who is confused about everyone else changing; she ran into the alley, to get away from Shaun and Sylvia. Suspicious, the Master demands to know why Donna didn't change. Wilfred reluctantly admits the metacrisis that made her part Time Lord. The Master sneers, "He does love playing with Earth girls!", then orders his copies to take her down. He tells "grandad" to say goodbye to the freak. Wilf yells to Donna to run for her life.

As Donna is cornered by the Master Race, who state they have his hunger and plan to eat her. She starts to remember her adventures with the Doctor and is scared and confused, wondering why she can see a giant wasp. Instead of burning up, she emits an energy pulse that knocks everyone unconscious, including herself. Hearing nothing and seeing the Doctor smile, the Master removes his mouth gag. The Doctor calmly points out that when he erased Donna's memories of her time with him he also left her, his best friend, with a defence mechanism to protect her from aliens and her Time Lord knowledge.

The Master demands to know where the TARDIS is, threatening to kill Wilfred. The Doctor asks why the Master is so desperate to rule the universe when they could just travel together and see it, admitting that he knows the Master is a genius and would be honoured for the chance to travel with him. The Master asks if the drums in his head would stop, and tells Wilf how the noise started when he looked into the Untempered Schism as a child.

On Gallifrey, the Lord President is informed of this too. Although the Time Lords had assumed the drums were a symptom of the Master's insanity, the President sees it as something more; "a rhythm of four... a heartbeat of a Time Lord".

The Master reveals that despite the gate, his body is still dying and then realises that as he's been duplicated, so has the drumbeat in almost every single person on Earth. Intending to triangulate the signal and work out where it's coming from, he demands the TARDIS again. The Doctor retorts "You know the most amazing thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid." Somehow, the Master has failed to notice that the guard next to him is one inch too tall. The "guard" hits him in the head with the rifle, knocking him down. The guard is Rossiter. Addams rushes in and urges her partner to get the two men out of the mansion. Rossiter, unable to free the Doctor from the chair he is strapped to, wheels the chair bumpily down several flights of stairs to the basement, prompting the Doctor to note this as the "worst... rescue... ever!".

From the basement, the four teleport to the orbiting Vinvocci ship, narrowly escaping the Master and his guards. Wilfred is amazed at being in space; the Doctor is more concerned with the Master. As soon as he gets out of his restraints, he destroys the teleporter, preventing the Master Race from following them. He asks for directions to the bridge; Addams initially refuses, citing that they are 100,000 miles above the Earth, but reconsiders when the Doctor points out the 'slight' problem of the Master having every single missile on the planet ready to fire. When they arrive, the Vinvocci prepare to leave, so the Doctor destroys the ship's systems, leaving them dead in orbit. As the Doctor begins to mend the systems, Wilfred sees the mysterious woman again, who instructs him to give the Doctor his gun.

The Master and his clones listen to the drumming in their heads, pinpointing the source as "from the sky". Meanwhile, the Time Lord council have just finished putting the drumbeat in the Master's head as a child, giving them his location now. But as they're still trapped in the time lock, they need something to make physical contact. The Lord President removes a diamond from his staff and throws it through the link to Earth where it falls to the ground in a blaze, landing in London. The Master soldiers pick it up, telling the original what they have found is not just any diamond... it's a White-Point Star. This makes the Master crack up hysterically.

On the ship, the Doctor is still repairing the systems. Wilf talks to him about many things and tries to have the Doctor take the gun to save himself by killing the Master. They believe the four knocks is the rhythm in the Master's head. The Doctor refuses and Wilf begins to cry over his fruitless efforts, prompting the Doctor to hug him. A broadcast from the Master reaches the ship; he informs the Doctor about the diamond and reveals it as a White-Point star. It can only mean the Time Lords are returning. Wilfred considers this good but the Doctor's reaction says quite differently... he grabs the gun and rushes for the control room. Wilf is confused as he thought the Time Lords were wise and peaceful. The Doctor tells him that's how he chooses to remember them; in reality, the horrors of the Time War had changed them, irrevocably corrupting them and making them far more dangerous than any of his enemies.

The Doctor has repaired the ship, but Addams will not have them going to Earth. The Doctor tells her "there's an old Earth saying. A phrase of great power and wisdom; and consolation to soul in times of need." When asked what it is, the Doctor yells "Allons-y!" and speeds the ship towards Earth. The Master decides to kill the Doctor as "soon [he'll] have Time Lords to spare", sending missiles at the ship. Rossiter and Wilf take charge of the asteroid lasers and blast away the missiles the Master launches at them.

Addams plots a course for Naismith's mansion and the Doctor jumps from the ship, crashing several stories through the skylight and into the Immortality Gate room. While he recovers from the fall, he finds himself too late. The Master has brought the Time Lords back. Not only is the Master in the room, but so is the Time Lord Council...

Rassilon counters the Master's threats by resetting the Master Race back to human form.

The President greets "Lord Doctor" and "Lord Master", then defames the latter by noting the 'paradox' that they have been saved by Gallifrey's most infamous child. The Master, fast to retort, quickly belittles the Lord President's authority and reveals that he did not call the Time Lords to Earth to save them. He intends to implant himself in them and assert control of the entire race, gloating at how much better the Lord President will look as him. However, the Lord President is not amused at the Master's assertion over his power and demonstrates how fast he can unravel his scheme. He raises his gauntlet and it radiates a blue light. The Master Race begins to revert to their unaltered human identities, causing the Master great panic as he loses his trump card.

The Lord President tells the humans present in the Naismith Mansion to kneel. Left powerless, the Master tries to bargain with the Time Lords by reminding them that he was their salvation. However, the whole planet shakes intensely. The President announces that "the approach begins". The Master is confused by his cryptic words; the Doctor angrily tells him that not only the whole species of Time Lords are coming back, but so is the planet.

Gallifrey begins to materialise near Earth, fulfilling the prophecy that "it is returning". Standing about three times the size of Earth, it shadows over Earth with an air of doom.

Panic erupts in the streets of London as the giant red world of Gallifrey manifests above the atmosphere, with the Earth itself trembling. Shaun Temple goes searching for his fiancée Donna, while Sylvia Noble looks up at the ominous sky and prays for the Doctor to save them. Wilf, having left the Vinvocci shuttle, makes his way through the crumbling Naismith Mansion to find the Doctor. Refusing to stay on Earth as Gallifrey threatens to knock it out of orbit, Addams immediately readies the shuttle for takeoff. Rossiter is concerned about the Doctor's fate, but Addams shrugs and reminds him that he already said he was dying. All the residents of Naismith Mansion, including Joshua and his daughter, flee from the residence. Joshua spots Gallifrey's descent and is affixed with terror.

Wilf returns to help the Doctor, freeing a trapped man in the control booth and trapping himself in the process, not hearing the Doctor yell out to stop him. The Master thinks that the Time Lords' restoration to the universe is fantastic, but the Doctor tells him that the broken time-lock means that all of the other horrors born in the last days of the Time War, which he had sealed away in the Time Lock as well, would also be released. The Daleks would not be the only additional escapees; they would be joined by the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, and the Could've Been King with his Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres. The war had turned to Hell, which is exactly what the Master has unleashed above Earth. The Master delights at the thought of such chaos, but the Doctor tells him that not even the Time Lords can survive such an onslaught.

The Lord President then reveals that he had planned to deal with these horrors by initiating the Ultimate Sanction; a plan for the Time Lords to survive the collapse of all creation and all time, as the paradox of Gallifrey's return to the universe rips the Time Vortex apart, by ascending their conscious minds beyond the need for bodies, whilst creation itself ceases to be. The Master asks to join them, but the President refuses, contemptuously dismissing the Master as "diseased... albeit a disease of [the Time Lords'] own making," and moves to kill him.

Then the Doctor aims Wilf's gun at the President, who cautions the Doctor to "choose [his] enemy well. as [they] are many but the Master is one". Even the Master goads him on, urging him to kill the President and claim Gallifrey for himself. At this, the Doctor spins and aims the gun at the Master, who realises that the link that brought the Time Lords to Earth is inside his head, and if he dies, the link is broken and the Time Lock is reformed. He points out that killing the President would have the same effect. The Doctor aims the gun at the Lord President again, who coldly remarks that the final act of the Doctor's life is murder: which one will he choose?

Finally, in this dark hour of the Doctor's life, one of the "disgraced" Time Lords covering her eyes behind the Lord President reveals herself to the Doctor; she is the mysterious woman that Wilfred had seen on a number of occasions. As she casts her gaze to a spot behind the Doctor, he not only seems to recognise her but now knows what to do: he whirls around and aims toward the Master once again.

As the Master's face falls, the Doctor orders him to get out of the way. Suddenly understanding, the Master smiles darkly and jumps away from the White-Point Star just as the Doctor shoots it, and its destruction severs the link and reinforces the Time Lock, pulling the Time Lords back into the Time War and to their inevitable doom. The Doctor sends them "back into Hell", and identifies the Lord President as Rassilon.

As Gallifrey vanishes back into the Time Lock, Rassilon refuses to die alone and prepares to kill the Doctor. The Doctor is ready for the prophecy to be fulfilled... but the Master orders the Doctor out of the way and attacks Rassilon with his life force energy powers, shouting that Rassilon was responsible for everything that has happened to him since he was a child.

As the Master counts the drums one last time, his blasts occupy Rassilon long enough for a bright flash of light to send all of them — the Time Lords, Rassilon, Gallifrey, and the Master, back into the last day of the Last Great Time War. In the streets, Sylvia and the other humans watch as the giant red planet fades away and allows the sun to shine. The Doctor struggles to his feet, weary, but happy, almost in disbelief that he has survived the prophecy.

The Doctor's face turns from relief to horror as he hears the four hesitant knocks portending his death. The knocks persist, condemning him further. As he slowly turns, he sees where they are coming from — Wilfred is still trapped in the nuclear booth and wants to be let out. The Doctor, leery to approach the booth, looks at him with dread. As he suspects, Wilfred's life is in dire straits.

Wilf is trapped in the nuclear booth as it nears a deadly meltdown.

Upon inspection of the booth, the Doctor tells Wilf that the Master left the nuclear bolt running. The machine has gone past critical and is about to overload, which will release a lethal dose of radiation into the booth and doing anything to it, even using the sonic screwdriver, will set it off. The only way to get Wilf out alive is for the Doctor to walk into the open side of the booth and push a button to release the one-way lock, but this means the Doctor will be trapped inside in place of Wilf to endure the radiation blast. At 500,000 rads, it would inflict catastrophic damage to his body.

Wilf tells the Doctor to leave him. Since he's lived a full life, it doesn't seem worth it for his friend to give up his own just for Wilf's sake. The Doctor pretends to callously accept Wilf's offer but knows he cannot allow the sacrifice. His spirit finally shattered, the Doctor cuts loose with a rant of anger, grief, and frustration. He rages and chokes back tears about how despite everything he's done he's still going to die just because Wilf had to climb into the booth and he's just an old man, "not remotely important"; he could just be left and the Doctor could live so much longer and "do so much more". Then he snaps out of this self-absorption and realises what he's just said. He knows he can't leave Wilf to die and concludes that a Time Lord sometimes lives too long.

The Doctor writhes in pain from radiation exposure.

Ignoring Wilf's pleas, the Doctor enters the opposite booth and frees him, releasing the radiation into his booth. The Doctor writhes in intense pain until he finally collapses and the booth itself goes dead from the loss of power. After a few seconds, the Doctor gets up, having absorbed all the radiation from the nuclear bolt. At first, it looks like the Doctor has survived; however, when Wilf comments that the Doctor acquired some battle scars in the course of stopping the Time Lords returning, the Doctor passes his hands over his face, healing the wounds he had sustained earlier from crashing through the skylight. In response to Wilf's surprise, the Doctor examines his hands and announces that "It's started"; his body is preparing to regenerate.

The Doctor takes Wilf home and tells him, "I'll see you again, one more time." When Wilfred asks where he's going, the Doctor simply states, "To get my reward."

The Doctor travels to various places where he has brief, mostly distant encounters with recent friends. He saves Martha and Mickey from a Sontaran sniper. He pushes Luke Smith out of the path of a car, and exchanges a meaningful look with Sarah. He goes to an alien bar where he finds a despondent Captain Jack, drowning his sorrows after leaving Earth; and connects him with midshipman Alonso Frame. All of them realise they are seeing him for the last time. He visits a book signing for A Journal of Impossible Things by Verity Newman, Joan Redfern's great-granddaughter, to find out if Joan was happy in the end. She was.

The Doctor then appears after Donna's wedding and meets Wilfred and Sylvia. Wilfred tells him Joshua and Abigail Naismith were both arrested, and asks the Doctor who the mysterious woman was. The Doctor focusses on Donna and then Sylvia, but doesn't answer. He then gives Wilfred and Sylvia a wedding present for Donna; an envelope with something in it, purchased with a pound given to him by Sylvia's late husband. When Donna opens it she finds a lottery ticket, to which both Wilf and Sylvia realise that it is a winning ticket which will solve all of Donna's financial problems. The Doctor then leaves with a final look at Wilfred, the man whose life he saved at the expense of his own. As he leaves Wilfred salutes him and cries, realising he'll never see the Doctor again.

The Doctor's final stop is the Powell Estate early on New Year's Day 2005, where he watches Jackie and Rose heading home after the New Year's celebrations from the shadows. After departing from Jackie, Rose hears the Doctor after he grunts in pain from holding back his regeneration. Rose thinks he's drunk and tells him "maybe it's time you went home". She wishes him a Happy New Year to which the Doctor asks her the year. She responds, "January the 1st, 2005". The Doctor tells Rose that she'll "have a really great year." She smiles and leaves.

When Rose is gone, the Doctor staggers away as the pain of the radiation poisoning is finally setting in. A few feet away from the TARDIS, he collapses. He looks up to see Ood Sigma, standing calmly. As the Doctor struggles to his feet, Sigma tells him that the universe will sing him to his sleep and "this song is ending, but the story never ends." This gives the Doctor the last bit of strength he needs to make it to the TARDIS. On the Ood homeworld, the Ood sing "Vale Decem" in chorus.

The Doctor enters the TARDIS. After tossing his coat on one of the coral structures, he notices his right hand glowing with regenerative energy. He sets the TARDIS in flight as he circles the console. Fighting back tears, he utters: "I don't want to go..."

As the words leave him, golden energy radiates from both his hands and face as he breathes heavily. Taking a deep breath, the Doctor stretches his arms out as golden energy bursts from his hands and head and his body regenerates.

The regeneration of the Tenth Doctor.

The regenerative energy shatters the TARDIS windows and sets the console room ablaze, destroying columns, blowing out the lights, and raining debris down from above. The Doctor's face is consumed by the regeneration energy. The Doctor closes his eyes as his facial features fade and morph into those of a young man with a swirl of brown hair, who is screaming in pain.

As the strain of the regeneration wears off, the Eleventh Doctor stumbles back with a look of surprise. He quickly examines himself to make sure all his body parts are still in the same place (although he is shocked at his larger than usual chin), with his long hair causing him to think he had become a girl for a moment. With a quick feel of his Adam's apple confirming that he hasn't, yet, he then notices, much to his annoyance, he is still not ginger, but has dark hair again.

Remembering there was something important that he forgot, the Doctor tries recalling what it was until another explosion forces him to his knees. Realising that what he was trying to remember was that the TARDIS is now crashing, the Doctor oddly seems happy as he jumps over to the monitor — it shows the ship spinning wildly towards Earth. Delighting in the chaos, the Doctor clings to the console and gleefully shouts, "Geronimoooooooooooo!"

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

and introducing Matt Smith as the Doctor

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

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.
          

Because this site puts both episodes of The End of Time into a single article, it is slightly more difficult to properly represent the crew in the above framework. The two episodes did not have exactly the same credits.  The position of 3rd AD was only credited on part 1.  A "Unit Manager" was only credited on part 1.  Floor runner Chris Goding was only credited on part 2, while Tom Evans was only credited on part 1.  Production secretary Kevin Myers was only credited on part 1.  No boom operators were credited in part 1.  No electricians were credited in part 2.  Stephen Nicholas is credited as "Chief Supervising Art Director" in part 1, and "Supervising Art Director" in part 2.  Design assistant Al Roberts was only credited in part 2.  Associate designer James North was only credited in part 1.  Standby art director Keith Dunne was only credited in part 1.  No kind of buyer was credited in part 1.  A "Storyboard Artist" was only credited on part 2.  A "Property Master" was only credited on part 1.  Casting assistant Alice Purser was only credited on part 1.  Assistant editor Carmen Roberts was only credited on part 2.  Matt Mullins was VFX editor for part 1; Joel Skinner, for part 2.  In part 1, post-production supervisor Chris Blatchford is listed before Samantha Hall; in part 2, it's reversed.  Foley editor Will Everett was only credited on part 1.  Countertenor Mark Chambers was only credited on part 2.

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

British royalty[[edit] | [edit source]]

Companies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Devices[[edit] | [edit source]]

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

Galaxies[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • One of the things the Doctor did before meeting Ood Sigma was name a galaxy Alison.

The Master[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Master kills a cook.

The TARDIS[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Doctor's TARDIS key can be pointed at the TARDIS, emitting a warbling noise that puts it a second out of sync with space and time to hide its presence entirely.
  • The coral-themed interior of the TARDIS console room is destroyed by the Tenth Doctor's turbulent regeneration.

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

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Species[[edit] | [edit source]]

Temporal theory[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • When asked why he couldn't just take the TARDIS back to the previous day, the Doctor states, "I can't go back inside my own timeline. I have to stay relative to the Saxon Master within the causal nexus."
  • The Time War is time locked, but the Master's drumbeat was transmitted back through time through the Untempered Schism into the Master's mind so it was present throughout the Master's life.

Time Lords and the Time War[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Several crashed Dalek saucers are next to a badly damaged Citadel.
  • An incarnation of the Doctor possesses the Moment, and the Time Lords believe he will use it to destroy Gallifrey and the Daleks.
  • The Time Lords send a repeating four beat rhythm back through time and placed it in the Master's mind as a child.
  • Rassilon kills the Partisan for suggesting they end the Time War.
  • Rassilon says the Time Lord's have a history spanning a billion years.
  • Male Time Lords possess Adam's apples, as the Eleventh Doctor checks to see he has one when he momentarily thinks he's regenerated into a female body.
  • Time Lords can possibly change gender during regeneration, as the Eleventh Doctor briefly believes has done so due to the length of his hair.

Unified Intelligence Taskforce[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • A UNIT officer from UNIT HQ in Geneva appears, having been transformed into the Master.

Locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cultural references from the real world[[edit] | [edit source]]

Influences[[edit] | [edit source]]

Story notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Working titles for this story included The Immortality Gate.
  • The original title for Part 1 was The Final Days of Planet Earth, and was in fact the title when Russell T Davies teased readers of Doctor Who Magazine with the statement that the title was six words long. Later, however, he decided to give the title The End of Time to both specials, stating that the original didn't seem to 'fit' once he saw it on-screen.[9]
  • Part 2 had the working titles of The Final Battle, The Final Reckoning and Death of the Doctor. The latter became a serial of The Sarah Jane Adventures.
  • This story features the last appearance of the title sequence that debuted in Rose and the theme that debuted in Partners in Crime.
  • The second part is 75 minutes, 3 minutes longer than TV: Voyage of the Damned, making this currently the fourth longest single episode behind the 90-minute TV: The Five Doctors, the 85-minute TV: Doctor Who, and the 76-minute TV: Deep Breath.
  • The version of Part 1 on US streaming service HBO Max has different end credits from the broadcast and home video versions. The "To be continued" message is made up of what seem to be flat cut-outs of the same message from the end of TV: The Stolen Earth, and there is an additional woosh noise over the Doctor Who logo that pans horizontally after the end credits. This then abruptly cuts to the BBC Wales end card.
  • This is the first story of more than one episode since TV: Survival to have one overarching title and the first 2-parter since Revelation of the Daleks to be called part 1 and part 2.
  • The Time Lords return after their apparent destruction in the Last Great Time War. This is their first appearance onscreen (except for a flashback in TV: The Sound of Drums) since TV: The Trial of a Time Lord in 1986.
  • Russell T Davies originally planned for the Master leave an 'M' at the scenes of the murders he committed so as to provide a trail for the Doctor to follow. This was dropped when he realised that it had already been established that the Doctor would simply 'know' where to find his fellow Time Lord.
  • This is a second time that a Sontaran has appeared as a cameo in a regeneration story. The first was the Fourth Doctor's final story Logopolis, in his flashback to his enemies whilst hanging from the Pharos Project radio telescope.
  • There is no traditional celebrity cameo in the story. Instead, a stand-in, Roger Haynes, plays US President Barack Obama and stock audio from a speech of his is dubbed in. This is the first time in the revived series that the real world US presidency has coincided with that featured in the Whoniverse.
  • The opening credits list David Tennant, John Simm and Bernard Cribbins. Simm is the second person to be credited in the opening credits for playing a villain. The first was Eric Roberts, who also played the Master, in TV: Doctor Who. This is only the third time that all of the credits were male, the first being TV: Time Crash and the second being TV: The Next Doctor, discounting Attack of the Graske and Music of the Spheres, in which David Tennant is credited alone. The next time this would happen with more than one credited actor in the opening credits would be TV: The Return of Doctor Mysterio, which credits Peter Capaldi and Matt Lucas.
  • Despite this being David Tennant's last regular Doctor Who story as the Tenth Doctor, he filmed scenes for TV: The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith after the production of this story; in the Tenth Doctor's personal timeline, the events of that story occur before The End of Time.
  • In the Doctor Who Confidential for this episode and the ones for the other 2009 specials, the TARDIS in the opening titles bears the St. John's Ambulance badge, a nod to the Eleventh Doctor's upcoming model.
  • The continuity announcement before part 2 was voiced by the Tenth Doctor, and was the last time that the Christmas ident featuring him was used.
  • Russell T Davies confirmed in the commentary for part 2 that the scene where Captain Jack is in an alien bar is in a city named Zaggit-Zagoo on the planet Zog. This is an in-joke referencing one of Davies' statements regarding his approach to the series that "no-one cares about Zogs attacking Zogs on the planet Zog". The scene, a tribute to the famous Cantina Bar scene in Star Wars, features cameo appearances by many alien species featured during the Davies era, plus the return of Alonso Frame (TV: Voyage of the Damned) and also features the song "My Angel Put the Devil in Me", last heard in TV: Daleks in Manhattan.
  • Russell T Davies has said in an interview that the Tenth Doctor's death had been planned out since David Tennant was signed on for the role. Davies also heavily implied had Tennant not been cast, the Tenth Doctor would have died a different way.
  • The Master redeems himself by sacrificing himself and saving the Doctor. According to historical accounts of the production of the classic series, this idea dates back to the original concept for Jon Pertwee's final story as the Third Doctor, which would have seen Roger Delgado's Master redeem himself in a similar fashion, also causing the Doctor's regeneration; with Delgado's tragic death aborting this idea.
  • In an early draft of the script, Russell T Davies had the Doctor address the "half-human" statement the Eighth Doctor made in the 1996 TV movie, dismissing it as "a forty-eight-hour bug". The line was cut by Davies for several stated reasons, including the fact it would have confused viewers who were only familiar with the events of TV: Human Nature. (REF: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter)
  • During the chaotic sequence after the regeneration, the Eleventh Doctor is shown spitting, an act that raised some eyebrows. In addressing this during a publicity event for the launch of Series 5, Smith explained that it was his natural reaction to all the debris raining down on him during the filming, while Steven Moffat indicated that Russell T Davies chose to leave it in.[10]
  • Russell T Davies claimed that Omega was originally going to appear instead of Rassilon, but the idea was dropped.
  • Joshua Naismith mentions that the Gate was found buried at the foot of Mt. Snowdon by Torchwood. In TV: Doomsday, Yvonne Hartman states that the gravity clamps were found buried in the same place. Presumably, this means the gravity clamps are of Vinvocci origin. Also, in Death of the Doctor, UNIT has a base at Mt. Snowdon.
  • Jessica Hynes's scene as Verity Newman was the first scene of this episode to be filmed (the scene was brought forward to accommodate Hynes' schedule, as she had just been cast in The Norman Conquests on Broadway). If Hynes hadn't been available, her cameo would have been replaced with an appearance from Elton Pope and Ursula Blake.
  • Part 2 was the only Tenth Doctor era episode to premiere in 2010.
  • The scene where Luke is saved is part of an in-joke, according to Russell T Davies; in the first series of The Sarah Jane Adventures, none of the children characters looked where they were going whilst crossing the road.
  • Martha, a Jones, has now married Mickey, a Smith — a reference to her first episode, TV: Smith and Jones. This was highlighted in episode commentary.
  • The name of Jessica Hynes' character, Verity Newman, is a reference to Verity Lambert and Sydney Newman. This is the second time the revived series has honoured the two people who are considered among the primary creators of Doctor Who. In TV: Human Nature, the Doctor in his human guise says his parents were named Verity and Sydney. In this episode, Hynes plays a descendant of Joan Redfern, the major character she portrayed in Human Nature.
  • While the rest of the story was entirely written by Russell T Davies, Matt Smith's scene was written by Steven Moffat.
  • Four takes of the Tenth Doctor's final line ("I don't want to go") were filmed, with David Tennant upping the emotion for each one. The third one was the take chosen. The fourth take featured the Tenth Doctor breaking down tearfully; however, Tennant and the editors felt that this was too out of character and that he should show bravery as he faced regeneration.
  • Donna's neighbour who appeared throughout Series 4 is finally given a name in part one: Sally.
  • Early on in the bar scene, a creature somewhat resembling a Silurian is present, although it does not have a third eye. It is unlikely that this is actually intended to be a Silurian due to the physical difference, and as there had been no indication previously of Silurians engaging in inter-stellar travel. Also in the bar scene, another white furred alien appears that is reminiscent of Muftak, a character who appeared in the cantina scene in Star Wars: A New Hope.
  • The Master reminisces about how "we", presumed to be himself and the Doctor, used to run through fields of red grass on his father's estates, shouting up at the sky. This is the first reference to the Master's family, as well as presumably a reference to the fact the Doctor and the Master were once friends, previously confirmed in other stories. The fact the Master refers to "my father's estates", and not "our father's estates", can be seen as further implying that the Doctor and the Master are not brothers, as has often been speculated. The Doctor previously seemed to dismiss that speculation in TV: The Sound of Drums.
  • During his resurrection, the Master tells Lucy, "You will obey me!" This was a frequent catchphrase used during his previous and subsequent incarnations, particularly the one played by Roger Delgado.
  • Since the drumming in the Master's head has served its purpose, it's possible he is no longer tormented by it. His next incarnation, Missy, shows no signs of being haunted by the drumming, nor does he in his next appearance. However, in the following episode, the Doctor mentions the Time Lords curing his decaying body, although it is unclear if the drumming was also cured.
  • Part of Rassilon's narrations begin with the phrase "And so it came to pass ..."; TV: The Sound of Drums ended with a similar narration, albeit given by the Master instead.
  • Murray Gold said that the pivotal scene featuring the Tenth Doctor's final meeting with Rose Tyler did not feature the incidental music he intended for the moment. He wished to use the music piece "Song For Ten (Reprise)", a melancholy version of the original "Song For Ten". However, he argued with Julie Gardner to include this piece and lost, resulting in the use of "Rose's Theme" for the last time during the Tenth Doctor's tenure, whilst the reprise was moved up to the scene where the Tenth Doctor returned Wilf to Chiswick and embarked on his final reward.
  • With regards to total runtime and not episode count, this is the second longest regeneration story, behind The War Games and ahead of Planet of the Spiders.
  • Russell T Davies originally wanted to have the Doctor and the Master swap bodies. However, Davies wasn't keen to spend time during David Tennant's final story as the Tenth Doctor with the actor playing anybody other than the Doctor, and was also mindful that he had used a similar notion in New Earth.
  • Donna was originally supposed to appear only in the epilogue, giving the Doctor a chance to see that she was enjoying a good life despite losing all memory of her time with him.
  • Patrick Stewart was offered the role of Rassilon.
  • Abigail Naismith was originally named Alice.
  • There was originally a scene where the Doctor actually met Trinity Wells at the ruins of HMP Broadfell. Russell T Davies was eager to give Lachele Carl a proper appearance in the series, but ultimately dismissed the sequence as too self-indulgent.
  • Originally, much of the Vinvocci's faces retained their natural human skin tones, but it was now decided that they should be completely green; sequences featuring the aliens which had already been recorded would be computer-tinted to match the revised look.
  • One prominent element dropped from the script was a subplot in which the Doctor tries to convince the "Danes-Master" (that is, the copy of the Master who had been Danes, the Naismiths' butler) to rebel against the evil Time Lord.
  • The two Raxacoricofallapatorians at the bar are the new Slitheen costumes created for The Sarah Jane Adventures rather than the old ones from season one. Notably, this was filmed before but broadcast after The Gift, where the Slitheen costumes were painted orange to serve as Blathereen.
  • Bernard Cribbins served in the army during World War II and he never killed a man during his service. He insisted that Wilfred not only have the same lack of kills in his past, but also share in his pride for never taking another life.
  • It was John Simm's idea for the Master to have blond hair.
  • David Tennant and Timothy Dalton had each other's theme songs as their ringtones - Tennant had the James Bond theme and Dalton had the Doctor Who theme.
  • The Vinvocci were originally named Shanshay and Shanshay - the pronunciation of the two names being so subtly different that Wilf is unable to discern it (although the Doctor can).
  • Catherine Tate filmed her role in five days.
  • The Doctor's confrontation with the Master originally took place in a desert. This setting was used for Planet of the Dead.
  • Timothy Dalton and Billie Piper would later co-star in Penny Dreadful.
  • The female Time Lord was intended to be the Doctor's mother.
  • Euros Lyn wanted to remove the scene where the Doctor visits Verity Newman, thinking it would be confusing for anyone who had missed the connection she has to the Doctor, but Russell T Davies insisted on keeping the scene in the final cut.
  • The TARDIS console room exploding was done in one take because of the coral pillars being really expensive to redo, so multiple takes was not on the cards.
  • Russell Tovey and Sinead Keenan both appeared in Being Human as werewolves.
  • The Eleventh Doctor was originally expected to have just a line. Steven Moffat took the opportunity to write a short monologue.
  • While paying tribute to Bernard Cribbins in 2022, John Simm recalled that he had difficulty filming the scenes where the Master is mean to Wilf. After a take, Cribbins would say to Simm, "Ooh, you 'orrible sod".
  • The original idea for the Tenth Doctor's exit would have seen the TARDIS materialise on board a spacecraft carrying an alien family; the Doctor would sacrifice his life to prevent a radiation leak and save these ordinary, seemingly unimportant beings. Although Russell T Davies liked the notion of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration taking place in such unremarkable circumstances, as opposed to the blockbuster events that had characterised each of his season finales, he was concerned that viewers would be deflated by the anticlimax. He also felt that such a simple idea could not support two hours of television. He retained only the prologue and epilogue.
  • John Simm turned down a role in a stage play he had been considering in order to reprise his role as the Master.
  • Russell T Davies had Wilf travel in the TARDIS because Bernard Cribbins lamented that he hadn't done so yet.
  • Wilfred's gang of pensioners forming a neighbourhood watch was originally meant for Partners in Crime.
  • Russell T Davies had originally intended for the Tenth Doctor to sacrifice himself for a complete stranger, a technician named Keith. He realised that it should, in fact, be Wilfred, as it would be the ultimate explanation for the string of coincidences which had always surrounded the two characters.
  • The Master's original plan was to trap Earth in the Time War in place of Gallifrey. Russell T Davies ultimately disliked this idea and considered abandoning the Gallifrey plot altogether.
  • If any of the era's companion actor's hadn't been available, the epilogue would have been truncated to just Rose and Donna.
  • Rose's cameo is set in 2005 just before the events of Rose, because Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner didn't want to revisit the parallel Earth where she now lived, given that her story had been drawn to a close in Journey's End.
  • Russell T Davies had previously used the surname Naismith for one of the families at the heart of his 1993 serial Century Falls.
  • In developing the benevolent aliens whose race created the Immortality Gate, Russell T Davies was reminded of his fondness for Bannakaffalatta in Voyage of the Damned.
  • Russell T Davies originally considered having the Time Lords in an alliance with the Daleks to show how they had been corrupted. However, Steven Moffat was also planning to bring back the Daleks and expressed his preference for Victory of the Daleks to be the first Dalek story in a while. Keen not to undermine his successor's first season, Davies abandoned the notion.
  • The concluding episode gave Russell T Davies the opportunity to include some ideas that he had intended to use in earlier stories: the dogfight involving the Hesperus drew from some of his original plans for Planet of the Dead and Captain Jack Harkness' scene reinstated two abandoned notions for The Stolen Earth: a scene featuring a cavalcade of monsters and the return of Alonso Frame.
  • Martha and Mickey's cameo was carefully scheduled around Freema Agyeman's commitments to Law & Order: UK.
  • The Sontaran was called Commander Jask in the script.
  • It was while filming the Doctor's pursuit of the Master through the wasteland that the BBC formally announced that Beth Willis and Peter Bennett would be joining the new production team.
  • Wilfred's revolver was the same one previously used by Captain Jack.
  • To play the transmogrified versions of President Barack Obama and all of the journalists, John Simm was required to endure more than thirty costume changes.
  • A Vespiform originally appeared in the space bar, but it was omitted.
  • The regeneration scene was the first shot that Matt Smith filmed as the Doctor. Before he did so, David Tennant, Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner all exited the studio and gave way to Steven Moffat and Piers Wenger, symbolically passing the torch to the new team.
  • The last material that David Tennant filmed for this story was wire work for the Doctor's jump from the Hesperus.
  • Due to the special effects used to simulate the violent nature of the Tenth Doctor's regeneration, the glass central pillar in the middle of the TARDIS console was damaged so badly it had to be rebuilt prior to the recording of the next series. It was made by Bristol Blue Glass based in Brislington.
  • When asked about the emotional impact of writing his last Doctor Who script (prior to his return in 2023), Russell T Davies said, "I would have thought that when I handed in the last script I might have burst into tears or got drunk or partied with 20 naked men, but when these great moments happen you find that real life just carries on. The emotion goes into the scripts." David Tennant and Julie Gardner separately said that they cried when they read the script.
  • Freema Agyeman and Russell Tovey had previously appeared in Little Dorrit.
  • Although a matter of fan speculation for years, fuelled by occasional comments by individuals such as Tom Baker, the Eleventh Doctor briefly wondering if he has regenerated into a woman marked the first time on screen that this was acknowledged as a possible outcome of regeneration.

Ratings[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Part 1 - 11.57 million - According to BARB.
  • Part 2 - 12.27 million - According to BARB.
  • Part 1 - 12.04 million - UK final.[11]
  • In America, three broadcasts of Part 2 garnered a combined total of 1.42 million viewers, a record for BBC America.[12]

Filming locations[[edit] | [edit source]]

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.
The Vinvocci makeup design as originally filmed, and post-recolouring. (CON: Lords and Masters/TV: The End of Time)
  • On the wide shot of the Master's resurrection, it can marginally be seen that Lucy Saxon is kneeling on what appears to be knee support pads.
  • After principal photography had wrapped, the production team decided to change the Vinvocci's appearance. They had originally envisaged that the race would only be partially green. The only solution was to digitally composite a more complete green, and this necessitated frame-by-frame colouring of the Vinvocci scenes. At some points in the episodes this is noticeable, for example when Rossiter is climbing into the mining laser pod while the Vinvocci ship is under fire from the missiles.
    • Also, when the Vincocci are in their control room hearing the Master's broadcast about finding the White-Point Star, it can be seen that the production team neglected to recolour that particular scene, as it can be seen (albeit with difficulty, since the Vinvocci are in the shadows) that their faces are not green.
  • During the first time where Wilf is in the glass cabinet, in the close up his phone is to his head, yet in the long shots both his hands are against the glass.
  • When the Doctor goes to get A Journal of Impossible Things signed, Jessica Hynes is quite plainly hovering her pen just above the page and not writing in it.
  • When the Doctor arrives at Donna's wedding, the gates he stands behind are closed, but when Wilf and Sylvia approach him, one is open. Also, when Sylvia looks at him, the TARDIS is closer to the Doctor than when they approach him.
  • The Nuclear Bolt control room switches sides of the Naismith's main hall at various points in part 2: It starts off on the right side in part 1, and stays that way until the Master reveals his true intentions of rescuing the Time Lords to Rassilon. The next shot, when all the Masters look smugly at Rassilon shows the Bolt on the left hand side. It later swaps back to its original position. This seems to suggest the post-production crew unnecessarily "flipped" the shot.
  • Similarly, the occupants changed sides within the Bolt room. Two Masters (yellow shirt and purple shirt) did a change-around, with the purple-shirted Master taking the place of the yellow-shirted one. The first time this happens, the purple-shirted Master is on the left-hand side, and the yellow-shirted Master on the right. In the aforementioned shot of the Masters looking smugly at Rassilon, when the Bolt swaps sides the first time, the purple-shirted Master is now on the right-hand side of the Bolt, which would be explained by a reflection of the shot. When the Bolt swaps back to its original side, the purple-shirted occupant is once again on the right-hand side, which would not be explained by a reflection of the shot, rather than the left-hand side, which Wilf then occupies. Furthermore, when the Master starts the nuclear bolt, the left-hand booth is occupied but when Wilf arrives and rescues the booth's occupant, it is the right-hand booth with a man in it, leaving Wilf trapped on the left side.
  • When the Doctor drops Wilf's gun after falling through the roof, it falls facing towards him and close to his hand. After the camera briefly pans to Rassilon, the gun is further away from the Doctor's hand and pointed towards the Time Lords.
  • When the Doctor points Wilf's gun at Rassilon it is in his right hand, but when he turns to point it at the Master, it is immediately in his left hand.
  • When the Doctor is aiming Wilf's gun at the Master and Rassilon, the trigger of the gun has already been pulled in and it should have fired. This is incorrectly reported as an error. Wilf's revolver was being used in 'single-action' mode, in which the hammer has been moved into the rearward position, which also moves the trigger rearward to a firing position. In 'double-action' mode, the hammer starts in the lowered position, and the trigger is forward; in this mode, pulling the trigger moves the hammer into firing position, causes the cylinder holding the bullets to revolve into place, and eventually causes the gun to fire.
  • After the Doctor knocks Jask out, the latter's body disappears in subsequent shots.
  • The Doctor's jacket is tattered before he enters the nuclear chamber to let Wilfred out. However, as he returns Wilf home before setting off to get his Reward, the jacket appears undamaged. The Doctor may have spares of his jacket and changed into another one. (A change of clothes is further implied by the fact that the Doctor's tie is different when he returns Wilf home.)
  • During the Time Lord council scene, Rassilon's collar isn't in the middle and sits to one side.
  • During the Captain Jack scene, a Sycorax that walks behind him only has one red eye.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Coincidentally, the Doctor's catchphrase "Allons-y", which the Doctor described as meaning "Let's Go!", (TV: Midnight) is referenced in the Doctor's final words in his tenth life which were "I don't want to go".

Ginger controversy[[edit] | [edit source]]

During the final scene, the Eleventh Doctor takes a look at his hair and utters the phrase, "Still not ginger!" This statement was misinterpreted by a number of viewers as being a negative comment on redheaded people, resulting in more than a hundred forty complaints being filed with the BBC.[13] In response, the BBC issued an official statement clarifying that the Doctor was stating disappointment at not being ginger, a reference to the Tenth Doctor similarly expressing a wish to be ginger in The Christmas Invasion. In response to claims of an "anti-ginger agenda" by the series, the BBC statement noted that the Doctor's two most recent ongoing companions, Donna Noble and Amy Pond, are both redheads, not mentioning the difference between "red" and "ginger" hair.[14]

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

DVD releases[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The End of Time was released to DVD and Blu-ray both bundled with The Waters of Mars and part of a Specials box set in the UK on 11 January 2010. A similar release in North America was released on 2 February 2010.
  • It was released as a promotional DVD alongside The Eleventh Hour in 2011, with British tabloid The Sun.
  • It was released as Doctor Who DVD Files issue 56.
  • This was released as part of the Complete Specials in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray in a box set on 11 January 2010, with a North American release scheduled for 2 February 2010.[1] In Australia, the Blu-ray was released 29 June 2010 and the DVD on 1 July 2010.

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

  • As mentioned above, it has been released with The Waters of Mars and as The Specials. It was the first Doctor Who Blu-Ray boxset release.
  • In 2013, this release was bundled with the first seven series of the revived Doctor Who.

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

  • Netflix in the US lists The End of Time as episodes 18 and 19 of Series 4. Previously the story was listed as its own title. As of 2013, the story was rolled into the core show listing. It can also be purchased on iTunes.
  • In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes, in A Decade of the Doctor bundle to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, Earth Conquest: The World Tour and an episode guide.
  • In the United Kingdom, this story is available on BBC iPlayer as part of Series 4.

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. Cribbins died in 2022, and his newly filmed scene in Wild Blue Yonder was aired posthumously
  2. Rassilon is credited as "The Narrator" in Part One and "Lord President" in Part Two
  3. Archive audio of the real Obama was used for his voice.

Citations[[edit] | [edit source]]