The Day of the Doctor (TV story)

The Day of the Doctor
Doctor:	Eleventh Doctor
Companion(s):	Clara
Featuring:	Tenth Doctor War Doctor
Main enemy:	Zygons
Main setting:	21st century London, England, 1562 Gallifrey, the Time War
Key crew
Writer:	Steven Moffat
Director:	Nick Hurran
Producer:	Marcus Wilson
Release details
Story number:	239
Premiere broadcast:	23 November 2013
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x75-minute special
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Name of the Doctor

The Day of the Doctor was the fiftieth anniversary special of Doctor Who. It saw a sky-shattering revelation about the Time War and featured the most number of Doctors in a single episode: all thirteen, including an astounding glimpse of another Doctor who had never been seen before, only this time, instead of being a past Doctor, it was a future incarnation, becoming the first episode to proactively reveal an incarnation of the Doctor before their birth via regeneration. The special also included a surprise cameo from an elderly Tom Baker, the former Fourth Doctor, deliberately keeping the nature of his role ambiguous as either the Doctor or someone else entirely.

Synopsis

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• The Doctor - David Tennant
• The Doctor - Christopher Eccleston
• The Doctor - John Hurt
• The Doctor - Paul McGann
• The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
• The Doctor - Colin Baker
• The Doctor - Peter Davison
• The Doctor/The Curator - Tom Baker
• The Doctor - Jon Pertwee
• The Doctor - Patrick Troughton
• The Doctor - William Hartnell
• Clara - Jenna Coleman
• Rose - Billie Piper
• Tom - Tristan Beint
• Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
• Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
• Time Lord soldier - Chris Finch
• Androgar - Peter de Jersey
• The General - Ken Bones
• Arcadia father - Philip Buck
• Time Lord - Sophie Morgan-Price
• Elizabeth I - Joanna Page
• Lord Bentham - Orlando James
• McGillop - Jonjo O'Neill
• Atkins - Tom Keller
• Zygons - Aidan Cook, Paul Kasey
• Voice of the Daleks & Zygons - Nicholas Briggs
• Dalek 1 - Barnaby Edwards
• Dalek 2 - Nicholas Pegg
• Voice over artist - John Guilor
• The Doctor - Peter Capaldi (uncredited)

Crew

• Writer - Steven Moffat

References

to be added

Story notes

• The story uses the original opening sequence, modified to include a BBC logo.
• With the regeneration of the War Doctor into the Ninth Doctor, every incarnation of the Doctor up to his current life has been depicted onscreen.
• This episode marks the Fifth Multi-Doctor story, not counting the times he meet his past or future self in the same regeneration.

Production errors

to be added

Continuity

• Clara is now a teacher at Coal Hill School. A sign shows that Ian Chesterton is headmaster.
• The Tenth Doctor's relationship with Elizabeth I is shown. (TV: The Shakespeare Code, The End of Time, The Beast Below)
• The Eleventh Doctor refers to his fate on Trenzalore. (TV: The Wedding of River Song, The Name of the Doctor)
• The Tenth Doctor, upon hearing of [[Trenzalore]], says they need to take a different direction as "I don't want to go." His successor notes that "He always says that.", being his last words before his regeneration. (TV: The End of Time)
• The Tenth doctor notices the Eleventh changing the Tardis design, and then declares he doesn't like it. This is the exact same thing the Second Doctor did when he saw the Third Doctors Tardis. (TV: The Three Doctors (TV story))
• First Televised appearance of the Zygons since Terror of the Zygons (Tv story)

Footnotes