The Time of the Doctor (TV story)

The Time of the Doctor
Doctor:	Eleventh Doctor
Companion(s):	Clara Handles
Main enemy:	Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Weeping Angels
Main setting:	London, 25 December 21st century Christmas, Trenzalore
Key crew
Writer:	Steven Moffat
Director:	Jamie Payne
Producer:	Marcus Wilson
Release details
Story number:	241
Premiere broadcast:	25 December 2013
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x60 minute special
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Day of the Doctor
Christmas specials
← Previous	The Snowmen

The Time of the Doctor was the 2013 Doctor Who Christmas special, and the final appearance of the Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. It served as a conclusion to the entirety of the Smith era, bringing back both the Silence and Trenzalore and bringing their stories to a close. The episode tackled the issue of limited regenerations, and had the Doctor regenerate into his twelfth incarnation at the end. This served as Peter Capaldi's formal introduction as the new Doctor.

Synopsis

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe's deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. Among them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his companion must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.

Plot

The Doctor is among thousands of ships orbiting a planet after hearing a message being broadcast from it, a message that no-one can understand. He visits a ship, holding a Dalek eyestalk to show his bravery. Unfortunately, the ship belongs to Daleks, who fire at him until he teleports back to the TARDIS, where a disembodied Cyberman head that he calls "Handles" is plugged into the console. Clara calls the Doctor via the TARDIS phone, and pleads that he pretend to be her boyfriend for her family's Christmas dinner. The Doctor then accidentally visits a Cybership while holding Handles, where he is also shot at until he teleports back to the TARDIS again.

The Doctor picks up Clara from her home and takes her to the planet's orbit where, when asked to identify the planet, Handles claims it is Gallifrey, a fact the Doctor refutes. The two are invited aboard the Papal Mainframe, a space church headed by Mother Superious Tasha Lem. Tasha and the Doctor discuss the signal coming from the mysterious planet, while Clara continuously sees and forgets several Silents that surround her. She bursts into the room where the Doctor and Tasha are conversing, but forgets why she came there.

Tasha sends the Doctor and Clara to the planet, to a town called Christmas, surrounded by a truth field, so no-one can lie., Here the Doctor finds a Crack in time through which the message is being broadcast. The message is a repeat of the same question; Doctor who? The doctor says this is the Time Lords, trapped in a pocket universe, trying to get out. If the Doctor speaks his name, the Time Lords will know they are in the right place and come through and all the alien species above will descend on the planet and begin the Time War anew. Tasha contacts the Doctor, telling him this cannot happen and the Doctor refuses to withdraw and let her destroy the planet, which she reveals to be Trenzalore.

The Doctor tricks Clara into plugging a device into the TARDIS that transports her home and for the next 300 years defends Trenzalore. Clara returns after gripping the sides of the TARDIS and forcing the TARDIS to increase the shields and bring her back through the Time Vortex, slowing it down considerably. She meets a Doctor who is over 1500 years old, having spent three centuries defending the town of Christmas. He reveals to her his is in his thirteenth and final life (including the regeneration into the War Doctor and the regeneration energy used by the Tenth Doctor during his Meta-Crisis). He is then transported, with Clara, to the Papal Mainframe, now the Church of the Silence. The Silents are revealed to by genetically engineered senior priests, whose aim is to ensure the Doctor does not release the Time Lords. (The Kovarian Chapter broke away and travelled back in time to stop the Doctor reaching Trenzalore). After it is revealed that Tasha and her crew have been killed by the Daleks and turned into Dalek puppets, the Doctor, with help from Tasha, who regains her mind and defends the Doctor, escapes from the ship and tricks Clara home for a second time. Clara later hears the TARDIS engines and runs outside, to find the TARDIS piloted by Tasha, claiming, "Flying the TARDIS is easy, it's flying the Doctor that's hard."

She returns Clara to Trenzalore to see the Doctor, saying she could not let him die alone. The Doctor is now very old and often acts slow and slightly confused. He still won't release the Time Lords, knowing that it would mean Hell for all the universe. All his enemies have withdrawn save for the Daleks, whom he has been fighting with the aid of the Silence. The Daleks launch their final attack and the Doctor, out of ideas, weapons and regenerations, goes to meet them. Clara cannot watch this and returns to the crack, pleading with the Time Lords to save the Doctor, saying; "His name is the Doctor! All the name he needs, everything you need to know about him, and if you love him, and you should, help him!". The crack vanishes. At the top of Christmas's clock tower, the Doctor is preparing to die. Then, the Crack appears in the night sky and through it, the Time Lords grant the Doctor a new Cycle of regenerations. As his regeneration process begins, the Doctor uses the energy to destroy the Dalek ship.

In the aftermath, Clara returns to the TARDIS, finding the Doctor, whose youth has been restored. Despite this, he tells her he will regenerate anyway, and that it is taking some time to begin. He starts to reminisce about Amelia Pond, "the first face this face saw." He sees her in the TARDIS, and she tells him, "Raggedy Man, good night." The Doctor removes his bowtie. In tears, Clara begs him not to change. He smiles, and then rather abruptly regenerates into the first incarnation of his new regeneration cycle, whose first words are; "Kidneys! I've got new kidneys!". Suddenly, the TARDIS begins shaking, and the new Doctor asks Clara if she knows how to fly the TARDIS...

Cast

• The Doctor - Matt Smith
• Clara - Jenna Coleman
• Tasha Lem - Orla Brady
• Dad - James Buller
• Linda - Elizabeth Rider
• Gran - Sheila Reid
• Colonel Albero - Mark Anthony Brighton
• Abramal - Rob Jarvis
• Marta - Tessa Peake-Jones
• Barnable - Jack Hollington
• Colonel Meme - Sonita Henry
• Handles' Voice - Kayvan Novak
• Young Man - Tom Gibbins
• Cyberman - Aiden Cook
• Voice of the Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Dalek 1 - Barnaby Edwards
• Dalek 2 - Nicholas Pegg
• Silent - Ross Mullan
• Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
• The Doctor - Peter Capaldi

Crew

Executive Producers   Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin

General production staff Production Executive - Julie Scott Line Producer - Des Hughes Utility Stand In - Ian William George Location Manager - Iwan Roberts Unit Manager - Monty Till Production Co-ordinator - Gabriella Ricci Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Sandra Cosfeld Production Assistant - Katie Player Production Secretary - Rachel Vipond Production Accountant - Jeff Dunn A/Production Accountant - Bethan Griffiths Script department Script Editor - Derek Ritchie Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - John Bennett 2nd Assistant Director - Heddi-Joy Taylor-Welch 3rd Assistant Director - Danielle Richards Assistant Directors - Gareth Jones, Louisa Cavell Script Supervisor - Steve Walker Camera Operators - Mark McQuoid, Martin Stephens Focus Pullers - Berndt Wiese, Rich Turner Grip - Damian Roberts Assistant Grip - Ryan Jarman Camera Assistants - Pete Lowden, Kyle Brown, Natalie Davies Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Best Boy - Stephen Slocombe Electricians - Billy Harron, Bob Milton, Gafin Riley, Gareth Sheldon, Andrew Williams	Art department Supervising Art Director - Lucienne Suren Production Buyers - Jayne Davies, May Johnson, Helen O'Leary Set Decorator - Adrian Anscombe Set Dresser - Jamie Southcott Graphic Artist - Chris Lees Standby Carpenter - Paul Jones Prop Hands - Liam Collins, Ian Davies, Ian Griffin, Jamie Farrell, Kyle Belmont, Roger Hendry, Ryan Milton Standby Art Director - Amy Pickwoad Standby Rigger - Bryan Griffiths Props Master - Paul Smith Props Driver - Gareth Fox Props Makers - Alan Hardy, Jamie Thomas Construction Manager - Terry Horle Construction Chargehand - Dean Tucker Practical Electrician - Christian Davies Scenic Artist - Clive Clarke Graphics - Peter Anderson Studio Draughtsman - Kartik Nagar Costume department Costume Supervisor - Claire Lynch Assistant Costume Designer - Carly Griffith Costume Assistants - Katarina Cappellazzi, Gemma Evans, Charlotte Bestwick	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Claire Pritchard-Jones Make-up Artists - Emma Cowen, Clare Golds, Danny Marie Elias Prosthetics - Millennium FX Movement Stunt Co-ordinator - Crispin Layfield Stunt Performers - Gordon Seed, Daz Parker, Lloyd Bass, Dani Biernat, Stephen Walsh Casting Casting Associate - Alice Purser General post-production staff Post-production Supervisor - Nerys Davies Post-production Co-ordinator - Samantha Price Assistant Editor - Katrina Aust On-line Editor - Geraint Pari Huws Special and visual effects VFX Editor - Joel Skinner Colourist - Gareth Spensley Miniature Effects - The Modelo Unit Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys Dubbing Mixer - Tim Ricketts Sound Maintenance Engineers - Tam Shoring, Christopher Goding Dialogue Editor - Darran Clement ADR Editor - Matthew Cox Supervising Sound Editor - Paul McFadden Sound Effects Editor - Paul Jefferies Sound Editor - Doug Sinclair Foley Editor - Jamie Talbutt

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.

References

• In Christmas a truth field is in force. The Doctor already knows such fields.

Story notes

• This is the first televised regeneration story in which the Doctor regenerates at the end of the story to end on a shot of a character other than the Doctor and the second since The War Games not to end on the Doctor's new incarnation. In this case, this story's final frame shows Clara's reaction to the newly regenerated Twelfth Doctor, not the Twelfth Doctor himself.
• This is the shortest story (in overall run time) to feature a regeneration broadcast on BBC1. The Night of the Doctor (TV story) was only on Red Button.
• The regeneration is presented differently from other regenerations shown in the revived series. Instead of a prolonged explosion of energy, it consists of a brief flash of light.

Ratings

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Filming locations

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Production errors

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Continuity

• The Doctor tricks Clara into returning home in the TARDIS, presumably using Emergency Program One. The Ninth Doctor previously tricked Rose into returning home in the TARDIS, and just like Clara, she manages to return both herself and the TARDIS to the Doctor. (TV: The Parting of the Ways).
• While investigating the Crack, the Doctor shows Clara a Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey, claiming he "nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone." This is a direct reference to the events of TV: The Five Doctors, in which the Master, tasked with locating the Doctor in the Death Zone, is given the Seal to prove his credentials.
• It is mentioned that a branch of the 'Church Of Silence' broke off (Madam Kovarian) to train someone (River Song) to kill the Doctor.
• As the Eighth, War, Ninth and Tenth Doctors did, the Eleventh Doctor examines his glowing hands before he regenerates. (TV: The Night of the Doctor, The Day of the Doctor, The Parting of the Ways, The End of Time)
• The Doctor silently materializes the TARDIS on Trenzalore, something River Song did previously. (TV: The Time of Angels)
• The Doctor's room from The God Complex is revealed: its a crack with the Time Lords behind it.
• The Doctor again uses the phone on the outside of the TARDIS (TV: The Bells of Saint John, The Day of the Doctor) once more despite having previously claimed that its not a real phone. Its revealed that this is because he keeps forgetting to transfer calls to the TARDIS through the phone on the console.
• Clara now has her own TARDIS key. (TV: The Rings of Akhaten, Hide)
• The Doctor uses "reverse the polarity" once more (TV: The Day of the Doctor), a favorite phrase of the Third Doctor.

Home video releases

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External links

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