Eve of the Daleks (TV story)

Eve of the Daleks
Doctor:	Thirteenth Doctor
Companion(s):	Yaz, Dan
Main enemy:	Dalek Executioners
Main setting:	ELF Storage, Manchester, 31 December 2021 & 1 January 2022
Key crew
Writer:	Chris Chibnall
Director:	Annetta Laufer
Producer:	Sheena Bucktowonsing
Release details
Story number:	298
Number of parts:	1
Premiere broadcast:	1 January 2022
Premiere network:	BBC One
Format:	1x58 minute episode
Memorable moment
▶︎ YouTube YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy UnderstoodDismiss
Doctor Who television stories
← Previous	The Vanquishers
New Year specials
← Previous	Revolution of the Daleks

Eve of the Daleks was the 2022 New Year Special of Doctor Who. It continued from the end of The Vanquishers, which saw the Doctor's TARDIS still damaged from the Great Disruption. Attempting to reboot it, the Thirteenth Doctor accidentally traps ELF Storage and everyone inside it within a time loop. It also dealt with the consequences of the Doctor allowing the Dalek War Fleet to be destroyed in the final Flux event, with Dalek Executioners being sent to exterminate the Doctor in revenge.

Notably, the episode was the first to explicitly establish Yasmin Khan's feelings toward the Doctor as being romantically inclined.

Synopsis

Sarah is working - again. Nick is her only customer - again. Same old same old. Except this year, their countdown to midnight will be the strangest and deadliest they have ever known. Why is an executioner Dalek targeting these two people, in this place, on this night? Why are they having to live through the same moments again? Can the Doctor, Yaz and Dan save them and survive into the New Year?

Plot

to be added

Cast

• The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
• Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
• Dan Lewis - John Bishop
• Sarah - Aisling Bea
• Nick - Adjani Salmon
• Dalek Operator 1 - Barnaby Edwards
• Dalek Operator 2 - Nicholas Pegg
• Additional Dalek Operator - Jon Davey
• Voice of the Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
• Mary - Pauline McLynn
• Karl - Jonny Dixon

Crew

Executive Producers   Matt Strevens and Chris Chibnall

Co-executive producer   Nikki Wilson

Written by Chris Chibnall	Produced by Sheena Bucktowonsing	Directed by Annetta Laufer	Director of Photography Robin Whenary	Production Designer Dafydd Shurmer	Visual Effects DNEG
Make-up Designer Emma Cowen	Casting Director Andy Pryor CDG	Music Segun Akinola	Costume Design & Creature Design Ray Holman	Edited by Erline O'Donovan-Clarke	Special Effects Real SFX
Original theme music by Ron Grainer  •  Title sequence by Ben Pickles  Music conducted by Alastair King  •  Orchestrated by Alec Roberts  •  Additional orchestration by Huw White  •  Recorded by Olga FitzRoy  •  Mixed by Goetz Botzenhardt   Daleks created by Terry Nation

General production staff Head of Production - Charlotte Bloxham Executive Producer for the BBC - Ben Irving Production Executive - Tracie Simpson Line Producer - Steffan Morris Production Manager - Delmi Thomas Supervising Location Manager - Iwan Roberts Location Manager - Gareth Roberts Unit Manager - Kyle Yates Production Co-ordinator - Sandra Cosfeld Assistant Production Co-ordinator - Ellie Simmons Production Secretary - Sam Milletti Executive Assistant - Caroline Cook Production Office Runner - Ellie Hilton Unit Drivers - Paul Watkins, Jolyon Davey, Steve Darwent Unit Medics - Glyn Evans, Andy Jones Business Affairs - Elaine Evans, Kyle Parsons, Steve Robson Production Accountant - Rhys Evans Assistant Accountants - Kate Barber-Williams, Marta Toczko, Elise Betts Cast Payroll Accountant - Helen Searle Contracts Booker - Leanne Bowcott Crew Payroll Accountant - Bethan Wray Music Rights Executive - Debbie Rogerson Covid Assistants - Joseph Fletcher, Lloyd Di Mauro Covid Testing Schedulers - Etty Stanley, Leila Arada Script department Script Editors - Caroline Buckley, Rebecca Roughan Camera and lighting department 1st Assistant Director - Christopher J Thomas 2nd Assistant Director - Lauren Pate 3rd Assistant Director - Jennifer Day Assistant Directors - Jac Lewis, Laura Thompson, Tom May Script Supervisor - Kriss Landin Camera Operator - Mark McQuoid ACO Camera Trainees - Adam Clewes, Olga Walus Focus Pullers - Jonathan Vidgen, Matt Hillier Key Grip - John Robinson Assistant Grips - Matt Clark, Marc Marshall Camera Assistants - Nic Yates, Evangeline Davies Gaffer - Mark Hutchings Rigging Gaffer - Andy Gardiner Best Boy - Gareth Sheldon Electricians - Gawain Nash, Stuart Gale, Matthew Hutchings, Rhodri Moses, Owen Hashimi	Art department Supervising Art Director - Ifan Lewis Construction Art Director - Julia Jones Art Department Assistant - Laura Honeybun Art Department Co-ordinator - Hannah Miller Production Buyer - Billie Blue Williams Petty Cash Buyer - Sally Sharp Set Decorator - Vicki Male Action Props Buyer - Milannah Faith Summers Graphic Designer - Stephen Fielding Trainee Graphic Designer - Lois Drage Standby Props - Ryan Milton, Robert Alexander Standby Carpenter - Colm Garrett Prop Hands - Dewi Thomas, John Thomas, Liv Cheung, Tom Major Standby Art Director - Cerys Lewis Rigging - Shadow Scaffolding Standby Rigger - Alex Herbert Scenic Painters - Alison Drane, Rachel Willsher, Alex Morgan, Ana Marlene Ribeiro HOD Painter - Scenic Steve Painter - Mark Reece Storeman - Lucy Hookings Prop Master - Paul Aitken Props Chargehand - Trystan Howell Props Driver - Paul Carmichael Construction Manager - David Hobbs Construction Assistant - Matthew Pike Workshop Manager - Mark Hill Workshop Assistant - Chris Slocombe Construction Chargehands - Dean Tucker, Jonathan Tylke Construction Driver - Darren Bousie CNC Programmer - Kristian Tucker Plasterer - Jason Tylke Practical Electricians - Rob Hearne, Matthew Dunford Draughtspersons - Lauren Harper, James Dyer Trainee Draughtsperson - Rachel Ellis Carpenters - Chris Daniels, Campbell Fraser, Matt Gronow, Charlie Wright, Marcus Scholl, Ben McDonald, Dafydd Llewelyn Jones, Mike Venables, Gemma Spence, Simon Pothecary, David Warner Costume department Costume Supervisor - Grace Brooks Assistant Costume Designer - Simon Marks Costume Cutter/Maker - Brighde Penn Creature Costume Maker - Robert Allsopp & Associates Costume Assistants - Ian Fowler, Jenny Tindle Costume Trainee - Yiwen Lin	Make-up and prosthetics Make-up Supervisor - Amy Riley Make-up Artists - Angharad Walsh, Diana McDonald, India Jones Junior Make-up Artist - Nikki Salih Movement Stunt Co-ordinators - Crispin Layfield, Belinda McGinley Stunt Performer - Leon Gabbidon Casting Casting Associate - Ri McDaid-Wren Casting Assistant - Ray Böhm General post-production staff Post-production Producer - Ceres Doyle Post-production Supervisor - Liv Duffin Assistant Editors - Brooke Taylor Michael, Joseph Keirle On-line Editors - Christine Kelly, Luke Stanbury Special and visual effects Additional VFX - Martyn Western, Rory Williams, Zodiak VFX, The 2D Workshop, Ben Pickles VFX Editor - Emily Lawrence Assistant VFX Editor - Alastair Gray Colourist - Gareth Spensley Head Model Maker - Lee Radford Model Makers - Penny Howarth, Lee Price Sound Sound Recordist - Deian Llŷr Humphreys AMPS Dubbing Mixers - Natasha Haycocks, Howard Bargroff Sound Maintenance Engineers - Christopher Goding, Joe Malone Sound Designer - Harry Barnes Dialogue Editor - Darran Clement ADR Editor - Matthew Cox Foley - Bang Post Production

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

The TARDIS

• The TARDIS' Cloister Bell tolls.

ELF Storage

• Prohibited items for storage in ELF Storage included stolen or illegal goods, humans, animals, tyres, cash, plants, food, cars, guns, ammunition, and toxic, hazardous, and radioactive materials.
• Nick's unit is filled with items that belonged to his ex-girlfriends, which he kept in case they asked for them back.

Holidays and celebrations

• The majority of the story is set on New Year's Eve, with New Year's Day dawning by the end.
• Sarah's mother and friends are at New Year's Eve parties.
• ELF Storage's entrance hall is adorned with Christmas trees and Christmas lights.

Individuals

• Sarah recieves New Year text messages from Megan, Laura, and others.
• Nick's ex-girlfriends included Simona, Lucy, and Nicole.
• Mary claims that she met Sarah's father on New Year's Eve. They actually met on 7 January, which Mary claims to be "the same thing".
• Sarah inherited ELF Storage from her deceased great-uncle Barry.

Technology

• Sarah's mobile phone cannot be put on silent.

Popular culture

• Nick puts a Monopoly game, which belonged to his ex-girlfriend, Simona, into storage.
• The Doctor claims she and Yaz "would be so good on Supermarket Sweep".
• Dan compares the time loop to Groundhog Day.

Romance

• Dan notices that the Doctor and Yaz have romantic feelings towards each other, even when both deny it.
• Mary tells her daugter that New Year's Eve is the best time to meet a man.
• Nick has "a lot" of ex-girlfriends, including Simona, Lucy, and Nicole. The sheer number of them, coupled with Nick's apparent obsessiveness over their possessions, prompts a worried Yaz to ask him if they're all "still alive".

Foods and beverages

• One of Jeff's storage units is filled with shelves full of cans of Beef N Beans.

Story notes

• This episode is partially set on the same day it was broadcast, 1 January 2022. This makes it one of only nine episodes in the revived series to do so, after Rose on 5 March 2005, The End of Time: Part One on 25 December 2009, The Big Bang on 26 June 2010, The Impossible Astronaut on 22 April 2011, Resolution on 1 January 2019, Revolution of the Daleks on 1 January 2020, The Halloween Apocalypse on 31 October 2021, and the directly preceding episode, The Vanquishers on 5 December 2021.
• This episode has the longest cold opening in the franchise, running just over nine minutes, ten seconds. The previous episode to hold this title was The Return of Doctor Mysterio.
• Unlike The End of Time: Part Two and Resolution, the endboard for this episode had the letters MMXXII, which is the correct year for the broadcasting date which was 2022. This also happened with Revolution of the Daleks which had the letters MMXXI, which is also the correct year for the broadcasting date which was 2021.
• When Jodie Whittaker first read the script for this episode and saw that the Doctor gets exterminated in the opening minutes, she genuinely believed that she had been written out of the show earlier than she thought she was going to be.
• At one point, one of the Daleks says "I am NOT Nick!". The man providing the voice for the Dalek was 'Nick' Briggs.

Ratings

• Overnights: 3.21 million
• Consolidated: to be added

Filming locations

to be added

Production errors

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.

to be added

Continuity

• Daleks have previously pursued the Doctor with the intent of executing them. (TV: The Chase)
• The Doctor resets the TARDIS to remove debris left over after the Great Disruption, such as multiple doors. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse)
• The Fourth Doctor previously used his sonic screwdriver to interfere with Daleks on Proxima Major, causing more than just weapon interference. This included interference in their speech circuits and motor circuits. (AUDIO: The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase) Similarly, the Thirteenth Doctor had previously used her sonic screwdriver successfully to interfere with the Reconnaissance Dalek's weaponry, as it wasn't "fully in sync yet". (TV: Resolution)
• Dan mentions that the Doctor saved the universe "last week". (TV: The Vanquishers)
• The Daleks accuse the Doctor of destroying the Dalek War Fleet during the Flux, which she counters was a Sontaran plan that she had only hijacked. (TV: The Vanquishers)
• Yaz accuses the Doctor of "leaving us all the time". The Thirteenth Doctor has ended up separated from Yaz and other companions several times, including midway through Spyfall, before Revolution of the Daleks, and during a three year gap in Survivors of the Flux.
• Dan notices that Yaz has romantic feelings for the Doctor. Yaz didn't realise that it was so obvious. The Doctor is aware but pretending she isn't. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
• Dan mentions Yaz watching the hologram of the Doctor. (TV: Survivors of the Flux)
• The Doctor mentions not having seen this much gunpowder since 1605 alluding to Guy Fawkes' attempted destruction of parliament, which was witnessed by the Doctor, (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot) and also Yaz. (PROSE: Black Powder)
• Sarah utters "Oh, my giddy aunt!" while on the run from the Daleks. This phrase was often used by the Second Doctor. (TV: The Krotons)
• Karl Wright briefly returns. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)

Home video releases

to be added

External links

to be added

Footnotes

to be added