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| The [[Easter]] holiday was not significant, symbolically or thematically, to either special, though ''Planet of the Dead'' featured the [[Tenth Doctor]] enjoying a chocolate [[Easter egg]] and musing about having been present at the very first Easter. | | The [[Easter]] holiday was not significant, symbolically or thematically, to either special, though ''Planet of the Dead'' featured the [[Tenth Doctor]] enjoying a chocolate [[Easter egg]] and musing about having been present at the very first Easter. |
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| == Other candidates ==
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| === 20th century ===
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| Episodes in the first twelve seasons of ''Doctor Who'' were usually broadcast weekly, with start dates typically falling in the [[autumn]] or [[winter]] months, and concluding around the following [[summer]]. As a result, every Easter weekend from [[1964 (releases)|1964]] to [[1975 (releases)|1975]] featured the broadcast of a new ''Who'' episode as part of their television schedules, always falling on the Saturday.
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| Episodes to be broadcast on these weekends consisted of: ''[[Marco Polo (TV story)|Marco Polo]]'' (6), ''[[The Crusade (TV story)|The Crusade]]'' (4), ''[[The Celestial Toymaker (TV story)|The Celestial Toymaker]]'' (2), ''[[The Macra Terror (TV story)|The Macra Terror]]'' (3), ''[[Fury from the Deep (TV story)|Fury from the Deep]]'' (3), ''[[The Space Pirates (TV story)|The Space Pirates]]'' (5), ''[[The Ambassadors of Death (TV story)|The Ambassadors of Death]]'' (1), ''[[Colony in Space (TV story)|Colony in Space]]'' (1), ''[[The Sea Devils (TV story)|The Sea Devils]]'' (6), ''[[Planet of the Daleks (TV story)|Planet of the Daleks]]'' (3), ''[[The Monster of Peladon (TV story)|The Monster of Peladon]]'' (4), and ''[[Genesis of the Daleks (TV story)|Genesis of the Daleks]]'' (4).
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| === 21st century ===
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| Even before the first labelled Easter special was established, the revival era of ''Doctor Who'' had been a near-annual presence over the Easter weekend television schedules, dating back to its first episode, ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''. This was because the main series was traditionally broadcast over the [[spring]].
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| ''Rose'' aired on the Saturday that fell between Good Friday and Easter Sunday in [[2005 (releases)|2005]], followed by the remainder of [[series 1 (Doctor Who)|series 1]]. The same thing occurred again the [[2006 (releases)|following year]] with the broadcast of ''[[New Earth (TV story)|New Earth]]'', kicking off [[series 2 (Doctor Who)|series 2]].
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| For [[2007 (releases)|2007]], the first episode of [[series 3 (Doctor Who)|series 3]], ''[[Smith and Jones (TV story)|Smith and Jones]]'' was broadcast the weekend ''before'' Easter, with its second episode, ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'' instead serving as the "Easter episode" for that year.
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| [[2008 (releases)|2008]] was the first year of the revived series to not have an Easter weekend premiere of any kind, with the first episode of [[Series 4 (Doctor Who)|that year's series]], ''[[Partners in Crime (TV story)|Partners in Crime]]'', not being broadcast until two weeks later. However, the Easter weekend that year ''would'' see the broadcast of a different piece of televised media: the penultimate episode of ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'' [[Series 2 (Torchwood)|series 2]], ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'', which was broadcast on Good Friday.
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| [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] began over the Easter weekend in [[2010 (releases)|2010]] with ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]''. In this instance, the first few minutes of the episode are explicitely identified as taking place at Easter. [[Series 6 (Doctor Who)|Series 6]] premiered in [[2011 (releases)|2011]] with ''[[The Impossible Astronaut (TV story)|The Impossible Astronaut]]'', with the crucial scenes of the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s supposed death occurring on the day before the episode's real life broadcast date, although no references to the day in question being Good Friday were made.
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| After [[2012 (releases)|2012]], which was the second year in the revived show's history to lack an Easter premiere, Easter [[2013 (releases)|2013]] saw the premiere of ''[[The Bells of Saint John (TV story)|The Bells of Saint John]]'', kicking off the second block of [[series 7 (Doctor Who)|series 7]].
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| In [[2015 (releases)|2015]], while no new televised episode was broadcast, a [[webcast]] [[mini-episode]], ''[[Happy Easter from the Doctor! (webcast)|Happy Easter from the Doctor!]]'', was released on Good Friday.
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| Finally, the show returned again to an Easter premiere in [[2017 (releases)|2017]] with the broadcast of ''[[The Pilot (TV story)|The Pilot]]'', beginning [[series 10 (Doctor Who)|series 10]].
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| With [[series 11 (Doctor Who)|series 11]], however, the main series of ''Doctor Who'' was moved to an [[autumn]] schedule, followed by [[winter]] in [[series 12 (Doctor Who)|series 12]] and autumn again for [[series 13 (Doctor Who)|series 13]]. As a result, the only Easter-adjacent episode to air during the [[Chris Chibnall]] era was the de facto Easter Special itself, ''Legend of the Sea Devils''.
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| == List of ''Doctor Who'' Easter specials == | | == List of ''Doctor Who'' Easter specials == |
The Easter Special is an episode of Doctor Who which airs outside the regular run during the Easter weekend. Unlike Christmas and New Year Specials, this was not a Doctor Who tradition year-to-year.
As of 2022[update], there have been only two Easter Specials. The first came in 2009, with Planet of the Dead, which aired on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Years later, the 2022 Easter Special, Legend of the Sea Devils, actually aired on Easter Sunday itself, taking advantage of the show's then-regular Sunday evening timeslot.
The Easter holiday was not significant, symbolically or thematically, to either special, though Planet of the Dead featured the Tenth Doctor enjoying a chocolate Easter egg and musing about having been present at the very first Easter.
List of Doctor Who Easter specials
