50th Anniversary Specials

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The 2013 specials were a number of television stories that were written and produced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. Like the 20th anniversary special, The Five Doctors, these specials are not considered to be part of a numbered season.

Overview

The 2013 specials follow on from the final moments of The Name of the Doctor, in which Clara Oswald discovers the Doctor's greatest secret, a previously unknown incarnation.

The anniversary stories revolve around this incarnation, known as the War Doctor, and the final events of the Last Great Time War. The Christmas special follows on from Name by focusing on the Doctor's life on Trenzalore.

The specials also featured a number of the Doctor's regenerations, specifically those of the Eighth, War, and Eleventh Doctors. As such, the regenerations of all but the Second Doctor have now been depicted on-screen.

Cast

The 2013 specials saw the end of Matt Smith's tenure as the Eleventh Doctor, and ended with his regeneration into the Twelfth, played by Peter Capaldi.

Celebrating the shows 50th anniversary, several of the specials also featured previous actors who had portrayed the Doctor. Paul McGann portrayed the Eighth Doctor on-screen for the first time since his initial portrayal in TV: Doctor Who, David Tennant returned as the Tenth Doctor, and all other former actors were seen through the use of archive footage. The War Doctor was also played by John Hurt.

Although Jenna Coleman returned as sole companion Clara Oswald, Billie Piper returned to the series, but portraying a representation of the Bad Wolf, rather than her regular character of companion Rose Tyler.

Tom Baker also played the role of the Curator, an enigmatic character who may or may not be a future incarnation of the Doctor.

Recurring

Guest

Television stories

Mini-episodes

Title Writer Director Notes
The Night of the Doctor Steven Moffat John Hayes Reappearance and regeneration of the Eighth Doctor. Chronological debut of the War Doctor.
The Last Day Steven Moffat Jamie Stone Dalek invasion of Gallifrey

Special episodes

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
50th Anniversary The Day of the Doctor Steven Moffat Nick Hurran First full appearance of the War Doctor
Reappearance of the Tenth Doctor, Daleks, and the Zygons. Regeneration of the War Doctor into Ninth Doctor. First appearance of the Twelfth Doctor. Tom Baker makes a cameo as the Curator.
Christmas The Time of the Doctor Steven Moffat Jamie Payne Regeneration of the Eleventh Doctor. Chronological debut of the Twelfth Doctor.

Related episodes

Alongside the canonical continuation of Doctor Who itself, a number of specials were also made relating to the real world production of the Doctor Who universe.

Title Writer Director Notes
An Adventure in Space and Time Mark Gatiss Terry McDonough Docudrama of William Hartnell's tenure as The Doctor.
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot Peter Davison Peter Davison Parody episode starring Peter Davison, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy.

Adaptations and merchandising

Home media

DVD / Blu-ray

Title Number and duration
of episodes
R2 release date R4 release date R1 release date
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
The Day of the Doctor
The Night of the Doctor
The Last Day
1 × 75 min.
1 × 8 min.
1 × 3 min.
2 December 2013 4 December 2013 10 December 2013
Doctor Who: An Adventure in Space and Time
An Adventure in Space and Time
1 × 90 min. 2 December 2013 4 December 2013 27 May 2014
Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor
The Time of the Doctor
1 × 60 min. 20 January 2014 22 January 2014 4 March 2014
Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition
The Day of the Doctor
The Night of the Doctor
The Last Day
The Time of the Doctor
An Adventure in Space and Time
The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot
1 × 75 min.
1 × 8 min.
1 × 3 min.
1 × 60 min.
1 × 90 min.
1 × 30 min.
8 September 2014 10 September 2014 TBA