50th Anniversary Specials
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 and resolving a great deal of conflicts and mysteries surrounding his lifetime, and the coming end of his life.
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.
During the specials, the regeneration cycle introduced in the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin was addressed. Before the specials aired, discussions and rumours about the War Doctor's true nature made it unclear whether or not the Doctor had truly undergone just ten regenerations up to Matt Smith's incarnation.
Furthermore, since the events of the two-part Series 4 finale in 2008, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, where the Tenth Doctor circumvented a regeneration, it had been long-speculated whether or not this counted in the cycle.
The formal introduction of the War Doctor and the eventual depiction of his own regeneration into the Ninth Doctor meant the Doctor actually had regenerated more times than previously suggested. When the birth of the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor was also proven to have used up a regeneration, it signified all twelve regenerations in the cycle were exhausted. The Doctor was then bestowed a second regeneration cycle to bypass this limit.
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
- The Eleventh Doctor - Matt Smith
- Clara Oswald - Jenna Coleman
- The Tenth Doctor - David Tennant
- The War Doctor - John Hurt
- Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
- The First Doctor - John Guilor
- The Eighth Doctor - Paul McGann
- The Twelfth Doctor - Peter Capaldi
- Queen Elizabeth I - Joanna Page
- Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
- Clara's gran - Sheila Reid
Guest
- The Moment - Billie Piper
- Cass - Emma Campbell-Jones
- Ohila - Clare Higgins
- The General - Ken Bones
- Androgar - Peter de Jersey
- The Curator - Tom Baker
- Tasha Lem - Orla Brady
- Handles - Kayvan Novak
Television stories
Mini-episodes
| Title | Writer | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Night of the Doctor | Steven Moffat | John Hayes | Reappearance and regeneration of the Eighth Doctor. Return of the Sisterhood of Karn and the planet Karn. Chronological debut of the War Doctor. |
| The Last Day | Steven Moffat | Jamie Stone | Dalek invasion of Gallifrey. The Fall of Arcadia is shown for the first time, leading into the events of The Day of the Doctor. |
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 as well as his sonic screwdriver. Reappearance of the Tenth Doctor, Kate Stewart, Daleks and the Zygons. First appearance of Osgood and the General. Debut of the Moment, played by Billie Piper. Regeneration of the War Doctor into Ninth Doctor. First appearance of the Twelfth Doctor, though not fully seen. First time all mainline incarnations of the Doctor at the time are shown at once. Gallifrey saved from destruction. Tom Baker makes a cameo as the Curator. Many references to the history of Doctor Who are made throughout the special. |
| Christmas | The Time of the Doctor | Steven Moffat | Jamie Payne | Reappearance of the cracks in time, the Silents and Daleks, as well as the Cybermen, including a wooden variant, Weeping Angels and Sontarans. Gallifrey rediscovered. Dorium Maldovar's prophecies and of who enacted the TARDIS explosion are resolved. Origin of the Silence and fate of Gallifrey revealed. Reappearance of Dave Oswald, now middle-aged, and first appearance of Clara's grandmother, as well as the voice of the General. Debut and demise of Handles. The Doctor reveals his regeneration cycle has run out. Story spans 900 years from the Doctor's perspective. Regeneration of the Eleventh Doctor. The Doctor's regeneration cycle is restored. Reappearance of Amy Pond as a hallucination. 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 × 77 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 × 77 min. 1 × 8 min. 1 × 3 min. 1 × 60 min. 1 × 90 min. 1 × 30 min. |
8 September 2014 | 10 September 2014 | TBA |
