The Day of the Doctor

240 – "The Day of the Doctor"
Doctor Who episode
Official poster
Cast
Doctor Matt Smith (Eleventh Doctor) David Tennant (Tenth Doctor) John Hurt (War Doctor)
Companion Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald)
Others Billie Piper – Rose Tyler Jemma Redgrave – Kate Stewart Joanna Page – Queen Elizabeth I Ingrid Oliver – Osgood Ken Bones – The General Peter de Jersey – Androgar Philip Buck – Arcadia Father Jonjo O'Neill – McGillop Aidan Cook, Paul Kasey – Zygons Nicholas Briggs – Voice of the Daleks/Zygons Barnaby Edwards, Nicholas Pegg – Daleks Tom Baker – The Curator (uncredited)
Production
Writer	Steven Moffat
Director	Nick Hurran
Script editor	Richard Cookson
Producer	Marcus Wilson
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat Faith Penhale
Incidental music composer	Murray Gold
Series	Specials (2013)
Length	76 minutes[1]
Originally broadcast	23 November 2013 (2013-11-23)
Chronology
← Preceded by Followed by → "The Name of the Doctor" "The Night of the Doctor" and "The Last Day" (mini episodes) "The Time of the Doctor"

"The Day of the Doctor"^[2][3][4] is a special episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, and marks the programme's fiftieth anniversary. It is written by Steven Moffat,^[5] an executive producer alongside Faith Penhale.^[6] It was shown on BBC One on 23 November 2013, in both 2D and 3D.^[7][8] The special was broadcast simultaneously in 94 countries,^[8][9] and was shown concurrently in 3D in some cinemas.^[10] It achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama.^[9]

The 75-minute episode shows the last day of the Time War, in which a newly revealed past incarnation of alien time traveller the Doctor chooses to kill both Daleks and his own race of Time Lords in an act of mass destruction, paralleling this with a present-day choice by paramilitary organisation UNIT to destroy London rather than allow an alien invasion. It reveals how, contrary to previous plotline understanding, the Doctor follows a companion's plea to change his mind at the last instant of the Time War, and hides his war-racked home planet Gallifrey in time, rather than destroy it; however, the time distortions incurred leave his past selves with no memory of his changed decision.

The episode starred Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as his companion, Clara Oswald. Previous lead actors David Tennant and Billie Piper returned for the episode, Tennant reprising his role as the Tenth Doctor, while Piper portrayed a sentient doomsday weapon called the Moment, projected as an image based on her character Rose Tyler. She is invisible and inaudible to everyone but the War Doctor, played by John Hurt. Other appearances included a very brief view of then-upcoming Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi), who would succeed Matt Smith in the following episode,^[11] and a significant cameo appearance by Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker, now in his late 70s. Rounding out the guest cast, Joanna Page starred as Queen Elizabeth I,^[12] while Jemma Redgrave returned to portray Kate Stewart, the daughter of 1970s central figure Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.^[13] The special also featured the return of the Daleks,^[14] and the Zygons, shape-shifting aliens who had previously only appeared in the 1975 serial Terror of the Zygons.^[15]

As the episode celebrated fifty years of the programme, it referenced and alluded to various concepts featured throughout the show's run. It has been described by series producer Marcus Wilson as a "love letter to the fans" and by the controller of BBC One, Danny Cohen, as an "event drama".^[5][16]

Mini-episodes

Two mini-episodes written by Steven Moffat, "The Night of the Doctor" (14 November 2013) and "The Last Day" (21 November 2013), were released shortly prior to "The Day of the Doctor", depicting in-series events occurring during the Time War between the Doctor's own race of Time Lords and his nemesis, the Daleks.

In "The Night of the Doctor", Paul McGann reprised his role as the Eighth Doctor from the 1996 television film and subsequent Big Finish audio plays. He is a conscientious objector to the ongoing Time War and intends to rescue a crew member from a crashing spaceship via the TARDIS. Realising that her rescuer is a Time Lord she refuses to comply, preferring to die rather than go with him. She and the Doctor die as the ship crashes on Karn. The Doctor is resurrected temporarily by the Sisterhood of Karn (who control a secret Elixir of Life in the 1976 serial The Brain of Morbius). They persuade the Doctor to take action to end the Time War, offering him a selection of potions to control his regeneration. He reluctantly accepts that with all of reality threatened and the universe "on the brink", there is not much need for a doctor, and chooses a potion designed to initiate his regeneration into a hitherto unknown incarnation of the Doctor as a "warrior" (described in credits as the "War Doctor" and played by John Hurt).

"The Last Day" is filmed from the first-person perspective of a Gallifreyan soldier who has had a camera implanted in his head. The soldiers scan for Daleks at Arcadia, Gallifrey's second city and believed due to its impregnable defences to be the safest place on the Time Lords' home planet. During training exercises, a blurred object in the sky is identified shockingly as the first of a fleet of successfully invading Daleks, which kill the soldiers. The "Fall of Arcadia" becomes the central battle of the Time War around which "The Day of the Doctor" is centred.

Plot

At the end of a day teaching at Coal Hill School, Clara Oswald receives a message from the Eleventh Doctor and returns to the TARDIS before it is unexpectedly airlifted to Trafalgar Square by Kate Stewart of the paramilitary organisation UNIT, with the Doctor nearly falling out. Kate proceeds to give the Doctor preserved instructions from previous wife Elizabeth I of England, which declares him curator of Undergallery, a secret vault of forbidden art housed at the National Gallery. As proof of the veracity of Elizabeth's message, the Doctor is shown one of many works of 3-D Time Lord paintings produced by stasis cubes: a depiction of the fall of Gallifrey's second city, Arcadia, on the last day of the Time War whose title is either No More or Gallifrey Falls. Once in the Undergallery, the Doctor sees many other stasis cube paintings have been broken from within, with the figures in the paintings missing. At that time, a fissure in time opens with the Doctor recognising it and jumping in.

In the midst of the Time War, the War Doctor—a hitherto-unknown "hidden" incarnation of the Doctor—decides to trigger an ancient weapon of mass destruction called "the Moment", a "galaxy eater" which will destroy both races completely. The Moment, however, is sentient and possessed of a conscience. Its interface manifests with the form of his future companion Rose Tyler to challenge whether mass killing is his best option and to show him the personal price he will pay for his actions. It opens a fissure linking his time to both 2013 and 1562, where the Tenth Doctor and Queen Elizabeth I are dealing with a Zygon, an alien shapeshifter which has taken the shape of the queen. Emerging from his time, the War Doctor is flabbergasted by the behaviour of his future incarnations before the three are captured and taken to the Tower of London.

Within UNIT's "TARDIS-proof" Black Archive of alien artefacts in the Tower of London, Clara learns the Zygons from Elizabethan England used the stasis cubes in the Undergallery to remain in stasis before emerging in 2013, where they assumed the forms of UNIT members so they could utilise UNIT's weaponry. In Elizabethan England, the Eleventh Doctor inscribes an activation code in stone for the vortex manipulator hidden in the Black Archive, a primitive time travel device. While he and his future incarnations wait, seeing their grief from how the Time War ended, the War Doctor is encouraged by the Moment to form an escape plan involving solving calculations in short time using their sonic screwdrivers and taking advantage of the time difference between their incarnations. In the present, Clara is able to activate the vortex manipulator and join the Doctors in Elizabethan England. After learning of the Zygons' scheme to conquer Earth, the Tenth Doctor marries Elizabeth. The Doctors learn that Kate plans to detonate a nuclear warhead in London to stop the Zygons at the cost of all of London being destroyed. The Doctors exploit the Zygons' statis cube technology to enter the Gallifrey Falls painting to reach them and use the Black Archive's mind-wiping equipment to erase the memories of the UNIT members and disguised Zygons present, so no one knows which side they belong to. Both sides are forced to cancel the detonation and discuss peace.

The War Doctor, now convinced that detonating the Moment will result in saving many more lives in the longer term, is returned to his time by the Moment. Having been told by Clara that the War Doctor had not committed the deed yet, the other two Doctors appear with the intention of detonating the device alongside him, so as to share the burden. But when Clara reminds them of their choice of the title "Doctor" and what it stood for, the Doctors devise an alternative solution. They plan to place Gallifrey in a stasis cube and hide it outside of regular space, knowing the surrounding Daleks will obliterate themselves in the inevitable resulting crossfire; both species will appear to have been wiped out. The Time Lord General is initially sceptical of the plan, as the calculations would require centuries to perform. The three Doctors reveal they have recruited their past selves, and as well as a future incarnation, to have long since started said calculations using the same time manipulation trick as with their sonic screwdrivers. The General gives his consent, and the Doctors' plan appears to succeed.

The three Doctors and Clara return to the Gallery, unsure whether Gallifrey was saved. The War Doctor is content to think that he failed in doing the right thing before realising that neither he nor the Tenth Doctor will remember what happened, and will continue shouldering the guilt for centuries. After departing, the aged War Doctor finds himself beginning to regenerate within his TARDIS. The Tenth Doctor also leaves, after persuading his successor to tell him about his impending death on the planet Trenzalore. Clara takes a final look at the painting, with the Doctor, before informing the Time Lord that the museum's curator was looking for him. The Doctor, now alone in the Gallery, begins to fantasise about retiring to become the museum's curator, when he is interrupted by the museum's true curator that bears a strong resemblance to the Fourth Doctor. The curator gives vague, cryptic answers when the Doctor asks if he is related to him. As they talk, the curator reveals that the painting's title is in fact the singular Gallifrey Falls No More, from which the Doctor surmises that his plan succeeded; the curator encourages the Doctor to go looking for Gallifrey before he leaves the Gallery.

In the closing scene, the Doctor describes a recurring dream, in which he and his eleven previous incarnations are looking together upon Gallifrey, which the Doctor vows to find and restore.

Continuity

As the show's 50th anniversary special, the episode contains multiple references to previous episodes. It opens with the title sequence and theme arrangement used at the series' debut in 1963. Echoing the opening of "An Unearthly Child", the first episode of the eponymous first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child, a policeman is shown walking past the sign for I.M. Foreman, the scrap merchant in whose yard the TARDIS was located, and its first few seconds are in monochrome (as had been the case in The Two Doctors, the last time more than one Doctor had featured in an official story). Coal Hill School, where the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman attended when they were on Earth in 1963, also featured in both the original story and the 1988 serial Remembrance of the Daleks. According to the school sign, the chairman of the school governors is now Ian Chesterton, formerly one of the First Doctor's original three companions and a science teacher at the school, and the headmaster is W. Coburn, a reference to Waris Hussein and Anthony Coburn, who respectively directed and wrote An Unearthly Child.^[17] Clara rides out of Coal Hill School on the Eleventh Doctor's anti-gravity motorcycle from "The Bells of Saint John" at 5:16, the time An Unearthly Child originally aired on BBC1 television (the first broadcast began 1 minute 20 seconds after its scheduled time of 5:15 GMT on 23 November 1963).^[18][19]

When the TARDIS is picked up by UNIT, the call sign used by the helicopter to refer to UNIT is 'Greyhound leader', reflecting that of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart,^[20] whose daughter Kate is now portrayed as having his role as commander of UNIT. Lethbridge-Stewart was a central character in the Third Doctor's era and also several of his successors', originally appearing in the Second Doctor serial The Web of Fear and making his last appearance in Doctor Who in Seventh Doctor serial Battlefield, which is also referenced. An image of the Brigadier is seen alongside images of various companions of the Doctor. The UNIT dating controversy, regarding whether the Third Doctor era stories took place in the 1970s or 1980s, is alluded to in dialogue by Kate Stewart, when she mentions that events occurred in "the '70s or '80s depending on the dating protocol used".^[20]

The Tenth Doctor's era is also heavily revisited. His marriage to Queen Elizabeth I, mentioned in "The Shakespeare Code" and The End of Time, is finally depicted. ^[21] The Tenth Doctor mentioned the Fall of Arcadia in "Doomsday". When the Eleventh Doctor tells Clara that the situation is "timey-wimey stuff," and the War Doctor ridicules him for it, the Tenth Doctor remarks, "I have no idea where he picks that stuff up"; the Tenth originally used the phrase in "Blink".^[21] When he leaves after learning of Trenzalore, the Tenth Doctor remarks, "I don't want to go…", his incarnation's final words from The End of Time; the Eleventh Doctor tells Clara that "he always says that" after his TARDIS leaves.^[17] The Moment device was originally mentioned in The End of Time,^[22] but had not been explored in depth until now, where it takes the form of "Bad Wolf", a seemingly omnipotent being and personalisation of the Time Vortex itself, which manifested in Rose Tyler when she absorbed the Time Vortex in the first series finale, "The Parting of the Ways".^[17] During the negotiations with the Zygons Kate mentions the Sycorax from "The Christmas Invasion".

The Black Archive, containing alien artefacts collected by UNIT, has photographs of the Doctor's many companions. Additionally, River Song's high heels from "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone", the mass canceler from second series finale "Doomsday",^[23] a Supreme Dalek head from fourth series finale, "The Stolen Earth"/"Journey's End", a Dalek tommy gun from "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks", the restraining chair which held both the Master and the Doctor in The End of Time, and a Cyberman head are contained within the Archive. The vortex manipulator in the Archive was donated to UNIT by Captain Jack Harkness, a companion of the Ninth Doctor who was reunited with the Tenth Doctor on multiple occasions.

Other references are made to previous multi-Doctor anniversary stories, The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors.^[20] The Eleventh Doctor's dismissal of the Tenth Doctor and War Doctor as "Sandshoes and Grandad" to mock their respective footwear and age echo the First Doctor's description of his two successors in The Three Doctors as "a dandy and a clown".^[20] (The War Doctor's initial incredulous reaction upon seeing his future selves also reflects this moment.) Likewise, a Time Lord says, "I didn't know when I was well-off. All twelve of them." which recalls the Brigadier's line from The Three Doctors: "Three of them, eh? I didn't know when I was well off."^[24] More of the Brigadier's dialogue from the latter serial is alluded to when Kate asks for an incident report code-named "Cromer";^[25] in the earlier story, upon being transported to another universe, the Brigadier initially believes himself to be near the coastal Norfolk town. A line from the First Doctor from The Five Doctors is also reused near the end as the Tenth Doctor tells the Eleventh, "It's good to know my future is in safe hands" (which the First told the Fifth in the earlier story, appended by "after all").^[26] When the War Doctor appears, Clara remarks, "I think there's three of them," to which Kate responds, "There's a precedent for that," in reference to The Three Doctors.^[20]

Lines from past serials reappear in the special. The Eleventh Doctor resurrects the phrase "reversing the polarity" associated with the Third Doctor, to comical effect. In trying to compensate for the presence of three Doctors who utilise different console rooms, the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS console briefly changes to the War Doctor's console room, seen again later in the episode, before settling on the Eleventh's.^[26] The Tenth Doctor comments upon the Eleventh Doctor's TARDIS console, "Oh you've redecorated! I don't like it", a line originally used by the Second Doctor speaking to the Third in The Three Doctors and later reused by the Second and Eleventh Doctors respectively in The Five Doctors and "Closing Time".^[17]

One of the War Doctor's final lines of dialogue prior to regenerating is "....wearing a bit thin", echoing some of the First Doctor's final words prior to regenerating at the end of The Tenth Planet, "this old body of mine is wearing a bit thin".^[17] The War Doctor's very last line of dialogue, "I hope the ears are a bit less conspicuous this time", is also a bit of foreshadowing toward the very conspicuous-looking ears of the Ninth Doctor.

Mini-episodes continuity

"The Night of the Doctor" provided a means to bridge the classic series and its 2005 restart. Steven Moffat decided that he wanted to see how the War Doctor came to exist, preferably with a direct regeneration from the Eighth Doctor, as the show had revived in 2005 directly with the new Ninth Doctor.^[27] Having contacted Paul McGann, who indicated his willingness to participate, Moffat then constructed the mini-episode to serve as an additional surprise for the fans, as well as an introductory piece to "The Day of the Doctor".^[28]

Before regenerating into the War Doctor, the Eighth Doctor mentions Charley Pollard, C'rizz, Lucie Miller, Tamsin Drew, and Molly O'Sullivan.^[29] These are the Doctor's companions in various audio dramas for Big Finish Productions, marking the first time that the Big Finish audio series has been directly acknowledged in the television show.^[30]

Cast

The Doctor

• Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor.
• David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Excluding flashbacks and archived footage, Tennant had not appeared in Doctor Who since his final regular appearance as the Doctor in the concluding scenes of The End of Time, broadcast on 1 January 2010.
• John Hurt as the War Doctor, the Doctor's warrior-like forgotten incarnation. The War Doctor came between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors, and renounced the title of Doctor.
• William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston all appear in the special as their respective Doctors, through the use of archive footage and voice doubles. All are credited as "the Doctor" alongside Smith, Tennant and Hurt in the episode's closing credits. Credited as "Voice Over Artist," John Guilor provided some original voice work for the First Doctor, impersonating William Hartnell's voice.^[31]
• Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor is seen in an uncredited fleeting appearance (eyes and forehead only); he took over the lead role from Smith in the 2013 Christmas special, "The Time of the Doctor".^[32][33]

Other cast members

• Jenna Coleman as companion Clara Oswald. The special was the first time the actress was credited on the show simply as Jenna Coleman, dropping the Louise part of her name seen in previous episodes.^[34]
• Billie Piper as the Moment Interface, a Gallifreyan super weapon. While credited as Rose Tyler, Billie Piper was instead portraying the projection of the Moment's user interface which had taken the form of the Doctor's then-future companion. Piper has not portrayed Rose as a series regular since "Doomsday", although she reprised her role in various episodes of the fourth series and appeared briefly in The End of Time.^[12]
• Jemma Redgrave as the Brigadier's daughter Kate Stewart, who previously appeared in "The Power of Three", having been originated by actress Beverley Cressman in the direct-to-video spin-offs, Downtime and Dæmos Rising.^[13]
• Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I.^[35][36][37] Page is the third actress to portray Elizabeth I on Doctor Who, following Vivienne Bennet (The Chase) and Angela Pleasence ("The Shakespeare Code").
• Ingrid Oliver as Osgood.^[38] Throughout the special, Osgood is seen wearing a copy of the Fourth Doctor's iconic scarf.^[39]
• Peter de Jersey as Androgar, a Time Lord.^[40]
• Ken Bones as the General of Gallifrey.^[41]
• Jonjo O'Neill as McGilliop.
• Aidan Cook and Paul Kasey as the Zygons.
• Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks and the Zygons.
• Barnaby Edwards and Nicholas Pegg as Daleks.
• Tom Baker also makes an uncredited appearance as the Curator, a mysterious character who informs the Eleventh Doctor of Gallifrey's survival at the end of the episode. His resemblance to the Fourth Doctor is alluded to, but left unexplained.^[32][33]

Casting

On 30 March 2013, a distribution error occurred, and many subscribers to Doctor Who Magazine received the issue five days before the official release date.^[12] The issue of the magazine included the official announcement that David Tennant and Billie Piper, who previously played the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler in Doctor Who respectively, were lined up to appear in the special, along with actor John Hurt.^[12] Moffat did not want to bring Rose the character back because he felt her story was wrapped up and did not feel comfortable adding to Davies' arc. However, he liked the concept of bringing back her Bad Wolf persona and felt that Piper needed to be in the special as she symbolised the rebirth of Doctor Who.^[42]

John Hurt did not actually audition for the part, but had been asked by the production team and "said yes with remarkable speed".^[43] His costume was meant to signify that he was "rougher, tougher", and had been around for a while; the audience had missed a lot. Hurt's request to keep his beard adds to this effect, and makes him the first bearded Doctor.^[43]

Christopher Eccleston discussed plans for the anniversary episode with Moffat, but eventually declined to return as the Ninth Doctor.^[44] Sylvester McCoy, who played the Seventh Doctor, claimed that none of the surviving actors who portrayed the Doctor prior to Eccleston were contacted regarding the special.^[45] Colin Baker confirmed this while being interviewed on Australian television alongside McCoy and Paul McGann.^[46] However, McGann went on to say that he could still be in the 50th but at the last moment.^[47] Radio Times reported rumours that a Doctor from the classic era (pre-2005) would feature in the special, citing unknown sources.^[48] Freema Agyeman^[49] and John Barrowman,^[50] who played Tenth Doctor companions Martha Jones and Jack Harkness, respectively, both stated they would not be in the 50th, but may return to the show at some point. Barrowman stated that he would have liked to be in it, but speculated that the producers wanted to try some different things.^[50]

Production

Writing

"The Day of the Doctor" was written by Steven Moffat,^[5] current head writer of Doctor Who, and produced by Marcus Wilson with Nick Hurran directing.^[51] Moffat began writing the script for "The Day of the Doctor" in late 2012, announcing that, as a security precaution, he had not produced any copies, instead keeping it on his computer "under lock and key" until it was needed.^[52] Moffat stated in an interview with Doctor Who Magazine that he initially began the story process with the idea that it would be the Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston, that would have been the incarnation that ended the Time War, in spite of misgivings in his own mind regarding it:

Yes, but do you know, I was always nervous of that one, because it doesn't fit with "Rose" at all. He's is a brand new Doctor in "Rose", he's absolutely, definitely new. It couldn't have been is [sic] who pushed the button in the Time War, cos that's a new man, very explicitly, in that episode. I also had trouble, I have to be honest, imagining it being Paul McGann's Doctor^[53]

Once it became clear that Christopher Eccleston would decline to appear, Moffat turned to an alternate concept he had been formulating, featuring a "mayfly Doctor" who appears for a single episode, asking, "Would it be weird in the run of the series to have the 45th Doctor turn up and be played by Johnny Depp or someone? Would that be a cool thing to do?".^[53] He also indicated that the "classic Doctor" he would most like to feature in a new story was William Hartnell's First Doctor, stating, "You'd want him to come and say 'What in the name of God have I turned into?' That's the confrontation that you most want to see, to celebrate 50 years. Going round and round in circles on it I just thought, 'What about a Doctor that he never talks about?' And what if it is a Doctor who's done something terrible, who's much deadlier and more serious, who represents that thing that is the undertow in both David and Matt. You know there's a terrible old man inside them. Well, here he is, facing the children he becomes, as it were."^[54]

Knowing that Matt Smith was planning to leave, Moffat wrote the special specifically with the brief appearance of the Twelfth Doctor during the sequence of all of the Doctors uniting to save Gallifrey, prior to casting anyone in the role. Moffat later stated that it was his "plan from the start" that all the Doctors would fly in to save Gallifrey, and he knew there would be a new one at that time. He wrote it before knowing who would be cast.^[55]

Steven Moffat stated prior to the episode's release, "Most things that have been said about the 50th are not true... Normally I am responsible for the disinformation and the rubbish rumors—I usually put them out myself, but I haven't needed to for this one."^[56] On the importance of the episode, Moffat has stated that it will "change the narrative" of Doctor Who.^[57]

Typically, Doctor Who's anniversary stories are named after the number of returning Doctors, as with The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors. Moffat explained his choice of title to SFX magazine, commenting that "... it's very rare in Doctor Who that the story happens to the Doctor. It happens to people around him, and he helps out – he's the hero figure who rides in and saves everybody from the story of the week. He is not the story of the week. In this, he is the story of the week. This is the day of the Doctor. This is his most important day. His most important moment. This is the one he'll remember, whereas I often think the Doctor wanders back to his TARDIS and forgets all about it."^[58]

Filming

Because "The Day of the Doctor" was filmed in 3D, the episode took longer than usual to shoot, especially as every CGI shot had to be done twice.^[59] Filming began on 2 April 2013 in Neath, Wales.^[36] On 9 April 2013 scenes were filmed for the special in Trafalgar Square, London.^[60] On 17 April 2013 Matt Smith, Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper and David Tennant filmed scenes in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, Wales, and some scenes were shot in Chepstow Castle.^[61] On 2 May 2013, scenes in Cardiff were being filmed for scenes that take place at Totter's Lane and Coal Hill school, locations which had previously featured in the first 1963 serial An Unearthly Child, the 1985 serial Attack of the Cybermen, and the 1988 serial Remembrance of the Daleks.^[62] Filming for the special was completed on Sunday 5 May 2013. From 4–5 May 2013, Paul McGann returned to Doctor Who alongside John Hurt's War Doctor, to record "The Night of the Doctor".^[63]

Miniatures constructed by Mike Tucker and his company The Model Unit were using in filming for the Time War sequences, including a model of a Time Lord staser cannon and the War Doctor flying his TARDIS into and subsequently destroying several Daleks. The Dalek models used were 18-inch voice interactive toys produced by Character Options. The technique of using Dalek toys as models for filming was a common method of presenting entire armies in the classic series.^[64]

Marketing

Publicity

"The Night of the Doctor", an additional 7-minute special, was released on 14 November 2013, and featured the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann)'s regeneration into the War Doctor (John Hurt).^[65] Another 4-minute special, entitled "The Last Day", was released on 20 November 2013 and saw the start of the Fall of Arcadia.^[66]

On 4 November 2013, the BBC released the official synopsis: "The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor’s own dangerous past comes back to haunt him."^[67]

Trailers

The first trailer for the special was shown to attendees of San Diego Comic-Con in July 2013.^[68] The BBC's decision not to release the trailer online to international fans was met with controversy.^[69][70][71] On 26 July, the BBC responded to criticisms by saying the trailer was intended to be exclusive to Comic-Con attendees and that content for all other audiences would be forthcoming at a later date.^[72]

On 28 September, the BBC revealed that the trailer for the special had been specifically shot and was in post-production.^[73] On 19 October 2013, a specially-made teaser trailer, directed by Matt Losasso, was shown on BBC One, and was then subsequently posted online. It contained icons from the history of the show and had a monologue by Matt Smith, as well as body doubles and CGI to create shots of previous Doctors.^[74][75]

A clip from "The Day of the Doctor" was shown at the BBC's Children in Need show on Friday 15 November.^[76] The official trailer for the episode aired in the United Kingdom at 8 pm GMT on 9 November. Due to the leak of a trailer earlier on 9 November on BBC Latin America's Facebook page, the BBC officially released it ahead of schedule. A second official trailer was shortly released later.^[77]

Furthermore, before the release of the main trailers, a short clip previewed the Eleventh Doctor and Clara examining a seemingly impossible painting. On 10 November 2013, a short clip of the Eleventh Doctor announcing "The clock is ticking" interrupted a BBC One ident.^[78] This was followed on Monday 11 November by another ident interruption, with the Eleventh Doctor stating "It's all been leading to this..."^[79]

Viral marketing

On 28 September, the BBC unveiled a Twitter hashtag (#SaveTheDay) and an ident that was used to promote the special.^[80] Respectively, the hashtag and the ident were shown before and after the premiere of Atlantis on BBC One. The hashtag was used to reveal all subsequent promotional material. On 7 November 2013, a video starring Smith in character as the Doctor was released promoting the hashtag, promising exclusive content. A website was launched to reveal the content.^[81]

Broadcast

The BBC broadcast the episode in 94 countries simultaneously,^[82] to avoid plot leaks.^[8][83] It earned a Guinness World Record for the world's largest ever simulcast of a TV drama.^[9]

The British Board of Film Classification rated the episode PG for mild violence and threat.^[1] The Australian Classification Board also rated the episode PG for "mild science fiction themes and violence", noting there was "very mild impact" with regards to sexual themes.^[84] The episode broadcast at 7:50pm in the UK,^[85] and was preceded and followed by other Doctor Who related programmes and broadcasts, including broadcast of an after-party.

Canadian provincial film censors rated "The Day of the Doctor" PG in Alberta,^[86] G in Manitoba^[87] and G in Quebec.^[88]

The episode aired in over 100 countries on either 23 or 24 November 2013 in cinemas and on television.^[89]

Television

The episode originally aired on BBC One, BBC+1, and on BBC 3D. It aired on Prime in New Zealand, BBC America in the United States, ABC1 in Australia, and on Space in Canada. In English speaking Asia and Africa, it was released by BBC Entertainment.

Cinemas

The episode was originally released in Cineworld, Vue, Odeon, and independent cinemas. It was released in Hoyts, Event, Village and limited independent cinemas in Australia. It aired in Cineplex cinemas in Canada and in Event Cinemas in New Zealand. In the United States it was released in AMC, Century, Cinemark and Regal cinemas.

The cinema version played with an introduction featuring Dan Starkey as Strax and John Hurt, David Tennant and Matt Smith as the Doctors, respectively.^[90]

Home media

"The Day of the Doctor" was released on DVD and 3D Blu-ray on 2 December 2013 in the UK.^[91][92] It was released on 4 December 2013 in Australia, and on 10 December 2013 in North America.^[93]

Reception

"The Day of the Doctor" received instant positive reactions. Ben Lawrence of The Daily Telegraph gave the special five stars, calling it "charming, eccentric and very, very British."^[94] Den of Geek's Simon Brew praised the special, calling it "terrific", and stating that it was "pulsating with comedy, ambition, and top to bottom entertainment."^[95] Jon Cooper of The Mirror gave the episode five stars, stating that it "not only gives hardcore fans a beautiful reinvention of their favourite show but also gives casual viewers a stonking story and a reminder why we all love this show so much."^[96] SFX gave the episode five out of five stars, noting that it was not perfect but those were "churlish niggles". The magazine praised the three Doctors and commented on how it linked the past, present, and future of the show.^[97]

Jim Shelley of The Daily Mail called the episode "a clever, chaotic, infuriating combination of nifty, knowing tiny detail and big, hollow, pompous bluster." However, he disliked the effects, accusing the BBC on pandering to the American audience, as well as disliking the Zygons, deeming them not "scary enough," and naming Matt Smith and David Tennant "irritating."^[98] Mashable's Chris Taylor stated that the episode is "one designed to please fans and newcomers alike," and that it "shows why the Doctor is finding his way into ever more homes and hearts."^[99] The Guardian's Viv Grospok criticised various elements of the episode, though concluded that "it was all worth it."^[100]

Social analytics website SecondSync revealed that Doctor Who generated almost 500,000 "tweets" on Twitter during its broadcast, with the peak number of tweets occurring at the beginning of the broadcast, at 12,939 tweets per minute.^[101][102]

Overnight figures revealed that the episode had a total of 10.18 million viewers for the live broadcast in the United Kingdom.^[103] When time-shifted viewers were taken into account, the figure rose to a total of 12.8 million viewers, which makes it the highest rating since "The Next Doctor" (2008), which had a total of 13.1 million viewers.^[104] The box office takings for the cinema screenings totalled £1.7m (US$2.2m), which placed it at number three in the UK film chart for the week, behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Gravity.^[105] In addition, "The Day of the Doctor" became the most requested show within 24 hours on BBC iPlayer with 1.27 million requests, which rose to 2.9 million by 3 December 2013.^[106] It was named the most-watched programme of 2013 based on the final viewing figures.^[106] It received an Appreciation Index of 88.^[107]

The live simulcast on BBC America had a total audience of 2.4 million viewers, briefly becoming the largest audience in the channel's history,^[108] until the broadcast of "The Time of the Doctor" just over a month later.^[109]

Worldwide, cinema screenings brought $10.2 million at the box office.^[110] The cinema screenings in the USA, on a total of 660 screens nationwide, took a total of US$4.8m (approx £3m) at the box office.^[111] The special had a total of 1.95 million viewers for its two broadcasts in Australia, with 590,000 watching the live broadcast on ABC1, and another 1.36 million watching the repeat at 7:30pm, while the cinema box office takings totalled AU$1.54m, putting it at number three in the Australian film chart.^{[112][113][114]} In addition, the episode received 51,000 plays on the online ABC iview in a single day.^[114][115] A total of 42,000 viewers watched the simultaneous screening in New Zealand, with a total of 177,510 viewers watching the 8.30pm repeat,which was Prime's highest rating show for the day. The figure includes live^[116] and timeshifted viewers.^[117] This means there was a total of 219,510 viewers for all screenings. A total of 1.7 million viewers watched the two broadcasts on Canadian channel Space, making it the most watched entertainment programme in Canada on the day, with the 1.1m watching the live broadcast at 2.50pm EST being the channel's largest ever audience.^[118]

See also

• The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, a parody tie-in to this episode.

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Eleventh Doctor

• "The Day of the Doctor" at the BBC Doctor Who homepage
• The Day of the Doctor on TARDIS Data Core, an external wiki
• "The Day of the Doctor" at Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel)
• "The Day of the Doctor" at the Internet Movie Database
• The Day of the Doctor at Box Office Mojo
• The Day of the Doctor at Rotten Tomatoes
• Official Doctor Who 50th anniversary website
• Automatic time zone conversion of first airing from timeanddate.com
• Hidden items in the 19 October 2013 trailer

v t e Doctor Who episodes Classic seasons (1963–89): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Dimensions in Time (1993) Doctor Who (1996 film) Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (1999) Scream of the Shalka (2003) Revived series (2005–present): 1 2 3 4 2008–10 specials 5 6 7 2013 specials 8 2013 specials "The Day of the Doctor" "The Time of the Doctor" Mini-episodes "The Night of the Doctor" "The Last Day"

v t e Doctor Who: Multi-Doctor stories Television episodes The Three Doctors The Five Doctors The Two Doctors Dimensions in Time "Time Crash" "The Name of the Doctor" "The Day of the Doctor" Audio stories The Sirens of Time Project Lazarus Zagreus The 100 Days of the Doctor The Four Doctors Peri and the Piscon Paradox The Light at the End Novels Who Killed Kennedy Cold Fusion The Eight Doctors Interference: Book One Heart of TARDIS Wolfsbane Video games Dalek Attack Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors

v t e Doctor Who: Dalek television and film stories First Doctor The Daleks The Dalek Invasion of Earth The Chase "Mission to the Unknown" The Daleks' Master Plan Second Doctor The Power of the Daleks The Evil of the Daleks Third Doctor Day of the Daleks Planet of the Daleks Death to the Daleks Fourth Doctor Genesis of the Daleks Destiny of the Daleks Fifth Doctor Resurrection of the Daleks Sixth Doctor Revelation of the Daleks Seventh Doctor Remembrance of the Daleks Ninth Doctor "Dalek" "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways" Tenth Doctor "Doomsday" "Daleks in Manhattan" / "Evolution of the Daleks" "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" Eleventh Doctor "Victory of the Daleks" "Asylum of the Daleks" "The Time of the Doctor" Minor appearances The Space Museum The Wheel in Space The War Games The Mind of Evil Frontier in Space Logopolis Mawdryn Undead The Five Doctors Doctor Who "Army of Ghosts" "Human Nature" "The Waters of Mars" The End of Time "The Eleventh Hour" "The Beast Below" "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang" Death of the Doctor "The Wedding of River Song" "The Name of the Doctor" "The Day of the Doctor" Other Dr. Who and the Daleks Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D. Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death "The Last Day"

v t e Doctor Who: Regeneration TV stories The Doctor Regeneration The Tenth Planet The War Games Planet of the Spiders Logopolis The Caves of Androzani Time and the Rani Doctor Who "Bad Wolf" / "The Parting of the Ways" The End of Time "The Night of the Doctor" "The Day of the Doctor" "The Time of the Doctor" Post-regeneration The Power of the Daleks Spearhead from Space Robot Castrovalva The Twin Dilemma "The Christmas Invasion" "The Eleventh Hour" Other characters Planet of the Spiders Destiny of the Daleks Mawdryn Undead "Utopia" "Day of the Moon" "Let's Kill Hitler" See also Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death "Doctor Who: Children in Need" "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" "The Impossible Astronaut"

v t e Doctor Who: Zygon stories Fourth Doctor Terror of the Zygons Eleventh Doctor "The Day of the Doctor" Minor appearances Logopolis Mawdryn Undead "Attack of the Graske" "The Pandorica Opens" Death of the Doctor "The Power of Three" Audio The Zygon Who Fell to Earth Death in Blackpool Zygon Hunt Books The Body Snatchers Sting of the Zygons Spin-off Zygon - When Being You isn't Enough

v t e Doctor Who: UNIT television stories Second Doctor The Invasion Third Doctor Spearhead from Space Doctor Who and the Silurians The Ambassadors of Death Inferno Terror of the Autons The Mind of Evil The Claws of Axos The Dæmons Day of the Daleks The Time Monster The Three Doctors The Green Death Invasion of the Dinosaurs Planet of the Spiders Fourth Doctor Robot Terror of the Zygons The Android Invasion The Seeds of Doom Seventh Doctor Battlefield Tenth Doctor "The Christmas Invasion" "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords" "The Sontaran Stratagem" / "The Poison Sky" "Turn Left" "The Stolen Earth" "Planet of the Dead" Eleventh Doctor "The Power of Three" "The Day of the Doctor" Torchwood "Fragments" Children of Earth The Sarah Jane Adventures Enemy of the Bane Death of the Doctor Minor appearances Colony in Space The Mutants The Time Warrior The Five Doctors "Aliens of London" / "World War Three" "Journey's End" The End of Time "The Bells of Saint John" See also The Web of Fear Mawdryn Undead Dimensions in Time Wartime Downtime Auton trilogy History of UNIT List of UNIT personnel

v t e Gallifrey stories Second Doctor The War Games Fourth Doctor The Deadly Assassin The Invasion of Time Fifth Doctor Arc of Infinity The Five Doctors Tenth Doctor The End of Time Eleventh Doctor "The Day of the Doctor" Minor appearances Colony in Space The Three Doctors "The Sound of Drums" / "Last of the Time Lords" "The Name of the Doctor" Doctor Who audio dramas The Sirens of Time The Apocalypse Element Death Comes to Time Shada Neverland Omega Zagreus Unregenerate! Urban Myths Human Resources "Sisters of the Flame" / "Vengeance of Morbius" Dark Eyes Gallifrey audio series Weapon of Choice Square One The Inquiry A Blind Eye Lies Spirit Pandora Insurgency Imperiatrix Fractures Warfare Appropriation Mindbomb Panacea Reborn Disassembled Annihilation Forever Extermination Renaissance Ascension Unbound audio plays Auld Mortality He Jests at Scars... See also Time Lords Eye of Harmony Regeneration Time War Shada "The Last Day"

v t e Steven Moffat Series written and produced Press Gang (1989–93) Joking Apart (1993–95) Chalk (1997) Coupling (2000–04) Jekyll (2007) Sherlock (2010–present) Doctor Who (2010–present) Written Feature films The Adventures of Tintin (2011) Doctor Who episodes Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death (1999) "The Empty Child" / "The Doctor Dances" (2005) "The Girl in the Fireplace" (2006) "Blink" (2007) "Silence in the Library" / "Forest of the Dead" (2008) "The Eleventh Hour" (2010) "The Beast Below" (2010) "The Time of Angels / "Flesh and Stone" (2010) "The Pandorica Opens" / "The Big Bang" (2010) "A Christmas Carol" (2010) "The Impossible Astronaut" / "Day of the Moon" (2011) "A Good Man Goes to War" (2011) "Let's Kill Hitler" (2011) "The Wedding of River Song" (2011) "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (2011) "Asylum of the Daleks" (2012) "The Angels Take Manhattan" (2012) "The Snowmen" (2012) "The Bells of Saint John" (2013) "The Name of the Doctor" (2013) "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) "The Time of the Doctor" (2013) Doctor Who mini-episodes "Time Crash" (2007) "Meanwhile in the TARDIS" 1 and 2 (2010) "Space" / "Time" (2011) "Night and the Doctor" (2011) "The Night of the Doctor" (2013) "The Last Day" (2013) Sherlock episodes "A Study in Pink" (2010) "A Scandal in Belgravia" (2012) "The Sign of Three" (2014) "His Last Vow" (2014) Sherlock mini-episodes "Many Happy Returns" (2013)