"The Day of the Doctor" is a special episode of the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, broadcast on 23 November 2013 to commemorate the series's 50th anniversary. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran and produced by Marcus Wilson. Moffat and Faith Penhale served as executive producers. It stars series regulars Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, with David Tennant and Billie Piper returning alongside John Hurt as a previously unseen incarnation of the Doctor.
In the episode, the War Doctor (Hurt) prepares to use a sentient superweapon called the Moment (Piper) to bring an end to the Time War between the Daleks and his own people, the Time Lords. The Moment introduces him to his future incarnations, the Tenth Doctor (Tennant) and Eleventh Doctor (Smith). With help from Clara Oswald (Coleman), the three Doctors uncover a Zygon plot in Elizabethan England whilst seeking a solution to the War Doctor's ethical dilemma. The guest cast include Joanna Page as Elizabeth I, Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Ingrid Oliver as Osgood.
"The Day of the Doctor" continued Doctor Whos tradition of "multi-Doctor" anniversary stories. As Christopher Eccleston declined to return as the Ninth Doctor, his role in the narrative was filled via the creation of the War Doctor, a retroactively-inserted incarnation preceding the Ninth Doctor. The special saw the second appearance of the shapeshifting Zygons since their introduction in Terror of the Zygons (1975). Shot in 3D from March to May 2013, the special contains various easter eggs and references to Doctor Whos 50 year history while introducing new incarnations of the Doctor and the return of his home planet Gallifrey, as part of Moffat's effort to "change the narrative" of the series.
The special was simultaneously broadcast in 94 countries, and was screened in cinemas both domestically and abroad. It achieved the Guinness World Record for the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama and won the Audience Award at the 2014 British Academy Television Awards. It was also nominated for the Ray Bradbury Award and the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. The episode was watched by 12.8 million viewers in the UK and received positive reviews from critics.
Plot
In 2013, the Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald are brought by military organisation UNIT head Kate Lethbridge-Stewart to the National Gallery to investigate figures missing from three-dimensional paintings—a technology developed by the Doctor's people, the Time Lords. In 1562, an earlier incarnation of the Doctor, the Tenth Doctor, discovers that shapeshifting Zygons have infiltrated the court of Elizabeth I.
In the midst of the destructive Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks, the War Doctor—an even earlier incarnation of the Doctor—plans to trigger a sentient superweapon called the Moment to destroy both sides. The Moment's humanoid interface, resembling Rose Tyler, opens a fissure bringing all three Doctors together to 1562 England. The Doctors discover that the Zygons are entering the three-dimensional paintings to freeze themselves in suspended animation. The Zygons break out of the paintings in 2013 and take the forms of UNIT staff, including Stewart, per their plan to colonise Earth with UNIT's advanced technology kept in the Tower of London.
The real Stewart confronts her Zygon double and starts a countdown for a nuclear warhead beneath the Tower that will destroy UNIT's technology along with London. The three Doctors, unable to land their TARDIS in the Tower, use the stasis technology to enter a painting which was relocated to the Tower. The Doctors use UNIT's mind-wiping equipment to make Stewart and her Zygon double temporarily unaware of their true identities. They stop the countdown and both sides negotiate a peace treaty.
The War Doctor, convinced that detonating the Moment will save more lives in the long term, returns to the Time War. The other Doctors follow him and reluctantly agree to shoulder the responsibility of destroying the Time Lords' planet Gallifrey, but Clara insists that there must be a peaceful solution. Aided by ten of their other incarnations, including an incarnation from their future, the Doctors use the stasis technology to attempt to suspend Gallifrey in a pocket universe. Gallifrey vanishes and the surrounding Dalek warships obliterate themselves in the crossfire.
The three Doctors and Clara return to the National Gallery, unsure whether their plan worked. After the War Doctor and Tenth Doctor leave, the Eleventh Doctor meets the National Gallery's elderly curator, who resembles the Doctor's fourth incarnation. He implies that Gallifrey was indeed saved but is now "lost". Reflecting on his dreams, the Eleventh Doctor vows to find Gallifrey and return home.
Cast
The Doctor
Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, the incumbent incarnation of the Doctor when the special aired. David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Tennant headlined the series from 2005 to 2010. John Hurt as the War Doctor, a "forgotten" incarnation who fought in the Time War. Within the series's narrative, he is placed between the Eighth Doctor and Ninth Doctor. Archive footage is used of Christopher Eccleston, Paul McGann, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker, Peter Davison, Tom Baker, Jon Pertwee, Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell as the Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second and First Doctor respectively; they are collectively credited as "The Doctor" alongside Smith, Tennant and Hurt. John Guilor provided voice-over work for the First Doctor during the climactic Gallifrey sequence. Peter Capaldi is briefly seen in an uncredited appearance as the Twelfth Doctor; he took over the lead role from Smith in the following episode, "The Time of the Doctor" (2013). Tom Baker makes an uncredited appearance as the Curator, implied to be a future incarnation of the Doctor who has "revisited" the Fourth Doctor's form.
Others Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald, the Eleventh Doctor's companion Billie Piper as the likeness of Rose Tyler, which is used by the Moment, a sentient Gallifreyan weapon of mass destruction. Tristan Beint as Tom, a schoolteacher Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and her Zygon duplicate Ingrid Oliver as Osgood, a UNIT scientist, and her Zygon duplicate Chris Finch as a Time Lord soldier Peter de Jersey as Androgar, a Time Lord Ken Bones as The General, a Time Lord Philip Buck as Arcadia father Sophie Morgan-Price as a Time Lord Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I and her Zygon duplicate Orlando James as Lord Bentham Jonjo O'Neill as McGillop and his Zygon duplicate Tom Keller as Atkins Aidan Cook and Paul Kasey as Zygons Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks and the Zygons Barnaby Edwards and Nicholas Pegg as Daleks
Production Development
Head writer Steven Moffat was developing a commemorative 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who as early as late 2011, when he stated the production team were "revving up for it". He scripted the final episode of series 7, "The Name of the Doctor" (2013), to end with the Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) entering his timestream to rescue Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman). Moffat had "no idea what [the Doctor would] find there. I just knew that whatever he found there would launch the 50th."
Doctor Who traditionally celebrates its anniversaries with "multi-Doctor" stories. All surviving actors who played the Doctor were invited to reprise their roles in The Three Doctors (1972–1973), "The Five Doctors" (1983) and Dimensions in Time (1993). However, Moffat personally felt this was something of a false tradition as The Three Doctors aired a year ahead of the tenth anniversary. He noted the impossibility of balancing eleven characters in a single storyline, and also quipped that a story with eleven Doctors is impossible as the three of the actors (William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee) had died. Moffat wanted to focus on a key turning point in the Doctor's life which would "change the narrative" of the series and propel it into the next 50 years. He decided this key moment would be the Doctor's destruction of his home planet Gallifrey in the Time War, an off-screen event cryptically referenced in previous series. His "first version" of the script primarily involved the Doctor's three most recent incarnations, as played by Smith, David Tennant and Christopher Eccleston. An incomplete draft, titled "Time War", was completed on 14 January 2013. Moffat did not produce any physical copies as a security precaution. On 17 February, Nick Hurran revealed that he would be directing the special.
Casting Due to the stress and anticipation surrounding the 50th anniversary, Moffat described the special's development as "a tough, tough time". As Coleman was initially the only performer contracted for the special, Moffat developed a substitute plotline where after the Doctor is wiped from existence, Clara encounters various alternative incarnations of the Doctor portrayed by famous guest stars. Smith and Tennant ultimately came on board, but Eccleston declined to reprise his role of the Ninth Doctor following meetings with Moffat. Eccleston explained in 2019 that the script did not do justice to the character; additionally he was still hurt by the BBC's actions during his tenure. Moffat pitched a solution to BBC higher-ups to excuse Eccleston's absence: "What if there was an incarnation of the Doctor none of us knew about? And, coincidentally, he was played by the most famous actor in the world?" John Hurt, Moffat's first choice to portray this incarnation, accepted "with remarkable speed". His incarnation, the War Doctor, is retroactively placed between Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor and Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. The War Doctor's battered costume signified that he was "a rougher, tougher Doctor" and Hurt's request to keep his beard added to this effect. Hurt's surprise cameo in the final scene of "The Name of the Doctor" was recorded by Hurran on 5 April 2013.
Moffat included appearances from the Daleks, the series's most iconic villains, as well as the Zygons, fan-favourite monsters who had appeared only once before in the 1975 serial Terror of the Zygons. The Zygons were played by Aidan Cook and Paul Kasey, who had both portrayed monsters in the series. Cook researched the movement of similar-looking bottom feeders at an aquarium for his Zygon performance. The Moment, a sentient superweapon, was not initially intended to be played by Billie Piper. Moffat wanted to include Piper as a nod to the series's 2005 revival, but was reluctant to bring back her character Rose Tyler since her storyline had already concluded. Piper and Tennant's involvement in the special leaked a few days before the official announcement as some subscribers to Doctor Who Magazine accidentally received their issue early. Knowing that Smith would soon be leaving the series, Moffat also included a cameo from the as-yet-uncast Twelfth Doctor. The first complete draft script, titled "Doctor Who: 50th Anniversary Special", was completed on 28 February 2013. The special was later retitled "The Day of the Doctor".
Jemma Redgrave portrayed UNIT head Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and her Zygon duplicate. This was Redgrave's second appearance in the role after "The Power of Three" (2012). Sophie Morgan-Price, who portrayed a Time Lord in the episode, was Redgrave's uncredited double for scenes when Stewart interacts with her Zygon duplicate. Joanna Page was cast as Queen Elizabeth I. Page is the third actress to portray Elizabeth I on Doctor Who, following Vivienne Bennet in The Chase (1965) and Angela Pleasence in "The Shakespeare Code" (2007). Ingrid Oliver was cast as the newly-introduced UNIT scientist Osgood—Moffat supposed that the character was related to UNIT officer Sergeant Osgood, played by Alec Linstead, from the 1971 serial The Dæmons.