| Season Thirty-Four (2014): Old
Soldiers |
| Companions and Recurring Characters |
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A notorious troublemaker at Coal Hill School, student Courtney Woods eventually earned the reluctant
Doctor's permission to take a trip aboard the TARDIS.
Ellis George (bio) made her first appearance as
Courtney in Deep Breath (August
2014) and her last in Kill The
Moon (October 2014).
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After escaping from Gallifrey, the Master -- now in a female body and
calling herself Missy -- continued to bedevil
the Doctor, only to find herself reconsidering her dastardly ways.
Michelle Gomez (bio) made her first appearance as
Missy in Deep Breath (August
2014) and her last in The Doctor
Falls (July 2017).
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A former soldier turned Coal Hill School maths teacher, Danny Pink fell in love with Clara Oswald, but he
struggled to accept the dangers which were an inextricable part of her
relationship with the Doctor.
Samuel Anderson (bio) made his first appearance as
Danny in Into The Dalek (August
2014) and his last in Last
Christmas (December 2014).
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Although he -- perhaps -- turned out to be a manifestation of the human
mind's determination to defend itself, Santa
Claus was instrumental in inspiring the Doctor to defeat the
Kantrofarri.
Nick Frost (bio) made his first appearance as Father
Christmas in Death In Heaven
(November 2014) and his last in Last
Christmas (December 2014).
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Deep Breath by Steven Moffat,
directed by Ben Wheatley
Vastra, Jenny and Strax investigate the appearance of a tyrannosaurus
rex in Whitehall, only to discover that it has accidentally accompanied
Clara and the newly-regenerated Doctor. When the dinosaur suddenly
combusts, the unstable Time Lord sets off on his own to investigate,
little realising that a clockwork robot with half a face is stalking
Victorian London. Meanwhile, Clara grapples with the profound change in
the Doctor, until a mysterious message draws the pair back together. But
when a confrontation with the Half-Face Man ensues, Clara must decide
whether she can still trust the man she thought was her best friend.
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Into The Dalek by Phil Ford and
Steven Moffat, directed by Ben Wheatley
The Doctor saves a soldier named Journey Blue from the Daleks and
returns her to her command ship, the Aristotle. There he
discovers that the Galactic Resistance has captured a lone Dalek which
has vowed to destroy its own kind. The Doctor agrees to investigate the
unprecedented malfunction, so he fetches Clara from an awkward encounter
with her new colleague, Danny Pink. Back aboard the Aristotle,
Journey and the time travellers are miniaturised and injected into
“Rusty”. But as they navigate the casing's lethal defences,
the Doctor must also confront the question of whether there can ever
truly be a good Dalek.
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Robot Of Sherwood by Mark Gatiss,
directed by Paul Murphy
Clara wants to meet Robin Hood, but the Doctor scoffs at the notion of
seeking out someone he believes to be a fictional character. No sooner
do they land in 1190 Sherwood Forest, however, than they encounter the
legendary rogue and his Merry Men. The Doctor and Clara learn that the
countryside is indeed being oppressed by the Sheriff of Nottingham, who
is stealing gold and kidnapping peasants for labour. But when the
Sheriff's knights are revealed to be robots and his castle turns out to
be a spaceship, the Doctor becomes more convinced than ever that Robin
is not what he appears.
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Listen by Steven Moffat, directed
by Douglas Mackinnon
Could a creature evolve that hid itself so perfectly, no one ever knew
it existed? Could it be the reason we speak aloud when we think we're
alone? Is it why sometimes, when we wake in the night in an empty room,
we still feel an eerie presence? Driven to answer these questions, the
Doctor connects Clara to the TARDIS telepathic circuits in order to
travel back to a time when she believed there was a monster under her
bed. But Clara is preoccupied with her disastrous first date with Danny
Pink, and so she instead catapults them from an orphanage in the
mid-Nineties to a capsule stranded at the very end of time...
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Time Heist by Steve Thompson and
Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon
The Doctor and Clara awaken to find themselves in a room with a
shapeshifter named Saibra and a hacker called Psi. Their short-term
memories have been wiped, and they know only that they have been
assembled by a mysterious Architect to break into the intergalactic Bank
of Karabraxos. Despite having little understanding of their goal, they
agree to work together to confront the Bank's sophisticated and deadly
anti-intrusion measures. The most formidable of all is the Teller, a
creature controlled by the icy head of security, Ms Delphox. It has the
power to sense the guilty -- and liquefy their brains.
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The Caretaker by Gareth Roberts and
Steven Moffat, directed by Paul Murphy
Already struggling to keep her life in the TARDIS separate from her
relationship with Danny Pink, Clara is astonished when the Doctor
arrives at Coal Hill School. He is tracking a lethal alien war machine
called the Skovox Blitzer, and is posing as the school caretaker to
facilitate his search. But the Doctor's efforts to snare the robot in a
time trap are complicated by the involvement of school troublemaker
Courtney Woods. To make matters worse, a frosty rapport develops between
the Time Lord and an unsuspecting Danny -- which comes to a head when
Danny inadvertently foils the Doctor's plan to deal with the Blitzer.
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Kill The Moon by Peter Harness,
directed by Paul Wilmshurst
Clara admonishes the Doctor for his treatment of Courtney Woods, so he
decides to take both teacher and pupil on a trip to the Moon in the year
2049. But there is a mystery afoot on the lunar surface: the gravity is
wrong, the landscape is wracked by seismic activity, and spider-like
monsters lurk in the shadows. With tidal chaos wreaking havoc on Earth,
Captain Lundvik arrives on a recycled space shuttle, determined to solve
the crisis -- or destroy the Moon with an arsenal of nuclear weapons.
When the Doctor refuses to become involved, Clara is faced with a
terrible decision which may affect the future of the human race.
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Mummy On The Orient Express by
Jamie Mathieson, directed by Paul Wilmshurst
Clara agrees to accompany the Doctor on one final trip in the TARDIS, so
he takes her aboard the luxurious Orient Express -- or rather,
its recreation as a hyperspatial passenger train. However, they soon
learn that the Express is haunted by a legendary mummy called the
Foretold. Unseen by anyone else, it appears to its victim precisely
sixty-six seconds before it takes their life. Soon, strange coincidences
start to pile up -- such as the fact that one of the passengers just
happens to be an expert in alien mythology. Even as the body count
rises, the Doctor begins to realise that somebody is playing a very
dangerous game...
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Flatline by Jamie Mathieson,
directed by Douglas Mackinnon
When the TARDIS is mysteriously dragged off-course to Bristol, Clara
goes investigating while the Doctor tries to figure out what's wrong
with the Ship. But when something in the vicinity begins leeching its
external dimensions, the Doctor finds himself trapped within a rapidly
shrinking time machine. The mystery deepens as Clara learns about a
series of disappearances which have plagued the area in recent weeks.
With the help of a young graffiti artist named Rigsy, she finds herself
thrust into the Doctor's role, battling invading forces which quite
literally hail from another dimension.
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In The Forest Of The Night by Frank
Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Sheree Folkson
Having chaperoned an overnight class trip, Clara and Danny awaken in the
morning to discover that a forest has grown up all across the world.
Amongst the trees infesting London, the Doctor meets Maebh, one of their
pupils. Troubled ever since the disappearance of her sister a year
earlier, Maebh now seems to have developed a strange connection to the
mysterious events. When she goes missing, the Doctor and Clara set off
into the woods to find her. In the process, they discover that a deadly
solar flare is hurtling towards the Earth -- but are the trees another
agent of the planet's destruction, or of its salvation?
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Dark Water / Death In
Heaven by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
When Danny is killed in a traffic accident, Clara demands that the
Doctor save him. The Doctor decides to take Clara beyond the mortal
veil, using the TARDIS telepathic circuits to plot a course. They
materialise in the halls of an organisation called 3W, where the
corridors are lined with skeletons floating in a mysterious dark water.
There they meet the enigmatic Missy, and learn that Danny now dwells in
a realm called the Nethersphere. But when Missy reveals herself to be a
very old acquaintance of the Doctor's, the time travellers realise that
they have fallen into a trap which transcends life and death.
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The practice of dividing the broadcast season into distinct halves was
jettisoned for Season Thirty-Four. Instead, all twelve episodes were
transmitted in the fall -- the first time since 1989 that a full season
of Doctor Who aired during the autumn months. In the wake of the
complex story arcs which characterised Matt Smith's tenure as the
Eleventh Doctor, executive producer Steven Moffat embraced a looser,
more character-driven umbrella storyline for Peter Capaldi's initial
season. Events culminated in the mould-shattering introduction of
Michelle Gomez as Missy: the first female incarnation of the Master.
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| Special (2014): Visions Of Sugar
Plums |
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Last Christmas by Steven Moffat,
directed by Paul Wilmshurst
Clara discovers a man who claims to be Santa Claus on her rooftop,
leading to a reunion with the Doctor. Before long, they find themselves
at the North Pole, where a scientific research base has become infested
with Kantrofarri. Also known as Dream Crabs, the creatures attach
themselves to a victim and induce a state of euphoric reverie, all while
slowly devouring their host. When Clara is attacked by a Dream Crab and
believes herself to be celebrating Christmas Day with Danny Pink, the
Doctor turns to Santa for help. But how can dreamers ever recognise that
they are dreaming?
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| Season Thirty-Five (2015): The Long
Way |
| Companions and Recurring Characters |
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Ashildr was an outcast Viking girl who became
effectively immortal when she was bonded with an alien healing device.
Over the centuries, her relationship with the Doctor became fractious
when she began to believe that, much as his role was to protect the
world from those would do it harm, hers was to protect it from the
Doctor.
Maisie Williams (bio) made her first appearance as
Ashildr in The Girl Who Died
(October 2015) and her last in Hell
Bent (December 2015).
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On a wartorn planet, the Doctor encounters a young boy who has stumbled
into a lethal trap. However, when the Doctor realises that the planet is
Skaro, and the child is Davros -- who will grow up to become the creator
of the Daleks -- he abandons the boy to his fate. Appalled by his own
actions, a recalcitrant Doctor goes into seclusion; he sends his
confession dial, a Time Lord's last will and testament, to Missy. His
old enemy recruits Clara to help track him down, but they are followed
by a servant of Davros' called Colony Sarff. Davros is nearing the end
of his life, and now remembers that fateful day on Skaro. But is he
really seeking absolution, or has the Doctor become ensnared in a
terrible deception?
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Under The Lake / Before The
Flood by Toby Whithouse, directed by Daniel O'Hara
In 2119, the Drum underwater mining facility sits on the bottom of a
Scottish lake near a submerged town, from which a spaceship has been
recovered. Captain Moran dies after observing strange symbols carved
into the vessel's hull... and then reappears as a hideously distorted
phantom, mouthing silent words. When the TARDIS arrives, the Doctor and
Clara discover that a second ghost has joined Moran, and they are trying
to add to their ranks by killing the Drum's remaining personnel. The
Doctor realises that the truth about the spectres lies in 1980 -- in the
hours before the town was drowned -- with the terrible Fisher King.
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The Girl Who Died by Jamie
Mathieson and Steven Moffat, directed by Ed Bazalgette
In the ninth century, the Doctor and Clara are captured by Vikings and
taken to their village. No sooner have they arrived, however, than an
enormous face materialises in the sky, claiming to be the god Odin. He
collects the strongest men of the settlement -- inadvertently taking
Clara and an unusual girl called Ashildr, too. They discover that their
captor is actually the leader of the bloodthirsty Mire, a race which
harvests the testosterone from warriors. When Ashildr declares war upon
the Mire, a reluctant Doctor finds himself trying to prepare the
outmatched Viking survivors for battle against an indomitable alien
army.
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The Woman Who Lived by Catherine
Tregenna, directed by Ed Bazalgette
In 1651, the Doctor vies with a highwayman called the Knightmare for
alien technology masquerading as a noblewoman's jewel. But the hunt is
complicated by the fact that the Knightmare is really Ashildr -- now
centuries old and calling herself “Lady Me” as the memories
of her original life fade with the passage of time. Reluctantly, the
Doctor accepts Ashildr's help in recovering the jewel, even as he is
forced to confront the ramifications of his decision to bestow
immortality upon her. But Ashildr has formed a secret alliance with the
alien Leandro -- one which may have devastating consequences for the
Earth.
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The Zygon Invasion / The Zygon
Inversion by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat, directed by Daniel
Nettheim
Once upon a time, the Doctor helped broker an agreement which led to the
secret resettlement of twenty million Zygons to modern-day Earth. Now,
however, the truce is unravelling as a splinter faction of Zygons
calling itself Truth or Consequences demands the right to live without
taking human form. The Doctor is summoned back to Earth by Osgood, just
before she is captured by the terrorists. Matters quickly escalate as
the Zygon High Command is kidnapped and killed. And even the Doctor may
not suspect the extent of the splinter group's success in infiltrating
his circle of friends and allies...
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Sleep No More by Mark Gatiss,
directed by Justin Molotnikov
In the thirty-eighth century, the Le Verrier space station is a
scientific facility in orbit around Neptune. When it goes silent, a
rescue team led by Commander Nagata is despatched, and encounters the
Doctor and Clara. Soon they are attacked by creatures made up of
particulate matter, which Clara dubs Sandmen. They discover that Le
Verrier is where Gagan Rassmussen has been conducting experiments to
improve his Morpheus pods: devices which compress a full night's sleep
into a matter of minutes. The Doctor realises that the Sandmen are the
children of the Morpheus process -- and represent a threat to all
humanity.
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Face The Raven by Sarah Dollard,
directed by Justin Molotnikov
Rigsy summons the Doctor and Clara for help after waking up with no
memory of the previous day, and a tattoo on his neck which is inexorably
counting down. Discovering that Rigsy has recently had significant
contact with extraterrestrial life, the Doctor searches for a hidden
place in the heart of London. He finds a street which serves as a refuge
for aliens, where the self-styled mayor is none other than Ashildr. She
keeps the peace via a Quantum Shade: an unstoppable killer which
manifests as an eerie raven. Rigsy stands accused of murder and, unless
the Doctor can unravel the mystery, someone will inevitably face the
raven.
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Heaven Sent
by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
The Doctor finds himself transported to a mysterious castle, where the
walls revolve like gears. Outside is only the sea, its bed laden with
ancient skulls. Inside, the rooms seem haunted by nightmares drawn from
the Doctor's own memories. Stalking the halls is a shrouded creature;
its pursuit of the Doctor is virtually ceaseless, pausing only when the
Time Lord reveals one of his secret truths. As he explores the castle,
the Doctor uncovers clues which point towards a particular room hidden
deep within the edifice. But he also begins to suspect that he is
embroiled in a trap which was sprung a very long time ago...
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Hell Bent by Steven Moffat,
directed by Rachel Talalay
Gallifrey has been returned to the universe, and the Doctor has been
returned to Gallifrey. His homecoming is anything but triumphant,
however, as he finds himself hunted by Lord President Rassilon and the
High Council. They demand that the Doctor divulge his knowledge of the
Hybrid, the legendary entity that will stand in the ruins of Gallifrey.
But he is determined to right the wrong of Clara's death, even if it
means breaking the laws of time to rescue her from her final moments.
The Doctor's grief takes him to the very end of the universe, where he
must face the truth about the Hybrid... and make a terrible choice.
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With the Doctor having lost his memory of her, Clara decides to travel
with Ashildr before returning to the moment of her death.
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By 2015, Doctor Who had enjoyed a decade of popular success since
its revival in 2005. However, the television landscape was becoming ever
more fragmented, especially as streaming became a popular alternative
for viewers; like most programmes, Doctor Who's broadcast ratings
were gradually dwindling. The situation was exacerbated during Season
Thirty-Five by a later timeslot and an absence of cast changes or
milestone anniversaries to serve as a promotional anchor. Despite the
fact that Doctor Who was still one of the United Kingdom's
most-watched dramas, the production team found itself defending the show
against allegations that it just wasn't as popular as it used to be.
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| Specials (2015-16): Song For A
Winter's Night |
| Companions and Recurring Characters |
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Formerly an inept cohort of River Song, Nardole became the Doctor's unlikely aide-de-camp,
in the process demonstrating a keen insight that belied his cartoonish
presentation.
Matt Lucas (bio) made his first appearance as
Nardole in The Husbands Of River
Song (December 2015) and his last in Twice Upon A Time (December
2017).
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The Husbands Of River Song by
Steven Moffat, directed by Douglas Mackinnon
In the year 5343, a mistake by River Song's bumbling accomplice,
Nardole, embroils the Doctor in her scheme to recover a priceless
diamond. Known as the Halassi Androvar, it is embedded in the brain of
Hydroflax, a galactic tyrant whose disembodied head pilots a powerful
robot. Not only does River appear to be unaware of the Doctor's true
identity, but she claims to be Hydroflax's wife -- as well as the bride
of Ramone, one of her co-conspirators. The heist leads the Doctor and
River to a spaceship full of the universe's vilest denizens, and a date
with destiny that the Doctor has been avoiding for a very long time.
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The Return Of Doctor Mysterio by
Steven Moffat, directed by Ed Bazalgette
The Doctor accidentally bestows the powers of a comic book superhero on
a young boy named Grant. Grant promises that he will hide his
extraordinary abilities but, as an adult, he reneges on his oath and
becomes a masked vigilante known as the Ghost. Grant and the Doctor meet
again when they both come to the aid of investigative journalist Lucy
Fletcher. She has discovered that Harmony Shoal, an international
research and development company, is really a front for an invasion of
Earth. But the brain-like creatures behind Harmony Shoal have the
ability to possess the human form -- and Grant becomes their next
target.
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Nardole now travels with the Doctor to help him overcome his grief at
his final parting from River Song.
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For the first time since Doctor Who returned to television in
2005, a full year elapsed between new episodes. This came about because
the 2015 Christmas special, The Husbands
Of River Song, was designed to be the last story overseen by
executive producer Steven Moffat. Production and broadcast of Season
Thirty-Six was deferred to provide time for his intended successor,
Chris Chibnall, to take over. However, when it became clear that
Chibnall would be unavailable for an additional year, Moffat agreed to
remain on Doctor Who for one more run. With the transmission of
Season Thirty-Six now delayed until Spring 2017, this meant that the
next adventure to air would be the 2016 Christmas special, The Return Of Doctor Mysterio.
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| Season Thirty-Six: Deserts Of Vast
Eternity |
| Companions and Recurring Characters |
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Bill Potts was a canteen worker at St Luke's
University when her clever mind caught the Doctor's eye, leading her to
become his protege and then his fellow traveller in time and space.
Pearl Mackie (bio) made her first appearance as Bill
in The Pilot (April 2017) and
her last in Twice Upon A Time
(December 2017).
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The Pilot by Steven Moffat,
directed by Lawrence Gough
The Doctor and Nardole have spent years in seclusion at St Luke's
University in modern-day Bristol, guarding a secret vault. But despite
his intention to remain hidden, the Doctor can't resist taking a bright
young canteen worker named Bill Potts under his wing. Bill has struck
up a tentative relationship with Heather, a melancholy student who has a
star-shaped defect in one eye. Heather is fascinated by a remote part of
campus, where a strange puddle never evaporates. When Heather is
transformed into an entity made entirely of water, Bill finds herself
implacably pursued... and the Doctor is forced back into action.
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Despite his misgivings, the Doctor invites Bill to join him and Nardole
aboard the TARDIS.
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Smile by Frank Cottrell-Boyce,
directed by Lawrence Gough
The Doctor takes Bill to an Earth colony in the far future, only to find
an empty city. The advance team -- which should be preparing for the
colonists' arrival -- is missing. The only inhabitants are robots with
heads that display emoji, which serve as the interface for the Vardies,
a nanobot swarm from which the city is built. The time travellers
discover that the advance team was murdered by the Vardies, which are
targeting anybody who expresses a negative emotion. The Doctor realises
that the city is a giant deathtrap which must be destroyed -- but it
falls to Bill to discover the real reason for the Vardy mutiny.
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Thin Ice by Sarah Dollard, directed
by Bill Anderson
The year is 1814. The waters of the Thames have frozen for the final
time, and the last of the Frost Fairs is being held upon the ice. Soon
after their arrival, the Doctor and Bill notice eerie lights beneath
their feet. When they chase a young pickpocket to the edge of the Fair,
they watch in horror as he's dragged down through the ice to his death.
They discover that an enormous creature lurks beneath the Thames,
chained for generations by the ancestors of the pompous Lord Sutcliffe.
Now the nobleman has discovered that the creature's waste acts as a
fantastic source of fuel, and he will stop at nothing to preserve his
family secret.
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Knock Knock by Mike Bartlett,
directed by Bill Anderson
Struggling to find a suitable place to live, Bill and several friends
are approached by an elderly man who offers to rent them rooms in a
decaying mansion. His only rule is that the tower at the heart of the
structure is strictly out of bounds. On their first night in the house,
however, it becomes clear that something strange is afoot. The wooden
floors and panelling creak unnaturally, the trees sway without a breeze,
mysterious insects roam the corridors... and, one by one, the roommates
start to vanish. Fortunately, the Doctor has come along to help Bill
unpack -- and together, they uncover a mystery which stretches back
decades.
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Oxygen by Jamie Mathieson,
directed by Charles Palmer
A distress call brings the Doctor, Bill and Nardole to the Chasm Forge
space station in the far future. There they find that only four out of
forty crewmembers are still alive -- stalked by their deceased
colleagues, whose corpses are still propelled by their exoskeletal
Smartsuits. Someone or something has reprogrammed the suits, issuing new
instructions to murder the station's crew. To make matters worse, this
is an era in which oxygen is a highly regulated commodity. To continue
breathing, the time travellers must risk everything and don the lethal
Smartsuits themselves.
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Extremis by Steven Moffat,
directed by Daniel Nettheim
The Pope summons the Doctor to the Vatican. The Haereticum, its library
of banned and blasphemous texts, houses an ancient document called the
Veritas -- “truth” -- written in a lost tongue. Now
it has been translated, but every person who has read it has taken their
own life. Seeking an explanation, the Pope asks the Doctor to read the
Veritas himself. But while Bill and Nardole investigate a
mysterious portal, the blind Doctor is stalked by corpse-like alien
Monks. Meanwhile, in another time and place, long ago, Missy has been
condemned for her crimes. The Doctor must decide whether she deserves
execution... or redemption.
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The Pyramid At The End Of The World
by Peter Harness and Steven Moffat, directed by Daniel Nettheim
In Turmezistan, the sudden appearance of an ancient pyramid in close
proximity to the Earth's three mightiest armies heralds the start of
the Monks' scheme to take over the planet. Once again pressed into
service as President of the world, the Doctor finds himself coordinating
the responses of the American, Russian and Chinese forces, even as the
Monks promise that the end of the human race is at hand. Meanwhile, a
series of seemingly random events, playing out in a Yorkshire
agricultural research lab, holds the key to the Monks' insidious plan...
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The Lie Of The Land by Toby
Whithouse, directed by Wayne Yip
The Monks have protected and guided the people of Earth since the
beginning of time. Or have they been the planet's conquerors and
dictators for just the last six months? Bill finds herself one of a
small number of “memory criminals” who remember events
differently, and she becomes determined to find the only man who can
restore history to the way it was meant to be. But the Doctor is now a
spokesperson for the Monks, reinforcing humanity's new narrative. With
Nardole's help, Bill must undertake a desperate gambit to discover the
truth.
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Empress Of Mars by Mark Gatiss,
directed by Wayne Yip
A NASA probe discovers that the message “God save the Queen”
was left on the surface of Mars more than a century ago. The Doctor,
Bill and Nardole travel to the Red Planet in 1881 to investigate, and
encounter a platoon of British soldiers. Colonel Godsacre explains that
he found a crashed spaceship in the African veldt, aboard which was an
Ice Warrior whom he's nicknamed “Friday”. Now the troops
believe that they will be rewarded with riches excavated from beneath
the Martian surface. But Friday's real goal is to free the Empress
Iraxxa and her legions from stasis... while some of Godsacre's men have
plans of their own.
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The Eaters Of Light by Rona Munro,
directed by Charles Palmer
The TARDIS arrives in second-century Scotland, where the Doctor plans to
solve the mystery of the vanished Ninth Roman Legion. The travellers
find the soldiers massacred, their bodies in a state of decay akin to
decades of sunlight deprivation. The Doctor and Nardole are captured by
the Picts who were fighting the Roman incursion, while Bill is rescued
from an alien predator by the survivors of the Lost Legion. An
interdimensional portal, hidden within a stone cairn, holds the secret
to defeating the monster -- but conflict between the Picts and the
Romans threatens to doom the world.
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World Enough And Time / The Doctor
Falls by Steven Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
To test Missy's rehabilitation, the Doctor has her take his place
alongside Bill and Nardole while investigating a distress signal. It
emanates from an enormous colony ship, which is struggling to free
itself from the gravitational pull of a black hole. To make matters
worse, the vessel is overrun with lifeforms who seem to have appeared
from nowhere. When Bill is badly injured, the invaders take her away to
the lower decks, where time passes more quickly. There she discovers
people submitting to eerie surgeries which will make them something
other than human... and meets a kindly man who hides a terrible secret.
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Nardole stays aboard the spaceship to defend against future Cyber
incursions, while Bill departs to travel the universe with Heather.
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Season Thirty-Six was Doctor Who's tenth since its return from
cancellation in 2005. But it would also usher in another era of change
for the programme, as Steven Moffat lay the groundwork for Chris
Chibnall to take over. For his final season, Moffat decided to go back
to basics, with a series of stories that gave the show a fresh
perspective in the form of companion Bill Potts. The Doctor was given a
new -- albeit temporary -- base of operations, in the form of St Luke's
University, where he and Nardole guarded a vault which was ultimately
revealed to hold Missy. And even the evil Time Lord would undergo a
reappraisal, as she contemplated turning over a new leaf after so many
years of villainy. Somehow, fifty-four years after its debut, Doctor
Who was brand new all over again.
|
| Special (2017): Twelfth Night |
| Companions and Recurring Characters |
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The Captain -- whose full name was Archibald
Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart -- was a British soldier during the First
World War, in the midst of which he encountered the First and Twelfth
Doctors when the efforts of the time-travelling Testimony project went
awry.
Mark Gatiss (bio) played the Captain in Twice Upon A Time (December
2017).
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Twice Upon A Time by Steven
Moffat, directed by Rachel Talalay
On the verge of regenerating but weary of his long life, the Doctor
finds himself in 1986 Antarctica. There he comes face to face with his
original self, who is contemplating death as an alternative to enduring
his first regeneration. Time suddenly comes to a stop, and they meet a
British army captain from the First World War who is being pursued by a
mysterious glass woman. Taken aboard her spaceship, the three men arrive
in the Chamber of the Dead where, impossibly, the Doctor is reunited
with Bill Potts. To understand the truth of these events, they embark on
what may be the Doctor's final journey into time, space and memory.
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Accepting that he is not yet ready to end his travels, the Doctor
regenerates after succumbing to the injuries inflicted by the Cybermen.
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With the Season Thirty-Six finale, World Enough And Time / The Doctor
Falls, structured to build to the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration,
it was assumed that the 2017 Christmas special would be the first
adventure for the Thirteenth Doctor. When incoming showrunner Chris
Chibnall decided that he instead wanted to launch the new Doctor at the
start of a full season, the Twelfth Doctor's era was extended to
include a special epilogue for the holiday season. To add to the sense
of occasion, Twice Upon A Time
featured the First Doctor on the brink of his own regeneration. David
Bradley, who had portrayed William Hartnell in the 2013 docudrama An Adventure In Space And
Time, was now recruited to play the version of the Doctor whom
Hartnell had originated.
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