| 276 – "Twice Upon a Time" | |||
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| Doctor Who episode | |||
 Promotional poster | |||
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| Production | |||
| Directed by | Rachel Talalay | ||
| Written by | Steven Moffat[a] | ||
| Produced by | Peter Bennett | ||
| Executive producers | Steven Moffat Brian Minchin | ||
| Music by | Murray Gold | ||
| Running time | 60 minutes | ||
| First broadcast | 25 December 2017 (2017-12-25) | ||
| Chronology | |||
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| List of episodes (2005–present) | |||
"Twice Upon a Time" is a special episode of the Britishscience fiction television seriesDoctor Who, broadcast onBBC One on 25 December 2017 as the programme's thirteenthChristmas special. The episode was written bySteven Moffat and directed byRachel Talalay. It features the final regular appearance ofPeter Capaldi as theTwelfth Doctor, the first official appearance ofJodie Whittaker as theThirteenth Doctor, and also starsDavid Bradley as theFirst Doctor.Pearl Mackie stars as the Twelfth Doctor's former companionBill Potts, while his other companions make guest appearances –Jenna Coleman asClara Oswald andMatt Lucas asNardole.Mark Gatiss plays aFirst World War British army captain.
The episode is a continuation of "The Doctor Falls", and takes place during the final serial of the First Doctor,The Tenth Planet (1966); footage fromThe Tenth Planet is used in the special. "Twice Upon a Time" is Capaldi's fourth and final Christmas special as the Twelfth Doctor, and at the time was the lastDoctor Who story to be written and produced by Moffat, who served as the show's executive producer and chief writer since taking over fromRussell T Davies in 2010. After the special's broadcast, Moffat was succeeded as executive producer and showrunner byChris Chibnall.
Wandering back to hisTARDIS throughthe South Pole in 1986, theFirst Doctor refuses toregenerate. He encounters theTwelfth Doctor outside his own TARDIS in a similar state of mind. The pair are approached by a confused and injuredFirst World War British captain, displaced from 1914 while in a gun-point stalemate with a German soldier. The three are taken into a large spaceship. Inside, they meet withBill Potts, the Twelfth Doctor doubts she is the real Bill. Upon encountering the ship's glass-likeholographic pilot, they are offered freedom in exchange for the Captain returning to the moment of his death. Refusing to allow the Captain to die, they escape and take the First Doctor's TARDIS to the planet Villengard.
Alone, the Twelfth Doctor meets with the rogueDalekRusty, who grants them access to the Dalek Hivemind. The Doctor learns that the pilot and its ship, known asTestimony, are designed to extract people from their timelines at the moment of their death, and archive their memories into glass avatars. Bill is revealed to be an avatar. Seeing no evil to fight, the Doctors agree to return the Captain to his timeline. Upon arrival, the Captain asks the Doctors to keep an eye on his family, introducing himself as Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart. As time resumes, the Doctors watch as soldiers on both sides begin singing "Silent Night". The Twelfth Doctor explains to the First that he deliberately shifted the Captain's timeline forward to the start of theChristmas truce, to ensure his life would be spared.
The First Doctor informs the Twelfth that he is now prepared to regenerate and says his goodbyes before returning to his TARDIS. He returns to the South Pole to regenerate into hissecond incarnation. Now alone with Bill's avatar, the Twelfth Doctor adamantly contends she is not really Bill, but she argues that memories are what defines a person, and restores his erased memories ofClara Oswald. The Doctor then returns to the TARDIS and decides to regenerate, imparting some personal advice to his next incarnation. After regenerating, theThirteenth Doctor is delighted to learn she is now a woman. The TARDIS suffers multiple system failures due to damage caused by the delayed regeneration. As the time rotor and the console room explode, the Doctor falls out of the tumbling TARDIS, which dematerialises as she plummets to Earth below.
"Twice Upon a Time" was the lastDoctor Who episode written bySteven Moffat as showrunner; he returned in 2024 to writean episode forseries 14.[1] As with theprevious change of showrunners, incoming showrunnerChris Chibnall wrote the final moments of the episode, so as to allow him to write Whittaker's first lines on the show. This happened in the 2010 special "The End of Time", when Moffat took over forRussell T Davies in the final moments of the episode, writingMatt Smith's first words as theEleventh Doctor.[2]
In January 2016, Moffat announced that he would step down as the programme's showrunner after the tenth series, to be replaced by Chibnall beginning with the eleventh series in 2018, but a 2017 Christmas special was not mentioned in the plans at that time.[3] The change in showrunners almost caused the annual episode to be cancelled, as Moffat planned to leave after thetenth series finale and Chibnall did not want to begin his run with a Christmas special. When he learned of Chibnall's plans, Moffat elected to stay long enough to produce one final episode, as he was concerned that the show would lose the 25 December slot in the future if it missed a year. As a result, he had to rewrite his plans for the tenth series finale to allow Capaldi to appear in one more episode.[4]
In an interview following the episode's broadcast, Gatiss said he cried at the thought of playing theBrigadier's grandfather when he finished reading the script.[5] However, it was reported following broadcast that the Haisman Literary Estate was pursuing legal action against the BBC regarding the character.[6] Haisman's granddaughter made a public statement that this was not the case.[7][8]Ultimately, they asserted their control of the backstory of the Brigadier, stating that Archibald was actually the Brigadier's great-uncle who appeared inNight of the Intelligence.[9][10]
The episode features several call backs and references to previous episodes of the programme. ReportedlyDerek Martinus, the director ofThe Tenth Planet, cut a line from the original script which suggested that the Doctor was refusing to undergo the regeneration process. Moffat decided to use this scrapped plotline as the basis for the story.[11][12]
On 30 January 2017,Peter Capaldi confirmed that the tenth series would be his last as theTwelfth Doctor, and that he was set to leave after the 2017 Christmas special.[13] The episode also sees the introduction ofJodie Whittaker as theThirteenth Doctor, whose casting was announced on 16 July 2017.[14][15]
David Bradley appears as the First Doctor, having previously portrayed original actorWilliam Hartnell in the 2013docudramaAn Adventure in Space and Time.[16][17][18] This makes him the third actor to play the role in the television programme, after Hartnell andRichard Hurndall (in 1983's "The Five Doctors").[19] Bradley previously played Solomon in the 2012 episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship".[20] Bradley later voiced the First Doctor in many audio dramas forBig Finish Productions alongside his co-stars fromAn Adventure in Space and Time.[21]
The first trailer for the episode was shown during the 2017San Diego Comic-Con, revealing the return ofPolly, a companion from the end of William Hartnell's tenure as the First Doctor, portrayed byLily Travers,[22] andPearl Mackie asBill Potts. Also confirmed were appearances byToby Whithouse, writer of seven episodes between 2006 and 2017,[23] andMark Gatiss, writer of nine episodes between 2005 and 2017, marking his fourth acting appearance in the series, playing a character credited as The Captain.[24][25]
It was later confirmed that Ben Jackson, a companion of the First andSecond Doctors, who served alongside Polly, would also feature in the episode and that he would be played by formerHollyoaks cast memberJared Garfield.[26] Hartnell,Anneke Wills andMichael Craze appeared as the First Doctor, Polly and Ben, respectively through archive footage.[27]Nikki Amuka-Bird voices the "Glass Woman".[28]
Around 100 extras were on set for the scenes depictingWorld War I.[29] The episode includes a cameo appearance byJenna Coleman asClara Oswald, as the Doctor's memories of Clara, lost during "Hell Bent", are restored. The scene was the last to be filmed for the episode and while Coleman was willing to come back to film, timing between the filming of this special and her work inVictoria was difficult to arrange. Moffat noted the irony of Coleman’s scene being the last to be shot despite the frequent deaths of her character. He said, “How many times have I killed that girl off and she was right there in my last shot! It's absolutely extraordinary. The unkillable Coleman!"[30]
The episode was directed byRachel Talalay,[31] who directed the two-part finale of the tenth series, "World Enough and Time" / "The Doctor Falls".[32][33] The final scene of "The Doctor Falls" involving David Bradley was filmed as part of the filming of "Twice Upon a Time" in June 2017.[34] Production for "Twice Upon a Time" started on 12 June, and concluded on 10 July.[35][36][37] The final scene of the episode, in which Whittaker makes her debut as the Doctor, was filmed on 19 July.[38]
Talalay recreated several scenes fromThe Tenth Planet; her recreations went unused in favor of archive footage.[39] The Doctors's regeneration was shot on 10 July. Capaldi himself had input on what hisregeneration scene would be like. During his speech the Doctor paraphrases philosopherBertrand Russell when he advises his future self that "hate is always foolish and love is always wise".[40] The original plan for the scene would not usepyrotechnics, but they were added at the request of Talalay.[41] Following the completion of the scene, Capaldi was gifted the Twelfth Doctor'ssonic screwdriver.[42]
The recreated set of the First Doctor's TARDIS features several props from the original set.[43] Near the end of the special, after the Doctors return to their respective TARDISes to undergo regeneration. The First Doctor's regeneration is shown, using original footage from "The Tenth Planet". Although the last episode ofThe Tenth Planet is one of the most sought-aftermissing episodes ofDoctor Who, the regeneration sequence was preserved when it was used in a 1973 edition of the children's magazine programmeBlue Peter.[44][45]
"Twice Upon a Time" was first broadcast onBBC One on the 25th of December 2017.[46] The episode was watched by 5.7 million viewers overnight, making it the sixth highest watched programme of the day across all channels.[47] The episode received 7.92 million views overall, and it received anAppreciation Index of 81.[48] It was broadcast on the same day in the United States byBBC America where it was seen by 2.2 million viewers on[49]
"Twice Upon a Time" was released in cinemas in multiple countries, including Brazil on 25 December, Australia and Denmark on 26 December, and the United States and Canada on 27–28 December. The cinema release includes two bonus features: a behind-the-scenes view of the episode, and a special celebrating the tenure of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor and Steven Moffat as showrunner and lead writer.[50]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score) | 7.55[51] |
| Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer) | 88%[51] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The A.V. Club | A−[52] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A[53] |
| IndieWire | C+[54] |
| IGN | 9.5[55] |
| Vulture |  [56] |
| Radio Times |  [57] |
| The Daily Telegraph | [58] |
| Daily Mirror | [59] |
| Starburst | 7/10[60] |
"Twice Upon a Time" received generally positive reviews, with praise given to the performances.[57][53][52] 88% of 25 critic reviews are positive onRotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's consensus reads "Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time pays gratifying homage to the outgoing Doctor while marking a thoughtful, warm and funny passing of the torch to a new era in the franchise."[51]
Writing forIGN Scott Collura praised the episode particularly the final moments featuring the regeneration. Collura felt that the episode improved the ending of "The Doctor Falls" as well asThe Tenth Planet. He also praised the casting of Mark Gatiss as the Captain feeling that he " provides the perfect element of humanity required for a Doctor Who story".[55]Entertainment Weekly's Dana Schwartz also praised Gatiss as well as the closing moments of the episode.[53] Writing forVulture Ross Ruediger praised the episodes use of nostalgia and how it concluded the Twelfth Doctor's character arc. Ruediger also felt that the episode was an improvement on the previous regeneration episode, "The Time of the Doctor".[56]
Michael Hogan offered a negative review forThe Daily Telegraph, criticising Moffat's writing and concluding that viewers "would have been left scratching their heads in bafflement. It was self-indulgent, overcomplicated and, most unforgivably, frequently boring."[58]
Some commentators noted the depiction of the First Doctor, who is portrayed as displaying a sexist attitude. Moffat said that Hartnell's Doctor was "not progressive. Without being too outrageous I think we have re-created that version of Hartnell's Doctor, with all the 1960s political incorrectness in place."[61]Den of Geek's Pete Dillon-Trenchard reported that this was a controversial aspect of the episode, even in the pre-publicity, but they "found it hard to find any examples of sexism as egregious as the ones shown here."[44] Patrick Mulkern ofRadio Times thought Moffat's characterisation for the First Doctor would make viewers "cavil that his character has been revised, made to seem more old-fashioned than he was", but felt it highlighted the changing of attitudes and how far the Doctor had developed.[57] Kaite Welsh called the writing of the First Doctor's character as "frankly uncomfortable, not to mention a shoddy rewrite of a good character", noting that Hartnell reportedly rewrote lines that minimised Polly's importance during his tenure.[54]
Screen Rant's Connor Shelton cited "Twice Upon a Time" as the worst multi-Doctor story, criticising the story's execution, focus on the Twelfth Doctor and Bill, and panned the First Doctor's writing as "character assassination".[62] Also writing forScreen Rant, Edward Clearly ranked the episode as the worstDoctor Who Christmas Special, praising Capaldi's performance and the two Doctors' "interesting regeneration parallels", but panning the "loose plot" and Moffat's "odd" characterization of the First Doctor.[63]
The episode was a finalist in the category ofBest Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for the 2018Hugo Awards.[64] At the44thSaturn Awards it was nominated forBest Television Presentation.[65]
| Author | Paul Cornell |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Anthony Dry |
| Series | Doctor Who book: Target novelisations |
| Publisher | BBC Books |
Publication date | 5 April 2018 |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-1-785-94330-0 |
"Twice Upon a Time" was released on DVD and Blu-ray inRegion 2 on 22 January 2018,[66] in Region 4 on 7 February 2018,[67] and in Region 1 on 13 February 2018.[22] The episode was later released inUltra HD Blu-ray format. It was released in North America on 25 September 2018 and in the UK on 24 September 2018.[68][69]
Paul Cornell adapted the story into a novelisation as part of theTargetCollection. It was released in paperback byBBC Books on 5 April 2018, with a digital edition released on the same day.[70][21] In June 2018, an audiobook version, read by Gatiss, was released.[21]
in this Christmas special when it starts we have Hartnell and the original companions
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