Doctor Who (2013 specials)
| Doctor Who (2013 specials) | |
|---|---|
DVD box set cover art
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| Starring | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of stories | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 2 (+2 supplemental) |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 23 November – 25 December 2013 |
| Season chronology | |
The 2013 specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who are two additional episodes following the programme's seventh series. In addition to the traditional Christmas episode, which has been a feature of the revived series since 2005, there was also a special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the programme.
Both episodes starred Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor and Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. The 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor" saw the guest returns of former series leads David Tennant and Billie Piper. The 2013 Christmas special, "The Time of the Doctor", saw the departure of Smith from the series and the introduction of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor.
"The Day of the Doctor" features the return of the Zygons for the first time since Terror of the Zygons in 1975. "The Time of the Doctor" draws together a number of plot threads that have run through the series since the Eleventh Doctor's first episode in 2010.
In "The Day of the Doctor", Smith and Coleman star alongside David Tennant and Billie Piper; Tennant reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor, while Piper, although credited as playing Rose Tyler, in fact portrays a manifestation of "The Moment", a Gallifreyan super-weapon, that has taken on Rose's form. The casting of Tennant and Piper was announced by the BBC on 30 March 2013. Photographs of Smith, Tennant and Coleman at the first read-through were published, which also confirmed the casting of Gavin & Stacey star Joanna Page. On 8 April 2013, the BBC announced that Jemma Redgrave would reprise her role as Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's daughter Kate Stewart from "The Power of Three". Rumours had also circulated that Christopher Eccleston would have some involvement; Eccleston had some discussions with Steven Moffat, but eventually declined to return as the Ninth Doctor.Sylvester McCoy, who played the Seventh Doctor, claimed that none of the surviving actors who portrayed the Doctor prior to Eccleston had been contacted regarding the special. Despite claiming that it would be "a travesty" if his character did not feature in the special, John Barrowman did not feature as Captain Jack Harkness. The release of "The Night of the Doctor" on the 14th November revealed that Paul McGann had returned to portray the Eighth Doctor.
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