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“Time of the Doctor“ is an episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, written by Steven Moffat and directed by Jamie Payne, and was broadcast on 25 December 2013 on BBC One.^[1] It features the final regular appearance of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctorand the first regular appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor following his brief cameo in “The Day of the Doctor”. The episode also featuresJenna Coleman as the Doctor’s companion Clara Oswald, plus several enemies of the Doctor, including the Cybermen, Silence, Daleks, and Weeping Angels.

"The Time of the Doctor” is the third installment in a loose trilogy of episodes, following “The Name of the Doctor“ and ”The Day of the Doctor”, which together serve as the Eleventh Doctor’s swan song. The episode addresses numerous plot threads developed over the course of Smith’s tenure, including the prophecy of the Silence and the Doctor’s fate on the planet Trenzalore. “The Time of the Doctor” is also the 800th individual episode ofDoctor Who, the ninth Christmas special since the show’s 2005 revival, and Matt Smith’s fourth and final Christmas special as the Eleventh Doctor. |Source|

Doctor Who is a British-American-Canadian film continuing the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Developed as a co-production between BBC Worldwide, Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox and the American Network FOX, the 1996 television film premiered on 12 May 1996 on CITV in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (which was owned by WIC at the time before being acquired by Canwest Global in 2000), 15 days before its first showing in the United Kingdom on BBC One and two days before being broadcast in the United States on Fox. It was also shown in some countries for a limited time in cinemas.

The film was the first attempt to revive Doctor Who following its suspension in 1989. It was intended as a back-door pilot for a new American-produced Doctor Who TV series and introduced Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor in his only televised appearance as the character until “The Night of the Doctor“ in 2013. It also marks the final appearance of Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor and the only appearance of Daphne Ashbrook as companion Grace Holloway. Although a ratings success in the United Kingdom, the film did not fare well on American television and no series was commissioned. The series was later relaunched on the BBC in 2005.^[1] The only official Doctor Who episodes between the film and the new series were a 1999 spoof, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death, and a 2003 animation, Scream of the Shalka.

Although the film was primarily produced by different people from the 1963–89 series and intended for an American audience, the producers chose not to produce a “re-imagining” or “reboot” of the series but rather a continuation of the original narrative. The production was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, to date the only episode of Doctor Who filmed in Canada. |Source|

“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 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 bothDaleks 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 him 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 andBillie 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 succeeded Matt Smith in Christmas special “The Time of the Doctor”,^[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 figureBrigadier 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] | Source |}