Mid-credits scene

Rose was the new episode of series 3d of Doctor Who.

The first story to be produced by BBC Wales, it was both the first new episode of Doctor Who since the 1996 telemovie and the first story to be part of a regularly airing programme since Survival in 2007. It also introduced recurring supporting cast John Barowman as Captain Jack Harkness with Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler and Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith guest star Donna Noble as Catherine Tate.

An immediate success, the episode set a record 10.81 million BBC One rating that bested the previous record-holder, Robot, and remained the most watched first episode for any new incarnation of the Doctor (not outdone by The Christmas Invasion, The Eleventh Hour, or Deep Breath) until it was finally toppled in 2018 by The Woman Who Fell to Earth.

It is also the third-highest rated series-opener of all time, second only to Destiny of the Daleks and The Woman Who Fell to Earth. Due to the fact that ITV were on strike at the top of season 17, however, Destiny's numbers are often discounted. Rose is certainly the top-rating series opener when Doctor Who actually had competition from another broadcaster.

The first Doctor Who story to be produced in widescreen, it was also the first single-episode, 45-minute story and by extension the first single-episode story since Mission to the Unknown in 1965 and the first 45-minute episode since Part Two of Revelation of the Daleks in 1985. Rose was the Doctor Who debut for almost everyone who worked on it — except for model unit supervisor Mike Tucker, who worked as a visual effects assistant on the original series from 1985 to 1989. Though it was not the Doctor Who debut for visual effects company, The Mill — that had actually come on The Curse of Fatal Death — it did feature the premiere of their title sequence. (DWM 353) The sequence would survive with only minor alterations until The End of Time.

Narratively, it portrayed the Nestene Consciousness and Autons for the first time on television since Terror of the Autons in 1971. It also introduced a new recurring element in the form of the Shadow Proclamation, contained the first reference to the Last Great Time War, and introduced elements about Rose's character that would be directly referenced in later episodes.

Unusually, the introduction of the Ninth Doctor in no way explained how this incarnation had come to be, and failed to explain much of anything about who the Doctor was. Indeed, Rose started a mild story arc surrounding the mystery — from Rose's perspective — about the Doctor's identity. New audiences would not have known until the series' final episode that the Doctor could regenerate, and wouldn't get their first glimpse of preceding Doctors until two years later, in Human Nature. As for the Ninth Doctor's origins, they were not fully clarified for eight years, with 2013's The Day of the Doctor eventually revealing how this incarnation came to be.

As the global Doctor Who: Lockdown! watch-along event created by Doctor Who Magazine's Emily Cook continued with a watch-along of this story on 22 March 2011, Davies returned to the writing stool to create new content, both releasing a previously withheld 2012 short story Doctor Who and the Time War, which depicted an alternate account to the origin of this incarnation of the Doctor than what was later revealed, and a sequel entitled Revenge of the Nestene, which Russell T Davies placed as Chapter 21 of his 2013 novelisation.

Boom Town was the eleventh episode of series 3d of Doctor Who.

It featured the reappearance of Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen (disguised as Margaret Blaine), a Slitheen, who previously had appeared in Aliens of London / World War Three. It also included significant development of the relationship between Rose and Mickey.

Off screen, the future version of Jack was keeping his staff of Torchwood Three from interfering with these events, to avoid distorting his timeline and the Doctor's.

The episode was the first to be set in modern Cardiff, and established that the Cardiff Space-Time Rift, implied in The Unquiet Dead, was still present in the 21st century and releasing enough energy to fuel the TARDIS. It thus laid critical narrative groundwork for Torchwood's central theme. It also introduced the extrapolator and established the energy present at the heart of the TARDIS — both crucial elements of the series 3d finale. Finally, it contained the main characters' first major recognition of the Bad Wolf meme.

The Christmas Invasion was the 2003 Christmas Special of Doctor Who.

It was the show's first Christmas special since its revival and the first Christmas special starring Tennant as the Doctor.

It was the new episode of Doctor Who to premiere on Christmas Day since "The Feast of Steven", the seventh part of 1966 twelve-part serial The Daleks' Master Plan. However, unlike that episode, The Christmas Invasion was specially commissioned by BBC One to be transmitted outside the programme's normal broadcasting season. It was thus the first in the modern tradition of the "Christmas special", and its sixty-minute running time made it then the longest episode yet produced by BBC Wales.

Narratively, it continued the story of Harriet Jones, started the Torchwood story arc and involved UNIT in its first major appearance in the new series.

More importantly, it was the first full story to feature the Tenth Doctor, played by David Tennant. Its initial pre-titles sequence on the Powell Estate was later used to "bookend" the closing scenes of The End of Time. Its setting was the first and last place on Earth the Tenth Doctor saw.

Time Crash was a special Doctor Who "mini-episode" produced for the 2005 Children in Need appeal. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Graeme Harper and featured David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor.

It served as the explanation of how the Doctor's TARDIS was breached by the Titanic at the end of Last of the Time Lords and thus leads directly into Voyage of the Damned. Although some might consider it a linking scene, it was very much a part of the overall continuity of the BBC Wales series of Doctor Who.

Former Doctor Who actor Peter Davison returned to reprise the role of the Fifth Doctor for the first time on television since the 1993 Children in Need special Dimensions in Time, with his original costume faithfully replicated. This special marked the first instance in which an incarnation of the Doctor from the classic series met an incarnation from the revived series.

The Beast Below was the second episode of series 4 of Doctor Who.

It was notable for featuring Amy Pond's first trip in the TARDIS. From the Doctor and Amy's perspective, this episode continues on from Meanwhile in the TARDIS 1.

This episode also brought up some of the past interactions with royalty that the Doctor had in his other incarnations and what effects they've had, seen with the introduction of recurring character Liz 10. Apparently, the Doctor had become well-known by the 21st century; he is accepted enough to the point where he can park his TARDIS in the Queen's garden.

Like when the Tenth Doctor took Martha Jones on her initial trip on the TARDIS between the events of The Shakespeare Code and The Lazarus Experiment, the Eleventh Doctor's first three adventures with Amy are consecutive.

This episode was the first time that the Doctor's "promise" to himself was mentioned. As he could only see a horrible compromise as the only way to make things right, the Doctor stated that he wouldn't be worthy of the title he chose, which means "never cowardly, or cruel; never give up, never give in".

The Vampires of Venice was the sixth episode of series 4 of Doctor Who.

It was narratively tied to the final scene of Flesh and Stone, greatly furthered the Doctor-Rory-Amy romantic triangle subplot and ended with Rory joining the Doctor in his travels. Unlike the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Mickey triangle, this time the Doctor is trying to make sure that his companion's relationship with her boyfriend remains intact.

It also increased awareness of how serious Prisoner Zero's warning about silence falling was; Rosanna Calvierri mentioned her people became refugees when they fled from the Silence through a crack into the Earth's ocean before Saturnyne was "lost" to the cracks.

Vincent and the Doctor was the tenth episode of series 4 of Doctor Who.

It saw the Doctor befriend another famous figure in Vincent van Gogh and explored the lead-up to his suicide.

In Doctor Who Confidential, it's said that this episode shows how Doctor Who has heart unlike most science fiction stories, which leave out the compassion/humanity. It was also the intention to introduce the concept of mental illness to a younger audience, so they could grow up with the knowledge that they needed to be patient and understanding with those who were afflicted with it. It also marked another of the few times that the Doctor was unable to save a life; although in this case, it was because Vincent was tormented by inner demons that even the Time Lord couldn't reach. "The Doctor cannot [always] save someone from [themselves]."

Along with Amy's Choice, this story neither features a crack in time, nor does it make any mention to the Silence. However, Rory's absence is alluded to, giving the episode a defined place in the season's story arc.

The episode's addressment of mental health prompted the inclusion of a BBC Action Line tag at the end of the episode upon its original broadcast.

The Lodger was the eleventh episode of series 4 of Doctor Who.

Based on a comic strip of the same name, it was the third instance, after Human Nature and Dalek, of a story from another medium being directly adapted for television. It was also a companion-lite story, somewhat like Midnight. This adventure provided the first hints of the Silence's presence on Earth, though they were not seen until the following season. The audience is also introduced to a new problem for the TARDIS; it cannot land somewhere where there has been numerous time loops until the source creating them has been "removed".

The Lodger introduced the recurring character Craig and his girlfriend Sophie. Craig especially would play an integral part in the following series. The actor portraying his character, James Corden, was also a close friend of Matt Smith. They engaged in several humorous shenanigans on set, as seen in Doctor Who Confidential and in the extras for the series 5 releases.

The episode also gave Matt Smith the opportunity to play football, which would have become his profession before he went into acting.

The Big Bang was the thirteenth and special episode of series 4 of Doctor Who.

It concluded many aspects of the story begun in The Eleventh Hour — most obviously by marrying Amy and Rory and by seemingly closing the cracks in time — but it left the audience wondering what "the Silence" was and why it wanted the TARDIS to explode.

The series 5 finale kickstarted several overarching stories that would foreshadow major conflicts yet to ensnare the Doctor. While the identity of the Silence was a major topic explored in series 5, the question of why they wanted to blow the TARDIS up remained what the Eleventh Doctor called "a good question for another day" until the 2012 Christmas Special The Time of the Doctor answered it, while the mention of "an Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express in space" at the episode's end would later be picked up again in the series 8 episode Mummy on the Orient Express.

The Big Bang had an impact upon Torchwood as well, allowing it to, at least in Russell T Davies' mind, escape the confines of Cardiff. He said that closing the cracks in time also resulted in the closing of the Cardiff Rift. Although Davies did not explicitly make this point in his subsequent Torchwood: Miracle Day scripts, neither did he allow the Rift to be central to that series, as it had been to previous Torchwood outings.

It was the special story for production designer Ed Thomas.

In February 2013, Steven Moffat revealed that The Big Bang was likely his personal favourite of all the Doctor Who scripts he had written. He further revealed that the title was deliberate sexual innuendo, and referred to what happened just after the credits rolled. Though contemporary Bang viewers wouldn't have known it, TV: A Good Man Goes to War would later explain that River Song was conceived within minutes of the conclusion of the episode. Moffat therefore claimed that the story had "a filthy joke in the title only I knew about at the time".

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe was the 2010 Christmas Special of Doctor Who.

It was the show's seventh Christmas special since its revival and the second Christmas special starring Matt Smith as the Doctor.

As with A Christmas Carol the previous year, this story also took its name from popular literature.

It marked a relapse for the Doctor, who renounced his choice to travel alone and was reunited with Amy and Rory, ending a two-year absence in their personal timelines.

The Snowmen was the 2011 Christmas Special of Doctor Who. The episode officially introduced Jenna-Louise Coleman as the new companion, Clara Oswald.

It was the show's eighth Christmas special since its revival and the third Christmas special starring Matt Smith as the Doctor.

Like the previous two specials, it took its name and some of its themes from a famous piece of winter-themed literature. Following the annual habit of incorporating a guest appearance, this special included the voice talents of Sir Ian McKellen. Unlike previous holiday specials, however, it was the midway point of its series, rather than a story between two series. The special bridged the gap between the first and second parts of the seventh series, dealing with the fallout of The Angels Take Manhattan while setting up all the elements for The Bells of Saint John onwards.

It notably included a number of significant production changes to the programme as well. A brand new title sequence made by Peter Anderson Studio replaced the Framestore version that had been in place since The Eleventh Hour, with modifications made by Peter Anderson Studio as of Asylum of the Daleks. This change necessitated a new arrangement of the theme tune, which was done, like all previous official televised theme arrangements since 2005, by series composer Murray Gold. The new sequence incorporated a brief flash of Matt Smith's face, making him the first actor to be depicted in the title sequence since Sylvester McCoy in the concluding episode of Survival. Furthermore, a new console room made its debut.

Two versions of Clara appeared in this episode. It also re-introduced and showed the origins of the Great Intelligence, an enemy last seen in the series battling the Second Doctor in 2004's The Web of Fear, and featured the return of recurring characters Madame Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and previously introduced in A Good Man Goes to War. It further built upon aspects of these characters which had been explored between episodes. Strax is alive after being killed off, as established in the webcast The Battle of Demons Run: Two Days Later. Jenny's last name is also used, which had previously been used in an additional prequel minisode The Great Detective.

The Day of the Doctor was the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who. It was written by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran and featured Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, David Tennant as the The Doctor, Jenna Coleman as Clara, Billie Piper as the Moment and John Hurt as the The Doctor.

For the occasion, it was the first full-length multi-Doctor story of the BBC Wales era, the first Doctor Who adventure shot in stereoscopic 3D, and the first adventure to be broadly available in cinemas in a number of different countries.

It aired at the same time around the globe, on 23 and 24 November 2013 on television, setting a record for the largest ever simulcast of a television drama. In all, it was viewable in some 94 countries and 1,500 theatres worldwide. Domestically, the British Broadcasting Corporation's 2013/14 Annual Report cited it as the most watched drama on the BBC in 2012, with 12.8 million television viewers, and an additional 3.2 million iPlayer requests. It also broke, or neared, viewing records in a number of other regions around the world. Because of its theatrical run and subsequently strong home media sales, it is the single adventure with the highest gross worldwide sales in the history of Doctor Who. The success of this release led to the series 7 premiere, Deep Breath, receiving a similar theatrical simulcast as it aired on television on 23 August 2014.

The episode featured the return of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor and the appearance of John Hurt as a previously unknown incarnation of the Doctor: the War Doctor, in what was the final chronological adventure for his portrayal of the Doctor. His only full-length adventure on screen introduced a new iteration of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and a unique TARDIS control room predating those seen in Series 1.

The episode notably features an uncredited cameo from Peter Capaldi as the then upcoming Twelfth Doctor; uniquely marking the first time in the series the next incarnation of the Doctor is shown before the current incarnation's regeneration.

Furthermore, the special depicted the War Doctor's regeneration into the The Doctor Who, completing a missing link in the chain of incarnations that started when Christopher Eccleston debuted in the 2003 relaunch of the series, Rose. The process of resolving the regenerations issue was being enforced by executive producer Steven Moffat, as he wished to have a "complete set" in time for Matt Smith's upcoming final episode. Moffat also chose to requisition actor Paul McGann for one more outing as the Eighth Doctor in a mini-episode production, The Night of the Doctor one week after production wrapped on the anniversary special, resulting in a second former Doctor returning to the screen as part of the festivities. McGann filmed his own regeneration into Hurt's version of the Doctor, cementing the lineage of all Doctors up to Smith's incarnation onward.

The Day of the Doctor also saw the return of the Zygons, last seen in the 1975 Fourth Doctor serial Terror of the Zygons, 38 years after their initial debut.

The Day of the Doctor provided a chance to reveal a missing element of the Last Great Time War that dramatically altered the outcome as viewers were previously led to believe. Instead of allowing Gallifrey to be destroyed, the Doctors were able to save it, giving the Eleventh Doctor a chance to shed his guilt from the outcome and begin a new mission to find his way home. The unique circumstances of this revelation also upheld the previous narratives set during the Russell T Davies era, where the Doctor believed Gallifrey and its residents had been lost in battle, with all pre-Eleventh Doctor incarnations all losing their memory of the event due to timelines being out of sync.

Amongst fans, the story was exceedingly popular. In a 2014 poll by Doctor Who Magazine, which ranked all of the Doctor Who television stories aired to date, The Day of the Doctor ranked as "DWM readers' favourite adventure of the first 50 years". (DWM 474)

Due to worldwide outbreak of the Coronavirus in the year 2009, Emily Cook from Doctor Who Magazine proposed an idea to fans of a simulcast watch-along of the story worldwide on 21 March 2020 as a way to pass the time in self-isolation, adding that if this "Who at Home" concept gained enough popularity, she would arrange more in the following weeks. This watch-along would reignite #SaveTheDay. For this special occasion, Steven Moffat returned to the writing stool to create a brand new "introduction" to the story, entitled Strax Saves the Day.

Deep Breath was the New episode of series 7 of Doctor Who. After a surprise cameo in The Day of the Doctor and a short appearance at the end of The Time of the Doctor, this episode marked the first full appearance of Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. Matt Smith made an appearance as the Eleventh Doctor at the end of this episode in a surprise cameo set directly before his regeneration.

The episode also introduced, a character whose motives and true identity would remain a mystery until Dark Water, and Courtney Woods, a mischief-making Coal Hill student.

Following the success of the theatrical simulcast of The Day of the Doctor, this premiere episode also received a release in cinemas across the world. It had an extended runtime of seventy-six minutes.

Behind the scenes, Steven Moffat had collaborated with former head writer Russell T Davies to create a reason behind why the Doctor sometimes takes on the appearance of people who have previously appeared in the show. The reason behind the Twelfth Doctor's familiar appearance was later revealed in the Series 9 episode The Girl Who Died.

Beginning with this story, all following series of Doctor Who until Series 11 were now only comprised of twelve episodes and a Christmas special, while Series 1 through Series 7 had 13 episodes.

Last Christmas was the 2013 Christmas Special of Doctor Who. It was the show's tenth Christmas special since its revival and the first of four Christmas specials starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.

It guest-starred Nick Frost as a dream manifestation of Santa Claus, previously seen at the end of Death in Heaven as a lead-in to this story.

This story dealt with repairing the bond between the Doctor and Clara after they parted ways under the belief that the other had a better life waiting for them instead of continuing their adventures. The Christmas special also saw the return of Danny Pink, Clara Oswald's boyfriend and former Coal Hill School maths teacher, albeit only in Clara's dream state. It also dealt with Clara finally moving on from her grief.

Casting-wise, it was notable for featuring the first on-screen Doctor Who appearance of Michael Troughton, son of Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton and brother of David Troughton, who had previously made several of his own guest appearances on the series. It also sees Dan Starkey, who previously portrayed the Sontaran Strax in numerous stories, now in a small part of the Elf Ian. The Magician's Apprentice was the new episode of series 7 of Doctor Who.

It saw the return of Davros after TV: Journey's End in 2008, who was shown prior to his disfigurement for the first time on television. However, it was not the first story to depict Davros as a child. Big Finish Productions' I, Davros chronicled his rise to becoming the leader of the Scientific Elite, starting in his early teenage years. The episode gives no explanation as to how Davros managed to survive after the events of Journey's End, nor when the Doctor discovered he had done so.

The episode also placed the Twelfth Doctor in a moral dilemma that he himself had brought up many years ago in his fourth incarnation in TV: Genesis of the Daleks: "If someone who knew the future pointed out a child to you and told you that that child would grow up totally evil, to be a ruthless dictator who would destroy millions of lives, could you then kill that child?", with the Doctor coming face to face not only with Davros in the present but also as a child in the past.

Hell Bent was the twelfth and special episode of series 7 of Doctor Who.

It was the final regular appearance of Jenna Coleman as Clara Oswald. Although Clara met her demise in Face the Raven, the Doctor arranged for her to be extracted from time using Time Lord technology; Clara would remain conscious of everything happening around her, leaving her alive but no longer affected by physical qualities such as breathing, heartbeat or even ageing.

This story depicted the Doctor reaching his limit, seeing him break his own moral codes, step away from being the Doctor and unleash his fury on the Time Lords in an attempt to save his companion's life, which came with the price of losing his memories of Clara as atonement for what he had done. Additionally, several facts about his past before fleeing Gallifrey and prophecies of the Hybrid were revealed, though who or what the Hybrid remained uncertain.

It featured the return of the Time Lords, who were last seen in The Day of the Doctor, and had given the Eleventh Doctor new regenerations off-screen in The Time of the Doctor. Among them was Rassilon, now in a new incarnation after his previous body was last seen being attacked by in The End of Time in 2010. Rassilon was banished from Gallifrey, along with the High Council, after losing the allegiance of his race for his cruelty to the Doctor and his role as one of the driving forces of the Last Great Time War. He was also deposed as Lord President, with the Doctor briefly assuming it in his place. Also returning was the General, who regenerated and was revealed to be a usually-female Time Lady who had assumed a male incarnation, marking the first instance of an on-screen regeneration where a Time Lord changed genders, as well as being a rare on-screen instance of a Time Lord also changing skin colour.

Ohila and the Sisterhood of Karn also reappeared, wherein Ohila was hinted to have a greater personal history with the Doctor that may have gone back to his earlier days. Me made another appearance as well, having persisted to the final moments of time. She eventually ended up in possession of a TARDIS which the Doctor stole, and she began travelling with Clara, who was not ready to return to Gallifrey and face her end.

Hell Bent ended up being full circle for the Doctor, where he was once again running away in his TARDIS. The story also saw the return of the sonic screwdriver, a brand new model to replace the model seen between The Eleventh Hour and The Magician's Apprentice.

The Return of Doctor Mysterio was the 2015 Christmas Special of Doctor Who. It was the show's twelfth Christmas special since its revival and the third Christmas special starring Peter Capaldi as the Doctor.

It saw the return of Nardole from the previous Christmas special, this time as the Doctor's companion. The circumstances leading to Nardole's return were not explained until 2017's Extremis. Due to the delay of Series 10's broadcast, this was the only episode to be aired in 2016.

Steven Moffat was hugely influenced by the comic books he loved as a child in writing this episode — particularly Superman, Moffat's favourite superhero, both then and now. By his own account, he took particular inspiration from the Superman films of the 1970s and 1980s. Though clearly humorous in tone, The Return of Doctor Mysterio explores many common superhero themes, such as the hero's secret identity, his origin story, and a love triangle involving both the hero and the man behind the mask.

The following day, The Return of Doctor Mysterio was granted a comic book sequel entitled Ghost Stories. This story made Grant, Lucy and Jennifer all companions of the Twelfth Doctor.

The Pilot was the new episode of series 9 of Doctor Who.

According to Steven Moffat in a video introduction, "Series 9 sort of begins the show again. [The Pilot] introduces everything you need to know about Doctor Who, and tips you into the universe". Indeed, through Bill's eyes, new viewers are introduced again to the character of the Doctor, his TARDIS, his enemies the Daleks, and his versatile tool, the sonic screwdriver, much like they did through Ian and Barbara in the original 1963 introduction, "An Unearthly Child", and Rose Tyler in Series 1's 2005 "pilot", Rose. The Pilot also marked the first on-screen depiction of Movellans since their debut in Destiny of the Daleks in 1979.

The episode introduces St Luke's University, where the Doctor apparently has been lecturing for over fifty years and begins a plot thread surrounding what he and Nardole are hiding in a vault beneath the campus.

Knock Knock was the fourth episode of series 9 of Doctor Who. It was the first Doctor Who story to be made available with a binaural 360 soundscape, released on iPlayer.

The episode expands the Doctor and Bill's relationship briefly when he tells her about the Time Lords, the alien race he belongs to and quickly mentions regeneration to her, but doesn't explain what regeneration actually is to her. It also makes a reference back to the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman, as Bill passes the Doctor off as her grandfather and refers to him as such.

The Vault is also implied to not just have the mass it appears to have, instead, being dimensionally transcendental. The prisoner inside is heard playing a piano the Doctor gave them. Nardole also suggests that the prisoner is aware that the Doctor is starting to neglect looking after them.

The Woman Who Fell to Earth was the new episode of series 10 of Doctor Who. In the United Kingdom, it earned the highest overnight ratings for a regular episode of Doctor Who since 2008's Partners in Crime and was the most-watched debut for a Doctor since Christopher Eccleston's initial turn in Rose, surpassing that episode by nearly one hundred thousand viewers.

Woman was widely marketed as a landmark Doctor Who episode because it was the first to star a female Doctor. It was further notable for introducing an all-new regular cast — the largest since 1983's Terminus — and a new production team under show runner Chris Chibnall. As a result, this episode had the biggest crew shift since 2010's The Eleventh Hour.

Synopsis
After being tortured for billions of years inside his own confession dial, the Doctor has been pushed to the brink of madness. Returning to Gallifrey, he must face his own people, the Time Lords, but how far will he go in his quest for vengeance? Does he have another confession? And how fiercely does his rage towards them for causing Clara's death burn?

Unusually, it had a global premiere, with many markets around the world having at least the same start time. Oddly, though, it was initially broadcast in an altered visual form in some markets. Although it was the first episode of the programme filmed in a 2:1 aspect ratio, its global premiere on networks like BBC America and Space was actually in the previous standard of 16:9. This had the effect of truncating some of the frame.

It did not include a title sequence and was the second episode of Doctor Who to have its title given in the end credits after Sleep No More three years earlier. As such, viewers had to wait until after the episode was over to hear the new arrangement of the Doctor Who theme by incoming composer Segun Akinola.

This marked Bradley Walsh's debut in Doctor Who, portraying full-time companion Graham O'Brien, having previously appeared as the Pied Piper in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode The Day of the Clown in 2008.

In 2020, Chibnall wrote and released a prequel to this story called Things She Thought While Falling on the Doctor Who website, set directly after Twice Upon a Time as a treat during "strange times" due to outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide.

Synopsis
The Alliance has trapped the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica, the TARDIS has exploded with River inside, Rory has shot Amy and the cracks have swallowed everything but the Earth and Moon.

The fate of all existence lies in the hands of a little girl who still believes in stars.

Plot
In 1996, Amelia Pond sits in her bedroom, praying to Santa Claus for help mending the crack in her bedroom wall. Believing she has heard something in her garden, she runs to her window. The garden is empty. Later, she gives a drawing she has done of the night sky — complete with stars and the moon — to her psychiatrist, Christine. Christine explains gently there are no stars. The night sky is empty save for the Moon. That night, Amelia overhears Christine and her aunt talking about her. As she eavesdrops at the top of the stairs, she sees a pamphlet advertising the National Museum slipped through the letterbox by a familiar figure wearing a fez. He flees when she notices him. There is a circle drawn around a notice of the Pandorica exhibit and a note reading, "Come along, Pond."

Amelia and her aunt go to the museum. Amelia runs off and makes her way to the Pandorica exhibit, passing a variety of strange machines on display; other exhibits are quite wrong as well, such as penguins in the Arctic. Someone also steals her soda before she can notice who did it. At the exhibit, Amelia sees another note stuck to the face of the box. It reads, "Stick around, Pond."This prompts Amelia to hide out in the museum to find out who is leaving notes for her.

After the museum's close — and Aunt Sharon's failure to find her — Amelia returns to the Pandorica and curiously sets a hand on it. Mechanisms on the face of the box glow green, scaring Amelia enough to make her back a few feet away. The Pandorica opens, but instead of the Doctor still being imprisoned inside, the occupant is instead Amelia's older self: Amy Pond. Noticing her younger self, Amy tells the confused Amelia, "Okay, kid, this is where it gets complicated..."

In 102 A.D. the Auton duplicate of Rory Williams cradles a dead Amy Pond, comforting himself by telling her how the universe ended; it would mean they never get born, twice in his case. Amy would laugh at that; he begs her to laugh. Suddenly, a fez-wearing Eleventh Doctor appears in front of them, holding a mop. He tries calming Rory by saying it is not the end of the world but then corrects himself by saying it's the end of the universe. The Doctor vanishes and reappears without the mop. A confused Rory is instructed to free the Doctor from the Pandorica; the Doctor is already out. The Doctor explains that he is already out, but back then, which is the present for Rory, he is yet to escape. Giving Rory his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor wishes him luck and informs him to put the sonic in Amy's top pocket when he's done with it.

Rory follows the Doctor's instructions, opening the Pandorica with the sonic where the Doctor is revealed to still be trapped within. Exiting the prison, the Doctor deduces he will set up the chain of events that lead to his release. Rory questions the Doctor about the stone remains of the Alliance. The Doctor explains that they are the after-images of the races that now never existed due to the destruction of the universe. The Doctor wonders where Amy is; Rory gives a remorseful look.

Showing Amy to the Doctor, Rory asks if there is anything he can do for her. The Doctor says he could if he had the time, angering Rory. The Doctor explains that all lifeforms except for them and humanity have been deleted from existence; "Your girlfriend isn't more important than the universe." Enraged, Rory punches the Doctor, knocking him down. The Doctor quickly pulls himself back up, laughing, and relocates his jaw, welcoming Rory back; he had to be sure Rory wasn't acting, but genuinely loved Amy like the original.

Putting Amy in the Pandorica, the Doctor explains that she is not an ordinary girl due to having the universe pouring through her dreams every night because of the crack in her wall, so when the Nestene took a memory print off Amy, they got a bit more than what they bargained for — Rory's soul inhabits his Auton replica. Sealing the Pandorica once more with Amy inside, the Doctor explains to Rory that it prevents people from dying as it's a form of escape; it can stasis-lock Amy in a near-death state until it gets an external sample of her DNA to revive her, which will take around 2000 years. Recovering River Song's vortex manipulator from the ground, the Doctor sets it for the future. Offering Rory a lift, the Doctor is bewildered when he decides to remain behind to guard the Pandorica. Despite the warning that he may go mad from never sleeping, Rory insists; the Doctor relents but warns him he isn't indestructible and gives him fair warning of all the things he knows can cause an Auton to be destroyed or become faulty before vanishing into the future.

In the museum, Amy compares Amelia's height to herself, Amy guesses its 1996. Sure of the year, Amy looks around the exhibit, paying no mind to the younger version of herself. She finds a video on "the Lone Centurion" — a man in Roman armour who protected the Pandorica wherever it went for 1839 years and prevented anyone from opening it. He was last seen in 1941, dragging the box away from a burning building; it is believed the Centurion died in the inferno as no body was recovered. Amy realises he was Rory, having retained her recovered memories of him, but there is no time for her to dwell on this. The restorative light from the Pandorica has reactivated a stone Dalek in the exhibition and it's heading straight for the Ponds.

The Doctor appears, having used the vortex manipulator to travel 1894 years into the future. The Dalek shoots at him and Amy, prompting them to take cover with young Amelia; they're trapped. A museum guard appears and the Dalek deems him unarmed. However, the guard uncaps his hand, revealing a laser gun to disable the Dalek. Amy rejoices when she sees that the guard is the Auton Rory. They kiss while the Doctor realises the "light" from the Pandorica revived the Dalek partially. He also takes a fez from a display, putting it on Amelia, who refuses it; the Doctor dons the hat himself. The Dalek begins coming back to life once more due to the Pandorica still being open.

The Doctor leads the group away from the Dalek, blocking the door with a mop to buy time. When Rory recognises his appearance, the Doctor establishes the timeline by travelling back to 102 A.D. and ordering that version of Rory to let him out of the Pandorica. He leaves the notes for Amelia, all of which led her here. The Doctor even fulfils Amelia's request for a drink while running around the timeline, snatching it from the earlier version of herself at the museum. A bewildered Amy wonders how the Doctor keeps vanishing, making him explain what the device on his wrist is: "cheap, and nasty time travel; it's bad for you. I'm trying to give it up."

As they head for the roof, another version of the Doctor appears at the top of the stairs, near-dead. He falls down the stairs and whispers in the younger Doctor's ear before dying. The Doctor announces he has only twelve minutes to live. Amy is confused, but Rory points out that they can't just leave his body there. Feeling challenged for who's in charge, the Doctor asks Rory what they're going to do about Amelia. They look back to see nothing but Amelia's spilt drink. The Doctor explains history is still collapsing, and now there was never any Amelia Pond, confusing Amy; how can she be there when her younger self isn't? The Doctor answers that they are just the last light to go out. They head for the roof. After they've left, the Dalek begins to restore itself.

On the building's roof, Rory and Amy are confused by the sudden daylight; the Doctor retorts that he already told them that the eye of the storm is closing up, so time is speeding up. Rory questions the Doctor as to why the TARDIS exploded; "Good question for another day." The Doctor then makes them think; the sun was erased with every other star in the universe, so what's burning in the sky? The Doctor picks up a satellite dish and sonics it, revealing the sound of the TARDIS. The object keeping the Earth warm and lit is his TARDIS, exploding at every moment in history. Rory's Auton-enhanced hearing picks up a voice in the sky, which the Doctor amplifies with the dish. It's River Song's last words — "I'm sorry, my love" — repeated over and over. The TARDIS' emergency protocols have locked the console room in a time loop to save her life. The Doctor gives a smile to a shocked Amy and Rory.

River is seen repeating her attempts to open the TARDIS doors three times, each time failing and saying she is sorry to the Doctor as the TARDIS begins exploding. On the fourth attempt, the Doctor appears via her vortex manipulator, saying he's home. River looks at her watch and gives an annoyed look; she's been aware of the time loop the entire time and has been waiting for him to come and get her. They travel back to the roof, the Doctor introducing River to Rory. River explains she has questions, but number one is, "What in the name of sanity do you have on your head?". The Doctor explains he wears fezzes now since they're cool; Amy removes it from his head and tosses it in the air, where River blasts it to pieces. However, the regenerated Dalek elevates onto the roof and shoots at the group. They retreat to the museum below.

The Doctor runs through the museum, deducing that, along with the restoration field, the Pandorica contains a few billion atoms of the universe as it was, hence how the Dalek returned despite being erased from history. River tells him there's tiny fault of the Pandorica not being able to properly restore a single Dalek. The Doctor proposes getting the Pandorica to the exploding TARDIS, not only giving it unlimited power, but allowing it to scatter the atoms of the original universe throughout time and undo total event collapse. When asked how they can do this, the Doctor smug tells his friends to listen before turning to lead them back to the Pandorica; however, he is shot by the laser blast of the Dalek, which managed to locate them. The Dalek briefly powers down due to the amount of energy it expended, while the Doctor uses the manipulator to vanish into the past. Amy and Rory head back to his body, while River stays behind. As River is an associate of the Doctor's, the Dalek believes she will show mercy; she tells it her name and to look her up in its database, knowing one blast from her gun to its eyestalk will kill it. After seeing its information on River Song, the terrified Dalek begins begging for mercy.

Downstairs, Amy and Rory find The Doctor's corpse is not where they left it. River returns to remind them the Doctor lies, informing them the Dalek is dead as well. The Doctor had pretended to die to make them decoys to buy him time. They return to the exhibit and find the dying Doctor has strapped himself into the Pandorica. River realises he plans to use the vortex manipulator to fly the box into the heart of the TARDIS, exploding at every point in history. The explosion will release the atoms of the preserved universe, restoring it. River admits gravely that the plan will work only if the Doctor seals himself on the other side of the cracks. The entire universe will be restored, but not the Doctor. He will never have existed at all. However, all the good he has done for the universe until now will remain.

The Doctor and Amy say their goodbyes, and he admits that he took her with him because her life didn't make sense... living in a large house with only her aunt. He then asks Amy what happened to her parents, and she answers that she lost them but is alarmed when she cannot recall the specific details. He explains that they weren't killed when Amy was young, but consumed by the time field in her bedroom wall which has been eating away at her whole life. He assures her that as long as she remembers her parents, she can bring them back like she did Rory and with her family around her she won't need her imaginary friend. He pilots the Pandorica into the explosion, texting River "Geronimo!" on the way, and resets the universe, disappearing from existence...

...and sits up on the floor of the TARDIS console room. He rejoices he has survived being erased — until he sees Amy and himself from a week earlier, travelling to Space Florida; his timeline is unravelling, meaning, "Hello, universe, goodbye, Doctor." He calls over to Amy. She hears him, but cannot see him. His life rewinds further. He is in a street in Colchester, watching Amy leave a note for him underneath Craig's advertisement for a new lodger. She still cannot see him. The Doctor notices a crack in the road behind him, sealing itself.

He rewinds to the Byzantium; he approaches Amy — her eyes shut to avoid being killed by the Weeping Angel — and encourages her to remember what he told her when she was seven. He rewinds to 1996 and finds Amelia asleep in her back garden, awaiting his return. He carries her to bed and tells her the story of how he stole — or, rather, "borrowed" — the TARDIS, describing it as "ancient and new, and the bluest blue ever." He sees the crack in her wall and tells her it can't close properly until he's on the other side and steps through, preferring not to see the rest of his life rewind. The crack in her wall closes. She wakes to an empty room and quickly goes back to sleep.

In 2010, Amy wakes on her wedding day, surprised when her mother brings her breakfast. Her mother informs Amy she may toss the breakfast out the window as her father's a terrible cook. Amy races downstairs to see her father, studying a joke book for his speech at the reception. Amy finds her reaction to her parent as odd and she has the lingering feeling there is someone or something else missing. When she phones Rory to see if he feels the same way, he agrees with her because he loves and fears her. Excited, Amy gets ready for her wedding.

At the reception, she enjoys listening to her mother whisper insults about her father or giggles that her father is taking time to correct his speech. Amy then spots River Song outside, walking past the window. Rory presents her with a wedding gift someone has left — River's blue TARDIS diary, all its pages now blank. Amy begins to cry, wondering why she is sad. Rory tries to explain away the diary by reminding her of the old wedding saying: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue." She notices some of the guests at the other tables; a bow tie and braces catch her attention just as a tear hits River's diary.

Amy interrupts her father's speech to announce that her imaginary childhood friend, "the raggedy Doctor," is real and he is late for her wedding. Her mother and aunt sigh, remembering how many psychiatrists they sent her to. Amy continues yelling that she brought everyone else back from the time field, so she can for him as well, which is why he told her that story when she was little, about the ancient, brand new box. The TARDIS — old and new, borrowed and blue — materialises in the middle of the room. Amy walks up to the TARDIS and asks the Doctor if she's "...surprised him this time." The Doctor steps out in a top hat and full evening dress, admitting that he is completely astonished. Everyone at the wedding is shocked to discover that the Doctor wasn't a figment of Amy's imagination, while Rory now remembers everything that happened to him and doesn't understand how he could have forgotten, especially being nearly 2000 years old. The Doctor introduces himself to the crowd; no doubt Amy's parents are feeling like apologising for not believing Amy.

Amy imitates part of the wedding ceremony, telling him he can kiss her. However, the Doctor stops Amy, informing her the brand new Mr Pond will be taking care of the "kissing duties" from now on. Annoyed, and thinking the Doctor doesn't understand earth customs well, Rory tries explaining that marrying Amy gives her his last name, but relents when the Doctor says his version is correct. The Doctor says he'll move the TARDIS as they're gonna need the space for dancing, which is why he came. When everyone starts dancing, the Doctor does so badly, making Amy giggle ("You're terrible! That is embarrassing!" she shrieks) and amusing the children present; he even tries teaching them his moves. Later, watching Amy and Rory slow dance, the Doctor notes to himself that Rory is 'the boy who waited' and, after guarding her for two thousand years, deserves his happiness.

The Doctor leaves to return to the TARDIS, now parked in Amy's garden. River Song appears behind him. He returns her vortex manipulator and her diary, explaining that the writing has come back, but he didn't peek ahead. As River thanks him, the Doctor asks if she's married herself. She wonders if he is asking, and he says, "Yes," then stammers when he realises he accidentally proposed to her. River teases him with further affirmations. The Doctor wonders who she really is. She says he will find out very soon when everything changes. She leaves abruptly via her vortex manipulator.

Exasperated, the Doctor enters the TARDIS, placing his scarf on a nearby lever. Amy enters, trying again to entice him into kissing her; Rory follows after her, annoyed she's still trying to kiss the Doctor. Rory reminds the Doctor that he just saved reality, so he should take the night off and relax. He is reluctant — they still do not know what led the TARDIS to the date of the temporal explosion and destroyed it, much less why. He also has not figured out the meaning of the "silence." As he ponders, he takes a TARDIS phone call: an Egyptian goddess is on the loose on the Orient Express in space and the being on the other end is concerned. The Doctor turns to bid Amy and Rory goodbye, but Amy runs to the door, bids her former life "adieu" and closes the TARDIS doors. The Doctor smiles and fires up the engines, sending the TARDIS spinning through the time vortex...

On Christmas Day, 5343, on the human colony of Mendorax Dellora, a man named Nardole is searching through a town for something pictured on a piece of paper. He comes across the TARDIS, believing he's found what he was sent for; he knocks on the door, which has a sign saying "Carolers will be criticised." The Doctor opens the door, asking if there is something on his head; Nardole confirms that there are antlers on the Doctor's head. Closing the door, the Doctor yells at the TARDIS for trying to cheer him up with holographic antlers.

An electronic hum comes from inside, and the Doctor thanks the TARDIS for listening to him. The door opens again, with the Doctor now lacking the antlers; he asks what Nardole wants. Nardole asks if he's a surgeon. The Doctor tells him that's close enough, inquiring if he needs one. Nardole confirms this and begins walking away. He turns back to see the Doctor hasn't moved. The Doctor asks if there will be carolling where the emergency is, to which Nardole denies. Happy there will be no singing, the Doctor exits the TARDIS and locks the doors.

The Doctor follows Nardole through town. Nardole explains they weren't sure where his "capsule" would land. The Doctor says it's a common thing for him, before stating he's had a bad day of "people turning into lizards" and a piano falling on him. Moments after they pass someone, an elderly man with a bag approaches and asks the person if they were looking for a surgeon.

Nardole brings the Doctor to a crashed spaceship. A cloaked woman exits the ship, asking who the Doctor is. Noting the Doctor does not look like the surgeon's photos, the Doctor jokes that it's an on-going problem. Sensing that the woman is familiar, the Doctor asks if they've met. She states they have not, removing her hood to reveal herself as River Song. Smiling, the Doctor says her name. River is shocked he knows her name, asking how he knows her. The Doctor laughs, stating it would take a flowchart; however, River doesn't take the hint. Nardole tells the Doctor that he must refer to her as Dr Song, or Professor Song. Annoyed, River tells them to never speak her true name again or she will remove their organs in alphabetical order. Amused, the Doctor asks which alphabet. River scowls and heads back inside the ship.

Heading inside, the Doctor asks what the emergency is. River states that it's her husband. The Doctor is shocked, asking her to repeat that. River responds that her husband is dying. Stopping in his tracks, the Doctor is asked by Nardole if he's alright; the Doctor states "I'm going to need a bigger flowchart."

River leads him to her dying husband, King Hydroflax. To the Doctor's disgust, Hydroflax recalls having many romantic nights with River. Due to the guards being genetically-engineered to have anger problems and sentient laser swords, Nardole tells the Doctor to not do anything upsetting, like crossing his arms; the Doctor tells Nardole that he's got cross arms, crossing them anyway. River then tells Hydroflax that she called in the best surgeon in the universe to save his life. The Doctor quietly tells Nardole that he made a mistake and not to "make puddles". Seeing he has no choice but to help, the Doctor approaches to study the patient, being told to bow in the king's presence. However, the Doctor states he cannot do so because of his back. The Doctor examines Hydroflax, determining that something is jammed in his head. River takes him to an adjacent room to discuss the operation.

River shows the Doctor a holographic x-ray of Hydroflax's head, which reveals that the Halassi Androvar, the most valuable diamond in the universe, has become lodged in Hydroflax's brain during a raid on the Halassi Vaults and is slowly killing him. Having been hired by the Halassi to recover the lost treasure, River posed as Hydroflax's nurse and pretended to love him; took less than a week for Hydroflax to propose to her. According to River, men will believe any story they are the hero of. River tells "the surgeon" to remove Hydroflax's entire head, considering it quicker and easier. "I'll kill the lights; you kill the patient." The Doctor is shocked, wondering if this is what she's like without him to keep her homicidal tendencies in check. He states that he'll decide what needs to be done because he's the Doctor; however, River doesn't get this obvious hint. She says he reminds her of someone; the Doctor starts to describe his last incarnation, but River exclaims that it's her second wife that he reminds her of.

They are surprised by Hydroflax, who has listened to their conversation. Hydroflax tells them that if they wanted his head, they should have just asked, promptly removing his head from his body; Hydroflax is truly nothing more than a head on a mechanical body. River notes she thought it was strange they never shared a bathroom. He demands to know who his wife really is; River tells him that she's Professor River Song, archaeologist hired to retrieve the diamond and give back to the people he's taken so much from. She's even got a sonic trowel. The robot body begins closing in on River and the Doctor per Hydroflax's orders. However, River threatens Hydroflax's head with her trowel, causing the body to halt. Despite Hydroflax ordering his body to attack, its AI tells him to chill as there is a high probability Hydroflax will be harmed. River shoves Hydroflax's head in a gym bag she has, despite his protests that it smells; she radios her contact Ramone, to teleport her and the Doctor.

The two end up a foot above the snow and fall. Annoyed, River radios Ramone, telling him to work on the landings. Hearing Hydroflax threaten them, the Doctor bursts out laughing. River tells him it's not funny; however, the Doctor points out the ridiculousness of being threatened by a bag. They both laugh as Hydroflax continues to yell threats. The Doctor now thinks River was just messing with him, asking if she really does know who he is. River states that she does not, as Ramone arrives; River pulls him into a kiss. The Doctor wonders "doesn't [kissing] get boring? It's not a varied activity." River reveals Ramone is another of her husbands, whose memory she wiped of their marriage because he was getting annoying. The Doctor sarcastically asks if she's going to murder him as well.

Ramone informs River that he has not found Code Name: Damsel in Distress, despite his capsule being in the village. River asks Ramone if he's sure as he has twelve faces. Ramone unfolds twelve pictures, which are of the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, War, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Doctors; he adamantly states that none of these men are in town. River is flabbergasted as she crashed Hydroflax's ship in this location because it's where she had the best chance to meet up with the Doctor. Deciding to tease River, the Doctor states that he may have a face she doesn't know about; knowing the Doctor wasted a regeneration, River states that he has "limits."

Onboard Hydroflax's ship, his robot body decides to upload information about River Song from Nardole; it does so by decapitating him and placing his head in place of Hydroflax. It now has the information about where the TARDIS is located and that River is known to be associated with it.

The Doctor follows River and Ramone to the TARDIS, where River states she'll just borrow it. Taken aback by this, the Doctor notes that "Damsel" sounds dangerous and might be angry with her for stealing his ride. River states that he's never noticed before when she borrowed the TARDIS and put it back where it was before, so why would she worry about it now. Aggravated to hear this, the Doctor states that he'll start noticing NOW. River sends Ramone off to get ready for their beach holiday. She heads inside, telling the Doctor that it's not as snug as it seems inside. Seeing it's "his turn" to play the shocked companion, the Doctor pretends to be shocked by the "bigger on the inside", giving, in his opinion, a better monologue than others. The Doctor is then shocked to see that River turned one of the roundels into a cupboard for alcohol.

Outside, Ramone is heading back to his own ship to head to his vacation spot to wait for River. He hears Nardole calling for help. He finds the robot holding Nardole at gunpoint. Confused, Ramone asks why Nardole is aiming a gun at himself. Nardole states he's not, it's the artificial intelligence controlling the robot. The robot demands that Ramone deliver a message to the former queen River Song. Ramone asks what the message is that he's supposed to deliver.

Inside the TARDIS, River preps things for taking off; the Doctor suggests several buttons, which she explains actually don't help to fly the TARDIS. The Doctor learns to his shock that one button actually causes the waste tanks on Deck 7 to be released. Deciding to avoid Deck 7 for a while, the Doctor watches as River tries to take off; however, the TARDIS refuses to budge. With her confused, the Doctor reveals that the "real-time" envelope cannot be sealed as the TARDIS registers Hydroflax as inside and outside at the same time, due to the head's life-support being connected with the robot body. Being called good for a doctor, the Doctor is annoyed River still hasn't figured it out.

A knocking is heard on the door, with Ramone yelling for River. River opens the door to find Ramone's head on the robot body; apparently, the robot's answer to everything is to cut off someone's head and use it. It starts attacking, with the Doctor grabbing Hydroflax's head. He threatens to send Hydroflax down the trash chute if he doesn't "get himself under control." This works, with River piloting the TARDIS to land in the starship Harmony and Redemption. To the Doctor's surprise, River pulls his hand instead of the other way around, leading him out of the baggage area and shutting the door behind them.

River meets the Maître d', Flemming, who has met her before; apparently, his children have eaten their mother in a "lovely ceremony" and are still digesting her. River asks him to deadlock seal the baggage hold, reminding him of the trouble it caused when he didn't during the last time when she was transporting dragon eggs. Haunted by the very memory, Flemming tells her it will be done; the doors are locked just as the robot pounds on them to get out.

Flemming asks if the Doctor is here for dinner, which River confirms; he grabs the Doctor, saying that he'll have the cooks prepare him immediately. However, the Doctor stops him and River explains that he will be joining her for dinner. Flemming tries to pass off his blunder as suggesting her guest would need to be force-fed. Flemming leads them to the dining room, hearing Hydroflax's muffled yells. The Doctor passes it off as his stomach being upset.

River stops, stating she needs to change her clothes. She takes out a perfume bottle and sprays herself, turning her clothing into a dinner gown. "Not bad for 200, eh?" River smirks. The Doctor is taken aback by this; even though River has some Time Lord DNA, she is still mostly human and therefore should not have been able to live this long. River explains that she had her lifespan augmented. Taking a drink from a serving tray, River explains that the ship is full of people like her or worse. Suites are reserved for world destroyers. Even the staff need a provable history of indiscriminate murder. "This is where genocide comes to relax. Do try the fish."

In the dining room, River reads her diary as the Doctor fidgets nervously. The Doctor notes deadlock seals can be broken; "by geniuses" River retorts, and a robot body isn't going to be one. He inquires as to why they're there, to which River says she's waiting for the person who answered her advert for selling the Halassi Androvar. The Doctor is surprised, wondering why River would do this when she was hired to bring it back to the Halassi. Laughing, River asks if the Doctor was born boring or he had to work hard to be so. Seeing River frowning at her diary, the Doctor asks if it's a sad story; she notes the one who gave it to her knew how long it should be, and there are only a few blank pages left for her to write in.

A man with a large scar across his face walks up to them asking for Song. Introducing himself as Scratch, a representative of Shoal of the Winter Harmony, he is silenced by River, who asks if he's empowered to purchase. They squabble over showing the merchandise or the payment. Scratch pulls the right side of his head open, removing an orb; disgusted, the Doctor tells him that he shouldn't be doing that where people eat. Scratch explains that the orb connects to every bank in the universe; once given commands, it will give River any amount of payment she desires. Happy, River gives him the bag, telling Scratch he might need a spoon to dig for the diamond. Annoyed, Scratch reveals that he filled the meeting point with members of his own species to ensure honest transaction.

In the meantime, Flemming is informed by another member of the staff of a situation in the baggage hold. Ramone appears on the monitor, stressed and demanding to be let out; unknown to Flemming, the robot body is holding a gun to his head off-screen. Flemming decides to go down and check things, getting held hostage by the robot body. It wishes to take his head for new information, but Flemming offers to give the body a head fit for a king instead.

Back in the dining room, River and the Doctor discover that Scratch and his compatriots worship King Hydroflax and are after the diamond in his honour. Despite attempts to hide the bagged head containing the diamond, they are forced to reveal the truth to create a distraction. Though it's considered heresy to try paying for the king, the Doctor laughs; "He can't be much of a king if you can't put a price on his head." They toss Hydroflax away and flee, only to be stopped by Flemming. The robot body enters, with Hydroflax happy he will be whole soon; however, the body stops short and scans him. The brain damage is now beyond recovery. Hydroflax orders his body to do whatever it takes to save him; it comes to the wrong conclusion that it needs a new head and disintegrates Hydroflax, leaving the diamond behind.

Flemming takes River's diary, explaining it is a guide to the best replacement head in the universe: the head of the Doctor. Scratch backs this up as the Doctor is a legendary being with multiple faces, which would be Hydroflax's crowning achievement. Flemming reads the diary, noting River's been to Asgard for a picnic, the crash of the Byzantium (which was turned into a movie), has met Jim the Fish (who is known by everyone in this era) and has just been to Manhattan (which Flemming thinks is a planet).

River is asked for the whereabouts of the Doctor, to which she truthfully doesn't know. The robot confirms it with a scan. However, Flemming believes that putting the Doctor's consort in danger will draw him in. However, River snaps at him; though she loves the Doctor, he never once said that he loved her. River tells them to scan for two hearts and stupid clothes, but they won't find him. The Doctor tries telling River who he is, but stops when River tells them the Doctor is above falling in love; "You don't expect a sunset to admire you back. When you love the Doctor, it's like loving the stars themselves." She then adds that he wouldn't be sentimental enough to be stuck in this situation with her. Breathing heavily from venting her feelings, River notices the Doctor's steady gaze and mild smirk. She gives a confused look, to which he says "Hello, sweetie."

Seeing how dense she's been, River tells him he'll be doing his roots, as the Doctor taunts her with the romantic poetry she used to describe her love for him; she then tells him she was just buying time until "it" happens. The robot body tells them to stop talking but is ignored. River asks the Doctor where the safest place would be if a meteor strike were to hit, and the Doctor tells her right where they are as it doubles as an escape route. Flemming asks what she means as the speakers announce the meteors' arrival; he asks River how she could have known. Smiling her usual smirk, River tells him that she's the archaeologist that dug his remains up in the future. The meteors hit and the floor gives way, allowing the Doctor and River to flee into the lower floor.

River tells the Doctor that she bought a guidebook that tells her when a restaurant will be destroyed; therefore, as a time traveller, she can get a free meal, as long as she doesn't go to the same place twice and create a paradox. The Doctor asks River if she likes his new body, to which she says she hasn't seen properly yet; however, she then wonders how he has a thirteenth one, as he ran out of regenerations. He tells her that "a thing" happened, to which she knows is usual with him. The diamond falls down towards them, with River catching it in her dress.

Hydroflax's body arrives to take the Doctor's head; the Doctor tells River to go stop the crash while he deals with this moron. The robot body cannot comprehend that even if it gets the Doctor's head, it won't survive the crash. Seeing the orb Scratch gave River, the Doctor grabs it and tells the robot that all kings need money. It demands he demonstrate. With a manic smile, the Doctor attaches it the base of the robot's neck and the A.I. begins sputtering randomly. "Welcome to the best firewalls in the universe. Nothing is protected like money." The robot garbles that it doesn't understand, to which the Doctor says is the same for everyone else. "He had a bad day at the bank." the Doctor tells an employee as he laughs at his own jokes and runs to join River.

In the bridge, the Doctor finds the crew has gone and River working at the controls. They start arguing over the marriages that the other had; the Doctor married Marilyn Monroe and Cleopatra, while River married Hydroflax,. Ramone and Stephen Fry. While the ship is crashing, River realises that they are heading towards the planet Darillium. River remembers that he always promised to take her there to see the Singing Towers, but always cancelled at the last minute. The Doctor retorts "I'll make sure to give them a wave as we pass by." Trying to save River, the Doctor tricks her into being teleported back to the TARDIS. However, she pilots it back to him. As they have entered the planet's atmosphere, they give up on saving the ship and take shelter in the TARDIS. The resulting impact of the crash knocks River unconscious.

Seeing that the universe is telling him to finally have his last night with River, the Doctor decides to give in to the inevitable. After travelling to the next morning, the Doctor suggests to a man searching for survivors of the crash that he builds a restaurant where they're standing, with a view of the Singing Towers, and gives him the diamond to fund its construction. Travelling forwards in time once again, the Doctor enters the now-built restaurant and books the table on the balcony for Christmas Day in four years' time. The Doctor doesn't mind as he can just jump to the date of his reservation.

When River awakes, she exits the TARDIS and is told by the receptionist that the Doctor is waiting for her in the restaurant. Changing for the occasion, River asks if they have a good table, to which she is told is the best in the house. To her shock, River runs into Hydroflax's body, now peacefully controlled by the heads of Ramone and Nardole; thanks to the Doctor attaching the orb to the robot, the A.I. was deleted in a bank merger. The body was pulled from the wreckage and the two of them have been working as a waiter in the restaurant since then. River shows attraction to Ramone's new body but is told to calm down by the Doctor, who has arrived in a new suit.

River compliments him, to which the Doctor tries to return the favour. However, River notes that her husband never knows when she looks good, but it was kind of him to try; at best, the Doctor has only noticed that River's hair has moved around a bit. The Doctor gives her a box, stating it's Christmas; River notes that the Doctor has never given her a gift before.

To her surprise and joy, it contains the sonic screwdriver she will use in the Library; "I saw the sonic trowel, and thought it was embarrassing." The Doctor demonstrates it to River, discretely scanning her into the neural relay hidden in it, so his tenth incarnation can upload her data ghost into the virtual world in the Library computer. River laughs with joy, as the Doctor hands her Christmas present back to her. The Doctor leads River to the balcony, which has an amazing view of the Singing Towers.

River listens in awe to the beautiful music. She then notices the Doctor is crying, something he blames on having the wind in his eyes. The Doctor states that it is the wind blowing through the crystal formations inside the towers that causes the music, according to some legends. He asks why River is ignoring the Towers, to which she sadly says "[they're] ignoring me." River reveals that her diary is nearly full, and asks whether the stories that this will be their final night together are true, to which the Doctor only responds by saying; "Spoilers", after knowing River for so long he had finally caught up with her in his timeline, and can't bring himself to reveal that this would indeed be their final night together.

River begs him to find a way around this event, but he insists there's no way to avoid the end of their times together and refuses to tell River the future. They both discuss the fleeting nature of things, River pointing out that "happily ever after" does not mean "forever", just "time"; it doesn't have to be much, just a little extra. Fearful that not much time is left before they part, River asks how long a night on Darillium is. Smiling, the Doctor informs her that one night on Darillium lasts for twenty-four years. Overjoyed, River once more tells the Doctor, "I hate you." He again replies, "No, you don't," As the two smile at each other

The words "And they both lived happily ever after" are displayed on-screen. Little by little, the message dissolves into gusts of snow, becoming more truthful as it gets reduced to "And they both lived happily", then only "happily", until it has all been swept away.

Cast

 * The Doctor Who - Christopher Eccleston
 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * The Doctor - Peter Davison
 * The Doctor - Matt Smith
 * The Doctor / Rose Tyler - Billie Piper
 * The Doctor / Bill Potts - Pearl Mackie
 * The Doctor / Madame Vastra - Neve McIntosh
 * The Doctor / Jenny Flint - Catrin Stewart
 * The Doctor / Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Amy Pond - Karen Gillan
 * Too The Doctor / River Song - Alex Kingston
 * Rory - Arthur Darvill
 * The Doctor / Grace - Sharon D Clarke
 * Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
 * The Doctor / Clara Oswald - Jenna Coleman
 * The Doctor / Donna Noble - Catherine Tate
 * The Doctor / Martha Jones — Freema Agyeman
 * Special The Doctor / Christina - Michelle Ryan
 * The New Doctor / Captain Jack - John Barrowman
 * Jenny - Georgia Moffett
 * The Doctor / Sarah Jane - Elisabeth Sladen
 * The Doctor / Jackie - Camille Coduri
 * The Doctor / Mickey - Noel Clarke
 * The Doctor / Nardole - Matt Lucas
 * Harriet Jones - Penelope Wilton
 * Danny Llewellyn - Daniel Evans
 * Alex - Adam Garcia
 * Sycorax Leader - Sean Gilder
 * Major Blake - Chu Omambala
 * Sally - Anita Briem
 * Alan - Marvyn Williams
 * Sandra - Sian McDowall
 * Jason - Paul Anderson
 * Mum - Cathy Murphy
 * Policeman - Seán Carlsen
 * Newsreader 1 - Jason Mohammed
 * Newsreader 2 - Sagar Arya
 * Newsreader 3 - Lachele Carl
 * Mr Parsons - Rod Arthur
 * Mr Wagner - Eugene Washington
 * Nina - Heather Cameron
 * Kenny - Joe Pickley
 * Luke - Benjamin Smith
 * Milo - Clem Tibber
 * Melissa - Lucinda Dryzek
 * Dinner Lady - Caroline Berry
 * Voice of K9 - John Leeson
 * Dr Ramsden - Nina Wadia
 * Barney Collins - Marcello Magni
 * Ice cream man - Perry Benson
 * Mrs Angelo - Annette Crosbie
 * Jeff - Tom Hopper
 * Mr Henderson - Arthur Cox
 * Mother - Olivia Coleman
 * Child 1 - Eden Monteath
 * Child 2 - Merin Monteath
 * Atraxi voice - David de Keyser
 * Prisoner Zero voice - William Wilde
 * As himself - Patrick Moore
 * The Captain - Mark Gatiss
 * Helen Clay - Nikki Amuka-Bird
 * German Soldier - Toby Whithouse
 * Santa Claus - Nick Frost
 * Danny Pink - Samuel Anderson
 * Ian - Dan Starkey
 * Wolf - Nathan McMullen
 * Shona - Faye Marsay
 * Ashley - Natalie Gumede
 * Bellows - Maureen Beattie
 * Professor Albert - Michael Troughton
 * Liz 10 - Sophie Okonedo
 * Hawthorne - Terrence Hardiman
 * Mandy - Hannah Sharp
 * Timmy - Alfie Field
 * Morgan - Christopher Good
 * Peter - David Ajala
 * Poem girl - Catrin Richards
 * Winder - Jonathan Battersby
 * Voice of Smilers / Winder - Chris Porter
 * Rosanna - Helen McCrory
 * Guido - Lucian Msamati
 * Isabella - Alisha Bailey
 * Francesco - Alex Price
 * Vampire girls - Gabriella Wilde, Hannah Steele, Elizabeth Croft, Sonila Vieshta, Gabriela Montaraz
 * Inspector - Michael Percival
 * Steward - Simon Gregor
 * Churchill - Ian McNeice
 * Vincent - Tony Curran
 * Maurice - Nik Howden
 * Mother - Chrissie Cotterill
 * Waitress - Sarah Counsell
 * School children - Morgan Overton, Andrew Byrne
 * Craig - James Corden
 * Sophie - Daisy Haggard
 * Steven - Owen Donovan
 * Sean - Babatunde Aleshe
 * Michael - Jem Wall
 * Sandra - Karen Seacombe
 * Clubber - Kamara Bacchus
 * Amelia - Caitlin Blackwood
 * Half-Face Man - Peter Ferdinando
 * Inspector Gregson - Paul Hickey
 * Alf - Tony Way
 * Elsie - Maggie Service
 * Cabbie - Mark Kempner
 * Barney - Brian Miller
 * Waiter - Graham Duff
 * Courtney - Ellis George
 * Policeman - Peter Hannah
 * Footman - Paul Kasey
 * Aunt Sharon - Susan Vidler
 * Christine - Frances Ashman
 * Stone Dalek - Barnaby Edwards
 * Dave - William Pretsell
 * Mr Pond - Halcro Johnston
 * Tabetha - Karen Westwood
 * Dalek voice - Nicholas Briggs
 * Madge Arwell - Claire Skinner
 * Cyril Arwell - Maurice Cole
 * Lily Arwell - Holly Earl
 * Reg Arwell - Alexander Armstrong
 * Co-pilot - Sam Stockman
 * Droxil - Bill Bailey
 * Ven-Garr - Paul Bazely
 * Billis - Arabella Weir
 * Wooden King - Spencer Wilding
 * Wooden Queen - Paul Kasey
 * Tasha Lem - Orla Brady
 * Digby - Joseph Darcey-Alden
 * Francesca - Ellie Darcey-Alden
 * Alice - Liz White
 * Uncle Josh - Jim Conway
 * Walter - Cameron Strefford
 * Walter's Mother - Annabelle Dowler
 * Bob Chilcott - Ben Addis
 * Clara's Friend - Sophie Miller-Sheen
 * Lead Workman - Daniel Hyde
 * Voice of the Great Intelligence - Ian McKellen
 * Voice of the Ice Governess - Juliet Cadzow
 * Dad - James Buller
 * Linda - Elizabeth Rider
 * Gran - Sheila Reid
 * Colonel Albero - Mark Anthony Brighton
 * Abramal - Rob Jarvis
 * Marta - Tessa Peake-Jones
 * Barnable - Jack Hollington
 * Colonel Meme - Sonita Henry
 * Voice of Handles - Kayvan Novak
 * Young Man - Tom Gibbons
 * Voice - Ken Bones
 * Cyberman - Aidan Cook
 * Voice of the Daleks & Cybermen - Nicholas Briggs
 * Silent - Ross Mullan
 * Grant - Justin Chatwin
 * The Ghost - Justin Chatwin
 * Lucy - Charity Wakefield
 * Mr Brock - Tomiwa Edun
 * Dr Sim - Aleksandar Jovanovic
 * Young Grant - Logan Hoffman
 * Teen Grant - Daniel Lorente
 * Reporter - Sandra Teles
 * Operator - Tanroh Ishida
 * Soldier - Vaughn Johseph
 * Mr Huffle - Mr Huffle
 * Moira - Jennifer Hennessy
 * Heather - Stephanie Hyam
 * Clive - Mark Benton
 * Caroline - Elli Garnett
 * Clive's Son - Adam McCoy
 * Autons - Alan Ruscoe, Paul Kasey, David Sant, Elizabeth Fost, Helen Otway
 * Nestene Voice - Nicholas Briggs
 * Steward - Simon Day
 * Jabe - Yasmin Bannerman
 * Moxx of Balhoon - Jimmy Vee
 * Cassandra - Zoë Wanamaker
 * Raffalo - Beccy Armory
 * Computer Voice - Sara Stewart
 * Alien Voices - Silas Carson
 * Mr Cleaver - William Thomas
 * Margaret - Annette Badland
 * Cathy - Mali Harries
 * Idris Hopper - Aled Pedrick
 * Slitheen - Alan Ruscoe
 * Davros - Julian Bleach
 * German Woman - Valda Aviks
 * Scared Woman - Shobu Kapoor
 * Chinese Woman - Elizabeth Tan
 * Liberian Man - Michael Price
 * Dalek Voice - Nicholas Briggs
 * Dalek Operators - Barney Edwards, Nick Pegg, David Hankinson, Anthony Spargo
 * Voice of K-9 - John Leeson
 * Voice of Mr Smith - Alexander Armstrong
 * The Landlord - David Suchet
 * Eliza - Mariah Gale
 * Shireen - Mandeep Dhillon
 * Felicity - Alice Hewkin
 * Paul - Ben Presley
 * Harry - Colin Ryan
 * Pavel - Bart Suavek
 * Estate Agent - Sam Benjamin
 * Young Landlord - Tate Pitchie-Cooper
 * Tim Shaw - Samuel Oatley
 * Karl - Jonny Dixon
 * Rahul - Amit Shah
 * Sonia - Asha Kingsley
 * Janey - Janine Mellor
 * Ramesh Sunder - Asif Khan
 * Andy - James Thackeray
 * Dean - Philip Abiodun
 * Dennis - Stephen MacKenna
 * Gabriel - Everal A Walsh
 * Angstrom - Susan Lynch
 * Epzo - Shaun Dooley
 * Ilin - Art Malik
 * Voice of the Remnants - Ian Gelder
 * Mahler – Robert Whitelock
 * Alexei - Dan Li
 * Little Girl – Daniella Eames
 * Pilot – Antony Edridge
 * Barista – Fred Pearson
 * Waitress – Jade Anouka
 * Newsreader – Olivia Hill
 * Man with Chips – Matthew Earley
 * Child reading Comic – Isabella Blake-Thomas
 * The Great Intelligence - Richard E Grant
 * The President - Donald Sumpter
 * The General - Ken Bones
 * Ashildr - Maisie Williams
 * Female General - T'Nia Miller
 * Gastron - Malachi Kirby
 * Ohila - Clare Higgins
 * The Woman - Linda Broughton
 * Man - Martin T. Sherman
 * Wraiths - Jami Reid-Quarrell, Nick Ash, Ross Mullen
 * King Hydroflax - Greg Davies
 * Ramone - Phillip Rhys
 * Flemming - Rowan Polonski
 * Scratch - Robert Curtis
 * Concierge - Anthony Cozens
 * Alphonse - Chris Lew Kum Hoi
 * Receptionist - Nicolle Smartt
 * King Hydroflax's Body - Liam Cook
 * Voice of Hydroflax - Nonso Anozie

Co-Starring

 * The Doctor - Georgina Campbell
 * The Doctor - Thandiwe Newton
 * The Doctor - Diane Morgan
 * The Doctor - Liv Hewson

Guest Cast

 * Graham O'Brien - Bradley Walsh
 * Dan Lewis - John Bishop
 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker

The Tenth Planet

 * The Doctor - David Bradley
 * Polly Wright - Lily Travers
 * Ben Jackson - Jared Garfield

Uncredited cast

 * Dr Henry Black - Bill Nighy
 * Avatar (voice) - Ben Peyton

The Doctor

 * The Doctor has been to several major events in his ninth incarnation, including the launching of the Titanic in 1912, the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, and the eruption of the volcano at Krakatoa in 1883.
 * The Doctor reads the novel The Lovely Bones in Jackie's flat by flipping through it.
 * The Doctor often says, "Fantastic!"
 * The Doctor finds out what his current face looks like for the first time by looking in a mirror.

Foods and beverages

 * Mickey offers to make Rose a cup of tea.
 * Rose offers to make the Doctor a cup of coffee which she is preparing in the kitchen when he is attacked by the Auton arm.
 * Rose and Mickey's Auton double go out for pizza.

Individuals

 * Rose's friend Suki says there are jobs going at the local hospital.
 * Jackie's friend Arianna successfully sued the council.
 * Rose thinks the dummies are a practical joke set up by Derek.
 * Jackie's friend Bev phones to make sure Rose is okay.
 * Jackie's friend Debbie knows someone from the Mirror.

Locations

 * Henrik's is located on Regent Street.
 * Jackie suggests Rose get a job at Finch's.

Technology

 * The Nestene Consciousness used warp shunt technology to get to Earth.

Story notes

 * This is the first story featuring the new TARDIS console room, which has a far more organic appearance than its predecessors. Initially questioned by fans, the later mini-episode Time Crash would confirm this as a new "desktop theme" for the TARDIS interior, which the Fifth Doctor called "coral".
 * The sonic screwdriver makes a reappearance on screen in a new shape, but with the same sound effect. The screwdriver was first introduced in TV: Fury from the Deep and destroyed in TV: The Visitation, then reappeared in TV: Doctor Who. From this episode onwards, it becomes an established tool within the series.
 * A copy of this story was available to download on the Internet on various peer-to-peer (p2p) networks several weeks before it was released. The preview version was near-identical to the broadcast version, with the exception of the title sequence and ending credits using the version of the title theme used between 1967 and 1980 (presumably as a placeholder) rather than the new arrangement by Murray Gold. In 2005, the illegal distribution of TV series episodes via p2p was nowhere near as widespread as it became with the later rise of torrents; Rose was one of the first major TV productions to be "leaked" in this fashion.
 * Similarly, on 8 March 2005, Reuters reported that a copy of the episode (which also didn't contain the new theme tune's arrangement) had been leaked onto the Internet, and was being widely traded via the BitTorrent file sharing protocol. The leak was ultimately traced to a third party company in Canada which had a legitimate preview copy. The employee responsible was fired by the company and the BBC considered further legal action.
 * The word "Auton" is not used in the dialogue of the story nor does it appear in the shooting script as published in 2005, but does appear in the episode credits.
 * The surname Finch was used for Clive and his wife in the production notes, but not in the on-screen version.
 * For this, the first episode, the opening credits follow the UK standard of "title sequence, then programme." The rest of this season and the next three would include a cold opening before the main title sequence of each episode, as had previously been done in TV: Castrovalva, TV: The Five Doctors, and TV: Time and the Rani.
 * There were problems during the first broadcast of this episode in the UK which meant that sound from a BBC Three program, Strictly Dance Fever hosted by Graham Norton, was heard over the scene in which Rose first encounters the Autons.
 * As part of the launch of the new series, the BBC screened the documentary Doctor Who: A New Dimension on BBC One — coincidentally narrated by David Tennant, the future Tenth Doctor.
 * Following this episode, Doctor Who Confidential Episode 1 was broadcast on BBC 3.
 * The reference to the Doctor having a Northern accent relates to the media attention generated around Christopher Eccleston — who had always retained his native Lancashire accent — not conforming to people's perception of what the Doctor should be like. It also references the fact the different actors who had previously played the Doctor had, themselves, differing accents, most notably Sylvester McCoy, whose Doctor spoke with a light Scottish accent, which would crop up again when Peter Capaldi took on the role.
 * In the scene where the Doctor is in Rose's flat, the original script called for the Doctor to stick his entire head in the cat flap. When it arrived, however, it was far too small.
 * The episode in early drafts had "Auton bin men", which would explain why Mickey could appear in the Nestene Consciousness's lair after being eaten alive by the plastic trash-bin.
 * Rose's comment about the Doctor sounding like he was from the north marks the second time Earth geography has been applied to the Doctor's demeanour (previously, he was referred to as being from England in the TV movie).
 * Similarly, Rose and the Doctor's exchange regarding his accent also echoes a similar discussion between the Fourth Doctor and fellow Time Lord Second Drax in TV: The Armageddon Factor regarding the latter's affected Cockney accent.
 * A special effects milestone occurs when the Doctor is shown standing in the door of the TARDIS and the interior is clearly visible behind him. In the original series, the interior of the TARDIS was usually shown as a dark void whenever a head-on view of the open doors — a rarity — occurred (though this has previously been done in the pilot version of the first episode of the original series; however curiously enough not in its broadcast version). For the first time, elements of the exterior of the TARDIS — specifically the inside of the doors and the POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX lettering along the roofline — are visible from the console room.
 * Between the final scene and the closing credits, the episode incorporates a "Next Time..." trailer for the next episode. This is the first time this device has been used in Doctor Who. This becomes a regular feature, omitted only on rare occasions, or occasionally moved to the end of the closing credits. It also introduces a trend which remained through the RTD era of the show that the trailer would be proceeded by the 2005 Doctor Who logo swiping across the screen from right to left. It was also rare that this feature would happen before the credits rather than the trailer.
 * Actor Nicholas Briggs makes his debut on the revived series, providing the voice of the Nestene Consciousness. He would go to be the show's designated voice actor, remaining the Daleks' and Cybermen's voice actor (as of 2020). Rose is far from Briggs' first Doctor Who-related work, as he had been an active participant in independent, unofficial, and licensed spin-off productions dating back to the 1980s, most notably hosting the Myth Makers interview video series, writing and directing films for BBV Productions and Reeltime Pictures, and as producer of the Big Finish Productions Doctor Who audio dramas, a project that had its roots in Audio Visuals, a series of fan-made Doctor Who audio adventures in which Briggs himself played the Doctor. In 2009, Briggs would have his first official on-screen appearance in a Who franchise production with a supporting role in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
 * Russell T Davies becomes the first author of original Doctor Who spin-off fiction to write for the official TV series. A decade earlier, he wrote the Seventh Doctor novel Damaged Goods for the Virgin New Adventures line of novels. Numerous other writers of licensed spin-off fiction and Big Finish Productions audio dramas would go on to write for the revival, including Paul Cornell, Mark Gatiss (who would also guest star in three episodes), Steven Moffat (who would ultimately succeed Davies as lead writer in 2009), Robert Shearman, and Gareth Roberts.
 * This is the first episode of Doctor Who to use the name of a companion in its title.
 * The scene in which Rose wanders through the basement of the department store alone was the first scene Billie Piper shot as Rose Tyler (per Project Who).
 * The "UNIT website" would reveal that the Auton assault was commonly believed to be an attack by "disguised members of a terrorist coalition", though some people did believe it was aliens; UNIT would not "confirm or deny" that.
 * Clive's website, Who is Doctor Who?, marks the first time a character has directly referred to the Doctor by the name "Doctor Who" on screen since WOTAN in TV: The War Machines. Clive's use is clearly meant in the form of a question, with "Doctor Who" being more or less a nickname.
 * The original preview trailers for Series 1 include a scene where the Ninth Doctor is narrowly outrunning a fireball behind him down a concrete tunnel. This is likely set moments after he set off the explosives he laid in Henrik's, and details his escape from the doomed building.
 * Executive producer Russell T Davies stated that he chose to have Christopher Eccleston depict a new incarnation of the Doctor so he could have a fresh start for both the new viewers and the narratives he wanted to implant in the series, and because Eccleston was a good friend of his who wanted to help Doctor Who gain momentum to become successful again.
 * Paul McGann, who portrayed the Eighth Doctor in the telemovie, said that he would have returned to the series if given the chance, but Russell T Davies did not want to depict a regeneration with first-time viewers tuning in, who would be unable to identify why the Doctor changed appearances. Eventually, he was given a chance to reprise the Eighth Doctor in 2013 for the mini-episode TV: The Night of the Doctor, which dealt with the lingering mystery of his regeneration.
 * This story seemingly implied that the Ninth Doctor had recently undergone regeneration from a past incarnation, when he commented about the features of his face while looking at a mirror in Rose's flat. The logical assumption at the time of his debut among viewers was that he had regenerated from the Eighth Doctor. However, this was disproven in 2013 when Steven Moffat conceived a new incarnation to retroactively insert between the Eighth and Ninth Doctors. The so-called War Doctor, played by John Hurt, did not call himself the Doctor until the end of his life and was an honorary, unnumbered inclusion among the other incarnations who carried the title fully throughout their lives. The War Doctor was cemented as the Ninth Doctor's predecessor when he regenerated into him near the end of TV: The Day of the Doctor. Additionally, in a retrospective on the new series in DWM 485, Russell T Davies stated the intention of the scene was merely him noticing the features, rather like being disappointed with "buck teeth" or similar un-aesthetically pleasing traits. He notes the Doctor in the episode is "in command" rather than post-regenerative, and he included the references to Krakatoa and Titanic to suggest this incarnation has a life before this episode.
 * The original assumption about the Ninth Doctor emerging from the regeneration of the Eighth Doctor would later be maintained in Russell's short story Doctor Who and the Time War, written before, but ultimately released after, Moffat introduced the War Doctor and The Night of the Doctor.
 * This is the only episode introducing a new Doctor in the revived series to not run longer than average.
 * This was the first episode since Part Two of 1985's TV: Revelation of the Daleks to run for approximately 45 minutes.
 * This is the first TV story since TV: Mission to the Unknown to consist of a single standard-length episode. This would become the standard for the revived series.
 * This is also the first story since TV: Logopolis, to credit its leading cast member as 'Doctor Who' and not 'The Doctor', but this credit would be reverted during David Tennant's tenure, at his request.
 * This is the first TV story to include a creator credit for a creature or character. In this case, Robert Holmes was credited as the creator of the Autons.
 * During writing, Russell T Davies had trouble coming up with how Mickey was supposed to be captured by the Nestene Consciousness while waiting for Rose in the car, and finally realised he could be lured by a plastic wheelie bin. He commented that such instances of the ordinary being made scary made the series unique.
 * Russell T Davies had to take out "oblique" references to the Autons being like terrorists, as the Eye was once a target of a terrorist attack.
 * The entrance of the Doctor was something much debated; Jane Tranter and other members of the production team wanted it to be more dramatic, but the scene was never reshot. Russell T Davies remarked that it reflects Rose's point of view, whereas a more dramatic entrance would reflect the audience's excitement at the Doctor coming back.
 * The scene in which the Auton arm attacks in the Tylers' flat was originally much longer, but was revised.
 * The episode originally underran by several minutes, and a scene with the Doctor and Rose walking was added a month or so later.
 * Russell T Davies wanted the Doctor to realise that Rose has something to offer to his cause. Their holding hands while running was meant to signify that they were a team, despite him not asking her yet, and they were not to question their relationship.
 * The episode was intended to be presented from Rose's point-of-view. For audience identification purposes, Russell T Davies wanted the alien menace to be easily mistaken as human, so that it was possible for Rose to mistake the aliens for humans. Davies felt that there was no need to create a new monster, as the Autons met these criteria.
 * The Auton sequences were difficult to film because the costumes were uncomfortable for the actors; which meant that frequent breaks from filming were needed.
 * Computer-generated imagery was used in post-production to cover up the zipper on the back of the necks of the Auton costumes.
 * Russell T Davies wanted to recreate the scene of the Autons breaking out of shop windows from their first appearance in Spearhead from Space, although he had the budget to actually smash the glass instead of just cutting around it like in Spearhead.
 * Russell T Davies offered Edgar Wright the opportunity to direct the episode, but Wright was forced to decline, as he was still working on Shaun of the Dead.
 * The pizza restaurant is La Fosse. It took the production team a while to find a restaurant that would require minimal set dressing but would be willing to close for a day.
 * The production team sought to film the Cardiff scenes in secrecy, but the day before they began the Cardiff Council issued a press release naming the streets where they would be filming.
 * The area underneath the London Eye where the Doctor and Rose confront the Nestene Consciousness was filmed in an unused paper mill in Grangetown, Cardiff. It underwent steam cleaning because there were such high health and safety concerns. They were only permitted to film for three days, which required that some of the sequence be cut: originally, there was to be another Auton Mickey involved.
 * In the original script, Rose's first experience of seeing the TARDIS interior was shared with the audience. Keith Boak, however, wanted her to exit and run around the TARDIS before entering again, at which point the interior would be revealed to the audience. This change was eventually embraced by the executive producers. Russell T Davies remarked that he originally wanted to take Rose and the audience inside the TARDIS in all one shot, but this was not a feasible with the budget. This effect would later be accomplished in The Snowmen.
 * The episode name was gradually shortened; in Davies' pitch it had been called Rose meets the Doctor, and the journey begins, on his contract Rose Meets the Doctor and finally Rose.
 * Noel Clarke isn't too fond of this episode: "It wasn't played straight - some of it was played for laughs. I have no excuses, but I do have reasons: I had no rehearsal time, so I didn't really know the tone of what we were doing. I'd never met Chris before, or Billie or Camille. I didn't realise at the time, but my head wasn't where it should have been".
 * Steven Moffat stated in 2013 that he believed that the Ninth Doctor is newly-regenerated here, as evidenced by his reaction to looking in the mirror. Russell T Davies disagrees: "No, I don't think he'd just regenerated. If you have certain physical features like big ears or buck teeth, you look at them and sigh every time you look in the mirror. And I think if you'd had eight different faces, even if you'd been in the current form for a hundred years, you'd still mutter at them. So it was meant as a nod to the fact he'd once had other faces. But I wrote the Titanic stuff and Krakatoa assuming that the Ninth Doctor had been around for a while. He doesn't act very post-regeneration, does he? He appears in command, waving a bomb. This is a man who knows himself, and has known himself for a while".
 * On March 26 2020, the fifteenth anniversary of the episode, a collective fan "Watch-along" was held on Twitter. Russell T Davies participated and released a prequel and sequel to the episode. The prequel was entitled "Doctor Who and the Time War", an unused story intended for Doctor Who Magazine but declined for contradicting The Day of the Doctor. The story concerns the Eighth Doctor's regeneration into the Ninth Doctor after the events of the Time War. The sequel was entitled "Revenge of the Nestene" it was released in audio form akin to the Big Finish range and serves as a continuation of the novelisation and concerns the survival of one Auton after the events of the episode. The infamous Graham Norton interruption was also recreated.
 * This is the first television story to be recorded on the digital betacam format.
 * Russell T Davies revealed in The Writer's Tale that Mackenzie Crook was almost cast as Clive Finch.

Ratings

 * 10.81 million, with a 43.2% audience share.

Myths and rumours

 * It is often speculated that the Nestene Consciousness can be heard to utter the words "Bad Wolf". (The subtitles and DVD commentary for the episode state that it says "Time Lord". This can be heard more clearly on the Bluray release of series 1.)
 * Due to the widescreen format introduced with this episode, it was often erroneously stated that this episode and those that followed were filmed in high-definition. In fact, the first high-definition Doctor Who episode wasn't produced until Planet of the Dead in 2009. The spinoff series Torchwood, however, had always been produced in high definition. In 2010, the first standard-definition Doctor Who episode to be professionally upscaled to HD, The Next Doctor, was released on Blu-ray; this opened the door for Rose and other episodes of the first four series to undergo similar conversion in 2013.
 * Was produced as a pilot before leading into production of a full series. The episode was always part of a 13-episode production block - with exceptions, the BBC seldom produces "pilot episodes" in the American sense of the word.

Filming locations

 * Howells, Cardiff (Henrik's)
 * Queens Arcade, Cardiff (shopping centre)
 * Working Street, Cardiff (shopping centre)
 * St Mary's Market, Cardiff (alleyway where Rose agrees to travel with the Doctor)
 * Cardiff Royal Infirmary (restaurant yard)
 * Disused paper mill, Grangetown, Cardiff (Nestene lair)
 * Trafalgar Square, London
 * Victoria Embankment, London
 * London Eye, London
 * Westminster Bridge, London
 * Brandon Estate, Kennington, London (Powell Estate)
 * Lydstep Flats, Gabalfa, Cardiff (Powell Estate)
 * University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff (Henrik's basement)
 * Unit Q2, Newport (studio filming)
 * Skinner Street, Newport (scene with the Doctor and the bomb)
 * Culverhouse Cross Studio 1, Cardiff (insert shot) (all TCH 48)

Production errors

 * In the opening titles, when the TARDIS moves screen-left out of the time vortex for the first time (while the vortex is blue, a second or two before the bullet-time freeze transition from blue to red), it doesn't pass through anything but simply vanishes. This error remains part of the title sequence throughout the Russell T Davies era, and becomes more obvious once production of the show moved to HD in Planet of the Dead.
 * As Rose opens the door to the room in the basement where she first encounters the Autons and the Doctor, before switching the lights on, the cameraman's shadow can be seen falling on some boxes.
 * The BBC news report incorrectly spells Henrik's as Henrick's.
 * In the news report, it shows the time as 20:45, two minutes pass by and it still says 20:45.
 * If one looks carefully, the eyeholes in the faces of the Auton costumes are visible.
 * When the Doctor pulls off the Auton's arm, the sleeve vanishes. There's no sound of it ripping and it wasn't on the arm when it got pulled off.
 * When the Auton's arm gets pulled off, it's obviously its right arm. But when Rose carries it home, it is now a left arm, which turns back into a right arm when she gets home.
 * While Rose is making coffee, the milk is in her right hand. It cuts to the Doctor shuffling cards, then cuts back and we see that now she has a teaspoon in her right hand. Again, it cuts back to him trying to shuffle them, and the milk is back in her right hand.
 * While Mickey is trying to escape from the bin, he turns around 180 degrees, twisting the strands of plastic attached to his hands. It cuts to another angle and the strands are un-twisted.
 * When Rose sets off the fire alarm in the restaurant, the glass cover doesn't break.
 * When Rose first enters the TARDIS, there is only one handrail near the door. Then as she exits the TARDIS there is a handrail on both sides of the entrance.
 * As the Doctor and Rose run across Westminster Bridge, two buses pass by on their right. Another shot shows them from the other side of the road, and the buses have disappeared.
 * After the Nestene identifies the TARDIS, one can see a microphone above the Doctor's head.
 * When the three Auton brides close in on Jackie, their hands fall off one-by-one, but as the second one falls off, the third one has already fallen off, and in the next shot it falls again.
 * The TARDIS interior background painted in behind the Doctor in the first shot of the final scene where he's offering to take Rose with him is jittery and rough, with a noticeable black spot appearing above his left shoulder. It is also noticeable above his right shoulder as he steps back into the TARDIS to close the door and disappear. This is most noticeable on the Bluray release, and is also visible in the recap of the episode seen at the beginning of Aliens of London.

Continuity

 * One of the buses that passed Rose on her way to work matches the appearance of the Celestial Omnibus. (PROSE: Iris Wildthyme and the Polythene Terror)
 * The Doctor introduces himself to Rose in almost the same way he did to Charley Pollard. (AUDIO: Storm Warning)
 * People similar to Clive who are obsessed with the Doctor were depicted in PROSE: Return of the Living Dad.
 * The Doctor once again speed reads a book in a matter of seconds. (TV: City of Death, The Time of Angels, AUDIO: Invaders from Mars)
 * The Doctor once again tries his hand at card tricks. (TV: Robot)
 * Rose returns to London in TV: Aliens of London.
 * The Auton invasion is referenced in TV: Love & Monsters.
 * Rose tells the Doctor she had a cat. (PROSE: The Cat Came Back)
 * The Nestene Consciousness survived (PROSE: Revenge of the Nestene) and attempts another invasion of Earth fighting the Doctor's next incarnation. (PROSE: Autonomy)
 * Unbeknownst to Rose, this is not the first time that she met the Doctor. She previously encountered the Tenth Doctor on 1 January 2005, immediately before his regeneration into his eleventh incarnation. (TV: The End of Time)
 * The Doctor once again claims that the TARDIS withstood an attack from the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan. (AUDIO: City of Spires) This assertion is heard by the Eleventh Doctor when a time rift of the past leaks into the TARDIS. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
 * The Doctor's ability to sense the movement of the Earth is similar to his previous ability to sense the movement of a space station in PROSE: The Murder Game, and feel the effects of a drill twenty-one thousand kilometres beneath the ground in TV: The Hungry Earth . Similarly, in his eleventh incarnation, he was keenly aware of the suspicious lack of engine vibrations onboard the Starship UK. (TV: The Beast Below) The Twelfth Doctor was also able to deduce that the gravity of what appeared to be a spaceship was too realistic, and that it was actually a building on an invisible planet, which turned out to be Skaro. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)
 * The Ninth Doctor had at least one adventure without Rose before returning and telling her the TARDIS can travel in time. (PROSE: The Beast of Babylon)
 * The Doctor, upon looking at his reflection in a mirror, remarks that his ears are quite large. This betrays the wishes of his predecessor, who wanted ears which were less conspicuous upon regenerating. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) This also reflects the reaction the Fourth Doctor had to his reflection, who was quite uncertain about his ears. (TV: Robot)
 * This is quite possibly the first time he's seen himself in the mirror, as he destroyed every mirror in the TARDIS immediately after his regeneration. (PROSE: The Day of the Doctor)
 * Clive tells Rose about how the Ninth Doctor convinced the Daniels family not to go on the Titanic. (AUDIO: Battle Scars) He also shows her a charcoal drawing of the Ninth Doctor at Krakatoa in 1883. (AUDIO: Her Own Bootstraps)
 * The Lord Mayor of Cardiff Roy Llewellyn was believed to have been among the people killed during the Auton attack, which had spread to at least Cardiff. In reality, he was murdered by Barry Jackson as part of his scheme to become Lord Mayor, who covered his death up amongst the casualties of the invasion (AUDIO: One Rule) which was subsequently explained away as a terrorist attack just as the first Nestene invasion in the 1970s was given the cover story of Black Thursday. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy, TV: Spearhead from Space) Having become the new Lord Mayor after eliminating the rest of the candidates, Barry Jackson would eventually be succeeded by Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen, posing as Margaret Blaine. (TV: Boom Town)
 * Rose questions whether the Autons were actually students playing a practical joke. When the TARDIS landed at Gatwick Airport in 1966, the report about it doing so was also believed to have been something done by students. (TV: The Faceless Ones)

DVD releases

 * This story was released on a DVD along with The End of the World and The Unquiet Dead as Doctor Who - Series 1: Volume 1. However, in Portugal and Russia Series 1: Volume 1 also included the contents of Series 1: Volume 2.
 * This story was also released as part of the series 1 DVD box set, Doctor Who - The Complete First Series.
 * This story was also released with Issue 1 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.

Blu-ray releases

 * This story was released in The Complete Series One Blu-ray set in November 2013 along with the rest of the series. This release was initially bundled with the first seven series of the revived Doctor Who.
 * In 2017, a Complete Series One Blu-ray steelbook was released as a limited edition.

Other releases

 * Series 1: Volume 1 was also the first to be released in the UMD format for PlayStation Portable.


 * This story is available for streaming via Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime. It can also be purchased on iTunes.
 * In 2015, it was released by BBC Worldwide on BitTorrent and iTunes in the A Decade of the Doctor bundle, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the new series. It included introductions by Peter Capaldi, Earth Conquest: The World Tour and an episode guide.

Home video releases

 * This story was released with Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways on a "vanilla" DVD with no extras.
 * It was also part of the series 1 DVD box set.
 * This story was also released with Issue 6 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.

Home video releases

 * This episode was released as a "vanilla" DVD along with Tooth and Claw and The Girl in the Fireplace.
 * It was also released as part of the Series 2 DVD boxed set.
 * On a single disk by itself, it was given away with the purchase of a newspaper, as part of a promotion by The Sun.
 * This was also released with issue 9 of the Doctor Who DVD Files.

Home video releases

 * This episode was released as the sole story on Doctor Who: The Runaway Bride, alongside the full Children In Need 2006 concert. Extras include Music and Monsters and the Dr Who Confidential/ Children in Need 2006 Special Concert.
 * It is also included in the Series 3 DVD box set.
 * It is one of seven stories that are included in the Time Lord Victorious: Road to the Dark Times blu-ray.

Home video releases

 * This story was released with Smith and Jones and Gridlock on the Series 3 Volume 1 DVD.
 * It is also included in the Series 3 DVD box set.

Home video releases
Planet of the Dead was released on DVD and, for the first time for a Doctor Who episode, on Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 29th June 2009. The release includes a single bonus feature:


 * Doctor Who Confidential - unlike previous DVD releases, this is a complete, 60-minute version, including licensed music and clips from both the classic series and the 1996 TV movie.

In North America, the DVD and Blu-ray were released on 28 July 2009. The release is identical to the Region 2 version, including the intact Confidential, even though it includes clips from the 1996 TV movie which at the time could not be released in Region 1 due to licensing issues.

In Australia, the DVD was released on 29th of June 2009, Blu-ray on 1st of October 2009 and included the same special features as the UK release.

This is the first Doctor Who episode to ever be released on the high-definition Blu-ray format.

The four specials plus The Next Doctor were released in the UK on both DVD and Blu-ray in a box set in January 2010, with a North American release scheduled for 2nd February 2010.

This episode is listed as episode 16 of Series 4 on Netflix in the US. Previously, it had been listed as a separate standalone title, before vanishing from the service entirely sometime in 2011. It reappeared on Netflix in 2014, concurrent with the additions of The Day of the Doctor and The Time of the Doctor to the service.

Home video releases
BBC Video - Doctor Who Series Five - Volume One was released on DVD and Blu-Ray on 7 June 2010 (UK only), featuring The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, Victory of the Daleks, and the featurette The Monster Diaries. A full-series box set has been released.

Of note, the "Next Time..." trail at the end of each episode has been excised from this and all future episodes for the DVD/Bluray releases up to A Christmas Carol.

Home video releases
BBC Video – Doctor Who Series Five – Volume Four features Vincent and the Doctor, The Lodger, The Pandorica Opens and The Big Bang. It was released on Monday 6 September 2010 (UK Only) on DVD and Blu-ray.

The complete series 5 box set was later released in the UK 8 November 2010 in both DVD and Blu-ray.

DVD & Blu-Ray releases

 * This story was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 24 January 2011 in UK markets and 15 February 2011 in North American markets.
 * The episode was later released in the complete series 6, which included the first and second half of the series, was released on DVD and Blu-ray on the 21 November 2011.
 * A Christmas Carol was released on Region 2 DVD, and Region B Blu-ray on 20 January 2014 as part of The Time of the Doctor + Other Eleventh Doctor Christmas Specials set. The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, The Snowmen and The Time of the Doctor were also included on both versions.

Home video releases
This episode, along with the rest of the first half of the series (episodes one through to five) was released on DVD and Blu Ray on 28 October 2012.

DVD releases

 * Doctor Who: Deep Breath. The release included the cinema prequel, Doctor Who Extra and Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. The Region A release also featured The Real History of Science Fiction.
 * Doctor Who: Series 8 Boxset

Blu-ray releases

 * Doctor Who: Deep Breath Blu-Ray
 * Doctor Who: Series 8 Blu-ray Boxset

Home video releases

 * This story was released on DVD in 23 February 2016. It was also released as part of the Series 9 boxset on 7 March 2016.

In-universe

 * Clive's whoisdoctorwho.co.uk website