Eve of the Daleks (TV story)

Eve of the Daleks was the 2022 New Year Special of Doctor Who. It continued from the end of The Vanquishers, which saw the Doctor's TARDIS still damaged from the Great Disruption. Attempting to reboot it, the Thirteenth Doctor accidentally traps ELF Storage and everyone inside it within a time loop. It also dealt with the consequences of the Doctor allowing the Dalek War Fleet to be destroyed by the Sontaran Empire in the final Flux event, with Dalek Executioners being sent to exterminate the Doctor in revenge.

Notably, the episode was the first to explicitly establish Yasmin Khan's feelings toward the Doctor as being romantically inclined.

Synopsis
Ten minutes until midnight and the dawning of 2022. With the Doctor's TARDIS out of action, the Doctor, Yaz, and Dan are forced to wait in an ordinary self-storage facility with only one customer. However, Dalek Executioners are on the hunt and a time loop forces the trapped allies to keep reliving the dying minutes of 2021. What has gone wrong with time? What do the Daleks want? As New Year's Day ticks ever closer, the Doctor's tactics will be pushed to the limit to break the loop and dodge extermination on a night where auld acquaintance can't be forgot.

Plot
to be added

Cast

 * The Doctor - Jodie Whittaker
 * Yasmin Khan - Mandip Gill
 * Dan Lewis - John Bishop
 * Sarah - Aisling Bea
 * Nick - Adjani Salmon
 * Dalek Operator 1 - Barnaby Edwards
 * Dalek Operator 2 - Nicholas Pegg
 * Additional Dalek Operator - Jon Davey
 * Voice of the Daleks - Nicholas Briggs
 * Mary - Pauline McLynn
 * Karl - Jonny Dixon

The TARDIS

 * The TARDIS' Cloister Bell tolls when the Doctor initiates the self-reset.

ELF Storage

 * Prohibited items for storage in ELF Storage included stolen or illegal goods, humans, animals, tyres, cash, plants, food, cars, guns, ammunition, and toxic, hazardous, and radioactive materials.
 * Nick's unit is filled with items that belonged to his ex-girlfriends, which he kept in case they ever asked for them back.

Holidays and celebrations

 * The majority of the story is set on New Year's Eve, with New Year's Day dawning by the end.
 * Sarah's mother and friends are at New Year's Eve parties.
 * ELF Storage's entrance hall is adorned with Christmas trees and Christmas lights.

Individuals

 * Sarah recieves New Year text messages from Megan, Laura, and others.
 * Nick's ex-girlfriends included Simona, Lucy, and Nicole.
 * Mary claims that she met Sarah's father on New Year's Eve. They actually met on 7 January, which Mary claims to be "the same thing".
 * Sarah inherited ELF Storage from her deceased great-uncle Barry.
 * Sarah utters, "Oh, my giddy aunt", while on the run from the Daleks.

Technology

 * Sarah's mobile phone cannot be put on silent.

Popular culture

 * Nick puts a Monopoly game, which belonged to his ex-girlfriend, Simona, into storage.
 * The Doctor claims she and Yaz "would be so good on ".
 * Dan compares the time loop to Groundhog Day.

Romance

 * Dan notices that the Doctor and Yaz have romantic feelings towards each other, even when both deny it.
 * Mary tells her daugter that New Year's Eve is the best time to meet a man.
 * Nick has "a lot" of ex-girlfriends, including Simona, Lucy, and Nicole. The sheer number of them, coupled with Nick's apparent obsessiveness over their possessions, prompts a worried Yaz to ask him if they're all "still alive", which Nick confirms.

Foods and beverages

 * One of Jeff's storage units is filled with shelves full of cans of Beef N Beans.

Story notes

 * This episode has the longest cold opening in the franchise, running just over 00:09:10. The previous episode to hold this title was The Return of Doctor Mysterio.
 * Unlike The End of Time: Part Two and Resolution, the endboard for this episode had the letters MMXXII, which is the correct year for the broadcasting date which was 2022. This also happened with Revolution of the Daleks which had the letters MMXXI, which is also the correct year for the broadcasting date of 2021.
 * When Jodie Whittaker first read the script for this episode and saw that the Doctor gets exterminated in the opening minutes, she genuinely believed that she had been written out of the show earlier than she thought she was going to be.
 * At one point, one of the Daleks says, "I am not Nick", an ironic joke due to them being voiced by Nicholas Briggs.

Ratings

 * Overnights: 3.21 million
 * Consolidated: to be added

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
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Continuity

 * Daleks have previously pursued the Doctor with the intent of executing them for revenge. (TV: The Chase)
 * The Doctor resets the TARDIS to remove debris left over after the Great Disruption, such as multiple doors. (TV: The Halloween Apocalypse)
 * The Fourth Doctor previously used his sonic screwdriver to interfere with Daleks on Proxima Major, causing more than just weapon interference. This included interference in their speech circuits and motor circuits. (AUDIO: The Dalek Contract/The Final Phase) Similarly, the Thirteenth Doctor had previously used her sonic screwdriver successfully to interfere with the Reconnaissance Dalek's weaponry, as it wasn't "fully in sync yet". (TV: Resolution)
 * The Doctor states her sonic screwdriver is unable to resonate concrete. The Ninth Doctor learned this fact when he was unable to use it to escape from the Empty Child with Rose Tyler. (TV: The Doctor Dances)
 * Dan mentions that the Doctor saved the universe "last week". (TV: The Vanquishers)
 * The Daleks accuse the Doctor of destroying the Dalek War Fleet during the Flux, which she counters was a Sontaran plan that she had only hijacked. (TV: The Vanquishers)
 * Dan notices that Yaz has romantic feelings for the Doctor. Yaz didn't realise that it was so obvious. The Doctor is aware but pretending she isn't. (TV: Arachnids in the UK)
 * Dan mentions Yaz watching the hologram of the Doctor. (TV: Survivors of the Flux)
 * The Doctor mentions not having seen this much gunpowder since 1605 alluding to Guy Fawkes' attempted destruction of parliament, which was witnessed by the Doctor, (GAME: The Gunpowder Plot) and also Yaz. (PROSE: Black Powder)
 * The destruction of ELF Storage is witnessed by Karl Wright. (TV: The Woman Who Fell to Earth)

Home video releases
to be added