The Next Doctor (TV story)

Synopsis
It's Christmas Eve in 1851 and Cybermen stalk the snow of Victorian London. The Doctor arrives and starts to investigate a spate of mysterious deaths. He's surprised to meet another Doctor who has his own sonic screwdriver, a TARDIS... and his own companion, Rosita. But how is this even possible?

Plot
The Doctor lands in London on Christmas Eve, 1851, and promptly hears a woman frantically calling, "Doctor!" He rushes to the scene of the disturbance, where he encounters a woman called Rosita who does not believe his claims to be the Doctor she is calling for. Another man, also calling himself "The Doctor," races forward and produces a device he refers to as a sonic screwdriver. A strange creature, with a bronze face like that of a Cyberman but a hunched and furred body, bursts into the alley. The three give chase, but the creature eludes them. In the aftermath of the chase, the two Doctors talk: the Tenth Doctor believes the other to be his next regeneration, but unfortunately the other (the titular Next Doctor) doesn't recognize him; the Next Doctor explains that many of the memories are missing, and that he cannot remember anything "since the Cybermen."

Nearby, a group of Cybermen observe the footage gleaned from the Cybershade (the creature pursued by the trio); however, the Cyberman recognize the Next Doctor, not the original, as their foe. They discuss their plans for the next attack with their ally, Miss Mercy Hartigan. The attack is scheduled for 14:00 hours - the same time as a funeral whose procession the Next Doctor and Rosita observe.

While the funeral takes place, the two Doctors are investigating the house of the deceased, Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. As they investigate, the Next Doctor explains that the Cybermen's presence is linked to a number of murders and child abductions across London, starting with the death of a man named Jackson Lake and culminating in the Reverend's death. The Next Doctor begins to show signs of remembering the original Doctor, but before he can delve further, the Tenth Doctor finds, hidden in a roll-top desk, a pair of infostamps: devices that allow the storage of large amounts of information. The Doctor activates one, discovering it contains information on the history of London from 1066 to 1851.

The Doctor realizes the Cybermen have been using the infostamps to update their knowledge of history. However, the Next Doctor remembers he was holding an infostamp the night he lost his memory, which he also proclaims to be the night he regenerated. Their discussion is cut short when the Cybermen attack; the original Doctor fends them off with a cutlass, but the Cybermen are not interested in him - only the Next Doctor. Before they can kill the pair, the Next Doctor overloads the core of the infostamp and opens it, destroying the Cybermen.

At the funeral, Miss Hartigan arrives with a platoon of Cybermen and Cybershades in tow. She spares a number of the mourners (who are owners of workhouses and orphanages), but the others are 'deleted' by the Cybermen. The survivors are fitted with Ear-Pods and dispatched by Miss Hartigan. The two Doctors return to the Next Doctor's home base, containing all of the luggage belonging to the first victim, Jackson Lake. Rosita and the Next Doctor show the original Doctor their TARDIS: a hot-air balloon (Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style). The Doctor tells the Next Doctor he can explain what happened to him, which the Next Doctor agrees to. The original Doctor tells him and Rosita about the Battle of Canary Wharf and how the Cybermen were cast into the Void.

However, they managed to escape from the Void when the walls of the universe were weakened in "a greater battle," and found themselves in London in 1851. They soon came upon a man, Jackson Lake, a mathematics teacher and the first person to disappear. The Cybermen attacked his home and killed his wife. In desperation, Lake grabbed an infostamp to defend himself, one containing information on the Doctor gleaned from the Daleks; though the infostamp destroyed the Cybermen, it backfired and overwhelmed Lake's mind. In his fear and despair, he came to believe he was the Doctor. The Doctor then reveals his final piece of proof: the fob watch the Next Doctor carries with him is engraved with the initials JL. Lake, remembering who he is and what has happened to him, is overcome with emotion and breaks down sobbing.

The Doctor and Rosita head out to investigate. They discover that the converted workhouse owners are marching the children of their establishments through a sluice gate to the Thames, which is guarded by Cybermen and Cybershades. The Doctor and Rosita try to sneak around and are confronted by Miss Hartigan. She explains that she has not been converted, and that the Cybermen offered her her liberation. The Doctor returns the infostamp to the Cybermen, who download it, confirming he is their foe, not Lake. Miss Hartigan explains that the children are a workforce, to bring about the birth of "it," but refuses to say what. She orders the Cybermen to delete the pair, but Lake arrives and provides a distraction with another infostamp and they are able to escape. Miss Hartigan furiously announces that "the CyberKing will rise tonight!"

Lake tells the Doctor he and his family were moving to London so he could take up a teaching post, and that he discovered the Cybermen in his basement. The Doctor realizes there may be a way into the Cybermen's base through Lake's house. Inside the house, they find a Dimension Vault; a piece of technology stolen from the Daleks that allowed the Cybermen to escape the Void, as well as a tunnel connecting to the sewers. In the Cybermen's base, the captive children are put to work generating power to allow the "Ascension of the Cyberking."

In the throne chamber, Hartigan is told by the Cyberleader that she will be the Cyberking, not the Cyberleader as she assumed. The Cyberleader explains that by becoming Cyberking, Hartigan will receive her liberation from the anger, hatred and rage in her mind. However, Hartigan proves too strong-willed for the conversion; her mind is too powerful to control, and she uses her new powers to obliterate the Cyberleader when it tries to intervene.

The Doctor, Rosita and Jackson infiltrate the Cybermen's base and discover a meter displaying the facility's power capacity. The Doctor theorizes that when the machine reaches 100% power, the children will be disposed of. As the trio evacuate the children, Jackson Lake recalls the one last missing fragment of his memory: after killing his wife, the Cybermen kidnapped his son. The pair are reunited during the rescue, and all of them flee as the engine begins to explode. However, the Cyberking - a Dreadnought-class ship containing an onboard cyber-conversion factory - emerges from the Thames, commanded by Hartigan and an army of Cybermen, and begins to lay waste to London. After sending Rosita and Jackson to safety, the Doctor grabs the Dimension Vault and commandeers the hot-air balloon, rising until he is level with the head of the Cyberking.

He offers Hartigan a deal: to take her to a place where she and the Cybermen can live in peace. She refuses, and the Doctor attacks her with the combined force of dozens of overloaded infostamps. Though Hartigan initially taunts him for failing to kill her, the Doctor replies that it wasn't his intent: instead he has severed her connection from the Cyberking, setting her free. Hartigan, realizing what she has become, screams in horror as the broken connection destroys her and the Cybermen and causes the Cyberking to begin to self-destruct. However, before it can topple on the crowds below, the Doctor uses the Dimension Vault to transport the Cyberking into the Time Vortex, where it will be harmlessly destroyed.

In the aftermath, Jackson thanks the Doctor for what he has done and offers him a place at his Christmas celebration with Rosita and his son. The Doctor refuses, but offers Jackson a look inside the TARDIS. Lake is overwhelmed with amazement, but quickly decides that he has had enough adventure for one lifetime. He again thanks the Doctor, but points out that in all the information he saw, the Doctor had companions present. The Doctor explains that in the end, they all leave, for a variety of reasons, and that ultimately, they break his heart. Jackson says that his request for dinner is no longer a request but a demand, in honor of all those who have been lost. The Doctor solemnly agrees. He then tells Jackson that, of all the people who could have been the Doctor, he was glad it was Jackson. He closes the TARDIS door and they leave together to celebrate Christmas.

Cast

 * The Doctor - David Tennant
 * Jackson Lake - David Morrissey
 * Miss Hartigan - Dervla Kirwan
 * Rosita - Velile Tshabalala
 * Cybershade - Ruari Mears
 * Cyberleader - Paul Kasey
 * Mr Scoones - Edmund Kente
 * Mr Cole - Michael Bertinshaw
 * Jed - Neil McDermott
 * Vicar - Jason Morell
 * Lad - Jason Etheridge
 * Nicole Hammond - Lara Goodison
 * Frederick Lake - Tom Langford

Story notes

 * The episode was filmed during production of Series 4, the first time a Christmas special has been rolled into production of the preceding series. This allowed the Series 4 finale, Journey's End to include a trailer for the episode. It is still considered part of Series 4, however was not included, for example, in the Complete Series 4 DVD set. As of January 2009 the Who fanbase had not yet settled upon a label for the 2009 Specials, though "Season 4.5" is one possible label that may be applied, in which case Planet of the Dead could become known as the first episode of Season 4.5.
 * The pre-credits sequence of the special were broadcast as a special preview during the 2008 Children in Need Appeal in November 2008.
 * A new BBC Wales logo makes its Doctor Who debut at the end of the closing credits
 * The DVD release of Series 4 included an alternate ending for Journey's End that would have had a cliffhanger involving the Cybermen suddenly appearing inside the TARDIS. This idea was dropped before broadcast and the opening scene of this episode gives no indication of the Doctor being in peril and at no point in the episode do Cybermen enter the TARDIS.
 * The removal of the cliffhanger renders The Next Doctor the first of the Christmas specials to be a true standalone in that it is not connected to either the preceding or following episodes.
 * This is the only Christmas Special so far in the series to be set in the past, however it is not the first Christmas episode to be set in the past: it was preceded by The Unquiet Dead.
 * Russell T Davies revealed to the Radio Times: "the Doctor finds himself staring at that inevitable day when his tenth incarnation must die..."
 * This episode was the subject of a quite heavy campaign of mis-information which included a false summary of the 'Fear Factor' which implied that 2 Doctors would be left in peril at the end. It also included misleading quotes from RTD's book and threats of not having a press screening.
 * The title of the first 2009 special was revealed at the end of this story; Planet of the Dead.
 * The Cybermen seem to have deeper voices in this episode.
 * The Cyberleader in this story is of a different design than the previous Cyberleader seen in Doomsday. Notable differences include a black face and an exposed brain.
 * Miss Hartigan uses the expression "Excellent", previously associated with the 1980's Cybermen.
 * This is the first Christmas Special for which a new song was not written. The only song heard in the special is the standard "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" this has been the main Christmas carol for the Christmas specials and excluding Voyage of the Damned, it's been played at some point in all the rest of the new series Christmas episodes.
 * The name "Aubrey Fairchild" pops up again in 2009, as the name of the Prime Minister in NSA: Beautiful Chaos.
 * This episode marked the first occasion since the series revival that all 10 Doctors (to date) have been shown on screen. Previously, illustrations of several Doctors were visible in Human Nature, but this time actual footage of all incarnations was shown. Discounting the non-canonical Dimensions in Time special of 1993, and recaps, this marked the first on-screen appearances of William Hartnell, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker since The Five Doctors (though if one only counts newly-shot footage, then for Hartnell it would be The Three Doctors), of Patrick Troughton since The Two Doctors, of Colin Baker since The Ultimate Foe (although the Sixth Doctor appears briefly in Time and the Rani, but played by Sylvester McCoy), of McCoy and Paul McGann since the 1996 telefilm, and of Christopher Eccleston since The Parting of the Ways (or since Army of Ghosts if archive footage is counted). Peter Davison was the only Doctor to appear recently, having appeared in Time Crash. All ten Doctors as well as the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor appear in an Atraxi projection in The Eleventh Hour.
 * Paul McGann's appearance occurred at a time that the actor was also being heard in a new series of Eighth Doctor radio plays on BBC Radio.
 * Mickey Smith had previously used the term "Cyberking" in Army of Ghosts when speculating about the contents of the void ship.
 * To keep the mystery of the identity of David Morrissey's character a surprise, the actor was credited as The Doctor in Radio Times.
 * Russell T Davies chose the name Rosita for Jackson Lake's companion, because it contained elements of 'Rose' and 'Martha'. It also happens to be Spanish for "Little Rose.
 * Dervla Kirwan wore special black contact lenses for the scenes of the transformed Miss Hartigan. Because the lenses didn't completely cover her eyes, however, special effects team at The Mill had to electronically paint out any glimpes of white eyeballs that appeared in shot.
 * This is the third time in the series that a Cybermen story (without Daleks) has directly followed a Dalek story (without Cybermen). Previous instances were The Tomb of the Cybermen following The Evil of the Daleks and Revenge of the Cybermen following Genesis of the Daleks. The reverse has occurred once, when The Power of the Daleks followed The Tenth Planet. These observations disregard non-TV stories which take place between these stories, as well as the mini-episode Music of the Spheres, which was first broadcast on radio between Journey's End and The Next Doctor, and on television six days after The Next Doctor.
 * This episode was the first to feature the new BBC Wales logo following the credits.
 * This was the final Doctor Who story to be produced in "standard definition". Beginning with the next story, the show moved to high-definition production.
 * David Tennant is credited as "Doctor Who" instead of the usual "The Doctor".
 * This is the first episode of the revived series in which the Doctor's main companion is male rather than female. Thus it is also the first full episode where no female actors are credited in the opening titles. Prior to this, no female actors were credited in the title sequences of Attack of the Graske, Time Crash, and Music of the Spheres. This would also be repeated in the next Christmas special.
 * According to the Doctor Who: The Commentaries commentary on BBC Radio 7 with Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner, Davies realized after the filming that it would have been a better ending to have Miss Hartigan redeem herself by making the falling CyberKing disappear, rather than introducing what Davies calls "a silly Dalek continuum dimension vault" to the plot. Davies states that he "can't bear that there could have been a better ending than we actually transmitted".
 * An early script draft had the story following on from the Cybermen cliffhanger; The two inside the TARDIS would vanish, and the Doctor would realise that they were falling through the Time Vortex, and follow them to Victorian England.

Ratings
2:50:Not Shown (New Year's Day on BBC One)
 * 6:00:13.1 million viewers (Christmas Day on BBC One)

Rumours

 * Prior to the official announcement, numerous "false alarm" titles for the episode were circulated among fans, the most common being Return of the Cybermen given this was the on-screen text seen during the Journey's End preview. However, in Doctor Who Magazine, Russell T Davies said:"One thing I would like to point out is that the title is NOT 'The Return of the Cybermen'. Even though those were the words that appeared in the big, silver letters at the end of Journey's End, that was more of tagline than a title." Other speculative titles were circulated after Davies announced that the title of the special would consist of three words. One mistaken title was Ghosts in the Machines.
 * Media coverage regarding the casting of Stephen Beard as "the Doctor" by newspapers such as The Sun

Filming Locations

 * The set where the children were working was a redress of the Torchwood Hub set.
 * Exterior sequences in Gloucester.

Production errors

 * In the shots of the CyberKing towering above London a lit bridge spans the Thames from a point level with St. Paul's Cathedral. No bridge was built there or thereabouts until the Millennium Bridge in 1999. As there is no narrative reason for this discrepancy —that is, the story doesn't depend on the placement of the bridge in this location — this is best seen as a mistake on the part of the art department.


 * When Miss Hartigan is testing the earpod control, the men start off facing her. She instructs them to turn to the right. They turn 90 degrees clockwise. She then tells them to turn to the left. They turn 180 degrees anticlockwise. However, they should have only turned 90 degress anticlockwise, and end up facing her again. What they actually do is turn on the spot, as opposed to turning left. It takes a further instruction from Miss Hartigan for them to face her again.

Continuity

 * Had the original ending of Journey's End featuring the Cybermen been kept, The Next Doctor would have taken place immediately after the Series 4 finale. As a result of Journey's End concluding with no cliffhanger, The Next Doctor now takes place an unknown period of time after Journey's End.
 * This is the first time the Cybus Industries Cybermen have returned in the new series since DW: Doomsday, when the Cybermen were sucked into the void.
 * The Doctor refers to the events of DW: Blink while talking to Jackson Lake.
 * The Doctor describes the events of DW: The Age of Steel, Doomsday The Stolen Earth and Journey's End.
 * The sequence of shots of the ten Doctors was taken from: First Doctor DW: The Time Meddler, Second Doctor DW: The Ice Warriors, Third Doctor DW: Terror of the Autons, Fourth Doctor DW: City of Death, Fifth Doctor DW: Arc of Infinity, Sixth Doctor DW: The Mysterious Planet, Seventh Doctor DW: Time and the Rani, Eighth Doctor DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie, Ninth Doctor DW: The Parting of the Ways, Tenth Doctor DW: The Family of Blood.
 * The scene in which the Cybermen identify "the Doctor" (actually Lake) through a servant (Cybershade) has an uncanny resemblance to the scene in which the original Cybermen identify the Doctor in Earthshock via their servants (androids). Also the scene in which the Doctor shows Lake the infostamp about the Doctor, which shows all ten incarnations, resembles the scene in which the Mondasian Cybermen examine their database for previous encounters with the Doctor.
 * The Doctor refers to his companions leaving because they should, because they find someone else, or because they forget him. Companions that left because they believe they should include Tegan and Martha. Companions that found someone else include Susan and Rose (although they also wanted to stay with the Doctor) and Victoria and Peri. Companions that have forgotten the Doctor include Jamie, Zoe and Donna (although Jamie and Zoe have only lost the memory of their time travelling with the Doctor and not of their first adventures with him, and DW: The Two Doctors implies Jamie might have regained his memories later in life and rejoined the Doctor).
 * This is the first Doctor Who story in which a supporting character, introduced in the story, truly fulfills the criteria of "one-time companion", in that the character neither asks, nor is invited, to travel with the Doctor (the fact Lake has a son to care for rendered such an invitation out of the question, even if the Doctor were willing to take on a new companion). By comparison, Astrid Peth and Donna Noble were invited in their initial appearances, as was Grace Holloway in the 1996 TV movie.
 * This story marks the second occasion that the events of the Doctor Who telefilm of 1996 have been confirmed as canonical; previously an illustration of the Eighth Doctor appeared in DW: Human Nature; this time footage of Paul McGann is shown. While the first reference, an illustration, can be debated as to being proof of the movie's events being canonical, the footage of McGann originates from the movie itself.
 * Miss Hartigan's "test" of the mind-controlling EarPods, ordering the subjects to turn in place, mirrors the scene in DW: Rise of the Cybermen.
 * The Doctor tries to fight off the Cybermen with a cutlass. He previously displayed skill with a sword in DW: The Sea Devils, DW: The Androids of Tara, DW: The King's Demons, and DW: The Christmas Invasion.
 * The Doctor stated that no-one remembers the event of the CyberKing due to a corruption in time. (DW: Flesh and Stone)

DVD and Other releases
The Next Doctor was released on DVD in the United Kingdom on 19 January 2009. Bonus features include:


 * Doctor Who Prom 2008 (including the mini-episode Music of the Spheres).

North American DVD release occurred on 15 September 2009. Doctor Who at the Proms and Music of the Spheres is included, but not Doctor Who Confidential.

Australian DVD was released on 5 March 2009 and includes the same special features as the UK Release.

The four 2009 specials plus The Next Doctor were released in the UK in a Complete Specials box set in mid-January 2010 in both DVD and Blu-Ray formats, followed by North America also on both DVD and Blu-Ray on 2nd February 2010. The installment of Doctor Who Confidential produced for The Next Doctor received its home video debut in the box set.

For the Blu-Ray release, BBC Video upscaled The Next Doctor from standard definition to high definition. This is the first and to date only standard-definition episode to undergo this treatment.

International broadcasts
International broadcasts of The Next Doctor have coincided with at least two major changes in broadcaster for the Doctor Who series.

In Canada, The Next Doctor aired on March 14, 2009, marking the debut of the revived Doctor Who on the Space cable network, following the heavily edited and heavily criticized broadcast of the Series 4 finale on the CBC. In comparison to the CBC's extreme editing of Journey's End, edits made by Space to this episode were minimal. One edit was made to remove the announcement of Planet of the Dead as the next episode. This was due to Space not having yet announced whether Doctor Who was moving in full to the network. A few weeks after the broadcast of The Next Doctor, Space announced it would indeed air Planet of the Dead in June 2009, followed by the remaining specials and the 2010 season, indicating the end of the CBC's involvement with the franchise.

On 28 May 2009 it was announced that previous US broadcast rights holders to Doctor Who, the Sci Fi Channel, have lost the initial rights to air The Next Doctor and the 2009 specials to BBC America. The Next Doctor was shown on BBC America on 28 June 2009.