The Night of the Doctor (TV story)

 was a prequel to the 50th anniversary special. It featured Paul McGann's only on-screen appearance as the Eighth Doctor since the TV movie of 1996. After seventeen long years of absence, it tied up the final chapter of his life, which had evolved into one of the longest and most debated unanswered questions of Doctor Who. The story depicted McGann's regeneration into the so-called War Doctor, his true ninth incarnation in which he chose to reject the name "The Doctor" when becoming a warrior. Likewise, this new incarnation was born at a young and vigor age, before withering into an older and tired man, as he was shown to become in TV: The Name of the Doctor. Of similar importance was the notion that the Eighth Doctor did not, in fact, participate in the Time War, and the Time Lords had become collectively hated by the individuals who had suffered from their acts of bloodshed when the war had reached peak intensity, and the pain it caused for the Doctor.

This story was extremely significant in that it forever removed the designation the Eighth Doctor regenerated directly into the Ninth Doctor portrayed by Christopher Eccleston at the relaunch of the series in 2005, which never showed this incarnation's demise until here. It also paid tribute to the Eighth Doctor's companions across his many adventures in the Big Finish audio dramas and novelised journeys. Finally, it marked the return of the Sisterhood of Karn since their last on-screen appearance in 1976, 37 years later.

It was uploaded to the BBC's YouTube channel on the 14 November 2013 and will be available for UK viewers via the BBC Red Button beginning on Saturday 16 November at several times throughout the week until 23 November.

Synopsis
On the eve of his most terrible battle, the Time Lord is faced with a choice that will change the course of his life. The darkest of days are about to begin. The Doctor has always been a man of secrets - and now they can be told...

Plot
A woman, named Cass, is seen in a damaged spaceship on the verge of crashing. The ship's computer offers to call for a "doctor" upon being asked for support, but Cass responds that she doesn't need one because she's not injured. Suddenly, the Eighth Doctor appears to help, stating that he is a doctor, but not the one she's looking for. The Doctor notices that the ship's crew is missing and wonders why Cass is still aboard. She explains that she teleported the crew off the ship and stayed behind. The Doctor then offers to take her away and make her his companion. She accepts and they head for his TARDIS. As the Doctor is trying to open the doors to the room where the TARDIS is parked, Cass wonders what the universe is like. He finally opens the doors with his sonic screwdriver, and Cass is horrified to realise that the Doctor is a Time Lord, a species taking part in the Time War. The Doctor counters that he didn't have a place in the conflict, but this fails to assuage Cass. Cass then locks the doors with the Doctor inside and her on the outside. The Doctor states that he won't leave the ship without her, but Cass replies that she doesn't mind; she would rather die than travel with a Time Lord.

The ship crashes on the planet Karn, where the Sisterhood of Karn have been expecting him. They find his body from the wreckage, dead and they bring him back to life, albeit briefly. The woman named Ohila talks about how he is dead and how her cult have the drinks to bring him to his next regeneration. The Doctor soon comes to recognise the Cult as the Sisterhood of Karn in which they confirm. They talk to the Doctor as the only hope to stop the Time War, stating that all of reality is at threat. The Doctor doesn't become interested but they state that he is a doctor, and they bring in Cass, who appears to have died from the crash. In grief, the Doctor stated she wanted to see the universe, in which Ohila claims she didn't miss much and claims that the Doctor is part of the Time War, like it or not. He would rather die than join the Time War, in which Ohila brings up that he is already dead and how many more could die if he was not part of the war.

After persuasion, the Doctor seems to know he's part of the Time War and has hold of a strap he took from Cass in which he claims "Make me a warrior now". Ohila offers a drink in what it would help his regeneration into his next form. The Doctor wants to regenerate on his own, asking if it will hurt, she replies "Yes." The Doctor is glad it will hurt and salutes to his eighth incarnation's companions and apologises to Cass. He drinks the potion and begins to regenerate into his next incarnation. Ohila wonders if it works, as the Doctor gets to his feet, buckles on the strap and claims "Doctor No More."

Cast

 * The Doctor - Paul McGann
 * Cass - Emma Campbell-Jones
 * Ohila - Clare Higgins
 * The War Doctor- John Hurt

Crew

 * Writer - Steven Moffat
 * Director - John Hayes
 * Producer - Denise Paul

Story notes

 * Paul McGann is not wearing the costume used in Big Finish Productions which was first seen on the cover and publicity material for Dark Eyes audio anthology. Instead, he is wearing clothing similar to his original attire while sporting the short haircut from his more recent appearances, with a more disheveled appearance and a different coloured, loosely-worn cravat. It is possible this was done to avoid confusing audiences who only identified with his telemovie appearance. Additionally, the sonic screwdriver he is using is his original one last seen in use during his seventh incarnation, and not the new one he began to use by the time of AUDIO: Dark Eyes.
 * This is the first time in which the revived series has directly referenced original characters from the Big Finish audio dramas.
 * The Doctor is told he has a little under four minutes left at approximately the 3-minute mark, with 4 minutes left to the minisode.
 * The Doctor mentions his companions Charley, C'rizz, Lucie, Tasmin and Molly, all from Big Finish audio productions, marking the first time any have been referenced on film.
 * The BBC initially promoted this episode with the teaser that the audience would be shown either the Tenth Doctor, Eleventh Doctor, or the new unspecified incarnation. While this was indeed true, as it did feature the unspecified incarnation, it was a red herring to hide the surprise return of Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor, and to lead into the secondary reveal of the true ninth incarnation. This was proudly jabbed at by the Eighth Doctor's line, "I'm a doctor, but probably not the one you were expecting."
 * Paul McGann spent several months on his Twitter account bombarded with questions from eager fans of the 50th anniversary special asking of his involvement. Paul consistently denied these claims, and instead said that he hoped to be in the sixtieth anniversary, eventually posting a picture of St Paul's Cathedral to mock the incessant tweets. Surely enough, Paul's involvement was concentrated to this minisode, and not the 50th itself, and he had been only telling the partial truth.
 * The War Doctor's initial appearance in this minisode, seen reflected on a shiny metal surface, is considerably younger than his later appearance in The Name of the Doctor - apparently to indicate that he spent many decades actively fighting in the ongoing Time War, eventually becoming the "old warrior" seen in the 50th anniversary special. His younger version seen in the reflection is still played by John Hurt, but the reflection's distortion is used to hide post-production effects used to make him appear younger.  Most notably, he does not have his older self's grey hair.

Production errors

 * Before the Doctor arrives on the ship, you can see the St John's Ambulance logo on the TARDIS. When you see the TARDIS parked (when the Doctor was going to take Cass), the logo is gone.

Continuity

 * Time Lords are mentioned as being as bad as Daleks. (TV: The End of Time)
 * The Eighth Doctor's last visit to Karn was in AUDIO: The Vengeance of Morbius.
 * Since making his decision about the war in PROSE: Museum Peace, the Doctor has decided not to fight but help out where he can.
 * The Sisterhood of Karn last appeared onscreen in the Fourth Doctor story TV: The Brain of Morbius.
 * Cass is shown wearing the bandolier that the Time War incarnation of the Doctor would don as part of his attire. The Eighth Doctor is shown to pick it up and strap it across his chest upon regenerating.