The Next Doctor (TV story)

The Next Doctor is the 2008 Christmas Special of Doctor Who. It is the last episode of Series 4 before four special episodes planned for 2009 prior to the launch of Series 5 in 2010, and marked the beginning of the final set of episodes to feature David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, as well as producers Russell T Davies and Julie Gardner.

The opening pre-credits sequence of the episode was broadcast as a teaser during the 2008 Children in Need appeal in November 2008 and the broadcast was made on 25th December.

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. The 'other' Doctor 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, where he encounters a woman called Rosita who does not believe his claims to be the Doctor she is calling for. Another man, 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 (dubbed 'the Next Doctor') doesn't recognise 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 Cyberman observe the footage gleaned from a Cybershade (the creature pursued by the trio); however, the Cyberman recognise 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, 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 realises 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 remembers to be the night he regenerated. However, the Cybermen attack the house as the Doctors continue the search: 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 activates an electrical charge in the infostamp, 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, where Rosita and the Next Doctor show the original Doctor his TARDIS - a hot-air balloon. 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 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, overwhelmed Lake's mind and in his fear and despair, he came to believe he was the Doctor. The Doctor gives him proof of this: the fob watch the Next Doctor carries with him is engraved with the initials JL. Lake, remembering who he is, is overcome.

Meanwhile, the converted workhouse owners are marching the children of their establishments through a sluice gate to the Thames, which they discover is guarded by Cybermen and Cybershades. The Doctor and Rosita go to investigate and are confronted by Miss Hartigan. She explains she has not been converted, and 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 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. The Doctor realises 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. In the Cybermen's base, the captive children are put to work generating power to allow the 'Ascension of the Cyberking'.

However, 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 powerful; 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: the Doctor realises that when the machine reaches 100% power, the children will be disposed of. The trio evacuate the children, including Jackson's son, who was abducted by the Cybermen the night they attacked his house, who was the last thing Lake couldn't remember, the reason he wanted to forget everything and think he was the Next Doctor. However, the Cyberking - a Dreadnought-class ship containing a cyber-conversion factory onboard - 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 commandeers the hot-air balloon and rises to the top 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 infostamps. Though Hartigan initially taunts him for failing to kill her, the Doctor replies that wasn't his intent: instead he has severed her connection from the Cyberking, setting her free. Hartigan, realising what she has become, screams in horror as the broken connection destroys her and the Cybermen, before causing 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 initially refuses, but ultimately reconsiders. The Doctor offers Jackson a look inside the TARDIS, and he becomes overwhelmed by amazement. 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. This is the only time in the whole episode we see how hard losing Donna has been on him. The Doctor then tells Jackson that, of all the people who could have been him, he was glad it was Jackson. 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 - Ashley Horne
 * Nicole Hammond - Lara Goodison
 * Frederick Lake - Tom Langford
 * Past Doctors (uncredited): William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston

Production crew
to be added

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 not considered part of Series 4, however, and 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 2008-2009 Specials, though "Season 4.5" is one possible label that may be applied, in which case The Next Doctor 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.
 * 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.
 * 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".
 * The name "Aubrey Fairchild" pops up again in 2009, as the name of the Prime Minister in TDA: 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, 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 Army of Ghosts. Peter Davison was the only Doctor to appear recently, having appeared in Time Crash.
 * 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.

Ratings

 * 6:00:13.1 million viewers (Christmas Day on BBC One) 2:50:Not Shown (New Year's 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 newspaper in the UK led to media speculation and rumour that Morrissey would be playing the Eleventh or another future incarnation of the Doctor, and the Sun report also suggested that Tennant would actually serve as the companion in this episode (which did occur, to a degree). Ultimately, the story served to discount any rumour of Morrissey taking over the role of the Doctor, as did the subsequent announcement of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor a week later.

Filming Locations

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

Discontinuity, Plot Holes, Errors

 * The Cybermen are too weak to kill a single Dalek with an army. So how did they steal their technology? It was never said that it was taken through combat. The Cybermen are known to use infiltration, as when they set up a base in Torchwood 1 without detection.
 * In Doomsday there were no Daleks seen with any devices or machines, (except the Cult of Skaro with the Genesis Ark) so where did the technology come from? Deconstructed Daleks and Cybermen, or more likely from the Genesis Ark which was sucked into the Void as well.
 * How did the infostamps have images from times when the Daleks were not present? ''The Daleks may have used methods as yet unrevealed; there is precedent for "time scanners" to view people without their knowledge from afar, such as seen in DW: The Chase.
 * Everyone in London saw a giant CyberKing walking through the city. Would this not have re-written history? Time is in Flux, and some events are able to change - nothing major was changed as the attack didn't last long. And those that were there could have always thought of it as some special effects or something. RTD offers the possibility in the podcast that after Torchwood was established, it cleaned up all reference.
 * When Jackson Lake asks the Doctor why he no longer travels with companions, the Doctor mentions that they wind up breaking his heart. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to refer to broken hearts, as The Master did in The Sound of Drums? It's a figure of speech, not literal.
 * In Age of Steel, behind the Cybus badge was the heart of steel, no infostamp port.
 * How could a Cybershade, a part Cyberman, part animal drag two men up the side of a building? It's likely that the Cybershades are cybernetically enhanced; the cloak they wear could conceal a lighter and more agile exoskeleton than that of the Cybermen.
 * Surely it would have made sense to use the Cyber King during the battle of Canary Wharf?It was far less likely for the development of a CyberKing to go unnoticed in the 21st century.
 * Why are people having a Christmas feast in the middle of the night on Christmas morning, especially considering the city is still recovering from the CyberKing's assault?
 * 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.She says turn to the left - so they turn to the left of their original position.
 * 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 1999/2000.
 * Why would Cybermen need children to work for them when they could just do all that work themselves? Because they were low on energy and the kids were an expendable workforce, even by human standards of the time (as referred to in the works of Charles Dickens).
 * Why would the Cybermen want to convert the brain of an animal to make a Cybershade when the thought process behind a Cyberman is to make everything exactly the same as them? The Cybermen do not want to make everything exactly the same as them. They want to upgrade humanity to Cybermen, but animals aren't humans.
 * Why is there no Cyber Leader with the classic black head, and yet the Cyber Leader from the Battle of Canary Wharf sported no such colour scheme?
 * What did Jackson Lake's Doctor think he could do to the Cybershade at the beginning of the episode, with his 'Sonic screwdriver'? He thought he was the Doctor. So he thought his 'Sonic Screwdriver' would be able to do something. Evidently not, but Lake was very confused.
 * Before the opening credits the Jackson Lake Doctor says of the Cybershade "That's New" suggesting he has never seen one before but straight after them he says he has been hunting it for 2 weeks. "Hunting" doesn't imply he's gotten a good look at it.
 * In Doomsday the Cybermen were shown to have updated themselves with wrist-mounted lasers, yet they only resort to electrocuting the participants of the funeral with their hands. The lasers may take a lot more energy than the electricity needed to kill a human, and the cybermen are low on energy

Continuity

 * 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 (confirmable) shots of the ten Doctors was taken from: First Doctor DW: The Time Meddler, Fourth Doctor DW: City of Death, Fifth Doctor DW: Arc of Infinity, Sixth Doctor DW: The Mysterious Planet, Eighth Doctor DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie, Ninth Doctor DW: The Parting of the Ways, Tenth Doctor DW: The Family of Blood.
 * Guess work suggests that the Second Doctor clip is from DW: The Seeds of Death, Third Doctor DW: Terror of the Autons, Seventh Doctor DW: Time and the Rani.


 * The scene in which the Cybermen identify "the Doctor" (actualy Lake) through a servant (Cybershade) has an uncanny resemblance to the scene in which the Mondasian Cybermen identify the Doctor in Earthshock via their servants (androids). Also the scene in which the 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, as well as the scene in The Brain of Morbius where the Doctor's past incarnations are shown during a mindbending contest. On a related note, the fact only 10 incarnations are shown serves to further undermine the suggestion in The Brain of Morbius that there were more incarnations of the Doctor than shown on screen.
 * 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 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 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.

Other

 * A new BBC Wales logo makes its Doctor Who debut at the end of the closing credits.

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

It has not been announced as to whether a North American DVD or Australian release is forthcoming, or if it will include the same special features as the UK release. It has also not been announced as of January 2009 whether the BBC intends to release the "gap year" specials in a single collection later.