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A two-part Doctor Who special will be broadcast during the 2009–2010 Christmas season. This will be the last story for David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor prior to the character's regeneration into his eleventh incarnation, which will be played by Matt Smith. It will also be the last Doctor Who story written by Russell T Davies, who shepherded the series' return to British television in 2005 and has been the series' executive producer and chief writer since. Davies will be succeeded as executive producer and showrunner by Steven Moffat.

Bernard Cribbins, who appeared in the story Voyage of the Damned and throughout Series 4 as Wilfred Mott, grandfather of Donna Noble, will act as the Doctor's companion in this two-part story. Catherine Tate, who played Donna, will also appear. Other cast members seen during filming include John Simm, June Whitfield, Barry Howard and Karl Collins.

Precise dates for the broadcast have not been announced, but the second part may be broadcast in early 2010.

Writing

Davies described the story as "huge and epic, but also intimate." He had been planning this story for some time:

"I knew I'd write David's last episode one day, so I've had this tucked away. You do think: 'How can the stakes get bigger?' And they do. They really do. I don't mean just in terms of spectacle, but in terms of how personal it gets for him."

When asked about the emotional impact of writing his last Doctor Who script, he said, "I would have thought that when I handed in the last script I might have burst into tears or got drunk or partied with 20 naked men, but when these great moments happen you find that real life just carries on. The emotion goes into the scripts." David Tennant and Julie Gardner seperately said that they cried when they read the script.

The last three specials of 2009 were foreshadowed in the episode "Planet of the Dead", when the low-level psychic character Carmen gave the Doctor the prophecy:

You be careful, because your song is ending, sir. It is returning, it is returning through the Dark. And then... oh, but then... he will knock four times.

— Carmen, "Planet of the Dead"

The prophecy was designed by Davies to be a classical science fiction prophecy which evoked memories of the Ood prophecy to the Doctor and Donna in "Planet of the Ood" and foreshadowed the remaining specials. Tennant explained the prophecy meant that the Doctor's "card marked" and the three specials would thus be darker—characterising "Planet of the Dead" as the "last time the Doctor gets to have any fun"—and that the subject of the prophecy was not the obvious answer:

David Tennant

Really, from this moment on, the Doctor's card is marked. Because when we come back in "The Waters of Mars", it's all become a little bit darker.

Julie Gardner

And as we know, David, he really does knock four times.

Tennant

Yeah, absolutely, and if you think you've figured out what that means, you're wrong!

Gardner

But when you do figure it out, it's a sad day.— David Tennant and Julie Gardner, Doctor Who: The Commentaries, "Planet of the Dead"

Filming

Location filming took place at Tredegar House in Newport, which had previously been used for the filming of the 2009 Christmas special "The Next Doctor" John Simm, who played the Master in the 2007 series finale episodes "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords", was spotted on location during the Tredegar House filming. When asked about Simm's appearance, Davies said:

It's not quite as easy to guess what's happening as you think - there's nightmare sequences, and layers of fantasy, because the Doctor's coming to the end of his time. It's quite interesting to watch things being filmed, and think: 'Oh, I can see what that would look like...'

At the Cardiff location used for Wilf and Donna's house throughout Series 4, Cribbins was filmed wearing reindeer antlers and boarding a mini-bus. Other filming locations included the Kardomah Cafe in Swansea and the Cyncoed area of Cardiff.

The filming was widely covered by the British press.

References

1. ^ Davies, Russell T (7 April 2009). "Dr Who's Easter special" (Interview). Interviewed by Bill Turnbull. Retrieved 16 April 2009. {{cite interview}}: Unknown parameter |callsign= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |cointerviewers= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |program= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |subjectlink= ignored (|subject-link= suggested) (help)
2. ^ David Tennant, Catherine Tate (guest hosts) (11 April 2009). "Jonathan Ross". BBC Radio 2. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help); Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
3. ^ Miloudi, Sarah (14 April 2009). "Catherine Tate spotted filming Doctor Who in Swansea sun". Western Mail. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
4. ^ Lewinski, John Scott (4 April 2009). "Simm Returns as The Master in Doctor Who". Wired News. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
5. ^ Nathan (ed.), Sara (6 April 2009). "Mouse's telly trap". The Sun. Retrieved 16 April 2009. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
6. ^ Staff reporter (13 April 2009). "Russell Davies' final show reunites old friends for a Doctor Who adventure". Western Mail. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
   Staff reporter (13 April 2009). "June Whitfield spotted with Doctor Who in Cardiff". South Wales Echo. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
   Smith, Lizzie (15 April 2009). "David Tennant and Catherine Tate reunite to film Doctor Who Christmas special". Daily Mail. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
7. "Torchwood at New York ComicCon 2009". BBC America. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
8. Spilsbury, Tom, ed. (4 March 2009 (cover date)). "Gallifrey Guardian: Euros Lyn returns for the Tenth Doctor's finale!". Doctor Who Magazine (405). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics: p. 12. {{cite journal}}: |first= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
9. Spilsbury, Tom, ed. (4 February 2009 (cover date)). "Gallifrey Guardian: Get ready for Planet of the Dead!". Doctor Who Magazine (404). Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent: Panini Comics: p. 5. {{cite journal}}: |first= has generic name (help); |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
10. Davies, Russell T (March 2009). SFX Magazine. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
11. ^ Davis, Johnny (5 April 2009). "Why David Tennant and Russell T Davies are leaving Doctor Who". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
12. ^ "Last script for the doctor". Scotland on Sunday. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
13. ^ Colville, Robert (11 April 2009). "Russell T Davies Doctor Who interview: full transcript". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
14. "Matt Smith is the new Doctor" (Press release). BBC. 3 January 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009. There will be four Doctor Who specials featuring David Tennant that will run in 2009 into New Year 2010 (dates to be confirmed)
15. "Davies on Doctor's Easter 'romp'". BBC. 9 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
16. ^ Gardner, Julie; Strong, James; Tennant, David (11 April 2009). "Journey's End". Doctor Who: The Commentaries. Season 1. Episode 15. BBC. BBC 7. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
17. Writers Russell T Davies, Gareth Roberts, Director James Strong, Producer Tracie Simpson (2009-04-11). "Planet of the Dead". Doctor Who. Event occurs at 55:10. BBC. BBC One. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
18. "Desert Storm". Doctor Who Confidential. Episode 1. 11 April 2009. BBC. BBC Three. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |seriesno= ignored (|series-number= suggested) (help)
19. Anders, Charlie Jane (31 March 2009). "The Unexpected Doctor Who-Fringe Crossover! (Not Really.)". io9. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
    Anders, Charlie Jane (3 April 2009). "The Biggest Mystery About The Wolverine Leak — Solved!". io9. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
20. "Doctor flies in for day of filming in Swansea". South Wales Evening Post. 13 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
21. Miloudi, Sarah (14 April 2009). "Catherine Tate spotted filming Doctor Who in Swansea sun". Western Mail. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
22. Nathan, Sara (ed.) (1 April 2009). "Look Who's back". The Sun. Retrieved 16 April 2009. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
    Nathan, Sara (ed.) (14 April 2009). "Timelord on toast". The Sun. Retrieved 16 April 2009. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
    "The Londoner's Diary: Look at my face, is my face bovvered by a ticket?". Evening Standard. 14 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.

External links

Template:Doctor Who (2009-10 specials)

• 2009 television episodes
• British television specials
• Screenplays by Russell T Davies
• Tenth Doctor episodes