Misplaced Pages

#653346

89-424: " The Christmas Invasion " is a 60-minute special episode of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who , first broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2005. This episode features the first full-episode appearance of David Tennant as the Doctor. It is also the first specially produced Christmas special in the programme's history, commissioned following the success of the first series earlier in

178-547: A basic DVD with no special features on 1 May 2006, and as part of a second series boxset on 20 November 2006. This release included an in-vision commentary with Russell T Davies, Julie Gardner (Head of Drama for BBC Wales ) and Phil Collinson, recorded before the story aired. This commentary was also made available as an MP3 on the BBC Doctor Who website. The ten Christmas specials between "The Christmas Invasion" and " Last Christmas " inclusive were released in

267-398: A boxset titled Doctor Who – The 10 Christmas Specials on 19 October 2015. The episode was also included as part of the "Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant" box set in 2018, containing this episode and all other episodes of the era, plus hours of DVD extras like documentaries, commentaries and more. A novelisation of this story written by Jenny T. Colgan including the storyline from

356-528: A disproportionate number of female deaths in science fiction, though recognised it was less noticeable in Doctor Who considering most companions are women. The Daleks' Master Plan was novelised in two volumes— Mission to the Unknown and The Mutation of Time —by John Peel with covers from Alister Pearson , published in paperback by Target Books and W. H. Allen on 21 September and 19 October 1989;

445-549: A good deal of programming was one-off shows, accommodating smaller sponsors and not requiring a loyal audience following. As the industry matured, this trend reversed; by the 1950s, most networks aimed to provide stable, routine, and proven content to their audiences. Television executives, such as CBS president James Aubrey , sought to avoid any disruption in viewing habits which might cause viewers to move to another network. These weekly series, though, typically became too expensive for any single sponsor, so stand-alone shows offered

534-455: A new, unfamiliar Christmas tree, which starts spinning with razor-sharp blades, Rose, Mickey and Jackie shelter in the room with the comatose Doctor. The Doctor wakes up and destroys the homicidal tree with his sonic screwdriver , before warding off further attack by the robot Father Christmases; however, he is soon unconscious again. Early on Christmas morning, the Mars space probe Guinevere One

623-467: A one-hour timeslot with commercial breaks. Overnight ratings for the episode gave a peak viewing audience of 9.8 million viewers, and an average of 9.4 - the second highest rated programme of the evening, behind EastEnders , and only the 12th time the show had been top 10 for the week. This episode was the highest-rated episode of the Tenth Doctor era, with final ratings at 9.84 million, up until

712-663: A policeman) was in The Chase (1965), and Roger Avon, Reg Pritchard, and Bruce Wightman (who played Daxtar, Man in Mackintosh, and Scott, respectively) had appeared in The Crusade . Sheila Dunn , who portrayed Blossom Lefavre, was Camfield's wife; they had married the preceding August. The cowboy was portrayed by William Hall, the Evening News ' s film critic who had been Camfield's best man at his wedding;

801-478: A problematic depiction of yellowface , and Tat Wood considered his name reflective of Chinese and Mongol names. Radio Times ' s Braxton called his make-up "strange" but wrote his "indeterminate nationality counters any cry of racism"; he otherwise praised the character as "one of the great villains" of Doctor Who and lauded Stoney's subtle performance. Alwyn W. Turner felt, like the Daleks being modelled on

890-635: A prominent recurring character in Doctor Who . The week after Courtney's casting, Jean Marsh—who had played Joanna in The Crusade , for which Adrienne Hill had been considered—was cast as Sara. Hill and Marsh's casting was announced in November 1965. Some character names were altered to reflect the story's futuristic setting; Bret Vyon was originally Brett Walton, and the prisoner Bors was originally Breton. The Egyptian characters Khepren, Hyksos, and Tuthmos were named after Chephren , Hyksos , and Thutmose , respectively. Make-up artist Joan Barrett shaved

979-722: A six-part serial featuring the Daleks , wanting to recreate the success of The Dalek Invasion of Earth (1964). The Daleks' return was expected to boost related toy sales in the Christmas period . Nation was granted an additional episode in February to act as a "trailer" for the serial, which became " Mission to the Unknown " (1965). Spooner departed Doctor Who in April to work with Nation on The Baron (1966–1967); his successor, Donald Tosh , commissioned Nation's six-part serial under

SECTION 10

#1732771912654

1068-754: A way to continue accommodating the single-sponsor practice, leading to shows like Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951, sponsored by Hallmark Cards as part of the Hallmark Television Playhouse ) and the Ford 50th Anniversary Show (1953, a two-hour variety show simulcast on both CBS and NBC). In 1954, NBC president Sylvester Weaver pioneered an innovative style of programming which he called "spectaculars". These stand-alone broadcasts, usually 90 minutes in length, were designed to attract large, new audiences and bring prestige to

1157-486: Is a tradition in British television series, and while this is the first story for Doctor Who clearly labelled as a Christmas special, the seventh episode of The Daleks' Master Plan , titled "The Feast of Steven" , was written as a Christmas episode, even featuring a fourth wall -breaking Christmas wish to the viewers by William Hartnell . Christmas specials became an annual staple for Doctor Who , until 2018, where it

1246-479: Is intercepted by a giant spaceship heading for Earth. When the probe's broadcast is shown on Earth, the face of a Sycorax appears. He uses blood control to cause a third of the world's population to go into a hypnotic state and threatens to make these people commit suicide unless half of the world's population is given to them as slaves. Harriet Jones , the Prime Minister , attempts further negotiations with

1335-406: Is the first story to feature companion deaths: Katarina, proving difficult to write, was killed and replaced by Sara, who was also later killed. It marks Courtney's first appearance in Doctor Who  ; he returned in 1968 to portray recurring character Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart . The Daleks' Master Plan received an average of 9.35 million viewers across the twelve episodes, an increase from

1424-644: The Nazi Party , Mavic Chen was based on Joseph Stalin , with the non-aggression pact inspired by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . The violent deaths of the two female companions in the serial received critical commentary. R. Alan Siler thought Katarina's sacrifice was inspired by the Doctor's helping nature. Rosanne Welch recognised Katarina's helplessness but felt her sacrifice gave her agency. Conversely, Valerie Estelle Frankel found Katarina's death

1513-585: The Ninth Doctor 's Northern one . In a 23 December interview on BBC Radio 1 , Tennant explained that a line had been scripted for the Christmas special explaining that the newly regenerated Doctor had imprinted on Rose's accent, "like a chick hatching from an egg," but the line was cut from the final programme. This special was the first full episode starring David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor; he

1602-586: The Trojan servant girl Katarina ( Adrienne Hill ). The Doctor encounters Bret Vyon ( Nicholas Courtney ), a Space Agent. They discover the Daleks have established an alliance with galactic powers to conquer humanity by using a Time Destructor, a weapon that can destroy life on a planet by accelerating time. The Guardian of the Solar System, Mavic Chen ( Kevin Stoney ), has provided the weapon's power core, which

1691-467: The " Voyage of the Damned ", which achieved an audience of 13.8 million viewers. The performance of Tennant was praised, especially how he so quickly "endears" the Doctor when he wakes up and "takes control of the plot", defusing the threat that "had griped the humans for hours in a matter of minutes". "The ferocity and fear" arising from the "power and voice", that terrified the humans is shown to dissipate

1780-537: The 2005 Children in Need special was released in paperback and digital formats 5 April 2018 as part of the Target Collection . Television special The types of shows described as television specials include: The production of early television shows was very expensive, with few guarantees of public success, and ongoing (weekly) shows typically required a single, major sponsor to operate. As such,

1869-457: The BBC in the late 1960s; three episodes were subsequently discovered and released on DVD, but the rest remain missing besides audio recordings. The story was novelised in two volumes by John Peel , and the off-air recording was released as audiobooks. On the planet Kembel, the Doctor ( William Hartnell ) searches for medical aid for the wounded Steven Taylor ( Peter Purves ), who he leaves with

SECTION 20

#1732771912654

1958-421: The Christmas special becoming an annual tradition. The newly regenerated Tenth Doctor takes Rose back to her old estate, and collapses in front of Mickey and Jackie . They take the Doctor to Jackie's flat where they put him to bed. Mickey and Rose go Christmas shopping, but are attacked by robot Father Christmases using trombones and flamethrowers. The couple get a taxi back to her home where they discover

2047-645: The DVD set Lost in Time , released on 1 November 2004, featuring an audio commentary by Purves, Stoney, and Cusick. Using off-air recordings, an audio version of the story was released as a five-disc set in October 2001, with narration by Purves. It was included, alongside digital copies of the original scripts, in The Lost TV Episodes: Collection 2 by BBC Audiobooks in February 2011, and

2136-568: The Daleks, they kill him. The Doctor steals the Time Destructor, which activates. Sara is aged into dust and killed, while Steven and the Doctor survive and reach the TARDIS. The Daleks try to destroy the Time Destructor but it kills them, wiping out all life on the planet. The Doctor and Steven remark on the senseless deaths of Bret, Katarina, and Sara. In early 1965, Doctor Who script editor Dennis Spooner asked Terry Nation to write

2225-554: The Doctor had mentioned in "World War Three". The episode shared a production block with the first two episodes of the next series, with primary filming for the special taking place between 22 July and 19 August. Additional shots were filmed sporadically in the lead-up to the special in September-November, along with the required CGI effects. The episode's opening shot is a repeat of the opening shot of " Rose ". The cone-shaped building which has all its glass blown out from

2314-621: The Doctor steals before escaping in Chen's ship with his companions and Bret. The ship temporarily lands on a prison planet. After it takes off, a stowaway takes Katarina hostage. Katarina activates the airlock door and ejects them both into space, where they die. The ship returns to Earth, where Bret contacts his old friend Daxtar ( Roger Avon ), who unwittingly reveals he is working with Chen. Bret kills Daxtar, before being killed by his own sister, Space Agent Sara Kingdom ( Jean Marsh ), on Chen's orders. The Doctor, Steven, and Sara are transported to

2403-464: The Doctor: many of the paragraphs in the articles have an oversized first letter, which taken consecutively spell out "A cup of tea". During the live broadcast, the front page of the official BBC website stated: "THE CHRISTMAS INVASION is on BBC One NOW. HARRIET JONES SAYS: Switch this website off for Britain." The tie-in website "Who is Doctor Who?" was also updated with a message from Mickey referencing

2492-549: The Doctor’s monologue about not knowing who he is and or the Sycorax defining him as Earth’s champion, nor Rose’s emotional breakdown when she thinks the Doctor has abandoned her were considered subtle. Even so, A.V Club ' s Alasdair Wilkins still called it a solid episode, achieving "the best of what it aspires to be", and Radio Times ' s Patrick Mulkern giving it a perfect score of 5 stars, finding that it mixed "the impact of

2581-466: The Earth. The leader severs the Doctor's hand, which he immediately re-grows due to leftover regeneration energy. The Sycorax leader submits, but then attempts to attack from behind. The Doctor hits a sensor with a satsuma he found, triggering part of the wing to fold and dropping the leader to his death. The Doctor orders the Sycorax to leave Earth and never return before taking the humans back to Earth. As

2670-541: The Guinevere One website, and an appeal to the Doctor to bring back Rose. The song playing during the wardrobe sequence, "Song for Ten" (named in reference to the Tenth Doctor), was composed by Murray Gold for the episode and sung by Tim Phillips . The closing credits had a new theme arrangement restoring the traditional "middle eight" section of the theme, which had been omitted in the 2005 series. This

2759-541: The Monk ( Peter Butterworth ), who seeks revenge after the Doctor left him stranded. The Monk is forced to work with Chen and the Daleks, and they take Steven and Sara captive, forcing the Doctor to relinquish the real core. The Doctor steals the directional control from the Monk's TARDIS. On Kembel, the Daleks end their alliance with Chen. He captures Steven and Sara and takes them to the Dalek base. When he tries to give orders to

The Christmas Invasion - Misplaced Pages Continue

2848-420: The Sycorax ship moves away, Harriet orders Torchwood to destroy the ship. The Doctor becomes furious with Harriet, threatens to bring down her government, and whispers to Harriet's aide: "Don't you think she looks tired?" The Doctor joins Rose, Jackie, and Mickey for Christmas dinner. They watch Harriet on television fending off rumours about her health, with a vote of confidence looming. The Christmas special

2937-409: The Sycorax's blood control. "The Christmas Invasion" was watched by 9.8 million viewers, the highest-rated episode of the Tenth Doctor, up until the " Voyage of the Damned ", which achieved an audience of 13.8 million viewers. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who welcomed Tennant to the show, and is considered one of the best Christmas specials of the show, with its success leading to

3026-461: The Sycorax, and is teleported aboard the ship, along with a few officials. Rose, Mickey and Jackie evacuate the Doctor to the TARDIS as the Sycorax ship approaches London. The TARDIS is detected by the Sycorax and is teleported aboard their ship. Rose buys enough time for the Doctor to finally recover. The Doctor shuts down the Sycorax blood control and then challenges the leader to a sword fight for

3115-476: The actor's actual eyes and mouth; he also stated that he had always found the idea of Santa, "an old man creeping into children's rooms at night", creepy. As a result, the enemies fought included the alien Sycorax, as well as murderous robot Santas. Seeking also to endear Tennant's Doctor to those who had grown to attached to the Ninth Doctor, he brought back Harriet Jones as Prime Minister, a future event that

3204-419: The cast and crew followed up during the next month: such as Tennant's on ITV1 on 13th December, and Davies' with Sunday Herald on 19th December. On 3 December 2005, the annual Christmas edition of the BBC's listings magazine Radio Times was released, featuring a Doctor Who cover to tie-in with "The Christmas Invasion". This was the first time Doctor Who had featured on the Christmas edition cover in

3293-480: The combination of Camfield's direction with Nation and Spooner's writing. Paul Cornell , Martin Day , and Keith Topping of The Discontinuity Guide appreciated its "epic" ambition but felt its plot "was worthy of six episodes at most". David J. Howe and Stephen James Walker lauded the direction, writing, and set designs, though felt the story occasionally meandered due to its length. John Kenneth Muir considered

3382-521: The complete second episode to the BBC in January 2004. The only extant visuals from "The Feast of Steven" are from home photographs of Robert Jewell , who portrayed Bing Crosby in the episode. As the serial aired, some viewers shared their concerns over the depiction of violence, such as the Daleks in the opening episodes and the violent deaths of Katarina and Bret in the fourth episode, and Junior Points of View viewers criticised Sara's death in

3471-494: The distant planet Mira. Sara agrees to work with them, and they steal a Dalek ship. The Daleks force the ship to return to Kembel. The Doctor and Steven create a fake core, which they dupe the Daleks into accepting before fleeing in the TARDIS with Sara. They briefly land in a police station, a silent-era film set, and the Oval , and celebrate Christmas . The TARDIS travels to Ancient Egypt, followed by Chen and Daleks, as well as

3560-450: The era before cable and home video, television audiences often had to wait an entire year or more to see a special program or film that had a great impact on first viewing. Today, streaming media such as video on demand and streaming television , often makes it possible for viewers to watch a television special again almost immediately after it is aired, and home video—which has largely given way to digital downloads —makes it possible for

3649-722: The first volume also novelised "Mission to the Unknown". An unabridged reading of the book was published by BBC Audiobooks in two five-disc sets on 6 May and 3 June 2010, read by Purves and Marsh with Dalek voices by Nicholas Briggs ; it was re-released as part of the Dalek Menace! set on 4 October 2012 and The Dalek Collection on 18 June 2020. The fifth and tenth episodes of The Daleks' Master Plan were included on Daleks – The Early Years , released on VHS in July 1992, with an introduction by Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison . The second, fifth, and tenth episodes were included on

The Christmas Invasion - Misplaced Pages Continue

3738-582: The first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth episodes were among the first Doctor Who episodes ordered to be wiped , on 17 August 1967. The third and sixth episodes were wiped on 31 January 1969, followed by the final three on 17 July. Extracts from the third episode were aired on Blue Peter in October 1971. A 16 mm film of the fourth episode was loaned from the BBC Film Library to Blue Peter in November 1973 but never returned. The BBC retained 35 mm film sequences from

3827-436: The general public to own copies of television specials and films. The Daleks%27 Master Plan The Daleks' Master Plan is the fourth serial of the third season of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who . Written by Terry Nation and Dennis Spooner and directed by Douglas Camfield , the serial was broadcast on BBC1 in twelve weekly parts from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966. It

3916-661: The heads of six actors portraying Chen's workers, the Technix, for which they were paid double. Tosh expanded Mavic Chen's role when adding to Nation's draft scripts. Spooner requested the reintroduction of the Monk from The Time Meddler (1965), which he had written; he felt the character could provide humour and Butterworth's performance could alleviate Hartnell's work. Butterworth was keen to reprise his role. James Hall (cast as Borkar) had previously appeared in The Reign of Terror (1964), while Malcolm Rogers (who portrayed

4005-415: The moment the Sycorax language is translated, a sign that "the Doctor has woken up". Piper's performance was also praised, in "shouldering the episode", and encapsulating the "terror and helplessness" that the human race faces when the Doctor is indisposed, and "their resilience". The episode was characterised as one of many of Davies’ attempts at “epic”, being full of "big speeches and big emotions". Neither

4094-609: The network. The spectaculars aired on three nights every fourth week - a major gamble because it controversially broke up viewer routines and risked stable weekly sponsorship deals. To address this, Weaver used his "magazine" style which involved selling segments of each show to a different sponsor, a practice which would evolve into the modern " commercial ". The three initial spectacular blocks were Hallmark Hall of Fame (Sundays, produced by Albert McCleery ), Producer's Showcase (Mondays, produced by Fred Coe ), Max Liebman Presents (Saturdays, produced by Max Liebman ). In time,

4183-414: The preceding serial but lower than the previous year. Contemporary reviews were mixed, with interest in the Daleks waning as the serial progressed and some viewers critical of its violence. Retrospective reviews praised the direction, writing, and production design, but criticised the serial's length, incongruous seventh episode, and violent deaths of female companions. The serial's videotapes were wiped by

4272-406: The previous year's figures; the third episode received the most with 10.3 million viewers, while the seventh was lowest with 7.9 million. The Appreciation Index for the serial was considered "reasonable" overall, with the twelfth episode ranked the highest at 57; the seventh was ranked 39, the lowest for the series to date. Until January 1973, BBC Enterprises offered an eleven-part version of

4361-575: The production schedules overlapped and he felt a festive story did not match Z-Cars ' s tone. The Doctor's address to the audience at the end of the seventh episode—in which he says "Incidentally, a happy Christmas to all of you at home"—was written in the camera script, though Tosh and Wiles claimed it was improvised by Hartnell. Tosh criticised the address and felt it broke the audience's suspension of disbelief . 40 years later, Doctor Who introduced annual Christmas specials with " The Christmas Invasion " (2005). By June 1965, Douglas Camfield

4450-531: The production team after the fifth episode's broadcast to enquire about Camfield's special effects shots, including floating corpses in space. Sam Rolfe , the American screenwriter known for creating The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–1968), attended camera rehearsals for the ninth episode, and noted Daleks would likely be popular in the United States. Marsh became known for laughing during rehearsals; she

4539-407: The programme was "definitely showing signs of age". Audience Research Reports demonstrated that audiences enjoyed the Daleks' return in early episodes, though interest began waning by the eighth. Hartnell's performance was criticised in the third episode, but his chemistry with Butterworth was praised in the tenth. Some enjoyed the festivities of the seventh episode but one viewer called it "one of

SECTION 50

#1732771912654

4628-611: The programme would be broadcast in colour. Rehearsals and recording were skipped in the week of 20 December due to the Christmas break. The final episode was recorded on 14 January 1966. Recording underran, which Wiles attributed to "policy reasons" requiring the removal of two shots of Sara's death. Both Tosh and Wiles had submitted their resignations from Doctor Who by the end of production in January 1966, Wiles partly due to his strained relationship with Hartnell and desire to return to writing and directing, and Tosh partly out of loyalty to Wiles and desire to do other work. The serial

4717-493: The provisional title Dr Who and the Daleks in May. The BBC 's director of television, Kenneth Adam , suggested the serial be expanded to thirteen episodes; head of drama Sydney Newman formally requested an expansion to twelve, to which producer Verity Lambert agreed if Nation and Spooner could share writing duties due to their work on The Baron . The twelve-part serial was confirmed by mid June. Lambert's successor, John Wiles ,

4806-505: The removal of his usual chair during rehearsals; the crew temporarily walked out after he upset his dresser . Hartnell was upset by a last-minute script change in which the Doctor unlocks the TARDIS using his ring, a usage which he felt had not been established in prior stories. On 13 December, Hartnell announced he would retire from the role at the end of the season; he backtracked the following day, stating he would be willing to stay for another two-and-a-half years, at which point he hoped

4895-406: The result of incomprehension rather than intention, describing her as "an exaggerated version of helpless companion". Frankel similarly appreciated Sara Kingdom's individual strength but wrote "her top quality is that she accepts orders unquestioningly", which ultimately overshadows her abilities and results in her death. Tom Powers found the deaths of companions like Katarina and Sara contributed to

4984-499: The role was uncredited. Hall later married Jean Pestell, who portrayed a saloon bar girl in the episode. Early 35 mm filming began on Stage 3A/B of the BBC Television Film Studios on 27 September 1965, including Katarina's death in the evening—Hill's first work on the series. Much of the model filming was delayed due to unavailability of props and sets. In filming Sara's death scene on 6 October, Camfield

5073-685: The second episode; it was found to have gone missing by December 1991, but later returned under an amnesty in October 1993. 16 mm film prints of the fifth and tenth episodes were discovered in the basement of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Wandsworth in July 1983; they were screened at the National Film Theatre : the tenth in October 1983 and the fifth in August 1989. Former BBC engineer Francis Watson returned

5162-608: The serial "clunky, tedious and nonsensical" but lauded its scope and ambition. The Daleks' Master Plan was voted the third-best First Doctor story by Doctor Who Magazine readers in 2014 and 2023; it ranked fifth in 1998 and second in 2009. Daily Express readers voted Mavic Chen the "TV Villain of the Year" in 1965. Mark Campbell thought Stoney portrayed the character "to perfection", and Courtney and Purves lauded his performances in their respective autobiographies. Comic Book Resources ' s Sean Bassett found Mavic Chen

5251-415: The serial due to its length; it was Cusick's final story for Doctor Who , as he wanted to return to drama. Wiles and Tosh decided the serial should kill new companion Katarina for shock value , as writers of subsequent stories faced difficulty fitting her in, and they felt viewers may be unable to identify with her. They decided she would be replaced by another woman, Sara Kingdom, who would be killed in

5340-629: The serial for overseas sale, omitting "The Feast of Steven", though no markets purchased it. Australia's ABC showed interest in purchasing the serial in September 1966 and considered editing out material deemed too violent or frightening, but by November cancelled the purchase as it considered censorship too laborious; the ABC's copies—originally stored in its Gore Hill studio, which was sold in 2003—may remain in Australia. The 405-line videotapes of

5429-427: The serial notable for its dark qualities and proving the Daleks' viciousness, and Andrew Cartmel lauded Marsh's performance but found the story padded and Egyptian set unconvincing. Radio Times ' s Mark Braxton appreciated the direction and set design and called Hartnell's performance "one of his best", but criticised the seventh episode's audience address and the eighth's cricket scenes. Deborah Stanish found

SECTION 60

#1732771912654

5518-465: The serial's climax. Katarina and Sara were the first companions to be killed in Doctor Who , and the only ones to do so on-screen until Earthshock (1982). Nation had intended for Sara to feature in an American spin-off series with the Daleks, but added her to The Daleks' Master Plan instead when the series did not emerge. Inspired by the character Cathy Gale of The Avengers , the scripts described her as "about twenty-five, very beautiful". She

5607-660: The ship's shockwave is 30 St Mary Axe , also known as the Swiss Re Building or "The Gherkin". The climactic scenes of the episode were shot on location at Wallis House, Brentford , one of the Golden Mile 's few remaining Art Deco buildings, and parts of the episode were filmed at the Clearwell Caves in Gloucestershire . The Tenth Doctor speaks with an Estuary English accent, in contrast to

5696-504: The show's forty-two-year history, and the first Christmas cover for an individual BBC television drama since EastEnders in 1986; the Christmas Radio Times cover usually features artwork of a generic Christmas scene, with Doctor Who being the first one featured in 16 years. Russell T Davies later confirmed in the episode commentary that the Doctor Who section of the issue contained a hidden message explaining what saves

5785-419: The show's history until 1986's The Trial of a Time Lord and remains the longest with a single director and production code . "The Feast of Steven" aired in a later timeslot than usual on Christmas Day, and "Escape Switch" was the 100th episode of Doctor Who broadcast on BBC1. Averaging an audience of 9.35 million, viewership saw an increase over the previous serial, The Myth Makers , but did not match

5874-475: The spaceship arrives over London. It was broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC1, the first episode to debut on Sunday. The Canadian presentation on the CBC on 26 December 2005 was hosted by Piper, attired for the occasion in a red Roots "Canada" sweatshirt. She gave a special introduction to the episode, which was scheduled in a 90-minute-long slot. It premiered on BBC America in 2007, but was edited down to fit inside

5963-414: The story" and "the jolly nature of the day" perfectly. It is considered one of the best Christmas specials of the show. In 2014, over 7,000 readers of Radio Times voted "The Christmas Invasion" as the greatest Doctor Who Christmas special with around a quarter of the votes going to it, 24.92%, a whole 10% more votes than the second favourite. This episode was released together with " New Earth " as

6052-514: The storyline but mostly worked independently; their outline varied in length, with two pages for the first episode, a paragraph for the tenth, and a brief sentence for the twelfth. Nation's six draft scripts ran to 150 pages; however, Tosh recalled that Nation's drafts were short—running to around 15 minutes each, with the seventh episode at 21 pages (far shorter than the average 45)—and required expansion. Spooner had more time to work on his scripts, and Tosh felt they required less work as Spooner

6141-677: The term "spectacular" was seen as hyperbolic , and so led to the more modern and modest term, "special". Weaver's strategy was not as successful as CBS's predictably scheduled and prefilmed programs, and he was fired in 1956. In the 1960s, multi-part specials, which aired over several days in a week or on the same day for several weeks, evolved from this format, though these were more commonly called miniseries . The term "TV special" formerly applied more to dramas or musicals presented live or on videotape (such as Peter Pan ) than to filmed presentations especially made for television, which were (and still are) referred to as made-for-TV movies . In

6230-510: The twelfth. The Stage and Television Today ' s Bill Edmunds criticised the seventh episode, particularly the Hollywood sequence, noting it "would have been much better with more chases, a few custard pies ... and less chat". After the eleventh episode, Edmunds wrote he was "losing [his] respect and awe of the Daleks" due to their consistent but unfulfilled threats. Following the twelfth episode, Daily Worker ' s Stewart Lane felt

6319-429: The two Doctors. Liking her character, Wilton begged that Jones not be brought down at the end of the episode, but the script remained unchanged. Noel Clarke and Camille Coduri also returned as Mickey Smith and Jackie Tyler respectively. They were both set to appear in many episodes in the second series, so as soon as the success of the first series seemed assured, their contracts for the second series were drawn up. It

6408-651: The two had collaborated on Marco Polo (1965). Music was recorded at IBC Studios for the first six episodes on 13 October, and for the final six on 23 October. Brian Hodgson of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop created 48 sound effects for the serial in September 1965. Production assistant Viktors Ritelis was credited for the final episode at Camfield's request, as he felt he had helped immensely. Exhausted from production, Camfield decided he would not return to direct Doctor Who for some time. Production designers Cusick and Barry Newbery collaborated on

6497-472: The worst programmes I have ever seen". The twelfth was generally praised as a satisfying conclusion. Public obsession with the Daleks, dubbed "Dalekmania", saw a decline following The Daleks' Master Plan . Retrospectively, The Independent ' s Kim Newman considered The Daleks' Master Plan "the most ambitious serial ever attempted by Doctor Who ‍ ", and Doctor Who Bulletin ' s Ian Levine called it "an all-round masterpiece", praising

6586-544: The year, to see how well the show could do at Christmas. It was written by showrunner and executive producer Russell T Davies and was directed by James Hawes . In the episode, principally set in London , the newly regenerated Tenth Doctor is out of action, leaving Rose , Mickey and Jackie to combat the invasion of an alien race known as the Sycorax. The Sycorax demand that either humanity have to surrender half of themselves as slaves or one third of them will die through

6675-460: Was a former script editor. Nation's scripts were delivered in August, and Spooner's in September. The prison planet—Desperus, dubbed "Devil's Planet"—is a reference to the French penal colony Devil's Island . The seventh episode's broadcast on Christmas Day prompted the production team to write a self-contained comedic story, believing viewers would be uninterested in a complex narrative. Tosh

6764-658: Was also confirmed at the BAFTA preview of the series one finale that Billie Piper would return for the Christmas Special and all 13 episodes of the second series. Trailers for the special first appeared on the 26 October on BBC One. A 7-minute "mini-episode" , set between "The Parting of the Ways" and "The Christmas Invasion", was shown as part of the Children in Need charity telethon on 18 November 2005. Interviews with

6853-477: Was assigned to direct The Daleks' Master Plan . Tosh persuaded Wiles to maintain Camfield as the sole director after the serial was extended to twelve episodes. Camfield often rewrote elements of the scripts during rehearsals; Tosh felt Camfield's work on the scripts made the serial a success. Camfield asked Tristram Cary to compose music for the serial in July; Cary had worked on The Daleks (1963–1964) and

6942-424: Was commissioned due to the Daleks' popularity, and was preceded by an additional episode, " Mission to the Unknown ". Nation shared the workload by writing six episodes while former script editor Spooner wrote the other six. The seventh episode's Christmas Day broadcast prompted the production team to write a self-contained comedic story, which ends with the Doctor addressing the audience . The Daleks' Master Plan

7031-415: Was granted an additional sum of £4,310 , which was allocated to the first two episodes in addition to the standard £2,500 budget. Recording for the twelve episodes cost a total of £31,596 (equivalent to £773,000 in 2023). ^† Episode is missing The Daleks' Master Plan was broadcast on BBC1 in twelve weekly parts from 13 November 1965 to 29 January 1966. It was the longest serial in

7120-518: Was inspired by Ayesha's death in H. Rider Haggard 's novel She (1887). Rehearsals for the serial started on 18 October, and weekly recording began on 22 October in the BBC Television Centre 's Studio 3. The first episode's recording ran under schedule, which Wiles attributed to difficulty in timing special effects. Filmmakers at MGM Borehamwood , who were working on Stanley Kubrick 's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), contacted

7209-470: Was inspired to make the episode a parody of the police procedural series Z-Cars after one of its writers, Keith Dewhurst , turned down his request to write for Doctor Who . Camfield enquired about using four Z-Cars cast members ( James Ellis , Brian Blessed , Joseph Brady , and Colin Welland ) and production designer Raymond Cusick asked to use its set; Z-Cars producer David Rose declined as

7298-401: Was once banished from the studio until she gathered herself. Hartnell's worsening health and sadness from Lambert's departure led to difficulties in his relationship with Wiles, prompting the latter to remove him from filming where possible; the Doctor was removed from most of the eleventh episode and his dialogue inherited by Steven. Hartnell became irritable during production, partly due to

7387-413: Was only shown briefly at the end of " The Parting of the Ways " for the regeneration sequence. His costume was chosen just before filming begun, one more casual and lighter, contrasted with converse shoes and a long coat with a lot of fingers, because Tennant likes to play about with his costume in what he terms "pocket acting". Penelope Wilton returned as Harriet Jones, as a means to add continuity between

7476-538: Was originally written as Bret's lover, but was rewritten as his sister. Nation envisioned Bret Vyon as "the 007 of space". The frequent cast changes left Purves worried for his role; he felt he might be replaced by Nicholas Courtney. Courtney, who had earlier been considered to play King Richard in The Crusade (1965), was cast as Bret in September. Courtney returned in the 1968 serial The Web of Fear to play Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart , who later became

7565-613: Was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales , conducted by Gold. This arrangement was subsequently used for the closing titles of the 2006 series. Various pieces of music featured in this episode were released in December 2006 as part of the Doctor Who Soundtrack (produced by Silva Screen). These included the "Song for Ten", the music played behind Harriet Jones' speech and the music played as

7654-536: Was released as a vinyl record by Demon Records in February 2019. BBC Music released the score as part of Doctor Who: Devils' Planet – The Music of Tristram Cary in September 2003, and sound effects as part of Doctor Who at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop Volume 1: The Early Years 1963–1969 in May 2005. Some music tracks were included on Doctor Who: The 50th Anniversary Collection (2013) by Silva Screen. The Daleks' Master Plan

7743-406: Was replaced by a New Years special. Although not shown at Christmas, " The Unquiet Dead " was set on Christmas Eve, 1869. The production of the special, along with the entirety of the second series, began before the broadcast of the first series, and therefore none of Davies' team knew if the script would ever see production. Davies wished to have an adversary having a prosthetic face while retaining

7832-471: Was the show's longest serial until 1986 and remains the longest with a single director. In the serial, the First Doctor ( William Hartnell ) and his travelling companions Steven Taylor ( Peter Purves ) and Katarina ( Adrienne Hill ) become embroiled in the Daleks ' scheme to design the ultimate weapon. They are joined by Bret Vyon ( Nicholas Courtney ) and Sara Kingdom ( Jean Marsh ). The serial

7921-484: Was unhappy with the extension and threatened to resign; Tosh, who was also unhappy, persuaded him to stay. Following the extension, in July, Tosh commissioned Nation to write the first six episodes, and Spooner to write the remaining six; they soon swapped the sixth and seventh episodes, allowing each to write a cliffhanger for the other to resolve. Tosh advised Spooner to write standalone sequences to link to Nation's cliffhangers later. Nation and Spooner met to discuss

#653346