Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who) facts for kids

"Twice Upon a Time" is a special episode of the British science fiction TV show Doctor Who. It was shown on Christmas Day, 25 December 2017, on BBC One.

This episode is very important because it's the last time Peter Capaldi plays the Twelfth Doctor. It's also the first time we see Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. The story also brings back the First Doctor, played by David Bradley. He had played the original First Doctor actor, William Hartnell, in a TV movie before.

The episode continues the story from "The Doctor Falls". It also connects to the very first Doctor's final story, The Tenth Planet (from 1966). This older story was where the idea of the Doctor changing into a new body (called regeneration) was first shown. "Twice Upon a Time" uses some old footage from The Tenth Planet.

This special was the last Doctor Who story written by Steven Moffat. He was the main writer and producer for the show since 2010. After this episode, Chris Chibnall took over. It was also the last episode with music by Murray Gold, who had composed music for Doctor Who since it returned in 2005.

What Happens in the Episode

The story begins with the First Doctor in 1986, near the South Pole. He has just left his friends and is refusing to regenerate, which is how the Doctor changes into a new body when he is badly hurt or dying. He meets the Twelfth Doctor, who is also refusing to regenerate.

Suddenly, a confused British captain from World War I appears. He was in a fight with a German soldier in December 1914. All three are then taken onto a large spaceship. Inside, they meet Bill Potts, who used to travel with the Twelfth Doctor. However, the Twelfth Doctor isn't sure if she's the real Bill.

The spaceship's pilot is a glass-like hologram. It offers to let them go if they allow the Captain to return to the moment he died. The Doctors refuse to let him die. They escape using the First Doctor's TARDIS and travel to a planet called Villengard in the far future.

Discovering the Truth

Alone, the Twelfth Doctor finds a Dalek named Rusty, who is hiding from other Daleks. The Doctor connects to the Dalek's shared mind. He learns that the ship and its pilot, called Testimony, were made on a planet called New Earth. Their job is to take people from their timelines just as they die. They then save their memories as glass copies. This means "Bill" is actually a glass copy made from her memories.

Since there's no evil to fight, the Doctors agree to take the Captain back to his own time. When they arrive, the Captain asks the Doctors to look after his family. He introduces himself as Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart. This suggests he is an ancestor of the Doctor's friend, the Brigadier.

As time restarts, soldiers on both sides begin singing "Silent Night". The Twelfth Doctor explains that he moved the Captain's timeline forward to the start of the Christmas truce. This was a real event where soldiers stopped fighting on Christmas Day. This way, the Captain's life was saved.

Saying Goodbye

With the Captain safe, the First Doctor decides he is ready to regenerate. He says goodbye to the Twelfth Doctor and goes back to his TARDIS. He returns to the South Pole for his friends Ben and Polly, and then he finally regenerates into his second incarnation.

Now, the Twelfth Doctor is alone with Bill's glass copy. He still insists she isn't the real Bill. But she argues that memories are what make a person who they are. Bill's copy then helps the Doctor remember his old friend Clara Oswald. Soon, a copy of Nardole also joins them. The Doctor doesn't want to give his own memories to the glass copies. They respect his wish to be alone and leave after he hugs them.

The Doctor then goes back into the TARDIS. He decides to regenerate, but not before giving some important advice to his next self.

A New Beginning

After the newly regenerated Thirteenth Doctor looks at herself, the TARDIS starts to break down. This is because the regeneration was delayed. The Doctor falls out of the tumbling ship. She watches in shock as the time rotor and the control room explode. The TARDIS disappears, and she falls towards Earth.

Connections to Other Stories

"Twice Upon a Time" happens near the end of the First Doctor's last story, The Tenth Planet, which first aired in 1966. The original story showed the Doctor leaving his friends, Ben and Polly, and then collapsing in the TARDIS to regenerate. This new story adds to that moment, showing the First Doctor delaying his regeneration and meeting his future self.

When Testimony shows the First Doctor images of his future selves, it uses clips from many different Doctor Who episodes. These include:

• The Third Doctor from Invasion of the Dinosaurs (1974)
• The Fifth Doctor from Arc of Infinity (1983)
• The Seventh Doctor from The Happiness Patrol (1988)
• The Eighth Doctor from "The Night of the Doctor" (2013)
• The Ninth Doctor from "The Parting of the Ways" (2005)
• The Tenth Doctor from "The Waters of Mars" (2009)

Testimony also lists some of the Doctor's future nicknames. These include "The Shadow of the Valeyard", "the Oncoming Storm", "the Imp of the Pandorica", "the Beast of Trenzalore", "the Butcher of Skull Moon", and "the Doctor of War". "The Destroyer of Skaro" refers to the destruction of the Dalek home planet in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988).

The Weapons Factories of Villengard were first mentioned in "The Doctor Dances". This was Steven Moffat's first Doctor Who story.

Helen Clay, the glass pilot of Testimony, was from New Earth. She taught at "New Earth University," which was mentioned in the Tenth Doctor stories "New Earth" and "Gridlock".

Making the Episode

Filming the Story

The episode was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Rachel Talalay. They also worked on the end of the tenth series. In 2016, Steven Moffat said he would leave Doctor Who after the tenth series. Chris Chibnall was set to take over in 2018.

At first, there wasn't a Christmas special planned for 2017. Moffat wanted to leave after the series finale, and Chibnall didn't want to start with a Christmas special. But Moffat decided to stay longer to make one last episode. He was worried the show might lose its special Christmas Day slot if it skipped a year. So, he had to change his plans for the tenth series finale so Peter Capaldi could be in one more episode.

Near the end of the special, both Doctors go back to their TARDISes to regenerate. The First Doctor's regeneration is shown using original footage from "The Tenth Planet". Even though most of that 1966 episode is lost, the regeneration part was saved because it was shown on a children's TV show called Blue Peter in 1973.

The very last scene of "The Doctor Falls", where David Bradley appears, was filmed as part of "Twice Upon a Time" in June 2017. Filming for "Twice Upon a Time" started on 12 June 2017 and finished on 10 July 2017. However, the final scene, where Jodie Whittaker first appears as the Doctor, was filmed later on 19 July. The episode was first thought to be called "The Doctors". But at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, its official title was announced as "Twice Upon a Time".

Where to Find It

Home Video

The episode was released on DVD and Blu-ray in different regions in early 2018. It was released in Region 2 on 22 January 2018, in Region 4 on 7 February 2018, and in Region 1 on 13 February 2018.

"Twice Upon a Time" was also the first Doctor Who episode to be released on Ultra HD Blu-ray. This version came out in North America on 25 September 2018.

Books

A book version of the story was written by Paul Cornell. It was released in paperback by BBC Books on 5 April 2018. A digital version was also released on the same day. Both were part of the Target Collection of Doctor Who books.

See also

In Spanish: Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who) para niños