Tardis

New to Doctor Who or returning after a break? Check out our guides designed to help you find your way!

READ MORE

Tardis
Advertisement
Tardis
This article needs a big cleanup.

Large parts of article need to be wholly rewritten from the perspective that this is a series which has passed. Most of this page seems to deal with announcements and past speculation, rather than the final product, which we've had more than enough time to sit with.

These problems might be so great that the article's factual accuracy has been compromised. Talk about it here or check the revision history or Manual of Style for more information.

You may wish to consult Series 10 for other, similarly-named pages.

Series 10 was the final series of Doctor Who for Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor and showrunner Steven Moffat.

It introduced Bill Potts as a new companion of the Doctor, with Nardole continuing to travel with him. The series was most noticeable for reintroducing the "Saxon" incarnation of the Master, and the First Doctor, last seen on screen respectively in The End of Time and The Five Doctors. Also seen was the first ever female Ice Warrior on TV and the original design for the Cybermen, only seen beforehand in The Tenth Planet. Alpha Centauri also made a cameo in Empress of Mars. This series was also the first to have an openly gay companion alongside the Doctor on TV, as well as introducing the first female incarnation of the Doctor.

The first confirmation of plans for this series were revealed in the BBC Worldwide Annual Review on 14 July 2015.[1] On 6 November 2015, in an interview with the Radio Times, Steven Moffat confirmed a full series as well as a Christmas special.[2] Series 10 was the last for both Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor[3], and Steven Moffat as head writer and executive producer of the show.[4]

Overview

The series story arc primarily focussed on Missy and how the Twelfth Doctor made a deal to guard her in a vault for 1000 years. Despite Nardole's protests to not adventure or interact with her while lecturing at St Luke's University, the Doctor desired to change Missy's outlook on life, away from her evil ways. While here, the Doctor met Bill Potts, who strangely went to his lectures despite not studying at the university. The Doctor personally offered to tutor her and, after helping her in an encounter with a mysterious creature, decided to take her on adventures in his TARDIS.

The series concluded with the Doctor's attempts to transform Missy ultimately failing after encountering her predecessor on a Mondasian Colony ship. The Doctor and Bill were killed in battle defending the residents from the Master's Cybermen army while Nardole was condemned to the upper floors to keep defending the children should the Cybermen ever reach them. Bill managed to survive the ordeal after her friend Heather transformed her into sentient oil like her. As for the Doctor, he managed to survive through regeneration, though he temporarily delayed it.

After one last adventure with his original incarnation, the Twelfth Doctor regenerated into a female incarnation. She soon fell from her TARDIS because it malfunctioned, falling to Earth.

Cast

and introducing Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor

Recurring

Guest

The Tenth Planet

Production

The first readthrough began on 14 June 2016,[6] with filming beginning on 20 June.[7]

On 23 August 2016, it was rumoured that filming on series 10 would continue to 31 March 2017.[8] This proved not to be true, as filming wrapped on 7 April 2017.[9]

Crew

Producers

to be added

Writers

Steven Moffat, as head writer, wrote the series opener The Pilot, episode six Extremis, and the two part finale episodes World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls. He also wrote the Christmas special for 2017, Twice Upon a Time as Chris Chibnall decided against starting his Doctor's tenure with the special.

Mark Gatiss wrote Empress of Mars for the tenth series. According to Doctor Who Magazine, it was the ninth episode in the series.[10] Jamie Mathieson wrote episode five, Oxygen.

New writer Mike Bartlett joined Moffat's writing team, [11] known for his work on Doctor Foster, and wrote the episode called The Haunted Hub.[12] He penned episode four, Knock Knock. Sarah Dollard penned the third episode, Thin Ice.

Classic series writer Rona Munro, known for the episode Survival, wrote the tenth episode titled The Eaters of Light. This marks the first time a writer of the original series will contribute to the revived series. Munro told Doctor Who Magazine that: "Writing Survival was my dream job, but it was a mournful time in the show's history. This has been a very different experience. There's more of everything; people, resources, confidence, successโ€ฆ but the same constantly renewing and indefinable wonder that is Doctor Who," and added, "When I was very small and watching the First Doctor, I had a special cushion known as 'Rona's Doctor Whocushion'. I would hide my face in it when the Daleks or other monsters appeared on screen! The Eaters of Light is my version of other stories that have haunted me for almost as long."[13]

Peter Harness wrote episode seven, The Pyramid at the End of the World and Toby Whithouse wrote episode eight, The Lie of the Land[10] In the magazine's June 2017 issue, Moffat told Doctor Who Magazine that he personally wrote the final draft of episode seven close to filming of the episode's production block.[14]

Directors

The March 2017 issue of Doctor Who Magazine listed all the directors apart from those in the final two episodes, which at the time of printing had not yet begun shooting. Lawrence Gough directed episodes The Pilot and Smile, Bill Anderson directed episodes Thin Ice and Knock Knock Charles Palmer directed episodes Oxygen and The Eaters of Light, Daniel Nettheim directed episodes Extremis and The Pyramid at the End of the World, and Class director Wayne Yip directed the episodes The Lie of the Land and Empress of Mars.[15]

On 6 March 2017, Rachel Talalay directed World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls.[16]

Filming

In 2015, production designer Michael Pickwoad said in an interview on the podcast Radio Free Skaro that work on the new series "won't start until well into the New Year", and that he expected to start filming in May.[17] Peter Capaldi said filming would begin "sometime...next year."[18]

Although originally reported as beginning in May 2016, filming commenced on the 20th of June.[19]

To avoid online leaks, the production team used the codeword "Mean Town", an anagram of "Ten Woman", when talking about Bill, casting director Andy Pryor revealed to the Radio Times. This was a reference to the fact that Bill is the companion of series 10.[20]

The working title of The Pilot was A Star In Her Eye.[21][22]

In the line-up to the beginning of series 10, a bunch of small videos were released with Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, in which three of these featured a description that Steven Moffat himself used for the Doctor in 2013.[23][24]

On 24 June, 2017, Benjamin Cook, writer of Doctor Who Magazine, confirmed on Twitter that the pre-titles sequence in World Enough and Time was shot two weeks prior to broadcast, during the production of the 2017 Christmas special[25]

At a Live Q&A on 24 June, 2017, after the broadcast of World Enough and Time, Steven Moffat said that the second part The Doctor Falls had not finished filming, leading to a possible delay in the broadcast.[26] Peter Capaldi's final scene on set had been his regeneration scene, just as his first scene in TV: Deep Breath had been him emerging from the TARDIS.[27] By the end of July 2017, Moffat stated that Jodie Whittaker had already filmed her half of the regeneration scene. [28]

Twice Upon A Time was originally rumoured to be titled The Doctors.[29][30]

Television stories

Christmas special

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A The Return of Doctor Mysterio Steven Moffat Ed Bazalgette Return of Nardole and the Shoal of the Winter Harmony.

Regular series

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
1 The Pilot Steven Moffat Lawrence Gough Introduction of Bill Potts, Moira and St Luke's University, and the vault underneath. Reappearance of the Daleks and Movellans.
2 Smile Frank Cottrell-Boyce Lawrence Gough Bill's first trip into the future, to Gliese 581d.
3 Thin Ice Sarah Dollard Bill Anderson Bill's first trip to the past: the last great frost fair, 1814.
4 Knock Knock Mike Bartlett Bill Anderson Bill gets her own place, but the house is out to eat her, as well as her mates.
5 Oxygen Jamie Mathieson Charles Palmer At a mining space station, saving Bill from danger, and exposure to the vacuum of space, causes the Doctor to go blind.
6 Extremis Steven Moffat Daniel Nettheim The Doctor, Bill and Nardole have to find the secret of an old book in a hidden library, but something is wrong. First appearance of the Monks. Reappearance of Missy and Moira.
7 The Pyramid at the End of the World Peter Harness & Steven Moffat Daniel Nettheim A mysterious pyramid appears out of nowhere, and the Monks are asking human kind to consent to their rule. Bill consents, and the Doctor has his eyesight restored.
8 The Lie of the Land Toby Whithouse Wayne Yip The Monks have successfully taken over the world and require obedience. Bill must figure out what happened to the Doctor and how to defeat the Monks. Reappearance of Missy. Archive footage is used to form reappearances of the Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels.
9 Empress of Mars Mark Gatiss Wayne Yip The Doctor, Bill and Nardole travel to Mars after NASA discovers a message on the surface. Victorian soldiers are facing a battle with a mighty warrior race. Return of the Ice Warriors. Cameo appearance by Alpha Centauri. Reappearance of Missy.
10 The Eaters of Light Rona Munro Charles Palmer The Doctor takes Bill and Nardole to the 2nd century because Bill thinks she knows what happened to the Ninth Legion of the Roman Empire, but a strange beast is lurking in the forests. Reappearance of Missy.
11 & 12 World Enough and Time / The Doctor Falls Steven Moffat Rachel Talalay Return of the Mondasian Cybermen. Final appearance and death of Missy. Return and death of the Saxon Master. Reappearance of the sentient oil Heather. Return of the First Doctor. Departures of Bill Potts and Nardole.

Christmas special

Episode
Number
Title Writer Director Notes
N/A Twice Upon a Time Steven Moffat Rachel Talalay

Return of the First Doctor and Bill Potts. The Twelfth Doctor regenerates into the Thirteenth Doctor. Introduction of Captain Lethbridge-Stewart. Appearances by Ben, Polly, Nardole, Rusty and Clara.

Episode notes

Aliens/enemies

Adaptations and merchandising

Home media

DVD / Blu-ray

to be added

Novels

Audiobooks

to be added

Comics

Footnotes

  1. โ†‘ BBC Worldwide (14 July 2015). BBC Worldwide Annual Review 2014 - 2015. BBCWorldwide.com. Retrieved on 7 December 2015.
  2. โ†‘ Kelly, Stephen (6 November 2015). Steven Moffat can "confirm absolutely" that there will be a full series of Doctor Who next year. RadioTimes.com. Retrieved on 7 December 2015.
  3. โ†‘ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/43787cd6-f1de-4264-a509-d387d9a89c4b
  4. โ†‘ Dowell, Ben (22 January 2016). Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat quits to be replaced by Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall. RadioTimes. Retrieved on 22 January 2016.
  5. โ†‘ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Archival footage from TV: The Tenth Planet during TV: Twice Upon a Time.
  6. โ†‘ "Series 10 is coming! Here's a snap from today's first read-through with Peter and Pearl.". Facebook (14 June 2016). Retrieved on 14 August 2016.
  7. โ†‘ Doran, Sarah (20 June 2016). Doctor Who series 10 starts filming today and Twitter is very excited. RadioTimes. Retrieved on 14 August 2016.
  8. โ†‘ http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/doctor-who-season-10-wont-finish-filming-until-end-march-2017
  9. โ†‘ https://twitter.com/bbcdoctorwho/status/850411339659055105
  10. โ†‘ 10.0 10.1 DWM 509
  11. โ†‘ DWM 511
  12. โ†‘ http://www.cbr.com/moffat-promises-classic-doctor-who-writer-for-new-season/
  13. โ†‘ DWM 506
  14. โ†‘ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named DWM 512
  15. โ†‘ DWM 509
  16. โ†‘ BBC (6 March 2017). Original Mondasian Cybermen return to Doctor Who!. BBC Doctor Who. Retrieved on 10 March 2017.
  17. โ†‘ Radio Free Skaro (8 November 2015). Radio Free Skaro #501 โ€“ Osgood As It Gets. Radio Free Skaro. Retrieved on 22 December 2015.
  18. โ†‘ Grimshaw, Nick (4 November, 2015). The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw, Peter Capaldi. BBC Radio 1. Retrieved on 22 December 2015.
  19. โ†‘ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named nardole
  20. โ†‘ Gill, James (26 April 2016). Pearl Mackie's Doctor Who codename revealed. Radio Times. Retrieved on 27 April 2016.
  21. โ†‘ https://twitter.com/d0od/status/767445794781790208
  22. โ†‘ https://twitter.com/HDProductions70/status/766751107116896256
  23. โ†‘ http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/2013/11/24/matt-smith-steven-moffat-more-talk-doctor-who-at-official-50th-celebration/
  24. โ†‘ https://www.facebook.com/DoctorWho/videos/1803691109644908/
  25. โ†‘ 25.0 25.1 https://twitter.com/benjamin_cook/status/878765850433597441
  26. โ†‘ http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/821067/Doctor-Who-season-10-Finale-Missy-Bill-Potts-dead-Master-John-Simm-threatened-DELAY-why
  27. โ†‘ http://racheltalalay.tumblr.com/post/163516797449/the-time-of-our-lives-steven-moffats-final-dwm
  28. โ†‘ https://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/633706/doctor-who-new-doctor-british-television-programme-jodie-whittaker
  29. โ†‘ http://doctorwhonews.net/2017/07/doctor-who-at-san-diego-comic-con.html
  30. โ†‘ http://www.comingsoon.net/tv/news/869081-doctor-who-the-13th-doctor-will-be-revealed-this-sunday
  31. โ†‘ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-05-25/doctor-who-episode-edited-for-saturday-airing-following-manchester-bombing
  32. โ†‘ http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/doctor-who/news/a809426/are-doctor-who-and-casualty-crossing-over/?utm_content=bufferfed31&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=maintwitterpost
  33. โ†‘ http://www.cultbox.co.uk/news/headlines/the-doctor-whocasualty-crossover-that-never-happened
  34. โ†‘ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-07-02/bbc-apologises-for-doctor-who-series-10-finale-sound-problems?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
  35. โ†‘ http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-07-04/doctor-who-series-10-finale-included-an-incredibly-subtle-tribute-to-russell-t-davies--did-you-spot-it?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
Advertisement