Twice in time

After meeting with cybermen at the South Pole, the First Doctor refuses to go through the regeneration process that has begun. Heading to his TARDIS , he encounters the Twelfth Doctor , who is in a similar mood after his own experience of fighting the cybermen . There they are found wounded and bewildered by the British captain of the First World War . Time freezes, and the group is abducted by a certain spaceship on which they meet Bill Potts . However, the Twelfth Doctor doubts that she really is the Bill that he knew. After that, the pilot of the ship in the guise of a woman made of glass, offers to release the company in exchange for the wounded captain, who was displaced from December 1914 at the moment when he was under the gun of a German soldier. Heroes refuse this and escape from the ship, using the TARDIS of the First Doctor, going to the planet Willengard in the very center of the universe.

There, the Twelfth Doctor finds the rebellious distant Rust , who is hiding from his congeners hunting for him. After convincing him to connect to the general consciousness of the Daleks, the Doctor discovers that the pilot and his ship, known as the Testimony, come from Novaya Zemlya , where they were created to extract people from their time flows at the time of death and put their memories in glass avatars. Both Doctors understand that Bill is an avatar of Testimony created from her memories. It also becomes clear that the time flow error associated with the captain arose because of the paradox when two Doctors prepared to die in the same place and time. Realizing that in fact there is no evil to be fought, they agree to return the captain to his time stream. The captain asks the Doctors to look after his family and introduces himself as Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart, the ancestor of Dr. Brigadier's close friend. Time unfreezes, and the Doctors watch as the soldiers of the warring parties begin to sing " Silent Night ." The Twelfth Doctor admits that he deliberately shifted the captain's timeline a couple of hours ahead, at the time the Christmas Truce began, in order to save his life.

After saving the captain, the First Doctor informs the Twelfth that he is now ready for regeneration, says goodbye to him and returns to his TARDIS. The Twelfth Doctor is left alone with the avatar of Bill, being firmly convinced that she is not a genuine Bill. She, in response, explains to the lord of time that the memories of man are man himself. To convince him of this, the Testimony restores the Doctor's memories of Clara Oswald , and then takes the form of Nardol . The doctor refuses to provide the avatars with a testimony of their lives, and those, respecting his desire to remain alone, hug him and disappear. The doctor returns to the TARDIS and decides to regenerate, but first gives some important instructions to his next incarnation. After the regeneration process is completed, the Thirteenth Doctor loses control of the time machine and falls out of the burning console room of the ship in the direction of the Earth below.

Link to other series

The action "Twice in Time" takes place closer to the end of the last episode of the First Doctor " The Tenth Planet ", frames from which were included in the special issue. In the final part of The Tenth Planet, the time lord leaves his companions Ben and Polly and returns to the TARDIS, and then they find the first regenerating Doctor on the floor of the console room ^[2] . The director of the series, Derek Martinus, reportedly cut out the dialogue from the original script, in which the Doctor was supposed to resist the process of change. Steven Moffat proceeded from this nuance in his scenario when the First Doctor postpones regeneration and meets himself in the future - the Twelfth Doctor - at the South Pole ^[3] .

When the Testimony shows the First Doctor images of his future incarnations, fragments from the classic and revived series are used: the Third Doctor in “ The Dinosaur Invasion ”, the Fourth Doctor in “ The Origin of the Daleks ”, the Fifth Doctor from the “ Arch of Infinity ”, the Seventh Doctor from the “ Patrol of Happiness ”, The Eighth Doctor from the “ Night of the Doctor ”, the Military Doctor in the “ Day of the Doctor ”, the Ninth Doctor from the “ Diverging Paths ”, the Tenth Doctor in the “ Waters of Mars ”, the Eleventh Doctor in the “ Victory of the Far ”, the Twelfth Doctor in the “ Fall of the Doctor ” ^{[2] [4]} .

The evidence also mentions some of the Doctor’s future nicknames: Shadow of Valejarda (“ The Trial of the Time Lord ”), Impending Storm (“Paths Separate”), World Destroyer (“ End of Journey ”), Bes Pandoriki (“ Pandorika Opens ”), Trenzalor Monster (“ The Time of the Doctor ”), The Executor of the Cranial Moon and the Doctor of War (“ With Devilish Perseverance ”) ^[2] . The destroyer Scaro is a reference to the death of the planet in “ Commemoration of the Daleks ”, although Scaro was later restored, which was described in the “ Isolator of the Daleks ” and was demonstrated in the “ Apprentice Wizard ” ^[3] .

Willenguard’s weapons factories were first mentioned in Stephen Moffat’s first episode in Doctor Who, Doctor Dancing , when the Ninth Doctor implied that he was responsible for their destruction ^[5] .

External links

The Twelfth Doctor gives his first incarnation the nickname Mary Berry (in honor of the British actress), Corporal Jones (character of " Daddy's Army ") and Mr. Pastry ^[2] . The role of the character of the children's show Mr. Pastry was played by actor Richard Hearn , who claimed the role of the Fourth Doctor. However, Hearn wanted to make the Doctor look like Mr. Pastry, and the role subsequently went to Tom Baker ^[6] .

Giving advice to his future incarnation that "hatred is always stupid, and love is always wise", the Twelfth Doctor rephrases the saying of the philosopher Bertrand Russell ^[7] .

Casting

On January 30, 2017, in an interview on BBC Radio 2, Peter Kapaldi stated that he intends to leave the role of the Doctor after three seasons ^[8] . This has led to numerous speculation in the media and among fans of the series on the topic of who will play the role of the Thirteenth Doctor ^[9] . Almost six months later, during the final of the Wimbledon tournament on July 16, 2017, a video was released from which it became known that the next incarnation of the traveler in time and space would be performed by the English actress Jody Whittaker ^[10] .

After the finale of the tenth season, it was confirmed that in addition to this, the First Doctor , whose role was played by David Bradley, will take part in the episode ^[11] . Previously, the actor played the role of Solomon in the series “ Dinosaurs on a Spaceship ”, and also played William Hartnell in the docudrama “ Adventure in Space and Time ” ^[12] . He became the third performer of the role of the First Doctor on the screen after William Hartnell and Richard Harndall (in The Five Doctors ) ^[11] . The idea to choose Bradley for the role of the first incarnation of the lord of the time belonged to none other than Capaldi ^[13] .

On July 23, 2017, Mark Gatiss , who had already appeared several times in the series in various roles, announced that he had starred in the Christmas issue ^[14] . Later that day, Pearl Mackie confirmed that she had no plans to return to the eleventh season of the series, and this special issue would be her last in the role of Bill Potts ^[15] . Also from the trailer shown on the comedian, it became known about the participation in the episode of the screenwriter of several episodes of the series Toby Whithouse ^[16] .

The Doctor Who Magazine issue No. 516 confirmed the return of two satellites from the classic series, which were Ben Jackson and Polly Wright, traveling with the First Doctor at the time of his regeneration. They were played by actors Jared Garfield and Lily Travers, replacing the original performers of these roles, Michael Craise and Anneke Wills ^{[17] [18]} . With the release of a brief description of the episode, it became known that actress Nikki Amuka-Bird will play the role of a certain glass woman ^[1] . Also, the special issue includes a cameo by Jenna Coleman in the role of Clara Oswald , when memories lost in the series “With Devilish Perseverance” return to the Doctor ^[19] . In addition to her, Matt Lucas returned as Nardol , although in the original version of the script he was not ^[20] .

Development

The script for "Twice in Time" was written by Stephen Moffat , for whom this episode was the last in the post of executive producer and lead screenwriter of the series, which he held since 2010 ^[21] . As in the last showrunner shift, the final segment of the episode with the new Doctor was written by Chris Chibnell . This has already happened in the special issue “ End of Time ”, when Moffat wrote the last pages of the script instead of Russell T. Davis ^[22] . It is known that the character Pearl Maki in the early versions of the script for the series was not, however, Moffat felt that without her presence the episode would not work out properly ^[23] . The Doctor Who Magazine issue No. 510 reported that work on the Christmas episode would begin in June 2017 after filming the final episodes of the tenth season ^[24] . The working title of the issue was Doctors, while the official name Twice in Time was announced in July 2017 at the comedian in San Diego ^{[25] [26]} . The director of the episode Rachel Talalei admitted that she feels like a real expert on the series “Tenth Planet”, excerpts from which she had to be reviewed many times to work on this issue ^[27] . Stephen Moffat and Peter Capaldi paid special attention to how the Twelfth Doctor should meet his end ^[28] . His last words were based on a statement by Capaldi himself addressed to a young fan at an event in honor of the start of the tenth season ^[29] .

Filming

The director of the series was Rachel Talalay, who worked on the finals of all seasons with Capaldi ^[30] . According to the lead actor, she returned to work on his last episode at his request. ^[31] The script was read on June 8, 2017 ^[32] . Filming of the special issue started on June 12, 2017 ^[33] . The scene with David Bradley at the end of “The Fall of the Doctor” was filmed separately - on the set of “Twice in Time” in June ^[34] . For the regeneration of the First Doctor, the original record from the Tenth Planet series was used. Despite the fact that the last episode of this series was lost , the key scene was preserved thanks to the children's program “ Blue Peter ”, where it was used as a clip ^[12] . Some special effects, such as changing Hartnell’s face to Bradley or a temporary funnel, involved a fan of the series, known as John Smith VFX on YouTube ^[35] . To recreate part of the wall of the console room of the original TARDIS, hexagonal rounds were used, similar to those that were present in the Doctor's Day ^[36] .

The last scene shot with Peter Capaldi was the moment in which he begins to regenerate. According to Talalei, the team had only 20 minutes to process, which turned out to be “inexpressibly difficult”. Kapaldi had a lot of ideas about what he would like to do, and they tried a number of things, and according to the director it was necessary to arrange an explosion ^[37] . Filming ended July 10, 2017 at the Roath Lock studio in Cardiff ^{[38] [39]} . The second part of the segment was already filmed separately with Whittaker, after a break of several days ^[40] . The return of Clara Oswald was the last scene of the series, filmed under the direction of Stephen Moffat. Work on it took place after the completion of the remaining shootings, in the former Top Gear office in central London . Initially, the scene of the meeting between Clara and the Doctor was different, but it had to be shortened, because it was difficult to agree on dates due to the employment of Jenna Coleman in the TV series Victoria . Kapaldi and Coleman had to play their roles against the backdrop of a green screen, referring to tennis balls instead of each other ^[41] . Also, “Twice in Time” was the last episode in which the TARDIS of the Twelfth Doctor appears, since the site with the interior was dismantled at the end of the year ^[42] . Later, Stephen Moffat reported that the original version of the series was half an hour longer, but the material had to be cut out to fit in the time slot for the duration ^[43] .

On July 23, 2017, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Michelle Gomez , Matt Lucas, Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss visited San Diego Comic-Con International in support of the special issue ^{[44] [45]} . On the farewell panel of the actors and creators of the series, the title of the series “Twice in Time” was announced, as well as a 60-second trailer was demonstrated, confirming the participation of Gatiss in the episode and the return of Maki ^[26] . After that, the first promotional photos for the series ^[46] were published. On November 17, 2017, an excerpt from the Christmas episode ^[47] was released in the framework of the “ Children in Need ” telethon, and a week earlier several photos with actors in support of the event ^{[48] ​​were released} . On November 28, a new image and a teaser with the main characters of the special issue became available ^[49] . Since the beginning of December, various promotional materials can be found on the official website of the series in the Adventure Calendar section ^[50] . On December 6, 25 photos with scenes from the series ^[51] were published. Also in early December, the BBC Christmas program trailer was released, which contained frames from this issue ^[52] . A new 30-second trailer was broadcast on December 8th ^[53] . December 13 at the London Museum of Science was pre-screening for members of the press ^[54] . On December 17, the BBC shared the second excerpt from the series ^[55] . On December 21, 2017, BBC Radio 2 premiered a special two-hour radio episode about the creation of “Twice in Time”, recorded on the site in the last days of filming, which included an interview with the actors and the crew of the series ^[56] .

Video Release

The double-in-time special issue on DVD and Blu-ray was released on January 22, 2018 in the UK ^[57] , February 7 in Australia ^[58] and February 13 in America ^[59] . The release contains additional materials: the episode " Doctor Who: Advanced ", the release of "The End of an Era", as well as the panel of the series at San Diego Comic-Con International 2017 ^[60] . In addition, “Twice in Time” was the first series of the series released in 4K UHD (conversion method), the publication was released on September 24, 2018 in Britain ^[61] , September 25 in the USA ^[62] and October 17 in Australia ^[63] .

Printed Release

On April 5, 2018, a special issue novelization was written by Paul Cornell, screenwriter of several episodes of the series, on paper and electronic media as part of the Target collection ^[64] . Also on June 19, 2018, an audio version of the book, read by Mark Gatiss ^{[65], was released} .

Cinemas

From December 14 to December 22, 2017, preliminary tours of a special issue were organized in eight selected locations on the territory of Northern England ^[66] . The episode was shown on the movie screens of Russia and the CIS countries on December 25 and 26, 2017 ^[67] . Also, from December 25 to December 31, screenings were held in some cinemas in Germany ^[68] , December 25 - in Brazil ^[69] , December 26 - in Australia ^[70] , December 26, 27 and 31 - in Denmark ^[71] , December 27 - in the USA ^[72] , December 27 and 28 - in Canada ^[73] . The movie screening additionally included two special bonuses: a video from the set of the special issue, as well as a video dedicated to the eras of Peter Kapaldi and Stephen Moffat in the series ^[72] .

Television

The series premiered on December 25, 2017 on the BBC One channel in Britain ^[74] . Immediately after the end of the broadcast, the series headed global trends on Twitter : the #DoctorWho hashtag took the first position, the #Jodie and #Capaldi third and fourth, giving the second place to the #HappyChristmas tag ^[75] . 5.7 million British viewers watched the episode overnight. The share of the total viewer audience compared to other programs that were released on the same day was 29% ^[76] . The final rating was 7.92 million viewers with a 34% share, and Twice in Time ranks seventh among the most watched programs on the BBC One for the week ^{[77] [78]} . In addition, the episode totaled 1,045 million queries on the BBC iPlayer service ^[79] . The series received a high score index of 81 ^[80] .

Also on December 25, 2017, the Twice In Time broadcast was broadcast on the American BBC America channel, which gathered 2.2 million viewers ^[81] and the Canadian channel Space . The show on the Australian television channel ABC took place the next day ^[82] . In Russia, the episode was first shown on television on January 13, 2018 on the Sony Sci-Fi channel ^[83] .

The critics' reaction to Twice in Time proved generally favorable ^[96] . They considered that the episode “successfully paid tribute to the departing Doctor, while at the same time thoughtfully, warmly and humorously relaying the baton to the new era of the franchise”. On the Rotten Tomatoes website , the series rating is 87% based on 23 reviews ^[84] .

The Guardian, in the person of Sam Wollaston, who ranked himself among the Twelfth Doctor’s companions and friends over the past four years, found it hard to say goodbye to the beautiful Doctor embodied by Capaldi - “warm, wise, kind, funny, human.” The journalist regarded his departure as elegant, spectacular and touching wires, dedicated not only to “parting, death and her fear, but also to memory and that hope can be found even in the darkest times” ^[7] .

It seemed to Patrick Malkern from Radio Times that the series was not enough content, but he praised the inherent aspect of nostalgia and its moral maturity. He paid tribute to the lead actor, calling Peter Capaldi his ideal Doctor: "Adult, firm, adamant, funny, but his wise eyes burn with misery." The reviewer expressed regret over his departure, and said that he would gladly have looked at his work with another showrunner. Malkern did not forget to mention the outgoing screenwriter Stephen Moffat, commenting that he enjoyed the incredible enjoyment of his era in the series: “His love and passion for Doctor Who is undeniable, and after eight years surprisingly remains unchanged” ^[86] .

The Digital Spy portal noted that the episode met expectations at the necessary moments, highlighting the actors' work: “Capaldi’s game in his last scene is incredibly powerful, and when his Doctor leaves, his heart breaks into pieces.” He also praised the minor line-up, believing that David Bradley performed at height, being "a little grumpy and pompous, but warm and humane." The actor was quite similar to his predecessor, William Hartnell, “to reassure the most ardent fan,” and at the same time, he left his mark on the character. Whereas Mark Gatiss this time, despite his inborn instincts of a comedian, embodied a “more underrated, benevolent game.” The site summed up, calling the episode the perfect end to the Moffat era in spirit and atmosphere, containing temporary paradoxes, a sea of ​​jokes, and, most importantly, enormous soulfulness ^[97] .

The series was to the liking of Den of Geek columnist Simon Brue, and he was especially touched by the moment of the Christmas feast of 1914 in Ypres , filmed with "skill and scope" directed by Rachel Talalei, who literally did not leave his head. He was also impressed by the work of Mark Gatiss, describing his performance, not even looking at the disturbing disclosure of his character’s personality, “quiet, diligent, business-like and with a touch of melancholy.” According to the journalist, the actor played his part and played magnificently - “courteously, puzzled, with mild curiosity” ^[98] .

The AV Club website praised A- for the episode, declaring it a worthy tribute to the Twelfth Doctor: “This is a thoughtful, funny, and incredibly touching episode about kindness, courage, and that even a little choice can have a huge impact.” The reviews emphasized how the series allows Moffat to talk about aspects of the series over his 54-year history, while at the same time being a more specific dedication to the 12th Doctor. This gave Peter Capaldi a “beautiful final performance”, which demonstrated how much the actor managed to get used to the role since the time since the beginning of the eighth season ^[92] .

IndieWire journalist Kate Welsh criticized the regeneration too long in her opinion, complaining that the tradition that had arisen not so long ago makes farewell prolonged and unnecessary. She believes that the best regenerations are those about which the viewer does not know in advance how Eccleston’s brilliant and premature departure to The Ways Disagree in 2005, and to breed with Tennant, Smith and now Kapaldi a long Christmas swan song - “like spending wasted three episodes. " She praised Pearl Mackie in the role of Bill, ranking her among the advantages of the series ^[93] .

Daniel Jackson of the Daily Mirror newspaper awarded four out of five stars, admitting that the series was a success, and compared her viewing to a thrilling attraction, in which the minutes counting down to the moment of farewell to Dr. Capaldi passed too quickly. He noted that, with the exception of moments of negligent sexism, the First Doctor became a “successful addition and a wonderful“ companion ”for his modern incarnation, and he also rejoiced at the return of Bill, who managed to bring“ a sense of humor and sincerity ”to the episode where from the overhanging theme of death do not go anywhere. In conclusion, the journalist said that the journey of the 12th Doctor from “Doctor's Time” up to “Twice in Time” was grandiose: “Watching him from the first days as Clara’s irritable and stabbing partner to Bill’s more caring mentor figure was amazing. Only such an actor as Capaldi could successfully cope with such development in one regeneration ” ^[88] .

IGN spokesman Scott Colloore assigned the episode 9.5 points out of 10, describing it as “ridiculous, heart-pounding, excellent completion” of the adventures of both the Twelfth Doctor and the era of Stephen Moffat in Doctor Who. The article indicates how the elements of the episode are closely intertwined with the origins of the series and at the same time “boldly look to the future”. The reviewer compared Clara’s appearance with the Eleventh Doctor last seen Amy before regeneration, but nevertheless assured that here “works perfectly as an emotional impulse and emphasizes the themes contained in the story”. He designated Twice in Time as one of the best regenerative stories, as well as one of the best series of Capaldi ^[91] .

New York Magazine awarded the series the highest rating and paid special attention in its review to the development of the protagonist. Journalist Ross Rudiger said that being delighted with the future with Jody Whittaker, he is equally upset by the loss of this Doctor, whom he considers "the peak of this series." He explained that Kapaldi came to Doctor Who at a not-so-exciting time for the show, but thanks to his presence, it “became exciting again.” Rudiger called the Twelfth Doctor the only Doctor in history, whose development as a character could be traced from season to season, noting that the Doctor from the final of the tenth season is “radically different” from the person he met in “ Deep breath ”, and at the same time "The same character is undoubtedly and reliably." In his opinion, to observe this development and growth was amazing. He summed up his analysis, stating that the series hadn’t really touched a similar one before, but now it was so successful that it would be difficult to turn back: “Peter Kapaldi raised the bar in who the Doctor is and who can be, and the show only won ” ^[87] .

Inverse Alasder Wilkins also noted the evolution of the lead character and found the series a suitable final appearance for the Twelfth Doctor. He indicated that the word for the 12th Doctor is kindness. This quality drives the hero at the time of the Christmas truce and is part of his last advice to his successor. According to Wilkins, the fact that an incarnation so “prickly and alienated at the beginning of its existence” will end it, being the embodiment of kindness, speaks of how much this Doctor has grown and developed over these three seasons. He added how, over time, the character thawed and realized that to show his true nature, which is the reason for his more adult appearance, does not mean to be “distant and harsh,” but instead to be “shamelessly and unconditionally kind.” The journalist completed his thought: “Kapaldi played the Doctor’s kindness as the most urgent honest expression of himself, and made his Doctor vulnerable and open, like none of his predecessors succeeded” ^[99] .

The episode received a Saturn Award nomination as Best Television Show ^[100] , and also became a contender for the Hugo Award for Best Small Form ^[101] . For his game in a special issue, Peter Kapaldi was awarded the Sunday Herald Cultural Prize ^[102] .

• “Twice in Time” on the official website of “Doctor Who”
• Twice in Time on the Tardis Data Core, an external wiki site
• Twice in Time on the Doctor Who: A Brief History Of Time (Travel) resource
• Twice in Time on the Internet Movie Database