Getting Acquainted With “Doctor Who” – Four Stories to Ring in the New Year

What better way to ring in the New Year than by celebrating with everybody’s favorite Time Lord! Did you know that since returning to TV screens in 2005, Doctor Who has had four New Year’s specials? Let’s take a look at each one as we get ready to welcome 2023.

The End of Time

We begin with one of the most epic Doctor Who stories ever put to screen, David Tennant’s swansong as the Tenth Doctor, “The End of Time.” This two-part story aired on Christmas Day 2009 and New Years Day 2010. Having been told that he will die when he hears “four knocks,” we find the Tenth Doctor very much delaying and not wanting to face his fears. His arch-nemesis, the Master (John Simm), has been brought back to life, and so have the Time Lords. It’s up to the Doctor to stop the end of time itself.

Aside from some rather over-the-top spectacle, this has to be one of the more emotional episodes of the show ever. There are two scenes in particular, where the Doctor is talking with Wilf (Donna Noble’s grandad, played by the late, great Bernard Cribbins) about his impending doom, the prophecy, and for the first time, showing genuine angst and terror at the thought of regenerating. These scenes are made all the more poignant by Wilf being the one who knocks four times, and the Doctor eventually sacrifices himself to save a friend.

And how can we not mention the Doctor’s explosive regeneration at the tail end of the story! The Tenth Doctor’s final line of “I don’t want to go” rang true for both the Doctor and the audience. While maybe not a good story for a beginner, if you at all enjoy Tenannt’s Doctor and haven’t seen his farewell, do yourself a favor and strap in for an over 2 hour epic!

Resolution

After having a Christmas special every year from 2005 to 2017, things switched up slightly for the Jodie Whittaker era, as she instead got three New Year’s specials, all featuring the Daleks. The first, 2020’s “Resolution,” is perhaps my favorite. A long dormant reconnaissance scout Dalek is unearthed, and while the creature is not in its armor, it’s still incredibly dangerous. For the first time, we see this Dalek take over a human by attaching itself to her back, leading to some great and creepy scenes with her under Dalek control. Eventually, the Dalek-controlled human is able to fashion a makeshift Dalek casing.

There are more great scenes with the Dalek once in its casing, including some great lines and battles. Jodie Whittaker puts in an excellent performance here, defiantly standing up to the injustices she sees. The “Resolution” of its title works nicely with the story, as a sub-plot features companion Ryan (Tosin Cole) making up with his estranged father, after his grandmother died earlier in the season.

Revolution of the Daleks

“Revolution of the Daleks” serves as a direct follow-up to “Resolution,” featuring the same reconnaissance scout Dalek, this time able to create a whole new race of Daleks. The scout takes over a plan from some stupid humans trying to create Defence Drones based on the design of the Dalek from “Resolution.” This leads to those Daleks taking over, but are they really pure Daleks? That’s what leads the Doctor to turn to the “real Daleks” for “help.”

This story also features what at-the-time, was the long-awaited reunion of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) with the Doctor. The character, who led the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood, hadn’t appeared since “The End of Time” some 12 years earlier. One excellent scene is when the Doctor tricks the Daleks into a spare TARDIS (from earlier in the season), and the TARDIS then begins to implode, taking all the Daleks with it. I don’t personally enjoy this episode as much as “Resolution,” as the more subdued nature of that story led to better character moments, and definitely a better depiction of the Dalek. But this is still an enjoyable episode that works well as a sequel to “Resolution.”

Eve of the Daleks

The most recent New Year’s special, and the last of the Dalek trilogy, is this year’s “Eve of the Daleks.” This is a self-contained story, not having anything to do with the previous two. Filmed during the height of COVID procedures, this clever script had to figure out how to have minimal cast involved in an engaging story in a relatively small location. What we got was a story of a time loop, that the Doctor, her friends Yaz and Dan, two other characters, and the Daleks are stuck in. After being killed by the Daleks, they’re brought back to an earlier point. However, each time that time repeats, time is also lost. So it’s a real race against the clock!

The premise of this story is really clever, and as with “Resolution,” the smaller setting and feel really helps. “Eve of the Daleks” also features Yaz’s first inclination of feelings towards the Doctor, picked up by Dan in a truly beautiful scene. Unfortunately, the payoff in subsequent stories wasn’t quite there, but it was nice to see a different potential romantic dynamic. Another great scene is that in which Dan taunts a Dalek, knowing he’ll be killed and brought back, featuring some great camera work.

Classic episodes of Doctor Who from 1963-1989 are available to stream on BritBox, while the modern series is on HBO Max. All new episodes of Doctor Who from next year on will be available on Disney+.