“The Doctor Falls,” the last episode of Doctor Who season 10, aired this Saturday.

The episode marks the end for outgoing executive producers Steven Moffat and Brian Minchin, and their remarkable cast (Pearl Mackie, Matt Lucas, Michelle Gomez and John Simm).  Peter Capaldi will make one final appearance as the titular time-traveler in a forthcoming Christmas special.

The final episode of the season was engrossing and pursued different subplots. The Doctor thwarted The Master’s fiendish plan in the first 15 minutes, leaving space to explore the other characters’ fates. The Time Lords found themselves on the run from the Cybermen, and the action shifted from dystopian Floor 1056 to Floor 507. Suddenly, the Doctor had a children’s refuge to protect. This change in pace and environment gave the cast a chance to shine.

“The cliff-hanger ending saw the Doctor fatally shot by a Mondasian Cyberman and begin to regenerate,” a press release about this weekend’s season finale noted. “Stepping out of the TARDIS into an arctic landscape, he fought off the glowing regeneration energy and fell to his knees, vowing that this time he would not live on and change into a new Doctor. This was declared ‘ridiculous’ by an approaching figure, who mocked the Doctor as he stepped forward through the snow to reveal himself as the very first incarnation of the Time Lord, [‘The original, you might say,’] just before the credits rolled.”

BBC CONFIRMS DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

The BBC also confirmed a Doctor Who Christmas special for the show’s nostalgic fans. The program in December will be “a multi-Doctor adventure featuring the current Doctor and the First Doctor.” David Bradley played the First Doctor in the finale, taking over the role from William Hartnell. 

This will be the first time that the First Doctor has played an active onscreen role in Doctor Who since 1983’s “The Five Doctors,” when the character returned to the series following his regeneration almost 20 years prior.

 

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