It has been over a week now since ‘The Time of the Doctor’ aired on Christmas Day. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the episode and reading a number of reviews that echoed some of the main issues I found while watching. I wanted to make a post detailing this, but others have already done so and better, so I decided to challenge myself. It’s one thing to point out problems with a script; it’s another to actually have a go writing an alternative.
What I found in this exercise was that:
1) Much of the episode was very good and some sections (especially early on) have been largely untouched as a result. It is still Moffat’s episode and I wasn’t going to strip it of his writing presence or ideas. Further to this, I do not by any means claim that this is now a perfect episode. I welcome critical response.
2) Changes made varied from very small to quite significant, but probably veered more towards the former. I would argue that some of the small changes, however, are most important.
If you cannot be bothered to read the script, a section detailing the main changes with an explanation/justification is below it.
So, without further ado, I present to you ‘The Time of the Doctor’ – A (slightly) Rewritten Script.
[In space]
TASHA [OC]: Once, there was a planet, much like any other, small and unimportant. But this planet sent the universe a message: a bell tolling among the stars, ringing out to all the dark corners of creation. And everybody came to see.
(A huge space fleet of Judoon, Terileptils, Silurians et al is orbiting an icy ringed planet. Three tones are being repeated over and over again.)
TASHA [OC]: Although no one understood the message, everyone who heard it found themselves afraid. Except one man – the man who stayed for Christmas.
[Spaceship]
(The Doctor beams in to a dimly-lit room, with dark blue electrical patterns on the walls. He is carrying a damaged Cyberman’s Head, whose eyes flicker brightly.)
DOCTOR: I bring proof of courage and comradeship. What is this ship and why are you here? Identify yourselves by species and planet of origin.
(Four pairs of electric blue eyes similar to the Cyberhead’s flicker on in the darkness. The lights in the room go up and a row of Cybermen in charge cubicles are lined up on the wall before him. The Doctor gives the Cyberhead a miffed look. The Cybermen activate and step out of their cubicles.)
CYBERMEN: Intruder detected! Delete! Delete!
(The Doctor runs into the corridor and the Cybermen follow, blasting at him.)
CYBERMEN: The intruder will be upgraded!
(The Doctor shakes the Cyberhead violently)
DOCTOR: Handles? Handles! Get us out of here!
CYBERMEN: Delete! Delete!
(The Cybermen continue firing. Laser fire ricochets off the walls as the Doctor continues to plead to the Cyberhead.)
DOCTOR: Handles? Argh. Come on! Handles!
(The Doctor is beamed away.)
[TARDIS]
DOCTOR: Every ship I go on, they just shoot at me. Handles, I said, put me on a ship. I didn't say, put me on a Cybership.
(The Doctor impatiently plunges the damaged Cyberman's head onto a stand on the console.)
DOCTOR: Don't put me on a Cybership when I'm holding a broken bit of Cyberman!
(The Doctor hits the Cyberhead with his fist and recoils in pain.)
DOCTOR: Ow!
HANDLES: You did not indicate a preference.
DOCTOR: Oh, use your head.
(He takes it back off the stand and paces with it towards the console scanner.)
DOCTOR: It's not like you've got a lot of alternatives. They're all here. Atraxi, Sontarans, Terileptils, Slitheen. And they're not even fighting, they're just parked. Why?
HANDLES: The message was received throughout the universe.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, the message, the message. Even I can't translate it. I mean, why is everyone here if they don't understand it?
HANDLES: You are here.
DOCTOR: Well, you know, I'm OCD or something. What's their excuse? Handles, get me a designation on this planet.
(The emergency phone outside rings. He puts the head back on its stand.)
DOCTOR: Oh, no. And remind me I've got to patch the telephone back through the console unit.
(He moves towards the door.)
DOCTOR: This is getting ridiculous.
HANDLES: Attention. Information available.
(The Doctor quickly returns to the console.)
DOCTOR: Okay?
HANDLES: You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit.
DOCTOR: No, no. No, no, no, no. No, not now. Remind me later.
HANDLES: When?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Just later. Just pick a time.
HANDLES: When?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Just any old time. When you think I've forgotten.
HANDLES: When?
DOCTOR: Just pick a random number, express that number as a quantity of minutes, and when that time has elapsed, remind me to patch the telephone back through the console unit.
HANDLES: Affirmative.
DOCTOR: How those Cyber-evenings must fly.
(He opens the door, gets the telephone and brings the handset inside.)
DOCTOR: Hello, the TARDIS.
[Clara's flat / TARDIS]
(Clara dashes between cooking and laying a table for dinner whilst wearing the paper crown from a Christmas cracker.)
CLARA: Emergency. You're my boyfriend.
DOCTOR: Ding dong. Okay, brilliant. I may be a bit rusty in some areas, but I will glance at a manual.
CLARA: No, no, you're not actually my boyfriend.
DOCTOR: Oh, that was quick. It's a roller coaster this phone call.
CLARA: But I need a boyfriend really quickly.
DOCTOR: Well, I hope you're nicer to the next one.
CLARA: No, shut up. Christmas dinner. Me cooking. I needed an explanation for my disappearing every weekend.
DOCTOR: So?
CLARA: So, I may have accidentally invented a boyfriend.
DOCTOR: Yeah, I did that once and there's no easy way to get rid of an android.
CLARA: No, not an android. A pretend one, an imaginary one. And I said he'd be coming to Christmas dinner.
DOCTOR: Yeah.
(The scanner has picked up a large approaching vessel in orbit. The Doctor drops the telephone receiver. He scowls at Handles.)
DOCTOR: I blame you for this.
CLARA: I just need you to come for Christmas dinner. Just do that for me. Come to Christmas dinner and be my Christmas date.
(He picks up the receiver again.)
DOCTOR: Sorry, missed that last bit. Got to dash.
(The Doctor runs to the door and opens it to see a large Cybership drawing close. Small Cyber vessels are deployed and begin firing towards the TARDIS. He quickly closes the door. The TARDIS shakes as its shields are repeatedly hit. The Doctor presses his back against the door and puts his ear to the receiver again.
CLARA: I need you. I'm cooking Christmas dinner!
DOCTOR: I'm being shot at by Cybermen!
CLARA: Well, can't we do both?
DOCTOR: Argh! Yeah, why not?
INTRO ROLLS
[Clara's flat]
(Clara's little family is tucking in to starters and alcohol whilst the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special is on the television.)
TV: Happy Christmas!
LINDA: How's the turkey doing?
CLARA: Great. Yeah, yeah, it's doing great. Well, dead and decapitated, but that's Christmas when you're a turkey.
GRAN: Actually, maybe I will have a little more.
(Clara refills her glass.)
CLARA: There you go, Gran.
DAD: Did you put it in early enough?
CLARA: Dad, I put it in when you phoned me.
DAD: I emailed you some instructions.
CLARA: Oh, you certainly did.
[Outside the block of flats]
(The TARDIS materialises noisily outside Clara's block of flats. She runs down the stairs and outside, losing her paper crown in the wind.)
CLARA: Whoops!
[TARDIS]
CLARA: Doctor, I so need yo-.
(The Doctor is standing triumphantly in full Christmas gear: hideous jumper, Santa hat, gloves, a scarf made out of tinsel, Rudolph ears. Clara freezes.)
DOCTOR: Clara!
(The Doctor pulls a massive bunch of mistletoe from behind his back and lifts it before him.)
DOCTOR: Christmas boyfriend. Here I come!
(He goes in for a kiss.)
CLARA: No, stop, stop. Calm down, loverboy. Pretend.
(The Doctor shrugs, smiles broadly, and pulls her in for a hug.)
CLARA: You’re seriously meeting my family dressed like that?
DOCTOR: Why? What’s wrong? It says ‘Christmas’! Christmas is cool!
CLARA: I’m just glad you’re here. What happened to the Cybermen?
DOCTOR: I suppose the church took care of them. I can change if you like?
CLARA: No, it’s fine. There isn’t time anyway.
(The Doctor flicks a switch on the console. His clothes instantly change to a more subtle winter outfit.)
DOCTOR: Hologram clothes, projected directly onto your visual cortex. Ooh, it’s chilly in here.
CLARA: And your other clothes?
DOCTOR: Disintegrated.
CLARA: So, you're naked underneath?
DOCTOR: Everybody's naked underneath.
CLARA: Urgh, don't say things like that. It's Christmas. Put your clothes back together and come and meet my family.
[Clara's flat]
CLARA: Hello, so, er, here he is.
(The DOCTOR bursts in wearing his ridiculous Christmas ensemble. Clara looks suitably embarrassed.)
DOCTOR: Hello, the Oswalds. Hello! Merry Christmas. Hello, hello.
(He shakes the hands of Dad and Linda, gives air kisses for Gran, who is the only one who doesn’t seem entirely disoriented by his entrance. The Doctor goes to kiss Clara, checks himself, flusters, and shakes her hand too. He pulls a Christmas cracker from out of his sleeve and offers it to Dad.)
DOCTOR: Cracker, anyone?
(Dad declines. He offers it to Linda, then Gran, who happily cracks it with him.)
CLARA: So, this is the Doctor. My boyfriend. Isn't anyone going to say hello?
GRAN: Hello.
(Her glass is empty again. Dad and Linda say nothing.)
DOCTOR: Excuse us a moment.
(He turns himself and Clara around conspiratorially, though everyone can probably still hear his eager whispering.) DOCTOR: So far so good, eh? Listen, I've got an idea to break the ice. Let’s sing some good ol’ Judoon carols. I love Judoon carols.
(He clears his throat.)
DOCTOR: BO RO LO NO JO RO
(Clara claps her hand over his mouth.)
CLARA: No. How about you go check on the dinner.
(He quickly leaves through the door. Clara slowly sits down at the table, smiling and trying to laugh it off.)
CLARA: Sorry. He's ... European.
(Dad and Linda share worried looks.)
GRAN: Well I think he’s just lovely.
CLARA: Thanks, Gran.
(Gran tilts her empty glass towards her.)
GRAN: More wine, dear?
(The sound of clattering pots and pans is heard interspersed with the frantic noise of the sonic screwdriver.)
CLARA: Excuse me.
[Kitchen]
CLARA: Doctor, please.
(The kitchen is a mess. The Doctor is pointing his sonic in the oven, examining the turkey that is clearly undercooked.)
DOCTOR: Oh, that's never going to work, is it?
CLARA: What's wrong? Do you think it's not done yet?
DOCTOR: I think a decent vet would give it an even chance.
CLARA: Okay. Well, use an app.
DOCTOR: An app?
CLARA: On your screwdriver. App it.
DOCTOR: Most certainly not. It doesn't do turkey. Nothing does turkey. You'd need a time machine
(Clara looks at him meaningfully.)
DOCTOR: What?
[TARDIS]
DOCTOR: You can't keep using the TARDIS like this.
CLARA: Like what?
(She carries the uncooked bird past the console and follows him down a stairwell. He discards his hat, ears, gloves and tinsel on the way.)
DOCTOR: Missed birthdays, restaurant bookings. And please, just learn how to use iPlayer.
(The Doctor lifts a hatch on the underside of the TARDIS)
CLARA: Ooo, vortex cooking?
(She lays the carcass in the workings below the console.)
DOCTOR: Yep, exposure to the time winds. It'll either come up a treat, or just possibly lay some eggs.
HANDLES: Information available.
CLARA: What's that?
DOCTOR: Oh, just a bit of a Cyberman. He'll get us to the church on time.
(They ascend the stairs back to the main console.)
HANDLES: I have developed a fault.
DOCTOR: Not this again.
HANDLES: Delete! Delete!
DOCTOR: Oh shut up, you useless old scrapmetal.
(He hits it with his fist again and as before recoils in pain.)
HANDLES: Affirmative.
DOCTOR: The organics are all gone, but there's still a full set of data banks. Found it at the Maldovar market.
(They zoom back to the snow planet.)
HANDLES: Planet identified from analysis of message.
DOCTOR: Right, cool. Go on then. Okay, tell us, what is the planet? Go on.
HANDLES: Processing official designation.
(They wait.)
HANDLES: Processing.
DOCTOR: Okay, in your own time, dear. Don't rush.
CLARA: So why haven't you just gone down there and had a look?
DOCTOR: It's shielded. Even the TARDIS can't break through it.
HANDLES: Gallifrey.
DOCTOR: What did you say?
HANDLES: Gallifrey.
DOCTOR: What are you talking about? Gallifrey? What do you mean?
HANDLES: Confirmed. Planet designation, Gallifrey.
(The Doctor grabs Handles and takes it to the scanner.)
DOCTOR: You see that? Gallifrey is my home. I know it when I see it. That is not Gallifrey.
CLARA: Doctor, are you okay?
DOCTOR: It's not Gallifrey.
(He charges towards the doors.)
DOCTOR: Gallifrey is gone.
(They look out of the TARDIS doors down at the white planet.)
CLARA: Unless, unless you saved it. You thought you might have.
DOCTOR: Even if it survived, it's gone from this universe. That is not my home.
(They go back inside.)
DOCTOR: It can't be.
(There is a big fog horn blast outside. Lights beam through the TARDIS windows.)
CLARA: What's that?
(They look out of the door again to see a big square, steel, uninviting spaceship.)
DOCTOR: Papal Mainframe. It's like a great big flying church. The first ship to arrive. They are the ones who shielded the planet, and they can get us down there.
(The Doctor bows to a large holographic face.)
CLARA: A friend of yours?
DOCTOR: Tasha Lem, the Mother Superious.
(The hologram beckons to them.)
DOCTOR: Oh, she's inviting us aboard.
CLARA: Why?
DOCTOR: Time for my confession.
(The TARDIS flies inside the mainframe.)
[Papal Mainframe]
(Clara and The Doctor enter. He has changed into his winter outfit, he pulls up the collar of his long coat and adjusts his bowtie purposefully.
CLARA: What is this place?
(They walk between two rows of military personnel.)
DOCTOR: The Church of the Papal Mainframe, security hub of the known universe.
CLARA: A security church?
DOCTOR: Yep. Keeping you safe in this world and the next. So they say.
(They approach a row of officials.)
DOCTOR: I venerate the exaltation of the Mother Superious.
(The Doctor bows low. Clara curtseys. A male Colonel standing near the Mother Superious greets them.)
ALBERO: Welcome to the Church of the Papal Mainframe. Your honesty is appreciated.
CLARA: Honesty?
DOCTOR: The Church is surrounded with a truth field. No point confessing if you can lie about it.
(The Mother Superious glares at him through heavily decorated eyes.)
DOCTOR: Hey, Tash. Long time, no see. Loving the frock. Bit big in the back.
(He covers his mouth.)
CLARA: Doctor!
(Tasha ignores him and glares at Clara.)
ALBERO: And you are?
CLARA: I’m Clara Oswald. I’m an English teacher from planet Earth. I ran away with a man from space because I was destined to fall through his timeline and save his life, and also because I’m rubbish at making Christmas dinner. You are a bit big in the back.
(The Doctor claps his hand over her mouth. She struggles and he releases it.)
CLARA: Though I make a mean soufflé!
(He reclasps.)
DOCTOR: Takes a while to get used to. Clara, this is Tasha Lem, the Head of the Church of the Papal Mainframe. Tash, this is my companion, Miss Clara Oswald.
TASHA: We'll go to my chapel. All honours in place, no sacrifices required.
[Corridor]
(Clara and the Doctor follow Tasha briskly.)
DOCTOR: It was Tasha who shielded the planet. But you could sneak me down there, couldn't you, Tasha?
TASHA: I would have conditions.
(They stop by a pair of large wooden doors.)
TASHA: I have confidential matters to discuss with the Doctor. Would you excuse us?
DOCTOR: Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Clara. Well, quite a lot of it. Probably about half. Maybe a smidge under.
(He stops himself.)
TASHA: Very well.
(They enter into the private chapel.)
[Chapel]
(Clara sticks close to the Doctor. She is still adjusting to the truth field.)
CLARA: So, boss of the psycho space nuns – what’s the story?
DOCTOR: I saved a race she considered a threat. She had to explain it to the Then-Superious. Cost her a promotion. Complicated. Lots of shouting. Hasn’t forgiven me since.
(The doors begin to close behind them. Clara looks through and sees a mouthless creature in a suit, with three long fingers on each hand, reaching towards her.)
SILENT: Confess.
(She turns back hurriedly to the Doctor.)
CLARA: Doctor?
DOCTOR: Hm?
CLARA: Nothing. Sorry. I thought I ... don’t worry.
DOCTOR: So, Tash. What it is this time?
(Tasha moves over to an altar and touches a panel. The three tone message plays through the chamber.)
TASHA: That message is transmitting through all of space and time. What does it make you feel?
DOCTOR: Feel?
TASHA: Every sentient being in the universe who detected that signal felt something. Something overpowering.
DOCTOR: What?
CLARA: Fear.
(They look to her. She seems shaken.)
TASHA: Precisely.
CLARA: I’m scared, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Right. What's the signal? Where's it coming from?
TASHA: It's a settlement. Human colony, level two. A farm, basically.
DOCTOR: Anyone been for a look?
TASHA: Any one ship lands, the rest will follow. There will be bloodshed. Fortunately we got here first, shielded the planet. We maintain the truce by blocking all of them.
DOCTOR: Very noble of you.
CLARA: Doctor, I’m scared.
TASHA: Think what you will of the Church, Doctor, but so far we have maintained peace.
DOCTOR: And what happens when the shield fails? Any of that lot out there could break through your defences sooner or later.
TASHA: Perhaps. But they're afraid, remember? Nobody wants to go first.
CLARA: Doctor.
DOCTOR: I do.
TASHA: I was counting on it.
CLARA: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Clara? What is it?
CLARA: There’s something. There was something I can’t ... I’ve forgotten ....
(Glimpses of Silents appear about the edges of the chapel pillars. Their rasping echo of ‘Confess’ fills the room. They are moving in and out of sight.)
DOCTOR: New recruits, Tasha?
TASHA: We find people are much happier being honest when they can’t remember what they’ve confessed.
(The Silents all disappear.)
DOCTOR: Are you okay?
CLARA: Fine. Yeah, fine. Sorry. I’m not sure why I ...
TASHA: Right. This is my personal teleport. I can put you down just outside the town. Find the source of the message and report back to me in one hour. And on your life, Doctor, you will cause no trouble down there.
(The Doctor enters the confessional style teleport box.)
DOCTOR: When do I ever? Don't answer that.
(He draws the curtain. Tasha pulls it back and holds out her hand.)
DOCTOR: What?
TASHA: I'm not an idiot. No advanced technology is allowed through the force field. Give it. Now.
DOCTOR: Oh, come on. It’s just a screwdriver.
TASHA: You are taking no technology of any kind.
(He hands over the screwdriver begrudgingly. Tasha pockets the screwdriver and holds her hand out again.)
DOCTOR: What now?
TASHA: The key.
DOCTOR: What can I do with a key?
TASHA: You could summon your TARDIS.
DOCTOR: Fine. If it makes you feel any better, there we are.
(The Doctor gives the TARDIS key to Tasha as Clara goes into the other cubicle. Tasha works the teleport controls.)
TASHA: Remember. I want you back in one hour.
[Forest]
(Snow is falling all around as the Doctor and Clara beam in.)
CLARA: Oh, cold. Very cold.
(The Doctor rubs her arms to keep her warm.)
DOCTOR: Where’s that Christmas jumper now, eh? Okay, don't worry. The teleporter gives a heat loss shell for house calls on frozen planets. It'll kick in, just give it a moment.
CLARA: The church does house calls?
DOCTOR: A million billion followers. Not everyone has a deathbed in confession distance. So, so, so, sweet little town covered in snow, half the universe in terror. Why?
CLARA: Oh, my God!
DOCTOR: What?
(Clara has spotted an arm sticking out of the snow.)
CLARA: There's something under the snow. It's
DOCTOR: What is it?
CLARA: It's cold.
DOCTOR: Okay, just stand back please, Clara.
CLARA: It's stone. It's just stone. It's only a statue.
(The Doctor stops dead and turns to her.)
DOCTOR: Clara, step away from it!
(Clara looks to him then back down quickly. The hand has closed around her ankle.)
DOCTOR: Clara, keep looking at it. Don't look away. Don't even blink!
CLARA: What is it?
DOCTOR: There is a Weeping Angel under the snow. Deadly. It looks like a statue, isn't a statue. Can you get your foot out?
CLARA: Only if I get it out of my shoe.
DOCTOR: Okay, pull hard. One, two, three!
(She comes free and they tumble backwards. They look back quickly to see the hand has turned into a claw.)
CLARA: It’s climbing out of the snow!
DOCTOR: Keep looking at it.
(They begin to back away.)
CLARA: Why?
(A veil of thick mist and snowfall passes before them. The claw has moved closer and the top of a head is beginning to emerge.)
DOCTOR: Quantum locked lifeform. It can only move if it's unobserved.
CLARA: What is it doing here?
DOCTOR: Same as everybody else. Must’ve managed to break through Tasha's shield. Keep looking!
(Another obscuring veil passes. The angel draws closer, still submerged.)
DOCTOR: I just need to bring the TARDIS down.
CLARA: How? You don’t have a remote.
DOCTOR: No, but it can home in on the key.
CLARA: But she took the key!
DOCTOR: She took one of them.
(The Doctor pulls off his wig to reveal a spare glowing TARDIS key.)
[TARDIS]
HANDLES: Engines activating.
(The TARDIS materialises around them.)
DOCTOR: The old key in the quiff routine. Classic.
(He puts his wig on Handles and chucks the key to Clara.)
HANDLES: Closing in on signal origin. Co-ordinates verified.
CLARA: You've shaved your head?
DOCTOR: Yep. Clever plan to get us past the shield.
CLARA: You got bored one night, didn't you?
DOCTOR: Yeah, tiny bit bored.
CLARA: Is that what happened to your eyebrows?
DOCTOR: No, they're just delicate. Right, setting us down near the signal source. I'm going to turn the engines on silent. Don't want to make a fuss.
CLARA: You said no technology could get past the shield.
DOCTOR: That was before something tore an angel-shaped hole in it. Chances are there are plenty of holes. Problem with the Papal Mainframe: it’s shoot fist, shield later.
CLARA: Put it back on.
DOCTOR: Why?
CLARA: Your ears are like rocket fins.
DOCTOR: I know.
[Town]
(They walk away from the TARDIS in the snow. The Doctor carries Handles under one arm. The trees are decorated with lights.)
DOCTOR: Now, what do we make of this place? It's two o'clock in the afternoon. Must be very short days here.
(Two residents walk towards them.)
DOCTOR: Hello! Hello, there. (to Clara) Right, we're a couple from the next town. My name's probably Hank or Rock, something like that.
CLARA: Or Daisy?
DOCTOR: Shut up. Hello, good to meet you. Nice snow.
ABRAMAL: Most pleasant to meet you too.
MARTA: Most pleasant. Most pleasant.
DOCTOR: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. I stole a time machine and ran away and I've been flouting the principal law of my own people ever since.
(Everyone laughs.)
MARTA: (to Clara) And what did you say your name was?
CLARA: Clara - bubbly personality masking mostly terrified self-confidence issues.
DOCTOR: I'm wearing a wig! No, ah, I see. Yes, of course. It's the truth field.
ABRAMAL: No one can lie in this town any more. Especially this close to the tower.
DOCTOR: The Papal Mainframe must be projecting it inside the entire force field and, at a guess, I’d say it’s being amplified by whatever’s in there. I'm wearing a wig.
(The couple walk on.)
CLARA: Doesn't that make life a bit difficult?
MARTA: Not at all.
ABRAMAL: (in unison) Yes.
DOCTOR: This town, what's it called?
MARTA: It's Christmas.
DOCTOR: It's July.
MARTA: No, the town. The town is Christmas. That's what it's called.
ABRAMAL: Be happy here. Be well.
CLARA: How can a town be called Christmas?
DOCTOR: I don't know. How can an island be called Easter? Maybe it's just nice here.
(The three tones sing out across the roof tops.)
[Tower]
(The Doctor and Clara begin exploring the tower, treading carefully inside. The Doctor sees something and stops.)
DOCTOR: There you are. What took you so long?
CLARA: What's wrong? It's only a crack in the wall.
(It is The Crack, one of the scars created when the TARDIS exploded.)
DOCTOR: You must be the last one.
CLARA: What is it?
DOCTOR: A split in the skin of reality.
(As he touches it, he remembers other times the crack was there.)
DOCTOR: A tiny sliver of the 26th of June, 2010. The day the universe blew up.
CLARA: I think I must have missed that.
DOCTOR: I rebooted it, put it all back together.
CLARA: That's good.
DOCTOR: Well, it was my TARDIS that blew it up. I felt partially responsible. But the scar tissue remains. A structural weakness in the whole universe. Oh! And someone's trying to get through it from the outside. No, of course. Of course! It makes sense.
CLARA: It does?
DOCTOR: Yes. If you were trying to break through a wall, you'd choose the weakest spot. If you were trying to break into this universe, you'd choose this crack, because ...
(He pauses and lifts Handles up to the crack)
DOCTOR: You said Gallifrey. Why did you say Gallifrey?
HANDLES: Analysis of message composition indicates Gallifreyan origin, according to TARDIS databanks.
CLARA: Then this must be ... They must be
DOCTOR: Trying to get back. The message is coming through here. If it's the Time Lords. If it's the Time Lords.
(He takes a large round item from his trouser pocket.)
DOCTOR: Seal of the High Council of Gallifrey. Nicked it off the Master in the Death Zone. There is an algorithm imprinted in the atomic structure. Use it to decode the message.
(He puts the Seal on Handle's forehead.)
HANDLES: Message decoding. Message analysis proceeding.
CLARA: But if it’s Gallifreyan, why can’t you understand it?
DOCTOR: Maybe they don’t want any Gallifreyan.
HANDLES: Information available. The message is a request for information.
DOCTOR: It's a question. Just say that it’s a question.
HANDLES: It is being projected on a repeating cycle.
DOCTOR: Through time and space. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight.
HANDLES: Warning. Translation will be available to all lifeforms in range. Translation follows. Doctor who? (slightly different voice each time.) Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who? Doctor who?
(Different species on different ships are shown to hear it.)
[Papal Mainframe]
VOICE [OC]: Doctor who? Doctor who?
TASHA: Patch me through to the Doctor. Now!
[Town]
(The Doctor appears, bursting from the tower, plunging down the steps away from the crack. His hands cover his mouth and Clara chases after him.)
CLARA: Doctor? Doctor!
(She catches up to him as collapses in the street. The Doctor reels as if he can’t breathe. He wrenches the Seal off of Handles and throws it to Clara. The repeating question returns to its coded chime and the Doctor heaves.)
CLARA: Doctor? Are you okay?
(Tasha Lem’s holographic face appears menacingly in the night sky of Christmas. Her large eyes glare down from above.)
TASHA: Face me, Doctor. Answer me. What does it mean?
(Struggling to stand. Clara helps him to his feet.)
DOCTOR: A question only I could answer in an amplified truth field to make sure I’m not lying. If I had answered, if I’d given my name, they would know they'd found the right place and that it's safe to come through.
TASHA: Who?
CLARA: The Time Lords? But that’s good, isn’t it? It’s Gallifrey. It’s your home.
TASHA: No. The Time Lords were locked away, not only for their own protection, but for the protection of the whole universe. If they came back ...
TASHA: The Time War would begin anew. A war that would never end. The signal must be destroyed.
DOCTOR: No. No!
(He points towards the tower.)
DOCTOR: That signal might be the only hope of saving my home. They’re asking for my help.
TASHA: And if you give it, war will be the consequence. I will not let that happen, at any cost. Speak your name and this world will burn.
DOCTOR: No.
(The Doctor runs inside the tower and bursts up the stairs to the bell chamber.)
[Bell Chamber]
(He rings the bell loudly. It chimes eleven times. People below gather around and stare in fear at the giant face above the tower. Clara joins the Doctor.)
CLARA: Doctor, what are you doing?
TASHA: You would jeopardise the entire universe to save one little planet?
DOCTOR: My name is the answer. I decide. And you will not touch this town without my permission!
TASHA: A thousand others will try to stop you, Doctor. For the sake of all the worlds, that question must never be answered. Silence will fall.
(The Doctor stands, momentarily stunned. One hand clutches Clara for support.)
DOCTOR: Tasha. Tell me. What is the name of this planet?
TASHA: Trenzalore.
[Papal Mainframe]
TASHA: Attention. Attention all Chapels and Choirs of the Papal Mainframe. The siege of Trenzalore is now begun. There will be an unscheduled faith change. From this moment on, I dedicate this church to a new cause. Silence. The Doctor will not speak his name, and war will not begin. Silence will fall!
ALL: Silence will fall!
[Town]
(The Doctor and Clara are moving through the streets. Crowds are still gathered around the tower in fear. The Doctor gives Clara a short round device from his breast pocket that looks like half of an old screwdriver.)
DOCTOR: You need to take this to the TARDIS and put it in the charger slot for the sonic.
CLARA: Why?
DOCTOR: Hell. All hell, that's what happens if the Time Lords come back. There's half a universe up there already, waiting to open fire. Now please, go to the TARDIS and just do as I say.
CLARA: But you heard her. This is Trenzalore. We have to get you away from here.
(The Doctor looks at her with his big, sad eyes.)
DOCTOR: Clara. Trust me.
(Clara runs.)
[TARDIS]
(The doors swing open and Clara hurries to the console to plant the device. The TARDIS activates.)
CLARA: Okay, is that it? Are you doing a clever thing? Come on, girl. Do something clever.
(The TARDIS engines are running.)
[The Town]
(The Doctor stands on the steps outside the tower and addresses the gathered crowds.)
DOCTOR: Listen up, you lot. Christmas has a new sheriff. Hello there! I’m the Doctor.
[TARDIS]
(The engines stop.)
CLARA: Done.
(Clara runs towards the doors.)
[Outside the block of flats]
(She emerges on the patch of grass outside her flat back home. Behind her the doors close, click locked, and the TARDIS begins to dematerialise.)
CLARA: No. Don't you dare. No, no!
(CLARA runs back, quickly pulling the key from her pocket and putting it into the lock. The cloister bell sounds as the TARDIS vanishes with her.)
[Town]
TASHA [OC]: In the time that followed, the Papal Mainframe strove to maintain silence. They removed the truth field from Trenzalore, but kept the force field that would prevent more reckless foes from reaching the Doctor, knowing that any day he could speak his name.
(A set of vehicle tracks is appearing in the snow on the road into town.)
SKARR: We remain undetectable to the Papal Mainframe.
(A screwdriver like pulse descends from above and we see the upper halves of two Sontarans. Clearly, they are clones of the same cell line as Strax.)
SONTARAN: Commander Skarr. That's the detection warning. Our invisibility cloak is compromised.
SKARR: What's wrong with it?
SONTARAN: I don't know. I can't see it.
SKARR: Well, it looks invisible to me.
(He hits the side of the semi-visible vehicle. It explodes.)
ALBERO [OC]: The Church of the Papal Mainframe apologises for your death. The relevant afterlives have been notified.
TASHA [OC]: As the days passed, the Doctor stayed true to his word. On the fields of Trenzalore, he stood as protector both of his own people and his new home.
(A Silent is shown trapped in a block of ice, chained up in town. An information sign stands before it.)
TASHA [OC]: Over the years, his enemies would find new, stranger ways to enter the town called Christmas.
(The children are playing a game of blind man's bluff. The blindfolded boy wanders around a little, then hears timbers creaking.)
BARNABLE: Are you there? Hello? Am I getting warm?
(The lad removes his blindfold to look up at a dull brown creaking Cyberman. He runs away.)
BARNABLE: There's another one!
(The Cyberman's flame thrower misses him.)
BARNABLE: There's another one! There's another one!
(He rings alarm bells and the townspeople come out.)
BARNABLE: There's another one! Doctor, Doctor! There's another one!
CYBERMAN: Incinerate. Incinerate.
(An older Doctor, leaning on a cane, comes out of his tower home.)
CYBERMAN: The Doctor is required.
(The Doctor throws a wooden rifle to Barnable.)
DOCTOR: There you go, Barnable.
BARNABLE: Thanks.
DOCTOR: Working fine. Nice action. Don't leave it out in the rain again.
(A wheeled toy is tossed to another child.)
DOCTOR: Fixed the wheels and the antigrav.
GIRL: The anti what?
DOCTOR: Yeah, may have gone a bit far. Now then, what do we have today? Don't you move one step further. Wooden Cyberman. Nice. Like it.
(He limps over to his foe.)
DOCTOR: Low tech, doesn't set off the alarms upstairs.
(There is a standoff moment between the Doctor and the Cyberman, then the Doctor points what is clearly a makeshift screwdriver at it and sends a signal before it manages to raise its creaky arm.)
DOCTOR: Now, I just sent an instruction to your firearm to reverse the polarity and fire out the back end. As there’s no longer a truth field, you can’t know if I’m lying. So the question is, do you feel lucky?
(The Cyberman hesitates before turning its arm weapon around. It fires the flamethrower through its chest.)
DOCTOR: Yes. I probably should have mentioned. This is basically just a couple of sticks and a fairy light. Low-tech. Still doesn't work on wood.
(He prods the Cyberman with his cane and it falls backwards.)
DOCTOR: Next.
(The villagers cheer with triumph.)
TASHA [OC]: With every victory, the town celebrated.
DOCTOR: And there's me arm-wrestling a Draconian. I remember that.
TASHA [OC]: In time, the Doctor seemed to forget he'd lived any other life.
DOCTOR: Christmas is defended.
(He pins up children's drawings of their defeated enemies in the tower.)
TASHA [OC]: And the people of the town came to love the man who stayed for Christmas.
(The Doctor dances with a group of children, arms raised above his head.)
DOCTOR: You've got to be the drunk giraffe. You've got to commit! Don't be cool, guys. Cool is not cool.
CHILDREN: Cool is not cool!
DOCTOR: And what are we?
CHILDREN: Drunk giraffes!
DOCTOR: Drunk giraffes. That’s right. Merry Christmas. Give me a hug. Bring it in.
(The Doctor mingles.)
DOCTOR: How's your father's barn?
BARNABLE: You've fixed the leak all right, but he says it's bigger on the inside now.
DOCTOR: Shush, they'll all want one.
(There is the sound of a wheezing time rotor.)
BARNABLE: What is it? What's that noise?
(The TARDIS is trying to materialise. The Doctor frowns, taking a moment to remember.)
BARNABLE: What's that?
DOCTOR: It's my ship.
BARNABLE: Your what?
DOCTOR: It's my TARDIS. That's how I got here in the first place.
BARNABLE: Does this mean you're leaving?
(The TARDIS fully materialises, with Clara still on the outside holding her key in the lock. She is wide-eyed, visibly shaken from the journey.
DOCTOR: You’re late. Where have you been for three hundred years? Ha!
CLARA: I was in space.
(He pauses.)
DOCTOR: Clara?
(Clara is frozen. He approaches cautiously.)
DOCTOR: You were in the time vortex. You should have burned up. The TARDIS must have extended the force field. That’s why it took so long. Oh Clara.
CLARA: You tricked me.
DOCTOR: I saved you.
CLARA: You didn't even say goodbye!
(The Doctor is stunned. He draws away from the TARDIS and back towards the tower. Clara is left, still holding the key in the lock. She slowly lays her hand flat against the wood of the door and rests her head against the TARDIS.)
CLARA: Thank you.
[Tower]
(Clara enters. She looks at the drawings and the Doctor’s workbench.)
CLARA: Fixing toys and fighting monsters. Regular Santa Clause.
DOCTOR: What did I tell you? Christmas is cool. Your turkey not done yet?
(He sits in an old wooden chair, facing the crack in the wall. The three-chime signal can still be heard.)
CLARA: They’re still asking the question?
DOCTOR: Never stop. Come upstairs. It's almost time.
CLARA: For what?
DOCTOR: Dawn. The light here lasts only a few minutes. You don't want to miss it.
[Bell chamber]
(He carries Handles up the stairs. A small fire is burning in the chamber.)
DOCTOR: It's a standoff. They can't attack in case I unleash the Time Lords, and I can't run away, because they'll burn this planet to stop them coming back.
(He lays down Handles beside him.)
DOCTOR: Right, there you go, buddy. Comfy?
HANDLES: Comfort is irrelevant.
DOCTOR: How's that, is that better?
HANDLES: Affirmative.
DOCTOR: You just take it easy, buddy. He's getting old. I do my best for him, but I just can't get the parts, you know. Hey, I know the feeling.
(He is roasting marshmallows on the open fire.)
CLARA: Where did you get those?
DOCTOR: I have a supplier. The pink ones are best.
HANDLES: I have developed a fault.
DOCTOR: Hey, don't you worry, Handles. You're just dreaming. The sun's coming up very soon. You just hang on in there.
HANDLES: I have developed a fault. I, I have developed a fault. Delete! Delete!
DOCTOR: Hey, Handles. Come on. Come on. One more dawn, you can do it. You've got it in you. Come on, just hang on in there.
HANDLES: Delete! Delete!
DOCTOR: Oh shut up, you useless old scrapmetal.
(He taps it warmly. Handles grows quiet.)
HANDLES: Attention.
DOCTOR: Handles, what is it? What's wrong?
HANDLES: Urgent action required. You must patch the telephone device back through the console unit.
(Handles' lights go out.)
DOCTOR: Come back. Handles? Handles. Oh. Thank you, Handles, and well done. Well done, mate.
(The sun rises between the mountains, and birds sing to greet it. The town of Christmas lights up pale white, but further out, smoke and fire can be seen where the rest of Trenzalore has suffered.)
DOCTOR: What do you think? I come up here once a day for a few minutes, to remind myself what it is I'm protecting.
CLARA: It's beautiful. Why did you send me away?
DOCTOR: Because if I hadn't, I'd have buried you a long time ago.
CLARA: No, you wouldn't. I would never have let you get stuck here.
DOCTOR: Everyone gets stuck somewhere eventually, Clara. Hey, after all these years, I've finally found somewhere that needs me to stick around. A town called Christmas. Could've been worse.
CLARA: But you’re the Doctor. You can’t stay forever. What about having adventures and running from monsters and seeing the universe?
DOCTOR: I’ve seen the universe.
CLARA: I haven’t.
(He takes a moment to stare at the town.)
DOCTOR: Everything ends, Clara.
CLARA: Except you.
DOCTOR: I'm an old man now.
CLARA: But you don't die. You change. You pop right back up with a new face.
DOCTOR: Not forever. I can change twelve times. Thirteen versions of me. Thirteen silly Doctors.
CLARA: Okay, so you're number eleven, so
DOCTOR: Ha. Are we forgetting Captain Grumpy, eh? I didn't call myself the Doctor during the Time War, but it was still a regeneration.
CLARA: Okay, so you're number twelve.
DOCTOR: Well, number ten once regenerated and kept the same face. I had vanity issues at the time. Twelve regenerations, Clara. I can't ever do it again. This is where I end up. This face, this version of me. We saw this planet in the future, remember? All those graves, one of them mine.
(The sun is setting.)
CLARA: So change the future.
DOCTOR: I can't.
CLARA: You've got your TARDIS back.
DOCTOR: Ha! You think I'm just going to fly away, abandon everyone?
CLARA: Of course not. But you've been protecting this town for over three hundred years. Don’t you think it's anybody else's go yet?
DOCTOR: There is no one else to protect it.
CLARA: It's not going to be you forever. It'll end the same way, whatever you do.
DOCTOR: Every life I save is a victory. Every single one. Why do you think I sent you away?
CLARA: What about your life? Just for once, after all this time, have you not earned the right to think about that?
(A long pause.)
CLARA: Sorry. We shouldn't be having an argument.
DOCTOR: Clara, I've been having that argument for the last three hundred years, all by myself. I’m just glad you’re here to have it with me.
(She puts her hand in his. Thunder in the darkening sky.)
TASHA [OC]: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Ah. Look who's woken up.
(The holographic face is in the sky.)
TASHA: The Church of the Silence requests parlay. Your rights and safety are sanctified.
DOCTOR: I'll be right up.
TASHA: I'm sending a transporter.
DOCTOR: Nah, don't bother. I've got me motor back.
CLARA: It's gone dark.
DOCTOR: Yeah, well, the sun's gone down.
CLARA: Already?
DOCTOR: Everything ends, Clara. Sooner than you think.
[Town]
(The Doctor spots a tiny hand behind the TARDIS. He walks over to see a small red-haired boy sitting with his back to the TARDIS.)
DOCTOR: Hmm. Are you guarding my TARDIS, Barnable?
BARNABLE: Are you coming back?
DOCTOR: Oh, come on. You know me.
BARNABLE: I'll wait.
[Papal Mainframe]
(They exit the TARDIS to walk between two rows of military personal, including Silence. Tasha stands before them as before.)
CLARA: She hasn't aged much.
DOCTOR: No, she's against ageing.
TASHA: Approach.
SILENT: Confess.
CLARA: What are those things?
SILENT: Confess.
DOCTOR: Confessional priests. Genetically engineered so you forget everything you told them.
CLARA: Told who?
DOCTOR: There you go.
[Chapel]
(They sit around a large table. Tasha places a big box in front of the Doctor. He looks inside.)
TASHA: Satisfactory?
DOCTOR: Where are the pink ones?
TASHA: E numbers. You're hyper enough as it is.
CLARA: So, this is sweet. Middle of a siege and you two have little chats?
TASHA: Peace offerings. But she's right. This situation cannot continue.
DOCTOR: It can't end, either.
[Papal Mainframe]
Distorted Voice [OC]: Report.
ALBERO: The Time Lord has entered the trap.
[Chapel]
TASHA: Why did you ever come to Trenzalore?
DOCTOR: I was curious. It doesn’t matter. I did come to Trenzalore, and nothing can change that now. Though that didn't stop you trying, did it?
TASHA: Not me. It was the the Kovarian Chapter who broke away. They travelled back along your timeline to prevent you ever reaching here.
DOCTOR: So that's who blew up my TARDIS. I thought I'd left the bath running.
TASHA: They engineered the Pandorica, blew up your time capsule, and created the very cracks in the universe through which the Time Lords are now calling.
DOCTOR: A destiny trap. You can't change history if you're part of it. Why are you telling me all this?
TASHA: The Mainframe maintains its truth field. Old habits.
DOCTOR: So what else?
TASHA: They created a psychopath to kill you.
DOCTOR: Totally married her. I'd never have made it here alive without River Song.
TASHA: They were foolish and afraid.
DOCTOR: But you didn’t stop them.
TASHA: I'm not interested in changing history, Doctor. I want to change the future. A great evil has been growing daily. They are massing for war. Three days ago, they attacked the Mainframe itself.
DOCTOR: Who did?
TASHA: A nightmare from the stars, Doctor.
CLARA: How did you stop them?
TASHA: Stop them? It was slaughter.
DOCTOR: Why didn't you call me? I could have helped.
TASHA: I tried. I died in this room, screaming your name.
DOCTOR: Oh, Tash.
TASHA: Oh. I died. Funny the things that slip your mind.
(Her head lowers.)
DOCTOR: No! No, no, no. Tasha, no. Fight it, Tash. Fight it!
(A Dalek eyestalk comes out of her forehead. Tasha stands. Two other Dalek units enter the room, one human, one Silent. Tasha grabs Clara’s neck from behind and energy plays over her hands.)
SILENT PUPPET: Step away from the Dalek unit, Doctor.
DOCTOR: You shouldn't know who I am. I was erased from your memory. (to Clara) Thank Oswin for that.
TASHA PUPPET: Information concerning the Doctor was harvested from the cadaver of the Mother Superious.
DOCTOR: Well then, you’ll know who it is you’re up against. And you'd better kill me. Go on. But before you do ...
(He activates the console and the three-chime signal plays through the chapel.)
DOCTOR: I'm a tough old bird. I'll be ages dying. Way enough time to answer the question. And, oh dear, what happens then, boys?
TASHA PUPPET: You will die in silence, Doctor, or your associate will die.
CLARA: Fine, go on, kill me. See if he cares. You’ll kill me anyway. What difference does it make?
HUMAN PUPPET: Even the associate knows the Time Lord betrays.
CLARA: I'm not afraid. But you are.
SILENT PUPPET: She lies for her Doctor.
DOCTOR: She can’t. Truth field.
TASHA PUPPET: Then she would make an excellent Dalek.
DOCTOR: No, Tasha. That is a woman! I always knew you were a bit spineless, you and your pointless church. And look at you now.
(The Tasha unit scowls. It releases its grip on Clara and turns on the Doctor, charging its blaster. Clara grabs Tasha’s arm and spins her towards the other units. They are blasted out of the room. Clara then reaches into Tasha’s frock.)
CLARA: Sorry, your holiness.
(And pulls out the sonic. Tasha turns on her. Clara sonics the eyestalk which recedes back into Tasha’s head, leaving a visible scar. Tasha collapses on her hands and knees.)
DOCTOR: How did you do that?
CLARA: I’m a fast learner.
DOCTOR: That’s impossible.
(Clara flips the screwdriver in the air, imitating him.)
CLARA: Yes. I am.
TASHA: Help me, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Tash. You’re back.
(He helps her to her feet.)
TASHA: I died, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, but there’s still a memory bank’s worth of you in there. We need to get back to the TARDIS, can you do that?
TASHA: Yes, but quickly, the Dalek inside me is waking.
DOCTOR: Fight it.
TASHA: I can't.
DOCTOR: Listen to me. You have been fighting the psychopath inside you all your life. Shut up and win. That is an order, Tasha Lem.
(Clara and the Doctor both get into the confessional teleport booths.)
TASHA: The Daleks will lower the forcefield soon.
DOCTOR: Then this isn't a siege any more, it's a war. It's up to you now. Fight the Daleks, inside and out. You can do it, I know you can.
TASHA: No, Doctor. Silence must still fall. I will protect the innocent, but I will not stop the Daleks from destroying that signal. I’m sorry.
DOCTOR: Tash. Please.
TASHA: You've got your TARDIS back. Why can’t you just fly away, Doctor? Fly away. Forget this ever happened.
DOCTOR: I can’t.
CLARA: Doctor.
(He looks at both of them, obviously conflicted.)
CLARA: Please.
DOCTOR: I will not give up on my home.
TASHA: You’ve already lost, Doctor. It’s time that you accept that.
DOCTOR: (To Tasha) You promise me. You promise that you’ll save every life you can. Do that for me.
TASHA: None of this was for you, you fatuous egotist. It was for the peace. Go, Doctor. Fly away.
[TARDIS]
(A bell goes ting!)
DOCTOR: It's done.
CLARA: What is?
DOCTOR: Your turkey. Either that or its woken up.
CLARA: Do you want some?
DOCTOR: Go on, then.
CLARA: Got any plates?
DOCTOR: Do you know, I've even got Christmas crackers.
(The Doctor pulls a lever on the console and the TARDIS takes off.)
CLARA: One thing. Just one thing. Give me those big sad eyes, look at me so I know you're not lying, and promise me you will never send me away, alone, ever again.
DOCTOR: Clara Oswald, I will never send you away, alone, ever again.
(The TARDIS lands.)
DOCTOR: Huh? That was quick.
(He opens the door to see the interior of the Papal Mainframe. Clara shows the sonic she was using behind her back.)
CLARA: Return signal. Can’t lie in a truth field.
DOCTOR: Oh, Clara.
(She smiles sadly and throws the sonic to him. He closes the door and the TARDIS takes off again. Clara goes to get the turkey.)
CLARA: It smells good.
DOCTOR: Yeah, smells great.
(The Doctor looks at young Barnable waiting on the scanner. Clara removes the well-done turkey from the vortex cooker.)
CLARA: Perfect.
(She comes back up the stairs. The TARDIS lands.)
CLARA: Merry Christmas, Doctor. Doctor?
(She goes to the doors.)
[Outside the block of flats]
(She exits, still holding the turkey, and is once more alone on the patch of grass outside her flat. She does not turn around, but waits to hear the TARDIS dematerialise behind her. It doesn’t. It is still there, door closed, but silent.)
[Town]
(The Doctor walks with Barnable back towards the tower.)
BARNABLE: What happened to your ship, Doctor?
DOCTOR: I gave it to a friend. A Christmas present. So she wouldn’t be alone.
[TARDIS]
(Clara stands before the console which is dimmed.)
CLARA: Take me back! Please, take me back.
(The TARDIS whirrs quietly still.)
[Town]
(Shots of Cybermen fighting Daleks fighting Sontarans are shown. Huge flames and explosions engulf the landscape. Papal soldiers with eyestalks march into battle.)
TASHA [OC]: And so, to the fields of Trenzalore came all the Time Lord's enemies. For this was the winter of the Doctor. In time, when all other races had retreated or fallen, only the Doctor and his few allies remained in the path of the Daleks. Trenzalore suffered and burned, and, before long, only one town in all the world was left. The town called Christmas.
[Clara's flat]
(Everyone looks very unhappy.)
TOY PENGUIN: Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas, everyone.
LINDA: Other fish in the sea, that's what I'm saying.
DAD: Linda, I don't think Clara wants to talk about it.
LINDA: I've got a suggestion, that's all. I've got a list of suggestions.
DAD: Linda.
LINDA: You could make a boy band out of my list.
CLARA: I hate boy bands.
LINDA: Of course you don't, not at your age.
GRAN: These crackers are rubbish.
LINDA: I bought them. They're classy.
GRAN: They don't have jokes.
LINDA: Exactly. They've got poems. They're more dramatic crackers.
GRAN: I like the jokes.
CLARA: Tell us a joke, Gran. You know loads of jokes.
LINDA: I think we're probably talking about my list now.
CLARA: Probably not.
DAD: Tell us how you met Dad. The thing about the pigeon.
GRAN: I saw him on a pier on a rainy day.
DAD: No, no, not that one. The one about the pigeon.
GRAN: I'd seen him before, lots of times, but he just looked so beautiful standing there.
DAD: The pigeon in the restaurant. You remember?
GRAN: I wanted everything to stop. I wanted nothing to change ever again.
(Clara starts crying.)
GRAN: If he could just keep standing there, so beautiful. A long time ago.
(Clara hugs her.)
GRAN: Don't hug me so tight, dear. You'll break something.
LINDA: Oh, that's nice. Crying at Christmas.
CLARA: Sorry.
GRAN: I hope you made a wish.
[Kitchen]
(Clara is alone at the sink, staring out at the stationary TARDIS. DAD enters.)
DAD: The turkey was great, by the way.
CLARA: Thanks, Dad.
DAD: Took a while, but, great. Look, I’m sorry about Linda. She is trying.
CLARA: I know.
(A pause.)
DAD: He was special, wasn’t he?
(Clara says nothing.)
DAD: Eccentric. But I get it. You know, when I first met your mum, I promised her the whole universe.
(He pauses, thoughtful, looking for words.)
DAD: It was silly at the time. But I wished I could give her everything. Thing is she never needed it. Never wanted it. Good thing, really. Do you know how much the universe cost in those days?
(He laughs. Clara smiles.)
DAD: It was only after she died that I realised that it was the universe that needed her, you know? I needed her. If I could go back, Ozzy – if I could blow back into her life, like ... like a leaf on the wind – I wouldn’t have spent so much time worrying about what I was giving her. I guess, I guess I would have just been grateful for everything she’d given me, or ... or something like that. Sorry. I’m talking rubbish. It’s not what you want to hear.
(Clara turns and hugs him tightly.)
CLARA: No, Dad. It’s okay.
(He hugs back.)
DAD: Merry Christmas, Clara.
CLARA: Merry Christmas, Dad.
DAD: If you need anything, just ask.
(Clara’s keeps holding him, eyes closed, then her eyes open with an idea.)
CLARA: Actually. Do you have a screwdriver?
[TARDIS]
(Clara is inside. She holds the screwdriver authoritatively in one hand, pointing towards the console.)
CLARA: Right. Now you listen, Madam. I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye ... if you have eyes ... but I know you’re not just going to let him dump us here so he can be stupid and heroic and off himself on another planet. You know me. I’m the impossible girl. I was born to save the Doctor. And you, missy, would do the same if you had half the chance. Just so happens, you’re the most powerful Ferrari in the universe – and a stubborn old cow. There has to be something we can do.
(The TARDIS does not stir.)
CLARA: Oh, come on! Since when did you start listen to anything that silly old man tells you?
(Still nothing.)
CLARA: Fine. I didn’t want to have to do this.
(She shoves the screwdriver in the charger slot for the sonic. The TARDIS console flashes and the charger slot sparks.)
CLARA: Oh, there you are. Hello! Now are you going to take me or am I going to have to drive? I warn you, I’m rubbish driving stick.
(A hologram of the Doctor appears by the console.)
TARDIS: Improper device installed. Visual interface activated. Manual correction required.
CLARA: No, I’m not talking to him right now. I’m talking to you.
(The visual interface changes to Clara.)
TARDIS: Remove improper device.
CLARA: Great. One step up from a brick wall.
TARDIS: Remove improper device.
CLARA: Not until you promise to take me back.
TARDIS: Remove improper device.
CLARA: I know you’re scared. I get it. He’s trying to save you too. But I need your help.
TARDIS: Remove improper device.
CLARA: He needs our help.
(The visual interface stops silent.)
CLARA: Please. If we don’t, he’ll die alone.
TARDIS: Remove improper device.
(Clara slowly takes the screwdriver out of the charger slot, defeated. The console dims a little.)
TARDIS: Manual correction complete. Calculating destination. Trenzalore.
(The interface disappears, the console lights up, and the TARDIS engines come alive.)
[TOWN]
(The Doctor ascends the steps leading up to the tower. He leans heavily on his walking stick. Fire can be seen burning in the town.)
TASHA [OC]: Time passed and the Doctor grew old and tired from fighting.
[TARDIS]
(Clara is thrown around the console room as the TARDIS flies furiously through the vortex. She grabs on where she can, reaching for and pulling levers, flying the TARDIS half by accident.)
CLARA: Doctor! We’re coming for you!
[TOWN]
(The Doctor enters the tower.)
TASHA [OC]: But still he fought on to protect his home.
(The tower door closes heavy behind him. Further off, the TARDIS materialises. Clara runs out. Everything is in flames. Shouting voices can be heard in the distance, but the town is mostly deserted. She heads towards the tower.)
TASHA: Stop!
(A figure approaches from the side of the tower. It is Tasha Lem. She has not aged, but her clothes seem faded and worn. Her eyes are no longer heavily-decorated. Clara raises her screwdriver in hopeless defence, uncertain if she is still a Dalek.)
TASHA: You were his associate, long ago. I remember.
(Clara lowers the screwdriver.)
CLARA: Tasha? What happened?
TASHA: I managed to evacuate most of the survivors before the forcefield came down fully. A handful chose to stay – his loyal children. Father Christmas they call him now.
CLARA: How is he?
DOCTOR: Dying.
CLARA: And you?
TASHA: Dead. The church has been completely overrun.
CLARA: So you switched sides?
TASHA: Silence must still fall. Go to him. He shouldn’t die alone.
[Tower]
(The Doctor is sitting in his chair before the crack, working on a wooden dog.)
DOCTOR: Barnable?
CLARA: Clara.
(A venerable Doctor with thin white hair lets the toy drop and looks around in his chair.)
CLARA: Hello, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Were you always so young?
CLARA: Nah, that was you.
DOCTOR: Ah.
(He kisses her hand.)
DOCTOR: You flew the TARDIS?
CLARA: Flying the TARDIS was easy. It’s flying you no one’s ever quite mastered.
DALEK [OC]: Seek the Doctor.
(Clara pulls a Christmas cracker from her sleeve.)
CLARA: Merry Christmas, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Merry Christmas.
(They try to pull the cracker, but his hand isn't strong enough.)
CLARA: Hey, it's okay. It's all right, don't worry.
(She helps him make the cracker go bang.)
DOCTOR: Ah! Is there a joke? Ha?
(Clara reads the slip of paper.)
CLARA: Extract from Thoughts on a Clock by Eric Ritchie junior.
DOCTOR: Is it a knock knock one? Those are best.
CLARA: I don't think so.
DOCTOR: Well, read it. Go on.
CLARA: And now it's time for one last bow, like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now. The clock is striking twelve's.
DOCTOR: I don't get it.
DALEK [OC]: Doctor! The Doctor will be found!
(A huge Dalek Mothership hovers over the village.)
DALEK [OC]: The Daleks demand the Doctor.
(A young man runs in. He has red hair.)
YOUNG MAN: They're back. The Daleks. They’re invading the town. We can't stop them.
DOCTOR: Oh, all right, Barnable. Are you Barnable?
YOUNG MAN: No, sir. Who’s Barnable?
DOCTOR: It's okay, Barnable, don't worry. I’ve got a plan.
(He taps his nose.)
DOCTOR: Off you pop.
(The young man leaves to the sounds of explosions outside.)
DOCTOR: I haven't got a plan, but people love it when I say that.
CLARA: Doctor, what are you going to do?
DOCTOR: Oh, I don't know. Talk very fast, hope something good happens, take the credit. That's generally how it works.
CLARA: Doctor.
DOCTOR: Not this time, though. This is it.
CLARA: No!
DOCTOR: Yes. We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends.
CLARA: Change it.
DOCTOR: Ha.
CLARA: Change the future. Create a decoy. Erase the timeline. Do something.
(He touches her face.)
DOCTOR: Oh, Clara. My impossible girl. It’s time.
(Clara touches his hand.)
DOCTOR: Time for my confession.
CLARA: Doctor?
(He holds her very close.)
[Town]
(The Daleks have surrounded the TARDIS.)
DALEK: Locate the Doctor.
[Tower]
DOCTOR: I’m scared, Clara. I’m so so scared.
(She holds him.)
CLARA: Shh. Doctor. It’s okay. It’s okay.
(She releases him and looks him in the eye.)
CLARA: On behalf of the universe.
(She wipes away the tear on his cheek.)
CLARA: Thank you, Doctor.
(He smiles and kisses her forehead then steps away to totter up the stairs.)
DOCTOR: Of course the trouble with Daleks is, they take so long to say anything. Probably die of boredom before they shoot me.
DALEK [OC]: The Doctor is required!
DOCTOR: Oh, before I forget. This is for you. Merry Christmas.
(He throws Clara the sonic, which she holds tightly to her chest. Outside, the other survivors are huddled together, looking up to the top of the tower.)
[Bell chamber]
DOCTOR: Sorry I'm a bit slow. I may not be at my best right now.
DALEK [OC]: You are dying, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm dying. You've been trying to kill me for centuries, and here I am, dying of old age. If you want something done, do it yourself.
DALEK [OC]: You will die, and the Time Lords will never return.
DOCTOR: You still can't work up the courage to shoot me though, can you? You're still scared I've got something up my sleeve. Well, you knock yourselves out, boys. I've got nothing this time.
DALEK [OC]: You will die now, Doctor. This is the end of you. The rules of regeneration are known. You have expended all your lives.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes. The rules, the rules. Thing is – I’ve broken every rule in the book. Even wrote a few in just so I could break them. I have been back and forward, over and over, from beginning to end, and I have touched every star in every galaxy. I have lived a long long life! And, in my time, I have made my mark on this universe. Oh yes! So if you think this life will just burn out quietly, you’re wrong. If I’m going, it’s going to be a whopper. So, come on then, if you want my life, ha, ha, come and get it!
(The Dalek ship fires on the tower. The Doctor is hit by several shots and is pushed back, though he manages to stay standing. The bell is struck, its surface cracks, and it begins to chime behind him.)
DALEK [OC]: The Doctor is dying. The Doctor is dying.
(The Doctor begins to glow pale white. He clutches at his chest and slowly looks up at the Dalek ship.
DALEK [OC]: Doctor! Explain this! Explain!
DALEK [OC]: Emergency! All Dalek units. Retreat!
[Town]
(Daleks move away from the people. Clara opens the tower doors.)
CLARA: Get inside! Come on, quickly. Get inside, quick.
(The survivors scramble towards the tower.)
[Bell chamber]
(The tower clock strikes twelve.)
DOCTOR: Love from Gallifrey, boys!
(The Doctor throws open his arms in a regenerative stance, but instead of regeneration energy, a huge blast of white, spiralling energy erupts from his body. The pillar pierces upwards and ruptures the Dalek Mothership. It explodes. A shockwave bursts from the tower, crumbling the bell chamber and ripping open the remaining Daleks in the town. The TARDIS is rocked by it, and begins to dematerialise. The shockwave travels out of the town and into the countryside. As the huge pillar of the Doctor’s timestream continues to pierce upward, the Doctor’s body still stands atop the remains of the bell chamber, but it is beginning to disintegrate. The TARDIS materialises around him to contain the time scar. Bright light fills the interior and shatters the glass windows from the inside. Light pours out, but slowly and eventually fades to a pale, white glow.)
[Town]
(The survivors emerge from the tower doors to survey the damage to the town.)
[Papal Mainframe]
(Tasha Lem is beamed onto the ship. Everyone seems to be waking from Dalek possession. Their eyestalks have retreated leaving scars on their foreheads.)
ALBERO: Mother Superious.
TASHA: The Doctor is dead. Silence has fallen. The Church of the Silence is now disbanded.
ALBERO: He is dead?
TASHA: Yes, and this church now has a new purpose. To tell the story of the man who stayed for Christmas.
[Bell Tower]
(Clara ascends the stairs. The TARDIS’ cloister bell is ringing and its engines are wheezing a slow, steady rhythm. She sees the TARDIS' external emergency telephone hanging off its hook and replaces it, then goes inside.)
[TARDIS]
(The TARDIS interior is dark but cast in the pale glow of the Doctor’s time scar, which spins before the main console. Behind it, the TARDIS’ central pillar rises and falls with its dying whirrs. The cloister bell still sounds.)
CLARA: I’m sorry. I couldn’t save either of you.
(She steps up to the time scar.)
CLARA: All those times and all those lives. I know you hate goodbyes, but ...
(The voices of the Eleventh’s closest whisper out of his timeline.)
RIVER: Goodbye, sweetie.
AMY: Raggidy Man, goodbye.
IDRIS: I just wanted to say, hello.
CLARA: Doctor ...
(She closes her eyes.)
Villagers [OC]: Thank you. Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.
(Clara listens to the sound of voices rising from the town.)
Villagers [OC]: Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.
(Clara opens her eyes and runs out of the TARDIS.)
[Tower]
(Clara hurries down the stairwell and reaches the crack in the wall. She falls to her knees. The crack is still sounding its three-chime message.)
CLARA: Listen to me, you lot. Listen up! You've been asking a question, and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name, his name is the Doctor. That’s all the name he’ll ever need. Everything you need to know about him. I’m sorry – this universe isn’t ready for you yet. But if you have any hope of getting back here, any hope of this universe getting better, then you need the Doctor as much as we do. He has done so much, and we are not done being grateful yet. So listen, please, just listen. Because this is our message.
(She stands and points the sonic towards the town. The sound of the villagers ‘thank you’s rises louder. She then points the sonic towards the crack. The voices fill the tower.)
Villagers [OC]: Thank you, Doctor. Thank you. Doctor, thank you. Thank you.
(The voices die down. The crack glows, then a stream of golden energy seeps from the crack, twists around Clara and heads towards the stairwell. The crack snaps closed. She follows after the energy.)
[Bell chamber]
(The golden energy passes through the TARDIS doors, and the TARDIS’ slow wheezes become a little stronger.)
[TARDIS]
(Clara chases through the doors. The energy reaches the time scar and spins with it, turning the scar gold. Clara approaches. A figure materialises, translucent, but recognisable. The bow-tied young Doctor smiles at her.)
CLARA: Doctor!
DOCTOR: Hello.
CLARA: You’re alive? It’s you again.
DOCTOR: Just pulled up an old face. This is a reset. A whole new regeneration cycle. Oh, you are brilliant.
(The TARDIS' engines are growing stronger.)
DOCTOR: It all just disappears, doesn't it? Everything you are, gone in a moment, like breath on a mirror. Any moment now, he's a-coming.
CLARA: Who's coming?
DOCTOR: The Doctor.
CLARA: But you, you are the Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yep, and I always will be.
(His hands are glowing.)
DOCTOR: But times change, and so must I.
(The Doctor sees a young Amy Pond run up the stairs, laughing.)
DOCTOR: Amelia?
CLARA: Who's Amelia?
DOCTOR: The first face this face saw. We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good, you've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be.
(Echoes of past Doctors are heard behind him, all saying ‘I am the Doctor.’)
DOCTOR: I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me.
(The Doctor removes his bow tie and drops it on the floor. Wisps of gold escape from it into the air. The Doctor’s face is in pain and has started faintly glowing.)
CLARA: No, no.
DOCTOR: Hey.
CLARA: Please don't change.
DOCTOR: Clara Oswald. You don’t need me anymore. You’ve done all the saving you need to do. I just hope the next one tells you more often how grateful he is.
(The Doctor opens his arms and lifts back his head. It is a painful but less violent regeneration than others. The regeneration energy pours out and seeps into the TARDIS console. The Doctor emerges as Peter Capaldi, who falls away from the time scar and is caught by Clara. The new Doctor steadies himself and stares at her, scowling, slightly terrifying. The TARDIS gives a massive jolt with a loud crack. It’s engines are heaving full force. The Doctor is jerked back and forward again. The time scar fades and disappears behind him.)
DOCTOR: Kidneys! I've got new kidneys.
(Clara holds on where she is, staring, alarmed.)
DOCTOR: I don't like the colour.
CLARA: Of your kidneys?
(The TARDIS is lurching from side to side.)
CLARA: What's happening?
DOCTOR: We're probably crashing. Oh!
CLARA: Into what?
DOCTOR: Stay calm. Just one question. Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?
Details of the main changes + explanation/justification:
1) No Daleks until the third act:
The original script starts with the Doctor popping in on a Dalek ship, and within the first thirty seconds, the big bad is seen, escaped from, and put aside for an early sight gag. Like a lot of enemies, familiarity breeds apathy. As a rule, every time an enemy is re-introduced, we must learn something new, see them in a different light, fear them again. A similar problem happens to most, if not all, of the enemies in the episode. For this reason, Daleks aren’t even mentioned in the re-write until the eyestalk pops out of Tasha’s head. They are the Big Bad and they come in big, taking over one of the most powerful institutions in the universe and killing its leader.
I had considered removing some of the other enemies in the episode, making it less of a Christmas Annual and more focussed overall, but each of the appearances does have some merit, so a bit of tweaking was preferred. Only one angel appears in the snow and never fully emerges; however, that, I find, is more terrifying. Silents are shown to have tried to attack the town and lost, which means the Papal Mainframe is actually doing something and is a threat. And even when the Daleks are introduced, they are only puppets. The Daleks fully appear full force only in the eleventh hour.
2) No nakedness/The Papal Mainframe enforces honesty not nudity:
Yes, it was funny in places. But the nudity and consequent gags never really made sense in the scheme of the episode. Nothing comes of the church enforcing nudity, and a lot of the episode is spent effectively making the same joke. This is all then forgotten half an hour in and never mentioned again. One holographic clothing joke is kept in the rewrite, but it’s passing. You may argue that my changing the Doctor’s nudity to a garish Christmas ensemble is a bit trite – I can see that – but it makes more sense for the Doctor to go over the top on the Christmas thing when invited to dinner, which has much the same disorienting effect on Clara’s family. It also allows the Christmas crackers and an added ‘Christmas is cool’ line to appear in the episode.
One of the main issues with the episode is a lack of focus. Things don’t seem to tie neatly in the narrative. By changing the Mainframe’s enforcement to honesty, by making them responsible for the truth field, they become more closely tied to the story’s themes. When they make the switch from Truth to Silence, that’s a much bigger deal, all with the overarching principle of ‘Peace’ (at any cost) keeping them worryingly dangerous. The Mainframe just doesn’t seem that powerful when half the time is spent making nudity jokes.
3) Tasha Lem is not the poor man’s River Song:
Tasha is the Mother Superious. She the boss. She’s in charge. She’s a threat to the future of Gallifrey. So of course she should spend the entire episode flirting with Eleven and giving him bedroom eyes. There’s nothing wrong with a feisty, sexy female character, but gosh, can we have some variety? I wanted to see a woman who the Doctor genuinely considered a threat. He might still play cheeky with her (he is a very flirty Doctor), but she doesn’t buy it. There are simply more important things than how hot the Doctor is. (Ducks from fangirls.) In the rewrite, Tasha makes it clear that she will do whatever it takes to maintain peace in the universe. She’s not a villain (she’s instrumental in saving a lot of innocent lives) but she has values that exceed the Doctor’s life and she acts upon them. And when Tasha dies, it isn’t just brushed off with a kiss and a wink. There are consequences to her position. And after all, she is the narrator for the episode. She doesn’t need to be River Song. She needs to be Tasha Lem.
4) Tasha takes the sonic screwdriver:
How he got away with taking the sonic through a no technology field, I don’t know. Surely it’s the first thing Tasha would take. He causes a lot of trouble with that thing. So in the rewrite, Tasha takes it. This leaves the Doctor without his most trusted tool during the biggest danger in his life. His struggle and battle through the centuries has more impact if we know he’s more vulnerable. And his triumph is more impressive. It’s little plot holes like keeping the sonic that make the original episode unnecessarily incoherent. Which leads us to ...
5) Plot holes mostly resolved with minor explanatory comments:
Why would Clara need to lie about having a boyfriend? If the TARDIS couldn’t pass through the field, why would homing in on the key make a difference? If he’s in a truth field, right next to the crack, why doesn’t the Doctor answer when the question is translated (surely he’s compelled to, otherwise what’s the point of the field)? Is this the last crack open or are there others, and if the Time Lords can close and open cracks at will, why does Trenzalore need protecting? What happened to the Mainframe and Tasha after the Daleks took over? Did she just hide up there? The plot is riddled with questions that go unanswered, and this seems to be a running problem for this last series. I was tempted to even tackle ‘How did they escape his timestream in ‘The Name of the Doctor’?’ but that really should have been done in ‘The Day of the Doctor’. In most cases, it only took a couple of lines to clear up some of these things.
6) Clara is more active as a character/ The TARDIS is more involved:
One major issue with the original script was the treatment of Clara, who gets a rough deal and is made passive through the whole story. She basically just follows the Doctor, cries a lot, and pleads to others for help. We’ve seen her take a much more active role in previous episodes, and it seems odd – even in a Doctor’s finale – that she would take such a back seat. In the re-write, Clara is more active in responding to threats, challenging the Doctor, and solving her own problems. That doesn’t mean she is perfect and super powerful. She still can’t stop the Doctor’s fate. She is still sent away twice and heartbroken. But she doesn’t just sit around feeling sad. She makes her own way back to the Doctor, working with the TARDIS (who is also pushed aside in the original and doesn’t do much, despite being on her way to death) to at least try. She saves herself and the Doctor from the first Dalek appearance, showing some proficiency with the sonic. And she has fully earned the TARDIS’ allegiance. Her speech to the Time Lords at the end is still a plea, but she is much more direct and justified in her address. Also, SHE DOESN’T FANCY THE DOCTOR. For goodness sake. The best friend dynamic is awesome and Eleven is not that hot. (Ducks from fangirls.)
7) Clara’s dad gets a scene:
Companions’ family members have been some of the most interesting characters since the revival of Who. They may not be big players, but they have personalities and purposes that are often important to the stories. I recognise that we have only really seen them once, but Clara’s family (Gran excepted, who gets a lovely speech) don’t really do much. Clara’s dad especially gets very little personality. I added a scene where it’s just him and Clara talking about her mum, because I felt the Dad had something to say, accidentally or otherwise, that could help Clara deal with her grief. He plants the idea of gratitude, which, in the re-write, is an important idea.
8) Confession and gratitude as recurring ideas, and the truth that the Doctor is scared of dying:
Earlier, I pointed out the need for greater thematic focus in the episode. Honesty is a big theme. Sacrifice and safety are others. But one thing that stuck out to me in the episode was the Silent’s echo of ‘Confess’. In the original episode, this seems directed at Clara but doesn’t really come to anything. I wondered what, if anything, the Doctor would have to confess, and so ‘confession’ became a theme in the re-write. In the end, I decided that the Doctor’s confession would be that he’s just as scared of dying as everyone else. This humanises him and allows Clara, even if she can’t save him, to comfort him in that moment of vulnerability. She is able to thank him and show him the gratitude he is owed by the universe for all the good he has done in his lives, which draws on ‘The Wedding of River Song’ and the recognition that the universe wants to help. Gratitude gives him the resolve to meet his death and is the instrument Clara uses to persuade the Time Lords to help him.
9) The Doctor does die, leaving the time scar and the dead TARDIS from ‘The Name of the Doctor’:
Aborted timelines are banned. We’ve had enough of them, and they’re a cop out. You can’t keep changing the future without consequences - especially this one. In the original episode, there is no dead body, which means no time scar, which means nowhere for Clara to enter to save the Doctor’s many past lives. The Doctor surviving canonically should mean the end of the universe. Whoops. So, in the rewrite, the Doctor is killed and it’s the rupture of his death not his regeneration that destroys the Dalek ship. The TARDIS tries to contain the scar and dies in the process. The timeline is fixed. Silence has fallen. Clara convinces the Time Lords to give him a new cycle, but the old one is dead and there it will remain. The regeneration energy allows a figure of Matt Smith to deliver his final speech and regenerate, and this regeneration grants the TARDIS the power to crack out of a dying shell of itself – leaving the protective walls for the Doctor’s tomb – but allowing Clara, Twelve and TARDIS to be carried away.
Finally, I conclude with thanks to those who read through this, and to those who may respond with thoughtful criticism, question and debate.
Further thanks to www.chakoteya.net/doctorwho, who published the transcript of this episode that I used as a template.
Doctor Who is of course property of the BBC and all relevant creative parties. Thanks to them for making an amazing show to love and critically engage with.
