 This is the final story of Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11). It was written by showrunner and Executive Producer Chris Chibnall and was directed by Wayne Yip.
This story sees the return of the Daleks and the first story where the Thirteenth Doctor encounters a previous foe.
Behind the camera, this story marked the return of director Wayne Yip, who had previously worked on Doctor Who and Class during the Steven Moffat era. He was the first returning director, since Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner.
This is the first television story in which Nicholas Briggs is credited as ‘Nick Briggs’. It is also his first credit since Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner.
On the 6th December 2018, the BBC announced the guest stars for this story. This included Charlotte Ritchie, Nikesh Patel and Daniel Adegboyega, as the characters Lin, Mitch and Aaron respectively.
The title of this story was announced on the 8th December 2018.
Chris Chibnall stated during filming for Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11), which included this story, that the Daleks would not be featured. However, on the 25th December 2018, the BBC announced that the New Year's Day special would feature the return of the Daleks.
The Daleks were the first returning enemies since Chris Chibnall took over as showrunner at the start of this season. The Dalek in this story notably underwent the first major redesign since the new Paradigm Daleks that were introduced in the 2010 Eleventh Doctor story "Victory of the Daleks".
This story is also notable for introducing a new form of Dalek weaponry. Besides the gunstick and manipulator arm (here in the form of a claw, rather than a ‘plunger’ design), this Dalek also demonstrated possession and use of multiple short-range missiles behind each of its orbs. It also marked the introduction of a new subspecies of Dalek - the Reconnaissance Scout.
Similar to "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", this story featured neither opening titles or credits. The title of this story, along with credits for the Writer Director and Series Producer, were shown at the beginning of the end credits.
According to Darren Fereday, the concept artist, the Dalek in this story was fully robotic and thus radio-operated, requiring no Dalek operator inside the casing. Three separate systems controlled the eyestalk, the gunstick and manipulator arm, and the lights. He also noted that the melted Dalek made use of practical LED lighting.
The Daleks' gunfire sound from the 1988 Seventh Doctor story "Remembrance of the Daleks" are reused in this story.
The Doctor again refers to her travelling companions as her ‘extended fam’ (see "The Woman Who Fell to Earth", "Arachnids in the UK", "The Witchfinders" and "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos").
Lin, controlled by the Dalek, retrieves its Dalek gunstick from the MDZ Research facility - a weapons research company. She is then seen constructing a new Dalek casing, welding it out of remnants of its old shell, as well as metals found at Dinkle's farm.
The Doctor calls Aaron Sinclair ‘Ryan's dad’. Similarly in "Arachnids in the UK" she called Najia Khan ‘Yaz's mum’.
It is revealed that the Dalek buried on Earth is a Reconnaissance Scout. It is brought back to life accidentally through ultraviolet light.
Removed from their casing, Kaled mutants can control humans, and use them as vehicles instead. This is demonstrated when the Dalek commands Lin to open her laptop, which it then uses to access the Black Archive so as to assess Earth's military capabilities. Lin, still controlled by the Dalek, is seen shooting out CCTV cameras with a Dalek gunstick.
Lin thinks the Dalek mutant looks like a massive squid.
The Doctor has previously encountered Dalek mutants outside of their casing (see "The Daleks", "Resurrection of the Daleks" and "Twice Upon a Time").
The newly designed Dalek casing has short-range missiles behind its sense globes. The Army tries to destroy the Dalek with a tank, which it promptly blows it up with one of its missiles.
The Army sergeant thinks the Dalek is a drone.
The Dalek accesses the internet to research the planet's capabilities (see "Dalek"). It accesses the Black Archive (see "The Day of The Doctor").
The Doctor mentions she has faced the Daleks before and that she learned to be like them. The Ninth Doctor and the Twelfth Doctor were also compared to Daleks, albeit by other people (see "Dalek" and "Into the Dalek").
The Dalek predicts conquest in 9376 Rels. Rels are a Dalek measurement of time. The Doctor is heard stating that she can't remember how long a Rel is.
In order to contact the Dalek fleet, the Dalek takes control of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)'s relay dishes, and siphons off power from the rest of the UK to aid in the transmission. In doing so, the Dalek shuts down the Wi-Fi across the UK, as well as disrupting all telephone signals.
The Doctor is seen giving a final warning to the Dalek, allowing it one last chance to back down as the Tenth Doctor did in the 2006 story "New Earth").
New abilities for the TARDIS are revealed. It is capable of bio-tracking as well as holo-projection. It can also triangulate mobile phone signals, track CCTV cameras, monitor satellite footage, and follow GPS and number plate tracking.
When the TARDIS is locked down, The Doctor is heard asking Graham O'Brien to get some peanut butter to grease the geo-feudal locks with.
The TARDIS detects the Dalek mutant's attempt at a spatial shift.
The Doctor opens the TARDIS doors to a vacuum corridor produced by a star going supernova, in order to flush the Dalek out of her time machine.
The Doctor mentions that short hops in the TARDIS are difficult (see "State of Decay", "Logopolis" and "The Bells of Saint John").
The TARDIS has shielding which can keep The Doctor and her allies in a protective bubble, safe from Dalek weaponry (see "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways" and "Rosa").
It is revealed that The Doctor has taken her three travelling companions to 19 New Year's Eves in a row. Graham O'Brien is heard to state that his favourite was Mesopotamia, in modern-day Iraq, which The Doctor says was the original. Ryan Sinclair's favourite was Sydney in 2000, where they watched the fireworks from the Harbour Bridge, while Yasmin Khan's favourite was in 1801, when they discovered a dwarf planet with Giuseppe Piazzi. The Doctor wants to take her friends to Quantifer, a settlement on the edge of the known universe, for their twentieth New Year's Eve.
The Three Custodians intend to bury the three pieces of the Dalek on Anuta Island on the South Pacific, in Siberia, Russia, and in Yorkshire, England. The third Custodian is killed by an arrow on his way to the Yorkshire burial site.
Sheffield Town Hall is later built over the site of the third Custodian's remains. The site itself is in the sewers.
The offspring of The Three Custodians become the Order of the Custodians.
The Doctor has been on Earth for the start of New Year 2000 before (see the Fourth Doctor comic strip "The Forgotten"; the Sixth Doctor Virgin Books' The Missing Adventures novel "Millennial Rites", written by Craig Hinton, and in the 1996 Eighth Doctor film "Doctor Who: The Movie").
A man in the café is seen reading a copy of the Sheffield Advertiser. The front page features the headline ‘Local bus route may change’.
The Doctor uses Yasmin’s phone to call the UK Security Helpline and asks to be transferred to Kate Stewart at UNIT. However, she is informed that UNIT operations have been suspended, pending a review following financial disputes and subsequent funding withdrawals.
When the Dalek shuts down the Wi-Fi, two teenagers lament that they cannot access Netflix.
Broadcast on the 1st January 2019 this story is a New Year's Day special, instead of the traditional annual Christmas special. It is the only story planed to be shown in 2019, as the next season, Season Thirty Eight (New Series 12) is not due to start until early 2020.
Since the show’s revival, in 2005, the Christmas Specials have been broadcast every year until 2017. "Twice Upon a Time" marked the final Christmas Special, after this story was moved to New Year's Day in 2019.
This story is the first New Year Special since the second episode of "The End of Time" in 2010.
The first trailer for this story was released after the broadcast of the previous story, "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos".
Before the broadcast of this story was announced it was rumoured that the 2018 Christmas Special was going to be skipped.
Like the first part of the 2010 Eleventh Doctor stories "The End of Time" and "The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang", this story takes place on the day it was broadcast.
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The Firsts:
The first Doctor Who story that is a New Year Special since the second episode of "The End of Time" in 2010.
The first television story in which Nicholas Briggs is credited as ‘Nick Briggs’.
The first appearance of a Dalek Reconnaissance Scout.
The first story where the Thirteenth Doctor encounters a Dalek.
The first story where the Thirteenth Doctor encounters a previous foe.
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