Twice Upon a Time - Take Two Doctor Who Review

Peter Capaldi goes on his final outing as the Twelfth Doctor, but he won't be alone. David Bradley plays the First Doctor, as both incarnations are hesitant to allow regeneration to happen, and must work together to help a WWI captain and uncover the strange events behind his time displacement. Steven Moffat closes out his time as showrunner with this multi-Doctor story. This Doctor Who Christmas Special marks the end of an era.
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[@Ben-vf5gk]

I also love how Moffat's first and last new who stories were about world weary Doctors having their faith in the universe restored by having one really good day.

[@jessetorres8738]

I will always remember when The Doctor was Peter Capaldi. He was my Doctor, he was my professor, he was my warrior, he was my hero, and I didn't want him to go.

[@christianwise637]

I never thought of it like that, wow Moffat really found a way to bookend his time on the show in a really sweet and heartfelt way

[@bryanconnors333]

Kinda like real life, eh?

[@james4thedoctor482]

+

[@Silverwind87]

Everybody lives. Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!

[@PaulAndroid]

Rusty was the character that really challenged this Doctor's perception of himself way back at the beginning of his era. He wanted to know if he was a good man, and hearing a Dalek tell him that he's a good Dalek was a massive defeat for him. Having him casually confront Rusty after all the growth he's had is kind of a neat little way to show how secure he's become with his own morality.

[@ximakun]

Capaldi's last speech never fails to bring me to tears. I have 'Laugh hard, run fast, be kind' tattooed on my arm as a reminder to be a better human. I always liked this episode for what it is, some kind of end credits scene for Twelve's run, and it always surprises me when I think back to season 8 and how much I 'didn't get' this doctor. Of all the incarnations this is the one that took me most by surprise in the end, when I realized it is probably the one I would choose for a trip on the Tardis.

[@ryanpollard1166]

Farewell Twelve. Some criticized 'Twice Upon a Time' for being too indulgent, or “for having no plot”, but all it’s meant to be is a coda; a short reflection on change, death and the nature of memory, and as that, it works perfectly. Together with 'World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls', these last three episodes were the best farewell for a Doctor yet, and a fitting one for a phenomenal Doctor. For me, Peter Capaldi's very flawed and insecure, yet kind and wise Twelfth Doctor was my ideal kind of Doctor and will always be my personal favourite. Capaldi got to live his lifelong dream of becoming the Doctor, and he delivered a portrayal that will forever be remembered for many years to come. I still miss him deeply, just like you would miss a very dear friend who will always be with you.

[@jhon4379]

I really hope that capaldi goes into the ""dreamworks effect"", because dreamworks did a lot of incredible movies, deslike in its time and now that are people appreciating them. I hope people will notice how capaldi era was incredible

[@nocturne8333]

This is my guilty pleasure episode. I just love it. The fact that Twelve, who begins his era traumatised from a 900 year war, having an aversion to soldiers and personal attachment, becomes the Doctor that proactively embraces his loved ones on the battlefield where everyone was kind for one day encapsulates why I love him so much. He’s probably one of the most emotionally vulnerable Doctors and his development is glorious. His time with Clara mellows him along with Missy’s role in his realisation of what kind of a man he is. He then gets too attached to his inherently toxic relationship with Clara, which gets her killed. He then has to learn that he can’t go too far because he stops being the Doctor and is healed by forgetting her completely. Then in series 10 he takes his lessons and applies them to Bill and Missy. Twelve becomes sure of who he is while Missy loses her sense of identity and is helped by the Doctor. This episode then gives us the theme of memory and it’s importance to the whole of the Moffat era. I love that Twelve’s final reward is to see the memories of those he cared the most about. Him giving advice to 13 is also brilliant as it shows his understanding of himself and how he has become a better Doctor than he started out as. I miss Capaldi so much now.

[@nocturne8333]

@KVAcedo27, it really hurts me to see so many people write off him and his era, when, in my opinion, it’s easily the most thoughtful take on the character and the show as a whole. I think it stems into Moffat hatred as well unfortunately (undeserved hate for me). No one can deny Peter’s brilliant take on the Doctor. He not just a Doctor, he is THE Doctor.

[@evaserration6223]

This is actually my favourite Christmas special because of the Christmas Armistice scene that was thematically perfect for the episode and the Doctor. And also one of two moments of sci-fi fantasy in 2017 to cause an emotional response in me with scenes set in the trenches of WW1. The other being Wonder Woman.

[@landlighterfirestar5550]

I think this episode, above all else, acts as the comforting shoulder for the Doctor, the hand tucking him in. Sleep well Doctor. Your work here is done

[@evanmccreesh268]

Most of the episode is just pretty good, but the scene at the battlefield is honestly one of my favorite Doctor Who moments of all time

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

The weirdest callback has to be hearing Doomsday after almost 15 years! Twice Upon a Time was also the last episode from series composer Murray Gold, who has been on the show since 2005. He's been on the show longer than the actors, writers and showrunners! And Doomsday is one of the most iconic pieces of music.

[@HotDogTimeMachine385]

Moffat did make the first doctor more sexist, taking lines out of context. The First Doctor did say the line "What you need is a jolly good smacked bottom!" during "The Dalek Invasion of Earth," but it was to his granddaughter Susan. Moffat turned it into a line of a sexist senile old man to a random woman. Gross.

[@greghawkins59]

I've said this before but the music immediately after the regeneration is so perfect, if i could have that moment on loop I'd be very happy 👌

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I’m annoyed I forgot to mention the music. There’s a great musical callback to the Doctor’s Theme from Series 1

[@greghawkins59]

@@CouncilofGeeks yeah i was surprised you didn't, so good. I'm gonna have to give that theme a listen now.

[@jessetorres8738]

I will always remember when The Doctor was Peter Capaldi. He was my Doctor, he was my professor, he was my warrior, he was my hero, and I didn't want him to go.

[@jamma.77]

The reason this episode feels like a coda to The Doctor Falls is because it is - Capaldi was originally going to regenerate at the end of that story (presumably lying on the floor of the TARDIS without waking up, which really should've happened, because his last words would've been "Pity, no stars... I hoped there'd be stars"), but Chibnall didn't want to start with a Christmas special, and they would've lost the slot without one so Moffat thew this episode together, and it really shows. The most frustralting thing, though, is that I do like parts of this episode, rather ironically the bits focusing on the Twelfth Doctor, the 'empty battlefield' speech in paticular being a highlight, so I can't just say that they should've stuck with him regenerating in The Doctor Falls, though that would've been a far better ending.

[@thebasementfilmgroup]

People forget that this episode ONLY exists because Chibnall refused to take the reigns on a Christmas Special - so this was tacked on for the very reason of keeping the Christmas Day slot on the BBC - and look what happened- one year later and Chibnall gets rid of the slot - and DW will struggle to ever get that slot back again. So faced with an extra episode after Moffat had wrapped everything up - he did a pretty good job - and thats why it feels a little weird - but in the circumstances I can give him a pass because we got more Capaldi!!!

[@PsyrenXY]

Hello from the future, we got it back!

[@benbastianiartmusic1421]

They tried to make the First Doctor like a man from the 1960s rather than a time travelling character from a 1960s show.

[@chrispalmer7893]

My guess is that Moffat watched some old Hartnell episodes while preparing to write, noted the little moments of sexism and was amused. I’m not sure that he was making much of a wider statement beyond making himself laugh. I suspect the same is true for many of the little moments that annoy the Daily Mail readers throughout his time. Moffat has written a lot of comedy and can’t seem to help himself - if he thinks of a laugh line it’ll go in there.

[@golden_gloo]

Back when the show originally started the writers hadn't even come to the conclusion of what the Doctor was but the show at that time seemed to suggest he was a human time traveller from the future rather than a Time Lord. The Doctor's "home planet" was only ever revealed as Gallifrey in the Second doctor's last episode so it's even more unlikely that typical outdated mindsets would be around in the far future of humanity when that civilization has the ability to invent time travel.

[@benbastianiartmusic1421]

@@golden_gloo I think Moffat was trying to show how progressive the show is compared to how it was in the 60s but having the character of the first Doctor say all these antiquated things doesn't work

[@illusionzman3549]

I think it was more Moffat being meta in his commentary all leading to The Doctor for the first time regenerating into a woman. He exaggerated old stereotypes as a point of difference to what the character is now and what is about to become in the future.

[@ThanhTriet600]

@@golden_gloo Susan, his granddaughter, describes a completely alien planet as being her home in The Sensorites. And the first Doctor meets another Time Lord with a Tardis called The Monk that suggests they aren't actually human, but using the same technology as a Tardis uses to disguise themselves as human. But in other episodes, characters do refer to the Doctor as a human and he doesn't correct them, unlike in the modern era.

[@Dracandre]

Doctor Falls is the perfect ending for Doctor Who Twice Upon a Time is the happy ending for Capaldi

[@matthewmoore5732]

Every time you said kindness all I could think was ‘do not be alarmed, this is a kindness’ . This review kinda changed my mind on this episode. Its a really nice end to 12’s era and cap his character development

[@nealfahey4328]

For a episode only thought up at the last minute because Moffat thought they would lose the Xmas day slot ... its quite good. The Doctor Falls is the true end for Capaldi in my eyes. I'm not a fan of full speech at the end..but the last few lines are gold

[@Jedi_Spartan]

Just rewatched this and something that stood out to me is just HOW MANY recognizable tracks from other Doctors/eras... probably because Murry Gold or whichever editor whose job it was to add music to scenes thought it would be the last time he'd get to do music for the show so decided to take a 'greatest hits' approach to soundtracking this episode.

[@Trikeboy2]

The episode itself is nothing special, but the ending is just so fantastic that I'm glad it exists. I remember the first time I watched it and when I realized they were doing the Christmas Armistace I just teared up. Then in came Nardol for one last goodbye, then came Clara, then came the speech, and then the regeneration. A lovely end to the 12th Doctor who had a very rocky start.

[@jhon4379]

Here in Brasil they show this episode in some theaters, was beautifully sad watch my favorite doctor go in the big screen

[@tenmark7055]

Well, remember where Rusty is, this is a callback to the 9th Doctor. Rusty's tower was on Villengard which is where Captain Jack's sonic weapon came from. The Doctor said he destroyed the Weapons Factory of Villengard and changed it to a banana plantation. Evidently it went downhill when Rusty took up residency.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

That’s a shame. Bananas are good.

[@MovieMagic515]

@@CouncilofGeeks Always bring a banana to a party Rose.

[@tenmark7055]

@@MovieMagic515 Never eat pears. They're too squishy and they always make your chin wet. That one's quite important. Write it down.

[@kaicreech7336]

Steven Moffat thought that the doctor falls would be his last episode and had to come up with a Christmas special after having written it's already

[@ishaandw]

This is coincidental timing as Big Finish have just released a full recast volume of the Third Doctor Adventures.

[@rog2224]

I was born in 1965 - my Grandfather was at most of the hell holes of WW1, with his horse, from just before Xmas 1914, until 1918. Thus the Captain *might* be the Brig's Grandfather, but Nick Courtney(thus the Brig - UNIT time anomaly notwithstanding) was a just over two years younger than my late father, it's a bit of a coin toss.

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

I was hoping rusty would become a more re-occuring character, given how he presented a better means of having a dalek story that wouldn't just be a dalek story. Basically a story where it's not about the daleks being back, but of a specific dalek being there to play a part in the story. Even before rustys first episode I wanted a "good" dalek for that purpose, a dalek the doctor could see, recognize as not the primary threat, and reason with to not being a dalek for five minutes so he could deal with the actual threat. It's just so less restrictive than having to explain how the genocided genociders got un genocided AGAIN, and it'd help the companions familiarize themselves with daleks without needing to face down a whole army every time. It's just a really good narrative tool that I wish got used more than this one time.

[@simonnorris8076]

I also think this is an absolutely wonderful send off for Murray Gold. He had such a lovely balance of bombastic bits and really soft and sweet moments

[@simonnorris8076]

I'll always have a sweet spot for this one. Honestly, I liked clara, but wasn't wild about her. Saying that, I instantly teared up when I heard her theme and saw the doctor smile. It just fills my soul

[@KatzePiano]

I really love your take on this episode. I have somewhat mixed feelings on it (hate the First Doctor being bigoted stuff, adore the christmas armistace, like the testimony but find Bill being sort of still alive in two different ways frustrating etc.), but your analysis regarding kindness as a central theme, and this being the reason the Doctor feels comfortable regenerating now, has put it in a new light, so thank you!

[@penguinnj173yahoo6]

I really love this episode. I always tear up when the soldiers come out of the trenches and approach each other. I also highly recommend the novelization. You get a great feeling for why the Doctor is just ready to end- he has lived a full 24 years with Over on Delirium- a human lifetime and he was happy. It's not giving up- it's more like accepting death. I realize these things are not really hinted at in the script but IMO the novelizations fill out the episodes and this reasoning makes sense to me. Also, Moffat said there was a ton that wound up on the cutting room floor.

[@spencerluther6485]

Story time: So Steven Moffat, having already done an extra season of Doctor Who so the next showrunner could finish up Broadchurch (which I do not begrudge), then asked if Chibnall would be ready by christmas 2017. The answer was no. So in order to ensure that Doctor Who kept the Christmas Special slot and tradition, he made this episode his last instead of The Doctor Falls. Afterwards, ironically, there were no more christmas specials. To be clear, I do not begrudge Chibnall his choices, and am perfectly fine with how everything went down in this area. But it’s still funny.

[@chrispalmer7893]

When we watched this at the time I remember my wife saying she hadn’t enjoyed it very much. She’s a casual watcher, but not really a fan. I said “It’s OK that you didn’t like that. It wasn’t really for you. That one was for us [meaning the fans]”. I didn’t mean that in an exclusionary way, I meant that whilst I think Doctor Who generally needs to be accessible to the casual viewer, and that fans service is usually to be avoided, Moffat and Capaldi had earned the right to indulge themselves - and us - just for a while. I felt similarly about the end of End of Time Part Two. An earned indulgence as a farewell to Tenant and RTD.

[@brysimm404]

To get this bonus episode with Capaldi was a real gift. Plus the best regeneration OF ALL TIME :D

[@Mojo1356]

Yeah- I didn’t think David Tennant’s true regeneration could have been dethroned for me, but here we are.

[@scix8794]

I adore this story so damm much.I love basically everything except for the pacing in the middle.... 9.5/10

[@WelrdMonkey555]

This was, unfortunately, my first ever episode of Doctor Who, so when I eventually got the modern series a while later, I knew what was going to happen. After I got to this episode, it is the only one that has managed to bring me to tears. Not even 10 or 11 could do that. Goodbye, 12.

[@sebastienmccarthy1483]

This and “just this once! Everyone lives!”

[@Akazury]

Isn't the whole reason for this episode existing the fact that the BBC wanted to have a Christmas special that year but Chibs wasn't ready/willing to introduce 13 in such a constricted concept? Like I remember some articles around that time indicating the Doctor Falls would have been the Regeneration but they had to stretch out because of the next series.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Yep. :/

[@clarinetangel99]

Gotta say, this is my favorite Doctor Who Christmas special. Yeah, they kind of did the 1st Doctor dirty, but the story as a whole was absolutely beautiful. Plus the way they did that Christmas Armistice twist left me an absolute mess afterward! Edit: 13:03 Also, this was my Senior quote!

[@Omnimegas]

the rusty part of the episode works for me cause I believe that it was the episode that first touched on the Doctor's capacity for hatred, and while that episode itself might not have been the beeeeeest, I think that if this episode *is* going to talk about the Doctor's capacity for kindness, then reintroducing rusty makes for a neat enough contrast

[@HappyCynic]

The start of them shitting on William Hartnell's legacy.

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

What if the Second and Third Doctors were played by Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley from the Harry Potter movies and Patrick Troughton's grandson) and Sean Pertwee?

[@edwardphilibin3151]

Brilliant idea, but Sean has said multiple times that he won't. The closest we'll ever have to that is the photo of Sean dressed in some of his father's Doctor clothes as "fancy dress."

[@OpinionsNoOneCaresAbout]

@@edwardphilibin3151 aw damn it. All he really needs is a good wig...

[@Ben-vf5gk]

I actually buy that the first Dr doesn't want to change. He's never done it before, doesn't know what it's gonna be like so it's a bit intimidating (works on a meta level too, I imagine few actors wanted to leave the role less than Hartnell). He works thematically- Dr Falls was about nostalgia as a source of horror, this is about nostalgia as hope. The first Dr's sexism: I've seen it accused of being self congratulatory on the part of the modern era (yeah sexism is totally a thing of the past) and I don't know if I disagree. I even get why Moffat chose the comedic route to deal with it as that's his strength and Capaldi plays embarrassed well. But like you said the jokes don't arise naturally (tho I actually thought the line about Polly sounded like it could actually have come from a Hartnell ep) and there just isn't much variety, it's the same joke over and over.

[@nightowl8477]

I'm guessing the extended cut is just 30 extra minutes of _"Be wary of the lesser sex, my boy!"_

[@Ben-vf5gk]

@@nightowl8477 And that's the actual catalyst for 12's regeneration. He becomes a woman. Out of spite.

[@UgandanPrinc3]

I understand how much this episode misrepresents the first Doctor, but I get what the episode was trying to do, and I’ll always love it. Especially knowing the episode wasn’t originally supposed to exist. But hey moffat was trying to save the Christmas slot for future series so I appreciate it. Sure it was then wasted in future series, but it was nice to do so anyways. Also writer Toby Whithouse as the German solider. I think it continues the great trend of epilogue Christmas specials.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Yeah, I always love that it's Whithouse and Gatiss pointing their guns at each other on that battlefield!

[@Ben-vf5gk]

Twice Upon A Time justifies it's own existence to me. I've said before that the Dr Falls in isolation is an argument for why should the Dr and the show should end. It makes perfect sense for TUAT to be more optimistic and show why the Dr (and the show) is still a source of good and things can get better. I don't cry at this like I did at Dr Falls but I don't think you're supposed to. You're meant to be happy for him. I like the idea of a regeneration story as an epilogue. But I think that it's main problem. It aired months after Doctor Falls as its own thing. Soon I'm gonna watch this whole trilogy, all in one go and I think it'll go down so much better.

[@nightowl8477]

It's a pretty perfect trilogy, I just wonder if an hour is too long for a plot-lite epilogue.

[@Ben-vf5gk]

@@nightowl8477 It's essentially as if the goodbye scenes in Return of the King were their own movie.

[@thefragrantwookiee]

I'd love to see Sean Pertwee play the Third Doctor and one of Patrick Troughton's sons (who have appeared on Who before) to play the Second. But I would want it to be for maybe the 60th Anniversary; I wouldn't want it in a normal episode or a holiday special - it should feel like an homage to those Doctors, not an exploitation of them. Also, I loved his final speech so much (minus the weird bit about children knowing his name) that I had a framed version of it in the changing room of the shop I run. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind are THE MOST Doctor sentiments that any Doctor has ever Doctored. And never ever eat pears!

[@nickchavarria8052]

I forgot where. But I think I remember reading somewhere that when asked sean pertwee said he would never play the third doctor if offered. Harry Melling said something similar too (that one I can say for certain) People can change their minds though so who knows...

[@hblancoramos6873]

For me "World enough, and time", "The Doctor falls", and "Twice upon a time" is peak Doctor who. At least, the approach of the Doctor that works best with the bases of the Doctor. The reassurance of kindness, of wise, of tragedy... but also laughs, of resolution, of self discovery, of wonders. Oh. On a note. I think Rusty the Dalek is a good appearance because I don't know if gets enough credit, but the "You looked inside me and you saw hatred, that's not victory" from the episode Inside the Dalek is veeeeeeeeeeeeery important for the trajectory of this Doctor and being here at the end kind of mirroring the journey of the man who asked if was good, is nice.

[@Fanatic_Foremem]

The humor more comes from Bill and the twelfth doctor being teasing and embarrassed by this younger doctor. A sort of hindsight amusement at something that normally would be fairly bad is softened by the knowledge that the person would become better down the line. It amitedly was used a few too many times, probably fault of the rule of three bias writers will default to with a joke. If it was only brought up two times it probably would have worked better (I didn't count the exact amount of times it was used but I imagine any more than three would have been fairly close to each other and still part of the same joke). And personally, outside of the humor value, acknowledging the first doctor was flawed in some major way is kind of important for this crossover, because while harntel deserves the utmost respect for helping start this whole series. From a story perspective, making any earlier doctor feel too much better than the current one would create a feeling that the doctor as a character hasn't evolved at all as a person, which from a meta perspective is true, but the illusion should never be broken in story, the doctor needs to developed as a person with each regeneration, with exceptions where him spiraling backward is a plot point as it was for the sixth and ninth.

[@jamiestevens3074]

This is probably my favourite capaldi episode. Unfortunately, it’s sad and pointless now because Moffat made this story to preserve the Christmas episode slot. Only for Chris chibnall to end up getting rid of the Christmas slot anyway. So I do think capaldi should’ve regenerated in the doctor falls.

[@jessetorres8738]

I wish they could had included Michelle Gomez's Missy at the end with Bill and Nardole hugging Capaldi. If Matt Lucas could show up for a 2 minute cameo, I don't see why they couldn't get her to appear there as well. Also, I still want Kate Stewart and UNIT to return for Season 13, as well as Captain Archibald returning in some way in a future Season.

[@michellegiacalone1079]

So there are two Bills in the universe- Glass Bill and Fuel Bill!

[@adammyers7383]

Yeah, there’s several aspects that don’t work, but several that really do, particularly as a coda. I also think it operates fascinatingly as a counter to how The End of Time handled a lot of the same concepts; it’s much more bittersweet than it is sad, kind of like Moffat saying “yeah, I gotta go-But Doctor Who will always matter, so it’s worth having faith in.” Davies’ message was more like “Everything you love about Doctor Who is about to die forever.” Consider “I don’t want to go” compared to “Doctor, I let you go”. Side note, If I were the showrunner after Chibnall, I’d use The Timeless Child to establish that when the Time Lords granted 11 new regenerations, it kickstarted their inherent regenerative DNA-and that means they will never be able to choose not to regenerate. The older The Doctor gets, the harder their life is-as shown with 12-so how would it impact them if they believed they’d never have the choice to die?

[@WiloPolis03]

I think the fanbase is fairly divided on this one, not nearly as much as the episodes following it though haha

[@dickottel]

haha America's all 46 presidents were dudes, of course in our weird culture a woman is going to be "contriversial"

[@WiloPolis03]

@@dickottel While I do get that the DW community does have its fair share of annoying "anti-SJW" reactionaries, I don't think it's fair to dismiss Chibnall era Who being polarizing only because the 13th Doctor is a woman

[@Mojo1356]

No- I think Jodi played the role fine enough even though it wasn’t anything big compared to the 3 that came before her. Jodi’s era just had some really awful writing like “Timeless Child” and the entirety of season 13. Also, her companions pale in comparison to literally everyone else in the reboot series.

[@johnbelcher8053]

Regarding the First Doctor misogyny thing, in the novelization of the episode it seems to imply he's doing it just to annoy 12 because he didn't like him all that much

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Interesting notion but sadly not really evident in the episode.

[@jessetorres8738]

@@CouncilofGeeks: I feel like they should have only had 2 or 3 of the sexism jokes since while a couple of them were based on things Hartnell himself said, they didn't need so many to show his Doctor is old fashioned, but other than that, Bradley did an amazing job as the 1st Doctor in this Special.

[@johnbelcher8053]

@@CouncilofGeeks oh agreed, just something I picked up on when I read it recently, I wonder if Moffat always intended it that way or if he added the subtext in the novel only

[@CouncilofGeeks]

@@johnbelcher8053 my gut instinct is that it was an addition to address the criticism without completely rewriting how the First Doctor behaved in the episode. It’s the narrative equivalent of somebody doing something that people just them for and they go “I was joking, I swear!”

[@jessetorres8738]

I feel like they should have only had 2 or 3 of the sexism jokes since while a couple of them were based on things Hartnell himself said, they didn't need so many to show his Doctor is old fashioned, but other than that, Bradley did an amazing job as the 1st Doctor in this Special.

[@dhi_holo]

To me, I see TUaT as fitting a similar role as Time Crash back in S3 An extra story, to give a bit more character, but if you were to remove it nothing really changes, besides your perspective. Cut the ending of TDF when the intro part to TUaT happens, and stitch on the regeneration scene instead, and nothing of story changes. But, through this final episode with Capaldi, we see how his Doctor views what's about to happen, his fears, his hope, and we see a Doctor who, to his perspective, hasn't yet experienced the feelings going through a regeneration causes, he doesn't know how he'll come out on the other side in the slightest, and it worries him, seeing how different 12 is to himself, but in seeing the kindness of 12, as 12 saw the kindness of Testimony and of the Armistice, 1 felt like his future wasn't going to go poorly, and accepted that whatever must happen will, and regenerates, and 12 decides a similar thing, his future won't go poorly even after he regenerates.

[@tatsudragneel4761]

Idk much about the 1st Doctor (but based on reactions I assume he's dialed up) but I do find it odd a time traveler from an alien civilization where changing genders through regeneration would be a common thing (while at the time of the original wasn't established, it would now be something retconned the 1st Doctor would be familiar with) would have the same views as a human from the 60s. Sure he would be outdated from a the Doctors timelord perspective, but not really a human one. Would the Doctor also not be familiar with human history after the 60s? Or was the future in the first couple series retro-futuristic and still acted with 60s cultural norms? I had similar feeling for when 10 just brushed off Marthas concerns about racism in the past. Like sure maybe, while he does know the history, he just wasn't prepared since she was the first black full time companion and he hadn't really have to think much about it till then. BUT having him continue to ignore Martha when Shakespeare is continuingly making uncomfortable moves towards her in front of him, just for him to say "political correctness gone mad" always felt out of character and odd. (the way 12 reacts to Bills concerns was handled much better and felt more in character imo)

[@alanbeaumont4848]

Going to disagree about the 60s sexism. I was 5 when Doctor Who appeared and those attitudes were prevalent in the Hartnell era. Despite being central characters girls/women mostly screamed in the corner or sprained an ankle when danger threatened and it seemed it wasn't until Zoe (Wendy Padbury) turned up with Patrick Troughton that we had a strong female able to make a unique contribution to foiling an Evil Plot. It struck me as odd, even at that early age, when it was said that women weren't strong leaders, as I was being taught by formidable females, most of whom had been through a World War (in some cases possibly two!) and were far more authoritative than the only young male teacher I had in junior school. I think there were only two other men on the teaching staff and it is telling that one of them was the headteacher. Doctor Who was still relatively progressive to have female leads in non traditional roles, but the sexism in Twice Upon a Time is really mild compared to reality, being only patronizing (and Doctor Mk1 is the actual butt of the joke) rather than truly offensive or malicious. Having said that, yes a good episode and especially great for the beautifully executed scene saving the Captain and then expounding the ethos of the Doctor of War and for finally allowing one to one Companion goodbyes (although IMHO Jenna Coleman only phoned it in probably down to greenscreen) and for discussing the content and meaning of a life in that life's memories. I'll also cheerfully take remakes of Classic Who if it means we can have things like the Celestial Toymaker back again - those dancing dolls that would kill if you got out of step - chilling!

[@Venemofthe888]

Im not going to lie i really wished Mark Gatiss character wasn't related to the brigadier. Like for me it just feels like a small universe and its a ok reveal but I think it would of been better if Mark Gatiss character was the person who invented the police box after having the tardis in the back of his mind so it can get stuck as police box in future

[@ArticBlueFox96]

I never understood why Rusty was antagonistic towards the Doctor, last I remember they left off on semi-good terms.

[@joshuajoshua2732]

I did enjoy this episode it was a good little Easter egg. I've seen most of the existing Hartnell episodes and not once do I recall him ever saying anything sexist. David Bradley is a great actor he looks like Hartnell but the way he portrayed him was wrong.

[@Redboots]

I've been rewatching classic who and even though it's been a hot minute since I was on the first doctor's era however while it wasn't like the actual first doctor never said things like that, but it was far less common than twice upon at time makes it out to be from what I can remember. it's really strange, especially since otherwise bradley's performance and the writing nailed the first doctor. I could be wrong though.

[@KJM1984]

Yeah, Twice Upon a Time is basically this shows equivalent to Buffy's Restless, last episode season 4 AFTER the season finale.

[@PepeSlake]

Here to fight the algorithm and remind you you're doing awesome! I feel like I need to do my own rewatch of the whole modern series now

[@charlestownsend9280]

Also when it comes to recasting the 1st doctor this isn't the first time it's been done, the 1st doctor was recast in the five doctors.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I’m aware but being sectioned off by era makes this feel potentially more precedent setting since it’s no longer a one time event.

[@michaelyapp3254]

Recasting actors for previous Doctors happen in the classic series too. If it’s only one in a blue moon for a special event not necessarily a bad thing.

[@c7g4n8]

Before his time ended, Capaldi talked about The Doctor's Name. "I don't think human beings could even really say his name. But I think we might be able to hear it. At a certain frequency. If the stars are in the right place, and your heart's in the right place, you'll hear it." And this was more or less brought up just before his regeneration. I disagree a bit on that; it's not one frequency. It's a series of frequencies. And as each Doctor is their own person, they each have their own names. Nine is soft and mysterious in a solo woman's voice. Ten is faster, full of life and humanity, dispensing with the mystery and focusing on his grandeur in The Doctor Forever. Eleven's quirks are more offbeat, expressed in 7/4 in I Am The Doctor. Racing energy mixed with childlike wonder. Twelve asked if he was a Good Man and that was expressed in his name as thoughtful contemplative action, then the man he really became flowed more gently and determined but no less epic as the Shepherd's Boy. Thirteen reinvented herself, raw and new but embracing a melody to stand with the rest. And the Doctor as an entire being? We've been hearing their name since the very first episode. The heartbeat of a Time Lord beneath experimental techy mystery giving way to joy and adventure in the middle eight. Written down by Delia Derbyshire and Ron Grainer, and reinforced again and again as the series kept living and passing through other creators' hands.

[@scix8794]

Hey Vera will you be reviewing the ravagers box set. Im awaiting yours and stubagful's review to decide whether or not to purchase it...

[@CouncilofGeeks]

I can neither afford to buy it nor do I currently have the time to listen to it.

[@JustinAshbrook]

My problem with the first doctor's sexism in this is that it's very different from how it is in classic who. In first doctor episodes, he's usually sexist with his actions, not his words and more subtlely. He often sends male companions to go into danger, while being overprotective of the female ones. That's a very different type of sexism from the one in this episode.

[@greghawkins59]

Was the captain the brigadier's grandad? The timing's close enough for him to be his dad.

[@CouncilofGeeks]

It’s 1914 and the captain already has sons. If we take Nicholas Courtney’s real age as that of the Brig (born 1929) it would have to be grandson.

[@greghawkins59]

@@CouncilofGeeks ahhh yeah makes sense, didn't realise the captain already had kids

[@tamarawynne424]

So I'm currently watching the more recent season for the first time. I feel off the doctor who train on either the 2nd or 3rd season of Smith and I think this last season of Capaldi is the strongest the show has been since then. I personally loved this episode. I don't know why but the Doctor Falls just didn't grab me the way this episode did. Maybe becasue I'm always draw more thematic episodes rather then the heavily plot driven episodes, or maybe because I get emotional over literally anything to do with the Christmas Armistice. I don't know. But out of the episodes that I didn't watch as they were coming out this has been one of my favourites.

[@alternatethirteenth5594]

I rlly like this episode and will defend it. I miss Capaldi very much

[@Rmlohner]

My favorite part about this one is (and I have no idea if it was deliberate, but it's great either way) how well it explains the Doctor's famous sudden greater sympathy and affinity for humans after his first incarnation. Who wouldn't look more fondly on a species after seeing they were capable of something like the Christmas Truce?

[@edphillips3993]

It's a nice sentiment, but the 1st doctor wouldn't remember meeting 12. Also, I'd argue 1's empathy for humans began with Ian and Barbara and grew gradually

[@standardgrapes]

This special is mixed. I don't like the 1st Doctor's sexism but I love absolutely everything from when they get back to ww1. I love the regeneration speech but it's stupid that it blows up the TARDIS. I love the music in this special as well

[@tonyjohansson7567]

Your review are spot on! A beautiful sendoff with one big irritating misstake (trying to make fun of old fashioned gender stereotypes). Apart from that, this episode is cute and charming. And when the soldiers lay down their weapons and start to sing Silent Night, this episode is truly a great christmas episode aswell. Every time i watch that, I get tears in my eyes. I'd say this little story has become my favourite sendoff of any doctor.

[@chrisrusso6541]

I love this episode for so many reasons and I think this is going to sound terrible but I think this is my favorite Peter Capodi episode not that I didn't like him as the doctor but I think that his last year he just got better and better and this episode was him at his best and I love everything about the episode it's also my favorite Christmas special to me no other new doctor who episode is as good as this don't get me wrong I like other doctors more I even like the female doctor but it is such a great episode I don't find myself having a problem with any part of it and the Christmas armisis sense all ways make me cry I don't know why it's such a great thing that acculy happened so I'm happy about it but I can't help but cry I wish it would of had more of Ben and Polly in it

[@charlestownsend9280]

I actually really like this regeneration story, why this doctor doesn't want to regenerate feels a lot more realistic to me than the 10th doctors, which felt forced, he's just tired, he tried to save the master/missy and as far as he knows he failed, it's not just a fear of death but more the cost of immortality and then he runs into his younger self and be faced with some good in the universe with the supposed bad guys, rusty and the Christmas armistice, shows him that there is something to keep on living for and to keep on fighting for, that what they does has meaning. Along with the 9th doctors regeneration story it's one of the only good ones in new who (especially if you view it as a three part story), as I don't really like the other two that much. Also they managed to bring Clara back in a way that didn't annoy me and that itself is impressive.

[@NicoleM_radiantbaby]

Yeah, Twelve is emotionally spent and just doesn't want to go on anymore, period, but with Ten it's all about vanity and no longer being the incarnation he currently is (which has always annoyed me, as I'm very much one of those 'The Doctor is always the same person' types and I always side-eye Ten likening his regeneration to a 'death'). Like Twelve just wants wants to die and be done with it all, but Ten just wants to stay pretty. :/

[@joshuajoshua2732]

Yeah I didn't like 10s regeneration much. He was too whiny.

[@wrenpen]

honestly it reminds me of a season finale of bojack horseman, not as powerful as the second last episode but is a good time that wraps up the season/sets something up if you get me

[@ikarikid]

Honestly, I thought Demons Of The Punjab was a better take on this concept. That one had an actual threat.

[@tenmark7055]

Some ways this is a clunky episode, the motivations for Testimony and Glass Pearl dont really make sense. I think this is just a chance for having some fun and saying farewell to Capaldi in a lighter vein after The Doctor Falls. I was disappointed by the Clara reveal since they never really appear together or interact in the episode. Its clear her segment is shot in a studio at another time without Peter. Still I enjoyed the episode for what it was. And having Toby Whitehouse & Mark Gastiss holding guns on each other is a pretty good inside gag

[@Silverwind87]

I found the sexist jokes kinda cringey, but then I thought about when Ten remarked "It's political correctness gone mad" in response to Martha's reaction to William Shakespeare's comments on her... skin. My headcanon is that like how the Doctor will occasionally show the arrogance of a Time Lord, they will also sometimes make a politically incorrect joke and not understand the effect it has in human culture. Like how Eleven always greeted people with the kiss gesture regardless of whether or not it's appropriate. The Doctor's said a lot of inappropriate things, makes sense that they'd also not be updated on what is and isn't sexist. TL;DR, I don't think One actually believed that women are transparent, female companions are for cleaning the TARDIS, etc, I think he was just joking, and genuinely didn't understand that it made him look like a chauvinist cos he's a 500 year old alien who only just started living among humans.

[@lilithhedwig5408]

I've just recently started the classic series and honestly the First Doctor is not nearly as sexist and racist as they made me believe with this episode lol not perfect ofc but... Yeah Plus he's an alien from an advanced civilization who travels in time often to the distant future, there was really no need lore-wise to go so heavy handed with it

[@rog2224]

"I give a pass to David Bradley" and casting an actor that can at least be seen as a classic Doctor... When I encounter that sort of comment I imagine that the commentator won't see Hamlet, since Richard Burbage has been dead since 1619.

[@cosmickittie78]

Rusty took me out of the episode as it took time to recall where i'd encountered this particular Darlek previously. So yeah i found it a jolting inclusion.

[@sbi168]

It's broadly good. The 60s attitude of the doctor is a bit too forced but I don't hate it. The end speech is great and overall its OK. A soft ending after the bombastic doctor falls.

[@SKSith]

I feel like it is necessary for the sake of closing out his character arc. As you've talked about in your queer reading of Twelve, him deciding not to regenerate because he'd worked too hard to become who he is. That's all done here. While it's not the best episode ever, and I think it's fair to call it a coda, I think Twelve needed a coda, like this.

[@jahmeljones2]

The twelfth doctor is my second fave. I didn't like David Bradley as the First Doctor in this one. I have never been a fan of Gatiss. I'm glad Bill came back for one last time..

[@HillarySJohknaym]

Good job

[@aducharme01]

I take it you're not a fan, then, of all the character recasting that Big Finish has been doing in recent years?

[@aceyboi8329]

Yeah the sexist jokes really didn't work considering the doctor 2 episode before said the time lords had higher views and standards, even though bill did point out they are called time lords.

[@Whovian9971]

I haven’t watched this in a while but I remember enjoying it but I didn’t like the First Doctors sexist remarks as the First Doctor landed in the 60’s he wasn’t born in them

[@natbarmore]

The First Doctor being sexist is also annoying because he's much worse in this than he was during the actual stories filmed in the '60s.

[@pizzannn]

don't u mean the end of time

[@vpaulbartilucci8544]

Spot on. This episode was unnecessary but not unwelcome.

[@obiwankenobi5845]

What about sean pertwee playing the third doctor I fell like that would be ok since it it would be Jon pertwees son

[@CouncilofGeeks]

Still no, I really really really don't want this can of worms opened any further than it already has been.

[@obiwankenobi5845]

@@CouncilofGeeks fair enough

[@nekusakura6748]

@@CouncilofGeeks I'd definitely like to see Sean Pertwee do a guest role at the very least.... Maybe as a Mechanic for Bessie?

[@CouncilofGeeks]

@@nekusakura6748 honestly I’d be happy to see him be the Doctor. But I’d want him to be his own Doctor. Not his father’s.

[@highvoltage7797]

I hate this story so much. The Doctor falls is such a better send off. Unnecessary, plodding, self-indulgent, a poor portrayal of the 1st Doctor. I just can’t stand it.

[@lizzie8561]

I greatly disliked the 12th Doctor's soliloquy. It wasn't necessary, and I certainly didn't need it.

[@Horrormaster13]

After this Episode I stopped watching New Who. And I don't regret anything.

[@WiloPolis03]

How do you know if you don't know how good or bad you'd enjoy what followed? It's like any TV show in that it has its rough patches sometimes, series 13 so far drastically improved itself however and looks like it'll stay that way too