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| Graham, Yasmin and Ryan |
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 This season premiered on the 1st January 2020 and was broadcast on BBC1 through to the 1st March 2020. Chris Chibnall remained in the position of Executive Producer whilst Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole and Mandip Gill reprised their roles as the Thirteenth Doctor, Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan respectively.
This is the second season led by Chris Chibnall as Head Writer and Executive Producer, alongside Executive Producer Matt Strevens, and is the twelfth to air after the show's revival in 2005, and the thirty-eighth season overall. This season was broadcast on Sundays, except for the premiere episode, continuing on from Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11), after regular episodes of the revived era previously being broadcast on Saturdays.
The nine stories that make up this season were directed by Jamie Magnus Stone, Lee Haven Jones, Nida Manzoor and Emma Sullivan. Alongside Chris Chibnall, who wrote three of the stories and co-wrote a further three, the writers include Ed Hime, Pete McTighe and Vinay Patel, who return from writing the previous series, as well as new contributors Nina Metivier, Maxine Alderton and Charlene James. Filming commenced in January 2019 and concluded in November of that year. This season is due to be followed by a festive special story that is due to be broadcast later in 2020.
This is Jodie Whittaker’s second season as the Thirteenth Doctor where she and her companions meet a new incarnation of The Master and his destruction of Gallifrey. This season also saw the return of Captain Jack Harkness, the appearance of an unknown incarnation of The Doctor, the return of the Judoon and the Cybermen, and the secret of ‘The Timeless Child’ is revealed.
It was confirmed, by Steven Moffat in April 2015, that Doctor Who would run for at least another five years, extending the show until 2020 and this season was announced almost immediately after the Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11) finale, "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos", was broadcast. Jodie Whittaker announced her own return on the 7th December 2018, two days prior to the broadcast of "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos".
This season saw The Doctor go in a direction that has never been seen before on the show - delving deeper into her personality, showing a new side to her that's more careless and dangerous than ever before. This season also went into The Doctor's past challenging the way we have seen The Doctor until now and it also delved deeper into the companions' lives.
This season welcomed back The Master to the show in a new male incarnation played by Sacha Dhawan disguised as an MI6 spy known as ‘O’. The Master was last seen in the 2017 Twelfth Doctor story "World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls" with both their Harold Saxon incarnation, played by John Simm, and the Missy incarnation played by Michelle Gomez.
This season’s finale, "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children", used the anagram ‘Barack Stemis’ for actor Sacha Dhawan on the Doctor Who website. Which when re-arranged reads ‘Master is Back’. This tactic, discounting in-universe examples from the 2007 Tenth Doctor stories "Utopia" and "The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords", has not been seen since the Fifth Doctor story "The King's Demons" in 1983. Back then it was used in the credits for that story.
This season re-introduced one of The Doctor's fearsome of adversaries, The Judoon, giving them a central role in a television story for the first time since the 2011 Eleventh Doctor story "A Good Man Goes to War". It has been more than twelve years since The Judoon first terrorised The Doctor on the moon in the 2007 Tenth Doctor story "Smith and Jones".
This season saw the return of Nanogenes. First seen in the 2005 Ninth Doctor story "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances" Nanogenes are a type of sub-atomic robot capable of healing wounds and restoring lost appendages. They could also act as a defence mechanism, creating soldiers capable of protecting or guarding planets and technology. In "Fugitive of the Judoon" they are part of an anti-theft system that attack former Time Agent Captain Jack Harkness, due to his theft of a spaceship. They were last seen in the 2012 Eleventh Doctor story "Asylum of the Daleks".
New characters, Zellin and Rakaya were the first Immortal Gods to make an appearance, since the Great Intelligence, who were last seen in the 2013 Eleventh Doctor story "The Name of The Doctor".
This season saw the return of The Cybermen - in their first appearance since the 2017 Twelfth Doctor story "The Doctor Falls" (not including archival footage in "Twice Upon a Time"), first in the form of a single Lone Cyberman and then by a whole army of them.
The Daleks also made a return, in their bronze design, albeit with a new black Dalek casing design introduced for one of them. But like the previous season they did not feature in the main series, instead they appeared in the 2021 New Year special.
As was done between Season Thirty Four (New Series 8) and Season Thirty Five (New Series 9), this season saw some changes to the TARDIS compared to the previous season, in the form of a new crystalline column hanging from the ceiling just above the time rotor. There is a set of hexagon-filled gold stairs to an upper level that leads to the rest of the time machine and new screens, systems and wall changes make the inside of the TARDIS look even bigger. These changes were introduced by production designer Dafydd Shurmer.
The Time Lords return, through a vision scene in the Matrix, for the first time since the 2015 Twelfth Doctor story " Heaven Sent/Hell Bent". This season reveals that The Timeless Child is the reason behind the Time Lords ability to regenerate. The very first Gallifreyans are also revealed to be Shobogans.
Confirmed guest stars for this season include Stephen Fry and Sir Lenny Henry, as well as Hustle favourite Robert Glenister and ER star Goran Višnjic.
Speaking ahead of his Doctor Who appearance, Sir Lenny Henry said: ‘It was absolutely brilliant to be welcomed into the fantastical world of Doctor Who. The nearest I have been to the TARDIS was when I played the Caribbean Doctor in the Lenny Henry Show, so as a life-long Doctor Who fan this is a very special moment for me’.
Stephen Fry appeared in the first part of the two-part story "Spyfall", with Lenny Henry appearing in both parts of this story. Dominique Maher and Darron Meyer portrayed Agent Browning and Seesay respectively in the first episode of "Spyfall". Sacha Dhawan also appeared unannounced in the first episode of "Spyfall", and was revealed, at the end of the first episode, to be a ‘new’ incarnation of The Master. Aurora Marion portrayed Noor Inayat Khan in the second part of "Spyfall".
In "Orphan 55" James Buckley appeared as Nevi, Laura Fraser appeared as Kane and Julia Foster as Vilma. In "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" Goran Višnjic and Robert Glenister were cast as Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison respectively. Also appearing in this story was Anjli Mohindra, playing the part of Queen Skithra, who had previously portrayed Rani Chandra in the spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures.
John Barrowman returned to his role as Captain Jack Harkness in "Fugitive of the Judoon". This is his first appearance on the show since the 2009/2010 story "The End of Time". Also in this story Jo Martin appeared as a previously unknown incarnation of The Doctor using the alias 'Ruth Clayton'. Neil Stuke also appeared in this story and Nicholas Briggs provided the voice of the Judoon. Molly Harris appeared as Suki Cheng in "Praxeus" and Warren Brown was also cast in that story.
Sharon D. Clarke reprised her role as Graham's late wife, Grace, in "Can You Hear Me?". Maxim Baldry appeared as Dr John Polidori and Jacob Collins-Levy appeared as Lord Byron both in "The Haunting of Villa Diodati". Julie Graham, Ian McElhinney and Steve Toussaint guest star in the two-part finale, "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children".
Headwriter Chris Chibnall wrote three stories - the two-part opener, "Spyfall", the two-part "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children" and the 2021 New Year special "Revolution of the Daleks". He also co-wrote three stories ("Fugative of the Judoon", "Praxeus" and "Can You Hear Me?").
Returning to the show, following their debut stories in Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11), are Ed Hime (the writer of "It Takes You Away"), Pete McTighe ("Kerblam!") and Vinay Patel ("Demons of the Punjab"). For this season Ed Hime wrote "Orphan 55", Vinay Patel wrote "Fugative of the Judoon" and Pete McTighe wrote "Praxeus".
Those writing their first Doctor Who scripts are Nina Métivier, Charlene James and Maxine Alderton.
Nina Métivier, who wrote "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror", was previously the script editor for the Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11) stories "The Woman Who Fell to Earth" and "It Takes You Away". She was the co-creator of the BBC iPlayer thriller The A List (2018) and worked as both a writer and producer on the mystery drama Dixi (2014-17).
Charlene James, who wrote "Can You Hear Me?", is an award-winning writer whose television work includes A Discovery of Witches and Snatches: Moments from Women's Lives (screened in 2018).
Maxine Alderton, who wrote "The Haunting of Villa Diodati", has been a writer and script editor on the ITV soap Emmerdale and has also written episodes of the CBBC series The Worst Witch.
All four directors for this season are new to Doctor Who. They are Jamie Magnus Stone, Lee Haven Jones, Nida Manzoor and Emma Sullivan.
Jamie Magnus Stone is a Scottish film director and animator. He previously directed the Fiftieth Anniversary mini-episode "The Last Day". In 2014 he was BAFTA-nominated for his short film Orbit Ever After and in 2016 he directed the television movie The Last Dragonslayer.
Lee Haven Jones' work as a director includes episodes of Russell T Davies' Wizards vs Aliens as well as adult dramas such as Waterloo Road, Casualty, Vera and The Bay.
Nida Manzoor's recent directing work includes the online BBC comedy-drama Enterprice and a pilot for a series called Hounslow Diaries.
Emma Sullivan's directing credits include the BBC dramas Call the Midwife, Silent Witness and Holby City.
Jamie Magnus Stone directed Block 1, consisting part 1 of "Spyfall" and "Praxeus", as well as Block 5, consisting of "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children". Lee Haven Jones directed Block 2, consisting part 2 of "Spyfall" and "Orphan 55". He also directed "Revolution of the Daleks", the 2020 festive special. Nida Manzoor directed Block 3, consisting "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" and "Fugative of the Judoon". Emma Sullivan directed Block 4, consisting "Can You Hear Me?" and "The Haunting of Villa Diodati".
Segun Akinola returned to compose the music for this season.
Location filming for this season began on the 23rd January 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa. Location filming also took place at Kogel Bay in Western Cape, Kersefontein Guest Farm in Hopefield, Table Mountain and the Taal Monument. Filming in South Africa ended on the 7th February 2019.
Filming then took place in various locations in Wales starting on the 10th February 2019 in Cardiff. Other Welsh locations include: the Guildhall in Swansea on the 18th and 19th February 2019; Porthkerry Country Park in Barry on the 14th, 15th and 26th March 2019; Cory's Building on Bute Street in Cardiff on the 18th and 19th March 2019; on the street in front of Glamorgan Building at Cardiff University; Barry Island in an old railway tunnel on the 27th March 2019 and at a Ministry of Defence unit in St. Athan.
On the 1st April 2019 the cast and crew went to Tenerife to start filming on the 2nd and 3rd April 2019 around Montaña Samara near Mount Teide. On the 5th April 2019 filming took place in Santa Cruz to film in front of the Auditorio de Tenerife.
Filming returned to Roath Lock Studios in Wales from the 8th to 10th April 2019. Filming, then continued in Wales including: Barry Island once again on the 11th April 2019 and at Howell's School in Llandaff from the 15th to 19th April 2019. From the 29th April to the 2nd May 2019 filming took place at Tredegar House. Filming returned to Bute Street for filming yet again in Cory's Building from the 6th to 10th May 2019.
In mid to late May filming took place at a New York City set at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria. Filming then returned to the UK for scenes inside Gloucester Cathedral on the 22nd and 23rd May 2019 before returning to Cardiff.
Filming then took place at Merthyr Mawr Estate in Bridgend on the 28th June 2019 and again between the 1st to 3rd July 2019. Filming then returned to Cardiff again with locations including Pomeroy Street in Butetown on the 23 July 2019 and then on Spencer Street on the 5th August 2019. Filming then moved to Nash Point between the 20th and 22nd August 2019. On the 2nd October 2019 filming then took place at Tyndall Street near the Lumis Student Living in Cardiff before continuing adjacent to that location at Capital Quarter. Also during early October 2019 filming took place at Canada Lodge and Lake. Filming then took place at Caerphilly Council Offices on the 21st October 2019 and on the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol on the 22nd and 23rd October 2019.
On the nights of the 29nd and 30th October 2019 filming took place inside Cardiff Castle, on the corner of Wharton and St Mary's Street in Cardiff and at Maindy Barracks. Filming also took place at Capitol Shopping Centre on Churchill Way during the night of the 30th October 2019 and early in the morning of the 31st October 2019.
In mid-November, filming took place at Smallwood Primary School in London and filming wrapped up completely on the 19th November 2019 - adding a short Wrap Up-video to prove it.
In April 2020 Chris Chibnall confirmed that post-production was continuing on "Revolution of the Daleks" remotely throughout the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic.
With a few exceptions, pre-title sequences were not featured in the show in its original run from 1963 to 1989. Pre-title sequences however, became a permanent instalment of the show from the 2005 story "The End of the World" onward. However, they were completely abandoned during the previous season, but were reintroduced in "Spyfall".
This season also brought back two-parter stories, after they had disappeared from the previous season. The first story "Spyfall" is also the first two-part story not to use separate titles for its episodes since the 2009/2010 story "The End of Time". The first part of "Spyfall" also ended in a huge and epic cliffhanger as a result of this story being a two-parter.
On the 31st October 2019 the BBC released the first proper promotion for this season, in the form of a poster showing a shadow of the Thirteenth Doctor cast in the yellow light from the open TARDIS doors and the tagline ‘Watch this Space’.
Then, on the 10th November 2019, the BBC released a promo teaser for the new season on the Official Doctor Who YouTube Channel, with the camera zooming fast through a purple vortex to a region of space in which the TARDIS suddenly appears and zooms across, also revealing the tagline ‘Watch this Space’. This was followed by the Doctor Who logo followed by the text ‘Coming Soon’. The official Doctor Who website also had the words ‘Make Space... 23/11/19’.
At a question and answer session held at Sheffield Hallam University on the 19th November 2019, Chris Chibnall revealed to the audience that the opening story would be ‘the biggest episode in the show’s history’. A BBC One source to The Mirror revealed that ‘It’s going to be huge. The scale is just epic. No one will be disappointed’. Jodie Whittaker is quoted as saying that ‘I feel like we’re treading new ground for each of the character journeys, and the development of everybody’s storylines’.
On the 21st November 2019 the official Doctor Who website included a new poster, this time showing the entire main cast on a white background at the top and a region of space at the bottom. The poster said ‘Space. For All’ as well as ‘Coming Soon’.
On the 22nd November 2019 the official Doctor Who website posted a Trailer Preview video showing the three travelling companions inside the TARDIS, nodding, to which The Doctor pulled a lever on the console. The preview then said ‘Trailer Premiere Saturday’. with the page itself posting the time and the hashtag for Doctor Who Day.
On the 23rd November 2019, coinciding with the programme's Fifty-Sixth Anniversary, the first official trailer for this season was released on the Doctor Who YouTube Channel and on the official Doctor Who website. It showed a number of new and returning creatures, historical people and different time periods.
On the 2nd December 2019 the second official trailer for this season was released on the YouTube channel and the official website. It followed up on what was shown in the first trailer as well as showing new content. It ended with a repeat of ‘Watch this Space’ from the teaser trailer and was followed by the release date, ‘New Year's Day’.
A second promo poster was released on the same day, but with a slight alteration: instead of ‘Coming Soon’, the text now read ‘New Year's Day’. The Doctor's travelling companions are also not present in this poster variant.
On the 6th December 2019 a ‘first look’ at the first episode was released on the Doctor Who YouTube Channel and on the official Doctor Who website. It revealed an ‘impossible’ mission for The Doctor and friends.
Two days later, on the 8th December 2019, a ‘What To Expect’ video was released on the Doctor Who YouTube Channel and on the official Doctor Who website with Jodie Whittaker, Bradley Walsh, Tosin Cole, Mandip Gill and Chris Chibnall telling viewers what to expect. The first official trailer was shown along with it.
On the same day in London, a platoon of Judoon invaded Victoria Station to meet visitors, and a big interactive screen was used, showing the ‘Watch this Space’ teaser transitioning into the TARDIS landing on a surface invaded by Judoon. This was followed two days later by the release the video of showing the Judoon invading Victoria Station along with other parts of London and interviews with fans. The video was also accompanied by the promise of the DVD and Blu-ray releases coming soon.
On the 10th December 2019 a second preview clip from the first episode was released. It showed Ryan and Yasmin interviewing a spy. This was followed on the following day with the release of a ‘New to Who?’ video offering a quick summary of the character of The Doctor and the show's premise to potential new viewers, showing a range of clips from the previous season.
On the 16th December 2019 a video with the caption ‘She's Back’ was released exclusively on the official Doctor Who website showing a compilation of clips from the previous season along with some descriptive words of The Doctor in-between and ending with two clips from the new season.
On the 17th December 2019 a promotion poster was released of The Doctor and her three travelling companions wearing black suits in front of a black hole with a ring of distorted light around it. On the same day BFI Southbank held a press screening of "Spyfall" attended by the cast and crew.
On the 21st December 2019 a short ‘Words to Live By’ video, that had the ‘Space For All’ clip at the beginning and end with a clip from each of the main ‘New Who’ Doctors in-between, was released on the official Doctor Who website. This video was posted on the Doctor Who YouTube Channel on the 23rd December 2019.
Then over four days, from the 24th December 2019 a series of short videos with a few clips from the second trailer were released. The first had the words ‘Space For Adventure’, the second had the words ‘Space For Hope’, the third had the words ‘Space For Heroes’ and the fourth and final video had the words ‘Space For Friendship’. A series of behind-the-scenes features were also released on YouTube.
Two new trailers were also released mid-series on the 20th January and the 7th February 2020.
The two-part story "Spyfall" was released in cinemas in the United States on the 5th January 2020.
This season continued an ongoing storyline of The Timeless Child that was briefly mentioned in the previous season. Having a traditional story arc was notably absent from the previous season, but had been quite prominent in several earlier seasons.
Where Season Thirty Seven (New Series 11) is seen as a complete reinvention of the show this season returned to more familiar ground, hearkening back to the Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat eras. This season is seen as being more ‘darker and scarier’ in an attempt to move away from the lighter and more informative tone of the previous seasons.
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| The Doctor and Her TARDIS |
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This season saw The Doctor go in a direction that has never been seen before in the show - delving deeper into The Doctor's personality, showing a new side to her that's more careless and dangerous than ever before. This season also delved deeper into the companions' lives and went into The Doctor's past challenging the way we have seen The Doctor until now.
This season saw the return of The Master in a new male incarnation played by Sacha Dhawan and disguised as an MI6 spy known as ‘O’.
The Cybermen made a return in their first appearance since the 2017 Twelfth Doctor story "World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls". First we had the arrival of a single Lone Cyberman in "The Haunting of Villa Diodati". This was followed by a whole army of them in "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children" that consisted of the Cybus/Mondasian cross-breed as Cyberguards and a new variant called Cyber-Warriors. They also utilised a new weaponry of flying Cyber-helmets called Cyberdrones. The Master also creates a cross-breed between the Cybermen and Time Lords which he names ‘CyberMasters’.
John Barrowman returned to his role as Captain Jack Harkness in "Fugitive of the Judoon". This is his first appearance on the show since the 2009/2010 story "The End of Time". Also in this story actress Jo Martin appeared, as a previously unknown incarnation of The Doctor using the alias 'Ruth Clayton', and The Doctor's fearsome of adversaries, The Judoon, made a return to the show.
Sharon D. Clarke reprised her role as Graham's late wife, Grace, in "Can You Hear Me?".
"Spyfall" was the two-part opening story for this season. It saw the Thirteenth Doctor and her three travelling companions, Graham O'Brien, Ryan Sinclair and Yasmin Khan, team up with MI6, and introduced a new incarnation of The Master.
With the security of the entire world is at stake ‘C’ the head of MI6, enlists the Thirteenth Doctor and her travelling companions to investigate Daniel Barton to see if he is responsible for the strange deaths of a number of spies. They discover instead an alien threat that can pass through walls, even those of the TARDIS. Known as the Kasaavin they are being used to wipe out the spy organisations all over the world. Former MI6 agent ‘O’ also turns out not to be who he claims to be when it is revealed that he is The Master. Having been separated from her friends, The Doctor must figure out a way of stopping the Kasaavin and before The Master puts his plan into action.
In the next story, "Orphan 55", Graham wins Team TARDIS a free holiday at the high-end alien resort Tranquility Spa. It soon becomes clear that not everything is as it seems with the staff worried about oxygen levels in the spa with the planet appearing to be inhospitable to humans. There are monsters stalking the corridors. And then there is the ominous name of the planet - Orphan 55.
The Doctor next takes her travelling companions to New York City at the turn of the 20th century. There they get to meet Nikola Tesla at a time when his grand ideas for revolutionising electricity and communication are proving to be hard to sell to the public. His business rival, Thomas Edison, may not want him to succeed, but surely even he cannot be behind the sudden appearance of hostile alien scavengers? In "Nikola Tesla's Night of Terror" the Thirteenth Doctor and her friends are about to find out.
In the next story, "Fugitive of the Judoon", The Judoon are on the hunt for a runaway and they have narrowed their search down to modern-day Gloucester. The Doctor decides to step in before anyone can get hurt, but things are far more complex than they seem. A complex web unfolds, featuring a surprising new incarnation of The Doctor and a worrying prophecy from The Doctor’s old friend Captain Jack Harkness.
In "Praxeus" The Doctor and her friends investigate strange bird behaviour in the skies above a Madagascan beach and mysterious deaths by a deadly virus that seems to be spreading around the world. They also need to discover what connects these strange events with a famous British astronaut. The Doctor and her travelling companions are in a race against time to solve this puzzle before it's too late.
In "Can You Hear Me?" The Doctor has to discover what connects the nightmares of a young girl from 1380 Aleppo to strange happenings in the present day. When they attempt to confront a shadowy figure, who appears in the night, they discover a young woman in the far future who is trapped in an impossible prison. As time catches up with The Doctor's friends, whose dreams are set on colliding, they find themselves embarking on a mission where their innermost fears need to be confronted.
The Doctor and her companions visit Mary Shelley on a fateful night in 1816 when she creates Frankenstein. But in "The Haunting of Villa Diodati" all is not as it seems. The rooms of the villa keep shifting around, ghosts are stalking the halls and Percy Shelley is not where he should be according to history. When an apparition appears outside the group are reminded of the recent warning from Captain Jack Harness: ‘Beware the Lone Cyberman. Do not let it have what it wants’. Events though soon spiral out of control.
In "Ascension of the Cybermen/The Timeless Children" in a galaxy still dealing with the aftermath of the deadly Cyber-Wars, The Doctor and her travelling companions are separated both from each other and from the TARDIS. Banding together with the last dredges of humanity, they must all attempt to find Ko Sharmus and the Boundary before the Lone Cyberman, or any other remaining Cyberman forces, can locate them. But when The Master appears through a portal, and invites The Doctor to join him, she discovers that Gallifrey is dead and The Master is in control of an army of Cybermen ready to take over the universe. With Graham, Ryan, and Yasmine trapped and being hunted down, with the last remnants of humanity, The Doctor discovers what makes regeneration possible for the Time Lords. She also learns that she is ‘The Timeless Child’.
The final story of this season is the 2021 New Year special, "Revolution of the Daleks". This story saw Captain Jack Harness rescuing The Doctor and helping her and her three travelling companions defeat the Daleks. Continuing the ‘Recon Dalek’ storyline that began in "Resolution" a new line of Daleks are introduced. To defeat them The Doctor is forced to send out a Dalek reconnaissance signal, which reaches a death squad of Daleks. The Death Squad Daleks soon arrive on Earth leading to a battle between both factions when the Death Squad Daleks start to eliminate the Reconnaissance Daleks because they do not consider them pure Daleks.
This story though will be remembered mainly for the break up of ‘Team TARDIS’ when, at the end of this story, Graham and Ryan decide to stay on Earth - leaving just The Doctor and Yasmine to continue their adventures in the TARDIS.
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