Season 57 - 2024

 

After the 60th Anniversary celebrations in 2023, the BBC were set to make 2024 the beginning of a new era for Doctor Who. This began with the appointment of EastEnders Executive Producer - Chris Clenshaw, Clenshaw was announced in March 2022 as showrunner from 2024 onwards after Russell T Davies was brought in to handle the 60th celebrations.

Clenshaw may have been the new showrunner, but chose to co-write episodes 1 and 8 with Pete McTighe and John Dorney. This was due to him planning to expand the Whoniverse as many of the shows ended from 2021-23, so Clenshaw wanted to focus more on running the franchise and not necessarily writing as many showrunners had done.

Once again Bad Wolf Productions and Sony Pictures Television co-produced the show, giving the show a massive budget which was noticeable with the many VFX and scenes in the show.

Clenshaw knew that he had to cast “his Doctor”, but with so many talented actors there was one question: Who was he gonna choose?

Auditions for the Sixteenth Doctor started in April 2022 and Clenshaw was assisted by Casting Director Andy Pryor, Clenshaw wanted someone who could bring gravitas to the role and didn’t mind whether the Doctor was a male or female. Eventually Paapa Essiedu was cast for his ability to balance vulnerability with a commanding presence, his Doctor was a man filled with wanderlust with a happy-go-lucky attitude towards life who relished being in the company of his friends. 

After a successful audition Anya Chalotra was cast as Ellie Sinclair, a woman from the Norfolk coastal town of Cromer in 1956. She meets the Doctor whilst on holiday in Great Yarmouth. Clenshaw came up with her character, but asked Pete McTighe to introduce her in Episode One.

Vicki Delow joined as producer, with Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter staying on as Executive Producers. Lorne Balfe joined as the composer for this season and beyond, Balfe was chosen due to his success with TV and film from the past couple of years.

A new TARDIS console would also be introduced, it would basically be the Ncuti Gatwa interior.

New Beginnings

By Chris Clenshaw and Pete McTighe

4th May 2024

This story would’ve been set in Great Yarmouth in 1956, we would see Ellie Sinclair and her family take a holiday. Ellie’s life is picture-perfect, surrounded by loving family and steadfast friends. By day, we glimpse her carefree moments on the beach and bustling promenades. But when night falls, the shadows of this peaceful town grow deeper.

Later on in the night she’d go out for a walk where she’d come across an old building, As she ventures inside, she hears eerie, guttural noises echoing through the halls. Curiosity turns to terror as Ellie realises she’s not alone. A grotesque, snarling creature, a monster unlike anything she’s ever seen, emerges from the darkness. It pursues her relentlessly, its feral roars shaking the very walls of the building. 

Cornered and out of options, Ellie braces for the worst. Suddenly, a flash of light and a hiss of vapor fill the air. The creature recoils, howling in pain. A figure steps into the dim light: a man with an enigmatic smile and a sonic device in hand, who we know to be the Doctor. The creature which is called a Vlorax, as the Doctor later identifies it, hurls itself out of a shattered window and vanishes into the night, he and Ellie then have a small chat whereby they introduce each other and eventually work with each other where they investigate the origins of the Vlorax and its purpose in Great Yarmouth.

As their search deepens, they uncover a far more sinister plot. Two more Vloraxi appear, guarding Draylok, the most feared criminal in the galaxy. It’s revealed Draylok has brought the Vloraxi to Earth as his personal army, their savage instincts perfect for conquering the planet. The Doctor and Ellie are then stunned and imprisoned on Draylok’s ship, the two later escape and find a teleport beam which is set to unleash the Vloraxi on Earth. The Doctor would destroy it as he and Draylok have a sword fight onboard the ship, in the end the Doctor makes a daring move to destroy both the vessel and the Vloraxi army.

Ellie asks if she can come with him to which he happily accepts, we get the whole bigger on the inside routine and the TARDIS dematerialises.

Supernova

By Scott Handcock

11th May 2024

Upon Ellie’s request, the Doctor takes her to the future in the year 43012 onboard Station: Oasis, it’s a derelict and broken down station. As the two explore the bowels of the ship the Doctor would explain that around this time in the future, the band Oasis somehow got popular again and they named this station after the band, he’d then have to explain about the 90s and how popular Oasis were, or will be, in Ellie’s case as she’s from the 50s.

As they continue to explore, they encounter a menacing creature that frightens the two of them, causing them both to run into a nearby elevator.

They manage to escape to an upper level, but the Doctor is confused as to why the creature evoked that response from him, as he's usually not scared of new things. Looking around they find themselves in a less run down area of the space station, a song chimes in on the speaker and the Doctor recognises it as “Half The World Away”. As they discuss the distance the human race has come, Ellie asks the Doctor where he’s from and the Doctor tells her about Gallifrey and how it’s become an ancient and dead world and how he’s the last one.

A man then walks in as he talks on a communications device about the maintenance of the ship, as the Doctor and Ellie greet him he becomes excited, exclaiming that after all this time a recovery team has come to save them.

The Doctor and Ellie follow the man to a control centre with other crew members, all excited to see the two. The Doctor and Ellie regrettably explain that they're not from a recovery team, and express their sympathy to the crew, such as it is. The Doctor tries to go through the station's logs and finds that the government stopped the funding for the station. Ellie asks the crew how they've survived so long on their own, the crew said that they’ve got enough food to last them a decade and they’ve been here for eight years.

The Doctor asks if the creature downstairs is their "pet dog". The crew become quiet, saying that downstairs is the Beast. The Doctor and Ellie asks what’s so bad about it and the Captain chimes in on the intercom, welcoming the Doctor and Ellie and asking them to come and see him.

The Doctor and Ellie then make their way to the Captain’s office, they talk about what they’ve seen so far and Ellie says that her friends and family would never believe her as they arrive at the Captain’s office. The Captain, Mark Montgomery, explains they’ve been here for eight long years and Earth couldn’t be bothered to help them. Mark explains that the nearest planet is Valion, that could take in refugees, but the group would need to get there first. Now, they have the TARDIS, and can get there, but between them and the TARDIS is the Beast. Mark says that it was the last of it’s race and they were trying to save it, but because it’s become angry they isolated it in the lower levels.

As the trio is talking, they notice on the screen that Dan, one of the crew has gone down into the bowels of the space station to confront the Beast. Over the intercom, Mark orders him not to do it and get back to the crew. The Doctor and Ellie get downstairs and find Dan’s torn uniform and a shoe as Mark says he saw Dan being eaten, the Doctor and Ellie then hide from the Beast and the two then investigate. The Doctor and Ellie then find it leaving behind some kind of spoor, throughout the lower levels, and take a sample to a terminal of an analysis machine nearby, where they analyze the composition of the material. Finally getting answers, they discover that the Beast is dying and decomposing, the Doctor says that it must be getting a lack of food, drink and sunlight as he deduces the creature is an Alcorcon, a race of peaceful creatures who become aggressive if they go without a certain need for sometime.

The Alcorcon finds and chases them, Mark manages to lead the pair through the maze of corridors below, closing off doors to manoeuvre the Alcorcon into an airlock, which he opens, determined to eject the monster into space, to protect his crew.

The Doctor insists that he shouldn't do this, that the Alcorcon is just the same, that it is one of his crew, but Mark refuses to listen. He sends Ellie up to stop him as he dives into the airlock himself, hitting the emergency close switch. Back atop with Mark and the crew are finally united with each other, he shows them all that the Alcorcon is safe and sound in the airlock, but unable to hurt them. He also shows them the nearby world that's willing to take them in and nurse the Alcorcon and a ship will arrive in a couple of hours.

The Doctor and Ellie then leave in the TARDIS.

Boom

By Steven Moffat

18th May 2024

After the TARDIS lands on the war-torn planet of Kastarion 3, the Doctor accidentally steps on a landmine. The Doctor is forced to remain standing on the landmine, lest he risk triggering it. Ellie and the Doctor converse with an A.I. recreation of a soldier, John Francis Vater, recently killed by an "ambulance" due to his recovery time being deemed too long. The war's equipment is manufactured by Villengard, which controls its products with an algorithm that maximises profit. Vater's daughter, Splice, and later two other soldiers, arrive on the battlefield. In the ensuing confusion, Ellie is mortally wounded after one of the soldiers mistakes her for a threat. The Doctor explains to the soldiers the war was falsely created by the algorithm, as there are no enemies, and the soldiers have instead been fighting their Villengard-controlled equipment, which includes the landmines. The Doctor sends Vater's A.I. into the ambulance, serving as a virus to overpower the algorithm, deactivate the mine, and make the ambulance revive Ellie. With the conflict on Kastarion 3 ended, the Doctor and Ellie depart.

The Deadly Symphony

By James Goss

25th May 2024

The Doctor takes Ellie to Vienna in 1808 to watch the first performance of Ludwig Van beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, the Doctor and Ellie take time before the performance to explore Vienna as it was known as “The City of Music”. The Doctor, brimming with excitement, takes Ellie to experience the city at its peak, adorned with grandiose concert halls, cobblestone streets and a palpable buzz of creativity. Ellie marvels at the rich culture but grows uneasy as eerie melodies seem to follow them through the streets, twisting into discordant and unnerving sounds.

The later meet Beethoven himself who is immersed in perfecting his symphony, but the Doctor recognises that he’s on edge and unusually secretive. The Doctor and Ellie attend a rehearsal and the Doctor remarks Beethoven’s behaviour as strange, given he’s insisting that the symphony is played exactly how it’s written. The Doctor also notices the subtle weirdness in the music, with a scan of his sonic screwdriver detecting anomalies.

However the Doctor and Ellie later realise that all of this is the work of Maestro, they explain that they plan to use the iconic opening notes of Symphony No. 5 as a "temporal key," opening a rift that will unleash an era of unending war and bloodshed. The Doctor and Ellie would be able to convince Beethoven to help them.

The Doctor comes up with a solution via a counter-melody within the symphony, this counter-melody will be able to disrupt Maestro’s influence. Eventually, with the help of the Doctor, Beethoven composes a new piece to use in the rehearsals. An epic battle then ensues between the Doctor, Ellie and Beethoven against Maestro. As the Doctor and Ellie keep Maestro busy and Beethoven composes the piece of music and as it reaches a crescendo, the harmony creates a reverberation through time and space which banishes Maestro back into the void. The Doctor and Ellie then watch Beethoven perform Symphony No.5, they later leave Vienna with a signed copy of the symphony.

Strange Days

By Charlie Brooker

1st June 2024

This would be a Doctor-lite story and would focus on Ellie and would mainly be a psychological horror.

After the TARDIS lands in 2024, the Doctor and Ellie walk around Cardiff for a while. Ellie then looks in a local market where she’s drawn to a charismatic vendor offering samples of a bright, green drink called “Strange”, after she takes a sip of the drink Ellie finds herself alone as the Doctor is gone and the vendor has vanished. Ellie then walks around Cardiff, trying to look for the Doctor but to no avail, Ellie would then begin to feel uneasy and this would be proven when she starts catching glimpses of a figure in a black gown with a distorted, featureless face. At first, it appears far away, but with each sighting, it edges closer.

Over the many months Ellie is in Cardiff, we see her get used to modern day life: We’d see her dating, making friends and going out enjoying parties and life as a whole, but each time the figure is there and gets a little bit closer. Ellie then runs back to the TARDIS and finds the inside destroyed and dark with the outside rotting away, realising that she’s on her own.

we would see Ellie try to get on with her life without the Doctor, telling herself that she can deal with the figure on her own, but the figure continues to haunt her, appearing in reflections, shadows and even her dreams. Desperate to escape, Ellie isolates herself, barricading her room and refusing to step outside. 

One night when asleep, she hears noises and looks downstairs as she notices the front door is open and a large shadow appears on the wall - the figure is in her house. Ellie goes back to her bedroom and gets under the covers as the figure enters the room, she looks out and sees it - it’s face is a horrifying skull, but continuously shifts like clay. With a guttural whisper, it reaches for Ellie and everything goes black

Ellie then jolts awake in the TARDIS as she gasps for air, the Doctor calms her and says that the drink she took was a hallucinogenic made from a substance found in meteors, which temporarily severed her connection to the real world, leaving her vulnerable to a psychic manifestation of her own paranoia.

The Doctor reveals UNIT, friends of his, tracked down and apprehended the vendor, ensuring no one else would fall victim to the "Strange" drink. Ellie, still shaken, questions why the hallucinations felt so real. The Doctor explains that what you imagine in your mind can feel more real than reality.

Rogue

By Kate Herron and Briony Redman

8th June 2024

The Doctor and Ellie arrive in England in 1813 and partake of a fancy party. While Ellie spends time with Emily, one of the guests, the Doctor discovers Rogue, a bounty hunter from the future tracking down a Chuldur, a shapeshifter who takes the form of its victims as a form of cosplay, whom he plans to trap and incinerate. Despite Rogue initially thinking the Doctor is the shapeshifter, he proves Rogue wrong, and the two develop a romance. The Doctor then convinces Rogue to send the Chuldur to an alternate dimension instead. Deducing the Chuldur are attracted by scandal, the two dance at the party. Afterwards, they act like Rogue is proposing with a ring to the Doctor, but the Doctor runs away, drawing the attention of four Chuldur at the fete. The Doctor uses Rogue's trap to catch the Chuldur, but inadvertently traps Ellie, who had discovered Emily was also a Chuldur. The Doctor thus hesitates to engage the trap's transport. However, Rogue grabs the device, pushes Ellie out, takes her place and asks the Doctor to come find him before activating the transport. The Doctor, heartbroken, is comforted by Ellie. Before leaving, he puts on Rogue's ring and looks to the stars with a smile.

The Day of Fate

By John Dorney

15th June 2024

In 2024, the TARDIS lands in UNIT Tower, and the Doctor and Ellie step out to greet everyone assembled: General Wilson, Shirley Anne Bingham and Hannah Smith. The team explains to the Doctor that several important people, including scientists, UNIT personal and Government officials, reappeared after disappearing without a trace and are now starting to act very strangely. The Doctor asks if anything mysterious had happened recently and Wilson tells him to come with him.

The assembled group go down to a room with a metallic chamber in it, the Doctor says that he recognises it but he's not entirely sure where it’s from. Ellie asks if there’s something to be worried about as the Doctor has a strange feeling about it, but the Doctor simply says “Time will tell.”

At a government meeting the Prime Minister, Sir Gideon Marchant, is talking about the latest updates on a UNIT science project called Project: Preserve. A UNIT scientist named Chorley gives a few updates about how they’re trying to help human life and see if they can find anything which can help cure disease and other terrible things. Marchant says that the project could start a new age of medicine, proceeding to ask Melissa Anderson, the Secretary of Health, if she approves and she agrees. However Robert Canton, Secretary of State for Extraterrestrial Operations, feels strongly that UNIT as an organisation should be scrapped and a new Government backed agency should take it’s place, but his views are shut down by the Prime Minister, as Canton gave the green light for the project and he’s saying these things because he’s dissatisfied.

At a science facility in London, Dr Alex Reynolds tells his main team what to do but when he;s done he keeps three members behind. He tells them that their sudden disappearance is not appreciated and they shouldn’t do things like that when they’re under constant pressure from the government.

The Doctor and Ellie talk about what he fears that chamber could be the most, the Doctor jokes around saying it could be something from the future telling him not to do a certain thing, to which Ellie laughs. They then have a genuine conversation about life and their adventures together, the Doctor says that he’s glad she’s taking an interest as when she first met him she thought all of this was impossible. Ellie says that she always knew something so absurd was always gonna be possible.

Wilson then briefs the Doctor on Project: Preserve, Wilson explains that it’s a government backed project with several government and UNIT scientists working on the project but he’s not allowed to see or know what the project is. The Doctor says that this makes him all the more curious, he then asks where the project is and Wilson says that it is at a science facility in London and the Doctor says that they have a TARDIS and he has a psychic paper, so this should be a walk in the park, but there’s something they should do.

Sir Gideon then calls Chorley, who’s back at the facility, asking him how the project is going and Chorley tells him that it’s going well, but it’s clear that he wants to tell him more, Sir Gideon then ends the phone call and soon the TARDIS lands in the office. The Doctor steps out and greets Sir Gideon, who he’s only just heard about, the Doctor then quizzes him about Project: Preserve and the PM admits he doesn’t know. Wilson then says how he couldn’t know and Sir Gideon says that it’s kept very underwraps.

As this is happening, Robert Canton phones one of the three scientists who went missing. He tells them that Alex Reynolds and Chorley are becoming problematic and they know what to do, the scientists then get Reynolds on their own and put him into an incubator tank and activate it, Chorley walks in at that moment and runs off as he hides in the facility.

The TARDIS then lands in UNIT as the Doctor, Wilson and Sir Gideon step out. The Doctor then tells everyone his plan, he, Wilson and Ellie are going into the science facility and Hannah, Shirley and Sir Gideon are remaining in the base.

The Doctor, Ellie and Wilson arrive at the facility, they walk around and eventually find some lab coats. They pose as scientists as they investigate the facility, with everyone at UNIT HQ watching on a live feed. 

They later find Chorley, hiding in the cleaning cupboard with a broom as a weapon. The three of them re-assure Chorley and eventually he tells them that Project: Preserve was supposed to be used for unlocking more secrets to medicine, but the scientists have recently become unethical and secrets have been kept from the PM.

Sir Gideon, back at UNIT, is shocked and was given updates everyday telling him everything was fine. The Doctor chimes in on an earpiece telling him that he may’ve funded something terrible, Chorley then explains that the head of the project, Dr Alex Reynolds, was murdered and he’s in one of the incubator tanks. The Doctor then asks what they need incubator tanks for, Chorley explains the scientists are using beings from a crashed ship from a few months ago which were in metal casings and living beings inside. Realising what this could mean, the Doctor rushes to find the main science quarters and tells everyone to stop what they’re doing.

The three scientists then act strangely as a tentacled mutant detaches from their backs, which kills them. The mutants then rush into the shadows as the lights go dim, three blue lights then appear in the dark as the lights come on, it’s revealed they’re Daleks.

Shirley then gets an alert, the chamber is opening in UNIT HQ.

The chamber opens with smoke as two daleks emerge and a third figure - Davros.

The Doctor, Ellie and Wilson stand in the Science facility looking horrified as the Daleks say “Exterminate!” 

Everything Is Lost

By Chris Clenshaw and John Dorney

22nd June 2024

The Doctor, Ellie and Wilson warn everyone to get out as the Daleks exterminate people in the room and eventually Chorley is killed. The Doctor, Ellie and Wilson make it to the TARDIS, the Doctor and Wilson explain who the Daleks are to Ellie and the Doctor is starting to wonder that the chamber in UNIT is something to do with them.

The TARDIS lands back in UNIT HQ as Shirley informs the Doctor that the chamber is now open and the Doctor tells them he is going down there alone. He arrives and opens the room with the chamber, he’s shocked as he’s confronted by Davros. The Doctor notes how Davros has seemingly aged, Davros explains he has been imprisoned for decades by the Dalek council. The Doctor asks if that chamber was the prison, to which Davros says yes. The Doctor asks what the Daleks are trying to do on Earth, Davros says that an incursion has took place - the scientists kept the mutants alive and the casings were repaired, the government had a Dalek agent who worked as the Secretary of State for Extraterrestrial Operations, the Doctor asks what happened to him and the Doctor says that he’ll be rewarded, Davros flicks a switch on his chair and Canton his electrocuted in his office.

Davros then says that his Daleks will now rule Earth, he presses another switch as the mutants break out of the incubator tanks in the science facility and get into their casings. They then embark on a rampage in London as they slaughter anybody in sight, UNIT soldiers work with the army but their efforts are useless.

Davros then orders the two Daleks with him to exterminate the Doctor, but he escapes. He makes it to the top floor, he tells everybody to get inside the TARDIS, this being Ellie, Wilson, Shirley, Hannah and Sir Gideon.

The Doctor tells everyone that it’s practically a victory, he explains that Davros told him of several incursions in the government and an MP named Canton was responsible. Sir Gideon tells everyone that he tried to get UNIT defunded for a reason but he never knew why, the Doctor tells him that this was probably the reason. Hannah then asks what the next move is, but the Doctor says that he isn’t too sure as Davros is so unpredictable and all that time locked up has either made him wiser or insane. 

Davros makes his way to the UNIT helipad with two Daleks as an army of Daleks look up, they listen to Davros give a speech about proving the might of the Daleks and how Earth shall fall in the face of the Great and Powerful Dalek Empire, the Daleks then fly around London destroying buildings and murdering people.

The Doctor says that he’s planning on using a DNA cannon, but it’ll take a while to build. He explains that he’ll need to take a DNA sample of a Dalek mutant, he explains that the cannon will send a shockwave around the world and it’ll wipe out the Daleks on the planet and he knows where he can get some Dalek DNA.

Davros remains at UNIT HQ, gloating how he has elevated the Dalek Empire above the gods and how the universe can now be shaped in his image, but something still remains which could spell defeat.

The TARDIS lands in the science facility in London, the Doctor and Ellie walk back into the room where they were before but now the room is silent with dead bodies and broken incubator tanks scattered around. They find DNA samples of the Daleks and they’re about to go back to the TARDIS but are caught by a Dalek and are both teleported to UNIT, they’re both confronted by Davros and he says that the Doctor and Ellie will be the first to die to symbolise a new birth for the Dalek Empire and says that there is no escape for them now.

Wilson, Shirley, Hannah and Sir Gideon panic, but Hannah remembers that the Doctor once taught her how to use the fast return switch and she says she’ll try and use it.

The Daleks are about to execute the Doctor and Ellie, when the TARDIS materialises around them. The Doctor then dematerialises and then they all finish the DNA cannon, the Doctor then uses the DNA samples and uses the cannon. All the Daleks around Earth disintegrate, the Doctor then materialises back in UNIT HQ and confronts Davros. Davros tells the Doctor to kill him but the Doctor says it’ll make him no better, instead the Doctor forces him to go back into the chamber and the Doctor activates it to teleport inside a dying star.

The Doctor walks back to the main HQ and tells everyone that he’s had enough of the Daleks and it’s time to put an end to the madness once and for all, he walks into the TARDIS and lands during the events of “Genesis of The Daleks.” When the Fourth Doctor, Sarah and Harry are away the Doctor picks up the wires and says “No more.” He then touches the wires together and a white spark is seen.

The Doctor then appears in UNIT HQ and tells everyone what he did, he explains that the Daleks have been erased and Davros is dead. He also says that they’ll remember everything about the Daleks because of prolonged exposure to time travel. The Doctor and Ellie then bid farewell to UNIT and Sir Gideon and leave, Ellie then says she’d like to go home for a bit and then do some more travelling and the Doctor drops her off when she left - Great Yarmouth, 1956.

The Doctor then lands on a hillside overlooking the beach, he’s quite calm as he takes in the events. But then, a man in a bowler hat and black three piece suit appears. He says that he’s been watching the Doctor for a long time, the Doctor asks who he is and he says that he knows who he is. The man then says that he’s watched him in all his darkest and final hours and seen what he’s done, asking him whether he made the right decision wiping out the Daleks. The Doctor asks what he wants, the Man says that he’s here to warn the Doctor and tells him that his story will end in terror and bloodshed, the Doctor asks what he means and the Man tells him to listen to this little rhyme:

"Beware the shadow unbroken, the scourge of ancient sands, where whispers drown in silence, and doom takes mortal hands. The chains that bound are weakened, the prison cracks with dread; speak not of the coming storm, or the devourer wakes from the dead."

The Man then walks away, the Doctor takes his words into account as he’s now uneasy and is a little worried about the future, he goes back into the TARDIS as it dematerialises.

Joy To The World

By Steven Moffat

25th December

The Doctor arrives at the Time Hotel, an establishment in the year 4202 that allows guests to visit various points in history, several of which the Doctor visits. The Doctor enlists the aid of Trev, a security worker at the hotel, as he investigates a man holding a briefcase that he is handcuffed to. As each new person is tricked into taking the briefcase, it controls them, and the previous carrier disintegrates. Trev's Silurian manager arrives in Joy Almondo's room at the London-based Sandringham Hotel in 2024 with the briefcase, with the Doctor following.

The briefcase takes control of Joy, and the Doctor opens it, finding a strange device inside. The briefcase is about to disintegrate Joy, when a Doctor from the future arrives from the Time Hotel and gives the override code. The future Doctor returns to the Time Hotel with Joy, leaving the current Doctor in 2024. He takes a job working at the Sandringham Hotel, befriending the manager Anita, until he can return to the Time Hotel the following Christmas.

A year later, the Doctor re-enters the Time Hotel and gives his past self the code (obtained by the bootstrap paradox), then departs with Joy. They open a door to 65 million years ago, where the Doctor frees Joy from the briefcase by provoking her anger at Partygate, when she was unable to be with her mother when she died on Christmas Day due to COVID-19 lockdowns. The briefcase reveals itself to be made by Villengard, a weapons manufacturing company with plans to detonate a "star seed" to use as an energy source, using the hotel's time travel to allow it to grow in the past.

The briefcase is eaten by a Tyrannosaurus rex, and the Doctor and Joy flee. Trev, who connected psychically to Villengard's system before he died, contacts the Doctor. Trev reveals the briefcase's location, and the Doctor finds it sealed in a shrine. The Doctor opens it, but Joy takes the star seed outside, and lets the star seed enter her. She and the other people killed by the seed pilot it safely into space to detonate, becoming the Star of Bethlehem. At various points in time, the star gives hope and comfort to those who see it and saves Joy's mother.

The season received mixed but mostly positive reviews, however there was controversy with the fact the Daleks were seemingly written out of the show for good. However the fans were pleased that the show was taking a new direction and were excited for the future, with the new Doctor and companion being successful.