Image: BBC
We’re getting awfully close to the finish line, folks. Doctor Who released its second Christmas special today, Legend of the Sea Devils, and it is the penultimate episode of Jodie Whitaker’s tenure as the thirteenth Doctor. And just as Legend was coming to an end, BBC released a teaser for the third special of 2022, building it heavily as their final adventure before a new actor (and not-so-new creative hands) takes over the franchise.
The finality of Whitaker’s Doctor is something that can’t be ignored, and the teaser for the final special plays this up very heavily, concluding with the Doctor preparing to regenerate into another actor. Not only is there the return of the Daleks, Cybermen and the Master (Sacha Dhawan), the special also brings back some old friends. Janet Fielding’s Tegan Jovanka, a companion to the Fourth and Fifth Doctors (Tom Baker and Peter Davidson, respectively), returns, as does Sophie Aldred’s Ace, companion to Sylvester McCoy’s Seventh Doctor. Presumably their reunions with the Doctor will be just as fun and teary as they get one last hooray in the sci-fi series.
Showrunner Chris Chibnall told Doctor Who News that this feature-length special — written by him and directed by returning director Jamie Magnus Stone — will mark Whitaker’s final role as the Doctor before the 14th heralds a new era. He teased that this final special would contain “a wealth of treats and surprises for audiences and fans, not least the return of two of the most beloved companions in the show’s history… To mark the BBC’s centenary, we will be celebrating the past, present and future.” from Doctor Who, in a suitably suspenseful, epic and emotional farewell to the thirteenth Doctor.”
It’s meant to be part of a larger celebration of the BBC’s existence; In October of this year, the network will officially be 100 years old. The as-yet-untitled anniversary special will air sometime in the fall, with more info on what’s set to launch over the next few months. As for the 14th Doctor, according to the BBC, he is set to be revealed “in the coming weeks”.
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