The 2008–2010 specials of the British science fiction television programme Doctor Who are series of five hour-long specials that linked the programme's fourth and fifth series. The specials were produced in lieu of a full series in 2009, to allow the new production team for the programme enough time to prepare for the fifth series in 2010, in light of Russell T Davies's decision to step down as showrunner, with Steven Moffat taking his place in the fifth series. Preceded by the 2008 Christmas Special, "The Next Doctor", the first special, "Planet of the Dead", was aired on 11 April 2009, with the last special, the two-part episode "The End of Time", broadcasting over two weeks on 25 December 2009 and 1 January 2010.
The specials started production in April 2008 for "The Next Doctor", and filming for the final special "The End of Time" began in March 2009. Two supplemental episodes were also filmed alongside the specials. "Music of the Spheres" was filmed for the 2008 Doctor Who Prom in July 2008, and the animated six-episode serial Dreamland was produced for the BBC's Red Button service, which was released over six consecutive days in November 2009. Midway through the sequence of specials (commencing with "Planet of the Dead"), production switched to filming in high-definition.
The specials included appearances of one-off companions, portrayed by David Morrissey, Velile Tshabalala, Michelle Ryan, Lindsay Duncan and Bernard Cribbins, as well as featuring cast from previous seasons, including Catherine Tate, Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Noel Clarke, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen and John Simm. The two-part episode "The End of Time" was the last episode of Doctor Who to feature David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor until the 2013 special "The Day of the Doctor", and the last episode of Doctor Who to have Davies as the showrunner and head writer until the end of the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor,. where Tennant would begin appearing as the Fourteenth Doctor.
Episodes
"The End of Time" was the first two-part episode with an overall title and episode numbers since Survival in season 26, the final serial broadcast during the series' original run. It is one of only two stories in the revival era to do this, the other being "Spyfall" (2020).
Supplemental episodes
"Music of the Spheres" was filmed for the 2008 Doctor Who Prom, and the animated six-episode serial Dreamland was produced for the BBC's Red Button service.
Casting
Main characters
These specials marked David Tennant's final run of episodes as the Tenth Doctor and Matt Smith's first appearance as the newly regenerated Eleventh Doctor. They also featured a string of one-time companions beginning in "The Next Doctor" with David Morrissey as Jackson Lake, a man who thinks himself to be the Doctor and his "companion" Rosita Farisi, played by Velile Tshabalala. "Planet of the Dead" featured former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan as a young thrill-seeking burglar, Lady Christina de Souza. "The Waters of Mars" starred Lindsay Duncan as Adelaide Brooke, Captain of Bowie Base One on Mars. Finally, the two-part "The End of Time" had Bernard Cribbins as recurring character Wilfred Mott as a full-fledged companion for the first and last time.
Guest characters
Other companions appear briefly during the Tenth Doctor's "farewell tour": Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler, Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones, Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith, and Jessica Hynes as Verity Newman, whose grandmother, Joan Redfern, fell in love with the human John Smith in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood". John Simm reprises his role as the Master in "The End of Time". Thomas Knight reprises his role as Sarah Jane's son Luke Smith, and Russell Tovey returns as Alonso Frame, having previously appeared in "Voyage of the Damned".
Production
Development
In his book The Writer's Tale, Russell T Davies reveals that the plan to have only specials for 2009 was to allow the new production team, headed by new lead writer Steven Moffat, enough time to prepare for the full fifth series in 2010. David Tennant took this opportunity to appear in a stage production of Hamlet. For practical reasons, these specials continued to use series 4 production codes.