Matt Smith's regeneration in "The Time Of The Doctor" closed a spectacular year for Doctor Who, with the show having been celebrating its impressive 50-year anniversary. Following Matt Smith's starring role in House Of The Dragon, viewers have been reflecting on his final Doctor Who episode, which sees him defend a village called Christmas from various extra-terrestrial threats. Although "The Time Of The Doctor" is one of the show's most important installments, there are still many things fans may not know about this superb final chapter in the Eleventh Doctor's life.
"The Time Of The Doctor" has a fascinating behind-the-scenes story, revealing surprising tidbits about the Special's behind-the-scenes production. As one of Steven Moffat's most ambitious screenplays, there are many interesting details to explore regarding this episode's backstage story, with the final episode having been planned since Matt Smith's debut, according to Doctor Who: The Complete History.
Clara's Father Was Played By A Different Actor
"The Rings Of Akhaten" gives a revealing insight into Clara's origins, showing how her parents meet for the first time. The Impossible Girl's family later returns in "The Time Of The Doctor;" however, for this festive outing, the behind-the-scenes crew decided to recast Clara's father, as mentioned in Doctor Who: The Complete History.
Whereas this important part is portrayed by Michael Dixon in "The Rings Of Akhaten," "The Time Of The Doctor" sees James Buller assume the role. His appearance is somewhat brief within the episode, although he helps to ground the story's more fantastical offerings as a depiction of Clara's domestic life on Earth.
Ken Bones Voiced The Time Lords
"The Time Of The Doctor" features the Doctor being handed a new set of regenerations from the Time Lords after a desperate plea from Clara. The Time Lord's voice may sound familiar to fans, with Doctor Who: The Complete History disclosing how Ken Bones voiced this member of the Doctor's species.
Previously appearing in "The Day Of The Doctor" - which is considered one of the best episodes from the Moffat era, Ken Bones' vocal intonations bring a pompous might to the Time Lords. The actor strikes a powerful presence as he grants the Doctor his new regenerations.
The Red Carpet In Space
The Steven Moffat era is known for its rather outlandish ideas, with the writer's time as showrunner featuring such zany concepts as the Orient Express in space and living graffiti. "The Time Of The Doctor" originally included perhaps Steven Moffat's weirdest notion yet, with a pair of soldiers rolling out a red carpet in space for the Doctor and Clara to cross.
As mentioned in Doctor Who: The Complete History, this idea would have created some truly spectacular visuals for Matt Smith's regeneration episode, as the Doctor and Clara make their way across space on the red carpet. Ultimately, this aspect of the episode was dropped as a cost-saving measure, with the BBC favoring the much cheaper alternative of the TARDIS simply materializing in the Papal Mainframe.
Rory Williams' Cameo
Matt Smith's regeneration proved a sad occasion for many of the show's viewers, with several fans devastated to see the actor depart the show. According to RadioTimes, Matt Smith has recently commented that his final moments could have been "better." Doctor Who Magazine arguably backs up this claim, stating how this sequence was initially planned to feature other returning characters from his era, alongside Amy Pond.
Steven Moffat's draft for the episode featured various friends of the Eleventh Doctor, with characters including River Song - who has delivered some of the best quotes - and Rory Williams gathering around the fallen hero. However, the writer later decided to strip this sequence back, believing that these familiar figures would distract from Matt Smith's final moments.
The Eleventh Doctor's Broken Leg
As one of Britain's greatest action heroes, the Doctor is often found running across corridors as he tries to escape from the latest alien threat. However, Moffat initially planned to immobilize the Time Lord during his encounter with the Weeping Angels on Trenzalore.
According to Doctor Who Magazine, an early script for "The Time Of The Doctor" featured a Weeping Angel breaking the Doctor's leg. The writer planned to use this element as an in-universe explanation for Matt Smith's real-life injury, with the actor attending surgery for his broken leg. The Doctor was to wear a wooden prosthetic leg before this was dropped from the episode completely, with the showrunner deeming it an unnecessary inclusion to the story.
The Cherubs' Return
First appearing in Blink - which is considered one of Doctor Who's best episodes, the Weeping Angels are among the Doctor's most fearsome foes. The stone angels make a brief appearance in "The Time Of The Doctor," and they were originally set to be joined by the Cherubs, as stated in Doctor Who: The Complete History.
Steven Moffat's first script for "The Time Of The Doctor" involved the Doctor and Clara encountering Cherubs in Trenzalore's snowy forest. The scene featured the Time Lord explaining to his companion that these were the Weeping Angels' offspring; however, this cool call-back to "The Angels Take Manhattan" was unfortunately dropped from later drafts.
Jessica Davies As Amelia Pond
Amy Pond is an especially unique Doctor Who companion, with the Doctor having first met her when she was a child before embarking on their adventures together through space and time. The feisty kissogram's younger self cameos during Matt Smith's regeneration scene; however, for this scene, the role was recast, with Jessica Davies taking over the mantle.
With original actor Caitlin Blackwood having become a teenager since her last appearance as the child Amy, producers made the difficult decision to cast a new actor in the part. The behind-the-scenes crew felt Caitlin Blackwood now looked too old to play the seven-year-old Amelia Pond and settled on young child star Jessica Davies for this short scene.
Matt Smith's Parting Gift
Across his three series as the Time Lord, Matt Smith became one of the show's most beloved Doctors, amassing a gigantic fan base across his incredible era. As a thank-you gift for his hard work, Steven Moffat and the Doctor Who team chose to give him a parting gift, presenting Matt Smith with a Sonic Screwdriver prop (Via Doctor Who: The Complete History).
Matt Smith's thoughtful present was well-earned, with his regeneration scene now considered one of the saddest Eleventh Doctor moments. The shooting of this sequence proved an emotional moment, with Steven Moffat declaring his lead to be "the best and bravest Time Lord of them all," while Matt Smith sadly mused that "all good things come to an end." (As quoted in Doctor Who: The Complete History)
Handles' River Song Impression
As the Time Lord's flirtatious wife, River Song is one of the Doctor's closest allies. The time-traveling archeologist was originally referenced in "Time Of The Doctor's" initial draft, with Doctor Who: The Complete History noting how Handles was to directly acknowledge River during his travels with the Doctor.
Original scripts for "Time Of The Doctor" included Handles teasing the Doctor regarding his wife. The highly intelligent Cyberhead was to use some of River Song's most iconic phrases, such as "Hello Sweetie" and "Spoilers," leaving his Time Lord friend greatly irritated by his actions.
The Zarbi Puppet Show
The Seige of Trenzalore is one of the Doctor's biggest battles, with the legendary Time Lord finding himself protecting Trenzalore from several of his greatest enemies. "The Time of the Doctor's" original screenplay gave some intriguing glimpses at some of these off-screen encounters, with a puppet show depicting the Doctor taking on various past villains.
Although the puppet show briefly features in the episode, with a puppet Doctor fighting a Monoid, Doctor Who: The Complete History has revealed this scene was initially going to be longer. The original sequence was to feature aliens, including the Zarbi, the Nimon, and the Mykra, providing some fun call-backs to the show's classic era.
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Source:gamerant.com