Beginning in November 1963, Doctor Who is the longest-running science fiction TV series in the world, spanning 26 consecutive years in its original form. It revolves around the adventures of a traveller in time and space generally known as 'The Doctor'. He is accompanied on his travels by a number of companions (also known as 'assistants') and faces alien monsters, historical villains and misguided maniacs all over the galaxy, but he often admits that Earth is by far his favourite planet.

In 2010 a new production team took over the running of the series, at the same time that a new cast was introduced. Matt Smith played the Eleventh Doctor from 1 January 2010 until 25 December 2013. In this time he appeared in three complete series, four Christmas specials and the show's 50th Anniversary episode, as well as in a two-part story in spin-off show The Sarah-Jane Adventures. Although Doctor Who's showrunner Steven Moffat had planned to cast an older actor as the Doctor, Matt Smith was only 26 when he was offered the role, making him the youngest actor to play the part to date.

Recurring Characters

All episodes are approximately 45-minutes² long unless otherwise stated.

Series 5 (2010)

This was the fifth full series since 2005, and the 31st series in total. Perhaps confusingly, it was also known as 'Series 1' during production, as it was the first series produced by the new team³. It saw the introduction of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. A new Tardis was introduced, as well as a new sonic screwdriver, new Daleks and new companions in the form of Karen Gillan as flame-haired Scot Amy Pond and Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams. Behind the scenes, Steven Moffat replaced Russell T Davies as lead writer and executive producer for the series and he was joined by fellow executive producers Piers Wenger and Beth Willis.

Music for the series was composed by Murray Gold, as it had been for all episodes since 2005.

The Eleventh Hour

• Broadcast: 3 April, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Adam Smith
• Length: 65 minutes

After the Doctor's regeneration, the TARDIS needs to rest. Where better to do so than a sleepy English village with a duck pond and no ducks, an escaped alien prisoner and a young girl with a crack in her wall?

Amy Pond, Rory Williams and the village of Leadworth all make their debuts here.

The Beast Below

• Broadcast: 10 April, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Andrew Gunn

In the far future, the survivors of England live their lives on a massive spaceship. What sinister secret lies behind the Smilers? Who is Liz 10? And why is the election such a foregone conclusion?

Victory of the Daleks

• Broadcast: 17 April, 2010
• Writer: Mark Gatiss
• Director: Andrew Gunn

A phone call from an old friend brings the Doctor and Amy right into the heart of Winston Churchill's war room. Churchill has a new weapon to pit against the Nazi menace. His chief scientist calls it an Ironside. The Doctor knows it's a Dalek. But why is the Dalek pretending not to know the Doctor?

The Time of Angels

• Broadcast: 24 April, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Adam Smith

River Song leaps back into the Doctor's life and drags him into the Maze of the Dead to hunt down a rogue Weeping Angel. The Angel is not alone - and Amy has something nasty in her eye in the first of a two-part story.

Flesh and Stone

• Broadcast: 1 May, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Adam Smith

The Angels are regenerating and time is running out. As the Doctor comes to terms with the gravity of the situation, Amy is startled by the appearance of the crack from the wall of her childhood bedroom thousands of years in her own future. The Doctor has learnt that 'that which holds the image of an angel becomes itself an angel', meaning that Amy has more to worry about than not blinking - this time, she can't even look! As Amy had looked into the face of an angel, and the eye is the window to the soul, if she opens her eyes then she will lose her own identity. This concludes the two-part story begun in 'The Time of Angels'.

The Vampires of Venice

• Broadcast: 8 May, 2010
• Writer: Toby Whithouse
• Director: Jonny Campbell
• Length: 50 minutes

The Doctor gatecrashes Rory's stag night to bring him worrying news about Amy. His solution is to take the troubled lovers on a date to Venice, but instead he places their lives in danger. There's definitely something fishy going on...

Amy's Choice

• Broadcast: 15 May, 2010
• Writer: Simon Nye
• Director: Catherine Morshead

It's five years later and a married Amy and Rory are expecting their first child. Or it's now, and they're still with the Doctor aboard the TARDIS. They might be under attack from alien-possessed pensioners, or heading into the gravitational pull of an icy sun. Either way, it's a deadly dilemma. Welcome to the domain of the Dream Lord.

The Hungry Earth

• Broadcast: 22 May, 2010
• Writer: Chris Chibnall
• Director: Ashley Way

A drilling project is interrupted by a disturbance in the ground. As the drills come to a stop, something else is drilling upwards from the centre of the Earth. An ancient race, much older than humanity, has awoken once again. The Doctor finds a vast civilisation beneath the surface of the Earth. While Rory discovers the 'best of humanity' might not be enough to save them, Amy meets a scientist who has terrifying plans for her body.

This episode is the first of a two-part story.

Cold Blood

• Broadcast: 29 May, 2010
• Writer: Chris Chibnall
• Director: Ashley Way

Once again, the humans and the reptiles face the dilemma of how to live together in peace. Representatives from both sides come together to find middle ground, but for some, the idea of co-existence is too frightening a prospect to consider. As a solution appears, so too does the mysterious crack that has followed Amy throughout her life...

This concludes the two-part story begun in 'The Hungry Earth'.

Vincent and the Doctor

• Broadcast: 5 June, 2010
• Writer: Richard Curtis
• Director: Jonny Campbell

A shadowy figure lurking in a painting inspires the Doctor to journey back to meet the man who painted it. Vincent van Gogh is a troubled soul, plagued by visions. But this time, there really is something monstrous that only he can see. If the Doctor and Amy can rescue Vincent from a deadly alien, is it possible for them to also save him from his demons?

The Lodger

• Broadcast: 12 June, 2010
• Writer: Gareth Roberts
• Director: Catherine Morshead

The TARDIS has disappeared, leaving the Doctor stranded on Earth. With something alien blocking the TARDIS from materialising, the Doctor must pass himself off as a normal human being until everything's put right. Acting normal? How hard can that be? His new flatmate, Craig, is about to find out.

The Pandorica Opens

• Broadcast: 19 June, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Toby Haynes
• Length: 50 minutes

Deep beneath Stonehenge lies the Pandorica. It's a legend - a myth - and its mere existence is enough to cause the Doctor to worry. Up above, the spaceships of every alien race he has ever defeated are circling the skies, waiting for the right moment to descend. There are surprises for Amy and River Song too, but they won't have long to come to terms with them. The Doctor has failed. The TARDIS is destroyed. And soon, the entire universe will cease to have ever existed.

River Song and other guest characters from this series are joined in this episode by a number of alien races from Doctor Who's recent past. To say which ones would be too much of a spoiler, but there are references to many more dating right back to the earliest years of the series. This two-part story is concluded in the next episode, 'The Big Bang'.

The Big Bang

• Broadcast: 26 June, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Toby Haynes
• Length: 55 minutes

A lone Roman centurion grieves for the loss of both his beloved and his whole existence. Help is at hand from a strange man with a fez, a mop and an annoying habit of disappearing. Nearly two thousand years into the future, an adventurous child meets her future self, spends a night in the museum and discovers she has the whole universe in her dreams. Meanwhile, Amy has almost everything she needs for the perfect wedding day. Everything except something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue...

A Christmas Carol (2010 Christmas Special)

• Broadcast: 25 December, 2010
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Toby Haynes
• Length: 60 minutes

Amy and Rory are enjoying their honeymoon on a space cruiser. When the cruiser develops a fault, it is forced to approach a smoke-covered planet and ask for landing permission. But Kazran Sardick, owner of the planet's skies, is refusing to allow the cruiser to land, meaning the crew and passengers face certain death. Cue the Doctor with the most Christmassy Christmas present ever.

This Christmas special featured guest appearances by Michael Gambon and singer Katherine Jenkins.

Series 6 (2011)

The sixth series was split into two halves, with the first seven episodes shown from Easter as normal followed by a mid-series break and the final six-episodes not broadcast until the autumn. There were several series-long plots that ran throughout the series. Had Amy, Rory and River really seen the Doctor of the future murdered, and who was the astronaut who appeared to kill him? Was Amy Pond pregnant, and why did she keep seeing a woman wearing an eye-patch? Why will Silence fall? Why has the Doctor suddenly become obsessed with wearing a fez?

The Impossible Astronaut

• Broadcast: 23 April 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Toby Haynes

A future version of the Doctor invites Amy, Rory and River Song to witness his murder by an astronaut rising out of the lake. The only clue is that this appears to be linked with the moon landings in 1969, mysterious phone calls to the President of the United States and a mysterious but forgettable alien race. This is the first of a two-part story.

Day of the Moon

• Broadcast: 30 April 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Toby Haynes

The Doctor, Amy, River and Rory are hunted down following their investigations into the mysterious race known as the Silence. How can they defeat an enemy they cannot even remember?

The look of the Silence was inspired by the expressionist painting Skrik or The Scream by Edvard Munch. This episode concludes the two-part story begun in 'The Impossible Astronaut'.

The Curse of the Black Spot

• Broadcast: 7 May 2011
• Writer: Steven Thompson
• Director: Jeremy Webb

The TARDIS materialises onboard a pirate ship, only to discover it is cursed by a beautiful, ghostly siren. Should any man be injured, they sacrifice themselves to her enchanting voice. Will the Doctor shiver his timbers, splice the main brace or walk the plank?

The Doctor's Wife

• Broadcast: 14 May 2011
• Writer: Neil Gaiman
• Director: Richard Clark

The Doctor is lured into a trap in a bubble universe, where a malevolent omnipotent being steals the soul of the TARDIS, implanting it into the body of a woman, while Rory and Amy are now trapped inside the now-dangerous TARDIS. Essentially a love story between the Doctor and the only constant in his life.

The Tenth Doctor's 'coral' control room last seen being destroyed in the opening minutes of 'The Eleventh Hour' was in the episode, as was a TARDIS console that had been designed by Susannah Leah, the winner of a Blue Peter children's competition.

The Rebel Flesh

• Broadcast: 21 May 2011
• Writer: Matthew Graham
• Director: Julian Simpson

The Doctor lands in an isolated acid mine in the middle of a violent storm. There, they discover people using doppelganger duplicates of their own bodies, called 'Gangers', grown from a substance called 'Flesh' that they control remotely, thus ensuring their own bodies remain safe from the acid. Yet during the storm the Flesh bodies come to life...

This is part one of a two-part tale.

The Almost People

• Broadcast: 28 May 2011
• Writer: Matthew Graham
• Director: Julian Simpson

Part Two of the story started in 'The Rebel Flesh' sees Amy encounter a duplicate Doctor while the original miners and their Flesh counterparts go to war. Then it is revealed that Amy too is a Flesh copy, and the real Amy Pond is going into labour elsewhere…

This episode concludes the story begin in 'The Almost People'.

A Good Man Goes To War

• Broadcast: 4 June 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Peter Hoar

The Doctor recruits an army, determined to rescue the real Amy Pond. He also learns the truth about the mysterious River Song. This was the last episode before the mid-series break and introduced the Paternoster Gang, Madame Vastra, her partner Jenny and Strax, the Sontaran nurse.

Let's Kill Hitler

• Broadcast: 27 August 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Richard Senior

Amy finds her missing child in the most unlikely of places, River Song meets the Doctor for the very first time, Rory punches the Fueher and they all come face-to-face with the Teselecta, a vehicle with a miniaturised crew able to disguise itself as different people.

Night Terrors

• Broadcast: 3 September 2011
• Writer: Mark Gatiss
• Director: Richard Clark

The Doctor learns that a young boy's bedroom is the most terrifying place in the universe while Amy and Rory find themselves trapped in a dolls' house, where the dolls convert those they capture into dolls themselves.

The Girl Who Waited

• Broadcast: 10 September 2011
• Writer: Tom MacRae
• Director: Jeremy Webb

Amy is trapped in an alien hospital where the robotic carers are unaware that their medicines are deadly to humans. As time moves at a different speed inside the hospital, by the time Rory is able to rescue her, Amy is in her fifties.

The God Complex

• Broadcast: 17 September 2011
• Writer: Toby Whithouse
• Director: Nick Hurran

The TARDIS lands in what appears to be a shaby hotel, but is in reality a maze, complete with a monster in the middle. Each hotel room contains one of the guests' nightmares. After being led their room the guests long to be devoured by the creature, unable to fight their urge to Praise Him.

Closing Time

• Broadcast: 24 September 2011
• Writer: Gareth Roberts
• Director: Steve Hughes

The day before the Doctor is due to die, he visits his mate, new father Craig Owens, to say goodbye. Yet soon they realise that something is terribly wrong and uncover a Cyberman plot to upgrade the people in a nearby shopping centre.

The Wedding of River Song

• Broadcast: 1 October 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Jeremy Webb

The day that the Doctor is due to die has arrived, and as it is a fixed point in time, it should not be avoided. Yet River tries to save the Doctor, causing all of time to happen at once. The Doctor may now kiss the bride…

The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe (2011 Christmas Special)

• Broadcast: 25 December, 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Farren Blackburn
• Length: 60 minutes

Just before Christmas Day, 1941, during the Second World War, Madge Arwell learns that her husband, bomber pilot Reg, is missing, presumed dead. She is determined to keep this fact hidden from her children, Lily and Cyril, not wanting to ruin their Christmas, taking them out of the city to a country house. The Doctor introduces himself as the Caretaker and has left them a present that will transport them to an alien world full of snow and magical Christmas trees, but a world in deadly danger...

This episode was inspired by CS Lewis' classic novel The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. CS Lewis died 22 November 1963, the day before the very first episode of Doctor Who was broadcast.

Series 7 (2012-13)

Like the sixth series, this series was split into two. The first part was shown in 2012 and had the Doctor accompanied by Amy and Rory. The second batch was broadcast in 2013 with the Doctor accompanied by new companion, Clara, the Impossible Girl.

Asylum of the Daleks

• Broadcast: 1 September 2012
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Nick Hurran

The Doctor, Amy and Rory have been recruited by the Daleks to infiltrate and investigate the asylum planet of the Daleks. Here the maddest, most deranged Daleks are kept, including the survivors of previous encounters with the Doctor. How will they escape alive from a whole planet of Daleks, who is the girl called Oswin who also appears to be trapped on the planet, and what has gone wrong with Amy and Rory's marriage?

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship

• Broadcast: 8 September 2012
• Writer: Chris Chibnall
• Director: Saul Metzstein

The Doctor accidentally brings Rory's father Brian Williams along when he, Amy, Rory and Queen Nefertiti investigate a mysterious spaceship due to crash into the Earth, populated by dinosaurs, two argumentative robots and Solomon⁴, an old man in need of medical assistance.

A Town Called Mercy

• Broadcast: 15 September 2012
• Writer: Toby Whithouse
• Director: Saul Metzstein

The inhabitants of a small 19th Century town in America's Wild West live in fear of a Cyborg seeking revenge on an alien inside the town. Peace is maintained only by Isaac, the town's Marshall⁵. Can the Doctor send one man to certain death in order to save the lives of everyone else?

The Power of Three

• Broadcast: 22 September 2012
• Writer: Chris Chibnall
• Director: Douglas Mackinnon

Mysterious cubes appear all over the world! The Doctor, Amy, Rory and his father Brian study them, and meet Kate Stewart, the daughter of an old friend. Yet the cubes do not seem to be doing anything...

The Angels Take Manhattan

• Broadcast: 29 September 2012
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Nick Hurran

Amy, Rory and the Doctor relax in New York, when suddenly a Weeping Angel sends Rory back in time to 1938. Amy and the Doctor travel back to rescue him, encountering River along the way, but will it end well?

The Snowmen (2012 Christmas Special)

• Broadcast: 25 December 2012
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Saul Metzstein

The Doctor, devastated following the loss of Amy and Rory, has travelled back to Victorian England. Despite wanting to retreat from the world, with only the Paternoster Gang for company, he encounters an ideal companion while Snowmen come to life. Is there an Intelligence at work?

The Bells of Saint John

• Broadcast: 30 March 2013
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Farren Blackburn

The first episode of Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary year. The Doctor has retreated even further, becoming a mediæval monk, when the TARDIS phone rings. Meanwhile Clara, an impossible girl from the 21st Century, is having problems with the Wi-Fi.

The Rings of Akhaten

• Broadcast: 6 April 2013
• Writer: Neil Cross
• Director: Farren Blackburn

Doctor Who does Flash Gordon. There's a star that's really a monster, a lot of singing, a girl with bumpy bits on her forehead, some aliens and a leaf – as well as a speeder bike sequence that makes you want to shout Flash, Flash I love you, but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!

Cold War

• Broadcast: 13 April 2013
• Writer: Mark Gatiss
• Director: Douglas Mackinnon

The TARDIS brings Clara and the Doctor to 1983, landing in a Russian nuclear submarine at the height of the Cold War. Yet the Doctor isn't the only alien onboard; soon a formerly frozen Ice Warrior has escaped, can a nuclear winter be far behind?

Hide

• Broadcast: 20 April 2013
• Writer: Neil Cross
• Director: Jamie Payne

The Doctor and Clara arrive at the site of a 1974 ghost hunt in spooky Caliburn House, Yorkshire.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

• Broadcast: 27 April 2013
• Writer: Steve Thompson
• Director: Mat King

The TARDIS is captured by a salvage vessel, with Clara trapped inside. The Doctor and the salvage crew head into the TARDIS to find her, but is anyone else in the TARDIS too?

The Crimson Horror

• Broadcast: 4 May 2013
• Writer: Mark Gatiss
• Director: Saul Metzstein

Something sour has happened to the Doctor and Clara in the industrial town of Sweetville in Victorian Yorkshire, with only Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny able to come to the rescue.

Nightmare In Silver

• Broadcast: 11 May 2013
• Writer: Neil Gaiman
• Director: Stephen Woolfenden

The Doctor carries Clara and the two children she looks after, Angie and Artie, to Hedgewick's World, a deserted theme park in the far future. The park closed when people started to disappear, and soon they learn that the Cybermen had been converting visitors, creating their fastest, most adaptable army ever. Soon they have Angie and Artie in their control, with the Doctor battling his own mind.

The Name of the Doctor

• Broadcast: 18 May 2013
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Saul Metstein

The Doctor travels to the one place he cannot go, the planet Trenzalore, where he is buried, to rescue Madame Vastra, Strax and Jenny from the Great Intelligence. There, around his grave, the mystery of the Impossible Girl is revealed.

50th Anniversary Specials

Following on from the end of the 2014 mini-series were episodes made to celebrate Doctor Who's 50th anniversary. These addressed the Time War, the War Doctor and finishing the year with the end of the Eleventh Doctor's time.

The Night of the Doctor

• Broadcast: 14 November 2013
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: John Hayes
• Duration: approx 7 minutes

The Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) comes face-to-face with the consequences of the Time War's opening stages, crashes on Karn and, dying, chooses to regenerate into a warrior.

The Day of the Doctor

• Broadcast: 23 November 2013, Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Nick Hurran
• Duration: 76 minutes

At the height of the Time War, when his home world of Gallifrey is about to fall to the Daleks, the War Doctor steals the ultimate Time Lord weapon. Called The Moment, this will end the Time War by annihilating both Time Lords and Daleks. The Moment encourages him to see the consequences of his decision, sending him into the future to a time when the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors meet.

The Tenth Doctor is out wooing Queen Elizabeth in 1562⁶ when they find a plot by Zygons, shape-changing aliens, to impersonate her. Meanwhile the Eleventh Doctor has been brought to the National Gallery's secret Under Gallery by UNIT, where he encounters a time portal that sends him back to Elizabethan England. There he unites with the Tenth and War Doctors and investigates the Zygons' plan. The Doctors return to the 21st Century, save the day, defeat the Daleks and prevent the destruction of Gallifrey, locking it in a hidden universe.

'The Day of the Doctor' was not only shown on television, where it was the UK's most watched drama of 2013, but also shown in over 1,500 cinemas worldwide. 834 cinemas of these showed it in 3D, 440 in the UK alone. This helped it become the weekend's second most successful film in New Zealand and the USA, third in the UK and Australia. The episode was also broadcast in 94 countries across 6 continents, dubbed and subtitled into 15 different languages. The Guinness Book of Records later confirmed it is the largest ever simulcast of a TV drama.

The Time of the Doctor (2013 Christmas Special)

• Broadcast: 25 December 2013
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Jamie Payne
• Duration: 61 minutes

The Doctor follows a transmission that appears to come from the missing planet Gallifrey to Trenzalore, the planet he knows will become his grave. At the town called Christmas he discovers the Time Lords trying to contact him, wanting his confirmation that it is safe for Gallifrey to return. For Gallifrey to be restored all he has to do is speak his true name and answer the universe's oldest question, 'Doctor Who?'

But the Doctor is not the only one to have discovered Trenzalore. Most of the universe's most powerful races have come to Trenzalore, wishing to prevent the Doctor from saying his name and bringing back the Time Lords, fearing that the Time War that threatened to destroy all creation will resume if they return. Yet the Doctor knows that if he leaves Trenzalore, the planet and especially the town of Christmas, will be destroyed. To save Christmas, the Doctor must do the one thing he has never before accomplished – stay in one place for the rest of his life.

Dramas About Doctor Who

In addition to the episodes of Doctor Who, during the 50th Anniversary year, two dramas about the making of Doctor Who were made:

An Adventure in Space and Time

• Broadcast: 21 November 2013
• Writer: Mark Gatiss
• Director: Terry McDonough
• Duration: 83 minutes

A dramatisation of the story of how Doctor Who was created, focusing on actor William Hartnell (David Bradley, who had previously played Solomon in 'Dinosaurs on a Spaceship'), Head of Drama Sydney Newman (Brian Cox) and producer Verity Lambert (Jessica Raine). This was a moving story telling of Hartnell's battle with illness, revealing him to be at heart very vulnerable, with numerous cameos from the surviving cast and crew.

Though the story of how Doctor Who was created was somewhat simplified, this was because it would be impossible to maintain audience interest if every individual involved in its early years was mentioned. Overall a moving memorial and visual feast on the story behind the show.

The Five(ish) Doctors - Reboot

• Broadcast: 23 November 2013
• Writer: Peter Davison
• Director: Peter Davison

When Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison suspected he would not be appearing in the 50th Anniversary Special, he decided to write a comedy sketch featuring caricatures of himself and fellow Doctors Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. This began with him filming with his own video camera, but the sketch grew when it received BBC approval, becoming the funniest Doctor Who-related comedy of all time.

Minisodes

The Eleventh Doctor's era included a number of minisodes, short episodes of Dcotor Who, typically under 5 minutes long. Many were prequel scenes intended to serve as trailers for forthcoming episodes, while others are standalone adventures. These were scenes not broadcast as part of the episodes they related to. Instead they were either available online, accessible on the BBC Red Button, during BBC's Children in Need or just included as an extra on the DVD.

Meanwhile, in the TARDIS... (2010)

Two minisodes featuring Amy Pond and the Doctor, prequels to 'The Beast Below' and 'The Vampires of Venice'.

'Space' / 'Time' (2011)

• Broadcast: 18 March 2011
• Writer: Steven Moffat
• Director: Richard Senior
• Length: Both approx 3 minutes

A two-part adventure broadcast as part of the BBC's Comic Relief fundraising night⁷. The TARDIS materialises inside the TARDIS, leading to the existence of two Amys.

Night and the Doctor (2011)

Five short scenes featuring the Doctor and various friends and companions. These were written by Steven Moffat except 'Up All Night' by Tom MacRae, each lasting approximately 2-5 minutes.

1. Bad Night
   
   The Queen has been turned into a goldfish.
2. Good Night
   
   The Doctor takes Amy back to 1994 and the saddest day of her childhood to make it better.
3. First Night
   
   The Doctor's first date with River Song.
4. Last Night
   
   The Doctor's last date with River Song.
5. Up All Night
   
   The Doctor's mate Craig and wife Sophie enjoy the pleasures of being a parent.

'Death is the Only Answer' (2011)

• Broadcast: 1 October 2011
• Writer: The Children of Oakley Junior School
• Director: Richard Senior
• Length: 3 minutes

In an episode written as part of a school writing competition, Albert Einstein appears on the TARDIS and turns into an Ood, demanding his fez back.

Series 6 Prequels (2011)

The following Series 6 episodes had prequels, short teasing scenes under five minutes in length intended as an introduction to forthcoming episodes:

• 'The Impossible Astronaut'
  
  President Nixon receives a mysterious phone call in the White House, unaware that a Silent is behind him.
• 'The Curse of the Black Spot'
  
  Captain Avery writes a journal entry onboard his all-but deserted ship.
• 'A Good Man Goes to War'
  
  Dorium Moldavar deals with the Headless Monks.
• 'Let's Kill Hitler'
  
  Amy leaves a message on the Doctor's answer phone, asking if he has found her daughter.
• 'The Wedding of River Song'
  
  River is seen wearing an eyepatch while a children's rhyme predicts the falling of the Silence

'Good As Gold' (2012)

• Broadcast: 24 May 2012
• Writer: The Children of Ashdene School
• Duration: 3 minutes

When a survey showed that 96% of teachers felt that Doctor Who's writing competition had encouraged literacy and writing skills, it was inevitable that it would be held again. In this, during the Olympics a Weeping Angel pursues a flame-bearing runner.

'Pond Life' (2012)

A series of five minisodes, all under two minutes, set between the Christmas special and start of series 7, showing a growing crisis in Amy and Rory's marriage. These were broadcast one a day from Monday 27 – Friday 31 August, 2012.

Series 7 Prequels and Minisodes (2012-13)

Like earlier prequels and minisodes, these were typically very short, all under five minutes long.

• 'The Doctor, The Widow and the Wardrobe'
  
  The Doctor is trapped on an exploding spaceship, about to be blown to smithereens.

• 'Asylum of the Daleks'
  
  The Doctor wishes to enjoy a scone, but a hooded figure sends him to Skaro, home of the Daleks, to meet a mysterious woman.

• 'Vastra Investigates'
  Children In Need special in which the Paternoster Gang seek the Doctor's help, but he states that he has retired.

• 'The Great Detective'
  
  Madame Vastra solves a case for Scotland Yard, and realises that it is snowing fake snow.

• 'Demons Run – Two Days Later'
  
  An explanation of how Sontaran nurse Strax, who appeared to die in Glorious Battle at the Battle of Demon's Run in episode 'A Good Man Goes to War', is now Madam Vastra's butler, and somewhat alive in Christmas episode 'The Snowmen'.

• 'The Bells of St John'
  
  Lonely, the Doctor goes to a park and swings on a swing.

• 'The Inforarium'
  
  The Doctor wishes to erase all records of his existence.

• 'Clara and the TARDIS'
  
  The TARDIS takes a dislike to Clara and finds a unique way to punish her.

• 'Rain Gods'
  
  River and the Doctor are about to sacrificed to appease Rain Gods.

• 'She Said, He Said'
  
  A prequel to 'The Name of the Doctor'. Clara and the Doctor say they learnt each others' secrets the day they went to Trenzalore.

• 'Clarence and the Whispermen'
  
  The Whispermen visit a prisoner, giving him information to pass on to Madame Vastra regarding the Doctor.

• 'The Last Day'
  
  A soldier is given basic training on the day Gallifrey is invaded.

The Adventure Games

Five additional 'episodes' were created exclusively for the official BBC Doctor Who website. These interactive stories allowed players to control the Doctor and, occasionally, Amy, as they took on some of the Doctor's most persistent foes in all new adventures.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan voiced the animated Doctor and Amy, with guest performers including Nicholas Briggs as the Daleks and Cybermen.

City of the Daleks

• Launched: 5 June, 2010
• Writer: Phil Ford
• Directors: Gary Russell, Charles Cecil

London, 1963. The Daleks are rulers of Earth and the last survivor is hiding in the ruins of London's underground. When the Doctor and Amy begin to investigate, they discover that something has changed the web of time. Everything leads to the Dalek's capital city on Skaro...

Blood of the Cybermen

• Launched: 26 June, 2010
• Writer: Phil Ford
• Directors: Gary Russell, Charles Cecil

A scientist trapped on a glacier leads the Doctor and Amy to a research station in the Arctic. Cybermats are scuttling all over the base, converting the humans into Cyber-slaves and the Doctor and Amy discover a terrible secret, deep beneath the ice.

TARDIS

• Launched: 27 August, 2010
• Writer: James Moran
• Directors: Gary Russell, Charles Cecil

The TARDIS is caught in a riptide in the time continuum. Amy must explore the Doctor's time-space machine to find objects that can rescue the Doctor. Meanwhile, an alien entity has managed to sneak aboard the ship.

Shadows of the Vashta Nerada

• Launched: 22 December, 2010
• Writer: James Moran
• Directors: Gary Russell, Charles Cecil

The London of the 23rd Century has been submerged under water. The Doctor and Amy explore the undersea Poseidon base, where they discover something nasty lurking in the shadows. The Vashta Nerada have invaded with plans to feast on the base's crew.

The Gunpowder Plot

• Launched: 31 October, 2011
• Writer: Phil Ford

The Doctor, Amy and Rory find themselves in London in 1605 where they meet Guy Fawkes, but what are bitter enemies Sontarans and Rutans doing beneath the Houses of Parliament?

And There's More

In addition to all of the above, there were numerous other adventures featuring the Eleventh Doctor:

Doctor Who at the Proms

The music for Doctor Who composed by Murray Gold has regularly been performed live since 2006 and was first part of the BBC Proms in 2008. The aim was to use the power of Doctor Who to introduce young children to classical music. Concerts took place in the Royal Albert Hall in 2010 and 2013 that were arranged by Ben Foster, and included music from the 2010 series with a short story in which the Doctor interacted with a young member of the audience. A wide variety of actors in assorted costumes patrolled the staircases and walkways of the auditorium.

For the 2013 prom, the BBC launched a children's 'Create a Soundtrack' competition in which children were asked to compose a soundtrack to accompany scenes from recent episode 'The Snowman', with the winning soundtrack performed at the prom.

The Shows Must Go On

Doctor Who Live: The Monsters Are Coming was a live show starring Matt Smith that toured large arenas in the UK in October-November 2010, inspired by the 1973 story 'Carnival of Monsters'.

Visitors to either the Doctor Who Experience exhibition in London and Cardiff or The Crash of the Elysium event in 2012 also enjoyed special adventures featuring the Doctor.

Not Forgetting

Further sketches were filmed featuring the Eleventh Doctor. The 2011 National Television Awards had a 3-minute sketch in which the Doctor met Demot O'Leary and promised to use the TARDIS to take him to the awards, meeting Bruce Forsyth, Michael McIntyre, Dot Branning from EastEnders and Graham Norton⁸ along the way.

In 2011 Matt Smith in character as the Doctor auctioned off the clothes off his back (his costume) live on television to raise money for Children in Need, until he was left trying to cover his nipples with his braces. His tweed jacket, shirt, jeans, boots, braces, watch and bow tie (but sadly no fez) raised £50,000. Two years later in 2013, Matt Smith appeared in a Comic Relief sketch that combined reality birthing show One Born Every Minute with 1950s drama Call The Midwife, appearing when someone called for a doctor.

h2g2's Doctor Who Episode Guide

• The 1960s
• The 1970s
• The Jon Pertwee Years
• The Tom Baker Years
• The 1980s
• The 1990s
• The Wilderness Years
• 2005-2009