RATINGS and BOX OFFICE
How well it did on BBC
Ratings record for BBC and Tumblr
Ratings and Tumblr
Viewership in Australia
Doctor Who beats Star Trek
Box Office reports
Hollywood Reporter on box office reports
Financial Times report broken European box office records
BBC reports Day of the Doctor comes in third for UK
Variety reports on box office
Number 2 at US box office
CHRISTMAS
Metro reminds us that Christmas must still belong to Matt
Story was rewritten to accompany Matt's injured leg
Matt's Doctor loses a leg
Plot synopsis
In preparation for the Christmas episode, the BBC has released a brief plot synopsis of the episode.
“Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe’s deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars,” it reads. “Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.”
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I'd love to hear your thoughts on what we discovered about Matt's injury incorporated into the storyline with the Doctor losing a leg.
What do you make of Matt's last filmed scene as the Doctor with him hanging in harness with a look of despair and loss in front of 200 people?
What do you make of Matt's doctor aging in the episode?
What do you think of Clara's presence and the return to Trenzalore?
What do you think the financial success of the television and cinematic release means for the franchise?
I have to admit I am delighted to hear it has done so well. Although there are many David Tennant fans who are quite fanatical and almost territorial/exclusive about their Doctor, most reports indicate it is Matt Smith who has turned this franchise into a global phenomenon. Not only are Matt fans inclusive, but they tend to have a wider appreciation for the franchise as a whole.
It is a testament to the series that fans of all generations and doctors have turned up to celebrate Doctor Who. I think it speaks volumes that records are being broken around the world and the ratings are so high.
I once had a conversation with my husband where I likened a Whovian to being a New Kids on the Block fan. The world saw what happened during Beatlemania and perhaps in time they will speak about what happened in a slightly less degree with NKOTB. There was an inclusive global community that spread love and lacked all signs of rationality during the band's peak. Years later, I find myself on a bus when my eyes drift up at a stranger wearing a tanktop with NKOTB scrawled on it. I smile and ask, "Who's your favourite?" and a conversation begins with nostalgic stories of our childhood or teenage years growing up in Argentina and Canada and what it means to be a New Kids fan. This happens a lot. Strangers becoming friends over a boy band from years back.
I find the same to be true amongst Whovians (in particular Matt Smith fans). I have met people in parking lots, bathrooms, on the street and anywhere else you can imagine. It always starts off with a compliment on a shirt or button (or often in my case asking 'Who is your doctor?) and expands into a whole conversation about the show, our doctors and how our lives are slightly altered by the experience. It's a marvellous thing to be part of history no matter how small. There is a sense that Whovians just created their own generation of "Who Shot JR?" moments in television history.
I'm starting to get a sense that the emotional devastation we felt over Matt leaving will be amplified with his departure. It's rare to see your doctor have a merciless end. We will witness our beloved doctor grow old in a planet full of death as he loses a leg and most likely falls to his death. This has to be one of the darkest final hours for any Doctor and it is happening to the optimist and one that encouraged hope, inclusivity, equality, justice and love.
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