Doctor Who: The 8th Series/The New Doctor

The New Doctor is a mini-episode of Doctor Who starting off Doctor Who: The 8th Series. It features The Eleventh Doctor regenerating after a fall during a fight.

Synopsis
All things end. Even life. When the Doctor arrives in Manhattan, he discovers a mysterious man with a weapon that could destroy America, which would lead to the breakdown of all countries. And he realises: It's him or the world.

Plot
The Eleventh Doctor ran through the streets of Manhattan, attempting not to skid on the thin layer of frost that had formed on the hard ground. The TARDIS had located a dangerous energy pulse coming from the top of a building somewhere in Manhattan, and The Doctor needed to track it down before it overloaded. In his hand he had a strange device, seemingly built from a patchwork of different metals. It had an antenna, similair to what one might see on a radio, a gauge with a set of switches next to it, and a green screen displaying different symbols. The Doctor ran past a tall building, with a huge sign stating 'Le Diamant'. When he walked past the large glass doors, the gauge started to creep up. Smiling, The Doctor ran into the lobby. Pulling out his psychic paper, he flashed it to a guard. "J. Smith, caretaker. I'm here to clean the roof. Lobster infestation." before getting into a lift, narrowly being crushed by the doors. "What's the hurry?" asked the elderly lady inside. "Lobster infestation." replied the breathless Doctor. "Oh, I see.... Would you like a jelly baby." enquired the old woman, holding a paper bag. "Yes please." replied the grateful Doctor, but then the doors opened. "Sorry, no time." he said, before running off. The old lady put the jelly babies back in her bag. "Nice man."

The Doctor ran up the stairs, taking three at a time, before launching himself at the door to the roof. It was locked. Rubbing his injured shoulder, he used his sonic to excite the molecules in the metal lock, causing it to slip open. He pushed the door open and entered the roof, his device now whining urgently. A man was standing on the roof, next to a large, complicated machine. He had grey hair, large black-framed glasses, and a grey small beard that merged into a moustache. He had a lab coat on, and seemed like a scientist. "Sir." enquired the Doctor. "It's very nice that you would use a Quantum Particle Accelerator to extrapolate chronological molocules scattered through a vortex at the moment of the Big Bang - one of them - but the energy shockwave could destroy Manhatten, maybe all of America!" he said breathlessly. The man smiled and turned to the Doctor. He spoke, in a British accent "Oh, my dear friend. That is the intention. Oh, sorry, have I offended you by threatening to attack your world...Doctor?" The Doctor looked shocked. "How do you know my name, who are you?" to which the old man looked amused. "Why, that's for me to know, and for you to wonder uselessly as you either wander the Earth, ashamed that you couldn't stop the destruction of a pinnacle of societal movement, or, are destroyed the ensuing blast, spread into particles that will surely make it impossible for you to regenerate, while I am safe in my secret Dwarf Star Alloy bunker. Goodbye, Doctor." and the old man reached for a set of buttons on the side of the machine. The Doctor, panicking, threw his scanning device at the old man's head, and it struck him in the temple, hitting the floor and breaking. The man, stunned, also fell to the floor. The Doctor quickly stuck the screwdriver into the machinery through a ventilation duct and activated it. The humming of the large, potentially fatal machine, quickly died down as the Doctor stopped it.

The old man was enraged, and jumped back up, seemingly durable for a person of his age. He grabbed the Doctor, "What have you done? You've destroyed my plan! If America won't die, then I'll make sure you will!" before pulling him to the edge, his grip on the Doctor's wrist as strong as steel handcuffs. He held the Doctor right on the brink of the building. "Any last words?" he enquired. "Yes, actually" said the struggling Time Lord. "I really think, you should watch out, for your temple again." as he swung round his sonic screwdriver and brought it to the man's head at a high speed. As it made contact, the old man let go of his captor's wrist. But the Doctor couldn't keep his balance, and started to slip. Determined not to let the would-be murderer go, he wrapped his fingers around the shoulder of his lab coat, and pulled his whole body backwards. Using his elbow to knock the Doctor backwards, he put his plan in. Instead of grabbing onto his coat, the Doctor kept his grip on the man's arm, and jumped off the edge of the building.

They both fell, and the Doctor screamed, heading in a different direction to the man, who landed in a park somewhere. The Doctor landed in a car park. It was deserted. He slammed into the ground hard. He was in agony. He could see the TARDIS. It was in the edge of the car park. He stumbled over to it, and he could see his life as his Eleventh incarnation flashing in front of him. "But... I don't..." he muttered to himself. He clambered into the TARDIS, falling against the console. Tears were running down his face. "But...but...I don't like dying... I live. I am alive." He wiped a tear from his face as he readied himself for this familiar process... He looked up at the wall of the TARDIS... "Living is cool." ... A burst of golden energy engulfed his hands and head. The rips in his clothes repaired themselves, and his face started to change. Like last time, the TARDIS became damaged, but still held up. The regeneration process stopped. He was an old man. "That went well." he said. "Oh. I'm that thing again.... You know, Doctor. Not Welsh...Scottish! I'm Scottish again! Haha! Oh, Amelia would be proud." before turning to pull a lever on his console. "First things first." he said, pulling out a box. He grabbed a crystal and put it on the console. "I've got to save Gallifrey." he said to himself. He flew into a part of space, and looking at the scanner, he saw many TARDISes. He heard a familiar voice. "No. All thirteen!" as he pulled another switch. When it was all over, the Doctor got out of there as quickly as possible. He couldn't have another temporal collision, not after his 10th had that encounter with his 5th. As he planned his new adventure in space, he wondered how he was going to explain this to Clara. But at the back of his mind, he wondered who that old man was...

In a nearby deserted park, the old man was lying on the path. His face was bloodied, he had lost his lab coat and he was weak. He stumbled to his feet, limping, and walked into the middle of the path. "Nobody. Nobody. Nobody defeats..." he said. Before bursting into a regeneration process... When he finished, he was younger, about mid-30's. He was still English. He finished his sentence from before. "Nobody defeats The Master!"

Cast
Matt Smith as The Eleventh Doctor

Phyllida Law as woman in lift

Mark Gatiss as The Ninth Master

Rory Kinnear as The Tenth Master

Trivia
Showrunner Steven Moffat revealed at a convention details about Series 8, and revealed that Capaldi's Doctor will arrive in a mini-episode, called either Death In Manhattan or The Final Days. He said there was a third title they were considering (which was The New Doctor) but they still hadn't confirmed it. He said that the story arc in S8 will involve an old enemy, and teased the words "What happens when you turn around?" After The New Doctor was released, he futher teased by saying that even though The Master will be in the new series, that he wasn't the returning enemy he was talking about. In The New Doctor, some graffiti in the park that The Master regenerates in says "Beware of the red ones. Ω is watching when you turn your back. The noise will end.", which some see as a return for The Silence and Omega. Moffat has said nothing.