'Doctor Who': Sam Anderson on his 'Into the Dalek' debut

When Sam Anderson booked the recurring role of teacher Danny Pink on the long-running British time travel show Doctor Who, he couldn’t wait to spread the good news. “I got the call and was like, ‘Woah, man, I got Doctor Who!'” the actor says. “My agent rang again. ‘Don’t tell anyone!’ I was like, ‘I just told a roomful of people!’ But luckily it was a couple of actors and some jazz musicians, who really couldn’t care less. So I wasn’t too worried.”

Anderson makes his debut on tomorrow night’s episode, “Into the Dalek,” which screens on BBC America and, per its title, features the return of those metallic maniacs, the Daleks.

Below, Anderson talks more about Danny Pink, tomorrow night’s episode, and why he’d rather not comment on Jenna Coleman’s kissing abilities.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Tell us about your character.
SAM ANDERSON: Daniel Pink. He’s experienced a lot. He used to work for the British army as a young man —which, as you’ll find out through the series, questioned his morals, and questioned him as a man, and he decided that he would become a math teacher. He’s quite an everyday man, into the simple things.

And he’s a love interest for Jenna Coleman’s character Clara, right?
I’m the companion’s companion! Those are the kind of things I’ve been hiding until I read an interview with Jenna and it’s like, “Oh right, she said it. Okay.”

How much did you know about the show before you auditioned?
I mean… “Exterminate!” [Laughs] My sister was a massive fan. There were always posters in her room. I was aware enough. Before the audition, I took some time out and did my homework, just to see what I was getting involved in.

What was the audition process like?
A lot shorter than I thought, and they were very secretive about what was happening. I was told it was a role which may be recurring. It was only two auditions, which kept the pressure off really. The second one was a chemistry read with Jenna. I didn’t think that would be the final read.

What can you tell us about Saturday’s show?
There’s Daleks, and we return to the Coal Hill School, which was in the original Star Trek. Star Trek??? Doctor Who! I’ve got sci-fi on the brain.

Anything else?
I’m so nervous about spoilers! Danny Pink and Clara, they share a few moments together, and it hints at a future that could go one way and could go very much another way. It’s quite a funny introduction to their relationship.

What’s it like to work with Peter Capaldi?
Incredible. I mean, the guy’s one of the best that we have over here. He’s one of the best, period. He’s such a nice, humble dude to work with, and very supportive. I remember a couple of weeks in, he asked me how I was doing. I was like, “I’m finally finding my feet. You know how it is — you kind of test the waters when you’re the newbie in the environment.” It was so nice of him to remind me like, “I’m the newbie too.” It’s like, “Oh yeah, you’re a newbie with a hell of a lot more pressure on his shoulders than me.” He’s second to none.

How about your experience working with Jenna Coleman? And, as a follow-up, is she a good kisser?
She’s a dream. Absolute professional. And she looks bright as a daisy every morning. She’s good to go, man. She’s great to work with. And is she a good kisser? Uh, her boyfriend knows where I live!

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'Doctor Who' and the joys of sadness

Those people down there. They’re never small to me. Don’t make assumptions about how far I will go to protect them, because I’ve already come a very long way. And unlike you, I do not expect to reach the Promised Land.

About two years ago, I found Doctor Who on Netflix. This is a classic better-late-than-never situation. At that point, the Doctor Who notion—calling it a “franchise” feels reductive—had been in a perpetual state of existence for 49 years. Long story short, assuming you don’t know: Time-traveling alien named the Doctor goes on adventures. Real name unknown, possibly forgotten. Long story slightly longer: The time-traveling alien is also a shape-changing immortal, and “death” is just a momentary glowing-light distraction before the alien’s rebirth, with a new body, a new attitude, and a new fashion sense.

On the advice of my colleague Clark Collis—Doctor Who expert and British person—I started with the mid-2000s “rebooted” series, skipping over the first few decades of Who-ness. So on one hand, nothing I write about Doctor Who can really be considered definitive. (ASIDE: There is no high Doctor Who nerd who cannot be bigfooted by some yet-higher Doctor Who nerd, because the sheer breadth-depth of Doctor Who narrative content is beyond Biblical. Paul McGann famously only played the Doctor a couple times onscreen, but there are more radioplays starring McGann as the Doctor than episodes of The Wire.)

On the other hand, it’s easy to make a definitive statement: I love the show. It took me a couple months to watch six and a half seasons of Doctor Who, and I consider that experience one of the transformative pop-culture events of my life. In a sense, I was a bandwagon-hopper. The show’s popularity has surged on these shores; it just had its biggest U.S. debut ever. How cool! And how strange! Because Doctor Who is, by a long shot, the saddest show on television. I mean “sad” like “melancholy,” sad like “tragic,” sad like “will leave you a blubbering mess on more than one occasion.”

This isn’t necessarily Doctor Who‘s reputation, and this certainly isn’t science-fiction’s reputation. Generalizing wildly, there’s something very Id, very Hot about the Fantasy genre: Big character, big emotions, the epic hero who radically overturns the landscape of his epic world. Science-fiction has the opposite reputation: Chilly, removed, ships racing through space, future people engaging with each other using social codes we barely understand. (ASIDE: There are exceptions; they prove the rule. END OF ASIDE.)

But Doctor Who —at least, Doctor Who as reinvented by Russell T. Davies and Steven Moffat and an assortment of other contemporary writers —is a show overrun with messy emotions. The typical Doctor Who story begins with the Doctor finding a new friend. Sometimes this friend sticks with him for awhile: They’re called Companions, and they become the show’s co-lead. (Hell, you could argue that for the first two seasons of the rebooted Doctor Who, the show’s lead was Billie Piper as best-companion-ever Rose Tyler.) But that’s the micro-story arc of every episode, also. Every week, the Doctor pops into a new location, meets new people, somehow changes their life…and then leaves.

One way of looking at this: The Doctor is friends with everybody! But another way of looking at this: The Doctor is never close with anybody. And even when he is close with someone, it won’t last. He’ll leave them behind, or they’ll leave him behind; or they’ll just get older, and he’ll grow a young man’s face. The Davies era immediately played up the Doctor’s loneliness by repositioning him as the Last of the Time Lords: No longer a plucky renegade from an elaborate culture, but rather, that culture’s last remaining memory.

Having a lead character who is immortal, semi-omniscient, and essentially omnipresent should create a character who is antiseptic: Devoid of emotion, all too aware of the massive massiveness of human existence. There’s a great moment in a not-great episode when the Doctor suddenly takes his latest Companion on a quick journey through the entire history of the Earth, from birth to death. (The actual plot of the episode is about a haunted mansion, although the mansion is actually “haunted” by a time traveler and a lovesick monster with bones on the outside.) The Companion, Clara, is still new to time travel, new to the Doctor.

Clara: One minute you’re in 1974, looking for ghosts, but all you have to do is open your eyes and talk to whoever’s standing there. To you I haven’t been born yet. And to you I’ve been dead a hundred billion years. Is my body out there somewhere? In the ground?
The Doctor: Yes, I suppose it is.
Clara: But here we are, talking. So I am a ghost. To you, I’m a ghost. We’re all ghosts to you. We must be nothing.
The Doctor: No. No, you’re not that.

In the latest season premiere, the new Doctor had a line that seems to echo that assertion, where he told the latest monster that every person is important: “They’re never small to me.” And part of what makes Doctor Who such a relentlessly emotional experience is how it takes people so seriously–how the Doctor seems to focus simultaneously on the complete sweep of a person’s life, while zero-ing in on the few minutes he gets to spend with them. The show functions in the same way. At its best, the small moments feel weighted with macrocosmic importance, while the massive plot-arc moments feel intimate.

The central tension, I think, is that the Doctor is a character who seeks connection but who also ultimately has to sever connections. He has friends, but no family; his co-stars will ultimately move on, leaving him behind in his funny blue box. Like so many heroes, the Doctor saves lives; unlike so many heroes, the Doctor always seems weirdly aware that all lives end eventually.

This is true of some of the show’s most memorable episodes, like “The Girl in the Fireplace” (an early classic by recent Emmy winner Moffat). The set-up is simple, even goofy: The Doctor walks through a fireplace on an abandoned spaceship and winds up in 1700s France. He meets a little girl named Reinette, saves her life, goes back to the spaceship. He walks through the fireplace again, and suddenly the little girl is a beautiful young woman; years of her life have passed; and she’s in love with the Doctor. Lots of techno-yadda and historical wackiness ensues; the beautiful young woman is Madame de Pompadour, some future robots need her brain. By the end of the episode, the Doctor has fallen in love…and Madame de Pompadour is dead. It’s a weird balancing act, an early example of how Moffat loves to juggle timelines: You see their relationship play out in essentially real time, and you also see the complete sweep of a single human being’s life.

This is the kind of melancholy that resonates throughout Doctor Who: A sense that the Doctor’s happiness will lead him once again to loneliness. I can’t think of any season finale that left me more of a blubbering mess than “Doomsday,” the final Rose-Doctor episode. (Clearly, a sizable part of the Internet agrees with me.) The Davies era culminated in the episode “Journey’s End,” which brought together all of the Doctor’s friends in a scene that plays out as an ode to teamwork and togetherness. (They don’t just save the Earth; they tow it.) But not long after that scene, the Doctor is alone again.

Maybe “sad” is the wrong word for Doctor Who: It’s a show that takes tremendous joy in simple human connection, even as the modern iteration constantly futzes with those connections. (It’s never clear if the Doctor likes his Companions, or loves them, or if he just needs them to be in love with him.) But it’s fascinating how a show that stars an immortal–a higher being whose life will never end–constantly circles back around to endings. Friends disappear, or die; a place you love disappears, replaced by something new; sometimes people forget about you, or you forget about them. Gradually, you become a different person. (The recent season premiere featured a reference to “The Girl in the Fireplace”—specifically, a reference to the fact that the Doctor doesn’t remember “The Girl in the Fireplace,” or anyhow he’s choosing to forget it.)

The central tension of most action-thrillers derives from the fear that someone might die. But because the Doctor will never die, the central tension of Doctor Who is the utter certainty that things will definitely change. Every change is like death, but every change is also like birth. Doctor Who is never bleak—compared to our current apocalypse vogue, it looks positively chipper.

But it’s always aware of the fragility of human life, of how a single human lifespan is like a grain of sand in a desert planet in a universe where every planet is Tatooine. And there’s a hard-earned clarity, a genuine toughness, in how Doctor Who insists that every grain of sand is a universe unto itself.

The Doctor never gets to live a normal life, which is his tragedy. (Tune in to a new episode of Doctor Who, and remind yourself that soon–this year, next year, certainly the year after that–the Doctor and his closest friend will say goodbye.) But I also wonder if that’s why, the longer you watch Doctor Who, you find yourself relating less to the everypeople Companions and more to the Doctor. From our perspective, the world might change, but we always stay the same–as friends come and go, as we move from one place to another. It takes someone else to notice when we become a new person. Maybe that’s why the Doctor always seeks out new Companions: So that the man who never changes can change, over and over again.

Times change, and so must I… we all change. When you think about it, we are all different people, all through our lives. And that’s okay, that’s good! You’ve gotta keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Got any geeky thoughts or questions? Email them to me at darren_franich@ew.com or tweet me @DarrenFranich, and I’ll respond in a future edition of my Entertainment Geekly column.

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New 'Doctor Who': Five biggest moments

Peter Capaldi's new 'Doctor Who': The 5 biggest moments - CNN.comvar cnnCurrTime=new Date(1409059352000),cnnCurrHour=9,cnnCurrMin=22,cnnCurrDay="Tue",cnnIsIntl=true,clickID=212106,cnn_cvpAdpre="edition.",cnnCVPAdSectionT1="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_t1",cnnCVPAdSectionInPage="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_inpage",cnnShareUrl="%2F2014%2F08%2F24%2Fshowbiz%2Fdoctor-who-peter-capaldi-premiere%2Findex.html",cnnShareTitle="The%20new%20\'Doctor%20Who\'%3A%20The%20five%20biggest%20moments",cnnShareDesc="",cnnFirstPub=new Date('Sunday Aug 24 10:48:55 EDT 2014'),cnnSectionName="entertainment",sectionName="entertainment",cnnSubSectionName="ent : news",cnnPageType="Story",cnnBrandingValue="default";cnnPartnerValue="";cnnOmniBranding="",cnnAuthor="Henry Hanks, CNN",disqus_category_id=207582,disqus_identifier="/2014/08/24/showbiz/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-premiere/index.html",disqus_title="The new \'Doctor Who\': The five biggest moments",cnn_edtnswtchver="edition",cnnIsStoryPage=true,cnn_metadata = {},cnn_shareconfig = [];cnn_metadata = {section: ["entertainment","ent : news"],friendly_name: "The new \'Doctor Who\': The five biggest moments",template_type: "content",template_type_content: "gallery",business: {cnn: {page: {author: "Henry Hanks, CNN",broadcast_franchise: "",video_embed_count: "0",publish_date: "2014/08/24",photo_gallery: "The new \'Doctor Who\': The five biggest moments"},video: {video_player: ""}}},user: {authenticated: "",segment: {age: "",zip: "",gender: ""}}};if (typeof(cnnOmniPartner) !== "undefined") {if (cnn_metadata.template_type_content === "") {cnn_metadata.template_type_content = "partner";}}var photo_gallery = "The new \'Doctor Who\': The five biggest moments";if(typeof CNN==='undefined'){var CNN=Class.create();}CNN.expandableMap=[''];function _loginOptions(){};var disqus_url=(typeof disqus_identifier!=='undefined') ? 'http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/24/showbiz/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-premiere/index.html' : 'http://www.cnn.com'+location.pathname;cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['970x66_top','300x250_rgt','300x250_rgt2','336x280_rgt','336x850_rgt','300x150_rgt','728x90_top','728x90_bot','BG_Skin','120x90_bot1','120x90_bot2','120x90_bot3']);cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['607x95_adlinks','336x280_adlinks']);EDITION:  INTERNATIONALU.S.MÉXICOARABICTV:  CNNiCNN en EspañolSet edition preferenceSign upLog in//Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {//$('hdr-search-box').focus();//});#hdr-editions a { text-decoration:none; }#cnn_hdr-editionS { text-align:left;clear:both; }#cnn_hdr-editionS a { text-decoration:none;font-size:10px;top:7px;line-height:12px;font-weight:bold; }#hdr-prompt-text b { display:inline-block;margin:0 0 0 20px; }#hdr-editions li { padding:0 10px; }#hdr-editions ul li.no-pad-left span { font-size:12px; }.hdr-arrow-intl, .hdr-arrow-us, .hdr-arrow-us2 { left:148px; }.hdr-arrow-us2 { left:180px; }HomeVideoWorldU.S.AfricaAsiaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastBusinessWorld SportEntertainmentTechTraveliReportSHARE THISPrintEmailMore sharingRedditStumbleUponDelicious/* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar1","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/24/showbiz/doctor-who-peter-capaldi-premiere/index.html","title" : "The new \'Doctor Who\': The five biggest moments"});The new 'Doctor Who': The five biggest momentsBy Henry Hanks, CNNAugust 24, 2014 -- Updated 1604 GMT (0004 HKT)window.CNN = window.CNN || {};(function setupContentMeta(ns) {ns.ContentMetadata = ns.ContentMetadata || {};ns.ContentMetadata.pageTopGallery = {};}(CNN));if (typeof cnnArticleGallery=="undefined"){var cnnArticleGallery={};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=[];}}var expGalleryPT00=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(12);expGalleryPT00.setAdsRefreshCount(3);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("50 years of \'Doctor Who\'", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}On November 23, 1963, "Doctor Who" was first broadcast on the BBC. Today, it remains a cult favorite among science-fiction fans young and old. Peter Capaldi took over as the Twelfth Doctor at the end of the Christmas Day episode and made his official debut this week. Click through the gallery to see the men who have played the title character.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"50 years of \'Doctor Who\'"}The Doctor -- a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who traveled through space and time -- was first played by William Hartnell, who took along his granddaughter on his adventures.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"William Hartnell"}Patrick Troughton took over the role in 1966, and it was explained on the show that Time Lords can regenerate into new bodies upon their death. Troughton's Second Doctor was more of an oddball, prone to playing his recorder and fooling enemies into thinking he was a simpleton.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"Patrick Troughton"}Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor dove headlong into the 1970s. He was the closest to James Bond of any of the Doctors, earthbound and a big fan of traveling in flashy vehicles.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"Jon Pertwee"}The Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, is a favorite of many fans, having played the character the longest starting in 1974. Baker brought back some of the childlike aspects of the Doctor in a big way, and he gained a robotic dog companion, K-9.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"Tom Baker"}Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor brought the character into the 1980s as a young, well-dressed cricketer, leading a team of companions on his adventures.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"Peter Davison"}The no-nonsense Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, took over in 1984. Despite his outlandish, colorful costume, he was one of the least approachable-seeming Doctors.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"Colin Baker"}The Seventh Doctor, starting in 1987, ended the original series of "Doctor Who." Sylvester McCoy's take on the character returned him to the quirky mannerisms of the Second and Fourth Doctors, though this one was more of a schemer.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"Sylvester McCoy"}Up until recently, the Eighth Doctor's adventures on screen lasted all of one TV movie, a failed attempt to resurrect the series on Fox. Paul McGann returned on a "Webisode" just last week, explaining what became of his character when he regenerated.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"Paul McGann"}The show was rebooted in 2005, and Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor was the first one many new fans saw. Wearing a leather jacket, this Doctor was stripped down to his bare essentials.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"Christopher Eccleston"}After Eccleston's departure at the end of the first new season, David Tennant brought back some of the quirkiness with his Tenth Doctor, a trenchcoat-wearing adventurer with a great sense of humor. He was recently voted fans' favorite Doctor by readers of the UK's Radio Times.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"David Tennant"}Matt Smith brought a youthful appearance to the Eleventh Doctor starting in 2010. His penchant for wearing bow ties and fezzes and dancing like a "drunken giraffe" plays against the fact that he is determined to save the day, and his companions, no matter what.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"Matt Smith"}HIDE CAPTION50 years of 'Doctor Who'William HartnellPatrick TroughtonJon PertweeTom BakerPeter DavisonColin BakerSylvester McCoyPaul McGannChristopher EcclestonDavid TennantMatt Smith<<<123456789101112>>>Event.observe(window,'load',function(){if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined'){cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image,"The new 'Doctor Who': The five biggest moments");}});STORY HIGHLIGHTSPeter Capaldi officially begins his run as the 12th Doctor on Saturday's 'Doctor Who' premiereThe new Doctor is very different from the last oneJenna Coleman's Clara is a standout in the episodePrevious Doctor, Matt Smith, makes a surprise cameo

(CNN) -- The wait is finally over.

On Saturday night, "Whovians" ("Doctor Who" fans) finally got their first full look at Peter Capaldi in his role as the Twelfth Doctor (with no karaoke or mimes in sight).

He almost literally landed with a splash, as we first saw him and companion Clara being swallowed by a dinosaur who ended up in 19th century London.

Because, obviously.

Here are five of our favorite moments of what was a spectacular season premiere.

1. The new Doctor himself

The Doctor was still in a bit of post-regenerative hysteria, which led to some hilarious lines. He also, of course, took a few shots at his new look, especially the eyebrows ("These are attack eyebrows! You can take bottle tops off with these!") and the fact that he's now Scottish.

That was probably one of the biggest surprises: For a Doctor who is darker than the ones we're used to recently (he certainly doesn't have the wackiness of Matt Smith), there was a great deal of humor in the episode.

When we saw his final costume toward the end of the episode, we've gotta say, the Twelfth Doctor is looking sharp.

2. Clara back how we remember her

When Clara first officially met the Doctor, she was in Victorian dress. Having ended up in the 19th century, she was dressed for the times once more.

Whether it was a callback or not, the producers seemed to know that the look really suits Jenna Coleman (In fact, a lot of the memorable parts of this episode seemed to do with the clothes - see Madame Vastra and Jenny's battle gear as well).

With a few episodes under her belt, Clara is the "veteran" of the show, and much of it revolved around her, especially with the Doctor being in a confused state for much of it.

She had some trouble getting used to this new Doctor, having fallen for the last one (see below), but she had instant chemistry with the Twelfth.

3. The icky new villain

A restaurant where you're on the menu?

The half-visaged android the Doctor met could give Hannibal Lecter a run for his money. Their face-off (sorry) toward the end was one of the most memorable confrontations in recent "Doctor Who" history as well.

4. A dinosaur in the Thames?!

Not much to say here, except that tyrannosaurus rex was quite a way to kick off the season.

5. The Eleventh Doctor makes a call

The biggest surprise of them all was the Eleventh Doctor's time-shifted call to Clara at the end of the episode, asking her to take care of the new him. (Though he wasn't a big fan of looking old.)

We'll miss you, Matt Smith!

What were your favorite parts of the episode?

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Moments from 'Doctor Who' farewell

Five emotional moments from 'Doctor Who' farewell - CNN.comvar cnnCurrTime=new Date(1388238273000),cnnCurrHour=8,cnnCurrMin=44,cnnCurrDay="Sat",cnnIsIntl=true,clickID=212106,cnn_cvpAdpre="edition.",cnnCVPAdSectionT1="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_t1",cnnCVPAdSectionInPage="edition.cnn.com_entertainment_inpage",cnnShareUrl="%2F2013%2F12%2F26%2Fshowbiz%2Fdoctor-who-christmas-matt-smith-farewell%2Findex.html",cnnShareTitle="Five%20emotional%20moments%20from%20Matt%20Smith\'s%20\'Doctor%20Who\'%20farewell",cnnShareDesc="",cnnFirstPub=new Date('Thursday Dec 26 10:25:28 EST 2013'),cnnSectionName="entertainment",sectionName="entertainment",cnnSubSectionName="ent : news",cnnPageType="Story",cnnBrandingValue="default";cnnPartnerValue="";cnnOmniBranding="",cnnAuthor="Henry Hanks, CNN",disqus_category_id=207582,disqus_identifier="/2013/12/26/showbiz/doctor-who-christmas-matt-smith-farewell/index.html",disqus_title="Five emotional moments from Matt Smith\'s \'Doctor Who\' farewell",cnn_edtnswtchver="edition",cnnIsStoryPage=true,cnn_metadata = {},cnn_shareconfig = [];cnn_metadata = {section: ["entertainment","ent : news"],friendly_name: "Five emotional moments from Matt Smith\'s \'Doctor Who\' farewell",template_type: "content",template_type_content: "gallery",business: {cnn: {page: {author: "Henry Hanks, CNN",broadcast_franchise: "",video_embed_count: "0",publish_date: "2013/12/26",photo_gallery: "Five emotional moments from Matt Smith\'s \'Doctor Who\' farewell"},video: {video_player: ""}}},user: {authenticated: "",segment: {age: "",zip: "",gender: ""}}};if (typeof(cnnOmniPartner) !== "undefined") {if (cnn_metadata.template_type_content === "") {cnn_metadata.template_type_content = "partner";}}var photo_gallery = "Five emotional moments from Matt Smith\'s \'Doctor Who\' farewell";if(typeof CNN==='undefined'){var CNN=Class.create();}CNN.expandableMap=[''];function _loginOptions(){};var disqus_url=(typeof disqus_identifier!=='undefined') ? 'http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/26/showbiz/doctor-who-christmas-matt-smith-farewell/index.html' : 'http://www.cnn.com'+location.pathname;cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['970x66_top','300x250_rgt','300x250_rgt2','336x280_rgt','336x850_rgt','300x150_rgt','728x90_top','728x90_bot','BG_Skin','120x90_bot1','120x90_bot2','120x90_bot3']);cnnad_newTileIDGroup(['607x95_adlinks','336x280_adlinks']); EDITION:  INTERNATIONAL U.S. MÉXICO ARABIC TV:   CNNi CNN en Español Set edition preference Sign up Log in Home Video World U.S. Africa Asia Europe Latin America Middle East Business World Sport Entertainment Tech Travel iReport SHARE THISPrintEmailMore sharingRedditStumbleUponDelicious/* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar1","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/26/showbiz/doctor-who-christmas-matt-smith-farewell/index.html","title" : "Five emotional moments from Matt Smith\'s \'Doctor Who\' farewell"});Five emotional moments from Matt Smith's 'Doctor Who' farewellBy Henry Hanks, CNNDecember 26, 2013 -- Updated 2024 GMT (0424 HKT)if (typeof cnnArticleGallery=="undefined"){var cnnArticleGallery={};if(typeof cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=="undefined"){cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList=[];}}var expGalleryPT00=new ArticleExpandableGallery();expGalleryPT00.setImageCount(13);expGalleryPT00.setAdsRefreshCount(3);//cnn_adbptrackpgalimg("50 years of \'Doctor Who\'", 1);.cnn_html_slideshow_metadata > .cnn_html_media_utility::before{color:red;content:'>>';font-size:9px;line-height:12px;padding-right:1px}.cnnstrylccimg640{margin:0 27px 14px 0}.captionText{filter:alpha(opacity=100);opacity:1}.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:visited,.cnn_html_slideshow_media_caption a:link,.captionText a,.captionText a:visited,.captiontext a:link{color:#004276;outline:medium none}.cnnVerticalGalleryPhoto{margin:0 auto;padding-right:68px;width:270px}On November 23, 1963, "Doctor Who" was first broadcast on the BBC. Today, it remains a cult favorite among science-fiction fans young and old. Click through the gallery to see the 11 men who have played the title character -- and who will play him next.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":true,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":1,"title":"50 years of \'Doctor Who\'"}The Doctor -- a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who traveled through space and time -- was first played by William Hartnell, who took along his granddaughter on his adventures.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":2,"title":"William Hartnell"}Patrick Troughton took over the role in 1966, and it was explained on the show that Time Lords can regenerate into new bodies upon their death. Troughton's Second Doctor was more of an oddball, prone to playing his recorder and fooling enemies into thinking he was a simpleton.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":3,"title":"Patrick Troughton"}Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor dove headlong into the 1970s. He was the closest to James Bond of any of the Doctors, earthbound and a big fan of traveling in flashy vehicles.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":4,"title":"Jon Pertwee"}The Fourth Doctor, played by Tom Baker, is a favorite of many fans, having played the character the longest starting in 1974. Baker brought back some of the childlike aspects of the Doctor in a big way, and he gained a robotic dog companion, K-9.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":5,"title":"Tom Baker"}Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor brought the character into the 1980s as a young, well-dressed cricketer, leading a team of companions on his adventures.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":6,"title":"Peter Davison"}The no-nonsense Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, took over in 1984. Despite his outlandish, colorful costume, he was one of the least approachable-seeming Doctors.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":7,"title":"Colin Baker"}The Seventh Doctor, starting in 1987, ended the original series of "Doctor Who." Sylvester McCoy's take on the character returned him to the quirky mannerisms of the Second and Fourth Doctors, though this one was more of a schemer.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":8,"title":"Sylvester McCoy"}Up until recently, the Eighth Doctor's adventures on screen lasted all of one TV movie, a failed attempt to resurrect the series on Fox. Paul McGann returned on a "Webisode" just last week, explaining what became of his character when he regenerated.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":9,"title":"Paul McGann"}The show was rebooted in 2005, and Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor was the first one many new fans saw. Wearing a leather jacket, this Doctor was stripped down to his bare essentials.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":10,"title":"Christopher Eccleston"}After Eccleston's departure at the end of the first new season, David Tennant brought back some of the quirkiness with his Tenth Doctor, a trenchcoat-wearing adventurer with a great sense of humor. He was recently voted fans' favorite Doctor by readers of the UK's Radio Times.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":11,"title":"David Tennant"}Matt Smith brought a youthful appearance to the Eleventh Doctor starting in 2010. His penchant for wearing bow ties and fezzes and dancing like a "drunken giraffe" plays against the fact that he is determined to save the day, and his companions, no matter what.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":12,"title":"Matt Smith"}Peter Capaldi took over as the Twelfth Doctor at the end of the Christmas Day episode this year.cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList.length]={"currentPicture":false,"x":0,"y":0,"pos":13,"title":"Peter Capaldi "}HIDE CAPTION50 years of 'Doctor Who'William HartnellPatrick TroughtonJon PertweeTom BakerPeter DavisonColin BakerSylvester McCoyPaul McGannChristopher EcclestonDavid TennantMatt SmithPeter Capaldi <<<12345678910111213>>>Event.observe(window,'load',function(){if(typeof(cnn_adbptrackpgalimg) == 'function' && typeof(cnnArticleGallery) != 'undefined'){cnn_adbptrackpgalimg(cnnArticleGallery.currentImageList[0].image,"Five emotional moments from Matt Smith's 'Doctor Who' farewell");}});STORY HIGHLIGHTSMatt Smith portrayed the Doctor one final time on a special episode of 'Doctor Who'Peter Capaldi took over the role at the end of the episodeSocial media had a highly emotional response to the episodeEditor's note: Warning: The following article contains spoilers about this year's Christmas episode of "Doctor Who."

(CNN) -- "And now it's time for one last bow, like all your other selves. Eleven's hour is over now, the clock is striking Twelve's."

With those poetic words, Jenna Coleman's Clara Oswald summed up the stakes of Wednesday night's Christmas episode of "Doctor Who." Following a hugely successful, well-received 50th anniversary episode last month, it seemed fitting that the show would bid goodbye to Matt Smith for an encore.

The episode certainly ran the gamut, at various times showing the Doctor bald, naked and growing very old. It was a bittersweet night for "Who" fans (or "Whovians"), to say the least.

Of course, we've known for several months that this was coming, but the reactions on social media made clear that many in the audience weren't ready to say goodbye to Smith's Eleventh Doctor.

"Oh gosh. I'm emotionally wrecked," tweeted Kyle Williams.

"MY FEELINGS ARE NOT OK," is how Vera Raposo put it.

So without further ado, here are five moments from the episode that had us feeling all of our feelings:

1. The Doctor leaves Clara (twice)

Things started off smoothly enough, with the Doctor pretending to be Clara's boyfriend at Christmas dinner.

A few sitcom-ish moments (and Daleks, weeping angels and Cybermen -- including one disembodied) later, and soon the Doctor learned that Gallifrey and the other Time Lords could soon return, using a crack in the wall, in a small town called Christmas -- a time field seen in the Eleventh Doctor's first episode.

The Daleks, Cybermen and more were ready to take on the Time Lords, however, and the Doctor was prepared to literally save Christmas (not to mention the entire planet, Trenzalore). But he didn't think he could protect Clara and sent her back home without her knowledge.

As centuries went by on Trenzalore, the Doctor started to show his age and finally, Clara returned with the TARDIS and the "feels" came along with her.

Seeing the Doctor and his companion -- who had earlier unwittingly declared her feelings for him -- reunited was a hugely uplifting moment, though soon the Doctor sent her away again, after saying he wouldn't. (Sorry, Clara, the Doctor lies.) But she returned one last time...

Looking back on 50 years of 'Doctor Who'

2. The last Doctor?

Those who've followed "Doctor Who" for a while will remember there's a limit to the number of regenerations he gets, exactly 12.

After Clara returned the first time, the aging Doctor told Clara that he had used them all up, counting John Hurt's War Doctor from the previous episode, and a time when the Tenth Doctor regenerated into himself.

Could this be the end of the Doctor for good?

After her second return, having read the aforementioned poem from a Christmas cracker, and as the Doctor began to die of old age, she pleaded with the time field to save him.

As the Daleks prepared to attack, the time field appeared, granting the Doctor more regenerative energy, which he used to lay waste to all of the invading armies ("Love from Gallifrey, boys!") -- but it also meant that his time was up.

3. Goodbye, Eleven

Clara returned to the TARDIS, finding the Doctor back to his old self again. But despite his reset youthful appearance, he was still dying.

He had a lot to think about in his final moments in this body.

"We all change. When you think about it, we're all different people all through our lives," he said.

"And that's OK, that's good, as long as you keep moving, as long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this, not one day, I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me."

Lump in the throat, anyone?

Is the Pope a Time Lord?

4. 'Raggedy man'

Then the Doctor remembered his first companion, the first face he saw in this body: Amy Pond.

In a surprise appearance, Karen Gillan returned for a cameo as Amy, to say, "Raggedy man, good night."

Is it any wonder that "Raggedy man" trended worldwide for hours on Twitter?

Eleven knew his time was up, and took off his trademark bowtie. And at this point, the Internet had a good cry.

5. Enter Twelve

As Clara begged the Doctor not to go, he suddenly had a brand new face. Clara's "anime eyes" said it all.

This was a brand new Doctor indeed. Peter Capaldi is now the Twelfth Doctor, and he just had one question for Clara: "Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

(Oh, and apparently he's got new kidneys.)

So that was enough of an emotional roller coaster for an entire season's worth of some shows. Perhaps Smith's final words to the fans will help a little:

"To the Whoniverse, thanks a million," he said.

"You're the best. I'll miss you. And I'll miss the madness."

'Doctor Who' turns 50 and fans will never be the same

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