Right now, Doctor Who is in a precarious, or at least uncertain, place. The series hasn’t gone without a production team since the 15-year break between 1989 and 2005. Right now, the BBC has sent Doctor Who out for competitive tender, so how will they choose to celebrate the upcoming 63rd anniversary? Why, by instead celebrating 20 years of arguably the most popular Doctor this side of Tom Baker. David Tennant, the 10th Doctor, on the big screen from BBC Studios, Fathom Entertainment, and CinemaLive. And not just his era, but among the best stories in which he appears.
In news we saw on Polygon, for one night only, Whovians will get a chance to see Doctor Who: The Satan Pit Extended Cut. This is, of course, an extended, feature-length cut of the two-part story, “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit,” among the very best episodes of the Tenth Doctor tenure. The story sees the Doctor and Rose (Billie Piper) end up in the far future on an Earth outpost on a planet perched precariously on the edge of a black hole without falling in. The crew digs deeper into the planet to get a better reason for why, unknowingly unleashing ancient evil forces, perhaps from the dawn of time, which point to our very conception of the Devil himself.
These episodes whip ass, I have to say. These are easily top five Tenth Doctor episodes. They’re scary, weird, supremely thoughtful, and they introduced the Ood, one of the modern era’s more iconic aliens. This two-parter came from Tennant’s first season on the show, 20 years ago, of course, and remain a high-water mark for two-parters. If you’re going to see any episodes as a celebration of David Tennant’s iteration of Doctor Who, this would be them.
The extended version of these episodes will include never-before-seen extended scenes in addition to deleted scenes which had previously only been out as DVD extras. That in an of itself is a cool enough reason to go see this. Additionally, the night at the movies will include “an exclusive interview with BAFTA-award-winning director and producer James Strong, reflecting on the behind-the-scenes work that went into creating one of the scariest episodes in Who history.”
Natasha Spence, Global Events Director at BBC Studios, shared in a press release: “Doctor Who Day is the perfect moment to celebrate that sense of discovery with fans. We’re delighted to be working with CinemaLive again to bring this unforgettable Tenth Doctor and Rose story to the big screen, and to give audiences the chance to experience it together in cinemas for the first time.”
Tickets for the event will go on sale September 25 at 9am local time. Fans can find which of the 1,000 cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand will be participating in the event here. US fans can find out here.