Doctor Who 50th Anniversary

The trailer for the upcoming Doctor Who 50th anniversary special—like a police box that contains an entire spacecraft—comes crammed with wax museum versions of past Doctors, companions, and enemies, plus a half-century’s worth of references that the most dedicated of fans could spend the next month picking out. (Or you could just read this io9 article.) But mostly, it’s crammed with emotion: As you already know, the special marks the beginning of the end for Matt Smith’s tenure as the Time Lord, and it features him appearing alongside the returning David Tennant, and squaring off against a previous incarnation played by John Hurt—a sense of sweeping history and fan sentiment this preview is sure to stir. Everything else is subject to the usual speculation and disinformation, such as our theory that “The Day Of The Doctor” will involve Smith losing his entire afternoon waiting hours past a scheduled appointment, while evil Daleks keep telling him it should be any minute now.