What season do you view the Specials as being part of?

Television Doctor Who (2005-2022)
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On iPlayer, most (if not all?) specials are listed as being a part of the season that directly precedes them, but to me that doesn’t feel right in a lot of cases.

I’ve got my own thoughts, but putting it to you. What season do you think each of the specials should be a part of, and why?

For clarity, the specials I’m referring to are as follows:

  • The Christmas Invasion
  • The Runaway Bride
  • Voyage of the Damned
  • The Next Doctor
  • Planet of the Dead
  • The Waters of mars
  • The End of Time
  • A Christmas Carol
  • The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe
  • The Snowmen
  • Day of The Doctor
  • Time of The Doctor
  • Last Christmas
  • The Husbands of River Song
  • The Return of Doctor Mysterio
  • Twice Upon a Time
  • Resolution
  • Revolution of the Daleks
  • Eve of the Daleks
  • Legend of the Sea Devils
  • The Power of The Doctor
  • The Star Beast
  • Wild Blue Yonder
  • The Giggle
  • The Church on Ruby Road
  • Joy to the World
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Don't want to influence others thoughts, so don't read until you've listed them yourself, but my personal take is:
  • Christmas Invasion - Season 2 - Setup for the new doctor and generally laying groundwork for the new season
  • Runaway Bride - Season 2 - Acts almost as a Coda, reflection on the past, but the start of something new, it follows directly from the end of series 2 as well
  • Voyage of the Damned - Season 3 - Again follows directly from the previous TV Story
  • The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time - Season 4.5 - I think because they were all released similarly but seperate from S4, and there’s the running theme (10’s ending) running through them all I like to think of them as a ‘mini season’, a season 4.5
  • A Christmas Carol - Season 5 - Following on from The Big Bang tonally (also iirc Amy and Rory are on their honeymoon in it)
  • Doctor Widow Wardrobe - Season 6 - Honestly this one I could go either way on
  • The Snowmen - Season 7b - Of course it’s season 7, it’s in the middle of it. Sets up the Clara stuff more though so putting it in 7B
  • Day of the Doctor, Time of the Doctor - Season 7.5/7c - Okay yeah, they’re more like the end of 7b, but I think those two are distinct enough from 7b to be their own catagory (like season 4.5)
  • Last Christmas - Season 8 - Wrapping up plot threads from season 8 in a nice little bow
  • Husbands of River Song, Return of Doctor Mysterio - Season 9.5 - No tread tying them together really, but I think they’re thematically distinct from Seasons 9 and 10
  • Twice Upon a Time - Season 10 - Follows directly on from it
  • Resolution - Season 11 - Not much to say
  • Revolution of the Daleks - Season 12 - departure of characters from that season
  • Eve of the Daleks, Legend of the Sea Devils, The Power of the Doctor - Season 13.5 - Flux should be it’s own contained thing, another ‘mini series’ like the 10th doctor’s specials
  • Star Beast, WBY, Giggle - 60th Specials - Self contained ‘mini series’
  • Church on Ruby Road - Series 1 - Setting up 15 as a character and Ruby as a companion
  • Joy to the World - Series 1 - Don’t know enough about series 2 to say yet, but it seems there’s an overarching narrative in it, so think Joy to the World acts as more of a coda to series 1
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Nice to see this topic! I know that the BBC release the DVDS for each series without the Christmas ep, because for money reasons clearly why would they wait MONTHS before releasing a set. Makes more sense financially to do the season, then a Christmas DVD. That being said, I know some DVD’s come with the previous series ep but that’s because of what I said.

I really still can’t believe that I went over a decade NOT knowing people didn’t put them where IMO they always have been!

my 50p on the seasons
  • The Christmas Invasion - S1
  • The Runaway Bride - S2
  • Voyage of the Damned - S3
  • The Next Doctor - S4
  • Planet of the Dead - 2009 Specials
  • The Waters of mars - 2009 Specials
  • The End of Time - 2009 Specials
  • A Christmas Carol - S5
  • The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe - S6
  • The Snowmen - S7
  • Day of The Doctor - 2013 Specials
  • Time of The Doctor - S7 / 2013 Specials
  • Last Christmas - S8
  • The Husbands of River Song - S9
  • The Return of Doctor Mysterio - S9
  • Twice Upon a Time - S10
  • Resolution - S11
  • Revolution of the Daleks - S12
  • Eve of the Daleks - Flux/2022 Specials
  • Legend of the Sea Devils - 2022 Specials
  • The Power of The Doctor - 2022 Specials
  • The Star Beast - 60th/2023 Specials
  • Wild Blue Yonder - 60th/2023 Specials
  • The Giggle - 60th/2023 Specials
  • The Church on Ruby Road - 60th/2023 Specials
  • Joy to the World - S1
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Opinions ahead

The Christmas Invasion

Tricky one because it feels like a natural extension of Series 1, especially with the return of Jackie, Harriet Jones, etc. But typically I view it as the start of Series 2 because it’s Tennant’s debut.

The Runaway Bride

There’s a direct continuation of the Doctor’s grief over Rose, so for me this is the conclusion of Series 2.

Voyage of the Damned

Aside from Tennant’s debut, I find it strange to view a Christmas special as the start of a series… so again this comes at the end of Series 3.

The Next Doctor

Technically this is part of the ‘specials’, I guess? But this one feels a bit like a lone ranger. I view the specials largely as ‘the 2009 specials’ (even though The End of Time spills over), so The Next Doctor is just sort of standing on its own. I like that Series 4 ends with the Doctor alone in the TARDIS.

Planet of the Dead
The Waters of Mars
The End of Time

I don’t really view these as part of Series 4. As I said before, I view them as ‘the 2009 specials’, or just ‘the specials’.

A Christmas Carol

The end of Series 5.

The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe

The end of Series 6.

The Snowmen

It’s slap bang in the middle of Series 7.

The Day of the Doctor
The Time of The Doctor

Like the 2009 specials, I view these as their own distinct thing.

Last Christmas

End of Series 8.

The Husbands of River Song
The Return of Doctor Mysterio

No real opinion, although Husbands without Mysterio feels like the end of Series 9 for some reason. But I don’t care either way.

Twice Upon a Time

Its own distinct thing, or as a coda to Series 10.

Resolution

Whilst this feels more fitting as a Series 11 finale, I view this as its own distinct special.

Revolution of the Daleks
Eve of the Daleks
Legend of the Sea Devils
The Power of the Doctor

Not part of any series. They’re all just distinct specials, the way the 2009 ones were.

The Star Beast
Wild Blue Yonder
The Giggle

Just 3 specials for the 60th anniversary. Self contained mini series. Not attached to a series.

The Church on Ruby Road

Feels like the start of Season 1 for obvious reasons.

Joy to the World

No idea. Probably the end of Season 1.

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I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said Jay, so there’s no need for more from me

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All of them in no season. Simply between the ones they lie between. As they are specials they are by definition not part of any season. They get put with season box sets often just because marketing, and a lot of them have individual release too, so I don’t think how they get boxed for sale can be the determining factor. Treating them all as between seasons (or between halves of a season in one case) is honestly the only fair way. But if I had to choose:

Summary

TCI: 2
TRB: 3
VOTD-TEOT: 4
ACC: 5
TDTWATW: 6
TS-TTOTD: 7
LC: 8
THORS: 9
TRODM-TUAT: 10
R: 11
ROTD: 12
EOTD-TPOTD: 13

And here’s where it gets messy

TSB-TCORR: 14
JTTW: 15

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I consider most of the specials to be a part of whatever season follows them, because I grew up watching them on DVD. It only differs in my mind for the 10th Doctor specials after Journey’s End, and the 60th Anniversary Specials. I see both of those as their own mini-seasons. I see Day of the Doctor as being part of series 7 (even if it’s not on the DVD I have of that season). I asee Time of the Doctor as part of series 7 because that’s when the regeneration occurred, and Twice Upon a Time as part of series 10 because that’s when another regeneration happened. I also never rewatched the Chibnall era specials (or owned it on DVD), so I forget the seasons, so I’m not including those in my list

Summary

The Christmas Invasion - series 2
The Runaway Bride - series 3
Voyage of the Damned - series 4
The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead, The Waters of Mars, The End of Time - mini-season of specials
A Christmas Carol - series 6
The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe - series 7
The Snowmen - series 7
Day of the Doctor - series 7
Time of the Doctor - series 7
Last Christmas - series 9
The Husbands of River Song - series 10
The Return of Doctor Mysterio - series 10
Twice Upon a Time - series 10
The Star Beast, Wild Blue Yonder, The Giggle - 60th anniversary specials
The Church on Ruby Road - series 1 (again)
Joy to the World - series 2 (again)

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Well, I’ve never really thought of them as belonging to a specific series. They used to be produced as part of the next series production blocks, though, which is often why the specials could be seen as the first episode of the next series.

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My thoughts are pretty similar to Jay’s, so I won’t rehash all of that. I tend to also think of any multiple specials as a continuation of the series that precedes them while also being distinctly separate, with the exception of the 60th Anniversary specials being their own self-contained things. My only differing opinion is that I’d consider The Return of Doctor Mysterio as more of Series 10/its own thing.

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I like including Flux, the 2022 specials, the 60th specials and occasionally Church in Series 13, personally. I think it’s funny that it makes a full series out of Series 13. And it makes the most sense. Either that or Power goes in Series 1/14/40, which I do gravitate towards. 60th specials I have to think about as being outside the show. But if I do think about them as existing, I think about them as Series 1 because it ties in so much with that series. Although a part of me does want to split them down the middle, I think those specials should be a whole.

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Personally, I tend to view them as their own thing, but I guess I do usually see them more as an episode 0 than the last episode of a series (10th Doctor and 60th specials excluded). Then again, specials where the Doctor regenerates usually feel more like they belong at the end of a series, because it wraps up the previous Doctor. Basically, it’s complicated.

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As part of the series they are in. Last Christmas is with series 8 so it’s part of series 8, etc. The 60th anniversary specials are their own thing.

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The Christmas Invasion - Series 2
The Runaway Bride - Series 3
Voyage of the Damned - Series 4
The Next Doctor - Series 4
Planet of the Dead - Series 4
The Waters of Mars - Series 4
The End of Time - Series 4
A Christmas Carol - Series 5
The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe - Series 6
The Snowmen - Series 7
The Time of the Doctor - Series 7
Last Christmas - Series 8
The Husbands of River Song - Series 9
The Return of Doctor Mysterio - Series 10
Twice Upon a Time - Series 10
Resolution - Series 11
Revolution of the Daleks - Series 12
Eve of the Daleks - Series 13
Legend of the Sea Devils - Series 13
The Power of the Doctor - Series 13
The Star Beast - No series/60th anniversary mini-season
Wild Blue Yonder - No series/60th anniversary mini season
The Giggle - No series/60th anniversary mini season
The Church on Ruby Road - Season 1/Series 14
Joy to the World - Season 2/Series 15

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Opinion ahead

For me, there is kinda a Structure at Play here, but it can get messy:

Starting with the Christmas Invasion, I usually place it at the Start of Series 2 due it being a Tennant and not an Eccelston Episode, I know S4 and S21 had two Doctors and I do like it. However I think TCI is so rooted in Series 2 and sets the Stage for all of it to follow.

After that, I place each new Special at the Beginning of the Series that follows. One could make an argument that “Runaway Bride” should be at the End of Series 2 due to it being pretty much an Epilogue to ‘Doomsday’. And people have a Point with it, I just like to have the Episode count a bit more in line. So having both TCI and TRB in the same Series would put it at the Count of 15 Episodes rather than 14. So TRB goes to the Beginning of Series 3 and same with Voyage of the Damned for Series 4.

The 09’ Specials I usually group as their own Thing, but if I HAD to place it somewhere it would probably be at Series 4, but again, they are more their own Thing.

The Smith Era is more cohesive in its Placement for me. Christmas Carol goes at the End of Series 5. Widow and the Wardrobe at the End of Series 6. But then we come to a Problem with the Snowmen, which I do place in the Middle of Series 7, since it sets the Stage of all of S7B.

Again same with the 09’ Specials, I typically see Day and Time as their own Thing (with Night on top of it!), but if I HAD to place it, it would be in Series 7. But again they are more their own Thing.

With Twelve’s Series it usually goes by the Rule that most of it is at the End of the Series that just finished. So S8 gets Last Christmas and S9 gets Husband. Both I think work the best thematically speaking in those Series. LC feels like an Epilogue to S8 so it places itself there. And husbands works great for S9 in terms of the pattern that the People loses a loved one. With Mysterio my Rule of a consistent Episode Count gets broken, because I place it at the Beginning of Series 10 with Twice being at the End for being the Farewell for 12. I think Mysterio has much more the Vibes of S10 than S9, so it gets its Place there.

Whittaker’s Seasons are pretty much following the same Rule with one another:
Resolution= at End of Series 11
Revolution= at End of Series 12
Eve-Power= at End of Series 13, but again with those I usually group them as their own Farewell 13 Thing, so it’s more a Thing if I HAD to place it somewhere.

The 60th Specials are very much their own Thing where I simply can’t place them properly, the closet would probably be with Season 1 due it being heavily connected, more than with S13 and/or the Farewell Specials for Whittaker.

And with Ncuti, the Rules get simple again:
Church= S1/S14 (it basically sets the Stage for S1 pretty much)
Joy= S2/S15 (could work as a nice Epilogue to S1 but personally I place it here for similar reasons I had with TRB and VOD

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i think it varies a bunch, depending on the context (both for the special itself and the episodes before/after it).

Lots of Opinions
  • The Christmas Invasion is 100% series 2, given it’s 10’s first full episode and introduces the Torchwood storyline!
  • The Runaway Bride feels like it fits between series. since it’s a (comparatively) lighthearted episode after Doomsday though, i think of it as s3.
  • Voyage of the Damned, again, feels like its own independent thing, but I’d say it’s s4 since it ties into the Doctor needing a mate, technically introduces Wilf, and is pretty important to Turn Left.
  • The Next Doctor through The End of Time are their own category, but they’re way more relevant to s4 than s5.
  • A Christmas Carol isn’t very “finale,” but given s6 opens with a high-stakes two-parter, it feels better to stick it in s5.
  • Similarly, The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe isn’t very connected to the big plotlines of s7, so I think of it as s6.
  • I don’t officially divide Series 7 in my head, so The Snowmen is just in there. I guess it’d be s7b if anything.
  • If Name of the Doctor is s7, it’s only logical the other Specials of The Doctor would be too.
  • Last Christmas is the same case as A Christmas Carol; it’s more of an epilogue to s8’s finale than a prologue to s9’s big opener.
  • The Husbands of River Song is a conclusion to River’s storyline, so it works better as a conclusion to a series than a beginning.
  • No clue about Doctor Mysterio LOL
  • Twice Upon a Time is the last episode for 12 and for Moffat’s run, so it clearly belongs with s10.
  • The NYE specials, plus Sea Devils and Power of The Doctor, fit in as endings to their preceding series (though you could argue the latter specials are their own trilogy separate from s13/Flux).
  • Everything with 14 is a mini-series of its own, doesn’t fit anywhere else.
  • The Church on Ruby Road is the same case as The Christmas Invasion.
  • Joy to The World… feels like it’s still part of Season 1/Series 14, given Robot Revolution is very much a season intro.
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