Trending as number one on Twitter in the UK and watched around the world, the worldwide #SaveTheDay watch of the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special helped fans feel less isolated while striving to stop the spread of a global pandemic.
On Saturday, March 21, 19:00 GMT, fans around the world offered encouraging words to each other while simultaneously watching The Day of the Doctor in their own homes.
Doctor Who was trending #3 worldwide tonight! 🌍
There were fans from over 30 countries all watching together! Possibly more, but these were the ones I was aware of…
🇬🇧🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇺🇳🇿🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇸🇮🇹🇧🇷🇭🇷🇮🇪🇵🇹🇳🇱🇷🇺🇦🇷🇲🇽🇧🇪🇨🇳🇵🇷🇹🇷🇨🇿🇶🇦🇨🇱🇳🇴🇺🇾🇯🇵🇮🇩🇨🇾🇮🇱🇰🇪🇨🇴🇮🇳🇫🇮🇸🇬🇩🇰🇦🇪 #SaveTheDay pic.twitter.com/frWTw8kNDV
— Emily Cook (@Emily_Rosina) March 21, 2020
The global event was organized by Doctor Who Magazine writer Emily Cook. Steven Moffat, the writer of the episode, eagerly joined in on Twitter and Ingrid Oliver, who starred as Osgood in the special live streamed from Instagram. The producer of the The Day of the Doctor, Brian Minchin also joined in, along with fans all around the world.
After the episode aired, Steven Moffat expressed how much he misses being a part of Doctor Who. Read his tweets while you still can. Moffat created the Twitter account for the duration of the event only.
Miss that show. Miss the madness and the speed and the vitality of it. And I miss you lot. Stay well. Stay home. If you’ve indulged in panic buying take it all to the door of the nearest NHS worker. Save the world. #SaveTheDay
— Steven Moffat (@StevenWMoffat) March 21, 2020
Just finished a live video over on Instagram to discover Osgood is trending. How lovely. I love her. 🤓#SaveTheDay
— Ingrid Oliver (@ingridoliver100) March 21, 2020
Loved that rewatch! Well done @Emily_Rosina for dreaming it up! #SaveTheDay
— brianminchin (@cleothilde13) March 21, 2020
Steven Moffat wrote a hilarious introduction to the special with Dan Starkey (Strax) and Neve McIntosh (Madame Vastra) performing.
Yes! Here it is, courtesy of @StevenWMoffat and with the help of @McIntoshNeve, my esteemed colleague Strax entreats you to #SaveTheDay and join us in our viewing of The Day of The Doctor. Today at 7pm GMT, 3pm EST and all around the world! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ljqFWM6QRE
— Dan Starkey (@StanDarkley) March 21, 2020
Steven Moffat shared some interesting insights into the making of The Day of the Doctor:
A very funny line was cut with the War Doctor yelling to his captors, “You can’t lock me up with those two. I’ll have my head off now!”
Movie posters for the two Peter Cushing movies Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks’ Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. were intended to be posted in the Black Archive but the copyright wouldn’t allow it.
The script had to be rewritten for the TARDIS to revert back to the eleventh Doctor’s because the tenth Doctor’s, housed as an exhibit at the Doctor Who Experience, was only available for half a day.
The War Doctor’s “Which one is mine?” line when headed for his TARDIS in the undergallery was improvised by John Hurt.
The war Doctor’s regeneration scene was a last-minute addition when “fanboy completist” Steven Moffat decided to write the Eighth Doctor’s regeneration scene in Night of the Doctor.
The Curator’s “Congratulations.” and the eleventh Doctor’s “Thank you very much.” were improvised during the take and left in because they were “delightful”, even though Steven Moffat acknowledges the dialogue “makes no sense.”
The simultaneous viewing and communal sharing with the #SaveTheDay hashtag was a welcome respite from the anxiety and isolation felt by fans who are experiencing various levels of social distancing required to stop the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 virus and fans expressed much gratitude.