10 Times Doctor Who Reused Footage And Hoped You Wouldn't Notice

The Power of the Doctor introduced us to the Guardians of the Edge, in a thrilling sequence featuring cameos from five previous Doctors.

This material was no mean feat to put together. It was shot across multiple days due to actor availability, and required significant VFX work to morph the Guardians’ faces into each other, and to create the vistas of the Edge itself.

Memorably, the sequence begins with a shot of the Thirteenth Doctor’s eye studying her new environment (above). War of the Sontarans opened in a very similar way, with an abstract, dream-like sequence, followed by a close-up of the Doctor’s eye as she regains consciousness.

In the case of The Power of the Doctor, it seems this shot was only deemed necessary in the edit, as the one used is in fact an alternate take from War of the Sontarans.

This was noticed by fans, and confirmed on Twitter by Jamie Magnus Stone, who directed both episodes.

Well spotted!

— Jamie Stone (@JamieMagStone) November 1, 2022

The reuse was well disguised, with the shot flipped and coloured differently. But for eagle-eyed fans, Jodie Whittaker’s hair – much wavier than usual, due to the rain that plagued War of the Sontarans’ location work – is a dead giveaway.

An example of footage reuse that is, quite literally, staring you in the face.