"Music of the Spheres" was filmed for the 2008 Doctor Who Prom in July 2008, and the animated six-episode serial Dreamland was produced for the BBC's Red Button service, which was released over six consecutive days in November 2009.

The specials included appearances of one-off companions, portrayed by David Morrissey, Velile Tshabalala, Michelle Ryan, Lindsay Duncan and Bernard Cribbins, as well as featuring cast from previous seasons, including Catherine Tate, Billie Piper, Freema Agyeman, Noel Clarke, John Barrowman, Elisabeth Sladen and John Simm.

"Music of the Spheres" was filmed for the 2008 Doctor Who Prom,[4] and the animated six-episode serial Dreamland was produced for the BBC's Red Button service.

[8] "Planet of the Dead" featured former EastEnders actress Michelle Ryan as a young thrill-seeking burglar, Lady Christina de Souza.

[12] Other companions appear briefly during the Tenth Doctor's "farewell tour": Catherine Tate as Donna Noble, Billie Piper as Rose Tyler, Camille Coduri as Jackie Tyler,[13] Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones,[14] Noel Clarke as Mickey Smith, John Barrowman as Captain Jack Harkness,[15] Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith,[16] and Jessica Hynes as Verity Newman, whose grandmother, Joan Redfern, fell in love with the human John Smith in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood".

[18] Thomas Knight reprises his role as Sarah Jane's son Luke Smith, and Russell Tovey returns as Alonso Frame, having previously appeared in "Voyage of the Damned".

A number of other notable actors appear in the specials, including Dervla Kirwan in "The Next Doctor"; Lee Evans, Noma Dumezweni and future Academy Award winner Daniel Kaluuya in "Planet of the Dead"; Peter O'Brien, Gemma Chan, Joplin Sibtain, and Sharon Duncan-Brewster in "The Waters of Mars"; and Claire Bloom, David Harewood, June Whitfield, Karl Collins, the voice of Brian Cox, and Timothy Dalton as Rassilon in "The End of Time."

[21] "I would have thought that when I handed in the last script I might have burst into tears or got drunk or partied with 20 naked men, but when these great moments happen you find that real life just carries on.

[28] Due to the sheer scale of the story, however, it was decided that both instalments needed the same title, differentiated by part numbers,[28] the first such instance since Survival.

[28] Davies's script for the second episode finished with the Tenth Doctor's final line, "I don't want to go", followed by action text describing the regeneration and ending with the words, "And there he is.

[79] The episode had an Appreciation Index figure of 86 (considered Excellent), making it the second most-enjoyed programme on mainstream television on Christmas Day.

Simon Brew of science fiction blog Den of Geek said the episode was "by turns ambitious and predictable" but "still quite entertaining".

[73] More accurate, consolidated statistics from the BARB state that official ratings ended up at 10.32 million viewers for the UK premiere and that "The Waters of Mars" was the fifth most watched programme of the week.

Sam Wollaston of The Guardian complimented the episode for showing "a side to the Doctor ... that we haven't really seen before – indecisive, confused, at times simply plain wrong" and Tennant's tenure of the part overall as bringing "humanity and humour to the part"[86] Though Robert Colvile of The Daily Telegraph criticised "the glaring inconsistencies", he complimented the scenario for "allow[ing] us to watch Tennant wrestle with his conscience and curiosity ... [in what] was a logical progression for the character".

[87] Overnight ratings placed Part One of "The End of Time" as the third most-watched programme of Christmas Day,[76] and an appreciation index score of 87, considered 'Excellent'.

[85] Overnight ratings placed Part Two as the second most-watched programme of New Year's Day, behind EastEnders, with a provisional viewing figure of 10.4 million viewers.

[88] Official BARB ratings placed Part Two as the second most watched programme of the week behind EastEnders at 11.79 million viewers.

[90] Andrew Pettie of The Daily Telegraph commented on Cribbins' performance, and states that he cut a King Lear like figure and notes that the Master's plan was evil even by his standards.