The Light at the End ( audio story ) The Light at the End was Big Finish Productions ' " Doctor Who " fiftieth anniversary special story . It was notable for being the audio story with the most Doctors to date — all eight for which the company had a license in 2013 . The only previous stories to feature all of the first eight Doctors were the EDA novel " The Eight Doctors " , the DWM comic " Happy Deathday " and the short stories " The Glass Princess " and " Categorical Imperative " . It was selected as the best Big Finish audio release of 2013 by readers of " Doctor Who Magazine " , with the results of the poll published in DWM 479 . Publisher ' s summary . November 23rd 1963 proves to be a significant day in the lives of all eight Doctors . . . It ' s the day that Bob Dovie ' s life is ripped apart . . . It ' s also a day that sets in motion a catastrophic chain of events which forces the first eight incarnations of the Doctor to fight for their very existence . As a mysterious , insidious chaos unfolds within the TARDIS , the barriers of time break apart . . . From suburban England through war - torn alien landscapes and into a deadly , artificial dimension , all these Doctors and their companion s must struggle against the power of an unfathomable , alien technology . From the very beginning , it is clear that is somehow involved . By the end , for the Doctors , there may only be darkness . Plot . Part one . On 23 November , 1962 , Bob Dovie is at his home at 59A Barnsfield Crescent in Totton , Hampshire with his two children , Kevin and Linda . While the two kids are playing , the radio Bob has been listening to goes out for a few seconds . During that period , Kevin claims to see a police box ; Bob doesn ' t see anything , though . The police box appears again , crashing into the Dovies ' garden shed , and their chimney . Kevin asks if Father Christmas has come , to which a stunned Bob can only point out that it ' s too early for him to be here . The leader of the Vess is talking to ; the Master is being given one of the weapons created by the Vess . The leader is intrigued by the choice the Master has made . He asks if the weapon pleases the Master , who admits to such . With just a stray thought , he will be able to take his revenge on the Doctor . Meanwhile , the Eighth Doctor is making adjustments to his TARDIS , while Charley is enjoying the arboretum . She returns to the console room just as the Doctor finishes his adjustments . While the two are talking , the TARDIS goes haywire , and is suddenly on the verge of destroying itself . A few seconds later , everything returns to normal , except a flashing , red light appears on the console , one that hadn ' t been there before . Checking everything , the Doctor discovers the light appeared when the TARDIS passed through a specific place and time : 17 : 03 on November 23 , 1963 , at 59A , Barnsfield Crescent in Totton , Hampshire . The Doctor decides to investigate , and sets the TARDIS to land there . The TARDIS materialises instead on a strange planet . While trying to figure it out , the Doctor and Charley are interrupted by a large machine near them . The machine separates the two from each other and from the TARDIS . The Doctor tells Charley to run , and they would meet up later . Charley ends up locating the TARDIS ; she uses her key to enter it . To her dismay , the Doctor still hasn ' t arrived . Suddenly , the doors begin to open and close of their own accord . Meanwhile , the Doctor tries using his sonic screwdriver to locate his ship , but instead ends up passing through a forcefield and into a viewing gallery in the Vess weapons factory . There , he meets a visiting alien who has been complaining about the pathetic demonstrations that the Vess are using to show off the effectiveness of their weapons . The strange planet that the TARDIS has landed on is a simulation . The alien leaves , leaving the Doctor confused about who the Vess are . Back in the TARDIS , Charley is trying to find the door controls , when the doors finally shut and stay shut . At that moment , ghost - like images start appearing and disappearing , images of the previous Doctors and their companion s . All of them notice Charley in those few seconds that she can see them . She tries to talk to them , but can ' t get anywhere . Suddenly , space warps around Charley , and she finds herself in a different TARDIS control room , along with the Fourth Doctor and Leela . She has somehow been transported to the Fourth Doctor ' s TARDIS . The Eighth Doctor has finally managed to use his sonic screwdriver to hack into the reality orientation controls . He starts adjusting the viewscreen to try to locate the TARDIS . Though he succeeds in doing so , he does not realise that he ' s in fact looking at not at " his " TARDIS , but at that of his fourth incarnation . One of the Vess security drones informs the Eighth Doctor that , while the planet is fake , the creatures are real , as the Vess believe that using their weapons on living beings is the only way to prove the effectiveness of their weapons . The Fourth Doctor explains regeneration to both Leela and Charley , getting Charley to realise that this man is a past version of the Doctor she knew . The Fourth Doctor points out that the red flashing light on the TARDIS console is now brighter than before . The Fourth Doctor and Leela had headed for the same time and space coordinates the Eighth Doctor had aimed for and ended in the same place . He decides to go out and explore , but Charley filled them in on what she and the Eighth Doctor had seen . The Fourth Doctor activates the scanner , confirming what Charley said . The Doctor then moves to dematerialise the TARDIS , despite Charley ' s protests , when the TARDIS goes haywire . The Fourth Doctor was only planning to move a short distance away , but now realises that time is folding in on itself . The images of the other Doctors and their companions briefly appear again , along with a man saying , " This is impossible . " The Eighth Doctor notices the TARDIS is now in the same room as him . The drone from before points out that the TARDIS has been there for some time . Charley , the Fourth Doctor , and Leela step out and inform the Eighth Doctor about what they discovered . The two Doctors decide to contact the Time Lord s . Before they can enter the TARDIS , the Vess security drone covers it with slime , proclaiming the TARDIS will be impounded . The two Doctors and their companions have also been identified as intruders . The Vess decides to capture the four , but only succeeds in capturing Charley . The Eighth Doctor tries to free her , but is unable to do so . He then detects the presence of another TARDIS . With the Vess closing in on them , the two Doctors and Leela are forced to abandon Charley and find the other TARDIS . Meanwhile , the Sixth Doctor and Peri are going through the same events the other two Doctors have gone through . The Sixth Doctor notes the coordinates that came with the red light , but decides not to go there , seeing it as a trap . He then notices there is a large energy source with incredible power at the mysterious coordinates , and that it ' s drawing energy from another place in time and space . The TARDIS then accidentally flies into the energy stream , getting pulled to where the power is being drawn from : the Big Bang . The Vess facility has gone into a security lockdown , but the two Doctors are still able to proceed , thanks to their sonic screwdrivers . They end up at another viewing gallery , filled with visiting aliens . They watched as the Vess demonstrate one of their weapons on living beings . The three are unaware that they are being watched by the Master . The Master turns his attention to the security drones that have brought Charley to him . He introduces himself to Charley and proclaims that soon , she will have never heard of the Doctor . A few seconds later , she disappears . The two Doctors and Leela find themselves in a military museum , along with the mysterious TARDIS in the form of a Vess military tank . The security drones enter the museum and Leela tries to fight them off with a crossbow she picked up . The two Doctors touch their sonic screwdrivers together , releasing enough temporal energy to force the TARDIS doors open . The Master watches all this happen , complimenting the two Doctors on gaining entry to his TARDIS . However , he knows it will make no difference , and that nothing the Doctors could do would make a difference . Time is already running out for them . The trio quickly get inside the Master ' s TARDIS and close the doors . They are only able to relax for a few moments , because a few seconds later , Leela vanishes . The scanner activates , showing the Master . He refuses to tell them what has happened to Leela and Charley , stating the same will happen to all the others as well . The Fourth Doctor shuts off the scanner , proclaiming that the Master is just trying to distract them from the fact they can summon one of their TARDISes using the Emergency Homing Beacon . The Fourth Doctor summons his TARDIS to them and they watch as the security slime falls off . The two then enter the TARDIS . Inside , they try to dematerialise , but something goes wrong . The Fourth Doctor notices that the Vess facility is located in a pocket dimension , one that can only be accessed by going to the specific space - time coordinates that the two Doctors had gone to , and now they are trapped inside the pocket dimension . The Eighth Doctor tries to give them the power to break through , but it fails . Space warps around them again , and the two Doctors find themselves in the Eighth Doctor ' s TARDIS . The ghost - like images appear once again , with the Eighth Doctor taking notice of his immediate predecessor , who asks him if he knows anything about the power source of the pocket dimension before disappearing . He then sees the Sixth Doctor and Peri heading for the Big Bang , followed by the appearance of the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa , talking about November 23 , 1963 . The images disappear again , but the red light is still flashing . The two hear a strange noise , prompting the Eighth Doctor to check the console . He discovers the TARDIS is destroying herself inch by inch , second by second , but in no particular temporal order . The power goes out , trapping the two Doctors inside the TARDIS . The only thing left on is the mysterious , flashing , red light , the light at the end of the TARDIS . The image of the mysterious man saying , " This is impossible , " appears again . A few seconds later , the TARDIS explodes , taking the Fourth and Eighth Doctors with it . Meanwhile , the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa go through the same experiences that the other Doctors went through . The Doctor takes note of the coordinates and decided to investigate . However , he takes a precaution . He sets the TARDIS to land at 17 : 02 , one minute early . The two emerge from the TARDIS to find they have materialised inside a garden shed . They head back into the TARDIS to wait out the remaining seconds until 17 : 03 . Once the time comes , nothing happens , except that the red light has vanished and there is no sign that there had ever been one . However , something strange has come up . The TARDIS has detected the energy of another TARDIS . The Seventh Doctor and Ace have arrived in the pocket dimension , having gone through the same experiences as the other Doctors and deciding to go directly to the coordinates . The Doctor is wondering where the pocket dimension was getting the power to sustain it when the ghost - like images of the other Doctors appear , including one of the Fourth and Eighth Doctors trapped in the Eighth Doctor ' s TARDIS . The Seventh Doctor tries to ask his future self about the power source of the pocket dimension , but the images vanish , leaving the Doctor to explain to Ace about regeneration . The two decide to go out and investigate the pocket dimension . The Fifth Doctor and Nyssa exit their TARDIS , only to realise that in a very short amount of time , it has suddenly become nighttime . The Doctor activates the scanner he has brought with him , and notices that some kind of temporal folding was occurring , and that it may be being caused by the other TARDIS . As they try to locate the mystery TARDIS , they are spotted by Bob Dovie , who mistakes them for the police . His wife and children have gone missing . Noticing that Bob takes no notice to their strange clothes , the Doctor and Nyssa decide to look into it . Bob gets tea for the two , who ask him about what has happened . Bob is oddly distracted throughout the conversation , unable to focus properly . Bob seems to recognise the Fifth Doctor from somewhere before , and then remembers that when his wife and kids vanished , someone was at the door . The Doctor then sends Bob to get some biscuits , so he can point out to Nyssa that the phone is disconnected . When Bob comes back , the Doctor has him call his friends to see if they have seen his wife and kids . Bob does so , apparently having a conversation with said friends . This is impossible , meaning that someone has tampered with Bob ' s mind . Bob goes into the children ' s room , where he starts up a music box , once more in a distracted state . He is surprised when the Doctor and Nyssa enter the room , having forgotten about them . The two bring up the man who was at Bob ' s door when his family disappeared , and Bob is able to recall that the man had a burned appearance . The Seventh Doctor and Ace are investigating the area their TARDIS has landed in , but wherever it is , it ' s pitch dark . The two end up at a wall , and decide to head in another direction . The two start hearing strange noises . They end up at another wall . The strange noises persist , so the two decide to head back to the TARDIS . They notice that something that looks like a wall of mud filled with junk and corpses is moving , and it is heading for them . Nyssa takes a look inside the dollhouse and finds the corpses of Bob ' s family . A Tissue Compression Eliminator had been used on them , meaning that the Master is the culprit and the other TARDIS is his , but that it is the Master as he was before he took the body of Tremas , meaning he crossed his own timeline . On Dovie ' s television , the Master ' s face appears . The Doctor confronts him on why he has crossed his own timeline , but the Master proclaims that his timeline in regard to the Doctor ' s doesn ' t have any significance anymore . Bob confronts the Doctor , having overheard the truth that his family was killed . The Doctor promises to get the man responsible , and both he and Nyssa rush out of the house in time to see the Master ' s TARDIS dematerialise . They try to go back to their TARDIS , but Bob is in their way again , somehow recognising the TARDIS and the Fifth Doctor , but not being able to properly remember . They decide to take him into the TARDIS with them . Once inside , Bob is shocked at what he sees and only has one thing to say , " This is impossible . " The TARDIS explodes , taking the Fifth Doctor , Nyssa , and Bob with it . Part two . The Sixth Doctor manages to put the TARDIS in reverse , sending it in the opposite direction in the energy stream . This makes it land at the coordinates which came with the red light . The Doctor realises they are now trapped . Meanwhile , the Seventh Doctor and Ace have temporarily outrun the mud , only to find that more is approaching . The mud walls are living creatures with telepathic abilities and they try to use those abilities to stop the Doctor and Ace from escaping . The Doctor manages to get Ace to focus and throw her Nitro - 9 at the mud creatures . However , it ' s too late for the TARDIS , as the mud creatures have consumed it . The Sixth Doctor activates the scanner to look outside and notices a force field break open . He and Peri watch as the Seventh Doctor and Ace come out of the opening . The two notice the Sixth Doctor ' s TARDIS and head for it , using their key to enter . Ace notices the red light on the TARDIS console , and both groups realise they have gone through the same strange events . The TARDIS doors start opening and closing . The Sixth Doctor tries to figure out what ' s wrong , while the Seventh Doctor notices that it is being caused by the TARDIS Emergency Systems : the TARDIS is trying to tell them something . The doors finally stay shut . The ghost - like images appear again , including the Fourth and Eighth Doctor ' s conversation in the Eighth Doctor ' s TARDIS and the subsequent explosion . Ace is confused how the Sixth and Seventh Doctors could be there if the Fourth Doctor had already died , but the Sixth Doctor points out that the destruction is happening in no particular temporal order , and the Seventh Doctor points out that whatever is happening is contained within the TARDIS . The four decide to go investigate the Vess facility . Meanwhile , in the First Doctor ' s TARDIS , the First Doctor , along with the Second Doctor , and the Third Doctor , are doing everything in their power to give their other selves as much time as possible . The two Doctors , Peri , and Ace enter the facility and find two glass elevators . They decide to split up , but can ' t decide who will go up and who will go down . Ace makes the decision , resulting in her and the Seventh Doctor heading down . The Sixth Doctor and Peri prepare to head up , but just as the doors start to close , the Doctor spots the first three Doctors . He tries to get back out of the elevator , but the doors close completely . He watches as his first three selves disappear , and wonders what they are up to . The Seventh Doctor and Ace exit their elevator only to find themselves amongst delegations from other worlds . A Vess drone gives them a device that produces a four - dimensional projection that welcomes them to the facility . The Sixth Doctor and Peri exit their elevator , only to run into a couple of Time Lords . The Time Lords recognise the Doctor and capture both him and Peri . The Seventh Doctor and Ace notice that they have been spotted , for the security cameras are focused solely on them . The person watching them is the Master , who sends security drones after them . The Time Lords take the Sixth Doctor and Peri into a room in a room in which they have disrupted the cameras so that they can ' t be watched . The Seventh Doctor and Ace notice the security drones coming for them , and their route back to the TARDIS is blocked . They run for an unguarded door . The Master notices that some of the cameras have been disrupted in the corridors leading to where the Time Lord delegation is staying . He wonders what they are up to . The Sixth Doctor confronts the two Time Lords about why they are in a weapons factory , when the Time Lords are supposed to be a peaceful , non - interfering race . One of the Time Lords introduces himself as Straxus and that he is working for the Celestial Intervention Agency . The Doctor points out that they were expecting him , so he demands to know how many other Doctors they have captured . The answer is zero . Straxus has only been able to spot other Doctors . The Doctor then asked why all of his selves are here . The Seventh Doctor and Ace end up in the room where the Master is . Since they have found their way to him , the Master calls off the security drones . The Doctor confronts the Master about what he ' s up to , but the Master calmly points out that time is running out for the Doctor . A few seconds later , Ace vanishes . The Master laughs , proclaiming that it was the last time Ace will ever see the Doctor , and soon , she will have never known the Doctor at all . The Master tells the Doctor to head back to the TARDIS , to see that his time is running out . The Sixth Doctor accuses the Time Lords of what has been happening . Straxus reveals that the one responsible is the Master . Right after that , Peri vanishes . Straxus says that Peri ' s disappearance was also caused by the Master . Straxus is hesitant to explain what is going on , and the Doctor realises that the presence of Time Lords here is being kept secret from the High Council . The Celestial Intervention Agency was worried about the possible threats that the universe could bring down on the Time Lords , so they aimed to obtain some of the worst weapons available in order to protect the Time Lords and the entirety of space and time . They learned of the Vess , and sent a delegation . The Master somehow found out that they were there and made a deal with the delegation . If they would allow him to take only one weapon from the Vess , he wouldn ' t reveal their presence here to the High Council . However , they don ' t know what weapon he chose . The Seventh Doctor reaches the Sixth Doctor ' s TARDIS , and tries to find a way to reach Gallifrey . However , the images appear again , while the doors open and close . He then watches what happened to the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa . Straxus admits to knowing that the Master planned to use his weapon against the Doctor . The Sixth Doctor is disgusted at them , accusing them of being glad that the Master wanted to kill him , Straxus admits that they believed the sacrifice of the Doctor was worth insuring that their operation was a success . However , they weren ' t expecting the Master to do something that was causing time to fold in on the Doctor , erasing him from the timeline , which is why Peri and the other companions have all vanished . They never met the Doctor , so they couldn ' t have been in the pocket dimension at all . Straxus then reveals that his covert operatives on Gallifrey had informed him that history is shifting . The timeline is becoming as though the Doctor never left Gallifrey . Everything he has done since he went rogue , was being undone . The Seventh Doctor is now beginning to understand . The images of the first three Doctors appear , as they began to explain to him what was going on . The red light was the explosion , reduced to the single moment when it happened . The first three Doctors have used the TARDIS Emergency Systems to achieve this , and they also used it as a warning so that the Doctors would not go to those coordinates . They didn ' t have enough power to send a clearer message , the result having the opposite effect , drawing all the Doctors to those coordinates . The Sixth Doctor expresses his disgust at Straxus for what he has done , but decides that there is no point in standing around and being indignant and disapproving . He needs to find a way to put everything right again . The weapon that the Master used needs to be found out , if any hope of countering it is to be discovered . The Doctor knows he would need the help of his other selves , so he sets out for the Time Lord delegation ' s TARDIS , planning to expand the dimensional stabilisation field of that TARDIS to encompass the entire pocket dimension , thus allowing all the Doctors to materialise at the same point in time . The Seventh Doctor realises that the ghost - like images and the doors opening and closing were the TARDIS trying to warn him of the danger . For some reason , time is folding in on the TARDIS , destroying it second by second , wiping it from the timelines . But , the first three Doctors have been constantly shifting that destruction randomly through time , to buy more time . The four Doctors then notice the dimensional stabilisation field . The Sixth Doctor ' s efforts are successful . However , there is some slight phasing at the edge of the field , meaning the first three Doctors will not fully materialise . However , the Fourth through Eighth Doctors will successfully materialise in the Sixth Doctor ' s TARDIS . The Doctor departs to go meet up with his other selves . In the TARDIS , the Fourth , Fifth , and Eighth Doctors appear , having each come directly from the explosions they were caught in . The First , Second , and Third Doctors also appear , but with ghost - like appearances . The Seventh Doctor welcomes them all to the TARDIS , and the Sixth Doctor joins them a few moments later , proclaiming that it is time for them to fight back . The Master manages to restore the cameras and starts to watch the footage of the Time Lord delegation with the Sixth Doctor and Peri . However , an alert comes to him from his TARDIS , thus forcing the Master to go find out what it ' s about . He has the security drones with him also come . The eight Doctors make telepathic contact with each other and share their experiences . They note that due to the size of the pocket dimension , they will be able to maintain telepathic contact with each other . They come up with a plan . The Master has arrived in his TARDIS and discovers the dimensional stabilisation field . He deduce s it ' s being produced from Straxus ' TARDIS and that it would allow the eight Doctors to materialise in the pocket dimension . He orders the drones to assassinate the Time Lord delegation , but the Fourth and Eighth Doctors have arrived , using the same sonic screwdriver trick to open the door . The Master has the two Doctors restrained and wonders why they have come here . He also wonders where the other Doctors are . The other Doctors are still in the TARDIS . They are planning to try to break out of the pocket dimension . The First Doctor reminds them time is collapsing in the TARDIS at an accelerating rate . The first three Doctors will do their best to repair the TARDIS Emergency Systems . The Fifth , Sixth , and Seventh Doctors begin their attempt . The Master realises the Fourth and Eighth Doctors have come here to distract him and turns his attention back to the other Doctors in time to see the TARDIS dematerialise . He sends an energy pulse into the Vortex , aimed for the Doctor ' s TARDIS . The pulse strikes the TARDIS , sending it into the energy stream on a direct course for the Big Bang . The Sixth Doctor has already been in this situation before , and he repeats what he did . The Fifth Doctor is suddenly struck by inspiration and shares it with the other Doctors . The Fourth and Eighth Doctors learn the plan , but the Fourth ' s sudden exclamation on its brilliance attracts the attention of the Master . Feeding the Master ' s ego , the Fourth and Eighth Doctors do what they really came to do , trick the Master into revealing the weapon he used . He had used a Conceptual bomb to take the thought Bob Dovie had when he first entered the Fifth Doctor ' s TARDIS , and make it a reality , the thought being on how impossible the TARDIS was . The result was the TARDIS being erased from existence , which means it wasn ' t there when the Doctor decided to leave Gallifrey . No TARDIS meant no departure . The Doctor never left Gallifrey . The Fourth and Eighth Doctors mentally send the conversation to their other selves . The other Doctors set the TARDIS to land at 59A , Barnsfield Crescent on November 23 , 1962 , resulting in them first crashing into the garden shed , and then into the chimney . The first three Doctors contact the Fifth , Sixth , and Seventh Doctors . The First Doctor was the first one to hear the emergency signal from the TARDIS , because his TARDIS was already in 1963 when the explosion occurred . But , it was the TARDIS Emergency Systems that drew the other Doctors in , allowing the Master to plant the bomb . If the first three Doctors could shut off the Emergency Systems , then the Doctors would never have been drawn there . But , before they can do so , the destruction of the TARDIS catches up with them , destroying the First Doctor ' s TARDIS and killing the First , Second , and Third Doctors . The Fifth Doctor decides that he should be the one to carry out the plan , as he was the one who first brought Bob Dovie into the TARDIS . He steps outside the TARDIS and talked with Bob , convincing him to come up to the roof . Back inside , the Sixth and Seventh Doctors leave the control room . Bob steps into the TARDIS and can ' t believe his eyes , proclaiming the TARDIS to be impossible . This is what the Fifth Doctor intended , so that when Bob steps into the TARDIS the next year , he won ' t find it so impossible . The plan succeeds and the Conceptual bomb never went off , restoring all the Doctors , their companions , and their TARDISes . The Master is enraged , and orders the drones to kill the Fourth and Eighth Doctors , but the drones disappear . Since the bomb never went off , all the events that occurred afterward never happened , so the drones were never there . This means that the Fourth and Eighth Doctors were never in the Master ' s TARDIS either . The Master then discovers that all eight TARDISes are aimed for the exact place in time and space that his TARDIS is . The Doctors are planning to Time ram him , and there is nothing he could do to escape . The eight Doctors discuss whether they should really time ram the Master , when the First Doctor brings up that the Fifth Doctor ' s part only fixed half the problem . As long as all the Doctors were drawn to November 23 , 1963 by the TARDIS Emergency Systems that was activated on the First Doctor ' s TARDIS , the Master will be able to plant the bomb . All the First Doctor has to do is switch the system off , and he does so . Each Doctor finds himself back in his TARDIS with his companion s , with no memory of what had happened . The Eighth Doctor finds himself setting course for the 23rd of November 1963 at 59A Barnsfield Crescent . He and Charley go and knock on the door of Bob Dovie ' s house . Bob is irritated by their presence , as he has already been visited by the other seven Doctors and their companions , all of whom had asked if everything was okay , and none of them could explain why they had done so . The same is true for the Eighth Doctor . Bob is also still cross about the Fifth Doctor ' s crash - landing into his chimney the year before . After getting the door slammed in their face , the Eighth Doctor and Charley depart , heading off for their next adventure , just as the other seven Doctors had done .