Review: The Day of the Doctor
After months of anticipation and countless promotional trailers and mini-episodes, Saturday night saw the first airing of ‘Day of the Doctor’ – the episode celebrating the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. But did it live up to the stratospheric expectations?
– SPOILER ALERT –
Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary episode special was an emotionally risky project.
It had an impossible legacy to live up to, was dealing with an unprecedented national and global hype and still had to ensure that a hugely dedicated fan base was left satisfied at the end.
Put simply, it had the frightening potential to be a huge disappointment.
We needn’t have worried.
The show’s cast was fantastic, with returns from Tenth Doctor David Tennant and popular companion Billie Piper always set to be a success story. Meanwhile, cameos from the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, and the upcoming Twelfth (or Thirteenth?) incarnation Peter Capaldi helped to incite high-pitched screams of joy from living rooms and cinema screens across the country.
At first glance, the plot was admittedly a bit convoluted.
The Moment – the weapon supposedly used by the War Doctor (John Hurt) to destroy the Gallifreyans and Daleks, in a regeneration he has since tried to repress – opened a rip in time in order to unite him with his tenth and eleventh incarnations. This tear in the fabric of time served the purpose of showing him how much he would regret his tragic decision. The Moment’s interface manifested itself as Rose Tyler/Bad Wolf, but it is best not to dwell overly on that fact – Rose is situated further along in the Doctor’s life and therefore is of precisely no significance to the War Doctor.
The show’s cast was fantastic, with returns from Tenth Doctor David Tennant and popular companion Billie Piper always set to be a success story
From there it only gets weirder, and unfortunately more plagued by plot devices and holes. It’s not clear where the event fits into the context of The Name of the Doctor’s cliff-hanger, or the timeline of the Tenth Doctor (or, indeed, his finale, which also visited the last days of the Time War and a different attempt of the Time Lords to escape it).
The fiftieth anniversary dealt with the most terrible aspect of the Doctor’s past – his double genocide of the Gallifreyans and Daleks, giving the episode an undeniable weight. All that followed was as touching as it was dramatic, and yet happened without undermining the pain of ‘the man who regrets and the man who forgets’ – the Doctor still believed he had made the wrong decision, thus enabling him to reconsider his choice and make a better one next time round (in a timey-wimey sort of way).
Listing all the continuity issues would probably take a Timelord’s lifetime or thereabouts. But honestly, it is not important at all. There are countless aspects of the special to keep you well distracted and entertained.
Let us not forget – there were three Doctors in one episode. Three! The on-screen dynamic between them was stunning, with the interactions between current Doctor Matt Smith and Tennant brilliantly embodying a form of brotherly competition. Hurt’s grandfatherly demeanour provided a perfect counterbalance to the chirpier incarnations and a welcome throwback to the classic Doctors of old.
‘It’s a timey wimey thing.’
‘Timey wimey?’
‘I have no idea where he picks that stuff up’.
At the same time, the conflicting aspects of the Doctor’s personality and history were not undermined and came forth in the form of some of the best one-liners the programme has produced.
The description of Ten and Eleven respectively as ‘the man who regrets and the man who forgets’ provides a notable example, and I can still hear the dark yet humble utterings of the War Doctor to Piper’s character. ‘Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame’.
Perhaps what the episode did best was to provide knowing glances back to the half-century long history of the programme
The jokes and gags were likewise a highlight of the show, keeping the undeniable darkness of the plot from becoming overwhelming. Much of the humour came from the relationship and dialogue between the three Doctors, but others got in on the act. Try this one on your housemates and you’ll be able to tell immediately how many Whovians you live with: ‘How many Doctors does it take to open a door? None – the companion does it’.
Perhaps what the episode did best was to provide knowing glances back to the half-century long history of the programme. Although some have argued that there was a lack of previous Doctors (Christopher Ecclestone’s ninth incarnation was notably lacking) and their companions, the episode still offered a great many references for the hardened fan to enjoy. The first scene takes place at Cole Hill School, where Clara teaches – the location for the very first episode of Doctor Who, the story of ‘The Unearthly Child‘.
In short, ‘The Day of the Doctor’ was a funny, feel-good piece of television history. It had some nice throwbacks to classic Who, whilst also looking ahead to a promising future and remaining true to the spirit of the show: ‘never give up, never give in’.
The final shot – the line up of Doctors looking towards Gallifrey – is a pleasantly optimistic end to what has been at times a dark fifty years. Here’s to another half-century!
Comments