At 5:16pm on Saturday the 23rd of November 1963, 4.4 million viewers turned on their televisions to watch a new science fiction programme about a curious old man who lived in a time travelling police box. No one would have believed the legacy that was about to be born... 50 years (and a couple of hours) later, the 799th episode of Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor, was broadcast simultaneously across the globe, hitting screens in homes and cinemas in 94 countries to celebrate one of the longest running science fiction franchises in television history. And, as it so happens, one of my favourite science fiction franchises in television history. The amount of hype and anticipation that had been drummed up about this event was outstanding.
And so, just before 7:50pm on the 23rd of November 2013, I took my seat in the auditorium - surrounded by so many Doctors that I feared a rupture in space-time would open up and consume the cinema - and I donned a pair of ridiculous 3D glasses. The Moment had finally come. The Day of the Doctor was upon us.
Starring current Doctor, Matt Smith, previous Doctor, David Tennant, and hitherto unknown Doctor, John Hurt, the 50th Anniversary Special episode set out to mark this momentous occasion with something to remember. Did it feel like a fitting tribute to 50 years of Doctor Who? To be honest, I felt that An Adventure in Space and Time (a dramatisation about the inception of Doctor Who, written by Mark Gatiss, starring Jessica Raine as Verity Lambert and David Bradley as William Hartnell) was a far more fitting tribute to the show’s history, but that’s not to say that The Day of the Doctor wasn’t spectacular in its own right. The interplay between the three Doctors was fantastic, as the three actors play off of each other’s performances perfectly, and I was thrilled to finally glimpse a part of the Time War (although I’d love to see more. In fact, I’d love to see a series with John Hurt as the Doctor, whether it’s set in the Time War or not). And there was one particular moment - oh, one shining, brilliant moment - that sent a frisson running through my two hearts, but I’ll come back to that one later...
There are two stories at work throughout The Day of the Doctor: the Doctor and the Time War, and the Zygon foothold on Earth. First and foremost is the story of the Doctor who fought in the Time War, the man who was there at the fall of Arcadia and left burdened with a terrible decision, who is now brought forward in time to meet his future selves and see the man he will become. In possession of the Moment (it's interface played by the brilliant Billie Piper, although it would've been good to see more of her as Rose Tyler interacting with David Tennant's Doctor), the Doctor is prepared to take the fate of Gallifrey and the Daleks into his own hands and end the war that almost destroyed the Universe. This is the Doctor's biggest regret. Seeing John Hurt as the weary War Doctor, a good man at heart but carrying out a necessary evil, was fantastic. When Hurt was revealed as the Doctor at the end of The Name of the Doctor, I was bloody excited - doubly so that his Doctor (the ninth incarnation) was to be the focal point of the 50th Anniversary - and he delivered the role perfectly. He was as excitable and eccentric as his predecessors and successors, but with the gravitas of a man burdened with the destruction of his people, and his bemusement when dealing with his future selves was an absolute joy (“Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that? They're scientific instruments not water pistols.” … “They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet?”).
In addition to this, the other two Doctors (Tennant and Smith) were wonderful as ever. Their initial double-act - turned triple-act - was truly one of the highlights of the episode/film, as they play off of each other's energy, quirks, differences and similarities extraordinarily. Their ability to collectively go from eccentric and entertaining to dark and brooding was fantastic, and no moment demonstrated this as perfectly as the climax, as the three solemnly gather to use the Moment to end Dalek and Time Lord alike, and then snap into jubilation as they reach an alternative conclusion. This conclusion essentially saves Gallifrey (a point I'll revisit in a moment), hiding it and Time Lord society away in a pocket universe, and strongly hints that the Doctor will be returning home soon... I can't think of a more fitting way to conclude the 50th Anniversary episode!
The Zygon storyline, on the other hand, sadly didn't work quite as well. Mostly, it felt like filler in between scenes with the three Doctors, and although it progressed things with the Queen Elizabeth I plot and was - in a sense - the driving force behind the narrative, the whole thing felt a little flat. The Zygons are a good alien race to choose (their shapeshifting abilities allow for a number of duplicitous plots), but overall their inclusion didn’t feel necessary, and although it was a nice nod to a classic monster, they could easily have been replaced with almost any other enemy. I can't help but feel that the Daleks would have made a more fitting and engaging foe, especially as they are an icon of Doctor Who and are just as old as the show itself (not that they weren’t present in the episode, but it was only fleetingly during the brief segments of the Time War). The Zygon story also felt largely unresolved, with UNIT personnel and Zygon doppelgängers in a stalemate, neither party able to remember which side they belong to and beginning to negotiate an end to the invasion (although I imagine that’s a bit difficult if you don’t know which side you’re representing). Whilst this effectively disarms the initial Zygon threat, this narrative thread is suddenly dropped with the implication that - because temporarily neither human nor Zygon can tell each other apart - this facilitates peace and the whole issue is supposedly resolved. But what about when the Zygons remember that they are indeed Zygons? What prevents them from resuming their incursion on Earth? I doubt they’d just call off the invasion because for three hours they thought they might possibly be human…
Ah well, sometimes it’s best to let Zygons be Zygons (always wanted to say that).
But if the Zygon story felt like it had been dropped, it was only to make way for the episode’s grand finale with the three Doctors and the Time War, and the conclusion that’s likely to be a bit of a game-changer in future episodes (spoilers ahead, although if you’re worried about spoilers I’m not too sure why you’re reading a review!). Having had a good four hundred years to reflect on the moment he used the Moment to destroy both Time Lords and Daleks, the ‘current’ Doctor (Matt Smith, traditionally called the 11th Doctor) has been thinking of an alternative solution that will destroy the Daleks but save Gallifrey and the Time Lords from destruction, just tucked away in an isolated pocket Universe; out of sight, out of time, frozen in a single moment. With the aid of thirteen incarnations of himself (along with a brief cameo from Peter Capaldi’s smouldering eyes), the collective Doctors remove Gallifrey from the Universe, causing the Daleks to destroy each other in the cross-fire and secreting the Time Lords away, frozen in time. With the knowledge that his homeworld and his people are still alive out there, somewhere, the Doctor now has a new destination: home.
And the quest to return to Gallifrey couldn’t have come a moment too soon… With the Doctor now on what is actually his 12th incarnation (possibly 13th, if we count the meta-crisis Doctor from The Stolen Earth/Journey's End) he is approaching the end of his life. It's been stated in The Deadly Assassin that a Time Lord only has 12 regenerations/13 incarnations (whether this is an organic regeneration energy limit, technological limit or societal limit is unknown - I like the idea of it being organic energy, each Time Lord body only having the energy for 12 regenerations), so now that the Doctor is at the end of his regenerative cycle it's imperative he finds a way to prolong his life, and the survival of Gallifrey could be the key. In The Five Doctors, the Time Lords offer a new set of regenerations to the Master in exchange for working with them, and theoretically the same could be offered to the Doctor (perhaps as a token of gratitude for saving Gallifrey). Presumably, with Peter Capaldi taking the role of the 12th Doctor (13th incarnation) in the upcoming Christmas episode Time of the Doctor, he will then embark on his journey home, on a quest to find Gallifrey and, with luck, find a way to extend his life. Personally, I feel this would make a fantastic character arc for Capaldi’s Doctor.
Another implication of Gallifrey’s return is obviously the return of the Time Lords. This was something I’d hoped would happen when it was revealed that Gallifrey was returning in The End of Time, only for it to be sucked straight back into the final day of the Time War. This naturally opens up the possibility for many more stories about the Time Lords, how their society has evolved since their last appearance in the classic era, and how the Time War has changed them. Also, with the Daleks revived through the Progenitor device in Victory of the Daleks, and the prospect of the Time Lords returning, there is a chance the Time War may flare up again.
There is also the matter of Rassilon, and his Ultimate Sanction: to bring about the destruction of all of creation, ripping the Time Vortex apart, and to cause the Time Lords to ascend beyond the physical and exist as beings of consciousness alone. The Doctor stated in The End of Time that he had been aware of Rassilon’s plans and was left with no choice but to use the Moment, ending the Time War and preventing the Ultimate Sanction from being enacted (something that’s not really touched upon in The Day of the Doctor). This does raise a question about the Doctor’s reaction to saving Gallifrey instead of using the Moment. All three of them seemed overjoyed that the Time Lords will be saved, the Daleks destroyed and the Time War ended, but they seem to be forgetting the terrifying implication of what this could mean for the rest of the Universe if Gallifrey returns and if Rassilon is ever given the chance to carry out his plans. Presumably the Doctor has faith that there are enough people on Gallifrey who would be opposed to the plan to actually stop it, but that’s not a guarantee, or that he himself may be able to prevent it when the time comes (freezing a Universe-ending plot for an indefinite amount of time is arguably better than having the blood of billions of innocents on your hands, after all!). There’s also the potential that the Master - along with other renegade Time Lords - will return, as he was taken back to the final days of the Time War along with Rassilon and the rest of Gallifrey in The End of Time. As the Master was engaged in a fight to the death with Rassilon at the time, it’s also possible that the Doctor will return home to find it being run by one Lord President Master...
To be honest, I really could ramble on about this for hours.
Lastly, for me, the crowning moment of the episode came towards the end, as the Doctor sits in the National Gallery musing that one day he’d quite like to be curator of the place. “You know, I really think you might,” says an all too familiar voice, and a frisson ran through the auditorium. There was a collective awe-struck silence, and a number of middle-aged men gasped. My face twitched with an involuntary smile. Tom Baker. Arguably the most iconic Doctor. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a magical moment, and not just because it’s Tom Baker and one of the few proper tributes to the show’s past in the 50th Anniversary Special. It’s implied (in a sense) that he is a future Doctor, having chosen to take on the form of his fourth incarnation (“In years to come, you might find yourself… revisiting a few [faces]. But just the old favourites, eh?”), and confirms that “Gallifrey Falls No More”, pointing the Doctor in the direction of a search for Gallifrey, telling him he has "a lot to do." It’s a wonderfully performed segment, and is quite possibly one of the main stand-out moments of the episode for me. Baker’s appearance also means that, if Baker was indeed playing a future, retired Doctor now under the name of the Curator, that the Doctor will find Gallifrey, return home and acquire enough regenerations to live long enough to reach retirement after an indefinite amount of regenerations. But who knows, eh? Who knows. *taps nose*
It’s a shame that other classic era Doctors (Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann) weren’t featured in the 50th, as it would have been brilliant to pay homage to the other previous eras in more than a few snippets of old footage. After all, Doctor Who would not have reached 50 if it weren’t for the 34 years of television that have built its legacy, and this is something The Day of the Doctor sadly missed out on. However, Peter Davison’s short film The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is a fantastic piece and incredibly amusing, featuring Davison, Baker, McCoy and McGann as well as a great many of the actors who played their former companions, and is absolutely well worth watching. If you’re not going to be in something, this is the way to not be in it!
Ultimately, although The Day of the Doctor didn’t feel quite like 50th Anniversary tribute I’d been hoping for, and occasionally fell short narratively, it was an overall enjoyable and at times truly spectacular episode. The interactions between the Doctors was by far the highlight of the piece. It may not have spent much of its time paying tribute to the past, but it’s given us something to look forward to for the future.
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