Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special - Day of the Doctor [TV Review]

From 1963 to 2013, the faces of the Doctor.

I suppose it should be stated at the outset that I am a Whovian.
I have the DVD of every episode that is available. This is important.
More after the fold.



I eagerly awaited the 50th special, I hid from spoilers and teaser trailers. I did my darned best to avoid any information before I saw it. And I succeeded up until 2 days before... then I read one bit of news in my news feed. I knew that one of the classic Doctors was going to be in it.

All that being said, as is now the style, I will give my rating at the start.

5.0 Stars!

Yes. This is only the second thing that I have enjoyed so utterly thoroughly that it gets a full Five Stars. Part is fan involvement, most was the episode itself. Just like the David Tennant final specials, especially the End of Time parts 1 & 2, the Day of the Doctor was gripping.

I suppose I should say, that from this point on there will likely be "Spoilers." Read on with that in mind.

To get the full impact of the episode, to see how it joins the time between the 8th Doctor (Paul McGann) and the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) I watched The Night of the Doctor (below), and The Last Day in preparation for the Day of the Doctor.

But that was not all. This was the 50th anniversary. I had more to do. I had seen snippets from a special called An Adventure in Space and Time (which I am planning for a future review, preview below). I had to see that as well, and then I had to go back and watch the original William Hartnell pilot episode and episode 1, An Unearthly Child.

I did all of that in preparation for the Day of the Doctor.

It paid off.

Brainy Specs! Ooooo!

When the episode began outside of I.M.Foreman junkyard on Totter's Lane... I knew that all my preparation was worth it.

I sat back absorbing the details, reveling in the references. Watching at the plot stitched together the old and the new, filled the gaps and even took the story in new directions.

11, 10, War.

And the acting, the way the different persona's of the Doctor interacted. It was incredible. The way they played off of each other was perfect.

And I'm not just talking about David Tennant and Matt Smith playing off of each other.

John Hurt did a magnificent job in his role. He can say more with his eyes than most actors will ever be able to. He speaks not just with words and actions, but he talks loudly with his eyes. In a way they all do, but John Hurt was a magnificent casting choice. 

Yes, there are two of me.

He bridges the gap between Paul McGann (8th) and the tortured soul that was Christopher Eccleston's Doctor (9th).

I loved the episode, I spent both of my first day viewings playing 'spot the reference!' There are loads, and I am willing to bet that if I sit down and watch it again, I'll find more. Or if I go back and watch the earlier episodes, I'll recognize something I missed in my first few viewings.

This was such a fun episode, it was sweet candy and deep red wine to a Whovian. Yes, they could have included more Doctors and more companions, but it was only an hour and quarter long. It had a lot to cover in that time. So that can be forgiven, easily, since what it brought was wonderful.

And now, I have to wait twenty odd days for the final episode of Matt Smith's Doctor. This winter we sadly say goodbye to the Eleventh (or should we be calling him another number?), and warmly welcome the Twelveth. We will welcome Peter Capaldi as the next incarnation, and I feel confident that we will come to like him as we have all the Doctor's before.  

Twenty odd days to go...  

And one last "Spoiler," the one I knew before I saw the episode.
Keep scrolling if you want to see.

If you do not know this face, you are not a Whovian.