The Day of the Doctor had a lot to live up to. When the show
has celebrated a milestone it has had mixed results. The 10th
Anniversary ‘special’ The Three Doctors was an enjoyable and well performed
story. The 20th Anniversary was perhaps less successful although it
did have its moments. Since then we have lost the chance to celebrate the 30th
and 40th Anniversaries so this is quite a big moment. I was amazed
when it was announced that it would screened at the cinema and I was over the moon
when I was able to get a title at my local cinema. It was a great experience
because there wasn’t an empty seat and the number of people that had dressed up
was quite high and it was a great place to watch the 50th
Anniversary special. There was a nice little video that featured Strax and
warned on cinema etiquette. Anyone a fan of Simon Mayo and Mark Kermode’s Film
Review will be aware of the Code of Conduct and such videos aren’t necessary. But
it was fun to see and also
Like the 20th Anniversary Special, there was
something that got in the way and on this occasion it was the fact that
Christopher Eccleston didn’t want to appear in the special and so a War Doctor
had to be found and John Hurt was the one chosen. John Hurt was the Doctor
during the Time War and is the one that pressed the button on ‘The Moment’ that
ended the Time War and wiped out the Timelords. Hurt is great as the Doctor and
treats the role with a nice sense of sarcasm. He has a nice time of making
certain mannerisms of the Tennant and Smiths Doctors and the Sandshoes and Chin
nicknames were spot on. His story was only going to be for this story and the fact
he regenerates at the end is just Moffat’s attempt to tidy up the continuity
line problem that Eccleston caused. I might make a controversial statement but
I just don’t consider Hurt’s Doctor as canon. Due to Hurt’s Doctor, it means
that Eccleston is the tenth Doctor, Tennant was the eleventh Doctor and Smith
would be the thirteenth but as I don’t count Hurt as a canon Doctor it means
that Eccleston, Tennant and Smith are Doctors 8, 9 and 10 respectively.
When his Doctor meets Smith and Tennant’s Doctors it’s a
funny moment because they are able to do comedy and seriousness in equal
measure and they disappoint. Tennant’s first appearance in the role since 2010
is curious because it was like only a few months had passed and not three
years. He looks slightly older but when Tennant is talking and running around
its like its 2010 and not 2013. Billie Piper makes her first appearance since
The End of Time Part Two and its not Rose that she is playing but an imaginary
version. Whilst I have grown weary of her during this marathon, I thought that
she did well with what she is given and bearing in mind that she only interacts
with John Hurt’s Doctor she manages to make it look like she is actually doing
something.
Matt Smith is also good and shares the limelight well and
yet doesn’t lose face during the course of the story. He must have had a lot of
pressure in not dropping the ball and he manages not to. Jenna Coleman also manages
to not get lost in the shuffle which isn’t an easy things to do. The fact that
there aren’t 20 companions to have to work with is something that helps Coleman
standout.
The start of the episode is impressive because it’s a nice
bit of the original theme and it then blends into colour and we learn that Ian
Chesterton is the chairman of the governors of Coal Hill School and Clara is
now a teacher there. The headteacher is W Coburn which is a reference to Waris
Hussein who directed the very first story and Anthony Coburn who wrote that
story. There are plenty of nods to the continuity of the show and I think that
they were done in such a way that newer fans wouldn’t be confused by it and
long time fans like myself would get them.
There are many great moments that occur during this story. The
first good bit comes when Clara drives a bike into the TARDIS and the camera
follows it in one single edit. The TARDIS bursting through the wall and
knocking out a whole load of Daleks is another great moment.
Zygons make their first appearance since 1975’s Terror of the
Zygons. I don’t quite know why they haven’t made a return until now but the
wait has been worth it. They lost their planet in the first days of the Time
War and want Earth as their new home. The transformation of human to Zygon is
so much better than in 1975.
The first meeting between Tennant and Smith is very good and
its always interesting to see multiple Doctors. They interact with each other
very well and the nice bit of jealousy is something that is used at the right
times and in the right way. The long running gag about not liking the new
TARDIS console is something that was obviously going to be used and if there
were a game of bingo then this would be crossed off the list.
The idea that all three Doctors have come up with an idea to
hide Gallifrey and destroy the Daleks in the process is such an epic idea and
one that could have only worked in a big bonkers special like this. When this
start it leads to all twelve incarnations and their TARDIS’s come to save the
day. Well actually thirteen because Peter Capaldi makes a very special cameo
with just his eyes. That was totally unexpected and a nice treat for the fans. That
wasn’t the only treat for the fans because the shock appearance of Tom Baker
was one that everyone in the cinema gasped at. It probably p****d off the other
Doctors but to be honest I don’t care cause it’s a great scene and it sort of
makes up for the fact that Baker didn’t appear in The Five Doctors.
The final shot is of the Doctor walking out of the TARDIS
and all the incarnations standing in a nice arrow line with Hartnell’s Doctor
standing at the back was the perfect way of ending the special and it sets up a
nice story arc about the Doctor finding Gallifrey. There was an awful lot of
expectation riding on this story and I had very high expectations and part of
me was expecting this to disappoint but I cant tell you how much I enjoyed this
story. It was the story I wanted it to be and was well worth the jacked up
price that the Cinema charged. This is the eighth story to get rated in the 8’s
and becomes the second best story with 8.25. This is only the fourth story of
the new era to get in the 8’s and overtakes Blink as the best story. I think
that Steven Moffat should be applauded for doing this story and Marcus Wilson
(producer) says that this story was a love letter to the fans and that’s the
truth because it had loads of elements from the shows past and unlike The Five
Doctors, it does it in a way that works and juggles a lot of balls and doesn’t drop
a ball. On a related note, two weeks today is when the marathon comes to an end
and this will probably be the last true classic story of the run but a lot can
happen in two weeks.
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