Reviews 

Five Six Thoughts on Doctor Who’s “Day of the Doctor” [Review]

By and | November 23rd, 2013
Posted in Reviews | 15 Comments

The moment is finally here: the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who, “The Day of the Doctor,” has finally arrived and aired in a magnificent globocast commercial-free presentation! We didn’t even get the Olympics without a delay, but we get Doctor Who — that’s how much more important the show is!

And, just like we do every episode of the show, we’re back to lay out some thoughts on the biggest Doctor Who episode ever.

As a note, spoilers will be discussed. Hopefully by now everyone that has planned to watch the special will have watched the special. To those of you who haven’t, we’d certainly recommend it.

1. Well, I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that

A lot of people make fun of me for this, but I like to actively avoid knowing about what I’m about to take in before I take it in — I don’t watch trailers, I try to avoid spoilers online, I don’t even look at synopses if I can help it. So going into the episode, all I really knew was that Hurt was “the War Doctor,” that Tennant was back and that it would be an episode celebrating 50 years of Doctor Who.

Which is fine and grand, and is quite an anniversary to have. I’m not sure any other show currently airing has had 50 years to it, unless you count the different incarnations of Star Trek as one long show.

And after seeing the episode and then watching the trailer, I’d have to imagine that most people are in the same boat. I think even for those who watched all the trailers and read all the hype for it, the show had to subvert expectations on multiple levels; I bet most people would’ve guessed that the “big important stuff” would be relegated to the end but maybe no one would’ve guessed how it would get pushed back there, and I would also assume that most people probably didn’t expect an episode so light-hearted. I mean, something like the War Doctor and John Hurt walking out of flames on a poster doesn’t really make you think that he and Tennant and Smith would spend a good portion of the episode just having banter, right?

So well done once again to Moffat to completely tricking the audience. It’s like you feed off of it or something.

2. The Downside First

With everything, especially Who, there is “good” and there is “bad.” I’d like to start with the bad.

Really, there was only one downside to the episode — everything that led up to the finale at the Time War. As a fan of Who and someone who has seen all of the new run and a fair portion of what came before, seeing how the episode began by showing us the Time War, that main disconnect between the two runs of the series, was rather impossibly exciting; what happened there had always been referenced but never directly shown. And then when the War Doctor had to make his decision, we were treated to what I would be so bold as to call “just another episode” — that is to say, not something that felt like it was worth all the buzz and hype of an anniversary episode.

I don’t want to necessarily classify it as filler because it wasn’t, there was an obvious purpose to it, but there were definite parts during the episode where I’d glance at the time and say “Geez, how are they going to reconcile all the big important stuff now?” A lot of time was spent on this new and seemingly unrelated conflict before getting to “the good stuff”, and while it was still enjoyable for a variety of reasons (particularly the generational interactions), I can’t help but wish a bit more time had been spent on the Anniversary stuff.

That, and for something that was to celebrate ALL of the Doctors, we only really got to spend time with a chosen few. Perhaps that expectation was too high in being excited for how they’d tie all the incarnations of the Doctor together, but I would’ve liked to see a couple more.

But. That said?

3. And Upside Second

Continued below

That was a kick-ass episode.

Last season was a mixed bag, and I think everyone can agree to that. The biggest complaint that I think anyone has had about Moffat’s run as showrunner is that the show has had an emphasis on being too clever rather than just enjoyable; on trying to create a mystery box so convoluted that JJ Abrams would look at it and say “What the cuss?” And that can be fun at first, but at a certain point you wonder if Moffat has any idea what he’s doing anymore.

Well, this episode kind of proved: yes. Yes, he does have an idea of what he is doing. And good lord, I’m not sure anyone loves or respects the legacy of the Doctor more than him at this point. The episode was beautifully written, particularly the gags that featured Tennant and Smith treating Hurt as a younger man while he treated them as old ones, and throughout all the bits I’d call filler there were wonderful little moments that revealed a lot about the character of the Doctor. There are a lot of big moments in this episode, and it was nice to see Moffat play some of them off as subtle as possible for maximum eventual impact.

Tennant, Smith and Hurt all performed the different facets of the Doctor wonderfully as well — the man who regrets and the man who forgets, the warrior and the hero… all of it. It took a while to reach the point, but when we finally got to see the Doctor at his finest moment, we were given just that — the Doctor at his finest moment, fixing his greatest mistake and saving the day in a BIG way. And wow, did it pay-off. All three men brought excellent life to the ageless character.

This episode was essentially, in a fashion, a “reboot”. It didn’t reset things, but it gave the Doctor a new mission and a new mission statement. He is the Superman that Man of Steel couldn’t be; he is our greatest hero, and a bringer of hope. And wow. I honestly love being a Doctor Who fan right now.

OH! And, while I recognize that it’s probably an impossibility, I would watch a whole series of Hurt as the War Doctor if it was made. Which it should be. BBC, Moffat, get on that mini-series! Doctor Who: The Time War, starring John Hurt!

4. “All 12 of them!” “No. All 13!”

One of the biggest moments of the episode (if not the biggest, depending on what you give importance to) and they found a way to make both hearts skip an extra beat!

There it is, folks — your two second moment of Capaldi! Matt Smith’s time as the Doctor certainly isn’t over as it looks like he has a few adventures left to have (and I for one can not wait with a complete resurgence of excitement), but I’m also very ready for Capaldi to take over and show us something new. Smith’s Raggedy Man is wonderful, but that two second moment reminded me of what makes Doctor Who a great show: the excitement for the complete unknown.

5. Everyone’s Favorite Moment: “Who Knows?”

And with that one line, I think it re-solidified Tom Baker as everyone’s favorite classic Doctor.

As I said earlier, I was surprised to see how little the episode gave time to Doctors that weren’t 10, 11 or War, as I felt that a 50th anniversary episode should have something a bit more special to it. Tom Baker’s return was wonderful, and for a multitude of reasons. Seeing him reprise the role so perfectly was amazing; while I’ve not seen all of pre-2005 Who stories, my favorites were always the one with Baker (“Shada” and “City of Death” come to mind), and it’s like he hasn’t lost the love or ticks that the Doctor had in all these years.

Pairing him against Smith was a wonderful moment in the show, however, as we really got to see how the different generations of the Doctor interact. Smith and Tennant are fun, but they are both our current Doctors, the entry point for many modern fans; Smith and Baker really solidified what makes this show endearing throughout the years, and while it was a short moment the entire thing was perhaps the best thing Moffat has ever written for Who.

Continued below

(Except maybe “Blink.”)

(Ok, who am I kidding. That was better than “Blink.” And I love “Blink!”)

It was a wonderful way to end a loving tribute to the legacy of the Doctor, and I for one am excited again for what Moffat has planned next.

Oh. And before you go, how would you like to see the thoughts from someone who has never seen a single episode of Doctor Who before? Because you’re in luck — David Harper “accidentally” tuned in and has some thoughts on the episode:

Sixth Bonus Thought: This shit was the bomb!!!!

Alright, so I’ve watched one more episode than zero – this random one with Winston Churchill and Daleks and I honestly had no idea what was going on and why the Daleks were yelling at me in those weird ass voices. This episode though, I tuned in late because of the hype and because I was trying to waste time until LSU vs. Texas A&M came on, and next thing you know I had watched every second of the episode from then on and I loved it. Remarkably well acted by everyone – perhaps especially John Hurt – and the moments that were big were even big for me as they did such a good job of developing and designing them. When the Curator showed up? I knew that was huge and awesome. When Peter Capaldi showed up and said, “NO! All Thirteen!” I freaking loved that. It was wall-to-wall awesome, and immediately made me want to go to Netflix and watch everything that preceded it.

You could feel the history in this episode, and it was an event in all the best ways you can say that word. Tremendously well done, and just fantastic television. Now excuse me, my weekend is forfeit to figuring out what the hell I missed in the past seven seasons.


//TAGS | Doctor Who

Matthew Meylikhov

Once upon a time, Matthew Meylikhov became the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Multiversity Comics, where he was known for his beard and fondness for cats. Then he became only one of those things. Now, if you listen really carefully at night, you may still hear from whispers on the wind a faint voice saying, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not as bad as everyone says it issss."

EMAIL | ARTICLES

David Harper

EMAIL | ARTICLES



  • -->