Doctor Who Reaction: 50th Anniversary "The Day of The Doctor"

By: Steven Moffat

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this episode, please go and do so before proceeding.

              Doctor Who is the longest-running sci-fi show in all of television history. It's unique design and set-up make it perfectly suited to running as long as people are willing to keep making it. For many it is a lifestyle - dictating favourite quotes, teaching morals, and reminding us of history and literature. This year on November 23rd this extraordinary show celebrated its 50th birthday with a special episode created just for the momentous occasion. I watched it and it is only now that I find myself able to quite put my thoughts to paper.
                 
               So was this episode everything that it was built up to be? No - of course not! Nothing ever can live up to the hype and expectations. That's just humanly impossible. Did it do its job of celebrating the anniversary of a cultural phenomena that has lasted half a century? You bet it did!

             I love that we actually got to see the 10/Elizabeth I wedding that has been alluded to so many times over the years (even if I did think that the resolution of her arc was a bit rushed) and I was so, so excited to see the pictures of Susan Foreman, not to mention the fact that Clara was teaching at her former school. I squealed like a little girl whenever the titles started up (and whenever 10 put on the fez) and had a soppy grin on my face the whole way through.


What I liked:

- Rose Tyler (or rather: Bad Wolf) was AMAZING! Whenever I first heard that Rose was coming back for the 50th I groaned and instantly ranted to my brother about how annoying this was going to be. I am not a Rose Tyler fan. I don't passionately hate her but I just find her whole character arc to be handled very poorly. But here - I love that they explained a bit more about Bad Wolf (because I always wondered what that was and where it came from) and that she was quite likable. There was a certain Idris madness about her. but also you could see all of Rose's good qualities (like the friendly smiles and passionate good intentions). If this Rose Tyler had appeared in her original series I think I might love her. As it is, Bad Wolf/The Moment didn't convince me to love Rose...but did I ever enjoy watching her here!

- 10 & 11 arguing with the War Doctor. I could just watch these guys bicker all day, really I could. I also loved the little clip we got of Capaldi as the 13th Doctor and I fangirled so hard whenever all 13 of the Doctors appeared on screen with their 13 TARDIS'.

- Gallifrey is back! Much as I enjoyed The Doctor's arc before, I can't wait to see how this new story will unfold.

- Daleks were not overused, Zygons looked great, the Time Lord Council's costumes are as stupid-looking as ever (and I've seen The Master from the television movie!).

- 10 in a fez.


- TOM BAKER SHOWED UP AT THE END!!!!



What I didn't like:

- It was over too soon. Now I know that sounds rather corny and typical, but I feel like there were some elements that could have benefited from a slightly longer running time. The Queen Elizabeth plot, for instance, was resolved far too easily and too reminiscent of Davies Forced Exposition. But overall they did a wonderful job with the time they had.

- None of the Classic doctors (aside from Tom Baker) appeared in anything but stock footage. This was supposed to be a 50th-Anniversary, not the anniversary for the revived series. 

- Christopher Eccleston was not in the episode. Don't get me wrong - I respect the man for having a stance on something and refusing to compromise what he believed to be a right decision. That being said...couldn't we at least have had a regeneration scene? 

            And that is all I have to say about The Day of The Doctor. It was a great experience, a roller-coaster ride of emotions, and an episode that I know I will watch over and over again. It was funny, touching, sad, and hopeful and it did its job of celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a wonderful show about as close to perfectly as we could hope for. Bravo, Steven Moffat! I give it a 4/5.



What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?

Top Ten Scariest New Who Episodes

              
              This is a look at the scariest episodes from the revived series; a look at the episodes 2005 - Present that managed to send us diving behind the sofa or squirming beneath the blankets or whatever was on hand to use as a shield.

10: The God Complex (S06 E11)

           I have included this episode from Series 6, not because it is particularly scary, but because it both deals with some deep concepts and has an overall dark and creepy atmosphere about it. Taking inspiration heavily from Kubrick’s The Shining, this episode is a never-ending labyrinth of disturbing images/ideas and claustrophobic hallways that are haunted by a creature that feeds on the very thing we turn to in times of fear: our faith.

9: The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon (S06 E01&02)

            I have to say that I found The Silents to be more disturbing than really frightening. There is a difference between being creeped out by something and being scared of something. The Silents, for all they look like Slenderman, only do the former for me. But that doesn’t mean that the amnesia-inducing aliens don't hold a bit of horror for me. Personally I value my mind and memory very much, so the idea of a monster that could not only erase moments from my mind but also influence me via post-hypnotic suggestion carries quite a bit of weight on the creepy factor. 

8: Human Nature/Family of Blood (S03 E08&09)

            This episode can be frightening for a couple of reasons. First and most obvious are the antagonists known as the Family of Blood who possess the bodies of innocent people and covet immortality, being willing to kill, maim, and commit all sorts of atrocities (visible and implied) in order to gain it. These aliens are dark, unrelenting, and surprisingly subtle, considering that they are Doctor Who villains. The second reason is that, due to The Doctor’s use of the Chameleon Arch, everything in this episode just feels off-kilter. It’s like a trip down the rabbit hole, minus all of the funny and magical creatures from Wonderland and plus all of the unsettling, dark undertones. It is quite disconcerting to be watching The Doctor who is not The Doctor. That makes Human Nature/Family of Blood scary and unsettling on a subconscious level…but that is also what makes them such good episodes.

7: The Time of Angels/Flesh & Stone (S05 E04&05)

           Amy Pond has had an angel implanted in her mind and it is forcing her to slowly count down to her doom. In order to pause the process, Amy must keep her eyes shut at all times (thereby negating the effect of the angels turning into stone as long as you look at them). Not only that but, in order to find The Doctor and River, Amy has to navigate her way through a forest of angels with her eyes still shut. 

6: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (S04 E09&10) 

            Like the episode mentioned above, this two-parter is also created by the diabolical mind of Steven Moffat. Among other things it involves the introduction of River Song and the creation of the flesh-stripping shadows known as the Vashta Nerada. That name means ‘the shadows that melt the flesh’ in one of the various languages The Doctor has picked up over the years and is about an apt description as one could give - within seconds of latching onto a target the swarm of darkness completely devours every last bit of muscle, flesh, and sinew leaving behind a clean, grotesque skeleton. 

5: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (S01 E09&10)

            And we have yet another episode penned by Stephen Moffat here. Are you starting to see a pattern? This two-parter, which pits The Doctor, Rose, and charismatic newcomer Captain Jack Harkness against an army of gas-mask zombies, is easily the scariest story from Series 1. What makes this episode so scary is that it plays off of the very base childhood fear of losing one’s parents (or being rejected) and the adult fear of technology gone horribly, epidemically wrong. The premise is frightening enough but when you factor in the lighting, atmosphere, and acting you should be prepared for a wild ride of scares.

4: The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit (S02 E08&09)

            The first time I watched this episode I actually had to pause it and walk away for a few minutes to process what I had seen. I think it was the combination of claustrophobic conditions, epic scale, and satanic possessions that got to me. This two-parter is quite dark and deals with some really deep and frightening themes of belief and what is truth. And, of course, they’re fighting The Devil! It doesn’t get much darker than that.

3: Blink (S03 E11)

            This is the episode that many consider to be the perfect introduction to Doctor Who. While it may be true that it is possible to watch Blink with little to no foreknowledge of the program and universe and understand it (well, as much as any of Moffat’s scripts can be understood), I take issue with showing this to a newbie and I never use it as an introductory episode for two reasons (a) because watching this story first gives the viewer a rather unfair expectation as to the overall…quality of the show and (b) because the episode is so good it is something that has to be earned. It has everything – great atmosphere, fairytale elements, an ever-tightening mystery, jump-scares, psychological scares, creepy imagery, likable characters that you actually fear for, and the list goes on and on.

2: Midnight (S04 E11)

            I have described many of the episodes on this list as ‘claustrophobic’, either because they take place in cramped, inescapable locations or because the enemies are forever closing in, but Midnight takes the term right back to the original definition and just runs  away with it. The entire episode takes place on a stranded shuttle with a limited cast of characters and an unseen monster that we never actually find out what it was. The fact that the enemy remains a mystery only ups the creep factor, but the real thing that makes this story so frightening are the panicking humans. Oh sure it’s scary whenever Skye is first possessed and is repeating everything said. Sure the music creates a great atmosphere when paired with the lighting and picture-perfect acting. Sure it is scary whenever The Doctor is taken over by the creature. But what is infinitely more terrifying is the depths that the frightened humans are willing to sink to – turning on Skye, The Doctor, and eventually each other in their fear and becoming willing to commit murder just to save their own precious skins. 

1: The Waters of Mars (S04 E16)

            The classic base-under-siege story is taken to a whole new level with this terrifying story of the doomed first human colony on Mars. Anyone who complains that NuWho just doesn’t have the scares that the classic series did needs to watch this episode right away, preferably at night in an empty house. Between the unstoppable Flood, the claustrophobic sense of impending death, and The Doctor (or, as he dubs himself, the Time Lord Victorious) – this episode is truly frightening and memorable as it wrestles with morality and fate.