Villordsutch reviews the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special ‘The Day of the Doctor’…
On Saturday, November 23rd 2013, officially the longest running science fiction show ever celebrated its 50th birthday and the world was there to share the cake. Over seventy-five countries and across hundreds cinemas, sci-fi and non-sci-fi people came together in a moment of harmonious peace to watch, in silence, this extra special British show. Joining them my family, the dog and all four cats sat around the fire in the front room, much like families did 50 years ago.
This entire show was possibly ringing like the Cloister Bell for Steven Moffat as the UK and the world (mainly the UK) could have turned on him and demanded his head on a pike at Traitor’s Gate if he ballsed it up; Twitter would have exploded in such a way that the negative comments would have turned it into a sentient weapon filled with hate. This was my worry as I sat down – was I going to be delivered a stinker that would begin the rot for Who to fade off screens again? I really hoped not; “…a man awaits his end dreading and hoping all.”
My fears however where wasted, as the 50th Anniversary Special was a beacon which shows that Steven Moffat is an amazing Doctor Who writer. I know I wasn’t a fan of the last series of Who and I was vocal about it, but I can easily push this to the back of my mind after last night’s special, which was a real credit to Moffat and his love for Doctor Who, as the history of this great show received another solid gold milestone.
The show brought to the screen Three Doctors (well four… well thirteen) in Matt Smith, David Tennant and of course John Hurt; it was through John Hurt that we witnessed the long awaited story of the Doctor’s crime committed at the end of the Time War. Billie Piper returned as The Moment (or Bad Wolf Girl) to act as the Doctor’s Jiminy Cricket throughout the show, guiding and helping the Doctor to bring peace across the universe and at the same time peace to his soul. Playing out in the background we witnessed the Zygon’s look for a new home, starting with an attempt to steal the seat of power from Elizabeth the First (the Doctor’s Wife), UNIT, and some truly beautiful pieces artwork (which made me wish I had a 3D view of this episode). Though the main story was the redemption of the Doctor, and through this we gained a new direction to the show in finding Gallifrey for the next series.
As an old time Who fan I was smiling throughout the show as elements were dropped in, leaving me wanting to break the silence in my home to explain why I was smiling like a Cheshire Cat and new moments appeared, one of which made my wife and I say aloud “Yes!” as Capaldi’s eyes flashed on the screen for a brief second. And then, to put the icing on the cake, the return of my Doctor. I knew Tom Baker was in the special due to the mad old goat’s actions in the press the other day, yet I chose to ignore the rest of the story at the time as I didn’t wish to spoil it for myself. Then, right at the end, his voice resonated and I blurted out like a child, “It’s my Doctor!”, before the camera arrived on his face. To say I was happy is a huge understatement – I was ecstatic as I sat like a child I once was watching my Doctor on the television again.
For me, the 50th Anniversary was a moment in time I shall not be forgetting. Thank you Steven Moffat for bringing this to the screen and thank you also to William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith for the memories.
Villordsutch likes his sci-fi and looks like a tubby Viking according to his children. Visit his website and follow him on Twitter.
Originally published November 24, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
