Doctor Who 50th

As messy as I expected. Seeing Tennant reminded how much i went off Dr Who when Smith came on board.

I did laugh at the Derren Brown comment, though.
 
I liked the door joke: funny and, ultimately, clever.

Actually, this was far better than it's been of late, and there's more than a hint of a proper long arc to come. The Hurt Doctor expressing his distaste at the juvenile behaviour of the later Doctors will have struck a chord with many viewers.


Beyond that, I have a thought. (No, don't laugh, missus.) Was history actually changed? Given the name of the device, I can't help think that what happened "this time" was what was supposed to happen and what did happen before. All that has changed (although it hasn't, not really) is that there's now a Doctor who knows what's happened (albeit that he thinks that he's changed history, which he hasn't). Timey-wimeyness at its best, which isn't saying much, to be honest.

* Prepares to be shot down. *



EDIT: If Hurt was supposed to become Hartnell, why did the parade of Doctors under the closing credits place him just before McGann? (Or were my eyes - or bits of my brain - playing tricks with me?)
 
For the record, i am looking forward to Cappaldi, i have been dreaming of the moment a older doctor would emerge since i actually watched the classic Doctor Who episodes long before the new one came. I recall the day my dad showed me the trailer for the reboot still, funny how i sometimes remember little things like that. Long before that episode came out obviously.

It's actually been forever since i have been fully satisfied with any form of new media, find everything is way too reliant on special effects without any compelling story. Why i despise the Transformers movies.
 
I thought the whole thing was fabulous! There's certain to be stuff I missed, not knowing much about the older shows, but it didn't hurt anything.

It was great having David Tennant back, of course, but even better was the interaction between him and Matt Smith, and both of them with John Hurt. So many little things, so great.
 
EDIT: If Hurt was to become Hartnell, why did the parade of Doctors under the closing credits place him just before McGann? (Or were my eyes - or bits of my brain - playing tricks with me?)

In the "Night of the Doctor" prequel we saw Mcgann turn into Hurt Doctor (well, "doctor no more" etc). And Hurt's last comment was definitely a direct nod to Eccelston's comment on his ears the first time he passes a mirror.
 
Oh, I didn't notice you said before! But yeah, it's been established that he follows on from Mcgann (in fact, a choice by Mcgann, as shown in the little extra bit) and it looked like hints of Eccelston coming through from Hurt when he regenerated tonight. Plus that ears comment :D
 
I enjoyed it, from beginning to end. And will comment more tomorrow.

The 3D though, up there with some of the best I have seen.
 
I enjoyed it, from beginning to end. And will comment more tomorrow.

The 3D though, up there with some of the best I have seen.

Will say, being to the Doctor Who Experience, the 3D they showed there was absolutely top notch, some of the best i have ever seen in my life. The ending segment with the 3D actually had things that popped out at you, rather than it only being a faint effect. It was really awesome.

Also, i am drunk as i type this.
 
Some of the dialogue was kind of pants, I can't say I liked any of the Queen's bits (the surrounding parts of the scenes were good... just not the bits where the Queen did something), and, erm, I'm sure there was something else... oh! Musn't forget the daft beginning. Another tick in the column for Eleven (er... Twelve? Tweleven? Eletwelve?) and Clara travelling in a stupid way.

All said, it was a good episode, though, and I enjoyed it a lot more than most of the more recent stuff. I can't express how fun it was to see Tennant back in the suit (I'm going to have to say that seeing him again made the episode for me), and I was even cheered up by Billie Piper's appearance.

I'm also rather excited to see the end of the Silence arc at Christmas, which will hopefully leave us free to watch Thirteen and Clara track down Gallifrey (and maybe even restore it to this Universe? If things can break out of the paintings, then why can the entire planet not be brought back?).
 
It was superb, although it had it's flaws. I thought that the inclusion of Rose' image by the Moment was a fantastic way to nod at the revised sequence, and I love that she had almost a Tardis-like craziness to her (similarly to how the human avatar was played in "The Doctor's Wife").

I was very much hoping that they would find someway of bringing back Gallifrey, although my question is... what happened to Rassilon? Was he killed in trying to bring Gallifrey through previously? Perhaps it happened earlier in the day? haha. I am very interested to see what the new story ark is going to be, and whether the Zygons will feature in the Christmas episode, because they kind of left that plot dangling. As a narrative, it was all over the place, but in a way it worked. I love that Elizabeth I was young, it kind of explains why she was so angry in "The Shakespeare Code". I, more than anything, is looking forward to when the new Doctor brings back Gallifrey. It has kind of a Supermanesque quality to it doesn't it? Kalel believing he's the last Kryptonian only to discover Kandor and it's population. I do hope this will allow Romalla or the Rani to return, how great would that be?
 
The scene with the rabbit -- priceless!

Americans with the ability to rewrite history -- you've seen their movies.

The door.

They're screwdrivers, not water pistols.

Pointing screwdrivers again -- what are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?

Timey what?
I have no idea where he gets this stuff.

***
Yeah, I watched it again. :D I'd have watched it all three times it was on today, but there was rebellion in my household. Anyway, I still think it was great, and I can't wait for the Christmas special!
 
Went to see it at the local Cineworld - in the middle, near the front, full-on 3D - and I'm still recovering at 6 the next morning. Blown away...

I've recorded the TV version, though, and look forward to seeing it again (and again...)..:)
 
The 3D though, up there with some of the best I have seen.

Going to agree to disagree on that: yes, one or two things did pop out but they were in the distinct minority. Almost everything else was flat. I thought the 3D was a complete waste. And, being in a cinema, spent the whole time being kicked in the kidneys by an annoying child.

As for the episode, need another watch, possibly with several key episodes from "Rose" onwards, to work out what happened and whether it changed anything or we've all been played and it changed it TO what we already knew.
 
I forgot about this, and missed the start because I'd also forgotten to watch Supermodels of SHIELD on Friday and was watching the repeat.

Overall, I really rather liked it. The Doctor banter was very good indeed. I do wish we'd been able to have a little bit Hurt versus Jacobi's Master. That would've been Claudiustastic.

I'm also glad they've brought back Gallifrey. Whilst the Time Lords (and, theoretically, the daleks) all being lost in a huge war sounds epic, it just robs the series of its two most interesting species.
 
As it was brought up, I’ll quickly mention the 3D again. I’m not sure how the 3D was transmitted in the cinema, but I can imagine it might have lost something if they changed the transmission process for the cinema, which I guess they might have. On the television it very good. It was still a long way off from something with the depth and wonder of Avatar, but it was better than the majority of 3D films I have seen. We hd branches, suckers and eyestalks in the room with us and that made it all worth while. (Also no outside distractions from other people probably helped!)

As for the episode itself - well it did what it had to do. I often find that the anniversary specials are more about the novelty of the thing rather than producing a magnificent story.
The three Doctors was probably the best of the lot, and that was because it was structured as a normal four part story rather than a special. Although the Five Doctors was fun it was more a case of what can we squeeze in, rather than giving us an all out fantastic story.

By the time we hit the 25th anniversary we had Silver Nemesis...

This then was different. Doctor Who has changed since back in them there days, often referred to as New Who. Sometimes it is meant as a good thing and by others it is meant as bad.

This hit the mark as good, for me at least. It was a good, fun story, that paid tribute to the last 50 years, while setting up a new direction for the show. (Not quite as big as Moffatt might have been suggesting but interesting all the same.)

The start was a deliberate tribute to the opening scenes of An Unearthly Child, which was a good idea, although let down a bit by the placing of the I M Foreman sign. Not sure how I feel about Clara working at Coal Hill School, but it raised a smile. (She looks too young to be a teacher - but I seem to be thinking that about teachers in general thesae days)

Like Lenny I thought there was something not quite right with the Elizabeth scenes. I don’t really know what it was though as it seemed all right in principle, and it set up her animosity to him, but it felt off. It might have been the actress I suppose, or just the way she was written.

While watching John Hurt I could almost imagine Christopher Eccleston saying some of the lines, and from reading between the lines of interviews I get the impression that Moffatt and co were really hoping to get him in the end. They didn’t and inserted the new Doctor, and tweaking things accordingly.

All three Doctors worked brilliantly, and were what made the episode. Smith and Tennant timed their reactions perfectly, quite obviously the same man and yet totally different, while Hurt brought the gravitas. It was kind of funny to see the younger Doctor being the more mature, and how he lightened up around his future versions.

There was a lot of humour, and some timey-wimey stuff. The software in the screwdriver running over a long period of time to solve problems was good, but even better was Clara walking in and saying the door was unlocked all along.

A few things that really caught me out - in a good way, anniversary surprises. In the mini episode seeing Paul McGann was wonderful and well kept under wraps, and seeing all the Doctors in the finale was magical, although as much as I cheered to see Capaldi I think it was a mistake, it should have been up to the current Doctor, if a future incarnation turned up, then where were others after that? Are there not going to be any more?

But biggest for me was the old man, The Curator at the end. I knew who it was from the moment the booming tones were heard, and the way it was played out was perfect, from Smith’s ‘I’ve seen that face before’ through t Baker’s cryptic and intriguing comments. Some of the old faces come around again. I’m sure they do in life you see people who look similar or meet old people you knew when they were younger... Or is there more to come on the regeneration front? It does not matter so much as seeing Tom Baker on the screen in Doctor Who again. The little boy locked away deep inside of me was cheering out loud.

Like much of New Who it had its flaws, and as someone else has said with all the hype it might not have been able to live up to itself simply because nothing could match the level of anticipation. The fact that it was immensely enjoyable shows it was able to sidestep the issue.

As I have pointed out elsewhere, I think Moffatt as a show runner has been slowly getting weaker as his tenure draws on – the reasons for this could be many, but for now it is the only thing that’s stands out, but this episode proves he can still write excellent standalones, probably his greatest strength. This was not his best, but it ticked all the boxes one could have hoped for in an anniversary episode.

One of the last things it sets up is a new direction for the Doctor, something that turns everything around on itself. As stated it is not as big a change as has been mooted, but in itself it changes the core of the show. Since it began 50 years ago, the Doctor has been running away from his past, from his home. Now he is trying to fully return there. Interesting.
 
Ok, sorry to start the plot hole investigation but...


If the Daleks were surrounding Gallifrey and firing on it, what are the odds that as soon as it disappeared that they would all accidentally shoot each other? I'm not going into the physics and equations of it all (I'll leave that to Chrispy) but unless their weapons fire was hitting every square inch of the surface from ships that were shooting directly down then surely some of the shots wouldn't hit a Dalek craft on the opposite side of the planet once it was gone, and wouldn't Dalek ships be a little bit capable of deflecting their own weaponry?


Bit of a complaint, but otherwise I loved it. I did like that Smith seemed to be cleverer and wiser than the others, due to his extra 400 years.
 
Yeah, that's a fair point.

However, given specials/finales have generally tended to be total pants in New Who (daleks vs cybermen aside) I'm pretty happy how it went (with what I saw). I hope Capaldi's a bit less hyper and a bit more Jon Pertwee.
 
MB - a fair point, but one of the things that really annoyed me about New Who was the technicality of the Time Lock, that removed the Daleks and the Time Lords from time, effectively ending the war.

And then we start having Daleks turning up left right and centre, as though thy weren't really imprisoned at all.

Now we know what actually happened, but people still believe the Doctor ended the war, it seems logical that the Daleks did not destroy everything, heavy casualties perhaps, but as you point out the chances of them wiping themselves out are astronomical. It explains why the Daleks were able to keep popping up.
 

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