The 50^th Anniversary of Doctor Who; an incredible achievement for a show that has survived against the odds – the BBC having taken a weirdly contemptuous attitude to it in times past, reducing budgets, moving schedules, forcing it into the dread territory of ‘Childrens’ TV’ and – a crime against humanity – hiring Bonnie Langford. For a show with a massive worldwide fanbase and huge merchandising potential, the BBC often seemed ashamed of the show as it moved into the 80’s. The eventual reboot, complete with a real budget and effects has been a major success and the show remains strong as it passes an astounding 50 years on the screen.

(Warning – definitely contains lots and lots of spoilers if you haven’t seen it!)

In charge of the writing for the special, entitled ‘The Day of the Doctor’, was Executive Producer Steven Moffat. Moffat has been a mixed blessing to the recent series; although avoiding the worst of the infantile camp that had been injected into the series by his predecessor, he is also responsible for some of the least interesting story arcs in the series and many have accused the Matt Smith stories of being boring. Moffat is undoubtedly the best of the writers of the new Dr Who series; he gave us ‘Blink’, one of the best Dr Who stories ever and introduced the terrifying Weeping Angels, he was also responsible for the unforgettable Empty Child with its ‘Gasmask Zombies’ of the first series. However, his ideas can be hit and miss and the continual striving for ‘epic’ series-wide story arcs has not worked half as well as his tightly-plotted and brilliantly constructed single and double episodes.

For the 50^th Anniversary though, he has pulled it off with style. One can only begin to imagine the enormous pressure on everyone involved and it could easily have been disastrous. Moffat has taken the challenge and has not only produced an exciting and engaging adventure but has displayed amazing bravery by daring to rewrite the entire history of the revived show.

From the ‘Night of the Doctor’ minisode prequel featuring a completely unexpected reappearance of Paul McGann as the 8^th Doctor, the scene was set for something quite different. The story moved between an Earth invasion formulated by fan-favourites, the Zygons, last seen battling Tom Baker’s Doctor and the culmination of the ‘Time War’, as Daleks and Time Lords fight for ultimate control of the universe.

The Zygons, in their alien form (they can shape shift) were suitably scary and true to their original incarnations. Although there were perhaps a few too many attempts at humour, the sort of puerile rubbish previously seen with the embarrassingly childish ‘Slitheen’ was thankfully avoided. The subplot involving Queen Elizabeth I missed the mark, largely due to the performance by Joanna Page, who seemed to think she was in a Carry On film. The chemistry between her and her ‘husband’ (Tennant) was non-existent and the entire Elizabethan section merely served its purpose as a plot device rather than adding to the overall excitement. Luckily, we were spared the awfulness of the Silurian, Madame Vastra and her comedy Sontaran sidekick or the smug, all-knowing River Song; characters that have been used far too much and could have been a death blow to the special.

One character that did make a welcome return was Billie Piper as Rose, although not the ‘real’ Rose but rather a mental projection presented to the 9^th Doctor (Hurt). Piper’s performance was spot on and the interaction between her and Hurt sparkled.

Three Doctors together was always going to be the highlight and the combination worked brilliantly, although perhaps not in the ways that might have been expected. John Hurt’s ‘War Doctor’ had previously been revealed as a dark and brooding character but here, given some real screen time, he gave us a surprisingly lighthearted and mischievous Doctor. His screen presence and quiet dignity lent a weight to the Doctor missing since Christopher Eccleston and, as a result, Tennant and Smith looked pale in comparison, offering mainly comic relief. There were several great lines referring to the differences between the three, Hurt’s ‘Am I having a midlife crisis?’ being one of the best. Although I have enjoyed both Tennant and Smith’s Doctors, it did bring home that their performances are more caricatures than characters and it will be interesting to see whether Peter Capaldi will bring the gravitas back to the Doctor as Hurt did.

The Time War action was suitably impressive but played second fiddle to the plot and the Doctor arriving at a resolution to his dilemma of committing genocide versus the saving of countless more lives. The Daleks, although present in their entirety, were not overused in terms of the adventure, which was another brave move. Moffat’s predecessor, Russell T. Davies would certainly have chucked thousands and thousands of CGI Daleks at the screen and relied upon the spectacle itself to carry the story rather than letting the strength of the writing and acting do the job.

The final reckoning of the Time War saw all 12 of the Doctors flying in to save the day. “No, all 13!” cried a Time Lord and we were treated to a glimpse of the next Doctor, Peter Capaldi, joining the fray – another treat for the fans. After a satisfying and suitably hopeful conclusion, there were still more surprises to come. After a thoughtful and moving exchange between Hurt, Tennant and Smith, reflecting upon their pasts and futures before departing for their respective places in the timestream, we were left back with the current Doctor, quietly contemplating his eventual retirement from all the adventures. The final big surprise was perhaps the biggest reward for longtime fans, with the return of the longest-serving and probably the most popular Doctor, Tom Baker, for a moving and enigmatic final exchange. Again, as with John Hurt, the gravitas brought to this short appearance showed something that has been lacking from the Doctor in recent times. A final farewell as the current Doctor stood with his predecessors was the perfect end to a very special evening.

And so, we head towards another landmark; a Christmas special and a new Doctor in the form of Peter Capaldi.

Long may it continue.

All images – BBC