Episode #250 : The Day of the Doctor

"I've had many faces, many lives. I don't admit to all of them. There's one life I've tried very hard to forget. He was the Doctor who fought in the Time War, and that was the day he did it. The day I did it. The day he killed them all. The last day of the Time War. The war to end all wars between my people and the Daleks. And in that battle there was a man with more blood on his hands than any other, a man who would commit a crime that would silence the universe. And that man was me."

Episode #250:      The Day of the Doctor.
Companions:        The 10th Doctor, The 11th Doctor, The War Doctor and Clara Oswald.
Air Date:              23rd November 2013.

The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In the 21st century, something terrible is awakening in London's National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor's own dangerous past comes back to haunt him.

It's all been building to this, the 50th anniversary episode of Doctor Who. It has certainly been worth the wait. Moffat did not disappoint with this one. The story revolves around the War Doctor really, as he steals an ancient Time Lord weapon called The Moment and plans to use it to destroy the Daleks and his own people. The Moment, however, is sentient and tries to show the War Doctor what will happen if he uses it. Somehow able to manipulate events so that the War Doctor joins with his 10th and 11th selves. Lets him see who he will become if he uses the weapon and on a side adventure stops a bunch of Zygons from taking over the Earth.

The Zygon plot is a little shoehorned in as a means of getting the Doctors together and getting them to where they need to be. It is nice to see the Zygons return though as another throw back to the classic show and we learn about their world being destroyed in the Time War. That ties in well with the events from Terror of the Zygons.

The real story is about the Time War and it is long overdue in coming. Although we still don't know about the strange horrors of the Time War we do at last see the Time Lords and Daleks fighting it out. This has been hinted at for years so it is nice to see it visited for the anniversary episode. In any case, it does the story justice and again we learn more about the Doctor though this. The more the show continues the more we are being shown about the Doctor's life and who he really is, and whatever you may feel about Russell T Davis and Steven Moffat, you can't fault that they have done wonders pushing that aspect of the show in a good way.

The culmination with the appearance of all 13 Doctors is just a huge squee moment. I remember watching this episode on the TV and just getting so excited, especially with the brief appearance of the 13th Doctor! I still get some of that excitement watching it still.

Another really cool thing about this episode was that it was broadcast to UK cinemas at the same time as it went out on the air. I didn't manage to go see it there but that is a great idea for the BBC to do.

This is a really fantastic adventure and it fully lives up to the title of a 50th anniversary episode. This is one you have to watch.

Episode #248 : The Night of the Doctor

"Four minutes?! That's ages! What if I get bored, need some books, a television? Anyone for chess? Bring me knitting."

Episode #248:      The Night of the Doctor.
Companions:        The 8th Doctor.
Air Date:              14th November 2013.

Still trying to skirt around the edges of the Last Great Time War, the Eighth Doctor is forced to fully join the conflict by the mysterious Sisterhood of Karn. Killed while trying to save a woman who hates him simply for being a Time Lord, the Doctor gets to choose what his next incarnation will be like. He arranges for a warrior... but makes the darkest sacrifice of his life in order to be reborn.

So this is a short, the first of two, to serve as a prequel to the 50th anniversary special and it brings with a special treat for us fans, we finally get to the see the 8th Doctor regenerate. Sort of. For some time now the fan base had been discussing what had happened to the 8th Doctor after his one appearance and then countless audio dramas (and whether they were canonical or not). At last we learn what happened.

We also get a reappearance of the Sisterhood of Karn, not seen since the 4th Doctor story The Brain of Morbius. While that may mean nothing to the casual modern view to us old school fans of the show, it's an exciting element. I do think we need more references to the days of the original show. I've said quite a few times on this blog and I don't expect to not keep saying that. The Sisterhood hasn't changed much from what we see and they are ready to intervene in the Time War. They do this by saving the Doctors life and giving him the opportunity to choose his next incarnation. So perhaps the fault is not with the War Doctor but with the 8th incarnation. He chooses to be a warrior and regenerates into a younger version of the War Doctor, meaning that he has been fighting the Daleks for some time.

The Night of the Doctor is only a short film running seven and a half minutes but it is really well done and helps cement where we last saw the Doctor prior to his 9th self appearing in Rose.

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Episode #247 : The Name of the Doctor

"You didn't listen, did you? You lot never do. That's the problem. The Doctor has a secret he will take to the grave. It is discovered. He wasn't talking about my secret. No, no, no, that's not what's been found. He was talking about my grave. Trenzalore is where I'm buried."

Episode #247:      The Name of the Doctor.
Companions:        The 11th Doctor and Clara Oswald.
Air Date:              18th May 2013.

A prophecy is coming true. The Eleventh Doctor is summoned to Trenzalore where it was said he would fall. But what does the alleged site of his final battle have to do with the mystery of Clara — or is it Oswin — Oswald? Can the Paternoster Gang help him avoid his apparent destiny? And most of all...Doctor who?

What a fantastic ending to this season of the show. We get a host of the Doctor's friends together, the return of the Great Intelligence, the final revelation of what and were Trenzalore is and at last the resolution to the impossible girl story line.

It is difficult to explain how good this story is because it isn't any one thing. It's the emotion, the perfectly written scenes and dialogue and the awe moments when everything starts to come together. I have said it before and I'm repeating it now, when Stephen Moffat really puts his mind to it we get some phenomenal episodes. The Name of the Doctor has it all whether you are a modern fan or a classic one. The brief flashes of the old incarnations really gives me the giddy feelings watching this one.

But who is the mysterious Doctor not spoken about? And what a coup getting esteemed (now late) actor John Hurt in for that role is just a masterstroke. That all gets explained soon enough as well. You have to remember that this was leading up to the 50th anniversary episode and we're in for a wild ride.

Anyway, getting away from the excitement, the final set up for the overarching plot this season brings us finally to Trenzalore. This planet was mentioned by the headless Dorium during his "doctor who?" prophecy at the end of A Good Man Goes to War. The Great Intelligence has planned all this to get his revenge on the Doctor for thwarting his schemes. His plan being to enter the Doctor's time stream and cause his adventures to fail although this will destroy him. Clara realizes that the "impossible girl" is her existing in all the Doctor's time lines helping him out and stopping the Great Intelligence. Quite clever really although it does in my mind cause a few little paradoxes not to mention that this future for the Doctor and Trenzalore will never come about.

The Name of the Doctor is a great ending to the story arc and is a nice stepping stone to what comes next.