Holistic Review: It feels more like a celebration of the past 8 years than the past 50, but otherwise the story really doesn't set a foot wrong, and it leaves the audience with a euphoric feeling of delight and hope. I could've wished for more, but there's nothing I would change.
Going into The Day of the Doctor, I had a lot of concerns, as I think is evident from my review of the previous story. Would it really commemorate the history of the series, or would it ignore all the past Doctors and companions? Would John Hurt's brand-new character be a distraction from what's meant to be a celebration of the past? Would the story be all spectacle and noise, with no heart and no plot consistency? Answer: Oh, me of little faith! While it's true that the anniversary special doesn't involve the past quite as deeply as I would have liked, in all other respects it brushed aside all my worries, and even went a few steps further to give me some heart's desires that I hadn't even thought to articulate.
Let's start with that wishlist of mine, eh? In my review of The Name of the Doctor, I mentioned four things that would make me happy in the anniversary special:
Which leads me into my next point. Having checked practically everything off my list of unreasonable demands, The Day of the Doctor doesn't stop there! One of the most rewarding things about the story is the way it retroactively offers alternative explanations for several elements of the new series that I had intensely disliked, meaning that I can now look back on several of the revival episodes more favorably than I had before. I can't quite believe the number of them that this episode tackles!
First off, the War Doctor mocks the recent trend of casting "hot young actors" in the lead role. First he assumes, delightfully, that the tenth and eleventh Doctors are actually his future self's companions! Then, upon learning who they are, he wonders: "Am I having a midlife crisis?!"
Second, like me, he scoffs at the transformation of the sonic screwdriver into a magical all-purpose solution. "Why are you pointing your screwdrivers like that?" he wonders, as his future selves simultaneously brandish theirs like a weapon. "They're scientific instruments, not water pistols!" Shortly thereafter, when they repeat this behavior upon being surrounded by the Queen's guards, the War Doctor despairs: "Oh, the pointing again! They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?" Brilliant.
Third, the controversial arrival of romance in the Doctor's life is addressed. As Queen Elizabeth plants a big one on the tenth Doctor, the War Doctor wonders, "Is there a lot of this in the future?" (The eleventh Doctor's response: "It does start to happen, yeah.")
Finally, a couple of the series' dialogue tendencies are absolutely roasted. (Tendencies which, I might add, Moffat almost entirely avoids in this anniversary special. Given the enormity of the occasion, I am especially impressed.) First, the episode takes a swipe at the revival's love of pomposity, as the tenth Doctor faces down an adorable bunny in the most over-the-top, melodramatic way possible, before having his bubble completely burst when he realizes that, in fact, it is not a Zygon and can't understand a word he's saying (unless he also speaks rabbit). Next the episode turns its sights on overly cutesly dialogue. Having previously spluttered over the eleventh Doctor's use of the phrase "timey-wimey", the War Doctor later skewers this verbal affectation with "Well, we might as well get started. Help to pass the 'timey-wimey'. Do you have to talk like children? What is it that makes you so ashamed of being a grown-up?"
And with that line, Moffat's script transitions from merely critiquing the modern-series Doctors to explaining why they behave so differently. From the tenth and eleventh Doctor's reactions, it's clear that the War Doctor's comment hits close to home. Suddenly it's blindingly obvious that their childish behavior is a reaction against the horrible things they've had to do in the past. Where, before, this kind of dialogue occasionally seemed eye-rollingly embarrassing, now it's easier to interpret it as fitting very much into an understandable behavioral pattern of forced lightheartedness. The Moment puts this into words too, when she reminds us that, following the ninth Doctor's rage, his later incarnations are still moving through the stages of grief after wiping out his homeworld and all of its inhabitants: "They're you. They're what you become if you destroy Gallifrey. The man who regrets, and the man who forgets." It's a lovely, and appropriately-timed, character study of the Doctor.
The great thing is, this is exactly the kind of story that couldn't be told as effectively outside of a multi-Doctor reunion. Evidently, left to his own devices, one war-weary Doctor alone isn't going to be able to think laterally, when the only possible options seem to be mass genocide vs universal domination by the Daleks. But when he's joined by his future selves, who have been regretting their actions and beating themselves up with alternatives for centuries, the possibility exists for a very different outcome. The Doctors' solution, to snatch Gallifrey out of time and space and allow the Daleks to destroy one another, is elegantly simple and absolutely exhilarating.
Having done all that, and satisfied me so deeply in so many ways, The Day of the Doctor also looks to the future, and ends on a note so high that it must be giddy from lack of oxygen. Now we're reassured that the Doctor isn't going to die (at least, not permanently) at Trenzalore, but rather finds a nice quiet retirement, even returning to some of his "old favorite" faces. Gallifrey is still out there somewhere, frozen in time but safe. And now the Doctor has a new purpose in life: to find Gallifrey, restore it to its previous glory, and — presumably — rehabilitate the Time Lords. What a fantastic way for the fiftieth anniversary to celebrate the past, and outline the future direction of the series. It's one of the most enticing developments that the series could have unveiled. While I don't disagree with Davies' decision to simplify the series on its relaunch, and give the Doctor a tortured backstory, by removing Gallifrey from the equation, it's always been one of my greatest regrets that the Time Lords no longer exist. After eight years of the revival, it feels like the time is right to reintroduce Gallifrey without having to worry that its extensive backstory will scare off newcomers. I wonder how Davies feels about one of his series tenets being reversed? I bet he's over the moon about it. (Did you notice how I didn't mention the Rani even once? Aren't you proud of me?)
This is a bevy of wonderful plot elements, and that's before we've even tackled the story itself. First of all, I must lavish Steven Moffat with praise for his scripting, because this story is really well structured. The plot hops about all over the place, jumping backward and forward through time for extended interludes, but it never feels confusing or abrupt, because the transitions are so well done and the background information is judiciously given just when we need it. The conceit of a multi-Doctor story is also well justified using a clever riff on A Christmas Carol, as a sentient temporal weapon decides to show the Doctor just what he'll turn into if he deploys it. Moffat's handling of the multiple leads is excellent: the storyline is really well balanced between Matt Smith and David Tennant, while still giving Hurt plenty of moments to shine. The plot, complex though it sometimes is, feels well thought-out with a logical flow, which is a great relief after all the freewheeling we've had lately. A superb example is the discussion of the eleventh Doctor's age, which leads to the plot to dissolve the wooden door by instantly bypassing 400 years' worth of calculations, which leads directly into the Doctors' solution for saving Gallifrey. Likewise, the stasis cube provides the conduit for the Zygon invasion, a way for the Doctor(s) to infiltrate the Black Archive, and the means of Gallifrey's salvation.
Scripting is also a real strength of the minisode The Last Day, which gives us a glimpse of Gallifrey at the very end of the Time War. Moffat's skill at setting up terrifying scenarios is out in full force here, even though the minisode is so short that there's never any time to really pay off the ideas that he plants. But the soldier's frantic insistence that "I know what the guys have been telling you. But trust me, they're not premonitions, okay? Just side effects, hallucinations." is highly suspicious, which immediately makes the audience fear the worst since we, too, are privy to these "hallucinations". The posthumous memory upload ("Anything gruesome, or unsuitable for children — like actually dying, for instance — will be tinted red.") has a lot of potential, which I daresay we'll see cropping up in a future Moffat episode. Just imagine the tension that could be generated by something like a pair of spectacles with lenses that turn red in the presence of danger! Shiver!
One guaranteed way to keep the fans glued to their seats: show the actual events of the Time War. Mind you, this path is fraught with peril, because — as Russell T Davies himself said — the Time War is surely much grander than could ever be portrayed on screen, and as such any attempt to represent it is bound to lead to disappointment. Yet by limiting himself to one fateful battle, and the Doctor's decision to put an end to it all, Moffat miraculously succeeds. Finally fandom's curiosity is largely satisfied about this mysterious gap in the Doctor's life, and what we see of the Time War doesn't disappoint in the slightest. The pivotal battle of Arcadia looks brutal, and the less-crucial events of the Time War remain left to the imagination.
As befits a fiftieth anniversary special, the script is peppered with lots of little fan-pleasing references, like Kate's use of Cromer as a codeword; the sly reference to UNIT dating that I didn't even catch until it was pointed out to me; and the space-time telegraph makes a reappearance.
I do have a few small criticisms of the script(s), though:
It's a mark of how affecting I found this story that I can happily overlook these little niggles in favor of all the things it did right.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to Matt Smith yet; it feels weird to be losing him right after a celebration like this. I wish he had just been "the incumbent Doctor" for the fiftieth anniversary special, and it had launched him into another successful year, rather than being "the outgoing Doctor". But there's no doubt that he, like David Tennant, will go on to fantastic things, and it'll be fun to watch his career soar. He's delightful in The Day of the Doctor, which gives him lots of lighthearted moments but a few somber ones too — like his mounting annoyance as the War Doctor provokes him with questions he doesn't want to answer — and Smith delivers on all fronts. I love his delivery of "Hello ladies!", the heart-soaring line "Gentlemen, I have had 400 years to think about this. I've changed my mind!"; and his "ta-da!" expression as he puts on the fez. Perhaps my favorite of his deliveries, though, because of the way it utterly encapsulates his character, is the way he twirls his arms akimbo on the mocking line "Oh, he's cool! Isn't he cool! I'm the Doctor, and I'm all cool!"
I recently had the opportunity to see David Tennant in Richard II (not at the RSC, sadly, as the tickets had sold out long before Gray and I began planning an excursion to Stratford-upon-Avon, but in what was ostensibly a live simulcast at 7 pm EST / midnight GMT), and I was struck by how amazingly talented he is at delivering even the most stilted of dialogue in an extremely naturalistic fashion. I'd never read, or seen any version of, Richard II before, but I had no trouble following the plot because the actors were just so good, Tennant foremost among them. This deep respect for his talent hit me again watching him give a full-body performance of his line "Big red rubbery thing, covered in suckers. Surprisingly good kisser!" I've been so enamored with Matt Smith's delightfully kooky Doctor that I had forgotten just how unbelievably good Tennant is in the role. Watching the tenth and eleventh Doctors bounce off one another is a total delight. I've mentioned in the past that the two of them are perhaps a bit too similar for their own good, both belonging firmly in the Tom Baker mould of Doctors, yet by putting them onscreen simultaneously, Moffat is beautifully able to contrast their similarities with the ways in which they do differ. Most strikingly, it turns out that while the eleventh Doctor wants to look cool, he is in fact deeply un-cool, dorky and awkward, which makes him quite sweet. The eleventh Doctor marches to the beat of a drummer so different that only he can hear it. In contrast, the tenth Doctor is effortlessly cool, suave and rather full of himself, marching to the beat of a slightly more mainstream drummer. Love his delivery of "Well. Won't that be nice.", the way he switches gears on "And you... are basically just a rabbit, aren't you?" His reaction when he realizes he's actually proposed to Elizabeth is hilariously understated. And the tenth Doctor, too, gets some nice dramatic scenes, like his anger that his future self has allowed himself to forget the atrocities he committed on Gallifrey.
One of my very few objections about this story — or, to be most precise, about The Night of the Doctor — is the revelation that John Hurt's Doctor is not the Valeyard, or some mysterious future incarnation, but a previous incarnation of the Doctor, between McGann and Eccleston, that has never before even been hinted at. By rights, he should be the ninth Doctor, making Matt Smith the twelfth, but Steven Moffat assures us that we don't have to renumber anybody because John Hurt's incarnation doesn't call himself "the Doctor". ("It's not a matter of counting the regenerations, but of counting the faces of the Time Lord that calls himself the Doctor," Moffat says, in DWM 467.) That's all fine and dandy, I suppose, but the regeneration itself still counts, surely? Meaning that Peter Capaldi, and not his successor as we'd thought, will have to confront the stumbling block that according to current regeneration laws, he should by rights be the Doctor's final incarnation. I felt a little better that Moffat tried to address this in DWM 467, by pointing out that if you're counting regenerations absolutely by the book, David Tennant used up two... but if we're counting that way, then Matt Smith is already the thirteenth regeneration, and should therefore be the last! It's possible that this is exactly what Moffat has in mind — after all, the cover of DWM 468 advertises The Time of the Doctor with the tagline "Can the Doctor defeat the Daleks, Cybermen, Silence and Weeping Angels before the end of his final life?" — so as long as that's Moffat's assumption going forward, then my objection will be removed. If that's the case, then we're on the eleventh Doctor by name, but the thirteenth Doctor by regeneration. It's more confusing than it needs to be, but I can live with it, especially since it would appear that Moffat has immediate plans in place to address (and get around) that thirteen-regeneration limit. Six months ago, I sure didn't think we'd be confronting it anywhere near this soon! It is a shame that what should have been an unbelievably climactic event is now about to be sprung on us with essentially no advance warning and no sense of anticipation, but I must confess that I'm very curious to see how he tackles it. (I've always sort of envisioned a companion sacrificing him- or herself to save the Doctor from dying, although when I put it that bluntly, it sounds horribly out of touch with how the series behaves! The Master might be able to get away with that sort of thing, but never the Doctor.)
Can I make a confession? I was completely unaware of John Hurt prior to his involvement in Doctor Who. I have no reason to rejoice at the mere fact of his being cast, or to be all tingly with excitement about how he would interpret the role of the Doctor. In fact, it's safe to say that I was not predisposed to like his character at all, given that he's presented to loyal fans almost as an interloper. How dare he interrupt the numerical perfection of our transition from 8 to 9? There is no number "war"! Our episode guides and DVD shelves will be thrown into chaos! And yet, Hurt absolutely won me over. I really appreciate that, almost right from the start, the War Doctor is shown to have a strong sense of humor, which I certainly wasn't expecting from his gruff exterior. But of course he has a sense of humor; it's lines like "How do you work? Why is there never a big red button?", as he studies the Moment's intricate casing, that make him clearly the Doctor. I also love Hurt's deeply-grateful delivery of "Thank you." The idea of the Doctor having a suppressed identity is actually a great one, which reminds me more than a little of DS9's "Equilibrium". Incidentally, it's worth mentioning that Trills, too, can genderswap, and if anything it makes for even more fascinating plotlines and a greater scope of stories!
Together, the three Doctors are delightful. The tenth and eleventh Doctors have exactly the sort of relationship you'd expect. There's some competitiveness and playful insults (like "matchstick man" and "chinny"), in the grand tradition of multi-Doctor encounters, but the two of them are so similar that they can't possibly dislike one another, so almost immediately we see them develop a friendly, chummy rapport. I adore all the shots of them doing things simultaneously: tossing and catching their sonic screwdrivers, putting their feet up on the table and crossing their arms, and anytime they grin at one another. Although the best of these moments is unquestionably when they each put on their spectacles, then notice and admire one another's. Adorable! The War Doctor catalyzes a sort of "us-vs-him" relationship that no doubt helps their bonding process, and the respectful confrontations among the three of them are deeply satisfying because they give us so many insights into the Doctor's state of mind. Of course, it's also great fun when the three of them enthusiastically cooperate.
Paul McGann makes his extremely long-awaited return to the series in The Night of the Doctor, and again I remain grateful to Big Finish for keeping the character fresh in his mind for the past decade while he waited to be officially called back. Aside from a nice costume change (keeping the same overall feel and color scheme, but swapping out the "costumey" look for a more traditional mish-mash), a haircut and an extra dollop of world-weariness, this is still clearly the same eighth Doctor we've always known and loved. The only element of his personality that this minisode doesn't capture is his infectious zeal for life, but otherwise it's a fantastic way to show off Paul McGann's talents in a mere six minutes. Finally, we learn that while the eighth Doctor was around for the start of the Time War, he didn't actually participate in it, as we had assumed. I really warmed to this detail: it feels true to the Doctor's character that he would avoid fighting as long as possible, and would have to resort to drastic measures to force himself to join the conflict. Love McGann's delivery of "Yes, come on, you'll love it!" (a line that absolutely oozes eighth-Doctor) and "Get out! GET OUT! All of you." (a glimpse of fury that we never saw from him onscreen).
It's sweet that Elizabeth I gives us a very early hint that she has appointed the Doctor to be the Curator of the Undergallery, which of course you don't notice until the second viewing. I'm deeply touched not only that Tom Baker was worked into the storyline, but that his character represents such hope and contentment for the Doctor's future. It's so delightful to see him in Doctor Who again, and his performance is as mesmerizing as always, even though I get the impression he wasn't really allowed to run as wild with his line readings (or ad-libs!) as he might have liked! Nevertheless, he delivers them with panache: "Now, what would you think that means, eh?", "Where is it, indeed? Lost! Shh!", and his hilarious schnoz-tapping on "Who knows?" More Tom Baker, please.
We even get our first brief glimpse of Peter Capaldi! (Who appears, as far as I could tell, to be wearing something purplish, not dissimilar to Matt Smith's coat.) Mind you, I was half-expecting him, after his tantalizing "see you at Christmas... or maybe sooner" tweet! Nor would this be the first time that Capaldi was half-expected in Doctor Who! Prior to the announcement of his casting, on August 4, rumors had begun to leak (or perhaps "gush" would be more accurate) that he was a likely candidate. I was really excited about the possibility, because I'd really enjoyed him in The Fires of Pompeii, he absolutely blew me out of the water in Torchwood, and he's a perfect fit for what I had in mind when I said that I hoped we could tweak a few things about the Doctor at his next regeneration. As much as I have adored our run of younger Doctors, one of my concerns is that it might become expected, so I've been hoping to see an older actor take over the part, which was automatically a point in Capaldi's favor. Plus it might help with this blight of companion smooching: hopefully it'll place the Doctor firmly back in the "favorite uncle" mold, even if his companions continue to fancy him. The other thing that excited me about Capaldi was his very expressive face. Already, I have no problem at all imagining his frightful expression as he stares down villains, and I'm anticipating a slightly pricklier Doctor, which I think will be a really fun change. On the Sunday that the live announcement was broadcast, my friend Nancy kindly indulged my request to take advantage of her access to BBC America, and when Capaldi's name was announced, I whooped for joy! The icing on the cake is learning that he's just as much of a fan as Tennant was; perhaps even more so, given that he was writing fan letters to various publications during the Pertwee and Tom Baker eras. I'm really excited to welcome him into the fold, and the news of his casting has helped me to feel a little less sad about Matt Smith leaving us.
One other benefit of Billie Piper portraying the conscience of the Moment rather than Rose Tyler is that it gives her the chance to play a stilted, oddball version of Rose, which is actually a lot of fun. A good example is her unselfconscious little dance on "no more!" which I should probably find embarrassing, but instead comes across as cute. And how appropriate that a superweapon should appear to the Doctor in the guise of the Bad Wolf. Rose's funny, cheeky personality is in there, as are her more grandiose, omniscient Bad Wolf mannerisms, but the character's behavior and speech style are markedly different. The Moment itself, a super-powerful weapon with a conscience, is a brilliant idea that fits perfectly into the tone of Doctor Who. I adore that the weapon doesn't want to destroy anyone, and it alone — being apparently super-brainy along with super-destructive — knows exactly how to nudge the Doctor so that he comes up with an alternative solution. Love Piper's delivery of "Hello!", "Okay, wasn't expecting that.", and she gets to be (as far as I can recall) the first person to canonically describe the TARDIS materialization noise as "wheezing, groaning." Now there's an honor for the fiftieth anniversary!
Poor Clara, despite being the incumbent companion, gets a bit lost among three Doctors, two monsters, a bevy of guest stars and an eventful, pivotal plotline. She doesn't get very much to do, although thankfully her big moments — rescuing the Doctors from the Tower of London, and nudging them to find an alternative solution to the destruction of Gallifrey — are big moments. She oughta be made an honorary Time Lord or something, for being the catalyst in averting the wipeout of the Time Lords. I do find it worrying that the Doctor hands her, on a silver platter, the delightful opportunity to roleplay an evil witch and terrify some superstitious soldiers, but Clara doesn't even remotely seem to get the point of helping to save the Doctor's lives. She's very slow on the draw, she drops out of character almost immediately, and she utterly lets the ball drop on the "menacing magickal threat" front. ("What he said" is really her most terrifying witch dialogue?) Still, the Doctor and Clara definitely have a cute rapport going, as in their initial TARDIS scene, and although I must say I miss the era of full-time companions, it's rather neat that Clara is more in the Sarah Jane Smith mold, in that regard, holding down a job in between her TARDIS travels. I find it very appropriate, for the 50th anniversary story, that Clara, with her affinity for children, has become a history teacher at Coal Hill School, just like Barbara! Her newly-acquired familiarity with the Doctor's previous incarnations — a story detail that I've always appreciated, like Peri knowing about Jo Grant — comes in quite handy here, as she meets not one but two of the Doctor's previous selves. Love Jenna Coleman's delivery of "You don't have a job.", "Why am I the witch?!", "You told me you wiped out your own people, I just... I never pictured you doing it, that's all.", and her reaction as the Doctors prepare to destroy Gallifrey (the pained look on her face, then shaking her head and silently pleading with them not to do it).
It's a delight to see the Sisterhood of Karn again in The Night of the Doctor. Ohila, played with gravitas by Clare Higgins, is as forbidding and mystical as any of the Sisterhood from Morbius. The second minisode, The Last Day, introduces us to a Gallifreyan soldier played by Chris Finch, to whom I warmed quickly. You get the impression that he's seen a lot of these headcam-outfitted soldiers die in battle (although I'm not sure why, if Arcadia has never before been breached) but he's still kind and helpful despite being in the middle of a war zone. I love his concerned acting in the background as the commander gives his infamous speech. I hadn't even realized until my fourth viewing that he reappears in The Day of the Doctor itself, as the soldier who informs the High Council that Arcadia has fallen. I'm really glad he got at least a few lines in the story proper!
It's so nice that Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) gets to be in the 50th anniversary story, as a stand-in of sorts for the Brigadier. I've grown to love her immediately, and she's such a warm, reassuring, capable presence. Love Redgrave's delivery of "No, sorry... inside." UNIT scientist Osgood (Ingrid Oliver) is really cute as the slightly-starstruck geeky fangirl audience stand-in, who's lovably normal but impressively competent. She bests her Zygon duplicate in a fight, and singlehandedly finds and rescues Kate from their clutches. I love that she wears a fourth-Doctor scarf. That's a sweet detail, and so appropriate for this story. (And the Doctor himself even comments on it!) And she's an impressive screamer, too! For some reason, I kept thinking that Osgood was Kate's daughter, maybe because Kate acts very maternal toward her! I also enjoyed Jonjo O'Neill as McGillop. He has a great accent!
Joanna Page is a total star as Queen Elizabeth. She's flirty and commanding, nd Steven Moffat has given her some dialogue gems. What a riot watching a sixteenth-century queen, with all her regal comportant, her training in the noble arts, and her expectation of being obeyed by everyone, cope with the Doctor's crazy world. Elizabeth I makes an extremely creditable companion, the way she takes shapeshifting aliens in her stride, effortlessly impersonates a Zygon among its own crew, and even kills a Zygon single-handedly. Yet she's still utterly a woman of her time and position, half-jokingly taking offense to being ordered around, casually mentioning her gruesome habit of ordering decapitations, and screaming at frightening monsters. It's made me ponder how much fun it would be to have a historical English queen, in the early days of her ascendancy to the throne, travelling in the TARDIS. Especially one from such an interesting period of history as Elizabeth! That's one thing Doctor Who has never tried before, outside of Big Finish: a celebrity companion. I love Page's delivery of "A Zygon?!" (So posh!)
How could we have a 50th anniversary celebration without the Daleks? While the whole story is essentially about them, they're by no means centrally featured. They're used mainly as background color, which I like very much, because it allows more airtime for other story elements. It tickles me to hear them screech "Seek! Locate! Destroy!"
More exciting than Daleks is the return of yet another classic-series monster, and can I just say how thrilled I am that David Tennant finally gets to meet the Zygons? I thought it would never happen! and I wanted it for him so much. For that matter, I wanted it for me, too. Fandom has long been of the opinion that the Zygons deserved to be more than a one-hit wonder, on account of their fantastic design, creepy infiltration abilities, and icy demeanor. Finally, they get a second encounter with the Doctor, and while I might wish that the story were more about them, it cannot be accused of using the Zygons poorly. Every important aspect of their backstory is here, plus a few brand-new ones. The destruction of their homeworld is mentioned again, this time attributed directly to the Time War, and dated to the mid-1500s at the latest. We get confirmation that Zygons can copy the bodyprint of anyone they meet (although the precise mechanics are still unclear; it doesn't seem to require physical contact, yet they also acquire the original's memory) but if they want to retain the imprint long-term, they have to store the original in order to refresh the image (a process which does not actually require their spaceship, just some of their lovely organic technology). New revelations include the venom sacs in their tongue, and the charming detail that they drool orange goo. I adore Osgood's musings about what would happen if a Zygon duplicate lost a shoe, because it's the sort of thing we've all wondered about! Infuriatingly — yet also hilariously, because I think Moffat must be winding us up deliberately — about the only thing that doesn't get confirmed is the beloved fan theory that Zygons have stings in their fingers, thus explaining why Tom Baker seemed to find their shoulder massages painful. We do get one shot of a Zygon's hand smoking just before it grips a UNIT soldier's face, but there's no outright confirmation. And you know he knew we wanted to know! Most delightfully, Moffat uses the Zygons for both frights and comic relief, as in the scene of the two Elizabeths squabbling and trying to out-Elizabeth one another. Not to mention the usual shapeshifter suspense, which generates some effective plot twists: first Kate's a Zygon, then Elizabeth isn't... anybody could be not-a-Zygon! As for their design, suffice it to say that when I first saw a publicity photo of the Zygon on the Doctor Who News Page on April 2, it took me several seconds to realize that it was a new photo rather than a classic-series one that I'd never seen before. I adore them for not changing the design (or the voices), beyond a few subtle upgrades like the pointy teeth and the nasty drooling goo. My only extremely-minor gripe is that I wish the Zygon had slightly more flared protuberances, but who can complain? They're fantastic. Now that the BBC have a few Zygon costumes, I hope they'll want to reuse them!
However, I must admit that after the first couple of viewings, I really didn't get the Zygons' plans. I think now it mostly makes sense... the Zygons crashlanded on Earth in the sixteenth century but, having little interest in conquering such a boring primitive planet, decide to wait it out until Earth develops a more useful level of technology. Therefore, they hole themselves up in some Gallifreyan paintings in the Tower of London, which — by utter and very fortuitous chance — eventually winds up being where many top-secret alien gadgets are also hidden away. When the time is right, the Zygons emerge to take over the staff, with the intention of using a vortex manipulator to...? Oh dear, maybe I still don't get it. Well, at any rate, they want to conquer the Earth, as per usual.
The troublesome bits are these: How did the Zygons get hold of a Time Lord stasis cube? How did they figure out how to operate it? (Maybe it was a bit of flotsam left behind when the Time War ravaged their home planet?) If they're unaware of the passage of time inside the paintings — which seems likely, otherwise they'd be fidgeting like crazy, and/or they'd wither away and die, unless they're very long-lived — then how do they know when it's time to get out? And, more importantly, how are they able to smash the glass from inside the painting? (They're crazy strong, frighteningly determined, and they set an alarm clock?) Why do they pose as statues in the Undergallery? (They couldn't open the door from the inside? Or they wanted to wait until they could take over key personnel?) What would their plan have been if they'd emerged from the paintings in the basement of a village church in the Cotswolds?
Jamie Stone deserves singling out for his direction of the minisode The Last Day. I love the first-person POV, which really adds immediacy to the onscreen action. I'm thrilled that Nick Hurran was the director chosen to helm the 50th anniversary episode; after his handling of The Girl Who Waited, he would have been one of my top choices too. As the episode demonstrates, he was indeed an excellent choice, demonstrating a flair for dramatic and strikingly beautiful shot composition. Among his many wonderful shots: Clara driving her motorbike straight into the TARDIS, which looks flawless; the sunlight streaming through the wooden boards in the hut; the Doctor comparing the painting to the image on Kate's phone; the perfectly-framed shot of the War Doctor standing in front of the Moment, with the tenth Doctor and the Bad Wolf interface on one side, and the eleventh Doctor and Clara on the other; the three TARDISes lined up in the Undergallery; and, one of the best, the shot of all three Doctors turning to look at Clara simultaneously. No wonder Jenna Coleman was so discombobulated by it! Even the simple shot of the camera following the War Doctor's footprints in the sand outside the TARDIS, before it pans up to a stunning mountain vista, is really effective. He makes interesting use of flashbacks and transitions, like the artsy poetic shot of the glass shattering as the Doctor realizes that something has escaped from the paintings. Much of this was probably done with 3D in mind, but even in 2D it makes for captivating viewing. Hurran also knows how to mine shots for great comedic effect, like the oh-so-innocent bunny nudging some moss off the log and pawing at it adorably. All of the location filming is stunning, particularly the many gorgeous shots of the Tower, the aerial views of London, the ruined castle where the tenth Doctor and Elizabeth go picnicking, and the forest scenes.
Effects are wonderful throughout. The 3D shot of the oil painting even looks amazing in 2D, especially the zoom into it as the scene inside changes perspective; the Daleks shatter (and explode) impressively when the TARDIS bowls them over; the aerial view of the Capitol is gorgeous (and I wonder what the pit beneath it is for?); the displays in the Gallifreyan war room are very pretty; there's a beautiful shot of one of the TARDISes approaching Gallifrey amid a blaze of coruscating light; the effect of Gallifrey exploding (or, at least, seeming to explode!) is dazzling; and the lovely final shot of all the Doctors together (in which, interestingly, McGann appears as his TV-movie self, rather than as his Time War self) is really well-done. I was really impressed with the shots of Kate shifting back into her Zygon form; the makeup and the CGI are exceptionally well-done. And gross. The helicopter stunt is impressive — how did Matt Smith dangle safely from the bottom of the TARDIS?! — and the battle sequences during the destruction of Arcadia look amazing. In terms of props, the Moment casing, with its clockwork and maze motifs, fits in really well with the steampunk vibe of modern Gallifreyan technology, and the gemstone plinth into which it unfolds is beautifully designed, especially the giant red gem with power swirling inside. What we see of the Zygons' organic technology looks great, with the standout being the ultra-icky hood that the Zygons use to imprison their captives for long-term duplication. Along with the hut set, I'm in love with the War Doctor's TARDIS. I suppose that fighting in the Time War must make the Doctor crave the familiar comforts of home, because he's reverted from Gothic back to roundels! Oh, how I've missed the roundels! (Although why the tenth and eleventh Doctors are so clueless about their purpose, I have no idea. Don't they remember how often the fifth Doctor got into them?) The hexagonal roundelled wall in the Undergallery is a nice touch, and probably also meant to be a bit of a clue. The design team also pay tribute to the ever-changing TARDIS exteriors. How clever is it that each TARDIS is a slightly different shade of blue? I'd also like to take a moment to praise costume designer Howard Burden for his spectacular work on the metal-filigree Time Lord collars, and Elizabeth I's beautiful quilted gold gown.
Murray Gold's score appears to be mostly recycled, but there's some nice music as the War Doctor first considers how many children there are on Gallifrey, and a creepy moment when the eleventh Doctor compares the before-and-after images of the landscape paintings.
My experience with this episode is a uniquely special one, so I apologize in advance for indulging myself in four paragraphs' worth of details! Back on March 7, the BBC announced the three-day Doctor Who 50th Celebration Weekend, to be held at the ExCeL Centre in London. On a whim, I sent the link to Gray, prefaced by "Sooooo, here's a crazy thought..." Up until the moment that I hit 'send', I was thinking of it in entirely hypothetical terms. (As Gray later put it, "It's funny how, at first blush, I read that announcement through the eyes of a child. 'Ooh. A big Doctor Who event. In England. Which is so far away. And I'd never get to go.' ") But once the message was on its way, I suddenly thought, what have I done? I know that Gray is going to write back and say "Let's do it!" and now I've committed myself. Sure enough, five hours later, Gray wrote back with "I'm in." and plans were afoot.
Registration for the event turned out to be incredibly stressful — the site kept freezing up as everyone tried to buy tickets at once, and I heard reports from people who had put tickets in their cart, only for them to disappear, and then sell out before they could purchase anything — and we weren't told the full roster of guests until November 1, or the full schedule of activities until November 18, a mere three days before we left, so it was quite a challenge to plan our itinerary. Miraculously, although the site wouldn't even load for me, Gray was able to navigate it and purchase us tickets for all three days, plus a photo opportunity with Matt Smith. We had similar issues trying to buy autograph tickets when those became available, but even though a few sold out before we could reserve them (namely William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy), we were still able to get one or two tickets per hour for the people we most wanted to meet.
Thankfully, after all that stress planning for the event, the celebration itself turned out to be suprisingly well-run. Everything that we'd fretted about ahead of time turned out to be a non-issue, so we had an amazing time. The event was broken into two parallel streams, and we'd reserved Classic Lounge panel tickets intended for the opposite stream (because by the time we learned about them, we'd already filled up the gaps in our schedule with autograph sessions), so it was a major relief when we were allowed to attend them! We both thought we made absolutely the right decision to skip some of the main-stage events, which were repeated every day, in favor of the Classic Lounge panels and more autograph times. The autograph queues were set up so close together that after the first day, we realized we could purchase many more than just one or two tickets per session, and have no trouble getting through the lines in time. For us, the autograph queue was unquestionably the highlight of the event, because it gave us the invaluable opportunity to briefly chat with 20 actors from the classic series. It was especially nice doing it together with Gray, because we were much less shy meeting them together than we probably would have been alone! (For the record: almost everyone was delightful, welcoming and engaging, but we had the warmest interactions with Maureen O'Brien, Katy Manning, Janet Fielding, dear Bonnie Langford, and Sophie Aldred, who actually got in trouble for talking to us for too long! Meanwhile, finally getting to meet Louise Jameson and Sarah Sutton absolutely made my 2013.) It was, without a doubt, the trip of a lifetime. I was really happy to get to join Gray for his first-ever trip to England, particularly under such delightful circumstances, and my friend JB even came down from Norwich to join us on Saturday and Sunday.
At any rate, how the ExCeL celebration relates to this episode is that, since we had also missed out on tickets to see The Day of the Doctor broadcast live at ExCeL, and JB and I weren't terribly keen on being forced to watch it in 3D at a local cinema, we decided to watch it from the comfort and quiet of our hotel room, following dinner in Greenwich. Unfortunately, our Tube journey to the restaurant took much longer than we'd anticipated, and we wound up with only 40 minutes in which to make the 45-minute trip back. "You're not going to run back, are you?" worried JB, as our train pulled into Custom House station at 7:45 pm. Well, yes. Amazingly, Gray and I made it to the door of our hotel room at exactly 7:50, and turned on the television just as the opening credits were beginning. By the time JB arrived, we'd more or less caught our breath!
Minor points:
Ohila: "You have a little under four minutes."
eighth Doctor: "Four minutes? That's ages! What if I get bored? I need a television, couple of books, anyone for chess? Bring me knitting."
eighth Doctor: "Will it hurt?"
Ohila: "Yes."
eighth Doctor: "Good."
War Doctor: "Don't sit on that!"
Moment: "Why not?"
War Doctor: "Because it's not a chair! It's the most dangerous weapon in the universe!"
War Doctor: "Ow!"
Moment: "What's wrong?"
War Doctor: "The interface is hot!"
Moment: "Well, I do my best."
Moment: "I chose this face and form especially for you. It's from your past! ...possibly your future, I always get those two mixed up."
War Doctor: "I have no desire to survive this."
Moment: "Then that's your punishment. If you do this, if you kill them all, then that's the consequence: you live."
tenth Doctor: "There you go, Your Majesty! What did I tell you: bigger on the inside."
Elizabeth I: "The door isn't! You nearly took my head off. It's normally me who does that."
Elizabeth I-I: "Exceptional? A queen would call it impertinent."
Elizabeth I-II: "A queen would feel compelled to admire the skill of the execution... before arranging one!"
eleventh Doctor: "Stone dust..."
Kate: "Is it important?"
eleventh Doctor: "In 1200 years, I've never stepped in anything that wasn't."
eleventh Doctor: "Got a name?"
Osgood: "Yes."
eleventh Doctor: "Good, I've always wanted to meet someone called Yes!"
Clara: "Someday, you could just walk past a fez."
tenth Doctor: "Compensating?"
eleventh Doctor: "For what?"
tenth Doctor: "Regeneration. It's a lottery."
tenth Doctor: "There's two of us. I'm reversing it, you're reversing it back again. We're confusing the polarity!"
eleventh Doctor: "Brave words, Dick Van Dyke."
Guard: "The Queen of England is bewitched. I would have the Doctor's head."
War Doctor: "Well, this has all the makings of your lucky day."
eleventh Doctor: "It's a... timey-wimey thing."
War Doctor: "Timey-what? Timey-wimey?!"
tenth Doctor: "I've, I've no idea where he picks that stuff up."
War Doctor: "Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?"
eleventh Doctor: "Yes. ...No."
Zygon-Osgood: "So jealous of your pretty sister. I don't blame you. I wish I'd copied her."
Clara: "Erm, Kate? Should they be here? Why have they followed us?"
Zygon-Kate: "Oh, they've probably just finished disposing of the humans a bit early."
War Doctor: "How old are you now?"
eleventh Doctor: "I dunno. I lose track. Twelve hundred and something, I think, unless I'm lying. I can't remember if I'm lying about my age, that's how old I am."
Elizabeth I: "These Zygon creatures never even considered that it was me who survived, rather than their own commander! The arrogance that typifies their kind!"
Clara: "Zygons?"
Elizabeth I: "Men!"
tenth Doctor: "Oh, you've redecorated! I don't like it."
War Doctor: "Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame."
Moment: "You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning... That sound brings hope wherever it goes."
War Doctor: "Yes. Yes, I like to think it does."
Moment: "To anyone who hears it, Doctor. Anyone. However lost. Even you."
eleventh Doctor: "You were the Doctor on the day it wasn't possible to get it right."
War Doctor: "At worst, we failed doing the right thing, as opposed to succeeding doing the wrong."
eleventh Doctor: "I could retire and be the curator of this place."
Curator: "You know, I really think you might."
Rick Edwards: "Um, why, why do you think Doctor Who has endured for so long? What is it about Doctor Who, okay?"
Sarah Sutton: (laughing) "Oh my goodness. Oh. I have no idea."
Rick Edwards: "Okay, I'll move on!"
He shoves the microphone in Mark Strickson's face, hoping for a better answer.
Eccch. I was not sorry when this part of the celebration was over. But I'm sure it was well-meant... by someone... so all you can do is enjoy the moments that worked, and appreciate the effort that went into it!
For once, a special episode that lives up to the hype, and manages to be cinematic and huge and emotional without cheating the audience. Gallifrey is restored, the Doctor's guilt is lifted, we're guaranteed a happy ending for our favorite Time Lord, and I'm all a-flutter with excitement and delight.