Review and reactions: The Day of the Doctor

Fifty years ago, on November 23, 1963, "Doctor Who" first aired in the United Kingdom.

Today, I sat in one of many movie theaters among many fans and watched the 50th anniversary special honoring that day.

"The Day of the Doctor" was a follow-up to "The Name of the Doctor", the finale to Series 7 of the revived "Doctor Who".

If you haven't seen it, be warned, I am about to spoil stuff.






































Still there? Okay, you were warned...













As revealed in "The Name of the Doctor", the 11th Doctor is not the 11th incarnation of the Time Lord known as "The Doctor". There was a previously-unknown incarnation in the mix who committed a crime so terrible that later incarnations (and the incarnation who performed the crime) did not recognize that incarnation as "The Doctor".

The minisodes reveal that the unknown incarnation is actually the 9th and the successor to Paul McGann's 8th Doctor. Transformed by necessity into a "warrior" to fight the horrors of the Time War, this "not-Doctor" (played by John Hurt) spends a long time (as implied by the minisode) fighting to restrain the worst horrors inflicted by the Time Lords while trying to stop the Daleks.

"The Day of the Doctor" takes us to the last day of the Time War, in the Gallifreyan city of Arcadia. As one of the minisodes, and prior revelations reveal, the Daleks manage to penetrate Gallifrey's defenses and are attacking the city. Arcadia is doomed.

The "War Doctor" is there and reveals himself to the Daleks, to their dismay. He destroys several of them then moves on to steal an ancient Time Lord weapon known as "The Moment". "The Moment" is a sentient weapon capable of destroying a galaxy. It lies unused by the Time Lords because this weapon possesses a conscience and they are afraid of it. The War Doctor, however, steals it and takes it to a distant place to activate it.

The Moment displays an interface in the form of the Bad Wolf (aka Rose Tyler) and tells the War Doctor the price for what he intends to do, then points him to other points in his life.

In his future, the 11th Doctor finds himself investigating a strange case for U.N.I.T. that crosses his timeline with the 10th Doctor (who is hanging out with Queen Elizabeth I). The plot winds up... well, there's no point in spoiling everything. Suffice it to say it's very fan-service-y. Eventually the War Doctor is tied into the 10/11th and 11/12th in a story that defines and redefines the War Doctor and the future of the series.

It's not an airtight story, but it's typical Steven Moffatt. It touches emotions well. The villains are an incidental - and ultimately irrelevant - part of the true tale, which is the journey of the Doctor to find reconciliation with his past self.

And the cameos are pretty solid.

I'm not generally one for 3D hokum on the big screen, but this special was well-done. If you're fan, watch the episode. I think you'll be pleased.