The Day of the Doctor

"Great men are forged in fire. It's up to lesser men to light the flame."

Saturday 23rd November, 2013 - fifty years to the day since Doctor Who was first shown, and going stronger than ever. Of course everyone expects a special episode to commemorate it - and so we got The Day of the Doctor, the latest anniversary extravaganza!

Whilst I can't comment on the 3D (though I'm sure it looked cool), this Doctor Who special was big (and yet contained), brilliantly written, and beautifully directed. The sort of anniversary special the series needed, even if people didn't know it. Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman (both good value, as ever), David Tennant (seamlessly appearing again, even though it's been almost four years), and the very clever casting coup of John Hurt as a long lost Doctor. Who could resist?

Steven Moffat writes the episode, and as usual, chucks in some brilliantly imaginative ideas. This time - paintings, with worlds in! Something so Time Lord-y (bigger on the inside) and also a very cool effect. And he doesn't stop there - first they're introduced, then it turns out they're part of the monster's plan (clever!) and then, the Doctor uses it as part of his. This sort of skillful writing is the foundation of every modern twisty Doctor Who story. And it's not even the main event.

The monsters, then: Daleks and Zygons. While the Daleks were announced to be appearing, they don't get much of a look in (except with some really amazing special effects, as we see the fall of Arcadia. Flying weapons Daleks!). And in a way, neither do the Zygons, as the monster turns out to be the Doctor himself. But let's bask in the nostalgia for a moment - the Zygons are back, after almost forty years! And they look just as good as ever, with the shapeshifting lending itself a couple of scary scenes, and lots of jokes. It's a slight shame we don't really get to linger on the design, but the main point is their final scenes. Unexpectedly, the Doctors help forge a human and Zygon alliance, meaning they can live peacefully on Earth. So, anyone you meet could be one! (David Jones would approve) An understated terror, which surely needed a scene at the end with two Kate Stewarts waving goodbye, perhaps it got cut.

The structure's an odd one - it's a special, and you really feel the breathing space of the extra thirty minutes, after a series of single episode stories. It starts quite slow - Matt's Doctor meeting UNIT, then John Hurt with Daleks, David Tennant larking about fighting aliens, gradually coelescing into a plot. The cinematic pace might not be for everyone, but it means we get longer scenes, like the one where John Hurt meets Billie Piper, two of the best actors this show's ever had. And all through this, the story's being told backwards. Then the pace goes up a gear, as the Doctors finally meet up. It works for The Five Doctors, and it works here.

Except in story terms, this is light years ahead of The Five Doctors, in that it's actually about something. This isn't trying to be a multi-Doctor story, it's a proper full-blooded adventure, addressing a part of the Doctor's character, a flaw that he's tried to keep hidden. It's delving into the history of the series, to create its future. It's also an epic plot - the Time War, the Daleks, all the stuff we've only heard about before. And 'the Moment' - which might look less epic than you had imagined, but the choice and morality is foregrounded more than ever. (How many children?) I was almost expecting genocide, on primetime BBC, until the uplifting (and poetic, if rewriting previous episodes) twist ending.
Cleverer people than me have noticed it's basically Doctor Who doing A Christmas Carol (again) - but mainly, it's all about John Hurt's character. It's all about the Doctor.

[Though part of me does ask - what if Chris Eccleston had agreed to be in it? Would they have done a simpler story, with three Doctors and three companions? Or would they still have addressed the Time War, and be almost a rewrite, giving more weight to Eccleston's short-lived incarnation? But then look at the previous specials - not much Hartnell in 1972, clips of Tom Baker in 1983.]

And what other show would be so funny - especially poking fun at the main character's quirks, the catchphrases, the youth and energy and kissing that's cropped up recently - on a golden anniversary special? Some of the best multi-Doctor action, is putting our three Doctors, one new, two favourites, and watching the sparks fly. It might have a few "kisses to the past" (like the opening minute) but this is a show that defies expectation, never takes itself too seriously, and shaping the future to come. It's a great mission statement from Moffat - let's not just bring back old faces and enemies, but actually change the show, slightly but excitingly. A second reboot, maybe. (Or the third, or fourth, or twelfth?)

And then, it breaks all the rules with the cameo at the end. But oh, so touching. (And then there's the quick flash of the future, as the Time Lords say, "no, all thirteen!". You can imagine Steven Moffat cackling wildly when he thought up that) It's still got mystery, it still surprises and excites.