Doctor Who S33E14 "The Day of the Doctor" [Spoilers]

[NecronLord]

The 50th Anniversary Special is Here!

Back with the quotes game, one trip in my TARDIS (sadly the Time Lords will erase your memory of it) for the first one to identify what story all the quotes come from. There has of course, been a fitting bonanza of previews and bonus material. I think I've got most of it here.

Trailers:
TV trailer
Second TV trailer
1 Day to Go Trailer

Strax's Field Reports (This material not in episode):
Intro
The Doctor's Hidden Face
Trafalgar Square Filming
Cowardly Zygons
Queen Elizabeths

Prequels (This material not in episode):
Night of the Doctor - If you watch one thing on here, watch this!
The Last Day

Previews (Content from Episode):
Children in Need preview
The Impossible Painting

[DaveJB]

Okay, who's the smartarse who voted a "1" five hours before the episode has even aired?

[The Romulan Republic]

Now there are three smartarses.

I'm pretty skeptical when it comes to episodes written by Moffat, but this is stupid.

[TimothyC]

Spoiler

Ahah! Billie Pipper is sort of the Bad Wolf - She's the avatar of the Moment, which takes the form of the Bad Wolf.

[TimothyC]

Spoiler

Tom Baker! Sweet.

[Enigma]

Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it! Love it!
Spoiler

Gallifrey falls, no more!

It is nice that Spoiler

they saved Gallifrey. I am very sure we will see its liberation and future stories.

[Crazedwraith]

Okay, so I did see it in the end. (I was in two minds)

It had its strengths and weaknesses of course. And in the negative it was incredible goofy and hamhanded at times. The opening. The Queen Elizabeth plot, frequently making Ten look like an utter arse. And so so much fan service. Which obviously is mixed results.

The two scenes of all 12/13 Doctors was the fanservice that worked for me. Bad Wolf/Moment Rose less so.

I think the scene in the celler where they first discuss the decision was the real strongest point of the episode. But I do wonder, before the change in the time line, why they did not tell the War Doctor that it didn't work. That the Daleks and Rassilon survive to continue causing trouble. Perhaps just beca`use they thought he had already done it.

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

This is far from a humour episode- it goes very definitely for epic, and while there are thin spots, the goofiness (which John Hurt looks down on- before realising it is basically Gallifreyan PTSD) and dodgy decisions that cheapen past events, overall not too bad.

There is one part that was roll-on-floor funny though, and that was the exit segment after the credits had rolled, with the BBC presenters- and a prop Dalek. Hiding from the Doctor, behind the sofa. Spoiler

all thirteen of him, although not much dialoguie from most.

[Lord Revan]

I liked it, sure it was a bit goofy at times but not too much.

I have to say that John Hurt played a nice Doctor, even if he refused to call himself by that name Spoiler

Until the end that is, you can see that he has been broken by the time war and can also see why he thought that doing what he was about to do when the story starts was the only way and why he feel he's not worthy of the name, even if in the end he changes his mind.

I also liked that they used the old Doctor Who title sequence instead of the new one.

[Pelranius]

I liked it very much, but accidentally voted for "2".

So was saving Gallifrey done after Rassilon's little stunt in "End of Time" (and where is the Lord President anyways?)

[Tribble]

So, the Day of the Doctor has come and gone, and I was wondering what everybody else thought about it.

Here is my personal opinion:

I didn't like it.

Not because of the production values, poor acting etc etc. There is no contest they did a really good job in that respect.

The thing is, I highly suspected going in that something like this was eventually going to happen. I suspected it ever since Steven Moffat took over. Although I think he is a good writer, it has always seemed to me like he ahs a really big ego, and it always seemed to me like his run of Doctor Who was not just about outdoing RTD's run, but undoing it as well. And what bigger thing can he undo than getting rid of RTD's take on the Time War? Ever since I saw the "Eleventh Hour" I knew that Steven Moffat wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of doing that. The only real surprise for me was how long it took him to get around to it. In hindsight, I guess it makes sense that if he was going to do it, the 50th anniversary was probably the best time to do so.

So what, some are asking right now? So what that he changed the original impression of what went on? After all, we never actually saw the events, apart from the brief glimpse in "The End of Time"! Again, keep in mind this is just my personal opinion. I started watching the show back in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor. Technically speaking, we already knew from "Parting of the Ways" that the Doctor would not make the same decision if he had to make it again. The fact that mattered (to me at least) was the fact that he couldn't. Here was a main character who's actions had consequences. They MATTERED. He wiped out his own people and the Daleks, and regardless of whether it was justified or not, he had to live with the consequences of being "The Last of the Time Lords." That's what really drew me into the show (besides the sci-fi of course).

This episode has basically gotten rid of that. The impression since 2005 has always been that the Doctor had an impossible decision to make, one that the audience had to judge for themselves. Due to this episode, what the Doctor did can now be seen as nothing more than a standard deus ex machine machina plot twist to get out of a tricky situation. Oh sure, he says that in all likelihood Gallifrey is lost forever (though the end of the episode implies that he found it). But now we know for a fact that the Doctor never really had to make a difficult choice at all - all he needed was a bit of timey-wimey stuff to solve things in a nice neat bow. And for me at least, that kinda undo's the story of the past 8 years.

Again, just my personal opinion. What do you guys think?

[Crazedwraith]

Ahem

The existing thread wasn't exactly hidden.

[fgalkin]

Well, the episode aired and it was full of sappy melodrama, bad acting, and plot holes you can drive a planet through. Not to mention, removing the one source of moral conflict in the Doctor's story. In other words, Just Another Day in Moffatlandia.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Tribble]

I actually did miss it! It is possible to delete this one? lol

[Tribble]

Here is my personal opinion:

I didn't like it.

Not because of the production values, poor acting etc etc. I thought they did a really good job in that respect.

The thing is, I highly suspected going in that something like this was eventually going to happen. I suspected it ever since Steven Moffat took over. Although I think he is a good writer, it has always seemed to me like he ahs a really big ego, and it always seemed to me like his run of Doctor Who was not just about outdoing RTD's run, but undoing it as well. And what bigger thing can he undo than getting rid of RTD's take on the Time War? Ever since I saw the "Eleventh Hour" I knew that Steven Moffat wouldn't be able to resist the temptation of doing that. The only real surprise for me was how long it took him to get around to it. In hindsight, I guess it makes sense that if he was going to do it, the 50th anniversary was probably the best time to do so.

So what, some are asking right now? So what that he changed the original impression of what went on? After all, we never actually saw the events, apart from the brief glimpse in "The End of Time"! Again, keep in mind this is just my personal opinion. I started watching the show back in 2005, with Christopher Eccleston as the 9th Doctor. Technically speaking, we already knew from "Parting of the Ways" that the Doctor would not make the same decision if he had to make it again. The fact that mattered (to me at least) was the fact that he couldn't. Here was a main character who's actions had consequences. They MATTERED. He wiped out his own people and the Daleks, and regardless of whether it was justified or not, he had to live with the consequences of being "The Last of the Time Lords." That's what really drew me into the show (besides the sci-fi of course).

This episode has basically gotten rid of that. The impression since 2005 has always been that the Doctor had an impossible decision to make, one that the audience had to judge for themselves. Due to this episode, what the Doctor did can now be seen as nothing more than a standard deus ex machine machina plot twist to get out of a tricky situation. Oh sure, he says that in all likelihood Gallifrey is lost forever (though the end of the episode implies that he found it). But now we know for a fact that the Doctor never really had to make a difficult choice at all - all he needed was a bit of timey-wimey stuff to solve things in a nice neat bow. And for me at least, that kinda undo's the story of the past 8 years.

[Parallax]

Because absolutely no one requested it, I'm going to be typing and watching at the same time.

Spoilers ahoy!

spoilers: Spoiler

Oooh, original series start call back! Nice.
Heh. Kate Stewart's ring tone is the TARDIS sound.
This "hanging out the door" scene seems entirely unnecessary.
You'd think that if UNIT has been holding onto these orders for such a long time, they'd have let the Doctor know before this moment. For instance, the years the Doctor was stuck on Earth and working for UNIT.
The painting does look very, very cool.
If the TARDIS can be used to shatter Daleks with ease, and Gallifrey has lots of TARDISes. Well, join the dots.

Billie Piper. Crap. I was hoping she wouldn't appear. At least it's not as Rose. Doing some CGI wizardry and have the device appear as various past companions would have been better, though more expensive.
Why would a Zygon disguise itself as a horse? It had access to far more influential lifeforms, which is their method of operation. The picnic/marriage/whatever thing with the Queen was just friggin' stupid and makes no personality sense.
Oh dear, the clichéd old double who is who scene. Ugh. That should never make it past an editor.
The glass would not have fallen like that from the paintings.

Tenant and Smith side by side really shows how much better Smith is in the role. Tenant's Doctor keeps acting all tough and powerful but it really childish, whereas Smith's embraces it and doesn't pretend to be otherwise - he celebrates
Reverse the polarity. Heh.
"Are you his companions?" Heh. This is a nice scene. "Why are you pointing your screw drivers?!" Haha. Hurt's crankiness is awesome.
"Sand shoes and grand dad!" Heh. The dialogue in this story is good, I must admit.

Unlike the plot holes. So UNIT does a sweep on the under gallery for possibly escaped creatures ... and don't look under some sheets? That's Torchwood levels of incompetence.
They can 'TARDIS proof' a level, yet it still receives phone signals. Right.

"Do you have to talk like children...?" I'm really loving Hurt's Doctor right now. His attitude is awesome.
The actress playing the Queen is horrible in the role. Really. The real Queen surviving very predictable. Wedding scene stupid.
The old TARDIS walls! Woo! Damn, they should have kept those. They looked cool.

Why wouldn't the Hurt Doctor know what cup 'o soup is? He stayed a long time on Earth.

Going back to what I said about TARDISes as weapons; three sonic screwdrivers can destroy a Dalek. A relatively low tech and common household tool. And the Daleks are a threat because... ?
And on the matter of the TARDIS, where did it go once the Doctors went into the painting? All three left the control room unmanned while the ship was in flight.
The projection scene was badly done. It looked cheap and tacky. Some more 3d painting technique would've been nice at this point.

OK, having ALL the Doctors showing up at once was a nice touch - even if it is only in clip footage. This story: Featuring Capaldi's eyebrows.
Hurt's catch phrase is so much better than Tenant's or Smith's.
Random regeneration for Hurt? That was stupid. Leaving it open for more adventures would have made a lot more sense. Possibilities is one of Doctor Who's central themes, after all.

Random Tom Baker! That's a nice touch. It does open up, like I said, possibilities. A new meta plot/story arch will be great and this is a long awaited one.
All the Doctors lined up is a big wallpaper being cried out to be made. HD screen grab is needed!

end of spoilers

Overall, the script needed some work but it was a nice story. Definitely worth watching.

[Gandalf]

My review is as follows; Good, but Moffatty as fuck.
Spoiler

So now Krypton Gallifrey has the bottled city of Kandor Arcadia?

Woo! Capaldi cameo!

Why was Baker the only one to get a cameo?

[InsaneTD]

"All the Doctors lined up is a big wallpaper being cried out to be made. HD screen grab is needed!"

I tried but the video quality I was getting on the iView was terrible. BBC might release it anyway.

[Bedlam]

"All the Doctors lined up is a big wallpaper being cried out to be made. HD screen grab is needed!"

I tried but the video quality I was getting on the iView was terrible. BBC might release it anyway.

From what I saw the CGI on the older doctors didn't seem the best they looked quite strange so it might not come out well.

[Iroscato]

Quite simply, the best episode that I have seen to date, not only for its massive scale and ambition, but for the fact that it complemented this with some masterful characterisation and storytelling. The argument that it cheapened the aftermath of the Time War simply don't hold water with me; we've had 8 years of a damaged, regretful Doctor who truly believed he was responsible for the death of his own species, and for the Doctor personally, it was 400 years (probably). Isn't it about time we embraced a little change in that aspect? That is what the show has always been about, and it's kept things relatively fresh for half a century. I welcome a re-invigorated Doctor, who hopefully will have a newly-restored energy come the next regeneration.
The best moments for me personally; the brilliant interactions between the three Doctors, with the War Doctor reacting with as much distaste at his successor's apparent apathy as they have for him. "The man who regrets, and the man who forgets" summed it up quite beautifully.
I'm not gonna write and essay about the episode, mainly as my hands are shaking from nerdgasms, but I will say that it just felt...more than a feature length episode of Doctor Who. It was truly excellent, and I couldn't have hoped for a better way to salute 50 years of this amazing show. 5/5, no question

[paladin]

I was blown away by the story. I thought it was pretty fun overall. I'm not surprised by the re-introduction of the time-lords. I guess the soft reset of Doctor Who is almost complete.

I could only hope the a 50th anniversary for Star Trek would be so compelling!

[LadyTevar]

Merging Threads

[NecronLord]

This is a discussion thread. Cease using spoiler tags for things in this episode.

GALLIFREY STANDS!

[NecronLord]

As for people saying that it undermines the Time War, yes it does. And for me, I'd like to point out that the period of time between the Time War first being mentioned and its moral impact being removed by this episode is eight years. The Doctor has been angsting about the Time War longer than the entire run of Star Trek TNG for instance, I for one was bloody sick of the guilt the Doctor had and the dark secret of the end of the Time War and so on. Yes it was effective. But retreading it seven years over is enough time for it to go from effective to boring. So I welcome this change; it at least opens the door for a fourteenth Doctor, when that comes, with some grace, as I expect rescuing Gallifrey, winning the Time War and all but wiping out the Daleks would get a new regeneration cycle if anything would.

[Sharp-kun]

If the Doctor never used The Moment, what "wiped out" the Daleks? Surely they didn't shoot themselves into near extinction?