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Saturday 23 November 2013

Doctor Who: The Day Of the Doctor 50th Anniversary Episode Review

                                                 
Clara (Jenna Coleman) teaches at a Coal Hill school and is called by the Doctor (Matt Smith) from his TARDIS, as she rides off on her motorbike, he asks where they should go next and the very next second they're being lifted by a helicopter.  As Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave) calls him.  They're heading to Trafalgar Square after he hangs out of the TARDIS and she decides they're not heading to UNIT HQ at the Tower of London anymore.  Cue the Doctor hanging from the TARDIS and Matt Smith actually did that stunt.  She has a letter from him sealed by Queen Elizabeth I (Joanna Page).  Inside the National Gallery he's taken to a painting from Elizabeth I with Clara and it's a scene of the Fall of Gallifrey as it burns in 3D, "The Fall of Arcadia"  A Gallifreyian city.

The Eleventh Doctor recalls the Time War, the war to end all wars and how he was a warrior, a War Doctor (John Hurt).  He takes the gun from a soldier as Gallifrey is in flames with the Daleks attacking and writes "No More" on the wall.  Then takes off in his TARDIS as some of the Daleks crash and blow up.  The Time Lords discover the Doctor has taken the weapon, the Moment, a weapon which also has a conscience.  If they do not stop fighting, he will use the weapon.  A fez is on the floor.  Then we get Bad Wolf Girl aka Rose (Billie Piper) sitting on the bomb and asking him if he really wants to burn Gallifrey, asking how many children will be killed and will die.  He hasn't set the weapon off and can still make the right choice.  She's going to show him his future through a time fissure.  She knows she was Rose and is now Bad wolf Girl and she is the way in which the weapon communicates, like its interface.

                                             

The Eleventh Doctor reads the letter saying Elizabeth needs his help and adds 'dear husband' in it too.  Kate takes him to another part of the gallery and on the wall is a painting of the Tenth Doctor (David Tennant) with Elizabeth I.  As we go back in time to England 1536, where the Doctor takes Elizabeth horseriding and then treats her to a picnic.  Where he tells her she needs to eat and finally she says he will have to marry her.  But he's actually looking for a Zygon, an alien which is capable of shapeshifting into any shape or form.  She tells him she's not an alien but he doesn't believe her, not until the horse shifts into the alien.  Then becomes a clone of Elizabeth.  He tells her to run.

Back at the gallery the Eleventh Doctor is taken to the undergallery where there are kept many artifacts from the past, including his fez in a glass case and he can' help but wear it.  Clara commenting "one day he will walk past those."  He notices some stone dust on the floor and wants it analyzed by the science assistant.  A time fissure opens and  he goes through it.  Ending up face to face with the Tenth Doctor.  A lot of mention of faces here and how his face is different but he's the same, or he "doesn't forget a face."  They realize they're both the doctors as they pull out their Sonics and there's the timely, or common scene with "my Sonic's bigger than yours," which was kind of funny; as the Eleventh Doctor's was bigger by far!

                                                     

                                                    

By now the War Doctor also arrives and the three of them meet.  Where they share a conversation with the Eleventh referring to the War Doctor as "Grandfather", and the Tenth Doctor as wearing "sand shoes" which he protests against.  As well as the War Doctor wondering if the Eleventh can talk without "flapping his arms about."  Well no, that's his character trait, at least one of them.  They don't know if they can get back through the portal so the Eleventh Doctor throws in his fez which doesn't get back to Clara.  As does Elisabeth's soldiers.  She turns up too and has them arrested, but not before Clara speaks though the portal and threatens to turn the men into frogs, though she was rather rusty at the whole witchcraft thing.  Which she shouldn't have been since she was teaching.

                                             

Kate knows where the Eleventh Doctor end up and what he'll do since he says they need to be taken to the Tower of London.  He finds a piece of metal, that come in handy and begins to etch onto the stone. Kate takes Clara there and adds his companions need to be vetted which they did last time she was here, as there are photos of her on the wall and she doesn't recall being here.  They go to the Black Archives and to the vortex bracelet which needs a code to be activated.  However Kate reveals herself to be a Zygon and Clara takes the code as the picture with the code has been sent through to Kate's phone and disappears.

                                             

The Doctors talk of how the Sonic won't work on the door, it's wood as we remember, and Doctor Ten asks if they should get a better class of door.  As well as talking about how they look and have changed and the Time War.  The Tenth Doctor referring to the Eleventh as "chinney" was hilarious since that's what Clara did, when we first met her, saying he's got a big chin.  The Tenth Doctor regrets the War and the Eleventh one forgets it.  It's taken him 400 years to do so.  The War Doctor asks how many children were killed but only the Tenth Doctor answers.  Adding all this time and the Eleventh didn't know, the Eleventh replying he forgot about it and moved on.  As well as the War Doctor picking up lots of his mannerisms going such as his "timey whimey" phrase.  The War Doctor thinks he speaks like a child after all this time.

Clara arrives and opens the door, it wasn't locked, but no one checked.  As does Elizabeth, (the real one) and reveals their plan to them of taking over a better planet as theirs was destroyed during the early part of the war and they've chosen Earth.  As one of the Zygons steps through the painting and that's how they ended up in the gallery in 1975.  Which the War Doctor calls a space cube and number Eleven refers to it as "Cup-A-Soup" and the War Doctor doesn't now what that is.   The painting like the TARDIS is bigger on the inside.

Back at the Tower there's a stalmate as the sciency assistant with the scarf has found out Kate is being held but is still alive.  She returns and orders the self destruct with a nuclear weapon being buried under them which will blow up London and though many will die, billions will be saved.  Seeing as The War Doctor is facing a similar dilemma.  The Doctors return and find out about this but will make them work together to stop the self destruct.  They use their Sonics to make sure no one remembers if they're human or Zygon and so must talk with each other.

The War Doctor is impressed they have actually got them talking as he speaks with Clara.  She can see the sadness in his eyes, she's always seen it, he has much younger eyes.   She knows what's going to happen is in his future and how the Eleventh Doctor has talked about the Time War and tells him he hasn't done anything yet.  As Bad Wolf Girl appears, Clara can't see her but asks who he's talking to, was that Cup-A-Soup he was drinking in his cup?  He leaves with Bad Wolf.  At the weapon he decides he must use that to save the many.  Bad Wolf reminds him of the sound the TARDIS makes as it gives hope to many people, that's what it means to them, giving the other two enough time to arrive.

They all put their hands on the trigger intending to do it together so the War Doctor is no longer alone or carries his guilt alone, but Clara stops the Eleventh Doctor.  They came up with a plan and had all those years to do so but not sure if it will work.  They can freeze Gallifrey in a moment of time and the Daleks will fire on each other as it disappears.  They don't know if it will work but they can try and give Gallifrey hope. They relay this to the Time Lords as they get a message on the screen reading, "Gallifrey Stands."  They're not too thrilled at this prospect as Gallifrey will be lost forever.  But want this to go ahead.

                                             

We get the three Doctors in their TARDIS shouting their catchphrase: "Geronimo, Allons-y and Gallifrey Stands."  As we also get the other nine Doctors faces shown in their TARDIS and a glimpse of the face of the Thirteenth Doctor.  As Gallifrey is saved and so are the Time Lords.  The Doctors drink tea and have a final moment together. The War Doctor (he can't be called that anymore) returns to where he came from and the Eleventh Doctor tells the Tenth about Trensinor and how he will return there again.  The Tenth Doctor kisses Clara's hand and once again the Tenth Doctor utters "I don't want to go."  Just as he did in his final moments when he knew the end was coming for him.  Well we didn't want to see you go either.

Don't you wish you could see them together again, they really made a great team of Doctors.  Though we'll have to call them something else besides team.  The Eleventh Doctor thinks he could retire and become the Curator of the museum as the Curator shows up, none other than the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker).  They talk about the painting and how he regrets Gallifrey is "No more or Gallifrey  Falls."  Which the Fourth Doctor tells him could be read as "Gallifrey Falls No More."

SO it's off to Trensinor for the Christmas Special as Matt will bid farewell to his Doctor mantle, no, I don't want you to goooooooooooooooo!!  Really I don't and watching this 50th Birthday show just brought back all the memories of all the great fun we had with Matt and his bow tie-d Eleventh Doctor.  It was also sad saying goodbye to David once more as the Tenth Doctor.  These two were my faves and it was really heart wrenching to see they won't be the Doctor anymore.  These two really did make a great duo with lots of interacting off each other and the jokes too was all fun, but deep down we knew it was coming, the good times had to end!

Though having said that John Hurt as the War Doctor, or the Doctor in between number Eight and Nine made a good addition to the cast too.  Though there was a moment when he said "fire" and it took me back to Merlin and the ever-wise Dragon! Whose voice John did but just for a moment.  Which showed him to be less menacing than he appeared in The Name of The Doctor the series 7 finale and showed that he did have a heart after all, or rather two hearts and that he ensured the fate Gallifrey originally endured to stop the never ending war did not happen again; albeit he had help of all of his selves.  However it was good to see he was redeemed, they all were redeemed by taking an entirely different path, which you knew they would. Going back to being called the Doctor, as he should.  It was the 50th after all and we couldn't have a sorrowful episode.  (Though it was for many of us! Oh Matt!  Another series would have done us and made us ready for your departure!)

                                                 

Some great moments with Clara too as she makes the Eleventh Doctor remember he is the Doctor and not a warrior, the one people turn to for help the universe over and he does mention himself as "the Storm" and all that.  Some moments with the scarf reference as "nice scarf" from the eleventh Doctor, as was worn by Tom Baker's Fourth Doctor, as well as the Tenth Doctor having a flash when he realizes who Bad Wolf Girl really is.  

Never got to ask this but think the Tenth Doctor got to snog the most women and companions too! ha.  Well he married Elizabeth I as we know and we got to see the wedding where the other two Doctors were present as well as Clara.  Rose/Bad Wolf girl making a reference to "clever boy."

A super scene at the end where the Eleventh joins the other regenerations of the Doctors and the end of an 'almost' era with Matt's leaving to come.  Okay I'll stop saying that whilst I go and shed some more tears!

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