[TV] Dr Who 50th Anniversary

It's the TV event of the year! Or something.

The Doctors, all twelve of them. That's 50 years of television history right there. (Credit: bbc.co.uk)

I like to think that it's no secret that I like Dr Who. My close friends are (hopefully) all aware of this fact, and more to the point tolerant of it. Most of them watch, some of them enjoy it as much as I do, some less, some more. But that's by the by, because I really enjoy the show. Ok, so it might not be particularly highbrow; in fact it's fanciful (often to extremes) frivolous at times, and not particularly complex in terms of characterisation, character development, or storyline a lot of the time. Yes, there are convoluted stories, but that's not the same thing, and once you look beyond the misdirection and explosions, a lot of the modern stories aren't particularly challenging. Yet it has a lasting charm and appeal that belie these traits.

The show's changed a lot in its 'modern' guise compared to the 'classic' version that spawned a vast fandom, but the great thing about Dr Who is that that change is embedded in its very mythos. When you have a character who literally changes face, body, personality, and dress sense every few hundred years, it gives you a license to give the show great changes of style to keep up with modern sensibilities.

(Credit: dotpedia.com)

Whilst I wasn't hugely enamoured with the most recent series, I was greatly looking forward to the 50th anniversary special. Aired 50 years to the day later than the pilot, it brought together the two most recent versions of the Dr, together with an entirely new, never before seen incarnation that had an important link to the most important event in the shows current canon. The various special episodes that have brought together multiple doctors have generally been very good, and I wasn't expecting anything different this time around. Yes, it was a shame that none of the 'classic' Doctors were taking part, but to be honest some of them look very different now to when they played the Doctor, and  most wouldn't (in my opinion) be able to keep up with the more frantic pace of the 'modern' incarnation.

My friend James is even more of a fan of the show than I am, and had arranged a get together at his flat to watch the show. Fine by me - he's got a much bigger TV than I have! But before that he had a treat in store for us: the first ever episode, 'An Unearthly Child'. It was, as expected, like watching a completely different programme, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. When the 50th anniversary special came on I was particularly glad we'd watched that episode, as the opening scenes had several nods to the setting of the pilot, right down to the opening shots being almost identical (except in colour this time around!).

The opening of the very first episode, "An Unearthly Child", was given several nice nods at the 

start of the 50th anniversary special. (Credit: doctrwhoreviews.co.uk)

The special itself was thoroughly enjoyable, and everything that's good about the 'modern' incarnation of Dr Who. Funny, touching, and bombastic by turns, it (mostly) managed to strike the right balance between nods to the history of the show and looking forward to the future.

As expected, the combination of Matt Smith and David Tennant was absolutely fantastic. In some ways the 10th and 11th versions of the Doctor are quite similar, but what I liked about this episode was the way that it showcased their differences, particularly emotionally. This was helped a lot by the addition of John Hurt as the 'War Doctor', who was more like the Doctor from years gone by. I wasn't sure what to expect, but he had a great line in sarcastic humour that was used to great effect to poke fun at the show's conceits and current way of doing things. He clearly didn't think much of his later incarnations to begin with, but was gradually brought around.

"They're screwdrivers! What are you going to do, assemble a cabinet at them?" Hahahaha, oh my sides. (Credit: gottawatchit.com)

The storyline wasn't particularly great to be honest - this was definitely a story about the three Doctors and their individual emotional journeys (helped by the absence of Daleks, Cybermen, et al.) But it did nicely wrap up a couple of big, unresolved mysteries and set the show up for its next background story arc that will undoubtedly be driving the show forward for several seasons. There were other miscues too. I felt that the last ten minutes or so, after what seemed to be the resolution and climax of the episode, somewhat ruined the effect of the previous hour and a bit. The reuse of the 10th Doctor's final line as his parting phrase this time around robbed the former of much of its emotional impact in my opinion, and the inclusion of Tom Baker as a barely disguised sop to fans, particularly since he seemed to be in touch with reality only at the end of a long stick (is he actually bonkers, or just playing someone who's nuts, and how do you tell?). That's not to mention the fact that all of the various Doctors seemed to know that they needed to show up at Gallifrey, despite the fact that only three of the four most recent incarnations were involved in forming the plan that required them.

But overall, and now that the initial excitement and rosy glow of enjoyment has been and gone, I think it was a fitting tribute to what is a great show. It might not be perfect, but it wouldn't be Dr Who if it was.