Who Reviews Day of the Doctor by Jeffrey Zyra

Written by Steven Moffat

“Gallifrey Falls No More.”

It is finally here.  Doctor Who’s 50^th Anniversary special has finally aired and we finally get to see what John Hurt’s Doctor is all about.  All the speculation and hypothesis that have been going on since “The Name of The Doctor” have been at a fever pitch and the debates and discussions have heated up on social media over the course of the summer and fall can now end.  We have our answers at last. “The Day of The Doctor” has happened and we have all seen it but was it what we expected? Was it worthy of the hype?  Will it go down in anniversary fame as “The Three Doctors” and “The Five Doctors” before it or did it crash and burn and disappoint like the 25^th anniversary story “The Silver Nemesis” and nothing for the 30^th and 40^th?   Well it sure did not disappoint as “The Day of The Doctor” turned out to be my favorite anniversary story ever.

I usually write my reviews right after I watch the episode.  Except if it is a two part story then I wait till the whole story airs and review it at one time.  “The Day of The Doctor” was the exception as I’m writing this after I have watched it for a second time.  After watching it there was a lot of discussion with my friends at the party and I knew that I would need some time to recover from the euphoria of watching it.   I was pretty jazzed up and really excited for what I had just seen and my emotions were all over the place that it would be better to write this later when I was thinking normally.  Or in my case as normal as I think most of the time, well, some of the time I guess. 

I really enjoyed the overall story for “The Day of The Doctor.”  It was really good and pretty interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat.   What made it so enticing was trying to predict what would happen next.  What would the three Doctors come up with to first stop the Zygons and then what would the two Doctors do to stop the War Doctor from destroying Gallifrey?  The solutions Steven Moffat came up with was pretty good and it showed us a part of the story from The War Doctor’s eyes as he was learning who he becomes and what his actions do to his future incarnations. 

Seeing Joanna Page as Queen Elizabeth wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.  I deduced that they would be tying up the loose end that was mentioned in “The End of Time” and why she hated him in “The Shakespeare Code”.  It was just funny to see what led to all of that in the 10^th Doctor’s era.  Finding out that it was a mistake just made it pretty funny and at least now we know.  Joanna Page was pretty good also even if I’m not familiar with her as I never watched Gavin and Stacy.  But she did pretty well and was pretty funny as Elizabeth the First.

I really liked the interaction between David Tennant and Matt Smith.  The chemistry was really good and in typical Doctor action they tried to one up the other.  It was good seeing the two Doctors picking on each other and it was really good to see the tradition made famous by Patrick Troughton and Jon Pertwee continue on in the new series.  That was always a highlight of past multi Doctor stories and seeing the two compare sonic screwdrivers was pretty funny and classic.

I enjoyed seeing the Zygons back.  First time we have seen them on TV since the Tom Baker story “The Terror of the Zygons” back in 1975.  At first when I heard they were going to be in “The Day of The Doctor” I thought they would only have a token appearance.  Glad my theory was wrong as it was good to see them have a part in the story and are important to the final solution in a small way.    I really liked how they were used and seeing them again after so many years was itself a treat as they have been constantly being near the top of favorite villains fan polls for a long time and they do have a pretty good fan following so it was good to see them return.  Plus the Zygons are David Tennant’s favorite creatures so maybe that factored into it but I doubt it. 

The Time War scenes were spectacular.  For a long time I’ve been wondering and speculating about this period in the Doctor’s time line and now we get to see a small part of it.  Even though it was the end of the war it was good to see the Daleks who are also celebrating a 50^th Anniversary this year.   What we see is a Doctor who is tired and sick of the war who leaves a message for both participants.   It is interesting to see The Doctor grab a weapon that would destroy his planet.  It is very unlike The Doctor to resort to this type of solution.   This where the story really gets good as the Moment is a weapon that has a conscious.  Played perfectly by Billie Piper the weapon acted like a ghost of Christmas future showing The Doctor what his consequences would do to him.  I really liked this part of the story as it gave us a new dimension to watch when they were battling the Zygons.  All this led to the Three Doctor’s going back to the time where the War Doctor presses the button on the Moment which will result in the destruction of Gallifrey.   This was a pretty powerful scene as we see Clara really comes into her own.  She is the one who convinces The Doctor’s or more specifically the 11^th Doctor.  She was able to make them change their minds and come up with a new solution.  It was a solution where The Doctor is not a mass murderer but a saver.  The Doctor saves Gallifrey instead of destroying it by putting it in a pocket universe.

Now I don’t believe this is a reset switch as we have seen Gallifrey before trying to break free from that pocket dimension. If you remember we see a Gallifrey with Time Lords still alive trying to come back and destroying Earth in the process back in “The End of Time.”  Now if Gallifrey had been destroyed by the Doctor’s then that moment would not have happened.   Steven Moffat gave a way for The Doctor to remember them and to search for the Time Lords to bring his planet back to the new series but in their proper space and time. 

John Hurt was really good as The Doctor.  He gave us a sense of experience and to a point was the straight guy to the comedic styles of David Tennant and Matt Smith’s Doctors.  It kind of reminded me of William Hartnell a little bit from “The Three Doctor” but just a little.  John Hurt had really good chemistry with David Tennant and Matt Smith that you wish they had longer together.  His performance was magnificent and it made me wishing we had a series for his Doctor.    I really ended up liking The War Doctor as he had a certain aspect to him that just made him likeable.  Probably the hurt on his face and in his eyes of what he has seen during the war.  Plus he did have that Doctor quirkiness and personality to go with all that and it was something different.

Now for the fanboy moments. There were a lot of them that just made me emotional and happy to be a Doctor Who fan. Now I have been a Doctor who fan since 1981 and for most of my life I have watched the show and I love it.  Now I had a feeling the Classic Doctor’s would not be in the show.  Realistically they are a lot older and well that would be too much for one story.  But what they did when they went to save Gallifrey by using old clips of the older Doctor’s was such a classy move and I totally loved it.  All The Doctors uniting at the end to save Gallifrey including the new Doctor Peter Capaldi for a brief cameo.  That sequence of events was really amazing and awesome and the fanboy in me screamed with delight.  It made this older Doctor Who fan happy. 

What really got me though was the inclusion of Tom Baker.  Seeing him as the curator and talking to Matt Smith as the 4^th Doctor really made the Anniversary Special for me.  It was such a special moment seeing the oldest and longest serving Doctor, who at the time of the 20^th declined to be in The Five Doctors, in the show again.  It was a great moment and he sure has not lost any of that charm that has made him the best Doctor ever.  I was grinning with delight and was extremely happy that Tom Baker was in it. To me it felt like a nod to the fans of both series and it was just a special moment that we will be able to watch forever.

Then there was the end when Matt Smith goes out of the TARDIS and stands with his former selves.  That was truly spectacular even if the other Doctors faces were paintings. I just loved that moment and it was a great way to end a wonderful anniversary special.  Steven Moffat delivered an amazing story that will go down as his masterpiece.  “The Day of The Doctor” was a wonderful story for the 50^th and one that was worth the wait of a year for.

Grade A+

The Mothership The Time of the Doctor trailer - Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013 - BBC

The Time of the Doctor

 Trailer 2013 Christmas Special 

Who Reviews An Adventure in Space and Time by Jeffrey Zyra

Written by Mark Gatiss

When the news came down that they were planning on making a docudrama about the origins of Doctor Who and the man who was the torchbearer for The Doctor William Hartnell I was more than intrigued. In fact you could say I was really excited to see this docudrama and at times I wanted to see this more than “The Day of The Doctor.”  Then the promotional pictures were released and I saw how closely they paid attention to detail just made the excitement level go up to a whole new level.  Now I really wanted to see “An Adventure In Space and Time” and see how the show came to fruition and the hardships it came up against.

Now I have finally watched “An Adventure In Space and Time” and I am lost for words on how magnificent it was.  Watching the origins of the show unfold before my eyes was incredible.  As most fans have only read about this we now can see what happened and more importantly some of the events that made up the origins of Doctor Who.   It was interesting to see Verity Lambert and Waris Hussein fight through the prejudices of the time. What makes the show that more incredible is the barriers it broke by having the first woman producer at the BBC.  This is normal for the times as sexism and racism was still strong back then and nothing was done about it like today.  Mark Gatiss did an excellent job getting the feel of that era right down to the cigarette smoking which was a common thing back then.

I really was impressed with the sets and costumes.  The production crew really paid attention to detail and it all looked like it did back in 1963 especially the Daleks city on Skaro.  That looked amazing along with the sets they used for Marco Polo and The Web Planet.  The costumes too were top notch and pretty accurate.  It was amazing to see the sets and costumes as they really did a great job on them.  But what was most impressive was how the TARDIS came about.  Watching that scene on how they made the basis for it was pretty interesting and then when you saw the set itself it was absolutely stunning.  It looked just like the set they used for the William Hartnell stories and it was just amazing to see as it was so breathtaking to see when they unveiled it for the first time.

David Bradley was an excellent choice to play William Hartnell.  He had the look and the mannerisms down pat.  It was like watching William Hartnell himself on the screen.  David Bradley brought the man to life and in ways that many fans probably did not know.  The way he showed us the true man and not the actor that we see on TV was good to see even if some of it wasn’t pleasant.  There was also a sense of sadness with William Hartnell as you could see as the years went on and the people he enjoyed being with left the show.  The saddest was when they told him they didn’t want him to be The Doctor anymore and you just felt sorry for him.  It was a very sad moment especially when he got home to his wife Heather and started crying that he didn’t want to leave the show.

Even though William Hartnell was a grumpy and difficult old man and hard to work with he did have a charm to him that was shown in “An Adventure In Space and Time”.  Like when he went off on Carole Ann Ford and then realized he was a jerk and made up for it by apologizing to her by buying her flowers with an apology in the card.  The scene that I really liked the most and one that really defined the man was when he was approached by the school children when he was sitting in the park with his wife.  I smiled watching him marching with the children and yelling exterminate.  That was a sweet scene and a side of William Hartnell that most people do not know.

Mark Gatiss gave us an absolute masterpiece about the beginnings of Doctor Who. From Sydney Newman coming up with the idea of Doctor Who right down to the regeneration with Patrick Troughton.  It was true to form and was not sugar coated to put things in a better light and duplicated an era that not many fans know about.  It was funny, sad and heartwarming at times and I’m sure it brought a tear to a lot of the older Doctor Who fans like myself.  “An Adventure In Space and Time” was a really good anniversary present for the fans and I myself truly enjoyed watching it.  I also loved the surprise of seeing Matt Smith at the end smiling and nodding to David Bradley’s William Hartnell giving him a sense that what he started still goes on to this day and that was really a great touch to end the docudrama on.

Thank you Mr. Gatiss for giving us a wonderful movie to watch over and over and it is indeed a wonderful present for the fans.

Grade A +

Photo Source

©BBC Doctor Who 1963

Who Reviews Issue 8 Ghosts of India by Simon Mallinson

Written by Mark Morris

Published in 2008 by BBC Books
ISBN 978-1-846-07559-9

India in 1947 is a country in the grip of chaos - a country torn apart by internal strife. When the Doctor and Donna arrive in Calcutta, they are instantly swept up in violent events.

Barely escaping with their lives, they discover that the city is rife with tales of 'half-made men', who roam the streets at night and steal people away. These creatures, it is said, are as white as salt and have only shadows where their eyes should be.

With help from India's great spiritual leader, Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi, the Doctor and Donna set out to investigate these rumours.

What is the real truth behind the 'half-made men'? Why is Gandhi's role in history under threat? And has an ancient, all-powerful god of destruction really come back to wreak his vengeance upon the Earth?

Featuring the Tenth Doctor and Donna as played by David Tennant and Catherine Tate in the hit Doctor Who series from BBC Television.

Mark has written a good story with this book, again he has portrayed The Doctor very well and Donna wow, she nearly came out of the book and hit me.

The story is well written with a lot of care given to a historical period which would divide some people.  The characters are very convincing; the monster does start to make you think.

I am coming to think that Mark is a very good horror writer, as this book tends to make the goose bumps appear if reading at night, also you tend to start looking at people in a different light.

Again people I would advise everyone to read this book, at the very least watching Jewel in the Crown will never be the same again.  Top marks Mark, keep on writing this calibre of work and you be a household name in no time.

Who Reviews The Night of the Doctor by Jeffrey Zyra

Written by Steven Moffat

"4 minutes? That's ages. What if I get bored? I need a television, a couple of books. Anyone for Chess? Bring me knitting!"

Holy Cow!!! OMG!!! Or what other expletive you may use when something surprises the hell out of you.   Well The Night of The Doctor did just that. It surprised the hell out of me to the point that I could not believe what I was seeing and had to rewind the video I was watching to see it again immediately.  What a lovely surprise and what a way to get the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who started.

The Night of The Doctor had a really big surprise. Paul McGann was The Doctor in it!!!!!  How many of you teared up, cried, fist pumped the air or jumped out of your seat for joy when you saw the 8th Doctor appear on the screen.  I mean there was Paul McGann on the screen as The Doctor again.  It was freaking amazing seeing him there.  It was like watching your favorite sports team winning the championship that’s how I felt and I sure did fist punch the air in excitement.  It was such a mind blowing moment that it just got me really excited for next weekend and the 50th Anniversary special.

Now that I’m over the love fest for Paul McGann returning what about the overall story for The Night of The Doctor?  Well I loved it.  I really did.   The Night of The Doctor gave us so much in the 7 minutes that it made me want more.  I wanted to know more about that era with the 8th Doctor and why he has avoided The Time War.  It seemed so interesting seeing him all ragged and with stubble on his face as if he’s been through some tough times.  I liked the mystery it has opened for the 8th Doctor’s era and hopefully someday we’ll find out.

What The Night of The Doctor did so well was explain what was happening during the Time War.  From Cass we discover that the Time Lords are no better than the Daleks. That both races are destroying the universe in their petty war and have no concern over the other races.  We see this from the fear that Cass has of the Time Lords when she discovers that The Doctor is a Time Lord.  She would rather die than go off and be saved by The Doctor in his TARDIS.  In fact she was happy with the thought of The Doctor dying with her as it made her day that she was taking out a Time Lord.

The Sisterhood of Karn makes a return to Doctor Who in The Night of The Doctor.  They were last seen in the Tom Baker story The Brain of Morbius where we discover that they have an Elixir of Life that has the power to prolong your life or sometime help heal a Time Lord with his regeneration. Well the Sisters have been busy and have made up a whole bunch of Elixir’s that can make a Time Lord become any type of person he dreams of being.  This time they bring him back from the dead for four minutes pleading to him to help in ending the Time War.  They offer him a choice to be whatever he wants to be and he chooses warrior.  This seems to be very unlike The Doctor becoming a warrior that it opens up a lot of speculation as to what the John Hurt War Doctor is like.  I liked this aspect of the Sisterhood blackmailing him into helping them as they knew he would choose life but what was surprising was the warrior bit. I guess it explains all the stuff we do know about The Time War from the series already and it does in a way make sense.

The Night of The Doctor was more than I was expecting from Steven Moffat. In truth I was expecting something silly and stupid from which you cringe while watching.  Well like most of the Doctor Who prequels that have been well mediocre as of late.  Well this one made up for all of that.  It gave us Paul McGann and it also made mention of his Big Finish Adventures companions it was a very telling story of a choice that a man has to make whether it be one he agrees with or not.  It was a story that whets our appetite for the 50th Anniversary and now I truly cannot wait to see it.

Grade A

The Mothership Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013: The first TV teaser trailer - BBC One

Doctor Who Christmas Special 2013

Teaser Trailer