The Day Of The Doctor - Thoughts & Speculation

 The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who is now just 2 months away and the BBC has finally started making some noise about it with the announcement of something Doctor Who related on almost every BBC-owned TV channel and radio station to celebrate the occasion. Of course, the biggest part of the proceedings is the actual anniversary episode itself, The Day of the Doctor: a multi-Doctor story which currently is known to feature Eleven (Matt Smith), Ten (David Tennant), and who is believed to be the disowned Doctor (John Hurt) who the others look down on and don't count as being a true Doctor probably due to his involvement in the Time War. At 75 minutes in length the episode is written of course by Steven Moffat, directed by Nick Hurran, will be broadcast in 3D simultaneously around with world, and will have a limited theatrical release.

Before we've even been shown a trailer or any footage, there is still quite a lot to discuss about the special that can be gleaned from the poster itself. The most interesting thing by far is engulfed in flames just to the right of John Hurt's head: the exploding TARDIS from the 11th Doctor's first series. Moffat has confirmed in the past that he intends to wrap up various plot lines he has been seeding since The Eleventh Hour and the destruction of the TARDIS is probably the most obvious question that has thus far gone unanswered. Speaking of overarching plots, the words 'Bad Wolf' can also be seen on the poster graffitied on a wall to the left of Hurt. I seriously hope the return of Rose Tyler isn't that big of a plot point. Luckily, unlike RTD, Moffat has demonstrated in the past his ability to write Rose in a way that makes her less bitchy and unlikable. Also, the way John Hurt is shown on the poster walking away from exploding Daleks sort of confirms the fan theories that this is a Time War Doctor who committed serious crimes including the destruction of both the Dalek and Time Lord races.

As for returning Doctors, whilst it will certainly be good to see the 10th Doctor return, I'll be slightly disappointed if there aren't some surprise cameos. For example, now that David Bradley has been cast as William Hartnell in the docudrama An Adventure in Space and Time with a classic TARDIS set specially built, I think Moffat will make full use of his resources and give us a 1st Doctor scene. In fact, based on an earlier comment made about wanting the anniversary to look forward as well as back, I have a kooky theory that Peter Capaldi has been into the studio and filmed material for the anniversary. It would certainly explain why his casting was announced months before we'll actually see him in the part, and I doubt the timey-wimey side of Moffat's head would be able to resist writing a multi-Doctor story from the point of view of a past Doctor meeting his future self. Especially now that we're in the rare scenario of knowing exactly who the next Doctor is going to be before he's even made his screen debut.

As for the other classics, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all seem up for making a return to the show. Christopher Eccleston on the other hand seems a lot more apprehensive, making comments in interviews such as "never bathe in the same river twice" most likely due to the unfortunate disagreements with management that led him to quit the role after only 13 episodes. Now obviously I know nothing concrete about the circumstances which led to his criminally short era or the exact nature of these disagreements but as a fan it would still be incredible to see him return to the role and give one last encore for the excellent 9th Doctor.

I'm sure I'll post some more of my thoughts and ideas later when we have some footage but in the mean time, I have faith that The Day of the Doctor will at least be good. Steven Moffat has written some poor scripts in the past but when there's an episode be can focus all his attention on (The Empty Child, The Girl in the Fireplace, Blink, Silence in the Library, The Eleventh Hour) he generally understands the pressures on his shoulders and ends up creating some of the best TV moments of the decade. From listening to interviews he's given, it's clear that work on this episode has taken its toll on him as projects like Sherlock Series 3 have been delayed and once again he seems to understand the enormous expectations fans have so I'm sure he won't disappoint. He'll have put his heart and soul into making this one of his finest works. It's the 50th anniversary for goodness sake. 5 decades. 11 (soon to be 12, 13 counting Hurt) lead actors and countless supporting characters, writers, directors and producers all helping to tell one titanic story that has seen the transition from black-and-white to colour and has expanded from the television screen into mediums such as games, books, comics, graphic novels, and audio productions, each one a part of a never-ending story which due to it's central message of change and regeneration will probably be around to see its 100th birthday and beyond. This better be the greatest thing on TV until then.

This article was written by Tarminuus.