The Day Of The Doctor, Television Review. B.B.C. Television.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Cast: Matt Smith, David Tennant, John Hurt, Jenna Coleman, Billie Piper, Jemma Redgrave, Joanna Page, Ingrid Oliver, Ken Bones, Nicholas Briggs, Jonjo O’Neill, Orlando James, Aiden Cook, Paul Kasey, Peter de Jersey, Tom Keller, Ankur Sengupta, Tom Baker, Peter Capaldi.

The Day of The Doctor…Thanks to the way the B.B.C. has taken very seriously the notion of the longest running science fiction programme of all time turning 50 years old, it’s been more like several months of snippet here, a smidgen of misinformation there, the release of a rumour, conjecture, assumption and speculation.

For the fans, die hard or more than casual viewer, the misdirection and expectation has been growing, the beat of the drums of rhythmic anticipation ever more loud and whilst there will always be those who cast aspersions on the nature of the programme, what the viewer was left with was a gourmet feast, gentle nods to the history, a returning monster and the realisation that the Doctor is more than the sum of his parts.

50 years, technically just a little bit less than that thanks to the B.B.C. deleting huge swathe of time in which Doctor Who was off air, it is worth celebrating, it is worth the acceptance of acclaim in which lead writer and fan Stephen Moffat came up with a story that revelled in the history, gave a small bow as it introduced the future direction and smiled broadly as the sight of little moments thrilled anyone who grew up with the Doctor as part of their life.

From the very quick glimpse of the furrowed brow of the next Doctor Peter Capaldi, the return of Billie Piper as the conscious of The Moment/Bad Wolf, the reappearance of The Zygons, Daleks, The Time War, David Tennant, pictures of much loved actors who graced the role of the companion including the great Carole Ann Ford and the reassuring figure of Nicholas Courtney and of course the biggest nod of them all, Matt Smith’s incarnation of The Doctor chatting to Doctor number 4, the wonderful Tom Baker.

This was a story that had everything as all 50th birthday celebrations should. Lessons were learned from the overcrowding nature of the 20th anniversary and the sheer enjoyment was there on every face. From a wonderful performance as Queen Elizabeth I by Joanne Page through to Jenna Coleman cementing her position as arguably one of the most important companions in the history of the show, this was the greatest present the fans could ask for. The humour and pathos, the anger of what John Hurt’s Doctor did to his own people at the end of the Time War and through to tying up a few loose strands of stories that had been flying in the wind all served to make it a celebration that had been worth waiting 50 years for.

Ian D. Hall