Day of the Doctor discussion (probable spoilers)

[Lord Quirk]

So, I haven't seen any forums on this site discussing the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who which came out a few days ago, which I thought was a bit odd, so here we go.
i'm not going to bother with spoiler tags much, I said spoilers in the title and it's kinda hard to discuss something without giving details.
Anyway, I think the ending was quite interesting, and might be a breath of fresh air for the franchise, as ass-pull-ish as it was executed. That said, pretty much every season finale in NuWho has featured a hitherto unmentioned ridiculous deux ex machina, so it's pretty much tradtion by this point. i do wish they had finished off the Zygon arc, however, seeing as London and possibly the world was a stake and we never got any resolution, which is somewhat disappointing as I'm sure it would have been hilarious. Maybe if the ep was longer or something...
As for the performances, John Hurt was utterly stellar as the War Doctor, and I sort of wish we could see more of him. Admittedly, Tennant and Smith somewhat paled in comparison, but they're still pretty good.
Didn't understand Tom Baker's bit at the end, but it was good seeing a glimpse of Peter Capaldi (even if that was all it was).
So I feel that although it didn't live up to it's potential, it has made me optimistic of the future of Doctor Who.
So what were your thoughts? Positive? Negative? Mixture of the two?

 

[JoJo]

So, I haven't seen any forums on this site discussing the 50th Anniversary special of Doctor Who which came out a few days ago, which I thought was a bit odd, so here we go.

Well nothing except these three threads:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.834864-Day-of-the-Doctor-thread-SPOILERS

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.834926-Doctor-Who-time-lock-continuity-spoilers-abound

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.834892-Moffat-Clears-Up-The-Doctors-Numbering

I liked the special a lot, a shame we couldn't get 9th Doctor in more, it would have been cool to see Hurt regenerate into him rather than cutting at the last moment but I understand the actor didn't want to return so there wasn't much that could be done about that. Other the changes were intriguing, I hope Gallifrey is used for something interesting next season.

 

[Tom_green_day]

9th Doctor in more,

Since the reboot, he's the only Doctor I've been able to stand. Apparently he did it for about a day and did a 3D model but then dropped out. I saw an interview with him after the first series came out where he said that he was being worked too hard with like 16 hour work-days or something and he just couldn't bear it. Good for him really. He's probably had the most legitimate career out of the three doctors too.
OT: Was this episode just a funeral for canon and lore? The same person can't meet himself, let alone three copies of himself. That's been one of the main points since the original doctor who. Also changing time unleashes those reapers as seen with the good Lord Eccleston. Oh and thirdly hate to break this to everyone, but JOHN HURT WAS NEVER A FUCKING DOCTOR. Especially after dressing him up ridiculously like Ian McKellan but a budget copy. Gallifrey being lost was always established as something the Doctor had a very minimal part in so having him now the saviour is a bit contradictory. Also, UNIT is meant to be some top secret super-skilled organisation, not just some three idiots who let fucking slugs take them over. Oh and on that topic, the big bad enemy are RED SLUGS? SERIOUSLY? Jeez, this pissed me off. If you look at one of the last shots, you can see how little they cared. John Hurt, Matt Smith, David Tennant and a load of waxwork dolls that don't even begin to look like the other actors. Holy hell, this was a shit TV episode.
Rant over

 

[TimeLord]

I hope Gallifrey is used for something interesting next season.

That's cute, Moffat using Gallifrey next season? I predict at least 2 seasons before we get near Gallifrey.

OT: Loved it in pretty much all regards. Glad there was a different enemy to face rather than the Daleks being in the spotlight for the entire show.

 

[TimeLord]

The same person can't meet himself, let alone three copies of himself. That's been one of the main points since the original doctor who.

Except;

The 3 Doctors (1972)
The 5 Doctors (1983)
The 2 Doctors (1985)
Time Crash (2007)

Also there are a bunch of extended media stories from throughout the years that either have multiple Doctors in the same story or multiple Doctors meeting and interacting.

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Multi-Doctor_stories

 

[GrimTuesday]

9th Doctor in more,

Since the reboot, he's the only Doctor I've been able to stand. Apparently he did it for about a day and did a 3D model but then dropped out. I saw an interview with him after the first series came out where he said that he was being worked too hard with like 16 hour work-days or something and he just couldn't bear it. Good for him really. He's probably had the most legitimate career out of the three doctors too.

While Eccleston is easily my favorite Doctor, I think you're being unfair to David Tennant. He had a number of very excellent episodes that he managed to bring to that level through his fine acting. The problem is and always has been the writing. I'm not a fan of Matt Smith either, but I think its more because I don't like the characters they surround him with, and the way his stories unfold, especially during his time with Rory and Amy. This episode would have been so much better with Eccelston's Doctor though. Such a shame he didn't want to come back.

OT: Was this episode just a funeral for canon and lore? The same person can't meet himself, let alone three copies of himself. That's been one of the main points since the original doctor who.

I interpreted it as being the work of a being that exists outside of time and space. I could be wrong, but I kind of thought that the "device" that was causing this was Bad Wolf, which I think makes a lot more sense (and a better story) than just being the consciousness of The Moment. There have been instances where the Doctor has met himself in the past.

Also changing time unleashes those reapers as seen with the good Lord Eccleston. Oh and thirdly hate to break this to everyone, but JOHN HURT WAS NEVER A FUCKING DOCTOR. Especially after dressing him up ridiculously like Ian McKellan but a budget copy. Gallifrey being lost was always established as something the Doctor had a very minimal part in so having him now the saviour is a bit contradictory.

Really? From what I understood from the ninth Doctor, the destruction of Gallifrey was a direct result of his actions. There is a reason he is so haunted by it.

Also, UNIT is meant to be some top secret super-skilled organisation, not just some three idiots who let fucking slugs take them over. Oh and on that topic, the big bad enemy are RED SLUGS? SERIOUSLY? Jeez, this pissed me off. If you look at one of the last shots, you can see how little they cared. John Hurt, Matt Smith, David Tennant and a load of waxwork dolls that don't even begin to look like the other actors. Holy hell, this was a shit TV episode.
Rant over

No arguments on the Unit thing, that was rather silly. It looks like for the most part, the other Doctors were just screen grabs from old episodes.

 

[wildpeaks]

I quite liked it and John Hurt was great, but I wish they used the real 8th doctor because McGann is a great actor and many of the criticisms he faced with the movie are no longer really justified (e.g. the kiss or american style) given that happens also in the new series, so that would have been great to see him shine with a good scenario

 

[Tom_green_day]

While Eccleston is easily my favorite Doctor, I think you're being unfair to David Tennant. He had a number of very excellent episodes that he managed to bring to that level through his fine acting. The problem is and always has been the writing. I'm not a fan of Matt Smith either, but I think its more because I don't like the characters they surround him with, and the way his stories unfold, especially during his time with Rory and Amy. This episode would have been so much better with Eccelston's Doctor though. Such a shame he didn't want to come back.

I interpreted it as being the work of a being that exists outside of time and space. I could be wrong, but I kind of thought that the "device" that was causing this was Bad Wolf, which I think makes a lot more sense (and a better story) than just being the consciousness of The Moment. There have been instances where the Doctor has met himself in the past.

Really? From what I understood from the ninth Doctor, the destruction of Gallifrey was a direct result of his actions. There is a reason he is so haunted by it.

No arguments on the Unit thing, that was rather silly. It looks like for the most part, the other Doctors were just screen grabs from old episodes.

First paragraph: I am being unfair and to be honest I liked most of his stuff, some of the most memorable episodes are from him (waters of mars, new earth, and most of all the master's invasion) but he started the direction into what I dislike. I agree the writing sucks.
2nd: I think reviving the whole 'Bad Wolf' thing was stupid as that was a one-series storyline which worked really well and doesn't make sense just having it mean something else.
3rd: OK I may be taking my lore from the few classic DW episodes I saw, which is why I assumed Doctors couldn't meet (as I've seen multiple episodes where someone meeting themselves causes a paradox) and other people have shown me I was wrong.
4th: Yeah the wax models at the end stood out like a sore thumb.

 

[Battenberg]

I was ambivalent at best about this episode for a lot of reasons. John Hurt was great, I'm hoping they'll find some way of bringing him back in again, otherwise he's going to be in the same league as McGann for being a great doctor but getting a pitifully short time to portray him. Also everything to do with Gallifrey was great, I loved the 3d art and seeing bits of the time war and I even found Matt Smith more tolerable than usual. Plus being a huge Tom Baker fan the art gallery scene was very cool although I'm still not totally sure what was going on there - did we simply miss out on seeing Tom Baker's Dr. get old and run a gallery and if so how could future Dr.s forget he was running it?

Just about everything else seemed either superfluous or just wrong in some way, particularly the way some stuff was levered in to appeal to new Who fans (e.g. Billie Piper really didn't need to be there at all, David Tennant's out of character 'I don't want to go' comment near the end). Also it may have been nostalgia goggles making me remember Tennant's Who more fondly but he didn't seem up to his usual standards this episode. Plus I've still not warmed to Clara at all and, like Rose, she really didn't need to be in this episode. AND while I don't mind Gallifrey suddenly being saved (without the old Dr.s' knowledge to save continuity I assume) the whole here's a magic button to make all of our problems go away thing has gotten a little thin as far as I'm concerned, especially when it's being used to save an entire supposedly time locked planet but still destroy all the Daleks. Then there's the only semi resolved Zygon plot, the fact that for some reason only the new Dr. got to remember everything (he jumped through the time vortex or whatever it was just like John Hurt, how does that work?), UNIT inconsistencies (they have a TARDIS proof room but can't keep out Zygons?), the OTT intro, and the fact that by the end it was hugely obvious that it was being used as a setup for future series to find a way around past plot points.

I liked it better than a lot of other recent Who episode but still not as much as a lot of the older episodes +Ecclestone/ Tennant's doctors.

 

[Albino Boo]

Also, UNIT is meant to be some top secret super-skilled organisation, not just some three idiots who let fucking slugs take them over. Oh and on that topic, the big bad enemy are RED SLUGS? SERIOUSLY? Jeez, this pissed me off. If you look at one of the last shots, you can see how little they cared. John Hurt, Matt Smith, David Tennant and a load of waxwork dolls that don't even begin to look like the other actors. Holy hell, this was a shit TV episode.
Rant over

Nah, UNIT are the Dr Who equivalent of the guys in red shirts from Star Trek. Disposable and can't solve any problem without the Doctor.