‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary spoilers: ‘The Night of the Doctor’ brings back old favorite
Prior to the airing of the “Doctor Who” 50th anniversary special a week from Saturday, the BBC has decided to unveil what could be considered a very important piece of footage in “The Night of the Doctor.” This is something responsible for helping to fill in some of the greatest cracks in the Doctor’s lineage, and we have to start here by saying that there are some MASSIVE spoilers ahead.
So … who saw that coming? It was nice first of all to see the return of eighth Doctor Paul McGann in a short little story that explained a valuable bit of information when it comes to his regeneration. For those wondering where John Hurt’s Doctor-who-is-not-a-Doctor fit in the timeline, he would have actually been #9 had he taken the proper title. Instead, he was more of the “War Doctor,” and he eventually paved the way for Christopher Eccleston to be a part of the show when it was brought back for the 21st century.
If we were to look critically at the video, then we would admit that it is not the finest work that Steven Moffat has ever done with the series. McGann’s Doctor has a very unusual attachment to a woman that he barely knew, and we wish that there was a little more of an impactful reveal of Hurt as the new incarnation at the end. That is what made the ending of “The Name of the Doctor” such a huge and stunning moment for those who had avoided the spoilers. This was an opportunity to see not only a character that was a mystery, but a disruption in the entire timeline for a character that we had assumed to be pretty straightforward until that time.
With this take being said, we’re still glad that we have this. After all, it is more than six minutes of new “Doctor Who” footage, and serves as a nice little appetizer before what is sure to be a generous main course coming up next weekend on BBC stations around the world.
If you want to look beyond the anniversary special, then just click here to see what Moffat has to say about some of his own long-term prospects on the show as the man with the lead voice.
Photo: BBC