The Day of the Doctor

The 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who was an episode of two halves - one was a fairly standard romp with shape-shifting aliens invading from the Elizabethan-era...the other was a monumental tying up of loose ends and creating story hooks with one of the most popular Doctors of all time.

The Day of the Doctor focuses on three incarnations of the Doctor. Matt Smith, the current Doctor. David Tennant, the previous incarnation. And John Hurt, the "lost" in carnation - the War Doctor.

Things start off with a reverent nod to the very first Doctor Who episode, the opening playing in black and white with the classic introduction music from 1963. The Eleventh Doctor's companion Clara is called to the TARDIS for a new adventure. 

Like I said, aside from the opening and a fair few continuity nods, nothing really out of the ordinary.

Helicoptering the TARDIS through London while Eleven hangs on. Fairly ordinary.

Things really get interesting, however, when the War Doctor is introduced. This incarnation of the Doctor was created to fight in what was known as the Time War - a conflict between the Doctor's race of Time Lords, and the genocidal Daleks.

Pew! Pew pew pew!

With almost every moment in time and space involved in the conflict, the War Doctor decides to use a weapon of mass destruction to destroy both his own people and their enemies. The weapon, something called The Moment, turns out to be sentient and sends the War Doctor to meet with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors to see the repercussions of his actions.

Specifically, the repercussions of growing a beard.
THE DOCTOR SHALL NEVER HAVE A BEARD.

So yeah, it's an adventure with the current Doctor, the most popular Doctor, and a mystery that fans have been asking about since the show was revived in 2005. 

The mystery of who has the biggest screwdriver. Lllladies.

The chemistry between the three leads, but especially between Tennant and Smith, was fantastic and everything people could have wanted. The way Ten and Eleven regard the War Doctor with a mixture of revulsion and pity was intriguing and left me wanting to see the War Doctor's story expanded. 

Look at the War Doctor. What a cool guy. Like a cucumber.

For such a significant event, the show was surprisingly light-hearted. The War Doctor, played gruff and tired by John Hurt, was frequently exasperated at the childish and silly antics of the other Doctors. It was refreshing but didn't detract from the competency of Ten or Eleven.

All you need to know is Ten threatens a rabbit. What more do you need?

The episode felt serious only a handful of times, and leaned more toward being grave or somber, rather than 

aggressive. 

"Okay...now carry that bag...somberly. Nailed it."

Similarly, any action sequences didn't feel overly macho, but had a feeling of elation and giddy excitement.

Peter Capaldi as Mister Angry Eyes.

Billie Piper makes a return as The Moment, popping up in the background and giving advice. While she is the focus of any scene she's in, said scenes are used sparingly and feel tasteful rather than tacky and forced.

Yep. There she is. 

The ending was fantastic and moving, tying up numerous loose ends and creating a whole new story arc, which can then be expanded upon for years.

Said arc is the quest for more ridiculous clothing accessories. YAY!

I'm not an avid watcher of Doctor Who, in fact, I can probably count the number of episodes I've seen on one hand - but I knew enough about what was going on to not feel lost.

I'm lost.

If you know even a bit about Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor will not disappoint. If you're looking for an introduction, however, the episode is too dense with references to past episodes. 

To be fair, why would you start watching a series at the 50th anniversary?

Four and a half stars.