THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS BELOW

Well...that was different. And 1udjfjfidjndivfodondonoommyyygofnodgogdddsoasosjdndncnddksndbcdjekskssjdbdjdjSDKCSKKXOCOVJAARHFCDODFJTTRRAAAR!!! Sorry. The Day Of The Doctor was rather good, it must be said.

Honestly, as a Whovian, I can say it lived up to the height of expectation, when even I doubted it would for a moment there. I don't even know where to begin in trying to write about it. It was brilliant. Plus, I really don't want to reveal that many plot details, more so than usual, because it really needs to be seen this one. So apologies if you don't find this quite as succinct as it could be. 

Right, lets start with a major point of the show - the three Doctors! And then some! Firstly it was a joy to see David Tennant step back into his togs again.Several years on and he has not lost one ounce of what made him such an iconic Tenth Doctor. The cheeky chappy, the emotional power and that great Doctor swagger was all still there, and we got to see his screwdriver and TARDIS again too (definitely not a euphemism, I would not stoop so low). Then there was John Hurt, the mysterious War Doctor as he is now apparently known. Of course we got the John Hurt treatment in spades; here is an acting legend that strode onto the set of Doctor Who. But Hurt's Doctor was a joy to watch also. Yes he is aged, desperate, ravaged and dark, yet woven throughout his performance there were moments of bemused curiosity, glinting backchat, and warm charm, all presented by the incomparable John Hurt. We certainly cannot forget Matt Smith. Though we had all these fantastic elements and surprises to deal with, thankfully we never lost sight of the fact that he is still the present incarnation of the hallowed character; this is as much his time as anyone elses. Thus all the quirks, the costumes, the mannerisms and the characteristics of the Eleventh Doctor that we've come to know and love, and that I'm sure we shall miss terribly after Christmas, were there in spades. Needless to say, it was fabulous watching all three of these Doctors.

Also, just as an added extra, there was more from the Doctor to come. Rather sweetly, at the very climax of the action, archive footage was used to bring all the Doctors back to help save the day, to remind us of what we are celebrating (how could they not really? It's the 50th). We even got a momentary glimpse of Peter Capaldi as the next Doctor, right in the mix of all the action in a fleeting but memorable moment. Yet there was still more to come, right at the end. I shall say no more specifically here, but just to all those Whovians who were a bit miffed that there were no truly classic Doctors featured in this landmark episode, you shall not be dissapointed, as one last figure steps out of the shadows in a great scene towards the end.

Other characters...well we got some very nice new faces in this hallowed adventure. Comedienne and actress Ingrid Oliver was rather sweet as a devoted fan, of science and the Doctor. We also saw the beautiful and charming Joanna Page give a very watchable performance as Queen Elizabeth I, and we welcomed the return of Jemma Redgrave to the Doctor's entourage.

Monsters, you can't have Doctor Who without them. Well the Time War was key to this episode so, as fans will know, that can only mean the return of the Daleks (again, how could they not?). We welcomed the iconic villains back with a vengeance, and better still we got to see them at the height of their destructive power in war, and incidentally getting torn apart, literally, by the Doctor which is always a thrill. Another classic monster returning to much applause was the Zygon, very alien looking shape-changers. They were given at least equal monster billing as well in this episode, which I think is a plus as it could very easily have turned into the Doctor vs. the Daleks again on a massive scale. Also for me the Zygons were a novelty, as I confess I'm not as clued up on classic Who, so for me, as I'm sure was the case for many others, it was a case of seeing the Zygons a fresh.

Companions. Well again I commend the minds behind this episode as Jenna Coleman's Clara certainly did not shrink into the background, which considering she is a relatively new edition to the show, she could be buried under all these old faces and barn-storming plot twists. But if anything she was given a bit more character to play with than we have seen before I think. Now, many may think there was one more companion to make an appearance, when it became apparent Billie Piper was returning along with Tennant. Yet here I think we see one of the cleverest twists in the episode, if not all of Who. It would have been so easy, and I'm sure brilliant, to simply bring Rose Tyler back alongside her Doctor, but no. Instead Billie's character was that of The Moment, the personified living conscious of the Gallifreyan doomsday device Hurt's Doctor steals to end the Time War, that just happened to "assume the appearance" of Rose (following this OK?).

Ah, I've just realized that might make for quite a spoiler...Nevermind, it's my blog, live with it MWAHAHA (I'll put a spoiler alert at the top - aren't I a good boy?). Indeed, this Moment looked like Rose, but that is where the similarities end. The Moment was an all-powerful, time travelling, selectively invisible, reality-altering being. Yet I feel Billie Piper pulled it off brilliantly, in her own striking and beguiling way. 

Faults? Not many. At all. I suppose I feel it would have been nice to see Rose with her Doctor again, yet Billie's character only interacted with John Hurt's Doctor. Maybe the producers thought Rose had come back too many times previously, and to be fair given the circumstances it might have been quite confusing, even for the most hardcore die-hard fans. Others? Well I was slightly left in a bit of nervous anticipation following how it all ended. Oh don't get me wrong, it was incredible, jaw-dropping, epic stuff, but it did alter radically what had gone before, as Stephen Moffat promised. I just hope he has a concrete, great direction to take Doctor Who after this, in other words - I bloody hope he knows what he's doing. Oh and finally I like others was slightly crestfallen that other past Doctors weren't appearing proper. Particularly Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor, a.because I think he was great and b. then we would have at least had all the "modern" Doctors since 2005 reappear. But hey ho.

Honestly though, that is just me nit-picking, perhaps unfairly. This was the 50th anniversary episode. This was a fantastic celebration to say the least. This was as brilliant as everything we'd been promised and had dared hope for, and more. This was...The Day Of The Doctor.