The Daily Planet Review Section

THOUGHTS ON

WARNING: SPOILERS!

An Adventure In Space And Time

A wonderful and touching look at the creation of the show. I defy a fan not to have a tear in his eye at the "meeting". What the show does remind you is that all the actors to have played the role, regardless of what they brought to the part, all stand on the shoulders of William Hartnell.

The Five(ish) Doctors

A whole lot of fun. Davison, as well as being the best Doctor, seems to be a pretty decent writer too. You can also feel the love from all those involved.

Zy-gone?

So all everyone in the Black Archive (very cool name) who isn't a Doctor or Clara don't know whether they're Zygon or Human? This was kinda left hanging, younger Lethbridge-Stewart aside, so one would think Moffat'll be revisiting it when Capaldi takes over.

Always Remember Where You Come From

All the nods and winks to previous era's of the show, particularly the use of the original theme/logo at the start of the episode and the faces of all the Doctors interspersed amongst the closing credits were an absolute delight. The lovely Baker cameo and all the Doctors looking to the future were touching moments (particularly with Hartnell, whilst not always high on the "best Doctor" list, standing apart).

The "War" Doctor

He always had the hardest choice, sacrifice his people to save the universe, and it seems that his successors looked on him a bit too harshly. But then, we all look back at some of the things we've done with regret, though not on this scale. It was nice to see his future-selves come to accept the terrible decision he had to make. Hurt made a wonderful, but all to brief, Doctor. Let's hope we can get some adventures about his time in the TARDIS. Speaking of, the "War" Doctor has the coolest and best TARDIS.

The Great Moff

We all knew Moffat could write a quality multi-Doctor story so we wouldn't have been disappointed on that front. But would the burden of expectation be too great and this just be a mediocre episode? Nope. He has written some of the best NuWho and this is, possibly, the highlight. In some ways it feels like his drop the mike moment. The story, idea's and dialogue all crackling with pure Moffat and gave us enough winks and nods and fan pleasing moments that we required. The genius part, however, was the way Moffat came up with a way of bringing Gallifrey back whilst not negating the last eight years of NuWho. Kudos, sir.

A TV Movie Too Big For TV

With everything he had to work with Nick Hurran, the director, was never really going to put a foot wrong. But then he goes and delivers an fantastic looking episode that belongs on the cinema screen. And the Time War looked epic.

Nitpicky

Okay you may be able to call homage, but the Doctor basically used the same trick for destroying the Daleks that he used on the Weeping Angels. The very end, with all the Doctors, had some of the worst looking stand ins and computer effects that it was a bit of a shame.

Splendid Chaps. All Of Them.

The moment when all the Doctors show up to assist (now) Nine, Eleven and Twelve was magical and created so much joy in this fanboy. And then, Thirteen also shows up and we get a glimpse of the angry eyes and... BOOM! Best. TV. Moment. Ever! It literally brought a tear to my eye.

Verdict

Growing up, Dr Who was a bit of a cult show that had nowhere near the mainstream, or international, popularity it has now. There were the wilderness years and the false start and the joy when RTD brought the Doctor back. But tonight, as a life long Whovian? Nerdvana.