The Day of the Doctor

There's an awful lot that could be said about The Day of the Doctor, but I'll try to be brief and avoid spoilers as far as possible (but if you've not seen it yet and want to, you might still prefer to watch it before reading on...).

Firstly, let's get the most important thing out of the way - it was good. The first 30 seconds or so, before it all goes a bit adventurey, are a pleasing link from the very first episode to present day, and the last shot of the episode - without wanting to give anything away - is a nice way to round off the first 50 years of the show.

In between those opening and closing shots, there's 75 minutes of spectacle with a plot that, at least as far as I can tell, holds up to scrutiny better than many recent episodes of the series itself.

The feature-length piece also, of course, INTRODUCES JOHN HURT AS THE DOCTOR, but the lack of subtlety with which he was shoutily announced at the end of the preceding episode has been smoothed out slightly, and he fills the role nicely without stealing the show as the biggest 'name' among the cast members.

Subtlety is, for once, to be found in abundance in The Day of the Doctor, which manages simultaneously to give a nod to the classic era of the show, the early days of its modern-era revival and its current incarnation with Matt Smith at the helm of the TARDIS and of the show.

Billie Piper's appearance (again, hardly a spoiler by the time you've watched the opening credits) is handled well, allowing her to feature without getting bogged down in the Tenth Doctor/Rose storyline - which, remember, younger newcomers to the show may not have seen.

And there's a curious Wizard of Oz undercurrent throughout - look out for the ruby slippers in the Black Vault, Clara (IIRC) calling herself the 'Wicked Witch of the West' and Ingrid Oliver's character name 'Osgood' (Clara is, of course, varyingly known as Clara Oswald or simply as Oswin in previous episodes).

I've been trying to work out if the three Doctors are meant to represent the Scarecrow (Smith), Tin Man (Tennant) and Cowardly Lion (Hurt), but it's not a perfect fit - maybe it's all just my imagination.

I could spell out all of the references to the earlier Doctors, but I won't - I'll leave that for somebody far more familiar with the show than I am, and for a page that's less careful about spoilers.

But needless to say, as a viewer who came to the show in the mid to late 1980s (I wasn't born until 1983, so I like to think I have an excuse), there was enough of the spirit of Doctor Who as I knew it then, balanced nicely with the modern-day sense of the show as the new generation of fans have come to know it - not to mention a couple of surprises thrown in purely for the older fans, which seems fitting for an anniversary of such magnitude.

I do wonder how they got from the end of the previous episode to the beginning of this story, but perhaps that doesn't matter too much - it really needed to stand alone, so viewers who tuned in only for the anniversary did not feel lost from the outset, and I suspect it achieved that aim fairly well.

The focus now has to be on Peter Capaldi - it's no secret that this year's Christmas special is likely to see Matt Smith bow out and regenerate, which will ruin Christmas Day for a few kids, but never mind.

Can Capaldi continue to unite the two eras of Doctor Who? Restore The Doctor to his true, original character as a grumpy grown-up, rather than a clown? Bring back the darker side of the character and the show, for a generation of fans who came to the show as adolescents but are now reaching maturity in their own right?

I had all but written off Doctor Who until this anniversary episode; now I greet the oncoming storm with optimism. I have loved Matt Smith but, like Sylvester McCoy, he has rarely had the storylines he needed to shine to his fullest potential. Bring on Capaldi.

An Adventure in Space and Time

If you're already sick of watching Cybermen faint under the lights of The One Show studio, you probably decided not to watch An Adventure in Space and Time.

But while much of the build-up to this weekend's 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who has been bordering on the vapid, this 90-minute dramatisation frankly blew everything else out of the water, and has probably set the bar impossibly high for the 50th anniversary episode itself.

Not to worry - it's a small price to pay for what was not just a perfectly time-shifting glimpse at the show's earliest days, but also a touching tribute to The Doctor himself, William Hartnell.

Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth Doctor

In the worst-kept Doctor Who secret since the 2005 reboot episode Rose was leaked in Canada, Peter Capaldi has been named as the Twelfth Doctor, and fans seem, for the most part, to be quite happy.

As usual, I've got mixed feelings, although they're generally very positive - and it's certainly good that they haven't tried to cast another Matt Smith, who always seemed a natural for the role.


Yes, Capaldi is a rather more familiar face than is usually the case, but I think the show needs a safe pair of hands in the driving seat for now.

And to the critics who say he won't stay for long, as he'll be lured away to other (bigger?) things, I refer you to my June 2nd post and the fact that only four actors - including the two most recent Doctors, David Tennant and Matt Smith - have ever held the TARDIS keys for more than three years at a time.

Doctor Who...?

With the news that Matt Smith is to leave the role of The Doctor (let's call him Eleven from here on in) at the end of the show's current 50th year, Doctor Who's producers have a crucial decision to make in appointing the right actor - or actress - to take on the role of Twelve.

I've been a lifelong fan of Doctor Who, although in my case I was still only four years old when Sylvester McCoy became Seven, so don't really have clear memories of any of the Doctors who came before him.

Before I list some of the options, let's remind ourselves of the Doctors of the past:

1. William Hartnell (1963-1966), 2yrs 11mths
2. Patrick Troughton (1966-1969), 2yrs 8mths
3. Jon Pertwee (1970-1974), 4yrs 5mths
4. Tom Baker (1974-1981), 6yrs 9mths
5. Peter Davison (1981-1984), 3yrs 0mths
6. Colin Baker (1984-1986), 2yrs 9mths
7. Sylvester McCoy (1987-1989), 2yrs 3mths
8. Paul McGann (May 27th 1996), 1 day
9. Christopher Eccleston (2005), 3mths
10. David Tennant (2005-2010), 4yrs 7mths
11. Matt Smith (2010-2013), 3yrs 11mths

Although it might feel like the actor playing The Doctor has changed quite a lot since the show's return in 2005, that's actually not the case - with the exception of Eccleston's admittedly short tenure, Tennant and Smith have been two of only four actors to play the part for more than three years (with Davison piloting the TARDIS for almost exactly three years, but falling just a few days short of the milestone).

Torchwood - Miracle Day

Torchwood is back for a ten-part series, Torchwood - Miracle Day, produced in collaboration with US broadcasters and with the big budget you might expect as a result of that fact.

John Barrowman returns as Captain Jack Harkness, while Eve Myles is Gwen Taylor, the pair having spent the time since the end of the previous series getting over the deaths of their colleagues and now reunited, ironically, by an apparent global inability to die.

American co-stars add to the line-up, including Independence Day's Bill Pullman in what, three episodes in, seems to be significantly more than a walk-on cameo. However, we're yet to discover the role that his character, Oswald Danes, might play in the shake-out of the Miracle Day story arc.

Elisabeth Sladen, 1946-2011

We don't really 'do' obituaries, but I'm a Doctor Who fan (as you may have noticed) and this week's excitement about the new series was cut sadly short by the death of Elisabeth Sladen, the Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith.

I wasn't even born when she was first in Doctor Who, back in 1973. In fact, the first time I can remember seeing her in the show would be her appearance with David Tennant, which really was not so long ago. But it's a tragic loss to two separate generations of fans - those who loved her in the 70s, and those who only came to know her through the recent appearances and her spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures.

So this weekend's series opener will be tinged with sadness - and presumedly some kind of on-screen tribute to Lis Sladen - and because I have a slightly loose grip on reality, I keep thinking "poor K-9".

Doctor Who - The Impossible Astronaut Teaser

Looks like the BBC read our little Doctor Who-obsessed Popsiculture minds and put out a teaser for the new series just for us. OK, it wasn't quite just for us, but it's still more than welcome. If the prospect of two Ponds was overwhelming on Comic Relief night, you can draw some comfort from the fact that she's not in this preview. In fact, neither's The Doctor, so there's not much chance of it classing as a spoiler. You should probably just go ahead and watch it...

DVD & Blu-ray Round Up: Doctor Who - A Christmas Carol

We're nothing if not predictable here at Popsiculture, so the with the release of the Doctor Who Christmas special today there are no prizes for guessing our DVD and Blu-ray release of the week. A Christmas Carol was a particularly strong festive outing for the Doctor, a time-travelling twist on the Dickens classic.

Michael Gambon gives a strong performance as the miserly Scrooge character, and Katherine Jenkins is good as the love interest, while Matt Smith continues to make the role of the Doctor his own. If there was one (predictable) complaint from me it would be the lack of screen time for the delectable Amy Pond, but you can't have everything.

Advent Calendar - Dec 1st - Doctor Who Christmas special preview

Stick with POPSICULTURE as we count down to Christmas Day, with a new treat behind each door. Today, a festive special to open the countdown, in the form of a sneak preview of the Doctor Who Christmas special, A Christmas Carol.


You can keep up to date with our Advent Calendar posts via RSS here.

DVD & Blu-ray Round Up: Doctor Who - The Complete Fifth Series

Finally, five months after the series finale aired, the BBC have released a box-set of the complete Doctor Who Series 5. And wouldn't you know, you wait five months and suddenly 4 box-sets come along at once. Take your pick from the rather spiffy lenticular 3D cover to the left, available on DVD or Blu-ray, or the executive-looking Special Edition steelbook complete with collector's booklet, 4 illustrated artcards, and a host of the usual commentaries and extras, again on DVD or Blu-ray.

I've already touched on this Doctor Who series a few times on the round up, and made no secret of the fact that I loved it. Matt Smith stepped in to David Tennant's shoes and looked a natural right from the start, and the addition of the beautiful and brilliant Karen Gillan hasn't done the show any harm whatsoever.

All in all series 5 was a great success, from the charming opening to The Eleventh Hour, through the spooky Vampires of Venice, the petrifying Time of Angels to the quirkier episodes like Vincent and the Doctor, and the good old fashioned two parter of The Hungry Earth / Cold Blood, everything seemed to more or less click in to place.

DVD & Blu-ray Round Up - Ashes to Ashes Series 3

The fantastic Ashes to Ashes Series 3 is my pick of the DVD and Blu-ray releases this week. The BBC drama builds to an epic conclusion as Alex Drake (the fragrant Keeley Hawes), prompted by the arrival of sinister Jim Keats from Scotland Yard, finally unravels the mystery of DCI Gene Hunt. It's a shame how Gene Hunt became so much the centre of the show in the last two series, as Alex's quest to return to her real life (and daughter, remember her?), was sidelined to afford Philip Glenister's snarling alpha male character more screen time, but it's worthy end to the journey none the less. For box-set fetishists there's also a Complete Collection with all three Ashes to Ashes series, but no sign yet of an Ashes-Life on Mars tie-in.

Doctor Who Series 5 Volume 2 might have been vying with Ashes to Ashes for my top pick of the week, but the way the BBC insist on releasing 3 episodes at a time (for the price of a full series) has put me off. Suffice to say, Series 5 was another thoroughly enjoyable ride through the weird and wonderful Doctor Who universe. Matt Smith's innocent, boyish Doctor was a breath of fresh air (less stagey than Tennant, just as eccentric), while Karen Gillan as Amy Pond was probably the single best thing to happen to the franchise since...well, ever. If you can't wait until Christmas for the special, then you might just have to give in and shell out for the DVDs.