Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013)

The Doctor and Clara are carried of in the TARDIS to the Tower of London, UNIT's headquarters, where Kate Lethbridge Stewart lays in wait. The Doctor is shown a painting left by Queen Elizabeth 1st, 'Gallifrey falls,' showing the last days of Gallifrean City 'Arcadia,' On Gallifrey we see the devastating effects of the Time War, and how the War Doctor sets off the end the war, using a forbidden weapon. Fortunately the weapon has a conscience, in the guise of Rose Tyler it challenges him. The Doctor has more then just the time war to deal with, as the Zygons have also infiltrated UNIT. The Doctors seek to change their own time line, and look to sorting the Time war one and for all.The story of the Time War has run for many years, how fitting for the fiftieth that it gets explained. A clever concept, hopefully one that's over now. The childlike elements of both Smith and Tennant contrast really well with the bleakness and soured maturity of the War Doctor. The interplay between the two of them is just glorious. Both also work extremely well with John Hurt too, must have been daunting he is literally a living legend.It really pleased me that Billie was brought back, love or hate Rose, she played a hugely important role in helping the show get back on track. It's wonderful seeing her.In all honesty my favourite part was the appearance of Tom, it literally had me in tears with a lump in my throat, what better possible celebration to the show then to have the longest running Doctor appearing. He's just magic.The updated Zygons are amazing, among the most successful monster returns, they just look amazing, and the effect of them transforming into human copies fantastic. Talk about a long overdue return.10/10 so many elements make up a truly wonderful special, like an updated Five Doctors. Utterly wonderful.

Doctor Who has done some truly terrible anniversary specials. "Dimensions in Time" comes to mind to celebrate the series 30th anniversary four years after it was canceled. I wasn't a fan of "The Five Doctors" (which could have been titled, "Three Doctors, a Fake and some stock footage, but never mind") either.The plot is that the Eleventh Doctor is contacted by UNIT to investigate a message left by Queen Elizabeth I, only to encounter a rupture in time that not only unites him with the Tenth Doctor but the mysterious War Doctor on the day he ended the Time War. An adventure involving the Zygons and the Daleks ensues. The best part of this movie/episode is the interplay between Matt Smith and David Tennent, reminiscent of the banter between Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton on previous anniversary specials. Also shining in this episode is Jenna Coleman as Clara. Clara is frequently annoying as a companion, but here she hits all the right notes.Finally, there is John Hurt as the War Doctor. (Cast because Christopher Ecceleston,the Ninth Doctor, didn't want to participate) I think the introduction of his character was pretty good, as I couldn't imagine either Paul McGann or Ecceleston being the ones to have ended the Time War. Overall, a great romp for all Doctor Who fans.

Before watching this, think back to the end of series 7: "Introducing John Hurt As The Doctor" reads the caption. The War Doctor was by far the greatest character reveal in TV history. The Eleventh Doctor has kept him hidden for fighting in the time war and it turns out that The War Doctor fits in between Eight and Nine as an unnumbered incarnation of our favourite time-traveller. He's the main character this time round.This special is really all about him. This is a character study of the Not-Last Timelord exploring how the actions of The War Doctor have had knock-on effects on his successors Ten and Eleven. Tennant and Smith make a great pair as their more excitable versions of the character bounce off each other, Clara, UNIT, Queen Elizabeth I, Zygons and of course The War Doctor. Jenna Coleman is also fantastic, proving herself as a serious actress rather than just eye-candy (but face it, she's excellent at that too), with Jemma Redgrave making a nice return as Kate Stewart: It's easy to believe she is truly the Brigadier's daughter. Bille Piper is back too which I wasn't especially pleased to hear (Rose Tyler is an annoying spoilt brat) but she is terrific as The Moment, though criminally underused here. She always had excellent chemistry with Tennant but the two don't interact here even once! Still, that's only a minor issue and one we'll permit this once since she works really well with Hurt instead.Wonderful though the cast all are, it comes as no surprise that the most experienced star steals every scene he's in. John Hurt is perfectly cast in this as the man torn by the ultimate dilemma. He's not a world famous actor for nothing and they don't just give anyone a CBE! He has excellent ability as an actor and uses his skill to its full potential at every opportunity.This is filled with several references to classic Who as well. Every Doctor gets a look-in during the final moments of the Time War (via archive footage) and images of most companions are seen in the Black Archive. Quotes are used to great effect (We're both reversing the polarity!) and we finally get to see some of the implied relationship between Doctor Ten and Liz One when two of his other selves attend his wedding: For those keeping count this is the second, chronologically, of his four known weddings (Susan's Grandmother, Marilyn Monroe and River Song being the others).There's not a great deal I can say without spoiling the episode due to the large number of plot twists this is filled with. In short, the biggest highlights have to be the two cameo appearances of some new Doctors. Twelve briefly gets seen but more exciting is the final scene: Tom Baker as The Curator. He's still as great at Dr Who as he ever was and this episode is made all the more special because he's in it. He'll probably never be in Dr Who again (except via archive footage perhaps) but it's exciting to see him return.This is THE way to celebrate TV milestones. A TV Event like this will not be forgotten for a long time. Unlike the awful 30th & 40th anniversary specials, this is truly wonderful. 10/10

A great big treat for anyone who has at least loosely followed the show within it's 50 year history. Moffat has met the incredibly difficult task of catering this story to the casual and the hardcore Dr Who fans with his brilliant and dynamic writing. I feel bad for doubting the man I always thought he was losing his touch with overly clever plots that were making him come across as smug but he nailed it here, with this celebratory milestone. This may also be a contender for the funniest Dr Who episode with the humour mainly provided through the banter of Smith, Tennant and Hurt who have amazing chemistry together and deliver the right balance of humour and drama to this feature length romp. (Actually, thinking about it the 1979 story the City of Death cannot be beaten in the humour department but this is the funniest the revitalised series has ever been.) Overall a great episode that will ensue Doctor Who will go on with it's startling and slightly controversial conclusion that may irritate some fans however the two surprise appearances one of a familiar face, another of a taste of what is to come is the icing on the timey wimey cake.