Revisiting 'Day of The Doctor"

[The Wormhole]

^^Agreed. Moffat said that having the Eight Doctor fighting the Time War would go against McGann's portrayal of him in the TV movie, but IMO seeing the Eighth Doctor become a jaded war veteran does a better job of showing that war can change people than the rather "going to war, got to turn into a new guy" does.

To further show the redundancy of the War Doctor, Moffat said they wanted him to be a "half-way" Doctor, taking on aspect of the classic and modern Doctors. But that's essentially what the Eight Doctor already is. He isn't quite a modern Doctor, but he's too recent to properly belong among the classic era, too.

McGann could have been inserted into DotD in place of the War Doctor without the need to change a damn thing. Even the spontaneous regeneration could have stayed. And McGann's look for Night of the Doctor could have very easily worked for an Eight Doctor fighting the Time War.

 

[Iamnotspock]

^^Agreed. Moffat said that having the Eight Doctor fighting the Time War would go against McGann's portrayal of him in the TV movie, but IMO seeing the Eighth Doctor become a jaded war veteran does a better job of showing that war can change people than the rather "going to war, got to turn into a new guy" does.

To further show the redundancy of the War Doctor, Moffat said they wanted him to be a "half-way" Doctor, taking on aspect of the classic and modern Doctors. But that's essentially what the Eight Doctor already is. He isn't quite a modern Doctor, but he's too recent to properly belong among the classic era, too.

McGann could have been inserted into DotD in place of the War Doctor without the need to change a damn thing. Even the spontaneous regeneration could have stayed. And McGann's look for Night of the Doctor could have very easily worked for an Eight Doctor fighting the Time War.

McGann was up for it as well.

 

[DWF]

While I don't like the idea of bringing Gallifrey back, it's a great story and I love rewatching it. The story has a movie style quality about it that makes for great rewatching. John Hurt was fantastic, even though I also didn't like the idea of using up another regeneration. As a standalone though the story works out rather well.

 

[Starkers]

Do you like pretending not getting what my point is?

Sorry, for some reason I read Eccleston instead of McGann, I'm getting old!

I still think McGann wouldn't have been able to play quite as war weary as Hurt, even in Night of the Doctor there's still such a bounce in his step that I think lacked the gravitas that Hurt could have bought to the role. Plus I like the notion of a previously unknown Doctor (though I know that's not a universally held view!)

 

[Iamnotspock]

Do you like pretending not getting what my point is?

Sorry, for some reason I read Eccleston instead of McGann, I'm getting old!

I still think McGann wouldn't have been able to play quite as war weary as Hurt, even in Night of the Doctor there's still such a bounce in his step that I think lacked the gravitas that Hurt could have bought to the role. Plus I like the notion of a previously unknown Doctor (though I know that's not a universally held view!)

Well... "Night of the Doctor" didn't require McGann to play the "War" Doctor. He's an intelligent actor; if he had been cast in the main event, I'm sure he'd have understood the required weariness of the character at the end of the war and played it accordingly. We can't judge an actor's effectiveness in a role we haven't seen them play.

 

[The Wormhole]

Besides, it's not as though the War Doctor was consistently written throughout Day of the Doctor anyway. He was weary and somber in the scenes set on Gallifrey and in the barn, while he was somewhat more cheerful and had a "bounce in his step" during the Elizabethan England segment. Had McGann been there we could still have gotten the cheerful from the TV movie and Night of the Doctor, combined with a more serious performance as a worn-out war veteran.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

I've watched it more than once and enjoyed it each time, but I've probably been a fan of Who just about are liking as I have Trek.

(I always assumed it to be the Eighth, even though RTD says he intended it to be the Ninth).

I originally assumed it was the eighth too...or at least not Eccleston. Mostly due to the scene in "Rose" where Eccleston is checking his appearance in the mirror as if he'd only recently regenerated.

 

[The Wormhole]

I've watched it more than once and enjoyed it each time, but I've probably been a fan of Who just about are liking as I have Trek.

(I always assumed it to be the Eighth, even though RTD says he intended it to be the Ninth).

I originally assumed it was the eighth too...or at least not Eccleston. Mostly due to the scene in "Rose" where Eccleston is checking his appearance in the mirror as if he'd only recently regenerated.

Despite that scene, RTD indicated he intended the Ninth Doctor to be the Doctor to have fought the Time War. There's also good indication that he didn't actually intend that line to be proof the Doctor had only just recently regenerated, given RTD was open to the idea of featuring the Eight Doctor's regeneration in the DWM comics, an idea which did make it to the artwork stages before unforeseen licensing issues made it an impossibility. Although for some reason, Moffat does now consider Rose to be the Ninth Doctor's post-regeneration adventure, based solely on that line.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Moffat can go do things that I'm too polite to say he should do. Despite what he "thinks", Rose cannot be the Ninth's first post-regeneration adventure.

Thats just impossible.

 

[Karzak]

My biggest problem with the episode was that they went to all the trouble of bringing Billie Piper back and barely gave her any screen time with Tennant. I know she served a purpose, but it was a stupid one. Might as well have been Jar Jar Binks.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Like Wormhole said, she was probably written to be brought back so that the actress could've reunited with Eccleston. Which would've been godly, let me tell you.

As is, is just revisionist bull about the Doctor being "predestined" to meet Rose, or some nonsense like that.

 

[Redfern]

Dang! You guys are going to scare away TurtleTrekker.

One thing is for certain, having "arrived" as recently as he did, Turtle hasn't developed the various fannish biases we usually cultivate. I applaud his ability to just "drink in" and enjoy everything.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[Sindatur]

Despite RTD's (and Moffat's) intention, I wouldn't have been comfortable with Eccelston being the War Doctor, and not simply based upon the noticing his reflection scene, I always felt it was Eccelston's predecessor (which of course, we all believed was McGann). So, McGann would've been fine, and I was fine with The War Doctor being added in as a previously unknown incarnation. I would've loved to have seen Ecelston, just not as The doctor who fought the Time War.

I thought it was fantastic that Rose/Bad Wolf was the interface for the Moment. The Moment was said to have one day all of a sudden gained sentience, I think Rose as Bad Wolf as the Interface is the perfect explanation for that.

 

[Orac]

Some have said in this thread they don't like the War Doctor being in the Day of the Doctor but they love the Night of the Doctor, it's been over a year since I watched that special but wasn't it just about 8 regenerating into the War Doctor? Non sequitur.

 

[Captaindemotion]

^ I don't see the non sequitur there. A lot of those complaining about the War Doctor were saying that Moffat should've used Eight instead and given us a chance to see this under-used Doctor.

And who appeared in NOTD? Said under-used Eight. Cue rejoicing from fans who wanted to see him again. Seems quite logical to me.

 

[Orac]

I stand corrected.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Well, duh! What were people talking about when the webisode came out? Not the regeneration itself - but the fact that McGann came back, even in such a short episode, and kicked ASS. He was amazing. Hell, people might also forget that there was brief talk at the BBC about that webisode's popularity.

Who stopped anything with the Eighth going forward? Moffat.

 

[RoJoHen]

Like Wormhole said, she was probably written to be brought back so that the actress could've reunited with Eccleston. Which would've been godly, let me tell you.

As is, is just revisionist bull about the Doctor being "predestined" to meet Rose, or some nonsense like that.

There's nothing "revisionist" about it. The Moment simply plucked a face from the Doctor's timeline. Rose also happens to be the most iconic companion of the nuWho era, so it makes sense that they'd want Billie Piper back.

I personally loved her performance as The Moment/Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf is Rose with the heart of the TARDIS inside her, so it makes sense that she'd continue to be sprinkled all over his timeline.

 

[Starkers]

Plus it probably had to be a familiar face that the Doctor hadn’t encountered yet, it’s no good the Moment picking Tegan or Ace or Jamie, and whilst the Doctor won’t remember the events that happened during Day of the Doctor until he gets to be 11, it does suggest that somewhere at the back on Nine’s mind Rose and Bad Wolf ring some bells, even if only subconsciously, whether you love or hate Rose (or sit somewhere in between) it’s hard to see her as anything other than AN Other companion, at the start at least. I think it fits in wonderfully with series 1 myself without taking anything away from it.

 

[Turtletrekker]

Dang! You guys are going to scare away TurtleTrekker.

One thing is for certain, having "arrived" as recently as he did, Turtle hasn't developed the various fannish biases we usually cultivate. I applaud his ability to just "drink in" and enjoy everything.

Sincerely,

Bill

Ha! Yes! Thank you. I was starting to feel like I should back slowly out of the room.

Being a long time fan of many other sci-fi series, I certainly undestand the "fannish biases" described herein, and having since my first viewing of DotD seen both the FOX movie and "Night of the Doctor", I agree that McGann would have been great in the part.

I would compare it to Frodo's journey in LotR. The gentle, innocent man goes to war and is forever changed.

And, yes, I have to say that I have been able to "drink in" it all and appreciate it for what it was, despite the quality in some cases. It's been like a journey through the history of sci-fi on television, frankly. And it's easy to see what modern sci-fi owes to it. For instance, when I first watched "Tomb of the Cybermen", I was struck by just how much Star Trek and the Borg owed to the Cybermen.

I would go on, but it's late, and I must sleep.