TW Watches Doctor Who: Night of The Doctor

By Owen Quinn photos copyright BBC and Owen Quinn

Let’s go back to 2013 and the countdown to the 50th anniversary. A muti-Doctor story was coming, The Day of The Doctor but rumours were like a swarm of bees. Were they bringing the old Doctors back? How? They look too old now and some look totally different? Would they be animated? Was Christopher Eccleston coming back? How could you possibly have an anniversary story without all the Doctors, survivng and otherwise appearing?

Let’s also remember that Doctor Who is full of gaps and holes some of which fans demanded be filled. As an Easter egg, Steven Moffat was certain we needed one thing. An onscreen regeneration for Paul McGann’s Doctor; so was born The Night of The Doctor.

The 8th Doctor, aside fom his massive Big Finish backlog, had only ever appeared in the movie at that point. So we would finally get to see a mini-adventure that was so rich in content and context, that it would not only deliver a regeneration but a welcome return for the 8th Doctor. To this day, fans are crying out for a mini-series featuring Paul McGann who remains massively popular at conventions. He loves a good chat does our Paul as I can attest to having met him several times. You are as comfortable in his company as you are in his Doctor’s.

In ways this episode was a way to show the BBC that there is a deep thirst for all sorts of Doctor Who content; well made Doctor Who content and that the past Doctors could still deliver adventures.

It opens with a giirl wrestling with the controls of a crashing ship. The computer thinks she needs a doctor but she is sending out a distress signal. If you listen very carefully during this noisy exchange, you can hear the Tardis materialise in the background off screen.

And the 8th Doctor is back.

McGann is dripping in delicious dialogue when he accepts the girl, Cass, as his new companion when she reveals she teleported everyone off because they were screaming.

But i all goes wrong when he tries to get her to the Tardis and she learns he is a Time Lord. She hates the Time Lords for this war despite his claim he isn’t part of the war. He refuses to leave her and they will die together.

Waking, the Doctor discovers he is on Karn, brought back to life by the Sisterhood of Karn last seen in the Brain of Morbius. They brought him back to life and he only has moments to make a decision. Shila played by Clare Higgins from Hellraiser fame would return with the 12th Doctor era. The Sisterhood have augmented Time Lord science and have anihilated the randomness of the regeneration process. He can now choose what to become; man, woman, young, old, fast or strong, wide or angry. e takes the elixir and becomes a warrior. He regenerates into John Hurt.

The Doctor is dead. Long live the War Doctor.

This episode is vital for many reasons. To see an old Doctor return and go out in a blaze of glory when faced with an impossible choice. We learn the Time War is as bad as we have heard but the Doctor has refused to take part instead helping where he can. But Shila knows that he cannot turn his back forever and he must fight. We see the fury of the Time Lord as he screams at them to get out, glad that this will hurt. The man he was is dead, lost to the demand of a war he never wanted. McGann is epic, making this regeneration one of the most emotional and powerful. This will tie in with the Day of The Doctor when we learn why we have never seen this incarnation of the Doctor. He is the outcast, the one the Doctor of old denies because he destroyed Gallifrey.

We see now why the 9th shed a tear in end of the World. We see why he is furious when faced with a lone Dalek in the episode Dalek. We see the hurt, the rage, the self-loathing for letting himself become what he hated most. He became a Dalek himself.

This adds so much to both the 8th Doctor and the War doctor’s character. Shy away all they like but 9, 10 and 11 are the same Doctor. They all pushed that button that left him the last of the Time Lords. They a share in that act. It is only through the return of the War doctor that any of them can heal and see no matter what, it was never possible to be the Doctor that scares away the monsters that day.

Another interesting fact is the eleixir that has been developed by Shila and her sisters to give Time Lords control over regeneration. You can now choose what you want to be. This was really done in preparation for Missy and the 13th Doctor to explain why suddenly the Doctor can swop sexes. Indeed all Gallifreyans can. It’s a dumb idea which does not work because the internal logic of the show forbids it.

Family units have long been established on Doctor Who with his grandaughter as his first companion. And right up to the 10th Doctor era, family was very much mentioned especially in The Doctor’s Daughter.

What happens if mummy Time Lord suddenly disappears one night and a new face and body tells you they are your mummy or daddy? Does daddy then have to regenerate into a lady to maintain the balance? How does that impact the family structure? Does gender change from mummy automatically make you Daddy? Similarly does grandfather become grandmother? What does that do to a child’s psyche? It has lost the founding figures in its young life and having a different face will not compensate for the emotional trauma of losing a parent even if they have a different face.

As the 10th Doctor says the old person dies and a new person walks away. That has to have a tremendous impact on a young child. Adult Time Lords accept it easily enough. It is said that no matter what body they wear; another Time Lord can recognise them from their aura. But does this ability to recognise each other no matter what the body, apply to normal Gallifreyans like a child and its mother? I’m not so sure it does.

You can read my article on How the Doctor Lost His Balls by clicking here for the full story https://timewarriors.co.uk/2020/11/21/how-the-doctor-lost-his-balls/

But now the Doctor can be any sex and yet it still seems a random process.

McGann is pitch perfect here. When told he has four minutes to live of he doesn’t take the elixir, he says that’s ages. He says he needs a televison in case he gets bored. Chess, a couple of books and to bring him some knitting. This concept of time is similar to the 11th Doctor in the Power of Three when he gets bored at the Pond’s house so hoovers, paints fences, kicks a football and is dismayed to learn only an hour has passed. Four minutes to the Sisterhood is an eternity to a Time Lord.

The Night of The Doctor is an important bridge to fill in the gap of the Time War and the 8th Doctor’s regeneration. Now all the Doctors have an onscreen regeneration even if Sylvester was disguised as Colin Baker for his. Bringing back the Sisterhood of Karn and tying them back into Time Lord mythology is a smart move as it not only updates them for the new era but adds to their original premise. They have taken Time Lord science and improved upon it by fixing the regeneration problem.

It is just under seven minutes of perfect and vital Doctor Who history that bridges and dovetails eras seamlessly. And yes, we still would like to see an 8th Doctor miniseries.