Originally published on RadCrew.net in Norwegian.
Original piece is found here: Doctor Who 50 År En Reise I Tid, Rom, Kultur og Vitenskap
If you know Norwegian I urge you to go there and read it. You'll find other content there that's really worth checking out. For the rest of you read on for my translation to English.
Pure text.
50 years and 799 episodes has aired.
I thought I'd take you through the celebration and the programming celebrating the series.Allons-y!
The whole thing kicked off with little sprinkles of trailers and minisodes throughout the week. On BBC And BBC Worldwide's YouTube channels.
http://www.youtube.com/user/doctorwho and http://www.youtube.com/user/BBC
The Science of Doctor Who lead by Professor Brian Cox, a fun and educational thing and features The Doctor. It's really nice for those of us with an interest for "The science of science fiction", this despite Doctor Who being officially a drama series. Plus teachers has something to learn from Brian, had more teachers been like him learning would be so much easier.
In the weeks preceding the anniversary the BBC held a vote for best monsters and villains on http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho. For three evenings they had a countdown where they revealed the results with an episode featuring the monster/villain.
The result was as following (=episode title)
10 Judoon (Smith and Jones)
9 Silurians (A Good Man Goes To War)
8 Ood (Planet of The Ood)
7 The Clockwork Droids (Girl In The Fireplace)
6 The Ice warriors (Cold War)
5 The Cybermen (A New Doctor)
4 The Silence (The Impossible Astronaut/Day of The Moon)
3 The Master (Utopia)
2 The Weeping Angels (Blink)
1 The Daleks (Dalek)
I voted The Daleks but love them all and others there's been.
Doctor Who The Ultimate Guide is a light hearted but good look back at the series, That had a lot of information that those who've only watched from the 2005 onwards might not have know. Well produced and obviously made both for a new audience and us fans.
Earlier this year they had a Doctor Who At The Proms that got aired on telly this week. It's a concert with a full orchestra and characters and creatures from the show in an intimate interaction with the audience. The concert is a great presentation of Murray Gold's musical contribution to the show and a nod back to the rather unique music from the Classic era.
After the special a humor filled take on making a 50th special was published. The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot. Got some good laughs out of that.
Spoiler territory ahead.
First I'll have a look at An Adventure In Space And Time.
An Adventure In Space And Time is about the three first years of the production, William Hartnell's life during that time and the people behind it. Very well written by Mark Gatiss (of Doctor Who/Sherlock), William Hartnell is portrayed by David Bradley who does a great performance. A very good drama re-telling of the Doctor Who's start. The narrative is built in a way that speaks to me and is really well put together. Very nice to see William Russell, the original Ian Chesterton, have a little cameo.
I was impressed and yes I cried, especially when he didn't want to leave the show , but could not continue due to his health. And that last confirmation of Hartnell's faith in the show was shown in a metaphorical way to show the bridge from 1963 to 2013. (before the fact bit)
The Day of The Doctor
At 8:50 pm the 23rd of November the broadcast started, 94 countries and cinemas around the world in a simulcast, earning the show a Guinness world record in the largest broadcast of a drama series. The show started on a Saturday and turns 50 on a Saturday.
The special itself I thought was very well written and answered many questions I had at the final scene of The Name of The Doctor. Steven Moffat has really created a speacial worthy of a 50th celebration of The Doctor. I thought it was awesome that they started it identical to The Unearthly Child complete with the original black and white intro. Clara works as a teacher at the same school where Ian Chesterton and Barbra Wright taught and The Doctor's granddaughter Susan Foreman attended as a pupil. Fun to see U.N.I.T. is there as the The Doctor worked for them (still employed with them) and that Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart is there in the form of his daughter Kate.
Must admit I was unsure if I wanted Billie Piper in this but the way it was done was well done and the fact she has no interaction with Tennant or Smith or even Clara for that matter. You meet the Bad Wolf version not Rose Tyler, she does a great job against John Hurt as the war torn The War Doctor incarnation. I didn't want any swooning or lovey dovey goo. That's why I'm very happy with that bit.
John Hurt who threw himself at the project on short notice does an amazing jobb, and I have found myself thinking like his Doctor about some of the expressions used in the show, when I'm not just letting the child in me just enjoy it. The way Hurt, Tennant and Smith work together is just nice to look at. Acting prowesses deserving of something this epic. Getting Hurt was a bullseye. He does the war torn Doctor brilliantly.
The Gallifrey bit was just a joy, to get represented all the incarnations involved, all the TARDISes flocking in, including the future Incarnation of The Doctor. Got to admit I screamed when I heard "No! Sir. All Thirteen!" followed by Capaldi's intense stare. Oh my lord how I'm looking forward to his interpretation. Yes I will cry when Smith leaves but I'll laugh/cheer when Capaldi arrives.
When I heard Tom Baker's voice and saw him come on the screen my eyes welled up, I made cuddle noises and cradled myself further into my Baker scarf, that I had made for the anniversary. He was so still the same.
I'm unsure how necessary the Zygons were for this special. I could perhaps want more of the Hurt/Tennant/Smith interaction. I view it as a nod to their first and only appearance in the 1975 Terror of The Zygons.
It's going to be exciting to see part three of the "Of The Doctor" story line at Christmas.