Doctor Who - A Note On The Absence Of Other Doctors In The 50th Anniversary Special

Doctor Who - A Note On The Absence Of Other Doctors In The 50th Anniversary Special

 

We’re getting ever close to the 50th anniversary special, and we now know, of course, that the 12th Doctor will be played by the magnificent Peter Capaldi. I’m super-hyped about seeingCapaldi in the role, and I’m even more excited about seeing David Tennant back in the role for the special, especially alongside Matt Smith. John Hurt as the mooted ‘forgotten Doctor’, who caused the genocide of the Daleks and all but two members of the Time Lord race? Mind constantly going into supernova.

However, there’s one thing which is raging inside me constantly, causing me no end of geek-pain.

Why, oh why, oh why, could Christopher Eccleston not agree a deal to appear in the special?

I’m currently re-watching all the episodes of the modernDoctor Who, and I’m coming to the end of Ecclestone’s sole series. It’s easy to forget about him when he place him next to David Tennant and Matt Smith, both younger and full of manic energy, but re-watching Series 1 really hammers home just how fantastic an actor he is, and how much of a shame it was that we only had him in the role for one series. His angst at what occurred during the Time War is evident, as is the love he has for Rose. If we are to see the Time War during the anniversary special, how disappointing that we aren’t going to see it from his point of view.

Or are we?

Might I point out this quote from this year’s San Diego Comic Con – ‘I have lied my arse off for months. You know nothing so don’t make presumptions.’

Now, here he’s responding specifically to a question about John Barrowman playing the role of Captain Jack Harkness in the special, Barrowman having been very vocal in his disappointment at not being a part of it. But surely he’s not JUST referring to this? Surely he’s teasing us about other involvements?

Allow me a minute to speculate about the trio of inclusions that I’m hoping he’s lied about:

Firstly, Christopher Eccleston. My brain just cannot accept that he isn’t going to play a role in it. It’s well publicised that he didn’t get on with members of the Doctor Who team during his short tenure, but time heals, Steven Moffat is in charge now rather than Russell T Davies, and it’s the 50th anniversary.If we really do see John Hurt as the missing link between PaulMcGann’s Eighth Doctor and Christopher Eccleston's Ninth, surely the biggest treat that the fans could get is to see the regeneration into Eccleston. We never saw it, after all, and whilst I’m not sure that they’ve been leaving it deliberately for seven series just for this moment, it has to be too big an opportunity to miss. I don’t even care about him interacting with the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors  - please, just some new footage.  I’m not about to get ridiculous and state that ‘they’re letting us, the fans, down’ if this doesn’t happen. I hate it when fans believe they deserve something. We’re privileged enough with what we DO get. I just fear that no matter how brilliant it is, a little part of me (and thousands of otherWhovians) will be a little disappointed if Ecclestone doesn’t show.

Talking of regenerations, for years we’ve believed that PaulMcGann regenerated into Christopher Eccleston off screen,and that was that. The scene of the Ninth Doctor looking at himself as if for the first time in Jackie and Rose Tyler’s apartment in the opening episode of Series 1 suggests that he’s come straight from a regeneration, so we’ve all been hoping that we’ll get to go a few minutes into the past and see it happen. With the possibility of John Hurt’s Doctor being wedged in the middle, however, and playing a part in the 50thspecial, this opens up the possibility that we might just get to see McGann playing a small role, leading up to the regeneration into Hurt. Oh, how I hope we’ll see it. Now, admittedly, this one is less likely than the regeneration into the Ninth Doctor, simply because we think that Hurt’s Doctor will be the one to commit genocide, and we could jump into the story at a point where this is about to happen. But wouldn’t it be wonderful to see the whole lifespan of this ‘missing’ Doctor?

Thirdly, there’s Captain Jack Harkness. Now, I’ve no idea what contribution he’ll play in the special, but I just love John Barrowman, so it’d be great for him to feature. Also, he’s changed throughout Torchwood, especially following the events of Children of Earth, so it’s be a different Captain Jack on show. Moffat’s quote above could be a double red-herring, but you’d be stupid to bet against him making an appearance now.

So, those are my three wishes for inclusions. I’ll be honest, and say that I won’t be disappointed if the other Doctor’s don’t appear. We saw technology bring them into the show in the Series 7 finale, and it was one of the goosebumpiestmoments of my televisual life, but I could happily have that again and walk away satisfied. I can remember snippets of repeats of the show from when I was younger, but that’s it – I haven’t been watching them religiously since 2005 as new episodes appear, and I’m not invested in them as I am the ‘modern’ Who. I love references back to the older Doctor’s, but I’m happy to leave it at that. McGann and Eccleston are a different kettle of fish, however. Whilst the movie was a mess, McGann was great, and he’s the link to Eccleston, making him vital. The Eighth Doctor regenerating into the Ninth is as big as the Time War in the sense of things we haven’t seen but would love to. And John Hurt wedged in the middle makes it even more exciting.

I know that, no matter what, I’m going to love the 50th special. I’m building it up in my mind, which can lead to unreachable expectations, but I don’t think this is the case here – just knowing that Tennant and Smith are going to be alongside each other lets me know that it’s going to be memorable. I trust Moffat implicitly, and he’s never let me down (well, a couple of things from Series 7…but let’s stay positive). There are just a few bits that I know could make it even more special.

Let’s hope that Steven Moffat thinks the same.