Some Thoughts on the Doctor Who minisode 'The Night of the Doctor'

I’m sitting here at work having just watched the minisode ‘The Night of the Doctor’, trying to stop shaking and squealing. I work in a library, and as I’m supposed to be in charge of a relatively quiet environment, I suppose I should really be practicing what I preach. But honestly, what I’ve just witnessed are 7 of the greatest minutes of my geek life.

If you haven’t already watched it, make sure you do, because there are MASSIVE spoilers coming. And I mean MASSIVE. I’ll give you another warning after the clip.

I’ll give you a minute to stop squealing.

…

…

…

Right, that’s enough time.

*SPOILERS*

*SPOILERS*

*SPOILERS*

*SPOILERS*

What you’ve just seen is Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor, in the middle of the Time War, regenerating into John Hurt’s ‘War Doctor’.

I’ll repeat that.

What you’ve just seen is Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor, in the middle of the Time War, regenerating into John Hurt’s ‘War Doctor’.

THE EIGHTH DOCTOR.

REGENERATING.

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TIME WAR.

INTO JOHN HURT’S ‘WAR DOCTOR’.

OMG I’M HAVING A NERDGASM.

I just need to address these points.

The Eighth Doctor

Yes, despite all the denials, Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor has finally had some more screen time. We’ve seen just what he can do with the role, and even in those few minutes he’s shown just what a shame it is that he never got the chance to do it more often. I’ve not ever gotten round to listening to any of the audio adventures, but I know the praise he gets for his performances there, and it’s wonderful to see just a small glimpse on screen.

I saw the note about the minisode that said either Matt Smith, David Tennant or John Hurt would appear, and I also saw a rumour that Paul McGann had been filming for the minisode months ago, but I honestly never expected it to be him at the beginning. I’m sat at one of the computers during my lunch break and I startled my colleagues good and proper when I let out a squeal of glee.

Regenerating

I’d just gotten over the initial excitement of seeing the Eighth Doctor when I began to wonder whether I might be just about to witness his regeneration, especially as his costume appeared to be the same as that which John Hurt has been wearing in all the publicity material for the 50^th Anniversary episode. Low and behold…the Eighth Doctor finally gets his regeneration! This has to be one of the most eagerly anticipated events surrounding the 50^th Anniversary, one which practically all Whovians wanted to see, and now we have it. It also confirms that John Hurt’s Doctor comes between McGann and Eccleston’s, although if we’re speculating even further there isn’t any confirmation that Hurt will actually regenerate into Eccleston. But that would cause my head to explode from too much thinking, so let’s abandon that idea for now and just bask in the glory that goes with knowing that at least two of our major hopes came true – we’ve seen the Eight Doctor regenerate, and we know that John Hurt is definitely a missing link.

In The Middle Of The Time War

Yes, yes, yes – thank the gods, we really do appear to be seeing the Time War in the 50^th Anniversary special. We know that this all took place in the middle of it, although The Doctor appears to not be taking part at the beginning of it, but by the end we know that he’s going to immerse himself fully in it. I don’t think there’s anyone out there who didn’t ever believe that it wouldn’t play a major role, especially after the trailers, but it’s great that it’s all but been confirmed now.

Into John Hurt’s ‘War Doctor’

So, that’s who John Hurt is. ‘The War Doctor’, who chose to regenerate specifically into a warrior with the help of the Sisterhood of Karn and their elixir of life. And once he had regenerated, he uttered the chilling words, ‘Doctor no more’. We’re going to presume that he shall regenerate into Christopher Eccleston, because could we really handle another twist where he doesn’t? One thing’s for certain – this is a Doctor built specifically to fight the Time War, and he isn’t going to take any prisioners. At the very end, all we see is his relfection, and it’s clearly a younger version of John Hurt, so we can also assume that he fights in the Time War for a very long time. After all, Matt Smith roamed around for 200 years as he claimed at the start of Series 6 and didn’t age a day, so just how long must the Time War have lasted for the War Doctor to age so visibly?

OMG I’m Having A Nerdgasm

If you ever wanted a lesson on how to pretty much explode the heads of every geek on the internet in 7 minutes, then you’ve just witnessed it. There are some wonderful things to come out of this, mainly the hope that, now we’ve seen Paul McGann despite rigorous denials, the likelihood that we’ll see more past Doctors has just gotten ever larger. Personally, I only need to see five seconds of Christopher Eccleston to make me happy (SURELY?! I REFUSE to believe he won’t be in it!), but I’d love to see all of the rest in some way or another.

Also, did you notice the line about how the elixir can bring The Doctor back however he wants, including man or woman? Nicely set up for the future there, Mr Moffat!

Oh, and also the wink to the audience as Paul McGann’s first line is ‘I’m a doctor, but probably not the one you were expecting?’, as we were all surely expecting John Hurt.

Oh, and how he says ‘Will it hurt?’ before the regeneration, alluding to the fact that he’s about to become John Hurt?

Oh, and how the elixir is the 'Flame of Eternal Life'? Does that mean those he drink it get eternal life? I.e. unlimited regenerations?

Oh, and how you really have to go and watch it again and again?

Roll on November 23^rd. I can’t bloody wait!