The Doctor Who 50th anniversary special
As a great many of you know, this last Saturday was the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Doctor Who. I've been a fan of the show for 32 of those years, so of course I was quite excited. But also a little worried, because I don't have a TV and, as I mentioned on Saturday, there was no public viewing party for the 50th anniversary special anywhere in Madison. My sister was wiling to let me watch at her house, but she doesn't get BBC America. One of the local movie theaters was hosting screenings of the anniversary special ... but on Monday, and as I said on Facebook:
Maybe lesser nerds can wait until Monday, but I saw the 25th anniversary special on the actual 25th anniversary and by God I intend to see the 50th on the 50th.
By which of course I meant The Five Doctors, which was the 20th anniversary special. Oops. What was that I was saying about lesser nerds?
(It should be noted that it was only by virtue of being American that I can say I saw it on the actual 20th anniversary, because the special in question wasn't shown on BBC until November 25. It was only in the United States that it premiered on November 23.)
Anyway, without going into any incriminating detail, I did in fact manage to see the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," on November 23. And I liked it! I got a thrill out of seeing [Spoiler (click to open)]the little callbacks to the old series, like I.M. Foreman's junkyard and Coal Hill School, and by the use of archive footage to include all the previous incarnations (not to mention the new footage of a future incarnation), and especially by the surprise appearance -- by just the sound of his voice, to be honest -- of Tom Baker as the Curator. It's fitting, I think, that he was the only actor associated with the original series to make an appearance in the special, given his refusal to participate in the 20th anniversary special. One hopes Christopher Eccleston will turn up in a similar cameo in the 75th anniversary special.
Maybe lesser nerds can wait until Monday, but I saw the 25th anniversary special on the actual 25th anniversary and by God I intend to see the 50th on the 50th.
By which of course I meant The Five Doctors, which was the 20th anniversary special. Oops. What was that I was saying about lesser nerds?
(It should be noted that it was only by virtue of being American that I can say I saw it on the actual 20th anniversary, because the special in question wasn't shown on BBC until November 25. It was only in the United States that it premiered on November 23.)
Anyway, without going into any incriminating detail, I did in fact manage to see the 50th anniversary special, "The Day of the Doctor," on November 23. And I liked it! I got a thrill out of seeing [Spoiler (click to open)]the little callbacks to the old series, like I.M. Foreman's junkyard and Coal Hill School, and by the use of archive footage to include all the previous incarnations (not to mention the new footage of a future incarnation), and especially by the surprise appearance -- by just the sound of his voice, to be honest -- of Tom Baker as the Curator. It's fitting, I think, that he was the only actor associated with the original series to make an appearance in the special, given his refusal to participate in the 20th anniversary special. One hopes Christopher Eccleston will turn up in a similar cameo in the 75th anniversary special.