The Night of the Doctor

I’m a doctor. But probably not the one you were expecting.

The Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

The darkest of days are about to begin. The Doctor has always been a man of secrets – and now they can be told!

Review

I still get a frisson of excitement when I watch The Night of the Doctor. I remember where I was when the minisode dropped online, in the library at university, just starting to venture into Classic Who and having recently watched The TV Movie. And there he was, Paul McGann, in all his unexpected splendour.

Steven Moffat manages to boil an effective Doctor Who story down into 7 minutes, giving us the Doctor trying to save someone from impending peril, a throwback to the show’s storied history and a regeneration into a mysterious incarnation that we hadn’t known anything about previously. It is a shame that Night of the Doctor cannot be slightly longer, giving us more time with Paul McGann in the role, but I cannot help but be grateful for the short that we got here. This short story shows us glimpses of how the Doctor participated in the Time War, helping out where he can but not fighting, but being increasingly painted into a corner. The Night of the Doctor ultimately serves its purpose, confirming where the War Doctor falls in the order of the Doctors and finally giving us a regeneration for the Eighth Doctor, an example of Moffat’s completionism.

Get away from me!

Well, look on the bright side, at least I’m not a Dalek.

Who can tell the difference any more?

Cass and the Eighth Doctor

The Night of the Doctor also gives us an insight into how the rest of the universe regarded the Daleks and the Time Lords, and the look on Emma Campbell-Jones’ face when she realises that the famous blue box, usually a sign of hope, is actually a reason for fear and horror is excellently executed. Subsequent forays into the Time War by Big Finish have shown that it is a very equally matched war, which ultimately boils down into being a devastating and destructive impact on the rest of the universe. The fact that the Time Lords have lowered themselves to the level of the Daleks – it is arguable that they did not have very far to fall to begin with – shows just how alone, isolated and powerless the Doctor has become. Ohila, on behalf of not only the Sisterhood of Karn but the whole universe, pleads with the Doctor to take action to ensure that the remnants of the devastation can survive.

Physician, heal thyself.

The Eighth Doctor

Paul McGann returns to the screen with a thunderous bang, and it’s almost like he’s never been off screen. Of course, he has been in practice with Big Finish, but he brings a real sense of world-weariness (or should that be galaxy-weariness?) with this war, entering its final days. That restless energy when he knows that he only has minutes before he dies, having been revived by the energies on Karn, demanding that he is brought knitting feels so quintessentially Doctor-y. We were robbed of more McGann on screen in the 90s, and he goes some way to showing us what we have missed. Of course, he has become the Big Finish Doctor, which is great, and he canonises his audio companions to date here, up to Molly prior to his regeneration.

Verdict: The Night of the Doctor returns Paul McGann to our screens and it is as if he has not been away. My own qualm could be that it is only seven minutes long. 8/10

Cast: Paul McGann (The Doctor), Emma Campbell-Jones (Cass), Claire Higgins (Ohila), and introducing John Hurt as the War Doctor.

Writer: Steven Moffat

Director: John Hayes

Producer: Denise Paul

Composer: Murray Gold

Original Broadcast Date: 13th November 2013

Behind the Scenes

• This minisode was released online on Paul McGann’s birthday. This was to prevent the surprise being leaked.
• Paul McGann is the only Doctor to have had his television appearances as the Doctor occur in episodes where the Doctor is regenerating, The TV Movie, this, and The Power of the Doctor.
• This is the second televised regeneration story not to feature any scenes inside the TARDIS. The first was Planet of the Spiders.

Cast Notes

• Emma Campbell-Jones played Doctor Kent in The Wedding of River Song. She has also recently reprised her role as Cass for the Big Finish Eighth Doctor Time War boxset Cass. She has also appeared in The Paradox Planet/Legacy of Death as Shola and The Keeper of Light as Layla Bridge. She is also the first cousin once removed of Richard Franklin, who played Captain Mike Yates.

Best Moment

Can I say the whole thing? Having McGann back on screen is an unequivocal joy.

Best Quote

I help where I can, I will not fight.

Because you are the good man, as you call yourself?

I call myself the Doctor.

It’s the same thing in your mind.

I’d like to think so.

The Eighth Doctor and Ohila

Previous Eighth Doctor review: Terror Firma

Previous Eighth Doctor television story: The TV Movie

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