Doctor Who: Why The Day of the Doctor is the best multi-Doctor story

Continuing our look back at Doctor Who’s fiftieth anniversary year, we examine the grand special itself: The Day of the Doctor. Is it the greatest multi-Doctor story ever made?

The other day, I mentioned the key problem with multi-Doctor stories in Doctor Who. Specifically, while they’re fun, they can forget that each of the different Doctors are the same person who have a shared history.

So it’s somewhat ironic that the story that best captures this is a story that not only features just two previous incarnations alongside the current one, but one of them had never even been seen before! Compared to previous multi-Doctor stories, the nostalgia factor is certainly significantly reduced.

So why is The Day of the Doctor so strong for a multi-Doctor story? Well, for one thing, Steven Moffat remembers that each of the different incarnations featured in the story are the exact same person.

He doesn’t just show this through the Doctor merely saying it or making jokes. (Three trying to explain to Jo exactly who Two is in The Three Doctors is a great example of this. “I am he, and he is me!”)

Instead, he actually does something that hadn’t really been properly done before. When he introduces each of the Doctors, he ensured that we knew exactly when they were from.

Exploring continuity

Usually, when previous Doctors had been summoned or kidnapped to meet later incarnations, the continuity had been kept deliberately vague or, in the case of The Two Doctors, badly handled.

But The Day of the Doctor handles it just right. We’re introduced to two key events previously unseen in Doctor Who, but had been mentioned and established: the last day of the Time War (aka “The Fall of Arcadia”, which was specifically mentioned in Doomsday), and the Doctor meeting Elizabeth I (first hinted at in The Shakespeare Code, then more directly referenced in The End of Time).

It’s really refreshing to see major moments explored in full that the fans were aware of, but didn’t know in great detail. It’s also refreshing to see them introduced in a different way: by flashback.

Flashbacks

Again, this was a great and subtle move on Moffat’s part. While both The Three Doctors and The Five Doctors introduced the current Doctor first, in the former, the previous Doctors had no scenes on their own before they were summoned. In the later story, each of them was introduced seperately, but with the only link between them being how each of them are kidnapped.

But again, The Day of the Doctor introduces the previous Doctors differently. Not only does it introduce events that we’re aware of, the episode introduces them by the Eleventh Doctor distinctly remembering them.

This is actually a pretty smart move. It’s not only a great way of exploring the Doctor’s past until the present crashes into it. It’s another key reminder that each of these Doctors are really the same man, but at very different points in their lives.

The War Doctor

This was particularly important with John Hurt’s War Doctor. Considering his incarnation had never been seen before, it was incredibly important to sell to the audience that he was a previous incarnation as valid as any other. Everything needed to be handled exactly right to achieve this.

Thankfully, everything was. To the point where I actually didn’t mind the fact that my favorite Doctor, who could have easily filled in this role, wasn’t featured in the story, instead.

(Admittedly, the fact that we got The Night of the Doctor definitely helped. If we didn’t get that crucial scene – and considering that the minisode wasn’t made until after The Day of the Doctor had finished shooting – that could very easily have happened.)

For one thing, there was admittedly something intriguing about a previously unknown incarnation. Especially one that fits in perfectly into the Wilderness Years – the long gap between the end of the Classic Series and the start of the New.

The fact that he’s given up being the Doctor is a nice explanation, and actually sets up Nine’s era better. Because with Eccleston’s Doctor, he’s a man learning how to be the Doctor again after a very long time of trying hard not to be. And sometimes, like in Dalek or The Long Game, he doesn’t get it right. So the War Doctor’s story is a nice setup for his era.

But, even better than that is the fact that we got John Hurt as the Doctor. One of the greatest actors in film, and they got him to play the Doctor, even for one episode.

Unsurprisingly, his performance was fantastic. Not only did he capture the weariness of a man who had been fighting a war for a very long time, or the desperation of someone about to make an awful decision. We even got his lighter side, as well. His constantly exasperated reactions to his future selves was priceless. In short, he was the Doctor who tried hard to deny who he was.

Gallifrey stands!

This will be a more controversial point. I’ve seen a lot of people who loved Gallifrey being saved in The Day of the Doctor, and others who hated it.

Both perspectives are understandable. There are many fans of both Gallifrey and the Time Lords who wanted them to come back in the New Series. But there are also other fans who think that saving it was a moment that cheapened the loss and grief we saw the Doctor have from the Time War for the first seven series.

I must be honest – I was originally leaning towards the latter, even as I was watching the special. Gallifrey’s destruction had been a major story point in the New Series, and I was against that being suddenly changed.

But, I’ve got to admit. That all changed when the Doctors saved Gallifrey in the best possible way – by having all of them save it.

I still remember watching the special in the cinema, on the day itself, in a packed screening full of other fans. The experience had been more than worth it already – seriously, there were so many great fan reactions that day that were an utter joy to be a part of.

But that particular moment? That was definitely the greatest. Honestly, it was a smart move of Moffat to save all the Doctors appearing until the very end of the story. Not simply because of aging actors or trying to cram in a lot at the expense of a good story. But there’s also the fact that making it a surprise for all of them to appear created an incredible reaction from the fans.

That surprise appearance

But if that wasn’t big enough of a surprise, we also had this incredible line:

"No, sir! All thirteen!"

That glimpse of the Twelfth Doctor was nothing short of amazing. The single shot of his eyes said it all – The Day of the Doctor wasn’t just about celebrating the past. It was also about establishing the future.

This is why this moment will always be one of my favorites from Doctor Who‘s long history. It was a bold and risky move played exactly right. It was already enough to make The Day of the Doctor my favorite anniversary special.

But there was just one more surprise that the fiftieth had in store for its audience…

The return of Tom Baker

Now here’s something that no other multi-Doctor story had (at least, not on-screen): the return of Tom Baker. Oh, The Five Doctors tried to compensate for it using footage from the unfinished story Shada. But it was far from the same as him interacting with the current Doctor at the time.

So to have him back – truly back – for even one scene was perfect. The implication that he wasn’t the Fourth Doctor exactly, but perhaps an incarnation from the Doctor’s far future, was a very nice touch.

More from Winter is Coming

The scene itself is of course fantastic, to say the least. It’s a beautiful moment when the Eleventh Doctor – after facing so much loss and darkness during his era – finds that he has something to hope for. Something that can truly allow him to move on from the Time War for good. And it’s the face of one his former selves who’s giving him that hope.

This is a key reason why it’s so fantastic that it’s Tom Baker who plays the Curator. Looking back on the Fourth Doctor’s era, it’s easy to see that that was when the Doctor had the most fun. Out of all of his incarnations, the Fourth Doctor seemed to enjoy his travels in the TARDIS the most.

He wasn’t exiled on Earth, or stuck with people he didn’t like. He didn’t have any companions die on him, or become some kind of devious manipulator. And he certainly wasn’t grieving from the Time War.

He was simply an incarnation who enjoyed his life. So his return is a nostalgic moment not just for the audience, but for the Doctor, too.

Honestly, I’ll always be a huge fan of The Day of the Doctor. It’s such an enjoyable episode, and a key moment in Doctor Who history. It’ll always be not just one of my favorite multi-Doctor stories, but also one of my favorite Doctor Who stories ever.

What did you think of The Day of the Doctor? Is it one of your favorite stories? How did you feel when you first saw it? Were you able to see it on the big screen? Let us know in the comments below.