Doctor Who: Eight's end - Comparing two showrunners' takes on it

Paul McGann (pictured here with Daphne Ashbrook) had a short life on screen in Doctor Who. But that life now has two interesting endings…

Image Courtesy Aaron Rappaport/BBC

Both Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat have given their own takes on the Eighth Doctor’s final moments in Doctor Who. Only one of them was put on-screen, but does that make it the stronger ending?

Thursday, Mar 26 saw the celebration of fifteen years since Doctor Who came back. Many fans around the world took part in a huge re-watch of opening episode Rose. In fact, former showrunner Russell T Davies himself joined in. More than that – he even posted two very interesting stories.

Along with a sequel to Rose, Russell T Davies also revealed a prequel. Written back in 2013, this short story – taking the form of the end of a “Novel That Never Was”, as Davies describes it – reveals both the final moments of the Time War and the exact circumstances in which the Eighth Doctor regenerated. At least, this was the story as Davies had imagined it.

Of course, the reason this wasn’t published back in 2013 was because of the fiftieth-anniversary special itself, with showrunner Steven Moffat showing us his own take on the same idea. Unlike Davies, Moffat also kept the Eighth Doctor’s and the Time War’s endings completely separate: Eight’s regeneration was revealed in The Night of the Doctor, set long before the end of the Time War, while The Day of the Doctor focused on the War’s final days with John Hurt’s incarnation.

Two takes

So how do these two stories compare? Unsurprisingly, Russell T Davies’s story – with the title given as Doctor Who and the Time War on its cover by Lee Binding – is the more epic ending for Eight. In some ways, it unfolds exactly as many of us had imagined it would, at least before Steven Moffat introduced the War Doctor. The Doctor is depicted as using the Moment to end the Time War, destroying Gallifrey, making what he believes to be one big, final sacrifice.

For the depiction of the Time War itself, it’s absolutely filled with epic and abstract ideas. Millions of Earths being used as bullets to destroy the Nightmare Child. Years being used as ammunition in the War. In a few short pages, Davies gives us a very clear impression of how horrifying a Time War can be.

Compare this to The Night of the Doctor. The Eighth Doctor isn’t the one who destroys Gallifrey. He doesn’t even die in the middle of an epic battle. Instead, he dies trying – and failing – to save just a single life. So by comparison, as an ending to this particular Doctor, The Night of the Doctor comes off as more disappointing, right?

Well, if I’m honest, I actually prefer Moffat’s take on Eight’s ending. Quite a bit more, in fact.

The 50th Anniversary special The Day of the Doctor depicted John Hurt’s Doctor (pictured here with Billie Piper) as the one ending the Time War. One that was very different to Paul McGann’s Doctor…

Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: BBC America.

Getting the Eighth Doctor right

While the depiction of the Time War is intriguing in Davies’s story, one thing that fails to stand out is the Doctor himself. There’s nothing about the writing here that remotely suggests it’s Eight specifically. In fact, you could swap it with John Hurt’s incarnation, and there would be no difference.

Now, compare this to what we saw in The Day of the Doctor. Whether you feel Hurt’s War Doctor was a great addition to Doctor Who history, or whether you think Eight should have been the one to end the war, one thing is clear: the War Doctor is extremely different to Eight.

They have some core similarities, as most Doctors do. Both have their mix of funny and serious sides, for example. But you can’t imagine Eight having a problem with the phrase “timey-wimey”, or War joking about how having four minutes left to live is too long. They’re very distinctive personalities, something that I actually appreciated about the War Doctor.

So while Steven Moffat made sure to establish the Eighth Doctor’s character and personality in The Night of the Doctor, in Russell T Davies’s story, there’s nothing that makes the Doctor he’s written stand out in any way.

Short lengths

You could argue that I’m being unfair on Davies – after all, his story is barely a few pages long, and even takes the form of being the end of a story rather than a complete one. But in some ways, this only makes me more impressed with The Night of the Doctor.

At just 7 minutes long, it’s not even a quarter as long as most episodes. So it only makes it even more impressive that the minisode is able to achieve the following during that space of time: reintroduce the Eighth Doctor to a new audience; reveal his role in the Time War as a conscientious objector; show us exactly how he regenerated. All the while giving us great little character moments, and even establishing the Big Finish companions as canon! It’s an extremely short story, but it still manages to achieve a great deal.

Russell T Davies gave some great final words to the Ninth Doctor. Did he do the same for the Eighth?

Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC.

Image obtained from: BBC Press.

Final words (or lack of)

Finally, there’s the question of which take on Eight’s final moments is the more emotional one. Honestly, I think that Russell T Davies is great at focusing on the more emotional side in Doctor Who. Moments like Nine’s regeneration in The Parting of the Ways, Ten and Rose’s goodbye in Doomsday, or Donna losing all her memories in Journey’s End, still continue to stand out, over a decade later.

So it’s surprising that, despite giving Eight more of an epic sendoff, it has considerably less emotional impact than Night of the Doctor. Particularly with the final words that Davies wrote for Eight’s regeneration:

"Suddenly, they come, in a rush, his final words. He says them aloud, but there is no one to hear, allowing them to be imagined and imagined again for ever."

While I can see what Davies was doing – of letting every fan have their own take on Eight’s final words…honestly, it just feels like a copout. Especially considering how brilliant his final lines for Nine and Ten were.

Now, it can be argued that Eight is one of the less popular Doctors. After all, on screen, he had only appeared in one story at the time that Davies wrote this. But he still had a rich life in other media, a life that many fans had followed. Whether it was through books, comics or audios, the Eighth Doctor had still gained his own share of fans. So while I can see why he doesn’t get the same treatment that Davies gave to Nine or Ten, it’s still disappointing that he doesn’t get to have last words of his own. At least, not in Davies’s version of his ending.

The true final words

Now, compare this to The Night of the Doctor. The Eighth Doctor not only sounds close to the one we know, while still having gone through a lot since we first saw him in the TV movie. But he makes a conscious decision to give up everything he is – his values, his life, his very identity – to finally join the war. It feels more personal and gives his ending more impact.

More than that – his last words seem fitting. Not just because he mentions some of his Big Finish companions with a final salute. But he acknowledges his final moments of being a Doctor – not just in this life, but in all others – with these words:

"Physician, heal thyself."

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It’s simple but effective, and honestly a great deal more satisfying than simply saying, “Imagine whatever you want.”

Now don’t get me wrong. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Russell T Davies’s story at all. While it lacks a lot of the emotion found in his TV stories – or even his own novelization of Rose – it’s still a fascinating depiction of the end of the Time War.

But at the same time, reading it honestly makes me glad that we got The Night of the Doctor instead. Not just because it was great to see Paul McGann on-screen once more, for the first time in 17 years. But also – despite being so much smaller in so many ways – Moffat’s ending for Eight is far more satisfying and emotional. It’s an ending that feels truer to his character, and it’s a regeneration that packs a punch for many fans of his Doctor.

Next. Alternative end to the Time War by Russell T Davies has been released. dark

Which ending do you prefer for the Eighth Doctor? The epic end of the Time War, as imagined by Russell T Davies? Or the quieter, more personal end put on screen by Steven Moffat? Let us know in the comments below.

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Doctor Who: Eight’s end – Comparing two showrunners’ takes on a Doctor’s final moments

By James Aggas | Mar 28, 2020