Doctor Who as of today has been around for 61 years and has undergone a lot of anniversary celebrations across the decades, ever since the Three Doctors. There are multiple ways of celebrating an anniversary which have a lot of value. However, I’ve heard continuing complaints from fans over the years of certain specials not being a full celebration of the show's history. It seems to me that to meet the standard that fans expect from an anniversary special, the show needs to be shoving as many different returning characters, Doctors and villains into the story as possible to cover every single era. I don’t believe however, that’s always the best way to celebrate an anniversary, and I’m gonna delve into why.
The 10th Anniversary with the Three Doctors established the formula of which most anniversary specials are built on, and I don’t think it gets enough credit for what is got right and the brilliant formula it perfected. Most anniversary celebrations tend to be Multi Doctor stories, and the Three Doctors establishes the Multi Doctor formula perfectly. Patrick Troughton slips back into his role as the Second Doctor without fault and I love the chemistry between him and Jon Pertwee. You have two Doctors who feel like opposites and contrast one another, and their bickering dynamic and team development as they learn to work together is really well executed. The story adds a degree of significance of specialty to the event with the stakes involved, which has since been lost. It has a magic and fun about it that you can’t recapture. However, it honours the past whilst telling a very valuable story. The most memorable aspect of the Three Doctors is Steven Thorne as Omega. You have a tragic, sympathetic and unhinged Shakespearian villain which challenges the Doctor. You have a terrific conflict which brings thematic weight to the story with meaningful and relatable themes. The Doctor mirrors Omega and the villain acts as a warning of what he could become and on the pitfalls of selfishness, narcissism and power. Both have been similarly shunned and exiled by the Time Lords, but through Omega you deal with themes that grapple with the idea of legacy and personal roots. It brings those ideas to the forefront of the story, examining the power behind Doctor Who’s concept of time travel and the moral implications of where it came from and it explores something emotionally interesting from that. So, whilst the Three Doctors honours its past through familiar characters, there is more to the celebration than the superficials as it deals with thoughtful and intelligent ideas. It’s the way the Second Doctor is integrated into a plot where the Doctors work together that makes a worthwhile story. Seeing the Doctors cooperate, and the chemistry between them is where the magic lies.
The Five Doctors seems to be the celebration that is held up with a lot of high esteem and most fans seem to expect something of this quality when it comes to anniversary celebrations. The Five Doctors is a fantastically crafted story, but Terrance Dicks had a lot of different elements and characters to juggle and it’s a miracle it resulted in a success. The Death Zone concept was a perfect idea that managed to find a simple way to tell an intriguing and gripping story but also a fairly open story that gave different Doctors, companions and villains room to play together in the same space. You had different Doctors reuniting with their companions with challenges and problems to overcome all interlinking into the same quest. A story that shoves all the best characters into one environment and sees them vulnerable and forced to survive against all odds was the perfect recipe for both nostalgia and simple accessibility at the same time. You’ve got to bear in mind that at the time it would have been years since audiences had seen Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton as the Doctor and there was no real way to revisit their old stories. Therefore, the familiarity of seeing them as the Doctor in an adventure again was incredibly special and noteworthy. Seeing them meeting up with old companions and facing off against deadly enemies had a specialty and sense of emotional throwback that is often underestimated. The Five Doctors gives the different Doctors time to shine on their own, but that’s by design and it's linked with the time it was made and feels right for that period. These days it's commonplace to see the Master and the Cybermen teaming up, but back in 1983 the combinations, showdowns and team-ups that the Five Doctors presented was an exclusive and exceptional moment. Stuff like the Third Doctor meeting Anthony Ainley’s Master is noteworthy. The story is structured and formulated around a nostalgic throwback and chance to relive the past, which is both charming and very emotional.
The point of the story is in the message about longevity. Similar to the Three Doctors, the story delves into the origins of the Doctor and the Time Lords, and this time it examines the nature of how power corrupts. The Five Doctors is a self-reflective commentary and warning to the show on the curse and pitfalls of longevity as shown through Borusa. The story is reflecting on its own legacy and place when reaching its 20th Birthday which is important to do. The Five Doctors balances its nostalgia and story well, but it still recognises the importance of having some sense of weight and something to say in this moment. It was incredible that the creative team managed to pull so much of the show's past together and so many from the show's history were a part of the 20th Anniversary celebration. We should appreciate that moment rather than trying to recreate it.
However, not every writer has the same talent as Terrance Dicks, and I don’t think it should be a necessity to model an anniversary story on this kind of celebration. Pushing so many past characters and nostalgia into one story can end up feeling cluttered and confusing. An anniversary story needs to tell a worthy story and everything else is secondary. It shouldn’t have to include everything from the show's past to be a success because that feels unfair and creatively limiting. You still need to make something that is accessible and means something to the casual audience. The Five Doctors meant something to the audience of the time, but as the show becomes more vast, it becomes more difficult to fit all the past into one accessible story.
The Power of the Doctor is a good example of why this approach to an anniversary is limiting, can feel superficial and how it can go terribly wrong. The Power of the Doctor was made as part of the BBC’s Centenary celebrations that also saw out Jodie Whittaker as the Doctor and Chris Chibnall as the showrunner. However, here you get a confused mess of a story with convoluted plotlines and schemes. The genius of the Five Doctors was that it was simple, so the focus was on the nostalgia. In contrast the Power of the Doctor really overextends itself with how much it has to juggle. The different schemes of different villains become difficult to follow and very confusing, to the point where the plotting feels contrived and a checklist of different things to resolve. The storyline feels meaningless to the point where the reason and believability collapse. The story and nostalgia feel overwhelming and messy with no real purpose to it. I like Ace and Tegan in the story, but you don’t learn much about who they have become as people and they aren’t explored as they should be. You get lovely and heartwarming moments with the inclusion of past Doctors with heartwarming nostalgia and emotion. However, the story feels hollow and like it survives on the merit of its individual nostalgic moments rather than the story and adventure as a whole and falls apart upon close examination. The point the story is making doesn’t track when you consider the hypocritical lack of morality of this Doctor, and you are left with a story of empty nostalgia. It tries to celebrate all of Doctor Who but with a cluttered and confused story it fails to celebrate much about the show as it only really celebrates the superficial aspects of the show’s past rather than the essence of its specialty.
The 50th Anniversary with the Day of the Doctor I think is easily the best celebration of Doctor Who there has been. Steven Moffat finds the right balance in honouring the past and pushing Doctor Who forward into a bright future. It goes beyond being a fun celebration as it delivers a well-plotted story and thought provoking and challenging themes with a brilliant moral conflict, all centred around the Doctor. It transcends the expectations of a celebration to become what I consider one of the best Doctor Who stories of all time, and it's unlikely it will ever be beaten. Day of the Doctor got some criticism at the time for not being a full celebration of Doctor Who and that it was purely a celebration of the modern era. I think this is unfair, and it misses the point of what Day of the Doctor was doing. You have an intricate and well plotted story with three plotlines that cunningly tie together with clever time travel elements. Doctor Who has a lot of variety and Day of the Doctor manages to be all kinds of Doctor Who at once, and yet still have a coherent and logical story which is a very worthy celebration. It made sense to do something with the gap of when Doctor Who was off the air, and the concept of a mysterious Doctor we didn’t know about with John Hurt’s War Doctor was a very interesting idea. I love the moral conflict of the decision he faces, and the inspired Christmas Carol style storyline of him getting a glimpse into the future of who he will become.
I love the chemistry between Matt Smith and David Tennant as the Doctor, but there is also a lot of depth to the Multi Doctor dynamic, and the Day of the Doctor does the most with the concept. The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors very cleverly represent the stages of PTSD and the aftermath of the actions of the War Doctor. The Moment being played by Billie Piper is incredibly fitting. Billie Piper brings a lot of depth, age and humour to the part and the nature of the face that helped the Doctor heal from the Time War helping him find another way is very thematically relevant. Day of the Doctor celebrates Doctor Who in the best possible way because it doesn’t define itself in callbacks. It distils Doctor Who and what makes it special by defining the character of the Doctor and his values and what makes them so special. It delves into and examines the values of what it means to be the Doctor and what it means to betray those values. It cleanly ties up the Time War arc and pushes Doctor Who into the future. It's heartwarming and nostalgic to see Tom Baker return as the Curator, but he also has a purpose and gives the Doctor an endpoint. Its true celebration is in the story that’s told that is centred around the Doctor as a character and a story about legacy. Day of the Doctor is a defining anniversary celebration and pushed the Multi Doctor formula into admirable creative and emotional depth in a way that modernised the Multi Doctor formula, and created a very high standard which is difficult to beat.
The return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate during the 60th Anniversary inspired more criticism of not being a full and proper celebration of Doctor Who, with claims that it was just a celebration of 2008 and Russell T Davies own era and not celebrating the show as a whole. I will admit there is more of a foundation for this but in context the reasoning for the 60th Anniversary going in the direction it did makes a lot of sense. With the departure of Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall, the 60th Anniversary wasn’t just going to be an isolated celebration but a way to kick-start a new era and hopefully revive the show's popularity. Using a revisit of the past as a bridge to a new era makes sense in this context.
An anniversary celebration that often gets forgotten is the 25th Anniversary. Silver Nemesis was the intended anniversary story but it's generally regarded as a confusing mess of a story and Remembrance of the Daleks feels like the true celebration of the show's past and has a very similar approach to its celebration as the 60th Anniversary did. Remembrance of the Daleks is a story that honours the backstory and past of the show and it has ties to its history especially with the setting and time period but is a memorable and iconic story in its own right with where it takes the Daleks and its message on racism linking into the period setting. This low-key style of celebration kind of gets forgotten about when taking the 60th Anniversary into consideration. The 20th and 50th Anniversaries are major milestones for Doctor Who. However, the 25th Anniversary and 60th Anniversary are lesser landmark years and a more low key kind of celebration makes sense.
What I admire about the 60th Anniversary is that it revisits the past with the Doctor and Donna era as a way to examine how the Doctor and Donna have both changed when coming back together and as a result, it pushes the show forward. It’s a character driven way of handling nostalgia by challenging the characters, displaying their growth and pushing them to the limit. You have the room for the Doctor and Donna’s relationship and familiarity with each other to be put to the test. Their relationship evolves as they understand what they have been through and experienced and how they have changed since they last saw each other, which is a simple and effective way of handling anniversary nostalgia that thematically deals with reflecting on the past and moving forward. The 60th Anniversary takes the reunion as an opportunity for true depth with the Doctor processing the trauma of what has happened since he last met Donna, which has a lot of value. Each of the specials also wonderfully celebrates different kinds of Doctor Who stories and displays the variety of the show. The Star Beast is a typical modern day earth story with an alien threat and then Wild Blue Yonder is a generic base under siege story. They are distinctive and different stories that celebrate the variety of the show.
Although I can understand the critique from the first two stories that the anniversary only celebrates the first Russell T Davies era, I can’t understand where it comes from in the Giggle, which is the true 60th Anniversary celebration. You have the return of a 1960s villain from the William Hartnell era with the Toymaker, following on from a story and a conflict from decades earlier with a long-awaited rematch whilst also including UNIT and the return of Mel; a companion from the 1980s. The Giggle is a broad and vast celebration that acknowledges and honours multiple parts of the show's history and should be valued and appreciated for it. It skilfully tackles nostalgia with the Doctor facing his past and dealing with the trauma of his experiences, which then allows for both emotional closure and renewal. Neil Patrick Harris brings a lot of life, energy and villainous menace to the part of the Toymaker. The essence of the idea of the villain is finely captured, with the character modernised rather fittingly in a story which creates high stakes and pushes the Doctor into a vulnerable and difficult position. It’s rewarding seeing the evolving history and relationship between the Doctor and the Toymaker and where the conflict takes the characters. It plays on a history which pays off very well.
The 60th Anniversary revisits the past whilst setting up pieces for the future like the UNIT team with Shirley, Mel and even Rose and the more fantasy direction which sets the foundations for a new era. It also managed to build off interesting little nuggets from the 50th Anniversary. The idea of the Doctor revisiting an old face is given more attention, depth and character evolution. The Bi-generation gave the opportunity for a happy ending for the Doctor and a sense of closure to resolve their past, which feels emotionally and thematically pleasing for an anniversary special. It's comforting to see the Doctor get a happy and settled life. It feels right for the 60th Anniversary to give the character some kind of ending which then allows Ncuti Gatwa to break free with a reformed take. You also get a great showcase for Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor who steals the show. The Giggle gives you a small taste of his Doctor and intrigues you, as you are excited to see more of him. The 60th Anniversary is the one out of all the anniversary celebrations I am least likely to revisit, but that’s largely because it’s a very different beast to the rest. The Three Doctors, the Five Doctors and the Day of the Doctor have an undeniable fun, nostalgia and energy to them but that doesn’t make the 60th Anniversary a bad celebration just because it's different.
I can understand why in 1983 you would want to see every Doctor together, but by 2013 and 2023 it just isn't feasible. It's worth considering that the anniversary episodes themselves were only one part of both the 50th and 60th Anniversary celebrations. During the 50th Anniversary, there was An Adventure in Space and Time and the Five(ish) Doctors Reboot, and during the 60th Anniversary, there was Tales of the Tardis and the colourisation of the Daleks, along with a plethora of documentaries and additional programming. The vast celebration wasn't isolated to the TV specials. When taking this into account, we did get a celebration of Doctor Who's full history, which the TV episodes were a single part of. Whilst nostalgia can be fun, I think having something to say about the past and a story to tell should be the priority.
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