donutsweeper | Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special musings

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Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special musings

There have been a LOT of interviews and articles and spoilers coming out lately about the special. It was something I had been massively looking forward too. I really enjoyed the 25th special and how it incorporated the majority of the previous companions and all the Doctors and, in general, was just a fun homage to the show.

The 50th, however, doesn't seem to be going that route. I haven't been able to re-track down all the sources and articles, but previous ones have confirmed that David (Ten) and Billie (Rose) will be back and joining Matt (Eleven) and Jenna-Louise (Clara) (here) and that Jemma Redgrave (Kate, the Brig's daughter) will also be involved (here). Previous articles quoting sources have said Chris (Nine), John (Jack) and Freema (Martha) would NOT be involved and now there's one saying Colin (Six), Sylvester (Seven) and Paul (Eight) are not going to be involved either (here).

The special WILL be in 3d, which is apparently EXCITING and a BIG THING, but I don't have a 3D TV and don't actually know anyone who does so I'm a bit confused why they've gone that route with it, but the BBC seems all very happy about it, despite the costs involved.

I just... I'm flabbergasted. I had hopes that they would use the special as a way to introduce New!Who fans to Classic Doctors and companions (come on, Ace! Jamie! Decorative vegetables!) and really couldn't care less about the 3D thing and am just so sad and frustrated none of the folks I had been hoping to see on my screen will be there. (No offense to Billie or David fans, but I'm well and truly tired of their characters and am not really looking forward to seeing them again especially if they're the sole 'special' guests.)

I want to be fannishly excited about something and there was a time I thought the 50th could be it, but it doesn't look like this will be the case. I suppose there is always the chance all these articles are wrong, but...

*sigh*

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Well, that's discouraging. And if Captain Jack won't be there, then I certainly won't be watching it. I would have loved to see Chris reprise his role as 9 as well.

I'll probably watch just because, well, because, but yeah. So discouraging. My only hope is the BBC is actually pranking us all and are lying as to who will and will not be back (massively unlikely, I know)

Yeah, 50th Anniversary episode with only two new Doctors and one other new companion in it? I'm pissed off. I started watching Doctor Who in 1978, I'd like whoever is still alive to be in it, including the companions, but I guess they're just bringing back episodes (or pieces of them) of the older Doctors? Why even call it the 50th Anniversary episode? I mean Moffat is on record as saying he doesn't want to make this a fanfest, but there is absolutely zero things wrong with being inclusive of every Whovian. It's fifty years of the Doctor - we WANT a gd fanfest. We WANT to look backwards and appreciate what came before. I mean, this isn't the 50th Anniversary series, it's one episode.

And I'm with you on the 3D aspect. Why not spend that money on securing other actors for the episode instead of making it in a way that upwards of 95% of people watching it won't even be able to experience?

UGH.

Sorry for the rant here. >.>

Oh, rant away, that's half the reason for this post. :)

I agree, anyone alive that wants to be in it should be in it. FIFTY YEARS, BBC, you celebrate it and celebrate it properly.

Chris (unlikely as it seemed for him to be willing to come back) and John (who seemed to be doing everything short of stalking Moffat to come back) are my two biggest disappointments.

Oh yeah, same here, just come ON, Moffatt.... JACK HARKNESS, you want him, you know you do.

From what I have been able to glean by rumour, it was JB who said he wouldn't be available. He is apparently too busy Stateside to be off gallivanting for Doctor Who in the UK atm - this is a relatively recent change as he seemed to be all for it last year. It seems (again according to rumour) that he has fallen somewhat out of love with Captain Jack (not terribly surprising after miracle day). Naturally, depends on your source of rumours.

Of course all of this might be total bogwash, misdirection and typical Moffatt headology - one never knows!

I've heard conflicting rumours about John. In one interview he mentioned begging to return as Jack, so who knows?

Generally, unless it's b>Avengers, I get my hopes all up and nothing could ever ever match the kind of expectations I set so...

I'm going to try and set them lower, I'm hoping for some sort of Romana/Susan/Jenny involvement but I'll settle for something cool.

When I told my mom how I was now the owner of three Marvel films in 3D but without any means of watching that way, she reminded me how that might not always be the case. After all these technologies are supposed to be good for decades so while we're able to watch Unearthly Child over and over on various devices...a feat not dreamed of in 1963, it's extremely possible that 3D as an option will be extremely common in 10 or 20 years. In the meantime, we'll just see the 2D version...I've been told that PS3s with the most current updates can play 3D and the next XBox is rumored to play BluRays and 3D so it'll be more a matter of having the tvs catch up.

Okay, that's true, what worries me though is often things filmed for X effect don't look very good when not watched in that manner so it's possible by focusing on the 3D effects and manner of the special it'll end up looking great in that technology, but look crappy when not viewed in that manner.

Lowering the expectations sounds like a smart plan, that's probably what I will be doing.

I agree with being tired of Rose. I'd love to see more Martha, and all the older people.

Oh yes, Martha, I'd love to see her again. And I had really hoped for some old companions, current Who seems to only acknowledge Sarah Jane and the Brig, but there are so many more!

Exactly! And they are still around!

Although who knows for how long, we just lost Caroline John (Liz Shaw) and quite a number of the others are getting up there in age. Come on, BBC, honor them in the way they deserve!

Amen, sister!

Frustrated and sad sums up pretty much how I feel with Doctor Who these days. I did adore Rose and Ten, but I would really liked for this to have been something that had at least a little bit more unifying scope.

*sigh* My housemate and I have taken to watching it with a couple of bottles of wine, and I imagine that's how we'll go into this too. Maybe between that and the 3D we will forget to be disappointed.

Wine sounds like a good plan, a VERY good plan!

I've been a bid miffed at how self-centred, if that's the right word, the show has been since Moffat took over, to be honest. It's like Eleventh suddenly forgot everyone he'd ever met before Amy. I mean, there are few nods here and there, but compared to how his predecessors droned on about previous companions to new companions, it seemed odd that Eleven never mentioned, you know, the Nobles, who he died saving.

I can see if some people might not be interested in returning. Chris is very much about separating himself these days. But Barrowman was actively campaigning to be in it, and didn't Moffat basically create the character in the episodes he wrote? I don't understand why he wouldn't include him, as well as so many other people who have said they'd love to come back. People are getting old! We aren't going to have the chance to use them forever.

I'm not a Classic Who fan, I've only seen a few episodes of the old series. But even I was hoping they'd bring people back.

I wouldn't put it past Moffat to be trolling us. I know Billie emphatically said she wasn't a part of it and then she was. But I don't have a lot of hopes for that theory, and I'm disappointed.

Edited 2013-04-10 20:17 (UTC)

Self-centered is exactly the right word. *sighs* Yeah, it definitely feels like there have been less little nudges and touches of nostalgia to the old series of late. Unfortunately.

I really REALLY hope that's it's all a bit of slight-of-hand and misinformation and there's really this massive reunion with a huge cast happening, that would be AMAZING. But, it seems really unlikely. :(

As for the old companions, I agree completely, BRING THEM BACK (before they die, we keep losing them sadly). Some might make it more difficult (Jamie, for example, who is in 18th century Scotland) than others (like Turlough, an alien from an advanced race) but there are so many out there and many are beloved by fans and could easily be brought back.

I don't understand, either, because Moffat is such a fanboy, why he wouldn't want to include references. Sherlock is dripping with references to canon and previous castings and movies. It's like everything that happened in the RTD days just evaporated.

And if Ten and Rose coming back is just to tell us how they're all married and in love and having babies in the AU, I will throw things, I never liked Rose getting her own doctor, and I don't have any interest in knowing what she's up to now. The show was Rose-centric enough for years.

I just don't know how you can celebrate fifty years of something by ignoring forty years of it.

I wonder if David will be Ten or Human!Ten. If Rose is there and there's no Human!Ten it'll just be weird... I don't know, the whole thing is just odd.

I would like a story that ties in more with previous Doctors and story arcs, which is still possible, but I'm actually glad they aren't bringing back former Doctors and wish Tennant wasn't coming back either. I don't like the whole bumping into previous/future versions of himself kind of thing. I don't like having to pretend that this thing, whatever it is, clearly happened to the previous Doctor and he just forgot about it until his new version started reliving it or just never mentioned it or whatever. I don't like him crossing his own timeline. It feels faked and forced in the best of circumstances and considering how much time has passed and how much some of the actors have aged, this wouldn't be the best of circumstances.

A good story in key, that's very true.

The idea of nominating a '50th anniversary' episode and then declaring that you're not bringing back people previously involved (more than a few years ago) just seems self-defeating.

It really does, doesn't it. *sigh*

If it's only available in 3D I won't be watching as a) don't have 3d capable telly and b) it makes me ill.

I have terrible trouble as it is trying to get to see films at the cinema on a good, old fashioned 2d screen!

That's the thing about the 3D aspect that really bothers me. Whenever I've watched a movie that's 3D not in 3D it looks BAD. I just really don't understand WHY they are doing it!

With you all the way, there. :-(

I was particularly disappointed when JB said the other day that he wasn't going to be in it after all. That was my one big hope. (I'd have hoped for CE too if I thought there was a chance in hell that he'd do it.) I'm okay with DT being in it but could really live without ever having to see Rose again, especially if the two of them are going to be all lovey-dovey - eugh.

I am ridiculously sick of Rose and really just had no desire to see her again. (Especially since, the story is she's trapped in an alternative universe, so... shouldn't she be TRAPPED there?) Like you, I'm okay with DT, but I could take or leave him as well. If they're doing New Who, then DO New Who and have all (or none) of the previous companions and both or neither of the previous New Who Doctors.

Mostly, I'm just sad about Classic Who. This is an opportunity to pay homage to the fans, the people for whom you owe the sole reason DW came back and succeeded. But no, this appears not to be the case. *sigh*

And so disappointed about JB, I really wanted to see Jack back in the TARDIS.

Yeah, exactly, re. Rose. Plus she's been done to death. I re-watching S2 at the moment with Jack (son, not Harkness *g*) and I kind of can't wait to get to the end of it so I can get on to Martha. Which is weird, because I still love S1. Somehow, she's fine with Nine, but it just got too shippy with Ten. :-(

And yes, I would love more Classic Who characters to turn up, before they die! I expected more of that from fan-boy Moffatt.

That's confused me as well. Moffatt keeps droning on about what a fanboy he is but there's nothing to show for it. *sigh*

I'm in massive denial about Jack not being there in some capacity. I don't care what Barrowman or anyone else says. In my mind, it's all elaborate subterfuge to put us off the track until the surprise can be sprung. (Real!Jack in all his flirting, omnisexual glory!)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that myself. It just doesn't seem possible the 50th has only two (vaguely three) old familiar faces.

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