Please don't spend money on this.

Fresh and Exciting

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

So here we go. The much hyped, much anticipated 50th anniversary episode of 'Dr Who'.This episode has to be a lot of things. Big in scale, a celebration of what has gone before, and also a nod to where we (and the Doctor) are going next. And to be fair, the writer does a good job at doing most of these things.It's lovely to see Matt Smith and David Tennant's Doctors meet, and their interaction is one of the strengths of this episode. If anything they make Jenna Coleman's character a bit redundant. I'd have preferred to see Christopher Eccleston back, but it is clever what they do with John Hurt's incarnation of the Doctor.As with many a modern Doctor Who episode though you need to be very awake or have a great depth of knowledge of the show to understand everything, and that isn't always easy. I miss the simpler times of the show.

The Doctor and Clara are carried of in the TARDIS to the Tower of London, UNIT's headquarters, where Kate Lethbridge Stewart lays in wait. The Doctor is shown a painting left by Queen Elizabeth 1st, 'Gallifrey falls,' showing the last days of Gallifrean City 'Arcadia,' On Gallifrey we see the devastating effects of the Time War, and how the War Doctor sets off the end the war, using a forbidden weapon. Fortunately the weapon has a conscience, in the guise of Rose Tyler it challenges him. The Doctor has more then just the time war to deal with, as the Zygons have also infiltrated UNIT. The Doctors seek to change their own time line, and look to sorting the Time war one and for all.The story of the Time War has run for many years, how fitting for the fiftieth that it gets explained. A clever concept, hopefully one that's over now. The childlike elements of both Smith and Tennant contrast really well with the bleakness and soured maturity of the War Doctor. The interplay between the two of them is just glorious. Both also work extremely well with John Hurt too, must have been daunting he is literally a living legend.It really pleased me that Billie was brought back, love or hate Rose, she played a hugely important role in helping the show get back on track. It's wonderful seeing her.In all honesty my favourite part was the appearance of Tom, it literally had me in tears with a lump in my throat, what better possible celebration to the show then to have the longest running Doctor appearing. He's just magic.The updated Zygons are amazing, among the most successful monster returns, they just look amazing, and the effect of them transforming into human copies fantastic. Talk about a long overdue return.10/10 so many elements make up a truly wonderful special, like an updated Five Doctors. Utterly wonderful.

It was spring 2013, and all the Whoivans out there watched as Season 7 of Doctor Who came to a conclusion... sort of. The end of "The Name of the Doctor" ended on a cliffhanger, followed by a message telling viewers that our questions would be answered on November 23rd of that year, the 50th anniversary of the world's longest-running drama, Doctor Who.This date became the most highly anticipated in television history. For some, the seven-month wait was unbearable. Steven Moffat had evidently crafted a script that paid homage to every single Who fan that ever was or had been. And we were even more excited when we heard that David Tennant and Billie Piper, two former stars on the series, would be returning as guest stars for the episode.And when the day finally came, the broadcast broke a Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous television broadcast EVER.But enough about the hype. How was the episode itself?Honestly? It was fantastic.In my opinion, it was better than any episode in the entire seventh series. There were just so many things about it that worked perfectly. Where do I even start?Well, we can start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. We open on the Eleventh Doctor (played by Matt Smith) and his companion Clara Oswald (played by Jenna-Louise Coleman) after they have received a message from UNIT. The Doctor discovers it is from an old friend of his, Queen Elizabeth I, who leaves her credentials: a painting depicting the Time War.This is when backstory must be told. In a situation like this, it is easy for someone to mess the writing up, but Steven Moffat comes through again. We split into two stories - first that of John Hurt, who is portraying Doctor number... Eight and half? (or something), and then that of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor. After both backstories are given, all three stories end up combining.And this is pulled off marvelously.The relationship between the three Doctors is portrayed wonderfully, and the monsters in this episode are fantastic. They're called Zygons, and they're basically shape-shifters. They can take the form of anything or anyone, sort of like an alien Ditto. And the way the Doctors deal with them is brilliant.The other major plot is that of the Time War. This is an event that has been speculated about since Christopher Eccleston's Doctor mentioned it way back in the first season. And in my opinion, it's portrayed as wonderfully and as brilliantly as it ever could be. I won't give away what actually happens in the end, but let's just say that it was for me one of the most defining moments in the entire show.Ultimately, The Day of the Doctor could not have been better. A lot of people were complaining about how they used Billie Piper in this, and I honestly think they're wrong. If Piper had been portrayed as most had hoped, I don't think this would have been nearly as good. Steven Moffat continues to prove himself in this special, that after the slight decline in quality of the show that was Season 7, he's still got it. I have high hopes for Season 8 and Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor.

A great big treat for anyone who has at least loosely followed the show within it's 50 year history. Moffat has met the incredibly difficult task of catering this story to the casual and the hardcore Dr Who fans with his brilliant and dynamic writing. I feel bad for doubting the man I always thought he was losing his touch with overly clever plots that were making him come across as smug but he nailed it here, with this celebratory milestone. This may also be a contender for the funniest Dr Who episode with the humour mainly provided through the banter of Smith, Tennant and Hurt who have amazing chemistry together and deliver the right balance of humour and drama to this feature length romp. (Actually, thinking about it the 1979 story the City of Death cannot be beaten in the humour department but this is the funniest the revitalised series has ever been.) Overall a great episode that will ensue Doctor Who will go on with it's startling and slightly controversial conclusion that may irritate some fans however the two surprise appearances one of a familiar face, another of a taste of what is to come is the icing on the timey wimey cake.