One episode (web episode)
aired on 14th November 2013
Written by Stephen Moffatt
Produced by Denise Paul
Directed by John Hayes
Synopsis
A space pilot is fighting for control of her ship as it begins to crash. The Doctor shows up miraculously to save her and leads her to the back of the ship so that he can take her off it. She however draws back when he mentions that it's a TARDIS.
Turns out that humans are well aware of the ongoing Time Ward between the Time Lords and Daleks. The result of this is apparent as she locks the blast door between them and seals it with a deadlock so he can't get to her. She'd rather die than go with him.
He says at least he's not a Dalek, but the woman scornfully says who can tell anymore. He says he won't leave without her, and she says his dying is the best news she's heard all day. He pleads with her as the ship plummets into a planets atmosphere and crashes, exploding.
That planet is Karn.
On the rocky mountains of it, the Sisterhood of Karn are waiting. The new head of their order, Ohila, remarks that the man who is meant to save them has finally arrived.
The Doctor awakens laid against an altar.
He is disoriented and surprised to see the Sisterhood around him. Ohila mistakes the pilot for the Doctor's companion and tells him she fears her dead.
He corrects her about her companionship, and says he doubts she's dead, seeing as he's alive. Ohila says he's suffered mortal injuries and has about four minutes left to live before he regenerates as he's had a sip from the elixir of life that will sustain him for a short while. She suggests that drinking more of the elixir will allow him to choose which traits he possesses in his next regeneration.
The Doctor questions why she'd do this. Ohila explains that the Time War threatens all reality and that the Doctor is the last hope of ending it.
They bring the pilot in for the Doctor to see but say she's beyond all their help. She also says the pilot was wiser than the Doctor because she knew there was no escaping the war.
The Doctor says he would rather die than take part in it. Ohila points out he's already dead, but says how many more will he allow to go with him if he does nothing?
The Doctor concedes the point and says the universe doesn't need a healer right now. He asks to be made into a warrior instead. Ohila points to a chalice that he takes and orders them all out the room.
Quoting from Luke in The Bible, he says "physician, heal thyself" and drinks, regenerating into another man.
He takes the bandolier from the dead pilot and puts it on himself, declaring "doctor no more".
Trivia
- The costume here was based upon the one from the TV movie - Paul McGann has said this is his favourite out of all the costumes he's had
- The companions he mentions are all from the Big Finish audios, the first time these have been referenced in canon.
- The public were not told that this was coming, so everyone flocked to the internet when this dropped to see the second ever episode with the Eighth Doctor in it
- Up until the release of this, there was the long held belief that the Eighth and Ninth Doctors were the predominant forces at play during the Time War, and casts a shadow on the fact that the future regenerations are numbered correctly
- Just for a bit of trivia, this is the second regeneration story to not feature the TARDIS interior - the first being Planet of the Spiders
The Review
Whilst this isn't a TV story per-se, it was such a landmark event, and the fact that it's only the second ever visual appearance of the Eighth Doctor that I felt it deserved to be covered here.
What I'm not going to do is give it a free pass just because it has Paul McGann in it. That's sadly what the show had wanted at this point, a quick boost on the ratings by using a cheap gimmick. The actual start of the webisode is pretty good, with the Doctor doing what he does best and being quick with a quip whilst saving lives. It is great to see the impact of the Time War evident here and the unexpected sacrifice of the pilot is great, but all too soon, we fall back on nostalgia to give the fans something to jerk off to.
There's pretty much zero reason for anything beyond the opening, with the Sisterhood of the Flame and Karn being shown for absolutely no reason other than because. There's no point in him drinking an elixir - it says he could control his regeneration by it, but - meh. It hinges on the fact that he would die if he didn't drink it. Eh? Did everyone forget the purpose of regeneration that all Time Lords have?
The addition of the War Doctor is a similar cheap gimmick done just for shock value to add a story mcGuffin that does more harm than good. Seriously. If you look at Christopher Eccleston's run you'll see the searing intensity of a man haunted by his actions...HIS actions. Yes, the Doctor is the same person, but by regenerating, there's that disconnect - removing us and him psychologically from his past. Tennant was intense too, and if John Hurt (RIP) turned out to be a really depraved version of the Doctor that did some awful things in order to survive or win the Time War, I would be far more lenient, but he doesn't does he? Moffatt came up with this as a ratings boost and whilst he fooled many superficially, many more can see under the sickly sweet nostalgic vaneer and find nothing worth savouring. The reason for the 6 is that it's quick to watch.
Rating
4 out of 10
Re-Watchability Factor
6 out of 10
Watch this if you liked...
- The Day of the Doctor
- The Magician's Apprentice (Doctor Who, Series 9)
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