- 18 hours ago
The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the same episode? Doctor Who doesn't get much better than that.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00From the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite character to inside baseball references that
00:05have us all pointing at the TV like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme, Who fanatics might butt heads on
00:10a lot of things, but we can all agree that the following moments are Doctor Who fan service
00:15at its finest. And so, with that in mind then, I'm Ellie with WhoCulture, here with 10 times
00:20Doctor Who gave fans exactly what they wanted.
00:24Number 10. Fully exploring the depths of the TARDIS
00:28Though the TARDIS has been around since the opening moments of the show, it wasn't until 2013 that we
00:35finally got to explore its labyrinthine innards in great detail. The idea for Journey to the Center
00:40of the TARDIS stemmed from Steven Moffat's frustration with the 1978 serial The Invasion
00:46of Time, which he deemed disappointing due to its depiction of the TARDIS interior. Production
00:52issues forced these scenes to be filmed in a not-so-visually-impressive disused hospital.
00:56As a result, Moffat wanted Journey to the Center of the TARDIS to atone for what he thought was a
01:01lackluster portrayal of the Doctor's iconic machine. And though you could argue that the
01:06episode doesn't go far enough in showcasing all the weird and wonderful sights lurking within,
01:11it nonetheless provided our most in-depth TARDIS experience to date, something fans have been
01:16hankering to see for quite some time. The intriguing architectural reconfiguration room, the huge TARDIS
01:22library, a blistering sequence set inside the Eye of Harmony, swimming pools, storage rooms,
01:28and more. It made the TARDIS feel as expansive as we often are told it was. The episode's main plot
01:34certainly could have been better, but the TARDIS element was a well-executed tribute to the Doctor's
01:40most loyal companion. Number 9. Christopher Eccleston's Comeback
01:45The fact that we only spent one series with Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor left
01:50many a frustrated fan wanting more. A LOT more. As with Paul McGann, Eccleston's time on screen was
01:57far more brief than your average Doctor's. And though Big Finish came to McGann's rescue towards
02:01the end of the Wilderness years, a comeback for 9 just didn't seem on the cards. And that's because
02:07in the years after his 2005 exit, Eccleston made it clear that he wasn't on great terms with Doctor
02:13Who, even stating that he didn't enjoy working on the show. And that's exactly why the announcement
02:19of his audio-exclusive return was such a great moment of fanservice. Absolutely nobody expected it
02:26to happen. So far, 9 has battled Cybermen, Ravagers, ancient psychic aliens, and more,
02:31and his Big Finish run has been very well received. Eccleston himself is also enjoying it,
02:36even enthusiastically teasing a 60th anniversary story with the late David Warner. After all the
02:42behind-the-scenes drama we've heard about over the years, to see him embrace the Hooniverse once again,
02:47albeit just in audio form, was a fantastic surprise, and it's something that fans have been eager to see,
02:53but never thought they would since 9 regenerated in the Series 1 finale.
02:58Number 8. Classic Doctors Unite. Any TV show episode in which heroes past and present combine
03:05forces is going to be a fan favourite, and Doctor Who has been doing this for longer than most.
03:11The internet may not have been around during the classic years, but that doesn't mean there weren't
03:16hordes of fans excitedly discussing the possibility of seeing multiple Doctors in the same story.
03:21It's been apparent since day one that the show's timey-wimey premise would allow for this,
03:26and indeed, a multi-Doctor adventure was an idea that was often mentioned behind the scenes,
03:31well before it actually happened. Producer Barry Letts finally delivered the goods in 1972-1973,
03:38with The Three Doctors, a serial that received a rapturous response from Whovians at the time,
03:44with Part 4 racking up 11.9 million viewers, the highest-rated single episode for both John Pertwee
03:51and Patrick Troughton. The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors would follow in 1983 and 1985,
03:57respectively, and though none of these classic Doctor team-ups had particularly great stories,
04:02The Five Doctors fares the best despite having the largest cast, multi-Doctor adventures are fan
04:07service at its finest, and it's undeniably delightful to watch the likes of Pertwee's
04:12suave gentleman butt heads with Troughton's nutty professor.
04:16Number 7. Captain Jack Harkness Returns
04:20Throughout the 2010s, ask any Doctor Who fan to pick a character they wanted to see return,
04:25and there was a good chance that Captain Jack Harkness would be at the top of the list.
04:29Despite having a consistent presence in the Who-niverse during the first few years of the 2005 revival,
04:35the cheeky Time Agent mysteriously vanished from our screens after the conclusion of Torchwood's
04:40fourth series in 2011, and despite fans clamoring for his return, the character remained MIA as the
04:47years ticked by. This wasn't just something that everybody wanted to see, either. It was also
04:52something that seemed like a natural fit for the show. Jack was still involved with Torchwood,
04:56so there was every chance he'd bump into the Doctor while investigating an alien threat. He was also known
05:01to use a vortex manipulator, meaning that he could jump around the universe and into the Doctor's
05:07life at will. Presumably noticing the fan outcry, Chris Chibnall ultimately brought back Jack in the
05:12series 12 episode Fugitive of the Jadoon. His role here had little relevance to the plot, but nobody
05:18actually cared. This was nothing more than fan service, and Whovians lapped it up like a steaming
05:23hot bowl of fish fingers and custard. Number 6. Would you like a jelly baby?
05:28Possibly more than any other show on television, Doctor Who has a habit of reusing catchphrases,
05:34quips, and other iconic lines. Every single time this happens, you just know the writer was sat
05:40there with a proud smirk on their face, thinking, oh yeah, the fans will love this. Because,
05:44let's be honest, we're quite easy to please as a fanbase. Just mention jelly babies or fezzes,
05:49and we'll immediately start whooping and cheering. Some of our favorite examples of repeat quips include
05:54the Fourth Doctor offering Davros a jelly baby, the Twelfth Doctor poking fun at the Third Doctor's
05:58reverse the polarity quip in The Girl Who Died, Ganger Eleven spouting out several iconic catchphrases
06:04in The Almost People, bonus points for the jelly baby line in this scene, which is actually Tom
06:09Baker's voice dubbed over Smith's, the Cyberplanner exclaiming Alon-Z in Nightmare in Silver, and the
06:15Thirteenth Doctor's Geronimo upon rope swinging between ships in Legend of the Sea Devils. Is this
06:21shamelessly pandering to the fans? Yes. Are we totally okay with it? Also, yes.
06:27Number 5. The Doctor and River on Deryllium
06:30River Song's debut in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead brought with it more questions
06:36than answers. Who exactly was she, how did she know the Doctor so well, and would we ever see the
06:41character again? Back then, there were no guarantees that River would return. Even Alex Kingston thought
06:47it was a one and done, which would have been a massive shame considering all the backstory hints
06:52that were just begging to be expanded upon, not to mention how well she clicked with the Doctor.
06:56One of those backstory hints was so important that River used her last living moments to tell
07:01the Doctor about it, describing a previous encounter where the Doctor, who knew her death
07:06was imminent, took her to see the Singing Towers of Deryllium, where they spent their final night
07:11together. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you,
07:16the real you, the future you, I mean. You turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit.
07:21You took me to Deryllium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang and you cried.
07:27This instantly became an off-screen adventure that fans were desperate to see. And in 2015,
07:34Stephen Moffat, the king of the long-term payoff, delivered the goods. Christmas special,
07:38the husbands of River Song depicted their Deryllium getaway in stunning detail, rewarding those fans
07:44who'd spent the last seven years wondering if they'd ever get to see it brought to life. And,
07:49you know, we all know that I maybe love River Song a little bit, so if they wanted to do a little
07:54bit more fan service, they could, you know, bring her back. Again. Soon. Please. Thank you.
08:00Number 4. The Coming Together of the RTD-verse
08:04Russell T Davies was ahead of the curve when it came to the cinematic universe craze in the 2010s.
08:11With Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures, he was running an interconnected
08:15franchise years before Marvel Studios made it cool, something he lamented in a 2021 interview, saying,
08:21I was in the middle of running an empire, and my god, I did that 10 years too soon, didn't I?
08:26Back when this small-screen universe first kicked off, fans obviously knew that these shows existed in
08:31the same world. And though it was fun when they referenced each other, what we really wanted to
08:36see was a huge crossover episode. Knowing that such an episode would be a ratings juggernaut,
08:41RTD made good on that potential with 2008's The Stolen Earth and Journey's End. Episodes with such
08:48large casts that the opening credits hilariously struggled to keep up with their names. Watching
08:52Sarah Jane rub shoulders with Martha and having Donna fire quips at Captain Jack was glorious. And the fact
08:58that RTD managed to stuff all of these characters into a story that actually worked was almost
09:04unbelievable. This was Doctor Who's Avengers Endgame, and it was a dream come true for fans at the time.
09:10Not just that it happened, but also the fact that it was really damn good.
09:14Number 3. Tom Baker's Curator Cameo
09:18Commenting on why he chose Tom Baker as the only classic Doctor to return for The Day of the Doctor in
09:242013, Steven Moffat said that the idea was simply irresistible. He said,
09:28"...to have the longest standing and the oldest Doctor from longest to go make an appearance and be
09:34the one who briefs the new Doctor on where to go, well, it's irresistible, isn't it? You get to hear
09:38that voice again. It was just wonderful." In other words, he knew that this particular baker, as the
09:44most popular classic Doctor by a mile, would be the one that fans would want to see the most.
09:48With The Day of the Doctor being a celebration of the first 50 years of Who, it also made perfect
09:53sense to bring back the man who'd represented the show for the longest period of time. And the great
09:58thing about the cameo was that it wasn't just there for the sake of it. Baker, as the mysterious
10:02curator, was there to round out the episode's story and New Hugh's ongoing Time War arc by confirming
10:08to the 11th Doctor that his attempt to save Gallifrey was successful. Gallifrey falls no more.
10:14It was the very definition of a crowd-pleasing moment, and there were undoubtedly a lot of
10:19tears in the audience when Baker's booming voice rang out across the gallery.
10:24Number 2. Everything about the 60th anniversary.
10:28If you told someone a year ago that Doctor Who's 60th anniversary celebrations would be written by
10:33Russell T Davies and star David Tennant and Catherine Tate, they would have probably laughed in your face.
10:38The 50th anniversary was so wonderful that it almost felt like it would be impossible to top,
10:43but the 60th not only looks set to match its predecessor in the fan-pleasing department,
10:48there's a strong chance it's going to blow it out of the water.
10:51Not only do we have the returns of RTD, Tennant, and Tate, but director Rachel Talalay,
10:56who helmed several terrific episodes during the Peter Capaldi era, and there's lots more too.
11:01We're getting the late Bernard Crippen's final Doctor Who performance, the rumored,
11:05much-requested return of the Doctor Who Christmas special, a spiritual successor to fan-favorite
11:10Doctor Who confidential, and presumably an appearance from our newest Doctor, Shuti Gatwa.
11:16There are also constant whispers that the likes of Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi,
11:19Karen Gillan, and Paul McGann will be involved, speculation that David Tennant recently fuelled
11:24by saying that he'd filmed with other people behind closed doors. It's basically RTD going,
11:29oh Steven, the 50th was cute, now watch this. And honorable mention does need to go to Chris
11:35Chibnall here too, who also knows what Whovians want, and is about to give it to them in a matter
11:40of weeks. Classic fan-favorite Ace and Tegan are set to return for Jodie Whittaker's final episode
11:46later this year, which should be a nice warm-up before the full-on craziness of the 60th in 2023.
11:53Now, yes, we know we just said that the 60th anniversary could blow the 50th anniversary out
12:03of the water, and it very well might. But we couldn't give the top spot to something that
12:07hasn't happened yet, could we? Just as he knew that Tom Baker's curator would be an instant win
12:12for fans, Steven Moffat knew that bringing back David Tennant and linking him up with Matt Smith
12:17was the safest bet he could possibly make when crafting a multi-Doctor story to celebrate the
12:22show's half-century milestone. So that's exactly what he did! With Tennant regularly topping Best
12:28Doctor polls and the Smith era taking the show to international stardom, the 10th and 11th
12:33Doctors had made the mighty Whovian army bigger than ever, so it's no surprise that they were top
12:38of fan wishlists when the 50th was looming, making it something of a no-brainer for Moffat to pick up
12:44the phone and ask Tennant to return. Though it was a tad disappointing that Christopher Eccleston
12:49couldn't complete the trifecta of New Who Doctors, watching Tennant and Smith poke fun at each other's
12:54outfits, Sonics, and Zygon-infused love lives was such a treat that any potential disappointment
13:00quickly faded away. And with 12.8 million viewers making it one of the most popular modern episodes,
13:06and positive reviews all around, The Day of the Doctor was a huge success in every possible way.
13:12And that concludes our list. If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments below,
13:17and while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell so you
13:21never miss a WhoCulture video. Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhoCulture,
13:26and I can be found across various social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
13:30I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of Riversong herself, goodbye, sweeties.
Be the first to comment