It’s been a while since I’ve really sat down to watch “Doctor Who.”
My reasons are numerous. Beetween the time I am capable of/willing to dedicate to a T.V. show that is not “Supernatural” hitting an all time low and my disillusioned feelings on show-runner Stephen Moffatt’s approach to the canon, it hasn’t been at the top of my to-watch list.
But the 50th anniversary of the show was something even I couldn’t pass up. So, I tuned in.
Oddly enough, I was reminded of all the things that attracted me to the show years ago.
While I have my complaints with certain choices, particularly the manner in which Queen Elizabeth I was characterized, my feelings are overwhelmingly positive.
Despite an incredibly explosive opening — featuring the Time War, no less — the episode serves as an interesting interruption of the show’s premise.
The very situation that fuels the character’s violent self-loathing in the post-war arc is averted; the blood on his hands that had long defined him as “the oncoming storm” hero is removed. He becomes the healer, the Doctor, again.
That, to me, is the most interesting and effective rebirth I’ve seen on the show which is quite the feat for a show where the title character is reborn every few years.
There’s action, sure, but more apparent and more distinct is the heart and soul at the core of the show.
Explosions and effects are secondary really to the parts of the program that manage to remind you what it means to be human: something pretty fantastic coming from a show about an alien.