Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Day of the Doctor - The Non-Trailer Trailer!

Ever since the Doctor Who session in Hall H at the San Diego Comic Con where attendees were shown a trailer for the 50th Anniversary feature length (is 75 minutes reallyfeature length”?) 3-D extravaganza of an episode to be shown simultaneously all over the world and in cinemas (we have word on where it will be shown in flippin' New Zealand cinemas – but not a word here in America) on November 23, 2013, we the common folk all over the world who weren't in San Diego that fateful day have been waiting for a trailer to call our own. And the BBC dissed us again.

There was not one frame from “The Day of The Doctor” to be seen, not a one. What it appeared to be was a trip through the TARDIS attic – so to speak in a mishmash of all 12 incarnations along with a Dalek (of course) – the Key to Time – the Clockwork robots – The Master – and a few other enemies – ending with Matt Smith and his wig grabbing his own sonic screwdriver out of the collected mess.

The voiceover was interesting starting with David Bradley (playing William Hartnell as the 1st Doctor and a nice tie-in to “An Adventure in Space and Time” the BBC docudrama about the beginnings of “Doctor Who”) and eventually melding into Matt Smith at exactly the time that Clara shows up in the video with her leaf. Also interesting is that he goes on about trying to bring peace to a universe at war for over 900 years. Even if we discount his babbling about being over 2000 years old in “A Nightmare in Silver”, it's been established that The Doctor is over 1000 years old, as he was when he was “killed' at Lake Silencio.

I loved that it started out with a London Bobby in black and white, for that is the very first scene in “An Unearthly Child”, the first ever story (OK – all four episodes had their singular names – but for our purposes it's “An Unearthly Child”) - a bobby on a foggy night in London town outside the gates of 76 Totter's Lane, the home of I. M. Foreman - Scrap Merchant, making his rounds. Here's a link to Youtube.com so you can see for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoWw80c7Ww0&feature=player_detailpage

I also loved that Sarah Jane Smith, was the only other companion shown (at least that I saw – except for a reflection on the crystal ball that looked not like her or Clara – but Susan - which would be very fitting) and that she was with K-9. I truly miss Sarah Jane and wish that Elisabeth Sladen was still with us to meet up with Mr Capaldi's 12th. To me she is the ultimate companion, having appeared with Doctors 3, 4, 10 and 11 (with Matt Smith's turn in “The Sarah Jane Adventures – The Death of the Doctor” – along with Katy Manning as Jo Grant – Sarah Jane's predecessor).

What else did we see? The Third Doctor's car, “Bessie”, The Key to Time shattered, it's Tracer appearing between the legs of the UNIT soldier killed by a Dalek, the remaining pieces shooting past the 11th Doctor's head. The Fez! Mini yetis, the clockwork robot face mask, the Cybermen circa 1980, more Daleks, a Silent, an Ice Warrior, an Angel, a golden Sandminer Robot (from the 4th Doctor story “Robots of Death”), Big Ben, more incarnations of the Sonic Screwdriver.

We also saw all 11 Doctors, The Master (with the 3rd sword fighting in the TARDIS Console Room), jelly babies, The Golden Gate Bridge (behind the 11th – a reference to the 8th).  And if that's Matt Smith's wig - sheeeeeesh.  What is it with actors to haev played the Doctor recently and their hair issues - Criminey! 


Then there was finally the 11th speaking – before grabbing his sonic from the maelstrom, “our future depends on on single moment from one impossible day, the day he's been running from all his life”. Is this reference to a “moment” screamingly loud advertisement that we will see his using “The Moment” to freeze the Time Lords and the Daleks in time? I guess we'll find out.