It was the news that Doctor Who fans were dreading: the Doctor Who 50th anniversary will not see the return of any Doctors from the Classic Who era. The celebration of the longest running sci-fi show will instead only feature Matt Smith and David Tennant as the Eleventh and Tenth Doctors, respectively. The Hypable staff explain why the BBC have made a big, big mistake.
What we know:
The Doctor Who 50th anniversary will star Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, and see the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper. Christopher Eccleston turned down an offer to return as the Ninth Doctor, and John Barrowman will not return as fan favourite Captain Jack Harkness.
And if you were worried that the Classic Who contingent would not be represented – never fear. The episode will also see the return of Jemma Redgrave, who played the Brigadier’s daughter, Kate Stewart, in a 2012 episode.
Yes, you read that right. The only representation of Classic Who will be a character who showed up for the first time in the 2012 New Who episode “The Power of Three.” There will be no previous Doctors. No Classic Who companions. We wouldn’t even count on seeing K-9, who must be sitting around in the BBC props department. So why has the current Doctor Who creative team gone so far out of their way to ignore the legacy of Classic Who?
Celebrating 50 years of ‘Doctor Who’:
Fans were not expecting to see a multiple-Doctor story ala “The Five Doctors.” What we wanted to see was some recognition for the actors who are the very reason we are able to celebrate the Doctor Who 50th anniversary at all. They could have been cast in a cameo here, as an alien there – it would be simple enough to give them each a one-line role, or to pan over Tom Baker wearing his scarf in a crowd scene. At this point, it isn’t about the characters – it is about the actors who brought them to life.
New Who only began in 2005, which would make 2013 the eighth year of Doctor Who. Doctor Who is the longest running science fiction show, ever. It does a disservice to the wonderful history of Doctor Who not to invite these actors back, even for a small cameo. And let’s be clear – given the ages of the actors, it’s unlikely (read: impossible) that most of them will be around to celebrate the 75th anniversary, if Doctor Who gets there. This is their last chance, so why not give it to them.
“It is important you don’t turn it into a fanfest. We can’t make this all about looking backwards. It’s actually got to be the start of a new story.”
– Steven Moffat
Unfortunately for fans, Steven Moffat has decided that the 50th anniversary is the perfect time to kick off his new Doctor Who story. What Moffat doesn’t seem to understand is that the 50th anniversary should be an episode where every fan of Doctor Who can come together to celebrate the show they love. It should absolutely be about “looking backwards” – it’s difficult to celebrate the history by looking to the future. A “fanfest” is exactly what it should be because it should be a celebration for the fans.
Of course, we were also disappointed that Tennant and Piper will be the token representatives of the New Who era. It’s sad that Eccleston said no, but at least he was given the option. The fact that he was the only Doctor asked merely reinforces that the 50th anniversary is set to be a celebration of Moffat’s New Who era, and nothing more.
The creative team are attempting to placate fans with the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary historical special, “An Adventure in Space and Time”, and an audio story which will feature all the Doctors. For fans, these sideline projects are just not good enough. The current Doctor Who team should get their egos in check and realise that the 50th anniversary is not about them at all. How disappointing that they have chosen not the respect the very actors who gave us Doctor Who in the first place, especially as this opportunity is literally once in a lifetime.
On page 2: Hypable staff reactions to the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary news
Hypable Staff reactions to the ‘Doctor Who’ 50th anniversary:
Kyle says:
Even as a relatively new fan to Doctor Who, I feel robbed. I’m absolutely interested in all of the past Doctors, and I want to watch Classic Who, so having the living Doctors appear throughout the episode in some form would’ve satisfied my thirst for more of the classic era. They could’ve thought of a really creative way to incorporate them into it, but instead they decided to go the lazy route and not have anyone but Tennant? Lame!
Eccleston I understand because he just seems like a prick who can’t get over the past, but the BBC making a conscious decision to not include the past Doctors is just as stupid as their decision to not include Barrowman. This special better knock my socks off otherwise I’m going to be thoroughly dissapointed.
Kristen says:
While I am a fairly new Whovian (heck, I hadn’t even heard of the series a year ago), and I may not have recognized or understood the appearances of the former Doctors in the upcoming 50th anniversary special, I do understand what it means to honor the history of a fandom, especially one as rich and detailed as Doctor Who. It is a serious disservice to the throngs of loyal fans that watched Classic Who as children, and have now embraced the reboot eras, to completely ignore all the doctors and companions that have come before.
While Tennant and Piper made their mark, and everyone will be glad to see them back, there are a myriad of other faces that will be missed. Realistically, this is a once in a fandom opportunity, as many of the former Doctors are getting up there in years and will likely not be able to participate in further celebrations. This is the time to embrace the lineage and bring the entire history of the show into one episode that can be saved for posterity and remembered for decades to come, but instead, fans will be denied this momentous occasion without any reasonable explanation. It’s simply disappointing.
Laura says:
Realistically, no one expected the current actors to make an appearance as themselves, but a cameo as an alien or as another person would have been fantastic in this monumental moment in TV history. For example, in the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot the voice of the computer is Majel Barrett (the original Nurse Chapel and Majel is the widow of the founder Gene Roddenberry). Doctor Who is not just celebrating it’s 50th. It’s the longest running sci-fi show in TV history, and it’s a British series.
Its success and passion among fans was built by those being excluded. They deserve their legacy on film for this event. I’m actually wondering if Chris Eccleston pulled out because he realized the classic Doctors were excluded. He initially left the show because of behind the scenes actions that he found repugnant. I can only speculate after taking meetings to discuss the show, he has pulled out for the similar reasons.
Selina says:
As much as I personally would have loved to see Eccleston back, for me, the biggest disappointment here is that the decision has been made (for whatever reason) to exclude the original era Doctors completely. And considering that Tennant wasn’t even the original New Who Doctor, bringing back Ten and Rose now feels like it’s going to fall a bit flat.
As excited as I am to see them again, this isn’t celebrating the past 10 years of Who, it’s celebrating all 50. And considering how many of the past actors are still around, this seems like the ultimate wasted opportunity.
Colleen says:
I’m also new to Who, and haven’t seen any Classic Who, so I don’t have an attachment to any of the earlier Doctors. But what a great opportunity the 50th anniversary is to introduce a new generation of Doctor Who fans to what’s come before. Granted, incorporating all of the past Doctors into the storyline would be too complicated, but even a cameo would be nice. For a show that normally incorporates so many winks and nudges, not at least including some earlier Doctors in the background of a scene seems outrageous. I know Moffat’s said he wants to focus on looking forward at what’s to come for the Doctor, but it is, after all, a 50th anniversary special.
There’s no point in commemorating the 50th anniversary if you’re not going to pay tribute to what’s come before. That’s what the fans are tuning in to see. Choosing David Tennant as the only one coming back (disregarding Eccleston’s apparent refusal) smacks of trying too hard to appeal to the newer, younger generation of fans, tuning in for the adorable Doctors with great hair. Granted, I am one of those fans, but I realize that Doctor Who is so much more than that, and I feel like neglecting to include his predecessors cheapens Tennant’s return.