There are shows that are able to transform themselves and become anew every time you rewatch them. This is one of those shows. One random day, 7 years after I started watching Doctor Who, I decided to give it another run, just out of boredom. I was shocked and amazed at the fact that not only my love for it has not changed one bit, but was also enhanced a hundred times. I picked up things that I missed, depth and meanings and I was not able to grasp when I was a kid. I rewatched my childhood show and discovered new things. My childhood show, teaching me new lessons, at 20 years old. How is that even possible?
This episode has more memorable lines than most of the new movies and tv shows that I've watched in the past 5 years combined.
"Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame." "What we do today is not out of fear or hatred. It is done because there is no other way. And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save."
"Clara sometimes asks me if I dream. 'Of course I dream', I tell her. 'Everybody dreams'. 'But what do you dream about?' she'll ask. 'The same thing everybody dreams about,' I tell her. 'I dream about where I'm going.' She always laughs at that. 'But you're not going anywhere, you're just wandering about.' That's not true. Not anymore. I have a new destination. My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's. It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going. Where I've always been going. Home. The long way around."
Doctor Who is, in my experience, the only show so far that has absolutely everything that you could ask for: lots of humour, adventures, histories, futures, love, friendships, families, kindness, hope, but also a tremendous amount of depth, meanings, great philosophies, tragedies, sacrifice, loss, grief, pain and of course, tears (so much tears). From this show, the greatest, most well-crafted character in history was created: The Doctor. There are two quotes that can pretty much summarise The Doctor:
"This man bore burdens, Archie realised, that he had seldom seen on mortal shoulders. But above all there was guilt. A guilt that had been fought off, bargained with, overcome, perhaps, but a guilt that sprung eternal." (Paul Cornell's Twice Upon a Time novelisation) "It's hard to talk about the importance of an imaginary hero. But heroes ARE important: Heroes tell us something about ourselves. History tells us who we used to be, documentaries tell us who we are now; but heroes tell us who we WANT to be. And a lot of our heroes depress me. But when they made this particular hero, they didn't give him a gun--they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn't give him a tank or a warship or an x-wing fighter--they gave him a box from which you can call for help. And they didn't give him a superpower or pointy ears or a heat-ray--they gave him an extra heart. They gave him two hearts! And that's an extraordinary thing. There will never come a time when we don't need a hero like the Doctor." (Steven Moffat)
Anyway, after a long paragraph about the whole show, my point is, this anniversary episode, in my opinion, was able to truly capture its essence, everything that I've just mentioned above, and that, to me, is incredible for a 77-minute episode. This is why Doctor Who's still going strong today. And to steal a bit from Steven Moffat himself, I think there will never come a time when we don't need a show like Doctor Who. Its ability to stretch to the edge of creativity, of time and space, and still be able to touch most likely every human being who has ever watched it is truly magical. To its core, it remains a story about humanity, exploring love and loss and hope and kindness like never before. A story told by a strange old alien who comes from a world far far away.
This television masterpiece will stand the testament of time, and I'm the proof. Seven years later, I'm still here, and my love has only increased. Doctor Who might just be a story, and The Doctor might just be imaginary, but has anyone told you that "every stories ever told really happened"?
This episode has more memorable lines than most of the new movies and tv shows that I've watched in the past 5 years combined.
"Great men are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame." "What we do today is not out of fear or hatred. It is done because there is no other way. And it is done in the name of the many lives we are failing to save."
"Clara sometimes asks me if I dream. 'Of course I dream', I tell her. 'Everybody dreams'. 'But what do you dream about?' she'll ask. 'The same thing everybody dreams about,' I tell her. 'I dream about where I'm going.' She always laughs at that. 'But you're not going anywhere, you're just wandering about.' That's not true. Not anymore. I have a new destination. My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's. It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going. Where I've always been going. Home. The long way around."
Doctor Who is, in my experience, the only show so far that has absolutely everything that you could ask for: lots of humour, adventures, histories, futures, love, friendships, families, kindness, hope, but also a tremendous amount of depth, meanings, great philosophies, tragedies, sacrifice, loss, grief, pain and of course, tears (so much tears). From this show, the greatest, most well-crafted character in history was created: The Doctor. There are two quotes that can pretty much summarise The Doctor:
"This man bore burdens, Archie realised, that he had seldom seen on mortal shoulders. But above all there was guilt. A guilt that had been fought off, bargained with, overcome, perhaps, but a guilt that sprung eternal." (Paul Cornell's Twice Upon a Time novelisation) "It's hard to talk about the importance of an imaginary hero. But heroes ARE important: Heroes tell us something about ourselves. History tells us who we used to be, documentaries tell us who we are now; but heroes tell us who we WANT to be. And a lot of our heroes depress me. But when they made this particular hero, they didn't give him a gun--they gave him a screwdriver to fix things. They didn't give him a tank or a warship or an x-wing fighter--they gave him a box from which you can call for help. And they didn't give him a superpower or pointy ears or a heat-ray--they gave him an extra heart. They gave him two hearts! And that's an extraordinary thing. There will never come a time when we don't need a hero like the Doctor." (Steven Moffat)
Anyway, after a long paragraph about the whole show, my point is, this anniversary episode, in my opinion, was able to truly capture its essence, everything that I've just mentioned above, and that, to me, is incredible for a 77-minute episode. This is why Doctor Who's still going strong today. And to steal a bit from Steven Moffat himself, I think there will never come a time when we don't need a show like Doctor Who. Its ability to stretch to the edge of creativity, of time and space, and still be able to touch most likely every human being who has ever watched it is truly magical. To its core, it remains a story about humanity, exploring love and loss and hope and kindness like never before. A story told by a strange old alien who comes from a world far far away.
This television masterpiece will stand the testament of time, and I'm the proof. Seven years later, I'm still here, and my love has only increased. Doctor Who might just be a story, and The Doctor might just be imaginary, but has anyone told you that "every stories ever told really happened"?