Doctor Who fans got a surprise treat from the BBC Thursday as they wait for the 50th Anniversary Special later in November. The BBC released a special episode online that sets the stage for the special, and it brings back a star from the show's past.
Paul McGann, who starred as the Doctor in the 1996 Fox TV movie, returns to the role in a 7-minute mini episode called "The Night of the Doctor", written by Who's current showrunner, Steven Moffat (the upcoming feature-length special is entitled "The Day of the Doctor"). Although McGann played the Doctor onscreen only once before, his Eighth Doctor was accepted into the show's continuity, and he has lent his voice talents to several Doctor Who audio adventures produced by Big Finish.
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Earlier this year, McGann cleverly denied he was involved in the 50th Anniversary Special — which he technically still isn't. But "The Night of the Doctor" finally gives fans some closure to his incarnation of the Doctor, and it helps that McGann has aged very well: He looks almost exactly like he did in the TV movie, shorter hair notwithstanding.
The episode that introduced a whole new generation to Doctor Who is amazingly well paced. Ordinary shopgirl Rose Tyler is slowly pulled into the exciting, fantastical world of the Doctor to help him battle evil mannequins controlled by something even more fearsome. "Rose" fully captures the wondrous appeal of traveling with the Doctor while serving up Who's best villain archetype: an ordinary object turned homicidal.
The Daleks are the undisputed champions of Doctor Who monsters, and this episode reminds us why by showing how dangerous just one of them can be. It's the plotting human mastermind that's keeping the Dalek prisoner who steals the show, however, inspiring some of the Doctor's best-ever dialogue in this thrilling masterpiece.
Regeneration? What's that? Find out along with the Doctor's friends what it means to have everything you thought you knew about someone suddenly change. "The Christmas Invasion" is a major turning point for the show, and not just because the Doctor has a new face -- it's the beginning of a new era in how the Earth deals with threats. As serious as all that sounds, the show's first Christmas special is actually quite merry.
You could argue that other stories used time travel as a plot device better than "The Girl in the Fireplace," but nothing has done it with more heart. A crippled starship opens a doorway through time that endangers a French girl, and the Doctor becomes an influence throughout her life in order to save her. But doorways swing both ways...
The Doctor's greatest enemies are at their most formidable in this corker of a season finale. The guest cast is outstanding, and several story arcs conclude in epic fashion. If you thought "The Girl in the Fireplace" made you cry, you have no idea.
Forget Doctor Who -- "Blink" is one of the best episodes of science-fiction TV ever made. Introducing one of the most genuinely frightening monsters of all time, the Weeping Angels, "Blink" expertly blends great characters, tangled time travel and tense set pieces to weave a story so compelling you forget the Doctor's barely in it!
What if the Doctor lost? The show finally answers that question in this fantastic trilogy, showing just how far he can fall. If that wasn't enough, John Simm's delightfully diabolical performance as the Master makes this landmark episode a must-see.
Don't blink: 12th Doctor-elect Peter Capaldi appears in this episode as a Roman father trying to protect his family from nefarious psychics, contentious Centurions and -- oh yeah -- that volcano. It's also a dramatic reminder of why the Doctor needs friends.
Matt Smith's youthful vigor gave the show an opportunity to recapture just how much fun it would be to travel through history, and this episode takes full advantage. Fantastic writing and performances elevate the typical historical-figure-involved-with-aliens story to an emotional level that leaves you cheering by the end.
Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman's first script for Doctor Who perfectly captures perhaps the most important relationship in the show: the Doctor and his time machine, the TARDIS. It also happens to be a pulse-pounding horror story with a terrifying villain.
Here's something we've never quite seen before: The Doctor on the attack. Showrunner Steven Moffat's vision of the show is in full force in this complex tale: the Doctor as ringmaster in a quirky-character circus, with villains and heroes so smart you're constantly guessing which one is five steps ahead of the other.
Fifty years of adventures, and we still know surprisingly little about the Doctor. This one has some big reveals, not the least of which is the location of his tomb (he's a time traveler, after all). Of course, the events generate more questions, which the upcoming specials promise to address, if not answer. But the best part of "The Name of the Doctor" is how the Doctor's companion finally takes center stage, becoming as much a superhero as he is.
If you've been won over by the new series, it's worth seeing the classic series at its best. Paris is the setting for this multi-layered yarn involving one-eyed aliens disguised as smooth-talking humans, the beginning of all life on Earth, and a high-tech plan to steal the Mona Lisa -- all seven of them. Douglas Adams' rapid-fire dialogue never falters, and Tom Baker (to many, the only Doctor) is at his absolute best in the role he was born to play.
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Image: BBC