-Probably lots of spoilers- But I’m not gonna really re-explain the episode,, more or less give my comments. Go see it for this to make sence.

50 years. Thats alot for anything. Especially a tv show with the same lead character. Lucklily we all know the Doctor can change it up and keep on rolling.

Of course like everyone says, I’ve been watching since the 70’s Starting with the 4th. But later on the episodes with Colin Baker and especially Mcgann were not as easy to see. I actually still havent seen the entire 8th doctor movie. Just clips. But even from that I wish that he had more screen time.

So when the Mcgann’s mini episode hit youtube, it stoked the fires again. Up until then, the return of the Christopher Eccleston 9th doctor kinda just went on with out much thought of what happened earlier because I knew I had missed shows that were not aired around here, and I figured that they had to smooth out a beginning for this new audience that was gonna be watching.

The 9th and some of the 10th had always eluding to things he had done. Just enough to perk your ears, but then play it off. Enter this new anniversary episode. We now learn that between the 8th and the 9thsome 4-500 years have been playing out. This Time War and the Doctor’s solution of killing both sides.

Not only that,, but a “new” Doctor had been born and regened completely off screen! As I was watching this unfold before me, I was thinking that this is utter bullshit. Making something up to fit in between just isnt right. But then it started to make sence a little bit. The Doctors never wanted to say much about what they have done or why when talking of the Time Wars. Just that they killed billions of people, and that it wasnt the current incarnations of them that did what ever it is they did. So I climbed aboard.

The Doctor that came from the 8ths forced regen (John Hurt) was infact the one that dealt with the Time Wars.

Lets get this numbering thing straight here. I am going to from here on out consider Hurt to be 9 instead ofEccleston, because you almost have to. 8 regened as all the others, albiet forced, and Hurt regened into Eccleston. Routine regens. Say what you want,, but thats how I see it unless something happens down the road that makes me change my mind.

I loved how the entire episode was woven into each other from not only the beginning of this episode, but from the beginning of the “new” series its self. 

Rose while in a different form, was what she had been before, the Doctors concients. Not forcing him to do things,, but helping him sort out his desicions. She could not have fit this role any better here. The whole time stream moving along thing with the screwdrivers calculating for hundreds or thousands of years does make sence and even the pocket universe fit in. Good ol K-9 will attest to that.

What happened here is really good for the show as a whole. They set up years of content, while keeping the old in place. The two other Doctors, (Eccleston and Tennant- 10 and 11) will not remember what happened and will still be thinking that they still have killed everyone. That keeps the history of those two intact. While at the same time setting up the search through time for the now hidden Gallifrey.

Over all I think it was a good show. Not gripping,, but good. In the long run,, great.