Good Night

Usually Steven Moffat's obsession with playing the modern day JNT, baiting fans into expecting one thing with what he thinks is wonderfully clever wordplay and then delivering something unexpected, results in disaster and disappointment. Occasionally though it can deliver a worthwhile and pleasant surprise. Such as The Night of the Doctor, for example.

Before that mini episode aired the BBC had released the following statement:

The 50th Anniversary features Matt Smith, David Tennant and a mysterious incarnation played by John Hurt. Only one appears in the mini episode, The Night of the Doctor. But which?

This wasn't a lie. John Hurt’s “mysterious incarnation” did make an appearance of sorts in the closing thirty seconds or so, but he was not the focal point. Instead the seven minute show featured Paul McGann returning to the role of the Eighth Doctor to tell his regeneration story. This is when the deceitful approach pays off: nobody blabbed about McGann's reprisal of the role and so it was a genuine and pleasant surprise. The last time Moffat pulled one of these tricks off was Jenna Coleman's appearance in Asylum of the Daleks.

Given that it's only seven minutes long and had access only to a slender cast and two sets I think TNOTD is very enjoyable. It's the sort of thing Moffat's actually good at writing: frivolous bits of continuity with a smattering of gags and memorable, perhaps even quotable, lines. He deserves credit for cobbling together some nice moments for McGann’s Doctor despite having forty minutes of footage to go on. The line about four minutes being ages helped create the sense that it was the same character we’d seen in the TV Movie. And he came up with a decent final line, not easy when the Eighth Doctor has had, in total, about an hour of screen time.

The real credit for The Night of the Doctor being an enjoyable bit of filler should go to McGann. Even before thinking about his performance he deserves praise for returning to the role. It would have been easy for him to say no. This is the man who kept the easy gig of Big Finish audios at arm’s length for years, it was no guarantee he’d want to be involved in the anniversary celebrations in any capacity. It’s nice that he agreed to come back to give his Doctor the final moments he deserved (and to help set up John Hurt as a continuation of the Doctor line, because if that hadn’t been achieved I get the feeling The Day of the Doctor’s plot would suffer for it).

McGann plays the part well. It’s nothing sensational or mind-blowing. It’s not the greatest Doctor Who performance ever. It’s not going to cause anyone to reconsider their opinion on the show. But it’s not a bad performance, and it may get people to reconsider their views on McGann’s Doctor.

I’m not going to do what many others have done in the hours since the episode was put onto YouTube and witter about how they’d like further adventures from the McGann Doctor. I don’t. What made it work here is a combination of various factors. The element of surprise, the sense of closure, the sense of nostalgia, and the script being pitched just right were chief among them. It worked as a one off. More would suffer from the law of diminishing returns very quickly. But I will say that McGann entered a better performance than I can remember Matt Smith since at least his second series in 2011.

The final thing I’d like to point out is that with this episode I’m pretty sure Moffat has now written for more Doctors than anybody else (Five, Eight, Nine, the other Nine, Ten, and Eleven, plus Twelve when he arrives). This is not a particularly important piece of information but it’s one I’d bet a substantial amount of money Moffat will smugly reference in an interview at some point.