Doctor Who Regenerates

It has been difficult for anyone in the UK to miss the fact that Doctor Who has just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

It has done so in a quite extraordinary way, and as a child growing up in the 60s, there is no doubt that I am one of those children that cowered behind the sofa when the program showed, and it has been a formative part of my childhood and growing up.

And until very recently, I have been an avid viewer, only tapering off because I do not wish to be obsessive about any television at all these days.

But I have seen the 50th anniversary special, and I have been mightily impressed.

It is not an easy undertaking to tinker with a potentially lengthy future, and as Doctor Who has already racked up 50 years, and a dozen different Doctors, there is no reason to believe that it will not continue into the future.

And what has been achieved with this special edition has been quite remarkable.

Perhaps understandably so because of the unique nature of the series, and the high production values that in more recent years have been applied to it.

But what has been achieved with this special edition has been a rewriting of just about everything that is at the heart of the essential character of the Doctor, and this will doubtless have some impact upon future episodes.

I don’t want to go into the kind of detail that would mean that I would be telling the entire story, because that would be far too complicated.

And in any case, no doubt it will be possible for anyone that cares to do so to see the episode in question for themselves.

But what has been achieved above all is to remove from the personality of The Doctor a deep seated psychological blemish, that occasionally, would become apparent in his portrayal.

And by removing this blemish, he has been given new possibilities for future episodes and his motivations, such as might otherwise never have been possible.

This is a little like an individual undergoing psychoanalysis or counselling, successfully, and becoming a better person for it.

That it has been achieved in the context of a fictional time travelling character, whose popularity with children and adults alike is unrivalled, will no doubt have repercussions such as I cannot foresee.

But it is quite an achievement, and does make me curious as to how future episodes will differ.

But The Doctor has mean made better, in some difficult to summarise way.

Perhaps only echoing that biblical quote, physician heal thyself.