By Hilde van den Berg
Staff writer
Did you just squeal or sigh and think back to that one Saturday a few
weeks ago? Or did you frown and wonder “the 50th anniversary of what“? As you may or may not know, on November 23th 2013, it was exactly 50 years ago that the popular British TV show Doctor Who aired for the first time. It has had its breaks—it has not run for 50 consecutive years—but it has a fan base that stretches over various generations. If your grandparents happened to live in the UK in 1963, and if they had access to TV, they might have just witnessed that magical moment.
The BBC chose to celebrate this special occasion, which got enthusiastic cheers from fans all over the world. Although the fan base is still divided into groups with regards to the issue whether Steven Moffat, who has been the main script writer of Doctor Who since 2010, is doing the show justice, it is safe to say that 99% of the fans were looking forward to the 50th Anniversary Special regardless. That definitely showed. According to various sources, the Special attracted approximately 10 million viewers in the UK alone.
The 50th Anniversary Special brought back some very special characters. Actors David Tennant and Billie Piper, who had previously left the show, were welcomed back for a story that had not been seen in Doctor Who before (and that’s saying something). Although we won’t have to expect to see them again, since this wasn’t a “Special” for nothing, cheers from many fans (if not all) were heard. John Hurt, who is also known as “The Voice of the Dragon” in Merlin, also made a very special and very important appearance.
Overall, as a loyal Doctor Who fan myself, I just sat back and enjoyed the Special. Faults can, of course, be pointed out if you look closely enough, and I can assure you that it has been done, but for this once I chose to simply enjoy myself and relish in the fact that this show has been around for 50 years, and I appreciate that. It was a milestone, and not only for the BBC; for the previous Doctors and Companions; for all the fans that are now older than our parents or grandparents; for so many other people. TV history was made, and I hope that Doctor Who will keep making it. Maybe we’ll see them back for the 100th Anniversary.
Hilde van den Berg, class of 2016, is from Doetinchem, The Netherlands.
