The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors in the same episode? Doctor Who doesn't get much better than that.
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00:00From the long-awaited return of a fan-favorite character to inside baseball references that
00:05have us all pointing at the TV like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme, Who fanatics might butt heads
00:10on a lot of things, but we can all agree that the following moments are Doctor Who fan service
00:15at its finest.
00:16And so, with that in mind, then, I'm Ellie with Who Culture, here with 10 times Doctor
00:21Who gave fans exactly what they wanted.
00:2410.
00:25Fully exploring the depths of the TARDIS Though the TARDIS has been around since the
00:31opening moments of the show, it wasn't until 2013 that we finally got to explore its labyrinthine
00:37innards in great detail.
00:39The idea for Journey to the Center of the TARDIS stemmed from Stephen Moffat's frustration
00:43with the 1978 serial The Invasion of Time, which he deemed disappointing due to its depiction
00:50of the TARDIS interior.
00:52Certain issues forced these scenes to be filmed in a not-so-visually impressive disused hospital.
00:57As a result, Moffat wanted Journey to the Center of the TARDIS to atone for what he
01:01thought was a lackluster portrayal of the Doctor's iconic machine.
01:05And though you could argue that the episode doesn't go far enough in showcasing all the
01:08weird and wonderful sights lurking within, it nonetheless provided our most in-depth
01:13TARDIS experience to date, something fans have been hankering to see for quite some
01:18time.
01:19Including architectural reconfiguration room, the huge TARDIS library, a blistering sequence
01:24set inside the Eye of Harmony, swimming pools, storage rooms, and more, it made the TARDIS
01:29feel as expansive as we often are told it was.
01:33The episode's main plot certainly could have been better, but the TARDIS element was a
01:37well-executed tribute to the Doctor's most loyal companion.
01:42Number 9.
01:43Christopher Eccleston's comeback
01:45The fact that we only spent one series with Christopher Eccleston's ninth Doctor left
01:50many a frustrated fan wanting more.
01:53A lot more.
01:54As with Paul McGann, Eccleston's time on screen was far more brief than your average Doctor's.
01:59And though Big Finish came to McGann's rescue towards the end of the Wilderness years, a
02:03comeback for Nine just didn't seem on the cards.
02:06And that's because in the years after his 2005 exit, Eccleston made it clear that he
02:11wasn't on great terms with Doctor Who, even stating that he didn't enjoy working on the
02:16show.
02:17And that's exactly why the announcement of his audio-exclusive return was such a great
02:22moment of fan service.
02:24Absolutely nobody expected it to happen.
02:26So far, Nine has battled Cybermen, Ravagers, ancient psychic aliens, and more, and his
02:32Big Finish run has been very well-received.
02:35Eccleston himself is also enjoying it, even enthusiastically teasing a 60th anniversary
02:39story with the late David Warner.
02:42After all the behind-the-scenes drama we've heard about over the years, to see him embrace
02:46the Whoniverse once again, albeit just in audio form, was a fantastic surprise.
02:51And it's something that fans have been eager to see, but never thought they would since
02:55Nine regenerated in the Series 1 finale.
02:58Number 8.
02:59Classic Doctors Unite
03:02Any TV show episode in which heroes past and present combine forces is going to be a fan
03:07favorite.
03:08Doctor Who has been doing this for longer than most.
03:11The internet may not have been around during the classic years, but that doesn't mean there
03:15weren't hordes of fans excitedly discussing the possibility of seeing multiple Doctors
03:20in the same story.
03:22It's been apparent since Day 1 that the show's timey-wimey premise would allow for this,
03:26and indeed, a multi-Doctor adventure was an idea that was often mentioned behind the scenes,
03:31well before it actually happened.
03:33Doctor Barry Lett finally delivered the goods in 1972-slash-1973 with The Three Doctors,
03:40a serial that received a rapturous response from Whovians at the time, with Part 4 racking
03:45up 11.9 million viewers, the highest-rated single episode for both John Pertwee and Patrick
03:51Troughton.
03:52The Five Doctors and The Two Doctors would follow in 1983 and 1985, respectively, and
03:58though none of these classic Doctor team-ups had particularly great stories, The Five Doctors
04:03fares the best despite having the largest cast, multi-Doctor adventures are fan service
04:08at its finest, and it's undeniably delightful to watch the likes of Pertwee's suave, gentleman-buttheads
04:14with Troughton's nutty professor.
04:167.
04:17Captain Jack Harkness Returns Throughout the 2010s, ask any Doctor Who fan
04:22to pick a character they wanted to see return, and there was a good chance that Captain Jack
04:27Harkness would be at the top of the list.
04:30Despite having a consistent presence in the Who-niverse during the first few years of
04:33the 2005 revival, the cheeky time agent mysteriously vanished from our screens after the conclusion
04:39of Torchwood's fourth series in 2011, and despite fans clamoring for his return, the
04:45character remained M.I.A. as the years ticked by.
04:48This wasn't just something that everybody wanted to see, either.
04:51It was also something that seemed like a natural fit for the show.
04:55Jack was still involved with Torchwood, so there was every chance he'd bump into the
04:59investigating an alien threat.
05:01He was also known to use a Vortex Manipulator, meaning that he could jump around the universe
05:06and into the Doctor's life at will.
05:08Presumably noticing the fan outcry, Chris Chibnall ultimately brought back Jack in the
05:12Series 12 episode, Fugitive of the Jadoon.
05:15His role here had little relevance to the plot, but nobody actually cared.
05:19This was nothing more than fan service, and Whovians lapped it up like a steaming hot
05:24bowl of fish fingers and custard.
05:266.
05:27Would you like a Jelly Baby?
05:29Possibly more than any other show on television, Doctor Who has a habit of reusing catchphrases,
05:35quips, and other iconic lines.
05:37Every single time this happens, you just know the writer was sat there with a proud smirk
05:41on their face, thinking, oh yeah, the fans will love this.
05:44Because let's be honest, we're quite easy to please as a fanbase.
05:47Just mention Jelly Babies or Fezzes, and we'll immediately start whooping and cheering.
05:51Some of our favorite examples of repeat quips include the fourth Doctor offering Davros
05:55a Jelly Baby, the twelfth Doctor poking fun at the third Doctor's reverse-the-polarity
06:00quip in The Girl Who Died, Ganger Eleven spouting out several iconic catchphrases in The Almost
06:05People, bonus points for the Jelly Baby line in this scene which is actually Tom Baker's
06:09voice dubbed over Smith's, the cyber-planner exclaiming Alon-Z in Nightmare in Silver,
06:15and the thirteenth Doctor's Geronimo upon rope-swinging between ships in Legend of the
06:20Sea Devils.
06:21Is this shamelessly pandering to the fans?
06:23Yes.
06:24Are we totally okay with it?
06:25Also, yes.
06:27Number 5.
06:28The Doctor and River on Deryllium
06:31River Song's debut in Silence in the Library and Forest of the Dead brought with it more
06:35questions than answers.
06:37Who exactly was she, how did she know the Doctor so well, and would we ever see the
06:41character again?
06:42Back then, there were no guarantees that River would return.
06:46Even Alex Kingston thought it was a one-and-done, which would've been a massive shame considering
06:50all the backstory hints that were just begging to be expanded upon, not to mention how well
06:55she clicked with the Doctor.
06:56One of those backstory hints was so important that River used her last living moments to
07:01tell the Doctor about it, describing a previous encounter where the Doctor, who knew her death
07:06was imminent, took her to see the Singing Towers of Deryllium, where they spent their
07:10final night together.
07:11"'All the time we've been together you knew I was coming here.
07:15The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean.
07:18You turned up on my doorstep with a new haircut and a suit.
07:21You took me to Deryllium to see the Singing Towers.
07:24What a night that was.
07:25The towers sang and you cried.'"
07:27This instantly became an off-screen adventure that fans were desperate to see, and in 2015,
07:34Stephen Moffat, the king of the long-term payoff, delivered the goods.
07:38Christmas special The Husbands of River Song depicted their Deryllium getaway in stunning
07:43detail, rewarding those fans who'd spent the last seven years wondering if they'd ever
07:47get to see it brought to life.
07:49And, you know, we all know that I maybe love River Song a little bit, so if they wanted
07:54to do a little bit more fanservice, they could, you know, bring her back again soon, please.
07:59Thank you."
08:00Number 4.
08:01The coming together of the RTD-verse
08:05Russell T. Davies was ahead of the curve when it came to the cinematic universe craze in
08:09the 2010s.
08:11With Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures, he was running an interconnected
08:15franchise years before Marvel Studios made it cool, something he lamented in a 2021 interview,
08:21saying,
08:22"...I was in the middle of running an empire, and my God, I did that ten years too soon,
08:26didn't I?"
08:27Back when this small-screen universe first kicked off, fans obviously knew that these
08:30shows existed in the same world, and though it was fun when they referenced each other,
08:35what we really wanted to see was a huge crossover episode.
08:38Knowing that such an episode would be a ratings juggernaut, RTD made good on that potential
08:43with 2008's The Stolen Earth and Journey's End, episodes with such large casts that the
08:49opening credits hilariously struggled to keep up with their names.
08:52Watching Sarah Jane rub shoulders with Martha and having Donna fire quips at Captain Jack
08:57was glorious, and the fact that RTD managed to stuff all of these characters into a story
09:02that actually worked was almost unbelievable.
09:05This was Doctor Who's Avengers Endgame, and it was a dream come true for fans at the time
09:10Not just that it happened, but also the fact that it was really damn good.
09:143.
09:15Tom Baker's curator cameo
09:18Commenting on why he chose Tom Baker as the only classic Doctor to return for The Day
09:23of the Doctor in 2013, Stephen Moffat said that the idea was simply irresistible.
09:28He said,
09:29"...to have the longest-standing and the oldest Doctor from longest ago make an appearance
09:33and be the one who briefs the new Doctor on where to go, well, it's irresistible, isn't
09:38it?
09:39To hear his voice again, it was just wonderful."
09:41In other words, he knew that this particular Baker, as the most popular classic Doctor
09:45by a mile, would be the one that fans would want to see the most.
09:49With The Day of the Doctor being a celebration of the first 50 years of Who, it also made
09:53perfect sense to bring back the man who'd represented the show for the longest period
09:57of time.
09:58And the great thing about the cameo was that it wasn't just there for the sake of it.
10:01Baker, as the mysterious curator, was there to round out the episode's story and New Who's
10:06ongoing Time War arc by confirming to the 11th Doctor that his attempt to save Gallifrey
10:11was successful.
10:12Gallifrey falls no more.
10:14It was the very definition of a crowd-pleasing moment, and there were undoubtedly a lot of
10:19tears in the audience when Baker's booming voice rang out across the gallery.
10:24Number 2.
10:25Everything about the 60th anniversary
10:28If you told someone a year ago that Doctor Who's 60th anniversary celebrations would
10:32be written by Russell T. Davies and star David Tennant and Catherine Tate, they would
10:37have probably laughed in your face.
10:38The 50th anniversary was so wonderful that it almost felt like it would be impossible
10:43to top.
10:44But the 60th not only looks set to match its predecessor in the fan-pleasing department,
10:48there's a strong chance it's going to blow it out of the water.
10:51Not only do we have the returns of RTD, Tennant, and Tate, but director Rachel Talalay, who
10:56helmed several terrific episodes during the Peter Capaldi era, and there's lots more,
11:01too.
11:02There's the late Bernard Crippen's final Doctor Who performance, the rumored, much-requested
11:06return of the Doctor Who Christmas special, a spiritual successor to fan-favorite Doctor
11:11Who Confidential, and presumably an appearance from our newest Doctor, Shruti Gatwa.
11:15There are also constant whispers that the likes of Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Karen
11:20Gillan, and Paul McGann will be involved, speculation that David Tennant recently fueled
11:24by saying that he'd filmed with other people behind closed doors.
11:28It's basically RTD going, oh, Steven, the 50th was cute, now watch this.
11:33And honorable mention does need to go to Chris Chibnall here, too, who also knows what Whovians
11:38want, and is about to give it to them in a matter of weeks.
11:42Classic fan-favorite Ace and Tegan are set to return for Jodie Whittaker's final episode
11:46later this year, which should be a nice warm-up before the full-on craziness of the 60th in
11:522023.
11:531.
11:54The 10th and 11th Doctors joining forces
11:58Now yes, we know we just said that the 60th anniversary could blow the 50th anniversary
12:03out of the water, and it very well might, but we couldn't give the top spot to something
12:07that hasn't happened yet, could we?
12:09Just as he knew that Tom Baker's curator would be an instant win for fans, Stephen Moffat
12:14knew that bringing back David Tennant and linking him up with Matt Smith was the safest
12:18bet he could possibly make when crafting a multi-Doctor story to celebrate the show's
12:23half-century milestone.
12:25So that's exactly what he did.
12:26With Tennant regularly topping Best Doctor polls and the Smith era taking the show to
12:31international stardom, the 10th and 11th Doctors had made the mighty Whovian army bigger than
12:36ever, so it's no surprise that they were top of fan wishlists when the 50th was looming,
12:41making it something of a no-brainer for Moffat to pick up the phone and ask Tennant to return.
12:46Though it was a tad disappointing that Christopher Eccleston couldn't complete the trifecta of
12:51new Who Doctors, watching Tennant and Smith poke fun at each other's outfits, Sonics,
12:56and Zygon-infused love lives was such a treat that any potential disappointment quickly
13:00faded away.
13:02And with 12.8 million viewers making it one of the most popular modern episodes and positive
13:07reviews all around, the Day of the Doctor was a huge success in every possible way.
13:12And that concludes our list.
13:14If you think we missed any, then do let us know in the comments below.
13:17And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell
13:20so you never miss a WhoCulture video.
13:23Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there at WhoCulture, and I can be found across various
13:28social medias just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
13:30I've been Ellie with WhoCulture, and in the words of River Song herself, goodbye, sweeties.