Doctor Who: 10 Biggest "OMG!" Moments In New Who

The amount of pressure on the BBC as a whole and even more so on Steven Moffat in the run up to the 50th Anniversary Special must have been immense. How do you create an entertaining and memorable story that suitably pays homage to a show that is 50 years old, that’s gone through so many leading actors and somehow resolve the story arc of the Time War that had defined the series since 2005?

Moffat brought back David Tennant to reprise his role as the Tenth Doctor and reportedly tried to approach Christopher Ecclestone as well to return as the Ninth. Unfortunately Ecclestone still didn’t want to return to the show following his shocking departure at the end of the first season which necessitated the creation of John Hurt’s “War Doctor” in order to still tell the story.

Moffat succeeded in working many homages and easter eggs into the special, as well as resurrecting a classic series enemy; The Zygons. The episode was already a satisfying celebration for fans, but Moffat wasn’t quite done. Choosing to take a risk that could have backfired horribly, Moffat decided to have The Doctor stop himself from ending the Time War by wiping out the Time Lords. The three Doctor’s working together realise that they can use a series of very complicated calculations and their three TARDIS’s to remove Gallifrey from existence at the last possible second and deposit it safely in a pocket universe. If timed right, this would result in The Daleks firing on one another and wiping themselves out.

“But the calculations alone would take hundreds of years!” protests the Time Lord general. “Oh, hundreds and hundreds” The Doctor agrees. “Fortunately, I started a very long time ago.” In a moment that is as close to the “Avengers Assemble” scene in Endgame that Doctor Who will ever get; all previous incarnations of The Doctor also arrive to help. With the clever use of archival footage, Moffat is able to create the biggest “OMG!” moment of the entire show as every prior incarnation of The Doctor arrives to rescue Gallifrey. But wait, there’s more. Moffat can’t help but add a cherry on top of the sundae of awesome he’s serving up.

“I didn’t know when I was well off! All twelve of them!” the Time Lord general cries, before a recognisably Scottish voice proclaims; “no Sir, all thirteen!” and viewers are granted, however briefly, their first shot of Peter Capaldi’s incoming incarnation of the Time Lord. It’s a moment that brings a goofy grin to the smiles of every Whovian. If you need evidence of just how big of a “OMG!” moment this truly is, helpfully, there are compilations of reaction videos on YouTube which show fans reacting in real time to this fantastic moment. It will give you chills!