Doctor Who: 10 Things We Want in an Anniversary Special

5. An 8th Doctor Special

THE WISH Paul McGann got screwed. Just about everyone who has seen the 8th Doctor movie knows what an unmitigated crap-fest it is. From the stupid non-trap by the Daleks at the very beginning, to the stupid way the Seventh Doctor dies, to the stupid, really, really gay version of the Master, there€™s almost nothing good about this film. But one of the few things almost everyone agrees on is that Paul McGann was delightful as the Doctor, and many fans let out a great cheer when, in 2001, he began appearing in Big Finish€™s line of audio stories (and even got his own series). This particular Doctor now holds the distinction of having more stories about him (comics, novels, audios, etc), than any other Doctor, and yet he€™s only been on TV once. That should change. I imagine a flash-back episode where the Doctor is talking about the very end of the Time War. We could see him as the 8th Doctor destroying the Daleks and Gallifrey, barely escaping into his TARDIS and landing on Earth in, say, the 1950s. There, injured and in tattered clothes, he€™s found by some people who give him a t-shirt and black leather jacket to wear. He then finds out there€™s Autons in the area. He defeats them, but a remnant force escapes into the future. The Doctor, injured further by the Autons, has enough energy to get to the TARDIS where, from the outside, we see the regeneration light pour through the windows, and then hear Eccleston saying, €œFantastic!€ ODDS OF THIS HAPPENING An exclusively 8th Doctor story as the 50th anniversary special is very unlikely. Probably somewhere in the 5% or less area. I do imagine that if there€™s a multi-Doctor story, the 8th will probably be involved, but getting his own episode for the anniversary just isn€™t going to happen. It would be nice, however, if at some point down the line they could do a €œDoctor light€ episode like this one, where Matt Smith gets to put his feet up for a bit and watch McGann do what he does.
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Chris Swanson is a freelance writer and blogger based in Phoenix, Arizona, where winter happens to other people. His blog is at wilybadger.wordpress.com