Let me start by saying that although I chose to take on this particular topic I could not be more excited for all the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary fun. I eagerly await every month's retrospective look on BBC America at a past Doctor, am reading the new specially commissioned stories, and I already bought a new shirt to wear just for November 23rd. As an American I will undoubtedly miss out on a number of the planned goodies, including the radio special and Live Q & A. This article would also become unwieldy if I were to try and discuss everything going on in the world of Doctor Who this year, so I have limited my nitpicking to potential problems with the television special. Thankfully for me between what is and is not already planned I have plenty of room to doubt its overall success. With that in mind here are five reasons the 50th Anniversary will disappoint€”no matter what sort of fan you are.
5. A Lack Of Doctors In The TARDIS
It seems almost obligatory to start with the most obvious criticism. We have eight living Doctors in the current canon. For the best possible special we would get as many Doctors as possible. I was excited when initial rumours hinted that the special would somehow feature all the men to ever play The Doctor. I was nervous but hopeful about the prospect of using archival footage to create the presence of the first three Doctors, whose actors have sadly passed. I can also respect and understand Christopher Eccleston's decision not to take part, though I will sorely miss him. But even excluding Hartnell, Troughton, Pertwee, and Eccleston, there are still five living, and reportedly willing, versions of The Doctor who could have made for not only an incredible special, but served to finally bridge the gulf that exists for so many fans of only Classic or New Who. More important than anything else to a good anniversary special is enjoying the excuse to get more than one version of The Doctor in the same room or same TARDIS. But I suppose this problem is not surprising when you consider point four on my list.