I have NOT seen the 50th anniversary Special yet... but its on soon.
There was a bit of a "cock-up" on the planned TV watching front. The Special is on a DIFFERENT channel to the channel airing the weekend Marathon of past episodes.
By the time I realised that, I would have missed the first 20 minute of the Special when it was broadcast "live" here... at same time as in UK... so I decided to wait and watch the whole thing (including the start) when it is repeated tonight (soon).
Mean while the Marathon was GREAT. All weekend showed little "behind the scenes" analysis of each Dr as the show progressed over the years.. interviews with actors and directors, producers etc gave a LOT of good info... then there were episodes form each series... all 11 Dr's. Not every show ever broadcast... 50 years worth would take a lot longer than 2 days... but enough to be reminded of the show over the years... and I was a a fan from day one and continued to watch for the entire 50 years!
There was also a play... a dramatised version of how the show got started... the executive BBC producer who had the original idea... the FEMALE producer who made it happen (despite her inexperience and the rampant sexism in the business at that time,

as well as a lot of pessimism for various reasons ..... the director, actors etc etc etc faced a lot of hurdles to get the first show aired at all... then the debut night was the night Kennedy assassinaion hit the news.... and so most viewers were watching the news....... a lot of things against it ever getting off the ground..... so all good "drama"... the struggle against the odds

The Special includes John Hurt playing a "extra Dr" (see the youtube above)... never part of a TV series... but slotted in (short internet clip.... labelled a "minisode") as a Dr that regenerated between the 8th Dr and the 9th Dr. The 8th Dr being the last Dr before the show was discontinued for several years, before being "Re-booted" by BBC Wales. As the "new era Dr Who" show starts the 9th Dr (played by Christopher Eccleston) has clearly just regenerated, and there is reference to a "Time War" that has gone on since we last saw Dr Who (the 8th played by McGann). Apparently Dr Who ended the "Time War" by destroying both sides.... the Daleks and the Time Lords... so he is the LAST of his own race and the Daleks are gone once and for all (fat chance)

So...there is a gap where anything could have happened... and so the "minisode" proposes that the was a "War Dr" during that period who had to make the decision to commit "double genocide". I await the SPECIAL to learn more about the "War Dr"
As I watched the shows today it was STRESSED that the Dr's regeneration is limited to 13 lives. We have the "11 Dr's" from the TV series... and the extra one they just slotted in. There is already a new Dr for the next series.... so that makes all 13 will have been seen..... Dr Who is a Multimillion dollar marketing "brand" now. I can NOT see them ending it after the next Dr plays the part... so there will have to be some clever plot device to get past the 13 Dr limit
