Why I Love The War Doctor
Mark McCullough celebrates the lost incarnation of the Doctor.
2013 marked a very important year in the history of Doctor Who. Celebrations were rife and fans were treated to things previously beyond their wildest dreams: a multi-Doctor special, the return of a fan-favourite Doctor, a story set on Gallifrey and a large focus on the show throughout all forms of television. For me though, one of the most treasured gems from the fiftieth year was the introduction of a new Doctor to the narrative. The War Doctor was a superb character masterfully brought to life by the outstanding Sir John Hurt. So today in honour of our knighted Doctor’s birthday, I’m going to present to you my case as to why I love the War Doctor.
The Time War has always been a fascinating concept for me, but I often struggled to envisage the Doctor actively fighting in it. Moffat obviously had a similar train of thought as he used the opportunity to bring one of the greatest actors of a generation into the role of the Doctor. Now the idea of John Hurt blowing up Daleks and being an all-round badass is one which just seems so completely perfect. Very little was known about Hurt’s Doctor following his first (and extremely surprising) appearance in the cliff-hanger to the wonderful (yes I have changed my mind) The Name of the Doctor. However the implications of the cliff hanger were felt in other ways as fan sites went into speculation overdrive about who this new Doctor could be. At the time the only thing that many could agree on was the simple fact that the casting was perfect.
Fast forward a few months and into the prequel The Night of the Doctor. This gave us a slight backstory into how the War Doctor came to be. Interestingly it introduced him to us as a younger man, a clever plot device to show the impact the war had on the Doctor who generally doesn’t age. By the time we catch up with him again we are in The Day of the Doctor and the final day of the Time War. We meet a Doctor who has had enough of the fighting, a man who has lost his spark and his self-beliefs, but most notably a man who has no desire to live any longer.
The barn scene is a beautiful example of how Hurt is able to convey the emotional weight of the War Doctor, but is still able to present the whimsical charm that we have come to associate with the Doctor. The Doctor’s terrible actions on that day were something that had been well established within the show’s canon, so it was vital that the actual thing lived up to the expectations that come with that. Through a combination of Moffat’s script, Hurt’s acting and contribution of co-star Billie Piper, the end product was a poignant scene that will always hold a special place in my heart.
However before the event has a chance to play out there is a timey wimey interruption which takes the War Doctor out of this self-confined narrative and throws him in with two his successors. It is here that we get a further glance into how the Doctor actually views this incarnation of himself. Due to what viewers have seen, both in confinement of this story and the wider series, it is hard not to feel sympathetic for the War Doctor and call Ten and Eleven hypocritical. Thankfully the War Doctor handles the situation well giving as good as he gets in an exchange of almost banter between the three.
Interesting his relationships with others are presented as rather superficial with one exception. It is to Clara that he opens up the most, and she is able to read him well. I think this is one of the defining aspects of the character that he likes to surround himself with positive emotion, albeit that everything he does has an air of what I would call pseudo-reluctance. To me it seems like he wants to be an energetic fun loving Doctor like the rest, but he holds himself back for the sake of his image as the War Doctor, a serious role.
Until now I’ve only looked at the character in a rather superficial manner. I believe that the true beauty of the War Doctor lies in the metaphorical extensions of his character and actions. We see that the War Doctor is hard on himself, to the extent that he has decided to reject the name and promise he chose for himself. He no longer calls himself the Doctor, but it is evident that in his heart he still believes he is.
This is also where it is important to realise that the Doctor, no matter what incarnation, is always the same man. Therefore it is no surprise that the War Doctor’s apparent self-hatred is extended into his successors. This is where a small amount of psychology comes into things, if you have an aspect of yourself which you aren’t proud of, the normal human instinct in to suppress it. This is exactly what the Doctor does, and this inner conflict is then symbolised in the meeting of the various Doctor within The Day of the Doctor. In the real world, I find this to be akin to self-doubt, something I have suffered from myself in the past.
It’s not the metaphor itself which is the best thing about how the War Doctor is used, but the solution that is offered by Moffat’s narrative. As far as solutions go it is something so wonderfully simple and can be applied to a real world situation. All it took for the Doctor to get over his self-hatred was for the intervention of a friend to make him realise that he could help himself. That in itself is the thing I love the most about the War Doctor. He shows people that it is okay to ask for help, it is okay to listen to another perspective, and he shows us that just because you think something about yourself doesn’t mean that it is right.
By the end of The Day of the Doctor we see a completely different War Doctor than the man we were introduced to in The Name of the Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor’s words were reduced to mere words; they carried no meaning for me anymore. The War Doctor has had his own personal redemption and consequently was able to move forward and regenerate into new form symbolic of a fresh start for him.
Despite only gracing our screens for such a short period of time the War Doctor is one who made the largest impact on me and for that reason will always hold a place high on my favourite Doctors list. The character is impeccably written, brought to life perfectly and placed in a situation which allows his assets to be utilised to perfect. I am delighted that we got the opportunity to meet such a wonderful character and even more so that he was played by the wonderful John Hurt. So on this his birthday let’s raise a glass and toast the man himself for a job well done.
I feel it is only fitting to sign off this tribute with my favourite quote from the War Doctor. However before I do it is important to note that the lesser man and the great man can be the same person, again something exemplified by the Doctor himself. This is not a quote about how some people are better than others. The flames are your mistakes and the quote to me is about one thing and one thing only: being the best you can be.
“Great men are forged in fire; it is the privilege of lesser men to light the flames”
