Return of the Mc was just reward

What an absolute joy it was to see Paul McGann step back onto our screens for The Night of the Doctor. A great entrance too ('I'm a Doctor. But not the one you were expecting'). It may have been a little anniversary treat for the fans but it also neatly squared off McGann's rather strange 'era' and was more than deserved for his superb showing in the TV Movie.

I know we've allowed books and audios here nice the Eighth Doctor's adventures are largely played out 'off screen' but I'm still plumping for the TV Movie.

Here's why: You can say what you like about the show as a whole (and it undoubtedly failed in its long term aim to spark a series) but the new Doctor himself is brilliant.

McGann sets the tone wonderfully for a new incarnation as an adventuring English gent, capturing all of the spirit of the character with just enough originality to make it fresh, fun and intriguing.

Put simply, if this - and he - was dreadful then the books, audios etc might well have carried on with the 'classic Whos' and ignored him.

I've always liked Big Finish but I've also always felt that little bit of an extra sense of excitement when it's a McGann tale - it feels like instead of filling in blanks we're treading brand new ground. How lucky too that PM's voice is so rich and works so well in bringing audio adventures to life...

But, back to the story, and it also manages to - redesign the TARDIS interior in a way that surely inspired the later reboots, show how the Doctor can work as a modern television character and tick along at a fair pace action wise. In short, it's actually a really good opener for this Doctor, far better than the first stories of Doctors 5, 6 and 7. It also looks great.

It's just a shame that it had to 'chase America'. The irony is that the show seems to have gone back to looking across the Pond (the show not Amy and Rory!) now. Rather than going over there and matching what American TV shows do, the series is now much more about being 'that quirky old British show'. That seems to have been more successful way of going about it - albeit with many nods and concessions to the US of A these days...

I also enjoyed the Eight Doctors and War of the Daleks of the early books and of the audios am particularly fond of the 1st two series of Chaley stories, Dark Eyes, Max Warp (for fun), Blood of the Daleks and the brilliant Book of Kells. 

Special mention must go to Sheridan Smith's Lucie Milller too. A kind of a cross between Rose and Donna, Lucie is an absolute treat of a modern Who companion. And, thanks to The Night of the Doctor, hers and the rest of the ongoing audio tales are all canon now! (It even seems right that the Dark Eyes Doctor is not far from the one we saw on screen too)