Over the weekend, housebound Whovians lifted their spirits by holding a global rewatch of Doctor Who‘s 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor.” Stars of the show – such as Osgood actress Ingrid Oliver – even got involved, live-tweeting their reactions. Best of all, though, was the arrival of a brand new introduction to the episode, starring (the voice of) Dan Starkey and written by ex-showrunner Steven Moffat.
The rewatch occurred at 7PM U.K. time this past Saturday, so Starkey dropped the special intro on his Twitter account shortly before it was time to hit play. The hilarious skit sees the actor reprise his beloved character Strax with the help of a pint-sized stuffed toy. Moffat clearly had fun getting topical, too, with the script making references to the most recent season of the series.
Yes! Here it is, courtesy of @StevenWMoffat and with the help of @McIntoshNeve, my esteemed colleague Strax entreats you to #SaveTheDay and join us in our viewing of The Day of The Doctor. Today at 7pm GMT, 3pm EST and all around the world! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/ljqFWM6QRE
— Dan Starkey (@StanDarkley) March 21, 2020
Starkey played Strax, the Sontaran butler to Silurian detective Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh, who has a vocal cameo in this skit), across the Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi eras. He hasn’t been seen since 2014, however, so it was a great treat to have him back – even in doll form. What’s more, this marks Moffat’s first piece of Doctor Who-related writing since the release of “The Day of the Doctor” novelization in 2018.
The rewatch was organized by the Doctor Who Magazine team, who’ve already got a follow-up event planned for this Thursday. To mark the 15th anniversary of “Rose”, the first episode of the modern series, fans will be getting together to view and live-tweet the installment. Writer Russell T. Davies has also revealed he’ll be sharing a new prequel to the story on social media.
We might not have new Doctor Who for a long while, but these worldwide re-watches of classic episodes should definitely soften the blow.
