Doctor Who at 60: A Musical Celebration (2023 TV Special) User Reviews

Murray Gold is back!!!!!!!!

[Richard_McGhie · 8/10 · 11 November 2023]

Just watched (and/or listened to) Doctor Who at 60: A Musical Celebration for the first time as part of my little crusade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of what is, by far, my absolute favourite science-fiction television show of all time and I have to say that while the televised version does leave an awful lot to be desired and could very easily have benefitted from perhaps a dozen more interviews (e.g. With some of the actors who have played the Doctor or some of the various companions over the years) and also perhaps could have included a few more fan-favourite themes (e.g. Doomsday, Shepherd's Boy, the Daleks' theme from Series 1-4 and especially Clara Oswald's theme) and as much as it is of course awesome to hear most of the more familiar themes again (e.g. I am the Doctor, the Classic Medley, the Companions Suite, All the Strange, Strange Creatures and Vale Decem), the radio version is so much better and greatly improved my personal overall experience of this event.

Plus, it was awesome to hear the 2023 rendition of the main theme tune, as well as the new themes for the Fifteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday, those three themes were the big highlights of the event for me, by far.

In conclusion, really looking forward now to seeing what this new era of Doctor Who has in store now that the two GOATs, Russell T. Davies and Murray Gold, are back in the game!

My overall rating for Doctor Who at 60: A Musical Celebration: 8.5/10.

How wonderful is this?!

[if-i-dont-love-it-i-dont-swallow · 10/10 · 26 November 2023]

After 5 very sad years of Segun Akinola's bland and obnoxiously loud music, Murray Gold is back. Does he stick the landing?

Yes. Yes, of course he does. He's Murray Gold!!

It all opens with "I Am the Doctor", proving the version that incorporates "Words Win Wars" is by far the best. "All the Strange, Strange Creatures" had an intriguing new intro, "Abigail's Song" made me cry, "The Sheperd's Boy" is the best Who song ever and "Doomsday" might have its best rendition yet.

Segun Akinola deserves credit for his surprisingly entertaining (yet definitely vanilla) suite, and the classic composers knocked it out of the park!! But their songs are still small potatoes compared to Gold's stuff.

Now, to talk about the big stuff. The new iteration of the Who theme was beautiful and made me smile with glee - wow those piano notes are delicious! Gives me vibes from Eight's intro, which is my favorite vortex.

Then "The Life of Sunday". Oh how beautiful. I was a little afraid it would be reminiscent of other companions' themes, but instead we were treated with a truly wonderful waltz. I was lost in it - wow Gold is a genius. He's the John Williams of TV, the fact he doesn't get enough credit is tragic.

Then he hits the home run with "Fifteen". Pure energy, pure wonder. That theme has been stuck in my head for WEEKS - it might be my favorite Doctor theme, at least right up there with Eleven's. One of the coolest action themes. I haven't bopped my head to something that intense in a LONG WHILE; it felt good.

All the interviews were great, too. Especially Ellie's! Her bit was taken off from the broadcast version, which was sad, since she had such a big hand in RTD's return! Criminal, BBC. AND they cut off "The Sheperd's Boy"?!?! As sad as it is, if you want to experience this concert you GOTTA go for the BBC Sounds one. BBC's live one was disappointing in its edit.

Really I only have three complaints, and they're nitpicks at that. "The Long Song" loses its mysticism due to the absence of children's voices... I just don't think it works as well when sung by a choir of adults. "The Companions Suite" was sorely missing Clara's and Bill's themes. And I kinda wanted something on the spin-offs, especially some sort of suite for Torchwood. But these are nitpicks.

This is such a wonderful treat, and I am beyond ecstatic the soul of Doctor Who is back - that being Murray Gold of course. Pure wonder and magic for hours on end.