Honestly... we got more of the story of how the (Not-)Doctor was to end the Time War, as well as what happened when he [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS - R.S.], but we didn't actually learn that much about the war itself that we didn't know already.

Don't get me wrong- I loved Day of The Doctor. But as much as the Time War has been dangled in front of us for so long, I've wanted to see more of the conflict itself. Granted, some of the events leading to the war or arguably part of it were played out in the original series- going back to Genesis of The Daleks, when the Doctor was sent back to the Daleks' beginnings to eliminate or cripple them... for which they never quite forgave the Time Lords. And then there are the assorted other media that dive into things- but the books, comics, and audio adventures technically aren't canon. But still. When it became clear that they were going to be getting into the Time War for this, I was hoping to see something more of those final battles.

Perhaps a glimpse of the Nightmare Child. Perhaps the Daleks taking control of the Cruciform, with Derek Jacobi's Master watching in terror before fleeing to the very end of the universe to hide. Maybe Rassilon arguing with the (Not-)Doctor that the Ultimate Sanction was the only way, before the latter finally realized that fighting wasn't enough- he had to seize The Moment and put a stop to all this. The Tenth (or at least, he was Tenth once...) Doctor spoke more than once about of some really scary-sounding stuff. Those things already mentioned, plus the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties and the Could've Been King with his Army of Meanwhiles and Neverweres. Seeing some- any- of that would give one really great sense of what drove a man who once couldn't bring himself to destroy the Daleks before they began... to commit double genocide, destroying his own people to eliminate them.

You could argue that these things wouldn't have been necessary to the story as presented... perhaps not. But I think they would have enhanced it. At the very least, showing the hell that Gallifrey had supposedly become^* would have provided that clear motivation... then made the decision to [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS - R.S.] that much more powerful at the end.

Ah well. Maybe someday. Just not on The Day of The Doctor.

^*Yes, I know we saw some scenes from the battle of Aracadia. But gunfights, rubble, and refugees do not the motivation for a Doctor's Genocide make...

Edited at 2013-11-26 07:03 am (UTC)