Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor (2013)

This is Matt Smith's last episode directly as "The Doctor." For that I am glad, he was bad in his first episode and just as bad in this episode.The only good part was the ending with the regeneration.This episode is a jumbled mess.From the Doctor showing up with in clothing only Clara can see at her families Christmas dinner so they see him naked, she pushes him off to the kitchen explaining The Doctor is Swedish.When Clara finds out the turkey isn't done she asks The Doctor to use his sonic screwdriver but says it wasn't made for that. However The Doctor say someone with a time machine could........DUH........ Yet another example of bad acting and bad script writing.So the adventure begins after that is figured out the TARDIS console can also be an oven.The we go to a planet supposedly Gallifrey and a ship that is a church where you also have to be naked but again it is implied nudity and again we are really left guessing on many things.Only watch the last 7 minutes to see the lame regeneration.

The final adieu to Matt Smith, the Doctor of my thirties (with Tennant and Eccleston the Doctors of my twenties), and his work on the show will be remembered and his presence missed. He had some real delights during his three year tenure as one of the most beloved characters in the annals of television science fiction. While "The Day of the Time Lord" will probably be regarded as one of the very best Smith ever participated in, his work with Jenna Coleman after the wonderful Karen Gillan has certainly be treasured by me, and their final time together in "The Time of the Doctor" is a gift that kept giving all the way until Peter Cipaldi emerges as the next Doctor to the take the reins. Doctor Who? What is the Doctor's name? If he admits it aloud in the town where you cannot lie, Christmas (appropriate for the time of year when this episode premiered), on the planet Trenzalore, the Time Lords can return. However, all of the enemies against the Time Lords await around the orbit of this planet and the Doctor will protect his people if it means he must stay put and age 300 years. Jenna Coleman has really been a treasure as Clara Oswald, a masterful casting find that has been an emotional support system needed after we lost Gillan, quite a beloved Doctor companion in her own right. Coleman's spirited, vibrant, lifeforce has been a pleasure to see mature during her time with Smith as his companion. The casting over the years for this show has been so superb, it is no wonder the show has thrived successfully. Oswald realizes that the Doctor has a great obligation and tries to encourage him to allow her to be there alongside him but he loved her too much for that. Piper really set off the new era of friendly relations with the Doctor when cast with Eccleson as the companion. But with Gillan and Coleman, the camaraderie and bond between the Doctor and companions transformed significantly into something far more substantial. No longer was the Doctor haughtily holding himself in superior fashion to his associates: they were treated respectfully, protectively, and even lovingly. Smith really changed the way we looked at the Doctor: his translation of the character was wonderfully his own. His face and eyes, his energy and pizazz, and the comedic attack Smith devoted to his character to give him an enthusiastic quality so full of life was a joy to watch week after week. Following Tennant wasn't easy considering many (including me) believe he's one of the all-time greats to play the character, but Smith's approach to the character made him so lovable and huggable. To think, all of that and his Doctor faced one of the most turbulent eras in the history of the character: to help defend Gallifrey and save it even, not to mention protect his Time Lords and the name of the Doctor, Smith wasn't just involved with "dinosaurs on a space ship" or "Cyberman attempting to mind control him during a chess game". Certainly Smith was Buster Keaton to Tennant's Charlie Chaplin, but both were brilliant and had their place in history.Seeing an elderly Smith seemingly unable to no longer save innocents against his adversaries, his Doctor vulnerable and perhaps broken, it was refreshing to see the companion, Clara, come to the rescue. She appeals to the Time Lords to help the Doctor as the Daleks descent and potential victor appeared imminent. To be there as the Doctor was momentarily young again only to lose his face to Cipaldi was a fitting end for Oswald (as was her time with him as an old and tired man), and Gillan's brief return to greet him (in his memory) one final time was poignant. I was definitely teary-eyed. Saying goodbye to someone so fondly appreciated and enjoyed can be quite tough. Smith was able to bid us that, dwelling on how change is certain whether we want it or not. Cipaldi emerging and needing help to operate the Tardis with Clara stunned is a hoot! Protecting the planet was a "church", an order led by Tasha Lem (Orla Brady) and her military but even they cannot hold off those pesky Daleks forever. During his time on the planet, the Doctor befriended a kid in the town of Christmas which took us back to Amy Pond as a little girl. Also included is a Christmas gathering at Clara's home with her needing the Doctor's help as a "boyfriend" in front of her mom, pop, and gran.If I had a criticism is that the special effects can be variable and sketchy, but for Smith's final episode, the bad guys are in abundance. Ultimately, the decision to provide a "pal" in the guise of a Cyberman head he nicknames "Handles" for assistance (readings and warnings) actually leads to a rather sad moment when it finally dies due to malfunctions and age. Writer Moffet's use of time has always been rather demanding and not without being perplexing, expecting us to go with it regarding what happens to the Doctor, and this episode does the same. The split in reality allows for there to be a visual crack that could lead to the Time Lords arriving through it as a gateway.

I cannot believe so many people were disappointed with this episode. As someone who either wants to get into either writing or Critical reviews, I thought this episode was masterful. As a huge fan of Matt's seasons (except series 7 part 2) I was delighted to see all of the plot threads of series 5, 6 and 7 very well tied up. We discovered who blew up the TARDIS, who the Silence were, why everything from series 5 and 6 happened with the entire story arc also tying into Gallifrey being saved in The day of the doctor. It was also a great paradox revelation that the Silence, in attempting to stop the siege from happening, ended up causing it themselves, a very nice throwback to Day of the daleks. Matt Smith also owned the whole damn episode, giving the best performance of his entire acting career. As for plot holes in this episode, people complaining were obviously not paying enough attention. Why doesn't the doctor just evacuate all the citizens? Because Tasha was going to blow up the planet anyway, and obviously the doctor doesn't want an entire planet to be destroyed. Why doesn't the doctor just leave? Because if he leaves, they will still blow up the planet because they can't take the risk. Why were the Silence fighting alongside the doctor? Because they were priests that were still loyal to the papal mainframe. Also, it really does depress me how lots of reviewers on here are complaining about it "not being epic enough". Seriously, that's not reviewing, that's just being an idiot. As for Matt's regeneration, it was masterful. HANDS DOWN the best regeneration in the show's history. Matt's final lines were beautiful and managed to stay true to the character of the doctor. And as for his quick change into Capaldi? I loved it. I can't understand all the people who have complained about it being too fast (obviously people who have never watched classic who). One of my favourite YouTubers, Who addicts reviews, put it perfectly when they said "Can you honestly imagine Matt's face morphing into Capaldi's? Also, the quick change was brilliant it gave Capaldi's first appearance more impact". That perfectly sums up my thoughts on the regeneration. By the way, I also have to mention the death of Handles. That is a scene that makes me cry (and I almost never cry at TV) every time I watch it, thanks to a combination of brilliant writing and brilliant acting by Smith. I also found the doctor ageing to death on Trenzalore very tragic and the fact he was about to end his life facing his greatest enemies (The Daleks) was very fitting. I also thoroughly enjoyed the episode. Do I have any criticisms about the episode? Well, Tasha Lem was annoying and was a lazy re-hash of River Song and the episode was a little bit rushed. That's it. Those are the only criticisms I have. Overall, I thought this was a very fitting send-off to Smith and I thought it was even BETTER than Day of the doctor. So yes, 10/10. One of my favourite episodes.

On the whole it was OK.It never stood a chance of eclipsing The End Of Time and sadly the writing again let the episode down. Large parts of it felt really stretched like most of Moffat's episodes. Series Five in particular seemed a struggle just to get to forty minutes an episode. The fact that the show maintains such a high profile is simply down to the cast. For the most part the cast have had little to work with but they've always shown they're more than capable. I particularly liked Orla Brady as Tasha Lem, she brought a nice element of classy flirtatiousness to the role and like most passing allies she showed an outstanding loyalty to our Time lord.Jenna Coleman, who was not a pleasing appointment for me, was again not really given any chance to prove me wrong and that she can be a strong companion. Despite the fact that she has been awarded such a pivotal role throughout all of Who history, it has never really been explored properly. Matt Smith again showed that he has the ability to carry the show and keep you focused when the story seems to be slipping away which is all too frequently in my opinion. He had his work cut out here as there were long periods were the story stalled and it was left to him to engage the audience single handedly.On first viewing I felt the regeneration to be all a bit brief but I didn't take into account the need to use the first part of the sequence to annihilate his attackers so it was a productive use of the process. Thinking back to ten's regeneration he used time whilst his regeneration started to take a trip down memory lane to say goodbye to his companions. Thankfully Smith didn't do this, though it would have been nice to see Rory, maybe even River. But if we'd have had that we'd have got Craig too and we don't need any more James Corden on TV. The morph did seem a bit swift which gives ten's actual regeneration morph points over Smith's but having said that eleven's was much more pivotal and destructive than any before.On the whole The Time of The Doctor wasn't displeasing but it wasn't great either.The writing must improve. Capaldi is in now and I have high hopes for what is to come.