Reviews in Time & Space: The Time of the Doctor

After a bombshell of a season finale and a triumphant 50th anniversary special, it's finally time to say goodbye to the Eleventh Doctor. Matt Smith has led the show since 2010 and seen it through seasons that have been met to varied reception, but his eccentric and childlike incarnation has certainly been a popular one. But the special thing about The Time of the Doctor is that not only that it covers Smith's regeneration into number 12 Peter Capaldi, but it also addresses something fans have wondered about since it was first mentioned back in the days of the classic series...what will happen when the Doctor reaches the end of his natural life with no regenerations left?

When a mysterious but untranslatable signal leads thousands of alien races to an unknown planet, the Doctor is first in line to take a look at what mystery it holds. Passing through the forcefield set up by the Church of the Papal Mainframe to keep all of the Doctor's enemies out, he finds one final crack and a message from his lost home of Galifrey - the oldest question, "Doctor who?" With the Church refusing to let Galifrey out for fear of starting another Time War and the Doctor refusing to lose his home again, so begins a stalemate that lasts centuries. As races fall and only the Doctor's deadliest enemy is left, time is counting down for the Time Lord's eleventh incarnation.

The planet is Trenzalore, and the clock is striking twelve.

Thought you'd seen the last of me? Muahaha

In some ways The Time of the Doctor is less a new episode and more a culmination of all the hanging plot threads that have been gathered since Matt Smith first stepped into the TARDIS four years ago. Massive questions such as what caused the TARDIS to explode back in season 5, what "silence will fall" means and just what are the Silents are finally answered - and to be perfectly honest more often that not these answers feel incredibly underwhelming. The Church of the Papal Mainframe or, as they later become, the Church of the Silence are the string that tie all these things together - headed by the enigmatic Tasha Lem whose unexplained history with the Doctor makes her come across as a poor River Song clone. And speaking as someone who greatly dislikes River Song, this is a fairly impressive achievement.

Meet your new eco-friendly Cybermen

As a Christmas special the Christmas theme has to be tied in there somewhere, and while the episode arguably does it in a wholly unnecessary fashion that doesn't mean it's not something that's done badly. Clara's rather awkward family Christmas dinner aside, the Doctor stays to defend Trenzalore he spends hundreds of years as sheriff of the snow covered town of Christmas, fixing toys and putting on Punch and Judy shows when he isn't battling Sontarans, Weeping Angels and even wooden Cybermen. Moffat's Comic Relief special The Curse of Fatal Death once referred to the Doctor as like Father Christmas and here it couldn't be any more apparent. Even with some dodgy old man make up (which gets progressively better the Doctor ages even further), the Eleventh Doctor shines throughout his swan song through a performance that very much feels like something only he could pull off.

So when will old man 11 team up with old man 10?

Since Matt Smith is officially number 11, that begs the question of how the character has suddenly used up 13 lives. Eager to please all parties the episode neatly explains this - we already heard about the War Doctor in The Day of the Doctor, and then its finally confirmed that David Tennant's clone Doctor from the season 4 finale makes 13. Sure it might be rushing things along a bit hastily, but the BBC probably don't want the thought looming over their head for another how many years and neither do the fans so it may as well be covered now. This was both casual and hardcore fans can get behind the premise of the Doctor meeting his final days, a premise that might actually have some gravity behind it everyone under the sun didn't already know Peter Capaldi was taking over. It's one thing to have it announced by the media, but the guy has already cameoed in the show for god's sake. It was always obvious that the Doctor wasn't going to die to the audience, so the important parts were how the character would react to it (one can only assume Doctors 1-11 + War weren't aware Capaldi's evil eyebrows were present at the saving of Galifrey) and just how the Doctor's new lease of life would be handled.

And the way it's handled was perhaps the most logical choice of all, a brand new regeneration cycle granted to him by the Time Lords. Predictable as it may be, it works because it means the show can continue on without breaking any of its already established rules. That being said, Galifrey's "return" was one of the more poorly handled aspects of the episode. Having them appear behind the crack ties things back to how the 11's tenure began, but to have them not physically appear and then swan off again without any real thought behind it (especially after so much of a fuss was made about it in the story) worries me that the Time Lords coming and going will become a recurring thing for the show from now on. Either bring them back or don't, another "last Dalek" scenario is not what the show needs. The regeneration process (or in this case, the de-aging process) is also something that needs to be toned down because things are getting a little ridiculous. Having 10's destroy the TARDIS interior was one thing, but 11's has the power to take down an entire Dalek invasion force.

One day, one day we might be a threat again!

Speaking of the Daleks, their inevitable crushing defeat aside the monsters are beginning to claw back a little of their former glory after the train wreck that was Asylum of the Daleks. In a swift move that episode's ridiculous ending was seemingly retconned, and the hateful pepper pots were back to screaming the Doctor's name and knowing all about his incoming demise. While the episode features some great moments from all the aliens appearing (although Sontarans being played for laughs is getting a bit too much now), the Daleks stand victorious amongst them are stand firm as the universe's biggest threat.

Dem eyebrows.

All that's really left to talk about is the exit itself, which can be best summed up in one word - dignified. Matt Smith's departure is in a similar vein to David Tennant's in The End of Time, but the over-sentimentality is thankfully toned down and we get a Doctor that is accepting of his fate rather than going out like a blubbering idiot. That's not to say the sequence doesn't try its damned hardest to pull at the heartstrings (the surprise vision of Amy springs to mind), but at least here everything feels right rather than unnecessarily forced. Matt Smith has always excelled at delivering epic speeches, and his final words about treasuring every moment he's spent in this body will certainly go down as one of his best. Then in a flash of light we have Peter Capaldi, ready to take the reins as a much older Doctor. First impressions? Well, 20 seconds isn't a whole lot to go on but anticipation is certainly running high...

All in all The Time of the Doctor isn't a perfect episode by any means but it is both a fitting and moving end for the Eleventh Doctor. His run may not have been the best, but the impression he's left on the show is one that will be fondly remembered by many for years to come. "Raggedy man, goodnight" indeed.