Doctor Who 2013 Christmas Special Review: The Time of the Doctor

What did you think of this episode?

• Sonic!
• Good!
• Bumpy-wumpy!
• Exterminate!

Matt Smith's era is probably more bumpy-wumpy than I remembered, it is littered with some of the best (and worst) episodes in the modern era of Doctor Who, but Matt is an amazing Time Lord, and his regeneration was the one that gave me the most feels. That final line - ouch!

Did The Time of the Doctor, as a whole, give him the send off he deserved? Some may argue it didn't, but I thought it was a great episode of Doctor Who. It was completely different to the huge, loud exit for David Tennant in The End of Time, but that is fine, Doctor Who is always different, that's why we love it right?

Where we got Wilfred and his moment in the church, complete with dramatic music, we got a more jokey pre-titles beginning. I guess, it was all very Eleventh Doctor.

@BBC

Ok, so another major difference from this era to the last is family, or fam if you will. Family was such a massive part of RTD's Doctor Who, we had Jackie, Pete, Mickey, followed by the Jones' and the Nobles. They were involved throughout the run, not every episode, but they were always there, present in the stories in some way or another. Moffat doesn't do that, and when families do show up, it makes it feel a bit weird.

"Hello the Oswalds! Hello! Merry Christmas! Hello! Hello! Hello handsome. Anyone for Twister?"

I have no connection to anyone in Clara's family, so the scenes with them were basically me hoping we could get back to Trenzalore ASAP. What is it with Moffat writing wet blokes as well? Clara's Dad was wet, Rory was wet, no matter how bad ass they tried to make him, and Danny (coming soon) was very wet.

Anyway, once all that is out the way, and we picture Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman naked, we get some good stuff! There is a scene that will forever get me excited when we find the crack and Handles translates the music. Matt Smith is so good here, and who knew saying Doctor Who over and over could be so thrilling. I love the music, and Murray Gold brings in some old bangers throughout this, and it is, of course, wonderful.

I loved getting answers to everything, but when I think about how quickly and efficiently they were wrapped up in this, I did wonder what half of series 6 was all about. Anyway, that is in the past, and we are now in the present, or future, wherever we are, the Doctor is getting old.

"They will be met with a war that will never end. The Time War will begin anew. You know that, Doctor."

I hear a lot of people take issue with Matt Smith playing his swansong as an old man, but I loved it. Again, it all felt very Eleventh Doctor to me. Defending a planet, having fun with the children, doing the drunk giraffe!

What happened to Matt Smith's voice in the Handles scene? I swear he went all cockney! Andles?

For once, there was no real twist to this. The Doctor got old and regenerated. A lot of times we think the Doctor or companion is gone, only for them to survive and then meet their fate. Not this time.

It is scary how long ago this episode aired. So much has happened since. For starters, the major resolution to this has been undone. We've had first female Doctors, our first Doctor's who weren't white, we've had ups and we've had downs.

We have also had a lot less Who since this point in time. At this point we had had 91 regular episodes and 13 specials. Afterwards, it's been 70 regular episodes and 14 specials, but this has been over 11 years, not 9. This is not a trend I like, and it's looking like we are getting even less after the upcoming series. FML!

Those concerns are for another blog though, so for now, I'd like to say Matt Smith you were a mighty fine Doctor. I believe he has been part of some of the great modern stories, and some of the ones I'd rather forget. Every episode though, he was brilliant. He got better as time went on as well.

This was a fantastic and emotional farewell, capped off with a sad, yet marvellous final speech, and a goodbye to Amy. I was a bit put off by an actor who looked nothing like Caitlin Blackwood, but I'll overlook that one.

The final line will forever kill me. Every. Single. Time.

"And now it’s time for one last bow, like all your other selves. Eleven’s hour is over now. The clock is striking Twelve’s.”

As much as I loved this, I am very excited to carry on, Peter Capaldi and peak are incoming (in my humble opinion of course).

Deep Breath Review

The Day of the Doctor Review

What did you think of this episode? Did you enjoy it? Did it make you cry? Let me know in the comments below.

RATING: Sonic!

BEST LINE: "I will always remember when the Doctor was me."

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