Doctor Perseus Reviews: "The Time of the Doctor" *SPOILERS* · 10:38pm Dec 26th, 2013
In this year's Doctor Who Christmas special, the Doctor along with a slew of aliens from all across time and space descend upon a town called Christmas on the planet Trenzalore where a mysterious signal is calling out. As Clara is constantly sent back and forth between Trenzalore and an awkward Christmas dinner with her family and old friend of the Doctor's, Tasha Lem, declares war on him, the Doctor enters a bitter struggle to save the lives of those in Christmas. But the time has come for the Eleventh Doctor to take one last bow. Silence will fall, the clock will strike twelve, and a change will come...
Merry belated Christmas everyone and everypony! I know this review is a day late but I wanted to take time to take everything in from this episode so that I could give my thoughts on it properly (as well as give myself time to fully realize the fact that Matt Smith has left). So...what did I think of Matt Smith's swansong? I liked it but I have a few issues with it.
Let's start off with what I didn't like about this special so that I can save the good, meaty stuff for last. Firstly, the pacing of the episode is all over the place. There are parts of it where everything moves smoothly and organically but then there are parts where everything seems to shoot past like a machine gun bullet. I mean one moment we're seeing the Doctor sending Clara away and greeting the people of Christmas and a moment later we're shot through 300 years of time and are confronted by an elderly Eleventh Doctor with a cane. It was a swift and sudden change that didn't really move smoothly. The special also crams so many plot elements and threads into its 60 minute run time that it makes me wish this episode had either been made 75 minutes like The Day of the Doctor or made into a two-parter like The End of Time. Speaking of plot threads, while I enjoyed getting the answers to most of the major recurring plot threads of Matt's era (more on that later) some of them felt like they were dropped as soon as they were brought up. Again, this is due to the rushed feel of the special.
The dinner scenes with Clara and her family also felt unnecessary and awkward. Though I'll admit that I liked some of the dialogue between Clara and her grandmother and I have a feeling that "awkward" was the tone they were going for in relation to the dinner scenes. Finally, I found myself disappointed in seeing that the Daleks seemed to take up the Big Bad role towards the end, completely pushing the other big villains off to the side. Nothing against the Daleks but they've been the Big Bad so many times. I was just hoping to see the Silence or the Cybermen take the spot during this special instead of them. I mean, the Daleks already got a spot in The Day of the Doctor. Did they really need to be made into the Big Bad for Smith's swansong as well? I'll admit that this is mostly just a nitpick but the reason it annoys me is because the other "Big Bads" got overshadowed by the Daleks towards the end. The Weeping Angels only got a couple scenes, the Cybermen seemed to drop off towards the middle of the episode, and the Silence just seemed to fade away. Granted I liked the further info we got about the Silence (more on that later) but I wished they had played a slightly bigger role. Okay, with all that out of the way, let's move on to what I liked.
This episode acts as a wonderful tribute to Matt Smith's era. From the children of Christmas making drawings of him and his past adventures to Smith's final moments, everything feels like a loving dedication to this brilliant incarnation of the Doctor. As I stated earlier, I was happy to finally see most of the major Eleventh Doctor plot threads drawn to close. It was satisfying to finally learn the secret behind the TARDIS exploding back in Series 5 as well as the true meaning behind the cracks. In extension to the cracks, I was very happy to learn that it was in fact the crack that the Doctor had seen in his room in The God Complex. It made a lot of sense and, upon thinking about it, it really couldn't have been anything else for the Eleventh Doctor. I also enjoyed the references to River Song and Madame Kovarian.
Going back to the cracks, it was certainly an interesting twist to learn that it was being made by the Time Lords. It was nice to see the plot threads from The Day of the Doctor continuing on into this episode thanks to that. It was thanks to the Time Lords beyond the crack that the Doctor gained a new regeneration cycle. Speaking of that, I found the solution to the regeneration crisis to be one of the most thoroughly thought out and satisfying deus ex machinas I've seen in quite some time. I enjoyed the character of Handles, the Cyberman head the Doctor carried around, and his "death" scene was executed quite well. The episode also had three very creepy scenes which I enjoyed. The first was Clara's first encounter with the Silence in Tasha Lem's ship. The second involved the Doctor and Clara encountering the Weeping Angels in the snowy forest. Even though the Angels didn't show up that much in this special, they were satisfyingly creepy during all of their appearances and this scene was the pinnacle of it. The third creepy scene was when the Doctor and Clara returned to Tasha Lem's ship to discover that she and her soldiers had been killed and turned into Dalek puppets. The whole concept of the Dalek puppets creeps me out. In fact, the Dalek puppets frighten me more than the Daleks themselves. That said, it was great to see the Doctor insult Tasha back to her senses and allow her to gain control of her body again. This reminds me of what Oswin Oswald said back in Asylum of the Daleks about when Daleks convert humans they turn love into hate. So if the process causes love to be turned into hate, in the scene we saw was the Doctor forcing Tasha to turn hate into love? Speaking of Tasha Lem, Orla Brady gave a really good performance as her and her chemistry with Matt Smith was quite entertaining. The episode also had some pretty funny moments, especially towards the beginning. From Clara calling the Doctor to have him pretend to be her boyfriend to the Doctor casually greeting Clara in the TARDIS while naked to the turkey scene, there were definitely a few comedic moments to enjoy.
Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman gave absolutely terrific performances in this episode. Clara has really started to grow as a character and the strength and emotion she presented in this episode was great. I'm definitely interested in seeing what the future holds for her. Smith has definitely decided to go out on a high note because he pulled out all the stops. He was funny, he was dark, he was caring, he was tormented, he was simply everything the Eleventh Doctor was and he allowed his character to go out with grace. I must also say that the makeup used to make Matt Smith age up was excellent and I took a liking to his odd William Hartnell-esque look towards the end. I remember lots of people talking about how they hoped the Eleventh Doctor went out with a bang and he certainly did...sorta. I find it funny how Smith's regeneration seems to be the opposite of Tennant's. While Tennant's started out slow and ended with a bang, Smith's started with a bang and ended in the simple blink of an eye.
I guess I better go ahead and talk about it now. The regeneration scene. What can I say? It was perfect. I loved the buildup to it with the Doctor gaining a new set of regenerations and releasing energy to destroy the Daleks and, unintentionally, the Christmas clock tower. It was also an interesting tease when Clara entered the TARDIS and we only saw the Doctor's feet. For a moment I thought we were going to see Peter Capaldi, but we were given a few more minutes with the young Eleventh Doctor we all know and love (which I'm not complaining about because I was honestly a bit disappointed in the thought of last seeing the Eleventh Doctor as an old man). This tease sort of reminded me of the earlier tease in the episode where I almost thought Clara was going to reveal the Doctor's real name to the Time Lords (which means that she must remember all of her lost memories from Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS). I was pleasantly surprised to see the thread from The Name of the Doctor continuing here with Clara basically telling the Time Lords that all they need to know is that he's the Doctor. His real name is insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, back to the regeneration scene. Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman truly reached the peak of their great performances for this episode in this scene. Through his words, Matt Smith somberly yet hopefully expressed his feelings about his life in his now dying incarnation and his readiness for moving on into the next. His last words as the Eleventh Doctor were so perfect and brilliantly executed that it was there where I began to tear up.
I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me.
Originally, I (like most others) expected the Eleventh Doctor's last word to be Geronimo. Surprisingly enough, I don't think Smith's Doctor says Geronimo once throughout the entire duration of his swansong. A bit weird considering how Eccleston got to say Fantastic and Tennant got to say Allons-y in their respective swansongs. Meanwhile, Coleman was giving a great performance during this scene with hardly uttering a word. The pure sorrow etched into her face made my heart hurt. She realized that her Doctor was going away and there was nothing she could do about it. This was the last time she would ever see the Doctor with this face. I remember reading an interview with Coleman and her talking about how her tears during the regeneration scene were genuine due to Smith's performance.
I've already read a few reviews for this episode and some of the commentators on said reviews complained about how Murray Gold didn't provide a new song for the regeneration scene and they just went with the song "Infinite Potential" from The Rings of Akhaten.
Personally, I have no problems with this because this soundtrack acted as the perfect music to play during this scene. It represents the uncertainty and infinite potential (see what I did there?) regarding the Doctor's future. And, of course, I have to mention THAT CAMEO!
THE FEELS! I loved the inclusion of Amy Pond giving one last goodbye to both the Doctor and the audience. The Doctor's hallucination of her and the discarding of his bow tie acted as representations of him basically saying that he's satisfied with the life he's lived as the Eleventh Doctor and now it's time to move on, despite what Clara and the audience may prefer. Once again, much like when Tennant said "I don't want to go.", we have a character speaking for the audience: Clara when she says "No, no! Please don't change."
Finally, let's talk about Peter Capaldi. Some people have complained about how the change between Smith and Capaldi was too quick. And, I can agree to an extent. It definitely caught me off guard when I first saw it. The Eleventh Doctor gave us and Clara one last, quick smile of consolation and then BAM! Peter Capaldi, everybody! I have a feeling that a new "Suddenly, CAPALDI" meme is going to start up soon. However, after thinking about it, I think it was a fitting change. I think it was an interesting change from the whole "hold on exploding face and hands" effect that we've seen with the previous regenerations. Besides, we technically already got that with the elderly Eleventh Doctor gaining his new regeneration cycle and destroying the Dalek fleet. A quick shift makes sense after following up on that, to me anyway. Speaking of Capaldi, I was both satisfied and disappointed with his appearance. Satisfied because he definitely looks like he's going to be a fun and interesting Doctor and I'm already picturing him as the Doctor thanks to his first scene and lines ("Kidneys! I've got new kidneys! I don't like the color."). Disappointed because it was so short! I mean, Smith got at least a minute or so, if I remember correctly, at the end of The End of Time. I don't even think Capaldi got that. It only annoys me more when you realize that Series 8 isn't scheduled to start until around August so these few seconds of Capaldi are all we're gonna get until a Series 8 trailer comes out in God knows how long from now. But, still, I enjoyed Capaldi's introduction and it was as entertaining and comical as Smith's departure was fulfilling and heartbreaking.
Overall, The Time of the Doctor had some great moments and some fantastic performances. It has a few problems that prevent it from being as good as it could have been (in fact it's my least favorite out of what I've deemed "Matt Smith's Swangsong Trilogy") and it's probably not one of my favorite episodes from Smith's era; but it still acts as a wonderful tribute to the Eleventh Doctor, provides satisfying answers to questions presented in this era, and gives a heartbreaking and fitting farewell to Matt Smith's Doctor. Farewell, Matt Smith. We will never forget you. And hello, Peter Capaldi! I anxiously await to see what you and Jenna Coleman have in store for us in Series 8!
I'm looking forward to see Clara's adjustment to Twelve, and how she deals with how Eleven is no more, and Twelve is gonna be here for awhile.
Aw, poor Clara. She and The Doctor are my BROTP.
. Hopefully he'll be like McCoy (kind but dark), but be better excecuted.
I like Capladi's accent
I'm just curious to see if he got one extra regeneration or if he got twelve new ones since I don't think it was very clear which one the Time Lords gave him.
1651272
It was stated that he got a whole new regeneration cycle so that's twelve new regenerations. Well...he just used one to turn into Capaldi so that means there's eleven left.
Deus ex machinas can be thoroughly thought out and satisfying.
I say you can never have too many Daleks. But I'm just a Dalek guy. I thought it was horrifyingly awesome to see the Daleks take over the Silence.
I've never had too much of a problem with the Church in Doctor Who before but here I thought some of their imagery bordered on the sacrilegious.
I also thought the shift from 11 to 12 was too sudden as well, but I like how you pointed out how overall it was opposite of 10's regeneration. I thought it was awesomely appropriate that Amy Pond, the first face 11's face ever saw, showed up even as a hallucination and that 11 discarded his bow tie. I also liked how that 11 aged looked a lot like the very 1st Doctor. He ended his first 50 years and 12 regenerations just as he began them.
And so now begins the first a new set of 12 regenerations. Doctor Who is going to last forever! I look forward to the 100th Anniversary special. But in the mean time, I'm excited to see what Capaldi as the 12th Doctor will bring to the table.
1651309 I missed that somehow.
There is one detail that makes me wonder... what of Capaldi's (seemingly) loss of memory? I think I recall Eleven having something like that too with the TARDIS being in the middle of crashing.
I think (possibly) Capaldi's Doctor might have some memory problems. Eleven even said he would never forget anything from his last life! Of course, this is just some head cannon...
1652093
I think the memory loss is mostly due to post-regeneration trauma. Although, this could act as a nice throwback to the beginnings of the series with the Doctor not knowing where the TARDIS is going to take him and Clara next (as the First Doctor didn't really know how to fly the TARDIS); and the first few episodes of Series 8 could follow this trend with the Doctor regaining his memories of flying the TARDIS gradually throughout the episodes as he and Clara visit several random places.