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Episode Reviews

Doctor Who – The Time of the Doctor – Review

doctorwho-christmas2013 The Time of the Doctor has ended.

After 12 (11 1/2?) regenerations, we say goodbye to Matt Smith, arguably one of the favorite incarnations of the Doctor. It has been quite the fun journey full of monsters, romance, fezzes, and custard, but like the clock itself, the Doctor’s twelfth hour must end. Fortunately, like a clock, we are fitted with a fun little plot twist that resets the Doctor anew for another twelve cycles!

To us, it was mere seasons, but to our adventurers, it was decades, or rather centuries, of adventures. And with each adventure, we saw the 11th Doctor grow older, not only mentally, but physically as well. It was unique to see how, unlike past Doctors with their relatively short life expectancy, the 11th Doctor actually grew to old age to the point where his regeneration was not a result of some heroic sacrifice, but rather the end of a life span. Now of course, he used this regeneration as a way to once again defeat the Daleks that threatened him, but it was not a violent end to this life that we’ve come to expect from the Doctor.

In the end, the 11th Doctor had quite the adventure. Over the span of I believe 400 years, he discovered custard and fish sticks, took on a married couple for decades of adventures together, got married to said couple’s daughter, met his ship’s avatar, and helped his own troubled regenerated self atone for his part in the destruction, and salvation, of Gallifrey. He defeated the Church of the Silence, created the Silence, and destroyed the Great Intelligence for good.

When Matt Smith first came on the scene, many were skeptical at such a young actor taking over the reigns form Tennant. Who was this lanky kid with the huge hair? Quickly, though, fans came to adore him and his fiery companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillian). It was his childlike wonder and nature that cemented him in the minds of the viewer, and as the seasons passed, we all grew up with him, though the good times and the dark times.

Goodbye Matt Smith. You will be greatly missed.

Other Observations

  • The Doctor and Clara all naked running around with holographic clothes for the viewer’s benefit.
  • A whole town called Christmas would be tiring to live in for hundreds of years.
  • The Silence, a creation of the Doctor’s own doing, is now defeated, with a seemingly fixed point in time changed.
  • Will we find more time scars where the Time Lords could try to sneak though again?
  • What will the next set of out of order adventures be with River Song?
  • We never saw Captain Jack and Matt Smith together, though it was probably for the best as he was a better match with David Tennant.
  • Why didn’t the Daleks just blast him out of the tower if they knew he couldn’t regenerate again?

By Kien Tran

Based in Dallas, Texas, Kien Tran is an avid television enthusiast. After spending hundreds of hours wasting away on a couch, he decided to actually do something creative with his hobby and created this very blog.

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