Doctor Who (TV Series) The Time of the Doctor (2013) User Reviews

Not enough time

[rubenvanbergen · 8/10 · 27 December 2013]

As others have pointed out, the main problem with The Time of the Doctor is that it is too short. Or perhaps Moffat had too much to put in it. Either way, it leads to an episode with a few frayed ends where it has been stretched too thin. The whole family Christmas dinner, for starters, is basically pointless. What should have been no more than an establishing shot, a starting point for the story, is allotted too much screen time, the loss of which is only compounded in other places. For example, Mother Superious (Tasha) being Dalekified and then un-Dalekified in the space of a minute. That's no way to put us on the edge of our seats, Moffat, you have to build up the tension, then release it, not pop the balloon while you're still blowing it up.

Anyway, that can all be forgiven, which I can't say of my main objection: the Time Lords suddenly going all weak in the knees, giving the Doctor a new regeneration cycle and (apparently) just giving up the entire plan of trying to bring back Gallifrey. If that wasn't important, then why go to all the trouble? And hasn't it been established (in The End of Time) that the Time Lords are basically evil now and would rather destroy the universe than remain stuck in the Time Lock? So now we are to believe that all it took was a pretty girl saying "please" and that's that? Suddenly they all love the Doctor, and are okay with not doing the whole "getting back into the universe"-thing if it means helping him out with his bad back? Sorry, but no. I don't buy it.

That is, I don't buy the motivation. I accept that it happened. I accept that the Doctor was granted a new regeneration cycle and used it to defeat the Daleks and that it set up an excellent regeneration scene. I also feel that given the number of loose ends that needed to be tied up, we can take this in our stride and just be happy that it isn't Damon Lindelof who's running the show. At least we were given some fairly decent answers and everything mostly came together. I'm sure that had this story been given half an hour more to reach it full potential, it would have done so, and so I'm just going to imagine that it did. The canon stands, and I'm happy to fill in the gaps myself. But please, BBC & Steven Moffat, next time, take your time.

Maybe it was all one plan

[Erichnathanbennett · 8/10 · 26 December 2013]

OK so I will agree with some people that this special was cheesy and overly complicated. I can only imagine Steven moffat explaining the concepts and plots to the crew and cast and everyone looking at each other saying huh. But I've always suspected that Steven moffat wasn't making this up as he goes along. I think that going all the way back to silence in the library he had already written a general outline of the crack in the wall, the silence assassinating the doctor, river song being Amy ponds daughter, Amy and rory dying, the doctor meeting Clara, Clara being the impossible girl, the name of the doctor, and the doctor saving galifrey instead of destroying it. First of all in the episode lets kill Hitler the doctor is talking to hologram Amy and says "so I just regenerate." This however does not necessarily indicate a contradict. Hologram Amy said "regeneration has been disabled." Maybe she didn't mean that the poison disabled his regeneration but that because he is the twelfth regeneration and did not know that he couldn't regenerate again. Also in the episode in the space hotel where you find your worst fears the doctor sees what he fears most but we don't see it. Now most people assumed that it was losing Amy pond but I think that moffat always planned that the crack in the wall was his worst fear. Also when the doctor talks to Dorians head Dorian says "on the fields of trensalore where no living creature can lie a question will be asked." Everyone thought that was the episode the name of the doctor but he said the fields of trensalore not the ashes. However there are things that I was in satisfied with like he stays young from age 900- 1200 and then from 1200-unknown he starts to age, even though gallifrey is stuck in a single moment they can still send out a message meaning they aren't frozen, what the doctor "ate" I think time energy or something caused him to shoot and destroy the daleks, that when the doctor did regenerate he didn't "explode like the last times, and even though we only saw a peter calividi for a minute he showed a similar personality as Matt smith. Overall I recommend watching it twice and it's better the second time 7 stars

Matt finish

[Lejink · 7/10 · 27 December 2013]

And so Matt Smith's time as the Doctor ends, the sonic screwdriver passed on to the much older Peter Capaldi which should make for an interesting change after Smith and his immediate predecessor David Tennant put a more youthful slant on the Doc.

Like the recent 50th anniversary celebratory episode "The Day of the Doctor", Steven Moffat fills this particular pie with many ingredients, perhaps too many at times, but in the end the story was still gripping, finishing up with the much anticipated, if rather sudden, regeneration where Capaldi's first appearance begins with a rather poor line ("What colour are my kidneys?") which I would hope isn't indicative of what is to follow.

Again Moffat reaches back this time into the show's more recent lore which he himself has supervised, to introduce the plot elements here, principally the crack in the universe, intriguingly suggesting the return of the Time Lords. There he meets Colonel Meme and her band of intergalactic police acting as the conduit to Trenzilore where only the Doctor can gain entry and where, as a sort of space-age Wyatt Earp, sees off the would-be interlopers down the years. Eventually, inevitably, it's the Daleks who break through with an invasion force and set up one final showdown for this Doctor which will change him forever.

The episode has its oddities, none more than the Doctor's literal attachment to a disembodied Cyber-head called Handles, Clara's (to me, inexplicable) encounters with The Silence, and for the first time, we see a Doctor physically ageing as his supposedly final regeneration nears its end.

There's some typically cheeky Moffat humour throughout, particularly concerning hologram clothing, but it ends as it must with Smith's Doctor triumphing even as he expires, given a grand "Thank You everybody" speech and even a touching reunion with Amy Pond, but surprisingly not with Rory or River Song.

I have enjoyed Matt Smith's tenure at the TARDIS, but feel that after the youthful but different eccentricities of both his and Tennent's reigns, a more mature, perhaps spikier Doctor could make for a refreshing change of pace and it will be interesting to see how Clara moves on from her clearly physical attraction for the younger Doctor to an older man.

Lucky thirteen, anyone?

Under-appreciated

[jgm0228 · 10/10 · 10 January 2015]

Matt Smith's regeneration episode was incredibly well handled. It is horrible that so many people hate on it. Moffet's writing was getting extremely dark and depressing, which is how he writes, but it began to get extreme in season 7. This episode in my opinion is more balanced. It blends darkness with a good amount of comedy and action, which is a blend I didn't expect. Moffat was continually portraying Matt Smith as getting old and worn out during the season, which people complained about, but I feel that was a good twist, a weary doctor who has seen to much and it has scarred his youthful face, and it ages him mentally, and in this epic conclusion he ages physically as he is forced over years to fight his worst enemies. It is the ultimate irony, to not spend your last years with loved ones or friends, but to spend your time slowly dining of old age fighting your worst enemies. Matt Smiths Acting was brilliant and Clara showed the scared and frightened girl, showing vulnerability, all wrapping together with a dramatic regeneration scene which had people complaining, but it really allowed him to really cut deep with his death but still have time in between to say memorable, very well written, last words, instead of a brisk, you were fantastic, or, I don't want to go, this controversial way of regeneration allows his enemies to share in the drama of the regeneration, and it is actually written in a way that it is used to defeat his enemies, not done before. And the final change is interesting as 11's spontaneous and inconsistent life ends with a fast bang, just as it should be.

Disappointing? You are joking

[r-lythgoe · 10/10 · 12 May 2014]

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.

Time Lord Overtime...

[Xstal · 9/10 · 27 December 2021]

The curtain comes down and descends. Collecting together loose ends. Though it takes quite a while. To transcend and resile. As the life of a Time Lord extends.

no spoilers just what i thought

[jongowers-jg · 10/10 · 25 December 2013]

The time of the doctor. A well written and acted episode one of Matt Smith's best. He really got into the role and was the doctor down right down to very end. All those emotions put into it beautifully done. Just one thing I was disappointed over was the actual regeneration it wasn't showy enough not like tennants was into smith where you saw his face change and he came out of the regeneration screaming. It just a little flash and boom capaldi. But apart from that I was happy with the whole episode how it wrapped every thing up and how the storyline of silence will fall all the way through Matt smiths reign as the doctor. Matt smith will be missed as I thought he was the best. Hopefully peter capaldi can do the doctor justice..... We will see

Not as good as the day of the doctor, but still satisfactory

[santannakiller · 8/10 · 25 December 2013]

After watching "the time of the doctor" I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. It had a lot of moments that reminded me of a previous episode, "the wedding of river song", because in this year's Christmas special the storyline feels like a big fun mess, almost as if all of Steven Moffat's jokes and story arcs had been placed in only one episode. However, I do not agree with those saying this was a terrible episode, primarily duo to the fact that Matt Smith's and Jenna Coleman's performances were great! Some of the common complaints that I have been seeing include *spoilers* : "How the hell can the doctor regenerate again by just breaking rules?!", simple, a time lord may be awarded a new cycle of regenerations by the High Council of Gallifrey, as seen on the episode "the five doctors", where the said council offers the Master such benefit in exchange for his help. Another complaint was that "the regeneration scene was too quick, it had no drama!", I would beg to differ with that statement, the dialogue on that particular moment was stupendous! Also, the apparent brevity of the regeneration could be justified by the fact that it was the first of the cycle, and therefore, unstable. *spoilers* All in all, this was a proper farewell to Matt Smith's doctor, even though the episode tried to tell a story too big for the 60 minute time frame. The final scene with Peter Capaldi filled me with hope and excitement, I hope that his doctor lives up to my expectations.

A fitting end for a fitting Doctor.

[thunluckyone · 10/10 · 29 December 2013]

This has become one of the most loved/hated episodes under Matt Smith. And i myself LOVED almost every minute of it (That 'lets kill the Daelks'bit as too much for me. But the way the episode started followed, the way Matt Smith carried through the craziness and that tear jerking ending made me list this as a good one.

Now, as i have just mentioned, this episode gets a little bit crazy. They attempted to wrap up numerous plots in one fell swoop and it gets out of hand on numerous occasions. Yes, this feels rushed and yes it could and should have been done as two part special. But this is Doctor Who we are talking about.

I, as a newer Who fan who became a fan at the start of Matt Smiths turn, was very happy with this episode. I think it may take a couple watches to get everything but it is worth the watch.

Christmas Special 2013: Forgets the small moments and is mostly an uninvolving mishmash despite some good aspects (SPOILERS)

[bob the moo · 28 December 2013]

OK so on one hand the Christmas Special of any television show is not going to be the place to come with very high standards and hopes – of course TV can be good over the holidays, but generally it is as bloated and filled with excess as our food. The audience are there but not up to much and as a result you tend not to get the best showing up on the screens – just the biggest; and not too much comes bigger than this show at the moment on the BBC. This Christmas Special is not just that though, it is also the handover from Smith to Capaldi and as such more of a big deal.

The plot here tries to set that up with a very big story involving every villain you've seen and even the rift in time and a former companion showing up. The stakes are high with an aging Doctor stuck in a standoff, essentially the only thing preventing another time war, however at the same time it is Christmas so we have turkey being cooked, paper hats and so on. The two sit uncomfortably together because it feels like the plot should be bigger or the Christmas triviality should be the focus, but not both. The "bigger plot" is the one that is main one in the end and this has plenty of noise and explosions but no heart, so it sort of distracts but doesn't engage – it certainly doesn't convince as something going on for hundreds of years at great cost. The problem for me (besides not really caring) was that it is all noise and empty movement, there are very few smaller moments and those that there are seem so isolated and cutoff from everything else that one wonders if they got left in the edit by mistake. So a small moment as the Doctor loses an old friend (albeit a badly explained one) and a scene with Clara's Granny both offer nice moments but they are there in a rather exploitative way, not as part of the story – or at least this is how they feel.

The regeneration we've all come from is equally overblown. I cannot say if this was always the case as I can only remember the most recent ones but I would love it to be more of a quiet affair someday. The appearance of Capaldi is encouraging as he has an older intensity but this is tempered by the episode we just watched – Capaldi may be good but ultimately he works with what he is given. Smith's exit is not a great loss – he suited the material of the last few seasons in that he can run and shout and wave his hands around and to be frank this is often the main things being asked of him. Coleman remains brighteyed and flirty; I liked her a great deal for this but I hope they can find a story soon that offers her more to work with as an actress. The supporting cast are fine but the only one that stands out (Brady) just feels like a lazy clone of River Song in terms of writing and subsequent performance.

Time of the Doctor isn't awful by any means, it is just very so-so and lacking in a lot. The comedic Christmas moments are decent but feel pushed into the bigger plot because of it being shown at Christmas; meantime the bigger plot is marred by lots of noise but no substance and it doesn't really engage as a result. It is a shame for Smith, but his last episode really does stand as a potted summary of so many of his episodes – lots of running and noise to distract and provide light entertainment, but not a great deal else apart from one or two moments which are good but feel isolated in the middle of all the rest of it.

A poor ending for the Matt Smith era

[Rob_Taylor · 6/10 · 26 December 2013]

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I was getting tired of Mat's portrayal of the doctor. The writing has been increasingly poor of late and his manic doctor was so very tired.

But, and this is a big but, no matter who plays the doctor, there is an expectation that the final moments will be emotional and give the viewer a heart-wrenching final few moments as one doctor morphs into the next.

For whatever reason, they decided to change this. One moment we're looking at Matt and the next... BAM!... it's Peter Capaldi. Right up until that moment they had built up the tension and the emotion very nicely to lead in to the regeneration. The weight of expectation was there and then.... BAM! Instant change. Literally, instant.

It's a horrible, horrible way to do it and I hope they never repeat this in the future. All the tension and emotion they spent building up is just ripped out and thrown away by the jarring change.

The rest of the episode was no more or less than I have come to expect from Moffat in the last couple of years. And to think, we were all so happy when Russel Davies left the show! It's becoming clear to me now that Moffat's time at the helm of this franchise needs to be rethought. Everything is old and tired now, much like the doctor himself in this episode. Same hinky story lines dragged out and rehashed.

Don't believe me? Well, when was the last time you saw a new alien race in Who? It's always the Daleks, or the Cybermen etc. The plots are always predictably identical.

Please BBC, give the show to someone else to make. Moffat has had his day. It's time for the Corporation to regenerate its showrunner into someone new.

Suddenly, Capaldi

[flyingcatman7131 · 10/10 · 25 December 2013]

This was an absolutely fantastic episode of Doctor Who, but it had some flaws that many other reviews have pointed out.

The Bad: -Short episode, compared to previous regeneration stories. -Superpowered Regeneration, destroying DALEK SHIPS. -Regeneration to 12 was short. Capaldi appears out of nowhere. -Tasha regaining control of her mind, and destroying the Daleks so easily.

The Good: -Lots of references to the past (The Master, Gallifrey, Silence will Fall, etc.) -Tied up so many loose ends from Matt's era. -Silence Will Fall -The Timelords save the Doctor by giving him a new cycle of regenerations. -Fantastic CGI and special effects. -The Doctor aging -Good humor throughout the episode -Amy cameo -The Endless Bitter War, The Time War, Begins Anew

An excellent regeneration story, a hundred times better than The End of Time.

Wohh they cram a lot into this one.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 17 September 2015]

Now I love me some handles, Kayvan Novak, why would you have Mr Novak in a show and not get to see him though!! What a visual waste.

They try to cram it all in, the Cybermen, the Daleks, The Silence, The Weeping Angels, Sontarans, they try almost too hard to force too much into it.

I did love the wooden Cybermen. What an awesome creation.

It does tie up lots of loose ends, 'Silence will fall,' who the monsters are, why Madame Kovarian broke away etc.

Matt Smith is again spellbinding, he cannot be faulted in any way shape or form, it's a brilliant performance from him. I would have liked one more series from him. I liked that Amy made an appearance.

The episode itself, huge ideas, masses going on, yes it's very messy but I quite like it, I don't think Matt was totally given the send off that he deserved but it is still a very sweet episode, with lots of features from his time, fish fingers and custard etc. It seems a little bit like we've been here before, elements of Time of the Doctor? Possibly. 7/10.

Probably the most mishandled episode in Doctor Who's history

[limoncella-641-42235 · 2/10 · 25 December 2013]

What a disappointment, The Time of the Doctor honestly feels like a huge waste of time, a straight hour of too-fast-to-follow convoluted nonsense that serves a purpose that could have been done in 10 minutes.

What we are ultimately getting to here is the regeneration of The Doctor from 11th doctor (Matt Smith) to the 12th doctor (Peter Capaldi). The Doctor explains however that Time Lords only have a certain number of regenerations before they permanently die and his time is almost up.

In The first 50 minutes of padding, we're wasting our time watching shoehorned in Christmas themes (The town they visit on the alien world is called "Christmas" for pity's sake), pointless supporting characters, even more pointless villains that literally only appear for seconds each, jokes that appear and are never brought up again (The Doctor shaved his head for some reason), bad love subplots and truly embarrassing make-up effects.

But the biggest insult is the way we get to the resolution we've all come to see, how does The Doctor overcome his death problem? Well honestly I can't tell you. The episode is moving so quickly with so much techno-babble being thrown around that the main crisis gets completely lost in the echo, and before we know it it's done, problem solved and we're all just supposed to buy it.

Now, I love Matt Smith as The Doctor, he's in my personal Top 3, but his final episode is nothing short of an embarrassment. He spends most of the episode hobbling about on a walking stick in terribly unconvincing old age make-up. I remember back in 2009 when David Tennant left the show, crying about how "He didn't want to go" and many people cried foul that his character wouldn't be so feeble in his final moments. Well these people can leave Tennant alone now because Matt Smith officially gets the most terrible send off in Doctor Who history. Firstly it happens twice, the first time he regenerates in the episode he's screaming like a lunatic at a horribly unconvincing special effects UFO in bad old man makeup. Which leaves a bad taste in the mouth for when it comes to the second regeneration scene. Now in the second time it happens, honestly Smith has some great dialogue (plus a cameo by an old friend) that gets the emotions rolling and just as he's about get the slow, dramatic regeneration we're used to BANG it's Peter Capaldi. With no build up or suspense here he is screaming like a maniac too and then BANG credits.

Words cannot convey. Anger. Disappointment. Confusion to name a few. Now I always welcome a new era of Doctor Who, when Matt Smith took over in 2009 the show went through a period of prosperity with some of the best episodes in the shows history. But as time's gone by, show runner Steven Moffat's writing has gotten more convoluted, clumsy and frantic. With more and more focus of changing the basic fundamentals of the shows long history and Matt Smiths charm has only diminished by each passing season. Considering how badly they messed up Peter Capaldi's introduction only makes me more adamant that they are going to continue on this downward trend.

I feel bad for Matt Smith who has to look back on this chapter of his career knowing this is how he was treated when they sent him off, I feel bad for Jenna Coleman who's now stuck in this show with a much older actor who wont work well with her at all, I fell bad for Peter Capaldi who is going to go into the next season with so much added baggage. But I feel most bad for the fans, this was our moment to say goodbye to Matt Smith and Steven Moffat has ruined it. Steven, season 5 was great and we love you for it, but you cannot be in charge of Doctor Who anymore, Please Stop.

A fond farewell for the end of the Matt Smith era

[dkiliane · 10/10 · 8 April 2019]

"The Time of the Doctor" is the near perfect follow up to "The Day of the Doctor." In Matt Smith's final special, the Doctor finds himself drawn by a mysterious signal from an alien town called Christmas. And all his enemies are already gathered in orbit from fear. Why? The signal harkens the return of the Time Lords; the Doctor only needs speak his name. And of course, his enemies, including Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, and the Silence will have none of that.

The Doctor's conflict is clearly seen throughout this special. He desires more than anything to bring his people back, but knows in doing so, he will ignite a second (and possibly even more deadly) Time War. But by guarding the crack in time and space (remember season 5?) he guards the possibility of their return.

This stalemate provides some good tension and we are treated to some genuinely chilling scenes involving the Dalek infected Silence. There are also many touching scenes between the Doctor and Clara. My only small complaint is that it does drag a bit as the Doctor continues to age in his 900 year vigil, but the climax of the third act more than makes up for it and the rest is filled with zany sci fi action and fun that only Doctor Who could deliver while wrapping up rather nicely the plot threads of the Matt Smith era. "I will always remember when the Doctor was me" he says, and we will too. 10/10

Confused by reviews (will try not to be obvious with any spoilers)

[aarongallagher1 · 10/10 · 26 December 2013]

Having read a few of the reviews I cannot understand the negative reviews.

The only initial negative point I would go along with would be the fact that they only gave this episode 1 hour. another 20 to 30 minutes could have given the story justice.

I cannot agree that the story was confusing (anyone recall the The Wedding of Riversong and The Impossible Spaceman? Now those had me confused at the first viewing). Also if you are familiar with the writing of Steven Moffatt then you must know that his skills with manipulating Time in his storyline plotting is second to none. If a series needs to keep fresh with story lines by playing with the time travel complexities that go with writing for the more demanding and sophisticated Doctor Who viewer then a writer of Moffatt's skill is a necessity.

I found it a very moving episode with humour and emotion throughout and with a little longer running time then that could have been well spent on the development of a few characters in the town called Christmas. If for no other reason than to create some emotional connection to the occupants.

A rousing finale with a very nicely acted farewell from my favourite Doctor to date a memorable emotional guest appearance and a far too short (but expected) introduction to the new Doctor.

The only other addition I would have liked to have seen would have been to see The Doctor battling a little more with his desire to live against protecting the town just to give his demise more pathos.

But remember this is a Christmas episode and a regeneration episode. I strongly believe that credit should be given to Moffatt for delivering a seasonal episode with all the elements that this traditionally requires especially in the time given.

(Of course if the length of the episode was all that Moffatt's script required then I would lay criticism at his door for not including the things above.)

Roll on season 8. I cannot wait to see how the brilliant Capaldi handles the role and writing of Moffatt.

A fitting end

[doctorwhofan96 · 25 December 2013]

When I sat down on the settee eager for this episode, all I knew was that Matt Smith's tenure would end and Peter Capaldi's would begin. So how was this episode? Honestly, it wasn't perfect, it did feel a little rushed and there's still one thing I'm trying to wrap my head around one part of this now completed 3 series story arc. However, overall, I was pleasantly satisfied. Let me start with what I saw as negatives, as there were only a few. I was nostalgic at the thought of 4 of my favourite Doctor Who villains (Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels and the Silence) all trying to kill the Doctor, so the fact that the Weeping Angels only appeared in one scene (albeit one of the best scenes of the episode), the Cybermen didn't really get much to do either, the Silence started out creepy and promising but that was only for one scene, and the Daleks had more screen time but didn't do much really let me down on that part. Then, the plot point that confused me. If the Silence took over the TARDIS and blew it up to try and prevent the events of this episode, then why was it that the Time Lords could only come through the cracks that the Silence created? Surely if this was the case, the easiest way to stop it would've been to not create the cracks in the first place? Anyway, apart from that, everything else was great, the plot, the guest characters, Clara is really growing on me, I already love Peter Capaldi, and then there was the highlight of the whole episode. Just before Matt poofed into Capaldi, Karen Gillan made a cameo appearance as Amy Pond. Now i didn't cry throughout this whole episode, but as soon as I saw Amy, the flood gates opened. I love her so much. I have an emotional connection with her that I don't have with Clara yet (sorry Clara). Overall, a great episode, and also a very festive one (but really, a town called 'Christmas)??

The Time of the Doctor

[MrFilmAndTelevisionShow · 9/10 · 14 April 2021]

This was a great sequel of sorts to Day of the Doctor, it wasn't as good as DotD but it was very good indeed. I am very excited to see Peter Capaldi's Doctor which I have only watch through once, when it came out quite a number of years ago, and I have very fond memories of it, but I don't remember much. Matt Smith is probably my favourite Doctor and I anticipate his inevitable return in future episodes of Doctor Who.

We Come Into This World Naked and Can Take Nothing With Us

[boblipton · 9/10 · 25 December 2013]

Here ends the saga of the Eleventh Doctor. It has been an erratic journey, with many failures in story telling, buttressed by a fine performance by Matthew Smith as the most alien of the Doctors, the old man in the young body. In fact, that may be a major cause of the trouble: so much of the past three series has been involved with the weird shtick that Matt Smith performs so engagingly that story logic has given given scant shrift.

And so we come to the Christmas Special set in a town called Christmas: the death of the sun and the quickening of the new one; a Doctor that is wounded in one leg like the Fisher King; a Doctor out of regenerations, fighting the end of his old world.

However, nothing can be born until something dies, and anyone who goes to watch this episode knows that there will be another Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi. First, though, all the forces of the old times must be faced: Daleks, the Silence, the Cybermen, Weeping Angels, the Cracks in Space and Time, the Time Lords of Gallifrey and, most terrifying of all, naked death.

The story of this special is a story told in mythic terms. There has been a lot of bafflegab and fast-talking nonsense to get through a lot of stories in the past, but this episode, by using the mythic idea of the True Name, series runner Steven Moffatt has produced an episode that will annoy most fans.

Most fans think they know how the world works, how Doctor Who works. However, the essence of mythic story telling is mystery, death and rebirth. It's directly contrary to the way most people think of Doctor Who, which is supposed to be Science Fiction. Stop looking in your physics textbooks for the answers. Don't concern yourself with what's written in astronomy texts. Look instead in Joseph Campbell's work. For starters, take a look at THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. We've seen a baker's dozen now. here are plenty of faces to go.

Hands Down One Of The Best Episodes to Date!

[micahratchet · 10/10 · 26 December 2013]

I have to admit I was crying harder than I have ever cried from a TV show! Seeing Matt Smith (the 11th doctor) regenerate brought me to tears! I balled!! I actually was crying throughout the episode while seeing what becomes of him in his final years! Seeing him grow old just had such visual meaning to it. The Time Of The Doctor was amazing and was overall a very beautifully written and directed episode and goes down as one of my all time favorites!!! I am truly going to miss my Doctor and this episode was the best farewell period! There are people out there who I like to call Moffat haters who would say this is anything less than great but I assure you they are wrong! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around everything that happened! I am one happy fan!

The last time I enjoyed doctor who

[BuddyCam97 · 10/10 · 8 July 2022]

Don't get me wrong Peter Capaldi did a amazing job as doctor but Matt Smith was the doctor and he was amazing as if he had the the best espisodes and it was sad too see him go and see Amy one last time it was a nice touch thank you Matt Smith for playing the doctor for those amazing years.

This episode is filled with almost every problem Doctor Who has had...

[FairlyAnonymous · 6/10 · 31 August 2014]

Don't get me wrong. I loved Doctor Who, however, there are some reoccurring elements that seem to be popping up much more frequently than they need to be. This episode contains virtually every Doctor Who cliché in it which might be why people like it, but to me it makes it incredibly weak.

The episode follows the Doctor for almost the entire time and he stands as the main character in this episode. In the episode the Doctor faces his "biggest threat" yet where he is stuck on the planet where he is destined to die on. On this planet he is forced to spend hundreds of years fighting off Cyber-men, Daleks, and Weeping Angels. He does all of this to save the people of a small town called "Christmas"... get it? It's ironic because Christmas is supposed to be a happy thing yet it is chaotic and has war on it.

Now, while the premise of this episode may sound good, the execution is less than that. It has way too many Doctor Who clichés in it so it feels like a retread of old territory.

The issues: 1. The "Doctor does something embarrassing that looks like he is in a sexual relationship with his companion": This is done in this episode... like in so many other episodes. It may have been funny once, but now it just seems like fan service.

2. The "Doctor makes a promise, and it seems like he breaks it, but quickly fulfills it later because the Doctor "never fails anyone in danger...": This is done at least twice in this episode.

3. The "Promise for a super huge battle that will be epic that turns out to be a battle between only a handful of enemies": This promise has been done so many times in Doctor Who, but rarely has it ever been fulfilled. This episode really takes the cake for big let downs. This episode is supposed to show a giant battle that consumes thousands/millions of lives (we see the tomb stones of this battle in previous episodes), however the scope of this battle is literally only a handful of people. Literally, it takes place in a tiny 1800s styled town, and the Doctor has "supposedly" been fighting off Daleks, Weeping Angels, and Cyber-men for HUNDREDS of years in this tiny town...

This is a slap in the face to the audience, because we also get to see some of the battles. In ALL of the scenarios, we see the Doctor "cleverly" destroying all challengers... such as a lone wooden cyber-man... or a lone Dalek... or a lone Weeping Angel... or a pair of Sontarans... see the problem here?

Literally, ALL of the Doctor's enemies apparently attack him ONE AT A TIME (due to the montage, it appears they attack him once a week or once). Did the show forget that there is a DALEK SPACESHIP THE SIZE OF A CITY FLOATING IN SPACE??? Or a Cyber-man FLEET SITTING IN THE ATMOSPHERE? Why send one wooden cyber-man? Why not send 2,000? The weeping angels don't join anyone's allegiance, so why was there only ONE weeping angel infilitrating the town instead of... I don't know, the 10-20 we saw earlier in the episode?

To make things WORSE, we do get to see the final epic battle when the Dalek ship sends down its troops, and it literally only sends down maybe 10... the episode tries really hard to pretend that this is a "giant battle" but I think it forgets that it was established that THOUSANDS of people would die in this battle yet we can clearly see the town (along with other people) holds a maximum capacity of around 200 or so... REALLY?!?!?!?

Doctor Who does this a lot. There will always be an episode floating around that will say "This is the Doctor's greatest blunder" or "This is the Doctor's Greatest Battle" or "This is the day The Doctor really screws it up" yet in none of them do we ever get the sense that it was really big in scale or in failure. This is a TV series that spans all of SPACE AND TIME so for something to be some important that people know about it hundreds of years in the past and future then it better be big enough to effect more than a tiny town.

4. The "Deus Ex Machina super ability that comes out of nowhere to wipe out a large amount of enemies... which happens in almost every finale": Once again *spoilers* the Doctor is magically granted the ability to be able to regenerate again (even though this was supposed to be his last regeneration) and yet all of the Time Lords stuck in the other dimension somehow combine all of their regeneration abilities, shift it through the time rift which magically connects with the Doctor, which gives the Doctor all of the power of the Time Lord's regeneration energy (which is quite explosive) which the Doctor uses to--you guessed it--wipe out all of the Dalek ships and Cyber-men with a giant nuclear spirit-bomb of energy... yeah... haven't heard this one before...

All in all, the premise of the Doctor going through a big failure or having to spend hundreds of years stuck in one location fighting is a great concept. However, the episode messes it up in almost every way. The scope of the enemies is fine but the scope of the battle/s is pathetically small (why couldn't we see a battle on the level of those of when Gallifrey was be attacked just an episode ago?). The episode just feels so... been there done that... it feels like the creators of the show were almost bored with the premise and were kind of like "screw it". It's a real shame that Matt Smith couldn't have left on a higher note or with a better episode, oh well.

Time's End for the Eleventh Doctor

[hellraiser7 · 10/10 · 19 March 2016]

Warning do not read unless seen episode.

This I thought was a great send off for the Eleventh Doctor, he's my second favorite Doctor if you can believe that which made his departure all the more sad for me.

I like the plot line which in a way is sort of like your one or few against the world premise which is cool though in this case it's against the universe, as the Doctor is forced to defend a planet called Christmas which of course becomes Trensalore in the future from forces that want to destroy the portal that contains Galafrey and of course every nasty posse wants to destroy it for no good reason. So if the Doctor leaves the planet undefended for a mere moment then both planets are destroyed. Yeah, it's a pretty tall order for the Doctor let alone anyone.

This is a different premise because the Doctor never stayed in one place for a lifetime, let alone the fact he is literally defending two entirely planets throughout that lifetime. One of the moments that was interesting was seeing a wooden Cyberman as a way to shield of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver frequency. But of course they overlooked one crucial detail as that Cyberman can't be wood all over.

But then of course things get really emotional as we see Clara come to the Doctor's homestead. I really like how the place has letters and pictures of the Doctor all around, it pretty much represents us the fans and how long our love for him. I'll admit when I saw the Doctor really old, it really made my heart sink because it reminded me of how mortal he truly is.

The whole theme of the episode is about facing the end, seeing him old and possibly dying just shows that no one lives forever and how precious time truly is.

We then see a moment where it looks really bad for the planet as the Daliek mother ship swoops down along with an armada and are about to annihilate him and everything else. At that point I wasn't really sure what the Doctor or anyone can do. But then of course the planet Galafrey gives the Doctor regenerative energy, pretty much a whole new lease on life. I personally thought it was a spectacular moment as we see the Doctor literally have the power of a God, as he is just blasting away at the Dalieks and the Mothership, this moment also marks the Eleventh Doctor going out in a blaze of glory.

Then it of course comes down to the final moment which are the most heartbreaking of all. After the Doctor gives a final speech that was great, we then see someone from his past which is Amy Pond. That moment was really tugged at my heart string as we know Amy has passed on a long time ago, though I wish they also had Rory and River I not sure why they didn't but oh well. But all th same seeing Amy again and what she says to the Doctor showed that the Eleventh Doctor is going to be joining his family which is something he never really had much.

And of course we see him take off that bow tie and it drops to the ground. That's when I know the Eleventh Doctor is gone; that just made me break down and cry. Clara says one last thing to him, "Please don't change." that's exactly how I felt about the Eleventh Doctor and every other Doctor before him.

Farewell Matt Smith, you really brought out the best as the Doctor which is why you'll be greatly missed, but like the constellations in the sky timeless.

Rating: 4 stars

Wasn't epic but still good enough

[MaxHills · 7/10 · 26 December 2013]

Going into this I expected an epic war almost like the day of the doctor because this was on trenselowr <---- (I think that's how u spell it) , but instead we got the it could've been good if it was directed by a better director .

OK the whole episode I was wishing to see Amy at least one last time and when it finally happened my heart broke , tears almost ... Ehmmmm I mean yeah it was good bros .

But in all seriousness Amy and Rory are in my humble opinion are the best companions of the doctor who show , that's when the show started to pick up in every way special effects , story , and every thing , that when Steven moffat really saw what he can do with the show after the blink episode , so yeah I was sooo happy when Amy made the cameo .

And the doctors final words were great too , and did anyone notice the when the doctor got really old he looked and acted almost exactly like Tom Baker ( the 4th doctor ) ? I thought it was nice to see that .

The special effects and the makeups were amazing for the doctor who standards , they are really stepping up their game now , but I still wish another director directed this episode .

And now with the bad stuff : I gave this episode a 7 only because I was torn between the story and the story telling , and if you know me somehow or read any of my reviews you know that I concentrate on the storytelling more then anything when I watch something and that's one of the things that fascinated me about the day of the doctor , anyways here are some of the bad stuff :- - the pasing : they could've done a lot more with the story if they concentrated on the pasing , instead it felt like a long movie and suddenly it wrapped up . - the war : we were promised a war , but we got the doctor handling them one by one it would've been good if there was any challenges on the matter , I guess the writer really want it to end the doctor . - the turkey : we didn't see who ate it , hahaha , I mean come on it took a portion of the story . And finally in the top of my head , the quick fix : again it was the pasing problem the led to this , it was soooooo slow then suddenly it wrapped up they didn't even think it through .

And I didn't mention the regeneration thing , I saw the other reviews talking about it , to those I say : every doctor had there own style of regeneration and through that we know that it's painful so it's better to have a quick one , after all fish feleh and custard .

Oh one last thing for those who really look , I figured the possibility out , there is a relationship between Clara and her Grammy look for who and what she might be , it's awesome the way they did it .

All and all not epic but an OK episode filled with fangasms , I believe it will get better in time.

---------------------------------End of the review--------------------------------

A lousy way for Matt Smith to go out

[heatsink98 · 4/10 · 25 December 2013]

This episode was a mess. The plot was incoherent, and at times, so contrived that it was cringe-inducing. Jenna Coleman got ejected back to Earth how many times? Then she's back, and then she's gone again. And there's Christmas dinner, because it's Christmas, and some relatives we don't get to know. The story just seemed random.

The last ten minutes were decent. The doctor said his goodbyes, and the figurative ghost of Amy Pond appeared. The time spent before that, with the doctor guarding a town named Christmas while collecting crayon drawings, didn't make much sense. It played as though it was a shoehorned idea that was out of place.

The script for the last episode sending off Matt Smith should have been epic. Instead, we have this story that came off like the product of a drunken night of screen writing with no sense of pacing and consistency.