The Time of the Doctor

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?

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.

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.

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

Most of the Doctors that have appeared in Doctor Who are famous for their standalone episodes and/or Paired Episodes. Except for that of Matt Smith. This Series of 3 Seasons which consisted of a lot of ups and downs (highs and lows) finally came to an end here. This is where it all made sense. This is where we got all the answers to the questions we were continuously asking. In my opinion, this was the best ending/regeneration episode of all time.