The final story of the 33rd
series has an awful lot to live up. Many people thought that we were going to
find out the name of the Doctor. I must admit that I thought that it could only
disappoint me so I had low expectations.
The pre-title setting is mind blowing. There’s no other way of
describing. We get to witness the very moment when the Doctor and Susan run
away in the TARDIS. What happens over the course of the next couple of minutes.
We get to see the first seven incarnations in some shape or form. This proves
that this episode is going to be an epic finale. The course of the second half
of the series has been building up to this moment.
Trenzalore is where the Doctor is
buried. It’s a place that no one should ever go. It’s always intriguing when
something new is mentioned and we are expected to believe that it’s a vital
part of the Doctor’s history. It’s a wonderful place (in a weird kind of way). But its where the TARDIS is now left to rot. I
must say that the decaying TARDIS was visually stunning. It’s quite impressive what
they managed to do. The beam of light that is where the console once was is a
nice bit of effect.
The Whisper Men are strange
looking creatures who are conduit for Doctor Simeon (from The Snowmen). They
are an effective creature even though they don’t really have much to do apart
from the sequence when they are told to stop the hearts of the Doctor and co.
Something that was well known was
that ‘The one with the gigantic head’ or River Song as she is known makes a
return (not welcome in my mind). I thought that she was actually quite
restrained in this. Yes there were some moments of the old River but I thought
that this was a very good performance from Alex Kingston.
The Great Intelligence makes a
welcome return and so does Richard E Grant. Doctor Simeon may have died but his
spirit is being used. To be honest, Steven Moffat could have come up with any
excuse to bring Richard E Grant back and I wouldn’t have minded because it was
a great piece of casting back in ‘The Snowmen’ and its still a great bit of
casting. Every scene that he was in was fun to watch. His final scene was absolutely
fantastic and what Simeon is planning on doing is so audacious that its
brilliant. Grant plays it exactly as it should be played.
There is a good mix of high
tension and humour. The scene where the Doctor is playing Blind Mans Bluff is
funny and its made funnier when the Doctor calls the kids ‘the little……Daleks’.
It’s perhaps the only real moment of humour in the entire episode.
Matt Smith is fantastic in this
episode and shows why he is such as good Doctor. He carries the entire episode.
From the moment where he gets emotional talking to Clara to where he is looking
at the beam of light in the decaying TARDIS and talking about the light being
his own personal timeline was possibly his best moment since becoming the
Doctor. Jenna Louise Coleman is very good in this and she plays second fiddle
to Matt Smith which is how it should have been but her influence on the story
is still important and the fact that Clara has an influence on how the Doctor
got into the TARDIS is something that is quite fun to think about. Coleman has
been great from the first scene she was in and has continued to be so. Dan
Starkey, Catrin Stewart and Neve McIntosh haven’t been people that I have rated
highly in the previous episodes but in this episode they have shown me why they
are so good. Yes they have largely comedic responsibilities to the narrative
but they do have the ability to be convincing when they are required to be
serious.
The final few moments were always
going to lead into the 50th Anniversary special and what we
ge is
the best, the very best ending to a series ever. It was spoilt by some
newspapers that John Hurt was going to play the Doctor but the excitement comes
from wanting to know just exactly who he is. Yes the credit says the Doctor but
I think that it should be taken with a pinch of salt because if there is one
thing that we should have learnt since Steven Moffat took the reigns of the
show is that not everything is what it seems. Despite being in it for just a
few moments it’s a great debut from John Hurt who has appeared in Harry Potter
and Merlin and now Doctor Who.
There were some important special
effects and they are largely bringing people back from the past and making it
look right. The moments with William Hartnell are the most impressive shots that
we have and its really really well done. They’ve made the picture grainy so
that Jenna Louise Coleman shots match and it makes it work. There are a few
moments which are a bit ropey such as when the Second Doctor is running. When
he runs towards the screen his style changes to the way that it is when it runs
away from the camera. Apart from that the special effects should be applauded
for what they have managed to pull off.
I think that because I had relatively
low expectations (due to not wanting to be disappointed) I have to admit that
this is one of the best episodes from a extremely strong series. Everyone was on
top form and no one put a foot wrong. It’s bonkers and brilliant in different
measures and it sets up the 50th Anniversary special brilliantly and
its just incredible that we got everything from this episode in 45 minutes
whereas Russell T Davies would probably have got 70 minutes with 10 minutes of
emotional padding that serves no purpose. Moffat uses the time wisely and the
result is superb.
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