Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor Review

The clock strikes twelve, but is Matt Smith's final episode his best?
More than any Doctor Who Christmas Special before it, The Time of the Doctor was hand-crafted for the show's hardcore followers. Key story arcs ranging from episodes as far gone as The Deadly Assassin and The Five Doctors to tales as recent as The Wedding of River Song and The Name of the Doctor were developed and/or resolved throughout, with scarcely a loose plot thread (bar Gallifrey's hidden status) left hanging come the credits.

With writer Steven Moffat's focus on appeasing the fans' enthusiasm for closure, though, came a weight of inaccessibility on the episode's core narrative. Compelling and layered this festive yarn may be, but standalone and simply cohesive- as A Christmas Carol and The Snowmen were- this is not. Moffat clearly stated in press previews for Matt Smith's final adventure as the Doctor that he wanted to move away from the 'Doctor Who-lite' stigma attached to modern-day Christmas Specials for the science-fiction drama, and yet this reviewer would be hard pressed to argue that the emphasis on dealing with continuity voids here isn't detrimental to the viewing experience at times.

In part, this detriment manifests itself in Time's frantic pacing. That secondary plot sequences such as Clara's Christmas dinner gathering and perhaps the inclusion of the Cybermen as a whole could and should have been removed to make way for further impactful content along the lines of Matt's dazzling pair of final speeches becomes particularly obvious once Peter Capaldi emerges in the TARDIS, confined to a mere minute of screen time thanks to the traditional one-hour slot of this annual instalment. When the Eleventh Doctor (or should that be Twelfth or Thirteenth? Best not to think on that one for too long...) made his debut in The End of Time Part Two, the promise of Matt's fulfillment of the role's criteria was not necessarily as high as fans might have hoped, and similarly, Capaldi's performance seems to simply mirror Smith and David Tennant's, a resemblance which must rapidly fade if the revived series is to survive beyond its eighth season in 2014.

Thankfully, this was still an episode which was packed with aesthetic and narrative highlights, the former evidenced in the notably above-average production values of the events on Trenzalore. Witnessing the Doctor and the Silence form an alliance against the Daleks with the religious order's assurance that the Time Lord would not reveal his name was a complete visual spectacle (thanks in no small part to Hide director Jamie Payne), the explosive battle which befell Christmastown matching much of the aesthetic splendour of last month's The Day of the Doctor. Impressive CGI work is by no means the mark of a great drama, of course; however, it remains assuring to discover the monetary faith which the BBC evidently hold in their flagship sci-fi series eight years on from its 2005 return. At this rate, Series Eight will pack the most impressive digital elements that Who has displayed yet.

What Series Eight won't have, though, is another actorial masterclass from the phenomenal Matt Smith. Even if Moffat's script isn't the strongest produced in Smith's four-year reign as Theta Sigma, The Time of the Doctor marks the future How To Catch A Monster star's finest performance in the role to date, a remarkable accolade itself given the strength of his previous work in Vincent and the Doctor, The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon and so many other episodes besides. If the British actor's triumphant final challenge to the Daleks to slay their elderly adversary wasn't enough to ensure that fans will miss him greatly, then the concluding exchange between the Doctor, Jenna Coleman's Clara and (in a heartwarming surprise cameo) Karen Gillan's Amy confirmed the future pathos of Smith's immediate absence in upcoming episodes. Jenna can afford herself an indulgent pat on the back this week as well, since her portrayal of the Impossible Girl has come on leaps and bounds from Series Seven, to the extent that the concept of having her return alongside Capaldi next year is far more enticing than it once might have been.

Eastenders' and Sinbad's Orla Brady's guest appearance as Tasha Lem has been likened through the actress' portrayal to that of Alex Kingston's River Song. In fairness, Kingston has plenty on her plate right now, and Moffat rightly asserted that The Name of the Doctor brought about a meaningful conclusion to the character's narrative- in which case, Brady at least acts as an immensely satisfying substitute. The explanation provided regarding 'the Kovarian Chapter' of the Silence attempting in vain to avert the Doctor's voyage to Trenzalore was an efficient clarification of the religious order's plans in Series Five and Six, yet again, there was a convoluted air to the nature of this arc resolution, with questions still arising as to the significance of River's assassin spacesuit and why the Doctor said "who else?" if he was truly confronted with the image of a crack in space and time in Room 11 during Toby Whithouse's stunning pseudo-horror escapade The God Complex. Nitpicking shouldn't be the name of the game when judging an oft-lighthearted attempt such as this to see off Smith's era with a bang, yet it would be churlish not to recognise that shortcomings such as these do prevent Time from matching its acclaimed predecessor.

When all is said and done, however, The Time of the Doctor remains a fitting denouement for the latest incarnation of the centuries-old Time Lord (lord knows quite how many years were truly elapsed in his time on Trenzalore!), with Matt Smith's portrayal of the character reaching its peak at precisely the correct moment in time. An argument could be made that if Day displayed and reinforced the major strengths of Moffat's era on Who, then Time brings to light some lingering cracks in the framework, yet not in such a manner that the episode as a whole is crippled by its continuity references, pacing errors or the like. Even if Peter Capaldi has some work to do in terms of restoring our confidence in the production team's capability to create wholly distinct incarnations of the Doctor, for now, let's remember with grand fondness one of the best incarnations of the lot, for Smith's absence will no doubt be profoundly felt by the series' creators and viewership alike for some time to come.

"I will not forget one line of this, one day, I swear. I will always remember the time when the Doctor was me." Never were truer words spoken, Matt- all the best of luck in the plethora of future projects that await. Your moment has been long prepared for!
4/5