The Time Of The Doctor (Grading/Discussion)(SPOILERS!)

[Vyse]

Also, while I did like this a lot, it definitely felt rushed. Too bad they couldn't give a Smith's last episode a two parter, like they did with Tennant.

Irony of that is Tennat's finale didn't have a bunch of looses ends to tie up and had tow parts, yet Smith's finale only got one episode and had a lot of loose ends to tie up.

Wonder if they expected Smith to stay at least another year.

 

[Jax]

I *know* they had the Doctor's leg getting petrified by an Angel but we never saw that...

That was reported in The Sun, doesn't make it true. Whatever cuts were made I wonder would the BBC might of been more behind it for their precious schedule.

Cause people can't wait 5-10 minutes longer for Eastenders

 

[Stoo]

Cause no one knew what the signal was till the Doctor showed up and decoded it. All that was known is that the signal caused fear in all the races that heard it. Once the Doctor decoded it, he was there at it, they couldn't leave in case he brought Gallifrey back.

I mean why doesn't the doctor fly off? The time lords didn't seem to be coming through without an answer from him, so if he leaves, they stay put.

Unless the Daleks etc were so freaked out they were going to flatten the place anyway, which is possible, but I felt the explanations were rather rushed.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Also, while I did like this a lot, it definitely felt rushed. Too bad they couldn't give a Smith's last episode a two parter, like they did with Tennant.

[SNIP]

Wonder if they expected Smith to stay at least another year.

I believe so. We know that Moffat and Smith discussed series 8. It's possible that series 8 was supposed to deal with all of the loose ends and the regeneration limit, but when Smith bolted Moffat had to fit them all (and the kitchen sink, too) into the Christmas episode.

 

[Charlie Kelly]

I enjoyed the episode overall but like others I did feel like it was rushed. I don't know why this couldn't have been a two parter! I'm glad they tied up most of Matt Smith's run, hopefully Steven Moffat will go for simpler story arcs with the new doctor. Not that I don't like complicated but his stories have always seemed complicated for the sake of being complicated.

As some people keep bringing up RTD I think his version of sending the companion home was much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEuV_PGG9EU

 

[SeerSGB]

Cause no one knew what the signal was till the Doctor showed up and decoded it. All that was known is that the signal caused fear in all the races that heard it. Once the Doctor decoded it, he was there at it, they couldn't leave in case he brought Gallifrey back.

I mean why doesn't the doctor fly off? The time lords didn't seem to be coming through without an answer from him, so if he leaves, they stay put.

Unless the Daleks etc were so freaked out they were going to flatten the place anyway, which is possible, but I felt the explanations were rather rushed.

Cause it was a chance to get Gallifrey back. He just couldn't do it cause of everyone lined to start shooting. I got the feeling that he was protecting Gallifrey as much as he was protecting the town.

 

[Rincewiend]

Cause no one knew what the signal was till the Doctor showed up and decoded it. All that was known is that the signal caused fear in all the races that heard it. Once the Doctor decoded it, he was there at it, they couldn't leave in case he brought Gallifrey back.

I mean why doesn't the doctor fly off? The time lords didn't seem to be coming through without an answer from him, so if he leaves, they stay put.

Unless the Daleks etc were so freaked out they were going to flatten the place anyway, which is possible, but I felt the explanations were rather rushed.

Yes, The doctor even says that...
If he leaves they will destroy the planet...

 

[Skellington]

Well that was... a bit of a mess. There have been worse episodes, but I'd say it was probably the worst regeneration since Time And The Rani, which is shocking considering how good Day Of The Doctor was.

I'm inclined to agree. There was always the possibility that this episode would be dreadful, and unfortunately that's a promise that seems to have been fulfilled in several ways. Might watch the last 15 minutes of it again before marking it, but really it seems to be Moffat at his worst. Brilliant writer, but tying up storylines is not his thing.

And I really don't like the centuries-long siege at all. It's like the show has now committed itself to a profound change in the Doctor's life. Might be interesting to see how the Doctor deals with adventuring after centuries of being a Trenzalorean, though.

 

[Vyse]

Also, while I did like this a lot, it definitely felt rushed. Too bad they couldn't give a Smith's last episode a two parter, like they did with Tennant.

[SNIP]

Wonder if they expected Smith to stay at least another year.

I believe so. We know that Moffat and Smith discussed series 8. It's possible that series 8 was supposed to deal with all of the loose ends and the regeneration limit, but when Smith bolted Moffat had to fit them all (and the kitchen sink, too) into the Christmas episode.

Yeah, there are also several other factors here. Series 7 being spread over two years, so that we had only 13 regular episodes the last two years, instead of 26. After series 6 a bit of a backlash (I do question the reality of this) against the show becoming more serialized, then having to do something to celebrate the 50th, then Matt Smith possibly leaving earlier than anticipated, yeah that's a lot of factors, and could explain why this was so rushed.

Still, endings are the most difficult thing to write. Heck, most series finales for serialized shows I end up not liking at all, the exception being Babylon 5.

 

[Ethros]

I'm a fairly casual nuWho fan, so sitting there very bloated from Xmas day food and drink I'm not gonna lie... I just spent most of the episode thinking how hot Jenna Coleman looked, especially in that tartan skirt



"I will always remember when the Doctor was me."
I did love that line though. And such a nice surprise to see Karen Gillan. Was that known spoiler wise? Glad I never saw anything about it if so.

 

[Vyse]

I enjoyed the episode overall but like others I did feel like it was rushed. I don't know why this couldn't have been a two parter! I'm glad they tied up most of Matt Smith's run, hopefully Steven Moffat will go for simpler story arcs with the new doctor. Not that I don't like complicated but his stories have always seemed complicated for the sake of being complicated.

As some people keep bringing up RTD I think his version of sending the companion home was much better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEuV_PGG9EU

I will say that Martha Jones' exit was my favorite. No huge universe shattering reason why she can't stay, she just had a harrowing experience and left, but not without a means of communicating. Perfect, the only full time new who companion to leave of their own accord.

 

[Vyse]

Another new Strax report on the Doctor regenerating.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01nxp8w

 

[Captaindemotion]

I cried. Lovely, just lovely. Yes, some issues with the story and structure but Moffat ingeniously avoided rehashing Tennant's exit and I never saw Smith's Doctor dying of old age. It was brilliant how he embraced his regeneration and used the energy as a weapon (even if the new cycle was a deus ex machina). The final scene in the TARDIS was just lovely - some wonderful last lines for MS, a fantastic farewell from Amy and a great intro for Capaldi (he gets to use his own accent, YES!!!).

 

[sttngfan1701d]

I'm glad they tied up most of Matt Smith's run, hopefully Steven Moffat will go for simpler story arcs with the new doctor. Not that I don't like complicated but his stories have always seemed complicated for the sake of being complicated.

It's because Moffat isn't as clever as he thinks he is, and that's the problem. The man thinks he's SO clever, and while he's good with individual episodes, he's not good with arcs. His arcs end up messy because he packs so much in it can't breathe and hangs important information on one or two lines that tie things together....but only if you remember it from 7 episodes ago! Sometimes I wish he would get out of his own way.

Meanwhile, being in the US I haven't seen the episode yet. What I'm reading so far isn't encouraging. Too bad. I hoped for something great.

 

[Mitty]

It was a bit of a mess but there were parts of it I really enjoyed. Matt has always played old so well, so when they finally did him up to look the part it fitted very, very well. And the makeup was amazing, much better than what they did to Tennant in "Last of the Time Lords" etc.

Wooden Cyberman was pretty awesome, shame he was beaten so easily.

The appearance of the Crack (which I should have seen coming) was a genuine surprise, a bit like the "Bad Wolf" of Eleven's era. The fact the Time Lords are on the other side was also a nice explanation.

Matt being given a new set of Regenerations was fairly obvious so I wonder how many that gives him now? Can he now get to 26?

Capaldi... well it's WAY too soon to tell. If you go back and look at the first moments of Tennant and Smith, did that accurately predict what we would get for the next three/four years? Not really.

Nice to see Karen Gillan again. She looked very different though, and was probably wearing a wig as well.

All in all I gave it four out of 5.

 

[Cutter John]

Wow, after reading this thread, I could use some cheerign up. I think I'll go visit someplace a bit more positive. Like Gallifrey Base.

 

[Jax]

Like Gallifrey Base.

I checked that earlier and it seem rather upbeat overall I was shocked . At the end of the day the show will get 10million + in the UK millions, more worldwide, a AI score from the BBC in the mid 80's and even the poll here will see a majority prefer it.

Those with nothing nice to say tend to speak the loudest so let em have it and the rest of us will enjoy in peace.

 

[sttngfan1701d]

Don't get me wrong...I WANT to enjoy every episode. But from the moment the synopsis was leaked, this looked to me like a typical "Moffat mess" where he tried to throw everything in.

I guess I'll see tonight at 9 (stupid BBC America delaying it an hour).

All I'm really interested in is seeing Matt's final performance, seeing Clara and Doctor's final moment before the regeneration, and seeing Capaldi. To be honest I could care less about the whole Trenzalore/Silence thing.

 

[Starkers]

I enjoyed it, but not sure I loved it on the first viewing. Too much stuff squeezed in, although credit to Moffat as I think he has tied up all the loose ends pretty much, and it made sense, mostly, which is a neat trick considering I think he was making it up as he went.

There was a lot of good stuff though, mainly down to Matt Smith's awesome performance, and I'm so glad he was temporarily rejuvenated for the end, I half feared Clara was just going to come across Capaldi.

Loved Eleven's final moments, the polar opposite of Tennant's whiny "I don't want to go" schtick, embracing the change and going with good grace. And yeah, when Amy showed up I came close to tearing up.

Will need to watch it again, but probably 4/5, maybe 3.5/5 in places, and I liked Capldi's arrival, liked that the actual regen was pretty sedate, guess he expended most of the energy wiping out the Daleks!

 

[Vyse]

Shouldn't Clara have tried to kill the Silence on sight?