I believe as has been stated, they thought they had one more year with Matt, then had to cram it all in to this one. We just saw a whole seasons worth of plot development ground up and served to us in one episode.
The Time Of The Doctor (Grading/Discussion)(SPOILERS!)
- Thread starter Samurai8472
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Actually, what Moffat said was that the plan for a long time had been three series, the fiftieth, then a Christmas regeneration. (Much as the plan for Tennant for a long time was three series, then some specials culminating in a regeneration.) He tried to talk Smith into doing more, as he'd tried to talk Tennant into doing more, but he wasn't ever expecting another series of Smith, and any problems "The Time of the Doctor" may have don't come from some last-minute change of problems.
The Third Doctor took the seal of Rassilon off the Master.
That means that 4 and 5 had it in their pocket, while they were in the Death Zone too.
That means that 4 and 5 had it in their pocket, while they were in the Death Zone too.
Great stuff all round, can never have enough Dr Who, bye bye Matt, hello Peter, now we just got to hope we don't need to wait too long to see him in action.
I thought it was a bit crap. Too much stuff crammed into a short amount of time so it comes off rather disjointed. Also kind of wished they hadn't reused the crashing the TARDIS during or just after regenerating gag for a third time.
And out of curiosity, how was Gallifrey able to do anything since it's suppose to be in suspended animation in a pocket universe?
And out of curiosity, how was Gallifrey able to do anything since it's suppose to be in suspended animation in a pocket universe?
I enjoyed it, but I was kind of half-way expecting the Doctor to actually die, the Capaldi thing to have been a feint, and for them to end with "Thank You For 50 Wonderful Years."
I can't honestly say yet whether I'm pleased or disappointed that that didn't happen. I've loved Doctor Who starting with the beginning of Eccleston's run, but honestly, it's starting to feel a little played out to me.
I can't honestly say yet whether I'm pleased or disappointed that that didn't happen. I've loved Doctor Who starting with the beginning of Eccleston's run, but honestly, it's starting to feel a little played out to me.
oh, you know. wibbly wobbly, timey wimey...
The destruction of the TARDIS caused by Kovarians separatists at the end of series 5 cracked the universe, and even after the Doctor instigated the second Big Bang, these time scars have obviously broken down the barrier between our universe and the pocket one.
With time from our universe now spilling through, it would seem that Gallifrey has now been reanimated, like cup-a-soup with added hot water, where ever it is on the other side.
I thought it was great. Matt Smith gave an excellent performance and it was a fitting swan song for him. I wish they could have fleshed out The Doctor's relationship with the town even more but I think they made it work. I wonder if the new Doctor had his memory reset too. Terrific action sequences too. I liked Handles, wish he would have stayed around.
As long as The Doctor keeps pumping out money, he is NEVER going to die.
As long as The Doctor keeps pumping out money, he is NEVER going to die.
I agree with opinions that it was choppy, rushed, disjointed, etc. It was so bad that I was beginning to think that BBC America cut some important bits out for commercial breaks.
Way too much unnecessary stuff crammed into too short a time. We didn't need the Silents, the Cybermen, or some of the others. And why put in stuff about not being able to lie in the town of Christmas - then have the Doctor be able to fudge the truth later? Was it written by committee?
Disappointing.
It was okay. I'll echo what others have said by saying it felt rushed and messy, but I've come to expect it with Moffat.
To be honest I don't watch Who anymore because it's too rushed and felt messy.
To be honest I don't watch Who anymore because it's too rushed and felt messy.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. It had an odd mix of checking all the boxes to complete the storyline, Clara and Doctor interaction, and Christmas so that nothing really worked flawlessly. It wasn't so much rushed as just oddly paced. The big moments that should have been the most exciting (the Doctor defending Trenzalore and the Silence teaming up with the Doctor to defeat the Daleks) didn't quite have the impact it should have. The regeneration shooting thing also didn't quite work.
That being said, I think the little moments hit their mark. The completion of the prophecy with the truth field and all that was a cool little "ooh" moment, the fact that the Doctor spent so long there worked well, Clara's persistence in helping him and her plea to the Time Lords that the Doctor is the only name he'll ever need was nice. The Dalek repeat from Asylum with the "I died" thing worked just as well this time as last time even though it wasn't a secret.
So I gave it a B+. I'd have to see End of Time, but I'd probably put it roughly in the same area. That had more time to develop the ending compared to this one. I also felt there were fewer Christmas moments, which helped. Seriously, I think the Christmas episode should be in the middle of the season so you don't have to have Christmas cheer in the middle of an episode about the Doctor dying.
That being said, I think the little moments hit their mark. The completion of the prophecy with the truth field and all that was a cool little "ooh" moment, the fact that the Doctor spent so long there worked well, Clara's persistence in helping him and her plea to the Time Lords that the Doctor is the only name he'll ever need was nice. The Dalek repeat from Asylum with the "I died" thing worked just as well this time as last time even though it wasn't a secret.
So I gave it a B+. I'd have to see End of Time, but I'd probably put it roughly in the same area. That had more time to develop the ending compared to this one. I also felt there were fewer Christmas moments, which helped. Seriously, I think the Christmas episode should be in the middle of the season so you don't have to have Christmas cheer in the middle of an episode about the Doctor dying.
I love it.
Yes it was a bit of a mess, I expected a more concise story, especially after the excellence that was 'The Day of the Doctor." Also I was a bit disappointed that Matt spent most of the episode in old age make up, one of the qualities of his Doctor that I liked was his zaniness, and that was lost when he became old. Off the cuff thought but were they making him intentionally look like Hartnell near the end? And also near the beginning when Clara was naked but not really because she had the holographic clothes on...was anyone else picturing Jenna naked during that sequence? Call me a pervert all you like but I had trouble focusing for that scene because I kept imagining how Clara would look if the projection wasn't working.
I noticed a lot of people are wondering why the Doctor decided to stay on Trenzalore and protect it, especially when that felt out of character. Well the way I see it (and this is just an interpretation, feel free to ignore it) is that he fully believed that planet was where he was going to die. Also knowing that he was out of regenerations I suppose he felt like he was doing the proper thing by allowing himself to die on Trenzalore, also perhaps he felt it was a fixed point in time so it needed to be done. Regardless this is one aspect of the episode I had no problem with. Matt's final goodbye was great and it did break the fourth wall I thought, not in a bad way though. I also liked seeing Karen again and since I had no idea it was coming it was a nice surprise
And I can't leave out Capaldi. I think some people are saying they can't see him as the Doctor because well....they really haven't seen him as the Doctor. It's just like when Daniel Craig was first cast as James Bond, I certainly couldn't picture him as the character because he hadn't played the character yet, same for Capaldi, kind of. Regardless I can't wait to see his first official story and his line: "Just one question: do you happen to know how to fly this thing...?" was probably the best line from this episode. Certainly my favorite.
Yes it was a bit of a mess, I expected a more concise story, especially after the excellence that was 'The Day of the Doctor." Also I was a bit disappointed that Matt spent most of the episode in old age make up, one of the qualities of his Doctor that I liked was his zaniness, and that was lost when he became old. Off the cuff thought but were they making him intentionally look like Hartnell near the end? And also near the beginning when Clara was naked but not really because she had the holographic clothes on...was anyone else picturing Jenna naked during that sequence? Call me a pervert all you like but I had trouble focusing for that scene because I kept imagining how Clara would look if the projection wasn't working.
I noticed a lot of people are wondering why the Doctor decided to stay on Trenzalore and protect it, especially when that felt out of character. Well the way I see it (and this is just an interpretation, feel free to ignore it) is that he fully believed that planet was where he was going to die. Also knowing that he was out of regenerations I suppose he felt like he was doing the proper thing by allowing himself to die on Trenzalore, also perhaps he felt it was a fixed point in time so it needed to be done. Regardless this is one aspect of the episode I had no problem with. Matt's final goodbye was great and it did break the fourth wall I thought, not in a bad way though. I also liked seeing Karen again and since I had no idea it was coming it was a nice surprise
And I can't leave out Capaldi. I think some people are saying they can't see him as the Doctor because well....they really haven't seen him as the Doctor. It's just like when Daniel Craig was first cast as James Bond, I certainly couldn't picture him as the character because he hadn't played the character yet, same for Capaldi, kind of. Regardless I can't wait to see his first official story and his line: "Just one question: do you happen to know how to fly this thing...?" was probably the best line from this episode. Certainly my favorite.
Loved it. Really enjoyed the whole thing. A bit jam-packed for a one hour story, but the big loose ends got tied up neatly and everything was easy enough to follow. And a fresh regeneration cycle to boot! Smith got some lovely meaty speeches which he's great at delivering. Amy's appearance at the very end caught me off guard and made for a truly touching moment. I'm going to miss Matt, but at the same time I'm excited to see what Capaldi does with the role.
I enjoyed that more than I thought I would. I could complain about how rushed and glossed over the story is, and how it should have had twice the screen time it did, but that's true of any Moffat Era episode.
What really surprised me was seeing the Doctor suffer through multiple centuries defending one planet and growing old. I thought that was a really interesting choice and gave more weight to the regeneration.
I was really worried they were immediately bringing back the Time Lords, so I'm quite relieved they didn't, and I'm quite relieved they went with the pre-established answer from "The Five Doctors" of the Time Lords granting him another regeneration set.
I just wish they showed the Dalek mothership immediately blasting the bell tower and killing Smith, and Capaldi crawling out of the wreckage. That would have been cool. And it would have made the Daleks more than the usual paper tiger.
I'm really glad they explained the entire Silence storyline and the cracks in the universe and exploding the Tardis and all that.
Favorite little bit; the Doctor working alongside the Silence against the Daleks! I would have liked to have seen a lot more of that!
What really surprised me was seeing the Doctor suffer through multiple centuries defending one planet and growing old. I thought that was a really interesting choice and gave more weight to the regeneration.
I was really worried they were immediately bringing back the Time Lords, so I'm quite relieved they didn't, and I'm quite relieved they went with the pre-established answer from "The Five Doctors" of the Time Lords granting him another regeneration set.
I just wish they showed the Dalek mothership immediately blasting the bell tower and killing Smith, and Capaldi crawling out of the wreckage. That would have been cool. And it would have made the Daleks more than the usual paper tiger.
I'm really glad they explained the entire Silence storyline and the cracks in the universe and exploding the Tardis and all that.
Favorite little bit; the Doctor working alongside the Silence against the Daleks! I would have liked to have seen a lot more of that!
I thought that's the way they were going to go with it too. But in a real world sense it makes sense for how things played out because Moffat wanted to give Matt a proper send-off. And for that reason I'll let this slide this one time.
I thought it was a little disappointing. It started out well with some great humor, but as soon as the Doctor hunkered down on Trenzalore and sent Clara away, the episode started to fall apart for me. It was just immensely rushed. Things happened that we never actually saw happen but probably should have. I think I agree with the others in this thread who said that this probably should have been a two-part story (I also agree that "The End of Time" probably shouldn't have been, but that's a different topic).
I also found the whole bit about this being the Doctor's final incarnation to be pretty unnecessary. Not to mention that it was handled in a pretty half-hearted way. "This is my last life. Oh, cool, a new regeneration!" The Doctor overcoming his regeneration limit should have been a much bigger deal, I think. We could have had at least one whole season of Capaldi's Doctor dealing with the fact that he would be the last Doctor; the issue could have been given the attention it really should have gotten.
I was at first a little miffed when I thought that Smith would go out on "Love from Gallifrey, boys!" So I was very pleased to see that he got one last scene to truly say goodbye. However, I don't really think Amy needed to be there. I thought it was neat seeing her again, and I get the idea behind it, but we'd already said goodbye to Amy at least twice before. And I also thought that it kind of took away from Clara.
All that said, I was a little thrown off by the abrupt change to Capaldi, but I get the sense that was the idea. There wasn't really enough of him to form a real opinion, but that's pretty consistent with Ten and Eleven. I did get a kick out of Twelve asking Clara if she knew how to fly the TARDIS, though. I wonder if that's just because his brain's still a bit scrambled from the regeneration process, or if it has something to do with him being the first of a brand new set of regenerations.
I also found the whole bit about this being the Doctor's final incarnation to be pretty unnecessary. Not to mention that it was handled in a pretty half-hearted way. "This is my last life. Oh, cool, a new regeneration!" The Doctor overcoming his regeneration limit should have been a much bigger deal, I think. We could have had at least one whole season of Capaldi's Doctor dealing with the fact that he would be the last Doctor; the issue could have been given the attention it really should have gotten.
I was at first a little miffed when I thought that Smith would go out on "Love from Gallifrey, boys!" So I was very pleased to see that he got one last scene to truly say goodbye. However, I don't really think Amy needed to be there. I thought it was neat seeing her again, and I get the idea behind it, but we'd already said goodbye to Amy at least twice before. And I also thought that it kind of took away from Clara.
All that said, I was a little thrown off by the abrupt change to Capaldi, but I get the sense that was the idea. There wasn't really enough of him to form a real opinion, but that's pretty consistent with Ten and Eleven. I did get a kick out of Twelve asking Clara if she knew how to fly the TARDIS, though. I wonder if that's just because his brain's still a bit scrambled from the regeneration process, or if it has something to do with him being the first of a brand new set of regenerations.
I did add some extra rum to the eggnog to see if it would turn off the perception filter.I love it.
Yes it was a bit of a mess, I expected a more concise story, especially after the excellence that was 'The Day of the Doctor." Also I was a bit disappointed that Matt spent most of the episode in old age make up, one of the qualities of his Doctor that I liked was his zaniness, and that was lost when he became old. Off the cuff thought but were they making him intentionally look like Hartnell near the end? And also near the beginning when Clara was naked but not really because she had the holographic clothes on...was anyone else picturing Jenna naked during that sequence? Call me a pervert all you like but I had trouble focusing for that scene because I kept imagining how Clara would look if the projection wasn't working.
I noticed a lot of people are wondering why the Doctor decided to stay on Trenzalore and protect it, especially when that felt out of character. Well the way I see it (and this is just an interpretation, feel free to ignore it) is that he fully believed that planet was where he was going to die. Also knowing that he was out of regenerations I suppose he felt like he was doing the proper thing by allowing himself to die on Trenzalore, also perhaps he felt it was a fixed point in time so it needed to be done. Regardless this is one aspect of the episode I had no problem with. Matt's final goodbye was great and it did break the fourth wall I thought, not in a bad way though. I also liked seeing Karen again and since I had no idea it was coming it was a nice surprise
And I can't leave out Capaldi. I think some people are saying they can't see him as the Doctor because well....they really haven't seen him as the Doctor. It's just like when Daniel Craig was first cast as James Bond, I certainly couldn't picture him as the character because he hadn't played the character yet, same for Capaldi, kind of. Regardless I can't wait to see his first official story and his line: "Just one question: do you happen to know how to fly this thing...?" was probably the best line from this episode. Certainly my favorite.
