#39: The Time of the Doctor.

The Doctor is asked a question...

1 episode. Approx. 64 minutes. Written by: Steven Moffat. Directed by: Jamie Payne. Produced by: Marcus Wilson.

THE PLOT
"On the fields of Trenazalore, at the Fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked - a question that must never, ever be answered..."

A mysterious message leads the Doctor to a seemingly peaceful planet that is surrounded by all his old enemies: The Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, the Weeping Angels, and more. They have all come because of the message, which despite being indecipherable fills them with dread. None of them can reach the planet, which is surrounded by a force field erected by The Papal Mainframe, the church having been the first to arrive. The force field keeps the peace, and the terror among those surrounding the planet keeps them from committing their forces to breaching it.

The Doctor secures the agreement of Tasha Lem (Orla Brady), the church's leader, to go down to the planet. With Clara in tow, he discovers a village named Christmas, a quaint town in which it is impossible for anyone to say anything other than the truth. The source of this "Truth Field" is the same as the source of the signal - An all-too-familiar Crack in Time. The message is from the Time Lords, who were recently saved by the Doctor. It is a question that only the Doctor can answer - and if he does, then the Time Lords will return, and the gathered fleets will unleash terrible destruction, effectively re-starting the Time War.

The planet is Trenzalore; the question:

"Doctor Who?"


CHARACTERS

The Doctor: The Doctor is at his most fatalistic. Once he learns that he has come to Trenzalore, he doesn't even try to change his future. He can't bring the Time Lords through - That would lead to the very kind of war he did so much to end. He can't leave the village to the surrounding fleet - That would mean sacrificing innocents to the monsters, something that isn't in his character. So he stays and defends the village, counting each life he saves as a victory, even as he knows that he is moving toward the very end he has already seen. Matt Smith is fantastic throughout the episode; and though it's not his best Doctor Who story by any means, a strong argument could be made that this is his best Doctor Who performance.

Clara: Jenna Coleman is also excellent. Clara is mainly on the sidelines. She represents our point-of-view, us spending anything more than a quick moment with the Doctor only at the three points in which she is able to reach him. We see Clara react slightly differently to each version of the Doctor she sees: her normal, flirty banter with the young Doctor; quieter and more thoughtful, but still ready for fiery banter, with the middle-aged Doctor; compassionate and almost tearful with the elderly Doctor at the end. Coleman remains a naturally likable screen presence, and by making Clara's absolute loyalty so tangible and believable, her emotional appeal to the Time Lords at the end feels effective and even earned.


THOUGHTS

"We all change, when you think about it. We're all different people all through our lives. And that's okay, that's good. You've got to keep moving, so long as you remember all the people that you used to be. I will not forget one line of this. Not one day. I swear. I will always remember when the Doctor was me."
-The Eleventh Doctor's farewell.

My review of The Time of the Doctor is much-delayed. I first viewed this straight after reviewing The Day of the Doctor, the triumphantly entertaining 50th Anniversary special. My plan was to plow straight on, to finish reviewing Matt Smith's television era in one go.

Then I watched it, in all its moody, ambitious, unevenly-paced glory. I loved bits of it, didn't much like other bits, and was left incapable of articulating an overall opinion. So I punted and decided to revisit it down the road.

I am happy to report the episode plays vastly better the second time around. I still think this should have been a two-parter, as so much is packed in here that it feels overstuffed, with some particularly bumpy transitions from one Act to the next. But in between the bits that don't quite work are some wonderful individual scenes, sustained by an effective and welcome tone that isn't so much regret as it is reflection.

The best part the episode is the middle Act, with the middle-aged Doctor. Particularly good is the scene in which he watches the dawn with Clara, musing about how "everyone gets stuck someplace eventually," but not seeming sorry for his choice to stay. He talks about how every life he saves is a victory, and how that makes remaining in this one place worthwhile. It's a scene that works on every level, from the beautiful framing of the shots to the terrific dialogue to the outstanding performances of Smith and Coleman. If the entire episode was at the level of this scene, it would rate a "10" with room to spare.

Unfortunately, not everything works. There's a "nudity" gag near the beginning that isn't particularly funny, and is dragged on to the point of ridiculousness. Tasha Lem is so clearly a River Song substitute, I'm left wondering if her bits in the script were originally River bits and had to be redone when Alex Kingston wasn't available. The sexual banter between Lem and the Doctor, and lines about how she has always fought her inner psychopath, would make vastly more sense applied to River than to this one-shot guest character.

Moffat tries to use the plot to wrap up all the running plotlines of Matt Smith's era. Some of these work - Notably, the crack in the universe being used by the Time Lords to send their message. Others don't. We now know exactly why Madame Kovarian and her group of Silents tried to arrange the Doctor's death, and the new context for Series Six is appreciated... But Kovarian's actual plan remains nonsensical, and I'm not sure such a complex episode really needs to remind us of Moffat's most convoluted and least successful season arc.

The regeneration scene is terrific, with the dying Doctor's reflections on how we all are different people throughout our lives resonating. Clara's plea to him to please not change, and the brief appearance by Amy Pond as both child and adult, are wonderful. Unlike some, I also quite like the fast regeneration effect. After the lengthy goodbye speech, we didn't need a lingering effects scene - The sudden pop to the new face was much more effective, in my opinion.

While I'm excited to see what Peter Capaldi does with the character, I still have a sense that Matt Smith should have stayed one more season. Nevertheless, his exit is a strong one. And while the episode itself isn't without some problems, particularly some bumpy transitions, I feel the quality of the performances, the ambition of the narrative, and the handful of truly outstanding moments outweigh the bumpiness of the ride.

In interests of full disclosure, I would probably have given this a "6" on first viewing. But with the benefit of a second viewing - from which this episode particularly benefits - I'm bumping that up to a much more satisfied:


Overall Rating: 8/10.

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