Written By: Steven Moffat
Directed By: Jamie Payne
Regeneration stories in DOCTOR WHO are always problematic in one way or another. On one hand they have to act as proper high stakes, tragedy tinged pieces of drama, yet at the same time tell a good, rollicking adventure story, whilst also remembering to make it very clear that this isn’t the end, but in fact a new beginning. They’re a confusing and conflicted watch sometimes – should we be in tears over the departure of the current Doctor or excited for a new face to stroll in to the TARDIS, ready to take us on new and exciting adventures across time and space?
THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR, Matt Smith’s DOCTOR WHO swansong most definitely has the stakes set at their highest, what with the Doctor now on his final life, unable to go on. Add in four years worth of story threads in desperate need of resolution (the Silence, the cracks in time, the name of the Doctor, Trenzalore) and you have yourself a DOCTOR WHO story that will no doubt have fans and casual viewers gripped throughout. Never before has a DOCTOR WHO story had such a difficult and frankly impossible task – the rules regarding the show’s central character have never been broken in such a way before. We’ve always known that thirteen lives is it. Anyone who’s seen 1976’s THE DEADLY ASSASSIN or THE KEEPER OF TRAKEN (1981) or the TV movie (1996) knows what happens to those Time-Lords who attempt to extend their regeneration limit, and trust us, it doesn’t turn out well!
The fact that THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR mostly works is down to two people – writer Steven Moffat and outgoing Doctor Matt Smith. Moffat’s script is smart enough to play the Doctor’s demise in an entirely different and wonderfully magical way, whilst also tying up almost all of the loose ends from the past few seasons in a satisfying and entertaining manner. Choosing to end this Doctor’s life by making him live to a ripe old age whilst protecting a small little planet is like the stuff of fairy tales, rich in tear-jerk moments of pure sadness yet gloriously uplifting and character reaffirming. The very fact that you cry at a scene involving a talking Cyberman Head running out of power is testament to how good both the drama and the characterisation is here.
And then there’s Matt Smith, AKA the Eleventh Doctor, AKA the last Doctor, AKA not really! Within the opening fifteen minutes or so alone, Smith reminds us just why he is so brilliant a Doctor – his comic timing, that warm glowing smile, that weird way he walks, that strangely warm and powerful voice that suggests that this man is impossibly older then he appears. Once the main plot properly kicks into gear though, Smith doesn’t let up for a second. As those three hundred years pass and our hero grows more physically ancient whilst protecting the town of Christmas from the Silence, Smith’s performance becomes bigger and better. Watch him as the aged Doctor in the climactic moments of the siege of Trenzalore, channelling William Hartnell at his fiercest, rallying against impossible odds. Matt Smith is the Doctor, no doubt about it. Here he shows just how perfect a casting choice he was back in 2008, both in the aforementioned scene as the old Doctor and in his moment of regeneration inside the TARDIS, delivering a great final line in perfect fashion before finally leaving our screens forever.
It’s not without its flaws – some will find fault with the Time-Lords simply giving the Doctor a new set of regenerations simply because Clara asked them nicely (personally though, I don’t mind so much). The Daleks and the Cybermen are once again used as cannon fodder, Moffat undoes a great story idea with one line of dialogue (I refer to the Daleks now fully aware once again of the Doctor’s existence), whilst Karen Gillan’s cameo does feel a bit forced and a tiny bit self-indulgent. But as a regeneration story, it works for the most part, making us realise just how much we’ll miss Doctor No. 11, whilst also setting things up for a great future with Doctor No. 12.
Packed with great performances from Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman, great moments of pure emotion, and a fantastic reveal of the new Doctor, THE TIME OF THE DOCTOR isn’t perfect, but it sure does tick all the boxes listed above. As far as regeneration stories and the weight of fan expectations go, we’d say mission accomplished!
THN’s Doctor Who Series Blog returns in Autumn 2014.
