Usually I'd shill my Patreon (www.patreon.com/harbowholmes) but today I thought I'd let you know I have a PO BOX! Harbo Wholmes PO Box 493 AYLESFORD ME6 9LZ It's open until December so if you want to send in fan mail or meme things (no sand, please, DYNAMO) then be sure to get it sent before then! If I get enough I'll make a full video opening it, otherwise it'll be on my Patreon! :)
Handles feels to me like the Doctor's pet. He was with him for ages, and the Doctor genuinely cared about him, even if Handles had no capacity to reciprocate (which is unclear to me - Handles comes across as at least a semi-sentient AI).
The reason Handles' "death" was emotional is because throughout all that time that The Doctor was putting on a confident air for the people of Christmas Town as he battled countless enemies to protect them, Handles was the only one he could completely unburden himself with since he sent Clara back home. If we were to make a Castaway comparison, Handles was The Doctor's version of Wilson.
I love 11's regeneration because one moment Clara's having an emotional goodbye with a good-looking fella from space who she loves and the next moment a white-haired Scotsman with angry eyebrows is complaining about the colour of his kidneys.
It gets even more of an emotional whiplash by the end of the next episode where 11 calls Clara post-regeneration and while both Clara and the audience feel unsure about 12, that line asking her to just see him as who he is, The Doctor.
My favorite minor detail about the special is the Seal if Rasilon. It's not just a random plot device the Doctor pulled out of nowhere(well it is, but not out of nowhere). We SEE when the Doctor took the seal. If you go back 30 years ago, to the story The Five Doctors, we see when the Doctor takes the seal from the Master. The Master is given the seal as proof he's given orders from Gallifrey, knowing the Doctor wouldn't trust him. When the Master gives the seal to the 3rd Doctor, he thinks it's forged. When the Master denies it, the Doctor thinks it's stolen and says he'll give it back to the Council. He never got around to it. It's also the episode where the idea of being given another regeneration cycle is introduced. The Master was offered a new cycle, in exchange for helping. That's foreshadowing 30 years before the payoff!
It's certainly a nice little detail, paying homage to the show's previous big anniversary special in the 50th anniversary year. If I remember correctly, he even said that he, "knicked it from the Master in the Death Zone on Gallifrey." Come to think of it, they referenced The Three Doctors in Day of the Doctor, so that means they managed to reference both of the classic anniversary specials during the 50th.
if this is all true this makes the episode a lot better for me as someone who never really watched much classic who I had no idea they'd actually set that concept up I thought it was just some crazy moffat bullshit lmao
I like to imagine since they are quantum locked, if they gain enough temporal energy they can just “relocate” to a random destination in a general direction.
In my mind Time of the doctor is elevated just by the fact it was a Christmas special, it makes an episode feel much more nostalgic and special. When this aired I was really young but I remember sitting in tears with my parents (my mum has always been a big Who fan as well) as I watched 'my doctor' go, it's probably my one of my favourite memories with family. I can't sit through the line "I'll always remember when the doctor was me," without crying like a baby. I really miss the Christmas specials and will probably tear up again when RTD brings them back... because he has to. This comment is probably a mess, the memory is really emotional to look back on
One of my favorite parallels is with the Christmas Crackers. In this special, Clara helps the Doctor pull his end when he is too old to do it himself. Then a year later in Last Christmas, the Doctor helps Clara pull her end when she is too old to do it herself. It's the small things about their relationship that makes Clara one of my favorite companions.
Smith playing the old Doctor is easily the best performance by a young actor playing an old character. And yeah this regeneration always makes me shed a tear
This was the episode that made my friend stop watching new episodes with me, he missed all the regeneration dialogue because of my ugly crying. I don't know what his issue was, he knew what he was getting into
It's a wonderful story and Eleven's final speech is probably my all-time favourite "last words" of any Doctor. I don't think Moffat's plans for the era worked out as coherently as they could have, but on the other hand, I think it beautiful that the Doctor who could never sit still, ultimately chose to stay put for centuries, essentially settling down and dying of old age. I just wish it hasn't been all wiped away in the next episode, like nothing happened. For comparison, in the Big Finish story, Orbis, we learn that the Eighth Doctor had spent 600 years stranded on a planet by the time his companion picked him up, and it actually affected him. He'd made a new life for himself, he wasn't as fond of his companion as he'd once been and over the course of the season they essentially had to get to know each other all over again, while he still suffered pangs of longing for his one-time home. It would have been nice to see something like that with Twelve.
Clara reading the poem still gets me every time, signaling it truly is the end of 11's era, "The clock is striking 12's..." And I do still think the Doctor will be buried at Trenzalore one day, since this is the longest he has ever stayed in one spot in his entire life, so it's the closest thing he has to a home. Also I appreciate the effort Moffat went to in explaining how the Doctor could regenerate beyond the originally established number; whether it matters or not anymore after the timeless child is irrelevant, he took great pains to respect the continuity while ensuring the show's potential of the future! (Not his fault Chibs killed it...)
Yeah if Moffat stayed on the show and was able to do the Timeless Child story arc and it had been going for ages way before season 11 he would’ve done it a lot better justice instead of Chibnalls boring tell not show which he mostly did throughout his run
I hate how now the doctor is "the special" because of who they are, rather than because of what they do. Really undermines their agency and waters down their achievements. (Aslo, it really feels like a small world with emperor cubone commenting here.)
@@alonk1060 this is the exact reason I don't like timeless child. The doctor was the doctor because they were the timelord who cared, who wasn't satisfied to sit back and watch the universe, who wanted to explore and help people. And ultimately the one who stole a tardis to do exactly that
@@alonk1060 Omg thats literally the exact same reason I have. I loved how the doctor was special and like a "Jesus" figure bc they chose that. They forged their own destiny, and then Chibnall made it like their destiny was pre-ordained, which makes the doctor somehow.. less special by making them more special. What happened to free will and agency? I loved that the doctor was some special messiah and hero bc they CHOSE that, they were truly good. Chibnall changed that and made it as if the doctor was always special and it wasn't even a choice they made
This was the first regeneration story I watched live, and 9 year old me was SOBBING. Upon a rewatch, the episode is pretty clunky but the actual regeneration scene is phenomenal
This made my 13 Year Old Self Cry because it was my first too!!! I was 9 and a half when this era started, I watched The 11th Hour (and started my love of Doctor Who) when aired in my area and over 2 months after my 13th Birthday, I had to say goodbye to the Era I spent my childhood enjoying in The Time of The Doctor... A Certain Scene in Deep Breath *Which I saw at cinemas* Broke me and Helped me appreciate Peter Capaldi as The Doctor more!!!
This definitely wasn't my favourite regeneration, or story, but I feel like it did hit that perfect emotional weight during Matt Smith's final speech with Clara.
I’ve always loved the final stand of The Doctor in this episode. An tired old man at the end of his life watching everyone else burning on the battlefield
Listen, the Goodbye Raggedy Man scene gets me. Every. Single. Time. I've cried many a time rewatching that scene. Idk it's just the way Karen and Matt play the scene but also the music, 11's devastated face after Amy disappears for the last time, and prior to that, child-Amy running through the TARDIS. Just the whole scene okay? I haven't rewatched this episode since I fell off the Dr. Who bandwagon back during Capaldi's last season, but i should rewatch this episode. Been too long.
I don’t think there could have been a better actor for the long-awaited end of the Doctors regeneration cycle than Matt Smith, and that includes Tennant. Smith’s unique ability to shift between the youthful joy and the exhausting age that no other actor for the character has hit the same way was incredibly vital to the strength of this story. It was just the perfect twist of fate that he would get to bring it to life, what with RTD’s stunt with the metacrisis Doctor and Eccleston refusing to come back for the 50th retroactively making him the 13th regeneration. What a way to go out.
I really enjoy this story. The music was utilised perfectly too. It’s the first time since the Russell T Davies era we hear ‘all the strange creatures’ and it makes sense cos it perfectly matches the story. There’s also a moment where the doctor speaks to that little boy who’s sat by his tardis and it plays the same song as when 11 first met Amelia. The music manages to tell you what he’s thinking with nothing being said! In my opinion this is the second best regeneration, and one of the better regeneration stories too. Oddly overhated
The scene where it shows a montage of The Doctor defeating all his enemies is just PERFECTION. That scene where he's a silhouette teaming up with The Silence is beautiful. The Doctor spinning his cane and standing his ground. I would always think of this scene with previous incarnations. It's the same man. It's perfection. This one man who's fought against gods and demons protecting one town against wars and HIS OWN PEOPLE. Knowing The Doctor never uses a gun, you remember he has a plan EVERY SINGLE TIME. He's been defeating them for hundreds of years without a single weapon.
I'd say this special is one that feels a tad too packed for me and needed a little more breathing room, but I do think the last act with the regeneration and Clara's emotional dedication is brilliant. Very excited for the Capaldi era reviews 👀
7:50 I disagree it doesn't feel like an after thought, it feels like a really clever way to reveal the origin of the breakaway chain that created river song. it feels so right seening the beginning of church of the silence, and seeing how the used the priests engineered to allow people the opportunity to confess in full secrecy, into weapons for the slice, it makes sense as we never knew why they had that ability. I will say it is a shame that we never get to see the start of the breakaway chain, maybe we could actually see them start a revolution against the church. Still I love how this episode ties down all the loose ends from season 5 6 and 7.
I loved the idea of the doctor and the silence joining forces to protect the people. It shows the human-side of the silence. That although there are evil/cruel silents, there are good ones as well
I don't know about Peter Capaldi's era being a new golden age, but he is my 3rd favorite Doctor (Matt is 1st, he was my first and is my personal favorite, David is 2nd, he's great, but he's not the Doctor I have the most attachment to), I think Capaldi's evolution is what makes him so great, from him questioning himself with the whole "Am I a good man?" throughout Series 8, his crazy behavior (the guitar and Sonic Shades) throughout Series 9, and his new start throughout Series 10, I think 12 and Clara's bond being tested throughout Series 8 could have worked but it didn't work for me (Jenna's acting during the end of Kill the Moon was great though), Series 9 brought the bond back and I actually love Clara's ending, it works in my mind, and Series 10 was great.
"Handles isn't a companion, he's just *describes the basic tenants of companions since the series came back in 05* But I take your meaning. It's shortsighted though. There's more character in that Cyberman than there is in Ryan or Yaz lol. Granted, that's not saying anything.
I'm really glad I heard someone else say that 12 is their favorite doctor. I've always loved Capaldi but I don't hear as many people talking about him.
I love this episode, but hate the regeneration shenanigans because it shows the true severity and prevalence of retcons during the era as a crutch and how little Moffat actually planned/stuck to plans. We see Smith start to regenerate when shot by River. And the people saying that it was *always* the body double are coping hard.
Even though it's not said I do think it's implied handle held longer just to deliver the message from the start of the episode, like he made a promise to the doctor so he held longer just for that, as right after his finally delivers the message he goes off.
I don't think everything Moffat wrote was pure gold, but he is great at writing memorable speeches that stick with you, and this was the first. I wasn't even trying and upon my second rewatch I realized I knew it by heart and several of his speeches, or some of the more poetic lines are etched into my memory even though I have not gone back for many years now. Yeah, the timeless child does end up ruining it in retrospect, which is why I never understood that decision and I'm hoping RTD will find a way to undo it, or explain that the timelords managed to eventually lock the cycle once he became the first Doctor with a family and memories erased. The War Doctor wasn't even that old, wasn't mortally wounded, and just started regenerating. I know it was a canon thing to link up with 9 but still. Why wouldn't 11 just start surprisingly to regenerate once he was so old he could barely walk? The timelords finding a being that they stole regeneration from makes sense. You could even have made the master the timeless child, that would have been really interesting because now the master would hate even more that the doctor has been able to beat him despite him being literally immortal. Although the biggest problem I have with it is that the Doctor should now longer ever be afraid of dying and making a sacrifice play. No matter which version the Doctor will put themselves in harm's way and as we saw with 12 was willing to give his life even if it meant just giving people he couldn't save some more time to live. Now however whenever the doctor is in mortal danger and needs to make the same play, just make sure to get everyone safe, it's really just a vanity sacrifice rather than giving up a limited number of lives. Yes, they do become different people, as 11 says we all change all through our lives. But the core of the character is still there, 12 might start out as more hard and even uncaring at times. But that made sense when you think about the fact that he had just spent 800 years in yet another war, one which he didn't expect to live through.
I really liked the bits with the Daleks and the then new sleeker version of the Cybermen especially the one off wooden one. saw their props at the Doctor who event back in 2017
I really hope there's a joke take somewhere in the vaults, with Karen Gillan and Matt Smith playing the cameo scene completely straight, but having swapped wigs...
Despite my griping, I quite like the notion of the Doctor settling down for an extended time with a community. I would actually love an anthology based on this period, tracing his growing older with different generations, and what certain individuals meant to him! Regeneration stories sometimes leave situations unresolved, esp when changing showrunners, and this is no exception, leaving many questions about the town: Do they rebuild, or relocate? Should the Doctor have come back, reassuring them that he survived? Or at least to be sure they were ok, even if he didn't reveal his true ID (assuming the truth field is gone)? Seems a bit much to think he could just walk away from such a large investment of his time and emotions, but maybe regeneration affects you like that...
Tales of Trenzalore is that anthology. About how heavily it affects him, I personally theorise that his time on Trenzalore, defending the town while not being a soldier lead to his hatred of soldiers in Series 8 as he thought that he had found a better way...
@@peterchu5609 How cool, I didn't know they made such an anthology, I'll have to see if I can get ahold of it, thanks! I doubt it would answer the questions I have about that place, but even if not, it would still be entertaining, I hope...
To me I loved this episode because it tied together everything from Matt smiths era. It made me realize that Matt’s tenure was one large story. In classic moffat fashion it’s done backwards………..we see the silence plot begin at the end. The events of the finale inspire the silence to blow up the tardis, use river song as an assassin etc etc Moffat for all his problems is the only writer about time travel who seems to write like a time traveler
21:20 Well I would say people tend to criticize it because it's not that good. Clara's era with 11 was surprisingly tolerable compared to what came right before, but it's full of the same BS that makes most of these stories worth rating low: Self-important writing, ungodly annoying cheeky sexual innuendo with a character who can't decide if he's awkward or suave with every single powerful female character, overblown speeches that do absolutely nothing to earn the amount of real estate they take up. I fondly remember his regeneration speech as well, but after having just watched it, I can't help but notice how *weird* it is. He's standing in a room ranting nonsense at his companion, who is never seen in a shot with him, just standing doing confused reaction faces. Then he strokes the air, gives a speech that (while sweet and genuinely introspective) is not at all really relevant to his own personal journey as 11 nor to Clara. It's just a thing Moffat wrote up, and Matt Smith said it. From the giant plot details getting resolved by throw-away lines (Moffat's entire M.O. for handling this engorged plot) to the fifteenth use of "Oh my GOD it's every villain ever but they're cooperating because we're facing a worse villain than ever," it's just bog-standard C-grade tripe.
When 11 was on the clock tower giving away this very cocky but confident speech to the Daleks about them screwing up big time when they should’ve just shot him when they did was so cheerful in away, he didn’t end of dying on Trenzalore but at the same time I liked that concept, a time traveler and adventurous and caring Time lord ending up somewhere that destined to be his last stand and what happens after when he falls on Trenzalore. I’d like that concept, plus is marvellous Regeneration speech and the story as a whole is pretty much my second favourite regeneration story/Christmas episode. Hope we can see Matt Smith once again in next years Anniversary special 👀
This episode always makes my heart ache in a way that only episodes that hit those perfect emotional beats can. Your description definitely does this episode justice! I love the Capaldi era (my favorite as well), but this will always be the era I grew up with
this episode is a classic example of a deus ex moffat. Where he writes himself into a corner (Silence will fall) and uses something stupid to wrap it all up. The set up is always better than the final execution.
Finally we are up to my favorite doctor, Peter Capaldi. Although I know his episodes aren't very good, He is still my definitive Doctor, like David is to others
The way I've always seen the trenzalor regeneration energy donation ( since Timeless Child ) is that Either: Doc would have regenerated naturally and then been really confused, the timelord leaders KNOW he can still regenerate and so played it off like they donated energy when all they really did is jumpstart the regeneration that would have happened anyway, the leaders DON'T Know that he can still regenerate because the identity of the Timeless Child has been lost or hidden and thus they donate the energy thinking they're doing what is said in the episode and ultimately just jumpstart the regeneration that was already going to happen.
This episode was great but should have been a two parter. End part one with him staying on Trenzalore and leaving Clara, have part two start with time having passed and he’s older etc.
12:00 you talk about what happened to his other regenerations. I didn't realize the meta crisis of the 10th is where he lost it, I thought he regenerated and kept the same face for the 7th (idk which one exactly)?
17:55 honestly, I think it’s less about respect and more about not breaking up time and space. Remember, the 12th Doctor was one of the Doctors who saved Gallifrey. So no matter how much the Time Lords may have wanted, the Doctor couldn’t die as his Eleventh self, otherwise Gallifrey would never be saved.
The TIme of the Doctor is one of those stories that I wish hadn't ended so soon. I wish we'd have gotten a two parter with the second happening on new years eve or day. Why? Because I wanted to spend some time with the Doctor on Trenzalore watching every human around him die like may flies. Watch him stop the schemes and plans of his enermies during the seige and then during the war we see him cut loose, further more it helps explain the 12th Doctor's behaviour more in series 8. That more alien and brash attitude he developed because to me 11 at the end and subsequently 12 retreated inwards because of the amount of death and destruction stuck in one place for so long. It would make you wonder if you are a force for good in the universe after 900 years spent in one place. Furthermore there is Clara who has to deal with and witness her friend loose their life and dealing with that greif. I hope a Target novelisation or Big Finish take advantage of the Seige of Trenzalore because it's such a facinating open spot waiting to be explore imo. My biggest complaint of this story is just how it just moves at such speed to wrap up everything. One hour later and we're done and this story has so much stuff but for what it is I enjoy it. The Silence arc wasn't perfect by any means but the three year arc really kept me interested and it made me learn I really liked serialised storytelling and long running story arcs.
This seems to be an issue with Moffat stories in general. Many of them could've benefitted from being two parters instead of cramming so much into one episode.
It sucks that the Smith Era is finally over It was such a blast and I’m glad they ended on a high note Edit: Basically the tierlist is just Harbo Screaming AAAAAAAAAAAA
The "final regeneration" stuff might have been more impactful if it wasn't contrived at the last minute, even contradicting previous episodes. The regeneration limit was not something which even needed to be addressed honestly
Rewatched this one recently, and it just made me happy. I noticed some flaws and had some nitpicks, but overall it just made me so genuinely happy, like I was a kid again watching it for the first time. Cried at the end too just for good measure ;)
I started watching Doctor Who with my sister just as she was reaching the beginning of the Moffat era. Matt Smith was my first doctor, so this episode hit really hard. The emotion was intense, and the musical score during the regeneration scene is amazing.
This episode means a lot to me. At that point in my life in December 2013 my brother had not long come out of hospital, my dad had moved out after he and my mum split and I just felt like crap. Smith is my fave Doctor because he wasn't the swashbuckling hero with all the swagger. He was the nutty professor. he was whimsical and eccentric and quirky. He's my doctor and at that point in my life I needed my doctor. I needed the mad man in the box to come along and whisk me away on an adventure. Smith's regeneration speech also had a huge impact on me and my life. The concept of change and moving forward but also acknowledging the people you used to be because those people made you who you are now. It really struck a chord especially as over the years I have become a different person. I have come to terms with my sexuality and forged my own identity. The speech made such an impact on me that my most recent tattoo I got earlier this year was inspired by that speech. Yeah this episode will always have a special place in my heart and has literally made it's mark on me.
@@rileymartin2202 Thank You. this episode was my way of escaping all the stuff I was dealing with at the time. I could follow my fave bow tie wearing time lord into his magical box and get whisked away on an adventure somewhere far far away where it's always Christmas and always happy. I was 15. I was going through a lot of stuff.
I really like these reviews, I many times find myself rewatching the older ones and it's always interesting, can't believe Capaldi's is next already time flies
I personally do not view the Timeless Child as canon simply because its terrible. I even call it the Cursed Child by accident sometimes. A piece of media nobody asked for or wanted.
To this day I still don't understand how the conflict in this episode even makes any sense. From what I understood, no one actually wants the timelords to come back, and the Doctor is the only one who can make them come back anyway. So what is everyone even fighting about? What is the point of all the monsters trying to get inside the town, what it is their endgame? If it is to kill the Doctor, then why is the Doctor staying on Trenzalore at all? He says he wants protect the town, but the monsters would have no reason to get into the town at all if he wasn't there. What is being achieved by him staying there? And if the monsters' goal is not to kill the Doctor, then I have no idea what they want, they literally have nothing else to gain from invading the town. Also it is clear from the ending that you can communicate with Gallifey, and that timelords can make the crack dissapear and reappear whenever and wherever they want. So why doesn't the Doctor just be like "hey, timelords, sorry, bad timing, I'll give coordinates where to reappear, don't send out the message to everyone this time please"? Literally one sentence from the Doctor and everything is solved, but he preferred to stay on the planet for 900 years, despite it achieving literally nothing?? How does any of it make any sense. This episode is a complete mess, no idea why anyone likes it.
I think he is just staying to protect the town from the aliens. He says they'll burn the planet to stop the Time Lords returning, but that also doesn't make sense - the crack's still going to be there if Trenzalore is reduced to the wateland we see in Name of the Doctor, and you're right, the Time Lords would just open another one somewhere else, so there is absolutely nothing to be gained from the aliens invading the town, but I can't imagine everyone would just go home if the Doctor explained things to them. That said, can you imagine if this episode was resolved by him just senting a transmission to all the ships saying, "Look, everyone, I'm the only one who can bring them back, and I don't want to, so we all good?" and then everyone just leaves?
I mean..the Daleks would have invaded either way. They don’t get a crap if the doctor isn’t there. Innocent men, women and children that aren’t Daleks? Yeah they’re gonna die.
Not to mention the giant wtf that is the Papal Mainframe; I mean, what is it? What's its origin story? What's its theology beyond "Don't let the Doctor say his name"? It's just weird for weirdness's sake
The fact Tasha didnt age was explained, she's against it, she's got access to Time Travel so it makes sense that aging isnt an issue for her, only getting killed is.
I don't know that this was intentional, but Handles felt to me like the same way I'll get emotionally attached to an inanimate object that I've just had for a while/had through an important event. Handles never seemed like a character. Its AI was pretty clearly rudimentary and not really much beyond just a regular computer. And yet, when everyone else around the Doctor dies just of old age, it made perfect sense to me that he would develop a maybe odd or irrational attachment to the only thing that has stuck with him since the beginning. Yeah, Handles isn't a character , let alone a companion, but given I've felt intense sadness over losing a pen that I'd used since before graduating school, I get it.
I think with the exception of Tenant's last line (seriously, I hate the "I don't want to go", undermines the year's arc to me), generally the Doctor's final moments in new who have been really solid. This speech about how we all change through life is so good
I always thought he should've said something like, "Time to go," to make it a character arc in that story that he starts off hating the idea of change, then accepts it in the end, especially after he ends his big tantrum by seeming to realise how selfish he's being (and because ending with "I don't want to go" likely soured some people on the idea of future Doctors, whether intentionally or not.).
HEAD CANON: To alleviate some grievances towards Chibnall screwing with the infinite regeneration thing, I like to think that, like the rest of The Time Lords, Tecteun managed to find a way to limit The Doctor's regenerations to 12, even tho he/she is still The Timeless Child, thus meaning The Doctor could be on his last life in this story. But again that's just headcanon, and does not really explain how he healed River in "Angels Take Manhattan" with regeneration energy 😂
This was always my assumption. When the Timelords made the Doctor regenerate and erased their memories they likely placed the limit as well. We know the limit is something they chose to place on themselves and it can be removed so it makes sense that they could also place that limit on the Doctor. At the end of the Time of the Doctor either they gave a new cycle or they removed the limit entirely.
I headcanon the regeneration energy in Angels Take Manhattan as that being the very last of it that he had left, hence why River was so mad that he used it on her rather than keeping it for himself. And yeah, agree on both the Time Lords imposing the limit on the Hartnell incarnation, and subsequently lifting it with what they do here, since pretty much everyone has no idea how many more times the Doctor can regenerate after this; even Rassilon in Hell Bent seems to legitimately have no idea. Also, if they're just removing the limit, that also explains why we get such a massive regeneration here when the Doctor only swallows three small 'pieces' of energy from the crack, which is something that has never probably bothered anyone but me.
I think the fix to Dr. Who finales is to actually have smaller stakes. The Doctor at his core exists to save people, to love them, and to sacrifice himself for them. If you pit the Doctor against a monster, i know he's going to win, and so it doesnt matter if the Daleks are threatening to blow up the earth or the whole universe; The Doctor will save the day and survive. If you put the Doctor in a position of sacrifice, i know he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and even though I know hes going to survive, the stakes of the people he is saving and the sacrifice he will make provides all of the tension. This works really well in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, and in Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/HellBent. Sure, the time lords are involved in the latter, but Clara's fate is the narrative thread for those 3 episodes and the core of 12's emotional turmoil. I think these sorts of finales are so much greater than wibbly wobbly jump-the-shark stories like The Pandorica Opens, Wedding of River Song, or even Journey's End (that one is better than the other two but the stakes are still crazy).
I personally loved that scene, when is Silence born. It just show, how massive issue it's! They heard question and leaders of church choose to change whole meaning of their organization, they give up every plan, goal and deals they have and chose to give their everything to Silence! Also, I believe, some races didn't want stop return of Time Lords, but wanted force Doctor to say his name, so they could destroy them once for all. But can be wrong and misunderstood it.
The Moffat era was the greatest era of all Who. Matt Smith is my personal favorite Doctor. Clara Oswald is my favorite companion and I will fight you over it. I know you disagree and think she's shite but I'm indignant. Fuck you. I love her. Deeply. This is THE regeneration. The real deal. And when 11's regeneration energies took out the Dalek fleet, I watched him playing air guitar, winding up and exploding upward and thought to myself "how else would I expect him to go?" Chef's kiss.
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Handles feels to me like the Doctor's pet. He was with him for ages, and the Doctor genuinely cared about him, even if Handles had no capacity to reciprocate (which is unclear to me - Handles comes across as at least a semi-sentient AI).
He's just Wilson from Castaway.
I wonder if handles got on well with the TARDIS
WIIIIIILSOOOOOON!
@@godricktheminecrafted3113 yep, well enough to interface
@@GeorgeCoggins HHAANNDDDDLLLESSSSSS
The reason Handles' "death" was emotional is because throughout all that time that The Doctor was putting on a confident air for the people of Christmas Town as he battled countless enemies to protect them, Handles was the only one he could completely unburden himself with since he sent Clara back home. If we were to make a Castaway comparison, Handles was The Doctor's version of Wilson.
I literally had the exact same thought about Handles being like Wilson lol
Rewatching the episode, I literally thought "WILSOOOOON" 🤧
I love 11's regeneration because one moment Clara's having an emotional goodbye with a good-looking fella from space who she loves and the next moment a white-haired Scotsman with angry eyebrows is complaining about the colour of his kidneys.
That is the perfect summary of Doctor Who
It gets even more of an emotional whiplash by the end of the next episode where 11 calls Clara post-regeneration and while both Clara and the audience feel unsure about 12, that line asking her to just see him as who he is, The Doctor.
My favorite minor detail about the special is the Seal if Rasilon. It's not just a random plot device the Doctor pulled out of nowhere(well it is, but not out of nowhere). We SEE when the Doctor took the seal. If you go back 30 years ago, to the story The Five Doctors, we see when the Doctor takes the seal from the Master.
The Master is given the seal as proof he's given orders from Gallifrey, knowing the Doctor wouldn't trust him. When the Master gives the seal to the 3rd Doctor, he thinks it's forged. When the Master denies it, the Doctor thinks it's stolen and says he'll give it back to the Council. He never got around to it.
It's also the episode where the idea of being given another regeneration cycle is introduced. The Master was offered a new cycle, in exchange for helping.
That's foreshadowing 30 years before the payoff!
It's certainly a nice little detail, paying homage to the show's previous big anniversary special in the 50th anniversary year. If I remember correctly, he even said that he, "knicked it from the Master in the Death Zone on Gallifrey."
Come to think of it, they referenced The Three Doctors in Day of the Doctor, so that means they managed to reference both of the classic anniversary specials during the 50th.
if this is all true this makes the episode a lot better for me as someone who never really watched much classic who I had no idea they'd actually set that concept up I thought it was just some crazy moffat bullshit lmao
And then the timeless child plot makes it pointless
@@watertommyz No lol
@@watertommyz how though
Oh boy, I can't wait to start delving into Capaldi's run as 12! He was far too underrated and I am excited to see him get the love he deserves
Oh my goodness, I wholeheartedly agree!
Well, s8 was bad, but it's true that it picks up after that.
I like to think that the Weeping Angels don’t use spaceships and can just naturally travel through space as part of their abilities
I like to imagine since they are quantum locked, if they gain enough temporal energy they can just “relocate” to a random destination in a general direction.
In my mind Time of the doctor is elevated just by the fact it was a Christmas special, it makes an episode feel much more nostalgic and special. When this aired I was really young but I remember sitting in tears with my parents (my mum has always been a big Who fan as well) as I watched 'my doctor' go, it's probably my one of my favourite memories with family. I can't sit through the line "I'll always remember when the doctor was me," without crying like a baby. I really miss the Christmas specials and will probably tear up again when RTD brings them back... because he has to.
This comment is probably a mess, the memory is really emotional to look back on
One of my favorite parallels is with the Christmas Crackers. In this special, Clara helps the Doctor pull his end when he is too old to do it himself. Then a year later in Last Christmas, the Doctor helps Clara pull her end when she is too old to do it herself. It's the small things about their relationship that makes Clara one of my favorite companions.
Smith playing the old Doctor is easily the best performance by a young actor playing an old character.
And yeah this regeneration always makes me shed a tear
This was the episode that made my friend stop watching new episodes with me, he missed all the regeneration dialogue because of my ugly crying. I don't know what his issue was, he knew what he was getting into
@@bloodyneptune Ugly crying at a new regeneration is just a fact of reality all Doctor Who fans have accepted haha
I didn't buy that aspect of his portrayal 100% until series 6 & then it gradually became my favourite element of his Doctor!!
It’s absolutely crazy that I’ve sat and watched through your reviews of Matt Smith’s era over 11 months. Time flies
11 months for the 11th Doctor...
11 hours, 11 faces (sort of)...
It's a wonderful story and Eleven's final speech is probably my all-time favourite "last words" of any Doctor.
I don't think Moffat's plans for the era worked out as coherently as they could have, but on the other hand, I think it beautiful that the Doctor who could never sit still, ultimately chose to stay put for centuries, essentially settling down and dying of old age.
I just wish it hasn't been all wiped away in the next episode, like nothing happened. For comparison, in the Big Finish story, Orbis, we learn that the Eighth Doctor had spent 600 years stranded on a planet by the time his companion picked him up, and it actually affected him. He'd made a new life for himself, he wasn't as fond of his companion as he'd once been and over the course of the season they essentially had to get to know each other all over again, while he still suffered pangs of longing for his one-time home. It would have been nice to see something like that with Twelve.
Clara reading the poem still gets me every time, signaling it truly is the end of 11's era, "The clock is striking 12's..." And I do still think the Doctor will be buried at Trenzalore one day, since this is the longest he has ever stayed in one spot in his entire life, so it's the closest thing he has to a home. Also I appreciate the effort Moffat went to in explaining how the Doctor could regenerate beyond the originally established number; whether it matters or not anymore after the timeless child is irrelevant, he took great pains to respect the continuity while ensuring the show's potential of the future! (Not his fault Chibs killed it...)
Yeah if Moffat stayed on the show and was able to do the Timeless Child story arc and it had been going for ages way before season 11 he would’ve done it a lot better justice instead of Chibnalls boring tell not show which he mostly did throughout his run
I hate how now the doctor is "the special" because of who they are, rather than because of what they do. Really undermines their agency and waters down their achievements.
(Aslo, it really feels like a small world with emperor cubone commenting here.)
@@alonk1060 Fuck Chibnall
@@alonk1060 this is the exact reason I don't like timeless child. The doctor was the doctor because they were the timelord who cared, who wasn't satisfied to sit back and watch the universe, who wanted to explore and help people. And ultimately the one who stole a tardis to do exactly that
@@alonk1060 Omg thats literally the exact same reason I have. I loved how the doctor was special and like a "Jesus" figure bc they chose that. They forged their own destiny, and then Chibnall made it like their destiny was pre-ordained, which makes the doctor somehow.. less special by making them more special. What happened to free will and agency? I loved that the doctor was some special messiah and hero bc they CHOSE that, they were truly good. Chibnall changed that and made it as if the doctor was always special and it wasn't even a choice they made
This was the first regeneration story I watched live, and 9 year old me was SOBBING. Upon a rewatch, the episode is pretty clunky but the actual regeneration scene is phenomenal
This made my 13 Year Old Self Cry because it was my first too!!!
I was 9 and a half when this era started, I watched The 11th Hour (and started my love of Doctor Who) when aired in my area and over 2 months after my 13th Birthday, I had to say goodbye to the Era I spent my childhood enjoying in The Time of The Doctor...
A Certain Scene in Deep Breath *Which I saw at cinemas* Broke me and Helped me appreciate Peter Capaldi as The Doctor more!!!
YES!!! The Peter Capaldi era is finally here! For anyone who didn’t watch him the first time round, you’re in for something *truly* special.
Honestly, I think the most underrated regeneration story is twice upon a time, but that conversation is probably for another day.....
This definitely wasn't my favourite regeneration, or story, but I feel like it did hit that perfect emotional weight during Matt Smith's final speech with Clara.
I’ve always loved the final stand of The Doctor in this episode. An tired old man at the end of his life watching everyone else burning on the battlefield
Listen, the Goodbye Raggedy Man scene gets me. Every. Single. Time. I've cried many a time rewatching that scene. Idk it's just the way Karen and Matt play the scene but also the music, 11's devastated face after Amy disappears for the last time, and prior to that, child-Amy running through the TARDIS. Just the whole scene okay? I haven't rewatched this episode since I fell off the Dr. Who bandwagon back during Capaldi's last season, but i should rewatch this episode. Been too long.
I don’t think there could have been a better actor for the long-awaited end of the Doctors regeneration cycle than Matt Smith, and that includes Tennant. Smith’s unique ability to shift between the youthful joy and the exhausting age that no other actor for the character has hit the same way was incredibly vital to the strength of this story. It was just the perfect twist of fate that he would get to bring it to life, what with RTD’s stunt with the metacrisis Doctor and Eccleston refusing to come back for the 50th retroactively making him the 13th regeneration. What a way to go out.
I commend you for daring to tell the truth in a time line where Tennant is still regarded as the best doctor of nuWho (he wasn't, smitt was)
I really enjoy this story. The music was utilised perfectly too. It’s the first time since the Russell T Davies era we hear ‘all the strange creatures’ and it makes sense cos it perfectly matches the story.
There’s also a moment where the doctor speaks to that little boy who’s sat by his tardis and it plays the same song as when 11 first met Amelia. The music manages to tell you what he’s thinking with nothing being said!
In my opinion this is the second best regeneration, and one of the better regeneration stories too. Oddly overhated
This is one of my favourite regeneration episodes and Smith's scene overall is my favourite. Only time I've truly cried at Christmas.
The scene where it shows a montage of The Doctor defeating all his enemies is just PERFECTION. That scene where he's a silhouette teaming up with The Silence is beautiful. The Doctor spinning his cane and standing his ground. I would always think of this scene with previous incarnations. It's the same man. It's perfection. This one man who's fought against gods and demons protecting one town against wars and HIS OWN PEOPLE. Knowing The Doctor never uses a gun, you remember he has a plan EVERY SINGLE TIME. He's been defeating them for hundreds of years without a single weapon.
I'd say this special is one that feels a tad too packed for me and needed a little more breathing room, but I do think the last act with the regeneration and Clara's emotional dedication is brilliant. Very excited for the Capaldi era reviews 👀
7:50 I disagree it doesn't feel like an after thought, it feels like a really clever way to reveal the origin of the breakaway chain that created river song. it feels so right seening the beginning of church of the silence, and seeing how the used the priests engineered to allow people the opportunity to confess in full secrecy, into weapons for the slice, it makes sense as we never knew why they had that ability.
I will say it is a shame that we never get to see the start of the breakaway chain, maybe we could actually see them start a revolution against the church.
Still I love how this episode ties down all the loose ends from season 5 6 and 7.
I absolutely loved the music during the "Never tell me the rules" speech
Murray Gold
I loved the idea of the doctor and the silence joining forces to protect the people. It shows the human-side of the silence. That although there are evil/cruel silents, there are good ones as well
I don't know about Peter Capaldi's era being a new golden age, but he is my 3rd favorite Doctor (Matt is 1st, he was my first and is my personal favorite, David is 2nd, he's great, but he's not the Doctor I have the most attachment to), I think Capaldi's evolution is what makes him so great, from him questioning himself with the whole "Am I a good man?" throughout Series 8, his crazy behavior (the guitar and Sonic Shades) throughout Series 9, and his new start throughout Series 10, I think 12 and Clara's bond being tested throughout Series 8 could have worked but it didn't work for me (Jenna's acting during the end of Kill the Moon was great though), Series 9 brought the bond back and I actually love Clara's ending, it works in my mind, and Series 10 was great.
For the episode itself, what a fantastic end to Matt's run as the Doctor and his speech is my favorite the Doctor has ever done
"Handles isn't a companion, he's just *describes the basic tenants of companions since the series came back in 05*
But I take your meaning. It's shortsighted though. There's more character in that Cyberman than there is in Ryan or Yaz lol. Granted, that's not saying anything.
I'm really glad I heard someone else say that 12 is their favorite doctor. I've always loved Capaldi but I don't hear as many people talking about him.
I love this episode, but hate the regeneration shenanigans because it shows the true severity and prevalence of retcons during the era as a crutch and how little Moffat actually planned/stuck to plans. We see Smith start to regenerate when shot by River. And the people saying that it was *always* the body double are coping hard.
I don't usually cry when watching shows or movies.
Except when the Doctor says "come back Handles"
Even though it's not said I do think it's implied handle held longer just to deliver the message from the start of the episode, like he made a promise to the doctor so he held longer just for that, as right after his finally delivers the message he goes off.
I don't think everything Moffat wrote was pure gold, but he is great at writing memorable speeches that stick with you, and this was the first. I wasn't even trying and upon my second rewatch I realized I knew it by heart and several of his speeches, or some of the more poetic lines are etched into my memory even though I have not gone back for many years now.
Yeah, the timeless child does end up ruining it in retrospect, which is why I never understood that decision and I'm hoping RTD will find a way to undo it, or explain that the timelords managed to eventually lock the cycle once he became the first Doctor with a family and memories erased. The War Doctor wasn't even that old, wasn't mortally wounded, and just started regenerating. I know it was a canon thing to link up with 9 but still. Why wouldn't 11 just start surprisingly to regenerate once he was so old he could barely walk? The timelords finding a being that they stole regeneration from makes sense. You could even have made the master the timeless child, that would have been really interesting because now the master would hate even more that the doctor has been able to beat him despite him being literally immortal. Although the biggest problem I have with it is that the Doctor should now longer ever be afraid of dying and making a sacrifice play. No matter which version the Doctor will put themselves in harm's way and as we saw with 12 was willing to give his life even if it meant just giving people he couldn't save some more time to live.
Now however whenever the doctor is in mortal danger and needs to make the same play, just make sure to get everyone safe, it's really just a vanity sacrifice rather than giving up a limited number of lives. Yes, they do become different people, as 11 says we all change all through our lives. But the core of the character is still there, 12 might start out as more hard and even uncaring at times. But that made sense when you think about the fact that he had just spent 800 years in yet another war, one which he didn't expect to live through.
I really liked the bits with the Daleks and the then new sleeker version of the Cybermen especially the one off wooden one.
saw their props at the Doctor who event back in 2017
So excited you to start covering my favourite Doctor Capaldi
The Handles slander will not be tolerated
How dare you undermine the loss of Handles?! He’s a companion to me😢! As the doctor said, “I have lost things you will never understand l!”
I really hope there's a joke take somewhere in the vaults, with Karen Gillan and Matt Smith playing the cameo scene completely straight, but having swapped wigs...
Despite my griping, I quite like the notion of the Doctor settling down for an extended time with a community. I would actually love an anthology based on this period, tracing his growing older with different generations, and what certain individuals meant to him! Regeneration stories sometimes leave situations unresolved, esp when changing showrunners, and this is no exception, leaving many questions about the town: Do they rebuild, or relocate? Should the Doctor have come back, reassuring them that he survived? Or at least to be sure they were ok, even if he didn't reveal his true ID (assuming the truth field is gone)? Seems a bit much to think he could just walk away from such a large investment of his time and emotions, but maybe regeneration affects you like that...
Tales of Trenzalore is that anthology. About how heavily it affects him, I personally theorise that his time on Trenzalore, defending the town while not being a soldier lead to his hatred of soldiers in Series 8 as he thought that he had found a better way...
@@peterchu5609 How cool, I didn't know they made such an anthology, I'll have to see if I can get ahold of it, thanks! I doubt it would answer the questions I have about that place, but even if not, it would still be entertaining, I hope...
To me I loved this episode because it tied together everything from Matt smiths era.
It made me realize that Matt’s tenure was one large story.
In classic moffat fashion it’s done backwards………..we see the silence plot begin at the end. The events of the finale inspire the silence to blow up the tardis, use river song as an assassin etc etc
Moffat for all his problems is the only writer about time travel who seems to write like a time traveler
I was taken aback when you said this was 11's last review, and his Regeneration always makes me well up... It's like being back in 2013 again.
Why not move the people of the planet? Seriously. If you can fight a centuries long war, you can move a small village.
"i swear to god Moffat am i going to have to cut that wandering hand off" ☠️☠️
21:20 Well I would say people tend to criticize it because it's not that good. Clara's era with 11 was surprisingly tolerable compared to what came right before, but it's full of the same BS that makes most of these stories worth rating low: Self-important writing, ungodly annoying cheeky sexual innuendo with a character who can't decide if he's awkward or suave with every single powerful female character, overblown speeches that do absolutely nothing to earn the amount of real estate they take up. I fondly remember his regeneration speech as well, but after having just watched it, I can't help but notice how *weird* it is.
He's standing in a room ranting nonsense at his companion, who is never seen in a shot with him, just standing doing confused reaction faces. Then he strokes the air, gives a speech that (while sweet and genuinely introspective) is not at all really relevant to his own personal journey as 11 nor to Clara. It's just a thing Moffat wrote up, and Matt Smith said it. From the giant plot details getting resolved by throw-away lines (Moffat's entire M.O. for handling this engorged plot) to the fifteenth use of "Oh my GOD it's every villain ever but they're cooperating because we're facing a worse villain than ever," it's just bog-standard C-grade tripe.
Chibnall must have slept the entirety of Christmas Day 2013
I wish chibnall had let go of his pride and retcon the timeless child, oh well I hope Russell retcons it.
he wont
@@ThetaSigma-vu1sk of course he won’t.
When 11 was on the clock tower giving away this very cocky but confident speech to the Daleks about them screwing up big time when they should’ve just shot him when they did was so cheerful in away, he didn’t end of dying on Trenzalore but at the same time I liked that concept, a time traveler and adventurous and caring Time lord ending up somewhere that destined to be his last stand and what happens after when he falls on Trenzalore. I’d like that concept, plus is marvellous Regeneration speech and the story as a whole is pretty much my second favourite regeneration story/Christmas episode. Hope we can see Matt Smith once again in next years Anniversary special 👀
Handle is a better companion than you'll ever be
HOW DARE YOU!
I don’t believe the Doctor spent thousands of years on Trenzalor. Probably just 400 or 500 years.
This episode always makes my heart ache in a way that only episodes that hit those perfect emotional beats can. Your description definitely does this episode justice! I love the Capaldi era (my favorite as well), but this will always be the era I grew up with
this episode is a classic example of a deus ex moffat. Where he writes himself into a corner (Silence will fall) and uses something stupid to wrap it all up. The set up is always better than the final execution.
I can’t believe it’s actually time for the twelfth. I’ve waited a year for this. Thank you! Beautiful special and beautiful commentary
Finally we are up to my favorite doctor, Peter Capaldi. Although I know his episodes aren't very good, He is still my definitive Doctor, like David is to others
The way I've always seen the trenzalor regeneration energy donation ( since Timeless Child ) is that Either:
Doc would have regenerated naturally and then been really confused,
the timelord leaders KNOW he can still regenerate and so played it off like they donated energy when all they really did is jumpstart the regeneration that would have happened anyway,
the leaders DON'T Know that he can still regenerate because the identity of the Timeless Child has been lost or hidden and thus they donate the energy thinking they're doing what is said in the episode and ultimately just jumpstart the regeneration that was already going to happen.
I watched this last night. Probably one of my favourite episodes, along with Blink, Midnight & The Girl in the Fireplace.
"localized entirely within that village's clock tower"
Yum steamed TARDIS
so excited for 12th doctor reviews now
This episode was great but should have been a two parter. End part one with him staying on Trenzalore and leaving Clara, have part two start with time having passed and he’s older etc.
Can’t believe the Eleventh Doctor’s era has finished. Seems like yesterday I was watching your review of the Eleventh Hour 😢
12:00 you talk about what happened to his other regenerations. I didn't realize the meta crisis of the 10th is where he lost it, I thought he regenerated and kept the same face for the 7th (idk which one exactly)?
17:55 honestly, I think it’s less about respect and more about not breaking up time and space. Remember, the 12th Doctor was one of the Doctors who saved Gallifrey. So no matter how much the Time Lords may have wanted, the Doctor couldn’t die as his Eleventh self, otherwise Gallifrey would never be saved.
matt smith was my favourite doctor :) i loved his performances
The TIme of the Doctor is one of those stories that I wish hadn't ended so soon. I wish we'd have gotten a two parter with the second happening on new years eve or day. Why? Because I wanted to spend some time with the Doctor on Trenzalore watching every human around him die like may flies. Watch him stop the schemes and plans of his enermies during the seige and then during the war we see him cut loose, further more it helps explain the 12th Doctor's behaviour more in series 8. That more alien and brash attitude he developed because to me 11 at the end and subsequently 12 retreated inwards because of the amount of death and destruction stuck in one place for so long. It would make you wonder if you are a force for good in the universe after 900 years spent in one place. Furthermore there is Clara who has to deal with and witness her friend loose their life and dealing with that greif. I hope a Target novelisation or Big Finish take advantage of the Seige of Trenzalore because it's such a facinating open spot waiting to be explore imo.
My biggest complaint of this story is just how it just moves at such speed to wrap up everything. One hour later and we're done and this story has so much stuff but for what it is I enjoy it. The Silence arc wasn't perfect by any means but the three year arc really kept me interested and it made me learn I really liked serialised storytelling and long running story arcs.
This seems to be an issue with Moffat stories in general. Many of them could've benefitted from being two parters instead of cramming so much into one episode.
It sucks that the Smith Era is finally over
It was such a blast and I’m glad they ended on a high note
Edit: Basically the tierlist is just Harbo Screaming AAAAAAAAAAAA
We have reached Capaldi!
Gonna do a regeneration marathon in october, this is the one im most looking forward to!
The "final regeneration" stuff might have been more impactful if it wasn't contrived at the last minute, even contradicting previous episodes. The regeneration limit was not something which even needed to be addressed honestly
Rewatched this one recently, and it just made me happy. I noticed some flaws and had some nitpicks, but overall it just made me so genuinely happy, like I was a kid again watching it for the first time. Cried at the end too just for good measure ;)
The Timeless Children needs to be erased from history.
I started watching Doctor Who with my sister just as she was reaching the beginning of the Moffat era. Matt Smith was my first doctor, so this episode hit really hard. The emotion was intense, and the musical score during the regeneration scene is amazing.
This episode means a lot to me. At that point in my life in December 2013 my brother had not long come out of hospital, my dad had moved out after he and my mum split and I just felt like crap. Smith is my fave Doctor because he wasn't the swashbuckling hero with all the swagger. He was the nutty professor. he was whimsical and eccentric and quirky. He's my doctor and at that point in my life I needed my doctor. I needed the mad man in the box to come along and whisk me away on an adventure. Smith's regeneration speech also had a huge impact on me and my life. The concept of change and moving forward but also acknowledging the people you used to be because those people made you who you are now. It really struck a chord especially as over the years I have become a different person. I have come to terms with my sexuality and forged my own identity. The speech made such an impact on me that my most recent tattoo I got earlier this year was inspired by that speech. Yeah this episode will always have a special place in my heart and has literally made it's mark on me.
Proud of you babes
@@rileymartin2202 Thank You. this episode was my way of escaping all the stuff I was dealing with at the time. I could follow my fave bow tie wearing time lord into his magical box and get whisked away on an adventure somewhere far far away where it's always Christmas and always happy. I was 15. I was going through a lot of stuff.
How dare you. Handles is absolutely a worthy companion. I'd even go as far and say he's the second best companion only to Wilf.
I really like these reviews, I many times find myself rewatching the older ones and it's always interesting, can't believe Capaldi's is next already time flies
Really like the episode. His final speech gets me every time.
I’m looking forward to your reviews of 12
I personally do not view the Timeless Child as canon simply because its terrible. I even call it the Cursed Child by accident sometimes. A piece of media nobody asked for or wanted.
To this day I still don't understand how the conflict in this episode even makes any sense. From what I understood, no one actually wants the timelords to come back, and the Doctor is the only one who can make them come back anyway. So what is everyone even fighting about? What is the point of all the monsters trying to get inside the town, what it is their endgame? If it is to kill the Doctor, then why is the Doctor staying on Trenzalore at all? He says he wants protect the town, but the monsters would have no reason to get into the town at all if he wasn't there. What is being achieved by him staying there? And if the monsters' goal is not to kill the Doctor, then I have no idea what they want, they literally have nothing else to gain from invading the town.
Also it is clear from the ending that you can communicate with Gallifey, and that timelords can make the crack dissapear and reappear whenever and wherever they want. So why doesn't the Doctor just be like "hey, timelords, sorry, bad timing, I'll give coordinates where to reappear, don't send out the message to everyone this time please"? Literally one sentence from the Doctor and everything is solved, but he preferred to stay on the planet for 900 years, despite it achieving literally nothing?? How does any of it make any sense. This episode is a complete mess, no idea why anyone likes it.
I think he is just staying to protect the town from the aliens. He says they'll burn the planet to stop the Time Lords returning, but that also doesn't make sense - the crack's still going to be there if Trenzalore is reduced to the wateland we see in Name of the Doctor, and you're right, the Time Lords would just open another one somewhere else, so there is absolutely nothing to be gained from the aliens invading the town, but I can't imagine everyone would just go home if the Doctor explained things to them. That said, can you imagine if this episode was resolved by him just senting a transmission to all the ships saying, "Look, everyone, I'm the only one who can bring them back, and I don't want to, so we all good?" and then everyone just leaves?
I mean..the Daleks would have invaded either way. They don’t get a crap if the doctor isn’t there. Innocent men, women and children that aren’t Daleks? Yeah they’re gonna die.
Not to mention the giant wtf that is the Papal Mainframe; I mean, what is it? What's its origin story? What's its theology beyond "Don't let the Doctor say his name"? It's just weird for weirdness's sake
The fact Tasha didnt age was explained, she's against it, she's got access to Time Travel so it makes sense that aging isnt an issue for her, only getting killed is.
There's no Timeless Child in this dojo.
The disrespect for handles. There’s a reason people loved him you know
The 11th Doctor started acting like the 1st Doctor as he aged (post-“Edge of Destruction” character development).
I don't know that this was intentional, but Handles felt to me like the same way I'll get emotionally attached to an inanimate object that I've just had for a while/had through an important event. Handles never seemed like a character. Its AI was pretty clearly rudimentary and not really much beyond just a regular computer. And yet, when everyone else around the Doctor dies just of old age, it made perfect sense to me that he would develop a maybe odd or irrational attachment to the only thing that has stuck with him since the beginning. Yeah, Handles isn't a character , let alone a companion, but given I've felt intense sadness over losing a pen that I'd used since before graduating school, I get it.
I think with the exception of Tenant's last line (seriously, I hate the "I don't want to go", undermines the year's arc to me), generally the Doctor's final moments in new who have been really solid. This speech about how we all change through life is so good
I always thought he should've said something like, "Time to go," to make it a character arc in that story that he starts off hating the idea of change, then accepts it in the end, especially after he ends his big tantrum by seeming to realise how selfish he's being (and because ending with "I don't want to go" likely soured some people on the idea of future Doctors, whether intentionally or not.).
HEAD CANON: To alleviate some grievances towards Chibnall screwing with the infinite regeneration thing, I like to think that, like the rest of The Time Lords, Tecteun managed to find a way to limit The Doctor's regenerations to 12, even tho he/she is still The Timeless Child, thus meaning The Doctor could be on his last life in this story. But again that's just headcanon, and does not really explain how he healed River in "Angels Take Manhattan" with regeneration energy 😂
This was always my assumption. When the Timelords made the Doctor regenerate and erased their memories they likely placed the limit as well. We know the limit is something they chose to place on themselves and it can be removed so it makes sense that they could also place that limit on the Doctor. At the end of the Time of the Doctor either they gave a new cycle or they removed the limit entirely.
I headcanon the regeneration energy in Angels Take Manhattan as that being the very last of it that he had left, hence why River was so mad that he used it on her rather than keeping it for himself.
And yeah, agree on both the Time Lords imposing the limit on the Hartnell incarnation, and subsequently lifting it with what they do here, since pretty much everyone has no idea how many more times the Doctor can regenerate after this; even Rassilon in Hell Bent seems to legitimately have no idea.
Also, if they're just removing the limit, that also explains why we get such a massive regeneration here when the Doctor only swallows three small 'pieces' of energy from the crack, which is something that has never probably bothered anyone but me.
I think the fix to Dr. Who finales is to actually have smaller stakes. The Doctor at his core exists to save people, to love them, and to sacrifice himself for them. If you pit the Doctor against a monster, i know he's going to win, and so it doesnt matter if the Daleks are threatening to blow up the earth or the whole universe; The Doctor will save the day and survive. If you put the Doctor in a position of sacrifice, i know he is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, and even though I know hes going to survive, the stakes of the people he is saving and the sacrifice he will make provides all of the tension. This works really well in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls, and in Face the Raven/Heaven Sent/HellBent. Sure, the time lords are involved in the latter, but Clara's fate is the narrative thread for those 3 episodes and the core of 12's emotional turmoil.
I think these sorts of finales are so much greater than wibbly wobbly jump-the-shark stories like The Pandorica Opens, Wedding of River Song, or even Journey's End (that one is better than the other two but the stakes are still crazy).
Were the Silence in this episode? Weird, I didnt remember that
handles was the best part of ep i hope they bring him back XD
also i love the starting part of the regeneration to do the over the top it is XD
I personally loved that scene, when is Silence born. It just show, how massive issue it's! They heard question and leaders of church choose to change whole meaning of their organization, they give up every plan, goal and deals they have and chose to give their everything to Silence!
Also, I believe, some races didn't want stop return of Time Lords, but wanted force Doctor to say his name, so they could destroy them once for all. But can be wrong and misunderstood it.
The Moffat era was the greatest era of all Who.
Matt Smith is my personal favorite Doctor.
Clara Oswald is my favorite companion and I will fight you over it. I know you disagree and think she's shite but I'm indignant. Fuck you. I love her. Deeply.
This is THE regeneration. The real deal. And when 11's regeneration energies took out the Dalek fleet, I watched him playing air guitar, winding up and exploding upward and thought to myself "how else would I expect him to go?"
Chef's kiss.
capaldi time let'S goooooo
Weird though. Could RTD retcon the timeless child to fix the regeneration issue?
regeneration issue is already fixed, a fobwatch was used to rewrite the doctor's biology and memories to make them a normal timelord.
Ah yes, the episode where the Doctor has run out of regenerations and he's going to die... Even though we just saw Capaldi in the last episode.
I'll never get over the fact that this episode should have been called "Silent Night."
Completely dismissing Handles as a character is super robophobic
Now onto 12th Doctor era! LETSSS GOOOOO ❤
Are you saying this episode had a plot?
Classic Who: Hartnell's regeneration
Nuwhoo: Tennant's regeneration
I always hated the fact that they made him young at the end, he should have regenerated as an old guy.
10:38 pretty random to get a Monoid in there