This review contains spoilers.
It was an exhausting, exciting start for what proved to be a denseDoctor WhoChristmas special.
Another 15 minutes would have helped enormously, just to buy the odd bit of breathing room.
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Doctor Whohas dealt with regeneration at Christmas before, of course.
Inevitably perhaps, the Christmas element got in the way if anything.
As a festive episode,The Time Of The Doctordidnt really work.
When it got down to other business though, it was more successful.
The planet, we found out, was Trenzalore.
In fact, they were answered in abudnance, at speed, and not always with much impact.
And then there were the cracks in the wall.
Furthermore, the question hidden in plain sight is being asked by them: DoctorWho?
Mind you, reinvention and revisiting past threads to throw differing lights on them is not uncommon toDoctor Who.
Nor is the Time Lords inefficient ways of trying to get messages to people.
Logic hasnt always been their strength.
Anyway, once these assorted explanations were in place, the narrative set up something of a stalemate.
There was a slight dose of the Tom Baker storyDestiny Of The Daleksto this.
However, this had more of a Mexican standoff about it.
They need him to say his name so they can come through the crack.
If he doesnt ask for their help, hell eventually die.
If he does, everyone will die.
A nice, classicDoctor Whoconundrum that.
As such, a lot of time passes.
This episode saw him waiting for centuries in the town of Christmas, holding an uneasy peace.
The reason hes waiting, though, is hes going to die.
And were back to Time Lord regeneration counts here.
It was always going to be so when facing the long-standing question of regeneration limits.
Job done, whether you like the way it was done or not.
Especially given that Christmas episodes tend to be amongst the most accessible, that was something of a surprise.
Perhaps a bigger problem was that the middle of the episode felt a little flat though.
But if the episode itself had problems, there were two performances throughout that both soared.
For Jenna Colemans work as Clara shouldnt be understated here.
Where the character goes moving forward will be fascinating to see.
After all, the key mystery of Clara has been solved.
And then theres Matt Smith.
An awful lot was asked of him inThe Time Of The Doctor, and an awful lot was given.
Smiths always been a gifted comedy actor, but hes also added requisite weight as and when needed.
He was simply wonderful here, arguably his best turn as the Doctor.
And how sad was it to see him go.
In fact, we didnt even get the now-traditional one-face-changing-into-another prolonged moment of transformation.
That said, the Amy Pond raggedly man goodbye was a lovely touch, and a real surprise.
Doctor Whogoes on, of course, and this time in the guise of Peter Capaldi.
We saw nothing in the few seconds we got of him here to dampen our enthusiasm for his casting.
Hes not disguising his Scottish accent much, we learned that much.
He has kidneys too, we learned that.
Oh, and he cant fly the TARDIS.
We quite enjoyed it, but it still felt underwhelming.
Whats also clear is that there are further exciting times ahead.
One last thought to consider, too: the Doctor didnt die at Trenzalore here.
So: is it still where he dies, ultimately?
Or hasThe Name Of The Doctorbeen rendered a little moot?
Even in the midst of questions been answered, there are still threads for futureWho.
And thats just how it should be.
A decent, bumpy Christmas special then, with some strong moments, not least the departing Matt Smith.
Butits over to you now Mr Capaldi.
Itd be fair to say that weve very much on your side…
