The Name of the Doctor

"Here I am, late to my own funeral."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 18 May 2013

Series: 7.13

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Clara, River, Vastra, Jenny, Strax

Synopsis

The Doctor has a secret he will take to his grave – and it is discovered.

Verdict

The Name of the Doctor was an outstanding episode and honestly potentially even better than I remembered! This is a sensational finale and in hindsight I think it might actually help that it's just a singular episode rather than the more traditional two-parter. This is just sensational stuff right from the off. I think the pre-titles sequence is nothing short of extraordinary and definitely the best the show has ever produced. In 2013 on broadcast, I remember being completely stunned at seeing an incredibly early depiction of Gallifrey and even getting a proper glimpse of the First Doctor on screen. Obviously, technology has advanced considerably in the eleven years since this aired and it could potentially be done to better quality, but that didn't take anything away from my enjoyment of seeing all eleven incarnations of the Doctor up to this point. The very concept of Clara being on Gallifrey as the Doctor stole the TARDIS and started his travels is incomprehensible, and yet there it was! Seeing the TARDIS out of its chameleon circuit disguise and in its default exterior going through the Vortex was just fantastic. I like how things come back to what we learned in The Bells of Saint John with Clara coming into the world on a leaf, and the truth of the impossible girl is revealed in extraordinary fashion. I just love everything about it and it makes Clara such an important companion. I appreciate the controversy that comes with this one, but it works for me. I thought the openings with the warning to Vastra regarding the Doctor's secret he will take to the grave and it being discovered were tremendous. The relationship between Vastra and Jenny has blossomed beautifully by this point and it probably helps that Strax is on a weekend off engaged in combat in Glasgow. He would definitely fit in well in Scotland! The humour that came from him asking to be rendered unconscious to take part in the conference call was magnificent. One shot and he was out! The conference call itself was fantastic and Strax's description of River before she arrived was wonderful. The big head (hair) indeed! I think this serving as the final goodbye to River with her coming from beyond the Library and after the events of Forest of the Dead is just so poignant. The scene where the Doctor reveals he can see her after all is just stunning. True love he feels for her indeed. It's beautiful and full of emotion. I thought the Great Intelligence really shone as the villain here and having an army of Whisper Men is the right sense of Victorian evil. They're a fantastic looking monster! I'm delighted to own an Eaglemoss figurine of them. Taking the form of Simeon is brilliant and the threat provided in initially murdering Jenny and then stopping the hearts of those close to the Doctor unless he revealed his name to open his tomb was sublime. The concept of the Doctor's tomb alone is superb and having him visit is quite something! The TARDIS tomb looks incredible and this is a stunning showcase for Matt Smith. He absolutely shines. The contrast in a couple of minutes in having him label Artie and Angie as Daleks after they trick him to getting to the cinema and then the emotion of him hearing Trenzalore is just phenomenal. He's going out with a bang! The Doctor's time stream being an open wound is crazy and I love seeing the Great Intelligence within reversing every victory as it destroys the Doctor whilst killing itself. That is until Clara steps in to reverse the reversals. She's always there. She always has been. She saves the Doctor over and over. Her remembering the events of Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS to realise what she needs to do and hearing the Dalek Asylum as the final confirmation was brilliant. The ending with the Doctor going in to save Clara and then the reveal of John Hurt as the Doctor was still a terrific cliffhanger. I remember being stunned and confused in the best way at seeing that. Thankfully this time I don't have to wait six months for the resolution! Overall, one of the all time classics. 

Rating: 10/10