Hey youtubers it’s charlie, happy wholock week.
The moment has come and gone.
This is my review of the doctor who christmas special and a fond farewell to matt smith.
Just try and not cry.
I dare you.
Since a lot of you in the united states and other international countries might not have
seen the special yet I’ll keep spoilers to the end and include a warning.
I’m doing a separate q and a and a detailed breakdown of the episode tomorrow.
Be sure to subscribe to get those videos and if you want me to answer your question about
the christmas special in that q and a video.
Write it in the comments here.
I’m also choosing one subscriber at random from the comments to give away a twenty dollar
amazon gift certificate.
If you’re international it will be a paypal gift.
I’ll dm the winner for contact info in a private google plus message.
Now cue the water works.
Number 1 - The Truth Field Goes Beyond Trenzalore.
This is a bit meta, but Steven Moffat wrote in jokes addressing everyone’s comments
about the 13th regeneration and the rule of 12 and all the other logic problems.
I loved how the doctor literally spoke everyone’s biggest questions out loud as if to say, yes
we know we know there’s some issues.
A lot of fans have complained in the past that steven moffat doesn’t care about canon
established during classic who, without spoiling anything I can safely say that the episode
assures us that he does and it all makes sense.
Number 2 - Tying everything up with a nice bowtie.
Most if not all of the major ongoing plot threads from matt smith’s run are tied up
going all the way back to the eleventh hour.
I was so happy to finally get a definitive answer about the logic behind some of the
more universe altering events that happened during the big bang, namely the tardis exploding
and the cracks in the universe.
I’ll go into greater detail about all those plot threads and their solutions in that breakdown
video.
Number 3 - The turkey is done.
The tone of the episode was this perfect blend of sadness and humor.
I spent most of the episode in a state somewhere between both.
But there was this strong undercurrent of hope.
I can say this without spoiling anything.
That moment where the doctor says I have a plan, then immediately turns to clara and
says no i haven’t got a plan, but people love it when i say that.
is a great explanation of how even though everything you see on screen tells you something
awful is supposed to happen, the doctor can make you feel okay about it.
Number 4 - deus ex machina.
A big criticism of some of steven moffat’s stories is the deus ex machina solutions to
the doctor’s problems.
The solution to the seige of trenzalore and the 13th regeneration felt totally justified
this time.
What i mean is that the solution flows completely from events in the 50th anniversary episode
as well as some of the finer plot points set up during matt smith’s run.
To be fair it incorporates logic from series 5, series 6 and series 7.
But including all those bits just makes the transition from matt smith to peter capaldi
that much more epic.
Number 5 - The regeneration.
Having made so many doctor who videos this year I thought I was prepared to see the regeneration.
But there was this one moment that just pushed me over the edge.
I don’t want to spoil it, but there’s a very surprise cameo that made the whole
experience perfect for me.
And I’m still crying inside a little bit.
Not about Matt Smith, but about that moment during the cameo.
Number 6 - Welcome Peter Capaldi.
Peter capaldi was on screen for only a few minutes, but I loved it.
And he utters this question to clara that gives you an idea of what the first couple
of episodes of series 8 are going to be like.
I also loved the outfit.
I’ll talk more specifically about that during my breakdown tomorrow.
But the question of capaldi’s outfit is largely answered.
Matt Smith changed his outfit several times from series to series, so capaldi will change
his eventually too.
But I expect that thematically, a few of the affectations we saw in this outfit will stick.
Namely the issue of neckwear.
Careful for spoilers in my next one.
I’m going to be ranking the episode against other regenerations and need to include some
plot points.
so turn the volume down if you need to.
Number 7 - Ranking The Episode.
How does it stack up against other recent regeneration episodes?
Because this episode was a little more bombastic than David Tennant’s and christopher eccleston’s
ending and we knew ahead of time that clara would be staying on as the companion, it didn’t
have the air of finality or palor of sadness to it that the end of time or parting of ways
had.
But from an overall satisfaction standpoint I would rank this as number one.
Just because it became the beginning of a whole new regeneration cycle.
Meaning the doctor doesn’t have as much to lose anymore.
He has life to burn.
Which for me is so exciting because it means he can start taking bigger chances.
Hopefully the stories told during series 8 will reflect that.
Okay you can turn the volume back up, spoilers over.
So if it wasn’t clear I loved the episode.
It wasn’t as emotional a regeneration as david tennant or christopher eccleston, but
it was definitely the most exciting.
One of the hardest things to do on doctor is one up yourself with each new doctor.
And I feel like this episode raised the stakes and the consequences without being ridiculous.
I’ll be rewatching it at least four more times...today.
Without spoiling anything my favorite moment was definitely the cameo at the end.
Let me know what your favorite moment was in the comments.
And remember i’ll be answering your biggest questions about the episode in my q and a
video tomorrow, be sure to leave your q’s down below.
I’ll also be doing a detailed breakdown which will have mega spoilers.
So subscribe to get everything.
Right now click here to get my top 11 matt smith moments and click here for my top 5
doctor who christmas specials.
Thanks for watching, merry christmas and many happy returns.
see you tomorrow!