Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor

Matt Smith's last episode as the Doctor, and also the place where years of accumulated questions get closed. On the planet Trenzalore there is a town called Christmas, in the town there is a crack in a wall, and the question coming through that crack has pulled every power in the universe into orbit. The Doctor stays to defend the town, and centuries pass. The waiting is the best idea in it. He does not run. He grows old in one place, and for a character who normally escapes everything at a sprint, standing still gives the show an unfamiliar weight. The flaw is load. There are too many threads to tie off, and an hour is asked to carry three seasons of explanation. Some resolutions are rushed and some events pass in a single line. The farewell itself lands. It went out as a Christmas special and did the hardest job the show has: close an era and hold the door open for the next actor. Who it is for: viewers following the series. Who it is not for: anyone thinking of starting here.