The Doctor Who Series 33 Finale takes the Doctor to the one place he must never go - Trenzalore. Warning, the following review contains spoilers, don't watch if you haven't seen the episode!

Steven Moffat's first Doctor Who finale was The Pandorica Opens/TheBig Bang, two amazing episodes that, in my opinion, cetainly made for the best finale since the show had been revived. The Wedding of River Song was, for the most part, extremely underwhelming, and made absolutely no sense in the grand scheme of Series 6. So, how does Moffat's third series finale stand up to his previous efforts? In short: Moffat has crafted a masterpiece of an episode, giving us what is most definitely one of the best episodes he has ever written.

The Name of the Doctor sees Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh), Jenny Flint (Catrin Stewart) and Strax (Dan Starkey) kidnapped by the Great Intelligence (Richard E Grant) and his sinister Whispermen. In order to save them, the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna-Louise Coleman) must journey to Trenzalore, the one place in the universe time travellers must never, ever find themselves. With the help of a post-Library River Song (Alex Kingston), they must rescue the Doctor's friends and stop the Great Intelligence from destroying the Doctor from the inside out.

In the lead up to the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who on November 23 this year, Series 7 (part 2) has seen a number of references to the Classic Series pop up all over the place. There was the Great Intelligence's reintroduction inThe Snowmen, a shout-out to Susan Foreman in The Rings of Akhaten, the reintroduction of the Ice Warriors in Cold War, the blue crystal from Metebelis III in Hide...the list goes on. Therefore, one may be forgiven for thinking that the 50th Anniversary Special had come early, for The Name of the Doctor out-performs every other episode in the series, giving us more continuity references than any other episode combined...in the first 2 minutes!

The pre-credits scene for this episode is easily the best in Doctor Who history; we finally get to see the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors in action! It doesn't matter that the majority of these scenes were archive footage with Clara digitally inserted (Third, Fourth, Fifth and Seventh), or that we only get brief glimpses of them walking/running past the screen (Six and Eight), or that the extra doubling as the Second Doctor has a different running style, the point is that the new series finally pays homage to the past in a big way. But by far the best Doctor cameo is the First Doctor's. We actually get to see the moment when he initally steals the TARDIS along with his granddaughter, and it's absolutely amazing. What makes it better is the flawless use of footage from The Aztecs, it was so good that you wouldn't know that said footage was almost 50 years old.

Fast forward 40 minutes, and we get yet another treat: the Doctors running past Clara as she sits alone in the Doctor's Time Stream. Again, it doesn't matter that they're all extras dressed up, the point is that the Doctors were there, on our screens, in new footage, years after their tenure ended. The best part of that scene was the image of the Fourth Doctor from behind; the coat, hat and scarf was an image I never thought I'd see in the programme again.

On top of all this, The Name of the Doctor has the distinction of being the episode with the most Doctors in the history of the show, with 12 Doctors appearing! True to his word, Steven Moffat has revealed the Doctor's greatest secret, but, unlike most people assumed, it's not his name, rather, it's another incarnation, played by renowned actor John Hurt. There are many theories as to where Hurt’s incarnation comes in the Doctor’s timeline, but I believe that he is the true ninth incarnation. To explain: 11 told Clara that Hurt’s character was him, but not 'the Doctor'. He then said the Hurt's character had broken the promise that the title, 'the Doctor', holds. I therefore theorise that Hurt's character/Doctor was the one that ended the Time War, but the act was extremely catastophic, bad, etc etc, meaning that Hurt's Doctor, and subsequent incarnations, no longer consider him worthy of 'the Doctor' title. In this way, Chris Eccleston, David Tennant and Matt Smith can still be considered the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors respectively, but they're actually the 10th,11th and 12th incarnations. This means that Hurt is the Ninth Incarnation, but not the Ninth Doctor. Also, if my theory is correct, the new series Doctors won't have to be renumbered, we'll just have to remember that their number isn't their incarnation.

In terms of fan-pleasing content, this episode gets an 11 out of 10, but there is an actual episode here. Firstly, Richard E Grant as the Great Intelligence was a lot more pleasing to watch this time round, and he actually manages to express some emotion. While the GI wasn't exactly the best villain Moffat could have gone with (especially considering the motivation), it still worked, and the GI was a much more credible threat here than in The Snowmen. The Whispermen were also quite threatening, if a bit hard to understand. By far their best scene was where they almost killed Clara, Jenny, Vastra and Strax in an effort to make the Doctor say his name. It was riveting television and had me on the edge of my seat, wondering if the Doctor was indeed going to speak his name. Thankfully, Moffat came up with the rather clever solution of having River say it inaudibly. It was a clever move, and one I'm gald Moffat made.

Speaking of River, The Name of the Doctor has a post-Library version of her appear. While this may initally seem odd and confusing, it's done very well, as it finally gives closure to River as the character, and has the Doctor admit his true feelings for her. I'm not sure this is entirely justified though, as said feelings seem to come from nowhere, especially since all the Doctor's done with River in previous episodes is flirt with her, never anything more than that. Despite the apparent closure River got, I'm almost certain she'll be appearing again, but I do get the feeling that her time on the show is reaching its end.

As for the Paternoster Gang, well there's not much else I can say about them. As I've said in previous reviews, I'm not their biggest fans, and their inclusion in the episode was only as a plot device to get the Doctor to Trenzalore. That being said, I loved the scene were Jenny realises she's been murdered, but the emotional impact of it was immediately rendered pointless by the fact that Strax brings her back soon after. I think that Jenny should have stayed dead, permanently, if only to increase the threat of the Whispermen and GI, and to see Vastra's reaction. Also, when the GI entered the Doctor's time stream, and reversed some of his actions, why didn't Vastra change in personality as well? This is considering that she 'preyed on innocent railway workers' before the Doctor convinced her otherwise, as stated in A Good Man Goes to War.

These minor nitpicks aside, the episode is amazing. The production values are fantastic, with one of Murray Gold's best scores, particularly the triumphant version of 'This is Gallifrey' heard during the pre-credits scene.

Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman shine throughout, with Smith showing us the rare emotional, vunerable side of the Doctor, a performance which suited the episode well. Coleman did her best with Clara in order to give her sacrifice some emotional impact, but I didn't really feel anything, as I already knew she'd be around for the 50th Anniversary and Series 8.

In conclusion, The Name of the Doctor is a fantastic finale, and is easily the best episode of the series. With some great fan-pleasing moments, stellar production values, fantastic acting, great plot, amazing everything, not even a few niggles can drag it down.

10/10

My rankings of Series 7:

The Name of the Doctor - 10/10

Cold War - 9/10

Nightmare in Silver - 9/10

Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - 8.5/10

The Power of Three - 8.5/10

The Crimson Horror - 8/10

The Bells of Saint John - 8/10

The Angels Take Manhatten - 8/10

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS - 7.5/10

Asylum of the Daleks - 7/10

 Hide - 6.5/10

A Town Called Mercy - 6.5/10

The Snowmen - 6/10

The Rings of Akhaten - 5/10

Also, be on the look out for my 'ABC Whovians Awards: Series 7 Part 2' blog coming in the next few days!

What did you think of the episode? Do you agree with my placement of the episodes? Let me and others know by commenting below!