The 800th episode of Doctor who features the regeneration of one of the best Doctors of all time.

Daleks! Cybermen! Regneration! Silents! These were only some of the many things that were slated to be appearing in Doctor Who's ninth Christmas Special, and I must admit that I was worried that with so many things going on, the story would collapse and we'd be left with another atrocious regeneration episode ala The End of Time. Thankfully though, writer Steven Moffat managed to defy the odds and gave us a very warm, heartfelt and satisfying conclusion to the 11th Doctor's era.

The Time of the Doctor sees the Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara (Jenna Coleman) investigating a mysterious signal emanating from the planet Trenzalore. Upon learning that signal was created by the Time Lords in an effort to break back into our universe, the Doctor decides to remain on Trenzalore and defend it from the myriad of alien species in orbit above the planet. However, with no regenerations remaining, there's every possibility that this battle may be the Doctor's last.

Unfortunately, the episode gets off to a bad start, with the first fifteen or so minutes of the episode letting the story down somewhat, with lots of unneccessary scenes that felt extremely out of place. The Doctor's 'nude' scene in front of the Oswald's is cringeworthy, and the neccessity to be naked in the Church of the Papal Mainframe seems shoehorned in just to provide an excuse for the aforementioned 'nude' scene. This is only made more obvious later on, as both the Doctor and Clara waltz into the Mainframe wearing proper clothes, and no one cares about it one bit. The scene where the Doctor is revealed to be wearing a wig also seems forced, and although a credible in-universe explanation is provided, it still gets on my nerves. I know that Matt Smith was actually wearing a wig during filming, but its inclusion in the actual narrative just seems a bit too self-indulgent on Moffat's part. Finally, why were the Weeping Angels included? They served no purpose whatsoever - they didn't even send Clara back in time after grabbing her ankle.

Desptie the rather disappointing start, the episode picks up considerably once the crack in the wall appears. The revelation that the Time Lords themselves are asking the 'oldest question in the universe' ties in nicely with The Day of the Doctor and provides a good resolution to the whole Trenzalore prophecy from the latter half of series 6. From there, the plot starts to build momentum, with Clara being sent back to Earth in a manner that is very reminiscent of what the Doctor did to Rose in The Parting of the Ways. The Doctor remains behind on Trenzalore, and we're treated to a montage of events that occured during the 300 years between Clara's visits. While I don't much for the Sontaran or Cyberman scenes (not all Sontarans are as stupid as Strax, and the wooden cyberman felt forced), I aboslutely adore the one where the Doctor puts on the puppet show, dances the 'drunk giraffe' with the children, and proudly proclaims that "cool is not cool!". This scene, to me, is the culmination of three years of a Doctor who got on extraordinarily well with children, and was not afraid to act childish or go against the social norm. It's such a wonderful scene, and it always makes me smile whenever I watch it.

And that, I think, is what The Time of the Doctor is all about. It's main focus is not on the 'endless war' between the Doctor and his enemies. Instead, it's all about the small, emotional scenes, be it the Doctor dancing with the children, or him saying goodbye to Handles the cyberhead, or him discussing the regeneration limit with Clara, or the actual regeneration itself. The emotional scenes are where the episode shines, and it's clear Moffat put his heart into making these scenes perfect. Handles' 'death' is surprisingly touching for a head whom we've only known for about half an hour, and the regeneration limit scene is beautifully underplayed. That being said, my favourite moment from the episode is, surprisingly, not the now-traditional regeneration speech, rather, it's when Clara meets the drastically aged Doctor. There's just something unidentifiably beautiful about the whole thing, with the Doctor always eager for a joke, despite his age and mental state. It gets even better as he grumbles about dying from old age before the daleks shoot him - classic Doctor. The moment is beautifully enhanced by the music, with 'Four Knocks' being used to great emotional effect. 'Four Knocks' was also used during The End of Time Part 2, when the 10th Doctor raged about what he could have been, and I'm not the least sorry to say that, from now on, I'll always think of the tune as being from The Time of the Doctor - I think it was most certainly more suited to 11's swansong.

I must confess I was a bit annoyed that the 12 regeneration limit was being addressed this early; I wasn't expecting it to pop up until Peter Capaldi announced he was leaving the show some time in the future. The main reason for this was that I didn't like the idea of 10's aborted regeneration counting - it was a stupid move in the first place, and (in my opinion) should have been ignored. However, I've now come to accept it as a decision made by Moffat for the best, as the regeneration was started, and the Doctor was healed. The only difference was that his appearance didn't change, so how could it not cout as a regeneration? It also, much to my delight, gave me another reason to hate 10, as he was so selfish and vain that he couldn't bear to change his appearance. Idiot. But I digress, that's an article for another day.

So with the 11th Doctor actually being the 13th incarnation, he naturally had to find a clever way to get round the limit. The use of the Time Lords for this purpose tied in well with the plot of the episode, and it's completely justified within existing canon, as the Time Lords have been known to be able to give extra regenerations since The Five Doctors, where they offered the Master a new cycle for his help. The initial regeneration itself was very well handled, and I really liked the way the Doctor swung his arms before extending them in the now-traditional regeneration pose. I do have slight misgivings about how the regeneration energy was able to destroy the daleks, but as the Doctor said, he was "breaking some serious science", so perhaps the extent of the destructive nature of the energy was due to the fact that this was a thirteenth regeneration - something meant to be physically impossible. Other than that shaky explanation, it just felt like a cop out, and one I'm not sure could have been avoided,. The Time Lords could have easily destroyed the daleks, but again, that too would have been a cop out. Also: why didn't the daleks just shoot the Doctor while he was regenerating? They had a giant spaceship for crying out loud!

The five or so minutes after the inital regeneration are built up nicely; we're put in a position where we believe that we won't actually see the 11th Doctor regenerate fully - the volcano of energy bit is done, the Doctor's clothes are on the floor, and there's a bowl of fish fingers and custard. We fully expect to see the 12th Doctor walk up the stairs and say hello to Clara. Moffat plays on our expectations, though, and we see that the energy has simply restored the Doctor's youth, allowing him to deliver his heartfelt pre-change speech. I absolutely love this speech, as the Doctor fondly looks back on the life he's lived, but recognises that he has to change, and that change is for the good. As the tumblr user Dimensions In Time put it:

"The regeneration itself was likewise perfectly handled, for the most part, and remains probably one of the best regenerations of the series. Eleven’s regeneration speech acts as a counterpoint to Ten’s self-serving and selfish one. It brings up the realisation that change is scary, but it is also necessary and it is what makes you who you are - it defines you. Steven Moffat, in this moment, is not only talking about The Doctor, but about the show in general. Though change is scary, we have to accept it and move on because it is necessary to survive. And if you can do that, you’ll end up liking who you become. The return of Amy, in a vision, seeks not to be a simple 'farewell tour' moment as in Ten’s regeneration, but as a visual metaphor for this change. Just as little Amy became adult Amy, Eleven must become Twelve. Amy will never forget her time as a child and neither will Twelve forget his time as Eleven. Though the transition to adulthood can be scary, it nevertheless is a necessary one and one you should not regret. A brilliant visual metaphor and an all-in-all  perfect regeneration."

Finally, the way the actual phsycial change is treated is delightfully evil. With the emotional music, the speech and the returning companion, we're fully expecting the Doctor to lean back and see his face change amidst the golden glow of regeneration energy. Instead, one moment, 11's standing there, then BAM! 12's staring back at us. It's a fantastic exploit of audience expectation, and it's even more effective because of it.

The Time of the Doctor is a flawed gem. The first fifteen minutes can be skipped, but the rest of the episode is essential viewing. Plot threads from Series 5 and 6 are tied up in a satisfying, if offhand, way, but the regeneration is handled perfectly. A near-perfect swansong to the best Doctor of the New Series.

9/10