The Name of the Doctor
review

Holistic Review: Much of what happens in the episode, particularly at the story's climax, is nonsense, but it's such an entertaining journey that, for once, the ending doesn't retroactively diminish what came before.

If the litmus test for quality is how much I enjoy rewatching an episode, then at the time of writing, The Name of the Doctor is racking up an impressive number of stars. Typically, as I've been writing reviews this season, by the time I get to that final fourth viewing, I'm mostly just anxious to get through it and move on to the next episode. Maybe that's partly because I've been hustling to keep up with my review schedule, and maybe in a few months I'll be less forgiving of this story's flaws, but I'm actually quite looking forward to watching The Name of the Doctor one more time after I've completed this review.

I also recognize that lowered expectations may have a role to play. I had very high hopes for the previous five episodes, none of which completely lived up to the idealized versions that my imagination conjured up from their titles, but I've generally lost my optimism that Doctor Who season finales will be peerless episodes of television. Which is quite a sad thing, when Doctor Who was, and shall always remain, my favorite series. Shouldn't I have at least as much faith in Steven Moffat as I do in Joss Whedon? And yet. So, when The Name of the Doctor delivers, if not our best-plotted finale, certainly one of our most engaging finales, I find myself surprised and delighted by how much I enjoyed it.

What The Name of the Doctor gets very, very right is its emphasis on character. Typically these days, season finales of almost any TV show tend to be action-oriented, as season-long arcs bubble to a head, or showrunners otherwise try to shock viewers into talking about the series all summer and salivating for its return the next year. The classic series was an exception to this rule, not only because it existed in a very different era of TV and wasn't particularly concerned with season-ending blowouts, but also because really convincing action sequences were sometimes difficult to pull off — I'm sure we could all sit down and rattle off pertinent examples — so, even during season finales, the plots revolved around carefully-crafted tension, cerebral issues, and character building, which typically worked in the series' favor. Now that Doctor Who can afford better effects, and in this era of "event television", season finales have tended to shift their focus to become heavier on action sequences and explosions. It's an overgeneralization, I realize, but I think there's some truth in it. But there's also an appropriate counterexample: still one of the best modern Doctor Who season finales is Doomsday, not because of its fan-pleasing Daleks-vs-Cybermen battle, but because of how Rose's story played out with genuine emotion. Similarly, The Name of the Doctor features almost no action sequences at all. It's all about Clara's relationship with the Doctor, and the Doctor's relationships with River and Vastra. The Great Intelligence, really, is present only as a catalyst.

The premise of the story is straightforward but intriguing. Having discovered one of the Doctor's deepest secrets, the Great Intelligence vows to exploit that knowledge to destroy him. Neither the audience nor the Doctor's companions learn that secret over the course of the episode, but we do learn about something perhaps equally shocking: the location of the Doctor's grave, and what lies within it. The teaser alone is extremely tantalizing, and had me completely hooked by the time the title credits began, in a way that I haven't felt since probably The Doctor's Wife. Clara, scattered through time like Scaroth, her only destiny in all her iterations to save the Doctor? Utterly fascinating, especially since the realization of this premise involved glimpses of Clara interacting with the Doctor's previous selves, most notably Hartnell, who even gets some dialogue! It's a treat to see all of the other Doctors too, in a nice blend of actual classic stories and brand-new scenarios.

That's another plus: finally, we have a story that feels like it belongs in the 50th anniversary season. Sure, we've already had Ice Warriors, Metebelis crystals and an exploration of the TARDIS interior, but every season since 2005 has included returning monsters and plot elements. This story feels like it really celebrates the entire legacy of Doctor Who. It features just the right amount of nods to the past: the Great Intelligence name-checks the Valeyard (which could turn out to be relevant, given the events of this episode), we hear more classic-series dialogue at the Doctor's grave in the console room, and, in a move that was undoubtedly deliberate (and designed to placate those of us who are frustrated by their continual refusal to appear), there's a quick archive shot of the Yeti. For those who are newer to the series, there's even a callback to the recent past with the size leak (cf. the dead TARDISes in The Doctor's Wife). But it was when we saw classic Gallifrey that my jaw practically dropped. I was especially enthused by those scenes in the TARDIS repair bay, which looked pretty much exactly like how I've always imagined it, as the Doctor and Susan stole the TARDIS. What a super-cool idea for a flashback.

I was, I must admit, quite concerned from the title alone that this episode might reveal too much about the Doctor, or otherwise undermine the series' credibility by ripping away its mystique. After all, it's not like it hasn't happened before. Some would argue that the "half-human" revelation in the TV movie did exactly this, and honestly the rumor that the Master would turn out to be the Doctor's brother isn't a million miles away from the plot twist that River is the Doctor's wife. I had this dread in the pit of my stomach that if we were bound to find out the Doctor's name in this story, there wasn't a single possibility that would surprise fandom in an "oh my gosh!" way rather than a "huh?" way — not John Smith, not Pendrelaxinatremilucovon, not Starnok Most High Lord of Insouciance, not Little Billy, etc — except for one: Rassilon. Which would've set the cat among the pigeons and no mistake. And not, I feel 98% sure, in any way resembling good. So I was enormously relieved that Moffat avoided the issue altogether, by employing the very clever trick of having River whisper his name to the TARDIS offscreen. Had I been looking forward to learning the Doctor's name, I would no doubt regard this little cheat as a massive copout, but I don't think there's any way the Doctor's true name could be revealed without it being a letdown. I'm ready to eat my words if Moffat somehow pulls it off before the end of his tenure, but I would be very much surprised. All things considered, I think Moffat was very wise to yank the promised carrot away rather than letting us have it, while simultaneously swapping it out for a completely different momentous revelation, so that instead of feeling disappointed or cheated, we end the story in wide-eyed amazement at what we've just witnessed.

It makes me very happy to be able to spend time complimenting Steven Moffat's writing skills, because I feel like I've been really hard on him lately and I know how brilliant he can be. Even though The Name of the Doctor isn't perfect, it showcases a lot of the qualities that make Moffat's scripts so successful:

Another good thing is that this season hasn't yielded as many unanswered questions as past seasons have. In fact, aside from the honkin' great cliffhanger tease, really the only thing that's never clarified is what happened to Clara's hacker upgrade. It appears to have been completely ignored since The Bells of Saint John, which would probably annoy me except that I wasn't a fan of that whole character facet in the first place.

Alas, The Name of the Doctor is not a perfect episode, and mostly where the episode falls down is likewise a result of the script. What sometimes annoys me about Steven Moffat's writing is also what annoyed me about Russell T Davies' writing. First, his occasional penchant for portentous dialogue. Mind you, it's rarely as cringe-inducing as the worst excesses of the RTD era, but still. Take, for example, Clara's line-that-nobody-would-actually-say: "I blew into this world on a leaf. I'm still blowing. I don't think I'll ever land." Okay, honey. Then we have Clara's grating catchphrase "Run, you clever boy, and remember [me]" which she feels the need to utter as her last words, despite the fact that getting there requires her to unnecessarily rephrase this already-awkward request: "If this works, get out of here as fast as you can. And spare me a thought now and then." But those are the only notably overblown examples in this story, and besides, I will happily eat some of my words, and admit that there are certainly times when Moffat writes portentous dialogue that nevertheless makes an impact. Examples in this story include the very creepy rhyme about the Whispermen, and the clever ambiguity of "He has one [secret] he will take to the grave, and it is discovered." Moffat also wins points from me for poking fun at this tendency himself, when the Great Intelligence responds to the Doctor's flowery non-explanation with "Less poetry, Doctor. Just tell them." Well said, evil villain!

The second bone that I have to pick with Moffat is his tendency to flimsily paper over plot holes for the sake of an exciting story. This is something which, I might add, Moffat rarely did before he became the showrunner, which is why we were all so excited about having him in charge. On the whole, The Name of the Doctor is well plotted, and as I mentioned above, the vast majority of the episode is almost totally enjoyable. The only serious blow to the story is the fact that it almost goes off the rails at the end. This is nothing new: there's been a tendency for Doctor Who finales to wrap up the season arc in unsatisfying ways since the show was revived. Unbeatable army of Daleks? Oh, just wave them out of existence. The Master has control of the entire Earth? Oooh, let's give magic a whirl. The Doctor has just been written out of time (shown here to be a very bad thing)? No worries, Amy'll just remember him back into existence, because that works. Not to mention that we have the existence of yet another vague-but-doomladen prophecy that usually doesn't quite work out as badly as we thought it might. Rose is gonna die! There's something on your back! He will knock four times! Silence will fall! And now, the fall of the eleventh? Not so much.

Still, everything is more or less fine until Clara dives into the Doctor's timeline, at which point the episode has to start backpedalling on its own rules and whipping miracles out of its back pocket in order to arrive at a happy ending. If we're promised that doing X will result in unavoidable death, X cannot then spell unavoidable death for hated villain A while beloved series regular B is inexplicably able to wriggle out of it unscathed. What's that you say, about being shredded by the time winds? Ahh, apparently that's all just a story to scare children and Great Intelligences away. Even the minimal-thus-far coverage of the 50th anniversary special revealed that Jenna-Louise Coleman will be in it, so I never gave a thought to the possibility that Clara wasn't going to survive this episode. But it really would have worked far better if she hadn't. Unfortunately, Clara's survival isn't the only difficult plot element to swallow... oh no, dear readers, often plot inconsistencies are like cockroaches. Where you have one, you have a hundred. Thankfully there are nowhere near that many in this particular case, but let's go through the biggest ones:

Although the ending of the story is hogwash, this would be more of a problem if it were the disappointing culmination of a tightly-plotted episode. Somewhat ironically, it's the story's scaled-back ambitions that save it. Rather than building on everything that happens earlier in the story, the too-convenient ending is merely the latest development in an entertaining journey that assembles an entourage of beloved characters and sends them all to Trenzalore to have adventures. Because the story is really more about how the characters find their way to Trenzalore and the Doctor's tomb, and the interplay between them, it's possible to enjoy that part of the story on future viewings without thinking about all the ways that the ending is going to undermine what's happening or render it irrelevant. The only thing it renders irrelevant, really, is the villain's daft scheme.

I mentioned earlier that the Great Intelligence's role in the episode is little more than a catalyst, and in some ways that's a problem too. While I like that the episode isn't yet another runaround capped off with a relatively arbitrary method of defeating the monster, and while I certainly recognize that the episode's plot requires an enemy who harbors a longstanding grudge against the Doctor, there's absolutely nothing at all in the story itself that specifically requires the inclusion of the Great Intelligence. The script isn't even slightly tailored to the Intelligence, whose backstory, abilities and modus operandi get more and more muddled with each subsequent appearance. What does the Great Intelligence care about corrupting the Doctor's timestream? Especially if the accomplishment of this goal threatens to destroy it in the process. It should have much bigger motivations than simple revenge. And one of those motivations should be survival, which is directly at odds with its decision here to destroy the Doctor at the cost of its own life. Then again, who can say what the Great Intelligence's motivations are these days? It's morphed from incorporeal intelligence originating beyond our universe, to a sentient distillation of one man's worst traits amplified, and now it's claiming that "I am information." Really? So now it's nothing but a bodiless database? This is ridiculous. The only thing in the story that feels true to its MO is that it uses the Whispermen as backup templates that it can possess when it needs a new body.

Most perplexing of all, if we accept The Snowmen as its origin story, the Intelligence appears to have only been in existence for a year, and now it is, to quote Vastra, "dead." If that's true, then its arc makes very little sense, and it's entirely unclear how we're meant to fit in the rest of its backstory. So when did the Intelligence go to Tibet, or the London Underground, or the Shard? When did it develop the Yeti? Don't try to tell me that those incidents are all due to the Intelligence being scattered across the Doctor's timeline, because there's no explanation given for why Clara would have thwarted some of its interference events but not others. Besides, if the Great Intelligence's classic series appearances were all the result of its foray into the Doctor's timestream, then we can assume that without its tampering, it never would have been in Tibet or the Underground in the Doctor's original timeline... meaning he likely never met the Brigadier. The ramifications of that make my head hurt, so I choose not to believe it. I'll swallow this inconsistency in chronology if it turns out that the Intelligence has not only survived this experience, but has become more than a simple amplification of negative human emotions. But even then, I far prefer the Lovecraftian origin story.

Our requisite monsters this week are the Whispermen. I say "requisite" because they do unfortunately feel rather tacked-on. Their background is nonexistent save for yet another sinister children's rhyme, their powers and abilities are completely unexplained, and their presence is perplexing. Why the Great Intelligence has chosen to ally itself when them when it has perfectly good Yeti lying around is beside me, but even though I'm getting annoyed by its habit of repeatedly reappearing without the Yeti in tow, I must admit that this would have been a poor reintroduction for them. Still, even though I have issues with the Whispermen, the fact remains that they're visually the creepiest monsters we've seen this season, which alone nearly justifies their inclusion.

Matt Smith has some lovely emotional moments this week, as the Doctor confronts his own mortality in a way that he's never really had to do before. Between visiting his own grave, acknowledging River's death, and his concern for Clara, this is another story full of heartfelt performances by Smith, and as always, he excels. I love the way that the Doctor acknowledges the fact that Jenny is still alive, quietly but with obvious relief, and the sweet scene of him comforting Clara after her uncomfortable encounter with the Whispermen.

On 02 June 2013, after the episode's airing but before I finished this review, news broke that Matt Smith is departing Doctor Who, not in a season's time but at the end of the year, a mere two stories away. (Maybe I spoke too soon about that doomladen prophecy working out just fine.) I could have sworn that we'd been promised he and Jenna were both signed up for series 8. (A quick net search proves I'm not wrong: TV Magazine published an interview with Smith on 23 May, in which he is quoted as saying, "We come back and shoot the Christmas special over the summer, then we go on to the next series, which will either start filming at the end of this year or at the start of 2014." As the magazine puts it, So unless he’s lying through his teeth, fans can look forward to another full series of Matt next year. Ahem. About those teeth...) I have to say that I'm gutted. I hold firm to my belief that four or five seasons, not three, is the optimal length of incumbency for a Doctor, and actors I love keep pulling out of the role a year or two short of my deadline. (Don't they know that I should be the one to dictate their life for them?) Almost as bad is the fact that, for two Doctors in a row, the departure has been sprung on us at the last minute. I suppose there's no such thing as "sufficiently well in advance" but I wish that I had at least a full year to savor the last of Matt Smith's performances. As you can see by looking over my reviews, I've been particularly impressed with his performances during this last half of a season, and it's a shame to see him bow out when he's going from strength to strength... although perhaps that's the best time to make your exit. Yet again, I find myself thinking that it's going to be difficult to top Matt Smith, but I'll try to look on the bright side and hope that for the next Doctor, we take a bigger step away from the mold. And let's finally have a little less of the companion lust, 'kay? If we have to bid adieu to Matt Smith, let's at least take the opportunity to tweak a few things about the character that could use a change.

At least we'll presumably have Jenna-Louise Coleman back next year. As many problems as I have with Clara's character, I remain hopeful that they'll eventually expand her beyond the "sweet and feisty" companion mold, and I must commend Steven Moffat on finally bringing back this week the Clara that I started to fall in love with in The Rings of Akhaten. She's sweetly nostalgic about her mother, and her viewpoint on soufflés — which pays lovely dividends later in the episode — is identical to my viewpoint on red velvet cake. I'm actually surprised that Artie would even ask a thing like "how can it be your mum's soufflé if you're making it?" Oh Artie. I know there's no such thing as a stupid question, but that is kind of an exception. So yet again, I relate to Clara on the issue of baking to remind yourself of dearly departed family, and it's turned me around from finding her soufflés slightly gimmicky to adoring them. Clara firmly cements her companion status by almost immediately, and unhesitatingly, deciding to sacrifice her life to save the Doctor (and the universe). While it's nice to know that the woman we've been spending all our time with is actually Clara!Prime, there was something so much more poignant about my initial assumption that Time Lady Clara was Clara!Prime, sacrificing her life in order to be the Doctor's guardian angel, and protecting Gallifrey's favorite (if underappreciated) child throughout space and time, just because she was convinced that he was acting in the best interests of the universe. By comparison, human Clara sacrificing herself to defeat the Great Intelligence was a little bit less epic, although in some ways it is equally affecting. And it does answer my question of whether Clara's birth was engineered (answer: amazingly, no; at least, not the birth of Clara!Prime). However, in light of this revelation, the "girl out of time" characterization that Moffat teased us with early in the season doesn't really make sense, unless he just meant that Clara's one of those people who digs vintage stuff. Which is fine, and does make for an interesting character facet, but I couldn't tell you what might motivate this preference of hers, or how it's contributed to a single storyline. She didn't even go all gaga over Emma's 1970s wardrobe. I have noticed, however, that Clara dresses not unlike Willow during Buffy's first season.

Even though Clara does little more than tag along after the Doctor for most of the story, Jenna-Louise Coleman is given some strong moments to play. Great delivery of "Oh yeah! Oh yeah, of course he has! Professor Song." (totally truthful, but you can tell there's something she isn't saying); "You okay? If this is your own grave, anyone would be scared."; the way Clara paraphrases many of the lines that River feeds her; "That was not nice."; and "Doctor, explain. What is that?" (demonstrating that Clara continues to be a woman of quick speech but minimal preamble). I really liked her reaction when she learns about Vastra's soporific, then wiping her hands on her dress; and the way she trails off when she sees the Doctor crying. One of my favorite things about Coleman: she's really good at saying "Doctor!" with a degree of panic. While we're discussing dialogue, I feel it must be noted that Clara is apparently a much better influence on the Doctor (and the TV show) than Amy was, given that I've had to retire the Shut-Up Counter since Amy's departure. So, bravo for that! I love the wardrobe of Clara's splinters, particularly that sophisticated Gallifreyan gown, and her Dragonfire outfit.

Madame Vastra and her associates are back for the third time this season, and as always, it's a welcome return. Vastra (Neve McIntosh) demonstrates some enjoyably clever sneakiness, lacing her paper with a soporific just in case Clara decides not to use the candle (even though this makes the inclusion of the candle entirely irrelevant). Love her delivery of "The tea should be superb!" but my favorite of her lines is this one, in which McIntosh manages to convey Vastra's extreme doubt that either descriptor is accurate: "I take it I am talking to the Great Intelligence?"

Jenny (Catrin Stewart) is back to being the underutilized member of the trio, but Stewart gives an amazing performance as Jenny senses the Whispermen invading their home: "Someone's broken in. Someone's with us. I can hear them. ... Sorry, ma'am. So sorry. So sorry, so sorry. I think I've been murdered." It's also lovely to see some more explicit acknowledgment of Jenny and Vastra's relationship, with Vastra tenderly telling her to "Sleep well, my love." I'm so glad Strax was able to bring Jenny back; I'm really starting to like her, and it would have been a shame to lose her already!

Speaking of Strax (Dan Starkey), I'm very pleased to see that he has returned to form, with characterization that again feels well-rounded. He gets more varied jokes this week, like "Surrender your women and intellectuals!" and the hilariously-stilted outrage of "Unhand me, ridiculous reptile!" I have to use the word "cute" to describe Strax's chosen aggression outlet: play-fighting with burly Scots caber-hurlers in Glasgow! Great delivery of "Better use this. Might take a while." (also a hilarious image, even if it turns out to require only one blow... perhaps Archie's learned to go for the probic vent!), and I'm really impressed with his scream of agony during the Whispermen's attack, which conveys the amount of pain Strax is in without ever making him sound afraid.

It really is great to see River again. I find that I've taken quite a shine to her, and even though she's already been in an episode this season, I've missed her. I was so curious to see how she and Clara would bounce off one another, and it's much like any incumbent companion / ex-companion meeting: a hint of jealousy quickly giving way to respect and mutual friendship, which is helped no end by the fact that Clara believes she alone can see River. The relationship that she forges with River is hers and hers alone, almost entirely uninfluenced by River's interaction with the Doctor. It appears that now we've covered River's entire timeline, if she's only meeting Clara for the first time after her death, and I hope that doesn't mean we'll never see her again. Even if we never get to dip back into River's earlier timeline, at least there's a hint that the Library database might not be the end for her. (Unless what River is hinting at, with the line "I was mentally linked with Clara. If she's really dead, then how can I still be here?", is merely that Clara's not really dead.) What a look Alex Kingston gets on her face when River learns that the Doctor never told Clara she was a woman! (Also, much laughter at Strax's followup line "Well, neither did I.") I must say, it's a mark of how engaged I was in the emotion of this episode, and River's character, that the passionate Doctor/River kiss really didn't even bother me.

DeMarco (Michael Jenn) is a problematic character. From all appearances, he's an ordinary (I use that term loosely) Jack the Ripper type based in Victorian London... yet he somehow knows not only the Doctor, but also one of the Doctor's deepest secrets, which the Doctor hasn't even shared with his best friends? I find this extremely dubious, especially since we're given not a scrap of explanation as to how this might be possible. I find it difficult to believe that DeMarco has met the Doctor before, since that kind of encounter would most likely have led to an abrupt curtailment of his extracurricular hobbies (and probably his freedom). Nor is it likely that one of the witnesses at (or after) Trenzalore passed on the information, although I suppose it's just possible that the battle at Trenzalore occurred in AD 1797, and one of the survivors wound up on Earth with a desire to groom one of the locals into a mass murderer with whom it could share its intergalactic secrets. But that's a pretty big stretch with zero evidence in support of it.

The identity of this "Doctor" played by John Hurt has certainly been watercooler talk lately. Is he the Doctor's next incarnation? (I thought this less likely until news of Smith's departure broke.) Is he the Valeyard? (I favor this one myself, but if so, I wouldn't expect to see him at least until the next Doctor bows out.) Is he something altogether different? I'm not typically one for idle speculation on future plot points — I prefer to wait and see how things unfold with no expectations or suspicions that might ruin the surprise — so I have nothing further to say about his single-line appearance in this story. Except for this: who on EARTH thought that the overdramatic in-episode credit was a good idea?! It's true that I never would have recognized the man as John Hurt without it, but if you have to name him, at least save it for the end credits! The overtitles not only break the fourth wall horrendously, they're also tacky. If you already know who John Hurt is, you're gong to be excited the moment you see his face; and if you don't know who he is, then a title card isn't going to be much help. (Unless you know his name but don't recognize the face!) I literally yelled "What?!" at the screen as they slammed unsubtly into place.

Including the unnerving design of the Whispermen, there are a lot of fantastic effects this week: the planet of Trenzalore, which does not look like a pleasant place for one's grave; the TARDIS glowing red-hot; the Intelligence ripping off the lower half of its face and converting a Whisperman into its new body; and the Whisperman's deflated arm sliding back through the door. Overall, the effects of classic Doctors inserted into the footage looks great, although since we don't see their faces, it's entirely possible that this was a cheat. Patrick Troughton is what convinces me otherwise, because he looks a bit unconvincing scampering around CGI Miami (or wherever he is). The single disappointing effect is Strax disintegrating, which too closely resembles that old "exploding into confetti" effect that I've never liked.

It's a very nice score by Murray Gold, too, especially during the scene of the Doctor beginning to unburden himself to Clara.

I really appreciated the level of care that Saul Metzstein takes this week, making sure that the episode is not only well-shot but also clearly told. Given the relatively twisty-turny nature of the plot, it's certainly helpful. For example, the shot of the inside of the dead TARDIS windows is followed with a helpful establishing shot of the exterior, just so there's no confusion about where exactly we are. Among my favorite shots: Jenny lighting a candle to classical music; the disorienting shot of Vastra waking up on the tabletop; the Doctor and Clara being violently catapulted against the TARDIS railing; the Doctor fiddling with the broken windowpane; the perfect timing of the Doctor's line "The bigger the gravestone, the higher the rank" just as we get a hint of a mountain in front of him (also a credit to the effects department); the creepy shot of the Whisperman bursting through River's mirage; Richard E Grant illuminated by the light of the scar tissue; the adroitly-staged shot of Jenny suddenly disappearing; and the first seven Doctors rushing past Clara in the Doctor's mind (again, applause for the effects department too). My favorite directorial moment is the fantastic, and perfectly-staged, cut between Clara falling to the floor to Clara thudding into her dream-realm chair. I also have to give kudos to the lighting crew, for their superb job lighting the dreamscape scenes. In the area of set dressing, the vine-draped TARDIS console room impresses.

Minor points:

As with most new-series finales, the plot tries to stretch much too far and ends up requiring an unpalatable degree of disbelief-suspension... but this one is carried along by its sparkling script, its almost complete focus on character interactions, its incorporation of series history, and its well-judged resolution of many current plot threads. There's certainly still room for improvement. Even the best Doctor Who finales have yet to achieve that balance of emotional character moments and powerful plot twists that characterized some of Buffy's breathtaking mind-blowing leave-you-crying-for-a-week-afterward season enders. But The Name of the Doctor is, at least, a definite step in the right direction.

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