#751 – The Time of the Doctor

Happy New Year!

With the New Year we’ve also got a new Doctor. This past Christmas Matt Smith bid farewell to the TARDIS in his final special “The Time of the Doctor.” I enjoyed “The Time of the Doctor” and thought it was a fitting end to Smith’s turn as the eleventh Doctor. Like Tenant’s farewell it was emotional but in a much sweeter way. I am sad to see Smith go but I’m more excited to see what Peter Capaldi and his crazy eyes bring to the Doctor.

Here are some other thoughts I had while watching “The Time of the Doctor.”

Christmas

I love that a show as completely secular as Doctor Who still has a Christmas special. I know that it’s more about the holiday than the birth of Christ, but not even the Doctor can say Christmas without saying Christ. It was fitting that the Doctor landed in a town called Christmas because, in this episode at least, he filled the messiah role perfectly. Like the town’s namesake, the Doctor came from the heavens to eventually sacrifice his life. Even in a show that denies Christ, he still finds a way to shine through.

This Life

With every victory the town celebrated. In time the Doctor seemed to forget he’d lived any other life. And the people of the town came to love the man who stayed for Christmas.

“The Time of the Doctor” felt a lot like “The Inner Light,” one of my favorite episodes of The Next Generation. The Doctor lived an entire life in “The Time of the Doctor” just as Captain Picard lived an entire life in “The Inner Light.” The Doctor grew to love his life in the town called Christmas. We can learn a lot from his and Picard’s example. So often we miss out on the life we have because we’re looking for something else or something better. This life is all that we’ve got so we should make the most of it. The Doctor got lost in his life in the town called Christmas, and we should get lost in this life and everything God has for us.

The End

I loved David Tenant and was definitely sad to see him go. That sadness was magnified by the tragic way in which the tenth Doctor left, saying, “I don’t want to go.” Like I wrote earlier I was sad to see Matt Smith go but his departure was far less tragic. I loved that Amy Pond came back and had a moment with the Doctor, even if it was a little hallucinogenic. The Doctor had a sweet moment with Amy and Clara, moments that came near his end. Hopefully we’re able to have sweet moments every day with our loved ones. Waiting until our end to share how we feel would be even more tragic than the tenth Doctor’s regeneration.

I was very entertained by “The Time of the Doctor” and thoroughly enjoyed Matt Smith’s curtain call. I am a little bummed, though, that I finally got caught up. Instead of jumping right into the next series I have to wait until it premieres later this year.

What are your thoughts about “The Time of the Doctor?”