DOCTOR WHO 5.13 – "The Big Bang" WRITER: Steven Moffat DIRECTOR: Toby Haynes GUEST CAST: Alex Kingston, Arthur Darvill, Caitlin Blackwood, Susan Vidley, Frances Ashman, Barnaby Edwards, William Pretsell, Helco Johnson & Karen Westwood [SPOILERS] A startling triumph, "The Big Bang" completed the fifth series with the relentless excitement and assured grip we've come to expect from Steven Moffat. The episode was undoubtedly loose and illogical plenty of times, but the core time-travel back-flips were sound and I'm impressed by how well Moffat's writing can make you forgive its sillier extremes. "The Big Bang" actually made the widely derided "mistake" of hitting a symbolic reset button to solve the crisis, which was a card fans never liked Russell T. Davies hitting during his era. But it worked perfectly here, because Steven Moffat doesn’t use a narrative ejector seat to get him out of storytelling dead-ends (as his predecessor did), but instead has enormous fun taking you on a journey that solves the seemingly unsolvable... To explain the episode is a task in itself, but to briefly recap the setup: with The Doctor Matt Smith) imprisoned in the Pandorica by a coalition of his enemies, River Song (Alex Kingston) trapped in the exploding TARDIS, and Amy (Karen Gillan) shot dead by her doppelganger fiancé Rory (Arthur Darvill), "The Big Bang" worked to resolve the situation. This naturally meant an hour of Moffat indulging his fondness for temporal acrobatics, with The Doctor engineering his own escape by getting Young Amy (Caitlin Blackwood) to release him from the Pandorica, before using River's Time Vortex Manipulator to change history so that "dead" Amy could be stored in the Pandorica in his place, with Rory keeping guard for millennia, to be revived by her younger self in the Natural History Museam 2,000 years later... If you have a headache reading that paragraph, I sympathize. This episode is nigh impossible to recount without risking a brain aneurism, but suffice to say "The Big Bang" did an extraordinarily good job of reversing last week's cliffhanger. In effect, The Doctor had to rescue his friends, free himself, and revive the collapsing universe with second Big Bang using the Pandorica and a head-on collision with the "Sun" (which in the alternate reality he found himself in, is just his TARDIS exploding while caught in a continuous emergency time-loop). As expected, and correctly guessed by many fans over the weeks, Amy's history had a significant role to play. The "Girl Who Waited" became the only person who could bring the sacrificial Doctor back into existence by simply remembering him, with a little nudge from River Song and her empty journal, during her wedding day. Effectively imagining her "imaginary friend" into existence, whose heroic acts and advice had restored her missing parents -- who had assumedly been bled out of existence when the crack first appeared in her bedroom wall, right? This was a crazy, emotional, satisfying and beautiful episode. The direction by Toby Haynes was superb, particularly in the Night At The Museum-esque action sequences earlier in the episode. The show has really developed its visual style this year, offering truly cinematic moments at times. There were some fantastic sequences and effects, but the story never actually had to rely on the CGI overload we've come to expect from nu-Who finales. It was instead all about the story and the characters; a confluence that swept you along with a big grin on your face. Steven Moffat been saying his intention is to turn Doctor Who into more of a fairy tale, and this was by far the best example of that creative choice. So much so that even the stupider things we were asked to swallow (that robot Rory would really wait 2,000 years to be united with Amy, say) felt natural and no less implausible than beanstalks with giants living atop them. It's been a wise move on Moffat's part, because nerdy nitpicks and a sneering attitude to Doctor Who's pseudo-science can be deflected easier now. As long as it has heart and works inside his own internal logic, I'm more than happy to go along for the ride. It almost goes without saying that Matt Smith ends his freshman year on a rousing high-note. He really was marvellous throughout. Seeing The Doctor take charge and get himself out of his dilemma like a temporal escapologist was gripping from start to finish. It was also very funny in that pleasantly restless style we've come to expect. I especially loved The Doctor's newfound appreciation for Fez hats! What more is there to say? I could wax lyrical about the finer points of "The Big Bang" until I'm blue in the face. A wonderfully confident episode chockfull of brilliant moments and witty dialogue. There's a real sense of self belief to Moffat's writing -- and you get the sense he's just as aware of the nitpicks as other fans, so even takes time to answer a few of the more pertinent ones. I'm sure plenty of people were wondering how our Sun was still in existence if all the stars had been erased from the universe, for example, but an answer for that was just around the corner. There's always just enough cleverness for you to be relaxed about the silliness. Also interesting was the realization that a few series 5 mysteries were kept alive for future episodes. The sinister voice proclaiming that "silence will fall", and the mysterious spaceship prints in Young Amy's garden, weren't explained here. For the first time it feels like Doctor Who's going to be telling a truly epic story over a few years, at least. River Song will undoubtedly fit as a major puzzle piece, as I was very intrigued by her inference to The Doctor that the next time they meet their relationship's going to change.. for the worse. The honeymoon period between River and The Doctor is apparently over... but my love for Who just hit a glorious fifth year anniversary. The Good Matt Smith and Karen Gillan. Both did their best work here; particularly Smith, who is now 100% The Doctor to my mind. His voice is especially perfect and alien. River Song facing down a Stone Dalek and making it squeal for mercy. "I wear fez's now. Fez's are cool." Amy and Rory. Considering the fact their relationship didn't really work earlier in the series, these last few episodes totally reversed that. They now totally work. And if this husband and wife will be regular companions in the TARDIS next year, I guess we technically have our first alien companion of nu-Who because Rory's a robot. The mechanics of the time-travel was very well done, and I especially liked the fact that scene from "Flesh & Stone" was tied into the finale's events – as fans correctly guessed. Wonderful direction from Toby Haynes, who gave the episode a real feeling of majesty. Loved the effects through, but it was the little touches that impressed me – like that "snap" of electricity after the teleporting Doctor leaves Rory in the field. The Bad Umm, I'm struggling. Anyone? I suppose you could argue that Young Amy and River didn't really get much to do, beyond be there so certain events could happen. The Geeky Augustus Pond must surely be a nod to Augustus Gloop from Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, right? This is the first nu-Who finale that doesn't end with the departure of a companion or the regeneration of The Doctor. Rating: 5 / 5 Doctor Dan $2 SUPERMAN!! $2 MATRIX!!

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