You remembered me! Thank goodness for that. If it hadn’t been for you, I’d have been completely erased from time. For the past few weeks, I have been otherwise occupied, almost being swallowed up by a huge crack in time. Yes, of course, I’ve just watched ‘The Big Bang’ – “…Bazinga!” – No, not that one! I mean the season finale of this latest series of Doctor Who. Before I go on, I should apologise for the total lack of structure within this post. I’d put it down to the temporal anomalies caused by the crack. That, or my laziness.

Steven was right, it wasn’t a “I didn’t see that one coming” kind of episode. It was a “If I’d payed more attention to the foreshadowing of that bit, I would have seen that coming!” kind of episode. After the triumph that was ‘The Pandorica Opens’, the Doctor sets about creating a time paradox to free himself from the Pandorica, scheming and plotting, just like the little Scottish one (sorry, Sylv). The concepts of time manipulation, previous events and, indeed, selves all playing a part in the story’s resolution was both fascinating and entertaining.

The tone seemed to taper slightly from one episode to the next. Yes, there were changes of setting and new plot threads, but we were eased towards them, usually during some kind of crisis. The stone Dalek was a stroke of genius, and the reason for its resurrection was just as clever as the reason it was in such a state. Whilst screaming “exterminate” quite a lot, it also served a purpose, giving us the vital clue as to how the Pandorica was part of the solution to the oncoming catastrophe.

Matt, Karen, Arthur and Alex were all on top form, and were all given something pivotal to do. It became almost an ensemble piece, no one left out. The love story between Amy and Rory was cemented finally, the latter’s heartwarming dedication to his bride-to-be showing us his true worth. River once again made us all guffaw with her somtimes menacing demeanor (“Mercy!”) and tantilising glimpses into the Doctor’s future. Amy cried a lot, which is understandable, but her joy at the Doctor’s return made it all worthwhile anyway. Hats must be tipped in the direction of Matt Smith, whose two main emotionally-charged soliloquies to the past and present Amelia Pond were genuinely heart-warming and heart-breaking, in equal measure.

This story does seem like a sequel to every episode of Doctor Who in the latest season, but not in the way you would expect. We’ve been kept guessing, and I bet a few of us figured it out, but not many. Right? No ducks in the duck pond – the crack of course, it gobbled them up. Amy doesn’t remember the Daleks? – the crack. Amy living alone, too many rooms? – crack. Get it now? It all makes sense. Isn’t it a satisfying feeling? Imagine if the final episode had been erased by the crack, followed by the entire production team. We’d have been scratching our heads for years trying to figure that one out. And it seems, we might still be scatching our heads, for a little while, anyway…

I should finally praise the new head writer on his advanced teasing. While Russell T Davies preferred to tack on tiny teasers to his finales that lead into a Christmas special (“What the hell is this place!?” -”What!?”), Moffat is now trying to keep us watching by preserving one integral element of the plot, leaving it unresolved. So who or what is ‘The Silence’, and why did it, or they, attempt to fracture the universe using the Doctor’s TARDIS? We will find out I’m sure, one day, along with the identity of the enigmatic Dr. Song.

Maybe someone will buy me a fez for Christmas…

LP