Christmas Eve a good chunk of the world gathered in front of their television sets to say goodbye to Matt Smith[1] , who played The Doctor for the past four years on "Doctor Who[2] ." The Christmas special, titled "The Time of The Doctor" neatly wrapped up most of the dangling questions from Smith's run on the character while setting the stage for the new Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi.
Notice we said wrapped up most of the questions. There's still a few plot points we'd like to know more about, questions left unanswered, things that hopefully executive producer Steven Moffat and crew will get around to tackling once Capaldi starts full time in 2014. Oh, and spoilers, sweetie:
Where's Gallifrey?
Q: The Deus Ex Machina of the episode was quite literal, as the godlike Gallifreyans briefly sent enough energy through a crack in the universe to help The Doctor live longer than any Timelord had lived before, saving his life and allowing Capaldi to play the thirteenth Doctor. But the last time we saw Gallifrey, it was locked, frozen in a moment of time and space in a parallel universe at the end of "Day of the Doctor." So if time doesn't move for Gallifrey, how are they, you know, doing stuff?
A: Chances are, this will be addressed significantly during Capaldi's run, it's too big a plot point to ignore.
There Must Always Be A Price
Q: Not only does The Doctor defy death by regenerating a thirteenth time, he kills a ton of Daleks while doing so. In stories, there's always a downside to these types of deals, and ramifications that have to follow. Will we ignore the killin' and the cheatin' because Matt Smith's story is over?
A: Yeah, probably. The Daleks will always be bad guys, and like it or not The Doctor has destroyed their ships a bunch of times. It's played as a heroic moment, not a conflicted one. And as for the sneaky thirteenth regeneration, which fans have long said would be impossible? It felt like that was Steven Moffat formally addressing a long-standing fan debate, rather than something that will play out in the long run.
It's Bigger On The Outside
Q: Way back in "The Name of the Doctor" we first glimpsed the fields of Trenzalore (the setting for the episode), long after The Doctor "died." To mark his grave, the TARDIS had grown to gigantic size. In this episode, we saw what led up to the Doctor dying, but never a giant TARDIS. Why dat?
A: Because of what happened in "The Day of the Doctor." If we're understanding this correctly, The Doctor changed the course of the universe by saving Gallifrey in a moment in time. Because Gallifrey was saved, it began to make cracks in the Universe, which led The Doctor through every journey he's been on for the past few years. When it came time for him to die on Trenzalore, Gallifrey was still there, and able to make a change so he didn't die.
Only problem with this theory? The Siege of Trenzalore happened because Gallifrey was sending their message looking for The Doctor throughout the universe. They wouldn't have been there to send that message if he hadn't saved them so... Time travel make brain hurt.
Doctor, Actually
Q: Each year Steven Moffat has reworked an old Christmas story for his "Doctor Who" Christmas Specials. The first year was "A Christmas Carol," the second "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," and "The Snowmen" was sort of "Sherlock Holmes" kind of but not really. How about this one?
A: We're going to go with "Love Actually," because it takes place in a town called Christmas where people can't lie. And as anyone who has seen Andrew Lincoln's classic scene with Keira Knightley knows, at Christmas you tell the truth. To us, Doctor, you are perfect.
Wigs
Q: In that final, tear-jerking scene, Matt Smith was wearing a wig, having already shaved his head in real life. Karen Gillan was also wearing a wig, she shaved her head for "Guardians of the Galaxy." Was Jenna Coleman also wearing a wig?
A: Probably not.
What burning questions from "Time of the Doctor" did we miss? And what did you think of Matt Smith's last episode? Let us know on Twitter @MTVNews![3]
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