Doctor Who - The Time of the Doctor, on BBC One (UK) / BBC America (USA)
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Caution: spoilers!

This is the ninth Christmas special of the revived Doctor Who series. It aired on Christmas in 2013, but I didn't see it until July 2018. And... I have mixed feelings about it.

It begins with a bunch of different alien races coming to a mysterious planet that has sent out a signal through all of space and time. Cool so far. The Doctor is there, of course. But before he can do much, he gets a call from Clara, who wants him to come join her family for Christmas dinner, and pretend to be her boyfriend. Eh... awfully cliched, but it could be fun. So, he stops what he's doing and goes to see her. But he's naked. Because, he says, he's going to church. I see the humor in his nudity, but it's not really my brand of humor. The bit about projecting holographic clothes for Clara to see instead of just getting dressed is interesting... and leads to another joke later, which is also interesting. But still not my cup of tea. The bit about using the TARDIS to cook the turkey is a good running gag, though.

Anyway, Clara ends up going with the Doctor back to the mysterious planet. That is to say, back to the fleet of various alien ships surrounding the planet. The first group to get there, the Church of the Papal Mainframe, had put a force field around the planet to prevent anyone else from going to the surface. (Presumably everyone on their ship is actually naked, even if they appear to be wearing clothes. Because nudity is some sort of custom of theirs, I guess. But it's never actually stated whether this is in fact the case.) The Church is led by an acquaintance of the Doctor's, named Mother Superior Tasha Lem, and she ends up letting the Doctor and Clara go down to the surface, where there's a town called Christmas. And the Doctor soon discovers a crack in reality, just like the ones that appeared throughout series 5. And then he figures out that the signal all the aliens have heard is actually coming from the Time Lords, who are in another universe, having been hidden away at the end of the Time War (something that had been learned in The Day of the Doctor). And the message sent by the Time Lords is a question: "Doctor Who?" (Which is, of course, the Question, from series 6.) So... basically, the Doctor is meant to speak his name, which would indicate to them that it's really him, and that it's safe for them to return to this universe. But he doesn't want to do that, because all those many alien races surrounding the planet would want to go to war against them. So... he establishes a stalemate, which I never quite fully understood. I guess if he just left the planet, the aliens would attack it even without the Time Lords being there. I don't really feel like that would have accomplished much, because I have no reason to believe the crack in reality couldn't have reappeared somewhere else, considering how many other places we've already seen it. But whatevs. The Doctor has to stay. But he also doesn't want to say his name, because he doesn't want to start a new Time War. However, the only leverage he has against the aliens is their fear that he could say his name at any time. Even if they managed to get through the force field and kill him, it would take him awhile to actually die, and he'd have plenty of time to say his name and thereby summon the Time Lords with his last breath. I guess. Personally, I'm not entirely sure why the aliens don't want him to do that. I mean, I get that they fear the Time Lords, but I still feel like ensuring their destruction would be easier after they return to this universe. But again I say "whatevs." (Of course, it's important to note that it's not just a matter of protecting the Time Lords who aren't even there; the townsfolk of Christmas are just as important, since they'd be killed with or without the Time Lords, if the Doctor left.)

Anyway, the Doctor sends Clara home, while he remains on the planet. (Incidentally, I'm purposely not naming the planet, but if you've gotten this far in your viewing of the series, I'm sure you can easily guess what it is.) The Doctor defends the planet for three hundred years, and is much beloved by the people of Christmas, over the generations. (He also apparently makes and fixes toys and things. So one can hardly help but think that the special is setting him up to become Santa Claus or Father Christmas or whatever. But that never quite happens.) Eventually Clara returns, though of course not much time has passed for her, whereas the Doctor is obviously somewhat older. And she learns from him that this is his final regeneration. He is the thirteenth Doctor. (The "War Doctor" from "Day of the Doctor" was actually the ninth, despite the Doctors who came after him refusing to count him, because of the shame they felt at the things he had done during the Time War. So in reality, Christopher Eccleston's Doctor from series 1 was the tenth, even though he's always been referred to as the ninth. And David Tennant's Doctor from series 2-4 was the eleventh, despite being called the tenth. This is something I had wondered about ever since I first heard of the War Doctor, in 2013, despite my not actually seeing him until 2018. So it's nice to have an explanation for that, finally. But the more surprising thing we learn in "The Time of the Doctor" was something that I guess many fans had wondered about before, but which I don't exactly recall having wondered about at all, though I suppose I might have. And it's this: in the series 4 episode "The Stolen Earth," the tenth-but-really-eleventh Doctor had used up one of his regenerations to heal a mortal wound, but without actually changing his appearance or personality. Which means that technically, Tennant was both the eleventh and the twelfth Doctor. And Matt Smith, from series 5-7, despite being called the eleventh Doctor, is, as I said before, the thirteenth. (Once I learned that when watching this special, I realized I'd have to delete a whole paragraph I had written on the page I set up for series 11, before it even started.)

Well... the Doctor and Clara eventually fall into a trap set by the Daleks on the Church's ship. But Tasha helps them escape. (One of the things I didn't really like about this special is that the Doctor kisses Tasha, and then she says, somewhat indignantly, "Kiss me when I ask." The Doctor replies jokingly, "Well you better ask nicely." Of course, they are old friends, and have been a bit flirty before. So perhaps it's not unreasonable to assume he knew she'd be okay with it, even if she acted like she wasn't. The scene does quickly return to more important matters of, you know, life and death. Still, I'm not really comfortable with the appearance of a lack of consent.) Anyway... the Doctor returns to the planet below, and again sends Clara back to Earth. And incidentally, I want to say that basically the only member of her family that was particularly likable was her grandmother... who at one point I started thinking could somehow turn out to be a much older River Song. But that didn't happen. But before Christmas dinner is over, the TARDIS returns... piloted by Tasha, who takes Clara back to the other planet... where I don't even know how much time has passed, but presumably a lot more than the three centuries that had passed the last time, because the Doctor now looks to have aged a lot more than he did before. The Daleks are now making their final attack, and it seems the Doctor will finally die, with no regenerations left. However, Clara goes to the crack in reality and begs that the Time Lords help him. And they end up opening a similar crack in the sky, just to send him some regenerative energy that will start a whole new cycle of regenerations. And the energy allows the Doctor to defeat the Daleks, without bringing the Time Lords back, and without saying his name.

Later, back on the TARDIS, the Doctor completes his regeneration, and in the final moments of the special, we see him played by Peter Capaldi, who will be the twelfth Doctor, in series 8. (But really he'll be the fourteenth, but also the first incarnation of the new cycle.) And... the special ends on a cliffhanger I don't want to spoil just yet. I have left some other dramatic tidbits out of this review, as well. Even if I've given away far too much of the actual plot. Anyway, it was definitely a great special in a lot of ways, despite the few quibbles I had with it. It was definitely a great showcase for Matt Smith's skills as an actor. And it was nice to bring together so many different plot points (not all of which I've mentioned here) from throughout his time as the Doctor. It's also another chance for Clara to be the one to save him, as she's done before. And... it's all very epic and grand, and makes me eager to see the next series....