The Big Bang

... December 2014 to be precise and (most fans should be OK with this) I went back in time to make a few points:

* when I first saw this episode in real time (or that version of me contemporaneous with the episode as aired) I recall being happy and anticipatory. Life was full of promise. Going forward, the series would I reasoned be at least this good every episode possibly better. Well, I was wrong, don't want to annoy any die-hard fans but the reason I am (in the future) re-watching the entire Amy Pond series as opposed to watching the current (late 2014) Dr Who in real time is that the older version (the one being reviewed) is not merely slightly better, it is better on an order of magnitude that staggers the imagination. So much for the promise of a brighter tomorrow

* frankly on rewatching I was gobsmacked by how sharp the writing was. I mean you could cut a steak with it. Just the ending of this season could be a clinic in film school. At the end, in the last few minutes, in addition to wrapping up loose ends, the writing team (the two of them) not only manage to riff off the "something old, something new" adage -- AND MAKE IT IMPORTANT TO THE STORY! -- but the word banter when the doc does not understand whether he is proposing to River or asking her if she is single....?

Folks, this is beyond good writing, it is in a class by itself

Bottom line -- there is a not an IMDb rating high enough for this series arc. They say that you can show comedies to people in the hospital and they will get better. They should try showing this series to people who have given up on life ... to see if they can find their spark again.

Worked for me

The change of cast is always an adjustment for everyone, but by the end of Season 5 I got used to Matt Smith as the Doctor. In general, the cast - great.

The stories - OK. The fans of Russell T Davies seem to criticize this season. Steven Moffat fans are singing his praises, despite the obvious fact that neither of them wrote that many of the episodes.

The nag that I got from watching this season was a sense of Deja vu, the stories seemed familiar, safe and contrived. Before this season started I heard a lot of talk about how Moffat was to bring us a darker, deeper Doctor, which captured my interest. How was this going to work out? I asked myself; well pretty much same-old- same-old really! At the end of this season you will have a feeling of 'Well... oh... hmmm....good...now what?" and the lure of the line from River Song "Next is when everything changes", which was used almost from the very beginning of the new series (Even Captain Jack!).

Season 5 is enjoyable but forgettable, let's hope for more from season 6.

As an American fan, I had to wait until late July to see the final episode ... yes, I know I could have looked up the episodes online, but I wanted something to look forward to during the summer season. Each week, I found myself wanting more and more Doctor Who. The season finale was no different. It makes me sad that the season was only 13 episodes, whereas the normal American season is around 22.

Although many people do not like Matt Smith, I absolutely love him. Yes, yes ... I did just become a fan of the series back in April, but since then, I have seen almost every other episode in the resurrection of the TV show. First of all, each Doctor has a different personality. I love his quirkiness, how he talks to himself and says the most random things, and the fact that he's young. It takes the Doctor in a way it has never been before. Another reason I like this character is definitely for his bow ties. Bow ties are cool. I feel that Matt Smith, especially in this episode balances seriousness and funniness very well in the finale.

The thing I loved most about this episode is how everything is so well planned. The season finale had me on the edge of my seat, wondering why things were happening in that order. I felt like I was once again watching Inception; I was utterly confused through the first half and then enjoyed it very much as I learned more about the episode.

This is a very emotional episode and it really makes you feel along with these characters. All of the actors did an excellent job to bring their character to life. I enjoyed every second of this episode ... well except for the Dalek. I hate Daleks. Everything comes to a close from this series, and a new story line is opened at the end that leaves me wanting more.

After last weeks daft mish mash of throwing in everything but the kitchen sink it was nice to see the series resolved with a decent storyline. Drawing on similar David tennant story lines such as the master two parter it still had its bad points but overall provided Smith and Gillan with a chance to show what it was got them the jobs in the first place and I thought they did very well in this episode. The pair of them work well together and if they are given the chance of decent story lines to follow will show their worth. Overall series 5 was poor. Not the fault of the actors simply the writers. Alex Kingston and Arthur Darvill brought something interesting along and the River Song character is intriguing. The Angel episodes were excellent and the Van Gogh one was a damn good story if silly monster. The first episode introduced the characters well enough but mostly it was poor. The potential is there it just need Steven Moffat to up his game. As a Doctor Matt Smith has performed adequately and given glimpses of what they saw in him in the first place. Of the 3 new incumbents to the TARDIS he ranks a poor third but has shown what he is capable of given a good storyline. He is energetic and funny and reminds me of the 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton. Hopefully the writers will give us some real meat to the sandwich of Doctor and Pond next time round and we will get to see Matt Smith consistently do justice to the role as did Tennant and Eccleston. Overall I rate the series 5/6 out of 10 but with glimpses of 8/9. Not too bad as such simply.... disappointing.

Under Davies watch, Doctor Who became a mad rush of wackiness with incoherent stories and implausible deus ex machina endings.

Under Moffat, the series has improved significantly. Though they weren't all winners this season, Victory of the Daleks and the Upstairs Neighbor (I forget the exact title) were absolutely horrible, Moffat's finale' was absolutely perfect.

He tied in the entire series with things he's layered. He had a direction since the beginning, and followed it through competently.

While still maintaining a wackiness quota, Matt Smith's performance is stunning, and the finale shows us just how in deep he is with the character. You feel for the characters so much, and you want so BADLY to see the satisfying ending, and he gives it. He gives it without going over the top or pulling something out of his posterior.

I'm looking forward to next season, hoping they can overcome the rushed-out, hackneyed episodes that greatly suffered this otherwise great season. I foresee that the Doctor has nowhere to go but up after Davies, and with Moffat's brilliant storytelling, it WILL get better. It will.