Doctor Who: 10 Beautiful Things About 'The Time Of The Doctor'

5. The Speech

Each Doctor has a fitting end for their character. The first regeneration saw the grumpy old man of the TARDIS keel over and die of old age; the last regeneration saw the Tenth Doctor having customary trouble letting go. The Eleventh Doctor's been both old and young in striking contrasts, fighting an impossible war alongside Amy and Clara. His demise reflected this, but his speech really brought out the statesman in Eleven. It was poetic, and moving, from the comparison to life being just a breath on a mirror to the Doctor comparing himself to any of us; in an anniversary year, when we're the facing the last of the original thirteen incarnations, it was fitting that the Doctor should remember everyone he's been, but again, we got a heart-warming nod to Matt. "I'll never forget when the Doctor was me," he said, and it was a parallel to both Tennant's and Eccleston's last words: we felt the actor behind the Doctor, the actor that we've grown to adore. We've got two people we're saying goodbye to. We love the Eleventh Doctor, but we love Matt Smith just as much.