Why The Doctor Falls is the Perfect Doctor Who Finale (Reupload) 

Hey everyone. I know this video doesn't look great, and if you're new to the channel, the videos are usually better quality! I've been trying for ages to get the copyright restrictions on the original upload lifted, but the BBC had manually claimed the whole thing (even the parts that were me) so it seemed futile. I thought it would be worth re-editing it to preserve my three-part series, even if it meant making it rather choppy. I hope it's not too bad!

I like both the legend of the doctor and the fact he's actually just a really kind and clever guy.

"I do what I do because it's right! Because it's decent! And above all, it's kind!" "Who I am is where I stand, and where I stand is where I fall." "Pity, no stars... I hoped there'd be stars." (Really should've been his final words) Just some of my favourite lines in the episode. It's almost my favourite too, and the only reason it's not is because Heaven Sent exists.

I honestly feel that Twice Upon a Time is the true Doctor Who series finale. If the series ended with 12th regenerating on the shot of his face with a smile then cuts to black, I'd be totally satisfied with that being the complete ending of Doctor Who.

I’ve always thought of The Doctor-Moffat’s, specifically-as a very normal and good person who gets their ego pumped up by the amount of power they wield and the reputation they’ve earned. The whole thing about them being a God and the big speeches and everything is very much how the universe sees them, and sometimes he gets caught up in that hype-particularly when he’s angry. It’s kind of like 12 said-on a good day, he’s the Doctor. Not every day, but at his best moments, that’s when he fulfills that promise of “Never cruel or cowardly; never give up, never give in.” The promise that is The Doctor’s name isn’t a promise to the universe, it’s a promise to the Doctor themselves, to try every day to live up to. And I think what’s so brilliant about the journey of 11 and 12 is that 11 became arguably the most godlike The Doctor had ever been saving Gallifrey and all, and that bled over into 12’s initial arrogance and lack of empathy-but 12’s story was about breaking that arrogance down, showing who The Doctor really was and distilling him to their core principles. And about his regeneration-i think Matt Smith was particularly phenomenal at grand speeches, and Capaldi was much better at emotional ones, which is why (along with the fact there was no one else there) his regeneration speech felt weak. The stars comment would’ve been extremely great as a last line, but-while the speech didn’t work so well-I find “Doctor....I let you go” to be a really great counterpoint to Tennant’s “I don’t want to go”, and served better as a finale and setup line that welcomes in new fans. Davies final episodes really pounded in that everything you loved about Doctor Who was leaving, while Moffat’s was more bittersweet in saying farewell but accepting the inevitable future and evolution of the show. Chibnall’s Who even successfully encapsulated the Doctor in his first episode and had the highest ratings since Davies, and I think that’s in part because Moffat managed to balance his saying farewell to our saying hello.

So pleased to hear you say that Capaldi is, in your opinion, the best Doctor we've had. I'm not sure he was always well served by script writers but, for me, no one has encapsulated the essence of the Doctor quite so well since Troughton

I really wish the Doctor regenerated in this episode. It would have been the perfect ending for 12.

And then Chibnall came along and just undid everything for no good reason.

I'mma be real, I'm drunk as hell right now but this video really, really moved me. Near to tears. Capaldi is my favourite Doctor and as an actor the Doctor is my absolute dream role. Thank you for making this. It's a fantastically well thought out video about one of the best pieces of Capaldi's era. Hope you're well!

I was completely taken aback by the moment when Heather rescued Bill - but then I loved it. It was absolutely legitimate, the Moff foreshadowed it in episode 1 (The Pilot), and of course I'd completely forgotten it (like everybody else). I love it when a writer does that. And, great episode.

Babe, wake up, another Joe Brennan video is out

The way games (minus regeneration) Survival Journey's end The doctor falls All these episodes I consider to be the best way to give doctor who a finale (I also think that if shada wasn't left unfinished it could also be on this list but alas it couldn't)

I completely agree with you that this was one of the best episodes of the Capaldi era and of new Who. The plea to the two Masters, in particular, is perhaps my favourite moment. (And, like you, I much prefer this to the actual final speech the Doctor gives at the end of Twice Upon a Time… which is, sadly, the one most people remember.). Capaldi’s era was far too short and I wish he had a least another season or two perhaps with a different showrunner. (Not sure how well his Doctor would have worked with Chibnall’s style, but I just want more. I’m greedy that way.)

Taken me way too long to get around to watching this but great video! Completely agree about Simm. He's less layered than he was in S3, but that's only because what made him interesting (his relationship to 10, Gallifrey being gone, the end of the universe) aren't factors in this story. So Moffat kept his sexism, his sadism and threw in old master iconography to make him a representation of what Missy was trying to throw off. It also fits perfectly into the evolution vs preservation metacommentary running through the episode

Wish capaldi regenerated here, when rewatching he goes into his tardis and I skip to the end of twice upon a time

It just so happened that this was the last season I watched before going to college and losing my ability to view Dr. Who episodes (I'm the last person of my generation to not own a single streaming service account), and I was happy to consider this to be the end of the show, with Twice Upon a Time acting as a "13th episode" of sorts, referring to the additional episode some anime's tag on that may not be 100% canon, but act mostly as fan service of some sort. Jodie seems nice, but there's been a lot of complaints about her episodes. It also bothers me that when I saw her screwdriver, it looked more like a magic wand than any before, and her Tardis looks like a witch's crystal cave. It appears to me that they pulled her away from STEM-based aesthetics, and went with more of a sci-fi, emphasis on the fantasy. Capaldi's Tardis, in contrast, looked like a futuristic classroom, and his screwdriver looked decidedly technological.

kudos to you mate ~ just discovered your channel from the Twice Upon A Time video ~ I also miss Capaldi and Doctor Who as a whole since I have not touched the series after his regeneration Dx keep up the good work !

i adore this episode. and i love this video. amazing work man.

This and world are easily the best 12th doctor episodes

That was an amazing video

No, you're not wrong. It was absolutely masterful. Like you said, it was powerful, not because the stakes were high on a galactic level, but because they were so high on a personal level. The doctor sacrificing himself to save a small group of people that may be doomed anyway hit way harder than a universe-ending threat. So many moving moments - The realness of the characters not knowing how to say goodbye rather than overblown speeches. The tragic end to missy's redemption and her dying in the woods without the doctor ever knowing. And the doctor's simple few last words.. just wishing there would be stars. .. Well, it made me cry in the episode and even again when I watched your clip of it! Masterful, moving, powerful and darn near perfect!

An idea for a cyberman story I heard that I really liked is one where an entirely new group of humans is living on a world that has become entirely inhospitable and are all dying, it's gotten so bad that moving off-world won't save them anymore, it's too late. They're all going to die and there's nothing that can stop it, except the new proceedure invented by their best doctor, one which replaces most of their bodies with machine, necessitating the suppression of feeling to prevent them drying from the pain. The Doctor is given a terrible choice, let them turn themselves into yet another breed of cyberman (ideally reminiscent of the Mondassians) or let them all die slow painful deaths to this inhospitable world (and possibly a 3rd choice reminiscent of the Star Whale, kill them all himself quickly and painlessly as possible).

sublime video

You’re back

bills afterlife still felt like a death, with her motif being swelling and big it still felt super sad. but it was ruined in the next episode

I found from some years watching shows that, sometimes, it's better to maintain a headcanon, than minding what showrunners decide to put on it. I agree with you on that idea, Doctor Falls, at least for me, is the end of the show.

Being as though this show has been turned into a unfunny parody I like to think of this as the finale to the show and how the Doctor dies which makes the end have much more impact.

10/10 video. I don't think I've ever agreed with a review more

Either this or the Xmas ep would’ve been so perfect to end the show entirely tbh it would’ve been an incredible ending

not me crying this whole video

i think that 12 knew that missy became genuinely good which is why he was so content with dying in that moment.

sad to see a reupload instead of a nardole video in my inbox.. dissapointed joe

Bad Wolf/Parting of the Ways and World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls are the best finales in the whole series.

You've definitely made me look at this episode's good points in a better light, but I still don't find it that great. I still like the character stuff, all the dialogue, Capaldi's speeches to The Masters, John Simm being perfect and the opening are still great, but that really doesn't change my two main complaints. World Enough and Time was about the Cybermen, but they are lobbed to a backseat so hard it makes the theme of the previous episode completely unconnected to this one. This episode is about the Doctor and the Masters, which is good, but after a massive Cyberman-themed episode, the fact that the next episode isn't really about them at all feels wrong. Also, the companion montage at the end reminds me of the worst of the Moffatt era. Could be a big emotional moment for Capaldi, but what do they do? References! Clips from previous eras of the show! A cheap nostalgia grab that really doesn't gel with any other part of the episode.

although World enough and time/ the doctor falls have some issues and some ideas that are not very well executed, is the more personal stuff that i think it was managed brilliantly. How we see missy struggle between stand with the doctor or go back to her old ways and in the end, choosing to do the right thing but ended up dying for it. What i love of the doctor falls is the idea of the doctor being utterly defeated. Yeah, in some stories we see the doctor dealing with loss and faliure, but there is always something good at the end, like defeating the bad guys, or managing to save at least one person, or knowing that even with things looking bad, in the long term, there will be a better tomorrow to the ones he tried to save, but not here. After all his effort, his friend betrayed him (or at least he was left thinking that missy just left), the cyberman won't stop upgrading and the people in the ship are doomed to end up becoming cybermans. I wish they have kept the tragic tone in the end of the episode, like one of the saddest endings in doctor who, if not in tv in general. The doctor dying, people without hope, and missy (if she somehow managed to regenerate there) having to face a reality without the doctor

Really cool in depth analysis of this episode, and I agree that if this were to have been the final episode of Doctor Who this would've been perfect 👍🏾😀

I love the body-horror cybermen - but the 'new' cybermen are not a mark AGAINST the episode, at all. Within the space of this story, we have already seen the cyber-conversion process go from experimental surgery to mass-production. Seeing the 'new'cybermen shows how massive the time dilation effect is, and how desperate the escape is - in one night on the solar farm, cybermen have evolved for war... you cant just wait them out.

I've actually hated the return of the earlier incarnation of the Master as I liked the Mistress' unexplained return and how the Saxon Master ended returning to Gallifrey, but I like your reasoning.

I wish this was the end of doctor who. If 12 entered his Tardis and had a mini stroll in the control room silently, before going to the control panel whispering the word "maybe it's time" whilst staring at himself in the plastic reflection of the beam cylinder before falling to the ground on his back. Only for the camera to zoom out of him leaving, mists of regeneration flares leave his hands and collars. Before the screen goes black making the viewer wonder of the doctor died or regenerated, I would have been happy.

I just wish we got that sassy tartis lady back she was the best

If you ever are forced to do the picture thing again, just make the pictures about 3x slower, it's a bit distracting.

Im just a silly billy very casual doctor who fan, so this is maybe something that was said multiple times: But what if "The Doctor falls" is actually a title that references Missy? I mean, The Doctor, and also Missy. Because if I can imagine someone grabbing the plot line "im doctor who *dab" from Missy and trying to tell something serious and pretentious with it, that would be Moffat. In a "The return of the Jedi" is about Darth Vader way. Since seemingly, and by the Master's words, Missy can't regenerate...

There is a version of this story entirely in Black and White. Although, I'm not sure if it's this one or World Enough and Time. But I know that there is a noir fan edit, where it's black and white in 4:3 ratio and there are some other subtle edits.

wait...... the Master's regeneration is never seen in "complete" chronological order right ??? what if Miss regenerates into the guy that came BEFORE the other Master? :O

Well done, @Joe_Brennan_ And yes, Capaldi is the crown and the end of Doctor Who. I just don't understand one thing: That ugly Rian face on your wall. This man shall .... Really!

The 12th doctor final 2 epis was good.

It’s a critique ffs this is literally fair use I think?

I jumped ahead a bit to hear your thoughts on the Cybermen, so sorry if I’ve missed anything important. But I strongly disagree with you regarding the presence of NewWho Cybermen alongside the Mondasians. I understand that a lot of people wanted a Cyberman story just with the originals, but I think that the inclusion of Cybus and NiS Cybermen is bloody great. It’s an easy way of implementing the ‘parallel evolution’ idea for the Cybermen, that we’re briefly introduced to in the first five minutes or so, into the main narrative. Granted, there’s still a bunch of things I would change - I actually kind of like NiS Cybermen flying about, but flying Mondasian Cybermen is just stupid. Narratively speaking, I also don't like how no explanation is given for why the Mondasian Cybermen are fighting alongside their NewWho versions; if the Cybermen have spent who knows how long evolving into super-advanced forms, there should be no logical reason for Mondasian Cybermen to still be a thing. There’re some easy explanations that could be made though: the Cybermen may have chosen to abandon full processing into the latest upgrades in favour of immediately attacking Floor 0507 when the Doctor, Bill and the Masters kill one of the highest-upgrade Cybermen in the lift. Also the Cybus Cybermen legit just did nothing. Could’ve at least spoken and pulled out a few of those giant black energy rifles they’ve had in episodes like A Good Man Goes to War and The Pandorica Opens. Also I think you may have slightly misunderstood the ‘parallel evolution’ idea. The Doctor describes it as being ‘people plus technology minus humanity’. I think the idea is that anyone can evolve into a Cyberman but only if their society has the means to facilitate this, both in terms of the physical process and in providing a legitimate reason to do so. The people of Floor 0507 aren't naturally in danger of upgrading themselves; that would only happen if they whatever floor they were on effectively became Floor 1056 in terms of urban degradation, and if they had nowhere else to go. Relating to this, I’m among the people who feel that the Cybermen were just kind of cannon-fodder in this episode. Potentially centuries of upgrading on Floor 1056 wasted.

Just felt the need to say that you don't have to make videos short. If you have more to say, say it.

I personally rate twice upon a time higher than this, more due to the fact the doctor had to face himself figuratively and literally to decide his fate

Hiya :) There’s a podcast called woke doctor who that had an episode on this story - it gave me a perspective I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise and I really recommend giving it a listen !!

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My comments :(

I think Peter capaldi doctor should of marked the end of the show. No more docotor who. The doctor used all their 13 lives and was giving one more as a sort of reward for everything they have done. And, no offense to Peter capaldi, the doctor kind of came full circle as the illusion of him being old when he was the youngest version, and now he finally somegat looks as old as he starsrted off. "it all rhymes" as george lucas said. And it is even more fitting that the doctor would of died in that moment, not saving a universe, or a planet, or actualky finally destroying completely one of his greatest enemies, but they died without witness, without reward, they died being completely selfishness. Cause that is who the doctor is. I don't think we will ever see a more perfect ending than this one. Hell with bi regeneration being a thing, the doctor can now team up with each other whenever they like or go on seoerate journeys or two doctor goes on seperate journeys in the one season. Bi regeneration, I'm afraid what will happen. If it was the master who bi regenerated, I think that would of been taking mor positively, since the master is evil at the end of the day and they could cause more trouble for one doctor, like we had a glimpse with missy and the master. But anyway, what was saying oh yeah, this would of been a perfect dinake to the show. 4.5 out of 5 Peter capaldis. Loses point for not being a finale or where Peter regenerated.

the Doctor didn't really fall hard enough, considering that he'd been exposed to prolonged zapping from cybermen (it was also a bit naff for him to be shooting cybermen with his screwdriver)

Hi, new to your channel, love a lot of your views and agree with many of them, one question though, if I may, do you actually like Rian Johnson? The man who, along with Kathleen Kennedy, single handedly destroyed Star Wars and made it WOKE.

This episode works perfectly. Thematically. There are certain things that just don't work for me. Bill getting the revival still annoys me as if she died it would be a true tragedy (same goes for clara). The cybermen evolving and flying is stupid and should never have happened (I'm still salty) and the colour grading really miffs me because if how extreme it is. (Still not as bad as death in heaven). I know you mentioned it but it just feels like the master was wasted. Not entirely, his dynamic with missy is great, it's just he isn't evil in the episode, just a coward. I know you could at that's showing character growth but he wouldn't be directly hurting anyone if he left. It's a dick move but not evil. That's what really bugs me. He just never gets the chance to be evil openly without being "behind the scenes" or in a mask. There's just 10 minutes or so where he should be evil where missy would outright protest. There's just something missing at the start of him being the "king" of the cyberman. Personally there are many ways you could easily fox this and I have two words that could backfire and anger a lot of people. Kill Nardol. Missy would definitely not support that and could be a key moment leading to her semi betrayal of the Master. Other than that just make the doctor regenerate after the "stars" line and it's perfect

I personally find Parting of the Ways far superior. As good as TDF is, it is rather disappointing how after such a creepy episode, the Cybermen devolve to just unthreatening canon fodder. Also, Heather saving Bill just felt... kinda cringe. Lessens the impact of WEAT on rewatch.