The Big Bang (Doctor Who)
"The Big Bang" is the thirteenth and final episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme Doctor Who, first broadcast on 26 June 2010 on BBC One.Following the end of the previous episode, alien time traveller the Doctor (Matt Smith) is trapped in a prison from which escape is impossible, the space-time vessel the TARDIS has blown up with the time-travelling archaeologist River Song (Alex Kingston) inside, and the Doctor's companion Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) has been shot and killed by an Auton replica of her fiancé Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill).The Doctor uses River Song's vortex manipulator to jump ahead nearly two millennia; Rory, in his ageless Auton body, decides to stay with Amy and guard her.Aspects of "The Big Bang" were outlined by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat as he planned the arc of the series.[1] Moffat stated that the title "The Big Bang" is his favourite dirty Doctor Who joke as it is a reference to the fact that Amy and Rory conceive their child on the TARDIS that night, as revealed in the next series in "A Good Man Goes to War".He did this by calling attention to the future-Doctor in the opening scenes by having him wearing a fez and holding a mop, and as the viewers saw the Doctor later acquire these items they would begin to connect the events.[9] The beginning of the episode, in which the fez-wearing Doctor from the future confronts Rory, was filmed on 5 February 2010 at Margam Country Park, Port Talbot.[11] As it was filmed near the end of production of the series, "The Big Bang" had a smaller effects budget than other episodes, but this was compensated with cinematic lighting.[9] Gillan stated that the episode was the "most difficult" for her, as it was "a big climax for Amy and her story that's been building through the series...it just required a lot of kind of concentration and emotion.Haynes wanted to first show the revelation that the TARDIS would appear at the reception in a small way with minor changes such as the glasses tinkling and chandelier shaking, and build it up from there.Richard Edwards of SFX gave the episode five out of five stars and wrote "Steven Moffat pulls off the remarkable feat of making it feel like the logical denouement of last week's outing."While he noted that the "end of the world" scenario was very common, he said that it had never "been quite so pleasingly complex" and that "even if there are several plot holes, it's difficult to get too worried about them when the story packs such a strong emotional wallop".[6] Den of Geek's Simon Brew also gave the episode a positive review, writing "if you were awaiting a simple, easy-to-explain blockbuster of a Doctor Who series finale, you simply didn't get it here."[22] IGN's Matt Wales gave the episode a 10 out of 10 rating of "Masterful", describing it as "wonderfully wide-eyed, genuinely magical adventure" and adding that it "ended the series on an unquestionable high".Club gave "The Big Bang" a B+, describing it as not "wholly successful...the climactic action is a bit too rushed and the epilogue too relaxed".[5] Gavin Fuller, writing for The Daily Telegraph, summarised the episode as "interesting and enjoyable, but not quite the spectacular conclusion you might hope for."He particularly praised Matt Smith's portrayal of the Doctor in the scenes of his sacrifice and rewinding of his timeline, and also described the presentation of the universe collapsing as "effective".",[27] though Martin in The Guardian excused this paradox due to the episode being set "in the eye of the storm as history collapses [and so] ... hardly working to the same rulebook".
Doctor WhoDoctorMatt SmithEleventh DoctorCompanionsKaren GillanAmy PondArthur DarvillRory WilliamsAlex KingstonRiver SongCaitlin BlackwoodAmeliaBarnaby EdwardsKaren WestwoodNicholas BriggsToby HaynesSteven MoffatPeter BennettPiers WengerBeth WillisMurray GoldSeries 5The Pandorica OpensA Christmas CarolList of episodes (2005–present)fifth seriesscience fictionBBC Onethe DoctorTARDIScompanionBrangwyn HallAppreciation IndexRoman Britainsonic screwdrivervortex manipulatorA Good Man Goes to Warnext seriesSilenceThe Eleventh HourThe LodgerFlesh and StoneWeeping Angelsthe theory of time travelread-throughUpper Boat Studiosproduction blockMargam Country ParkPort TalbotSwanseaSteven Spielbergcold openrushesDVD commentaryPrincess LeiaHan SoloStar Warspick-upMiskin Manorgate-crashingextrassimulcastBBC HDVincent and the Doctorlast week's outingThe A.V. ClubZap2itThe GuardianThe Daily TelegraphparadoxicalDigital SpyDoctor Who ConfidentialBBC ThreeSlant MagazineTracie SimpsonDarvill, ArthurAudio commentaryDoctor Who MagazineRoyal Tunbridge Wells, KentPanini ComicsBBC AmericaYouTubeOriginal seriesSeason 1Missing episodesRevived seriesSeries 12008–2010 specials2013 specials2022 specials2023 specialsThe Beast BelowVictory of the DaleksThe Time of AngelsThe Vampires of VeniceAmy's ChoiceThe Hungry EarthCold BloodNinth DoctorThe Empty ChildThe Doctor DancesTenth DoctorThe Girl in the FireplaceSilence in the LibraryForest of the DeadSeries 6The Impossible AstronautDay of the MoonLet's Kill HitlerThe Wedding of River SongSeries 7The Doctor, the Widow and the WardrobeAsylum of the DaleksThe Angels Take ManhattanThe SnowmenThe Bells of Saint JohnThe Name of the DoctorSpecialsThe Day of the DoctorThe Time of the DoctorTwelfth DoctorSeries 8Deep BreathInto the DalekListen