"I remember you, raggedy man, and you are LATE FOR MY WEDDING!"

Okay, so I'm a day late on the blogging. Vacation took a lot out of me, but it was absolutely fantastic, so it's worth it. Anyway, got to see the Doctor Who season finale just a day or two ago, and...

~WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD~

Okay, you still with me? Fantastic. Let's talk about "The Big Bang"...

First off, it strikes me just how much different it is to other finales of the revival. There's no big change in the TARDIS team at the end, for one. That's right, we have our same team of three jetting off into time and space for the Christmas special... yes, three. I'll get to that in a bit.

Also, while there is a bit of a reset button, it actually works because it makes sense in the context of the season. Bits and pieces from throughout all twelve previous episodes were included in some way, or contributed to part of the finale. Oh, and the arc doesn't end. We never find out who the Big Bad is, and the reason as to why the TARDIS exploded, and why on the day of Amy's wedding, is still unclear. So next season we'll be getting a continued plot, which actually seems as though it'll work better in the long run. Basically, Moffat streamlined and improved the formula from the RTD years, with his own touches added. For example, no real big, epic battle. A Dalek is in it, and it's mostly incidental to the plot. It's a lot more plot-and-character-driven than running off the Rule of Cool, which worked in the past but would naturally get stale for some...

Now, I have to talk, absolutely must talk about, it would be unforgivable if I didn't talk about... Rory Williams. That's right, the Boy Who Waited. So he was revived as an Auton with Rory's memories but still all the love and devotion to Amy. So just to make sure she'll be safe for two thousand years in the Pandorica, he guards her for all that time, taking the slow path while the Doctor zips forward in time. He totally succeeds (not at staying out of trouble, though), even dragging the Pandorica out of a fire. Oh, and did I mention since he's made of plastic, any damage he takes can't heal? And he's really weak to fire because he's plastic? And yet he still succeeds- not to mention stays sane, which the Doctor implied would likely not be the case. And while Human Rory is back at the end, he's still got the memories of Auton Rory, which means all that awesomeness and love in him. Let's face it, he's a contender for best companion ever. I am so glad he's back... Arthur Darvill needs to be there full-time for Season 32, and it looks like he will be. A married couple traveling with the Doctor! Brilliant!

We also got some River Song coolness (a Dalek begged for mercy when it found out who she was), adorable young Amy, and the Doctor wearing a fez. Even if only briefly. And Amy gets her parents back! Her dad's name is Augustus! I will name a Pokemon that one day, mark my words. The continuity nods, by the way... great stuff. "From now on, Amelia, I am leaving the kissing duties to the new Mr. Pond!" "Wait, no, that's not how it works." "Yeah, it is." "...yeah, it is." The fact that Rory doesn't seem to mind so much is icing on the cake.

Really, just the last fifteen or so minutes. The Doctor going back through time, his story to young Amelia and subsequent sacrifice, then Amy's wedding and realization of the Doctor, his epic reappearance in a suit with tails (not a tux, bad things happen when the Doctor wears a tux), hilariously bad dancing (like the Doctor is someone's dad, WHICH HE IS!), River's unwillingness to give a straight answer, the "goodbye!" scene, and hopefully the tease that the Christmas special will involved an escaped Egyptian goddess on the Orient Express IN SPACE!

Am I gushing about it? Yeah, I am. Do I have a good reason to? Duuuuuuuuhhhh. Of course I do. It's Doctor Who, the best idea in the history of forever. Of course it's brilliant.

So, one excellent season down, and it looks like we can only go up from here. Like I said one hundred posts ago...

GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!