Doctor Who’s best speeches | 3-1

Posted on August 23, 2016 by P.J.

Click for: 12-10, 9-7, 6-4 in this series!

3. Eleventh Doctor, The Big Bang

The Eleventh Doctor says farewell to Amelia Pond in this beautiful, pathos-laden little speech before he steps into the cracks in time and disappears from the universe. This is some of the best acting I’ve seen from Matt Smith, I think. He truly, convincingly conveys the impression of the weary, jaded old man as he rambles affectionately at Amy’s bedside, no mean feat for an actor of Matt’s age. It’s a simple, nice little scene but it’s so powerful and emotive and iconic that I think it deserves its place near the top of my list.

2a. Twelfth Doctor, The Zygon Inversion

Come on now. This is the reason we don’t deserve Peter Capaldi. This is the reason Peter Capaldi has rightly been called the best actor ever to play the Doctor. Peter is channelling passion and theatrical genius into every syllable, and that’s what makes this speech the widely acclaimed piece of television that it is. The writers, Steven Moffat and Jamie Mathieson, knew they could give Peter Capaldi an extended, soliloquising monologue like this and that he would pull it off outstandingly. Only an actor of Peter Capaldi’s calibre. Twelve’s words themselves are incredibly moving expression of the Doctor’s visceral abhorrence of war, and, when it comes to his feelings about war and his experiences in the Time War, I think the Doctor bears his soul more in this speech than we’ve ever seen from him before.

2b. Eleventh Doctor, The Time of the Doctor

Why are there two speeches tied for second place, you ask? It’s because I ONLY JUST REMEMBERED THIS SPEECH BEFORE I STARTED THIS POST OH MY GOD HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THIS ONE I’M SO SORRY. This is the speech you watch on repeat if ever you’re feeling particularly masochistic. It absolutely killed me at the time, and I still find it incredibly gutting to watch, especially so because Matt was my Doctor, and saying goodbye was hard. It’s just a sublimely executed trainwreck of emotions. Matt’s speech is so beautiful, and then “I will always remember when the Doctor was me,” and then, goddamn it, he has a hallucination of Amy, “Raggedy man, goodnight,” and JFC JUST SPARE ME ALREADY. You get the picture. It makes me feel things.

1. Eleventh Doctor, The Rings of Akhaten

Some of the speeches in this list I chose for their emotive quality, some for their narrative or character significance, some for the pure captivating drama and theatrics. I chose Eleven’s acclaimed speech in The Rings of Akhaten because, in a way, it’s a combination of all of these things, and, above all, it’s just a sublime, consummately written, produced and acted segment of television. More so than any of the other speeches on this list, it’s pure art, pure literary flair and brilliance. It doesn’t really serve a critical purpose in the story, which I think is a fairly average episode in general, it’s just the writer, Neil Cross’s, and Matt Smith’s, and, not least, Murray Gold’s, creative talents unleashed, and the result is a sequence of utterly spellbinding, emotional, invigorating television. Matt Smith, of course, is the star of this sequence, and it’s his impassioned, candid performance here that makes this speech—in my opinion some of his absolute best acting during his time in the role.

So that’s my ~~twelve~~ thirteen picks*. Now this is the part where you tell me your twelve 😀

So, to recap

My twelve picks were:

Honourable mentions

I’m giving honourable mentions to speeches that I probably would have included somewhere on this list if I had actually remembered them in time (lmao I’ve messed this up I’m so sorry 😂😂).

What do you think? Which speeches do you like the most? Do you agree/disagree with my list? Wanna fight about it? Comments are open!

Doctor Who’s best speeches | 6-4

Posted on August 20, 2016 by P.J.

Click here for: 12-10, 9-7, in this series!

6. Eleventh Doctor, The Pandorica Opens

Eleven’s epic speech in the first half of the Series 5 finale was pure bombastic speechifying. He’s swaggering and grandstanding against the assembled malevolent hordes of the universe, and it’s awesome. It’s the archetype of an epic Doctor speech — it’s even recited at conventions by former Doctors to audiences of squeeing fans (no one can quite top Matt, though, although Sylvester McCoy gave it a very impressive crack). It’s ironic because this speech is actually exactly the opposite of what it looks like—it’s so ridiculously over-the-top (but still completely awesome), which is actually the whole point: the alliance of the Doctor’s enemies set this whole thing up as a bluff to distract the Doctor from what was really going on here. That sort of diminishes the significance of this speech—but who cares, really? It’s still amazing, and I love watching it.

5. Amy Pond, The Big Bang

In my opinion, this is one of the most iconic moments of Doctor Who, certainly of the modern series. Try to remember what it felt like watching this for the first time. On first viewing, even on a rewatch, what’s happening here is absolutely spellbinding. It’s a consummately written and produced scene that, for me, stands as one of the single most memorable moments of this show. It’s simply magical. I love the way symbolic images conjure back Amy’s memory of the Doctor, I love Amy’s passion as she’s practically hectoring the Doctor back into existence, I particularly love the way the imagery of the Tardis is used like a magical incantation conjuring the Doctor into being. Most of all I love Karen Gillan’s transfixing performance, which, more than anything, makes this scene.

4. Tenth Doctor, The End of Time

Oh, the feels are strong in this one. Ten’s anguish and frustration at realising he’s being made effectively to end his own life is wonderfully moving and heartbreaking. For me, it’s one of the most emotional sequences of the entire show. David Tennant’s performance is so sublime, so incredibly powerful and gutting. Nearing his final moments as the Doctor, David Tennant delivered some of his greatest acting in the role, and that’s why this scene is remembered by every fan, that’s why it remains just as intensely powerful on the umpteenth rewatch. Words can only do it so much justice. Just watch it. Feel it.

Doctor Who’s best speeches | 12-10

Posted on August 17, 2016 by P.J.

The speeches and monologues in this show make up some of Doctor Who’s most memorable moments. The writers love to show their flair by giving the Doctor or his companions and friends rousing monologues to perform, whether they’re extended soliloquies or short and punchy passages. They’re the centrepieces of the best episodes, and we consider a Doctor or a companion short-changed if they haven’t been given a sufficient selection of meaty, memorable monologues to perform. Over the next four days I’m counting down what, in my opinion, are Doctor Who’s 12 best speeches and monologues.

I’ve restricted myself to New Who because, while I know there are plenty of brilliant monologues in Classic Who, it’s been quite a while since I’ve seen those episodes so I don’t want to miss out any worthy speeches just because I’ve forgotten about them!

So, without further ado, here goes…

12. Tenth Doctor, The Christmas Invasion

After being practically absent for the entirety of his first episode up to this point, wasn’t it just so, so sweet when Ten strutted out of the Tardis, bathrobe and all, and proceeded to lay down the law? It was the big payoff to this episode, seeing our new Doctor for the first time — for real — and seeing him wrest control of the situation in such a familiar flamboyant Doctor-ish style. And it worked. It established, within a matter of minutes, this unfamiliar new face as undeniably the Doctor in the eyes of an audience which could easily have failed to take to the new actor after the beloved Christopher Eccleston’s departure. I don’t think it holds up as well with time as it does on first viewing — some of the cornier lines and gestures make me cringe now, and Ten’s character is still relatively unhewn here — but it’s still undoubtedly one of the most memorable moments of New Who.

11. Ninth Doctor, Rose

In the first episode of the revived series, the Ninth Doctor expresses powerfully and mysteriously to Rose who the Doctor is. Although the Doctor is a beloved and iconic figure for viewers, part of the secret of the popular fascination and appeal of the character is the element of mystery and mystique which surrounds him, most obviously in the fact that the Doctor never reveals his name. In rebooting the character and the show, Rose did a fantastic job of establishing the Doctor in the minds of the audience as an interesting and endearing character, but also whetted the curiosity of the audience by casting a shade of mystery and mystique over him. In doing so it captured the essence of the Doctor perfectly, to my mind.

10. River Song, The Forest of the Dead

Just when you thought this majestic two-parter was going to end on the morose, poignant note of River Song’s sacrifice, it takes a complete u-turn and delivers one final, thrilling coup de grâce as the Doctor races against the clock in pursuit of one, final, lingering chance of saving River. It’s an uplifting, exhilarating, emotional short sequence set to River’s haunting monologue about the Doctor. It all captures who the Doctor is so rousingly and perfectly. I find it incredibly stirring and it never fails to make me emotional every time I see it.

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