Why does the Last of the Time Lords have to face a universe-destroying conundrum at the end of every year? When Doctor Who relaunched in 2005, the tradition of massive season finales, complete with massive armies of foes (often Daleks) and stakes bigger than several galaxies, became commonplace. With “The Parting of the Ways” in 2005, Russell T Davies set a near-impossible standard for how Doctor Who could deliver an epic finale that also felt personal and real. Fans of the first RTD era will tell you he certainly came close with “Doomsday” and “Journey’s End,” but truly, the Doctor Who story that represents the true Platonic ideal for what a Who finale could and should be is the 2010 banger, “The Big Bang.”
Yes, it took the ending of Steven Moffat’s first season as Who showrunner to remix and refine the RTD finale formula of the 9th and 10th Doctor era. And with “The Big Bang” — which first aired on June 26, 2010 — Moffat achieved that by delivering a story that didn’t try to go bigger than previous finales at all. Instead, “The Big Bang” suggests the end of the world could happen in the cramped recesses of a museum, and maybe, on the rooftop.
