The Big Bang (Doctor Who)

212b – "The Big Bang"
212b – "The Big Bang"
Doctor Who episode
Cast
	Doctor Matt Smith – Eleventh Doctor;
	Companions Karen Gillan – Amy Pond; Arthur Darvill – Rory Williams;
	Others Alex Kingston – River Song; Caitlin Blackwood – Amelia; Susan Vidler – Aunt Sharon; Frances Ashman – Christine; Barnaby Edwards – Stone Dalek; William Pretsell – Dave; Halcro Johnston – Mr Pond; Karen Westwood – Tabetha; Nicholas Briggs – Dalek voice;
Production
Directed by	Toby Haynes
Written by	Steven Moffat
Script editor	Lindsey Alford
Produced by	Peter Bennett
Executive producer(s)	Steven Moffat; Piers Wenger; Beth Willis;
Music by	Murray Gold
Production code	1.13
Series	Series 5
Running time	2nd of 2-part story, 55 minutes
First broadcast	26 June 2010
Chronology
← Preceded by; "The Pandorica Opens"	Followed by →; "A Christmas Carol"
	List of episodes (2005–present)

"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. It is the second part of the two-part series finale; the first part, "The Pandorica Opens", aired on 19 June. The episode was written by head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Toby Haynes.

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). As the universe is collapsing, the Doctor uses time travel to solve these problems and ultimately reboot the universe.

The episode sees the climax of Amy's character arc and the story arc of the series regarding the cracks in the universe, though Moffat chose to leave a few things unexplained. Taking place mainly in a museum, most scenes in the episode were shot at Brangwyn Hall in February 2010. "The Big Bang" was seen by 6.696 million viewers in the UK and received the highest Appreciation Index of the fifth series at 89. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, though many commented on the complicated nature of the plot and whether some aspects made sense. The two-part story won the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.