Doctor Who finale impresses critics

Fans were braced for a difficult ending

The final episode of the latest Doctor Who series, which saw the departure of the doctor's companions Amy and Rory, has impressed TV critics.

Writing in The Independent, Neela Debnath said the episode "was a fitting send-off with a mixture of sadness but also satisfaction".

She added: "The Angels Take Manhattan was a wonderful swansong to the duo."

Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill joined the show in 2009. Their first episode, The Eleventh Hour, screened in 2010.

The Mirror's Jon Cooper described the episode as "a dark, noirish journey that owed more than a little to Dennis Potter's seminal Singing Detective".

He said it was "shocks and tension all the way, and anyone who wasn't riveted probably wasn't paying attention".

The Guardian's Sam Wollaston suggested it was scary enough for adults, let alone children.

"It wasn't just scary though. Steven Moffat's finale to the current series is a brilliant episode, full of warmth and humanity to counteract the goosebumps.

"Sadness, too. And it all pretty much makes sense to me, which is rare; being old, and a bit fuddy-duddy, I sometimes wonder what the hell is going on in Doctor Who."

Gavin Fuller, writing in The Telegraph, praised the actors, giving the episode five stars.

"Moffat's intricately plotted script showed his skill at addressing the age-old Doctor Who question of just how mutable time actually is... the three leads and Alex Kingston (as River) rose to the occasion, Matt Smith again showing that, when the situation demands, his Doctor can be as compellingly authoritative as any."

The Mirror's Cooper added: "Doctor Who now demands attention, and it's simultaneously a wonderful and a rather sorry thing that one of the most challenging dramas on TV at the moment is ostensibly aimed at kids. But heck, why let them have all the fun?"

According to overnight figures, the finale was watched by an average of 5.9 million viewers.