Anyway, a wider interpretation would include any eleventh hour devices, solutions, enemy weaknesses, events, and characters (and their personality changes) that suddenly have the ability to close the story and completely nullify whatever the threat may be. A gimmie, a McGuffin, a rabbit out of the hat.

I would agree with Jamas’ inclusion of “time-stopping” in this. OK, there is a precidence for this previously in the classic stories, but the Greeks “knew” the Gods existed as well. In fact, if this seems to be an inherent power the Doctor has, (and oddly seems to have forgotten about until the final fan) makes Jamas’ comment:
“the Doctor just otherwise dithers at the earlier fans neccesitating the needed power (and also the then seemingly unnecessary death of Jabe)”
– all the more damming.

Regarding the moving against the flow of time ability, I was actually thinking of The Time Monster and Invasion of the Dinosaurs, but The End of the World I guess is another example of the same thing.

THe one moment I would say is DeM is the slowing the time flow. Suddenly crops up as a convenient power right at the end, enables his to stop the big bad of the station exploding… yeah. Not as bad as other occasions, and one would expect a Time Lord to have some control over Time, and for me does strike a sour moment in the episode, especially as the Doctor just otherwise dithers at the earlier fans neccesitating the needed power (and also the then seemingly unnecessary death of Jabe).

Anyway, I agree that the clicking fingers moment by itself is not an example of Deus ex Machina. (Ths Doctor installed a device to respond to his snapping fingers!) I’m complaining about what it suggests for the future.

All of the above ‘developing powers’ have cropped up in past stories with no lasting impact for the ongoing series. Why should the Doctor snapping his fingers to open the TARDIS door be any different…?

Now, if we got slowly developing abilities, and this was clearly signposted and stuff, then yes, we can look back at FotD as the beginning. Until then, I’m seeing this as an indicator to keep an eye out for futher DeM moments which will point back to FotD as the explanation.

We shall see. (insert standard ‘time will tell’ line here.)

(Anyone else want to jump in here?)

So the final scene, in which the Doctor snaps his fingers and open the TARDIS door is a vital moment, one which poignantly speaks volumes without a single line of dialogue. The expression on the Doctor’s face tells us that his shaken confidence has been restored – he is on the path to becoming the man that River remembers and adores. It’s also entirely credible within the series narrative; as far back as the Hartnell era it’s established that he has a mental link with the TARDIS, so why shouldn’t it respond to his snapping his fingers. To complain about this scene is, I think, to miss some of the story’s meaning.

Forest of the Dead? Really…? I recently rewatched that story and was impressed at just how carefully and thoroughly the elements of that ending are seeded over the course of the story.