Name of the Doctor is just okay. It is a half-decent resolution to the Clara plot line, it has some interesting ideas about the Doctor, and works alright as prequel of sorts to the 50th anniversary.

The monsters look really cool and are utterly wasted. That still bothers me more than anything else about this episode. I think Name of the Doctor is somewhat overrated in that regard. It is very heavy on Moffat ideas without any of the usual benefits associated with that show runner. Instead, Name of the Doctor feels very self-indulgent and congratulatory in a way I don't think is deserved.

Y'all ever seen the Youtube edit where they put Ecclesten in place of John Hurt at the end of this story? That hits hard and gives a sense of what Name of the Doctor could have been - although John Hurt's appearance did hold a lot of weight, too.

So it's fine... just alright, really. Very average - as average as these sort of big stories can get. I remember watching this when it originally aired. I rolled my eyes half as often as I did enjoy Name of the Doctor, and I think that's worth remembering. For every memorable tea party, there is a half dozen scenes with the Great Intelligence that go nowhere. The pointlessness of the villain really bothers me. He has this big plan and Clara just undoes it with a little hop into a glowing pylon. A quick rescue by the Doctor later, and Clara is fine, destined to continue with the show for another few years and leaving Name of the Doctor (and most of 7B) without a satisfactory conclusion.

It's something I found very disappointing. This episode would probably be rated much lower if the monsters and special effects didn't look cool, while Coleman, Smith, and Kingston's performances all stand out as something that helps prevent Name of the Doctor from feeling like a complete dud. But, in my eyes, only just barely. It's still a pretty meh experience on the whole.