Doctor Who

[Crash]

So does this mean that Hurt is the Ninth Doctor or something?

 

Steven Moffat said in a interview about a week ago that whilst he is technically 'number 9', seeing as The Doctor has had many faces that we have not seen, 9 is still '9' and ten is still '10' etc.

[InfinityAlex]

No, Gallifrey is definitely coming back. The Eleventh said at the end that he's "going home. The long way around." Also, I'm rather dissapointed Rose wasn't, well, Rose and that only Hurt could see her.

[Big Panda]

So was I completely misinterpreting Tom Bakers line, or was that an official revelation that it's possible for the Doctor to "recycle" previous bodies in future regenerations?

[InfinityAlex]

Well, we do know that when regenerating, one can concentrate on a form, to an extent.

[Stacy]

The Five(ish) Doctors is piss funny! Seriously watch it when you can! 

[Spin Attaxx]

Tom Baker: "Sorry, I can't join you because I'm stuck in the ruddy time vortex. AGAIN."

 

LOVE THIS.

[Willsy]

Well, that was amazing! What's the Christmas special going to be called a?

[Brad]

Absolutely incredible episode. Seriously, some brilliant work here, and did exactly what Moffat set out to do - move the show forward, while looking fondly at the past. Bring on Christmas!

[Sonicka]

So, there was a teaser for Christmas? They never showed that at the cinema! 

 

*checks interwebs*

 

We did however get some mighty amusing scenes from strax who did the Cinema etiquette bit I.e. have respect for others, turn off your phone, and the scene with him eating the 'living popcorn' was hilarious! As well as a lovely intro from the boys before it all went 3D "thought I'd step in before his chin is in your face" hehe. 

 

The episode though, just wow. One of the best experiences of the year, waaay to much to specifically state what i liked because there was so much to enjoy; like the in jokes, the references "what were the circles? I love the circles!". Rose being not who any of us thought she was, and it was all tied to a lovely neat plot that RTD never dared go much into, which was The Doctor on ending the Timewar.

 

I have to say, on the big screen it was nothing short of amazing, they may no longer be using The Mill for the SFX, but they have certainly found a suitable replacement company, which I'd go as far to say are better. The Mill lost their touch a bit when we entered the HD era of the show after all. But yeah, we finally got to see the Timewar, and it was incredible viewing, well worth waiting for.

 

Also nice to see the Doctor has a new mission and the shows future has changed. Nothing was ret-Conned either, so why are there people thinking this? The Doctor has changed the events, sure, but they each have to go back to their respective places in their personal history until they become 11 at that point for it to happen. It's timely wimey for sure, but it works in it's own way so everything (including the end of time) still happens until the rewrite, it may complicate RTD's idea or the corrupt timelords, but Moffat makes a good case for the innocents that got trapped in the timelock. 

 

Also, genius stroke with that second of Capaldi footage. It was an experience to be in an audience of 300 people gasping at the same time, I'll say that! Then there was that other surprise of Tom turning up at the end too, but I really didn't think it would have been in this capacity, but this also lends to the new mystery that Moffat said he was setting since Capaldi's casting on how the Doctor/timelords acquire their faces. Interesting.

 

Only flaws were lack of seeing the resolution to the B-plot of what happened with The Zygons. It was Captian Jack's bloody time vortex manipulator... So where the hell was he?! Very dodgy end shot with the superimposed Doctor's, poor William Hartnell haha! And of course the tease of Chris... Cut just as his eyebrows popped into regeneration. Goddammit!

 

9.5/10 - Moffat really delivered on this one.

 

So, now to say hello to iPlayer and repeat watch!

[JezMM]

Really great.  Super glad I saw it at the cinema because it made the whole thing more special/memorable.  Thoughts below:

 

Enjoyed the story.  For the longest time it really felt like they were getting closer and closer to undoing everything from the modern series so I’m glad they clarified that the War Doctor would remember it as Ninth/Tenth Doctors do.  Tom Baker cameo was a seriously nice surprise but done well, and the Peter Capaldi cameo was super cool-y done.  I never thought they’d get Christopher Eccleston back but boy they did well with teasing him as much as they could which was fun.  Even though it was all Steven Moffat, the storyline felt like a nice blend of both his and RTD’s style to me to be honest.  Also all the interactions between the Doctors were pretty hilarious and well-written.

 

Oh, and (Sonicka mentioned these already but yeah) the cinema version had some fun little shorts beforehand with Strax giving the “turn your phones off” and “no recording allowed” message at the beginning in a very Strax-ish way (i.e. hilarious) and The Eleventh Doctor introducing the special and telling you when to put on your 3D glasses (though he has a mix up at the start about what anniversary it is, among other things…).  They were pretty great so I won’t spoil them since hopefully they’ll be included on a DVD or put on Youtube by the BBC at some point as a bonus feature.

[Emperor Robrainiac]

Good news! It turns out my local theater started to sell some more tickets! The bad news? I can't watch it tonight... It turns out it's not showing until Monday. 

 

Oh well. It's gonna be one awesome experience!

[PSI Wind]

Oh my god, Colin, Peter, and Sylvester were in the 50th special all along!

[Salamander]

I really enjoyed that.  My thoughts:

 

Some people aren't happy that there was no explanation as to how the Doctor and Clara got out of the Doctor's timeline, but I didn't expect there to be.  The Doctor seemed pretty confident when he rescued her that that would be the end of it, so I assume they could just walk out through the TARDIS or something.

 

I liked how there was actual time travel involved, throughout the Doctor's own history, and this was shown through non-chronological sequencing and flashbacks.  It's great to have a Doctor Who story with actual time travel, I always think, since mostly it's just an excuse.

 

Great job bringing Billie Piper back and doing something different with her, revisiting Bad Wolf.  Canonically, what's interesting is that the Doctor probably still has the Moment tucked away in the TARDIS somewhere.  I doubt he just left it in the middle of nowhere.

 

I was a little disappointed that the Zygon plotline wasn't actually connected to the Time War plotline, and was just a way of demonstrating to the War Doctor what he becomes.  But at the same time, it works best that way, I think, and it was interconnected enough to the history of the Time War through things like the Gallifrey Falls picture, so I'm happy with it.

 

From a time-travel perspective, I also appreciated that they rewrote the end of the Time War without actually contradicting anything that was ever seen on-screen.  That's the best kind of time paradox - where you change the result without actually changing what anyone saw.

 

I'm not entirely sure how Ten and Eleven snuck into the Time War, but they were probably able to jump in via connecting to the War Doctor's timeline.  Great to see all the Doctors, too - of course they were all going to be there.  And fantastic that we got a Capaldi cameo - I thought it would happen, and this is how you do it, you tease without pre-empting the actual reveal.

 

I'm guessing that the "cameo" appearance Eccleston said he turned down was simply a regeneration from Hurt, so fair enough.  Ironic that he might have done it if he'd been given a bigger part, but it would have been a heck of a lot to fit in.

 

A few thoughts on the implications of the ending...

 

I feel like there are some plot holes left over regarding the morality of the Time Lords.  The End Of Time and even The Night Of The Doctor established that the Time Lords became really bad news during the Time War, and now they're all off hidden somewhere, free to continue their plans.  But at the same time, that's actually a good thing - because now it's a plot hook.  I doubt Moffat intends to revisit Gallifrey himself, but for whichever showrunner does desire to in the future, they now have all kinds of options - are the Time Lords good, bad, or fighting among themselves?  It really opens things up.

 

Similarly, we're now totally free to have the Master brought back.  The Master would have to be totally re-envisioned after his plotline in The End Of Time, since it basically brought a lot of his character arc to a close, but now we have a motive for the Doctor to pursue him - because the Master, if he ever turns up again, must be aware of where Gallifrey is...

 

Also, Baker's cameo as the Curator, a clear future incarnation of the Doctor, essentially future-proofs the show - the Doctor can never die for good until he becomes that incarnation, who of course we'll never see again.  Great way of pulling off an appearance by Baker as the Doctor without requiring huge amounts of make-up.

 

As for Davison's Five(ish) Doctors, it stole the show - absolutely hilarious from start to finish.  I like how mischievous it was, skewering everyone involved, and by golly, there were a lot of people they managed to get in.  Barrowman's secret was brilliant, and gosh I hope it was really them under those sheets, that would be perfect.

[Doctor MK]

Saw the episode in 3D at the cinema last night, time to rattle off a few impressions...

 

It was good. REALLY good. Pretty much everything it should have been, throwing in nods to the past and a whopping great new direction for the future. Seriously, I did not see that ending coming. When the three Doctors were all stood around with their hands on the Moment, I was certain that was going to be the end, and that the whole story was just going to be the predictable redemption of John Hurt's character with them all doing it together. We'd already seen those shots in behind the scenes photos, what an anti-climax, I thought. But then no, Clara pipes up and it all spirals off in a completely different direction and as soon as they started mentioning freezing Gallifrey in time like a painting, it all suddenly clicked and oh boy the surprises just kept on coming from there, didn't they! All of the Doctors working together! Capaldi! Tom Baker! Gallifrey falls no more!

 

The banter between the three Doctors was brilliant, even if it did veer on taking the mick out of the actors rather than the characters at times, and John Hurt completely stole the show for me. Such an endearing Doctor and it's a real shame he's only in it as a one-off. But with the promise of another older Doctor on the horizon, it fills me with hope for the next era of the show - that kind of a character is exactly what I want to see again right now, we've had enough of the young whippersnappers for the time being.

 

If there's any criticisms I can make about The Day of The Doctor, it's that Billie Piper's role was a bit... interchangeable? Really, it could have been anyone, and it was a shame not to properly reunite her with Tennant - although what she did do, she did well. Also, the Zygon storyline kind of just... got forgotten about. I know ultimately it was just a vehicle to drive the bigger, much more engaging plot about the Time War, but still, a bit of closure would have been nice. Unless that's going to be brought up again in Series 8 or something. We shall see!

 

So, all in all, I am one happy chappy. Onwards to Gallifrey we go, but first a detour to Trenzalore... again... (and seriously, why did they not show the Christmas trailer in the cinemas?!)

 

The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is a must-watch, if only for all the cameos and silliness. It's nothing that huge and epic and it's certainly not the best made short film you'll ever see, but what is in there is pure gold, had me grinning and laughing throughout. And I too really hope that Davison/Baker/McCoy made it into the episode without us even realising...!

[Badnik Mechanic]

You know... I might need to re-watch this just to make sure... but...

 

Did anyone else notice that they changed the sound of the Dalek death ray?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TykncxXMt4

 

The more I think about it the more I don't remember the death ray noise. Did they change it?

Oh by the way....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HZ6gEWuA5s

[Salamander]

Moffat talks regenerations and the regeneration limit here...

 

"If you worry about such things, and I do, then I specifically said John Hurt's Doctor doesn't use the title. [Matt Smith's Doctor] is in his 12th body but he's the 11th Doctor, however there is no such character as the 11th Doctor - he's just the Doctor - that's what he calls himself.

"The numbering doesn't matter, except for those lists, that you and I have been making for many years. So I've given you the option of not counting John Hurt numerically - he's the War Doctor."

 

Numerically it sounds as if the best figure we can put on the War Doctor is, after all, 8.5.

 

[...]" I expect he'll be in trouble shortly - you can't break rules laid down in the Deadly Assassin"[...]

 

Moffat also implies that the Eighth's regeneration in TNOTD used up a regeneration, and if, as Moffat's previously suggested, the Metacrisis regeneration counted, Eleven is now running dry of regenerations.  All in all, it's the perfect time for the regeneration limit to be tossed out of the window in the Christmas special, isn't it?  All part of Moffat's game plan...

 

Given the way Moffat's wrapping things up from Matt's era and long-standing continuity issues, I suspect that he's only going to stay for one season of Capaldi, to ensure a smooth transition, and then he'll be handing over the reins for the 2015 series.

 

[Gabz Girl]

Saw it tonight for the first time (had it recorded) and it was great! I actually thought the second half was better than the first and I was slightly disappointed about

Rose not being the real Rose and Chris Eccleston not appearing in the regeneration, that was a tease! >=T

. However I loved Tom Baker's cameo and seeing the 11th Doctor again was a real treat! Plus the interactions and that last scene at the end with all the Doctors together...pffff so awesome! <3

So yah, it wasn't perfect but for a 50th Anniversary it was a really nice treat for Who fans like me and I can't wait for the Christmas special.

[Covskin]

As for Davison's Five(ish) Doctors, it stole the show - absolutely hilarious from start to finish.  I like how mischievous it was, skewering everyone involved, and by golly, there were a lot of people they managed to get in.  Barrowman's secret was brilliant, and gosh I hope it was really them under those sheets, that would be perfect.

 

At the risk of looking stupid...I had no idea who that was in the car as Barrowman's secret. I've watched it twice, back-to-back, and not got a clue.

 

One of my favourite bits was the radio presenter. "Who's your favourite Doctor? For me, bit controversial, Peter Cushing." Great cheeky joke.

[Spin Attaxx]

The joke is that John Barrowman is gay, and here he's shown to be secretly straight with a wife and two kids.

[Mauro Fonseca]

I thought Gallifrey was already time-locked in a pocket dimension or whatever? Wasn't that what The End of Time was all about?

No.

 

End of Time was about Gallifrey exploding. After that happened, the Doctor time-locked it, which meant the Time Lords were unable to timetravel away from said explosion that'd kill them all. Unless, of course, they managed to establish a connection with the other side of the time-lock, which they do by inducing a signal in the Master as a kid.

 

Day of the Doctor was about the explosion itself. After the 10th forces them to go back to the Timelock in End of Time and dooms them to their end in the hands of the War Doctor, we now discover they actually never were meant to explode, but instead were shoved in a painting or something basically.

[Patticus]

The joke is that John Barrowman is gay, and here he's shown to be secretly straight with a wife and two kids.

 

I like how his "wife" was the same girl who played Davison's daughter in At Home With The Braithwaites. A little nod to that little show?

 

 

I can't wait to see what kind of guff they come up with to violate the 12 regenerations rule.

The Curator said that the Doctor would be revisiting some of his old faces soon. More multi-Doctor stories ahead on the quest to find Gallifrey, then, or a hint that once a Time Lord uses up his allotted regenerations, it is possible to begin the cycle anew by regenerating into his or her first self (see: that Google game)?

[Covskin]

Ah, I was clearly looking for an extra reference that wasn't there, thus missing the obvious joke. Whoopsie.

 

Unless it actually was a reference to At Home With the Braithwaiotes, in which case my confusion in recognition was vindicated! (or not...)

[Salamander]

The Curator said that the Doctor would be revisiting some of his old faces soon. More multi-Doctor stories ahead on the quest to find Gallifrey, then, or a hint that once a Time Lord uses up his allotted regenerations, it is possible to begin the cycle anew by regenerating into his or her first self (see: that Google game)?

 

I'm pretty sure that device was just mentioned to permit Tom Baker to cameo.  The idea is that, at some point which the show will never ever get to, way in the Doctor's future when he retires, he regenerates into some of his old favourite faces now that he has time to reflect on the past.  It's not something that we'll actually ever see happen.

 

I really am looking forward to seeing how the regeneration limit gets addressed, which will almost certainly be at Christmas, given that Matt, while the Eleventh Doctor and twelfth incarnation, also appears to be the twelfth and therefore final regeneration of the Doctor given what Moffat's been saying lately.  Given that Christmas involves (when are we going to stop putting these things in spoilers?):

 

The great battle at Trenzalore, it seems like there'll be some trickery involved around the Doctor's final death and his timeline and so on that allows him to walk away not only with more regenerations, probably an unlimited number, but also to avoid his rather grim fate at Trenzalore, too.

 

No idea what jiggery-pokery that will involve - it could be nearly anything.  Probably not RTD's mooted Crystal Ball of Zog or 507 regenerations, though.

[Brad]

 

Possible Christmas episode spoilers, as well as regeneration limit spoilers. You've been warned:

 

 

Doctor Who will face the end of a 50 year story in the Christmas special – when Time Lord Matt Smith reveals he is actually the 13th and ‘final’ Doctor.

 

Actor Matt, 31, has long thought to have been the Eleventh Doctor on the hit BBC sci-fi show, which can only regenerate 12 times according to the show’s folklore. Fans have worried for years that the show will have to end once the 13th Doctor dies.

 

But on December 25, current theories among millions of fans will be exterminated once and for all when Matt says in a dramatic speech he is the 13th Doctor and adds: “I’m dying and there is nothing I can do about it.”

 

On Saturday night at the end of the show’s 50th anniversary special, all the Doctors lined up, including John Hurt who was previously not thought to count. David Tennant’s Time Lord also used up an extra regeneration to save himself in an episode called Journey’s End.

 

A show source explained: “There have been two David Tennant Doctor Whos technically and with John Hurt playing another Doctor in the film, it basically means he can’t regenerate again.

 

“The riddle of the regeneration problem, something fans have talked about for decades, will be faced head on at Christmas. There is going to be another huge cliffhanger and somehow Peter Capaldi has to join and the series has to continue.

 

“The show’s big fans, known as Whovians, won’t believe their eyes at Christmas.”

[x]

 

Moffat you clever little shit. You said there was something we all overlooked and you were right. It makes sense too - now if this is true then I'm even more interested in how Capaldi jumps onto the scene. It's the Mirror so take it with a grain of salt.

[Doctor MK]

Possible Christmas episode spoilers, as well as regeneration limit spoilers. You've been warned:

 

 

Moffat you clever little shit. You said there was something we all overlooked and you were right. It makes sense too - now if this is true then I'm even more interested in how Capaldi jumps onto the scene. It's the Mirror so take it with a grain of salt.

 

While I certainly think it would be an epic story to tell and would be good to get that niggling little question resolved - and it certainly does seem like it might, what with the episode being set on Trenzalore where The Doctor supposedly dies for good - it does bring up a few plot holes in previous episodes. Take "The Impossible Astronaut" for instance. It shows clearly that Matt Smith's Doctor can regenerate... and yes, yes, I know it's not 

actually him and the regeneration effect might have just been used by the Teselecta for the sake of showing he's "dying", but still, it implies he's able to do it. And in "Let's Kill Hitler" too, when The Doctor is dying, I'm sure he mentions something about his ability to regenerate being disabled by the poison. Again, yeah, I know it's not actual proof that he can regenerate - and of course, rule one, The Doctor lies - but why even bring it up if it's not going to be any use anyway? Unless I'm remembering that episode all wrong... I'm not the biggest fan of Series 6 by any means so I could be confusing it with something else.

 

Still though, it seems like a bit of a jarring jump to go from "Gallifrey falls no more! It's out there! I'm off to find it!" to in the very next episode "woops, I'm actually going to die for real now, Gallifrey be damned".

 

I'm probably just thinking about it too much, and it would be a massive story to follow up on the equally massive 50th, really starting afresh for the next half-century and Peter Capaldi. But Moffat's going to have to do it extra carefully and extra cleverly to avoid any nitpicking.

 

EDIT: Snowbotic: Where did you get that Christmas promo pic from?!