Doctor Who

[greggbray]

I'm on the Moffat side of the divide.  While I appreciate everything RTD brought to the Doctor, it was veering into Torchwood territory in terms of tone, and as that show has been a consistent letdown for me, I'm pleased SM is handling it.  That said, Series 5 was a bit rocky for me.  Series 6 is probably my favorite so far, though I'm really enjoying S7 as well.  I'm neutral on the MS and DT debate--they're both terrific in their own right, each one more or less is *his own* Doctor, though it took MS a few episodes for me to warm to him.  I have a very positive outlook about the upcoming crossover.    Plenty to celebrate!!!

[The Dark Knight]

I am not a fan of 'dumbing down' plot lines so the casual viewer doesn't have to think too hard at the risk of rupturing a brain cell - at the cost of the die hard fan. If they can't keep up, too bad. I don't care. Watch something else. The show should strive to be the best it can be. And I get that feeling a lot more with Moffat.

Personally, Smith is more of a classic Doctor than Tennant. Smith evokes Troughton not just in costume. The clumsy side is very much a facet of The Doctor's personality, emphasised more so in certain incarnations. It's a strange mix of being naturally him and a strategic act that bamboozles the enemy. This guy is just not an overly excited man that shouts here and there. He's a Time Lord who thinks and behaves differently.

I find it endearing and funny when The Doctor does something odd and people look around awkwardly. It's not a flaw. It's an advantage, character building. There's another cent, taking my tally up to three.

[Bobthegoon89]

I'm on the Moffat side of the divide.  While I appreciate everything RTD brought to the Doctor, it was veering into Torchwood territory in terms of tone, and as that show has been a consistent letdown for me, I'm pleased SM is handling it.  That said, Series 5 was a bit rocky for me.  Series 6 is probably my favorite so far, though I'm really enjoying S7 as well.  I'm neutral on the MS and DT debate--they're both terrific in their own right, each one more or less is *his own* Doctor, though it took MS a few episodes for me to warm to him.  I have a very positive outlook about the upcoming crossover.    Plenty to celebrate!!!

So what do we now make of the devastating blow that Chris Eccleston has pulled out? Talk about being a "party pooper" after last weeks Tennant revelations. Let's face it we kinda expected this. Still it does not make it any less easier to swallow. I mean what a kick in the guts. The fact he actually did meet with Moffat several times makes it even harder. I did sort of guess it after they announced Piper last week. How can she appear with both of them? I think the least he could have done is have a small cameo. Now there's doubts will even get that.

What is more Sylvester McCoy has suggested none of the classic Doctor's have been approached...at all! Somehow I have a terrible feeling this is no lie. I'm delighted Tennant will be there but still this is a 50th anniversary too. Surely the others will be considered as well? It doesn't make sense only acknowledging modern Who.   

[The Dark Knight]

I never, ever expected Chris to appear in the 50th anniversary given his attitude over the years. So I don't feel a kick in the guts at all. I'm sure other past Doctors will be in the special.

[BatmAngelus]

The news isn't surprising given his past statements about the role.  It would've been cool to have a Three Doctors-style special with Tennant and Smith playing off each other throughout and Eccleston popping up in a cameo, but oh well.  Perhaps a different past Doctor can be brought in to fill his prospective role.

Still, with Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, and Paul McGann all starring together in Big Finish's multi-Doctor audio special, The Light At the End, I don't mind having only Tennant as the only past Doctor who shows up in the TV special.  I think the BF audio productions are better outlets for these multi-Doctor stories anyway since they can make the stories as long as they want (vs. the 60 minutes that Moffat's limited to in the November special) and the medium allows the listener to imagine everyone at the age they played the characters, as opposed to trying to get them back into the role in live action now.

[The Dark Knight]

Seen this before, but good to have it in the gallery here:
http://www.batman-online.com/gallery/3305/doctor-who-batman-crossover-cover

[BatmAngelus]

Thoughts on the rest of Season 7?

I do think this is, unfortunately, the weakest season of the Smith/Moffat era.  I liked Bells of St. John, but I found Rings of Akhaten boring, save for Smith's big speech at the end (which would've made more impact if the rest of the episode was less talky).  Cold War was an improvement, but still not that engaging.  Hide was alright, but didn't live up to the hype for me.  If Neil Cross doesn't write another Doctor Who episode again, I'd be okay with that.

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS and Crimson Horror were huge step-ups, though.  Really enjoyed those.  Nightmare in Silver, I'd rank under those but still above everything from Rings to Hide.  Great to see Smith in evil mode.

The Name of the Doctor was definitely one of the better episodes of the season, if not the best.  Loved all the appearances of the previous Doctors and it was great to see so many threads get wrapped up, more or less- The Great Intelligence, Trenzalore, the mystery of Clara, and, presumably, River's final appearance (especially since her first time playing the role post-Library.  Her "Good-bye, Sweetie" made this the appropriate send-off).  With Richard E. Grant returning, part of me wonders what it would've been like if they somehow took the opportunity to bring the Shalka Doctor into continuity, but I understand how that would've been way too much to explain.

Of course, there's now a new mystery with the appearance of John Hurt's Doctor at the end.  I was a bit disappointed that this got leaked by Hurt himself a week or two ago when he said he was playing "part of the Doctor" but still, I think it worked when it came to this scene.

There was no way we were going to learn the Doctor's name for real in this episode.  What impact would it have if we found out that his real name was (Insert Gallifreyan Word Here)?  None.  I think the point was always about WHY he chose the name of The Doctor (which got hinted at in his words to Clara at the end about a "promise") and how it tied into something terrible that he had done.  It looks like John Hurt's incarnation- a regeneration that The Doctor is too ashamed of to even acknowledge as a previous Doctor- is his big secret, rather than the name itself.

I agree with fan theories that this is the Doctor between Paul McGann and Christopher Eccleston (after all, we've seen all the regenerations except McGann's) and he's probably the one who ended the Time War, based off of the Eleventh Doctor's treatment of him, but I do think there's got to be something more to it.  The Doctor killing off the Time Lords and the Daleks isn't exactly a secret.  He's shared that fact with several people since the Eccleston season.  What else did The Forgotten Doctor do?  Can't wait to find out in November.

[ElCuervoMuerto]

While I haven't been as lukewarm to series 7b as a lot of other people online, I do admit it has lacked the punch of earlier Moffat era series, and I think a good part of that has been due to the lack of multi-episode arcs. But the latter half of this series picked up a lot of stem. I enjoyed everything from "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS" onward (I cannot for the life of me understand why people are so divided by "Nightmare in Silver", I loved it). And "The Name of the Doctor", I cannot think of a better single episode of NewWho, or a better single episode written by Moffat. I absolutely loved the explanation for Clara, and the fact that ultimately it was such a simple thing that led to such complexity. And I really can't wait to see more of Hurt's Doctor in November; he has to be the 9th Doctor right? Which would make then Matt Smith really the 12th Doctor, meaning they're gonna have to adress the 13 regeneration thing pretty soon...

I'm seriously nerding out about this more than MOS or anything DCu related. Can't wait for November!

[BatmAngelus]

Right.  The way, I see it, "The Doctor" is a title.  It's like his superhero name (i.e. Batman, Superman, Spider-Man). 

Given the evidence, I think McGann's Eighth Doctor regenerated into John Hurt (probably some time during the Time War), but Hurt's actions "broke the promise" that would've qualified him to be "The (Ninth) Doctor." 

Hurt then regenerated into the traumatized Christopher Eccleston, who decide to atone for what happened and fulfill the promise/the name of The Doctor again, making him the Ninth Doctor since he was too ashamed to call his previous John Hurt version by that title. 

In this case, all the numberings of The Doctors are still correct.  He's just had an extra form/regeneration between the 1996 movie and the new series- Eccleston was the Ninth Doctor, but his tenth form; Tennant was the Tenth Doctor but his eleventh form; and Smith is the Eleventh Doctor, but his twelfth form.

[ElCuervoMuerto]

True, true. What I expect (and hope) is that Hurt's Doctor will somehow atone for his "sins" in the special and earn the tittle of "The Doctor". That'll also clarify any doubt about remaining regenerations and all that. FWIW, even though Smith confirmed he will be in series 8, part of me thinks his time is coming to an end...(not that this is what I want of course, I love him in the role).