The Time of the Doctor (2013)

[min min light]

I guess that'll work, but then you have to wonder why he would be required to answer the question honestly when he could have just scuttled off a ways from the field and lied.

[iiradned]

The Doctor has almost always been an absolute mess following regeneration... and this is a BIG regeneration...

2nd > 3rd: Some sort of a coma (if I recall)
3rd > 4th: Erratic behaviour
4th > 5th: Distinctly unwell, requiring a zero room, and I believe some memory loss
5th > 6th: Volatile behaviour, positively unbalanced, nearly killed companion.
6th > 7th: Memory loss (though at the hands of the Rani, I believe...)
7th > 8th: A HELL of a lot of amnesia, brought on by too long between 'lives'
8th > War Doctor: Unknown
War Doctor > 9th: Unknown
9th > 10th: Reckless, unstable, manic - opening up the TARDIS engines fully..
10th > 11th: Quite unstable... also with cravings...

Wasn't regeneration into the War Doctor the most stable one? Seeing it was done on Karn where they could design the regeneration according what was desired. Ohila said the Sisterhood could make the Doctor young or old, fat or thin, man or woman. The Doctor chose to be a warrior in order to stop the Time War.

I think it is part of the Doctor's personality to roll the dice where regeneration is concerned. Romana tried on several bodies before settling a copy of Princess Astra during her first regeneration.

[Greenee]

It was said that the truth field got stronger the closer you were to the tower: maybe being at the top of the tower was like the eye of a hurricane, where you burst through to a piece of non-truth field? [I know, it's just a flaw in the script ]

Sorry Moffatt - I think you need to choose, DW or SH. One or the other, trying to do both is not working (at least on the DW side). And please concentrate on your scripts.

I believe you are right. Sherlock and Who is too much to chew at once and don't forget he had the Anniversary on his plate too. Writing 3 brillant skripst for 3 very very long waited for episodes, is too much to ask from anyone. He did more than well with the anniversary (in my opinion) even if there were some plotwhols, too. But this one? No sorry, it just felt wrong all the way through.


Anyway I felt realy sorry for Clara, beeing puched around like this, just let left to stand there watching frome the sideline, whiele the Doctor seemd to care more about new and ald friends than her. Did you see the look on her face as he said he finaly found a place where he was needed to stay (ore somthing like that?) as if he had no idea what he meant to her. I know (and I'm sure Clara knows as well) she isn't the only one for him, that he had lots of friends/companions/lovers/whatevers, but he could have payed a little more attention to her.

[Matt G]

Welll...

1. Credit to them for getting in a whole lot of references.

2. Christmas town...not a bad idea...but hanging around for what...300 years?

3. So basically, the Timelords gave the Doctor a new regeneration cycle as an "Outstanding Achievement" award. OK...that works...

4. Well that was the strangest regeneration yet...

Solid but a step down from "The Day of the Doctor".

[Admiral Mappalazarou]

I've never seen an episode split so many people.

Still, I think that's good.

I, for one, thought it was the best regeneration episode of all of the modern ones. Cleverer than both The End of Time and Parting of the Ways. I try not to compare it to The Day of the Doctor, which was always going to be of a unique standard due to its special status (and guest stars).

I do agree that Moffat's storylines can become awfully convuluted at times, so I'm hoping that when Series 8 comes along he starts to simplify things at bit. I do love how we've had an era of rewarding storytelling however, making a change from RTD's more straightforward approach.

On the episode's story I had guessed that many of the staples of the Eleventh Doctor's era would be resolved, but I was really satisfied with their execution. I also love the fact and was really surprised that Moffat chose to give Gallifrey a starring role so soon after The Day of the Doctor.

Also, I was one of the people who always tried to ignore the fact that Ten had used two regenerations (although mainly because I always thought that The Stolen Earth/Journey's End were amongst the worst episodes written in the revived show), but I'm glad to that this too was sorted out. 'Vanity phase'

I suspect Moffat may only stay on until the end of Series 8 but if he decides to remain until the BBC have to let him go, for however many seasons he wants, then I'll be watching.

This could be one of my top ten episodes.

[Greenee]

Just rewatched it and I have to say, it was better this time. Still not pleased with it but I have to admit, it had some nice and touching scence. The acting and technical stuff was as excelent as always of course (except the aging of the Doctor, that did'nt look convincing at all).

But I do think, as much as I'm goning to miss Matts Doctor I'm gonig to realy like Capaldis version. Let's see

[thenimf]

I don't understand what the supposed lies that the Doctor said were.

"I will never leave you again (because I am doing it right now, for the last time)" is what the Doctor was saying to Clara. I don't see how that wasn't obvious

"I don't have a plan."- He planned to go up there to die. Depending on your frame of mind, this is both a plan and no plan at all. He wasn't lying, it just depends on how you choose to answer the question.

[Coco Pops]

That was an interesting episode. A bit bumpity bumpy along the way.. The regen was longish, but the face change was short and quick as one moment Matt Smith the next Peter Capaldi....... But yeah why did he pull such a weird face? He did look like Michael Crawford as someone else suggested..

Clara was OK in this episode. In fact she was smashing. That red skirt my oh my, oh my.........

Loved the Cyberman head he keeps around.

Only confused about The Silence. I thought they were all one and not in factions......That woman whatever her name was said that the Kovarian group was a rogue group that blew up the TARDIS and tried to stop The Doctor... In other words I thought they were like a hive mind..

[Greenee]

I do agree that Moffat's storylines can become awfully convuluted at times, so I'm hoping that when Series 8 comes along he starts to simplify things at bit. I do love how we've had an era of rewarding storytelling however, making a change from RTD's more straightforward approach.

On the episode's story I had guessed that many of the staples of the Eleventh Doctor's era would be resolved, but I was really satisfied with their execution. I also love the fact and was really surprised that Moffat chose to give Gallifrey a starring role so soon after The Day of the Doctor.

Usally I don't mind, no usually I love the mindtwisting stuff Moffat comes up with, even if there are some plotwholes left. But this episodes somewho leaves me unsatisfied. I seems like he got entangled in all his storylines he created plus the one still runing from previus writers, more or less fixed rules of teh show etc. It seems like he tried to answer too many questions at ones, like you cut off a knot you can't loose anymore.

on the other hand, thinking about it it seemd an good idea for a story, even the final of eleven, but it didn't tap out it's potential. I rather seems like an unfinished sketch, like there wasn't enought time to work out the skript propperly, which I guess, is quite likely to be the case.

[thenimf]

I saw it was as a really neat loose-end tie up and celebration of the entire Matt Smith run. The Siege of Trenzalore is meant to resolve any last questions about who the Silence are and how they achieved what they did from seasons 5-7.

Random tidbids:
- Did anyone else notice Dalek-form Tasha Lem shoot green sparkly energy into Clara? I found this mighty suspicious
- A Faction of the Silence breaking off and going back in time to stop the Doctor in seasons 5-7 was a great way to provide context to their hatred - imagine if you were a religious order devoted to protecting peace, and here you were sacrificing everything for a madman trying to defend a race that will just bring endless war.
- The TARDIS monument, sparky time-tunnel corpse and 'River Song' gravestone secret tunnel still haven't been resolved. I don't think we're done with Trenzalore yet.
- Clara confessed her love and physical attraction to the Doctor, which I think is setting her up for her eventual departure in s8/9 as the older appearance of Peter Capaldi would just make that super awkward for a family show

The moment they mentioned a small human colony on Trenzalore and the Gallifrey mix-up... I got chills. I think that there was a bit of misdirection about the question not being answered due to the Time Lords bursting through.. this was simply one level of understanding, because they don't know the answer and so their interpretation of the question is different.

I'm utterly convinced that RTD and SM have been heading for a big reveal about the creation of the Time Lords or the universe itself, and how the Doctor was a key player in whatever event occurred.

Isn't it curious that humans can apparently make Time Lords (or something close) just by having sex in a TARDIS? What if that's how it all began? Maybe the Time Lords began as nothing but refugees from Christmas/Trenzalore. Their entire origin covered up in order to safeguard the very fragile thread holding them in reality. While their own race eventually grows to be quite arrogant and war-like, they tolerate and allow the Doctor to move about freely because they understand they need him to facilitate their own dawn.

One thing I've thought about with all this timey-whimey stuff - what if the Doctor and the Time Lords are just echoes and manifestations that are a side-effect of time itself. The Doctor's secret is that he preserved Gallifrey in a bubble so that he could put it back into position at the beginning - effectively meaning that there was no original Gallifrey, it is a planet that exists due to it's own pre-destiny paradox.

[min min light]

"I don't have a plan."- He planned to go up there to die. Depending on your frame of mind, this is both a plan and no plan at all. He wasn't lying, it just depends on how you choose to answer the question.

Either he had a plan or he didn't - if he didn't have a plan, he lied when he said he had a plan. If he did have a plan, he lied when he said he didn't have a plan.

[thenimf]

Either he had a plan or he didn't - if he didn't have a plan, he lied when he said he had a plan. If he did have a plan, he lied when he said he didn't have a plan.

No, that's exactly the point. The Doctor is clever and can 'work around' the lie, while still carrying it out.

[Quizziard]

No, that's exactly the point. The Doctor is clever and can 'work around' the lie, while still carrying it out.

He IS clever, but as proved earlier, the truth field is absolute (unless you're in an "eye of the storm" [which isn't mnentioned] or outside it's perimeter). More likely is that there is no "plan" just a few things he intends to do... which is sufficiently vague (even though though it's intended) to be called a "plan". For example, my thoughts for today are to slob around the house in a onesie and watch DVDs: it's a list of actions but I'd not call it a plan. [And, for the record, like the Doctor I sometimes lie!]

[thenimf]

He IS clever, but as proved earlier, the truth field is absolute (unless you're in an "eye of the storm" [which isn't mnentioned] or outside it's perimeter). More likely is that there is no "plan" just a few things he intends to do... which is sufficiently vague (even though though it's intended) to be called a "plan". For example, my thoughts for today are to slob around the house in a onesie and watch DVDs: it's a list of actions but I'd not call it a plan. [And, for the record, like the Doctor I sometimes lie!]

Yeah, that's what I was getting at

He was planning to die, so it's not really so much of a plan as "I'm gonna go up there and see what happens".

[min min light]

If he was planning something, no matter what it was, then he wasn't lying about having a plan - but he was lying when he said he didn't really have a plan. And vice-versa. And if he figured out a way to get around the truth field, then why did he need to stay there all those years? And why write a truth field that's that unreliable - it makes the entire plot pointless if it's really the sometimes-you-can-lie "truth" field.

Moffat just dropped the ball there, which is fine, he's human.