Why Moffat is Amazing (or Why I Love Day of the Doctor (and yes — HERE BE SPOILERS))

Okay, I kept silent overnight, but I can’t anymore.  I have to gush.  So, seriously, if you haven’t seen Day of the Doctor yet, and you don’t want to be spoiled, I would stop reading, now, and go watch it.  Now.  I’ll wait right here.

 

Pretty filler so you won’t see anything.

So, anyone still here, I assume you’ve seen the 50^th anniversary special Day of the Doctor.  If you have not, and I spoil anything for you, don’t complain, because I have warned you.  Spoilers, spoilers, spoilers galore.  YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

 

Last chance.

Okay, so you’ve seen it, or don’t mind being spoiled as to what happened.  Got it.

First gut reaction: amazing.  Literally, there were so many moments I was gasping or exclaiming at the television and one moment that literally left me so speechless I was on the verge of tears it was so beautiful.

The story itself is intriguing and, yes, there’s a reason for them all to be in the same place.  Moffat has done an amazing job, again, with writing this one, with taking it from here to there to over there in ways none of us would have expected and it is a thing of absolute beauty (yes, I do hate having to admit that sometimes, why do you ask? :P).  I’m not going to do a recap, as I assume you watched it, but there are some things I want to discuss.

We got a really good look at Gallifrey at the end of the Time War.  Not only the High Counsel or Command, but the people, on the streets.  The ones that burn when the Doctor (or The Warrior, or the War Doctor) ends the war.  Children, families, people that have no part in this war other than the fact that they happen to live on the planet that is home to the Time Lords (because, as we know, not all Gallifreyans are Time Lords).  The innocent bystanders.

And the War Doctor sees them too.  And we find out that what he did was not done at command of the Counsel or anyone else.  He stole the weapon and made the choice on his own of what to do because he felt it was what had to be done.

Now, I want to go off on a tangent here and say that, as I’ve been saying from the beginning, the War Doctor, what he did during the Time War, is NOT a secret and the Doctor hasn’t actually been trying to hide from it if his actions are any evidence.  He talks about it on a regular basis, holds it over enemies heads, does nothing to try to hide this form of himself, except when he’s discussing it in The Name of the Doctor and here in Day of the Doctor.  I expected that that to really really bother me.  And, in a way, it did.

But Matt Smith and David Tennant (we’ll get there in a moment but OMG THERE WAS DAVID TENNANT AND HE WAS SO GLORIOUS AS ALWAYS) had these amazing moments around John Hurt’s War Doctor (and John Hurt was so amazing and perfect) that I could actually believe, even knowing otherwise, that Ten and Eleven are and were not proud of what they did and actually did want to forget this man.  But, as Ten says at one moment, how do you forget something like that?  So I’ll give Moffat a pass there.  Because it didn’t nag me the whole episode.

And the rest of it was so amazing, I can let it go.

We finally got to see Ten and Queen Elizabeth I, which was just a throwaway line in The End of Time and an implied interesting history in The Shakespeare Code.  It was great.  Joanna Page was fascinating in the role and Ten was such a bumbling idiot it was awesome.  Part of me thinks it might have been Moffat poking at the fan girls – it didn’t matter what Ten did, how much of the angry streak he showed, we all loved him.  Devoted to him.  So does Queen Elizabeth.  I may be reading more into that than there actually is, but either way, I thought it was hilarious.

Because we got Ten back and it was awesome!  From Ten in a fez to the comparing of sonics to the glasses moment, the shoes, the fighting, the adoration between them, Ten and Eleven together onscreen was everything all of us ever wanted.  There were too many awesome lines and moments to repeat them all, but just know – Ten and Eleven?  They are awesome together.

And Eleven admits he regrets the decision.  After four hundred years of reliving it, he regrets the decision to wipe out Gallifrey.

Ten and Eleven show up, in the War Doctor’s reality and time, just so he doesn’t have to do it alone.  Just so he doesn’t have to wipe out his people alone.

And then there was Clara.  We didn’t really get Rose / Clara moments (I’ll get to that in a minute; I have some very specific thoughts on what Moffat did with Rose (brilliant!), so I’m hitting that one last) but both (in a way) are very influential on the three Doctors’ decision to try and save Gallifrey (by time locking it) instead of actually destroying it.  Clara, as the companion always does, represents us and she’s right – she’s heard the Doctor talk about the Time War and what he did, but actually seeing it, actually knowing that he, the He we love, is going to be the one to do it…that’s hard to stomach.  Hard to take in.  And her faith in him, he unfailing belief that he (all the Hes) is a GOOD person (well, Time Lord), changes his mind.  And they decide to save it and it’s a beautiful moment with Clara and all three of them (apparently, this version of Clara is the one for both Eleven and the War Doctor).

So, I sent a total of three tweet during the entire show, during things I was totally freaking out over.  When I realized what Moffat had done with Rose (a weapon with a conscious?  So awesome), at the end with the Tom Baker moment (get to that in a moment) and then, here, when the three doctors are on their screens, talking to the High Counsel, and all of a sudden there are other voices.  And we see other blue boxes.  And then it’s there – Hartnell.  Troughton.  Pertwee.  Baker.  Davidson.  Baker.  McCoy.  McGann.  And with a “Now for my next trick…”

There was my Christopher Eccleston.  There was my Nine.

I know, I KNEW, he didn’t come back to film anything, I can place that exact moment (The Parting of Ways, when Jack and Nine are coming to rescue Rose, just before the TARDIS materializes around her on the Dalek ship), but still, my heart jumped when I saw him because I love my Nine.  I was on the verge of tears and then someone in the Gallifrey High Counsel says something about there being twelve – no thirteen – and we see eyes.  Just a pair of eyes and then a TARDIS flying in, but we know those eyes. 

Capaldi.

I lost it.

Had I been in a theater with a bunch of people (I tried – sold out in under 3 minutes because there was only one theater in the southeast US showing it and they only had one screen.  When they opened another screen, it sold out in under 10 and wasn’t announced so…yeah), I probably would have screamed.  But I wasn’t.  I was at home with a few friends.  Can’t exactly scream.

So an “Oh my God!” and crying it was.

All thirteen Doctors were technically there and on screen at once, even if most of it was just archive footage (which I get, because most of the Doctors still alive don’t look like they did when they were playing the part (including when they regenerated) so they can’t easily come back to reprise the role (Davidson in Time Crash for Children in Need is a special case, because it was for Children in Need)).  It was beautiful and amazing and would make any Whovian cry.

For that moment, if nothing else, I thank you Moffat.

But there were still great moments to come.  And Moffat explains how the Doctor could change what happened in that moment without, change the entire narrative of the series, without actually changing the series – time streams out of sync, the War Doctor and Ten won’t really remember this (at the beginning?  Before he jumps into the time warp?  Eleven says “I remember this!  Well, kind of”) and that he will believe, at least until the moment Eleven gets involved, that he made the decision to destroy Gallifrey.  And they won’t know if it works.

I buy it.  It’s not even all that timey-wimey.

(Side note here to say that some people are a bit miffed that Moffat “ignored” The End of Time.  I don’t think that’s necessarily true.  The Gallifrey in The End of Time was time locked, they brought it back, everyone assumed that the rest of it was coming.  But we don’t actually see the rest of it, so it’s possible that Rassillion didn’t actually know what was going on (he wasn’t in the Counsel room when they told the Doctor to do what he needed to in Day of the Doctor) and that the time locked Gallifrey the thirteen Doctors created is what actually appeared.  This is not something that destroys anything canon in the series.  The Doctor believed that he had destroyed his people.  The universe believed it.  Just because it might not actually be true doesn’t change any of the things we know.)

So, two more amazing things.  One: Tom Baker.  Yes, I know that it technically came out last week (I also think I know where the “Eleven is regenerating” rumor came from – someone in BBC made a comment somewhere I’m sure either to the effect that “We see Capaldi” (which most people would assume Eleven would have to regenerate for) or that there was a regeneration (there is; we see Hurt’s War Doctor start to regenerate into Eccleston’s Nine (I was SO hoping we would see that finish and that Eccleston had actually filmed even a moment, but no such luck) and people assumed it was Eleven into Twelve.  But not so much!) but no one knows who or what it would be.  Because, as I said above, Baker is, sadly, too old to really reprise Four in any actual capacity.

I know many many people that freaked out when they saw this.  So nice to include Classic fans!

But he didn’t.  I love how it’s not said but the implication is that it’s Eleven, at some point later, “revisiting an old favorite” face.  It was a wonderful moment for us, a nod to those Classic fans who wanted something, and an indication that, as we have all guessed, Capaldi won’t be the end of it (I have theories on that, but I’m not going to get into those here).

Now, for the most amazing thing I think Moffat did with this episode.  What he did with Rose.

Now it wasn’t actually Rose and, even here, it claims that it is Rose in Bad Wolf form.  But really, it’s The Moment, a weapon that developed a conscious (such an amazing concept and so awesome.  Love that!).  As it states, it chose a form from the War Doctor’s past (or future…”I always get those confused”), so it could have chosen anyone.  Martha, Jack, Mickey, Amy, Amelia, Rory, Donna.  Any companion or friend from Classic Who.  But it chose Rose.  Why did Moffat do that?

I don’t know if he did this on purpose, but when I realized it last night, I hope he did, because it might be the most awesome thing he’s ever done (and he’s done some awesome things, like introducing us to someone we’re going to LOVE and adore by, you know, killing her) – Moffat showed us that the War Doctor regenerates almost immediately.  We already know (well, think we know) that the first place he ends up is London, with the Nestene Consciousness.  Thinking he’s blown up his people.  And then who does he meet?  This blonde girl who he can’t seem to allow himself to let go of.

He can’t let go of her because, even if he doesn’t remember it, that girl, in one form or another, helped save him from himself (John Hurt’s War Doctor says something about loving the “Bad Wolf girl” at one moment because she showed him exactly what he needed).  And she just does it again.

Moffat just retconned why Rose is so important to the Doctor, even if he doesn’t know and can’t explain it to himself (though I think he may have realized it during the Bad Wolf moments in The Parting of Ways, even if not fully consciously).  Moffat explained the tie between Rose and the Doctor in a way no one else could. 

Moffat just explained a question Whovians have been asking, about a character he didn’t create and only wrote for once or twice, and it might be one of the most amazing retcons I’ve ever seen.  Rose and the Doctor are more intertwined than we ever imagined and I think it’s awesome.

So, yes.  I loved the episode.  Adored it.  And, yes, it gives the Doctor some kind of purpose (looks like Capaldi might be going searching for Gallifrey!  Awesome!).

But the most beautiful thing (other than all thirteen showing up around Gallifrey with archive footage?) – the final moment when Eleven steps out and they’re all there.  We’ve all seen the picture, with all the Doctor’s faces, but here, all standing together – Hartnell through Smith.  It was beautiful.  And perfect.

(Also, can we take a moment to appreciate that, under “The Doctor” in the credits there were thirteen names?  I squealed!)

Countdown to the 50th Anniversary Special, The Day of the Doctor

It’s less than 48 hours (less than 36, actually) until we get The Day of the Doctor, the Doctor Who 50^th anniversary special and rumors are abounding.  Speculation is crazy.

And we are all like small children on Christmas Eve!

The cover of SFX magazine, #241.  Gorgeous!

Rumors, as they will do, have grown and grown.  Rumors about who might be involved (apparently, since Paul McGann came back to film the minisode (have you seen it?  The prequel?  If not, go watch it, right now.  I’ll wait right here because, oh yes, here be spoilers) he and Moffat lie and now all bets are off (though I don’t agree with that.  They never said he wasn’t coming back at ALL, just that he wasn’t coming back for the 50^th.  And he didn’t.  The prequel is a totally different thing.  Really), rumors about what might happen, rumors rumors rumors.

And, of course, we’re all loving it.

There’s a rumor that Matt Smith will regenerate at the end of this special instead of in the Christmas special.  I’m not sure I believe that one, because we’ve seen shots from him filming the Christmas special and I’ve seen a promotional poster for it (though it’s possible that wasn’t official or it was just to throw us off).  Again, I don’t buy all the rumors, but these are what exist.

Because of McGann’s return, there are now rumors about just about every single living former Doctor and whether they will return.  The rumor that Eccleston might return popped up very quickly (though I don’t believe that one for many reasons, the least of which being the circumstances around which he left the show.  I don’t know if he would come back, even if they asked, and I’m not so sure they would ask) and the rumor from July, 2012 that Tom Baker would be returning was seemingly confirmed by The Huffington Post. (Side note: can we just take a moment here to appreciate that Baker, in that interview, basically says “I was Doctor Who before it was cool”?  It makes me laugh.  I guess the scarf should have warned us that Four was a hipster.)  There are rumors that the Rose we’re getting is a version of the Bad Wolf Rose, or even the alternate dimension (Pete’s World) Rose, though I don’t think anyone believes we’re getting David Tennant as TenToo.  From the clip released during Children in Need, it appears we’re getting Ten during his travels (Smith’s Eleven seems to remember it) and, based on the inclusion of Johanna Page as Queen Elizabeth I (which has been confirmed), I believe we’re getting Ten somewhere between Journey’s End and End of Time, when he was traveling and told Ood Sigma he married “Good Queen Bess”.

We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out, I guess.  And personally, I can’t wait.

But right now?  I want to talk a little bit about what we know, what we found out, for sure, confirmed, in that prequel minisode.  So if you haven’t watched it yet, go do so now.  I will be spoiling the entire thing in just a moment.

Here’s a pretty picture to look at so that there isn’t risk of spoilers!!!

 

So, done watching?  Last chance to save yourself!

 

Yes, they did it.  Paul McGann is back as The Doctor and finally gets his regeneration.  We also have official confirmation (from the “And Introducing John Hurt as The War Doctor”) that John Hurt’s Doctor X (Eight, before regeneration, says he will be “The Warrior”) is the incarnation between McGann’s Eight and Eccleston’s Nine (all my previous discussions on John Hurt’s Doctor X are here, here, and here).  We don’t really get a look at his Doctor (though we do see where he got the sash / belt thing, and it’s awesome) but the reflected glimpse we do get doesn’t look like the Doctor X we’ve come to know over the past few months.  Meaning that it’s possible this incarnation may have stuck around for quite awhile (meaning the Time War may have been much much longer than anyone anticipated) and may have aged during his time (or that the reflection is just not that good and it does look like we’ve come to love).  But none of that really matters.  Let’s go to what we have learned from this minisode.

McGann’s Eight didn’t regenerate until well into the Time War.  When the ship is going down at the beginning, and he shows up to save Cass, she refuses to go with him because he’s a Time Lord.  She talks about the war and about how the Time Lords are trying to destroy the universe (she specifically says they aren’t done yet because “there’s still some of the universe left”).  He remarks that he’s not a Dalek and she says he’s no better and who can tell the difference anymore.

The Time War wasn’t secret – and wasn’t popular.  The Time Lords were apparently NOT considered heroes as it was happening, but part of the problem (at least wherever Cass is from).

The Doctor adamantly maintains that it’s not his war, he’s not involved, not fighting it, and not about to help the Time Lords in an way.  The Sisters of Karn claim he can stop it, he can save the universe (yeah, yeah, we know), but he doesn’t want to listen to them.  He doesn’t specifically state why, to be honest, just that it isn’t his war and he has no part in it.  He’s a “Doctor” not a “warrior”.  The leader of the Sisters tells him he considers The Doctor title to also mean “A Good Man” and that he is a good man.  They state they will help him regenerate – he was hurt too badly, but they can jump start it and let him have control over it. (Side note – is that somehow going to affect the “regeneration limit” we have all accepted over the years (which I will also have more on later)?)  He chooses “warrior”.  States they don’t need a Doctor, they need a warrior.

So, is this why Eleven states that Doctor X isn’t the Doctor?  Because his purpose for existence wasn’t to necessarily help people (even if it did save the universe) because he knew that, in helping to stop the war, he was going to have to make the conscious and willing choice to kill people / creatures?

Okay, I get it.  I understand why the Time War Doctor would be considered, by The Doctor we all know and love, to not be a version of himself, of the healer and helper he has always tried to be.  But Eleven says, specifically, that this is an incarnation he has tried to forget.  That he has tried to hide.  So, though I have stated this before, I will state it again to make sure Moffat hears me:  the Time War Doctor is NOT a secret.

(Yes, yes, I know, he won’t read it, but it will make me feel better, ‘kay?)

The Doctor has talked about the Time War.  On multiple occasions, and not just to companions.  He has held it over enemies’ heads.  So many of the enemies he’s run into have known about it anyway.  I don’t care how much you need it, if you’re trying to keep something a secret – you don’t KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT.

If the ONLY thing this Doctor did was being a warrior, fighting in and ending the war, then I’m going to be a bit upset cause, well, there’s a lot of mystery about, well, nothing.  Nothing at all.

I understand the Doctor didn’t like what he had to do.  The Doctor has never quite forgiven himself for what he did.  I get that.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a secret and, if that is the only thing, I wish Moffat would have approached it differently.

That being said, I mentioned before about Doctor X pushed “the big red button” to end the war, but of course it would be more than that because, well, wow.  But – look at this image from the trailer.  What does that look like?

 

Yep.  I will literally laugh out loud if he pushes a big red button to end the war.

So here we go.  Countdown has begun.  30 hours and counting to the 50^th anniversary and I couldn’t be more excited!!!

(Now I get to go get dressed and go see Catching Fire.  Excited for that one too!)

Now, for the four year old’s reaction to regeneration and Twelve

My daughter, who is, as I’ve said before, four and a half, is a big Doctor Who fan.  This is entirely my fault and I’m incredibly proud of it.  She carries a TARDIS lunchbox.  She wants Doctor Who toys.  She wants a sonic screwdriver and has told me, on more than one occasion, that she wants to dress up either as The Doctor or Rose for Halloween (I think Rose is the companion she mentioned only because that’s the companion with blonde hair).  She loves her man that keeps people safe and, of them all, her favorite is definitely, without a doubt, Eleven, or, as she calls him, “the man with the bow tie”.

Now part of this is because Eleven is the one she’s seen the most often.  She watches all the new episodes as they are and those, of course, are Eleven.  I have made sure she’s seen some of Nine and Ten (I don’t have access to older episodes, but I will make sure she gets exposure to those too) and, sometimes, when she asks to watch The Doctor and I say “which one?” she’ll want one of those (the one in the leather jacket or the one in the long coat) but, usually (I’d say nine times out of ten), she wants Eleven.

This weekend, one of her (already favorite) youths at church wore suspenders and a bow tie to church on Sunday.  The moment she saw him, her face lit up and she just couldn’t help herself: “You look like my Doctor!!!”

This.  This is her Doctor.

I knew she loved Eleven.  I just didn’t realize just how much.

So I mentioned this on a Facebook post and I think on my Twitter feed, but I got a bit of a shock (that I found adorable and, yes, admittedly, a bit funny) the Friday before the Twelve reveal.

I said something to my mother about watching the show on Sunday afternoon (I’m in the U.S., it aired at 2:00 pm here) and Punky automatically came running to me, “There’s a new Doctor show?”

“Not exactly, sweetie.”

“Then what are we watching Sunday?  You said there was Doctor.”

“Well, the man in the bow tie is retiring from the show, sweetie.  There’s going to be someone else playing The Doctor after Christmas.  They’re going to tell us who that’s going to be on Sunday.”

Now, let me explain something:  My daughter knows that Nine, Ten, and Eleven are all the same character.  She knows they are all “The Doctor”.  She realizes that this is supposed to be the same person with different faces.  While we haven’t actually discussed the specifics of regeneration and, at that point, she hadn’t yet seen a regeneration episode, the concept of someone else playing the Doctor was NOT new to her.

However, I realized, upon her reaction, that I hadn’t actually told her Eleven would be leaving yet and, maybe, the thought that he might had never crossed her mind.

Because, as soon as I said that someone else would be playing the Doctor my little four year old burst into tears.  “But I like the man in the bow tie!!!!!!”

Yeah…..I wasn’t expecting that.

I’ll admit it.  I was probably a bit of a bad Mommy because it was literally all I could do not to burst out laughing because it was so adorable.  She was sobbing because she loved the Doctor and didn’t want him to go away!

I got down on her level and hugged her and we talked about how Nine and Ten and Eleven were all the same character but played by different people.  We talked about how she liked Nine and Ten and, while I know she really likes Eleven, I’m sure the next one will be good.  I told her that The Doctor doesn’t change, just his face does, and he would still be the man she adores, keeping everyone safe.  We also talked about how she still gets two more new shows with Eleven (the 50^th and the Christmas special) before he’s going to regenerate into someone new.

It calmed her down.  And we discussed it more over the weekend (while running errands, we saw the set of toys with all eleven Doctors, so we discussed it then, and we watched some of Nine and Ten and discussed the differences.)  And then, Sunday afternoon, they were replaying The End of Time on BBCA before the announcement, so we watched the “companion tour” and discussed a bit about regeneration (how Ten was really sick and was going to die but that his body could make him look different in order to heal him, and he was going to see all his friends and oh isn’t that so fun? (Because good-ness The End of Time is depressing with that tour and I didn’t want her totally falling apart).)  And then she got to watch Ten’s regeneration and then Eleven was there (which, of course, made her insanely happy) and then we watched the show and she saw Peter Capaldi.

“Is that the new Doctor, Mommy?”

“Yes, baby.”  She looks at him for a few minutes, then smiles.

“I like him.  He’s good.”

Then she just went back to playing.

Rolling with the punches, that one.  I don’t know if I can take credit for her ability to do that, but she certainly can.  The shows she loves and watches help with that, of course.  Doctor Who is all about rolling with what’s there (it’s another reason I love Rose.  “Are you an alien?” “Yep.”  “Okay.” and “He’s blue.” “Yep.” “Okay.”  and “Who’s your friend?” “Charles Dickens.”  “Okay.”  Every time there’s something weird or odd she just confirms it and then just goes on.  I love it.  I think it’s a great lesson.)  And superheroes, most of the recent Disney’s – all of them, you can totally take what you have and make it work.  It’s an amazingly awesome lesson, one that children need to learn.

But I like how she just took one look at him, not knowing anything else (not his background, never having seen him act, nothing) and just thought “Yeah, I’d buy him being the Doctor.  He’s good.”  No questioning.  No waivering.  No craziness of us fandom adults.  Just, yep, I like him.

From the mouth of babes.

(And then she comes out and looks at me, totally straight faced, and says “I hope he has a bow tie.  I like bow ties.  Bow ties are cool.”  I didn’t realize she had ever watched that episode.  From the mouth of babes indeed).

My reaction to Twelve (and to other “fans” reactions to him as well)

We got what is (at the moment) probably the biggest news in the Whovian universe Sunday at about 2:25 eastern time – we know who’s taking over for Matt Smith.

Matt Smith’s Doctor (Eleven) will be regenerating into Peter Capaldi’s Doctor (Twelve) during the Christmas special in just a few months (I know, I know, it’s almost five full months away, but saying “just a few months” just makes me feel better and like it’s closer!), likely during the last moments.  Usually how this works is that we get the new Doctor for about a minute after regeneration and then the show is over and we have to wait for whatever is next (which, if rumors are correct, might possibly be next August, which would officially make me cry).

For those of you who don’t know, that’s classic Hartnell

So, Peter Capaldi.  This announcement has set the Whovian fans rolling with plenty to talk about – and not all of it is good.

And that bothers me a bit.

Now, I will admit that, as late as Sunday morning, when answering the “who do you think it will be” I was, specifically, saying “NOT CAPALDI!” and giving other names.  A couple of those names were completely selfish eye candy possibilities that were more joking than anything.  A couple were, I thought at the time, legitimate possibilities that would have taken the Doctor in a bit of a different direction (I say “at the time” because apparently, according to Moffat, the list this time was extremely short – there was never anyone on it but Capaldi).  One would have taken the Doctor in an entirely different direction that I’m not entirely sure the world is ready for yet and I’m not entirely sure I want to see yet (all of which I’ll talk about).  But let me be clear: my calls of “Not Capaldi!” were not, in any way, because I don’t think he can play the Doctor or because I don’t think he’s a good actor.  He’s a phenomenal actor and I think he’ll be amazing as the Doctor – different, but amazing (and that’s good).  My not wanting him to be picked had nothing to do with age or looks or anything of the sort – it was purely my own ornery nature wanting all those people betting on him, so sure they had it figured out, or had  good information, to be dead wrong.  I would have laughed my head off if one of the “long shot” (but still well qualified and would be good at the part) actors had walked out the other night.

(On a side note: BBC, you missed an amazing chance there.  When the show came on and she saw the TARDIS, Punky looked at me and went “Is the new Doctor in the TARDIS?” “No, baby,” I responded, “it’s just a prop” but then immediately turned to the TV and said, out loud, “Oh my God, y’all should totally have him come out of the TARDIS!”

You have to admit: It would have been awesome to see Capaldi emerge from that spinning blue box for the first time right there, even if he wasn’t in what will become the “regalia” of Twelve.  Though watching some replays, it doesn’t appear to be full sized or sturdy so, yeah.  But still.  That was an awesome opportunity they totally missed!)

I had my reservations at first, mostly due to the fact that he was in Fires of Pompeii (which I can suspend belief on and accept) and also played a rather major (and very un-Doctor-like) character over on Torchwood.  Now, don’t tell me that Torchwood isn’t Doctor Who.  It’s a direct spin off, based on the same characters, in the same universe, with tie in and cross overs and if someone appears in Torchwood (especially as that major of a character), they just as well appeared as the same person in Doctor Who.

My reservations – the reason why my initial gut reaction was “Uh…….I’m not so sure” – was the concern over acknowledging, recognizing, and explaining that character in Torchwood.

Like I said, Fires of Pompeii is in the Doctor Who universe, but is so far removed from “today” I can accept a doppelganger without much concern.  I’m going to look at him and go “Oh, it’s the dad from Pompeii” but it’s not going to keep nagging at my brain too badly. (Though someone pitched an idea that I found wonderfully hilarious on Facebook – The Doctor, far enough removed from the Doctor Donna for the pain to have healed some, decides to go back to Pompeii and pose as a merchant for a number of years just to get to see her again.  Not even all that timey wimey and BOOM! It’s explained! – again, I will not take credit for this theory.  I saw it this morning but can’t find it again to credit the original poster.) 

There is, however, a distinct chance I might not be able to separate John Frobisher from Torchwood (who, by the way, ends up, you know, killing his family during that arc, so, yeah, not really a “Doctor” thing to do (even if it was to save them from what he thought was worse)!) from the Doctor should they look alike.

And then, later on Sunday, I realized that was the caveat – should they look alike.

The new Doctor Who has, on a couple of occasions, had an actor who has previously appeared in an episode come back as a (separate) major character (so things like Jack or Harriett Jones or anyone playing the same character over multiple episodes wouldn’t count here).  Freema Agyeman, who played Ten’s second companion, Martha Jones, first played Adeola Oshodi, an agent at the Torchwood Institute at Canary Wharf helping open the “ghost gate” in Army of the Dead during the previous season.  In character and on camera, the role is acknowledged when Martha mentions having a cousin that worked at Canary Wharf and died during the Cyberman / Dalek invasion. 

 

Martha on the left, Adeola on the right.  Yeah…………that’s not a cousin.  That’s a doppelganger.  But I’ll accept it.

Also within the Who-verse, Eve Myles played Gwen Cooper in Torchwood and Gwyneth in Doctor Who Series 1’s The Unquiet Dead.  There isn’t a specific relation given, but when Ten and Rose meet Gwen Cooper during The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End, there is a reference made to her similarities to Gwyneth and it is implied that Gwyneth is probably an ancestor.

 

Again, not quite as strong, but the family resemblance in the Who-verse is crazy.  I don’t look this much like my SISTER, much less a great-great aunt or something.

But then we get to Karen Gillan, who played Eleven’s first companion, Amy Pond.  She was originally used as a soothsayer in The Fires of Pompeii during Series 4 with Ten and Donna.  This was never acknowledged on camera, and I’m okay with that.  Know why?

 

Not so much with the OMG resemblance (amazing what make up can do, huh?)

Because those two women do not look alike enough that you go “There is NO WAY that is not the same person!”  In fact, I guarantee you that many people didn’t even KNOW that was Karen Gillan on the right until die-hard fans who had gone back and caught it on re-watchings started pointing it out. 

It doesn’t automatically draw your attention and make you go “Wait a second………”

Which is why I’m not so sure any more that this reservation is warranted.  It’s going to depend on what they do with Capaldi’s Doctor and how his “look” turns out.  Because, really?

 

How he appeared Sunday, as Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii, as John Frobisher in Torchwood, and a picture of how he appeared in May of this year (as far as I can tell that’s when that picture was taken)

Yes, right next to each other and knowing it’s the same person, you can see, yeah, that’s him.  But seriously, if the guy in the far right showed up as the Doctor after Matt transforms, my mind wouldn’t automatically jump to “OMG that’s Caecilius!”  Or even “OMG that’s the guy that killed his kids on Torchwood!!”  Yes, in my head I’ll know it’s the same actor, but as long as my brain isn’t beating me over the head with it, I’m kind of okay with that.  It’s the mirrored doppelgangers that my brain won’t allow me to shake loose.

Besides, I kind of like the facial hair for Twelve.  It could be his “thing” like Eleven’s bow tie, Ten’s trench, Nine’s leather jacket (or Four’s scarf, Seven’s umbrella, ect).  So yeah, I still am a bit cautious, but that reservation about the acknowledgement of the previous characters can very easily be overcome and I think they’ll manage it (and, to be honest, even if they don’t, I’m sure I’ll get used to it.  It’ll nag at me though, I can guarantee that!)

So yeah, my reservations with Capaldi are purely based on character continuity (I need to talk about that on a wider basis at some point – someone remind me to do that).  My “NOT CAPALDI” cries before hand have nothing to do with his acting or not wanting him to be the Doctor, honestly, it was just about being a stubborn girl and wanting to be able to find it hilarious that so many people were wrong.

My reservations initially were not, and never will be, what I have heard come from so many “fans” from the corners of the web.

I use those quotation marks on purpose.  These people, these “fans”, are the ones screaming and yelling about how Capaldi can’t play the doctor because “OMG he’s old!” or “HE’S UGLY!!!! I’M NOT WATCHING ANYMORE!!!!”

I’ll be honest – I want to smack them through the computer.

Hi, “fans”.  It’s so funny that you think the Doctor should always be young and “cute”.  I bet you think Matt Smith is the Third Doctor and this one’s about to be Four, don’t you? :P  

I saw this reposted on Facebook and couldn’t say it better myself, so I’ll just copy it here: “The Doctor is not a sex symbol.  Sorry, fangirls.  Now you’ll have to decide if you actually like the show.”

 

Before Matt, Peter Davidson was the youngest actor to ever play the Doctor (he was 30 when he took the part).  Most of the previous (original) Doctors were in their 40s (Hartnell and Pertwee were actually in their 50s).  Paul McGann (Eight, in the movie in 1996) was 37.  John Hurt, playing some incarnation of the Doctor, is 73.

Yes, I realize that, since 2005, most of the actors who played the Doctor have been of the type that collect the fawning, will-you-marry-me fangirls.  I realize that there are people who watch Doctor Who to do nothing more than drool over David Tennant or Matt Smith.

I think these people are silly and simple-minded and probably need some help.

If you want to stop watching the show because you’re not going to have eye-candy, then you probably aren’t that much of a fan anyway.  I think we’re all pretty okay with that, to be honest.  With you leaving the show and not watching any more.  Those of us enjoying the show for what it is will continue to do so.

Besides, an older Doctor makes sense to me.  First, it’s about time that the “new” Doctor Who did something a little different.  While I can understand not wanting to go as crazy as, say, a woman Doctor (maybe they just aren’t ready for that yet), they didn’t need to just put in another cut-from-the-same-cloth eye candy or pretty boy.  (Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying Matt Smith or David Tennant are just “eye candy pretty boys”.  They are both fantastically amazing actors.  But they are, well, kind of pretty.)  Part of the wonderment that has always followed The Doctor is that each one is so very different.  The regeneration does not just change the face, it changes who he is (but I’ll talk about that at length another time).  What has happened to that incarnation, and what is happening at the time he regenerates affects who he becomes next (okay, maybe I’ll do my regeneration post sooner rather than later).  But really – look at what Eleven has already gone through.  Imagine what he’s probably going to be put through during the 50^th and the Christmas Special.

Is it any wonder that all this might age him some?

Besides, the Doctor, we all know, is very old to begin with (the Doctor that goes down to meet River in The Impossible Astronaut was 1,103, though in some of the older fiction he was well past 1,000 before he even hit Nine.  Also, in A Town Called Mercy Eleven indicates he might be almost 1,200 years old.  His age seems to have been rebooted with the series, as Nine states he is 900, but previous incarnations had gone past 900 already.  And, of course, Moffat and others have stated that, honestly, the Doctor probably has no idea or clue exactly how old he is).  The Doctor, though looking however the face he chose looks, is not actually that age.  Is it so unbelievable that he might not, at this moment, feel like being young and seen as such?  That he might want to feel like he has some kind of control or authority when everything felt like it was beyond him (and I’m getting into other subject matter, so I’m going to put a halt to that).

So yeah, basically, Sunday showed us that we have some people we might want to root out of fandom.  It might sound cruel, but it’s true. 

Let me put it this way:  If you’re going to spend the entire next series complaining about how you don’t like this Doctor and he’s too old and you just want Matt back, do us a favor and watch something else on Saturday nights. 

We want to be able to enjoy the amazingness that I know will be Capaldi’s Twelve.

Reasons why I want to go to Comic Con (cause things like this happen!)

San Diego International Comic Con was last weekend. 

I hate hate hate that I wasn’t there.  Truly.

I want to go to that thing, someday.  My goal is that, sometime in the future, my children beg me to take them to Comic Con like many children beg their parents to take them to Disney World (and, of course, I will find a way to make it happen, like parents find a way to make Disney happen, because I love my kids and it would be totally for them and I wouldn’t enjoy a minute of it.  Really).  It shouldn’t be too hard, considering that my children already love Doctor Who, superheroes, comics (what I’ve let them see) and so much else that goes on there.

Including costumes.  Oh they love costumes.

Punky would have been in fangirl heaven had she seen those two.  Probably her two favorite Disney princesses!

But that being said, there are many many things that happened this weekend.  Many many things that I wish I could have seen and been a part of.  But, from what I’ve seen, these are some of the things I most wish I could have seen this weekend.

— Karen Gillian revealing that she pulled a Matt Smith with her hair – it’s gone.  GONE.  When she showed up, she still had the red hair, long, but it looked like it had been cut.  Still beautiful.  But then a panel leader asked about her playing Nebula (who is bald) in Guardians of the Galaxy and all of a sudden the hair is off and there she is with a bald head and her red hair is in the crowd.

Wow.

—  The DW fan meet up.  I’ve seen and heard about this but I don’t think it was the actual Doctor Who panel.  But fans were getting to ask Matt and Jenna and Moffat questions and they were just being frank and honest with them.  There was a phone call from another writer (Gattis I think) for Moffat and I’m pretty sure this is where Matt begged fans not to forget him and, in a moment of weakness, said he might have made a mistake in leaving (though we all know it was just a moment of weakness).  I just would have loved to be there. 

—  The actual Doctor Who panel.  With the trailer and everything.  Oh how I wish I had seen that!  (And Moffat apparently admitted to “lying [his] arse off” about the 50^th so as to keep things secret, so maybe my hope that John Hurt ISN’T the Time War Doctor might come true!)

—  The Walking Dead panel with the Season 4 trailer.  While, of course, I’ve seen it now, I would have loved to be able to be there and hear the questions and maybe get to ask some.  I love that show (yeah…we’ve been over that) and I want anything and everything I can get my hands on about it.

—  Andrew Garfield pulling his Spiderman stunt.  He showed up to a panel in a cheap Spiderman costume, talking about how he always wanted to come to Comic Con dressed as Spiderman and here they were letting him and then, all of a sudden, the mask comes off and there’s Andrew Garfield, the current Spiderman.  I can only say that is awesome and wish I could have seen it.

—  Also, Matt Smith walking around as Bart Simpson?  Yes please!

—  Loki.  Really do I need to say more?  But Tom Hiddleston, in full Loki regalia, showed up, in character, to introduce the trailer for the next Thor movie, and got the fans to kneel and chant his name.  Watching the video is rather amazing and oh how I wish I could have been there for it.

—  The X-Men: Days of Future Past panel.  I’m pretty sure this was rather a surprise panel?  Or maybe we just weren’t aware of who would be there?  But really – pretty much all the X-Men – both “current” and “past” – were there.  Stewart, McAvoy, McKellan, Fassbender, Dinklage, Jackman, Berry, Lawrence, Paquin, Ashmore, Hoult, Page, Peters – they were all there.  And apparently McKellan (current Magneto) was hitting on Fassbender (past Magneto).  Oh the fangirling I’m SURE that caused!  (But really, I’d just love to see McAvoy.  How I adore that man.  Never thought I would have to admit to having a crush on Professor X!)

—  Catching Fire trailer.  Yes.  Please.  God wish I had been there for that.

—  And Marvel Agents of SHIELD?  They totally showed the entire pilot to the panel!!  Gah.  (And Agent Hill totally appeared.  Yes please!!!!)

There’s more, of course.  So many things.  Everything.  EVERY.  THING.  And, of course, all the costumes and the amazing fans.  But really, I mean really.  These are the reasons I would love nothing more than to have been there for.

I even think Punky would have loved – or at least appreciated – most of it!

Rambling thoughts on the identity of John Hurt’s Doctor (because I want the “confirmation” to be wrong)

I know I’ve talked about this before (here and here), but the more I think about it, the less I want that “confirmation” to be true.  To be honest, I keep thinking of reasons why it could be incorrect (starting with, well, how secretive they were about that script, did the person actually know the whole thing?  Were they making assumptions?  Are they just saying something to throw us off?  Would Moffat REALLY allow it to be leaked that easily?) and keep grasping at these straws, hoping and hoping.

Because Time War Doctor, while it is the easiest jump and possibly the most logical, just does not make sense to me (though the more it seems to be, especially considering some of the images released in correlation to Comic Con this weekend).  Some if this is going to be old hat recap.  Some of this may be new stuff.  But it’s what’s going through my head and driving me crazy right now, so I have to get it out somehow and some way.

Like I’ve said before, John Hurt’s Doctor (Doctor X, that’s what I’ll call him) is a version or incarnation of the Doctor that has done something so incredibly terrible that Eleven (or, likely, an incarnation before, whichever one came directly after him) decided that he was not “worthy” of the name “Doctor”.  That is, obviously, not the Doctor’s real name, but the mantle he has decided to use, and it invokes thoughts of helping, nurturing, and healing (River Song at one point actually says that is the reason many races use the word “Doctor” as “healer” – because of the things he has done (though other races equate “Doctor” with “warrior” (like the races in the Gamma forest, where Lorna Bucket (A Good Man Goes to War) comes from – she says she became a soldier to be like the Doctor)).  However, Doctor X has done something so horrible, the Doctor cast him out and chose to, at least try to, let the universe forget him.

In the recap of the trailer shown at the Doctor Who Panel at Comic Con (which has not been (and apparently will not be) released online – one of the many reasons I wish I could have gone to Comic Con this weekend! – so I have to rely on the recap from i09 and Doctor Who TV), the current Doctor mentions that “there’s one life I’ve tried very hard to forget”.  This is apparently right before seeing a clip from The Name of the Doctor of Clara and Eleven talking about Doctor X.  Then there’s “what looks like the Time War” – Daleks blowing up, flames, etc.  BBC has released shots of the Daleks and they’re in a room with large circular pieces that look suspiciously like Gallifreyan writing.  Doctor X says “Great men are forged in fire” and then something about being the man who lit the flames.

Image from BBC — like at the background on the left and tell me that Dalek isn’t on Gallifrey

So yes.  It appears that it would, very likely, be the Time War Doctor.  It’s looking more and more like that is the correct assumption for Doctor X: The trailer clearly shows, apparently, that Doctor X is somehow involved with Daleks and Time Lords and talked about “Great men being forged in fire”.  We all assume this was the Time War.

But what if it wasn’t?

Let me suggest another possibility, if only because I want it to be something different.

Eleven says it, right there: “there’s one life I’ve tried very hard to forget”.  Let’s look at what the Doctor has done, that we know about, and that he has talked about on a pretty regular basis without too much difficulty (meaning, obviously, he’s not really trying all that hard to hide it or forget about it) – he has destroyed entire races, including his own, to protect the universe and other civilizations.  He has blown up planets.  He has no qualms with killing someone (or something) trying to cause harm to another, though he usually does at least give them a chance to surrender first.  They usually just don’t take it (like running away from The Family in Human Nature and Family of Blood.  He tried very very hard not to have to deal with them but they wouldn’t just leave it alone.  Silly people).  The Doctor, while being our savior, is, in a way, the bad guy in the eyes of many out there in the universe created in his reality.

I was not surprised by the whole Predator thing in Asylum of the Daleks.

So wiping out the Time Lords and the Daleks, like I said before, that’s not really anything new to him, sadly.

And then there’s the whole whatever the secret is being, well, a secret.  Hidden.  Forgotten.  You don’t talk about secrets or things you want to forget.  Eleven wouldn’t tell Clara what it is this guy had done but I’m pretty sure he’d told her about the time war.  One way or another, she’d seen the Time War anyway in that time stream, but she hadn’t seen Doctor X.  And even if he hadn’t told Clara, he told Rose.  And Martha.  And Donna.  And Jenny.  And Amy and Rory and every Dalek he’s encountered and so many of the enemies and the list goes on and on and on and the Doctor has not been keeping that a secret.  It’s common knowledge, or at least was for a while there (I need to rewatch Series 7 and see if what Oswin did in Asylum of the Daleks actually did what we think it did (not only erase the Doctor from the Daleks Pathweb, but also from much of the universe’s collectively remembered history – long story.  I’ll get into it at some point)).

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Doctor’s involvement in the Time War and his role in the destruction of the Time Lords and the Daleks is not a secret.

The above is what bothers me the most and why I don’t want the “confirmation” to be correct.  I got the impression from Elevens reaction to Doctor X that this wasn’t an incarnation he’d talked about.  This wasn’t a man he would discuss for fear of something being remembered or unleashed (like part of the whole “naming something gives it power” or “memory of something keeps it alive” thing).  This Doctor X might, possibly, be the reason he is so reluctant to allow anyone access to his real name.

So what if the secret isn’t the Time War?  I’ve gone over possibilities for Doctor X before (Time War Doctor, Valeyard, original incarnation, etc.) but had abandoned most of them with the “confirmation”.  And then there’s the images that seem to show the Time War and reiterate it.

But what if that isn’t the Time War?

Let me say that again, and really think about it: What if what they are showing in the trailer isn’t the Time War (though, obviously, they would be letting us assume as much)?

We know that the Daleks and the Time Lords have been fighting and at each other’s throats for years by the time Eight (or Doctor X or Nine or whoever it was) ends the Time War.  Daleks are from the original series, long before the Time War (for those of you unfamiliar, or who didn’t watch the originals, the Doctor wasn’t always the only Time Lord left.  Gallifrey still existed in the original series and the Time War happened somewhere between the 1996 movie and the premiere of Series 1 in 2005).  However, we also know that the Time Lords aren’t the only people the Daleks ever fought – they were created by Davros as cyborgs of the Kaleds during the massive war with the Thals (1: apparently the Daleks really like massive, long, drawn out wars.  Fitting, that, since, you know, they are bent on universal domination and 2: I know the Daleks have been retconed like crazy, so I’m going with what, as far as I remember, the currently accepted history for them is).  Also, in Remembrance of the Daleks, we see civil war between Dalek factions and, with assistance from Seven, we see the Daleks and Skaro blown up before the end of the story, though Davros, as we found out, escaped.  So there wasn’t a big Dalek / Time Lord war going on at that point.  And Doctor X says something about “being the man who lit the flames”.

So what if what we’re actually seeing is something that Doctor X did that started the war between the Daleks and the Time Lords that ended up being the Time War?  What if what he did that is so horrible wasn’t to end the Time War but to start it in the first place?  With time travel and parallel universes, it is possible that an early – or even future – incarnation could start the war without meaning to, which ended in the “death” of both races (in quotations because, really, the Daleks weren’t as dead as those on Gallifrey).

Now, throwing a kink in this possible theory is Doctor X’s line from The Name of the Doctor where he says he did what he did “without choice” and “in the name of peace and sanity”.  However, we don’t know what the circumstances were.  Maybe he let them into Gallifrey to keep them from destroying it for some grievance and that started the Time War.  Or maybe he blew up a Dalek ship to save a civilization and that was the final straw that started the Time War.  Who knows?

But it give us a possibility of things not being as easy and cut and dry as they seem right now with the Time War Doctor being the big secret that the Doctor is horrible at keeping, apparently.

Now, again (as I’ve also said before and will probably say again before November), John Hurt’s Doctor probably is the Time War Doctor.  What we are seeing probably is the Time War.  I just don’t want it to be.  I feel that’s too easy, too simply, too, well, let’s be honest – we figured it out in less than two minutes flat.  That’s very not like Moffat – and I so want to believe this is going to be as amazing as anything he’s ever done and better – and if it turns out to be just another so easily predicable twist?

*Sigh*  That would make me awfully sad.