Ultimate Doctor Who Madness

[kleptoman]

The ending of the episode was kind of ruined by the "next time on dr who" bit. Really. You end on a cliff hanger and then remove all the tension right away? Really?

[Joopac_Badur]

The ending of the episode was kind of ruined by the "next time on dr who" bit. Really. You end on a cliff hanger and then remove all the tension right away? Really?

Never, ever watch the "Next Time" bits. They will always ruin the next episode.

[Monkeychewtoy]

C'mon, DW writers. There's no need to go and make a screwy thing even screwier, right?

... It's what the Doctor would do.

Sorry I didn't get in here sooner. I really just got into Doctor Who this last year, though I've been admiring it as a science-fiction monolith for years. I quickly queued up everything I could in Netflix, and when that wasn't enough, I took to the web. I think I've absorbed every ounce of Doctor since 2005. So I was stoked to see today's episode. Super stoked.

I was excited to see the return of that proto-Tardis from last season, and I'll be glad to see where the rest of this story goes. The new baddies are, I think, scarier than the weeping angels. And that says something.

And yes, Amy Pond is beyond foxy. Intolerably so.

Okay. I think I'm caught up.

[kleptoman]

That reminds me. Whats with the cloaking thing? I thought the reason it was a police call box was because it's cloaking device was able to make it fit it, but then it got stuck. So why does it have a cloaking device to make it invisible? Does it make that much sense? Surely it would be one or the other?

[frazzledog]

That reminds me. Whats with the cloaking thing? I thought the reason it was a police call box was because it's cloaking device was able to make it fit it, but then it got stuck. So why does it have a cloaking device to make it invisible? Does it make that much sense? Surely it would be one or the other?

The Chameleon Circuit has been broken since 1963. We know the TARDIS has upgraded at least one (When Smith crashed her at the beginning of season Five). It's an upgrade

[Agrajag]

Moffat's general strategy has been to add random features to the TARDIS if it makes for a good joke or plot device, and who cares if it makes any sense.


I don't get the thing with River and the Doctor's diaries. Like, they seem to be saying that the two of them are meeting in strictly opposite directions (barring the occasional out of sequence thing like the older Doctor this week). If that's true, then there's no need to match diaries, because they know where along the timeline each of them is anyway. In fact, their diaries wouldn't even overlap at all (both of them would only have things the other person hadn't done yet in their books).

[frazzledog]

Moffat's general strategy has been to add random features to the TARDIS if it makes for a good joke or plot device, and who cares if it makes any sense.


I don't get the thing with River and the Doctor's diaries. Like, they seem to be saying that the two of them are meeting in strictly opposite directions (barring the occasional out of sequence thing like the older Doctor this week). If that's true, then there's no need to match diaries, because they know where along the timeline each of them is anyway. In fact, their diaries wouldn't even overlap at all (both of them would only have things the other person hadn't done yet in their books).

Just because as of right now it's only been strictly linear as of so far, there is going to be times where Older Doctor is going to pop into her life like he did. That's the point of the diaries. Maybe once Smith starts keeping his own, then it won't be so linear.

[Agrajag]

Yeah, well that's what I originally figured, that it was just out-of-sequence not strictly backward. But in one of River's speeches to Amy this episode, she seemed to say it was strictly backward. Which I thought was weird.


Also, did I mention I love Mark Sheppard? Because I do.


EDIT: Oh, another thing that is weird is that in The Big Bang, River didn't recognize Rory (she says "the Plastic Centurion?" on their first meeting). Which I guess implies that the events of the Big Bang happen before any other episode with River this season from her point of view, because otherwise she would know who Rory is. So I guess not strictly backward meetings after all?

[Joopac_Badur]

Their meetings aren't strictly backwards, but they generally head in that direction. Even within Series 5, episodes 4/5 (The Weeping Angels) took place (in River's timeline) after the Pandorica/Big Bang story, meaning it leaped backwards for her. Speaking of River, I am getting more and more convinced that she will be linked romantically to him in the future. While it's always been implied, this was the first episode where I felt there was more than just chemistry.

The Chameleon Circuit has been broken since 1963. We know the TARDIS has upgraded at least one (When Smith crashed her at the beginning of season Five). It's an upgrade

The Sixth Doctor actually fixed the Chameleon Circuit, but he chooses to leave it looking like a police box (According to Doctor Nine) for sentimental reasons.

The new baddies are, I think, scarier than the weeping angels.

They're pretty terrifying, but the Angels still freak me out the most simply because they don't appear to have any sort of motive; they're just senseless killers. While there hasn't been an established motive for the Silents yet, it's bound to come and then they won't seem quite as freaky, at least for me.

Also, theory on River Song, spoiled for length:

Spoiler: show

I think the person she eventual kills will be the Doctor, specifically the Twelfth Doctor. But, hear me out, she kills him as a means to eliminate the Valeyard. Whenever Matt Smith leaves the post, there will be something that goes wrong with the regeneration. This flaw will create a Tyler-Durden-esque personality that calls itself the Valeyard. At first nothing goes too awry but eventually the Valeyard goes apeshit and starts destroying things. The only way the Doctor and River can think to get rid of him is to kill the Doctor and force him to regenerate again, thus completely wiping out the split personality.

Of course, River would have been seen and associated with this ... Valeyard, so when the Time Police or whoever show up, they incarcerate her (not recognizing the Thirteenth Doctor as technically being the same person). However, because she did kill the Valeyard, they don't outright execute her but put her in prison and giving her the option to shorten her sentence by doing random odd jobs (like in Series 5's Angels Story).

River goes along with the prison sentence for appearance sake, but knows she can pretty much escape whenever she wants, and continues to have adventures with Doctor one way or another.

[frazzledog]

But, hear me out, she kills him as a means to eliminate the Valeyard.

Can you link me somewhere to read up about Valeyard, so I can know what you are talking about. (i'm going to watch the old series, its just taking a while)

But in one of River's speeches to Amy this episode, she seemed to say it was strictly backward. Which I thought was weird.

We know that its not really linear, and hopefully it was just a way to highlight their first/last meeting (and how it really did kill her)

[Joopac_Badur]

The Valeyard.

It should also be pointed out that many fans speculate that the Dream Lord might be an allusion to the Valeyard's appearance.

Also, a flaw in my theory:

Spoiler: show

If River does in fact know the Doctor in future regenerations, she would know that when Eleven is shot in this past episode, he will somehow live again. So either my theory has absolutely no chance of happening because all but one of her adventures occur with Eleven, or she knows he will survive the encounter with the astronaut, but she's playing along because 'spoilers' for Amy and Rory.

[Agrajag]

Yeah, I thought it had been implied previously that River knows future incarnations of the Doctor. She didn't seem all that surprised to see David Tennant, and says something about how she can't keep track of all his faces. Which would mean she knows he survives the events of the latest episode.

Also have you guys heard the River theory that...

Spoiler: show

River is Amy and Rory's daughter.

(not really a spoiler because it's speculation but whatever).

[frazzledog]

Yea, that is all I've heard om Tumblr. Also, I love that one episode of Doctor who gets like, 5 posts on here from me

[Joopac_Badur]

Also have you guys heard the River theory that...

Spoiler: show

River is Amy and Rory's daughter.

I've heard this one from several places. A problem with it is that River comes from, I believe, the 51st or 54th century (which ever one Jack Harkness originated from), so either she couldn't possibly be 21st century's Amy and Rory's daughter, or she just decides to stay there most of her life because fuck the 21st century. Shit's so boring.

There's another one I've seen floating around speculating that River is the tangible essence of the TARDIS, like a spirit within that manifests itself into a tangible form. It's interesting, but this past episode gives thought that River was a real, young woman/girl (probably about Rose's age 19) who the Doctor randomly meets up with.

[frazzledog]

Also have you guys heard the River theory that...

Spoiler: show

River is Amy and Rory's daughter.

I've heard this one from several places. A problem with it is that River comes from, I believe, the 51st or 54th century (which ever one Jack Harkness originated from), so either she couldn't possibly be 21st century's Amy and Rory's daughter, or she just decides to stay there most of her life because fuck the 21st century. Shit's so boring.

There's another one I've seen floating around speculating that River is the tangible essence of the TARDIS, like a spirit within that manifests itself into a tangible form. It's interesting, but this past episode gives thought that River was a real, young woman/girl (probably about Rose's age 19) who the Doctor randomly meets up with.

well, probably not quite so randomly