With little more than a week to go

[xerinmichellex]

The BBC just released this "prequel" for the 50th Special of Doctor Who ("The Day of the Doctor"). This is really for rhoda_rants's benefit, as I know you're staying away from the internet regarding Doctor Who/the 12th Doctor. (Which incidentally, if his name happens to come up in the comments, please put it behind a spoiler cut.)

I'm saving my actual thoughts until after the special airs; but the prequel has pretty much confirmed all my fears. I'm going to try and enjoy the special as is. Truthfully, there are aspects about the storyline that make me angry and frustrated. Grrr.

Comments

[xerinmichellex.livejournal.com]

Technically it is the same man; but the fact that Eleven says that Hurt's regeneration doesn't deserve the title of "Doctor" indicates that whoever Hurt is playing isn't a part of the previous Doctors and we're supposed to treat this person as a different entity. (Which is explains why the numbering system of Doctors won't be effected.)

In truth, I find this potion plot-point ridiculous. I don't understand why Moffat couldn't have brought McGann back and have him be the Time War Doctor and explore how the war turned TV movie!Eight into the Doctor willing to kill all the Time Lords and Daleks. I feel like that character arc would be more interesting than focusing the attention on the one-off regeneration Hurt is playing.

Really? But... surely that doesn't make sense?

I'm not saying it makes sense; I'm saying how it was presented. Nine looks in a mirror, makes a comment about his appearance as if he's seeing himself for the first time, and goes on his merry way. The presentation says that it's McGann's Doctor (Eight) to Eccleston's Doctor (Nine). Most fans figure that McGann's Doctor is the one who fought the Time War and either regenerated within the War or after the War. (I believe the Big Finish audios support this, with Eight's adventures leading up to the Time War.)

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

A few problems with making McGann the time war Doctor:

1) Tv audiences aren't familiar with McGann outside of the tv movie and, like you said, Big Finish have done a whole load of stuff with him that tv audiences won't be privy too. (Which, sadly, is why we probably won't see Ace turning up as a time lord either.)

2) One of the few things we DO know about McGann is that he's half-human. It's not clear why this regeneration made him half-human, but I can see why they might not want to imply that the most human of all the Doctors is also the one willing to commit genocide against both the Daleks and his own people.

3) I heard on the HorrorEtc podcast that Big Finish are doing their own 50th Anniversary special with all five surviving Classic Who Doctors and with voice actors for the initial three. I don't know to what extent the Big Finish continuity matches that of NuWho, so that might be somewhat of an explanation.

4) I still think that they may well have intended to give the role to Christopher Eccleston. It may be that Paul McGann was unwilling to take the role Christopher Eccleston rejected or that they didn't think to get him involved until after they had made plans involving John Hurt. - In actual fact, this is similar reasoning as with the first series of NuWho. David Tennant was actually intended to be the first NuWho Doctor, but they realised Eccleston would be a bigger draw. Similarly here, they can't really justify choosing Paul McGann over John Hurt - and can we really blame them?


I will say though. The whole weird magical planet with the regeneration potion gave me worrying flashbacks to that whole silly Cult of Saxon thing, so I can't say I'm entirely at ease with that vid.

[xerinmichellex.livejournal.com]

A few problems with your assumption that McGann couldn't be the Time War Doctor:

1. Continuity--or the lack thereof--has never stopped the writers of Doctor Who before.

2. RTD, the guy behind this Time War that annihilated the Time Lords and Daleks, pretty much said that Eight did take part and played a major role in the Time War. Besides, the numbering itself indicates that there is no "in-between" Doctor. Hurt's role is purely a fabrication of Moffat--whose pretty much confirmed this. ("Why not a mayfly Doctor, who exists for one show only?")

3. I think plenty of people are aware of McGann and his significance to the Doctor Who franchise compared to a one-off like Hurt's regeneration. I'd care more about an established Doctor over a guy who's being crow-barred into an event that reached it's conclusion back in "The End of Time".

Honestly, I cannot believe I'm having this conversation because it's pretty much agreed upon in the fandom that Eight took part in the Time War. Whether or not he regenerated during the Time War, and Nine ended it, is up for debate. And this "8.5" Doctor has only come about since "The Name of the Doctor".

[fatpie42.livejournal.com]

A few problems with your assumption that McGann couldn't be the Time War Doctor:

It's not an assumption. It's now canon that he's not the time war Doctor. I've never stated that he couldn't have been. I absolutely accept that they could have gone that way, but I was just trying to work out why they may have decided not to.

As for what fandom decides, or the numbering system people use outside of the series to refer to the Doctors, or what RTD has to say, I can easily ignore all of that for a simple reason: Death of the Author.

Nicolas Winding Refn says that Ryan Gosling's character survives at the end of the "Drive". He can say that as much as he likes, but that doesn't make it true. At the end of "Drive" Gosling's character has what would appear to be a fatal wound. The fact that he's still alive when the credits come up does not mean that he's going to survive any more than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were ever going to. Authors have no right to the final word on interpretation and neither does fandom. All that really counts is what is actually in the series.

As far as I can tell (and I'm not claiming to be an authority, so please tell me of any examples I may have missed) asides from, technically, the episode title "The Eleventh Hour" (which is a play on words and need not be accurately numbering that Doctor) and, so I hear, a reference to McCoy as the seventh life of the Doctor in the 1996 tv movie, the numbering system is otherwise entirely external to the episodes.