Speculation

[Andrew Curnow]

I notice now I've got spoiler tags back again, couldn't find the blasted things anywhere last night. So, redaction at the ready here we go...

I've been mulling all day over the 'new' Doctor from last night's episode. Is she a future Doctor who's forgotten her past, or has the present Doctor forgotten her past? The story, not to mention the olde policee boxee and its console, are pointing heavily towards the latter.

Is 'Dr Ruth' from an alternative timeline? A parallel Doctor? A "complete new lifecycle" pre-Hartnell? If it's that, is Chibnall really doing all this just so we can look at Brain of Morbius and say that the 'Bob Holmes Doctor' was a genuine thing?

One thing I've occasionally wondered over is how the first Doctor knew so much (or indeed, knew anything) about the Cybermen in The Tenth Planet. Last night's ep had Captain Jack Exposition refer to the Cybermen empire being destroyed by something sent back in time... Who better placed than the Time Lords for that sort of behaviour? Certainly the Time Lords we saw (and, side bar, the lady who was chasing the Doctor was rather sexy) seemed a bit more interventionist and militaristic than we're used to. Is this an earlier time where the Time Lords actively warred against the Cyber Race...?

Maybe these other Time Lords, and in some way this other Doctor, existed "before time" as mentioned by the Beast in the Pit. And maybe, although the current Doctor doesn't remember that past, maybe the seventh Doctor (and Lady Peinforte) did?

Presumably the season finale will reveal all - or maybe not, maybe Chibnall is planning to carry it over into season 13, maybe it's the 'Whittaker era story arc'?

So... any thoughts?

[MacNimon]

I remember quite a bit of speculation several months ago regarding a possible reboot of the series at some point down the line, once Jodie had decided to leave, and that she could be the final Doctor as we know it and they could possibly go back to the beginning and start again. Much of the speculation was about whether it would be a 'hard' or 'soft' reboot and when exactly it would happen.

But what if the rumour was based partly in truth, but not as some vague future event but rather part of this season's storyline? Given what we've seen so far, and what's been hinted at could the Doctor be facing such a huge threat that the only way to avoid it is to go back in time herself and relive her entire life again, with no memories of her previous life and with different faces and personalities each regeneration, in a desperate attempt to avoid the fate which awaits? This option would allow the speculated reboot while still keeping the series intact and offer up a chance to remake some classic and missing stories (as also speculated) and it would explain how neither of the Doctors recognised each other...could we be seeing the 13th Doctor meeting (say) the future/alternative 3rd Doctor from a new timeline? This season may possibly end on a cliffhanger, with the Doctor facing a decision of this magnitude...

My head's bursting thinking about it! But it's fun doing so, and it's been a long time since the series has given us such a mystery to sink our teeth into...

[MacNimon]

Personally though, I think I'll go for thepre-Hartnell Doctor...he may turn out to just be the first one we know about. At first glance, the console room reminded me of a Hartnell-era console room...

[Andrew Curnow]

Interesting stuff. I'd not heard any of those rumours - can't personally see the point of a reboot, when the show's format is perfectly-suited to 'reinventing itself' whenever it wants, while still being an ongoing story.

I was wondering whether they'll actually come out and clarify or if they'll manage to leave it hanging in mystery - or even, in the finale will the 'surprise Doctor' end up sacrificing herself to save the 'real Doctor' meaning that the Doctor has always been a paradox. (Maybe Chibnall's teenage imagination was fired by The Two Doctors, where the sixth Doctor briefly speculated about how he could be alive even though he'd been killed four regenerations earlier!)

[Anthony Williams]

If it's that, is[/SPOILER] Chibnall really doing all this just so we can look at Brain of Morbius and say that the 'Bob Holmes Doctor' was a genuine thing?

You called it, Andrew!

[Dirk Gently]

Personally though, I think I'll go for thepre-Hartnell Doctor...he may turn out to just be the first one we know about. At first glance, the console room reminded me of a Hartnell-era console room...

Yes and no. As we found out. It was possibly several Doctor's before Hartnell. There is presumeably an significant number of 'pre-Doctor's' for this Doctor to fit in to. I love that Andrew got the 'thing' sent back in time to work for the Time Lords was probably the Doctor. In a completely unofficial capacity.

[Andrew Curnow]

Do you know, I'm still alternating between loving it and... and not so much! It'll be interesting to see what (if anything!) they do with it next year.

You called it, Andrew!

Ha-ha! Do you remember the EDAs, the last-but-one was To The Slaughter, which seemed to have been written mainly to justify Tom's "so there are now thirteen" comment in Revenge of the Cybermen. I thought that was about as nitpickily fanboyish as DW would ever get... but now Chibnall has trumped that.

I love that Andrew got the 'thing' sent back in time to work for the Time Lords was probably the Doctor. In a completely unofficial capacity.

I'll gladly take any praise going (fiver's in the post, Tim) but... was I right about that or not? I can't honestly remember!

[Anthony Williams]

Ha-ha! Do you remember the EDAs, the last-but-one was To The Slaughter, which seemed to have been written mainly to justify Tom's "so there are now thirteen" comment in Revenge of the Cybermen. I thought that was about as nitpickily fanboyish as DW would ever get... but now Chibnall has trumped that.

I don't remember that, so I'll take your word for it.

Honestly, I really, really hate what Chibnall has done with this. I think it's been long enough now, so I'm not going to use spoiler tags... I really don't like that the notion that there were Doctors pre-Hartnell, and I emphatically hate the idea that the Doctor was the being that Time Lord society was essentially founded on the back of.

I've grown to be a fan of the idea that the Doctor was just an ordinary Time Lord who went rogue, and started righting wrongs across the universe - that really gives the message that one person can make a difference. This completely takes a dump all over that, making the Doctor "special". No, thank you - I can't wait for the next showrunner to come along and retcon all of this, in the same way that the whole "half human" thing from the TVM has been effectively retconned. Blergh.

[Leah Betts]

Chib-Face is saying fans are concentrating on the bad things about his tenure and not the good things.


“All The Icebergs I Didn’t Hit: A Memoir” by the captain of the Titanic.