Amph Doctor Who Discussion (Russell T. Davies returns)

Why am I getting a Hellboy 2 vibe from this episode?

 

Actually I was sort of feeling a Temple of Doom feeling from this, but Hellboy might work as well.

 

I've read a couple of previews which say the episode gets a little Indiana Jones like. It's just some of those promo pics remind me a lot of the troll market from Hellboy 2.

 

In response to the "girl in the shop" speculation... my immediate thought was that it might be some incarnation of Rose, actually. If she and Ten II are going to be back in the 50th, the walls between universes have to break down somehow. And it would be fitting.

I know that's what they've said. I'm just not entirely sure I buy it. They also said Jenna was starting 3 months later than she actually did. I don't think it's a terribly good possibility, but I still think it's a possibility.

 

Found this while trying to find more set photos (I wanna clear pinstripped suit photo! Is that too much to ask?), and found this. For anybody who hasn't seen the DW/Entertainment Weekly cover:

 

I think I'm with solojones on this one. I haven't found any statement in regards to Matt Smith hanging around through 2014 all that convincing or reassuring. As much as I would love for him to stick around, I wouldn't be surprised if The Christmas special is his last episode.
Counting up to this year's Christmas special, Matt will have done 44 episodes (Not including the Regeneration at the end of TEOT or the mini episodes) which is only 3 less than David did.
I personally think all actors who take on the role these days should aim for 50 episodes and with any luck Matt could reach that number!

 

My gut feeling is that even though he hasn't said anything definitive is that he'll stay for S8 and then leave. He IS under contract until 2014, and I think Moffat (Who I think, if recent interviews are any indication, will probably leave when Matt does), will want to write an arced story, a 'final countdown' so to speak leading into the Fields of Trenzalore and the Fall of the Eleventh stuff he planted at the end of S6 and he'll probably want to have that seperate from the 50th anniversary stuff, and to be frank, this year's Christmas Special will probably be too close to the 50th anniversary special(s?) for Moffat/Smith/BBC to want to pull the trigger on the regeneration.

 

I don't think combining the 50th and regeneration would most likely be the best idea, since yeah, we already know some small details about what's likely to be Eleven's death, and it's all very Eleven-centric... but it does also involve The Question being asked in a place where it supposedly must be answered, and that I could see tying in with the 50th in some way. I don't know. I just don't think they've been entirely clear on whether the "until 2014" thing means through 2014 or up until 2014. I actually think they've been sort of deliberately vague on this.

I guess my hope is that this is intended to make us actually fear he might die in the 50th, and that perhaps we just couldn't see his regeneration (and thus no need for recasting or at least announcing a new Doctor) until after the special airs.... but that this is just meant to be vague to make the danger feel stronger. I still kind of hope his regeneration story is separate. But I wouldn't necessarily mind if it happened mid-series for a change instead of at the end of a series. Perhaps a mid-series break, if they're still going to do one of those for S8 (which I kind of wish they wouldn't).

On a somewhat similar note, with Billie in the 50th and the definite implication that this means the Tenth Doctor we'll get is in fact the Ten/Donna Human hybrid, I definitely think they'll play with the fact that this version of Ten can actually die and will not regenerate if he does. I don't think he will actually die. But I think they will sure as hell use the possibility of his death to heighten the tension and perhaps lead Eleven to do some outlandish things in the name of protecting Ten's clone (and thus, also, Rose's most likely happy life without the Doctor, twisting the knife just a bit more ).

 

Tennant to kill Smith?

 

Well Matt confirmed on Johnathan Ross that he's doing the Christmas Special, so... If they did do Eleven's death in the 50th, it would kind of suck for Eleven to be some sort of a ghost and no 12th Doctor announced at that point.

 

Chris and I talked about this yesterday. I would really like to see a mid-series regeneration - and not just mid-series, but mid-story arc. Let's say that Eleven would regenerate in Series 8 (2014). Now obviously they'd announce who the new Doctor will be - and everyone would assume that Twelve would first appear in the final minutes of the last episode of Series 8 (like Tennant did in the last episode of Series 1 and Smith did in the last episode of the 2009 specials) and his first proper series would be Series 9 in 2015. And then screw with the fans heads and have Eleven regenerate in the second or third to last episode, and have Twelve deal with not just the post-regeneration madness/confusion/settling in, but also with the big problem on hand.

Alternately, it would be fun to pull a Clara/Oswin thing, and have Twelve appear in an earlier episode without us knowing he's the Doctor (he'd probably have to use a different pseudonym than the obvious John Smith). And when Eleven finally regenerated into Twelve, the audience would realise they'd already met him.

 

I think we've talked about this before, but I am definitely a huge fan of the notion of Twelve appearing before we know it's him. I don't know if they could actually pull that level of secrecy off in this day and age, but who knows. It would still be really awesome to see.

But yeah, I'm also for a non-traditional regeneration timing as well. Mid-series, mid-story, mid-episode, mid-sentence

 

And not standing up in the TARDIS would be awesome as well

 

Well, it was an interesting episode certainly, especially the end.

Anti-grav motorbike up the Shard FTW

 

Yeah, I liked that bit as well.

 

Happy fish fingers and custard day!

 

Spoiler: Short synopses of the final 4 episodes

JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE TARDIS
The TARDIS has crashed, Clara is lost inside, and the Doctor has 30 minutes before his ship explodes!
THE CRIMSON HORROR
Something ghastly is afoot in Victorian Yorkshire, as bodies are found with their skin a waxy, glowing red.
NIGHTMARE IN SILVER
Hedgewick's World of Wonders: the perfect theme park day out - and ground zero for a deadly silver resurrection.
UNTITLED FINALE
Someone is kidnapping the Doctor's friends, leading him towards the one place in all of time and space that he should never go.

 

Spoiler

I'll bet my left arm on the finale being called "The Fields of Trenzalore" or "The Name of the Doctor".

 

Spoiler: spoilery speculation

Or it could be called "Time's Lock"

Episode trailers for next week are up on YouTube:





Also info on a book about the Companions.

Edit: A way to bring Amy back? (not spoilery, just Karen having some fun, while promoting a new 'product')

 

Shallow observation time:

I like Matt's purple coat a lot. Probably far better than his military greenish coat from S6. The purple coat with the waist coat and bowtie just somehow works perfectly together for me. Will miss the tweed though. Hopefully it pops up in the 50th.

 

I think it's good that they keep toning down the eccentricity of the costume, I've always liked it but in retrospect it was a bit much, a bit too self consciously ill-fitting and extrovert. Matt Smith seems eccentric enough without wearing wacky clothes IMO (a little like McCoy in that respect).

I hope there's a chance for a more cerebral episode for Matt before he leaves - not that the wibbly wobbly time line stuff hasn't been brain taxing, but I'd like to see him in an episode like Midnight, Ghost Light, or The Edge Of Destruction; something self contained and relying more on acting than spectacle.

 

I actually think that might have been the point in the beginning. To show that he was much more extroverted than Ten was near the end. But I do like the change in outfit (also, I might be slightly partial to the color purple as well)

 

Take this one with a grain of salt but

Spoiler

The Mirror is reporting that Johanna Page is playing Elizabeth I.

Also:

 

The trailer looks remarkably like The Beast Below.

 

^ I thought so too.