Dafuq did I just watch? Also, was this the 50th anniversary episode? Because I didn't see Tennant in there and boy do I want to see him.
Wasn't bad, and John Hurt as either the Time War Doctor or Valeyard should make for an interesting anniversery episode. Do get tired of glowy solutions though, but at least this time it was interesting and a nice tip to the previous incarnations. And they've finally come close to the Buffy template they've been trying to emulate, with the Great Intelligence as a semi-season Big Bad. Echoes of when they did it with The Master/Saxon, but without the large reset button getting stomped on. Some resetting yes, but nowhere near as bad as some episodes have done. Second half of this season has been very iffy though, but at least they're figuring out to do arcs.
I don't get why anyone thinks Hurt is the Time War Doctor. The Doctor is quite open about his role in ending the Time War. Hurt is the Doctor that did something so terrible it's still a secret.
Oh, here's the thread. Anyway, goofy comments aside, I just assumed it was the Valeyard . . . but then I've never seen that episode. I don't think they needed the intro to the episode -- they kept repeating it anyway, and it probably undercut the Big Reveal.
I can see that the time war Doctor thing makes sense initially but it would be a significantly dodgy ret-conning because, as you say, the (current) ninth Doctor is fairly open about his state of mind as a result of the events at the conclusion of the time war. To now announce that he wasn't talking about that regeneration would be one thing but what else did he do that he hasn't already fessed to (which includes killing what he thought were all the Daleks and trapping the Timelords)?
Your hole. That would stand against any previous episode and be in the top... something, anyway. In ideas alone it is top five. I mean a GIANT DEAD TARDIS, come on!
No, ecky got it right. The second half of this series (or "season", for the Americans) has been very iffy at best. I'm hoping the 50th anniversary episode knocks my balls off, because so far I've been underwhelmed. There have been some magical and truly dramatic moments this series -- most notably when the Doctor started crying over the mention of Trenzalore -- but they have been buried under a sea of nonsensical scripts and poorly-executed ideas. The whole reason for Clara's existence seemed contrived and uninspired. Anyway, I'm still holding out hope for the 50th. Taken as a whole, the entire Doctor Who reboot since 2005 has been excellent (which is why I'm so disappointed with the last half of this series).
Yah, I'm not getting that this was the Time War Doctor, I'm thinking that this was an incarnation previous to the First. Call him Zero, or Doctor.0, I dunno. How great will John Hurt be though?! I had heard he was signed on for the 50th, so this sets it all up. I will agree that this past half season had been sub par, but I was riveted on this one. Plus, as always, Strax.
Just read a take on a different board. The Great Intellignece called the Doctor, "The Storm" we know that the Daleks called him "The Oncoming Storm" perhaps the storm has arrived at some point in the future? Considering that the Doctor jumped into his own timeline, he would now know his future. Could Hurt be a future, dark incarnation of the Doctor?
John Hurt was wearing an outfit that was an amalgam of 8 and 9's clothing, which is why people think he had some role in the Time War.
I've disliked most of Moffat's episodes during his time as showrunner, but I thought this one was great. Nice to see some of the older Docs as well (although McGann got shafted again). Unlike Moffat's previous convoluted, tedious arcs, this one left me wanting more.
Where did I saw 8 never appeared? But the glimpse was so brief you couldn't really tell it was him, unlike the others.
