Thought I'd point this out to you lovely people, since I only heard about it by chance on the radio in the car - the BBC have released a brief "minisode" (how I hate that term) which is a lead-in to the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor".
HORRIFYING SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR, SERIOUSLY - watch this before clicking the lower of the spoilerboxes, for coherence's sake.
So, there are my musings. What do you think of the mini-episode-thingy?
(also do let me know if you think I'm talking out of my arse)
HORRIFYING SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T SEEN THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR, SERIOUSLY - watch this before clicking the lower of the spoilerboxes, for coherence's sake.
First off, PAUL MCGANN AS THE EIGHTH DOCTOR. Seriously, I didn't expect them to bring him back at all. Would have been nice if he'd been in the full episode, given that in my not-at-all-humble opinion he's actually a fantastic Doctor - the one good thing about that otherwise terrible straight-to-TV film, and does a damned fine job in the radio plays as well.
Speaking of, radio plays are apparently canon to the main Whoniverse, or at least the ones starring McGann; he namechecks Charley Pollard, C'rizz, Lucie Miller, Tamsin Drew and Molly O'Sullivan near the end, they were his companions in the Big Finish Audio productions.
It's interesting to note that the Doctor initially refused to fight in the Time War, opting instead to try to help people outside Time Lord business as he usually did - but this hasn't left him immune to the fallout, evidenced by Cass' refusal to let him save her simply because he's a Time Lord, who are seen as just as bad as the Daleks by the various casualties of war.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor's revival from actual death by the Sisterhood of Karn (who haven't appeared onscreen in nearly 38 years [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Brain_of_Morbius]) is what they'll use to handwave the Doctor regenerating again after Peter Capaldi's tenure finishes; given that Capaldi is playing the thirteenth incarnation of this particular Time Lord, which according to lore would ordinarily be the last time he could regenerate, they'll need some sort of explanation if they carry on. Maybe it'll have given him a new regeneration cycle or something, which would mean another eight Doctors to come after Capaldi.
It's nice to see that the Doctor's still quite nonchalant in the face of death ("Four minutes? That's ages - what if I get bored?"), though he quickly abandons that, for once choosing to become a more warlike individual with his next incarnation because apparently the Sisterhood can do that. Then again, so could the Time Lords [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_War_Games].
That face in the mirror is a far younger John Hurt as well, which suggests there's still a lot of Time War to go before he ends it. Since the Tenth Doctor especially has referenced quite a few events in the Time War, this means he'll be around to see it... but those same references suggest that the War Doctor never entirely lost his Doctor-ness, notably trying to save Davros from the Nightmare Child and maintaining that ending the war in the way that he did was still the right thing to do, despite how horrific the act itself was.
TL, DR: 8th Doctor WOO, Time War bad, space magic, possibly an explanation for further Doctors, let me watch the episode already!
Speaking of, radio plays are apparently canon to the main Whoniverse, or at least the ones starring McGann; he namechecks Charley Pollard, C'rizz, Lucie Miller, Tamsin Drew and Molly O'Sullivan near the end, they were his companions in the Big Finish Audio productions.
It's interesting to note that the Doctor initially refused to fight in the Time War, opting instead to try to help people outside Time Lord business as he usually did - but this hasn't left him immune to the fallout, evidenced by Cass' refusal to let him save her simply because he's a Time Lord, who are seen as just as bad as the Daleks by the various casualties of war.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor's revival from actual death by the Sisterhood of Karn (who haven't appeared onscreen in nearly 38 years [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Brain_of_Morbius]) is what they'll use to handwave the Doctor regenerating again after Peter Capaldi's tenure finishes; given that Capaldi is playing the thirteenth incarnation of this particular Time Lord, which according to lore would ordinarily be the last time he could regenerate, they'll need some sort of explanation if they carry on. Maybe it'll have given him a new regeneration cycle or something, which would mean another eight Doctors to come after Capaldi.
It's nice to see that the Doctor's still quite nonchalant in the face of death ("Four minutes? That's ages - what if I get bored?"), though he quickly abandons that, for once choosing to become a more warlike individual with his next incarnation because apparently the Sisterhood can do that. Then again, so could the Time Lords [http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_War_Games].
That face in the mirror is a far younger John Hurt as well, which suggests there's still a lot of Time War to go before he ends it. Since the Tenth Doctor especially has referenced quite a few events in the Time War, this means he'll be around to see it... but those same references suggest that the War Doctor never entirely lost his Doctor-ness, notably trying to save Davros from the Nightmare Child and maintaining that ending the war in the way that he did was still the right thing to do, despite how horrific the act itself was.
TL, DR: 8th Doctor WOO, Time War bad, space magic, possibly an explanation for further Doctors, let me watch the episode already!
So, there are my musings. What do you think of the mini-episode-thingy?
(also do let me know if you think I'm talking out of my arse)
