Doctor Who

[Benji]

Not just that, he hated the fandom that came with it, it's why he's not been involved in anything to do with the anniversary.

[Dave]

The episode didn't need Eccleston. I never felt cheated by missing him.

[Lint]

The episode didn't need Eccleston. I never felt cheated by missing him.

I think it would've been nice to see Hurts regeneration into him though. I had brief hope when the regeneration started

[Lineker]

Fair enough.

One Direction just did the worst two way ever

[Cymbols]

They didn't really need another doctor there, else it could've turned into overkill but it would've been cool to have him in it. Surprised there wasn't more with Billie Piper though.

[Hobo]

Smith and Tennant had pretty damn good chemistry together. Although I think this whole thing highlighted for me how much I love Matt Smith in this role. He plays "eccentric old man in young mans body who is also an alien" so very well.

[Ant]

What did everyone think of the Zygons? I preferred the old build ones rather than the ones that look like they've been hitting the gym.

They should let Zygons be Zygons. Not something from Pain and Gain

[stokeriño]

A friend of mine just created the FB status, "Goddammit Stephen Moffat you bullshitting hack of a writer."

I don't even specifically know what she's bitching about, but I'm just...not going to bother.

[Ant]

You should really piss her off and say "His namesake Steven Moffat did well tonight though"

[Cheeky Hughes]

Speaking of Eccleston, found this bit of info on Wikipedia.

[Lint]

Smith and Tennant had pretty damn good chemistry together. Although I think this whole thing highlighted for me how much I love Matt Smith in this role. He plays "eccentric old man in young mans body who is also an alien" so very well.

They all worked well together, even Baker and Smith at the end. Came close to what my sister would love to see...get as many former Doctors together on the TARDIS set, tell them to improvise and not break character and just record it

[Your Mom]

I thought Hurt being flabbergasted by all these damn young kids and their wacky mannerisms and speech was hilarious.

Do you really need to flail your arms that much when you talk?

[Hobo]

Did anyone else think that one bit of the Baker/Smith scene seemed far too genuine to be have been written? There's just a bit where Baker says something and Smith just reacts in a way that seemed like he wasn't acting.

[Dave]

It's just well written/performed. You have to remember, Smith was/is a fan of Who. It felt genuine because at that moment both The Doctor and Matt Smith were genuinely in wonderment.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Dave

[Rainiac]

When Moffat promised us a game-changer, he wasn't kidding was he? As a story I thought it had flaws (for example, surely shattering the Gallifrey Falls No More painting means elements of the Time War can now escape?), but as a celebration of the show's history it was terrific. Hurt, Tennant & Smith all interacted with each other brilliantly, Billie Piper as Not-Rose was surprisingly good and Jenna Coleman actually had significance to the plot when I was really concerned she'd just be... there. Not sure if the Zygon parts were entirely needed but it was a nice parallel between the stand-off in the Black Archive & the Moment that never actually came...

Oh, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't mark out for Capaldi & Tom Baker showing up at the end. And now the Doctor's future has a purpose: refinding Gallifrey. Bring on Christmas Day & Trenzalore!

[stokeriño]

Explanation of my friend's problem with Moffat:

You can't just explain everything with wibbly wobbly timey wimey non linear nonsense and then placate us all with references! MAAAAAAAAAN!

Two things:

1) Mmmyeah he can.

2) I think she hates fun.

[Dave]

Remind her it's a children's TV show.

[Hobo]

I also saw a tweet saying that the special had "no plot".

[Naitch]

Night of the Doctor instantly became my favourite Doctor Who-related thing post 2005 when I saw it. It's now my second favourite because this just blew it out of the water. I've been enjoying the introduction of continuity with the older Doctors and that episode just had so many that it was almost too hard to keep count of them all. I also think they've set up the next story arc magnificently, although it'll be a bit sad to see someone other than Matt Smith being the one to go on that adventure. That said, I can't wait for the Xmas special and Capaldi's Doctor because damn it was so good.

[Skummy]

So, so much that I loved about this. I adored An Adventure In Time And Space, and thought that the special would have a really hard act following it, but it was absolutely superb. Arguably my favourite "New Who" yet.

On the "13 regenerations" front; The Time Lords mentioned "all thirteen" of the Doctors regenerations being there - so it still seems like that's the limit. I wondered if they'd retcon it into not counting the regeneration into John Hurt's Doctor, as it was brought on through artificial means, rather than a "straight" Time Lord regeneration, but it doesn't seem like they have. It being the "final" regeneration lends a healthy amount of dramatic tension to Capaldi's Doctor from day one, and also gives a lot of justification as to why he'd choose that life to spend looking for Gallifrey.

Beyond that, there's plenty of "timey wimey" stuff to explain future regenerations, and The Master was given further regenerations, so it's definitely possible to extend their lifespan.

I thought it was really sweet that David Tennant's last words in this episode were "I don't want to go"; so even though he came back, that remains his parting words to the series. I got a little teary at that, at the photo of Susan, at Tom Baker and, as ever, at the mention of the Brigadier. So lovely.

I don't think they need to explain The Curator. They left it open-ended enough so as to not explicitly say that it is the Doctor, just that it may well be. It was the perfect ending, though - when Clara said that an old man was looking for him, I actually thought it might be Capaldi again...when I heard Tom Baker's voice I just grinned like a maniac. Absolutely beautiful, beautiful ending.

The way I see it - none of them know where they were, or how they got there. None of them would remember it after they left - expect Clara, and possibly Matt Smith, as it was "his" timeline - but it was clearly somewhere that the Doctor's various incarnations could co-exist, at least for a while. Who's to say that some alternate version of the Doctor couldn't have chosen to stay in that place, forever, wherever it was?

Other little bits I loved...the science-y assistant in the Tom Baker scarf was one of my favourite supporting characters in ages. I found her absolutely adorable, and felt genuinely horrible when the Zygon was taunting her after taking her form.

Straight away, I knew I'd end up loving this episode, from the classic opening credits (and Delia Derbyshire theme!), cutting to the first Doctor's junkyard sign...wow. And then on the sign for Clara's school, it read "Headmaster: I. Chesterton". Perfect.