John Hurt did not, as far as I can see, “go straight to the papers and tell them everything.” He was interviewed, and eventually said that he plays “a part of the Doctor in sort of a trinity with David Tennant”. He’s not part of the regular cast and is not accustomed to the level of secrecy normally kept; a single slip-up is probably to be expected, considering the level of secrets he’s probably still hiding. I mean seriously, if he told everything, we wouldn’t be sitting here arguing about whether he’s a past or future incarnation.

Okay, my theory: JOHN HURT IS THE VALIARD! It would make sense… :)

I have an awesome idea for the 50th anniversary and I hope they do it, imagine where the doctor was being rewritten in this episode…. what if there was a part where his face kept changing back and forth between doctors for a few seconds and that way it really brings all of the doctors together for cameos, what does everyone think about that???

Is this Steven Moffat with Emma Watson? Picture courtesy of twitter : owlnests: I SAW EMMA WATSON AT DINNER http://pic.twitter.com/HDXGzbcyaz

I know who the Doctor is… I figured it out….. But I wont tell anyone who he is…. because what’s the fun in that?… being wrong and being surprised…. now that’s the real adventure

@Simon

Wait, what? Really? How? Who is he?!? Confusion!

PS Moffat is gonna murder you.

@Bailey
Because in the words of the Doctor…. IM AWESOME! Moffatt doesn’t everything… though he does know his name. All I can say is that $%^$T$T$GE££%%^£$%^$%£$£$^%^$£$”%$£$££$”$£$$%^$%£$%$%$%$%^$$££%$%%$^ (Comment deleted and destroyed by Stephen Moffatt due to extreme spoilers of WHO the Doctor is)

Since this episode, I’ve been thinking about two things.

Firstly, the Doctor’s tomb. His temporal remains are based in the Console Room he has now, as opposed to a future Doctor’s Console Room.

Secondly, when Clara is in the Doctor’s time stream, she says she has seen all of the Doctor’s 11 faces but doesn’t know who John Hurt is.

Surely, if that is his place of death and his time stream, she would have seen every Doctor up to his death, including any future Doctors too.

So why did she only see 11 Doctors plus John Hurt?

The show, in my opinion, is no longer real. The days where you would have the introduction to the companion as though YOU WERE the companion, and you were being whisked off in TARDIS; The days where you felt a connection to both THE DOCTOR AND THE COMPANION; The days where you knew the companions family and life outside of the TARDIS, and you realise The Doctor had taken them under his wing and INSPIRED THEM and changed their life. Rose, Martha and Donna were a perfect example of all these things. Rose tried so hard to find the Doctor when she was forced apart from him, Amy just grew old and wrote him a letter. Martha worked for UNIT and temporarily TORCHWOOD and her whole life was changed, Amy grew old and wrote The Doctor a letter. it’s just not the same!! Russell T Davies really knew what he was doing when writing the show: he had an eye for relationships, endearing story lines and also fun and heartbreaking dialogue. Steven Moffat has an eye for making the Doctor a centre of his own universe: the companions are just there, bystanders who act as people who the Doctor has to go and save. What happened to the contribution the companions would have: the great ideas which would inspire the Doctor? Moffat has made the Doctor very vain and the characters very dull. This is not the Doctor we know and love. The doctor cares about EVERYONE. And whilst Clara had a great potential to go down in history as a great companion, Steven ruined this with his bland use characterisation. Poor. Steven Moffat RUINED THE SHOW. He changed everything, from the episode layout, to the bloody theme tune!!! Doctor who was PERFECT when Russell left the role as Head Writer, and Steven just had to change it all. And yes, we are still waiting on questions to be unanswered from 3 series’ ago. Who blew up the TARDIS? Who bloody knows. Rule one, the Doctor lies? Rule one, Steven Moffat ruined Doctor. The new series is poor, and a lot of people have noticed. And whilst Steven sits back and carries out his childhood fantasy of being writer, we wait in the wings, anxious for his retirement from the throne, anxious for a better relationship with our Doctor.

Holly, I take it you started watching in 2005? ;-)

I’m getting really p@@@@@ off about all these comments about how Moffat has ruined Doctor Who. If they don’t enjoy it then stop watching it or try and enjoy it with a clear mind.
If you remember Russel T Davies didn’t get a warm reception

Ooops, I sent that to early.
As I was saying, Russel T Davies didn’t get a warm reception at first did he, I mean come on, he killed the Timelords, Made the Daleks into creatures that SOMEHOW kept surving every thing, and the Cybermen from another universe…
Producers are bound to make mistakes, something the fans don’t like.
Just remember what the Show is about, a mad man in a box.

@Lurker
Yes that is Emma Watson, Wonder what they were doing together

@joshrr As for RTD not getting a warm reception, not sure where you got that from really. The show did well under DAvis. At least it regularly won awards. Moffatt is destroying Doctor Who Matt Smiths second season was the dullest season in it’s 50 year history. It had no originality at all! The Silence are just another version of the angels. what else happened in that year escapes me. Steven Moffat should have done the honourable thing and resigned when Matt Smith did.

@Steve

@Holly

Totally agree with both of you, whenever I try and state these things on other websites all the feedback I get consists of fans who kiss the ground that Steven Moffat walks on and believes him and Matt Smith are the greatest things since sliced bread! When evidently they are not! Bring back Russell T Davies I say!

The problem with Moffats run is that it is very centred around The Doctor, his death, his tardis exploding, his big secret and we as an audience identify most with the companion. This is why, for me, RTD is better, particularly when it comes to writing the companions. He manages to create real human characters that you could see on the street, not an impossible girl or a girl who didn’t make sense, these women were normal, human women which became special and grew through traveling with The Doctor, not girls who needed saving and the only reason they were picked out was their mysteries. The families surrounding them, even their homes (like the very realistic Powell estate) was done very well and it’s that that people connect with. And without the ability to identify with the companions, it’s a very different show.

It was quite a dramatic shift when the show started being less about the companions and more about the Doctor — when it first happened back in about 1966 (Ben & Polly, the first time all the companions were youngsters).

Yes, it was dramatic when the Doctor took a companion only because of the mystery she represented, concealing this fact from her until she grew to resent it — back in 1987 (Ace).

I’m sorry you’re struggling to identify with the companions, Katie, but I’m not finding it difficult at all. On the contrary, I find it a lot easier now that the companions aren’t falling in love with the Doctor anymore. That actually was very difficult for me, because I grew up when there was no hanky-panky in the TARDIS, and, in the words of Elizabeth Sladen, the Doctor was like your mad uncle. Having companions fall in love with the Doctor meant I immediately could *not* identify with them. It seemed . . . well, almost incestuous. I can’t really explain it. He should be a mad uncle, not a boyfriend, and honestly, isn’t it at all creepy depicting a romantic relationship between young girls and a man approaching his first millenium? At least River’s solidly a grown-up. That’s not quite as weird. Still, I’m very glad to move on with a companion who is not romantically inclined towards him.

And as far as Moffat “destroying Who”….

Yes, people did say that about RTD. “Oh, but the ratings were so good, and it was winning awards!” That ignores that it’s getting great ratings and winning awards under Moffatt as well. People did complain. They complained about killing off the Time Lords. They complained about the seemingly invincible Daleks. They complained about the alternate universe Cybermen and apparent absence of Mondasian Cybermen. They complained quite bitterly about the romance aspect. But their complaints were tempered by one thing that we don’t have now: it had been years since the series had been in production, and nobody wanted to complain too loudly, lest it go away again.

And flip the calendar back. They complained about the TV movie, especially the kissing and the half-human bit and Eric Roberts (even though honestly, I thought he was fine as the Master). Go back further. Good lord, if you could see the flamewars on Usenet and back further in print media over JNT. Go back before him. Do you have any idea how much people *hated* “The Deadly Assassin” when it came out? One of the most popular episodes now, and a strong classic, yet it was despised for introducing the 13-regeneration limit. Keep going back, you see fans upset with every producer except Verity Lambert, and she only escaped it because there was no one to compare her too.

Relax. It’s just a show. Let it tell its stories. And if you can’t, just tune out and don’t go spoiling it for everyone else just because you’re unhappy.

@Calli Arcale I am sorry but I have to disagree with you on so many points!!

No where in the “Classic series” was the Companion more important than the Doctor. Terrance Dicks, the best Script Editor the series ever had, always said the Doctor should always be at the centre of the story! As for the Ben and Polly being the youngest – Not true, Michael Craze was only 3 years younger than Peter Purves. In fact the only time in the William Hartnell Years was there “older companions were the original 2 – Ian and Barbara!

As for Ace, the Doctor always maintained he knew exactly what was going on with her which is why he could manipulate her in the way he did!

The current companion profile under Steven Moffat is the worst in the shows history – River, who was only a few years old by the time she had regenerated into River herself, now that is truly appalling. The whole marriage thing should have had SM sacked and the stupidity of the Amy/Rory, 2 humans producing a timelord hybrid was the most stupid thing ever. As for Clara, the “impossible” girl – why did she need to be a mystery? – It was just Steven Moffat trying to prove he is a clever writer and at the end of the day, he is not clever enough to resolve his own puzzles! Liz Sladen was right – However there are clever explanations concerning Rose which I agree with – The fact that the Doctor’s life was in such a state that when he brought ROse on, his need to protect her, confused Rose and in turn confused the Doctor. I don’t think it was a bad thing. The Doctor and Martha again was well handled. My favorite RTD companion is Donna as she has been the closet to a “proper” companion we have had since it;s 2005 return!

As for SM destroying Docotr Who – I agree with this. I would suggest you look into the ratings issues – they are well down on RTD and are now failing against the original series as well. I would have a look at the awards for Doctor Who under RTD verse SM for the BAFTA Cymru Awards
RTD – 23
SM – 2
BAFTA TV Awards –
RTD – 5
SM – 2

I think the 4 complaints listed is nothing compared to the complaints against SM –
SM stories are “boring” – SM is more interested in his Sherlock series. The stories are to complicated (Now that is a Matt Smith comments as well) aND THE LIST GOES ON…

The problem with the Master issue is that there has only been two true Master’s. Every one since Anthony Ainley (who was surreally evil in the role) have been victims with the Masters essence.

The Deadly Assassin was part of the best era of Doctor Who – you had Mary Whitehouse complaining constantly about the show – in that story, the drowning of the Doctor caused uproar which went to the Houses of Parliament. The great thing about that era was the Philip Hinchcliffe knew, cared for and produce Doctor Who in a way Steven Moffat could only dream off. The Mummies, the Zygons, the Planet of Evil, Genesis of the Daleks, all part of a great era. The producer rot never really came in until John Nathan-Turner era.

As for your final comment, sorry I disagree – if Big Finish can produce Doctor Who and have it for-filling it’s original mandate, then why can’t SM – I still maintain SM should have done the honourable thing and resigned along side Matt Smith.

Doctor Who under Russel T Davies’ became a great story centered on the human condition. Everything revolved on the nature of humanity to transcend beyond time, space and even death. The Doctor’s role is to show hope to people that no matter what happens, humanity can survive through every and any obstacle with even just a little hope to light the way.

Under Steven Moffat’s rule, the focus fully shifted to The Doctor–his mind, his vanity and his loneliness through loss and gain. Instead of the Doctor showing humanity the beauty of their own cruel nature, the Doctor is on a personal mission to reveal his own purpose in the scheme of things or the purpose of his encounters while being haunted by the horror of his own death.

I can not say which era is better objectively. I am sure to prefer one from the other but that does not mean that one of them is an inferior era. I say, both writers have done well reviving the series.

And that, one should not simply forget that this is a great story of a madman in a box who through his experiences with different beings–unveil life’s most precious meaning; that no matter how small or how great–our being is a golden piece of the becoming of things. No one is insignificant–we are responsible for a consequence that contributes to the whole movement of the universe.

And this is why Doctor Who still remains one of my favorite shows regardless on who’s running it.

@K R I N G Again, I would have to disagree on several points –

Under Moffatts rule the series is still centred around the companion – this is something even Steven Moffatt acknowledges!

The “Madman in a Box” is a Steven Moffatt thing and no one else.Prior to the poor seasons that Matt Smith was given, the Doctor was an incredible character, a scientist, adventure, looking out for adventure and getting into trouble along the way. All this Doctor cares about is the companion and if or not he can kiss River! It is a bore!

I am afraid to say that although I agree RTD was like marmite, you either loved it or hated it, it is still a damned site better than SM!