[Brewski @replies]

@bluesqueakpip It’s often this way in a new Doctor’s first series. The voice the writers will be ‘hearing’ in their heads as they write the Doctor will be the voice of Matt Smith’s Doctor. It won’t be Peter Capaldi’s voice yet – when they wrote the scripts, they hadn’t seen his Doctor.

You’e right, of course. I remember how Pertwee-like Baker’s lines sounded at first…

 

[Brewski @replies]

@badwulf Still, it does seem like a very odd sort of triage, to actually eliminate the weakest, even if they weren’t in immediate danger of death.

But the remark was that something had gone wrong with the mummy’s tech. It’s original mission may have been to save. But something got corrupted over time.

Whoa! Maybe the definition of “save” got rewritten. What if the Medic Mummy got got turned into a Missy Mummy.

[Brewski @replies]

@geoffers excellent question! perhaps he was a medic, whose job is to tend to the wounded? he would have to choose the most wounded to save first

You mean like… a Doctor? Hmmm…

 

[Brewski @replies]

My first thought was: What was Gus’s plan? If he was after the Mummy’s tech, why conceal everything. Why hide the lab equipment? Why bother with all the experts and then not use them. Fortunately I was rescued by:

@phileasf b) It’s the people on the train who are being tested. Someone wants to find very clever people who are good at dealing with difficult problems, and kill them.

The test included figuring out that it was a test!

GUS is a military officer. General of United Soldiers.

I agree with others that the denouement very peculiar. Bang! And then “I saved everyone”. Huh??

And why did the Doctor say that was “ages ago”. (Again!)

Bonkers thought: Does Clara actually keep dying all the time?

Side note: Every episode I hear lines that were clearly written for Matt Smith’s Doctor. Like the scripts were written before they knew he was leaving. This time it was the whole “You’re a genius! That solves everything. Well, apart from what it is and what it wants. May have jumped the gun on the whole genius thing…”

For a while I thought Maisey was going to be Missy. Being promised by the Doctor that he was going to save her, but was lying. Thought she was going to die and then come back to take revenge….

Note: She specifically calls him a “good man”.

What was the Mummy’s original mission? If he is acting on buggy code now, what was he SUPPOSED to do? Seek out the weakest and…. what?

@scaryb Don’t really see why people generally find it easier to suspend disbelief for a teleporting mummy on the Orient Express (IN SPACE!!) than for the moon’s an egg scenario,

I suppose it’s a matter of contradicting what we do know versus not contradicting what we don’t know. 🙂

So, so far this series we’ve had 5 “broken” soldiers (HFM, the dalek, Danny, the skovox blitzer, the mummy)

Six. Don’t forget the Captain with PTSD!

@bluesqueakpip – The Doctor can stop – he proved that with his 1000 year, to the death stay on Trenzalor

Not necessarily! We don’t know if he took “day trips” from Trenzalore. Moff admitted that he built in an opportunity there for the novels and audio dramas to fill in that time. (Not to mention a convenient way to bring back an older Matt Smith for another multi-doc ep!)

@All Re Clara’s addiction. Maisey called her out on it. “You could just slam the door on him. Unless you can’t”

 

I think we should start calling it “Doctor Who: The Arc in Space”

 

[Brewski @replies]

@idiotsavon

Speaks 5 billion languages.  Badly.

Lol! I love this!

Imagine him saying to a Judoon “you will submit to my will”

And the subtitles read “Have you seen my pretty knickers?”

[Brewski @replies]

@idiotsavon

Oh my. If you did a search for that costume, then…

Well, as you say, maybe we should move on!

Though honestly,  since its it’s The Master I think instead of Matrix it would be Dominatrix.

[Brewski @replies]

@blenkinsopthebrave
everybody, really…
It might be strange, given my predilection for bonkers theories, to say this, but:
I think we might be reading too much into this episode.

Much as I hate to admit it, you’re probably right.

Although I still think…

No, No! You are right. If there was a deeper manipulation it would be as you put it: tending to cheapen the Doctor and what he says to Clara.

I’m going to resolve to not read to much into… to… nope.

Sorry, it’s never going to happen. I can’t do it. I’m afraid I am doomed to always read too much into things!

But I do appreciate being reeled in a little, from time to time…. 🙂

You’re right about next ep, though. I suspect we’re all going to go major bonkers…

 

[Brewski @replies]

@idiotsavon

That’s inspired, I love it 🙂 Have you had any thoughts about the costume?

Hmmm… Good question!

I imagine he would wind up asking the wrong person for advice when he told them he was The Master.

I’m thinking of something in black leather.

Or possibly rubber…

[Brewski @replies]

The Spinnoff I want to see….
                                                       Master Who
o Another Time Lord whom we don’t know by real name *
o Each week he goes by a new alias, which is usually an anagram of his name. The worse of which was “Here’s Matt!”
o He goes about the Universe trying out ever-more absurd plans and always winds up destroying competing and even more bungling bad guys. (Usually by accident)
o His worst plan involved deploying Auton Living Plastic through adult book stores
o His Tardis (Sybil) has a working Cameleon Circuit, however it has a very bitchy sense of humor. In 1989 it materialized in Tiananmen Square as a VW Van with a Peace Symbol in the back window.
o While The Master does not travel with companions, he does keep around some people he shrunk with the Tissue Compression Eliminator. Ironically, this lead to the merchandising of full size Companion Dolls.
o Master Who doesn’t believe in Christmas Specials, but does have an annual Halloween episode where the Master plays Skelator at various children’s parties.
o The incidental music is made up entirely of four drum beats which enrages the audience to the point where they go back in time and kick the spit out of Rassilon
o In the end, The Master turns out to actually BE The Doctor
o Leaving the last line to K-9 who says “What else have I been saying?!”

* The Third Doctor, upon seeing him in the Death Zone in “The Five Doctors” uttered “Jehoshaphat” as an expletive, not calling him by name 😀

[Brewski @replies]

@janetteb
(I am still suspicious that Orson is a clone of Danny or that they are both clones hence the later’s lack of parents.) Danny’s “bad day” was almost certainly a throw away line.

Unless Orson is a descendant of Clara. In which case he could have been having a Bad Heir Day

 

[Brewski @replies]

@purofilion
@fatmaninabox and @brewski The metal plate could be a re-prop but I recall in RoS that a large metal plate -similar to the one in Fires Of Pompeii was used. Together with a whole lot of these (needed by Phil Davis’ character), they helped the ‘monsters’ to awaken. Then the plate in Journey to the Centre of the Earth and now in Kill the Moon -either Gallifreyan or manipulated by someone else (possibly the props guy!). The fact it flew in a perfect ‘arc’ and then shortly after, Clara presses the other button and the Doctor arrives “come in you, 1,2,3 – in you go for a minute”). Wonderful stuff.

Just working on the notion that the Doctor wouldn’t really leave them. Maybe he was there the whole time using the Invisibility Watch….

 

[Brewski @replies]

@fatmaninabox

I was watching Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS on Sunday and noticed that the plate used in Kill the Moon was also used in JttCotT – it was covering Clara when we first see her in the wrecked TARDIS. In all likelihood it was just a re-used prop

Wow, and I thought I was being sharp-eyed! Yes, I’m afraid a reused prop is more likely. Though not as much fun. Unless of course it is the props department deliberatly Bonk-ing us for fun. 😛

Moon Sperm! Yikes! I just hope none of it gets ‘On The Sofa’. It’s harder to remove than fur and glitter

Well, it WOULD answer the Chicken and Egg question and which came first…

 

[Brewski @replies]

@barnable and @jimbomcmaster

I think we’re thinking along the same lines with the notion of “wrongness” about the Doctor’s behavior as it appears in the surface.

I like the idea of it being a Timelord kind of test.  Except…  the stakes would be too high if she failed the test.   unless we assume he would have intervened had she the wrong decision.

But that still leaves me wondering where Missy fits in to this.

 

[Brewski @replies]

Re The Doctor leaving in the middle of the crisis:

There’s something very wrong with the Doctor “leaving the decision to nankind”

I cannot think of any reason the Doctor would view the moon as belonging to mankind!  It is a separate world, and evidently has (or is) a separate life form.  It is fundamentally NOT mankind’s decision what to do with it.
Moreover, the notion that the Doctor could so blithely say “Save the life form or blow it up. Your call” goes much too far away from what we understand about the Doctor — however alien and different this regeneration may be.

Ergo, he MUST have had a plan.  He had no intention of allowing the creature to be destroyed (appearances aside.)  Or of allowing Clara and Coutrney to be in such serious danger.

Clara could not have been allowed to make the “wrong decision”.
Clara’s anger is justifiable because she suspects just this: that the Doctor knew more than he was saying and didn’t trust her enough to tell her.

However, the Doctor DOES trust her.  So what was his reason for keeping her in the dark about this?  He must have felt he had no choice.
He could not tell her what to do and he could not do it himself.  But he also knew the outcome.

The Tardis reappeared the exact same moment she pushed the abort button.  So he was monitoring the events.  (See Bonkers Thought above re the metal plate.  Was he manipulating events on the shuttle to ensure the right outcome?)

What is the deep game he’s playing here? I am willing to bet it has something to do with Missy.

Maybe he is more aware of Missy than we know.  And he is working covertly to undermine her…

[Brewski @replies]

Bonkers Thought:

When the shuttle was breached and the air started escaping,  a big metal plate conveniently flew into the beach.

Lucky shot? Seems unlikely.  And why even have such a moment?

And why did I get the impression that there was something vaguely Gallifreyan about the etchings in that plate?

This leads me to my next thought…

[Brewski @replies]

@thommck yes, I sure should!  Sorry. And thanks! 😮

 

[Brewski @replies]

Bonkers Thought:

When the shuttle was breached and the air started escaping, a big metal plate conveniently flew into the breach.

Lucky shot?  Seems unlikely.  why even have that monent?

And why did I get the impression there was something vaguely Gallifreyan about the etching on that metal plate?

This leads into my next thought….

[Brewski @replies]

Things that jumped out at me:

“Oh that (Courtney getting sick in the Tardi) was ages ago.”

How much time has been passing? Or where else has the Doctor gone in the meantime?

“I might regenerate forever”.

Moffat’s final nail in the coffin of The Rule of 12.

“When I say run, run!”

A nod and a wave to 2!

I personally doubt that there was any intended pro life message here. But there is a degree of irony in the fact that the “abortion” was cancelled with the Abort button.

Did I imagine it? Seems to me when Courtney was alone on the Tardis, she fiddled with a button and a second later a wisp of smoke appeared from under the console….?

Struggling with the Doctor’s behavior in this one.   I’m off to join everyone else for a re-watch.

[Brewski @replies]

@phileasf
There’s been some discussion of why the Doctor said he didn’t want Clara to come on his next adventure. I think he was just playing. The next adventure was at her work, so she didn’t have to come with him, he came to her! And I think he genuinely wanted to surprise her and see if she could see through his disguise.
I like that explanation! Thanks.

Hmmm… After I had my coffee I had a rethink on this. Probably something I shouldn’t do.

The problem is that after his “surprise” was found out, and Clara confronted him, he still persisted in excluding her from the mission.  So I think it still has to be more than that.

I still like the basic idea, though.

[Brewski @replies]

@phileasf

There’s been some discussion of why the Doctor said he didn’t want Clara to come on his next adventure. I think he was just playing. The next adventure was at her work, so she didn’t have to come with him, he came to her! And I think he genuinely wanted to surprise her and see if she could see through his disguise.

I like that explanation! Thanks.

[Brewski @replies]

@purofilion
I must admit to watching the Paranormal Activity movies these holidays: up to number 3 at the mo. What did you think of those? Totally off-topic and should ask this in the (totally appropriate for me) Rose & Crown!

I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure. I ration my TV time pretty carefully, but if you recommend it I can check them out!

BTW, I think the Vashta Nerada are my favorite monsters. To me the creepiest thing Moffat has done. I like the Weeping Angels, but they never struck me as nearly deadly and scary.

And, as you say, it would be very much like Moffat to revisit a classic and ramp them up a notch, so I would love to see them come back. (Plus I’m a River fan and it would be a good chance to see her again, too.)

 

 

[Brewski @replies]

@purofilion
Oh God, no spell check for *boners. Obviously, I meant *bonkers. I should have more savoir faire. But, as a Mrs Malaprop, not bad.eciated that.

Lol! That’s ok. We’ll call it a Merlot Moment. 😛

[Brewski @replies]

Bonkers Hat Time

Going on the Missy=CAL/Promised Land=Mainframe theory…

Missy (older CAL) therefore should be good (appearances to the contrary).  Amassing an army to help the Doctor with a terrible threat she has uncovered.

So who is the Bad Guy?

CAL only knew one.

The Big Bad is The Vashta Nerada.  And they have a new and terrifying ability.

Building on what they learned when they controlled the space suits in the library —  Now when they take a victim, they eat them from the inside out, leaving only the shell.  Which they then control.

ANYONE could be a Vashta Nerada swarm!  And we wouldn’t know it.

[Brewski @replies]

@Charlie Cook
Nice spot on Floyd

“Hey, teacher! Leave them kids alone!”

Too funny. 😀 I wonder if Courtney would have appreciated that.

 

ETA:  OMG!!!  “Pink” Floyd!!

 

[Brewski @replies]

@bluesqueakpip
Good spot. Last time he was this keen, it was the Ganger adventure. He was keen to keep Amy and Rory out of it because Amy-in-the-TARDIS was (unknowingly) a ganger.

Ooh! Good spot back at ya! I do think he is playing a deeper game here than we are seeing. Can he really be so oblivious to the whole Danny/Rupert/Orson thing? Maybe he already suspects (or knows) something about Danny that we (and Clara) don’t.

 

[Brewski @replies]

Oh!  And the Doctor whistling “Another Brick in the Wall”! 😛

 

[Brewski @replies]

Enjoyed the ep ok, but have to agree it is not the best of the season.  Lots of wonderful ideas and sharp eyes out there, too!

There is only one question I had that I didn’t see asked elsewhere:

Why was the Doctor so keen to keep Clara out of this adventure?  Surely it was no more dangerous that many others they’d been on, including whatever was going on at the very beginning.  So why did he not want her involved this time?

 

[Brewski @replies]

Hey all!  I gotta say I’m a little surprised I didn’t yank any chains when I suggested that the Woman in the Shop was the next (and first female) Doctor. May have reached my bonkers threshold.

Also, has anyone considered the even wackier notion that Susan is Jenny’s daughter?

The first Doctor may have known she was his granddaughter by DNA but not where she came from. Until he met his “daughter” some time in the future.

 

[Brewski @replies]

Well, so we now have the answer!

The Doctor is going back into his own past to correct mistakes.

The Woman in the Shop is Doctor 13!

 

[Brewski @replies]

Two preliminary notes:

1. Loved Saibra and Psi!  Here’s hoping they will be the next companions!

2. Am I imagining things, or was the lock on the vault very similar to the round lighty displays on Orson’s time capsule?  (Which. btw, made me think of Tardis roundels, now that I think about it.)

[Brewski @replies]

The Doctor did say “Shut-ity up up up”.  Didn’t he?

[Brewski @replies]

Btw…. spotting the “extra chair”! Pure genius! Sorry I am not providing proper credit,  but again,  barely managing to navigate with this lousy phone!

[Brewski @replies]

@arbutus Rupert = Danny because of Dan the Soldier Man

OR Danny is actually a DECENDANT of Orson and named after Dan the Soldier Man! :p

Someone earlier (sorry, I’m on my smart phone and its being kind of stupid) suggested that Orson couldn’t have been the one Clara gave the Soldier to because she’d be the last one he’d give it BACK to.   I disagree.  It may be precisely because she gave it to him and its his way of saying it has completed its mission,  thanks.

[Brewski @replies]

There is a line that has been nibbling at the back of my mind for some time now.  After thinking about it,  it makes me ask this question:

How do we know Danny is Rupert?

Yes, Danny reacts to Clara calling him that.  But how does he react?

He says “Are you making fun of me?”

That’s a strange question! It’s apparently more important to Danny than “How did you know that?”  Because he drops that question in favor of “are you making fun?”

So I double checked the name Rupert and find that wiki says it is a derogatory slang term for incompetent army officers.

That is something that would make Danny bristle! Make him think he was being made fun of.  But not because it was his name as a boy,  but a mean Nickname when he was a young soldier.

I think making us believe Rupert was Danny is a pink herring!

[Brewski @replies]

@phileasf

Why did Orson wear his helmet in the restaurant?

Moffat does love his bizarre imagery. And seems to have a special affection for Space Men showing up in the strangest places. 🙂

Why did Danny phone Clara?

The second time, after Danny stormed out of the restaurant in anger because he perceived Clara as lying to him.  He then regretted storming out and so called her.

BTW… you guys are freaking me out with the theories about multiple doctors! The persistent forgetfulness does begin to make a lot of sense.

Not remembering that toy soldier has to be a big one! Considering it was left for him by the monster under the bed!

Still peculating thoughts here…

 

[Brewski @replies]

Ow my head.  So much to process and need a re-watch first.

One (somewhat anticlimactic) note: “Time travel running in the family” may just be a reference to the fact that Danny (if he is Orson’s great or grand father) traveled in the Tardis as a companion….

 

[Brewski @replies]

@whisht and @apopheniac

re Promised Land = Gallifrey

I’m with you. I’m sticking with the fact that Arcadia is a Greek name for Utopia = Arcadia on Gallifrey didn’t fall, but rather was “saved”.

P.S. I am totally in awe of and jealous of those who caught the missing coat “continuity error”.

 

[Brewski @replies]

@mudlark

Did you really think that, because a momentary rift in the spacetime continuum of the unreal universe allowed a sliver of boring mundanity to slip in, I hated the whole episode?

Oh naw…. that comment was strictly general, not for you specifically.

I was much more concerned for your (possible) reluctance to pick future nits.

If I were among the pusillanimous band of haters who infest the Guardian discussions I doubt very much I would still be watching at my advanced age

Heh…. am very glad to hear you’re not. I do like being on a board where that stuff doesn’t take place. Of course, I suspect many of those haters do continue to watch purely for the sake of complaining. Bitchers gotta bitch, after all. :p

 

[Brewski @replies]

@serahni

So I suppose I should clarify that it’s not everyone with a heart full of wishful thinking that I was talking about; nostalgia gets us all! It’s a very specific sub-section of the fandom that seem to have missed the point.

Ah! Yes I get you now. Well look at it this way: some people just go right for the banana pudding. The rest of us are happier to sample everything on the buffet.

I will also never speak out against bonkers theorising because I love it!

Oooohhhhh…. I never thought you were speaking out on bonkers theorising. I mean after all… why else are we here?! 😀

@mudlark

So no more nitpicking from me, I promise.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Don’t ever stop nitpicking. I am so sorry if I implied that.

It’s not the nit. It’s the spirit of the pick. I LOVE squabbling over details, or finding tiny, hidden flaws (even the best gems have them.)

I guess what I’m saying is: instead of hating the show because of one flaw, trying liking it in spite of it. (Or in so many cases, BECAUSE of it. 😛 )

 

@ IAmNotAFishIAmAFreeMan

        Mudlark… So no more nitpicking from me, I promise.

This promise will be broken in 3,2,1…… (Don’t fight it – resistance is futile)

OMG. You said it so much better and funnier than I did…. (and I think I wet myself a little.)

[Brewski @replies]

Lol at @bluesqueakpip

Gatiss was punning on computer power supply units – they’re often ‘Gold’ rated.

The arrow’s a Gold PSU. Hence the power surge.

Yes, I’ll get my coat

Love it!

Ok, I’m putting on my Bonkers Gloves now! :p

The ship, being run by robots, was actually built on Cyberman Technology. The gold from the arrow got into the ventilation system and caused the power surge!

[Brewski @replies]

@serahni

Whilst I don’t begrudge them their version of fandom and I do realise that the show is lucky to have attracted the huge numbers it has, we do seem to have a new generation of fans who are expecting things of the show that they would find in others.

Sure. It is like you said, they’re still new-2-Who and haven’t gotten into the spirit of a show that is constantly evolving. (And has its ups and downs.)

And I realize that bickering over little plot details is half the fun and admittedly do it myself. To a point. Particularly if it is a plot point that potentially makes or breaks the show.  And you get to hear such wonder, bonkers theories! 🙂  But, like in the case of RoS, the episode itself was just too fun and enjoyable for me too, to let it be “ruined” but a silly bit of fun at the end. Hence my vote for step-back-and-chill.

I am hugely, hugely tired of reading comments about which character should come back and how Tennant should play the Doctor again because, whilst I’m sure a lot of it is wishful thinking, some of it clearly isn’t.

Lol. Yes, it gets a little repetitious. But I have to plead guilty to some of it myself. Of course, for me I was just out of high school and there was (and had been) no other Doctor but Tom Baker. I passionately resented Peter Davison for not only stealing the role but for having the effrontery to destroy The Scarf!

I recall only watching next week so I could get to the end of the episode and yell at the tv how much I hated him.

Well… and then watch that next episode just in case it was all a dream and Tom was coming back.

Then the next one to see how THAT story ended.

And then another because…. well, even though I still refused to like Peter Davison, he was kind of funny and clever in a very different way.

And the next one because… and the next… Well you get the point.

I doubt my experience is very different from most fans. For a while you pick favorites. Then you lose count of your favorites and misplace your scorecard. And today I look back to the decision to have 5 unravel 4’s scarf and think: that was such a brilliant idea!

[Brewski @replies]

Was just looking back and thinking over some of the vehemence in the feelings expressed about the golden arrow and the resolution with the ship. Not just here but in other fora.

And honestly, I think it needs a little step-back-and-chill. We suspend our disbelief all the time, and never more so than in a light-hearted romp. So yes, I admit I did roll my eyes a bit when the arrow flew into the ship and quickly saved the day. But I am willing to bet I rolled them so little even Clara wouldn’t have noticed.

And too, consider this: it is at least somewhat ambiguous about the exact reality in which these events took place. What if it WAS a miniscope, for instance? Or a Land of Fiction? Or the Matrix? Or…? The arguments about the science of the arrow will kind of fall apart.

Or, to put it another way: “Cold Burning Star?! Give me a break!” 🙂

 

[Brewski @replies]

@arbutus

Re: Clara knowing about the Doctor’s life on Gallifrey: One thought is that the Doctor could easily have made a random remark at some point that might have allowed Clara to guess that he came from a privileged background.

Yes. And they make it clear that she was privy to a lot of stories (either directly from him or in some way from her experience in the time stream). Moreover, @phaseshift and @bluesqueakpip were both correct in that previous episodes have mentioned or at least hinted at a privileged background for the Doctor. Particularly in The Deadly Assassin, which I feel a little silly about because I actually just re-watched that episode just before the Christmas special. (I wanted to see if I remembered the dialog about the regeneration limit correctly.)

And I like your Missy theories.

Lol. Thanks. I was going for as out-there as possible. But I do think she may turn out to be good instead of bad. Just a gut feeling.

 

 

[Brewski @replies]

Ok, so I originally posted this in “Spoilers” only because I didn’t think it was specific enough to “Robot”. There is nothing actually spoilery in it. Just whacky theorizing. Thanks to @janetteb for suggesting I repeat it here inasmuch as a lot of people won’t venture into Spoilers. (Usually myself included)

Anyway, getting past my tongue-in-cheek Missy thoughts, here’s what I came up with.

1) “Nethersphere”

equals Lowest, or Inner-most Sphere (smaller spheres inside larger ones)

equals miniature universe

(Ties to themes of miniaturization.)

2) “Promised Land”

equals Paradise

equals Arcadia

(A well-known area of Gallifrey.)

~ Miniature universe (or perhaps Stasis Cube?) containing at least PART of Gallifrey. ~~

3) “Guardian of the Nethersphere”

equals Protector of…

But is she protecting something FROM the Nethersphere? Or is she protecting the Nethersphere from something else? The surreal-ness of her location suggests she’s working from WITHIN. Therefore she is protecting it.

Generally speaking, it’s the bad guys you need protection from.

~ Therefore, Missy is a Good Guy. Collecting not foes of the Doctor, but allies. Her demented-looking behavior makes us ASSUME she’s a Bad Guy. But that is just Missy-direction.~~

4) “Boyfriend”? And liking the “new” accent? And “I think I’ll keep it”.

What if Missy is not real? What if she is an interface to the pocket universe? She takes on a corporeal form in order to communicate. (And mis-translates Arcadia to “Promised Land”)

Note: The Doctor had several centuries on Trenzalor to try to communicate with the pocket universe through the crack. Missy was the channel. She formed a bond with him then. (She translates as “boyfriend”. And takes on some of his characteristics.)

~ To the Doctor, she is the “Missing Gallifrey”. Which he eventually shortened to “Missy”. ~~

 

[Brewski @replies]

@janetteb

Unless you are drawing on information gleened from “spoilers” I don’t think there was any need to post your ideas in this thread. A lot of people don’t venture in here and so will miss out on what is an excellent bit of bonkers theorising.

Thanks. Definitely no leakage information here. Just what leaked out of my brain. The only reason I posted here is cuz I didn’t know what the best place would be. It’s not really specific to “Robot of Sherwood”. But I guess I’ll re-post it there. Thanks for the advice.

I like the connection with miniaturization. But actually I think it may still fit with where I’m going. I’ll rework it a bit when I re-post it.

 

Thanks again!

 

[Brewski @replies]

Continuing with this thought (and going to go way nuts here):

 

“Guardian of the Nethersphere”

equals Protector of…

 

But is she protecting something FROM the Nethersphere? Or is she protecting the Nethersphere from something else? The surreal-ness of her location suggests she’s working from WITHIN. Therefore she is protecting it.

 

Generally speaking, it’s the bad guys you need protection from.

 

Therefore, she is a Good Guy. Collecting not foes of the Doctor, but allies. Her demented-looking behavior makes us ASSUME she’s a Bad Guy. But that is just Missy-direction.

 

But why “boyfriend”? And liking the “new” accent? And “I think I’ll keep it”.

 

What if she’s not real? What if she is an interface to the pocket universe? She takes on a corporeal form in order to communicate.

 

The Doctor had several centuries on Trenzalor to try to communicate with the pocket universe through the crack. Missy was the channel. She formed a bond with him then. To him she is the Missing Gallifrey. Eventually just Missy.

[Brewski @replies]

@phaseshift

It’s worth watching The Deadly Assassin for a lot of the context to that. It’s established the Doctor is of the Prydonian Chapter of Time Lords, and spelled out that they are the most powerful force on Gallifrey

Ach! Yes! I should have remembered that. Sorry. I am officially claiming senility. 🙂 Thanks.

I agree with your assessment about the development of the character, too, btw.  Not only because it makes him more relate-able as a character, but maintains the mystery around him.

 

[Brewski @replies]

Hi all. I’ve been scared to look at this forum because I decided to avoid spoilers as much as possible. But I had this thought and wanted to put it out in an appropriate place. (Forgive me if its already been suggested):

 

“Nethersphere”

equals Lowest, or Inner-most Sphere

equals miniature universe

 

“Promised Land”

equals Paradise

equals Arcadia

 

[Brewski @replies]

@whisht

“That a man born into wealth and privilege can find the lot of the oppressed and weak too much to bear?

Until one night he is moved to steal a Tardis, fly amongst the stars, fighting the good fight.”

I watched the ep twice, and both times something at that moment tickled my brain. But it wasn’t until reading it here that I got it.

 

We (as an audience) have not, to my knowledge, been privy to the Doctor’s status in life on Galifrey. If Clara can tell Robin about him being “a man born into wealth and privilege” then she really knows more about him than we do. I wonder how much more about his past she knows.

 

@purofilion

I’m not convinced that the Doctor is fully cooked -I don’t see it as poor writing or poor jokes or Capaldi not being able to find his feet or hearts, I believe he’s either getting stronger and finding his way or else, this IS the way of the Doctor now.

I think I remember reading an interview with Capaldi about how the character developed over the course of filming the series. As I understand it, it is a very organic process during which the actors and writers discover each other. From our perspective, it is a newly regenerated Doctor “cooking”, which is pretty cool to me. So I agree, its not a matter of poor writing, and my bet is we’ll see the dialog shift subtly over the next few episodes.

 

[Brewski @replies]

Have to re-watch and re-read the comments.  But first thoughts:

 

Loved the Doctor’s line about punching Robin in the face.  How badass is that?

More chalk boards.  Definitely something going on there.

I am pretty sure it was intended as a red herring, but the very classic-Master-looking Sheriff came into frame at the exact moment that he said “Master”.

 

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