[bruinhoo @replies]

I just finished rewatching JttCotT (apologies if the following belongs in that episode’s thread) and had some revisionist thoughts about that one together with this episode.

WRT Clara having looked through a book titled “The History of the Time War”, and then in the final couple minutes of that episode, Clara asking the Doctor why he calls himself that; noting that he has a name which she has seen and the Doctor’s insistence that she will not remember, and not go looking for his name.

I recall there being some theorizing after that episode, as far as authorship of the book as well as significance of that bit based upon his name. Now that we know that an incarnation of the Doctor exists that cannot known as “The Doctor”, it might be of a greater significance.

If the TARDIS created the History of the Time War, it would have done so thoroughly and accurately, but might have shared The Doctor’s inability to reconcile the actions of Hurt’s incarnation with the promise of the name of The Doctor, and refused to refer to him in the book by that name. Assuming that the Hurt incarnation is not one already known (Post-Smith as The Valeyard, Pre-Hartnell as Omega, etc), and can not be called The Doctor, by what other name would he be referred to in such a history than his pre-“Doctor” given name.

Assuming that Hartnell’s really was the first incarnation of the Doctor and that he took that name before starting his travels, Matt’s Doctor knows that anyone looking for [his given name] can only find it among the actions taken by the Hurt Doctor, and that someone discovering that name would eventually be able to discover the secret of what that incarnation did.

In this theory, Clara did read something in that history that connected the [given name] ‘non-doctor’ (Hurt?) and Matt’s Doctor as the same person, but not enough to get the full picture of the non-doctor.

For that matter, his asking Clara at the end of the episode if she is afraid to travel with him could have been testing how much she read and/or remembered from the History – he knows that she read enough to link the existence of the ‘non-doctor’ to him, but does she remember that after that reality is erased, and/or did she read enough of his actions to be scared of what Matt’s Doctor might be capable of in the future?

Don’t know how or if that fits in elsewhere, just some more late night rambling. But something else that to me at least suggests a Time War Doctor

[bruinhoo @replies]

Great minds @fivefaces… One of my ‘rough bonkers theories’ from above – the Hurt ‘Doctor’ being the a previous incarnation who caused the Last Time War. Not sure if I see him being a version of eight/McCann though. It sounded that Hurt’s ‘Doctor’ was separate from those whom Clara had previously seen, and she had seen all of those that we previously understood to be one through eleven.

I just finished rewatching, and am going back to Hurt’s line at the end of the episode. An attempt to defend his past actions to Matt by saying that he had acted “without choice…, in the name of peace and sanity” (But not in the name of the Doctor, per Smith, having broken the promise made when he – Hartnell? – took the name “The Doctor”).

A couple of possible bonkers theories coming to mind based upon that final line. One based upon Hurt as having started the Last Time War, but due to actions taken under orders of the time lords (My understanding of classic Dr Who is limited, but I have seen that at times, The Doctor had acted under Time Lord direction. Could be completely off on that point. In that case, feel free to ignore). The mission so undertaken may have been intended – or described to him – as one of peace, but having fallen apart, sparked the great war.

Given that everyone else who knew how the time war started are dead/time locked, the cause of the war is a secret that he could keep from the universe. The reality that he not only ended the Time War, but that he was responsible for starting it was too much for him to bear, leading him to lock away the memory of that version of himself in a part of his mind (the mind block in NiS, emphasis on memory thoughout the season…).

Another thought has Hurt as a future version of the Doctor – possibly his final regeneration whose permanent death comes at Trenzalore – who through some timey-wimeyness and crossing of his own timeline is the version of the Doctor who ended the Time War. In doing so, he saves nine/Ecclestone, whose personality in series one of New Who is his survivors guilt combined with the foreknowledge of his actions, and not the aftermath of having ended the war.

The idea of this future self being the Doctor’s great secret does not sit as well, though it better explains that line. Ending the time war is certainly an act fostering a greater peace and sanity, and he would not have had a choice due to the act being a fixed point in time and/or a necessity due to the carnage and spread of the war. But however necessary, genocide of the Timelords and the Daleks is certainly an abandonment of the name of “The Doctor”.

Again, crazy bonkers theories that are certain to be hilariously off the mark come November 23rd…

[bruinhoo @replies]

Hello from the colonies!

Watched earlier this afternoon, came up with a few rough bonkers theories (that will probably die upon rewatch) and am about to open up a beer and rewatch. But before getting to that, thinking back to Clara’s initial contact with the Doctor.

The end of this episode (I believe) establishes that the Claras’ in AotD and Snowmen (as well as other versions scattered through time) knew their ultimate task of saving the Doctor via original Clara at Trenzalore. But nothing as to Clara’s calling the Doctor at the start of BoSJ – establishing that River does not know about Clara until after the Library makes the easy out (River + Vortex Manipulator = London 2013) impossible . Was the ‘woman in the shop gave me your number…’ line really just a Moffatt red herring?

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