@countscarlioni  . . . in BG Who, there was a strong emphasis on tight stories. In AG Who, there is far less concern for tight stories and much more emphasis on the dramatic flourish or the thing’  . . . I’ve come to think this is particularly true for SM and that he just does not sweat what seem to him to be relatively minor plot points or even s…[Read more]

As to “HOME”, I’m not worried about it since I see the whole event as subjective, so when his subconscious says it’s time, it supplies the final bit of motivation with a word that suddenly appears on the wall and then fades out.  I don’t see any other way that can work, actually — I have my doubts that super-diamond is something that could be…[Read more]

@morpho  He buried it in the garden with I AM IN 12 written on it, didn’t he? As you do. XD

Must remember that next time . . . !  Thanks — I didn’t catch that the thing buried in the garden was a stone thing, thought if was a coffin top or something else wooden.  As is not uncommon, expectation obscured reality.

@blenkinsopthebrave  OK, off t…[Read more]

@countscarlioni  on the hybrid: It appears the Doctor truly believes he is the hybrid, but that does not necessarily mean that he’s right. Or perhaps there can be more than one hybrid. It might not be either/or.

Excellent point — he’s been wrong before, after all.

@jphamlore  Not only that but for just this one episode, that the Doctor’s pocke…[Read more]

@pedant  He has always said that his kids need to be able to understand Who. He has been consistent about that . . .  Few modern TV writers understand the meta as well as Moffat. There is always the risk that it becomes a bit too knowing and inward-looking, but on the whole he manages to stay on the right side of the line.
Unlike the dickhead w…[Read more]

@tardigrade  It occurred to me that the Doctor’s time in the confession dial could be seen as a possible fulfilment of the hybrid prophecy. He’s destroyed a billion hearts (actually more like a trillion), it’s just that instead of it being a genocide, it was suicide – he’s been knocking them off two at a time and they were all his own. And, as wi…[Read more]

@pedant  Love “fansplaining”!

And just something from that latest Radio Times Moffat interview, here’s the beginning of an answer to a question about making a flow chart for writing an episode to keep it all straight:

The chart would be worse than the script. Most of my stuff is much simpler than people credit it for being.

In other words –…[Read more]

@josh  It would be a great excuse for one more scene with Clara and Capaldi through the crack in the universe.

Not sure I could take it . . . nah!  I’d love it!  Show us how far the Doctor has come, in mental setting-to-rights, since Face the Raven (several billion subjective years at least . . . oughta be good for something).

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@mudlark  his/her schemes never less than grandiose in their ambition, though inevitably containing an essential flaw 

Yes — the flaw often being the Doctor!  If she can get rid of all the TLs *and* keep the Doctor crazed, then all her other plans might well work out (s/he might think).

I suspect that if he had given up or otherwise failed hi…[Read more]

@lisa  I can imagine we are the future Galifreyans too

LOL!  I think we’re them *now* — our leadership is, anyway: buried in technology, trying to control everything, and acting like total dicks half the time (more than half, in fact).

@jphamlore  In my opinion, the confession dial follows a strategy of Steven Moffat to deliberately rewrite parts of the classic series, a precedent so that his successors can also make each run as showrunner their own.

What a lovely, generous idea . . .

@swordwhale  Love the conversations with Clara, how she is always back turned, sort of a s…[Read more]

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@jphamlore  If the Doctor gave up all his answers, the Time Lords would be able to use the confession dial to get back to this universe. And that I believe the Doctor is willing to do anything to prevent . . . I suspect that the Doctor will revisit the events of The Day of the Doctor when he reappeared with the other 12 Doctors and add his input t…[Read more]

@juniperfish  #48303  thanks for the link to the artist’s page on tumblr; a beautiful piece, IMO, so thanks for that too, @serahni.

@puroandson  #48296 (I’m trying to catch up here, using post numbers) Both of you — “fixity of purpose”, yes.  Perfect.

@mudlark  #38304  This is a great summary of the situation.  The Dial could be of the Doctor…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@arbutus  Thanks!  I think it’s clever way to get an appropriate mourning period for Clara over very fast so the story can move on and conclude.  And Moffat is nothing if not clever . . .

@ericam  Did anyone else think it was incredibly sad that the doctor died like a million times.

Yes, it was.  I guess you could think of it as an extreme distraction from being wrecked by Clara’s death . . . Also it’s Moffat getting him primed with anger for next time.  The Doctor is sensitive sometimes, but also very tough.  This is def…[Read more]

@puroandson  I think the Doctor is the hybrid and not ‘me’ – that was pretty certain but in re-watching he speaks on the tower of how the hybrid, in legends, was a “storm which blew in on the wind” -much like The Oncoming Storm mentioned by Tennant et. al. ? So, possibly that might help to settle the question.

“The hybrid will stand in the ruins…[Read more]

Some one earlier (so many great comments!) asked why CapDoc didn’t use the spade on the crystal wall, which would make sense — if he didn’t have to get past the Veil (it was right behind him, remember) to get the spade.  He’d be killed by the Veil and have to remember each time after that to bring the spade with him from the grave-digging scene…[Read more]