SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@brewski

You’re reply to @jimthefish sums up the he situation in BG Who better than I wrote.

One thought though re

On the other hand, we all know the Doctor will (and needs to) take control of the situation.  It saves a lot of time and redundant exposition to short-cut him into the leadership role.

Some of the very best Who stories, certainly…[Read more]

@jimthefish

Whilst I agree with you that BG Who would not have been worse off if the TL’s were never invented by Malcolm Hulke and Terence Dicks , the Doctor’s origin was a story that was always going to be told one day. I think they did their best to make the Time Lords as irrelevant as they could to the wider Who universe.

The War Games/3…[Read more]

@tardigrade I’ve interpreted that to mean that TLs tend to recognise each other when directly talking to each other- a skill that would be handy when friends can regenerate into completely new bodies…

I would agree with this.  In The Five Doctors, Three didn’t immediately recognize the Master (admittedly though he was in a stolen body) but di…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@jimthefish  No, I think you make some good points.  While I am disappointed that the Twelfth Doctor hasn’t rebuilt his burnt bridges with his people — which would be a good Christmas premise, but I kinda doubt that the Moff’s going to be doing that — given his “always make amends” principle, it is better for him and the show not to have that h…[Read more]

@nerys I didn’t notice the explanation by @geoffers, but it’s not simply time perception, it is the actual passage of time, measured by any means, that is affected. The really short explanation is high gravity = slow time. The difference of hundred of kilometres from the top to the bottom of the ship affects the relative gravity felt at the two…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@jimthefish

🙂 I have to agree with you there.

I think the biggest difference is (I hope) that the Christmas story will include the regeneration proper and will (like The Time of the Doctor) be the concluding part of what is essentially a three part story.

@jimthefish
Well, yes, I suppose so, but SM does tend to play fast and loose with the selective memory of humanity. On the one hand we have the Doctor telling Bill in previous episodes that there is no limit to humanity’s ability to collectively forget. If we go back to Amy, the Doctor is surprised that she has no memory of Daleks in London. And…[Read more]

@jimthefish

I don’t disagree that Heather and the puddle might turn out to be nothing much (I think it will depend on whether Chibnall wants to keep Bill as the companion or not). The trailer nicely left out any direct references to Bill’s fate and the flash forward suggests the Doctor ends up alone. How significant that might be will (probably)…[Read more]

@jimthefish

Simulation

I would agree with @pedant on this. While possible, it might drain away the emotional wallop of the episode, such as the Bill’s tear at the end. On the other hand, the more you think about aspects of the episode, the more questions are raised. Such as the Simm Master’s need for a disguise. Bill is unaware of him, so is it…[Read more]

@devilishrobby

well it always puzzled me why he didn’t just regenerate each time he died

Because it is time lord technology and if anyone knows how to prevent one (or to mask it by making it look like a teleport, while keeping the subject’s regeneration energy topped up) it is them.

@JimTheFish

and which I find intriguing) that the whole thing c…

[Read more]

BBC APPROVED SPOILERS...

@jimthefish The simulation idea is fascinating, up to and including the regeneration!  But most non-diehard viewers, and even some of the diehards, would feel cheated.  “Lie of the Land” got into enough trouble already for pulling the wool.  ( Not to mention that there was a “Family Guy” two-parter that pulled this very concept and mocked it…[Read more]

@jimthefish Interesting take.  🙂  But yeah, how do they de-Cyberize Bill without reducing the menace of the Cybermen down the line?  To me, Heather Creature seemed the best hope for that, a unique, singular solution.  What would be the most satisfying way to save Bill, but only Bill?  Hmm…