[JoeEngland @replies]

Thanks, Puro.

[JoeEngland @replies]

It’s hell’o confusing but that’s normal for DW.

Yeah.  That’s part of what irritates me.  It happens so often in Doctor Who, why did we have to make one of the few straightforward elements complicated as well?  Don’t get me wrong, I like John Hurt’s Doctor, but man… it used to be so simple.

One Doctor, Two Doctors, Three Doctors… now the lineup’s saddled with a freakin’ asterisk.

[JoeEngland @replies]

Yeah, talk about an unlucky number… maybe they’ll just decide to skip the number like you say, like they do in skyscrapers.  That’d be kind of a fix, right?  Well, hope springs eternal.  In any case, I like the way you think, Bluesqueakpip.

[JoeEngland @replies]

You want everyone else to compromise to fix a problem that doesn’t exist. The only War Doctor issues come from your faulty logic.

No, they come from my faulty mind and personality.  Logic is easier to fix.

Listen, I know… I know I’m part of a ridiculous minority that should probably be dismissed by most people as irrelevant.  I know.  But every time I see Capaldi trumpeted as the Twelfth Doctor, every time I see every advertisement, every piece of merchandise, spinoff material, fan art and fiction, books, magazines, and in-show dialog describing the Doctor in terms of twelve (and ONLY twelve), it just…

I have obsessive compulsive disorder.  And man, has it ever latched onto this.  I’ve tried my damnedest to shrug it off, to say “who cares,” to say “well, he’s not quite a proper Doctor,” or “numbers aren’t important anyway…”  It doesn’t work.  I can’t get over it.  I’ve literally marched up and down my house screaming in frustration, waving my fists, cursing Moffat or Eccleston or the writers or whoever else my imagination can find to blame for the War Doctor wrinkle, this insufferable itch in my impression of Doctor Who.  That’s no exaggeration.

And believe me, I’m not ignoring evidence.  For my part, I don’t consider the Tenth Doctor to count as two Doctors… regenerating into himself makes him the same guy in my book.  I just feel that he’s not another Doctor if he’s the same Doctor.

I know, that’s just my opinion.  That’s all.  But then, that’s all any of it is… I know my idea isn’t likely to ever catch on.  I should just give up trying.  But it’s the best shot I’ve got at resolving this to the satisfaction of my neurotic obsession.  It’s just not the sort of thing I can be convinced to overlook… I wish I could.  God knows I’ve got better things to worry about.

Thanks for the welcome, though.  I appreciate it.

[JoeEngland @replies]

I have an idea which I think could solve the War Doctor issue.  What issue?  Well, maybe you don’t think it’s an issue, but try and keep an open mind… I’m sure I’m not the only person who’s being driven mad by it.  If it doesn’t bother you, fine, but consider the fans like me… the ones who can’t help being bothered.

What I have is a proposed solution, a sort of compromise between the people who can’t help thinking that the War Doctor brings the total number of Doctors to thirteen and the people who think Peter Capaldi is the Twelfth because the War Doctor doesn’t count (which seems to include the people in charge of the show).  I’ve laid it out here, in story form.

Basically it comes down to this; we introduce a concept that states Time Lord mathematics includes a number between eight and nine.

I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I believe this is not only viable but attractive.  It’s a whimsical, silly little twist of logic which suits the ambiance of Doctor Who.  It means that we can still say there are twelve Doctors even with the War Doctor tucked away because by the cosmic, incomprehensible science of Time Lord thinking our thirteen is their twelve.  It means that we can take the War Doctor or leave him, either answer is correct.  He’s what he’s always been… a mystery integer, something which doesn’t add up by the narrow standards of human understanding.  You don’t have to acknowledge him at all, you can stick to Earth numbers and never give him a thought.  But he’s THERE if you want to look.  And not just swept under a rug.

If this idea appeals to you, please, try to popularize it.  Spread the word.  Let this become a meme, a notion, a thought.  Like I said, you might not care.  But there are those of us who do… who can’t stand the fact that, even though the War Doctor’s entire character arc was devoted to legitimizing him as a Doctor, he’s since been shunted to the background and reduced to scarcely more than a footnote.  It’s wrong, WRONG, confound it.  I’ve tried to get over it, but my mind doesn’t work that way.  This will bother me until it’s addressed.

Think about it.  Won’t you?  Thank you.

[Author]

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