@Morpho

an unphysical interpretation leads to a lot of physical metaphors for unphysical things (the stars, clockwork, erosion, gravity, combustion, etc.) that are so vital for the plot.

True, but then it is highly likely that a technology so advanced that it could create a space/time vehicle which is bigger on the inside – seemingly almost…[Read more]

@puroandson  Son of Puro   Re the hybrid.

Interesting question. As you probably know, a hybrid, in the sense we normally use the term is indeed a cross between two different species, plant or animal.  In theory either or both parents could themselves by hybrids but, since hybrids tend to be infertile, this is unlikely unless genetic engine…[Read more]

@Mersey

Thank you.  I often feel hesitant about posts such as these, which have a tendency to stray way off topic, so it always good to know that there are people how have found them interesting.

@Morpho   Hello, and a warm welcome to you.

The word HOME which appears in the wall is, I think, designed as a hint or clue to give the Doctor the incentive to persist in trying to get through it and out of the trap which the Confession Dial has become. It is ambiguous, of course, because the Doctor interprets ‘Home’ as the Tardis, whereas in fa…[Read more]

@puroandson  Glad to be of service re the survival of organic materials 🙂

It occurs to me that I omitted at least two other sets of conditions in which organic materials could survive for long periods.  One is when the environment is extremely dry, as in the Egyptian desert. The Egyptians probably cottoned on to the idea of mummification af…[Read more]

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@Arbutus

But I wonder what would have happened to that body had he failed?

I suspect that if he had given up or otherwise failed his mind would have remained trapped forever in the Confession Dial or, to look at it another way, ceased to exist except as a record on a hard drive.  His body would have remained in potentia on the threshold of the t…[Read more]

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Nit-pick corner.

@puroandson  @teddybear  You were discussing the survival properties of organic materials such as wood, and my professional opinion was sought.

In the very long term, of course, on a geologically active planet with an atmosphere, nothing would survive in its original form.  In the course of several billion years mountains cou…[Read more]

@CountScarlioni

What if Ashildr/Me had contacted the Time Lords (via Missy?) and is the one driving all of this

Oh yes! I can see how that would work very well, though I suspect that it would be Missy’s idea, with her as the driving force and Ashildr/Me acting at her instigation.

The anachronisms in The Woman Who Lived suggested that by the…[Read more]

It has taken me most of the morning to refresh my memory of yesterday’s discussions and to catch up with all the posts from the night shift. So much food for thought!

@ichabod

He’s accepting what he feels is just punishment for Clara’s death; and it’s hardly enough, because he needs absolute *masses* of expiation if he’s to move beyond the enor…

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@Mersey   When the Doctor said ‘Who’s been playing about with the stars?’  it wasn’t the first time that he had cycled through the whole experience, from his emerging from the transporter to the Veil catching up with him at the wall, he just didn’t realise it immediately As with the rooms of the castle, his experience was reset to the begin…[Read more]

@teddybear   Hello and welcome to the forum.

The confession dial clearly isn’t a Last Will and Testament as we understand it, nor a straightforward confession. As far as I can make out from the clues we have been given, it is more like a complete and continuously updated record of the Doctor’s life as experienced in his conscious and u…[Read more]

@puroandson  Puro, tremendous news regarding the student you mentored, and what a lovely story.

I think I said once last year that I am often little more than subliminally conscious of the music in Doctor Who, though that may be due partly to the balance of the sound reproduction on my somewhat elderly TV set.  It is probably significant, th…[Read more]

So far I have not deigned to comment on the Doctor’s views on gardening and gardeners. If it were anyone other than he who had uttered those remarks I would be up in arms (it’s amazing what damage you can do with a gardening fork), but in the circumstances I will overlook his lapse in judgement  😎

@ichabod   Thank you very much for those appreciative comments. I can only return the compliment with regard to so many of your posts 🙂

@puroandson  ditto.  One of the great joys of this forum is the convergence of so many different viewpoints, observations and insights, so well articulated.

Son of puro  I’m  glad you liked reading what I…[Read more]

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@Whisht  Oh, brilliant catch re the Flammarion engraving!. The old idea of a clockwork universe of concentric spheres.

The recurrent clockwork imagery in connection with the Time Lords is intriguing. In the Day of the Doctor, what we could see of the inner workings of the Moment, as it appeared when the War Doctor originally uncovered it in the b…[Read more]

Obligatory Mudlark nit-pick:  Time Lord skulls must be very different from human ones, since even after two billion (subjective ?) years, the lower jaws appear to have remained attached to the skulls. Once the flesh and ligaments have dissolved from a human skull, there is nothing to keep the lower jaw in place.

That was magnificent; a tour de force on the part of everyone concerned in its production, and breathtaking even on second viewing – in fact *especially* on second viewing. Count me among those who rate this among the best episodes ever.

What we saw was, of course, entirely from the Doctor’s point of view – a subjective reality within the…[Read more]