7X07 The Rings of Akhenaten (Grading/Discussion) (SPOILERS!)

One of the teasers for this episode was this


http://www.combom.co.uk/2013/03/doctor-who-rings-of-akhaten-10-teasers.html



3: 5 March 2005 – a sad day for some




Th date of Clara's mothers death was the same day "Rose" was leaked online.

 

Who else thought the Doctor might have stumbled away from his encounter with the celestial body partially amnesiac? When the Doctor hints about the terrible secrets he knows, he then challenges the entity to "take them all". I wondered if the being might have interpreted the Doctor's words a bit too literally and not simply "listened" but "drained" those memories. We could have ended up with a Doctor almost as clueless about his past as we, the audience" have been these nearly 50 years.

Obviously, a different path was taken, but I honsetly wondered for a few moments.

Oh, one more thing. Obviously, the "mummy" was not a Draconian as some fans had speculated upon seeing that brief glimpse in the highlight trailer.

Sincerely,

Bill

 

^



It would have made for an interesting way for a regeneration process to start.

Doctor- TAKE IT ALL!

*Parasite takes his life energy too*

Doctor- Wait! What are you doing?!


We end up with a new doctor with missing memories since the parasite stole them. Cue the regeneration crazy's

 

i was really expecting that outcome actually...they've been building up the "silence will fall when the question is asked" thing over the last series. if the doctor doesn't know the answer to the question then silence would most certainly fall

 

Ah, okay, I think remember that now. I guess I didn't notice because Matt Smith says it with a completely different inflection from Rutger Hauer. Plus, Smith said the whole speech pretty damn quick.

Yup, I definitely thought that was going to happen and I was ready to be all pissed off.

 

Wow another avg episode, verging on below avg. Started off ok, I liked the alien "gathering place", but it fell apart from there on. WHY are there so many aliens into this silly religion? How many of the 7 planets were inhabited? WHY would aliens from outside the system be interested in the silly religion? WHY could they all breathe in outer space (did I miss that?)? WHY would singing have anything to do with alien sun soul stealers? I think that probably scratches the surface issues. Some of the FX were breathtaking, some were barely better than the original Who.

 

Wold have been a terrible episode for Smith to come out in.

Would have been the worst regeneration episode ever.

 

The Singing would be transferring the Soul/Memory/Currency stuff. Passion, emotion, etc makes up your soul or the currency version of it, I guess.

I thought someone said in an interview or writeup there was an atmosphere in the rings, it struck me immediately when Clara and the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS, but, they were consistent with it, so, I figured we're supposed to assume it's dealt with

If the Aliens at the bazaar are locals, perhaps it's merely a local thing in that part of the Galaxy

 

Maybe but initially I figured that was the TARDIS doing it's thing a la Amy and Brian hanging outside in space.

 

I missed the Susan reference. What was it and when in the episode?

 

Oh, yea, that was my initial rationalization, until it was consistent throughout the episode that there was no "Non-Oxygenated Space" around, apparently

 

Shortly after they arrived the Doctor mentioned he was there before with his granddaughter...Right before he takes off and Clara bumps into the little girl for the first time.

 

Been thinking things over, got a nitpick. Clara's age. Last week, it's implied she's 24 (the most recent age printed in her book). This week it's implied she was 11 when her mother died (most recent age when standing in the cemetery).

So now we got a problem, when is Clara supposed to be from? Since her mother died in 2005, and assuming Clara is meant to be from 2013, that would mean she should have been 16 in 2005. Interestingly enough, 16 is one of the ages (along with 23) that have been skipped over in her book (which some are specualting could be significant). On the other hand, if she were indeed 11 in 2005, than in order to be 24 she would be from 2018 which is consistent with all the leapfrogging through the modern years done throughout the first half of the season. Indeed, by time of their departure, Amy and Rory should have been from 2016 or so, even though that episode has 2012 spoken many times.

Thoughts?

 

Well, Amy and Rory may have been in New York in 2012. That doesn't mean they left home in 2012. As of "The Power of Three," Amy said that she and Rory had been traveling with the Doctor for 10 years. But what is her reference point? In "The Eleventh Hour," wasn't there a two-year gap at the very end between the events with Prisoner Zero and the Doctor meeting up with Amy again? When does her "10 years with the Doctor" officially start?

I'm just going to assume that Clara is from the not-so-distant future and not worry too much about the dates.

 

The ten years in the TARDIS thing was a matter of perspective. From Amy's persepctive, she's been travelling with the Doctor for ten years, even though from an outside perspective, it's only been six years.

 

Perhaps, but when does it start? Does it start with Prisoner Zero? Does it start two years later when she actually starts traveling with him?

 

I personally assume it starts two years later, when she actually started travelling with him.

 

Okay, and what year would that be then? What year is it when he meets 7-year old Amelia? What year is Prisonor Zero? There's also the two years that the Doctor was "dead" between The Wedding of River Song and The Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe. Amy and Rory skipped ahead a lot. I've never really bothered to actually trace their timeline.

I mean, it doesn't necessarily matter as far as Clara goes. The Doctor could have picked her up from any old time, but I wonder if he would avoid years where he knows the Ponds are still alive and kicking.

 

Season 5 is definitely 2010. The date of Amy and Rory's wedding (which Amy left with the Doctor the night before) was stated on screen to be June 26, 2010. Meaning Prisoner Zero was in 2008, and the Doctor met 7 year old Amelia in 1996 (twelve years prior to Prisoner Zero).

Season 6 is set in 2011 (stated on screen) meaning in The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe the Doctor meets the Ponds on Christmas 2013. Asylum of the Daleks is presumably in 2014, let's say September since that's the month it aired. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is ten months later, making it July 2015. The Power of Three is set from July of one year, to July of the next. I assumed that it began July 2015, to add some consistency, and therefore it ends in July 2016.

 

I was also wondering if they'd go that route... glad they didn't, though he still could have lost some memories.