Heaven Sent / Hell Bent official details. (Spoilers!)

[sttngfan1701d]

There's a few early reviews out now (surprised the Beeb didn't want to keep this one secret) and there's a couple of common threads running through them; that it's not the episode the trailers are leading us to expect, that there's a controversial appearance halfway through (Zombie Tennant?) and hints that Clara will end up getting the patented Moffat Get Out Of Death Free card after all.

I'm probably this forum's biggest Clara fan. I love her. But even I can't see how Moffat would bring her back without REALLY cheapening her death and also not staying true to the character arc she went through in series 9.

All Clara wants to do is travel with the Doctor. If they bring her back (that is, Clara proper, not Oswin or a splinter), especially since Jenna is leaving the show this very episode, what are they going to do? Short of having her steal her own TARDIS and have her own adventures (which is the ending I'd always hoped for her, personally), how do they justify that?

She won't go "Okay, so I died living this life and I was given a second chance by the Timelords or whatever, so now I'll be a good girl and play it safe and teach at Coal Hill." She'd want to travel more. The Doctor will be thrilled to have her back, only to say "Traveling with me got you killed. Time to go home."? That would be as lame as their lying "hug" in Death in Heaven.

Whoever they "regenerate" in the episode, I don't think it's Clara. If it is, they better have a good reason for it.

 

[Lonemagpie]

Whoever they "regenerate" in the episode, I don't think it's Clara. If it is, they better have a good reason for it.

Probably Ken Bones's General, as there's a "Female General" listed - so far they're haved mention of Timeys changing sex, a Timey who has changed gender, so it's inevitable that they'll go for showing a regeneration with it someday, to prepare the viewers for a future female Doctor.

 

[The Wormhole]

As part of their Advent Calendar, BBC has released a clip from Hell Bent. Nothing too revealing, but interesting all the same.

 

[Lonemagpie]

What's interesting - or depressing - about looking at the nothing but spoiler-free reviews of Hell Bent (cos I'll be away and not see it) is how, regardless of the reviewrs' identities, they all seem to be the *same* review, with the same points in the same order, even down to which paragraph has the praise-the-director bit or whatever...

 

[StCoop]

What's interesting - or depressing - about looking at the nothing but spoiler-free reviews of Hell Bent (cos I'll be away and not see it) is how, regardless of the reviewrs' identities, they all seem to be the *same* review, with the same points in the same order, even down to which paragraph has the praise-the-director bit or whatever...

Ooh, I've gotten in trouble before for suggesting that a website's ability to get the episodes in advance is any any way conditional on giving a certain sort of review. Or that Set Visits and Exclusive Interviews could ever possibly come with any sort of strings attached. (I'm sure it's total coincidence that one well-known blogtor, sorry, blogger, has reviewed every episode of Series 9 glowingly except for Sleep No More and The Woman Who Lived, which mysteriously didn't get reviewed at all.)

 

[Samurai8472]

Ten teasers from Digitalspy

Spoiler: spoiler

1. This is an episode steeped in Doctor Who history - regeneration, the Time War and relics from the past all play a part.

2. "Nothing's sad till it's over - then everything is."

3. Murray Gold's superb 'The Doctor's Theme ' - also known as 'Bad Wolf Theme' - is back for the first time in years.

4. "Words are his weapons."

5. One moment echoes 1997 Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One. Seriously.

6. "You like a cliffhanger, don't you?"

7. The Doctor describes something as "well hard".

8. "How many regenerations did we grant you?"

9. Something that's happened before happens again - but in reverse.

10. "He was a good man once."

My guess on some

Spoiler: spoilers

#2- Widely known to be part of some dialogue with ClaraSplinter#5- GET OFF MY TARDIS!

#8- The Doctor possibly being tortured by taking his regenerations away?

 

[Romulan_spy]

My speculation:

Spoiler: My thoughts on these spoilers

2. "Nothing's sad till it's over - then everything is."

Could this be the Doctor's final goodbye to Clara because he knows this the last time he will see a splinter Clara? Or maybe the Doctor knows he will never see Gallifrey again?

8. "How many regenerations did we grant you?"

Maybe the Time Lords did not give the Doctor a fixed set in TOTD but rather just gave him a random amount of regeneration energy?

9. Something that's happened before happens again - but in reverse.

Maybe Capaldi's Doctor steals another TARDIS?

 

[matthunter]

What's interesting - or depressing - about looking at the nothing but spoiler-free reviews of Hell Bent (cos I'll be away and not see it) is how, regardless of the reviewrs' identities, they all seem to be the *same* review, with the same points in the same order, even down to which paragraph has the praise-the-director bit or whatever...

Ooh, I've gotten in trouble before for suggesting that a website's ability to get the episodes in advance is any any way conditional on giving a certain sort of review. Or that Set Visits and Exclusive Interviews could ever possibly come with any sort of strings attached. (I'm sure it's total coincidence that one well-known blogtor, sorry, blogger, has reviewed every episode of Series 9 glowingly except for Sleep No More and The Woman Who Lived, which mysteriously didn't get reviewed at all.)

I believe you went a bit further than that and implied Blogtor was paid for the reviews. Which is, y'know, slander.

 

[matthunter]

Ten teasers from Digitalspy

Spoiler: spoiler

1. This is an episode steeped in Doctor Who history - regeneration, the Time War and relics from the past all play a part.

2. "Nothing's sad till it's over - then everything is."

3. Murray Gold's superb 'The Doctor's Theme ' - also known as 'Bad Wolf Theme' - is back for the first time in years.

4. "Words are his weapons."

5. One moment echoes 1997 Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One. Seriously.

6. "You like a cliffhanger, don't you?"

7. The Doctor describes something as "well hard".

8. "How many regenerations did we grant you?"

9. Something that's happened before happens again - but in reverse.

10. "He was a good man once."

My guess on some

Spoiler: spoilers

#2- Widely known to be part of some dialogue with ClaraSplinter#5- GET OFF MY TARDIS!

#8- The Doctor possibly being tortured by taking his regenerations away?

My take on #8

Spoiler: Spoiler

Either the TLs playing on uncertainty on the Doctor's part as to how many lives he has left, in order to bring him to heel - won't work because we know he'll oppose evil until his final, final breath...

OR

It's an attempt at reminding him that he "owes" them for saving him at Trenzalore. Also won't work because 1) they did it to save their own hides and 2) it was Clara who prodded them to do it... Which is likely to set him even further off into "how dare you put her at risk?" revenge territory.

 

[BruntFCA]

There's a few early reviews out now (surprised the Beeb didn't want to keep this one secret) and there's a couple of common threads running through them; that it's not the episode the trailers are leading us to expect, that there's a controversial appearance halfway through (Zombie Tennant?) and hints that Clara will end up getting the patented Moffat Get Out Of Death Free card after all.

I'd be shocked if that didn't happen TBH. That's the reason I felt absolutely nothing and just rolled my eyes during Clara's "death" in Face the Raven, anyone who's watched this show before knows the deal.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Ten teasers from Digitalspy

Spoiler: spoiler

1. This is an episode steeped in Doctor Who history - regeneration, the Time War and relics from the past all play a part.

2. "Nothing's sad till it's over - then everything is."

3. Murray Gold's superb 'The Doctor's Theme ' - also known as 'Bad Wolf Theme' - is back for the first time in years.

4. "Words are his weapons."

5. One moment echoes 1997 Harrison Ford action flick Air Force One. Seriously.

6. "You like a cliffhanger, don't you?"

7. The Doctor describes something as "well hard".

8. "How many regenerations did we grant you?"

9. Something that's happened before happens again - but in reverse.

10. "He was a good man once."

My guess on some

Spoiler: spoilers

#2- Widely known to be part of some dialogue with ClaraSplinter#5- GET OFF MY TARDIS!

#8- The Doctor possibly being tortured by taking his regenerations away?

My take on #8

Spoiler: Spoiler

Either the TLs playing on uncertainty on the Doctor's part as to how many lives he has left, in order to bring him to heel - won't work because we know he'll oppose evil until his final, final breath...

OR

It's an attempt at reminding him that he "owes" them for saving him at Trenzalore. Also won't work because 1) they did it to save their own hides and 2) it was Clara who prodded them to do it... Which is likely to set him even further off into "how dare you put her at risk?" revenge territory.

Spoiler: Another thing about #8

We also don't really know how much regenergy the Doctor had sucked out of him in The Witch's Familiar.

River gave up everything to heal the Doctor in Let's Kill Hitler, and that didn't take as long.

The Timelords may be asking because as far as they know, he should have a full set of regerations and they want to know where the rest went.

 

[Romulan_spy]

Spoiler: Another thing about #8

We also don't really know how much regenergy the Doctor had sucked out of him in The Witch's Familiar.

River gave up everything to heal the Doctor in Let's Kill Hitler, and that didn't take as long.

The Timelords may be asking because as far as they know, he should have a full set of regerations and they want to know where the rest went.

Spoiler: Another thing about #8

It is also possible that the Time Lords don't know right away which number Capaldi's Doctor is. All they know is that they gave Smith's Doctor a new set. Then sometime later, this Doctor shows up. They don't know if there have been a couple regenerations in between Smith's Doctor and Capaldi's Doctor. For all they know, Capaldi's Doctor could be #14, #15 or #18.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

In DOTD they knew "all 13" were there when Capaldi arrived (though they hadn't given the energy to allow Capaldi to exist yet).

They always seemed to know which one was which in the past (ie: The Three Doctors).

 

[matthunter]

In DOTD they knew "all 13" were there when Capaldi arrived (though they hadn't given the energy to allow Capaldi to exists yet).

They always seemed to know which one was which in the past (ie: The Three Doctors).

Which begs the question of whether they knew about Handy. A Time Lord should have thirteen lives, so the appearance of a thirteenth TARDIS shouldn't have elicited shock, unless...

1) They knew that "Eleven" was the "current" Doctor and thus the appearance of a future version was a surprise.

Or

2) They knew about Handy and weren't expecting him to show up (since alternate dimension, no TARDIS, human lifespan, yadda yadda) so the appearance of a thirteenth TARDIS was a conundrum as they knew the Doctor shouldn't have any more lives.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Handy? You mean the clone Rose got to live with on Pete's World..

How the hell did he get a TARDIS?

 

[The Wormhole]

Handy? You mean the clone Rose got to live with on Pete's World..

How the hell did he get a TARDIS?

"Handy" just means Tennant from Journey's End to End of Time, the result of the Hand Job Regeneration. Even though the Doctor kept the same form, this still counts as a separate life according to Time of the Doctor.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Handy? You mean the clone Rose got to live with on Pete's World..

How the hell did he get a TARDIS?

"Handy" just means Tennant from Journey's End to End of Time, the result of the Hand Job Regeneration. Even though the Doctor kept the same form, this still counts as a separate life according to Time of the Doctor.

OK well I hope the meta crisis clone of 10 never returns. He can stay with Rose and snog her all he wants.. Plus he doesn't have a TARDIS..

 

[Romulan_spy]

I am sure you all have seen this already but here is a preview tease for Hell Bent. The President of Gallifrey wants to know where the Doctor is:
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft6UFAH6ov8[/yt]

 

[Romulan_spy]

Entertainment Weekly has a quote from Moffat about the finale:

That’s according to showrunner Steven Moffat. The Who executive producer has told EW that the season-ender — entitled “Hell Bent” — will leave viewers “hopefully satisfied, and pleased, and a tiny bit devastated. It’s pretty emotional stuff. We get quite dark. It’s quite a journey.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/04/doctor-who-finale-steven-moffat