Series 11 News & Spoilers

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Let's not forget (no pun intended), that amnesia can mean anything from total memory loss to memories just a little bit scrambled.

12 had all his memories, he just took a while to put them all back in place.
He knew Clara and Strax, he just briefly associated the name with the face wrong which visibly confused him. He just kept insisting he was right, because he is the Doctor and always right.

 

[Starkers]

I'm ok with a little post regeneration amnesia, just so long as she doesn't spend half her first story asleep (I'm looking at you Tennant (and your father in law!))

Modern day companions again I see.

 

[Captain Crow]

Because 2 Doctors had actual amnesia at there regeneration, its "always been there"?

Uh... all the Doctors since Troughton have suffered from some sort of post regenerative amnesia. So yes it's always been there. It's a by product of regenerating due to (as pointed out in "Planet of the Spiders") the brain cells being shaken up during the process.

And before you say "Well Eccleston's Doctor didn't have it!1!!", that Doctor's post regen moments were off screen. Just because we didn't see it doesn't mean that Eccleston's didn't suffer from the usual post regeneration issues.

Just have her immediately go about her life like the 11th Doctor did would be the best thing, instead its probably wasting a whole episode on her "finding herself".

Smith's Doctor was suffering from post regenerative affects during "The Eleventh Hour". But since they were running on adrenaline (similar to how Davison's briefly did in "Castrovalva") during that episode they were able to fight it off most of the time. The Doctor still has a couple brief moments during the episode though.

As for bitching about "wasting a whole episode on her finding herself"... that's kind of the point of a new Doctor's first episode/story. The Doctor starts off getting the hang of their new body and by stories end they've worked it out with an "Okay this is me now. I am the Doctor, whether you like it or not. Let's go!" attitude.

 

[Starkers]

As for bitching about "wasting a whole episode on her finding herself"... that's kind of the point of a new Doctor's first episode/story. The Doctor starts off getting the hang of their new body and by stories end they've worked it out with an "Okay this is me now. I am the Doctor, whether you like it or not. Let's go!" attitude.

This, the episode is as much for the viewer as it is for the character IMO

 

[Mr Awe]

From the 3rd on, there have been some post regeneration wonkiness. Besides, this amnesia, in a synopsis written by who knows who, could last 5 minutes, it could last 50, who knows. But yes, let’s freak out. Let’s scream and gnash our teeth.

It’s a fucking simple synopsis. How often are they super accurate?

Well, I'm not a fan of the regeneration trauma thing, but I said I was going to wait to see the story before deciding. Does this qualify for freaking out these days?!

Specifically, I'm against the trauma/amnesia that knocks the Doctor out for much of the first story.

 

[Jayson1]

The Amnesia idea sounds good to me. It does feel like a kind of reboot move in that she can forget anything in the past they don't want to deal with anymore and just write it off as forgotten memory. I also like the line of "Being a angry Scotch just 20 minutes ago" because that sounds like good Doctor Who comedy. This stuff actually makes me more excited.

Jason

 

[Professor Zoom]

Well, I'm not a fan of the regeneration trauma thing, but I said I was going to wait to see the story before deciding. Does this qualify for freaking out these days?!

The trauma, in some form, not only has been there since the third, it makes sense narratively. The body just changed dramatically, it’s seems weak sauce for the Doctor to stop glowing and go “Welp, where were we?”

Does that mean you are freaking out? I don’t know: are you posting it’s the worst thing ever?

Specifically, I'm against the trauma/amnesia that knocks the Doctor out for much of the first story.

Sure. What makes you think they will be doing that? That they will repeat what they did for the 10th Doctor? Which was a great story and had a great entrance for him.

 

[Jayson1]

The trauma, in some form, not only has been there since the third, it makes sense narratively. The body just changed dramatically, it’s seems weak sauce for the Doctor to stop glowing and go “Welp, where were we?”

Does that mean you are freaking out? I don’t know: are you posting it’s the worst thing ever?



Sure. What makes you think they will be doing that? That they will repeat what they did for the 10th Doctor? Which was a great story and had a great entrance for him.

I think this is more a joke about how Tennant was sleeping through his introduction episode. That felt weird to me but then this was when I felt Rose was the real star of the show. Rose was and is still the best Companion they have had at least since I started watching.

Jason

 

[kirk55555]

Uh... all the Doctors since Troughton have suffered from some sort of post regenerative amnesia. So yes it's always been there. It's a by product of regenerating due to (as pointed out in "Planet of the Spiders") the brain cells being shaken up during the process.

And before you say "Well Eccleston's Doctor didn't have it!1!!", that Doctor's post regen moments were off screen. Just because we didn't see it doesn't mean that Eccleston's didn't suffer from the usual post regeneration issues.

The 10th Doctor didn't have amneisa, he immediately tried to get Rose to go on whatever trip they had been planning before his regeneration. The 11th didn't have amnesia. The 6th was confused for about 5 seconds, and obviously did that...thing... but didn't have amnesia. the 7th Doctor explicitly only had amnesia because of the Rani's injection. The 4th Doctor went crazy, but still wasn't amnesiac, same with the 5th Doctor. The 3rd Doctor had issues, but amnesia wasn't one of them. The 2nd Doctor referred to the 1st as if they were different people for a bit, but he didn't have amnesia.

Hell, the War Doctor didn't seem to have much regeneration problems either, he got right up and walked out. So, yeah, you have two cases of amnesia (that weren't artificially caused). Now, most regenerations have issues, which is fine (even if I prefer the 11th Doctor style regeneration at this point), but amnesia specifically is almost never there, and doing it in two regenerations in a row is asinine and gives the 13th Doctor a really bad impression on the audience. You don't have the first female Doctor question if she even is The Doctor, unless you're specifically trying to get the assholes who don't want a female Doctor some material for their bullshit opinions.

The 13th Doctor needs to start strong. Instead she's going to wander around for 45 minutes not actually being The Doctor until the end. This could easily be the worst opening episode since Time and The Rani, and it could easily be worse. I really have no interest in the first episode at this point, I'd skip it entirely and wait until episode 2 to start the next series if I wasn't such an obsessive nerd.

 

[Jayson1]

The 10th Doctor didn't have amneisa, he immediately tried to get Rose to go on whatever trip they had been planning before his regeneration. The 11th didn't have amnesia. The 6th was confused for about 5 seconds, and obviously did that...thing... but didn't have amnesia. the 7th Doctor explicitly only had amnesia because of the Rani's injection. The 4th Doctor went crazy, but still wasn't amnesiac, same with the 5th Doctor. The 3rd Doctor had issues, but amnesia wasn't one of them. The 2nd Doctor referred to the 1st as if they were different people for a bit, but he didn't have amnesia.

Hell, the War Doctor didn't seem to have much regeneration problems either, he got right up and walked out. So, yeah, you have two cases of amnesia (that weren't artificially caused). Now, most regenerations have issues, which is fine (even if I prefer the 11th Doctor style regeneration at this point), but amnesia specifically is almost never there, and doing it in two regenerations in a row is asinine and gives the 13th Doctor a really bad impression on the audience. You don't have the first female Doctor question if she even is The Doctor, unless you're specifically trying to get the assholes who don't want a female Doctor some material for their bullshit opinions.

The 13th Doctor needs to start strong. Instead she's going to wander around for 45 minutes not actually being The Doctor until the end. This could easily be the worst opening episode since Time and The Rani, and it could easily be worse. I really have no interest in the first episode at this point, I'd skip it entirely and wait until episode 2 to start the next series if I wasn't such an obsessive nerd.

The Doctor doesn't need to be strong. He or she just needs to be smart and funny with a little bit of ego. He or she isn't a traditional action hero. She doesn't need to have her shit together because that is often very boring. I like it when characters are out of their league or vunerable who then rise up only when crisis is at hand.

Jason

 

[Mr Awe]

The trauma, in some form, not only has been there since the third, it makes sense narratively. The body just changed dramatically, it’s seems weak sauce for the Doctor to stop glowing and go “Welp, where were we?”

Just because it's always been there doesn't mean it's a good thing. Although, I don't mind it in small doses. Particularly bad examples are Davison's and Tennant's first stories. It's when the trauma interferes with getting to know the new Doctor. *That's* the weak sauce.

Does that mean you are freaking out? I don’t know: are you posting it’s the worst thing ever?

I assume you're reading this thread since you're overgeneralizing in it. So, you should know what I've written a few posts upthread.

Sure. What makes you think they will be doing that? That they will repeat what they did for the 10th Doctor? Which was a great story and had a great entrance for him.

Tennant's first story was great, when he finally woke up!

It was apparently worthy enough for the producers to mention it on several occasions. Link to it that apparently the gender change won't be mentioned much if at all, and, yeah, there's some concern that the amnesia thing could be overboard. However, I specifically said that I'd wait to see the story itself.

So, calm down a bit, OK?

 

[Starkers]

Hey, here's a crazy thought, let's watch the fricking episode and then decide?

I think we can excuse the War Doctor given the way Eight's regeneration was triggered, and for goodness sake we heard him say a single sentence and saw his reflection for a few seconds. For all we know immediately after that he stripped all his clothes off and ran around the room purring like a cat!

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Yeah, I'm not "freaked out" myself. In fact, fairly sure I want to enjoy the episode that's coming, regardless of any preconceived notions I might have. However, I do believe the amnesia plot, in and of itself, has never quite worked as a story before, and I think even RTD knew better than to have the Tenth Doctor not remember who he was after his regeneration.

 

[Mr Awe]

Hey, here's a crazy thought, let's watch the fricking episode and then decide?

Agreed! But, apparently that's considered freaking out nowadays. Well, I suppose by the Internet's standards, that's pretty darn far out there!

 

[Butters]

All the other time lords we’ve seen so far just seem the shrug it off, brush themselves down, and carry on with what they’re doing. Even River managed it better than the doctor, and she’s human.

Post regen trauma is not a narrative necessity.

 

[kirk55555]

Yeah, the freaking General didn't freak out, she just went "Well, happy to be a woman again". River had no issues either, and neither did Romana. I get that part of a recurring joke on the show is that The Doctor is really shit at actually being a Timelord (he couldn't control his ship for possibly centuries, etc) but he has now had more regenerations then 99% of timelords have ever had. If River can do it perfectly at regeneration #2, and Romana in her very first regeneration, then by this regeneration The Doctor should act like she just changed her clothes, not waste time (in a show that loses an episode every year, so it has no time to waste) doing a stupid amnesia story.

 

[Professor Zoom]

The 10th Doctor didn't have amneisa, he immediately tried to get Rose to go on whatever trip they had been planning before his regeneration. The 11th didn't have amnesia. The 6th was confused for about 5 seconds, and obviously did that...thing... but didn't have amnesia. the 7th Doctor explicitly only had amnesia because of the Rani's injection. The 4th Doctor went crazy, but still wasn't amnesiac, same with the 5th Doctor. The 3rd Doctor had issues, but amnesia wasn't one of them. The 2nd Doctor referred to the 1st as if they were different people for a bit, but he didn't have amnesia.

Hell, the War Doctor didn't seem to have much regeneration problems either, he got right up and walked out. So, yeah, you have two cases of amnesia (that weren't artificially caused). Now, most regenerations have issues, which is fine (even if I prefer the 11th Doctor style regeneration at this point), but amnesia specifically is almost never there, and doing it in two regenerations in a row is asinine and gives the 13th Doctor a really bad impression on the audience. You don't have the first female Doctor question if she even is The Doctor, unless you're specifically trying to get the assholes who don't want a female Doctor some material for their bullshit opinions.

The 13th Doctor needs to start strong. Instead she's going to wander around for 45 minutes not actually being The Doctor until the end. This could easily be the worst opening episode since Time and The Rani, and it could easily be worse.

Of course, all of the examples you give, those Doctors still suffered SOME form of post regeneration trauma. Either manic episodes, amnesia, etc.

Just because it's always been there doesn't mean it's a good thing. Although, I don't mind it in small doses. Particularly bad examples are Davison's and Tennant's first stories. It's when the trauma interferes with getting to know the new Doctor. *That's* the weak sauce.

It's a lovely opinion, but, it's that. I rather like the first stories as the Doctor is figuring out who they are. A fully formed Doctor, with no repercussions from regeneration, a literally life changing event, wouldn't make much sense to me.

We are getting to know the new Doctor as the Doctor is getting to know the Doctor.

I assume you're reading this thread since you're overgeneralizing in it. So, you should know what I've written a few posts upthread.

I am reading the thread, but, you'll have to excuse me, but, (and I don't mean to bruise your ego) I haven't been keeping track of what you've been writing. Or did you think my comment was aimed specifically at you?

Tennant's first story was great, when he finally woke up!

Again, a lovely opinion. But, I disagree. I rather liked watching Rose and the group dealing with a problem that's to much for them. I liked the characters, I liked the story, all of it.

It was apparently worthy enough for the producers to mention it on several occasions. Link to it that apparently the gender change won't be mentioned much if at all, and, yeah, there's some concern that the amnesia thing could be overboard. However, I specifically said that I'd wait to see the story itself.

Seriously, do you think my comment was aimed specifically at you?

So, calm down a bit, OK?

Which is... exactly my point.

 

[Redfern]

The only thing which might "freak me out" would be the omission of a 5.5 inch (1/13th scale) Whittaker action figure to go with the rest of my collection. No, I don't own every figure Character Options has released, but one should, at least have all the Doctors, bonus points if one has some of the more notable "alternates" (read: different clothes).

 

[Mr Awe]

It's a lovely opinion, but, it's that. I rather like the first stories as the Doctor is figuring out who they are. A fully formed Doctor, with no repercussions from regeneration, a literally life changing event, wouldn't make much sense to me.

Reading comprehension. That's not what I've ever said. My issue is when the amnesia/trauma is to such a large degree that the Doctor is absent from large portions of the story. See 5th and 10th for prime examples.

I am reading the thread, but, you'll have to excuse me, but, (and I don't mean to bruise your ego) I haven't been keeping track of what you've been writing. Or did you think my comment was aimed specifically at you?

A little advice for you. It's not recommended to toss out abrasive generalities in the first place. But, if you do, it's good to know what people are actually saying.

I'm quoting you here, "But yes, let’s freak out. Let’s scream and gnash our teeth."

Don't be surprised if you get push back to that. I didn't see any of that in this thread and you were clearly overreacting. It was hard to tell who you were aiming it at exactly, but it seemed like it was directed at everyone who had some concerns over the amnesia approach.

Anyway, I reiterate my advice to you. Calm down a bit. Maybe take a break. When you start making comments like you did, it's time to walk away from the keyboard.

 

[Jayson1]

Nobody is freaking out as far as I can tell. I can tell because people are typing and thus are not into the mandatory straight jackets that are required when going into that kind of mental state.

Jason