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Renumber The Doctors?

While I think the War Doctor has redeemed himself to be the Doctor, I don't think it's appropriate to renumber. For starters, I like that Tennant is Ten, it's easy to remember. Second, the prophesy is the Fall of the Eleventh on the fields of Tranzalore. I don't think that can change. Hurt's Doctor is Doctor 8 3/4 if he has to have a number, but he's just the one who skips numbers. I'd have no problem with Capaldi being 13 to indicate that he's accepted his incarnation, but I don't think it really matters overall.
 
From the review thread:
Someone asked Gaiman a question...

Link
harryhadouken asked: Is the War Doctor now considered as the canonical Ninth Doctor?
I don’t really understand the question. I’m tempted to say something like, “No, the John Hurt War Doctor is just something that happened in THE NAME OF THE DOCTOR, THE NIGHT OF THE DOCTOR and THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR on television.”
If it happens on the TV, it’s canonical, unless it isn’t. (For example, no-one seems entirely sure whether we get to see pre-Hartnell regenerations during the mindbending battles of Brain of Morbius.)
We now know there was a regeneration between the Paul McGann Eighth Doctor and the Chris Ecclestone Ninth Doctor, one whom the Doctor himself has only just begun to regard as being The Doctor (as opposed to being something else).
If you mean, “Do we now all have to agree to renumber all the Doctors?”, I think the main purpose of numbering things is to communicate, and we all know who we mean when we say Doctors NIne, Ten or Eleven. If anyone corrects you and says “You mean TWELFTH!” when you say “Matt Smith was the eleventh Doctor” then that person is being irritatingly pedantic and should be pitied, in a nice way and with a gentle friendly, not-patronising sort of love, because they will have long hard lives ahead of them.
I think he's spot on..
Gaiman raises a very good point (in the manner of communication).
 
Gaiman raises a very good point (in the manner of communication).
Hey, I'm the one who raised that point in this very thread ("There's an official version, if people are keen to communicate with other people that's the one they're going to use") and no one paid attention to me because I'm not an award-winning author! :scream:
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/doctor-who-christmas-spoilers-matt-2847509

But on December 25, current theories among millions of fans will be exterminated once and for all when Matt says in a dramatic speech he is the 13th Doctor and adds: "I'm dying and there is nothing I can do about it."

To make more confusing, Matt Smith is now the 13th Doctor, thanks to the War Doctor and 10 regenerating into himself in 'Journey's End'...

Dramatically, I think it makes sense for the episode. It explains why Matt Smith would die at Tranzelore. However, considering they just name-dropped the Valeyard two episodes ago, I'm not sure where he fits in. Unless the Metacrisis Doctor is the Valeyard.
 
Wasn't the Silents' (or is it the Silence?) purpose to prevent the Doctor from reaching Trenzalore? To prevent a future that was infinitely more terrifying, as Maldorum put it? I can only imagine that the Twelfth Doctor is infinitely more terrifying to the Silence, especially if he's drive to restore Gallifrey. But, rather than keeping the Eleventh Doctor from reaching Trenzalore, what if they're there to help him win a battle and not die?
 
It's settled, then. Matt Smith's Doctor is actually the 27th Doctor but we've all agreed to call him the 30th. I'm ready for 31!
 
Gaiman raises a very good point (in the manner of communication).
Hey, I'm the one who raised that point in this very thread ("There's an official version, if people are keen to communicate with other people that's the one they're going to use") and no one paid attention to me because I'm not an award-winning author! :scream:
You're absolutely right. I was really stubborn earlier in the thread, certain this would be a big thing. After watching the episode a second time, reading the plethora of posts in the forum on this subject, and spending the last few days thinking about it, I see the point of clear communication a lot better. More precisely, I realized that the general public will continue to refer each of those Doctors the same way, and honestly, I think they have greater sway than us fanboys. Gaiman's post may have pushed me over the edge of reason, but you, The Mirrorball Man, and a few other sensible-thinking people in this thread and elsewhere, led me to the edge.

It's settled, then. Matt Smith's Doctor is actually the 27th Doctor but we've all agreed to call him the 30th. I'm ready for 31!
Sounds good to me! :bolian:
 
As I mentioned in another thread, the Time Lords have more organs than Humans and one seems to allow for "regeneration energy" that is needed to fully replace the host body when critically injured or aged too far.

It either has enough to regenerate 12 times, or can only recharge so many times before becoming too damaged itself, perhaps the only part that doesn't regenerate with them.

There's nothing to stop them operating on it to repair the damage or tank it up again during the 13th life.

The Doctor's focus is now on restoring his homeworld, I'm sure they'd be happy enough to do it after kicking out the corrupt leadership.
 
I suggest the only acceptable way to settle the matter is to call Capaldi the Fnarg Doctor. Or the Fred Doctor.
 
I've been discussing this in some other forums and everybody seems split about the issue of John Hurt's character. Has he redeemed himself enough to be called The Doctor again? And if so, does that now make him the 9th Doctor, Eccelston the 10th, Tennant the 11th, Smith the 12th and Capaldi the 13th Doctor?

Or do we retain the current numbering of Doctors with Tennant as 10 and Smith as 11?

The character John Hurt plays is the Doctor.

Many actors have also played the Doctor

They are/were not playing separate characters.

Just as Michael J. Fox was not playing two characters when portraying Marty McFly from 1985 and Marty McFly from 2015

Just as Stroppy/Lazy/Stupid Teenage you.. and Sensible/Professional/Reliable Middle Aged You are not seperate..

The change is more dramatic for the Doctor you may say though.

If you would like to number these stages, go ahead. The show has outlined the order in which they happened to him. Go with that.
 
The ironic thing is it wasn't until Moffat took over that the Doctor's current numerical designation was even mentioned in the show itself.
Except both the First Doctor and the Fifth Doctor made reference to which "number" they were in The Five Doctors.

^ It certainly causes a strange mess in the branding of the series. :lol: Every episode guide, every piece of merchandise (action figures etc) that have refered to the Doctor numerically, they've either all become instantly irrelevant...
Or instantly collectible. :p

But they were calling him the Doctor earlier in the Episode and so were the Daleks.
They had to call him something. :shrug:

The reality is: canon changes sometimes. Star Trek canon has grown to accept NX-01 despite a lot of evidence that was (previously) contrary to its existence, and I'd like to think -- I'd like to hope -- that Doctor Who fandom would be big enough to accept Moffat's blatant retcons at face value, and allow their perceptions of the 'canon' to be similarly evolved to accomodate that every Doctor since 2005 needs to be bumped up +1.

I'm not naive enough to believe that will actually happen, though. Fandoms can be a spectacularly finicky lot. :D
This is getting into soap opera levels of retcon, though. Soaps retcon whole families and people who can't possibly exist according to previous canon, not to mention changing peoples' ages practically overnight... I expect more straightforwardness from Doctor Who. After all, it's not like with the Master, who has had many regenerations we know nothing about.

That wouldn't work because Eccleston is officially apart of The Doctor Line. He regenerated from Hurt. Tentoo and The Dream Lord would be off shoot Doctor's.


My list would be of incarnations of the timelord named The Doctor is

1. Hartnell-First
2. Troughton-Second
3. Pertwee-Third
4. T. Baker-Fourth
5. Davison-Fifth
6. C. Baker-Sixth
7. McCoy-Seventh
8. McGann- Eighth
9. Hurt-War
10. Eccleston-Ninth
11. Tennant-Tenth
11.5. Tennant-Tentoo (since there was a regeneration involved and Moffat says it counted)
12. Smith-Eleventh
13a. Jayston-Valeyard (recognized by The Master as The Doctor. An amalgamation of the darkest side of the Doctor created between his twelfth and final incarnation.)
13. Capaldi- Twelth
Which one is "Tentoo"? :confused:

13 is going to call himself "The Last Doctor" just like Hartnel called himself the Definitive Doctor.
That was in The Five Doctors, and it was Richard Hurndall, not Hartnell (he died years before the 20th Anniversary special).

When taking the question of the number of incarnations, one must also keep in mind that:

*The Doctor has had incarnations previous to "one" (Brain of Morbious)

*The Doctor is Half Human (Telemovie)

*The Doctor is 'more than just a timelord' (7th Doctor's era)

*The 10.5/11.5/metacrisis Doctor (At the end of the fourth season of modern Who; forget the episode name)

*River Song used her regeneration energy on the Doctor, possibly altering numbers (Let's Kill Hitler)

*The Valeyard and the Curator

*The Peter Cushing Doctor
If you accept Peter Cushing, you also have to accept Barbara being the Doctor's granddaughter, instead of a human schoolteacher. At this point it's ridiculous to accept Cushing's Doctor as part of the real continuity of the character.

I say there is no natural limit. It was a limit imposed by the TimeLords. If there were a natural limit, how can they "give" another set to the Master (or anyone else)?

As for the numbering, you can say whatever bull you want to make up to appease your OCD, but: 1-8 remain the same, then
Hurt is 9
Eccleston is 10
Tennant is 11
Smith is 12
Capaldi will be 13.
There is no limit no with the regeneration police gone (for now).
In one episode, Four said he's had 107 lives so far, so that 12 is on shaky ground all around.
When did the Fourth Doctor say that? :confused:


This whole debate reminds me of the fuss people made when Mary Tamm's Romana regenerated into Lalla Ward's Romana. Romana II tried on several bodies (including Princess Astra's twice before settling on that body). Fans were wondering why she regenerated in the first place, and if she just burned through several regenerations for the sake of vanity.
 
^ Tentoo aka The MetaCrisis Doctor.
tumblr_mwqtkegYhs1su6whko1_1280.jpg


The half human hybrid who was born from Ten's hand, regeneration energy and Donna Noble.
 
I always look at the Time Lord from a biological perspective. Basically regenerations limit who the Doctor is in my mind.

1 - Hartnell
2 - Troughton
3 - Pertwee
4 - Baker
5 - Davison
6 - Baker
7 - McCoy
8 - McGann
9 - Hurt
10 - Eccleston
11 - Tennant
12 - Smith
13 - Capaldi

If you look at it by a regeneration perspective, the latter part of your list should look like this.

7 - McCoy
8 - McGann
9 - Hurt
10 - Eccleston
11 - Tennant
12 - Tennant (He selfishly used up a regen so that Rose could have a lookalike human boy toy in the parallel universe)
13 - Smith

Beyond normal regen limit - Capaldi.

I think the X-Mas special is going to deal with this limit in some way or shape..maybe in the shape of a crack in the wall, eh?
 
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