A BIG Spoiler Is Coming

[N-121973]

Spoiler

Maybe Capaldi will be playing not the Doctor but one or both of the characters he played previously on in 'Fires of Pompeii' or 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' and it's designed to undo/resolve those plots? Perhaps Saving the lives of Capaldi and his family in 'Children of Earth' because a future descendent is vital to the future?

 

[Mr Soak]

Spoiler

Maybe Capaldi will be playing not the Doctor but one or both of the characters he played previously on in 'Fires of Pompeii' or 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' and it's designed to undo/resolve those plots? Perhaps Saving the lives of Capaldi and his family in 'Children of Earth' because a future descendent is vital to the future?

Spoiler

His character's name is John Frobisher. No relation to the Whidderfil companion. Might explain why his Doctor runs like a penguin with its arse on fire, though.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Spoiler

His character's name is John Frobisher. No relation to the Whidderfil companion. Might explain why his Doctor runs like a penguin with its arse on fire, though.

As far as wild speculation goes, that's a pretty good one.

 

[The Wormhole]

Sweet fuck, do people still think there's a story to tell explaining Capaldi's appearance in Day of the Doctor? There isn't anymore than we need it explained what Eccleston or any of the first Eight were doing prior to showing up. If anything, the interesting story is why is there two Sylvester McCoys?

Spoiler

Maybe Capaldi will be playing not the Doctor but one or both of the characters he played previously on in 'Fires of Pompeii' or 'Torchwood: Children of Earth' and it's designed to undo/resolve those plots? Perhaps Saving the lives of Capaldi and his family in 'Children of Earth' because a future descendent is vital to the future?

RTD explained Capaldi's character in Children of Earth is a direct descendant of his character from Fires of Pompeii, and that the murder/suicide we see in Children of Earth is the timeline correcting itself because the family was supposed to be killed in Pompeii. So, for two thousand years there was a family line existing that shouldn't have.

No, it makes no sense, but I like it better that Moffat's anti-climactic explanation for why the Doctor took on the Capaldi form.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

^ One of the stupider aspects of series 9. Its so unsatisfactory, you can't believe its now a canonical "explanation".

Like when the Doctor took the Colin Baker face from Arc of Infinity, to prove to the universe that even a jerk can be a hero... or something, I don't know.

 

[The Wormhole]

One of the stupider aspects of series 9. Its so unsatisfactory, you can't believe its now a canonical "explanation".

The worst part is we waited two whole years for that explanation.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

Its not even that I minded the set-up in Deep Breath. I liked the subtlety of that moment, IMO.

But see, its things like that that Moffat has done that I find repulsive. Its one thing to imply it, but to implicitly state it in that way shows of Moffat's need to put his stamp on the show. I'd have been fine if it was implied that the Doctor simply took faces of people from all over the cosmos (well, Earth really) that have already existed because he can't create one of his own. Could explain why he looked like villains like Salamander or that guard from Arc, or even that Nazi soldier from that BF audio story.

Really, though, anything than what Moffat did, which was an afterthought and not really a focal point to the story it was present. It was a forced element that came out of nowhere.

 

[N-121973]

Sweet fuck, do people still think there's a story to tell explaining Capaldi's appearance in Day of the Doctor? There isn't anymore than we need it explained what Eccleston or any of the first Eight were doing prior to showing up. If anything, the interesting story is why is there two Sylvester McCoys?

RTD explained Capaldi's character in Children of Earth is a direct descendant of his character from Fires of Pompeii, and that the murder/suicide we see in Children of Earth is the timeline correcting itself because the family was supposed to be killed in Pompeii. So, for two thousand years there was a family line existing that shouldn't have.

No, it makes no sense, but I like it better that Moffat's anti-climactic explanation for why the Doctor took on the Capaldi form.

I'm aware of the explanation, but maybe the correction of the timeline was the wrong one like Barry Allen triggering Flashpoint. Bear in mind it was the Doctor's meddling in the very first Christmas Special that led to many of the events in Children of Earth. Anyway we'll all find out on Christmas Day (world events permitting).

 

[The Wormhole]

Hey, it's bad enough accepting that Time Itself took two thousand years to arrange a murder/suicide to end the family line when it could have just as easily arranged the family to suffer a tragic accident on their way to Rome (Adelaide Brook's unscheduled survival was sorted out quickly enough). Now you're suggesting Time Itself made a mistake?

Besides, the basic crux of the events of Children of Earth sprang forth from an event in the 1960s which the Doctor's meddling had nothing to do with.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Seeing as Capaldi is the first Dr in this new line of regenerations, and Moffet being a Who fan, do you think they will mimic Hartnell's regen scene with Capaldi in the Tardis with it seemingly flying itself as he slowly regen's on the floor.

I think that would be fun to see again new and uptodate.

 

[The Wormhole]

The trailer for the season at the end of The Pilot shows Capaldi regenerating, and he's standing in the "regeneration pose" started by Eccleston.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

Could be bait and switch, like the Tennent one.

 

[StCoop]

The trailer for the season at the end of The Pilot shows Capaldi regenerating, and he's standing in the "regeneration pose" started by Eccleston.

Given that's from Episode 8, it's safe to say he's not really.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Given that's from Episode 8, it's safe to say he's not really.

How do you know it's from episode 8?

 

[StCoop]

How do you know it's from episode 8?

The ragged coat and the "Truth Soldiers" are definitely from Episode 8. (It was the one with most public shooting of the current series for those of us who keep track of that stuff.) And he's back to a smarter outfit for the last two episodes.

I can even make a reasonable guess about what's actually happening based on the description of the episode in the Radio Times preview..

 

[Tom]

Perhaps he is starting to regenerate but is able to stop and hold it back for a while. A little like 10 did when he did his 'Reward' tour before finally regenerating.

 

[N-121973]

Hey, it's bad enough accepting that Time Itself took two thousand years to arrange a murder/suicide to end the family line when it could have just as easily arranged the family to suffer a tragic accident on their way to Rome (Adelaide Brook's unscheduled survival was sorted out quickly enough). Now you're suggesting Time Itself made a mistake?

Besides, the basic crux of the events of Children of Earth sprang forth from an event in the 1960s which the Doctor's meddling had nothing to do with.

That's true, the events began with an incident in the sixties, but the Doctor changed history by ending Harriet Jones' premiership which should have lasted 3 terms and brought prosperity to Britain according to the 9th Doctor. My reading of her character is that she would have handled the events of 'Children of Earth' very differently, they may not even have happened at all. She might have even sent for the Doctor (or at least Torchwood) to sort them out and remember it's not just Capaldi's family that bought the farm it was also Captain Jack's grandson, who knows what, if any change that may have had on the timeline. As you yourself said the timeline could have sorted things out much quicker following the events of 'Fires of Pompei'. And Capaldi's character may have had siblings - certainly there are other relatives - so the line isn't necessarily dead.

 

[The Wormhole]

Either way, I doubt Moffat is going to cap off his era addressing a storyline from Torchwood. Outside of cameos and budget-saving recycles he barely acknowledges much from RTD's era of Doctor Who. I mean, in the past seven years we've had what, a few random Judoon and Ood appearances, and a scene set at the Shadow Proclamation, a clip from Fires of Pompeii explaining why the Doctor now has the Capaldi form, imagery of Eccleston, Tennant and their companions, and fleshing out the Tenth Doctor's relationship with Queen Elizabeth I. That's about it for references to the RTD era outside of stuff from Moffat's episodes back then that have worked their way into the show. I very much doubt that Moffat is going to spend his last few episodes as showrunner devoted to a storyline from Torchwood. Also, such a move would more or less be everything everyone hated about TATV.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

^ Speaking of the Ood, I hope Chibnall revisits them.

That first planet they were on while running from Heather reminded me a little of the Ood homeworld and not at all of a gravel quarry.

 

[StCoop]

So according to the new DWM the contents of The Vault will be revealed in Episode 6 which I guess rules out it being John Simm in there.