Death of the Doctor Spoilers

[The Wormhole]

2. At one point, Martha describes the Master as "immortal". This suggests that she's aware that Time Lords can regenrate indefinitely.

No, Martha never describes the Master as immortal. While explaining to Tom Milligan and Professor Docherty that she's looking for a way to kill the Master, Milligan waves his gun in the air and says that would do the trick. Martha then explains that it wouldn't since the Master would just regenerate, to which Docherty comments "great, he's immortal." Clearly, Docherty is just making a guess based on the info that's just been revealed to her, and at no time in this coversation does Martha or really anyone actually establish that the Master or any Time Lord are truly immortal.

 

[The]

^The Doc first mentioned regeneration to Martha when he thought he was going to die in 42. Personally, I really loved that moment. It showed that he was genuinely scared because he was trying to warn her about his imminent pseudo-death. I don't remember him ever reaching that point in a crisis where it wasn't his final stand, save the cop-out-regen in Stolen Earth.

It was actually one of the only things I really enjoyed in that episode. If only it had been used to sell a threat in a better story.

But, still, all he had the chance to say was that "something" happens if he's about to die. He didn't really described it... well, on screen, he didn't really describe it at all as a means of avoiding death, but either way, Martha's reaction in "Drums" indicated she didn't know about it.

MARTHA:
Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn’t the professor.

JACK:
If the Master’s a Time Lord, he must have regenerated.

MARTHA:
What does that mean?

JACK:
Means he’s changed his face, voice, body, everything. New man.

Oh, I'm not disagreeing with you! I was just pointing out that brief moment as the first time he brought it up to her. And true, he didn't even call it by name. Like you, I too wish it had been used for a bigger threat and a better story...

 

[Skellington]

Has anyone actually thought that the Timelords themselves actually suspened the regeneration limit in light of the Last Great Time War?

Yep.

Exidence?

1. The Doc has apparently burned through four regenerations in fewer than ten years (8 to 9, 9 to 10, 10 to 10, 10 to 11). Perhaps a bit careless of him if he's only got a few left.

Slight problem with your math ... There's at least 100 years between Waters of Mars and End of Time. As the Doctor steps out of the Tardis, he says so to Ood Sigma.

Additionally, we still have no idea just how much time passed in the episode "Rose." At the end, the Doctor flies off in the Tardis. Then, seconds later - from Rose's perspective - the Tardis reappears. While it's possible Nine took off and came right back, it's equally possible he went off and had hundreds of adventures with dozens of companions before deciding to come back for Rose. We already know he was around for JFK's assassination, the Titanic, and other events, thanks to the same episode.

Re. the first bit: It was 100 years for them, not for him. He states his age as 900 in Aliens Of London, 903 or 904 in one of the specials, 906 in The End Of Time and 907 in season 6.

Re. The second paragraph: I don't think that he spent very much time travelling before he returned for Rose, but it's at least possible; hence the word "apparently".

 

[OmahaStar]

Re. the first bit: It was 100 years for them, not for him. He states his age as 900 in Aliens Of London, 903 or 904 in one of the specials, 906 in The End Of Time and 907 in season 6.

We also know he lies about his age. He was well over 900 in his Seventh incarnation. He could be getting forgetful about that, or vain. Oh, we know Ten was vain, maybe that's one of the things he was lying about? It's like Blanche on Golden Girls, having the governor of her state remove the birth year from her birth certificate as a favor.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Yep.

Exidence?

1. The Doc has apparently burned through four regenerations in fewer than ten years (8 to 9, 9 to 10, 10 to 10, 10 to 11). Perhaps a bit careless of him if he's only got a few left.

Slight problem with your math ... There's at least 100 years between Waters of Mars and End of Time. As the Doctor steps out of the Tardis, he says so to Ood Sigma.

It was 100 years for the rest of time, not the Doctor. He was still only 906 when he was speaking to Wilf later, and was 907 in Flesh and Stone.

Yep.

Exidence?

1. The Doc has apparently burned through four regenerations in fewer than ten years (8 to 9, 9 to 10, 10 to 10, 10 to 11). Perhaps a bit careless of him if he's only got a few left.

Slight problem with your math ... There's at least 100 years between Waters of Mars and End of Time. As the Doctor steps out of the Tardis, he says so to Ood Sigma.

Additionally, we still have no idea just how much time passed in the episode "Rose." At the end, the Doctor flies off in the Tardis. Then, seconds later - from Rose's perspective - the Tardis reappears. While it's possible Nine took off and came right back, it's equally possible he went off and had hundreds of adventures with dozens of companions before deciding to come back for Rose. We already know he was around for JFK's assassination, the Titanic, and other events, thanks to the same episode.

Re. the first bit: It was 100 years for them, not for him. He states his age as 900 in Aliens Of London, 903 or 904 in one of the specials, 906 in The End Of Time and 907 in season 6.

Re. The second paragraph: I don't think that he spent very much time travelling before he returned for Rose, but it's at least possible; hence the word "apparently".

I though it was just 100 years since he lasted visitied the Ood homeworld, since he was suprised at the level their civilization reached in that time.

 

[Skellington]

We also know he lies about his age. He was well over 900 in his Seventh incarnation. He could be getting forgetful about that, or vain. Oh, we know Ten was vain, maybe that's one of the things he was lying about? It's like Blanche on Golden Girls, having the governor of her state remove the birth year from her birth certificate as a favor.

His age is a whole 'nuther thread, really. Both he and the Rani were 953 in Time And The Rani, though RTD seemed to ignore everything after the seventies when he brought back the show. I like to think that the Doctor was using Gallifrey years before the Time War and Earth years after, or that chunks of his past were deleted. If the show had incremented the numbers at the same rate, he should probably be about 1200 to 1300 by now. Maybe he's just fibbing, but when you're immortal there's probably no need to. (Not that old age was ever going to get him anyway.)

 

[The Wormhole]

Re. The second paragraph: I don't think that he spent very much time travelling before he returned for Rose, but it's at least possible; hence the word "apparently".

Thing is, we kind of do have to accept that he spent some time travelling before returning for Rose simply to explain the pictures of him without her. If we accept the Doctor's comments about his looks upon looking in the mirror as indication he'd just regenerated, then that doesn't leave a lot of room for those events to happen. Maybe his visit to the Titanic was before the events of the episode, wasn't that the picture of Eccleston wearing something similar to McGann's costume?

Re. the first bit: It was 100 years for them, not for him. He states his age as 900 in Aliens Of London, 903 or 904 in one of the specials, 906 in The End Of Time and 907 in season 6.

We also know he lies about his age. He was well over 900 in his Seventh incarnation. He could be getting forgetful about that, or vain. Oh, we know Ten was vain, maybe that's one of the things he was lying about? It's like Blanche on Golden Girls, having the governor of her state remove the birth year from her birth certificate as a favor.

The point is, it was in fact Ood Sigma who said 100 years went by from their perspective since the events of Planet of the Ood. We have no indication how long it was from the Doctor's perspective. True, the Doctor's age is a troublesome issue indeed, but since the series returned, they've consistently been building the age up from 900. Maybe the Doctor started counting years again when he met Rose, and starting at 900 he's been keeping track since then?

 

[Starkers]

Re. The second paragraph: I don't think that he spent very much time travelling before he returned for Rose, but it's at least possible; hence the word "apparently".

Thing is, we kind of do have to accept that he spent some time travelling before returning for Rose simply to explain the pictures of him without her. If we accept the Doctor's comments about his looks upon looking in the mirror as indication he'd just regenerated, then that doesn't leave a lot of room for those events to happen. Maybe his visit to the Titanic was before the events of the episode, wasn't that the picture of Eccleston wearing something similar to McGann's costume?

Well there is another option, and that is that Rose was travelling with him when his photo was taken, she was just never in shot.

In fact how cool would it be for a companion's first view of the Doctor was old photos showing them with this mysterious man they've never met yet?

I think RTD missed a trick there...

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Don't worry, I'm sure Moffat will do it with the next companion.

 

[OmahaStar]

Don't worry, I'm sure Moffat will do it with the next companion.

Perv! There shouldn't be a casting couch in Doctor Who! Russell Tovey/Midshipman Frame not counting.

 

[Starkers]

Isn't that how colin got the gig?

 

[The]

Whoa! Flag on the play! Illegal abuse of Colin Baker....penalty for Starkers...