Steven Moffat's replacement selected?

[The Wormhole]

he didn't do a thing about those mistakes! It was just a line that sounded good, apparently.

To be fair, in the episode the line seemed only to be about the Doctor deciding to make clear the nature of his relationship with Clara. It was the trailers constantly using the line that made it seem like it was setting something up.

Here's the thing: I don't want them to find Gallifrey. At least for a long, long time.

Lets face it: The Time Lords are a crap species. I mean, besides Romana, is there any other reason to bring back the Time Lords?

"This is Gallifrey" is a nice tune to listen to.

No, you're right, the Time Lords are more interesting in their absence and if Gallifrey is never found, you'll hear no complaints from me on the matter.

There was no evidence before The Time Of The Doctor that the Doctor was on his last regeneration,

That's because prior to Time of the Doctor, even Moffat didn't know the Doctor was on his last regeneration. The original plan for Time was that in addition to the truth field the Time Lords had set something up on Trenzalore preventing regeneration, thus requiring the Doctor to get really old, until finally after Clara lectured the crack, the Time Lords decided to restore regeneration. But since Day of the Doctor introduced a whole new previous incarnation of the Doctor, Moffat realized that by deciding the aborted regeneration from Journey's End counts, the Doctor could be on his last life now and they would have the regeneration preventer with a canonical precedent. And the Time Lords would end up granting the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, thereby putting that matter to rest also.

 

[DWF]

There was no evidence before The Time Of The Doctor that the Doctor was on his last regeneration,

That's because prior to Time of the Doctor, even Moffat didn't know the Doctor was on his last regeneration. The original plan for Time was that in addition to the truth field the Time Lords had set something up on Trenzalore preventing regeneration, thus requiring the Doctor to get really old, until finally after Clara lectured the crack, the Time Lords decided to restore regeneration. But since Day of the Doctor introduced a whole new previous incarnation of the Doctor, Moffat realized that by deciding the aborted regeneration from Journey's End counts, the Doctor could be on his last life now and they would have the regeneration preventer with a canonical precedent. And the Time Lords would end up granting the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, thereby putting that matter to rest also.

The War Doctor was actually introduced in The Name Of The Doctor and really you only prove my point, there's no way Moffat could've make a several year story arc ending in a regeneration.

 

[RoJoHen]

Here's the thing: I don't want them to find Gallifrey. At least for a long, long time.

Lets face it: The Time Lords are a crap species. I mean, besides Romana, is there any other reason to bring back the Time Lords?

I don't really care if they bring back Gallifrey, but I do at least want to see some focus on the Doctor trying to find it. He got closer than ever in "The Time of the Doctor." He knows that his plan succeeded and that Gallifrey is saved in a pocket universe. I would just like some more acknowledgement of it.

I mean, hell, maybe it could be a situation like "The Doctor's Wife" where the TARDIS is able to enter Gallifrey's pocket universe, but then something happens and Gallifrey ends up stuck there. Make it a two-parter (or even a 3- or 4-parter). The Doctor escapes, but he is unable to save his people...or something.

 

[Relayer1]

I think it's about time to reintroduce Gallifrey. They've mined some of his history to death like Cybermen, Daleks etc. A reintroduction of The Timelords, Romana, The Rani etc. would be welcomed by me !

 

[Saul]

I think finding Gallifrey should be left until they decide to give the series a rest for a few years. As a way of putting all the toys back in the box. I don't think the presence of the timelords will add anything to the show except to get the Doctor out of a tight spot which they'll already did with Doc 11.

 

[kirk55555]

I think it's about time to reintroduce Gallifrey. They've mined some of his history to death like Cybermen, Daleks etc. A reintroduction of The Timelords, Romana, The Rani etc. would be welcomed by me !

Yeah, I agree. Its been almost a decade since NuWho came around, I'm ready for the Timelords to come back for real. I mean, its not a huge deal if they don't, but I'd really like to see it.

 

[Christopher]

I think finding Gallifrey should be left until they decide to give the series a rest for a few years. As a way of putting all the toys back in the box. I don't think the presence of the timelords will add anything to the show except to get the Doctor out of a tight spot which they'll already did with Doc 11.

I don't see that. After all, when the Time Lords appeared in the original series, they were more often a cause of trouble to the Doctor than a solution to trouble. When they first appeared, they arrested him, tried him, and sentenced him to exile. Then they made him work for them under protest in his third incarnation (and in "Season 6B" if you buy that theory). Then in "The Deadly Assassin" they forced him to give up his companion and sentenced him to death when he was framed for murder. Then, later on, the Lord President trapped him in the Death Zone. And so on. And of course "The End of Time" revealed that the Time Lord council was as great a threat to the universe as the Daleks.

So if Gallifrey were brought back, it would probably be a source of complications and conflicts, as it was in the original series. I mean, the Time Lords have suffered through endless centuries of brutal warfare. That would've changed them, traumatized their society. Maybe they wouldn't be content to be isolationists anymore. Maybe they'd want to become imperialists again and reshape time to suit them. They caused the Doctor enough trouble before -- who knows what messes they could create now, even if they did feel gratitude toward the Doctor for saving them?

 

[RoJoHen]

So if Gallifrey were brought back, it would probably be a source of complications and conflicts, as it was in the original series. I mean, the Time Lords have suffered through endless centuries of brutal warfare. That would've changed them, traumatized their society. Maybe they wouldn't be content to be isolationists anymore. Maybe they'd want to become imperialists again and reshape time to suit them. They caused the Doctor enough trouble before -- who knows what messes they could create now, even if they did feel gratitude toward the Doctor for saving them?

And I could accept this as a reason for why he may not want to find them. In "The End of Time," Tennant shoved Gallifrey right back into the Time War because he knew they would wreak havoc on the universe. In "The Time of the Doctor," he find them hiding in a Crack, but everybody knows that if they are allowed to escape, war would immediately be upon them. Hell, that's ultimately the point of the entire Silence storyline!

The universe is better off with the Time Lords out of the picture, even if the Doctor really wants to see them again.

 

[Christopher]

The universe is better off with the Time Lords out of the picture, even if the Doctor really wants to see them again.

But that's forgetting the lesson of "The Day of the Doctor" -- that the rank and file of Gallifrey's people shouldn't be punished for the evils of the High Council. Maybe there's some way to split the difference.

 

[RoJoHen]

Clara Oswald: New Gallifrey President

 

[Timelord79 (he/him)]

Maybe when he finds Gallifrey the High Council (at least one he evil ones, Rassilon and minions, wants to try him for treason and finally end his menace but the find that most of the people of Gallifrey and the military stand united behind him and their society splits. With one story showing a Gallifreyan civil war, which the elitist council loses and sends them running.

A new democratic council is elected and the Doctor after declining leadership is tasked with finding the rogues and brings my them back for justice?

So you get a new arc out of this.

Plus opportunity to introduce a new Gallifreyan companion.

 

[Relayer1]

I think finding Gallifrey should be left until they decide to give the series a rest for a few years. As a way of putting all the toys back in the box. I don't think the presence of the timelords will add anything to the show except to get the Doctor out of a tight spot which they'll already did with Doc 11.

I don't see that. After all, when the Time Lords appeared in the original series, they were more often a cause of trouble to the Doctor than a solution to trouble. When they first appeared, they arrested him, tried him, and sentenced him to exile. Then they made him work for them under protest in his third incarnation (and in "Season 6B" if you buy that theory). Then in "The Deadly Assassin" they forced him to give up his companion and sentenced him to death when he was framed for murder. Then, later on, the Lord President trapped him in the Death Zone. And so on. And of course "The End of Time" revealed that the Time Lord council was as great a threat to the universe as the Daleks.

So if Gallifrey were brought back, it would probably be a source of complications and conflicts, as it was in the original series. I mean, the Time Lords have suffered through endless centuries of brutal warfare. That would've changed them, traumatized their society. Maybe they wouldn't be content to be isolationists anymore. Maybe they'd want to become imperialists again and reshape time to suit them. They caused the Doctor enough trouble before -- who knows what messes they could create now, even if they did feel gratitude toward the Doctor for saving them?

Exactly - it would provide a load of new plot options and a welcome variety of returning characters / villains.

 

[The Wormhole]

The War Doctor was actually introduced in The Name Of The Doctor

That's splitting hairs. Yes, the War Doctor first appeared in Name of the Doctor, but it was in a scene which was specifically set-up for Day of the Doctor.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

Moffat realized that by deciding the aborted regeneration from Journey's End counts,

And just why wouldn't it count?

And no, blowing an entire regeneration's worth of energy not counting just becuase his face didn't change is not a good argument.

In "The Time of the Doctor," he find them hiding in a Crack, but everybody knows that if they are allowed to escape, war would immediately be upon them.

The impression there was that their enemies would be the ones starting it.

Probably becuase without the Timelords they can carve the universe up into their own little empires.

 

[RoJoHen]

In "The Time of the Doctor," he find them hiding in a Crack, but everybody knows that if they are allowed to escape, war would immediately be upon them.

The impression there was that their enemies would be the ones starting it.

Probably becuase without the Timelords they can carve the universe up into their own little empires.

Well yeah, but it's still a problem. Even if the war didn't happen immediately, as soon as the Daleks found out that the Time Lords were back, they would head straight for Gallifrey.

 

[JoeZhang]

In "The Time of the Doctor," he find them hiding in a Crack, but everybody knows that if they are allowed to escape, war would immediately be upon them.

The impression there was that their enemies would be the ones starting it.

Probably becuase without the Timelords they can carve the universe up into their own little empires.

Well yeah, but it's still a problem. Even if the war didn't happen immediately, as soon as the Daleks found out that the Time Lords were back, they would head straight for Gallifrey.

Well you have two options - either the Daleks are in a fit state to take on the Timelords - so why haven't they taken over ? Or they aren't and why would the timelords be bothered?

 

[Starkers]

I really enjoyed the Moffat & Matt Smith years. They were my favorite seasons of the show so far. But to be honest, ever since Amy and Rory left, the show just hasn't felt the same. I don't mind Clara, and I think Capaldi does a good job as the Doctor, but the writing this past season felt incredibly uneven.

I'm certainly don't hate Moffat as showrunner, but it feels like a good time for him to step back and let somebody else be in charge for a while. I hope he sticks around, though. Even before he was in charge, his individual episodes were some of my favorites.

I share a lot of those thoughts, certainly much as I like Capaldi I haven't loved his tenure so far as much as I loved the Smith years (and I agree that even Smith's tenure went a little downhill once Amy and Rory left, though only a little). Moffat still writes some of the best episodes, but I think we are getting towards the time when we should have a change. Hopefully Capaldi will stay on beyond Moffat, we still haven't had a Doctor cross over 2 showrunners and I think it'd be interesting.

As for Ford he has a lot of experience in TV, I'm not sure though. Whatever you think of RTD and Moffat, both are extremely strong personalities and visionaries who stamped their own personality on the show. I could be doing him a huge disservice, but I wonder if he might be somewhat more bland as show runner? It's interesting that the only two Who episodes he's ever written were co-written with RTD and Moffat (although we still don't know how much work Moffat did on Into the Dalek.)

The BBC might see him as a very safe pair of hands, but I'm not sure Who needs a safe pair of hands, rather someone who'll push the envelope.

Just my two pence worth. I did like his work on the SJA.

 

[DWF]

The War Doctor was actually introduced in The Name Of The Doctor

That's splitting hairs. Yes, the War Doctor first appeared in Name of the Doctor, but it was in a scene which was specifically set-up for Day of the Doctor.

But the point is that it wasn't until The Name Of The Doctor that Moffat had decided how to end Smith's era, it wasn't planned out years in advance.

 

[DWF]

The universe is better off with the Time Lords out of the picture, even if the Doctor really wants to see them again.

But that's forgetting the lesson of "The Day of the Doctor" -- that the rank and file of Gallifrey's people shouldn't be punished for the evils of the High Council. Maybe there's some way to split the difference.

And you're forgetting The Day OF the Doctor, during the fall of Arcadia the Daleks didn't care who they killed and bringing Gallifey back will only restart the war. Daleks don't about who they kill it's what they do as the Doctor said in Dalek. Removing the Time Lords removed a crutch for the writers and of course the Doctor needed them to give him a new set of regenerations.

 

[Christopher]

Hopefully Capaldi will stay on beyond Moffat, we still haven't had a Doctor cross over 2 showrunners and I think it'd be interesting.

Well, we haven't since 1980. Hartnell went through three producers (Verity Lambert, John Wiles, Innes Lloyd), Troughton through two, essentially (Lloyd and Peter Bryant, and briefly Derrick Sherwin), and Tom Baker through three, essentially (Philip Hinchcliffe, Graham Williams, and John Nathan-Turner -- four if you count Barry Letts on "Robot").

I can't really distinguish the styles of Hartnell's and Troughton's producers from each other (I'd welcome others' insights on that), but I recall a distinct difference in the approaches of Tom Baker's three producers. Hinchcliffe was, of course, behind the "Gothic horror" era; Williams took the show in a more comic and cheesy direction and indulged Baker's clownish side (and I consider his tenure the worst in the franchise's history); and JNT made it more serious and slick, reined Baker in, and started introducing more story and character arcs, which continued into the rest of his long tenure. So changing producers/showrunners can change the Doctor.