While I liked John Hurt as the War Doctor, I'll always think that if I was Moffat, I would have used McGann and showed how the Time War changed him from how he originally appeared in the movie. Rather than having a previously unknown incarnation that the Doctor tried to forget, it would have been just that the Eighth Doctor started off with promise like all the rest, but went down a dark road as a result of the war ("Night of the Doctor" really kind of showed how it could have begun, IMO). In the end, there still would have been a redemption of sorts and a partially shown regeneration into the Ninth Doctor.
That's my opinion too. I mean prior to The Name of the Doctor, everyone thought/accepted that it was the Eighth Doctor that destroyed Gallefrey. I mean there were probably some people who wanted to believe that it was Nine who did it, but there were clues that he was newly regenerated in Rose. And I think that if it was a Doctor that we fell in love with, it would have been even better, so we could know how far a once lively energetic Doctor would have fallen due to the Time War. I don't know. Just my opinion.
Was there any reason Eleven removed his bow tie in the TARDIS at the end? It's almost like there should have been some sad-and-amusing dialogue included, like, "The new guy might not think it's cool" or something like that. Otherwise, taking it off didn't really serve any purpose.
Capaldi: "What's this?" Clara: "That's your bow tie." Capaldi: *scoffs* "Bow ties are rubbish." *throws it in the trash*
It was much more simplistic way of symbolically passing the torch instead of the previous Doctor literally torching the place for the next Doctor
Capaldi's Doctor should've been the one to take it off, just like how Peter Davison unravelled Tom Baker's last scarf.
It was good he took it off before. For 11, the bow tie was 'his' thing and he knew when he regenerated the new Doctor might where it for at least a little while until he got his own costume sorted out. He wanted to take it off so 12 would not where it all.
Smith's Doctor isn't the first to wear a bow tie, but the fourth Doctor was the first to wear a scarf and it's symbolic for a new Doctor wipe away the remains of his former self.
It's also symbolic of the Old Doctor to say good bye to himself... so taking off the tie. Just because it happened once, doesn't mean it's a tradition.
The spripping away of the old Doctor to make way for the new Doctor all the way down to his clothes isn't tradition it the way the show makes room for the new Doctor. It's up to the new Doctor to make his own way and the choosing of his new clothes helps to form his new personality.
Right. I don't disagree with that. And 12 is still wearing 11s clothes. I just disagree that 12 HAS to be the one to take off the bow tie. I pretty much disliked most of the Time of the Doctor, but that was one of the few moments I really liked. It made a great deal of sense for 11 to take off his tie.
Eleven removing the bow tie himself was perfectly in line with his accepting his fate. He knew it was the end and he was going out gracefully, unlike his predecessor. Besides, that moment was obviously more for the audience and the actor than it was for the character.
The scene reminded me too much of the scene in Let's Kill Hitler, the dying Doctor takes the time to change his clothes and here he even had a bowl of fish fingers and custard. It's bad enough that he survived the explosion of the bell tower but he also got to the TARDIS before Clara did and changed his clothes.