Good Night, Raggedy Man: A Love Letter to the Eleventh Doctor

"I'll be a story in your head. But that's okay. We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh? Because it was, you know, the best."

Dear Doctor,

They say you never forget your first Doctor.

I will say, you were not quite the first for me. The first Doctor I watched was the Ninth. But you were the Doctor when I became a Whovian. So, not only is this my first Christmas special, but this is my first regeneration as well.

Though this may be the first time I actually
admit it, the answer is, and always will be yes.

You know by now that I have mixed feelings about you. I hope it counts for something that a really, really do want  to like you. But I think Ten will always be my Doctor.

I began watching the show on a medical leave from college in February of this year. I am a Theatre Arts major and a lot of the other students in the program love it. I didn't quite fit in with them, and so I began watching it as something to be able to talk with them about and understand the references.

But, as you can tell, it became more. So much more.


Since my second or third year of high school, I've known I was a relatively decent writer compared to my peers. (Quite franklyI thought that spoke more about my peers than myself.) Starting this blog proved me wrong. Once it picked up momentum, it never really stopped. It evolved in a way I could not imagine.

And you carried the show while all this was happening.

For me, you only became the Doctor in late February or March, so I am still attached to your previous face. It's strange, how we attach to faces.

Your song is ending now, too. But, as Ood Sigma said, the story never ends.

And that is so true. Just over a month ago, we all celebrated fifty years of Doctor Who. And we, as a community, have never been stronger. I would attribute most of that to the internet, allowing millions of Whovians to connect everyday. I believe there have been studies that prove that talking about things (and people too!) is conducive to creating the bonds that we call love. Twitter. Facebook. Tumblr. All crawling with Whovians, if your know where to look. I believe the epic of your story will only perish when the human race does so as well. It will go to the end of the Earth--and perhaps beyond.

Here's the gist of what I'm trying to say. Bad Wolf said it best:

You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing groaning? That sound brings hope where ever it goes. To anyone who hears it, Doctor. Anyone. However lost.

There has been no line in all of Doctor Who with more veracity than that. That wheezing, groaning used to invoke such a response in me that I set it as the text tone on my phone to desensitize myself it it (not that it really worked, of course).

Before I end this letter, I'd like to share my most fond memory of you with you. This summer, I babysat my two-year-old cousin, Max, for two consecutive weeks. On the Tuesday or Wednesday of the second week, I popped on "The Beast Below," as we had just watched Treasure Planet and the Orcus galacticus, naturally, reminded me of the Star Whale. Max, curious as ever, asked what exactly a Star Whale is. And, as that episode is pretty child-friendly (compared to a lot of the other stories), I didn't think it could do any harm (and as far as I know, it has not). He and I watched it. And he loved it. I wonder when his mother (my aunt) will Google "star whale" and figure out what happened.

So, Doctor. The Eleventh Doctor. Matt Smith. Sir Doctor of Tardis. The Oncoming Storm. The Drunk Giraffe. And, in a way, my Doctor. You are so loved. And by no one in the exact same way as me.

Goodbye, Raggedy Man.

The Forever and Always Yours Ley Wynn

PS. It's not quite goodbye, you know--same software, different casing.

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The Promise of the Doctor

“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” 

-Marcus Aurelius

He is a man is who is never cruel or cowardly; a man who never gives up and never gives in. It is also an idea that I feel everyone should abide by. The Doctor is a hero, and heroes are models of what we all should aspire to be. No, we shouldn't go jump in a vat of radioactive waste or anything. What we need to be a hero is already inside of ourselves. The thing is we need to realize it is what should be done and also remember the concept so we can use it. 

Never Cruel...

The Doctor aims to treat all with respect. They call it "the golden rule," to do unto others as you would have others do unto you. The Doctor takes this one seriously, but he, like everyone, falters from time to time. Think of the Fury of a Time Lord- when he gives the Family of Blood the immortality they were seeking, or when he was going to leave the Caecilius family to die in "Fires of Pompeii" (fun fact: Caecilius was a real person! For info on him, click here).

We, as humans, also falter. I'm sure you can think of examples from your own life, and so can I. They tend to grow to be the things we regret.

...or Cowardly...

There is a difference between being afraid and being a coward. Cowardice would be a constant trait of someone, while fear is a temporary emotion. Sure, the Doctor has been scared. He's not immune to fear,and the War Doctor's actions highlight that quite well. Select the following text to be able to read it (there are spoilers!) When he is going to use the Moment to destroy Gallifrey and end the Last Great Time War, he is scared. He fears what the Moment thinks of him. He fears for his future, knowing that he will live on. The Doctor works with his fear and turns it in to fuel for his adventure. 

For us, it can be very hard to get over fear. Humans tend to over-think things and come to conclusions about how people will react and what the conclusions will be. We fuel our fear with self-doubt, which is a large difference between us and the Doctor--he has very little self-doubt. In fact, I'd say the man is too confident at times.

...Never Give Up...

The Doctor is determined to find a solution for everything. In "The Day of the Doctor," (select text to reveal spoilers) he works for four hundred years to find how to save Gallifrey from burning. He even says that he's kind of been working all his lives to save his people, but personally I'm a bit confused. Did the someone tell the First Doctor about it? I just don't know but I'm not going t argue. Also, there is Clara. Eleven refuses to let the mystery of Clara go unsolved.

Humans tend to preserver as well, at least for the most part. When we get the desire to do something, we tend to pursue our goals. It is frustration that is our downfall. We get frustrated that we can't accomplish things when there are roadblocks that seem insurmountable. Sometimes, we say it is okay to "give up" there are times when the effort is not worth the outcome. It's kind of like me and maths. I have a non-verbal learning disorder, which means my mathematics processing skills are severely lacking, but my verbal processing is excellent. Yesterday, I kid you now, I asked someone to not tell me the answer to 18 + 30. It took me a few seconds for me to end up with 48. I know that I don't ave great ability with maths, but admitting that is not giving up. I didn't ask what 18 + 30 was, I specifically asked my friend not to tell me what it was. I try to get better, and that is what counts.

...Never Give In

It's manipulation in this one. Maybe not true manipulation, but being strong. It's been there since the First Doctor, "go forward in all of your belief, and prove that I am not mistaken in mine." That may be him telling his companions to be strong, but the First Doctor was a man who practised what he preached, and even though not all the Doctors did, they all never gave in. They have their principles and live by them. They have their rules and live by them, even though those rules may not always be morally correct. The Doctor always sticks with his convictions.

I, personally, think that this is one thing that we, as a species, have trouble with. We tend to yield to other peoples' desires too much. We get confused easily between what we want to do versus what other people want us to do. I think that even if what we want to do may not necessarily be the right thing to do, sticking to your convictions and beliefs is what is the most important.

and Lastly...

The Doctor's promise doesn't say anything about morals, really. It doesn't say something like "always do good things," which I think is because sometimes doing the "good" thing isn't the "right" thing. The Doctor himself does not admit to being as good man--"good men don't need rules and today is not the day to ask me why I have so many of them." And these are his rules--no, they are stronger than rules, they are his laws.

Going forward, I have created tags for the four elements of the promise, and will tag posts referring to examples of each with the tags.

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What was Tom Baker Doing in "The Day of the Doctor"?

I can’t say I know, but I will explore some possibilities.

I’ll start with my favourite one so far—it was brought up by someone in a comment on The Day of the Doctor: Gallifrey Falls No More. It is this: Baker is playing a character akin to the Watcher in “Logopolis,” the episode in which the Fourth Doctor regenerated into the Fifth Doctor. From the beginning of the story, the Watcher enigmatically tags along with Team TARDIS. When Four falls to his regeneration, the Watcher saunters over to his body and becomes the Fifth Doctor—and I do not believe that he was played by Peter Davison. It’s never been explained why or how this happened, and Moffat may be the man to solve this thirty-plus year-old mystery? I wouldn’t put it past him. I don’t remember where I heard this said, but I believe I read that the Doctor is aware that his regeneration is impending.

Upon meeting the Tom Baker character, Eleven remarked that he never forgets a face. I have a hard time believing that they are going as far to stretch Tom Baker still being the Fourth Doctor. I love the man, but he does not quite look like he used to. In all honesty, even the timeless David Tennant is starting to show his age in the face a bit, but that disbelief I could suspend, and even in “Time Crash,” Peter Davison wasn’t that different. But Tom? He’s barely recognisable. Love you Tom, but it’s true.

The Watcher fuses with the Doctor in Logopolis

“Never forgetting a face” also fuels that he could be the Watcher. The Watcher did not have quite discernible features, so I could deal with that being what he looked like, or an alternate version of what the Watcher looks like.

The same argument is somewhat valid for Tom reprising the Fourth Doctor, but as I said before, I have some doubt about that. They do have discourse about what if they are each other, which could go into either camp of Watcher v. Doctor.

What do you think? Please comment below!

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The Day of the Doctor: Gallifrey Falls No More

WELL...this changes everything.

Or does it?

#SaveTheDay Hyper-Hype

Tomorrow The Day of the Doctor will air. Our wait will be over. Remember when The Name of the Doctor ended, and the countdown to 23rd November began? It was something like 190 days until the 50th. The wait seemed unbearable, almost impossible. But--now it is here.

The celebration at ExCeL in London runs from today until Sunday. Monday, the special in 3D (you have no idea how not amused I will be if the 3D glasses are not the void-spec kind) will be shown in the US. Then...it will be over. Done.

The 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who will have come and past. It will be...over.

Of course, it is still the Year of the Doctor. The fandom will relentlessly continue, but there will be something missing. I can't quite say what it is, but something will be gone.

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"The Night of the Doctor" Reaction

"I'm a Doctor...but probably not the one you're expecting."
#WhatYouDidThereISeeIt

You have to hand it to them--I had no idea Paul McGann was going to pop up in this.

There we have it. Undeniable proof  that the speculations were correct: John Hurt is a Doctor. Or, as the credits put it, he is "The War Doctor."

But what does it all mean? I don't know. But I'll try to make sense of it as I write.

Cass, a sassy young girl who wants to see the universe (Clara??), is pretty much about to die. But then her salvation comes in the form of the Eighth Doctor, Paul McGann. He looks a lot different since we saw him last--different hair, different clothes, but his personality remains the same.

Cass denies to go aboard the with the Doctor as soon as she hears that it's bigger on the inside. Because it's a TARDIS and he's a Time Lord. She snatches her wrist out of the Doctor's hand, "Don't touch me!!"

He knows exactly what her reaction was about and explains: he's not a part of the war and never was. But she doesn't care. He rebukes, "at least I'm not a Dalek!" She slams on a button to close the bulkhead and says, "who can tell the difference anymore?"

What had the Time Lords done in the Last Great Time War (LGTW) to make her react like that? To call the Doctor a Dalek? While we do see similarities to the Doctor and a Dalek in S1E6, "Dalek," (topic of that week's podcast), that's far in the future.

Then, they crash on the the planet Karn, home to the Sisterhood of Karn. This is a callback to the 1976 episode, "The Brain of Morbus." The Sisterhood was once ruled Gallifrey until the Time Lords booted them from power. So they are a crucial part of the history of Gallifery, which I predict we will learn much more about in "The Name of the Doctor." The leader of the Sisterhood, Ohila, sees the crash and says, "Here he is again...the man to end it all."

What is he going to end? Cass pointed that a lot of the universe had been destroyed with the war. Is he the one to end the universe? No--I think they imply that he is the one to end the war.

The Doctor critiques the Sisterhood--they are the Keepers of the Sacred Flame of Eternal Life (or eternal boredom, as the Doctor says...) That means two things. One, he's starting to think--Ten put it best-- that "a Time Lord lives too long..." (End of Time pt 2). And also--confirmed by the fact that Ohila talks about the improvements of regeneration--that the Sisterhood is responsible for making regeneration possible for Time Lords. Plus, one can now choose what the regeneration will be like.

Then, Eight does something. He takes Cass' belt, thinks about how he couldn't save her and says to Ohila, "Warrior...I don't suppose there's any need for a doctor anymore." Before drinking the elixir, he asks, "Will it hurt?" Ohila respond that it will. He says, "Good." He wants pain. Why? Why does he want to be in pain?He says the names of companions from the audio adventures (so they are officially cannon now!!), salutes his friends and companions...then apologises to Cass. He says, "Physician, heal thyself," a proverb from Luke 4:23. The common explanation of the proverb in context of the Bible is that, during Jesus' resurrection, he expects for people from Nazareth, his home, to use this phrase to criticise him, and that the people of Nazareth expect him to do miracles there like he has done other places. For the Doctor, it translates to saying that he is being expected to end the LGTW. The parallel could not be more striking, especially comparing the resurrection to regeneration.

He drinks the elixir then and regenerates. The first thing he does is touch Cass in sorrow and then he puts on her belt, prepared to fight with the memory of the the woman he killed.

The reflection of the newly-regenerated "War Doctor"

What happens next is key. He says, "Doctor no more," which corresponds directly to the end of "The Name of the Doctor" when Eleven says that what the War Doctor did was not in the name of the Doctor. We see his reflection, and it is younger than the white-haired John Hurt we are used to (but by the voice and credits we know it is supposed to be him). What does that mean? It means that this "War Doctor," as the credits put it, has, when we see him in "The Day of the Doctor," it has been quite some time--as the War Doctor we see then is more wrinkled and has white hair. So this has to mean that Time Lords do age some, visually. But how much time does it take to make the one in the reflection the one in the 50th? I guess only time will tell (see what I did there!).

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My Predictions for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special #SaveTheDay

"Original British Drama"
Those may not be the first words to come to mind when you think of Doctor Who, but they are the first words in the show's official 50th Anniversary Special Trailer.

As this is a post fraught with spoilers, click here to read at your own risk:

#SaveTheDay :: Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Trailer!

So, because of the regulations on BBC Worldwide's YouTube channel, I sadly cannot embed the trailer here. But I CAN paste the link. Here is it, what we've all been waiting for:

The Day of the Doctor 50th Anniversary Trailer

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John Hurt's Role in the 50th

Over the past 36 hours, it seems that there has been a major leak to the public about some of the plot for the DW 50th Anniversary Special.
John Hurt, who was announced to the cast along with Billie and David may have made a boo-boo and revealed his role, which we were previously in the dark about.
The 73 year-old actor, known for many roles in big-name film, television and theatre, such as Mr. Olivander. in Harry Potter, Adam Sutler in V for Vendetta, Dr. Harold Oxley in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Control in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, and now the international talent says he can add the Doctor himself to the list--or at least "part of the Doctor" in a "kind of trinity," which includes David Tennant.

The possibly the most obvious "trinity" would be a past-present-and-future type thing, but the most talked about idea is a bit more complex and Moffat-esque.
Remember how we never saw Paul McGann regenerate into Christopher Eccleston? That is the key. Some are saying that Hurt's Doctor will be one in between the two.
WHAT?
Yes, you read that right. The plot deepens: this regeneration has been forgotten due to the psychological (and I won't rule out physical) trauma from The Last Great Time War
As you can see on the left, John's costume has the Victorian Gentleman elements like McGann's Doctor, as well as the Leather Emo elements of the Eccleston Doctor, making for a much easier transition, at least fashion wise, in the Doctor. Whovian Rule 134.
This would make Chris the 10th Doctor, David the 11th, and Matt the 12th, which possibly puts the Time Lord at risk for being out of regenerations  although I believe the last time that subject was brought up it was said that regenerations are unlimited now that there are no other Time Lords, and we can't forget when Melody/River gave her remaining regens to the Doctor.
What are your thoughts? Comment them.
Personally, I trust Steven Moffat to be amazing with the show.
UPDATE:
Okay, so after seeing "The Name of the Doctor", I have to say that he of course is a Doctor from the past. We don't know what he did, but we know the Doctor doesn't condone his actions. My guess, like many others, I assume, is that he is responsible for the destruction of Gallifrey. More on the season finale later, from both myself and Seth.

Christopher Eccleston to Return for the 50th

Not.

I have a message for all of you who are whining, moaning, and honestly, and know that I really try to keep this blog clean so know the power of the word, bitching about Eccleston's decision to not return to the TARDIS this November:

Think of something you don't like to do. Now imagine that tens of  thousands of people have been complaining that you won't do it. Not to mention, you're famous and society watches your every move and is just waiting for a blunder to have a feeding frenzy over.

That's the kind of position that Eccleston is in right now.

Obviously, if you're passionate about his return to the show, you must like him as an actor. And I'm not saying that I don't think he did a fantastic (see what I did there?) job, because he did. Generally, we have something called respect for people we like. So have some for him! He was approached to play the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann) but refused because of who he would be working with and because he isn't a fan of the show. We are lucky that we were at all graced with his time as The Last Timelord, that being considered.

The Title of the Last Episode of Season 7

So, what do we think? 

Are they really gonna do it? Because if they do it at all, THAT needs to be saved for the 50th, if you ask me. Discuss in the comments!

50th Question

So, hey, I've got a question about the 50th. We know for sure the DT is back for it, but do we know if he is the real Doctor or the Metacrisis Doctor?
Please comment if you know!

The Doctor's Most Valuable Tool

Not counting the TARDIS and his intellect, there are three things that the Doctor just couldn't get by without. And I'm gonna be mean and hide the not-so-obvious one behind the pagebreak. It does contain spoilers.

Sonic Screwdriver

The Doctor with the Sonic Screwdriver in Doomsday

Fun fact: scientists have invented a device that can move objects with sound. First and most important is the sonic screwdriver. Although it doesn't work on wood and can be disabled by some hairdryers, it's been invaluable since it became more prominent in the revival series. It is "harmless... doesn't kill, doesn't wound, doesn't maim." It's simply successful at what the Doctor tries to be: something that helps and never hurts. But the Doctor does hurt and that is part of his most valuable tool.

Psychic Paper

The Doctor uses the Psychic Paper on Shakespeare

Making its twenty-sixth screen appearance in The Power of Three., psychic paper has been indispensable for the last three doctors, though far less reliable than ol' sonic. In Army of Ghosts, we see the psychic paper fail for the first time when Rose uses it on Rajesh, a Torchwood employee, who then tells us that he, like all members of Torchwood, has a basic level of psychic training. Very soon again we also see the paper fail when the Doctor uses it with William Shakespeare in The Shakespeare Code because Shakespeare is too intelligent for it to have worked. But it plays on the mind, which leads me to the Doctor's most valuable tool.

More Confirmation: Tennant and Piper to Return for 50th Anniversary Special

This is a re-blog. The original was posted here.

"David Tennant and Billie Piper to return for blockbuster celebrations with John Hurt also confirmed.
"The BBC has today revealed some of the all-star cast that will mark the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who. David Tennant and Billie Piper will join current Doctor and companion, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman, while John Hurt (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alien, Harry Potter) will also co-star.
"Last seen as the Doctor on January 1st 2010, this will be the first time Tennant has reprised his role as the Tenth Doctor. During his reign as the Time Lord, Tennant appeared in three series as well as several specials. He was first revealed as the Doctor in the 2005 series finale, ‘The Parting of the Ways’.
"Meanwhile Billie Piper, who played companion Rose Tyler for two series following the reboot in 2005, will appear in the show for the first time since featuring in Tennant’s last episode, ‘The End of Time’ in 2010.
"Also confirmed to join the cast is John Hurt who will also co-star in the 3D anniversary special that will form part of blockbuster celebrations, set to take over the BBC. Produced by BBC Cymru Wales for BBC One, the 50th anniversary will be written by Steven Moffat and Directed by Nick Hurran.
"Filming for the 50th anniversary starts this week. Meanwhile a brand new series starts on BBC ONE today (30 March) at 6:15pm for a run of eight epic episodes, which officially introduces the Doctor’s newest companion, Clara Oswald, played by Jenna-Louise Coleman."

-The BBC's Doctor Who Blog

Saturday 30 March 2013, 13:43 GMT

David Tennant and Billie Piper to Return for 50th Anniversary Special

Today is shaping up to be just like Christmas--well, without the alien invasion.

Not only will we get the premeir of Doctor Who in a few short hours, but we have also been told some fantastic news about the 50th anniversary special, which begins filming on Monday: David Tennant and Billie Piper will be returning!

This is from BBC News. Original article here.

"David Tennant and Billie Piper will appear in the 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who, the BBC has confirmed.
"Tennant was the 10th Doctor and Piper played his on-screen companion Rose Tyler in the BBC One show.
"Filming on the show, which will also star John Hurt, will start next week.
"Tennant's successor, Matt Smith - also in the special with his new assistant played by Jenna-Louise Coleman - says fans 'will not be disappointed' by the 3D show, due to air on 23 November.
"Tennant and Piper have long been rumoured to be making a return for the special, which is being written by the show's executive producer and lead writer Steven Moffat.
"In January, Piper, appearing on the Graham Norton show, denied she would be appearing.
'I wasn't asked, no,' she said.
"'I think Matt Smith may have said, in passing or in jest, it would be nice.'
Smith has said the show 'manages to pay homage to everything - and look forward'.
"'I read it and I clapped at the end. I think it's hilarious, it's epic and it's vast,' he said.
"Moffat, meanwhile, has said he took special care to protect the secrets of the story.
"'One length I've gone to which is a really good security measure - I make sure I don't get a script, because I will lose it,' he said.
"'I forbid people to hand me one. It's on my computer under lock and key.'
"The first story of Doctor Who's 2013 run, The Bells of Saint John - described by Moffat as a 'proper London thriller' - will be screened later.
"Viewers will see the Doctor and new companion, Clara, played by Coleman, battling an evil entity in the world's wi-fi networks.
"Future episodes of the show, which is filmed in Cardiff, see the return of the Cybermen and old enemy the Ice Warriors, who last appeared during the Jon Pertwee era in 1974.
"Tennant starred in Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010 while Piper first appeared in 2005 opposite Christopher Eccleston, who played the ninth Doctor.
"She left the show in 2006 but returned for a number of episodes in 2008 as well as for Tennant's final episode, broadcast on 1 January 2010.
"The first episode of Doctor Who, An Unearthly Child, starring William Hartnell as the Timelord, was broadcast on 23 November 1963.
"As part of the anniversary events, the BBC will also broadcast An Adventure in Space and Time - a one-off drama looking at how the sci-fi show came to be made."

-BBC Entertainment and Arts News, 30/03/2013, 9:59 ET