Doctor Who

[MrBogosity]

I think we've got the proof that River was in prison for killing someone other than The Doctor, though.

The crew of the Teselector was quite clear that they went after people who weren't punished in their lifetimes for their crimes, and River was definitely being punished (however ineffectually it was) by being held in the Storm Cage for killing someone.

No, they were quite clear: "Melody Pond, the woman who kills The Doctor." And she was pardoned, remember.

[FSBlueApocalypse]

No, they were quite clear: "Melody Pond, the woman who kills The Doctor." And she was pardoned, remember.

Yeah, but then why would they punish her, even though she is punished by being in stormcage. Unless of course they realize her sentence in Storm Cage is a complete farce.

[MrBogosity]

It's kind of a light sentence for killing the greatest man in the universe, is it not?

[evensgrey]

It's kind of a light sentence for killing the greatest man in the universe, is it not?

That depends on your viewpoint.  If you don't accept the idea that capital punishment is ever appropriate, then life imprisonment (which appears to be what she got for whatever killing it was) is about as bad as it's likely to get.  It's also unclear how many people actually think The Doctor is so great.  He's done some horrific things (and allowed some horrific things) because he thinks he has adequate reason.  While he may well have adequate reason (being able to see all of time and space implies that he really DOES know what the outcome of his interference, or lack of interference, will be) there's no way he's going to be able to prove that to anyone who doesn't have that kind of knowledge.

It isn't just the villainous species like the Daleks, Cybermen, and Sontarans who hate and fear him.  There appear to be any number of perfectly reasonable civilizations that are terrified of him.  For instance, it appears that the Shadow Proclamation wanted him to lead their war against the Daleks precisely because he's the scariest being they know of.

[MrBogosity]

If you don't accept the idea that capital punishment is ever appropriate, then life imprisonment (which appears to be what she got for whatever killing it was) is about as bad as it's likely to get.

Except, again, she was pardoned--and since she was pretty much coming and going as she pleased, it wasn't much of a prison either.

It's also unclear how many people actually think The Doctor is so great.

The crew of the Teselecta obviously thought he was.

[evensgrey]

Except, again, she was pardoned--and since she was pretty much coming and going as she pleased, it wasn't much of a prison either.

This says some interesting things about the society that created the Teselecta.  They are far more technologically advanced than almost any other species (given the time travel capability they have, it would appear they are somewhere between the Sontarans and the Daleks technologically) but have very crude ideas of justice for such a technologically advanced species that clearly values their ideas about justice highly enough to expend tremendous effort to punish criminals from completely different civilizations.

The crew of the Teselecta obviously thought he was.

Although they were curiously unaffected by his open condemnation of their entire mission.

"Who do you think you ARE?  Never mind, it's obvious who you think YOU are."

[evensgrey]

OK, now we've got a new thing to speculate on:

[spoiler]
What is it that the Doctor saw in his Room?  All we know for certain is, it TICKS.
[/spoiler]

[FSBlueApocalypse]

[spoiler=The God Complex]I thought it was the room with little Amy in it waiting for him?[/spoiler]

Either way, seems a lot of reviews of this episode were upset with the atheist overtones. Just #SMH.

(Edited to add spoiler protection -MrB)

[MrBogosity]

[spoiler=The God Complex]I figured before it happened that the Doctor would open his room and see himself. I'm not convinced that this isn't what he saw! The ticking might be signifying that the Doctor's death isn't far away.

Amelia waiting for the Doctor was what Amy saw in her room, not the Doctor's.[/spoiler]

Either way, seems a lot of reviews of this episode were upset with the atheist overtones. Just #SMH.

Like which ones?

Some of those "reviewers" are nuts. Like, one throwaway line at the end of Day of the Moon is the show pushing a "gay agenda" even though a married couple in the TARDIS apparently isn't pushing a "hetero agenda."

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Good point
[spoiler]Also, I wonder when the Daleks are going to make their cameo. Most figured they would show up during this episode in the Doctor's room. I just hope this season doesn't end with the Daleks being behind The Silence/Doctor's Death.[/spoiler]

[Virgil0211]

Good point
[spoiler]Also, I wonder when the Daleks are going to make their cameo. Most figured they would show up during this episode in the Doctor's room. I just hope this season doesn't end with the Daleks being behind The Silence/Doctor's Death.[/spoiler]

What if it was the reverse?

[evensgrey]

What if it was the reverse?

I don't think I follow you, there.

[spoiler]Do you mean that The Silence are behind the Daleks?  Doesn't that rather run against established cannon?[/spoiler]

[Virgil0211]

I don't think I follow you, there.

[spoiler]Do you mean that The Silence are behind the Daleks?  Doesn't that rather run against established cannon?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Actually, I meant behind their revival, or manipulating some events behind the scenes. For example, maybe they were the ones who directed Caan into the time war where he could rescue Davros and start that whole thing. Then, seeing an opportunity in their failure, they helped those later Daleks escape where they could find the crucible. I dunno. It was just an idea.

Actually, if it turned out that the Silence somehow were responsible for the development of the Daleks, or at least influencing them throughout time, and Stephen Moffat could do something interesting with it, I'd love to see it. Then again, that might be one hell of a magic trick to pull off.[/spoiler]

[evensgrey]

[spoiler]Actually, I meant behind their revival, or manipulating some events behind the scenes. For example, maybe they were the ones who directed Caan into the time war where he could rescue Davros and start that whole thing. Then, seeing an opportunity in their failure, they helped those later Daleks escape where they could find the crucible. I dunno. It was just an idea.

Actually, if it turned out that the Silence somehow were responsible for the development of the Daleks, or at least influencing them throughout time, and Stephen Moffat could do something interesting with it, I'd love to see it. Then again, that might be one hell of a magic trick to pull off.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]
Well, that WOULD be consistent with the previous behavior of The Silence.  But what if we're misinterpreting either the phrase "Silence Will Fall" (although it DID more or less sound like Davros saying it, and he's apparently the only being who comes CLOSE to the ability of both The Doctor and The Master to survive what really SHOULD have killed him so he could quite plausibly be alive) or perhaps it's a completely different Silence.

I think after last season's almost absurd level of foreshadowing (including The Doctor boasting more than once by saying what's afraid of HIM) may also have resulted in us trying to over-analyze what has been revealed.

I also still say that River was in the Storm Cage for killing someone other than The Doctor.  She was being held there under the name 'River Song' but the crew of the Teselecta apparently didn't know that name (and neither did she at that point, although it had already been given to her) and were using her birth name.

The climax of this season pretty much HAS to go back and explain what happened in Utah, though.  We already know that The Doctor is going to survive (since there's already been confirmation of the next season), it's just a matter of how.  Everyone EXCEPT the religion trying to kill The Doctor seem to have been convinced that she's going to kill him.  (I still say that they don't think he died in Utah, since they apparently continued to condition River to kill him after that point in her timeline.)

Ah, HERE'S something:  Perhaps the Daleks was what the Gamma Forest People were running from when the Gamma Girl who gave River her new name met The Doctor.  There was no specific foe indicated, but the Daleks make a good choice whenever you need something that'll slaughter generally inoffensive beings that pose no conceivable threat to anyone.
[/spoiler]

[FSBlueApocalypse]

Autumn 2012 start date for Series 7 confirmed, but there will be no gap.