Doctor Who Week: Theories on the 50th Anniversary Episode

Written by Tyler Lamb. Media by Austin Schumacher.

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode
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There have been many theories about the upcoming 50th anniversary over time. For the most part, it seems all the signs are pointing into one direction. It seems that most of the questions have been answered, or at least made more clear to the fans. The release of the short “The Night of the Doctor” really helped this. If you haven’t watched that video yet, do so before reading on. Here is what we know so far about the 50th and what it will be.

John Hurt as The Doctor
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First off, there is the looming question of who John Hurt is. We all know he is an incarnation of the Doctor. The original thought was that he was a form that the Doctor had yet to take, but knew about. Later people realized this might not be true, and him being a previous version would make more sense. Of course, that has been confirmed with the prequel released just last week. We are shown Paul McGann regenerating into the Doctor that John Hurt plays. This shows that he is, in fact, a previous incarnation of the Doctor that the character tries to forget himself.

Second off, where does John Hurt fit? Well he obviously goes in after the 8th doctor, but then wouldn’t that put all the Doctors after that a number back? My opinion on this is, and what seems to be a widely thought one, is that John Hurt is somewhat of an 8.5 instead of the 9th Doctor. In the prequel, we are shown that the Doctor dies when the ship crashes, but since he crashed on Karn, where death has been shown to act differently, he is given a second chance. He is told he has been given an extra 4 minutes and that he can actually chose his regeneration. To me, this is the key point. The Doctor is choosing what he wants to become; it isn’t random or something that is happening due to him almost dying. I feel as though the Sisterhood of Karn gave the Doctor something like a “freebee” with this regeneration, and therefore, it is more of an in-between 8 and 9, rather than a full on incarnation. Also, while I’m on the subject of regenerations, full blooded Time Lords may be able to regenerate as much as possible as far as we know. Maybe the alleged 12 cap was what they used on Gallifrey as a population control. Anyway, I digress, back to the 50th special.

Paul McGann chooses his regeneration
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Third, the main point of wonder is “the moment”. It is pretty common belief as of now that the moment that makes the Doctor somewhat hate himself is the one to end the time war. Not even ending it, but putting it in the time lock that he did, completely destroying his own people and “destroying” the Daleks. Well, not really destroying but making it so they could never leave the time lock. Of course, the Daleks were able to leave and even the Time Lords at one point. However, that isn’t the point. The point is that the Doctor made this decision because the war between the two species was going to destroy the universe. Of course, he did the right thing in saving the universe, but the cost seemed to great and has been weighing on the Doctors conscious. In this special, he will finally have to come face to face with it.

The 10th Doctor and Rose
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Another big confusion is Rose Tyler and the 10th Doctor. Of course, as shown by the trailers, this is a seasoned Rose Tyler. One who seems to be in control of the Phoenix Force…I mean Bad Wolf. The real wonder is where the 10th comes from. What most gravitate to is that he is the copy that is in the universe Rose lives in now. However, there is a big problem with this specific theory. There is a scene in the trailer where they are on the 10th Doctor’s TARDIS. The copy did not have a TARDIS. Then, there is the problem that the 10th Doctor, who met River, seemed to have no idea who the 11th Doctor could have been when River was mentioning him. If they meet in this, where does it fall in the time line? This has yet to be made clear.

In only a few days, it will all be made clear. Airing on Saturday, November the 23rd everywhere on television and then November the 25th in select theaters in 3D, this will be an event to remember. Personally, I will be waiting to see it on the big screen with my 3D glasses on, and then referring to a recording of the original airing afterwards for further enjoyment. Simply put, I think I speak for almost everyone when I say; I can’t wait!

#Savetheday
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