32:13 The Wedding of River Song (Spoilers)

[TheDustyZebra]

After watching the second run-through last night, I realized that the problem was not about the Doctor dying vs. not-dying, it was, as stated, "two versions of the same event happening simultaneously" -- the Tessa-thingie being shot vs. not-shot qualifies the same way.

I liked the episode a lot, but I, too, am left feeling somewhat unfulfilled -- it was not the "wrap everything up and show all the details from the rest of the season that we've been speculating about" thing that the previous season gave us. There are still a lot of questions unanswered, and while I still have faith that Moffat will bring us back to them eventually, I also have a kernel of doubt. We'll see!

 

[Perpetual Man]

All in all I enjoyed the episode.

As a lot of people say there was a lot of oomph, but something did seem to be missing.

Part of me thought that the wrap up was a little too easy, but as far as a piece of Saturday night TV went, it was a great little romp that did what it needed to.

There has been a bit of discussion about the Teselecta and the regeneration sequence, but I brushed that off as the device simulating the effects of the start of a regeneration, rather than an actual regeneration in progress.

I was rather surprised to see that there were some questions left unanswered and new ones evoked. In the last interview with Moffat he stated that he was intending to wrap everything up so that next year he could run a season of stand alone stories, with no huge twisted plot.

There is nothing to say that he still can't do this, with just a few references here and there.

Let's face it the Doctor's name has to be the biggest mystery in the show and if they are going to risk going down that path then it's probably going to be a tease, building toward the 50th anniversary in 2012.

With the impossibility of there being an 11 Doctors special, and Ecclestone apparently not up for any return engagements a modern 3 Doctors seems unlikely perhaps a the name is the way to go.

 

[Moonbat]

I did like the episode, it seemed there was a lot going on, but I wasn't enthralled, at times I wasn't even paying that much attention, and when it is good I can't drag my eyes from the screen.

The ending was a bit too simple, and I agree wholly with a point someone made earlier, that a fixed point in time can be fooled into thinking the Dr died.

Then again, I suppose the idea that the Dr died, and the knowledge he died (even if a teselector died (which holds a massive crew of miniturised people, so did they all die? The Dr said he hardly got singed, but then where did they all go, did they all get on the Tardis (miniturised) and the Dr take them home? And what about the technology of a time travelling doppleganger, surely that'll be missed, and whoever made it would surely make loads as it is cool)) anyway, the knowledge that he died would have been the fixed point and if River didn't shoot him then people wouldn't think him dead and so the fixed point was messed up.
but still a bit rubbish just to use the tesselector and then its all alright. Flimsy, that's the word I have chosen for it, flimsy.

I did like the whole Dr Who? bit at the end, and I agree a big storyline/special to reveal his name (or not) would be cool.

But, and correct me if I'm wrong, Dr isn't his name at all, he isn't even a Dr (of medicine or anything, do timelords have PhD equivalents?) I think I remember the Master saying he chose his name, as someone in authority that helps the needy, where as the Master chose his so that everybody had to call him by that name.
I think there have been other timelords in the series but have any of them had chosen names like Dr or Master? maybe Secretary or Janitor or Dogsbody or Professor?

 

[thaddeus6th]

Romana had a normal(ish) name, likewise Morbius.

The Castellan and the Corsair had title-type names.

I hope the Time Lords do properly come back at some point.

 

[Dave]

Romana had a normal(ish) name, likewise Morbius.

The Castellan and the Corsair had title-type names.

I hope the Time Lords do properly come back at some point.

Of course, we do not know that any of those names were their 'real' names. The Time Lords could take a name, so that their 'real name' remained secret. I like the idea (purely of my own invention) that there is power in his real name, in the same way that a Wizards real name can evoke magical power.

However, I think you are probably correct that those were their real names, based upon the fact that Omega and Rassilon were undoubtedly the real name of Time Lords. If not, then we would not have had the artefacts 'The Hand of Omega' and the 'Sash of Rassilon', the 'Crown of Rassilon', the 'Key of Rassilon', the 'Rod of Rassilon', the 'Coronet of Rassilon', the 'Harp of Rassilon', the 'Ring of Rassilon', or the 'Black Scrolls of Rassilon'.

I say undoubtedly, but wikipedia says that Omega was not his real name.

The audio play Omega featured Omega as a central character and revealed that Omega's real name was Peylix, "Omega" being the grade he received at the Time Lord Academy — the lowest possible grade — which stuck to him as a cruel nickname. However, in addition to issues concerning the canonicity of the spin-off media and the fact that in most media, Time Lord society was founded after the supposed death of Omega, the story is largely told from the point of view of an insane Omega with confused memories. This makes the accuracy of this information uncertain.

So, absolutely clear as mud then?

 

[PTeppic]

Of course, we do not know that any of those names were their 'real' names. The Time Lords could take a name, so that their 'real name' remained secret. I like the idea (purely of my own invention) that there is power in his real name, in the same way that a Wizards real name can evoke magical power.

Lilith said this in "The Shakespeare Code", something that the Doctor already seemed to know. She was therefore surprised that she couldn't mentally extract his name... Which also perhaps means that although he must know it, it's so deeply buried in his subconscious that it's an effort to reveal.

 

[Lioness]

I enjoyed the episode, but I've finally realised what bothered me so much.

Everything built up to in the previous two seasons seemed so much more epic than it turned out to be..."Silence will fall" seems entire-worldly, not just "we'll kill the Doctor so he can't speak." It was all just anticlimatic...in a major way. The whole "I'll see you again, on a train" thing at the end of the last season was small...and didn't come up for an entire other season...in an alternate reality that was just solved.

Also...if the Silence are a religion, not a species, why the heck were they all hanging like bats from the ceiling...?

 

[PTeppic]

The memory-fiddling aliens can/do the hanging upside down, but also happen to be part of the Silence. Their abilities make them particularly good foot-soldiers for certain religious missions...

 

[Moonbat]

With regards to the memory fiddling aliens, it was said that no organic brain can keep them in memory and that's why they had to use the eye patch thing, but then how to the aliens remember each other?

Are we to believe that their brains are not organic?

Some of the Whovian aliens have differences, like the sontarans, you can tell them apart, but all of the 'silence' footsoldier aliens look the same, and they all dress the same, so how would they tell each other apart, and then how would they remember that they have?

 

[thaddeus6th]

They could have a hive mind, perhaps?

 

[Perpetual Man]

That's a strong possibility thadeus, I like that idea. They never seem to communicate with one another, and when they made their escape in this episode they all started to do it at the same time with no way of audibly communicating

 

[TheEndIsNigh]

I think I'm going to take the advice of many of you, that suggest I watch something else.

It was crap.

Where should I start?

There were so much total rubbish that I found myself behind the sofa praying that it would end.

No, I 'm struggling to put into words how ridiculous the whole program was. From the first opening sequence to the credits at the end there was nothing to redeem it.

I would give a scene by scene breakdown, but every time I start, I find myself just getting angry at how bad it was.

Let's just forget it and call the whole thing a mess. (and sad waste of money).