The Night of the Doctor - new mini Doctor Who episode.

[Umbran]

Well, that answers the questions.

But, darn it! McGann was robbed. He did such a good job! I would have loved to see more of his Doctor.

It also elucidates yet another place where the Doctor can get more regenerations....

 

[Morrus]

There's definitely room for a whole load of "McGann saves people during the Time War" minisodes if they every felt like making them.

 

[Herschel]

Yeah, I like how he says, basically, 'I guess tehre's no need for a Doctor at this point' choosing and knowing full well what he needs to do.

 

[Janx]

Holy crap!

I guess the question for us new-who fans, is who's Paul McGann? I'm guessing he's one of the pre-Eccleston doctors (start of the new-who era).

And who's the guy he turned into (they showed a fuzzy reflection of his face, and I gather he's one of the famous ones).

 

[Umbran]

I guess the question for us new-who fans, is who's Paul McGann? I'm guessing he's one of the pre-Eccleston doctors (start of the new-who era).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_(film)

There was a period in which the BBC stopped making Doctor Who. McGann was the Doctor for the pilot movie in which they tried to start it up as a show in the US. The movie wasn't very good, but that was by no means McGann's fault. He did an excellent job in it. I've always wanted to see more of him in the role.

It was only one movie/pilot, and they could have ignored it, but several pieces of fiction were written, and McGann lent his voice to several audio plays - so the BBC has accepted him as canon - the 8th incarnation of the Doctor.

And who's the guy he turned into (they showed a fuzzy reflection of his face, and I gather he's one of the famous ones).

Not yet. In the upcoming 50th anniversary, there's a meeting of several incarnation of the Doctor. Hurt's will be one of them, a previously unseen Doctor from the period of the Time War. Until the Anniversary special, we all thought McGann was the 8th, and Eccelston was the 9th Doctor. Hurt's is being inserted in between, making Eccelston actually the 10th.

 

[Bagpuss]

I guess the question for us new-who fans, is who's Paul McGann? I'm guessing he's one of the pre-Eccleston doctors (start of the new-who era).

He was what was assumed to be the one directly before Eccleston, since he was in a one off made for TV Doctor Who movie (1996) the last time the Doctor was on TV before the newer series. You actually see Sylvester McCoy who was the Doctor until the old series finished in 1989 turn into McGann. Linking the old series with the film.

And who's the guy he turned into (they showed a fuzzy reflection of his face, and I gather he's one of the famous ones).

Spoiler

He's John Hurt, although a younger looking one than the actors current age, John Hurt was the guy seen at the end of the most recent modern episode of Doctor Who. You never see McGann turn into Eccleston, so there was no direct link to the old series or the movie most people just assumed Eccleston followed McGann, until that episode. Since that episode people suspected, (and now confirmed) that John Hurt to be a Doctor between McGann and Eccleston, and the one that fought in the Time War.

 

[Janx]

He was what was assumed to be the one directly before Eccleston, since he was in a one off made for TV Doctor Who movie (1996) the last time the Doctor was on TV before the newer series. You actually see Sylvester McCoy who was the Doctor until the old series finished in 1989 turn into McGann. Linking the old series with the film.

Spoiler

He's John Hurt, although a younger looking one than the actors current age, John Hurt was the guy seen at the end of the most recent modern episode of Doctor Who. You never see McGann turn into Eccleston, so there was no direct link to the old series or the movie most people just assumed Eccleston followed McGann, until that episode. Since that episode people suspected, (and now confirmed) that John Hurt to be a Doctor between McGann and Eccleston, and the one that fought in the Time War.

Gotcha. Now it has context. Thanks.

There's probably lots of references in the new show we miss because we weren't old-whovians. It's obvious The Master was a character from back then, but I have no clue what the Valeyard is/was and why that's a big deal (mentioned from some other Who threads)

 

[Morrus]

Don't worry about the Valeyard. It's random speculation, but it's wrong.

John Hurt is in the trailers you've seen in the other thread. He's the older actor with the goatee. The fuzzy image in the mirror is some clever insertion of a young John Hurt using, presumably, some footage from one of his movies. He (to our knowledge) is only in one episode - the upcoming 50th Anniversary Special - and this minosode reveals what most people guessed: he's an incarnation of the Doctor between Paul McGann (8th) and Eccleston (9th). The end of the last series had him feature very briefly, with Matt Smith (11th) shunning him for acts as yet unknown, but which we assume were what ended the Time War in genocide. From the sounds of what Matt Smith's Doctor said, and now confirmed by this minsode, John Hurt doesn't take the name of the Doctor. So Tennant and Smith are still the 10th and 11th Doctors, although not the 10th and 11th incarnation of the person himself.

 

[HardcoreDandDGirl]

Don't worry about the Valeyard. It's random speculation, but it's wrong.

I keep hoping that is the name Hurt takes instead of the doctor.

John Hurt doesn't take the name of the Doctor. So Tennant and Smith are still the 10th and 11th Doctors, although not the 10th and 11th incarnation of the person himself.

so far I hope you are right, but even the end of this has him listed as 'war doctor' and the current staff (mostly moffet) sometimes takes the lazy way out, and may just call him the doctor anyway...

 

[Umbran]

So Tennant and Smith are still the 10th and 11th Doctors, although not the 10th and 11th incarnation of the person himself.

And, the reason the numbering is an issue is that the canon says that a Time Lord gets 12 regenerations, and so 13 incarnations. Inserting Hurt means that the guy stepping in after Matt Smith leaves will be the "last" Doctor.

What it actually means is that, somewhere in his tenure, the new guy will have to find an excuse for more regenerations, which can be a cool story.