Episode 2 and iTunes

I hope to get back to regularly scheduled blogging soon (in particular, finishing up those pesky Game of Thrones season three reviews) but I just wanted to publish a quick note to say that episode 2 of Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View is now live. While this, The Doctor and the Slayer, is technically our second episode it is the first in which are actually digging into content and starting with the shows themselves. So if you were waiting for us wade through the boring introduction, we now present the “good parts version” which goes straight to the heart of the action. I won’t necessarily post on this blog every time a new episode goes live, as that’s probably not what you’re here for. If you’d like to watch and discuss along with us, go to kctvreview.wordpress.com and subscribe there for updates. Or you could, you know, subscribe through iTunes: As of Monday we’re there, as well! Just search for Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View in podcasts and subscribe to get all new audio content deposited directly into your podcast folder. Having listened to tons of podcasts over the last several years, to see my own in there is more than a little surreal, I have to admit. And also, don’t forget to follow us on facebook and twitter. I hope you enjoy episode 2!

Reciprocity

The launch of Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View has been such an exciting thing to be a part of: Curt and I are so gratified to find that others find this project as intriguing as we do. And we’re just getting started – soon we’ll delve into…*gasp!*…actual episodes!

I wanted to take the opportunity to post a round-up of our friends and fellow internet-slaves who have done us the kindness of posting plugs on our behalf. For one, to show off what nice things other people have to say about us. Secondly, and more importantly, because if any of you like my blog and/or podcast chances are you’ll like these folks, as well. Check out what they have to say about us, and then stay for the (much more interesting) discussion of art and culture!

• Dr. Amy H. Sturgis – If you like science fiction but don’t know Dr. Sturgis, you really need to rectify that immediately. A self-described AcaFan (academic/fan hybrid – a woman after my own heart), she brings passionate enthusiam and intricate knowledge to everything she does. Ever wonderful at providing recommendations for new things to try, she included us in one of her perodic “link salads.” As one of the leading scholars in the history of genre storytelling (as well as Native American and colonial history) I highly recommend getting lost in her blog and website.
• StarShipSofa – Dr. Sturgis is also involved in StarShipSofa, one of the world’s leading scifi podcasts, for which she provides the “Looking Back on Genre History” segment. We recorded a promo for them, and it’s included in their most recent episode at 2:28:00. Use this as an excuse to give SSS a try!
• One of our other fellow Mythgardians, Kelly Orazi, also has a blog – The Middle Page – in which she publishes poetry and essays on fairy-tales, fantasy and folklore. The design of Kelly’s site is really gorgeous, and she always has interesting angles on what she reads and watches (one of my favorites being an examination of the Peter Pan imagery suffused in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom). Kelly has given us a nice write-up here, from which I learned that one of my posts helped her brother win a debate on Doctor Who. See kids? Never let your parents tell you that blogging can’t get you anywhere.
• Speaking of Mythgard, give them a gander, why don’t you? After all, it’s Dr. Corey Olsen’s vision of bringing people together through online learning that engendered this podcast in the first place.
• Jenna St. Hilaire, one of the denizens of The Hogs Head, has also been kind enough to do some outreach for us on her blog, despite the fact that she is neither a Whovian nor a Whedonite, but simply because she is nice. Jenna is a voracious reader and student of writing, so you’ll want to peruse the rest of her blog for great reading recommendations. Also, she does frequent top ten lists, which I’m always a fan of.
• And of course, last of but not least, don’t forget to visit and subscribe to my co-host Curtis Weyant’s blog. There you’ll find a veritable plethora of options from literary criticism, short stories, poetry, music recommendations and video links, short essays on contemporary culture and politics, and some fun stuff too (such as my favorite, Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe done as a Twitter feed).

There you have it: The support we’ve received so early on has been amazingly gratifying. Thanks to everyone for promoting the podcast: I can’t wait to share the journey as we start to delve deep into content. Allons-y!

KCTVReview Episode 1: Domestically-Scaled Menace

Here it is: The inaugural episode of my brand-new podcast, Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View. I talked a bit about this project in an earlier post, but in a nutshell, blogger Curtis Weyant and I will be walking each other through New Doctor Who and Buffy the Vampire Slayer one episode at a time, me introducing him to the Doctor and he introducing Buffy to me. In this first episode, titled “Domestically-Scaled Menace,” we talk a little bit about the idea behind the podcast and our methodology, but most importantly give some (I think pretty fascinating) historical background on each show, laying the groundwork for how and why these shows were created (or, in the case of New Who, regenerated) and why we think they’re perfectly suited for some cross-pollinated critical analysis. We cover everything from the legacy of Doctor Who in British television and its trademark mix of the magical and the mundane to both scare and inspire children, to Joss Whedon’s pre-Buffy writing career and some of the reasons he wanted to tell this odd story about a superhero Valley Girl in the first place. Whether you’re a Whedonite, a Whovian, both or neither, I sincerely hope you’ll join us for this first episode, subscribe to future posts, and watch along with us.

The Fall of the Eleventh

Some Doctor Who spoilers below of the production-note variety. I imagine most of you have heard the news from the BBC by now, but if you like to stay away from any and all Who-related news, stop reading now.

So it turns out that “the fall of the Eleventh,” mentioned in Dorium Maldovar’s prophecy about the Fields of Trenzalore and the revelation of the Doctor’s name, probably does refer to the literal end of the Eleventh Doctor’s life. This wasn’t for sure. It could have meant a metaphoric fall from grace. It could, as I mentioned in my review of “The Name of the Doctor,” have meant the fall of the eleventh month, i.e. November, which would have fit perfectly with the date of the 50th Anniversary Special (November 23rd). That kind of wordplay is trademark Steven Moffat, and I was particularly fond of that theory.

Technically, the phrase could still refer to all of the above at the same time. However, given the announcement from the BBC yesterday that Matt Smith will be leaving the role at the end of the year, it seems that Eleven will literally fall and be replaced by Twelve, whoever that may be. It’s strange to think that we only have two episodes with the Eleventh Doctor left. When Tennant announced his departure in 2008, he still had a whole five special episodes to broadcast over the course of a year, giving fans an entire year to mourn and say their goodbyes. Although Smith won’t depart until December, the audience will have to make do with just the remaining 50th Anniversary and the Christmas Specials.

It’s a sad, strange time: The first Regeneration-speculation I’ve endured as I came to the show during Smith’s tenure. Sure, I’ve said goodbye to Eccleston and Tennant like everyone else, but I always knew when a regeneration was coming and who their replacement would be. The idea that, at this point, no one in the world knows who the Twelfth Doctor will be while also knowing that we will have a new, new, new, new Doctor by December of this year is surreal.

My first impulse is to react against the current deluge of speculation currently overwhelming the internet. The copious lists of who should play the Twelfth Doctor are annoyingly banal. These lists include all the usual suspects of currently popular actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Simon Pegg, etc. Those names, frankly, miss the point entirely. The new Doctor should be just that: New and fresh, not loaded down with baggage and associations. Like the Ninth Doctor said of his successor, “It’s a bit dodgy, this process. You never know what you’re gonna end up with.” And I like it that way. Now, I love the Batch as much as anyone, but if he took the role I’d know exactly what we’d end up with. It seems obvious to me that the best format is to cast a relative unknown, a la Matt Smith or, to a slightly lesser degree, David Tennant. Someone who has talent and experience but much to prove, and lacking any emotional associations brought along by the viewing audience. Or, if they do decide to cast someone more established, it should be someone like Christopher Eccleston who was completely out of left field. If Moffat chooses a well-known actor, I’d like him (or her) to be a piece of stunt casting who completely makes me rethink who and what the Doctor can be. Regeneration should push the envelope; Otherwise it’s a wasted opportunity.

New Who has excelled at this. Eccleston brought a hitherto unseen passion and intensity to the role; Tennant built on that to achieve new levels of charm, wit and emotionality; Smith once again incorporating his predecesors’ emotional and intellectual qualities while bringing the character closer to his alien roots. All of them are the same. Yet, at the same time, they couldn’t be more different. What a wonderfully paradoxical character. This story is, at its core, about change and the effects of time, even on the timeless Doctor. If it’s time for a change, I say to Moffat: Go for it. Embrace the change. Don’t play it safe. Don’t go for the obvious. Most importantly, don’t listen to the audience: They probably won’t know what they want until they see it. Try something new and unexpected. The story, and eventually the audience, will thank you for it.

So what are your thoughts? It’s hard to make predictions prior to seeing the 50th Anniversary episode, but are there any theories as to how and why the Eleventh will fall? Agree or disagree with my thoughts on casting and regeneration? Leave a comment below -  I’d love to hear it.

Beauties and Beasts: ‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair’ Review

“Most women don’t know what they like until they’ve tried it,” worldly-wise Margaery explains to innocent Sansa. In season three we’re being presented with a myriad of mismatched couples, and we would do well to ponder the truth of Margaery’s words. George Martin’s third annual episode, deceptively titled “The Bear and the Maiden Fair,” is far more about these oddball pairings than it is about that final climatic scene featuring Bart the Bear (so the end credits name him) trying to gobble up that decidedly not-fair maiden, Brienne. Jon and Ygritte. Robb and Talisa. Tyrion and Sansa. Jaime and Brienne. Cersei and Loras. Littlefinger and Lysa. Dany and Jorah. Each of them are, in their own way, as unfit for each other as the beauty and beast of the title.

It’s interesting to look at the contrasts and similarities among these many couples, and kudos to Martin and the showrunners for never letting it devolve into overly soapish territory, which it very easily could given all of these seemingly random pairings. The political nature of the story’s plot justifies much of this. Whereas in another story we might scoff at the idea of pairing Tyrion with Sansa, in Game of Thrones it makes perfect sense: Tywin’s political maneuvering, however awful and manipulative, is actually horribly sensible. It also helps that Tyrion and Sansa are each as incredulous about the idea as any of the audience: They are allowed to voice our concerns and complaints for us. “He’s a dwarf,” Sansa complains, and although we recognize the shallowness and prejudice of this sentiment who among us can blame her? A sixteen year old raised on romantic stories of happily ever after, having her hopes of becoming a queen and lady of Highgarden crushed so brutally, Tyrion must seem as unattractive to her as the bear does to the maiden. More legitimately, she also worries about the disgusting family to which he belongs. “He’s a Lannister,” she whispers, to which Margaery responds, “Far from the worst Lannister,” and boy oh boy, does she have a good point. Perceptive Margaery, confident as she seems, definitely realizes that she is truly the one engaged to a wild, dangerous animal, not Sansa.

What further complicates this is that Tyrion is just as reluctant as Sansa, if not more so. Many of her objections are superficial, based on nothing more than her very limited understanding of Tyrion’s person. Tyrion is far more acutely aware of both the difficulties surrounding their union and the even more dangerous potentialities were he to refuse. Like the thoughtful, sensitive person he is, he worries about her youth, an issue not even on the radar of someone like Bronn. And unlike Sansa who, as Margaery correctly assesses, doesn’t really know what she wants, poor Tyrion knows exactly what he wants and is forced to actively put it aside in the name of familial loyalty and safety. Much as he loves Shae, Tyrion is too smart not to realize what will surely happen if he refuses the marriage.

Up in the riverlands we have Brienne and Jaime, two characters as equally mismatched as Tyrion and Sansa and yet are beginning to reconcile those differences, perhaps even to care for each other. Certainly Brienne (regardless of how much Jaime goes on about ways in which he saved the entire kingdom) is bringing out a selfless and chivalrous side in Jaime previously unseen. I can’t help but feel that the maester’s diagnosis that the “corruption has been stymied” in Jaime’s hand is significant of more than physical infection. Perhaps finally getting some distance from the poisonous atmosphere of King’s Landing and the twisted influence of his father and sister are similarly halting, if not beginning to heal, the corruption in Jaime’s character. The decision to turn back and rescue Brienne, who he so recently despised, is an incredible testament to how much his character has changed since losing his hand.

In fact, there is a running motif of our characters losing pieces of themselves, physical or otherwise, which they consider to be integral to their sense of identity: Jaime’s right hand (i.e. his sword hand), Bran’s ability to walk, the Stark family their patriarch, Dany her “sun and stars” Drogo, and in this episode Theon and (what else) his manhood, both figuratively and literally. Poor, poor Theon. It’s hard to see him recovering from that. I just don’t see him with the intelligence and determination to live that carried Varys through. If there’s any consolation for him (and I’m not at all sure that there is) it’s that the trend among these characters is positive. With the possible exception of the Stark family, each of the characters above have been improved, or at least strengthened, by the loss of this most precious part. Time will tell if Theon is the first to break tradition. I’m pulling for him, but it’s not looking good.

To return to our dominant theme of mismatched couples, we are also given two pairs that are incompatible due to circumstance rather than character: Jon & Ygritte and Rob & Talisa. Each of these eldest Stark brothers has, unfortunately, fallen irrevocably for the worst of all possible choices. It’s hard to fault them, since true happiness in Westeros is such a rare and precious thing. Robb and Talisa are touchingly affectionate, and seem eager to learn about each other’s families and cultures. And of course there’s the revelation of the pregnancy. However, Martin gives us that scene in which Talisa distracts Robb from his strategical planning, and I couldn’t help remembering the words of the departed Lord Karstark: “You lost this war when you married her.” She is a literal distraction, and beautiful and lovely and compassionate though she may be Robb has had to choose his love for her at the cost of his ability to win. After languishing in indecision for much of the season, even nature seems set against Robb as the weather delays their progress to the Twins, something which Catelyn seems sure Walder Frey “will take as a slight,” intended or not.

Robb’s brother Jon is in much the same position, with the Wildlings also chastising him and Ygritte for their defiant choice to be together. And just as with Robb, you must admit that the nay-sayers have a point. Perhaps Jon and Ygritte are truly in love, but anyone can see that their loyalty to each other is going to cause some awkward decisions down the road. Like Robb, Jon will have to choose between loyalty to his lover and loyalty to the cause he has sworn to uphold. Both Jon and Ygritte are starting to become aware of this fact. Their relationship has always been more than a little antagonistic, but in the last couple of episodes even their intimate love scenes have become angry and threatening. “You can’t win. All of you will die if you attack the Wall!” Jon tries to explain. “All of us will die,” Ygritte counters, coldly. Despite their many declarations of loyalty, this moment reveals that they are not at all on the same page.

Lurking in the background is that almost literal embodiment of the bear and the maiden fair: Khaleesi Danaerys Stormborn and her devoted Ser Jorah Mormont. After all, the bear is the symbol of house Mormont and he has got his eyes on the fair Dany. This episode focuses less on their relationship and Jorahs’ unrequited feelings, and moreso on Dany’s confidence and ruthlessness which seem to grow exponentially which each new episode. However, the theme is present and central to their characters, especially with the introduction of rival middle-aged knight and all around third wheel, Ser Barristan Selmy in the first episode. You can bet that Dany and Jorah are also being set up for some difficult choices before too long.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t end with the crowning jewel of the episode one of the best scenes in the history of the show: Tywin’s smack-down of Joffrey. We’ve seen Tywin exert his formidable influence over lots of strong personalities this season: Cersei, Tyrion, the Queen of Thorns. The question has lingered, however: In a steel-cage death match between Daddy Lannister and his psychotic grandson, who would come out on top? The question still isn’t entirely settled, but once again it’s point one to Tywin. That scene was just perfect, from writing to direction to acting. The way Joffrey transforms from lounging on the iron throne as arrogantly as ever into a child cowering beneath a terrifying authority figure, all done through Tywin’s slow progression up the steps until he literally looms over Joffrey, was just beautifully done. Tywin also gets some of the best one-liners, too. I know I shouldn’t enjoy seeing Tywin get the upper hand over anyone, but it’s hard not to smile when it’s Joffrey on the receiving end. When Joffrey complains that he can’t be expected to travel all the way to the Tower of the Hand for Small Council Meetings (correctly guessing that Tywin’s motivation for moving the meetings was to increase his own power), Tywin offers to “arrange to have [him] carried.” This has exactly the intended effect, and Joffrey lets that one go. He instead tries to assert some of his own authority. He rebukes his grandfather for not informing him of Dany’s movements. “You’re supposed to counsel me!” he scolds. “You are being counseled at this very moment,” Tywin coolly responds. By the end of the scene, it has been made perfectly clear to Joffrey that he is merely a figurehead. Tywin, the true power behind the throne, will only bother him with the merest trivialities: All important decision-making will be left to the grownups.

My apologies for the lateness of this review. My schedule prevented me from getting to it earlier, and it was (yet again) such a rich episode that I find myself with so much to say. I plan to have a review of “Second Sons” completed this weekend, if at all possible before “The Rains of Castamere” premiers Sunday night, an event for which I am already bracing myself.

Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View

Remember that secret project I teased a few weeks ago? Well, here it is in all its nerdy glory: Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View. This weekly podcast, hosted by myself and fellow blogger and Mythgardian Curtis Weyant, will cover one episode per week of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the new Doctor Who, starting with the first seasons and going in order. Having never seen Buffy (though I’m a fan of Joss Whedon’s work in general), Curt will introduce that show to me, and I will introduce him to the Doctor. Our hope is that this approach will appeal to everyone, both viewers who have seen these shows before and uninitiates looking to jump in, which means that everyone is invited! I sincerely hope you’ll check out our website and subscribe, watching along with us and joining in the comments section. You can also find us on Facebook at Kat and Curt’s TV Re-View and on Twitter by following @KCTVReView. Curt and I have had the most fun putting this project together, and the more the merrier. Our website currently includes a short audio introduction, and we’ll be posting the first introductory episode on June 3rd. After that new episodes will occur weekly for as long as we can keep this thing going. I hope to see you all there!

“The one who broke the promise”: ‘The Name of the Doctor’ Review

I wasn’t sure at first. This, the seventh series finale, took three viewings to wrap my mind around, but I’ve come to a conclusion: I love it. Did it answer every lingering question of the Steven Moffat era and beyond? Of course not. We still don’t know why the TARDIS exploded, how River knows the Doctor’s name, or even what the Doctor’s name is. That’s ok. Moffat still has time to answer those questions, but even if he doesn’t I’m not sure how much I care. What he gave us was a tight, dark, emotional series finale which left me hungry for November’s 50th anniversary. “The Name of the Doctor” is definitely one of the best finales in New Who. Both Russell T. Davies and Moffat have the tendency to create finales that get a little out of control, though in different ways. Davies’ plot resolutions were often borderline nonsensical, but often forgivably so in light of the wonderful service they did the characters. Moffat, a much more ideas-driven writer, has tended to get carried away with his own ideas, sometimes sacrificing character in the process. I’ve come around to appreciate “The Big Bang/The Pandorica Opens” (the series 5 finale) although on the first viewing I found it a bit confusing. I have yet to rewatch “The Wedding of River Song” (series 6 finale), but found it confusing both emotionally and intellectually. “The Name of the Doctor” may be the first New Who finale that has reigned in its ideas and plot to a manageable size. The restraint that Moffat shows is admirable, and in constructing what may be the smallest finale in New Who history he’s paradoxically allowed its ideas and themes to reach a new scale.

We start with one of the most fun pre-titles sequences I can remember. “A long time ago in Gallifrey,” the title card reads, ushering in the classic fairy-tale beginning of “Once upon a time” (and with a nice hint of one of my favorite Murray Gold musical themes, “This is Gallifrey“). Clara, falling down the Doctor’s time stream like Alice descending the rabbit hole, flashes back to her multiple meetings with the classic era Doctors, First through Seventh. “I was born to save the Doctor,” she explains. We’re finally given the reason why Clara is the Impossible Girl: She has sacrificed herself to save the Doctor, spreading herself throughout his personal history, watching over him like a guardian angel. Strangely, this both sets her apart and makes her “just the latest in a long line,” as Rose once put it. Yes, she is souffle girl, the brave woman who makes the self-sacrificial choice, doing what is necessary to save the Doctor’s life. However, she is only doing what every good companion has and will continue to do for the Doctor. Is she special? Yes. But the speculation that Clara is in some way the embodiment of the show is also true. She is the representative of what the story is all about: The relationship between the Doctor and his companions. As we see when the Great Intelligence corrupts the Doctor’s timeline, the world without the Doctor is a poorer place: The universe needs the Doctor. Equally, however, the Doctor needs people. Very early in series 1 the Ninth Doctor gives Mickey a computer virus that would erase him from all internet records. Recently, the Eleventh Doctor has been going around erasing himself from history because he has “got too big.” The assumption that this is true and right has been unspoken all along, but here, just in time for the anniversary celebrations, Moffat has set the record straight: The Doctor is a hero and the world would be poorer without him.

The explanation of Clara’s impossibility is neat enough and makes a sort of fairy-tale sense. I’m a little confused as to the particulars. For example, why can she remember who she is sometimes and not others? Or why did the Doctor only start recognizing her the last two times he saw her? Still, who am I to argue with the logic of what happens when you jump into a time traveler’s time stream and spread yourself across his entire life. At times like this I am reminded that Doctor Who is as much fantasy as it is science fiction, and while that does not excuse shoddy plotting it does help smooth over potential wrinkles when the emotion and character development are true.

The character development for Clara has been a little stilted up to this point, but Moffat has finally done her justice here at the very end of the series, and not a moment too soon. Perhaps for the first time we’ve truly seen Jenna Louise Coleman’s capabilities, and it’s a reminder of what great actors can do when given the opportunity. In Coleman’s performance I felt both her overwhelming fear and her quiet determination. Her bravery shines through, and the Doctor and Clara finally feel connected as true companions, willing to risk all for each other. Her hesitance in the moments when she watches the Doctor warily, not sure whether to be scared for him or a bit scared of him, were just perfect. In that moment she reminded me less of brash Amy and Donna but more of sensitive, supportive Martha, and it’s nice to once again to have a tender companion on board, especially for such a dark adventure as this.

And this episode was quite dark, perhaps the darkest Moffat-era episode that I can remember and one of the darkest in all of New Who. The tone was elegiac, all of the characters were dressed in dark funeral attire, and appropriately so: Trenzalone, the one place the Doctor must never go, turns out to be the site of the Doctor’s grave. Since we’ve finally arrived it would be well to revisit the prophecies as we know them so far. In the Eleventh Doctor’s very first episode, Prisoner Zero says that, “silence will fall.” In series 6 we learn that “silence” refers to the Silence, an order who have sworn to assassinate the Doctor in order to prevent him from reaching Trenzalore and speaking his name. As Dorium explains:

‘Silence must fall’ would be a better translation. The Silence are determined that the question must never be answered…The first question. The oldest question in the universe., hidden in plain sight…The question you’ve been running from all your life: Doctor Who?

Well, we’ve reached the Fields of Trenzalore, although we have yet to see why “no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer,” or just what is meant by the “fall of the Eleventh” (The metaphorical fall of the Eleventh Doctor? His literal death and regeneration? The end of the eleventh month?). Apparently River knows and has spoken the Doctor’s name without any apparently dire consequences, so we also are still in the dark as to the significance of the Doctor’s name. Intriguingly, however, “The Name of the Doctor” was less about the Doctor’s actual name than his physical grave. “The Doctor has a secret which he will take to the grave,” the madman says in the beginning of the episode. “It is discovered.” In a lovely twist, “it” refers not to the secret but to the grave itself. Just as Clara wondered in “Hide” whether her body was out there somewhere, we are reminded  that everyone, including the Doctor, has a grave waiting for them. “This man must fall as as all men must,” the eerie Whisper Men intone, “The fate of all is always dust.” Trenzalore is a grim place, littered with the mouldering graves of soldiers, and it is hard to disbelieve the Great Intelligence when he insists that the Doctor will one day die an “old man” in this place, soaked in blood and buried in the only fitting tomb: His TARDIS. Although the Doctor explains why it has grown so big, Clara can’t help but notice that, in this graveyard of fallen soldiers, the Doctor’s monument is by far the biggest.

Damning though the evidence may be, no one knows the Doctor better than his companions, and Clara believes in him and chooses to save him in a way reminiscent of River Song who hovers in the wings. She saves the Doctor, and the Doctor reciprocates. Simple enough; I never doubted it. That, however, is when things really got interesting. Ladies and gentlemen, introducing John Hurt as The Doctor. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed that this episode wasn’t titled “The Doctor’s Name” as it fits rhythmically with “The Doctor’s Wife” and “The Doctor’s Daughter.” However, I now understand that the strange cadence of the title was a clue to its actual meaning. More properly, it should have been called “In the Name of the Doctor.” Although it was the grave sight itself which was discovered by the Great Intelligence, we are given a few hints as to the Doctor’s actual secret, the one which he will “take to the grave.” A secret in the form of John Hurt.

Until proven otherwise, I am going with the common consensus that he represents a lost incarnation. Certainly he did something unspeakable, which has caused him to be denied by every other regeneration. Probably we’re looking at the Doctor who used The Moment and ended the Time War. I’m not quite sure how this qualifies as a secret, since we’ve known since series 1 that the Doctor ended the Time War, effectively wiping out both the Dalek and Time Lord races, and that he has been plagued by guilt and loneliness ever since. However, I will reserve judgment until the 50th. What we saw of this forlorn incarnation was moving, chilling, and truly effective. While all of the other Doctors* zipped around, running here to there, he stood off by himself, absolutely still, head bowed and back turned. As others have pointed out, his costume is a curious mix of Romantic age trimmings under a worn leather overcoat, suggesting a hybrid of the Eighth and Ninth Doctors’ costumes and further hinting at his place in the sequence. The final shot, lingering on Hurt’s weathered face, was absolutely haunting.

“Your name is like a promise,” the Eleventh Doctor explains. “He’s the one who broke the promise.” Translated, the title “Doctor” represents the Doctor’s commitment to care for life, to save and heal others. “What I did, I did without choice, in the name of peace and sanity,” the other Doctor says wearily. It’s interesting that the Eleventh Doctor, before telling him off, simply says, “I know.” Don’t forget, Moffat is reminding us, they’re all the same man.  Though the Doctor may insist that this secret man is him but “not the Doctor,” the title which introduces “John Hurt as The Doctor” would beg to differ. The Doctor in the New Who has always been at war with his own feelings of guilt. While acknowledging the horrific nature of his own actions, and wanting to be forgiven as he says in “The Doctor’s Wife,” he has also always excused his actions with statements such as “I had no choice” or “what else could I do?” There is still a part of the Doctor who feels as though he did the right thing, the only thing that could have been done. Eleven doesn’t deny that this other Doctor’s motives were just, but his actions, he insists coldly, were not done “in the name of the Doctor.”

I can feel all the the thematic strands converging, weaving and wrapping around the revelation of this other Doctor just as the Doctor’s time strands weave around the TARDIS console: The Last Great Time War and the actions the Doctor took to end it, his loneliness, his selfless heroism balanced against his potential for megalomania, his great capacity to care for others, his need for human companions. But above all, his fun and adventure. Matt Smith has spoken of how funny the anniversary episode is, and more recently Moffat has insisted that Smith and Tennant together are “special” and “really, properly funny,” and I would expect nothing less from an episode that brings those two together. Even as Clara sat crying, terrified and lost in the Doctor’s overwhelming psyche, I couldn’t help but smile as the various forms of the Doctor did what they do best: Run. I’m predicting that we’ve got the dirge out of the way, and that the 50th will be what it should be: A celebration of the Doctor. It will be a redemption story, hopefully not in a way that denies or rewrites the Doctor’s past (as Moffat has done a few too many times) but that acknowledges and makes peace with it. I can’t even predict how Moffat will bring these two opposed tones, the funereal and the joyful, together, and I don’t envy him the task. I only know that I’m excited, and you can’t ask for more from a season finale than that.

*The Tenth Doctor was conspicuously absent from both the flashback sequences and this scene in the pit of the Doctor’s time stream. Is this just out of courtesy to the other Doctors, making sure to give them their due as David Tennant is returning for the anniversary, or perhaps a clue to Ten’s more active involvement in the plot? November can’t come too soon! In the meantime, have this to list your spirits and whet your appetite: