Gallifrey Found

This is planet "HD 106906 B" and it was found in the farthest orbit of a sun yet discovered. Probably because of a combination of it's appearance as well as the 50th anniversary and the revelation that Gallifrey is out there, not surprisingly there is a petition to have the planet named Gallifrey.  I don't normally go for petitions, but I signed this one, and I hope enough people do to have it named, as it would be a fitting tribute for the show, as well as a wonderful 50th birthday gift. They are still a number of people away from their goal of signatures, so please go here and sign the petition today. 

Here is a Youtube video from the person who started the petition.

We might not get a more perfect opportunity to immortalize Doctor Who in our reality's stars.
#GallifreyFound

Doctor Who: My 50th Anniversary Roundup

So I don't know much about per screen sales, and have seen different numbers, a problem common when looking for information on different sites. I try my hardest not to just make up what I think they are saying and will say when I just don't know. What I do know is that after you factor in the 7pm airing on the 23rd, the special had 3.6 million viewers on BBC America. This sure doesn't seem like a high number to me, even though it broke a record for them. I just think we need to work harder at getting more Whovians. It set a Guinness world record for largest simulcast of a drama. Funny little awards they give. The word is that it had a higher per screen amount than even Catching Fire, but one site said per theater, so I'm not sure where the nugget of truth is there. I did see it was the #2 'movie' on Monday in America. All great and it's nice to have validation but puhleeze don't rush into a movie franchise. I'd be perfectly happy if it didn't move in that direction at all.

As far as "The Day of The Doctor" itself, I loved it. From the way it opened to the story to Billie Piper being The Moment/Rose/Bad Wolf. John Hurt was amazing and as predicted stole many scenes. "Am I having a mid-life crisis?", "Timey wimey?!?", "Are you capable of speaking without flapping your hands about?" Doctor gold I tells ya. Yes, the treaty with the Zygons manifested a bit quickly, but right now I love Steven Moffat for bringing back Gallifrey, my one beef with RTD. The little nods here and there to the past were well appreciated. Multiple TARDISES, great battle scenes, a winding storyline, a moving final moment and every Doctor. What more could you want? I'll tell you what more. Tom Baker as the curator, that's what. A very poignant moment for me. It was well worth the wait Tom. Shh.

More great pics I found from the special at the end.

One of the real gems of the 50th week was the movie Mark Gatiss made, "An Adventure In Space and Time." Better than a behind the scenes special, you got to see what it was like working on set in 1963-1966. You see the first ideas and the first designs. You also see behind the man behind the man, and delve a little into what it was like being Doctor Who, and indeed being William Hartnell. It was funny too, a bit sad and quite fun. A little bit delightful in fact. Check it out. Spot the cameos :)

Big Finish, who produce most excellent audiodramas, did a whopper for the 50th. An 8, yes EIGHT, Doctor multi Doctor tale that captured my attention and didn't let go. Read my spoiler free review here on my classic page.

By far my favorite thing besides the actual special was a 30 minute film offered on BBC's red button, which frankly I know nothing about. "The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot" was written and directed by 5th Doctor, Peter Davison. It's the hilarious tale of former Doctors from the 80's trying desperately to be in the 50th special.

The actors poke great fun at themselves as they scramble to be noticed by the likes of Moffat himself. There are cameos from old and new companions and even a star and director from a major Hollywood film franchise a certain Doctor can't help but keep mentioning he's in. Colin Baker trying to get his family to watch his old episodes, Doctors as Daleks and REALLY outing John Barrowman. I'll state again here that this is a perfect companion piece to the 50th special and it would be a shame if it weren't included on the release.

One thing I almost missed out on was the 2 hour show, "Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide" but I'm glad I didn't miss it. It was the most entertaining of all the 'looking back' specials I saw. It had humor and great guests and really did a good job aiming for that ultimate guide title they claimed. If you can find a copy I suggest it, but it didn't air in America.

The single best event was the theater experience. It was probably a combination of actually being in a theater watching Doctor Who on the big screen after watching for over 30 years, it being the 50th anniversary, it being in 3D and being in a room filled with Whovians. It was a day of big feels.


So now what? Exhale first. Relax. The marathons are over. Then it hits me, only 27 days to Christmas. "The Time of The Doctor" is coming. To prepare I have pulled out all the regeneration episodes and then will alternate them with all the Christmas episodes. That's just how I roll. I did finally get the last of the 11 short stories they released. That's the last 50th thing to cross off my list as soon as I read them. It'll be interesting to see what info about Christmas comes out in the next couple of weeks, which reminds me, if you don't like spoilers, don't read my next post.

These are some nice pics I found from "The Day of The Doctor"

There is another way... Thoughts on Regeneration

After watching "The Brain of Mobius" again, and then the prequel, "Night of The Doctor," we can certainly see how with the help of the Sisterhood of Karn The Doctor can get past the limit of 12 regenerations. We also know from stories like "The Five Doctors" that the Timelords could grant more regenerations, so what if in the 50th, Moffat resolves the time war and Gallifrey is back? Problem solved, but there are more ways than these.

I've been watching classic episodes in order to gear up for next week's BBCAmerica takeover, with the return series airing in order. I've watched some pertinent ones like "Terror of the Zygons," since they will be in the 50th, and "Underworld," because it was the first ever I remember seeing thirty-something years ago. Right now I'm watching "Mawdryn Undead" simply because it's one of my favorites.

The thing about the last two I mentioned is that in both of them The Doctor had encountered races with whom the Timelords had shared regeneration technology as well as having it stolen from them. All The Doctor needs to do is visit the Minyans again if he needs to regenerate. Who knows how many more places there are out there, but it's an issue I think is pretty much 'problem solved' :)

As a side note, I'd like to address the people who claim the extra faces who appeared during the mind battle between the fourth Doctor and Morbius in "The Brain of Morbius" are representing other regenerations of The Doctor. In "Mawdryn Undead" the fifth Doctor spells it out point blank. Her will not help Mawdryn and his friends because there are eight of them, and he has regenerated four times so it would be the end of him as a Timelord because he only has eight regenerations left. So you can choose to believe the ambiguous appearance of unexplained faces or the facts that are spelled out and spoken by The Doctor himself.

The Day of The Doctor Promo Image and poster released

OOOOOOH they put these out today. And if you look in the images it appears we will see a broken off TARDIS door (Matt's TARDIS), the time war, with bits of Dalek about and a Gallifreyan symbol. And what's that scrawled on that wall?

Return to the Daleks

From the promotional images just released and the trailer shown at Comic Con it looks like we take a trip back to the time war in the 50th anniversary special. You can see the Daleks in the midst of battle, Gallifreyan symbols in the background. In true Dalek fashion they have managed to destroy while keeping a smooth path to travel through the rubble. I'm not going to transcribe the trailer they showed, but it sounds like there are some good shots of David Tennant's and Matt Smith's Doctors together as well as with the 'other' Doctor, John Hurt. It was an exclusive for Comic Con, and from what I understand, Steven Moffat once again asked people not to leak it. The time war aspect could always be as insignificant as the Cybermen appearance in "The Wedding of River Song," but it would be nice to see what happened finally.

Fingers crossed that the BBC will release a trailer soon that we can see. OH, and I almost forgot... It will be 75 minutes long. Just because something may be 'technically' movie length doesn't make it okay to promise movie length, but thank you for extending it as much as you did. Now the images...

And now, the 2 SPOILERY images from the Doctor Who finale

DO NOT GO FURTHER IF YOU AVOID SPOILERS, BBC RELEASED SPOILERS, BUT SPOILERS NONETHELESS, OR ARE THEY?




WOW. I mean  just wow. This could be a treat if they go back to old Gallifrey. I miss it and it's always been the one thing I hated Russell T. Davies for, getting rid of Gallifrey. And Clara with the 6th Doctor behind her?? But this falls in line with one thing I read about the finale. I can't remember where or the details so this sound sketchy but really, it was to do with a location where The Doctor has connected every point in his past and future to and acts like a vantage point, perhaps for reflection. In one of the trailers it looks like we see Bessie, the 3rd Doctor's car. Looks like we are getting more than we thought originally.

Also, as far as the spoilers that may be out there regarding the finale, Steven Moffat has promised if we keep the secrets that he will release a special clip with Matt Smith and David Tennant, so let's hope people can keep their mouths shut.