Madame Kovarian: Year One
To see two preview clips from tomorrow’s Doctor Who finale, click here and scroll down to “The Wedding of River Song: Previews: Reveal” – not to be confused with “The Wedding of River Song: Introductory Videos: Reveal.” (There’s other cool stuff there too.)
To say that these previews involve SPOILERS would be an understatement. In fact the mere still images displayed before the clips start playing contain spoilers, which is why I haven’t embedded them here.
Later tonight I plan to offer some speculation in the comments section here, so for those who find mere speculation spoileriffic, stay away from the comments section.
In the meantime, check this out if you dare. Its content isn’t spoileriffic (as it’s about 1970s Who), but my linking to it in this context might be.
1. So, what we’ve got coming up is the oldest question in the universe, a question hiding in plain sight. Well, I don’t know what the oldest question in the actual universe is (probably something along the lines of “where food?”), but presumably the oldest question in the Doctor Who universe is the one in the title — which certainly counts as hiding in plain sight.
Moreover, there’ve been several references to it lately. In “The God Complex,” the Doctor jokes about his middle name being Bad Penny and how it makes filling in forms awkward. In “Closing Time,” he jokes about needing a nametag so he won’t forget his name. And in “Let’s Kill Hitler,” the Doctor himself asks (though presumably not at the right address and at the time of scampering) “Doctor Who?”
Moreover, way back in “Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead,” we discovered that River learns the Doctor’s name at some point, and that her doing so had to occur in a unique context. (And even farther back in “Girl in the Fireplace,” Madame Pompadour figured out there was some extra-mystery about his name. And those were all Moffat episodes.) So we’ve got a fair bit of evidence that the Doctor’s name is the Unspeakable Answer. (Which may suggest that Moffat is resurrecting some version of the Cartmel Masterplan.)
On the other hand, Moffat is a master of misdirection, so it might be something entirely different.
2. When I first saw the viking with the eyepatch, I thought Odin. Reflection on the chess set made me think Fenric instead. But my money is on these elements being artistic nods to Odin and Fenric rather than actual inclusions of these characters.
3. As for the eyepatches (or iPatches?) — I’ve seen several fansites speculating that they might be a means of remembering the Silence (or whatever we’re supposed to call them now) by projecting a continuous image of one. And actually, that sounds pretty reasonable.
4. The Doctor does have a problem with prime ministers, doesn’t he?
(Which may suggest that Moffat is resurrecting some version of the Cartmel Masterplan.)
Or it’s a self-referential nod to Moffat’s (very defensible) belief that the character works best when there’s an air of mystery to him. “Doctor who?” is the oldest question in the universe (i.e. the show); answering it would be devastating for the universe (i.e. the show).
See here.
Not only the Brigade Leader but the Brigadier as well will be honoured tonight.
So when does he find out about Sarah Jane? Or will she survive offscreen?
*SPOILER ALERT*
A couple thoughts on the finale:
So we still don’t know how River Song learns The Doctor’s name. Evidence that River is next season’s companion? Or at least will appear occasionally next season?
Am I right in thinking we are still left with enough mysteries about The Silence that we can expect them to return?
Is anyone else hoping that Craig will be the next companion? I think he’d be a great change of pace, after many seasons now of swooning young women. But then again, the swooning young companions are part of the reason for the show’s charm…
Well, in addition to whispering to River tonight, the Doctor also whispered something to River as he was dying in “Let’s Kill Hitler,” so she might have learned it then. Or it may be in the future.
Alex Kingston has just landed a regular role on the new version of Upstairs, Downstairs (playing — no kidding — a bad-girl archeologist) so I don’t expect River to become a regular (as in every-episode) companion. But I do expect we’ll see her again from time to time.
Given that Craig’s whole deal is home-and-wife-and-baby, I doubt he’ll become a companion. Though I wouldn’t be surprised to see him again in a single episode.
I think it’s pretty safe to say the Silence will return — and Madame Kovarian too, since her death was in an aborted timeline.
2013 is the 50th anniversary season, so I imagine the 2012 series will be building to something big. My guess (and most fans’ guess, I gather) is that 2013 will feature every previous Doctor-actor who’s alive and willing, plus River, Captain Jack, and probably some other past actors as well.
Past Doctor-actors alive are 4 through 10. As for willingness, odds of getting 5-8 and 10 are probably fairly high. 4, medium. 9, low.
Donna wasn’t so swoony; she never showed any romantic interest in the Doctor.
I was fond of the idea from Scream of the Shalka that the Doctor’s companion would be a subservient-but-resentful robotic clone of the Master.
Christina de Souza would have been a fun companion for the Doctor, but even if Michelle Ryan hadn’t been reluctant to commit to a regular role, the character might be a bit too much like River.
Yeah, I’m trying to ignore the fact that Craig is a family man, and still hoping the show can find a way of making him the companion. But I guess an occasional cameo will make me happy enough. In general, I think a comic male companion would be nice: Rory is great, but his character has mostly existed to support Amy’s, and he’s kind of a straight man.
I hadn’t heard about Alex Kingston. I hope she can come back, if only because the thrill and charm of her character suffered in the finale IMHO.
I agree with you about next year. Probably the Doctor’s ‘big secret’ is going to be revealed for the 50th anniversary, with lots of lead-up next season.
One other thought: has The Doctor ever had a child companion? That would also be interesting: maybe a tough smart young girl a la Hit Girl or Hanna (only less kill-y)…
I doubt that all of the “big secret” will be revealed. Probably the aim will be to reveal just enough so that the fans won’t feel cheated, but not so much as to ruin the mystery of the character. (After all, the aforelinked Cartmel Masterplan that Moffat seems to be reviving in some form was intended to increase, not to decrease, the mystery.)
When the Doctor’s clone-daughter was due to be killed off at the end of her introduction, Moffat — who by that time had been chosen to succeed Davies — asked Davies to leave her alive. So perhaps he was thinking about using her, though so far he hasn’t done so. Of course the (metaphorically) incestuous actress may not be available, but given regeneration that’s no objection.
He’s had several teenage companions but nobody younger. Young Amelia was the closest he came, but he returned too late.
Leela was a bit like Hit-Girl, but in killiness, not in age. Though maybe River’s killiness is more Hit-Girlesque than Leela’s killiness. (No quips or banter for Leela; she was deadly serious.)