Howling:5 things to look for: finale Doctor

This one's been mentioned all over fandom, and it's interesting enough to watch for.

The theory is that in the 2-part finale, the Doctor will go back to the first 11 episodes--and some of the scenes with the Doctor that we see in these first 11 episodes are actually the finale Doctor going back into his past.

Each of these has other explanations (although in FaS the only good explanation seems to be "serious production error"), but let me ignore those and just list the scenes and how the theory explains them.


 * The Eleventh Hour: When little Amelia hears the TARDIS in the night, then it fades to grown-up Amy hearing the TARDIS in the night. This scene is juxtaposing finale-Doctor actually coming back to give Amelia a message (which he somehow gets her to forget until the time is right) and current-Doctor coming back to pick Amy up.
 * The Beast Below: Why did Liz 10 know that the Doctor would do "the glass thing"? Because finale-Doctor came back earlier and put a glass on the ground. Liz 10 tried to figure out why anyone would do such a thing, which is how she figured out that there are no engines, and also how she figured out that he must have been the legendary Doctor. (Also, look at 12:40, where the current-Doctor sees a glass on the floor and seems to be puzzled about why it's there.)
 * Victory of the Daleks: ??? (Yay, another excuse to watch it again.:))
 * The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone: This is the one that got everyone started on the whole theory. The Doctor lost his jacket, and ran around without it. And then, in the scene where he tells Amy to remember what he told her when he was 7, he's wearing a jacket. And not even the same jacket; he wears the light one in TToA/FoS, but the dark one in this scene. And his sleeves are rolled up. And his interaction with Amy is much kinder than what we've seen in the first 5 episodes. And the significance of the "Time can be rewritten!" line is either that he's just started to plan out what he's going to do, or he's just realized that a future self of his is already running around doing so (and maybe that explains something odd he's seen--like the glass in TBB).

So, why would the Doctor be running around through his own past like this? Either to fix what's broken, or to fix Amy so she can save the universe or avoid destroying it, or just to set things up that he's going to need for the big showdown.

Of course this last possibility is straight out of Moffat's first-ever Who work, The Curse of Fatal Death, so, if he actually does that one, I'd love to see a tiny throwaway reference. (I can't think of a good one--farting, referring to Amy's "etheric beam locators" being very firm, etc. would all be totally out of place. But there's a reason Moffat got the job instead of me.:)) --Falcotron 15:13, May 6, 2010 (UTC)

I like it! And SM said he wanted to stories that actually used time travel effectively...RUMyMommy 17:38, May 6, 2010 (UTC)

One more thing (again, just forwarding someone else's idea, so don't give me credit):

Finale-Doctor knows how to land the TARDIS silently. It seems likely that, if Moffat is sending the Doctor back into the first 11 episodes, he's going to have to use that at some point to "sneak in" somewhere. Probably with someone who knows (or knows of) the Doctor but doesn't know he can land silently, like Churchill or Liz 10--or, even better, like himself, Amy, or River before River taught him. --Falcotron 02:41, May 7, 2010 (UTC)

Another point: When TEH first aired, a few people pointed out that some of the pictures, dolls, etc. of the Raggedy Doctor weren't actually raggedy. --Falcotron 18:33, May 7, 2010 (UTC)

See, I've watched that episode and looked at the site, and I really can't see any "non-raggedy" Doctors. :S Can anyone be more specific? Cannon881 10:17, May 8, 2010 (UTC)


 * Actually, I don't have my copy of the first 2 episodes anymore... but at the time, it was definitely mentioned by fans in multiple places (forums, blogs, I thin even this site). After I get another copy and rewatch it myself, if I don't see it, I'll try to track down who said it and whether they have more details. --Falcotron 12:25, May 8, 2010 (UTC)
 * at least one doctor doll isn't raggedy. I think personally it's worth checking Vampires in Venice for more of the same theme Lu-igi board
 * That's brilliant about "The Eleventh Hour" - I'd been wondering the same thing about that scene where the TARDIS sound is heard and young Amy smiles. That would make sense - especially since I've been going over all the scenes between the Doctor and young Amy over and over again and I can't figure out for the life of me what she's supposed to be "remembering". I really think you're on to something here. Bluebox444 10:56, May 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * See 'Raggedy doctor dolls / spoiler' lower down the list of threads... I posted this idea over a month ago on the howling and Cannon881 you pooh poohed it on April 8th sayng it was just 14 years dirt making some of the dolls look different. My point was that the doctor dolls are wearing 2 distinct different sets of clothes, the blue shirt raggedy dr outfit, and the smarter brown shirt outfit. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/episodes/b00rs6t7/galleries/design_art
 * That's brilliant about "The Eleventh Hour" - I'd been wondering the same thing about that scene where the TARDIS sound is heard and young Amy smiles. That would make sense - especially since I've been going over all the scenes between the Doctor and young Amy over and over again and I can't figure out for the life of me what she's supposed to be "remembering". I really think you're on to something here. Bluebox444 10:56, May 9, 2010 (UTC)
 * See 'Raggedy doctor dolls / spoiler' lower down the list of threads... I posted this idea over a month ago on the howling and Cannon881 you pooh poohed it on April 8th sayng it was just 14 years dirt making some of the dolls look different. My point was that the doctor dolls are wearing 2 distinct different sets of clothes, the blue shirt raggedy dr outfit, and the smarter brown shirt outfit. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/episodes/b00rs6t7/galleries/design_art
 * See 'Raggedy doctor dolls / spoiler' lower down the list of threads... I posted this idea over a month ago on the howling and Cannon881 you pooh poohed it on April 8th sayng it was just 14 years dirt making some of the dolls look different. My point was that the doctor dolls are wearing 2 distinct different sets of clothes, the blue shirt raggedy dr outfit, and the smarter brown shirt outfit. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/episodes/b00rs6t7/galleries/design_art


 * If young Amy hadn't seen the Doctor again after waiting in the garden with her blue duffle coat on, how would she have known he had changed his clothes. And there is a doll of Amy wearing her duffle coat too, and some of the models and drawings of the tardis are standing upright and not broken next to the shed 86.26.137.154 06:53, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

Thanks for the link! A picture is worth more than 1000 words of me vaguely remembering that some people said some stuff 5 weeks ago. :)

Even though both outfits look somewhat "raggedy", it is pretty clearly two completely different outfits, one of which is the one she saw early in TEH and one of which isn't. --Falcotron 09:07, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

I didn't "pooh pooh" it. I just said it was difficult to make out. I always make a point of saying that what I think is MY OPINION. If I was going to "pooh pooh" your idea, as you so elegantly put it, I'd point out that the doll on the far left has patches of blue on it's arms and stomach. I think it's a brilliant theory, but I'm just not entirely sure about the shirts. From what I can see, the brown shirted Doctor appears to be wearing pinstripe trousers? Cannon881 13:44, May 10, 2010 (UTC)

no Doctor doll has a bow-tie. does this dissprove the idea, or has this been done purposely (ie: the doctor will wear a tie, or a bow tie would practically confirm they had met again.)? Lu-igi board


 * Good point.


 * One thing to keep in mind is that these are the early design concepts released by the BBC on their website, not what was actually seen on-screen. It's always possible that these were done before 11's "costume" was finalized; it's probably worth looking at the video/screencaps to see if he's wearing a bowtie in the final version, just to make sure. But probably he isn't, which is a serious problem for the theory. --Falcotron 00:27, May 11, 2010 (UTC)