Howling:Theories on John Hurt

Does anybody have any theories about the role he will play? It's implied he is some kind of version of The Doctor, but the rest is completely open to speculation... 87.102.91.126talk to me 20:14, May 18, 2013 (UTC)


 * I was hoping that it would be a modern incarnation of The Valeyard, but hey, at least he got mentioned by the intelligence. One theory I heard was that he is an incarnation in between the 8th and 9th, the one responsible for ending the time war. --Cadellin ☎  21:00, May 18, 2013 (UTC)

I'm not a fan of that theory, because we already know everything we need to about the time war. The Ninth Doctor's personality said it all. Going into more detail would make that aspect of Series 1 less effective. Although I do like the idea of an unknown incarnation that The Doctor would rather forget, if done right that would be a good direction to take the character.

However my theory is that he's a future Doctor. Considering that we saw a lot of The Doctor's past in the episode, I was wondering if we were going to see any of The Doctor's future, and when we saw John Hurt my first thought was that he was a future Doctor. Now I know that Eleven seemed to know something about Hurt, which would imply he is at least a version of The Doctor from the past, but remember The Doctor's line early in the episode about how he knew where his grave was because he's a time traveller - the same thing may apply to him knowing about Hurt. 87.102.91.126talk to me 21:45, May 18, 2013 (UTC)

87, "It's implied he is some kind of version of The Doctor": It's not implied, it's stated outright, both in dialogue & in the credits. The question, of course, is: Which incarnation is he playing?

Cadellin, "an incarnation in between the 8th and 9th, the one responsible for ending the time war": That's possible. However, it's also possible that Hurt is playing the Eighth Doctor & the difference in appearance is because of something that happened during the Time War.

Although I understand 87's fear that giving us more about the Time War might "make that aspect of Series 1 less effective", it all depends on what's revealed & how it's revealed. It easily could diminish what we saw of the Ninth Doctor but it doesn't absolutely have to. I can't work out how to reveal more about the Doctor's part in the Time War without doing damage but that doesn't mean Moffat can't. And, of course, we don't know that that's what he intends to do, anyway.

Right now, we don't have anything that can claim the status of a theory. What we have is guesswork. There's just not enough information for anything more. (I don't mean we should stop guessing; only that we ought to remember that what we're doing is guessing.) --89.242.70.9talk to me 22:31, May 18, 2013 (UTC)

Eleven said "He's not The Doctor... But he is me." if I remember correctly. That's a bit too cryptic to be an outight statement.

By the way I've come up with a new theory - does anyone think he might have something to do with the Dream Lord? That would fit well with the line I quoted above, and remember what happened at the end of "Amy's Choice"? 87.102.91.126talk to me 23:06, May 18, 2013 (UTC)

Personally, I agree with the "older version of the Eighth" theory. If it were a future version of the Doctor, then the Eleventh's knowledge of the Unknown Doctor is a complete violation of Moffat's spoilers policy (which we see displayed yet again when River Song leaves a new mystery as she disappears). Furthermore, if it were the Valeyard, then I doubt the Unknown would have made the claim that he did things in the name of peace, etc. However, the idea that the Unknown is an aged version of the Eighth (especially if he were the version that created the time lock on the Last Great Time War) makes sense, since the Ninth Doctor was (supposedly) so different from the Eighth Doctor--something evidently changed him for the worse. It's also possible, of course, that the Unknown is a younger version of the First Doctor, before he took the name of "Doctor." Milar Kayne ☎  00:09, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

There is also the possibility of The Valeyard. "The Valeyard, Doctor, is your penultimate reincarnation... Somewhere between your twelfth and thirteenth regeneration" (quote from The Master). It would also be an incarnation of himself which he has already encountered, though as the darker side of him. We are, after all, approaching the Twelfth… I suspect they will make some form of mention of The Valeyard's origins in the least, for continuity's sake.  I am the Lhikan! ( TaLk )  6   3   4  01:05, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

87: "... he is me," is an outright statement. The first bit may be cryptic & it leaves plenty of room for doubt about what kind of version of the Doctor he is but the whole thing is still a clear statement that he's some kind of version of him. It isn't implied, it's said.

Milar Kayne: One argument against the "younger version of the First Doctor" idea is that Hurt's character was described as having broken the promise signified by the name of "Doctor". You can't break a promise without first having made that promise. Another argument against it is that the destruction of Gallifrey & the Time Lords is such a huge burden on the Doctor that it's difficult to think of how there could have been something even worse, that early in his life, without it having shown up in his behaviour long before this. Neither argument is overpowering, of course.
 * You're right about it not being likely that the Unknown is pre-First, though I noticed a theory that the Time Lord known as the Other possibly being a pre-First version of the Doctor as well. Also, as I understand it, we know all too little about the First Doctor's younger days...it's conceivable that he might have had dark times as the First. However, I do feel that the "older Eighth" is much more plausible than the "younger First" theory. Just wanted to throw it out there. :) Milar Kayne  ☎  02:35, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

Lhikan634: A "supernumary" incarnation (not one of the normal 13), like the Valeyard, is possible -- especially as we know very little about the events of the Time War. At one point, the Tenth Doctor spoke of an "army of Meanwhiles and Never-Weres" in the Time War. Perhaps the "Hurt Doctor" is one of the "Never-Weres" -- a version of the Doctor that would never have existed, except that he was brought into existence in the course of the Time War. --89.242.70.9talk to me 01:16, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

I would personally feel let down if John Hurt is supposed to be an older 8th doctor. While John Hurt is an amazing actor, Paul McGann has expressed interest again and again about being in the new series in some form. Paul McGann is older now, so if they're gonna do an older 8th, it should have been the real older 8th. Anyone else with me on this? In other opinions, I think that the time war is likely for the following reason: The doctor's real name, which I assume John Hurt's character would be called by, was in the book "The History of the Time War" supporting that the promise breaking that they are talking about was during the war. --TheMaelstrom ☎  02:07, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

89: That is possible. Though it is a fan work, Devious conceived a "Second-and-a-Half Doctor, an interim incarnation who had his regeneration halted between the transition from 2 into 3, then eventually completed. But from the looks of this, we've got a real mindscrew at work. Is he Eight, Nine, a "halfer", meta-crisis, clone, or what?

TheMaelstrom: I am sad, too, if Paul gets shafted for this anniversary, but he could play Eight in his prime and lead up to the elderly, "geriatric" version of his incarnation Hurt plays. So pardon me if I hijack the boards, but let me run with this idea.

Is this the Eighth Doctor at the final leg of his incarnation? It would make for an interesting plot that is akin to real life human qualities. Eight has a good life until the battles of the Time War intercede with his peace-loving nature, slowly rotting away at his integrity until they reforge him into a war-poisoned extremest, who, much like a young soldier sent into battle, was initially wide-eyed, full of hope. A knight in sour armor, broken, bitter, and all the fight's knocked out of him. Then... he dies, and is reborn as Nine. Now physically younger, some of the fight and hope gets rebuffed with the newfound vigor. But this time, so is his rage. Paul portrays "Hopeful Eighth Doctor", and he's got the act down-pat in the audio stories. But if you're going to make such a drastic change to Eight's core personality, drafting in a new actor might be a deliberate act because the writers want the change to be that much more jarring. A gravelly voice instead of an eloquent Edwardian, cold, glassy eyes, genuine liver spots, and so much pain. They don't want him recognizable to the viewers and fans... because he's corrupted into something contrary to what we know- a Knight Templar abomination. Hurt is the "Bitter in Defeat Eighth Doctor", the curtain call of his life.

Also worth noting: Eight makes a slight wardrobe change to befit his serious attitude, donning a U-boat jacket coat clashing with that dressy cravat and waistcoat, mementos of happier times to get him through the war, the precursor to his impending regeneration, putting on new garb to forget the past. When he becomes Nine, he strips the outfit of everything that reeked of Eight (since Eight is the black sheep), but retains the jacket, as it reflects how he wanted a fresh start. Time to start a new life, and leave the Edwardian's clothes behind. Shed the identity of the traitor to the Doctor's namesake, and begin anew.

Yes, November will be a rocky wait for the definitive answer. Looks like I got a little poetic. I draft up scripts for my comic projects these days. --Thunderush ☎  02:05, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

Thunderush: Another thing to think on supporting the Time War theory and the possibility that John Hurt is 8.5 or The Real 9: Until the episode "The Lodger", I do not think it was said in story that Matt Smith was the Eleventh Doctor. Sure, we all treated it as such because we count the regenerations, and in "The Next Doctor" we saw a lineup of the doctors to that point, but the numbers have only been acknowledged in the series recently. However, if John Hurt's character is The Doctor's secret, it is conceivable that in all of the times since "The Next Doctor" that we have seen the lineup, it was a lie. History outside the time lock (and the book in the TARDIS library) would have no record of this other doctor, and The Doctor would certainly omit this Doctor from the lineup as we saw it in his mind in The Nightmare in Silver.

Although, to argue in the other direction: Can one really repair a broken promise? If one cannot, then John Hurt's character must be later in the timeline. The acts that John Hurt's Doctor was describing could be anything. Mad and evil men often say that what they do is done in the name of peace and harmony to justify their actions. Matt Smith's Doctor could simply know him because he was exposed to his future while standing beside his time rift. So much to think about! --TheMaelstrom ☎  02:29, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

TheMaelstrom: That's quite the headscratcher for the ages. It's too much to wrap your head around the answer. I like your question about fixing a broken promise. 8.5 or 12, this new Doctor is a ticking plot bomb. --Thunderush ☎  03:06, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

Thunderush, "this new Doctor is a ticking plot bomb": Regardless of what else we argue about, I don't think anyone's going to disagree with you there. --89.242.70.9talk to me 07:23, May 19, 2013 (UTC)

Personally, I think it would be good if he turned out to be the First Doctor, instead of 9 or 12 or whatever else everyone is speculating. I'm partly thinking that because I'm hoping Moffat will take the character in a direction nobody has guessed - and I haven't seen any people speculating that he might be the First Doctor.

Well, apart from one person above... But they're the first I've seen. 87.102.91.126talk to me 08:36, May 19, 2013 (UTC)