Hey, the Master's always stayed cOMplEteLy SAnE, what's your point?! ;)

(in fairness, he's stayed as sane as he always was :)
Yeah, they'll resolve it somehow. I must admit for myself, I've always taken the 13 incarnation limit with a pinch of salt, it's a loosely established thing and there are plenty of get-outs. If the Time Lords don't return then there's no longer anything to limit it, if they do then they can grant more regenerations. I quite like the idea of the Universe not being able to let the Doctor go, too :) And River gave him all her remaining regenerations in Let's Kill Hitler, that could give him a few more. And there's a whole slew of other possibilities!

There's always Romana off somewhere in E-Space, and Susan - I like to think they escaped :) And House had found others in The Doctor's Wife, so there were some who escaped the Time War. Maybe there's a few more resourceful renegades carrying fob watches around...

and there is the Doctors 'Daughter'. (well, gender switched clone, really)
...who is IRL the Fifth Doctors Daugther and is married to the Tenth Doctor...

True, but my comment was more or less directed at Rassilon and his sometimes good guy, sometimes batshit crazy lunatic personality depending on the regeneration.

I have taken the rule of 13 as canon only because it was made far more serious than it really was meant to be. I really don't think it should have been "a thing", though the Doctor regenerating a 13th time into Death does lay some credence to it. That being said though, I have no doubt they will find some work around, and with the regenerations he incurred from River, he could have many more that way. I want to see the return of the Time Lords with them imprisoning Rassilon and trying to make amends, and by giving the Doctor more regenerations for them following a madman into war. Perhaps Rassilon taking on a more shadowy and darker antagonistic role ala The Black Guardian though corporeal. I am actually quiet curious how they intend to "fix" his lack of regenerations.

Well that depends if Romana was still in E-Space or if her appearance in the books was canon. Susan, hmm who knows if she survived, I would like to think so since she never regenerated on screen so it is possible to see her make a comeback IF she survived. Well to be fair about House, there is no telling how long ago he killed those Time Lords, it could have been long before the Time Lock was put in in place. I always felt for the Doctor in that episode when he had that glimmer of hope of not being alone, and having it snatched away from him. It would be interesting to see if and how any Time Lords were to survive though.
Why do I suddenly hear the banjos from Deliverance going. LOL jk

Actually, that is a valid point, clone or not, she IS a full blooded Time Lord. It would be nice to see her make a return into the series some how being plot pivotal to an arc or mini-arc.

Point well taken!

Also, in "The Doctor's Wife" episode, where the Doctor, Amy, and Rory go into the dimension with the being that consumed time lords, the T.A.R.D.I.S. took human form and told the doctor about something regarding what happened with a doctor in his 30th regeneration or so (somewhere in the 30s). The Doctor himself said that's impossible,but the T.A.R.D.I.S. begged to differ :)

I really enjoyed this episode. It just so happened Neil Gaiman wrote it, even though it had to be butchered/condensed a bit because he wrote so much awesome stuff, it couldn't all fit in one episode, hehe

The whole re-generation thing began originally due to the first doctor, William Hartnell, dieing on set and the crew quickly coming up with an idea as to how to keep the show going.

Oddly enough, before he died, he said this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ce7LS0kB780

Wasn't this made abundantly apparent when they introduced John Hurt as the Doctor in the most cheesily X-Factor way they could?

Eh, the only precedent being broken would be that the Doctor would be female -- which we know can happen ("The Doctor's Wife"). A white, male lead actor is really not anything new. Not that I have anything against any of the people who have played the Doctor, but I would like to see a change because I think it could be interesting. The writing staff being forced to write differently is both a cop out (because they have to write differently every episode, and every season, and every new Doctor), and just a revelation of the way that sexism ingrains society. A female Doctor would not necessarily have to be all that different from a male Doctor. The writing would not have to become super "feminine" or anything. It would not have to change entirely to fit the Doctor being female. In fact, in my mind, it would be better actually if the Doctor stayed very similar in personality (within the parameters of changed-due-to-regeneration) but was female, than if a female Doctor suddenly became super different, because she was a Time Lady.


It and "Blink" are probably my two favorite episodes (for entirely different reasons).

It was quite hammy what they did

It almost made the whole last episode feel like a giant trailer for the 50th, instead of it's own unique story leading up to that.

And we can all guess, at the very least, how it's going to end, regardless of details....

The doctor lives and his adventures continue!

She was talking about the interior of the TARDIS changing. She had archived 30something "desktops", but at that point he had only changed it about half a dozen times or so. :)

It really wasn't, but I've been cautioned against spoilers in previous posts, so I'll let you continue that line of thinking.

Finally!

I was rather disappointed when I read that he had signed on for yet another season, good to hear that there will be a change instead. Smith seems to be an alright guy, but he's just too limited as an actor. Plus, his accent makes him hard to understand for non-native speakers (though his pronunciation did improve over time). Here's hoping that they'll find a more versatile actor for the Doctor's next incarnation.

The whole ending was pretty bad. The impossible girl should have been left to her fate. The doctor just wandering on into his own time stream without consequence was poor as well. Also don't get why they revived some old footage of William Hartnell when they could have simply used another actor and called him the first incarnation. It all went downhill pretty sharpish.

You are indeed correct on the details. it's been a tad bit foggy since I haven't seen it in a while.

I should re-watch all of them before the 50th
This season is definitely lacking a little bit. It felt a little rough around the script(s) and budget seemed a bit poor. That said, it is what it is. Moffat said himself the 50th is supposed to have "blockbuster" quality special effects, so it goes without saying at the point that he purposely stretched the budget from season 7 to the 50th special. So if I blame anything, it's budget.

The 11th Doctor said in this episode that the "John Hurt" Doctor was one of his previous incarnations. So unless someone expects the whole next season to be a massive flashback, stating that John Hurt is very unlikely to be the 12th doctor hardly constitutes a spoiler (imho). :)

I can't see how any of the changes I would have made would have cost any more, personally. Unless the reason it seemed rushed and ill-conceived is entirely down to budgetary concerns. But surely actual production costs would far outweigh writing and brainstorming expenditure?
Given the nature of the series, how can you rule out an earlier incarnation? It's not like time has any real bearing and maybe it's their only remaining means of resurrecting the Doctor's most iconic enemies once more? With the Doctor walking into his own time stream like it was nothing who's to say? (unless you already know for sure?)