An unsolved mystery
- Thread starter TemporalFlux
- Start date
Moffat has said he's tying the Doctor's appearance into the story RTD made up to explain the similarity between Caecilius and Frobisher. Which according to the Children of Earth DVD is some wacky timey-wimey stuff.
No one's overanalyzing anything. This is the intent of the scene, to generate speculation and discussion. In the end, the Curator can be whoever we want him to be. Future Doctor meta-crisis Fourth Doctor, the Moment, an actual curator, Tom Baker himself. From a strictly canonical point of view, there's nothing saying he can't be any of these things.
If anything, I expect the Curator to be a character brought back in he anniversary specials, each time played by one of the former Doctors. Perhaps Eccleston could play him in the 75th anniversary (to make up for his absence in the 50th), or Matt Smith in the 100th (a book-end to the fact he was incumbent Doctor when the Curator was first introduced).
The Doctor is the Curator, though. That much was explicitly (not ambiguously) established by Liz I's letter near the beginning of the episode, before we ever saw Tom Baker. I agree that the intent of the line "perhaps I was you, or perhaps you are me, or perhaps it doesn't matter either way" was to leave some ambiguity, but not about whether he's the Doctor. It doesn't matter either way because either way he's the Doctor.
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Well, the Doctor is a curator, but that doesn't mean the curator is the Doctor.
No reason for it. I don't see why regeneration boundaries should have significant importance over one's presence there. The Doctor just came from multiple points in his life. And perhaps ten was there four times.
THIS. So Much!
I am annoyed when people think of the Doctor's diff lives as if he is 13 different people. He is one person. Yes, fairly different in each lifetime for obvious reasons, but as above no reason there 'don't see why regeneration boundaries should have significant importance over one's presence there. The Doctor just came from multiple points in his life.'
Yes about could be 4 of him in his 11th lifetime. It certainly did seem there was at least two versions of him during his 7th lifetime.
People get all excited talking about 'Time Crash' and the idea of Doctor meeting his younger selves in 'The Day of the Doctor'
But not especially times like when he met himself in the 'Night and the Doctor' Mini-Episodes.In which may have been many hundreds of years apart and a very different man, possibly almost as much as during other encounters of himself.
Not on screen but in the audios. Davison mentions it in "Excelis Dawns." And it makes a sort of sense when you consider the Watcher from "Logopolis."
I realize it's just a tie-in product, but the marketing copy for a forthcoming Doctor Who book crossed my desk earlier this week, and it referred to Baker's character in "The Day of the Doctor" as "the Fourth Doctor." Take that as you will.
So what exactly would this mean? That the Curator is in fact the Fourth Doctor temporarily aged like the Fifth in Time Crash?
This is how I take it: it's a book, it doesn't count.
It sounds loomy
It sounds loomy
Still, it is an officially licensed BBC book, while not necessarily canon, it will carry weight among some people and does prove what I was saying earlier that Day of the Doctor does not specifically state the Curator is a future Doctor and that were someone to state he is something else (as is now the case) than from a strictly canonical perspective nothing has been contradicted.
I have no idea, honestly.
I personally would prefer to think that Baker is playing the fourth Doctor rather than a future Doctor with the fourth Doctor's face. To some people, that would be a distinction without a difference, since they are both the Doctor. To me, there's enough difference there to be meaningful.
However, I'll also entertain the idea that Baker was playing the Moment. Or possibly even Tom Baker in a fourth wall-breaking cameo.
Like the Woman in White or the "Morbius" Doctors, the Curator will be one of those one-off characters whose identity will be endlessly debated.
I really do think they should bring the Curator back in every milestone anniversary special, have him played by a former Doctor whose actor is too old to be believed as themselves a few decades ago. Christopher Eccleston as the Curator in the 75th would be awesome. I'm sure in 25 years he'd be open to a two minute cameo.
So, Colin for the NuWho 10th? Or for the overall 55th?
Hey, I've only thought as far as Eccleston for the 75th and Matt Smith for the 100th. As for Colin Baker, one way to bring him back without age being an issue is to have him playing Maxil. Although logically, Maxil should have regenerated at some point during the Time War. Perhaps even a couple of times.
I was really bummed that they didn't bring back Maxil, Romana, or Leela for the Gallifrey sequences in the 50th.
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