Fall of the Eleventh: Matt Smith Confirmed to Leave Doctor Who, Regenerate at Christmas

Sad news, fans of the Chin, but Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith has confirmed that he will be leaving the show at the end of the year, regenerating into the Twelfth incarnation of the Time Lord in the 2013 Christmas Special. Here is his official statement:

“Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.

Having Steven Moffat as show runner write such varied, funny, mind bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It’s been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he’s a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.

The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!

It’s been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt.”

You can read some very nice statements from showrunner Steven Mofat, and current companion Jenna-Louise Coleman by clicking the links. After David Tennant left the role in 2010, most fans were apprehensive at having a younger, ganglier, Time Lord on screen (and, blimey, that chin!) But I think Matt Smith has proved himself to be a fantastic Doctor. He was able to play both the alien and the leader, the clown and the madman, which embodies the spirit of the Doctor. He made bowties (and fezzes) cool, and provided us with some really exciting episodes. His companions, Amy and Rory, River, and Clara, were always engaging and intriguing. Recurring friends like Craig and the Paternoster Gang were always a treat. We saw the return of classic villains like the Daleks, Cybermen, and Ice Warriors and battled new foes like the Silence and the Whispermen. And we got not one, but two new TARDIS interiors. Especially in the latter part of Series 7, I think Matt Smith was able to put a whole new twist on the character. We got to see him grow as the Doctor and as an actor, and that's quite an experience!

And while I'm sad to see him go, I know that he'll go down as one of the best Doctors to date. In that spirit, here are Eleven (get it?) of my all-time favorite Matt Smith episodes:

1.    The Eleventh Hour
The Eleventh Doctor meets a young Amelia Pond, eats fish fingers and custard, and discovers a mysterious crack in her bedroom wall. After a miscalculation the Doctor returns fourteen years later and saves an older Amy Pond (and Rory) from Prisoner Zero and saves the Earth from the Atraxi. And we first hear the prophecy..."Silence Will Fall."




2.    The Lodger
People are disappearing when they enter a second-floor flat and the Doctor, locked out of a malfunctioning TARDIS, wants to know why. He befriends his new roomate, Craig, and does his best to blend in to regular human life (and fails spectacularly). This episode shows just how alien the Doctor can be, and it's hilarious.


3.    The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang
The Doctor's greatest enemies construct an impenetrable prison in order to seal him away from the universe, believing him to be responsible for the cracks in time. Using Amy's fondest memories, they create the perfect trap, complete with Roman soldiers and a revived Rory. Amy is injured, placed inside the Pandorica, and is reawakened two thousand years later by her younger self. The Doctor pilots the Pandorica into the heart of the exploding TARDIS (with River Song trapped inside) in order to restart the universe in the second Big Bang.


4.    The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon
The Doctor, Amy, Rory, and River travel to Lake Silencio, Utah and see an astronaut rise from the water. The Doctor warns his friends not to interfere as he approaches the astronaut...and is killed. But a past version of the Doctor is enlisted by President Nixon to save a scared little girl, who is being hunted by the spaceman. They travel to an abandoned orphanage where they first encounter the mysterious and deadly aliens known as the Silents, who have been manipulating humanity for all time Amy discovers that she's pregnant...and somewhere in New York City a little girl regenerates.


5.    The Doctor’s Wife
The Doctor, Amy, and Rory land on a planet outside of the universe, where the sentient being "House" is waiting for them. Sucking the soul out of the TARDIS and implanting it inside the body of a women named Idris, House takes over the blue box and makes Amy and Rory run for their lives for his entertainment. Idris and the Doctor construct a makeshift TARDIS and go to their rescue. We find out that the TARDIS "stole" the Doctor because she wanted to see the unvierse, and we got to see the old control room again!


6.     A Good Man Goes To War
The Doctor and Rory, along with Jenny, Strax, and Vastra, (and yes, even Doriam) rush to save Amy and the newborn Melody Pond from the Silence. The epic Battle of Demons Run ends with the Doctor's greatest victory, followed by his farthest fall. They may have saved Amy, but Melody has been abducted. It's then we learn the true identity of Professor River Song.



7.    The Wedding of River Song
Every moment in time is happening at once. Churchill is the leader of a Roman Empire in which pterodactyls fly overhead. A shaggy Doctor reveals that time has gone wrong because River, the impossible astronaut, refused to kill him in Utah. The Doctor, River, Amy, and Rory battle the Silence in the alternate world, but the Doctor must right the wrong, face his death, and restore time. This is accomplished when the Doctor and River wed, kiss, and return to their positions at Lake Silencio. But the Doctor, as always, has found a loophole. Using the Teselecta, he cheats death and fixes the paradox. But Doriam's head informs him that there is one prophecy that is yet to be fulfilled. "On the fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living being can speak falsely or fail to answer, a question will be asked. One that must never be answered." The first question, the one hidden in plain sight.....Doctor Who?


8. The Angels Take Manhattan
The Weeping Angels are drawn to the city that never sleeps. Rory is sent back in time to the 1930's by the Angels during a trip to New York and Amy, the Doctor, and River go to rescue him. In order to defeat the Angels the Ponds create a paradox by jumping of the roof of the Winter Quay to their deaths, which will poison the time energy that the Angels feed on. The plan works, and the team is dumped into a graveyard back in the current day. But one Angel remains, and zaps Rory back again. Amy decided without hesitation that she will follow her husband into the fixed point in time, and bids a heartbreaking farewell to her raggedy Doctor.


9. Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS
After the TARDIS is pulled in by a salvage vessel, the Doctor coerces the crew to help him find Clara. We get a free-wheeling tour of the Old Girl and see the swimming pool, the observatory, the library, the Eye of Harmony, and the heart of the TARDIS herself. Clara briefly learns the Doctor's name, but forgets it when time is re-written. Add to that the burnt-up Time Zombies and a race to save everyone from certain death, and you have one classic episode of Doctor Who.


10. Nightmare in Silver
The Cybermen are back and they are leaner, meaner, and more deadly than ever. When the Doctor is infected by cybermites he battles for control of his brain (and thus the knowledge of a Time Lord) against the Cyber Planner. Matt Smith is equally convincing as the Doctor and "Mr. Clever", and we are even treated to a flashback of previous incarnations, as well as the geek-squeal-inducing moments when the Cyber Planner quotes his predecessors famous catchphrases. Clara also holds her own and proves to be a strong and valuable companion.


11. The Name of the Doctor

The Doctor's greatest secret revealed, the Question answered (but not really), and the mystery of the Impossible Girl solved. We saw all the previous incarnations of the Doctor...including one never knew existed. And now we go from the Fields of Trenzalore to the 50th Anniversary Special...

So, what are your favorite Matt Smith memories? And Who would you like to see take on the mantle of Time Lord? Sound off in the comments below. Of course, we still have the 50th Anniversary Special and the Christmas Episode to go. So, for now.....Geronimo!

- Joe

Your Evening Linc: Star Wars: Rebels, Smith and Tennant Talk 50th, and Batman: Arkham Origins

Boy, what a weekend! I'm still reeling from the Doctor Who finale, and Game of Thrones is heating up! But let's take a look at what the internet has provided us in the past couple days:

1. Star Wars: Rebels Takes Us Into Unexplored Territory

The Dark Times are upon us, but luckily there is still hope. In a video posted by StarWars.com, Pablo Hidalgo interviews the Man with the Hat, Dave Filoni, on the successor to The Clone Wars. Entitled Star Wars: Rebels, the new animated series will be set between Episodes III and IV and is inspired by the concept art of the late, brilliant Ralph McQuarrie. The Empire has tightened its grip on the galaxy and the Jedi are all but extinct, but a small band of rebels dare to oppose the New Order.



No word yet on  a cast list or plot details, but we do know that some heavy hitters will be joining Filoni's team:

"Leading the development of the series is a creative team of exceptional talent. Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg (X-Men: First Class, Sherlock Holmes, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) is an executive producer on Star Wars Rebels and will write the premiere episode. He is joined by Dave Filoni as executive producer, who served as supervising director of the Emmy nominated Star Wars: The Clone Wars since 2008. Executive producer Greg Weisman brings with him a wealth of animation experience with credits such as Young Justice, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Gargoyles."

Clone Wars CG Supervisor and visual effects wizard Joel Aron is also on board. Star Wars: Rebels will air sometime in the Fall of 2014 on Disney XD. And ya know what, I'm excited. For almost two decades we've lived in the world of the prequel era. It's nice to travel back (by travelling forward) to the classic era, even though the series will take place well before that first set of Rebels launched their attack on the Empire's most fearsome superweapon. And seeing Davey Strands in front of a sketch of a TIE Fighter, one of my favorite ships, makes me want to alter time and speed up the production process. I think my excitement can be summed up thusly:



2. Matt Smith and David Tennant are Totally in a Doc-mance

As a thank you for not spoiling Saturday's unbelievable Doctor Who finale, Steven Moffat released a behind the scenes video from the 50th Anniversary Special featuring David Tennant and Matt Smith in their Doctorly garb. It's great to see that the two actors get along so well, and it seems that their characters will be quite chummy come November 23.



The Moff also issued this personal letter of thanks to the 210 fans who kept the leaked Blu-Rays of Series 7B, to the websites that closed their comments sections, and to the multitude of Whovians who chose to go along for the ride rather than be spoiled.

Oh, and where was Moffat and Matt Smith while I was freaking out over the finale? Oh, just about half an hour away at the Way Station, a Doctor Who themed bar in Brooklyn! The hell?! Why did no one tell me about this??



3. Batman: Arkham Origins May Make You Think You're Actually Batman

Capping off this video-heavy post (and cementing my HTML embedding skills in my muscle memory forever) is this incredible trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins. I'll just leave you to flip out on your own:



And that's all for tonight, folks. Til' next time!

- Joe

Doctor Who Review: The Name of the Doctor

Well.....wow.....now Who saw THAT coming?? I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time. Absolutely riveting, first class storytelling, questions answered (and some remaining unanswered), and a build up to the 50th that I could not have foreseen. There were tons of raw emotion, but also a lot of laughs. It was one of the most epic hours ever in television history.

I'm going to warn you now...if you have not seen this episode go watch it and come back, because I'm about to Spoil like week-old milk in the Sahara. 

Whovians didn't have to wait long in this episode for things to geekgasm over. In some repair room an alert goes off. One of the engineers wonders...just who would steal a malfunctioning TARDIS? And then, we see an old man and a young girl about to enter a tube when they are stopped by....Clara. Then, as Clara plunges through a swirling mist we hear her voice over how she is the Impossible Girl, and has always been there for the Doctor. And then....and then!...we see Clara interacting with the First Doctor, screaming after the Third, and the Fifth, and the Fourth, searching for the Sixth in the TARDIS, and watching as the Eighth and the Second run past. So much happened so quickly that it was almost impossible to take it all in! But we knew one thing was for sure: Clara was born to save the Doctor!

"If only I could find the little bugger..."

With just moments to catch our breath, the opening sequence rolled and the familiar song played. When the TARDIS doors opened we found ourselves in Victorian London, 1893, and in a prison we hear the rhyming mumbles of a crazy man with a heavy accent. Madame Vastra approaches his cell. He has information, something worth sparing his life over after he'd killed 14 women (possibly Jack the Ripper?). The Doctor has a secret, one he will take to the grave....and it is discovered.

Vastra immediately summons Jenny, Strax, and Clara to a metaphyical dream conference call. Strax, having just engaged in a brawl with a Scotsman (vacation for a Sontaran), and Clara just arriving home to find a letter from the past. One more attendee arrives just a tad late, Professor River Song. You know, it wasn't that long ago we saw Melody Pond in "The Angels Take Manhattan", but it was good to see a familiar face. It gave Series 7 a sense of continuity. And so, they discussed what Demarko had said, and they knew that they had to protect the Doctor. But then, Jenny feels something brush past her in reality. She realizes, to her horror, that she's left the door unlocked. She apologizes to Vastra....and dies. Strax is also taken, and River slaps Vastra in order to wake her up. But too late: The Whispermen have come.

Ladies?

Let me pause to say how much I really enjoyed the Whispermen. An extension of the Great Intelligence, they had style, the creep factor, and that inevitable sense that they would get you in the end. Their soft recitations of impending doom were particularly chilling. And boy, did they have style!

When Clara awakens she finds that the Doctor is already in her house, having been tricked by Angie and Artie into playing Blind Man's Bluff so they could sneak out to the cinema. Clara tells the Doctor about Demarko's news, and he is overcome with emotion. He has to embark on the one mission he should never take on, and go to the one place that he must never go: Trenzalore.

"I wanted a timeshare in Boca...but noooo"

But, ever the adventurer, the Doctor sets off for the TARDIS to save his friends. While he's using Clara's memories to input the coordinates, the Doctor reveals that there is one, very big reason that he should not go to Trenzalore. Time travelers are forbidden to do one thing, and that's go to the place where they die. When Demarko spoke about "it" being discovered he didn't mean the Doctor's secret....he meant the Doctor's grave. But the Doctor resolved himself to rescuing Jenny, Vastra, and Strax. It was a real poignant moment, the Doctor recalling how the Paternoster Gang had been there for him in his darkest hour, after he lost Amy and Rory. Never questioning, never judging, just...being there. He owed it to them to save them, and Clara was right along for the journey.

But the TARDIS knows better, and the old girl refuses to land on Trenzalore and shuts down. But the Doctor has the upper hand and uses the sonic screwdriver to shut off the anti-grav, sending the blue box plummeting to the surface below. The Doctor and Clara exit the TARDIS and into a giant, dark, and ominous graveyard. When the Doctor described it as a military graveyard, I thought about Gettysburg and how a great battle must have been waged there. The stones get bigger, the Doctor says, according to how high the rank of the solider was. What they see next is a monument so large it barely seems possible. Standing taller than a mountain....was the TARDIS.

Cue theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey

As the Doctor explains, when a TARDIS dies the thing that keeps it "bigger on the inside" starts to leak out, and the ship becomes massive on the outside. A fitting tomb for the greatest warrior in the cosmos. As they walk they discover River Song's grave, and the projection of River appears to Clara, saying that the Doctor cannot see or hear her. Suddenly, the Whispermen appear, and River, through Clara, tells the Doctor that her grave isn't a grave at all (it would be impossible, since she was uploaded to CAL in The Library), but a secret entrance to the Doctor's tomb. The duo rush into the catacombs, a macabre echo of their race through the bowels of the TARDIS just a few episodes prior.

Meanwhile, Jenny, Vastra, and Strax wake up and are confronted by Dr. Simeon. Vastra correctly surmises that he is but a shell, and that that they are standing before the Great Intelligence. Simeon then demonstrates his terrifying ability to take human form using the blank bodies of the Whispermen. He then declares that Trenzalore will be the place where the Doctor is destroyed, in order to prevent him from causing bloodshed throughout the universe. The Doctor may be a hero to some, but to others he is known by names such as "Storm", "Beast", and "Valeyard". Fans will pick up the reference to the title "The Oncoming Storm" that the Daleks imposed on the Ninth Doctor, and that the Valeyard (from the classic series) is supposedly an evil future version of the Doctor, occurring after his 12th regeneration). What struck me, though, was "the Beast", the name of the Devil-like evil entity that the Tenth Doctor encountered. I suppose, to some, the embodiment of all evil could be the Doctor. Curious...

"Finally, I'm the best-looking person in a group!"

As the Doctor and Clara search through the catacombs of the TARDIS tomb (TombDIS?), Clara begins to falter as she remembers everything about her time with the Doctor, including his questioning of her before they entered the heart of the TARDIS in "Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS". She remembers now that he said that they had met before, and that she had died twice. But there's no time to explain, as the Doctor must now face Dr. Simeon. The Great Intelligence needs access to the tomb, and the key is the answer to the Question...the name of the Doctor. Of course, the Doctor won't give it to him, so Simeon sicks the Whispermen on the rest of the gang. While the blank-faced monsters move in to murder his friends, the Doctor pleads for mercy as Simeon, echoing Dorium at the end of Season 6, asks three times:

Doctor Who? 

Doctor Who?

DOC....TOR.....WHO?!

The Doctor shouts something, and the doors open. Did it really, finally happen? Did the Doctor reveal his name?

It takes a long moment to realize that, in a bout of sheer genius on Steven Moffat's part, that the doors have opened all by themselves. The Question was answered, but not by the Doctor. It was answered by the one person that nobody could see or hear, not even us. It was answered by the Doctor's wife, River Song.

Simeon invites the Doctor to fully open the doors, and the group step into the Doctor's tomb....which is appropriately the TARDIS console room. The main console is no longer at the center, replaced with a beam of light that seems to be wrapped in glowing barbed wire. The Doctor explains that his extensive time travel has left not a body, but scars in time. Dr. Simeon at last reveals his plan: to step into the Doctor's time stream, destroying him at all points in time, and erasing him from the universe. Unable to stop him, the gang watches as the Great Intelligence sacrifices his mind and body to eliminate all the incarnations of the Doctor. We see the same montage of the Doctors as in the beginning, but with Dr. Simeon watching instead of Clara. As the Eleventh Doctor writhes in pain on the floor, it seems like this is truly the end for the Time Lord.

"Well then, off to erase you from time and space. Pip, pip, and all that."

Vastra, Jenny, and Strax run outside and watch as the countless worlds and systems that the Doctor has saved blink out of existence. Jenny, too, disappears, and Strax turns on Vastra; none of them having ever been saved by the Doctor. Vastra not only watches her love die, but is forced to kill her friend. 

But Clara, thinking on her rediscovered memories, knows what she has to do, what she was born to do. Despite River's protests, she heads to the beam of light. River says that she won't be "her" anymore, she will be scattered into a million pieces across time and space. But Clara intones her mother's saying, that what makes a souffle is not the souffle, but the recipe. As she approaches the beam, she turns to the Doctor and says, for the last, and yet the first time: "Run You Clever Boy, and Remember Me". Indeed, she becomes the Souffle Girl and steps into the Doctor's time stream, saving him time and time again. As she falls through the vortex, Clara recalls that she has called out to the Doctor, but he never answered back. Except twice, once in Victorian London, and once on Gallifrey. I was beyond riveted as I watched Clara stopping the First Doctor and Susan from making a terrible mistake...choosing to run off in the wrong TARDIS. And then my jaw dropped as a silver cylinder hurtled out of the port on Gallifrey....the TARDIS before it changed into a police box.

As the Doctor regains his strength, he resolves to go after Clara. River tries to stop him, but he amazingly catches her arm. As it turns out, he had always been able to see and hear her, but could not bear to acknowledge her because it hurt too much. They kiss, which, according to the Doctor, must have looked very strange to the Paternoster Gang. River reveals that she and Clara share a link, or else she would have faded right then and there. But...you know....spoilers. The Doctor finally says goodbye to her and she fades (with a fan-pleasing "Goodbye, Sweetie), and the Doctor does what a time traveler must never ever do.

When Clara awakes she is in a roiling, misty, confusing place. Frightened, she calls out to the Doctor and hears his voice in reply. Meanwhile, different incarnations of the Doctor are running past. The First, the Fourth, the Fifth, the Sixth, the Ninth; all racing past as they try to escape the consequences of the Doctor invading his own time stream. The current Doctor sends Clara a way out: the most important leaf in the world, the one that smacked her dad in the face so that he could be saved by her mother. The leaf that represented all the countless possibilities of life. Then, the Doctor appears, begging Clara just for once to let him rescue her as thanks for the infinite times she had rescued him and his incarnations. 

He also takes the time to yell at Anakin that "He was the Chosen One!"

But one man stands, his back to them, amid the chaos. Clara is confused, she has seen all of his faces, and the man she is clinging to is the Eleventh Doctor. But the Doctor knows the truth. That names matter, that they are a promise to the universe. And the man before them broke that promise. Still without facing them, the man explains that what he did, he did "without choice" and "in the name of peace and sanity". Yes, the Doctor replies, but not "in the name of the Doctor."

The man turns, a grizzled older man with the weight of terrible actions bearing on him. The music swells as, in a very "Kill Bill" fashion titles appear beside him. 

"Introducing John Hurt.......as the Doctor."

Code Name: Gallifreyan Time Snake

The Doctor's greatest secret is revealed, and things will never be the same.

Even now, over two hours later, I am still rocked by this ending. The whole episode was a masterpiece and a great nod to the generations of fans who have loved Doctor Who. The implications of this episode, leading into the 50th anniversary special, are incalculable. According to rumors (pretty damn good ones now), John Hurt's Doctor is the one that ended the Time War, destroying both the Time Lords and the Daleks. Hopefully we get to see that play out, especially if we can see Eight regenerate to Hurt, and Hurt to Nine.

But then, Christopher Eccleston is no longer the Ninth Doctor, is he? Nor David Tennant the Tenth, nor Matt Smith the Eleventh. It's fitting that Dr. Simeon mentioned the Valeyard. As I said, the future Doctor comes after his twelfth regeneration. Now that the numbers align, will we see the evil Doctor emerge?

And, of course, what is the link between Clara and River? Clara told the Doctor that she had seen all his faces, just as River did in the Series 5 episode "Time of the Angels". I'm not saying River is Clara, it was proved tonight that they are not the same person, but perhaps that link between them remained. Maybe that's how she knows the Doctor's real name. 

I could not have been more pleased as a fan. Steven Moffat deserves an incredible amount of credit for weaving such a magnificent tale. The Doctor's name remains hidden, as it should, but we learned so very much in just one episode. And now, we must be patient.....only 188 days to go until the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special.

Until then, sweeties,

- Joe

Who's That Girl? The Mystery of Clara Oswin Oswald

And so it's come to this. Trenzalore, the Fall of the Eleventh, and the Question. Tonight the Doctor's biggest secret will be revealed, but that won't be all! We will finally learn the truth behind Season 7's most intriguing (and gorgeous) mystery. Just exactly who is Clara Oswin Oswald? In both "Hide" and "Journey to the Center of the TARDIS" we are told that Clara is just an ordinary girl. But we all know that she's not. She's "The Impossible Girl."

A while back I created a list of all the crazy rumors and theories running around the Internet (yes, believe it or not such things exist!) and this is the result:

Tremble at my mighty geekery!

And so, let's throw the Clara Theorizer on maximum and see what we come up with:

1. Discounted Theories

Let's just get these out of the way, shall we? I don't believe that Clara is River Song, a Time Lord, Susan Foreman, a future version of the Doctor, the Doctor's "daughter" Jenny, or CAL (despite the return of River Song), or a manifestation of the TARDIS (like Idris in "The Doctor's Wife"). There's just not been enough to support any of those claims.

2. Connections Throughout the Series

Throughout Series 7 there have been certain things about and around Clara that have been present in almost every episode. Let's take a look at some now:

A. Memories

Memories have played a pivotal role in Doctor Who, but there has been a particular emphasis put on them during this current Doctor's run. And in terms of Clara, there is one phrase that particularly comes to mind:


It's even on Victorian Clara's gravestone! You'll notice, that although she's only said it 3 times, she accidentally enters "4" into the code. One of the trailers to tonight's episode has her saying the phrase...so are we about to see yet another Clara go by the wayside?

Memories have been shown to hold a certain type of power throughout the Eleventh Doctor's tenure. In "The Pandorica Opens", the Doctor tells a Roman Rory (back from a little condition known as "being deleted from time") that "if you remember something, it's never truly gone." And in the next episode (the series 5 finale), "The Big Bang", the Doctor pilots the Pandorica into the heart of the exploding TARDIS, thereby resetting time, but erasing himself from history. However, at her wedding to Rory, Amy knows something (or someone) is missing. And then she remembers "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."

And, of course, the main villains of Season 6 were "The Silence", a religious order dedicated to stopping the Doctor from reaching Trenzalore, answering the Question, and fulfilling the prophecy that "Silence Will Fall". They are represented mostly by aliens who, when you look away from them, you forget who they are.

Because who wouldn't want to forget that face?

I'll explore their connection to Clara and tonight's finale a little later. In the recent Christmas special "The Snowmen", Clara and the Doctor face off against the Great Intelligence and "snow that can remember" and in "The Rings of Akhaten", it is memories that the parasite planet feeds off of, and what kills it is Clara's leaf, which represents all the possibilities of what could have been for her parents. And, ever since the end of Series 6, the Doctor has sought to erase himself from the memory of the universe (because he's gotten "too big"). In "Asylum", Oswin erases the Daleks' memories of their oldest enemy, in "Nightmare in Silver", the Cyber-Planner can't find any trace of the Doctor in the records of the Cyberiad.

So, considering how powerful memories are, and that might be multiplied for a Time Lord, could it be that all the Doctor has to do is remember Clara and she will reappear back into his life? This, of course, syncs up nicely with the next inter-series connection:

B. Nanogenes

Ooh, Tingly.

Nanogenes have appeared multiple times in Doctor Who. During the Ninth Doctor episodes "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances", nanogenes heal Rose Tyler aboard Captain Jack's ship, and repair injured humans in the image of a lost little boy wearing a gas mask. But, they also are present in the Series 7 opener, "Aslyum of the Daleks" (in which, you might remember, we first meet Oswin Oswald). When Rory, Amy, and the Doctor are sent down to the Daleks' prison planet, they have to wear special bands so that the nanogenes won't turn them into Dalek clones. But, in order to save Amy, the Doctor gives up his band. Could it be that the nanogenes stayed with the Doctor (and/or Clara) and allowed her to be reconstructed throughout time so long as he remembered her?

C. Clouds

Her bag is also bigger on the inside. Time Lady?

It may be just a way to string together the Clara's, but did anyone notice that in "Asylum" we had the nanocloud, in "The Snowmen" Clara found that the TARDIS was parked on a cloud, and in "The Bells of St. John" Clara was uploaded "to the cloud"?

E. Connections to Rose

Perhaps one of the most pervasive connections to the Clara's throughout Series 7 has been the appearance of roses....and the reference to one of the Doctor's most beloved companions. When Oswin assists the Doctor in defeating the Daleks, she has a rose in her hair. In "The Snowmen", Clara works at a pub called the "Rose and Crown", and in "The Bells of St. John", the Doctor puts a rose on Clara's bedside table as she rests and recovers.

But it goes much, much deeper than that. In "The Bells of St. John", Clara says that she was given the number to the TARDIS by the "girl in the shop". Now, this could be a one-off line, but not likely. When we first meet Rose Tyler, she is simply a girl working in a shop in London when the Autons attack her and she first meets the Ninth Doctor. As she says goodbye to the Tenth Doctor in "The End of the World", she tells him that in the parallel world she's found work in a shop. So, could Rose be that girl in that shop?

Speaking of parallel worlds, don't think that it's gone unnoticed that, at the end of "The Rings of Akhaten", when Clara exits the TARDIS she notes that her home looks different. Much like Mickey Smith noted when he and Rose accompanied Ten to a parallel Earth:

"Everything's the same, but a little bit different"

Something that never changes: How much I hate Mickey Smith

Another interesting connection may have gone unnoticed by fans. At the end of "Asylum of the Daleks" we learn that Oswin Oswald has been turned into a Dalek. What many might forget is that when Nine and Rose faced off against the Dalek Emperor, he revealed that he was able to rebuild the Dalek race by capturing and converting the discarded dregs of humanity. Could that be a connection that Rose has picked up on?

And then there's the beautifully placed reference in "The Cold War". As Clara and Professor Grisenko search for Grand Marshall Skaldak, the Soviet doctor mentions that he likes to sing a song to calm his nerves. His favorite tune at the moment is Duran Duran's smash hit "Hungry Like The Wolf". Rose Tyler became The Bad Wolf to save the Ninth Doctor, did she do so again to save the Eleventh? After all, as the lyric goes

"I'm lost and I'm found...and I'm Hungry like the Wolf!"

3. So then, Who (or What) is She?

At the end of the day I keep coming back to two theories that make the most sense. So, here they are:

A. A Trap Set By The Great Intelligence

That Clara really is great, isn't she? She's brave, smart, witty, beautiful, loyal, and doesn't shy away from a fight. She's the perfect companion....maybe too perfect? The Great Intelligence has been a villain in both "The Snowmen" and "The Bells of St. John" (as well as a serial during the Second Doctor's run). We know from the trailers that we'll see Richard E. Grant reprise his role as Dr. Simeon/The GI. Could he be the leader of the Silence? The cause of the TARDIS exploding in Season 5? And could he, just maybe, be responsible for bringing Clara Oswin Oswald into the Doctor's life again and again? If so, to what nefarious end is he using her to defeat the Doctor?

B. The Bad Wolf

For all the reasons listed above, it could very well be that Clara wasn't born out of the evil designs of the Great Intelligence, but out of the compassion of Rose Tyler. In "The Parting of Ways", when Rose looks into the heart of the TARDIS, she becomes the omnipotent being known as The Bad Wolf. Scattering messages throughout time, she "created herself" so that when the Doctor needed her the most, she was able to save him. Perhaps, as we head into the 50th anniversary and the return of Rose Tyler (maybe in the parallel world), we will see how the Bad Wolf plays into all of this.


The good news is, we won't have to wait long to find out!

See you after the finale!

- Joe

Your Morning Linc: S.H.I.E.L.D., Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, Harry Potter and Star Wars Theme Parks, Star Wars Returns to the UK, Doctor Who Leak

Congratulations, everyone! We've made it to the middle of the week, which means it's time for me to catch up on what's going on in the land of geekery.

1. Two New Shows For the Geek-Minded

I have a feeling that, starting this fall, this blog will be seeing a lot more recaps and reviews. ABC is delivering not one, but two enticing new shows for lovers of action, adventure, and fantasy. First up is a show about a group of friends who like to spend time together doing what all of us like to do with our friends: Save the world from super-powered, extraterrestrial, dangerous threats. Led by everyone's favorite resurrected agent,  this is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Also on ABC, the folks behind everyone's favorite fairy tale drama are travelling down the rabbit hole to explore a world we've only seen glimpses of, and in a way that we've never seen before. Alice is not the doe-eyed, sweet youngster we've seen in the cartoon. She has lost her true love in a land where anything is possible. Forced to endure "treatments" at a mental facility, Alice doesn't think Wonderland never existed, but she no longer believes in it. When she is rescued by the White Rabbit and a new ally, they travel back to the mystical place to search for the one whose heart is intertwined with hers. And it all begins Once Upon A Time In Wonderland:



2. Booking My Flights in Advance: Harry Potter World Extension and Possible Star Wars Theme Park

It looks like the folks at Disney and Universal will be quite busy in the next few years. According to Universal Creative president Mark Woodbury, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter will be getting an extension...you just have to know which brick to push. That's right, visitors to the park will finally be able to walk the streets of Diagon Alley

Starting in the summer of 2014, not only will they be building this new attraction, but they will be building it in the main Universal Studios Park. How, then, will people be able to get from there to Hogsmeade and Hogwarts at Islands of Adventure? Why, the Hogwarts Express of course! As Woodbury explains:

 "After people climb aboard the Hogwarts Express at Universal Orlando Resort next year, as they exit that train, they're going to find themselves in an entirely different environment, in a completely different place. Whether they've journeyed from London to Hogsmeade or visa versa. And we've made sure that even your train trip aboard the Hogwarts Express will be part of the ambitious immersive storytelling experience that we're trying to create for our Guests with this Potter expansion."

If you need me, I'll be waiting on line for the next year or so. And, not to be outdone, Disney CEO Bob Iger has hinted at a possible Star Wars theme park in the future. According to the head of the House of Mouse:

"In addition to the Star Wars feature films that we’ve already talked about, we’re also working on opportunities for television and our parks...It’s still very early in the process. We’ll announce details as these developments evolve."

When the park is operational, it will be the ultimate attraction in the universe. I suggest we visit it.

3. Star Wars Returns to the U.K.

According to an announcement on the official site, it looks like filming and production of Star Wars will return to its ancestral homeland. Leaving behind the Land Down Under, Episode VII will be filmed in the United Kingdom. This continues a long tradition of Star Wars being produced in historic studios such as Elstree, Shepperton, Leavesden, Ealing and Pinewood Studios. Representatives of Lucasfilm met with George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (which just sounds like something out of Star Wars) to make the proper arrangements.

"We've devoted serious time and attention to revisiting the origins of Star Wars as inspiration for our process on the new movie, and I'm thrilled that returning to the UK for production and utilizing the incredible talent there can be a part of that," said Kathleen Kennedy, President of Lucasfilm. "Speaking from my own longstanding connection to the UK with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire of the Sun and recently War Horse, it's very exciting to be heading back."

Shooting is set to begin sometime next year.

4. Doctor Whoops: Season 7B DVD Set Released Early in the U.S.

If ever there was a need for time travel, you can bet the people at the BBC are feeling it now. The DVD box set for Series 7B has been released early in the United States, which would be fine except that the season finale hasn't aired yet. You know, the one that promises to reveal the Doctor's greatest secret and solve the mystery of Clara Oswin Oswald?

Yep, that would be the one.

The BBC has pleaded with fans to keep spoilers off the Internet (and, in a joint statement, asked fish not to live in water) and showrunner Steven Moffat has stated if the finale remains unspoiled, that he will release a special clip from the 50th Anniversary Special featuring Matt Smith and David Tennant the night of the finale. Let's just hope this works, or else we're going to have to figure out how to grow a TARDIS. Speaking of the finale, here's a tantalizing (and spoiler-free) preview:

As well as the goosebump-inducing prequel: "He Said, She Said":

So we'll finally get to see the fields of Trenzalore...but what about the Fall of the Eleventh, the Question, and the Silence? Is the Great Intelligence behind all of this? And just WHO are the Doctor and Clara? Take a peak at the BBC-approved pictures here for more tiny bits of information (and note the appearance of a familiar, colorfully-clad person roaming the halls behind Clara).

Well, we certainly have a lot to expect in the coming weeks, months, and years. And all of it will be covered right here, at the Missing Linc!

Til' Next Time,

- Joe

Your Linc at Lunch: New Clone Wars Clip, No Classic Doctors for 50th, New Crimson Horror Trailer, Name of the Doctor Details

Good afternoon everyone! First of all, as we near Star Wars Day, I wanted to say Happy 5-01st to all of my friends trooping around the world. The 501st are a group of thousands of dedicated and passionate fans who not only spend tons of time and energy on creating better-than-movie quality armor and costumes, but also do a lot of charity work around the globe. They symbolize what being a Star Wars fan is all about.

Bad guys doing good things

Now, I think I've been pretty good trying to mix it up with the fandoms, but today it's all about the big two: Star Wars and Doctor Who! Lots of news to cover so let's get to it!

1. New Clone Wars Clips Previews What Is To Come

Yesterday we were all delightfully surprised when USA Today posted a brand new, never before seen clip from what as to be the next season of The Clone Wars! Leading a squad of clones, Jedi Master Plo Koon (voiced by the incomparable James Arnold Taylor) trudges through a sandstorm in order to find a crashed ship...that curiously contains a lost lightsaber.



Supervising Director, and Stetson aficionado  Dave Filoni promises that we will get the answers to some long-standing questions, including one about a mysterious Jedi Master:

"The Jedi have been fighting a war with an army that was commissioned by one of their own, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas," he says. "But who was Sifo-Dyas, and what happened to him? The dark lord of the Sith has woven an intricate web to ensnare the Jedi, but it is not full-proof and sometimes a small clue, and a bit of chance, can lead to the unraveling of the best-laid plans."

Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas was alluded to in Episode II: Attack of the Clones as the one who originally went to Kamino to make the order for the clone army. In the comics, it is revealed that he was killed by his old friend, Count Dooku, as his final test to become a Sith. Most recently, Sifo-Dyas was featured in the incredible novel Darth Plagueis. Will this new Clone Wars adventure shed some light on the mystery, or cast it further into the shadows? You can bet I'll bring you the latest as it comes out! Check out the full article by clicking here.

2. No Classic Doctors in 50th, Says Doctor Who Magazine

It looks like we'll only be seeing the return of one Time Lord come this November. The latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine confirms that no Doctor from the classic era, including Eighth Doctor Paul McGann, will be making an appearance in the 50th Anniversary Special. As Steven Moffat explains:

“It is important you don’t turn it into a fanfest. We can’t make this all about looking backwards. It’s actually got to be the start of a new story.”

Well, there goes any hope of seeing the Eighth Doctor's regeneration into the Ninth. But in a sense, the Moff is right. This has to be an epic tale in its own right, not just a trip to the planet Nostalgia. And I'm sure there will be tons of nods to the past, especially Matt Smith's predecessors, throughout the special. DWM also reports that filming on the 50th is almost completed and the Christmas Special is due to start filming after his stint in the Ryan Gosling-directed film How to Catch A Monster.

3. New Crimson Horror Clip Harkens Back to Fifth Doctor

Now, if you need to get your Past Doctor fix, the latest clip from this week's "The Crimson Horror" is just what the Doctor ordered! (Looks like I overshot planet Nostalgia and landed on the moon of Pun) Using a grainy footage effect, the clip features the Doctor and Clara once again coming out of the TARDIS not exactly where they expected.



The "gobby" Australian is, of course, a reference to Fifth Doctor companion Tegan Jovanka. Hearing a call back to the Fifth Doctor's catchphrase "Brave heart, Tegan" made my inner fanboy beam with glee. And the reference follows an interesting pattern of reaching back to previous Doctors that one viewer has noticed:

• Rings of Akhaten: Susan (1st Doctor)
• Cold War: Ice Warriors (2nd Doctor)
• Hide: Metebelis 3 (3rd Doctor)
• Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS: Fourth Doctor heard in the TARDIS console room
• The Crimson Horror: "Brave Heart, Tegan" (5th Doctor)

This being the big 5-0 year and all, we can expect many more references to come as we lead into the finale and the special. And speaking of the Series 7 finale....

4. The Name of the Doctor Semi-Spoilers and Teasers

If you want to go into the Series 7 finale "The Name of the Doctor" completely unspoiled, then you best turn away now. Doctor Who Magazine has also published a list of tantalizing details about the last episode before we head into the 50th. It looks like the Doctor will indeed travel to Trenzalore, discover the truth behind Clara, and perhaps, just perhaps, reveal his biggest secret. To that end, there's this intriguing synopsis:

"Every journey taken by a time-traveller tears a wound in the fabric of reality, and the Doctor has time-travelled more than anyone. But the trail runs cold in Trenzalore, the one place in all of time and space that he should never go. The most dangerous place in the universe… Who is kidnapping the Doctor’s friends, leading him to Trenzalore? Could the Fall of the Eleventh be nigh? Or does an impossible girl hold the key? The Doctor’s past, present, and future lives are in grave danger… and his greatest secret is about to be revealed."

This quote from the Doctor:

 THE DOCTOR: “The path I carved through time and space, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore. My own personal time tunnel, leading back to every moment I ever lived. Every step, every tear, every kiss. Even the days I haven’t lived yet. Which is why I shouldn’t be here. The paradoxes… very bad…”

 And some other exciting tidbits:

• Richard E Grant is back as Dr Simeon (“Hello again,” says the Doctor. “How’s the Intelligence – still Great?”) (Joe's Thought: Hm, could the Great Intelligence be the leader of the Silence?)
• Post-Library River Song returns (“Oh, I do like to watch a man think; it’s like watching a whale knit!”).
• On the Doctor’s feelings for River, Moffat says: “You never quite know what the Doctor feels. I don’t think you ever should.”
• There’s more snogging
• Moffat says there hasn’t been a “proper doom-fraught episode” in a while. If this episode is about anything, it’s about death. There is a funereal atmosphere, literally.
• Will everyone make it to the end of the episode alive? (Spoiler: No)
• Will we, at last, learn the true identity of Clara Oswald, the impossible girl? (Spoiler: yes!)
• Will the Doctor’s greatest secret be revealed? (Spoiler: Possibly)
• DWM doesn’t know how the episode ends, it’s that secret
• After this episode, nothing will ever be the same again

If ever there was a time for a real life TARDIS to show up, it would be now. "The Name of the Doctor" premieres Saturday, May 18, 2013.

Hoo boy, what a post! Hopefully there's enough to get you revved up for some great Star Wars and Doctor Who events to come! Check back soon for more information form the Missing Linc!

- Joe

Your Linc at Lunch: The Doctor's Name Revealed? Plus River Song Returns and New Series 7B Posters

UDATE: Considering today's Who news, I decided to add the amazing fan-made trailer called "The First Question" below. I get goosebumps every time.

Well Whovians, this might just be it. We might finally learn the true name of the greatest Time Lord in history. The final episode of Series 7, the one that will lead into the 50th Anniversary Special, is titled:

Don't worry, I gave a manly squeal....

That's right. As showrunner Steven Moffat told Radio Times:

 "There’s going to be a revelation. I’m not teasing. I’m not wrong-footing you – you’re about to learn something about the Doctor that you never knew before. And I think you’re in for a shock."

 Will we see the fields of Trenzalore and the fall of the Eleventh? What will the Doctor's answer be to "The Question", at a time when he cannot fail to speak or utter falsely? Will it be an unpronounceable Gallifreyan name? Something with the word "Who" in it? (Like 4th Doctor companion and fellow Time Lady Romanadvoratrelundar (or Romana) or even like Grand Admiral Thrawn, whose real name is Mitth'raw'nurodo?)

Or will it not be anything like we're expecting? I trust in Moffat's genius to give us something truly shocking, wholly unexpected, and something truly revelatory. And, as always, some fan will hate it no matter what.

Also some really great news is that this episode will see the return of the Doctor's wifey, River Song.

Whose real name, we all know, is Jk093laksklo Jones.

Now, In the Tenth Doctor two-parter "Silence in the Library" and "The Forest of the Dead" where, in an order to prove that she knew him, whispered the Doctor's name in his ear. He said that there was only one time where he would ever, could ever, tell someone his true name. Will we see this moment at the end of Series 7?

While we're waiting, we still have some great episodes coming up, including the spooky-looking "Hide" tomorrow. And the folks at the BBC have released more movie-style posters for the following episodes:

All in all it's shaping up to be an exciting few weeks! Well, I think that's enough to fill you up right now! I'll be back soon with more news and geekery from around the web. Share your thoughts below on your theories on the answer to the oldest question in the universe....Doctor WHO?

 

Geronimo!

- Joe