# Doctor Who 7x14: The Name of the Doctor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2013, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695 "2013-05-18T19:57:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/101 "2013-05-22T14:58:05Z")
Well yeah, if she knew the Doctor in his own future, then she knows he lived through it. So let 'er buck! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/102 "2013-05-22T20:04:08Z")
This is post library River. I think the timey-wimey meeting in the wrong order thing is over now. Edit: And shouldn’t the Great Intelligence have been wherever Clara went to after saving the Doctor? Of course not having a body we wouldn’t be able to see him, which means he could follow the Doctor and Clara out. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/103 "2013-05-22T22:07:22Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > This is post library River. I think the timey-wimey meeting in the wrong order thing is over now. I don’t think so. For her it’s over but not for the Doctor. She has already lived through their marriage and he hasn’t yet so she has memories of his future and would know that he lives through it. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/104 "2013-05-22T22:14:07Z")
In fact it necessarily must be so because she wasn’t thrown by his Tennant face. She’s only interacted with TennantDoctor once and he was completely bemused by her so clearly she hasn’t interacted with Doctors 1-9 which only leaves future regenerations for her to need a Spotter’s Guide for. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/105 "2013-05-23T01:51:29Z")
So, was that her ghost, or can she project her conciseness from the library computer? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/106 "2013-05-23T01:56:38Z")
Dunno. We know Cal can create physical bodies from energy signatures though, so I expect at some point a Deus Ex Plotina will reveal a living, breathing post library River. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/107 "2013-05-23T02:13:43Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Dunno. We know Cal can create physical bodies from energy signatures though Somehow I was under the impression that the bodies were stored somewhere, but I guess…Either way doesn’t make any sense, and I guess if the others were returned to physical bodies why not River? Edit: I think everyone who was returned were those whose bodies were fine when being uploaded. River and the rest of the crew were uploaded from dead bodies, so they can’t be restored into their old bodies. > [@](#): > > , so I expect at some point a **Deus Ex Plotina** will reveal a living, breathing post library River. That’s pretty good.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/108 "2013-05-23T10:18:12Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > River and the rest of the crew were uploaded from dead bodies, so they can’t be restored into their old bodies. It’s been a while, but wasn’t River uploaded from the echo/backup/copy in her sonic screwdriver, rather than from her body? ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/109 "2013-05-23T12:26:08Z")
Well yeah, but my point is that River’s body died and only those saved before something could happen to them physically returned. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/110 "2013-05-23T12:31:37Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > There hasn’t been an official “missing Doctor” until the latest episode raised the possibility. > > The original series ran up to Seven. In 1992 there was a standalone TV movie that began with Seven regenerating into Eight. > > When the new series started up, there were clues that Nine had recently regenerated. (He stops to look at himself in a mirror and comments on his features, for example.) Everyone assumed that this meant that Eight had been the Doctor who fought in the Time War and killed off all the Time Lords. And then after the deed was done he regenerated into Nine and the new series started. > > However, there’s a gap in the continuity between the 1992 movie and the new series. Because they never showed Eight turning into Nine it’s possible to insert an extra regeneration between them. And this actually kind of makes sense because from what we’ve seen of the Eighth Doctor, he doesn’t really seem like the genocide type. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/111 "2013-05-23T14:44:39Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > River and the rest of the crew were uploaded from dead bodies, so they can’t be restored into their old bodies. At the time because it made it meaningful but it’s Doctor Who and the biggest flaw Doctor Who has ever had is that there are no rules and everything can be justified so if they decide they want her back from the library, they’re a paragraph of nonsense and a wave of the screwdriver away from having her. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/112 "2013-05-23T14:58:58Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > At the time because it made it meaningful but it’s Doctor Who and the biggest flaw Doctor Who has ever had is that there are no rules and everything can be justified so if they decide they want her back from the library, they’re a paragraph of nonsense and a wave of the screwdriver away from having her. Yup. Rose is trapped in an alternate dimension that can NEVER EVER NEVER be reached from our again. TOTALLY, FOREVER! Welllllll… maybe just this once… or twice… or maybe … ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/113 "2013-05-23T15:01:05Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > . . . they’re a paragraph of nonsense and a wave of the screwdriver away from having her. I think you meant timey-wimey nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/114 "2013-05-23T15:20:57Z")
I’ve been thinking about the terrible deed Hurt!Doctor did. Many are theorizing that, of course, it’s the destruction/removal of Gallifrey to end the Time War. But there’s a case to be made against that. There’s been such a big deal over how this is the Doctor’s greatest secret. Well…we already KNOW he was responsible for the carnage. We’ve seen him mention it. We’ve seen him come to terms with it. So if this is supposed to be a secret, is there something even worse in the Doctor’s past? ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/115 "2013-05-23T15:35:18Z")
> [@Hermione](#): > > I’ve been thinking about the terrible deed Hurt!Doctor did. Many are theorizing that, of course, it’s the destruction/removal of Gallifrey to end the Time War. > > But there’s a case to be made against that. There’s been such a big deal over how this is the Doctor’s greatest secret. Well…we already KNOW he was responsible for the carnage. We’ve seen him mention it. We’ve seen him come to terms with it. > > So if this is supposed to be a secret, is there something even worse in the Doctor’s past? If it’s in keeping with the recent trend, there will be 8 episodes of repeating it’s the biggest thing ever, and then 30 seconds of the reveal being “The worst thing I ever did. I was unkind to Amy once. She sneezed, and I did not say bless you.” ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/116 "2013-05-23T15:38:28Z")
Or worse, it’ll be said off-screen and we’ll never know what it actually was, but the doctor will still mope dramatically about it until someone tells him it’s all right because of all the good he’s done, and then he’ll be jolly and it’ll never be mentioned again. (Why yes, I was disappointed with what I felt was a very weak climax to this episode, considering all the hype. Why do you ask?) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/117 "2013-05-23T15:40:34Z")
It’s a given that continuity must not take precedence over storytelling. Which isn’t too bad if it’s competent storytelling. IMHO, this season (and last) was pretty mixed. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/118 "2013-05-23T15:59:44Z")
One thing that is bothering me on reflection: why does killing the Doctor by killing himself bring the GI great peace? I mean, it’s a world-destroying Doctor Who Monster of the Week who is of course thwarted by our boy, yes, so I get the revenge motive; but it was talking as if the Doctor had defeated it again and again and caused it eons of agony. They’ve met, what, three times counting this ep? I would get the “my death is worth it if I can take him with me” speech from Davros or the Master, but not a villain we’ve only ever seen twice before. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/119 "2013-05-23T16:13:49Z")
This would be the fifth GI appearance, counting the two Second Doctor stories (“The Abominable Snowmen” and “The Web of Fear”) and the two previous Eleventh Doctor stories (“The Snowmen” and “The Bells of Saint John”). But still a little melodramatic, yes. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695/120 "2013-05-23T16:15:04Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > One thing that is bothering me on reflection: why does killing the Doctor by killing himself bring the GI great peace? I mean, it’s a world-destroying Doctor Who Monster of the Week who is of course thwarted by our boy, yes, so I get the revenge motive; but it was talking as if the Doctor had defeated it again and again and caused it eons of agony. They’ve met, what, three times counting this ep? I would get the “my death is worth it if I can take him with me” speech from Davros or the Master, but not a villain we’ve only ever seen twice before. My understanding was that the peace was of the sort only found in death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/doctor-who-7x14-the-name-of-the-doctor/658695.md?page=7)