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It was announced today that 11th Doctor actor Matt Smith will be concluding his run as the time traveling alien at the end of this year, the show's 50th anniversary. The 2013 Christmas special will have Smith regenerate into the next Doctor:
http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/01/ ... doctor-who

I'm not exactly surprised by this, there was a long break, and Matt Smith has felt out of gas this last season, like he's checked out as an actor, ready to move onto different stuff.

But it does take us into the Doctor's 12th incarnation, and the character only has 12 regenerations (13 incarnations total) so this really gets us close to either needing a Master-esque cheat, or an actor who can survive more than a few years in the role. To be honest, I thought that was the intention with Matt Smith, that unlike Tennant and Eccleston, Smith was going to stick around more than 3 years.

I wonder if current showrunner Steven Moffat is going to go with him, or stick with the series. I haven't really enjoyed Moffat's run as showrunner, but I do recognize his passion for the material as he himself is a huge fan.

I suspect they'll find a way around the 12 regeneration limit when we get to that. The Time Lords offered the Master a complete new regeneration cycle as far back as "The Five Doctors", so the limit can be bypassed.

I'll miss Matt Smith. I think he's been the best Doctor of the revived series. But I'm ready for a change of pace as well. I'll be curious to see who they cast for the 12th.

I thought he was going to stay at least another year too. But if nothing else, he stuck around for the 50th anniversary. I'd have been surprised if he skipped out on that.

I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor, but I'm excited for a new guy. Smith didn't seem very different from Tennant, so I'm hoping the next dude is strikingly different in appearance and demeanor. Like, if it turned out that John Hurt was, in fact, going to be the next Doctor, that'd work just fine for me. Or I've heard Helen Mirren has said she'd be okay with being the Doctor. Or see what Idris Elba's up to?

As for the limit on regenerations, I don't know if that's a thing anymore. I don't recall it ever coming up in the new series, anyway. And I'm almost sure that when the Doctor showed up on Sara Jane's show, he commented that he could regenerate as many times as he wanted.

Man, I wish Eccleston would have stuck around longer. That dude was definitely my favorite Doctor of the new series.

EDIT: JT, I'm with you on your opinion on Moffat's run. And what a damn disappointment, too. I really dug the episodes Moffat wrote in the RTD era, and I really liked his show Coupling, so I had high hopes for his run. Ah, well. At least this last half of the season's been pretty legit. Especially when the Ice Warriors came back. High point of the Moffat era, right there.

I heard rumours that, in the 50th special,

Spoiler

John Hurt would be playing a "lost Doctor" inbetween Eccleson and his predecessor, essentially bumping all of the "modern" Doctors up by one, essentially making Matt Smith the 12th Doctor.

I don't know how true it is, because I don't actually watch this show. (I just have a Tumblr.)

138 Scourge wrote:I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor, but I'm excited for a new guy. Smith didn't seem very different from Tennant, so I'm hoping the next dude is strikingly different in appearance and demeanor. Like, if it turned out that John Hurt was, in fact, going to be the next Doctor, that'd work just fine for me. Or I've heard Helen Mirren has said she'd be okay with being the Doctor. Or see what Idris Elba's up to?

Sorry, but if they go the pc route and cast a woman, I'm done. I want to keep watching the Doctor as played by some eccentric British male white guy. It just won't feel like the Doctor otherwise. I know, I know "change" is a big part of the show, and I'd agree, but even the changes have to have some limits.

As for the limit on regenerations, I don't know if that's a thing anymore. I don't recall it ever coming up in the new series, anyway. And I'm almost sure that when the Doctor showed up on Sara Jane's show, he commented that he could regenerate as many times as he wanted.

Honestly, I don't know either. Fans have long memories though, so I'm sure the subject will be addressed when the time comes, one way or the other.

Man, I wish Eccleston would have stuck around longer. That dude was definitely my favorite Doctor of the new series.

I wish he'd have come back for the 50th at least. And where's Paul McGann? Of all the old Doctors, he deserves some more screen time than that one tv movie he got. And he's not too old to reprise the role either.

138 Scourge wrote:

Spoiler

Huh. Well, when Hurt showed up for a minute in the last episode, Smith said something about that guy abandoning the name "Doctor", or not deserving it or something. So he'd be the ninth guy in that body, but Eccleston could still be the ninth Doctor. Maybe? Dunno.

I'm very interested in seeing how this storyline plays out.

Spoiler

I'm not sure we know when this particular version existed, but I had heard the same thing, that he's between the 8th and 9th Doctors. Maybe he's the one who destroyed Gallifrey?

andersonh1 wrote:I suspect they'll find a way around the 12 regeneration limit when we get to that. The Time Lords offered the Master a complete new regeneration cycle as far back as "The Five Doctors", so the limit can be bypassed.

I'll miss Matt Smith. I think he's been the best Doctor of the revived series. But I'm ready for a change of pace as well. I'll be curious to see who they cast for the 12th.

I thought he was going to stay at least another year too. But if nothing else, he stuck around for the 50th anniversary. I'd have been surprised if he skipped out on that.

True, true. But the Time Lords are also gone now.

Smith is my least-favorite of the new series guys, but considering the company, that's not a knock. My favorite is Eccleston actually, but Tennant is the one I enjoyed the most.

I liked Matt Smith as the Doctor, but I'm excited for a new guy. Smith didn't seem very different from Tennant, so I'm hoping the next dude is strikingly different in appearance and demeanor. Like, if it turned out that John Hurt was, in fact, going to be the next Doctor, that'd work just fine for me. Or I've heard Helen Mirren has said she'd be okay with being the Doctor. Or see what Idris Elba's up to?

Wow, that's interesting. I'll give you that there are some similarities in that they're both younger, both dress "different" yet recongizable, both have fanciful hair. But their attitudes were very different.

John Hurt I have been speculating is going to be

Spoiler

Eccleston's Doctor from an alternate timestream or something, aged out.

I wouldn't mind a female or non-white Doctor, but not Moffat, he writes with too many shortcuts and a female Doctor would immediately get into romantic entanglements, the ethnic thing would either get a little racist or swing so far away from that that it'd be racist by trying so hard not to be.

As for the limit on regenerations, I don't know if that's a thing anymore. I don't recall it ever coming up in the new series, anyway. And I'm almost sure that when the Doctor showed up on Sara Jane's show, he commented that he could regenerate as many times as he wanted.

I think it came up during Eccleston or Tennant's run. I never watched Sarah Jane Adventures, or Torchwood for that matter.

Man, I wish Eccleston would have stuck around longer. That dude was definitely my favorite Doctor of the new series.

Goddamn we need a Thumbs Up smily! Totally agree.

EDIT: JT, I'm with you on your opinion on Moffat's run. And what a damn disappointment, too. I really dug the episodes Moffat wrote in the RTD era, and I really liked his show Coupling, so I had high hopes for his run. Ah, well. At least this last half of the season's been pretty legit. Especially when the Ice Warriors came back. High point of the Moffat era, right there.

I never saw Coupling, I liked Moffat's eps under RTD - Silence in the Library and Blink and The Empty Child were all really good, although The Girl in the Fireplace didn't work for me that well. But once he was showrunner, I don't think I really loved any episode except The Doctor's Wife.

Onslaught Six wrote:I heard rumours that, in the 50th special,

Spoiler

John Hurt would be playing a "lost Doctor" inbetween Eccleson and his predecessor, essentially bumping all of the "modern" Doctors up by one, essentially making Matt Smith the 12th Doctor.

I don't know how true it is, because I don't actually watch this show. (I just have a Tumblr.)

I have heard that as well, it's speculation based on

Spoiler

an article that said Hurt would be playing the 9th Doctor. That's what led to my speculation that he'd be playing an older Eccleston's Doctor (that plus photos) rather than an interim one since Eccleston turned down the invite to return to the show.

Very little of which probably will mean anything to you since you don't watch.

138 Scourge wrote:

Spoiler

Huh. Well, when Hurt showed up for a minute in the last episode, Smith said something about that guy abandoning the name "Doctor", or not deserving it or something. So he'd be the ninth guy in that body, but Eccleston could still be the ninth Doctor. Maybe? Dunno.

Yeah, but right afterwards the screen said otherwise.

The Doctor describes

Spoiler

Hurt's character as "the one who broke the promise" and did something that caused him not to be worthy of the "Doctor" name.

Spoiler

Probably not gonna happen, but what if Hit's Doctor takes a new name. Something like, say, Valeyard?

This is about the era in the Doctor's life that guy was supposed to be from, right?

138 Scourge wrote:

Spoiler

Probably not gonna happen, but what if Hit's Doctor takes a new name. Something like, say, Valeyard?

This is about the era in the Doctor's life that guy was supposed to be from, right?

As I understood the scene yeah.

That said, the Doctor's look and personality have changed so much from doctor to doctor that I would be ok with just about anything.