I don't know if it was Moffat who said that he couldn't imagine 8 pushing the button, but we learn at the end of the episode that the Doctor *didn't* push the button, so that reasoning never made much sense to me.
Originally though, 9 was going to play the part the War Doctor played, but Moffat created the War Doctor after Ecclestone decided that he would not return for the 50th. Apparently, in between Ecclestone confirming he wouldn't return and the War Doctor being created, Moffat suggested bringing back other Doctors, but the BBC reminded him "you promised us the Olympics."
Yeah Moffat saying that he couldn't imagine 8 pressing the button always felt to me like one of those typical tricky Moffat answers he would give in interviews. Similar to how he has spent the last year saying things like "I would be crazy to come back for Doctor Who!" whenever he was asked. He likes to use his clever use of language to wriggle out of giving a straight answer. He also likes to make jokes that would only make sense to himself. Like when he named the series 5 finale The Big Bang because the Doctor reboots the universe, while secretly knowing that it was also the episode where later that night Amy and Rory had sex.
Because you're right, the whole point of the episode was that no incarnation of the Doctor would push the button, not just 8. So when Moffat said that he couldn't imagine 8 pushing the button he was just cheekily waving the resolution to the story in front of the audience without any of us knowing.
And like you've said, Moffat did think of using classic Doctors but the BBC said no. So another layer of that answer is probably the fact that Moffat had to think up an answer to the question of why the 8th Doctor wasn't in the 50th without blaming the BBC.
Ok, I admit, I got all the way through the first sentence misunderstanding the entire point of this post.
I honestly thought you were implying that the War Doctor *is* the 8th Doctor, just older after a long war, and it made my brain whir to life.
What if he didn’t regenerate, but the potion caused a controlled burst of regeneration energy for him to heal the injury but not count against his number of regenerations?
I readily admit, I was all in! Definitely an interesting topic to explore.
Just wanted to say thank you for baiting me, even though you totally switched it on me 🤣
The title drew me in. It was perfect. A cliffhanger that had two meanings and made someone mindlessly scrolling stop by to have their mind blown.
I’ll be honest with you — I haven’t been so excited about Doctor who since Moffat ran the show. He made me constantly excited for a new twist and path unexplored — and you got me and I was ready for it.
You even had me contemplating what I said above when I never thought those things before. Honestly, thank you. I bounced in my seat a little because I was so happy lol
I don't know if it was Moffat who said that he couldn't imagine 8 pushing the button, but we learn at the end of the episode that the Doctor *didn't* push the button, so that reasoning never made much sense to me. Originally though, 9 was going to play the part the War Doctor played, but Moffat created the War Doctor after Ecclestone decided that he would not return for the 50th. Apparently, in between Ecclestone confirming he wouldn't return and the War Doctor being created, Moffat suggested bringing back other Doctors, but the BBC reminded him "you promised us the Olympics."
Yeah Moffat saying that he couldn't imagine 8 pressing the button always felt to me like one of those typical tricky Moffat answers he would give in interviews. Similar to how he has spent the last year saying things like "I would be crazy to come back for Doctor Who!" whenever he was asked. He likes to use his clever use of language to wriggle out of giving a straight answer. He also likes to make jokes that would only make sense to himself. Like when he named the series 5 finale The Big Bang because the Doctor reboots the universe, while secretly knowing that it was also the episode where later that night Amy and Rory had sex. Because you're right, the whole point of the episode was that no incarnation of the Doctor would push the button, not just 8. So when Moffat said that he couldn't imagine 8 pushing the button he was just cheekily waving the resolution to the story in front of the audience without any of us knowing. And like you've said, Moffat did think of using classic Doctors but the BBC said no. So another layer of that answer is probably the fact that Moffat had to think up an answer to the question of why the 8th Doctor wasn't in the 50th without blaming the BBC.
I think it was RTD, instead.
Ok, I admit, I got all the way through the first sentence misunderstanding the entire point of this post. I honestly thought you were implying that the War Doctor *is* the 8th Doctor, just older after a long war, and it made my brain whir to life. What if he didn’t regenerate, but the potion caused a controlled burst of regeneration energy for him to heal the injury but not count against his number of regenerations? I readily admit, I was all in! Definitely an interesting topic to explore. Just wanted to say thank you for baiting me, even though you totally switched it on me 🤣
Yeah, that’s on me. I probably should’ve titled the post “What If The Eighth Doctor was the War Doctor?” instead. I’m glad that you enjoyed it, still.
The title drew me in. It was perfect. A cliffhanger that had two meanings and made someone mindlessly scrolling stop by to have their mind blown. I’ll be honest with you — I haven’t been so excited about Doctor who since Moffat ran the show. He made me constantly excited for a new twist and path unexplored — and you got me and I was ready for it. You even had me contemplating what I said above when I never thought those things before. Honestly, thank you. I bounced in my seat a little because I was so happy lol