View original postBut think about River's life. He was stolen by Madame Kovarian, raised by the Silence to kill the doctor from the very beginning. She is the little girl in the space suit in "Day of the Moon," that little girl is left homeless in NYC, and regenerates into "Mels," Amy Ponds best friend from a young age through and beyond high school. We meet "Mels" in "Let's Kill Hitler," where "Mels" regenerates into River Song as we know her now. All I'm saying is that it seems possible for a Time Lord to age. And really, who's to say River is full-on Time Lord anyway. She received all of that "power" after conceived inside the TARDIS. She may be like them but not completely like them. And she used all of her regenerative powers in "Let's Kill Hitler" to save the doctor, so as far as I'm concerned, she's mostly human now.
She still needs to not get noticeably older than she was when she first appeared, since that was the end of her life. That was about five years ago in normal-actress-aging time, I think. So yeah, they could still continue to have her for as long as Moffat runs the show, but he'll have to be the one to wrap her up at some point. If not now, maybe next season, but it feels as though she's running out of overall plot relevance. However! The next episode might change that.
View original postAlso, I just found this little nugget at Wikipedia on the page for River Song:
View original postRiver will next appear in the series seven finale, broadcast in May 2013, entitled "The Name of the Doctor."[5] From River's perspective the events of this episode take place after the events of "Forest of the Dead."[6]
View original postCorrect me if I'm wrong, but isn't "Forest of the Dead" where the Doctor uploaded the dead River's conscious into CAL? [Footnote 5 is from the BBC, but footnote 6 is thus:
"DWM Preview:The Name of the Doctor". Doctor Who Magazine (Panini Comics) (460). June 2013 So it appears to be a recent revelation.]
Yes, I've heard about that. The reference in the Doctor Who magazine comes from a photo caption that states something along the lines of, "River Song, back from the Library." That's all the reference is going on. So it could be something, or it could just be a caption that didn't know what it was talking about. I'm excited by the possibility that there's something to it, though. It could fit nicely into my theory, except that my theory is almost certainly wrong.
View original postAnd they were two entirely different ships. What is the likelihood someone would bring with them a console chair from one ship to another. It's more likely that the chair is model #63592 for all small-class star cruisers.
Yeah, or that BBC re-uses props sometimes to save money. It's surprising how many people really want Jenny to come back. I never really resonated with that episode.
View original postThis seems more likely if "The Name of the Doctor" truly occurs
after "Forest of the Dead."
View original postAlso, did you know the original title for this season finale was called "The Funeral of River Song." Just throwing that out there.
I'd heard a rumor that "The Funeral of River Song" would be the name, but I haven't seen anything saying that it was at some point. But in the preview for the next episode, there's a shot of River Song's grave, so ... I have no idea. If it takes place after Forest of the Dead, maybe this will be her true death.
View original postA big computer with nigh limitless knowedge. Could one say she may be a Great Intelligence?
I don't think CAL would have acted with quite so much malevolence to be the Great Intelligence we've seen in a couple episodes, but I suppose you never know.
View original postMeh. She was from the 70s. Would robots even register as an option to someone, paranormal psychic or not?
There's also the fact that Clara's coming back next year, which means that whatever she is, whatever her explanation, it's not something that will get the Doctor to leave her behind. But maybe if she's a robot, she gets to become a real girl.
View original postAnd in the preview for next weeks finale, Richard E. Grant is returning for the episode,and I believe I saw him in physical form, so it's extremely likely that Victorian Walter Simeon (played by Grant and under control of the Great Intelligence) is directly related to Victorian/present Clara.
Yeah, I think there's a good chance of that relationship. Which doesn't do much for my CAL theory, but maybe gives a boost to my secondary theory.
View original postWhen I first saw this theory, I just felt it HAD to be the right answer. But as time passed, it just felt more and more disingenuous.
I'm really not sure how I feel about it myself. The Rose hints are definitely there, but whether they're a coincidence or we're misinterpreting them is hard to say.
View original postAnd it will be an end to a rather mediocre half-season. Perhaps my filter is based on watching Doctor Who in large chunks to prepare for a new season. Maybe I wasn't used to sitting all week long and letting a previous episode fester and pick apart its weaknesses. But these past eight or so episodes just feel weak. Perhaps it's New Companion syndrome.
I've enjoyed some of the individual episodes, but yes, this season hasn't felt nearly as fun for me as the previous seasons. The lack of a strong arc is partly what I don't like, but there are also too many episodes that just aren't very well put together, or just don't provide much emotional resonance, or both. But I try to concentrate on the parts that I like and hope that the rest will get better in time.
Personally I think that Moffat needs to screw the arc-haters and go with it. Even when he overdoes it as in season six, arcs are his strength. Without them, something is missing, and things feel disjointed. Random one-off adventures aren't getting the job done, and too many things feel rushed or poorly thought out.
