I was never able to reconcile the Doctor with the genocide of Gallifrey. It was so out of character for every incarnation of him that it bothered me. I mean, he's hardly ever even held a weapon, as the brilliant Hurt incarnation noted: "They're screwdrivers - what are you going to do? Assemble a cabinet at them?"
This episode "restored" the Doctor, and in such a way that an endless change of events is now possible because with Gallifrey still in existence, they can bring back the Time Lords (including some renegade ones like the Rani), the Council, and a lot of other things that had made the earlier series so interesting.
Of course, the Doctor has to find Gallifrey first, though I suspect that they've already dropped hints in the previous seasons as to where it might be. I was thinking that the painting itself might be Gallifrey, but then I remembered that the Doctors used it themselves to get into the Black Archive.
My only regret was that Hurt wasn't allowed to play the Doctor longer. He had the best lines by far and would have made a great Doctor for at least a season or two. Oh well.
ἡ δὲ κἀκ τριῶν τρυπημάτων ἐργαζομένη ἐνεκάλει τῇ φύσει, δυσφορουμένη, ὅτι δὴ μὴ καὶ τοὺς τιτθοὺς αὐτῇ εὐρύτερον ἢ νῦν εἰσι τρυπώη, ὅπως καὶ ἄλλην ἐνταῦθα μίξιν ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι δυνατὴ εἴη. – Procopius
Ummaka qinnassa nīk!
*MySmiley*
