Site Menu

May 20th, 2013 372 comments

We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

The Final Moments of The Name of the Doctor

The Final Moments of The Name of the Doctor

The Final Moments of The Name of the Doctor – Doctor Who Series 7 Part 2 2013



Adverts/Affiliates

372 comments

  • pete

    May 19th, 2013 - 10:19am

    In my opinion – Hurt’s ‘doctor’ is from the time war and sits between the doctors we know as 8th (pm) and 9th (ce). The doctor chose his name and as he said in NOTD it is a promise. The actions he took during the time war could not be carried out in the name of the doctor which is way Hurt wasn’t technically one of the incarnations of the doctor but he is still a past, regeneration of the time lord we know as the doctor. This would make Matt Smith the 12th doctor and as the valeyard is an amalgamtion of the doctor between his 12th and final incarnations then it won’t be an unknown addition to new who if the valeyard is used when smith’s run comes to its end as a I’m sure the valeyard was Googled a lot in the last 24 hours 🙂

    Reply
  • Clocky

    May 19th, 2013 - 10:02am

    Why have “Introducing John Hurt as The Doctor” on the screen???????? We know it’s a Doctor – we’re in his time line. They might as well have put “this is all fiction and all characters are played by actors”.

    Reply
    • Andy Hall

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:28am

      Agreed. That just felt cheesy.

    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:30am

      The majority of people who watch dip in and out mate. It’s for joe average, not you

    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 2:51pm

      I thought that made for an epic cliffhanger. I really want to see John Hurt in the 50th, along with Smith and Tennant.

  • the astronaut of death

    May 19th, 2013 - 9:37am

    i think it is the 8th doctor just older

    Reply
  • Anonymous

    May 19th, 2013 - 9:37am

    Dont we need to remember this is all leading up to the 50th & we KNOW tennent is cast????
    Gotta go with journeys end docotr who ages (so was DT on beach with rose but aged to look like john hurt)

    Reply
  • Roncrabb

    May 19th, 2013 - 9:12am

    I think he might turn out to be the original incarnation of the Black or the White Guardian… Forged from who is now known as The Doctor.

    Reply
  • whofan4ever

    May 19th, 2013 - 8:40am

    If he is an past doctor and clara seen all of him then could he not be an older 8th doctor and since he is still alive then the next three doctors didnt happen, technically and this means that all the enemies that those three stopped prevail, sort of like what the great intelligence wanted

    Reply
  • whofan4ever

    May 19th, 2013 - 8:10am

    I think this doctor is a duplicate.
    Remember the way tennant talked to his ‘dupe’ in journeys end? That he was born in battle and was only filled with anger? Well i think this one was duplicated in the time war and became more time lord than they ment him to be.
    Or a more strong theory is that he is a time lord who also escaped the time war by killing many time lords possibly and has been going around calling himself the doctor and telling other races about him who forgot him with the whole doctor who thing. He has been going around telling them all so they would hunt and kill the doctor who he may hate for a reason we dont know yet

    Reply
    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 2:53pm

      The Doctor said there was only him in that realm, so he had to be the Doctor, just a lost regeneration. Until explained, I’m calling him the Doctor who never was.

  • Professor When

    May 19th, 2013 - 8:00am

    He was the disgraced Doctor… he was wearing black, he disgraced the ‘Name’ of the Doctor, perhaps not using it. Clara hadn’t seen him, so he wasn’t a past regeneration. However, he was there, so perhaps he was a future one who had interfered with the Doctor’s Past. There you have it: The Valeyard. 🙂

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 8:28am

      He’s not wearing black, he’s wearing a mixture of clothing from 8 and 9

    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:32am

      He’s a past doctor.
      But Clara saw all the DOCTORS and since this one didn’t act under the name of the Doctor she didn’t see him.
      It’s more than likely that he’s from the time war.

  • Wiichigo

    May 19th, 2013 - 7:52am

    He’s a regeneration we haven’t seen before, not a future doctor. This rogue incarnation is the doctors biggest secret. Evidence to support this:
    1) Clara saw all eleven incarnations of the doctor, and recognized them as such
    2) Clara didn’t see any future iterations of the doctor, only the past ten.
    3) Clara had no idea who the rogue doctor was.
    4) The doctors biggest secret. The doctor is aware of this rogue regeneration. He explains to Clara and the audience the significance of his name; by choosing this name he made a promise of how he would act and live. This mystery doctor broke the promise, he didn’t live AS the doctor. His actions don’t fit with what the doctor stands for.

    Clara was able to identify all previous versions of the doctor, but why wasn’t she able to identify the new one? The title of the episode reveals a clue. The name of the doctor – it was never about his real name. It’s about what makes the doctor who he is. The actions and course he has taken to protect the universe countless times. That is his promise. His actions define him.

    Moffat himself backs up this notion twice in the episode. When river hears the criminals words in the conference call she realised the others had it wrong, had attached a too literal meaning to the words. Many fans have already made the same mistake with the reveal at the end of this excellent episode. Again at the end, the doctor is indignant when he denounces the actions of the rogue by proclaiming “not In the name of the Doctor”….

    The secret? This doctor is his past, a past we haven’t seen before. That places him as either the true eighth or ninth doctor. This rogue doctor has done something that is dichotomous to everything the doctor stands for. What the name represents to the universe, and to us as viewers. Clara didn’t recognize the rogue as the doctor because technically, he isn’t. He’s a regeneration of the doctor alright, but he has done something so terrible she doesn’t recognize him. And this is the kicker – will we as viewers when we find out for ourselves?

    This is probably the most important point in the entire episode. She was in his time stream, knew everything he ever did or will do. The rogue has done something truly terrible. It is for others to debate what exactly that is. The last time war seems like a good fit, but its the excellent Steven Moffat at the helm. One thing I’ve learned while watching the show (with Moffat in charge) is the end reveal will be clever and unexpected.

    Also, WHAT an episode!!!!

    Reply
  • Mike

    May 19th, 2013 - 7:24am

    I think most people have missed a key simple point. All the other incarnations of the doctor were running. In The memories they were running or fleeing. This one stood his ground and wasn’t running. This doctor (John Hirt) doesn’t do what the other doctors did. So he was the one that stood up and fought. A zeroth doctor would make sense. An image of himself he is always running from. Mentally and physically.

    Reply
  • Chris

    May 19th, 2013 - 7:05am

    John Hurts is the first incarnation of ” the doctor” before taking that title, his name was Rassilon! The great architect of Timelord society…. or the tyrannical Imperator of Galiffrey? Much remains unclear as to what or even who Rassilon was/is in timelord lore & society. The doctor is fleeing the monster he created in timelord society & ashamed of the ways he chose to create it.

    Reply
    • KORSAIR

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:19am

      No don’t think so,Dr.10 met Rassilon in his final story if you recall so it’s not him.

  • Dr who

    May 19th, 2013 - 6:58am

    I think john hurt doctor is the one who the silence were at an endless bitter war with

    Reply
    • Dr who

      May 19th, 2013 - 7:53am

      I think he is the one at war with the silence

    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:19am

      Maybe he is in league with the silence!

    • Amelia pond

      May 29th, 2013 - 5:51pm

      Can’t be in league with silence there’s no eye patch :p

  • the1chris

    May 19th, 2013 - 5:35am

    I loved this episode a lot! And i like a lot of the theories on here, but my 1 comment is this…The Doctor (Matt) recognized and knew the doctor (John Hurt). To me that implies that he has to be a past incarnation. If you remember the mini episode from the Tennant era, Tennant wasn’t recognized and had to explain who he was. My guess is that John Hurt is either an embarrassing and hidden away 9th doctor or the original carnation before he takes the name The Doctor and turns his life around for good.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      May 23rd, 2013 - 2:48pm

      Past incarnation…probably. But don’t forget that the Doctor has crossed paths with his past & future selves before(3 Doctors 5 Doctors 2Doctors etc). They’ve also allowed telepathic contact with each other.
      So don’t rule out the possibility that he’s a future version (or even a ‘half’ version – a distinct personality from between regenerations – Logopolis ‘the watcher’ / Trial of a Time Lord ‘the Valeyard’).

  • JULIUS

    May 19th, 2013 - 2:37am

    SIMPLE… Its the Doctor before the TimeWar. The Doctor gave himself the name after the TimeWar because of what he had done.

    Its the 50th anniversary so theyre going to make a really special episode that probably involves Gallafray leading up to the moment he gave himself the name Doctor.

    Hes not the 12th Doctor but you could say hes the Doctor Zero. lol. “The Doctor” was born in Battle so.. use your imagination. If im wrong then the writers need imagination.

    anyway. im kindah new to doctor who so if i have any info wrong. forgivenessss

    Reply
    • jack

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:09am

      very good thought , however you seem to think that the doctor has always been the last of the timelords since the show began in 1963 and the doctor named himself ” after ” the time war. however , the last great time war took place somewhere between the 8th and 9th regerneration of the doctor.
      throughout the classic series the timelords can be seen numerous amounts of times such as when the doctor was forced to regenerate his 2nd incarnarion ( Patrick troughton ) to his 3rd incarnation ( jon pertwee ) by the timelords and was banished to earth.

    • EarthSeeker

      May 19th, 2013 - 2:43pm

      The Time lords banished The Doctor to earth in a disabled Tardis, as their own rules dictated that they could not execute him. he had after all been elected as the supreme time lord. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)
      The Doctor was recalled from earth when the Time Lord supreme council needed his assistance in understanding the Daleks. (Genesis of the Daleks)
      So some of the above theory does not hold up. However, that wouldnt stop Moffy!

      As the John Hurt Doctor exists only within the Doctor’s time line, he may never exist in the physical realm. He may be a guardian angel figure looking over all of the Doctors reincarnations.
      In this way, Steve Moffat could re-visit any point in the Doctors time line to explain an incident or outcome.
      Or maybe he is the Doctors soul.
      Who would ever wish for there very soul to be laid bare?

      Role on the 50th anniversary!

    • JULIUS

      May 19th, 2013 - 6:04pm

      Thanks guys 😀

    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 6:10pm

      @EarthSeeker One or two corrections, at your request! The Second Doctor wasn’t executed because he only stole a TARDIS and ran off. He wasn’t executed as the Fourth Doctor in The Deadly Assassin for (accidentally) killing the Time Lord President because he ran for President. Also, he had his exile lifted because his first three incarnations stopped Omega, who was threatening Gallifrey.

  • Wild Wolfie

    May 19th, 2013 - 2:34am

    The ‘Secret’ is the Doctors name. By revealing his name it reveals this incarnations timestream,that is why Clara could not see this incarnation in the Doctors timesream. This incarnation did something terrible, something that was against everything the Doctor stands for, even worse it was done in the name of the Doctor. This is a wretched incarnation that cannot be forgiven even by his other incarnations.In otherwords he cannot forgive himself for his own actions. Thus he cannot even be called the Doctor anymore and can only go by his real Gallifreyan name, a name the Doctor is ashamed of. To know this name is to know this incarnations timestream and what he did.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:16am

      To elaborate on what I wrote above,
      This incarnation did something terrible and it was done in the name of the Doctor, his REAL name, the one given to him on Gallifrey. The title of the episode is a wordplay on that. That is why Clara could not see his timestream.

    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:24am

      Sounds like a very interesting idea, definately one I’d watch!

  • Frankie

    May 19th, 2013 - 2:15am

    I have a pretty good theory on this you know, did anyone ever consider that everytime the doctor regenerates he’s a completely new person but inherits the the memories of the past doctors? so maybe this guy was the 9th and (matt smith) the 11th has the memories of what the previous doctor did? remember we saw all the doctors past incarnations, yet only this guy was questioned and was standing there, basically, i think the “doctor” is just a name/title, but every time the “doctor” regenerates he’s a completly new person but also has the memories of the old incarnation, Remember when David Tennant did the regeneration his words were “i don’t want to change it’s too soon” or something similar which brings me to this, the guy we saw has to be the 9th doctor, sorry for my explanation though, im not the best at explaining things lol

    Reply
  • GameChicken

    May 19th, 2013 - 1:30am

    I think maybe he is between 8th and 9th doctor, but is not going by the name of Doctor, so that’s why Clara didn’t see him, she was only following the doctor. What bothers me about that though, is that she was scattered throughout his entire life, so still would have ran into Hurt. Alternatively, I agree that he may be the man who became the doctor, before he began to ‘run’. Really we can’t know till we see it, I’ve been writing a book recently about a time lord, and you find that with time travel and timelord type stuff, everything becomes somewhat.. Massagable, you know, to fit around obstacles, paradoxes etc. In reality, the doctor, and all of the timelords are rather stupid with the power they possess, a good timelord would never need to regenerate, not once.

    Reply
  • jjj

    May 19th, 2013 - 1:06am

    Anyone think it could be the 9ish Dr a.k.a. ‘shalka doctor’.?
    Yes I know it was R.E.Grant that played this Dr number 9ish,he could be just an older version.
    Dr 9ish was originally an official Dr until the new tv series was announced.
    Wouldn’t adding Dr 9ish back into continuity be a treat for the the 50th? Plus explains Chris ‘angry Dr’ really being angry at himself for whatever terrible thing he did as his predecessor (9ish)- needing to regenerate into Chris so as not to see the face of Dr 9ish and allows himself the luxury of blotting out how bad the Dr can be….almost as bad as The Master,Rani and the timelords of the time war.
    Just a thought………

    Reply
  • Nondieswing

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:56am

    Maybe he split himself like when donna made another docter out of his hand. This would mean the doctor could age as when on bad wolf bay the human doctor tells rose he can age so that would explain the age thing. Secondly matt smith’s doctor seems to know what he did as if it had happened already he surely wouldn’t know. Also clara says she “saw all of you” the doctor later rejects the idea that john hurts guy is the doctor. This could imply that the doctor doesn’t have all the qualities that the doctor has but he is still there. Then there is what the doctor said in s4 “he was born in battle” this would suggest that john hurts doctor was aggressive because he was born in battle wich links it to the time war also the doctor jumps through the wound time thing aswell so does that splinter him also? And could john hurt be an echo of the doctor?

    Reply
    • Nondieswing

      May 19th, 2013 - 1:03am

      Or maybe it’s that doctor from the beach as he commited genocide as he wiped out davros etc plus he’s not technically the doctor

    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:31am

      The Tenth Doctor in Journey’s End was referring to the Ninth Doctor.

  • John

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:49am

    The ‘name of the doctor’ is John Hurt. The caption makes this clear. He is the ‘secret’ doctor, one we have not see before. He ‘broke the promise’ and acted in the name of ‘peace and sanity’. As he did what he had to do, without choice, he did not act in the name of the doctor so Claire was not aware of him, she only followed the doctor. This clearly relates to the Time War where he committed genocide on an unprecedented scale. The other ‘doctors’ could not condone this. Only now is the secret revealed.

    Reply
    • jack

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:11am

      finally ! someone with sense and actual
      knowledge of the show 🙂

    • Alex

      May 19th, 2013 - 4:36am

      Erm…John Hurt is the name of the actor…

      ergo, the Doctors name is NOT John Hurt 😛

    • Dread

      May 19th, 2013 - 11:22am

      If this is “time war” 9th Doctor then all of his incarnation could be timelocked which is why Clara did not know him – whatever he did to end the time war may have forced regeneration into Ecclestone meaning only that fleeting shadow of the timewar doctor was in the time stream – they have styled him as pretty haggard (sorry lord hurt) and with all the other speculation about Ecclestone not being in the anniversary could fit with this and be another moffat bluff (he may pop up at the end for the regeneration?;) ) – and now we are even closer to seeing what happens to the doctor in future series when he reaches his maximum number of regenerations

    • GameChicken

      May 19th, 2013 - 12:26pm

      No no no, the doctors name is definitely not john hurt, they put that in cause otherwise people would be confused thinking ‘am I supposed to know who this is? Have I missed something’. Unless comically the doctor gets bored at the end of his life and decides to become an actor, changing his name to john hurt, and letting aliens kill him for a change. But really, come on, that ain’t happening. The doctor was not a Timelord, coming from ghallifreigh where everyone has time lord names being called John (although he does call himself john Smith but that’s just a human front)

    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 2:56pm

      If you think about it, the Doctor has twelve names, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and now John Hurt.

  • The Geordiemaxter

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:49am

    VALEYARD!!!!!!!!!!

    ??????????????????

    Reply
    • Don

      May 19th, 2013 - 1:39am

      if they dont bring it in it will be so disappointing.

    • Big D

      May 19th, 2013 - 9:40am

      Either Valeyard or Doctor Zero (the reason why he became The Doctor and left Gallifrey in the very beginning – this would fit well with a 50th anniversary special and bring it full circle as it were)

    • 66

      May 19th, 2013 - 10:45am

      Matt Smith recognised him as a past incarnation, and the Valeyard is a future incarnation, as stated in bothe Trial of a Timelord and Name of the Doctor, so I don’t think it can be the Valeyard.
      As a seperate point, I don’t think the Valeyard could come in without the show getting much darker, so surely it couldn’t still be a children’s show

    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 2:57pm

      The Valeyard is an almagation of everything evil about the Doctor from BETWEEN his twelfth and thirteenth incarnations, he’s not a future incarnation, but an in-between Doctor.

  • Paul

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:45am

    Could it be the tenth doctor’s duplicate maybe? The metacrisis doctor? Or perhaps it could be the valeyard!

    Personally i’m hoping for a forgotten doctor between 8 & 9 🙂

    For those who don’t know the valeyard is an evil version of the doc who is supposed to appear before his final regeneration. They made a big deal about it in the classic series.

    Reply
  • The Geordiemaxter

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:44am

    Don,
    It may sound wierd but what if hurt comes back because of how harsh the doctor was saying hes not the doctor (sounds a bit childish) but he was making excuses ‘I did what was right for peace’

    Reply
    • The Geordiemaxter

      May 19th, 2013 - 12:47am

      Thinking about it he says its a SECRET
      But he has told people he desyroyed galifrey
      SO ITS NOT A SECRET

    • Don

      May 19th, 2013 - 1:36am

      Yes it seemed that way as if John Hurt was trying to get Matt Smith to forgive him yet he obviously thinks badly of the john hurt doctor for whatever evil thing that has happened… but people do seem to have good points here, i think that the Valeyard and the bad doctor that people think was created in the time war must come into this somehow… although i can see the makers of Doctor Who combining it all like this,
      The Valeyard is the same bad doctor created in the time war after doing whatever evil deeds and if you remember this

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRoXBY0kqFo

      you can see that this would be where they hint at John Hurt in the first place.
      The only thing they would need to do is explain what and how John Hurt did his bad actions and then go on to show him returning in some way

    • Don

      May 19th, 2013 - 1:56am

      Yes i also thought the same thing as if John Hurt was almost trying to make Matt Smith forgive him in a way and then this leads to john hurt not being accepted back into the ranks of the doctors maybe? and going onto him returning that could be possible but hard to pull off i reckon.

      also i think they will consider or have already decided to basically make the Valeyard appear as John Hurt thus making two things appear as one, the valeyard appears and also this would create a new timeline of doctors as matt smith is the supposed 12th doctor now and making sure that the valeyard appears at his supposed time which is near the end of the doctors last reincarnation (as long as we are sticking with the original number of 12)

      also this clip could be the hint for Valeyard and thus aka himself – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRoXBY0kqFo

  • jaketorwho

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:33am

    So my theories that he is either, the doctor before hartnell. Who goes by his real timelord name. The real ninth doctor. Or an aged 8th. Tired from fighting in the timewar. Also is this what the doctor saw behind the door in the god complex? And if he is the ninth doctor, then the fall of the 11th can come to light. As it would make CE – 10, DT – 11 and then MS – 12. Hence the fall, the fall to 12.

    Reply
    • Dalek: the Supreme

      May 19th, 2013 - 3:33am

      Maybe he’s an in-between Doctor, between 8 and 9, like there was a Doctor Who fanmade special featuring the Doctor between Troughton and Pertwee.

  • the MASTER

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:33am

    when he turned round i was hoping it was john simm back to play the master…… good ending though.

    Reply
    • Anonymous

      May 19th, 2013 - 9:34am

      Oh id have LOVED that

  • Don

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:32am

    A question on Clara is that isn’t she still an impossible girl? she goes into the doctors timeline and creates echoes of herself to continously save the doctor but then isn’t the present day clara still just another echo which then goes into the the doctor’s timeline again and gets made into echoes and this process is just on a loop?
    and when the echoes do go and help save him isnt it that she doesn’t really know that she is saving him but does it subconsciously yet in the flashbacks when the doctor is stealing the tardis she is on Gallifrey telling the doctor which tardis to steal. unless she was born on gallifrey and is then making one of her echoes a time lord?…
    everything is so confusing.

    Reply
    • Zedlar

      May 19th, 2013 - 4:35am

      mate, its timey wimey stuff

    • Brother John

      May 19th, 2013 - 7:57am

      No, the current Clara is the original Clara. The echos are echos of her. No timey-wimey, chicken-and-egg stuff needed. But if you want to believe she’s a loop, sure. Doesn’t really affect the plot, though.

  • The Geordiemaxter

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:31am

    I geuss the hurt could be the 9th doctor

    IF that was the case it’s would really really really annoy me because that would mean the 50th year special would be:

    A: A flash back of the time war
    B:Some argument over the time war which wouldnt effect present day
    (Unlikely) C: He would come back to modern day and do somefhing evil…which wou lt be gd buts its very unlikly and the writters atempting to do that

    So either way if he was the 8th doctor the 50th year special would be TERRIBLE and once ahain the writters would have let me down

    Reply
    • Don

      May 19th, 2013 - 12:39am

      Unless its a mix of the flashback of the timewar and then Hurt tried to find another way to bring the timelords out of the timelock and in the process did something evil?
      which wouldn’t be too bad i guess..

    • Garry

      May 19th, 2013 - 1:49am

      I’d love a flashback on the time war, but not a brief five second one. But one thing I really hope for is that the 50th anniversary special will be a long episode, 90 minutes to two hours or something like that… I’d also like to see some form of flashback on Trenzalore and what transpired there tbh.

  • dronemodule

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:25am

    I thought the cliff hanger was absolutely ruined by the stupid “Introducing John Hurt” text.

    Reply
    • Andy Hall

      May 19th, 2013 - 9:14am

      Me too. Totally agree.

  • The Geordiemaxter

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:18am

    The doctor has said he destroyed gallifrey, not a guy which is him but he dosent call the doctor confusing everyone watching

    Reply
  • The Geordiemaxter

    May 19th, 2013 - 12:14am

    Also as a clue hes a future doctor hes old (no offence john) which could be a sighn hes a future doctor and if not why john (no offence again) if he was the 9th they would get a young ish doctor

    ITS THE LITTLE CLUES THAT EXPLAIN THE MOST-Geordiemaxter 2013

    Hey steve you could use that in a episode if you like

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

By clicking submit you agree to our terms and conditions (below), we reserve the right to edit or delete inappropriate messages.

Comment rules

The Doctor Who site welcomes constuctive comments related to the news article in question. Links posted in comments may not be displayed. We reserve the right to delete or edit any post entirely at our discretion. If you leave unacceptable comments your IP address will be banned and reported

Click here to read full comments terms and conditions

Twitter

Facebook