TARDIS... Acronym or Backronym? I find it hard to believe the Gallifreyan race would have chosen English as the language they would use to create their acronyms from. Or is it the translation matrix and the Gallifreyan word for Tardis is even more foriegn and absurd sounding?
The only in-show explanation I ever remember hearing was back in the very first episode, where Susan says she's the one who came up with the acronym in the first place. Of course, that doesn't explain why the rest of Time Lord society calls them that, but then again continuity and Doctor Who don't always have the best relationship. :))
Of course, the Time Lords have also been heard referring to the Doctor's TARDIS by its model name/number, a Type 40 TT Capsule. So maybe we're just hearing TARDIS because that's how we've come to know it and when other Time Lords refer to it by whatever name they call it, that's the TARDIS itself translating it into a term we can understand (just roll with it).
There may be a for-real explanation in one of the Virgin or BBC novels from back in "the Wilderness Years" (they tended to invent explanations for a lot of things), but your mileage may vary in terms of their canonicity.
While we're on the subject of the translation matrix, here's another question that's been bothering me... In "A Good Man Goes To War" they establish that Gallifreyan writing can't be translated, but in "Journey to the Center of the Tardis" Clara finds and reads the "History of the Time War" which contains the Doctor's true name. If the Time-Lords didn't write it, who did? I doubt the Doctor would have included his name if he wrote it, and he definitely wouldn't have done it in a language anyone could read.
While we're on the subject of the translation matrix, here's another question that's been bothering me... In "A Good Man Goes To War" they establish that Gallifreyan writing can't be translated, but in "Journey to the Center of the Tardis" Clara finds and reads the "History of the Time War" which contains the Doctor's true name. If the Time-Lords didn't write it, who did? I doubt the Doctor would have included his name if he wrote it, and he definitely wouldn't have done it in a language anyone could read.
This is a nitpicking rabbit hole!
There's a longstanding tradition of the show ignoring its own continuity if it's going to make the story work (or writers and producers who neither knew or particularly cared about all of the ins and outs of it, at any rate). In the Moffat era I'd be surprised if that's not written into the series bible, since that's not the only time he contradicted one of his own era's stories in the course of another.
Also, Clara's sooooooooooooooooo special. And she's impossible. Don't you remember? Just like how River knew how to land the TARDIS without it making a sound because the Doctor does it wrong even though every other TARDIS in series history makes the exact same sound. All of 11's regular characters are just miracle workers and wonderful. :D
I've always been amazed that it took them until the Baker era to come up with an explanation for how they were able to understand every language they encountered. I realize that audiences may not have been as critical back then, but I've seen countless sci-fi films from the '50s where there's always that moment when the alien mentions some device that enables humans to understand them, so it certainly wasn't an unknown concept.
Seriously, didn't anyone watching even the first story wonder why they were able to carry on a conversation with cave people?
I've always been amazed that it took them until the Baker era to come up with an explanation for how they were able to understand every language they encountered. I realize that audiences may not have been as critical back then, but I've seen countless sci-fi films from the '50s where there's always that moment when the alien mentions some device that enables humans to understand them, so it certainly wasn't an unknown concept.
Seriously, didn't anyone watching even the first story wonder why they were able to carry on a conversation with cave people?
I don't remember if it was addressed during that adventure or not, but I'm pretty sure it was addressed during the Hartnell era at one point.
I've always been amazed that it took them until the Baker era to come up with an explanation for how they were able to understand every language they encountered. I realize that audiences may not have been as critical back then, but I've seen countless sci-fi films from the '50s where there's always that moment when the alien mentions some device that enables humans to understand them, so it certainly wasn't an unknown concept.
Seriously, didn't anyone watching even the first story wonder why they were able to carry on a conversation with cave people?
I don't remember if it was addressed during that adventure or not, but I'm pretty sure it was addressed during the Hartnell era at one point.
Everything I've read says "Masque of Mandragora" was the first story to deal with it. I recently re-watched the Hartnell era and don't recall anything, though going through that many episodes, I'm sure I missed some things.
AMC Theaters posted a coming soon page. Last I checked, tickets aren't for sale yet - but expect that to change and soon. In addition to the simulcast showing on the 23rd, it looks like they'll be hosting an encore presentation on the 25th. (Edit: I'm not sure about the "encore" showing on the 25th. Fandango is listing the simultaneous showing as taking place on the 25th. I'm pretty sure that's a mistake. That "encore" presentation may be attributable to Fandango's typo.)
Cool teaser, although part of me still wishes they'd shown the faces of all the doctors.
I could make out all of the characters in there but one - who's the person with their back to the camera right before Tennant?
I wondered that myself. I enlarged and adjusted the contrast on a still frame in an effort to enhance the image's clarity. The person is packing heat and appears to be wearing an earpiece. The hand looks very distorted, like it's a glove or something. My best guess is that he's someone from Torchwood and he's wearing a resurrection gauntlet. I guess it could also be someone from UNIT or even Canton Everett Delaware III. I've heard some suggest that it's John Hurt's character sans the coat.
Shortly after the trailer aired, someone had posted a breakdown of all the Easter eggs he/she could spot. The list, which is rather extensive, can be viewed on my tumblr. page (see link below).
It'll never be worse than the one McCoy wore for the Sixth to Seventh regeneration, but Smith's wig certainly doesn't look good. I hope it looks better on the show. I know he's wearing it for the Christmas special, but did wear it for the 50th as well?
The trailer looks great, but I'm a little surprised at the decision to focus so much on certain Doctors at the expense of others. I barely saw 7, 8 and 9. Made out the back of Colin Baker (who's really getting screwed in these things, since we also barely saw him in the Clara flashback from Name of the Doctor). Even 2 is just a shape in the distance that it took me two viewings to notice.
I'm sure the story will be fine, but I still have this fear that the 50th is mainly going to celebrate the Tennant/Smith era at the expense of the rest of the show's history.
I recently saw a quote from Moffatt in which he said something along the lines that it would be silly or insulting to ask an actor to put on a costume and play a role from twenty years ago. But isn't that pretty much what Troughton did with Davison and Baker? And he seemed thrilled to do it.
Cool teaser, although part of me still wishes they'd shown the faces of all the doctors.
I could make out all of the characters in there but one - who's the person with their back to the camera right before Tennant?
It looks like at the end it goes Colin Baker (who is completely back-to the camera, perhaps to get away from emphasizing The Coat?), Eccleston, McGann (who is WAAAAAAAAY stage left), then Tennant.
It looks like at the end it goes Colin Baker (who is completely back-to the camera, perhaps to get away from emphasizing The Coat?), Eccleston, McGann (who is WAAAAAAAAY stage left), then Tennant.
Well the doctor's themselves are easy to spot :) It's the last non-doctor figure just before Tennant I was wondering about.
I didn't think of that - like perhaps it's just a badly silhouetted version of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart? He always wore a Sam Browne belt as part of his uniform... I can't think of any other main Who character who wore one or anything that looked like it. It would be odd for them NOT to include the Brigadier the more I think about it... hell, they even included Bessie for crying out loud!
Broke down and bought the Series 7.2 DVD, since it seems Netflix is never gonna carry it.*
The Snowmen is not included.
Apparently one must buy it separately, for nearly the cost of a half-season.
X(
*Or I'm just, you know, impatient.
Yeah, I worked on that release and "The Snowmen" was seperate in the half season sets but is ncluded on the "Complete Series 7" that comes out in november.
Broke down and bought the Series 7.2 DVD, since it seems Netflix is never gonna carry it.*
The Snowmen is not included.
Apparently one must buy it separately, for nearly the cost of a half-season.
X(
*Or I'm just, you know, impatient.
Yeah, I worked on that release and "The Snowmen" was seperate in the half season sets but is ncluded on the "Complete Series 7" that comes out in november.
The U.S. showings of Doctor Who 3D have been announced. Only 11 theaters will be simulcasting it live. Then on Monday the 25th an encore presentation will be shown. 300 Theaters will show the encore presentation. What a crock!
Comments
Is there literature on the subject?
Of course, the Time Lords have also been heard referring to the Doctor's TARDIS by its model name/number, a Type 40 TT Capsule. So maybe we're just hearing TARDIS because that's how we've come to know it and when other Time Lords refer to it by whatever name they call it, that's the TARDIS itself translating it into a term we can understand (just roll with it).
There may be a for-real explanation in one of the Virgin or BBC novels from back in "the Wilderness Years" (they tended to invent explanations for a lot of things), but your mileage may vary in terms of their canonicity.
This is a nitpicking rabbit hole!
Also, Clara's sooooooooooooooooo special. And she's impossible. Don't you remember? Just like how River knew how to land the TARDIS without it making a sound because the Doctor does it wrong even though every other TARDIS in series history makes the exact same sound. All of 11's regular characters are just miracle workers and wonderful. :D
Seriously, didn't anyone watching even the first story wonder why they were able to carry on a conversation with cave people?
Last I checked, tickets aren't for sale yet - but expect that to change and soon.
In addition to the simulcast showing on the 23rd, it looks like they'll be hosting an encore presentation on the 25th. (Edit: I'm not sure about the "encore" showing on the 25th. Fandango is listing the simultaneous showing as taking place on the 25th. I'm pretty sure that's a mistake. That "encore" presentation may be attributable to Fandango's typo.)
https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/simulcast-doctor-who-50th-anniversary-special
I could make out all of the characters in there but one - who's the person with their back to the camera right before Tennant?
Shortly after the trailer aired, someone had posted a breakdown of all the Easter eggs he/she could spot. The list, which is rather extensive, can be viewed on my tumblr. page (see link below).
http://trevsplace.tumblr.com/post/64549583112/doctorpuppet-patrexes-dr-who-50th
The trailer looks great, but I'm a little surprised at the decision to focus so much on certain Doctors at the expense of others. I barely saw 7, 8 and 9. Made out the back of Colin Baker (who's really getting screwed in these things, since we also barely saw him in the Clara flashback from Name of the Doctor). Even 2 is just a shape in the distance that it took me two viewings to notice.
I'm sure the story will be fine, but I still have this fear that the 50th is mainly going to celebrate the Tennant/Smith era at the expense of the rest of the show's history.
I recently saw a quote from Moffatt in which he said something along the lines that it would be silly or insulting to ask an actor to put on a costume and play a role from twenty years ago. But isn't that pretty much what Troughton did with Davison and Baker? And he seemed thrilled to do it.
I didn't think of that - like perhaps it's just a badly silhouetted version of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart? He always wore a Sam Browne belt as part of his uniform... I can't think of any other main Who character who wore one or anything that looked like it.
It would be odd for them NOT to include the Brigadier the more I think about it... hell, they even included Bessie for crying out loud!
Broke down and bought the Series 7.2 DVD, since it seems Netflix is never gonna carry it.*
The Snowmen is not included.
Apparently one must buy it separately, for nearly the cost of a half-season.
X(
*Or I'm just, you know, impatient.
Here's a little levity to help cheer ya up.
Happy again.
Only 11 theaters will be simulcasting it live.
Then on Monday the 25th an encore presentation will be shown. 300 Theaters will show the encore presentation. What a crock!
http://www.bbcwpressroom.com/bbc-america/press/bbc-america-and-ncm-fathom-events-celebrate-doctor-whos-50th-anniversary-with-special-reald-3d-screening/