I find myself more confused after watching the eighth doctor's tenure. His personality seems to have shifted without warrant and I'm unsure why he wants to be a warrior. For a Doctor who has always proclaimed his abhorrence towards violence, why pick up a sentimental item and declare yourself a warrior? Once he does regenerate and we see the Doctor gaze at his reflection, the face does not seem to match Paul or John's. Who is looking back at him? If we do see eight begin to regenerate, but we know he does not turn into nine then how is this regeneration process working? The mini episode seems to cater towards Whovians more familiar with Tom Baker and other classic doctor's era rather than the rebooted version we've had with doctors nine, ten and eleven.
If you feel at equal loss for words and can't seem to get excited over this miniepisode, then maybe these links can help.
The Mirror goes through the short film and illustrates the meaning behind certain words and actions
here
The Metro covers ten things they enjoyed from the mini episode here
Don't know the ties between the mini episode and Tom Baker? Read them here
A fan's reaction and insight can be read here
ORIGINAL POSTS
I've seen this twice now and have three main impressions (a) Steven Moffat puts a lot in six minutes (b) Would this have been more meaningful if I had seen Paul McGann before the short film? (c) I wonder how this will all tie in with our anniversary special.
At this point, I'm a little unclear of how drinking the potion, which initially reminded me of an Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade type moment, will point the Doctor towards the dark side (if you will). I do like the nod about knitting.
I'd love to hear your thoughts and chat about it in the comments or through google
Edit 2:
17 observations/questions on the tv movie
1. Sylvester is reading H.G. Well's The Time Machine
2. Sylvester (7) dies because the doctor's didn't believe he wasn't human and killed him with a defibrillator. I thought the scene was interesting given we see Matt's fear of the defibrillator in The Power of Three.
3. The regeneration scene was compared to Frankenstein's monster.
4. Interesting cinematography with Paul looking at his reflection in shattered glass and numerous television screens.
5. The locker scene was cute with Paul looking at a scarf and a fedora, which seemed to be a wee nod to 4 and 7. I'm not sure why a person would have had such a dated costume in their closet for Paul to wear though and I don't really know why Grace was wearing a corset.
6. Interesting that people would comment on the sexuality in Moffat's era, but seem to have no problem with Paul and Eric both being shirtless.
7. Does anyone else think the Master looked a bit like the Terminator or T-1000?
8. It's cute the Doctor knew Puccini, DaVinci, Freud and Curie.
9. I never understood why people were so hell bent on the 12 regeneration rule until I heard the Master say that was how many times he could regenerate.
10. Love seeing the Doctor kiss Grace.
11. The Doctor is half human?! on his mother's side?! What?
12. Where do all these jelly babies come from?
13. It's cute seeing the Doctor on the motorcycle. It reminds me a bit of Matt and Clara.
14. The contraption on the Doctor looks a lot like something out of Clockwork Orange.
15. Apparently Rory and Amy are not the only companions that can resurrect from the dead.
16. How does the Master kissing Grace make her human again?
17. I wish they didn't do another Frankenstein reference with the Master yelling I'm Alive!
Interestingly enough, the film was shot in Vancouver, Canada. You can read more here
You can watch Doctor Who: Shada here and with Paul in the animated series
