Can't find this in previous threads (well, the last 5 pages anyway):

Is it true that Moffat has said that The Big Bang can be seen as directly following on from every episode in the series, except for Episode 7? If so, what's different - either in actual ending or thematically - about that one to all the other eps? IIRC, Amy's Choice ends on a zoom into the keyhole of the Tardis door, doesn't it? I know there's other episodes where the Dr has difficulty with the door's lock - I'm thinking the Eleventh Hour he can't get in when he needs to, Cold Earth he mentions the lock's sticking, etc - but there's nothing that particularly leaps out (to me, anyway) about locks and keys as being the Big Clue. Only other thing I can think of that's thematically different about Amy's Choice is that the Dr deliberately explodes the Tardis in-story.

Any theories anyone?

Because, at a guess, the Doctor sorting out the cracks involves him popping through every previous episode to do something or other (like talking to Amy in the forrest) so at some point the Doctor travels from the previous episode back to the final episode.

However he had no reason to visit episode 7 which was a quick bottle adventure and had no connection to the crack arc.

Possibly

perhaps The Big Bang episode takes the form of Episode 7, with elements of all the others inside

the main reason it seems that episode 7 isn't connected was because it was the last story to be written.....because moff says that he hopes next time he can......so who knows we may see a return of something related to Amy's Choice in series 6..

And it was Vampires in Venice that ended on the keyhole, but Amy's Choice was on the Doctor's refelection....after he first say the dream lord...

I think the lingering reflection of the Doctor's dark side is foreshadowing of the Doctor being the perceived Big Bad.

Amy's Choice isn't connected because none of the story happened in the real universe.

this is what Moff says....quoted from Combom website....

I think the DreamLord will certainly be a recurring character - the doctor's Id - but it'll be next season.

Maybe in the episode written by Neil Gaiman, who wrote the Sandman series of comics, which centres on Morpheus - Lord of Dreams.

I'd be gutted if that were the case, i love sandman as much as the next man, but i'd kind of love Gaiman to create a new character/villain etc that could be as amazing for the Dr who universe as Morpheus was for Vertigo.

It would be a waste to have Gaiman write someone elses character.

I agree....he could easily become the Moff of the Moff era!!!

I agree with both comments. I'm a huge Gaiman fan so will be interested to see what he has come up with.

If he creates a character half as cool as Death in Sandman, i'll be a happy chap.

I am a happy gal that other people find Death cool! Gaiman's books for children are scary as he doesn't talk down to them, so hope they allow him to do so for Dr Who.

Sorry for going off topic. If episode 7 was written after the overall arc was decided that this is not all a dream of little Amelia who fell asleep waiting for the Dr to come back?

unless im mistaken there was no reference of the Crack (LOL) in Episode 7

Nope there wasn't....if there was it would have been the most subtlest crack of the series!!!


And for not featuring the crack....it only adds to its plus points for me!!!

Well that's my theory for the finale down the drain, then.

I knew I'd be wrong.

I'm not sure in which thread to put this, so I'll put it here...

In the epsiode with the DreamLord the changes between the 'dream' and reality were signified by quite obvious birdsong.

I have noticed when re-watching The Eleventh Hour that there is similar, quite obvious birdsong in these episodes too.

Firstly when the Doctor comes round after he gets hit by the cricket bat and second when he goes into the Tardis at the very end.

Has anyone noticed any birdsong in other episodes??
Is it significant?

May just be birds singing - it was a sunny day.

Though if it does turn out that the whole series has been a dream I'm going to go MENTAL (not saying I'm not already of course).

It seemed more pronounced than that - and when he gets hit by the cricket bat he's in doors. I remember watching that first time and thinking it was meant to be like a 'cartoon' recovery from a blow to the head.

Having said that - I agree if it's all 'a dream' I might have to get a bit angry...

Thanks, everyone, for your answers to my OP. I think I get now that it's the odd one out because a) the story arc had already been devised before this ep was written and/or b) it's the only one that takes place entirely (or almost entirely) within a dream world.

Having said that, does this mean it's got lots of potential to feed into a Series 6 story arc, given that it's the main episode not wrapped up by The Big Bang? I loved the way that Moffat's given us so much unresolved stuff to continue with: the reason for the Tardis exploding; the silence; who was building the DIY tardis in Colchester; the emphasis on previous Doctors, esp. Hartnell; even who/what exactly was Prisoner Zero? Ok, I know lots of people feel PZ was simply a multiform monster-of-the-week for Ep 1, nothing more - and, ok, it's definitely not the Doctor - but Prisoner Zero knows about the silence... so maybe we're not done with him/her/it yet?

I have absolutely no theories, ideas, mad speculation about all this. I just wondered what other people think.