An alien empire would destroy a whole planet for a single Timelord cell?

Thank the lord there's now a massive sample taken from his hand and is now stored on a spaceship piloted by Pirates! What kind of havoc is that going to cause anyway?

Ooh, well spotted!

I'm guessing it's all part of Moffat's great plan. Probably. Maybe.

Nah.

I doubt that 17th century pirates who have no idea what a Time Lord is count as one of those alien empires.

Perhaps how the clone (that lots of people talk about) came into being?

Perhaps the effects of it will appear in a later episode - then again it could be just an error, then again the Doctor might be talking male bovine excrement to impress the girls.

There had to be a melodramatic cremation scene and River's equally melodramatic opinion provided an in-universe justification. It's simple as that. Narrative continuity can be an engrossing hobby but it must never be allowed to spoil a good story.

Actually, I quite like that idea, would go a long way to reconcile me to/with this episode.
So yes, a Doctor clone ... tissue sample ... death

I hope you are right that this sample is being used down the line of this series

get. a. life. it's a TV programme. For Kids.

Or, of course, the Doctor could have taken / destroyed the sample off-screen as it was utterly irrelevant to the plot.... Just a thought.

You're confusing it with Space Pirates.

For cryng out loud, I dont know why people obssess over throwaway lines

HYPERBOLE, PEOPLE.

So, so agreed on this. It makes me want to leave this forum because it's reducing my Doctor Who fun, not increasing it.

There are so many little things that aren't explained in episodes, and for me it's usually easy to justify them.

For example:

The Doctor's body was a risk. A tiny sample taken by an alien AI that doesn't know who he is is not a risk. Someone might recognise a body, not so much a sample in amongst many.

Another example:

Maybe it is a risk. But there are pirates there now, who are unlikely to let the ship fall into enemy hands and will not allow samples to be taken for obvious nefarious purposes.

Another example:

When samples are taken, very often they will only be stored for as long as they are needed, then destroyed.

Another example:

The Doctor made an oversight, as he is prone to do, that may or may not catch up with him.

Etc.

Obsessing over throwaway lines is what we're here for!

This time however, I think it's safe to assume it's just River being her overly-dramatic self

I don't see how they're "ignoring" what was said in TIA.

I thought that what was being suggested was that if word got out into the wider universe that the Doctor had died, then the alien empires would come and tear Earth apart to get his body. As long as he's still around they'd be too scared to try anything. And how would any of those aliens know a sample of his was on some random spaceship anyway?

You might as well claim that they're "ignoring" it by not having every second of every episode featuring aliens running up and trying to scrape off a few of his skin cells.

This gave me a funny image of a Dalek with a cheese grater for some reason

EXTERMIGRATE!

Just out of curiosity, as they were all sampled and given a black spot, does that mean there stuck with, cos surly thats going to be a pain for continuity.

Maybe they were given back their skin sample when they left the ship

LOL!

They didn't ignore it... it was just unavoidable...

I'm with the "River was just being hyperbolic" gang. Besides anything else, burning a body doesn't destroy every cell, and per Series 1's Dalek, a dalek can absorb DNA from touch. And I've seen the Doctor touch a dalek before. So there's possibly some value in a complete body, unlikely much in a single cell.

Assuming the Doctor sheds skin cells like humans do, there should be plenty to go round!

Shurrly you mean.... EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!

http://www.entropyhouse.com/penwiper...alekcloth.html

Even if River was overstating the problem, perhaps she had in mind the unsettling thought of what a visit by alien grave robbers would mean if his intact body was merely six feet under.

What was it the Master did with the ring and witch coven? Pity the Doctor didn't set that sort of thing up. Although the Master didn't seem to come out of that an entirely happy bunny. He was at least no longer a pile of ash though.

Well, Then why are you reading a post that upsets you so much, much alone REPLYING to a post that makes you want to leave the board?

Moffat has also said that he has put many clues and hints in both series 5 and this series as to the main story arc so far.
I would go as far to say as there are no "throw away lines" until the whole story arc is revealed. Moffat even appears to take get great joy in this saying things along the lines of how surprised every be when the secrets are reveled and how it was in front of them the whole time.He was even keeping the River reveal away from Matt,Karen and the rest of the actors by writing a false ending to the River reveal during rehearsals. he wanted to see the expression on Matt's face when he finally got the script with the true ending.

Even on the BBC Doctor Who homepage, there is mystery and cryptic messages about the show (See the fourth dimensions tabs and italicized words)

If Moffat did not want this whole story arc mystery to be abuzz with his audience, why would he take the time and effort to write the stories and arcs the way he does? It would be much easier to write in the style of the classic Who's where everything was pretty much wrapped up at the end of the story.


People watch Doctor Who on different levels, and the writers have written for that (even more with Moffat). I have no issue with people that just watch it on the "Children's Program level", just enjoying the adventure and not going any deeper.
But, especially with series 5 and 6, there is also some deeper writing, a mystery that the writer is challenging the viewer to try and figure out.


Classic canon supports the genetic link with Time Lords and other races wanting to understand that link. If it would not "reduce your fun", do a little research on Rassilon Imprimatur and possibly watch "The Two Doctors"