No need to lambast, you and I seem to be on the same wavelength with this!

Admittedly, FOTD is a bit of a letdown with regards to River's identity when you look back at it now, but then who is to say River's story is at an end? He could still end up telling her his name in her past/his future because of a deeper connection between them, and thus she recognises the symbols on the crib as being his name.

It's a bit like seeing a foreign word written down and not knowing how to pronounce it, I guess. Like the first time I saw "Cymru" written; I knew it was Welsh, and meant Wales, but I hadn't the foggiest idea how it was pronounced until I asked someone to say it for me!

Haha yes we do indeed appear to be on the same wavelength

I don't think River's story is over by a long shot. For me there are still things that are up in the air. Here's a few off the top of my head.

1) Has the 'one time' really been explained by what we've seen. I don't think it has but others may disagree.
2) What happens to her as a child? How does she end up with the Silents (making a massive assumption that the girl in the astronaut suit is her)? What happens after she regenerates?
3) Who is the good man she killed.

I think for me, what's keeping me intrigued is that we really don't know the answers. A lot of people have jumped to the conclusion that River is definitely the child from TIA/DOTM and therefore she did kill the Dr. But I'm convinced that their must be more to it than that. I think Moffatt must have some twists up his sleeve, otherwise it all seems a bit too obvious for us to have worked it all out halfway through the series.

Then again, I also thought it was too obvious that River would be Rory and Amy's daughter and so discounted that idea. Shows what I know!

re last post u were wondering if the little girl who killed the doctor was river, well wouldnt she remember doing it when she was an adult sitting with rory and amy if it was her when she was younger? surely she wouldnt be in prison that length of time?

remember we didnt actually see who was in the spacesuit we're just assuming it was the girl because they found her in one. i dunno who killed the doctor but as its moffat n co doing the writing i suspect nothings as cut and dried as it being that lol maybe its eyepatch woman or one of those monk guys

at some point though young rivers gonna end up in 60s america (cant see there being 2 timelord kids! unless shes river n the docs kid argh lol) but how does she get there?

the good man maybe hitler (in her eyes if she turns to being a nazi) going by the next episode title just kidding hehe

I think that from the Doctor agreeing with the Silurian about them taking the kid to earth and letting her grow up in the right environment, saying that it has already happened, that we can reasonably safely (possibly!!!) assume it was River/Melody who was the little girl. As for why she doesn't remember, well there are the Silents as a possible answer to that one!

Out of interest, does the Doctor already know that the baby isn't real, he sniffs her and then sniffs Amy, or is this nothing more than him being affectionate....

Probably, IIRC there were a few flashback moments with the Doctor where there was clips of the Astronaut/girl and when they were examining the spacesuit that was destroyed. I think at that point the Doctor knew.

I don't think the Doctor knew the baby was a ganger, he did appear very shocked when eye patch lady told him about fooling him not once but twice. The realisation on his face and then racing off to find them.

Lets face it, Moff has winged it a bit with this River Song ongoing story...

When he introduced her RTD was at the helm and Moff wasn't to know that RTD was leaving soon. Moff wouldn't possibly have been thinking I'll bring a new couple into the Tardis and River is their child... and the reason he wouldn't have been thinking that is the same reason other writers for the show can't do it now... It the producer who dictates how the show is laid out, not guest writers.

Not really. He need only have decided that River was the child of a future pair of companions. That doesn't mean it would necessarily be a near future pair. He's been very clear last series that the plan had always been to have a married couple in the TARDIS - it would appear that it was for this very reason.

And to get back to the original subject, yes - there is only one circumstance where the Doctor would tell someone his name. But he neglected to consider other ways that she could find out, because he presumed that no-one else could speak Gallifreyan. River refused to acknowledge that his guess was correct.

Not if you read the e-mails from Russel in his writers book about the series, even he isnt sure who River is and think's she is possibly the Doctor's Wife!! And RTD said the only scripts he didn't rewrite were Stevens.

Steven Moffat doesn't strike me as the kind of writer/showrunner to wing it

I havent read the book but talking as a writer myself. A good writer would have sat down and actually tracked the family tree. So to me he had planned this from the beginning.

was that his name on the crib or is it because one day they'll marry ?when she whispers it to him in the library she says are ok now and he says yes

and only onre situation when he would tell someone his name must be his wife?

or am i completely wrong

The Doctor's name has been mentioned a lot since this thread began. I know we don't know The Doctor's name but do we yet know the situation he could tell it? (bearing in mind he didn't know about Gallifrey when he said this). I know Moffat will never tell us his name, but I expect he might say the reason why he would.