There is so much they could of done with it, but they have seemingly swept it under the rug.



In theory, the Doctor has not seen Gallifrey for 900 years, whereas during the Tennant timeline, even Smith, it would of been much, much, much shorter, yet they make it seem that way due to how the show is presented to us.


He hasn't seen river song in nearly 1000 years, yet they will probably just write it like "Oh, hi there, haven't seen you for a while"


And Clara, she was his companion before AND after, so she should really be the most important he has ever had, but he seemed to forget fairly quickly, although he did have ALONG time to think it over.



I am not counting the events of Saturday as he only ever remembers 1 event, but the fact the writers have negated this point really irks me.


Anyone else think it was a bad idea to have him in one place for such a long time, only to literally forget about it, I don't think it was even mentioned in Series 8.

Surely part of the reason the Twelfth Doctor is so misanthropic is because of those years away from being the Doctor as we understand it (although that's slightly undermined by the fact Christmas seems to be populated by humans who love him and he loves back in return) but it certainly seems to be the reason for his shorter temper and lack of warmth for new people.

I'd sooner have that than some soppy slow-mo run to each other from afar, arms beckoning in a fresh field of daisies in summertime.
Fetch the sick bucket someone.

And bearing in mind that from River's perspective it will be totally different, then I wouldn't expect a soppy reunion either. The crux of their relationship has always been that they're not on the same page.

It's the wrong show for that kind of stuff, Doctor Who has never been the kind of show to hang onto past events and let them have much influence on the present. You might as well as ask why the Doctor doesn't check up on Nerva Beacon or Exxilon frequently or show much upset an episode after losing a companion.

Clara wasn't his companion during his 1000 year stay in Christmas. He probably knew many generations of people and families during that time. Compared to that duration, Clara was merely a blip either side of that time.

How has he forgotten her? He knew her when she reappeared on the outside of the TARDIS, then again at the end of TOTD when he was old.

In Deep Breath, 11 then phoned Clara up to make sure she stayed with 12.

I'm more upset that he's forgotten Handles, one of his longest-serving companions ever! And he died and the Doctor didn't mourn him for long! [/mickey-take]

Ah but he hasn't. He's just spent 2 billion years mourning him.


We found out in Deep Breath that the Doctor believes Handles had regenerated into Clara.

You might say it was just Post regeneration crazyness but we are never told that the Doctor changes his mind about this belief.

So the Doctor may still believe Clara and Handles are one and the same

This is the same show that made a big song and dance out of the Doctor getting too big in the universe and wiping himself from everyone's memory, ending with the Daleks completely forgetting who he was (thanks to Clara). Then the next time he encounters the Daleks they know who he is again.

It's almost an abstract of Moffat's obsession with people dying and coming back to life. "Time can be rewritten", and so it is. Jus' 'cos.

Perhaps Moffat wishes there was an undo button in his own personal life for some reason(s), and this is affecting his work?

Slightly off topic, but have you seen this yet?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctppJYAyo58

Seems to be doing the rounds on TV a lot at the moment.

Yeah, his companion during that time was Handles, but the poor bugger hardly gets a mention.

Apparently the actor residuals are too expensive for the BBC

Aw, Handles. Smith played the 'relationship' so brilliantly, I was quite upset when Handles fizzled out! "Well Done, Mate."

Tbh it's the main area of Moffat's writing that I think it genuinely poor - his ability to write about emotional consequences. All his characters go through the emotional ringer but there's rarely if ever any fall out for them after the event unless it specifically serves the plot.

His work comes across like he's far more invested in clever plots than he is depth of character.

They ddidt forget about it ...it was the reason 12 was a harsher doctor in series 8.

They ddn't forget about it ...it was the reason 12 was a harsher doctor in series 8.

Yes, I do think it should be referenced more, but I think that it explains 12's character to quite an extent. Series 8 especially.

It's implied that Time Lords have better memories than humans, so maybe it felt more like ninety years to him, but that's still a long time.

The best thing about 11 spending 200 years on one planet (and aging) is that you can do a multi-Doctor story featuring the 11th Doctor and never have to worry about Matt Smith looking older.

A rather sinister and disturbing variation on Wilson from "Cast Away".

I was really getting Stolen Earth vibes there, I guess if one of the dogs was killed by a Dalek it might have affected ASDA's Christmas sales!

I only wished it would have been Kroton the Cyberman as a nod to the 'Cyberman with a soul' from the Marvel Comics UK back-up strips, complete with black facial triangle. I loved those stories when I first read them aged 9.
http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Kroton_..._of_a_Cyberman)

he did mention he was over 2000 years old in a previous episode so I don't think they forgot.

So with last week's episode does this mean he's now over 20 billion years old or whatever nonsense that was?

Christmas town was a fag break compared to last week .