I don't mind a sly nod to the genre of reality TV as long as it doesn't become bogged down with too much emphasis on every detail from them. A good solid story is what I am hoping for rather than RTD is a fan of BB so lets base a whole story around it without actually having a decent plot or reason for actually doing it.

I've speculated before that 'Bad Wolf' could be this season's arc, and the timewar/destruction of Gallifrey would be the overall '5-year arc' to put it in Babylon 5 terms.

But not necessarily - the Doctor might have been made to believe Gallifrey was destroyed as part of the game.

On the other hand, RTD has said a few times he wanted to make the Doctor more isolated and unique, so we may never see the return of Gallifrey.

I hope not. I quite liked the Doctor going back every now and then to stir things up.

The irony is with the standard of some of the writers we have now and the production standards they are in a better place to really give the Time Lords and Gallifrey the justice visually/characterisation that they deserve.

I wouldn''t have minded seeing him return back home now and then but alas it may not be meant to be.

I don't think actually appears on the show.
that is used, from what I've read.

I think that's the whole point though.

I think it's going to be about the media controlling people, so it's going to be dumbed down as possible to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

Creative TV that makes people think isn't exactly the best approach if you want to enslave people.
Using dumb TV that controls people's emotions is going to be much more of an effective weapon.

We saw an example of a human starting to think, when Suki was identified as having a thought that was of her own free will.

Reality TV is a better genre for producers to get feedback from their viewers. The interactive voting shows how effective the channel can control people. You can't get that kind of feedback from any other genre of programme such as the news. Reality TV can give the programme makers direct feedback so that they know exactly how effective any manipulation is on their subjects.

Absolutely - enslave people using the 'vote now' kind of tv.

And tv that makes people think doesn't always attract large audiences, so no good for their purposes.

Oops, I added a bit more when you responded.

I think the Editor said one or two other things about controlling the viewers thought processes too.

The question "Are people slaves if they don't know they are enslaved"...

In Big Brother the viewer is led to believe that they have the power with the slogan "You Decide".
So naturally the reality TV viewer won't be consciously aware that they are enslaved if they think "They decide".
They would be under the illusion that they hold the power.

It's reminiscient of the Editor saying that if you repeat something enough times, and say it in the right places, then people will believe anything.
Like they might believe that they hold all the power when it is repeated to them many times, regularly, that they decide.

I don't know. I'm not even sure that the Doc is trying to do anything about Gallifrey in this story.

It's assumed by most people that the Doc in this story is trying to save Gallifrey. But there hasn't been a thing so far to suggest that this is the case.
It seems more likely that he is resigned to the fate of Gallifrey and he might be there on screen trying to do something entirely different.

Yep - I've been banging on about that line all day.

It's all about delivery and people's perception of things - put enough 'spin' on something, and people really would believe it's good to go on Trisha and spill your most intimate secrets to the whole country (well, around 400k viewers at the last count).

We see what they want us to see so it is all down to clever editing in the end and as you say what they want people to believe.

Ha ha. I added a bit more to that post too.

I'm really sorry for messing you about Den, I keep adding bits after you've already answered me.

Which brings us nicely 'Full Circle' to a point you made earlier - if what we're seeing is the Doctor and Rose on reality tv which has been nicely edited to show only what we're supposed to see, what exactly are they not showing us?

Exactly and I am hoping that is angle they are going for and show how easily people can be manipulated. Lets hope he turns the whole concept on it's head.

Night.

See you tommorrow if you're on here.

Ahem - methinks you maybe should change your name to The Riddler!

Actually, it's fine. I said all I wanted to on that point (for the moment, anyway.)

The thing is, I've had my doubts about seeing the resurrection of Gallifrey for a while now, ever since I heard RTD discuss why he'd gotten rid of it in the first place.

Which would be FANTASTIC

(OK, got the last one of the day out of my system!)

But it would make for a terriffic story.

I can understand his reasons in many ways and I somehow don't think we will see Gallifrey again but I don't think the Doctor is the last Time Lord which wouldn't make him special or unique in that sense. RTD said in Confidential that he would not rule out bringing back The Master if the story/script was right.

I'd love to see what Rob Shearman could do with that.

Goodnight all.

The Tardis can "get in your head", if you catch my drift.
And Captain Jack has apparently .

The Doc said that he "feels" that his race is dead, and taps the side of his head with his finger.
Err, yeah, Doc, that's very convincing, whatever you say, just let me take a few steps back and....MENTALIST,...THE DOCTOR'S A MENTALIST.

Ditto! Night Mr Watts....another great evening of debate and discussion.

Have you got any ideas as to what could be going on in the background of the story?

E.G...what's Adam doing?
What's Captain Jack doing?
Geocomtex?
The Dalek?
Or anyone else for that matter?

Night all! I'm cream crackered so away to my bed. Look foward to more lively discussion tomorrow.

If this is the case, then lateral thinking and speculation that makes things fit is going to be more important than some of what we literally see.

If RTD is telling the whole story this way, seeing if people take everything literally or not, then maybe he'd like us to try and read between the lines if we can. It would be the whole point of the series story arc. And if he enjoys this sort of idea, then I'm sure he would really like us to be able to work things out for ourselves if we can, and not be spoonfed everything.

I think that maybe RTD is going to want to reward people for thinking for themselves.
And there would be added rewards of satisfaction for people at the end of all the detective work and lateral thought.
So i don't think RTD is going do this to piss us off and give no payback, and it was all very straightforward at the end after all.
I do think he wants us to do the puzzle work, and will give us a payoff for the effort.
Do you think he would really want to reward sheep, and piss in the face of people who are thinking?

(I meant that in a nice way to sheep )

It would be hypocritical of him to have digs at chip eaters, and then give them the most satisfaction at the end. It just wouldn't sit right with the messages he's appearing to put across to the viewer.

My Imaginary German friend cited "The Running Man" some days ago...not so unlikely and it was a movie/story way ahead of its time