I was right

Maybe Susan also survived the Time War, scampered off, and regenerated. That could explain that she knows him with a older face and the spoilers diary-ish thing.

She recognised the Doctor which suggests that she's travelled with the 10th Doctor at some point in his future and this incarnation survives long enough to show some signs of aging. Also she 'thinks' the Doctor should already know her, that also indicates that the Doctor looks like the Doctor she was expecting and she didn't travel with a later regeneration. I'd hazard a guess that she's simply a companion from the 10th Doctors future and that, like Martha, she has the technology to call the Doctor when he's needed.

Mind you, the whole premise of an archaeologist from the future that travels with the Doctor sounds terribly familiar. A fact not lost on Paul Cornell maybe?

Thinking back on that actually I think you're right. I think she was just teasing the Doctor, or thinking he was teasing her, until she confronted him. I don't think she can see through the Doctor's regenerations its just that she expected to see the Doctor there, having sent him a message on the psychic paper and knowing that no-one had set foot in the library for a century and the doctor stating he was a time traveller confirmed her suspicions.

Either River Song has met or, more likely seeing as she had a diary of events, travelled with the doctor in several regenerations. Checking which events he had already experienced backs this up as if she had only travelled with one regeneration then he would have either witnessed those events or not (Maybe I'm reading too much into this part). I reckon she just initially thought that the doctor was between regenerations or had undergone one after they had last met as she obviously can't know what the Doctor has looked like in previous regenerations.

River Song I think is Jack Harkness. She is flirting with him and has one of those sonic guns that Jake has to open walls.

It's Jack I'm sure of it!

I think in my wibbly wobbly timey wimey kinda way that's pretty much what I was trying to get at Pretty much hammer, nail, head situation! Thanks

I have to say that I was thinking Benny as well.

Personally I think she's a liar. If you think about it, if what she says is true it means the Doc will meet up with her in his future, meaning until then we will have no sense of impending danger for the Doctor as we'll always know he's got his time with River Song to go before he dies.

And there I was thinking he was going to die in the shadows next week. Thanks for ruining it for me.

Seriously, there's never going to be any real sense of impending danger for the Doctor. The worst that can happen is he'll regenerate.

She's probably one of them, but by no means the last. The franchise will go on much longer than any actors or actresses living today can continue to play the parts..

Back to the story....



AJ

You don't need to hide all your pure speculation behind spoilers. All it means is that people who are avoiding real spoilers won't be able to discuss your ideas.

That makes it a full set now... I've now been criticised for hiding/not hiding spoilers/speculation about my/other peoples info/facts/ideas/speculation.

I bet there arn't many people who come in here that don't read whats behind the grey !! Like Stephen King said.... just because I know the story in my favourite book it won't stop me from reading it again..

AJ

or Sky is wrong.

It reminded me of the 500 year diary from the 2nd Doctors era.

You have my sympathy.

You're right that you will probably be criticised whatever you do (though I was trying to be helpful rather than critical).

However, I think that if you are speculating on possible future events based purely on what you've already seen on the show, no one can fairly accuse you of spoiling anything.

I reckon something's going to go wrong/change in the next episode so that River Song can't travel with the Doctor, as there's no way we'll get to see Alex Kingston as his companion/partner, and they couldn't just not show a relationship on-screen that's being made out to be so important.

Yep. The smart money says the psychic note getting there too early in Doc 10's personal timeline, means that he has now met her too early, and that timeline is screwed and will no longer happen. I suspect the little Blue TARDIS book will reflect this by the end of the ep next week.

I hope that whatever the answer is it doesn't get tied up neatly next week. I like enigmatic and there's heaps of mileage here that could happily arc over several years rather than get wasted on a quick fix solution that she is a companion/wife/biographer or even computer program or liar, and definitely too good an idea to just do a reset button. Personally I'd like to wait several years to find out exactly who she is after a few more guest appearances. It works well having someone around who appears to know more than the doctor and who isn't someone who, like the standard supporting cast each week, might as well have dead meat tattoed on their forehead. And my theory as to who she is... none of the above because they haven't decided yet but just laying down some material for future directions.

Unlikely. This is no different to how he met Sally Sparrow (coincidently another Moffet episode). He met her for the first time at the end of the episode, despite her already being familiar with him.

There was an implication their first meeting shouldn't happen until later in his timeline - are at least that seemed to be alluded to by River. The paradox which could mess this timeline up seems to come from the fact that River called him there, rather than him just randomly meeting her out of sequence (as per Ms. Sparrow). I'd be very surprised if the timeline with River/Doc stuff isn't negated somehow by the end of the second part.

I am, of course, prepared to be very surprised - as there is a slim but present chance that this is part of an intricate Moffat Masterplan for his future series.

Whilst she could most certainly be a future companion I'm not sure you get the "last" bit from? And why you think he died with her?

After all when she first saw him she was light and happy, had she watched him die she might have reacted somewhat differently to seeing him in the flesh once more. In fact knowing he was dead she might be less inclined to call on him.

That was my opinion too... she's "playing along" as she believes is the Dr staying incognito for whatever reason until she works out he doesn't actually know who she is.

Why would she say he looks so young if he'd regenerated before he met her? If his face had changed wouldn't she say "you look so different"?

Oh and "time traveling archeologist" = Vash from Star Trek TNG and DS9.

People over-think DW too much for what is ostensibly a child-friendly family oriented programme. All Moffat has done here is give future writers a possible (not guaranteed) new companion who the Dr can have a relationship with. The actress could be anyone if he meets her when she's young enough.

Do hope all these puzzles are going somewhere!

Why no bodies? Why no skeletons? What did the little girl "just forget"?

Do any of the expedition group actually exist?

Will the awkward stupid character turn out to be the baddie?

Exactly - all she commented on was his eyes. "Your eyes are so much younger" or words to that effect.


Good point.

Yeah, I suppose it could be that. I assumed she knew him with his 'David Tennant' face because - as I've said above - she only commented on his eyes looking older, but then Sarah Jane recognised him, or did she see the Tardis before it clicked? I can't remember.