Skip to main content

How old is the Doctor at the end of The Time of The Doctor?


In The Time of The Doctor, the Doctor curses the TARDIS for being missing for 300 years when he was on Trenzalore protecting the people of Christmas. So now is the Doctor 1500 years old?



Answer



1,500 is a conservative estimate.


If we assume that Eleven's count is accurate (see below), then yes: 1,500 years seems like a good rough estimate of his minimum current age.


However, it's hard to tell how long Clara was absent the second time she got sent away; it was probably at least a generation, but could possibly have been only a few minutes. So let's say he's most likely 1,500+ years old, with a lot of wiggle room either way for "I can't remember if I'm lying about my age."


The show is being deliberately hard to pin down about this.



The Doctor's age fluctuates wildly.


The Second Doctor claimed his age was everywhere from 450 to "several thousand" years; the Fourth Doctor got called out for lying about his age; Seven he admitted he'd possibly lost count; Nine evaded the issue by talking about how many years he'd been flying the TARDIS (which doesn't match anyone else's numbers anyway); Ten said he was younger than Seven had; and Eleven can't remember if he's lying about it or not (which neatly circumvents Christmas's truth field)!


Moffat (Eleven's producer and head script writer) has gone on record saying he's operating on the notion that any number the Doctor gives is at best an educated guess:



The thing I keep banging on about is that he doesn't know what age he is. He's lying. How could he know, unless he's marking it on a wall? He could be 8,000 years old, he could be a million. He has no clue. The calendar will give him no clues.



So... sure, let's say 1,500, with a nod and wink.


But how useful is that number, anyway?


The truth is, we don't even knew if the Doctor is using Earth years, Gallifreyan years, or just making up numbers because he thought it would make people happy. It's not "screen canon," but the Eighth Doctor once said he just sort of rounded and adjusted based on different year lengths in different parts of the universe. This means that even if we had a solid number we could be sure of, it has no context to give it useful meaning.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more