Hardly a day seems to go by at the moment without some big Doctor Who news, and today was no exception, when BBC revealed the title of the last episode of this series as "The Name Of The Doctor".
But how much fans care about his name? Do the wider public care? And, given Moffat's games of recent seasons, will this be for real? (Though "The Wedding Of River Song" did turn out to be that – well, pretty much...) And if it is revealed, what will the name be? Will it not inevitably disappoint after such a big build-up? What name could it possibly be to ensure we're not let down?
So many questions. While scratching our heads the following thoughts also came to us: will the Master's name be revealed too? Will the Doctor's name be something Time Lord-ian like Borusa? (Come to think of it, why wasn't Borusa called something like "the Cardinal"?) Will it be Theta Sigma, which the Doctor revealed in 1979's "The Armageddon Factor" was his nickname at college? (Er, probably not.) Is the reason why he hasn't used it for so many years because it's incredibly embarrassing?
Besides these fictional pontifications there's also the real-world ones: should Moffat have gone down this road? Does it make for good drama? Well, you could argue that the very fact we're putting this web post up means that it counts for something and has intrigued us! Perhaps the name of the Doctor is tied in with the season's other arc, that of Clara's identity. (By the way, there's a teasery reference to what we're talking about here in a scene that you'll see in "Journey To The Centre Of The TARDIS"...) Perhaps it will set the 50th anniversary episode up in a wonderful and thrilling manner.
But we won't know until time reveals it to us. So finally then, let's indulge in a bit of guess-work. What COULD the Doctor's name be? Below we've listed some possibilities. What do you mean we're not being entirely serious...?
Bob
William Hartnell
Verity Lambert
Moffat
Adric
Xyzipllmuntrr-abllmnopryxizlympr-criwarlstrippssuss (pronounced Fred)
Ian Levene
Nathan-Turner
Shazza
TARDIS
Who
Hugh
God
Have you got any better ideas? Don’t be backwards in coming forwards – we don’t mind if you’re funnier or clever than us (cos you certainly won’t be better looking – ahem). Post your suggestions – silly or serious – below! Russell Lewin
