The Show Must Go On

Ever since Peter Capaldi has been announced to be the 12th Doctor (and Hurt's non-Doctor assumedly increasing the number of used regenerations by one) the question of how Moffat (or the then showrunner in charge) is going to avoid the 12 regenerations rule has been on fans' minds.  After all, nobody expects the show to drop dead when Peter Capaldi will decide to bid his farewells.

And while it's not difficult to come up with an explanation of why the Doctor could have more than 12 regenerations, it's difficult to find an option without changing the show itself. 

Because the problem with saying that the Time Lords were in charge of the 12 regenerations rule and with them gone, the Doctor can have as many regenerations as he pleases is not that it's terribly unoriginal (at least for the Mighty Moff's standards) - well, that too - but that it would grant the Doctor immortality, at least in the right circumstances. And when dying stops having consequences (important consequences, I'm not saying that getting a new *body* is not a consequence, but there may be more important ones, erm, like ending a life) then dangerous situations stop being dangerous. Life is the most valuable thing someone can have. And as soon as it stops being at stake people simply tend to care a lot less than before.

Unfortunately, even Neil Gaiman's idea is failing to address the problematical immortal part of this issue:

MY OPINION (which is not Canon) is that the regeneration limit is a lot like the speed limit. You can break it, but things get a lot more dangerous if you do. The Time Lords were the traffic cops: they enforced the limit. With them gone, the Doctor can keep regenerating beyond 13, but with consequences.

On the plus side, he suggests that regenerating more than 12 times should have 'consequences' but apparently in his opinion dying should not be one of them. And that's not a good point to be at as a writer.

Let's not forget that we already had an immortal character, the famous Captain Jack Harkness. Plot-wise I do not think it did him any good. And that Torchwood isn't running anymore just emphasises the point.

One of the most important things from which Moffat's episodes derive their suspense is that the Doctor can die. Not only in an 'oh River*, put that gun down'-way, but that he can run out of regenerations. He is not immortal. Dying matters to him. Not only because it makes him change, but also because every regeneration brings him one step closer to his maximal 'life expectancy'. Unlike Superman, or Spiderman he has one. Unfortunately, the moment the Doctor stops having a life-expectancy the biggest difference between him and Marvel's superheroes stops to exist. And I'm not sure if we'd like to see the Doctor being turned into a superhero.
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* or taking the 11th Doctor into account that may read *oh Doctor* instead

Lots of Questions and Some Answers

You watched 'The Day of the Moon' to find answers? Well, Moffat gives us more questions first.

It is fascinating that the internet is still up and working, instead of exploding with speculations after yesterday's episode.
Those 45 minutes started with Moffat invents the pre-titles-cliffhanger. Well, sort of. Some of the scenes were pretty fun but incredibly needless, come on, River jumping from the sky-scrapper and landing in the famous TARDIS swimming-pool, even if going by the scene it seems to be rather set into one of the walls of the library, than on the ground... And let's not get into details of why the water is staying at its place. But that is just a side-remark.

Anyway. There are a number of more serious points to speak about. Like, the really creepy Silence. But are they able to control time somehow? I mean, just before Amy went inside 'her' child's room (more about this later) there was this woman looking outside the small window on the door. Who is she? Where did she went and why did the door look different afterwards? Moreover, apparently Amy spent several months, if not years being a prisoner of the Silence. She seems to have forgotten everything about it. But how did they do that? And why does she not seem to have been missing for such a long time. Maybe the fact that the TARDIS can't make up her mind whether Amy is pregnant or not (it does show both) is a hint at this. Time also may be a bit more bumpy than usual, what could be an indication for them having changed something in the past after all (and I'm thinking at the picnic at the lake in the desert in 2o11...)

So, there was also that little girl with a bunch of timelord-genes whom the whole season seems to be about in the first place.
Funnily enough, the Doctor is out of question. We all remember why he got Rory on board of the TARDIS; I'm quite sure there is nothing left for interpretation there. It seems that either Rory or Amy is a Timelord (or a Timelady) then, however, I think that Rory is the more possible options. This is because we do know a few things about Amy's parents and her aunt, and they appear to be quite human. at least to me. On the contrary Rory's relatives are pretty much a mystery. I don't even know for sure whether they have been at the wedding of their own son... Additionally, he waited 2ooo years for Amy, and although he was 'plastic' during that time, he still remembers it and he is dealing with it the same way as the Doctor is dealing with his past. Which is a bit odd in my humble opinion, but maybe I am reading too much into it.

Another point is River Song. Who is she? We still don't know for sure (or at all) but at least we got another bit supporting our 'wife' theory. The kissing-scene was somehow intentionally unintentionally funny. And if her last comment did not make you said go and get a heart. Nevertheless, this was not the last kiss for her. She mentioned in 'Silence of the Library' (what a introspectively spooky title) that before she left he turned up on her doorstep with a bunch of flowers and so on... There is a touch of tragedy about her character. I'm really looking forward to the next time she turns up.

But first Amy, Rory and the Doctor are having an adventure with pirates and an optically not unattractive monster, for a change.