posted
It's possible the Toclafane could be something to do with the future humans...when the Master had been restored in "Utopia" he retrieved a disk of some kind from one of the computers - wonder what he wanted with that?
The voices of the Toclafane seemed very childlike though...if it was the humans from the end of the universe, wouldn't they sound a bit more adult?
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Registered: Nov 2004
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posted
The disk the Master retrieved obviously had his MP3 of "Here Come the Drums" on it. Ever resourceful, this guy, and yet frugal enough to not want to buy the CD when he got to 2007.
As for the Tocalfane's childlike voice and mannerisms, if it IS the Utopia humans it's possible they lost more than their bodies. It must be only human essence that's in those little balls, so one can assume they were brainwashed in some way.
posted
I don't know what's more depressing, to be honest. The thought that an alien with a laser screwdriver could take over the world? That little floating spheres could wipe out one in ten of the world's population? Or the possibility that Rogue Traders' "Voodoo Child" is one of the musical works that survives to the year 100 trillion and the end of the universe? Never before has the prospect of heat death sounded quite so appealing! ;-)
As for the Toclafane, they could be Time Lords: some sort of escape pods launched out of the universe in case they didn't survive the war. I always thought it odd that the Daleks spread their bets and sent the Cult of Skaro out of harm's way to ensure their survival, but the Time Lords didn't (at least, so far as we know). Okay, they would fight the war to win it, but surely they would spare a thought or two to contingency plans in case they lost. If the Toclafane spheres are Time Lord technology then there could be anything inside...
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posted
Well, they look human, I'll grant that (second heart and various other biological quirks aside for a moment) but they don't age like humans. The Doctor himself pointed that out in "School Reunion", telling Rose that he won't get old and die like she does. Barring accident or injury, I think Time Lords are pretty much immortal.
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posted
According to the fandom, it's generally accepted that they DO age, but very slowly - there's no discounting how much older Tom Baker looked after his seven years on the show, for example, or how much older Sly McCoy was after three years plus the seven between the end of the TV show and the movie. Even Hartnell, who left because of his age, stated before his regeneration that his body was "wearing a bit thin".
Time Lords on Gallifrey apparently regenerate on a semi-regular basis, as evidenced in "The Invasion of Time" when one Time Lord asks another if he's due for his. They probably regenerate by choice every couple centuries before they get TRULY old and are thus unable to maintain their positions in the Citadel, etc. President Borusa went though FOUR incarnations during the Baker and Davison years, proving either that a long time had passed between the Doctor's visits, or that Borusa was very accident-prone.
What I interpret the Doctor's words to Rose as meaning, is that he won't be able to grow old WITH Rose, which is something she probably would have wanted. To her he would never age, and on some level he leaves some of his companions because he doesn't want them to grow old while he remained the same age. He could deal with it, but he knows they wouldn't.
posted
Of course the actors will look older, but I tend to think that we're supposed to turn a blind eye to that in much the same way we were with Data for god knows how many years of TNG! :-) I agree that Time Lords will age, but not like humans - the process is far slower and doesn't seem to affect them as much as it does us, so I can't see humans as being the Time Lord "war survival" plan (I could be wrong though, we'll all know by tomorrow I suppose!).
In terms of their regenerations, I always thought that the Time Lords could go for a lot longer than a few centuries between regenerations. After all, they tend to live fairly quiet lives in the citadel: their reputation as "dusty senators" has to have come from somewhere! :-) Borusa (not being the best example, what with him being a bit mental) could have regenerated out of a sense of vanity. The Doctor (again not the best example of a typical Time Lord) goes through the regenerations quickly because of his dangerous lifestyle.
I agree on the meaning of the Doctor's words to Rose: I didn't take it as saying that he wouldn't age at all, but that he would be able to see out ten of Rose's lifetimes and still be going strong.
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posted
With the Doctor's words, I never took it to mean he wouldn't grow old with her...indeed her very well might grow old. But he can't spend the rest of his life with her...once she's gone she's gone, but once the Doctor "dies" he regenerates and his life continues. I took it mean that the curse of the Doctor is not to never be able to grow old with someone, but to never be able to live out his life and die with someone. He's condemned to time and time again see the people he loves die while he has to be reborn...and no matter what happens, with the Timelords gone he's condemned to never be able to spend the rest of his life with someone (except maybe Captain Jack).
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quote:Originally posted by Mark Nguyen: Time Lords on Gallifrey apparently regenerate on a semi-regular basis, as evidenced in "The Invasion of Time" when one Time Lord asks another if he's due for his. Mark
If I remember the scene you are talking about (and I haven't seen a whole heap of older Dr. Who) I always took that to be a bit of sarcasm... like "you ugly fuck, isn't it time for a new regeneration?".
-------------------- "Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica." - Jim Halpert. (The Office)
posted
The Time Lords must age, or else the Master's aging ray wouldn't have aged the Doctor.
Has anyone read the Colossus: The Forbin Project trilogy? Not seen the movie, but read the books. The third book deals with these two alien spheres (they were from Mars) that come to Earth and corrupt Forbin and Colossus. Their ultimate goal is to wipe out life on Earth and turn the planet into another Mars.
I thought these Toclafane were very reminiscent of the spheres in Colossus and the Crab.
Better than Blink or Human Nature? No. Definitely an entertaining episode though. I'd give it 3 out of 5.
Six billion spheres and only killing 600 million people. Most of those spheres won't do much, LOL.
I've started tapping my fingers like that. Whenever we walk by a statue now I say "don't blink." Freaks my step-son out.
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posted
It was a good episode, though I didn't appreciate the trance music at the end when the spheres started dropping from the sky. I mean of all the music thay could have chosen, it had to be trance.
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