The Name of the Doctor: A Pre-Show Look

Part 2 of Doctor Who Season 7 has gone by too quickly.  With each story whizzing past in episodes that could last two hours, it's been hard to see what it's all leading up to. And then there was Sweetville.  'The Crimson Horror' was perfectly paced and truly exciting. And then there were Cybermen and Warwick Davis as Emperor of the Universe. Last week's episode was easily the best this season so far and I couldn't wait for tonight's. And then I watched the prequel to tonight's episode--more on that later.

Tonight's episode is the only one on this half of the season that Moffat wrote and that's more than enough to make me drool in anticipation. 'The Name of The Doctor' is probably the most controversial episode in Matt Smith's reign because no one wants to know the Doctor's name. There have been protests and riots and a slew of complaining articles by die-hard Whovians who don't trust that Moffat knows what he's doing.

Personally, I'd love to know the Doctor's real name, but I doubt it'll be revealed. Clara will likely find it out, but the rest of the episode will probably just be drawn out plays on the whole 'Doctor? Doctor Who?' joke. Apparently tonight will show the introduction of a new villain: The Whispermen. We should also expect to see the return of River Song.

I'm glad about River returning if only because I felt that 'Silence in the Library' wasn't a satisfactory end to such magnificent character. Her pseudo-death at the hands of a computer planet seemed, in retrospect, a convenient way to leave the door open for a later return.  If the Doctor went through the trouble of downloading her consciousness to CAL, surely he would find a way to restore her body at some point in the future. Also, as a married man, the Doctor shouldn't be quite so interested in Clara if River is still technically living.

But more importantly, any follower of the show remembers the Fields of Trenzalore and the importance the Doctor's name has to Moffat's story arc. Oh, and by the way it comes up in the prequel, which you should watch again in case you missed it the first time around.