Just as an exercise:

Yes. Literally one line from the Doctor explaining the above would've largely resolved this issue.

Totally agree. Series 6's high points are breathtaking (Doctor's Wife, The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex) the sequencing of the episodes and this particular plot point almost derail the whole season.

I can't resist Doctor ranking threads. My order is constantly in flux, so here's the current JPSG Fav Docs League Table:

Where's Savage Love? And I don't mean the one installment currently sitting in 'In Case You Missed It'

Oh, you've redecorated…

holy shit, dude.

I disagree; my reasons are upthread mostly. Rose certainly isn't my personal favorite, and her absence unfairly impacts Martha negatively in Season 3, but whenever I revisit eps from Season 1 or 2, I find more and more to both the character and Piper's performance. Very glad to see her again next weekend.

It's true that the McCoy seasons were low-rated and finally led to the cancellation that had been looming since Colin Baker sat up in Davison's clothes…

I'll go further. 'A Christmas Carol' is probably a Top 10 Matt Smith ep for me right now.

And now I know what the Heritage Foundation thinks of Doctor Who. Cool?

Don't know that I agree about Season 2, but your comments on 3 and 4 are spot on.

Rose the character gets a lot of flak, due to opinions I understand but mostly don't share, but it's hard to deny that Billie's performance is just as important as Eccleston's, and maybe even moreso, in making Doctor Who the massive success it was in those first two revival seasons and consequently, its continued…

Nine is my Doctor, and is responsible for the moment that made me a fan. More on that later this season.

To clarify, it may be Moffat's best script of Season 6 only, which is overall his weakest season, so don't jump down me throat too bad, lads and lasses.

I've just gotta stay out of LKH threads here and elsewhere, because I'm so against what seems to be the consensus. Is it Season 6's best episode? No. Is it Moffat's best script and Matt's best performance of Season 6? Might just be on both counts.

I doubt that their respective processes would ever allow for such a thing, but I'd love a story co-written by RTD and Moffat.

Yeah, this really fleshes out the Eighth Doctor remarkably well, despite depicting his final moments. He chooses to die w Cass instead of nipping back into the TARDIS, and then chooses to regenerate into a warrior who can finish the Time War in a way he, as the Doctor, just can't. And Paul just acts the hell out of…

It's the same screwdriver that Seven uses in the TVM… nice touch.

Yeah it definitely looked like a Tennant tardis w some extra wear and tear and signage to match the TVM exterior.