@@Comicbroe405I found it from this, ‘RTD's piece on the Time War from Doctor Who Annual 2006’ but you’ll have to search it up as my comment will get deleted if I type in the link.
Genuinely fantastic. God, I miss Hurt. Wish he had been able to make one more TV appearance on Who before he passed, at least. But, both inside and outside of Doctor Who, he left an incredible impact and his legacy will live on forever, much like the character he portrayed.
Wow. This was better than I expected John Hurt is just so gripping an actor that I felt like I was in a trance listening to him. You hang on his every word. Truly fantastic it's a shame he's gone
Wow. Listening to this just made me feel even more depressed for the Doctor here. I truly believe, in universe, that he lived all those 800 and something years (based on what he said in Day of the Doctor; though Big Finish pretty much states he lost track since at least the 8th Doctor era), if not longer, seeing the universe go to shit. He sounds tired.
War Doctor was one of three doctors to die of old age (other two being First and depending on how you see it, Eleventh). But unlike these two, War wasn't stimulated by any outside intervention or conflict, seeing as by the time he died, there was little left to fight anyway, making War the only one out of these three that died of natural causes, an ironic fate given his soldier, warrior-like status. In the universe the Doctor (and we) live, it's the good men that die, that is why the Doctor had to stop being a good man.
Do we know how long the war had been going on by the time Eight regenerated on Karn? I heard the Doctor who tried to save Davros at the Gates of Elysium was a young War Doctor. Is that true? Would mean Eight died in the *first year* which is crazy knowing it lasted centuries.
@@darkhumour741 I mean, that's the thing with it being a Time War. Who knows how long it raged/or is raging for? Anyway, the 800 years thing was a vague guesstimate. I mean, a popular theory is that when No. 8 regenerated and denounced the name of the Doctor, he basically started from 0 (again. Don't forget, this is a man who likely lost track of his true age several incarnations before), and then guessed that he'd been fighting for 800-ish years (there's also a story somewhere, according to a page on the Tardis Data Core, that mentions that the 8th Doctor thought he was 1000 years older at the end of the Time War, but decided to round down to 900. Also there was a conversation between War and 11: 11 thinks he's "Twelve hundred and something", and War replies that his future incarnation is "400 years older" than him), then he "died" of natural causes, then spent 100+ years travelling/redeeming himself after meeting Rose, hence why 9, 10, and 11 (early on) always said they were in the 900 age range. Either way, he got old and tired. He could have been fighting for 500 years, 1000 years, or even 1100 years. All he knew was, the war had been going on for far too long, and he just wanted it to stop, hence why he considered using the moment (that, and Rassilon was planning to destroy reality itself). LOL, sorry for wittering on, but I just saw your reply, and thought I might reply back. Oh, also, the Davros thing: I always thought it was 8 who tried to save him. I mean, some people are convinced that War tried to save him, but that doesn't really make sense to me. The way his personality is, he would have just let him die. Now that I remember, I'm certain that both Doctors were there. 8 tried to save Davros, I think, and War travelled back into the first year of the Time War... for whatever reason. In conclusion, 8 must have regenerated a relatively short time after the Gates of Elysium incident.
@@deuce5546 War Doctor was actually one of *four* , not three, Doctorsto die of old age. It was strongly implied in the 1996 telefilm and later audio dramas and novels that the Seventh Doctor lived a excrutingly long life in the interlude between Series 26 of 1989 and the telefilm, with him explicitly narrating at the beginning of the telefilm that he was nearing the end of his seventh life: hence why we found him so universe-weary and settled down in the beginning scenes. It has been later in retconned that he was in full mid-regeneration at the moment the Master's goo-ey remains made the TARDIS land-crash at San Franscisco in 1999, and that he grew old enough under his McCoy persona to become a very old man prior mid-regenerating back into a man in his late middle age.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 I wonder if this was said in one of the books, because if it was, we should _probably_ consider this on a lesser tier of canon, and while I know that Doctor Who canon can be... Iffy, at times, if they don't say it on screen, nor mention it on screen (i.e., 8's Big Finish companions, but some other BF adventures just straight up never happening), then we should take that with a grain of salt.
Rassilon was always a monster - throughout the multiple versions of Gallifrey's history (whether the Doctor was a student who ran away from his master's yurt - or a child from an alternate universe - or an old man who stole two super weapons to prevent their use - or a temporal duplicate of one of Gallifrey's founders - *or all of those at once* ) the Doctor had a code Never cruel or cowardly - never give up - never give in The War Doctor had to do *all of that* - and, if you listen to the audio plays, he's had to do *worse* than that Rassilon's sins don't absolve him of that - hell, a man - a good man - 8 - had to die for him to even exist... he was born from blood - the blood of an innocent - and he was created for one purpose To end the war 4:31 - No matter what it cost
I strongly recommend listening to more! I listened to all of Diary of River Song, and now am getting into the Ninth Doctor Audios. Been tracking it with TARDIS Guide and slowly completing everything.
This makes the series sound worth listening to. I've listened to a few BF stories (although I've barely scratched the surface),and had mixed experiences so far. Hurts voice is compelling, though;and I loved the call-back. The cost of the box-set is a little off-putting;but I might try shopping around. Is this series self-contained? In other words,was it satisfactorily completed before Hurts death?
The series is complete - about 4 'seasons' of 4 episodes each. Since they were all 'prequels' - with the end part being KNOWN in the Day of the Doctor - it was all quite nicely packed up. John Hurt is quite good and the story itself is easy to listen to and follow. Would definitely recommend it.
@@2Scribble it's a shame Hurt passed away before they could adapt Engines of War, which was a turning point for the War Doctor that led to his decision to end the entire war. At least there's an audio book version of it but still.
I know it's probably too late now, as it's been 11 months since you posted that comment, but I recommend looking into bundles and subscriptions. That you allow you to buy multiple downloads, but for a much lower price, depending on the bundle or subscription. :)
I mean, this is the pilot for this series - it's bound to be a little uneven I think it serves it's purpose to introduce Hurt's Doctor to anyone who hasn't seen the Day of the Doctor while establishing how he's different Though, admittedly, not much else than that
@@fredh1720 - by pilot I meant the first episode - like how eleventh hour and new earth and rose were jank and uneven It's a decent episode that starts the series - the better stuff comes later - the ending for this particular arc is quite good Castellan: Where can I find you, Doctor, when I need you??? The War Doctor: Wherever the fires of the war burn hottest... ... ... and only the monstrous survive
As great as john hurt was in this role a part of me still thinks they should have made the war doctor a child soldier like they did with the first war master in the comics as a sort of metaphor for the loss of innocence and the horrific trauma the doctor experienced during the time war
I mean.. the doctor already was a child, his experiences already eroded that innocence long before the time war with the loss of his family and his adventures and conflicts from 1-8 before War.
I love how this ties back to Genesis of the Daleks. RTD even said that event was the first domino to fall that lead to the Time War.
Do you have a link for that? Cuz it does make a lot of sense.
@@Comicbroe405I found it from this, ‘RTD's piece on the Time War from Doctor Who Annual 2006’ but you’ll have to search it up as my comment will get deleted if I type in the link.
Poor Doctor. He makes me want to cry, because he's not a monster.
He is a monster. But he was never the worst monster.
John hurt is a God of voice
Genuinely fantastic. God, I miss Hurt. Wish he had been able to make one more TV appearance on Who before he passed, at least. But, both inside and outside of Doctor Who, he left an incredible impact and his legacy will live on forever, much like the character he portrayed.
Wow. This was better than I expected John Hurt is just so gripping an actor that I felt like I was in a trance listening to him. You hang on his every word. Truly fantastic it's a shame he's gone
Jacqueline Pearce's voice is so lovely. Her and John Hurt are an excellent auditive combination.
Wow. Listening to this just made me feel even more depressed for the Doctor here. I truly believe, in universe, that he lived all those 800 and something years (based on what he said in Day of the Doctor; though Big Finish pretty much states he lost track since at least the 8th Doctor era), if not longer, seeing the universe go to shit. He sounds tired.
War Doctor was one of three doctors to die of old age (other two being First and depending on how you see it, Eleventh). But unlike these two, War wasn't stimulated by any outside intervention or conflict, seeing as by the time he died, there was little left to fight anyway, making War the only one out of these three that died of natural causes, an ironic fate given his soldier, warrior-like status. In the universe the Doctor (and we) live, it's the good men that die, that is why the Doctor had to stop being a good man.
Do we know how long the war had been going on by the time Eight regenerated on Karn?
I heard the Doctor who tried to save Davros at the Gates of Elysium was a young War Doctor. Is that true?
Would mean Eight died in the *first year* which is crazy knowing it lasted centuries.
@@darkhumour741 I mean, that's the thing with it being a Time War. Who knows how long it raged/or is raging for? Anyway, the 800 years thing was a vague guesstimate.
I mean, a popular theory is that when No. 8 regenerated and denounced the name of the Doctor, he basically started from 0 (again. Don't forget, this is a man who likely lost track of his true age several incarnations before), and then guessed that he'd been fighting for 800-ish years (there's also a story somewhere, according to a page on the Tardis Data Core, that mentions that the 8th Doctor thought he was 1000 years older at the end of the Time War, but decided to round down to 900. Also there was a conversation between War and 11: 11 thinks he's "Twelve hundred and something", and War replies that his future incarnation is "400 years older" than him), then he "died" of natural causes, then spent 100+ years travelling/redeeming himself after meeting Rose, hence why 9, 10, and 11 (early on) always said they were in the 900 age range.
Either way, he got old and tired. He could have been fighting for 500 years, 1000 years, or even 1100 years. All he knew was, the war had been going on for far too long, and he just wanted it to stop, hence why he considered using the moment (that, and Rassilon was planning to destroy reality itself). LOL, sorry for wittering on, but I just saw your reply, and thought I might reply back.
Oh, also, the Davros thing: I always thought it was 8 who tried to save him. I mean, some people are convinced that War tried to save him, but that doesn't really make sense to me. The way his personality is, he would have just let him die. Now that I remember, I'm certain that both Doctors were there. 8 tried to save Davros, I think, and War travelled back into the first year of the Time War... for whatever reason. In conclusion, 8 must have regenerated a relatively short time after the Gates of Elysium incident.
@@deuce5546 War Doctor was actually one of *four* , not three, Doctorsto die of old age. It was strongly implied in the 1996 telefilm and later audio dramas and novels that the Seventh Doctor lived a excrutingly long life in the interlude between Series 26 of 1989 and the telefilm, with him explicitly narrating at the beginning of the telefilm that he was nearing the end of his seventh life: hence why we found him so universe-weary and settled down in the beginning scenes. It has been later in retconned that he was in full mid-regeneration at the moment the Master's goo-ey remains made the TARDIS land-crash at San Franscisco in 1999, and that he grew old enough under his McCoy persona to become a very old man prior mid-regenerating back into a man in his late middle age.
@@ptolemeeselenion1542 I wonder if this was said in one of the books, because if it was, we should _probably_ consider this on a lesser tier of canon, and while I know that Doctor Who canon can be... Iffy, at times, if they don't say it on screen, nor mention it on screen (i.e., 8's Big Finish companions, but some other BF adventures just straight up never happening), then we should take that with a grain of salt.
R.I.P John Hurt
Amen.
I love how just for a brief moment, when he's asking her about her own war, he sounds like the Doctor again.
He IS the Doctor. Thats the point.
No true monster would ever admit to being one. Rassilon was the true monster.
Rassilon was always a monster - throughout the multiple versions of Gallifrey's history (whether the Doctor was a student who ran away from his master's yurt - or a child from an alternate universe - or an old man who stole two super weapons to prevent their use - or a temporal duplicate of one of Gallifrey's founders - *or all of those at once* ) the Doctor had a code
Never cruel or cowardly - never give up - never give in
The War Doctor had to do *all of that* - and, if you listen to the audio plays, he's had to do *worse* than that
Rassilon's sins don't absolve him of that - hell, a man - a good man - 8 - had to die for him to even exist... he was born from blood - the blood of an innocent - and he was created for one purpose
To end the war
4:31 - No matter what it cost
@@2Scribble Perfectly summed up.
John Hurt you magnificent man. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy and at peace. Thank you.
Don't know why but this boat rowing scene reminds me of God of war when kratos tells a story
Very similar characters in that way.
This was the first ever Big Finish story I have ever listened to. And I’m glad it was this one. These John Hurt boxsets are so amazing!
I strongly recommend listening to more! I listened to all of Diary of River Song, and now am getting into the Ninth Doctor Audios. Been tracking it with TARDIS Guide and slowly completing everything.
This makes the series sound worth listening to.
I've listened to a few BF stories (although I've barely scratched the surface),and had mixed experiences so far. Hurts voice is compelling, though;and I loved the call-back.
The cost of the box-set is a little off-putting;but I might try shopping around.
Is this series self-contained? In other words,was it satisfactorily completed before Hurts death?
Yes. It thankfully doesn't end on a major cliffhanger or anything like that, and really worth checking out.
The series is complete - about 4 'seasons' of 4 episodes each. Since they were all 'prequels' - with the end part being KNOWN in the Day of the Doctor - it was all quite nicely packed up.
John Hurt is quite good and the story itself is easy to listen to and follow.
Would definitely recommend it.
@@2Scribble Ok,thanks for the info. I have gone ahead and ordered volume 1 :)
@@2Scribble it's a shame Hurt passed away before they could adapt Engines of War, which was a turning point for the War Doctor that led to his decision to end the entire war. At least there's an audio book version of it but still.
I know it's probably too late now, as it's been 11 months since you posted that comment, but I recommend looking into bundles and subscriptions. That you allow you to buy multiple downloads, but for a much lower price, depending on the bundle or subscription. :)
I like all Dr who audio books
The production on these is absolutely sensational, even if I'm not convinced the script here quite matches up. John Hurt is and was magnificent.
I mean, this is the pilot for this series - it's bound to be a little uneven
I think it serves it's purpose to introduce Hurt's Doctor to anyone who hasn't seen the Day of the Doctor while establishing how he's different
Though, admittedly, not much else than that
@@2Scribble Interesting, I didn't actually know it was the pilot. Does it get better?
@@fredh1720 - by pilot I meant the first episode - like how eleventh hour and new earth and rose were jank and uneven
It's a decent episode that starts the series - the better stuff comes later - the ending for this particular arc is quite good
Castellan: Where can I find you, Doctor, when I need you???
The War Doctor: Wherever the fires of the war burn hottest... ... ... and only the monstrous survive
yknow, for someone who doesn't like to be called The Doctor, he sure acts like one.
He can't help it. He wants to be the Doctor, and doesn't want to be.
sublime!
I *cannot* get a copy of this book for love or money. So frustrating!
It's not a book
It's a play and part of an anthology
www.bigfinish.com/releases/v/doctor-who-the-war-doctor-only-the-monstrous-1380
As great as john hurt was in this role a part of me still thinks they should have made the war doctor a child soldier like they did with the first war master in the comics as a sort of metaphor for the loss of innocence and the horrific trauma the doctor experienced during the time war
I mean.. the doctor already was a child, his experiences already eroded that innocence long before the time war with the loss of his family and his adventures and conflicts from 1-8 before War.