{"id":19128,"date":"2013-11-14T12:41:03","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T17:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=19128"},"modified":"2013-11-14T12:41:03","modified_gmt":"2013-11-14T17:41:03","slug":"the-night-of-the-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html","title":{"rendered":"The Night of the Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe>\n<\/p>This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul McGann\u2019s Eight Doctor. And it gives us a glimpse of the impact of the Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks, the extent to which the former had become no better than the latter in seeking to defeat them, and how the Doctor moved from refusing to get entangled in it to choosing (with the help of the <a href=\"http:\/\/tardis.wikia.com\/wiki\/Sisterhood_of_Karn\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Sisterhood of Karn<\/a>) to become a warrior. That setting was a nice connection with the classic series.<\/p>\nThere is a wonderful Biblical allusion, when the Doctor says \u201cPhysician, heal thyself.\u201d And as we hear the words \u201cDoctor no more\u201d we see a glimpse of a relatively young John Hurt, and thus are given an indication that the missing part of the Doctor\u2019s story, which we hadn\u2019t seen, stretched over a significant period of time.<\/p>\nWhat did you like about this minisode, \u201cThe Night of the Doctor,\u201d and has it made you more excited about seeing \u201cThe Day of the Doctor\u201d? The night\/day contrast, exploring the Doctor\u2019s dark and light sides, is potent symbolism. It will be interesting to see how much of that symbolism is present in the 50th anniversary special itself.<\/p>\nUPDATE: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/blogs\/doctorwho\/articles\/Steven-Moffat-on-The-Night-Of-The-Doctor\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">The BBC Doctor Who blog has an interview with Steven Moffat about this minisode<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul McGann\u2019s Eight Doctor. And it gives us a glimpse of the impact of the Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks, the extent to which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,133],"tags":[253,1140,1148,2503,2765,3101,7484,8139,8834,9111,11658],"class_list":["post-19128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","tag-50th-anniversary","tag-bible","tag-biblical","tag-day-of-the-doctor","tag-doctor-who","tag-episode","tag-minisode","tag-night-of-the-doctor","tag-paul-mcgann","tag-physician","tag-special"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The Night of the Doctor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Night of the Doctor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html\",\"name\":\"The Night of the Doctor\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Night of the Doctor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Night of the Doctor","description":"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Night of the Doctor","og_description":"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00","author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html","name":"The Night of the Doctor","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00","dateModified":"2013-11-14T17:41:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"This prequel to the 50th anniversary special is itself something special. It brings back to the show the Doctor who had the least time on the screen, Paul","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/11\/the-night-of-the-doctor.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Night of the Doctor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19128\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}