‘Doctor Who’ season 8: John Hurt secret, fan support discussed by Steven Moffat

How’s this for a testament to “Doctor Who” fans, and their ability to keep something incredibly shocking a secret? At the end of the season 7 finale, it was revealed that there was a dark side of The Doctor, one who did not necessarily abide by the same rules or even share a willingness to share the name. Then, this version of the character was revealed to be played by John Hurt.

But what in the world does this really mean? When it comes to insight, the first thing to remember here is that Matt Smith is not leaving the show, and Hurt is not meant as a replacement. However, he does have an important role to play in the upcoming eighth season, but there are no details on this subject just yet.

Instead, what we wanted to share are a few snippets of a pretty lovely tribute that executive producer Steven Moffat posted online to some devoted “Doctor Who” fans in America. These people had a chance to spoil the shocking ending online, but chose not to. In an age where spoilers grow on trees, shouldn’t such a thing be celebrated?

Check out a few snippets below (via the Guardian):

“Well that was all a bit Keystone Cops, wasn’t it? Our biggest surprise, our most secret episode, a revelation about the Doctor that changes everything … and we’d have got away with it too, if we hadn’t accidentally sent Blu-ray copies of Name Of The Doctor to 210 Doctor Who fans in America. Security-wise, that’s not GOOD, is it? I mean, it’s not top-notch; it’s hard to defend as professional-level, hard-line secrecy.

“But here’s the thing. Never mind us blundering fools, check out the fans. Two hundred and ten of them, with the top-secret episode within their grasp – and because we asked nicely, they didn’t breathe a word. Not one. Even Doctor Who websites have been closing their comments sections, just in case anyone blurts. I’m gobsmacked. I’m impressed. Actually, I’m humbled. And we are all very grateful.”

And we, as loyal viewers, are equally celebratory of the news. While we love posting teasers as much as the next guy, imagine how different an impact the finale’s surprise would have been were it public knowledge first? There are few shows around these days where we have such an opportunity to be surprised, and this is one of them.

As a reward for the fans being so generous when it comes to secret-giving, Moffat also sent out a video teasing the 50th anniversary special, which you can see over at the link here.

Photo: BBC