Doctor Who: 10 Huge Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About The Doctor

We’ve never known what the Doctor’s true name is, and we probably never will. Still, there was a time when it meant something. Whereas now, it’s arguably less important than ever.

This is largely due to the hype Steven Moffat built up around it in the Eleventh Doctor’s era… which ultimately ended up being a big ol' bait and switch.

First we were told that the Doctor’s name is a secret that must never be spoken, and the answer to the oldest question in the universe: “Doctor who?”

We then got a whole story titled The Name of the Doctor, in which the Doctor’s secret is discovered… only for the secret in question to be the existence of the War Doctor.

It all came to a head in The Time of the Doctor, when the Doctor’s name became the key to letting the Time Lords back into our universe, and thus potentially starting a new Time War (hence why it must never be spoken).

Again, it ended up being less about the name itself and more about what it represents. Which is kind of fair enough. The topic has largely been avoided in the years since, as if to say that the idea of the Doctor even having a name beyond “Doctor” is no longer worth pursuing. And you can’t blame them, because it really isn't.

All that Moff-hype drummed up cheap interest in a mystery we all know will never and should never be answered – because no answer to the question “Doctor who?” could ever ever suffice.