The Eighth Doctor TV Return Speculation Respeculates

"Respeculates"?  Honestly, is that even a word...?

Well, by now, any Whovian worth their weight in jelly babies or Jammie Dodgers has seen at least one of the latest trailers for the upcoming Series Six of Doctor Who.  The BBC trailer released on March 30th included this very interesting shot around the 0:37 mark that featured what appears to be the Doctor's companions Rory and Amy taking cover from a mysterious sphere of energy inside the TARDIS...just not their Doctor's TARDIS.  No, it looks to be the previous coral "desktop theme" utilized during the Ninth and Tenth Doctor eras, which is making fans wonder if there will be some timey-wimey appearance by a past Doctor in Series Six.

One of the major Doctor Who information sites, Kasterborous, has taken this speculation a bit further by throwing out the suggestion that it might be the Eighth Doctor, as played by actor Paul McGann, who could turn up in the coral TARDIS console room.  They mention the new Eighth Doctor costume that McGann debuted at a New Zealand convention last October, which was reported to be for "promotional purposes" for future Eighth Doctor audio adventures from Big Finish Productions.  The same new costume that was approved by the BBC and even had a new Sonic Screwdriver designed by WETA Workshop.

Kasterborous, quite understandably, finds all this a bit curious, moreso in light of the apparent return of the previous TARDIS console room in Series Six.  (Gee, I wonder who else could have been suspicious about this costume...say, back in October when it debuted.)  They speculate that since the Ninth Doctor first appeared in the episode "Rose" along with the coral desktop theme and no Eighth-to-Ninth Doctor regeneration sequence has been filmed since McGann last appeared in the 1996 TV movie, it's possible that the Eighth Doctor could've also used the coral desktop theme late in his incarnation.

I'd also like to add that all of this is very interesting timing, considering the latest season of Eighth Doctor audio adventures just ended in the story "To the Death" written by Dalek vocal artist Nicholas Briggs.  This was a particularly brutal tale for the Eighth Doctor, who (Shhh...Spoilers!) suffered greatly from actions by his longtime enemies the Daleks and the second incarnation of The Monk, now played by actor Graeme Garden.  The lives of his companions Lucie Miller and Tamsin Drew, and his great-grandson, Alex Campbell, were all lost at various points throughout the story.  As he said goodbye to his granddaughter Susan following the events, the Doctor was extremely bitter and angry at what had transpired and when Susan asked where he was going, the Doctor replied "To the edge...and maybe beyond" before stepping into the TARDIS and dematerializing.  Inside, the Doctor listened to a recording made by Lucie over and over before darkly muttering the words "One day, I shall go back...Yes, one day...."

Now, this could simply be the setup for the next season of Big Finish audio adventures, but what if...what if...the Eighth Doctor actually goes back to another medium entirely?

Cue the Doctor Who cliffhanger theme music.  Ooooooooweeeeeeeeooooooooooooo....