Season Finale was today. I have no idea what I saw but 50th anniversary episode should be awesome.
 
So from what I have heard, to make sense of the finale, we need to watch the classic series because it's related to that Lore.
Now John Hurt could be The Valeyard or something even worse.

John Hurt was introduced as a previous version of "The Doctor". His character will actually unveil "The Doctor's" real name. He is the incarnation that didn't live up to the name that The Doctor chose for himself.

John Hurt was actually number 9, meaning Eccleston was 10, Tennant was 11, and Smith is 12.

He's the regeneration between McGann and Eccleston. He's the one who pushed the button to end the Time War - burning the cosmos, committing genocide against his whole race, and sectioning off an entire area of space and time, cursing himself and raging at the dying of the light every second of it. He's basically the Doctor at his absolute worst, his lowest of moments, something even the Valeyard himself might shy away from. He committed an atrocity.

The reason I think he regenerated into Eccleston and from McGann is because Eccleston's Doctor had a vicious, vicious case of self-hatred and survivor's guilt going on (like seriously, the man was so fucking angry and disgusted with himself it was somewhat difficult to watch) which would make sense considering what he did, and he was going out of his way to avoid bloodshed on the same scale, even allowing the hybrid Dalek empire to decimate Earth rather than set off the Delta Wave - and because McGann was explicitly the 8th Doctor.

So Matt Smith is the 11th Doctor in "name" but he is actually the 12th iteration of the man we know as The Doctor - because John Hurt's version did something so deplorable and so unlike everything the Doctor stands for that he doesn't consider that aspect of himself worthy of the title.
 
This season features my favorite doctor of the three I have seen. Just a suggestion. You might find it annoying initially. This is not a show that you can understand watching a few episodes. So do not give up on it.
 
Also, just in case you need a ray of hope that the show will get better, watch season 3 episode 10 "Blink". Standalone story without any major spoilers.
 
right. the first few seasons actually feel very poor in quality. the show generally uses crappy special effects though they have gone better in the recent times.
 
Watched S01E01 just now. Didn't feel it that bad. I think I'm gonna love this series too. Never knew the Doctor Who in this series is the guy who played James McCullen in GI Joe: Rise Of The Cobra. He's good. I liked his accent.
 
Not exactly a spoiler... He lasts for just one season. But the second doctor is well... David Tennant and well. You are going to love him.
 
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