Ah, if only the BBC had some sort of device — possibly one that's bigger on the inside than it appears from outside — that would allow it to traverse time and space so it could prevent a few lucky viewers from getting their hands on the season finale of "Doctor Who" ahead of schedule. But it does not, and instead the broadcaster can only plead with those audience members not to reveal the details of that episode before it is shown on Saturday, and thus not risk shattering the fabric of the science-fiction fan community.
The problem began, BBC News reported, when "a small number" of "Doctor Who" fans in the United States who pre-ordered the series on DVD began receiving their orders about three weeks early, according to BBC Worldwide. Contained on these discs was the culminating episode "The Name of the Doctor," which is not scheduled to be shown until Saturday, and which promises crucial details about the mysterious intergalactic adventurer known only as the Doctor (played by Matt Smith) — including, perhaps, you know, his actual name.
BBC Worldwide said in a statement, "We are asking fans who may have the discs not to divulge plot details so that fellow fans who have yet to see the episodes do not have their viewing pleasure ruined," adding that it was "currently investigating how this has happened." As a trade of sorts, BBC Worldwide said that Steven Moffat, the "Doctor Who" producer, would share a special video featuring Mr. Smith and David Tennant, the actor who preceded him in the role of the Doctor, if in-the-know audience members kept their mouths shut.
But you don't need to be a time-traveling alien from the planet Gallifrey to know how this is probably going to end.
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