Okay, here we go: just a few more QUICK FIXES that I'd like to do regarding the Time Lords. I think, once I tackle this, there really will be nothing left. Unless, of course, some new episodes come out that flatly contradict things that were said about Time Lords in previous episodes. Is it wrong that I'm hoping something like this happens so that I can have more stuff to write about?!
THE TEMPORAL MESS THAT IS MEL
My main reason for the third installment. Might as well get right to it:
I'll try to summarize the problem as quickly as possible: Trial of a Time Lord took place on a space station that was meant to be outside of Time, itself. Cases were presented on a screen that projected images from the Matrix. These circumstances enabled people involved in the trial to see into the past, present and future. During his defense, the Doctor accesses an adventure that takes place in his future. We learn that he will meet a woman named Melanie Bush who will travel with him for a time. They will, eventually, respond to a distress beacon from a ship called The Hyperion Three and have an adventure on it that will introduce them to a new species of killer plants called Vervoids. They will have to completely wipe out the species using vionesium. It's very sad as the Vervoids wither away...
Here's where things start to get really messy: Some time after her adventure in Terror of the Vervoids, the Master takes Mel out of time and drops her at the space station to help defend the Doctor. Things go a bit crazy when we find out the Valeyard is the Doctor and there's a big fight in the Matrix. At the end of the story, Mel just decides to depart with the Doctor in the TARDIS and they begin their adventures anew.
Let's stop and think about that for a second. Mel is from the Doctor's future. She goes into his past to help him and then leaves in the TARDIS with him. Even though, from the Doctor's perspective, they haven't actually met, yet. How exactly does that work?!
POPULAR MEL THEORIES
There are several solutions that fans have come up with:
1) The Memory Cheats: The end of Trial of a Time Lord becomes the point where Mel and the Doctor start travelling together. The Doctor, however, erases both of their memories regarding their adventure on Hyperion Three. This way, the events of Terror of the Vervoids can take place the way they were meant to.
2) Abort! Abort! Abort!: The Doctor and Mel leave the Time Lord space station and set up a whole new timeline for themselves. Terror of the Vervoids and all the other events that led up to it never happen. This theory is backed up by the fact that, in Time and the Rani, the Doctor is still in the outfit he was wearing during The Ultimate Foe. So it's entirely possible that the Rani diverted the TARDIS to Lakertya only moments after the Doctor complained three times about carrot juice (Mel had time to change her clothes but he didn't).
3) "Time will tell. It always does": Either things re-set themselves naturally after the Doctor and Mel leave the space station or the Doctor goes to the trouble of re-setting them, himself.
3-a) The Space station was outside of time, so it's entirely possible that just leaving it and returning to your proper place in the continuum causes Mel to be transported back to where she should be and the Doctor to lose his memory of the sneak preview he got of Terror of the Vervoids until after it happens.
3-b) Or the Doctor takes care of the problem, himself. He's gotten rather good at steering the TARDIS so he gets Mel back to her proper place in his timeline and then erases his own memory of the Terror of the Vervoids preview.
THE TYMECIAN THEORY - DISMISSALS
Before divulging which theory I subscribe to, I'll dismiss the ones I don't like:
1) This one is too big of a temporal mess. There still should be a proper meeting point where the Doctor picks Mel up from 20th Century Earth. It doesn't quite make sense if the end of Ultimate Foe becomes their starting point. Yes, we can just say "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey" but I'd rather we didn't. Not, so much, because I dislike the term (I do, however, take issue with "humany wumany" - that was just bad dialogue!). Moreso, because I would prefer a better explanation than that.
2) I would hate to think that everything that happens after the Sixth Doctor leaves his trial is now an aborted timeline. In fact, the Popular Fan Theory is that he traveled for a good 50 years after Ultimate Foe and then regenerated into Seven. No, he wasn't in his Terror of the Vervoids outfit at the point of regeneration. But it's entirely possible that he switched outfits back and forth throughout his adventures. He might have even had more vests and cravats that we never saw (or, perhaps, even an all-blue outfit).
3-b) Yes, he could probably pilot the TARDIS to the proper point in his timeline and drop Mel off, there (more than likely, he might miss a few times or not quite be perfectly accurate when he finally does get her there). But I have to wonder if the Doctor would purposely re-edit his own memory under these circumstances. The fact that he could save lives and protect an entire species with all his foreknowledge might be too great of a temptation. If it was left up to him to fix this conundrum, I think he would still try to re-write history. Particularly by this point in his life(ves). Doctor One might rant on about not re-writing history ("not one line"!), but 'Ole Sixie would be a bit more confident, at this stage, about what he can and can't mess with. And I think he would try to mess with how things play out on Hyperion Three.
THE TRUE TYMECIAN THEORY
Which means, of course, that Theory 3-a) is our lucky winner! To me, it just makes the best sense.
The Target novelization of The Ultimate Foe does this cute little thing in its epilogue where Mel climbs back into one of those coffin thingies and it takes her back to where she's meant to be in the future. It's a nice idea but I think the process happens in an even more natural way. As the Doctor leaves the space station, Mel fades out of existence and he just forgets about her. It's just the way these things work in this sort of situation. Time fixes itself.
It helps that we see the Doctor having memory issues when he first arrives at his trial. This indicates that, in general, being taken in and out of time can have that effect on a Time Lord. More than likely, he had a hard time remembering much about his trial for the first little while after he left it. Most of his recollections were restored after a bit but there was a huge gap regarding how he defended himself. The Doctor probably accepted that, for whatever reason, he was meant not to recall these events. He probably even vaguely knows that the defense case was something that took place in his future so he should just let things happen the way they're meant to.
He eventually meets Mel on 20th Century Earth and she joins him in the TARDIS. Again, he might have some stray memories of Mel floating around in his head and knows she's meant to travel with him. He doesn't mention this to her, of course. It's never a good idea to give humans too much foreknowledge. The Doctor and Mel have many adventures together. Mel decides she's going to get the Doctor to lose some of that extra weight he's put on.
At last, they get that fateful distress beacon from Hyperion Three and the murder mystery/attempted hi-jacking/act of genocide ensues. Moments after they re-board the TARDIS, the Doctor recalls the full events of his trial. He was probably still singing On With the Motely as they came flooding back (hopefully, it gets him to stop!).
Him getting his memory back in such a way works in a similar manner to the way he learns that he saved Gallifrey in Day of the Doctor. Yes, the War Doctor was around when the decision was made not to use the Moment - but the timelines were also very tangled by having so many incarnations together, at once. So he won't remember these events until Ten and Eleven have also experienced them. Mel coming back from the future and the both of them being taken in and out of time is also a pretty big tangle of timelines. So, just like Eleven after Day of the Doctor, the Sixth Doctor's memory won't fully kick in til everything and everyone are truly current.
Even after he remembers everything, the Doctor mentions none of this to Mel. He knows she's going to join the trial shortly. But, when he sees her at the trial, she looks surprised to be there. This indicates that she was given no foreknowledge of her involvement in the proceedings. So he can't let her know what's to come.
More than likely, Mel gets scooped up the next time the TARDIS lands after Vervoids. She and the Doctor begin a new adventure and, somehow, get separated (it has been known to happen). The Master is waiting for them when they arrive. Perhaps he diverted the Doctor's TARDIS like he did in Mark of the Rani or he was able to read the Doctor's mind like he did in Logopolis or it might be some new tactic, altogether. Whatever the case, he intercepts Mel when she's alone. He probably uses a bit of hypnosis to get her to climb into the coffin thingy (there's a probably a more sci-fiesque term that I could come up with for this but I prefer "coffin thingy") and sends her to the space station.
From this point, The Ultimate Foe ensues. At the end, Mel leaves with the Doctor and immediately disappears after they depart. Only to re-appear back in the adventure she was having with the Doctor just after Terror of the Vervoids. The Master has left the scene rather than stay around to cause more problems. He's reluctant to mess around too much with this sort of cause-and-effect. Technically, he broke the Laws of Gallifreyan Mean Time to retrieve Mel. He went forward in the Doctor's timeline rather than staying adjacent to it. So he doesn't want to leave more of a temporal footprint than he should.
When Mel re-joins the Doctor, she has quite the story to tell him. But the Doctor is smiling knowingly as she tells it. His memories were fully restored even before the Master snatched her away. He knew she would be safe leaving her in his greatest enemy's hands because he saw her arrive safely on the space station. He was also pretty certain she would return to the future safely. His arch-nemesis wouldn't be hanging about when she came back because of the Time Law he was breaking.
It's my guess that the Doctor and Mel have many more adventures together. Until, one day, the Rani uses a navigational distorter to draw the TARDIS down to Lakertya. The Doctor is on his exercise bike at the time and has a nasty spill.
With great sadness (and a silly wig), the greatest Doctor of them all passes far sooner than he was meant to.
(Did I really just call him "the greatest Doctor of them all"?! Read more about my Sixth Doctor love here: http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/12/book-of-lists-doctors-from-worst-to_31.html)
You know what? Mel's Temporal Mess took far longer to delve into than expected. Looks like I'll stop here and do a fourth entry in the series before the month is out. There are just a few little details in New Who regarding Time Lords that I'd like to tackle.
Stay tuned....
Since this is all about Trial of a Time Lord. Here's some stuff I wrote about concerning the Valyeyard:
Who is the Valeyard?
Part 1:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/09/fixing-continuity-glitches-who-is.html
Part 2:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/09/fixing-continuity-glitches-who-is_28.html
Wednesday 18 July 2018
Sunday 15 July 2018
FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES: QUICK FIXES 7.2 - TIME LORD STUFF - PART 2
Looks like July will be the month we spend looking at continuity problems with Time Lords. We're going to try to handle things in some sort of chronological order by tackling the issues as they happened within the context of the show (or, at least, within the context of the Doctor's timeline - we already did a slight "cheat" with Clara's appearance on Gallifrey during Name of the Doctor). This time, it will be inconsistencies involving Time Lords that occurred during the 70s and early 80s.
FROM GODS TO BUMBLING STATESMEN
This was actually a pretty big issue for fans back when it, initially, happened. No one has really addressed it properly (from what I've seen, at least) but many people griped about it when it first transpired.
In The War Games, the Time Lords seem ridiculously powerful. With their mere will, they were throwing up forcefields all over the place. They also gave people tortuous migraines when they refused to speak by just staring at them intently. They could even wish people out of existence! Essentially, they appeared to be gods.
As the show goes on, this image continued to ring true. Admittedly, characters such as the Master, the War Chief, the Monk and the Doctor, himself, seem much more mortal. We, sort of, presume that when a Time Lord goes renegade they lose many of their powers. But Time Lords still living on Gallifrey are quite omnipotent. One of them materializes out of nowhere without the assistance of a TARDIS in Terror of the Autons. He's even able to defy gravity. A small council of Time Lords decide to re-activate the Doctor's TARDIS to stop the Master from seizing the Doomsday Weapon. It almost seems like their very decision to render the time vessel operational is all that's required of them. In The Three Doctors, the Time Lords are more vulnerable. But this is only because Omega is draining all their energy from them. Even in their weakened state, they're still able to do quite a bit of time bending . When we see a Time Lord again in Genesis of the Daleks, he fades in and out of existence like a wizard. All of these incidents seem to indicate that a Time Lord that does not step out from their society seems to have access to amazing powers and abilities.
And then, The Deadly Assassin reaches our screens (a happy thing for me - it's my favorite story, ever http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-1.html). This is where the controversy seems to start. Certain fans got very upset about how the Time Lords suddenly seemed to act very differently from how we saw them before. The scene that seems to incense them the most is the old Time Lord at the Doctor's trial who seems to suffer from hearing loss and a bad leg. A being able to erase people out of existence with a mere thought can still suffer from such common physical ailments? It doesn't make sense!
By the end of Deadly Assassin, our perception of the Time Lords has been radically altered. But it's one that, very much, persists for the rest of the Classic and New Series. The Time Lords are more like intergalactic elder statesmen. They still try to act like they wield tremendous power but they're more like well-decorated bureaucrats. Impressive-looking with their high-necked collars and regal attitude - but not really capable of much in a tight situation. We see instances where some can prove a bit useful (both Borusa and the Castellan do a few neat tricks in The Invasion of Time). But, for the most part, the Time Lords seem almost frivolous, now.
The Big Question is: how did this happen? How did they go from god-like beings to near-useless politicians?
I propose that they were always like this. It just the way they were presented. Some of their briefer scenes that I mentioned earlier can be easily explained away. The emissaries in Terror of the Autons and Genesis of the Daleks did their vanishing tricks with a time scoop or something of that nature. The three councilmen in Colony In Space issue an order to an on-duty technician to re-activate the Doctor's TARDIS through some sort of remote process. It just occurs after the scene is over and we've cut elsewhere. Much of what is done in The Tree Doctors, of course, doesn't seem magical or god-like. The time manipulation is done through purely technical means by a Gallifreyan working at a console.
The War Games can be a bit trickier. But I think I've worked it out. The Time Lords were anxious that they would be allowing a savage, war-like species onto their planet in order to put them on trial. They set up a sort of reception center for them and created a special defense system that was keyed in to the specific brain patterns of the three Time Lords that made up the tribunal. Within the reception area, these Time Lords could trigger any number of strategically-placed forcefields or even certain weapons with mere mental commands. Sure, they could have positioned various guards in the area or had control panels to activate the features of the defense system but they wanted maximum safety as they dealt with the War Lords. You can't get more efficient than force fields and weaponry that responds to the very will of its users.
It turns out, of course, that the Time Lords made a good call. The War Lords did make an attempt to free their leader and, thanks to the special abilities granted to the Tribunal, no one was harmed. Once the trial was truly over, however, the defense system built into the reception area was shut back down. The tribunal (one of whom, we're pretty sure, was Chancellor Goth) went back to just being normal Time Lords. They were no longer capable of imprisoning people in force fields, or giving them migraines or d-matting them by mere concentration of will. It was a series of special powers granted to them due to the exceptional circumstances.
Our extra feeble witness at the trial in Deadly Assassin can also be explained. He was probably near the end of a regeneration and was trying to hold on to his current incarnation for as long as possible. When a Time Lord does this, his body will start developing minor problems such as hearing loss or a bad leg. He can seek normal medical help but it won't do him much good. These problems will continue to persist or even worsen if they don't trigger a regeneration soon. Time of the Doctor re-enforces the idea. As the Eleventh Doctor gets nearer to his regeneration - he becomes more dependent on the use of a cane.
RADICAL CHANGES IN FASHION AND DECOR
This is a similar issue to the one we just discussed but merits a sub-section of its own. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the Time Lords have gone through some fairly radical changes that seem a bit inconsistent, too.
Most notable is the interior architecture of the Panopticon. When we first see Time Lords on Gallifrey, there's a definite 60s/70s sensibility going on. Lots of bright molded plastic makes up the bulk of their furnishings (obviously, this is not meant to just be plastic but some advanced "plastic-like" material). Admittedly though, their rooms also seem quite sparse and somewhat gloomy. Lots of black curtains hanging in the background (that are probably not meant to truly be curtains but advanced "curtain-like" substance). Deadly Assassin, once again, re-writes things a bit. A greater emphasis is placed on the gloominess. Sets are almost difficult to see cause they're so poorly-lit. This look continues with Invasion of Time. Bluish-green support columns seem to become quite the rage during this period, too.
But then we get to Arc of Infinity. It almost seems like we're not on the same planet anymore. Everything is so well-lit that shadows don't seem to exist. Sets are viciously ornate and over-elaborate. Time Lords seem to have gotten into art deco. This bold new style continues with The Five Doctors a short while, later. They turn the lights down slightly and give a bit of atmosphere to the space station in Trial of a Time Lord but it's still very different from the architecture we'd been seeing in earlier days.
The simplest answer to this harsh change during the 80s stories would be that the Time Lords like to redecorate once and again. Especially when you start considering the Doctor's personal timeline and the "age gaps" that we don't actually see on the show (for more information go to this entry: http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/03/fixing-continuity-glitches-doctors-age.html). Quite a few centuries may have gone by between Invasion of Time and Arc of Infinity, Giving the Time Lords plenty of time to change things up.
The problem, however, is that the Time Lords are known from their sense of stagnancy. Nothing ever seems to change on Gallifrey. This is part of what drove the Doctor away in the first place.. He was bored because everything stays the same. He needed a change of scenery. So it becomes hard to believe that such radical alterations to architecture could happen for a species so steeped in tradition.
I actually like to think that there's a sort symbiotic connection between the Lord President and the Panopticon. That the decor is a reflection of what is going on in the career of the leader of the Time Lords. If we take some of the dialogue from Deadly Assassin and extrapolate a bit, it makes a sort of sense. Sets for The War Games and The Three Doctors are a bit on the gloomy side because the current Lord President would have been in the twilight of his career, at the time. The growing darkness is symbolic of the impending end of his term. Sets are at their darkest during Assassin because the Lord President's term is over. Things still remain relatively gloomy in Invasion because a new proper Lord President hadn't been found, yet. The Doctor filling the office for so short a time did not enable the decor to start shifting in a new direction. Yes, specific craftsmen were set with the task of creating his office. But the overall structure of the building would've adapted to the mood the Lord President creates had the Doctor maintained his political position a bit longer.
When Borusa decides to just stand in for the Doctor, change can truly start to set in. We're now at the beginning of a Lord President's term: things become hopeful, again. To reflect that hope, everything becomes bright and shiny. The art deco motif would have even been reflective of Borusa's personality. He's a man of complexity so things become ornate with lots of extra frilly bits.
For some reason, this makes better sense to me. I'd prefer to think that the Time Lords are so advanced that their actual architecture has a sort of sentience to it that reflects what is going on in the politics of the creatures that inhabit it. It just seems like a way cooler explanation than: "Oh my God! Everything looks so drab! It's time to re-decorate!'. I just don't see the Time Lords having that sort of attitude towards the environment they live in. The buildings would need to re-set themselves from time-to-time because the Time Lords would never get around to doing it of their own volition. They might make minor alterations to a single room here and again. Particularly if it was someone else's office that they have now taken over. But I can't see them trying to make bigger changes than that. So the architecture changes itself.
A similar problem presents itself with fashion. From War Games to Genesis of the Daleks, it's fairly simple robes that use a black and white pattern (or, in the case of the Time Lord on Skaro - all black). But in Deadly Assassin, we get these more elaborate and colorful robes with their high-necked collars. In every appearance after this story, this becomes the official outfit of the Time Lords.
A piece of dialogue said by Runcible in Assassin makes this a fairly easy fix. He does point out that the Time Lords are in full ceremonial garb. So the clothing of the Time Lords that we've been seeing before this was something a bit less formal. I'm guessing that this might also have something to do with the Lord President. The one that retires and gets assassinated was into Casual Fridays and allowed the Time Lords to enjoy much more leisure wear most of the time. Again, this might have something to do with him being so near to the end of his career. He's more lenient because he's on his way out. But the Lord Presidents that come in after him stand on a greater sense of occasion and require their subjects to always be in full ceremonial costume. Had Borusa or whoever follows him that gets deposed in Trial of a Time Lord gotten more time in office, we might have seen them become more lax in dress code. But newer Lord Presidents tend to make the populace dress up better.
CONSISTENCY IN NEW WHO
Surprisingly enough, Time Lord fashion and architecture in New Who strongly resemble how they looked when we last saw them in the Classic Series. There's a bit less 80s sensibilities going on, but the same basic patterns remain. We're seeing a lot of art deco and colorful robes and high collars are also prominent.
The only thing that has changed all that radically are the military uniforms. This makes sense, though. Soldiers would need a totally different set of gear from what they wore prior to the Time Wars. Those uniforms were far more ceremonial. Now they would need something practical for combat.
Sets do appear a bit darker and gloomier. We see a fair amount of black curtains again. If we're going with my whole "sentient decor" theory then the heavy shadows might be symbolizing the somber qualities of the Time Wars. Whereas the ornate furnishings are a reflection of Rassilon's tastes. Like many other Lord Presidents, he likes things complicated.
So that's a few more continuity issues addressed. I think we'll get a third installment in this series as we keep moving through July. If nothing else, I'd like to look at the temporal mess that happened with Mel at the end of Trial of a Time Lord. But I'm sure I'll find a few other things to pick apart if I look hard enough....
Some more stuff I've written about Time Lords:
History of Gallifrey -
Part 1
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/10/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
Part 2:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/11/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
Part 3:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/02/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
FROM GODS TO BUMBLING STATESMEN
This was actually a pretty big issue for fans back when it, initially, happened. No one has really addressed it properly (from what I've seen, at least) but many people griped about it when it first transpired.
In The War Games, the Time Lords seem ridiculously powerful. With their mere will, they were throwing up forcefields all over the place. They also gave people tortuous migraines when they refused to speak by just staring at them intently. They could even wish people out of existence! Essentially, they appeared to be gods.
As the show goes on, this image continued to ring true. Admittedly, characters such as the Master, the War Chief, the Monk and the Doctor, himself, seem much more mortal. We, sort of, presume that when a Time Lord goes renegade they lose many of their powers. But Time Lords still living on Gallifrey are quite omnipotent. One of them materializes out of nowhere without the assistance of a TARDIS in Terror of the Autons. He's even able to defy gravity. A small council of Time Lords decide to re-activate the Doctor's TARDIS to stop the Master from seizing the Doomsday Weapon. It almost seems like their very decision to render the time vessel operational is all that's required of them. In The Three Doctors, the Time Lords are more vulnerable. But this is only because Omega is draining all their energy from them. Even in their weakened state, they're still able to do quite a bit of time bending . When we see a Time Lord again in Genesis of the Daleks, he fades in and out of existence like a wizard. All of these incidents seem to indicate that a Time Lord that does not step out from their society seems to have access to amazing powers and abilities.
And then, The Deadly Assassin reaches our screens (a happy thing for me - it's my favorite story, ever http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-of-lists-top-ten-who-stories-1.html). This is where the controversy seems to start. Certain fans got very upset about how the Time Lords suddenly seemed to act very differently from how we saw them before. The scene that seems to incense them the most is the old Time Lord at the Doctor's trial who seems to suffer from hearing loss and a bad leg. A being able to erase people out of existence with a mere thought can still suffer from such common physical ailments? It doesn't make sense!
By the end of Deadly Assassin, our perception of the Time Lords has been radically altered. But it's one that, very much, persists for the rest of the Classic and New Series. The Time Lords are more like intergalactic elder statesmen. They still try to act like they wield tremendous power but they're more like well-decorated bureaucrats. Impressive-looking with their high-necked collars and regal attitude - but not really capable of much in a tight situation. We see instances where some can prove a bit useful (both Borusa and the Castellan do a few neat tricks in The Invasion of Time). But, for the most part, the Time Lords seem almost frivolous, now.
The Big Question is: how did this happen? How did they go from god-like beings to near-useless politicians?
I propose that they were always like this. It just the way they were presented. Some of their briefer scenes that I mentioned earlier can be easily explained away. The emissaries in Terror of the Autons and Genesis of the Daleks did their vanishing tricks with a time scoop or something of that nature. The three councilmen in Colony In Space issue an order to an on-duty technician to re-activate the Doctor's TARDIS through some sort of remote process. It just occurs after the scene is over and we've cut elsewhere. Much of what is done in The Tree Doctors, of course, doesn't seem magical or god-like. The time manipulation is done through purely technical means by a Gallifreyan working at a console.
The War Games can be a bit trickier. But I think I've worked it out. The Time Lords were anxious that they would be allowing a savage, war-like species onto their planet in order to put them on trial. They set up a sort of reception center for them and created a special defense system that was keyed in to the specific brain patterns of the three Time Lords that made up the tribunal. Within the reception area, these Time Lords could trigger any number of strategically-placed forcefields or even certain weapons with mere mental commands. Sure, they could have positioned various guards in the area or had control panels to activate the features of the defense system but they wanted maximum safety as they dealt with the War Lords. You can't get more efficient than force fields and weaponry that responds to the very will of its users.
It turns out, of course, that the Time Lords made a good call. The War Lords did make an attempt to free their leader and, thanks to the special abilities granted to the Tribunal, no one was harmed. Once the trial was truly over, however, the defense system built into the reception area was shut back down. The tribunal (one of whom, we're pretty sure, was Chancellor Goth) went back to just being normal Time Lords. They were no longer capable of imprisoning people in force fields, or giving them migraines or d-matting them by mere concentration of will. It was a series of special powers granted to them due to the exceptional circumstances.
Our extra feeble witness at the trial in Deadly Assassin can also be explained. He was probably near the end of a regeneration and was trying to hold on to his current incarnation for as long as possible. When a Time Lord does this, his body will start developing minor problems such as hearing loss or a bad leg. He can seek normal medical help but it won't do him much good. These problems will continue to persist or even worsen if they don't trigger a regeneration soon. Time of the Doctor re-enforces the idea. As the Eleventh Doctor gets nearer to his regeneration - he becomes more dependent on the use of a cane.
RADICAL CHANGES IN FASHION AND DECOR
This is a similar issue to the one we just discussed but merits a sub-section of its own. From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the Time Lords have gone through some fairly radical changes that seem a bit inconsistent, too.
Most notable is the interior architecture of the Panopticon. When we first see Time Lords on Gallifrey, there's a definite 60s/70s sensibility going on. Lots of bright molded plastic makes up the bulk of their furnishings (obviously, this is not meant to just be plastic but some advanced "plastic-like" material). Admittedly though, their rooms also seem quite sparse and somewhat gloomy. Lots of black curtains hanging in the background (that are probably not meant to truly be curtains but advanced "curtain-like" substance). Deadly Assassin, once again, re-writes things a bit. A greater emphasis is placed on the gloominess. Sets are almost difficult to see cause they're so poorly-lit. This look continues with Invasion of Time. Bluish-green support columns seem to become quite the rage during this period, too.
But then we get to Arc of Infinity. It almost seems like we're not on the same planet anymore. Everything is so well-lit that shadows don't seem to exist. Sets are viciously ornate and over-elaborate. Time Lords seem to have gotten into art deco. This bold new style continues with The Five Doctors a short while, later. They turn the lights down slightly and give a bit of atmosphere to the space station in Trial of a Time Lord but it's still very different from the architecture we'd been seeing in earlier days.
The simplest answer to this harsh change during the 80s stories would be that the Time Lords like to redecorate once and again. Especially when you start considering the Doctor's personal timeline and the "age gaps" that we don't actually see on the show (for more information go to this entry: http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/03/fixing-continuity-glitches-doctors-age.html). Quite a few centuries may have gone by between Invasion of Time and Arc of Infinity, Giving the Time Lords plenty of time to change things up.
The problem, however, is that the Time Lords are known from their sense of stagnancy. Nothing ever seems to change on Gallifrey. This is part of what drove the Doctor away in the first place.. He was bored because everything stays the same. He needed a change of scenery. So it becomes hard to believe that such radical alterations to architecture could happen for a species so steeped in tradition.
I actually like to think that there's a sort symbiotic connection between the Lord President and the Panopticon. That the decor is a reflection of what is going on in the career of the leader of the Time Lords. If we take some of the dialogue from Deadly Assassin and extrapolate a bit, it makes a sort of sense. Sets for The War Games and The Three Doctors are a bit on the gloomy side because the current Lord President would have been in the twilight of his career, at the time. The growing darkness is symbolic of the impending end of his term. Sets are at their darkest during Assassin because the Lord President's term is over. Things still remain relatively gloomy in Invasion because a new proper Lord President hadn't been found, yet. The Doctor filling the office for so short a time did not enable the decor to start shifting in a new direction. Yes, specific craftsmen were set with the task of creating his office. But the overall structure of the building would've adapted to the mood the Lord President creates had the Doctor maintained his political position a bit longer.
When Borusa decides to just stand in for the Doctor, change can truly start to set in. We're now at the beginning of a Lord President's term: things become hopeful, again. To reflect that hope, everything becomes bright and shiny. The art deco motif would have even been reflective of Borusa's personality. He's a man of complexity so things become ornate with lots of extra frilly bits.
For some reason, this makes better sense to me. I'd prefer to think that the Time Lords are so advanced that their actual architecture has a sort of sentience to it that reflects what is going on in the politics of the creatures that inhabit it. It just seems like a way cooler explanation than: "Oh my God! Everything looks so drab! It's time to re-decorate!'. I just don't see the Time Lords having that sort of attitude towards the environment they live in. The buildings would need to re-set themselves from time-to-time because the Time Lords would never get around to doing it of their own volition. They might make minor alterations to a single room here and again. Particularly if it was someone else's office that they have now taken over. But I can't see them trying to make bigger changes than that. So the architecture changes itself.
A similar problem presents itself with fashion. From War Games to Genesis of the Daleks, it's fairly simple robes that use a black and white pattern (or, in the case of the Time Lord on Skaro - all black). But in Deadly Assassin, we get these more elaborate and colorful robes with their high-necked collars. In every appearance after this story, this becomes the official outfit of the Time Lords.
A piece of dialogue said by Runcible in Assassin makes this a fairly easy fix. He does point out that the Time Lords are in full ceremonial garb. So the clothing of the Time Lords that we've been seeing before this was something a bit less formal. I'm guessing that this might also have something to do with the Lord President. The one that retires and gets assassinated was into Casual Fridays and allowed the Time Lords to enjoy much more leisure wear most of the time. Again, this might have something to do with him being so near to the end of his career. He's more lenient because he's on his way out. But the Lord Presidents that come in after him stand on a greater sense of occasion and require their subjects to always be in full ceremonial costume. Had Borusa or whoever follows him that gets deposed in Trial of a Time Lord gotten more time in office, we might have seen them become more lax in dress code. But newer Lord Presidents tend to make the populace dress up better.
CONSISTENCY IN NEW WHO
Surprisingly enough, Time Lord fashion and architecture in New Who strongly resemble how they looked when we last saw them in the Classic Series. There's a bit less 80s sensibilities going on, but the same basic patterns remain. We're seeing a lot of art deco and colorful robes and high collars are also prominent.
The only thing that has changed all that radically are the military uniforms. This makes sense, though. Soldiers would need a totally different set of gear from what they wore prior to the Time Wars. Those uniforms were far more ceremonial. Now they would need something practical for combat.
Sets do appear a bit darker and gloomier. We see a fair amount of black curtains again. If we're going with my whole "sentient decor" theory then the heavy shadows might be symbolizing the somber qualities of the Time Wars. Whereas the ornate furnishings are a reflection of Rassilon's tastes. Like many other Lord Presidents, he likes things complicated.
So that's a few more continuity issues addressed. I think we'll get a third installment in this series as we keep moving through July. If nothing else, I'd like to look at the temporal mess that happened with Mel at the end of Trial of a Time Lord. But I'm sure I'll find a few other things to pick apart if I look hard enough....
Some more stuff I've written about Time Lords:
History of Gallifrey -
Part 1
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/10/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
Part 2:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/11/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
Part 3:
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/02/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html
Sunday 8 July 2018
FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES: QUICK FIXES 7.1 - TIME LORD STUFF - PART 1
I was sensing an imbalance in the Universe and realized it had been some time since I had done a FIXING CONTINUITY GLITCHES essay. I realize it was because I had tackled the bulk of the major continuity problems that we've seen in the show (except UNIT dating - I'm still scared of that one!). Fortunately, there's always QUICK FIXES. I'll be busy with minor continuity problems til the end of time!
I just did a complimentary QUICK FIX for my History of the Weeping Angels essay. But it didn't feel like enough. The imbalance still seems present. So here's another one.
This latest installment has another theme to it. This time we're looking at some of the stuff that's gone on with Time Lords (or, more specifically, the Doctor's relationship with them) over the years that doesn't seem to make total sense. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the explanations I offer. If not, feel free to post your own theories in the comments.
PART 1: EARLY DAYS....
One of the things that has fascinated me most about Doctor Who is the fact that it takes a good six years before we truly start learning any real concrete facts about his origins. I can't think of any other show that would be willing to keep its main character that mysterious for that long. It's really quite impressive.
One would think that, with all the time they had to dream up his background, that they would present something pretty solid when the reveal was finally made. This doesn't appear to be the case, however. From a few vague pieces of dialogue in Unearthly Child to that fateful trial at the end of the Second Doctor's Era, a few inconsistencies present themselves.
We'll try to fix them.
WHY DOESN'T THE DOCTOR REMEMBER CLARA FROM GALLIFREY?
This one is a bit of a cheat. It doesn't truly to take place within those first six seasons but, rather, occurs a good 50 years later. As a treat to fans, Moff decides to show the moment where the First Doctor is escaping his homeworld to go off on his adventures in Time and Space. He, very nearly, picks the "wrong" TARDIS. One of Clara's "splinters" directs him to the appropriate one. The one with the faulty navigation system and chamelion circuit that will eventually break down and freeze the ship in the shape of a Police Box. It's quite the scene.
The problem that this wonderful moment creates is that it does mean he's met Clara, now. When he, at last, encounters her in The Snowmen shouldn't this trigger a memory of some sort? Especially since this is a very pivotal situation in his life. We're more likely to remember people during such significant periods where we make huge decisions. So why doesn't he recognize her?
At the very least, 800 years has elapsed in the Doctor's timeline since he fled Gallifrey and met the Clara Splinter on 18th Century Earth (possibly more if you factor in the theory that he's lying about his age - check out this entry for further clarification: http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/03/fixing-continuity-glitches-doctors-age_9.html). While a Time Lord memory can hold way more than a human mind can, that's still just a bit too much time for anyone. Particularly since it was a very brief encounter. Sure, it was at a crucial time in his life, but it was still a very quick appearance while he was busy running off with Susan. She only left so much of an impression during such a hasty scenario.
It helps that Clara does seem to stay out of the Doctor's life until Asylum of the Daleks. She is always watching him through his various incarnations, but he never sees her. So there's a very strong chance that he will have forgotten her after all that time and it will feel like he's meeting her for the very first time when he sees her in The Snowmen.
EXILE OR THIEF?
Right in the first few minutes of the very first episode, a somewhat whopping inconsistency presents itself. We don't realize it til many years later, of course. But it's still there...
Deciding the Doctor shouldn't be completely and utterly mysterious, the production team involved with making An Unearthly Child give the Doctor the barest bones of an origin story. The Doctor explains to the schoolteachers who have just boarded his ship that he and Susan are exiles, cut off from their own people. But, someday, they will return...
A beautiful little speech that gives us just enough of an idea of where the Doctor came from that we're willing to wait six years til we get a fuller explanation. But when those six years pass and the Doctor, at last, explains the full extent of his past to Jamie and Zoe during his trial on Gallifrey - there's some serious confusion.
The Doctor provides his origins in a way that has been considered proper canon ever since. He stole a TARDIS and went off into the Universe to get involved with the lives of less advanced beings - a huge violation of Time Lord Law. This origin story is so concrete that it affects the Doctor in a serious way for the next three seasons. He is actually exiled to 20th Century Earth for disobeying his peoples' most important rule.
There is a world of difference between someone who has been kicked off his homeworld and someone who snuck off of it to become a criminal. So what's with this huge discrepancy? Is he an exile or is he a thief?
The answer, I feel, is one we've been hearing quite a bit lately: "The Doctor lies". Our grandfatherly First Incarnation does not wish to share the truth with Ian and Barbara. It could be as simple as the fact that he's embarrassed to be a thief and doesn't want to admit to it. Or it could be something far more complex. Perhaps he's not sure if the Time Lords are actually chasing him so he doesn't want his real past to circulate. Just in case his people catch up with Susan's teachers and question them. He does know there are other renegades out there so if Ian and Barbara offer up an incorrect origin story under interrogation then this may confuse his pursuers and make them think they're after the wrong person. Whatever the reason, the Doctor just decides he doesn't want to share real facts with these strangers. Whereas, in The War Games, he's built up a fair amount of trust with his two companions and decides to unveil his true past.
HOW DID THE MONK GET HIS DIMENSIONS BACK TO NORMAL?
A lot of people tend to under-rate the value The Time Meddler contributes to established continuity. Up until this story, we assume the Doctor is the only person in the universe with a TARDIS. It's even vaguely hinted at that he may have built the ship, himself. But when he clashes against the Monk, the horizons of the show expand. Turns out there's a whole civilization that uses TARDISes that we will learn more about in future stories. That's a pretty big step for the series and no one seems to really take stock of the fact that it's this particular adventure that first develops this idea.
Okay, that last paragraph doesn't really relate to what I'm going to talk about - it just needed to be stated (in defense of Fandom, they may miss the importance of The Time Meddler because they were distracted by the horrendously slow-moving plot). What I do want to address is the way the Monk does an 80s Master Trick long before we ever get to the 80s!
At the end of the tale, the Doctor removes the dimensional stablizer in the Monk's TARDIS. Causing its console room to shrink to a point where it is now impossible for anyone to enter it. And yet, when we see the Monk next time in The Dalek Masterplan, he is piloting a fully-functioning TARDIS again. He appears to give no proper account of how he repaired the ship. He might as well have just proclaimed: "I'm indestructable! The whole Universe knows that!"
So, let's come up with an explanation of our own:
We did see that the Monk has removed some modern technology from his TARDIS and was using it in the monastery. I suggest that there were other items floating around that we didn't see that were more than just record players and bazookas. There were just enough bits and bobs lying about that he could craft something similar to the "2-dis" that the Doctor makes in Flatline. He applies the device to his console room. It creates a zone of dimensional stability that makes it possible for him to enter his TARDIS and effect the necessary repairs. He's back in business and can clash with the Doctor again on Tigus and Ancient Egypt. Whereupon the Doctor does more serious damage to his TARDIS.
Does the new damage ever get fixed? Who knows?! And since we haven't seen the Monk since - I feel no need to try to render a solution!
I know that business with the Monk only relates so well to the main theme of this entry but I've just always wanted to address this particular continuity glitch and this seemed the best place for it!
As you can see, this is only Part 1 of this particular series. We'll be looking at more Time Lord stuff shortly...
Want to see some other continuity glitches I've dealt with concerning Time Lords? Check these entries out:
What's Going On With Gallifrey These Days - Part 1
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/07/fixing-continuity-glitches-whats-going.html
What's Going On With Gallifrey These Days - Part 2
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/07/fixing-continuity-glitches-whats-going_24.html
I just did a complimentary QUICK FIX for my History of the Weeping Angels essay. But it didn't feel like enough. The imbalance still seems present. So here's another one.
This latest installment has another theme to it. This time we're looking at some of the stuff that's gone on with Time Lords (or, more specifically, the Doctor's relationship with them) over the years that doesn't seem to make total sense. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the explanations I offer. If not, feel free to post your own theories in the comments.
PART 1: EARLY DAYS....
One of the things that has fascinated me most about Doctor Who is the fact that it takes a good six years before we truly start learning any real concrete facts about his origins. I can't think of any other show that would be willing to keep its main character that mysterious for that long. It's really quite impressive.
One would think that, with all the time they had to dream up his background, that they would present something pretty solid when the reveal was finally made. This doesn't appear to be the case, however. From a few vague pieces of dialogue in Unearthly Child to that fateful trial at the end of the Second Doctor's Era, a few inconsistencies present themselves.
We'll try to fix them.
WHY DOESN'T THE DOCTOR REMEMBER CLARA FROM GALLIFREY?
This one is a bit of a cheat. It doesn't truly to take place within those first six seasons but, rather, occurs a good 50 years later. As a treat to fans, Moff decides to show the moment where the First Doctor is escaping his homeworld to go off on his adventures in Time and Space. He, very nearly, picks the "wrong" TARDIS. One of Clara's "splinters" directs him to the appropriate one. The one with the faulty navigation system and chamelion circuit that will eventually break down and freeze the ship in the shape of a Police Box. It's quite the scene.
The problem that this wonderful moment creates is that it does mean he's met Clara, now. When he, at last, encounters her in The Snowmen shouldn't this trigger a memory of some sort? Especially since this is a very pivotal situation in his life. We're more likely to remember people during such significant periods where we make huge decisions. So why doesn't he recognize her?
At the very least, 800 years has elapsed in the Doctor's timeline since he fled Gallifrey and met the Clara Splinter on 18th Century Earth (possibly more if you factor in the theory that he's lying about his age - check out this entry for further clarification: http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/03/fixing-continuity-glitches-doctors-age_9.html). While a Time Lord memory can hold way more than a human mind can, that's still just a bit too much time for anyone. Particularly since it was a very brief encounter. Sure, it was at a crucial time in his life, but it was still a very quick appearance while he was busy running off with Susan. She only left so much of an impression during such a hasty scenario.
It helps that Clara does seem to stay out of the Doctor's life until Asylum of the Daleks. She is always watching him through his various incarnations, but he never sees her. So there's a very strong chance that he will have forgotten her after all that time and it will feel like he's meeting her for the very first time when he sees her in The Snowmen.
EXILE OR THIEF?
Right in the first few minutes of the very first episode, a somewhat whopping inconsistency presents itself. We don't realize it til many years later, of course. But it's still there...
Deciding the Doctor shouldn't be completely and utterly mysterious, the production team involved with making An Unearthly Child give the Doctor the barest bones of an origin story. The Doctor explains to the schoolteachers who have just boarded his ship that he and Susan are exiles, cut off from their own people. But, someday, they will return...
A beautiful little speech that gives us just enough of an idea of where the Doctor came from that we're willing to wait six years til we get a fuller explanation. But when those six years pass and the Doctor, at last, explains the full extent of his past to Jamie and Zoe during his trial on Gallifrey - there's some serious confusion.
The Doctor provides his origins in a way that has been considered proper canon ever since. He stole a TARDIS and went off into the Universe to get involved with the lives of less advanced beings - a huge violation of Time Lord Law. This origin story is so concrete that it affects the Doctor in a serious way for the next three seasons. He is actually exiled to 20th Century Earth for disobeying his peoples' most important rule.
There is a world of difference between someone who has been kicked off his homeworld and someone who snuck off of it to become a criminal. So what's with this huge discrepancy? Is he an exile or is he a thief?
The answer, I feel, is one we've been hearing quite a bit lately: "The Doctor lies". Our grandfatherly First Incarnation does not wish to share the truth with Ian and Barbara. It could be as simple as the fact that he's embarrassed to be a thief and doesn't want to admit to it. Or it could be something far more complex. Perhaps he's not sure if the Time Lords are actually chasing him so he doesn't want his real past to circulate. Just in case his people catch up with Susan's teachers and question them. He does know there are other renegades out there so if Ian and Barbara offer up an incorrect origin story under interrogation then this may confuse his pursuers and make them think they're after the wrong person. Whatever the reason, the Doctor just decides he doesn't want to share real facts with these strangers. Whereas, in The War Games, he's built up a fair amount of trust with his two companions and decides to unveil his true past.
HOW DID THE MONK GET HIS DIMENSIONS BACK TO NORMAL?
A lot of people tend to under-rate the value The Time Meddler contributes to established continuity. Up until this story, we assume the Doctor is the only person in the universe with a TARDIS. It's even vaguely hinted at that he may have built the ship, himself. But when he clashes against the Monk, the horizons of the show expand. Turns out there's a whole civilization that uses TARDISes that we will learn more about in future stories. That's a pretty big step for the series and no one seems to really take stock of the fact that it's this particular adventure that first develops this idea.
Okay, that last paragraph doesn't really relate to what I'm going to talk about - it just needed to be stated (in defense of Fandom, they may miss the importance of The Time Meddler because they were distracted by the horrendously slow-moving plot). What I do want to address is the way the Monk does an 80s Master Trick long before we ever get to the 80s!
At the end of the tale, the Doctor removes the dimensional stablizer in the Monk's TARDIS. Causing its console room to shrink to a point where it is now impossible for anyone to enter it. And yet, when we see the Monk next time in The Dalek Masterplan, he is piloting a fully-functioning TARDIS again. He appears to give no proper account of how he repaired the ship. He might as well have just proclaimed: "I'm indestructable! The whole Universe knows that!"
So, let's come up with an explanation of our own:
We did see that the Monk has removed some modern technology from his TARDIS and was using it in the monastery. I suggest that there were other items floating around that we didn't see that were more than just record players and bazookas. There were just enough bits and bobs lying about that he could craft something similar to the "2-dis" that the Doctor makes in Flatline. He applies the device to his console room. It creates a zone of dimensional stability that makes it possible for him to enter his TARDIS and effect the necessary repairs. He's back in business and can clash with the Doctor again on Tigus and Ancient Egypt. Whereupon the Doctor does more serious damage to his TARDIS.
Does the new damage ever get fixed? Who knows?! And since we haven't seen the Monk since - I feel no need to try to render a solution!
I know that business with the Monk only relates so well to the main theme of this entry but I've just always wanted to address this particular continuity glitch and this seemed the best place for it!
As you can see, this is only Part 1 of this particular series. We'll be looking at more Time Lord stuff shortly...
Want to see some other continuity glitches I've dealt with concerning Time Lords? Check these entries out:
What's Going On With Gallifrey These Days - Part 1
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/07/fixing-continuity-glitches-whats-going.html
What's Going On With Gallifrey These Days - Part 2
http://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/07/fixing-continuity-glitches-whats-going_24.html
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