History Recap / DoctorWhoS15E6TheInvasionOfTime

* UnexpectedCharacter: No-one was expecting ''the Sontarans'', of all races, to be the masterminds behind the plot.

* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Rodan monitors spaceships and casually remarks she sees a battleship probably about to destroy a planet. When Leela asks her to attack the ship, she's appalled at the thought of interfering.

* SomeKindOfForceField: Rodan's office is protected by the really cheap kind that doesn't even have a flash or a sound effect, just Louise Jameson miming "there's something blocking this apparently open doorway" and then Rodan explaining that there's a force field there.

* TheQuisling: The Castellan does everything possible to curry favor with the Sontarans.

* {{Superdickery}}: The Doctor behaves very much like a villain for the first few episodes. Of course, no one is surprised when there turns out to be a perfectly noble explanation for his behavior.

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: After the CrystalSpiresAndTogas of the first stories, and the [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering pompous but weak]] depiction of "The Deadly Assassin", this story's powerful but deeply corrupt and self-serving portrayal of the Time Lords became the pattern for most later stories featuring them en masse, both in the TV show and other media. Lampshaded by the Doctor:

* AllThereInTheManual: The novelization of the story explains that the De-Mat Gun doesn't just vaporize people, it actually removes them from time completely, as we had previously seen the Time Lords do to the War Chief and his henchmen. And since Stor was the mastermind behind the whole invasion of Gallifrey, when the Doctor uses it on Stor it not only erases him, it also undoes both the Vardan and Sontaran invasions of the planet.
** Additionally, it is revealed that the Doctor first learnt of the Vardans' attempted invasion of Gallifrey via a telepathic warning from the Matrix.
** Stor feels insecurities.
** The "search for the Great Key" is a new responsibility because the Master stole it; the Doctor notes it was a fake that didn't have the power of the true Great Key.

Leela, meanwhile, feels right at home with the barbarians and assembles them into a BadassArmy. As their new LadyOfWar, she organizes a charge of the Citadel and infiltrates the Capitol to help out the Doctor. He uses forbidden technology to destroy the Sontarans, wiping his memory of events -- and of the Matrix -- in the process. Leela suddenly decides she's fallen in love with Chancellery Guard Andred whom [[StrangledByTheRedString she's just met]], and remains on Gallifrey with K-9.

Leela and a really overqualified Time Lady named Rodan roam about in the wilderness outside, where they meet a group of Shobogans, barbarian Gallifreyans, (not part of the Time Lord houses) who are really quite bad at being barbarians.

* OhCrap: After four episodes, the Vardans have been expelled from Gallifrey through copious amounts of mind-trickery; the Doctor, supremely smug with his success, addresses the cheering crowd with a victory speech. Puzzled at why the cheering abruptly stops, he turns around... [[spoiler:and standing behind him is a Sontaran battle squad, who have been playing the Vardans for patsies, and have taken advantage of the weakened Gallifrey defences to stroll in and claim the place for themselves.]] Creator/TomBaker's boggle-eyes were MADE for moments like this.

* TheCityVsTheCountry: Leela being a CountryMouse and Rodan a CityMouse.

* IWillOnlySlowYouDown
* KarmaHoudini: The Castellan, we never get to see him punished for being such a dick.

* OhCrap

* PlayingPossum

* SequelEpisode: To [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]].

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs

* XanatosSpeedChess

* ScoobyDooDoors: Briefly happens when the Doctor, Leela, Andred and Borusa are eluding the Sontarans, as they split up among doors on either side of a corridor and immediately wind up in the same room. Justified by how screwy the TARDIS's internal geography has already shown itself to be.

Naturally, there are wheels within wheels, and the Vardan menace is defeated -- with two episodes left in the season. Wait... the cheers have stopped. What the... Uh oh, Sontarans! Cue a wild goose chase inside the TARDIS, which gives us quite an extensive view of the interior, its gardens (giant carnivorous plants and everything) as well as its fabled swimming pool.

Leela, meanwhile, feels right at home with the barbarians and assembles them into a BadassArmy. As their new LadyOfWar, she organises a charge of the Citadel and infiltrates the Capitol to help out the Doctor. He uses forbidden technology to destroy the Sontarans, wiping his memory of events -- and of the Matrix -- in the process. Leela suddenly decides she's fallen in love with Chancellery Guard Andred whom [[StrangledByTheRedString she's just met]], and remains on Gallifrey with K-9.

[[caption-width-right:344:"So lemme get this straight, if I help you get rid of the Doctor and his friends and everyone else, then the Sontarans will have their own show?"]]

* DeadlyDecadentCourt: After the CrystalSpiresAndTogas of the first stories, and the [[NotSoOmniscientCouncilOfBickering pompous but weak]] depiction of "The Deadly Assassin", this story's powerful but deeply corrupt and self-serving portrayal of the Time Lords became the pattern for most later stories featuring them en masse, both in the TV show and other media.
** Lampshaded by the Doctor:
--> "I don't know what they teach you at the Academy these days, but if you can't pull off a simple palace revolution, what can you pull off?"

* DontCelebrateJustYet: The Doctor thinks he's won again, only to find there's a BiggerBad.

* [[ForgotAboutHisPowers Forgot About His Ability to Regenerate]]: Just like in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]". Many Time Lords seem to forget they have the ability to regenerate.
** While it won't explain away the guards who were shot by the primitive arrows, it makes sense that a Time Lord weapon would be effective at killing without regeneration. As for the guards, perhaps they were just Gallifreyans and not full on Time Lords?

--> '''Rodan''': Nothing can get pass the Transduction Barriers
--> '''The Doctor''': K-9, destroy the Transduction Barriers.

* ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder: When Rodan suggests that the TARDIS interior could do with some sprucing up, the Doctor complains that he's a Time Lord, not a painter & decorator.
* {{Irony}}: ''There's nothing more useless than a lock with a voice print.''

* LaResistance: Leela, Rodan, and the outsiders.
** First Andred and his men, against the Doctor.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: The Doctor knowingly collaborates with the Vardan invasion of Gallifrey, confident that he can defeat them. Then it turns out that they were being backed by the Sontarans...

* PantyShot: During the outside scenes, Leela's skirt is blown up.
** But this was FanDisservice - Leela's knickers turned out to be Film/BridgetJones big-girl issue, in the same khaki-brown as her skirt.

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: The Sontarans.
* PutOnABus: Leela
* TheQuisling: The Castellan.

* SpaceAmish: The Outsiders.

* UndyingLoyalty: Despite everyone telling her The Doctor's gone bonkers, Leela never loses faith in his inherent goodness.
* [[VichyEarth Vichy Gallifrey]]: Especially the Castellan; who, for one, welcomes his new Sontaran overlords.

* WithDueRespect

* TheXOfY
* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: The Part 4 cliffhanger.
* YouthIsWastedOnTheDumb

->'''Vardan Leader:''' Congratulations, Doctor. You show great promise in the application of power. You could be a first grade dictator.
->'''The Doctor:''' Thank you. You're very kind. That's very kind of you.

* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: {{Lampshaded}}.

Leela and a really overqualified Time Lady named Rodan roam about in the wilderness outside, where they meet a group of barbarian Gallifreyans (not part of the Time Lord houses) who are really quite bad at being barbarians.

* AsideGlance: The Doctor looks a few times straight into the camera when talking to himself. Adred does it once too, then looks embarassed for having done so.

** While it wont explain away the guards who were shot by the primitive arrows, it makes sense that a Time Lord weapon would be effective at killing without regeneration. As for the guards, perhaps they were just Gallifreyans and not full on Time Lords?

* UndyingLoyalty: Despite everyone telling her The Doctor's gone bonkers, Leela never losses faith in his inherent goodness.

* VictoryGuidedAmnesia: The Doctor suffers some memory loss after the Time Lord superweapon blows up in his face, it's not made clear how much memory was lost.

* AsideGlance: The Doctor looks a few times straight into the camera when talking to himself.

->'''Vardan Leader:''' ''Congratulations, Doctor. You show great promise in the application of power. You could be a first grade dictator.''
->'''The Doctor:''' ''Thank you. You're very kind. That's very kind of you.''