History Fridge / DoctorWhoRussellTDaviesEra

[[folder:[=2023=] Specials (Fourteenthth Doctor) Fridge]]

** That line is probably a [[ActorAllusion reference to the fact]] that Ardal O'Hanlon's most famous role is as a Catholic priest (though at the same time, Dougal wouldn't have the mental capacity to be homophobic).

** I'm also not much of a Rose fan, but I did eventually decide on an interpretation of his obsession that makes her feel like less of a RelationshipSue to me. As mentioned, he just came out of the Time War. He's had to commit multiple genocides, including that of his own species, murdering all the friends and family he ever had. As established later in Series Fnarg, [[TheDreaded most of the universe is absolutely terrified of him]], regarding him as an [[EldritchAbomination incomprehensible and utterly alien]] monster who brings death, destruction and chaos in his wake. At this point? [[ShellShockedVeteran He's probably]] [[SurvivorGuilt wondering]] [[HeroicBSOD if they're right]]. Even the ones who look up to him see him as this incredible god-like MemeticBadass. Then all of a sudden he stops by his pet planet for yet another round of his battle with everything ever and runs into this girl who has no idea who he is. To her, he's not the Lonely God or the Oncoming Storm or the Bringer of Darkness, he's just a mysterious weirdo with big ears and a leather jacket. And Rose practically makes reaching out and befriending random people into a superpower. Basically, he latched onto Rose because it's the first time in a long time someone's treated him like a ''person''; she gave a lifeline back from total isolation. The fact that she dragged him back from the abyss and he knows it leads him to obsess over her, even though really, ''anyone'' who had managed to connect to him at that time and that place in his life could have helped him much the same.

*** There's also a matter of who was the Doctor's ''first'' Companion — the person who helped him hot-wire the TARDIS for an extended joyride; his granddaughter. As far as he knows, Susan didn't survive the Time War. Rose also has a few qualities in common with the last companion of the classic series — Ace — in that she's a working class young woman with few better prospects. Rose is hardly the only one rolling ReplacementGoldfish here.

* Additional brilliance for [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E5RiseOfTheCybermen "Rise of the Cybermen"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E6TheAgeOfSteel "The Age of Steel"]]. Earlier on in part 1, the Doctor throws away a rather quick explanation as to how they ended up in the parallel world by mistake. And in particular, he said that "When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could hop between realities, home in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed." And that in itself explains all the 20 minutes into the future looks of the classic stories. Before the Time War, the Doctor could travel across parallel universes. Parallel universes with Earth that has slightly advanced technology compared to the technology from the viewer's home. It explains how in the classic series, Earth could have been under the constant threat of alien invasion with the human population constantly unaware of said invasions because for much of the series, that alien menace of the story could have been the first time aliens have invaded that particular Earth of that universe. It also explains the existence of companions such as Viki and Zoe, both whom were from a futuristic time period envisioned by the 1960s but realistically wouldn't be possible especially as the real world progresses. Because for those characters and for certain events, those events happen on parallel Earths. All of the events during the revival series more or less revolve around a certain Earth that have been televised since the 1970s at the very earliest.

* Just a little one I noticed when Nine says he was on a ship that was called "unsinkable". In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]], we hear about Nine saving a family from the ''Titanic''. At first I just brushed it off as plot-hole or discontinuity, but then I realized that he probably lived through the ''Titanic'' (maybe to see what it was like) and then went back to save this family from A) dying and B) seeing an earlier version of him.

*** People also forget that River Song is snarky and clearly enjoys messing with the Doctor. It's pretty evident throughout her later appearances that the comment about him leaving the handbrake on wasn't necessarily the truth.

** Perhaps River was just teasing her husband, as she so often does. Those "little blue boring-ers" might merely have activated some sort of active or passive noise cancellation system.

* The paradox of Pete's survival in Father's Day isn't what he himself would achieve, it's the influence he'd have as an ongoing living presence in Rose's life. Him living past the point he should have died could have had the probability Rose wouldn't end up in the Henrik's basement that fateful evening or going on to join the Doctor as a companion. In the episode the Doctor suggests she joined him upon learning the TARDIS could travel in time because it was a way to see Pete when he was alive, Rose not fully denying this.
** Pete dying was a Turn Left moment for Rose because it influenced when she was supposed to properly meet and join the Doctor except as it was the prime timeline being affected and not a parallel timeline as was for Donna no Reapers there.

** And on top of that, UNIT has always seemed to be GenreSavvy when it comes to fighting aliens, with specialized equipment, hiring the best scientific minds they can, etc. Torchwood, on the other hand, is seen taking on Daleks and Cybermen with seemingly regular bullets, let Mickey bluff or fake his way in, and [[BullyingADragon seem to think they can actually control the Doctor]]. Aside from all of the political considerations, it's highly doubtful they could win a straight fight either.

** Indeed, Martha is, of all of the companions in the RTD era, the only one who seems capable of just walking out of the TARDIS and going on with life, rather than centering their life around trying to find the Doctor again. [[ButtMonkey Mickey]] comes a close second, after a fair chunk of CharacterDevelopment. Both times he leaves the TARDIS, it is in part because he knows he can't compete with the Doctor for Rose's attention. The first time he also has other people who need him (his grandmother and the Preachers), and the second time, he has nobody who needs him anymore, and sets out on his own. So of course he ends up as companion to a Doctor. Doctor Martha Jones.

* So why did Torchwood never go after the Doctor when he was stuck on Earth during the '70s ([[RunningGag or was it the '80s?]]). Surely they must have some kind of connection with fellow MenInBlack UNIT. Well, three options. 1) Either they're so spectacularly incompetent they totally missed the Doctor running all around the place (doubtful, but possible), 2) Captain Jack, who was working with Torchwood at the time, made some records "disappear", or, probably the most likely, 3) they knew that trying to kidnap the Doctor meant messing with TheBrigadier. And even Torchwood is probably smart enough to know not to pick that fight.