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Context Recap / DoctorWho2007TDWASTheInfiniteQuest

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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doctorwho-theinfinitequest13_2_2421.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:Be kind to your gold-eating metallic birdies.]]
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4JustForFun/{{The one|With}} [[UsefulNotes/AdobeFlash animated in Flash!]]
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6Set somewhere between the events of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E3Gridlock Gridlock]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia Utopia]]".
7----
8Hey, we haven't had a good GottaCatchEmAll serial in a while, have we? Must be time to hunt the wild PlotCoupon.
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10An alien named Baltazar wants to conquer Earth; the Doctor and Martha thwart his plans and send him to the icy prison planet Volag-Noc; he swears vengeance.
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12Some years later. Martha is surprised to run into Baltazar's pet mechanical bird, Caw, whom they had freed when they sent Baltazar packing. Caw remembers Martha, thanks her for his freedom, and gives her a little metal brooch... and a quest.
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14Baltazar, says Caw, has escaped from Volag-Noc and is searching for ''The Infinite'', a legendary old spaceship that grants its finder his or her heart's desire. Caw gives them a datachip, [[LinkedListClueMethodology which has the location of the next datachip]], etc., all the way to the last datachip, which has the location of ''The Infinite''.
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16First stop: an oil rig on an unpleasant-looking planet. The rig is being robbed by {{Sky Pirate}}s, whose Captain, Kaliko thinks that the Doctor and Martha are spies from the oil company, and is all ready to make them WalkThePlank when the ''real'' spy -- her first mate -- reveals himself. BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork ensues. The pirate ship is broken up; Kaliko escapes in an escape-pod-thingy, but turns up dead next to the TARDIS. Still wearing her datachip-shaped pendant, fortunately.
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18Next up is the planet of the frog people. Well, planet of the frog ''person'': Ulysees Meregrass, an Anuran war consultant; and his clients, a hive of giant alien aphids. Meregrass also has datachip-shaped jewelry, so the Doctor and Martha stick close to him while he strategizes with the hive queen about their war against... humans, who ''also'' live on the planet. And who, it turns out, were there first, and were ''attacked'' by the aphids, and are the good guys [[HumansAreBastards for a change]]. The Doctor brings about peace by posing as a pirate leader, Doctor Vile, of the Mantasphid, in a bit of over-the-top voice work from Creator/DavidTennant.
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20Last datachip. Why, it's on the icy prison planet of Volag-Noc! What are the odds? The Doctor forgot his get-out-of-jail-free card, though, and finds that the galactic statute of limitations hasn't quite run out on some of his more notorious doings. His stay will be somewhat longer than planned.... unless, of course, he [[MacGyvering MacGyvers]] his way out.
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22Turns out Baltazar had played the Doctor for an UnwittingPawn. He takes the final datachip, takes Martha hostage, and takes off for ''The Infinite''. The Doctor catches up with them--though he later says it's been ''three years'' [[OutOfTimeOutOfMind in his timeline]]--just in time to save Martha from the illusion of her heart's desire (a hologram of himself), but not able to save Baltazar from his (a hologram of piles o' treasure).
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24This was initially shown in serialised form as a regular feature in the BBC's children's BonusMaterial show ''Totally Doctor Who'', and later broadcast as an omnibus. Can be watched [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2m6rik here]]
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26----
27!!Tropes:
28* ApocalypseHow: In the opening, Baltazar attempts a ApocalypseHow/ClassX by compressing the Earth along with all carbon-based life on it (basically ''all'' native life) into a giant diamond.
29* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The Doctor is incarcerated on over a thousand offenses, including planetary destruction and overdue library fines. He really should've returned those books.
30* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: The Infinite can grant whoever finds it their heart's desires. But they end up trapped there.
31* BigCreepyCrawlies: The Aphids
32* ContinuityNod: When talking about the Dark Times the Doctor mentions the Racnoss, the Nestene and the Great Vampires. The creature that once inhabited the Infinite is referred to as a Great Old One. In a deleted scene he refers to Fenric, Kwundaar, and Raag, Nah and Rok.
33* DerelictGraveyard: The ''Infinite''.
34* FantasticRacism: The Mantasphid Queen towards "fleshy bipeds".
35* FrogMen: Meregrass is a frog-like Anuran.
36* GottaCatchEmAll: The ''Infinite'' can only be located by finding all of the datachips.
37* InformedAbility: The Doctor calls Baltazar "the greatest despot who ever, ''ever'' lived". Despite the fact that he seems to have no dominion over anything aside from his pirate ship and ends up getting defeated by (in order) a spoon and a robot parrot. Ten likes to exaggerate, though.
38** However we do hear that he has just defeated the entire Earth Defence Force and when first seen he comes close to wiping out all life on Earth.
39* KnightTemplar: The prison governor.
40* LinkedListClueMethodology: Each data chip leads to the next.
41* ListOfTransgressions: The fake prison governor delivers a list of the Doctor's known crimes to Martha.
42-->'''Governor:''' Minor traffic violations: 1400 counts. Evading library fine: 250 counts.\
43'''Martha:''' Come on, that's nothing serious.\
44'''Governor:''' Planetary demolition...\
45'''Martha:''' How many counts?\
46'''Governor:''' Seventeen... no, Eighteen.
47* MacGuffinDeliveryService: What the Doctor gets turned into by Balthazar
48* MeaningfulName: The robot Prison Governor is called Locke.
49* MysteriousBenefactor: Someone keeps helping the Doctor and Martha off screen...
50* OutOfTimeOutOfMind: The Doctor, when he catches up with Martha and Baltazar, says it's been three years for him, but he doesn't act any different. [[JustifiedTrope Given that he's already at least 900, a few years here or there is probably no biggie]].
51* PenalColony: Balthazar is imprisoned in one. He later traps the Doctor there.
52* PirateGirl: The one living pirate is this.
53* PlotCoupon: The three chips needed to find the Infinite.
54* PokemonSpeak: Caw and his son Squawk.
55* PragmaticVillainy: When Baltazar escapes imprisonment, he doesn't seek {{Revenge}}, but rather has the Doctor find the ''Infinite'', an object of immense value for him. Even when he has the Doctor at his mercy, he prioritizes getting to the ''Infinite'' while the getting is good, and just leaves the Doctor deserted on the nearest prison planet.
56* RunningGag: The Doctor still thinks that, no, no, she shouldn't do that.
57* ShoutOut:
58** The human {{Space Marine}}s fighting [[BigCreepyCrawlies Giant Bugs]]. Now, granted this could be either ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', ''Film/{{Aliens}}'', ''Franchise/StarshipTroopers'' or ''VideoGame/StarCraft''.
59** Caw says Baltazar promised him [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian "all the gold I could eat".]]
60* SkeletonCrew: The pirates turn out to have (mostly) become this.
61* SkyPirates: The group guarding the first chip.
62* SpaceIsAnOcean: There are pirates and references to the Seven Galaxies.
63* SpacePirates: See SkyPirates.
64* TheSlowPath: Though it's only been three years for the Doctor.
65* SteamPunk: Caw and Squawk seem to be this.
66* TalkLikeAPirate: The Doctor does this to gain one of the microchips. And it is [[LargeHam GLORIOUS]]!!!!!
67* WholePlotReference: This is an animated rehash of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus The Keys of Marinus]]". It also seems quite similar to "The Key to Time", which in the second part had the Captain, a Space Pirate similar to Baltazar.
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