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Classic series, new series, Whoniverse, expanded universe... 'tis all welcome here.


Please be considerate and tag spoilers wherever possible.
  • Tag all spoilers for the latest episode, for any previews or content leaks, and for all off-topic works (e.g. if comparing a Doctor Who story to a Star Trek one)
  • Spoilers for a season finale (or for any standalone special or expanded universe story) should remain tagged for at least a month after it's released.

When including spoiler tags, try to write so that tropers can make an informed decision before viewing them (e.g. which show and episode will they spoil?).

(Mod edit to add spoiler rules)

Edited by Mrph1 on Jun 12th 2025 at 5:03:16 PM

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#72776: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:08:43 AM

A history that is not entirely dependent on the saviour skills of one rogue Time Lord and his motley crew of meddling kids from modern-day UK.

Wouldn't it be cool if Ancient Aliens did a Doctor Who special?

edited 18th Jan '14 3:10:01 AM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72777: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:09:38 AM

HMPH HMPH HMPH MOST UNORTHODOX

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
thekikoperson from Australia Since: Mar, 2010
#72778: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:15:52 AM

[up][up][up][up]Wasn't there something in The Impossible Astronaut about the Silence having advanced Earth's tech or something? (I honestly can't remember)

edited 18th Jan '14 3:16:16 AM by thekikoperson

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72779: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:20:12 AM

Yes. Which ends up weird because they turned out to be human/human created.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
unnoun Since: Jan, 2012
#72780: Jan 18th 2014 at 4:46:30 AM

Everything is aliens. If everything wasn't aliens, what kind of world would that be where things just happen and humans are allowed to have their own history.

...Have you been reading Dead Romance?

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72781: Jan 18th 2014 at 4:50:52 AM

No.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Oboeplum Antiheroic antivillain from somewhere really boring Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Antiheroic antivillain
#72782: Jan 18th 2014 at 5:09:17 AM

It's a science fiction show with time travel. The way I see it, it's sort of expected to say aliens made earth.

The internet is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it-William Gibson
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#72783: Jan 18th 2014 at 5:17:01 AM

Okay but then who made the aliens' planet? Is it aliens all the way down?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72784: Jan 18th 2014 at 5:36:24 AM

Aliens created Earth but humans created the universe and then created aliens to create Earth so that Humans would have a mythology about aliens creating things. And then the aliens stupided themselves into extinction because they never existed.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Oboeplum Antiheroic antivillain from somewhere really boring Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Antiheroic antivillain
#72785: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:16:55 AM

yes bocaj.

The internet is a waste of time, and that's exactly what's right about it-William Gibson
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#72786: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:40:16 AM

Is that actual DW canon, or is there no such thing as "actual DW canon"?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
unnoun Since: Jan, 2012
Zarek Rollin' rollin' rollin' from Jakku Since: Sep, 2012 Relationship Status: Shipping fictional characters
Rollin' rollin' rollin'
#72788: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:44:50 AM

I think the idea is that aliens made human history, but Time Lords made everyone else's history.

"We're home, Chewie."
TheAirman Brightness from The vicinity of an area adjacent to a location Since: Feb, 2011 Relationship Status: Historians will say we were good friends.
Brightness
#72789: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:49:50 AM

[up][up][up] ~Lurker Mode Off~

There is only a canon in the sense that the Doctor has a continuous personal timeline and (sort of) gets to remember it all. Pretty much everything other than specifically his memories is subject to any change at any time, up to and including the events that he remembers having happened differently. Unnoun, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

edited 18th Jan '14 6:51:17 AM by TheAirman

PSN ID: FateSeraph | Switch friendcode: SW-0145-8835-0610 Congratulations! She/They
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72790: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:54:09 AM

The thing I'm vaguely referencing is actually something from Terry Pratchett.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#72791: Jan 18th 2014 at 9:36:09 AM

[up][up]

I sat down once and just worked over theory after theory to make a concise model of how time works in Doctor Who, I almost had it pinned down.

It did involve six dimensions though, relied heavily on the idea of future and past timelines, personal 5th dimensional time lines of time travellers which transcend these, that timelines of all kinds constantly reiterate and have a tendency to converge to certain sustainable timelines, or diverge into unsustainable messes where timelines are changing too quickly or drastically to work.

Though the model raise a few questions; First one being that it implies that if the Doctor visited his past self through travelling through 4th dimensional time he'd encounter a past self with slightly different, but not notably so, experiences who would later go on to be a slightly different, but not notably so, iteration of the current Doctor, in a slightly different, but not notably so, presence in the Doctor's personal timeline.

(If the changes were notably different then the changes on the timeline/lines would be asymptomatic and unsustainable.)

Yes I'm studying a mathematics degree

edited 18th Jan '14 9:38:39 AM by Whowho

unnoun Since: Jan, 2012
#72792: Jan 18th 2014 at 10:51:57 AM

The thing is, guys, everyone's memory is a mess. Life is a mess. Everyone's got memories of a holiday they've never been on or a party they never went to, or met someone for the first time and felt like they've known them all their lives. Time is being rewritten all around us, every day. People think their memories are bad, but their memories are fine. The past is really like that.

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#72793: Jan 18th 2014 at 10:53:03 AM

And also memories are that bad.

Shouldn't discount that just because the past is screwy.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#72794: Jan 18th 2014 at 2:57:33 PM

[up][up]That was the most romantic, loveable way of invoking the MST3K Mantra I've ever witnessed. It was adorable.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Whowho Since: May, 2012
#72795: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:00:39 PM

It's also a really interesting exploration of how time works in Moffat's era.

I do get the sense that the Moff has an idea of how he would like time to work in Doctor Who, even if he knows it's best to forgo such preferences in favour of good stories.

TParadox Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: The captain of her heart
#72796: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:08:43 PM

And isn't it related to something Douglas Adams wrote about time and paradox?

Fresh-eyed movie blog
darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#72797: Jan 18th 2014 at 3:58:43 PM

My memories are crap. After losing my sight, I forgot nearly every visual detail of my life because I had no reference to recall them.

Whowho Since: May, 2012
#72798: Jan 18th 2014 at 4:08:08 PM

You know, I've always wondered if your history of slaying Grues was comforting or nightmarish when you lost your sight.

darkabomination Since: Mar, 2012
#72799: Jan 18th 2014 at 5:01:14 PM

Hahaha. Well, seeing how the lamp doesn't have much use for me anyway, I'd presumably have less fear in the dark, so I'd just punch any lurking grues in the face and be on my merry way.

Also, someone pointed out that with my name, sigs, and avi, I have a chiaroscuro thing going on, which was unintentional on my part. Still kinda cool though.

edited 18th Jan '14 5:03:28 PM by darkabomination

Laura from Shintolin Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: You're a beautiful woman, probably
#72800: Jan 18th 2014 at 6:33:46 PM

[up]somewhere That's what people forget about canon, it's not just for anoraks and people who make lists. It's also important for people who who expect characters to have actual coherent lives with memories affecting them.

He's the Doctor. He could be anywhere in time and space.

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