Series 5-7: all the timelines, plot holes, and ways to fill some of them

[ibishtar]

I’ve attempted to make sense of the plot of Series 5-7 of Doctor Who (up to and including The Time of the Doctor). I’ll have to heavily summarise this in order to put it in infographic form, but here’s the full version of my write-up in case anyone’s interested. I’ve pointed out all the timeline changes as long as they pertain to the series arc (

Comments

[fanbot]

Thank you. This nicely sums up why I have not been able to get fully attached to Matt Smith and this whole mess of over used "hey look a paradox!" plot lines. I completely understand the concept of wibbly wobblilyness, but look at this inconsistent mess!
I just pray that Capaldi's run will be "cleaner."

[ibishtar]

Thanks. A common defence of Moffat's plotting is that the fans who criticise it just aren't paying close enough attention, that it all makes sense really. Well, I was paying attention, and there are numerous, major points where it doesn't make sense, not even with the most generous fanwanking imaginable.

[ibishtar]

I haven't seen B5, but that sounds like an impressive approach. It's not one I feel is totally necessary for television, I think making story up as you go along is fine, but not when, like with Moffat's DW and Lost, your storytelling consists on setting up future plots, and then not being consistent or satisfying when the time comes to answering the questions, or leave stuff hanging.

[xenaclone]

Some suggestions:-

The Doctor/TARDIS will die on Trenzalore, way wayyyy in the future.
It's a fake grave.

The Doctor ages precisely because it is [as he thinks] his final face/body.

Tasha Lem is actually River Song.

Clara thinks she sees the Doctor's real name in the book, but she is mistaken. Or she sees it and forgets. Or it just says 'The Doctor'.

[ibishtar]

Thanks for engaging with me

[mr_squiddle]

What if Amy had twins...?

[fueschgast]

Then I hope they have kissed before they found out they're siblings.

I'm sorry, I just... Star Wars.

[saaammie]

My head...

Thanks for the great summary though!
But (as you point out), a LOT of things simply don't make sense. It makes me frustrated.

[ibishtar]

Thanks!

My head...

You have no idea how many times I said that while writing this. Even with such desperate efforts to make sense of it all, it couldn't be done. And that's staying out of the issue of the lack of emotional sense throughout all this.

[bitter_suite24]

Wow! I am seriously impressed that you put this all together. (I'm also wondering how much time this took.) There are just so many plot holes and things that don't make any sense! Perhaps this is why I never liked seasons 5-7 as much as season 1-4. (Or at least part of the reason. I also never cared much for or about Amy, and I hate River.) Anyway, thank you for putting this all together!

[ibishtar]

Thanks, the Series 5 section I did a long time ago, Series 6 I did maybe a week ago, and Series 7 onwards after watching The Time of The Doctor. About 4 hours of work in all, I think.
The thing is, when one puts the storytelling focus on 'the plot', and that plot isn't thought through well, and not enough attention is given to characterisation and character arcs, then what is left for the viewer to enjoy? It's been all flash and no depth.
After her intro in the Library two-parter, I was ready to welcome River as a character with open arms. There were many aspects of her that were cool and interesting. But her storyline has been so demeaning and such an insulting mess. My ire is directed at Moffat, then at Eleven, but not at River herself because I feel like she was dealt such a shitty hand within the narrative and I feel sorry for her.

[bitter_suite24]

Agreed. It's definitely all been flash with zero depth. The first example that jumps to mind is the episode "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship". I remember watching the preview for that ep and hearing the Doctor exclaim, "It's dinosaurs! On a spaceship!" It seemed to me like Moffat (or whoever) came up with the idea of putting dinosaurs on a spaceship, and nothing else. And so many episodes have been (or seemed) like that. Even episodes that have great premises don't always work. I had high hopes for "Journey to the Centre of the Tardis," but sadly the episode fell far, far, short of my hopes.

As for River, I think I'm the only person in the wold who didn't like River when she first appeared in the library. She just rubbed me the wrong way, and I've never liked her. I agree her storyline was insulting and demeaning though. Maybe if her storyline had been different she would have grown on me. We'll never know.

[aylinn]

re: matt not being surprised at seeing tom - because at that point he has HOPE that he will succeed and might then be given a set of regenerations as a reward. (you can sort of see this ticking behind Matt's eyes as he goes "I never forget a face

[ibishtar]

That's a good explanation for the Four thing, thanks.

LMAO the idea of Nine just assuming he must have done it although he can't actually remember it is so dodgy to me, I'd rather not go there.

No, the Timelock definitely did happen, it's referenced in The Day of the Doctor and is an important part of the story in The End of Time, where the Time Lords are trying to escape it, so it's not a wrong assumption by the Doctor.

That's another thing, if Gallifrey is frozen in another Universe 'like a painting', then how does the decision to give the Doctor more regenerations happen. Nevertheless it's fun to think who made that decision and why and how.

[aylinn]

>LMAO the idea of Nine just assuming he must have done it although he can't actually remember it is so dodgy to me, I'd rather not go there

[ibishtar]

But 10 has the same memories of the Time War as 9 and if he is the one who thinks things over he would also have noticed the gaps in his memory of that day. Also, lines from the Dalek Emperor in S1:

"You destroyed us, Doctor. The Dalek Race died in your inferno, but my ship survived, falling through time, crippled but alive."

The Dalek Emperor witnessed and barely survived that moment of destruction by the Doctor, it would have noticed if it had been a case of Gallifrey disappearing and Daleks destroying each other in crossfire. It also corroborates the 9's description of what happened: "[The Daleks] all burnt, all of [them]. Ten million ships on fire. The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second. [...] I watched it happen. I made it happen. [And the Time Lords are] dead. They burnt with [them]. The end of the last great Time War. Everyone lost."

There's other arguments for the aborted timeline theory, but when I look at Christopher Eccleston's and David Tennant's portrayal, I don't believe there's a chance the Doctor's memories