THE PLOT HOLES CREATED BY “THE TIMELESS CHILDREN”

Introduction

I’m back again, delving into the disaster known as “The Timeless Children”.

This is how I know I’m not that bothered about Chris Chibnall’s so-called “master plan” because when I’m not reminded of it I completely forget it’s happened. That’s how much of an impact it’s left. And when I do remember the episode I like to tell someone about it who hasn’t watched it, just to see what they’re reaction is.

So far everybody that I’ve told has responded the same way; gobsmacked.

Sheer disbelief.

They literally have to do a double take and ask if I’m just pulling their leg.

But I’m not. 

This is reality people. 

Doctor Who died at the hands of a political hack.

But considering how poorly executed his “master plan” was it becomes even more laughable when you stare at all the endless plot holes that have now been created. I’m not kidding. Search any social media site, or forum, and look at the long lists that Whovians have created to showcase Chibnall’s complete blunder.

Himself, and the BBC, like to think that everything is fine. That changing the past doesn’t alter the future, or anything between. You’d be wrong of course. Well, assuming you actually accept this load of old tripe as canon, which most people don’t because it’s complete trash you’d expect to find on some fan site, written by someone who doesn’t know how to construct a narrative and is obsessed with nonsense mythology.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun delving into some of the prominent plot holes pointed out by the fans and see how more hilarious this whole situation becomes as we poke fun at Chibnall’s inability to present a coherent narrative that actually works.

The Doctor’s Childhood

Going back to the Third Doctor’s era, there are plenty of references indicating towards the Doctor’s time back on Gallifrey when he was a young lad. Also it has been heavily documented that the Master grew up with the Doctor, attending the Time Lord Academy with him (along with the Rani) before their eventual misunderstandings.

Then there’s later acknowledgments from Borusa (first seen in The Deadly Assassin), who was the Doctor’s tutor back at the Academy, as well as snide remarks from Romana about the Doctor’s low academic results later on in The Ribos Operation.

We have the Doctor’s tales about him befriending a hermit on Gallifrey (first mentioned to Jo Grant in The Time Monster) before he’s finally seen on screen in Planet of the Spiders under the guise of K’anpo Rimpoche.

Fast forward to the New Series and Steven Moffat establishes a scene set in the barn from “The Day of the Doctor” were a scared young Doctor is frightened at the concepts of growing up and attending the Academy, to which Clara Oswald gives him encouragement to help him become the man we now know him to be.

All of this is established canon. 

Or so we thought…

According to Chris Chibnall, the Doctor originated from another universe and wasn’t born on Gallifrey, nor is he even a Time Lord. The Doctor, who was originally a black girl, was revealed to be an immortal being who can regenerate infinitely, leading to the Gallifreyans exploiting this ability (by murdering the Doctor over, and over again) to build Time Lord society.

All of this, and the unnumbered incarnations during this period of Time Lord history, were wiped from the Doctor’s memory. Not only did the Doctor have an infinite amount of lives, and adventures, prior to the First Doctor, he also somehow reverted back to being a child so he could grow up again as a normal Time Lord.

Remember, his years as a child on Gallifrey can’t be fabricated memories because other Time Lords the Doctor’s interacted with hold the same account of the past. So how can any of this make sense? It’s as if the writers of the past are now contradicting Chibnall’s own writing, almost as if it doesn’t blend together as a coherent continuity.

How is Ruth’s TARDIS a Police Box?

Okay, this one definitely shows that Chibnall didn’t do his research.

Call yourself a fan!

It is well known at this point that the Doctor’s TARDIS became a Police Box after he landed in London, 1963, during “An Unearthly Child”. This, of course, was due to the Chameleon Circuit, which at that point was working.

Fast Forward to the following episode, “The Cave of Skulls”, then we discover (to the surprise of the First Doctor) that the TARDIS is still in the shape of a Police Box. The First Doctor even proclaims, “It’s still a Police Box. Why hasn’t it changed? Dear, dear, how very disturbing.”

Why hasn’t it changed?

This definitively implies this has never happened before.

Further proof.

Susan (the Doctor’s granddaughter) also makes a comment on the TARDIS still being a Police Box; “It should have changed. Wonder why it hasn’t happened this time?”

This time.

It doesn’t end there. Susan then goes on to describe various other disguises it has previously taken, whilst briefly explaining the concept of the TARDIS’s unique disguising ability to Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, “It’s been an Ionic Column and a Sedan Chair.”

I rest my case, Chibnall.

This is when the TARDIS first became stuck in the form of a Police Box, right back at the very beginning of the show, nearly sixty years ago. So, tell me Chibnall, how on earth is Ruth’s TARDIS in the guise of a Police Box?

It doesn’t make sense, Chibnall.

The only reason it was a Police Box was so the surprise made sense as soon as the First Female Doctor, played by Jodie Whitaker, unearthed her TARDIS. Had you been smart, Whitaker’s cosplay Doctor would’ve found a completely different object, becoming further confused as to the importance, and mystery, behind Ruth. Perhaps then she could’ve heard the sound of the TARDIS, a Cloister Bell perhaps, which peaks her interest further. Upon inspecting the object she could’ve then discovered the entrance and stumbled upon Ruth’s TARDIS. But what do I know, hey Chibnall?

I guess we’re supposed to believe that the Doctor previously landed on Earth in the 1960s, got the Chameleon Circuit stuck as a Police Box for a period of time, before thousands of years later doing the exact same thing again. That’s a little bit too much coincidence for my liking.

Either way, plot hole!

The Doctor’s Biology

Here’s an interesting one.

How is it that nobody up until “The Timeless Children” has been able to identify that the Doctor’s biology doesn’t match that of a Time Lord’s own biology. I mean, he is (I mean, she is) supposed to be a completely different species that comes from an entirely different universe. So why is the Doctor recognised as a Time Lord?

Are we supposed to believe that the mysterious Division somehow altered the Doctor’s DNA, so as to mask this great secret further? That seems like a lot of effort to maintain a shady piece of Time Lord history, especially when you consider this same secret remains embedded in the Matrix, which the Master ultimately stumbles upon.

Or did the Doctor’s species originally have two hearts and the Time Lords simply adapted themselves to this superior bodily structure?

I suppose it could go a long way to explain why nobody originally identified the Doctor having two hearts, until he of course regenerated. Maybe he didn’t have two hearts to start with, because his original species only had one, and somehow during regeneration he gained two hearts. Okay, that’s really clutching at straws.

However you slice it, you can’t help but scratch your head in utter confusion as you attempt to even make sense of all this, let alone try to apply it to the actual canon. Heck, I would’ve settled for the Doctor being half human, at least that sentiment makes more sense.

The Morbius Doctors

Okay, now we come to the Classic Series reference (which by the way, was quickly forgotten about) which all the nutters out there, who want to believe in Chibnall’s brave new canon, rely on as a firm tent pole to cement their ideas.

Wrong!

Apart from the fact that this idea set up in The Brain of Morbius, in which the Doctor had incarnations prior to William Hartnell’s iteration, was swiftly abandoned in the following season when The Deadly Assassin created the rule about Time Lords only having twelve regenerations, it has already been well established that the faces that appear are that of Morbius himself.

But if we were to take a step back and consider the extreme possibility that these faces did belong to the Doctor, how does it work within the confines of Chibnall’s retcon?

Seriously, explain that one to me.

What, you don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, allow me to explain myself.

I’m talking of course about the fact that the Doctor isn’t supposed to recognise any of his (I mean her) life as the Timeless Child, i.e. anything that predates Hartnell’s incarnation. Hence, why the First Female Doctor, played by Jodie Whitaker, doesn’t recognise the Ruth Doctor.

So, how on earth does the Fourth Doctor remember those faces back in The Brain of Morbius?

The answer is, he wouldn’t. At least, not according to the rules established by Chibnall’s retcon. Oh, this article is so much fun. Each piece of the puzzle unravels Chibnall’s little “master plan”, reaffirming that he hasn’t got a chuffing clue what he’s doing.

Delving into the Matrix

This is another funny one.

During the course of the Classic Series the Doctor entered the Matrix four times!

Four!

He did this in The Deadly Assassin, The Invasion of Time, Arc of Infinity, and The Trial of a Time Lord.

And guess who else has been in the Matrix before?

The Master!

Are you telling me that neither one of them happened to stumble upon this dirty little secret of the Time Lords in any of those visits?

Sure, you’ll probably say that the Doctor and the Master were too preoccupied during these adventures to even bother looking. Plus, if the information was hidden, why would they go and look for it, especially if they’d never heard about the Timeless Child?

That is a valid answer, I will agree.

However, in The Invasion of Time, the Doctor was actually made President of the High Council. This meant he had unrestricted access to the Matrix. That is the privilege of the Lord President, to know each dirty little secret from the Time Lords shady history. And if he didn’t happen to stumble upon this information, K9 might have. Oh, yes, even K9 has been inside the Matrix, so why didn’t the intelligent robot dog discover this secret?

Probably because this canon wasn’t even dreamt up then.

That, and it’s just complete nonsense without any real substance or integrity.

Why Does The Valeyard Need New Regenerations?

Here’s another example of how Chibnall has broken canon.

The Valeyard is supposed to be an amalgamation of the Doctor’s darkest nature, created somewhere between his twelfth and final incarnation. Though it hasn’t yet been established when he came about, it’s an established fact he went back in time to plague the Sixth Doctor in a desperate attempt to steal his remaining incarnations.

But, of course, the point now stands that the Doctor is an immortal.

He can’t die.

Oh, I’m sorry. 

She can’t die.

So, why does the Valeyard need to travel back anywhere to steal the Doctor’s life force when he should himself also have unlimited regenerations. Unless you’re going to argue the fact that he technically doesn’t hold a stablised form, or he’s simply pure evil, and that’s why he can’t channel the gift his original form was born with. But that still doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Hang on a second.

I’ve got this all wrong.

The Valeyard is between the Doctor’s twelfth and final incarnation. That means the Valeyard could actually be from the Doctor’s past, considering the First Doctor is no longer the “First Doctor”, and perhaps the one billionth incarnation. So that makes it even more confusing why the Valeyard picks Colin Baker’s incarnation to plague. Surely he’s not the only dark incarnation out of the, now, long line-up of Doctors.

My head is beginning to hurt thinking about all this… 

The Seventh Doctor’s Memories

This one actually really annoys me because I’m one of the rare Whovians who liked Andrew Cartmel’s “master plan”.

I’m not entirely sure how well it would’ve panned out had it actually been fully implemented, but the seeds put into place throughout the Seventh Doctor’s era were truly fascinating, playing with our knowledge of who we thought the Doctor was, in that, he was now more than just another meddling Time Lord.

So when I see media outlets trying to spin Andrew Cartmel’s hard work, and clever additions to Doctor Who’s mythology, in a desperate attempt to justify Chibnall’s hack writing, just makes me utterly depressed. 

It’s sad, and pathetic.

How dare they compare Cartmel‘s work to Chibnall’s!

Cartmel attempted to add something to the show in order to reinvent it, for better or for worse, but at least passion went into his ideas and powerful narratives came about because of this. Chibnall simply wanted to push his political agendas, come what may, regardless of how much law he screwed up. No passion! No thought-pattern!

Anyhow, the Seventh Doctor clearly has memories about his mysterious past (in which he was originally meant to be a reincarnation of the Other), which he shouldn’t because Chibnall clearly indicated the Doctor doesn’t have any memories of his past prior to Hartnell’s incarnation.

So, what was he remembering?

Another indication towards Chibnall‘s inconsistent development of ideas.

It also shows unless you’re a clever show-runner (like Cartmel) you shouldn’t dare attempt to rewrite a show’s mythology.

How Is River Song Part Time Lady?

Due to Chibnall rewriting how the Time Lord’s society was established, it changed the foundation of how regeneration works. No longer is it something generic, instead it’s now an element stolen from the Doctor’s own DNA and implemented into the Time Lord’s own biology.

Essentially, the Time Lords aren’t anything special anymore.

Their unique traits are nothing more than a magical formula caught in a bottle.

In fact, Steven Moffat once had a clear explanation towards how the Gallifreyans transitioned themselves into Time Lords, i.e. via prolonged exposure from the Untempered Schism. This ultimately explained how River Song became part Time Lord after she was conceived aboard the TARDIS.

That’s why the Silence kidnapped Amy Pond so they could experiment on River once she was born, molding her Time Lord DNA so she could ultimately become a weapon to be used against the Doctor, to prevent him from reaching Trenzalore.

However, this is no longer the case.

River couldn’t have become part Time Lady based on the new rules put into place by Chibnall. She would’ve required the Doctor’s DNA to do this, and not the exposure from the Time Vortex.

There’s just so many issues to address with this new established canon. Honestly, it’s becoming painful pointing them all out. How can anyone dear say that Chibnall’s hack writing didn’t alter anything? They have to be high or something. Or just shills… 

Doctor Who?

First of all, by establishing the Doctor’s definitive origins you have taken away all sense of mystery within the show. Essentially, Chibnall has taken the “Who” out of Doctor Who. At least with Cartmel’s “master plan” it would’ve added more layers rather than just invent a sloppy endgame for the sake of retroactively changing the show to accommodate a writer’s personal views of the world.

Also, as mentioned in The Doctor’s Childhood segment, a lot of the Doctor’s childhood was established by other Time Lord’s accounts. In “The Sound of Drums” the Master states he remembers when the Doctor chose his title “Doctor” because he wanted “to help people”.

So, why does the Ruth Doctor have the same title if she was around before Hartnell’s Doctor?

Why would the Doctor have this title whilst they were an agent for the Division, to then have their memory wiped, regenerated back into a child just so they could later regain the title? Was that deliberate? Did the Diversion make this happen? Or was it a subconscious thing?

Chibnall, please explain your wisdom!

Also, wasn’t the Doctor’s name supposed to have some sort of mystical meaning that was dangerous to know? Does that apply to the title of “The Timeless Child”? But how can that be so if the Doctor doesn’t remember anything from before Hartnell’s incarnation?

I just don’t understand this.

I really don’t.

So, is there another secret from after all the Timeless Child nonsense upon the Doctor having their mind wiped and was reversed back into a child…

You know what, forget it.

Visiting the Doctor’s Timestream

Explain this one Chibnall.

Both Clara Oswald and the Eleventh Doctor stepped into the Doctor’s Time Stream, in which lied the entire history of the Time Lord’s lifespan. Despite whether or not the Doctor’s memory was wiped by the Diversion, this doesn’t alter the fact that all the Doctor’s lives prior to Hartnell’s variation should have appeared in the Time Stream, similar to the forgotten War Doctor played by Sir John Hurt.

Obviously, at that time, Chibnall’s retcon hadn’t been applied.

Fair point.

It’s a bit hard to apply a new idea to an existing narrative because, obviously, it wasn’t established back then, so of course the Timeless Child stuff wouldn’t have appeared.

However, that’s really the point of this argument.

You are applying an idea that doesn’t correspond with established canon. 

Chibnall clearly didn’t think about the implications of his idea. He failed to research every important element from the show’s long history in order to carefully mold his version of events without contradicting anything.

Like I said before, only someone who knows what they’re doing should even attempt a retcon of this scale. Chibnall is not that person. Going back to “The Name of the Doctor” now just feels like you’re watching a completely different show. It doesn’t match with what Chibnall wanted to envision because it’s at odds with what every other writer/producer established before. He’s literally trying to rewrite history without taking into account the history he’s trying to change.

Regeneration Count

Many of these examples are just writing themselves.

Literally, all of these points revolve around stories or elements that were already established but are now completely obsolete because of Chibnall’s reinvention. Everything that came before doesn’t make any sense because of “The Timeless Children”. Hence, why I don’t consider Chibnall’s ideas canon.

Do I pick Door No.1: A shoddy reimagining of the Doctor’s character, doused with virtue signalling nonsense, or do I pick Door No.2: All the wonderful, amazing ideas and additions implemented prior to Chibnall‘s era, that helped create one of the greatest television series of all times?

It’s a no brainer really.

Another element that doesn’t make sense now is he regeneration count. So now “The Time of the Doctor” is a load of nonsense.

The Eleventh Doctor believed himself to be at the end of his lifespan, slowly aging to death as the long siege of Trenzalore transpired. Of course, because he couldn’t remember he had perpetual regenerations, he believed he was going to perish on Trenzalore as was prophesied throughout his entire era.

Then he was given a whole new set of regenerations…

Why?

He didn’t need them.

Some have said that this was done by the Time Lords so the Doctor didn’t learn his terrible secret, because obviously he would’ve got to a point where he kicked the bucket but then mysteriously regenerated, despite having run out. The Doctor would’ve had some questions to ask, which is what the Time Lords didn’t want.

It’s somewhat plausible.

But, it still doesn’t alter the fact that Chibnall failed to do his research, screwing over the previous writer’s hard work to make sense of the regeneration count and allow the show to continue past its initial limitation. How insulting! Not only has he disrespected the fandom, he’s also disrespected every artist that has come before him.

Also, let’s not forget the fact that the Eleventh Doctor actually died in “Let’s Kill Hitler” and required River Song’s regeneration energy to revive him. Then, of course, the Tenth Doctor perished in “Turn Left” because Donna Noble wasn’t there to pull him out. I know that was a parallel universe created by Donna, but the point still stands.

On top of that, by having unlimited regenerations Chibnall has essentially taken any ounce of threat level from any given story because we know the Doctor can’t possibly die. Makes the show rather dull now doesn’t it.

Thirteen White Male Doctors

This one makes me laugh the most.

In all of Chibnall’s effort to deal with the “problematic” nature of Doctor Who’s past, i.e. the Doctor remaining a white male for over fifty years, he still can’t change the fact that William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Sir John Hurt, Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi existed.

All of these fine actors represented the Doctor’s character.

They became one with the role.

Nothing will take that away from them.

Then you have Jodie Whitaker and Jo Martin who come across as imitations, forced into existence because Chibnall seems to have some personal vendetta against his own kind. That says to me that he has something to hide, some form of guilt that he’s trying to expel by becoming an instigator of “wokeness”, showcasing himself as the bigger hypocrite.

Either way, you can make the Doctor as diverse as you want prior to Hartnell, it still doesn’t change the fact that the Doctor decided to go against your ideals for an entire life cycle, living for thousands of years presenting himself as a true hero, spreading inspiration to everyone.

Until the show is revamped by someone who knows what they’re doing, and has real passion and respect for Doctor Who, then I will forever choose to only acknowledge stories set between Hartnell and Capaldi’s run; the real Doctor Who.

Verdict

Basically, if my point hasn’t already been made, it’s that this article points out how much of a failed writer Chris Chibnall is.

He likes to think he’s being creative, accomplishing something truly groundbreaking in the name of progression, and is adding to Doctor Who’s mythology, but in fact all he’s doing is being a nuisance that doesn’t know when to quit.

Had he done some actual research (not that he should have needed to, considering he’s supposed to be a fan of the show) before implementing his own ideas then maybe it could’ve worked. Though, to be honest, it’s almost a blessing in disguise. Had he actually worked hard to force in his ridiculous reestablished history then it would’ve ticked a lot more people off.

The fact that he is such a hack writer means it’s so much easier to ignore his work.

But it’s still puzzling how someone could be so incompetent as a show-runner (I know, in this day-and-age the show-runners aren’t experienced creators, just imbeciles attempting to reconfigure society’s views on life to their own warped madness). To cause so many plot holes and have the nerve to say nothing has changed is beyond all comprehension.

Clearly all he had in mind was injecting his political views, and that’s it. He wanted to turn the Doctor into a poster-boy (oh, I’m sorry, poster-girl) for promoting culture and diversity. It’s so sad that these people are allowed to control our entertainment, and be allowed to destroy it as they so damn well please in the name of “wokeness”. Hopefully one day they’ll learn.

The point still stands that this article, and many others out there, prove that legitimate damage has been done to the continuity of Doctor Who. Sometimes small, but enough to stand out as an inconsistent plot-point in the eyes of Chibnall’s re-evaluation of the show’s law.

Basically, he didn’t plan anything out.

He is a hack writer.

And no sane person will thank him for his efforts.

Chibnall will forever be remembered for being the man who killed Doctor Who. What a sad legacy to leave behind…