AN EXPLANATION FOR NEW/RETURNING WHOVIANS...
The return of David Tennant and Catherine Tate as The Doctor and Donna to Doctor Who has brought back many fans who left over 10 years ago. For those who want to know what happened between David Tennant leaving and returning, I suggest going and watching seasons 5-10 of Doctor Who, as I promise there are some amazing episodes, story arcs and characters you are missing out on.
However, seasons 11-13 are very controversial amongst Doctor Who fans, and I wouldn’t blame you for skipping them entirely. Unfortunately, Chris Chibnall, the showrunner for seasons 11-13, did some pretty canon-altering stuff while in control of Doctor Who that you may need to know about going forward. Most recently 'The Flux' was mentioned during the 60th Anniversary special 'The Wild Blue Yonder' and the ramifications of the 'Timeless Child' were also referenced, if not by name. So, to save you the time, effort and headaches, here is an explanation of the two and what they could mean going forward.
The Timeless Child
The Timeless Child was first mentioned early on in Season 11’s episode 3 'The Ghost Monument' but didn’t see its fruition until the end of season 12. The story arc reveals that The Doctor is not originally from Gallifrey, which was thought to be their home planet, but instead came from another universe. Millenia ago, a child, which would one day become The Doctor fell, through a tear in space and time, and landed on Gallifrey. A primitive Timelord named Tecteun finds the small child who is badly wounded, and learns of their ability to regenerate. Tecteun spends years experimenting on the child, killing them over and over again until she can extract the ability to regenerate, and integrate it into her biology. In succeeding, she creates the first Time Lords, the species to which the Doctor, up until very recently thought he belonged. It is revealed the Doctor, unlike Timelords, has a seemingly infinite number of regenerations, as opposed to the standard 13 regenerations, which was a design choice by Tecteun.
Along with the realization that The Doctor has been lied to all their life by those they trusted on Gallifrey, but also that what they believed to be their first regeneration, was one of a long line of regenerations, with the Timelords seemingly wiping the Doctor's memory every thirteen regenerations, to keep them from knowing the truth. This not only affects the entire 60-year history of Doctor Who, but also contradicts certain elements of the Doctor Who universe, Whoniverse as it is known. For example, the Doctor's Age, which was often an interesting fact often littered into Doctor Who is made redundant, the relationship with The Master is fractured as is any speculation as to whether they are siblings, and the sometimes explored theory that the Doctor is half human, is also extinguished.
The concept that The Doctor is unique however is exciting, it explains why they ran away from Gallifrey in the first place, and also why they are so different from the rest of their adopted species by inherently wanting to help so many people. However, Chibnall took the run too far when introducing “Ruth,” a previously unseen regeneration of The Doctor from before what we previously thought to be their first regeneration. Ruth is very unlike The Doctor we’re familiar with, in that she runs a swat team of Time Lords called “Division” for Tecteun. We know that at some point The Doctor and Tecteun had a falling out, leading to The Doctor's life as it is today. But The Doctor we know has absolutely no memory of any of this, and is seemingly just as surprised as the audience.
However, seasons 11-13 are very controversial amongst Doctor Who fans, and I wouldn’t blame you for skipping them entirely. Unfortunately, Chris Chibnall, the showrunner for seasons 11-13, did some pretty canon-altering stuff while in control of Doctor Who that you may need to know about going forward. Most recently 'The Flux' was mentioned during the 60th Anniversary special 'The Wild Blue Yonder' and the ramifications of the 'Timeless Child' were also referenced, if not by name. So, to save you the time, effort and headaches, here is an explanation of the two and what they could mean going forward.
The Timeless Child
The Timeless Child was first mentioned early on in Season 11’s episode 3 'The Ghost Monument' but didn’t see its fruition until the end of season 12. The story arc reveals that The Doctor is not originally from Gallifrey, which was thought to be their home planet, but instead came from another universe. Millenia ago, a child, which would one day become The Doctor fell, through a tear in space and time, and landed on Gallifrey. A primitive Timelord named Tecteun finds the small child who is badly wounded, and learns of their ability to regenerate. Tecteun spends years experimenting on the child, killing them over and over again until she can extract the ability to regenerate, and integrate it into her biology. In succeeding, she creates the first Time Lords, the species to which the Doctor, up until very recently thought he belonged. It is revealed the Doctor, unlike Timelords, has a seemingly infinite number of regenerations, as opposed to the standard 13 regenerations, which was a design choice by Tecteun.
Along with the realization that The Doctor has been lied to all their life by those they trusted on Gallifrey, but also that what they believed to be their first regeneration, was one of a long line of regenerations, with the Timelords seemingly wiping the Doctor's memory every thirteen regenerations, to keep them from knowing the truth. This not only affects the entire 60-year history of Doctor Who, but also contradicts certain elements of the Doctor Who universe, Whoniverse as it is known. For example, the Doctor's Age, which was often an interesting fact often littered into Doctor Who is made redundant, the relationship with The Master is fractured as is any speculation as to whether they are siblings, and the sometimes explored theory that the Doctor is half human, is also extinguished.
The concept that The Doctor is unique however is exciting, it explains why they ran away from Gallifrey in the first place, and also why they are so different from the rest of their adopted species by inherently wanting to help so many people. However, Chibnall took the run too far when introducing “Ruth,” a previously unseen regeneration of The Doctor from before what we previously thought to be their first regeneration. Ruth is very unlike The Doctor we’re familiar with, in that she runs a swat team of Time Lords called “Division” for Tecteun. We know that at some point The Doctor and Tecteun had a falling out, leading to The Doctor's life as it is today. But The Doctor we know has absolutely no memory of any of this, and is seemingly just as surprised as the audience.
The Flux
The Flux is a direct consequence of the events of 'The Timeless Child'. Tecteun, in control of Division, has released an “Anti-Matter Wave” called The Flux into the universe. It destroys anything it comes into contact with, destroying thousands of galaxies and civilizations in the process. It is revealed that Tecteun is based outside the universe, in the gaps between the Multiverse, and is planning on moving across to a different universe, but first wants to destroy The Doctor and the whole universe along with her. The Doctor manages to defeat The Flux and Tecteun, and takes possession of a stopwatch, reminiscent of the one used in season 3, which contains all of the Doctor's memories from before what she thought to be her first incarnation... She decides it's too much information to emotionally handle, and asks Tardis to hide the watch somewhere she will never find it.
Soon after The Flux, The Doctor is bombarded by Sea-Devils and The Master and forced to regenerate into the 14th incarnation, played by David Tennant, without ever really taking a breath. From the perspective of The Doctor we are seeing in the 60th Anniversary, the flux occurred only recently, so he is clearly still dealing with the fallout, as shown in Wild Blue Yonder. Many Doctor Who fans have pleaded with Russell T. Davies, the returning showrunner to “retcon” 'The Timeless Child' and 'The Flux' story arcs, but it is clear that they are here to stay.
Both 'The Timeless Child' and 'The Flux' sagas of Doctor Who were clearly meant to shock and impress Doctor Who fans, while making them question everything they knew. In reality, it didn't shock, impress or imbue a sense of awe in the new possibilities of Doctor Who. It instead landed with the same gravitas as the infamous finale season of Game Of Thrones; with a general lack of respect for what had come before, a complete bypass in nuance, and worst of all nothing to keep the show grounded.
The Doctor is left feeling responsible for the death of half the universe, has lost their sense of identity as a Timelord, and is questioning everything that has ever happened to them. But Chibnall’s Doctor is somehow able to carry on as if nothing has happened, even choosing not to regain their memories from before their memory was wiped.
To tell the truth, the most emotion we’ve seen The Doctor display concerning the events of Chibnall's run comes from 14 (David Tennant) in 'The Wild Blue Yonder'. This fills me with some ordinance of hope going forward, as one of the strengths of Russell T. Davies writing, especially on Doctor Who, is its ability to remain grounded. Given that Davies has clearly opted against a retcon, Many Doctor Who fans wait in bated breath, hoping he has a sensible, grounded plan going forward in which we see emotion, consequences and some nuanced lessons along the way.
What do you think? Let us know by emailing [email protected] or tweet/X us @talknerdyuk
Written by Dan/Hagrid Morrison
The Flux is a direct consequence of the events of 'The Timeless Child'. Tecteun, in control of Division, has released an “Anti-Matter Wave” called The Flux into the universe. It destroys anything it comes into contact with, destroying thousands of galaxies and civilizations in the process. It is revealed that Tecteun is based outside the universe, in the gaps between the Multiverse, and is planning on moving across to a different universe, but first wants to destroy The Doctor and the whole universe along with her. The Doctor manages to defeat The Flux and Tecteun, and takes possession of a stopwatch, reminiscent of the one used in season 3, which contains all of the Doctor's memories from before what she thought to be her first incarnation... She decides it's too much information to emotionally handle, and asks Tardis to hide the watch somewhere she will never find it.
Soon after The Flux, The Doctor is bombarded by Sea-Devils and The Master and forced to regenerate into the 14th incarnation, played by David Tennant, without ever really taking a breath. From the perspective of The Doctor we are seeing in the 60th Anniversary, the flux occurred only recently, so he is clearly still dealing with the fallout, as shown in Wild Blue Yonder. Many Doctor Who fans have pleaded with Russell T. Davies, the returning showrunner to “retcon” 'The Timeless Child' and 'The Flux' story arcs, but it is clear that they are here to stay.
Both 'The Timeless Child' and 'The Flux' sagas of Doctor Who were clearly meant to shock and impress Doctor Who fans, while making them question everything they knew. In reality, it didn't shock, impress or imbue a sense of awe in the new possibilities of Doctor Who. It instead landed with the same gravitas as the infamous finale season of Game Of Thrones; with a general lack of respect for what had come before, a complete bypass in nuance, and worst of all nothing to keep the show grounded.
The Doctor is left feeling responsible for the death of half the universe, has lost their sense of identity as a Timelord, and is questioning everything that has ever happened to them. But Chibnall’s Doctor is somehow able to carry on as if nothing has happened, even choosing not to regain their memories from before their memory was wiped.
To tell the truth, the most emotion we’ve seen The Doctor display concerning the events of Chibnall's run comes from 14 (David Tennant) in 'The Wild Blue Yonder'. This fills me with some ordinance of hope going forward, as one of the strengths of Russell T. Davies writing, especially on Doctor Who, is its ability to remain grounded. Given that Davies has clearly opted against a retcon, Many Doctor Who fans wait in bated breath, hoping he has a sensible, grounded plan going forward in which we see emotion, consequences and some nuanced lessons along the way.
What do you think? Let us know by emailing [email protected] or tweet/X us @talknerdyuk
Written by Dan/Hagrid Morrison