Doctor Who Showrunner Addresses Wild Blue Yonder Plothole About The Doctor’s Travels

This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder.

Summary

• Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies addresses an inconsistency in the recent 60th-anniversary special, “Wild Blue Yonder,” regarding the Doctor’s adventures outside the known universe.
• While the Doctor has rarely reached the corner of the universe on-screen, previous stories have shown the Doctor stepping outside the universe, which was acknowledged in early drafts of the script but later cut for pacing.
• Universes outside the known universe have provided the Doctor with their deadliest foes throughout Doctor Who‘s history, pushing the Time Lord to their limits and adding to the terror of the recent episode’s Not-Thing duplicates.

Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies addresses a small inconsistency involving the Doctor’s previous adventures outside the known universe in the second 60th-anniversary special, “Wild Blue Yonder.” The latest 60th-anniversary special saw the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) and Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) stranded onboard a ghost ship when the damaged TARDIS retreated to repair itself, leaving them face-to-face with strange horrors attempting to make its way into the universe. In “Wild Blue Yonder,” the ship is an exploration craft heading out to discover what lies beyond the universe, further than most starlight can reach.

Following the second Doctor Who 60th-anniversary adventure’s release, Davies took to Instagram to address an inconsistency in the episode where the Doctor states he’d rarely reached the corner of the universe. Read the post below:

While the Doctor has only made a handful of on-screen journeys to the furthest edge of known spaces, stories, including 1975’s “The Planet of Evil” and the events of season 13’s “Flux,” have seen the Doctor step outside the universe. Davies revealed early drafts of the script acknowledged these adventures, but, ultimately, the dialogue was cut to maintain a steady pace for audiences.

The Doctor’s Most Difficult Adventures & Deadliest Foes Have Often Come From Outside The Known Universe

“Planet of Evil” and “Flux” are not the only times that the TARDIS has taken the Doctor and their companions far beyond what should theoretically be reachable by the craft. In Doctor Who season 2’s “Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel,” the TARDIS finds itself powerless in a parallel universe, temporarily stranding the Tenth Doctor (Tennant), Rose Tyler (Billie Piper), and Mickey Smith (Noel Clarke) on a world that would soon see a new race of Cybermen emerge from the twisted mind of industrial tycoon John Lumic (Roger Lloyd Pack). As stated by the Doctor, the passage between these universes should be impossible, and even though Pete Tyler (Shaun Dingwall) of the Parallel Earth helps develop the technology, it has a terrible ecological cost.

However, even in Doctor Who‘s earliest days, the series had established realms outside the known universe through various pocket dimensions. From the Land of Fiction featured in 1968’s Second Doctor (Patrick Troughton) story “The Mind Robber” to the Celestial Toyroom in 1965’s First Doctor (William Hartnell) story, the Doctor had plenty of experience with beings outside the realms of reality. With the Fourteenth Doctor wary of invoking superstition during “Wild Blue Yonder’s” events, perhaps his actions may be the key to allowing the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) to return from his realm in “The Giggle.”

Universes outside what is known have often given the Doctor their deadliest foes across Doctor Who‘s 60-year history. With them being unknown to the Doctor or possessing near-limitless abilities, they push the Time Lord to their limits. And while Davies’ decision to cut previous adventure nods from “Wild Blue Yonder” script created some inconsistency, it was undoubtedly pivotal in aiding the terror of the Not-Thing duplicates.

Doctor Who: Wild Blue Yonder is currently available on Disney+ for international audiences and BBC iPlayer for UK viewers.

Source: Russell T Davies /Instagram

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  Doctor Who

  Release Date:

  1963-11-23

  Cast:

  Jenna Coleman, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Kingston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi

  Genres:

  Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi

  Seasons:

  26

  Season List:

  Doctor Who – Season 1, Doctor Who – Season 2, Doctor Who – Season 3, Doctor Who – Season 4, Doctor Who – Season 5, Doctor Who – Season 6, Doctor Who – Season 7, Doctor Who – Season 8, Doctor Who – Season 9, Doctor Who – Season 10, Doctor Who – Season 11, Doctor Who – Season 12, Doctor Who – Season 13, Doctor Who – Season 14, Doctor Who – Season 15, Doctor Who – Season 16, Doctor Who – Season 17, Doctor Who – Season 18, Doctor Who – Season 19, Doctor Who – Season 20, Doctor Who – Season 21, Doctor Who – Season 22, Doctor Who – Season 23, Doctor Who – Season 24, Doctor Who – Season 25, Doctor Who – Season 26

  Summary:

  As the last of the alien species known as the Time Lords, the Doctor travels through time and space in his TARDIS, a time machine thats bigger on the inside than the outside, seeking out adventures in the ancient past and unimagined future while also serving as the protector of Earth and mankind. With a human companion by his side, the Doctor meets extraordinary – and sometimes deadly – characters and creatures from across the universe.

  Franchise:

  Doctor Who

  Story By:

  Sydney Newman C. E. Webber Donald Wilson

  Writers:

  Mark Gatiss, Toby Whithouse, Neil Cross, Steven Moffat, Chris Chibnall

  Network:

  BBC