Howling:The Pandorica

The Pandorica is supposed to be a prison, right? And MS said an enemy from TEH is in TPO/TBBg, so what if the Atraxi control the Pandorica?!?!?! It would explain how Zero knew about it, and also how RS knew.... -- Dragonfree OVER 3,500 EDITS 21:46, May 29, 2010 (UTC) (on the animal crossing wiki)

But the Pandorica is also an old Time Lord fairy tale. How does that fit in? (I'm still thinking Shada, myself.) --Falcotron 22:02, May 29, 2010 (UTC)

The Pandorica is an ancient, mythic prison box located in the Pandorica Chamber, beneath Stonehenge. The only known enemies from The Eleventh Hour in the finale are a few who appeared in flashbacks. The Atraxi wouldn't control an ancient prison box that has been hidden benath Stonehenge for goodness knows how many years. They're nothing but your basic space policemen, not ancient guardians of an ancient Earth prison box in the legends and myths, said to prison a certain... something. Delton Menace 23:38, May 29, 2010 (UTC)

Got it! The crack is like a transporter device for whatever's in the Pandorica. E.G. When the Daleks moved the Earth, it got moved back, right? But after, the Daleks were apparently destroyed, and a line in VotD suggests a crack appeared, transported the Daleks to the Pandorica, and erased them from time so people [read: 21st Century Earth] wouldn't remeber what they did! This could be Moffat's way of bringing back Davros, and all the enemies in TPO/TBB have been transported to the Pandorica! This is why Rory will return in the finale, he's safe and sound in the Pandorica prison! -- Dragonfree OVER 3,500 EDITS 12:17, May 30, 2010 (UTC) (on the animal crossing wiki)

I gotta mention this since I haven't seen anyone say anything about this relation yet. Pandorica - Pandora's Box. Simple name similarity or more to it? V00D00M0NKY 12:25, May 30, 2010 (UTC)

It's been mentioned all over the place. Some fans even think the connection must go farther, and the Time Lady Pandora will be coming back, or maybe the Pandorica will be the Vaults on Gallifrey and Romana is coming back, or... who knows what else. Hey, maybe Patrick Stewart is playing Romana III. :)

I think from an out-of-universe perspective it's probably not a coincidence; the Moff was thinking Pandora (at least subconsciously) when he came up with Pandorica. But as for an in-universe connection, I'm more doubtful of that. --Falcotron 12:41, May 30, 2010 (UTC)

There definitely has to be related out-of-universe. The Pandorica opens and cracks form all over the universe erasing stuff from time. If Pandora's box opens then all hell breaks loose. I did hear people mention the Time Lady Pandora but I don't recall seeing anyone mention Pandora's box. V00D00M0NKY 12:49, May 30, 2010 (UTC)

It's somewhere on this forum. And in the GO and DWO forums. And it gets added to, removed from, and added back to the article for The Pandorica Opens on a weekly basis. (I'm hoping the latest, totally non-committal version that I added, just calling it a "persistent fan theory", will keep it from being deleted and re-added again....) The problem is, where does the theory go from here? There's a similarity between the names, so... what does that tell us? What clues could we look for to confirm or deny whether it's just a coincidence?

Anyway, the Doctor seems pretty sure that it's the explosion that causes the cracks, not the Pandorica opening in and of itself. Of course the Pandorica opening could be what causes the explosion, or he could be wrong (especially since everyone else in the Whoniverse seems to know more about it than him).

Another theory I've seen mentioned elsewhere is that the Moff started off with an idea directly about Pandora's Box, and then the story changed so much as he was sketching it out that he decided to change the name. I don't know about this one--but I suspect if it's true, we'd hear about it in the episode 12 or 13 Confidential.... --Falcotron 13:01, May 30, 2010 (UTC)

Just throwing it out there, but it's said that the Pandorica contains the most feared being in the cosmos. It seems to be rather heavily stressed that so many races fear the Doctor. Is that just a coincidence?124.181.147.134 13:29, June 6 2010 (UTC)

I think the Pandorica is a box secured in a chamber cointaing the most feared thing in all the universe so it might be a prison maybe that explain's why there is loads of enemies in the series finale and they need the Doctor The mysterious 13:40, June 6, 2010 (UTC)

Take a look at the Radio Times quote: "There was a goblin. Or a trickster, or a warrior. A nameless, terrible thing, soaked in the blood of a billion galaxies. The most feared being in all the cosmos. Nothing could stop it, or hold it, or reason with it -- one day it would just drop out of the sky and tear down your world." As I mentioned elsewhere, while you wouldn't normally associate that with the Doctor, it actually could fit him. He's certainly been a trickster (see any 7th Doctor story), and he was a warrior in the LGTW. He's not only nameless, his unknown name is "more than just a secret", something terrible. Many races certainly find him terrible. Possibly the LGTW soaked him in the blood of a billion galaxies--at least I can see, say, Davros accusing him of that. Nothing can stop him, nothing can hold him ("There's one thing you never put in a trap"), a you can only reason with him if you're actually in the right. And he's definitely dropped down from the sky and torn apart countless worlds, shattering the existing socio-political system and leaving people to rebuild on their own (or, at best, with the occasional help of a companion who decides to stay behind).

I don't think it _is_ the Doctor--especially since it would be kind of strange for his friends to unite to warn him that the Pandorica will open and The Doctor will escape. But it is fun to make the case anyway. --Falcotron 02:44, June 7, 2010 (UTC)

There is another type of box that may significant as it is linked to observation. A Schrödinger box. Perhaps Pandorica is a prison containing an alterante reality that will overwrite our universe with different events. It might actually be the 'true reality' that should have happened before time and space was messed up by all of these pesky time travellers and their messy wars. The cracks are already erasing events as in a sense the box is open (as it will be opened it already is); it doesn't matter when it is opens in time as it's effects are fellt throughout all space-time.

Moffat is aware of quantum uncertanty and used the act of observation (by a concious entity) as collapsing wave functions when he invented the original Weeping Angels. There have been numerous references to eyes throughout the series; linked to observation on a basic level (remember this is family TV). It is suggested that there is a 'future doctor' around but he is taking great pains not to be observed by adult Amy other key players. He turned up to talk to Amy at a point where he knew for certain that her eyes were closed because being observed would collpse him out of thsi reality (yes I know 'observed' does not mean just seen but remember: family TV and this idea is already too compelx to explain). Perhaps this is actually an alternate Doctor (not an evil one just another version played by Matt Smith); escaped from the prison and using his TARDIS (you've seen a bit of it already) to try to make events turn out the way he needs them to. He needed her to remember something (or perhaps he was making certain that she had forgotten it) that did not seem relevent to the current situation. Something in Amy's memory (or lost from it) is going to determine which reality ends up real.

It is probably something about Rory as she no longer remembers him. In Amy's choice she chose a reality that contained Rory; perhaps she will have to make a similar choice again and this would mean selecting the reality of the alternate doctor over the 'currently real doctor' as Rory survives in one version of events but not the other. If she has no memory of him at all then she cannot make the 'right' choice and so the 'wrong' reality will win out.

I'm rooting for the wrong reality; it might not contain as much death and destruction. Pick a side. Jack Chilli 20:20, June 8, 2010 (UTC)

So, how to connect the Pandora myth to Dr Who. After a quick reading of Pandora and her jar here are some starting points.

Pandora is ‘the giver of all’ created as the first woman as a punishment for fire being stolen from the gods. (An alternate name Ainesidora “she who sends up gifts [from below the earth]”; handy for the Silurian fans.) She has opened a jar that has released all of the bad things and only one thing remains trapped in the jar: Hope

The story was revised later and mostly gives the impression that the bad things are in the ‘box’ and it would not be a good idea to open it. In Roman times though you’d have to go with the earlier version and the bad things are already out.

For other theorists there is this pandorical artifact in the Ashmolian : An amphora depicting Pandora rising up from the ground to greet Epimetheus (possibly). www.theoi.com/Gallery/T22.1.html Epimetheus (Greek: ("hindsight", literally "afterthought," but in the manner of a fool looking behind, while running forward) sounds a bit like the doctor (who literally did this in Vincent and may be fixing things in hindsight). He may have married Pandora (although this in only inferred not ever stated …). He has an inseparable brother Prometheus; the champion of human kind.

Apparently there is a reference to a cult dedicated to Pandora in an ancient Greek comedy called “The Birds”. She is worshiped as the ‘bestower of all things necessary for life’. The plot is a about a man gaining control of communication with the gods and replacing Zeus to become the most powerful thing in the cosmos. Sounds like a good read if you are up for the Bird noises conspiracy. You must be living in cloudcookooland if you fall for that fairytale though.

There’s a couple of possible connections; I’m sure you can find more. Jack Chilli 12:33, June 10, 2010 (UTC)