Howling:Inter-dimensional travel after the Time War

The Howling → Inter-dimensional travel after the Time War

There be spoilers about un-released stories here.
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We know that travelling "sideways in time", into other universes and dimensions, was definitely possible in the classic series. A very good indication of this is "Battlefield", where knights from a parallel continuum cross over into the Doctor's reality, once in the Dark Ages (when King Arthur dies), and again in contemporary times (Ancelyn, Morgaine, etc). It's also strongly implied that at some point in his future, the Doctor will travel into the Arthurian dimension and become known as Merlin. But in the new series, it's been stated that following the Last Great Time War, dimensional barriers around our universe (and possibly others) have sealed, making inter-dimensional travel nigh impossible in all time zones throughout history. So if these barriers are in place, how did all that dimension-hopping in "Inferno" and "Battlefield" occur? And I know it isn't strictly speaking canonical, but what about the Seventh Doctor's interactions with Death's Head, a cross-dimensional traveller, in the DWM comic strips? It should be noted that in one issue of Death's Head's regular series, the Doctor briefly went to the Marvel Comics universe. So how does all of this tie in with the Time War, and inter-dimensional travel being impossible for everyone, everywhere? EJA 09:49, April 9, 2011 (UTC)

The same reason that I've given you for the last two questions that you asked. The walls of the universe were sealed after the Time War. Inferno and Battlefield both occured before the Time War. The Timelords are gone now, but they weren't erased from existence. They still used to exist, even though they don't exist in any time now. It is easiest to understand if you look at Timelord history from the Doctor's point of view. When we see the first seven Doctors, who haven't fought in the Time War yet, the Time War hasn't happened yet, and its effects are not felt. When we see nine through eleven, he has fought in the Time War, the Time War has happened, and its effects are felt.Icecreamdif 14:48, April 9, 2011 (UTC)

Will the Doctor still travel to Arthur's world and become that reality's Merlin at some point in his personal future though? And did Ancelyn and Morgaine still cross over to our world after the Time War? Sorry, but I just find all this a bit confusing. EJA 20:43, April 16, 2011 (UTC)

He's already done the Merlin thing in One Fateful Knight. --Revan\Talk 20:48, April 16, 2011 (UTC)

Maybe so, but did the events in "Battlefield" still occur from the perspective of the rest of the universe after the Time War? The way I see it, the War rewrote history so that, as far as the rest of the universe is concerned, it's never been possible to travel to other realities. This would retcon the events of "Battlefield" out of existence, as if the walls of reality are sealed across all of time and space, neither Arthur nor Morgaine could've slipped through. The Doctor will still remember those events, being a being "outside" of time, but no one else will. Remember, it's not just the post-War Doctor who can't travel to other dimensions, it's anyone else, and not just in his home universe either. EJA 21:06, April 16, 2011 (UTC)

The Timelords weren't wiped from existence, they were just all killed at the end of the war. If episodes involving interdimensional travel were wiped from history, the Doctor wouldn't have found out that the Stahlman drilling project was dangerous in Inferno, and the entire world would have been destroyed in the 1970s(or 80s). Before the Timelords were destroyed interdimensional travel was possible. Their destruction doesn't rewrite history to make interdimensional travel impossible, and the Doctor could have easily crossed universes and become Merlin offscreen before the Time War. I haven't seen Battlefield in a while, but from what I remember the implication was that the Seventh Doctor became Merlin, so that probably happened in the gap between Survival and the TV Movie.Icecreamdif 01:31, April 17, 2011 (UTC)

"Battlefield" strongly implies that the Doctor who visited Arthur's world is another regeneration, in the Doctor's future. Ancelyn and Mordred did not recognise the Seventh Doctor by his face, but by his manner, and when Mordred was reporting to his mother, he told Morgaine "[Merlin] has a new countenance." To which Morgaine responds "He has worn many faces." The people of Arthur's world have knowledge of regeneration, and it's entirely possible that the Doctor's time as Merlin spans several incarnations of himself. The Doctor may well have done his Merlin routine prior to the Time War, in his eighth or ninth incarnations, but I still wonder if this period of his life is still in his future, as of his eleventh self. And I've also just remembered that during "The Stolen Earth/Journey's End", wasn't it implied that the ease with which Rose and co. were able to hop between realities was somehow due to Davros' setting off the Reality Bomb, which was actually averted by the Tenth Doctor and his companions? EJA 09:25, April 17, 2011 (UTC)

I also feel it's important to note that "Battlefielf" itself clearly shows that the Doctor's future has already happened, he just hasn't experienced it yet in his personal timeline. By that reckoning, the Time War would also have already happened during the events of that story, and would already have concluded. So logically, any fundamental changes it wrought on the structure of space/time would already be felt. EJA 09:29, April 17, 2011 (UTC)