Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Impossible Planet

You are exploring the Discontinuity Index, a place where any details or rumours about unreleased stories are forbidden.
Please discuss only those whole stories which have already been released, and obey our spoiler policy.

This page is for discussing the ways in which The Impossible Planet doesn't fit well with other DWU narratives. You can also talk about the plot holes that render its own, internal narrative confusing.

Remember, this is a forum, so civil discussion is encouraged. However, please do not sign your posts. Also, keep all posts about the same continuity error under the same bullet point. You can add a new point by typing:

* This is point one.
::This is a counter-argument to point one.
:::This is a counter-argument to the counter-argument above
* This is point two.
::Explanation of point two.
::Further discussion and query of point two.

... and so on. 

• Why is Scooti's corpse floating above the base rather than staying on the planetoid's surface?

Only the planet is stopped from being sucked into the black hole. Scooti was sucked into space therefore not immune to the black hole.

The device that keeps the planet from being sucked into the black hole does the same for everything that is within its field. That is how the crew was able to get onto the planet in the first place. Therefore, Scooti would be affected by the planet's gravity, not the black hole. So we still have a black plot hole here.

Planet could have a lower gravity. The force of her being expelled from the airlock could ave exceeded escape velocity.

• The trapdoor was not 30 feet in diameter as Ida says.

Perhaps Ida confused the term diameter with another, such as circumference.

Units of measurement could had changed for some reason.

• Why isn't the black hole sucking in the light around it?

Supposedly, it is. The Doctor says at seven minutes, fifty-six seconds into the episode, "Nothing in the universe can escape it. Light, gravity, time, everything just gets pulled inside and crushed," implying that the black hole is, in fact, sucking in light. If you look at the black hole, it appears to be sucking in the light around it constantly. As for the visual effect of the black hole, the people who designed the visuals were probably more concerned with making it visually appealing, not making it look realistic.

Right. They're not shooting for scientific accuracy on this fantasy show. In reality, you couldn't see light that failed to escape a black hole being "sucked in", because, well, you only 'see' anything when light reaches you (but you knew that, right?) When it comes down to it, of course, there's actually nothing impossible in the slightest about a planet orbiting a black hole, making the episode's title a bit chuckle-worthy, nor is a stationary orbit around a non-Earth body called "geostationary" . . . and on and on, but that misses the point. Doctor Who is not a realistic show, and regularly pockets its own rules when convenient, to say nothing of the laws of physics. I mean, we are talking about a show where the characters get chased by mummies on Mars . . .

• Whats wrong with a planet orbiting a black hole, if its moving fast enough?