Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/Deep Breath

• How could the Eleventh doctor know that he would have another incarnation if he was at 13 and was not granted another set of them yet?

The Eleventh Doctor called Clara after he had already received the new cycle from the Time Lords and regenerated partially on the clock tower. He made the call in between blowing up the Dalek ship and giving his "we all change" speech to Clara.

• How did a giant dinosaur get away without being recorded in any history books or anything? Shame they didn't explain that.

"Do you remember the Zygon gambit with the Lock Ness Monster? Or the Yetis in the Underground? Your species has the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched by only its ingenuity when trying to destroy itself" Seventh Doctor, Remembrance of the Daleks (TV story). Sabovia^{Talk to me} 20:36, August 23, 2014 (UTC)

As the body was burned to ash, and there were presumably no photo's taken, there is no way to prove it happened. It would probably be dismissed as just another Victorian myth, like Spring Heel Jack.

• If the TARDIS were inside a dinosaur, then why did it come to the future (or past) with the doctor? Yes, if something is on the TARDIS (CAPTAIN JACK) Utopia (TV story) then it travels with the TARDIS, but if something is touching the base of the TARDIS (buildings, THE DINOSAURS TONGUE) then it doesn't travel with the TARDIS, the TARDIS Would just leave without the thing being brought with it. So, why did the dinosaur come? ~Ykeloy, Saturday 23rd August, 2014. 21:48.

The TARDIS was crashing after The Time of the Doctor and the Doctor couldn't remember how to fly it. It's not unreasonable to suppose that some ship's setting might have been set up incorrectly, causing it to take the dinosaur with it.

The TARDIS did not appear to be resting on the tongue. As the TARDIS was lodged in the dinosaur's throat and was coughed up to expel it, it seems more likely that the contact with the sides of the TARDIS allowed it to be brought along for the ride. --Buckimion ☎ 00:15, August 25, 2014 (UTC)

The Time of the Doctor confirmed that the TARDIS (who is alive, remember) threw a protective field around Clara when she travelled to Trenzalore on the outside of the TARDIS; presumably, she extended the same courtesy to the dinosaur.

• There is an obvious hair continuity error for The Doctor between The Time of The Doctor and Deep Breath. How did his hair get so short after being much longer and curly?

Since regeneration energy lingers around for a while after a regeneration (as seen in The Christmas Invasion and Let's Kill Hitler for example) it may have taken a bit longer for his body to settle on a final appearance.

We also don't know exactly how long it was between the two scenes. While it's unlikely they stopped off at a barber, given how manic the new Doctor is, who is to say he didn't do something to shorten his hair? Also, sweat and getting wet can also make it appear shorter.

• Why would wearing a face/mask be an effective way for the doctor to disguise as a robot? He is just as much in view as Clara, and he still needs to breathe!

The droids were likely paying attention to Clara, who was doing all the talking.

Actually he doesn't, time lords can hold there breath for a lot longer than humans, and the doctors shown in the past he can survive for periods of time without breathing.

• How did the Paternoster gang get into their ambush position in the roof of a spaceship, deep underground?

We don't see much of the roof in any great detail. There may have been a vent.

• Why would Strax have any difficulty dispatching a few non-combat-specialised robots, even unarmed? It's difficult to reconcile this cowering, weak character with the 10th doctor's admonishment that "You don't fight sontarans!"

Strax gene-splicing himself for nursing purposes may have imposed some kind of hindrance. Alternatively, he may have lost some of his combat skills when Vasta and Jenny brought him back to life after Demon's Run. In The Snowmen, the Doctor does say that he's not sure all of Strax's brains made the return trip.

• What could be the explanation for the gigantically huge Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur? Or any possible hints as to what sort of backstory could entail such a radically huge creature? Or why no one would mention that it was over ten times bigger than any recorded specimen?

It's the policy of this wiki that the DWU is treated differently than the real world. There's nothing that says a dinosaur that huge cannot exist in the DWU.

• Where are Torchwood members? A time-travelled-Tyrannosaurus has just vomited a blue box with 'police box' written on it. Surely they should have guessed it might be the Doctor.

Hmm, good thought. I guess it depends how concerned Torchwood are about keeping on the DL. They might also have thought that if the Paternosters were dealing with the dinosaur business, they're best off keeping out of their way (compare not getting in UNIT's business during the 1970s).

Weren't torchwood only after the tenth doctor, even if they were ab;e to find the tad the tardis, they may have kept an eye on them and seen it wasnt him. Cause they probably werent aware of regeneration. --Coop3 ☎ 18:28, August 29, 2014 (UTC)

According to on-screen evidence, Torchwood wasn't properly organized until the late 1800s and at the time was a very ad hoc organization with just a few members. Deep Breath and the Paternoster stories appear to take place circa 1892-1893, several years earlier. Torchwood existed, but may not have been in any shape to do anything at this point; it didn't seem to ramp up until after recruiting Captain Jack (who at this point in time would be avoiding encountering any Doctor who wasn't the Ninth or Tenth per "Utopia").