Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Long Game

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This page is for discussing the ways in which The Long Game 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 doesn't the TARDIS translate the Jagrafess's screeching into English?

It's possible the TARDIS didn't have any data on the Jagrafess's language and therefore couldn't translate. The comic strip The Woman Who Sold the World suggests that if there is no English for what's being said, then a person hears gibberish.

Perhaps the screech was just a screech and the Jagrafess speaks to the Editor telepathically.

• The Doctor and Rose keep snapping their fingers while in front of the TARDIS, so why doesn't the TARDIS doors close like in Forest of the Dead?

It doesn't open just for any snapping sound. The doors aren't on a clapper. The Doctor doesn't know how to open the TARDIS doors by snapping at this point, and in fact doesn't even believe it is possible until the end of Forest of the Dead. It is an ability within himself that he had not developed or realised at this time. Additionally, given the TARDIS' telepathic abilities, it would've ascertained that the Doctor had no intention of operating the doors at this time.

In Autonomy , it was shown the Doctor has to click his fingers to produce just the right frequency of sound to open the doors. Or at least, this is the method he believed would work and was actively practising.

• Why does the Editor talk as if Time travel is impossible in the Human Empire? If Time travel was possible for Humans back in Jack's home era, the 51st century, then why wouldn't it still be possible in the 2001st century?

Although possible in the 51st century, the Human race had travelled far and wide. Those who developed Time travel may not have returned to the Human Empire and told them.

Those who had developed time travel may have kept it quiet to help them with business to avoid problems.

The Time Agency was noted, by John Hart, to have been closed down. Over the years, Time travel devices may have become less in numbers until they no longer existed.

• At the end of the episode, the Doctor takes Adam home, even though Adam never told the Doctor where he lived.

TV: The Stolen Earth (TV story) shows that phone calls made across time leave a trace that the TARDIS can follow, so the Doctor most like followed the signal.

• Wouldn't Adams augmentation change the future?

• Why is Adam sent home for wanting to change history, yet in the next adventure, Rose does the same, and the Doctor is happy to continue travelling with her?

1. The Doctor's known Rose long enough to know/assume she isn't out for personal gain, but Adam's only been with them for a few days at most and already proved himself to have selfish intent. 2. The Doctor threatens to leave Rose behind in the past with her dad, and we never get to see if he actually plans on carrying it out in that episode as the TARDIS interior is detained. 3. Rose's mistake was obviously a misunderstanding of how the rules work, which the Doctor tries to explain to her before storming off. Adam made a beeline straight for something he knew he shouldn't be doing.

1 - It is irrelevant how long Rose is known. 2 - Leaving Rose with her Dad would and did have awful effects to the time line. 3 - Rose know what she was doing. Rose wanted her Dad to live - she was well aware of the change in history. Rose made a beeline straight for something she knew she shouldn't be doing.