Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/Rose

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

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• When Rose is attacked by the plastic arm, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to cancel the signal. While he is doing this, Jackie is drying her hair in the other room. Firstly, wouldn't she hear Rose crashing through the table? Secondly, in Forest of the Dead the Doctor says that hairdryers interfere with his sonic screwdriver. So, shouldn't he be unable to use it against the arm?

The Doctor said some hairdryers he also had to buzz it a few times for it to work. Additionally Jackie switches on the hairdryer before Rose falls through the table, she may not have heard anything.

• If the Doctor is newly-regenerated, then how are there photos of him on the day before the Titanic set sail, at the assassination of John F. Kennedy and when Krakatoa erupted without Rose?

The Doctor is a time traveller, and we don't know if he technically newly regenerated, the Doctor has a big life he might not have time to look at himself.

We don't know that he is newly-regenerated at this point. Plus, being a time traveller, those events may not have happened in his time stream until after he met Rose.

• When the Auton's arm attacks Rose, we see Jackie in her bedroom using the hairdryer, when her hair is clearly already dry.

• When Mickey closes the wheelie bin lid, he then finds the plastic stuck to his hands, he lifts his hands up and the plastic stretches like tar. If you look closely when he lifts his hands up for the first time, you'll see that a shadow of one of his hands is cast clearly on his shirt, yet there is no shadow of the strands of plastic stuck to his fingers.

The plastic is animated perhaps it does not cast a shadow.

That's a technical error, not a continuity error. It was probably just an oversight by the production team.

• When the three bride Autons attack Jackie, and they open their hands one at a time, it is clear that when the second Auton opens its hand, all three are already open. After it cuts to Rose, and back to Jackie again, the third one opens (even though we just saw it already open).

Perhaps it closed, then opened again, or it could be a repeat of the same moment, just focusing in on the hand.

• When Mickey opens the lid to the rubbish bin and his hands are stuck to it, when he starts to stretch out the plastic and turn around, the strands switch hands instead of crossing.

• The Doctor clearly says everything plastic shall come to life. However, during the Auton invasion, you can see heaps of plastic items that stays dormant. In fact, it's only the Shop Window Dummies that come to life. You can see shopping bags, chairs, bins that don't come to life at all.

He means the plastic, that is controlled by the Nestene, why would the Nestene make plastic bag's come to life when you can have a whole army of shop dummies for effect.

• How come the Autons have guns in their hands anyway? Normal shop window dummies don't.

They must've been specially made and planted in shop windows, presumably by the Nestene Consciousness.

• Why couldn't Rose tell Mickey was an Auton? Anyone would have noticed the weird plastic sheen to his skin and hair.