Talk:A New Beginning (comic story)

Vortex manipulator

Isn't Ryan not knowin what a vortex manipulator is more "discontinuity" than "continuity"? Because no matter how I hack it it doesn't mesh at all with the events of Rosa… --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 11:43, November 10, 2018 (UTC)

While sadly not my observation (kudos to that editor), the main implication for me was that this must be happening before Rosa, a rare continuity reference point for ordering things. (Although there is always another explanation: the author might not have been aware of the TV script.) Still, at least until in-universe info to the contrary, we can rely on this. Amorkuz ☎ 11:48, November 10, 2018 (UTC)

I think the second interpretation must be right, because, again, this doesn't make sense. The three first Series 11 episodes follow one another closely and end with the return to Sheffield. There simply isn't space for A New Beginning to have happened before Rosa. Or am I missing something? --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 11:51, November 10, 2018 (UTC)

No, wait, didn't they say at the beginning of Rosa that they wanted to get back home and missed for the 12th or 13th time? I thought we will never be able to spot any of these adventures decisively. And here we are. in fact, it makes sense that Chibnall leave space for Titan. Amorkuz ☎ 11:59, November 10, 2018 (UTC)

Aah… I must have missed that. Alright. Thanks. --Scrooge MacDuck ☎ 11:59, November 10, 2018 (UTC)

I believe Ryan not knowing about the Vortex Manipulator should be put down to Ryan simply not remembering the first time around (I usually have to remind someone of what someone or something is even after it came up in like two or three previous conversations). TheFatPanda ☎ 16:46, January 12, 2019 (UTC)

Whelp, I lost my whole response. Basically, I'm not sure about this being set before Rosa. Yes, there's a gap there, but evidence in this story would suggest that the companions are not entirely new to this, even if it is towards the start. Most obviously, the Doctor and company are apparently sightseeing at the beginning of part one, so they're not still trying to get back to Sheffield.

The other two bits that point to early-ish in the timeline (but after Arachnids) are comments by the companions, mostly Graham. The companions indicate that the Doctor has been there as a guide to show them the ropes, and Graham says "it still ain't easy". Earlier, Graham tells Perkins that he's still getting used to the TARDIS being bigger on the inside. So it's early days, for sure, but it seems they've been around a few times at this point, and they have learned from the Doctor how to respond to various situations with aliens.

The fourth clue that I suspect will help us is that we finally see the pink crystal waterfalls mentioned in PROSE: The Good Doctor. So we know this story is set before the first of the novels.
× SOTO (☎/✍/↯) 05:12, January 13, 2019 (UTC)

imo, when all else fails, place it in rough relation to when it was released. The strip was released between Monument and Rosa, but we've concluded it can't fit there, so place it in the next available slot: between Arachnids and Tsuranga. Something else to also take into account is that it came out just a day before the first DWM strip Warmonger, which has since been placed (now that it's over) between Tsuranga and Punjab. TheFatPanda ☎ 16:20, January 13, 2019 (UTC)