Theory:Doctor Who prose discontinuity and plot holes/The Dark Path

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This page is for discussing the ways in which The Dark Path 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. 

• How did neither the Doctor not The Master know that Ailla was a Time Lord?

Given that she was undercover by order of the Council, it is likely that a disguise of some sort(like a perception filter perhaps) was used to hide the most obviously Gallifreyan parts of her biology. Presumeably then she also had a device/enough skill to dampen/lower her telepathic field to that of a human

And the Doctor was aware that Ailla was a Time Lord. It was only Koschei who was left in the dark, so really all that should be required to trick him, given his lack of interaction with humans versus the Doctor's, would be sufficient telepathic shielding/blocks. If her telepathic field seemed higher than that of normal humans, Koschei would just write it off as Ailla being particullarly intellegent or having traveled in the TARDIS.

• If the Master suffers at the hands of Chronovores here, why is he so ignorant of the, in The Time Monster(set later)?

Given it is unknown how long Koschei was in that black hole, time, or simply a bout of regenerative amnesia could have erased his memory of the Chronovores. Also, I wouldn't say the Master was ignorant of Chronovores in The Time Monster, just that he was arrogant enough to believe he could control them.

• In Terror of the Autons, the Master is clearly coming to seek revenge on the Doctor, yet the Doctor is not even the one responsible for the Master's problems at the end of The Dark Path.

The Doctor is, however indirectly, responsible for the Master's state at the end of the novel. Additionally, the Master may feel that had the Doctor not interfered, the whole thing would have gone smoother.

I'm not quite sure what the original point means. The Doctor was directly responsible for the Master's predicament at the end of the novel. His interfering with the Darkheart controls at the last second is what caused the Master to be trapped in the black hole.

• Multiple stories and interviews stress the significance of the Doctor and the Master being the only two offworld Time Lords at this time, yet the Doctor has no idea who this mysterious stranger calling himself 'Koschei' is.

This may be known of the Council, but the Doctor has not been in contact with Gallifrey for some time, to say nothing of the fact that Koschei left Gallifrey after the Doctor. <--- Referring presumeabley to Birth of a Renegade, which seems to imply that an amount of time passed between the Doctor and the Master's respective departures.

From The Glorious Dead(comic) Part 9:

The Master:"You have not seen a fraction of the horror we have sculptured. For all your high-flown 'morality', we are uncannily alike, Doctor. The only difference is that I am now aware of it. We left Gallifrey on the same day by the same means.

I doubt when you're presumably running for your life one would stop and see if the guards are on alert for one reason or another. That is, even with the Doctor and the Master leaving Gallifrey on the same day, the original counterpoint can still stand for the most part. Either the Doctor left first, or was unaware that the Master had fled as well. And actually, if there were only two offworld Time Lords at this time, what do those sources make of the Monk(or the Rani for that matter)? If the Doctor is aware of the 'two offworld Time Lords' including himself, but unaware that Koschei is offworld, he could simply believe the Monk is the other Time Lord referred to. Though presumably the Monk's TARDIS was obtained legally.

The Rani's exile was only some centuries after the Doctor and the Master left Gallifrey. It's like the Monty Python "Coventry City have never won the FA Cup" joke. It was true when they said it, although Coventry City did later win the FA Cup in 1987.

The "Monk" is an interesting case, in that the modern viewpoint is contrary to the viewpoint at the time. When the Master arrives in Terror of the Autons (TV story), the Doctor is unfazed and even calls him "a jackanapes" and "an unimaginative plodder". "Jackanapes" derives from Jack Napier a Medieval man who attempted, very badly, to replace the King of England with his preferred choice. Today, it literally means "a mischievous or childlike man". The Master later attempts to interfere in Middle Ages English history(The King's Demons (TV story)), disguises himself as a member of the Church(The Daemons), tries to get Harold Saxon to be ruler of the UK(The Sound of Drums (TV story), and is 'discovered' when the Doctor's companion(Martha in this case) notices his anachronistic watch(Utopia (TV story). Furthermore, DWM #75 had a preview of The King's Demons (TV story) stating that the "Sir Gilles" character was the same character from The Time Meddler (TV story), a 1988 edition of game show Mastermind had a person with specialist category "Doctor Who" asked In which story did the Monk first use the name the Master?(or something very similar, will need to look that up), and the FASA Role Playing Game Source Book and Master module both explicitly state that the Master is a regenerated Monk. This was actually accepted by more than 90% of people(fans and casual viewers) at the time. It wasn't until No Future that someone suggested otherwise. This was heavily criticised for this very reason, which led to The Discontinuity Guide, and a self-contradictory "explanation". In any case this is explained when the First Doctor meets the Master in The Five Doctors (TV story).

The Doctor seems to know instantly who Koschei is upon hearing the name; however he is not sure for certain until he sees his old friend and was additionally worried that Koschei was sent to hunt him down. Which sort of renders this whole argument moot, does it not?

Sorry, but the claim that The Doctor seems to know instantly who Koschei is upon hearing the name is a falsehood, which renders your whole argument moot and your prior comments suspect at best.

The Doctor discovers another TARDIS. He realises another Time Lord is there.

The Doctor does not recognise Ailla, either as a Time Lord or at all. The name 'Koschei' is said about 1000 times in front of the Doctor. The Doctor feels that this 'Koschei'(whoever he is) has been sent to hunt him down. It's only after speaking with Ailla, that the Doctor begins to suspect that 'Koschei' may be his old friend.

Page 143 has:

'It is you,' the Doctor breathed. He suddenly beamed and hurried over, shaking Koschei's hand furiously in both of his own.

So, all the Doctor knows is that this 'Koschei' is a Time Lord...who he believes has been sent to hunt him down. When he sees who 'Koschei' actually is, he is relieved.

Later on the same page:

Jamie had finally had enough of being talked around. 'Aren't ye going to introduce me, Doctor?'

The Doctor looked at him guiltily then beamed again. 'Oh, but of course' he enthused. 'This is, er, Koschei, one of my oldest and dearest friends...'

Hardly a name he recognises, or has used previously to refer to this person.

I seem to have misread it, then, as I took his suspicion for a hazy recognition. I am, however, fairly certain that when Ailla is revealed to have regenerated, the Doctor claims to have known that she was 'one of [his people]', using that to clarify his previously dismissive attitude toward her apparent death. But in this case the original point is also moot, unless it means to point to a discontinuity that would then originate not here, but in Divided Loyalties(namely that the Doctor knew Koschei by that name when they were at school).

• To say nothing of Ailla.

See first counterpoint/explanation above regarding Koschei. It should be noted that Ailla was not a renegade or exile, but merely operating under instructions from the Time Lords.