Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Curse of Peladon

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This page is for discussing the ways in which The Curse of Peladon 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 and when exactly did the Doctor find out that Hepesh had obtained his live Aggedor specimen from a 'high mountain', as he explains to the surviving delegates at the start of Episode Four?

It was a logical assumption. After all, the animal had to have come from somewhere and then been trained.

• The Doctor is nearly hit by the swinging secret passage door in Episode One.

If it's a secret door, he probably couldn't predict how it would open.

• Jo's hair straightens when she climbs back into the citadel.

Yeah that sometimes happens between pre-filmed sequences and those recorded some time later on VT, really only a continuity error.

• Why don't the delegates use Arcturus' radio?

Perhaps Arcturus' radio was built into his traction unit, and it was destroyed along with him in the blast from Ssorg's sonic gun.

• There's only one bed in the Ice Warriors' quarters.

Ssorg may simply be accommodated elsewhere in the citadel.

The Warriors may sleep in shifts. On the other hand, Who is to say they don't sleep together?

• If Alpha Centauri's a hexapod, how does it walk?

It might have a slimy 'foot' like a snail. The bottom of Centauri is covered by cloth.

• The delegates from Alpha Centauri and Arcturus are not called by name or by what they call their own planets but by the Earth designations for their star systems. But the Doctor is not called "Earth" and Izlyr is not called "Mars".

The Doctor and Izlyr introduce themselves by name, hence those names are used. They are still called "the delegate from..." at times, which is consistent with Alpha Centauri and Arcturus being referred to by the name of the places they represent. Peladon, of course, actually has the same name as his planet.

• The corpse of High Priest Hepesh is visibly breathing.

That's because his race's primary organs are controlled by an independent nervous system which can operate for some time after death. Ok, seriously: That's a production error, not a plot or discontinuity error.

• Arcturus looks, sounds and even has a similar weapon to the Daleks

There is little resemblance, however there's no reason to assume that some similarity in technology is an inconsistency.

• When the TARDIS falls, aside from the obvious fact of there being a model, there is no sign of the Doctor or Jo.

That's clearly a production error, not a plot error.

• Why does the Ice Warrior jump to the conclusion that the Doctor is the Earth delegate?

He is a stranger who looks like an Earthling, and they are expecting the Earth delegate to arrive.

• A decision for the galactic federation can be made with only FOUR (and after Arcturus dies THREE) people?

They are the duly appointed representatives of their governments.

Presumably under Federation law three representatives is the minimum required for a quorum. Considering their entire purpose there is to represent the Federation, yes, presumably they have been duly delegated to make necessary decisions on behalf of the Federation and their governments up to a certain point.

• From the end of episode 3 to the beggining of 4, the Doctor has magically managed to climb out of the pit without help.

He climbed.

Having "proven" his innocence in the combat, and with the real enemies having exposed themselves - he would not have been expected to make his own way out of the pit. He would certainly have been helped.

It's not magic. It's called a cut-scene. A common technique in film-making to keep the story moving along. It's quite obvious he would be helped out of the pit before the charcters take stock of the situation and decide what to do next.

• the Arcturan makes a noise when its around, it is the same sound the Morpho-Brains make, could they be related?

• The Galactic Federation doesn't seem to be very well organised. Wouldn't a meeting of this nature, even on a somewhat primitive planet like Peladon, have been meticulously organised, i.e. even if the Peladonian hosts didn't have basic information about the visiting delegates, surely the delegates themselves would have information on each other (and therefore know that the Doctor and Jo were not the true delegates from Earth)?

To be totally fair, organising the details of a official meeting is probably a lot more complex when the representatives are coming not just from different nations but different planets, some of which are within different solar systems and galaxies, who are going to a meeting on a completely different planet on top of that, and one which is near-medieval in technological status. So yes, there might indeed be some gaps in their information packets which can be exploited.

• Lord Izlyr comments on Jo's (fabricated) royal status, as if he's intrigued to discover that Earth 'maintains the aristocratic process' like his race does on Mars. You would expect a delegate for an entire planet to have more than even such basic knowledge of a fellow Federation member planet's system of government, especially that of a neighbouring planet with which their own kind have had dealings with historically.

Lord Izlyr is a diplomat. Even if he does know all this, he is simply making polite conversation and complementing the planetary customs of the person he has just met and presumes to be his fellow diplomat in an effort to be gracious and polite. He's just trying to demonstrate interest in her and her culture and establish some points of common interest between them, instead of just going "Bleh, I already know everything about your people so nothing you say is of any interest to me," and ignoring her.

• In response to Izlyr's comment, the Doctor asserts that Earth's aristocratic process is 'democratic' in a tone of superiority, as if to say that Mars' is not (naturally tainted by his prejudice of the Ice Warriors) but this is not true; it can be easily argued that the vast majority of aristocratic or royal institutions on Earth are undemocratic, with there being more absolute monarchies than constitutional monarchies, and some of them are among the worst human rights abusers in the world. Now if by the time in Earth's history that this episode is set Earth has evolved beyond these undemocratic systems and developed a unitary government for the whole planet, why would it maintain a nobility system at all? (Bear in mind also that we later see that Earth appears to have a president in Frontier in Space). If, as seems more likely, there is no noble system on Earth by this point, then it is understandable that the Doctor had to quickly invent a noble position for Jo on the spot, but then why defend this totally made up system of government as more democratic than that of Mars?

You kind of answered your own question with "tainted by his prejudice of the Ice Warriors"; the Doctor is trying to one-up them. He may be fudging the exact details just to score a point. It's not like they can correct them.

Also, we have no idea of the specifics of Earth's government at this point of time. Maybe they are trying a kind of "aristocratic democracy" in which a system of nobility has been merged with some form of democratic representation (the title and office of "Princess" may be an elected one, for example). The idea that Earth would "evolve" beyond these systems of government is a rather presentist concept which assumes that the contemporary way of doing things were inevitable and that future developments will occur along inevitable and predictable lines based around what we think is the 'likely' (i.e. correct) inevitable outcome. For all we know, the future world of the Galactic Federation may indeed keep some kind of nobility or aristocracy around, even if it looks very different from its current form.