A couple more thoughts on Utopia

[owl]

I've thought of a plot hole or three:

• If Jack had the magic watch of time travel all along, why did he not use it to escape the Tula ship before it blew up in The Doctor Dances?



• Ok, the TARDIS is a bit of a give-away, but how did Jack know that Ten was the Doctor as opposed to another companion?



• In the time that Martha comes from, 2007 or 2008, Saxon is around and hanging up campaign posters. If the Doctor can sense other Time Lords, how did he miss him?





Nothing to do with Utopia, but I've seen a lot of fics calling Martha an "intern". I assume that's American for house officer or whatever they're called at the minute, but I'd been assuming that she was a fifth-year student, based on her being 23 and still doing exams. Any medics about to correct me? Anyway, the word is still wrong. No interns.

Comments

[clanwilliam.livejournal.com]

The last one's been bothering me too - could it be something to do with personal timeline versus other time line? Or will the writers just ignore it and hope it goes away?

[tommx.livejournal.com]

The last one was one I was wondering about too. I suspect it's the bbowwtws theory that the Doctor explained in Blink.

[doyle_sb4.livejournal.com]

# If the Doctor can sense other Time Lords, how did he miss him?

This being able to sense other Time Lords is a bit dubious, considering he's never once been able to sense the Master (even when he was five feet away and wearing a rubber mask as a cunning disguise). I think when Nine says this he's assuming another survivor would be actively trying to make mental contact? Or the ring that Saxon's wearing in the trailers is a biodampener, like Donna's in Runaway Bride.

Martha's definitely not an 'intern' - the British equivalent's a JHO and she can't be one of those if she hasn't passed her exams yet. She's just a final year medical student.

[tree_and_leaf]

Ok, the TARDIS is a bit of a give-away, but how did Jack know that Ten was the Doctor as opposed to another companion?

Recognised from descriptions by eyewitnesses to the events of 'The Christmas Invasion' or survivors of the Canary Wharf debacle (if any exist?) I suppose there might be CCTV footage kicking around from TCI, too.

[momentslast.livejournal.com]

yeah, didn't jack say that he saw some CCTV?? Or was that just in a fic I read?? ... huh.. well yeah i'm figuring since he's the head of Torchwood Three he just watched the CCTV from Canary Wharf or TCI, especially since he has the hand.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

If she were in the States, to say she was an intern would be correct, as all doctors in the States have to do an internship after medical school. Can't speak for Britain, though.

The Doctor didn't sense the Master because his 'Time Lord essence' was in the watch. His body was entirely human.

[scarfman]

That only explains why the Doctor didn't sense Time Lordness in Professor Yana, but Mr. Saxon has been knocking around behind the scenes since late last season.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

Professor Yana was entirely human, just as John Smith was entirely human. He didn't revert to Time Lord until after the watch was opened.

[scarfman]

Yes, but Mr. Saxon isn't and he's been hanging about since late Season 2006. The question isn't why didn't the Doctor sense Professor Yana was a Time Lord. The question is why didn't the Doctor sense Mr. Saxon was a Time Lord.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. Sorry. Misunderstood. Yes, that is a very good question.

[owl]

My point is that she isn't in the States, therefore intern is wrong. We used to have 5 years as a medical student, a pre-reg year in a hospital, then a couple more as a senior house officer. They've been changing the clinical training recently, I think the term is still house officer, but I wanted to check.

[nineveh-uk.livejournal.com]

I assumed that as Martha talks about being a medical student, she is therefore is at one of the London hospital medical schools doing her clinical training, and thus a student in her 3 - 5th year (4 - 6th with intercalated BSc, which I think is compulsary there), rapidly forgetting everything she knows and is going to require the Doctor to faciliate three months on an island with her books before she returns. She's certainly not at the JHO/whatever it's called stage.

[owl]

Yes, that's what I was assuming, so even translating "intern" to house officer of whatever subspecies they're calling it nowadays, they're still wrong.

[fairiehawke.livejournal.com]

Ok, the TARDIS is a bit of a give-away, but how did Jack know that Ten was the Doctor as opposed to another companion?
he was using the hand that he picked up after the christmas invasion to track him... so my best guess would be......... oh hells bells i dont know... why did they bring jack back anyway, he irritates me to no end, and I'm American, I can't imagine how brits feel

[tonko-ni.livejournal.com]

1) Good question! Maybe it didn't work at the time? Since he was using the ship and all? Pure fanwank, that, but he might've picked up some stuff along the way and made it work again, just the once. I mean, it seemed like it was only good for the one trip, or why the heck would he wait around from the 1860s (or whatever he said) onwards?

2)I vote CCTV footage of Torchwood 1.

3)At first I thought he was sensing the Master waking up again too, but given the above comment that Time Lords haven't been able to sense each other before, maybe it was just overly suggestive cross-cutting on the show's part. Moment of realization, rather than tingly Timelord senses. Barring that, if RTD decides they DO now have tingly senses, maybe it was proximity. Or maybe, before the war, all Time Lords were a sort of constant presence in the telepathic background, so one wouldn't stand out, but since he's alone now, the sudden presence of another is easily felt. (Not sure how sad it is that my brain coughed up all those different explanations in about 30 seconds.)

[eulalumel.livejournal.com]

1 Perhaps it wouldn't work while on a ship. It might need to be stable in order to work. :) Could be why he ended up too early after leaving Satellite 5.

2 Um. Torchwood? Isn't that half of what they're about? Or he could have gone to UNIT. And he'd seen other Doctors.

3 I think that's just carelessness on his part. He's got so used to thinking he's "the last of the Time Lords" that he didn't even register it. I think that's why Saxon was there actually. Hiding right under the Doctor's nose.

I thought she was still a student. :) No interns unless Martha ends up on an American TV show by accident.

[bittersweet325.livejournal.com]

# Ok, the TARDIS is a bit of a give-away, but how did Jack know that Ten was the Doctor as opposed to another companion?

I assumed that he would know from Torchwood. If Torchwood was organized to combat the Doctor then he'd likely have all the resources he needed to know what he became after Nine.

# In the time that Martha comes from, 2007 or 2008, Saxon is around and hanging up campaign posters. If the Doctor can sense other Time Lords, how did he miss him?
This is a good question that's been bothering me. I'm hoping this will be a major thing they explain...

[wasanifu.livejournal.com]

2. In 'Love and Monsters' The pictures we see of Rose and The Doc come directly from Torchwood if I remember corectly. So fairly easy to get ahold of, for someone who actualy *works* there.