I was almost positive that Sabbath was working for......Faction Paradox! Of course, Sabbath is beginning to sound like a cut rate Guardian.
DT and AT seemed to work inconsistant of each other. If you were caught in a DT field, you didn't notice anything (i.e., your mind was as slowed down as your body). Whereas, if you were in AT, you were able to percieve your body aging away (a direct steal from "The Dalek's Masterplan"). It seems most logical to me that your perceptions would be altered by both fields, so that you wouldn't notice anything amiss, until you left the field.
Of course, people outside the fields should be able to spot it right away, thanks to Doppler shift. Light leaving an AT field should have to suddenly slow down, so an outside viewer would see a shift down the spectrum; light leaving a DT would speed up, and cause a blue shift. If you want to see a time field story handled in this fashion, read Larry Niven's "ARM" story.
I think the Doctor's method of defeating the clock people was a cheat. Just because he didn't remember changing the past doesn't mean that he should be unaffected by it.
I think there's a simpler way of defeating the clock people. Get a machine gun and shoot them for 2 minutes and 1 second.
Sabbath's masters are DC Comics. They're attempting to sue the Clock-Heads for ripping off a minor apparition from a 1991 issue of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol. Thanks to the Doctor's meddling, the Clock-Heads now have to pay a 10% royalty on all their earnings to AOL-Time Warner.
That's okay--Grant Morrison borrowed the Scissor man from German mythology (by way of XTC (the band not the drug)).
So...We find out who Sabbath's employers are in Sometime Never..., but do ever learn about their enemies - the species the Doctor has just genocided?
The TARDIS has a chess room? Why do people always play chess in the console room, then?
'"It's harder work going back in time than going forward." "Why?" The Doctor regarded Anji as though the answer was obvious. "Because it's uphill."' - since when?!
Why just grab a couple of coats from the hatstand when exiting a dead TARDIS into a freezing wilderness? Why not get scarves and gloves and food and water and (in Fitz's case) cigarettes, and, come to think of it, one of those motorbikes/cars the Doc's got stashed in the Old Girl?
No one's suspicious at Our Heroes going out of their ways to ADVERTISE their pig-ignorance of everything that's going on? Lucky this is the kind of efficient army that doesn't even ask for ID before telling a bunch of strangers all about their top-secret time-travel experiments. Hell, they don't even ask for their RATION BOOKS.
Why does Fitz assume that this is Earth? Especially after the Doctor said IT'S PROBABLY NOT EARTH?
Why do Our Heroes initially assume that THEY were expected - rather than that they'd accidentally taken the place of the REAL time expert?
Why does the Doc look like a kid in a sweetshop at the sight of this massively dangerous time experiment? And then why does he start HELPING with it? And then why does he RISK HIS AND FITZ'S LIVES to do so? He may not remember he's supposed to be an intergalactic ticket inspector, but he should realise such messing around with time is likely to cause BIG TROUBLE, especially when intended as a weapon of war. And given the state the time-ravaged planet is ALREADY in...
'I don't know what to do' - shouldn't the Doctor have checked that the scientist DID know what to do when a second, identical, emergency occurred - given that it's his and Fitz's lives at stake?
God, I'm bored with all the extras' self-hating headachy flashbacks. I just DON'T CARE about them. Still, it was slightly reminiscent of Impossible Planet/Satan Pit, which made me realise that that would probably have been better with clock-faced people doing all that chasing instead of Ood.
Look, I know you're unsubtly pushing the whole Doctor-is-mortal/human/pathetic-now-he-only-has-one-heart stuff, but claiming he sounds 'terrified' is going a bit far.
Why does Shaw say the Doctor and Anji are dead when he KNOWS they're wearing protective suits?
You KNOW a grenade is about to go off! Why walk and then slowly jog instead of RUNNING?
'Our lives have meaning because of the immutability of our pasts. We are who we are because of what has happened to us, what we have experienced...So if we destroy our pasts, it follows that we destroy ourselves...As they change [their pasts], they cease to be...They become a shell. A hollow, vacant shell...You become an...unperson' - neat theory. Pity A Christmas Carol blows it to smithereens. (And not just A Christmas Carol, that DVD extra scene with Amelia's dropped ice-cream too...)
'Those creatures...they will use that regret to control you. They will take you back to your blackest moment and give you the chance to do things differently. Nobody would be able to resist that...Nobody. Not even me' - actually I think if you KNEW the consequence would entail YOUR FACE TURNING INTO A CLOCK you'd learn to live with your regrets, pronto.
'During peacetime you'd never get a workforce to submit to these conditions. But if it's for a war, if it's for God, King and country, then people will sweat every waking hour for monkey nuts.' - Except that it's been established that patriotism doesn't EXIST in this empire. Plus, how far would one war on one unimportant world affect the workings of an interplanetary empire?
Not that Our Heroes seem interested in trying to find out more about this empire. Pity, as they might have realised earlier that *whips out felt-tip pen* THIS IS A FAKE. Likewise, pity they didn't ask Shaw why he released them from their cell, why he was so desperate to keep Fitz alive he threatened to shoot him, etc - they might have worked out sooner that he was a double agent.
To be continued...
The TARDIS has a chess room? Why do people always play chess in the console room, then?
Because the Doctor likes it there. The Tardis is massive, but the Doctor chooses to spend practically all his time in the console room, close to the Tardis's heart, perhaps for sentimental reasons. Naturally, that means the companions do too, just to stay close to the Doctor.
Why does Fitz assume that this is Earth? Especially after the Doctor said IT'S PROBABLY NOT EARTH?
The Tardis is pretty fond of landing on Earth, either in England or near some major historical event, and the Doctor did only say 'probably', not 'certainly'.
Why does the Doc look like a kid in a sweetshop at the sight of this massively dangerous time experiment? And then why does he start HELPING with it?
For the same reason as Romana did, in City of Death.
neat theory. Pity A Christmas Carol blows it to smithereens.
It could depend how the past is altered. The Tardis is immensely sophisticated, quite capable of damping out undesirable consequences, when she's in the right mood. Lesser means of time travel may not be as safe as she is.
The TARDIS has a chess room? Why do people always play chess in the console room, then?
Because the Doctor likes it there. The Tardis is massive, but the Doctor chooses to spend practically all his time in the console room, close to the Tardis's heart, perhaps for sentimental reasons.
He's not sentimental about the TARDIS! He HITS HER WITH MALLETS!
The Tardis is pretty fond of landing on Earth, either in England or near some major historical event, and the Doctor did only say 'probably', not 'certainly'.
Yeah, but in the months after she FINALLY got off that planet following her century's exile there, the Old Girl didn't return to Earth NEARLY as often as usual. Understandably.
Why does the Doc look like a kid in a sweetshop at the sight of this massively dangerous time experiment? And then why does he start HELPING with it?
For the same reason as Romana did, in City of Death.
But no one was threatening the entire contents of the Paris Telephone Directory!
Oh. That was a bit later, wasn't it. Scaroth just gave Romana a sob-story about just wanting to get back to his ship and she swallowed it. (OK, he may have murdered Kerensky as well, just to add weight to his words.) But there was no such sob-story HERE, the Doctor KNEW the time experiments were intended for use as a weapon, and NO ONE was threatening him or his pals.
It could depend how the past is altered. The Tardis is immensely sophisticated, quite capable of damping out undesirable consequences, when she's in the right mood.
Yeah, but how could the Doctor tell if she was in the right mood?
But alright, I suppose the situation is slightly different when you've got clock-faced people who WANT to infect you...
Fitz catches sight of the scar over the Doctor's ex-heart: 'That would be the one thing I would go back and change, thought Fitz. And, looking at Anji's concerned face, it was probably true for her. And the Doctor too. That would be the irresistible temptation' - Anji made it quite clear a few hours ago in Hope that she'd betray the Doctor just for a clone of her dead boyfriend. And if Fitz and the Doctor DID nip back and stop Sabbath carving out the Doctor's heart - which bit of IT WAS KILLING HIM have they somehow failed to grasp...?
'It would be over, any moment now. First the mustard gas would pour in and her lungs would fill with poison. But then, before it had time to kill her, the soldiers would enter and tranform her into one of them. She considered putting on one of the TR suits, but realised it would just be postponing the inevitable. She would still be trapped' - what a moron. PUT ON THE SUIT so you don't die of mustard gas, then prepare to dodge/run/use Mistletoe as a human shield/wait for the Doctor (or, considerably less likely, Fitz) to rescue you. Failing that, when the clock-people get their hands on you, just RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CHANGE THE PAST. Duh!
WHY is Fitz so positive that the suited figure who ignored him was the Doctor?
I thought this claimed that one mouthful of the gas would mean death? Yet the Doc deliberately inhaled several lungfuls of the stuff and still survived - without his respiratory bypass system and all.
'"The infection has no military value. Quite the reverse, it's a liability. The defaulters couldn't use it against the plutocrats...They would just be replacing them with another, stronger enemy." "No." Shaw's gun was unsteady. "You're wrong."' - how can these BLATANTLY OBVIOUS FACTS have POSSIBLY not occurred to him?
'Anji rubbed her hair. She hadn't washed or changed her clothes for what, three days?' - compare n'contrast with 22 pages (and considerably less than three days) earlier - 'Anji had fixed her hair and washed'.
Why isn't the Doctor (or even Fitz n'Anji) suspicious when none of the soldiers speak? (And why don't they TICK? Surely Our Heroes would have noticed THAT.)
Why are there all these irritating hyphens after 'un' whenever Mistletoe speaks?
'I want you to get back to the TARDIS. If the worst comes to the worst...you'll be safe there' - they WILL?! Whatever happened to all that stuff at the beginning about 'This planet is so horrific that the TARDIS tried to destroy herself rather than land here but we're not safe in the TARDIS, without the life-support systems we're all goners, so let's go out and explore!'???
The Doctor after his face has been turned into a clock: 'He could still breathe...And yet if he brought his fingers to his face, he could feel round, convex glass where his eyes, nose and mouth should be. There must be a inconsistency in his own perception. Like a man who has lost an arm still being able to sense movements in his fingers.' - If you didn't believe the clock-people could breathe, why the hell did you SUCCESSFULLY GAS THEM?
'We stay here. We wait for the Doctor to get better. Then we go back to the TARDIS' - why not get the unconscious Doctor back to the TARDIS NOW? It's allegedly started working again, and he'll be happier and more likely to recover there.
Actually I rather wish the whole Plutocrat/Defaulter society had been real. It's been a while since Sun Makers - capitalism is an under-explored evil in Who.
He's not sentimental about the TARDIS! He HITS HER WITH MALLETS!
And she takes him to the most dangerous places in the universe. If they were human, it'd be a pretty bad relationship, but neither of them are human.
Yeah, but how could the Doctor tell if she was in the right mood?
Symbiotic link.
Failing that, when the clock-people get their hands on you, just RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CHANGE THE PAST. Duh!
Easy enough to do, if your greatest regret is that you were five minutes late feeding the cats, fifteen years ago (only the once, but the memory of their disappointment haunts your dreams). If changing your past can save lives, it's a much harder choice - sacrifice yourself to save thousands? - but few of us are in that position.
how can these BLATANTLY OBVIOUS FACTS have POSSIBLY not occurred to him?
Normal human single-mindedness. Happens all the time.
why not get the unconscious Doctor back to the TARDIS NOW?
They didn't feel like carrying him? If there's no immediate danger, it's easier to wait for him to wake up.
He's not sentimental about the TARDIS! He HITS HER WITH MALLETS!
And she takes him to the most dangerous places in the universe. If they were human, it'd be a pretty bad relationship, but neither of them are human.
OK, I shall TRY to remember that fact, but it's tricky, what with their pathetic human-fetish - getting their soul dumped in human bodies, pretending their mother is human, only operating for human eyeballs, always playing with Earth girls...
Yeah, but how could the Doctor tell if she was in the right mood?
Symbiotic link.
There's NO WAY the Doctor would take a potentially universe-holing gamble like changing history because he THOUGHT he sensed that the TARDIS would clean up all the mess. This is the guy who spent 700 years (or whatever) failing to sense that the Old Girl was DELIBERATELY screwing with his life.
Failing that, when the clock-people get their hands on you, just RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO CHANGE THE PAST. Duh!
Easy enough to do, if your greatest regret is that you were five minutes late feeding the cats, fifteen years ago (only the once, but the memory of their disappointment haunts your dreams). If changing your past can save lives, it's a much harder choice - sacrifice yourself to save thousands? - but few of us are in that position.
Notwithstanding Fitz's bizarre thoughts on this matter, Anji's moment of temptation would OBVIOUSLY be preventing her boyfriend getting squished - NOT the lives of thousands. And frankly she was thinking of leaving Dave ANYWAY - would she REALLY have condemned herself to eternal tick-tocking to have him living his loser-life on Earth without her? (I mean, loser-life in the eyes of a successful City trader. Obviously I don't consider devoting your life to sci-fi to be a waste of time, even if - living in the Whoniverse - the poor guy had to make do with Professor X instead of Doctor Who.)
why not get the unconscious Doctor back to the TARDIS NOW?
They didn't feel like carrying him? If there's no immediate danger, it's easier to wait for him to wake up.
But it gave me the impression that he'd be in the coma for days, if not weeks. And it was a seriously unplesant place to be stuck in. There might not even have been any food, depending on how much of what they've seen is real.
I was almost positive that Sabbath was working for......Faction Paradox!
Spectacularly wrong. TARDIS Wiki:
'According to fellow series author Jonathan Blum, Morris has said that the clock-faced men in the story are meant to be Faction Paradox.'
You know, the ones Sabbath tricked the Doctor into SLAUGHTERING.
Nope, I totally didn't see the resemblance either.
Also, not sure why they still exist if Ancestor Cell's godawful claim that the Doctor was Grandfather Paradox (and now isn't cos he blows up Gallifrey and stuff instead) is true - they'd never have existed. But then that's Faction Paradox for you. ('They're here. They're not here. Get used to it.')
Of course, Sabbath is beginning to sound like a cut rate Guardian.
Interesting in view of the post-War debate in New Who, the SJA etc about whether the Trickster/Parrot/Ood etc are replacing the Guardians and/or Time Lords...
The TARDIS has a chess room? Why do people always play chess in the console room, then?
It probably didn't exist in Tom's/Davison's day. Or maybe it existed in Tom's day but if he didn't play in the console he wouldn't be able to press some switches to 'accidentally' jolt the TARDIS, spill the pieces and save himself from humiliating defeat at the hands, er paws, um...at the smug circuits of his dawg. And then Davison accidentally jettisoned it alongside 25% of Sexy cos he's THAT sort of grossly-incompetent Doctor.
The Tardis is immensely sophisticated, quite capable of damping out undesirable consequences, when she's in the right mood.
Yeah, but how could the Doctor tell if she was in the right mood?
Especially after the ••••• expelled darling JODIE! one minute and let her in without a key or a finger-click the next. She's basically schizophrenic, isn't she. ('Biting's excellent. It's like kissing, only there's a winner.')
There's NO WAY the Doctor would take a potentially universe-holing gamble like changing history because he THOUGHT he sensed that the TARDIS would clean up all the mess.
Especially as he's amnesiac Eight who won't even remember the times she cleared up his mess, like Christmas on a Rational Planet.