Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Lie of the Land

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This page is for discussing the ways in which The Lie of the Land 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:

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::This is a counter-argument to point one.
:::This is a counter-argument to the counter-argument above
* This is point two.
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::Further discussion and query of point two.

... and so on. 

• The Doctor is not affected by the Monks, we can safely assume this is because he is not the same species as the Linch Pin, the same way he and the Vin Vocci weren't affected by the Immortality Gate. However theres no in universe reason to why the Zygons living in human form were affected by the Monks Power, surely the Doctor could have enlisted their help.

This may be due to the fact that the Zygons register as humans on all levels while posing as them. Meaning while they were under the unfluence they too were affected.

• The Doctor performs a fake regeneration, so why wasn't he able to repair his own eyes?

Because it was a fake regeneration..?

There was regeneration power coming from his body..!

He wasn't actually injured, it's been clarified that once one starts a process fully to heal, change becomes inevitable. This has been clarified on the Oxygen page: it's a waste of a regeneration when being blind doesn't really kill you.

Does this suggest that this is all a simulation? Or simply a continuity point, or plothole?

To simplify this thread: How was the doctor even able to perform a fake regeneration?

The Doctor knows his own biology, is a technical expert, has other knowledgeable people like Nardole with him, and has many advanced tools on his person. If he wanted to show yellow light bursting out of him, he shouldn't have a problem.

But, it was regeneration energy, whether you like it or not! The start of the regeneration process!

The Doctor has showed he can deal out small bursts of energy without regenerating, Angels Take Manhattan, The Witches Familiar. If re fixed his blindness then he would have fully regenerated as he was injured. However in this episode of the previously mentioned, he wasn't actually injured so perhaps timecards can exert energy and have complete control, as long as they are not injured in some way or another.

The Teselecta could fake a regeneration with Doctor's help, so it's doable.

It wasn't the Doctor, though. It was an android!

At the moment, all we know is that it looked and sounded like regeneration energy. That does not mean it was (so saying "like it or not" is improper). It is possible that he rigged the room his holographic projectors, for all we know. He did have around half a year to prepare and again, he has the technical expertise to know how to do this, and has been shown to make scanning devices out of bits of junk. There are probably other methods as well as this. If it was actual regeneration energy, it is possible that the Doctor has learnt a way of using a small amount to create the light and sound effects but not change him. Again, he has had a long time to figure out a way to to do this without damaging his regeneration limit (i.e. ever since The Husbands of River Song and perhaps before). Besides, the second cycle the Time Lords gave him seems to have given him a lot of excess energy; enough energy for him to be willing to give some to Davros. I would suggest that he could do a fake regeneration lots of times without ill effect. And again, there are probably other methods as well as this.

And, yet couldn't produce a small amount to repair his eyes?

Starting a regeneration means one has to fully commit to it, so long as a repair of something is actually needed. This is just my theory but it goes like this: regeneration is an optional process for a time lord (as the Master proved), it can be triggered willingly without injury (as this episode as Nightmare in Silver suggested) and that one must finish a regeneration once it starts if they have healed (as 10 proved in Journey's End). The exception is tpwhen the 11th healed River's wrist; he only had residual energy left over, not enough for a full regeneration. Therefore, the Doctor can use up regeneration energy willingly, but doesn't need to complete the process if there's nothing to fix.

And on top of that, once again, we don't know if the Doctor even used any actual regeneration energy at all. Considering that point wasn't argued against, I'd say that the technical solution is the most likely one. Besides, there is speculation on other websites that there may have been more to the Doctor's blindness than his eyes (e.g. oxygen deprivation damaging his brain) and he did not want to take any unnecessary risks.

Given that a special effects light show would take a lot of set up, the reason why I can't accept that that's how he faked the regeneration is because the way the Doctor says to Nardole at the end "Regeneration a bit too much?" heavily implies that it wasn't part of the plan and the doctor only decided to do a fake regeneration in the heat of the moment.

Well, perhaps the Doctor simply didn't tell anyone beforehand and built the system alone. Alternatively, he may have been joking. I've also been beginning to wonder whether this is a Time Lord trait anyway. Anyway, this is becoming too long in my opinion. The simplified question was how could the Doctor fake a regeneration and the community has answered it. The answers may not be perfect but they are there. This shouldn't up like the discussion for The Magician's Apprentice, which has over half the page on two linked topics.

• In the prison, why doesn't the Monk recognize Bill, or at least detect she isn't under their power?

Maybe it did but didn't perceive her as a threat or believed she was still under their influence?

This is a bit of a plot hole and the problem occurred to me while I was watching it. She is fighting the monks. Therefore they would be aware of that. I think it's safe to think they have some kind of collective consciousness so the monk inspecting the workers probably did recognise her. It does pause in front of her for a little while. This suggests that the monk knew that Bill was walking into a 'trap.'

Nowhere in the episode is it mentioned that the monks have some kind of collective consciousness. The monk probably recognised Bill as the one who gave consent and so stopped at her simply to perhaps work out where it recognised her from or just to perhaprs think to itself "what a coincidence, its her". The monk had no reason to suspect that she wasn't under their control. To summarise: the monk did recognise her but didn't know that she wasn't completely under their control.

• (Seen on another forum) In the flashbacks with the Dalek and Cyberman, Why is the Dalek from Inside the Dalek, and the Cyberman from Nightmare in Silver? Neither took place on Earth!

Isn't this more a production thing than continuity?

My theory is that these clips weren't in the promo video and instead we were seeing what the doctor was seeing in his head as he spoke about them. After all, the monks defeating the daleks, cybermen and weeping angels didn't really happen so there would be no clips to show.

"After all, the monks defeating the daleks, cybermen and weeping angels didn't really happen so there would be no clips to show."

Heretic!

• Once the Monks had left the public couldn't remember the past six months! I'm sure there would be photographic and video footage somewhere!

The Monks are evidently a pretty powerful race, their technology could change history with sheer thought so they may have easily changed all the cottage or the Doctor did some fiddling of his own.

A major plot point of the episode is the monks' ability to rewrite history, including photographs. Presumably any that weren't already overwritten by Bill would have been reverted as the monks left. Any remainders would probably be handled by the Doctor and, presumably, UNIT.

The Monks don't rewrite history! They rewrite the memory of the history!

• People died during the Monks 6 months on Earth. What about the families of those people?

Presumably the memory adjusting they did compensated for this?

There is nothing suggesting everyone on earth has a six-month blank in their memory, it's just been overwritten. That said, the episode is silent on this point with regards to individuals who were executed by the monks.

Perhaps there's some kind of perception filtery thing whereby the families know the person is dead but don't question how they died.

• Is it okay to put weeping angel in promo video?

How do you mean?

Series 5 established that images of Angels are just as powerful if not more so than seeing them in person. However, there is nothing to suggest the Daleks, Cybermen or Weeping Angels were actually shown in a promo video; these were flashbacks for our benefit. Just like at no point did Missy's face actually fill the sky; this was just a production style choice.

• Bill didn't know about regeneration, so why did Doctor perform fake regeneration to Bill?

Perhaps he was doing it to deceive the monks, in case there were still "watching" as he was testing.

If the monks are watching they would immediately see the Doctor reveal the deception.

Plus he mentioned regeneration to her in Knock Knock, so it's not like she's entirely ignorant of it.

The way the scene plays out, there is no indication given that Bill knows what would happen. As far as she's concerned she's killing the Doctor outright.

The Doctor does admit the fake regeneration was him adding to the drama. It's also arguably due to Moffat wanting to tease a regeneration in reveal trailers. Forced writing?

The doctor was just having a bit of fun.

The same way if you were shot by your friend with blanks, you'd put on an act, you'd scream, clutch your 'wound' and give it the full shabang. The Doctor just did it the way his people would do it.

• What happened to all the prisoners, and some individuals who knew about the fake history?

Presumably awoke in prison with fake memories put in place of a crime.

• In the previous story the Doctor asks the monks why they need consent to rule the Earth when they could conquer it 'in a hearbeat. They didn't answer that obvious question then and it isn't answered in this story either. Unless I'm missing something?

The point is the brainwave pattern the monks gain. Missy explains this to the Doctor and Bill like that: It has to be a pure request without agenda or ulterior motive. With this consent they gain the brainwave pattern of the requesting person and with this and the signal boosting statues they are able to control the population of a planet and rewrite history in the minds of these people. Only through this ability they can invade the planet without any force, because they make the population thing, the monks were there the entire history.

• Why doesn't the Monk in the HQ fight back. He just sits there thinking!

That was his way of fighting back, he used it to blast the Doctor away and fought against Bill but lost. The ending was admittedly an anti-climax given the three episode build up mind.

• Right at the end everyone revolts against the Monks! So why can't they remember the 6 months under them? Or even the last few minutes under them?

The monks are powerful and influencing people to think they had always been there, evidently, leaving also removes all this information. Also, as we've seen in Forest of the Night, the human race forget.

Thats a plot hole in itself!

The statues remained!

Maybe it's like people waking up from nightmare. They are scared, they believe it's real, they are scared. A while later they realize it was just a bad dream. And often a bit later they forget what was the nightmare about. And then they fall asleep even not remembering waking up from the dream. As for the question "why nobody asks for their dead relatives" - how do you know nobody asks? The movie doesn't show it, but probably if they would, they would either fill their memories with false memories, kind of popular thing IRL. Or maybe they would be seen as crazy. Or maybe UNIT takes care to keep them quiet, because they think it's better for them to don't remember. As for false memories if X says "my brother died and I don't know why" and then somebody gets false memory "he was hit by car", such false memory could spread IRL, people would even add details and agree on that and asking person could be like "yeah, how could I forget, I was making a tea when it happened". And here we are dealing with blank minds, even more prone to false memories. I think that's the good explanation, because such collective false memories are a real and well known phenomena.

• Nardole has been shown to be able to fly the TARDIS, why couldn’t they have used it to get to the Doctor? Rather than risking being found out on a boat. Nardole has access to it because A) he was inside it in the Sheffield Lab, and B) He has the signal tracker.

Doctor likes to keep TARDIS out of battlefield. It's not consistent rule, but he sometimes states that as a way of fixing holes in the plot. 13th doctor says she's not consistent with rules, so even not being consistent is not consistent.