It's Time to Stop Caring About Doctor Who ‘Canon’

[@eponymouselias]

Maybe I’ve just spent too much time immersed in the SCP horror universe but it’s really changed my perception of the concept of “canon”. Like I dunno it doesn’t seem that important to me. It’s fun to try and connect everything with wild conspiracy theories, but I think I’ve come to a place where I try not to overthink “plot holes” or what have you, because I know the writers aren’t thinking that hard on it I just try to enjoy the stories within their own context.

[@PullToOpen]

This is generally a good attitude. Our rule of thumb is, if you're thinking of the plot hole *as you're watching it*, it's bad and should have been rewritten. If you only think of it later, then it's ok and the story successfully did what it was supposed to do: entertain you enough that you don't notice them

[@TiasVsEverything]

The production team were so burnt out during Enterprise and they needed a break. That why it was so bad. Not because they were trying too hard to build an established canon. Wild that you didn’t like late VOY and DS9. I’ve never heard someone hold up such a niche, generally dissenting opinion that those shows were bad (or getting bad) as though it were axiomatic and not needing of clarification.

[@PullToOpen]

Whoa, back up a sec. I (Pete) never said I didn't like those shows, just that there was so much attention paid to canon and continuity that there was a "sameness" that emerged during that era of the franchise, which ultimately was a weakness. To do something like Enterprise properly, and make it feel new, there probably needed to be a wholesale change in the creative team. Admittedly it was a bit of a drive-by comment, but this is a Doctor Who podcast, and we generally only bring up other franchises to compare and contrast how Who handles things vs. others. But, for the record, I thought DS9 was mostly brilliant and agree with consensus that Voyager got much better right around Scorpion. Enterprise, as a whole, is underrated, but S1-2 are pretty stinky and faceplanted the series out of the gate. Can't hate on a series that gave us In a Mirror, Darkly, though.

[@TiasVsEverything]

@@PullToOpen ok, sounds like we’re on pretty similar pages, then. Still, I just wanna get in my own drive-by that the whole concept of the Timeless Child needs to be loudly retconned away. That shit can’t just silently continue to maybe be a part of the “canon” (if you can even REALLY use that word with Doctor Who).

[@dI9ESTIVES123]

Doctor Who canonically ended after Capaldi (at least in my head).

[@j.diamond6014]

like most things it's the middleground. Does canon matter? Yes. How much does canon matter? There-in lies the rub.

[@beatrixwickson8477]

I really enjoyed the Dreamworks series Trollhunters. I think they even managed to basically land the finale with a satisfying an emotional ending but then [spoilers] in the last 5 minutes they basically tine travel and undo the whole series and start over swapping out the protagonist for the sidekick. It's especially galling because they had already done a whole episode on "what if the hero never become the titular trollhunter?" and we get to see that it would be a disaster almost immediately. It really ruined the entire series for me, it felt like nothing meant anything and the whole series, two spinoff series and the movie concluding the story was all a big waste of time and anything I felt was foolish and pointless. A problem that could have been fixed by just rolling credits 5 minutes sooner and committing to the story you've told. Anyway... the point is for me, I think there should be a range of acceptable positions on the spectrum of continuity and canon but if you push the limits to the point that the audience doesn't care anymore, then you've pushed it to breaking. And honestly, as much as I hate contradictions, I can manage my inner conflict as long as I still care. But push me until I don't care and then either nothing is forgiven or I just stop watching. If nothing means anything why am I watching? Good vid, gents.

[@nodatastored684]

Actually everytime Gallifrey is destroyed, a continuity resets Earth and the Universe to bring Gallifrey Back. Continuity based on the Matrix and the Tether is pliable and bends

[@PullToOpen]

Actually makes sense. Nice one 👍

[@recapnerd2657]

Sadly, it’s time to stop caring about Doctor Who in general 😔

[@PixelReaper]

I don't care for the canon. I just enjoy episodes I like and ignore the episodes I dislike. Simple as.

[@ff7522]

It's time to stop caring about Doctor Who (7 years ago)

[@MannyNamiro]

Amen. Doctor Who is dead and BBC killed it. It's a good thing we still have like decades of the show, though.

[@ethanmelton576]

This is tangentially related, but I'm of the opinion that the more nostalgic Doctor Who gets, the worse it generally gets. I have two examples to back up my point: Classic Season 22, where every story has a callback to a story from 10-20 years before, and Revival Series 7 part 2, where every story was an homage to a previous era, and was probably the low point of the entire revival series.

[@wordyballoons]

I agree 100%. At this point the show is just eating itself through constant self-referential callbacks. In a series that's ironically about the vastly infinite universe, it's weird to see the same ten alien species with British accents over and over again.

[@j.diamond6014]

when i first started listening to your podcast i imagined you to look almost exactly as i later learnt you do - but reversed.

[@KoreyThatcher]

Canon is decided by the fans. Change my mind.

[@PullToOpen]

We wouldn't dare. But it's important that it's "fans," plural. It's basically a consensus that forms over time.

[@Eddgarur]

Doctor who is dead

[@brannonlanghom9239]

*Promo sm* 😄

[@Galvatronover]

id counter its time to stop fixating on unnecessary canon but keep continuity as consistent as possible

[@SciFiGuy72]

Just looking at your bookmarks in the video. You're not just talking Doctor Who. You're mixing in the horrible Nu Who Self Flagellating Fan Fiction. Your discussion is invalid off the bat since Doctor Who went off air in 1989. Anything after that isn't Doctor Who.