The Most Misunderstood Doctor Who Monsters

[@HarboWholmes]

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[@jeffbo8748]

Okay, here me out: A Christmas Special loosely based on Its A Wonderful Life where the Reapers turn up after a character who meets the Doctor creates a paradox after wishing they had never been born. With said character removing themselves from the timeline, we get to see a twisted Turn Left/Pottersville style dark timeline that the Reapers take advantage of.

[@kittyfreya9141]

Fab idea. They did Christmas Carol so why not 😊

[@conorcrilly1304]

They already did Doctor Who does It's a wonderful life... Its called Twice Upon a Time...

[@sambyrne7833]

the most recent christmas special was kinda based on its a wonderful life i think

[@gorman1852]

⁠​⁠@@conorcrilly1304they were talking about doing a sort of spoof on It’s a Wonderful life and since they already did that with A Christmas carol it’s very much possible they could do it.

[@sjl197]

“Hear”. 😊 I.e. “Listen”

[@Captain_Maeve]

This is a good explanation, the reapers are like seagulls, they won't always appear but if they see a tasty time tear then they will flock to it.

[@adamstewart9052]

Well they don't always need to appear anyway.

[@SickVoid]

5:40 I love this specific scene in the episode so much because it actually shows you how the tardis prop they use actually looks on the inside without a green screen in it.

[@oberonpanopticon]

It haunted me when I saw this episode when I was little Still does today a little tbh

[@TheInkTank]

I expected these to be a common factor in The Doctor's travels when first getting into the series. Nothing major like a big bad, or even an arc-focused spotlight, but something The Doctor would still have to consider when travelling, like the Tardis acting up. Though you make a good point that they aren't all-knowing and simply won't always know when there's an opportunity to show up.

[@malayekanwar]

Yeah, Most Fans eagerly expect them to make a return every time some time meddling happens, like in the recent 60th Anniversary Special 2

[@maniraptavia4008]

The reapers are one of my all-time favourite monster designs, and I REALLY wish they would return. Could be really interesting to see the Doctor even side with them perhaps. They essentially feed off of paradoxes, so they could even potentially be seen as a balancing force in time that helps damage control the effects of a paradox, like antibodies in an immune system.

[@nathanielcleland6566]

My interpretation is that Fixed Points are different to paradoxes. I don't think Pete's death was a fixed point. We know The Doctor knows when a point is fixed or not, and he doesn't say anything in Fathers Day. Rather, saving Pete is obviously a paradox. Normally the web of time can accommodate the small changes The Doctor makes. However, there's a causal chain that snaps completely in Father's Day. This is different to the Waters of Mars, where he happens upon Bowie Base One. He didn't set out to visit it, he was just out for a stroll. So he'd still end up there even if the catastrophe never occurred, and thus there's no paradox. Instead, the events there are so important to the flow of time generally that meaningfully changing them unravels time as a whole. This is what happens in Wedding of River Song. However, it's a completely different form of event - there's no paradox for the Reapers to feast on. Finally there's the Bootstrap Paradox we get in before the flood. However, unlike Fathers Day, there's causal consistency. It's a closed loop between past and future, which doesn't make sense if time is a flow from cause to effect... but it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff 😂. I don't think there's another example of a true paradox so obvious as Father's Day in the modern show.

[@olived9560]

This is such a good explanation

[@toukoenriaze9870]

i mean there was also the badwolf buildup of her looking into the heart of the tardis ... if she never joined the doctor that not happening would have been a massive ripple

[@nathanielcleland6566]

@@toukoenriaze9870 True, although Bad Wolf is again another causally consistent loop. If that doesn't happen, then there's never any Bad Wolf scattered across the cosmos. Time can pretty easily fix that one. How it affects the timeline, who's to say? But it's possible that without the Bad Wolf, The Doctor never realises that the gamestation is part of something bigger. So he just goes swanning off oblivious to the massive Dalek Fleet. And of course his reason for staying around was to rescue Rose and Jack - but, no Rose, then no Jack. And in extremis, presumably The Doctor could die and not shred the continuum, despite the truly monumental difference that would make to the universe (à la Turn Left).

[@adamstewart9052]

I don't think they would have appeared in _The Wedding of River Song_ anyway because history was manipulated to happen all at once so the normal rules regarding contradictory paradoxes might not apply.

[@william2496]

Reapers need to return. For me, Reapers/Slitheen/Ood/Silents/Weeping Angels are the new Daleks/Cybers/Sontarans/Silurians, but shouldn't be over used (Weeping Angels have been over used quite a bit...)

[@pete5516]

Weeping Angels aren’t overused really, they have had like 3-4 stories attributed to them it’s just that none of them could live up to the original so it feels overused.

[@PuzzleGameNoob]

What story would you write with the reapers returning? I feel like Father's Day basically did everything with them. They're more like a basic concept than a true villain. They can only be defeated in one way and they aren't intelligent enough for any plans or dialogue to take place, so I feel like they'd just be doing the exact same thing as in Father's Day if they ever return.

[@crickcrackcricketycrack5501]

​@@pete5516imo they should never have returned

[@Andrew-up3dr]

I've never thought of them as monsters and always thought of them more as just doing their job

[@Luke16W]

Please don't stop your episode reviews! They're my favourite things you do!

[@Rainbowboi94]

1:55 it paints a picture that Russel T Davis is hinting at. He made a comment in an interview talking about how now the TARDIS when flying through the Vortex is making physical contact with the sides of the Vortex. Apparently it’s supposed to be important in the future.

[@mrscsi6472]

my headcanon is that the web of time was specifically meant to prevent stuff like father’s day from happening, and the time war wiping out the time lords left the web in a state of disrepair, so that when rose did what she did, she fell through a breach, a hole, and out in no man’s land where the temporal feeders like the chronovores and reapers feed

[@PhantomBanker]

I did like the Reapers as the manifestation of time paradox, but as far as storytelling is concerned, I think they break the “show don’t tell” rule. Rather than show the consequences of creating paradoxes, they become the only consequence.

[@ImmortalAbsol]

I think when the Master "cannibalised the TARDIS" the TARDIS was blocking the reapers from materialising due to the toclafane.

[@asvarien]

Saving that family from Pompeii would have massively impacted future events, so the fact that he could save them meant he was always destined to do so. Saving them was another massive paradox.

[@asvarien]

The grandfather paradox is perfectly logical and straightforward, not even slightly "timey wimey".

[@cameronjosephvideos5942]

The Wedding of River Song doesnt involve crossing her own timeline... um you realise there's an older River on the beach watching this while Amy is also there and pregnant with River.

[@william2496]

I'd love an exploration of the Web of Time and the dark times in the show, allowing for all sorts of timey wimey twisted evolutionary and navigational concepts to be introduced like tachyon whirlpools, gravitational wave tsunamis, gamma ray waterfalls or the reapers being 'rats on the tube' to the vortex, the Osirans/ravenous/racnoss/caryites evolving to hide in pocket dimensions, and ultimately lead to the return of Omega and a conspiracy about how he was killed by Racillon who took credit for his work then Omega going full 'lets make galliufrey great again' turning gallifrey into an imperial force

[@jackvalior]

I actually always thought the opposite for the wedding of River Song. I always thought the universe collapsing was because of the reapers and/or creatutes like them as the universe consider that to be a hugely important fixed point. So much so that ALL of these creature came out of the woodwork and the universe and time was devoured immediately.

[@tracesizemore6736]

8:15 is weird to see Pete by that poster that says energize because in the other universe he got rich by selling energy drinks

[@jacobbastin802]

The reapers from Mass Effect are just as scary as the reapers from Doctor Who, and I love the idea of both.

[@ianbd77]

I think this paradox is different, 2 versions of them both being there both changed history and their own personal timelines. It seems different to other paradoxes.

[@ab-mc2nq]

the main difference with twors and twom vs father's day is there is no blinovitch effect set off. Not all paradoxes attract the reapers

[@keelanbarron928]

9:28 except the whole reason why everything in the episode happened is because rose wanted to see her father and the doctor was fine with it. If it was supposedly a fixed point, then he would've just said no.

[@oreolaw9911]

this is a complete nerdy nitpick so sorry but at 3:50 it would be more correct to say pterosaur instead of pterodactyl , pterosaur is the family pterodactyl is literally one species which isn't representative of the entire family

[@ChronaEditz]

Pretty sure pterodactyl isn’t even the proper name it’s Pterodactylus

[@oreolaw9911]

@@ChronaEditz you are sort of correct Pterodactylus is the formal name of the genus pterodactyl is the informal name and it is the name most recognisable to those who aren't familiar with paleontologie and pterosaur naming stuff because it is the name used in most casual media so when I'm talking to people who aren't familiar with the subject I use the more simple recognisable informal names of these animals because often to those people the informal names are the "proper" ones to them

[@ChronaEditz]

@@oreolaw9911 yeah I get it, sorry if I sounded rude

[@oreolaw9911]

@@ChronaEditz no you didn't I just like explaining stuff

[@rickybryan1759]

One twist could be to reveal the reapers as eusocial animals with a sentient Queen

[@pringliana]

the way i watched Father's day today and first thing i see on youtube later is this video, niceeeee

[@GreaterGrievobeast55]

Your points are sensible, Still it is sad to see the reapers overlooked often. I Do think they'd have the potential for a few more TV appearances being such interesting creatures. Possibly one of my favorites honestly

[@sanddagger36]

basically, any time something happens that breaks time, if ever a timelord comes around and fixes it, then the reapers never appeared. which is why they were never in the series before. Even the doctor eventually fixing things himself in "the wedding of river song" caused them not to appear. the only reason they appeared in father's day was because the only way the doctor "fixed" it was for pete to die. So technically, the reapers also never appeared then either, but because Peter needed an event to make him run out into the road, pete/rose/doctor all remember them despite the fact that they were never there.

[@feedshank8207]

What scene is 5:02 from

[@gearmachine_4885]

I love their design. Imagine how they would look if they reappeared now in a new season with more budget and better cgi technology

[@mathieuleader8601]

I would love to see a who episode starring the fictional scientist Aaron Blinovitch

[@Lutgerion]

At 1:42 during "bucephalus" my computer got a blue screen of death and your "bu..." voice echoed with a stutter through the whole room for a solid 10 seconds. Took me a moment to realize you weren't making some weird editing joke lol

[@CryptoSeb]

Come on RTD - Reapers and The Trickstar need fleshing out more for me in TV Media 😂🎉 please make it happen

[@willadeefriesland5107]

I've always 'head canoned' internecine war between the Reapers and the Weeping Angels. The reason we see less of the Reapers is because the Angels are winning...

[@lucyairapetian407]

6:30 omg I just realised of what creature in the Caretaker reminded me of

[@randomericthings7506]

They’re the reason the Master built a Paradox Machine in “The Sound of Drums/The Last of the Time Lords”.

[@DigiRangerScott]

Never gonna give you up, always gonna let steak brown, never gonna give reapers dessert tubes!

[@kenthomas505]

What about the 12th Doctor saving Clara from dying in Face the Raven? The General himnself said that it would create a paradox that could rip apart time and space, so wouldn't the Reapers show up there as well or is the paradox automatically frepaired when she comes back to her fixed point in time to actually die like she originally did? Is it because the Timelords froze the moment in time that the Reapers can't appear? 🤷‍♂

[@Maeve_Rose]

its not a paradox because Clara is still going to die. she is just suspended in her last moment. she will eventually have to come back to that point and die.

[@samvarnell7405]

Absolute legend, thanks for doing what you do Harbo !

[@corrinflakes9659]

I want a return of Adipose but from a position of support, like they are under threat for an episode. No, I do not see them as potentially the Minions of Doctor Who, I am speaking as a Kirby and Luma enjoyer.

[@corrinflakes9659]

For every Minions and Rabbids, there are Lumas and Nopon.

[@sjl197]

Impressive that someone can geek so deeply and wonderfully, yet stumbles over how to pronounce the name of Alexander the Great’s horse.

[@R_SENAL]

I was thinking of all the vortex stuff and starting to type what you missed and then you'd say it! Good job!! However what about the Time Winds from Warriors' Gate? 😅 Or the anchoring of the thread, establishing the WHOniverse version of the sacred timeline. You should do a show on the Axis of Insanity too someday.

[@rustybrooks8916]

I think they are shit creations. They can appear when a paradox occurs, and then they "eat everyone in sight" to "sterilize" the timeline. Except, that the more people that suddenly no longer exist, the more the paradox is going to grow, IE, they don't make sense.

[@fudouakio4759]

They aren't sterilizing any timeline, they're taking advantage of the paradox. They aren't there to help, they're there to feed

[@robinvik1]

I think it's more that the paradox creates a different timeline, and that timeline gets destroyed while the original timeline remains.

[@TelestoTheBesto]

make me show runner and I’ll make a reaper episode god I love these monsters so much

[@dumbguy1007]

I don't think of the reapers as a rule of physics, more like one of the many threats and risks of time travel. Like saying bleeding in the ocean would not always attract sharks although it is sometimes a risk.

[@sail4170]

9:27: makes you wonder why the monsters in a fixed point in time episode (FOP) are stone 🤔

[@charlesman8722]

I think it cause no one has created that massive of a paradox like what Rose did in series one. Or if they have they did it via other means (tardis, paradox engine ect)

[@TenthSgtSnipes]

Create a paradox Sovereign comes out of the time vortex

[@Glacial7]

honestly, id think once-off enemies like the boneless would be more interesting as a returning foe, rather than something so situational as the reapers

[@fudouakio4759]

'situational' in a show about literal time travel

[@mixeddoubt]

What episode was this scene from? 2:06

[@Hogtownboy1]

Thanks!

[@HarboWholmes]

Wow thank you! 😁

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Whittaker era had a lot of vortex shots

[@meghannnnnn]

I wanted the “ Devil “ to come back or the entity from Midnight

[@Hogtownboy1]

Honest question. The path of the vortex/wormhole in almost every SIFi movie or TV show is the same. Do you know who created the original computer graphic. i believe first appeared in Stargate the movie.

[@juliavixen176]

It's a popular graphics effect used in Amiga demos, because the custom hardware makes it easy. But, the 1970's Tom Baker era Doctor Who title and credits were created using slit-scan photography of some cellophane tape between two crossed linear polarizers. The 1968 Kubrick film "2001" also uses slit-scan photography for the second to last scene of the film when Dave leaves the Odyssey and... I don't know exactly, goes into the monolith floating around Jupiter... if you've seen the film then you know what I'm talking about. There's clips you can search for here on KZbin if you want to see.

[@juliavixen176]

Oh yeah, and there was a popular video effect used in the 1980's a lot, which was basically creating a tunnel effect by just overlaying a shrinken frame of video on top of a larger side frame of video... do that over and over again, and maybe even wiggle the smaller frames up and down, and you get a rectangular tunnel effect, with the edge of the frame making the colorful streaks of the sides of the tunnel.

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great lore vid

[@TrollfaceDarkBruhLmao]

So misunderstood 😢😢

[@selatidos]

when is going to be a series 9 review entire?

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great review

[@mattyguy4286]

Ok we need the reapers to turn up again on the main show

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Can't wait for series 2

[@CineScarborough]

They should definitely bring the Reapers back.

[@mosescosme8629]

Almost correct. Except this episode has NOTHING to do with Fixed Points. Watch the episode, my friends, it never is mentioned at all. The only problem is that Rose ran in front of herself. Her dad could have totally survived, but he couldn't have been saved by Rose intentionally and he couldn't have been saved by Rose running in front of her past self who didn't save him. It's the paradox, not the fixed point. :)

[@robinvik1]

Yeah, the Doctor even says they can leave the change if they get the Tardis back

[@ab-mc2nq]

closer to 19 years ago!

[@adamstewart9052]

It seems you've changed your mind on other adventures seeming to be impossible if they exist from your Father's Day video possibly because of comments left?

[@rhodrage]

They look like Goth Ultra Necrozma

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

1:42 - byu-sef-a-lus

[@mrgerund3060]

"get in the church" someone is a doctor who poop fan 👀👀👀👀

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great vid

[@MisanthropicOcellus]

By misunderstood you mean nightmare inducing?

[@thomasjohnson8391]

Got the figure in the attic

[@morganleanderblake678]

that's what happens when you put the emPHAsis on the wrong syLAble, harbo

[@Captain_Maeve]

Hows it pronounced then? I'm curious

[@Phoenix26790]

It is Image form mtg( Magic the gathering) of the time Raper

[@charlesmento5968]

not every thing has to come back!

[@lucyairapetian407]

8:20 HAHAHAHAAHA

[@joeyunderwood]

👀

[@pheonix8167]

Are u my mommy no paradox reaper shame not much liberty all intro change but might be different time new who need kill black gay doctor Tennent in paradox Tennent save black gay doctor

[@paladinboyd1228]

WTF.