The WORST Doctor Who Fan Theory

[@HarboWholmes]

I could really do with your Patreon support at the moment, every penny goes a long way! www.patreon.com/harbowholmes

[@omargod236]

Already in there my dude and I appreciate the content!

[@PlanetNateGaming]

It's a possible theory...but it makes no sense that the Doctor would go off and do something return and tell Rose it travels in time, thankfully i don't interact with the Doctor Who fandom as much as others do, I love the show but i like to stay out of discussions surrounding it. I think the worst fan theory is David Tennant will be the 14th Doctor, it's dumb,i'd be all for it (But NO)

[@arthursurname]

i think you are being more pedantic, but also right so its excused

[@-haclong2366]

I've always liked the idea that the 9th Doctor was hundreds of years in that incarnation. I Always thought that the photographs from the website proved that as he had been in the same form for so many years throughout history that people actually started noticing him.

[@dandywaysofliving]

I grant thee this flame . ............🔥.............

[@powderedbasil2322]

It was confirmed in the day of the doctor that the war doctor was around 800 at the time of his regeneration. 11 stated that he was "1200 and something" and the war doctor says that 11 was 400 years older than himself. So since 9 stated that he was 900 in early season 1. So 9 lived for atleast 100 years before regenerating into 10

[@Amihan213]

@@powderedbasil2322 Sorry, but the last sentence is just wrong. The time between 9 and 10 are a couple of years at most. Even when 10 regenerates into 11 he's still around 906-907. The massive age difference is mainly due to the age skip and time jumps that happen during the series 6 finale. Also in the first episode of series 6 when the doctor meets up with river and the ponds, he states that he's 1108, while amy states that the last time they met he was still 908.

[@powderedbasil2322]

@@Amihan213 How is the last sentence wrong? We've established that the war doctor is 400 years younger than the 1200 year old eleventh doctor, meaning War was 800 years old. At the end of Day of the Doctor War regenerates, meaning that unless they spent 100 years drinking tea after saving Gallifrey War was still 800 years old when he regenerated, which makes nine 800 years old at the start of his life. If the ninth and tenth doctors state multiple times during series 1-4 that they are 900 years old then that means the ninth doctor had lived 100 years of his life before meeting Rose.

[@TempusVulpi]

@@powderedbasil2322 I hate to break it to you but the Doctor's age has never followed any level of continuity, the Doctor himself states that he lies, and on multiple occasions says he doesn't even know his age anymore. None of these references mean anything.

[@johannvongenerico9487]

Having the one adventure in that scene that uses the scene as a framing device works. After years of grieving alone from the time war, the doctor is at a point where they're ready to consider a companion. Rose is the first person to get that offer, turns it down, doctor goes off on another adventure with a temporary companion who encourages them to go back, they do so, mentioning the time travel element as an extra incentive and the rest is history. Putting multiple adventures in that gap just doesn't make sense

[@couthlazer]

I personally thought the gap was him going to the events of the 50th anniversary and then returning to see if he could change roses mind

[@littleredruri]

@@couthlazer he- he wasn't in the 50th-

[@couthlazer]

@@littleredruri well stock footage was from his last episode of him saying. And for my next trick

[@group2gaming]

Exactly, like Exhausted Supplies did Edit: nvm that was in the video lol

[@dandywaysofliving]

@@couthlazer I feel like the point of the gap was to be interpreted it through feeling or canon.

[@FunkyFrick]

I think it’d make sense if The Doctor left for like, a week or something. Gives him time to decide to come back, and I can imagine him practicing the “and it also travels in time” line a few time

[@beesbrownies]

Yeah I think it'd be funny

[@ig_4220]

The Tardis can't even hit the broadside of an August Bank Holiday and people think he managed to park in the exact same place 15 seconds later after a century of rattling about?

[@evanielsen9438]

The Tardis is always on time and where the Tardis knows the Doctor needs to be.

[@NeilCWCampbell]

The TARDIS always takes her thief where they NEED to be

[@Halfendymion]

Fast-return protocol?

[@Halfendymion]

Wait no what an idiot it returns to the last landing location

[@swampymender4400]

​@@Halfendymion 100 years is fast?

[@STADATS]

My biggest problem with this theory is that it ruins the doctors arc through series one. The reason series one works so well is because we see the jaded man that the doctor has become, and we see how rose softens that. In his big finish sets, he’s much more chipper and you don’t get nearly as much of that feeling of the kind man with a deep rage built up inside of him. If all of this stuff happened in that one moment, it wouldn’t make sense for his character journey. In my mind, his expanded universe stuff takes place between the doctor dances and boom town, and he dropped jack and rose off somewhere and went off on his own. He’s more chipper because he’s had his “everybody lives” moment. It doesn’t really have evidence beyond that, but it makes way more sense than having the doctor leave rose for so long, just to come back with no difference in his look, characterization, or anything like that

[@thevacuumofcomments2946]

Yeah, post S1 or towards the end of S1 is the only way to read Big Finish 9. Eccleston seems to be in a better place physically and that impacts his performance. To me, it's post Parting of the Ways Eccleston, even if there's no logistical or canon explanation, that's just how I read the character.

[@archusrtm6325]

Probably because one of the reasons Eccleston left doctor who was that they wanted to be a less serious more family friendly doctor

[@STADATS]

@@thevacuumofcomments2946 yeah they really feel like stories that would be from a second series with eccleston. I think if them as being pre-boom town because it’s the latest it could possibly be without contradicting anything (I think)

[@hyperbolicdelirium]

@@archusrtm6325 I’ve never heard of that? You got a source buddy?

[@mayotango1317]

But he is so "fantastic" and smiling in "Rose" and another episodes before and after "Dalek".

[@owenhayes2837]

I like the idea that it was a few hours before he realized "oh shoot i forgot to mention the time travel bit"

[@luishernandezsoto]

I can totally could see that for the 9th.

[@DigiRangerScott]

No, the worst fan theory is that Tecteun was Jackie Tyler’s first babysitter

[@PILLOWSPINNER]

thats so fucking dumb but I love it

[@electricpants8194]

sorry what

[@DigiRangerScott]

@@electricpants8194 Ianto was buried 456 feet underground because of a government mandate

[@electricpants8194]

@@DigiRangerScott what does that have to do with tecteun and jackie. im seeing 0 connection.

[@DigiRangerScott]

@@electricpants8194 It’s a separate theory

[@Silverwind87]

Eighth Doctor: I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there.

[@mariamforester8041]

There's also the good night/ bad night minisodes that show pretty clearly that the 11th doctor goes off and has extra adventures when his companions r asleep. I don't see why the 9 th doctor couldn't have done that too

[@dandywaysofliving]

I imagine the circle things on the wall are the doctors bedroom teleporters. Or it's a time tunnel slide. . The doctors bedroom would have a wall filled them and I can just imagine a bunch of doctors walking in and out of the tunnels. Sometimes a bunch of the same iteration or a few past doctors. I think just as an idea it would be funny because if the doctor does sleep. Even if it's just for a bit there'd be a wobbly wobbly situation out of something as simple as going to sleep. . I feel like the round things are multipurpose and the doctor forgot what they were originally meant to do since he just makes more through the tardis.

[@Squicx]

My theory for this is as simple as after The War Doctor served in the Time War and ended up regenerating into the 9th Doctor, he had at-least a few hundred years spent to himself exploring the now saved universe and he simply didn't notice his new regeneration as he covered up his PTSD while he went on adventures. He simply went around the universe trying to recover, helping where he could not even worrying about himself as he was constantly busy helping restore the universe. When Rose pulls him into her flat, it was the first time he actually slowed down and took a breather to notice where he was after we saw him scavenging around constantly for the Nestine Consciousness. It was the first time 9 met Rose (a pivotal point in history as it leads up to the Bad Wolf arc) which gave him a brief moment to take a deep breath before jumping straight back in.

[@obi-wan-jacobi840]

I like adding to that idea that he consciously avoided looking at himself in a mirror for all that time because he couldn’t face himself for what he had done (or rather thought he had done), but then meeting Rose finally allowed him to start facing himself again.

[@sarahberkner]

I doubt that someone could go 100 years without seeing their reflection. Or feeling their face and noticing that they have kind of large ears

[@redsquirrel724]

I always felt like between him leaving and coming back was when the events he’s pictured in take place, and he did it almost purposely to prove to Rose the time travel. I think he’s even looking towards the camera in every one, though I could be wrong. A bit like Martha and the tie. But who knows. It makes more sense it would only be one adventure, if any.

[@jacobunderwood5206]

I kinda like the idea at a base level, like, it would be neat if the 9th Doctor spent a short time by himself before realizing how much he wants a new companion to come with him, and going back to try again. It’s the kind of mental argument that could take a full day or a few seconds

[@sarahberkner]

Also, the idea that he traveled back in time to tell her that it travels in time makes it more interesting.

[@christophersheets5452]

I think it could work for more than one story if he realizes Rose doesn’t know about the time travel but keeps getting sidetracked like the Fifth Doctor trying to get Teagan back to Heathrow. It still couldn’t work for more than five or so directly tied adventures but you’re right, you don’t really need it because there’s lots of off screen between the War Doctor and Series 1

[@randomericthings7506]

To comment on him leaving in the middle of a Nestine mystery, maybe he thought the Autons were just a small group, scavengers and then while off on another adventure noticed a change in the timeline and realizes the Autons were a part of a much larger group then he presumed going back to finish the job of defeating them.

[@randomericthings7506]

100 years is too much. I can see maybe a year at the most. I can see him going on one and two adventures and then realizing, “I probably should’ve mentioned the Tardis can travel in time.” Nowhere NEAR a hundred years.

[@CashelOConnolly]

Harbo your channel isn’t dying. After you said it was I did some deep diving. Most KZbin channels are between 35% and 80% down on views, it could be the time of the year or Covid restrictions being lifted but it seems you’re doing ok 👍🏻

[@gibospartan6185]

I can get behind the idea that The Doctor went off on some adventure during the gap and came back but their is no way he realistically would've gone on a significant number and still come back for Rose. It's not uncommon for The Doctor to meet people who he would realistically take on as companions and I have no doupt he'd have ran into someone else and forgotten about Rose. Just in Series 1 there is Lynda in Bad Wolf and Nancy from the Lonely Child, both of whom have the right character and chemistry to become a companion, if not for the fact that Lynda died and Nancy had a young child which the Doctor might not want to put in harms way (And yes, I'm aware the Doctor has had child companions but i'm pretty sure that in this case they'd be too young). Outside of series 1 I can think of a few more off the top of my head, those being Madame de Pompadour, Mrs. Moore and Astrid Peth. I'm not saying that these characters whould've become companions had Rose not been in the picture but rather, the Doctor would've surely found someone interesting to be his companion on his adventures without Rose, and after his adventures with that companion, he wouldn't realistically see Rose any differently to the one off characters who helps him in other episides.

[@pertuk]

I always thought the idea of the Doctor having adventures in the middle of Robot was bollocks as well

[@davechris5467]

We know from the family of blood that the doctor only looks in the mirror once a year when baines does the monologue at the end saying that “he still visits my sister, once a year every year.” And because he trapped her in every mirror. Although this is regarding 10, we can assume that if anything, 9 would look in the mirror less that 1 time every year if he wasn’t “visiting” the daughter of the family at that point

[@barker-chanvlogs4582]

I didn't even know this theory existed until watching this video

[@nateowen1064]

I thought he did that all in a brief span of time, if it were longer he would’ve forgotten about Rose

[@finnsempire5671]

Maybe he was being haunted by the Valeyard and it would make sense since the Valeyard is the darker side of the doctor 😊

[@BambiTrout]

As much as I love placing things on timelines, and as much as I hate gaping plot holes caused by timeline or continuity errors, there's such a thing as taking it too far. Sometimes with an IP that's so expansive and that has passed through so many hands, you just have to let go of perfect continuity and just go with the vibes. If a story is internally consistent, fits within its own story arc, with any directly referenced events, and passes the general vibe check, then it's fine. It's like for example Children of Earth and (arguably) Miracle Day both work fine as standalone continuations of Torchwood, while the Moffat era works fine as a standalone continuation of Doctor Who. Does it really matter that neither can exist in the same universe given the timeline discrepancies? No! Because neither have any bearing on each other's plots or characters other than the dates happen to overlap. Also, you could argue that any discrepancies are caused by the universe rebooting, or by the cracks, or that they happened in diverging timelines, or by the TARDIS causing dents in spacetime, or by a retroactive ripple of the Flux, or because The Doctor is a living complicated spacetime event, or any number of other weird and wacky timey wimey explanations. It's a show set in a multiverse where time travel is possible. Shit happens. Just go with the vibes. If you like it, it's canon, and if you don't then you can just wait a few years for someone to do a Chibnall and upend everything because it seemed like a good idea when he was 16.

[@noobified4175]

But hey that's just a theory A who THEORY, okay I'll stop

[@jeckjeck3119]

No. Don't stop. I want to see where this is going!

[@Jaeden_Phoenix]

Do I believe some time passed between the leaving and returning? Yes. How much time do I believe passed? No more than 15 Minutes. Likely no more than 1 Minute.

[@mayotango1317]

For Rose and Mickey is a minute.

[@AidanGulaMedia]

I think it actually makes more sense the adventures fitting in the scene gap than the Doctor disappearing halfway through the episode to do other things. I like to think Rose impressed him in a special way he hadn't seen for a long time so when she rejected travelling with him, he went off to try and find someone else similar but couldn't. None of the people he met during those adventures impressed him the same way Rose did, so tried to think of other ways to tempt her - deciding on time travel. I prefer the idea that his Big Finish adventures etc are just before series 1, but I don't mind this theory

[@summer6100]

I always assumed he'd stewed about it in the vortex for maybe an hour or two, and then gone back. For me that's enough time magic for that moment.

[@zinoxechill]

I mean, there was a (FAN) Audio of 12 and 9 going on an adventure just for him to come back to rose

[@skinner219]

This is the first time I’m hearing about this theory. The Doctor leaves, has a few adventures, comes back to a girl who he literally just met, and continues the conversation that he remembers… isn? Yeah this theory doesn’t make sense. If we were focused on the Doctor in the Tardis when leaving Earth, and seeing his expression, thinking about Rose, and not mentioning time travel, it makes sense to come back to her immediately. It takes the Doctor a few seconds to come back to Rose and Mickey, not three days, months, years. It’s like someone driving off to the distance, they stop and reverse back, and forgot their watch. It doesn’t take you a few weeks to get it back, just go back and get. Don’t be lazy.

[@ToxinWolffe]

4:21 Maybe because he got a flash of memory of the Bad Wolf interface from the Moment? Maybe it took a little while to process in the Doctor's head about how strangely familiar Rose seemed, and then he just decided to go back and investigate.

[@elliotcrossan6290]

I like the idea that the Ninth Doctor deliberately planted the clues for Rose that he can travel in time, like Ten with Martha and the tie. But it doesn't make sense as he didn't know about Clive.

[@DanTheMan2150AD]

You aren’t alone with your hatred with this theory. Drives me up the wall just as much, love the fact you took the time to deconstruct why people theorised this and why it doesn’t work. The throwaway comment about his ears was for us, not about his recent regeneration. But I digress, well done Harbo.

[@mayotango1317]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4HVaWukgNqEotk

[@jtyler9130]

I always accepted the fact he shoehorned himself into the evidence Clive found as proof he could time travel. Like a few quick trips to establish the time travel is real.

[@RobCGodin]

If you only watch the TV show and don't consume the expanded media, the theory makes sense because it fixes a plot-hole in episode 1. The doctor doesn't know what he looks like because he is newly regenerated. So at that point he is a new regen. Later there are photos of him at the titanic etc. Without Rose. The chances of him doing those adventures without looking in a mirror once (or have someone comment on his large ears) is very small. So these adventures happened later. But without Rose. Where is a gap in the TV series where the doctor is in his tardis without Rose? Only that blip. After that he stays with her. For all we know, Rose stayed on his mind for some reason (the rejection of the tardis offer staying in his mind) for many adventures. Or maybe one of the Clara time clone people hinted him back to her. But the idea that the doctor remembered her and went back several years later is more likely than the theory that the doctor (who is slightly vain in basically all regens) went years without looking in a mirror (until he met a random human woman). If you go TV only, it has good logic. It's only when you use expanded media does the theory break down

[@Traxedits]

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but in the mini episode "Good Night", the doctor says that he "keeps busy" when their companions are asleep, and Amy questions if he goes on secret adventures by himself..

[@greigbutler4498]

As RTD himself said 9 had years of adventures before the pilot episode/Rose

[@mikekean8344]

He came back for her because she's sooooooo cute. Wouldn't you?❤

[@rlt422]

It's been long suspected the Doctor did that even in the old series... hell the Virgin novels and a few BBC novels I think have canonized that sort of thing.

[@whooshwhoosh]

I like to think that he did travel for a while in that short gap before even thinking to tell Rose that it travels in time. Cause when you think about it, how many times has someone had to state the obvious to him

[@HiperPivociarz]

2:37 I mean, with that one they can just retcon it by saying he lied about his age. Russell kind of alludes to this in his short story "Doctor Who and The Time War" where the Doctor doesn't even know if he lived for thousands of years, or for decades, because of how screwy The Time War got. Eventually he said he felt like these bones are 1000 years old, but "let's say nine hundred instead, it sounds nicer".

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

Hel, 11 even states it outright; War: How old are you? 11: I dunno, 1,200 years, unless I'm lying.

[@KatzePiano]

I find it so interesting what different people find important. For instance, it's very important to me that Nine is newly regenerated at the start of Rose, which you just throw casually under the bus as no longer a defensible position. It was clearly the intent of the original scene and, for me, to imagine otherwise makes his arc across series 1 not work as well. It's been my interpretation of that scene for 17 years, since I was 9, and I ain't changing it now. "You're really telling me that this is the exact same person who is fresh off-" Yes. It's very clear to me that the Doctor as we see him in Rose is very freshly out of the Time War. I can imagine perhaps a couple of small adventures (like going to see the JFK assassination for instance) happening just before, but for me it's vital that this is him brand new and straight out of the war. Nine often uses humour to mask his grief and anger, so it isn't in any way strange to me that he acts the way he does in Rose. With regards to when he goes on his solo adventures, I'm perfectly happy to accept he just dropped Rose and/or Jack off somewhere for a bit. I don't really care where extended universe things fit in, as I see those as semi-canon anyway and so TV canon always takes precedence when there are clashes, but for Clive's collection that works for me. (Or, as I said above, perhaps a couple of small things could have taken place directly before Rose, especially if we take the mirror smashing as fact.) (Sidenote: "How often do you find yourself looking in a mirror and realising your nose is a bit bigger than you thought? Or that your eyes aren't the exact same size as each other?" Umm, never? Do people really not know what they look like? I don't think I'm particularly vain or insecure, either... Ah well.)

[@LesterLeapsIn1]

"It was clearly the intent of the original scene" This is from RTD himself: "No, I don't think he'd just regenerated. If you have certain physical features like big ears or buck teeth, you look at them and sigh every time you look in the mirror. And I think if you'd had eight different faces, even if you'd been in the current form for a hundred years, you'd still mutter at them. So it was meant as a nod to the fact he'd once had other faces. But I wrote the Titanic stuff and Krakatoa assuming that the Ninth Doctor had been around for a while. He doesn't act very post-regeneration, does he? He appears in command, waving a bomb. This is a man who knows himself, and has known himself for a while."

[@pragyadhingra3772]

Hey, I have a theory that I'm not sure holds up but What if the reason that the Doctor seems to care about Earth so much is because time lords evolved from humans? In series one, Nine did say that humanity survived and spread to other planets. It would explain why Time Lords and humans look alike. And it might be a stretch but it was never brought up in the show cause like Ten said in Silence of the Library, he keeps his companions away from major plot developments

[@Jansenbaker]

I dont think so. They seem to keep indicating Time Lords were first. The Doctor correcting someone that, no, He doesn't look like a human, they look Timelord, and it seems like recent Gallifrey history and Earth history have been going together for many adventures. And weren't there stories outside the show that at least implied the _Timelords_ were the reason _humans_ and other, similar species exist?

[@markbrown2206]

Rose "But you look human" Doctor "No, you look Timelord. We came first"

[@lawrencelopez9839]

It's more like Timelords made it so that a lot of species in the universe will naturally evolve into their image over time. So humans are copying Galifrey at the genetic level

[@imafgc]

I never really subscribed to this theory either however I did once listen to a fanmade audiodrama crossover of the 9th and 12th doctor set during this time period with 12 convincing 9 to go back to rose which was kind of fun

[@alej15pr]

I like the recent theory I heard based on the 3rd special that since the Celestial Toymaker said he toyed with the history/time of the universe/humanity/Doctor (wasn’t made clear) after he arrived in our universe, his meddling could account for all/most of the inconsistencies/retcons of the show.

[@theultimateomelette]

I have a theory that when 9 regenerated he actually regenerated into an older looking verion of himself, then afterwards he went through a de-aging process that made him look younger so when he sees himself in the mirror in Rose he's not reacting to his face for the first time but he's seeing his new younger look for the first time. This would be a way to bring back Eccleston for the 60th (unlikely I know) with the actor having aged 18 years.

[@thomasnieswandt8805]

Well at some point, we know he must have had all these adventures. Because we know the Doctor reset his age, when he became the War-Doctor and the War-Doctor mentioned minutes before his regeneration that he is "800 years old" We also know the 10th Doctor lived from 903-905 / 906 at best. So there must be 103 years in between. Travalling with Rose for lets say one year, still leaves a gap of 102 years. (earth years, because in one big finish story, he spend 99 years in suspended animation on a different planet. 99 earth years would cut his time down and i dont think Nick Briggs would do that, after finally having Christopher back. AND knowing Doctor Who lore better than anybody else) The alternative is, he reset his age again and lived 903 years as the 9th Doctor, that would put him on no. 2 of the longest living Doctor, after the 8th Doctor with about 1000 years. (No! 12 doesnt count because it was a timeloop)

[@Gingerprince521]

I'm sure I read somewhere (maybe DWM) that RTD wished he hadn't put that mirror scene in and only did it as nod for the fans. Personally I could see a couple of adventures happening in this gap as long as it's not too long for the Doctor and there is something to nudge him to go back for Rose (I'll need to check out some of the adventures you mentioned above.) but yeah it seems unlikely that he would return after years of adventures to that exact time and spot. We 'know' that he has 100 years between the War Doctor and ten so it either has to be previous to Rose or during. It's something I do like about Moffett's era that he did put in gaps for his Doctors to have more adventures.

[@Veela666]

Speaking of continuity. The 11th Doctor says he only met the angels one other time during Time of the Angel, that being in Blink, dispite meeting them several times in Big Finish. Technically those stories came out after, but Moffat could have been more vauge and said 'here and there'

[@creepermasher]

I think precisely because doctor who doesnt try to have an established timeline of events that they can get away with filling gaps or even making new ones as they please inorder to keep making money. And because these stories dont get tv episodes of their own the are not seen or heard of by most people.

[@UgandanPrinc3]

Also it’s implied in other incarnations like 11, that the Doctor continues to have adventures like with River for example, while their companions are sleeping. There a literally hundreds of better more acceptable times for adventures than then

[@jackjordan5833]

The reason why the Doctor hadn't seen his face in Rose was because he had been in his 9th incarnation for decades or even centuries after the war doctor, but couldn't bare to look at his face because of what he'd done in the time war. It was before this that you see him in the photos Clive has.

[@richardvinsen2385]

Traveling to the times in the photos could have happened many years later.

[@Domihork]

Ah yes, the Doctor never seeing his reflection ever is a much more plausible explanation than stretching a few seconds into several years in a show about time travel. Especially when there is a documented story happening in that time anyway. It's been over 10 years since I last read that story but I vaguely remember it having a mention that he has been travelling for a 100 years before Ali convinces him to go back for Rose.

[@Pancake3225]

The worst theory is Rory being the master

[@basedmanlet8726]

Well if you listen to the big finish audio, The Ninth to Remember, 9 watches a TARDIS protocol video telling Susan (the doc's granddaughter) to fly the TARDIS far away in any case she was in danger. When 9 watches that video, he remembers that he forgot to tell Susan that the TARDIS was a time machine, which inspires 9 to tell Rose that the TARDIS was also a time machine.

[@matthewhoward7757]

Quite a lot of your own theories used to debunk this supposed "weak" one.

[@user-jn1wm3tb8v]

Ngl the worst fan theories are the 90s ones. Like Peri being abused by her stepfather. Idc if they're "Canon" i don't believe them.

[@leoj2439]

why?

[@user-jn1wm3tb8v]

@@leoj2439 Pretty much anyone could write anything then. Canon barely exists in this franchise because of it. You gotta pick and choose.

[@leoj2439]

@@user-jn1wm3tb8v oh i see yeah, the only time head canon is actually good for a franchise is when its dw

[@JazzyWaffles]

Honestly, this theory probably irks me the least of crazy Who fan theories. It's VERY weird that the War Doctor is 100 years younger than the 9th, despite the 9th noticing his new appearance when we first meet him. It's almost definitely just Moffat not doing his homework properly (this is the guy who had the TARDIS itself get how long the Doctor had been with it wrong, after all), but for pedantic nerds who need everything to make sense, it very much makes sense to me that those people would try to find a spot in canon to crowbar in 100 extra years.

[@ZachsMind]

Time travel inevitably causes paradoxes and oftentimes those who write time travel stories presume and obsess upon how those paradoxes will cause everything to just blow up. What's far more plausible, and more pleasant to contemplate for those of us who want an infinite number of stories told in the Doctor Who fictional reality, is that paradoxes don't cause anything to blow up. Quite the opposite. There isn't just one universe that gets rewritten every time a change is made in space time. There are multiple universes that co-exist and each of those multiple universes spawn alternate universes and this eventually leads to an infinite omniverse. So all these stories can and do exist but they don't all fall under the same linear singular universe. In some alternate realities, the ninth doctor left Rose Tyler briefly and then came right back, but in other alternate realties he left her for a long time and then came back whenever he felt like it, after having had many adventures without her. And here's the kicker. ALL the Doctors we know did that multiple times throughout the omniverse, so there's literally multiple infinites of possible stories that don't coincide with a singular, linear universe. There IS no canonical explanation where all these stories happen in a singular linear space time stream. It's ALL apocryphal.

[@omargod236]

Alright Harbo, while we are talking about wild rumors: RTD2 supposedly bringing back David Tennant as the 14th Doctor, not as the tenth, and killing him off after only a few specials going into the 60th anniversary?

[@sulaymanceesay1168]

You know something what if for the 60th anniversary they are going to do the Timelord Victorious Story arc

[@tidmouthmilk12]

Honestly never knew anyone else had this theory other than me. If it was just the trips back in time to the three places we see in Clive's shed then I don't see that much of an issue with it. (Though, of course, those could have just omitted Rose, been in-universe hoaxes, or altered later BTTF style to include Rose/disappear entirely) Though I definitely agree, taking all the expanded into account it seems incredibly ludicrous that the Doctor would just piss off for however many years before suddenly remembering some random earth girl he only knew for a matter of hours.

[@spencerblake5713]

Yeah there's this little audio drama the was fan made, it's 9 and capaldis doctor, it's a lot of fun and has the last little connecting bit, I don't think this is the worst thing, it's a nice little fun piece of headcannon if you want

[@lamaahruloma4270]

Each time the Doctor is not seen by the audience for a half a second or is there an unknown while, then everybody creates giant explanations ful of crazy epic stories or grandiose conspiracy theories. My personal opinion is, that he went to WC - we all want to have some privacy sometimes for many reasons

[@MichaelJohnson-kq7qg]

The reason why he would remember 'this girl' after a long series of adventures is explained in the show - the War Doctor met the interface for The Moment, so the Ninth Doctor actually recognizes Rose the first time he meets her.

[@R.senals_Arsenal]

I like the gap in the earlier part of the episode better as maybe he was going to go find the anti-plastic he remembered from the Auton Infinity, and got sidetracked along the way.

[@jb888888888]

Prior to Amy & Rory I don't think there was any precedent for a companion to stop traveling with the Doctor and then pick it up again later, off-on-off-on-off like that. (Well possibly Tegan but she quit and then immediately came back again.) So him having adventures while she was at home for a week never occurred to people.

[@tothm129]

Although I like to believe that the majority of nines solo adventures are pre rose, I also like to think emotionally that rose was the first person nine asked to join him after the time war at an attempt to heal himself and that caused to fall for a while while keeping rose in his head.

[@bootstrapbill98]

Tbh it's entirely possible bc the doctor definitely doesn't view time in the same way we do, he certainly doesn't really have much of a concept (nor care) of lateness, and I would not put it past him to say this to rose, she says no, he thinks "ah alright then, fair enough" goes off and explores and has many adventures, bare in mind i wouldn't be surprised to hear that the doctor considers an adventure that spans the ancient Greek empire to be "just one adventure" and feel like it only took the equivalent of a day trip for us. Then it occurred to him "oh wait I never told Rose that it also travels in time!" Then goes back to however many seconds after his last word to her, mentions the time travel thing and she hops in with him. Like relativity, it felt like he went for a few seconds, then came back for Rose and Mickey, but for the doctor, that was just him leaving, then coming back like we think of leaving home and coming back on a work day while our pet thinks we leave just to come back

[@ThePinkOranges907]

The thing is. Is that we will never have a proper answer if the doctor went away for a 100 years or a thousand years or mabye 1 minute but I like to think that he had at least a couple of adventures of his own and realized that "oh shit I forgot to mention time travel"

[@AnkoTime]

As silly as the idea is, it's not as bad as you make it out to be. I mean, it's conceivable that he had other adventures in that little time gap. It's not unheard of for the Doctor to jump away for a long time and then come back moments after he left. Of all the fan theories that 'shouldn't exist', this one is probably the most tame I've heard.

[@KingofPotatoPeople]

There’s actually plenty of gaps for him to travel around in before he gets to know Rose in the episode

[@mushroomsoup2866]

With the amount of whacky adventures the Doctor goes on, it makes more sense that before this episode he met some aliens who stole his ears for some nefarious purpose. Saved the day, got his ears reattached, went off to look for some new adventure and heard about these Auton guys back on Earth. Rose's flat is just the first time he happened to catch his reflection, and his ears weren't quite the same as he remembered. Like the show literally portrays the 9th Doctor as having travelled the world for centuries before this episode. That's how it's supposed to be read. Trying to change that because one single line sounds off is utter nonsense.

[@HappyAppart]

Have only watched 2 minutes of this, but... it's an actually solid theory that would explain why Nine, who's only just seen his own reflection, appears throughout history in those pictures. You're looking at it like River thought her "last night with the Doctor" would only last one night.

[@jeckjeck3119]

''Because Doctor Who fans are Doctor Who fans,'' Me: ''We are being called out!''

[@Fenixion88ZX]

You CAN actually stablish a timeline, not between year 2000 and 2001 but from the doctors own timeline, as he first met Rose and then lost her in Doomsday, because that and everything between that occurs inside the Doctors own timeline.

[@DokkaChapman]

It's why I like to think that the only thing canon about Doctor Who is the chaos & lack of it. The moment the Doctor steps onto the Tardis and takes off the reality outside it changes due to his influence. Anyone who travels with him is also kept in "the loop" until they are also left behind, the reality shift influencing them too. It's this theory that is the only thing that has stopped me going bonkers over the years. XD It's why the Time Lords are so worried about the Doctor travelling space and time, they see the changes he makes from an outside perspective and only truly let it slide when they are in need of his help. Hell it doesn't surprise me that in Flux the Time Lords created an entire undercover squad to keep tabs on the Doctor, deciding to destroy our universe when it got too much to handle. The Doctor is basically a hyper-active woodworm and our galaxy is a chunk of redwood, creating holes over the course of it's lifetime, and it's no surprise that we got to the point where no amount of Gorilla Glue can keep it together lol.

[@jessicaable5095]

I'd wonder why he'd leave in the middle of an investigation to have more adventures. He knows very well he might not come back from one and that would leave any others half done and up shits creek without a paddle

[@davidioanhedges]

It's not needed, it's been shown that the Doctor almost never sleeps, but the companions do when they are traveling in the Tardis, they have bedrooms ... ...and the 11th Doctor was shown as having adventures when the companions are asleep... so there is plenty of time

[@jedstanaland2897]

Lots of people also forget that none of the doctor who episodes are actually guaranteed to be sequncal unless they are part of a very specific sequence of parts in a sub plot.

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

I have never heard this theory before but I actually like it. Perhaps he had a year's worth of adventures and, at the end something reminded him of Rose and he went back for her. As for how he knew how to pick up right where he left off. He's the Doctor, he's done much more difficult things than that with no trouble.

[@ironnoah9461]

I guess when it comes to stuff like this and canon I just go "Wibbly Wobbly Timey Whimey Stuff" Time Travel can't be nailed down in a single series of events, just don't get too attached to the little things and just roll with it! *says this as I walk backwards into the TARDIS*

[@y_fam_goeglyd]

He was in the middle of an adventure when he met Rose. That implies that he'd regenerated earlier than the day they met.

[@CrisisDR]

I like to think the doctor was ashamed after the war doctor, and because of that he never looked at his reflection

[@ladymecha8718]

The general rule with film franchises is that, if it’s not shown on film, it’s not explained. Expanded media is just beta canon to fill the gaps, until it is filmed.

[@SB-vj7sz]

Rory, after being cut off from the Doctor and Amy, which for us is a very short time, finds another way to time travel and accidentally creates a time remnant. This time remnant subconsciously remembers the Doctor and desires to make the universe better, becomes Rip Hunter.

[@capricorn878]

As the only great River Song would say "Spoilers". It would lost all the fun for the Doctor himself back then, since even him doesn't like that

[@angryredhead9152]

There's also the fact that humans and timelords have much different sleep schedules. Timelords stay awake for much longer than humans. So, would the doctor just sit around waiting for his companion to wake up? No, the doctor could have gone on more adventures!

[@JakeyBabesxXx]

I like that you say this is a silly theory then name 2 storys that take place in this one tardis trip.

[@zacmumblethunder7466]

The Doctor's comment about his ears is easily explained. After years of exploring Earth history he landed in Birkenhead Park and was met with a bunch of teenagers who called him "Big Ears".

[@roberthicks1612]

"how often do you look in the mirror" Every time he regenerated he checks his appearance, so he would have noticed the big ears.

[@evilwizard7931]

The Doctor has never been reliably able to navigate the TARDIS which puts the coming back with such accurate timing into question.

[@forcedalek]

Glad you talked about exhausted supplies, it’s such a well made production !

[@damppuddle7341]

i don't know why but whenever i hear your intro i imagine that video of The Rock doing that eyebrow thing

[@slumdogjay]

Apparently The 9th Doctor Adventures from Big Finish are set before he meets Rose. Makes no sense to me either. From what I have heard of the audios, his character has evolved further than his first few TV episodes.

[@captainx5246]

I guess I just don’t see the point of making a 10 minute whinge on a fan theory 😂 let people have their fun

[@gregoryfish1606]

I love the fan made "exhausted supplies" about the 9th and 12th doctors. The guys doing the va are fantastic and I'd recommend it. No spoilers but it validates this theory pretty well imo. Seriously check it out!

[@MrLarry]

He could be coming off the back of an adventure where something happened to his ears, so he’s seen them before but not like this

[@gilgameshofuruk4060]

It bugged me at the time that he'd turned up all through history but had only just regenerated. I don't buy it that he'd never seen his reflection until "Rose". None of the possible gaps make any sense. Not even the preferred one presented here. In the years after the Time War, he never went anywhere with glass, shiny metal or a puddle? And how many times did he cut his unfamiliar face while shaving with no mirrors?

[@PhilDrury]

Time Lords aren't human. So yes he could have gone on for hundreds of years between leaving and reappearing. Conversely, he could have just had a haircut after growing his hair long in the episode "Rose."

[@OpenMawProductions]

5:21 I mean, it's a fine argument, except when he checks himself in the mirror the dialogue directly supports the idea that he was freshly minted. "Could've been worse." I doubt he would say that after being that persona for years. He always gives himself the once over after regenerating. It's a tradition.

[@markbrown2206]

Also there is the business with the cards and the tabloid. He seems to be testing his dexterity and personality. This very much seems like someone testing out a new regeneration.