I love thatDoctor Who’s canon is so flexible, but I find certain contradictions really hard to ignore.The greatestDoctor Whostories of all timeintroduce all kinds of weird and wacky pieces of lore, but because the show is so huge, it’s easy for the writers to mix things up.
Even the upcomingDoctor Whoseason 15needs to fix some contradictions from the previous installment.While the show will forever be my favorite, I wishDoctor Whowould pay more attention to the little details.
8The Tenth Doctor Pretending To Still Be John Smith
Season 3, Episode 9 - “The Family Of Blood”
Doctor Whoforgets the Doctor’s abilities frequently, but it also makes some up on the fly, simply so that the titular character has a quick solution to a problem.One of my most hated examples of this is in “The Family of Blood,” when the Doctor confronts the Family while still pretending to be John Smith. However, the whole point of him using the Chameleon Arch is so that the Family cannot sniff the Time Lord out. So, why don’t they immediately detect the Doctor when he enters their ship at the climax of the episode?
Doctor Who: The Chameleon Arch Explained - How A Time Lord Becomes Human
Doctor Who brought back a trope from the David Tennant era with the return of the chameleon arch. Here’s where the device comes from and how it works.
Doctor Whoawkwardly explains this as an old trick of the Doctor’s, using the phrase “Ventriloquism of the nose” as a justification.However, it’s rather convenient that he is only able to do this after spending months in 1913. What’s even more irritating is that the Family can sense the watch while it’s near, and even if they are distracted by power, it still doesn’t add up that they fail to realize the Doctor is back.
7John Smith Is Comfortable With One Heart Working, But It Hurts The Doctor
Season 3, Episodes 8 & 9 - “Human Nature” & “The Family Of Blood”
Another glaring inconsistency in theDoctor Whotwo-part story“Human Nature” and “Family of Blood” is the issue surrounding the Doctor’s hearts.In previous episodes, like “The Shakespeare Code” it’s established that the Doctor finds it greatly painful when only one of his hearts is working. While it’s possible for the Time Lord to keep going with just one heart, it’s still uncomfortable. Even though the Metacrisis Doctor is fine with one, his reaction to his new biological structure proves that it’s an odd feeling.
Audiences know for a fact that John Smith only has one heartbeat, because Joan checks it for him.
However, John Smith never seems to have any complaints. Although his memories aren’t as the Doctor anymore,he physically still is, so it doesn’t make sense that he spends months as a “human” without as much as a singular chest pain.Audiences know for a fact that John Smith only has one heartbeat, because Joan checks it for him. His second heart doesn’t magically vanish, either, so why do the effects of Doctor’s physiology suddenly change within a matter of episodes?
6Clara Says She Saw All 11 Faces In The Doctor’s Time Stream
Season 7, Episode 13 - “The Name Of The Doctor”
While I suppose thatthe many versions of Clara inDoctor Whocan be to blame for the companion miscounting Doctors in their time stream, it’s still baffling.In “The Name of the Doctor,” one of the first things Clara tells the Eleventh Doctor upon reuniting with him is that she saw all 11 of the Time Lord’s faces.However,Doctor Who’s controversial Timeless Child storylinecompletely changes this. While the Timeless Child is now retconned, it doesn’t excuse the fact that showrunner Chris Chibnall fails to realize that there’s a glaring issue.
If the Doctor has dozens more past regenerations, a number that neither the Time Lord nor audiences are fully sure about, then why doesn’t Clara see them as well?
In fact, why doesn’t she give the Doctor a heads-up? Russell T Davies has just made the Shalka Doctor, another version of the Ninth, canon too, and Clara doesn’t mention this incarnation either. I know it can be argued that the Doctor forgets these past regenerations, butwhat about the Morbius Doctors from the classic era serial “The Brain of Morbius?”
Season 14, Episode 7 - “The Legend Of Ruby Sunday”
The Doctor’s children inDoctor Whois always a complicated topic, but my biggest frustration from Russell T Davies’ current era is that he ignores canon that is established during his original run as showrunner.For example, in “The Empty Child,” the Ninth Doctor and Dr. Constantine share a tender moment over losing children and grandchildren to war. “Fear Her” sees the Tenth Doctor tell Rose that he has been a father before and lost them, too, once again implying that his offspring are victims of the Time War.
Doctor Who’s FIRST Time War Before The Reboot Explained
Though the Time War may be the centerpiece of all of modern Doctor Who canon, the writers learned a lot from mistakes made in another Time War plot.
The 15th Doctor tells Kate Stewart that he doesn’t have children “yet” in “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” blanking on the existence of Jenny.It’s bad enough thatDoctor Whoforgets Jenny, which proves the Doctor is already a parent, but it’s even more baffling considering the star of “The Doctor’s Daughter” is portrayed by David Tennant’s wife and Peter Davison’s daughter, Georgia.Time is complicated, granted, and the Time Lord could have more kids in the future, but it’s bizarre how much lore is ignored, especially as it’s relatively new to the canon compared toDoctor Who’s classic era.
4Donna Noble Reacting To The Saxon Master
2009/2010 Specials - “The End Of Time”
The mechanism in Donna’s head activating at the climax of “The End of Time: Part One” makes little sense in itself, but the companion’s return in theDoctor Who60th-anniversary specials contradicts this moment even more so.After the Saxon Master converts every human on Earth to look exactly like him, Donna panics and, after seeing one of his many faces in the street, she collapses. While the Doctor’s protection saves her, it makes zero sense that Donna reacts to the Master in the first place.
The Tenth Doctor doesn’t set up another defense mechanism, but she must still have the first one, otherwise she would’ve died in the early moments of “The Star Beast.”
In her original run, Donna crosses paths with the Saxon Master.Even if she remembers the Doctor or Martha telling herthe story of Prime Minister Harold Saxon, this still doesn’t add up. Donna spends hours around the Time Lord in “The Star Beast” with no issue, and even calls him the Doctor before getting her memories back, yet she’s fine. The Tenth Doctor doesn’t set up another defense mechanism, but she must still have the first one, otherwise she would’ve died in the early moments of “The Star Beast.”
3The Eleventh & Twelfth Doctors Both Took River To Darillium
“Last Night” Minisode & Christmas 2015 “The Husbands Of River Song”
“Last Night” is anamazingDoctor Whostory that doesn’t happen on TV, but it serves as a brilliant DVD minisode.Every time I watch it, I’m always surprised that Steven Moffat decides to set up the heartbreaking events that lead to the death of the Doctor’s wife in a minisode. However, Moffat appears to forget that the Eleventh Doctor takes River to Darillium in “Last Night” when the Twelfth Doctor does the exact same thing in “The Husbands of River Song.”
It’s clear that these instances don’t occur simultaneously, but at the same time,Doctor Whonever clarifies whether Twelve decides to take River again so he can have one last evening with her, or whether this is just a continuity error.Although the fact “Last Night” is a minisode can argue that the events aren’t canonical, it’s still wild that the writer of both stories misses this, especially considering Moffat is the creator ofRiver Song’s entire timeline inDoctor Who.
2Susan Created The Name TARDIS
The very firstDoctor Whostory, “An Unearthly Child”introduces Susan for the first time, in which it is established that the Doctor’s granddaughter is the genius behind the TARDIS name. TARDISstands for time and relative dimension in space, something that Susan comes up with at some point around the time they depart Gallifrey. Before this, it’s unknown what the Doctor’s iconic ship is referred to on his home planet. However, the Gallifreyan version of Clara Oswald in “The Name of the Doctor” suggests otherwise.
It’s worth noting that although Gallifreyan Clara may use the term TARDIS because her original self is familiar with it, this isn’t the real contradiction. In an early scene of the episode, a Gallifreyan engineer who is working on the ships also calls them TARDISes, too.Perhaps Susan borrows the name after she hears Clara saying it, perhaps not,but considering the several decades between these installments, I think it’s more likely thatDoctor Whosimply forgets its own lore.
1The Tenth Doctor Alters Timelines By Causing The Downfall Of Harriet Jones
Christmas 2006 - “The Christmas Invasion”
Harriet Jones, former MP for Flydale North, is hands down the bestPrime Minister inDoctor Who, not that it’s hard for her to top the ranking.The Time Lord constantly talks about how he will not change timelines and impact history, but the Tenth Doctor contradicts this shortly after regenerating in “The Christmas Invasion” when he causes the political decline of Harriet Jones. What’s strange is that when the Ninth Doctor clocks who she is at the end of “World War Three,” he never mentions Harriet’s downfall, just that she is set to become an amazing Prime Minister.
Even though the Doctor has a personal relationship with Harriet, at least more so than some of the otherhistorical figures inDoctor Who, it doesn’t make sense that he gets involved. The Doctor is either the reason Harriet loses political control, and had been unaware of her fate in “World War Three,” or he chooses to alter it because of her assassination of the Sycorax. Either way, the Time Lord oversteps massively. The Doctor doesn’t mess with history if he can inDoctor Who, and I find this contradiction really hard to ignore.
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Doctor Who: Released on July 08, 2025, this series follows the Doctor and their companion as they journey across time and space, encountering a range of extraordinary friends and adversaries, expanding the universe of the long-running British science fiction series.
An alien from the planet Gallifrey travels through time and space to explore, solve problems and fight injustice while also making friends with human beings. His spaceship, called TARDIS, resembles a police box, but it is much more than it appears to be.
Doctor Who: Doctor Who is a British sci-fi television series debuting in 1963, following The Doctor, a time-traveling alien Time Lord. The Doctor explores the universe in the TARDIS, accompanied by companions, confronting various adversaries and striving to save civilizations while addressing injustices.
