TransWikia.com

Do we ever hear Trenzalore/Gallifrey's message in episodes prior to The time of the Doctor?

Science Fiction & Fantasy Asked on June 15, 2021

The oldest question in the universe has been transmitting through all
of time and space.

It certainly was transmitted through all of space – after all, everybody came to see.

But the part that bothers me is time. From what I gather, the message should have been transmitted in the past, present and future.

Technically, this means that the message must have been transmitting during all the other Doctor Who episodes – not just The time of the Doctor. Since it is the “oldest question in the universe” then clearly it must have been transmitting since way before this episode.

I suppose that the message itself is the “beep” we hear in The time of the Doctor, so my question is: is this beep ever played in any prior Doctor Who episode? If not, is there a canon explanation for its absence?

Figures that such an “overwhelming” transmission through all of time and space would have made at least a few apparitions in previous episodes…

2 Answers

You're assuming that just because it is now transmitting through all time, it always has been transmitting through all time. That doesn't necessarily follow in Doctor Who's conception of time: for example, Gallifrey has been locked out of time completely, and yet the Doctor came from there and went back several times in the original series.

Answered by Daniel Roseman on June 15, 2021

The show's name is a clear indicator that the question has always existed. Though that was not the intention of the original serial; the whoniverse is "a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey whimey stuff", so no, the question hasn't been asked before because Galifrey hasn't always been trapped.

From a perspective of many theoretical physicists and other (non who) scifi entertainment, when one time travels they create an alternate time line, so the message has always existed at the point the universe that entails Galifrey as trapped came into existence.

So in short, yes, it always existed in the universe it has always existed in, but no in just about every other universe.

Answered by giacomo casanova on June 15, 2021

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP