Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Edge of Destruction


 * The Doctor tells Ian that they only have 5 minutes to survive in episode 2 - yet it takes over 5 minutes before they release the fast return switch. The Doctor even takes time to deliver a long and rather pointless speech when he knows that their end is only a few seconds away.


 * The TARDIS crew do well to spot the patterns to the TARDIS warnings - especially since they only start in episode 2 after happening randomly in episode 1.


 * William Hartnell, completely throwing the other actors during one scene by saying the same line ("It's not very likely") twice, and fumbling "You knocked both Susan and I unconscious". He also omits the scripted explanation for the melted clocks.
 * The Doctor, like many people, sometimes stumbles over his words.


 * The Fast Return Switch should have sent them back to 100,000 BC as that was the last place it visited prior to Skaro and not 1963 London.
 * The Doctor was shown to have frequent lapses in memory at this point in his life.