Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The End of the World


 * How can Cassandra claim to be the last human when there are humans in "Utopia," set 100 trillion years later? I understand that she was very conceited and that some humans bred with other races and changed, but those humans in 100 trillion look identical to us.


 * How does the Superphone work? If Rose was calling her mother from the future did Rose have to input the time? Or did the phone call across all time when that number was in use and put a call through with the first person who picked it up?
 * Why would Cassandra call herself a little boy while it is easy to notify her as female?
 * Perhaps she got a sex change and became Cassandra. Also, Cassandra had already made several false statements about the past, such as mistaking a jukebox for an iPod, and stating that an ostrich could breathe fire and had a wingspan of fifty feet.


 * In the companion book Doctor Who: Monsters and Villains, an extract from a book by Vox B. Macmillan heavily implies that Cassandra was once known as Mr B. E. Cobbs.


 * Seriously? That is not an anatomically correct female! A bit of make-up does not a female make. Clearly over the course of 708 operations, the boy bits were removed. (Rose had obviously been much closer to the mark than expected when she quipped about chatting to Michael Jackson.)


 * She was referred to as "she" in other parts of the episode. Also, in "New Earth," she was shown to be female.


 * Or possibly she is using substandard translation software or she's not as fluent in the current language as she thinks she is.


 * What happened to the mega-cities and patches of fire seen in The Long Game, Bad Wolf and The Parting of the Ways?
 * This is the year 5 billion. A lot of time has passed since 200,100. Furthermore, Earth was preserved in a classic state. This probably does not include mega-cities.


 * Why does the air conditioning system return to normal once the Earth is destroyed? Surely the heat is still there?
 * The Earth could easily be absorbing and, in turn, radiating heat from the Sun.


 * Simply put: the platform's systems had just been restored.


 * How would tiny robotic spiders have the physical strength to drag a humanoid into a ventilation shaft
 * We don't know how much the person weighed and plus there were lot of robotic spiders.


 * Bear in mind, too, that the tiny robotic spiders may have some mechanism in the feet that locks in on various surfaces, allowing the weight of the spider to be irrelevant.


 * Why put the system restore switch in such an inaccessible location? Having to dodge giant fans in order to get to such an important control beggars belief.
 * Actually system restore switches are seldom easily accessible precisely because it's hoped/expected that they'll never be needed. Think of electronic devices which waste half an hour of your time hunting for a paper-clip. Or consider a PC: some people struggle with 2-key combos, but if something goes seriously wrong - you need a 3 finger salute.


 * Also, note that you want it protected from casual accidental usage. Plus, there may be a remote control mechanism that the usual mechanics have, or even an implant within the body of an authorised mechanic that slows or stops the fans.


 * Why exactly does Jabe have to sacrifice herself? Why couldn't she or the Doctor jam the lever thingy with its cover, or a shoe, or snap a bit off Jabe's head and wedge it in? Or use the sonic screwdriver to fuse the thing in place? Even if Jabe was so determined to sacrifice herself for the greater good, rather than just lean on the lever, why didn't she sit on it? (Keeping it pressed down even after she burned to a crisp)
 * All these options probably just didn't occur to them in the HEAT of the moment (pun present).


 * Depending on the activation weight of the lever, the depth to which it must have been depressed, and the physical properties of the material used, it may have been impossible to activate the lever without a person holding it.


 * Cassandra's back-up plan seems a little strange. How will she explain her survival without being punished for using a teleportation device?
 * "She didn't plan on using it, but was forced to in desperation to save her life. She terribly regrets that she was unable to save anyone else. And she's very traumatised by the whole incident".


 * The banning of teleport devices sounds like a private corporate regulation rather than a facet of potential breach of interstellar law. Also, considering Earth has no inhabitants, I'm sure it's a nightmare to establish proper legal structure. The planet where the trust was incorporated? The Shadow Proclaimation? Galactic legal systems seem very ad hoc in the series, with much intention of cowboy justice and very little legitimate law.


 * Why did the 'National Trust' move the continents back to their configuration from Rose's time? Why would this period be considered 'classic' Earth as opposed to any other era out of billions of years of Earth's history?
 * There could be any number of reasons for the National Trust choosing that time period: perhaps it was around that time that humans embarked on space exploration. But more to the point: Why should they not choose this time, how does this create a discontinuity?
 * Why not the configuration during the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. The height of human civilization?
 * The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire is around the year 200000, correct? Continental drift currently averages about 1cm a year in the North Atlantic. By the time of the Empire, the continents would be only about 2km further apart - and covered entirely by megacities. If they go back to the shape of our time and slightly before, they don't have to counterfeit cities that wouldn't have any people living in them - natural beauty, in other words.


 * When Cassandra is teleported back, why is she alone? She teleported with her surgeons so surely they should have came back too.
 * The Doctor had control of the reversal, presumably he could also make sure she came back alone.


 * Why do the guests stay in the large room when they know the shields are down and one of the walls is made of glass with the sun in front of it? Surely they should have known it wouldn't have protected them as the Moxx of Balhoon died. Also then when he did die along with a few more, why didn't they leave the room to get out of the way of the rays?
 * Just my impression from viewing the episode but the danger only became readily apparent 3 minutes before the Earth exploded. It seemed that many of the guests couldn't quite accept the truth that the Steward had been killed. This was a very expensive visit and I just think that many of the guests were in denial that there wasn't a failsafe or some shields and believed they were protected. Two more points, not all of the visitors were injured/died and not all of the visitors were very mobile. With all of the running that the Doctor and his Companions do, it's easy to assume everyone else can move with the some ease at the same speed. But, these were rich, privileged visitors who were used to being taken care of. It's unlikely they had ever been in such a perilous situation before. But mainly I think it's because the shields being lowered happened less than 3 minutes before they were in peril.


 * Is the observation room where the TARDIS lands the same room as the room where Rose and the Doctor have their serious talk (and Rose gets her phone fixed) AND the room where Rose gets trapped? Or are they three different rooms? I thought I saw differences (in size, steps, the door, etc.) but it might be that in the storyline it is all the same room.
 * Maybe it is, maybe it isn't; either way, it's not a discontinuity.


 * Why would the button for causing the sun filter to descend be so easy to access, without even having a confirmation first? There could easily be a typo that killed everyone on the space station.