Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Beast Below


 * There was only one star whale which saved Starship UK, so what happened to the other starships?
 * As Liz's recorded message refers to other nations leaving before the Whale arrived, it seems the UK was the only one unable to leave on its own.

Theoretically they might have a zero-tolerance policy which means that even the slightest disobediance is punishable in such a way. However this does not answer the question of why scoring a zero would be such a big deal.
 * Why is the Doctor surprised that the ship is moving even though there are no engines running? It's a spaceship. The law of inertia means it only needs engines to accelerate or steer.
 * I think it's because of the speed that the starship is moving. I don't know my physics... but I guess it couldn't slow down while in space since there isn't any friction? Now I'm thinking that the big issue is gravity--how would the ship be able to produce a gravity field without an engine? Or any other life support system.
 * In the pre-titles sequence the boy who scored zero is not allowed to use the lift-like systems. He does disobeyingg the law and thus he is sent below to feed the beast. It is established that the Beast never eats children so he survives. It is stated that anyone who disobeys the law is sent below to feed the beast e.g. the Doctor and Amy. But why would the Starship UK have laws stating that zeros couldn't use the lifts. Additionally why would disobeying such a meagre law be punishable by such a sevre way. To sum up, why is the police state so concerned over one child getting a zero?