Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Sound of Drums


 * On the in universe website www.haroldsaxon.co.uk, it states that Harold Saxon "dared to stand apart from the party system" and that "leaders of all three major parties - and even some Scottish Nationalists - defected to his banner of unity, bringing most of their parties with them". This implies he was leading a coalition government and wasn't part of a party himself. Since the Prime Minister is not directly elected, either being the leader of the party with the most votes or (rarely) being invited by the monarch to form a government, he would not have needed to have a general election to achieve this. The "Vote Saxon" campaign, meanwhile, presents the PM as being directly elected.
 * "Vote Saxon" could have just been intended as a catchy slogan for his movement, not literal.
 * Possibly, with the other parties joining his campaign, he ended up with the Saxon Party - the "Vote Saxon" slogan was used in the same way as "Vote Labour" could be used.
 * What exactly standing apart from the party system means is unclear.


 * The Master had no way of knowing that Jack possessed a Vortex Manipulator, yet he seemed to expect that the Doctor's group would find their way back to the present, as evidenced by his televised speech, wherein he puts emphasis on the word "Doctor", and the traps he laid for Martha. How could he expect them to get back without the TARDIS?
 * The Master knows the Doctor well so he knows that the Doctor would find a way to return to Earth. Also, as Time Lords can feel each others' presence, he can likely feel the Doctor in London, just as the Doctor could feel him.
 * He could also be joking about how the only person who could save the human race is the Doctor.


 * When the Master refers to the Battle of Canary Wharf, he only mentions the Cybermen but not the Daleks hovering above London.
 * Because the Daleks weren't around for as long, people may not have noticed.
 * Also, the Daleks were never seen up close by anyone outside the Torchwood Tower, nor were they referred to by name. For all the public knew, they were some kind of secret weapon deployed by Torchwood against the Cybermen. It wasn't until a year later in "The Stolen Earth" that the Daleks made themselves generally known.


 * When Vivian interviews Lucy, she tells Tish to take the coats out of the room, by calling her Tish, but Tish had never introduced herself to Vivian.
 * She may have before the scene started or, if she's a thorough journalist, she's done her research.


 * It has been previously shown and indicated that Time Lords have extremely long, almost indefinite, life-spans and can remain healthy and strong in one incarnation for centuries. Indeed the First Doctor regenerated at the age of 450, yet the Master reduces the Doctor to infirmity by aging him a mere 100 years.
 * His health failed because of artificial aging not natural ageing. See The Leisure Hive.


 * When the Doctor's flashback of Gallifrey is shown, the Time Lord headdresses are different and that they do not have the Seal of Rassilon on each side.
 * There are different headdresses for different parts of the Time Lord society but the Seal of Rassilon is seen below the Untempered Schism.


 * When the Master explains that he grew mad because of the Untempered Schism, this would appear to contradict how he came to be in the story of his name as he was Death's companion.
 * The production team may not be taking the Big Finish audios as canon.


 * Why does the Master need to become Prime Minister for his plan to work?
 * The Master's plans focus heavily on hurting and humiliating the Doctor, and modern Britain is one of the locations most dear to him.
 * The Master needs to be in some form of power to let Humanity know that he is in charge.
 * The Master always liked to be in control. Becoming Prime Minister would simply be the easiest way to do so until the Tocclafane arrived.


 * If the TARDIS had been locked to the co-ordinates it had most recently visited, i.e. 21st century London and the planet Malcassairo in the year 100 trillion, how did the Master travel to Utopia to 'recruit' the Toclafane?
 * The Doctor indicates that the coordinates are locked approximately.
 * They may have been locked to a specific time but allowed travel to any space within that time.


 * The flashback of the Master as a novice looking into the void depicts him as a boy. But it is stated in Lungbarrow that Time Lords by his time were born/created in Looms as fully grown adults.
 * The production team may not count the various novels as canon.


 * The sky of Gallifrey was exactly the same as ours in all its previous appearances, and not orange.
 * The sky is similar to how it was described previously at night. We have only previously seen the sky of Gallifrey during the day. Also, the sky here on Earth sometimes changes colour depending on atmospheric conditions, and it is reasonable that this is true for other worlds as well.


 * When Martha, Jack and the Doctor are in the car, Martha says 'its all your fault' to the Doctor. Surely it's not his fault as Martha was the person who aroused Yana's interest in the fob watch.
 * She means it as the Doctor set the TARDIS to go to Earth where the Master had her family arrested, and she was just angry so she might not know what she was talking about.


 * If the Master traveled back to the downfall of Harriet Jones then how come the Doctor couldn't detect him through series 2 and 3.
 * A Time Lord can probably only detect another Time Lord from the same time period as him.
 * It was the signal from the Archangel network cancelling out the Doctor's perceptions. The Doctor himself points this out.