Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/The Daleks' Master Plan


 * Marc Cory's tape message is different from the one he left in Mission to the Unknown.
 * Although a great deal of time has passed as evidenced by Corey's body having decayed to a skeleton. The Message Tape was presumably damaged in the time between stories and is thus different.
 * The tape being damaged would not have actually changed the words in the message.


 * If the Grand Alliance is so expendable, why have it in the first place?
 * Mass manipulation by the Daleks, to acquire the materials needed to build the Time Destructor. Several lines of dialogue referring to the Delegates making contributions to the weapon support this. Also the Daleks only turn on them after the Time Destructor is complete. In addition, the militaries of the Alliance worlds would be expecting the Daleks as Allies. So they would be open to Dalek attack.


 * The Doctor's sudden address to the viewing audience in "The Feast of Steven" ("breaking the fourth wall") is almost impossible to rationalize.
 * It is not necessary to rationalise. It obviously belongs to the 'real world', not to the Whouniverse. There are times when characters of popular TV shows step out of the show to acknowledge their fans.
 * Alternatively, the Doctor was perceptive enough to notice the similarity between the recent events and a TV special, and addressed the "camera" jokingly.
 * Plus, he's not the only person with a time/space visualiser. Perhaps he was speaking for the benefit of anyone else with one.
 * The TARDIS records the experiences of the Doctor- and others, provided they are "within the collection range of a TARDIS" - "The Trial of a Time Lord" - such information being potentially accessed by the Matrix in the future. While the Doctor was presumably not planning on uploading details of his travels to the Matrix, being on the run, perhaps he was light-heartedly wishing a Happy Christmas to posterity, and any Time Lords back at "home" who might one day review his adventures.