Ever since former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall introduced the Timeless Child twist, several related plot holes have arisen, but the divisive storyline can actually explain a mystery that’s existed for over half a century. Despite addressing almost every sci-fi trope during its lengthy run on TV, not all actors to have played the Doctor get to experience every story usually found in a show like Doctor Who. In fact, some of the best Doctor Who stories of all time are incredibly grounded, but that isn’t the case for the Timeless Child and a specific franchise enigma it solves.
Chibnall’s Timeless Child storyline led to Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor discovering that the franchise’s main character didn’t originate on Gallifrey, as had previously been the case until that point. Instead, the Doctor is revealed to be a member of an unknown alien race who crossed over from another dimension. Perhaps most shockingly, Chibnall’s confusing retcon meant the process of regeneration was harvested from the Doctor and integrated into portions of the Gallifreyan population to create the Time Lords. The story sent destructive ripples up and down the Doctor Who canon, but there is one positive to its invention.
Doctor Who’s Parallel Universes Don’t Typically Contain The Doctor
The alternate realities in “Inferno” & “Rise of the Cybermen” only have the main Doctor to save the day
The Timeless Child story becomes especially salient when Doctor Who’s parallel universes come into play. The Doctor rarely travels to these alternate words, but when he does, there is no sign of his multiversal counterpart. For instance, in a 1970 serial titled, “Inferno,” during Jon Pertwee’s run as the Third Doctor in the classic era, he doesn’t meet that universe’s version of the Time Lord. Similarly, David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor didn’t encounter a version of himself native to the alternate reality in Doctor Who season 2’s, “Rise of the Cybermen” two-parter.
There’s never been a canonical explanation as to where other versions of the Doctor are located as he travels through the multiverse. Before Chibnall altered the canon to change the Doctor’s origin, the fact that other Doctors never converged on the position of the show’s main Doctor was always very confusing. The Doctor is almost always on hand to save the world, especially if the danger is on Earth – as both “Inferno” and “Rise of the Cybermen” are. However, Chibnall’s biggest offering to the Doctor Who universe means this narrative quirk makes sense.
The Timeless Child Can Explain The Doctor’s Absence From Alternate Timelines
The Doctor’s new origin could be too unique to repeat across the multiverse
The Doctor’s updated origin calls for an incredibly specific sequence of events to happen for the character to enter their known trajectory. In the pre-Timeless Child canon, the Doctor was born on Gallifrey and had a fairly regular existence among his native people before fleeing in his stolen TARDIS. While the same is still technically true, the twist now also requires the countless pre-William Hartnell to be accounted for, as well as Tecteun finding the Doctor after falling through an interdimensional rift. If the Doctor never fell through that rift, the character wouldn’t be in the “present day” stories.
Given the mystery and importance of the Doctor falling through the rift into the show’s main universe, it’s very possible that such an event never happened in any other Doctor Who reality. So, it makes sense why multiversal Doctors have never shown up in the relevant episodes – in short, it’s because they don’t exist. Making the main Doctor Who universe the only reality to contain the Doctor makes the character even more special, but also begs the compelling question of which dimension they originated in, and whether the other members of the Timeless Child’s species are looking for the Doctor.
The Doctor’s Absence Would Also Mean No Time Lords In The Other Universes
Tecteun needed the Doctor’s ability to regenerate to create the Time Lords
The Doctor is absolutely pivotal to the existence of the Time Lords. When the Doctor fell through the rift and was discovered by Tecteun, the biggest revelation discovered by the scientist was the Timeless Child’s ability to cheat death by renewing every cell in their body. Such an ability was not boasted by earlier Gallifreyans such as Tecteun. She managed to study the Timeless Child’s power and extract the ability to regenerate and incorporate it into her genetic makeup. Tecteun went on to found the order of the Time Lords, bolstered by their newly extended lifespans.
It goes without saying that if the Doctor was never found as a child by Tecteun, then the Time Lords could also never have existed.
It goes without saying that if the Doctor was never found as a child by Tecteun, then the Time Lords could also never have existed, and Gallifreyans wouldn’t be the semi-immortal race they became in the main Doctor Who universe. This would be an enormous difference and an even more reasonable explanation for why no other Time Lords seem to intervene when the show makes use of the Doctor Who multiverse trope.
Disney’s Doctor Who Era Should Revisit The Show’s Parallel Universes
Russell T Davies should take Gatwa’s Doctor to another reality
Doctor Who season 15 will be the show’s second run of episodes in the Disney era, and after season 14 avoided visiting the multiverse, future installments would do well to visit other realities. Granted, multiverse stories are perhaps a little overused in general at present, but Doctor Who’s sparing approach to the trope through the decades would mean it would feel fresh within the context of the show. Plus, it would be the first time since the Timeless Child story was revealed that the Doctor would have found himself in a parallel world.
Doctor Who season 14 focused quite heavily on elements of the fantasy genre, shifting the show slightly away from its sci-fi roots.
Doctor Who season 14 focused quite heavily on elements of the fantasy genre, shifting the show slightly away from its sci-fi roots. The results were interesting, but generally quite mixed. So, Russell T Davies would do well to reintegrate more recognizable storylines going forward, and parallel universes would be a welcome return to the franchise. After the endless use of other sci-fi hallmarks like aliens and time travel, adventures in other dimensions are still frustratingly rare.
Multiverse narratives could also introduce a compelling spin on multi-Doctor stories. If other universes do somehow have alternate versions of the Doctor, the likelihood of them sharing the same face as any of the iterations from the prime universe is insanely low. Plus, the show’s main Doctor would have to return home when the story is over, so there would be an organic timer on the interaction between Doctors – which is often the case in the more traditional multi-Doctor stories. Hopefully, Doctor Who’s future makes room for these possibilities.