10 Biggest Doctor Who Retcons

1. The Doctor Is The Origin Of The Time Lords

Paradigm Dalek Doctor Who
BBC

In the catastrophically controversial Series 12 finale The Timeless Children, everything we thought we knew about the Doctor was retconned to the extreme, as she was revealed to be the origin of the Time Lords. Found as a child on a desolate planet by a Gallifreyan scientist, The Doctor was taken and experimented on in order to implant her unique ability to regenerate into Gallifreyan citadel-dwellers.

This retcon undermines the Doctor's entire raison d'être. The fact that the Doctor was just an ordinary Gallifreyan who revolted against authority and ran away from their people was a perfect encapsulation of their character. The Doctor fashioned themselves into who they are, moulded their own identity, walked their own path. An unwitting hero, an underdog.

Or so we thought. But apparently they were born special, their fate pre-destined. The emphasis has shifted from what they have done to what they are; the Doctor is no longer defined by their actions, but by their backstory. Showrunner Chris Chibnall had better have something special up his sleeve for next series if he wants to convince us that this radical retcon was the right move.

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Patch is a pop culture enthusiast and purveyor of puns. He writes about media in a vague attempt to justify the alarming amount of time he spends consuming it. Nobody's convinced... but nobody's told him that yet. He spends his spare time working on Portal 2: Desolation, an ambitious fan-made sequel to Valve's beloved puzzle games.