10 Doctor Who Fan Theories Better Than What We Got

A major continuity gripe over the years has been the disappearance of the Reapers after Series 1's Father's Day.

These flying scorpion monsters appear when Rose causes a paradox by saving her dad's life. The beasties begin devouring everything in sight in an attempt to "sterilise" the resulting wound in time.

There have been many other paradoxes in Doctor Who since then, but no rock-solid explanation as to why the Reapers have never reappeared. However, plenty of fan theories have explained away their absence in a satisfying way.

One of the main theories claims that the Reapers aren't automatically dispatched to the scene of a paradox: they're just animals who feast on time energy, going from place to place hunting for their next meal.

The analogy of a shark in bloodied water is fitting. If a fish is injured and sharks are nearby, it'll get eaten, but if none are around, then it will survive.

Basically, the Doctor has been incredibly lucky to not attract any Reapers throughout their journeys. It's a flimsy explanation, but it's better than what we got - which was nothing.