Doctor Who Series 11: 10 Huge Questions After 'The Battle Of Ranskoor Av Kolos'
6. Were There Any Call Backs To Past Episodes?
The thirteenth Doctor has had quite a few memory problems this series and we had another one this week as she struggled to recall her knowledge about the Ux, but she’s also forgotten some of her previous adventures it seems. The Doctor says that the Ux are unique when it comes to manipulating the universe through thought, yet this is exactly what the Logopolitans could do through a process known as block transfer computation (Logopolis). Like the Ux they were humanoid, but their power, despite the chanting, came through mathematics rather than faith.
The Doctor might have forgotten the ancient mathematics, but she is able to cite more recent adventures including the series four finale when the TARDIS towed the planet back to its right galactic coordinates. But of all the Doctor’s past adventures, Douglas Adams’ The Pirate Planet is almost plagiarised here, only without the quirky humour. Chibnall has often mined the show’s past for story ideas, and the practice is nothing unique to him or particularly concerning, but this one did feel a little too much of a steal, lacking as it did any significant twist.
Another part of the Doctor’s history, conveniently forgotten, is that the Doctor herself is a fine one to talk over planetary genocide. In Remembrance of the Daleks, she does just that to the Dalek homeworld Skaro. Perhaps it’s with this in mind that the scriptwriter does draw attention to the Doctor’s alleged hypocrisy when Ryan challenges her over the grenades.