On 29/08/2026 12:26, The True Melissa wrote:
This episode is notable for featuring three Time Lords, only one
of them the Doctor, all on the side of light.
Now, as I threatened I would, I'm going to reexamine both
theories on the White Guardian at the beginning. If that one was
real, it's very odd that he never turned up at the end. You'd
think we'd see *two* White Guardians, with the Doctor being
required to determine the real one, or perhaps that the White
Guardian would turn up after the Poser had been dismissed. I
would not expect the White Guardian to be unable to show unless
the Black Guardian is vastly more powerful, and that hasn't been
indicated before. If the real White Guardian is the questgiver,
where did he go?
I came to the conclusion that the Black Guardian and the White Guardian
were both always the same person, namely the Guardian, and the Key to
Time was broken up to prevent him from getting hold of it. Unfortunately
the Doctor saying that the White Guardian had already done his
rebalancing at the end created an unsatisfactory conclusion to that
theory since the Doctor could have been wrong, and then Enlightenment
has them both appearing together as separate entities which puts an end
to it.
If we assume the first White Guardian is also the Black Guardian
in disguise, the overall plot makes more sense. He sent the
No, the plot makes less sense. It makes more sense if the Black and
White Guardians were always the same person, but Enlightenment
contradicts that.
Doctor on a harmful quest, but fortunately the Doctor saw through
Supporting the original idea that they were both always one and the
same. Maybe we should decanonise Peter Davison and everything that came >after Tom Baker.
it at the last minute. The objections raised to this theory so
far are the disembodied voice saying "Beware the Black Guardian"
It could have been the Guardian alternating between his dark and light >aspects.
and the Shadow. We just saw the Shadow in action, and that
doesn't falsify the theory.
The Black Guardian sent the Doctor on the quest. Once the sixth
segment had been found, he identified it as Astra and knew that
the Doctor would be very reluctant to kill Astra. It's perfectly
reasonable that he would plan to collect that segment himself.
Instead of convincing the Doctor that Astra deserved to die, he
simply sent the Shadow (or became the Shadow) to collect the last
portion and assemble them. The Doctor defeated the Shadow, and so
the Black Guardian put his disguise back on to try to work the
original plan.
The Doctor could have just assembled the Key and promised to return
Astra back to normal after he'd used it. In fact why couldn't he have
used the Key to recreate the original version of her while it was still
held together?
That still leaves "Beware the Black Guardian" to be explained.
It's definitely a strange message for the disguised Black
Guardian to send just to keep up appearances. It's possible that
this, along with the initial verbal admonition, was a psych. It's
definitely a hole in the theory, but the White Guardian's
disappearance is a larger hole in the other theory.
The problem with "Beware the Black Guardian" is that it implies the
White Guardian was monitoring the Doctor's movements so why didn't he
show up at the end? Was the bright white light coming from the TARDIS
the White Guardian? If it was then once again why didn't he appear
alongside the Black Guardian at the end?
I wonder if there is no Shadow and the Black Guardian himself
simply posed as his own minion. We learn later that not everyone
That would have been triple schizophrenia. Well quadruple if you can't
the Time Lord President as him as well. Maybe the Guardian is everybody?
is as impressed by the Guardians as the Doctor was. Perhaps he
Nothing after Logopolis is canon. That fixes everything. Just revive the >show with Tom Baker merging with the Watcher and regenerating into an AI >de-aged version of Tom Baker.
turned up in person, calling himself the Shadow to avoid
revealing that he's as tough as the Black Guardian gets.
Another fun thing, which I mentioned briefly in my review, is
that Drax doesn't know the Doctor's real name either. This isn't
Drax didn't know he was called the Doctor, so it means the Doctor wasn't >using that name until after he'd graduated with his doctorate. It
doesn't mean Drax didn't know the Doctor's real name, or it could have
just been Theta Sigma. It was Terrance Dicks who invented the seat
numbering designation.
If The Armageddon Factor is going to be one of the novelisations that
has been rewritten (because modern woke degenerates hate Terrance Dicks
and the novelisation which I own is quite thin considering it was a six >parter) then the new writer would not be able to use that idea because
it's copyrighted to Dicks.
given the Moffat treatment, where his name is some grand key to
the mysteries of the universe. It's more that he's like an Old
West drifter who doesn't talk about his past. The Doctor's past
can be mostly blank and also be mostly ordinary.
Once again another good reason to erase everything after Logopolis from >canon and bring everything back from there. The Doctor's real name is
Theta Sigma. But then again why was Drax called Drax and why was >Romana............ called Romana...............? Maybe Gallifreyans
could only take names after they graduate like Red Indian braves were
only given names after their first scalp?
I'm certain Drax has his own Big Finish adventures. It just seems
inevitable.
He does appear in at least one of them with Tom Baker and Lalla Ward.
----
The True Doctor https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCngrZwoS0n21IRcXpKO79Lw
"To be woke is to be uninformed which is exactly the opposite of what it >stands for." --William Shatner
On 29/08/2026 12:26, The True Melissa wrote:
I came to the conclusion that the Black Guardian and the White Guardian
were both always the same person, namely the Guardian, and the Key to
Time was broken up to prevent him from getting hold of it. Unfortunately
the Doctor saying that the White Guardian had already done his
rebalancing at the end created an unsatisfactory conclusion to that
theory since the Doctor could have been wrong, and then Enlightenment
has them both appearing together as separate entities which puts an end
to it.
If we assume the first White Guardian is also the Black Guardian
in disguise, the overall plot makes more sense. He sent the
No, the plot makes less sense.
Doctor on a harmful quest, but fortunately the Doctor saw through
Supporting the original idea that they were both always one and the
same. Maybe we should decanonise Peter Davison and everything that came after Tom Baker.
it at the last minute. The objections raised to this theory so
far are the disembodied voice saying "Beware the Black Guardian"
It could have been the Guardian alternating between his dark and light aspects.
The Doctor could have just assembled the Key and promised to return
Astra back to normal after he'd used it. In fact why couldn't he have
used the Key to recreate the original version of her while it was still
held together?
That still leaves "Beware the Black Guardian" to be explained.
It's definitely a strange message for the disguised Black
Guardian to send just to keep up appearances. It's possible that
this, along with the initial verbal admonition, was a psych. It's definitely a hole in the theory, but the White Guardian's
disappearance is a larger hole in the other theory.
The problem with "Beware the Black Guardian" is that it implies the
White Guardian was monitoring the Doctor's movements so why didn't he
show up at the end? Was the bright white light coming from the TARDIS
the White Guardian? If it was then once again why didn't he appear
alongside the Black Guardian at the end?
I wonder if there is no Shadow and the Black Guardian himself
simply posed as his own minion. We learn later that not everyone
That would have been triple schizophrenia. Well quadruple if you can't
the Time Lord President as him as well. Maybe the Guardian is everybody?
is as impressed by the Guardians as the Doctor was. Perhaps he
Nothing after Logopolis is canon. That fixes everything. Just revive the show with Tom Baker merging with the Watcher and regenerating into an AI de-aged version of Tom Baker.
If The Armageddon Factor is going to be one of the
novelisations that
has been rewritten (because modern woke degenerates hate Terrance Dicks
and the novelisation which I own is quite thin considering it was a six parter) then the new writer would not be able to use that idea because
it's copyrighted to Dicks.
Once again another good reason to erase everything afterLogopolis from
canon and bring everything back from there. The Doctor's real name is
Theta Sigma. But then again why was Drax called Drax and why was Romana............ called Romana...............? Maybe Gallifreyans
could only take names after they graduate like Red Indian braves were
only given names after their first scalp?
The True Doctor wrote in article <116un52$38u0e$1@dont-email.me>:
On 29/08/2026 12:26, The True Melissa wrote:
I came to the conclusion that the Black Guardian and the White Guardian
were both always the same person, namely the Guardian, and the Key to
Time was broken up to prevent him from getting hold of it. Unfortunately
the Doctor saying that the White Guardian had already done his
rebalancing at the end created an unsatisfactory conclusion to that
theory since the Doctor could have been wrong, and then Enlightenment
has them both appearing together as separate entities which puts an end
to it.
Oh, I like this a lot. Is there any way we can revive that
theory? I haven't seen Enlightenment in a while. I can't rewatch
it today, since I have D&D, but I'll put it on the list.
If we assume the first White Guardian is also the Black Guardian
in disguise, the overall plot makes more sense. He sent the
No, the plot makes less sense.
We'll have to disagree on that. To me, "Where did the White
Guardian go?" is a significant question.
Doctor on a harmful quest, but fortunately the Doctor saw through
Supporting the original idea that they were both always one and the
same. Maybe we should decanonise Peter Davison and everything that came
after Tom Baker.
No need to be so drastic. There's probably a way around
Enlightenment if we look.
it at the last minute. The objections raised to this theory so
far are the disembodied voice saying "Beware the Black Guardian"
It could have been the Guardian alternating between his dark and light
aspects.
Yeah, that would work. It could be either that one or two
separate people, but it requires creativity for the Black
Guardian Questgiver interpretation.
None of those three theories match all the data.
The Doctor could have just assembled the Key and promised to return
Astra back to normal after he'd used it. In fact why couldn't he have
used the Key to recreate the original version of her while it was still
held together?
Maybe it doesn't do that. It can create time loops, but a person?
It's not the Key to Matter.
That still leaves "Beware the Black Guardian" to be explained.
It's definitely a strange message for the disguised Black
Guardian to send just to keep up appearances. It's possible that
this, along with the initial verbal admonition, was a psych. It's
definitely a hole in the theory, but the White Guardian's
disappearance is a larger hole in the other theory.
The problem with "Beware the Black Guardian" is that it implies the
White Guardian was monitoring the Doctor's movements so why didn't he
show up at the end? Was the bright white light coming from the TARDIS
the White Guardian? If it was then once again why didn't he appear
alongside the Black Guardian at the end?
Maybe the Black Guardian killed him? There's a fourth theory, if
we want it. *shrug*
Although, again, he turns up in Enlightenment.
I wonder if there is no Shadow and the Black Guardian himself
simply posed as his own minion. We learn later that not everyone
That would have been triple schizophrenia. Well quadruple if you can't
the Time Lord President as him as well. Maybe the Guardian is everybody?
LOL. Maybe Romana has been the Black Guardian, all this time,
hiding in the heart of Gallifrey.
is as impressed by the Guardians as the Doctor was. Perhaps he
Nothing after Logopolis is canon. That fixes everything. Just revive the
show with Tom Baker merging with the Watcher and regenerating into an AI
de-aged version of Tom Baker.
I'd watch. I'd give it a try, at least. How are we going to get
Tom Baker to return to the role, though? He's planning to voice
Sherlock Holmes, but I don't know if he'd want to resume running
through corridors at his age.
If The Armageddon Factor is going to be one of the
novelisations that
has been rewritten (because modern woke degenerates hate Terrance Dicks
and the novelisation which I own is quite thin considering it was a six
parter) then the new writer would not be able to use that idea because
it's copyrighted to Dicks.
He could trivially release it to them.
Once again another good reason to erase everything afterLogopolis from
canon and bring everything back from there. The Doctor's real name is
Theta Sigma. But then again why was Drax called Drax and why was
Romana............ called Romana...............? Maybe Gallifreyans
could only take names after they graduate like Red Indian braves were
only given names after their first scalp?
Most of the renegades seem to use titles rather than names. Drax
is a little unusual in that he's a renegade still using his
actual name. Maybe one of these days he'll get with the program
and start billing himself as the Mechanic.
----
The meek shall inherit, we're told,
But I'm not so easily sold.
For supposing they should,
It would do them no good --
They'd lose it at once to the bold.
The True Doctor wrote:
I came to the conclusion that the Black Guardian and the
White Guardian were both always the same person, namely the
Guardian, and the Key to Time was broken up to prevent him
from getting hold of it.
Oh, I like this a lot.
If The Armageddon Factor is going to be one of the
novelisations that has been rewritten (because modern woke
degenerates hate Terrance Dicks and the novelisation which
I own is quite thin considering it was a six parter) then
the new writer would not be able to use that idea because
it's copyrighted to Dicks.
given the Moffat treatment, where his name is some grand key
to the mysteries of the universe. It's more that he's like
an Old West drifter who doesn't talk about his past. The
Doctor's past can be mostly blank and also be mostly
ordinary.
Once again another good reason to erase everything after
Logopolis from canon and bring everything back from there.
I'm certain Drax has his own Big Finish adventures. It
just seems inevitable.
He does appear in at least one of them with Tom Baker and
Lalla Ward.
The True Melissa wrote:
The True Doctor wrote:
I came to the conclusion that the Black Guardian and the
White Guardian were both always the same person, namely the
Guardian, and the Key to Time was broken up to prevent him
from getting hold of it.
Oh, I like this a lot.
You should, as it was the original intention to have just one
Guardian. "The Guardian" was initially conceived as a single
cosmic being... the idea of a pair of opposing Guardians, White
& Black emerged as the season's storyline developed.
So on-screen we ended up with two different Guardians. (Who will
return at a later date.)
The True Doctor wrote:
If The Armageddon Factor is going to be one of the
novelisations that has been rewritten (because modern woke
degenerates hate Terrance Dicks and the novelisation which
I own is quite thin considering it was a six parter) then
the new writer would not be able to use that idea because
it's copyrighted to Dicks.
We'll see. James Goss isn't actually a bad writer. I'm looking
forward to this new S16 book, mainly for the new novelisations.
FWIW, a lot of Uncle Terrance's Target books were a bit on the
thin side was because he was given a word count to work to, and
the publishers considered them children's books. He often said
he would like to have done more with some of them.
given the Moffat treatment, where his name is some grand key
to the mysteries of the universe. It's more that he's like
an Old West drifter who doesn't talk about his past. The
Doctor's past can be mostly blank and also be mostly
ordinary.
Once again another good reason to erase everything after
Logopolis from canon and bring everything back from there.
Works for me. I've always been happy to end it there...
I'm certain Drax has his own Big Finish adventures. It
just seems inevitable.
He does appear in at least one of them with Tom Baker and
Lalla Ward.
"The Trouble with Drax", part of the 4DAs and "Here Lies Drax"
an 8th Doctor story with Paul McGann.
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