Doctor Who: Of Altered Memories and Timelines

One of the joys of travelling back into the past is being able to revise history. In the new incarnation of Doctor Who, they do not just revise history, but delete it outright. This is truly an unfortunate situation for those characters affected by their timelines, or memories, being altered and erased.

Typically, in comic books, movies or other fictional works, the past can be altered. Should there be a situation that did not work out, or a sequel that was universally panned, the writers have the option of going back and retconning the franchise to make it where those events never happened. Take, for instance, the Highlander series. First Highlander movie – brilliant. Highlander II? Well…..according to Highlander III, that second movie pretty much never happened.

Doctor Who, meanwhile, has a different way of handling the past. Instead of the typical retcon, the Doctor can simply go back in time or find ways of altering time itself to change various happenings. Or, if he prefers, the Doctor can simply erase someone’s memory.

Yes, this erasure of their time with him can keep those subjected to such a practice alive, but they still lose a part of themselves. In NuWho, we have seen several characters grow, only to have that growth be taken away. Regardless of the reason, it seems to be rather unfair to those characters to see such positive changes be taken away from them.

Let us take a look back through the new incarnation of Doctor Who and review those who had their characters altered for the better, only to have that growth taken away.

Next: The DoctorDonna

The tragic fate of Donna Noble. (Credit: BBC)

Donna Noble

During her time with the Doctor, we saw a tremendous amount of growth from Donna Noble. She went from a fairly strident being with minimal self confidence, working a series of temp jobs, to the most important person in the universe. She is remembered throughout the universe as Doctor Donna, revered by those beings that she saved.

Unfortunately, she cannot remember any of this as it would kill her. In becoming the Doctor after touching his severed hand, Donna developed a second mind filled with his knowledge. That mind, which began to take over her own, needed to be eliminated. In wiping her memory to save her life, Donna would remember nothing of her travels with the Doctor.

While Donna was able to get her life on track and get married, she still did not become that person she could have been. With the Doctor, her confidence grew tenfold, as she was able to achieve her dreams of travelling and being remembered. She helped bring the Doctor back from the dark depths of his depression, helping him to become himself again. Donna became a far better person than anyone could have imagined when her story arc began.

In exchange, she lost her memories of how much she means to the universe and her travels with the Doctor. But, if there is a positive side, at least she is still out there in the Whoniverse. That is better than our next subject.

Next: The Centurion

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Rory Williams

For as far as Donna came during her time on Doctor Who, Rory came even further. He had been a complete doormat when first introduced, dominated by Amy to the point where the Doctor referred to him as Mr. Pond. Rory just did not seem to have any purpose other than to be slavishly devoted to Amy and to provide moments of comic relief.

Then came Auton Rory. With the memories of the actual Rory in his head, he turned his devotion to Amy, which had been a weakness that she could exploit, into a true strength. He stood guard outside the Pandorica while Amy was trapped inside, with the legend of the Last Centurion becoming a part of multiple cultures.

Unfortunately, that change would not remain. The Doctor flew the Pandorica into the heart of the TARDIS, not only removing himself from reality, but also Auton Rory. While the real Rory was brought back to life, with his death never occurring, that growth was lost. Yes, Rory was not as much of a doormat and had his own strength, but he was not that same noble figure he had been in the different timeline.

The lost of the Last Centurion certainly resounds through the Whoniverse. His stories, and the legends he inspired, are lost entirely. Even more tragically, the growth that Rory had as a character was also deleted, leaving him as Mr. Pond.

Next: At least she escaped her fate

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Clara Oswald

There was a tremendous amount of growth between Series Eight and Series Nine of Doctor Who for Clara Oswald. She had gone from being a lying, manipulative person to someone whom the Doctor could trust. Far more than being just a companion, she had become his best friend. They were truly inseparable.

Then came Clara’s death. She had become more reckless, acting more and more like the Doctor, only without the fallback of regeneration. Unfortunately, that caught up with her when she had to face the raven in Rigsy’s stead, having inescapably taken over the countdown tattoo that doomed him to die. However, the Doctor was not content to allow her to pass on, pulling her back in that space between heartbeats before her death occurred.

Yet, that still did not bring Clara back to life, per se. While was conscious and able to function, she did not have a pulse, existing in a sort of stasis. So, in a desperate attempt to give her a “better” life away from him, he tried to wipe her memory, just as he had to do with Donna. This time, however, Clara turned the tables, tricking the Doctor into wiping his own memory of her, as she went off on her own adventures with the immortal Me.

At least Clara was able to escape her fate of having her memories of the Doctor forced from her. Even though erasing her memory had an altruistic purpose, it still would have removed a part of Clara that had become vital to her growth and made her who she had become.

Next: Is it too much?

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With the attempted deletions, either successful or not, and the removal of Auton Rory from the timeline, Doctor Who has had three different changes to the actual history in six seasons. Yes, Clara escaped having her memories erased, but the Doctor has no recollection of her.

While erasing a timeline, or deleting memories, can be a useful plot device, there is such a thing as overdoing the concept. Here, with three different changes to the timeline or memories, we have a Whoniverse that does not exactly represent what occurred in the actual history.

Hopefully, this will not continue to be an ongoing trend. Hopefully, in future seasons of Doctor Who, we can see the companions and even the Doctor enjoy the fruits of their labor, to hold on to those memories and the growth that they had together. Otherwise, while it may be entertaining for us to watch, nothing is truly learned during these adventures.

Next: Why the wait for Series Ten will be worth it

Perhaps one day, Donna can enjoy the knowledge of how revered she is throughout the universe. Perhaps the Doctor will remember Clara and the adventures they shared. And perhaps Doctor Who can move on from altering timelines and erasing memories to give these characters their just due.