@scaryb @timeloop @jimthefish @curvedspace
This is despite the fact that both Post Gap showrunners have explicitly said âthere is no canonâ.
Although, to offer a dissenting voice (me? surely not!), Moffat’s avowed tendency to lie and both his and RTD’s writing show that they are very respectful of canon and neither has progressed without at least a passing nod to what they may be contradicting. Similarly, take away the gloss and Moff is very respectful to the Holmes source material.
The most common side-step of canon is the retcon (retrospective (or retroactive) continuity), something which changes our understanding of past events, without changing the facts of it. Retcons have to be done with great care or they can wreck the story of a show Whedon’s undermining of the Flaying of Warren Mears being one of the worst ever).
Moffatt, in The Name of the Doctor, has just pulled off what I consider to be the greatest retcon ever. There is no contradiction now which cannot be attributed at least in part to the GI and Clara duking it out, liberating all future writers. But they still have a requirement to respect the history of the show.
