Why were the only choices
[LIST][*]Do nothing
[*]Kill the people
[*]Make the Whale brain dead[/LIST]
Why couldn't the Queen just say lets stop torturing the whale? Why would not torturing it make the spaceship crash. Have I missed something

The whale was the driving force behind the ship/city without which the human inhabitants could not survive. The queen thought that stopping the torture would cause the whale to stop carrying the city through space and leave and who could blame it?

For this reason, the queen decided she could not take a risk and stop the torture. The whale was a trapped slave in other words.

So why did torturing the whale make it stay?

Didn't they believe that the electro-shocks were what was causing the whale to carry them through space. They didn't know that it was a kind-hearted gesture on behalf a benevolent last of it's kind.

But they already knew that space whales () were kind hearted and benevolent creatures known for guiding travelers through space.

I think they figured that the whale would not choose to lug them all around space. the shocks were basically keeping it from going against them. when they first caught it, they were thinking about saving an entire nation and decided that holding the whale against its will was worth it. they didn't understand that the whale had decided to help in the first place, rather then just passing through as they thought.

Big Plot Hole: If the Whale volunteered then why did they feel the need to start torturing it? Also... I think if you were to volunteer for something and then they tortured you for 300 years you'd be pretty miffed; if anything you'd definately leave them to their fates weather you liked the kids or not.

The whale didn't volunteer per se... it came to help but as they had no way of communicating they didn't realise. The UK just saw a chance of escape and in their desperation they press ganged it and used torture to keep it subservient. The fools!

Being kindly and wiser than the stupid humans, and because it's sad, old and a super nice creature it decided to forgive them... It probably saw humans as foolish smaller ape creatures anyway... remind you of anyone?

Because.They. Didn't. Realise. It. Had. Volunteered.

Which was the whole point of the resolution of the story. It's what pretty much the whole of the last five minutes was about!

I'm not sure, but I don't think they realised the space whale was volunteering. It kinda...swooped down and they thought they captured it, when actually it was volunteering and they just didn't realise?

Something like that XD

How. Condescending. You. Are.

Sorry. After three days of comments like this, I'm just getting a little frustrated that so many people on here seemingly had so much trouble understanding this story. What was so complicated about it? I can't recall any previous story having apparently caused so much confusion, and yet it was all explained right there on the screen!

After three days, don't you think there could be a reason for the confusion? People don't suddenly decide en masse to find a story confusing. Personally, I didn't have a problem with it - apart from it being rather dull - but a lot of others obviously do. A friend of mine texted me after it to ask if Amy's post-Forget message was a warning from the future! I pointed out what had happened but it really hadn't been clear to him.

Not everyone is as gifted and highly intelligent as you obviously are.

tingramretro, don't be sorry - you are entitled to express your frustrations and, to be honest, you're pretty polite about it. I also find it maddening that people cry 'plot hole' when they have just failed to actually listen to the dialogue and watch the pictures! I think a lot of the trouble comes from the amount of distractions - phones, computers, etc that people are using at the same time - posting online during the episode for example. No one much seems to just sit and 'watch' TV anymore. Personally, I give programmes I love the same attention that I would if I went to the cinema.


Gosh outside - you're quite rude though, aren't you!

I can perhaps understand the confusion over the recorded message, after all it was only the "I'd say you've had about 20 minutes of memory removed" line that hinted that what we saw on screen in less than a minute wasn't all we had seen.

However the fact that they didn't know the whale had turned up because it wanted to help them anyway was explained rather heavily in the final scene. It was the payoff of the whole episode IMO.

Not saying this to the OP, but after reading the forums these past few days over the 'plot holes' and 'don't understand' threads, I am beginning to be tempted to think I might be very clever.

I am new to Dr Who (knew Matt Smith as an actor, and so tuned in on Easter to watch the first ever episode), and I don't find any of it confusing. I thought the script writing was clever and very entertaining.

I must bow to the remarkable insight you have into the individual home lives of so many people that you have never even met, let alone watched a TV programme with: clearly they, on the other hand, are oblivious to the way all these distractions that you have noticed in their homes impact on their viewing enjoyment.

A lot of people don't even do that in the cinema anymore...

It should be remembered that most people who weren't confused by the plot wouldn't be posting on forums with questions. There's always going to be a disproportionate number of people who missed out on some details of what was going on - it doesn't mean that that particular group is in the majority or minority.

It obviously was a bit confusing, otherwise a lot of people wouldn't have posted as such. I found some of the plotting quite hard to follow myself and my lad found it very confusing. There was quite a lot of subtext in this that would have gone over a lot of 8 year olds heads.

But now, there's the iplayer. Just watch it again, this time pay attention to what's said. Really it's that simple.

Though I enjoyed the first ep of MS's DW, I watched it again (twice after) and discovered little hidden gems in the scripts and made me LOL. So there's always something we miss. Just be patient with it.

Instead, I was quite bemused to see many so-called 'plot holes', 'worse episode ever!' thread polluting the forums soon after the second ep was shown. And after reading a few of them, I just gave up, thinking, are they really that daft or are they just winding people up?

Well, given that the show isn't being made just for eight year olds, what's wrong with that?

You are forgetting that DW seems to attract new viewers every series, and (very) young ones at that.

I can say that the sub-plot may be too subversive for an eight-year-old but the main story should still be clear to them to enjoy. Well, I think so anyway...

It's fine that people don't understand some things people are being a bit rude to people who don't understand...I've watched all the new-Who episodes, watch them without interrruption and still sometimes find things confusing, but hey, it's TV, we all get confused XD it's not "the end of the world" :P

Would it just be better for those who are getting frustrated, to simply not reply to the questions being asked? And those who don't mind answering, to answer the questions? That way nobody is being made to feel stupid for not understanding.

Easy

Doctor Who is and always has been a family viewing show. I started watching it when I was four. The fact that the Dr Who action figures sell so well, evidently shows that it is also aimed at this age group. See also Dr Who Adventures magazine.