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From: mom@sfmag.UUCP (M.Modig)
Newsgroups: net.tv.drwho
Subject: Re: how many Romana's are there?
Message-ID: <886@sfmag.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 19-Mar-86 14:30:15 EST
Article-I.D.: sfmag.886
Posted: Wed Mar 19 14:30:15 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Mar-86 04:54:24 EST
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> > The White Guardian only needed to have Time stopped for a short time
> > to adjust the balance of the Universe.  When the Doctor assembled
> > the Key for a short time, that gave the White Guardian the opening
> > he needed to do his task.  After that, the Doctor got rid of the Key,
> > partially because it was no longer needed, partially because he
> > didn't want it around to tempt him with its power, partially
> > because he and Romana felt it was cruel to, for example, keep
> > Princess Astra as a lump of crystal for all time, and partially so
> > someone (such as the Black Guardian) couldn't simply beat on the Doctor
> > and get the fully
> > assembled Key for themselves-- can you imagine how long even the
> > Doctor would last once word got round that he had the fully
> > assembled Key to Time in his possession?
> > Mark Modig
> > ihnp4!sfmag!mom
> 
> WRONG!  The White Guardian did not actually have the doctor fetch the key,
> the Black Guardian disguised as the White Guardian did.  The doctor only
> caught onto the deception at the very end.

An interesting alternative thoeory, but I don't think it supports
everything as well.  The veiled threat of the Guardian in "The Ribos
Operation" could simply be interpreted to mean that things were
already so bad that if the Doctor didn't undertake the mission the
Black Guardian would mange to plunge everything into chaos very
shortly.

Also, this idea has problems in terms of Romana, since she was
chosen as a companion for the Doctor by the Guardian.  This is not
too unlikely, but if Romana were put in by the Black Guardian, there
would probably have been some attempt by Romana to take the Key at
some point.  We are shown Turlough's self-conflict and surreptitious
communications with the Black Guardian over the course of several
episodes; we see none of the same with Romana.  She argues with the
Doctor a lot, but we never really see any sort of action that makes
us doubt her allegiance to the side of (for lack of a better term)
Good.

There are several other things that make me doubt this theory-- the
fact that the Black Guardian is supposedly winning and therefore
does not need the Key; it would be in his best interests that the Key
be left unassembled.  The Doctor himself seems to believe he was
sent by the White Guardian- he does assemble the Key to let the
White Guardian do his job, and he recognizes the White Gaurdian when
both appear in "Enlightenment".  It is hard to believe that the
Black Guardian would be sloppy at the end when he was so smooth in
the beginning, and (if I remember correctly) there are a couple of
remarks in "The Armaggedon Factor" that murmur to the effect that
the Black Guardian hasn't shown up yet, when is he going to, etc...

Overall, I still like the idea that the Doctor was initially
contacted by the White Guardian rather than the Black; it just seems
more likely to me.

Mark Modig
ihnp4!sfmag!mom