Doctor_Occupant said:
The Time Lords die off somewhere between the last time we saw the Doctor (the 90s movie) and 'Rose'. The story goes that there was a war, and we gradually find out that the Time Lords ALL fought in it, and apparently lost. Later, we find out who they were fighting against.
Regenerating The Master: Yep, nice idea. I'm wondering whether there's any reason why an Earlier Version Master couldn't crop up at some point, but there are lots of questions to answer about the Time War and I'm sure there's a really good explanation as to why the Doc's Tardis is the only one left and in working order.
This does raise a question or two when we try to get our heads round the concept of time travel, as applied to Doctor Who:
Just because the Time Lords died in the Time War, does that mean the Doctor (or anyone else) cannot travel back to a time before they were killed?
Are dead Time Lords dead throughout all time, if you see what I mean?
Could the current Doctor therefore meet an old version of the Master, or not? I'm guessing that the answer should be yes, because Troughton and Baker (Colin) met up almost by chance in the Two Doctors, unlike the deliberate nature of the other multi-doctor stories.
Whenever a companion or enemy dies - think Madame de Pompadour in the recent story, or Adric in "Earthshock", to name but two - the Doctor reacts as if this cannot be undone. Is the reason he cannot travel back in time to right wrongs a physical or a moral one? Maybe by travelling back to your own past, you create a paradox or a parallel reality, as some theories would have it?
I know that these are all very silly questions in the cold light of day, but as a Who fan of some 30-odd years, I like to resolve any plot holes to the best of my ability - the show may be a bit daft, but as long as it obeys its own rules of daftness, I'll be happy!