This particular video talks about the approaches taken by the MCU and Star Wars in relation to their own timeline or mythological histories. The whole thing is worth watching but essentially he notices that while almost every new piece of MCU content is set after the previous and is telling a story which rarely looks backwards, everything Star Wars releases (including the EU now) is set earlier in its timeline than the sequel trilogy with nothing set after The Rise of Skywalker. He proposes that at some point Star Wars is going to run out of space to tell stories.
Somehow, Doctor Who has always managed to combine the two. While each new television series offers the next chunk of the Doctor's story, spin-off media fills in the gaps. Even when the franchise was off-air, the instinct of most publishers was to produce new tales of the "current" incumbent whilst also providing extra adventures for his past incarnations. If the show falls off air again, who can bet BBC Books will be right there with the new adventures of the Sixteenth Doctor with Billie's face making a welcome return.
Meanwhile Big Finish will be creating boxsets set in the past lives of the character. Like Andor, we know the fate of most of the main characters but somehow there is still an interesting story to tell, in this example how Cass ends up on the ship crashing into Karn and why she doesn't know who the Eighth Doctor is and why she's so scared of the Time Lords. Yet it also feels like we're listening to the ongoing story even though it's set at least a dozen incarnations earlier than whoever's due to be in control of the TARDIS on TV.
Nowhere, Never
How would I have approached television's Wish World if I'd listened to Cass's domestication in this story first? Unlike Belinda, her personality doesn't fundamentally change even if, as is the way with the Eighth Doctor and his friends in general and specifically in this series, she has amnesia. Shades too of Wandavision as her overfriendly neighbour reveals her sinister side, the casting of Hattie Morahan a glorious red herring. Night of the Doctor didn't offer much information about Cass, but the writing in this series, particularly from Katherine Armitage here is turning her into a very rich, memorable character.
The Road Untravelled
Even with her memories back (as far as she knows), Cass then finds herself in the situation of having a ship's crew of people recognising her and she not having the faintest idea who they are. But the real draw in Tim Foley's script are the scenes in which Alex has his origin story forced on him, with glimpses of stories never told and a hint of the climax of the Lucie Bleeding Miller adventures. This would have been an excellent moment for a Sheridan Smith cameo but unlike Lucasfilm, Big Finish doesn't have infinite money. This is the kind of story which repays the loyalty of listeners.
Cass-cade
The set piece stand alone episode in the boxset, writer James Moran's return to the Eighth Doctor's life sees Cass dealing with the amnesia of others, in this case the Doctor and Alex, who keep appearing with only a hazy recollection of who they are. It's a jigsaw narrative, with Cass attempting to draw together the chronology of events just enough for her to meet herself and her friends backwards. Her pleas to be remembered by the Doctor have extra gravity given that its the two of them forgetting each other which leads to her demise. Expect to see this in the nominations for audio drama awards.
Borrow or Rob
Now it's the Doctor's memory which causes a rift with his great grandson, as his macro approach to problems at the dying embers of this incarnation lead him to forget to check on the health of individuals. Although Alex's mind is effected by the juicy fruits, much of what he says about the Doctor is true (although I did like how Cass attempted to distance herself from his other remarks. Then there's the shocking cliff hanger in which Dan Starkey turns out to playing the enemy we actually think he must be playing and is just the kind of random bollocks which makes Doctor Who so special.
Placement: Directly after Cass.
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