Why Earth?

[Acrobatic Flea]

I posed the questions "Why Earth?" on my blog today, looking for 'in-story' reasons for The Doctor's love of Earth (and Earthlings) and why many alien races are so keen to invade/conquers/strip mine our world?

www.heropress.net/2013/02/why-earth.html

I've already had a few replies riffing on The Doctor's affection for humans, but no-one has yet addressed the "why aliens are always invading" aspect.

Does anyone have any interesting (in-story/in-game) ideas?

[misterharry]

Feb 23, 2013 17:42:08 GMT Acrobatic Flea said:

but no-one has yet addressed the "why aliens are always invading" aspect.

Does anyone have any interesting (in-story/in-game) ideas?

In Spearhead from Space, Liz Shaw asks this question (more or less), to which the Brigadier replies "In the last decade, we've been sending probes deeper and deeper into space. We've drawn attention to ourselves, Miss Shaw."

As for why the Doctor likes the Earth so much, in his trial in The War Games, the Time Lords comment on his interest in the planet, and he says "Yes, I suppose that's true. Earth seems more vulnerable than others, yes."

[Stormcrow]

Feb 23, 2013 19:10:18 GMT misterharry said:

As for why the Doctor likes the Earth so much

It's because they made a TV show about him! Wouldn't you be predisposed to like someone who made you the hero of your own TV show?

[misterharry]

Feb 23, 2013 19:20:43 GMT Stormcrow said:

Feb 23, 2013 19:10:18 GMT misterharry said:

As for why the Doctor likes the Earth so much

It's because they made a TV show about him! Wouldn't you be predisposed to like someone who made you the hero of your own TV show?

Well, yes. But the question was asking for in-story/in-game reasons.

Since my previous post, I've also recalled the Doctor's speech from Ark in Space:

"Homo sapiens. What an inventive, invincible species. It's only a few million years since they've crawled up out of the mud and learned to walk. Puny, defenceless bipeds. They've survived flood, famine and plague. They've survived cosmic wars and holocausts, and now here they are amongst the stars, waiting to begin a new life, ready to outsit eternity. They're indomitable. Indomitable!"

He finds mankind fascinating and impressive because of our resiliance and ingenuity.

[Rel Fexive]

"Well, it's really two things. Well, I say two, but it's really more than that, but let's just say it's just two. So, Earth is an important temporal nexus, and humans act as a major historical tipping point for the fate of all kinds of species, like the Daleks, and that gives them a sort of ontological weight, and when they're all stuck in one place it makes Earth like a kind of big, swirly-whirly inrush of importantness that even a Sontaran could pick up on. Add that silly rift thing like an angry blueberry on top and suddenly Earth is like a massive drain that all the nasty things in the universe feel unaccountably drawn towards, like light towards a black hole, and that's why they keep invading you all the time. That and the fact that most of them are too stupid to realise what they're getting themselves into with you lot.

"...Sorry, that analogy ran away with me a bit and got sort of insulting. I'll try to avoid that in the future. Or have I done that already?"

[Stormcrow]

Well, yes. But the question was asking for in-story/in-game reasons.

Sourpuss! ;D

[misterharry]

Feb 24, 2013 1:05:46 GMT Stormcrow said:

Well, yes. But the question was asking for in-story/in-game reasons.

Sourpuss! ;D

Always!

[da professor]

I had this idea that, at the end of time, the last toclofane find a way to travel back to the beginning of time and return to humanoid form on this out of the way planet called Gallifrey...

[Curufea]

I agree with Rel Fexive.

However the Doctor is becoming the main reason why the Earth is so important.

If you view events that occur in time as a hierarchy of possibilities, the further back in time you change Earth, the more things you affect in the future. That's common sense. There's no Human empire conquering the galaxy if Humans never evolve.

So you've got Human potential as a major reason to invade Earth - although this is mostly for the time-capable races. Which the majority of invaders are not. However, the time-capable races, especially those that survive under the oppression and dominance of the Time Lords always policing time travel - are master manipulators and often very subtle - and they often use "lesser" races to invade with (See the Invasion of Time story of Tom Baker for a more blatant manipulation). Ergo - anyone invading Earth is likely made to do it by a time-capable race deciding to manipulate them into it.

Then we have the Doctor.
He's been everywhere, he's changed nearly every major event in the history of the universe- not just those in our little galaxy (which is quite a way distant from the galaxy where the Doctor comes from).
He goes to Earth at different times.
If you change the Earth - you change the Doctor's movements - you change how he effects the univers. If there were no Humans, there would be no Human companions (see the Turn Left episode with Donna Noble and David Tennant for possible results)

So while Humans as a race are a temporal major event for the galaxy - the continued interference from the Doctor makes them a potential target for anyone in the universe.

[Rel Fexive]

There's also stuff in the NA books that talks about the Doctor working to keep Earth's future history as fixed as he can to ensure the time period Susan lives in doesn't get evaporated by changes in history.

[Eryx]

I like the idea put forward in the old FASA RPG where Earth is a temporal nexus point. It makes it easier for events to happen here than in most places throughout the universe.