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Doctor Who is not immune to certain tropes, as admitted by the Ninth Doctor 20 years ago. Doctor Who’s modern-era revival reinvented the show in 2005, introducing an era that changed people’s perceptions of the series and featuring a variety of new elements. This includes Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper as his trusted companion, Rose Tyler.
Another important new element was the Doctor’s psychic paper in Doctor Who. Appearing as a small piece of blank paper, the psychic paper convinces the target to see whatever its user intends. As a result, the Doctor often uses it as a form of identification, although it has been used for many purposes, including as a credit card. While it has been a part of the Doctor’s arsenal since his second variation, the psychic paper only makes a prominent on-screen appearance after the Ninth Doctor uses it in “The End of the World.”
Doctor Who’s Ninth Doctor Subtly Admitted The Psychic Paper Is A Handy Plot Device
Christopher Eccleston’s Meta Line Shows Doctor Who’s Awareness
In Doctor Who season 1, episode 2, “The End of the World,” the Ninth Doctor subtly admits that the psychic paper is a handy sci-fi plot device. Planning to show Rose the Earth’s demise five billion years in the future, the Doctor boards an orbiting space station with his companion. When stopped by a blue-skinned alien, the Doctor uses the psychic paper as an invitation to convince the steward that they are guests. As they are ushered through, the Doctor explains “The paper’s slightly psychic. It shows them whatever I want them to see. Saves a lot of time.”
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The prominent appearance of the psychic paper in this Doctor Who episode sets up its reoccurring usage throughout the rest of the modern era of the show because of how useful it is. The psychic paper is essentially a “get out of jail free card” that enables the Doctor to skip past the need to convince his target that he should be allowed access to somewhere. The Ninth Doctor’s comment that the paper “saves a lot of time” is a meta line to the audience acknowledging that the psychic paper will continue to be used as a plot device.
Doctor Who Without The Psychic Paper Would Be A Lot Less Interesting
The Psychic Paper Does Save A Lot Of Time
While the Doctor is mostly known for his sonic screwdriver, the psychic paper is a tool that is just as important to his time-traveling lifestyle as, without it, Doctor Who would be a much more tiring show. As one of the smartest and most well-equipped people in the universe, the Doctor must be granted unprecedented access to certain situations, as his involvement could potentially save the day. However, security clearances, exclusive guest lists, and people’s general mistrust all stand in the way of access and would present a time-consuming challenge if the Doctor didn’t have his psychic paper.
The Doctor needs to be specific about what they want the psychic paper to display as a broad idea, like a “worst nightmare,” could return something unexpected.
Instead of having to convince everyone that he should be allowed to do something, the Doctor uses the psychic paper to shut down arguments and save a lot of time. The use of seemingly “correct” credentials also keeps the Doctor from getting captured so much, hindering him in his mission, and allowing the story to focus on the main action. While this modern-era Doctor Who plot device is often inconsistent with its rules, the show acknowledges its reliance on the way-too-convenient trope from the psychic paper’s first appearance and therefore, sometimes throws curveballs to keep things interesting in Doctor Who.
Doctor Who
- Release Date
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2005 – 2021
- Directors
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Graeme Harper, Euros Lyn, Douglas Mackinnon, Jamie Magnus Stone, Charles Palmer, Rachel Talalay, Joe Ahearne, James Strong, Jamie Childs, Saul Metzstein, Toby Haynes, Wayne Che Yip, Nick Hurran, Richard Clark, James Hawes, Daniel Nettheim, Colin Teague, Keith Boak, Azhur Saleem, Adam Smith, Andrew Gunn, Nida Manzoor, Lawrence Gough, Paul Murphy
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