Deathtraps as easy as pi...

[Mark_Nguyen]

Replicated from the forum I accidentally posted it in. Also, spoilers if you haven't watched it. If you haven't, then for God's sake WATCH IT!!






I re-watched The Five Doctors the other day, and one of the less-discussed sore thumbs in the plot was the chessboard that Tegan and the first Doctor encounter on their merry way to a showdown with Rassilon's pre-Bond corpse.

I'm wondering if any fan explanations as to how pi figured into the solution? I re-watched the sequence and how the various people moved across the chessboard, and there was certainly no pattern in it (especially for the Doctor, who basically just shuffled along). Whatever it is, it *had* to be easy enough for Tegan "I walked over gravel and dirt for several hours wearing two-inch heels" Jovanka to figure it out too, but her "retraced" steps didn't even match the Doctor's.

Thoughts?

Mark

 

[Butters]

There is probably no sense in it, but I do remember being puzzled by it back in the eighties. Mostly because I had no idea what pi was.

'Pie?' I thought, 'What pie?' but I was only ten or something.

 

[Dukhat]

I happened to rewatch the Special Edition of The Five Doctors as well, and despite the fact that the episode is undoubtedly a classic, there's really just all kinds of silliness in it that can't be rationally explained away. Just one example: there's no way in hell that the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane could have entered the top of the Tower the way they did (throwing a rope an extremely long distance from the top of a mountain to the spire of the Tower, hooking it onto something on the very first try, and then sliding down said rope without the rope bowing down at the midpoint).

The "easy as pi" thing was just even more silliness. You're absolutely correct. Not only were the Doctor and Tegan's steps completely different, but the Master steps differently both times he goes across, once even leaving the chessboard completely!

 

[Sindatur]

I happened to rewatch the Special Edition of The Five Doctors as well, and despite the fact that the episode is undoubtedly a classic, there's really just all kinds of silliness in it that can't be rationally explained away. Just one example: there's no way in hell that the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane could have entered the top of the Tower the way they did (throwing a rope an extremely long distance from the top of a mountain to the spire of the Tower, hooking it onto something on the very first try, and then sliding down said rope without the rope bowing down at the midpoint).

The "easy as pi" thing was just even more silliness. You're absolutely correct. Not only were the Doctor and Tegan's steps completely different, but the Master steps differently both times he goes across, once even leaving the chessboard completely!

Of course the steps were different each time, that was the point. In some manner, using Pi, allowed you to calculate what the next pattern would be, and the pattern changed each time it was crossed.

 

[Dukhat]

Of course the steps were different each time, that was the point. In some manner, using Pi, allowed you to calculate what the next pattern would be, and the pattern changed each time it was crossed.

But no one explained how and where the pattern changed each time. And they especially didn't say anything to Tegan, who just randomly crossed.

 

[Sindatur]

Of course the steps were different each time, that was the point. In some manner, using Pi, allowed you to calculate what the next pattern would be, and the pattern changed each time it was crossed.

But no one explained how and where the pattern changed each time. They all just randomly crossed.

Eh...They're Time Lords, Math comes easy to them. They obviously knew what they were doing, and made very deliberate steps on the specific squares they hit.

 

[Dukhat]

Eh...They're Time Lords, Math comes easy to them. They obviously knew what they were doing, and made very deliberate steps on the specific squares they hit.

Sorry, you posted before I edited my response. Sure, they're Time Lords...but Tegan isn't. And she just crossed randomly.

 

[Sindatur]

Eh...They're Time Lords, Math comes easy to them. They obviously knew what they were doing, and made very deliberate steps on the specific squares they hit.

Sorry, you posted before I edited my response. Sure, they're Time Lords...but Tegan isn't. And she just crossed randomly.

I haven't seen it in several years, but, doesn't the Doctor tell her where to step?

 

[Dukhat]

I haven't seen it in several years, but, doesn't the Doctor tell her where to step?

I believe he says something like "follow my steps," and Tegan proceeds to follow him, but with completely different steps than the Doctor took.

 

[Sindatur]

I haven't seen it in several years, but, doesn't the Doctor tell her where to step?

I believe he says something like "follow my steps," and Tegan proceeds to follow him, but with completely different steps than the Doctor took.

Well, that would put a wrinkle in the cream. I'll have to watch for that next time.

 

[DWF]

The novel said that the fifth Doctor explained it to Tegan but I don't think it was a full explaination.

 

[Mark_Nguyen]

The first Doctor explained nothing to Tegan. He just shuffled across (in a straight line), pointed back at her, and said "Now". Tegan gulped, hoped the ol' Doc had "his sums right", and started by stepping on a completely different square.

I understand that almost thirty years of fan speculation could have created something to fill in the plot hole here, but I've never come across it. Likewise, I do wonder if the original script said something about the logic behind this scene in the first place, or if they changed it during filming. In any case, in the Doctor Who stories of this era it's more common to actually explain what was logically going on when the Doctor and company encounter a puzzle or trap (such as using a harp to open Borusa's batcave door), so it's odd that there seems to be no explanation for this one.

Mark

 

[Stevil2001]

There's a great joke in the Big Finish audio Zagreus about how ridiculous the whole setup is.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

I suspect if the makers of Who had any inclining that 30 years later people would be able to pour over every frame, effect and word utter in Who, they would have shut up shop and went back to making Dixon of Dock green.

Best way to enjoy all Who, switch off and enjoy the fun.