Continuity
- The Doctor states he has met Neanderthals before, a reference to the Seventh Doctor serial, Ghost Light which depicted a Neanderthal living in 19th Century England, and possibly a reference to the First Doctor's story An Unearthly Child.
- Jack indicates he has never visited Rose's time, which places this prior to the events of the televised episode "Boom Town". The preceding novel, The Deviant Strain, also take place before "Boom Town", but the following book, The Stealers of Dreams, takes place after the televised episode as it contains a reference to its events.
- Rose finds talking to the prehistoric people very different from those in the more recent past, such as Gwyneth from "The Unquiet Dead", or even aliens on other planets, as it seems that certain concepts are just beyond their understanding.
- The novel makes extensive use of the TARDIS' ability to translate foreign languages into English, as both Neanderthals and cavemen are shown speaking not only literate English, but with 21st-century vernacular as well, although at one point it is revealed that the TARDIS has a "swear filter" (as explained by the Doctor) which substitutes the word "blinking" instead of an obscenity spoken by Nan.
- This book marks the first time that Jack has met Jackie Tyler (albeit briefly). He meets her again in "Journey's End".
- There is no Bad Wolf reference in this book.
Read more about this topic: Only Human (Doctor Who)
Famous quotes containing the word continuity:
“Every society consists of men in the process of developing from children into parents. To assure continuity of tradition, society must early prepare for parenthood in its children; and it must take care of the unavoidable remnants of infantility in its adults. This is a large order, especially since a society needs many beings who can follow, a few who can lead, and some who can do both, alternately or in different areas of life.”
—Erik H. Erikson (1904–1994)
“Continuous eloquence wearies.... Grandeur must be abandoned to be appreciated. Continuity in everything is unpleasant. Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“Every generation rewrites the past. In easy times history is more or less of an ornamental art, but in times of danger we are driven to the written record by a pressing need to find answers to the riddles of today.... In times of change and danger when there is a quicksand of fear under men’s reasoning, a sense of continuity with generations gone before can stretch like a lifeline across the scary present and get us past that idiot delusion of the exceptional Now that blocks good thinking.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)