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Why are the rules different for The Doctor?


After the events of "The Angels Take Manhattan" how is



River Song able to give Amy the manuscript of the book to publish



but The Doctor cannot



see (or visit or travel with) Amy and Rory again?




We know that he cannot go to that particular time / place (New York, 1938) but the



dates given on the tombstone for age of death seem to give a long range where he could pop in and say hello (or goodbye).




Answer



Without revealing too much of the show, the events which precipitated the period being closed to TARDIS travel were caused by a Weeping Angel-precipitated paradox.




  • The paradox energy essentially creates a shielded fixed point in time. That particular region of 1938 New York can neither be changed nor visited by the Doctor or the TARDIS. The Doctor mentions trying to penetrate such a fixed point could conceivably destroy New York or potentially the planet.





  • However the Vortex Manipulator, used by River Song, could conceivably be used to arrive BEFORE the paradox period, allowing her to write the book and have it delivered for Amy and Rory to edit and print.




  • Since River was also available during the paradox she would not be able to visit the period either even with the Vortex Manipulator. During the length of the Ponds/Williams' lives, it is unlikely any time travel mechanism would be able to easily reach them.




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