I don't remember the episode(s) where that happened, but that's not surprising, considering how many years the Doctor has been traipsing around time. :D
The way Doctor Who explained it was that you could view yourself but not change your own actions, if memory serves. I think each additional "you" that was in a given time strained the timeline... two was okay, three was definitely dangerous, and I don't think they ever went to four, so we don't...
"Only" 12k pages, he says. :rolleyes:
We're getting off topic here. I think the point is, non-stereotypical cultures do exist in fantasy, you just have to find them.
Funny that you mention the Drow in your original post. If you read the Drizzt Do'Urden books, especially the prequel trilogy where it delves deeply into Drow society, you'd see that it's vastly different from what most White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs) would know.
It's highly matriarchal...