Okay, this is a term paper I wrote my senior year of high school--yes, I had a highly tolerant English teacher. I think he was just very used to my family. If I were to redo this paper (and I am not about to go through that hassle again), I would focus more on the Doctor, his companions, his enemies, that kind of thing, and less on Gallifrey--I'm warning you, if you don't agree with the NA, don't read the first half of this. But I thought it'd be fun to share this with other fans and see what they have to say. This paper is twice the length it was required to be…and by the way, I got a 100% on it. Just to let you know.
The Doctor and the Time Lords
Television is very much a part of modern day society; life is filled with images and icons taken from the small screen. One particular show, and one particular character, have for instance become a cult favorite. The character of the Doctor, as well as the planet he comes from, is one of mystery and adventure, with a complicated past and present that has fascinated television--and reading--audiences for many years.
Doctor Who's first episode aired on the British Broadcasting Corporation on Saturday, November 23, 1963, at 5:25 p.m. (Haining 7, 8). Sydney Newman (who also created The Avengers), then Head of the Drama Group at the BBC, worked with Donald Wilson, head of the Serials Department, to create Doctor Who. The original idea involved a "senile old man of 740 years of age" (Auger and Walker 12, 13) fleeing his home planet in a police box that's really a spacehip and accidentally taking off again with two schoolteachers and their pupil in tow (Auger and Walker 13).
Newman needed to create a children's show to televise after the sports on Saturday afternoons. He created a ship that could travel in time as well as space so the show could have factual stories based on what people knew about outer space at the time, as well as historical stories set in the relevant period of time (Auger and Walker 13, 14).
However, as the entertainment aspect grew, the educational content became less important (Manfred 1). After the twenty-second season, Doctor Who was put on hiatus and returned with a shortened season. It didn't last long after that, being cancelled in December 1989 after its twenty-sixth season (FAQ Section 2 1). It remains the longest running science-fiction television show anywhere (Haining 8). Doctor Who returned for a movie in 1996, and original novels have also been written involving the Doctor (FAQ Section 2 1, 2).
If one were to consider the Doctor a real person, one would find him to be a very complex person, coming from an even more complicated planet. The Doctor is from the planet Gallifrey, which lies in the constellation of Kasterborus. Gallifrey is an arid planet, its flat surfaces only relieved by mountains and the occasional domed city (Haining 121).
In the Old Time, Gallifrey was a barbaric empire governing planets across the universe. A line of female Pythias who could predict the future ruled Gallifrey. Science and technology were rejected in favor of superstition and magic (Parkin, History 244). Gallifreyans were communally telepathic and could easily hear each other's thoughts (Platt 1). They already had an affinity with time and could travel through it psychically rather than physically (Parkin, History 244).
However, a group of Gallifreyans in favor of reason and science fought and overthrew the Pythia. Her last followers fled to another planet, and the Pythia cursed her people before dying (Parkin, History 244-45). The period following this became known as the Intuitive Revelation (Parkin, History 270).
Two leaders came to the fore to create modern Time Lord society: Rassilon and Omega (Parkin, History 271). Rassilon became known for producing many technological advancements, such as the Transduction Barriers protecting Gallifrey from unwanted visitors. Rassilon was also a great lawmaker, setting down a constitution for Gallifrey (Parkin, History 248, 249).
Omega created a remote stellar manipulator, called the Hand of Omega. He detonated a star, creating a supernova and giving Gallifrey infinite energy with which to power the planet as well as ships to travel through time. Omega was lost in this endeavor (Parkin, History 272). The time energies bathed the others who had traveled with Omega to the dying star and made them true Time Lords (Parkin, Doctors 73).
When the Pythia died, Gallifrey became a barren planet, meaning children could no longer be biologically produced. The Looms were therefore developed (Parkin, History 270). Each ancient House of Gallifrey had a genetic Loom installed, which generated "a set quota of Family members" (Parkin, History 270). The Family members were Cousins to each other--there were no more parents--and each Cousin regenerated twelve times. After the thirteenth life, a replacement Family member was created (Parkin, History 271). Regeneration is the ability to "grow an entirely new body when the old one is mortally injured or wears out through extreme old age" (Parkin, Fusion 107).
A Family House has some sentience, "programmed to serve and look after its incumbent family" (Parkin, History, 271). Drudges are wooden servants connected to the House (Platt 214, 215). A member of the Family becomes the Housekeeper and is in a sense married to the House (Platt 164) to act as "an interactive medium between the Cousins and the living House itself" (Parkin, History 271). Another person is appointed the Family leader, or the Kithriarch (Platt 159).
All Time Lords have two hearts and a lower-than-human body temperature (Haining 124). If a Time Lord's brain is destroyed, he or she cannot regenerate (Parkin, Fusion 261), but it takes only a single word to trigger the regenerative process. The dying Time Lord need not think the word himself; another Time Lord can do it for him (Parkin, Doctors 98). All Gallifreyans can live for thousands of years, although later regenerations tend to be shorter (Platt 66).
The Capitol is the main city of Gallifrey, and it contains the Panopticon, the seat of government of Gallifrey (Haining 124), situated within the Citadel. The High Council rules Gallifrey, which is in turn led by an elected president. Each Councilor comes from a Chapterhouse, to which all the Families belong (Parkin, History 270). Arcalian, Cerulean, Patrexes, and Dromeian are some of the Chapters (Platt 150).
Even on this incredibly advanced planet there is the impoverished. Low Town is outside the Capitol, full of a variety of people and lifestyles. Some areas are fairly affluent; others are dirt poor. Because of Gallifrey's advances in medicine and technology, disease and hunger no longer exist even here in the slums, and the life expectancy is equally as long here outside the Dome (Parkin, Doctors 31, 32).
Tradition is extremely important to these people, as well as loyalty and obedience (Russell 108). They have a great love for formality and propriety as well (Parkin, Doctors 75), shown by the many and arcane ceremonies and rituals they have, even ritualizing their lives down to who stands where and next to whom at ceremonial functions (Parkin, Doctors 27).
Although they have enormous power, the Time Lords are limited (Haining 124). They cannot change the past, nor can they see their own future (Parkin, Doctors 43). Once, the Time Lords fought the Time Wars, attempting to destroy their enemies using their special powers (Parkin, Doctors 101). This time was "a nightmare of contradiction, paradox and death" (Parkin, Doctors 253), and because of this, Time Lords are now content to sit back and observe, only interfering in order to help weaker species or authorize or stop other species' experiments into time travel (Parkin, History 250).
Life on Gallifrey is unchanging. The planet and its people have become stagnant (Parkin, History 273); the society "ha[s] remained stable for millions of years" (Parkin, Doctors 148). This is one reason the Doctor has stated for leaving Gallifrey to travel around the cosmos (Cornell, Day, and Topping 104). Other reasons he has given include being exiled or kicked out (Parkin, History 252). He has always had a sense of adventure (Russell 95) and wanted to go out into the universe and explore (Russell 109).
The Doctor's real name is unknown; it could be unpronounceable as many Time Lords's names are (Cornell, Day, and Topping 60). Various nicknames he has had are Snail, Wormhole (Platt 207) and Theta Sigma (Russell 97). The Doctor was born from "'the ancient House of Lungbarrow in the Southern Ranges of Gallifrey'" (Platt 116), which lies on Mount Lung, (Platt 158) and the Doctor's Family belongs to the Prydonian Chapterhouse (Cornell, Day, and Topping 200). Before he left, he was disinherited by his Family (Platt 117) and became a renegade from his people and planet. Since then he has returned and become the Lord President of Gallifrey, but he has lost that position as well (Miles 131).
At some point the Doctor fled Gallifrey in a TARDIS (Parkin, History 252). A TARDIS is a time machine; the acronym stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space (Haining 9). "'A fully-functioning TARDIS can look like anything'" (Miles 87), such as a grandfather clock or piano, in order to blend in. The latest models, like the Type 103, can even imitate an organic being, such as a human (Miles 33). Originally TARDISes were grown (Parkin, Fusion 251); the newest models reproduce in a manner similar to something organic (Miles 220). They exist in a state of temporal grace, meaning weapons shouldn't work within them (Cornell, Day, and Topping 198), and they can help Time Lords through difficult regenerations (Cornell, Day, and Topping 268).
The Doctor's TARDIS is a Type 40, already obsolete by the time he stole it (Parkin, History 251). In fact, a number of things are wrong with his ship, not least of which is the outer form being permanently stuck in the form of a British police box because the chameleon circuit is broken. Police boxes in England were used by both policemen and civilians for communication with police stations before the advent of personal radios (Manfred 1).
So far the Doctor has regenerated seven times. Each Doctor is dramatically different from the others. However, the Doctor is always incredibly intelligent, as well as insatiably curious, and he has a marked propensity for interfering (Robinson 1). Although he is always egotistical and arrogant (Marson, "Jamie" 39), he also manages to invariably get everyone who was previously against him on his side, perhaps "the result of his charismatic personality" (Robinson 1). He is invariably impatient, and his pockets always seem full of useless junk, until that useless junk saves the day. No matter what incarnation, the Doctor will always fight for justice and against evil (Robinson 1). He constantly looks for the good in everyone (Haining 10), and he knows it takes more courage to hope than give up and become cynical (Blum and Orman 199).
The first Doctor is a tetchy old man, "not known for his good temper" (Marson, "Ben" 23). He is a distinguished-looking old man with long white hair (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1), and although he is stubborn and irritable, he is still in some way magical (Haining 38). He has a tendency to titter and bluster (Cornell, Day, and Topping 51).
The second Doctor is much more approachable, if rather "way-out" (Marson, "Jamie" 39). He is "the most anarchic Doctor" (Cornell, Day, and Topping 68), and he is often described as a comical Chaplinesque figure (Haining 42), right down to "an old frockcoat and baggy checked trousers" (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1). He appears vague and scatter-brained (Marson, "Brigadier" 21), but in reality he knows exactly what he is doing and is still in charge (Marson, "Ben" 23). He, as well as the fourth Doctor, loves jelly babies (Cornell, Day, and Topping 167), and the second Doctor is also musical; he enjoys playing the recorder (Cornell, Day, and Topping 142).
The third Doctor is much more action-oriented than his predecessors, and has a penchant for wearing frills and velvet jackets (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1). He's often called the dandy (Cornell, Day, and Topping 142). This Doctor also brought politics to the show; he makes ethics and morals more complicated by showing that one cannot always easily separate the bad characters from the good (Castranova, "Part Three" 13). "He took stands, and he wanted everyone else to do so" (Castranova, "Part Three" 13). He is a dominant (Marson, "Brigadier" 21) but elegant man (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1), and is truly angered by injustice and wrongdoings (Haining 10).
The fourth Doctor is the most alien of the lot; most of the others want to be liked but he doesn't care (Castranova, "Part Four" 6). He is often described as the bohemian (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1) and is best known for his "sometimes juvenile [sense of] humor" (Castranova, "Part Four" 6). He is also easily and instantly recognizable with his unruly hair covered by a battered fedora, wide and almost-constant smile, and incredibly long multi-colored scarf (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1). His height as well is immediately noticeable, as he is well over six feet tall (Haining 54).
The fifth Doctor is very different from his previous incarnations. The most youthful-looking Doctor (Haining 10), he sometimes appears to be "an old man in a young man's body" (Howe and Walker 49). He has characteristics seemingly left over from older regenerations. For example, he is occasionally irritable, as was the first Doctor; he has the same "impish" sense of humor the second Doctor had (Haining 10); he isn't afraid of physical action, as the third is not (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 1), and he has the fourth Doctor's charm (Haining 10).
Instead of being a father figure as the previous Doctors were, the fifth incarnation is much more an older brother type (Howe and Walker 5). With straight fair hair (Howe and Walker 41) and his passion for the game of cricket obvious by his clothes, especially his sweater (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 23), this young man is charming and innocent (Howe and Walker 5). This Doctor has another sartorial quirk, in that he always wears a stick of celery on his coat lapel (Cornell, Day, and Topping 268). Being at the same time both a heroic but very vulnerable character, he is a little impetuous, rushing in without realizing the risks (Howe and Walker 50). This vulnerability is particularly obvious and very different from his previous selves; the fifth Doctor cannot "save the universe by rigging up some contraption composed of teacups and saucers..." (Castranova, "Part Five" 14) as the Doctors before and after him could.
The sixth Doctor is the most obnoxious Doctor; he loves to be the center of attention, which is obvious from "[t]he garish, multi-colored attire that he chooses for himself" (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 67). This is also the most egotistical Doctor; "he loves to hear the sound of his own...voice" (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 68). Mood swings make him unpredictable, and he is occasionally given to violence, but he is still the Doctor, and he still wants to help those in need and stop injustice, exhibiting the more usual traits the Doctor has of compassion and bravery, as well as kindness. While he might appear emotionless, he only hides his feelings, and toward the end of this incarnation, he noticeably mellows (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 67, 70).
The seventh Doctor is again markedly different from his predecessor. Never able to straighten out his mixed metaphors (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 99) and having "a distinctive Celtic voice" (Parkin, Fusion 268 ), he occasionally displays an impressive array of magic tricks and an unexpected agility. He even plays the spoons (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 100) and loves jazz (Cornell, Day, and Topping 345). The trademark for this Doctor is his umbrella with a red question mark for a handle (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 99).
While sometimes clownish, the Doctor's seventh self is also a much darker, more manipulative character--his favorite game is the strategically-important chess. He reestablishes a lot of mystery to the character, bringing to question many things he has himself previously said to be true, including his own origins (Howe, Stammers, and Walker 100). This Doctor too is charismatic, summing up what all the Doctors stand for when he forces two men to drop their guns before using them on him, using only his own righteous anger and almost-hypnotic force of words, instead of more violence (Cornell, Day, and Topping 342).
The eighth Doctor is the most magical Doctor of all (Blum and Orman 18). Looking somewhat like Oscar Wilde with his long hair and dark velvet frockcoat (Blum and Orman 4), this Doctor, like the others, is "adept at sleight of hand" (Castranova, "Part Eight" 7), impatient, an incorrigible namedropper, and sentimental. He also cannot stop himself from interfering with other people's lives. He too uses words--and jelly babies--instead of guns to save the universe (Castranova, "Part Eight" 7).
This Doctor is a man who will risk his own life to save his worst enemy's (Castranova, "Part Eight" 7); he is "a man who stake[s] vampires through the heart and double talk[s] killers into walking away from their victims" (Blum and Orman 214). This could really be said for any incarnation of the Doctor.
The Doctor is a magical character, a hero that children, teenagers, and adults alike can look up to in a time when heroes are rare. He stands for all that is good in people and gives hope that there is a better way to do things. He makes us realize that words are stronger than guns and justice is possible and that there really are good people out there, fighting for this to be a better place.
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