Time Lord: Difference between revisions

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Template:Short description Template:Good article Script error: No such module "about". Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox fictional race The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In-universe, they hail from the planet Gallifrey and are stated to have invented time travel technology. They have sworn an oath to not interfere in the universe; those who reject this and leave the planet to live in the universe are referred to as "renegades". One of their number, the Doctor, fled Gallifrey, stealing one of their time machines known as a TARDIS. In the early days of the series, the Time Lords were not initially referred to, and though the Doctor was stated to be non-human, the character did not clarify beyond that. The Time Lords, as well as the Doctor's affiliation with them, first appeared in the 1969 serial The War Games. Following this appearance, the Time Lords serve as recurring characters, with many individual Time Lords serving either antagonistic or supporting roles in the series. Following the show's 2005 revival, it is revealed the Time Lords had been wiped out in-universe, killed by the Doctor during the events of a war against a species known as the Daleks. Though the Doctor is later able to go back and save the Time Lords in the 2013 episode "The Day of the Doctor", they are killed again by the antagonist the Master during the events of the 2020 episode "Spyfall".

The Time Lords originally did not exist in the series' narrative, though the Doctor referred to not being human. When creating 1969 serial The War Games, the production team needed a way to resolve the narrative of the serial in a satisfying manner. The team decided to have him meet his own people to bring the narrative back to the Doctor's origins. The Time Lords are believed to have been conceived by producer Derrick Sherwin, who initially had assumed they were a pre-existing element in the series. Sherwin discussed and planned out the Time Lords' role with co-writer Terrance Dicks, laying the groundwork for the Time Lords' future appearances in the series. Though the Time Lords were initially portrayed as god-like figures, they were recontextualised significantly by the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin. The serial depicted them as having internal political struggles, with Time Lords being hypocritical and corrupt in their nature. The serial also established a distinct visual identity for the Time Lord race, having them wear ceremonial robes and large collars. This depiction of the Time Lords would be maintained throughout the rest of the show's original run. The show's 2005 revival would end up killing the Time Lord race due to showrunner Russell T Davies finding the Time Lords boring, while also wanting to establish them as mythological figures in the series' lore. The following showrunner, Steven Moffat, would bring them back to establish a new character arc for the Doctor, allowing the character to move on from their guilt caused by their actions in destroying them.

The Time Lords have been treated with a mixed response, particularly for their depiction in episodes following The Deadly Assassin. The decision to kill the Time Lords was met with praise by critics, who noted how it helped to expand the Doctor's character as well as the Time Lords' role in the series' wider narrative. The Time Lords have been the subject of scholarly analysis for a variety of subjects.

In-universe information

Script error: No such module "redirect hatnote". Doctor Who is a long-running British science-fiction television series that began in 1963. It stars its protagonist, the Doctor, an alien who travels through time and space in a ship known as the TARDIS, as well as their travelling companions.^[1] When the Doctor dies, they are able to undergo a process known as "regeneration", completely changing the Doctor's appearance and personality.^[2] Throughout their travels, the Doctor often comes into conflict with various alien species and antagonists.^[3]^[4]

Characteristics

File:Gallifrey Sound of Drums.jpg

The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (from "The Sound of Drums")^[5]

The Time Lords live on a planet known as Gallifrey, a yellow-orange planet. A large city called the Capitol resides on the planet, where a large number of Time Lords live. All Time Lords are part of the species known as Gallifreyans, but not every Gallifreyan is a Time Lord,^[6] though many involved with the show have interchangeably referenced the Time Lords being either a race or a species.^[7]^[8]^[9] Time Lord society is largely present within the Capitol, also called the Citadel, with the land outside of the cities being a wasteland. The Citadel contains a location known as the Academy, where young Gallifreyans are raised as Time Lords.^[10]^[11] Those who drop out of Time Lord society live outside of the Citadel, and are dubbed "outsiders",^[10] while those who become Time Lords tend to be from "ruling houses", which are implied to be at the top Gallifreyan society.^[12] Gallifrey is protected by an impenetrable barrier, which prevents most forms of attack.^[13]

File:Regeneration 4-5.gif

The Fourth Doctor regenerates into the Fifth Doctor (from Logopolis, 1981).

The term "Time Lord" tends to refer to a male Time Lord, while "Time Lady" is used to refer to a female Time Lord; despite this, the term Time Lord has also often been used as an overarching term to refer to both sexes of Time Lord.^[12] Time Lords and human beings look alike, but differ in that they have several physiological differences, with Time Lords having two hearts.Template:Sfn Time Lords, upon death, have the ability to "regenerate", during which they are healed from their mortal injuries, but have their physical appearances and minds changed in the process. Time Lords are capable of regenerating twelve times, making for a total of thirteen lives in one Time Lord's life.Template:Sfn Another process that exists, introduced in 2023 episode "The Giggle", is known as bi-generation, in which the Time Lord splits into two copies of the same person when regenerating.^[14] Time Lords also have some level of psychic powers,Template:Sfn as well as the power of hypnosis and a "respiratory bypass system" which allows them to avoid being strangled.^[15] Time Lords are also capable of disguising themselves as humans using a device called a Chameleon Arch.^[16]

The Time Lords were originally members of a species known as the Shobogans who were genetically altered with the DNA of a being known as the Timeless Child, a being that later would become the Doctor. This granted Time Lords the ability to regenerate.^[17] Later, a Time Lord named Rassilon would work with another Time Lord named Omega to create the first time travel spaceship, harnessing the power of a star going supernova to fuel the device. Though it succeeded, Omega disappeared during the incident.^[18] Rassilon harnessed the nucleus of the resulting black hole to provide the energy that powers time travel,^[19] resulting in much of Omega's praise being given to Rassilon,^[18] and Rassilon became a defining figure in Time Lord society. Rassilon took control of the Time Lords' home planet Gallifrey as its "Lord High President".^[19] The Time Lords became an influential race in the universe, becoming important figures during a period known as "The Dark Times", waging war with a species known as the Great Vampires.^[20] They also established a faction known as the Division to interfere with history when needed, though the Division split off to become separate from the Time Lords entirely, often outsourcing their work to other alien species, such as the Weeping Angels and Lupari.^[17]^[21] As the universe stabilised, the Time Lords decided to take a vow of non-interference, deciding not to interact with the universe and merely observe it.^[18] Though most Time Lords follow this vow of non-intervention, those who leave the planet for one reason or another to act on their own accord in the universe are dubbed "renegades" and include recurring characters such as the Doctor, the Master, and the Rani.^[22]

Appearances

Classic series

The First Doctor steals a TARDIS, one of the time-travel ships the Time Lords use, and flees Gallifrey with his granddaughter Susan Foreman sometime prior to the events of the series. Subsequently, the Doctor, during his travels, encounters and thwarts many conflicts throughout history.^[23]^[24] Eventually, in the 1969 serial The War Games, during an incident in which a group known as the War Lords capture humans from throughout time and space, the Second Doctor is forced to contact the Time Lords to resolve the situation. The Time Lords deal with the War Lords, but subsequently put the Doctor on trial for his interference throughout time and space. After showing them how he has stopped evils during his travels, the Time Lords decide to force him to regenerate and exile him to Earth, where the Doctor has spent a significant amount of time during his travels.^[25]

The Third Doctor is used as an agent by the Time Lords during his exile in the 1971 serial Colony in Space and the 1972 serials The Mutants and The Curse of Peladon, in which he is sent off-world to resolve conflicts on the Time Lords' behalf.^[26]^[27]^[28] The Doctor also comes into conflict with another renegade Time Lord, the Master, who repeatedly has his schemes thwarted by the Doctor, and would repeatedly feature as a recurring antagonist.^[29] The Time Lords eventually contact the first three incarnations of the Doctor during 1973 serial The Three Doctors in order to defeat Omega, who has returned to the universe and is attempting to get revenge on the Time Lords for seemingly abandoning him. After Omega is seemingly destroyed, the Time Lords revoke the Third Doctor's exile, allowing him to travel freely again.^[30] He is later sent on a mission by the Time Lords during the events of the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks, where they request the Doctor to go back in time to the Daleks' creation in an attempt to destroy them.^[31]

The Fourth Doctor eventually returns to Gallifrey during the events of the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin, during which he stops a plan by the Master to destroy Gallifrey to gain more regenerations. The Doctor again returns to Gallifrey during the 1978 serial The Invasion of Time, where the Doctor stops a dual Vardan and Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey,^[32] and later travels with a Time Lady named Romana, who was sent by the Time Lords to help him in his quest to assemble the Key to Time.^[33] The Time Lords again appear in the 1983 serial Arc of Infinity, during which the Fifth Doctor helps stop another attempt by Omega to return to reality.^[34] The 1983 anniversary special "The Five Doctors" sees the Lord President of Gallifrey, Borusa, capture several incarnations of the Doctor, as well as many of their companions and old enemies, from throughout time and space, using them to break into Rassilon's tomb so Borusa can obtain the secret to immortality. The Time Lords send the Master to help the Doctor in stopping the scheme, though the Master ends up betraying the Time Lords; the Master is eventually knocked unconscious. Borusa arrives in the tomb after the Doctors find their way in, but is turned to stone by a disembodied apparition of Rassilon. Rassilon returns everyone captured by Borusa back to their home times.^[35]

The Sixth Doctor later encounters a Time Lady who has left the planet, named the Rani, who acts as a recurring enemy.^[36] The Time Lords eventually again capture the Doctor and put him on trial in The Trial of a Time Lord. The Sixth Doctor debates against the prosecutor known as the Valeyard, who is revealed to be a dark incarnation of the Doctor from his future. The Valeyard has manipulated the trial to try and get the Doctor's remaining regenerations, and flees into Time Lord information repository the Matrix in an attempt to escape. The Doctor stops both him and the Master, and is released by the Time Lords as thanks for his help in stopping them.^[37]

Revived series

Sometime following the events depicted in the Classic series but before the revival's first series, the Daleks, realizing the Time Lords attempted to interfere in their creation, become involved in a massive interstellar war fought across time and space against the Time Lords known as the "Last Great Time War". Both sides utilised time travel, with the war being fought outside of normal space-time. Many key figures in Time Lord society participated in the war, including Rassilon, who was resurrected from the dead to act as a leader, and the Master, who initially fought in the war before eventually fleeing from it. The Doctor's Eighth incarnation was originally a conscientious objector, working to help those in the cosmos where he could, but eventually, after a young woman named Cass denies him rescuing her from a crashing ship on account of him being a Time Lord, the Doctor chooses to regenerate into a warrior. His subsequent incarnation, the War Doctor, entered the war and actively participated in it, eventually ending the war by using a device called the Moment to seemingly destroy both sides, leaving the Doctor the apparent sole Time Lord left in the universe.^[31]

Though the Master was also revealed to have escaped the war, the Time Lords as a race did not physically re-appear until "The End of Time" (2009-2010), in which Rassilon, during the final days of the Time War, attempts to destroy time and space as a whole to make the Time Lords become the final living race in the universe. Though Gallifrey is briefly able to escape the war, the Tenth Doctor stops Rassilon, sending the Time Lords back into the war.^[38]

During the 2013 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor", the War Doctor meets his future incarnations, the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, and the three are able to work together to save the Time Lords from the last day of the war, sending the Time Lords and Gallifrey into a pocket universe.^[39] The Time Lords attempt to return the universe during the events of the 2013 episode "The Time of the Doctor", needing the Doctor to speak his name into a crack in time to know if it's safe to return. Species from across the universe lay siege to the planet Trenzalore to stop the Doctor from speaking his name; though the Eleventh Doctor, on his final regeneration, does not intend to speak his name, he stays to defend the town of Christmas on the planet, as it will be destroyed by the invading forces if he is to leave. After hundreds of years of defending the planet, he is about to die; the Time Lords gift the Doctor more regeneration energy, allowing him to survive and defeat an invading Dalek fleet.^[40] The Time Lords subsequently return to the universe, with the Twelfth Doctor eventually making it back to Gallifrey in "Hell Bent" (2015), during which the Doctor exiles Rassilon and uses Time Lord technology to pluck his companion Clara Oswald from moments before her death to save her life.^[41]

Gallifrey is destroyed again by the Master in the 2020 episode "Spyfall",^[42] with the Master exterminating all Time Lords in the universe off-screen with a "genetic explosion".^[43] The Master later converts the Time Lords into mechanical cyborgs known as Cybermen in the 2020 episode "The Timeless Children".^[44] These Cybermen, dubbed "Cybermasters",^[45] have the ability to regenerate, unlike regular Cybermen.^[44] The Master reveals to the Thirteenth Doctor that she is the Timeless Child. The Doctor is able to rig a "death particle" to destroy all organic life on the planet, destroying most of the Cybermasters, though some are implied to escape with the Master.^[46] The Cybermasters re-appear during the events of the 2022 special "The Power of the Doctor", and are seemingly all killed during the episode.^[45]

The Doctor also encounters the Division during the events of "Fugitive of the Judoon" (2020) in which she and her Fugitive incarnation, who was a former Division operative, defeat a Time Lord operative named Gat.^[17] During the events of Doctor Who: Flux, the Thirteenth Doctor encounters Tecteun, a Time Lord who adopted the Timeless Child and pioneered regeneration in Time Lords. Following the Doctor learning about the nature of her true identity from the Master,^[47] Tecteun attempts to orchestrate a wave of anti-matter^[48] known as the Flux to destroy the entire universe, allowing her and the Division to escape to another reality away from the Doctor.^[47] Tecteun is killed by Swarm and Azure, enemies of the Division,^[49] with the Doctor later defeating them and stopping the Flux wave.^[48]

The Rani is later revealed to have survived the genetic explosion, and during the events of 2025 episodes "Wish World" and "The Reality War", attempts to summon Omega so she can revive the Time Lords using DNA from his body. The Rani, who has bi-generated, is eaten by a monstrous Omega, with her other self, dubbed Mrs. Flood, escaping. Omega is blasted with a laser back into his home dimension by the Fifteenth Doctor.^[50]

In spin-off media

Many pieces of spin-off media focus on Gallifrey, particularly in terms of the Doctor's origins on the planet. However, many of these accounts are contradictory and do not align with events portrayed in other media: For example, accounts of the Doctor's true name that they used on Gallifrey are never consistent and often are different between different forms of media.^[24] Many of these contradictory elements were explained in canon by various means, but most notably by the introduction of the Time War, which explained narrative inconsistencies by stating that the War's effects caused the events of different pieces of media to be "cancelled out".^[51] Several elements of the Time Lords' history are present across spin-off media, but are not always present in the main show. One major element was the concept of looms, which are devices used by the Time Lords to reproduce after being rendered infertile. These have been used in multiple forms of media, such as comics and novels.^[52] Another is the character of Irving Braxiatel, the Doctor's brother, who acts as a recurring character across multiple spin-off series, including in media focusing on the character of Bernice Summerfield.^[53] Other concepts that originate in spin-off media, such as the domed citadel of the Time Lords that debuted in comic strips, would later be adapted and made canon to the television series.^[10]

The spin-off media crossover event Time Lord Victorious depicts the Tenth Doctor going back in time to the Dark Times and defeating Death, which has negative consequences for the universe.^[54] The crossover event depicts Time Lords during the Dark Times, with the Daleks and many incarnations of the Doctor becoming involved in the conflict.^[55] One comic, for example, depicts a conflict between Gallifreyans, before they became Time Lords, fighting in the war against the Great Vampires, and depicts Rassilon as a field commander before they came to power.^[56] Time Lord Victorious was depicted across multiple pieces of spin-off media, including novels, audio dramas, comic strips, and real-world immersive events.^[55]

Novels

The 1997 Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow depicted an execution of a planned storyline for the Classic series before its cancellation; the novel revealed the Doctor to secretly be a mythical figure in Time Lord society known as the Other. This conflicted with other novels published by BBC Books at the time, which followed the idea of the Doctor being half human.^[23] Another concept introduced in Lungbarrow was that of the Pythia, a being who, in the past of the Time Lords, rendered the Time Lords infertile, resulting in them utilising looms for reproduction.^[52]

Later books published by BBC Books introduced a group known as the Faction Paradox, who opposed Time Lord society and aimed to cause time anomalies for fun. The Faction was revealed to be run by an alternate version of the Doctor dubbed Grandfather Paradox, and though the Doctor stopped Paradox and ended the Faction, Gallifrey was destroyed in the process.^[23] Other novels would include the concept of a time war prior to its introduced in the revived series.^[51] In various media starring the Eighth Doctor, as well in Faction Paradox spin-off material, a concept known as the "War in Heaven" is introduced, in which the Time Lords are depicted fighting an unidentified "enemy" in a massive temporal conflict. The Time Lords are depicted as having more than thirteen regenerations. These Time Lords also have the ability for Time Lord soldiers to adapt their bodies depending on the terrain of the battlefield, with some being mutated into organic weapons of war.^[57]

Audio

The Gallifrey audio drama series produced by Big Finish Productions depicts Romana returning to Gallifrey and assuming the position of President, working alongside the character Leela to improve Time Lord society for the better while dealing with political drama and terrorist attacks.^[23] Later audio dramas would depict the build-up to the Time War depicted on-screen, such as in the Dark Eyes and The Eighth Doctor: The Time War spin-off series.^[58]^[59] Several audio dramas focusing on the War Doctor also reveal more about the events of the Time War,^[60]^[53] while the audio drama series The War Master depicts the incarnation of the Master that fought in the war, as well as several of the war's events.^[31]^[61]^[62] Another series, dubbed Susan's War, focuses on Susan's role in the Time War.^[63]

Creation and development

Classic series

Early on in the series, the Doctor was identified as a human being;^[64] however, their home planet, which from the start of the series is explicitly established as not being Earth,^[65] was not named. Regeneration, out of universe, was introduced to replace First Doctor actor William Hartnell, who was falling into poor health.^[66] The Doctor's process of regeneration was also not initially specified, with the process being described as "renewal" and its origins unclear,^[67] not being clearly elaborated until the 1970s.^[66] Details of the Doctor's home were never specified, even when encountering another character implied to be of the same species, the Meddling Monk.^[68]

The Time Lords were created for the 1969 serial The War Games, with the initial idea being brought up by producer Derrick Sherwin, who suggested the Doctor meet his own people. The idea of the Doctor belonging to another species was only vaguely brought up in the series' early days, with Sherwin stating that the inclusion of the Time Lords in this episode would either serve as a good end point if the series was cancelled, or allow the series to progress into a new format if it kept going.^[25] Elaborating on this genesis in a 2014 interview in Doctor Who Magazine, Sherwin said of The War Games, "It was a case of what shall we do, how can we end this? Let's go back to the beginning and say [the Doctor] was a Time Lord, a renegade Time Lord, a pain in the arse for the other Time Lords who stole his TARDIS and buggered off around the universe. So if he's going to be called to book let's bring in the Time Lords."^[69] In The War Games DVD commentary, Sherwin mentioned that he recalled hearing about the Time Lords at the beginning of the series, but as no one else remembered this, it "might have come out of [his] dreams".^[70] In a 2016 interview with The Essential Doctor Who magazine, Dicks mentioned how when Sherwin and he were discussing The War Games one day, Sherwin said, "He belongs to this mysterious race called the Time Lords, doesn't he?" with "everything" ultimately coming from that discussion.^[71] In an audio commentary recorded for the 2009 DVD release of The War Games, the serial's co-writer Terrance Dicks stated he believed Sherwin had created the Time Lords, though Sherwin did not remember himself.^[72] A recurring Time Lord enemy, the Master, would be introduced to the series in 1971's Terror of the Autons, serving as a foil and recurring enemy to the Doctor, characterised as the Professor Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes.^[73] Dicks, as well as producer Barry Letts, disliked the Doctor's exile to Earth at the hands of the Time Lords, and so used them as a plot device to get the Doctor in adventures off the planet.^[15]

File:Doctor Who Experience (13080741605).jpg

A Time Lord costume, as seen on display at the Doctor Who Experience.

Previously, for Terror of the Autons, a Time Lord appeared disguised as a regular city inhabitant to warn the Doctor of the Master's arrival. Toby Hadoke, a person affiliated with the series, has stated that this was an early example of writer Robert Holmes deciding he was disinterested in the god-like concept of the Time Lords.^[15] Holmes would later write the 1976 serial The Deadly Assassin, which greatly recontextualised the Time Lords. Whereas before they were characterised as "austere, god-like beings", the Time Lords now had internal political struggles, with the Time Lords only becoming powerful due to scientific achievement and not a "mystical" power or ability. Holmes wanted to make the Time Lords more "human" in how they acted, being unsatisfied with god-like characters. Holmes wished to "correct the picture", retconning much of the Time Lords' history to be hypocritical and corrupt; for example, the Time Lords' previous off-world use of the Doctor during his exile was done in-universe so the Time Lords could interfere with galactic affairs despite their oath of non-intervention.^[74] Holmes similarly introduced many concepts relating to the Time Lords in this serial. He introduced Rassilon, who usurped the character Omega as being a mystic, founding figure in Time Lord society, and introduced the concept of the Matrix as an information repository for the species. Holmes laid out that regeneration could only be performed twelve times, and also named the Time Lords' home planet, Gallifrey, which had been name-dropped previously in Holmes' 1973-1974 serial The Time Warrior.^[74] Gallifrey was originally known as "Galfrey", with an extra syllable added during production.^[10]

In The War Games, the Time Lords had instead worn simple black and white robes for their costumes.^[15] For The Deadly Assassin, the Time Lords instead wore ceremonial robes with large collars,^[15] with the collars designed by designer James Acheson.^[74] These new costumes from The Deadly Assassin would be retained and re-used in the Time Lords' subsequent appearances in the series, with many aspects of the design, notably the collar, being adapted into other Time Lord imagery throughout the series.^[75] A symbol that had featured in the 1975 serial Revenge of the Cybermen was re-used and became a symbol associated visually with the Time Lords as the "Seal of Rassilon".^[74]

The return to Gallifrey in 1978 serial The Invasion of Time was done due to producer Graham Williams wanting to see more of the environment established in The Deadly Assassin. This was also done due to the team being able to cheaply re-use costumes and set pieces from The Deadly Assassin. The serial sought to explore the idea that not all Gallifreyans were Time Lords, and wanted to take a deeper look at those who did not become Time Lords. The Invasion of Time also saw the return of Borusa, who was previously in a smaller role in The Deadly Assassin but was now promoted to a higher rank in Time Lord society.^[32] Due to frequent appearances by the Time Lords during the 1970s, the Guardians were created to fulfill a role as god-like beings in the sixteenth season of the show. The only Time Lords to feature over the next season barring the Doctor were the Doctor's new companion Romana, a Time Lady designed as a "perfect foil" to the Doctor's character due to her acting more like traditional Time Lords, and another Time Lord named Drax who appeared in the 1979 serial The Armageddon Factor as a supporting character.^[32]

The subsequent return to Gallifrey in 1983's Arc of Infinity was done to celebrate the show's twentieth anniversary, with the serial bringing back many past Time Lord characters such as Borusa and Omega.^[34] Subsequently, the show's twentieth anniversary special, "The Five Doctors", saw a further re-appearance by the Time Lords, with Dicks incorporating Borusa into the role of main antagonist to subvert audience expectations that the Master was behind the episode's events; Rassilon was also incorporated into the narrative. Several Time Lord characters were also re-used from Arc of Infinity.^[35]

The Time Lords putting the Doctor on trial in 1986's The Trial of a Time Lord was done symbolically; Doctor Who was not doing well at the time, and the show was struggling to continue. The trial was representative of how the show was "on trial for its life", and also served to reference The War Games in how the Doctor was tried for interfering with the affairs of the universe. Several new Time Lord characters were introduced, such as the Valeyard, a villainous incarnation of the Doctor, and the Inquisitor, who presides over the trial.^[37]

A planned expansion to the lore of the Time Lords was the introduction of a being known as "the Other", a mysterious mythic figure from the Time Lords' past that was a founding figure of Time Lord society alongside Rassilon and Omega. The Other would be revealed as the Doctor. Dubbed the Cartmel Masterplan after then-script editor Andrew Cartmel, hints were dropped toward the Doctor's true identity in the last two seasons of the Classic era, though these ideas would not be enacted upon due to the show's cancelation. Several of these ideas would be used as a baseline for the Virgin New Adventures tie-in novel range, most notably in the 1997 novel Lungbarrow.^[76] Another concept planned for a cancelled series of the show was in the planned serial Ice Time, which would have seen a return of the Ice Warriors. The Doctor would have tried to enroll his companion Ace in a Time Lord academy in order to "shake Time Lord society out of its lethargy", with Ace being judged for inclusion by Time Lords.^[77]

Revived series

File:Dr Who Gallifrey (14392611581).jpg

A scene from "The Day of the Doctor" depicting Time Lords in a war room, on display at the Doctor Who Experience.

When the show was revived following its cancellation in 1989, then-showrunner Russell T Davies decided to kill the Time Lords in a large conflict known as the Time War, which removed both them and the Daleks as established forces in the universe. Davies found the Time Lords boring, and even with rewrites to make them more human, he felt that their execution would have de-valued the narrative impact of the Time War. Davies also wished to make the Time Lords more mythological figures, wanting to distance them from being "figures of continuity".^[10] Davies envisioned the War as being a conflict so horrible that the dead were brought back to life constantly, allowing him to bring back figures like Rassilon who were previously thought dead.^[78] The Doctor would experience survivor guilt as a result of surviving the war, and the war would greatly affect the series' universe going forward.^[79] For the Time Lords' eventual return in "The End of Time" (2009-2010), Davies decided to characterise them as being corrupt figures who had evolved into monsters during the course of the war, justifying why the Doctor would have to stop their return and why he had to end the war by destroying both sides.^[78]

The return of the Time Lords in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) was done by then-showrunner Steven Moffat, who wanted to write a special episode for the show's fiftieth anniversary that was narratively important to the Doctor's character. Wanting it to focus on a pivotal day in the Doctor's life, Moffat chose to write about the Time War, Gallifrey, and the Time Lords, and their impact on the Doctor's character, with the Doctor's saving of the Time Lords allowing the character to move on from their guilt from the war. This would eventually result in a plot thread in which the Doctor began to seek out Gallifrey following the events of this episode.^[80] Moffat eventually had the Doctor return to Gallifrey in "Hell Bent" (2015), a story which showed the Doctor at their lowest point. The story would depict not only the return of Rassilon and a character called the General, who had previously appeared in "The Day of the Doctor", but also saw an expansion on elements of the Time Lord lore, such as with the introduction of a location known as the Cloisters, a place below the Capitol that was considered dangerous by other Time Lords.^[81]

Reception and analysis

Reception

The initial decision to not make the Time Lords god-like beings in The Deadly Assassin was controversial among fans of the series at the time, as they did not like the changes made to the Time Lords established nature. The serial would retroactively be considered one of the show's best, however.^[15] The book Who Is The Doctor 2: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who — The Modern Series stated that despite the Time Lords' mythic status within the show, the consistent returns to the planet featured mundane presentation, which the book stated provided Time Lord stories with "diminishing returns".^[10] Literary critic John Kenneth Muir stated in the book A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television that by the end of the series, the Time Lords had become the show's biggest villains, more evil than other antagonists due to the hypocrisy of their actions. He stated that while the Time Lords wouldn't be revisited again in the Classic series following the revelation of their villainy, he believed there wasn't much room left for their characters to progress, stating "Where can you go after exposing the super race as bunch of lying, conspiratorial hypocrites?".^[82]

Writing for Radio Times, Olivia Garrett positively highlighted the decision to kill the Time Lords for the series' revival, as it allowed for the Doctor to be expanded as a character.^[83] Adi Tantimedh, writing for Bleeding Cool, similarly stated that the Time Lords' demise allowed for the Doctor to develop into a "mythic" figure on their own, while also allowing for new viewers to jump onto the show without needing to be familiar with the Time Lords' lore.^[84] Who Is The Doctor 2: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who — The Modern Series stated that the decision allowed the Time Lords to never disappoint audiences when they returned due to their lack of heavy involvement in the series' narrative, and that their in-universe disappearance allowed for the Doctor to gain additional emotional sympathy from the audience.^[10] Steven Cooper, writing for Slant Magazine, praised the decision to retcon the Doctor's decision to destroy the Time Lords be to also save the universe from them, as it provided greater narrative weight to the Doctor's actions.^[85] Lewis Knight, writing for Radio Times, believed the Time Lords should be brought back permanently, as the Time Lords' continued presence in the universe allowed for a greater exploration of the dynamic between them and the Doctor, as well as of Time Lord culture as a whole.^[86]

Analysis

The book Once Upon a Time Lord: The Myths and Stories of Doctor Who discussed how the depiction of the Time Lords in Doctor Who media emphasised how Romantic ideas of traditional society could be warped and distorted, as despite the Time Lords maintaining a vow of non-intervention, they are shown to be a cruel and despotic race not dissimilar from the warmongering Daleks in their actions.^[87] The book Academia and Higher Learning in Popular Culture stated that the Time Lords have a close association between the academy and their teachings of non-interference; these allusions are shown to illustrate how the Time Lords view themselves as being intellectually superior to other races, and how they look down on those below them.^[11] The paper Doctor Who and Race: Reflections on the Change of Britain's Status in the International System stated that the destruction of the Time Lords allowed for the Doctor to be symbolic of how class warfare evolved over time, as the Doctor no longer represented an "upper-class Englishman" during the show's revival as they had during the Classic era, with the rest of the Time Lords they opposed being characterised as destructive and power hungry individuals. Similarly, the Fifth Doctor's clashes with Gallifreyan society in the Classic series were considered symbolic of class struggles at the time of those episodes' airings.^[88]

The book Design for Doctor Who: Vision and Revision in Science Fiction Television analysed the usage of the Time Lords' ceremonial robes and collars in their iconography; it stated that while the costumes had proven to be cumbersome and not be taken as seriously by modern day audiences, they still continued to be retained due to their importance in the visual identity of the Time Lords, which the book stated helped unify the classic and revived series through this shared element.^[75] The paper "Gallifrey Falls No More: Doctor Who's Ontology of Time" analysed the Time Lords' role in maintaining time in the Doctor Who universe, as well as their relation to eternalism. Comparing their role as "gods" of time in the series to how eternalism treats all of time equally, the paper stated that the ability for the universe to be changed without the Time Lords' presence showed how all points in time were already set in stone, and thus the show's depiction of time fell within an eternalist perspective.^[89] A paper by the Scientific American analysed how the Time Lords' two hearts could work in real life.^[90]

References

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Bibliography

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Time Lord: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:17, 9 November 2025

Contents

In-universe information

Characteristics

Appearances

Classic series

Revived series

In spin-off media

Novels

Audio

Creation and development

Classic series

Revived series

Reception and analysis

Reception

Analysis

References

Bibliography

External links

Navigation menu

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{short description|Fictional alien species in the Doctor Who universe}}
+{{good article}}
 {{About|the species from Doctor Who}}
-{{Multiple issues|
-{{in-universe|date=October 2023}}
-{{overly detailed|date=October 2023}}
-}}
 {{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
 {{Infobox fictional race
 | name               = Time Lords
 | image              = The Time Lords (13049288195).jpg
-| caption            = Time Lord costumes displayed at the ''Doctor Who'' Experience in 2013. From left to right: Regalia from ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' (1977), [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master’s]] outfit from ''[[Doctor Who (1996 film)|the 1996 TV movie]]'', and [[Rassilon|Rassilon’s]] garment from ''[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]'' (2010).
+| caption            = Time Lord costumes at the ''Doctor Who'' Experience in 2013. From left to right: regalia from ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' (1977), [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]]'s outfit from [[Doctor Who (1996 film)|the 1996 TV movie]], and [[Rassilon]]'s garment from "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2010).
 | series             = [[Doctor Who]]
 | type               = Time Lords
@@ Line 17: / Line 13: @@
 | first              = ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969)
 }}
-The '''Time Lords''' are a fictional ancient race of [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] people in the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Time Lords are so named for their command of [[time travel]] technology and their [[Nonlinear narrative|non-linear perception]] of time.<ref name="tv movie">{{cite serial |title=[[Doctor Who (film)|Doctor Who]] |first=Matthew (writer) |last=Jacobs |author-link=Matthew Jacobs |first2=Geoffrey (director) |last2=Sax |author-link2=Geoffrey Sax |network=[[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] |date=14 May 1996 }}</ref>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=7}}
+The '''Time Lords''' are a fictional ancient race of [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] people in the British [[science fiction television]] series ''[[Doctor Who]]''. In-universe, they hail from the planet Gallifrey and are stated to have invented [[time travel]] technology. They have sworn an oath to not interfere in the universe; those who reject this and leave the planet to live in the universe are referred to as "renegades". One of their number, [[the Doctor]], fled Gallifrey, stealing one of their [[time machine]]s known as a [[TARDIS]]. In the early days of the series, the Time Lords were not initially referred to, and though the Doctor was stated to be non-human, the character did not clarify beyond that. The Time Lords, as well as the Doctor's affiliation with them, first appeared in the 1969 serial ''[[The War Games]]''. Following this appearance, the Time Lords serve as recurring characters, with many individual Time Lords serving either antagonistic or supporting roles in the series. Following the show's 2005 revival, it is revealed the Time Lords had been wiped out in-universe, killed by the Doctor during the events of a war against a species known as the [[Daleks]]. Though the Doctor is later able to go back and save the Time Lords in the 2013 episode "[[The Day of the Doctor]]", they are killed again by the antagonist [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] during the events of the 2020 episode "[[Spyfall (Doctor Who)|Spyfall]]".
-Originally, they were described as a powerful and wise race from the planet Gallifrey, from which [[the Doctor]] was a renegade; details beyond this were very limited for the first decade of the series. They later became integral to many episodes and stories as their role in the universe developed. For the first eight years after the [[History of Doctor Who#2000s|series resumed]] in 2005, the Time Lords were said to have been destroyed  during the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Last Great Time War]] at some point in the show's continuity between the television movie in 1996 and the show's revival. In 2013, the 50th anniversary special "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" concerned this supposed destruction and their eventual survival.
-They developed a culture of [[Legal guardian|custodianship]] and time-related [[technology|technologies]] based on this perception which includes strictly controlled [[space]]/time travel machines (known as "[[TARDIS]]es") and monitoring devices to travel through time and to prevent time from being subverted or abused—although actual action was described as rare in practice due to their traditional policy of strict non-interference and neutrality. They can act to manipulate timelines of a wide range of events and individuals, so long as they do not cross back into their own timeline.
-Over subsequent episodes their history, their development of time manipulation, and their internal politics were touched upon, with Time Lord society portrayed as a stagnated ceremony-bound [[oligarchy]] and their past having descended into [[myth]] and [[legend]]. The Doctor became at times an ally, being appointed their president during his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth]], [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]], and [[Twelfth Doctor|twelfth incarnations]] and assisting them on many other occasions.
-==Creation==
-In an audio commentary recorded for the 2009 DVD release of ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969), producer [[Derrick Sherwin]] mentioned how in a discussion with the serial's co-writer [[Terrance Dicks]] the previous day, Dicks was "absolutely certain" that Sherwin created the Time Lords for the serial, although Sherwin could not remember himself.<ref>{{cite AV media |people=[[Derrick Sherwin|Sherwin, Derrick]]; [[Wendy Padbury|Padbury, Wendy]]; [[Frazer Hines|Hines, Frazer]]; [[Jane Sherwin|Sherwin, Jane]] |date=2009 |title=The War Games Episode Three commentary |type=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |id=BBCDVD1800 }}</ref> Later in the commentary, Dicks recalled Sherwin telling him in the discussions with Dicks and Dicks' fellow co-writer [[Malcolm Hulke]] that because [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] had always been established as being on the run from his own people, that if he has to appeal to them, the Doctor would be in trouble.<ref name="war games dvd">{{cite AV media |people=[[Derrick Sherwin|Sherwin, Derrick]]; [[Terrance Dicks|Dicks, Terrance]]; [[Philip Madoc|Madoc, Philip]]; [[Graham Weston|Weston, Graham]] |date=2009 |title=The War Games Episode Nine commentary |type=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |id=BBCDVD1800 }}</ref> In a 2016 interview with ''The Essential Doctor Who'' magazine, Dicks mentioned how when Sherwin and he were discussing ''The War Games'' one day, Sherwin said, "He belongs to this mysterious race called the Time Lords, doesn't he?" with "everything" ultimately coming from that discussion.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Dicks |first1=Terrance |author-link=Terrance Dicks |last2=Wright |first2=Mark |date=March 2016 |title=Creation Theories |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=24 }}</ref> In ''The War Games'' DVD commentary, Sherwin mentioned that he recalled hearing about the Time Lords at the beginning of the series, but as no one else remembered this, it "might have come out of [his] dreams".<ref name="war games dvd"/>
-Elaborating on this genesis in a 2014 interview in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', Sherwin said of ''The War Games'', "It was a case of what shall we do, how can we end this? Let's go back to the beginning and say [the Doctor] was a Time Lord, a renegade Time Lord, a pain in the arse for the other Time Lords who stole his [[TARDIS]] and buggered off around the universe. So if he's going to be called to book let's bring in the Time Lords."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Sherwin |first1=Derrick |author-link=Derrick Sherwin |last2=Adams |first2=Matt |date=December 2014 |title=Down to Earth |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=479 |page=58 }}</ref>
-==Overview==
-Early on in the series, [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] was identified as a human being;<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=22 |quote=[B]ut we can't ignore the fact that, for the remainder of the 1960s, there are plenty of hints that the Doctor is a human being. On more than one occasion, the First Doctor says as much himself. Here he is in the second episode of ''The Sensorites'': 'It's a fallacy, of course, that cats can see in the dark. They can't. But they can see better than ''we'' humans...' In Episode 2 of ''The Savages'', he tells Edal that the savages are 'human beings, like you and me'. }}</ref> however, his home planet, which from the start of the series is explicitly established as not being [[Earth]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=22 |quote=First of all, let's put from our minds the obvious fact that the Doctor comes from another world – that particular cat exits the bag before the end of ''Doctor Who''{{-'}}s first episode. ... To start at the beginning, let's consider that all-important line in ''An Unearthly Child'': 'Susan and I are cut off from our own planet.' }}</ref> was not named. In ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969), the Doctor's people appeared, who from then on are known as a race called Time Lords,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGown |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair McGown |date=March 2016 |title=Gallifrey Guardians |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=7 |isbn=9781846532207 }}</ref><ref name="The War Games">{{cite serial |title=The War Games |title-link=The War Games |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terrance |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Malcolm (writers) |last2=Hulke |author-link2=Malcolm Hulke |first3=David (director) |last3=Maloney |author-link3=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=19 April – 21 June 1969 }}</ref> and in ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'' (1970), the Doctor's earlier description of himself as a human is [[Retroactive continuity|retconned]] when the [[Third Doctor]] explicitly states that he is not human.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=24 |quote=And finally, after six long years of prevarication, the last episode of ''Spearhead'' [''from Space''] lays its cards on the table when the Doctor says to Channing those three magic words: 'I'm not human.' There, at long last, we have it. Case closed. }}</ref><ref name="Spearhead from Space">{{cite serial |title=Spearhead from Space |title-link=Spearhead from Space |episode=Episode 4 |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Derek (director) |last2=Martinus |author-link2=Derek Martinus |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=24 January 1970 }}</ref> In ''[[The Time Warrior]]'' (1973–1974), the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey, was revealed on screen for the first time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGown |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair McGown |date=March 2016 |title=Gallifrey Guardians |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=8 |isbn=9781846532207 }}</ref><ref name="time warrior 2">{{cite serial |title=The Time Warrior |title-link=The Time Warrior |episode=Part Two |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Alan (director)| last2=Bromly |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=22 December 1973 }}</ref>
-The Time Lords are considered one of the oldest and most technologically powerful races in the ''Doctor Who'' universe. In ''The Time Warrior'', the Time Lords are characterised by [[Sontaran]] military intelligence, quoted by Commander [[List of Doctor Who villains#Linx|Linx]], as "a race of great technical achievement, but lacking the morale to withstand a determined assault".<ref name="time warrior 2"/> In "[[The Witch's Familiar]]" (2015), [[Davros]] mentions a prophecy on the Doctor's world that spoke of a hybrid made up of "two great warrior races forced together to create a warrior greater than either", which is "half-Dalek, half-Time Lord",<ref name="witch">{{Cite episode |title=The Witch's Familiar |episode-link=The Witch's Familiar |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Hettie (director) |last2=MacDonald |author-link2=Hettie MacDonald |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=26 September 2015 |series-no=9 |number=2 }}</ref> while in "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), the General, while describing the prophecy of the Hybrid, mentions the Time Lords as one of two warrior races along with the [[Dalek]]s.<ref name="hell bent">{{Cite episode |title=Hell Bent |episode-link=Hell Bent (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=5 December 2015 |series-no=9 |number=12 }}</ref> In "[[Before the Flood (Doctor Who)|Before the Flood]]" (2015), the Fisher King describes the Time Lords as "cowardly, vain curators, who suddenly remembered they had teeth, and became the most warlike race in the galaxy".<ref name="before the flood">{{Cite episode |title=Before the Flood |episode-link=Before the Flood (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Toby (writer) |last=Whithouse |author-link=Toby Whithouse |first2=Daniel (director) |last2=O'Hara |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=10 October 2015 |series-no=9 |number=4 }}</ref> In the very distant past, the Time Lords fought a genocidal war against the Great Vampires, which led to such a catastrophic loss of life that the Time Lords renounced violence.<ref>{{cite serial
- | title     = ''Season 18.'' [[State of Decay (Doctor Who)|State of Decay]]
- | series    = [[Doctor Who]]
- | network   =[[BBC]]
- | station   =[[BBC1]]
- | airdate   =22 November – 13 December 1980
- |quote      =Anyway, according to the story, we Time Lords hunted them down across the universe in a war so long and so bloody that we were sickened of violence forever.
-}}</ref> In ''The War Games'', the [[Second Doctor]] mentions that the Time Lords' "great powers" are hardly ever used due to their policy of non-intervention into the affairs of other planets, and that they instead observe and gather knowledge. Because of this, holding a trial is a "very rare" event for the Time Lords. Exceptions to this policy are made only in extreme circumstances when they feel they have to, such as where the Doctor calls them for help in the serial.<ref name="war games ten">{{cite serial |title=The War Games |title-link=The War Games |episode=Episode Ten |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terrance |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Malcolm (writers) |last2=Hulke |author-link2=Malcolm Hulke |first3=David (director) |last3=Maloney |author-link3=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=21 June 1969 }}</ref>
-At the start of the 2005 television series, Gallifrey was thought to have been destroyed and the Time Lords [[functionally extinct]] as a result of a mutually destructive [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]] with the [[Dalek]] race; the [[Ninth Doctor]] describes his planet as "just rocks and dust" in "[[The End of the World (Doctor Who)|The End of the World]]" (2005),<ref name="the end of the world">{{Cite episode |title=The End of the World |episode-link=The End of the World (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=2 April 2005 |series-no=1 |number=2 }}</ref> and mentions in "[[Dalek (Doctor Who episode)|Dalek]]" (2005) that the Time Lords "burnt" with the Daleks at the end of the "Last Great Time War",<ref name="dalek">{{Cite episode |title=Dalek |episode-link=Dalek (Doctor Who episode) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Shearman |author-link=Robert Shearman |first2=Joe (director) |last2=Ahearne |author-link2=Joe Ahearne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=30 April 2005 |series-no=1 |number=6 }}</ref> and the [[Tenth Doctor]] tells [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] in "[[The Sound of Drums]]" (2007) that the Time Lords are "dead" and "all [they've] got is each other".<ref name="Sound of Drums">{{Cite episode |title=The Sound of Drums |episode-link=The Sound of Drums |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Colin (director) |last2=Teague |author-link2=Colin Teague |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=12 }}</ref> The Doctor describes himself as the last of his kind and says his planet burned on numerous other occasions, as do other individuals, such as the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (H–P)#Krillitane|Krillitane]] [[List of Doctor Who villains#Mr Finch|Mr Finch]] in "[[School Reunion (Doctor Who)|School Reunion]]" (2006).<ref name="finch extinct">{{Cite episode|title=School Reunion|episode-link=School Reunion (Doctor Who)|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Toby (writer)|last=Whithouse|author-link=Toby Whithouse|first2=James (director)|last2=Hawes|author-link2=James Hawes|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=29 April 2006|series-no=2|number=3|quote='''Mr Finch:''' And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos. And of course, they're all but extinct. Only you, the last.}}</ref>
-In "[[Father's Day (Doctor Who)|Father's Day]]" (2005), the Ninth Doctor remarks that before Time Lords were "all gone", they would have prevented or repaired [[paradox]]es such as that which attracted the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (Q–Z)#Reaper|Reapers]] to 1987 Earth.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Father's Day |episode-link=Father's Day (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Paul (writer) |last=Cornell |author-link=Paul Cornell |first2=Joe (director)| last2=Ahearne |author-link2=Joe Ahearne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=14 May 2005 |series-no=1 |number=8 }}</ref>
-In "[[Rise of the Cybermen]]" (2006), the Tenth Doctor mentions, "When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could pop between [[Parallel universe (fiction)|realities]], home in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. Walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."<ref>{{cite episode | title=Rise of the Cybermen | episode-link=Rise of the Cybermen | series=Doctor Who | series-link=Doctor Who | first=Tom (writer) | last=MacRae | author-link=Tom MacRae | first2=Graeme (director) | last2=Harper | author-link2=Graeme Harper | network=[[BBC]] | station=[[BBC One]] | series-no=2 | number=5 | airdate=13 May 2006}}</ref> In "[[The Satan Pit]]" (2006), the Tenth Doctor states that his people "practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did."<ref name="The Satan Pit">{{cite episode | title=The Satan Pit | episode-link=The Satan Pit | series=Doctor Who | series-link = Doctor Who | first=Matt (writer) |last=Jones |author-link=Matt Jones (writer) |first2=James (director) |last2=Strong |author-link2=James Strong (director) |network = [[BBC]] |station= [[BBC One]] | series-no=2 |number=9 | date=10 June 2006}}</ref> Both the [[List of Doctor Who villains#Beast|Beast]] (in "The Satan Pit")<ref name="killer of his kind">{{Cite episode|title=The Satan Pit|episode-link=The Satan Pit|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Matt (writer)|last=Jones|author-link=Matt Jones (writer)|first2=James (director)|last2=Strong|author-link2=James Strong (director)|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=10 June 2006|series-no=2|number=9|quote='''The Beast:''' This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind.}}</ref> and the Doctor (in "The Sound of Drums" and "[[The Doctor's Wife]]", 2011)<ref name="the doctor and the master">{{Cite episode|title=The Sound of Drums|episode-link=The Sound of Drums|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Russell T (writer)|last=Davies|author-link=Russell T Davies|first2=Colin (director)|last2=Teague|author-link2=Colin Teague|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=23 June 2007|series-no=3|number=12|quote='''The Master:''' How can Gallifrey be gone? '''Tenth Doctor:''' It burnt. '''The Master:''' And the Time Lords? '''Tenth Doctor:''' Dead. And the Daleks, more or less. What happened to you? '''The Master:''' The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be a perfect warrior for a time war. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me, because, I was so scared. '''Tenth Doctor:''' I know. '''The Master:''' All of them? But not you, which must mean... '''Tenth Doctor:''' I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything.}}</ref><ref name="i've killed all of them">{{Cite episode|title=The Doctor's Wife|episode-link=The Doctor's Wife|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Neil (writer)|last=Gaiman|author-link=Neil Gaiman|first2=Richard (director)|last2=Clark|author-link2=Richard Clark (director)|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=14 May 2011|series-no=6|number=4|quote='''House:''' Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords. '''Eleventh Doctor:''' Fear me. I've killed all of them.}}</ref> believe the Doctor ended the War by killing all of the Time Lords and many of the Daleks.
-The Tenth Doctor's artificially created "daughter" [[Jenny (Doctor Who)|Jenny]] is speculated by [[Donna Noble]] in "[[The Doctor's Daughter]]" (2008) to be a surviving Time Lord, though the Doctor initially rejects the suggestion.<ref name="doctorsdaughter">{{cite episode|title = The Doctor's Daughter
-|episode-link=The Doctor's Daughter|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who |first=Stephen (writer) |last=Greenhorn |author-link=Stephen Greenhorn |first2=Alice (director) |last2=Troughton |author-link2=Alice Troughton | network=[[BBC]] | station=[[BBC One]] | series-no=4 | number=6 | airdate = 10 May 2008}}</ref>
-Two other Time Lord-like beings appeared in "[[Journey's End (Doctor Who)|Journey's End]]" (2008): Donna, briefly empowered with the mind and knowledge of a Time Lord, and a half-human clone of the Tenth Doctor. Donna's memories related to the Doctor, as well as her Time Lord knowledge, are buried in order to save her life, while the clone lives out his existence in a parallel universe with [[Rose Tyler]].<ref name="journeys">{{cite episode | title=Journey's End | episode-link=Journey's End (Doctor Who) | series=Doctor Who | series-link=Doctor Who | first=Russell T (writer) | last=Davies | author-link=Russell T Davies | first2=Graeme (director) | last2=Harper | author-link2=Graeme Harper | network = [[BBC]] | station = [[BBC One]] | series-no=4 | number=13 |date = 5 July 2008}}</ref>
-[[File:Seal of The High Council of the Time Lords.svg|thumb|250px|Seal of The High Council of the Time Lords.]]
-"[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2009–10) shows the High Council of Time Lords, led by Lord President [[Rassilon]], attempting to escape the Time War by materialising Gallifrey in the place of Earth at Christmas. However, the Tenth Doctor destroys the device which allows their passage into the present, sending them back into the events of the Time War.<ref name = "end of time two">{{cite serial |title=[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]] |episode=Part Two |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=1 January 2010 }}</ref>
-During the episode "The Doctor's Wife" it is revealed that several Time Lords and their TARDISes had been trapped and destroyed by an entity called House who lived in a separate bubble universe.<ref name="doctors wife">{{Cite episode |title=The Doctor's Wife |episode-link=The Doctor's Wife |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Neil (writer) |last=Gaiman |author-link=Neil Gaiman |first2=Richard (director) |last2=Clark |author-link2=Richard Clark (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=14 May 2011 |series-no=6 |number=4 }}</ref>
-In "[[A Good Man Goes to War]]" (2011), it is revealed that the daughter of [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]], Melody Pond (who later goes by her transliterated name "[[River Song (Doctor Who)|River Song]]"), has been born with Time Lord-like genetic traits. An old acquaintance of the Doctor's, [[Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax|Madame Vastra]], reminds the Doctor that the Time Lord race developed due to their billions of years' exposure to the time vortex. The Doctor then recalls that Rory and Amy had spent their wedding night in the TARDIS; therefore it is theorised by Vastra that River's conception mirrored that of the Time Lords' genesis and therefore she herself developed Time Lord genetic characteristics.<ref name="a good man">{{Cite episode |title=A Good Man Goes to War |episode-link=A Good Man Goes to War |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Hoar |author-link2=Peter Hoar |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=4 June 2011 |series-no=6 |number=7 }}</ref>
-In "[[The Night of the Doctor]]" (2013), it is shown that the [[Eighth Doctor]] regenerates into the [[War Doctor]] to fight in the Time War.<ref name="notd">{{Cite episode |title=The Night of the Doctor |episode-link=The Night of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=John (director) |last2=Hayes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Red Button]] |date=14 November 2013 }}</ref> Many years later, as shown during "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" (2013) and also described by the Partisan in "The End of Time", the War Doctor originally planned to use a Time Lord weapon known as the Moment to destroy the Time Lords and Daleks.<ref name="end of time two"/><ref name="dotd">{{Cite episode |title=The Day of the Doctor |episode-link=The Day of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Nick (director) |last2=Hurran |author-link2=Nick Hurran |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 November 2013 }}</ref> However, after being shown the Tenth and [[Eleventh Doctor]]s during "The Day of the Doctor", he works together with them to change the assumed outcome of the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]]: thirteen incarnations of the Doctor team up together to freeze Gallifrey in time and place it outside of their universe (protecting it and the remaining Time Lords), while the Daleks destroy themselves in their own crossfire once Gallifrey is gone. The War Doctor does not retain the memory of these events and the Doctor spends centuries believing he burnt Gallifrey until the Eleventh Doctor's time; this is because the time streams are out of sync after the War Doctor meets his future selves and the altered events are only known to the Doctor once they occur in the Eleventh Doctor's experience and become part of his memory. Indeed, earlier on in the episode, both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors mistakenly believe that the War Doctor killed all of the Time Lords on the last day of the Time War. After being informed that the plan to save Gallifrey was successful, the Eleventh Doctor sets out to find Gallifrey and restore the Time Lords.<ref name="dotd"/>
-In "[[The Time of the Doctor]]", the Doctor visits the planet Trenzalore where he discovers a question being broadcast through all of time and space through a crack in the universe: "Doctor Who?" The Doctor realizes that the Time Lords are attempting to return to the universe and will come back if he speaks his true name. Due to "half the universe" surrounding Trenzalore, a siege begins that lasts centuries as the Doctor knows that if the Time Lords return, the Time War will begin anew. With the Doctor on the verge of death, [[Clara Oswald]] pleads with the Time Lords through the crack to intervene and save the Doctor. Through the crack, the Time Lords grant the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, saving his life before sealing the crack again.
-In "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), it is revealed that Gallifrey returned to the universe around the time of its end.<ref name="hell bent"/> After escaping his confession dial in "[[Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)|Heaven Sent]]" (2015), still furious over the death of Clara Oswald in "[[Face the Raven]]" (2015),<ref name="heaven sent">{{Cite episode |title=Heaven Sent |episode-link=Heaven Sent (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=28 November 2015 |series-no=9 |number=11 }}</ref> the Doctor manages to depose Rassilon—who had put the Doctor there to begin with for questioning—and exile him in "Hell Bent" before running off again.<ref name="hell bent"/>
-==Physical characteristics==
-<!-- This section is linked from [[Romana (Doctor Who)]] -->
-Time Lords and human beings look alike,{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=12}}<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Beast Below |episode-link=The Beast Below |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Andrew (director) |last2=Gunn |author-link2=Andrew Gunn (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=10 April 2010 |series-no=5 |number=2 }}</ref> however they differ in many respects. Physiological differences from humans include two [[heart]]s which normally beat at 170 beats per minute,<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Inferno (Doctor Who)|Inferno]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Don (writer) |last=Houghton |author-link=Don Houghton |first2=Douglas (director) |last2=Camfield |author-link2=Douglas Camfield |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=9 May – 20 June 1970 <!-- unsupported parameter |season=7 --> }}</ref> and a "respiratory bypass system" that allows them to survive strangulation. The [[Twelfth Doctor]] was able to survive direct exposure to the vacuum of space in "[[Oxygen (Doctor Who)|Oxygen]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/cult/a827983/doctor-who-series-10-episode-5-theories-questions/|title=Doctor Who episode 5: 8 big questions after 'Oxygen'|last=Jeffery|first=Morgan|date=13 May 2017|website=Digital Spy|language=en-GB|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> Time Lords also seem to have an increased resilience to higher frequencies of sound, as seen in "[[The Christmas Invasion]]"<ref name="Christmas Invasion">{{Cite episode |title=The Christmas Invasion |episode-link=The Christmas Invasion |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=James (director)| last2=Hawes |author-link2=James Hawes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=25 December 2005 }}</ref> and "[[Partners in Crime (Doctor Who)|Partners in Crime]]".<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Partners in Crime |episode-link=Partners in Crime (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=James (director) |last2=Strong |author-link2=James Strong (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=5 April 2008 |series-no=4 |number=1 }}</ref> If severely injured, Time Lords can go into a healing coma which lowers their body temperature to below freezing which the Doctor did in ''[[Planet of the Daleks]]''. In the serial ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'',<ref name="destiny">{{cite serial |title=[[Destiny of the Daleks]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terry (writer) |last=Nation |author-link=Terry Nation |first2=Ken (director) |last2=Grieve |author-link2=Ken Grieve |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=1–22 September 1979 }}</ref> [[Romana (Doctor Who)|Romana]] was able to voluntarily stop both of her hearts beating, to fool the Daleks into believing that she was dead. The Doctor also shows a greater tolerance to cold compared to humans in ''[[The Seeds of Doom]]''<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Seeds of Doom]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert Banks (writer) |last=Stewart |author-link=Robert Banks Stewart |first2=Douglas (director) |last2=Camfield |author-link2=Douglas Camfield |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=31 January – 6 March 1976 }}</ref> and "[[Planet of the Ood]]"<ref name="Planet of the Ood">{{Cite episode |title=Planet of the Ood |episode-link=Planet of the Ood |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Keith (writer) |last=Temple |author-link=Keith Temple |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=19 April 2008 |series-no=4 |number=3 }}</ref> and even Romana in ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'',<ref name="ribos operation">{{cite serial |title=[[The Ribos Operation]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=George (director) |last2=Spenton-Foster |author-link2=George Spenton-Foster |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=2–23 September 1978 }}</ref> and in "[[42 (Doctor Who)|42]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=42 |episode-link=42 (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Chris (writer) |last=Chibnall |author-link=Chris Chibnall |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=19 May 2007 |series-no=3 |number=7 }}</ref> the [[Tenth Doctor]] states he is able to survive at absolute zero for a short period of time. In "[[World War Three (Doctor Who)|World War Three]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=World War Three |episode-link=World War Three (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Keith (director) |last2=Boak |author-link2=Keith Boak |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 April 2005 |series-no=1 }}</ref> the Doctor is able to shake off an [[electric shock|electrocution]] attempt which is fatal to a number of humans, and appears unaffected by the energy whip wielded by the [[List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens#Sycorax|Sycorax]] in "[[The Christmas Invasion]]".<ref name="Christmas Invasion"/> In "[[Smith and Jones (Doctor Who)|Smith and Jones]]" the Tenth Doctor says that the radiation given off by [[X-ray]]s pose no real threat to Time Lords, and proceeds to absorb an amount that would be lethal to a human, which he subsequently expels through his foot.<ref name="Smith and Jones">{{Cite episode |title=Smith and Jones |episode-link=Smith and Jones (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Charles (director) |last2=Palmer |author-link2=Charles Palmer (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=31 March 2007 |series-no=3 |number=1 }}</ref> "The End of Time"<ref name="end of time two"/> shows the Tenth Doctor as being capable of surviving (for a short period) a massive burst of radiation that would have killed anything else instantly. However, the radiation burst caused enough damage to start a regeneration.
-Time Lords are extremely long-lived, routinely counting their ages in terms of centuries; the [[Second Doctor]] claimed in ''The War Games''<ref name="The War Games"/> that Time Lords could live "practically forever, barring accidents". The series has suggested that Time Lords have a different concept of ageing from humans. In "[[The Stolen Earth]]",<ref name="The Stolen Earth">{{Cite episode |title=The Stolen Earth |episode-link=The Stolen Earth |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=28 June 2008 |series-no=4 |number=12 }}</ref> the Tenth Doctor refers to when who he thought was his [[First Doctor|original incarnation]] was a "kid" at 90 years old. However, within a specific incarnation, a Time Lord is able to age, albeit much more slowly than a human. The [[War Doctor]]<ref name="notd"/><ref name="dotd"/> and [[Eleventh Doctor]],<ref name="totd">{{Cite episode |title=The Time of the Doctor |episode-link=The Time of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Jamie (director) |last2=Payne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=25 December 2013 }}</ref> over the course of the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Last Great Time War]] and the [[The Time of the Doctor|Battle of Trenzalore]], respectively, are seen to age within their respective incarnations to what would appear to a human to be old age; both conflicts are suggested within the series to last hundreds if not thousands of Earth years.{{refn|group=note|A minimum of 300 years is confirmed by the [[Eleventh Doctor]] to have passed during one of the time skips on Trenzalore.<ref name="totd"/> In the episode before "[[The Time of the Doctor]]", "[[The Day of the Doctor]]", the Eleventh Doctor describes himself as "twelve hundred or something",<ref name="dotd"/> while in "[[Deep Breath (Doctor Who)|Deep Breath]]", which is set immediately after the end of the Battle of Trenzalore, the [[Twelfth Doctor]] says he's "over 2000 years old".<ref name="deep breath">{{Cite episode |title=Deep Breath |episode-link=Deep Breath (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Ben (director) |last2=Wheatley |author-link2=Ben Wheatley |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 August 2014 |series-no=8 |number=1 }}</ref>}}
-In ''The Two Doctors'',<ref name="Two Doctors">{{cite serial |title=[[The Two Doctors]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Moffatt |author-link2=Peter Moffatt |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=16 February – 2 March 1985 }}</ref> the [[Second Doctor]] states that the "Rassilon Imprimatur" allows Time Lords to safely travel through time, becoming [[Symbiosis|symbionts]] with their TARDISes, and that the reason other species are incapable of developing time travel is that they lack the imprimatur. However, he implies later that he was lying about at least some of this information to mislead the [[Sontaran]]s. At the beginning of ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'',<ref name="The Trial of a Time Lord">{{cite serial |title=[[The Trial of a Time Lord]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Philip |last2=Martin |author-link2=Philip Martin (screenwriter) |first3=Pip |last3=Baker |author-link3=Pip and Jane Baker |first4=Jane (writers) |last4=Baker |author-link4=Pip and Jane Baker |first5=Nicholas |last5=Mallett |author-link5=Nicholas Mallett |first6=Ron |last6=Jones |author-link6=Ron Jones (television director) |first7=Chris (directors) |last7=Clough |author-link7=Chris Clough |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=4 October – 6 December 1986 }}</ref> the [[Sixth Doctor]] suggests that a number of elder Time Lords were able to use their combined mental energy to summon his TARDIS against his will.
-In the episode "[[Cold Blood (Doctor Who)|Cold Blood]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Cold Blood |episode-link=Cold Blood (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Chris (writer) |last=Chibnall |author-link=Chris Chibnall |first2=Ashley (director) |last2=Way |author-link2=Ashley Way |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=29 May 2010 |series-no=5 |number=9 }}</ref> the Eleventh Doctor experiences excruciating pain when the Silurian attempts to decontaminate him of surface bacteria. The Doctor states this would kill him, most likely due to the scanners being programmed to "detox" humans and therefore being unaware of what elements the Doctor requires.
-A Time Lord is able to conceal their Time Lord nature, and become a human, by using the Chameleon Arch – a device that stores their "essence" and memories in an innocuous device such as a [[fob watch]], and replaces them with false counterparts until the object is later re-opened. The process allows them to disguise themselves as humans physiologically and psychologically, meaning they only have one heart and are stripped of non-human powers, and of any memory of having been a Time Lord. This story element was notably featured in [[Doctor Who (series 3)|Series 3]]; the Doctor uses it to hide himself from the [[Jeremy Baines|Family of Blood]] and becomes a schoolteacher in [[Edwardian era|Edwardian]] England.<ref name="Human Nature">{{Cite episode |title=Human Nature |episode-link=Human Nature (Doctor Who episode) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Paul (writer) |last=Cornell |author-link=Paul Cornell |first2=Charles (director) |last2=Palmer |author-link2=Charles Palmer (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]]|date=26 May 2007 |series-no=3 |number=8 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Family of Blood |episode-link=The Family of Blood |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Paul (writer) |last=Cornell |author-link=Paul Cornell |first2=Charles (director) |last2=Palmer |author-link2=Charles Palmer (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=2 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=9 }}</ref> His nemesis the Master used it to disguise himself as a human to escape the Time War.<ref name="Utopia">{{Cite episode |title=Utopia |episode-link=Utopia (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=16 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=11 }}</ref> The story element is later revisited in the [[Doctor Who (series 12)|Series 12]] episode "[[Fugitive of the Judoon]]" when a mysterious, unknown incarnation of the Doctor (played by [[Jo Martin]]), is revealed to have been hiding on Earth as a tour guide named “Ruth Clayton” using a Chameleon Arch.<ref name="Fugitive of the Judoon">{{Cite episode |title=Fugitive of the Judoon |episode-link=Fugitive of the Judoon |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Vinay (writer) |last=Patel |author-link=Vinay Patel |first2=Chris (writer) |last2=Chibnall |author-link2=Chris Chibnall |first3=Nida (director) |last3=Manzoor |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=26 January 2020 |series-no=12 |number=5 }}</ref>
-===Mental powers===
-Time Lords can communicate by [[telepathy]],{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=12}}<ref name="The Deadly Assassin">{{cite serial |title=[[The Deadly Assassin]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=David (director) |last2=Maloney |author-link2=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=30 October – 20 November 1976 }}</ref> and can link their minds to share information and enhance their powers.<ref name="The Three Doctors">{{cite serial |title=[[The Three Doctors (Doctor Who)|The Three Doctors]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Bob |last=Baker |author-link=Bob Baker (scriptwriter) |first2=Dave (writers) |last2=Martin |author-link2=Dave Martin (screenwriter) |first3=Lennie (director) |last3=Mayne |author-link3=Lennie Mayne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=30 December 1972 – 20 January 1973 }}</ref> In ''[[Castrovalva (Doctor Who)|Castrovalva]]'',<ref name="Castrovalva">{{cite serial |title=[[Castrovalva (Doctor Who)|Castrovalva]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Christopher H. (writer) |last=Bidmead |author-link=Christopher H. Bidmead |first2=Fiona (director) |last2=Cumming |author-link2=Fiona Cumming |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=4–12 January 1982 }}</ref> the Doctor activates the TARDIS' Zero Room mentally. Additionally, both the Doctor and the Master demonstrate significant [[The Master (Doctor Who)#Mental abilities|hypnotic abilities]] which may be supplemented by their telepathic abilities.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXRBBAAAQBAJ&q=doctor+who+hypnotic+abilities&pg=PA91|title=Doctor Who: A History|last=Kistler|first=Alan|date=2013-10-01|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9781493000166|language=en}}</ref>
-These powers were elaborated upon from 2005. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] is seen using this method to query a cat about the goings-on of the flat in "[[The Lodger (Doctor Who)|The Lodger]]".<ref name="lodger">{{Cite episode |title=The Lodger |episode-link=The Lodger (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Gareth (writer) |last=Roberts |author-link=Gareth Roberts (writer) |first2=Catherine (director) |last2=Morshead |author-link2=Catherine Morshead |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=12 June 2010 |series-no=5 |number=11 }}</ref> In "[[A Good Man Goes to War]]" <ref name="a good man"/> and "[[Closing Time (Doctor Who)|Closing Time]]" <ref>{{Cite episode |title=Closing Time |episode-link=Closing Time (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Gareth (writer) |last=Roberts |author-link=Gareth Roberts (writer) |first2=Steve (director) |last2=Hughes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=24 September 2011 |series-no=6 |number=12 }}</ref> he is apparently able to even understand babies, as well as horses in "[[A Town Called Mercy]]".<ref>{{Cite episode |title=A Town Called Mercy |episode-link=A Town Called Mercy |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Toby (writer) |last=Whithouse |author-link=Toby Whithouse |first2=Saul (director) |last2=Metzstein |author-link2=Saul Metzstein |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=15 September 2012 |series-no=7 |number=3 }}</ref> In "[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Girl in the Fireplace |episode-link=The Girl in the Fireplace |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=6 May 2006 |series-no=2 |number=4 }}</ref> the [[Tenth Doctor]] reads the mind of [[Madame de Pompadour]]—and in the process, to his surprise, she is able to read his mind as well. In "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]",<ref name="end of time one">{{cite serial |title=[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]] |episode=Part One |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=25 December 2009 }}</ref> the Master uses the same technique, allowing the Tenth Doctor to hear the drumming sound the Master constantly hears. The Doctor later displays his telepathic communion powers in "[[Fear Her]]" <ref>{{Cite episode |title=Fear Her |episode-link=Fear Her |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Matthew (writer) |last=Graham |author-link=Matthew Graham |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=24 June 2006 |series-no=2 |number=11 }}</ref> and in "[[The Shakespeare Code]]",<ref name="shakespeare">{{Cite episode |title=The Shakespeare Code |episode-link=The Shakespeare Code |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Gareth (writer) |last=Roberts |author-link=Gareth Roberts (writer) |first2=Charles (director) |last2=Palmer |author-link2=Charles Palmer (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=7 April 2007 |series-no=3 |number=2 }}</ref> where by using his mind melding technique he is partially able to relieve a man of his mental illness as he traces back through his memories. In "[[Planet of the Ood]]",<ref name="Planet of the Ood"/> the Tenth Doctor seems able to temporarily confer some degree of telepathy on his companion Donna Noble, so that she can hear the telepathic song of the Ood. When she is unable to bear the song, the Doctor removes the ability.
-In "[[The Lodger (Doctor Who)|The Lodger]]",<ref name="lodger"/> the Eleventh Doctor (pressed for time and needing to convey a great deal of information to someone) smashed his forehead into another person's forehead, causing a massive instantaneous transfer of information.
-The Doctor also contacts the Time Lords by going into a trance and creating an assembling box in ''The War Games''.<ref name="The War Games"/> In ''[[The Two Doctors]]'',<ref name="Two Doctors"/> the Doctor engages in [[astral projection]], but warns that if he is disturbed while doing so, his mind could become severed from his body and he could die. In "[[Last of the Time Lords]]", the Doctor telepathically interfaces with a network tapped into the [[human population]] who collectively chant his name. The focus of psychic energy granted the Doctor the ability to de-age himself, float through the air, deflect shots from the Master's laser screwdriver, and telekinetically disarm the Master.<ref name="Last of the Time Lords">{{Cite episode |title=Last of the Time Lords |episode-link=Last of the Time Lords |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Colin (director) |last2=Teague |author-link2=Colin Teague |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=30 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=13 }}</ref>
-In addition, Time Lords may be [[clairvoyance|clairvoyant]], or have additional time-related senses. In ''[[The Time Monster]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Time Monster]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Sloman |author-link=Robert Sloman |first2=Paul (director) |last2=Bernard |author-link2=Paul Bernard (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=20 May – 24 June 1972 }}</ref> and ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Malcolm (writer) |last=Hulke |author-link=Malcolm Hulke |first2=Paddy (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Paddy Russell |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=12 January – 16 February 1974 }}</ref> the [[Third Doctor]] is able to resist fields of slow time, being able to move through them even though others are [[paralysis|paralysed]]. In ''[[City of Death]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[City of Death]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=David (writer) |last=Agnew |author-link=David Agnew |first2=Michael (director) |last2=Hayes |author-link2=Michael Hayes (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]]  |date=29 September – 20 October 1979 }}</ref> both the [[Fourth Doctor]] and Romana notice distortions and jumps in time that no one else does.
-In the [[Doctor Who (series 1)|2005 series]], the [[Ninth Doctor]] claims that he can sense the movement of the Earth through space<ref name="rose">{{Cite episode |title=Rose |episode-link=Rose (Doctor Who episode) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Keith (director) |last2=Boak |author-link2=Keith Boak |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=26 March 2005 |series-no=1 |number=1 }}</ref> as well as being able to perceive the past and all possible futures.<ref name = "potw">{{Cite episode |title=The Parting of the Ways |episode-link=The Parting of the Ways |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Joe (director) |last2=Ahearne |author-link2=Joe Ahearne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=18 June 2005 |series-no=1 |number=13 }}</ref> He is also able to concentrate and time his motions well enough to step safely through the blades of a rapidly spinning fan,<ref name="the end of the world"/> and later claims that if any Time Lords still existed, he would be able to sense them.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/> As the Tenth Doctor he repeats this assertion, adding also that he is somehow innately able to sense which events in time are 'fixed' and which are in 'flux'.<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Fires of Pompeii|episode-link=The Fires of Pompeii|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who| first=James (writer) |last=Moran |author-link=James Moran (writer) |first2=Colin (director) |last2=Teague |author-link2=Colin Teague |series-no=4 |number=2 |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=12 April 2008 }}</ref> The Eleventh Doctor slightly amends what was said earlier in "[[The Doctor's Wife]]",<ref name="doctors wife"/> saying that he could only sense if there were other Time Lords in this universe. In the original series episode ''[[Warriors' Gate]]'', Romana is called a 'time-sensitive' by a marauding slaver and, though she seems to deny this, is able to interface with his spaceship in ways that only a 'time-sensitive' is supposed to be able to.<ref name="warriors">{{cite serial |title=[[Warriors' Gate]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Stephen (writer) |last=Gallagher |author-link=Stephen Gallagher |first2=Paul (director) |last2=Joyce |author-link2=Paul Joyce |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=3–24 January 1981 }}</ref> In "[[Utopia (Doctor Who)|Utopia]]",<ref name="Utopia"/> the Tenth Doctor states that he finds it difficult to look at Captain [[Jack Harkness]] because Jack's existence has become fixed in time and space.
-In the [[Doctor Who (series 4)|Series 4]] episode "[[Journey's End (Doctor Who)|Journey's End]]",<ref name="journeys"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=31}} the Tenth Doctor was shown to use his telepathic abilities to wipe Donna Noble's mind of certain memories, specifically the memories of her travels in the TARDIS and to 'implant' a defence mechanism which is activated in "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]".<ref name="end of time two"/> ''[[The War Games]]'' <ref name="The War Games"/> showed that other Time Lords are also able to erase people's memories, as in that story, [[Jamie McCrimmon|Jamie]] and [[Zoe Heriot|Zoe]]'s travels with the Doctor were erased from their memory, and the council of Time Lords also put a memory block on the Doctor so he could not pilot the TARDIS. In the [[Doctor Who (series 5)|Series 5]] episode "[[The Big Bang (Doctor Who)|The Big Bang]]" <ref name="big bang">{{Cite episode |title=The Big Bang |episode-link=The Big Bang (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Toby (director) |last2=Haynes |author-link2=Toby Haynes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=26 June 2010 |series-no=5 |number=13 }}</ref> the Doctor telepathically left a message in [[Amy Pond]]'s head before sealing her into the [[Pandorica]] so that she would know what was happening when she woke up.
-===Regeneration===
-[[File:Regeneration 4-5.gif|thumb|right|The Fourth Doctor regenerates into the Fifth Doctor (from ''[[Logopolis]]'', 1981).]]
-Time Lords also have the ability to regenerate their bodies when their current body is mortally wounded. This process results in their body undergoing a transformation, gaining a new physical form and a new personality.
-Regenerations can be traumatic. In ''[[Castrovalva (Doctor Who)|Castrovalva]]'', the [[Fifth Doctor]] requires the use of a Zero Room, a chamber shielded from the outside universe that provides an area of calm for him to recuperate. The Time Lord's personality also sometimes goes through a period of instability following a regeneration, such as in ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]''.
-It was first stated in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'' that a Time Lord can regenerate twelve times (thirteen incarnations in all).<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> There were exceptions to this rule, however: when the Master reached the end of his regenerative cycle, he took possession of the body of another person to continue living.<ref name="traken">{{cite serial |title=[[The Keeper of Traken]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Johnny (writer) |last=Byrne |author-link=Johnny Byrne (writer) |first2=John (director) |last2=Black |author-link2=John Black (director) |station=[[BBC]] |location=[[BBC1]] |date=31 January – 21 February 1981 }}</ref> In "[[The Five Doctors]]", the Master was offered a new cycle of regenerations by the High Council to save the Doctor from the Death Zone, which may indicate that there are methods to circumvent the twelve regeneration limit. The Master says in "[[The Sound of Drums]]" <ref name="Sound of Drums"/> that the Time Lords "resurrected" him to fight in the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]]. It was revealed in ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'' <ref name="The Brain of Morbius">{{cite serial |title=[[The Brain of Morbius]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robin (writer) |last=Bland |author-link=Robin Bland |first2=Christopher (director) |last2=Barry |author-link2=Christopher Barry |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=3–24 January 1976 }}</ref> that the Time Lords also use the Elixir of Life in extreme cases, where regeneration is not possible. It is confirmed in "[[The Time of the Doctor]]" <ref name="totd"/> that a Time Lord can normally regenerate only twelve times but that the Time Lords have the ability to grant more regenerations: at the behest of [[Clara Oswald]] they granted the Doctor himself a new cycle when he was at the point of death from old age, having used up his entire cycle.
-Regeneration, regardless of how many regenerations the individual Time Lord has already undergone, is a conditional and non-inevitable phenomenon. This is stated in "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" when the Tenth Doctor explains to [[Wilfred Mott]] that a Time Lord can die before they have a chance to regenerate, in which case they die outright.<ref name="end of time one"/> In ''The Deadly Assassin'' at least one of the murders was carried out with a 'staser', possibly a weapon designed to both kill and prevent regeneration (stasers are also stated to have little effect on non-living tissue).<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> In the Series 4 episode "[[Turn Left (Doctor Who)|Turn Left]]",<ref name="Turn Left">{{Cite episode |title=Turn Left |episode-link=Turn Left (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=21 June 2008 |series-no=4 |number=11 }}</ref> the Tenth Doctor's body is shown on a stretcher following the parallel events of "[[The Runaway Bride (Doctor Who)|The Runaway Bride]]". A [[UNIT]] officer states that the Doctor's death must have been too quick to allow for regeneration.
-In ''[[Destiny of the Daleks]]'',<ref name="destiny"/> Romana showed the ability to rapidly change form several times in a row during her first regeneration, and apparently had the ability to change into whatever appearance she desired. When the Doctor remarks upon her ability, she comments that he should have stayed in university. However, despite showing several appearances, Romana regenerated only once on that occasion.
-In "[[Utopia (Doctor Who)|Utopia]]",<ref name="Utopia"/> the Master, just before regeneration, claimed that he would become "young and strong", implying that he could choose the form of his new body. The human-Time Lord hybrid River Song in "[[Let's Kill Hitler]]" claimed she was "focusing on a dress size", but subsequently weighed herself, seeming unsure of how her new body had truly developed.<ref name="hitler">{{Cite episode |title=Let's Kill Hitler |episode-link=Let's Kill Hitler |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Richard (director) |last2=Senior |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=27 August 2011 |series-no=6 |number=8 }}</ref> The Doctor said on several occasions he wished he was "ginger", which he has seemed unable to control in previous regenerations.<ref name="end of time two"/><ref name="Christmas Invasion"/> In "[[Last of the Time Lords]]",<ref name="Last of the Time Lords"/> when the Master is fatally wounded, he chooses not to regenerate, essentially committing suicide rather than regenerate and be kept prisoner by the Doctor forever. This again implies that regeneration is not inevitable and can indeed be refused.
-Upon encountering the remains of fellow Time Lord the Corsair in "[[The Doctor's Wife (Doctor Who)|The Doctor's Wife]]", the Doctor refers to the Corsair as both male and female, hinting that Time Lords can switch genders upon their regenerations;<ref name="doctors wife"/> this is confirmed in "[[Dark Water (Doctor Who)|Dark Water]]", in which [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], previously seen in various male incarnations for over forty years, returned as a female. The  Doctor also regenerated as a woman in "[[Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who)|Twice Upon A Time]]", as the [[Thirteenth Doctor]]. Though the possibility of Time Lords changing sex at regeneration was not explored directly in the classic series, ''[[The Hand of Fear]]'' depicts the Kastrian Eldrad going from female to male which he compared to Time Lord regeneration, implying the process could produce a change in sex.
-Whether or not Time Lords can recognise each other across regenerations is not made entirely clear:
-* In ''[[The War Games]]'',<ref name="The War Games"/> the [[The War Chief|War Chief]] recognises the [[Second Doctor]] from a previous (offscreen) encounter prior to his regeneration. However, his comments make it unclear whether he has merely deduced the Doctor's identity based on the circumstances of the TARDIS's theft and the Doctor's ability to pilot it.
-* In ''[[The Three Doctors (Doctor Who)|The Three Doctors]]'',<ref name="The Three Doctors"/> the [[Second Doctor]] recognises the [[Third Doctor]] immediately, despite the fact that the Third Doctor is a future incarnation of himself. Omega is similarly able to recognise the two Doctors as the same man.
-* In ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'',<ref name="terror of the autons">{{cite serial |title=[[Terror of the Autons]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Barry (producer) |last2=Letts |author-link2=Barry Letts |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=2–23 January 1971 }}</ref> the [[Third Doctor]] fails to recognise [[The Master (Doctor Who)|The Master]]'s voice, when the Master speaks to him on a telephone.
-* In ''[[Planet of the Spiders]]'',<ref name="Planet of the Spiders">{{cite serial |title=[[Planet of the Spiders]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Sloman |author-link=Robert Sloman |first2=Barry (director) |last2=Letts |author-link2=Barry Letts |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=4 May – 8 June 1974 }}</ref> the [[Third Doctor]] has trouble recognising his former mentor.
-* In ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'',<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> Announcer Runcible, an old classmate, recognises the [[Fourth Doctor]] despite his changes in appearance and mentions that the Doctor appears to have had a "face lift" since they last met.
-* In ''[[The Armageddon Factor]]'',<ref name="The Armageddon Factor">{{cite serial |title=[[The Armageddon Factor]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Bob |last=Baker |author-link=Bob Baker (scriptwriter) |first2=Dave (writers) |last2=Martin |author-link2=Dave Martin (screenwriter) |first3=Michael (director) |last3=Hayes |author-link3=Michael Hayes (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=20 January – 24 February 1979 }}</ref> Drax, another alumnus immediately recognises the Fourth Doctor, though the Doctor does not recognise him.
-* In "[[The Five Doctors]]",<ref name="The Five Doctors">
-{{cite serial | title = [[The Five Doctors]] | series = Doctor Who | series-link = Doctor Who |first=Terrance (writer) |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Moffatt |author-link2=Peter Moffatt | network = [[PBS]] | date=23 November 1983}}</ref> the First Doctor does not recognise the Fifth Doctor as himself and needs to be introduced. Likewise, the Third Doctor is unable to initially recognise the Master in his non-Gallifreyan body.
-* In ''[[The Twin Dilemma]]'',<ref name="The Twin Dilemma">{{cite serial |title=[[The Twin Dilemma]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Anthony (writer) |last=Steven |author-link=Anthony Steven |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Moffatt |author-link2=Peter Moffatt |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=22–30 March 1984 }}</ref> the Doctor's old friend Azmael fails to recognise him, as the Doctor has regenerated twice since their last encounter.
-* In ''[[The Two Doctors]]'',<ref name="Two Doctors"/> when the [[Sixth Doctor]] and [[Second Doctor]] first meet, they are initially quiet until they face each other and simultaneously yell at each other, each recognising immediately the other.
-* In ''[[Survival (Doctor Who)|Survival]]'', the Master recognises the [[Seventh Doctor]] on sight.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Survival (Doctor Who)|Survival]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Rona (writer) |last=Munro |author-link=Rona Munro |first2=Alan (director) |last2=Wareing |author-link2=Alan Wareing |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=22 November – 6 December 1989 }}</ref>
-* In ''[[Doctor Who (film)|Doctor Who]]'' (1996), the [[Eighth Doctor]] is unable to recognise the Master while he possesses a human body, only recognising the Master when he corrects Grace's grammar.<ref name="tv movie"/>
-* In "[[Utopia (Doctor Who)|Utopia]]",<ref name="Utopia"/> the [[Tenth Doctor]] does not recognise the human form of the Master, although the Doctor did recognise him, and name him "Master", as soon as he recovered his Time Lord physiology and mind.
-* In "[[The Sound of Drums]]",<ref name="Sound of Drums"/> the Doctor states that Time Lords can "always" recognise each other, although, while on Earth, the Master used satellites with a telepathic network to mask his presence from the Doctor. The Doctor in this circumstance appears to only be referring to recognition of the individual as a Time Lord, not necessarily the specific identity. However, when he sees the Master on television, he recognises him.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/>
-* In "[[Time Crash]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Time Crash |episode-link=Time Crash |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=17 November 2007 }}</ref> the [[Fifth Doctor]] could not instinctively recognise that the Tenth Doctor was a Time Lord, much less one of his own later incarnations.
-* In "[[The Next Doctor]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Next Doctor |episode-link=The Next Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Andy (director) |last2=Goddard |author-link2=Andy Goddard |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=25 December 2008 }}</ref> the Tenth Doctor initially seems unable to detect that the human [[Jackson Lake (Doctor Who)|Jackson Lake]], who identifies himself as the Doctor, is not actually his regenerated future self.
-* In "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]",<ref name="end of time two"/> the Doctor immediately recognises an unidentified elderly female Time Lord on sight, and also refers to the lead Time Lord by the name Rassilon (an earlier incarnation of Rassilon had appeared in "[[The Five Doctors]]"). In the context of the story, however, he may have encountered both during the Time War, though he himself has regenerated since they last saw him. Rassilon and the woman recognised the Doctor on sight as well, but the Doctor's presence, regardless of incarnation, was expected.
-* In "[[The Day of the Doctor]]",<ref name="dotd"/> the [[Tenth Doctor]] appears to sceptically recognise [[Eleventh Doctor|his successor]], yet he appears to be fully convinced only after both compare their sonic screwdrivers. The [[War Doctor]], on the other hand, is initially oblivious to meet his future incarnations and mistaking them for future [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companions]] (but is later convinced otherwise after comparing their sonic screwdrivers).
-* In "[[Dark Water (Doctor Who)|Dark Water]]",<ref name="dark water">{{Cite episode |title=Dark Water |episode-link=Dark Water (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=1 November 2014 |series-no=8 |number=11 }}</ref> the [[Twelfth Doctor]] is unable to recognise the Master until she reveals her identity.
-* In "[[Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who)|Twice Upon A Time]]",<ref name="twice upon a time">{{Cite episode |title=Twice Upon a Time |episode-link=Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=25 December 2017 |series-no=10 |number=Special }}</ref> the [[First Doctor]] sees the [[Twelfth Doctor]] as another Time Lord come to take back his TARDIS and requires convincing as to otherwise.
-*In "[[Spyfall (Doctor Who)|Spyfall]]",<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 12, Spyfall, Part 1 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000cs1y |access-date=2022-05-06 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref> the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] is unable to recognize the Master until he reveals his identity.
-In "[[The Impossible Astronaut]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Impossible Astronaut |episode-link=The Impossible Astronaut |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Toby (director) |last2=Haynes |author-link2=Toby Haynes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 April 2011 |series-no=6 |number=1 }}</ref> a future version of the Eleventh Doctor is shot, causing him to begin his regeneration cycle. He is shot again before the regeneration completes, causing him to die instantly. However, in "[[The Wedding of River Song]]",<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Wedding of River Song |episode-link=The Wedding of River Song |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Jeremy (director) |last2=Webb |author-link2=Jeremy Webb |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=1 October 2011 |series-no=6 |number=13 }}</ref> it is revealed this was a shape shifting android the Doctor used to fake his death, making this questionable.
-{{cquote| It's a bit dodgy, this process, you never know what you're gonna end up with. |30px|30px| The Ninth Doctor in "[[The Parting of the Ways]]".<ref name="potw"/>}}
-In cases of non-fatal injury, Time Lords who have recently regenerated can use left over cellular energy to heal and even regrow severed limbs, as seen in "[[The Christmas Invasion]]" where the Tenth Doctor regrows a hand.<ref name="Christmas Invasion"/> Also seen in "[[Journey's End (Doctor Who)|Journey's End]]", is the apparent ability to siphon off regeneration energy in order to cancel the effect of changing appearance; which requires them to have a "bio-matching receptacle" (in this case the Doctor's severed hand), which is usually impractical.<ref name="journeys"/> However, this "non-regeneration" was revealed as "counting" towards the Doctor's twelve possible regenerations during the events of "[[The Time of the Doctor]]".<ref name="totd"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/11/answers-on-regeneration-steven-moffat-drops-a-bomb-about-the-doctor-who-christmas-special |title=Answers on Regeneration: Steven Moffat Drops A Bomb About the Doctor Who Christmas Special |author=Stubby the Rocket |publisher=tor.com |date=25 November 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228032935/http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/11/answers-on-regeneration-steven-moffat-drops-a-bomb-about-the-doctor-who-christmas-special |archive-date=28 December 2013  }}</ref>
-In "The End of Time", the [[Tenth Doctor]] was able to postpone his regeneration long enough so that he could travel in time and space to see his past companions for one last time before he regenerated. The [[Fifth Doctor]] had also shown a similar ability in ''[[The Caves of Androzani]]'', fighting off the effects of an impending regeneration so he can return to Androzani Minor to save his companion Peri.
-Time Lords appear to have the ability to stay conscious for moments after events that would outright kill other lifeforms instantly, giving them the opportunity to regenerate. This is seen in ''[[Logopolis]]'' (fall from a great height), and ''The Caves of Androzani'' (fatal disease). In both "[[The Stolen Earth]]" and "[[The Big Bang (Doctor Who)|The Big Bang]]", the Doctor is shot by a Dalek's energy weapon, which has almost always been shown to instantly kill any other lifeform, yet is still conscious and able to return to return to the TARDIS and Pandorica respectively.
-In ''[[Death of the Doctor]]'', the Eleventh Doctor responds to a question from [[Clyde Langer]] by saying he can regenerate "507" times.<ref name="NotSerious" /> Early news reports, before the episode was broadcast, suggested he would say there is no limit to the number of regenerations.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/12/doctor-who-immortal-reveals-bbc |title=Doctor Who is now immortal, reveals the BBC |author=Emily Barr |newspaper=The Guardian |date=13 October 2010 |access-date=13 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805113305/http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/oct/12/doctor-who-immortal-reveals-bbc |archive-date=5 August 2013  }}</ref> Writer [[Russell T Davies]] stated in an interview with ''[[SFX (magazine)|SFX]]'' that the line was not intended to be taken seriously and is instead a commentary. He said that the "thirteen lives" rule was too deeply entrenched in the viewer consciousness for his throwaway line to affect it.<ref name="NotSerious">{{cite web |url=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/10/26/interview-russell-t-davies-talks-about-that-sarah-jane-adventures-line/ |title=INTERVIEW Russell T Davies talks about THAT Sarah Jane Adventures line |work=SFX |date=26 October 2010 |access-date=17 September 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927082428/http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/10/26/interview-russell-t-davies-talks-about-that-sarah-jane-adventures-line/ |archive-date=27 September 2013  }}</ref>
-It is revealed in "[[The Time of the Doctor]]" that this was in fact false and that due to his various regenerations, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] was in fact his last incarnation. However, the Time Lords intervened through a crack in time to grant him a full new regeneration cycle. The revelation in 2020's "[[The Timeless Children]]" that The Doctor is, in fact, not Gallifreyan and instead had their DNA used to give Gallifreyans the ability to regenerate, calls into doubt whether or not the Doctor does in fact have a limit to their regenerations, or if they merely believed they did due to all other Time Lords being limited.
-In "[[The Giggle]]", the Fourteenth Doctor, after being mortally wounded with a laser cannon by the Toymaker, undergoes 'bi-generation', a process that causes his next incarnation to split off into a separate entity, the Fifteenth Doctor, while healing the Fourteenth Doctor's injuries. This process is witnessed again in "[[The Interstellar Song Contest]]" when Mrs Flood, revealed to be The Rani, undergoes bi-generation after being revived.
-==Planet==
-[[File:Gallifrey Sound of Drums.jpg|thumb|right|The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (from "[[The Sound of Drums]]")<ref name="Sound of Drums"/>]]
-The Time Lord homeworld, Gallifrey, is an Earth-like planet in the fictional constellation of Kasterborous. It is located in a [[binary star]] system<ref name="gridlock">{{Cite episode |title=Gridlock |episode-link=Gridlock (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Richard (director) |last2=Clark |author-link2=Richard Clark (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=14 April 2007 |series-no=3 |number=3 }}</ref> 250 million light years from Earth.<ref name="RT">{{cite web|last=Cremona|first=Patrick|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-gallifrey-history/|title=Doctor Who: A brief history of Gallifrey on screen| date=1 March 2020|access-date=14 November 2024}}</ref> The points in time when Gallifrey appears are never definitively stated. As the planet is often reached by means of time travel, its relative present could conceivably exist almost anywhere in the Earth's past or future.
-From space, Gallifrey is seen as a yellow-orange planet and was close enough to central space lanes for spacecraft to require clearance from Gallifreyan Space Traffic Control as they pass through its system.<ref name="invasion of time">{{cite serial |title=[[The Invasion of Time]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=David (writer) |last=Agnew |author-link=David Agnew |first2=Gerald (director) |last2=Blake |author-link2=Gerald Blake (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=11 March 1978 }}</ref> The planet was protected from physical attack by an impenetrable barrier called the quantum force field, and from teleportation incursions by the transduction barrier—which could be reinforced to repel most levels of this type of technological attack.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Richards |first=Justin |author-link=Justin Richards |date=October 2014 |title=Gallifrey |journal=The Essential Doctor Who |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=3: ''Alien Worlds'' |page=31 }}</ref>
-The Doctor's granddaughter [[Susan Foreman|Susan]] first describes her home world (not named as "Gallifrey" at the time) as having bright, silver-leafed trees and a burnt orange sky at night in the serial ''[[The Sensorites]]'' (1964).<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Sensorites]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Peter R. (writer) |last=Newman |author-link=Peter R. Newman |first2=Mervyn |last2=Pinfield |author-link2=Mervyn Pinfield |first3=Frank (directors) |last3=Cox |author-link3=Frank Cox (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=1 August 1964 }}</ref> This casts an amber tint on anything outside the city, as seen in ''The Invasion of Time''.<ref name="invasion of time"/> However, Gallifrey's sky appears blue and Earth-like in "[[The Five Doctors]]" (1983) within the isolated Death Zone.<ref name="the five doctors">{{cite serial |title=[[The Five Doctors]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terrance (writer) |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Moffatt |author-link2=Peter Moffatt |network=[[PBS]] |date=23 November 1983 }}</ref>
-In "[[Gridlock (Doctor Who)|Gridlock]]", the [[Tenth Doctor]] echoes Susan's description of the world now named as Gallifrey and goes further by mentioning the vast mountain ranges "with fields of deep red grass, capped with snow". He then elaborates how Gallifrey's second sun would "rise in the south and the mountains would shine", with the silver-leafed trees looking like "a forest on fire" in the mornings.<ref name="gridlock"/>
-==Culture and society==
+The Time Lords originally did not exist in the series' narrative, though the Doctor referred to not being human. When creating 1969 serial ''The War Games'', the production team needed a way to resolve the narrative of the serial in a satisfying manner. The team decided to have him meet his own people to bring the narrative back to the Doctor's origins. The Time Lords are believed to have been conceived by producer [[Derrick Sherwin]], who initially had assumed they were a pre-existing element in the series. Sherwin discussed and planned out the Time Lords' role with co-writer [[Terrance Dicks]], laying the groundwork for the Time Lords' future appearances in the series. Though the Time Lords were initially portrayed as [[god]]-like figures, they were recontextualised significantly by the 1976 serial ''[[The Deadly Assassin]].'' The serial depicted them as having internal political struggles, with Time Lords being [[Hypocrisy|hypocritical]] and corrupt in their nature. The serial also established a distinct visual identity for the Time Lord race, having them wear ceremonial robes and large collars. This depiction of the Time Lords would be maintained throughout the rest of the show's original run. The show's 2005 revival would end up killing the Time Lord race due to showrunner [[Russell T Davies]] finding the Time Lords boring, while also wanting to establish them as mythological figures in the series' lore. The following showrunner, [[Steven Moffat]], would bring them back to establish a new character arc for the Doctor, allowing the character to move on from their guilt caused by their actions in destroying them.
-The capital city is referred to as the Citadel, and contains the Capitol, the seat of Time Lord government. At the centre of the Capitol is the Panopticon, beneath which is the Eye of Harmony. Outside the Capitol lie wastelands where the "Outsiders", Time Lords who have dropped out of Time Lord society, live in less technologically advanced communities, shunning life in the cities as revealed in ''[[The Invasion of Time]]''.
-There are also Time Lords, such as The Doctor himself, The Master, The [[Rani]], and others, who, having rejected the rules of the Time Lords' High Council (for whatever reason), cast off or stop using their name and take on a new name or title, and only use their original name under certain circumstances.  Their new names are indicative of their characters and goals (for The Doctor, his title referring to a '[[Doctor (title)|doctor]]', a 'healer', a 'wise man'). The Doctor also testified, in "[[The Day of the Doctor]]", that his taking on the name of 'Doctor' was also a [[promise]] to himself ("Never cruel nor cowardly", "Never give up. Never give in"); and in ''[[The Name of the Doctor]]'' and ''[[The Day of the Doctor]]'', it is highlighted that, when 'The Doctor' became 'The War Doctor' ("A Warrior", "Doctor No-more"), he stopped thinking of himself as 'The Doctor' until after the climax of ''The Day of the Doctor'' ("I am 'The Doctor' again").
+The Time Lords have been treated with a mixed response, particularly for their depiction in episodes following ''The Deadly Assassin.'' The decision to kill the Time Lords was met with praise by critics, who noted how it helped to expand the Doctor's character as well as the Time Lords' role in the series' wider narrative. The Time Lords have been the subject of scholarly analysis for a variety of subjects.
-The ''[[Doctor Who Roleplaying Game]]'' by [[FASA]] equates the Outsiders with the "Shobogans", a group mentioned briefly in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> as being responsible for acts of vandalism around the Panopticon, but there is actually nothing on screen that explicitly connects the two.
+==In-universe information==
+{{Redirect|Omega (Doctor Who)|the humanised Dalek|The Evil of the Daleks}}
+''[[Doctor Who]]'' is a long-running British [[Science fiction on television|science-fiction television]] series that began in 1963. It stars its protagonist, [[the Doctor]], an alien who travels through time and space in a ship known as the [[TARDIS]], as well as their travelling [[Companion (Doctor Who)|companions]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nicol |first=Danny |date=May 1, 2020 |title=''Doctor Who'', Family and National Identity |journal=Entertainment & Sports Law Journal |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=1–11 |via=[[EBSCO Information Services|EBSCO]]}}</ref> When the Doctor dies, they are able to undergo a process known as "regeneration", completely changing the Doctor's appearance and personality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grady |first=Constance |date=2023-12-13 |title=''Doctor Who''{{’}}s big twist betrayed the show's oldest rule |url=https://www.vox.com/culture/24000340/doctor-who-the-giggle-david-tennant-russell-t-davies |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=[[Vox media|Vox]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Throughout their travels, the Doctor often comes into conflict with various [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens|alien species]] and antagonists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cardin |first=Matt |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PKnIEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Sutekh%22+doctor+who+-wikipedia&pg=PT12 |title=Mummies around the World: An Encyclopedia of Mummies in History, Religion, and Popular Culture |date=2014-11-17 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing USA]] |isbn=979-8-216-12019-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wells |first=Bobby |date=2022-01-24 |title=''Doctor Who'' Villains, Ranked |url=https://www.space.com/doctor-who-villains-ranked-worst-to-best |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617143728/https://www.space.com/doctor-who-villains-ranked-worst-to-best |archive-date=2025-06-17 |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=[[Space.com|Space]] |language=en}}</ref>
-In "[[The Timeless Children]]" (2020), it is revealed that the Shobogans were the first race of peoples who resided on Gallifrey, only becoming the Time Lords after gene-splicing the ability to regenerate from the Doctor.<ref name="timeless child ep">{{cite episode | title = [[The Timeless Children]] | series = [[Doctor Who]] | series-no = 12 | number = 10 | credits = [[Chris Chibnall]] (writer), [[Jamie Magnus Stone]] (director), Alex Mercer (producer) | network = [[BBC]] | station = [[BBC One]] | airdate = 1 March 2020}}</ref>
+=== Characteristics ===
+[[File:Gallifrey Sound of Drums.jpg|thumb|The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (from "[[The Sound of Drums]]")<ref name="Sound of Drums">{{Cite episode |title=The Sound of Drums |episode-link=The Sound of Drums |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |last=Davies |first=Russell T (writer) |author-link=Russell T Davies |last2=Teague |first2=Colin (director) |author-link2=Colin Teague |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=12}}</ref>]]The Time Lords live on a planet known as Gallifrey, a yellow-orange planet. A large city called the Capitol resides on the planet, where a large number of Time Lords live. All Time Lords are part of the species known as Gallifreyans, but not every Gallifreyan is a Time Lord,<ref name="RT">{{cite web |last=Cremona |first=Patrick |date=1 March 2020 |title=Doctor Who: A brief history of Gallifrey on screen |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-gallifrey-history/ |access-date=14 November 2024 |website=[[Radio Times]]}}</ref> though many involved with the show have interchangeably referenced the Time Lords being either a [[Race (human categorization)|race]] or a [[species]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hulke |first1=Malcolm |author-link=Malcolm Hulke |title=The Making of Doctor Who |last2=Dicks |first2=Terrance |author-link2=Terrance Dicks |date=1972 |publisher=Piccolo Books |isbn=0-330-23203-7 |page=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Dicks |first1=Terrance |author-link=Terrance Dicks |last2=Wright |first2=Mark |date=March 2016 |title=Creation Theories |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=24 |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |isbn=9781846532207}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Russell T |author-link=Russell T Davies |date=25 May 2005 |title=The Evasion of Time |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini Publishing Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=66 |issue=356}}</ref> Time Lord society is largely present within the Capitol, also called the Citadel, with the land outside of the cities being a wasteland. The Citadel contains a location known as the Academy, where young Gallifreyans are raised as Time Lords.<ref name="Burk-2020" /><ref name="Mills-2023" /> Those who drop out of Time Lord society live outside of the Citadel, and are dubbed "outsiders",<ref name="Burk-2020">{{Cite book |last=Burk |first=Graeme |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Who_Is_The_Doctor_2/rYPCDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Gallifrey%22+-wikipedia&pg=PT339&printsec=frontcover |title=Who Is The Doctor 2: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who — The Modern Series |last2=Smith? |first2=Robert |date=2020-03-17 |publisher=ECW Press |isbn=978-1-77305-470-4 |language=en}}</ref> while those who become Time Lords tend to be from "ruling houses", which are implied to be at the top Gallifreyan society.<ref name="Lachenal-2017" /> Gallifrey is protected by an impenetrable barrier, which prevents most forms of attack.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Richards |first=Justin |author-link=Justin Richards |date=October 2014 |title=Gallifrey |journal=The Essential Doctor Who |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=3: ''Alien Worlds'' |page=31}}</ref> [[File:Regeneration 4-5.gif|thumb|The [[Fourth Doctor]] regenerates into the [[Fifth Doctor]] (from ''[[Logopolis]]'', 1981).|left]]The term "Time Lord" tends to refer to a male Time Lord, while "Time Lady" is used to refer to a female Time Lord; despite this, the term Time Lord has also often been used as an overarching term to refer to both sexes of Time Lord.<ref name="Lachenal-2017">{{Cite web |last=Lachenal |first=Jessica |date=2017-07-27 |title=What’s in a Name? — Time Lord vs. Time Lady |url=https://www.themarysue.com/doctor-who-time-lord-vs-time-lady/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mary Sue}}</ref> Time Lords and human beings look alike, but differ in that they have several physiological differences, with Time Lords having two hearts.{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=12}} Time Lords, upon death, have the ability to "regenerate", during which they are healed from their mortal injuries, but have their physical appearances and minds changed in the process. Time Lords are capable of regenerating twelve times, making for a total of thirteen lives in one Time Lord's life.{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=12}} Another process that exists, introduced in 2023 episode "[[The Giggle]]", is known as bi-generation, in which the Time Lord splits into two copies of the same person when regenerating.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blair |first=Andrew |date=2023-12-11 |title=Doctor Who: Has Bigeneration Dealt Ncuti Gatwa a Bad Hand? |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-has-bigeneration-dealt-ncuti-gatwa-a-bad-hand/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> Time Lords also have some level of psychic powers,{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=12}} as well as the power of [[hypnosis]] and a "respiratory bypass system" which allows them to avoid being strangled.<ref name="Fordy-2020">{{Cite news |last=Fordy |first=Tom |date=2020-03-02 |title=Who are the Time Lords? Everything you need to know about the Doctor's fellow Gallifreyans |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/time-lords-everything-need-know-doctors-fellowgallifreyans/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Time Lords are also capable of disguising themselves as humans using a device called a [[Chameleon Arch]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blumberg |first=Arnold T. |date=2020-01-28 |title=Doctor Who: Jo Martin's Character and That Surprise Cameo Explained |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/doctor-who-jo-martin-character-john-barrowman-cameo-explained |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref>
-Romana and the Doctor have also referred to "Time Tots", or infant Time Lords,<ref name="shada vhs">{{cite AV media |first=Douglas (writer) |last=Adams |author-link=Douglas Adams |first2=Pennant (director) |last2=Roberts |author-link2=Pennant Roberts |date=6 July 1992 |title=Shada |title-link=Shada (Doctor Who) |series=''[[Doctor Who]]'' |type=home video |publisher=BBC }}</ref><ref name="shada web">{{cite serial |title=[[Shada (Doctor Who)|Shada]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Douglas (writer) |last=Adams |author-link=Douglas Adams |first2=Gary (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Gary Russell |network=[[BBC Online|BBCi]] |date=2003 }}</ref>{{refn|group=note| name="shada note"|The unfinished story ''[[Shada (Doctor Who)|Shada]]'' was originally intended for broadcast for the show's seventeenth season, and was released in 1992 on VHS with narration segments to fill in the gaps not shot due to industrial action halting shooting of the serial. It was followed by an animated webcast version from 2003 that stuck closely to [[Douglas Adams]]' original script and was remounted to feature [[Paul McGann]]'s [[Eighth Doctor]] instead of [[Tom Baker]]'s [[Fourth Doctor]].}} and (in "[[Smith and Jones (Doctor Who)|Smith and Jones]]") the Doctor refers his compatriots and he playing "with [[X-ray|Röntgen]] bricks in the nursery".<ref name="Smith and Jones"/> In "The Sound of Drums", the Master is seen as a child, apparently at the age of 8.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/>
+The Time Lords were originally members of a species known as the Shobogans who were genetically altered with the [[DNA]] of a being known as the Timeless Child, a being that later would become the Doctor. This granted Time Lords the ability to regenerate.<ref name="Fullerton">{{Cite web |last=Fullerton |first=Huw |title=Doctor Who The Division and The Timeless Child full recap explanation {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-timeless-child-story-recap/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Later, a Time Lord named Rassilon would work with another Time Lord named Omega to create the first [[Time machine|time travel spaceship]], harnessing the power of a star going [[supernova]] to fuel the device. Though it succeeded, Omega disappeared during the incident.<ref name="timelordorigins">{{cite web |title=Time Lord Origins |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/timelordorigins.shtml |access-date=2010-01-02 |work=Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Rassilon harnessed the [[Black hole#Singularity|nucleus]] of the resulting black hole to provide the energy that powers time travel,<ref name="Parkin">Parkin, Lance & Pearson, Lars (2012). ''A History: An Unauthorised History of the Doctor Who Universe (3rd Edition)'', p. 697. Mad Norwegian Press, Des Moines. {{ISBN|978-193523411-1}}.</ref> resulting in much of Omega's praise being given to Rassilon,<ref name="timelordorigins" /> and Rassilon became a defining figure in Time Lord society. Rassilon took control of the Time Lords' home planet Gallifrey as its "Lord High President".<ref name="Parkin" /> The Time Lords became an influential race in the universe, becoming important figures during a period known as "The Dark Times", waging war with a species known as the [[Great Vampire]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 8, 2020 |title=The Road to Time Lord Victorious |url=https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/the-road-to-time-lord-victorious |website=Doctor Who TV}}</ref> They also established a faction known as the Division to interfere with history when needed, though the Division split off to become separate from the Time Lords entirely, often outsourcing their work to other alien species, such as the [[Weeping Angel]]s and [[Lupari (Doctor Who)|Lupari]].<ref name="Fullerton" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Farnell |first=Chris |date=2021-12-06 |title=Doctor Who: Flux Ending Explained |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-flux-ending-explained/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> As the universe stabilised, the Time Lords decided to take a vow of non-interference, deciding not to interact with the universe and merely observe it.<ref name="timelordorigins" /> Though most Time Lords follow this vow of non-intervention, those who leave the planet for one reason or another to act on their own accord in the universe are dubbed "renegades" and include recurring characters such as the Doctor, [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], and [[the Rani]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMKSCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA3#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television |date=2015-09-15 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0454-1 |language=ar}}</ref>
-In general, the Time Lords are an [[wikt:aloof|aloof]] people, with a society full of pomp and ceremony. The Doctor has observed that his people "enjoy making speeches"<ref name="The Invasion of Time">{{cite serial |title=[[The Invasion of Time]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=David (writer) |last=Agnew |author-link=David Agnew |first2=Gerald (director) |last2=Blake |author-link2=Gerald Blake (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=4 February – 11 March 1978 }}</ref> and have an "infinite capacity for pretension".<ref name="Remembrance of the Daleks">{{cite serial |title=[[Remembrance of the Daleks]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Ben (writer) |last=Aaronovitch |author-link=Ben Aaronovitch |first2=Andrew (director) |last2=Morgan |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=5–26 October 1988 }}</ref>
+=== Appearances ===
-The [[Sixth Doctor]] has also characterised the Time Lords as a stagnant and corrupt society, a state caused by ten million years of absolute power.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Ultimate Foe]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Pip |last2=Baker |author-link2=Pip and Jane Baker |first3=Jane (writers) |last3=Baker |author-link3=Pip and Jane Baker |first4=Chris (director) |last4=Clough |author-link4=Chris Clough |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=29 November – 6 December 1986 }}</ref> Their portrayal in the series is reminiscent of academics living in ivory towers, unconcerned with external affairs. The Doctor states that the Time Lords were sworn never to interfere, only to watch.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/> It has been suggested that, once they had perfected the science of time travel, they withdrew, bound by the moral complexity of interfering in the natural flow of history; in ''[[Earthshock]]'',<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Earthshock]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Eric (writer) |last=Saward |author-link=Eric Saward |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Grimwade |author-link2=Peter Grimwade |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=8–16 March 1982 }}</ref> the Cyberleader, when notified of the arrival of a TARDIS, is surprised at the presence of a Time Lord, stating "they are forbidden to interfere". In ''[[The Two Doctors]]'',<ref name="Two Doctors"/> it is suggested that Time Lords are responsible for maintaining a general balance of power between the races of the Universe.
+==== Classic series ====
+The [[First Doctor]] steals a [[TARDIS]], one of the [[Time travel|time-travel]] ships the Time Lords use, and flees Gallifrey with his granddaughter [[Susan Foreman]] sometime prior to the events of the series. Subsequently, the Doctor, during his travels, encounters and thwarts many conflicts throughout history.<ref name="Kistler-2013">{{Cite book |last=Kistler |first=Alan |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Doctor_Who/OXRBBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Gallifrey%22+++%22Audio%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA141&printsec=frontcover |title=Doctor Who: A History |date=2013-10-01 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4930-0016-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="DiPaolo-2018">{{Cite book |last=DiPaolo |first=Marc |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fire_and_Snow/GdZjDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Gallifrey%22+++%22Audio%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA91&printsec=frontcover |title=Fire and Snow: Climate Fiction from the Inklings to Game of Thrones |date=2018-08-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-1-4384-7045-0 |language=en}}</ref> Eventually, in the 1969 serial ''[[The War Games]]'', during an incident in which a group known as the War Lords capture humans from throughout time and space, the [[Second Doctor]] is forced to contact the Time Lords to resolve the situation. The Time Lords deal with the War Lords, but subsequently put the Doctor on trial for his interference throughout time and space. After showing them how he has stopped evils during his travels, the Time Lords decide to force him to regenerate and exile him to Earth, where the Doctor has spent a significant amount of time during his travels.<ref name="Ainsworth-2018" />
-While interference is apparently against Time Lord policy, there are occasions when they do intervene, albeit indirectly through their CIA or Celestial Intervention Agency. The CIA has occasionally sent the Doctor on missions that required plausible deniability, as in ''[[The Two Doctors]]'',<ref name="Two Doctors"/> and sometimes against his will, as in ''[[Colony in Space]]''<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[Colony in Space]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Malcolm (writer) |last=Hulke |author-link=Malcolm Hulke |first2=Michael E. (director) |last2=Briant |author-link2=Michael E. Briant |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=10 April – 15 May 1971 }}</ref> and ''[[The Monster of Peladon]]''.<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Monster of Peladon]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Brian (writer) |last=Hayles |author-link=Brian Hayles |first2=Lennie (director) |last2=Mayne |author-link2=Lennie Mayne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=23 March – 27 April 1974 }}</ref> He is also sent on a mission in ''[[The Mutants]]'' <ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Mutants]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Bob |last=Baker |author-link=Bob Baker (scriptwriter) |first2=Dave (writers) |last2=Martin |author-link2=Dave Martin (screenwriter) |first3=Christopher (director) |last3=Barry |author-link3=Christopher Barry |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=8 April – 13 May 1972 }}</ref> which was intended to help preserve the existence of a unique race, which was being destroyed by the excesses of the Earth empire. The Doctor's mission in ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]''<ref name="genesis">{{cite serial |title=[[Genesis of the Daleks]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terry (writer) |last=Nation |author-link=Terry Nation |first2=David (director) |last2=Maloney |author-link2=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=8 March – 12 April 1975 }}</ref> even involves changing history to avert the creation of the [[Dalek]]s, or at least temper their aggressiveness.
+The [[Third Doctor]] is used as an agent by the Time Lords during his exile in the 1971 serial ''[[Colony in Space]]'' and the 1972 serials ''[[The Mutants]]'' and ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]'', in which he is sent off-world to resolve conflicts on the Time Lords' behalf.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fordy |first=Tom |date=2020-03-02 |title=Who are the Time Lords? Everything you need to know about the Doctor's fellow Gallifreyans |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/time-lords-everything-need-know-doctors-fellowgallifreyans/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Colony in Space - The Daemons - Day of the Daleks |date=23 September 2015 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing.}}</ref><ref name="Ainsworth2018b">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Curse of Peladon - The Sea Devils - The Mutants - The Time Monster |date=11 July 2018 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing |pages=8-38 |issn=2057-6048}}</ref> The Doctor also comes into conflict with another renegade Time Lord, [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], who repeatedly has his schemes thwarted by the Doctor, and would repeatedly feature as a recurring antagonist.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Saunders |first=Tristram Fane |date=2020-01-02 |title=The Master of evil: Roger Delgado and the twisted history of Doctor Who's greatest foe |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/master-evil-roger-delgado-twisted-history-doctor-greatest-foe/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> The Time Lords eventually contact the first three incarnations of the Doctor during 1973 serial [[The Three Doctors (Doctor Who)|''The Three Doctors'']] in order to defeat Omega, who has returned to the universe and is attempting to get revenge on the Time Lords for seemingly abandoning him. After Omega is seemingly destroyed, the Time Lords revoke the Third Doctor's exile, allowing him to travel freely again.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Three Doctors - Carnival of Monsters - Frontier in Space |date=19 April 2017 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing.}}</ref> He is later sent on a mission by the Time Lords during the events of the 1975 serial ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'', where they request the Doctor to go back in time to the [[Dalek]]s' creation in an attempt to destroy them.<ref name="Gizmodo" />
-Children of Gallifrey are taken from their families at the age of 8 and admitted into the Academy.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=16}} Novices are then taken to an initiation ceremony before the Untempered Schism, a gap in the fabric of reality that looks into the time vortex. Of those that stare into it, some are inspired, some run away and others go mad. The Doctor suggests that the Master went mad, while admitting that he ran away.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=20}}
+The [[Fourth Doctor]] eventually returns to Gallifrey during the events of the 1976 serial ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', during which he stops a plan by the Master to destroy Gallifrey to gain more regenerations. The Doctor again returns to Gallifrey during the 1978 serial ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'', where the Doctor stops a dual Vardan and [[Sontaran]] invasion of Gallifrey,<ref name="Ainsworth-2017c" /> and later travels with a Time Lady named [[Romana (Doctor Who)|Romana]], who was sent by the Time Lords to help him in his quest to assemble the [[Key to Time]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=R.I.P. Mary Tamm, Doctor Who's Romana |url=https://www.avclub.com/r-i-p-mary-tamm-doctor-whos-romana-1798232522 |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref> The Time Lords again appear in the 1983 serial ''[[Arc of Infinity]]'', during which the [[Fifth Doctor]] helps stop another attempt by Omega to return to reality.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017b" /> The 1983 anniversary special "[[The Five Doctors]]" sees the Lord President of Gallifrey, Borusa, capture several incarnations of the Doctor, as well as many of their companions and old enemies, from throughout time and space, using them to break into Rassilon's tomb so Borusa can obtain the secret to immortality. The Time Lords send the Master to help the Doctor in stopping the scheme, though the Master ends up betraying the Time Lords; the Master is eventually knocked unconscious. Borusa arrives in the tomb after the Doctors find their way in, but is turned to stone by a disembodied apparition of Rassilon. Rassilon returns everyone captured by Borusa back to their home times.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017a" />
-Each Time Lord belongs to one of a number of colleges or chapters, such as the Patrexes, Arcalian, and the Prydonian chapters, which have ceremonial and possibly political significance. In ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'',<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> it is explained that each chapter has its own colours; the Prydonians wear scarlet and orange, the Arcalians wear green, and the Patrexeans wear [[Heliotrope (color)|heliotrope]]. However, in that same serial, Cardinal Borusa, described as "the leader of the Prydonian chapter", wears heliotrope. Other Prydonians wear orange headdresses with orange-brown (not scarlet) robes. The colleges of the Academy are led by the Cardinals. Ushers, who provide security and assistance at official Time Lord functions, may belong to any chapter, and wear all-gold uniforms. Also mentioned in ''The Deadly Assassin'' are '[[plebeian]] classes'.<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/>
+The [[Sixth Doctor]] later encounters a Time Lady who has left the planet, named [[the Rani]], who acts as a recurring enemy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitbrook |first=James |date=2025-05-23 |title=A Brief Guide to the Rani, the Diva Time Lady Villainess of 'Doctor Who' |url=https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-the-rani-explained-bbc-disney-2000606614 |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Gizmodo |language=en-US}}</ref> The Time Lords eventually again capture the Doctor and put him on trial in [[The Trial of a Time-Lord|''The Trial of a Time Lord'']]. The Sixth Doctor debates against the prosecutor known as [[the Valeyard]], who is revealed to be a dark incarnation of the Doctor from his future. The Valeyard has manipulated the trial to try and get the Doctor's remaining regenerations, and flees into Time Lord information repository the Matrix in an attempt to escape. The Doctor stops both him and the Master, and is released by the Time Lords as thanks for his help in stopping them.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017d" />
-The executive political leadership is split between the Lord President, who keeps the ceremonial relics of the Time Lords, and the Chancellor, who appears to be the administrative leader of the Cardinals and who acts as a check on the power of the Lord President. The President is an elected position; on Presidential Resignation Day, the outgoing President usually names his successor, who is then usually confirmed in a non-contested "[[show election|election]]", but it is still constitutionally possible for another candidate to put themselves forward for the post, as the Doctor did in ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]''.<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/> In that story, the Presidency was described as a largely ceremonial role, but in ''[[The Invasion of Time]]''<ref name="The Invasion of Time"/> the orders of the office were to be obeyed without question. In the event the current Lord President is unable to name a successor, the council can appoint a President to take his place. In "[[The Five Doctors]]",<ref name="The Five Doctors"/> the council appoints the Doctor as president after Borusa is imprisoned by Rassilon, and later deposed him after he neglected his duties.
+==== Revived series ====
+Sometime following the events depicted in the Classic series but before the revival's [[Doctor Who series 1|first series]], the Daleks, realizing the Time Lords attempted to interfere in their creation, become involved in a massive interstellar war fought across time and space against the Time Lords known as the "Last Great Time War". Both sides utilised time travel, with the war being fought outside of normal space-time. Many key figures in Time Lord society participated in the war, including Rassilon, who was resurrected from the dead to act as a leader, and the Master, who initially fought in the war before eventually fleeing from it. The Doctor's [[Eighth Doctor|Eighth incarnation]] was originally a [[conscientious objector]], working to help those in the cosmos where he could, but eventually, after a young woman named Cass denies him rescuing her from a crashing ship on account of him being a Time Lord, the Doctor chooses to regenerate into a warrior. His subsequent incarnation, the [[War Doctor]], entered the war and actively participated in it, eventually ending the war by using a device called [[The Moment (Doctor Who)|the Moment]] to seemingly destroy both sides, leaving the Doctor the apparent sole Time Lord left in the universe.<ref name="Gizmodo">{{cite web |last=Whitbrook |first=James |date=17 June 2020 |title=The Timey-Wimey History of Doctor Who's Time War |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-timey-wimey-history-of-doctor-whos-time-war-1843986630 |access-date=19 November 2024 |website=[[Gizmodo]]}}</ref>
-The President and Chancellor also sit on the Time Lord High Council, akin to a legislative body, composed variously of Councillors and more senior Cardinals. Also on the High Council is the Castellan of the Chancellery Guard, in charge of the security of the Citadel, whom the Doctor has referred to as the leader of a trumped-up palace guard. According to the constitution, if while in emergency session the other members of the High Council are in unanimous agreement, even the President's orders can be overruled.<ref name="The Five Doctors"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=32}}
+Though the Master was also revealed to have escaped the war, the Time Lords as a race did not physically re-appear until "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2009-2010), in which Rassilon, during the final days of the Time War, attempts to destroy time and space as a whole to make the Time Lords become the final living race in the universe. Though Gallifrey is briefly able to escape the war, the [[Tenth Doctor]] stops Rassilon, sending the Time Lords back into the war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Steven |date=2010-01-05 |title=Doctor Who Specials Recap: "The End of Time, Part Two" |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/doctor-who-specials-the-end-of-time-part-two/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
-===Race or title===
+During the 2013 50th anniversary special "[[The Day of the Doctor]]", the War Doctor meets his future incarnations, the Tenth and [[Eleventh Doctor]]s, and the three are able to work together to save the Time Lords from the last day of the war, sending the Time Lords and Gallifrey into a [[pocket universe]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Steven |date=2013-11-25 |title=Doctor Who Recap: 50th Anniversary Special, “The Day of the Doctor” |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/doctor-who-recap-50th-anniversary-special-the-day-of-the-doctor/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> The Time Lords attempt to return the universe during the events of the 2013 episode "[[The Time of the Doctor]]", needing the Doctor to speak his name into a crack in time to know if it's safe to return. Species from across the universe lay siege to the planet Trenzalore to stop the Doctor from speaking his name; though the Eleventh Doctor, on his final regeneration, does not intend to speak his name, he stays to defend the town of Christmas on the planet, as it will be destroyed by the invading forces if he is to leave. After hundreds of years of defending the planet, he is about to die; the Time Lords gift the Doctor more regeneration energy, allowing him to survive and defeat an invading Dalek fleet.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Steven |date=2013-12-27 |title=Doctor Who Recap: Season 8, Episode 0, “The Time of the Doctor” |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/doctor-who-recap-2013-christmas-special-the-time-of-the-doctor/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> The Time Lords subsequently return to the universe, with the [[Twelfth Doctor]] eventually making it back to Gallifrey in "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), during which the Doctor exiles Rassilon and uses Time Lord technology to pluck his companion [[Clara Oswald]] from moments before her death to save her life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Steven |date=2015-12-07 |title=Doctor Who Recap: Season 9, Episode 12, “Hell Bent” |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/doctor-who-recap-season-9-episode-12-hell-bent/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
-The television series and people involved in its production repeatedly refer to the Time Lords, interchangeably, as a [[species]] or [[Race (biology)|race]], including the Doctor,<ref name="war games ten"/><ref name="Smith and Jones"/><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Knock Knock |episode-link=Knock Knock (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Mike (writer) |last=Bartlett |author-link=Mike Bartlett (playwright) |first2=Bill (director) |last2=Anderson |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=6 May 2017 |series-no=10 |number=4 }}</ref> his enemies,<ref name="time warrior 2"/><ref>{{cite serial |title=Pyramids of Mars |title-link=Pyramids of Mars |episode=Part Four |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Stephen (writer) |last=Harris |first2=Paddy (director) |last2=Russell |author-link2=Paddy Russell |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=15 November 1975 }}</ref><ref name="witch"/> and other time lords.<ref name="hell bent"/>
-The crew has also repeated this statement, including [[Malcolm Hulke]] and [[Terrance Dicks]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hulke |first1=Malcolm |author-link=Malcolm Hulke |last2=Dicks |first2=Terrance |author-link2=Terrance Dicks |date=1972 |title=The Making of Doctor Who |publisher=Piccolo Books |page=19 |isbn=0-330-23203-7 }}</ref> [[Derrick Sherwin]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Dicks |first1=Terrance |author-link=Terrance Dicks |last2=Wright |first2=Mark |date=March 2016 |title=Creation Theories |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=24 |isbn=9781846532207 }}</ref> and [[Russell T Davies]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Davies |first=Russell T |author-link=Russell T Davies |date=25 May 2005 |title=The Evasion of Time |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini Publishing Ltd]] |issue=356 |page=66 }}</ref> and
+Gallifrey is destroyed again by the Master in the 2020 episode "[[Spyfall (Doctor Who)|Spyfall]]",<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-05 |title=Canotated: Everything Doctor Who ever told us about Time Lords is... a lie? |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/doctor-who-timeless-child-master-destroys-gallifrey-spyfall-part-2 |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=SYFY |language=en-US}}</ref> with the Master exterminating all Time Lords in the universe off-screen with a "genetic explosion".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zhan |first=Jennifer |title=Doctor Who Season-Finale Recap: I Kid You Not |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/doctor-who-finale-recap-series-15-episode-8.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250722130510/https://www.vulture.com/article/doctor-who-finale-recap-series-15-episode-8.html |archive-date=2025-07-22 |access-date=2025-08-04 |work=Vulture |language=en}}</ref> The Master later converts the Time Lords into mechanical cyborgs known as [[Cybermen]] in the 2020 episode "[[The Timeless Children]]".<ref name="Blumberg-2020">{{Cite web |last=Blumberg |first=Arnold T. |date=2020-03-02 |title=Doctor Who Finale Recap: 'The Timeless Children' Ending Explained |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/doctor-who-finale-recap-timeless-children-tecteun-morbius-doctors-ending-explained |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref> These Cybermen, dubbed "Cybermasters",<ref name="Allcock-2022">{{Cite web |last=Allcock |first=Chris |date=2022-10-23 |title=Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor Review |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-the-power-of-the-doctor-review/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> have the ability to regenerate, unlike regular Cybermen.<ref name="Blumberg-2020" /> The Master reveals to the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] that she is the Timeless Child. The Doctor is able to rig a "death particle" to destroy all organic life on the planet, destroying most of the Cybermasters, though some are implied to escape with the Master.<ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=Radio Times |title=Doctor Who: The Timeless Children recap and questions {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-timeless-children-questions-explained/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> The Cybermasters re-appear during the events of the 2022 special "[[The Power of the Doctor]]", and are seemingly all killed during the episode.<ref name="Allcock-2022" />
-"The Stolen Tardis" (1979), a spin-off comic printed in issue No. 9 of ''Doctor Who Weekly'' (the original name of ''Doctor Who Magazine'') also claims that "not everyone on Gallifrey is a Time Lord",<ref>{{Cite comic | writer = [[Steve Moore (comics)|Moore, Steve]] | artist = [[Steve Dillon|Dillon, Steve]] | story = The Stolen Tardis: A Tale of the Time Lords: Part One | title = [[Doctor Who Weekly]] | volume = | issue = #9 | date = 12 December 1979 | publisher = [[Marvel UK]] | location = London | page = | panel = | id = }}</ref> while a feature in issue No. 21 instead states that the Doctor is "a member of a race called the Time Lords".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=5 March 1980 |title=The Time Lords of Gallifrey |magazine=[[Doctor Who Weekly]] |location=London |publisher=[[Marvel UK]] |issue=21 |page=10 }}</ref>
+The Doctor also encounters the Division during the events of "[[Fugitive of the Judoon]]" (2020) in which she and her [[Fugitive Doctor|Fugitive incarnation]], who was a former Division operative, defeat a Time Lord operative named Gat.<ref name="Fullerton" /> During the events of ''[[Doctor Who: Flux]]'', the Thirteenth Doctor encounters [[Tecteun]], a Time Lord who adopted the Timeless Child and pioneered regeneration in Time Lords. Following the Doctor learning about the nature of her true identity from the Master,<ref name="Farnell-2021">{{Cite web |last=Farnell |first=Chris |date=2021-12-06 |title=Doctor Who: Flux Ending Explained |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who-flux-ending-explained/ |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> Tecteun attempts to orchestrate a wave of [[Antimatter|anti-matter]]<ref name="Bui-2021">{{Cite web |last=Bui |first=Hoai-Tran |date=2021-12-06 |title=Doctor Who: Flux Flubs The Finale In The Supremely Unsatisfying The Vanquishers |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/678853/doctor-who-flux-flubs-the-finale-in-the-supremely-unsatisfying-the-vanquishers/ |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=SlashFilm |language=en-US}}</ref> known as the Flux to destroy the entire universe, allowing her and the Division to escape to another reality away from the Doctor.<ref name="Farnell-2021" /> Tecteun is killed by [[Swarm and Azure]], enemies of the Division,<ref>{{Cite web |title=DOCTOR WHO: FLUX – THE VANQUISHERS |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/doctor-flux-vanquishers/ |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=STARBURST Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> with the Doctor later defeating them and stopping the Flux wave.<ref name="Bui-2021" />
-==Technology==
+The Rani is later revealed to have survived the genetic explosion, and during the events of 2025 episodes "[[Wish World]]" and "[[The Reality War]]", attempts to summon Omega so she can revive the Time Lords using DNA from his body. The Rani, who has bi-generated, is eaten by a monstrous Omega, with her other self, dubbed [[Mrs. Flood]], escaping. Omega is blasted with a laser back into his home dimension by the [[Fifteenth Doctor]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctor Who ends season 2 with a supersized episode and even bigger reveal |url=https://www.avclub.com/doctor-who-season-2-finale-recap-the-reality-war |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref>
-Paradoxically, although the Time Lords are a scientifically and technologically advanced race, the civilisation is so old that key pieces of their technology have become shrouded in legend and myth. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} In the spin-off fiction, {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} an edict and general aversion against exploring Gallifrey's past also contributes to this. Accordingly, until the Master rediscovers it, the Time Lords forgot that the location of the Eye of Harmony is beneath their capital. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} They also treated such ceremonial symbols as the Key and Sash of Rassilon as mere historical curiosities, being unaware of their true function. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}}
-In the revived series, there were instances in which evil alien species have stolen Time Lord technology for their own purposes but such is its complexity that they are unable to operate it, as illustrated in "[[Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Doomsday]]" when the Genesis Ark was stolen by the Daleks and even they could not open it. Furthermore, the Genesis Ark was just one Time Lord prison that held millions of Daleks, demonstrating "bigger on the inside than it is on the outside" Time Lord technology.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Doomsday |episode-link=Doomsday (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Graeme (director) |last2=Harper |author-link2=Graeme Harper |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=8 July 2006 |series-no=2 |number=13 }}</ref>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=162}} The classic series also makes reference to the inability of other races to successfully use Time Lord technology, with ''[[The Two Doctors]]'' <ref name="Two Doctors"/> stating that even if a race managed to copy and build their own TARDISes, they would be ripped apart by the molecular stresses of time travel as all TARDISes have a fail-deadly approach to unauthorised use unless primed with a Rassilon Imprimatur, creating a symbiotic link to a specific Time Lord.
+=== In spin-off media ===
+Many pieces of spin-off media focus on Gallifrey, particularly in terms of the Doctor's origins on the planet. However, many of these accounts are contradictory and do not align with events portrayed in other media: For example, accounts of the Doctor's true name that they used on Gallifrey are never consistent and often are different between different forms of media.<ref name="DiPaolo-2018" /> Many of these contradictory elements were explained in canon by various means, but most notably by the introduction of the Time War, which explained narrative inconsistencies by stating that the War's effects caused the events of different pieces of media to be "cancelled out".<ref name="Britton-2011">{{Cite book |last=Britton |first=Piers D. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/TARDISbound/eNuRDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Gallifrey%22+++%22novel%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA142&printsec=frontcover |title=TARDISbound: Navigating the Universes of Doctor Who |date=2011-03-30 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-009-2 |language=en}}</ref> Several elements of the Time Lords' history are present across spin-off media, but are not always present in the main show. One major element was the concept of looms, which are devices used by the Time Lords to reproduce after being rendered [[Infertility|infertile]]. These have been used in multiple forms of media, such as comics and novels.<ref name="Leitch-2023">{{Cite book |last=Leitch |first=Gillian I. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Being_a_Girl_with_The_Doctor/9S7nEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Time+Lord%22+++%22Audio%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA23&printsec=frontcover |title=Being a Girl with The Doctor: Essays on the Feminine in Doctor Who |last2=Ginn |first2=Sherry |date=2023-12-11 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-8953-1 |language=en}}</ref> Another is the character of Irving Braxiatel, the Doctor's brother, who acts as a recurring character across multiple spin-off series, including in media focusing on the character of [[Bernice Summerfield]].<ref name="Bates-2025">{{Cite book |last=Bates |first=Philip |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Companions/bUNZEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22War+Doctor%22+++%22Audio%22+-wikipedia&pg=PT124&printsec=frontcover |title=Companions: Sixty Years of Doctor Who Assistants |last2=Frankham-Allen |first2=Andy |date=2025-02-20 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=978-0-7223-5561-9 |language=en}}</ref> Other concepts that originate in spin-off media, such as the domed citadel of the Time Lords that debuted in comic strips, would later be adapted and made canon to the television series.<ref name="Burk-2020" />
-During the final hours of the Time War, the High Council of Gallifrey refer to defenses called 'Sky Trenches' which appear to be at least somewhat effective against invading Daleks and/or their ships, as seen in "[[The Day of the Doctor]]".<ref name="dotd"/>
+The spin-off media crossover event ''[[Time Lord Victorious]]'' depicts the Tenth Doctor going back in time to the Dark Times and defeating Death, which has negative consequences for the universe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-23 |title=Massive multi-platform Doctor Who story Time Lord Victorious designed to be 'a fun, inclusive experience' |url=https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/doctor-who-time-lord-victorious-james-goss |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=SYFY |language=en-US}}</ref> The crossover event depicts Time Lords during the Dark Times, with the Daleks and many incarnations of the Doctor becoming involved in the conflict.<ref name="Fullerton-2" /> One comic, for example, depicts a conflict between Gallifreyans, before they became Time Lords, fighting in the war against the Great Vampires, and depicts Rassilon as a field commander before they came to power.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Comments |first=Rich Johnston {{!}} |date=2020-09-18 |title=Was Rassilon Originally a Black Woman? Doctor Who Magazine Says So |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/rassilon-black-woman-doctor-who-magazine-time-lord-victorious/ |access-date=2025-10-08 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Time Lord Victorious'' was depicted across multiple pieces of spin-off media, including novels, audio dramas, comic strips, and real-world immersive events.<ref name="Fullerton-2">{{Cite web |last=Fullerton |first=Huw |title=Doctor Who {{!}} Time Lord Victorious release schedule - full list {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/time-lord-victorious-doctor-who-full-release-list/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
-TARDISes are characterised not just by their ability to travel in time, but also their dimensionally transcendent nature. A TARDIS' interior spaces exist in a different dimension from its exterior, allowing it to appear to be bigger on the inside. The Doctor states that transdimensional engineering was a key Time Lord discovery in ''[[The Robots of Death]]''.{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=37}}<ref>{{cite serial |title=[[The Robots of Death]] |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Chris (writer) |last=Boucher |author-link=Chris Boucher (writer)|first2=Michael E. (director) |last2=Briant |author-link2=Michael E. Briant |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=29 January – 19 February 1977 }}</ref> The Doctor states in "[[The Impossible Planet]]" that TARDISes are grown, not made.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Impossible Planet |episode-link=The Impossible Planet |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Matt (writer) |last=Jones |author-link=Matt Jones (writer) |first2=James (director) |last2=Strong |author-link2=James Strong (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=3 June 2006 |series-no=2 |number=8 }}</ref> It is seen in "[[The Name of the Doctor]]" <ref>{{Cite episode |title=The Name of the Doctor |episode-link=The Name of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Saul (director) |last2=Metzstein |author-link2=Saul Metzstein |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=18 May 2013 |series-no=7 |number=13 }}</ref> that as a TARDIS dies, its 'dimension dams' can break down causing a 'size leak' wherein the exterior dimensions of a TARDIS begin to expand to match its inner dimensions.
+==== Novels ====
+The 1997 [[Virgin New Adventures]] novel ''[[Lungbarrow]]'' depicted an execution of a planned storyline for the Classic series before its cancellation; the novel revealed the Doctor to secretly be a mythical figure in Time Lord society known as [[The Other (Doctor Who)|the Other]]. This conflicted with other novels published by [[BBC Books]] at the time, which followed the idea of the Doctor being half human.<ref name="Kistler-2013" /> Another concept introduced in ''Lungbarrow'' was that of the Pythia, a being who, in the past of the Time Lords, rendered the Time Lords infertile, resulting in them utilising looms for reproduction.<ref name="Leitch-2023" />
-Fitting their generally defensive nature, Time Lord weapons technology is rarely seen, other than the [[staser]] hand weapons used by the Guard within the Capitol.
+Later books published by BBC Books introduced a group known as the [[Faction Paradox]], who opposed Time Lord society and aimed to cause time anomalies for fun. The Faction was revealed to be run by an alternate version of the Doctor dubbed [[Grandfather Paradox (Doctor Who)|Grandfather Paradox]], and though the Doctor stopped Paradox and ended the Faction, Gallifrey was destroyed in the process.<ref name="Kistler-2013" /> Other novels would include the concept of a time war prior to its introduced in the revived series.<ref name="Britton-2011" /> In various media starring the Eighth Doctor, as well in ''Faction Paradox'' spin-off material, a concept known as the "War in Heaven" is introduced, in which the Time Lords are depicted fighting an unidentified "enemy" in a massive temporal conflict. The Time Lords are depicted as having more than thirteen regenerations. These Time Lords also have the ability for Time Lord soldiers to adapt their bodies depending on the terrain of the battlefield, with some being mutated into organic weapons of war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whitbrook |first=James |date=2024-11-27 |title=The Brief History of Doctor Who's Forced Regenerations |url=https://gizmodo.com/doctor-who-forced-regenerations-explained-second-doctor-war-games-bbc-2000530966 |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Gizmodo |language=en-US}}</ref>
-Standard TARDISes do not generally seem to use any on-board weaponry, although War or Battle TARDISes (armed with "time torpedoes" that freeze their target in time) have appeared in the spin-off media. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} In the novels, {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s companion [[Compassion (Doctor Who)|Compassion]], a living TARDIS, has enough firepower to annihilate other TARDISes. In the serial ''[[Castrovalva (Doctor Who)|Castrovalva]]'',<ref name="Castrovalva"/> the Master's TARDIS is equipped with an energy field that he uses to temporarily disable or stun several human security guards outside the vessel.
+==== Audio ====
+The ''Gallifrey'' audio drama series produced by [[Big Finish Productions]] depicts Romana returning to Gallifrey and assuming the position of President, working alongside the character [[Leela (Doctor Who)|Leela]] to improve Time Lord society for the better while dealing with political drama and terrorist attacks.<ref name="Kistler-2013" /> Later audio dramas would depict the build-up to the Time War depicted on-screen, such as in the [[Dark Eyes (audio drama series)|''Dark Eyes'']] and ''The Eighth Doctor: The Time War'' spin-off series.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-01 |title=Dark Eyes: Doctor Who Passes the Bechdel Test |url=https://www.themarysue.com/dark-eyes-eighth-doctor-bechdel-test/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=The Mary Sue |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Magic Eight Paul – Paul McGann at Big Finish |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/paul-mcgann-big-finish-feature/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=STARBURST Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> Several audio dramas focusing on the War Doctor also reveal more about the events of the Time War,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Langley |first=Travis |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Doctor_Who_Psychology_2nd_Edition/CpPuEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22War+Doctor%22+++%22Audio%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA11&printsec=frontcover |title=Doctor Who Psychology (2nd Edition): Times Change |date=2023-11-07 |publisher=Turner Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-68442-985-1 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Bates-2025" /> while the audio drama series [[The War Master (audio drama series)|''The War Master'']] depicts the incarnation of the Master that fought in the war, as well as several of the war's events.<ref name="Gizmodo" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fullerton |first=Huw |title=Doctor Who: Derek Jacobi to return as The Master for Big Finish drama {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/sir-derek-jacobi-to-return-as-the-war-master-in-new-doctor-who-audio-series/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-26 |title=Doctor Who’s War Master Derek Jacobi set to return in 2025 |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a63020359/doctor-who-derek-jacobi-audio-series/ |access-date=2025-08-04 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}</ref> Another series, dubbed ''Susan's War'', focuses on Susan's role in the Time War.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-16 |title=Doctor Who's granddaughter to battle the Daleks in new audio adventure |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32163309/doctor-who-susan-daleks-big-finish/ |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}</ref>
-One exception to the Time Lords' defensive weaponry is the de-mat gun (or dematerialisation gun). The de-mat gun is a weapon of mass destruction that removes its target from space-time altogether, as seen in ''[[The Invasion of Time]]''.<ref name="The Invasion of Time"/> The de-mat gun was created in Rassilon's time and is a closely guarded secret; the knowledge to create one is kept in the Matrix and is available only to the President. To make sure this knowledge is not abused, the only way to arm a de-mat gun is by means of the Great Key of Rassilon, whose location is only known to the Chancellor. As a means of extreme sanction, the Time Lords have also been known to place whole planets into time-loops, isolating them from the universe in one repeating moment of time {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} as well as hurling planets from one galaxy to another using a weapon referred only as a [[Cavity magnetron|magnetron]] in ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]''.<ref name="The Trial of a Time Lord"/>
+==Creation and development==
-In the ''Doctor Who Annual 2006'',<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Davies | first1 = Russell T | author-link = Russell T Davies | last2 = Hickman | first2 = Clayton | author-link2 = Clayton Hickman  | title = Doctor Who Annual 2006 | publisher=Panini Publishing. |date=August 2005
+=== Classic series ===
- | isbn =  978-1-904419-73-0 }}</ref> a section by Russell T Davies says that during the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]], the Time Lords used Bowships (used against the Great Vampires in an ancient war), Black Hole Carriers and N-Forms (war machines first mentioned in the [[Virgin New Adventures]] novel ''[[Damaged Goods (Davies novel)|Damaged Goods]]'',<ref>{{cite book | last = Davies | first = Russell T | author-link = Russell T Davies | title = Damaged Goods | title-link= Damaged Goods (Davies novel) | publisher=[[Virgin Books]] | series = [[Virgin New Adventures]] |date=October 1996 | isbn = 0-426-20483-2 }}</ref> written by Davies).
+Early on in the series, [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] was identified as a human being;<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=22 |issue=484 |quote=[B]ut we can't ignore the fact that, for the remainder of the 1960s, there are plenty of hints that the Doctor is a human being. On more than one occasion, the First Doctor says as much himself. Here he is in the second episode of ''The Sensorites'': 'It's a fallacy, of course, that cats can see in the dark. They can't. But they can see better than ''we'' humans...' In Episode 2 of ''The Savages'', he tells Edal that the savages are 'human beings, like you and me'.}}</ref> however, their home planet, which from the start of the series is explicitly established as not being [[Earth]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=22 |issue=484 |quote=First of all, let's put from our minds the obvious fact that the Doctor comes from another world – that particular cat exits the bag before the end of ''Doctor Who''{{-'}}s first episode. ... To start at the beginning, let's consider that all-important line in ''An Unearthly Child'': 'Susan and I are cut off from our own planet.'}}</ref> was not named. Regeneration, out of universe, was introduced to replace [[First Doctor]] actor [[William Hartnell]], who was falling into poor health.<ref name="Nerdist-2024">{{Cite web |date=2024-02-28 |title=DOCTOR WHO's Regenerations Have Never Been Normal |url=https://nerdist.com/article/doctor-who-regeneration-history-has-never-been-normal/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Nerdist |language=en-US}}</ref> The Doctor's process of regeneration was also not initially specified, with the process being described as "renewal" and its origins unclear,<ref name="power">{{cite web |title=BBC – Doctor Who Classic Episode Guide – The Power of the Daleks – Details |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/powerdaleks/detail.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321040948/http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/classic/episodeguide/powerdaleks/detail.shtml |archive-date=21 March 2008 |access-date=1 December 2007}}</ref> not being clearly elaborated until the 1970s.<ref name="Nerdist-2024" /> Details of the Doctor's home were never specified, even when encountering another character implied to be of the same species, the [[Meddling Monk]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Belam |first=Martin |date=2016-10-28 |title=The day Doctor Who changed face – and transformed TV for ever |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/doctor-who-changed-face-and-transformed-tv-for-ever |access-date=2025-07-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
-In "The End of Time",<ref name="end of time two"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=159}} Rassilon is shown wearing a gauntlet with several powers, primarily the ability to disintegrate a target and the ability to reverse changes made to the human race by the Master. When Rassilon throws the white point star into the hologram of the Earth, the diamond is able to arrive at the planet by following the Master's signal, travelling through the time-locked war to the post-war universe.
+The Time Lords were created for the 1969 serial ''[[The War Games]]'', with the initial idea being brought up by producer [[Derrick Sherwin]], who suggested the Doctor meet his own people. The idea of the Doctor belonging to another species was only vaguely brought up in the series' early days, with Sherwin stating that the inclusion of the Time Lords in this episode would either serve as a good end point if the series was cancelled, or allow the series to progress into a new format if it kept going.<ref name="Ainsworth-2018">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Seeds of Death – The Space Pirates – The War Games |date=7 February 2018 |publisher=[[Hachette Partworks]], [[Panini Publishing]] |issn=2057-6048}}</ref> Elaborating on this genesis in a 2014 interview in ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'', Sherwin said of ''The War Games'', "It was a case of what shall we do, how can we end this? Let's go back to the beginning and say [the Doctor] was a Time Lord, a renegade Time Lord, a pain in the arse for the other Time Lords who stole his [[TARDIS]] and buggered off around the universe. So if he's going to be called to book let's bring in the Time Lords."<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Sherwin |first1=Derrick |author-link=Derrick Sherwin |last2=Adams |first2=Matt |date=December 2014 |title=Down to Earth |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=58 |issue=479}}</ref> In ''The War Games'' DVD commentary, Sherwin mentioned that he recalled hearing about the Time Lords at the beginning of the series, but as no one else remembered this, it "might have come out of [his] dreams".<ref name="war games dvd">{{cite AV media |title=The War Games Episode Nine commentary |date=2009 |type=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |id=BBCDVD1800 |people=[[Derrick Sherwin|Sherwin, Derrick]]; [[Terrance Dicks|Dicks, Terrance]]; [[Philip Madoc|Madoc, Philip]]; [[Graham Weston|Weston, Graham]]}}</ref> In a 2016 interview with ''The Essential Doctor Who'' magazine, Dicks mentioned how when Sherwin and he were discussing ''The War Games'' one day, Sherwin said, "He belongs to this mysterious race called the Time Lords, doesn't he?" with "everything" ultimately coming from that discussion.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Dicks |first1=Terrance |author-link=Terrance Dicks |last2=Wright |first2=Mark |date=March 2016 |title=Creation Theories |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |page=24 |issue=7: ''The Time Lords''}}</ref> In an audio commentary recorded for the 2009 DVD release of ''The War Games,'' the serial's co-writer [[Terrance Dicks]] stated he believed Sherwin had created the Time Lords, though Sherwin did not remember himself.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The War Games Episode Three commentary |date=2009 |type=DVD |publisher=[[BBC Worldwide]] |id=BBCDVD1800 |people=[[Derrick Sherwin|Sherwin, Derrick]]; [[Wendy Padbury|Padbury, Wendy]]; [[Frazer Hines|Hines, Frazer]]; [[Jane Sherwin|Sherwin, Jane]]}}</ref>  A recurring Time Lord enemy, [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]], would be introduced to the series in 1971's ''[[Terror of the Autons]]'', serving as a foil and recurring enemy to the Doctor, characterised as the [[Professor Moriarty]] to the Doctor's [[Sherlock Holmes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Inferno - Terror of the Autons - The Mind of Evil - The Claws of Axos |date=31 October 2018 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing}}</ref> Dicks, as well as producer [[Barry Letts]], disliked the Doctor's exile to Earth at the hands of the Time Lords, and so used them as a plot device to get the Doctor in adventures off the planet.<ref name="Fordy-2020" />
+[[File:Doctor Who Experience (13080741605).jpg|thumb|368x368px|A Time Lord costume, as seen on display at the ''[[Doctor Who Experience|Doctor Who]]'' [[Doctor Who Experience|Experience]]. ]]
+Previously, for ''Terror of the Autons,'' a Time Lord appeared disguised as a regular city inhabitant to warn the Doctor of the Master's arrival. [[Toby Hadoke]], a person affiliated with the series, has stated that this was an early example of writer [[Robert Holmes (scriptwriter)|Robert Holmes]] deciding he was disinterested in the god-like concept of the Time Lords.<ref name="Fordy-2020" /> Holmes would later write the 1976 serial ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', which greatly recontextualised the Time Lords. Whereas before they were characterised as "austere, god-like beings", the Time Lords now had internal political struggles, with the Time Lords only becoming powerful due to scientific achievement and not a "mystical" power or ability. Holmes wanted to make the Time Lords more "human" in how they acted, being unsatisfied with god-like characters. Holmes wished to "correct the picture", retconning much of the Time Lords' history to be [[Hypocrisy|hypocritical]] and corrupt; for example, the Time Lords' previous off-world use of the Doctor during his exile was done in-universe so the Time Lords could interfere with galactic affairs despite their oath of non-intervention.<ref name="Ainsworth-2016">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Deadly Assassin - The Face of Evil - The Robots of Death - The Talons of Weng-Chiang |date=9 March 2016 |publisher=[[Hachette Partworks]], [[Panini Publishing]] |issn=2057-6048}}</ref> Holmes similarly introduced many concepts relating to the Time Lords in this serial. He introduced [[Rassilon]], who usurped the character Omega as being a mystic, founding figure in Time Lord society, and introduced the concept of the Matrix as an information repository for the species. Holmes laid out that regeneration could only be performed twelve times, and also named the Time Lords' home planet, Gallifrey, which had been name-dropped previously in Holmes' 1973-1974 serial ''[[The Time Warrior]]''.<ref name="Ainsworth-2016" /> Gallifrey was originally known as "Galfrey", with an extra syllable added during production.<ref name="Burk-2020" />
-Gallifreyan paintings were unique in that they were in 3D, as they acted as snapshots of a single moment in time by use of stasis cubes. This meant that they could be used as rudimentary time travel, by freezing a person inside a painting and then letting them out at the required point in time. An example of this is ''Gallifrey Falls No More'' as seen in "[[The Day of the Doctor]]".<ref name="dotd"/>
+In ''The War Games,'' the Time Lords had instead worn simple black and white robes for their costumes.<ref name="Fordy-2020" /> For ''The Deadly Assassin'', the Time Lords instead wore ceremonial robes with large collars,<ref name="Fordy-2020" /> with the collars designed by designer James Acheson.<ref name="Ainsworth-2016" /> These new costumes from ''The Deadly Assassin'' would be retained and re-used in the Time Lords' subsequent appearances in the series, with many aspects of the design, notably the collar, being adapted into other Time Lord imagery throughout the series.<ref name="Britton-2021">{{Cite book |last=Britton |first=Piers D. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Design_for_Doctor_Who/-0IZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=new+paradigm+dalek&pg=PA158&printsec=frontcover |title=Design for Doctor Who: Vision and Revision in Science Fiction Television |date=2021-05-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-350-11683-2 |language=en}}</ref> A symbol that had featured in the 1975 serial ''[[Revenge of the Cybermen]]'' was re-used and became a symbol associated visually with the Time Lords as the "Seal of Rassilon".<ref name="Ainsworth-2016" />
-===The Moment===
+The return to Gallifrey in 1978 serial ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' was done due to producer [[Graham Williams (television producer)|Graham Williams]] wanting to see more of the environment established in ''The Deadly Assassin''. This was also done due to the team being able to cheaply re-use costumes and set pieces from ''The Deadly Assassin''. The serial sought to explore the idea that not all Gallifreyans were Time Lords, and wanted to take a deeper look at those who did not become Time Lords. ''The Invasion of Time'' also saw the return of Borusa, who was previously in a smaller role in ''The Deadly Assassin'' but was now promoted to a higher rank in Time Lord society.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017c">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Underworld - The Invasion of Time - The Ribos Operation |date=23 August 2017 |publisher=[[Hachette Partworks]], [[Panini Publishing]] |issn=2057-6048}}</ref> Due to frequent appearances by the Time Lords during the 1970s, the [[Guardians (Doctor Who)|Guardians]] were created to fulfill a role as god-like beings in the [[Doctor Who season 16|sixteenth season]] of the show. The only Time Lords to feature over the next season barring the Doctor were the Doctor's new companion [[Romana (Doctor Who)|Romana]], a Time Lady designed as a "perfect foil" to the Doctor's character due to her acting more like traditional Time Lords, and another Time Lord named Drax who appeared in the 1979 serial ''[[The Armageddon Factor]]'' as a supporting character.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017c" />
-The Moment was claimed by the Time Lords to be the most powerful weapon in the Universe and capable of destroying entire galaxies. The Moment was locked in Gallifrey's Time Vaults, specifically in the Omega Arsenal. The Moment is so powerful that the weapon's operating system became sentient, leading the Time Lords to wonder "How do you use a weapon when it can stand in judgement of you?" and that "only one man would be mad enough to try it". In the 50th anniversary special "[[The Day of the Doctor]]", the War Doctor breaks into the Omega Arsenal, steals the Moment and is about to destroy both Time Lords and Daleks alike to stop the Time War before the Moment engineers a meeting with his succeeding regenerations to convince him otherwise.<ref name="dotd"/>{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=163}}
-===Messaging Hypercube===
+The subsequent return to Gallifrey in 1983's ''[[Arc of Infinity]]'' was done to celebrate the show's twentieth anniversary, with the serial bringing back many past Time Lord characters such as Borusa and Omega.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017b">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Arc of Infinity - Snakedance - Mawdryn Undead |date=22 February 2017 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing |issn=2057-6048}}</ref> Subsequently, the show's twentieth anniversary special, "[[The Five Doctors]]", saw a further re-appearance by the Time Lords, with Dicks incorporating Borusa into the role of main antagonist to subvert audience expectations that the Master was behind the episode's events; Rassilon was also incorporated into the narrative. Several Time Lord characters were also re-used from ''[[Arc of Infinity]]''.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017a">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Terminus – Enlightenment – The King's Demons – The Five Doctors |date=18 October 2017 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing. |issn=2057-6048}}</ref>
-Time lords have a telepathic technology which allows the user to send their thoughts enclosed in a cube-shaped object. It was first introduced in [[The War Games]] episode 9, where the Doctor used it to request help from the Time Lords.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-who-10-bizarre-powers-you-forgot-the-doctor-has?page=4 | title=Doctor Who: 10 Bizarre Powers You Forgot the Doctor Has | date=24 August 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/timelord-emergency-messaging-system-doctor-who-season-6-the-doctors-wife.115937/ | title='Timelord Emergency Messaging System' Doctor Who Season 6: 'The Doctor's Wife' | date=15 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://whobackwhen.com/c050-war-games/ | title=C050 the War Games | date=8 January 2017 }}</ref>
-===Eye of Harmony===
+The Time Lords putting the Doctor on trial in 1986's ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'' was done symbolically; ''Doctor Who'' was not doing well at the time, and the show was struggling to continue. The trial was representative of how the show was "on trial for its life", and also served to reference ''The War Games'' in how the Doctor was tried for interfering with the affairs of the universe. Several new Time Lord characters were introduced, such as [[the Valeyard]], a villainous incarnation of the Doctor, and the Inquisitor, who presides over the trial.<ref name="Ainsworth-2017d">{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Trial of a Time Lord |date=26 July 2017 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing. |issn=2057-6048}}</ref>
-Another impressive example of Time Lord technology is the Eye of Harmony, a repurposed [[black hole]] [[Gravitational singularity|singularity]] contained within the instrumentality below the Panopticon. This is the source of their power and the anchor of the Web of Time itself, created by Rassilon and the co-founders of Time Lord society in the distant past. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The Time Lords were accomplished stellar engineers and could control the development of stars with devices like the Hand of Omega, which was shown to be capable of forcing a star to go supernova. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The Eye of Harmony exists within the Doctor's TARDIS as a collapsing star suspended in a permanent state of decay, hence harnessing the potential energy of a collapse that would never occur.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS |episode-link=Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steve (writer) |last=Thompson |author-link=Stephen Thompson (writer) |first2=Mat (director) |last2=King |author-link2=Mat King |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=27 April 2013 |series-no=7 |number=10 }}</ref> Whether these are all aspects of the Eye of Harmony on Gallifrey or individual stars in their own right is not made clear on screen.{{Refn|group=note|According to ''Doctor Who: How to Be a Time Lord: Official Guide'', the Eye of Harmony within "each TARDIS" is described as a "section" of the Eye.{{sfn|Donaghy|2014|p=37}}}}
-==History==
+A planned expansion to the lore of the Time Lords was the introduction of a being known as "[[The Other (Doctor Who)|the Other]]", a mysterious mythic figure from the Time Lords' past that was a founding figure of Time Lord society alongside Rassilon and Omega. The Other would be revealed as the Doctor. Dubbed the [[Cartmel Masterplan]] after then-script editor [[Andrew Cartmel]], hints were dropped toward the Doctor's true identity in the last two seasons of the Classic era, though these ideas would not be enacted upon due to the show's cancelation. Several of these ideas would be used as a baseline for the [[Virgin New Adventures]] tie-in novel range, most notably in the 1997 novel ''[[Lungbarrow]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=March 2, 2020 |title=The Cartmel Masterplan is Now the Chibnall Masterplan – 19 Questions (And Some Answers) From Doctor Who Finale |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/cartmel-masterplanchibnall-masterplan-questions-answers-doctor-who-finale/ |access-date=August 3, 2025 |website=Bleeding Cool}}</ref> Another concept planned for a cancelled series of the show was in the planned serial ''Ice Time'', which would have seen a return of the [[Ice Warrior]]s. The Doctor would have tried to enroll his companion [[Ace (Doctor Who)|Ace]] in a Time Lord academy in order to "shake Time Lord society out of its [[lethargy]]", with Ace being judged for inclusion by Time Lords.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Ghost Light - The Curse of Fenric - Survival |date=18 April 2018 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing.}}</ref>
-<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Gallifrey tower.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The Dark Tower in the Death Zone on [[Gallifrey]]]] -->
-Details of the Time Lords' history within the show are sketchy and are fraught with supposition and contradiction. The series 12 finale "[[The Timeless Children]]" (2020) reveals the Time Lords were originally members of the Shobogan race who were genetically altered with the genetic code of "The Timeless Child", a being that later came to be known as the Doctor. The Time Lords became the masters of time travel when one of their number, the scientist [[Omega (Doctor Who)|Omega]], created an energy source to power their experiments in time.<ref name="The Three Doctors"/> To this end, Omega used a stellar manipulation device, the [[Hand of Omega]], to rework a nearby star into a new form to serve that source.<ref name="Remembrance of the Daleks"/> Unfortunately, the star flared, first into a [[supernova]], and then collapsed into a [[black hole]]. Omega was thought killed in that explosion but unknown to everyone, had somehow survived in an [[anti-matter]] universe beyond the black hole's [[Black hole#Singularity|singularity]]. {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} [[Rassilon]], the ultimate founder of Time Lord society, then took a singularity (assumed by fans and the spin-off media {{citation needed|date=March 2015}} to be the same one as Omega's) and placed it beneath the Time Lords' citadel on Gallifrey. This perfectly balanced Eye of Harmony then served as the power source for their civilisation as well as their time machines.<ref name="The Deadly Assassin"/>
-At some point in their history the Time Lords interacted with the civilisation of the planet Minyos, giving them advanced technology (including the ability to "regenerate" to a limited degree, by rejuvenating their bodies when they grow too old). This met with disastrous results, (which is said to be the reason the Time Lords adopted a philosophy of "non-interference"). The Minyans destroyed themselves in a series of [[Nuclear warfare|nuclear wars]].<ref>{{cite serial |title=Underworld |title-link=Underworld (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Bob |last=Baker |author-link=Bob Baker (scriptwriter) |first2=Dave (writers) |last2=Martin |author-link2=Dave Martin (screenwriter) |first3=Norman (director) |last3=Stewart |author-link3=Norman Stewart |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=7–28 January 1978 }}</ref>
+=== Revived series ===
+[[File:Dr Who Gallifrey (14392611581).jpg|thumb|A scene from "The Day of the Doctor" depicting Time Lords in a [[war room]], on display at the ''[[Doctor Who Experience|Doctor Who]]'' [[Doctor Who Experience|Experience]]. ]]
+When the show was revived following its cancellation in 1989, then-showrunner [[Russell T Davies]] decided to kill the Time Lords in a large conflict known as the Time War, which removed both them and the [[Dalek]]s as established forces in the universe. Davies found the Time Lords boring, and even with rewrites to make them more human, he felt that their execution would have de-valued the narrative impact of the Time War. Davies also wished to make the Time Lords more mythological figures, wanting to distance them from being "figures of continuity".<ref name="Burk-2020" /> Davies envisioned the War as being a conflict so horrible that the dead were brought back to life constantly, allowing him to bring back figures like Rassilon who were previously thought dead.<ref name="T Davies-2010">{{Cite book |last=T Davies |first=Russell |title=Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter |last2=Cook |first2=Benjamin |date=March 10, 2010 |publisher=Random House UK |isbn=978-1846078613}}</ref> The Doctor would experience [[survivor guilt]] as a result of surviving the war, and the war would greatly affect the series' universe going forward.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Rose - The End of the World - The Unquiet Dead |date=10 February 2016 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing}}</ref> For the Time Lords' eventual return in "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2009-2010), Davies decided to characterise them as being corrupt figures who had evolved into monsters during the course of the war, justifying why the Doctor would have to stop their return and why he had to end the war by destroying both sides.<ref name="T Davies-2010" />
-In "[[Dalek (Doctor Who episode)|Dalek]]" (2005), the [[Ninth Doctor]] explains that his people perished along with the [[Dalek]] race in the "[[Time War (Doctor Who)|Last Great Time War]]", leaving the Doctor the last of his race.<ref name="dalek"/> In "[[The Satan Pit]]" (2006), the [[List of Doctor Who villains#Beast|Beast]] identifies the [[Tenth Doctor]] as "the killer of his own kind".<ref name="The Satan Pit"/> In "[[The Sound of Drums]]" (2007), [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] reveals he escaped the war by turning himself into a human following the Dalek Emperor taking control of the Cruciform.<ref name="Sound of Drums"/> In "[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2009–10), the Time Lords, after attempting to break out the time lock of the Time War and become creatures of consciousness, are shown being sent back into the War on the last day through the Tenth Doctor's intervention. The Master also disappears along with them. Rassilon describes Time Lord history in this story as having lasted "a billion years" up until the end of the Time War.<ref>{{cite serial |title=The End of Time |title-link=The End of Time (Doctor Who) |episode=Part Two |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=1 January 2010 }}</ref>
+The return of the Time Lords in "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" (2013) was done by then-showrunner [[Steven Moffat]], who wanted to write a special episode for the show's fiftieth anniversary that was narratively important to the Doctor's character. Wanting it to focus on a pivotal day in the Doctor's life, Moffat chose to write about the Time War, Gallifrey, and the Time Lords, and their impact on the Doctor's character, with the Doctor's saving of the Time Lords allowing the character to move on from their guilt from the war. This would eventually result in a plot thread in which the Doctor began to seek out Gallifrey following the events of this episode.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: The Day of the Doctor - The Time of the Doctor |date=13 January 2016 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing}}</ref> Moffat eventually had the Doctor return to Gallifrey in "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), a story which showed the Doctor at their lowest point. The story would depict not only the return of Rassilon and a character called the General, who had previously appeared in "The Day of the Doctor", but also saw an expansion on elements of the Time Lord lore, such as with the introduction of a location known as the Cloisters, a place below the Capitol that was considered dangerous by other Time Lords.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ainsworth |first=John |title=Doctor Who: The Complete History: Hell Bent - The Husbands of River Song |date=19 September 2018 |publisher=Hachette Partworks, Panini Publishing. |issn=2057-6048}}</ref>
-In "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" (2013), thirteen incarnations of the Doctor are shown successfully attempting to freeze the Time Lords and their home world of Gallifrey in time, by transporting them to a "parallel pocket universe" using their [[TARDIS]]es. Because the time streams are out of sync, the Doctor does not retain the memory of this until his [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh incarnation]]. Indeed, earlier on in the episode, both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors mistakenly believe that the [[War Doctor]] killed all of the Time Lords on the last day of the Time War. While the plan is being outlined, the War Doctor notes that to the rest of the universe, it only appears as if the Time Lords and Daleks had mutually destroyed each other, when in fact, the Daleks had fired upon themselves in the crossfire after Gallifrey vanished, ending in the destruction of most of their own race, but not the Time Lords.<ref name="dotd"/> In "[[Death in Heaven]]" (2014), the Master, now regenerated into a female form called "Missy",<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGown |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair McGown |date=March 2015 |title=Dark Water/Death in Heaven |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=4: ''The Master'' |page=112 |isbn=9781846532054 |quote=Missy then reveals her plan: to upload dying minds to the data slice, edit out the emotions and then download them to ‘upgraded’ Cyberman bodies. Then she reveals her true identity: she is the Master, now in a female body. }}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=Death in Heaven |episode-link=Death in Heaven |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=8 November 2014 |series-no=8 |number=12 |quote='''Osgood:''' Who is she? '''Twelfth Doctor:''' You'd never believe me if I told you. '''Osgood:''' Because I thought she might be the Master, regenerated into female form. Your childhood friend, responsible for a number of previous incursions. '''Twelfth Doctor:''' That was fairly quick. }}</ref> explains that when the Doctor saved Gallifrey, this caused the Doctor to save her as well. She bluffs the [[Twelfth Doctor]] into thinking that Gallifrey has returned to its original co-ordinates, but when the Doctor goes looking, he finds nothing there (although it is unclear if Gallifrey had returned to its original co-ordinates but at the end of time as depicted in later episodes and the Doctor had not gone to the right time period).<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Death in Heaven |episode-link=Death in Heaven |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=8 November 2014 |series-no=8 |number=12 }}</ref>
+== Reception and analysis ==
-In "[[Face the Raven]]" (2015), the immortal [[Ashildr]] makes a deal to have the Doctor's TARDIS keys and confession dial taken and to teleport the Twelfth Doctor away in exchange for her trap street's safety.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Face the Raven |episode-link=Face the Raven |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Sarah (writer) |last=Dollard |author-link=Sarah Dollard |first2=Justin (director) |last2=Molotnikov |author-link2=Justin Molotnivok |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=21 November 2015 |series-no=9 |number=10 }}</ref> In "[[Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)|Heaven Sent]]" (2015), the Twelfth Doctor escapes his confession dial and finds himself near the Citadel on Gallifrey. He tells a young child to inform the Time Lords that he knows what they have done and that he has returned "the long way around". He then tells the Time Lords through his confession dial the hybrid they fear "is me".<ref name="heaven sent"/> In "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), Gallifrey is revealed to have come back from the pocket universe it was frozen in and exist at the end of the universe. Rassilon is revealed to have been the one who had the Doctor teleported into the confession dial.<ref name="hell bent"/>
+=== Reception ===
+The initial decision to not make the Time Lords god-like beings in ''The Deadly Assassin'' was controversial among fans of the series at the time, as they did not like the changes made to the Time Lords established nature. The serial would retroactively be considered one of the show's best, however.<ref name="Fordy-2020" /> The book ''Who Is The Doctor 2: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who — The Modern Series'' stated that despite the Time Lords' mythic status within the show, the consistent returns to the planet featured mundane presentation, which the book stated provided Time Lord stories with "diminishing returns".<ref name="Burk-2020" /> Literary critic [[John Kenneth Muir]] stated in the book ''A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television'' that by the end of the series, the Time Lords had become the show's biggest villains, more evil than other antagonists due to the hypocrisy of their actions. He stated that while the Time Lords wouldn't be revisited again in the Classic series following the revelation of their villainy, he believed there wasn't much room left for their characters to progress, stating "Where can you go after exposing the super race as bunch of lying, conspiratorial hypocrites?".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Critical_History_of_Doctor_Who_on_Tele/qMKSCgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22The+Valeyard%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA366&printsec=frontcover |title=A Critical History of Doctor Who on Television |date=2015-09-15 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-0454-1 |language=ar}}</ref>
-In "[[Spyfall (Doctor Who)|Spyfall]]" (2020), the Master reveals that he returned to Gallifrey, slaughtered the population and devastated the planet in his rage over discovering the truth about the Time Lords’ origins and the identity of the Timeless Child. Later, in "[[The Timeless Children]]" (2020), the Master lures the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] back to Gallifrey, opening a path for the [[Cybermen]] to invade and convert the bodies of deceased Time Lords to create CyberMasters - a subrace of Cybermen capable of regeneration. The Doctor, after being shown the truth about their past, plants an explosive in the Citadel, seemingly destroying the CyberMasters and the Master while rendering Gallifrey devoid of any organic life.
+Writing for ''[[Radio Times]]'', Olivia Garrett positively highlighted the decision to kill the Time Lords for the series' revival, as it allowed for the Doctor to be expanded as a character.<ref>{{Cite web |title=8 essential changes Russell T Davies made when rebooting Doctor Who {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-russell-t-davies-changes-reboot/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> Adi Tantimedh, writing for ''[[Bleeding Cool]]'', similarly stated that the Time Lords' demise allowed for the Doctor to develop into a "mythic" figure on their own, while also allowing for new viewers to jump onto the show without needing to be familiar with the Time Lords' lore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Comments |first=Adi Tantimedh {{!}} |date=2024-05-13 |title=Doctor Who: How The Last Time Lord & Timeless Child Add New Layers |url=https://bleedingcool.com/tv/doctor-who-how-the-last-time-lord-timeless-child-add-new-layers/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=bleedingcool.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Who Is The Doctor 2: The Unofficial Guide to Doctor Who — The Modern Series'' stated that the decision allowed the Time Lords to never disappoint audiences when they returned due to their lack of heavy involvement in the series' narrative, and that their in-universe disappearance allowed for the Doctor to gain additional emotional sympathy from the audience.<ref name="Burk-2020" /> Steven Cooper, writing for ''[[Slant Magazine]]'', praised the decision to retcon the Doctor's decision to destroy the Time Lords be to also save the universe from them, as it provided greater narrative weight to the Doctor's actions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Steven |date=2010-01-05 |title=Doctor Who Specials Recap: "The End of Time, Part Two" |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/tv/doctor-who-specials-the-end-of-time-part-two/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> Lewis Knight, writing for ''Radio Times'', believed the Time Lords should be brought back permanently, as the Time Lords' continued presence in the universe allowed for a greater exploration of the dynamic between them and the Doctor, as well as of Time Lord culture as a whole.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Doctor Who finally needs to bring back the Time Lords for good {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/doctor-who-time-lords-bring-back-good-comment/ |access-date=2025-07-14 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
-==See also==
+=== Analysis ===
-*[[List of actors who have played the Doctor]]
+The book ''Once Upon a Time Lord: The Myths and Stories of Doctor Who'' discussed how the depiction of the Time Lords in ''Doctor Who'' media emphasised how [[Romanticism|Romantic]] ideas of traditional society could be warped and distorted, as despite the Time Lords maintaining a vow of non-intervention, they are shown to be a cruel and despotic race not dissimilar from the warmongering Daleks in their actions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Phillips |first=Ivan |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Once_Upon_a_Time_Lord/pbnIDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Time+Lord%22+-wikipedia&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover |title=Once Upon a Time Lord: The Myths and Stories of Doctor Who |date=2020-02-20 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78831-645-3 |language=en}}</ref> The book ''Academia and Higher Learning in Popular Culture'' stated that the Time Lords have a close association between the academy and their teachings of non-interference; these allusions are shown to illustrate how the Time Lords view themselves as being intellectually superior to other races, and how they look down on those below them.<ref name="Mills-2023">{{Cite book |last=Mills |first=Catriona |title=Academia and Higher Learning in Popular Culture |date=25 July 2023 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-031-32350-8 |chapter=“I Am a Doctor of Many Things”: Tracking the Doctor’s Relationship to the Academy Across Doctor Who}}</ref> The paper ''Doctor Who and Race: Reflections on the Change of Britain's Status in the International System'' stated that the destruction of the Time Lords allowed for the Doctor to be symbolic of how class warfare evolved over time, as the Doctor no longer represented an "upper-class Englishman" during the show's revival as they had during the Classic era, with the rest of the Time Lords they opposed being characterised as destructive and power hungry individuals. Similarly, the Fifth Doctor's clashes with Gallifreyan society in the Classic series were considered symbolic of class struggles at the time of those episodes' airings.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gupta |first=Amit |date=2013 |title=Doctor Who and Race: Reflections on the Change of Britain’s Status in the International System |journal=The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and Policy Studies |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=41-50 |via=Taylor & Francis}}</ref>
-*[[Time War (Doctor Who)]]
-== Notes ==
+The book ''Design for Doctor Who: Vision and Revision in Science Fiction Television'' analysed the usage of the Time Lords' ceremonial robes and collars in their iconography; it stated that while the costumes had proven to be cumbersome and not be taken as seriously by modern day audiences, they still continued to be retained due to their importance in the visual identity of the Time Lords, which the book stated helped unify the classic and revived series through this shared element.<ref name="Britton-2021" /> The paper ''"Gallifrey Falls No More: Doctor Who's Ontology of Time"'' analysed the Time Lords' role in maintaining time in the ''Doctor Who'' universe, as well as their relation to [[Eternalism (philosophy of time)|eternalism]]. Comparing their role as "gods" of time in the series to how eternalism treats all of time equally, the paper stated that the ability for the universe to be changed without the Time Lords' presence showed how all points in time were already set in stone, and thus the show's depiction of time fell within an eternalist perspective.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Decker |first=Kevin S. |date=2019 |title=Gallifrey Falls No More: Doctor Who?s Ontology of Time |url=https://philpapers.org/rec/DECGFN |journal=Journal of Science Fiction and Philosophy |volume=2 |pages=1–21}}</ref> A paper by the ''[[Scientific American]]'' analysed how the Time Lords' two hearts could work in real life.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marvit |first=Amelia |title=Doctor Who’s Time Lords Have Two Hearts. Here’s How Their Dual Cardiac System Could Work |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/doctor-whos-time-lords-have-two-hearts-heres-how-their-dual-cardiac-system/ |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=Scientific American |language=en}}</ref>
-{{reflist|group="note"}}
 ==References==

Time Lord: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:17, 9 November 2025

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