<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

On the long-running British televsion show Doctor Who, Gallifrey is (or was) the home planet of the title character and his fellow Time Lords.

Televised Appearances

Since part of the original concept of the show was that the Doctor's origin is shrouded in mystery, the planet itself has made only rare appearances on the show. Although spin off materials such as novels and radio plays are rich in detail regarding Gallifrey and the Time Lords, the canonicity of such materials is hotly debated by fans.

Its first appearance was in the Season 6 closer, "The War Games." However, in that story, the audience is only allowed to see a darkened courtroom in which the Doctor was put on trial.

The audience is allowed to see one more room, which seemed to be some sort of planetary power management facility, in the tenth anniversary special, "The Three Doctors."

The actual name of the planet was not revealed until it was casually dropped by the Doctor in season eleven's "The Time Warrior."

In fact, it wasn't until Season 14's "The Deadly Assasin" that any significant details about the planet were known. This was the first of only three stories in the series' long history that were set almost entirely on the Doctor's home planet. The other two such stories are season fifteen's "The Invasion of Time" and the twentieth anniversary special, "The Five Doctors." But, even in these stories, the audience only sees the interior of the (unnamed) capital city and some of the surrounding countryside.

The planet is also seen briefly on the TARDIS screens in the 1996 TV movie.

Finally, the planet appears in several brief flashbacks in the 2007 epispode Last of the Timelords.

Location

Gallifrey is in the constellation of Kasterborous, though what exact congregation of stars is referred to by this designation remains a mystery. The Doctor gives its coordinates as "ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero centre." At another point, he seems to say that he has come 250 million light years, presumably from Gallifrey to Earth. This would probably put Gallifrey somewhere toward the center of the milky way. However, this somewhat contradicts other episodes, which strongly imply that the planet is located in another galaxy altogether.

Geography

Gallifrey is usually portrayed as a yellow or an orange planet. In the 1964 story "The Sensorites," the Doctor's granddaughter, Susan indicated that the planet had burnt orange skies and silver-leafed trees. However, "The Invasion of Time" and "The Five Doctors" actually show a more Earth-like environment, sporting green grass and blue skies. In the 2007 episode "Gridlock," the Doctor also mentions mentions burnt orange skies and silver-leafed trees. However, he goes on to describe snow-capped mountain ranges with "fields of deep red grass" and says that the planet had two suns.

The atmosphere outdoors appears to be comfortable for humans at least some of the time (breathable air, reasonable temperatures and terrain). However, the biology of the indigenous population (two hearts, respiratory bypass system, increased physical endurance) suggests that conditions may be harsher than Earth at some times and/or in some locations.