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

Paul McGann as the 8th incarnation of The Doctor. Was he responsible for the destruction of his own race?

In the popular British television show Doctor Who, Time Lords are the ruling class of the planet Gallifrey. The main character of the show, who calls himself "The Doctor," is himself a member of this group. The Gallifreyans mastered time travel technology eons ago and have developed vast capabilities for traveling in and altering time and space.

Political Organization

Time Lords are graduates of one of several elite colleges on Gallifrey that teach temporal theory. The show explicitly names only the Prydonian Academy, which is the most prestigious of them. In addition to the Prydonians, however, it refers to "Petraxes" and "Arcalians" and implies that several other Time Lord chapters exist. The heads of the colleges (called "Cardinals") have tremendous political power. However, an individual referred to as the "Lord President" is the actual head of the planetary government. The successor to this office is normally named by the Lord President himself. However, in the event that he dies without naming a successor, an election is held. It is usually assumed that one of the Cardinals will ascend to this office. However, all Time Lords appear to be eligible. The title of the the second in command appears to be "Chancellor." These two, together with the cardinals of the colleges (and possibly some others) form the High Council.

The Architects of Time Lord Power

Two notable figures in Gallifreyan history appear to have been the architects of modern Time Lord society.

Rassilon was the leader responsible for Gallifrey's Golden Age. He and his associates made time travel possible through their temporal engineering skills, and codified many of the laws that later shaped Time Lord society. In enabling time travel, he even went so far as to modify the genetic code of the Gallifreyan race itself. Rassilon's vast tomb is located far out in the Gallifreyan wilderness.

Omega was the stellar engineer Rassilon employed to harness the enormous amounts of raw energy required for time travel. Omega employed a stellar manipulation device known as "The Hand of Omega" to harness the power of a black hole, ultimately channeling it through a device known as "The Eye of Harmony," which focused and distributed the energy. Unfortunately, Omega himself was sucked into the black hole during this operation and was thought to be lost for many centuries. However, Omega survived, alone and bitter at the thought of being abandoned by his people. He has attempted to return to seek vengeance on Gallifrey on at least two occasions.

Later Time Lords appear to be less advanced than Rassilon and his contemporaries, failing miserably to circumvent the safeguards Rassilon put in place.

Non Intervention Policy

Not long after the Gallifreyans developed time travel technology, they encountered the inhabitants of the planet Minyos. The Time Lords shared much of their knowledge with the Minyans, who were so awed by the capabilities of the Time Lords that they began to worship the newcomers as gods. But the encounter went terribly wrong. Civil war soon broke out among the Minyans, who used their new found knowledge to build terrible weapons. Ultimately, their race was destroyed. Horrified, the Time Lords declared a strict policy of non-intervention in the affairs of other races. Such intervention is now considered a criminal act and Time Lords who persist in doing so are considered renegades.

Nevertheless, there is some evidence that the Time Lords at least occasionaly continued to interfere in the events of the universe, particularly when their own interests were at stake. Fearing that the Daleks would eventually be a threat to them, the Time Lords sent the Doctor to prevent or hamper the creation of the insane creatures. Discovering that many of their secrets had been plundered, they moved an entire star system light years away in order to prevent the sponsor of that theft from finding the drop point. Doctor Who spin off materials such as the novels and the audio dramas have suggested that a Gallifreyan organization known as the Celestial Intervention Agency may be responsible for some of these acts. However, this organization has been mentioned only in passing on the show itself and the canonicity of the novels and the audio dramas is hotly debated by fans.

Renegades

A number of Time Lords have chosen to live as renegades outside of Time Lord society. The majority of them wish to exploit the great power and knowledge they have as Time Lords to their own ends. However, a few (such as the Doctor) seem to have more postive motives. Although it is not known exactly how much effort Gallifrey puts into tracking down these individuals, it is certain that renegades are put on trial for their activities when they are located. It does seem to be the case that (at a minimum) a renegade must erase the records of his TARDIS's existance and disable some of its tracking equipment in order to escape detection. Erasing one's own personal Bio Data Extract also seems to be a good idea. A desire to escape detection may also be the reason a number of these individuals seem to substitute titles for their real names.

Known renegades include the following:

• The Doctor
• The Meddling Monk
• The War Chief
• The Master
• Drax (possibly)
• The Rani

Gallifreyan Landscape

Gallifrey appears to have a very Earth-like atmosphere, and humans appear to be comfortable in the open air. The vast majority of Gallifreyans live in massive cities, which they never leave—and may in fact be afraid to leave. There are, however, a small minority of Gallifreyans who have left the cities in an attempt to return to nature.

The End of the Time Lords

Although both the planet Gallifrey and other Time Lords have appeared in the television series, recent episodes of Doctor Who indicate that the planet has since been destroyed in a great Time War, leaving The Doctor as potentially the sole surviving member of his race. The Doctor himself seems to have been involved in these events. Little has been revealed as to the exact nature or time frame of his involvement. However, it is most likely The Doctor's 8th incarnation (played by Paul McGann) that was involved in the Time War.