January 31, 2025
From Rassilon to the Rani, meet some of the Doctor's Time Lord contemporaries...
Gallifrey, the Doctor’s home planet. And also home to the Time Lords - a race with the ability to regenerate, time-travel, and cause trouble (even when they say they’re just observing).
The Doctor’s always running from Gallifrey (and often running back to it!) but they're not the only one. Here’s a handy guide to some of the other significant Time Lords in the Whoniverse; from the renegades to the rulers, guards to guardians and beyond...
The Meddling Monk
A fellow renegade with a TARDIS of his own, the Monk had a very different view on historical interference.
The First Doctor foiled him twice: when he attempted to prevent the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and usher in a new technological age; and then again when they both found themselves enmeshed in the Daleks’ “Master Plan”.
The Master
The Doctor’s sinister counterpart and childhood friend, the Master was driven mad when they viewed the Untempered Schism as an eight year old. In the years since, the Master has frequently tried to take over the Earth, the universe and even the Doctor! They also frequently ally themselves with some of Gallifrey’s deadliest enemies such as the Cybermen and Daleks.
Despite working sometimes in an uneasy alliance with the Doctor, the Master is a force to be reckoned with in all incarnations!
The Rani
An amoral genius and contemporary of the Doctor and Master, the Rani sought to gain scientific knowledge at any cost - whether it was human brain fluid, turning humans into trees or by channelling the intellects of the greatest minds of the universe into a giant brain!
The Rani was known for her quick wit, sense of style and for causing the Sixth Doctor’s regeneration. She also proved herself quite the mimic with her impersonation of companion Mel.
Rassilon
A Time Lord of both good and evil, the Fifth Doctor encountered one of the founders of their society when he travelled to the Tomb of Rassilon on Gallifrey’s Death Zone. It was here where Rassilon trapped the power-hungry Borusa who had now become Lord President.
The Time Lords later resurrected Rassilon to lead them in the last days of the Time War. He devised the “Ultimate Sanction” - a plan to rid the universe of all species barring the Time Lords. Thankfully, the Tenth Doctor and the Master were on hand to save the day.
Rassilon was present on Gallifrey as Lord President after the Twelfth Doctor escaped from a Confession Dial that he had been trapped in for billions of years. Rassilon was confronted about his crimes and was banished from the planet forever.
Omega
One of the founders of Time Lord society, Omega was a solar engineer when he created a supernova, through detonating a star, to master time travel. His fellow Gallifreyans believed he died in the explosion and revered him as their greatest hero.
However, he did not die. Living in an anti-matter universe, Omega considered himself abandoned by his people. Corrupted by his long exile, he attempted to force the Third Doctor to take his place so he could return to enact his revenge on his society, not realising he had only survived by the force of his will alone and no longer had any physical body.
Having failed to destroy the Time Lords, Omega attempted to use the Fifth Doctor’s bio-data to create a new body. He was defeated, and his new body slowly decayed back into anti-matter.
Romana
Assigned by the White Guardian to help the Fourth Doctor assemble the Key to Time, Romanadvoratrelundar was academically smarter than the Doctor though inexperienced.
Romana chose to regenerate into a new incarnation which shared more of the Doctor’s eccentricities and grew to love her travels with him. She was deeply saddened when asked by the Time Lords to return home however, the TARDIS fell into E-Space, and Romana elected to leave the Doctor to fight for an enslaved, time-sensitive race called the Tharils.
Tecteun
A Shobogan scientist, Tecteun was one of the first inhabitants of Gallifrey to explore other planets, whereupon she came upon and adopted the Timeless Child - the future Doctor. Having experimented on them, she managed to extract their Regeneration Code and regenerated herself into one of the Founding Fathers of Gallifrey - whilst limiting the number of regenerations for each Time Lord to twelve.
A later incarnation of Tecteun was involved in the creation of the Flux and released the Ravagers, intent on destroying the Universe along with the rest of the Division. Following her reunion with the Thirteenth Doctor, she was destroyed by the Ravager, Swarm.
Borusa
Once his tutor, Borusa assisted the Fourth Doctor when he was framed for the assassination of the Lord President of Gallifrey (a plot by the Master and corrupt Time Lord, Chancellor Goth). While he was Lord Chancellor, the Vardans and Sontarans attempted to invade Gallifrey though they were thwarted by the Fourth Doctor and Leela.
Borusa once again aided the Doctor when his life was threatened by Omega, but the immense power of the office of High President led him to disaster. He began to crave immortality and extracted all the Doctor’s incarnations via a Time Scoop to participate in the Death Zone, putting them and their companions in incredible danger in order to gain access to Rassilon’s Tomb.
Borusa’s ultimate reward for his greed was “immortality” - imprisoned as a stone carving on Rassilon’s sarcophagus.
Morbius
The Time Lords executed Morbius for his crimes on the planet Karn. His brain was salvaged by Mehendri Solon,a physician originally from Earth, who aimed to construct a new body for Morbius. When the Fourth Doctor arrived on the planet, Solon conspired to use the Time Lord’s head as it would be perfect for Morbius.
Before the operation could be completed, the Doctor challenged Morbius to a deadly mind-bending contest. After a fierce fight, Morbius once again reverted to his earlier savagery and was hounded over the cliffs of Karn by its Sisterhood.
The Inquisitor and the Valeyard
When put on trial for interference and genocide, the Sixth Doctor found himself at the mercy of a ruthless Time Lord duo – the no-nonsense Inquisitor, who had very little time for the Doctor’s jokes and barbs; and the Valeyard, the sinister prosecutor with a clear agenda against the renegade Time Lord.
As the trial progressed, it became apparent that the Valeyard was in fact a future incarnation of the Doctor, drawn from all his potential darkness. The Valeyard appeared to be defeated when the weapons he aimed to use against the Time Lords were destroyed - but it was clear he had survived in some capacity...
We may have only scratched the surface of the Time Lords and their duplicity - we’ve not even covered those who somehow share the face of a future incarnation of the Doctor, or those who fell in love with one of his companions - but that just shows you that...
... ten million years of absolute power, that’s what it takes to be really corrupt!
