Eternal (Doctor Who)
Encyclopedia
The Eternals are a race of cosmic beings first introduced in the Doctor Who
TV adventure "Enlightenment
." One Eternal who called himself Striker explained to the Doctor
that he and his people lived outside of time, in the realm of eternity. They considered the mortal inhabitants of the universe to be "Ephemerals", even the Time Lord
s of the planet Gallifrey
. Striker seemed completely unaware of the existence of the Time Lords before meeting the Doctor.
In the story "Enlightenment", the Doctor eventually realized that although the Eternals were powerful enough to manipulate matter, creating objects out of thin air, and read minds effortlessly through telepathy, they lacked imagination and creativity. Thus, they actually depended on "Ephemerals" to keep them active and prevent them from withering away in boredom, and without them the Eternals had no purpose; on one occasion the Doctor manages to outwit an Eternal attempt to destroy a rival ship by throwing the explosive off the ship, noting that the Eternals couldn't have accomplished that because they lacked the imagination to think of such an action. This dependence was not something they liked admitting to, however, and they made boasts several times of how they could manipulate the reality around them through sheer force of will. Despite this great power, they deferred to the Guardians of Time, specifically the White Guardian
and the Black Guardian
who offered the Eternals "enlightenment"- complete knowledge of good and evil- if they won a cosmic race. The Eternals captured many Ephemerals to win the race for them, hence accidentally bringing about the attention of the Doctor who immediately saw them as a threat.
Although the Eternals were never again seen in the TV series, they have been mentioned in the new TV series that began in 2005. In the episode "Army of Ghosts," the Doctor mentioned the existence of a "nowhere place" that exists between parallel universes and alternate timelines, saying that his people called it the Void while "the Eternals called it the Howling."
In the later episode "Shakespeare Code," the alien witches called Carrionites claimed that the Eternals banished them "into deep darkness" soon after the "dawn of the universe."
story "Uninvited Guests", the Doctor used the force of the Time Vortex itself to punish the evil Eternal called Lord Prospero by bringing him into "the domain of Time." So it seems that under the right circumstances, an Eternal can become an Ephemeral.
In the BBC Books
spin-off
novel The Quantum Archangel
by Craig Hinton, it is mentioned that the Eternals co-exist with the Chronovores, Reapers, and the Guardians in Calabi-Yau Space, which is composed of six dimensions as opposed to our universe which is composed of five. It was also mentioned that Chronovores and Eternals were forbidden from mixing with each other, with this 'Covenant' being broken when a Chronovore and Eternal mate and conceive a child; although both parents are erased from history as punishment, their child survives to become Kronos, regarded as the greatest of the Chronovores, who is encountered by the Third Doctor
when the Master seeks to control Kronos in The Time Monster
.
The New Adventures
range of Doctor Who novels published by Virgin Publishing featured the frequent appearance of an Eternal who called herself Death and seemed to be, in nearly every way, a personification of death itself. Some of the novels later stated that Death, along with Time and other Eternals, were worshiped as gods on ancient Gallifrey
. The Doctor first met death while in his seventh incarnation in the novel Timewyrm: Revelation
. While battling the cosmically powered Timewyrm, the villain seemed to conjure up a representation of death that the Seventh Doctor
then danced with. But this was not a creation of the Timewyrm's but rather the Eternal named Death who had been summoned by the Timewyrm's power.
Death taunted the Seventh Doctor in several books after that. In the novel Love and War
by Paul Cornell
, a dream sequence showed a conversation between the Doctor and Death and implied that the Doctor, while in his sixth incarnation, had actually planned his own death and rebirth into the seventh in order to become "Time's Champion." Death seemed to imply that she had been directly involved in this plan of action and that it may have resulted after a deal the Doctor made with her.
In the audio play Master
, the Master
is described as Death's Champion, just as the Seventh Doctor
was said to be "Time's Champion." The audio play depicted how the Doctor made a deal with Death that she would make his arch-enemy the Master into good man who did good things. Death agreed to this and gave the Master complete amnesia, after which she set him in a town called Perfugiam. He became a well-respected and loved physician named "John Smith" (coincidentally, an alias the Doctor himself has often used). But in return for turning the villain into a good man, Death said that the Doctor would have to kill him after ten years. The Doctor couldn't bring himself to commit this murder and soon afterwards Death restored the Master's memories, returning him to his villainous ways and making him hate the Doctor even more now for having stolen ten years of his life and "neutering" him.
In that same audio play, Death said that the Doctor had once killed a boy in self-defense when he was still just a child on Gallifrey. She said that she came to the Doctor afterwards in a dream and offered him a chance to be free of the guilt and memory of this crime, but that if he asked for it his best friend would be stricken with this guilt and memory instead. According to Death, the young boy who would become the Doctor agreed to this bargain and his friend believed he had done the killing instead. That friend eventually became the Master. Whether or not this account of Death's was true isn't known and can't really be proven, though the Seventh Doctor was very worried that he felt it was true and that perhaps he was responsible for beginning the Master's descent into darkness (Although the Master's good side assured the Doctor that he didn't blame the Doctor for the actions he had committed as a child when he could not understand what was being offered).
In the novel So Vile a Sin
, Death visits the Doctor when he suffers a heart attack- in only one heart- while attending the funeral of his companion Roz Forrester
, telling him that she is coming for him directly very soon and that when he dies it will be alone, without companions and without meaning. This was meant to reference the Seventh Doctor's rather abrupt and lonely death in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie which had been released not too long before the book was published.
An article by Russell T Davies in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 stated that during the Last Great Time War
between the Time Lord
s and the Daleks, the Eternals were so affected by the violence and the damage to space and time that they left the mainstream five-dimensional universe completely, never to be seen again.
in which an organization of men called "Eternals" operate outside of time ("Eternity"), working to manipulate time itself. However, the nature of Asimov's Eternals is more similar to the Timelords in their unchanging custodial ways.
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
TV adventure "Enlightenment
Enlightenment (Doctor Who)
Enlightenment is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in four twice-weekly parts from March 1 to March 9, 1983...
." One Eternal who called himself Striker explained to the Doctor
Doctor (Doctor Who)
The Doctor is the central character in the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who, and has also featured in two cinema feature films, a vast range of spin-off novels, audio dramas and comic strips connected to the series....
that he and his people lived outside of time, in the realm of eternity. They considered the mortal inhabitants of the universe to be "Ephemerals", even the Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s of the planet Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
. Striker seemed completely unaware of the existence of the Time Lords before meeting the Doctor.
In the story "Enlightenment", the Doctor eventually realized that although the Eternals were powerful enough to manipulate matter, creating objects out of thin air, and read minds effortlessly through telepathy, they lacked imagination and creativity. Thus, they actually depended on "Ephemerals" to keep them active and prevent them from withering away in boredom, and without them the Eternals had no purpose; on one occasion the Doctor manages to outwit an Eternal attempt to destroy a rival ship by throwing the explosive off the ship, noting that the Eternals couldn't have accomplished that because they lacked the imagination to think of such an action. This dependence was not something they liked admitting to, however, and they made boasts several times of how they could manipulate the reality around them through sheer force of will. Despite this great power, they deferred to the Guardians of Time, specifically the White Guardian
White Guardian
The White Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Cyril Luckham, with the exception of a vocal message in The Stones of Blood which was performed by Gerald Cross....
and the Black Guardian
Black Guardian
The Black Guardian is a character in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was played by Valentine Dyall....
who offered the Eternals "enlightenment"- complete knowledge of good and evil- if they won a cosmic race. The Eternals captured many Ephemerals to win the race for them, hence accidentally bringing about the attention of the Doctor who immediately saw them as a threat.
Although the Eternals were never again seen in the TV series, they have been mentioned in the new TV series that began in 2005. In the episode "Army of Ghosts," the Doctor mentioned the existence of a "nowhere place" that exists between parallel universes and alternate timelines, saying that his people called it the Void while "the Eternals called it the Howling."
In the later episode "Shakespeare Code," the alien witches called Carrionites claimed that the Eternals banished them "into deep darkness" soon after the "dawn of the universe."
Other appearances
In the Doctor Who MagazineDoctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
story "Uninvited Guests", the Doctor used the force of the Time Vortex itself to punish the evil Eternal called Lord Prospero by bringing him into "the domain of Time." So it seems that under the right circumstances, an Eternal can become an Ephemeral.
In the BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
spin-off
Doctor Who spin-offs
Doctor Who spin-offs refers to material created outside of, but related to, the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who....
novel The Quantum Archangel
The Quantum Archangel
The Quantum Archangel is a BBC Books original novel written by Craig Hinton and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Sixth Doctor and Mel, the Master, and an appearance by an alternate version of the Third Doctor...
by Craig Hinton, it is mentioned that the Eternals co-exist with the Chronovores, Reapers, and the Guardians in Calabi-Yau Space, which is composed of six dimensions as opposed to our universe which is composed of five. It was also mentioned that Chronovores and Eternals were forbidden from mixing with each other, with this 'Covenant' being broken when a Chronovore and Eternal mate and conceive a child; although both parents are erased from history as punishment, their child survives to become Kronos, regarded as the greatest of the Chronovores, who is encountered by the Third Doctor
Third Doctor
The Third Doctor is the third incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee....
when the Master seeks to control Kronos in The Time Monster
The Time Monster
The Time Monster is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 20 May to 24 June 1972.- Synopsis :...
.
The New Adventures
Virgin New Adventures
The Virgin New Adventures were a series of novels from Virgin Publishing based on the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who...
range of Doctor Who novels published by Virgin Publishing featured the frequent appearance of an Eternal who called herself Death and seemed to be, in nearly every way, a personification of death itself. Some of the novels later stated that Death, along with Time and other Eternals, were worshiped as gods on ancient Gallifrey
Gallifrey
Gallifrey is a fictional planet in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who and is the homeworld of the Doctor and the Time Lords...
. The Doctor first met death while in his seventh incarnation in the novel Timewyrm: Revelation
Timewyrm: Revelation
Timewyrm: Revelation is an original Doctor Who novel, published by Virgin Publishing in their New Adventures range of Doctor Who novels...
. While battling the cosmically powered Timewyrm, the villain seemed to conjure up a representation of death that the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
then danced with. But this was not a creation of the Timewyrm's but rather the Eternal named Death who had been summoned by the Timewyrm's power.
Death taunted the Seventh Doctor in several books after that. In the novel Love and War
Love and War (Doctor Who)
Love and War is an original novel written by Paul Cornell and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Ace and introduces a new companion, Bernice Summerfield...
by Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
, a dream sequence showed a conversation between the Doctor and Death and implied that the Doctor, while in his sixth incarnation, had actually planned his own death and rebirth into the seventh in order to become "Time's Champion." Death seemed to imply that she had been directly involved in this plan of action and that it may have resulted after a deal the Doctor made with her.
In the audio play Master
Master (Doctor Who audio)
Master is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It forms a trilogy with Omega and Davros to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the show...
, the Master
Master (Doctor Who)
The Master is a recurring character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is a renegade Time Lord and the archenemy of the Doctor....
is described as Death's Champion, just as the Seventh Doctor
Seventh Doctor
The Seventh Doctor is the seventh incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He was portrayed by the actor Sylvester McCoy....
was said to be "Time's Champion." The audio play depicted how the Doctor made a deal with Death that she would make his arch-enemy the Master into good man who did good things. Death agreed to this and gave the Master complete amnesia, after which she set him in a town called Perfugiam. He became a well-respected and loved physician named "John Smith" (coincidentally, an alias the Doctor himself has often used). But in return for turning the villain into a good man, Death said that the Doctor would have to kill him after ten years. The Doctor couldn't bring himself to commit this murder and soon afterwards Death restored the Master's memories, returning him to his villainous ways and making him hate the Doctor even more now for having stolen ten years of his life and "neutering" him.
In that same audio play, Death said that the Doctor had once killed a boy in self-defense when he was still just a child on Gallifrey. She said that she came to the Doctor afterwards in a dream and offered him a chance to be free of the guilt and memory of this crime, but that if he asked for it his best friend would be stricken with this guilt and memory instead. According to Death, the young boy who would become the Doctor agreed to this bargain and his friend believed he had done the killing instead. That friend eventually became the Master. Whether or not this account of Death's was true isn't known and can't really be proven, though the Seventh Doctor was very worried that he felt it was true and that perhaps he was responsible for beginning the Master's descent into darkness (Although the Master's good side assured the Doctor that he didn't blame the Doctor for the actions he had committed as a child when he could not understand what was being offered).
In the novel So Vile a Sin
So Vile a Sin
So Vile a Sin is an original novel written by Ben Aaronovitch & Kate Orman and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It features the Seventh Doctor, Chris and Roz, Bernice, Jason, Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart...
, Death visits the Doctor when he suffers a heart attack- in only one heart- while attending the funeral of his companion Roz Forrester
Roz Forrester
Roslyn Sarah Inyathi Forrester, usually just known as Roz Forrester, is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures range of spin-offs based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who....
, telling him that she is coming for him directly very soon and that when he dies it will be alone, without companions and without meaning. This was meant to reference the Seventh Doctor's rather abrupt and lonely death in the 1996 Doctor Who television movie which had been released not too long before the book was published.
An article by Russell T Davies in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 stated that during the Last Great Time War
Time War (Doctor Who)
The Time War, more specifically called The Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
between the Time Lord
Time Lord
The Time Lords are an ancient extraterrestrial race and civilization of humanoids in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, of which the series' eponymous protagonist, the Doctor, is a member...
s and the Daleks, the Eternals were so affected by the violence and the damage to space and time that they left the mainstream five-dimensional universe completely, never to be seen again.
Influences
Some Science Fiction enthusiasts have noted a connection to Isaac Asimov's novel The End of EternityThe End of Eternity
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov is a science fiction novel, with mystery and thriller elements, on the subjects of time travel and social engineering....
in which an organization of men called "Eternals" operate outside of time ("Eternity"), working to manipulate time itself. However, the nature of Asimov's Eternals is more similar to the Timelords in their unchanging custodial ways.