Gallifrey (audio series)
Encyclopedia
Gallifrey is the umbrella title of a line of audio plays set in the Doctor Who universe
, produced by Big Finish Productions
, featuring Louise Jameson
as Leela
, Lalla Ward
as President Romana, and John Leeson
as two K-9
units, Mark I and Mark II. The title refers to the home planet
of the Time Lord
s.
Like all spin-off media, its canonicity in relation to the television series is open to interpretation, although the rise of Romana to the presidency of the Time Lord
s echoes a similar event in the novels. The first play in the series, Weapon of Choice
, was released in 2004. The most recent series was released in 2011.
The second series sees the admission of non-Gallifreyans into the Time Lord Academy, leading to even more tension within the Time Lord political elite. Romana has to deal with Free Time infiltrators as well as an attempted coup by Inquisitor Darkel. In addition, an ancient Gallifreyan evil escapes from the Matrix
: Pandora, a megalomaniacal personality who manipulates Romana and others with the goal of regaining life and power. At the end of the second series, Pandora manages to manifest herself in the form of Romana's first incarnation (played once again by Mary Tamm
). Both Romanas claim the title of Imperiatrix, absolute ruler of Gallifrey, leading to civil war.
In the third series, Romana traps Pandora in the Matrix once again, and destroys her by sacrificing the Matrix. After an election fraught with political manoeuvring, one Lord Matthias becomes Lord President. The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Gallifrey on the brink of economic and social collapse as well as in danger of being overrun by a Free Time virus, while most of the cast are trapped with no apparent means of escape.
As Big Finish's license forbids them from using aspects of the revived television series, the Gallifrey series does not explicitly acknowledge the events of the Time War. However, in the final chapter of the third series Irving Braxiatel
speaks of "rumours out there in the big wide universe — more than rumours, in fact — that something's coming to Gallifrey, something worse than you could possibly imagine".
Because of these rumours, Braxiatel engineers the removal of the Time Lord biodata archive from Gallifrey, in order that the Time Lords might someday be restored after their planet meets its doom. Former Big Finish producer Gary Russell
indicated in the audio interviews for the fourth series that this was a reference to the television series' Time War
.
The fourth series, sees Romana, Leela, K9 Mark II, Brax and Narvin unable to save the Gallifrey they know. Instead, they wander through a collection of truncated time lines, looking for answers in alternate Gallifreys.
Whoniverse
Whoniverse, a portmanteau of the words "Who" and "universe", is a word used to describe the fictional setting of the television series Doctor Who, K-9 and Company, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and K-9, as well as other related stories...
, produced by Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions
Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays based, primarily, on cult British science fiction properties...
, featuring Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson
Louise Jameson is an English actress, best known for playing Leela, the leather-clad barbarian warrior companion of the fourth Doctor in Doctor Who. Jameson has also appeared on Emmerdale , The Omega Factor Louise Jameson (born 20 April 1951 in Wanstead, London) is an English actress, best known...
as Leela
Leela (Doctor Who)
Leela is a fictional character played by Louise Jameson in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Leela was a companion of the Fourth Doctor and a regular in the programme from 1977 to 1978...
, Lalla Ward
Lalla Ward
Sarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
as President Romana, and John Leeson
John Leeson
John Leeson is a British actor who is best known for voicing K-9 on the television series Doctor Who from 1977 to 1979, and again in the 1980–1981 season. He was called back to do the voice of K-9 again for the 2006 episode "School Reunion" and again for the 2008 Doctor Who episode "Journey's End"...
as two K-9
K-9 (Doctor Who)
K-9, or K9, is the name of several fictional robotic canines in the long-running British science fiction television series, Doctor Who, first appearing in 1977...
units, Mark I and Mark II. The title refers to the home planet
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...
of 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.
Like all spin-off media, its canonicity in relation to the television series is open to interpretation, although the rise of Romana to the presidency of 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 echoes a similar event in the novels. The first play in the series, Weapon of Choice
Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice
Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
, was released in 2004. The most recent series was released in 2011.
Summary
The series focuses on political struggles within the leadership of the Time Lords, centred around Romana's presidency. In the first series, Romana's progressive policies and desires to open Gallifrey up to the outside universe faces opposition from more conservative cultures. In addition, a terrorist group known as "Free Time", who want to break the monopoly on time travel technology shared among the Time Lords and the few other temporal powers, steals a timeonic fusion device. The inquiry into Romana's handling of the incident reveals a dark secret surrounding the Time Lords' policy of non-intervention.The second series sees the admission of non-Gallifreyans into the Time Lord Academy, leading to even more tension within the Time Lord political elite. Romana has to deal with Free Time infiltrators as well as an attempted coup by Inquisitor Darkel. In addition, an ancient Gallifreyan evil escapes from the Matrix
Matrix (Doctor Who)
The Matrix, in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who, is a massive computer system on the planet Gallifrey that acts as the repository of the combined knowledge of the Time Lords....
: Pandora, a megalomaniacal personality who manipulates Romana and others with the goal of regaining life and power. At the end of the second series, Pandora manages to manifest herself in the form of Romana's first incarnation (played once again by Mary Tamm
Mary Tamm
Mary Tamm is an English actress. She is best known for being the first actress to play the character of Romana in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, opposite Tom Baker as the Doctor, from the 1978–1979 season known collectively as The Key to Time.-Early life:Mary Tamm was born in...
). Both Romanas claim the title of Imperiatrix, absolute ruler of Gallifrey, leading to civil war.
In the third series, Romana traps Pandora in the Matrix once again, and destroys her by sacrificing the Matrix. After an election fraught with political manoeuvring, one Lord Matthias becomes Lord President. The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Gallifrey on the brink of economic and social collapse as well as in danger of being overrun by a Free Time virus, while most of the cast are trapped with no apparent means of escape.
As Big Finish's license forbids them from using aspects of the revived television series, the Gallifrey series does not explicitly acknowledge the events of the Time War. However, in the final chapter of the third series Irving Braxiatel
Irving Braxiatel
Irving Braxiatel or Cardinal Braxiatel is a fictional character from the Virgin New Adventures—spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. He subsequently became a regular character in novels and audio dramas in the Bernice Summerfield universe...
speaks of "rumours out there in the big wide universe — more than rumours, in fact — that something's coming to Gallifrey, something worse than you could possibly imagine".
Because of these rumours, Braxiatel engineers the removal of the Time Lord biodata archive from Gallifrey, in order that the Time Lords might someday be restored after their planet meets its doom. Former Big Finish producer Gary Russell
Gary Russell
Gary James Russell is a freelance writer and former child actor. As a writer, he is best known for his work in connection with the television series Doctor Who and its spin-offs in other media...
indicated in the audio interviews for the fourth series that this was a reference to the television series' 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...
.
The fourth series, sees Romana, Leela, K9 Mark II, Brax and Narvin unable to save the Gallifrey they know. Instead, they wander through a collection of truncated time lines, looking for answers in alternate Gallifreys.
Series 1
- 1.1 - Gallifrey: Weapon of ChoiceGallifrey: Weapon of ChoiceGallifrey: Weapon of Choice is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 1.2 - Gallifrey: Square OneGallifrey: Square OneGallifrey: Square One is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 1.3 - Gallifrey: The InquiryGallifrey: The InquiryGallifrey: The Inquiry is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 1.4 - Gallifrey: A Blind EyeGallifrey: A Blind EyeGallifrey: A Blind Eye is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.-Plot:...
Series 2
- 2.1 - Gallifrey: LiesGallifrey: LiesGallifrey: Lies is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.-Plot:...
- 2.2 - Gallifrey: SpiritGallifrey: SpiritGallifrey: Spirit is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 2.3 - Gallifrey: PandoraGallifrey: PandoraGallifrey: Pandora is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 2.4 - Gallifrey: InsurgencyGallifrey: InsurgencyGallifrey: Insurgency is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 2.5 - Gallifrey: ImperiatrixGallifrey: ImperiatrixGallifrey: Imperiatrix is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
Series 3
- 3.1 - Gallifrey: FracturesGallifrey: FracturesGallifrey: Fractures is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 3.2 - Gallifrey: WarfareGallifrey: WarfareGallifrey: Warfare is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 3.3 - Gallifrey: AppropriationGallifrey: AppropriationGallifrey: Appropriation is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 3.4 - Gallifrey: MindbombGallifrey: MindbombGallifrey: Mindbomb is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 3.5 - Gallifrey: PanaceaGallifrey: PanaceaGallifrey: Panacea is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
Series 4
- 4.1 - Gallifrey: RebornGallifrey: RebornGallifrey: Reborn is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :Gallifrey will fall...
- 4.2 - Gallifrey: DisassembledGallifrey: DisassembledGallifrey: Disassembled is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
- 4.3 - Gallifrey: AnnihilationGallifrey: AnnihilationGallifrey: Annihilation is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...
- 4.4 - Gallifrey: ForeverGallifrey: ForeverGallifrey: Forever is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The series is set on the Doctor's home planet of Gallifrey.- Plot :...