The Gallifrey Chronicles (1991 book)
Encyclopedia
For the Lance Parkin
novel of the same name, see: The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005 novel)
The Gallifrey Chronicles is the title of a book related to the long-running British
science fiction television
series Doctor Who
. Written by John Peel
, The Gallifrey Chronicles is an exploration of the fictional history of the planet Gallifrey
as revealed in the television series. It was published by Virgin Publishing in 1991.
The Gallifrey Chronicles is a guide to the history, culture and technology of the planet Gallifrey, original home of the Doctor
. It contains accounts of Gallifrey and the Time Lord
s as revealed in the television programme, speculative essays on subjects such as the mechanism of regeneration and the intelligence of the TARDIS
, and The Black Scrolls of Rassilon
, a fictional account of Rassilon's rise to power and the earliest days of the Time Lords.
The cover art is by Andrew Skilleter
who has illustrated several Doctor Who book covers.
of Doctor Who in 1963, no one could have predicted that the programme's popularity would ensure its survival for twenty-eight record-breaking years.
In that first story we learnt only that the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan had left their home planet, under something of a cloud, in a remarkable time-travelling craft called the TARDIS that looked — at least on the outside — like a police telephone box.
The Doctor and the TARDIS have remained the constant elements in a television saga that has seen many changes over the decades. As the years passed we learnt more and more about the Doctor's background, about other Time Lords, and about Gallifrey.
John Peel has researched every DOCTOR WHO story ever shown on television to bring together all the facts about Gallifrey and the Time Lords. The result — illustrated throughout with photographs from the BBC archives — is a comprehensive guide to the foundations of the entire DOCTOR WHO Universe, and a fascinating insight into the most comprehensive science fiction mythos that television has ever produced.
Lance Parkin
Lance Parkin is a British author, best known for writing fiction and reference books for television series, in particular Doctor Who and Emmerdale...
novel of the same name, see: The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005 novel)
The Gallifrey Chronicles (2005 novel)
For the John Peel book of the same name, see: The Gallifrey Chronicles The Gallifrey Chronicles is a BBC Books original novel written by Lance Parkin and based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
The Gallifrey Chronicles is the title of a book related to the long-running British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
science fiction television
Science fiction on television
Science fiction first appeared on a television program during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary world not limited by the constraints of reality; this makes television an excellent medium...
series Doctor Who
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...
. Written by John Peel
John Peel (writer)
John Peel is a British writer, best known for his books connected to several television series. He has written under several pseudonyms, including John Vincent and Nicholas Adams. He lives in Long Island, New York and his wife is a U.S...
, The Gallifrey Chronicles is an exploration of the fictional history 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...
as revealed in the television series. It was published by Virgin Publishing in 1991.
The Gallifrey Chronicles is a guide to the history, culture and technology of the planet Gallifrey, original home of 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....
. It contains accounts of Gallifrey and 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 as revealed in the television programme, speculative essays on subjects such as the mechanism of regeneration and the intelligence of the TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
, and The Black Scrolls of Rassilon
Rassilon
Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey...
, a fictional account of Rassilon's rise to power and the earliest days of the Time Lords.
The cover art is by Andrew Skilleter
Andrew Skilleter
Andrew Skilleter is a U.K. artist who has created much of the cover art for the Doctor Who series. He is also a children's book illustrator.-External links:...
who has illustrated several Doctor Who book covers.
Publisher's summary
The planet Gallifrey: cradle of the most ancient civilization in our galaxy, source of the technology that mastered both space and time, home of the people who call themselves the Time Lords — and the origin of the mysterious, quirky, itinerant time-traveller known as the Doctor. When the British Broadcasting Corporation transmitted the first episodeAn Unearthly Child
The serial that became An Unearthly Child was originally commissioned from writer Anthony Coburn in June 1963, when it was intended to run as the second Doctor Who serial. At this stage, it was planned that the series would open with a serial entitled The Giants, to be written by BBC staff...
of Doctor Who in 1963, no one could have predicted that the programme's popularity would ensure its survival for twenty-eight record-breaking years.
In that first story we learnt only that the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan had left their home planet, under something of a cloud, in a remarkable time-travelling craft called the TARDIS that looked — at least on the outside — like a police telephone box.
The Doctor and the TARDIS have remained the constant elements in a television saga that has seen many changes over the decades. As the years passed we learnt more and more about the Doctor's background, about other Time Lords, and about Gallifrey.
John Peel has researched every DOCTOR WHO story ever shown on television to bring together all the facts about Gallifrey and the Time Lords. The result — illustrated throughout with photographs from the BBC archives — is a comprehensive guide to the foundations of the entire DOCTOR WHO Universe, and a fascinating insight into the most comprehensive science fiction mythos that television has ever produced.