Editing Time Lord (section)

==Overview==
Early on in the series, [[The Doctor (Doctor Who)|the Doctor]] was identified as a human being;<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=22 |quote=[B]ut we can't ignore the fact that, for the remainder of the 1960s, there are plenty of hints that the Doctor is a human being. On more than one occasion, the First Doctor says as much himself. Here he is in the second episode of ''The Sensorites'': 'It's a fallacy, of course, that cats can see in the dark. They can't. But they can see better than ''we'' humans...' In Episode 2 of ''The Savages'', he tells Edal that the savages are 'human beings, like you and me'. }}</ref> however, his home planet, which from the start of the series is explicitly established as not being [[Earth]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=22 |quote=First of all, let's put from our minds the obvious fact that the Doctor comes from another world – that particular cat exits the bag before the end of ''Doctor Who''{{-'}}s first episode. ... To start at the beginning, let's consider that all-important line in ''An Unearthly Child'': 'Susan and I are cut off from our own planet.' }}</ref> was not named. In ''[[The War Games]]'' (1969), the Doctor's people appeared, who from then on are known as a race called Time Lords,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGown |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair McGown |date=March 2016 |title=Gallifrey Guardians |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=7 |isbn=9781846532207 }}</ref><ref name="The War Games">{{cite serial |title=The War Games |title-link=The War Games |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terrance |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Malcolm (writers) |last2=Hulke |author-link2=Malcolm Hulke |first3=David (director) |last3=Maloney |author-link3=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=19 April – 21 June 1969 }}</ref> and in ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'' (1970), the Doctor's earlier description of himself as a human is [[Retroactive continuity|retconned]] when the [[Third Doctor]] explicitly states that he is not human.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Watcher |first=The |date=April 2015 |title=Loving the Alien |magazine=[[Doctor Who Magazine]] |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=484 |page=24 |quote=And finally, after six long years of prevarication, the last episode of ''Spearhead'' [''from Space''] lays its cards on the table when the Doctor says to Channing those three magic words: 'I'm not human.' There, at long last, we have it. Case closed. }}</ref><ref name="Spearhead from Space">{{cite serial |title=Spearhead from Space |title-link=Spearhead from Space |episode=Episode 4 |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Derek (director) |last2=Martinus |author-link2=Derek Martinus |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=24 January 1970 }}</ref> In ''[[The Time Warrior]]'' (1973–1974), the name of the Doctor's home planet, Gallifrey, was revealed on screen for the first time.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McGown |first=Alistair |author-link=Alistair McGown |date=March 2016 |title=Gallifrey Guardians |magazine=The Essential Doctor Who |location=Tunbridge Wells |publisher=[[Panini Comics|Panini UK Ltd]] |issue=7: ''The Time Lords'' |page=8 |isbn=9781846532207 }}</ref><ref name="time warrior 2">{{cite serial |title=The Time Warrior |title-link=The Time Warrior |episode=Part Two |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Holmes |author-link=Robert Holmes (scriptwriter) |first2=Alan (director)| last2=Bromly |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=22 December 1973 }}</ref>

The Time Lords are considered one of the oldest and most technologically powerful races in the ''Doctor Who'' universe. In ''The Time Warrior'', the Time Lords are characterised by [[Sontaran]] military intelligence, quoted by Commander [[List of Doctor Who villains#Linx|Linx]], as "a race of great technical achievement, but lacking the morale to withstand a determined assault".<ref name="time warrior 2"/> In "[[The Witch's Familiar]]" (2015), [[Davros]] mentions a prophecy on the Doctor's world that spoke of a hybrid made up of "two great warrior races forced together to create a warrior greater than either", which is "half-Dalek, half-Time Lord",<ref name="witch">{{Cite episode |title=The Witch's Familiar |episode-link=The Witch's Familiar |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Hettie (director) |last2=MacDonald |author-link2=Hettie MacDonald |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=26 September 2015 |series-no=9 |number=2 }}</ref> while in "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), the General, while describing the prophecy of the Hybrid, mentions the Time Lords as one of two warrior races along with the [[Dalek]]s.<ref name="hell bent">{{Cite episode |title=Hell Bent |episode-link=Hell Bent (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=5 December 2015 |series-no=9 |number=12 }}</ref> In "[[Before the Flood (Doctor Who)|Before the Flood]]" (2015), the Fisher King describes the Time Lords as "cowardly, vain curators, who suddenly remembered they had teeth, and became the most warlike race in the galaxy".<ref name="before the flood">{{Cite episode |title=Before the Flood |episode-link=Before the Flood (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Toby (writer) |last=Whithouse |author-link=Toby Whithouse |first2=Daniel (director) |last2=O'Hara |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=10 October 2015 |series-no=9 |number=4 }}</ref> In the very distant past, the Time Lords fought a genocidal war against the Great Vampires, which led to such a catastrophic loss of life that the Time Lords renounced violence.<ref>{{cite serial
 | title     = ''Season 18.'' [[State of Decay (Doctor Who)|State of Decay]]
 | series    = [[Doctor Who]] 
 | network   =[[BBC]]
 | station   =[[BBC1]]
 | airdate   =22 November – 13 December 1980
 |quote      =Anyway, according to the story, we Time Lords hunted them down across the universe in a war so long and so bloody that we were sickened of violence forever.
}}</ref> In ''The War Games'', the [[Second Doctor]] mentions that the Time Lords' "great powers" are hardly ever used due to their policy of non-intervention into the affairs of other planets, and that they instead observe and gather knowledge. Because of this, holding a trial is a "very rare" event for the Time Lords. Exceptions to this policy are made only in extreme circumstances when they feel they have to, such as where the Doctor calls them for help in the serial.<ref name="war games ten">{{cite serial |title=The War Games |title-link=The War Games |episode=Episode Ten |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Terrance |last=Dicks |author-link=Terrance Dicks |first2=Malcolm (writers) |last2=Hulke |author-link2=Malcolm Hulke |first3=David (director) |last3=Maloney |author-link3=David Maloney |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC1]] |date=21 June 1969 }}</ref>

At the start of the 2005 television series, Gallifrey was thought to have been destroyed and the Time Lords [[functionally extinct]] as a result of a mutually destructive [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]] with the [[Dalek]] race; the [[Ninth Doctor]] describes his planet as "just rocks and dust" in "[[The End of the World (Doctor Who)|The End of the World]]" (2005),<ref name="the end of the world">{{Cite episode |title=The End of the World |episode-link=The End of the World (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=2 April 2005 |series-no=1 |number=2 }}</ref> and mentions in "[[Dalek (Doctor Who episode)|Dalek]]" (2005) that the Time Lords "burnt" with the Daleks at the end of the "Last Great Time War",<ref name="dalek">{{Cite episode |title=Dalek |episode-link=Dalek (Doctor Who episode) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Robert (writer) |last=Shearman |author-link=Robert Shearman |first2=Joe (director) |last2=Ahearne |author-link2=Joe Ahearne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=30 April 2005 |series-no=1 |number=6 }}</ref> and the [[Tenth Doctor]] tells [[The Master (Doctor Who)|the Master]] in "[[The Sound of Drums]]" (2007) that the Time Lords are "dead" and "all [they've] got is each other".<ref name="Sound of Drums">{{Cite episode |title=The Sound of Drums |episode-link=The Sound of Drums |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Colin (director) |last2=Teague |author-link2=Colin Teague |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 June 2007 |series-no=3 |number=12 }}</ref> The Doctor describes himself as the last of his kind and says his planet burned on numerous other occasions, as do other individuals, such as the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (H–P)#Krillitane|Krillitane]] [[List of Doctor Who villains#Mr Finch|Mr Finch]] in "[[School Reunion (Doctor Who)|School Reunion]]" (2006).<ref name="finch extinct">{{Cite episode|title=School Reunion|episode-link=School Reunion (Doctor Who)|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Toby (writer)|last=Whithouse|author-link=Toby Whithouse|first2=James (director)|last2=Hawes|author-link2=James Hawes|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=29 April 2006|series-no=2|number=3|quote='''Mr Finch:''' And what of the Time Lords? I always thought of you as such a pompous race. Ancient, dusty senators, so frightened of change and chaos. And of course, they're all but extinct. Only you, the last.}}</ref>

In "[[Father's Day (Doctor Who)|Father's Day]]" (2005), the Ninth Doctor remarks that before Time Lords were "all gone", they would have prevented or repaired [[paradox]]es such as that which attracted the [[List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens (Q–Z)#Reaper|Reapers]] to 1987 Earth.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Father's Day |episode-link=Father's Day (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Paul (writer) |last=Cornell |author-link=Paul Cornell |first2=Joe (director)| last2=Ahearne |author-link2=Joe Ahearne |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=14 May 2005 |series-no=1 |number=8 }}</ref>

In "[[Rise of the Cybermen]]" (2006), the Tenth Doctor mentions, "When the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could pop between [[Parallel universe (fiction)|realities]], home in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. Walls of reality closed, the worlds were sealed. Everything became that bit less kind."<ref>{{cite episode | title=Rise of the Cybermen | episode-link=Rise of the Cybermen | series=Doctor Who | series-link=Doctor Who | first=Tom (writer) | last=MacRae | author-link=Tom MacRae | first2=Graeme (director) | last2=Harper | author-link2=Graeme Harper | network=[[BBC]] | station=[[BBC One]] | series-no=2 | number=5 | airdate=13 May 2006}}</ref> In "[[The Satan Pit]]" (2006), the Tenth Doctor states that his people "practically invented black holes. Well, in fact, they did."<ref name="The Satan Pit">{{cite episode | title=The Satan Pit | episode-link=The Satan Pit | series=Doctor Who | series-link = Doctor Who | first=Matt (writer) |last=Jones |author-link=Matt Jones (writer) |first2=James (director) |last2=Strong |author-link2=James Strong (director) |network = [[BBC]] |station= [[BBC One]] | series-no=2 |number=9 | date=10 June 2006}}</ref> Both the [[List of Doctor Who villains#Beast|Beast]] (in "The Satan Pit")<ref name="killer of his kind">{{Cite episode|title=The Satan Pit|episode-link=The Satan Pit|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Matt (writer)|last=Jones|author-link=Matt Jones (writer)|first2=James (director)|last2=Strong|author-link2=James Strong (director)|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=10 June 2006|series-no=2|number=9|quote='''The Beast:''' This one knows me as I know him. The killer of his own kind.}}</ref> and the Doctor (in "The Sound of Drums" and "[[The Doctor's Wife]]", 2011)<ref name="the doctor and the master">{{Cite episode|title=The Sound of Drums|episode-link=The Sound of Drums|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Russell T (writer)|last=Davies|author-link=Russell T Davies|first2=Colin (director)|last2=Teague|author-link2=Colin Teague|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=23 June 2007|series-no=3|number=12|quote='''The Master:''' How can Gallifrey be gone? '''Tenth Doctor:''' It burnt. '''The Master:''' And the Time Lords? '''Tenth Doctor:''' Dead. And the Daleks, more or less. What happened to you? '''The Master:''' The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be a perfect warrior for a time war. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me, because, I was so scared. '''Tenth Doctor:''' I know. '''The Master:''' All of them? But not you, which must mean... '''Tenth Doctor:''' I was the only one who could end it. And I tried. I did. I tried everything.}}</ref><ref name="i've killed all of them">{{Cite episode|title=The Doctor's Wife|episode-link=The Doctor's Wife|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who|first=Neil (writer)|last=Gaiman|author-link=Neil Gaiman|first2=Richard (director)|last2=Clark|author-link2=Richard Clark (director)|network=[[BBC]]|station=[[BBC One]]|date=14 May 2011|series-no=6|number=4|quote='''House:''' Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords. '''Eleventh Doctor:''' Fear me. I've killed all of them.}}</ref> believe the Doctor ended the War by killing all of the Time Lords and many of the Daleks.

The Tenth Doctor's artificially created "daughter" [[Jenny (Doctor Who)|Jenny]] is speculated by [[Donna Noble]] in "[[The Doctor's Daughter]]" (2008) to be a surviving Time Lord, though the Doctor initially rejects the suggestion.<ref name="doctorsdaughter">{{cite episode|title = The Doctor's Daughter
|episode-link=The Doctor's Daughter|series=Doctor Who|series-link=Doctor Who |first=Stephen (writer) |last=Greenhorn |author-link=Stephen Greenhorn |first2=Alice (director) |last2=Troughton |author-link2=Alice Troughton | network=[[BBC]] | station=[[BBC One]] | series-no=4 | number=6 | airdate = 10 May 2008}}</ref>

Two other Time Lord-like beings appeared in "[[Journey's End (Doctor Who)|Journey's End]]" (2008): Donna, briefly empowered with the mind and knowledge of a Time Lord, and a half-human clone of the Tenth Doctor. Donna's memories related to the Doctor, as well as her Time Lord knowledge, are buried in order to save her life, while the clone lives out his existence in a parallel universe with [[Rose Tyler]].<ref name="journeys">{{cite episode | title=Journey's End | episode-link=Journey's End (Doctor Who) | series=Doctor Who | series-link=Doctor Who | first=Russell T (writer) | last=Davies | author-link=Russell T Davies | first2=Graeme (director) | last2=Harper | author-link2=Graeme Harper | network = [[BBC]] | station = [[BBC One]] | series-no=4 | number=13 |date = 5 July 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Seal of The High Council of the Time Lords.svg|thumb|250px|Seal of The High Council of the Time Lords.]]
"[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]]" (2009–10) shows the High Council of Time Lords, led by Lord President [[Rassilon]], attempting to escape the Time War by materialising Gallifrey in the place of Earth at Christmas. However, the Tenth Doctor destroys the device which allows their passage into the present, sending them back into the events of the Time War.<ref name = "end of time two">{{cite serial |title=[[The End of Time (Doctor Who)|The End of Time]] |episode=Part Two |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Russell T (writer) |last=Davies |author-link=Russell T Davies |first2=Euros (director) |last2=Lyn |author-link2=Euros Lyn |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=1 January 2010 }}</ref>

During the episode "The Doctor's Wife" it is revealed that several Time Lords and their TARDISes had been trapped and destroyed by an entity called House who lived in a separate bubble universe.<ref name="doctors wife">{{Cite episode |title=The Doctor's Wife |episode-link=The Doctor's Wife |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Neil (writer) |last=Gaiman |author-link=Neil Gaiman |first2=Richard (director) |last2=Clark |author-link2=Richard Clark (director) |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=14 May 2011 |series-no=6 |number=4 }}</ref>

In "[[A Good Man Goes to War]]" (2011), it is revealed that the daughter of [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]], Melody Pond (who later goes by her transliterated name "[[River Song (Doctor Who)|River Song]]"), has been born with Time Lord-like genetic traits. An old acquaintance of the Doctor's, [[Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Strax|Madame Vastra]], reminds the Doctor that the Time Lord race developed due to their billions of years' exposure to the time vortex. The Doctor then recalls that Rory and Amy had spent their wedding night in the TARDIS; therefore it is theorised by Vastra that River's conception mirrored that of the Time Lords' genesis and therefore she herself developed Time Lord genetic characteristics.<ref name="a good man">{{Cite episode |title=A Good Man Goes to War |episode-link=A Good Man Goes to War |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Peter (director) |last2=Hoar |author-link2=Peter Hoar |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=4 June 2011 |series-no=6 |number=7 }}</ref>

In "[[The Night of the Doctor]]" (2013), it is shown that the [[Eighth Doctor]] regenerates into the [[War Doctor]] to fight in the Time War.<ref name="notd">{{Cite episode |title=The Night of the Doctor |episode-link=The Night of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=John (director) |last2=Hayes |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC Red Button]] |date=14 November 2013 }}</ref> Many years later, as shown during "[[The Day of the Doctor]]" (2013) and also described by the Partisan in "The End of Time", the War Doctor originally planned to use a Time Lord weapon known as the Moment to destroy the Time Lords and Daleks.<ref name="end of time two"/><ref name="dotd">{{Cite episode |title=The Day of the Doctor |episode-link=The Day of the Doctor |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Nick (director) |last2=Hurran |author-link2=Nick Hurran |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=23 November 2013 }}</ref> However, after being shown the Tenth and [[Eleventh Doctor]]s during "The Day of the Doctor", he works together with them to change the assumed outcome of the [[Time War (Doctor Who)|Time War]]: thirteen incarnations of the Doctor team up together to freeze Gallifrey in time and place it outside of their universe (protecting it and the remaining Time Lords), while the Daleks destroy themselves in their own crossfire once Gallifrey is gone. The War Doctor does not retain the memory of these events and the Doctor spends centuries believing he burnt Gallifrey until the Eleventh Doctor's time; this is because the time streams are out of sync after the War Doctor meets his future selves and the altered events are only known to the Doctor once they occur in the Eleventh Doctor's experience and become part of his memory. Indeed, earlier on in the episode, both the Tenth and the Eleventh Doctors mistakenly believe that the War Doctor killed all of the Time Lords on the last day of the Time War. After being informed that the plan to save Gallifrey was successful, the Eleventh Doctor sets out to find Gallifrey and restore the Time Lords.<ref name="dotd"/>

In "[[The Time of the Doctor]]", the Doctor visits the planet Trenzalore where he discovers a question being broadcast through all of time and space through a crack in the universe: "Doctor Who?" The Doctor realizes that the Time Lords are attempting to return to the universe and will come back if he speaks his true name. Due to "half the universe" surrounding Trenzalore, a siege begins that lasts centuries as the Doctor knows that if the Time Lords return, the Time War will begin anew. With the Doctor on the verge of death, [[Clara Oswald]] pleads with the Time Lords through the crack to intervene and save the Doctor. Through the crack, the Time Lords grant the Doctor a new regeneration cycle, saving his life before sealing the crack again.

In "[[Hell Bent (Doctor Who)|Hell Bent]]" (2015), it is revealed that Gallifrey returned to the universe around the time of its end.<ref name="hell bent"/> After escaping his confession dial in "[[Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)|Heaven Sent]]" (2015), still furious over the death of Clara Oswald in "[[Face the Raven]]" (2015),<ref name="heaven sent">{{Cite episode |title=Heaven Sent |episode-link=Heaven Sent (Doctor Who) |series=Doctor Who |series-link=Doctor Who |first=Steven (writer) |last=Moffat |author-link=Steven Moffat |first2=Rachel (director) |last2=Talalay |author-link2=Rachel Talalay |network=[[BBC]] |station=[[BBC One]] |date=28 November 2015 |series-no=9 |number=11 }}</ref> the Doctor manages to depose Rassilon—who had put the Doctor there to begin with for questioning—and exile him in "Hell Bent" before running off again.<ref name="hell bent"/>