“You Never Left Gallifrey”: Doctor Who’s Darkest Timeline Settles 1 Fan Debate
Gallifrey #Gallifrey
Since the introduction of the Doctor’s home planet, Doctor Who fans have wondered what might have happened if the time-traveling hero had never left Gallifrey. Does the universe really need the Doctor to survive, or is their insistence on influencing events really an exercise in ego? One tie-in comic answers this exact question. This story demonstrates just how important the Doctor is to the wider universe, and what would happen if they’d never left Gallifrey.
Arguably the inciting incident for the entire Doctor Who franchise is the Doctor leaving the planet Gallifrey in a stolen TARDIS to explore the universe, which eventually leads to the Doctor’s arrival on Earth and the beginning of the entire franchise. The event is indicative of both the Doctor’s free spirit and the restrictive nature of life on Gallifrey, which is traditionally an isolationist society. Both the TV show and its expanded universe have offered different explanations for why precisely the Doctor left Gallifrey, but the end result is the same. The Doctor leaves and the universe is never the same again as they go careening through time and space.
Related: Doctor Who: The Time Lords May Not Be Wiped Out After All
Without the Doctor, Daleks Reign Supreme
The story ‘Time & Time Again’ by Paul Cornell and John Ridgway shows the consequences when the Doctor was prevented from ever leaving Gallifrey, thus dooming both Earth and the entire universe to near-constant alien invasion. In this timeline, the Doctor’s old enemy the Black Guardian halts their escape in revenge for defeating him in his TV appearances. The Black Guardian is one of the Guardians of Time, the beings which personify inherent forces of the universe, with the Black Guardian either embodying evil or chaos. The result of the Doctor staying on Gallifrey is devastating as, in their absence, Earth’s tactical position within the galaxy means that it is invaded again and again, becoming the center of conflict in the galaxy. Meanwhile, the Daleks become a universal power, with the Time Lords forced to appease them as a superior force.
Fascinatingly, in this new timeline, the Doctor is Gallifrey’s leader, however their position is hollow given the Dalek’s supremacy. Thankfully, the Black Guardian’s actions in ‘Time & Time Again’ don’t erase the original Doctor from time, and the White Guardian instructs them to collect the Key to Time, the artifact which the fourth Doctor originally collected over the course of classic Doctor Who’s 16th season. This involves visiting different iterations of the Doctor, and culminates with the first depiction of the Doctor leaving Gallifrey in visual media.
The Doctor Would Have Become Gallifrey’s Leader
The most obvious point that can be made by seeing this alternate timeline is just how positive a change the Doctor has made overall to the universe. While great Doctor Who stories like Russell T Davies’ The Water of Mars have explored the idea of the Doctor’s interference being sometimes fueled by hubris, the Doctor is nevertheless a vital ally to the galaxy. What’s interesting, however, is that they apparently had to abandon their home to do it. As Gallifrey’s ruler, the Doctor fails to protect Earth or stop the Daleks, despite the might of an entire world being at their disposal. The Doctor’s rebellion is therefore an essential part of their success as a hero.
The Time Lords are certainly powerful, but the Doctor is proof positive that their insistence on non-interference with the wider universe, their main issue with the Doctor in classic stories, is more a reflection of their own self-righteousness than some virtuous moral stance. As ‘Time & Time Again’ shows, without the Doctor’s interference, Doctor Who’s universe would be a far, far worse place.