Unveiling Doctor Who's Epic Time War: A Riveting Journey Before the Reboot
Discover the untold story of Doctor Who's First Time War before the reboot Uncover the striking similarities between the two Time Wars and how the 2005 relaunch brilliantly learned from the mistakes of its predecessor
Summary
Doctor Who's revival in 2005 brought back the concept of a Time War, building upon stories told in expanded media like books.
The Doctor and a nameless enemy engaged in a biblical conflict known as the First Time War, which ultimately led to the destruction of Gallifrey. However, the Doctor Who revival chose to steer clear of the intricate nature of this war and instead concentrated on exploring the aftermath and repercussions of the Doctor's choices in the Great Time War, thereby enhancing the complexity of the character.
Doctor Who's 2005 television revival centered around a mysterious Time War, which was built upon stories told in various media. The show had been canceled in 1989 due to low ratings and audience fatigue, but returned ten years later with a television movie produced by BBC Worldwide and Universal Studios. However, the gap between the movie and the revival series was not unproductive. The BBC retained publishing rights to the Doctor Who trademark and released new, original media, including books by author Lance Parkin. These novels featured a complex biblical conflict, which influenced the revival series, although with some subtle changes. This is an explanation of the Doctor Who's First Time War prior to the 2005 reboot.
Doctor Who’s First Time War Explained
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The Eight Doctor Adventure novels, written and published during the gap between the TV movie release and the show's revival, focused on a conflict resembling Doctor Who's Time War depicted in the TV series. In these novels, the Doctor inadvertently discovers that an unidentified enemy is destined to wage a war against the Time Lords, but feels helpless to intervene. As the story unfolds, he thwarts the Time Lords' efforts to prepare destructive weapons for the war, while divisions arise among different factions including the Enemy and future entities like UNIT members from the 2050s.
In an attempt to prevent the war, the Doctor unknowingly destroys Gallifrey, believing it is better for them to perish prematurely than to endure the destruction foreseen in the war. This catastrophic event horizon plunges the universe into chaos, with various species vying for control. To save Gallifrey and the Time Lords, the Doctor sacrifices his memories by downloading the contents of the Matrix into his subconscious. The novel The Gallifrey Chronicles, however, does not confirm whether he is successful in restoring them. The conflict is commonly known as the 'War in Heaven'.
The Two Doctor Who Time Wars Are Remarkably Similar
Although Russell T Davies has explicitly stated that the War in Heaven and the Last Great Time War are separate conflicts (both of which are considered canon, indicating that the Doctor was successful in restoring his planet), there are several similarities between them. Firstly, both wars can be traced back to the Doctor's actions. While the exact trigger of the Time War is unclear, many, including Davies himself, have pointed to the Doctor's actions in the 1975 serial Genesis of the Daleks as the true catalyst for the war. On the other hand, the War in Heaven is unintentionally initiated by the Doctor after his personal history is altered by the Faction Paradox, a malevolent criminal syndicate of Time Lords.
Moreover, the Doctor plays a role in bringing both conflicts to a certain degree of resolution. In the case of the War in Heaven, there are various ambiguous conclusions, one of them being the events described in the novel 'Ancestor Cell' by Stephen Cole and Peter Anghelides, which depicts the apparent destruction of Gallifrey and the Time Lords at the Doctor's hands as he brings the war to an end. Other novels present different interpretations of its conclusion, such as the conquest of the strategic location known as Planet 5, as well as the Doctor's own efforts to mediate and establish a ceasefire between the Time Lords and the Enemy. Regardless of how it ultimately concludes, the Doctor's involvement is crucial, as he is compelled to prevent the increasingly hostile and warmongering Time Lords.
How Doctor Who’s 2005 Relaunch Avoided The Mistakes Of The First Time War
The problem with the War in Heaven was its immense scale. It is challenging to find a coherent storyline in the broader Doctor Who literature, even in the novels that extensively cover it. This poses a problem for readers attempting to understand it, as well as for the story itself. The war is too elaborate and intricate for the Doctor to have a compelling role within it. Additionally, the fact that the aftermath of the War in Heaven is not depicted in the canon means that the show was unable to explore its consequences, which would surely have been significant.
The 2005 revival of Doctor Who not only simplifies and reduces the complexity of the War in Heaven with its own Great Time War, but it also forces the Doctor to confront the repercussions of their actions. A significant portion of the initial seasons of the revival focused on the Doctor's post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from the war, although the specifics were not fully revealed until the 50th Anniversary. Consequently, a central aspect of their character in the 21st century is the haunting memory of their actions in the Time War, adding a new layer of depth and intrigue that was absent in the original show's run.
