Doctor Who: Gallifrey – A missed opportunity in the New Series?

When Doctor Who returned in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, Gallifrey was established to have been destroyed. At least, until 2013…

Image credit: Doctor Who/BBC. Image obtained from: BBC Press.

Gallifrey has had an interesting history in Doctor Who, especially since it came back. But has it also been something of a missed opportunity, too? (Spoilers for Spyfall follow.)

When Russell T Davies brought back Doctor Who in 2005, he made some major decisions to refresh the mythology in a big way. While in some ways a continuation of the original series, there was a huge gap between the end of the TV movie and where the New Series started, and Davies made that clear from the very beginning.

For many fans, the biggest change of all was finding out that Gallifrey had been destroyed. For much of the Classic Series, Gallifrey and the Time Lords had been a huge part of the show. (At least, after their introduction in the final story of Season 6, The War Games.) To find out that both the Doctor’s race and his home world had been destroyed was a huge shock to find out.

As we all know, for a long time, the Time War had been a huge part of the mythology for the New Series. The Doctor not only being the last of the Time Lords but also the one who destroyed his race was a key part of many stories.

This was particularly true for stories involving his old enemy, the Master. While they continued their old enmity, it was clear that things were at least a little different, now that they were the only survivors of their race. At least, until 2013.

Retcon

2013 was a huge year for Doctor Who. Since it was the show’s fiftieth anniversary, there was understandably a lot of hype on all fronts. This was especially true of The Day of the Doctor, a truly special episode celebrating the anniversary itself. The episode not only explored the end of the Time War in full detail, but also featured a major twist: rather than destroying Gallifrey, the Doctor’s many incarnations saved it by sending it into a pocket universe, frozen in time.

This was a bold move, as it essentially retconned eight years of established Doctor Who in a big way. But it felt right, especially for something as big as the fiftieth anniversary. The series now had a fresh direction, and we could get a fresh take on the Doctor’s home world in the New Series.

Disappointing return

Except…we didn’t quite get that, did we? After focusing on Gallifrey’s return in Matt Smith’s final episode The Time of the Doctor, there wasn’t much focus on the Doctor’s home world. At the very least, we didn’t see Capaldi’s Doctor actively looking for it. Not until Death in Heaven, when the Master – now known as Missy – told him where it was. Which was, of course, a complete lie.

Gallifrey did return in Series 9 for its major finale, Hell Bent. This was hugely exciting for fans, as it was our first look at the Doctor’s home world post-Time War. Indeed, the first ten minutes were fantastic to watch, as the Doctor faced down Rassilon – the founder of Time Lord society – and was taking no prisoners. As a follower of the Classic Series and the audios, it was hugely satisfying to see the Doctor kick both Rassilon and the High Council out.

And then Clara came back.

Oh, I don’t have a problem with Clara herself. But the sudden shift in focus from Gallifrey’s return to her resurrection meant that Hell Bent almost completely focused on the wrong storyline. The Time Lords were back, the Doctor was on Gallifrey again for the first time in years. The consequences of The Day of the Doctor and even The End of Time could and even should have been explored.

What we got was far more disappointing. Especially as Clara got a fantastic exit in Face the Raven, and Hell Bent undid that almost completely. Worse, there was hardly any exploration of what returning to Gallifrey actually meant to the Doctor. After so much build-up, it felt like a huge anti-climax. An anti-climax made even worse by what came next…

Gone for good?

The disappointment of Hell Bent wouldn’t have been so bad if other stories had focused on Gallifrey since then. But the series moved away from that in both Series 10 and 11. And then Series 12 gave us Spyfall, where the Doctor returned to Gallifrey once more. But this time, she was in for another major shock.

Once again, Gallifrey seems to have been destroyed. At the very least, the Capitol itself is no more. Not because of the Doctor this time, but because of the Master. It’s an interesting and bold twist, and I will admit, I am excited to see how this affects the Doctor over time.

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But looking back, it honestly feels extremely disappointing that neither Chris Chibnall nor Steven Moffat took the opportunity to give us a solid Time Lord story. To explore the aftermath of the Time War in full. Even to show the consequences of the Doctor’s actions in Hell Bent. The Doctor broke some major rules in that story, and it would have been interesting to have explored the Doctor being on the run from his own people once more.

It looks like we won’t be exploring that story now, at least not on television. And that’s a shame. I’m intrigued to find out what “the Timeless Child” is, but with just one story focused around Gallifrey in over six years since it came back, I can’t help but think that its return, as exciting as it initially was, has become something of a missed opportunity.

Still, on the other hand: there’s always Big Finish.

Do you feel that Gallifrey’s return was a missed opportunity? Do you think it should have been explored more fully in the New Series? Let us know in the comments below.