10 Huge Doctor Who Moments That Didn't Matter At All

9. The Doctor Is President Of The Time Lords

The Deadly Assassin is a notable story for a number of reasons.

It was the first story to feature the Doctor travelling alone, with no companion. It was a story that got the show in trouble with what was perceived to be an overly-violent watery cliffhanger. Oh, and it also saw the Doctor casually become president of the Time Lords – a title he’s held on and off ever since.

In fairness the Doctor only becomes president by default, when it transpires that the only other candidate, Chancellor Goth, conspired to kill Gallifrey’s outgoing president. Corrupt politicians? Shock horror!

Once the day is saved, the Doctor naturally runs a millions miles away, presumably because he doesn't want to spend his days cutting ribbons and speaking in public. However he does play president again twice, in The Invasion of Time and Hell Bent, purely because it suits him. Elsewhere, when the Time Lords try and get him to serve a proper term at the end of The Five Doctors, he’s having none of it!

So while this does pop up here and there, it's never actually been properly explored. The Doctor as Lord President is a big deal, but never seems to carry any weight or last beyond a story.

It's one of the many examples of how Gallifrey has been somewhat underutilized in Doctor Who history, although to be fair, there's a reason the Doctor ran away from it in the first place.