10 Classic Doctor Who Absurdities New Fans Won’t Believe
6. The Doctor Becomes President Of Gallifrey Twice
Even before the Time War, the Doctors relationship with his own people was unstable at best. Throughout his first four regenerations hed been hounded, stripped of his companions and his freedom and dumped unceremoniously on Skaro to sort out the Daleks. So when hes lured back to Gallifrey as part of a convoluted plan (The Masters, naturally) its not surprising that nobodys happy to see him. Implicated in an assassination attempt, the Doctor delays his execution by announcing that hes going to stand for election, which apparently grants him his freedom. It seems like a throwaway line that gets lost against the greater plot, which makes it all the more surprising when in next years serial The Invasion Of Time, the Doctor suddenly returns to Gallifrey and announces that, actually, hell take the job after all. Things get increasingly strange, with the Doctor colluding with invading aliens only to double-cross them at the last minute by sealing their entire planet in a time loop. And while thatd make for a pretty tidy end to episode four, the Sontarans have no respect for the TV Times printing schedule and barge into the Panopticon, having tricked the Doctor into lowering the planets shields and setting the stage for two more episodes. Mark Gatiss once noted that the more you knew about the Time Lords, the less interesting they became. Even in these early serials, its remarkable how musty and impotent the Doctors people are - a far cry from Timothy Spitting Distance Dalton and friends. Its no surprise they practically beg him to take the Presidency at the end of The Five Doctors, presumably in case they accidentally elect The Chuckle Brothers instead.
