10 Doctor Who Moments You're Missing From Expanded Media
7. Rassilon The Resurrected
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Rassilon is quite a mythological figure in classic Who, having been a founding father of Gallifrey, and making the Time Lords who they are. But, as shown in the Five Doctors, Rassilon died centuries previously. So how is he alive during the Time War and appearing in the End of Time?
The resolution lies in Big Finish's Gallifrey Time War series. With the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks beginning, some on Gallifrey decide they need a new ruler, one built for this conflict. Therefore, the high council use their presidential candidate, Admiral Valerian, of the House of Rassilon and imprint him with Rassilon's Matrix projection, killing Valerian, but resurrecting the great Time Lord.
This is how we get the marvellous Timothy Dalton and then Donald Sumpter to play the founder of Gallifrey on screen in the new series after the Time War. But to portray the newly resurrected President at Big Finish, they employed the equally as brilliant Terrance Hardiman and most recently Richard Armitage, who really convey the terrifying dictator the Time War creates of Rassilon.
But sticking with Rassilon...