From The Family of Blood: 2 June 2007. This moment gets 'Time Lordiness' all into perspective really. We are constantly being told that the Time Lords are just about the most ancient race in the galaxy and that they have unimaginable power. Why then is The Doctor's favourite escape plan to run? This episode, a two-parter preceded by 'Human Nature' takes that premise to stupid levels or so it seems initially. The Doctor is pursued by a family of an alien race that aims to feed off the Time Lord's essence, or power if they can capture him. The Doctor lays down and hides his Time Lord nature using a piece of equipment known as the Chameleon Arch, becoming to all intents and purposes human. Companion Martha Jones watches over him while he blends into pre First World War rural Britain, safe in the knowledge that every last trace of incriminating Time Lord memory has been erased for the duration. There is a love story in here and observations about duty and honour on the battlefields to come. There are themes of cowardice and bravery beyond the call of duty and above all, the responsibility attached to being a Time Lord. No wonder it got nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 2008. In the end we learn that The Doctor is not running to save himself, but to protect his pursuers from the consequences of their own stupidity. These lines were among the most satisfying moments in all of Doctor Who's history as a dramatic conclusion to a great story:
Son of Mine: He never raised his voice. That was the worst thingthe fury of the Time Lord. And then we discovered why why this Doctor, who had fought with gods and demons, why he had run away from us and hidden: he was being kind. He wrapped my father in unbreakable chains forged in the heart of a dwarf star. He tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there, forever. He still visits my sister once a year, every year. I wonder if one day he might forgive her, but there she is. Can you see? He trapped her inside a mirror. Every mirror. If ever you look at your reflection and see something move behind you just for a second, that's her. That's always her. As for me, I was suspended in time and the Doctor put me to work standing over the fields of England, as their protector. We wanted to live forever. So the Doctor made sure we did.
Hello, I'm Paul Hammans, terminal 'Who' obsessive, F1 fan, reader of arcane literature about ideas and generalist scribbler. To paraphrase someone much better at aphorisms than I: I strive to write something worth reading and when I cannot do that I try to do something worth writing. I have my own Dr Who oriented blog at http://www.exanima.co.uk
