Doctor Who: 10 Things Fans Want From Series 9 (But Won't Get)

6. The Return Of Gallifrey And The Time Lords

In The Day Of The Doctor, Steven Moffat in typical form effectively brought back from the dead a whole race and planet, only to then have them neatly cordoned off inside an inaccessible pocket universe. Artistically and story wise the return of Gallifrey would present major headaches and so Russell T Davies wisely brought back the Doctor as the last of the Time Lords. The classic series vision of Time Lord society and history is fraught with inconsistency, largely down to Robert Holmes' reimagining in The Deadly Assassin. The mystical figures lost much of their gravitas and intrigue in the process. The full return of Gallifrey would need to wrestle with this backstory or face the ire of fans, not to mention some explanation as to what happened to former companions Romana and Leela. It's a minefield best left untrodden. Intriguingly the door has nonetheless been left open by Steven Moffat. In The Time Of The Doctor, it became apparent that the Time Lords are not completely unreachable and can potentially journey back to this universe, so long as they deem it safe enough to do so. In Listen, Clara travelled to the Gallifrey of the Doctor's childhood. And just in case we'd forgotten all that, in the series finale Missy goes and teases the Doctor with fake coordinates to their home world. But finding Gallifrey for the Doctor would be like finding Earth to Admiral Adama (Battlestar Galactica). It would signal the end of the show - unless the planet he finds is one he decides he must reject, making the whole thing a fruitless and unnecessary quest. The desire to find Gallifrey has not been spelt out strongly enough to create sufficient pathos. If Gallifrey is to be referenced in Series Nine, the chances are it will be to increase the Doctor's desire to find it. We are a long way from the resolution of that particular plot point. With Steven Moffat confirmed to be continuing as showrunner into Series Ten, there's no hurry to complete the quest just yet.