8. Gallifrey Is Never Mentioned
Gallifrey, or rather its seemingly recent destruction, was one of the dominant themes in Series 1 of NuWho as Christopher Eccleston's guilt-ridden Ninth Doctor attempted to come to terms with his fateful actions during the Time War which had resulted in the extinction of his entire race. It's a surprising realisation, then, to discover that his home planet is never explicitly mentioned on screen at any point throughout the first series. This probably comes down to the fact that the Doctor, still in mourning, couldn't yet bring himself to say it and as such it wasn't until the following year's Christmas Special, The Runaway Bride, that the titular Time Lord, now in his tenth incarnation, uttered its iconic name for the first time to the show's 21st century audience. The anticipation that had been building to hear it spoken out loud means that this moment stands out as most iconic and memorable of NuWho so far and it was a suggestion that the Doctor had accepted his actions and was now willing to keep the memory of his people alive. NuWho viewers had to wait longer still to actually see Gallifrey on screen. During the Series 3 finale back in 2007, fans were given their first glimpse of the planet as the Tenth Doctor described the Citadel of the Time Lords in all its glory. It definitely looked a lot different than it did in the old days. Isn't it amazing what CGI can do?
Dan Butler
Doctor Who Editor
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
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