The Dream Lord: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|individual name  = Dream Lord
|image          = Dream Lord.jpg
|alias           = [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]]
|alias           = [[The Doctor]]
|image            = [[File:TOBY JONES DREAMLORD.png|250px]]
|species         = Psychic pollen
|race            =
|only            = Amy's Choice (TV story)
|home planet      =
|actor           = Toby Jones
|home era         =  
|clip            = The Dreamlord taunts - Doctor Who - BBC
|appearances      = [[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]''
|clip2          = {{uc:Doctor Who clip}} 2 2
|actor           = [[Toby Jones]]
}}
}}
{{Doctors}}
'''The Dream Lord''' was a psychic manifestation of the [[Dark Design|darker parts]] of [[the Doctor]]'s character, given life by [[psychic pollen]] that was stuck in the [[time rotor]] of [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. Due to his nature of being created from a mind, the Dream Lord had the ability to control the [[dream]]s of others as he wished, even allowing the Doctor, Amy and Rory to share the same dream. However, he had, as the [[Eleventh Doctor]] put it, "no power over the real world."


'''The Dream Lord''' is the dark side of [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]], who has control over dreams. He was "awoken" by speck of psychic pollen from the candle meadows of Karass Don Slava that had gotten stuck in the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]], and awoken as it was warmed up. The Dream Lord drew his personality from the Doctor's inner darkness. He trapped the Doctor, [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]] between two worlds, telling them that one was dream and one was real and that they would have to choose between them. However, the Doctor eventually realised that neither were real, and managed to return them all to the waking world. After removing the pollen, the Doctor saw the Dream Lord's face in his reflection in the TARDIS console, smiling slyly at him. ([[DW]]: ''[[Amy's Choice]]'')
== Biography ==
All [[Gallifreyan]]s possessed a dark side of the mind ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of the Universe (short story)|A History of the Universe]]'', ''[[The Infinity Doctors (novel)|The Infinity Doctors]]'') called the [[Dark Design]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Falls the Shadow (novel)|Falls the Shadow]]'') The darkness was a true form of [[evil]], locked inside the [[DNA]] of Time Lords. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Infinity Doctors (novel)|The Infinity Doctors]]'') The [[Seventh Doctor]] knew there were possible "cold futures" in which his own way of thinking and feeling would become alien to his present self due to the Dark Design, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Falls the Shadow (novel)|Falls the Shadow]]'') such as the future from which [[the Valeyard]] came. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A History of the Universe (short story)|A History of the Universe]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe (TV story)|The Ultimate Foe]]'')


==Notes==
The Dream Lord was "awoken" by specks of [[psychic pollen]] from the Candle Meadows of [[Karass Don Slava]] that had become stuck in the [[time rotor]] of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] [[TARDIS console|console]]. This pollen induced a collective dream state for the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and his [[companion]]s, [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]] when warmed. The Dream Lord trapped the Doctor, Amy, and Rory between two worlds, one in a seemingly idyllic Upper [[Leadworth]], five years in Amy and Rory's personal futures, and the other in a TARDIS hurtling toward a "[[cold star]]". He told them one of these worlds was a dream and the other was real. In each world, the three were to face "a deadly danger", and dying in the dream world would allow them to wake up in reality. In actuality, the Dream Lord had created both worlds; all the while they remained asleep in the Doctor's TARDIS.
*The Dream Lord shares some similarities with the [[Valeyard]]; both are representations of the Doctor's dark side, and they both have great hatred for him. Indeed they may be incarnations of the same force; however, the Valeyard is less inclined to give the Doctor hints, and does not employ wit (Though this may be due to the poor writing of the era at the time the Valeyard appeared). In addition, the names "Valeyard" and "Dream Lord" are phonetically similar, employing the same number of syllables and ending on the same sound. This is further reinforced by the Doctor telling the Dream Lord that "There's only one person in the Universe who hates me this much." It is stated throughout that the Doctor has run into this character before (it can be assumed that the show has too) and the Dream Lord being a facet of the Doctor's mind (awoken by "psychic pollen") leaves the Valeyard as the only viable option.
*The Dream Lord also has similarities with the [[Celestial Toymaker]].
*A third comparison can be made with the [[The Black Guardian|Black Guardian]], who claimed to be "Evil to the Doctor's good".
*Finally, there is also something of the [[The Master|Master]] in him, in as much as he is the Doctor's nemesis and yet defeats himself by surreptitiously helping the Doctor and his companions.


==See also==
The Dream Lord appeared to the Doctor and his companions in both worlds, taunting the Doctor on his insecurities and defects, and pressuring Amy to assess her own priorities and "dreams" for the future – whether she wanted a life of adventure with the Doctor, or to be settled safely with Rory and a family. He seemed to relish baiting the Doctor and his companions with remarks about their relationships. The Doctor recognised who the Dream Lord was because, in his own words, only one person in the Universe could hate him that much.
*[[The Valeyard]]


{{Series 5 aliens}}
After they all died in the Upper Leadworth world, they were freed from the "cold star" by the Dream Lord as "reward" for apparently solving his puzzle. The Doctor then realised that neither world was real, and returned them all to the waking world by destroying the TARDIS and seemingly killing himself, Amy, and Rory.
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor enemies]]
 
[[Category:Humanoid species]]
Whether or not the Dream Lord was truly defeated was open to interpretation. After he had found and removed the psychic pollen, the Doctor saw the Dream Lord's face in his reflection in the TARDIS's console, smiling slyly at him. Being a representation of the Doctor's inner darkness, the Dream Lord may never be truly defeated, but only hiding within him. ([[TV]]: ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'')
[[Category:Stub]]
 
[[Category:Incarnations of the Doctor]]
== Personality ==
[[Category:Mysterious beings]]
The Dream Lord drew his personality and observations from the [[Dark Design|"dark" aspects]] of the Doctor's subconscious. This included his innermost thoughts and doubts about the course of his life and perhaps cavalier treatment of others, including self-loathing, guilt, arrogance, selfishness and even lust. The Dream Lord had a bleak, cynical sense of humour, turning other people's remarks against them effortlessly and callously. He proclaimed the advancing army of Eknodines as "attack of the old people", and mimicked the Doctor when he jumped to Amy's defence. He was scornful of how the Doctor mostly chose younger people as his companions, as "the old man prefers the company of the young", and thus the Dream Lord did not consider the Doctor's companions as actual friends.
 
The Doctor said to the Dream Lord, not long after they met, that he knew who the Dream Lord really was because only one person hated the Doctor as much as the Dream Lord did. An additional layer to the Dream Lord's identity emerged when the Doctor described the psychic pollen which created the Dream Lord as a "mind parasite". He also enjoyed making fun of Rory and his lack of common sense, something the Doctor was more subtle about. ([[TV]]: ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'')
 
== Appearance ==
Physically, the Dream Lord appeared as a short, older man. When he faced the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, the Dream Lord's appearance was generally a parody of the Doctor himself, (being a psychic manifestation of him) consisting of a tweed jacket, striped shirt and bow-tie strikingly similar to the Doctor's. He frequently changed his clothes to make fun of whatever situation the trio was in.
 
The Dream Lord appeared to have [[Ginger (trait)|ginger]] hair, ([[TV]]: ''[[Amy's Choice (TV story)|Amy's Choice]]'') something the Doctor desired to have. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]'', ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
 
== Behind the scenes ==
* The Dream Lord had some pronounced similarities to another prominent villain, [[the Valeyard]], who was also a manifestation of [[Dark Design|the Doctor's dark side]] taken from a point in the [[Sixth Doctor]]'s future. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe (TV story)|The Ultimate Foe]]'')
** He also shared a great similarity with the [[Nightmare Man]], a villain from the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' as they both existed in people's dreams and had absolute control over those dreams' content.
 
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Partial Time Lords]]
[[Category:Eleventh Doctor]]
[[Category:Personifications of concepts]]
[[Category:Dreams and dreaming]]
[[Category:Individual dream parasites]]
 
[[es:Señor del sueño]]
[[fr:Seigneur des Rêves]]
[[ru:Повелитель снов]]
[[Category:Dream content]]

Latest revision as of 17:49, 3 November 2024

The Dream Lord was a psychic manifestation of the darker parts of the Doctor's character, given life by psychic pollen that was stuck in the time rotor of the TARDIS. Due to his nature of being created from a mind, the Dream Lord had the ability to control the dreams of others as he wished, even allowing the Doctor, Amy and Rory to share the same dream. However, he had, as the Eleventh Doctor put it, "no power over the real world."

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

All Gallifreyans possessed a dark side of the mind (PROSE: A History of the Universe, The Infinity Doctors) called the Dark Design. (PROSE: Falls the Shadow) The darkness was a true form of evil, locked inside the DNA of Time Lords. (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors) The Seventh Doctor knew there were possible "cold futures" in which his own way of thinking and feeling would become alien to his present self due to the Dark Design, (PROSE: Falls the Shadow) such as the future from which the Valeyard came. (PROSE: A History of the Universe, TV: The Ultimate Foe)

The Dream Lord was "awoken" by specks of psychic pollen from the Candle Meadows of Karass Don Slava that had become stuck in the time rotor of the Doctor's TARDIS console. This pollen induced a collective dream state for the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams when warmed. The Dream Lord trapped the Doctor, Amy, and Rory between two worlds, one in a seemingly idyllic Upper Leadworth, five years in Amy and Rory's personal futures, and the other in a TARDIS hurtling toward a "cold star". He told them one of these worlds was a dream and the other was real. In each world, the three were to face "a deadly danger", and dying in the dream world would allow them to wake up in reality. In actuality, the Dream Lord had created both worlds; all the while they remained asleep in the Doctor's TARDIS.

The Dream Lord appeared to the Doctor and his companions in both worlds, taunting the Doctor on his insecurities and defects, and pressuring Amy to assess her own priorities and "dreams" for the future – whether she wanted a life of adventure with the Doctor, or to be settled safely with Rory and a family. He seemed to relish baiting the Doctor and his companions with remarks about their relationships. The Doctor recognised who the Dream Lord was because, in his own words, only one person in the Universe could hate him that much.

After they all died in the Upper Leadworth world, they were freed from the "cold star" by the Dream Lord as "reward" for apparently solving his puzzle. The Doctor then realised that neither world was real, and returned them all to the waking world by destroying the TARDIS and seemingly killing himself, Amy, and Rory.

Whether or not the Dream Lord was truly defeated was open to interpretation. After he had found and removed the psychic pollen, the Doctor saw the Dream Lord's face in his reflection in the TARDIS's console, smiling slyly at him. Being a representation of the Doctor's inner darkness, the Dream Lord may never be truly defeated, but only hiding within him. (TV: Amy's Choice)

Personality[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Dream Lord drew his personality and observations from the "dark" aspects of the Doctor's subconscious. This included his innermost thoughts and doubts about the course of his life and perhaps cavalier treatment of others, including self-loathing, guilt, arrogance, selfishness and even lust. The Dream Lord had a bleak, cynical sense of humour, turning other people's remarks against them effortlessly and callously. He proclaimed the advancing army of Eknodines as "attack of the old people", and mimicked the Doctor when he jumped to Amy's defence. He was scornful of how the Doctor mostly chose younger people as his companions, as "the old man prefers the company of the young", and thus the Dream Lord did not consider the Doctor's companions as actual friends.

The Doctor said to the Dream Lord, not long after they met, that he knew who the Dream Lord really was because only one person hated the Doctor as much as the Dream Lord did. An additional layer to the Dream Lord's identity emerged when the Doctor described the psychic pollen which created the Dream Lord as a "mind parasite". He also enjoyed making fun of Rory and his lack of common sense, something the Doctor was more subtle about. (TV: Amy's Choice)

Appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]

Physically, the Dream Lord appeared as a short, older man. When he faced the Eleventh Doctor and his companions, the Dream Lord's appearance was generally a parody of the Doctor himself, (being a psychic manifestation of him) consisting of a tweed jacket, striped shirt and bow-tie strikingly similar to the Doctor's. He frequently changed his clothes to make fun of whatever situation the trio was in.

The Dream Lord appeared to have ginger hair, (TV: Amy's Choice) something the Doctor desired to have. (TV: The Christmas Invasion, The End of Time)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]