Serena: Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
m (Removing former Game of Rassilon category)
 
(76 intermediate revisions by 29 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|individual name= Serena
|species    = Time Lord
|image=
|affiliation = Celestial Intervention Agency
|race= [[Time Lord]]
|origin      = [[Gallifrey]]
|home planet= [[Gallifrey]]
|only        = World Game (novel)
|home era= [[Rassilon Era]]
}}{{dab page|Serena (disambiguation)}}
|appearances= [[PDA]]: ''[[World Game]]''
Lady '''Serenadellatrovella''' ('''Serena''' for short) was a [[Time Lady]] assigned to help the [[Second Doctor]] by the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]].
|actor= N/A
}}
'''Serena''', like [[Romana]], was a Time Lady, and is technically the first true Time Lady companion The Doctor ever had - [[Susan]], according to all information, was not yet fully qualified at the Academy, so can't really count as a true Time Lady in the strictest sense of the word.


When Selena first met the [[Second Doctor]], she was working in the Capitol Library, studying records of the presidential election as a means of learning more about Time Lord politics, possessing ambitions at a position in the High Council. Despite some of her obvious advantages in Time Lord society, such as being a member of an old and powerful family, exactly what it was that led to her being selected as The Doctor's companion is unknown at this time. Contacted by the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]], she was filled in on The Doctor's recent history - including, naturally, his capture by the Time Lords after calling them for aid in ending the War Games - and then told that she would now be going with The Doctor as the representative of the Agency while he investigated recent changes in Earth's history.
Following the Doctor's trial on [[Gallifrey]], the CIA had him perform tasks for them, offering to amend his original sentence of execution in favour of exile if he would act as a deniable agent in matters they would prefer not to be seen getting publicly involved in. Serena was at this time a student who was approached by the CIA to act as the Doctor's monitor when he was in the field, investigating the [[Player]]s' attempts to interfere with the history of [[Earth]], and in return the Agency would provide her with support in her future political career.


At the first meeting between the two Time Lords, there was a certain hostility between The Doctor and Serena; The Doctor objected to having a companion forced on him like this, resenting Serena's claims that she would be his supervisor, while Serena was opposed to The Doctor calling her his assistant, and insisted that The Doctor was merely a convict on parole. Despite their initial anger at each other, The Doctor and Serena agreed to work together, departing for the earliest anomaly in a [[Type 97]] [[TARDIS]] that the CIA had provided, since they felt [[The Doctor's TARDIS|The Doctor's own TARDIS]] was too obsolete for such work - this TARDIS even had a working [[chameleon circuit]].
Serena was a deeply ambitious Time Lady, and though her family had already reached and attained its glories, she wanted to take it further and believed the CIA could help her. She also believed that there should be more Time Lady Presidents.


Despite their initial disagreements, however, it should be noted that, even before meeting The Doctor face-to-face, Serena felt that he'd been treated unfairly; upon learning that he'd only been captured because he wished to save the humans involved in the [[War Games]], she commented that his original sentence of execution seemed an unfair reward for his altruism. As they continued to work together, Serena came to understand more about The Doctor's reasons for leaving Gallifrey, and began to see that, for all the charges put against him at his trial, he had only interfered because he believed it to be right, not because he simply felt like it, and had left Gallifrey mainly because there was no place on it for someone with his principals. She even seemed to come to care for The Doctor in her own way, apparently exhibiting jealousy of the Countess's fondness for the Time Lord. Despite her naiveté about the universe outside Gallifrey, Serena proved to be a competent and able companion for The Doctor, managing to escape a Player called Valour who was holding her hostage while The Doctor was forced to aid the Countess in constructing a nuclear-powered submarine that would allow Napoleon to defeat Nelson at Trafalgar.
Although their initial meeting was hostile, with Serena coolly stating that she was the Doctor's supervisor as he was just a convict on parole while the Doctor regarded her as an assistant he didn't want, Serena had already expressed some admiration for the Doctor's actions, noting that his originally-planned sentence of execution seemed a harsh 'reward' for his role in ending the war games. During their time on Earth, Serena came to understand more about the Doctor and his attachment to the planet, recognising that he left Gallifrey because there was no place on it for someone like him. Although Serena only met [[Admiral]] [[Horatio Nelson]] for a few moments, she found herself deeply impressed by his courage, despite his injuries which he had endured during his career, and mourned the news that he had died during the [[Battle of Trafalgar]].


However, Serena's time with The Doctor was, like the [[Sixth Doctor]]'s companion [[Claire Aldwych]], cut tragically short after only one adventure with him. Having learned that the Countess intended to assassinate the Duke of Wellington at a ball held on the eve of Waterloo, The Doctor and Serena attended the ball to find out what had happened, and Serena took the shot intended for Wellington herself; the musket ball, fired at her from practically point-blank range, destroyed both her hearts, thus preventing her from regenerating. She was buried in a simple grave, the only thing on her gravestone being SERENA, and, after the battle of Waterloo, it was visited by The Doctor and Wellington, who assured The Doctor that he would always remember the role he and Serena had played in the battle. Once back on Gallifrey, having unmasked a Time Lord who'd been collaborating with the Players, The Doctor refused to go on any more missions for the Agency until certain conditions were met, including an order that Serena's name be placed on the Gallifreyian Honour Roll and that he be allowed to tell her family how she had died.
Serena sacrificed herself to save the [[Arthur Wellesley|Duke of Wellington]] after she and the Doctor had learned that the Players intended to create a new timeline by assassinating the Duke before the [[Battle of Waterloo]]. The Player called [[Valmont]] attempted to shoot the Duke at a ball the night before the battle. Serena intercepted the shot, but the [[musket]] ball tore through both of her hearts and killed her instantly, which made [[regeneration]] impossible. She was buried in a simple grave, marked only by her name, with Wellington assuring the Doctor after the Battle of Waterloo that he would always remember the role he and Serena had played. During a later confrontation with Serena's killer, the Doctor's grief over her death was so intense that he found it easy to allow a duel to take place with Serena's killer despite his usual distaste for violence. Once back on Gallifrey, the Doctor refused to go on any more missions for the Agency until certain conditions were met, including an order that Serena's name be placed on the [[Gallifreyan Roll of Honour]] and that he be allowed to tell her family how she had died, noting that the Agency's cooperation would influence whether he presented her death to her family as a heroic sacrifice or a pointless accident caused by her being out of her depth. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[World Game (novel)|World Game]]'')
{{Companions of the Second Doctor}}
{{NameSort}}


Despite The Doctor's gratitude that [[Jamie Macrimmon|Jamie]] would be restored to him for his next mission, it was evident that he still regretted Serena's death; indeed, when General Grant challenged her murderer to a duel, The Doctor was able to crush his conscience with a surprising amount of ease, and his promise to tell her family about their loss also says a great about what she came to mean to him (Although, admittedly, in any other case where companions have died, either he couldn't contact their families ([[Adric]]) or he didn't know who their families were (Claire)). ([[PDA]]: ''[[World Game]]'')
[[Category:Companions of the Doctor]]
 
[[Category:Celestial Intervention Agency agents]]
[[Category:Individual Time Lords]]
[[Category:Second Doctor companions]]
[[Category:The Doctor's Time Lord companions]]
[[Category:Residents of Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Time Lords who have been inside the Doctor's TARDIS]]

Latest revision as of 11:55, 2 April 2024

You may wish to consult Serena (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Lady Serenadellatrovella (Serena for short) was a Time Lady assigned to help the Second Doctor by the Celestial Intervention Agency.

Following the Doctor's trial on Gallifrey, the CIA had him perform tasks for them, offering to amend his original sentence of execution in favour of exile if he would act as a deniable agent in matters they would prefer not to be seen getting publicly involved in. Serena was at this time a student who was approached by the CIA to act as the Doctor's monitor when he was in the field, investigating the Players' attempts to interfere with the history of Earth, and in return the Agency would provide her with support in her future political career.

Serena was a deeply ambitious Time Lady, and though her family had already reached and attained its glories, she wanted to take it further and believed the CIA could help her. She also believed that there should be more Time Lady Presidents.

Although their initial meeting was hostile, with Serena coolly stating that she was the Doctor's supervisor as he was just a convict on parole while the Doctor regarded her as an assistant he didn't want, Serena had already expressed some admiration for the Doctor's actions, noting that his originally-planned sentence of execution seemed a harsh 'reward' for his role in ending the war games. During their time on Earth, Serena came to understand more about the Doctor and his attachment to the planet, recognising that he left Gallifrey because there was no place on it for someone like him. Although Serena only met Admiral Horatio Nelson for a few moments, she found herself deeply impressed by his courage, despite his injuries which he had endured during his career, and mourned the news that he had died during the Battle of Trafalgar.

Serena sacrificed herself to save the Duke of Wellington after she and the Doctor had learned that the Players intended to create a new timeline by assassinating the Duke before the Battle of Waterloo. The Player called Valmont attempted to shoot the Duke at a ball the night before the battle. Serena intercepted the shot, but the musket ball tore through both of her hearts and killed her instantly, which made regeneration impossible. She was buried in a simple grave, marked only by her name, with Wellington assuring the Doctor after the Battle of Waterloo that he would always remember the role he and Serena had played. During a later confrontation with Serena's killer, the Doctor's grief over her death was so intense that he found it easy to allow a duel to take place with Serena's killer despite his usual distaste for violence. Once back on Gallifrey, the Doctor refused to go on any more missions for the Agency until certain conditions were met, including an order that Serena's name be placed on the Gallifreyan Roll of Honour and that he be allowed to tell her family how she had died, noting that the Agency's cooperation would influence whether he presented her death to her family as a heroic sacrifice or a pointless accident caused by her being out of her depth. (PROSE: World Game)

v • e
Companions of the Second Doctor
Original to television
Original to prose
Original to comics
If a medium is not mentioned, then this incarnation did not have companions who were original to that medium; it does not mean that this Doctor failed to appear in that medium.
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=Serena&oldid=3755338"