Meet the Doctor (DWAN 2006 short story): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
No edit summary
 
(19 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{title dab away}}
{{retitle|''Meet the Doctor'' (DWAN 2006 short story)}}
{{Rename|[[Meet the Doctor (DWAN 2006 short story)]], since there is [[Meet the Doctor (DWAN 2007 short story)|another short story]] of the same name in the [[Doctor Who The Official Annual 2007|2007 annual]].}}
{{real world}}
{{real world}}
{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image        = Meet the Doctor.jpg
|range          = Doctor Who Annual 2006
|series      = [[Doctor Who annual|''Doctor Who'' annual]]
|number in range = #5
|doctor       = Ninth Doctor
|name            = ''Meet the Doctor''
|companions   = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]
|image          = Meet the Doctor.jpg
|enemy       =  
|doctor         = Ninth Doctor
|setting     =  
|companions     = [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]
|writer       = [[Russell T Davies]]
|enemy           = [[Bronze Dalek|Daleks]]
|illustrator =  
|setting         =  
|publication = [[Doctor Who Annual 2006]]
|writer         = Russell T Davies
|prev         = Doctor vs Doctor (short story)
|illustrator     =  
|next         = The Masks of Makassar (short story)
|genre          = Science fiction
}}
|release date    = September 2005
{{you may|Meet the Doctor (feature)|n1 = the 2020 non-narrative prose piece}}
|publisher      = Panini UK
'''''Meet the Doctor''''' was the second prose story published in the [[Doctor Who Annual 2006|2006 ''Doctor Who'' Annual]]. Paired with ''[[Meet Rose (short story)|Meet Rose]]'', ''Meet the Doctor'' was one of two prose pieces submitted to the Annual by then-showrunner [[Russell T Davies]].
|format          = Short story
|publication     = ''[[Doctor Who Annual 2006]]''
|series          = ''[[Doctor Who Annual 2006]]''
|prev           = Doctor vs Doctor (short story)
|next           = The Masks of Makassar (short story)
}}{{you may|Meet the Doctor (DWAN 2007 short story)|n1=the Tenth Doctor short story|Meet the Doctor (feature)|n2=the 2020 feature}}
'''''Meet the Doctor''''' was the second short story and fifth release exclusively published in the ''[[Doctor Who Annual 2006]]'' in [[September (releases)|September]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]] by [[Panini UK]] and the [[BBC]]. Paired with ''[[Meet Rose (short story)|Meet Rose]]'', ''Meet the Doctor'' was one of two prose pieces submitted to the annual by then-showrunner [[Russell T Davies]].


As the title implied, it served to familiarise the readers with the character of the Doctor and his new place in the universe in the new status quo of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who)|Series 1]]: the survivor of [[Last Great Time War|a terrifying temporal conflict]]. This made it the first story that was wholly ''about'' the Last Great Time War, then referred to as the Great Time War, rather than its consequence, and covered a lot of ground to which Davies would only return over half a decade later in ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]''.
As the title implied, it served to familiarise the readers with the character of the Doctor and his new place in the universe in the new status quo of [[Series 1 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 1]]: the survivor of [[Last Great Time War|a terrifying temporal conflict]]. This made it the first story that was wholly ''about'' the Last Great Time War, then referred to as the Great Time War, rather than its consequence, and covered a lot of ground to which Davies would only return over half a decade later in ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]''.


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
Line 24: Line 29:


== Plot ==
== Plot ==
 
For years leading up to the conflict, the two [[superpower]]s that are the [[Time Lord]]s and the [[Dalek]]s have been testing each other's strength, with [[Dalek Puppet Emperor (Meet the Doctor)|one]] of the [[Dalek Puppet Emperor]]s "openly declaring his hostility" to the [[High Council]] of the Time Lords and an attempt being made to replace its members with [[Dalek duplicate]]s. In the end, it was the Time Lords who fired the "first shot" by sending [[Fourth Doctor|one incarnation of the Doctor]] back in time in an [[Genesis Incident|ill-fated effort]] to prevent the [[creation of the Daleks|rise of the Daleks]].
For years leading up to the conflict, the two [[superpower]]s that are the [[Time Lord]]s and the [[Dalek]]s have been testing each other's strength, with [[Dalek Puppet Emperor (Meet the Doctor)|one]] of the [[Dalek Puppet Emperor]]s "openly declaring his hostility" to the [[High Council]] of the Time Lords and an attempt being made to replace its members with [[Dalek duplicate]]s. In the end, it was the Time Lords who fired the "first shot" by sending [[Fourth Doctor|one incarnation of the Doctor]] back in time in an ill-fated effort to prevent the [[creation of the Daleks|rise of the Daleks]].


Weak peace attempts are made, such as the [[Act of Master Restitution]] under which [[Lord President|President]] [[Romana]] attempts to create a [[peace treaty]] with the Daleks, but one way or another, War breaks out for good, a fact some claim was a direct consequence of the so-called [[Etra Prime incident|Etra Prime Incident]]. Reaching back into their own history, the Time Lords assemble a fleet of [[bowship]]s, [[Black Hole Carrier]]s and [[N-Form (Damaged Goods)|N-Forms]], matched by the Daleks via the unleashing of the "full might" of the [[Deathsmiths of Goth]] by the Daleks, who are led into battle by [[Dalek Emperor (The Parting of the Ways)|their Emperor in the flesh]].
Weak peace attempts are made, such as the [[Act of Master Restitution]] under which [[Lord President|President]] [[Romana]] attempts to create a [[peace treaty]] with the Daleks, but one way or another, War breaks out for good, a fact some claim was a direct consequence of the so-called [[Etra Prime incident|Etra Prime Incident]]. Reaching back into their own history, the Time Lords assemble a fleet of [[bowship]]s, [[Black Hole Carrier]]s and [[N-Form (Damaged Goods)|N-Forms]], matched by the Daleks via the unleashing of the "full might" of the [[Deathsmiths of Goth]] by the Daleks, who are led into battle by [[Dalek Emperor (The Parting of the Ways)|their Emperor in the flesh]].
Line 33: Line 37:
Years pass, and suddenly, after raging on and on, the War ends. All the universe at large can gather is that only one man walked out alive of the ruins of [[Gallifrey]] and [[Skaro]], a [[Renegade Time Lord]] calling himself [[the Doctor]]. His hearts heavy with all he has seen (and all he has ''done''), the Doctor decides that it is to be his punishment to travel alone from this day forward.
Years pass, and suddenly, after raging on and on, the War ends. All the universe at large can gather is that only one man walked out alive of the ruins of [[Gallifrey]] and [[Skaro]], a [[Renegade Time Lord]] calling himself [[the Doctor]]. His hearts heavy with all he has seen (and all he has ''done''), the Doctor decides that it is to be his punishment to travel alone from this day forward.


For all these reasons and more, when [[the Doctor]] comes to [[Earth]] tracking down the [[Nestene Consciousness]], he has no plans to take on new [[companion]]s, even though [[human]]s were once his favorite species. Yet all that changes when he takes the hand of one particular Earthling called [[Rose Tyler]] and looks into her eyes. The journey starts again.
For all these reasons and more, when [[the Doctor]] comes to [[Earth]] tracking down the [[Nestene Consciousness]], he has no plans to take on new [[companion]]s, even though [[human]]s were once his favourite species. Yet all that changes when he takes the hand of one particular Earthling called [[Rose Tyler]] and looks into her eyes. The journey starts again.


Yet far away, on the planet [[Crafe Tec Heydra]], carvings concerning "the invsible War" fought between a race of flesh and a race of metals suggest that the lone survivor who walked away from the wreckage of the final explosion beware. "{{Jacobi|n= You are not alone…}}"
Yet far away, on the planet [[Crafe Tec Heydra]], carvings concerning "the invsible War" fought between a race of flesh and a race of metals suggest that the lone survivor who walked away from the wreckage of the final explosion beware. "[[War Master|You are not alone...]]"


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
Line 42: Line 46:
* [[Dalek]]s
* [[Dalek]]s
* [[Time Lord]]s
* [[Time Lord]]s
* [[Romana]]
* [[Romana II|Romana]]
* [[Rose Tyler]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* The only two [[time war]]s in which the [[Time Lord]]s were engaged before [[Last Great Time War|the Great Time War]] against the Daleks were the [[Skirmish between the Halldons and the Eternals]] and the "brutal slaughter" of the [[Omnicraven Uprising]].
* The only two [[time war]]s in which the [[Time Lord]]s were engaged before [[Last Great Time War|the Great Time War]] against the Daleks were the [[Skirmish between the Halldons and the Eternals]] and the "brutal slaughter" of the [[Omnicraven Uprising]].
* Though they discreetly assumed the role of protectors of the [[Time Vortex]], the Time Lords had a [[non-interference policy]] as far as the affairs of the wider universe were concerned.
* Though they discreetly assumed the role of protectors of the [[Time Vortex]], the Time Lords had a [[non-interference policy]] as far as the affairs of the wider universe were concerned.
Line 52: Line 55:
* Despite the official statement from Russell T Davies in [[DWM 356]] that due to BBC regulations if nothing else, the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]] of the new TV series could not be conflated with [[War in Heaven|the War]] of the novels, the text of this piece gestures at the two being the same, in that it occasionally slips into referring to the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks as simply "[[War in Heaven#Naming|the War]]", and to the species not part of the conflict as "the [[lesser species|Lesser Species]]". Furthermore, it definitively states that there were only two major Time Wars before it and that it was the final Great Time War.
* Despite the official statement from Russell T Davies in [[DWM 356]] that due to BBC regulations if nothing else, the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]] of the new TV series could not be conflated with [[War in Heaven|the War]] of the novels, the text of this piece gestures at the two being the same, in that it occasionally slips into referring to the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks as simply "[[War in Heaven#Naming|the War]]", and to the species not part of the conflict as "the [[lesser species|Lesser Species]]". Furthermore, it definitively states that there were only two major Time Wars before it and that it was the final Great Time War.
* The only [[incarnation]] of the Doctor to be depicted (via photographs) is the [[Ninth Doctor]], the one who meets [[Rose Tyler]] at the end of the story in a retelling of the first few minutes of ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''. The Doctor involved in the Time War itself is not identified one way or another. In light of Davies' later ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]'', it would appear that he was picturing [[Paul McGann]]'s [[Eighth Doctor]].
* The only [[incarnation]] of the Doctor to be depicted (via photographs) is the [[Ninth Doctor]], the one who meets [[Rose Tyler]] at the end of the story in a retelling of the first few minutes of ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]''. The Doctor involved in the Time War itself is not identified one way or another. In light of Davies' later ''[[Doctor Who and the Time War (short story)|Doctor Who and the Time War]]'', it would appear that he was picturing [[Paul McGann]]'s [[Eighth Doctor]].
* Both this story and ''[[Meet Rose (short story)|Meet Rose]]'' are categorised as [[feature]]s in the annual's table of contents.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
Line 65: Line 69:


{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:2006 short stories]]
 
[[Category:DWAN 2006 short stories]]
[[Category:Ninth Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Ninth Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Dalek short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Last Great Time War]]
[[Category:Stories set in the Last Great Time War]]

Latest revision as of 00:40, 22 October 2024

RealWorld.png

Meet the Doctor was the second short story and fifth release exclusively published in the Doctor Who Annual 2006 in September 2005 by Panini UK and the BBC. Paired with Meet Rose, Meet the Doctor was one of two prose pieces submitted to the annual by then-showrunner Russell T Davies.

As the title implied, it served to familiarise the readers with the character of the Doctor and his new place in the universe in the new status quo of Series 1: the survivor of a terrifying temporal conflict. This made it the first story that was wholly about the Last Great Time War, then referred to as the Great Time War, rather than its consequence, and covered a lot of ground to which Davies would only return over half a decade later in Doctor Who and the Time War.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Before he found himself saving an ordinary Earth girl from rampaging Autons and falling back into his old ways, the Doctor had sworn that those days were behind him. Just what happened to the Doctor to make him make such a promise to himself?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

For years leading up to the conflict, the two superpowers that are the Time Lords and the Daleks have been testing each other's strength, with one of the Dalek Puppet Emperors "openly declaring his hostility" to the High Council of the Time Lords and an attempt being made to replace its members with Dalek duplicates. In the end, it was the Time Lords who fired the "first shot" by sending one incarnation of the Doctor back in time in an ill-fated effort to prevent the rise of the Daleks.

Weak peace attempts are made, such as the Act of Master Restitution under which President Romana attempts to create a peace treaty with the Daleks, but one way or another, War breaks out for good, a fact some claim was a direct consequence of the so-called Etra Prime Incident. Reaching back into their own history, the Time Lords assemble a fleet of bowships, Black Hole Carriers and N-Forms, matched by the Daleks via the unleashing of the "full might" of the Deathsmiths of Goth by the Daleks, who are led into battle by their Emperor in the flesh.

Yet the physical War is fought in the Time Vortex of which the Time Lords had earlier dubbed themselves the protectors, and beyond even that, in the Ultimate Void, so the Lesser Species live in ignorance of what passes beyond their perception — but not the Higher Species such as the Forest of Cheem, the Nestene Consciousness (to whom its planets are lost because of the War) and the Greater Animus. Even the Eternals, despairing of this reality, decide to flee their "hallowed halls" never to return.

Years pass, and suddenly, after raging on and on, the War ends. All the universe at large can gather is that only one man walked out alive of the ruins of Gallifrey and Skaro, a Renegade Time Lord calling himself the Doctor. His hearts heavy with all he has seen (and all he has done), the Doctor decides that it is to be his punishment to travel alone from this day forward.

For all these reasons and more, when the Doctor comes to Earth tracking down the Nestene Consciousness, he has no plans to take on new companions, even though humans were once his favourite species. Yet all that changes when he takes the hand of one particular Earthling called Rose Tyler and looks into her eyes. The journey starts again.

Yet far away, on the planet Crafe Tec Heydra, carvings concerning "the invsible War" fought between a race of flesh and a race of metals suggest that the lone survivor who walked away from the wreckage of the final explosion beware. "You are not alone..."

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Despite the official statement from Russell T Davies in DWM 356 that due to BBC regulations if nothing else, the Time War of the new TV series could not be conflated with the War of the novels, the text of this piece gestures at the two being the same, in that it occasionally slips into referring to the war between the Time Lords and the Daleks as simply "the War", and to the species not part of the conflict as "the Lesser Species". Furthermore, it definitively states that there were only two major Time Wars before it and that it was the final Great Time War.
  • The only incarnation of the Doctor to be depicted (via photographs) is the Ninth Doctor, the one who meets Rose Tyler at the end of the story in a retelling of the first few minutes of Rose. The Doctor involved in the Time War itself is not identified one way or another. In light of Davies' later Doctor Who and the Time War, it would appear that he was picturing Paul McGann's Eighth Doctor.
  • Both this story and Meet Rose are categorised as features in the annual's table of contents.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]