The Woman (The End of Time): Difference between revisions

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
(added caption)
 
(237 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{conjecture}}
{{ImageLink}}
{{Infobox Individual
{{Infobox Individual
|image = [[File:DW_The_End_of_Time_(Part_1)_030-1-.jpg|250px]]
|image       = The Woman 2 (TEOT).jpg
|individual name = The Woman
|species    = Time Lord
|alias =
|origin      = [[Gallifrey]]
|race = [[Gallifreyan]] ([[Time Lady]])
|first cs    = The End of Time (TV story)
|home planet = [[Gallifrey]]
|appearances = [[GAME]]: {{cs|The End of Time (game)}}
|home era = [[Rassilon Era]]
|actor       = Claire Bloom
|appearances = [[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''
}}{{you may|The Woman (Hell Bent)|n1 = the Gallifreyan woman from after the Time War}}
|actor = [[Claire Bloom]]
"'''The Woman'''" was a [[Time Lord]] active on [[Gallifrey]] during the end of the [[Last Great Time War]]. She appeared to [[Wilfred Mott]] on several occasions before and after the [[resurrection]] of {{Simm}}.
}}
"'''The Woman'''" was a mysterious [[Time Lady]] and ally to [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]]. She appeared to [[Wilfred Mott]] on several occasions both prior and during the resurrection of [[the Master (Harold Saxon)|the Master]].


==Biography==
== Biography ==
The Woman was first seen in a [[church]] on [[23rd December|December 23]], [[2009]], in conventional [[Human]] clothes. She told [[Wilfred Mott]] of the church's past. It was once a convent that had been attacked by a demon from the skies in the [[14th century|1300s]], and was saved by a "[[The Doctor|sainted physician]]". After saying that the physician might appear again, she vanished.
At the age of eight, the Woman was taken from her family for the selection process in the [[Drylands]]. Staring into the [[Untempered Schism]] as part of a Time Lord initiation rite, the Woman was inspired by what she saw in the Schism. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)|A Brief History of Time Lords]]'')


She next appeared to Wilf on [[Christmas Day]] via an image appearing on [[television]] which only Wilf could see. She told Wilf that he needed to take up arms, and that [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]]'s life could still be saved. Before vanishing again, she warned Wilf not to tell the Doctor of anything she had said to him.
Both [[the Master]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lords and Masters (short story)|Lords and Masters]]'') and [[the Doctor]] knew the identity of the Woman. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}) She was potentially [[the Doctor's mother]], former [[President of the High Council|President]] [[Romana]], [[the Rani]] or the [[White Guardian]]. ([[GAME]]: {{cs|The End of Time (game)|page=241}})


She once more appeared to Wilf on the [[Vinvocci]]'s [[Hesperus|spaceship]], when Wilf claimed to be lost, saying that he was found. She told him that this was the Doctor's final battle, and that he had to take up arms. He asked her who she was, but she remained silent and told him that she was lost so long ago, before disappearing once more.
=== The Last Great Time War ===
During the final phases of the [[Last Great Time War]], when [[the Doctor]] had turned against the Time Lords, the Woman opposed [[Lord President]] {{Dalton}}'s [[Ultimate Sanction|plan to destroy]] [[time]] itself, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}) along with the [[Patriarch of Stillhaven|Patriarch]] of the [[House of Stillhaven]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lords and Masters (short story)|Lords and Masters]]'') Rassilon condemned her and the patriarch to stand behind him in the [[Panopticon]] and cover their faces "as monuments of their shame, like the [[Weeping Angel]]s of old” ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}}) and had her name [[Elective Semantectomy|erased from time]] as further punishment. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)|A Brief History of Time Lords]]'')


Whenever the Woman appeared to Wilf, she appeared somewhat older, and has slightly more grey hair.
[[File:DW End of Time - The Woman.png|thumb|right|The Woman reveals her face to the [[Tenth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}})]]
When Rassilon and his retinue came to Earth via the [[Immortality Gate]] on [[Boxing Day]] [[2009]], the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s gaze fell on the Woman and she briefly uncovered her face and looked at him, shedding a single tear and glanced toward the [[White-Point Star]]. The Doctor then shot the diamond, severing the link in Rassilon's plan to return to reality, sending her and the other Time Lords back into the [[time lock]] with Gallifrey. As the enraged Rassilon turned to kill the Doctor, she returned to her weeping position, just before the Doctor was saved by {{Simm}}. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}})


During the final phases of the [[Last Great Time War]], at which time the Doctor had turned against the Time Lords, she, with another unnamed Time Lord, opposed the decision of [[Lord President]] [[Rassilon]]'s [[Rassilon's Final Solution|plan to destroy]] [[Time]] itself. Rassilon condemned her and the other Time Lord to cover their faces "like the [[Weeping Angel]]s of old".
=== Appearing to Wilfred ===
[[File:000hqwya-1-.png|thumb|left|225px|The Woman reveals her face]]
During the events surrounding the [[Master Race]] and the Tenth Doctor's [[regeneration]], the Woman frequently appeared to [[Wilfred Mott]] in conventional [[human]] clothes at the same time she was on [[Gallifrey]] during the Time War. How the Woman managed to do this is unknown, but she appeared older, with her hair getting greyer, each time she appeared to Wilf.
When Rassilon came to Earth on Christmas Day, 2009, as [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]] looked at her, she briefly uncovered her face and looked at him. They seemed to share a recognition of each other. She shed a single tear, and glanced toward the [[White-Point Star|diamond]] being used as part of Rassilon's plan. This seemed to be the inspiration which the Doctor needed to shoot the diamond, sending her and the other Time Lords back into the Last Great Time War. Her giving him that inspiration saved him from the terrible choice of having to shoot either the Master or Rassilon. When the enraged Rassilon turned to kill the Doctor, she returned to her weeping position, but he was saved by the Master. The Woman and the other Time Lords were returned to Gallifrey where they died when it was destroyed. When later asked by Wilfred who she was, the Doctor replied only with silence. ([[DW]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')


==Behind the scenes==
The Woman was first seen by Wilf in a [[church]], where she told him that the church had been a convent that was attacked by "a demon from the skies" in the [[14th century|1300s]], and was saved by a "[[The Doctor|sainted physician]]". She directed Wilfred's attention to a stained glass window that contained an image of [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. After suggesting that the physician would appear again, she vanished.
In the final script, the identity of the Woman is not revealed. In [[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale|Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'', [[Russell T Davies]] states that he created the character to be the Doctor's mother and this is what actress Claire Bloom was told when she was cast. During filming, newspapers ''The Daily Mail'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'' announced that Claire Bloom would be portraying the Doctor's mother. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/5240633/Claire-Bloom-to-star-as-mother-of-Doctor-Who.html]


However, Davies has acknowledged that the character could be interpreted as any trustworthy Time Lady or possibly even someone else.
She next appeared to Wilfred on [[Christmas Day]], appearing on [[television]] during the [[Queen's Christmas speech]]. Only Wilf could see her. The Woman told Wilf that he needed to take up [[Firearm|arms]] and that the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s life could still be saved. Before vanishing again, she warned Wilf not to tell the Doctor anything she had said to him.
 
She once more appeared to Wilf on the [[Vinvocci]]'s [[Hesperus (spacecraft)|spaceship]]. She told him that this was the Doctor's final battle, and he had to take up arms. He asked her who she was, but she replied that she was lost, and vanished once more.
 
At [[Donna Noble]] and [[Shaun Temple]]'s [[Donna Noble and Shaun Temple's wedding|wedding]] some time later, which the Doctor observed from a distance, Wilfred asked him who the Woman was. The Doctor chose not to reply. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The End of Time (TV story)}})
 
== Behind the scenes ==
* In the final script, the identity of the Woman is not revealed. In a March 2009 email reprinted in ''[[Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter]]'', on pages 622-623, [[Russell T Davies]] states that he created the character as the Doctor's mother and that this is what actress Claire Bloom was told when she was cast. During filming, newspapers ''The Daily Mail'' and ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' announced that Claire Bloom would be portraying the Doctor's mother.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/5240633/Claire-Bloom-to-star-as-mother-of-Doctor-Who.html</ref>
** Also in ''The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter'', Davies describes the Time War as being "so dark, so obscene, that the dead were walking, called back into life to fight the terrible fight." From his perspective, this justification explained the presence of the Doctor's mother, as well as the [[resurrection of Rassilon]].
* In Davies' script, when Wilf asks the Doctor, "That woman. Who was she?", the stage direction reads: "The Doctor just looks. At Wilf. At Sylvia. At Donna, in the distance. Friends, mothers, brides. He's not saying."<ref>http://www.thewriterstale.com/pdfs/End%20of%20Time%20Part%20Two/Doctor%20Who%204%20Ep.18.GOLD.pdf</ref>
* However, Davies has acknowledged that the character could be interpreted as any trustworthy Time Lady like [[Susan Foreman]], [[Susan Foreman's mother|Susan's mother]] (the Doctor's daughter or daughter-in-law), [[Romana]], "or even [[the Rani]]".
* ''[[The Tenth Doctor Sourcebook (reference book)|The Tenth Doctor Sourcebook]]'' puts forward the [[White Guardian]] as a potential candidate for the Woman's identity.
* The piece "[[The Doctor's Theme]]" plays in the scene where she reveals her face to the Tenth Doctor. This piece was occasionally referred to in jest by the producers as "Flavia's Theme". [[Flavia]] was a Time Lady, and a Chancellor.
* [[Julie Gardner]] was of the opinion that the Woman was the Doctor's mother, but admitted there was enough ambiguity to allow other interpretations. Davies generally refused to be drawn in by Gardner's comparative certainty about the Woman's identity. ([[PCOM]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time, Part 2]]'')
* [[Philip Purser-Hallard]] [https://twitter.com/purserhallard/status/1000837660875935745 theorised] on Twitter that the Woman could actually be [[the Doctor's father|the Doctor's ''father'']].
* [[Steven Moffat]] has said that he leaves it to Whovians to decide whether they want her to be [[The Woman (Hell Bent)|the Woman]] from {{cs|Hell Bent (TV story)}}, as well as the Doctor's mother.<ref>http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/doctor-who/40955/doctor-who-moffat-has-no-idea-if-this-is-the-doctors-mother</ref>
 
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{The Doctor's family}}
{{High Council}}


In commentary for the second half of ''[[DW]]: [[The End of Time]]'', Julie Gardner was of the strong opinion that The Woman was the Doctor's mother, but admitted there was enough ambiguity to allow other interpretations. Russell T. Davies, for his part, generally refused to be drawn by Gardner's comparative certainty about The Woman's identity.
{{Time Lords}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woman, The)}}
[[Category:Relatives of the Doctor|Woman, The]]
[[Category:Time War escapees]]
[[Category:Time Lords with unknown names]]
[[Category:Time Lords with unknown names]]
[[Category:Allies of the Tenth Doctor]]
[[Category:Residents of Gallifrey]]
[[Category:Members of the High Council]]
[[Category:The Ones That Were Inspired]]
 
[[cy:Y Fenyw (The End of Time)]]
[[de:Geheimnisvolle Time Lady]]

Latest revision as of 01:04, 22 October 2024

You may be looking for the Gallifreyan woman from after the Time War.

"The Woman" was a Time Lord active on Gallifrey during the end of the Last Great Time War. She appeared to Wilfred Mott on several occasions before and after the resurrection of the Saxon Master.

Biography[[edit] | [edit source]]

At the age of eight, the Woman was taken from her family for the selection process in the Drylands. Staring into the Untempered Schism as part of a Time Lord initiation rite, the Woman was inspired by what she saw in the Schism. (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords)

Both the Master (PROSE: Lords and Masters) and the Doctor knew the identity of the Woman. (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]) She was potentially the Doctor's mother, former President Romana, the Rani or the White Guardian. (GAME: The End of Time [+]Loading...{"page":"241","1":"The End of Time (game)"})

The Last Great Time War[[edit] | [edit source]]

During the final phases of the Last Great Time War, when the Doctor had turned against the Time Lords, the Woman opposed Lord President Rassilon's plan to destroy time itself, (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]) along with the Patriarch of the House of Stillhaven. (PROSE: Lords and Masters) Rassilon condemned her and the patriarch to stand behind him in the Panopticon and cover their faces "as monuments of their shame, like the Weeping Angels of old” (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"]) and had her name erased from time as further punishment. (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords)

The Woman reveals her face to the Tenth Doctor. (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"])

When Rassilon and his retinue came to Earth via the Immortality Gate on Boxing Day 2009, the Tenth Doctor's gaze fell on the Woman and she briefly uncovered her face and looked at him, shedding a single tear and glanced toward the White-Point Star. The Doctor then shot the diamond, severing the link in Rassilon's plan to return to reality, sending her and the other Time Lords back into the time lock with Gallifrey. As the enraged Rassilon turned to kill the Doctor, she returned to her weeping position, just before the Doctor was saved by the Saxon Master. (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"])

Appearing to Wilfred[[edit] | [edit source]]

During the events surrounding the Master Race and the Tenth Doctor's regeneration, the Woman frequently appeared to Wilfred Mott in conventional human clothes at the same time she was on Gallifrey during the Time War. How the Woman managed to do this is unknown, but she appeared older, with her hair getting greyer, each time she appeared to Wilf.

The Woman was first seen by Wilf in a church, where she told him that the church had been a convent that was attacked by "a demon from the skies" in the 1300s, and was saved by a "sainted physician". She directed Wilfred's attention to a stained glass window that contained an image of the Doctor's TARDIS. After suggesting that the physician would appear again, she vanished.

She next appeared to Wilfred on Christmas Day, appearing on television during the Queen's Christmas speech. Only Wilf could see her. The Woman told Wilf that he needed to take up arms and that the Tenth Doctor's life could still be saved. Before vanishing again, she warned Wilf not to tell the Doctor anything she had said to him.

She once more appeared to Wilf on the Vinvocci's spaceship. She told him that this was the Doctor's final battle, and he had to take up arms. He asked her who she was, but she replied that she was lost, and vanished once more.

At Donna Noble and Shaun Temple's wedding some time later, which the Doctor observed from a distance, Wilfred asked him who the Woman was. The Doctor chose not to reply. (TV: The End of Time [+]Loading...["The End of Time (TV story)"])

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

  • In the final script, the identity of the Woman is not revealed. In a March 2009 email reprinted in Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter, on pages 622-623, Russell T Davies states that he created the character as the Doctor's mother and that this is what actress Claire Bloom was told when she was cast. During filming, newspapers The Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph announced that Claire Bloom would be portraying the Doctor's mother.[1]
    • Also in The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter, Davies describes the Time War as being "so dark, so obscene, that the dead were walking, called back into life to fight the terrible fight." From his perspective, this justification explained the presence of the Doctor's mother, as well as the resurrection of Rassilon.
  • In Davies' script, when Wilf asks the Doctor, "That woman. Who was she?", the stage direction reads: "The Doctor just looks. At Wilf. At Sylvia. At Donna, in the distance. Friends, mothers, brides. He's not saying."[2]
  • However, Davies has acknowledged that the character could be interpreted as any trustworthy Time Lady like Susan Foreman, Susan's mother (the Doctor's daughter or daughter-in-law), Romana, "or even the Rani".
  • The Tenth Doctor Sourcebook puts forward the White Guardian as a potential candidate for the Woman's identity.
  • The piece "The Doctor's Theme" plays in the scene where she reveals her face to the Tenth Doctor. This piece was occasionally referred to in jest by the producers as "Flavia's Theme". Flavia was a Time Lady, and a Chancellor.
  • Julie Gardner was of the opinion that the Woman was the Doctor's mother, but admitted there was enough ambiguity to allow other interpretations. Davies generally refused to be drawn in by Gardner's comparative certainty about the Woman's identity. (PCOM: The End of Time, Part 2)
  • Philip Purser-Hallard theorised on Twitter that the Woman could actually be the Doctor's father.
  • Steven Moffat has said that he leaves it to Whovians to decide whether they want her to be the Woman from Hell Bent [+]Loading...["Hell Bent (TV story)"], as well as the Doctor's mother.[3]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/5240633/Claire-Bloom-to-star-as-mother-of-Doctor-Who.html
  2. ↑ http://www.thewriterstale.com/pdfs/End%20of%20Time%20Part%20Two/Doctor%20Who%204%20Ep.18.GOLD.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/tv/doctor-who/40955/doctor-who-moffat-has-no-idea-if-this-is-the-doctors-mother
v • e
The Doctor's family
Grandparents
Parents
Siblings
Lungbarrow cousins
Almund • Arkhew • Celesia • Chovor • DeRoosifa • Farg • Glospin • "Grandfather Paradox" • Innocet • Jobiska • Luton • Maljamin • Owis • Quences • Rynde • Salpash • Satthralope • Tulgel
Spouses
Children
Grandchildren
Great-grandchildren
Nieces
In-laws
Other
Omega (ancestor) • Inertia (great-aunt) • Unnamed great-aunt • Flavia (aunt) • Unnamed giddy aunt • The Uncle • Godmother • The Woman (ambiguous) • Team TARDIS (surrogate family) • Noble family (surrogate family)
Parallel universes
Grace Holloway (wife) • "Giddy Aunt" Unnamed grandchildren • Tracy (cousin) • Brian (cousin-in-law) • Sam (second cousin) • Daisy (second cousin)
v • e
The High Council of Time Lords
Cardinals
Arkendo  • Borusa  • Irving Braxiatel  • The Colonel • Franilla  • Grayvas  • Helron  • Hemal • Karlax  • Leabind  • Lenadi  • Luvis  • Matthias  • Morissa  • Ollistra  • Padrac  • Pandad  • Sendok  • Tachen  • Tortheth  • Valyes  • Zass  • Zero  • Zorac
High Chancellors
Azmeal • Slann  • Delox  • Socra  • Goth  • Borusa  • Thalia  • Flavia  • Theora  • Irving Braxiatel  • Valyes  • Narvin  • Jerasta  • Volstrom  • Unnamed 2
Castellans
Marnal  • Spandrell  • Kelner  • Rannex  • Jerricho  • Lowri  • Lode  • Casmus • Voran  • Andred  • Wynter  • Maxil  • Annos  • Slyne  • Unnamed 1  • Unnamed 2  • Plutus  • Kanteer  • Unnamed 3
Councillors
Rassilon  • Omega  • Alekall  • The Doctor • The War Chief/The Master • Cortalian • Darkel  • Delox  • Elar  • Flavia  • Hedin  • Kandarl  • Milvo  • Morin  • Narvin  • Norval  • Ollistra  • Ortan  • Ragnar  • Rath  • Ratisbon  • Romana II  • Ryoth  • Samax  • Sardon  • Taskor  • Verne  • Wblk
Gold Ushers
Others
The High Chancellors and Castellans are listed in chronological order by their first term in office. Other ranks are listed alphabetically.
Retrieved from "https://tardis.wiki/w/index.php?title=The_Woman_(The_End_of_Time)&oldid=3877523"