Valeyard: Difference between revisions

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(Removing comp to veilliard - presumption that seems only to have been posited here. Tackling the name origin too.)
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== Behind the scenes ==
== Behind the scenes ==
Contrary to the [[Doctor Who universe|in-universe]] definition, "Valeyard" is not a genuine legal title meaning "learned court prosecutor." The word was entirely made-up by writer [[Robert Holmes]]. The title does bear some similarity to the French word "vieillard", meaning "old man", possibly alluding to the planned nature of the Valeyard as the Doctor's last incarnation.{{Fact}}
Contrary to the [[Doctor Who universe|in-universe]] definition and despite what ''Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History Of Time'' claims, "Valeyard" is not a genuine legal title meaning "learned court prosecutor" or an obsolete phrasing of "doctor of law." The term was entirely made-up during production - as evidenced by the character outline as delivered on [[5 July (production)|5 July]] [[1985 (production)|1985]] and was devised by either [[John Nathan-Turner]] or [[Eric Saward]]. The term is originally briefly spelled in this documentation as "Valiyard", but this was amended that same day.<ref>''Character Outline Sheet: "The Valiyard and the Grand Inquisitor" (5 July 1985), released in the Production Documentation PDF Archive of [[The Collection|Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 23]] [all items within archive verified & scanned by [[Richard Bignell]]]''</ref>


== Footnotes ==
<references />
[[Category:Time Lord titles and offices]]
[[Category:Time Lord titles and offices]]

Revision as of 01:14, 13 April 2021

You may be looking for the Valeyard.

Valeyard was a title, potentially Gallifreyan in origin, which the Sixth Doctor knew to mean "learned court prosecutor". (TV: The Mysterious Planet) According to the Inquisitor, it meant "doctor of law". (PROSE: The Inquisitor) In the Sixth Doctor's trial, the title was claimed by a Time Lord known as the Valeyard, who the Tremas Master revealed to be an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides, taken from a point in the Doctor's personal future. (TV: The Ultimate Foe)

Behind the scenes

Contrary to the in-universe definition and despite what Shannon Sullivan's A Brief History Of Time claims, "Valeyard" is not a genuine legal title meaning "learned court prosecutor" or an obsolete phrasing of "doctor of law." The term was entirely made-up during production - as evidenced by the character outline as delivered on 5 July 1985 and was devised by either John Nathan-Turner or Eric Saward. The term is originally briefly spelled in this documentation as "Valiyard", but this was amended that same day.[1]

Footnotes

  1. Character Outline Sheet: "The Valiyard and the Grand Inquisitor" (5 July 1985), released in the Production Documentation PDF Archive of Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 23 [all items within archive verified & scanned by Richard Bignell]