Non-interference policy: Difference between revisions

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===The Doctor===
===The Doctor===
In many situations, [[the Doctor]] was used by the [[Time Lord]]s to do their bidding for them. This is mainly because, being a renegade, they could deny they had any influence on him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]'')
On occasion, [[the Doctor]] was used by the [[Time Lord]]s to do their bidding for them. This is mainly because, being a renegade, they could deny they had any influence on him. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]'')


It was partly the non-interference policy which led to [[the Doctor]] leaving [[Gallifrey]]: he claimed he was bored there and wanted to experience the universe first hand. When the Time Lords eventually located him he was put on trial for breaching the policy. ([[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]]'')
It was partly the non-interference policy which led to the Doctor leaving [[Gallifrey]]. He felt that there were evils which should be fought, and positive ways of interfering. Additionally, he claimed he was bored at home and wanted to experience the universe first hand. When the Time Lords eventually located him, he was put on trial for breaching the policy. ([[DW]]: ''[[The War Games]]'')


Rather oddly, the Time Lords punished the Doctor for repeatedly involving himself in the affairs of less-advanced planets by involving him in the affairs of a less-advanced planet for an extended period of time: they [[Exile on Earth|exiled him]] to [[Earth]] in the [[20th century]] with his [[TARDIS]] rendered inoperative.
In defending his actions, the Doctor managed to convince that Time Lords that there was some merit to his argument of justifiable interference. An ironic result of this was that the Time Lords punished the Doctor for repeatedly involving himself in the affairs of less-advanced planets by involving him in the affairs of a less-advanced planet for an extended period of time: they [[Exile on Earth|exiled him]] to [[Earth]] in the [[20th century]] with his [[TARDIS]] rendered inoperative. ([[DW]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'')


In any case, the Time Lords repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to involve themselves in the affairs of the universe, using the Doctor as an unofficial (and frequently unwilling) agent. For a considerable period of time they used his talents to further their own agenda:
The Time Lords repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to involve themselves in the affairs of the universe, using the Doctor as an unofficial (and frequently unwilling) agent. For a considerable period of time they used his talents to further their own agenda:


* The [[Second Doctor]] appears to have carried out a series of missions for the Time Lords between the end of his trial and his actual regeneration. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]'', [[PDA]]: ''[[World Game]]'', etc)
* The [[Second Doctor]] appears to have carried out a series of missions for the Time Lords. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]'', [[PDA]]: ''[[World Game]]'', etc)
* The Time Lords sent the Doctor to [[Uxarieus]] to stop [[the Master]] gaining control of the [[Doomsday Weapon]], to [[Solos]] to help the natives complete their natural metamorphosis, and (probably) to [[Peladon (planet)|Peladon]] to help the planet's bid to join the [[Galactic Federation]]. All of these occurred prior to the formal lifting of the Doctor's exile. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'', ''[[The Mutants]]'', ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]'')
* The Time Lords sent the Doctor to [[Uxarieus]] to stop [[the Master]] gaining control of the [[Doomsday Weapon]], to [[Solos]] to help the natives complete their natural metamorphosis, and (probably) to [[Peladon (planet)|Peladon]] to help the planet's bid to join the [[Galactic Federation]]. All of these occurred prior to the formal lifting of the Doctor's exile. ([[DW]]: ''[[Colony in Space]]'', ''[[The Mutants]]'', ''[[The Curse of Peladon]]'')
:''Following the lifting of the exile it was harder to tell which of the TARDIS' unplanned landings were a result of Time Lord intervention and which were simply caused by poor piloting.''
:''Following the lifting of the exile it was harder to tell which of the TARDIS' unplanned landings were a result of Time Lord intervention and which were simply caused by poor piloting.''
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* A [[Ferain|Time Lord]] appeared to the Doctor in person at the start of his mission to [[Skaro]] to avert the creation of the Daleks (a mission to ultimately have [[Last Great Time War|dire consequences]] for the Time Lords). ([[DW]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* A [[Ferain|Time Lord]] appeared to the Doctor in person at the start of his mission to [[Skaro]] to avert the creation of the Daleks (a mission to ultimately have [[Last Great Time War|dire consequences]] for the Time Lords). ([[DW]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'')
* The Doctor believed his arrival on [[Karn]] was the result of Time Lord interference. The presence on the same planet of the remnants of the renegade [[Morbius]] would seem to suggest he was correct. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')
* The Doctor believed his arrival on [[Karn]] was the result of Time Lord interference. The presence on the same planet of the remnants of the renegade [[Morbius]] would seem to suggest he was correct. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'')
* Much later, the Doctor believed his involvement in the [[Cybermen]]'s attempt to destroy Earth in [[1985]] was a result of Time Lord machinations, although there was little evidence to support this. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')
* Much later, the Doctor believed his involvement in the [[Cybermen]]'s attempt to destroy Earth in [[1985]] was a result of Time Lord machinations. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'')


Most of these missions seem to have taken place under the auspices of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]], a shadowy Gallifreyan faction who took a particular interest in the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')
Some of these missions (or perhaps all) may have taken place under the auspices of the [[Celestial Intervention Agency]], a shadowy Gallifreyan faction who took a particular interest in the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'')


The full extent of the CIA's activities were unknown, and individual Gallifreyan attitudes to the policy varied - [[Rodan]] appeared to regard it as inviolable, whereas [[Romana]] showed no surprise after being asked to leave Gallifrey and assist the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'', ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'')
The full extent of the CIA's activities were unknown, and individual Gallifreyan attitudes to the policy varied - [[Rodan]] appeared to regard it as inviolable, whereas [[Romana]] accepted being asked to leave Gallifrey and assist the Doctor. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'', ''[[The Ribos Operation]]'')
 
Despite the attempts of the Time Lords to conceal their involvement by using the Doctor as an agent, the Daleks eventually learned of the attempt to have their creation averted. This was apparently one of the causes of the [[Last Great Time War]] and the near-total extermination of the Time Lords as a species.


==Biggest breaking of the policy==
==Biggest breaking of the policy==

Revision as of 14:42, 8 October 2010

The policy of non-interference was fundamental to Time Lord attitudes towards and dealings with the rest of the universe.

Origin

Rassilon wrote down his principles of non-intervention, following a nightmarish vision of a monstrous imperialistic Gallifrey. (DWM: The Final Chapter) These do not appear to have been formal law.

Following the Time Lord-Vampire War, the Time Lords had abandoned the use of violence, but still continued to involve themselves in the affairs of the wider universe. This had catastrophic results for the people of the planet Minyos who were gifted with high technology by the Time Lords, whom they regarded as god-like beings.

As a result of being granted technology they did not have the cultural maturity to use responsibly, nuclear war broke out on Minyos and the Minyans were nearly made extinct. The Time Lords left from Minyos at around the same time. (DW: Underworld)

On the same line, due to meddling on Klist, evolution was reversed for the inhabitants, while on Plastrodus 14 the inhabitants were all driven mad. (PDA: The Quantum Archangel)

Horrified by the results of their meddling, the Time Lords adopted a strict policy whereby they would only observe the events of the wider universe, and never become involved personally. (DW: Underworld)

Exceptions

Like many of their principles, the Time Lords' attitude to the non-interference policy was somewhat flexible, even to the point of hypocrisy. During the Millennium War, Rassilon went against the policy and joined the fight against the Mad Mind of Bophemeral. (PDA: The Quantum Archangel) Before the Doctor's departure he was able to make the Time Lords implement a ban on miniscopes, an act which earned him great respect in the wider universe. (DW: Carnival of Monsters) It was the Time Lord Irving Braxiatel who organised the Armageddon Convention, which led to the banning of many weapons of mass destruction amongst leading civilised species. (MA: The Empire of Glass)

The Time Lords later breached the policy on a major scale: after Andromedans based on Earth were able to infiltrate the Matrix and steal its secrets, they devastated the planet and moved it light-years across space to conceal what they had done and prevent the secrets reaching Andromeda. They also manipulated events and individuals on Thoros Beta to prevent Crozier from discovering an effective means of immortality. (DW: The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp) The Doctor eventually discovered what had happened to Earth but was unaware of the reasons why. Apparently fearing his reaction, the Time Lords put him on trial for his life, the initial pretext being (ironically enough) his repeated breaches of the policy. (DW: The Trial of a Time Lord).Time Lords do a have a sense of right and wrong, even if it means to go against their president on a few occasions. Some Time Lords were even outraged by the very idea of only standing by and watching others in agony, viewing it more as a bad excuse for not helping other planets, rather than a good reason not to interfere with the laws of time.

The Doctor

On occasion, the Doctor was used by the Time Lords to do their bidding for them. This is mainly because, being a renegade, they could deny they had any influence on him. (DW: The Two Doctors)

It was partly the non-interference policy which led to the Doctor leaving Gallifrey. He felt that there were evils which should be fought, and positive ways of interfering. Additionally, he claimed he was bored at home and wanted to experience the universe first hand. When the Time Lords eventually located him, he was put on trial for breaching the policy. (DW: The War Games)

In defending his actions, the Doctor managed to convince that Time Lords that there was some merit to his argument of justifiable interference. An ironic result of this was that the Time Lords punished the Doctor for repeatedly involving himself in the affairs of less-advanced planets by involving him in the affairs of a less-advanced planet for an extended period of time: they exiled him to Earth in the 20th century with his TARDIS rendered inoperative. (DW: Spearhead from Space)

The Time Lords repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to involve themselves in the affairs of the universe, using the Doctor as an unofficial (and frequently unwilling) agent. For a considerable period of time they used his talents to further their own agenda:

Following the lifting of the exile it was harder to tell which of the TARDIS' unplanned landings were a result of Time Lord intervention and which were simply caused by poor piloting.

Some of these missions (or perhaps all) may have taken place under the auspices of the Celestial Intervention Agency, a shadowy Gallifreyan faction who took a particular interest in the Doctor. (DW: The Deadly Assassin)

The full extent of the CIA's activities were unknown, and individual Gallifreyan attitudes to the policy varied - Rodan appeared to regard it as inviolable, whereas Romana accepted being asked to leave Gallifrey and assist the Doctor. (DW: The Invasion of Time, The Ribos Operation)

Biggest breaking of the policy

The Time Lords, in order to survive the Time War, decided to make the biggest break of the policy: destroy the universe in order to survive as beings of pure conciousness, a plan came up with by Rassilon himself. The Doctor destroyed the Time Lords as well as the Daleks to prevent this and when they tried it again in 2009, the Doctor stopped them again with the help of his companion Wilfred Mott and the Master. In this instance, the Doctor banished the Time Lords back into the War to die and also prevented numerous other threats from coming through that would have turned the universe into hell, as the Time War was.