Jerricho
- You may be looking for the city or Eustacius Jericho.
Jerricho was a Time Lord who held the post of Castellan under President Borusa. Ruthless and committed to his duty to protect Gallifrey, he attempted to execute the Fifth Doctor to prevent Omega from bonding with him and worked to rescue the Doctor from the reactivated Death Zone by making a deal with the Master. Ultimately, he was murdered on Borusa's orders to cover up his own guilt.
Biography
Early life
Jerricho was, like all Time Lords, taken from his family at the age of eight to look into the Untempered Schism, which inspired him. (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Loading...["A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)"]) He was an old acquaintance of the Doctor, whose fifth incarnation once remarked that he had known him for "too long" (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]) or "a very long time" (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (novelisation)"]) and who never learnt his name. (AUDIO: Time in Office [+]Loading...["Time in Office (audio story)"]) Jerricho believed that the Doctor was uncooperative (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"]) whilst the Doctor believed Jerricho was limited and narrow. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
As a Castellan
Jerricho became Castellan and had a seat on the High Council under President Borusa. Following Omega's failed attempt to bond with the Fifth Doctor, the Castellan suggested killing the Doctor and had Maxil recall the TARDIS to Gallifrey so that he might be executed, drawing up a Warrant of Termination and dismissing the possibility that a Councillor could have transmitted the Doctor's biodata extract without him knowing. He later discovered that the Doctor had survived the execution and accused Borusa of doing so given that the presidential codes had been used, but Hedin was eventually exposed as the traitor and the Castellan accidentally killed him when Hedin stepped in the way of a shot intended for the Doctor. The Castellan watched as the Doctor defeated Omega. (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"])
The Castellan continued to serve under Borusa's next incarnation, whom he found no less stubborn than the last. After the Death Zone was reactivated (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]) and Thalia and Zorac failed to return, (PROSE: A Brief History of Time Lords [+]Loading...["A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)"]) the Inner Council discovered that the Doctor had been taken out of time and deposited there. Overruling Borusa, the Castellan and Flavia sent the Master to assist the Doctor with a recall device in return for a new regeneration cycle. He activated a transmat to bring the Master back from the Death Zone after they failed to hear anything from him, but the Fifth Doctor had acquired the recall device after he and the Master were attacked by Cybermen and it was instead him who was brought to the Capitol. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
Death
Borusa ultimately worked with the Commander to frame the Castellan (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (novelisation)"]) by hiding the Black Scrolls of Rassilon in his rooms and accusing him of being responsible for the homing beacon placed inside the Master's recall device. When the Fifth Doctor brought the homing beacon to the Inner Council's attention, the Castellan accused him of wanting revenge and was taken away by the Commander once the scrolls were "discovered". (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]) The Commander murdered the Castellan, (PROSE: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (novelisation)"]) claiming that he resisted as he was being taken to the mind probe. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
Legacy
Jerricho was succeeded as Castellan by Lowri. Meeting her on Gallifrey, the Fifth Doctor realised that he had never learnt Jerricho's name. (AUDIO: Time in Office [+]Loading...["Time in Office (audio story)"])
Personality
The Castellan was fiercely loyal to his oath of office and acted ruthlessly, (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]) being the first of the High Council to suggest executing the Fifth Doctor to thwart Omega. (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"]) He spoke smoothly and forcefully and acted in the manner of one who was used to being obeyed. (PROSE: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (novelisation)"]) Even when he knew that he could not refuse a request, he would attempt to make it seem as though he was granting a privilege. (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"]) He was terrified by any mention of the Dark Days.
The Doctor described the Castellan as limited and narrow, although he commended his loyalty and commitment to his duty, and Borusa told him that it was a pity that the Castellan had to die to serve as a diversion. (TV: The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"])
Appearance
The Castellan had fair hair (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"]) and a smooth face and looked blandly authoritative. He appeared to be younger than Thalia and Zorac. (PROSE: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (novelisation)"])
Behind the scenes
- Sean Arnold and Patrick Stewart were considered for the role before Paul Jerricho was cast.[source needed]
- Jerricho's name comes from his actor's surname.
An older Jerricho as seen in the 2020 webcast. - The character reappeared in 2020 in the Doctor Who: Lockdown!-adjacent webcast The Castellan has returned and has brought a message from Gallifrey!, tying in with a tweetalong of The Five Doctors [+]Loading...["The Five Doctors (TV story)"]. Played by a visibly older Paul Jerricho, the Castellan cackled that "Time Lords never die" to explain how he was still around, and greeted the viewer from the depths of the jungles of Wild Endeavour before being attacked by the Time Scoop as part of what he (in another fourth wall break) recognised as "the tweetalong". Due to these factors, the webcast is not considered a valid source on this Wiki.
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