Gallifrey
- For the Big Finish audio see Gallifrey (audio series).
Prior to its destruction, Gallifrey was the home world of the Gallifreyans and the Time Lords (of whom the Doctor is a member of). It was also known as the Shining World of the Seven Systems. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
Characteristics
Location
Gallifrey was located in the constellation of Kasterborous, at galactic co-ordinates 10-0-11-0-0 by 0-2 from Galactic Zero Centre. (DW: Pyramids of Mars) It was said that Gallifrey was located at the edge of Mutter's Spiral (EDA: Interference: Book Two) and was 29,000 light years from Earth. (REF: Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary)
It was in a binary star system, the second star seeming to rise in the south in the morning, making the mountains glow. (DW: Gridlock)
It was removed from time and space twice, once after the war with Faction Paradox, again during the Time War. (DW: The End of the World, Dalek, The Runaway Bride)
Landscape
From orbit, Gallifrey was a rusty colour with brown lakes and grey clouds. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible) Gallifrey had an orange sky and trees with silver leaves, which reflect the morning sunlight, making it look like the forests were on fire. (DW: The Sensorites, Gridlock) There were also green forests, golden fields and red deserts. (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
In its main mountain range, the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, on the continent of Wild Endeavour, stood the Citadel, cut off from the outside universe by a dome. This is where the Time Lords lived and the Time Lord Academy stood. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
Native species
Gallifrey had a wide variety of plant-life, ranging in colour from silver, green and golden. Known species include the Schlenk Blossom (PDA: Island of Death) and the Madevinia aridosa (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible).
Native animals of Gallifrey include the Flubble (PDA: Island of Death), Tafelshrews (NA: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible), Plumboles (BBCR: The Ghosts of N-Space) and, of course, the Gallifreyans. Oddly enough, before its complete annihilation from time and space, no animal had gone extinct from the planet. (TDA: The Last Dodo)
- This lack of extinction was probably due to the Time Lords, who would have brought back species after they had died out.
History
Gallifreyan defences
Gallifrey appears to have possessed surprisingly few defences from invaders. This may be due in part to the transduction barrier, which covered the planet and which was almost completely impenetrable by outside forces. However, on the few occasions when a hostile force penetrated the transduction barrier, the Time Lords appeared to be unable to competently defend themselves. For example, when a small group of Sontarans successfully managed to bypass the transduction barrier and proceeded to slaughter any Time Lords they encountered, they nearly succeeded in conquering Gallifrey until the Doctor intervened and used an ancient Time Lord weapon called the D-Mat gun to destroy the Sontarans (DW: The Invasion of Time).
- The D-Mat gun was not a normal part of Gallifrey's defences, as its existence was largely believed to be a myth by the Time Lords.
Another example of Gallifrey's reliance upon the transduction barrier for security occurred when the Daleks bypassed the barrier and exterminated several Time Lords, including the then current President (DW: The Apocalypse Element). In both this case and the aforementioned Sontaran invasion, the Time Lords relied upon the Chancellory Guard to deal with the invaders, only to find out that the guards' weaponry (see Staser) was ineffective against their attackers.
External link
- "Rassilon, Omega and that Other Guy": informally named but very exhaustive website compiled Gallifrey information form all media, with speculation (clearly labelled as such)
- Discontinuity Guide article on the location of Gallifrey
