Romana
Romanadvoratrelundar (Romana for short) was a Time Lady who was assigned to the Doctor in his quest for the Key to Time. She stayed with the Doctor long after that task was complete, and then decided to part ways with the Doctor in E-Space. In a later of stage of her life, she was the Lady President of the Time Lords of Gallifrey.
Biography
Early Life
For some time Romana worked in the Bureau of Ancient Records on Gallifrey. (DW: State of Decay)
Travels with the Doctor
First incarnation
Romana first met the Doctor in her first incarnation. Though a young (about 139) and relatively inexperienced Time Lady, she was nevertheless extremely bright and capable, having obtained a triple first at the Academy. (The Doctor scraped through with 51% a minimal passing score on his second attempt.)
The Time Lords and the White Guardian sent Romana to help the Doctor and K9 Mark II locate the Key to Time. It was the Doctor who first gave her the shortened version of her name. (DW: The Ribos Operation)
Second incarnation
After the completion of the quest Romana regenerated into her second incarnation. Accounts as to the reasons for this regeneration and the circumstances differ, though all agree that in her second incarnation, Romana permanently adopted the likeness of Princess Astra of Atrios for the duration of the incarnation.
- One account says that, unknown to the Doctor, Romana suffered damage due to exposure to the Key to Time. Just as she was about to regenerate, an anthropomorphised manifestation of the Doctor's TARDIS, jealous of Romana, trapped her in a force field and proceeded to pretend to be Romana. The TARDIS changed into different forms, and finally became a double of Princess Astra (ST: The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe) An adventure on the planet Skaro followed. (DW: Destiny of the Daleks) Realising the error of its ways after that adventure, it released Romana, but not before making the Time Lady assume the image of Astra. (ST: The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe)
- Another account said that Romana forced her own regeneration to prevent an ancient Gallifreyan evil called Pandora from gaining power over her. (BFG: Lies)
- A third account says that when the Key to Time was assembled without the sixth piece, it left Princess Astra and was absorbed by Romana, the strain of which caused a regeneration. (BFA: The Key 2 Time - The Chaos Pool)
There is also an account that suggests that, at some point after the installation of the randomiser into the Doctor's TARDIS (DW: The Armageddon Factor) but before the Doctor, Romana and K-9 found themselves trapped in E-Space (DW: Full Circle), Romana for reasons unknown left the TARDIS for a time. The Doctor and K-9 continued to travel on their own for a time (DWM: Timeslip), even picking up a new companion along the way (DWM: The Star Beast), but eventually Romana reunited with the Doctor and they resumed their travels together.
Romana and the Doctor at last parted when she decided to remain in E-Space with K9 in order to help the enslaved Tharils regain their freedom. The Doctor and Adric left for N-Space, the Doctor's native universe, leaving Romana and K9. (DW: Warriors' Gate)
As Lady President
- Conflicting accounts of Romana's career as Lady President are tricky to reconcile, if they happened in the same timeline.
Second incarnation
Romana would later return to N-Space; one account suggests the Doctor made this possible. (NA: Blood Harvest) She subsequently assumed a seat on the High Council of Time Lords. (MA: Goth Opera) She later attained the office of President. She was at this time generally referred to by her full name, and had Leela, K9 and Irving Braxiatel as her closest confidants.
She was abducted by the Daleks and kept prisoner for twenty years, barely escaping with her sanity intact although an adventure shared with the Doctor helped her recover (BFA: The Apocalypse Element) and afterwards presided over Gallifrey in a ever-changing political situation where new time-active powers like the Monan Host were coming to prominence. The machinations of the Free Time terrorist group and a civil war against the malevolent Pandora (who took on the form of Romana's first incarnation) would eventually see Gallifrey fall into ruin and Romana lose her position to Matthias. Braxiatel attempted to salvage the situation but this went "pear-shaped", leaving Gallifrey overrun by Dogma Virus zombies and about to be hit with temporal weapons; Romana, however, had a plan in mind (though it is as yet unknown). (Gallifrey (audio series))
Third incarnation
Still as Lady President, Romana regenerated a second time into her third incarnation (EDA: The Shadows of Avalon) Romana was far more ruthless in this incarnation in the previous two and presided over a war with the Enemy and the destruction of Gallifrey. (EDA: The Ancestor Cell). She looks (worryingly from the Doctor's point-of-view) like the Doctor's mother, and has a Seal of Rassilon tattoo on her ankle. She has dark hair that she wears long and straight.
Some evidence may suggest that Romana may have been one of a few Time Lords that survived this cataclysm, possibly in a fourth incarnation. (PDA: Tomb of Valdemar)
Last Great Time War
Accounts suggest that Romana was still the President of the Time Lords at the start of the Last Great Time War. (DWA: 2006 Doctor Who Annual)
After an escalation of hostilities with the Daleks (BFA:The Apocalypse Element) Romana made diplomatic overtures. (NA: Lungbarrow) She later initiated a Dalek-Time Lord peace treaty under the Act of Master Restitution. (DWA: 2006 Doctor Who Annual)
Fate
Towards the end of the Last Great Time War, Romana was no longer Lady President of Gallifrey. She had been replaced by Rassilon who was Lord President of the Time Lords of Gallifrey at the end of the war. (DW: The End of Time) The Doctor stated that "Things went well for Romana... until the Time War." (IDW: The Forgotten) Rassilon may have forced her to resign (or possibly killed her) since she knew Rassilon became a corrupted leader during his previous ruling days before the Time War.
Personality
Romana is an exceptionally clever (even on-par with the Doctor), slightly bossy person. She possesses many personality points of the Doctor. Like the Doctor, Romana is capable of using deadly force when necessary, although this has rarely been documented. (DW: The Pirate Planet)
In her first incarnation, she was more haughty and "by the book" and was occasionally annoyed by the Doctor's eccentricities. She does not mind taking on the form of Princess Astra of Atrios. (DW: The Armageddon Factor)
In her second incarnation, Romana was more bubbly and free spirited, in many ways a female version of the Fourth Doctor. It was also evident that in her second incarnation, she liked to emulate the Doctor's sartorial style, initially wearing a pink version of his overcoat, complete with white scarf. (DW: Destiny of the Daleks)
Although she was also seen wearing period Earth-style outfits such as a schoolgirl costume (DW: City of Death). She did on at least one occasion slip back into the haughty nature of her first incarnation. (DW: The Creature from the Pit)
Her third incarnation was not as positively disposed towards the Doctor, and it is said she regenerated as she felt her second incarnation wasn't ruthless enough to handle the coming war. (EDA: The Shadows of Avalon)
The Doctor jokingly refers to Romana by saying that she "knows everything". (NSA: Wetworld)
Age
Romana stated that she was "nearly 140" when she first met the Doctor (DW: The Ribos Operation). A while after she regenerated, she stated she was 125. (DW: City of Death) She was 150 by the time the Doctor was on Argolis (DW: The Leisure Hive).
This would mean that Romana travelled with the Doctor for over 10 years.
Behind the scenes
- When Romana regenerates for the first time, she initially takes on several different forms before choosing that of Astra. Exactly why she is able to do this and not the Doctor has never been made clear, although some attempts at addressing this have been made, such as Doctor Who and The Parting of the Ways where the Doctor says humanoid regenerations aren't always guaranteed, and The Christmas Invasion in which it was revealed that a Time Lord's body remains in flux for hours after the regeneration, allowing, for example, the regrowth of a severed hand. It may be possible since Romana might have a high rank in The High Council of Time Lords she may have a privilege to chose what form she desires before she officially regenerates. It is also noted that after her regeneration she chose what appears to be a feminine version of the fourth Doctor's clothing (i.e. pink coat, white scarf).
- Romana also appears in the mini-episode Dimensions in Time, although this is not considered part of regular continuity, and the episode provides no clue as to where in Romana's personal timeline her appearance occurs (if it is even Romana).
- The revelation in DW: Utopia that the Master survived time war has led to subsequent fan speculation over whether certain female characters in the revived series might be a disguised Romana. This has included River Song (DW: Silence in the Library/The Forest of the Dead), Donna Noble (Season 4), and the character of Christina de Souza. The Doctor mentions that Christina de Souza looks like a Time Lord in the 2009 special Planet of the Dead and this has been the subject of speculation as to whether she has Time Lord connections or may, in fact, be Romana. This interpretation was addressed in the next season in an exchange between Amy Pond and the Doctor, in which he said to Amy, "No, you look Time Lord. We came first." (DW: The Beast Below). Most recently, The Woman from The End of Time was speculated to be Romana.
- Three alternative 'physical' forms of Romana seen in Part One of Destiny of the Daleks were played, uncredited, by Lee Richards, Maggy Armitage and Yvonne Gallagher.
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