So last week, BBC Studios announced that it has been working on an ambitious multi-platform
project for Doctor Who called the Timelord victorious. We only have the barest of details
at the moment on what it actually entails as well as this single piece of key art and
the following known factors. It will be set during the Dark Times at the
beginning of the universe, when even “the Eternals were young”. We also know that
it will involve the adventures of the 8th, 9th and 10th Doctors across the mediums of,
well everything. Except TV. I’m suspecting that the overall storyline will unfold in
bits and pieces, but apparently it’s going to evolve across the audio books, novels,
comics, games a magazine and even an escape room company has gotten involved somehow.
It’s like a celebration of all the extra content that gets released beyond the screen,
well, TV screens at any rate. So alongside this image what can we discern from the setting?
To begin with, the name, of course the Time Lord Victorious was a semi-pseudonym adopted
by the 10th Doctor at the end of the “Waters of Mars” storyline. It is not a good thing.
Without getting into the details of that episode, it basically had the Doctor enter a very dangerous
place at its culmination. Pressured by the knowledge of his oncoming regeneration and
perturbed by his realisation that as there is no more Timelord society, he assumes that
he himself can be the sole arbiter of time. This is followed quickly by the realisation
that he has gone too far and it effectively goes against everything he’s supposed to
stand for. Ever since then, the connotations of the Timelord Victorious have not been good.
Not to mention it sounds eerily close to another name that a dark incarnation of the Doctor
went by, the Valeyard. Although that is a made up word. So, worryingly, it could involve
the Doctor delving deeper into his own darker sides, especially as these are the Doctor’s
centred around the effects of the Time War, excluding John Hurt’s “War Doctor”.
I will note that the fractured Victorious font here seems to indicate that things aren’t
going well and I originally tried to overlay the crack in time from Doctor Eleven’s run
to see if this would line up. It does not, not quite. But Still, perhaps it represents
that timelines have gone wonky. As for the Dark Times themselves, It could
allude to several things. Specifically in relation to Gallifrey, it was the blanket
term for the era before they ascended to become Timelords. (Pre Time-travel, pre regeneration
and before the whole “Timeless Child” thing.) In terms of the universe, it was the
eons immediately after its creation where supposedly the laws of physics had yet to
establish properly and mystic forces like magic were still at play. Also, according
to older lore, this era cannot really be visited by Time Travel after the linearity of time
was established, but Doctor Who and continuity have the same relationship that me and the
outdoors have. I’m aware it’s there but I really only go to it when I need something.
As for the Eternals, they are some of the oldest beings in the universe, so saying that
we’re going back to when they were young insinuates just how far back these journeys
are going. Among the only forces in the universe that were older are beings that predate the
Big Bang and entities like the Black and White Guardians. Sufficed to say, the Eternals were
just as, or perhaps even more so as arrogant as the Timelords and often were worshiped
as gods by various cultures. I don’t think they’ll have much bearing on the plot, but
you never know. As for what we can surmise by the promotional
image, taking centre stage is Ten-Tennant looking rather dishevelled and wearing the
robes of a Timelord. The only times the Doctor ever dons these is generally when he’s forced
to by the Timelords. Specifically however, these robes are in the same style as the ones
worn by the older Rassilon as seen in “Hell Bent”, except the mantle part is that of
a plain Timelord bearing the seal of Rassilon, the symbol of the Prydonian chapter to which
the Doctor belongs. So are we to assume he’s taken up a position of authority among the
timelords then? We also have Eight, wearing his outfit from
closer to the end of the Time War as opposed to his first stolen getup or the other big
finish depictions. Nine is of course in his standard “Hard-man” leather jacket which
offers a plus one to his toughness stats. Aside from the three Doctors, we have Rose
Tyler, although she is all done up in a nice dress, but are those blood-stains? Probably
not, but none of them look happy. I was trying to get a good look at the necklace and I think
it’s a Timelord one, made of the numerous circular runes, but it is hard to tell. Of
course, we could also be dealing with a “Bad Wolf”, but it does specify Rose Tyler in
the description. The baddies in the image are of course, the
Daleks. Although we have a distinct lack of Time War era bronze beasties and instead we
have them in the same style but various colours. There is also a prominent pre-Time War Dalek
as well as numerous Dalek saucers. And we have a mister Ood, it could be any Can I say
they all looks the same, is that okay? However they Ood featured prominently in the build
up to ten’s regeneration, giving him the warning and guiding him back on track after
the whole “Victorious” thing. Maybe even that same Ood, Sigma? I think he was called?
Most interestingly however, is the inclusion of a wing of Gallifreyan Bowships in the upper
right corner. These were Dark Time-era Gallifreyan space fighters that they used in combat with
the Greater Vampires. They’ve seen the occasional reuse since but their primary function was
to, frankly, impale Vampires with that giant stake on the front. Sufficed to say, they’re
Gallifreyan and from a time of war. And one can only be victorious in combat.
So he’s my theory. Are we dealing with a renegade Tenth Doctor who was not steered
back on the path of the Doctor and instead assumed the Victorious moniker or at least
given in to his drive to “right all the wrongs” no matter the consequences? Since
then, perhaps he’s gone back and attempted to prevent the very time war itself and in
doing so, assumed the presidency of Gallifrey but also caused a whole ‘nother mess in
Gallifreyan history. Maybe it’s his past selves that have to
be brought in to fix things and restore the original timeline, no matter how painful it
is. On top of this, I like the idea that the Rose Tyler from this storyline is from the
Ninth’s era and has been brought to Gallifrey by a fallen number Ten as he tries to fix
…everything. Also, Mr dapper Ood may be in a similar situation, being bought aboard
after failing to steer Ten back on course. I’ve not looked at other theories yet, but
I’m going to now I have got all this written down and out of my head. Alright, so thanks
to the magic of editing, I’ve just watched a couple more theories and it seems we’re
mostly on the same page with ideas. I’ll link a couple of further discussions below
if you want to see those if you haven’t already.
We’re all going to be getting more details closer to the release of the first parts in
September till January and this is the sort of Doctor who thing that a really enjoy so
I’ll be keeping an eye out for details and trying to follow as much of this cross-media
narrative as I can. I can’t help but feel that this is also designed in some way to
get the community talking to one another, sharing the pieces of the story as it unfolds
across the various platforms. Anyway, that’s my interpretation of the
Time Lord Victorious announcement and after the last two series of Doctor who (and now
another hiatus), I’m glad to find myself excited for more content. Thanks for watching,
I’ve been Ric and I’ll see you next time for another Sci-fi video. Thanks again and
goodbye!