Doctor Who devotees are trying to figure out why one of the franchise’s most important Time Lord characters remains AWOL.
As established in Doctor Who’s original run, the Time Lords are (as their name suggests) an alien race renowned for mastering time travel. They hail from the planet Gallifrey and live for thousands of years, thanks in part to their ability to regenerate.
Aside from Doctor Who’s protagonist, the Doctor, other Time Lords featured prominently in the sci-fi series include the Master, the Rani, and Romana.
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The canon surrounding the Time Lords recently underwent a shake-up during the “Timeless Child” storyline – a polarizing arc that drastically altered their origins. Even so, the Time Lords’ core backstory is still largely intact.
Doctor Who fans are confused by major Time Lord’s absence
This includes the key role played by an ancient Time Lord, Omega, in co-founding Time Lord society. That said, outside of a brief cameo in the 2020 episode “The Timeless Children, Omega hasn’t appeared in Doctor Who since the show’s 2005 revival – and Redditors want to know why.
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“I watched [Omega’s debut serial] The Three Doctors and like, how am I just now hearing about this mfer?” queried one fan. “Dude was the guy who made it possible for Time Lord society to exist and I’m just now hearing about him? I feel like it’s a missed opportunity not to bring him back.”
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Responses to this post varied. One fan argued that recent showrunners have placed a greater emphasis on one of Omega’s fellow co-founders, Rassilon. Several more noted that Omega is trapped in an antimatter universe (if not outright dead) following the events of 1983 serial “Arc of Infinity.”
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Others theorized that Omega’s lore-heavy history could make him less appealing to more recent Doctor Who creative teams, especially after the “Timeless Child” arc. And then some speculated that the legendary Time Lord was out of action due to real-life licensing issues.
Doctor Who showrunner debunks long-running Dalek rumor
It’s unclear whether Omega’s absence is indeed due to the BBC’s partial ownership of the character, however, it wouldn’t be a first for the series. Early Doctor Who writers (and subsequently, their estates) typically retained a share of the rights to the episodes and characters they created.
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This doesn’t include iconic franchise baddies the Daleks, though. Current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies recently set the record straight around the Daleks’ ownership, shooting down persistent rumors that the BBC has to use the villains once a year or forfeit the rights to them.
For the latest Doctor Who news and updates, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.
