Time War (Doctor Who)

The Time War, also called the Last Great Time War, is a conflict within the fictional universe of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The war occurs between the events of the 1996 film and the 2005 revived series, with the Time Lords fighting the Daleks until the apparent mutual destruction of both races. The war was frequently mentioned when the show returned, but was not directly seen until the show's 50th anniversary special.
Over the course of several episodes, the conflict is only implied by short clues and comments, particularly the discussion in the 2007 episode "The Sound of Drums", and part two of the 2010 episode "The End of Time". The Time War is finally depicted in the 50th anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor", featuring the climax of the final battle and the Time Lords' fate.
The Last Great Time War
Origins
The Last Great Time War pitted the Time Lords of Gallifrey against the Daleks of Skaro. The specific incident that sparked the conflict remains unclear, but according to executive producer Russell T Davies, the origins dated back to conflicts between the Doctor and the Daleks. In Genesis of the Daleks (1975), the Time Lords—having foreseen the possibility of the Daleks conquering the universe—send the Fourth Doctor into the past in an attempt to avert the Daleks' creation, to affect their development to make them less aggressive, or discover an inherent weakness they could exploit.
In retaliation for this ultimately unsuccessful mission, the Daleks attempt to infiltrate the High Council of the Time Lords with duplicates of the Fifth Doctor in Resurrection of the Daleks (1984), followed by an open declaration of hostilities by one of the Dalek Emperors in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988). The Doctor claims to have fought on the front lines and was present at the Fall of Arcadia, Gallifrey's second city.
The Eighth Doctor at first was a conscientious objector, instead working to help where he could. His attempt to save a woman from a spaceship crashing towards the planet Karn fails, when she refuses his aid because he is a Time Lord, apparently believing that the Time Lords had become just as destructive as the Daleks. The Doctor is killed in the crash, but is temporarily restored to life by the Sisterhood of Karn, who finally convince him to fight for the sake of the universe. They further offer an elixir that would control his regeneration. The Doctor accepts, remarking that there was no need for a Doctor in a universe consumed by war, and regenerates into the War Doctor. These excesses of temporal warfare eventually leads to the whole of the conflict becoming "time-locked", so that no time traveller could go back into it. The Doctor describes the final days of the war as "hell".
Leadership among the Time Lords remained vague during the earlier phase of the war. Ultimately, Rassilon, founder of the Time Lord society and its time travel technology, is resurrected to assume leadership as Lord President.
Aftermath
Throughout series 5, the Eleventh Doctor encounters cracks in "the skin of the universe". The Doctor learns that the cracks, which erase those they consume from history, are a result of the Silence causing the Doctor's TARDIS to explode on 26 June 2010. During the events of "The Time of the Doctor", the Doctor discovers one remaining crack on the planet Trenzalore, through which the Time Lords transmit the First Question: "Doctor Who?". The intention is for the Doctor to give his true name, which will verify to the Time Lords it is safe for them to return to the universe. In the end, the Time Lords remain in exile and close the remaining crack, but not before granting the Doctor, old and weary from his years protecting Trenzalore, a new cycle of regenerations, which allow him to destroy the Dalek fleet surrounding the planet. The Time Lords could also prevent or repair paradoxes such as the one created by Rose in an attempt to save her father's life in a traffic accident.
Remnants of the Daleks
Dalek survivors of the war appeared regularly across many episodes,
Survival of the Master
After the Time War, the Doctor is convinced that he is the only surviving Time Lord, saying that he would know of any others if they had survived. Steven Moffat, writer and later executive producer for Doctor Who, has gone further, arguing that "a television series which embraces both the ideas of parallel universes and the concept of changing time can't have a continuity error—it's impossible for Doctor Who to get it wrong, because we can just say 'he changed time—it's a time ripple from the Time War.
Time Wars in spin-off media
The Last Great Time War also features in various Doctor Who spin-off media.
Eighth Doctor Adventures (The War in Heaven)
In a story arc stretching through several of the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, the Doctor learns that, at some point in his personal future, a war will be fought between the Time Lords and an unnamed enemy. Russell T Davies commented that there is no connection between the war of the books and the Time War of the television series, comparing the wars with Earth's two World Wars. He also said that he was "usually happy for old and new fans to invent the Complete History of the Doctor in their heads, completely free of the production team's hot and heavy hands".
Gallifrey audio series
The sixth series of Gallifrey features the Daleks invading Gallifrey, but this invasion is undone thanks to Lord President Romana, Leela, K9 and Narvin, aided by Romana's future self. The ninth series more directly featured the Time War with Romana and Leela playing key roles, including Leela being sent on a mission with the Derek Jacobi Master, and the resurrection of Rassilon through a complex Time Lord project that allowed Rassilon's consciousness to take over the body of another Time Lord.
Dark Eyes
The Dark Eyes audio series is also in effect a lead up to the Last Great Time War from the Doctor's perspective, the first series being a complex plan by the Daleks to erase the Time Lords from existence. Dark Eyes 2 also sees the resurrection of the Master in preparation for the war.
Engines of War
Written by George Mann, this novel features the War Doctor and is set in the Time War. During the novel, the War Doctor and his new companion Cinder discover that the Daleks intend to use the temporal anomalies of a rift in time in the Moldox system, to develop a weapon that could completely erase Gallifrey and the Time Lords from history, with Rassilon's plan to stop the Dalek plot involving the destruction of the rift and all inhabited planets around it. The Doctor sabotages Rassilon's plan and uses the energy of the rift to erase the Daleks' scheme, but the actions of a Time Lord agent result in Cinder's death, leaving the War Doctor resolved to end the war once and for all as he recognises how far his people have fallen in the name of victory.
The Eighth Doctor: The Time War audio series
With the announcement of The War Doctor, Big Finish Productions also announced a prequel box set featuring the Eighth Doctor during the early days of the conflict, later expanded into a four-volume series. Paul McGann reprised his role with Rakhee Thakrar playing Bliss, his new companion. The third volume also features the return of the Valeyard, who is recruited by the Time Lords attempt to be a soldier in the War after he is 'recreated' through an accident when the Doctor uses a transmat while carrying a device that can manipulate biology.
The War Master audio series
The War Master series was released in December 2017. The release features Derek Jacobi reprising his role as from the 2007 episode "Utopia" and follows the character during the Time War.

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