How are Time Lords from the Doctor Who series supposed to reproduce?

Question

Does the narrative ever touch on this?

Answer 1

The first Doctor travelled with his grand-daughter, Susan. The title was not honorary as it was clearly stated on many occasions that she was not human.

The fourth Doctor travelled with a Time Lady called, Romana. Although never actually stated on screen there was clearly a sexual chemistry between them. This may have a lot to do with the fact that Tom Baker and Lalla Ward eventually got married but the script writers never tried to play it down.

The fourth Doctor also travelled with a human companion called Leela who stays behind with a Time Lord solider and - presumably - marries him.

The eighth Doctor shares a moment of intimacy with his one and only companion - a human.

Both the ninth and tenth Doctors refer to the loss of their families.

The Master is shown as a child in "Sound of Drums" and the tenth Doctor refers to them being taken from their families at eight years old.

Regarding the sex of Time Lords the Doctor has always been male. His first screen incarnation is officially his first life and the tenth Doctor made it clear to Sarah Jane Smith that he is currently in his tenth incarnation.

The ninth Doctor does explain to Rose that he does not necessarily have to regenerate as a humanoid male - so it may be that Time Lords can change their sex on regeneration.

So, besides the possible sex changes I would say it is fair to assume that Time Lords reproduce in the old fashioned way.

Maybe Torchwood will throw some more light on this - probably with some Barry White in the background.

EDIT: Books and audio shows exist which do try to explain more on the subject - but they are not regarded as "official." Only the TV shows and 96 movie can be regarded as official. The Doctor's statement that he is half-human in the TV movie has since been put down to post regeneration trauma.

EDIT EDIT: When Gallifrey was still there Time Lords were "allowed" 13 incarnations. If therefore makes sense that they must reporduce. Now Gallifrey is gone nobody is sure what the rules are. Of course, the rules were broken before - not least by the Time Lords themselves in ressurrecting the Master.

Answer 2

According to the book "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: The Discerning Fan's Guide to Doctor Who" (which is quite good and definitely worth a read), "If [script editor] Andrew Cartmel’s ultimate but unrealized vision for the show during the McCoy era, had been completed, we may have eventually learned that the Doctor, through the Gallifreyan birthing technology of 'the Looms,' is a reincarnation of the 'Other,' as revealed in the final New Adventure novel, Lungbarrow, written by Marc Platt. This novel is non-canonical and apocryphal since it argues that the Doctor was born from the Looms, while the story set directly after it—the 1996 TV Movie—reveals the Doctor’s mother to be a human."

So, according to one set of Doctor Who myths, Time Lords reproduce via a technology called "the Looms," which are described in the novel Lungbarrow (which, unfortunately, I have not read), but if the 1996 made-for-TV movie is correct, then Time Lords reproduce sexually and can do so with species from other planets (as with Vulcans in Star Trek).

Answer 3

lol
There have been some interesting theories on this over the years - some speculation that the Time Lords had more in common with reptillian ancestors than mammalian ones (the whole "regeneration" thing being the logic, such as it is, behind this - some reptiles can regenerate tails, limbs etc). I guess this might mean that Time Lords mate in heterosexual pairs and are born from eggs, either individually or in broods. But nothing like this has ever been referred to in the show, and as vskane and the Spacephantom have both rightly said, there have been references to Time Lord families right since the beginning with the Doctor's granddaughter, and more recently, references to the Doctor's own childhood (I'm with the Spacephantom on forgetting the "Doctor is half-human" line from the 8th Doctor's TV outing). Therefore it's just just as well to assume they reproduce just as we do, until it becomes a necessary revelation in the show.

Answer 4

vskane2000uk's answer is absolutely correct.

It has been strongly implied throughout the series (ever since it began in 1963) that Time Lords reproduce in very similar, if not identical, fashion to humans. It is also implied in a number of episodes that interbreeding between humans and Time Lords is possible (although the Doctor being "half human" bit in the 1996 TV movie is perhaps best forgotten, since it was only put in to satisfy the American TV execs who were financially backing the movie at the time).

Answer 5

Yes you see them in the old run of the series, especially during the 4th, 5th, and 6th Doctor episodes they would crop up from time to time. Also, during his time as the 4th Doctor back in the 1970s he had a female Time Lord companion named Romana. A few of his foes have also come from Gallifrey such as the Master, the Rani, the Meddling Monk (think that was his name). Timeline wise, the destruction of Gallifrey took place some time during the 8th Doctor's time or early in 9th's. It has never been stated exactly as of yet in any episode but many believe 8th Doctor was the one who did the deed and this caused him to regenerate into the 9th Doctor but until some writer on the show's creative team decides to reveal what happened, we won't truly know.

Answer 6

I don't think they do reproduce as such. They all had the ability to regenerate so could you imagine how over populated Gallifrey would have been with lots of little offspring? I have always thought that perhaps as they only have the ability to regenerate a certain amount of times they may be able to procreate with another when they are down to their last time for regeneration.

Answer 7

I don't think it was ever made clear.

The Doctor referred to susan as his grand-daughter - but who knows ?

"Romana and the Doctor have also referred to "Time Tots", or infant Time Lords, and (in "Smith and Jones") the Doctor refers to his and his compatriots playing "with Röntgen bricks in the nursery", . In "The Sound of Drums", the Master is seen as a child, apparently at the age of 8."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Lords

In various novels — especially Lungbarrow — it is also established that Time Lords do not reproduce sexually, but emerge from genetic Looms fully grown, although in equivocal fashion the same book also hints that the Doctor's birth was an exception. This idea was brought to the forefront in the '96 movie, where the Doctor states he is "half-human, on [his] mother's side", suggesting he had a normal human birth, rather than a synthetic Gallifreyan one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_%28Doctor_Who%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungbarrow

Answer 8

Don't they reproduce like humans? I haven't heard how they reproduce on the show, but I just got into it recently. Try watching classic Who episodes.

Answer 9

Not so far but in the next series there will be a graphic demonstration of the Doctor Who performing the sexual act necessary to reproduce. Of course this will be very suitable viewing for our young children who love to watch Dr Who at about 7.00pm on a Saturday evening!!!!!

Don't you think there's enough violence and sex on our screens after 9.00pm. Can't we leave Dr Who out of it at least?

Answer 10

I've watched most of the old ones as well as the new version and can't remember it ever being mentioned.