The Council's Reverence (TV Story)

Verity Lambert (consultant)

***The Council's Reverence*** was the fifth serial of Season 35 of *Doctor Who*. It was written by Colin Brake, directed by Keith Boak, and starred Stephen Fry as the Ninth Doctor and Emma Fielding as Lena Haigh.

This serial was significant in many respects. Firstly, it saw Lalla Ward's final appearance as Romana, with Susannah Harker taking over the mantle at the end of the story. Secondly, the story saw the final appearance of the Chancellery Guard, an already highly established area of Time Lord society. Third, the story also set up both the Gallifrey military and Lord President Veylon, both of whom would become major areas of Gallifrey's mythos in future stories. Finally, behind the scenes, this was the last story to be created by Colin Brake, who stepped down as script editor at the end of the season.

## Synopsis

It is time. Gallifrey is soon to elect its next Lord President. Who will it be? The incumbent, Lady President Romana, whose foreign policy had heretofore propelled us to greatness, or her opponent, Veylon, the enigmatic chronicler? This final debate shall decide everything.

Or maybe it shan't.

A blackout hits the Capitol, and once it has been fixed, Romana is dead and Veylon implicated. This is the situation the Doctor has stumbled across. If he cannot get to the bottom of who caused this insanity, Gallifrey shall undoubtedly be in ruins. However, in this event, who can he truly trust?

## Cast

* The Doctor - Stephen Fry
* Lena Haigh - Emma Fielding
* Voice of K9 - John Leeson
* Illistras - John Sessions
* Veylon - Geoffrey Bayldon
* Denethras - Angus Wright
* Vacasta - *TBA*
* Mercelli - Paul Chahidi
* Acturic - Omid Djalili
* Romana - Lalla Ward
* Romana - Susannah Harker
* Linnell - *TBA*

## Worldbuilding

### Politics

* Mercelli is the leader of the Patrex Chapter.
* There are no true "political parties" on Gallifrey. Anybody can run for election, so long as they have sufficient backing. Veylon runs as an independent, whilst Romana has backing primarily from the Prydonian Chapter.
* Romana's policies were based around opening Gallifrey up to the wider universe, a move that was controversial with the old guard. As part of this shift in mentality, a trade deal was set up between Gallifrey, Vesstrick and Ione 7.

### Time Lords

* Illistras wants to see Gallifrey return to the warrior culture it possessed during the War with the Yssgaroth.
* Omega's Bane when used in high doses can block a Time Lord's ability to regenerate. It can also slow down their hearts, which has led to its medicinal use.

### The Doctor

* Veylon regarded the Doctor as a nuisance in the Academy, where he was a few years above him.

*TBA*

## Continuity

* As part of Romana's opening Gallifrey up, a trade deal was set up with Ione 7. (TV: *Death's Oracle*)
* The Doctor questions why the Chancellery Guard would be so keen to stop the threat of the Sontarans if they wanted to preserve Gallifrey's warlike streak, as they could simply have manipulated them into staging a coup. Illistras regards the invasion as proof of its necessity. (TV: *The Invasion of Time*)
* *TBA*

## Home Video & DVD Releases

### VHS

* This story was released alongside TV: *Children of the Revolution* on VHS in 2002.

### DVD

* This story along with the other stories in Season 35 were released as *Doctor Who: The Complete Thirty-Fifth Season* in 2013.

### Blu-ray

* This story along with the other stories in Season 35 were upscaled in 1080i50 high definition and were released as *Doctor Who: The Collection - Season 35* in the UK.