The Capitol

**The Capitol** was the home of the Time Lords on Gallifrey and the capital city of the planet. (TV: *The Deadly Assassin*) It was also known as **the Citadel**. (TV: *The Invasion of Time*)

## Geography

The Capitol was enclosed in a glass dome, (TV: *Mind Games*) resting on a large, vertical beam, with a wheel-like structure securing it while it overlooked other complexes on a lower level. (TV: *Visions of Tomorrow*)

According to one account, the Capitol covered most of Gallifrey. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Invasion of Time*)

## Locations

The Panopticon was the main room of the Capitol, where the Eye of Harmony was secretly kept far below. (TV: *The Deadly Assassin*) It was the primary site for political debates, and by Romana's presidency, was the place where the Lord President of Gallifrey was inaugurated. (TV: *The Council's Reverence*)

The High Council met in the Capitol. There was a transmat system that linked the Council's room to the Death Zone. (TV: *The Five Doctors*)

The Vaults were located under the Capitol. By the time of the Doctor, they were used by those who worshipped shrines dedicated to the cult of "Rassilon the Vampire". (TV: *Goth Opera*)

The Medical Complex was a large hospital designed to house sick Time Lords undergoing treatment. It had at least one ward dedicated to helping Time Lords recovering from stressful regenerations. (TV: *The Eyes of Madmen*)

## History

When the Fourth Doctor returned to Gallifrey on the day of Pandad IV's assassination, the Decayed Master's opening of the Eye of Harmony to harvest a new cycle of regenerations had left half the Capitol in ruins. (TV: *The Deadly Assassin*) The Capitol was rebuilt by the time of the Sontaran invasion of Gallifrey whereupon it was rebuilt once again. (TV: *The Invasion of Time*)

Bernice Summerfield and Norman Manning were ordered by the Eighth Doctor to head to the Capitol and inform Romana of the Tremas Master's gambit with the Mind Wrest. (TV: *Mind Games*) Soon after, the Capitol was placed under lockdown as part of the precautions against the Eyes of Madmen whilst it was being contained and treated. (TV: *The Eyes of Madmen*)

The Capitol suffered a blackout as part of the Chancellery Guard's plot to take power for themselves, being done to allow Illistras enough time to poison incumbent president Romana. (TV: *The Council's Reverence*) A wormhole opened up briefly outside the Capitol shortly after the crisis was resolved, connecting it to the Pyramid on Earth. It was closed through the combined efforts of the Capitol, the Pyramid, an Earth Empire vessel caught in the crossfire, the Doctor's TARDIS and the Ninth Doctor's regeneration. (TV: *Visions of Tomorrow*)

## Behind the Scenes

Though this was not directly contradicted or affirmed by the Graham Williams-produced TV story, the novelisation of *The Invasion of Time* describes the Capitol as covering "most of Gallifrey" and being surrounded by a sheer white wall.

A dome was first associated with Gallifrey in the header art for *Doctor Who Magazine*'s "Gallifrey Guardian" section; this was later shown to be covering the Capitol in *DWM* comics like *The Tides of Time*, and Mike Tucker used it when designing the Capitol for *Mind Games*.