CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES: A HISTORY OF THE VARIOUS PLATOONS OF JUDOON ON THE MOON OR NEAR LAGOONS

We took a quick break for a romantic interlude with Yaz and the Doctor. Now we're back on track with our CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essays... 

So, we came up with a Probable History for the Ood earlier this month. Time to chronicle another alien race  that has made multiple appearances exclusively in the New Series . Let's look at those wonderful rhino-heads: the Judoon.     

Like the Ood, they have had entire episodes dedicated to them. On other occasions, they have merely made brief cameos just to let us know they are still out there, imposing their bureaucracy on everyone they can. In this essay, we will try to figure out a linear order to all these different appearances. 

Unlike the Ood, however, we won't be resorting to time storms to get some of those appearances to work!!  (Not sure what I'm talking about? Here's my link to the History of the Ood: https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/02/chronologies-and-timelines-odd-history.html)    

BACKGROUND: 

This is another one of those alien species whose homeworld we never get to visit. So we can only make some very basic assumptions about how they may have evolved or what their society might be like. 

Probably the easiest conclusion we can draw about the Judoon would be that they are a warrior race of some sort. Like the Sontarans, I'm going to guess that conditions on their planet are somewhat harsh and that the Judoon developed a physiology to compensate for it. Which would explain, for instance, why they have such good lung capacity in the story Smith and Jones. 

While we have encountered any number of races in the Doctor Who Universe that seem hell-bent on military conquest, the Judoon have one clear distinction from most of them. Ice Warriors, Sontarans or even the Stenza all seem to adhere to some sort of Warrior's Code that is all about honor and ritual. The Judoon, however, are much more financially-motivated. They are still quite aggressive and happy to fight with the just the slightest of provocation. But they are far more interested in getting paid. In any case where a Judoon warrior's honor might be at stake but there might also be a risk of not receiving payment from a client, the latter takes precedent. They are guns-for-hire, first. All else in their culture seems to be secondary.

The other great obsession that the Judoon seem to have taken on is a highly-developed sense of bureaucracy. A certain set of rules have been established for how this race may function in their profession. It's unclear whether this is an intergalactic policy or something the Judoon have imposed upon themselves, but they adhere to it quite diligently. Almost to the point of absurdity. It has made them into a very straightforward and overly-simplistic people. But these are good qualities for a race of mercenaries. Judoon get the job done. 

At least one major intergalactic law enforcement organisation has been legitimately impressed by the Judoon. The Shadow Proclamation seems to have engaged them on a long-term retainer of some sort. We're not entirely sure when their arrangement began. Within the context that we have witnessed their history, the Judoon work for the Shadow Proclamation for over 3 000 years. It might safe to assume that it is a permanent position for them. 

FIRST ENCOUNTER 

We can't say for sure how long the Judoon have been plying their trade as intergalactic mercenaries. We meet them for the first time in 2007 (or, quite possibly, 2008 - it's always difficult to determine the dating of Contemporary Earth RTD stories). When seen for the first time, we can guess that it's been quite a while that they've worked in this capacity. The Doctor seems very familiar with them. He doesn't just know what they do but he's also aware of how they operate. Which would indicate they've been around long enough as police-for-hire that they've made a reputation for themselves. 

While the Shadow Proclamation may employ a great number of them, there are still Judoon that operate independently. We have seen a few different groups (or platoons) take on contracts to hunt down fugitives of the law that have made their way to Earth to hide. So we do know that Judoon definitely like to operate as bounty hunters. They aren't particularly subtle in how they handle the job, however. 

The first platoon of Judoon that we see working in such a manner are chasing a Plasmavore who murdered a Princess of Padrivole Regency 9. This particular group serve a captain who runs things very by-the-book - even by Judoon standards. They trace their quarry to Royal Hope Hospital on Earth, but recognize that they don't have the jurisdiction to actually land on the planet and capture her. Instead, they employ an H20 scoop to bring the hospital to the moon (which qualifies as neutral territory) and search her out, there. It takes a while to build up the power for an H20 scoop, though. The Doctor, while passing by the Earth, picks up strange energy readings around the targeted building and admits himself to the hospital under false pretenses so that he can investigate things. 

From there, the events of Smith and Jones take place. 

A FEW CAMEOS 

The Judoon, of course, get their Plasmavore. Once their job is done, they return the hospital to Earth and move on to other missions. But this is far from the last time that we see them. The next few occasions we will witness Judoon, however, will be in shorter sequences that only take up small portions of a story. We'll run through those cameos and place them in a proper chronological order.

About a year or so after the events of Smith and Jones, the Earth seems to disappear under mysterious circumstances. Unable to sort out what's happened to the planet on his own, the Doctor decides to enlist the aid of the Shadow Proclamation. He arrives at their space station near the beginning of Stolen Earth and we learn, for the first time, that these "intergalactic police with a posh name" employ the services of the Judoon. More than likely, they are only used for the most simple of security tasks. Anything more complicated is handled by higher levels of administration. The Judoon, however, are probably quite fine with the arrangement. The Shadow Proclamation represents steady employment. Which is probably a better situation for them than chasing down work as freelancers. 

About a year after Stolen Earth, we see another Judoon sitting in an alien bar that Captain Jack Harkness is also drinking at. More than likely, he's  an officer on some kind of Leave. The warrior is in uniform but has his helmet off. So we can assume that he is high-ranking. Judoon do seem to observe a similar tradition to Sontarans. Grunts keep their helmets on most of the time. Only officers take theirs off. 

If we go by transmission order, there are a few more Judoon cameos to cover. But since we are trying to establish a proper timeline, we will skip those appearances for now. They will have their proper place later. 

NEXT FULL JUDOON EPISODE

If we maintain a chronological perspective, the last Judoon appearance, then, is sometime around 2009. After that, they aren't involved in anything that we see for quite some time. But, eventually, they return to hunt down another criminal hiding on Earth in the Year 2020. The events of Fugitive of the Judoon take place at this point. It's possible that this story is set early in the year, as we see no signs of people observing the safety measures of a pandemic. Either that, or there was no pandemic in Doctor Who Reality. 

The second 21st Century Judoon Incursion is done by a captain who plays the rules a bit more loosely. It hasn't been that long since the last incident - Earth is still considered out of their jurisdiction. And yet, they go down to the planet rather than finding a way to bring a section of it to them. Instead of respecting the proper protocol, they set up an enforcement perimeter around Gloucester and begin a search for their latest bounty. They break even more rules by using a temporal isolator - which is an outlawed weapon. 

At the risk of sounding sexist against Judoon, the Captain of this particular platoon is a woman. It could be entirely possible that female Judoon aren't so married to Policy as males are. I hope I didn't offend anyone by making such an assumption!    

The client for this particular platoon seems to be a group of Time Lords from Gallifrey's past. Perhaps, even, Ancient Gallifrey. Which could lead us to believe that these might also be Judoon from long ago rather than a contemporary era. But I'm more inclined to believe that it was a platoon serving in 2020. Since the fugitives were hiding in this time zone, the Division chose to hire bounty hunters that would also hail from the same period. So, in terms of Judoon history, the story does take place in the date that I place it. In my opinion, at least.    

LINING UP MORE CAMEOS....

And that covers the two episodes that feature the Judoon prominently. They were pretty easy to line up. As were a few minor appearances that take place between them. But now we've got a whole series of cameos that come after this period. 

There have been a few major intergalactic events that have transpired in New Who that involved several well-known alien species. Quite frequently, the Judoon have made an appearance at these occasions. It should be noted that most of the dates I will be offering were first established in other CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essays that I have written over the years. The histories of the Daleks and Cybermen usually make strong mention of them. But even essays regarding monsters with less of a prolific presence like, say, Sontarans or Weeping Angels, will contain some of these events. I will post some links at the end of the entry if you should wish to do the cross-referencing. 

Again, if we keep a linear view of things, the next time the Judoon appear would be in the Alliance Against the Doctor that takes place in The Pandorica Opens. The Alliance, itself is formed sometime around the 42nd Century. But the Daleks then set up a massive time corridor that takes everyone back to Stone Henge in the 2nd Century. 

When, at last, the trap of the Pandorica is sprung, various members of the Alliance teleport down to the Underhenge to reveal their involvement in the whole scheme. We see Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans and Silurians. And, of course, the Judoon show up, too.   

A century or two after the Alliance Against the Doctor is forged, the Judoon have just the tiniest of presences in another Major Cosmic Happening. Sometime in the 44th Century, the Time Lords start calling out to the rest of the Universe through one of the many Cracks in Time caused by the Doctor's TARDIS exploding. This particular Crack manifests Itself on the world of Trenzalore. The Judoon respond to the message and orbit the planet. We don't actually see any of them in Time of the Doctor, but we do see their very distinctive tower-like ships. So we know they were involved. 

We, now, venture into another intergalactic event with a slightly smaller reputation. Angered that the Kovarian Schism of the Silence have stolen away Amy Pond while she was pregnant, the Doctor assembles a small army to get her back. A battle takes place on Demon's Run in the 52nd Century. Among the Doctor's forces are a small group of Judoon. 

The Doctor does go back in time during A Good Man Goes to War to retrieve some of his allies. But, in other instances, he remains in the local period. Both River Song and Maldovar, for instance, are from the same relative era when the Battle of Demon's Run takes place. I believe the Judoon that the Doctor recruits are also from that time. 

A short while later, we see that Judoon are still working for the Shadow Proclamation. Colony Sarff's initial searches for the Doctor during The Magician's Apprentice all take place during the same time period. Which I estimate to be sometime in the late 52nd Century (I actually use the ownership of the Maldovarium as a sort of point of reference). That first quest to bring the Doctor to Davros takes place after the Battle of Demon's Run, but not too long after. 

At the beginning of the story, Sarff pays a quick visit to the Shadow Proclamation's base. We do see a Judoon strolling down a corridor with one of the strange-looking women that seem to run the whole organisation. They have a brief confrontation with Sarff.  

The first time we see the Judoon working for the Proclamation was in the early 21st Century. Which is how I come up with the number of, at least, 3 000 years of Judoon service to their cause. More than likely, however, the arrangement first began long before Stolen Earth. And will persist long after Magician's Apprentice. 

JUST ONE LAST CAMEO

And so, we come, at last, to our final Judoon appearance. It is a super-brief one that happens right at the end of The Timeless Children. Escaping the release of the Death Particle on the remains of Gallifrey, the Doctor has stolen yet another TARDIS. While her latest acquisition is in far better condition than the Type Forty she's been using for the last few thousand years, she still chooses to go back to her first ride. Feeling warm and secure in the crystalline console room of her original TARDIS, a warning klaxon suddenly sounds. Three Judoon teleport in and whisk her off to a maximum security prison. 

I won't actually assign a specific date for when these Judoon hail from. I will only guess that they are in the very far-flung future. They are from way after their appearance in Magician's Apprentice. I would guess, at the very least, several thousand years. These are, basically, Judoon that have become advanced enough to travel back in time and settle cold cases. They are also capable of breaching the Doctor's TARDIS so they can, at last, complete a very old contract. 

The prison they take her to certainly re-enforces this idea. Many remark that the penal space station vaguely resembles Shada. Perhaps it was, at one point, and has now been retro-fitted to serve some other form of law enforcement that employs the Judoon (perhaps the Shadow Proclamation is still around?). Like the Judoon, the jail is sophisticated enough to incarcerate someone like the Doctor effectively. It can also restrain other super-powerful beings like Weeping Angels and even the Pting. This would all indicate a civilisation from far off in the future. As it would take quite some time to develop that level of technology. 

.... And, that's it! The Judoon have been fully chronicled. I didn't even try to make too many "oon" rhymes! 

As promised, here are some links to other timelines that mention some of the Major Cosmic Events that I brought up. In some cases, these are multi-part essays. I will provide the first link, you'll have to go from there! 

The first link in Dalek History:

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2015/06/chronologies-and-timelines-tymecian.html 

The first link in Cybermen History:

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/02/chronologies-and-timelines-history-of.html

History of the Sontarans:

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2016/04/chronologies-and-timelines-probable.html

History of the Weeping Angels: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2018/06/chronologies-and-timelines-brief.html

Hell, let's even give you Silurian History: 

https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2017/09/chronologies-and-timelines-probable.html

 

 

  

POINT OF DEBATE: WHO IS YAZ IN LOVE WITH? PART 1: THE DOCTOR?

I know! I know! I had promised another CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES entry next. But I was re-watching the Thirteenth Doctor's era just for fun and this idea for a series popped into my brain. So I thought I would pursue it. 

This seems to be a popular item of debate among fans, these days. Since I now have a POINT OF DEBATE topic, I thought I might break it down in an essay.    

Mandip Gill might just break a New Who record by the end of Series 13. Thus far, Jenna Coleman holds the title for longest-running companion in the Revived Series. She came in halfway through Series 7 and stayed all the way til the end of Series 9. So, basically, the character of Clara lasted two-and-a-half seasons. If Gill sticks around all the way til the end of Series 13, that will put her at three seasons. If she stays on even longer, she might just break the all-time greatest record set by Elisabeth Sladen in the Classic Series.

But the longevity of the character is not the only thing that's drawing our attention to her. For some odd reason, fans seem to delight in speculating about her romantic life. We seem to be sure that she is in love with someone else in the TARDIS crew. We see the slightest hints here and there in certain scenes that might indicate an attraction she's experiencing for someone. We wonder if it's meant to be the beginning of a subplot that might later develop into a full-blown relationship. We chat about it incessantly in various social media platforms. Presenting all sorts speculation that we're sure is solid evidence. 

Truth be told, most of what we discuss is pretty ambiguous. It might even be as ludicrous as the whole "Donna is secretly the Rani" fan theory that was going on in and around Series 4. But it's still fun to theorise about all this. Chances are, however, it's so much smoke and mirrors. When Yaz leaves the show, she will probably still be single. Or, at best, she will have fallen in love with someone who is not a traveller on the TARDIS. But rather, someone she has met in an adventure. 

WHY DO WE WONDER SO MUCH ABOUT YAZ'S POSSIBLE CRUSHES? 

Before we dive into the debate, we should examine what has caused it in the first place. This isn't usually the sort of thing that we speculate about regarding a companion. So what causes us to be so fascinated with it? Why do we go on so much about who Yaz may or may not be in love with?   

A lot of our curiosity about this stems, I think, from the way the character was actually created. There is a certain level of subtlety to Yaz. Companions often tend to wear their hearts on their sleeve. In many ways, they need to be transparent so that we can easily identify with them as they face all sorts of highly unusual situations that life in the TARDIS presents to them. Right from the earliest days of the show, we saw this. Susan, for instance, was clearly naive and vulnerable. This gave the younger viewers someone to identify with. As children "cowered behind the sofa" at the sight of Daleks and Voord, they almost felt as if Susan was there with them because she reacted in the same way they did.

Yaz, however, does present herself a bit differently from most companions. She definitely has a "still waters run deep" vibe going on. Since there are two other humans aboard the TARDIS with her, Chibnall takes this opportunity to craft her in a different direction than most companions. Basically, Ryan and Graham can emote up a storm and create that crucial connection with the viewers while Yaz keeps her hand closer to her vest. 

Chibnall even makes sure that there's dialogue to show this trait off. When Yaz brings Ryan and the Doctor over to her family's flat in Arachnids in the UK, her father and sister are quite shocked. Both remark how they never meet any of her friends. How she's married to her job. That, essentially, Yaz takes the word "private" in the term "private life" very seriously. She doesn't even share much with her actual family. 

People like this tend to make us legitimately nosy about them. When we feel someone is hiding something from us, we just naturally want to find out all we can about them. But they don't, generally, give us much to go on. So we have to speculate. We look for any little clue that might reveal something about them and put it under a microscope. Ironically, if people who value their privacy were just a little bit more open, they'd probably be left alone a lot more. 

This, I think, is the key reason why we have become so fascinated with Yaz's love life. Because it's not "in your face" like it was with other companions like Rose or Martha, we're far more curious about it. We want to know if we really are seeing what we think we're seeing. But because there's only so much evidence to support what we believe, we explore it all the harder in order to draw any conclusion we can from it. Yaz's reluctance to reveal too much of how attached she might be to certain people reels us in all the more than if she actually gave us some solid clues about how she feels. 

EARLY DAYS WITH THE DOCTOR

As indicated in the title, there will be two parts to this essay. As I do believe there are two characters that Yaz might, possibly, be in love with. Not both at once, of course! If Yaz really does have any feelings for a TARDIS traveller, it's either one or the other. So I want to examine each case separately.  

In this first installment, we'll look at the various bits of evidence that affirm or negate any potential romantic feelings Yaz might actually have for the Doctor. Again, because Yaz is so private, we're not entirely sure what her sexual orientation might be. So it's possible that she might be attracted to both men and women. Or even strictly women. It really is that hard to tell! 

It would be safe to say, however, that Yaz is probably fairly uncertain about the Doctor for their first few episodes. Yes, the Doctor shows her all sorts of evidence that she's clearly an alien - but she still does seem quite insane! It's hard to develop any kind of solid romantic feelings for someone who seems completely bonkers! 

But that magic bit of dialogue at the beginning of Rosa establishes that our four main characters have been travelling together quite a bit since the conclusion of  The Ghost Monument. Some trust has now had the chance to build up between Yaz and the Doctor. And, potentially, so have some romantic feelings. We don't really see much of anything in this particular episode that indicates that this has happened. But, again, this is Yaz we're talking about. We're not, necessarily, going to see a lot of strong indications of what's going on in her. So something could be brewing. 

Arachnids in the UK is the first story that gives us any real clue that there might legitimately be something going on with the two of them. Yaz's Mom asks a very pointed question about the nature of their relationship. Why might she ask that unless she actually sensed something between them? As guarded as Yaz might be, her mother is most likely to pick up on it. She knows her daughter well. 

Both women deny that there is anything there. So that does score negative points for the Yaz Wants the Doctor Theory. But there are subtleties to the moment that we can scrutinize. When Nadja poses the question, the Doctor says no first. Does Yaz merely respond in the negative because the Doctor has already fluffed the whole thing off? For the most part, an individual won't admit to an attraction to someone if that person has already claimed that they don't feel the same way. Yaz certainly seems very uncomfortable in that moment. It could just be, of course, because a parent prying into their child's love life is always an awkward thing. But there could be more there. Might this discomfort stem more from the fact that Yaz is trying to hide her true feelings and is only doing so well at it? 

The fact that the Doctor does say that they're not in a relationship but then questions it can be very subjective too. She may have only asked "Are we in a relationship?!" because she is so socially awkward that she really isn't entirely sure about what's going on between them. Alternatively, she may have actually been picking up on certain things in Yaz's behavior and is genuinely wondering if her companion does have deeper feelings for her. Once more, it's difficult to say. 

Whatever the case, that moment in Arachnids in the UK is certainly crucial in this whole debate. It really does introduce the whole concept quite clearly and gets us wondering. If we only look at the situation superficially, then it also dismisses the idea that Yaz is falling in love with the Doctor quite quickly. But, if we observe the subtleties, we see that there is room for speculation. 

THE REST OF SERIES ELEVEN 

For the rest of Series Eleven, we don't really have much to go on that indicates Yaz's romantic inclinations for the Time Lord. Most of what we could point out would seem like some pretty futile grasping at straws. 

There is, perhaps, one other thing that we see in Yaz's behavior during her first season that vaguely supports the idea that she might be falling in love with the Doctor. Yaz starts taking more "solo missions" than the other companions do. In The Witchfinders, for instance, she goes off to look more deeply into Willa Twiston while the rest of the team hang out with Becka Savage and King James. She is quite happy to work alone and get things done. 

This could have something to do with her being a police officer. She is able to investigate things without much of any assistance. So she would be quite self-governing like that and would not need as much help as Ryan and Graham would when dealing with complicated situations. This makes a lot of sense for her character. But there might also be another motivation... 

One of my favorite moments in Vampires of Venice is the confrontation Rory has with the Doctor about the way he is affecting Amy. That, essentially, the Doctor has the sort of personality that gets people to do things to impress him. Because of this, Amy takes unnecessary risks for his approval. Yaz's willingness to work so much on her own to help the Doctor solve problems could be a similar dynamic. Could she be trying to win favor with the Time Lord in the hopes that, ultimately, the Doctor might reciprocate her feelings? She is trying to impress the Doctor - just like Amy did. Considering Amy did make a very clear pass at the Doctor during Flesh and Stone, it might be possible that Yaz is trying to build up to the same thing. She's just taking longer. 

SERIES TWELVE - MORE ARCS WITH YAZ  

As we enter into the next season, Yaz's ability to work independently increases. While she does end up getting some assistance in Praxeus, for example, she is more-than-ready to go back into that warehouse on her own to retrieve a piece of technology that she thinks might be important to solving the conflict of the story. The way she storms off ahead of everyone else in The Timeless Children to pass through the Boundary and go to Gallifrey shows off even more her growing determination to get things done regardless of whether or not people are going to lend her a hand. 

Again, could this be more of Yaz's desire to, somehow, impress the Doctor and win her affections? Particularly that moment in Timeless Children. She is, after all, on her way to try to save the Doctor. If she is in love with her, she would be more strongly motivated than the others to accomplish the task. Perhaps her forging ahead so quickly without stopping to think about it is one of Chibnall's ways of signposting this? 

Or it could just be Yaz developing a stronger and stronger desire to do good. To be more fearless and hesitate less in the face of danger because the right thing needs to be done. It could easily go either way. 

Another interesting ongoing development in this season is Yaz's growing curiosity to learn more about the Doctor's past. Ryan and Graham have the same interest, of course. The Doctor is their friend and they just want to know her better. But there might be more to it for Yaz. Her desire might stem more from the idea that, when you are in love with someone, you want to know as much about them as you can. Her tone when she does ask questions about where the Doctor comes from does sound a bit different than the other two companions. Which does sort of indicate that she might have a different motivation than the rest of "the Fam". 

THE NEXT BIG CLUE

Like the "Are You Seeing my Daughter?!" sequence with Nadja in Arachnids in the UK, there are a few key moments in Series Twelve that continue to lead us down that Garden Path that Yaz might have a thing for the Doctor. 

The one that seems to get fans talking the most is the scene where Yaz catches Claire trying to break into Lord Byron's room during The Haunting of Villa Diodati. Claire starts to complain about Byron's enigmatic nature and Yaz chimes in with: "I know someone like that, too!". Clearly, she is referring to the Doctor. They both reach a conclusion that, as frustrating as these people are in their lives, they wouldn't have them any other way.

It's a scene that can be interpreted in several different ways. It could, quite simply, be about two women complaining about how people who choose to be mysterious can be a bit annoying. Claire is talking about a man she is attracted to and Yaz is just discussing a friend. But both have a similar effect on them. They wish it was more easy to read someone that they care about. 

Alternatively, both of these people could be talking about someone they are in love with. And how they wish that person would give them a clearer sign of whether or not they have the same feelings. It could go either way, really. And there has been lots of speculation that this is clearly the latter instance. That, with a tight-lipped character like Yaz, this is tantamount to a confession to a stranger of her secret love for someone.

ONE OR TWO MORE BIG CLUES

As we reach the end of the season and go into the New Year's Special, there are a few more instances that we should probably point out that lend more support to the Yaz Wants the Doctor Theory. 

At the very end of The Timeless Children, where it has become clear that the Doctor is about to sacrifice her life to stop the Master, Yaz does seem far more upset about the Doctor's choice than everyone else. This is a highly subjective observation, of course. All that are gathered in the spare TARDIS could be equally disturbed but are not showing their emotions as openly as she is. 

But it could also be that Yaz is being so expressive because she really is in love with the Doctor and is nowhere near ready to let her go. Especially when you consider that she normally is very reserved. She even points out to Graham earlier in the episode that she isn't a particularly emotive person. For her to suddenly fly off the handle as much as she does really re-enforces the idea that her feelings for the Doctor run far deeper than just friendship. 

When we re-join Yaz in Revolution of the Daleks, she is obsessed with trying to find the Doctor. So much so, that she is practically living in the spare TARDIS as she does extensive research into trying to retrieve the Time Lord. This could easily be seen as Yaz just not being ready to let go of the life the Doctor has shown her. Or it could be the actions of a person determined to get back someone they are in love with. 

The rest of the episode deals quite extensively with the fall-out of Yaz losing the Doctor for a time. She is the only one who gives the Time Lord an angry push when she does finally return. The gesture obviously has deeper meaning to it. Which Jack will go on to discuss with her in a very well-executed scene. But what did the push truly mean? Again, it could be Yaz just expressing hostility because she thought she'd lost a good friend. Or it could be much deeper than that. 

As the episode concludes, it's very obvious that Yaz is definitely staying with the Doctor even if Graham and Ryan have decided to go. We find ourselves wondering if Yaz will ever be able to let go of life in the TARDIS. And there could be any number of reasons for why she has become so deeply attached to this lifestyle. 

MY OWN OPINION (FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH)

If Yaz, for some reason, had left at the end of Series Eleven, I would have had a hard time believing in this theory at all. If you look at what I covered from that season, the evidence does seem fairly tenuous. I don't even really think the scene in Villa Diodati reveals that much. I am still more inclined to believe that Yaz is just complaining about how confusing the Doctor can be, sometimes, rather than venting frustrations over unrequited love. 

But the way she has been behaving of late - particularly during Revolution of the Daleks - is a bit more compelling. This still could be something purely platonic. As a police officer, Yaz is someone who likes to see justice being done. Life with the Doctor is the ultimate execution of that concept. So all her attachment could stem purely from that motive. Or there could be another sort of attachment going on. If it is revealed in a later story that Yaz is in love with the Doctor, it won't feel like it's coming out of nowhere. There does seem to be adequate evidence to support this. 

And so ends Part One of: Who Is Yaz Crushing On? While I do admit that it is possible that she's in love with the Doctor, the character I discuss in Part Two shows much stronger evidence that they have something far more tangible going on between them. 

You'll see what I mean when we get there....

CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES: THE ODD HISTORY OF THE OOD

After a few months of BOOK OF LISTs and REVIEW OVERVIEWs, it's time to do something a little less opinion-based for a bit. A good CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essay or two always makes me feel like I've done some genuine research to put the essay together rather than just make some blowhard comments that anyone with a minimal level of internet access can post!   

So, for the month of February, I am going to look at a few alien races that have now made a handful of appearances in the Revived Series. In some cases, they were featured quite heavily in a few episodes. On other occasions, they made but a mere cameo. But, overall, they have a genuine presence in New Who.

We're going to start with those lovable spaghetti-faces: the Ood.    

GENERAL BACKGROUND

Unlike some alien races whose histories I've tried to chronicle (Zygons, Weeping Angels, Sontarans), the Ood is a race whose planet we have seen. Which affords us a much better look into their background and gives us a stronger understanding of their whole culture. 

The story of the Ood, as we know them, doesn't really begin until Humanity arrives to exploit them sometime around the 40th Century. But we will try to give them a bit of a backstory. 

It would seem that the Ood inhabit a part of the Universe where telepathy, somehow, seems to occur naturally within a certain range of planets. The Sense-Sphere, after all, is not too far away from them (they both appear to be in the same solar system, in fact). The Sensorites have similar abilities to the Ood and have even evolved along somewhat similar lines. My guess would be that there are some sort of cosmic rays in that part of space that bombard the various worlds, there. Those rays somehow cause sentient life forms on affected planets to develop telepathy. They might also cause the inhabitants of those worlds to be quite docile in nature.  

One of the biggest differences between the Sensorites and the Ood is how their actual telepathy works. The Sensorites are far more individualistic. Their telepathy is employed as a form of communication technology. Most of the time, their thoughts are private. But they can take "calls" from each other and speak purely through mental contact if they so desire. Whereas the Ood appear to be more of a Hive-Mind. They all seem to be linked to each other and experience their thoughts and feelings as one great network. This causes them to "sing" together. Essentially, they experience group emotions that appear to have a musical quality to them. 

It's uncertain if the Ood are living on a planet that is like Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. Anytime we have seen it, it is cold and snowy. This could just be a polar region of the planet. Or we could always be witnessing this part of the planet during the winter. My guess would be, however, that the Ood-Sphere is reasonably far away from its sun and is, therefore, always frigid. The Ood seem like an unusually delicate species to be living in such a harsh environment. But anything is possible in this crazy random Universe of ours! 

THE TIME OF ENSLAVEMENT: THE BEGINNING 

For most of their history, the Ood lived in peace amongst each other. When all are connected in one Great Song, it's difficult for them to be cruel to each other or lust for any conquest. They worked together in unison, building magnificent cities and flourishing despite the difficult conditions of their climate. They did have a governing body known as the Council of Elders. There was an actual Supreme Elder who was the ultimate form of authority over the people. He even evolved differently from the rest. His head is more dome-like to compensate for what is a legitimately larger brain. While the Elders did rule over the rest of their kin, they were wise and compassionate. Ood society, in general, bordered on utopia. 

And then the Halpen family came along. 

Members of the family first arrived in an expeditionary force sometime in the early 40th Century. Even back then, they were very business-minded. Always on the look-out for opportunities.  They were intrigued by the curious brain structure of the native lifeforms. They had a Full Brain in their skull and then a Hind Brain that hung from a sort of cranial umbilical chord. Realising the Hind Brain contained any sense of individuality that an Ood might have, the Halpen family took full advantage of their vulnerability. 

Being such a peaceful race, they were easy to oppress. The Halpens rounded up the natives and began to "process" them. Removal of the Hind Brain stripped them of their identity and made them into mindless slaves. Severing the umbilical chord, they replaced it with a translation device and created a perfect servant class. The Ood consumed a meagre diet - which made them infinitely cheaper to maintain than the cost of keeping an android or a robot powered up. Through clever marketing, Humanity was convinced that the Ood were a species that lived to serve. So enslaving them was just a fulfillment of their purpose. 

There was one more problem the Halpen family needed to solve before their financial empire was properly built. Being part of a Hive Mind made it possible for the Ood to resist their re-conditioning. Ood who had not been processed could still link minds with the ones that were and try to help them to break free. The Halpen Family recognized that there must be some way to break the connection the Ood shared with each other. 

They discovered the solution to their problems beneath a huge glacier. There they found a sort of brainiac that linked all the minds of the Ood together. They could not destroy it - that would cause the livestock to die. But they could restrain it. They encircled the Central Mind of the Ood with a special forcefield that neutralised its overall effect. With that accomplished, the Ood could now be fully controlled and distributed among the Second Great Empire of Humanity. 

The Halpen Family had secured their financial future

FIRST OOD APPEARANCE

For about two centuries, humanity relied upon the Ood to minister to their most basic of needs. Any job a human didn't want, an Ood was dispatched to take care of it. It was the most convenient of arrangements for them as they expanded their Empire. No one questioned too hard why the Ood were so openly subservient. Most believed the propaganda spread by the Halpen Family and were happy to contribute to the slave trade. 

There were, of course, some who did not buy their story. They were certain that something was being done to the Ood to make them so obedient. They became known as the Friends of the Ood. They were a sort of activist group with one simple mission: discover the means by which the Ood were being oppressed and eliminate it. They did also try to spread awareness about the rights of the Ood but they were largely ignored. Too many people were happy with the current arrangement. The Halpen Family took full advantage of this. 

Sometime well into those two centuries of Ood Enslavement, a team was assembled from the Torchwood Archive to investigate a strange phenomenon that was occurring around a Black Hole. A planet had formed a strange gravity pool that prevented it from being swallowed by the awesome deadly force of the Hole. Humanity was curious about what sort of power could do that and wanted to harness if for their own advantage. They established a sanctuary base on the planet and began drilling to its core to find the power source. They were given a complement of fifty Ood to help accomplish the task. 

Eventually, the expedition team are joined by the Doctor and Rose. The events of The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit take place. 

OODS ACROSS TIME

It would seem that sometime during the Period of Enslavement a strange temporal anomaly happened on the Ood Sphere. Some of its population was caught up in a Time Storm and spread across the Universe in different time periods. The anomaly might have happened all on its own.  Perhaps it was even a side-effect of those cosmic rays that granted telepathic powers to those that were bombarded by them. I'm more inclined to believe that the Halpen Family, at some point, decided to fund some time travel experiments. They knew that exploration of the Fourth Dimension could be hazardous, so they established a lab on the Ood Sphere. If something bad happened there, they weren't too concerned about it. After all, it was only Ood that were getting hurt. 

The experiments did end up going wrong. They created a nasty Time Storm that swept up some of the local population, scattering them randomly across time and space. The whole project was abandoned shortly thereafter. The Halpen Family might not care too much about their livestock, but they also didn't want to totally lose their primary source of revenue, either. 

The Doctor has encountered a few Ood in his travels who were victims of the Time Storm. He briefly saw one during Face the Raven that had been brought to Earth in the 21st Century and was living on a trap street. It was in the middle of repairing a Cyberman that was also a resident of the secret alien refugee camp. 

One Ood was thrown so far by the Time Storm that it ended up in the pocket universe inhabited by House. The Doctor met him during The Doctor's Wife and ended up accidentally killing him. 

Many times, the Ood were flung into the reaches of Time and Space all by themselves. Separated from their people, they can really start doing uncharacteristic things. We see an Ood at the Maldovarium (under new management because the previous owner was decapitated and placed in a box!) sometime after the 52nd Century during The Magician's Apprentice. He appears to be carousing a bit. Not something you would normally expect to see an Ood doing. 

One Ood becomes so changed by his sense of isolation caused by what the Time Storm did to him that he appears to have taken on a life of crime. He partners with a Sycorax and they are both eventually captured and imprisoned on the same space station that the Doctor is stuck on during Revolution of the Daleks. 

All of these cameos of Oods in strange places are the result of the time experiments the Halpen Family conduct on the Ood Sphere during the Time of Enslavement. We can't pin down a definite date for when the Time Storm occurred, but it took place sometime between the 40th and 42nd Century. 

WHY THE TIME STORM, ROB? 

Some of you may be asking: "Geez Rob, why are you going to all this trouble of creating the concept of a Time Storm on the Ood Sphere? It seems like an over-elaborate way of dealing with some of those Ood cameos!"  

If you are thinking that, you're a bit right in your opinion. I did come up with something a little complicated, here. There is a method to my madness, however. Even if I am reaching quite far to get a continuity issue to work. 

The Ood we see ever-so-briefly in Face the Raven is very difficult to explain. A timeline is clearly established in Planet of the Ood. The Period of Enslavement takes place between the 40th and 42nd Century. It's entirely possible that the Ood might have been capable of interstellar travel for a while  and, perhaps, lost the technology by the time Humanity discovered them. So there might have been an Ood astronaut way back in the 21st Century that ended up on Earth and took refuge on the trap street. 

There is one problem, however. It is clear that the Ood we see fixing the Cyberman has a translation device stitched onto him. If he truly hails from the 21st Century, he should be holding his Hind Brain.  It would be another 2 000 years before Oods would start having translation devices attached to them. So, for an Ood to show up in a story in that period with that sort of technology, we need to come up with some sort of time travel theory to get it to make sense. An accidental time storm created by the Halpen Family just seemed to work best (and makes the family seem all-the-more evil). 

From there, I just decided that all the Ood cameos should be the result of the Time Storm. Admittedly, they don't really need to be. Nephew in The Doctor's Wife, for instance, could have just "fallen down the plughole" like other characters in the story did. He didn't need to be transported there by a Time Storm.

In the same sense, the Ood at the Maldovarium doesn't require my Time Storm Explanation, either. Yes, he does have a translation device. But other Oods living after they have been liberated have their devices too. Ood also seem to have pretty long lifespans. Ood Sigma is alive and well a hundred years after the events of Planet of the Ood. Magician's Apprentice would take place over a thousand years after the Ood are liberated. Dates are established in certain stories for when Maldovar was running the place. Clearly someone else has now taken over when Colony Sarff pays a visit. At the very earliest, this cameo takes place sometime in the late 52nd Century. It's entirely possible that an Ood could live for a thousand years. So he doesn't, necessarily, need to be transported to the Maldovarium, either. This could just be an Ood from that time period. 

Finally, we can't see if the Ood in Revolution of the Daleks actually has a translation device. Nor do we know the exact point in time the Doctor is in as she serves her prison sentence. So he also doesn't need a  time storm to explain his presence in the story. He could just be an Ood gone rogue from any period of their history. 

I just figured if I was going to go to all those lengths to get one Ood cameo to work, I should use it to make a few other appearances happen more simply. Basically, I've decided that if we see an Ood in a strange place where we wouldn't expect to see him, that nasty Halpen Time Storm was responsible for it. 

THE PERIOD OF ENSLAVEMENT: THE END 

And now, at last, we reach the Fateful Year of 4126. The Halpen Family have been successfully enslaving the Ood for about two centuries. Klineman Halpen is the latest family member to be running the business. He seems to be running things into the ground, however. He is clearly not enjoying his position of power and is deeply affected by the stress it is creating in his life. So much so, that he's sure it's causing him to lose his hair! 

In some ways, he is fortunate that the family business is about to end. The Central Brain that connects all the Ood together has been struggling against the forcefield that has been restraining it. It is beginning to affect certain Ood with a condition known as Red Eye. It's getting them to attack various humans working at the Ood Distribution Factory as an act of revenge. Slowly but surely, the Central Brain is trying to create a revolution. 

It gets some extra help in achieving this as the Doctor and Donna arrive in the TARDIS. The events of Planet of the Ood take place. By the end of the tale, the Ood have been liberated. The Halpen Family's Reign of Terror is over. The Doctor and Donna are now a part of the Great Song. To be remembered forever for the help they provided. 

REBUILDING

Once liberated, the Ood begin to quickly re-build their civilisation to the way it had been before. A new Council of Elders is established. Once more, it is being run by a Supreme Elder to help steer things along. Ood cities, with their magnificent spires, are also re-constructed. All is returning to normal. 

The Council of Elders seem to have developed new powers. They are now capable of seeing into the past and can even send projections to communicate with people in different time zones. More than likely, this is an after-effect of some sort from the time travel experiments the Halpen Family once conducted there (Look at that! I got the Time Storm theory to work even better!). They manage to see an event that will take place in the 21st Century that will cause the end of the Universe as they know it. They need to, somehow, intervene and prevent the catastrophe. They manage to contact the Doctor in the Year 2059, asking him to return the Ood Sphere so they can better explain the problem to him. They send a projection of Ood Sigma to him at the end of Waters of Mars. He is someone the Doctor is familiar with so that might better persuade the Time Lord to obey the summons. 

At the beginning of The End of Time - Part One, the Doctor finally decides to pay the Ood Sphere a visit. He's taken an extensive detour but he's there, at last. Ood Sigma greets him as the Time Lord arrives. It is established that it's been about a 100 years since the events of Planet of the Ood. The Doctor is actually a bit alarmed by how swiftly they are progressing. 

He sits with the Council of Elders and is shown the danger that is developing in 2009 (more than likely, this is where the bulk of End of Time takes place). He immediately rushes off to investigate. 

The Ood have the slightest of presence in the second part of The End of Time. As Ten is nearing the end of his time, they sing him off to sleep. We can assume that this is also the Council of Elders from sometime around 4226 projecting their song into the past for the Doctor to hear. 

THAT'S ALL, FOLKS

And with that, all the Ood appearances have been placed in a sort of chronological order. Again, we could claim that some of those cameos are more linear. But I prefer to think that the Ood at the Maldovarium and other incidents like that are the result of a time experiment gone wrong sometime between the 40th and 42nd Century. It makes for a tidier history.

Interestingly enough, aside from the cameos, most Ood stories are already in the proper order. Impossible Planet/Satan Pit happens first. Then Planet of the Ood. Then all the stuff involving the Tenth Doctor's regeneration. In many ways, my job was made easy with this one. The only real challenge was getting that damned Ood in Face the Raven to make sense!    

And so concludes our little lesson in Ood History. Hope it didn't seem too Odd! Sorry. Had to do the pun one more time!   

There will be another CHRONOLOGIES AND TIMELINES essay coming along shortly. It will deal with another alien we've been seeing exclusively in New Who. Can you guess which one?