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...
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:
The first link in Cybermen History:
History of the Sontarans:
History of the Weeping Angels:
Hell, let's even give you Silurian History:
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