mrv3000 | (no subject)

Not as far as I know, although it's entirely possible some fan has done it somewhere.

Apart from the name of the planet itself, people's names, and the Shobogans (basically hippie dropout ex-Time Lords who live outside the Citadel), everything we've heard in canon is English.

And the names don't appear to have been made up with any particular system in mind, apart from people's names having an absurd number of syllables (none of which are particularly exotic or challenging to an English-speaking tongue). Which is as much a running gag (starting with Romana, I'm pretty sure) as anything else.

Apart from the name of the planet itself, people's names, and the Shobogans (basically hippie dropout ex-Time Lords who live outside the Citadel),

Bwahahahahahaha!

Okay, finding that *really* funny for some reason. Probably since my limited impression of Time Lords are old dudes with sticks up their asses. :D

everything we've heard in canon is English.

Which I guess makes sense with the TARDIS translating everything.

Although...Rose has asked what something on the monitor meant - some Gallifreyan symbol - which I guess could either mean it wasn't translated, or it was and she actually didn't know what it meant.

And the names don't appear to have been made up with any particular system in mind, apart from people's names having an absurd number of syllables (none of which are particularly exotic or challenging to an English-speaking tongue). Which is as much a running gag (starting with Romana, I'm pretty sure) as anything else.

Oh right. Her name's something insanely long, isn't it?

Was just kicking around a plot bunny (poor bunny) for a future fic and was hoping there were actual Gallifreyan words out there.

Oh right. Her name's something insanely long, isn't it?

Romanadvoratrelundar if I remember correctly. *Grins* Doc initially tells her he's just gonna call her Fred. He warms to her, but, and his fondness for her in her second form is heart-meltingly sweeet~! ^^

Romanadvoratrelundar if I remember correctly. *Grins* Doc initially tells her he's just gonna call her Fred.

HA!

He warms to her, but, and his fondness for her in her second form is heart-meltingly sweeet~! ^^

Awww! *Really* have to watch something with Romana II soon.

Probably since my limited impression of Time Lords are old dudes with sticks up their asses. :D

Not entirely inaccurate. Hence the need for the hippies to drop out. :-) It's no coincidence that they were introduced in the 70s!

Which I guess makes sense with the TARDIS translating everything.

Which should mean that there's a Gallifreyan for everything to be translated to/from, of course. It's just that we'll never hear it, since our pov on Gallifrey is invariably the Doctor, the locals (who hear one another in their own language, and are therefore best represented in the viewer's), or the companion (who's hearing TARDIS translation).

Rose has asked what something on the monitor meant - some Gallifreyan symbol - which I guess could either mean it wasn't translated, or it was and she actually didn't know what it meant.

My guess would be the latter -- that it's a non-writing symbol, i.e. not a systm for representing spoken language, but a technical ideogram of some kind.

The TARDIS can translate a newspaper but not a "check oil" light. ;-D

Oh right. Her name's something insanely long, isn't it?

Romanadvoratrelundar. Which I'm sure was entirely to set up the nickname-assigning banter:

By the time I shout --what was it again?

Romanadvoratrelundar.

By the time I shout "Look out, Romana...vorat..." We'll, you'll have been eaten by then. We need something shorter. I'll call you Romana.

I don't like Romana.

It's either Romana or Fred.

All right. Call me Fred.

Right. Come along, Romana.

I can't recall ever hearing another insanely long Time Lord name in TV canon -- thus raising the question of whether Romana is just from a hyper-pretentious family -- but it's been gleefully-exploited fanon ever since.

Not entirely inaccurate. Hence the need for the hippies to drop out. :-) It's no coincidence that they were introduced in the 70s!

Would it be accurate to say that the Doctor pretty much avoided the Time Lords? Or at least wanted to avoid them but couldn't at times? Preferring instead a life on the road, so to speak? Although...he was President for a while, right? Which seems weird since he seems more the type to take down a government than run one. Heh.

I know, I know! I need to watch. There's just so much though! :D

My guess would be the latter -- that it's a non-writing symbol, i.e. not a systm for representing spoken language, but a technical ideogram of some kind.

Oh right! Now that I think about it, it was supposedly the chemical analysis of something which she wouldn't know anyway and most likely was a display of that compound.

The TARDIS can translate a newspaper but not a "check oil" light. ;-D

HA!!

"What's that, Doctor?"

"Aw hell. The Check Engine light."

"What's that mean?"

"Hopefully it means the console needs to be repeatedly hit really hard."

Which I'm sure was entirely to set up the nickname-assigning banter:

HA!!!

You're dead-on about the avoidance. He never went home unless forced, either due to an emergency or (more usually) by being outright kidnapped.

The workings of Gallifreyan politics are murky at best, but he was quite literally drafted into the presidency. Which didn't stop him him from taking advantage of it a couple times. Mostly, though, the M.O. was to name a substitute in full fast-talk mode, and then run like hell.

The workings of Gallifreyan politics are murky at best,

Okay, at first glance I thought that said "musky" and I was like, "sweet lord, I don't want to know."

but he was quite literally drafted into the presidency. Which didn't stop him him from taking advantage of it a couple times. Mostly, though, the M.O. was to name a substitute in full fast-talk mode, and then run like hell.

*snort*

That sounds like him. :D How long was he President for?

IIRC, he still was when the old series was cancelled. Definitely at least up until "Trial of a Time Lord" (Six's second season); I haven't seen that or most of what comes after since college. I'm fairly certain he never formally left/was removed from office in aired canon. No idea whatsoever how the term is defined, but from various data (not just his case), it's Really Damn Long.

I know there's some stuff in the novels and/or audios with other presidents, and Romana is president at some point.

How long it was from his perspective, there's not really any way to tell.

It started with "The Deadly Assassin," right after Sarah left. (1976, in real life.) Any president in the show from then on is technically only acting president, although in practical terms they're obviously much more "real" presidents than he is.

IIRC, he still was when the old series was cancelled. Definitely at least up until "Trial of a Time Lord" (Six's second season); I haven't seen that or most of what comes after since college. I'm fairly certain he never formally left/was removed from office in aired canon.

Huh. Wonder if he still was during the Time War. That would certainly put an interesting spin on things. And like, even MORE guilt since he was in charge, so to speak...

No idea whatsoever how the term is defined, but from various data (not just his case), it's Really Damn Long.

Heh heh.

I know there's some stuff in the novels and/or audios with other presidents, and Romana is president at some point.

Oh right. Think I've seen people writing about Romana being President.

How long it was from his perspective, there's not really any way to tell.

I'm sure it was too damn long no matter how long. :D

It started with "The Deadly Assassin," right after Sarah left. (1976, in real life.) Any president in the show from then on is technically only acting president, although in practical terms they're obviously much more "real" presidents than he is.

You remember any episodes where he does the fast-talking "just sit right here until I get back" thing? *amused*

Huh. Wonder if he still was during the Time War. That would certainly put an interesting spin on things. And like, even MORE guilt since he was in charge, so to speak...

Even if he wasn't, it's practically guaranteed that whatever he did that destroyed Gallifrey (wittingly or unwittingly --

neadods has some interesting theories on that front) involved some aspect(s) of presidential power.

The things the office gave him access to make permanent changes to a person's biodata -- in a very real sense, once a Lord President, always a Lord President. That's been demonstrated in several narrowly-averted cataclysms. So it's not much of a stretch that whatever he did to end the Time War was a non-averted one.

You remember any episodes where he does the fast-talking "just sit right here until I get back" thing? *amused*

The quintessential one (in my admittedly Five-biased view) is at the end of The Five Doctors.

Hmmm. Very interesting.

The quintessential one (in my admittedly Five-biased view) is at the end of The Five Doctors.

*puts on list*

Although The Five Doctors is a bit of a misnomer, since Four was only in it for about 2 minutes. (I was disappointed he wasn't in there longer - I have yet to see anything major with Four in it.) But other than that, it's a lot of fun.

I was disappointed he wasn't in there longer

Everybody was. :-/ They tried to get Tom Baker to do it, and it didn't work out. There are various versions of why, but the result is the same: they resorted to plugging in footage from "Shada" (the [in]famous unfinished story that Douglas Adams eventually incorporated elements of into Dirk Gently), and handwaved it.

And of course One is a different actor entirely, since Hartnell had passed some years earlier.