Romana (Doctor Who) facts for kids

Romana, whose full name is Romanadvoratrelundar, is a character from the British science fiction TV show Doctor Who. She is a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey. Romana was a friend and helper to the Fourth Doctor.

Because she is a Time Lord, Romana can "regenerate." This means she can change her body and personality when she is badly hurt or dying. She had two different looks and personalities on the show. Fans call them Romana I and Romana II.

Romana I was played by Mary Tamm from 1978 to 1979. When she decided not to come back, the role was given to someone else. Romana II was played by Lalla Ward from 1979 to 1981.

Romana I: The Smart Student

The White Guardian sent Romana to help the Doctor. They needed to find the Key to Time. Romana first appeared in the episode The Ribos Operation. She was very different from the Doctor's previous friend, Leela.

At first, Romana was a bit proud and thought she was smarter than the Doctor. She had very good grades from the Time Lord Academy. The Doctor, however, just barely passed his exams. Romana would sometimes make sharp comments to him. But soon, she learned to value the Doctor's experience. She also started to enjoy adventures. She began to respect him as a teacher.

Romana II: The Doctor's Friend

Romana's second form appeared in Destiny of the Daleks. This episode showed her regeneration in a funny way. Romana changed her body several times, like trying on different clothes. She finally chose to look like Princess Astra. This character was played by Lalla Ward in an earlier episode.

Romana II became very close to the Doctor. She was like him in many ways. They were both Time Lords and very smart. She sometimes copied his style. She even had her own sonic screwdriver! Romana II could also outsmart the Doctor in playful arguments. As she gained more experience, she became more confident. She was very capable in tough situations.

Her last TV appearance was in Warriors' Gate. In this story, she left the Doctor. She went with the robot dog K-9 to explore a different universe called E-space. She also appeared briefly in The Five Doctors. This was a special episode for the show's 20th anniversary. Old video clips were used because the actor who played the Fourth Doctor could not return.

After Romana I and II left, they were seen again briefly. This was in flashback scenes. One was during the Fourth Doctor's regeneration in Logopolis. Another was in the Fifth Doctor's mind in Resurrection of the Daleks.

The Fifth Doctor also mentioned Romana in later episodes. In Arc of Infinity, the Time Lords asked why he left her behind. He replied that she "chose to remain in E-Space."

In the newer Doctor Who series, the Doctor says that all the Time Lords died. This happened during a big war called the Time War. It is not clear if Romana died with them. She might still be alive in E-Space or somewhere else.

Romana in Other Stories

Romana has also appeared in other Doctor Who stories. These include books and audio plays.

Books

In the book Blood Harvest, Romana II leaves E-Space. She returns to Gallifrey with the help of the Seventh Doctor. In another book, Goth Opera, she gets a spot on the Time Lord High Council. Later, in Happy Endings, Romana becomes the Lady President of Gallifrey. This role as President is shown in many later books. It is also in the audio plays where Lalla Ward voices Romana.

In some books about the Eighth Doctor, Romana regenerates again. This new version, Romana III, is very different. She is much tougher and less friendly than her earlier selves. Her look was based on a silent movie actress named Louise Brooks.

Audio Plays

Romana II appeared in some audio plays in the early 2000s. In these stories, Lalla Ward played a character with K-9. This character was called the Mistress. K-9 used to call Romana by this name on TV. Due to special rules, the character could not be directly called Romana. The parallel universe she was in was also called a "pocket universe."

In the main Doctor Who audio stories from Big Finish Productions, Ward joined the Sixth Doctor. This was in The Apocalypse Element. In this story, Romana is the Lady President of Gallifrey. In Zagreus, Romana II has to send the Eighth Doctor away. He had become a danger to the universe. After this, she appears in many audio plays with the Doctor's old friend Leela. These stories are part of a series called Gallifrey.

The Gallifrey series ends with a big problem. Gallifrey is close to falling apart. Most of the characters are stuck with no way out.

List of Appearances

Television

Season 16

• The Ribos Operation (Romana I)
• The Pirate Planet
• The Stones of Blood
• The Androids of Tara
• The Power of Kroll
• The Armageddon Factor

Season 17

• Destiny of the Daleks (Romana II)
• City of Death
• The Creature from the Pit
• Nightmare of Eden
• The Horns of Nimon
• Shada (not finished or shown)

Season 18

• The Leisure Hive
• Meglos
• Full Circle
• State of Decay
• Warriors' Gate

20th anniversary special

• The Five Doctors (used footage from Shada)

30th anniversary special

• Dimensions in Time

Audio Dramas

BBV

• K-9: The Choice (character not explicitly named Romana)
• K-9: The Search (character not explicitly named Romana)

Big Finish Productions

• The Apocalypse Element
• Neverland
• Zagreus
• Shada (webcast on BBCi, later released on CD)
• Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice
• Gallifrey: Square One
• Gallifrey: The Inquiry
• Gallifrey: A Blind Eye
• Gallifrey: Lies
• Gallifrey: Spirit
• Gallifrey: Pandora
• Gallifrey: Insurgency
• Gallifrey: Imperiatrix
• Gallifrey: Fractures
• Gallifrey: Warfare
• Gallifrey: Appropriation
• Gallifrey: Mindbomb
• Gallifrey: Panacea
• The Beautiful People
• Ferril's Folly (Romana I)

Novels

Virgin Missing Adventures

• Goth Opera by Paul Cornell
• The Romance of Crime by Gareth Roberts
• The English Way of Death by Gareth Roberts
• The Shadow of Weng-Chiang by David A. McIntee
• The Well-Mannered War by Gareth Roberts

Virgin New Adventures

• Blood Harvest by Terrance Dicks
• Happy Endings by Paul Cornell
• Lungbarrow by Marc Platt

Eighth Doctor Adventures

• The Eight Doctors by Terrance Dicks
• The Shadows of Avalon by Paul Cornell
• The Ancestor Cell by Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole

Past Doctor Adventures

• Tomb of Valdemar by Simon Messingham
• Heart of TARDIS by Dave Stone
• Festival of Death by Jonathan Morris

Independent Novels

• Time's Champion

Short Stories

• "Glass" by Tara Samms
• "Return of the Spiders" by Gareth Roberts
• "Special Occasions 1: The Not So Sinister Sponge" by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
• "Special Occasions 2: Do You Love Anyone Enough?" by Norman Ashby
• "Special Occasions 3: Better Take Care" by Steve Burford
• "Special Occasions 4: Playing with Toys" by David Agnew
• "I Was A Monster!!!" by Joseph Lidster
• "The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe" by Mark Michalowski
• "Doing Time" by Lance Parkin
• "O, Darkness" by John Binns
• "The Time Lord's Story" by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett
• "The Little Things" by Paul Beardsley
• "The Clanging Chimes of Doom" by Jonathan Morris
• "Present Tense" by Ian Potter
• "Suitors, Inc." by Paul Magrs
• "Life from Lifelessness" by Keith R.A. DeCandido
• "The Glarn Strategy" by Brian Dooley
• "All Snug in Their Beds" by Scott Alan Woodard
• "Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen" by Terri Osborne
• "Breadcrumbs" by James Moran

Comics

• "Terror on Xaboi" by Paul Crompton (Doctor Who Annual 1980) - 1st incarnation
• "The Weapon" by Paul Crompton (Doctor Who Annual 1980) - 1st incarnation
• "Every Dog Has His Day" by Mel Powell (Doctor Who Annual 1981) - 2nd incarnation
• "Victims" by Dan Abnett, Colin Andrew and Enid Orc (Doctor Who Magazine 212–214) - 2nd incarnation
• "The Seventh Segment" by Gareth Roberts, Paul Peart and Elitta Fell (Doctor Who Magazine Summer Special 1995) - 1st incarnation

Images for kids

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  Lalla Ward as Romana II

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  Romana's third incarnation is based on Louise Brooks

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  Juliet Landau played a future version of Romana in the Gallifrey audio series

See also

In Spanish: Romana (Doctor Who) para niños