Line #2 Characters/DoctorWhoRomana


1	[[center:[[WMG:''Series/DoctorWho'' [[Characters/DoctorWho characters index]]\
2	[-'''Incarnations of [[Characters/DoctorWhoDoctors the Doctor]]'''\
3	[[Characters/DoctorWhoFirstDoctor 1]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor 2]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirdDoctor 3]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourthDoctor 4]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoFifthDoctor 5]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSixthDoctor 6]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSeventhDoctor 7]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoEighthDoctor 8]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoWarDoctor War]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoNinthDoctor 9]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoTenthDoctor 10]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoEleventhDoctor 11]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoTwelfthDoctor 12]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoThirteenthDoctor 13]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoFourteenthandfifteenthDoctors 14 & 15]]\
4	'''[[Characters/DoctorWhoTheTARDIS The TARDIS]]'''\
5	'''[[Characters/DoctorWhoCompanionsAndSupportingCast Companions and Supporting Cast]]'''\
6	[[Characters/DoctorWhoClassicSeriesCompanions Classic Series Companions]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoK9 K9]], '''Romana''') \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoRevivalSeriesCompanions Revival Series Companions]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoRoseTyler Rose Tyler]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoJackHarkness Captain Jack Harkness]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoThePonds The Ponds]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoRiverSong River Song]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoClaraOswald Clara Oswald]]) \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoOtherSupportingCast Other Supporting Cast]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoThePaternosterGang The Paternoster Gang]]) \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoUNITStaff UNIT Staff]]\
7	'''[[Characters/DoctorWhoVillains Villains]]'''\
8	[[Characters/DoctorWhoImmortalsAndEldritchAbominations Immortals and Eldritch Abominations]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoMasters The Master]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoJohnSimmsMaster John Simm's Master]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoMissy Missy]], [[Characters/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverseMasters Expanded Universe Masters]])\
9	'''[[Characters/DoctorWhoAliensAndMonsters Aliens and Monsters]]'''\
10	[[Characters/DoctorWhoDaleks Daleks]] ([[Characters/DoctorWhoDavros Davros]]) \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoCybermen Cybermen]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoRobots Robots]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoTheSilence The Silence]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSilurians Silurians]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSontarans Sontarans]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoTimeLords Time Lords]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoWeepingAngels Weeping Angels]] \| [[Characters/DoctorWhoSlitheen Slitheen]]-]]]]]
11	!!Romanadvoratrelundar (Fourth Doctor)
12	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/365fd24f_f635_4ad0_8ab5_2062cb431b73.jpeg]]
13
14	A Time Lord, or more properly a Time Lady, like the Doctor, and therefore has multiple regenerations. (Two were seen onscreen, dubbed Romana I and Romana II by fans; the ExpandedUniverse added several possible thirds, one of which is seen left of the first two here.) Sent to assist the Doctor against his will in [[GottaCatchEmAll the search for]] the [[CosmicKeystone Key to Time]], she was initially what one would call "book-smart": extremely well-educated (her academic record trounced the Doctor's), but quite young and with little practical experience. As such, she is the one companion who could serve as the Doctor's co-pilot with the TARDIS. Despite her initial inexperience, she eventually became a DistaffCounterpart to him before parting ways to assist people in an alternate universe. However, Expanded Universe sources indicate she would eventually return to Gallifrey and become Lord President.
15
16	!!!Tropes associated with most incarnations:
17	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: How the Doctor feels about her. At one point, she even builds her own sonic screwdriver (which he tries to swipe!)
18	* CharacterDevelopment: Her first incarnation was cold, detached and focused purely on the mission. Once she regenerated, Romana loosened up considerably and became much more fond of the Doctor.
19	* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Whereas Leela was an uneducated but resourceful and intuitive savage, Romana was the Doctor's superior in intelligence but with less life experience.
20	* DeadpanSnarker: Both of them were prone to this. The first Romana's snark was rather icy, whereas the second preferred good natured ribbing.
21	* DistaffCounterpart: To the Doctor. A wandering Gallifreyan who dresses oddly, has adventures and (eventually) carries a sonic screwdriver.
22	* TheFashionista: Loved trying on new outfits, sometimes a few different ones in a single episode. Creator/MaryTamm designed her own outfit in "The Androids of Tara" and Creator/LallaWard came up with her own ideas.
23	* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Romana's full name is only mentioned in two stories: [[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E1TheRibosOperation her first appearance]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate her final appearance]]. In the novelizations, the fact that her full name is Romanadvoratrelundar might get mentioned a couple times in the early chapters, but she will still only be referred to by the shortened version in conversation.
24	* OnlyOneName: As with most Time Lords and Ladies. However, unlike many travelling Time Lords, she never adopts an alias, she just shortens her real name.
25	* OverlyLongName:
26	--> '''Romana:''' My name is Romanadvoratrelundar.\
27	'''The Doctor:''' ...I'm so sorry about that. Is there anything we can do?
28	* OnlySaneMan: Much more rational and level-headed than the Doctor.
29	* VitriolicBestBuds: Grows into this with the Doctor, engaging in SnarkToSnarkCombat that gradually becomes more affectionate.
30
31	[[foldercontrol]]
32	!!Incarnations
33	[[folder:Romana I]]
34	!!Romana I
35	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/97f64b53_3c24_4927_92f2_3f8712131a05.jpeg]]
36	->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E1TheRibosOperation The Ribos Operation]]" (1978)
37	->'''Final Story:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor The Armageddon Factor]]" (1979)
38	->'''Regeneration Story:'''[[note]]Regenerated offscreen at the start of the serial.[[/note]] "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]" (1979)
39
40	->'''Played by:''' Creator/MaryTamm (1978–79)
41
42	->'''Romana I:''' You have absolutely no sense of responsibility whatsoever!\
43	'''The Doctor:''' What?\
44	'''Romana I:''' You're capricious, arrogant, self-opinionated, irrational, and you don't even know where we're going!\
45	'''The Doctor:''' ''Exactly!''
46
47	A tall, leggy, dark-haired woman; the initial concept of her was a "Creator/GraceKelly" sort of character. Had a penchant for armchair psychology. According to the Big Finish Audios, she regenerated when forces beyond her control were drawn out by the Key to Time and started to weaken her body, but she passed the reasons off as a whim.
48
49	!!! Tropes associated with the television continuity
50	* ActionGirl: Occurs unexpectedly in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E2ThePiratePlanet The Pirate Planet]]" when she gets into a laser gun fight and wins.
51	* AgonyOfTheFeet: Romana's fashion statement got the better of her when she made a really bad choice of shoes in "The Stones of Blood" and wore ''high heels'' in a terrain filled with ''rocks''. Naturally, she switched to bare feet before the end of the first episode to alleviate the pain and then put on some pragmatic boots.
52	* DefrostingIceQueen: She relaxes ''a lot'' over the course of her tenure.
53	* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Without actually getting rid of the character. Since she is part of the same race as the Doctor, she could regenerate and stay on as a character. However, the regeneration comes with no explanation and is a lot like a standard PutOnABus. She doesn't even get a death scene. Romana just happily walks into the console room with a new face and announces that she's regenerating, in a completely new way that was ''never seen again''; The Doctor is absolutely baffled. The ExpandedUniverse offered several possible explanations, which of course all contradict each other.
54	* {{Foil}}: The Doctor is very experienced in adventuring but barely managed to graduate from the Time Lord academy; Romana is new to the wider universe but is very accomplished academically.
55	* IdenticalStranger: Princess Strella of the planet Tara.
56	* LoveRedeems: The Black Guardian's minion the Shadow develops a bit of a crush on Romana.
57	* NaiveNewcomer: She's quite out of depth compared to the Fourth Doctor in her early adventures.
58	* PimpedOutCape: Made of [[FluffyFashionFeathers white feathers]] -- a gift from the Doctor on their first trip together.
59	* RichBitch: Quite posh and stuck-up, especially compared to Tom Baker's Doctor.
60	* ShipTease: One Christmas [[invoked]]BonusMaterial short had the Doctor and Romana I very obviously kissing [[KissingDiscretionShot just out of view]], following by a ''rather'' suggestive look from Creator/TomBaker.
61	* SkilledButNaive: Maybe even more intelligent than the Doctor, but lacks any experience. When she first sees a monster, it terrifies the life out of her. She gets better though.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Romana II]]
65	!!Romana II
66	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ad5a18db_62ca_4953_ab04_7b781e5e6470.jpeg]]
67	->'''Debut:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]" (1979)
68	->'''Departure Story:''' "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E5WarriorsGate Warriors' Gate]]" (1981)
69
70	->'''Played by:''' Creator/LallaWard (1979–81, 1983, 1993, 2001)
71
72	->''"You were the noblest Romana of them all."''
73	-->-- '''Fourth Doctor'''
74
75	Shorter, with strawberry blonde hair. Still snarky, but a lot more bubbly and ConstantlyCurious. And if anything, her style flair got even more creative.
76
77	!!! Tropes associated with the television continuity
78	* {{Bifauxnen}}: She dressed in men's clothing a lot, especially that red smart suit in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E5TheHornsOfNimon The Horns of Nimon]]".
79	* CatholicSchoolgirlsRule: Wears a very Film/StTrinians style uniform in the "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" serial. Creator/LallaWard, judging by interviews and the production notes, came up with the idea and had no concept that it was a fetish.
80	* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Creator/MaryTamm's Romana was aloof, uptight and very by-the-book. Ward's version is a lot more outgoing, playful and adventurous. Whereas Tamm's incarnation came across as a sheltered aristocrat, Ward's incarnation was a more eccentric bohemian as shown by the clothing.
81	* {{Cosplay}}: Many of her outfits have a distinct "fancy dress" flavour: the school uniform in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]", the pink version of the Doctor's costume in "Destiny of the Daleks", the fox-hunting gear in "The Horns of Nimon". Described (pretty accurately) in one DVD extra as the only woman who could pull off wearing a fruit salad on her head.
82	* DeadpanSnarker: She snarks at Duggan in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E2CityOfDeath City of Death]]" about his tendency to break a lot of glass, and regularly holds her own in SnarkToSnarkCombat with the Doctor (if not winning).
83	* EnglishRose: Sci-fi version. Played by Creator/LallaWard who has the right look (a pretty pale-skinned blonde), she was a refined, composed and soft-spoken NiceGirl, but also brilliant and strong-willed. She comes from Gallifrey, which is kinda Englandesque.
84	* ExpandedUniverse: Her Creator/BigFinish audio spinoff with Leela, appropriately called ''AudioPlay/{{Gallifrey}}'' (which has its own tropes page), spans eleven years (2004-2015). Creator/BigFinish is also one of the various franchises to provide a third regeneration of Romana.
85	* GenderedOutfit: Wore a pink version of the Doctor's outfit at one point.
86	* GenreSavvy: How does Romana get out of having to work in a Dalek mine so that she can promptly get back to the plot? ''She stops one of her hearts and fakes her death.''
87	* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Well, hearts, technically, also strawberry blonde, but she definitely fulfils this trope.
88	* IChooseToStay: After three serials of trying to get out of E-Space, she decides to stay at the end of "Warriors' Gate" to help free a race of [[KingOfBeasts enslaved time-travelling lion people]] from slavery.
89	* LadyOfAdventure: More keen on adventuring than her first incarnation.
90	* LargeHam: Can get dramatic on occasion, especially during ham to ham combat with Soldeed on "Horns of Nimon".
91	* NervesOfSteel: An adventurous Time Lady, she likely acquired such nerves after "Destiny of the Daleks", she can get visibly frightened easily but is a PluckyGirl nonetheless.
92	* NiceGirl: Friendly, outgoing and way easier to get on with than the first Romana.
93	* PlotHole: Her regeneration scene, written by Creator/DouglasAdams, is one of the series' most infamous ones. Basically, Romana shows up in Princess Astra's body and clothes and announces that she has regenerated, for no reason whatsoever. When the Doctor scolds her for copying someone else's body, she merrily cycles through a series of different bodies until settling on the Astra look permanently. This type of regeneration contradicted just about everything in the series, was never explained in any way on TV, and was never heard from again. The Creator/BigFinish ''Audioplay/{{Gallifrey}}'' series, dives into the question headfirst and offers a very good explanation. Other bits of the Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse have also taken a stab at it: the short story "The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe", for example, suggests the TARDIS forced her to in a fit of jealousy (after impersonating Romana during the events of "Destiny of the Daleks"). One novel also hints that she ''chose'' to Regenerate and thus, until she picked one she settled on, could cycle through bodies as she choose - unlike the Doctor dying from injuries.
94	* ShipTease: Big time. The Doctor often gently teases her but is clearly very, very fond of her. The Australian commercials for Prime Computer made it more explicit with the Doctor ''proposing'' to Romana -- and she says "Yes!" before he even finishes. It doesn't hurt that there was also some ShipTease between Creator/LallaWard and Creator/TomBaker. They even got married briefly.
95	* TearsOfFear: Before gathering NervesOfSteel, she's pretty melodramatic when interrogated by the Daleks in "Destiny of the Daleks">
96	* TookALevelInIdealism: Much more outgoing than her predecessor, she very much took after the Doctor.
97	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Whether she survived the Last Great Time War or not is unknown, in every medium - even [[AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho Big Finish]] hasn’t answered that yet, though it confirms she was present during the early years of the Time War.[[spoiler: Although last heard she was [[FateWorseThanDeath imprisoned in a pocket dimension by Rassilon for trying to assassinate him]].]]
98	* WholesomeCrossDresser: Romana seems to like wearing men's clothing.
99	* YouLookFamiliar: The actress was a guest star as Princess Astra of Atrios in the story immediately preceding her debut. This was referenced in-universe as Romana choosing that form to regenerate into.
100
101	!!! Tropes associated with Big Finish
102	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/LallaWard
103	* BreakTheCutie: Gets thoroughly broken while she is imprisoned by the Daleks. She recovers marvellously, but she carries the emotional scars with her for a long time.
104	* ColdBloodedTorture: In "Gallifrey: Extermination" she performs this on a Dalek, causing it to actually ask her to ''have pity'', before it eventually dies. Romana holds the Daleks responsible for the [[TookALevelInCynicism level in cynicism]] she took after being their captive for two decades and takes a cold delight in exacting her revenge.
105	* FanFic: Spends her spare time as Lady President by writing a rather transparent Doctor FanFic, about a man named "Sigma".
106	* GoodIsNotSoft: Plots to [[spoiler: kill Rassilon]] in the Gallifrey: Time War series. She comes close to succeeding, too, but he regenerates.
107	* MercyKill: In "Zagreus", Romana is fully prepared to perform one on the [[spoiler:Eighth Doctor]].
108	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The audio adventures see her becoming the Lady President of Gallifrey - which was eventually confirmed as canon in "The Day of the Doctor", although only in tiny print in the background of a scene.
109	* TheSlowPath: She spends twenty years as a slave for the Daleks.
110	[[/folder]]
111
112	[[folder:Romana III]]
113	!! Romana III / Trey
114	[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ee7830a1_8452_4e58_ae14_9fbf0ffc4a7b.jpeg]]
115	->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JulietLandau
116	!!! Tropes associated with Big Finish
117
118	* RavenHairIvorySkin: As is anybody played by Juliet Landau.
119	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: She is willing to break all the known laws of time to travel back into Gallifrey's history and help her past self prevent her own apocalyptic future from coming to pass.
120	* YoungerThanTheyLook: Trey comes from many centuries in Romana's future, but Leela points out that this new body actually looks quite a bit younger than her current one. Romana II is quite miffed by this.
121	[[/folder]]

Context Characters / DoctorWhoRomana