The Gods of Ragnarok were three Old Ones resembling stone statues who made sentient beings suffer to entertain themselves. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).) While they were referred to collectively as Ragnarok by the Seventh Doctor, (AUDIO: Signs and Wonders [+]Matt Fitton, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2014).) they were named individually by Rassilon as Raag, Nah and Rok, (PROSE: Divided Loyalties [+]Gary Russell, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).) and identified as the Father, the Mother and the Little Girl. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
Biography[]
Origins[]
Though they were often classed among the Great Old Ones, (PROSE: All-Consuming Fire [+]Andy Lane, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994)., Divided Loyalties [+]Gary Russell, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).) the Gods' universe of origin was a matter of some contention. As recounted in The Record of Rassilon, when Rassilon classified the three Gods of Ragnarok among the "Great Old Ones", he was using the term to specifically refer to members of the earlier race of Time Lords who ruled the universe before his own and survived into the new universe in godlike forms. He believed Raag, Nah and Rok to have been responsible for the destruction of the old universe, however, and speculated that they may actually have destroyed "countless universes" before that one, including their true, long-lost world of origin. (PROSE: Divided Loyalties [+]Gary Russell, BBC Past Doctor Adventures (BBC Books, 1999).)
The quantum harvester, meanwhile, believed that the Gods of Ragnarok came from a reality home to various death gods who had invaded the Doctor's universe, including the Beast, (COMIC: Cindy, Cleo and the Magic Sketchbook [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).) who claimed to have originated from before the Doctor's universe. (TV: The Satan Pit [+]Matt Jones, Doctor Who series 2 (BBC One, 2006).)
Early exploits[]
The Gods of Ragnarok in the Dark Circus. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
While they existed in their true time-space of the Dark Circus, (PROSE: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, adapted from The Greatest Show in the Galaxy (Stephen Wyatt), Target novelisations (Target Books, 1989).) the Gods of Ragnarok were known for taking people with individuality and imagination and wearing them down in their service, making them entertain them endlessly, wanting something bigger and better with each act, with a well on the planet Segonax leading to their realm. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).) They created the Land of Fiction as a pet project, but abandoned it shortly after. (PROSE: Conundrum [+]Steve Lyons, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994).) The Seventh Doctor stated that he had fought the Gods of Ragnarok "all through time". (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
Using the Psychic Circus[]
Info from Children of the Circus [+]Kenton Hall, AUK Studios (2023). needs to be added
Mother, Little Girl, and Father Ragnarok in the audience. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
When the Inventor Master tried to take away their power, the Gods of Ragnarok were able to overpower him, and kept him as a prisoner to amuse them. Using a talisman they gave him, which boosted his telepathic powers, the Master gathered a bunch of artists known as the Psychic Circus and brought them to the planet Segonax, meaning to use them as both a source of entertainment for the Gods and a means to harness enough psychic power to escape from their grasp. This plan fell apart when Kingpin contacted the Seventh Doctor for help. The Doctor exploited the Gods' desire for fun and confronted the Master in front of them, eventually breaking his connection to the Circus. He then left, abandoning the Master to the mercy of the Gods of Ragnarok. (AUDIO: The Psychic Circus [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW.)
The Gods of Ragnarok soon took over the Circus themselves, and charged the Ringmaster and the Chief clown with the tasks of keeping the others at the Circus, despite the desire to escape, and luring in spectators to perform in competitions to join the Psychic Circus. Outside their own world, the Gods of Ragnarok appeared as a man, a woman and a little girl sitting in the audience, who would sit in judgment and had cards they would hold up to display a number relating to their reaction, "9" being great and "0" being the worst; a "0" would be followed by the performers being reduced to ashes. Despite never leaving the circus tent, the Gods maintained a surveillance on Segonax, chiefly through the fortune teller Morgana's crystal ball.
The Gods are defied by the Seventh Doctor. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
When the Gods' patience had been worn by the delays of the Psychic Circus getting more acts together, the Seventh Doctor and Ace arrived on Segonax after seeing the Psychic Circus in junk mail. After the Gods disposed of Nord and Whizz Kid for failing to entertain them, the Doctor travelled into their realm, where he performed a magic show to appease them and then used a mirror amulet with their symbol to reflect their own power against them. The stone forms of the Gods broke apart and the Psychic Circus exploded and collapsed, with the shattering of the crystal ball breaking the Gods' link to the normal universe. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
Further escapes into N-Space[]
A God of Ragnarok escapes the Circle of Transcendence. (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).)
One of the Gods was released from the Circle of Transcendence by Sutekh. It was frozen by the Tenth Doctor using a time dilation augmentor. It was later freed again and attacked Sutekh, who then killed it. (COMIC: Old Girl [+]Nick Abadzis, Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor (Titan Comics, 2016).)
References[]
Info from Conundrum [+]Steve Lyons, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994)., All-Consuming Fire [+]Andy Lane, Virgin New Adventures (Virgin Books, 1994). and Signs and Wonders [+]Matt Fitton, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2014). needs to be added
Harry Randall and Lola Luna included the Gods of Ragnarok in their song about the Doctor, bringing up how he had foiled their plan. (AUDIO: The Magic Mousetrap [+]Matthew Sweet, Main Range (Big Finish Productions, 2009).)
In the video game Happy Deathday, played by Izzy Sinclair on the Time-Space Visualiser, a God of Ragnarok was among a host of "every single enemy" that the Doctor had ever defeated, who were assembled by the Beige Guardian and pitted against the Doctor's first eight incarnations. (COMIC: Happy Deathday [+]Scott Gray, DWM Comics (Panini Comics, 1998).)
The incident with the Gods of Ragnarok was mentioned by the Fifteenth Doctor as one many memories which weighed on the Fourteenth Doctor when convincing him to go into rehabilitation on Earth. (TV: The Giggle [+]Russell T Davies, Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (BBC One and Disney+, 2023).)
Psychological profile[]
Personality[]
While their true stone forms, which had some degree of movement, were more adamant about having entertainment, their audience forms seemed to have some personality, with the little girl complaining about being bored and the mother offering the Doctor popcorn. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
Powers and abilities[]
They could fire thunderbolts and reduce people to ashes accompanied by a clash of thunder and blinding light, and could also create rain. They used their eye symbol as a means to observe others, their actual eyes glowing green whenever they used their powers. Among other powers, they could reanimate dead bodies with their original persona intact and were able to sense events happening elsewhere. (TV: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989).)
Behind the scenes[]
Portrayals[]
- In The Greatest Show in the Galaxy [+]Stephen Wyatt, Doctor Who season 25 (BBC1, 1988-1989)., Father Ragnarok is portrayed by David Ashford, Mother Ragnarok is portrayed by Janet Hargreaves, and the Little Girl is portrayed by Kathryn Ludlow. However, Ludlow was unable to play the role in the Gods' true forms due to child labour laws restricting her filming time, with Lorna McCulloch taking on the role physically while Alan Wareing dubbed over her.
- In The Psychic Circus [+]Error: Code 2 - no data stored in variables, cache or SMW., only two of the Gods of Ragnarok have speaking lines, with Andrew Spooner credited as "Ragnarok God 1" and Anna Leong Brophy credited as "Ragnarok God 2".
- In Children of the Circus [+]Kenton Hall, AUK Studios (2023)., Rag is voiced by Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Na is voiced by Kenton Hall, and Rok is voiced by Kim Jones.
Other matters[]
- The Gods of Ragnarok are mentioned in a deleted scene from The Infinite Quest [+]Alan Barnes, CBBC (2007)., as one of the beings which ruled the universe during the Dark Times.
- The Doctor comments to Father Ragnarok that the Gods are not interested in beginnings, only in endings.
- The Gods of Ragnarok's name is from the Nordic Ragnarök, which is often misunderstood as the "End of the World" or Armageddon. While an important part of Ragnarök is a climactic and cataclysmic battle, it ultimately ends with the renewal of the world as new and fertile.
- One translation of Ragnarök is "the End of the Gods"; thus, the Gods of Ragnarok are "the Gods of the End of the Gods".
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