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Borusa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Doctor Who character | |
|---|---|
 Angus MacKay as Borusa |
|
| Borusa | |
| Affiliated with | Time Lords |
| Race | Time Lord |
| Home planet | Gallifrey |
| Home era | Gallifrey era |
| First appearance | The Deadly Assassin |
| Last appearance | The Five Doctors |
| Portrayed by | Angus MacKay John Arnatt Leonard Sachs Philip Latham |
Borusa is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He was a Time Lord, and a former teacher of the Doctor.
Borusa appeared in four serials: The Deadly Assassin, portrayed by Angus MacKay; The Invasion of Time by John Arnatt; Arc of Infinity by Leonard Sachs and The Five Doctors by Philip Latham. In the time between these serials Borusa has regenerated, causing his personality to change as well. He was portrayed in The Deadly Assassin as a good though pretentious person with some political standing on Gallifrey, their home planet. By the time of Arc of Infinity he had become Lord President, a position he wished to hold on to in The Five Doctors.
In the 20th Anniversary special The Five Doctors, Borusa wanted Time Lord founder Rassilon's fabled secret of immortality for himself. Borusa used a Time Scoop to transport the Doctor in all his regenerations (along with various companions) to the Death Zone on Gallifrey, using them to clear the way to the Dark Tower where Rassilon was entombed. However, Rassilon's promise to share immortality with whoever overcame the obstacles in the Tower and solved the Game of Rassilon was actually a trap designed for would-be dictators. Borusa was granted immortality by being transformed into a living statue. It is not known if the statue survived the destruction of Gallifrey as revealed in The End of the World.
The spin off novels Blood Harvest and The Eight Doctors by Terrance Dicks feature further appearances by Borusa. It is confusing to note that, in both novels, Borusa was freed from his imprisonment and given a chance for redemption. Initially, it seems as though the two novels automatically contradict each other, but it is possible that Borusa, following the events of The Eight Doctors, returned to Rassilon of his own free will, as he felt he had not paid for his sins yet, and was eventually freed for good in Blood Harvest. The canonicity of the novels, like other Doctor Who spin-off media, is unclear.