THE MONK

The first time that we were introduced to anyone from the Doctor's home world--aside from his granddaughter--was when the Monk's trail of interference was discovered on an English beach in AD 1066.  As the tale unfolded, it was clear that though the Monk and the Doctor had never previously met, they were both of the same race.

Like the Doctor, the Monk had stolen a TARDIS and disappeared into the space-time vortex, untraced by the Time Lords.  In his case, however, the Monk had taken a fully-functional model, of a more advanced design than that of the Doctor.  This suggests that he had left at a later date, though obviously long before the Doctor gained any notoriety among the Time Lords.  The Monk had very different aims from the Doctor in his travels.  Like the Doctor, he disliked the Time Lord policy of non-interference, but unlike the Doctor, the Monk was not interested in intervening in the affairs of planets for good.  And, unlike the Master, he was not interested either in pure evil or in furthering his own ends.

What motivated the Monk was the fact that he had the power to interfere.  In something of an experimental mood, his aim was to change the course of history because he thought he could order it better.  His plan was to destroy the attacking fleet of Norman ships and thus change the history of England.  This was not out of any real love for Harold and his reign, but simply to see if he really could manage to do it.

The Doctor was firmly opposed to such meddling, and managed to defeat the Monk, stranding him on the Earth and stealing the key component of his TARDIS's interior dimension controls.

The Monk was rather annoyed at this, but not defeated.  Despite his somewhat bumbling manner, the Monk was actually quite a fine scientist in his own right, and he managed to substitute a laser component for the missing component and regain the use of his ship.  His first thought was of revenge.

He managed to track down the Doctor on the volcanic planet Tigus.  Using his knowledge of light, he managed to seal the TARDIS lock, hoping to strand the Doctor for a while.  Though he wanted revenge, the Monk was nod sadistic enough to strand the Doctor and his companions forever.  However, the Doctor managed to break through the tinkered lock and leave Tigus.  Thoroughly annoyed now, the Monk gave chase.

Realizing that the Doctor would be on the alert, the Monk jumped time tracks--a difficult and even dangerous trick, but one which meant that he could not be traced.   He emerged to find himself in Pharonic Egypt, and embedded in the midst of a fight between the Doctor and the Daleks.

Self-preservation being one of his stronger points, the Monk realized that this game was getting too much for him now.  He wanted to get his own back on the Doctor, but not at the risk of his own life.  Through a bit of fast talking and switching sides whenever the opportunity arose, the Monk managed to dance about on the edge of extermination.  Finally, he bolted for his TARDIS and left as fast as he could only to discover that the Doctor had stolen his directional unit.  He was now left adrift in the Vortex, wandering as aimlessly as the Doctor's TARDIS ever had.

So far, nothing more has been heard of the Monk, but his path and the Doctor's will undoubtedly intersect again some time in the future--or the past.  The Monk is neither evil nor malicious--he is more like a petulant child, spoilt, and wanting his own way.  Lacking self-discipline, he interferes simply for the fun of it.  In many ways, his lack of foresight and completely oblivious foolishness can make him more dangerous than foes who are actively aggressive.  He seems incapable of appreciating the results of his efforts to change time, and is almost unreachable by any form of logic.

The Monk