Celestial Intervention Agency
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| Universe | Whoniverse |
|---|---|
| Type | Intelligence agency |
| Founded | The "Old Time" of Gallifrey |
| Location | Gallifrey |
| Key people | Co-ordinatior Vansell; Co-ordinator Narvin |
| Purpose | To defend Time Lord society against threats |
The Celestial Intervention Agency is a fictional organization of Time Lords in the universe of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.
Very little was actually said about the Agency in the television series. The Agency was only mentioned once on screen, in The Deadly Assassin. There, it was stated that the Agency had intervened in the sentence of exile that had been imposed on the Doctor (The War Games). The only other remark made was that the Agency had connections to many areas of Time Lord society.
The name, an obvious parody of the real-world Central Intelligence Agency, has led many fans to assume that the CIA is a clandestine organisation which carries out covert operations. However, since its existence is a matter of Gallifreyan public record and its influence is well-known, it appears to be less of a secret agency than an agency whose operations are sometimes secret, much like the actual CIA.
The spin-off media have expanded on this fan conception, making the Agency an explanation and driving force behind many events in the Doctor Who universe. The most often cited example is the assignment given to the Fourth Doctor in Genesis of the Daleks, to attempt to change history and avert the Daleks' creation. Since this seemed to be in direct contradiction to the Time Lords' stated policies of non-interference the assumption (not at all mentioned in the story) was that it was the CIA that gave the Doctor his mission. Other missions that the Time Lords have apparently manipulated the Doctor into performing include Colony in Space, The Curse of Peladon and The Brain of Morbius.
In the Doctor Who role-playing game from FASA, it was suggested that player characters be agents of the CIA. Most of the information circulating on the agency comes from that source, and as such, may not be regarded as canon.
[edit] Other appearances
- The following information is from spin-off novels and audio dramas which are of unclear canonicity.
In the Virgin New Adventures novel Lungbarrow by Marc Platt, Leela was taken prisoner by the Agency and charged with treason. In the same novel, the CIA attempted a coup d'etat against Time Lord President Romana, but was unsuccessful. It was also stated that the CIA began as the personal guard of Time Lord society founder Rassilon.
Terrance Dicks's Eighth Doctor Adventures novel The Eight Doctors suggests that the Ravolox affair from the television serial The Trial of a Time Lord: The Mysterious Planet was the work of the CIA. Another EDA, Lawrence Miles' Alien Bodies revealed that the CIA removed itself from history and became the Celestis as part of the war between the Time Lords and "the Enemy". The Celestis are featured in the Faction Paradox series created by Miles.
The Agency appeared in the Big Finish Productions audio drama NeverLand. Coordinator Vansell (the head of the CIA) and President Romana attempted to track down the Doctor and Charley to rectify the consequences of her rescue from the R101 disaster. It was revealed that the CIA had been using a device known as the Oubliette of Eternity to execute Time Lords guilty of treason. The device was supposed to erase the condemned from history, but instead it merely turned them into "Neverpeople", insubstantial creatures in an other-dimensional realm of "anti-time". Coordinator Narvin of the CIA is a major character in the Gallifrey series of audio plays.
The CIA also appeared in the audio drama Human Resources where the CIA engineered a war in an attempt to destroy the Cybermen, and are revealed to be indirectly responsible for Lucie Miller's supposed "Witness Protection Programme".
