First Day of the Doctor (short story)

First Day of the Doctor
Main character(s):	Seventh Doctor, Tenth Doctor, Thirteenth Doctor, Twelfth Doctor, Fifteenth Doctor
Featuring:	First Rani, Mel, Rose, Graham, Grace, Yaz, Ryan, Ruby
Key crew
Publisher:	Penguin Group
Writer:	Paul Lang
Release details
Genre:	Science fiction
Printed in:	Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024
Release date:	7 September 2023
Format:	Epistolary short story
Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024
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Next →	Monster Regenerations

First Day of the Doctor was the fourth short story and thirteenth release exclusively published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2024 on 7 September 2023 by Penguin Group and written by Paul Lang.

The short story, stylised as diary entries written by a selection of Doctors after their first adventures, was notable for being the first work of fiction released to explicitly feature the Fifteenth Doctor, and the first to mention Ruby Sunday.

Plot

The Seventh Doctor

The Seventh Doctor writes in his diary that the Sixth Doctor was in the middle of a spin class set up by Mel when the TARDIS was forced to land on the planet Lakertya, causing him to regenerate after the crash landing. His assailant was the First Rani, who was trying to feed geniuses into a giant brain as part of some "preposterous plan" to achieve time manipulation on a large scale while he set about to stop her. The Doctor concludes his entry, not specifying the outcome of the adventure as he deemed it to be "obvious".

The Tenth Doctor

The Tenth Doctor writes in his diary about how, after his regeneration, he had a nap in the Powell Estate when a ship containing the Sycorax arrived in London's sky, and Rose Tyler attempted to handle the situation. However, the Doctor was still needed, so, after a cup of tea, he "sent the Sycorax packing with just a well-aimed satsuma". He then ate turkey and stuffing, thanks to Jackie Tyler preparing it, and afterwards he picked out a suit which he hoped not to get it "raggedy".

The Thirteenth Doctor

The Thirteenth Doctor writes in her diary that the last thing she wanted to do while wearing in her new pair of feet was to deal with a Stenza warrior travelling to Earth on a hunting expedition, but, thanks to a group of incredible people she met, she was able to save the day with her new "fam". After a regretful joke about them being fam-tastic, she then mentions how Tzim-Sha had teeth embedded in his face and how Grace O'Brien would've been brilliant in the TARDIS.

The Twelfth Doctor

The Twelfth Doctor writes in his diary about how his lack of a grin was justified by being swallowed by a dinosaur, riding around on a horse, almost being harvested for his flesh and organs, fighting "a robot with half a face" in a hot-air balloon, and had to deal with the trouble Madame Vastra and her friends got into, following his regeneration.

The Fifteenth Doctor

The Fifteenth Doctor's diary entry is obscured, and while most of the text is unintelligible, a quote — "what the h[...] here?" — is visible, as well as a mention of "Ruby S", but her surname is cut off.

Characters

• Seventh Doctor
• Tenth Doctor
• Twelfth Doctor
• Thirteenth Doctor
• Fifteenth Doctor
• First Rani
• Urak
• Mel Bush
• Sycorax leader
• Rose Tyler
• Jackie Tyler
• Tzim-Sha
• Graham O'Brien
• Grace O'Brien
• Yasmin Khan
• Ryan Sinclair
• Dinosaur
• Half-Face Man
• Vastra
• Ruby Sunday

Worldbuilding

• The Seventh Doctor mentions there was confusion involving a ginger curly wig after his regeneration.
• The Thirteenth Doctor believes her tenth incarnation would have found comradery with Tzim-Sha due to their shared fascination with teeth.
• The Thirteenth Doctor laments that Grace would have been a great companion if she had not died.

Notes

to be added

Continuity

• The Seventh Doctor mentions the exercise regime that Mel Bush put the Sixth Doctor through, with one being seen in Terror of the Vervoids.
• The Seventh Doctor's portion of the story recaps the events of Time and the Rani, detailing that he regenerated when the Rani forced his TARDIS to crash onto Lakertya and that he had to stop her from harvesting various genius to fuel her time brain.
• The Tenth Doctor mentions the town of Christmas, which was introduced in the episode The Time of the Doctor.
• The Tenth Doctor's portion of the story recaps the events of The Christmas Invasion, detailing how he recovered from his regeneration with some tea and then had to see of the Sycorax invasion of Earth with a satsuma, followed by a Christmas dinner with the Tyler family.
• The Thirteenth Doctor's portion of the story recaps the events of The Woman Who Fell to Earth, detailing how she had to face off with Tzim-Sha while recovering from her regeneration, and how Grace died.
• The Twelfth Doctor's portion of the story recaps the events of Deep Breath, notably how had to fight off the Half-Face Man in a hot air balloon.

Gallery

to be added