|appearances= [[The Doctor - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']]
|appearances= [[The Doctor - list of appearances|'''''see list''''']]
|clip = No sir, all THIRTEEN! - Peter Capaldi's 1st Scene as Twelfth Doctor - The Day of the Doctor - BBC
|clip = No sir, all THIRTEEN! - Michael Kew's 1st Scene as The Doctor - Te Evil Menace - BBC
|bts = Doctor Who Insider Part 2 -- The Doctor 2011 Behind-the-Scenes
|bts = Doctor Who Insider Part 2 -- The Doctor 2014 Behind-the-Scenes
|grandchild = }}{{doctors}}
|grandchild = }}{{doctors}}
"'''The Doctor'''", knighted in 1879 by [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] as '''Sir Doctor of TARDIS''' ([[TV]]: [[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]]), was a [[renegade Time Lord]] from [[Gallifrey]] who travelled through [[time]] and [[space]] with various [[companion]]s in his obsolete and "borrowed" [[The Doctor's TARDIS|Type 40 TARDIS]]. He was the universe's "greatest defender", having saved the cosmos thousands of times throughout his long life, becoming a great legend across the whole universe.
"'''The Doctor'''", knighted in 1879 by [[Victoria|Queen Victoria]] as '''Sir Doctor of TARDIS''' ([[TV]]: [[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]]), was a [[renegade Time Lord]] from [[Gallifrey]] who travelled through [[time]] and [[space]] with various [[companion]]s in his obsolete and "borrowed" [[The Doctor's TARDIS|Type 40 TARDIS]]. He was the universe's "greatest defender", having saved the cosmos thousands of times throughout his long life, becoming a great legend across the whole universe.
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At one point, the Doctor became the adoptive father of a female Time Lord named [[Miranda Dawkins]], whom his [[Eighth Doctor|eighth incarnation]] reared until her mid-teens. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Time (novel)|Father Time]]'') Miranda later gave birth to a daughter, [[Zezanne]], and died while trying to protect the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Sometime Never...]]'') The [[Man with the Rosette]] attended the Doctor's wedding to [[Scarlette]], sitting at the table reserved for the Doctor's family. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
At one point, the Doctor became the adoptive father of a female Time Lord named [[Miranda Dawkins]], whom his [[Eighth Doctor|eighth incarnation]] reared until her mid-teens. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Father Time (novel)|Father Time]]'') Miranda later gave birth to a daughter, [[Zezanne]], and died while trying to protect the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Sometime Never...]]'') The [[Man with the Rosette]] attended the Doctor's wedding to [[Scarlette]], sitting at the table reserved for the Doctor's family. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
The Doctor also had a great-grandson named [[Alex Campbell|Alex]], the son of Susan and [[David Campbell]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[An Earthly Child]]'') Alex went on several adventures with the Eighth Doctor and backpacked around the [[Earth]] with [[Lucie Miller]], who were both killed by the [[Dalek]]s. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Lucie Miller (audio story)|Lucie Miller]]'', ''[[To the Death]]'') Susan and David also had adopted children, [[Barbara Campbell|Barbara]], [[Ian Campbell|Ian]] and [[David Campbell Junior|David Junior]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Legacy of the Daleks]]'') — meaning that the Doctor was an adoptive great-grandfather as well as a biological one.
Before the Time War, some of his family had died, or at least gone missing. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tomb of the Cybermen]]'', ''[[The Curse of Fenric]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[To the Death]]'') After the last day of the Time War, the Tenth Doctor, while telling [[Donna Noble|Donna]] that he'd been a father before, explained that he "[l]ost all that a long time ago along with everything else." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'')
Even after [[Gallifrey]] and the Time Lords were revealed to have been saved from their fate at the end of the Time War and sent to a [[pocket dimension]] by all thirteen Doctors, the Twelfth Doctor still apparently believed his missing children and grandchildren to be dead, as Clara Oswald, masquerading as the Doctor, stated as such to the [[Cyberman|Cybermen]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
=== After the Time War ===
Genetic material from the Doctor in his tenth incarnation was used to create a daughter, [[Jenny (The Doctor's Daughter)|Jenny]]. The Doctor explained to Donna Noble and Martha Jones that due to the way his DNA was processed, he was Jenny's "biological mother and father". Although initially spurning her, he soon considered Jenny his daughter and invited her to travel with him in the TARDIS. Before she could join him, however, she was shot. The Doctor believed Jenny to have died, and departed. Unbeknownst to him, she survived, and set out on her own life of adventure. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor's Daughter (TV story)|The Doctor's Daughter]]'')
When the Earth was relocated to the [[Medusa Cascade]], a [[Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor|clone of the Doctor]] was created; this clone later was exiled by the Doctor to [[Pete's World|an alternate universe]]. Technically, the clone could be considered a relative of the Doctor's. Also, [[Sarah Jane Smith]] referred to the Doctor's companions as his family, saying, "You act like such a lonely man, but you've got the biggest family on Earth!" ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'')
=== Marriages ===
The [[First Doctor]] was accidentally engaged to [[Cameca]] in the [[15th century]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Aztecs (TV story)|The Aztecs]]'')
After Gallifrey was destroyed in the [[Second War in Heaven]], the [[Eighth Doctor]] married [[Scarlette]] in order to ceremonially tie himself to the planet [[Earth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'')
The [[Tenth Doctor]] romanced and later married [[Elizabeth I]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') She later declared him an enemy after he failed to return as promised. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Shakespeare Code (TV story)|The Shakespeare Code]]'') The Tenth Doctor implied he had been married several times prior to Queen Elizabeth, as he remarked to [[Sally Sparrow]] about being "rubbish at weddings, especially [his] own". ([[TV]]: ''[[Blink]]'') In his [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh incarnation]], the Doctor accidentally became engaged to [[Marilyn Monroe]], and married her the same night in what he later claimed was not a real chapel. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Christmas Carol (TV story)|A Christmas Carol]]'')
[[River Song]] often hinted that she and the Doctor had a physical relationship somewhere in her past and his future relative to the Eleventh Doctor's encounter with [[the Silence]] in [[Florida]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silence in the Library]]''/''[[Forest of the Dead]]'', ''[[The Time of Angels]]''/''[[Flesh and Stone]]'', ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]''/''[[The Big Bang]]'', ''[[Day of the Moon]]'') A'' [[Teselecta]]'' version of the Eleventh Doctor with him hiding inside married her in an alternate timeline shortly before his "death". Later in their individual timelines, they spoke as if they considered themselves husband and wife. ([[WC]]: ''[[Asylum of the Daleks Prequel (webcast)|Asylum of the Daleks Prequel]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'', ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan]]'', ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]], [[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
According to [[Clara Oswald]], by the time of the Doctor's [[Twelfth Doctor|twelfth incarnation]], the Doctor had been "married four times, all deceased." ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'')
== Languages ==
The Doctor said he could speak five billion languages. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'') His native language was probably [[Gallifreyan (language)|Modern Gallifreyan]], but he seemed to prefer speaking [[English language|English]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mind Robber]]'') always with an accent that was similar to accents used in the British Isles. ([[TV]]: ''[[An Unearthly Child]]'', ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'', ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'') This accent changed from incarnation to incarnation. For example, both the [[Seventh Doctor|Seventh]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani (TV story)|Time and the Rani]]'') and the [[Twelfth Doctor]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'') spoke with an accent similar to one used in [[Scotland]]. Both [[Rose Tyler]] and [[Harriet Jones]] noted the accent of his [[Ninth Doctor|ninth self]] sounded like he came from "the north" or was "a northern accent", referring to the north of England, with the Doctor once retorting that "lots of planets have a north". ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'') [[American]] [[Grace Holloway]] once told a [[San Francisco|San Franciscan]] [[police]]man that the [[Eighth Doctor]] was "[[British]]". ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
He could read and write [[Gallifreyan (language)|Old High Gallifreyan]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of Angels]]'') a skill unusual even among Time Lords. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') He spoke the [[Judoon language|language]] of the [[Judoon]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'') [[Delphon]] (a language "spoken" using only eyebrow movements), ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'') several [[Chinese language]]s, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Mind of Evil]]'', ''[[The Talons of Weng-Chiang]]'') [[Ancient North Martian]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Waters of Mars]]'') and [[Tritovore]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Dead (TV story)|Planet of the Dead]]''). He knew at least some [[Sycoraxic]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'') and a language of [[Tiaanamat]], which sounded like barking to human ears. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Rings of Akhaten (TV story)|The Rings of Akhaten]]'') He did not seem to understand [[French language|French]] in his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') but later became fluent in it across several periods of French history. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]'') He also spoke "[[sabre-toothed tiger]]" ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Sick Building]]''), "[[baby (language)|baby]]" ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'', ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]''), "[[cat]]" ([[TV]]: ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]''), "[[horse (language)|horse]]" ([[TV]]: ''[[A Town Called Mercy (TV story)|A Town Called Mercy]]''), and "[[Dinosaur (language)|dinosaur]]". ([[TV]]: ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'') By his [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh incarnation]], the Doctor purportedly "spoke everything". ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'')
== Influence ==
The Doctor belonged to the [[Prydonian Chapter]], the most important chapter of Time Lord society. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'') He had a profound influence on many worlds and was written into their histories ([[TV]]: ''[[Forest of the Dead]]''); as a result, he was the recipient of many honours including being made a noble of [[Draconia]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Frontier in Space]]'') and a knight (and enemy) of the [[British Empire]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]]'') An incarnation of the Doctor once pulled [[Excalibur]] from the stone. In his [[Twelfth Doctor|twelfth incarnation]] he told [[Clara Oswald]] that he became "King of England for a day" before abdicating in order to give [[King Arthur]] the throne. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Silhouette (novel)|Silhouette]]'')
Having broken the Time Lords' [[non-interference policy]], in his [[Second Doctor|second incarnation]] he was put on trial as a [[Renegade Time Lord|renegade]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') Subsequently, for a time, he acted as agent of the Time Lords' [[Celestial Intervention Agency]] before the beginning of his sentence on [[20th century]] [[Earth]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Players (novel)|Players]]'', ''[[World Game]]'') Following his defeat of [[Omega]], which saved Gallifrey, he was granted a pardon and given his freedom. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'')
In his [[Fourth Doctor|fourth incarnation]], as part of a ploy to outwit invaders of Gallifrey, he was a candidate for the position of [[Lord President]] of the [[High Council]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'') In his [[Fifth Doctor|fifth incarnation]], he was put on trial again for recklessness. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Stockbridge Horror (comic story)|The Stockbridge Horror]]'') He was later given the title of Lord President by Councillor [[Flavia]], against his wishes. He pretended to accept the office but ran away in his [[the Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') Prior to the Doctor's trial during his [[Sixth Doctor|sixth incarnation]], he was deposed in absentia and put on trial for breaking the non-interference policy and later in the same trial, for [[genocide]]. The validity of the trial was called into question when it was discovered it had been orchestrated by an evil future manifestation of the Doctor, [[the Valeyard]], and mooted. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'')
== Biographical summary ==
While in bed inside a [[Barn (The Day of the Doctor)|barn]] and crying over not wishing to join the army, a young [[First Doctor]] heard [[Clara Oswald]] assuring him that it was all just a dream, that it was OK to be afraid of the dark and that "if you're very wise and very strong, fear doesn't have to make you cruel or cowardly". ([[TV]]: ''[[Listen (TV story)|Listen]]'') This was an [[ontological paradox]] from when the Doctor's [[Tenth Doctor|tenth incarnation]] told Clara about the promise he made about the Doctor being "never cruel or cowardly", which the Doctor had originally heard from Clara as a child. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
The Doctor left Gallifrey and became a hero who fought evil and injustice across the [[universe]] in violation of the Time Lords' [[non-interference policy]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') Technically, he explored only with the intention of experiencing the wonders of the universe and having fun, but frequently became embroiled in machinations and crises that ended with him defeating the foe and saving the planet he was visiting. He travelled with many [[companion]]s, beginning with his granddaughter, [[Susan Foreman]], who also came from Gallifrey. ([[TV]]: "[[An Unearthly Child (episode)|An Unearthly Child]]", "[[A Desperate Venture]]", ''[[Gridlock]]'') The [[Twelfth Doctor]] once stated to [[Rusty|a broken Dalek]] that it was his first encounter with the [[Dalek]]s on [[Skaro]] which truly defined his character. ([[TV]]: ''[[Into the Dalek]]'')
Eventually, he was called to account for his crimes against the Time Lords during his second incarnation, when he called them to stop the [[War Lord]] and return kidnapped humans to their own era. His punishment was a forced regeneration, exile to Earth in the 20th century, and the loss of his knowledge of how to control the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') This knowledge was restored to him after he helped to defeat [[Omega]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'')
Afterwards, he resumed having adventures with many [[companion]]s in his following incarnations. Early in his Fourth incarnation he was sent by the Time Lords to prevent the creation of the Daleks, but despite having the chance he refrained from committing genocide. ([[TV]]: ''[[Genesis of the Daleks]]'') After this he kept the [[Black Guardian]] from obtaining the [[Key to Time]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Armageddon Factor]]'') achieved the office of Lord President of [[Gallifrey]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Invasion of Time]]'' ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') and was again put on trial in his [[Sixth Doctor|sixth incarnation]] for breaking the non-interference policy. He discovered that the Prosecutor, the [[Valeyard]], was a personification of his future evil self, who was helping to cover up the crimes of the High Council of Time Lords. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Trial of a Time Lord]]'')
During the [[Last Great Time War]] between the Time Lords and the [[Dalek]]s, the [[Eighth Doctor]] refused to be a part of it. He died in a spaceship crash on [[Karn]], but was revived by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]], and agreed to regenerate into a [[War Doctor|Warrior]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') The Doctor then fought in the War. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'') He ultimately ended the war, but was able to save Gallifrey with the help of his other twelve incarnations. This displacement of Gallifrey caused the near-extinction of the Daleks. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') The War was sealed in a [[time lock]], making it impossible to time travel to it to save Gallifrey. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'')
:''For details on the Last Great Time War and its survivors, see the separate [[Last Great Time War|article]].''
In an [[alternate timeline]], the Doctor's grave was on [[Trenzalore]], where he had died after a battle. The Doctor was buried in his TARDIS. Instead of a body, the TARDIS contained the Doctor's time stream, manifesting as a column of light. The [[Great Intelligence]] forced the Eleventh Doctor to go to Trenzalore to open the TARDIS, though it was opened by a data ghost of [[River Song]]. The Great Intelligence entered the timestream to alter the Doctor's history, but the Doctor was saved by Clara Oswald scattering herself through his timestream. Due to this Clara had helped the Doctor many times through his lives, even telling him which TARDIS to steal. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'')
Eventually the time came for the Doctor to go to Trenzalore where he was fated to die in battle. The Doctor spent centuries protecting the town of [[Christmas (town)|Christmas]] from various enemies including the Daleks, [[Cybermen]], [[Sontaran]]s and the [[Weeping Angel]]s as the Time Lords were trying to return to the universe through a [[Time Field|crack in time]] there. Growing extremely old and frail, the Doctor came to the end of his life as he no longer possessed the ability to regenerate. At the moment he was to be killed by the Daleks, the Time Lords intervened at the request of Clara, granting him a new regeneration cycle and allowing him to defeat the Daleks and become the [[Twelfth Doctor]], changing his personal future. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
=== The Doctor's incarnations ===
Through the power of [[regeneration]], the Doctor's personality and outer form changed greatly over time, though all of his incarnations were essentially the same person.
The Doctor was known to have regenerated on at least thirteen occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
* The [[First Doctor]] was an unreadable, guarded figure who was, at first, slow to trust newcomers who learnt of him, but once his trust had been earned, he would show another side of himself as a staunch anti-authoritarian with a mischievous streak. This Doctor was often irascible. He made his anger obvious. He was protective of the young women he took on as companions; they reminded him of his granddaughter, Susan. This Doctor was a brilliant, often short-tempered scientist and keen strategist. He used his [[signet ring]] to help get himself through ordeals due to his physical age impeding him. He stole a TARDIS and took his granddaughter with him, joyriding through all space and time, without a clue as to how to drive the thing.
* The [[Second Doctor]], in contrast, was warm and wise. He was as surprised and frightened of alien menaces as those who faced them with him. He had a knack for manipulation and deception, and especially enjoyed to play a buffoon in order to trick his opponents into underestimating him. His predecessor would refer to him as a "clown" due to his bumbling nature. He loved tootling on his [[recorder]] and carried around a 500-year diary, trying to record his travels, but ended up discarding it. He wore a [[The Doctor's fur coat|big fur coat]] that dwarfed him, tying it closed with twine. A "cosmic hobo," he was forever getting himself in and out of trouble.
* The [[Third Doctor]] was a more dashing figure than his predecessors. He was described by his first incarnation as a "dandy". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Three Doctors]]'') He had a penchant for inventing gadgets and was skilled at martial arts, particularly [[Venusian aikido]], and owned a vintage car named [[Bessie]]. His initially contentious relationship with [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] softened into a close friendship during his [[exile on Earth]], lasting through his future regenerations, despite not always agreeing with his actions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who and the Silurians]]'') He also displayed great affection for his female companions, particularly [[Jo Grant]]. He was a gallant action hero who was very protective of his companions.
* The [[Fourth Doctor]] was more eccentric than his previous incarnations. Rarely without his long [[The Doctor's scarf|scarf]], he carried [[jelly baby|jelly babies]] in his pockets, using them as bluffs, gifts and distractions—and occasionally snacks. He relied on his considerable charm, luck, and experience to get through bad situations. Although he retained his fondness for Earth ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stones of Blood]]''), he ended his regular association with [[Unified Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] almost immediately upon his regeneration and only occasionally returned to the planet. However, he had not properly resigned from the position. ([[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'') He hated to work and preferred travelling ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'') but liked history. He enjoyed the company of a wide range of individuals, such as [[Sarah Jane Smith]], aide to his previous self, [[Leela]], a savage, [[K9]], a robot [[dog]], and even a fellow [[Time Lord]] in [[Romana]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', ''[[The Face of Evil (TV story)|The Face of Evil]]'', ''[[The Invisible Enemy (TV story)|The Invisible Enemy]]'', ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'')
* The [[Fifth Doctor]] was fond of [[cricket]] and wore a stick of [[celery]] on his lapel. After a difficult regeneration, this Doctor displayed energy, compassion and innocence not seen in his predecessors. His character was very human and vulnerable. Like them, he used improvisation as the best way out of a tricky situation. The Fifth Doctor was the first incarnation since the First Doctor to go "hands free" and forgo the usage of a [[sonic screwdriver]] after having it destroyed. He occasionally wore glasses, even though he didn't need them; he only wore them to make himself look clever. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash]]'') He was the first Doctor to sacrifice himself for another, when he and [[Peri Brown]] were dying from [[Spectrox toxaemia]]; with only one dose of the antidote available, he gave her the cure rather than taking it himself.
* The [[Sixth Doctor]] was a grandiose and eloquent incarnation. He sported a multi-coloured wardrobe that looked like it was designed by {{w|Christian Lacroix}}; it was often commented upon, occasionally leading to him being mistaken for a jester. This Doctor loved a good quote, often making one he deemed appropriate during an adventure. He also proved to have great acting skills on numerous occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mindwarp]]'', ''[[The Ultimate Foe]]'') His manic personality and acerbic wit could shade into moral passion, but his lack of concern for little things disgusted his companions. He was also capable of violent action, much more so than his past lives, and of killing without remorse when his life was threatened. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Two Doctors]]'') Like the [[Fourth Doctor]], he spent most of his travels with a single companion.
* The [[Seventh Doctor]] had a voice touched by a [[Scottish]] burr. A keen strategist and scientist and especially early in his life, lighthearted, this Doctor was a planner of the highest order. Embracing the complexities of time travel and his ability to manipulate and plan for the future, the Seventh fully embraced his role of [[Time Lord]], even if it risked alienating his companions. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Curse of Fenric]]'') However, he wished to help heal psychological scars from which his companions suffered. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Greatest Show in the Galaxy]]'', ''[[Ghost Light]]'')
* The [[Eighth Doctor]] showed a romantic and sensitive side not displayed by previous Doctors. Less morally flexible than his immediate predecessor, the Eighth Doctor suffered from bouts of amnesia, first after his regeneration and again after Gallifrey was destroyed following [[the War]] with [[the Enemy]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Ancestor Cell]]'') He broke down after the death of his Great-Grandson [[Alex Campbell]] and companion [[Lucie Miller]], who died defeating a Dalek Invasion of Earth. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[To the Death]]'') Unlike other Doctors, the Eighth spent his travels crossing between parallel universes ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Zagreus (audio story)|Zagreus]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Time Zero]]'') and amidst time paradoxes, making his personal timeline hard to piece together. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One]]'', ''[[Interference - Book Two]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'')
* The "[[War Doctor]]" was an incarnation specifically chosen to be that of a warrior who would fight in the [[Last Great Time War]]. The regeneration into this incarnation was aided by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'') His [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh incarnation]] stated that his actions broke "the promise" of the "name of the Doctor." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'') This assessment changed somewhat once the real end of the Time War was revealed and was described after that as being the Doctor most of all by his future selves. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
* The [[Ninth Doctor]] considered himself the sole [[Time Lord]] survivor of the Time War (he spent his life thinking that he was responsible for decimating the Time Lords). He displayed much of the playfulness of his previous incarnations, but was emotionally and psychologically scarred by the war and his role in it, which sometimes resulted in a detachment that was interpreted by some as cruelty. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of the World (TV story)|The End of the World]]'', ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'') When asked about his voice and accent, he responded, "Lots of planets have a North". ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'') He cared deeply for [[Rose Tyler|Rose]]; he began to heal thanks to her. ([[TV]]: ''[[Dalek (TV story)|Dalek]]'') He also made dry jokes when facing danger or to diffuse tension. The Ninth Doctor ultimately sacrificed himself to save Rose's life, not only proving his affection for her, but allowing him to make peace with his past. ([[The Parting of the Ways|''The Parting of the Ways'']])
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] had a manic personality with a fondness for [[human]] pop culture references. However, his more outgoing personality traits largely existed to hide leftover emotional trauma from the Time War. While he had a bright, playful side, darker traits occasionally emerged. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Christmas Invasion]], [[Tooth and Claw (TV story)|Tooth and Claw]], [[School Reunion]], [[The Runaway Bride (TV story)|The Runaway Bride]]'') He continued his previous incarnation's love for [[Rose Tyler]], though he was unable or unwilling to express his exact feelings. ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'') He experienced other romances on occasion, including with historic figures [[Madame de Pompadour]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Girl in the Fireplace]]'') and [[Elizabeth I|Queen Elizabeth I]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') However, they all ended badly. He was also the first Doctor to explicitly fear and dodge regeneration, because he had grown attached to his attributes and felt like it was a form of death and loss of identity. When the time came for him to regenerate, he was completely heartbroken before accepting his destiny. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] exhibited a renewed youthful enthusiasm for adventure. He could quickly turn frantically angry and ruthless when events demanded. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'', ''[[The Beast Below]], [[A Town Called Mercy]]'') Like his Second and Seventh selves before him, he was a cunning schemer, executing temporally complex plans and misdirections to achieve victory against his enemies. ([[TV]]: ''[[Day of the Moon]]'', ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'') He frequently referred to himself as being old, showing his age on more than a few occasions. ([[TV]]: ''[[Vincent and the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Big Bang]]'', ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'', ''[[Closing Time (TV story)|Closing Time]]'') Through his marriage to River Song, he found a sense of family again with her and his in-laws, and was distraught when circumstances separated him from them. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of Three]]'', ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan]]'', ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'') Some events still provided painful reminders of his role in the Time War. ([[TV]]:''[[The Rings of Akhaten]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'', et al.)
* The [[Twelfth Doctor]] displayed an acerbic wit coupled with sarcasm. Like his seventh incarnation, he was manipulative and practical to a fault. He lacked much of the empathy present in his immediate predecessors, and as a result found himself coming off as callous or uncaring on many occasions. In spite of this he shared the Eleventh Doctor's lack of tact and odd behaviour. He had a tendency to brush off death around him, in order to focus on the task at hand. However, because of this he expressed doubt as to whether he was a "good" man. ([[TV]]: ''[[Into the Dalek]]'')
* [[The Valeyard]] shared the characteristics and dress sense of [[the Master]]. The Master explained that the Doctor's darker side became personified during the Time Lord's twelfth through final regeneration. He sought to take the [[Sixth Doctor]]'s seven remaining regenerations and have them for himself. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ultimate Foe (TV story)|The Ultimate Foe]]'') He was finally defeated in [[Victorian era]] [[London]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Matrix (novel)|Matrix]]'')
An interesting aspect of the Doctor's personality was that he occasionally expressed a personal liking for particular incarnations, though this opinion depended on the incarnation making the assessment. The Doctor's tenth incarnation expressed a deep fondness for his fifth incarnation. ([[TV]]: ''[[Time Crash]]'') The Twelfth Doctor was obviously flattered when he believed, incorrectly, that his companion was romantically involved with a fellow teacher he considered to bear a resemblance to his eleventh incarnation. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caretaker]]'') The Fifth Doctor was disliked by his immediate successor. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Twin Dilemma]]'') In another instance, the Fourth Doctor made reference to the Third Doctor, saying, "Some people liked it, but I prefer this one." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]'') The Seventh Doctor was also annoyed when he had to work with the Fifth Doctor, seeing him as "not even one of the good ones". The Fifth Doctor was equally disgusted by what he would become. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Cold Fusion]]'') The Fifth Doctor also stated after meeting his past selves that he was not the man he had been - and "thank goodness for that!". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'') Immediately before his regeneration, the Tenth Doctor stated, "I don't want to go", showing he had become attached to his current self. Immediately after his tenth regeneration, the Eleventh Doctor remarked upon his new nose, stating that, "I've had worse" — possibly a reference to multiple incarnations, including his third, who was once described as a "long-shanked fellow with a mighty nose". ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]], [[The Time Warrior]]'') The Eleventh Doctor also at one point expressed loathing for his first incarnation's initial personality, considering himself at that time a foolish and arrogant liar and a selfish coward. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Hunters of the Burning Stone (comic story)|Hunters of the Burning Stone]]'') The Eleventh Doctor expressed an even greater hate for the "[[War Doctor]]" who he considered a traitor, even stating that he went against "the name of the Doctor" in his actions. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]]'')
=== Regeneration ===
Due to the unique structure of Time Lord biology the Doctor had the ability to regenerate, to "cheat death". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'') A Time Lord was usually limited to twelve regenerations. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Deadly Assassin]]'', ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'', ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'') The High Council of the Time Lords could influence regenerations, treating them as punishment ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') and reward. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Five Doctors (TV story)|The Five Doctors]]'', ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'') At times, enemies coveted the Doctor's future regenerations and tried to take them for their own. ([[TV]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead]]'', ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'', ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]''/''[[The Family of Blood (TV story)|The Family of Blood]]'')
The effect of regeneration on the Doctor in the time immediately following the event varied from incarnation to incarnation. In some cases the Doctor regained his faculties quickly, erratic behaviour notwithstanding. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Power of the Daleks]]'', ''[[The Twin Dilemma]]'', ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'') On one occasion when the regenerative process was postponed for a long time, he was rendered amnesiac. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'') In most cases the Doctor was incapacitated for a period of time before ultimately recovering. ([[TV]]: ''[[Spearhead from Space]]'', ''[[Robot (TV story)|Robot]]'', ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'', ''[[Time and the Rani]]'', ''[[The Christmas Invasion]]'') There was also a unique case where the Doctor (through will or the nature of his injury) was able to delay regeneration from setting in for an extended period of time - long enough to visit all of his past companions - though the resulting energy release was catastrophic for the TARDIS. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'', ''[[Death of the Doctor]]'')
Due to the regeneration into the [[War Doctor]] and the [[Tenth Doctor]]'s aborted regeneration, the [[Eleventh Doctor]] was actually the Doctor's last incarnation until the Time Lords gifted him with a new regenerative cycle at the end of that life. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
==== Causes of regeneration ====
* The [[First Doctor]] was weakened by [[Mondas]] as it drained [[Earth|Earth's]] energy, succumbing to old age. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Tenth Planet]]'')
* The [[Second Doctor]] had regeneration forced upon him by the [[Time Lord]]s as part of his punishment for breaking the [[Laws of Time]]; his appearance was chosen for him after he rejected all choices. ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'')
* The [[Third Doctor]] suffered [[radiation]] poisoning from [[The Great One (Planet of the Spiders)|the Great One]]'s web of [[Metebelis crystal]]s, then got lost in the [[time vortex]] for a decade before returning to [[Unified Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]] HQ. ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Love and War (novel)|Love and War]]'')
* The [[Fourth Doctor]] was severely injured after plummeting from the [[Pharos Project]] radio telescope. ([[TV]]: ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'')
* The [[Fifth Doctor]] suffered exposure to unrefined [[Spectrox]], sacrificing himself to give the bat's milk needed to cure it to [[Peri Brown|Peri]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Caves of Androzani]]'')
* The [[Sixth Doctor]] was weakened from his battle with the [[Lamprey]] and began to perish from the sapping of his [[chronon energy]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Spiral Scratch]]'') He escaped in the TARDIS in deep space to take one last look at the universe when [[the Rani]] shot down [[the Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Time and the Rani]]'') causing him to suffer a "bang to the head", which finished off his failing body. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Four Doctors]]'')
* The [[Seventh Doctor]] was lightly injured after being caught in the middle of a gang war; his circulatory system was damaged by [[Grace Holloway]] during surgery to "fix" his abnormal heart-beat. ([[TV]]: ''[[Doctor Who (TV story)|Doctor Who]]'')
* The [[Eighth Doctor]] regenerated after he tried to help a pilot named [[Cass (The Night of the Doctor)|Cass]] escape from a crashing ship. Cass refused his help however, when she identified his ship as a TARDIS and therefore his being a Time Lord, who she despised because of the Time War. He died when the ship crashed, but was revived temporarily by the [[Sisterhood of Karn]], who not only offered to trigger his regeneration, they also offered him a choice on the characteristics of his [[War Doctor|next incarnation]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of the Doctor]]'')
* The "[[War Doctor]]" regenerated because his long-lived elderly body had grown precariously weak after an entire lifetime of fighting in the Time War. The tipping point was at the end of the war, when he helped to save Gallifrey from being destroyed by one billion-billion [[Dalek]]s and place it in a different dimension. With the Time War concluded and his will to persist as that incarnation for as long it waged settled, his regeneration began before his vitality drained entirely. He remarked that his body was "wearing a bit thin," like his [[First Doctor|distant predecessor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'')
* The [[Ninth Doctor]] removed the [[Time Vortex]]'s energy from [[Rose Tyler]], channelling it back into the [[heart of the TARDIS]]. However, ''his'' brief possession of the energy very nearly destroyed his cellular structure completely. Because of the damage, he had to regenerate. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'')
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] was grazed by a shot fired from a Dalek during their [[Dalek Invasion of Earth (2009)|2009 invasion of Earth]]. He used his regenerative energy to heal himself, but then siphoned off the rest of the cycle into [[the Doctor's hand|his extra hand]] to prevent his full transformation into another form. The regeneration energy stored in the hand allowed it to grow into [[Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor|another Doctor]], when it came into contact with [[Donna Noble]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Stolen Earth]]''/''[[Journey's End]]'')
* The Tenth Doctor absorbed the radiation from a nuclear vault supply to spare [[Wilfred Mott]]. Unlike the other Doctors, he held off the regeneration for a long time; the result was explosive damage to the TARDIS that caused it to crash and regenerate itself. ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]'')
* The [[Eleventh Doctor]] spent centuries defending the town of [[Christmas (town)|Christmas]], on the planet [[Trenzalore]]. Before his body succumbed to old age, he was granted a new regeneration cycle by the now-surviving Time Lords and began the process when standing on top of the Clock Tower on Trenzalore. This was perhaps his most destructive regeneration process yet, as he destroyed several Daleks and their ship with the regeneration energy. It restored his body to a younger form, but didn't immediately change him into his next incarnation. The change finally occurred shortly after he returned to the [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'')
==== Near regeneration ====
The [[Second Doctor]] nearly regenerated after being shot in the head when confronted by guards on [[Skybase]], causing damage to his skull and frontal lobe. The subsequent fall broke his nose, jaw, right femur, and collarbone, and caused some spine damage. However, an injection of Shiner DNA delayed the regeneration and kept him alive long enough for his body to go into a 6-month healing coma to recover on its own. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Indestructible Man (novel)|The Indestructible Man]]'')
The [[Third Doctor]] had a near-regeneration experience when he fell off a building during a struggle. He began to regenerate into the [[Fourth Doctor]]. Meanwhile, the [[Nurazh]] attempted to take over the Doctor's mind, but unable to cope with two Time Lord minds at the same time, it perished, thus healing the Doctor back to his third incarnation. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Touch of the Nurazh]]'')
The Eleventh Doctor was seen seemingly beginning regeneration after being shot by [[River Song|the astronaut]], before it was interrupted with another shot, killing him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'') In truth, it was actually the ''[[Teselecta]]'' impersonating him and simulating regeneration, with the real, miniaturised Doctor inside. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')
The Eleventh Doctor also nearly died when he was poisoned by River Song. He was then revived by [[River Song]], who used all of her own remaining regenerations in order to save his life. ([[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler]]'') The Doctor later used some of his own regeneration energy in order to heal River's wrist. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'')
== Behind the scenes ==
=== "Doctor Who" ===
:''For a further in-universe reference of the Doctor's name, please see [[the "Doctor Who?" running joke]].''
The use of the name "Doctor Who" when referring to the Doctor is disapproved of by some fans, but is commonplace in the British media, the end credits of many episodes, and most prose and comic stories of the [[1960s]] and [[1970s]]. Indeed, the ending credits for [[Doctor Who|the series]] gave his name as "Doctor Who" or "Dr. Who", from 1963 until ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'' part four, when incoming Doctor [[Peter Davison]] insisted upon a change in the credits of ''[[Castrovalva (TV story)|Castrovalva]]'' to "the Doctor". This remained in place through the end of the original series in 1989. [[Executive Producer]] [[Russell T Davies]] used "Doctor Who" when the series returned in 2005, but [[Tenth Doctor]] actor [[David Tennant]] asked to change it back to "the Doctor" beginning with ''[[The Christmas Invasion (TV story)|The Christmas Invasion]]''.
Throughout the franchise's history it has been common for media and cast members to refer to the character as "Dr. Who". In fact, even [[Peter Davison]] and [[David Tennant]] have called the character "Doctor Who" in several different interviews.
In the series, only one character, [[WOTAN]] in [[1966]]'s ''[[The War Machines]]'', has ever directly referred to him by this name. In the [[2005]] episode ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'', a website called "Who is Doctor Who?" is introduced, though the name is presented as a question put forward by a conspiracy theorist and no one actually uses the name in dialogue. A line of dialogue written for [[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'', but cut, would have had the Doctor himself use the name as part of a joke involving ''{{iw|Memory-Alpha|Star Trek}}'' (after being hailed as {{iw|Memory-Alpha|Spock|Mr. Spock}} by Rose, the Doctor was to have muttered, "I'd rather be {{iw|Memory-Alpha|Dr Who}} than [[Star Trek]]").
Other media, [[1960s]] and early [[1970s]] [[Doctor Who annual|''Doctor Who'' annuals]], comics and [[Target Books]] (most notably the ''[[Doctor Who and the Zarbi]]'', not technically a Target Books novelisation, but reprinted by them) have called the Doctor "Doctor Who". Even then, dialogue between characters usually referred to him as "the Doctor".
=== Casting ===
{{As of|2014|6}}, every actor to portray the Doctor on an ongoing basis has been male, caucasian, and born in the [[United Kingdom]]. Despite the fact that the Doctor is not a native of Britain, or of Earth for that matter, every actor to play him so far has had a British accent, much in the way most aliens in the ''[[Star Trek (franchise)|Star Trek]]'' franchise tend to speak with an American accent. The type of British accent has varied from one incarnation to the next. The earliest incarnations used RP, whereas some of the more recent incarnations have had Estuary accents. The [[Ninth Doctor]] had a Northern accent, causing Rose to ask why an alien would have a Northern accent, to which he replied, "Lots of planets have a north." ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'') Both [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Peter Capaldi]] used their natural Scottish accents while playing the role, with the fact the Doctor sounds Scottish being used in dialogue plot points in (to date) [[TV]]: ''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]'' and ''[[Robot of Sherwood (TV story)|Robot of Sherwood]]''.
To date the oldest actor to be cast as the Doctor has been [[John Hurt]], who was 73; the youngest has been [[Matt Smith]], who was 26 when cast. The oldest to be cast on an ''ongoing basis'' was Peter Capaldi, who was 55 when he was cast and began filming, and turned 56 during production of Series 8. In [[2014]], [[Tom Baker]] turned 80 and continued to record new performances as the Doctor for [[Big Finish Productions|Big Finish Productions']] Fourth Doctor Adventures audio dramas, making him the oldest actor to play the part in an officially licensed capacity. [[Peter Davison]], [[Colin Baker]], [[Sylvester McCoy]] and [[Paul McGann]], all in their fifties, sixties or seventies, also continue to portray the Doctor in licensed audio dramas produced by Big Finish, with McGann also appearing in audio dramas produced by Big Finish and [[BBC Radio]] for broadcast on BBC7 radio. In the [[2000s]] and [[2010s]], Tom Baker also portrayed the Doctor in [[AudioGO|AudioGO's]] ''[[Hornets' Nest]]'', ''[[Demon Quest]]'' and ''[[Serpent Crest]]'' audio dramas.
In the ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures|Sarah Jane Adventures]]'' episode [[TV]]: ''[[Death of the Doctor (TV story)|Death of the Doctor]]'' Part 1, [[Daniel Anthony]], who plays [[Clyde Langer]], became the first non-caucasian actor to play the Doctor when Clyde's body is briefly taken over by the [[Eleventh Doctor]]'s consciousness. Anthony delivered a line of dialogue as the Doctor while impersonating [[Matt Smith]]'s voice. Owing to the brevity of the performance, and the fact he is playing an established incarnation, the fact Anthony was the first to break the colour barrier is generally not recognized. Aged 22 at the time the episode was filmed, Anthony is also technically the youngest to play the part.
Although the character is portrayed as white, there have been black actors who were considered for the role. Among them comedian Eddie Murphy back in 1996, David Harewood, Charles Venn, Paterson Joseph and Robbie Gee. Colin Salmon was a strong contender to play the Eleventh Doctor.{{Fact}}
=== Longest-serving Doctor ===
There are several different methods for calculating who was the "longest serving Doctor". The most commonsensical definition is simply that of the actor who played the role on television for the longest continuous period. This mantle goes to [[Tom Baker]], who was the [[Fourth Doctor]] from June 1974 to March 1981, or 6 years, 9 months. Baker is also the longest-serving Doctor in terms of number of individual episodes, total story count and amount of screen time. Thus he is ''generally'' considered to be the "longest-serving Doctor".
But there are other methods of measurement — all of which exclude ''[[Dimensions in Time]]''.
* Matt Smith's [[Eleventh Doctor|Doctor]] is the longest-lived Doctor on screen, spending at least 1200 years of his life in this incarnation (300 during his regular run and 900 during [[Siege of Trenzalore|his exile]] on [[Trenzalore]]).
* For 92 of the 104 Saturdays that comprised 1964 and 1965, [[William Hartnell]]'s credit appeared after each episode of ''Doctor Who'' without fail. Sure, he did sometimes take a holiday and pre-film the odd insert, but, to paraphrase [[WOTAN]], "Dr. Who was required" for all but six weeks in both 1964 and 1965. Call Hartnell the "longest-serving-within-a-single-year-Doctor". Troughton is the closest Doctor to this record, but by 1966, ''Doctor Who'' was getting more like an eight- or nine-week gap each year.
* [[Peter Davison]] holds the record for the greatest length of time between his initial performance in the last episode of ''[[Logopolis (TV story)|Logopolis]]'', and ''[[Time Crash]] ''. The two events were separated by 26 years 8 months. Though he is not playing the same incarnation of the Doctor, [[Tom Baker]]'s appearance in ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]] ''as a possible future version of the Doctor could mean his tenure in the role was longer than Davison's by this measure, with the gap between the 50th Anniversary special's broadcast and Baker's first appearance being just 8 months short of 40 years.
* [[Paul McGann]] had the longest run between bookending [[regeneration]] scenes. The span from the premiere of ''[[Doctor Who (1996)|Doctor Who]]'' to his [[regeneration]] in ''[[The Night of the Doctor (TV story)|The Night of The Doctor]]'' was approximately 17 years and 6 months.
* [[Paul McGann]] was ''notionally'' the longest-serving incumbent in the role, as he debuted in May 1996 and [[Christopher Eccleston]]'s premiere didn't happen until March 2005. Being very generous, therefore, McGann was the "current Doctor" for a total of 8 years and 10 months. However, this is probably stretching a point, since obviously he was actually replaced not once but twice by the BBC. He ''effectively'' lost his incumbency once [[Richard E Grant]] was cast as the [[Shalka Doctor]].
* McGann is on more solid ground when all forms of media are considered. {{As of|2012|12}}, he's starred in more performed ''Doctor Who'', given his prolific run on audio, than anyone else. If audio is considered as an equal performed art to television, he has far surpassed even [[Tom Baker]] in terms of amount of recorded material featuring his Doctor — though the fact that Baker began recording audio adventures {{as of|2010|lc=y}} threatens McGann's record.
* The [[Eighth Doctor]], though not McGann himself, is the longest-serving incumbent comic strip Doctor, in terms of the amount of time between his debut in ''[[Dreadnought (comic story)|Dreadnought]]'' on [[1 June (releases)|1 June]] [[1996 (releases)|1996]], and his final appearance in ''[[The Flood (comic story)|The Flood]]'' on [[2 March (releases)|2 March]] [[2005 (releases)|2005]]. Call it 8 years and 9 months.
* The [[Tenth Doctor]] is the longest-serving comic strip Doctor, in terms of the total number of stories which featured his incarnation. This is primarily due to the number of different publications that were granted comic licences during David Tennant's tenure in the role. Most of this count is due to the prolific comic strip published in ''[[Doctor Who Adventures]]'' which, for most of Tennant's tenure, was a weekly publication that ran a new standalone story ''every issue.''
* The situation with books is a very close battle between the [[Seventh Doctor|Seventh]] and [[Eighth Doctor]]s, both of whom had long-running series. However, the Eighth Doctor is the longest-running both in terms of time and number of books published, as seen at this [[list of novels per Doctor]].
The issue of the longest-serving Doctor was a source of controversy on British game show {{wi|The Million-Pound Drop}}, which asked the question with the choices of McCoy, McGann, Eccleston, and Tennant; the team split their £650,000 between McCoy and McGann, only to find out that the "correct" answer was Tennant. Once the error was discovered (partly since the question was fundamentally flawed due to the absence of Tom Baker), the team was brought back to continue where they left off with £325,000 and ended up winning £25,000.
=== Analogous characters ===
There have been several characters outside the confines of the [[DWU]] which have been broadly modelled on general aspects of the Doctor. [[Doctor Who pastiches#Pastiches of the Doctor|Such "pastiches" are examined in greater detail elsewhere.]]
=== The Doctor's wives ===
[[Steven Moffat]], in his production notes column in [[DWM 482]], speculated that the Doctor's first spouse out of the four mentioned in the television story ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'' was a woman who was married to the [[First Doctor]] for a long time on Gallifrey and bore the Doctor's children. He claimed "Mrs Who No 1" was never mentioned by the Doctor nor has he ever discussed her.
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"The Doctor", knighted in 1879 by Queen Victoria as Sir Doctor of TARDIS (TV: Tooth and Claw), was a renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey who travelled through time and space with various companions in his obsolete and "borrowed" Type 40 TARDIS. He was the universe's "greatest defender", having saved the cosmos thousands of times throughout his long life, becoming a great legend across the whole universe.
Although he had saved untold numbers on his travels, he was thought to have caused the deaths of billions at the conclusion to the Last Great Time War. (TV: Dalek) Though most of the Daleks were killed in the crossfire, Gallifrey — disappearing, rather than being burned — was hidden thanks to the efforts of "all thirteen" of his incarnations, the first eleven of which retained no memory of the event. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) For his actions, the Time Lords granted him a new cycle of regenerations, allowing him to live on after using up all available regenerations in his first cycle of regenerations. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
The Eleventh Doctor told Clara Oswald that his real name was not so important, since he specifically chose in its place the title of "Doctor", "like a promise you make". (TV: The Name of the Doctor) This promise was, as the Tenth and War Doctor recited together, "Never cruel or cowardly. Never give up, never give in." (TV: The Day of the Doctor) The Twelfth Doctor claimed that when he originally adopted the title it was "just a name," which held no real significance until his first visit to Skaro. It was through his opposition to the Daleks that the Doctor was able to define himself and realise who he was. (TV: Into the Dalek)
In one account, he had taken the moniker after his first contact with humans. Colonists on the medical/penal colony of Iwa began calling him "Doctor" after his arrival. He failed to correct them. After they left the planet, "the Doctor" simply kept the name he had been given by the humans. (PROSE: Frayed) In another, he had already been introducing himself by that name after his first trip in the TARDIS, which gave an alternative account of meeting humans for the first time on the Moon. (AUDIO: The Beginning)
River Song believed that the Doctor had influenced the etymology of the noun doctor, and was, in several languages, the original source of the word. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War).
According to Dorium Maldovar and the Silence, the oldest and most dangerous question in the universe was "Doctor Who?" The Doctor's true name was apparently the answer. Dorium claimed the Doctor had been running from the question all his life. According to the Silence, "silence must fall when the question is asked," (TV: The Wedding of River Song) because if the question was answered, it could lead to destruction on a universal scale, through several methods, each of which were located on the planet Trenzalore. The first was that the Doctor's name could be used to open his grave and alter his timeline, potentially undoing the countless times the Doctor had saved the universe. (TV: The Name of the Doctor) The second was that his name could be used to confirm to the Time Lords, who were sealed in a pocket universe and had been broadcasting the question throughout the entirety of time and space, that it was safe for them to return; which could result in another Time War. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
At some point River Song learned his name, prompting the Doctor to claim that there was only one reason he ever would or could reveal it. (TV: Forest of the Dead) Indeed, even while spending hundreds of years in a town permeated by a Truth Field and hearing the question asked multiple times, the Doctor would not or could not answer. (TV: The Time of the Doctor) However, River later stated that she "made him" tell her his true name and that it "took a while." (TV: The Name of the Doctor)
Clara Oswald viewed the Doctor's name in a book on the Time War, contained in the TARDIS library. She subsequently lost the information when time was rewound. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)
The Eleventh Doctor later claimed to the Ponds that he was 1200 years old (TV: A Town Called Mercy) but then later claimed to Clara Oswald that he was 1000 years old, (TV: The Bells of Saint John) before later saying he was 1200 again — he claimed however, that he might be lying. He then stated that he had lived so long he'd forgotten whether or not he was lying about his age. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) The Twelfth Doctor, after spending 900 years defending Trenzalore, stated his age to be over 2,000. (TV: Deep Breath)
The Doctor's familial relations were unclear at best. According to one account, the Doctor was one of the forty-five cousins created by the Loom of the House of Lungbarrow on Gallifrey. When the House disowned him, he said he had "other families." (PROSE: Lungbarrow) However, the Eighth Doctor once let it be understood that he was born to a human mother. (TV: Doctor Who)
