Doctor Who? running joke

A number of references to the Doctor's apparent lack of name have appeared in the Doctor Who Universe, playing on the 'Doctor Who?' joke. This is an ongoing attempt to document these instances.

See separate article for a discussion of the Doctor's true name from an in-universe perspective.

List of references

Television stories

Doctor Who

First Doctor

• The first occurs in the second episode of the first Doctor Who story, An Unearthly Child when Ian Chesterton says, 'Well just open the doors, Doctor Foreman'. The Doctor then replies 'Eh, Doctor who? — what's he talking about?' According to the DVD production subtitles, the response was actually added by William Hartnell himself.
• In the same episode, Barbara also refers to the Doctor as 'Doctor Foreman', to which Ian replies: 'That's not his name. Who is he? Doctor who? Perhaps if we knew his name we might have a clue to all this.'
• In The Keys of Marinus, when Ian is a suspect for murder, he is told to find someone to speak for him at the tribunal. He says he knows someone in the city, and when asked 'who is he?', he replies: 'Who?', smiles, and continues: 'He's a Doctor.'
• In the final episode of DW: The Chase, the Doctor attempts to pass himself off to a group of Daleks as the (now-destroyed) robot duplicate of him. It doesn't work, and after escaping the Doctor is heard to say "They now know who's Who." According to the DVD production notes the script capitalizes the second "Who" as an in-joke. (The production notes also indicate that Terry Nation's original script for the story had no less than two lines of dialogue that would have directly referred to the Doctor by the name Doctor Who.)
• At the beginning of The Time Meddler, Vicki says (referring to Ian and Barbara, who had just left): 'I shall miss them, Doctor,' to which the Doctor replies: 'Who?'.
• In The Gunfighters, the Doctor hesitantly introduces himself to Bat Masterson by the alias of Doctor Caligari. Masterson asked 'Doctor Who?' and The Doctor answered 'yes, er, quite right.'
• In The War Machines, WOTAN orders Dodo Chaplet to send the Doctor with the command, "DDDOCTORR WHOO ISS RREQUIREDD", and later in the serial some of the scientists use the name 'Dr. Who' to refer to the Doctor as well. This is the only time in the series that the Doctor is directly called Doctor Who. This reportedly caused angry mail to get sent to the production team.

Second Doctor

• The Doctor introduces himself as "Doktor von Wer" (German for "Doctor (of) Who") to which the sergeant says "Doctor who?". The Doctor then responds saying "That's what I said." (DW: The Highlanders)
• When the Doctor writes a note to Professor Zaroff, he signs it "Dr. W." (DW: The Underwater Menace)
• A moment after meeting the Doctor for the first time, Colonel Crichton asked "Who was that strange little man?". An UNIT employee answered "The Doctor". Crichton replied "Who?", followed by an immediate cut to The Brigadier, in the middle of an unrelated conversation with The Doctor, saying "Yes". The three lines, played rapid fire as they are, tip the hat to both the in-joke and the Abbot and Costello "Who's on First" sketch. (DW: The Five Doctors)

Third Doctor

• In The Curse of Peladon, the Earth representative is outraged that the guards wouldn't let her in the palace, because she was the rightful representative of Earth, The Doctor claims to be the representative of Earth. The Earth representative then asks "Doctor? What Doctor? Doctor who?"
• In The Mutants, the Investigator asks Cotton "Doctor... who, did you say?"
• The Doctor's vehicle, Bessie, carries the licence plate "WHO 1". (However, the vehicle introduced later in Pertwee's era, while referred to as the Whomobile in publicity and by Pertwee himself, is never referred to by this name on screen.)

Fourth Doctor

• Continuing the in-joke from the Third Doctor era, the Fourth Doctor drives Bessie with its WHO 1 licence plate on one occasion. (DW: Robot)
• During her initial meeting with the Doctor, Tegan refers to him as "Doctor whoever-you-are". (DW: Logopolis)

Fifth Doctor

• When Lady Cranleigh is introduced to the Doctor, she says "How do you do? Doctor... who?" (DW: Black Orchid)

Seventh Doctor

• A serious toned version is used as Lady Peinforte asks Ace "Doctor Who? Have you never wondered where he came from? Who he is?" In an attempt at blackmailing the Doctor into surrendering his component of Nemesis. (DW: Silver Nemesis)
• The joke turns downright metafictional in Battlefield when the Doctor drives Bessie once again, but the licence plate has been inexplicably updated to "WHO 7".

Ninth Doctor

• Rose's online search for information about the Doctor brings her to a website titled "Who is Doctor Who?"
• In The Empty Child, when Rose introduces the Doctor to Jack as 'Mr. Spock' she says to him; "What was I supposed to say, you don't have a name! Don't you ever get tired of 'Doctor'? Doctor who?"
  • According to Steven Moffat a more explicit use of the joke was planned but cut. The Doctor was to have responded to Rose's bestowal of the name Mr. Spock by saying "I'd rather Doctor Who than Star Trek."
• When meeting Margaret Blaine's (Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen in disguise) secretary Idris Hopper in Boom Town this discussion occurs:

The Doctor: "Just go in there, and tell her the Doctor would like to see her."

Idris: "Doctor who?"

The Doctor: "Just the Doctor. Tell her exactly that. The Doctor."

Tenth Doctor

• In The Christmas Invasion, the newly regenerated Tenth Doctor fainted in front of Jackie Tyler and Mickey Smith after landing his TARDIS in front of them and wishing them a merry christmas. After Rose told the pair that was the Doctor, Jackie suspecting the Ninth Doctor and not knowing the concept of regeneration asked Rose; "What d'you mean, 'that's the Doctor'? Doctor who?"
• In The Girl in the Fireplace, after The Doctor and Reinette read each others minds, Reinette says sadly; "Doctor who? It's more than just a secret", before inviting him to the dance.
• In Blink, Sally Sparrow and Larry Nightingale watched an Easter Egg on a DVD, Sally said; "The Doctor." and Larry replied; "Who's the Doctor?".
• In The Next Doctor, the Doctor introduced himself to Rosita as "The Doctor" and she replied "Doctor, who?".

Eleventh Doctor

• In The Impossible Astronaut, Charles II bursts into a room and asks Matilda, "Where's the Doctor?" She replies, "Doctor who?"
• In The Impossible Astronaut, Canton Delaware, when asking Amy about the Doctor, asks her, "Doctor who, exactly?"
• In Let's Kill Hitler, when Teselecta attacks Melody Pond for killing the Doctor, the Doctor emerges from the TARDIS with a different outfit, saying "Sorry, did you say she killed the Doctor? The Doctor? Doctor Who?"
• In The Wedding of River Song, Dorium claimed that "Doctor Who?" is a question that should never be answered. Dorium said that the Silence believe that when the question is asked "silence must fall".

The Sarah Jane Adventures

• In Revenge of the Slitheen, the Slitheen tell Sarah Jane that members of their family died in Downing Street. Sarah Jane tries to tell them that she may know "what happened. Or rather, who happened."

K9 and Company

• When Brendan Richards asks "who is the Doctor?", K9 Mark III responds, "Affirmative."

Audio

Fifth Doctor

• In BFA: The Kingmaker, the publishing robot that comes to interrogate The Doctor about his failure to produce his final in a series of children's books entitled Doctor Who Discovers, refers to him as 'Doctor Who'. When this is questioned by Peri and Erimem, the Doctor explains that "some idiot" at the publishing company had misprinted the title, which was originally intended to be The Doctor, Who Discovers...

Sixth Doctor

• In BFA: Real Time, the President suggests contacting "the Doctor." His subordinate, Dean, responds, "who?" (This scene is exclusive to the story's audio release, and does not appear in the webcast version.)
• The summary for BFA: Pier Pressure, written from the point of view of Max Miller, features the line "No, this bloke called himself the Doctor. Doctor who, you ask?"

Parallel universe Doctors

• In DWU: Sympathy for the Devil, the Doctor mentions that to the Chinese he is known as "Hu" ("the Tiger," for his courage), "Hu" ("the Fox," for his cunning), and "Xue" ("the Doctor," he who tends to the sick). The last is his personal favourite. All three names are pronounced much like the word "who."

Prose

Novels

• In PDA: Salvation, General Marchant at one point addresses the Doctor as 'Doctor Whoever-You-Are'.
• In MA : Evolution , Breckinridge addresses the Doctor as "Dr. Smith," to which Abercrombie asks: "Doctor who?"
• In MA: The Dark Path, after the Doctor introduces his companions and himself - 'this is Victoria, Jamie, and I'm the Doctor', Adjudicator Secular Brandauer asks: 'Doctor who?' (to which the Doctor replies: 'Oh, don’t you mean Doctor whom? I do hate to be contrary, but...' and changes the subject).
• Special note should be given to the novelisation Doctor Who and the Zarbi for rendering any opportunities for the joke moot by referring to the Doctor throughout by the name "Dr. Who". This stands as the only official novel ever published to break the naming convention.

Short stories

• In VD: Prisoners of the Sun, Liz scribbles "Doctor – who?" in her diary, under a page headed "unfinished business".
• In ST: 64 Carlysle Street, Sergeant Dunston refers to the Doctor as 'this Doctor Whoever-he-was'.
• In ST: The Feast of Seven... Eight (and Nine), two (unspecified) incarnations of the Doctor ask each other knock-knock jokes, but they fall flat: 'Doctor.' 'Doctor who? Who's that?'

Comic strips

• As with the Zarbi novelisation, opportunities for the joke in the pre-Doctor Who Magazine era comic strips, especially those published in the 1960s and featuring companions John and Gillian, are mooted due to the strips consistently referring to the Doctor by the name Dr. Who, including in dialogue.