Ninth Doctor

Ninth Doctor
Main aliases:	The Oncoming Storm Dr John Smith Mr Spock
Place of origin:	Gallifrey
Appearances:	Full List of Appearances
Main actor:	[[actor::Christopher Eccleston|Christopher Eccleston]]

The Ninth Doctor was the ninth incarnation of the Doctor. He gave an impression of being manic and energetic. (DW: Rose)

Biography

It is not specifically known how the Doctor regenerated. He looks in a mirror and comments on his new face, which suggests that he has not had a chance to look in a mirror since his regeneration. The most commonly accepted explanation for the existence of the Ninth Doctor is that the Eighth Doctor was killed in the Time War.

File:Ninth Doctor.jpg

The Doctor shortly after first meeting Rose Tyler.

After the conclusion of the Time War, of which the Doctor was the sole survivor, his ninth incarnation travelled to Earth, where he rescued the Human girl Rose Tyler from several Autons and encountered the Nestene Consciousness that was controlling them. Although the Doctor tried to persuade the Consciousness to leave Earth, it refused and attempted to take him prisoner. With Rose's help, however, the Ninth Doctor defeated the Nestene Consciousness and thwarted its plans of world domination. Appreciative of Rose's assistance, the Doctor subsequently invited her to travel with him on his journeys through space and time inside his TARDIS. Rose accepted the position and consequently became his companion. (DW: Rose)

He has met three different companions during his lifespan - most notably Rose Tyler, a shop assistant from early 21st-century Earth. He also met Adam Mitchell following his experience with the 'last' Dalek (DW: Dalek). The Doctor ditched Adam after the events on Satellite Five, during which time Adam almost changed history (DW: The Long Game). The Doctor's third assistant was ex-Time Agent and conman Captain Jack Harkness, whom the Doctor and Rose met on a visit to London during the World War II Blitz (DW: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances). Captain Jack was killed by the Daleks but brought back to life by the Bad Wolf entity (DW: The Parting of the Ways).

The Doctor was dying of cellular degeneration caused by absorbing the energies of the Time Vortex from Rose, who had absorbed them from the TARDIS (DW: The Parting of the Ways).

Characteristics

Appearance

In stark contrast to the extravagant dress of most of his predecessors, the Doctor wore a plain leather jacket (mistaken in World War II for that of a German U-boat commander; DW: The Empty Child), red, green or black jumper (which Charles Dickens thought made him look like a navvy; DW: The Unquiet Dead) and dark trousers.

Psychological profile

Personality

This incarnation was a study in contrasts. On the one hand, he shared many characteristics with his predecessors. One moment he was full of manic energy and a sharp, offbeat wit; the next he was removed and reserved, keenly aware of the divide between himself and the humans he encountered. But the Time War of which the Doctor was the sole survivor had clearly affected him deeply indeed. This was a sadder and angrier Doctor, the weight of his having seemingly destroyed both the Time Lords and the Daleks preyed upon him greatly. But consequently, this was also a Doctor who harboured a new appreciation for the wonders of the universe and who, more keenly than ever, burned with a desire to keep the universe safe from harm.

Habits and Quirks

He also spoke with a Northern accent, and was critical of his own large ears. (DW: Rose).

He nicknames Mickey Smith as "Mickey the idiot" or simply "Ricky" and was also fond of describing situations (particularly dangerous ones) as "Fantastic!".

This Doctor called humans "stupid apes" and seemed very alien. He carried an air of mystery around him, and sometimes argued with Rose. However, he "does not do domestic", as he put it, which could lead to some tension in his interactions with Jackie Tyler. He also has been revealed to have an obsession with bananas (DW: The Doctor Dances).

Mysteries and Discrepancies

• We do not know if the Doctor had really just regenerated when he met Rose. (DW: Rose)

• The Doctor gives his age as 900, even though his Seventh incarnation stated he was 953 at the start of his life. And the Eighth Doctor gave a much older age of 1,012 in the novel Vampire Science.

Undocumented adventures

• The Time War and the Doctor's role in it remain unclear.

• Clive Finch possessed several images of this incarnation at well-known historical events. One in Dallas at the moment of John F. Kennedy's assassination, in Southampton just before the launch of the Titanic, and in Indonesia on the day of Krakatoa's eruption.

If the Doctor had visited these points in history before he met Rose, why does he react to his reflection in a mirror in her flat in a way which indicates he has recently regenerated? If these visits were after Rose joined him, where was she when these images were collected? (Then again, why would she need to be in them?) Perhaps the Doctor made these trips after initially leaving Mickey and Rose, following their Auton adventure in 2005, only to return just seconds later to invite Rose aboard? Or maybe he wandered a bit after his second encounter with Rose, having retrieved the Auton arm from her council flat?

• Captain Jack states that just prior to arriving at the Gamestation, the Doctor, Rose and himself had just escaped from an adventure in Kyoto, Japan. (DW: Bad Wolf)

• Rose mentions an adventure on the prison planet Justicia (DW: Boom Town). The adventure in question is chronicled in the novel The Monsters Inside.

Key Life Events

• The Doctor regenerates.

We only know he regenerates, no details.

• Rose Tyler and the Doctor meet and she accepts joining him in his travels (DW: Rose)

• The Doctor meets the supposed last surviving Dalek. (DW: Dalek)

• The Doctor and Rose meet Captain Jack, who joins the TARDIS crew. (DW: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances)

• The Doctor, Rose and Jack attempt to take Blon Fel-Fotch Slitheen back to her homeworld to be punished for her crimes and accidently allow her to cause the expansion of the Cardiff rift. (DW: Boom Town)

• The Daleks survived after all. Jack dies. As Bad Wolf, Rose resurrects Jack and ends the Time War. Jack gets marooned. The Doctor regenerates as a result of saving Rose's life. (DW: Bad Wolf / The Parting of the Ways)

Behind the scenes

In The Empty Child the Doctor speaks of 900 years of phone box travelling. It could indecate that he is 900 years old, he has travelled in his TARDIS for 900 years, or that his TARDIS has been shaped like a phone box for 900 years.

Incarnations of the Doctor
Widely accepted
Others / unplaced incarnations
More ambiguous