Eighth Doctor

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I know who I am: I AM THE DOCTOR!The Doctor [Doctor Who: The TV Movie [src]]

Biography

Birth Cry

The Eighth Doctor's life began when the Doctor regenerated for a seventh time after being caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rival Chinese-American youth gangs in 1999 San Francisco's Chinatown and dying on the operating table while being attended by Dr. Grace Holloway, who was unaware of, and thus unfamiliar with, the Doctor's alien physiology. Almost immediately, he was caught up in yet another battle with his arch-enemy the Master, whose essence had survived his execution on Skaro and entered the body of a human ambulance driver. Knowing this human body would not last, the Master plotted to use the Eye of Harmony to steal the Doctor's remaining lives.

The Doctor's defeat of the Master involved a 'Temporal Orbit', travelling back into his own timestream to undo events in which he had been involved (DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie). This paradox was the Eighth Doctor's 'birth cry' (EDA:Unnatural History), heralding a life of considerable complexity. Those attempting to view the Eighth Doctor's time-stream would find it not a neat line (EDA:The Gallifrey Chronicles) but rather a chaos of paradoxes (EDA:Interference, BFA:Storm Warning) and parallel time lines (BFA: Zagreus, EDA:Time Zero).

Consequently, although several periods of the Eighth Doctor's life are well documented, there remains no definitive account of how these eras relate to each other.

The remainder of this biography will detail the recorded phases of this incarnation's adventures. The order in which they occur and intersect however can never be more than speculation

Life, Death and Amnesia

This section considers the account of the Eighth Doctor's doings offered by the EDAs, The Dying Days and the Radio Times comic strips. The opening of The Eight Doctors suggests this period occurs first, but it contains within it several 'gaps' in which the other accounts might be considered to have occured.

Leaving San Francisco, the Doctor found himself still suffering post-regenerative amnesia. He found himself travelling to different past points in his own timeline, encountering his previous incarnations and one point securing the release of his old teacher Borusa from the Tomb of Rassilon. At the end of this journey, he acquired his newest companion, Sam Jones, a young woman from the same Shoreditch neighborhood where the Doctor stayed in I.M. Foreman's junkyard with his granddaughter Susan (EDA: The Eight Doctors).

The Doctor leaves Sam Jones at a Greenpeace rally and goes adventuring alone for three years (EDA: Vampire Science). This extended side trip saw him reunite with Bernice Summerfield to save Britain from the Ice Warriors (NA: The Dying Days) and travel with Stacy Townsend and Ssard (EDA: Placebo Effect).

Other documented adventures of the Eighth Doctor might be speculatively considered to have occured before his reunion with Sam.

Resuming his travels with Sam, the Doctor came to encounter evidence of the Time Lords future war with the (unnamed) Enemy in the East Indies ReVit Zone late in the 21st century where an auction was taking place. (EDA: Alien Bodies)

At this auction he met several players who came to play roles both in the Doctor's own timeline and the Time Lords - The Enemy future war timeline. They included: the Faction Paradox and the Celestis. This is one of the first (but not the last) paradoxical events in the Doctor's eighth incarnation, as he finds out about the war "too early" as Homunculette declared. The Doctor saw more than a glimpse of his own future with the focus of the auction being The Relic; his own corpse. (EDA: Alien Bodies)

The Doctor's companion Sam Jones also experienced a revelation about herself (EDA: Alien Bodies) though these revelations had a far greater impact on him personally when he detected a dimensional scar in San Francisco 2002. Sam Jones fell into the scar and her history and personality changed, back to its original state, before her timeline had gotten altered. The Doctor placed his TARDIS in the dimensional scar to contain the energies and sought out this changed (or rather, restored) Sam Jones. (EDA: Unnatural History)

The Doctor acquired another companion; Fitz Kreiner (EDA: The Taint) and then with the departure of Sam Jones gained another companion: Compassion (EDA: Interference: Book Two). Both Sam Jones and Fitz played pivotal roles in the Doctor's battles with various enemies, including the Faction Paradox, it was this such battle which would change both companions and the Doctor. (EDA: Interference: Book Two)

The conclusion of Interference offers another 'gap' in which the Doctor is seen travelling without his current companions before rejoining them. Adventures documented elsewhere might be thought to have occured here.

Following this battle another important event changed the Doctor's view of Gallifrey and changed the lives of his companions in ways that would be felt for a long time. (EDA: The Shadows of Avalon)

Many of these changes and battles culminated in a destruction of Gallifrey and its system. (EDA: The Ancestor Cell) The shock and pain of launching this attack prompted his friend / companion Compassion to deliver him to Earth with his own TARDIS to recover for 100 years.

Eventually the Doctor learned that just prior to the destruction of Gallifrey, the sum total of the Matrix was placed within his mind, providing a means to rebuild Gallifrey and restore the Time Lords. The Doctor set out to do just this with the assistance of the Time Lord Marnal (EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles).

Presumably he succeeded and it was this new Gallifrey that was destroyed in the Last Great Time War. This being the case, any of his other documented adventures could be considered to have occured after this point.

Izzy and Destrii

This section considers the account of the Eighth Doctor's doings offered by the DWM comic strips.
Detail to be added

Travels with Charley

This section considers the account of the Eighth Doctor's doings offered by the BFA audios originally produced for CD.

The Doctor returned to Earth (at an indeterminate point in the future) and gained two companions brother and sister Gemma Griffin and Samson Griffin, they traveled with him for a time until they encountered a Nekkistani time vessel in the vortex. Whilst aboard, Gemma was captured by Davros and forced to do his bidding; aboard the TARDIS she (under Davros's instruction) altered the Doctor's memories and forced him to take Davros to Earth (BFA: Terror Firma).

The Doctor is left within the vortex (without prior memory of those events with Samson and Gemma). He narrowly avoided contact with a Vortisaur and materialised his TARDIS within the ballast tanks of the R-101. On board the R-101, he met Charley Pollard. (BFA: Storm Warning)

Saving Charley had unforeseen consequences, and the Doctor and Charley were pursued by the Time Lords until being captured by the CIA. (BFA: Embrace the Darkness, The Time of the Daleks, Neverland)

It was revealed to the Doctor that Charley's surviving the destruction of the R-101 had caused a crack in the Web of Time, but that she is also (because of this) the portal into the world of Anti-Time. The Doctor, along with Lady President Romana traveled to a universe of anti-time. (BFA: Neverland)

More detail to be added

Travels with Lucie

Lucie Miller appeared in the TARDIS suddenly, much to the consternation of the Eighth Doctor. Immediately the Doctor tried to return her to her correct era but found he was unable to do so. He accidentally arrived in Red Rocket Rising and gradually earning Lucie's trust he eliminated two rival factions of Daleks (Blood of the Daleks). Over the course of his journeys the Doctor grew fond of Lucie and the two mellowed to a mildly antagonistic friendship. He learned she was mistakenly made part of a Timelord witness protection scheme (Human Resources). The two continue to explore the universe together.

Behind the Scenes

By the time the Eighth Doctor arrived, DWM had already 'de-linked' its continuity from that of the novels back in Ground Zero. Big Finish began by associating themselves with the books, for example referencing Sam Jones (BFA: Minuet in Hell) but eventually decided to divorce themselves, even going so far as to retroactively insert a new companion called Samson to whom the 'Sam' reference might now be thought to refer (BFA: Terror Firma), literally depicting Sam being edited out of history (ST: Repercussions...) and strongly implying that the DWM and EDA adventures take place in different timelines (BFA: Zagreus).

Despite this intent, it remains entirely possible for the different accounts of the Eighth Doctor's life to be considered as one narrative, either by 'slotting in' the audio and comic adventures into the gaps noted in the novels' account, or by considering them to occur after EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles and its implied reconstruction of Gallifrey.

A popular rumour during the wait for the 2009 specials to air held that Paul McGann would return as the Eighth Doctor, supposedly in a story which would reveal more about the Last Great Time War. However, on September 12, the BBC quashed the story of the McGann casting. A spokeswoman was quoted as saying: "There is no truth to the story at all." [Story]

Characteristics

The Eighth Doctor was more romantic than his predecessors, and much more open in his admiration for humans. While earlier Doctors, especially the First and Seventh, would be visibly exasperated by human failings and quirks, this Doctor was more likely to be quietly amused. This may be due to his being half-human on his mother's side, a secret the previous Doctors never revealed. There have been hints that Leela may be the Human ancestor. Some think that DW: Journey's End establishes that the Doctor is not half-human as Human/Time Lord metacrisis hybrids were incapable of regenerating and only have one heart. This is incorrect since a regeneration metacrisis is not the same thing a true hybrid, and since the Curse of Pythia was lifted for Leela's marriage's sake he may very well be half or part Human. Epochs of technology can easily solve any such difficulties.

Psychological profile

Personality

The Eighth Doctor behaves in a more human manner than his predecessors, perhaps tying in to the revelation that he is half-human; this is most clearly seen in his willingness to entertain romantic notions with Grace Holloway, albeit in an innocent, almost childlike manner. DW: Journey's End suggests that the Doctor might not be half-human as Human/Time Lord hybrids are incapable of regenerating and only have one heart. However, it is not definate, as this may only be true for Human/TimeLord Metacrises. If it is true that he is not then it is unknown if his claim to be half-human was a result of his amnesia or just a part of an elaborate plot to fool the Master, or perhaps the Eighth Doctor is half-human. Like the Fifth Doctor, he exhibits an endearing vulnerability, but this is contrasted by a sense of urgency and decisiveness. He also demonstrates a flippant sense of humour reminiscent of, though not identical to, the Second and Fourth Doctors. The Eighth Doctor was largely an open pallet early in his life; however as he began to experience life and the universe for himself he soon matured into a fully developed individual.

The Doctor became much down and angrier person with the loss of his TARDIS and home in the dimensional barrier between Earth and Avalon, and his then reliance on Compassion as a means of travel.

Following his exile on Earth and particularly the loss of his heart he became a much darker, though passionate person. (EDA: The Adventuress of Henrietta Street, History 101) Though even the return of his second heart still left a changed Doctor. (EDA: Camera Obscura)

Habits and Quirks

The Eighth Doctor had a penchant for late 19th century style clothing, beginning with a Wild West costume he stole from a hospital worker's locker shortly after his regeneration.

The Eighth Doctor also had a tendency to repeat someone's name when he was trying to make a point (or when he got excited); "Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam...".

Mysteries and discrepancies

  • The Doctor said that he is half-human on his mother's side. (DW: Doctor Who: The TV Movie) A possibly apocryphal account suggests this was a ruse the Doctor prepared to use against the Master, a ruse that involved the use of a Chameleon Arch. (IDW: The Forgotten)
  • We do not know the circumstances of this incarnation's regeneration. This may or may not have had to do with the Last Great Time War. Given his next incarnation's remarks while staring at himself in the mirror, his regeneration seems to have happened not very long before he met Rose Tyler, though this remains ambiguous; it may be due to the lack time to acclimatise during the war. He needed to travel a bit before to justify the photos of him in Rose, so his appearance may just be an ongoing niggling annoyance. (DW: Rose).

Key Life Events

Behind the scenes

  • Although the Eighth Doctor appeared on television only once, if one factors in original novels, audio dramas and radio plays, he is the most prolific of all the Doctors to date, even surpassing the Fourth Doctor with his seven-year tenure on television, and the Seventh Doctor who was featured in his own extensive series of novels (Virgin New Adventures) and audio dramas. Like all non-televised spin-off productions, however, the canonicity of all but the 1996 telefilm (and subsequent on-screen references in 2007 and 2008) are open for debate. In 2008, the Eighth Doctor made another cameo in "The Next Doctor", in a sequence of clips, counting up the ten Doctors to date.

External link

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