Ninth Doctor
Rose, you were fantastic! And you know what ?.. So was I !
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The Ninth Doctor was outwardly manic and energetic, he harboured deep guilt over the Last Great Time War.
Profile
Biography
Regeneration from previous incarnation
It occured some time after the short story, Museum Peace, when he went to participate in the Last Great Time War, ending up most likely exterminated.
When visiting Rose Tyler's home in Powell Estate, he looked in a mirror and commented on his new face, which would suggest that he has not had a chance to look in a mirror since his regeneration. (This could also suggest he hadn't looked in the mirror since the explosion at Rose's work.) (DW: Rose)
Meeting with Rose
In London, 2005, he rescued Rose Tyler, from several Autons at her workplace, Henrik's. Together, they confronted 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, and consequently became his companion. (DW: Rose)
New companions
Apart from Rose, the Doctor briefly traveled with Adam Mitchell, a GeoComTex employee who they met at the Vault in Utah in 2012 (DW: Dalek). Initially hesitant to take Adam on board -- and doing so only at Rose's behest -- Doctor expelled him from the TARDIS soon after, when Adam tried to use knowledge from the year 200,000 for his own gain (DW: The Long Game).
In 1940 London, they met 51st century ex-Time Agent and current conman Jack Harkness. The Doctor experienced some jealousy over Rose's interest in Jack, but rescued him before his Chula Warship exploded, taking him into the TARDIS (DW: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances). Jack and the Doctor got on well together, and owing to Jack's pansexual orientation, the Doctor played along when Jack flirted with him (DW: Boom Town). At some point, however, the Doctor somehow learned aspects of Jack's future and made the decision to leave Jack behind after the defeat of the Daleks on Satellite Five (DW: The Parting of the Ways; Utopia).
Those who have assisted him in his travels but not travelled with him in the TARDIS include Rose's on-and-off boyfriend Mickey Smith (DW: Rose onward), Jabe Ceth Ceth Jafe (DW: The End of the World) Gwyneth, Charles Dickens (DW: The Unquiet Dead) Harriet Jones (DW: Aliens of London/World War Three) and Nancy (DW: The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances). He invited Lynda Moss to travel in the TARDIS with him, but she died before she got a chance (DW: Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways). He also had numerous encounters with Rose's mother, Jackie Tyler, though the closest she came to sharing an adventure with him was when she assisted Rose in her efforts to reactivate the TARDIS and return to Satellite Five (DW: The Parting of the Ways).
Resolution of the Time War
In 200,100, the Doctor and Rose found that the Dalek Emperor had not died, and commanded an army of Daleks derived from unwilling Humans. The Doctor believed that he would give his life to stop them and sent the TARDIS back to 21st century Earth with Rose aboard. Rose looked into the Heart of the TARDIS, became the god-like Bad Wolf and returned to the future to save him. Rose had absorbed the Time Vortex into herself, which would cause her death by cellular degeneration. Nevertheless, she declared the Time War over and destroyed the Dalek fleet with a wave of her hand. (DW: Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways)
Regeneration
The Doctor then re-absorbed the energies into himself. Cellular degeneration would have led to his death had he not regenerated. ((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. Unlike previous Doctors, this Doctor wore his hair close cropped.
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.
While his previous incarnations were rarely heard uttering minor curse words like "hell" and "damn", the Ninth Doctor tended to use these phrases more freely. He is also seen to be more violent; he is seen in physical contact with guards when arrested. (DW: Bad Wolf) The Tenth Doctor implied that the Ninth Doctor was more angry and pained due to being "born from war" as he compared the Meta-Crisis Doctor to him. (DW: Journey's End)
Habits and Quirks
He also spoke with a Northern accent (which Rose points out, making the Doctor tell her that "lots of planets have a north"), and was critical of his own large ears. (DW: Rose).
He also has a fondness for saying "Fantastic" with emphasis on the second syllable whenever he sees something of interest - usually something dangerous.
He nicknames Mickey Smith "Mickey the idiot" or simply "Ricky".
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 a fondness for bananas (DW: The Doctor Dances).
This Doctor would noticeably become emotionally exhausted and would seemingly reach moments where he would breakdown whenever faced with pain, suffering, or death. In DW: The Doctor Dances this problem takes centre stage when the Doctor expresses his exhaustion several times, which ultimately results in a brief moment of relief and happiness when he realizes he can for once reverse all of the pain and suffering he has encountered.
Mysteries and Discrepancies
- The Doctor eventually states he somehow ended the Last Time War, screaming to a captured Dalek "I made it happen!" Exactly how he did so, however, is unknown. (DW: Dalek)
Undocumented adventures
- 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. (DW: Rose)
- The Doctor states that just prior to arriving at the Gamestation, himself, Rose and Jack had just escaped from an adventure in Kyoto, Japan. (DW: Bad Wolf)
Other information
- Although the exact lifetime length of each of the Doctor's incarnations is ambiguous (an exception being the first incarnation, who is known to have lived for a little less than 450 years (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen)), it can be surmised that the ninth incarnation of the Doctor may well be the Doctor's shortest-lived incarnation to date. He appears to be newly regenerated when he first meets Rose Tyler (or at least new enough in his body that he hasn't had a chance to examine his appearance closely) (DW: Rose), and it is implied that Rose's travels with him take place over the course of less than a year as she is still referred to as being 19 years old when the Doctor believes her to have been killed on Satellite 5 (DW: Bad Wolf), only hours before his regeneration occurs. This is not necessarily the case - since this incarnation of the Doctor was rarely if ever interested in his outward appearance, it may simply have been a long time since he'd seen his reflection and he'd forgotten what he currently looked like. Alternatively, he could know what he looks like, but is extremely unhappy with his ears, so he complains about them every time he sees them. He was clearly fully regenerated and stabilised by the time of Rose.
Key Life Events
- The Doctor regenerates from his previous incarnation.
- The circumstances behind this remain unknown, although it is suggested that it happened in the climax of the Time War and not very long before DW: Rose (TV story).
- Rose Tyler and the Doctor meet and she accepts joining him in his travels (DW: Rose)
- Meets the Face of Boe and sees the destruction of the planet Earth (DW: The End of the World).
- Encounter the Slitheen's for the first time, and saves the Earth from a new invasion with help from MP Harriet Jones. (DW: Aliens of London / World War Three)
- Meets the supposed last surviving Dalek. (DW: Dalek)
- Adam Mitchell becomes a companion (DW: Dalek) but the Doctor soon evicts him for taking advantage of his privileged position (DW: The Long Game).
- 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 Pasameer-Day Slitheen back to her homeworld to be punished for her crimes and accidentally allow her to cause the expansion of the Cardiff rift. (DW: Boom Town)
- Re-encounters the Daleks. As Bad Wolf Rose resurrects Jack and destroys the Daleks. Jack ends up marooned. (DW: Bad Wolf)
- The Doctor regenerates. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
Behind the scenes
- The Ninth Doctor has the distinction of being the only Doctor to date to have the same companion throughout his television appearances, without interruption, namely Rose Tyler. The closest anyone had come before was the Second Doctor who travelled with Jamie McCrimmon in all but the first of his stories. In the case of spin-off fiction, the only Ninth Doctor story to date in which he is not depicted travelling with Rose is "What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow", a short story written for the 2006 annual and of uncertain canonicity as it was later remade as the TV episode, Blink.
- The Ninth Doctor, as of 2008, is the only past Doctor who has not appeared in the Big Finish Short Trips series of short story collections. Also, along with the Tenth Doctor, Christopher Eccleston has yet to take part as the Doctor in any of Big Finish's audio dramas, the first Doctor since Tom Baker to not participate (deceased actors notwithstanding). This also makes Eccleston the only Doctor actor since Patrick Troughton to not participate (to date) in an audio drama based upon the franchise (David Tennant has recorded for Big Finish, but not playing the Doctor).
- The Ninth Doctor era, due to its short tenure, stands as the only Doctor era to be completely released to DVD in Australia, North America and the UK. The single film that made up the Eighth Doctor era is not available in North America and Australia.
- All other Doctors still have serials that remain to be released to DVD, either worldwide or at all (with the First and Second Doctor's unlikely to ever be completely represented due to many of their serials being lost). This superlative will expire once the final episodes of the Tenth Doctor era are released to DVD, presumably sometime in 2010.
