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Welcome aboard, I'm the Doctor... or will be if this regeneration works out.
The Fifth Doctor is the name given to the fifth incarnation of the Doctor.
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Biography
Post-regeneration
The Doctor's fourth regeneration (DW: Logopolis) was a problematic one, and nearly failed. Mentally, he alternated between assuming the personalities of his previous selves and reverting into states of fear and vagueness. He recovered in the TARDIS' Zero Room and after Nyssa and Tegan piloted the TARDIS to Castrovalva, where he could recover, he found himself captured by the Portreeve's men. Amnesiac, confused and vague, he regained his memory and sense of purpose and ended up once more winning against the Master. (DW: Castrovalva)
Travels
Tegan demanded that he return her to 1981 Earth, which he attempted many times without success. (DW: Four to Doomsday, The Visitation) Along the way, Nyssa collapsed (DW: Four to Doomsday) and spent the next few days recovering, the Mara possessed Tegan (DW: Kinda) and they took time out to attend Lord Cranleigh's ball, where danger lurked once more. (DW: Black Orchid)
On 26th century Earth he discovered a plan by Cybermen to use Captain Briggs' space freighter as a giant bomb. The freighter shifted through time to the distant past, killing the dinosaurs and Earth's history proceeded as normal. However, Adric, still on the freighter, died. (DW: Earthshock)
When Vislor Turlough, an exiled alien posing as a British schoolboy, asked to come along, the Doctor did not know that Turlough had been commissioned by the Black Guardian to kill him. Soon after, Nyssa left to help cure Lazar's Disease on the space station Terminus. After meeting the entities known as Eternals racing in yacht-like spacecraft for the prize of Enlightenment, Turlough broke free from the Black Guardian's influence, and continued to travel with the Doctor and Tegan. The Doctor met three of his previous incarnations when they were summoned to the Death Zone on Gallifrey by President Borusa, who was attempting to gain Rassilon's secret of immortality. (DW: The Five Doctors)
After further adventures in which the Doctor re-encountered old foes including the Silurians and the Sea Devils, both Tegan and Turlough left the TARDIS. Tegan would find the death and violence they encountered on their travels too much to bear (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks), and Turlough returned to his home planet of Trion.
Regeneration
Ultimately, the Doctor and his last companion Peri Brown were exposed to Spectrox toxaemia on Androzani Minor. With only one dose of the antidote available, he sacrificed his own existence to save Peri, regenerating into the his sixth incarnation. (DW: The Caves of Androzani) During his regeneration the Master tried to interfere via Kamelion's connection to the TARDIS, but the Doctor was saved by an older Nyssa who connected with him in his mindscape. (BFA: Circular Time)
Personality
This was probably the most human and vulnerable of all the Doctors, less pretentious and selfish, often reacting to situations rather than initiating them and openly expressing his hopes and fears to his companions. His young appearance was reflected in the youthfulness of his companions as well, whom he treated more like parts of a team than their usual subordinate role under previous incarnations. The death of Adric affected him and the rest of his companions deeply. (DW: Earthshock)
Despite his youthful body and love of cricket, he was one of the least physical Doctors, preferring to use communication and diplomacy to solve a problem. In contrast to some of his more aggressive predecessors, he preferred to gain people's trust by honestly proving himself, instead of using his vast experience as an excuse to take charge, Indeed, he often willingly participated in situations under the leadership of someone else who had the strong command presence that he lacked, However this does not mean to say that he does not take charge in moments of frustration as demonstrated during his encounter with "that skinny idiot". In an occasional reminder of his actual age, this Doctor would sport a pair of glasses when examining something (though these would later be revealed by the his future self to be vanity "brainy specs", which he wore just to make him look "a bit clever". (DW: Time Crash)
At the same time, this humanity made him prone to panic under pressure and become occasionally indecisive. He was unable to execute Davros in cold blood (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks), and reluctantly killed Kamelion only at the android's request. (DW: Planet of Fire)
Of all the Doctors, the Fifth was the one who showed the greatest abhorrence for violence and needless bloodshed as well as the pain and suffering of others. Despite this, violence and bloodshed continued to dog his footsteps, as in the massacre in Sea Base Four (DW: Warriors of the Deep) and the number of deaths of anonymous soldiers which led to Tegan's departure. The Doctor acknowledged that he perhaps had to mend his ways. (DW: Resurrection of the Daleks)
It was perhaps a combination of realizing that his lifestyle begot violence and the weighing of Adric's death on his mind that led him ultimately to sacrifice his own existence to save Peri. It is telling that this Doctor's last word before his regeneration into his sixth incarnation was "Adric." (DW: The Caves of Androzani)
Impact on later incarnations
Oh no, you mostly went hands free didn't you? Like, "Hey! I'm the Doctor. I can save the universe using a kettle and some string! And look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable."
Whilst it is implied that his immediate successer hated being this incarnation, His Tenth incarnation absolutely loved living this incarnation. He looked upon his fifth incarnation as a turning point in his lives. Prior to this he had a penchant for being "old and grumpy and important, like you do when you're young," but it was his fifth incarnation where he truly began to enjoy himself (an ironic statement considering the darkness surrounding the death of Adric and the departures of Tegan and Nyssa). He admitted his earlier self that certain aspects of his wardrobe and personality were influenced by his fifth incarnation, "because you were my Doctor". (DW: Time Crash) While inside the Doctor's dreamscape, Ace discovered that this incarnation in the Doctor's subconscious had come to personify the conscience of his future selves, reflecting his strong sense of compassion. (NA: Timewyrm: Revelation)
Key Life Events
- The Doctor regenerates. (DW: Logopolis)
- Adric dies. (DW: Earthshock)
- Leaves Tegan Jovanka accidentally at Heathrow Airport (DW: Time-Flight)
- The Doctor re-unites with the Brigadier and gains a new companion, Vislor Turlough. (DW: Mawdryn Undead).
- Once more, the Doctor meets the White and Black Guardians. (DW: Enlightenment)
- Obtains a new robotic companion, Kamelion. (DW: The King's Demons)
- The Doctor re-unites with his grand daughter (Susan Foreman), Sarah Jane Smith, and the Brigadier.
- Meets his past selves and battles old enemies.
- Flavia declares him, once again Lord President but he chooses to rule in absentia and appoints Flavia his second in command. (DW: The Five Doctors).
- Meets his Tenth Incarnation. (DW: Time Crash)
- We do not know exactly where in the Fifth Doctor's time stream that this occured.
- Both Nyssa and Tegan Jovanka depart the TARDIS in heartbreaking circumstances. (DW: Terminus and Resurrection of the Daleks, respectively)
- Peri Brown joins him, as Vislor Turlough returns to his homeworld and Kamelion is destroyed. (DW: Planet of Fire)
- Erimem travels with the Doctor and Peri (BFA: The Eye of the Scorpion until BFA: The Bride of Peladon)
- The dying Doctor manages to save Peri and regenerates. (DW: The Caves of Androzani)
Behind the Scenes
Richard Griffiths was considered for the role of the Fifth Doctor before Peter Davison was cast.
After the famous and popular Fourth Doctor, it was decided that the next Doctor should be played by an actor who was already firmly established in the British public's mind. Peter Davison was chosen, due in no small part to his popular and critically acclaimed role as Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small, a BBC series based on the books of James Herriot.
Until the announcement in 2009 of 26-year-old Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, Davison, age 29 when he began the role, held the record as the youngest actor to ever officially play the Doctor, beating his predescessor Tom Baker. Davison was reluctant to accept the role because of his age.
The Fifth Doctor's era was notable for a "back to basics" attitude, in which humour (and, to an extent, horror) was kept to a minimum, but more scientific accuracy was encouraged by the producer, John Nathan-Turner. It was also notable for the reintroduction of many of the Time Lord's enemies; such as the Cybermen, Omega (a founding-father of Gallifrey), the Black and White Guardians, the Sea Devils, and the Silurians, while the Master, who had been reintroduced at the end of the Baker era, became a regular adversary, appearing at least once (and often more than once) per season.
In 2007, the Fifth Doctor became the first past incarnation to appear in the 2005- series revival when he appeared in the mini-episode Time Crash.
In several DVD commentaries, Peter Davison claims the reason that he abandoned the use of his half-moon glasses was because Janet Fielding mercilessly teased him when he used them. Fielding seemed to agree with this assessment on at least the commentary for Earthshock.