The Doctor was a renegade Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who, as a voluntary exile from his homeworld fought injustice where he found it. Alone among the Time Lords, he survived the Last Great Time War with the Daleks, though they returned shortly before his tenth regeneration. Throughout his life, he had a particular association and affinity with the planet Earth and its Humans. Thanks to his eternal heroics he is a well known and celebrated individual throughout time and space, in contrast to the feared menace that is the Daleks (the Daleks and other evil-doers have been known to treat him as an object of terror, however).
Profile
Biography
- For more detailed biographical information see articles for individual incarnations. For information on the Doctor's earliest life, see First Doctor.
The Doctor left Gallifrey and became a hero who fought evil and injustice across the universe, in violation of the Time Lords' non-interference policy. Technically he explored only with the intention of experiencing the wonders of the universe and having fun, but was frequently embroiled in machinations and crises that ended with him defeating the foe and saving the planet he was on. He travelled with many companions, beginning with his granddaughter Susan Foreman, who also came from Gallifrey.
Eventually, he was held to account for his crimes against the Time Lords during his second incarnation. The punishment was a forced regeneration and exile to Earth, as well as loss of the knowledge of how to control the TARDIS. (DW: The War Games) This knowledge was restored to him after he helped to defeat Omega. (DW: The Three Doctors)
The Doctor fought in the Last Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks. He was ultimately responsible for ending the war, likely the act which resulted in the obliteration of Gallifrey, as well as the supposed extinction of both races, apart from the Doctor himself. (DW: Dalek)
- For details on the Last Great Time War and the survivors the seperate article.
The Doctor's Incarnations
Through the power of regeneration, the Doctor's personality and outer form has greatly changed over time, although all his incarnations are essentially the same person. He continues to be a heroic figure, fighting the evils of the universe wherever he finds them, even if his values and motives are sometimes alien to Humankind. To date, the Doctor has had eleven incarnations:
- The First Doctor was a somewhat unreadable, guarded figure, irascible, protective of young women who reminded him of his grand-daughter Susan, a brilliant but often short-tempered scientist and a keen strategist. Though far from invulnerable, he usually ran rings around lesser intellects.
- The Second Doctor was warm and wise, a sort of 'cosmic hobo', often as frightened of the alien menaces he faced as those around him. Often overtaken by events, he improvised his way out of trouble — but he also had a manipulative streak about him, too.
- The Third Doctor cut more of a dashing figure than his predecessors, a dandy with a penchant for gadgets and martial arts, particularly Venusian aikido. His difficult relationship with the Brigadier softened to an easy mutual trust. He had a personal arch-enemy, the Master. Due to his exile by his own people, he spent most of his life on Earth.
- The Fourth Doctor was something of a cross between Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter, rarely without his signature scarf of incredible length. He was perhaps the most eccentric incarnation and progressed from bohemian vagabond to manic scatterbrain to a more mature and sombre figure.
- The Fifth Doctor had a fondness for cricket. He was somewhat more nervous and less sure of himself than the two previous Doctors, though all the more heroic because of it. Like the Second Doctor, he often found himself backed into a corner and had to figure out a way back once more.
- The Sixth Doctor, grandiose and eloquent, sported a multi-hued wardrobe that looked as if designed by Christian Lacroix, had a manic personality and an acerbic wit which could shade into moral passion. He loved a good quote and rarely got caught off-guard by an enemy.
- The Seventh Doctor, his voice touched by a Scottish burr, combined the vagabond nature of the Second and Fourth Doctors with the scientific brilliance of the First and Third incarnations. Armed with a keenly tactical mind, his personality deepened and darkened. He seemed, often, a demi-god walking amongst lesser beings, letting his companions know little, an avenging angel driven to eradicate evil at any cost. Of all the Doctors, he had arguably the most complex personality.
- The Eighth Doctor showed a romantic and sensitive side not evident in the previous Doctors. More morally flexible than his predecessor, this Doctor suffered bouts of amnesia, first after his initial regeneration and again after the first destruction of Gallifrey following the War with the Enemy.
- The Ninth Doctor, now a survivor of the Last Great Time War, displayed much of the playfulness of the Fourth and early Seventh Doctors, but also displayed a pragmatism which could at times appear callous. This Doctor also seemed very conscious of the effects his actions had on those around him. His attire was also considerably more conservative and less conspicuous than those of his predecessors and his accent and attitude more working class.
- The Tenth Doctor showed a manic personality, and bit of an eccentric crackpot, a cross between the Fourth Doctor and the Ninth, with hints of the Seventh with the style of the Fifth and a fondness for Human pop culture reference. He had a serious side to him, but quite often his more playful traits would counter the serious unless in great danger. At times he could also show various other traits, such as ruthlessness and emotion.
- The Eleventh Doctor was the most youthful looking incarnation of the Doctor. Far more outwardly alien than his predecessor, he was quite smug about his abilities and exhibited a renewed youthful enthusiasm for adventure. He possessed keen observational skills, as well as a penchant for making deductions in the manner of Sherlock Holmes, a skill he encouraged in his companions.
An interesting aspect of the Doctor's personality was that he, on occasion expressed a personal liking for particular incarnations, though this opinion changed depending on the incarnation making the assessment. The Doctor's tenth incarnation expressed a deep fondness for his fifth incarnation (DW: Time Crash). Ironically, the Fifth Doctor was disliked by his successor (DW: The Twin Dilemma), though this may have been due to his particularly aggressive regenerative trauma. In another instance, the fourth made reference to the third, saying "Some people liked it, but I prefer this one" (DW: The Brain of Morbius). Immediately before his tenth regeneration, the Tenth Doctor stated, "I don't want to go" (DW: The End of Time). Immediately after his tenth regeneration, the Eleventh Doctor remarked upon his new nose, stating that "I've had worse"- a reference to his third incarnation. (DW: The End of Time)
Other Incarnations
Regeneration
Due to the unique structure of Time Lord physiology, the Doctor has the ability to regenerate so as to "cheat death" (DW: The Parting of the Ways) in a manner of speaking. In each situation thus far, the Doctor has ultimately retained the memories and the native abilities of his previous incarnation and, in that sense, he does indeed cheat death. Even so, his tenth incarnation stated that the process feels like dying; and that after each regeneration it is a new man who walks away, even if he still possesses his memories and the fundamental aspects of his character (DW: The End of Time, Part 1). While a Time Lord is usually limited to twelve regenerations (making the "thirteenth Doctor" the last) the technology exists on Gallifrey to extend the number of regenerations, and a skilled Time Lord can control his regeneration to a degree.
To date, the Doctor is known to have regenerated ten times, for a total of eleven incarnations, although he the tenth Doctor did regenerate twice, the first time healing himself and channeling the remaining energy into his severed hand, though whether this counts as a full regeneration is unknown. The exact circumstances surrounding these changes are known with the exception of his eighth regeneration (from his eighth to ninth incarnation), which has yet to be definitively chronicled. An event that occurred in one chronicle (DW: The Brain of Morbius) has sparked speculation as to whether the Doctor may have had more incarnations, but during a later incident during the Doctor's fifth incarnation, it was stated explicitly that there had been five Doctors up to that point (DW: Mawdryn Undead).
The effect of regeneration on the Doctor has varied from incarnation to incarnation. In some cases the Doctor has been able to regain his faculties quickly, erratic behaviour notwithstanding (DW: The Power of the Daleks, The Twin Dilemma, The Eleventh Hour). On one occasion he was rendered amnesiac (DW: The TV movie). In most cases, however, the Doctor was incapacitated for a period of time before ultimately recovering (DW: Spearhead from Space, Robot, Castrovalva, Time and the Rani, The Christmas Invasion).
Although it is considered a major violation of the Laws of Time, on numerous occasions different incarnations of the Doctor have met and interacted, sometimes with Time Lord High Council sanction (DW: The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors), sometimes accidentally (DW: Time Crash). In the latter case, the only known occasion of incarnations meeting following the fall of Gallifrey in the Last Great Time War, it would appear without Time Lord interference a major disruption in time and space could be caused by such meetings. It is unclear whether the Doctor ever clearly remembers meeting himself (DW: School Reunion, in which both the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith display no memory of having met each other since Sarah Jane had been returned to Earth (DW: The Hand of Fear).
Personal Information
The Doctor's Name
The Doctor was an extremely enigmatic individual. Befitting this, his true name remains unknown to all but a very few individuals (of which only one, River Song, has been confirmed (DW: Forest of the Dead). Apparently his real name is not even used by the Time Lords. (DW: The War Games, DW: The Trial of a Time Lord, DW: The End of Time) The use of the title "doctor" is not undeserved, however, as the Doctor does possess a doctorate of some sort (DW: The Armageddon Factor). Apparently the name is written in the stars in the Medusa Cascade as a reminder of his closing the rift there (DW: The Fires of Pompeii). Members of an unidentified race of pan-dimensional beings came to also know the Doctor's real name at one point (BBCR: The Last Voyage).
- For a longer discussion of the mystery of the Doctor's true name and of his other aliases, see Aliases of the Doctor.
The Doctor's Age
- See separate article.
Family
On Gallifrey
On Gallifrey, the Doctor was one of the forty-five cousins created by a Loom to the House of Lungbarrow. When the House disowned him, he replied that he had "other families." (NA: Lungbarrow)
These would somehow seem to include parents (DW: Doctor Who) and a spouse (DW: Blink, MA: Cold Fusion), probably Patience (PDA: The Infinity Doctors) and more than one child (DW: Fear Her, The Doctor's Daughter). He had a grand-daughter, Susan Foreman; although some accounts suggest Susan may have not been the Doctor's natural-born grand-daughter, there is no confirmation. All are believed by the Doctor to be lost, either killed during the Last Great Time War or having died long before it. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen) When one person asked him what had happened to his family, he replied, with seemingly honesty, that he didn't know. (DW: The Curse of Fenric)
- He had not, however, at that point, returned to the House of Lungbarrow. As far as the Doctor's adoption of Susan, contradictory statements describe the circumstances under which he adopted her - or if he did - though both identify her as originally a native of Gallifrey. Her later fate, unless she died in the Last Great Time War, remains unknown.
He had at least one brother (DW: Smith and Jones, possibly the Time Lord Irving Braxiatel. (BNA: Tears of the Oracle)
After the Last Great Time War
Genetic material from the Doctor in his tenth incarnation was used to create an offspring, Jenny. Although initially spurned by the Doctor, he soon began to consider Jenny his daughter and invited her to travel with him in the TARDIS. Before she could join him, however, she was shot and the Doctor believed Jenny to have died, although unknown to him she underwent a partial regeneration after his departure and survived, at which point she set out on her own life of adventure. (DW: The Doctor's Daughter)
During the event in which Earth was relocated to the Medusa Cascade, a clone of the Doctor was created; this clone later was exiled by the Doctor to Pete's World; technically, however, the clone can be considered a relative of the Doctor's, after a fashion. Also, Sarah Jane Smith referred to the Doctor's companions as his family saying "you act like such a lonely man, but you've got the biggest family on Earth!" (DW: Journey's End)
Marriage
During an encounter with Ood Sigma not long before his regeneration, the Doctor, in his tenth incarnation, claimed to have married 'Good Queen Bess' (presumably Queen Elizabeth I), a decision that didn't end well and indeed led to her declaring him an enemy. (DW: The Shakespeare Code, The End of Time) This does not appear to be the Doctor's only marriage, as he remarked to Sally Sparrow about being "rubbish at weddings, especially my own." (DW: Blink)
Languages
You speak their language?
Every language.
The Doctor can speak 5 billion languages (DW: The Parting of the Ways), though it is likely he can only do so with help from the TARDIS' telepathic translation circuits. His native language is probably Modern Gallifreyan, but he seems to prefer speaking British English, usually in an accent that on Earth is considered similar to spoken accents used in the British Isles; this accent has changed incarnation to incarnation, with, for example, the Doctor's seventh incarnation speaking with an accent similar to that used in Scotland (the tenth incarnation once affected a Scottish accent intentionally (DW: Tooth and Claw)), Grace Holloway identifying the eighth Doctor to a policeman as being English (DW: Doctor Who (1996)), and Rose Tyler identifying the ninth Doctor's accent as being that of northern England (DW: Rose). In that last example, the Doctor actually became defensive about his accent and made the claim "lots of planets have a North" in response.
He can read and write Old High Gallifreyan, an unusual skill even among Time Lords. (DW: The Five Doctors) It is possible however, that he does speak in a language other than English, and the TARDIS translates for everyone he speaks to.
He was fluent in the language of the Judoon (DW: The Stolen Earth), Delphon (a language "spoken" using only eyebrow movements) (DW: Spearhead from Space), several Chinese languages (DW: The Mind of Evil, The Talons of Weng-Chiang), ancient Martian (DW: The Waters of Mars), and many other Human and alien languages. He did not seem to understand French in his second incarnation (DW: The War Games), but later became fluent.
Connections With Earth
Although the Doctor visited many worlds, the planet Earth remains the one for which he had the closest affinity. He displayed immense knowledge of and/or interest in Earth history and was either an observer or an active participant in countless major events in that history. As noted previously, he found himself exiled to Earth during his third incarnation, very much against his wishes. He worked with UNIT during this time.
However he also had, at times, an affinity for the place, and specifically for Great Britain. When Angus Goodman asked him if he was British, he replied that he wasn't, but thanked Gus for the compliment. (DWM: 4-Dimensional Vistas) He considered himself to be British soon after his regeneration into his eighth incarnation. (DW: The TV Movie)
His incarnations have adopted accents based upon different regions of the United Kingdom, most notably his seventh incarnation (who had a Scottish accent) and his ninth, whose accent resembled that of the north of England - though he tried to pass it off by claiming "lots of planets have a North!" (DW: Rose) His tenth incarnation once adopted a convincing Scottish accent as part of a disguise. (DW: Tooth and Claw)
The vast majority of the Doctor's known companions have been humans hailing from various points in the planet's history. His ninth and tenth incarnations developed a network of friends and former companions at one point referred to as the Doctor's secret Army or the Children of Time. Thanks to their knowledge of him, they were able to summon him in a time of desperate need when he was unable to find Earth and come to save the day with his companion at the time, Donna Noble. This threat (Davros' New Dalek Empire) took the combined power of the Doctor and all of the companions and friends in his Secret Army to defeat. Among those were Sarah Jane Smith (who refered to his companions as his family as well) and her computer Mr Smith, her dog K-9 and her son Luke Smith, Captain Jack Harkness and his Torchwood team, Harriet Jones (who sacrificed herself to help summon him), Donna Noble and her mother and grandfather who helped summon the Doctor, Martha Jones who was given a job at UNIT after she left the Doctor, Mickey Smith who briefly traveled with him, Rose Tyler and her mother Jackie who showed up to help from Pete's World (the parallel world they were living on). Also, a clone of the Doctor was created that played a role in the end of the threat as well, but was left behind on Pete's World with Rose to live out a normal human life. (DW: The Stolen Earth, Journey's End)
The general populace of Earth remained oblivious to the Doctor's ongoing efforts to protect the planet, and unaware of his existence. There have been a few exceptions to this, however. During the Sycorax invasion, Prime Minister Harriet Jones made a public appeal over the UK airwaves calling on the Doctor to intervene. (DW: The Christmas Invasion) The Doctor appeared on international television to light the Olympic flame at the 2012 London Games, though he was never identified (DW: Fear Her). By the early 21st century, the Doctor had also become something of a cult figure, with at least one group, LINDA, following his exploits (DW: Love & Monsters, Time Crash), and conspiracy theorists dedicating websites to solving the "Who is the Doctor?" mystery (DW: Rose, World War Three, et al). At some point after 2059, due to the Doctor altering history, a media website ran a story about "The Mythical Doctor" and his involvement in the Bowie Base One incident on Mars and the rescue of two of its crewmembers (DW: The Waters of Mars).
Perhaps the widest knowledge of the Doctor came during the so-called The Year That Never Was, during which Martha Jones travelled around Earth spreading tales of the Doctor and generating a groundswell of faith in the Time Lord that facilitated the defeat of the Master; this timeline, however, was ultimately negated and forgotten by all but a few individuals. (DW: Last of the Time Lords). A rare public show of gratitude for the Doctor's efforts occurred at the behest of Jackson Lake in 19th century London following the defeat of the CyberKing (DW: The Next Doctor); similarly, during the same era, Queen Victoria knighted the Doctor (dubbing him Sir Doctor of TARDIS) for his efforts before banishing him from Great Britain. (DW: Tooth and Claw) Neither event appears to have been widely recorded in history.
Influence
The Doctor belonged to the Prydonian Chapter, the most important chapter of Time Lord society. (DW: The Deadly Assassin) He had a profound influence on many worlds and been written into their history (DW: Forest of the Dead); as a result he has been the recipient of many honours including being made a noble of Draconia and a knight of the British Empire. (DW:Frontier in Space, Tooth and Claw)
Having broken the Time Lords' non-interference policy, in his second incarnation he was put on trial as a renegade. (DW: The War Games) Subsequently, for a time, he acted as agent of the Time Lords' Celestial Intervention Agency before the beginning of his sentence on 20th century Earth. (PDA: Players, World Game) Folllowing his defeat of Omega, which saved Gallifrey, he was given a pardon and granted freedom. (DW: The Three Doctors)
In his fourth incarnation, as part of a ploy to outwit invaders to Gallifrey, he applied for the position of Lord President of the High Council. (DW: The Invasion of Time) In his fifth incarnation, he was put on trial again for recklessness. (DWM: The Stockbridge Horror) He was later given the title of Lord President again by Councillor Flavia, against his wishes. He pretended to accept the office but ran away in his TARDIS. (DW: The Five Doctors) Prior to the Doctor's trial during his sixth incarnation, he was deposed in absentia and put on trial for breaking the non-interference policy and, later in the same trial, for genocide, although the validity of the trial was called into question when it was discovered that it had been orchestrated by an evil future manifestation of the Doctor, the Valeyard. (DW: The Trial of a Time Lord)
Companions
The Doctor likes traveling with an entourage. Sometimes they're human, sometimes they're aliens and sometimes they're tin dogs.
- Main article: Companion
Throughout much of his life, the Doctor has chosen (or been forced) to share his travels with an array of individuals, occasionally referred to in official terms as companions. (DW: The Stolen Earth) Usually humanoid and female, these platonic relationships have provided the Doctor with company and, occasionally, a means to control his actions. (DW: The Runaway Bride) On rare occasions, most noticeably in the case of Rose Tyler, the Doctor has developed a relationship with a companion that could be said to move away from platonic. At least one "family member", Susan Foreman, also travelled as a companion to the Doctor for a time. In his later incarnations, the Doctor became hesitant to take on companions, offering only the most exceptional the opportunity to travel with him (DW: Rose, DW: The Runaway Bride). On at least one occasion he evicted a companion for bad behaviour (Adam Mitchell, DW: The Long Game). After the painful loss of one companion, Donna Noble (DW: Journey's End), he refused to take on new companions for fear of having his heart broken again (DW: The Next Doctor, Planet of the Dead). Despite this claim, by the time he regenerated into his eleventh incarnation, he took on Amy Pond as a companion, claiming that he had grown tired of travelling alone.
Behind the Scenes
"Doctor Who"
The use of the name "Doctor Who" when referring to the Doctor is disapproved of by most fans. Despite this, the ending credits for the series gave his name as "Doctor Who" or "Dr. Who", from 1963 until 1980, when new Producer John Nathan-Turner changed the policy, making his name in the end credits now "the Doctor", which remained in place until the original series ended in 1989. Executive Producer Russell T Davies used "Doctor Who" when the series returned in 2005, but Tenth Doctor actor David Tennant asked to change it back to "the Doctor" beginning in 2006. This tradition has continued into the Matt Smith era.
Throughout the franchise's history it has been common for the character to be referred to by media and cast members as "Dr. Who".
In the series, only one character, WOTAN in 1966's The War Machines, has ever directly referred to him by this name. In the 2005 episode Rose, a website called "Who is Doctor Who?" is introduced, though the name is presented as a question put forward by a conspiracy theorist and no one actually uses the name in dialogue. A line of dialogue written for DW: The Empty Child, but cut, would have had the Doctor himself use the name as part of a joke involving Star Trek (after being dubbed "Mr. Spock" by Rose, the Doctor was to have muttered, "I'd rather be Doctor Who than Star Trek").
Other media, 1960s and early 1970s Doctor Who Annuals, comics and Target Books (most notably the Doctor Who and the Zarbi, not technically a Target Books novelisation, but reprinted by them) have called the Doctor "Doctor Who". Even then, dialogue between characters usually referred to him as "the Doctor".
In the 1990s, the name "The Doctor" took on an unusual distinction in science fiction history as it came to be used not only in Doctor Who but also in the Star Trek franchise, as a character known only as "The Doctor" was introduced in the 1995-2001 spin-off series Star Trek: Voyager. Although both franchises have made one-off references to each other, this remains the only occasion in which ongoing major characters in both have shared the same name.
Further in-universe references have been made as part of the "Doctor Who?" running joke.
Casting
So far every actor to portray the Doctor has been male, white, and born in the United Kingdom. In recent years there has been speculation over whether Time Lords should be able to change races or even sexes when regenerating. While the former idea was first postulated by Tom Baker and never taken seriously, during the recent casting for the Eleventh Doctor, at least one black actor (Paterson Joseph) was considered a leading contender [1]. Actors from the United States or Canada,(in one case Australia) have been rumoured as contenders for the role over the years. Actors considered for the role have varied widely in age, from the 20s to the 60s. To date the oldest actor to be cast as the Doctor has been William Hartnell, who was 55; the youngest has been Matt Smith, who was 26 when cast. Jon Pertwee was 77 when he made his final official performance as the Doctor for a BBC Radio serial, making him the oldest actor to play the part in an officially licensed capacity. His closest rival is Tom Baker, who turned 75 in 2009, the year he recorded a series of Doctor Who audio dramas. Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann, all in their 50s or 60s, continue to portray the Doctor in licensed audio dramas produced by Big Finish, with McGann also appearing in audio dramas produced by Big Finish for broadcast on BBC7 radio.