The Second Doctor was the second incarnation of the Time Lord known as the Doctor.
Biography
New life
This incarnation began its life when its predecessor fell victim to old age and regenerated for the first time. (DW: The Tenth Planet)
The Doctor found himself suspected as an impostor by his companion Ben Jackson, although his other companion Polly seemed more ready to believe that he was in fact still the Doctor. They were thrown into a battle with the Doctor's old enemy the Daleks, at the Earth colony on the planet Vulcan. The fact that the Daleks recognized the Doctor as their enemy convinced Ben of his credentials and by the end of this adventure, the Doctor had won over his trust. (DW: The Power of the Daleks)
New companions
Shortly, the trio met Jamie McCrimmon, in 1746 Scotland and let him come along on their travels. (DW: The Highlanders)
Together, on the Moon, they would fight a new, more machine-like form of Cyberman. (DW: The Moonbase)
Ben and Polly decided to stop off together on 1966 (DW: The Faceless Ones). The Doctor and Jamie found themselves transported back to 1867. Two 19th century Human scientists, Edward Waterfield and Theodore Maxtible, trying to isolate the Human Factor. Jamie and the Doctor befriended Waterfield's daughter, Victoria. Waterfield now having died and the introduction of the Human Factor having instigated a war on Skaro, the Doctor and Jamie left with Victoria. The Doctor believed at the time that the Daleks had truly destroyed each other, forever. (DW: The Evil of the Daleks)
Cybermen, Yeti and Ice Warriors
With Jamie and Victoria alongside him, the Doctor forced the Cybermen back to their ice tombs on Telos and first encountered the Cybermats (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen). On Earth had their first known encounters with the Yeti and the Great Intelligence (DW: The Abominable Snowmen) and the Ice Warriors (DW: The Ice Warriors).
During a second battle with the Great Intelligence and the Yeti, the Doctor met, for the first time, then-Colonel Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (DW: The Web of Fear).
- Lethbridge-Stewart would later found UNIT and play a significant role in some of the Doctor’s greatest adventures.
The Menoptera, the Veltrochni and Koschei
The TARDIS landed once more on Vortis (MA: Twilight of the Gods) where the Doctor met, once again, Near Darkheart. They encountered the war-like Veltrochni and Koschei, an old friend from Gallifrey, possibly sent by the Time Lords to retrieve him. (MA: The Dark Path).
Cybermen, Quarks and Ice Warriors
Craving peace and quiet, Victoria left the TARDIS crew to live with the Harris family. (DW: Fury from the Deep).
The Doctor and Jamie discovered a Cyberman plot involving a space station and picked up one of the space station's crew, Zoe Heriot. To make sure that she really wanted to come with them, the Doctor showed her a mental projection of his last adventure with the Daleks in the year 1966. (DW: The Wheel in Space)
On the planet Dulkis, the Doctor, Zoe and Jamie first fought the Quarks. (DW: The Dominators). Shortly after an adventure in the Land of Fiction (DW: The Mind Robber) the travelers landed on Earth where they learned that Lethbridge-Stewart, now a Brigadier, headed a new alien defense organisation named UNIT. Alongside UNIT, they defeated Tobias Vaughn and the Cybermen (DW: The Invasion)
Later they once more battled the Ice Warriors. (DW: The Seeds of Death)
Trial and its Aftermath
The Doctor discovered a former friend, whom the War Lords referred to as the War Chief. He had given spacetime vessel technology to the War Lords, a race planning to use Human soldiers as an army to conquer the galaxy. The Doctor was forced to betray his location to the Time Lords in order to return the many soldiers kidnapped from various periods of Earth history. (DW: The War Games)
The Doctor was captured and placed on trial for violating the cardinal rule of the Time Lords, never to interfere. His sentence would consist of exile on Earth in the 20th century and a forced regeneration. (DW: The War Games)
The Celestial Intervention Agency had stepped in, secretly, to intercede and prevent the Time Lords from executing the Doctor. (DW: The Deadly Assassin) Reluctantly, the Doctor then worked for them. (DW: The Two Doctors, PDA: World Game)
- At an unknown later time, the Doctor did regenerate and the Doctor's exile commenced. According to at least one source, the exile on Earth occurred prior to his enforced regeneration, allowing the Second Doctor to enjoy considerable luxury and fame on Earth. (TVC: Action in Exile)
- For a list of Second Doctor stories in the order in which he experienced them, see Second Doctor - Timeline.
Unrecorded Adventures
- The at some point before meeting the Brigadear mentioned an adventure where he and the Brigadear (in his future) met the Terrible Zodin. (DW: The Five Doctors)
- The Doctor and Jamie probably had least one other adventure together before the Doctor regenerated.
- Not exactly an unrecorded adventure, a future incarnation of the Doctor, along with an older Jamie, fought the Cybermen on Marinus. (DWM: The World Shapers) Later (from the Cyber-Planner's point of view), the Cyber-Planner would refer to this. (DW: The Invasion)
- Strangely, the Doctor later recalled the Cyber-Planner saying this even though he could not possibly have heard. (DWM: The World Shapers)
Characteristics
Appearance
The Doctor dressed similarly to his earlier self, though in far less natty fashion, the trousers now clownishly large and the cravat replaced with a bow tie. He quickly abandoned the blue signet ring as it no longer fit him. In his first adventure on Vulcan he possessed a tall stovepipe hat. (DW: The Power of the Daleks). Later, Bernice Summerfield, posing as a Dr. Seuss-like "famous hat collector", would take this hat, still in the Doctor's pocket, in the Land of Fiction, to complete the second Key to Time (DWM: Time & Time Again). In (DW: The Five Doctors) he is also pictured wearing an over-sized fur coat. The Eleventh Doctor's outfit (specifically the bow tie) is probably based on the Second Doctor's outfit.
He had longish, rumpled hair and blue eyes, although they may have changed colour several times shortly after his regeneration, when they were described as being 'soft chesnut brown' (ST: Pluto) and not long later they appeared to change colour several times alternating between blue, grey and green. (MA: Invasion of the Cat-People) In later years, his dark hair began to gray. (DW: The Two Doctors)
Psychological Profile
Personality
This Doctor was a complete change of pace from his predecessor; whimsical, buffoonish and witty. The Doctor was no longer a grandfather figure, but rather more of a favourite uncle. Indeed, the slow transition of the First Doctor from a reluctant travelling companion to a more kindly compatriot was completed here, as the Second Doctor very much enjoyed embroiling himself in adventures with his assistants.
Despite this Doctor's almost childlike recklessness, it was always clear to his allies that a keen, deliberate intellect lurked behind every action. Although the Second Doctor frequently gave the impression that he never knew what he was doing, this was simply an affectation: an act put on to fool those who would underestimate him. He also had a warmer, gentler way about him than in his earlier incarnation.
Paradoxically, he had a deep streak of ruthlessness, particularly when dealing with a known adversary, such as the Cybermen, wiring the Tomb doors to fatally electrocute anyone trying to open them (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen), steering an Ice Warrior fleet into the sun (DW: The Seeds of Death), or ensuring that a relatively helpless party of Daleks would all die. This action alienated Victoria, who felt disturbed to see this side of him. (DWM: Bringer of Darkness).
The Doctor also had a noticeably antagonistic relationship with his successor, the Third Doctor. Their relationship was so rocky and their personalities so different, that they seemed incapable of working together without the authoritative presence of the First Doctor. (DW: The Three Doctors, DW: The Five Doctors)
Skills and Abilities
This version of the Doctor had a knack for playing the recorder. (DW: The Power of the Daleks, The Underwater Menace, The Three Doctors)
More seriously, he had a gift for diplomacy and winning others over to his side, which would explain his mission to Space Station Chimera to persuade Dastari to discontinue his time travel experiments (DW: The Two Doctors) This particular facet of his personality enabled him to trick others into doing what he wished. For example, with the Daleks, to get Jamie to go through a series of tests designed to isolate the Human Factor; also, to trick the Daleks themselves into giving the Human Factor to test subject Daleks, and finally to administer the Dalek Factor to the Doctor himself, which he knew would only work on Humans (DW: The Evil of the Daleks). In a similar way, he convinced the War Chief to regard him as an ally (DW: The War Games) and pretended to go along with the Great Intelligence's brain transference operation (DW: The Web of Fear).
Combined with his skill for improvisation, we can clearly see why the Doctor considered himself a "genius" (DW: The Seeds of Death).
He possessed telepathic ability, including being able to sum up knowledge into a physical box and communicate it to the Time Lords. (DW:The War Games)
Habits and Quirks
He possessed a recorder which he played to concentrate or while under stress. (DW: The Power of the Daleks onwards.)
In Scotland, he posed as a German physician, calling himself Doktor von Wer (DW: The Highlanders) and in Atlantis he dressed as a strange, gypsy-like musician (DW: The Underwater Menace). In most of these instances, he seemed as much motivated by the fun of doing it as much as for any practical purpose.
- The alias "Doktor von Wer" translates in English to "Doctor of Who".
Taking events more seriously, he impersonated the murdered Earth Examiner (DW: The Power of the Daleks). Against his will, he also impersonated Salamander, the Doctor's physical double. (DW: The Enemy of the World). On the Wheel in Space, he adopted for the first time the alias of Dr. John Smith. (DW: The Wheel in Space).
This Doctor introduced several qualities later picked up upon by future incarnations. The Doctor first showed an interest in Tibetan Buddhism in this incarnation (DW: The Abominable Snowmen). He also first revealed to his companions the Five Hundred Year Diary (DW: The Power of the Daleks), and his sonic screwdriver (DW: Fury from the Deep). He had the ability to pull almost anything out of his pockets. (DW: The Five Doctors)
Mysteries and Discrepancies
- How did the Daleks on Vulcan recognize the Doctor? (DW: The Power of the Daleks)
- The Daleks could have come from further ahead in the Doctor's personal time stream. Otherwise, they may simply have deduced his identity without having encountered this incarnation before. Also, when the Daleks first noticed the Tenth Doctor in Doomsday, they did not know who he was but knew enough to consider him a threat. In both instances, the Daleks could simply recognize him as a Time Lord, and thus a threat.
- The Doctor showed a certain familiarity with the Cyber-Tombs on Telos. (DW: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
Key Life Events
- The Doctor regenerates. (DW: The Tenth Planet, The Power of the Daleks)
- Since there are no overt references to the Doctor having a second heart before the regeneration - on at least one occasion the First Doctor is suggested as having a single heart - it has been theorized that a second heart is grown after regeneration (MA: The Man in the Velvet Mask)
- First meeting with Jamie McCrimmon, who goes off with him in the TARDIS. (DW: The Highlanders)
- Eliminates the threat of the Daleks (for many years) following an adventure in which Polly and Ben Jackson are returned to Earth and the Doctor gains a new companion, Victoria Waterfield. (DW: The Evil of the Daleks)
- Along with Jamie, he meets his sixth incarnation. (DW: The Two Doctors)
- Encounters the Ice Warriors for the first time (DW: The Ice Warriors)
- While fighting the Yeti, the Doctor meets Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart for the first time. (DW: The Web of Fear)
- Victoria Waterfield chooses to remain on 20th century Earth (DW: Fury from the Deep)
- During a visit to the 21st century, the Doctor gains a new companion in Zoe Heriot (DW: The Wheel in Space)
- The Doctor helps thwart a Cybermen invasion of Earth, during which he is introduced to the newly-formed UNIT led by Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. He also meets Cpl. John Benton for the first time. (DW: The Invasion)
- The Time Lords put the Doctor on trial for breaking the non-interference policy and separate Jamie and Zoe from him. Significantly, his becomes the only incarnation that the Time Lords intentionally regenerate. He is also given a choice of new appearance, but rejects all of the choices. The choice is finally made by the Time Lords. (DW: The War Games)
- Encounters his first and third incarnation on at least two occasions, his fifth incarnation at least once, his sixth incarnation also at least once and his Eighth incarnation once. (DW: The Three Doctors, The Five Doctors, and The Two Doctors, EDA: The Eight Doctors)
Behind the scenes
Casting
- Rupert Davies, Valentine Dyall (later to play Black Guardian and Slarn) and Michael Horden were all approached for the role of the Second Doctor. All declined as they didn't want to commit to a long running series.