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The Sixth Doctor was the sixth incarnation of the Time Lord known as the Doctor. Arrogant, dramatic, self-absorbed, and stubborn, the sixth incarnation instantly believed himself superior to almost anyone he encountered. By the end of his life, his personality seemed to have calmed down, though he later met his end when he was attacked by the Rani in his TARDIS.
Biography
Early travels
Post-Regeneration
Following this regeneration, he suffered from a particularly unstable personality and even attempted to throttle Peri to death. The Doctor then decided to exile himself on Titan III, but soon got involved with stopping Mestor and his gastropods. On Titan III he also met another Time Lord, his old friend Azmael. Throughout, he experienced extreme lows to bouts of near-insanity and violence. (DW: The Twin Dilemma)
With Peri and Frobisher
After a short time, the Doctor's personality settled down into an extremely large ego with a side of compassion only experienced by his closest friends. He set out to fix everything wrong with his aging TARDIS and succeeded in fixing its broken chameleon circuit. For a brief time, it managed to change shape. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
Peri must have parted company with the Doctor for a short amount of time, however, the Doctor stumbled upon a Whifferdill calling himself "Avan Tarklu", a private investigator set upon the Doctor as revenge by Josiah W. Dogbolter. Initially the Doctor's tormentor, the Whifferdill decided to travel with the Doctor, changing his name to Frobisher and his shape to that of a large, rather cartoonish penguin. (DWM: The Shape Shifter)
Peri and Frobisher would travel together with the Doctor for periods of time, between taking breaks from him.
The Trial
The Prosecution
During an adventure on the planet Thoros Beta, the Doctor and Peri were forcibly separated by the Time Lords. Peri remained on the world in dire peril of having of the Mentor Kiv's mind transferred into her body. Meanwhile, a council of Time Lords forced the Doctor into his TARDIS and made the ship re-materialize in the Space Station Zenobia. (DW: Mindwarp)
The Valeyard, who the Doctor learned was both an enemy and, in some sense, the Doctor himself, acted as prosecutor and there was an Inquisitor, Darkel. Because he had been taken out of time, the Doctor suffered from partial amnesia. He found himself once again on trial for interfering in the affairs of the universe. He elected to represent himself in the trial, for which he and his prosecutor, the Valeyard, would present events from his life as evidence via the Matrix. (DW: The Mysterious Planet, Mindwarp) The Doctor suffered a severe emotional blow as he witnessed the apparent destruction of Peri's mind and her physical death on Thoros Beta. (DW: Mindwarp)
Defence
After a recess, the Doctor would have the opportunity to present a case for defending himself, presenting an adventure from his own future, by which time he had met an Earth woman Melanie "Mel" Bush. The Valeyard seized on this as a chance to try the Doctor for the genocide of the Vervoids, prohibited by Article 17 of the Constitution. (DW: Terror of the Vervoids)
Aftermath
The Valeyard had falsified some of the evidence, which included the supposed death of Peri, with the aid of the High Council, in order to cover up a conspiracy which the Doctor had unknowingly uncovered. By this time, though, the Doctor had gradually won Darkel over to his side.
The Valeyard schemed to steal the Doctor's remaining regenerations with the help of the corrupt Council. Paradoxically, because in the Doctor's timeline he had not met her yet, Mel was brought to the trial as a witness, as well as Sabalom Glitz. The Doctor's enemy, the Master, intervened. As the populace of Gallifrey reacted to news of the dishonesty of their High Council, they seemed ready to overthrow their leaders. Subsequently, Darkel suggested the Doctor as the new Lord President, but the Doctor suggested that Darkel herself would make for a better choice. The Doctor left in his TARDIS with Mel. The Valeyard, apparently killed inside the Matrix, had actually survived. (DW: The Ultimate Foe)
The Doctor returned Mel to her original point in time following the conclusion of the trial. (MA: Time of Your Life, PDA: Business Unusual)
Later travels
The Doctor travelled to Bianca's Bar shortly after his trial and became involved in a problem concerning Iris Wildthyme. (BFA: The Wormery)
- Following his trial, the Doctor appears to have become a more sombre individual (DWM: Time & Time Again) at one point even contemplating suicide. (MA: Killing Ground)
He spent some time on the planet Torrok, determined to become a hermit and avoid becoming the Valeyard by avoiding meeting Mel. However, he was interrupted in this venture eventually meeting a young man, Grant Markham. (MA: Time of Your Life)
- At some point Grant departed from the Doctor.
The Doctor, at some point after his trial, was tracking nexus point distortion and encountered Evelyn Smythe. The Doctor then took her back in time to stabilise the nexus point and save her life. (BFA: The Marian Conspiracy)
- At some point Evelyn left the Doctor and settled down on the planet Világ.
At some point after his travels with Evelyn, but before meeting Mel, the Doctor picked up a distress signal from a desert island in the year 500,002. There, he rescued a young girl named Charley Pollard who, unbeknownst to the Doctor, was, in fact, the companion of one of his later incarnations. (BFA: The Condemned)
- At some point Charley leaves the Doctor and the Doctor lost his memories of Charley.
The Doctor, for the first time in his sixth incarnation, travelled with Jamie McCrimmon. (BFA: City of Spires, The Wreck of the Titan, Legend of the Cybermen)
The Doctor met Melanie Bush on a beach in Brighton in 1989. Mel was a computer programmer. She elected to travel with the Doctor for some time, until the end of the Doctor's sixth regeneration. (PDA: Business Unusual)
Regeneration
The sixth incarnation was weakened after fighting the Lamprey. (PDA: Spiral Scratch)
The Rani blasted his TARDIS with a Tractor Beam causing him to land on Lakertya. The Doctor then regenerated into his seventh incarnation. (DW: Time and the Rani)
- For a list of Sixth Doctor stories in the order in which he experienced them, see Sixth Doctor - Timeline.
Appearance
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The sixth incarnation's taste in clothes were the subject of much ridicule, though it was suggested that he wore his outlandish coat in order to distract people from noticing anything else about him. He once mentioned that his coat was the "height of sartorial elegance". (BFA: Jubilee) At some point, the Doctor abandoned his outlandish multi-coloured outfit for a more subdued blue costume, (WC: Real Time) though by the time of his regeneration, he had resumed wearing his original garb. (DW: Time and the Rani)
The sixth incarnation was very fond of cats, and always wore one of a number of cat-shaped pins or brooches in his possession. By the time of his tenth incarnation, however, he had developed a dislike for the breed. (DW: Fear Her)
Physically, he was very tall. Mel also considered him to be overweight, and forced him to take up both a diet, consisting mainly of carrot juice, and an exercise regime, neither of which he felt he needed. (DW: Terror of the Vervoids) He had blonde curly hair and light brown eyes.
Psychological Profile
Personality
The sixth incarnation was unpredictable. He was consistently arrogant and self-absorbed, stubborn and childish, argumentative and tasteless, and he could often be seen as un-likeable or even loathsome. At other times, he could be seen as melodramatic. He almost never doubted his own ability, and considered himself greatly superior to nearly everyone he encountered. This included his companions, especially Peri, though he seemed to have mellowed during his time with Evelyn.
This incarnation did not suffer fools gladly. He sometimes seemed to endure his companion's presence far more than he actually appreciated it, but the new incarnation's brash exterior hid the fact that this was a Doctor more determined than ever to defeat the evil he encountered. He was possessed of a tenacity and a thirst to do what was right that was far more visible than ever before. Despite his often unstable demeanour, he was always quick to act when the situation called for it, and very little, even his companions, could hope to get in his way. More than his other incarnations, the Doctor could be something of a fatalist, more than once deciding he was doomed and resolving to accept his fate.
It was during this incarnation that in some instances he began to see the logic in murder. (EDA: Alien Bodies) This might be reflected by how he seemed to be a bit more accepting of violence in certain circumstances. While his physical attack on Peri could be attributed to a post-regenerative crisis, he reacted with humour after witnessing two men fall to their death in an acid bath. (DW: Vengeance on Varos) Most notably, he smothered Shockeye to death in self defence. (DW: The Two Doctors) Peri sometimes appeared nervous around the Doctor, (DW: Attack of the Cybermen, Timelash) perhaps due to his initially erratic behaviour.
Habits and Quirks
After an unpleasant encounter with an Androgum in Spain, the Doctor proclaimed that he was becoming a vegetarian, though later he seemed to have abandoned the practice. (DW: Boom Town)
He also had an ear for poetry, often reciting bits of it when events reminded him of it. (DW: The Twin Dilemma, The Mark of the Rani, Terror of the Vervoids)
This Doctor also had a habit of walking in a different direction to where he proclaimed he would be going. This quirk was later mirrored by the tenth incarnation and once by the eleventh incarnation. These though, were caused by a lack of knowledge on directions and post-regeneration "steering" problems.
Mysteries and Discrepancies
- Why was he so much more erratic than the other Doctors immediately following his regeneration? Is Spectrox toxaemia especially toxic to Time Lords?
- It is entirely possible. Regardless, every incarnation has different aspects to his personality. It's also theorized that this incarnation was the closest the Doctor came to becoming the Valeyard. Some believe that he intentionally triggered his next regeneration, because he could feel himself giving in to his darker impulses.
- Also possible is simply the violent circumstances surrounding the fifth incarnation's regeneration, plus how close he actually came to death, having held off the regeneration for quite some time after it should have kicked in, led to this erratic behaviour.
- Why did he leave with Mel at the end of his trial? Wouldn't taking her back to her proper place with his future self flout the Laws of Time?
- Perhaps the Laws of Time work differently than the way which has been assumed.
- A possible alternative interpretation lies in the trial itself. Prior to providing his own defence (DW: Terror of the Vervoids) the Doctor is given access to the Matrix, and allowed to study his own future. Having witnessed an undisclosed amount of his own future adventures it is possible he realized that whether he becomes the Valeyard or not, travelling with Peri was essential. Choosing to carry her someplace other than the station, and not trusting the time lords with her return, may be his way of taking control of the situation.
Undated/Unchronicled events
- The Doctor had met Captain Travers previously. (DW: Terror of the Vervoids)
- The Doctor's first "official" meeting with Melanie Bush.
- The Doctor's first introduction to Mel, and stories intended for the aborted Season 23, have been covered in spin-off media, specifically novels and audio dramas.
- The Doctor and Peri's destination after defeating the Daleks, ending with his saying "I'll take you to ..." (DW: Revelation of the Daleks) as well as their activities thereafter. (DW: The Mysterious Planet) Peri is noticeably more mature after the interval, suggesting some time has passed for her.
Key Life Events
- The Doctor regenerates. (DW: The Caves of Androzani)
- He experiences a period of unstable behaviour immediately after, even attempting to strangle his companion, Peri Brown. (DW: The Twin Dilemma)
- The Doctor returns to the site of 76 Totter's Lane. (DW: Attack of the Cybermen)
- Encounters Sil for the first time. (DW: Vengeance on Varos)
- Encounters the Master and the Rani. (DW: The Mark of the Rani)
- The Doctor re-unites with Jamie and encounters his own second incarnation. After this adventure, he temporarily becomes a vegetarian. (DW: The Two Doctors)
- Meets Sabalom Glitz. (DW: The Mysterious Planet)
- The Time Lords put the Doctor on trial and he serves as his own defender. The Valeyard is his prosecutor and also his own possible future incarnation. The Doctor learns that he has been deposed as Lord President of Gallifrey. (DW: The Trial of a Time Lord)
- The Doctor is led to believe that his companion, Peri Brown, has been killed. (DW: Mindwarp)
- The Doctor meets Melanie Bush for the first time, in his timeline, just prior to the defeat of the Valeyard. (DW: The Ultimate Foe)
- Travels alone for a time before his official first meeting with Melanie Bush, and occasionally with companions such as Grant Markham, (MA: Time of Your Life) Frobisher, (DWM: The Shape Shifter) Evelyn Smythe, (BFA: The Marian Conspiracy) Charley Pollard, (BFA: The Condemned) and even former companion Jamie McCrimmon. (BFA: City of Spires)
- Reunites with Romana and stops the Etra Prime Incident. (BFA: The Apocalypse Element)
- Meets Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart for the first time in this incarnation. (BFA: The Spectre of Lanyon Moor)
- Melanie Bush meets the Doctor. She becomes his companion. (PDA: Business Unusual)
- Visits the planet Carsus and solves the mystery sack about the murdered Professor Rummas, and the contracting multiverse. (PDA: Spiral Scratch)
- The Doctor regenerates into his seventh incarnation. (DW: Time and the Rani)
Behind the scenes
- According to Colin Baker his coat was created the way it appears because John Nathan-Turner had the idea that it should be in "very bad taste". (DWM: DWM Issue 118 - Colin Baker Interviewed)
- Baker declined an invitation to film the regeneration sequence at the start of Time and the Rani, so his successor, Sylvester McCoy, donned a blonde wig and briefly appeared on screen as the sixth incarnation.
- Spiral Scratch by Gary Russell gives a "revisionist" account of the circumstances behind the Doctor's regeneration, explaining that it had not simply happened because he had hit his head. Love and War by Paul Cornell had offered a different revisionist explanation, or at least implied one, although it should be noted that neither theory expressly contradicts each other. Spiral Scratch features the Doctor being weakened after having his chronal energy drained fighting the Lamprey, while Love and War implies that he deliberately flew into the tractor beam to trigger his regeneration, but it is possible that the injuries the Doctor sustained in the beam were simply made worse by his already weakened state and his incarnation could have otherwise lived for a while longer even in his weakened condition.