First Doctor

A mysterious character, the First Doctor progressed from selfish anti-hero to a more noble figure, defending truth and the innocent. He was a sometimes cantankerous, sometimes benevolent, sometimes doddering grandfather figure.

Biography

Self-exile from Gallifrey

The Doctor lived originally on Gallifrey, home planet of the Time Lords. Though he kept his reasons for leaving vague when asked, implying that he could not go back, even if he chose (DW: An Unearthly Child), in fact, he had chosen to steal a Type 40 TARDIS and travel throughout space and time. (DW: The War Games).

One depiction shows the Doctor and Susan Foreman fleeing through a corridor with an explosion occurring at this time. Interestingly, this scene also depicted the Doctor and Susan already dressed in 20th century Earth clothing (DWM: Time & Time Again).

Other accounts differ to a greater or lesser degree. By the time that the Doctor and Susan had landed in London, the travelers had already experienced a number of adventures.

Life on Earth

For five months, Susan and the Doctor lived in 1963 London to enable Susan to complete her education and so that the Doctor could find some missing components for the TARDIS (DW: An Unearthly Child); as later revealed, he was also finding a hiding place for the Hand of Omega, although this fact was not obvious at the time (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks).

By this time, a Dalek had already discovered him. The Doctor's seventh incarnation also appeared in his past self's life on a mission from the White Guardian, to steal the TARDIS Instruction Manual. (DWM: Time & Time Again)

Two teachers Barbara Wright and Ian Chesterton from Coal Hill School, tracked Susan down to a junkyard in 76 Totter's Lane, where the Doctor and Susan had left the TARDIS. Unable to know what to do, the Doctor kidnapped the teachers. The TARDIS dematerialised and landed in 100,000 BCE.(DW: An Unearthly Child)

Other travels

The Doctor remained unable to effectively pilot the TARDIS. Subsequently, the Doctor, Susan, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright travelled throughout the Universe, trying to find a way back to 1963 Earth.

In London during the time of the 22nd century Dalek invasion, Susan met David Campbell, a young resistance fighter against the Daleks. Recognizing that Susan had matured from girl to woman, the Doctor left her behind. (DW: The Dalek Invasion of Earth)

Subsequently, the Doctor helped people in need and fighting such alien enemies as the Daleks (again), Zarbi (DW: The Web Planet) and Cybermen (DW: The Tenth Planet).

Regeneration

He apparently succumbed to old age after his first meeting with the Cybermen, stating that "this old body is wearing a bit thin." Fortunately, the Doctor was able to return to the TARDIS in time to begin the regeneration process, transforming him into a new, younger body. (DW: The Tenth Planet)

Characteristics

Appearance

In his later life, the Doctor resembled a humanoid male of advanced years, with shoulder length, greyish white hair. He had piercing brown eyes.

The Doctor affected a slightly eccentric Edwardian dress sense, wearing a frock coat and tartan trousers. Occasionally he wore an Astrakhan (DW: An Unearthly Child) or Panama hat (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan) He had reading glasses and used a walking stick which made an effective weapon (DW: The Chase). The Doctor wore a blue signet ring which had special powers. (DW: The Daleks' Master Plan)

Personality

During this phase in his life, the Doctor was irascible, a brilliant but often short-tempered scientist. He refused to bend his knee to the Kublai Khan, giving rheumatic knees as the reason. (DW: Marco Polo). He would get particularly snappish with those who doubted the TARDIS could actually travel through space and time. (DW: An Unearthly Child, DW: The Time Meddler)

At first he had a particularly selfish and duplicitous attitude. Having contempt for mere humans, he regarded them as primitives. He abducted Barbara and Ian against their will and set the TARDIS console to shock Ian into unconsciousness. Arguably, he even contemplated killing the mortally wounded Za so that he would not slow down the Doctor's party. (DW: An Unearthly Child) The Doctor also deliberately removed the TARDIS' fluid link so that he would have an excuse to explore the Dalek City on Skaro. (DW: The Daleks)

Especially as time went on, however, he displayed great wisdom and a kind heart. Perhaps due to his age, he seemed more frail than his later incarnations. He also appeared somewhat absent-minded, but this may have been exaggerated to make his enemies underestimate him. The Doctor would, when pressed, resort to fisticuffs with an effectiveness which belied his age. (DW: The Romans, DW: The Chase). He claimed that a professional wrestler, the Mountain Mauler of Montana had taught him some effective moves. (DW: The Romans)

Unlike his successors, he was often as reliant upon his companions as they were upon him -- many times it was Ian or Steven who saved the day. Nonetheless, the First Doctor possessed an aura of power and intelligence which was impossible to ignore.

He often returned to Earth at various times in its history, apparently motivated by historical curiosity rather than a desire to preserve it against alien invaders. On his voyages to other planets, he was again motivated as much by curiosity as by a desire to help them.

Habits and Quirks

The First Doctor punctuated his speech with, "Hmmmm...?", exasperated sighs and snorts and the occasional mangled phrase or word. He would address young women as "child" and younger men as "my boy" or in Ian's case by his name. However, he found it difficult (or pretended to find it difficult) to remember Ian's last name.

The TARDIS required expert piloting and guidance by the Doctor. This would explain the difficulty the Doctor encountered in returning to 1963 London in order to return Ian and Barbara to their lives. The Doctor consulted a small handbook.

He possibly used the Five Hundred Year Diary his second incarnation would sometimes consult.

The Doctor never even hinted at the nature of his own origins, other than to state that he and the Monk originated on the same world and to hint that Susan and himself were exiles from the same place and time. (DW: An Unearthly Child)

Mysteries and Discrepancies

We do not know the exact relationship between the Doctor and Susan, whether adopted or biological. The First Doctor never made mention of other members of his family. The Tenth Doctor, however, once told Rose Tyler "I was a dad, once".

The First Doctor seemed unfamiliar with the Daleks (DW: The Daleks), even though he had, we would learn later, hidden the Hand of Omega away on 1963 Earth, as part of an ongoing plan to defeat them. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

It is never explicitly stated that the First Doctor had this plan in mind when he took the Hand to Earth. It is more likely that the plan occurred to him later in his travels, after he became familiar with the Daleks.

In the course of his first adventure with Ian and Barbara, the Doctor smokes a pipe (DW: An Unearthly Child). We have never seen him smoke on any other ocassion.

The computer WOTAN referred to the Doctor as "Doctor Who", the first and only time, so far, we have heard the Doctor so described. (DW: The War Machines)

The First Doctor appeared, unlike the Third Doctor and later Doctors, to have one heart, rather than two hearts, at least as far as a cursory medical examination by Ian revealed. (DW: The Edge of Destruction). One source claims that Time Lords develop their second heart during their first regeneration.) (MA: The Man in the Velvet Mask)