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The Tenth Doctor was the latest known incarnation of the Time Lord known as the Doctor.
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Biography
Regeneration
When the Doctor absorbed the Time Vortex from his companion, Rose Tyler, the forces contained himself him began to destroy every cell in his body. He regenerated to save his life. The Doctor immediately de-materialized the TARDIS from its location on Satellite 5, leaving the now-immortal Jack Harkness (made so by the Bad Wolf) behind. (DW: The Parting of the Ways). (The Doctor would later say that the presence of such an un-natural being as Jack caused a form of instinctive distress. (DW: Utopia) The Doctor piloted the ship back to Powell Estate in London on Christmas Eve and lapsed into a comatose state, but snapped out of it briefly and then for a longer time in order to beat back an invasion of planet Earth by the Sycorax on Christmas morning. During this adventure he had his hand cut off while in a sword fight with the Sycorax leader but, still retaining special healing abilities from his regeneration, grew it back. (DW: The Christmas Invasion).
Adventures with Rose
The Doctor and Rose embarked on adventures together through time and space. During a trip to 1879 Scotland, he inadvertently inspired Queen Victoria to found the Torchwood Institute. (DW: Tooth and Claw. Back on 21st century Earth, the Doctor went undercover as John Smith, a physics teacher at a high school which the Krillitanes had infiltrated. The Doctor had a chance reunion his old friends Sarah Jane Smith and K-9. He also allowed Mickey Smith to accompany him at Sarah Jane's suggestion. (DW: School Reunion)
The Doctor met and fell in love with Reinette (also known as Madame de Pompadour) a beautiful noblewoman living in 18th century Versailles and saved her from the Clockwork Droids. Both circumstances did not permit them to continue their relationship. (DW: The Girl in the Fireplace)
On a parallel Earth, he witnessed the birth of that universe's Cybermen and saw off Mickey, who decided to stay on the other world. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)
Later, through a series of events, the Doctor found himself captured and taken to Torchwood Tower and kept prisoner by the Torchwood Institute considered the Doctor their enemy. Nevertheless, he helped the Institute to fight off two opposing invasions, one by the Daleks led by the Cult of Skaro, the other by Cybermen from the world where he had left Mickey. To order to exile the Daleks and Cybermen to the Void, he also lost Rose to the parallel universe with Mickey and her mother (DW: Army of Ghosts/ Doomsday)
Life after Rose
While he was grieving over Rose, a bride named Donna Noble, to his shock, appeared inside the TARDIS during her wedding ceremony. The Doctor discovered the involvement of the ancient Racnoss. After their destruction by the Doctor, and largely because of the Doctor's ruthless treatment of them, Donna decided not to travel with him. (DW: The Runaway Bride)
The Doctor met Martha Jones, a London medical student, and, after defeating a Plasmavore on the Moon, invited her along to travel with him in the TARDIS. (DW: Smith and Jones) On New Earth, which he had previously visited with Rose, he heard the final words of the Face of Boe to him: You are not alone. (DW: Gridlock) In 1930 New York City, the Doctor once more met and defeated the Cult of Skaro. (DW: Daleks in Manhattan) Dalek Caan survived. (DW: Evolution of the Daleks)
The Doctor hid from the Family of Blood by using a chameleon arch to transform himself mentally and physically into a Human schoolteacher called John Smith. He fell in love with a woman, Joan Redfern and would have spent the rest of his life with her. The Doctor was forced to retake his Time Lord body, and sought suitable punishment for the Family of Blood. (DW: Human Nature/The Family of Blood)
Return of the Master
In Cardiff, where the Doctor had gone to "re-fuel" the TARDIS using the Cardiff rift, Jack Harkness jumped onto and physically clung to the exterior of the TARDIS, hitching a ride to the planet Malcassairo in the far distant future. On Malcassairo, the Doctor found Professor Yana, actually his old nemesis; The Master, turned Human by another chameleon arch. The Master escaped using the Doctor's own TARDIS. (DW: Utopia)
Using the Human name Harold Saxon, the Master made himself Prime Minister of Great Britain and invited in a army to take over the world. (DW: The Sound of Drums) The Master imprisoned the Doctor for a year, during the end of which time, he used his laser screwdriver to artificially age the Doctor 900 years, turning him into a small creature. The Master was later defeated by manipulation of the Master's Archangel Network to the Doctor's own advantage, thus effectively committing suicide, making the Doctor truly the last of the Time Lords. Shortly thereafter, Martha left him, thinking that she should go off and live his own life, though they parted amiacably. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
Only minutes after she departed the TARDIS, the Doctor encountered his own fifth incarnation when their TARDISes merged. (DW: Time Crash) Shortly afterwards, he made a new friend, Astrid Peth, on board an alien spacecraft, the Titantic (modeled after the Earth original) but, just managing to save her before her death, could only save her by transforming her into a being of light. (DW: Voyage of the Damned)
Personality
Like his predecessor, this Doctor was capable of boundless enthusiasm, though in his case often at inappropriate times. While many Doctors have intentionally flouted social conventions, the Tenth seems to be genuinely surprised when he is rude or uncouth. Charismatic and manic and with boundless energy, he retained and even exceeded his last incarnation's capacity for righteous anger, especially when Rose was threatened, as when the Wire stole her face. (DW: The Idiot's Lantern). When driven by anger or righteousness, he would act without hesitation to strike down those who opposed him; for example, he toppled the regime of Harriet Jones with just six well-chosen words after she committed what the Doctor considered mass murder (DW: The Christmas Invasion).
The Doctor also showed his anger when he gave each member of the Family of Blood an eternal punishment, fulfilling their wish for immortality in a twisted way (DW: The Family of Blood). While he had resolved much of the survivor's guilt felt previously, he is beginning to feel his age and, behind the outward playfulness, he feels a deep loneliness. His keen sense of loss leads him to empathise with those who have also suffered.
There was an undeniable shadow cast over the jollity of the Doctor. He had a ruthlessness, bordering on arrogance, that was almost eerie to behold. Beneath his youthful veneer, the Doctor is a very old man who has seen many terrible things; and in some matters, his patience has worn out. His usual jolly demeanor has somewhat disappeared since the departure of Rose. He was a little angrier, darker, and not as friendly towards Donna or Martha. This suggests that he never really got over Rose's leave-taking.
Habits and Quirks
The Doctor made frequent reference to twentieth century pop culture, from the Ghostbusters theme (DW: Army of Ghosts) to the song "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King (DW: The Christmas Invasion). He had also read the Harry Potter books, saying that he cried after reading the seventh book (DW: The Shakespeare Code). He's fond of rock and roll, trying to take Rose to see concerts by both Elvis Presley (DW: The Idiot's Lantern) and Ian Drury (DW: Tooth and Claw), and dresses in the manner of an indie Brit-pop musician. He wore trainers and faux reading glasses — both deliberate homages to his fifth incarnation. (DW: Time Crash) He often remarks that exotic technology or life is "beautiful" and is genuinely enthralled by such discoveries, sometimes to the extent that he places himself or his companions in danger.
Until they left his life, he continued his previous incarnation's habit of mildy abusing both Mickey and Jackie, though generally in a more obviously playful fashion.
Key Life Events
- Still in the first 15 hours of his new regeneration, the Doctor defeats the Sycorax. (DW: The Christmas Invasion)
- Reunites with Sarah Jane Smith and K-9 was joined for a short time by Mickey Smith. (DW: School Reunion)
- Sees Mickey Smith off on a parallel Earth. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel)
- First meeting with Donna Noble (DW: The Runaway Bride)
- In Royal Hope Hospital, medical student Martha Jones joins the Doctor travels. (DW: Smith and Jones)
- Becomes the Human John Smith and meets Joan Redfern. (DW: Human Nature / The Family of Blood)
- Is imprisoned for a year by the newly-reborn Master on Earth until his rescue by Martha Jones. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
- Martha decides to leave the Doctor to travel alone. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
- Met Astrid Peth on board the space ship Titanic. (DW: Voyage of the Damned)
- Reunites with Donna while facing Miss Foster. (DW : Partners in Crime)
Behind the Scenes
The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler are drawn walking down a London street with Rose Tyler in a panel of a the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #6 comic book, taking place during the "No Future For You" story arc. A red phone box is seen behind them, most likely as a reference to the TARDIS.