Index → Timey-wimey detector → Timeline - The Doctor
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This page lists the various incarnations and other versions of the Doctor in order. This timeline is based upon observations of the Doctor Who universe and the events that occur during each of these stories.
By most accounts, the existence and relative placements of the numbered Doctors are all but undisputed. However, there exist unnumbered Doctors that exist in potential futures, or even in the past prior to the First Doctor. As well as that, several stories are not so clear as to what version of the Doctor featured in their events.
As a Time Lord, the Doctor was initially limited to a regeneration cycle of thirteen lives. However, the Eleventh Doctor was enabled to regenerate further as a result of additional regeneration energy provided by his fellow Time Lords. Noting his uncertainty as to how many times he could now regenerate, the Twelfth Doctor, first incarnation of the new cycle, speculated that he could potentially "keep on regenerating forever."
Timeline[[edit source]]
- See also: The Doctor's age
Before the Original[[edit source]]
- The Timeless Child
- The earliest known incarnations of the Doctor.
- First Timeless Child
- Second Timeless Child
- Third Timeless Child (Grace Nettle)
- Fourth Timeless Child (Leo Tang)
- Fifth Timeless Child
- Sixth Timeless Child
- Seventh Timeless Child (Jesse Deyi)
- A more ambiguous Doctor who came before the First who worked for the Division. The 14* Doctors places the Fugitive Doctor between the Timeless Children and "Morbius" Doctors, while 100,000 BC instead places her after the latter, though notably it also places some events attributed by Cold Fusion to the Douglas Camfield Doctor after the Fugitive Doctor, despite placing the "Morbius" Doctors beforehand.
- Eight incarnations seemingly directly prior to the First Doctor, at least one of them was Patience's husband. May have been the Other, who may have reincarnated into the First Doctor. The Thirteenth Doctor later recalled these incarnations in order to overload the Matrix, shortly after learning of her previous "Timeless Child" incarnations, suggesting a connection.
- First "Morbius Doctor" (Christopher Barry)
- Second "Morbius Doctor" (Robert Banks Stewart)
- Third "Morbius Doctor" (Christopher Baker)
- Fourth "Morbius Doctor" (Philip Hinchcliffe)
- Fifth "Morbius Doctor" (Douglas Camfield)
- Sixth "Morbius Doctor" (Graeme Harper)
- Seventh "Morbius Doctor" (Robert Holmes)
- Eighth "Morbius Doctor" (George Gallaccio)
All Thirteen[[edit source]]
- By his own word, the "original" Doctor. (TV: The Five Doctors, Twice Upon a Time)
- In an alternate timeline, he died on Grace Alone. (AUDIO: The First Wave)
- Alternately: The Doctor (Auld Mortality) (Geoffrey Bayldon), El Jefe, First Doctor (Things Left Behind)
- Clone: Second Doctor (clone)
- Alternately: Previous Doctor (Exile) (Nicholas Briggs), Second Doctor (Inferno Earth), Doctor-Polly (Inheritance), Second Doctor (Across the Threshold)
- Alternately: The Doctor (Sympathy for the Devil) (David Warner), Third Doctor (Inferno Earth) (Jack Kine), The Doctor (Exile) (Arabella Weir), The Doctor (Who's Who?) (Jon Pertwee), Brigadier-Doctor (Inheritance)
- Clone: Fourth Doctor (clone)
- Encountered and merged with the Watcher just prior to his regeneration. (TV: Logopolis)
- Alternatively: Fourth Doctor (The Flashy Girl From Lungbarrow), Joan (The Hole Truth)
- Clone: Fifth Doctor Dalek duplicate
- Alternately: Lord of the Manor, The Warrior (Colin Baker)
- Clone: Sixth Doctor (Dalek duplicate), Sixth Doctor (clone)
- Alternately: Burner Doctor, Theta Sigma (Forever), Sixth Doctor (The People Made of Smoke) (Dan Starkey), Doctor-Peri (Cold Comfort), Valeyard Sixth Doctor(Cold Comfort), Sixth Doctor (Across the Threshold), Sixth Doctor (Sense of Self)
- Briefly became the human John Smith.
- Alternatively: Seventh Doctor (Shadow in the Blood)
- Alternately: Eighth Doctor (Grace Holloway's husband), Eighth Doctor (cyborg), Doc Gallifrey, Joe Smith, Tardis Tails, Quiquaequod, Johann Schmidt (Paul McGann), Eighth Doctor (Obverse), Eighth Doctor (Thief of Hearts), Eighth Doctor (Across the Threshold), The Doctor (Stardust in your Eyes)
The Doctor's ninth incarnation was a subject of debate, four distinct accounts existed for the identity of the Doctor's Ninth incarnation, two of which diverged outright (TV: The Curse of Fatal Death, WC: Scream of the Shalka) and the other two of which converged back together. (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Time War, TV: The Day of the Doctor)
Divergent accounts
- Ninth Doctor (Rowan Atkinson
- Tenth Doctor (Richard E Grant)
- Eleventh Doctor (Jim Broadbent)
- Twelfth Doctor (Hugh Grant)
- Thirteenth Doctor (Joanna Lumley)
- One account could be interpreted as suggesting this incarnation somehow existed as a predecessor of the Fifteenth Doctor. (TV: Rogue)
Convergent accounts
PROSE: Doctor Who and the Time War
- By this account, this incarnation emerged from a direct regeneration of the Eighth Doctor at the end of the Last Great Time War (PROSE: Doctor Who and the Time War)
- The ninth incarnation notably fought in the Last Great Time War while abandoning the title of "doctor". Rejected by his succeeding incarnations before being accepted by the Eleventh Doctor. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
- This incarnation emerged as the tenth incarnation following the Last Great Time War, though they still called themselves the Ninth Doctor due to rejecting the War Doctor. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
Following on from the two convergent accounts
- Briefly became the human John Smith.
- The father of Jenny. (TV: The Doctor's Daughter)
- Died in a parallel world. (TV: Turn Left)
- Once used up a regeneration without changing incarnation, an act which also produced the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor and the DoctorDonna. (TV: The Stolen Earth/Journey's End)
- Alternatively: Tenth Doctor (Victorious), Tenth Doctor (Years of War), Tenth Doctor (Everything was Beautiful)
- The last incarnation of the Doctor's original regeneration cycle according to most accounts, it was in this form that the Doctor was originally destined to die permanently, on the planet Trenzalore. (TV: The Name of the Doctor)
- Duplicate: Eleventh Doctor (Ganger)
- Traveling back to ancient Gallifrey, assumed the role of the figure known as the Other. (COMIC: The Lost Dimension)
- Briefly held the identity of John Smith.
- On the brink of dying of old age, the Doctor's life was saved when Clara Oswald convinced the Time Lords to provide him with additional regeneration energy, granting him a "whole new regeneration cycle" (TV: The Time of the Doctor) with an indeterminate amount of regenerations. (TV: Kill the Moon, Hell Bent, The Doctor Falls)
A new cycle[[edit source]]
- The product of "regeneration number thirteen." (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
- Alternately: Twelfth Doctor#Multi-Doctor event, Twelfth Doctor (Virtue)
- Duplicate: Twelfth Doctor (Shadow World)
- A female incarnation.
- Duplicates: The Herald (Herald of Madness), The Sanity
- An incarnation who subconsciously took on the same face as his tenth incarnation. This Doctor continued to exist as his own person following the creation of his immediate successor via bi-generation.
- As a result of the Fourteenth Doctor's bi-generation, the Fourteenth Doctor and the newly created Fifteenth Doctor split into separate individuals whom co-existed with each other whilst retaining the memory of their "whole lifetime" prior to the bi-generation, despite this however, the Fifteenth Doctor also seemed to possess the memories of the Fourteenth Doctor's rehab which occurred after the bi-generation from his perspective, implying his consciousness to be the Fourteenth Doctor's direct successor despite coming into being prior to the Fourteenth Doctor's final regeneration.
The Future[[edit source]]
- The Doctor (Battlefield) (AKA Merlin / Muldwych / Dokien)
- From the future relative to the Seventh Doctor. He believes he is the last incarnation.
- Semi-retired, this incarnation serves as curator of the National Gallery, having retired from his adventurous ways. Revisiting the "old favourite" faces, he appears as an older version of numerous past incarnations. While observed mostly with the appearance of the Fourth Doctor, he has been known to assume the form of the Sixth and Eleventh Doctors as well.
Unidentified Doctors[[edit source]]
- Familiar with the Daleks.
- An incarnation who works for the Time Lords.
- After the Sixth Doctor.
- An associate of the Paternoster Gang, suggesting a post-Time War placement.
- An incarnation with a similar attire to the First Doctor. Uses the title "Professor".
Future Doctors[[edit source]]
- From the future relative to the Seventh Doctor, this incarnation is based on the Doctor portrayed by Nicholas Briggs in the Audio Visuals fan productions.
- After the Eighth Doctor.
Seven Keys to Doomsday[[edit source]]
- Previous Doctor (Seven Keys to Doomsday) (Nicholas Briggs)
- The Doctor (Seven Keys to Doomsday) (Trevor Martin)
The Cabinet of Light[[edit source]]
Clive's Doctors[[edit source]]
- A potential Doctor recorded by Clive Finch, this incarnation is described as a tall, bald black woman wielding a flaming sword. (PROSE: Rose)
- A potential Doctor recorded by Clive Finch, this incarnation is described as a young girl or boy in a hi-tech wheelchair with a robot dog at their side. (PROSE: Rose)
"Last Doctors"[[edit source]]
- An incarnation of the Doctor from the far future and father of Miranda Dawkins. Was assassinated by rebels on the night of his daughter's birth. (COMIC: Miranda)
- The progenitor of Doctor Moon according to Steven Moffat, who died in River Song's arms in battle. (NOTVALID: Showrunner Showdown)
- The final incarnation of the Doctor died during the War in Heaven. His corpse became the Relic. (PROSE: Alien Bodies)
Alternate universes[[edit source]]
The Infinity Doctors[[edit source]]
- Possible equivalent to the Eighth Doctor.[1]
Full Fathom Five[[edit source]]
False Negative[[edit source]]
Unbound: Adventures in Time and Space[[edit source]]
More ambiguous[[edit source]]
- A possible future version of the Doctor. (AUDIO: The Carrionite Curse) Primarily an adversary of the Sixth Doctor, the Valeyard is, according to the Tremas Master, an amalgamation of the Doctor's darker sides from between his twelfth and final incarnations. (TV: The Ultimate Foe) According to the Valeyard himself, he was created as a result of experiments conducted by the final incarnation of the Doctor as he attempted to break the regeneration cycle's limit of thirteen lives. (AUDIO: Trial of the Valeyard)
- A human time traveller and inventor of TARDIS, this character was adapted from the First Doctor. A potentially unreliable account suggests that Dr. Who is the Other. (PROSE: Human Nature)