John Smith (Seventh Doctor)
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John Smithfor other, similarly-named pages.
Dr John Smith was a human identity created by the Seventh Doctor
Biography
John Smith was created by the Doctor to understand his human companion Bernice's grief at the death of Guy de Carnac.
He was a Scotsman who supposedly came from Aberdeen. (PROSE: Prelude Human Nature) He taught history, specifically that of the Bronze Age, at Hulton College in Farringham, Norfolk. Although he was portrayed as lacking the Doctor's knack for plans, as well as being more emotionally available than the Doctor, he nevertheless displayed the Doctor's key beliefs about violence, being unwilling to take up guns even after seeing one of his students shot. He was briefly the lover of Joan Redfern, but this relationship was cut short when Farringham was attacked by the Aubertides, a race of creatures seeking the Doctor's biodata- contained in a pod for when the Doctor was ready to become Gallifreyan once more- to increase their reproductive cycle and allow them to conquer Gallifrey.
Although scared by the alienness of what the Doctor represented, Smith was persuaded to assume the Doctor's identity once again when a vision of 'Verity'- an old relationship of his, but really an aspect of the TARDIS left in Smith's mind to protect those aspects of the Doctor that couldn't be extracted- reminded him of how the two were similar. Having returned to normal, the Doctor tricked one of the aliens into taking the pod that now contained Smith's biodata. The alien turned into Smith, who chose to sacrifice himself for Joan. After a brief conversation with the Doctor- during which the Doctor told Smith that he did rather well in his time as the Doctor- Smith was taken by Death. (PROSE: Human Nature)
Three lifetimes later, the Tenth Doctor again assumed the human alias of John Smith, this time attempting to escape the Family of Blood, an incorporeal race who sought the Doctor's DNA to increase their lifespan, via the use of the Chameleon Arch. Unlike the Seventh Doctor's Smith, the Tenth's Smith was far more a product of his time, as evidenced by his slightly racist treatment of his companion Martha Jones, while remaining fairly similar to the Tenth Doctor in general details about his personality, such as a habit of talking too much. (TV: Human Nature/The Family of Blood)
Behind the scenes
- According to writer Paul Cornell, Death taking Smith was intended to be the fulfilment of the deal the Doctor made with Death in Love and War, where the Doctor offered Death one of his lives in exchange for Ace's.
- While the Seventh Doctor's John Smith was significantly different from the Doctor in personality- such as his inability to improvise plans and his willingness to express emotions- while retaining some of the Doctor's essential core beliefs- such as his refusal to use weapons and his open-mindedness about issues such as skin colour-, the Tenth Doctor's John Smith persona was more of a product of his time- willing to use weapons and occasionally bluntly dismissive of Martha Jones due to her skin colour- while being relatively similar to the Tenth Doctor's basic personality in areas such as his tendency to talk a lot when excited and his willingness to express emotions.
