First Doctor

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The First Doctor was the first known incarnation of the Time Lord known as The Doctor. Most accounts of him were drawn from a period of time close to the end of his life.

he is an old gay puff. and james robinson (from 13 hemsdale avenue felling gateshead tyne and wear)loves him

Appearance

The Doctor in a cape

In his later life, the Doctor had 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, The Tenth Planet) or a Panama hat (DW: The Chase, The Daleks' Master Plan). He also sometimes wore a cape (DW: Planet of Giants, The War Machines). Like his fifth incarnation, he sometimes used half-moon reading glasses (DW: The Time Meddler, The Daleks' Master Plan, The War Machines), although a later incarnation would call into question whether he actually needed them (DW: Time Crash). He also occasionally employed a walking stick (DW: The Five Doctors), which sometimes made an effective weapon. (DW: The Chase) He also wore a blue signet ring which had special, if ill-defined, powers. (DW: The Web Planet, The Daleks' Master Plan, The Power of the Daleks) On one occasion, the ring appeared to both facilitate hypnotism and protect the Doctor from electrical shock. (DW: The War Machines)

When adventuring in Earth's past, this version of the Doctor, in contrast with most that followed, sometimes made significant changes to his wardrobe, in an attempt to blend in with the local population. (DW: The Romans, The Reign of Terror, The Crusade) However, he usually made at least a token alteration to his "standard" outfit wherever he went in Earth's past, as when he wore a cowboy hat in 19th century Arizona. (DW: The Gunfighters) More rarely, he would gladly accept the vestments of extraterrestrial societies, as when he proudly wore the ceremonial garb of the Elders. (DW: The Savages)

Personality

A mysterious character, the Doctor progressed from selfish anti-hero to a more noble figure, defending truth and the innocent. He was by turns casually disdainful yet formally gracious; easily exhausted while walking yet almost gleeful during a physical confrontation; seemingly wise yet prone to mistakes borne of arrogance and rash judgment.

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. He had no problem hitting a Viking when his own life was threatened. (DW: An Unearthly Child, DW: The Time Meddler)

File:TypicalHartnell.jpg
A typical scowl.

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)

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.

It is notable that all of his future incarnations have a noticeably profound respect for the First Doctor, so much so that they dare not question his judgment. The Time Lords used this to their advantage when the Second and Third Doctor were found to be incapable of working together. Even the First Doctor's presence on the TARDIS' monitor gave off enough authoritative aura to convince the Second and Third Doctor to work in harmony. (DW: The Three Doctors)

The original Doctor again shows his position of authority over his future selves by deducing the truth about Rassilon's gift of immortality before the others and taking action without their input or objections. These multiple-Doctor stories also seem to hint that regeneration comes with the cost of gaps in memory and intelligence as the First Doctor is often shown to be wiser, more intelligent, and quick witted than his future incarnations. (DW: The Five Doctors)

The Doctor was not particularly adept at hiding his feelings

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. Its systems often broke down, including the navigational systems. 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. 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

Family and Relationship to Susan

As mentioned above, one account explains that the Doctor rescued Larna, a young Time Lady from the Doctor's own time, whom he later called Susan. (RT: Birth of a Renegade) Another contradictory account states that the Doctor had gone back in time to the Dark Times of Gallifrey to pick up both the Other's granddaughter and the Hand of Omega from that time period. (NA: Lungbarrow). The televised series however strongly implies that the Doctor had once been a father, and that Susan is his actual biological granddaughter.

The Daleks

This incarnation of the Doctor seemed unfamiliar with the Daleks, and demonstrated eagerness to explore their homeworld Skaro (DW: The Daleks). However, he revealed in a later incarnation that he had already by this time hidden away the Hand of Omega on 1963 Earth, as part of an ongoing plan to defeat them. (DW: Remembrance of the Daleks)

Other Matters

  • This is the only incarnation ever known to smoke, specifically a pipe (DW: An Unearthly Child).
  • When the Doctor, Vicki, Barbara and Ian were being chased by the Daleks through time, he claimed to have built the TARDIS. (DW: The Chase) This statement stands in stark contrast with later incarnations and Time Lord authorities who claimed that the TARDIS was stolen (EDA: The Gallifrey Chronicles) (DW: Planet of the Dead (TV story)); it has also been suggested that the TARDIS was grown, rather than built (DW: Rise of the Cybermen, The Impossible Planet). While the TARDIS could have been both grown and stolen, it is difficult to see how it could also have been built by the Doctor. Susan has made the claim that she coined the acronym TARDIS (DW: An Unearthly Child), leading to the possibility that the Doctor was somehow involved with the development of the TARDIS. The Eighth Doctor revealed that he had made various additions to the TARDIS in The Taking of Planet 5 to replace the need for a direct symbiotic link to control the TARDIS and thus make it harder for the Time Lords to find him, suggesting that, while the Doctor did not build the TARDIS from the beginning, he made significant alterations to it after it came into his possession.
  • The computer WOTAN referred to the Doctor as "Doctor Who". Exactly why the computer would give the Doctor this name when he is never referred to as such is unknown. (DW: The War Machines)
See separate article.
  • The matter of this incarnation's age and how long this incarnation lived is unclear.
See The Doctor's age.

Key Life Events

Behind the Scenes

Casting

Actors considered for the role of the Doctor (not the "first" at this point) included Geoffrey Bayldon, Cyril Cusack, Hugh David and Alan Webb. William Hartnell had, up until that point, mainly played small-time thugs and other unsympathetic parts in crime films and humourless military men in comedies. Producer Verity Lambert was inspired to ask him to accept the role after seeing him in his well-known role in This Sporting Life, which convinced her that he could play a tough, yet shaded and sympathetic character.

When the time came for the First Doctor to appear in the 1983 anniversary special DW: The Five Doctors, actor Richard Hurndall was hired to play the role, replacing William Hartnell, who had died in the mid-1970s. Peter Cushing played him in the mid 1960's movies.

External Links

v • e
Companions of the First Doctor
Original to television
Multi-adventure
Narratively ambiguous
Original to prose
Multi-adventure
Single-adventure
Narratively ambiguous
Original to comics
Original to audio
Original to video games
If a medium is not mentioned, then this incarnation did not have companions who were original to that medium; it does not mean that this Doctor failed to appear in that medium.
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