Ninth Doctor
The Ninth Doctor was the ninth incarnation of the Time Lord known as the Doctor, the brooding and melancholic survivor of the Last Great Time War. Unlike his previous lives, he mostly had a single companion, namely Rose Tyler. The Doctor had temporary allies in Rose's ex-boyfriend Mickey Smith and her mother Jackie Tyler, along with Harriet Jones against the Slitheen. The Doctor regenerated again after absorbing the energy of the Time Vortex to save Rose from its deadly after-effects.
Biography
Foreshadowing
When the eighth incarnation of the Doctor looked into the Tomorrow Windows, he saw this Doctor as a possible ninth incarnation, as well as two Doctors which would not be. (EDA: The Tomorrow Windows)
Regeneration and early adventures
What caused the previous incarnation to regenerate is unknown. When asked about what happened to his eighth incarnation, the tenth incarnation of the Doctor answered, "What happened to me? That's simple. The Time War happened." (IDW: The Forgotten)
A report on the "contact Clive" website showed that almost immediately after regenerating, the Doctor arrived at Totters Lane in the early 21st century, wearing his previous incarnation's clothes and muttering to a local, "They're all gone. I'm the only one left". After trading most of his previous incarnation's clothing at an Oxfam in Sheffield, the Doctor dumped items belonging to his other selves in a tip. (WEB: whoisdoctorwho.co.uk)
After regenerating, the Doctor had some adventures on his own, such as meeting Sally Sparrow. (NSA: The Eyeless, DWAN: What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow)
A man fitting the Doctor's description tended to Honoré Lechasseur's injuries after a bunker exploded in 1951. He disappeared without a trace. (THN: The Albino's Dancer)
Travels with Rose
In 2005 London, the Doctor rescued Rose Tyler from Autons at her workplace, Henrik's, blowing up the building. They defeated the Nestene Consciousness controlling the Autons, who had come to earth to feed on pollution. The Doctor tried to persuade the Consciousness to leave Earth, but it refused and took him prisoner. Rose rescued him and destroyed the Consciousness with the Doctor's anti-plastic. The Doctor invited her to travel with him on his journeys through space and time in his TARDIS. Rose accepted. (DW: Rose)
For her first trip time-travelling, the Doctor took Rose to the distant future, when the Earth was destroyed by the sun. The Doctor saved the other sightseers from Lady Cassandra's plot to burn them alive to collect insurance money. He let her frame of skin dry out and explode as punishment when he foiled her plan, (DW: The End of the World) though Cassandra's brainmeat survived. (DW: New Earth) He told Rose of the Last Great Time War, and how he was the last of the Time Lords. (DW: The End of the World) He took Rose to Cardiff in 1869, where they met one of his favourite authors, Charles Dickens. He found ethereal beings known as Gelth, victims of war who wished to inhabit corpses to gain new bodies. The Doctor used the psychic Gwyneth to speak to them through the Rift to compromise with them, but the Gelth needed many bodies and planned to kill humans to supply their wants. Thanks to Gwyneth's sacrifice, the Gelth were trapped in the Rift. (DW: The Unquiet Dead)
The Doctor tried to take Rose to her own time, but arrived a year late. He faced the Slitheen, who wished to destroy Earth for profit. After Mickey helped him stop them, the Doctor asked him to join Rose and him in the TARDIS. Mickey declined. (DW: Aliens of London / World War Three)
Trying out new Companions
Tracking a distress signal, the Doctor went to the Vault in Utah in 2012, where he found a lone Dalek had survived the Time War and was being kept amongst other alien artefacts by Henry van Statten. After the Dalek committed suicide, the Doctor took along one of the Vault's employees, Adam Mitchell, at Rose's request. (DW: Dalek) The Doctor took them to the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, where the Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe controlled the human race. Cathica destroyed it by rerouting heat to its control room. The Doctor returned Adam home after the new companion had tried to use knowledge from the future to alter history for profit. The Doctor left Adam with a forehead implant Adam had installed to make sure he didn't make trouble. (DW: The Long Game)
The Doctor tracked a Chula ambulance to 1941 London and met the conman Jack Harkness, a 51st century ex-Time Agent. The Doctor focused on a symptom spreading through London accidentally caused by the ship's crash; a dead Empty Child was revived by the ambulance's nanogenes and was turning people into gasmask zombies like himself. The Doctor fixed the nanogenes' mistakes having them compare the DNA between the child and his mother Nancy, restoring the infected zombies to normal. The Doctor rescued Jack from his ship just before it exploded, taking him into the TARDIS. (DW: The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances)
While on a refuelling trip in Cardiff, the Doctor and his companions captured Blon Fel-Fotch, the sole survivor of the Slitheen they had defeated in their previous encounter. The Doctor confiscated her extrapolator and dined with his foe as her last request. After Blon was turned into an egg by the heart of the TARDIS, which granted her wish for a fresh start and ending her backup plot to escape Earth, the Doctor decided to drop her off in the hatchery on her homeworld. (DW: Boom Town)
Resolution of the Time War
After leaving Raxacoricofallapatorius, the Doctor, Rose and Jack had an adventure in Kyoto, Japan. After an escape there, they were teleported to Satellite 5 a hundred years after their last visit, only to be put in deadly versions of 21st century TV game shows. After escaping his game, the Doctor found the TARDIS in the control room. The Doctor learned the station was broadcasting a secondary signal into space and the games' losers were not killed, but teleported to the signal's target.
The Doctor learned a large Dalek fleet had survived the war and were now headed to the station to confront him. (DW: Bad Wolf) The Emperor was alive and had been converting the losers into Daleks for its army. The Doctor decided his fight against the Daleks was suicidal and sent Rose back to the 21st century in the TARDIS while he and Jack began setting up for the inevitable extermination. He built a device that would "fry the brain stems of every living thing with a thousand miles of the satellite", but was not able to perfect it to work only on Daleks.
Rose opened the heart of the TARDIS and looked upon it, becoming the powerful Bad Wolf entity. She returned to the future to save the Doctor. Rose had absorbed the Time Vortex into herself. She declared the Time War to be over and destroyed the Dalek fleet and with a wave of her hand, scattering their atoms into dust. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
Regeneration
The Doctor knew that Rose would burn up if she kept so much power in her body. He kissed her, drawing the Time Vortex from her body and into his. They returned to the TARDIS, leaving behind Jack, whom Rose had converted into an immortal fixed point in time. The Doctor, who likewise could not survive the energies of the heart of the TARDIS, regenerated. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
- For a list of Ninth Doctor stories in the order in which he experienced them, see Ninth Doctor - Timeline.
Undated adventures
- Clive Finch had several images of this incarnation at well-known historical events. The Ninth Doctor appeared in Dallas at John F. Kennedy's assassination, in Southampton just before the launch of the Titanic, and in Indonesia on the day of Krakatoa's eruption. (DW: Rose)
- The Ninth Doctor delivered a letter for his fifth incarnation's companions Peri Brown and Erimem while they were stranded in England in 1483. (BFA: The Kingmaker)
- Clive Finch's website also documented sightings in several of the Ninth Doctor's adventures. These included the Ninth Doctor and Rose visiting a five thousand year old Megalithic tomb in Newgrange. (WEB: Who is Doctor Who?)
- Some time after meeting Rose, the Ninth Doctor visited the Christmas truce of World War I and later spoke of a football game there. (IDW: The Forgotten)
- The Ninth Doctor attended the funeral of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. (ST: The Gift)
- In 1945, the Ninth Doctor took Winston Churchill on a trip to Ancient Rome, where they encountered a creature disguised as one of Emperor Tiberius's reclining benches. Winston then realised why the Second Doctor had taught him how to address a table in Latin back in 1882. (REF: The Brilliant Book 2011)
Psychological profile
Personality
This incarnation of the Doctor was deeply affected by his actions in the Last Great Time War. He hid his sorrow with a facade of manic energy and a sharp, offbeat wit. Nevertheless the weight of destroying the Time Lords and the Daleks preyed upon him, creating an emotional incarnation of great sorrow and anger. Consequently, it also created an incarnation with a new appreciation for the wonders of the universe and who, more keenly than ever, burned with a desire to keep the universe safe from harm. Despite this, this incarnation of the Doctor was more adept at noticing the flaws of humanity than any of his predecessors.
When asked by the Emperor of the Daleks whether he was a coward or a killer the Doctor struggled with the decision to destroy the Daleks and the Earth or simply allow the Dalek's to kill him and take over the universe. In the end he couldn't bring himself to destroy the Earth even to rid the universe of the Daleks, and proclaimed himself a coward. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
While his previous incarnations were rarely heard uttering minor curse words like "hell" and "damn," the ninth incarnation tended to use these phrases more freely, along with "Oi!" when trying to get someone's attention. He was also more violent, physically coming into contact with guards when arrested. (DW: Bad Wolf) The tenth incarnation implied that the ninth incarnation was angrier and pained due to being "born from war" when he compared the Meta-Crisis Doctor to the ninth incarnation. (DW: Journey's End)
At times the ninth incarnation was sadistic, torturing a helpless Dalek even when the Dalek pleaded for him to "have pity". The Doctor's hatred for the Daleks was strong, and the one he tortured claimed the Doctor would make a good Dalek himself. (DW: Dalek)
The Doctor cared very deeply about Rose and was willing to let a lethal Dalek loose on Earth to keep her safe. (DW: Dalek) He was also reluctant to use a missile to destroy the Slitheen because he feared he would kill Rose too. (DW: World War Three) When the Daleks invaded Satellite Five, the Doctor lied to Rose about being able to use the TARDIS to stop them and sent her back home to protect her. He deliberately absorbed the Time Vortex energy in her to save her life - knowing full well that he would have to regenerate. (DW: The Parting of the Ways)
Habits and quirks
The ninth incarnation spoke with a distinctive Northern English accent. When Rose questioned this, he replied that "lots of planets have a North." He was critical of his own large ears. (DW: Rose) He had a fondness for saying "fantastic", with emphasis on the second syllable, whenever he saw something of interest or especially dangerous. (DW: The End of the World, The Unquiet Dead, Dalek)
This incarnation called Mickey Smith "Mickey the idiot", or "Ricky". He called humans "stupid apes", seeing himself above them, often calling them this when angered by their actions. He rarely spoke of his past to others. He did not "do domestic", as he put it, which led to tension in his interactions with Jackie Tyler. (DW: World War Three) He had a fondness for bananas, which continued to his next incarnation. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
He often made
dry jokes to those around him to diffuse tension, but usually ended up failing; on one occasion, it was a cynical joke. (DW: Rose, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London, World War Three, The Long Game, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances, Boom Town, The Parting of the Ways)
He often gave speeches about things or lectured those he wished to scold. (DW: Rose, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London, Dalek, The Long Game, Father's Day, The Empty Child], The Doctor Dances, Boom Town, Bad Wolf, The Parting of the Ways)
Despite being bad at card tricks, he was a good pickpocket; he swapped Jack's sonic blaster with a banana. (DW: The Doctor Dances)
This incarnation was sometimes exhausted emotionally. He would break down when faced with pain, suffering, or death. This once resulted in a brief moment of relief when he realised that he could, for once, reverse all of the pain and suffering he had encountered, whooping, "Just this once - everybody lives!!" (DW: The Doctor Dances)
The Ninth Doctor had a habit of folding his arms and frowning when lecturing or listening intently. He would also grin when happy or when he found something funny. He was overconfident about his plans, even if he didn't think they would work. (DW: Rose et al)
This incarnation enjoyed playing video games and was skilled at them. (NSA: Winner Takes All)
Mysteries and discrepancies
- It is not known if the Doctor had recently regenerated when he met Rose. Shortly after meeting her for a second time at her apartment (after blowing up her workplace the night before) he admired himself in a mirror and commented on his appearance as if he was seeing it this way for the first time. It is not known how long after the end of the Last Great Time War this encounter occurred and it is entirely possible that up until this point the Doctor had been too busy to admire his reflection.
- The Doctor stated that he ended the Last Great Time War. (DW: Dalek) Exactly how he did so is unknown, although the Time Lords mentioned that he was in possession of something called "the Moment". It is unknown whether "the Moment" referred to a time or a device used to end the war.
Appearance
In stark contrast to the extravagant dress of most of his predecessors, the ninth incarnation wore a plain leather jacket, mistaken in World War II for that of a German U-boat commander. (DW: The Empty Child) He would either wear a plain red, green, navy blue, or black jumper, which Charles Dickens thought made him look like a navvy, (DW: The Unquiet Dead) dark trousers and a black, strapped wristwatch, unlike his previous incarnations, who preferred fob watches.
At one time, he was photographed wearing clothes reminiscent of those his eighth incarnation wore. (DW: Rose) This photograph might have been taken shortly after his regeneration, before he had gotten around to picking his new outfit.
During an adventure in World War I, the Doctor wore a military trenchcoat to fit in with the British soldiers. (IDW: The Forgotten)
He wore his hair close-cropped, unlike many of his previous incarnations who had had longer hair. He had large ears and he considered his nose large as well. He claimed they enhanced their respective senses. (DW: The Empty Child)
Behind the scenes
- The ninth incarnation is the only incarnation to date to have the same companion throughout his television appearances (Rose Tyler). In spin-off fiction, the only ninth incarnation story to date where he is not depicted travelling with Rose is the 2006 annual short story What I Did on My Christmas Holidays by Sally Sparrow.
- The ninth incarnation is also one of the only two incarnations to date not to be seen on screen facing another Time Lord as an opponent or having met Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. The eleventh incarnation is also yet to face a Time Lord as an enemy or meet Lethbridge-Stewart, though due to Nicholas Courtney's passing in 2011 and the Brigadier's death mentioned in DW: The Wedding of River Song the latter will not occur.
- The ninth incarnation is the first past incarnation who has not appeared in the Short Trips series of short story collections along with the tenth and eleventh incarnations. Also, Christopher Eccleston, followed by David Tennant and Matt Smith, has yet to take part as the Doctor in any of Big Finish's audio dramas, the first Doctor since Tom Baker to not participate, deceased actors notwithstanding. This also makes Eccleston the only Doctor actor since Patrick Troughton to not participate in an audio drama based upon the franchise.
- The ninth incarnation's era, due to its short length, stands as the first incarnation's era to be completely released to DVD in Australia, North America and the UK. The single film that made up the eighth incarnation's era was not available in North America and Australia then.
- Originally, Russell T Davies approached Hugh Grant, who previously played the Doctor's alternate twelfth incarnation, to play the Ninth Doctor. He turned down the role, thinking the show would not take off. He expressed deep regret in 2007 after seeing how successful the show had become.[1]
