The Doctor (fictional character): Difference between revisions

|appearances    = '''''[[The Doctor (fictional character) - list of appearances|see list]]'''''

|made by = [[BBC]]

}}

{{ImageLink}}

The Doctor was portrayed by many [[English]] [[actor]]s, including William Hartnell, ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks! (short story)|Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks!]]'') [[Tom Baker (Bafflement and Devotion)|Tom Baker]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Bafflement and Devotion (short story)|Bafflement and Devotion]]'', ''[[The Story of Fester Cat (novel)|The Story of Fester Cat]]'') [[Paul McGann (Hospitality)|Paul McGann]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Hospitality (short story)|Hospitality]]'') [[Matt Smith (The Doctor Appears)|Matt Smith]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Appears (TV story)|The Doctor Appears]]'', ''[[The Doctor Drops In (TV story)|The Doctor Drops In]]'') and [[Peter Capaldi (A Letter from the Doctor)|Peter Capaldi]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 464 short story)|A Letter from the Doctor 464]]'')

Whilst originally referred to as "Dr. Who" and "Doctor Who" interchangably, ([[COMIC]]: ''[[TV Terrors (TVC 709 comic story)|TV Terrors]]'', ''[[Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks! (short story)|Lady Penelope Investigates the stars of the Sensational new film Dr. Who and the Daleks!]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Hospitality (short story)|Hospitality]]'', ''[[The Story of Fester Cat (novel)|The Story of Fester Cat]]'', et al.) with the name even being used on [[Dr Who Paint-by-Numbers kit|certain merchandise]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Party Like it's 1979 (short story)|Party Like it's 1979]]'') the character was more commonly referred to as the Doctor. ([[WC]]: ''[[The Zygon Isolation (webcast)|The Zygon Isolation]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Appears (TV story)|The Doctor Appears]]'', et al.) Despite this, the version of the Doctor that existed inside [[David Karpagnon]]'s [[imagination]] claimed that she was not allowed to refer to herself as "Doctor Who". David also knew some of [[the Doctor's aliases]], such as "the [[Ka Faraq Gatri]]", "[[the Oncoming Storm]]", "the Bringer of Darkness", and "the [[Imp]] of the [[Pandorica]]", and "the Final Victor of the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]]". ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Terror of the Umpty Ums (short story)|The Terror of the Umpty Ums]]'')

In the early [[1960s]], [[Winston Churchill]] contacted a friend of his, [[Sydney Newman (Stop, Thief!)|Mr Newman]], to propose the idea of a television series based off Churchill's old friend, the Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Stop, Thief! (short story)|Stop, Thief!]]'')

[[Peter Capaldi (A Letter from the Doctor)|Peter Capaldi]] was cast as the [[Twelfth Doctor#Legacy|Twelfth Doctor]] in [[2013]], where he attended a meeting with [[Steven Moffat (Afterword)|Steven Moffat]]. Capaldi prepared for this meeting by reading issues of [[Doctor Who Magazine (periodical)|DWM]]. Later, he wrote [[Letter (A Letter from the Doctor)|a letter]] to the readers of DWM, writing about his more than positive opinions of the magazine. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 464 short story)|A Letter from the Doctor 464]]'', ''[[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 500 short story)|A Letter from the Doctor 500]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[In the Forest of the Night (TV story)|In the Forest of the Night]]'', et al.)

[[John Lucarotti (The Meeting)|John Lucarotti]] was once visited by the [[First Doctor]] while he was dining in [[France]]. John believed the Doctor wasn't real, and that the version of the Doctor that was present was just a figment of his [[imagination]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Meeting (short story)|The Meeting]]'')

{{section stub|Info from [[PROSE]]: ''[[Extracts from the Doctor's 500 Year Diary (short story)|Extracts from the Doctor's 500 Year Diary]]'' and [[COMIC]]: ''[[Early Man: Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150 B.C. (comic story)| Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150 B.C.]]'' needs to be added.}}

Originally, Dr. Who himself apparently starred in the television series.

After seeing Dr. Who's adventures on television, [[Monica (TV Terrors)|Monica]], [[Buttons (TV Terrors)|Buttons]], and [[Cuthbert (TV Terrors)|Cuthbert]] arrived at the [[studio]] to attempt to receive his [[autograph]], but their plan went awry when the [[guard (TV Terrors)|guard]] chased them into [[the Doctor's TARDIS|Dr. Who's TARDIS]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[TV Terrors (TVC 709 comic story)|TV Terrors]]'')

In [[1974]], ''[[Planet of the Spiders]]'' was broadcast, portraying the regeneration of Third Doctor into his next incarnation, the Fourth Doctor. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Fanboys (short story)|Fanboys]]'')

Prior to [[1981]], the character of the Fourth Doctor [[regeneration|regenerated]] into the Fifth Doctor, who was set to return in the [[Doctor Who Season 19|upcoming season]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Fanboys (short story)|Fanboys]]'')

In the late [[1990s]], an unspecified incarnation of the character was portrayed by [[Paul McGann (Hospitality)|Paul McGann]] in the [[Doctor Who TV movie|''Doctor Who'' TV movie]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Hospitality (short story)|Hospitality]]'')

[[Turn Left|An episode]] of ''Doctor Who'' featured another unspecified incarnation of the Doctor who told his [[Donna Noble#Legacy|female companion]] that [[Cloister Bell|the bell]] meant "[[Bad Wolf]]". He elaborated by saying it was the "end of the [[universe]]". ([[WC]]: ''[[U.N.I.T. On Call (webcast)|U.N.I.T. On Call]]'')

[[File:Matt Smith Snowmen 2.jpg|left|thumb|[[Matt Smith (The Doctor Appears)|Matt Smith]] appears as "the Doctor" in [[The Snowmen|an episode]] of ''[[Doctor Who (N-Space)|Doctor Who]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Appears (TV story)|The Doctor Appears]]'')]]

An unspecified incarnation of the Doctor was portrayed by [[Matt Smith (The Doctor Appears)|Matt Smith]] in ''[[Doctor Who (N-Space)|Doctor Who]]'', and appeared in at least [[The Snowmen|one episode]] of the show, which appeared on a screen during [[Red Nose Day 2013]] when the [[Eleventh Doctor]] appeared on-stage. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Doctor Appears (TV story)|The Doctor Appears]]'')

Around late [[2015]], [[Doctor Who Series 9|''Doctor Who'' series nine]] was broadcast, ([[WC]]: ''[[The Zygon Isolation (webcast)|The Zygon Isolation]]'') and the Twelfth Doctor, as portrayed by [[Peter Capaldi (A Letter from the Doctor)|Peter Capaldi]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[A Letter from the Doctor (DWM 464 short story)|A Letter from the Doctor 464]]'') starred in the series along with characters such as [[Clara Oswald#Legacy|Clara]], [[Petronella Osgood]], [[Kate Stewart]], and {{Gomez}}. In the ''[[New Series Prologue]]'', the Doctor seemingly ran away from a [[fireball]]. In the story ''[[The Magician's Apprentice]]'', something happened to the [[sky]]. In ''[[The Witch's Familiar]]'', the Doctor was trapped on a "[[Skaro|terrifying planet]]" with [[Daleks in popular culture and mythology|Daleks]]. In ''[[Under the Lake]]'', the Doctor and Clara tried to help an [[The Drum|underwater base]]. In ''[[Before the Flood]]'', the Doctor encountered a [[Fisher King|fearsome alien warlord]] who set in motion a "twisted" [[plan]]. In ''[[The Girl Who Died]]'', the Doctor, Clara, and a character who resembled [[Ashildr]] protected a [[Viking]] village. In the following episode, ''[[The Woman Who Lived]]'', the character who resembled Ashildr was going by the name "[[the Knightmare]]". In ''[[The Zygon Invasion]]'' and ''[[The Zygon Inversion]]'', the Doctor, Clara, and UNIT had to set [[Petronella Osgood|Osgood]] free from a group of [[Zygon]]s, but then UNIT was neutralised, leaving only the Doctor to save the day. ''[[Sleep No More]]'' contained [[footage]] recovered from the wreckage of [[Le Verrier]]. ''[[Face the Raven]]'' saw the Doctor and Clara in [[Trap Street, London|an "alien world"]], and finally, in ''[[Heaven Sent]]'', the Doctor was trapped in a [[Confession dial|world unlike any other]]. ([[WC]]: ''[[The Zygon Isolation (webcast)|The Zygon Isolation]]'')

By [[2020]], the Doctor [[Regeneration|changed]] into a [[woman]]. She appeared in at least [[Doctor Who Series 12|the twelfth series]] of ''Doctor Who'' along with [[Bradley Walsh (The Good Doctor)|an older male co-star]]. ([[WC]]: ''[[The Zygon Isolation (webcast)|The Zygon Isolation]]'') By this time, she was known to many as the greatest [[warrior]] in the universe and had earned the titles "the [[Oncoming Storm]], the Bringer of [[Darkness]], the [[Imp]] of the [[Pandorica]] and the final victor of the [[Last Great Time War|Time War]]. She had also fought [[Cybermen]], [[Weeping Angel]]s, [[Sontaran]]s, and [[Slitheen]].

[[David Karpagnon]], an [[orphan]] with [[dissociative personality disorder]], watched the show around this time. A version of the Doctor inside his head managed to convince him that he was not a [[DeathBorg 400]] but a resident of a [[Children's home (The Terror of the Umpty Ums)|children's home]] that he was otherwise going to destroy. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Terror of the Umpty Ums (short story)|The Terror of the Umpty Ums]]'')

Whilst existing in [[the Doctor's universe]], fictional depictions of the Doctor were also common in "[[meta-fiction universe]]s". ([[COMIC]]: ''[[TV Action! (comic story)|TV Action!]]'', ''[[The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who (comic story)|The Girl Who Loved Doctor Who]]'', [[AUDIO]]: ''[[Deadline (audio story)|Deadline]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[All Our Christmases (short story)|All Our Christmases]]'', ''[[The Thief of Sherwood (short story)|The Thief of Sherwood]]'')

[[Justin Richards (The Secret Lives of Monsters)|Justin Richards]] wrote fictional stories about the Doctor, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Summer Falls and Other Stories#Notes|Summer Falls and Other Stories]]'') as did [[Paul Magrs (Bafflement and Devotion)|Paul Magrs]], ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Bafflement and Devotion (short story)|Bafflement and Devotion]]'', ''[[The Story of Fester Cat (novel)|The Story of Fester Cat]]'', et al.) among others.

[[Patrick Troughton (Bafflement and Devotion)|Patrick Troughton]] and [[John Hurt (Greeks Bearing Gifts)|John Hurt]] exist in [[the Doctor's universe]], however no [[T:VALID|valid source]] has identified them playing the Doctor in-universe.

In the unproduced television story ''[[The Doomsday Contract]]'', the Fourth Doctor, [[Romana II]] (as played by [[Lalla Ward (The Dying Days)|Lalla Ward]]), and [[K9 Mark II]] (as played by [[John Leeson (Tom Baker stars in John Lloyd's lost Doctor Who adventure, The Doomsday Contract)|John Leeson]]) had to defend [[Earth]] from the [[Cosmegalon Corporation]]. Further details, however, were  prohibited due to [[spoiler]]s. ([[NOTVALID]]: ''[[Tom Baker stars in John Lloyd's lost Doctor Who adventure, The Doomsday Contract (webcast)|Tom Baker stars in John Lloyd's lost Doctor Who adventure, The Doomsday Contract]]'')