The Doctor

## More ambiguous

**"The Doctor"** was the primary alias used by a renegade Time Lord from Gallifrey who traveled through time and space with various companions in their obsolete and "borrowed" Type 40 TARDIS. He has been considered the universe's "greatest defender", having saved the cosmos countless times throughout a long life, becoming a great legend across the whole universe.

Though largely a believer in non-violent conflict resolution, they were, when absolutely necessary, a great warrior. Indeed, some civilizations in the universe translated the word doctor as warrior, whilst others saw the Doctor as a compassionate benefactor, worthy of their admiration and compassion.

From the latter years of their first incarnation onward, the Doctor had a pronounced affinity for Earth and the human race. After departing Gallifrey, they voluntarily chose to spend time on the planet, (DW: *An Unearthly Child*) and having it chosen as the place of his exile during much of the life of his third incarnation. (DW: *Spearhead from Space* - *The Three Doctors*) They favoured Great Britain as a frequently visited location, taking most of their companions from there. (DW: *An Unearthly Child*, *Spearhead from Space*, *The Time Monster*, etc.) Even after his exile was lifted, the Doctor spent much more time on Earth than on their homeworld.

Though taste in fashion did change with each Doctor, one thing that was an almost constant were jackets, either as part of an outfit (DW: *An Unearthly Child*, *The Power of the Daleks*, *Spearhead from Space*, *Castrovalva*, *The Twin Dilemma, Time and the Rani*)

## Personalities for Each Incarnation of the Doctor

### First Doctor

From the beginning, the Doctor was a mysterious figure. He appeared to be a frail old man and yet was possessed of unexpected reserves of strength and will. An early writers' guide by script editor David Whitaker describes "Doctor Who" as "frail-looking but wiry and tough as an old turkey". He obviously held tremendous knowledge of scientific matters, and yet was unable to pilot his TARDIS time ship reliably; his granddaughter Susan explained this by saying that her grandfather was "a bit forgetful"; but the TARDIS required expert piloting and guidance by the Doctor. Its systems would often break down, especially the navigational systems. This, combined with the fact the TARDIS was actually designed for six pilots, would explain the difficulty the Doctor encountered in piloting it correctly. He was abrasive, patronising, and cantankerous towards his human travelling companions, yet shared a deep emotional bond with his granddaughter Susan. He also harboured a streak of ruthlessness, being willing to lie—and in one case attempt to kill—to achieve his goals. Initially, he distrusted his first two human companions, Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright, who were forced on him. Over time, however, as they shared adventures together, he grew closer to them, and the TARDIS crew came to share almost a family bond. When proven wrong after accusing Ian and Barbara of sabotaging the TARDIS in The Edge of Destruction, the Doctor humbly apologised, especially after seeing that Barbara had been hurt by his accusations. The Doctor realised he could rely on Ian and Barbara, sealing a friendship which lasts until their eventual departure from the TARDIS, with the relationship between the Doctor and Barbara being mutually respectful and increasingly affectionate.

Eventually, the Doctor began to enjoy his travels through time and space, taking people along for the ride and was always reluctant and sad to see them go, even when he knew it was for their own good. The Doctor's personality mellowed around the time of the serial Marco Polo, and he evolved into the more familiar grandfatherly figure that children loved. The initially irascible and slightly sinister Doctor quickly mellowed into a more compassionate figure. He was protective of the young women he took on as companions; they reminded him of his granddaughter, Susan.

### Second Doctor

The Second Doctor has been nicknamed the "Cosmic Hobo", as the impish Second Doctor appeared to be far more scruffy and childlike than his first incarnation.

Mercurial, clever, and always a few steps ahead of his enemies, at times he could be a calculating schemer who would not only manipulate people for the greater good but act like a bumbling fool to have others underestimate his true abilities. One example is in The Tomb of the Cybermen, where, despite his admonitions not to open the titular tomb, he corrects evil logician Eric Klieg's calculations of the code to open the tomb behind Klieg's back. This allows the tomb to be opened, so that the Doctor can expose Klieg and the Cybermens' respective plans and defeat both.

Sometimes his manipulation of those around him can veer into dark territory. In The Evil of the Daleks, he coldly manipulates Jamie into trying to rescue Victoria (thus setting in motion the Human Factor tests) and is unsympathetic when Edward Waterfield tries to apologise for his collaboration with the Daleks. Later in the story he appears to have been converted by the "Dalek factor" into a mental Dalek, although he eventually reveals this to be a pretence. In The Enemy of the World while impersonating villain Salamander who is his doppelganger, he interrogates Jamie and Victoria without their knowing that it is really himself, provoking them until they nearly physically attack him. In the following story The Web of Fear he apparently reconciles to the Great Intelligence's plan to drain his mind and resists rescue attempts - only afterwards does it emerge that he planned to reverse to mind-drain. Despite the bluster and tendency to panic when events got out of control, the Second Doctor always acted heroically and morally in his desire to help the oppressed.

### Third Doctor

The Third Doctor was a suave, dapper, technologically orientated and authoritative man of action who practised Venusian Aikido. A keen scientist, he maintained a laboratory at UNIT where he enjoyed working on gadgets in his TARDIS. In his spare time, he was fond of motoring, handling all manner of vehicles. His favourite car was a canary-yellow vintage roadster that he nicknamed "Bessie", a machine which featured such modifications as a remote control, dramatically increased speed capabilities and inertial dampers. He also maintained a hovercraft-like vessel that fans nicknamed the Whomobile. The First Doctor, upon meeting the Third, described him indignantly as a "dandy", while the Second Doctor, with whom the Third had something of an antagonistic relationship on the occasions they encountered each other, referred to him as "Fancy Pants".

While this incarnation spent most of his time exiled on Earth—grudgingly working as UNIT's scientific advisor—he was occasionally sent on covert missions by the Time Lords, where he would often act as a reluctant mediator. Even though he developed a fondness for Earthlings with whom he worked (such as Liz Shaw and Jo Grant), he jumped at any chance to return to the stars. Though he had a somewhat patrician and authoritarian air, he was quick to criticise authority, and often exclaimed "Now listen to me!" when dealing with people seeking to obstruct him.

Despite his occasional arrogance, the Third Doctor genuinely cared for his companions in a paternal fashion, and even held a thinly veiled but grudging admiration for his nemesis, the Master, and for UNIT's leader, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, with whom he eventually became friends. In fact, even when his much-resented exile was lifted, the moral and dashing Third Doctor continued to help UNIT protect the Earth from all manner of alien threats, a role that continued into his future incarnations.

### Fourth Doctor

The Fourth Doctor was bohemian-like in nature and stood apart from others, even his own people. He delighted in keeping both friends and foes alike off guard with oddball humour and curious pranks, often playing the fool to lull his opponents into underestimating him, believing that there was "no point being [a] grown-up if you can't be childish sometimes". Although he was generally peace-loving and kind-hearted, the Doctor would react with explosive fury when provoked.

Prone to mood swings, the Doctor could be pedantic at times, often acting erratically in crisis, reacting to others with witty wisecracks and constantly changing his direction of speech.

The Fourth Doctor had a consistently anti-authoritarian attitude, with little tolerance for religious dogma or nationalism, but held a great respect for the White Guardian. He generally maintained his distance from the Time Lords, and resented that they were capable of re-entering his life when they deemed it necessary. Not only was he more inclined towards a solitary existence, he also emphasised his distance from humanity, (TV: Pyramids of Mars) though also stated on multiple occasions that he found mankind to be his favourite species.

### Fifth Doctor

The Fifth Doctor was the most open and vulnerable of all the Doctors, coming across as naïve and inexperienced, acting like a child excited to see new worlds and foreign places. He was neither pretentious nor selfish and reacted to situations rather than starting them, with his humanity making him panicky and indecisive under pressure, but he would use dissembling and deceit in order to avert a crisis or defeat an adversary. His young appearance was reflected in the youthfulness of his companions, whom he treated like friends rather than subordinates, with their pain and sorrow affecting him deeply, and their safety his top priority. He also felt suited for settling down and starting a family.

However, the Doctor's boyish appearance, nervous energy, and charm all hid the fact that he was a Time Lord of great age, compassion, and experience. He was willing to take chances with companions like Vislor Turlough and Kamelion, who were originally threats, even as he pretended to be unaware of it in order to grant Turlough the opportunity to do the right thing. He was also willing to make enormous personal sacrifices simply to keep his word and liberate others from suffering, and would stop and help others while dealing with greater threats.

### Sixth Doctor

The Sixth Doctor could be unpredictable, consistently self-absorbed, stubborn, argumentative, moody, melodramatic and arrogant, believing himself greatly superior to anyone he encountered. However, he was critical of himself in some situations, and, beneath his thunderous exterior, he was a passionate and emphatic individual. Despite his hubris approach, the Doctor knew when to be serious, such as when he rushed to help Gustave Lytton after exiting his TARDIS in a comedic manner.

The Doctor described himself as "pragmatic", and considered compassion and a "capacity for self-sacrifice" as "some of [his] defining traits". He also believed himself to be blessed with both "tact and finesse", and believed he could subdue opponents with his charm. He would often browbeat others into submission with his grammarian use of language, with Banto Zame complaining that "talking [to him was] like arguing with a thesaurus", and Sabalom Glitz saying the Doctor could "talk an ayatollah into opening an off-licence".

When Peri was distressed over the idea that Ravolox was a devastated Earth, the Doctor tried to comfort her, even showing empathy for her plight, despite initially telling her not to get emotional. He was devastated when presented with the news of Peri's demise on Thoros Beta, and was enraged that the Time Lords had engineered her execution, threatening he had every intention of discovering what they were up to. When he discovered the Time Lords had relocated Earth and renamed it Ravolox to keep the secrets of the Matrix from being exposed, the Doctor announced his purpose was to stop evil and power mad conspirators.

### Seventh Doctor

The Seventh Doctor was originally light-hearted and prone to clownish behaviour, which masked his true intellect and courage. However, as he matured, he became a grumpy and melancholy manipulator who saw the battle between good and evil as a game of chess or a stage play, and everyone around him as pawns in the game of fighting evil that he directed, though he hated himself for it, instead desiring a life of playing the spoons and acting as a children's entertainer with his magic tricks. Despite his darker demeanour, the Seventh Doctor was "not without [his] share of mirth and joviality", and claimed to Ace that he could be "quite the funny fellow".

Seeing himself as a "chess master", the Seventh Doctor was a consummate fan of chess, to the point of treating his companions and enemies as pieces on a chess board, until he tired of the game in favour of hopscotch. Despite his tendency toward a dark personality, the Doctor was known for his use of words to resolve problems instead of violence, and preferred to fight fairly. Although his more whimsical tendencies disappeared over time, the Doctor maintained a fondness for idiosyncratic speeches that occasionally referred to literature, ordinary places and even food and drink amidst the weightier concerns on his mind. Other times, he would sombrely reflect the ramifications of time, and the consequences of interfering in history.

## Image Gallery

First DoctorSecond DoctorThird DoctorFourth DoctorFifth DoctorSixth DoctorSeventh Doctor