Human

**Humans** were a species of sentient primates. Though humans could trace their evolutionary past to Earth, (TV: *The Sun Makers*) many billions of humans were born on other worlds after humanity spread through the cosmos. Humans became so widespread that they eventually came to emphasise their relationship to worlds other than Earth, choosing to think of themselves not as Earthlings, but as Venusians and Martians. (PROSE: *The Dalek Book*)

Earthbound or Earth-identifying humans went by many names over Earth's long history. For a time, they were commonly called Tellurians or Terrans — both derived from alternate names for Earth. (TV: *Carnival of Monsters*, *The Two Doctors*) Earthling was also sometimes used, such as by the Fifth Doctor (TV: *Four to Doomsday*), the Eighth Doctor (TV: *The Domesday Book*) and the Rani (TV: *Network*).

Nevertheless, the Doctor had a special affinity or "soft spot" for the species, and stated themselves to be human on occasion. (PROSE: *Doctor Who and the Daleks*, TV: "The Unwilling Warriors") The overwhelming number of their travelling companions were human. They also admitted in a Gallifreyan high court that they had a special affinity for Earth and its inhabitants, thereby determining the location of his Time Lord-imposed exile. (TV: *The War Games*) Moreover, they would wax lyrical about the intrinsic spirit of humanity, revelling in their innate desire to explore, their "indomitability". (TV: *The Ark in Space*)

## Characteristics

### Traits and abilities

Individual humans displayed psychic powers such as psychometry, telepathy, empathy, or time-sensitivity. (TV: *Planet of the Spiders*, *Image of the Fendahl*)

### Unusual traits of Humanity

The human brain was the only source of a chemical that allowed restfulness. (TV: *The Mark of the Rani*)

Humanity was observed to possess a tendency to move on and forget after being faced with bizarre incidents such as alien invasions, with the Seventh Doctor describing it as the "most amazing capacity for self-deception", (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

### Perceptions by other species

Some aliens were dismissive of humans; the Rutans considered them "primitive bipeds of no value", (TV: *Horror of Fang Rock*) and "a means to an end". (TV: *Subjects of War*)

For the most part, the Cybermen regarded humans as highly suitable for cyber-conversion, due to their near-identical biology to Mondasians, whom a majority of Cybermen were descendants of. (TV: *The Tenth Planet* et al.)

The Silurians thought of humans as primitive apes, though some were more open-minded and willing to at least consider the idea of co-existing with them. (TV: *Doctor Who and the Silurians* et al.)

The War Lords considered humans the most aggressive and war-like species in all of Mutter's Spiral and hoped to use them to conquer the galaxy. (TV: *The War Games*)

The Veltrochni thought humans were a stubborn species, but very vicious. They also knew of their trait of banding together against common enemies. (TV: *The Dark Path*)

## The Doctor and humans

The Seventh Doctor noted humanity to have "the most amazing capacity for self-deception, matched by only its ingenuity when trying to destroy itself." (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*)

While the Master tried to convince the Sea Devils that mankind was weak, in an attempt to make peace with the Sea Devils, the Third Doctor disagreed, saying that "Man is not weak. He is only too proficient at devising weapons of annihilation, and using them." (TV: *The Sea Devils*)

The Fourth Doctor praised the species for their "indomitable" spirit, having "survived flood, famine... plague... cosmic wars and holocausts". (TV: *The Ark in Space*) Whether by accident or intent, most of the Doctor's many companions were human, specifically humans from Earth. (TV: *An Unearthly Child*, *The Rescue*, *The Chase*, *The Myth Makers*, *The Daleks' Master Plan*, *The Massacre*, *et al.*)

### The Doctor as a human

Although most accounts described the Doctor as an extraterrestrial being, a few accounts claimed that they were human.

According to one account, the First Doctor was a human genius who constructed the TARDIS. (PROSE: *The Equations of Dr Who*)

The Daleks were under the impression that the Doctor's travels in time had made him "more than human". (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

## History of human evolution

Humans evolved under the influence of a variety of species, including the Jagaroth, specifically Scaroth; (TV: *City of Death*) the Fendahl, who caused the development of much of humanity's cruelty and capacity for evil; (TV: *Image of the Fendahl*) and the Dæmons. (TV: *The Dæmons*)

An examination of Cyberman spaceships left over from the failed 1986 invasion helped to advance human understanding and capabilities of space travel. (TV: *The Tenth Planet*, PROSE: *The Power of the Daleks*)

## What defines humanity?

According to the Third Doctor, "the definition of the word humanity was always a rather a complex question". When asked, he identified as not originating from Earth, but did not deny his humanity in other senses. (TV: *The Time Warrior*)

The First Doctor used the term, including himself a Time Lord, the Daleks and the Thals, to contrast with plants. (TV: "The Survivors") Barbara Wright, however, used it differently, applying it to Thals — being humanoid — but *not* Daleks. (TV: "The Ambush") Even the First Doctor identified as a human occasionally, opting to group himself with the Earth species rather than the Sensorites. (TV: "The Unwilling Warriors") The First Elder also referred to the First Doctor as a human during the same adventure. (TV: "A Desperate Venture")

One of the Iron Legion identified the Fourth Doctor as two humans with its sonar — the Doctor having two heartbeats — and as just one human using its infrared vision. This caused the robot to conclude this was impossible, and it malfunctioned. (COMIC: *Doctor Who and the Iron Legion*)

When Davros lost a good amount of his organic body and encased most of it in an Imperial Dalek-type shell, the Seventh Doctor mused that he had "discarded the last vestige of your human form". (TV: *Remembrance of the Daleks*) The Second Doctor's excessive time travel in the TARDIS made him, in the eyes of the Daleks, "more than human". They therefore saw him unfit to be used to test inserting the Human factor into their species, choosing Jamie McCrimmon — a "pure" human — instead. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*)

The Third Doctor, shortly before regenerating into his fourth incarnation, suspected that the one who stole a deadly disintegrator gun was "more than human". After the defeat of the perpetrator, a robot named K1, Sarah Jane Smith reflected on how human it had seemed at the start. The Fourth Doctor agreed, saying it was "a wonderful creature, capable of great good, and great evil" — which was what he saw humanity to mean. (TV: *Robot*)

"Human" was also a measure of morality; "inhuman" was frequently used to scold immoral people. (TV: *The Evil of the Daleks*, *The Seeds of Doom*, *Planet of the Spiders*, *The Domesday Book*) In fact, even the Doctor had been shown to use "inhuman" as a synonym for "monstrous" on multiple occasions. (TV: "A Race Against Death", *The Savages*, *The Wheel in Space*, *The Invasion*, *The Curse of Fenric*) When Duggan applied the term to Scarlioni, he replied that "when I compare my race to yours, human, I take the word 'inhuman' as a great compliment." (TV: *City of Death*) Ian Chesterton claimed the Daleks "just aren't human" after they ambushed the Thals and killed the Thal leader Temmosus during his attempt to appeal to the Daleks, claiming that "Any reasonable human beings would have responded to him. But the Daleks didn't." (TV: "The Ambush")