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I cross the void beyond the mind, the empty space that circles time. I see where others stumble blind, to seek a truth they never find. Eternal wisdom is my guide. I am the Doctor. Through cosmic waste the TARDIS flies, to taste the secret source of life. A presence science can't deny exists within, outside, behind... The latitude of human minds.. I am the Doctor. My voyage dissects the course of time, "Who knows?," you say. But are you right? Who searches deep to find the light that glows so darkly in the night. Toward that point I guide my flight. As fingers move to end mankind, metallic teeth begin their grind. With sword of truth I turn to fight the satanic powers of the night. Is your faith before your mind? Know me: Am I the Doctor?
„
~ Lyrics from Jon Pertwee (The Third Doctor)'s spoken word LP track "Who Is The Doctor?".noicon
“
Winning? Is that what you think it’s about? I’m not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat someone — or because I hate someone, or because I want to blame someone. It’s not because it’s fun. God knows it’s not because it's easy. It’s not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it's right! Because it's decent! And above all, it's kind! It's just that. Just kind. If I run away today, good people will die. If I stand and fight, some of them might live — maybe not many, maybe not for long. Hey, maybe there’s no point in any of this at all, but it's the best I can do. So I'm going to do it, and I will stand here doing it until it kills me. You're going to die, too, someday. When will that be? Have you thought about it? What would you die for? Who I am is where I stand. Where I stand is where I fall.
„
~ The Twelfth Doctor's speech to the Master and Missy.
They are a Time Lord, a human-like alien who protects the Earth, along with countless other worlds, throughout time and space, from such menaces as the Daleks and the Master. Unlike the rest of their race of time travelers, they use time travel to interfere with events, which is forbidden by their race, in an effort to protect civilizations from a variety of threats. The Doctor is one of the few friendly aliens to ally with humanity (most notably UNIT) to protect Earth from various threats.
They are famous for their time traveling ship called the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimensions in Space), their sonic screwdriver and the ability to regenerate into a new form with a slightly different personality if they are either injured or on the verge of death, though their species is normally able to regenerate only twelve times.
To date, the Doctor has had fifteen regenerations, the original thirteen along with a later new set of twelve regenerations. Most of the time, the Doctor has been portrayed as male but can also take on female appearance.
Despite being the main protagonist, there have been some episodes throughout the series where the Doctor is a supporting/minor character and instead one of their companions or a guest character takes the role of protagonist for that episode.
The Doctor has been portrayed by at least seventeen different actors over the course of the TV series, with many others also voicing them in Big Finish's audio dramas.
On Television:
The First Doctor was played by the late William Hartnell (1963-1966), and would be played by the late Richard Hurndall in The Five Doctors (1983), and David Bradley (2013-2023) in Twice Upon a Time (2017), who had previously played Hartnell in the docu-drama An Adventure in Space and Time. He would later reappear as an incarnation of the Guardians of the Edge in Power Of The Doctor (2022)
The Second Doctor was played by the late Patrick Troughton (1966-1969).
The Fourth Doctor was played by Tom Baker (1974-1981), who to date has the longest lasting tenure as the Doctor.
The Fifth Doctor was played by Peter Davison, who also played Albert Campion in the titular series. (1982-1984) He would later reappear as an incarnation of the Guardians of the Edge in Power Of The Doctor (2022)
The Sixth Doctor was played by Colin Baker.(1984-1986) He would later reappear as an incarnation of the Guardians of the Edge in Power Of The Doctor (2022)
The Seventh Doctor was played by Sylvester McCoy (1987-1996), who also played Radagast in The Hobbit Trilogy. He would later reappear as an incarnation of the Guardians of the Edge in Power Of The Doctor (2022)
The Eighth Doctor was played by Paul McGann (1996, 2013), who also played William Bush in Hornblower. He would later reappear in the 50th Anniversary and Night Of The Doctor as a Regeneration episode. He would later reappear as an incarnation of the Guardians of the Edge in Power Of The Doctor (2022)
After the series was revived in 2005:
The Ninth Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston, who departed after one series. (2005)
The Tenth Doctor would be portrayed by David Tennant (2005-2010), who would later return in the 50th Anniversary Special (2013) and in 2022-23 to portray the Fourteenth Doctor for the 2023 60th Anniversary Specials.
The Eleventh Doctor would be played by Matt Smith (2010-2013), and during his era the War Doctor was played by the late John Hurt for the 50th Anniversary Special, Night Of The Doctor and Name Of The Doctor (2013). The Eleventh Doctor was also an overarching protagonist in Deep Breath.
The Twelfth Doctor was portrayed by Peter Capaldi. (2014-2017)
The Thirteenth Doctor was portrayed by Jodie Whittaker (2018-2022), and during her era the Fugitive Doctor is played by Jo Martin (2020-2025).
The Sixteenth and current Doctor is portrayed by Billie Piper, who also played Rose Tyler. (2026-)[1]
In Big Finish's audio dramas, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Paul McGann, Tom Baker, Sir John Hurt, David Tennant, David Bradley, Christopher Eccleston, and Jo Martin have all reprised their role as the Doctor. As well as this, several other actors have voiced Doctors whose actors are unavailable, or have passed away, such as Tim Treolar in the Third Doctor Adventures, Jacob Dudman as the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors in The Doctor Chronicles, Jonathan Carley as a younger War Doctor in The War Doctor Begins, Stephen Noonan in the First Doctor Adventures, and Michael Troughton in the Second Doctor Adventures.
Biography[]
Early life[]
“
If you're curious about my past, I want there to be as many wrong answers as possible.
There were a variety of different and contradictory accounts of the Doctor's early life before their travels with Susan. Most often, the Doctor had always been a Time Lord from Gallifrey and had not regenerated before leaving in the TARDIS.
However, the Doctor's own memories were unclear regarding their early life and origins, and several accounts suggested that they had non-Gallifreyan origins (human or otherwise) or incarnations before the one who fled Gallifrey.
The many contradictory accounts of the Doctor's early life were equally and paradoxically true due to the Doctor's biodata being retroactively manipulated by a number of factors, such as; the Other, Omega, Faction Paradox, subconscious regeneration influences, the Toymaker, and, above all, the impact of Doctor's own adventures through time.
In the TV series[]
Upon reaching adulthood, The Doctor (as a male) had a family and gained a granddaughter named Susan.
They travel through time and space in a spacecraft called the TARDIS, frequently with human companions, averting any crisis they come across using science, technology, and wit. As a Time Lord, they has the ability to regenerate, or change their appearance and personality whenever they are injured or on the verge of death. Although the series is titled Doctor Who, this is not the character's name: they are only ever referred to as The Doctor and their real name remains mysteriously unknown. From the ninth to eleventh incarnation, the Doctor was believed to be the last surviving member of the Time Lords, and was under the impression that he, during his War Doctor incarnation, had destroyed Gallifrey in order to end a devastating Time War against the Daleks. He later learned differently, when the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor had the opportunity with their wartime incarnation, to save Gallifrey.
The Time Lords of Gallifrey imposed a limit as to how many regenerations one may have before final death - twelve changes, or thirteen incarnations. Due to the "War Doctor" not accepting the name Doctor, and the Tenth Doctor undergoing an aborted regeneration at one point, the Eleventh Doctor believed himself to be the last incarnation. At the nick of time, the Time Lords bestowed upon him a new regeneration cycle, allowing him to ultimately transform into the Twelfth Doctor and beyond.
Powers and Abilities[]
Regeneration: When a Time Lord is dying of old age or mortally wounded, they are able to use a process called regeneration. Regeneration is a little trick that the Time Lords use to “cheat death” by having every cell in their body undergo “a renewal”, completely changing their physical appearance and personality. Even thought the Doctor has taken several different incarnations which can vary in gender, skin color, and age, while still remains the same person inside and remains a force for good. Time Lords usually only have twelve regenerations in a cycle, allowing for thirteen incarnations, however the Doctor was given a new regenerative cycle during their final battle on Trenzalore, letting them regenerate past the normal limit. It is also possible the Doctor has an infinite number of regenerations, meaning he/she could live potentially forever. With regeneration, the Doctor can regrow lost limbs, become strong enough to knock down a steel door, and even survive falling from the stratosphere into a train. Due to "vanity issues", the Tenth Doctor used up a regeneration after being blasted by a Dalek, which resulted in the creation of the Meta-Crisis Doctor. The regeneration energy itself can be used as weapon; Time Lords can use their regenerative energy to survive being shot by a group of soldiers and channel it into a focused blast of energy that knocked out the entire squad. The regeneration energy can destroy an entire Dalek fleet, and damage the TARDIS. The biggest downside is that Time Lords can die permanently if killed "again" at the right time during the regenerative process.
Bi-generation: Bi-generation is an extremely rare variant of regeneration which the Doctor believed to be a myth until their fifteenth incarnation bi-generated from the Fourteenth Doctor. Instead of one incarnation directly changing into the next, as seen with the regeneration process, bi-generation instead causes the new incarnation to split from the previous, allowing both to exist simultaneously. Bi-generation also has an effect with the new incarnation having most of the current incarnation memories and future memories as its not a complete split, it brings the future incarnation from the end of their life to the part where they weren't supposed to die.
High Intelligence: Although considered average at most by Time Lord standards, the Doctor is vastly more intelligent than most beings in the universe. They have an almost universal knowledge of nearly every species in the universe and has learned many skills from traveling throughout human and alien history. The Doctor is an expert on technology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, history, non-human biology, genetics and nearly every field of science (except ironically human medicine, as some incarnations say they are not a medical doctor). They have created advanced scientific equipment out of ordinary junk and improvised strategic plans to save whole planets and the universe in short amounts of time, sometimes calculating complex plans in a matter of nanoseconds. The Doctor has used deception, manipulation, and trickery to outsmart his enemies all his lives.
Acausality/Temporal Resistance: The Doctor can exist outside of localized time loops and is merely weakened when his past selves are taken or erased outside of time-line. Time Lords are stated to exist outside "the normal chain of causal events”. They are able to retain memories of prior timelines, remember people and events who were erased from history, move in slowed or frozen time, and resist other temporal manipulation abilities.
Probability: It was stated that causality loops around him and that the "odds collapse" in his presence.
Time Sensitivity/Precognition: Time Lords can see the flow of Time itself. They have been shown to have space and time awareness that allows them to see time and detect changes in events. The Eighth Doctor demonstrated the ability to predict the future as well as the past. The Doctor can remember events from a time loop even when those affected forgot, and the Tenth Doctor had once changed an outcome with his awareness, doing the same thing twice.
Omnilingualism: He is able to speak and understand virtually every language in existence. Although his ship, the TARDIS, is said to translate for his companions, the Doctor possesses this ability on his own. He can even communicate with some animals, such as cats and even dinosaurs.
Master Martial Artist/Weapon Master: The Doctor is an master swordsman, marksman, and martial artist (especially Venusian Aikido) from having picked up these skills primarily in his second and third incarnations, although he rarely uses them and would rather solve things peacefully or outsmart his enemies instead, with different Doctors being more willing or hesitant than others to use them. Even while unarmed, the Doctor can still fight hand-to-hand. Their main style of close quarters combat is Venusian Aikido/Karate. A martial art that uses joint locks, throws and kicks, as well as pressure points, completely paralyzing others while still being harmless; however, if the Doctor were to use the paralyzing technique on someone for long enough, they become permanently paralyzed.
Superhuman Strength: The Doctor is stated to be stronger than he looks. The Doctor can get a superhuman strength boost during regeneration to karate-chop a brick in half, and break down steel doors. The Doctor has snap a man’s neck, rip a stone arm off, and broke an Azbantium wall that stated to be 400 times harder than diamond. The Doctor is strong enough to outmatch a Cyberman in strength, who can punch through the steel plate. The First Doctor's dying of old age had earlier rendered him "weak as a kitten", but his oncoming regeneration temporarily provides him with renewed strength and vitality (as explained to him by the Twelfth). However, some incarnations of the Doctor have demonstrated above-average strength in his adventures when necessary.
Heightened Senses: Time Lords have shown their senses are on a whole different level than that of a human, as the Doctor can figure things out from the tiniest bit of information. Can notice paradoxes with their sense of smell, taste teleportation in the air, and can see this white crystal that is out of sync with time. Their eyesight can go as far as recognising Time Lords despite their regeneration, and even see that people like Captain Jack Harkness are a “fixed point.”
Superhuman Durability: Gallifreyans were, on the whole, extremely tough and resilient. An average Gallifreyan was superior to a human at their peak. The Doctor has been able to survive the attempts of a living star possessing him, X-ray radiation increased to over 5000%, bolts of lightning that can reach temperatures of at most 30,000 kelvins, extreme cold and heat, the subzero temperatures and extremely low pressure of vacuum for around six minutes, falling from the stratosphere to the train, a full strike from a Mondasian Cyberman's laser beam, exposure to the Time Destructor that age human to death, and even the universe being erased around him. While Dalek gunsticks had the capability to disintegrate targets if fired at full blast, the Tenth Doctor was able to briefly survive being hit with such a shot before being forced to regenerate. The Tenth Doctor survived a fall from a low flying spaceship through a glass skylight and was able to stand and move afterwards. However, the fall from a radio telescope dish was enough to cause the Fourth Doctor to regenerate. He is also more resilient to radiation, allowing him to be barely harmed by an X-ray machine's radiation, though it was 500,000 rads of radiation bolt was what caused the Tenth Doctor to regenerate into the Eleventh Doctor in what seemed to be hours after exposure. The residual regeneration energy provided a Time Lord with significantly greater endurance; the Thirteenth Doctor fell out of the stratosphere and into a train without suffering any major damage, even reacting as if she had fallen from a simple loss of balance. However, the Thirteenth Doctor was fatally wounded by the Qurunx's destructive blast, which can destroy a planet, where she regenerated into the Fourteenth Doctor. The Doctor is immune to alcohol or wine. Normal sleep-inducing drugs take twice as long to take their effect on him as it does a normal human being and are not able to keep him asleep for long.
Respiratory Bypass System: As a Time Lord, the Doctor had a respiratory bypass system, which allowed them to hold their breath for an extended period of time, in order to survive strangulation and to avoid drowning. Even in the vacuum of space, the Doctor could survive far longer than a human, though this left the Twelfth Doctor blinded, and survive without a suit for some time.
Superhuman Speed: Is stated by the Third Doctor himself to have reflexes ten times faster than a human being. Time Lords are able to disappear from the sight of others or avoid well-trained people. The Fourteenth Doctor has the agility to outrun pursing Daleks while simultaneously avoiding their gunstick fire, and the speed necessary to catch up to his not-thing counterpart in spite of their head start. The Twelfth Doctor even dodged half a dozen disintegration rays while also improvising thousands of calculations in his head to siphon the rays' energy into a teleporter in a matter of nanoseconds. The Doctor has spent much of his adventures running away and dodging enemy weaponry while surviving unscathed.
Superhuman Stamina: Able to run for long periods of time without tiring.
Superhuman Healing: Besides regeneration, Time Lords heal much faster than humans, as well as a special ability to go into a healing coma which accelerates the healing process even faster. During the first 15 hours after regeneration, Time Lords possesses enough residual regenerative energy to regrow lost limbs and survive falling out of the stratosphere with no noticeable injuries or concussion. When the regeneration process starts, other minor injuries can heal instantly.
Telepathy: The Doctor is capable of using psychometric telepathy and related psychic abilities (e.g. memory control and hypnosis), via physical contact, usually by touching a person's head. He can use a headbutt to have others know about his alien origins and incarnations instantly. He is highly resistant to psychic attacks, possession, and other effects targeting his mind. Once, the Tenth Doctor used a telepathic satellite network to channel all of humanities' hope when they all spoke and thought his name at the same time, resulting in him being able revert his age, fly and levitate, and even telekinetically disarm an opponent. However, he only had these powers for a few minutes before returning to normal.
Flight: Time Lords occasionally displayed, or referred to, an ability to fly. The Doctor has made references to being able to fly or levitate throughout their incarnations while being able to appear in places they should not have been able to without flight. However, this ability has so far not been clearly explained in the series so it is unknown if the Doctor actually has the power of flight.
Enhanced Resistances: As The Doctor has proven in almost all situations, they are tough to control or kill. Thanks to some of his Time Lord biology, the Doctor has shown a lot of resistance to many hax and abilities over their time-fighting. The Doctor has shown a strong mind as they were not affected by the Master’s, BOSS’, this plant monster shown above’s, or even the Eternals’ mind control. The Doctor has fought against the Writer’s influence once in the Land of Fiction, the Doctor still had control over themselves at times. The Doctor could resist time being frozen by Kronos and Lamprey. The Doctor could also move in when time was being reversed and stopped time. Because the Time Lords bonded with time, it makes them harder to erase. The Doctor once put his hand in one of the Cracks of Time; the effects of the crack in time can erase people from time, reality, and memory. In the past, the Daleks have attempted to mess with a Time Lord’s DNA and failed miserably. Their DNA is also potentially connected to the time vortex. They are also immune to the nanocloud, which uses nanogenes to convert non-Dalek individuals into Dalek puppets. All Time Lords are capable of resisting various powers of the Sisterhood of Karn, who can cause death and insanity with their psychic powers and official Time Lords are able to resist and see the Time Vortex for long periods of time without falling into madness. The Doctor is further highly resistant to magic, enough that it is described they forced the laws of physics to reassert themselves and effectively cancelled out magic in their presence.
Longevity: The Second Doctor stated that Time Lords can "live forever, barring accidents." Thanks to regeneration and his own natural longevity, the Doctor has lived for many centuries—his first incarnation alone existed for over 450 years. Time Lords, in general consider 700 years to be middle ages, though its unknown if that is for just one incarnation or their entire lives. By the time of the Seventh Doctor he has stated he is approximately 956 years old. However, the Ninth Doctor he says he has forgotten his age and restarts from 900 years, while the Eleventh Doctor guessed that he was 1,200, though he also said he had forgotten. By the time he has regenerated into the Twelfth Doctor he can be estimated to be at least 2,000 years old, if not older. The Fourteenth Doctor claimed to Donna that he was a billion years old.
Fourth Wall Awareness: The Doctor has shown awareness that they are a fictional character in a TV series on rare occasions, even traveling using the TARDIS into the "real world" in the Expanded Universe.
Equipment[]
The TARDIS: The TARDIS is the Doctor’s space-time machine that he stole from Gallifrey to travel with ever since his first incarnation, with the name standing for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space". Although it takes the form of a British police public call box, the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, capable of traveling anywhere in time and space. The Doctor shares an unbreakable bond with the TARDIS and considers it to be their closest companion in all their incarnations. It has a tractor beam that can tow planets, can block the Black Guardian from breaching the TARDIS, send 2-dimensional beings back to their dimension, create controlled temporal implosions to escape paradoxes, can plug up holes in the universe, and is durable to survive black holes and supernovas. It can manipulate its own interior space and time. The TARDIS surrounded the Celestial Toymaker's realm and jettisoned both it and the Toymaker into space. The TARDIS Matrix has been stated to be 11th Dimensional that the Doctor used the 11th Dimensional Matrixes within the TARDIS to defeat the Quantum Archangel. It stated that if the TARDIS Matrix was destroyed, it could tear open a hole in the universe. It has also been said that if then TARDIS self-destructed, it could destroy all of reality - not just one universe but all of existence. This is backed up in the Season 5 Finale, where the TARDIS was causing the entire universe to collapse and the TARDIS was one of the factors directly responsible for the re-start of the Doctor Who Multiverse in a New Big Bang.
Vortex energy: Vortex energy is dangerous, "unrefined" temporal energy from the Time Vortex. It flowed through the Heart of the TARDIS, but it was dangerous to try and power the TARDIS directly with vortex energy, which could cause power surges in the TARDIS control console. The Doctor has absorbed the vortex energy itself on multiple occasions and was able to weaponise it. It can be accessed by looking into the Heart of the TARDIS as Rose Tyler did. With it, the Eighth Doctor became a transcendent being. While in this state, he was powerful enough to instantly disintegrate the Flood Cybermen from existence and essentially became a god that could see all of reality until he decided to give up his god-hood in order to save his companion. The Ninth Doctor absorbed the vortex energy from the Bad Wolf in order to save Rose Tyler's life, and released it back into the TARDIS. The Thirteenth Doctor unleashed the vortex energy from the TARDIS console at the Flux, that it halt the Flux and prevented it from destroying all of the universe. The Fifteenth Doctor channeled his regeneration energy into the TARDIS which changed reality.
TARDIS Key: A key that can be used to summon the TARDIS around himself. If the TARDIS is removed from the deactivated and removed from Space-Time, the Doctor could bring it back with enough power.
TARDIS Homing Watch: Can be used to locate a TARDIS.
TARDIS Power Cell: TARDISes contained power cells. After the Doctor's TARDIS seemingly perished when it fell into Pete's World, the Tenth Doctor found a "insignificant little" power cell clinging onto life. By providing ten years' worth of his own life energy, enabling it to power the TARDIS back up within 24 hours. In the meantime, the Doctor used the power cell's energy to disintergrate a group of Cybermen when they refused his surrender. However, he could not do so repeatedly as the cell took four hours to recharge.
Sonic Screwdriver: The Sonic Screwdriver is a multi-purpose tool that allows him to, power-up, hack into, repair, open, create a sonic force blast, generating shields, destroy/disable various things, and even erase memories. The Sonic Screwdriver doesn’t work on wood or anything with a deadlock seal.
Dwarf Star Chains/Unbreakable Chains: The Doctor can bind his foes with chains that were forged in the heart of a dwarf star.
Time Ring: A device that allowed for time-travel.
Signet Ring: Before the 2nd Doctor introduced the Sonic Screwdriver, the very first had his Signet Ring. He would give it away, but it was one of the oldest weapons he used. While it does have the same unlocking, energy protection, and repairing as the Sonic screwdriver, the unique feature of this device is hypnosis. It also helped increase the strength of the Doctor’s own hypnosis abilities and also allowed them to cast some magic spells.
Android Assassin Teleport Bracelet: A teleport bracelet was owned by the Doctor who stole it from Android Assassins who had captured him.
Invisibility Watch: A device that allowed the Doctor to turn invisible. The Doctor could also sense when it was being used.
2Dis: The 2Dis was a device created by the Twelfth Doctor to return objects flattened by the Boneless to their original three-dimensional state, and from three-dimensions to two-dimensions again.
Dinosaur Stun Gun: A gadget the Doctor designed to temporarily neutralize a dinosaur’s brain cells, causing it to faint. It was used successfully on a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
De-Mat Gun: A weapon that when fired, erases the enemy from all of reality. Its weakness is that after one shot it destroys the gun, because it is so powerful. Also requires the Great Key of Rassilon to arm it (although during the Time War, many were produced). The Doctor later modified the De-mat Gun so it could remove millions from time and space at once, can also be used to sealing the Medusa Cascade.
Dimension Vault: A Dimension Vault was technology of Dalek design. The Tenth Doctor used the device to send the remains of the CyberKing into the Time Vortex, where it would be disintegrated.
Key to Time: A perfect crystalline cube separated into six parts that the Doctor had to obtain by the request of the White Guardian. The Key to Time maintains the equilibrium of time itself, exists at every point in time and extends to all 4 dimensions. With one of the pieces, you can travel through different planets and change your entire appearance to someone else. Another piece gave its holder the ability to see the future and demonstrated enough power to make a normal-sized squid grow to gigantic proportions after swallowing it. Even just 5 of the pieces can trap you into a time loop, the Doctor can change the size or length of this looped time and is capable of causing a temporal quake that could rip apart the space-time continuum. The complete Key to Time grants the user power over every particle in the universe and over everything that has ever existed or will exist. It was said to maintain balance and equilibrium, similarly to the Eye of Harmony - with the result that disrupting the links between the segments could damage the fabric of the universe. It can rewrite matter, change the state of quanta, and start and stop the universe.
The Moment: The most powerful and dangerous weapon in all of creation forged by the ancient Time Lords, only was never used because of its sheer destructiveness. The War Doctor intended to use it to end the Last Great Time War only was spared from activating it when the Moment's sentient interface intervened, causing him to chose another method to save the universe with the aid of all his other incarnations.
Space-Time Vortex Crystal: Can summon a time storm from the Space-Time Vortex which swept away the Eternals' powers.
Other versions[]
Dr. Who, a human scientist from Dr. Who and the Daleks, and Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, played by Peter Cushing.
One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.
„
~ The Doctor's iconic farewell to Susan in The Dalek Invasion of Earth.
“
If you like adventure my dear, I can promise you an abundance of it!
„
~ The Doctor to Vicki, The Rescue.
“
Slower... SLOWER! Concentrate on one thing... ONE THING!
„
~ Second Doctor's first lines.
“
There are some corners of the Universe that have bred the most terrible things. Things that act against everything we believe in. They must be fought.
„
~ The Doctor in The Moonbase.
“
Shoes... I must find my shoes...
„
~ Third Doctor's first lines.
“
You'll never understand, will you? I want to see the universe - not rule it!
„
~ The Third Doctor to the Master, 'Colony in Space.
“
Courage isn’t a matter of not being frightened, you know. It’s about being afraid but doing what you have to do anyway.
„
“
Key, key … key, key … key, key … Yes, of course. Obvious place
„
~ Fourth Doctor's first lines.
“
Work for? I don't work for anybody. I'm just having fun.
„
~ The Doctor in Nightmare of Eden.
“
Ah... You've come to help me find the Zero Room. Welcome aboard. I'm The Doctor... Or will be if this regeneration works out!
„
~ Fifth Doctor's first lines
“
You won't succeed. In the end, evil never does!
„
~ The Doctor to the Mara, Snakedance.
“
You were expecting someone else?
„
~ Sixth Doctor's first lines
“
In all my travellings throughout the universe I have battled against evil, against power-mad conspirators. I should have stayed here. The oldest civilisation, decadent, degenerate and rotten to the core. Ha! Power-mad conspirators, Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen, they're still in the nursery compared to us. Ten million years of absolute power, that's what it takes to be really corrupt.
„
~ The Doctor denounces the Time Lords, The Ultimate Foe.
“
Oh no, Mel... Ah, that was a nice nap! Now down to business... I'm a bit worried about the temporal flicker in sector thirteen... There's a bicentennial refit of the Tardis to book in... I must just pop over to Centauri Seven and then perhaps a quick holiday... Right, that all seems quite clear, just three small points, where am I? Who am I? And who are you? The Rani! Stay back!
„
~ Seventh Doctor's first lines.
“
Anyone remotely interesting is mad in some way or another.
„
“
We all have a universe of our own terrors to face.
„
~ The Seventh Doctor, “Ghost Light”.
“
Who am I? Who am I? Who... Am... I?
„
~ Eighth Doctor's first lines.
“
You feel that pounding in your heart? That tightness in the pit of your stomach? The blood rushing to your head, do you know what that is? That's adventure, the thrill and the fear and the joy of stepping into the unknown. That's why we're all here and that's why we're alive!
„
~ The Eighth Doctor, Storm Warning.
“
I’m a Time Lord in a realm where the term is meaningless. My pain has been infinite. Eight lifetimes worth. I left my world to travel, to experience the universe, but there’s been a price for my freedom. Worlds, I’ve seen subjugated or destroyed. Friends I’ve lost. Don’t tell me you’ve tapped yourselves in my mind and you can’t see that. Come on, there’s something else. Some other reason for all this… You’re frightened of me, aren’t you? You think I’ll destroy you.
„
~ The Eighth Doctor in The Twilight Kingdom.
“
If you're prepared to accept that much collateral damage to the rest of the universe, then what exactly are you fighting for? I'll protect those with no choice in the matter, no voice.
„
~ The Eighth Doctor to the Time Lords, The Conscript.
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Doctor no more
„
~ War Doctor's first lines.
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Run!
„
~ Ninth Doctor's first lines.
“
Nice to meet you Rose. Run for your life!
„
~ The Ninth Doctor to Rose Tyler.
“
Because this is my life, Jackie. It's not fun, it's not smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because nobody else will.
„
~ The Ninth Doctor, World War Three.
“
Hello! Oka- New teeth. That's weird... So where was I? Oh, that's right... Barcelona!
„
~ Tenth Doctor's first lines.
“
You can spend your entire life with me, but I can't do the same. You'll grow grow old and die. Me? I'll just regenerate and continue on.
„
~ The Tenth Doctor.
“
Legs! I've still got legs! Good. Arms, hands. Ooh, fingers. Lots of fingers. Ears? Yes. Eyes: two. Nose... I've had worse. Chin... blimey! Hair... I'm a girl! No! No! I'm not a girl! And I'm still not ginger! There's something else... Something important, I'm... I'm... I'm... Crashing! Geronimo!
„
~ Eleventh Doctor's first lines.
“
In 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important.
„
~ The Eleventh Doctor.
“
Kidneys! I've got new kidneys! I don't like the colour.
„
~ Twelfth Doctor's first lines.
“
One day you'll just "stop". You know what I'll do then? I just get in my box and run away! In case the pain ever catches up!
„
~ The Twelfth Doctor about the pain losing friends and companions causes him.
“
I'm the Doctor! And I save people!
„
~ The Twelfth Doctor realizes why he chose the face of someone he saved at a Fixed Point in Time.
“
There have been many attempts to conquer the Earth. I've lost count. Not one of them has succeeded. Not a single one. They all lost and burned and ran. That's who I am.
„
~ The Twelfth Doctor in The Return of Doctor Mysterio.
“
I'm not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat someone, or because I hate someone, or because, I want to blame someone. It's not because it's fun and God knows it's not because it's easy. It's not even because it works, because it hardly ever does. I do what I do, because it's right! Because it's decent! And above all, it's kind. It's just that. Just kind.
„
~ The Doctor's speech to the Masters in The Doctor Falls.
}
“
Oh, brilliant!
„
~ Thirteenth Doctor's first lines.
“
Planet Earth. Seven billion lives. Separate, and connected, from the edge of the atmosphere to the depths of the ocean.
„
~ The Thirteenth Doctor reflects on humanity, Praxeus.
“
You think you've broken me? You'll have to try harder than that. You've given me a gift. Of myself. You think that could destroy me? You think that makes me lesser? It makes me more. I contain multitudes more than I ever thought or knew. You want me to be scared of it because you're scared of everything. But I am so much more than you.
„
~ The Doctor to the Master, The Timeless Children.
“
...I know these teeth. What? What? ....What!?
„
~ The Fourteenth Doctor's first words, The Power of the Doctor.
“
We won the game. You get a prize, honey, and here is mine!
„
~ The Fifteenth Doctor gives his Fourteenth self a spare TARDIS.
Quotes about the Doctor
“
Oh yes, I like the Doctor. Its funny, but as soon as he walked in, I felt that you could trust him
„
~ Vicki after meeting the Doctor for the first time.
“
There is something new in you, yet there is something older than the sky itself.
„
~ Princess Joanna in The Crusade.
“
This [Time Lord] calls himself the Doctor, and he does nothing else but interfere.
„
~ The Cyber-Leader, Earthshock.
“
Everywhere you go they tell tales of the Doctor. There are galaxies far away from here where children sleep more soundly, knowing he’s out there, fighting off the demons. And the demons twist and turn in fear, knowing that their enemy awaits. So long as the stories are told, he’s never really gone.
He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night, and the storm in the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the center of time and he can see the turn of the universe. And... he's wonderful.
„
~ Tim Latimer describing the Doctor.
“
When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it'll never end. But however hard you try you can't run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies and nobody knows it like the Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark if he ever for one moment, accepts it. Everybody knows that everybody dies. But not every day. Not today. Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and the Doctor comes to call... everybody lives.
It's not just that you endanger people by being around them. You make them want to impress you.
„
~ Rory Williams about the influence the Doctor has on his companions.
“
I hate good wizards in fairy tales. They always turn out to be him.
„
~ River in "The Pandorica Opens".
“
"Doctor" the word for "healer" and "wise man", across the universe. We get that word from you, you know.
„
~ River Song, on the Doctor's name.
“
Your biggest fear isn't yourself. It's the destruction of other things. It's an obsession. You want to keep things alive. You want creatures to breathe and live. You want species and races to build.
„
~ Azure about the Doctor's greatest fears, The Vanquishers.
Trivia[]
The Doctor is rarely on Earth when they regenerate; only the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Thirteenth and Fourteenth were.
The First, Fifth, Sixth, War, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Doctors were in the TARDIS; its a different dimension.
The Second Doctor was on Gallifrey
The Eighth Doctor was on Karn
The Fifteenth Doctor was in the TARDIS with the doors open tospace.
The Doctor can naturally regenerate an infinite amount of times. However, the secret Time Lord organization called "the Division" put a lock on it to only allow him 12 more after wiping his memory and forcing him to become a child in a new incarnation as the First Doctor. The lock may have been broken when the Time Lords later gave the Eleventh Doctor more regenerations on Trenzalore.
The Master is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the Doctor regenerating from his Fourth, Twelfth, and Thirteenth iterations. Whereas it is implied that most of the Master's original 12 regenerations were triggered by the Doctor defeating him.
This twist of the Doctor not actually being a Time Lord was generally unpopular with fans of the franchise. Particularly the implication they left Gallifrey to help people not because of adventure and altruism, but because of subconscious brainwashing.
After the Twelfth Doctor, a trend with the actors who play the Doctor seem to be a focus on making the Time Lord experience the difficulties their companions had to deal with during trips to the past; Thirteen (sexism), Fifteen (racism)
The Doctor has a complex relationship with sexuality, often seeming celibate, if not asexual. The Eighth Doctor is depicted as the first incarnation to be interested in romance, without much interest in sex, and in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels is depicted as biromantic, being attracted to (and by) man and women. In the revived series, the Doctor is shown several times to be romantically interested in women, but has also flirted with men on occasion. This is saying nothing about the Doctor's complex relationship with the Master, which has been interpreted as romantic, at least at some point in their lives.
The Eighth Doctor got married to the adventuress Scarlette (while it was initially a symbolic marriage, they had also fallen in love, making more meaningful to them), and shared sexual tension with his longest companion from the novels, Fitz Kreiner. In Big Finish's audio dramas, the Doctor also admitted he loved Charley Pollard.
While not overtly romantic, the Ninth Doctor had flirtatious interactions with Jabe.
The Tenth Doctor loved Rose Tyler.
Prior to Rose, he had a brief for him yet decades long romance with Madame de Pompadour.
He would later marry Elizabeth I, although out of obligation, rather than love.
The Eleventh Doctor married River Song, and their love was felt by the Twelfth Doctor (who otherwise was aromantic), and their other incarnations - although, not romantic love for most, as the Tenth Doctor didn't display such interest, even though he eventually loved her in a way.
Eleven privately considered himself Clara's boyfriend as well. While not as explicitly romantic with the Twelfth Doctor, he was still devoted to her.
There was a running gag of the Eleventh Doctor having sexual flings with noteworthy historical women throughout Earth's history.
Thirteen was open to a relationship with Yaz, but decided against it as the Doctor knew she would regenerate soon.
It's worth noting that Fourteenth Doctor's personal time between The Power of the Doctor and The Giggle is within the first fifteen hours of his birth. This may explain why bi-geneation occurred; the Doctor was overcharged with regeneration energy.
The Thirteenth Doctor was forced to regenerate into the Master, reverted back and then fatal injured; plus the Cyber Masters' regeneration energy had been used as well. However, being changed into the Master wouldn't have been a factor, since the Harold Saxon iteration of the Master did the exact same thing when he used the Vinvocci Immortality Gate to transform humanity into duplicates of him, yet when this was reversed, they suffered no ill-effects (although, prior the transformation, the Time Lord energy bled back in time to give them nightmares).
Russell T Davies stated that bi-generation affected every past regeneration the Doctor ever had, so there's a version when bi-generation happened instead; which creates different resulting timelines and explains the contradicting novels (Human Nature) and comics (The Star Beast) that have similar plots on the TV show. This also leaves different fates for each version.
The First and War Doctors would sadly still die, as they were regenerating from old age.
The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth would have a hard time initiating it as there weren't two people around to pull on them to start the split.
This would also cause the Meta-Crisis Tenth Doctor and DoctorDonna to be replaced by the Eleventh Doctor; the Tenth wouldn't be able to expel and store the energy to create them.
However, the Fifteenth would eventually confide to Ruby Sunday that the bi-generation was akin to ripping his soul apart, thus another attempt would destablise and perhaps simply kill him.
The Toymaker remarks that he made a "jigsaw" out of the Doctor's history, implying that he is, at the very least, partly responsible for any inconsistencies and changes in the Doctor's past, such as his origins and the history of the Timeless Child.
Russell T Davies stated that the Toymaker's remark about turning the Doctor's life into a 'jigsaw puzzle' is a reference to both the Timeless Child and half-human claims about the Doctor's origins, creating some ambiguity as to how much of the Doctor's past is true and how much was fabricated by the Toymaker.
With the addition of Matt Smith and John Hurt as actors who play incarnations of the Doctor, the cast list of past Doctors unintentionally now has the Doctor's main alias "John Smith" in it. Something fans picked up from The Day of the Doctor's credits.
Originally the Doctor was a member of the Time Lord generation known as the Deca, who were notorious for being rebellious - notable members include the Master, the Rani, the Meddling Monk, and the Doctor himself. The initial idea was that of the three founders of Time Lord civilisation, there was Rassilon, Omega, and one known as the Other; because of regeneration, Time Lords became sterile, thus to reproduce they needed a machine called the Biometric Loom, which two genetic donors would provide DNA that the Loom would constitute into their child; whether needed for the Loom's creation or an accident, the Other was consumed by it. The Other was one who didn't respond to authority, thus millennia later, traits of their personality eventually influenced the Deca. However, since the Classic series was cancelled, this idea was never able to be implemented.
During the Seventh Doctor's era, there were implications that he might become the Other, much like how he had the villainous offshoot of the Valeyard.
UNIT Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart |
Sergeant Benton |
Captain Mike Yates |
Brigadier Bambera |
Colonel Mace |
Kate Stewart |
Osgood |
Shirley Anne Bingham |
Rose Noble |
Barclay Pierre-Dupoint Audio members Colonel Emily Chaudry |
Lieutenant Hoffman |
Colonel Dalton |
Captain Ruth Matheson |
Charlie Sato |
Josh Carter |
Sam Bishop |
Colonel Shindi |
Naomi Cross |
Jean Paul Savarin |
Louise Rix
Coal Hill defenders Charlie Smith | Ram Singh | April MacLean | Tanya Adeola | Andrea Quill | Matteusz Andrzejewski
Other Allies
James Stirling | Professor Travers | King Peladon | Alpha Centauri | White Guardian | K9 Mark III | Sabalom Glitz | The Face of Boe | Jackie Tyler | Bad Wolf | Pete Tyler | Ood Sigma | Jenny | Hostess | Craig Owens | Sophie | Brian Williams | Rusty | Danny Pink | Rigsey | Grant Gordon | Grace O'Brien | Karvanista | Claire Brown | Inston-Vee Vinder | Bel | Eustacius Jericho | Rogue Expanded Universe Maxwell Edison | Shayde | Death's Head | Bernice Summerfield | Narvin | DI Patricia Menzies | Annabel Lake | Father Octavian
Heroes
